occasional notes on the wildflowers of 91011
Some of the very best wildflowers to be seen along the trails of La Cañada Flintridge are found all over Cherry Canyon — a name that ought to raise the question of whether we can ever find cherry blossoms there. In fact, we can! But they’re not quite the sort of blossoms you might expect to see in Japan or along the National Mall in the District of Columbia.
There is good reason to believe that Cherry Canyon takes its name from a large flowering shrub in the upper part of the main canyon — namely, Holly-leaf Cherry or Prunus ilicifolia. The edges of its leaves are sometimes smooth, but just as often they bear spines and resemble the leaves of their namesake, the holly (or ilex) tree.
It’s an easy-to-grow shrub or small tree that can reach over forty feet in height, and it produces cherries that are half an inch or more in size. These cherries look inviting, but their flesh is amazingly thin and not particularly flavorful. The very large pits protect seeds that are regarded as toxic, though some Native Americans leached them to make them edible. Many birds enjoy them. So do our local bears!
Bear scat after a meal of Holly-Leaf Cherries
Where and when to find it. Holly-leaf Cherry occurs naturally in coastal chaparral from Sonoma County south to upper Baja California. It’s somewhat common in the Verdugo Mtns. and on both Mt. Lukens and Brown Mtn. In Cherry Canyon, the blossoms may be seen from late March and as late as mid-May, and ripe cherries may be found in August or September. Best place to look is south of the main fire road, about 0.4 mile above the Hampstead Road entrance gate.
- For more about Prunus ilicifolia, visit Wikipedia.
- For information about growing this plant in your yard, visit Calscape.org.
