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Page Revised: 01/16/09 |
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Available Site Reviews Hondo Canyon Circle X Ranch Red Rock Canyon State Park Point Mugu State Park Peter Strauss Ranch Cold Creek Preserve Rancho Sierra Vista |
Date of Reviews 1/13. 1/12 & 11/19 & 11/11. 1/10. 1/9. 1/6. 1/3. 11/6. |
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Photo highlights from the
flower reports: What's
Blooming Now Photos of over six hundred
species: Wildflowers of the Santa Monica Mountains What's Blooming flower
reports Archive The
Calendar of Events for the Santa Monica Mountains NRA Outdoors |
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It's been quite a while since I've
updated this web page largely because once the blooming season ends people
stop sending me flower reports. I continue to run into scattered flowers
throughout the year but nothing compared to the grand displays we see in the
approaching springtime. I’ve done a number of hikes lately checking on
the status of the flowers but almost
everything entering or within its blooming season this time of year is a
perennial shrub or tree (although there are a few herbaceous perennials that
also make a quick appearance.) That
typically means keeping your head up and looking about you well above the
ground. In the last few weeks we have begun to see a few of the early annuals
making an appearance but so far just a few pioneering individuals rather than
whole populations. Most significant however is that the recent warm weather
has encouraged a very rapid maturing of the Bigpod Ceanothus. Up here at Circle X Ranch they have
literally exploded in the last two days. It is not the peak bloom yet but the
hills have definitely taken on a white blush near the little park office
where I work. I hope the coming storms
don’t ruin the season for this particular species of the
“California Lilac.” If you
want to see them you might make an effort to get out this weekend. I’ve made several changes to
the layout of the Wildflower website lately and one
of them is a new search called What’s
Blooming Now. I will try to keep
this up to date with the highlights of the flower sightings people have
reported here. As always, if you have any comments
or questions, or wish to file a flower report, you can email me at address at
the bottom of this page. – ed. |
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Hondo Canyon |
Backbone
Trail |
Date: 1/13 |
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Backbone Trail, Hondo Canyon - trail
head at Old Topanga. Bermuda buttercup (or Oxalis); California polypody;
California buttercup; California everlasting; California lace fern; Cliff
aster [White aster]; Coastal wood fern [California wood fern]; Coffee fern;
Crimson Pitcher Sage [Hummingbird sage]; Dwarf chaparral broom [coyote
brush]; Goldback fern; Milkmaids; Mustard, (Mediterranean ?); Purple
nightshade; Red-stemmed filaree; White chaparral currant; Wild sweet pea;
Wild cucumber; Ceanothus (Hoary leaved Ceanothus ?) – Sarah
Dickey. |
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Circle X Ranch |
Misc.
Trails |
Date: 1/12 |
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I’ve looked at several of the
trails recently and we are beginning to see a few of the early annuals just
beginning to bloom. Of the thirty or so
different flowers I’ve seen many are individuals who’s siblings
are nowhere near flowering yet.
Highlights (not including the standout individuals) include popcorn
flower, red stem filaree, an increasing number of bigpod ceanothus, deerweed,
California buckwheat, several two-tone everlasting, many wild cucumber, lace
pod, some hold-out cudweed aster, purple nightshade, a few of the different
celeries, the chaparral current still doing well, bigberry manzanita,
wishbone bush, a few shooting stars (but you have to look carefully to find
them,) a few dried-up California fuchsia and some nice stands of California
bay trees. By the way, this is the best time of
year to visit Sandstone Peak if you want to see the islands. I’ve seen the distant San Nicolas and
even San Clemente a number of times recently. – ed. |
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Red Rock Canyon State
Park |
Calabasas
Peak Motorway |
Date: 1/10 |
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Calabasas Peak Motorway - Red Rock
[fire] Rd. Mustard (Mediterranean?); Cliff aster [White Aster]; Crimson
Pitcher Sage [Hummingbird sage]; Dwarf chaparral broom [coyote brush]; Purple
nightshade; Red-stemmed filaree; White chaparral currant; Wild cucumber; Wild
sweet pea; California peony; Canyon dodder; Downy indian paintbrush; Mule
fat; California Prickly phlox; Slender sunflower; Southern tauschia; Sweet
alyssum; Popcorn Flower (variety ?); Wishbone plant [Wishbone bush]; Woolly
indian paintbrush – Sarah
Dickey. |
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Cheeseboro Canyon |
Cheeseboro Canyon Trail |
Date: 1/9 |
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Cheeseboro Canyon - Cheeseboro Canyon Trail. Mustard
(Mediterranean?); Purple nightshade; White chaparral currant; Wild cucumber;
California peony; Canyon dodder; California Prickly phlox; California
Blackberry – Sarah
Dickey. |
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Point Mugu State Park |
Backbone
Trail |
Date: 1/9 |
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This hike is the first of the NPS sponsored
Backbone Trail hikes in the 2010 series. We will be hiking from west to east,
two sections of the Backbone Trail each month. The section done on this hike
began at the coast at the Ray Miller Trailhead, proceeded up the Ray Miller
Trail, along the Overlook Fire Road, down the Wood Canyon Trail, then north
along the Sycamore Canyon Fire Road to the Danielson multi-use area. It is
still too early to see huge numbers of flowers, but including scattered
holdouts from last season and a few pioneering individuals ahead of their
relatives we saw over thirty different species in bloom. Only a few of these could really be said to
be in bloom right now. Flowering highlights included wild cucumber,
bladderpod, wishbone bush, a growing number of early bigpod ceanothus,
rattlesnake weed (the low prostrate one), oxalis, deerweed, chaparral
current, a very nice prickly phlox, some mostly finished cudweed aster, and
one fuchsia-flowered gooseberry. – ed. |
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Peter Strauss Ranch |
Cheeseboro Canyon Trail |
Date: 1/6 |
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Mustard (Mediterranean ?); Wild
cucumber; California peony; California Prickly phlox; Coastal wood fern
[California wood fern]; Coffee fern; Goldback fern; Milkmaids; California
Maiden-hair fern; Chickweed; Fiddlenecks (Common) – Sarah
Dickey. |
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Cold Creek Preserve |
Stunt High Trail |
Date: 1/3 |
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Stunt High Trail (return along Stunt
Road) California polypody; California
everlasting; California peony; California sunflower [Bush sunflower]; Cliff
aster (White Aster); Coastal wood fern [California wood fern]; Coffee fern;
Cream bush; Goldback fern; Greenbark ceanothus; Hairy-leaved ceanothus;
Lupines; Mustard (Mediterranean ?); Milkmaids; Purple nightshade; Red
monardella ; Red-stemmed filaree; Wild cucumber; Wild sweet pea; Wishbone
plant [Wishbone bush] – Sarah
Dickey. |
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Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area 401 West
Hillcrest Drive 805-370-2301 www.nps.gov/samo |
If you
would like to contribute to the wildflower report: e-mail: or phone
Tony at 310-457-6408 |
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What’s Blooming on the web at www.researchlearningcenter.com/bloom
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