News Index

Occasional observations on the wildflowers of 91011. Monkeyflowers supposedly get their name from the blossom, because someone reportedly saw a resemblance to the face of a monkey with its tongue sticking out. Well, that may apply to a few species of monkeyflower — of which California is home to over ninety — but you’re under … Read more »

Occasional observations on the wildflowers of 91011. Nightmare on Lupine Street. No, seriously, that’s was my original title for this post! You see, I’d wager that the three most recognizable wildflowers in California are poppies, paintbrush, and lupine — ’cuz they’re so easy, right? Oh, don’t I wish! In fact, the “true” California poppy shares … Read more »

Occasional observations on the wildflowers of 91011. “Oh, look at those big blue eyes!” You might utter those words in a nursery as a baby smiles back at you, but you also might utter them when hiking in our local hills. Baby Blue Eyes (Nemophila menziesii) is a much-loved native flower that can be found … Read more »

Occasional observations on the wildflowers of 91011. People sometimes wrongly suppose that Wild Cucumber is a parasitic vine and rip it off of the plants it’s climbing on. But in my experience, they never attack another common vine (also not a parasite!) that is actually larger and heavier. We’re talking here about Chaparral Clematis (Clematis … Read more »

Occasional observations on the wildflowers of 91011. The Continental Divide, as you already know, is that central ridge in the Rocky Mountains where rainfall on the west side runs to the Pacific Ocean, while rainfall on the east ends up in the Gulf of Mexico. Cherry Canyon sits on a similar divide, where you can … Read more »

Occasional notes on the wildflowers of 91011 Serious wildflower enthusiasts and botanists have a name for flowers that are so small that most hikers miss them altogether. They’re called belly flowers, for the obvious reason that you pretty much have to get down on your belly to see them. There are several such flowers at … Read more »

Occasional notes on the wildflowers of 91011 Parents should always think carefully about the names they bestow on their children, lest those names become inadvertently off-putting to others! So it would seem in the case of Fremont’s Star-Lily (Toxicoscordion fremontii), also known by the decidedly off-putting name of Death Camas. Is it toxic to eat? … Read more »

Occasional notes on the wildflowers of 91011 Many of the native wildflowers at Cherry Canyon are actually flowering shrubs. One of the prettiest is also one of the easiest to identify — Golden Currant (Ribes aureum), which truly lives up to its name when it’s richly covered with small golden blossoms. Sometimes the blossoms are … Read more »

Occasional notes on the wildflowers of 91011 Lilacs are one of the world’s most beloved garden flowers, prized for their fragrance. But true lilacs require a cold winter to flourish, and that rules out much of Southern California. Once again, though, the yearning of Angelinos for fragrant clusters of white-to-blue-to-purple blossoms has been met by … Read more »

Occasional notes on the wildflowers of 91011 Some of our native plants get no respect. In the case of Chilicothe, it’s a matter of mistaken identity. Marah macrocarpa is a native vine that loves to curlicue across the meadow or, better yet, twine its way up anything handy — a tree, a shrub, a fence, … Read more »