creeping snowberry ~ 05/28/12 ~ Fort Ord

creeping snowberry / Southern California snowberry
Symphoricarpos mollis (formerly S. hesperius)
Caprifoliaceae

David Styer said he's never seen these bloom so profusely before. I believe he picked trail 49, because he thought it'd be interesting for me to see the variety of plants he found during his previous day's walk along this trail. Had he not named these pretty pink flowers for me, I would have had a difficult time IDing them. I'm still not sure if I could tell the difference between this sp. and the common snowberry (S. albus var. laevigatus). I had expected the creeping snowberry to be, well, more creeping along the ground. They were fairly short, though, maybe 18-24" tall at the most. I now wonder if my ID for the common snowberry at Garland Ranch back in November is correct. Depending on which name is accepted, various sites have different distribution information, like the USDA Plants Profile for S. mollis vs. its profile for S. hesperius.

snowberry ~ 11/19/11 ~ Garland Ranch

common snowberry
Symphoricarpos albus var. laevigatus
Caprifoliaceae

I have yet to notice the pretty pink flowers of the snowberry. However, the bright white, small marshmallow-looking berries are so easy to spot, especially when most of the leaves have dropped. The other species of snowberry at Garland is the creeping snowberry (Symphoricarpos mollis), which according to the USDA is only native to CA and NV. To me they look nearly identical in photos, except for the obvious difference, one is erect and the other creeps along the ground. I'll try to keep a look-out next year for the flowers, which, if my books are correct, should bloom in the spring.

pink honeysuckle ~ 10/01/11 ~ Garland Ranch

pink honeysuckle / California honeysuckle / hairy honeysuckle
Lonicera hispidula
Caprifoliaceae

I'm starting to document plants through the seasons (like I have with poison-oak) and not just when they're pretty flowers. To see the pink blooms and the fruit before it turned bright red, check out my pink honeysuckle post from 07/14/11 at Garland Ranch.

I admit I wasn't out this day. I had a flu shot the day before and was feeling a bit wiggy. My doctor wisely decided he didn't want me to have a repeat performance with another hospital stay this year. So, the crappy photos for this day are thanks to Andy. He was on a long trail-run from the main Carmel River entrance all the way past Garzas Creek to Carmel Valley Village and back. It's perhaps 14 miles round trip with a 4,000 foot elevation change (his Garmin wasn't working so this is an estimate). Obviously his heart gets pumping and it's extremely difficult for him to get clear photos with our little point-and-shoot. He knows I like to have close-up shots, shots a few feet back, and scenery shots. Thank you, Andy! For a blogger who regularly takes amazing photos while he runs trails, check out Gary Valle's Photography on the Run.

pink honeysuckle ~ 07/14/11 ~ Garland Ranch

pink honeysuckle / California honeysuckle / hairy honeysuckle

Lonicera hispidula
Caprifoliaceae

I love that after more than 2 years of doing Nature ID, I'm still finding plants new to me. Notice the leaves are hairy? They may not always be. Apparently, the name hairy honeysuckle refers to the hairy flowers and should not be confused with the state endangered Lonicera hirsuta found in northeastern North America. For a nice blog post on propagation of L. hispidula, check out Town Mouse and Country Mouse.