Page Revised: 4/30/10
Available Site Reviews Circle X Ranch Triunfo Canyon Park Malibu Creek State Park Castro Crest Zuma/Trancas Canyons Cheeseboro / Palo Comado	Date of Reviews 4/30 & 4/27 & 4/24 & 4/10 & 3/27 & 3/21 4/12 & 3/21. 4/24 & 4/10 & 3/25. 4/10. 3/27. 3/24.
Quick Links What's Blooming Now - Photo highlights of the current flower reports. Wildflowers of the Santa Monica Mountains - Photos of over 700 species. Archive - Previous “What's Blooming” reports. Outdoors - The Calendar of Events for the Santa Monica Mountains NRA.

The hiking I've done recently and verbal reports I’ve been getting suggests that our typical earliest and most dramatic spike in the bloom has already past. However, the later plants that follow the first explosion include some of my favorites and participate in the longer, broader peak of Mid Spring. While the absolute flower density may be a bit less than it was there is still a lot to see and in fact we often have more diversity as spring progresses. The good thing about Spring in the Santa Monica Mountains is that almost anywhere you go you can find something blooming. I recently noticed that a few of the annuals that were looking pretty sad have bounced back nicely after the recent rains. For others the drying out spell in mid-March was perhaps just a bit too long. And while I have not been receiving a lot of flower report submissions for this newsletter this year I want to point out that it has been and continues to be a very good year for wildflowers -- certainly the best we have seen in recent years.

I’ve made several changes to the layout of the Wildflower website lately and one of them is a new search called What’s Blooming Now. I will try to keep this up to date with the highlights of the flower sightings people have reported here. BTW, this list may include more flowers than are reported on below since I generally will include anything I’ve run across lately even if I felt it was not worth creating a full report about it.

As we saw last month the internet is not a perfect place. I was unable to publish any updates to this newsletter for quite a while because a technical difficulty prevented me from making any changes here. I was however, still able to get the word out by posting a downloadable copy of this newsletter at http://www.nps.gov/samo/naturescience/wildflowers.htm. In the future, if nothing seems to be going on here you might check that location too.

As always, if you want to contact me or submit a flower report my email address is at the at the bottom of this page. See you on the trails.

– ed.

Circle X Ranch		Mishe Mokwa to Split Rock	Date: 4/30
	We did a quick hike out to split rock today to check on a few things. On the way we made a quick flower list and came up with well over 70 species in bloom. Spring is progressing and we noticed several of the early spring flowers had gone completely into seed this time around. For example, we saw only one chocolate lily and all of the ceanothus is essentially done on this trail (although if you look hard you can still find a few faded hairy-leaved ceanothus blossoms here and there.) In compensation some of the later flowers like the clarkias and the star lily and Catalina mariposa lily are starting to come in strongly. As always, watch for hazards on the trail. Any of our trails could have poison oak on them and the rattle snakes are out. Flowering highlights include blue dick, golden yarrow, great looking black sage, purple nightshade, several native clovers, owl’s clover, chia, evening primroses, popcorn flower, woolly blue curls, bush and yellow monkey flowers, silver puffs, several of the little lotus (and their big cousin deerweed) a couple of different lupines, holly-leaved cherry, sugar bush, gold field, California chicory, eucrypta, twining snapdragon, several different clarkias, collarless California poppy, Parry’s phacelia and a couple of its cousins, both globe and angel’s gilias, Chinese houses, yellow pincushion, wild sweet pea, virgins bower, poison oak (yes, it flowers - very nicely in fact), blue larkspur (still only the early spring species on this trail although the later species has been blooming for weeks elsewhere) both red skinned and peninsular onions, yucca, morning glory, and the tiny little plectritic. Very Good. – ed.

Circle X Ranch		Triunfo Peak Backbone Trail	Date: 4/27
	The backbone Trail between the Triunfo Fire Tower access road and the Mishe Mokwa Trailhead. This trail is now several years old and no longer has as many of the disturbance loving flowers it did a few years back. It is still one of my favorites and presents some of the least hilly hiking to be found in this area. It has pretty good vistas although they do not compare to the nearby Sandstone Peak trail. There are really two very different flower experiences on this trail. The west end (starting at the Mishe Mokwa trailhead) is wetter and consequently more diverse. The East end dryer and more exposed with thus has different flowers than the west end. All told about eighty species were found in bloom, but that includes a pretty heavy weed burden in places. Flowering highlights include golden yarrow, a few hairy-leaved ceanothus, black sage, chamise, several different lotus, purple nightshade, evening primroses, a number of our native mustards, large-flowered phacelia, Parry’s phacelia, caterpillar phacelia, popcorn flower, twining snapdragon, chia, Catalina mariposa lily, blue dicks, morning glory, several different lupines including the dramatic bush lupine, fiddleneck, eucrypta, California chicory, silver puffs, bush monkey flower, yellow monkey flower, cliff aster, rock rose, blue-eyed grass, woolly blue curls, pygmy madia, canyon sunflower, hedge nettle, holly-leaved cherry, a couple of different clarkias, Chinese houses, red skinned and peninsula onion, both the early and later blooming blue larkspurs, sticky cinquefoil, gold fields, fiesta flower, and elderberry. Very Good.. – ed.

Circle X Ranch		Sandstone Peak Trail	Date: 4/24
	This trail is not noted as a flower trail but the vistas are second to none. If you want flowers you might check out the nearby Mishe Mokwa Trail between Yerba Buena and Split Rock. Flowering highlights include Eastwood manzanita, a few hairy-leaved ceanothus, prickly phlox, virgins bower, purple nightshade, a few California saxifrage holding on, a few different popcorn flowers, lace pod, turkey pea, the very dramatic bush lupine, a couple of persistent wild cucumbers, miners lettuce, eucrypta, golden yarrow, blue dick, great looking black sage, a couple of different lotus, and silver puffs. All told about 25 different species, about a third of what you might find on the nearby Mishe Mokwa trail and lower quantities too. The flower situation is pretty ho-hum given what you can find close by. – ed.

Malibu Creek State Park		Backbone Trail	Date: 4/24
	Today’s hike was the seventh leg of the 2010 Backbone Trail series sponsored by the National Park Service and the Santa Monica Mountains Trails Council.  We are hiking west to east covering one segment every two weeks. Always the BBT segment with the most blooming species, this year was no exception.  While we had hoped for an absurdly high number, we were more than satisfied with 103.  This was 2 better than the last leg and the most we expect to see as we continue our trek.  Our day began in a cold, cloudy and wet marine overcast at the summit near Saddle Peak.  Slowly and carefully we followed the cascading switchbacks as they coursed through stacks of boulders, oak/chaparral woodland, and grassland margined with coastal sage scrub before we found our way through the forested canyon floor back to the Malibu Canyon trail head. The ceanothus have been ablaze for months and this day was no exception with: hairy-leaved, big pod, white thorn, and green bark.  Black, purple, and chia sages joined several clovers trailside, as well as owl’s clover (actually in the paint brush family) which was our first sighting this year.  Intermixed were several varieties of popcorn, lupine, lotus and gilia species.  Overcast gave way to sunshine as we sampled: blue dicks, star lily, Catalina mariposa, fiesta, Chinese houses, silver puffs, gold star, blue eyed grass, skullcap, wall flower, baby blue eyes, white forget-me-not, yellow pincushion, willow-herbed clarkia, purple larkspur, winter cress, gold fields and pigmy madia. Next we inspect and bisect Topanga Canyon. – Ralph Waycott

Triunfo Canyon Park		Pentachaeta Trail	Date: 4/12
	White pincushion, prickly phlox, blue larkspur, globe lily, turkish rugging, mariposa lilies, fuchsia gooseberry, chamise, peony, fiddleneck, prostrate bedstraw, microseris, woolly blue curls, black sage, deerweed, california everlasting, purple nightshade, small popcornflower, chinese houses, goldfields, pineapple plant, california poppies, blue-eyed grass, miners lettuce, clack mustard. No pentachaetas yet. Very Good. – Fred Nuesca This trail is one I frequently send people to because it is close to town, is a relatively easy hike, and it seldom disappoints. It is also worth visiting when the Lyon’s pentachaeta starts to bloom. This little yellow daisy-like flower is cute but not spectacular. It is however, an example of a seriously endangered plant that is responding fairly well to efforts to keep it from going extinct. – ed.

Castro Crest and Malibu Creek State Park		Backbone Trail	Date: 4/10
	Today’s hike was the sixth leg of the 2010 Backbone Trail series sponsored by the National Park Service and the Santa Monica Mountains Trails Council.  We are hiking west to east covering one segment every two weeks. We enjoyed 101 native species in bloom on a perfect spring day while walking between Latigo and Malibu Canyons.  The initial protected riparian environment of Latigo gives way to Solstice’s perched valley, the Eocene spine of Mesa Peak motorway, and finally the ribbon-like decent into Malibu Canyon. Any other year we would be excited if we saw only a few examples of the species that we are taking for granted this year.  The mixing of species makes for enjoyable haphazard bouquets, yet we also have the opportunity to compare almost all species within certain genera.  The contrasting varieties of phacelia, manzanita, sage, ceanothus, clover, poppy, cherry, snapdragon, oak, red berry, paint brush, and many others will hopefully reside in our databanks for easy recall next year.  However, some of the less common and showy flowers are the thrill of a decade.  To name a few that wowed us: Chinese houses, blue larkspur, woodland star, milkmaid, johnny jump-up, blue eyed grass, blue dick, star lily, chocolate lily, red skinned onion, winter cress, silver lotus, small-flowered dwarf-flax, summer holly, and baby blue eyes. – Ralph Waycott

Circle X Ranch		Mishe Mokwa to Split Rock	Date: 4/10
	This Ranger guided hike was specifically billed as a wild flower hike. The plan was to take our time to examine anything and everything that was blooming. The section of the Mishe Mokwa Trail from the road out to Split Rock is perfect for this. It passes through a number of different ecosystems and so it offers a good cross-section of what is available in the Park at the higher elevations. Most of us won’t miss a lily or a larkspur when it is blooming. The big advantage of going with a ranger is that their experience can help you expand your vision of flowers. We took the time to look at many of the small flowers that are frequently overlooked by the casual flower enthusiast. Even with the dry spell we had in March we still manage to see close to eighty different flowers in bloom. That large number is a reminder that even if the drama of early spring is over the flowering season as a whole is still very much alive. Before I list the flowering highlights we encountered I want to mention that many of these were well represented by numerous individuals. Highlights included black sage with wonderfully dense blossoms, woolly blue curls, blue dicks, several different lotus, several different popcorn flowers (spanning three genera,) three different monkey flowers, a couple different evening primroses, golden yarrow, several of the small cottony members of the sunflower family, several different members of the celery family with their small umbelliferous flowers, several trees and shrubs with their small green flowers, star lily, eucrypta, purple nightshade, miner’s lettuce, Parry’s phacelia and mountain phacelia (among others,) A couple of different lupines, the delightful twining snapdragon, collarless California poppy, sense stands of couple of different gilias, a few early Chinese houses, skullcap, yellow pincushion, several of the deep blue hairy-leaved ceanothus (but mostly done now) sunflowers, holly-leaved cherry, both coast and southern goldfields, owl’s clover, a few early clarkias, blue larkspur, one Catalina mariposa lily, and even a few chaparral current still holding on. I would rate this hike as very good. – ed.

Zuma/Trancas Canyons		Backbone Trail	Date: 3/27
	Today’s hike was the fifth leg of the 2010 Backbone Trail series sponsored by the National Park Service and the Santa Monica Mountains Trails Council. We are hiking west to east every two weeks. The weather was unusually warm, dry and windy for springtime. Thanks to several riparian crossings in Trancas, Zuma and Newton canyons; and associated north slope traverses the temperature and winds weren’t a factor. We began on Encinal Canyon Road in the headwaters of Trancas Canyon, and reached destination at the trailhead on Latigo Canyon Road. 72 blooming native species were observed. If your don’t lift your gaze you would have missed virgin’s bower draped on: billowy big pod, green bark, and hoary-leafed Ceanothus; mountain mahogany, elderberry, holly-leafed red berry, walnut, ash, bay and tree poppy. While smack in your face and dripping with wild cucumber were: sticky and common monkey flowers, fuchsia flowering gooseberry, purple nightshade, fig wort, mustard and small evening primroses, canyon and slender sunflowers, wooly blue-curls, deer weed, meadow rue, and prickly phlox. Finally, if one didn’t watch their feet they might have stepped on: Coulter’s, truncated, arroyo, dove and bush lupines; California plantain, popcorn, blue-eyed grass, collared and collarless poppies, morning glory, blue dicks, miner’s lettuce, milk maids, caterpillar and Parry’s phacelia, wishbone, whispering bells, chia, twining snap dragon, skull caps, star lily, fiddle neck, globe gilia, fiesta flower, golden yarrow, Indian warrior, hummingbird sage, coast lotus, paint brush, and slender wooly marbles. We’re looking forward to our next walk through upper Solstice Canyon and down the north slope of Malibu Canyon. – Ralph Waycott

Circle X Ranch		Mishe Mokwa to Sandstone Loop	Date: 3/27
	As we predicted in the last What's Blooming report we saw some of our favorite flowers on this NPS sponsored "Hike with a Ranger" event. Several people on the hike had not seen a chocolate lily before. I must admit I love introducing it to people for the first time. We also saw plenty of shooting stars but they are clearly ramping down now. The open field previously filled with thousands was down to a good scattering of individuals hiding in the shade along its north edge. The deep blue hairy-leaved ceanothus are still doing well but some are beginning to drop their flowers. The ground looked like it had a sprinkling of blue snow in places. Another plant we talked about on the hike was poison oak. The trail is actually in quite good condition so don't be put off by this plant. Now is the time to look for its dainty white flowers. See if you can tell if the plant is male or female. Like other members of the sumac family poison oak comes in two forms. Flowering highlights include blue dicks, black sage, Chia, wooly blue curls, small evening primrose, mustard evening primrose, Parry's phacelia, caterpillar phacelia, collarless California poppy, yellow cress, twining snapdragon, several different lotus including the more uncommon Chile lotus, a few bigpod ceanothus, hairy-leaved ceanothus, hoary-leaved ceanothus, about five different lupines, quite a lot of virgin's bower, several different plants in the celery family with their small yellow umbelliferous flowers, purple nightshade, miners lettuce, some holly leaved cherry, the bright pink prickly phlox, Eastwood manzanita looking quite nice, a few bigberry manzanita, lace pod, California saxifrage, skullcap, blue larkspur, several different popcorn flowers spanning three genera, coast gold fields, a few chaparral current still looking nice on the backside of the trail, golden yarrow, globe gilia and angels gilia. All told we counted over seventy species in bloom. BTW, if you missed this hike you get another chance to Hike With a Ranger on Saturday April 10^th. – ed.

Malibu Creek State Park		Deer Leg Trail to Crags Road	Date: 3/25
	At Regan Ranch I saw over 40 different flowers including "all the usual suspects" but of note there was a ton of Spreading Larkspur on the Deer Leg trail as well as the first Chinese Houses' I've seen this spring. The Crag's Trail running between Malibu Creek State Park & the Regan Ranch has Western Wallflower blooming as well as a pure white Solanum xanti intermixed with the common purple color. – Sarah Dickey

Cheeseboro / Palo Comado		Palo Comado Canyon Trail	Date: 3/24
	We did a very quick look at the Palo Comado Canyon Trail on our way to another location. I did not have time to make a flowering list but we saw many of the same flowers that are doing well elsewhere. Much of this burned in 2005 and these burn sections are still have a different mix of plants several years after the burn. This is a somewhat dryer section of the park so things are not as lush as at some of the lower elevations. Even so, once you get north of the grassy fields in the lower valley things start to look pretty good. As always with this section of the park you have to hike or bike in quite a way from a trailhead to get to where things start looking like something other than huge oak meadows full of non-native grasses and mustard. I have had good luck with the Sheep Corral Trail in the past although I did not have time to sample it this time. It might be worth the hike if you haven’t been there before, but be prepared for a significant hiking effort including some good sized hills. – ed.

Circle X Ranch		Mishe Mokwa to Sandstone Loop	Date: 3/21
	Over 60 species were sighted on this spectacular 6-mile hike, with many just beginning to bloom, a number in peak, and a few trailing off. The most prominent of the profuse was Ceanothus oliganthus, the dark blue one (or “hairy-leaved”). It was first sighted along Little Sycamore Canyon Road, and large patches were seen along the entire trail (interspersed with 3 other Ceanothus: greenbark, big pod, and hoary-leaved). 2nd place honors went to a few large, rocky patches of shooting stars – with many species in 3rd place, including chocolate lilies, skull cap, blue larkspur, chia, wooly blue curls, small-flowered primrose, virgin’s bower, turkey pea, winter cress, California saxifrage, bajada lupine, and prickly phlox. The day’s bloom rates a “Good,” and if no rain materializes, look for a “Very Good” peak (or better) during the next few weeks. – Jack Gillooly

Triunfo Canyon Park		Pentachaeta Trail	Date: 3/21
	The Pentachaeta Trail was beginning to peak. Many flowers that were reported earlier were still blooming. The main event: the chocolate lilies were in abundance. Additionally, there was Wild Peony, Wishbone Bush, Parry's Phacelia, Dove Lupine, Purple and White Chinese Houses, Fiddleneck, Caterpillar Phacelia, Chia, Yellow Yarrow, Milk Maids and Silver Puffs. Rating Very Good, close to Excellent. – Kathy Jonokuchi

Contact Information: Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area 401 West Hillcrest Drive Thousand Oaks, CA 91360 805-370-2301 www.nps.gov/samo	If you would like to contribute to the wildflower report: e-mail: Tony_Valois@partner.nps.gov or phone Tony at 310-457-6408
What’s Blooming on the web at www.researchlearningcenter.com/bloom or go to www.nps.gov/samo and click on “What’s Blooming”