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Page Revised: 3/26/07 |
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Available Sites Circle X Ranch Point Mugu State Park Cheeseboro & Palo Comado Cyns Malibu Creek State Park Zuma & Trancas Canyons Castro Crest |
Date of Review 3/24/07 & 3/23/07
& 3/16/07 & 3/7/07. 3/23/07 & 2/6/07. 3/21/07 3/14/07 & 1/17/07. 3/10/07 2/10/07. |
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What's Blooming photo gallery: http://www.researchlearningcenter.com/bloom/bloom.htm |
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Circle X Ranch |
Sandstone Peak Trail |
Date: 3/24/07 |
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This trail is usually not the best
around for flowers but in compensation more than makes up for it by taking
you to the highest point in the Santa Monica Mountains. The views are unobstructed and on a clear
day you can easily see San Clemente seventy miles out to sea or the snow on
Old Baldy eighty mile to the East. The ceanothus is the flowering shrub to
see right now. While the bigpod
ceanothus is winding down there are still many individuals dotting the landscape
with their whitish to purplish blossoms. For me the prize is the hairy-leaved
ceanothus with its tight purple clusters of many small blossoms. It is easy
to see why some people call this shrub the “chaparral
lilac.” As you climb higher
toward the peak the bigpod and hairy-leaved give way to the whiter
hoary-leaved ceanothus which is also beginning to bloom nicely on this
trail. The other flowers worth noting
are prickly phlox, wild cucumber, deerweed, chaparral current, purple
nightshade and Eastwood manzanita.
Otherwise we saw very few flowers, both in terms of variety and
quantity. All told only a little over
two dozen different flower species were seen in bloom. (TV) |
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Naturalist's rating: Good |
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Circle X Ranch |
Quick update |
Date: 3/23/07 |
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Just a very quick update for the
ceanothus lovers in the crowd. The
bigpod ceanothus that was doing so well a week ago at CXR (and many other
places as well) has pretty much finished up already. The other ceanothus species are still
ramping up their show but mostly have not come out in great quantity
yet. The loss of the dramatic
flowering display of this shrub will drop the flower rating of many of our
trails back to a “poor” rating.
A few more species of flowers have made their appearance in the last
week but only in very sparse quantities.
Otherwise the trails remain in good condition and the rain we received
last Tuesday have helped keep things fresh and green. (TV) |
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Naturalist's rating: Generally Poor |
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Circle X Ranch |
Mishe Mokwa loop |
Date: 3/23/07 |
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Here's one for the Circle X
area. We hiked the Mishe Mokwa /
Backbone loop on March 23 and saw the following in bloom: Big-pod, Hoary-leaved,
and Hairy-leaved Ceanothus, Peonies with buds, Prickly Phlox, Deer Weed,
Chaparral Currant, Shooting Stars, Woolly Lomatium, Blue Dick, Wild Cucumber,
Eastwood Manzanita, Coastal Lotus, Popcorn Flower. (BS) |
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Naturalist's rating: NR |
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Point Mugu State Park |
La Jolla Canyon |
Date: 3/23/07 |
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From Ray Miller Trailhead - La Jolla
Canyon trail through La Jolla Valley and return via the Backbone trail. The Giant Coreopsis in La Jolla Canyon are almost
in full bloom. Most plants had 3/4's
of their buds open. Another week and
they should be at their peak. We also
saw copious amounts of Blue Dick and Indian Paintbrush throughout the
hike. Other flowers in bloom were:
Scarlet Pimpernel, Fuchsia Flowered Gooseberry, Shooting Stars, Red Stem
Filaree, Turkish Rugging, Parry's Phacelia, Fiesta Flower, Wild Cucumber,
Purple Nightshade, Lemonade Berry, Buckwheat, Everlasting, Morning Glory,
Hedge Nettle, Greenbark Ceanothus, Buck-Brush, Blue Eyed Grass, Tree Tobacco,
Bladder Pod, California Poppy, Collarless California Poppy, Coast Wallflower,
Mustard, Deerweed, Santa Barbara Locoweed, Bush Sunflower and Chaparral
Currant. At Thornhill-Broome Beach
across Hwy 1 from the trailhead we observed Pink Sand Verbena. (R&AT) |
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Naturalist's rating: Good |
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Cheeseboro & Palo
Comado Canyons |
Misc. Trails in the Burn Area |
Date: 3/21/07 |
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Here is the list Kendra compiled from
the Wednesday's burn area scoping survey.
Species: Amsinckia menziesii, Arctostaphylos glandulosa, Baccharis
salicifolia, Calandrinia sp., Calystegia macrostegia, Camissonia californica,
Castilleja foliolosa, Ceanothus crassifolius, Cryptantha muricata, Dendromecon
rigida, Encelia californica, Eriogonum cinereum, Erodium botrys, Erodium
cicutarium, Eucrypta chrysanthemifolia, Helianthemum scoparium, Heterotheca
grandiflora, Hirschfeldia incana, Hordeum murinum, Juncus bufonius,
Leptodactylon californicum, Lessingia filaginifolia, Lotus strigosus, Marah
macrocarpus, Medicago polymorpha, Melilotus indicus, Mimulus aurantiacus,
Mirabilis californica, Muhlenbergia microsperma, Nolina cismontana, Paeonia
californica, Pectocarya linearis, Pedicularis densiflora, Phacelia parryi,
Plagiobothrys canescens, Polypogon monspeliensis, Ribes indecorum, Salix
lasiolepis, Salvia columbariae, Schismus arabicus, Solanum xanti, Tauschia
arguta. (KS & TS) |
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Naturalist's rating: NR |
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Circle X Ranch |
Canyon View & Grotto Trails |
Date: 3/16/07 |
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Just a very quick update for the
ceanothus lovers in the crowd. The bigpod ceanothus is in full bloom right
now at CXR (and many other places as well.)
We are also seeing a few early individuals of the hairy-leaved,
hoary-leaved, and greenbark ceanothus as well. Just on the basis of these rather dramatic
shrubs I would probably bump most of the CXR trails up to “fair.” The only other plants found in any quantity
are the purple nightshade, wild cucumber, deerweed, and, on the canyon view
trail, wishbone bush and blue dick.
Also worth noting on these two trails I’ve run across scattered
shooting stars, chaparral current, everlasting, a few California peony, one
blue larkspur, a single Parry’s phacelia, some common fiddleneck, and a
sprinkling of small popcorn flowers.
(TV) |
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Naturalist's rating: Fair |
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Malibu Creek State Park |
Phantom Trail |
Date: 3/14/07 |
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I was on the Phantom Trail (northern
Malibu Creek SP, north of Mulholland) earlier this week (Wednesday, to be
specific), and I saw a lot of Indian Paintbrush in bloom. Not certain of the exact species, but it is
bright cardinal in color, one in which the style extrudes itself out of the
flower tube. There are also California
poppies coming out on the ridge, as well as a fair amount of ceanothus in
bloom, and not big-pod, either, in both white and 'blue'. Naturally, poison oak is beginning to put
out buds in many areas. I also saw
willow in bloom, but can't remember exactly where - been all over, trying to
get out a lot before the weather gets too hot - just that it wasn't on the
Phantom Trail, of course. I also saw a
few very small, deep purple-with-a-hint-of-red flowers that had a vague
resemblance to native geraniums (not the horticultural ones) on the southern
Phantom Trail ridge. A "belly
flower" that require getting on your stomach to really see, (JC) |
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Naturalist's rating: NR |
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Zuma and Trancas
Canyons |
backbone trail |
Date: 3/10/07 |
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Saturday, 3/10, we walked from Kanan
to Mulholland crossing the upper watersheds of Zuma and Trancas Canyons. The following
were blooming (they're listed in no particular order.) big-pod ceanothus, greenbark ceanothus,
man-root, purple nightshade, California everlasting, chaparral currant,
fuchsia-flowered, gooseberry, Indian warrior, milkmaids, hoary-leafed
ceanothus, walnut, California poppy, deerweed, mule fat, California
buckwheat, hummingbird sage, morning glory, four o'clock, coyote bush,
telegraph weed, slender sunflower, Parry's phacelia, sticky monkey
flower. The big pod was
outstanding. A lot of everlasting,
chaparral currant, man root and nightshade.
Everything else was sparse.
(RW) |
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Naturalist's rating: Fair |
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Circle X Ranch |
Various trails |
Date: 3/9/07 |
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The very dry conditions we’ve had
this winter has resulted in unusually few flowers so far this year. In particular, the annuals that depend on
regular winter rain to germinate their seeds are running way behind. Even the perennials have been slow to get
going. However, we are finally
beginning to see good numbers of ceanothus blooming so at least they believe
Spring is beginning. In fact, they have been so quick to pop out that
I’ve had to re-write this review since I began composing it a few days
ago The chaparral current has been
blooming for a month now and while some have already finished blooming most
are in their prime. The same can be
said for big-berry manzanita although the later blooming Eastwood manzanita
is just beginning. Individual bigpod
ceanothus shrubs have been blooming for some time but the population as a
whole is only just beginning. However,
in just the last two days a dramatic change has occurred and now they can be
seen on the hillsides at a distance.
Even a few of the other species of ceanothus can be seen blooming here
and there. The other notable right now
is the shooting star. Again, they are
just beginning but both the Mishe Mokwa trail and the Backbone trail below the
Mishe Mokwa display them well in a number of locations. I’ve also run across scattered
examples of purple nightshade, California buckwheat, deer weed, wild
cucumber, wooly lomatium, southern tauschia, silk-tassel bush, prickly phlox,
two-tone everlasting, morning glory, and a few popcorn flowers. On the Canyon View trail last weekend I
noticed that the wishbone bush looks like it is getting ready for a good year
but has not quite started blooming yet.
Along the creeks the small flowers of the mule fat are easy to miss. On the grotto trail two weeks ago we
smelled the sweet fragrance of the California bay and examined a nice display
of young ferns. A hike to Sandstone
Peak last week resulted in the poorest flower showing I have ever seen, but
the hike itself was magnificent with vistas of the offshore islands and
distant snow-capped peaks. Even the
typical roadside weeds like the mustard, filaree and groundsel seem to be
struggling to do much. The creeks are
mostly dry, and while there is water at the grotto, none of the waterfalls
are doing anything worth mentioning. On the other hand the trails are pleasantly
green and in good condition. In
summary, from a strictly flowering perspective, the hikes I’ve done so
far this year have been mostly poor, but that may change fast now that the
days are getting warmer. (TV) |
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Naturalist's rating: Mostly Poor but with some Fair sections |
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Castro Crest |
backbone trail |
Date: 2/10/07 |
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This morning, Saturday, we walked
from Upper Solstice to Kanan (T1). It was
great weather and 22 hikers finished under their own power. The blooms we saw included (in no
particular order): mule fat, morning glory, California buckwheat, ashyleaf
buckwheat, big-pod ceanothus, man-root, two-tone everlasting, wand chicory,
purple nightshade, hillside gooseberry, chaparral currant, tree-poppy,
telegraph weed, milkmaids, bigberry manzanita, coast paintbrush California
bay, California sagebrush, (RW) |
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Naturalist's rating: Poor |
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Point Mugu State Park |
La Jolla Canyon trail |
Date: 2/6/07 |
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I took a long hike in La Jolla Canyon
on Saturday. It'd been years since I'd
been there and it was delightful. But
looking for flowers was something of a scavenger hunt. As you say on the flower web site; for
spotting blooming flowers you would have to rate it below poor. It looked like the recent freeze took out
the majority of the laurel sumac. I'm
going to try and watch it and see if they make new leaves or completely die. As to flowers there were a few
chaparral current, deer weed and some giant coreopsis starting, On the ocean bluff there was some
bladderpod in bloom. Speaking of ocean
bluffs, I also stopped by Bluffs Park in Malibu to look at the area that
burned a few weeks ago and to see if anything was starting to sprout. Little bits here and there. Another place I want to keep an eye
on. (DS) |
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Naturalist's rating: Poor |
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Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area 401 West
Hillcrest Drive 805-370-2301 |
Thank
you for your
contributions: Bob Sweet |
If you
would like to contribute to the wildflower report: e-mail: or phone
Tony at 310-457-6408 |
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