Michael's piperia ~ 08/09/10 ~ Garland Ranch

Michael's rein orchid
Piperia michaelii
CNPS 8th Edition Inventory
Orchidaceae

Are you sick of my posts of orchids, yet? We've been keeping an eye out for them and are finding more than we ever thought possible. Please note the different locations of my photos in the labels, marked with an 'x.' Funny, but I always thought of orchids as being a spring bloomer. WRONG. Our local native orchids seem to be most showy in mid to late summer. It's been fun spotting these, but I doubt I'll post anymore orchid photos for a while.

buckwheat ~ 08/09/10 ~ Garland Ranch

buckwheat
Eriogonum sp.
Polygonaceae

Given my difficulty in separating out and identifying buckwheat, I'm posting without a positive ID... but I like how pretty the blooms are here, especially in close-up. Seriously, there are at least 266 species of buckwheat in CA!!!

Thanks to Am I Bugging You Yet?'s recent blog post, I started this morning looking at my recent buckwheat pics and am giving it up to a lost cause... unless someone can provide some helpful hints on how to identify this genus of plants.

ps 11/19/14 - I now believe this is seacliff buckwheat (Eriogonum parvifolium).  Newer seacliff buckwheat posts have more detail.

Yadon's piperia ~ 08/09/10 ~ Skyline Forest Drive

Yadon's rein orchid
Piperia yadonii
CNPS 8th Edition Inventory
Orchidaceae

Do you like the dirt and grime on this orchid? I guess that's what you get when it grows 5 feet away from the road. Too bad they mow so heavily in the area to keep the roadsides clear. I wonder if there'd be more Yadon's piperia if they didn't mow.

elegant piperia ~ 08/09/10 ~ Skyline Forest Drive

elegant rein orchid
Piperia elegans
Orchidaceae

I'm making an early ID, even though this isn't in full bloom yet. I've been documenting this particular individual with posts on August 4 and July 25. Amazingly, it looks very similar to Yadon's piperia. Simply based on the timing of the bloom, I'm guessing it's a different species.