CA fuchsia ~ 12/10/11 ~ Los Padres Dam

California fuchsia / hummingbird trumpet
Epilobium canum (formerly Zauschneria californica)
Onagraceae

I was pleased to find CA fuchsia blooming out in the wild in December. It's a cheery Christmassy color. I didn't know the seeds would be fluffy. Actually, I rarely find it growing wild because of my hiking location choices and time of year I most often hike (spring). I doubt I'd recognize this plant if it weren't in bloom. I should have taken better pictures of its leaves. The CA fuchsia is a very popular native plant with gardeners these days, and I often see it used in landscaping around town and on CA garden blogs, like Camissonia's Corner and Sierra Foothill Garden. I didn't see any hummingbirds feeding on it, but I know they're around. I should point out the CA fuchsia is not a real fuchsia; it's a willowherb.

Lewis' clarkia ~ 07/14/11 ~ Garland Ranch

Lewis' clarkia
Clarkia lewisii
CNPS 8th Edition Inventory
Onagraceae

I almost didn't post this flower thinking it was the same speckled clarkia (C. cylindrica) I saw at Pinnacles last month. Nope. It's different. I guess. I looked at plant lists from both locations and each species is not found at the other location.

I found very little information or pictures online of C. lewisii. It's an uncommon plant in CA, but according to the new Wildflowers of Garland Ranch - a field guide by Michael Mitchell and Rod M. Yeager, it's abundant here, which I found to be true. While CalPhotos and Flickr's Califlora make no mention of Lewis' clarkia, Calflora.org used to rank it as the same species as punch bowl godetia (Clarkia bottae), but Jepson still treats the two as different species with slightly different ranges (click here and here for more information). Confused? Yep, me, too.

In any case, I took numerous pictures of this flower to document the variety I saw. Some had speckles, some did not, some had "normal" looking stigmas, and some had fuzzy white little crosses. Can anyone explain the fuzzy white little crosses to me? Are they stigmas? And, I took the last close-up picture to remind me why they're related to elegant clarkia (C. unguiculata). For another picture of how white the center can get, check out my Flickr post.

ps 08/26/11 - Thanks to a little mention on Wayne's Word discovered the little white crosses are stigmas next to withered anthers. It has something to do with protandry and favoring cross-pollination between different plants. I'll still need to look into this.

pss 03/04/14 - Was talking about these with a nature friend, who hadn't heard of Lewis' clarkia.  From a CNPS trip last year, I remembered our leader said C. lewisii buds dangle over like a pendant, whereas C. bottae buds are straighter.  I believe the step-back shot above actually includes both spp. of clarkia.  I switched out the original first 2 photos with Lewis' and may add a second post for punch bowl godetia.

elegant clarkia ~ 07/14/11 ~ Garland Ranch

elegant clarkia

Clarkia unguiculata
Onagraceae

I like virtually collecting white versions whenever I find them.

elegant clarkia ~ 06/09/11 ~ Pinnacles

elegant clarkia

Clarkia unguiculata
Onagraceae

Now, this is what I picture when I think of Clarkia, although it is not the most common shape.

speckled clarkia ~ 06/09/11 ~ Pinnacles

speckled clarkia
Clarkia cylindrica ssp. cylindrica
Onagraceae

This superficially reminds me of some of the Calochortus lilies, particularly the large flowered star tulip that I regularly see at Fort Ord... except this has 4 petals and is wispier.

sun cup / golden egg
Camissonia ovata

Onagraceae

Sun cups were without a doubt the most numerous blooming plant I noticed during this hike at Fort Ord. While I've posted sun cups from the InterGarrison entrance before, I want to log the March date of blooming and show a diversity of photo angles. Lately, whenever I can I try to show a close-up shot or detail of some sort, a medium range shot, and a step-back shot.

lilac fuchsia ~ 05/29/10 ~ Cooper Molera Garden

lilac fuchsia
Fuchsia arborescens
Onagraceae

Lilac fuchsias are blooming everywhere around town right now. I can't recall ever seeing this flower out in the wild. Apparently, it's very popular in local gardens and originates from Central America.

These pictures were taken at the Cooper Molera Adobe, part of the Monterey State Historic Park Secret Gardens. It reminds me of one of my favorite childhood books The Secret Garden, since most of the historic gardens are hidden behind tall adobe and brick garden walls. In fact, on the other side of the wall in the last pic is a packed parking lot for Trader Joe's and Pete's Coffee; I doubt most of the patrons even know of the existence of this garden. Last year Cooper volunteers moved their chickens and a lonely sheep to other state parks out of the area in preparation for budget cuts. I'm not entirely sure what happened with all the threats to close significant portions of the CA State Parks, but it looks like even the Pacific House museum was open this weekend.

ps 06/04/10 - I lied! Right below home on the Rec Trail, there are several garden escapees next to the storm drain. Have I mentioned this is blooming everywhere?

elegant clarkia
Clarkia unguiculata
Onagraceae

This is a wild-looking flower if you look closely. Apparently, it's named after William Clark of the historical Lewis and Clark Expedition. Pinnacles is one of the few places I can reliably count on to see this flower around here.

sun cup

Camissonia ovata

Onagraceae

At Fort Ord, these seem to bloom right as the footsteps of spring start fading. I've often seen them side by side, one blooming and the other not. Sun cups are in the evening primrose family and are also called golden eggs.

wavyleaf soap plant & sun cup ~ 03/07/10 ~ Wilder Ranch

wavyleaf soap plant and sun cup
Chlorogalum pomeridianum and Camissonia ovata
Asparagaceae (formerly Agavaceae, Hyacinthaceae, & Liliaceae) and Onagraceae

posted 07/30/11 - I'm posting this as evidence that I've seen soap plant growing just down the trail from where death camas also grows.

Hooker's evening primrose
Oenothera elata ssp. hookeri
Onagraceae

I'm not going to even try to look this one up since I have several more posts I'd like to get done this morning. We found it Tuesday along the rec trail growing in one of the many, nasty PG sewer drainage ditches that empties into the "pristine" marine sanctuary. I have good reason for refusing to swim in the bay.

ps 05/09/10 - I had this listed under unknown and non-native for quite a while and hadn't gotten around to looking it up. I feel silly for not knowing what it is, but it shows how much I've learned over the past year. I also saw it during our trip to Morro Bay (San Luis Obispo County) shortly after this original post and figured it was a native, not a drainage ditch escapee. The other subspecies is O. elata ssp. hirsutissima, but my Spring Wildflowers book states it occurs further inland up to 9,000 ft.