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Page Revised: 4/7/05 |
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Available Sites Zuma/Trancas Canyons |
Date of Review 4/3/05 |
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See the photo gallery of
What’s Blooming at: http://www.nps.gov/samo/bloom/bloom.htm |
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In the interest of keeping
this What’s Blooming page brief, but simultaneously providing
access to past reports, we have created an archive
of previous reports |
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This season’s heavy
rains have damaged some of the Rec Area’s trails. If you are not up to
mud, stream crossings, and climbing into and out of washouts you might want
to call the park office to check on trail conditions. |
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Zuma / Trancas Canyons |
Zuma Loop Trail |
Date: 4/3/05 |
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About 25 species of wildflowers are in
bloom in the lower canyon area. Dominant species include: bush and canyon
sunflowers, scarlet pimpernel, black sage, and fiesta flower. Other species
along the higher portion of the loop trail include Catalina mariposa lily,
Indian paintbrush, bush lupine and blue-eyed grass. There is still a good
amount of water flowing through Zuma Creek. All creek crossings are passable
with some rock hopping. (KL) |
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Naturalist's rating: Good |
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Point Mugu State Park |
La Jolla Canyon / Lower
Loop Trails |
Date: 3/31/05 |
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Although the first mile is pretty
dry and past its peak, the heat is really bringing out the deerweed, bush
sunflower, yellow sweet clover, caterpillar phacelia, and coast paintbrush. Once
past the waterfall however, the wide-open, sunny canyon becomes narrow and
shady, and the plant life is more lush. The last of the coreopsis and
wallflower are seen along with Indian pinks, eucrypta, fiesta flower, canyon
sunflower, and wild rose. As you switch-back up the hill, you’ll come
across good numbers of peninsular onion: clusters of purple, star-shaped
flowers on single stems. Meandering along the upper canyon, look for the
fruits of chaparral currant and lemonade berry plus some deep-purple Parry’s
phacelia, greenbark ceanothus, and more paintbrush. If you take a left turn
at the lower part of Loop Trail, you’ll quickly enter the
valley’s famous grasslands dotted with mariposa lilies and blue-eyed
grass. Look for the primary bunchgrass, Nassella
pulchra (purple needlegrass), just coming into seed. Overall, about 60
species are blooming along the way.
(JG) |
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Naturalist's rating: Good to Very Good |
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Cheeseboro / Palo
Comado canyons |
China Flat Trail |
Date: 3/30/05 |
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On 3/30/05 we hiked the China Flat
Trail in the Cheeseboro/Palo Comado canyon preserve. The trail was badly
rutted by the recent rains, but dry. The flowers were out in large quantities
with 82 species identified, warranting a very good rating. Starting
immediately at the trail head just off Lindero Canyon Rd. we found a
profusion of blooms starting with the mundane prickly sow thistle, sour
clover, red stem filaree, hedge mustard, horehound, popcorn flower and bush
sunflower. A large stand of Chilean clover and some windmill pinks, bur
clover and scarlet pimpernel were scattered along the trail. Chamise, small
evening primrose, black sage, hoary leaf ceanothus, bush monkey flower and wooly
blue curl were also abundant. Yerba Santa was found all along the trail. The
foliage was quite ragged, but many blooms were present. The lavender rock
rose (Cistus), mule fat, blue dick,
and masses of the long billed filaree were also seen. Annual cat's ear, owl's
clover, dove lupine, purple nightshade, and wild cucumber had several
representatives in bloom. Many small flowers were present in amongst the
grasses including Chile lotus, Minute flowered popcorn flower, strigose
lotus, silver puff and angel’s gilia. Proceeding further up the canyon we
found Calif. buckwheat, mustard evening primrose, fern-leaf phacelia, morning
glory, violet snapdragon and chia. Eucrypta, wishbone bush, stinging lupine,
yellow monkey flower and common groundsel were also flowering. Deerweed was
starting to bloom and many yellow pincushions were present. We spotted slender bedstraw, tumbling
mustard, two toned everlasting, and both the common Calif. poppy and the
collarless poppy. Lace pod, Calif everlasting, fiddle neck, collared lupine
and cobwebby thistle were plentiful. Several prickly phlox, black mustard,
velvet leaf everlasting, sun cup and snake root were seen. The bright blue
flowers of the hairy ceanothus and lots of miner's lettuce and some annual
bedstraw were found. Fiesta flower, chickweed, spring vetch, pineapple weed,
and dandelion were also found. Several elderberry were blooming as were small
flowered fiddleneck, western ragweed, shepherd's purse, and a single purple Clarkia. Grasses in bloom include soft brome,
wild oats, hare barley, golden top, slender oats, rip-gut brome, Madrid
brome, and red brome. (RWM) |
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Naturalist's rating: Very Good |
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Rancho Sierra Vista |
Satwiwa Loop / Hidden
Valley Overlook |
Date: 3/29/05 |
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As the meadow grasses go to seed,
the hills and canyons are coming into peak bloom with nearly 60 wildflower
species seen. The high part of the loop—a half-mile stretch between the
windmill and Upper Sycamore Canyon Trail—continues to show the best
variety. Notables included hedge nettle, snake root, the last shooting stars,
dove lupine, blue-eyed grass, continuing ceanothus, Indian pinks, black sage,
fiesta flower, and miner’s lettuce. Better yet, the Hidden Valley
Overlook Trail—often “overlooked,” but with great ocean
views—turned up a profusion of mariposa lilies and golden yarrow, with
lots of bush sunflowers, wishbone bush, and the first CA buckwheat and bush
mallow. With this much on the lip of Upper Sycamore Canyon, the trail to the stream,
waterfall, and down-canyon should be overflowing with flowers. (JG) |
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Naturalist's rating: Good to Very Good |
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Circle X Ranch |
Canyon View Trail |
Date: 3/27/05 |
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The Canyon View Trail is really one of
the best for flowers. Right off the
bat there is chamise, blue dicks, California buckwheat and black sage in
bloom. In the frequent exposed rocky
places there is an array of yellow monkey flower, larkspur, parry's phacelia,
mustard evening primrose, popcorn flower and chia. There are big patches of globe gilia along
the trail. In one spot there are
caterpillar, big flower and parry's phacelia all growing together. There is golden yarrow, sticky monkey
flower, deerweed, stinging lupine, purple nightshade and woolly blue curls.
There are more star lilies this year than I have ever seen before. There are several lovely groups of mariposa
lilies. There are creeks which are frequently
dry that are now flowing with water.
By these creeks red-skinned onion and annual paintbrush are
blooming. There are many clumps of
rock rose. . (DS) |
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Naturalist's rating: Very
Good |
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Circle X Ranch |
Grotto Trail |
Date: 3/27/05 |
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This easy-to-moderate trail goes
downhill about 1.5 miles through riparian, grassland, and chaparral habitats,
in shade and sun, with dramatic views of Boney Ridge and a few waterfalls.
This time of year, the wildflowers are always good and over 60 species were
viewed—though it’s not yet peaking. The standouts included
Parry’s phacelia, golden yarrow, microseris, stinging lupine, mariposa
lilies, spring vetch, canyon sunflower, blue-eyed grass, and mustard evening
primrose. Just past the first waterfall, look for the rocky seep with moss, ferns,
blue larkspur, California saxifrage, creek monkey flowers, and bunches of
Chinese houses. After crossing the creek at the bottom of the hill,
you’ll find a late-blooming fuchsia-flowered gooseberry, lots of blue
dicks, and some giant star lilies. With spring in full swing, you might also
notice the singing birds: purple finches, ruby-crowned kinglets, thrashers,
house and canyon wrens, Hutton’s vireos, wrentits, woodpeckers,
orange-crowned warblers, flycatchers—even an oriole and black-headed grosbeak
near the trailhead. Birds, blooms, and lots of water for another month or
two—catch it while you can. (JG) |
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Naturalist's rating: Good
to Very Good |
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Circle X Ranch |
Backbone Trail below
Triunfo Peak |
Date: 3/23/05 |
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This trail is one of the newest
sections of the Backbone Trail has been crafted with much care (when the
trail was new someone did a good chunk of it in a wheelchair). As the trail
has aged grass is taking over in places and displacing the pioneering wildflowers.
The recent heavy rains have exposed rocks and caused several slides including
one place were it is necessary to leave the trail to get around several massive boulders. The gentle slope of the trail encourages
water to pool on the trail making mud a frequent acquaintance after a
rain. The trail itself runs about six
miles from the Mishe Mokwa trailhead to Yerba Buena Road at about mile
9.10. I decided to come back on Yerba
Buena and make a loop of it, adding another two miles (and about ten flowers
to the count). Be careful if you
choose to do this since Yerba Buena has very little shoulder in some
places. On the weekends the heavier, often
fast traffic might make this not a good idea.
Including the road, 96 different flowers were seen blooming. However, much of the trail is not heavily
flowered so I have only given this trail a “good” rating. Highlights include many Hollyleaf
Cherry, the deep blue Hairy-leaved Ceanothus, several different species of
Lupines, Prickly Phlox, Wild Morning Glory, masses of Blue Dicks, many Star
Lilies, Chia, frequent encounters with Parry's Phacelia, a beautiful
Fuchsia-flowered Gooseberry, several areas with Twining Snapdragon, Catalina
Mariposa Lily (along the road), some Blue Larkspur, Chocolate Lily, Chinese
Houses, Bush Monkey Flower, and a small creek surrounded by Red-skinned
Onion. Also seen blooming were Annual Cat's
Ear, Popcorn Flower, California Buckwheat, Wild Cucumber Golden Yarrow,
Red-stem Filaree, White-stem Filaree, Annual Bedstraw, Narrow-leaved
Bedstraw, California Filago, Eucrypta, Mountain Mahogany, Hollyleaf Redberry,
Miner's Lettuce, Black Sage, Black Mustard (and three other unidentified
mustards), Elderberry, Scrub Oak, Coast Live Oak, Purple Nightshade, Sow
Thistle, Prickly Sow Thistle, Common Groundsel, Chamise, Greenbark Ceanothus,
Bigpod Ceanothus, Hedge Nettle, Fiesta Flower, Two-tone Everlasting,
California Everlasting, Canyon Sunflower, Bush Sunflower, Pacific Sanicle,
Southern Tauschia, Yellow Monkey Flower, Creek Monkey Flower, Narrow-leaved
Fringe-Pod, Pigmy Weed, Deerweed, Strigose Lotus, Coastal Lotus, Coulter's
Lupine, Stinging Lupine, Bush Lupine, Collar Lupine, Henbit, Windmill Pink,
Silver Puffs, Rock rose, Mustard Evening Primrose, Small Evening Primrose,
Woolly Blue-curls, Bleeding Heart, Wishbone Bush, Horehound, Spanish Broom,
Bigberry Manzanita, Bur Clover, Virgin's Bower, Skullcap, Rattlesnake Weed (Daucus pusillus),
Owl Clover, Shooting Stars, Yellow Pincushion, Coast Goldfields, Poison Oak,
Pineapple Weed, California Plantain, Woolly Lomatium, Field Clover,
California Poppy, Chaparral Current, Turkey pea, Wild Radish, Cheeseweed,
White Sweet Clover, Yellow Sweet Clover, and Blow Wives. (TV) |
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Naturalist's rating: Good |
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Circle X Ranch |
Mishe Mokwa and
Sandstone Peak Trails |
Date: 3/21/05 |
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This six mile loop is quite popular,
and while it often lags the nearby Canyon View trail in flower diversity, it more
than makes up for it in grandeur of views. If you don't want to do the whole
six mile loop and are mostly interested in flowers then the section from the
trailhead to split rock usually shows three-quarters of the flowers of the
whole loop. The trail is still muddy in places because of persistent springs
along the trail, but most of the mud is shallow or avoidable. On 3/21/05 we
hiked the Mishe Mokwa Trail primarily to view the chocolate lilies before
they were done for the season. We were not disappointed, perhaps a dozen were
blooming in the usual section along the trail. I noticed that quite a few of
the plants exhibited the cut stems where a lily should have been. The trail
was muddy is places, but readily traversed. Including the grasses some 69
species were found in bloom almost all in good quantities. A rating of good
is assigned for this display. White and yellow
flowers made up two thirds of the blooms. The whites included chamise, Calif.
buckwheat, Catalina Mariposa lily, big pod ceanothus and lots of popcorn
flower. A single cliff aster but a fair amount of wooly lomatium and miner's
lettuce was seen. The usual morning glory, holly leaf red berry, eucrypta,
wild cucumber, and two-tone everlasting were also present. A very unusual
white bloom was found among a stand of Parry's phacelia, exhibiting the same
leaves and large exserted white anthers of the typical deep purple Parry's
phacelia. Perhaps this was Parry's ghost. Lace pod, holly leaf cherry,
virgin's bower, poison oak, Calif. saxifrage, Calif. everlasting, and sandbar
willow made up the rest of the white shaded blooms. The yellow/golden
colors were represented by bur clover, deerweed, golden yarrow, sow thistle,
strigose lotus, silver puff and a small evening primrose tentatively
identified as yellow sun cup. Also in this group were common groundsel,
yellow monkey flower, slender bedstraw, southern tauschia, snakeroot, Calif.
collarless poppy and bush monkey flower. Rounding off this list were both
mustard and miniature evening primrose, canyon sunflower, coast goldfield,
and American winter cress. The red tinged colors were represented only by
wild sweet pea, owl's clover and chaparral current. The
violet/blue/purple color group contributed red stem filaree, black sage, blue
dick, wooly blue curl and chia. Also seen were stinging lupine, purple night
shade, chocolate lily, Parry's phacelia, and both dove and collar lupines. A
violet snapdragon, some globe gilia, hairy leaf ceanothus and blue larkspur
were also contributors. A strange green gall was found in several locations
on a hoary leaf ceanothus. Also an unusual sight was the mass of what is
believed to be spore cells rising above the thick moss with their little
round green capsule supported on a 1/4 to 1/2 inch stalk. Grasses are
plentiful and they included slender oats, Madrid brome, foxtail barley,
golden top, red brome, blue grass, soft brome, and broom sedge grass. Some
less frequently seen bird's foot fern was also seen. (RWM) |
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Naturalist's rating: Good |
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Charmlee Wilderness
Park |
Fire Trail |
Date: 3/17/05 |
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Good wildflowers are blooming here,
but you’ll need to find your own way around the park. There are no maps
available and signage is very poor. As you cross from the bathrooms into the
picnic area, take the trail to the left. This trail takes you into the area
where the burn was two years ago. While flowers are fair at first, once you
get into the burn area, you’ll find patches ranging from good to very
good. We counted more than 50 species in bloom. There are lots of variety and
good coverage. Highlights are fields of long beaked storks bill (non native,
but very nice), along with fire followers like violet (twining) snapdragon,
branching, caterpillar and Parry’s phacelias. We went to the cistern,
then retraced our steps. (SB) |
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Naturalist's rating: Good
to very good |
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Nicholas Flat |
Decker School Rd Trail
to Pond |
Date: 3/17/05 |
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In a rainy year, this short, shady
trail reminds you more of central and northern California with its dense
greenery and profusion of miner’s lettuce, canyon sunflower, bedstraw,
hummingbird sage, and snakeroot. But most was yet to bloom—give it a
few more weeks. Once the trail opened out into hillside meadows, blue-eyed
grass was hiding in the tall annual grass, and a few chocolate lilies and
shooting stars lingered. Other notables among the 25 flowering species
included clumps of coast paintbrush, fiddlenecks, golden yarrow, greenbark
ceanothus, cucumber, and windmill pinks. With the pond brimming, two pairs of
sharp ring-necked ducks dabbled among the water plants, soon to be heading
north. (JG) |
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Naturalist's rating: Fair |
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Leo Carrillo State
Beach |
Loop Trail to Ocean
Overlook |
Date: 3/17/05 |
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This 2-mile trail is always a surprise
especially if you hit it at peak season—which is starting right now. 60
species were counted with many profuse, yet often seen in just small pockets over a short
distance. Since the trail provides good elevation gain and slopes face many
sun angles, micro-habitats are provided for plants with special needs. Of
particular note was the high percentage of native bunch grasses along the
whole trail, mostly nassella pulchra (needlegrass). Also continuous were bush
sunflowers, morning glory, deerweed, mustard evening primrose, popcorn,
sticky monkey flower, black sage, narrow-leaved bedstraw, wishbone bush,
Parry’s phacelia, blue dicks, coast paintbrush, and locoweed. Those
seen in pockets included mariposa lilies (along the first half-mile), scarlet
buglers (middle-mile), 5 lupines—bush, bajada, collar, foothill, and
stinging (in pockets), chia sage, bladder pod, prostrate spurge, coast lotus,
Indian pinks, and CA plantain. A GREAT mix—get on out there. It should
be good through early April. (JG) |
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Naturalist's rating: Very
Good-Excellent |
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Cold Creek Area |
Upper Stunt High Trail |
Date: 3/14/05 |
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Watch for the trailhead for this obscure
trail on Stunt Road at the equestrian crossing road sign. Views of
surrounding rocks are excellent as you descend the one mile trail. Although
the manzanitas blooms are just about finished, there are still some in bloom
plus about a dozen other species such as chamise and wooly blue curls which
make the walk worthwhile. As you finish, cross Stunt Road and continue down
the road a short distance to the Stunt Ranch area to continue your walk onto
the Stunt High Trail. (SB) |
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Naturalist's rating: Good |
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Cold Creek Area |
Stunt High Trail |
Date: 3/14/05 |
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Parking for this trailhead is on
Stunt Road about 1 mile in from Mulholland Highway. Across the street is the entrance
to the Calabasas Fire Road. We parked here and drove another car up Stunt
Road where this trailhead starts at the telephone pole at the upper end of
Stunt Ranch, UCLA Reserve parking. The two mile trail descends through the
Stunt Ranch property to the creek where we turned right to continue along the
creek back to the lower parking lot. Lots of flowers are in bloom here. We
counted 35 species spaced along the trail with a good variety, blue dicks,
eucrypta, wild cucumber, nightshade and mariposa lilies. By far the highlights of this walk were
the masses of red maids, fiddleneck and owl’s clover blooming in the
meadow in the center of the walk and the baby blue eyes blooming along the
bottom portion of the trail along the creek. (SB) |
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Naturalist's rating: Good |
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Santa
Monica Mountains National Recreation Area 401 West
Hillcrest Drive Ph.
805-370-2301 web. www.nps.gov/samo |
Thank you for your
contributions: Sheila
Braden |
If you
would like to contribute to the wildflower report: e-mail: or phone
him at 310-457-6408 |
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