giant wake-robin / giant trillium
Trillium chloropetalum
Melanthiaceae (formerly Liliaceae)

We only saw trilliums in two sections of our hike, one by the waterfall and the other down a heavily-shaded, steep ravine. I wish my last photo turned out better, but I'm posting it because I want to show the yellow center of this new shoot. It looked like the yellow spadix of calla lilies, but I suspect it was just the covering of what would end up being the dark purple parts. Can anyone help direct me to a website that illustrates the different parts of the trillium plant? And, like with star-lilies, this plant has been moved from the lily family to the false hellebore family.

ps 04/26/11 - I always like seeing what other people have in their neck of the woods, especially when I can compare and learn more about what is closer to me. Found this trillium post from Ohio, my ol' stomping grounds: Midwest Native Plants, Gardens, and Wildlife.

fairy fingers ~ 02/20/11 ~ Garland Ranch

fairy fingers on valley oak wood
Clavaria vermicularis on Quercus lobata wood
more information
Fagaceae

It is thanks to fellow bloggers, like John Wall and Jim Johnson, who have helped me with fungal IDs, that I'm now not too afraid to take pics with hopes to properly identify them. Most online pics of this club and coral mushroom are bright white, but then again like the cauliflower mushroom I found at Jacks Peak, I think this fruiting body is a bit older. Oh, as an explanation of how I even know which oak is shown above, this is the branch that Andy and I married under before it broke off. We affectionately call this tree our wedding tree. As this tree dies, we've been amazed at how much life is growing on it. More to come from this tree...

California milkmaids
Cardamine californica
Brassicaceae

Um... oh boy, I got an eyeful as I tried to search for more information on this plant. Makes me wonder about the etymological relationship of the family name Brassicaceae with brassiere. I might add more information once I get the boobs out of my memory.

This plant is also known as bitter-cress or toothwort. There's a small section above the waterfall trail at Garland Ranch where I can always count on seeing this small white flower in February.

toyon ~ 02/20/11 ~ Garland Ranch

toyon / Christmas berry
Heteromeles arbutifolia
Rosaceae

Despite their bright red berries, I've usually ignored this plant during hikes. Quite honestly, I prefer to look for pretty spring flowers. It's thanks to fellow blogger GretchenJoanna at Gladsome Lights and her comment a couple weeks back mentioning toyon. The common name strikes me as a bit funny; I keep thinking back to those Toyota commercials with people jumping in the air, since I have a couple friends with old, beat-up, red Toyota trucks - funny how the brain works. So, when we checked out the Garland Ranch Visitor Center for a little pre-hike pit stop and to check out the current blooms (they cut flowers and place ID tags for people to see what's currently blooming), the name toyon jumped out at me. They had samples of the red berries but not the white blooms. I'll be on the look-out for the white flowers later this summer. Sure enough, the worn out red berries weren't difficult to find. To help me find toyon blooms later, I made a mental note of the finely serrated leaves and the height of the shrubs. For more information, check out Las Pilitas Nursery.