Page Revised: 6/4/10
Available Site Reviews Topanga State Park Circle X Ranch Rancho Simi Open Space Castro Crest Malibu Creek State Park	Date of Reviews 6/2 & 5/29. 5/31 & 4/30 & 4/27 & 4/24. 5/28. 5/21. 4/24.
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I’ve done some casual looking around recently but few long hikes. The flower displays continue to remain excellent in many places although we have definitely moved into the ‘Late Spring’ flowers in most locations. I did some hiking in the northern part of the park last week and things were pretty dry with not a lot to see. Sections closer to the coast and otherwise more sheltered are doing better. Some of the roadways have quite dramatic flowers displays that can be seen from your car window, Westlake Road going up into the hills from Westlake in particular comes to mind. While I have not been receiving a lot of flower report submissions for this newsletter this year I want to point out that it has been and continues to be a very good year for wildflowers -- certainly the best we have seen in recent years. No doubt the cooler weather and fairly regular showers can be thanked for that.

As always, if you want to contact me or submit a flower report my email address is at the at the bottom of this page. See you on the trails.

– ed.

Topanga State park		Backbone Trail	Date: 6/2
	I hiked the Dead Horse Trail early in on an overcast morning. The meadow where the trail begins, just outside the Trippet Ranch parking lot was filled with deer. There were at least 15 including two spotty fawns. The flowers were great. There was sticky monkey flower, wild rose, purple clarkia, sticky madia, vetch and slender tarweed all growing alongside the meadow. Entering the chaparral there was chamise, black sage, deerweed, turkish rugging, vervain, California everlasting, flowering yucca and woolly blue curls. The trail meanders between chaparral and riparian woodland and crosses a bridge over a still-flowing stream. In the wooded areas I saw canyon sunflower, purple nightshade, popcorn flower, elder flower, caterpillar phacelia, hummingbird sage and golden yarrow with heart leaf penstemon making a scarlet canopy overhead. – Dorothy Steinicke

Circle X Ranch		Backbone Trail	Date: 5/31
	I know I've said it before, but I think this season may be the best ever for flowers. We hiked the Mishe Mokwa loop on Memorial Day. We were stunned at the great masses of flowers and also at flowers still in bloom that usually have finished long before Memorial Day. Standing at the Sandstone Peak entrance to the trail we could see flowering yucca, California buckwheat, black sage, golden yarrow, chamise and Turkish rugging. Hiking toward the peak we started seeing the exquisite yellow mariposa lilies. These are large and striking. Over the course of the trail we probably saw 50 of them. There were also a lot of the more common, and usually earlier Catalina Mariposas that I think of being long finished by late spring. There were also cliff asters, woolly blue curls, bush lupine, the red dudleya, heart-leaf penstemon, farewell-to-spring, purple clarkia, sticky monkey flower, popcorn flower, Chinese houses, golden star lilies, peninsular onions and purple nightshade. On the way up to Sandstone Peak we saw caterpillar phacelia, cudweed aster, owls clover, pitcher sage, blue dicks, chalk live-forever, star lily and prickly phlox. Continuing on the trail we saw globe gilia, yerba santa, larkspur, California everlasting, yellow pincushion, yellow monkey flower and rock rose. The meadow that blooms with shooting stars in February was covered in various clarkias and wild brodiaea. On the way to Split rock we added cinquefoil to the list. Split Rock was thick with lady bugs. On the way up from Split Rock we added large flower phacelia and willow herb clarkia to the list. Magnificent flowers all the way around. – Dorothy Steinicke

Topanga State Park		Backbone Trail	Date: 5/29
	Today’s hike was the ninth leg of the 2010 Backbone Trail series co-sponsored by the National Park Service and the Santa Monica Mountains Trails Council.  We are hiking west to east covering one segment every two weeks. We finished the hike series with this hike from Trippet Ranch in Topanga Canyon to Will Rogers State Historic Park in Pacific Palisades.  The day offered light winds, unlimited visibility, and temperatures in the mid seventies.  An even 70 native species were in bloom.  Topanga offered a few treats from the get-go with rose, brodiaea, and several clarkias.  After taking in Eagle Rock and continuing to the Hub we spent most of the hike on the spine of the ridge out of Will Rogers.  This ridge contains the same general flora from end-to-end.  Or, in this year’s case, I should say wall-to-wall.  The bees and checkerspots were having trouble deciding between golden yarrow, California buckwheat, slender tarweed, bush monkey flower, and 4 phacelias. All appeared to held together by dodder’s golden thread.   The yucca moth must have been happy to avoid all of the competition.  Of note were: rock rose, Turkish rugging, notable penstemon, whispering bells, white and violet snapdragons, chaparral pea, rattle weed, and a lone white pincushion. Oh, to hold these memories until next year’s hike series. – Ralph Waycott

Rancho Simi Open Space		China Flat Trail	Date: 5/28
	We hiked up the China Flat Trail from Lindero Road to the top situated in the Cheeseboro Canyon unit of the NRA. I was specifically looking for flower that used to grow up at the very top after the area burned a few years back. However the area has had a chance to recover and it no longer has that just-burned look with the unique flora that goes with that. Along the way up the steep hill we saw a number of things in bloom but far less than just a few weeks ago. Things have really dried up here in the northern portion of the Rec Area since the last rain. It is an indication that it is time to start choosing your flower hikes more strategically and visiting the areas that are closer to the coast or otherwise more sheltered. Flowering highlights included truly incredible masses of lush deerweed, some nice yerba santa, California buckwheat, caterpillar phacelia, golden yarrow, sun cups, turkish rugging, sapphire wool stars, a few early slender tarweed, three different lupines, bush mallow, black sage, bush monkey flower, woolly blue curls, yucca, scarlet pimpernel, quite a bit of dodder in bloom, wild morning glory, and up at the very top one single lilac mariposa lily. There were many butterflies about enjoying all the golds of late spring. Fair. – ed.

Castro Crest		Backbone Trail	Date: 5/21
	We did a quick hike on the backbone trail going west starting at the Corral Canyon trailhead. We did not go all the way to Latigo Road but turned back once the trail started rising up out of the woodland and into the chaparral. One of the things I like about this hike is that the first part goes through a recent burn so over the last few years I’ve been able to watch the plants recover from that burn. Most of the early herbaceous fire-followers have given way to taller shrubs and plants. The area is still very low and lush and has many plants that flower profusely. The chamise is beginning to flower well and it contrasts nicely with the masses of yellows from the deerweed, sunflowers, yarrow and monkey flowers. As the trail drops down lower we get into older and taller growth that provides shelter for a wide variety of flowering plants. I was in a hurry so did not do a species count but it would have been quite respectable. Flowering highlights included wild morning glory, black sage still looking better than the best of most years, buckwheat blooming profusely, bush mallow, bush poppy, slender sunflower, a wonderful display of wooly blue curls, caterpillar phacelia, some California chicory, purple nightshade, popcorn flower, yucca, rock rose (not counting the big cultivar escapee up at the parking lot) red skinned onion, blue larkspur (i.e., the later one,) many scarlet pimpernel, sticky cinquefoil, dove lupine, Spanish clover, the tiny pygmy madia, meadow rue, angels gilia, globe gilia, very healthy looking hummingbird sage, scarlet bugler, mountain dandelion, Indian pink, California blackberry, Chinese houses, blue-eyed grass, fairy lantern, fiesta flower, sapphire wool stars, skullcap, and the California wild rose. Very Good. – ed.

Saddle Peak eastward		Backbone Trail	Date: 5/15
	Today’s hike was the eighth leg of the 2010 Backbone Trail series sponsored by the National Park Service and the Santa Monica Mountains Trails Council. We are hiking west to east covering one segment every two weeks. With just one hike in the series remaining after this one, we looked forward to entering Topanga State Park. Our day began in bright sunshine at the summit near Saddle Peak with low clouds enshrouding the coastal slopes below. We followed the Fossil Ridge Trail to the east and examined many pectin (clam) shell impressions in the basal portion of the Miocene age Topanga Formation. Crossing chaparral/oak woodland before descending into a glorious Hondo Canyon and a Bay Tree Woodland. Down and down we switch backed through fern covered slopes before entering Topanga Meadows and an open grassland. Crossing Old Topanga Canyon, climbing over a ridge and down again to Topanga Canyon brought us to Dead Horse Trail and ultimately back to Trippet Ranch. We counted over 78 flowering plants with some highlights including: several clarkia (elegant, farewell-to-spring, purple, and willow herb), oyster plant, star lilly, wild rose, large flowered phacelia, and Catalina mariposa lily. The most amazing discoveries were two very unexpected fire poppies and three color variations of elegant clarkia (white, purple, and salmon). The next hike culminates in our annual celebration at Will Rodgers State Historic Park. – Greg Sweel, Lyne Sosa, Bob Ableson, John Millrany, Julie Berger.

Circle X Ranch		Mishe Mokwa to Split Rock	Date: 4/30
	We did a quick hike out to split rock today to check on a few things. On the way we made a quick flower list and came up with well over 70 species in bloom. Spring is progressing and we noticed several of the early spring flowers had gone completely into seed this time around. For example, we saw only one chocolate lily and all of the ceanothus is essentially done on this trail (although if you look hard you can still find a few faded hairy-leaved ceanothus blossoms here and there.) In compensation some of the later flowers like the clarkias and the star lily and Catalina mariposa lily are starting to come in strongly. As always, watch for hazards on the trail. Any of our trails could have poison oak on them and the rattle snakes are out. Flowering highlights include blue dick, golden yarrow, great looking black sage, purple nightshade, several native clovers, owl’s clover, chia, evening primroses, popcorn flower, woolly blue curls, bush and yellow monkey flowers, silver puffs, several of the little lotus (and their big cousin deerweed) a couple of different lupines, holly-leaved cherry, sugar bush, gold field, California chicory, eucrypta, twining snapdragon, several different clarkias, collarless California poppy, Parry’s phacelia and a couple of its cousins, both globe and angel’s gilias, Chinese houses, yellow pincushion, wild sweet pea, virgins bower, poison oak (yes, it flowers - very nicely in fact), blue larkspur (still only the early spring species on this trail although the later species has been blooming for weeks elsewhere) both red skinned and peninsular onions, yucca, morning glory, and the tiny little plectritic. Very Good. – ed.

Circle X Ranch		Triunfo Peak Backbone Trail	Date: 4/27
	The backbone Trail between the Triunfo Fire Tower access road and the Mishe Mokwa Trailhead. This trail is now several years old and no longer has as many of the disturbance loving flowers it did a few years back. It is still one of my favorites and presents some of the least hilly hiking to be found in this area. It has pretty good vistas although they do not compare to the nearby Sandstone Peak trail. There are really two very different flower experiences on this trail. The west end (starting at the Mishe Mokwa trailhead) is wetter and consequently more diverse. The East end dryer and more exposed with thus has different flowers than the west end. All told about eighty species were found in bloom, but that includes a pretty heavy weed burden in places. Flowering highlights include golden yarrow, a few hairy-leaved ceanothus, black sage, chamise, several different lotus, purple nightshade, evening primroses, a number of our native mustards, large-flowered phacelia, Parry’s phacelia, caterpillar phacelia, popcorn flower, twining snapdragon, chia, Catalina mariposa lily, blue dicks, morning glory, several different lupines including the dramatic bush lupine, fiddleneck, eucrypta, California chicory, silver puffs, bush monkey flower, yellow monkey flower, cliff aster, rock rose, blue-eyed grass, woolly blue curls, pygmy madia, canyon sunflower, hedge nettle, holly-leaved cherry, a couple of different clarkias, Chinese houses, red skinned and peninsula onion, both the early and later blooming blue larkspurs, sticky cinquefoil, gold fields, fiesta flower, and elderberry. Very Good.. – ed.

Circle X Ranch		Sandstone Peak Trail	Date: 4/24
	This trail is not noted as a flower trail but the vistas are second to none. If you want flowers you might check out the nearby Mishe Mokwa Trail between Yerba Buena and Split Rock. Flowering highlights include Eastwood manzanita, a few hairy-leaved ceanothus, prickly phlox, virgins bower, purple nightshade, a few California saxifrage holding on, a few different popcorn flowers, lace pod, turkey pea, the very dramatic bush lupine, a couple of persistent wild cucumbers, miners lettuce, eucrypta, golden yarrow, blue dick, great looking black sage, a couple of different lotus, and silver puffs. All told about 25 different species, about a third of what you might find on the nearby Mishe Mokwa trail and lower quantities too. The flower situation is pretty ho-hum given what you can find close by. – ed.

Malibu Creek State Park		Backbone Trail	Date: 4/24
	Today’s hike was the seventh leg of the 2010 Backbone Trail series sponsored by the National Park Service and the Santa Monica Mountains Trails Council.  We are hiking west to east covering one segment every two weeks. Always the BBT segment with the most blooming species, this year was no exception.  While we had hoped for an absurdly high number, we were more than satisfied with 103.  This was 2 better than the last leg and the most we expect to see as we continue our trek.  Our day began in a cold, cloudy and wet marine overcast at the summit near Saddle Peak.  Slowly and carefully we followed the cascading switchbacks as they coursed through stacks of boulders, oak/chaparral woodland, and grassland margined with coastal sage scrub before we found our way through the forested canyon floor back to the Malibu Canyon trail head. The ceanothus have been ablaze for months and this day was no exception with: hairy-leaved, big pod, white thorn, and green bark.  Black, purple, and chia sages joined several clovers trailside, as well as owl’s clover (actually in the paint brush family) which was our first sighting this year.  Intermixed were several varieties of popcorn, lupine, lotus and gilia species.  Overcast gave way to sunshine as we sampled: blue dicks, star lily, Catalina mariposa, fiesta, Chinese houses, silver puffs, gold star, blue eyed grass, skullcap, wall flower, baby blue eyes, white forget-me-not, yellow pincushion, willow-herbed clarkia, purple larkspur, winter cress, gold fields and pigmy madia. Next we inspect and bisect Topanga Canyon. – Ralph Waycott

Contact Information: Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area 401 West Hillcrest Drive Thousand Oaks, CA 91360 805-370-2301 www.nps.gov/samo	If you would like to contribute to the wildflower report: e-mail: Tony_Valois@partner.nps.gov or phone Tony at 310-457-6408
What’s Blooming on the web at www.researchlearningcenter.com/bloom or go to www.nps.gov/samo and click on “What’s Blooming”