Page Revised: 06/15/2012
Available Reviews Circle X Ranch Palisades Highlands Thornhill Broome Castro Crest Point Mugu State Park Triunfo Canyon Park Zuma/Trancas Canyons Cold Creek Preserve Topanga State Park	Date of Review 06/09 & 05/25. 06/08. 06/08. 06/04. 05/28. 05/20. 05/18 & 4/28. 05/15. 05/15 & 04/28.
Quick Links: Wildflowers of the Santa Monica Mountains - Photos of 950 SMM species. Archive - Previous “What's Blooming” reports. Outdoors - The Calendar of Events for the Santa Monica Mountains NRA. Wildfowers Facebook - A place where people can share about flowers. SMM WildFlowers - The Park's popular wildflower app for the iPhone. Plants To Watch For - New - A short list of “Favorites” flowering now or soon.

        Early on this year there was little to report as the lack of rain made for a pretty barren winter.  The atypical deep dust of this past winter was knocked down by the late spring rains but things are still unusually dry and the dust has returned. One indication of the dryness is how little water there is in many of our seasonal creeks.  These creeks are largely spring fed and the lack of water is a result of unusually low water tables.  The flower displays I’ve seen recently seem a bit more typical of this time of year but I’d judge still not as good as normal.  It is interesting to note that the early extended dry spell followed by a fair quantity of rain rather late in the season has “confused” some of our plants. For example, many ceanothus flowered again much later in the season than is typical for them, with some plants simultaneously showing both mature fruit and flowers on the same shrub.  I suspect this weather pattern is at least partly behind the great display of the yucca and bush monkey flower this year.  Finally, the recent appearance of the California fuchsia is a sure sign that spring is moving on.  If you want to send in a flower report my email address is down at the bottom.  As always, happy hunting and I'll see you on the trails.  – ed.

Circle X Ranch		Mishe Mokwa Trail	Date: 06/09
	This was a CNPS led "Plant Hike" hike on the Mishe Mokwa out to split rock and back. I enjoy these hikes because the attendees are there principally to see plants and hence are fine with spending quite a bit of time looking at and discussing the many plants we encounter. We were on the trail for about four hours and even so did not have enough time to make it all the way to split rock (less than two miles from the trailhead so you can see how slowly we moved.) We saw about 40 species in bloom which is not bad for this year, but more than that, several of my personal favorites where present. Some, like the Chamise were actually plentiful. Flowering highlights included a beautiful display of Chamise, Turkish rugging, slender tarweed, quite a bit of California buckwheat, black sage, woolly blue curls, yucca, flax-flowered linanthus, sapphire wool star, golden yarrow, Spanish clover, bird's beak, golden stars, speckled clarkia, bush monkey flower, yellow monkey flower, popcorn flower, scarlet larkspur, Plummer's Mariposa lily, yellow mariposa lily, Catalina mariposa lily, Humboldt lily, cliff aster, chaparral honeysuckle, elderberry, and the branching phacelia. A very nice display.  – ed.

Palisades Highlands		Santa Inez Trail	Date: 06/08
	We saw the following: Water speedwell, Willow herb, Sticky monkey flower, Spanish broom, Bush lupine, Humboldt Lilies, Cliff aster, Black sage, Bur chervil, Caterpillar phacelia, Stinky gilia, White snapdragon, Golden yarrow, Plummer’s mariposa lilies (3), Sapphire wool stars, Yellow chaenactis, Deer weed, Fish’s Milkwort, Turkish rugging, Chia, and Canyon sunflower.  – John & Barbara

Thornhill Broome Beach		Date: 06/08
	Opposite the beach, there is the best display we have ever seen of Pink Sand Verbena and Beach Evening Primrose.  – John & Barbara

Castro Crest		Backbone Trail between Corral Canyon Rd. and Latigo Canyon Rd.	Date: 06/04
	We hiked this trail on a day when the coast was socked in with marine layer.  There were vastly more flowers than I expected.  In fact the entire trail is lined with flowers, many of which I would have expected to have finished blooming by now.  Five steps down the trail we could see golden yarrow, California buckwheat, black sage, chamise, woolly blue curls, flowering yucca, sticky monkey flower and California everlasting in bloom.  Continuing through the chaparral there were morning glory, slender sunflower, purple nightshade, green bark ceanothus, cudweed aster, narrow leaf milkweed, deer weed, Turkish rugging, popcorn flower and delicate little rock roses.  As we started crossing the now completely dry creek and entering the woodland we saw California chicory, cinquefoil, honeysuckle, caterpillar phacelia, sticky madia, blue larkspur (a lot of it and so late in the season!), sweet pea, foothill penstemon, purple clarkia, elegant clarkia.  Under the dense oaks we saw the delicate fairy lanterns amid the fiesta flowers and hummingbird sage.  There were blackberry flowers and Chinese houses, star lily, Indian pinks and scarlet bugler.  Climbing back into the chaparral we added heart leaf penstemon and dove lupine to our flower list.  Truly an amazing hike.  – Dorothy Steinicke

Point Mugu State Park		La Jolla Canyon Loop Trail	Date: 05/28
	I haven't taken this hike in many years and I'm not sure why because it is a true pleasure.  Although this has been a sparse season for flowers this hike has many and in great quantities.           Just in the parking lot there were cliff asters, sticky monkey flower, bush sunflower, giant coreopsis and blooming yucca on display.  As you start up the trail there are delicate mallows, datura, Indian paintbrush, morning glory, golden yarrow, deer weed, California buckwheat, purple sage and black sage, blooming prickly pear, heart leaf penstemon and California everlasting.  At the dripping waterfall we found both creek monkey flower and scarlet monkey flower.  Continuing on there were caterpillar phacelia, Indian pinks, wishbone flower, hedge nettle, canyon sunflower, both big pod ceanothus and green bark ceanothus, elder flower, California bee plant and hummingbird sage.  We looped through La Jolla Canyon which is just spectacularly beautiful.  Didn't see a whole lot of additional species but the beauty of the walk was well worth it.  We did see buttercups and white yarrow as well as both purple and white nightshade.  – Dorothy Steinicke

Circle X Ranch		Grotto Trail	Date: 05/25
	While this trail is not the best flower trail around it is still one of my favorites. The drying up of the "flower alley" just below the first waterfall is a sign that summer is approaching. Ditto for the recent appearance of the California fuchsia on this trail. The late rains have left many of our perennial shrubs looking quite lush for this time of year with a number of them recently passing through a second bloom. With only a few exceptions the flower display on this trail was only fair, typical of the paucity of the year. Yellows are the color right now spearheaded by the sunflowers, bush monkey flower and the golden yarrow. Altogether I saw about sixty different species in bloom which is typical of even a good year, but the quantities of most were rather low. Other highlights included both greenbark and bigpod ceanothus, wild morning glory, yucca, deerweed, California buckwheat, elderberry, yellow monkey flower, black sage, a few chamise, California everlasting, elegant clarkia, heart-leaved penstemon, caterpillar phacelia, both purple and white nightshade, California wild rose, lance-leaved dudleya, sticky madia, a few popcorn flowers, woolly blue curls, a few Catalina mariposa lilies, golden stars, cliff aster, blue-eyed grass, and a nice display of humming bird sage.  – ed.

Triunfo Canyon Park		Pentachaeta Trail	Date: 05/20
	We visited the Pentachaeta Trail this morning and were pleasantly surprised with the number of blooms for this time of year and drought conditions.  In large numbers, they were chamise, golden yarrow,  California buckwheat, woolly blue curls, black sage, purple sage, sticky monkey flower, red stemmed filaree, yucca, black mustard, mariposa lily, elegant clarkia, speckled clarkia, farewell-to-spring, slender tarweed, caterpillar phacelia, and deer weed.  In smaller numbers but notable: blue larkspur, fleabane, bush mallow, golden stars, Calif. poppy, common celery, bush sunflower, California everlasting, rock rose, wild morning glory, sapphire eriastrum, vervain, purple nightshade, shiny lomatium, Spanish clover and blue eyed grass.  Fauna-wise, we came across a 4 ft. rattler with was just crossing the trail into the deerweed.  Saw a few spotted towhee and 2 flocks of black hooded parakeets.  – Kathy Jonokuchi

Zuma/Trancas Canyons		Backbone Trail	Date: 05/18
	Backbone Trail from Encinal Cyn to about half way to Kanan Dume. We saw a great many wildflowers along the trail and here is the list: Black Sage, Blue larkspur, Blue-eyed Grass, Black mustard, Bush Lupine, California Everlasting, California Poppy, Canyon Sunflower, Caterpillar Phacelia, Chinese Houses, Cinquefoil, Cliff Aster, Common Eucrypta, Deer Weed, Elegant Clarkia, Fiddleneck, Fuscia-flowered Gooseberry, Heart-Leaved Penstemon, Mariposa Lily, Mountain Dandelion, Prickly Phlox, Purple Clarkia, Purple Nightshade, Silver Puffs, Popcorn, Star Lily, Sticky Monkey Flower, White Chaenactis, Woolly Blue Curls, Yellow Monkey Flower, and Yucca.         Off the trail by the stream we saw: Annual Paintbrush, Canchalagua, Chalk Live-forever (not blooming), Checker Bloom, Creek Monkey Flower, Owl’s Clover, Parry’s Phacelia, Poison Hemlock, Red-skinned Onion, Southern Goldfields, and Water Speedwell.  – John & Barbara

Topanga Canyon State Park		Nature Trail	Date: 05/14
	It is getting hot but there are still flowers there.  An early morning walk along the nature trail showed sticky monkey flower, mallow, black sage, popcorn flower, blooming yucca, wishbone flower, ceanothus, bush lupine, bush sunflower, California buckwheat and wild morning glory..  – Dorothy Steinicke

Cold Creek Preserve		Date: 05/14
	It was a hot day and I just went to the riparian section of this hike to see if some of my special favorites were in bloom.  This riparian section is so shady, cool and lovely that it almost wouldn't matter if nothing were in bloom.  There were blooms, but not a lot.  As you enter, the trail is lined with blue eyed grass and caterpillar phacelia.  Entering into the shady part there were golden yarrow, purple nightshade, black sage, sticky monkey flower and Chinese houses.  There was a lot of lovely elegant clarkia.  Down alongside the creek the stream orchids are in delicate bloom.  On my return I was rewarded with the company of a four foot gopher snake.  It must have newly shed its skin, it was all glossy and shiny.  – Dorothy Steinicke

Topanga State Park		Backbone Trail	Date: 04/28
	Today’s hike was the seventh leg of the 2012 National Park Service Backbone Trail Hike.  We are hiking west to east covering two segments per month.  Today we hiked in the Topanga Canyon area.  The effects of our late spring rains were evident in the 74 native species recorded in bloom.         Along with the hardy perennials we were treated to many of the annuals that had evaded us earlier in the season.  This was particularly true in lower elevations where there was no mistaking the successful formula of sunshine and moisture.         The trail should continue in bloom for a month save several days of extreme heat.  – Ralph (and others)

Zuma Canyon		Misc. Trails	Date: 04/28
	We made a loop of it by turning right on the Ocean View Trail connecting to the Canyon View Trail and meeting up with the Zuma Loop Trail.  There was a solid rain earlier in the week so we were hopeful of seeing a lot of flowers in bloom.  The hike was initially disappointing; the two "shoulders" provided the best floral displays.  There are actually a large number of flower species in bloom but only on those shoulders are there great masses of blooming flowers.           Entering the trail there are elder flower, black sage, vervain, bush sunflower, California everlasting and California bee plant.  By the dry creek just before you head up the hill there is a spectacular bush lupine in full flower.  On the climb uphill you are rewarded with lovely ocean views every time you stop to catch your breath. On the way you will also see golden yarrow, sugar bush, deer weed, purple sage, wishbone flower, purple nightshade, morning glory and locoweed.  As you near the top there is sticky monkey flower growing in great abundance interspersed with white yarrow and Indian paintbrush with bunches of blue eyed grass here and there.  Well worth the climb.  Continuing into the area of morning shade in the folds of the canyon there are bush mallow, cliff aster, hedge nettle, big pod ceanothus (so late), Turkish rugging, caterpillar phacelia, canyon sunflower, and popcorn flower.  Dipping down into the riparian area there were Indian pinks, fuchsia flowering gooseberry, blue dicks, heart leaf penstemon, scarlet bugler, fiesta flower and virgin's bower seed pods.  Leaving the creek and taking the loop trail up to the other shoulder of the canyon we saw another display of masses of sticky monkey with lots of blue eyed grass, Indian paintbrush and Catalina mariposa lilies.  A very satisfying hike.  – Dorothy Steinicke

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 you can e-mail the editor at: 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”