Chinese houses ~ 07/14/11 ~ Garland Ranch

Chinese houses
Collinsia heterophylla
Plantaginaceae (formerly Scrophulariaceae)

I usually think of Chinese houses as a spring bloomer. I was surprised to see this in mid-July. The older reddish leaves look like they're on their last legs, but there are new shoots and blooms (ooh, 3 uses of th'air). It has been such an unusual weather year with rain as late as June, so I suspect the flowers are a bit confused.

sticky snapdragon ~ 07/14/11 ~ Garland Ranch

sticky snapdragon / withered snapdragon / Sierra snapdragon
Antirrhinum multiflorum (aka Sairocarpus multiflorus)

Plantaginaceae (formerly Scrophulariaceae)

Now, I figured this was a garden escapee, because it's big and colorful. Nope. It's native to Monterey County. As I was trying to get clean close-up shots with the breeze, I held the plant and discovered it is indeed sticky. This is the only spot we found this plant through our hike.

foothill penstemon ~ 06/09/11 ~ Pinnacles

foothill penstemon
Penstemon heterophyllus var. heterophyllus
Plantaginaceae (formerly Scrophulariaceae)

The detail of this flower with its curved stamens is amazing. It's like a 4 gun salute to the army of bees found at Pinnacles. Interesting to note, the buds are yellow, which I barely captured in the first pic (click on it to see a larger version). While this species is common throughout the state (with 3 subspecies), this is the first time I've noticed this plant.

purple foxglove
Digitalis pupurea
Plantaginaceae (formerly Scrophulariaceae)

While this is an introduced species, I still love seeing it out in the woods... often where nothing else is blooming. It's native to Europe.

Chinese houses ~ 04/17/05 ~ Pinnacles

Chinese houses
Collinsia heterophylla
Plantaginaceae (formerly Scrophulariaceae)