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Page Revised: 8/6/08 |
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Available Site Reviews Circle X Ranch Solstice Canyon Point Mugu State Park |
Date of Review 8/4, 8/2. 6/26. 8/2. 6/23. |
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What's Blooming photo gallery: http://www.researchlearningcenter.com/bloom/bloom.htm |
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This late in the year it can be hard
to find flowers except in the more sheltered nooks and crannies. The heat
also makes these same sheltered areas, often with shady groves of trees, a
more pleasurable hike. Both the morning and the evening can be very pleasant
and will often reward us with more encounters will wildlife as well (animals
are smart about the heat.) The flower hunt may now be more of a challenge but
also more rewarding when some elusive treasure is found. Summer is also a
time to inspect the many different forms that fruit and seed capsules can
take, some of which are quite interesting if not beautiful in their own
right. By the way, don’t forget that you dog is much less able to deal
with the heat than we are. Every year people kill their dogs on our hot summer
trails, and I do mean literally kill
them dead. –ed. |
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Circle X Ranch |
Grotto Trail. |
Date: 8/4 |
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We took our time on a warm afternoon
to look carefully for flowers of all sizes and types. Even so we barely
managed to find twenty different species in bloom and none in any significant
quantity (although red shank could be seen blooming in quantity on the nearby
hills.) There are few highlights to report since a good many of the flowers
we encountered were of the “weedy” road-side variety like
mustards and thistles. Highlights include red shank, California fuschia,
scarlet monkey flower, heart-leaved penstemon, a few stray bush mallow,
leather root, some cudweed aster, a single morning glory blossom and some scattered cliff
asters. Even for deep in the summer this was a rather poor showing. On the
other hand the lack of flowers made it easier (for a die-hard plant watcher)
to focus on other aspects of hiking in these great outdoors. The isolation at
Circle X Ranch allowed me to imagine I was many miles from civilization. The
day was lovely and the scenery clear in the fresh coastal air. I heard and
saw many birds. There were frequent encounters with friendly lizards. I
stopped and sat down really enjoyed watching the multitudes of tadpoles in
the pools around the Grotto.
–ed. |
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Solstice Canyon |
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Date: 8/2 |
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Recovery from the November 2007 burn
is going nicely at this site which reopened in late June. You’ll see new
growth all over, from many different kinds of monkey flowers (scarlet, bush
and creek) in or near Solstice creek, to clumps of new leaves and branches up
and down the trunks of the trees all throughout the canyon. Commonly seen were mallow,
chicory, morning glory and tarweed. Watch for occasional glimpses of canyon
and slender sunflower, pinks, white and purple nightshade, ashy-leaf
buckwheat and ripe elderberries. Up at the Roberts Ranch, non-native ginger
is in bloom. Rating: good. (Sheila Braden) |
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Circle X Ranch |
Mishe Mokwa Loop |
Date: 7/30 |
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I have never done this hike in
summer. I always figured that the
flowers would be done and it would be too hot to be comfortable. But I went with some friends in the afternoon,
went to Split Rock first and timed our walk to be done about sunset. The biggest attraction was the red
shanks in bloom. What usually looks
like a hillside of light green puffs is now a hillside of white puffs. These are contrasted against the many dark
red seed pods that are more common on the slopes than flowers. The chalk-live-forever are in bloom and as
beautiful as they are bizarre. At
Split Rock, where there is still water in the creek, there is blooming
leather root, scarlet monkey flower and Durango root. A little ways further on there is a patch
of scarlet sequestered in the shrubbery with scarlet larkspur and heart leaf
penstemon keeping company.
Additionally there is a little cudweed aster, a few California
buckwheat and slender tarweed still blooming.
It was a surprisingly pleasant hike.
(Dorothy Steinicke) |
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Circle X Ranch |
Grotto and Canyon View Trails. |
Date: 6/26 |
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We did a quick scope of the upper
Grotto Trail and the lower portion of the Canyon View Trail and discovered
about forty different flowers in bloom. Some of the highlights include the
California fuschia (which is just beginning), both the lance-leaf and chalk
Dudleyas, three different monkey flowers, scarlet larkspur, heart-leaved
penstemon, a couple of different clarkia’s, bush mallow, narrow-leaved
milkweed, bird’s beak, morning glory, Plummer’s mariposa lily,
Toyon, Perezia, white pincushion, twiggy wreath plant, a pretty spectacular display of dodder in
full bloom, and even a few Yuccas still looking quite nice. –ed. |
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Point Mugu State Park |
Upper Sycamore Canyon Trail |
Date: 6/23 |
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The
flower display is rapidly diminishing with the very hot weather of the past week.
The excitement this morning was a stunted Humboldt lily (my first of the
year) and several Chalk live-forevers with their
lantern-like flowers. Also impressive was a hillside of decomposing shale
with a pretty grouping of Scarlet larkspur.
There also was a large dark rattlesnake across the trail with an
impressive array of rattles. The tongue kept curling in my direction as I
stood stationary. I made a slight noise and the snake turned and left the
trail. Enough excitement to make the hike well worth while. (Burt Elliott) |
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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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