CA dandelion ~ 05/14/11 ~ Fort Ord

California dandelion / desert dandelion
Malacothrix californica
Asteraceae

The inflorescence on this dandelion seemed much larger than the invasive common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) that I usually see in lawns. I asked our long-legged guide Chris, who had already quickly passed a profusion of these flowers, what this was. She doubled-back to answer my question. I was surprised to find out there are native dandelions. In fact, a quick check of Calflora shows there are 39 species/subspecies of native dandelions in multiple genera with a few endangered, rare, or presumed extinct. Hey, learn something new everyday. I'm guessing M. californica and M. glabrata (smooth desert dandelion) are difficult to distinguish in areas where both species/varieties occur. This flower was found in an area that was burned in 2009.

cream cups ~ 05/14/11 ~ Fort Ord

cream cups
Platystemon californicus
Papaveraceae

I'm amazed at the color variation of cream cups where some have the yellow on the outer edges of the petals (click on the common name above to see CalPhotos' collection). While I usually don't fiddle with enhancing photos, except for cropping, I darkened these to show the detail of the flower. Otherwise, it would have looked like a bright yellow fuzzy blob. Again, I could not get closer to take a better picture due to the continuing munitions removal. These were found in an area that was burned in 2009.

seaside bird's-beak ~ 05/14/11 ~ Fort Ord

seaside bird's-beak
Cordylanthus rigidus ssp. littoralis
CNPS 8th Edition Inventory
Orobanchaceae (formerly Scrophulariaceae)

One of our guides Chris tried to point this small plant out to me a couple times during our walk. She said to look for the "little red, 6 inch tall, Charlie Brown Christmas tree." I totally missed seeing it, until she tossed a little rock to the base of the plant. She felt this younger stage of its growth was its cutest. There are very few pictures online of this particular subspecies. It is listed in the state of California as endangered. I believe this was found in an area that was burned in 2003.

sand gilia and Monterey spineflower ~ 05/14/11 ~ Fort Ord

sand gilia and Monterey spineflower
Gilia tenuiflora ssp. arenaria and Chorizanthe pungens var. pungens
CNPS 8th Edition Inventory and CNPS 8th Edition Inventory
Polemoniaceae and Polygonaceae

This pretty little purple sand gilia, aka Monterey gilia, is listed as federally endangered and threatened in the state of CA. The dusty-pink clumps to the right in each picture is the Monterey spineflower.  I believe these pictures were taken in a 2003 burn area. The white flowers shown in the second picture are popcorn flowers (Plagiobothrys sp.) in Boraginaceae. Considering there are at least 7 species of popcorn flowers found at Fort Ord, I'm not going to attempt to identify it tonight from the fuzzy photo.