oneleaf onion ~ 05/13/12 ~ Fort Ord

oneleaf onion
Allium unifolium
Alliaceae (formerly Liliaceae)

posted 06/09/12 - I think this is one of the prettiest onions around. I particularly like the tapered shape of the filaments (structures that hold the light-yellow, pollen-bearing anthers) and the delicate pink color gradation. Because the flowers reminded me so much of superficial crosses between Triteleia, Brodiaea, and Toxicoscordion, all of which were also once placed in the lily family, I went on a futile search of Themidaceae and Melanthiaceae and totally ignored the onion-like appearance. The next time I'm crying my eyes out as I'm cutting up a cooking onion, I'll try to remember how beautiful the flowers can be.

coast dandelion ~ 05/13/12 ~ Fort Ord

coast dandelion / seaside dandelion

Agoseris apargioides var. apargioides

Asteraceae

posted 06/09/12 - I don't have an absolutely positive ID on this dandelion, since it was not from one of my three May guided tours of Fort Ord (easy-peasy for IDs) but rather through Andy, my anywhere running cam (as one kind blog reader called him). There are 4 spp./var. of Agoseris listed for Fort Ord, which on the surface look quite similar. The tricky part is the wide, large, serrated, and deeply lobed leaves in the center of the second pic do not belong to the flowers. If you follow the stems down from the flowers, there are small clumps of thin, lobed leaves, hence how I went about this ID.