Page Revised: 5/21/10
Available Site Reviews Castro Crest Circle X Ranch Triunfo Canyon Park Malibu Creek State Park	Date of Reviews 5/21 & 4/10. 4/30 & 4/27 & 4/24 & 4/10. 4/12. 4/24 & 4/10.
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I’ve done some casual looking around but few long hikes in the last few weeks. The flower displays continue to remain excellent in many places although we have definitely moved into the ‘Late Spring’ flowers in most locations. Some of the roadways have quite dramatic flowers displays that can be seen from your car window. Westlake Road going up into the hills from Westlake in particular comes to mind. 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. No doubt the cooler weather and fairly regular showers can be thanked for that.

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.

Castro Crest		Backbone Trail	Date: 5/21
	We did a quick hike on the backbone trail going west starting at the Corral Canyon trailhead. We did not go all the way to Latigo Road but turned back once the trail started rising up out of the woodland and into the chaparral. One of the things I like about this hike is that the first part goes through a recent burn so over the last few years I’ve been able to watch the plants recover from that burn. Most of the early herbaceous fire-followers have given way to taller shrubs and plants. The area is still very low and lush and has many plants that flower profusely. The chamise is beginning to flower well and it contrasts nicely with the masses of yellows from the deerweed, sunflowers, yarrow and monkey flowers. As the trail drops down lower we get into older and taller growth that provides shelter for a wide variety of flowering plants. I was in a hurry so did not do a species count but it would have been quite respectable. Flowering highlights included wild morning glory, black sage still looking better than the best of most years, buckwheat blooming profusely, bush mallow, bush poppy, slender sunflower, a wonderful display of wooly blue curls, caterpillar phacelia, some California chicory, purple nightshade, popcorn flower, yucca, rock rose (not counting the big cultivar escapee up at the parking lot) red skinned onion, blue larkspur (i.e., the later one,) many scarlet pimpernel, sticky cinquefoil, dove lupine, Spanish clover, the tiny pygmy madia, meadow rue, angels gilia, globe gilia, very healthy looking hummingbird sage, scarlet bugler, mountain dandelion, Indian pink, California blackberry, Chinese houses, blue-eyed grass, fairy lantern, fiesta flower, sapphire wool stars, skullcap, and the California wild rose. Very Good. – ed.

Saddle Peak eastward		Backbone Trail	Date: 5/15
	Today’s hike was the eighth 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. With just one hike in the series remaining after this one, we looked forward to entering Topanga State Park. Our day began in bright sunshine at the summit near Saddle Peak with low clouds enshrouding the coastal slopes below. We followed the Fossil Ridge Trail to the east and examined many pectin (clam) shell impressions in the basal portion of the Miocene age Topanga Formation. Crossing chaparral/oak woodland before descending into a glorious Hondo Canyon and a Bay Tree Woodland. Down and down we switch backed through fern covered slopes before entering Topanga Meadows and an open grassland. Crossing Old Topanga Canyon, climbing over a ridge and down again to Topanga Canyon brought us to Dead Horse Trail and ultimately back to Trippet Ranch. We counted over 78 flowering plants with some highlights including: several clarkia (elegant, farewell-to-spring, purple, and willow herb), oyster plant, star lilly, wild rose, large flowered phacelia, and Catalina mariposa lily. The most amazing discoveries were two very unexpected fire poppies and three color variations of elegant clarkia (white, purple, and salmon). The next hike culminates in our annual celebration at Will Rodgers State Historic Park. – Greg Sweel, Lyne Sosa, Bob Ableson, John Millrany, Julie Berger.

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.

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”