|
Page Revised: 4/19/08 |
|
|
Available Site Reviews Circle X Ranch Nicholas Flat Point Mugu State Park Saddle Peak area Palo Comado Paramount Ranch Peter Strauss Ranch Malibu Creek State Park Topanga State Park Cold Creek preserve Griffith Park Rocky Oaks Triunfo Cyn. Park Las Virgenes Cyn Lake Eleanor Open Space Castro Crest Area |
Date of Review 4/19/08, 3/28/08, 3/22/08,
3/14/08. 4/18/08. 4/16/08, 4/6/08, 3/19/08. 4/13/08 4/6/08, 3/28/08. 4/6/08, 3/30/08. 4/5/08, 3/25/08. 3/30/08. 3/29/08. 3/27/08, 3/8/08. 3/26/08. 3/24/08. 3/24/08, 3/22/08. 3/22/08. 3/10/08. 3/9/08, 3/8/08. |
|
What's Blooming photo gallery: http://www.researchlearningcenter.com/bloom/bloom.htm |
|
|
|
|
Circle X Ranch |
Mishe Mokwa to split rock. |
Date: 4/19/08 |
|
|
|
On overcast and cool day we hiked out
to split rock from the Mishe Mokwa trailhead and then turned around and came back.
This hike often has some of the nicest flower displays here at CXR. Today we
could hear the distinctive call of the state bird, the California quail. Sharp eyes can often
pick out their location since they frequently roost in the tops of the
chaparral. This is also the best trail to get a good view of balanced rock. The chamise is in full
bloom right now with some hillsides showing quite a bit of white. Flower
highlights included chocolate lily, Catalina mariposa lily, blue dicks, black
sage, golden yarrow, deerweed, woolly blue curls, yucca, yellow monkey
flower, bush monkey flower, caterpillar phacelia, Parry’s phacelia,
several different plants in the celery family, good numbers of star lily,
chia, mustard evening primrose, collarless California poppy, virgin’s
bower, blue larkspur, canyon sunflower, chinese houses, eucrypta, peninsular
onion, and popcorn flower. (Linda
Valois) |
|||
|
Rating: Good |
|||
|
Nicholas Flat (Leo Carrillo SP) |
misc. trails |
Date: 4/18/08 |
|
|
|
We did a quick flower survey in
yesterday’s beautiful sunshine and reasonably clear air. This area tends to be rather
“weedy” because of the old homestead. Despite this there always seems to be some
interesting flowers scattered about and you can’t complain about the
sweeping views from the various vantage points. It boasts a small pond (also a holdover of
the homestead era) which attracts redwing blackbirds with their distinctive
melodic call. The large grassy fields
remind me of cultivated Midwestern oat fields but have numerous flowers
scattered in. Add the oak forest over
the creek bed and the shear diversity of ecosystems close at hand always
seems to provide something worth the trip.
Do watch your step if you get off the trail as there is plenty of
poison oak and the area has something of a reputation as a rattlesnake
hangout. Highlights included crimson pitcher
sage, blue dicks, tidy tips, woodland star, a couple of different lupines,
wild sweet pea, American vetch, canyon sunflower, Catalina mariposa lily,
yucca, greenbark ceanothus, Indian paintbrush, phacelia, deerweed, scarlet
pimpernel, fuchsia flowered gooseberry, bush monkey flower, purple
nightshade, golden yarrow, and chamise.
-ed. |
|||
|
Rating: NR |
|||
|
Point Mugu State Park |
Guadalasca Trail |
Date: 4/16/08 |
|
|
|
You won't see many wildflower
enthusiasts on this trail. It's a long
way from any parking lot, and on weekends you need to be alert for high-speed
mountain bikes. But you will see a lot
of flowers -- including Catalina Mariposa, Cobweb Thistle, Blue-eyed Grass,
Blue Dicks, Wild Carrot, Hedge Nettle, Wild Pea, both Caterpillar and Sticky
Phacelia, Snakeroot, Silver Puffs, Wishbone Plant, Bush Lupine and three
other Lupines. Nothing particularly
unusual, but for the avid hiker it's worth a visit. (Jay Sullivan) |
|||
|
Rating: NR |
|||
|
Saddle Peak area |
Backbone Trail |
Dates: 4/12 & 4/13 |
|
|
|
Backbone Trail Section from the
junction of Saddle Peak, Schueren, and Stunt Roads to Malibu Canyon Road.
These hikes were of the eighth segment of the 2007-2008 Backbone Trail NPS
Series. We will be hiking the entire Backbone Trail, one part each month and
reporting on the flowers when they are plentiful enough to be of interest.
The same hike was done by two different groups on Saturday and Sunday.
Distance was about 7.5 miles. This list of flowers combines those seen on
both hikes. The combined flower list includes
elderberry, wild cucumber, blue dick, deer weed, red-stem filaree,
long-beaked filaree, yellow sweet clover, common groundsel, black sage,
Calif. buckwheat, golden yarrow, winter vetch, southern tauschia and/or shiny
lomatium, and silver lotus on the large rock outcrop above the trail. An
examination of the leaves on the blue/purple blooming ceanothus shows that
hairy-leaf ceanothus dominates for the first half of this hike, and then the
paler blue greenback ceanothus predominates at lower altitude. Some
red-skinned onion was seen down the slope from the large rock outcrop. We saw
lots of caterpillar phacelia along the entire trail and large and minute
popcorn flower, Calif. and two-tone everlasting, purple nightshade, mustard
evening primrose, sticky monkey flower, Spanish broom, bush lupine, and
tomcat clover. A single white chaparral currant was a surprise. There was
considerable virgins' bower, eucrypta, fuchsia flowered gooseberry, and
canyon pea aka wild sweet pea. We saw a few chaparral pea at the top of
trail, then Eastwood manzanita, bush poppy, mountain mahogany, prickly phlox,
sugar bush at the base of rock outcrops. Lower was scrub oak, wooly blue curl, cudweed aster,
canyon sunflower, chamise, willow herb clarkia, slim aster, poison oak, holly
leaf cherry. Halfway down from Saddle Peak star lilies finally began to bloom
and there were yellow monkey flower, twinning snapdragon, snake root, scarlet
pimpernel in the dry areas. Lots of globe gilia began to appear along with,
yucca, purple sage, chia, succulent lupine, dove lupine, Catalina mariposa
lily, whispering bells, morning glory, fiesta flower, Calif. poppy, and a few
golden stars. Approaching the cool and
shady Dark Canyon we saw large numbers of Chinese houses, wishbone bush, and
stinging lupine. It was disappointing not to find the rein orchid that we
have seen on the climb out of Dark Canyon in prior good flower years, but
maybe there is still hope. We saw yellow pincushion, bur-clover, miner's
lettuce, baby blue eyes, annual bedstraw, and narrow leaf bedstraw. After
crossing Piuma Road, pineapple weed, bur-chervil, owl’s clover, blue
larkspur, blackberry, hedge nettle, blue eyed grass, Indian warrior, and
woodland star did not disappoint. The vinca is all over the lower part of the
trail. Cottonwood and willow are creating snow along Piuma Road. (Greg Sweel and Burt Elliott) |
|||
|
Rating: Very Good |
|||
|
Palo Comado Canyon |
China Flat Trail |
Date:
4/6/08 |
|
|
|
Hikers can reach China flat either
from the east, following the trail up Palo Comado canyon or from the west,
following trails heading north from Oak Canyon Park in Oak Park. This report is for the western approach. On the 6th I saw Purple Sage, Bush
Lupine, Catalina Mariposa Lilies,
Yellow Pincushion, Yellow Monkey Flowers, Bush Sunflowers, Purple Owl's Clover, White Forget-me-not, White Sage, Scarlet
Bugler, Scarlet Pimpernel, Purple Nightshade, Bush Monkey Flower, Mule Fat,
Chia, Caterpillar Phacelia, Two-tone Everlasting, Collar Lupine, Stinging
Lupine, Blue Dicks, Twining Snapdragon,
Woolly Blue curl, Prickly Phlox, Spring Vetch, Chamise, and Wishbone
Bush. (Sarah Dickey) |
|||
|
Rating: NR |
|||
|
Point Mugu State Park |
Waterfall Trail |
Date: 4/6/08 |
|
|
|
Point Mugu State Park shares it's
northern border with Rancho Sierra Vista and you can enter Point Mugu from
Rancho Sierra Vista to get to the Waterfall Trail. There was nice display of Hummingbird or
Crimson Pitcher Sage along the trail as well as: Collarless Poppies, (on the trail connector
from Rancho Sierra Vista leading down to the waterfall trail), Fiesta Flowers, Virgin's Bower, Wild Sweet
Peas, Hedge Nettle, California Blackberry, and a variety of nice ferns along
the waterfall itself. (Sarah Dickey) |
|||
|
Rating: NR |
|||
|
Paramount Ranch |
Misc. Trails |
Date: 4/6/08 |
|
|
|
The meadow areas were full of Winter Vetch
-- it was everywhere. I also saw
Checker Bloom, Blue-eyed Grass, California Poppies, Blue Dicks, Lupine,
Ground Pink, Scarlet Pimpernels, Western Vervain, Chinese Houses, Johnny
Jump-up, Common Fiddleneck, Deerweed, Catalina Mariposa Lilies, Wild Radishes,
(I saw all white, pink & white and cream & pink blossoms -- they were
everywhere!), California Everlasting, Parry's Phacelia. There were a few Shooting Stars left but it
looks like their season has past.
(Sarah Dickey) |
|||
|
Rating: NR |
|||
|
Peter Strauss Ranch |
Peter Strauss Trail |
Date: 4/5/08 |
|
|
|
2-3 Chocolate Lily plants are still
blooming on the west side of the Peter Strauss Trail as well as a single
Globe Lily plant. Wild Sweet Peas are growing
throughout the trail along with Fiesta Flowers, Milkmaids, Virgin's Bower,
Miner's Lettuce, and a variety of ferns.
Also, some of the cacti in the small cactus garden are blooming,.
(Sarah Dickey) |
|||
|
Rating: NR |
|||
|
Paramount Ranch |
Misc. Trails |
Date: 3/30/08 |
|
|
|
Throughout the park: Purple Owl's
Clover, Blue Dicks, Collarless California Poppy, and Stinging Lupine. On the Hacienda / Witches Wood trails
plus the loop through the meadow on the trail connecting the Hacienda and
Coyote Canyon trails: Johnny Jump-up, Caterpillar Phacelia, Parry's Phacelia,
Bajada Lupine, and Spring Vetch. On the Medicine Woman / Backdrop /
Ebb Tide and Medial Creek trails: Blue Larkspur, Globe Gilia, Black Sage,
Prickly Phlox, Purple Nightshade, Miner's Lettuce, Our Lord's candle, Bush
Sunflower, Yellow Monkey Flower, Common Fiddleneck, Caterpillar Phacelia,
Succulent Lupine, Collar Lupine, Red Maids, Henbit, Periwinkle, and Vinca
major. (Sarah Dickey) |
|||
|
Rating: NR |
|||
|
Malibu Creek State Park |
Misc. Trails |
Date: 3/30/08 |
|
|
|
We started at the parking lot off Mulholland
and Cornell Roads near the Reagan Ranch Ranger Station and ended up at the
end of the Lost Cabin Trail. Our hike included sections of Deerleg, Yearling,
Creek, Crags Road, and Lost Cabin Trails. This included a hike through the
famous M*A*S*H* film location and through several different ecosystems. We
encountered a fair number of species in bloom but not in the huge quantities
we've seen in some years. All-in-all, this year seems to be shaping up as a
"Fair" flowering year. Definitely better than last year in any
case. Highlights included fiddleneck, elderberry, blue dicks, a couple of
different vetches, several different popcorn flowers, wild radish, both
greenbark and bigpod ceanothus, several different flowers in the celery
family, quite a bit of blue larkspur, henbit, fiesta flower, several patches
of Johnny jump-ups, mustards, chinese houses, woodland star, lace pods,
purple nightshade, eucrypta, long-spurred plectritic, speedwell, wild sweet
pea, quite a bit of owls clover, Western wall flower, wild cucumber, wild
morning glory, a couple of different monkey flowers, several different
lupines, California poppy, winter cress, blue-eyed grass, yellow pincushion,
carpets of coast goldfields, leafystem coreopsis, small evening primrose,
brewers red maids, skullcap, angel's gilia, and Parry's phacelia. All told
over eighty species in bloom but rather widely scattered. -ed. |
|||
|
Rating: Fair |
|||
|
Topanga State Park |
|
Date: 3/29/08 |
|
|
|
Woolly Blue-curls, Fiesta Flower,
Common Vervain, Scarlet Pimpernel, White Nightshade, Purple Nightshade, Wild
Radish (plants with both pink and white blossoms), Tree Tobacco, Sierra False
Bindweed, Fuchsia-flowered Gooseberry, Twining Snapdragon, California
Buckwheat, Stinging Lupine, Black Sage, Caterpillar Phacelia, Rock-rose,
Bermuda Buttercup, and Red Maids.
(Sarah Dickey) |
|||
|
Rating: NR |
|||
|
Circle X Ranch |
Grotto Trail & misc. |
Date: 3/28/08 |
|
|
|
The Grotto Trail is always worth a
visit, especially on a hot day. Children love climbing on the rocks and
checking out the pools for tadpoles and newts. As always in damp areas watch
out for poison oak. A good number of the unofficial “social”
trails run through big patches of it (I hate to think what the visitors who
made those trails looked like the day after. Yet another good reason to stay
on the established trails!) Flowering
highlights of the trail include purple nightshade, blue larkspur, mariposa lilies,
star lilies, sunflowers, hummingbird sage, wild sweet pea, and chinese
houses. Elsewhere at CXR we are beginning to
see a few chocolate lilies on the Mishe Mokwa Trial. The blue ceanothus
(i.e., hairy-leaved and greenbark) appear to be winding down after a rather
lackluster year. Although still in bloom many of the small herbaceous plants
are looking rather dried up already. Yerba Buena road itself has some nice
flowers along it. (-editor, list
submitted by Tarja Sagar) |
|||
|
Rating: Fair |
|||
|
Palo Comado |
China Flat Trail |
Date: 3/28/08 |
|
|
|
The China Flat Trail can be picked up
off of Lindero Road and then winds its way steadily up to the China Flat area.
The continual rise makes for good exercise and some nice vistas. This area
burned a couple of years ago so many of the flowers are those frequently
described as “fire followers.” As typical of the breed their
stands are often dense with bright colors contrasting nicely with the
blackened stems of the burned chaparral shrubs. Some of the flower highlights
include wild cucumber, several different lupines, yellow pincushion, wild
morning glory, yerba santa, whispering bells, many different popcorn flowers,
purple nightshade, windmill pink, the closely related many-nerved catchfly,
filarees, rock rose, a couple of different monkey flowers, a couple of
different lotus, several different evening primroses, caterpillar phacelia,
angel’s gilia, brewers red maids, a lot of blue dicks, wild sweet pea,
masses of fiddleneck, yarrow, chia, wishbone bush, silver puffs, everlastings
and the collarless California poppy.
You might take a moment to notice the parasite dodder growing on some
of the plants along the trail. It looks like a mass of bright orange
filaments twisted among the branches of its host plant. If you look closely
at this relative of the morning glory you will see that some of it is
blooming with little white flowers. I also enjoy seeing that the small fringe
pods are in seed now with their lacy winged fruit. -ed |
|||
|
Rating: NR |
|||
|
Cold Creek Preserve |
Stunt High Trail |
Date: 3/27/08 |
|
|
|
Blue-eyed Grass, Giant Horsetail, Prickly
Phlox, Crimson Pitcher Sage, Bigpod Ceanothus, Wild Sweet Pea, California
Peony, Chinese Houses, Purple Nightshade, Beach Evening Primrose, Canyon
Sunflower, Milkmaids, Blue Dicks (very common) Fiesta Flower, Baby Blue-eyes,
Catalina Mariposa Lily, Purple Owl's Clover, Bush Monkey Flower, Mule Fat,
Sun-cup, Bur-clover, Popcorn Flower, Common Fiddleneck, Red Maids, and
Chia. (Sarah Dickey) |
|||
|
Rating: NR |
|||
|
Griffith Park |
Misc. trails |
Date: 3/26/08 |
|
|
|
Griffith Park is located on the far
East end of the Santa Monica Mountains.
Flora recovery from last year’s fire is well underway, helped by
the winter rains. Throughout the park
there is an explosion of Common Eucrypta which always blooms abundantly after
rains. The burn areas are profusely
covered with Wild Canterbury Bells and Blue Dicks (also known as Wild
Hyacinth) and extremely healthy looking.
Blue and white Ceanothus are also blooming throughout the park. The rare and endangered Nevin’s
Barberry can be found; its small yellow flowers were in bloom a few weeks
ago. (Carol and Ron Brusha) |
|||
|
Rating: NR |
|||
|
Peter Strauss Ranch |
Peter Strauss Trail |
Date: 3/25/08 |
|
|
|
Chocolate Lily, Greenbark Ceanothus, Wild
Sweet Pea, Milkmaids, Bigpod Ceanothus, Hoary-leaved Ceanothus, Common
Chickweed, Fuchsia-flowered Gooseberry, Wild Cucumber, and Henbit. (Sarah Dickey) |
|||
|
Rating: NR |
|||
|
Rocky Oaks |
R.O. Loop to Pond Trail |
Date: 3/24/08 |
|
|
|
The
lower areas and westbound trail had a good selection, but only a few were
showy: CA Poppies, Greenbark Ceanothus, Woolly Lomatium, and Prickly Phlox.
Other notables on the west-side were Hoary-leaved Ceanothus, Johnny Jump-ups,
Virgin’s Bower, Snakeroot, Windmill Pink and some lingering Chocolate
Lilies. Next to the brimming pond — with Ring-necked Ducks, Mallards,
and a Pied-billed Grebe — Coast Goldfields were looking good, and most
trees in the area were flowering: Coast Live Oaks, Willows, and Scrub Oaks.
Oddly enough, most chaparral shrubs were holding off, with very little sage,
ceanothus, and others compared to bumper years. But it should improve a bit
over the next few weeks, as greenery and buds were everywhere. (Jack
Gillooly) |
|||
|
Rating: Fair |
|||
|
Triunfo Creek Park |
Pentachaeta Trail |
Date: 3/24/08 |
|
|
|
As
one of the best mid- to late-blooming trails in the SM Mts, this is one to
watch over the next few weeks — since many species were profuse, but
other annuals and shrubs were just starting to bloom. The best included
blankets of Coast Goldfields mixed with Ground Pink and Angel’s Gilia,
with lots of Globe Gilia, Fiddlenecks, Popcorn, Lace Pod, and Woolly Lomatium
along the trail. Just emerging were Owl’s Clover, Dove Lupine, CA
Poppies, Woolly Blue Curls, Turkey Pea, and Fiesta Flower, as the last of the
Chocolate Lilies and Fuschia-flowered Gooseberry were scattered. Look for
lots of Blue Dicks and Soap Lilies soon, plus the larger shrubs (and pentachaeta). (Jack
Gillooly) |
|||
|
Rating: Good |
|||
|
Circle X Ranch |
Mishe Mokwa Loop |
Date: 3/22/08 |
|
|
|
The benefits of this years' rains are
evident on the Mishe Mokwa Trail. Standing
in the Sandstone Peak trailhead parking lot blooming deerweed, black sage,
California buckwheat, blue dicks and popcorn flower are all visible. Hiking up a bit we got to see the beautiful
parry's phacelia, collarless poppies, wild cucumber, common fiddleneck,
purple nightshade and prickly phlox.
Approaching the peak we come to hairy-leaved ceanothus, shiny lomatium
and Eastwood manzanita. Heading down
to Split Rock we came to the meadow that is filled with shooting stars. There is also skullcap, chaparral current
and wild sweet pea. Behind the Split
Rock rocks a clump of milk maids are growing.
On the hike back up there is purple larkspur, virgin's bower, turkey
pea, twining snapdragon, chocolate lilies, woolly blue curls and woolly
lomatium. (Dorothy Steinicke) |
|||
|
Rating: NR |
|||
|
Las Virgenes Cyn. Open
Space |
Misc. trails |
Date: 3/22/08 |
|
|
|
I've been hiking in the Cheseboro /
Las Virgenes / Calabasas area for a couple of years and enjoy photographing the
large variety of flowers in the area.
I decided to see how many different flowers I could find today and
came up with the following list. I
hiked up Las Virgenes canyon for about
3.5 miles. Blue Dicks, Broad-leaved Lupine, Bush
Lupine, Bush Monkey Flower, Bush Sunflower, California Peony, California
Poppy, Caterpillar Phacelia, Chia, Coast Goldfields, Common Fiddleneck,
Coulter's Lupine, Creek Clover, Deerweed, Fern-leaf Phacelia, Fiesta Flower,
Large-flowered Popcorn Flower, Long-beaked Filaree, Purple Nightshade, Santa
Susana Tarweed, Southern California Locoweed, Strigose Lotus, Succulent
Lupine, Tree Tobacco, Twining Snapdragon, Valley Lupine, Wild Cucumber, Wild
Sweet Pea, Windmill Pink, Winter Vetch,
Woolly Paintbrush. (Sarah Dickey) |
|||
|
Rating: NR |
|||
|
Triunfo Cyn. Park |
Misc. trails |
Date: 3/22/08 |
|
|
|
This unit is often one of the best in
the whole Rec. Area for easy access to good numbers of showy flowers. I have not
had a chance to hike the famous and always worthwhile Pentachaeta Trail, but
I saw enough to feel confident in providing this unit with a
“Good” rating. One of my
favorites there is the now abundant “ground-pink” and its
relatives. -ed |
|||
|
Rating: Good |
|||
|
Point Mugu State park |
La Jolla Canyon and La Jolla Valley Loop trails |
Date: 3/19/08 |
|
|
|
The star attraction of this area is
the Giant Coreopsis which are now in full bloom. In the 20 plus years
we’ve been hiking this trail, we have rarely seen them as numerous or
as magnificent. There is a batch of Datura in front of the restrooms at the
start of the trail. Also, copious numbers of Wild Sweet
Pea, Indian Paintbrush, Blue Dick, Lupine and Filaree line the trail. Other
flowers observed were: Tree Tobacco, Buckwheat, Deerweed, Monkey Flower,
Everlasting, Morning Glory, Bush Sunflower, Bladder Pod, Parry’s
Phacelia, Popcorn Flower, Mustard Evening Primrose, Black & Purple Sage,
Bristly Ox- Tongue, Ceanothus, Oxalis, Wild Cucumber, Hedge Nettle, Celery,
Wild Blackberry, Arroyo Willow, Coast Wallflower, Fuchsia- Flowered
Gooseberry, Purple Nightshade, Lemonade Berry, Chaparral Currant, Blue Eyed
Grass, Calif. Poppy, Calif. Goldenrod, Gumplant, Shooting Stars, Indian Pink
and Miner’s Lettuce. Across PCH, on the beach we observed Pink Sand
Verbena and Beach Evening Primrose.
(Richard & Agnes Thaler) |
|||
|
Rating: Good |
|||
|
Circle X Ranch |
Mishe Mokwa Trail |
Date: 3/14/08 |
|
|
|
The last couple of weeks have made a big difference in the number of
flowers in bloom, both in terms of variety as well as quantity. However, we
still do not have the numbers that this trail is capable of displaying. On
the other hand signs are that things will get quite a bit better soon. Some
species, like the chaparral current and bigpod ceanothus have already peaked
and are on their way out. Others, like the shooting star are very near their
peak. Most species are still on their way up the blooming curve. It is worth
noting that this area has a good number of different ferns, mosses, and
liverworts as well. The view from Sandstone Peak was quite good although not
as clear as it has been. Flowering highlights include large numbers of
shooting stars, popcorn flowers, lotus, a few woolly blue curls, evening
primroses, skullcap, quite a few blue dick, a few black sage, wooly lomatium,
ceanothus oliganthus, purple sage, California everlasting, California
saxifrage, wild cucumber, coast goldfields, Eastwood manzanita, wild
sunflowers, miner’s lettuce, eucrypta, fuchsia-flowered gooseberry,
blue larkspur, quite a bit of winter cress in wet areas, prickly phlox, and
California peony. The deep blue hairy ceanothus might be quite good very
soon. We saw quite a few rosettes of the chocolate lily but it will be a
while before they begin to bloom. As usual, there were sections with poison
oak near the edge of the trail especially in the damp and shady areas. It can
be easily avoided but it might be considered a hazard if you are not familiar
with it. All told, better than fifty different species in bloom. -ed |
|||
|
Rating: Fair |
|||
|
Lake Eleanor Open Space |
|
Date: 3/10/08 |
|
|
|
The Lake Eleanor Open Space Area is exploding
with wildflowers (in the hills
southeast of the intersection of Westlake Blvd. and Potrero Rd.). The bloom is
uneven and composed mostly of tiny flowers; but there are a lot of them --
such as angel's gilia, ground pink,
lace-pod, dobie-pod, goldfields,
goldentop, comb-bur, miner's lettuce, popcorn flower, slender phlox,
athysanus, shiny peppergrass, shooting stars (fading), tomcat clover,
small evening primrose, both collar and dove lupine, strigose
lotus, nest-straw, California plantain, fiddleneck, wild cucumber,
common bedstraw, blue dicks, and common groundsel. (Jay Sullivan) |
|||
|
Rating: Fair to Good
(depending on where you're standing) |
|||
|
Castro Crest Area |
Backbone Trail |
Date: 3/9/08 |
|
|
|
This hike was the sixth of the
2007-2008 Backbone Trail NPS Series. We will be hiking the entire Backbone
Trail, one part each month and reporting on the flowers when they are
plentiful enough to be of interest. This hike covered a distance of about 7
miles. The weather was clear and quite windy, although most of our time was
in canyons sheltered from the wind.
Backbone Trail sections Including one half mile west of Kanan Road
(starting from the overflow parking) crossing Kanan Road, crossing Latigo
Road and Latigo Motorway to Corral Canyon Road. We recorded seeing 49 species in
bloom, with a couple additional ones in question. The rains of a few weeks ago have made all
the difference in seeing vastly more flowers than in the past two years. Milkmaids, Wild Cucumber, and Red Stem
Filaree dominated the display. There were perhaps a few California
Everlasting and many Two-Tone Everlasting. In the way of trees; Coast Live
Oak, Mountain Mahogany, and Arroyo Willow. Among the shrubs were the Greenbark,
Big-Pod, and Hoary Ceanothus, the Mule Fat, Fuchsia-Flowered Gooseberry,
Coyote Brush, Black and Purple Sage, Eastwood Manzanita and a single Woolley
Blue Curl. Just west of Kanan Road we saw a small cluster of Blue Larkspur,
then the usual Spanish Broom that lines Kanan Road in this area. We noted
quite a lot of Indian Paintbrush, Blue Dick, and Chaparral Current in its
second bloom. There were scattered Lupine, Hummingbird Sage, Sunflower and
Canyon Sunflower, Wild Peony and a few spectacular Prickly Phlox. Among the
small flowers were Miner’s Lettuce, Birdfoot Trefoil, Wishbone Bush,
Eucrypta, Bur Clover, a single Rock Rose and a single Johnny-Jump-Up. The
Tree Poppy, California Buckwheat, Narrow Leave Bedstraw, and Woolly Lomatium
are making a start. As we reached the section that burned
two years ago, about the last quarter mile of our hike, Morning Glory has
taken over. We also saw Popcorn Flower along side its minute sibling and a
few small Red Maids, and finally our first Golden Yarrow for this
season. (Burt Elliot) |
|||
|
Rating: Fair |
|||
|
Castro Crest Area |
Backbone Trail |
Date: 3/8/08 |
|
|
|
Things are improving. We walked from Kanan to Castro. Great showings of peony and milk maids in particular.
Otherwise a complete listing follows: man-root, two-tone everlasting,
California everlasting, four o'clock, hoary-leafed ceanothus, big-pod
ceanothus, hairy-leafed ceanothus, coast live oak, mule fat, willow, milk
maids, miners lettuce, chaparral currant, fuchsia-flowered gooseberry, purple
larkspur, walnut, poison oak, purple nightshade, paint brush, crimson pitcher
sage canyon
sunflower, bush sunflower, tree poppy, slender sunflower, blue-eyed grass,
peony, purple sage, elderberry, California buckwheat, southern tauschia,
black sage, prickly phlox, blue dicks, mountain mahogany, big berry
manzanita, wooly lomatium, eucrypta, popcorn flower large-flowered, morning
glory, golden yarrow, small evening primrose. In full bud and could have burst open
by today: elder berry, California saxifrage, star lily, virgins bower. (Ralph Waycott) |
|||
|
Rating: NR |
|||
|
Cold Creek Preserve |
Stunt High Trail |
Date: 3/8/08 |
|
|
|
The winter rains are paying
dividends. This is a lovely hike at
any time of year but especially wonderful in spring. On my hike I saw more milkmaids in the
riparian section than I ever recall seeing.
Wild cucumber is abundant, carpeting the ground in many places. There is also popcorn flower, eucrypta,
miner's lettuce and sweet pea.
Climbing up from the riparian area there are purple nightshade, big
pod and greenbark ceanothus, blue dicks, canyon sunflower, bush poppy and
fuchsia flowering gooseberry. (Dorothy
Steinicke) |
|||
|
Rating: NR |
|||
|
|
|
|
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area 401 West
Hillcrest Drive 805-370-2301 |
If you
would like to contribute to the wildflower report: e-mail: or phone
Tony at 310-457-6408 |
|
|
|
