Page Revised: 3/20/09 |
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Available Site Reviews Point Mugu State Park Cheeseboro Canyon Triunfo Creek Park Circle X Ranch Newton Canyon Backbone Trail Cold Creek Preserve Rancho Sierra Vista / Satwiwa Caballero Canyon Malibu Creek State Park Peter Strauss Ranch Solstice Canyon Trancas Canyon Las Virgenes Canyon
Open Space Escondido Canyon Backbone Trail |
Date of Reviews 3/18. 3/15. 3/15. 3/14 & 3/12 & 3/7. 3/14. 3/7. 3/6 & 2/22. 3/3. 3/3. 3/1. 3/1. 3/1 & 2/28. 2/28. 2/27. 2/25. 2/14. |
What's Blooming photo gallery: http://www.researchlearningcenter.com/bloom/bloom.htm |
The beginning of March is often the
true beginning of the wildflower season and this year seems to be no
exception. A lot has popped out in the last week or so. This is the time of year when the longer
days and warmer weather rapidly increase the displays of flowers. Up here at Circle X Ranch both of the blue
chaparral lilacs (greenbark ceanothus and hairy-leaved ceanothus) and the
white hoary-leaved ceanothus are beginning to bloom well now. – ed. |
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Point Mugu State Park |
Backbone
Trail |
Date: 3/18 |
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Today our volunteer trail maintenance
team worked on the section of the Backbone Trail known as Boney Trail between
the Blue Canyon junction and the Chamberlain Trail junction. This is a report
of the significant flowers seen along the route starting from Danielson Ranch
Campground and up Blue Canyon to the beginning of the Chamberlain Trail. A
medium sized Coast Live Oak along the trail was in bloom and covered with
working bees. At first I thought their sound was a swarm and stopped to see
what was going on. There is a special Chocolate Lily garden about 1/2 miles
up the trail that did not disappoint. There must be over a hundred plants
mixed in the grass with Shooting Stars, Indian Paintbrush and Snake Root.
Further up the trail was a patch of Skullcap and still further Stinging
Lupine, Spurge, Mustard Evening Primrose and Parry’s Phacelia on
hillsides of decomposing shale. It is going to be a good year for Poison Oak
and some is already in bloom. Back at Danielson there is a lot of Persian
Speedwell, Henbit and Chickweed in the shade of the oak trees. – B. Elliott. |
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Cheeseboro Canyon |
Cheeseboro
Canyon Trail |
Date: 3/15 |
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The Cheeseboro Canyon trail is 4.5
miles one way and travels essentially north/south from Coastal woodlands (the
first 3 miles) into Chaparral (the last 1.5 mile). Consequently you will see different flowers
in each section. It's always worth
traveling to the top of the trail because that last 1.5 miles has greatest
variety of flowers. In fact, aside
from some species with very tiny flowers, you won't see much blooming until
you've traveled around 1.5 miles from the parking lot. Bedstraw, Bedstraw narrow, Bicolored everlasting [Two-toned everlasting],
Bird's-foot fern [Cliff brake], California plantain, Chickweed, Common
groundsel, Fiddleneck (Common), Lace pod, Miner's lettuce, Pineapple weed,
Popcorn flower, Purple nightshade, Red-stemmed filaree, Woolly paintbrush,
Bird's-foot trefoil, Bull thistle, Bur clover, California Blackberry,
California poppy, California suncup [Mustard evening primrose], Chaparral
currant, Chia; Chia sage, Common eucrypta, Fuschia-flowered gooseberry, Hog
fennel, Indian warrior, London rocket, Long-beaked filaree, Prickly phlox,
Redmaids, Scarlet bugler, Shepherd's purse, Small-flowered popcorn flower,
Sugar bush, Tree Poppy [Bush Poppy], Wild cucumber, Wishbone plant [Wishbone
bush]. – S.L. Dickey. |
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Triunfo Creek Park |
Pentachaeta
Trail |
Date: 3/15 |
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The Pentachaeta Trail is known for
great flower displays. This report includes flowers seen along that trail and
an unofficial trail that goes up and along the high ridge above the
Pentachaeta Trail. The trail is located at the south end of Lindero Canyon Road
in Westlake Village. There is a kiosk at the trailhead picturing the flowers
you might see. Today we started up the trail, keeping left at the first fork
and climbing a short hill. Just before the trail starts down there is a very
steep trail to the left which climbs to the ridge above. After topping out on
the ridge we kept left at each of two trail junctions and eventually
descended near the far end of the Pentachaeta Trail. The flower display as
you gain height is stunning with at least 48 species in bloom over the 4 mile
loop. Dominating were Fiddleneck, Coast Goldfields, Angles Gilia, Shooting
Stars, and Popcorn Flower. Especially striking were patches of Blue Larkspur
and a large grouping of Chocolate Lilies. On otherwise bare ground under
Ceanothus were quite a few Indian Warriors. Star Lily, Yellow Pincushion,
Virgin’s Bower, several species of Lupine, Wooly Blue-Curl, and
Collarless Poppy are in the early stages of blooming. I would rate the
display very good. NOTE: The trail to
the ridge and along the ridge is very steep and loose in places and should
not be attempted unless you are comfortable with these trail conditions. – B. Elliott. |
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Circle X Ranch |
Mishe
Mokwa Trail |
Date: 3/14 |
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Thanks to direction from a park
volunteer I located two patches of Chocolate lilies on the Mishe Mokwa
trail. One patch was located .4 miles
from the Backbone/Mishe Mokwa trailhead marker [on the north side of Yerba
Buena, east of the parking lot for Sandstone Peak.] The second was .5 miles further down the
Mishe Mokwa trail. In addition to the lilies
I saw: Bur clover, Coffee fern,
Deerweed, Goldback fern, Sugar bush, Wild cucumber, Bird's-foot fern [Cliff
brake], Chalk live-forever, Coastal Wood Fern [California wood fern],
Collarless California poppy, Hairy-leaved ceanothus, Skullcap, Woolly
lomatium. – S.L. Dickey. |
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Circle X Ranch |
Grotto
Trail |
Date: 3/14 |
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Bedstraw, Bicolored
everlasting [Two-toned everlasting], Bindweed, Bird's-foot trefoil,
California buckwheat, California Maiden-hair fern, California suncup [Mustard
evening primrose], California sunflower; Bush sunflower, Canyon sunflower,
Ceanothus (species ??), Miner's lettuce, Red-stemmed filaree, Southern
tauschia, Blue Larkspur, Virgin's bower, White nightshade [Douglas'
Nightshade], Wishbone plant [Wishbone bush], Greenbark ceanothus, Lace pod,
Purple nightshade, Bur clover, Coffee fern, Deerweed, Goldback fern, Sugar
bush, Wild cucumber. – S.L.
Dickey. |
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Circle X Ranch |
Backbone
Trail |
Date: 3/14 |
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This trail starts at the parking area
on the south side of Yerba Buena, across the street from the trailhead for
Mishe Mokwa. I walked only about the
first half mile of this trail but it's well worth it for the abundant
Shooting Stars on the slopes about one quarter mile down the trail. There is a tiny spring that starts near the
trail and drips along a rock stripe in
the meadow. Along it I found
Red-skinned onion and Stream monkeyflowers. Also seen along this trail: small-flowered popcorn flower, Wild radish, Woolly blue curls, Lace pod,
Purple nightshade, Blue Dicks, Popcorn flower, California plantain, Goldfields,
[Shiny] Peppergrass. – S.L.
Dickey. |
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Newton Canyon |
Backbone
Trail |
Date: 3/14 |
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Today’s hike was the sixth 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. The
weather was overcast and cool. The walk began where we concluded the
last hike, at the overflow parking for the trailhead at Kanan’s
southern most tunnel. One is quickly
transported into a more primordial environment as the trail hugs the
north-facing slope of Newton Canyon, passing in and out of a series of serene
oak woodlands. The first interruption
is Latigo Canyon Road from which one climbs to Newton Canyon Motorway beneath
Castro Peak. Lunch was enjoyed here
and straddling the saddle between Newton and Solstice Canyons we had vistas
of our morning’s efforts to the west and our imminent meanderings
through upper Solstice Canyon to the east.
The many potential water crossings through Newton and Solstice proved
on the dry side, but the flowers were improving. Approximately 45 or twice as many
native species were in bloom than we found in the last section. Several: virgin’s bower, wishbone,
milkmaids, paintbrush, hummingbird sage, peony, and ceanothus (hoary-leafed
and greenbark) were dazzling.
Accompanying the ceanothus were other flowering trees and shrubs: oak,
walnut, holly-leafed red berry, willow, tree poppy, sugar bush, elderberry,
mule fat and laurel. More than enough
reason to lift our gaze from the trail tread.
Many of the prolific species of past hikes were still ablaze, but we
were also treated to: carpets of minors lettuce, drapery of wild cucumber,
eucrypta, popcorn, vetch, chocolate lily, morning glory, bedstraw, lupine
(var. species) snake root, purple larkspur, California saxifrage, fiddleneck,
blue dick, prickly phlox and Eastwood manzanita. Rating: good. –
R. Waycott. |
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Circle X Ranch Rancho Sierra Vista Point Mugu State Park |
Backbone
and other misc. Trails |
Date:
3/13 |
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We started at Rancho Sierra Vista and
hiked a series of trails through Rancho Sierra Vista and Point Mugu State
Park until we ended up at the CXR contact station on Yerba Buena Road. On the way we passed through the Tri-Peaks
area and the popular Sandstone Peak area.
Ironically, some of the best flower displays of the day were seen
along the shoulder of Yerba Buena Road.
This is not so surprising since most of these trails pass through
dense chaparral which is not noted for grand flower displays (unless some of
the chaparral shrubs are themselves in bloom.) In addition, the shoulder of Yerba Buena
Road gets a lot of warmth from the sun so things are farther along than they
are on the trails of the north-facing slopes of the range. We did encounter both hairy-leaved
ceanothus and hoary-leaved ceanothus in bloom at the top, but neither are at
their peak yet. Some of the open rocky
areas on the Mishe Mokwa Trail are still thick with shooting stars –
another indication of how late our blooming season is this year. If you are looking for flowers the lower
elevations and open south facing areas will probably be a better choice until
the season moves along a bit more. For
example, people often overlook the Canyon View Trail at CXR, probably because
it does not have the sweeping vistas and exotic appeal of Sandstone Peak, or
the beautiful riparian areas and waterfalls of the Grotto Trail. Yet the Canyon View Trail usually offers
the flower watcher a lot more in the way of species diversity than either of
these other better known trails. – ed. |
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Circle X Ranch |
Canyon
View Trail |
Date: 3/7 |
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While not as dramatic as the Grotto
Trail or the Sandstone Peak Trail, the Canyon View Trail is often one of the
best flower trails at CXR. The cool sunny weather and lush greens of the new
growth made for pleasant hiking. There are a large number of young plants
suggesting that if the remainder of the Spring weather cooperates we should
have a very good bloom this year. About forty five species in bloom, although
most are not appearing in great numbers yet. Highlights include greenbark
ceanothus, both white and purple nightshades, blue dicks, fiddleneck,
eucrypta, a couple of blue larkspur (with many plants in evidence), a few
wishbone bush, several California collarless poppy, a good crop of lace pod,
a couple of different lotus, some lupines (doing best along the shoulders of
the roads where it has been the warmest), several different plants in the
celery family all displaying their umbellate clusters of very tiny flowers,
skullcap, one owl's clover, pygmy weed, California peony, shooting stars
still doing well, henbit, and virgins bower. I would give this display a
"Fair" rating with expectations that it will rise quickly. – ed. |
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Backbone
Trail between Piuma Rd. & Stunt Rd |
Date: 3/7 |
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Bicolored
everlasting [Two-toned everlasting], Bird's-foot fern, Blue dicks, Buck
brush, Bur clover, Tree Poppy [Bush Poppy], California Maiden-hair fern,
California polypody, California poppy, Catalina mariposa lily (only one),
Chickweed, Coastal wood fern [California wood fern], Coffee fern, Common
eucrypta, Eastwood manzanita, Greenbark ceanothus, Big pod ceanothus?, Indian
warrior, Miner's lettuce, Popcorn flower, Prickly phlox, Purple nightshade,
Red-stemmed filaree, Snakeroot ?, Southern tauschia, Sugar bush, Wild
cucumber, Wild sweet pea, Wishbone bush, Lupines (not identified), Brewer's
red maids ? I'd be happy to share
photos and have any mis-identifications
corrected:
socalwildflowers@earthlink.net.
– S.L. Dickey. |
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Calabasas Peak |
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Date: 3/6 |
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California sunflower [Bush sunflower]
??, Golden yarrow ??, Succulent lupine [Arroyo Lupine]?, Bicolored
everlasting [Two-toned everlasting], Blue dicks, Bur clover, Common eucrypta,
Popcorn flower, Prickly phlox, Red-stemmed filaree, Sugar bush, Wild
cucumber, Wishbone bush, Bindweed, Black sage, Bush monkeyflower, California
buckwheat, Chia sage, Collarless California poppy, Coulter's lupine [Mohave
Lupine] Fiddleneck (Common), Fiesta
flower, Greenbark ceanothus?, Stinging lupine, Woolly paintbrush. –S.L. Dickey. |
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Cold Creek Preserve |
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Date: 3/6 |
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White chaparral currant ??, Bicolored everlasting [Two-toned everlasting], Bur
clover, Common eucrypta, Sugar bush, Wild cucumber, Greenbark ceanothus ?,
Buck brush, Tree Poppy [Bush Poppy], California Maiden-hair fern, California
polypody, Coastal wood fern [California wood fern], Coffee fern, Eastwood
manzanita, Purple nightshade, Southern tauschia, Giant chain fern, Giant
horsetail (sterile stem), Milkmaids. –
S.L. Dickey. |
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Rancho Sierra Vista /
Satwiwa |
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Date: 3/3 |
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The Overflow parking area is a pretty
good area to see wildflowers right now. There are lots of Shooting Stars, especially
in broad patches on the north side of the road. There was also a fair quality
of red-stem filaree. If you walk along
the small path towards the ravine, there is a fairly good cluster of Indian
Paintbrush that is just about to reach peak bloom. In this area there are a
lot of John Jump-ups throughout. Most can be found next to other large plants
and not as much in the open grasslands. The popcorn flower population is fair
but can be easily missed because it is in only small patches. We even found a
California Poppy in bloom and two Chocolate Lilly flowers with full and
partial blooms. Along the road there was plenty of mustard weed and some
telegraph weed. Quite a bit of soap root was seen (not in bloom at this time
but gives hope to later on.) – M.
Theune, L. Okazaki, & R. Cromwell |
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Caballero Canyon |
Woodland
and Main Canyon Trail |
Date: 3/3 |
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Moderate rise, 800 foot elevation
gain, interior canyon, view of coastline of Palos Verdes and Catalina from
top of Mulholland, great view of S.F. Valley; early bloomers of shrubs and
trees, few annuals and perennials yet.
Salvia columbariae - Chia,
Encelia californica - CA Encelia, Bush Sunflower, Amsinckia menziesii -
Common Fiddleneck (also seen walking in the main canyon), Ceanothus spinosus
- Greenbark C., C. megacarpus - Bigpod C., Marah macrocarpus - Wild Cucumber,
Chillicothe, Cryptantha sp. and Plagiobothrys sp. - Popcorn Flowers, Ribes sp
R. aureum -, R. malvaceum, R. indecorum (?) it's the white-flowering one,
Golden Currant, pink Chaparral Currant, White-flowering Currant, Dichelostemma
capitatum - Blue Dicks. – H. Mason. |
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Malibu Creek State Park |
Misc.
West-end Trails |
Date: 3/1 |
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We parked at Cornell & Mulholland
and then hiked past the Regan Ranch Ranger Station. Yearling Trail : Buck brush, Cheeseweed,
Fiddleneck (Common), Henbit, Lupines (soon -- 10 days?), Miner's lettuce,
Peppergrass, Red-stemmed filaree, Redmaids, Wild radish (white & Pink),
Winter vetch ?? (the meadow areas were crammed with what will be either
Winter vetch or Spring vetch -- no blooms yet but there will be soon -
perhaps 10 days or so ??) Deer Leg
Trail : Chickweed, Fennel, Wild cucumber, Wild sweet pea (soon - 10
days?). – S.L. Dickey. |
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Peter Strauss Ranch |
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Date: 3/1 |
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Buck brush, California Maiden-hair
fern, Canyon sunflower (soon - 2 wks?), Chickweed, Coastal wood-fern,
[California wood fern], Fiddleneck (Common), Henbit, Milkmaids, Miner's
lettuce, Wild sweet pea (soon - 2 wks?), Wild cucumber. – S.L. Dickey. |
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Solstice Canyon |
Sunrise
Trail |
Date: 3/1 |
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1600 foot elevation gain, fairly strenuous
but good trail. Gorgeous coastal
views. Rich Canyon history. Good showing of flowering plants. Clematis
ligusticifolia - Virgin Bower, Castilleja affinis - Indian Paintbrush,
Phacelia cicutaria - Caterpillar Phacelia, P. distans - Common P., P.
parryi - Parry's P., Dichelostemma
capitatum - Blue Dicks, Wild Hyacinth, Popcorn flower, Lupinus longifolius -
Bush Lupine, L. succulentus - Succulent L., Vicia sativa - Spring Vetch – H. Mason. |
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Solstice Canyon |
Misc.
Trails |
Date: 2/28 |
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Since I hiked three trails in the
park I tried to keep track of where I saw what. If a flower name is followed
by the abbreviation of a specific trail then I saw it on that trail only.
Rising Sun Trail (RS), Solstice Canyon Trail (SC), Dry Canyon Trail (DC.)
Bermuda buttercup, Bicolored everlasting,
[Two-toned everlasting], Bindweed, Blue dicks (RS), Bur clover, California
sunflower, [ Bush sunflower] (RS), California poppy (SC), California
Blackberry, Canyon sunflower (DC, SC), Castor bean, [Castor plant] -- right
at Tropical Terrace, Common eucrypta, Deerweed, Giant horsetail (sterile
stem), Greenbark ceanothus (RS), Henbit (SC), London rocket (SC), Parry's
phacelia, Periwinkle, Popcorn flower (RS), Purple nightshade, Red-stemmed
filaree, Sticky phacelia, Stinging lupine (RS), Succulent lupine ?, Terracina
Spurge (SC) Virgin's bower (RS), White nightshade, Wild cucumber (RS) (DC),
Wild sweet pea, Woolly paintbrush (RS)
– S.L. Dickey. |
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Trancas Canyon |
Backbone
Trail |
Date: 2/28 |
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Today’s hike was the fifth 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. The
weather was again partly cloudy and cool. We started from the same location as
our previous hike, and headed east into Trancas Canyon. The NPS has elected to keep the Trancas
Canyon watershed “quiet”.
This is the only official trail in the area, hence the plants and
animals have a less disturbed habitat.
Dropping quickly into Trancas we paused to consider the riparian
environment and specifically the Coast Live Oak species, (Quercus
agrifolia). The climb out of Trancas
to Zuma Motorway was eased by alluring vistas and varying plant
communities. We were pleased to first
hear, and then see (from a distance), the waterfall near the motorway. It was a harbinger of a tranquil creek side
lunch at the bridge. This section
concludes at the overflow parking for the trailhead at Kanan’s
western most tunnel. At least 24 native species were in
flower. As usual the wild cucumber,
ceanothus (greenbark, hoary-leafed and big-pod), purple nightshade, two-toned
everlasting, deer weed, and morning glory were in abundance. There were a number of species at the end
of their bloom, while others were the first of the season. Examples include: chaparral currant,
willow, milkmaids, wishbone, Parry's phacelia, sun-cup, small-flowering
popcorn, collarless poppy, blue dick, minor’s lettuce, peone, prickly phlox and Indian warrior to name a few.
Rating: better. – R. Waycott. |
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Las Virgenes Canyon Open
Space |
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Date: 2/27 |
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Bicolor everlasting [Two-toned
everlasting], Bindweed, Buck brush, Bur clover, California sunflower [Bush
sunflower], Chia sage, London rocket, Fiddleneck, Miner's lettuce, Mule fat, Peppergrass,
Popcorn flower, Purple nightshade, Red-stemmed filaree, Wild cucumber,
Wishbone bush. – S.L. Dickey. |
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Escondido Canyon Natural
Area |
Escondido
Falls Trail |
Date: 2/25 |
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Bermuda buttercup, Bicolored everlasting [Two-toned everlasting], Blue
dicks, Bur clover, California buckwheat, California Maiden-hair fern, Canyon
sunflower, Castor bean [Castor plant], Coastal wood-fern [California wood
fern], Coffee fern, Common sunflower, Fennel, Fleabane aster, Greenbark
ceanothus, Hummingbird sage, Periwinkle, Popcorn flower, Red-stemmed filaree,
Succulent lupine [Arroyo Lupine] ?, Sugar bush, Terracina Spurge, Weedy
oxalis, White nightshade, Wild sweet pea, Wild morning glory, Wild radish,
Wild cucumber, Wishbone plant [Wishbone bush], Woolly paintbrush. – S.L. Dickey. |
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Cold Creek Preserve |
Stunt High Trail |
Dates: 2/15, 18, & 22 |
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Greetings flower lovers! It's a great time to explore the local creeks
and waterfalls before the outburst of spring foliage makes them nearly
impassable. I'm guessing that the Cold
Creek Valley Preserve, (located below Stunt Road) is one of the few places in
the Agoura / Calabasas area which is always open to the public and where you
can see a nice display of ferns along the creek bed. (Note Cold Creek Preserve -- above Stunt
Road -- is open to the public during docent tours and by reservation.) Here's what I saw about 10 days ago: Blue
dicks, Buck brush, California peony, California everlasting, California
polypody, California buckwheat, California Maiden-hair fern, Chalk
live-forever, Chaparral currant, Cliff aster, Coastal wood-fern [California
wood fern], Coffee fern, Greenbark ceanothus, Lupines (Arroyo ?), Milkmaids,
Miner's lettuce, Periwinkle, Prickly phlox, Purple nightshade, Red-stemmed
filaree, Sugar bush, Tree tobacco, Wild cucumber. – S.L. Dickey. |
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Backbone Trail |
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Date: 2/14 |
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Today’s hike is the fourth of the
NPS sponsored Backbone Trail hikes in the 2008 – 2009 series. We will
be hiking west to east, one section of the Backbone Trail each month. The
weather was partly cloudy and cool. We started our hike where the
Backbone Trail crosses Encinal Canyon Road. We hiked the trail to the west
(really pretty much a northerly direction for this section), crossing
Mulholland Highway within 1.2 miles and continuing another 2.6 miles to the
Etz Meloy Motorway. This section of trail is entirely on NPS property and the
property ends about a half mile up the Etz Meloy Motorway, at which point we
have to turn around because NPS has not yet acquired the necessary property
to continue. The trail was moist from recent rains and views from the top
were spectacular, enhanced by snow topped mountains to the north and east. Most of the flower activity was just
beginning. There were some left-over Chaparral Current, Wild Cucumber and Big
Pod Ceanothus. Last year we had a second bloom of the Big Pod and I expect that
will happen this year as well. We had to check the veins in the leaves to be
sure the purple flowering Ceanothus was the Greenbark species. Mule Fat,
California Everlasting, Two-Tone Everlasting, Deerweed, Wishbone Bush, Tree
Tobacco and Morning Glory were scattered along the trail. Counting the
“weeds’ like Black Mustard we counted 19 species in bloom. The
section of trail above Mulholland was constructed fairly recently and many of
the flowers that like disturbed soil are beginning to appear. We saw a single
Parry’s Phacelia and young Bleeding Heart plants. Young Cliff Asters
are wide spread. We had two sunflower examples close enough to compare
differences between the Slim Sunflower and Canyon Sunflower. A couple California Fuschia, covered with
newly forming galls looked very strange.
Rating: poor. – B.
Elliott & R. Waycott |
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Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area 401 West
Hillcrest Drive 805-370-2301 |
If you
would like to contribute to the wildflower report: e-mail: or phone
Tony at 310-457-6408 |
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