|
Page Revised: 4/21/06 |
|
|
Available Sites Cheeseboro/Palo Comado Cyns |
Date of Review 4/20/06. |
|
What's Blooming photo gallery: www.nps.gov/samo/bloom/bloom.htm |
|
|
Circle X Ranch |
Canyon View Trail |
Date: 4/21/06 |
|
|
|
Still very few flowers making an appearance.
Actually, the species count is up to a respectable seventy five species, but
many are having such a light turnout that it would be easy to miss the few
small individuals in bloom. Now that the ceanothus have mostly finishing up
it is harder to be generous in rating this trail, but on the other hand the
trail is in good condition, is very lush and green, and is a pleasure to
hike. Highlights include black sage, windmill pink, rock rose, chia, yellow
pincushion, chinese houses, Parry’s phacelia, red-skinned onion,
deerweed, California buckwheat, popcorn flower, wild cucumber, both white and
purple nightshade, blue larkspur, wishbone bush, common fiddleneck, mustard
evening primrose, wooly blue curls, water speedwell, collarless California
poppy, globe gilia, California saxifrage, miners lettuce, annual paintbrush,
golden yarrow, bush and creek and yellow monkey flowers, canyon sunflower,
wild morning glory, blue dicks, virgin’s bower, a couple of early
elegant clarkia, and a few California blackberry. (TV). |
|||
|
Naturalist's rating: Fair |
|||
|
Cheeseboro & Palo Comado Canyons |
Various north-end trails |
Date: 4/20/06 |
|
|
|
Trails examined included the Albertson
Motorway, Palo Comado Canyon Trail, Sheep Corral Trail, Cheeseboro Ridge
Trail and Cheeseboro Canyon Trail. Much of the lower section of this unit is
literally choked with non-native grasses and weeds but if you get up to the
Northern end you are rewarded with some very nice wildflower displays. Some
sections of some of the trails are quite good right now, even very good, but
overall the quality of the flower display was quite variable from place to
place. Be aware that much of this unit was burned in last fall's fires and
has not been fully reopened for visitor use. Be sure to read all posted signs
to avoid entering closed areas. Some of the burned areas are especially
fragile right now. The lower end of the Palo Comado
Trail and Cheeseboro Canyon Trail and most of the Cheeseboro Ridge Trail were
quite disappointing, but as these trails reach their Northern ends we begin
to see good numbers of several different species of wildflowers. The vicinity
of the intersection of Sheep Corral Trail and Palo Comado Trails was quite
good at least until we dropped back down into the depths of the burn. It is
interesting to see how some of the burned areas are coming back primarily as
non-native weeds, but in other areas the native wildflowers are holding their
own. My own curiosity will certainly keep me watching the burned areas as
Spring progresses. Similarly, sections of the Albertson Motorway vary
considerably, but none as bad as the weed choked lower end of the unit.
Highlights include succulent lupine, paintbrush, purple nightshade, blue
dick, prickly phlox, mustard evening primrose, popcorn flower, bush monkey
flower, yellow monkey flower, black sage, chia, sunflowers, caterpillar
phacelia, Parry's phacelia, several different lupines, wild morning glory,
datura, wishbone bush, a lot of both white and yellow pincushions, several
different lotus, white and twining snapdragons, eucrypta, several different gilias, sections quite dense with star lily, golden
yarrow, blue toadflax, fire poppies, several different pinks, fiesta flower,
long-beaked filaree, and skullcap. All told over ninety different species in
bloom. (TV) |
|||
|
Naturalist's rating: Poor to Very Good |
|||
|
Circle X Ranch |
Mishe Mokwa Loop Trail |
Date: 4/16/06 |
|
|
|
The trail was still quite wet from the
recent rains but overall in very good condition. As the weather continues to
warm up we are beginning to see a larger variety of flowers, but so far still
mostly light turnouts of most species, the notable exception being the
several species of ceanothus which have all had a banner year. The
hoary-leaved ceanothus is well past its peak now but the beautiful
hairy-leaved ceanothus is only a bit past its peak and still showing very
dense displays of blossoms. Similarly, the dramatic prickly phlox is past its
prime but still plentiful. Other highlights include California buckwheat,
wild sweet pea, coast gold fields, fuchsia-flowered gooseberry, yellow cress,
popcorn flower, morning glory, wild cucumber, golden yarrow, Eastwood
manzanita, a few late shooting stars, chia, California collarless poppy,
purple nightshade, mustard evening primrose, small evening primrose, gilia,
yellow pincushion, skullcap, blue dicks eucrypta, virgin’s bower,
Parry’s phacelia, mountain phacelia, miner's lettuce, a few holdout
California peony, California saxifrage, a few different lupines, bush monkey
flower, woolly blue curls, chaparral current, and blue larkspur. All told
about seventy different species in bloom
(TV) |
|||
|
Naturalist's rating: Fair |
|||
|
Castro Crest region |
Backbone Trail |
Date: 4/13/06 |
|
|
|
On 4/13/06 we hiked the Backbone
Trail in the Castro Crest region and identified 75 species of flora in bloom,
including the grasses and trees. The trail was in good shape along the entire
route and the area that burned last fall is starting to recover with lots of
chamise sprouting from the old crowns. There were an equal number of
yellowish blooms as there were of the whitish, namely 22 each. The whites included Calif buckwheat,
chamise, popcorn flower, miner's lettuce, big pod ceanothus, bristly jewel
flower and bedstraw. There were a few milkmaids as well as Burt's bur
chervil, eucrypta, Mountain mahogany, Eastwood manzanita, and virgin's bower.
Less commonly seen were white hyacinth and Calif saxifrage. Wild blackberry,
windmill pink, wild cucumber, two-tone everlasting, Calif. everlasting,
morning glory and cliff aster were also identified. Amongst the yellow blooms were hedge
mustard, deerweed, golden yarrow, bush sunflower, prickly sow thistle and
blow wives. Also present were snake root, London rocket, miniature evening
primrose, western yellow cress and bur clover. Other blooms were American
winter cress, Johnny jump-up, canyon sunflower, poison oak, pineapple weed,
telegraph weed, bush monkey flower, Southern tauschia, large flowered lotus,
bush poppy and Chile lotus. Amongst the purplish and blue flowers
were red stem filaree, black sage, greenbark ceanothus, purple night shade, wooly blue curls, dove
lupine, blue-eyed grass, collared lupine wishbone bush, Parry's phacelia,
fern leaf phacelia and fiesta flower. Pinkish and red were represented by
Calif. peony, scarlet pimpernel, redmaids,
scarlet pitcher sage, chaparral
current, fuchsia flowered gooseberry, and prickly phlox. Also seen were sugar
bush, wild sweet pea, Indian pink and wooly paint brush. Other sightings were foxtail barley,
Madrid brome, wild oats, golden top, slender oats and red brome. Both scrub
oak and coast live oak were in bloom. Several fungi were spotted including a
large 5 inch diameter mushroom, a 3.5 inch diameter inverted top toadstool
and numerous smaller toadstools. A rating of very good is awarded for
the quantity and quality of blooms on this hike. (RWM) |
|||
|
Naturalist's rating: Very Good |
|||
|
Rocky Oaks |
Various trails |
Date: 4/9/06 |
|
|
|
Our unseasonably cool weather has delayed
the wildflower blooms here, but now things look promising. Most of the trails
to the eastern edge of the site are still very wet and muddy and will keep
you from exploring the meadow. In the areas surrounding the meadow you can
see the beginnings of bloom: popcorn flowers, cryptantha, filaree and
long-billed filaree, as well as lots of funnel-web spider webs and mushrooms.
North of the pond area are small lupines. South of the pond the trail
continues into drier chaparral vegetation and views start to improve. Firedot, candleflame and
speckled greenshield lichens are clearly visible on
black sage, chamise and other shrubs and you’ll find California
buckwheat, lots of California everlasting and then patches of California
poppies. As you continue west, blooms improve. The most impressive are the
several types of ceanothus in bloom, especially the blue violet one,
ceanothus oliganthus. You can also see Carolina geraniums, golden violets,
more small blue lupines and some mountain mahogany, just starting to bloom
before that trail ends at the far western edge of the park. (SB) |
|||
|
Naturalist's rating: Fair to Good |
|||
|
Malibu Canyon State
Park |
Backbone Trail between Corral Trailhead
and Tapia Park |
Date: 4/8/06 |
|
|
|
This hike was section number six of
the National Park Service's annual Backbone Trail hike. This section starts
at the Corral Canyon trailhead and runs along the Mesa Peak Fire road then
down to Tapia Park on Malibu Canyon Rd. A good portion of this hike is along
the ridgeline offering some excellent vistas of both the ocean and the
valley. Flower density is still low for this time of year which is somewhat
offset by great displays of ceanothus, producing only a fair showing. All
told about fifty species in bloom. Highlights include Greenbark ceanothus,
prickly phlox, purple nightshade, Eastwood manzanita, manroot,
sunflowers, Parry's phacelia, fiesta flower, virgins bower, a few different
lupines, paintbrush, Indian pink, California blackberry, oxalis albicans, and, perhaps the most important, summer
holly. (RW) |
|||
|
Naturalist's rating: Fair |
|||
|
Circle X Ranch |
Grotto Trail |
Date: 4/7/06 |
|
|
|
the flower situation looks similar to
the last report for the Grotto Trail: except for a few species the quantity
of individuals remain low. The species count is up but many in the count are
represented by just one plant in bloom. The recent rains have left the trail
muddy in places, although it should be fine by the time you read this. There
is a lot of water in the creek, enough to make the creek crossings a bit of a
challenge and the waterfalls worth looking at. In the evenings there is a lot
of frog song mixed in with the sound of the rushing water. This trail is
excellent for another of our blue ceanothus, the greenbark ceanothus. It is a
much paler blue than the darker hairy-leaved ceanothus found up on the
Sandstone Peak and Mishe Mokwa trails. Other flower highlights include good
quantities of purple nightshade, a single white nightshade, several morning
glories, everlasting, canyon sunflower, some chinese houses, blue larkspur, a
few fiesta flowers, miner's lettuce, popcorn flower, a little blue eyed
grass, some bush monkey flower, a few blue dicks, one star lily, a few
scraggly wishbone bushes, a fuchsia flowered gooseberry, and wild
cucumber. (TV) |
|||
|
Naturalist's rating: Fair |
|||
|
Point Mugu State Park |
La Jolla Canyon Trail |
Date: 4/6/06 |
|
|
|
On 4/06/06 we hiked up the La Jolla
Canyon Trail and connected with the Loop Trail westerly. Our objective was to
find the Creeping buttercups that had been washed out from last years rains.
We found several plants, but none were blooming. Including the grasses and
trees we found 48 species in bloom. The dominant color was yellow which
included hedge mustard, giant coreopsis, bush sunflower, deerweed, telegraph
weed and bush monkey flower. Also found were sour clover, golden yarrow, bur
clover and tree tobacco. Slender bedstraw, canyon sunflower, western
wallflower, snake root, Santa Barbara locoweed and prickly sow thistle
concludes the yellowish group. Second most common were the whitish
group which included morning glory, Calif. everlasting, horehound, poison oak, and mule fat.
Two-tone everlasting, Calif. buckwheat, cliff aster, bigpod ceanothus, wild
blackberry, eucrypta, and popcorn flower rounds out this group. In the purple/blue category we found
black sage, redstem filaree, purple night shade,
rigid hedge nettle, greenbark ceanothus, blue dick, blue-eyed grass, and
wishbone bush. Red/pink was represented by coast paint brush, wild sweetpea,
and scarlet pimpernel. Other sightings were rip-gut brome,
red brome, Calif. walnut, slender oats, golden top, arroyo willow and wild
oats. There was plenty of water flowing in
the creeks and at least three waterfalls were on display. The trail was in
good condition with only a couple of muddy sections. The ticks seem to be as
plentiful as they were last year, so don't spare the deet. (RWM) |
|||
|
Naturalist's rating: Fair |
|||
|
Circle X Ranch |
Sandstone Peak Trail |
Date: 3/31/06 |
|
|
|
At the lower elevations near the trailhead
things look similar to a few weeks ago: few flowers, both in term of species
count and quantity of individuals. However, moving up to higher elevations we
begin to encounter large numbers of very heavily laden hairy-leaved ceanothus
and a good number of prickly phlox. The deep blue and hot pink of these two
flowers provide the perfect counterpoint. There was one short section of the
trail which also included an abundance of the white blossoms of the
hoary-leaved ceanothus that struck me as being as beautiful as any wildflower
display I have ever seen. It wasn't just the unusually heavy blossom load,
but rather the whole aspect taken together. It felt almost as if a skilled
artist had arranged the dramatic colors to produce a work of art. Last year was
a banner year for flowers in general, but only average for the ceanothus.
This year the ceanothus have been spectacular and worth a hike in their own
right (perhaps some compensation for the otherwise poor flower showing
we’ve had so far this year.)
Other notable sightings included purple nightshade, several black sage
bushes beginning to bloom, golden yarrow, and good numbers of another
favorite, the Eastwood manzanita, near the top of the trail. Don't forget to
look for the smaller flowers like the delicate California saxifrage along the
talus slopes just below the highpoint of the ascending trail. A few weeks ago
it looked like the wild cucumbers were beginning to dry up but they are in
full bloom again, thanks perhaps to the recent rains. There are still some
shooting stars about and even a few chaparral currents. So don't let the
rather poor flower condition near the bottom of the trail stop you, its much
better farther up out of sight. So how to rate this trail? It
doesn’t seem quite fair to rate it too high based on the presence of
just a few of really stand-out species, but then, flower watching has always
been a rather subjective sport. If you love the “California
Lilac” as much as I do, then perhaps even “Excellent” is
justified. However, cooler heads would point out that on the basis of the
variety of flowers in bloom this is still a rather poor showing. You’ll
have to decide for yourself. (TV) |
|||
|
Naturalist's rating: Fair to Very Good |
|||
|
Topanga State Park |
Los Liones Trail |
Date: 3/30/06 |
|
|
|
Trailhead at the end of Los Liones
St. off Sunset Blvd., just in from PCH. This trail is just starting to come
into bloom. Elderberry flowers, deerweed
and California everlasting are visible from the trailhead. Hiking a little ways brings you to canyon
sunflower, morning glory, purple and white nightshade, wild cucumber, sticky
monkey flower, bush sunflower and cliff aster. This is a trail that is known for
phacelia. Not much yet but we did see
some parry's and big flower phacelia..
(DS) |
|||
|
Naturalist's rating: Fair |
|||
|
Malibu Creek State Park |
Reagan Meadows |
Date: 3/23/06 |
|
|
|
This is a lovely hike and one where
you are not likely to encounter many other people. Park in the gravel lot at the southeast
corner of Mulholland and Cornell and walk up the paved driveway to the park buildings. Beyond the buildings the trail is obvious. Soon the trail forks and you can choose the
left and the meadow first or right and the woods, you can loop back the other
way. Either choice is perfumed with
the scent of ceanothus. I took the
meadow trail first. There are brambles
of golden current and little yellow violets peeping out at the edge of the
trail. There is common fiddleneck,
miner's lettuce, chaparral current, and, of course the ceanothus. Curving uphill to the right at the end of
the meadow you can return through the woods.
Here you find western wallflower, baby blue eyes, fiesta flower,
larkspur and Chinese houses. (DS) |
|||
|
Naturalist's rating: Fair |
|||
|
Topanga State Park |
Dead Horse & Musch trails |
Date: 3/22/06 |
|
|
|
Dead Horse Trail to Musch trail and
return to Dead Horse on the fire road. The recent rains are paying off in
flowers. Things are really starting to
bloom. The Dead Horse Trail is
riparian at the beginning and then goes to chaparral. In the riparian area there is blooming
chamise, greenbark ceanothus, canyon sunflower, hummingbird sage and
manzanita. Above the footbridge there
are several dozen peonies in bloom, they must have waited for the rain. In the chaparral area there are fuchsia
flowering gooseberry and vervain. In
the meadow before the trail meets the Musch Trail there are buttercups and
blue eyed grass. Going up the Musch
Trail there is sticky monkey flower, purple nightshade, California buckwheat,
California everlasting, wild morning glory and golden yarrow. The most notable plant in bloom is notable
penstemon which is just gorgeous and there is quite a bit of it. There are also some lovely tree poppies. Coming down the fire road to the Trippet
Ranch parking lot there are still some prickly phlox hanging on. (DS) |
|||
|
Naturalist's rating: Good |
|||
|
Cold Creek Preserve |
Stunt High Trail |
Date: 3/16/06 |
|
|
|
This canyon is a wonderful hike in
any season but especially nice in the spring.
The creek is full of water and the deep shade of the canyon bottom is
refreshing. Right at the trail head is
some mustard evening primrose. There
are a lot of deep blue ceanothus throughout the canyon. By the creek there are purple nightshade,
California everlasting, wild cucumbers, miner's lettuce, milkmaids and
fuchsia flowering gooseberry. There
are bunches of baby blue eyes in every sunlit patch. Going up the hill into the meadow
there are golden yarrow, lupine, popcorn flower, common fiddleneck, sweet
peas, fiesta flowers, blue dicks and blue eyed grass. Continuing into the chaparral there
is Eastwood manzanita and the beautiful flowering ash trees dripping with
creamy yellow blossoms. (DS) |
|||
|
Naturalist's rating: Fair |
|||
|
|
||
|
Santa
Monica Mountains National Recreation Area 401 West
Hillcrest Drive 805-370-2301 |
Thank
you for your
contributions: Burt Elliot Ralph Waycott |
If you
would like to contribute to the wildflower report: e-mail: or phone
Tony at 310-457-6408 |
|
|
||
