Genista broom moth ~ 10/22/13 ~ J's place

Genista broom moth / Sophora worm on yellow bush lupine

Uresiphita reversalis on Lupinus arboreus
Fabaceae

During a visit the day before, J showed me her lupine bush and asked me about these caterpillars.  They totally grossed her out, because there were so many (~100?), all tangled in webbing.  The best I could do on the spot was offer generalizations with comparisons to other gregarious and silky caterpillars, like western tent caterpillars and fall webworms. Curiosity got the better of me, so I asked her if I could take lupine clippings and caterpillars to raise, which I like to do from time to time, to find out which kind of moth they turn into.  I didn't really need to collect any, because a simple internet image search "caterpillar eats lupine" got me an easy answer when compared to my photos. Eh, the adults don't excite me much; they're little brown jobs (LBJs) with snouts.  Both the common names, Genista broom and Sophora, come from other preferred legume host plants.  A couple bloggers I follow have also featured the Genista broom moth: Ohio Birds and Biodiversity (excellent comments about sightings) and Bug Eric.  It's interesting to note we're seeing local caterpillars in October, versus spring and summer elsewhere.  As for the specific bush lupine, this is my best guess based on J telling me hers has both yellow and blue blooms like those at Asilomar, a characteristic that I believe is distinctive in yellow bush lupine populations along the coast.  And, I believe this phenomena is different than just the normal flower color change from yellow to purple after being pollinated.  Being the nice friend that I am, I clipped off the remaining caterpillars and bagged them to save J from the ick factor.  Her bush lupine is now only 2/3 its former size.  It'll be fine.

ps 03/20/14 - I noticed several moths have emerged.  They're not much to look at, a medium-sized moth brown.  I put both containers in the freezer.  Am not sure what I'll do with them, but I'm done having them use up my best rearing containers over the winter.  I didn't take any pictures, because they're really ugly to look at after 5 months of tangled and chewed, dried lupine stalks, numerous flat and felty cocoons attached to the rounded parts of the containers, and lots of dried poop and eclosion stains (forgot the name for this, but when leps emerge they release a liquid waste that's often reddish in color).  J would be even more grossed out!  I would like to practice dissecting, but I'm always reluctant to haul out my dissecting scope, because it takes up desk space that I usually reserve for piles of paperwork.

lots o' lotuses ~ 04/18/13 ~ Huckleberry Hill

Bentham's deerweed / Bentham's lotus

Acmispon cytisoides (formerly Lotus benthamii)

Fabaceae

round-leaved Heermann's lotus / woolly lotus

Acmispon heermannii var. orbicularis (formerly Lotus heermannii var. orbicularis)

Fabaceae

rush lotus (more pictures)

Acmispon junceus (formerly Lotus junceus)

Fabaceae

harlequin lotus / coast lotus / witch's teeth

Hosackia gracilis (formerly Lotus formosissimus)

CNPS 8th Edition Inventory

Fabaceae

stipulate lotus (more pictures)

Hosackia stipularis (formerly Lotus stipularis)

Fabaceae

Oy!  The 2nd edition Jepsons Manual released last year with its classification overhaul has thrown everyone for a loop, from the reliable memories of old-time native plant folks to the extensive databases of Jepson eFlora, Calflora.org, and CalPhotos.  The embedded links I've included in the names above were a little challenging to track down.  Lotus had most plants split off into Acmispon (deerweeds) and Hosackia (lotuses).  I wouldn't have attempted this post if I hadn't had the expert guidance of an experienced local CNPS member pointing out all these plants to me.  Our local chapter president asked me to accompany this fellow and make a record of what and where he collected for our annual wildflower show.

Speaking of where, my new location label of Huckleberry Hill Natural Habitat Area, which is managed by the Del Monte Forest Conservancy in Pebble Beach, is not the same as my previously featured Huckleberry Hill Nature Preserve, which is managed by the City of Monterey. While these two locations are only across Hwy 68 from each other, I think I see slight differences in habitat resulting from different historical land uses.  For those who live around here, this location is what's better known as the "quarry entrance" off Holman Hwy.

acacias ~ 03/04/12 ~ SFB Morse Botanical Reserve

prickly Moses / star acacia
Acacia verticillata
Fabaceae

Sydney golden wattle
Acacia longifolia
Fabaceae

prickly Moses (left shrub) and golden wattle (right tree)

everblooming acacia
Acacia retinodes
Fabaceae

Wow, I didn't know there was such a variety of acacias. Usually when I see the prolific bright yellow blooms, I'm speeding down a highway, like Hwy 1 from Watsonville to Santa Cruz and Hwy 68 from Monterey to Salinas. During this hike, I noticed the leaves and blooms were very different shapes, so I took pictures. All these trees and shrubs featured here are native to Australia.

When I saw my doctor last month for a check-up, he blamed the acacia trees for my runny nose. I'm not sure that's entirely correct, since right along the coast where we spend most of our time, there are no acacias that we've seen. The nearest one is at the Pacific Grove Golf Course a mile away. I'm guessing my and Andy's late January to early March allergies are due to the Monterey pine.

miniature lupine ~ 01/02/12 ~ Palo Corona

miniature lupine
Lupinus bicolor
Fabaceae

Phooey. Just a few minutes ago I posted this as sky lupine and commented on how it's the earliest in the season I've ever seen it in bloom since I usually see it from March to May. So, that got me wondering if my ID was correct. I now believe this is miniature lupine, aka annual lupine. I've found differing information to distinguish the 2 species - hairs or no hairs, that is the question. Does anyone have pointers about these 2 lupine spp.? Sigh, does it seem like an odd winter for you, too?

stinging lupine ~ 12/10/11 ~ Los Padres Dam

stinging lupine
Lupinus hirsutissimus
Fabaceae

My brain has totally taken a holiday. When I'm usually working on this blog early in the morning, it's now dark out, and I've been feeling like I would rather be back in bed. But, that's just a lame excuse... For the life of me, I couldn't figure out what this plant was and posted it on Flickr seeking ID help. Doh! I should have known it was a lupine of some sort based on the leaf shape, yet I was more focused on the prickly parts. True to its name, they do give a mild sting when touched, like a poke with a small needle that stays stuck. Andy and I both discovered this when we took a closer look and feel of the plant. While I suspect this plant would normally grow where I found it, Wikipedia states these grow in places that were recently burned. I wonder how much the 2008 Basin Complex Fire on this trail encouraged the presence of this particular patch of stinging lupine.

silver bush lupine ~ 07/14/11 ~ Garland Ranch

silver bush lupine

Lupinus albifrons var. albifrons
Fabaceae

I wanted to show why the silver bush lupine is called silver. The green leaves are finely fuzzy and depending on the angle of the light the fuzz casts a silvery glow. Plus, I wanted to document the seed pods for my virtual collection here on Nature ID.

four-leaf clover ~ 06/30/11 ~ at home

four-leaf version of white clover
Trifolium repens
Fabaceae

It must be my lucky day, times 2! I never thought about what species of clover the "traditional" four-leaf lucky clover is. Ah, I have many fond memories laying in the warm school yard grass with my girlfriends, searching every recess for those 4 leaves of luck. Looking online for information was entertaining. Here's a "how-to" from wikiHow and its corresponding luck link - numbers 10 and 12 hold especially true for Nature ID. May you have the blessings of luck.

common deerweed ~ 06/09/11 ~ Pinnacles

common deerweed / California broom
Acmispon glaber var. glaber (formerly Lotus scoparius var. scoparius)
Fabaceae

I've been wondering what this plant is, because I feel like I'm seeing it everywhere I go this summer. I finally got around to looking it up. I'm using the variety name as listed in the Pinnacles plant list.

ps 07/13/11 - For a good blog entry summary on deerweed, see Curbstone Valley Farm.

pss 05/12/13 - I've updated the scientific name to the 2012 Jepson Manual Treatment.

silver bush lupine
Lupinus albifrons var. albifrons
Fabaceae

I don't have much to say about this, other than I'm glad to finally have a positive ID on this bush lupine. With 142 species and subspecies of Lupinus in CA and 8 recorded within Pinnacles, it's been challenging to make IDs. I like the challenge, but I suppose it's a bit boring to read about.

broad-leaved lupine
Lupinus latifolius
Fabaceae

Lately, I've been relying heavily on Calflora's What Grows Here search query to help me identify plants, which I would usually have a difficult time figuring out and sometimes spend a couple days agonizing over correct IDs. This is a fairly big lupine and I picked the only perennial lupine on the list. And, it looks correct!

French broom
Genista monspessulana
Fabaceae

Every time I see brooms alongside the roads, I am inexplicably reminded of the early spring yellow forsythias in Ohio. While not quite as all-over yellow as the forsythias, brooms are definitely spring bloomers. There are several species of brooms in our area, most non-native and a couple natives. From past visits to our local annual wildflower show in April, I remember them being named after European origins (Spanish, Scotch, Portuguese...).

chick lupine ~ 05/22/10 ~ Fort Ord

best guess chick lupine
best guess Lupinus microcarpus var. microcarpus
Fabaceae

Again, another I thought would be easy to identify. I checked all the Lupinus records from the Fort Ord plant list with CalFlora and CalPhotos, and this is my best guess based on the hairiness and it being wider near the top in profile.

sky lupine ~ 05/08/10 ~ Fort Ord

sky lupine
Lupinus nanus
Fabaceae

There was a very impressive showing of sky lupine at Fort Ord. Wow! It smelled really nice, according to my hubby since a cold has taken out my sniffer. I liked how they appeared straight down from above; you'd almost never guess what it was. I couldn't believe the white one we found. I wonder how often that happens. CalPhotos has a picture of a white sky lupine, too. It was a challenge to take non-fuzzy flower pictures in the afternoon wind, but the lighting was amazing! These pics make me think of late-summer, due to the low lighting angle, but we all know lupines here in CA are definitely a spring bloomer and the grass turns bright yellow come June. Compare the density of the lupine to last year May 6, 2009 at the same location, and I thought that was the year of the lupine. Nope.

sky lupine & rose clover ~ 05/02/10 ~ Fort Ord

sky lupine & rose clover
Lupinus nanus & Trifolium hirtum
Fabaceae (for both plants)

I was a little disappointed to learn the rose clover is invasive. No wonder I couldn't find it in any of my wildflower books.

Of course, the sky lupine is a native. There are 27 species of lupine in Monterey County. I have a ton of pics of various lupine. I haven't delved into lupine ID yet, so those posts will have to wait.

I really like this picture.

winter vetch
Vicia villosa ssp. varia
Fabaceae

There are simply too many vetches for me to figure out. Can you ID? These pics were taken within 10 yards of each other. I'm fairly sure this is a non-native. Last year during our anniversary hike, this was the predominant blooming species on the mesa at Garland Ranch; this year that title goes to the blue-eyed grass.

ps 03/01/11 - I originally posted this as unknown vetch. While looking up other plants for a recent hike at Garland Ranch, I came across this vetch. I've made the corrections to the ID above. Erica in the comments below was correct in that this is what is commonly called a hairy vetch. Interestingly enough, the other subspecies (V. villosa ssp. villosa) is the only one actually hairy, and the one shown above is sometimes called a smooth vetch.

Kool-Aid bush ~ 04/06/10 ~ Pacific Grove

Kool-Aid bush
Psoralea pinnata
Fabaceae

At the Easter shindig, we met Michelle who tends this B&B's garden. She told us to stop and smell this tree since it only blooms for a short period of time. Considering the heavy rains we had Sunday night, I'm surprised the tree had any blooms left at all. She gave me the scientific name, but my auditory memory is incredibly poor - I need to take the hint from all the moms out there and carry around a notepad so I can take notes of things I want to remember. Next time I see Michelle, I'll make sure to correct the ID for this post.

ps 05/25/13 - I initially posted this as "Soon to be ID'd fragrant, flowering tree", and have finally gotten around to correcting the ID.  Michelle has since taken out this older tree and allowed one of its seedlings to grow in its place.  The only other spot I remember seeing this bush anywhere around here is on the way to the Monterey Peninsula Country Club in Pebble Beach where we went last spring for a fundraiser.  I'm thinking if it's not in bloom, I'd hardly give it a second look.  This garden plant hails from South Africa.

bush lupine ~ 03/04/10 ~ Carmel Valley Road

bush lupine and fiddlenecks
Fabaceae & Boraginaceae

I'm feeling too tired to look up the genus species names for these flowers right now... just want to go through some of my hundreds of pics from several outings the past few weeks. I'll edit this post at a later date.

happy wanderer ~ 02/05/10 ~ Cannery Row

happy wanderer
Hardenbergia sp.
Fabaceae

This picture looks similar to the one I posted January 31, 2009, but the scale is very different. This particular one, next to an antiques mall about 20 yards from the rec trail in Cannery Row, was massive - at least 10 feet tall and stretched the whole length of the parking lot! I'm actually thinking this might be H. comptoniana due to what appears to be multi-foliolate leaves, but there are many cultivars of H. violacea. The next time I walk by, I'll take a closer look at the leaves. It's a native of Australia.

Nuttall's milkvetch ~ 06/26/09 ~ Montaña De Oro

Nuttall's milkvetch
Astragakus nuttallii var. nuttallii
CNPS 8th Edition Inventory
Fabaceae

These are also found along our local Mission Beach's "bunny trail." They're great fun to pop, but I don't know much about them.

ps 03/11/10 - I originally had this labeled as an unknown bladderpod due to the obvious inflated seedpods. Doh! Should have actually looked at the leaves. I'm basing the species ID on the 23-43 silvery-haired leaflets as stated in Peterson's Pacific States Wildflowers.

seed ~ 05/28/09 ~ Los Padres Dam

unknown poofy seed pod
Fabaceae

This caught my eye, but I have no idea to hazard a guess.

ps 05/25/10 - I'm thinking this might be a clover in seed.  Can you ID?