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Page Revised: 1/10/06 |
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Available Sites Circle X Ranch |
Date of Review 1/9/07 & 11/24/05
& 11/20/05 |
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Circle X Ranch |
All trails |
Date: 1/9/06 |
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Very little change since the last
report in November. The scattered holdouts from last summer are now pretty
much gone and most of the new season’s flowers are still only
represented by scattered individuals that are well ahead of the majority. Consequently,
the flower density remains very low and the species count only slightly above
a couple of dozen. Bigpod ceanothus has been making slow but steady gains on
several trails but most are not yet blooming. In some locations the chaparral
current are finishing up and now in fruit, but in others they are still
flowering well. The bigberry manzanitas on the Mishe Mokwa trail are
definitely winding down but in compensation a few of the Eastwood manzanitas
up by Sandstone peak are beginning to bloom. One location on the Triunfo
section of the backbone trail has a grand display of purple nightshade and
cliff aster but most of the rest of the trail is quite barren. Except for the
part of the trail that skirts the creek the canyon view trail is devoid of
flowers. Similarly, the grotto trail has little to show in the way of
flowers. On the other hand all trials are in good condition and have greened
up quite nicely. Several of the creeks have water in them again and greet the
hiker with their conversation. With the clearer air hikes to Sandstone peak
regularly reveal the even the most distant of the Channel Islands as well as
far off snow-capped peaks. The abundance of plants and even swelling flower
buds suggests that given some warm weather the flower situation will improve
rapidly. Among the scattered flowers
we’ve recently encountered at CXR are annual paintbrush, white hedge
nettle, tree tobacco, red-stem filaree, two-tone everlasting, wishbone bush,
both bush and canyon sunflowers, deerweed, telegraph weed, twiggy wreath
plant, mule fat, California bay, silk-tassel bush, shooting stars, wild
cucumber, greenbark ceanothus, Southern tauschia, golden yarrow, wild morning
glory, rock rose, and hillside gooseberry.
(TV) |
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Naturalist's rating: Poor |
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Rancho Sierra Vista |
Satwiwa Loop Trail |
Date: 12/18/05 |
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A cool, cloudy day was perfect to see
the usual early bloomers appearing on this short (1.5 mile) loop trail. There
are a lots of chaparral currant, known as our earliest bloomer. A few late summer/fall flowers, such as
mallow and mule fat, are still hanging on to bushes. Big pod ceanothus is in
bud and many blooms are already opening. A few bushes of purple nightshade
have lots of blooms. Toyon is loaded with luscious red berries, although some
bushes have already been stripped by the birds. (SB) |
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Naturalist's rating: Promising, but
poor, due to quantity. |
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Point Mugu State Park |
Backbone trail: Ray
Miller to Danielson Multi-use |
Date: 12/10/05 |
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Each
month between December and June the National Park Service (NPS) escorts
hikers on sequential segments of the Backbone Trail Hike (BBT). Car and van shuttles facilitate the logistics. The hikers are chosen in November. If you're interested in participating in
next year's walk contact the NPS Visitors Center, 805-370-2301. Perfect weather accompanied the lead
segment of this year's NPS BBT hike.
Unending views of the Channel Islands, dramatic clouds and far off
interior mountain ranges literally placed us in the middle of wide open
spaces. The area is still very
dry. Plants greened up with the
October precipitation, but they aren't yet willing to risk their future generations
on our unpredictable weather. Blooms
are just around the corner if the elements would only cooperate. Climbing out of La Jolla Canyon's
Riparian environment, the hills of Coastal Sage Scrub held limited species
offerings. Sometimes just a single
flower was all one could enjoy. As we
descended back into the Riparian floor of Sycamore Canyon the gold, yellow
and greens of the canyon's namesake tree were glorious. Some of the perennial shrub species are
holding a good bloom quite well, but you'll have to be patient for the burst
of color. Blooms are either fall
holdovers or winter's early arrivals, mixed in with some ubiquitous
exotics. As we walked we noted: mule
fat, coyote bush, lemonade berry, ashy leaf buckwheat, bladderpod, deerweed,
wand chicory, black mustard, big-pod ceanothus, chaparral currant, squaw
spurge, and four o'clock. Also enjoyed
were: sugar bush, purple nightshade, cliff-aster, prickly phlox, gum plant,
woolly aster, California fuchsia, wand buckwheat, chamise; greasewood, tree
tobacco, and telegraph weed (RW) |
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Naturalist's rating: Poor |
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Circle X Ranch |
All trails |
Date: 11/24/05 |
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While there have been few changes in
the flowers at CXR since the last What's
Blooming report, there have been significant changes in hiking experience
itself. The new section of the backbone trail below Triunfo Peak has been
recently repaired and is now in excellent condition. The two good rains have
knocked down the dust and cleaned up the vegetation and left us with fresher
air. Many small green plants have made their appearance along the trails and
indeed, some of the trails are now covered with green grass. The generally
clearer skies are providing better views of distant vistas such as the
Angeles mountains and the Channel islands. And, of course, the weather is now
much cooler. A few new winter flowers are
beginning to make their appearance, but overall we have actually lost ground
since the last report as many of the late-summer bloomers have essentially
disappeared. For example, the entire six-mile loop of the Mishe Mokwa trail yielded only about a
dozen different flower species and half of these were lightly represented.
Highlights included woolly aster, twiggy wreath plant, Tejon milk-aster,
cliff aster, chaparral current, California fuchsia, bush senecio, and
California sagebrush. Elsewhere at CXR we’ve seen annual paintbrush,
white hedge nettle, willow herb, sugar bush, bigberry manzanita, deerweed,
rock rose, bleeding heart, golden yarrow, canyon sunflower, coyote brush,
mule fat, scarlet pimpernel, tree tobacco, telegraph weed, bush mallow,
two-tone everlasting, felt-leaf everlasting, California laurel, California
buckwheat, ashy leaf buckwheat, wand buckwheat, and both white and purple
nightshade. Again, many of these are only very lightly represented. (TV) |
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Naturalist's rating: Poor |
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Upper Zuma Canyon and
Circle X Ranch |
Backbone Trail |
Date: 11/20/05 |
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Each November the Sierra Club plans a
series of hikes to celebrate the Backbone Trail. This hike was one of this
year’s series and began at the Kanan Road trailhead and ended at the
Mishe Mokwa trailhead, a distance of 14 miles. The flowers were generally few,
but there were some surprises, probably due to a recent period of very warm
weather. Twenty eight species were noted as well as a very large crop of red
Toyon berries. Starting out on the Upper Zuma Section were the usual Cliff
Aster, Black Mustard, Woolly Aster, Telegraph Weed, Twiggy Wreath Plant and
an occasional California Fuchsia. Mule Fat and Sugar Bush are blooming along
with widely scattered Bush Mallow. Looking upstream from the first bridge is
a large stand of Snow Berries with their pure white berries. A single Bicolor
Everlasting and a few Chicory were noted. After the bridge and a short
up-hill section, is an area where the Common Madia appears in the summer and
one greeted us today. Just after crossing Encinal Canyon
Road and starting up the latest section of the Backbone Trail to be
completed, we came to a warm area with almost a spring-like flower display.
There were Purple Night Shade, Coyote Brush, Deer Weed, Greenbark Ceanothus,
Canyon Sunflower, Slender Sunflower, Morning Glory, Tree Tobacco, and Scarlet
Pimpernel blooming. We had been seeing the leafing out of
the Chaparral Currant along way, but it was not until we got to the highest
point as the Backbone Trail winds around Triunfo Peak that we saw the early
flowers. Bleeding Heart is sprouting there and one plant had flowers. There
were several Bigberry Manzanita blooming there as well. (BE) |
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Naturalist's rating: Generally poor. |
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Santa Monica
Mountains National Recreation Area 401 West
Hillcrest Drive 805-370-2301 |
Thank
you for your
contributions: Burt
Elliot Ralph Waycott |
If you
would like to contribute to the wildflower report: e-mail: or phone
Tony at 310-457-6408 |
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