Page Revised: 7/4/09

 

Available Site Reviews

Circle X Ranch

Paramount Ranch

Solstice Canyon

Topanga State Park

Malibu Creek State Park

Backbone Trail

Nicholas Flat

Date of Reviews

7/4 & 6/27 & 5/31 & 5/23.

7/2 & 6/3.

6/26.

6/16 & 6/14 & 6/13 & 6/2 & 5/21 & 5/20.

5/29.

5/16.

5/15.

 

What's Blooming photo gallery: http://www.researchlearningcenter.com/bloom/bloom.htm
What's Blooming archive:
http://www.researchlearningcenter.com/bloom/archive/index.htm
Calendar of Events:
http://www.nps.gov/samo/planyourvisit/outdooractivities.htm

 

        We are beginning to slip out of Late Spring and into Early Summer, but as the flower reports recently submitted show there is still much to be seen for the dedicated flower enthusiast. If you want to try and find the “holdouts” from earlier in the spring try the north slopes and shaded valleys with persistent water. Let me know what you find and I’ll pass it on to our readers here.  Flower reports submitted later in the year can be quite helpful once people find less to look at on their favorite trail.

        By the way, the LA chapter of CNPS will be having a presentation on finding flowers during the summer on July 14th. You may want to mark your calendar.

– ed.

 


 

 

Circle X Ranch

Triunfo Back Bone trail

           Date: 7/4

 

 

        We hiked up Yerba Buena Road from the little visitor contact station at mile 5.3 to the upper Canyon View trailhead just opposite the Sandstone Peak parking lot.  We did this before 7:00 am so we encountered not even one car in the 20 minutes we were along the road.  I don't think I'd normally recommend hiking along Yerba Buena during the day on a weekend but doing it that early in the day it was quite peaceful.  We then walked back down to the contact station on the trails. There were a few really nice flowers on the hike, notably the rare Plummer's Mariposa Lily and the Scarlet Larkspur.  Several of the flowers listed below are in or near the mostly dried up creek bed above the Canyon View connector trail.  Be careful of the delicate habitat near the creek if you leave the trail (which is generally not a good idea.)  All told we saw over forty flowers in bloom but that number includes “weeds” and nothing was plentiful. Highlights included wild morning glory, California buckwheat, scarlet larkspur, yucca, laurel sumac, bush sunflower, redshank, twiggy wreath plant, narrow-leaved cattail, narrow-leaved milkweed, white hedge nettle, golden yarrow, chalk dudleya, annual paintbrush, creek monkey flower, willow herb, California fuchsia, mugwort, perezia, woolly blue curls looking mostly fried, white sage, black sage, and slender tarweed.  Rating: Fair.

– ed.

 

Paramount Ranch

Hacienda/Backdrop/Bwana Trails Loop

           Date: 7/2

 

 

        I made another trip to Paramount Ranch a month after my last one.  Many fewer flowers in bloom.  Narrow leaf milkweed, cudweed aster and scarlet larkspur are the only blooms I didn't see a month ago.  There is still plenty of slender tarweed, California buckwheat and cliff aster.  The foothill penstemon, Indian pinks, twiggy wreath plant and black sage are still hanging in there.  There is some lovely chalk live forever growing in a hillside drainage and there is some spectacular white sage in bloom. 

– Dorothy Steinicke

 

Circle X Ranch

Triunfo Back Bone trail

           Date: 6/27

 

 

        We began at the big chain on Yerba Buena and only hiked out to the north-west edge of this trail.  Most of the section east of this is pretty barren during the summer although it offers some marvelous views of the canyon to the south.  Things have dried out so we are seeing mostly low numbers of late spring and early summer flowers. Some leftovers from earlier in the spring which will, no doubt, disappear fast. We counted only a little over twenty species in bloom including weedy things I won't bother to mention. Flowering highlights included:

        bush monkey flower, golden yarrow looking pretty sad, quite a few cliff aster, black sage, a few farewell-to-Spring, California buckwheat, California everlasting, a couple blue larkspur, heart-leaved penstemon, branching phacelia, caterpillar phacelia, canyon sunflower, tarweed, hedge nettle, pitcher sage, California mustard, purple sage, a couple of popcorn flowers well out of season.  Rating: Fair.

– ed.

 

Solstice Canyon

Solstice Canyon Trail

           Date: 6/26

 

 

        It is always refreshing to visit a shady canyon with reliable water once things have dried out elsewhere. Solstice canyon is a good example of this. Quite a few flowers still blooming here that have dried up elsewhere. We sometime forget that California's short blooming season is not so much a function of the plants that live here as the weather. Many of our wildflowers would be more than happy to bloom for months on end if the our dry hot summers didn't put an abrupt stop to that. But down here where there is shade and water they can be found blooming late into the summer, much as they would be doing in the lusher, more hospitable eastern portion of the country. As we walked along the creek on the Solstice Canyon Trail we counted almost sixty species in bloom although that included the huge burden of weeds this canyon supports due to it's long history of human habitation. Many of these flowers bloom quite close to the creek (where there is water!)  In general it is not a good idea to leave the trails to look at wildflowers, especially in fragile habitats like those near a creek. I borrow a trick from our friends the birders and respect these delicate habitats by using binoculars to bringing the flowers up close and intimate (it also greatly minimizes my exposure to hazards like poison oak, ticks, and annoying foxtails by staying on the trail.)  Flowering highlights include bush sunflower, canyon sunflower, mugwort, white nightshade, purple nightshade, willow herb, cliff aster, branching phacelia, caterpillar phacelia, California buckwheat, California everlasting, purple sage, black sage, bush monkey flower, slimy monkey flower, scarlet monkey flower, white hedge nettle, deerweed, yarrow, golden yarrow, annual paintbrush, Durango root, coast golden bush, leather root, slender tarweed, elderberry, beggar tick, angel's gilia, stinky gilia, sticky phacelia, large-flowered phacelia, Humboldt lily, twining snapdragon, ashy buckwheat, twiggy wreath plant, heart-leaved penstemon, bleeding heart, cattail, narrow-leaved milkweed, and western goldenrod.  Rating: Good.

– ed.

 

Topanga State Park

Santa Ynez Trail

           Date: 6/16

 

 

        This is one of my favorite places for a summer hike and there are a few uncommon flowers growing here that I have never seen anywhere else.  This trailhead is reached by going inland from the ocean on Sunset, turning left on Palisades Drive and then left on Vereda de la Montura.  That street ends at a gated community, the trailhead is on the right.  The very first flower I saw was a Humboldt lily, one of the flowers I had come to look for.  Unfortunately there were not as many as there have been in previous years, many had been chewed down by deer.  Still the riparian area is lovely with lots of heart leaf penstemon, black sage, deerweed, honeysuckle, California bee plant, cliff aster, purple and white nightshade and caterpillar phacelia.  There are places where curly dock and scarlet monkey flower and blooming in the creek.  The trail splits and you can go right, to the waterfall or left which continues along a creek and then up through the chaparral to Trippet Ranch.  I went left.  Just past this split there is blooming cream bush, one of the unusual plants, growing on the rock wall.  Just before heading up into the chaparral there is a small patch of milkwort.  The chaparral is hot and exposed but particularly lovely right now.  There is a sea of California buckwheat punctuated by scarlet larkspur, white snapdragon and Plummer's mariposa lilies.  There is also Turkish rugging, twiggy wreath plant, Santa Monica dudleya, golden yarrow, cudweed aster, chamise, slender tarweed, sugar bush and California everlasting.  There are also patches of sapphire wool stars.  The fence lizards in this area are golden brown, something that always amazes me.

– Dorothy Steinicke

 

Topanga State Park

Temescal Loop Trail

           Date: 6/14

 

 

        I had a tip that the Plummer’s mariposa lilies were in bloom so I hiked this trail even though it is one I generally do not frequent during summer.  I was surprised at how much was in bloom.  Not great quantities of flowers but quite a lot of variety.  I hiked the loop counter clockwise, waterfall side first.  There were lots of purple and white nightshade, lots of sticky monkey flower and lots of heart leaf penstemon, elderberry, a few caterpillar phacelia, California buckwheat, yarrow, deerweed, some really large and lovely bush mallow, chamise and  virgin's bower seedpods.  Above the waterfall I saw a small patch of milkwort which I had never noticed here before.  Coming down on the ocean view side there were dozens of the Plummer’s mariposas that were just stunning.  There were also scarlet larkspur in full bloom with plenty more on the way.  Also large flower phacelia and white pin cushion.  Well worth a visit for the Plummer’s mariposa alone. If you don't have time to do the entire loop (4 miles) do the ocean view side and see the mariposas. This is a trail that tends to be hot and crowded so early morning and late afternoon are your best bet. 

– Dorothy Steinicke

 

Topanga State Park

Backbone Trail

           Date: 6/13

 

 

        Today’s hike was number ten, and the final, of the NPS sponsored Backbone Trail hikes in the 2008 – 2009 series. We are hiking west to east, one section of the Backbone Trail each month.

        Cooler than normal temperatures and overcast skies were welcome as we walked 11 miles of ridgeline between Trippet Ranch and Will Rogers State Historic Park.  Much to our surprise grazing deer gave us a send-off and we enjoyed two other sightings along the route.  Flowers in the grasslands around Trippet and the Musch Trail held the last spring holdouts, suggesting a good showing earlier in the spring.  By the time we made it to the Musch campground we had already seen 30 species in bloom.

        During the remainder of the day we passed through various chaparral communities and saw another 20 species.  One had to be impressed by the abundance of Indian pink, bush monkey flower, California buckwheat, heart-leafed penstemon, and dodder.  At the same time it was a unique treat to enjoy a sampling of white and rose snapdragons, speckled and purple clarkias, white pincushion, sapphire wool star, perezia, notable penstemon, plumbers mariposa lily and chaparral pea.

        During this hike series the seasonal flora of fall, winter and spring evolved as we threaded our way through the many different plant communities.  Summer will hold still more rewards.  Next fall we’ll return again with much anticipation to this definitive hike through our Santa Monicas.  Rating: Enjoyable. 

– R. Waycott (and others)

 

Paramount Ranch

Coyote/Hacienda/Backdrop/Bwana Trails Loop

           Date: 6/3

 

 

        This was my first time hiking at Paramount Ranch.  We combined these trail segments to make a two mile loop.  There is a nice variety of chaparral, woodland, meadow and riparian habitats.  We left the western town and headed up into the chaparral on the Coyote Trail.  There were elegant clarkia, golden yarrow, sticky monkey flower, chamise, black sage, slender tarweed, flowering yucca, wild morning glory and Indian pinks.  There were also foothill penstemon and common madia, both of which are not commonly seen by me.  At that point the Coyote Trail turns back to the Western Town, we continued on the Hacienda Trail.  There we saw bush sunflowers, heart leaf penstemon, golden stars and bush mallow.  Heading up the hill on the Backdrop Trail we saw white sage, gum plant, Turkish rugging, cliff aster, caterpillar phacelia, chalk live forever and narrow leaf milkweed.  We returned to the western town on the Bwana Trail which goes through the meadow and by Medea Creek.  The flowers weren't fabulous but there was a good variety and I enjoyed finding a few which I haven't seen in a while. 

– Dorothy Steinicke

 

Topanga Canyon State Park

Dead Horse Trail made into a loop

   Date: 6/2

 

 

        This hike is more notable for its fauna than its flora at this time of year, but there are still flowers worth visiting.  Leaving the Trippet Ranch Parking lot up the paved road you turn left on the Dead Horse Trail just past the pond.  There are oaks on one side of the trail and grassland on the other.  Purple clarkia, gum plant and slender tarweed line the trail.  I saw ten deer in the meadow today including four little spotty fawns.  Ground squirrels are zipping around and swallows are swooping down for insects.  There are a few blue eyed grass still in bloom.  Also sticky monkey flower, narrow leaf milkweed, vervain and chamise.  The trail heads into chaparral and there is blooming black sage, deer weed, California live forever and turkish rugging.  The trail splits with one branch going to the Dead Horse parking lot and the other signed for Entrada Rd.  Turn onto the trail heading for Entrada.  The only impressive bloom is a bright stand of woolly blue curls.  When Entrada Rd. is in sight watch for the trail marker to the left signed for Trippet Ranch.  Take that trail which wanders around and ends up at the entry kiosk.  This is an easy 1 mile hike.

– Dorothy Steinicke

 

Circle X Ranch

Grotto Trail

           Date: 5/31

 

 

        Things are beginning to dry out -- a process that will no doubt accelerate quickly now.  There were quite a few leftovers from earlier in the spring which will probably disappear fast.  We counted over forty species in bloom.   Flowering highlights included: yucca, chamise, black sage, purple sage, California everlasting, wooly everlasting, heart-leaved penstemon, elderberry, both purple and white nightshade, golden yarrow, a lone wild cucumber, caterpillar phacelia, bush monkey flower, scarlet monkey flower, creek monkey flower, elegant clarkia, farewell-to-Spring, lance-leaved dudleya, woolly blue curls, a few bush mallow just beginning to bloom, a couple of different tarweed, golden stars, wishbone bush, blue-eyed grass, the native western thistle, hummingbird sage, and durango root.  Rating:   Fair to Good.

– ed.

 

Malibu Creek State Park

Reagan Meadows

           Date: 5/29

 

 

        This is the secret (free!) back end of Malibu Creek State Park.  Enter from Lake Vista Dr. just south of Mulholland Hwy.  There is a dirt parking area just inside the park.  Park there and walk up the paved drive to some park maintenance buildings.  On the other side of the buildings Reagan Meadow stretches out in front of you.  The meadow is filled with just about every clarkia that we have; elegant clarkia, speckled clarkia, purple clarkia and farewell-to-spring.  These are interspersed with golden stars, vervain and vetch.  The trail is lined with slender tarweed and gum plant.  There are banks of sticky monkey flower here and there and thickets of wild rose and elderberry.  We passed one blooming mallow bush and saw one lingering Catalina mariposa lily.  We took the 'low trail' on the way out and the 'high trail' or the "Deer Leg Trail" on the way back to make a loop.  The Deer Leg Trail goes under oaks and there we saw golden yarrow, purple sage, deer weed, California buckwheat, cliff aster and chamise.  Best of all on this upper section we saw first one, then two, then a small hillside of yellow mariposas.

– Dorothy Steinicke

 

Circle X Ranch

Sandstone peak trail

           Date: 5/23

 

 

        Things are still blooming pretty well but I would guess they will dry out quick now.  Quite a few leftovers from earlier in the spring which will probably disappear fast.  We counted over fifty species in bloom including those found on the trail to the west of sandstone peak toward four corners.  Flowering highlights included: golden yarrow, chamise, deerweed, black sage, california buckwheat, yucca, bird's beak, golden stars, yellow mariposa lily, wooly blue dicks, both lance-leaf and chalk dudleya, bush monkey flower, bush lupine, heart-leaved penstemon, branching phacelia, caterpillar phacelia, a few chinese houses, pitcher sage, purple clarkia, both red-skinned and peninsular onion, soap plant, both white and yellow pincushion, one star lily, a couple of different tarweeds, denseflower Rein orchid, purple nightshade, cliff aster, the native western thistle,  Rating: Good.

– ed.

 

Topanga Canyon State Park

Santa Ynez Trail 

           Date: 5/21

 

 

        The beginning of this hike is along a creek in a shady canyon.  A good walk for a hot day.  Just watch out for the plentiful poison oak.  In the creekside area there is canyon sunflower, black sage, bush lupine, sticky monkey flower, California bee plant, California buckwheat, blackberry, California everlasting, wild rose, hedge nettle, purple and white nightshades, elderberry, and large flower and caterpillar phacelia.  Climbing up into the chaparral portion of the trail that leads up to Trippet Ranch there are Turkish rugging, yellow pin cushion, white snapdragon, star lily, golden yarrow, deer weed, chamise and heart leaf penstemon.

– Dorothy Steinicke

 

Topanga Canyon State Park

Trippet Ranch Nature Trail

           Date: 5/20

 

 

        The Trippet Ranch pond is, surprisingly, full of water.  The water is full of tadpoles.  There are also mallards and a great egret.  The milkweed in the meadow by the old nature center are just about to bloom.  Also in that meadow are lots of purple clarkia.  Continuing into the chaparral portion there are bush lupine, bush sunflowers, black sage, elderberry, California buckwheat and some lovely mallow along with some really stunning flowering yuccas.

– Dorothy Steinicke

 

Saddle Peak

Backbone Trail

           Date: 5/16

 

 

        Today’s hike was number nine of the NPS sponsored Backbone Trail hikes in the 2008 – 2009 series. We are hiking west to east, one section of the Backbone Trail each month.

        With hot off-shore winds at the top of the range the cool, fog-shrouded coast below us was tempting.  But our route stayed inland and would reward us with over 65 native species in bloom.  From Saddle Peak to the top of Hondo Canyon offered fabulous vistas and late spring bouquets of some of the hardiest species: golden yarrow, bush monkey flower, sugar bush, California buckwheat, deer weed, morning glory, and caterpillar phacelia.

        Once in the cool shade of Hondo’s north-facing slopes we descended from chamise chaparral through California bay woodlands and finally to sheltering oak riparian.  Along the way we encountered a varied array of species in bloom.  The drier, higher environs of slender tarweed and Turkish rugging segued into chaparral understories with 3 clarkia species still in all their glory.  By the time we reached Old Topanga and its pocket grasslands we had glimpsed golden stars, star lily, wooly blue curls, blue eyed grass, Chinese houses, fuchsia flowering gooseberry, buttercups, wild brodiaea, and much more.

        On the climb from Old Topanga to Trippet Ranch we saw only a few species in flower, but appreciated them all the more due to their scarcity. Rating: Enjoyable.

– R. Waycott (and others)

 

Nicholas Flat

 

           Date: 5/15

 

 

        We did a quick hike out to the pond at Nicholas Flat and back to check on the water level and the red-winged blackbirds.  It was a nice cool day but the wildflowers are definitely transitioning out of the grand displays of early spring.  This area has a lot of weeds because the many years of ranching still lay heavily upon the land.  Nevertheless the pond is reliable enough to support true aquatic plants and the song of the blackbirds is worth hearing.  The hike to the pond is short, less than half a mile, but there is a lot of additional hiking to be done if you wish.  There is even a trail that goes all the way down to the coast at Leo Carrillo State Beach. Flowering highlights (few as they were) included golden yarrow, Indian paintbrush, deerweed, caterpillar phacelia, morning glory, Chinese houses, bush monkey flower, purple nightshade, a few crimson pitcher sage, canyon sunflower, California chicory, greenbark ceanothus, sugar bush, purple clarkia, sticky madia, mountain dandelion, black sage, blue-eyed grass, and common verbena.  Rating: Fair. 

– ed.

 


 

Contact Information:

 

Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area

 

401 West Hillcrest Drive
Thousand Oaks, CA 91360

 

805-370-2301

 

If you would like to contribute to the wildflower report:

 

e-mail:
Tony_Valois@partner.nps.gov

 

or phone Tony at 310-457-6408