California Native Plant Week

 An eight day week!

Coast Live Oak: photo by Cliff Hutson

Once again it is California Native Week. This year it runs from April 13 to April 20. That is eight days, perhaps inspired by the Beatles' song. Anyway, in 2010, the California legislature designated the third week of April to be California Native Plant week, so this is the perfect time to take a moment to appreciate the beauty and diversity of California’s native flora. 

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Monkey Flower: photo by Cliff Hutson

I was just recently asked what was my favorite native California plant. That is a very hard choice that I found hard to limit to just one. But, to narrow it down, my favorite tree would be the Coast Live Oak (see up top).

Tidy Tips: photo by Cliff Hutson

There is a draw for favorite wildflower between Monkey Flower (Mimulus) and Tidy Tips. The former because it was the plant that led to my 26 year stint as a "nature interpreter" at a botanic garden. [A long story best left for another time.] The latter  because a photograph I took of one was published as my first (and so far only) magazine cover. I consider that to be the high water mark of nearly a lifetime spent as a photographer. 

But, catch me during another week and I might have different answers.

Bonne année!

 

Happy New Year!

Dogwood: photo by Cliff Hutson

Wishing you a happy New Year, filled with peace, love and joy!

I am resolving to get up early and go outside.

My Best Shot of 2023

 Not too shabby:

Tuesday Afternoon: photo by Cliff Hutson

Some say that December is a good time to reflect back on what happened before the year slips away. However, I feel that the beginning of the month is too early to start publishing "best of" lists. Who knows what may still lie ahead? Still, when I saw that Flickr was asking for "Your Best Shot 2023" I went ahead and submitted the above photo. It was taken in June, but odds are I will not do much better before the end of this year.

I like it for a couple of reasons. One is that I planted the seed(s) from which the plant grew. The other is that I took photos over the course of several days, and times of day, until I made the image I wanted. Thus, the title "Tuesday Afternoon." 

Looking forward to 2024, I am thinking of doing more work with my iPhone SE, or may be taking up another Photo a Day project. There will be photos in any event. See you in the new year.

California Native Plant Week - 2023

Celebrating Eight Days a Week

California Poppy: photo by Cliff Hutson

This year, California Native Plant Week runs from April 15 thorough April 22 (Earth Day).  The state is one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet with more than 6,000 types of plants. I thought that I would share some photos of some of my favorites (in no particular order). 

Five Spot: photo by Cliff Hutson

California Bay: photo by Cliff Hutson

Datura: photo by Cliff Hutson

Tidy Tips: photo by Cliff Hutson

Flannel Bush: photo by Cliff Hutson

Matilija Poppy: photo by Cliff Hutson

Shaw's Agave: photo by Cliff Hutson

Sticky Monkey Flower: photo by Cliff Hutson

Lizard Tail

 Lizard Tail

Lizard  Tail: photo by Cliff Hutson

Lizard Tail (Anemopsis californica) is also known as Yerba Mansa. Yerba, is Spanish for herb. Some say that mansa is the feminine form of the Spanish word manso meaning tame, tranquil or calm. But, as the plant has none of these effects, the best translation is probably “soft herb”. The common name Lizard Tail derives from its family name  - Saururaceae. It is the only member of that family native to California.

What looks like a flower is actually a succession of bracts which sit below a petal-less flower with six stamens and an inconspicuous pistil. 

The plant flourishes in very wet soil or shallow water. Thus, today, it is much used as an excellent plant for water features in home landscaping. It can be planted in the water or along moist edges and will trail down along rock faces or fountain edges. 

However, it may be said that it better known for its medicinal uses.  Native peoples from the coastal Chumash to the desert Shoshone have used yerba mansa as an anesthetic and antiseptic for a very long time. Its dried roots, ground into a powder, are used to relieve sore throats Yerba mansa is used as an antimicrobial, an antibacterial, and to treat vaginal candidiasis. It has been used to treat colds, coughs, asthma, kidney problems, and venereal disease.

NOTE: This post is an examination of traditional medicinal use of a plant. It is intended for cultural and environmental education purposes only, and should not be taken as medical advice.

Nature Notes: Datura

 Toloache

A plant of many names.

Toloache: photo by Cliff Hutson

Datura wrightii

Datura, the name I first learned, is a member of the Nightshade family (Solanaceae) and is not uncommon from Central California to northern Mexico and east across the Southwest to Texas. It is, in fact fairly common in the foothills north of my home. So you may imagine my surprise that two of my field guides: "Introduction to California Chaparral" and "Introduction to the Plant Life of Southern California: Coast to Foothills" fail to mention it.

Perhaps this is due to the plant’s seedy reputation. Easily recognized by its trumpet-shaped flowers , it has been used for hundreds of years for its hallucinogenic properties. However, it is as toxic as it is narcotic and has been responsible for the deaths of some seeking to use it for its traditional religious purposes; or more likely, recreation.

Like many Americans of my generation, I first learned of the properties of Datura, also called Jimsonweed, through reading Carlos Castaneda’s "The Teachings of Don Juan". His purported experiences led many to go out and try it for themselves. Surprisingly, I never did.

I say surprisingly as I have gone through what I called a Euell Gibbons phase and have an abiding interest in ethnobotany, as evidenced by my work at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden. These pursuits have led me to consume more than a few native plants of California. But, I have a healthy respect for for things that might kill me if I do not know what I am doing and figure to give Datura a permanent pass.

The book "California Indians and Their Environment: An Introduction" by Kent G. Lightfoot and Otis Parish has a few interesting entries on what they call Toloache. They describe religious uses, such as gaining the ability to transcend reality, and medicinal purposes. Some groups prepared it in a drink as a painkiller and a treatment for a variety of ailments.

Speaking of names, the "National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers" refers to the plant as Southwestern Thorn Apple. It says that the common name Jimsonweed is a corruption of Jamestown Weed. The story goes that it got the name when many soldiers sent to quell Bacon’s rebellion in 1676 were poisoned by it.

Jimsonweed

Jimsonweed: photo by Cliff Hutson

By the way, the flower is typically white (see above), but  may be some times tinged with violet, as shown in the lead photograph.

Oak Woodland

 Oak Woodland

Oak Trees: photo by Cliff Hutson

When I picture an oak woodland in my mind it is one with coast live oaks that stand closely together so that their canopies overlap. Low bushes cover the ground along with a layer of debris.

Coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia) is the most abundant species of oak along the California coast, ranging from Sonoma County into Baja California. Of course, in other parts of the state different oaks will predominate; but coast live oak is the one I grew up  and continue to see almost daily.

It is well adapted to to our Mediterranean climate of hot, dry summers and cool, hopefully rainy winters. Coast live oaks are evergreen, with a tough little leaf. 

Leaf and Acorn (Quercus agrifolia): photo by Cliff Huston

The oak woodland is one of my favorite habitats. More than coincidently, I guess, in it are found some of my favorite animals as well: Acorn Woodpecker, Western Scrub Jay, and Western Gray Squirrel to recite just three. Plants in this habit could include California Bay and Toyon.

California Bay: photo by Cliff Hutson

I have read that many early settlers wrote about the mystical beauty of oak trees. I certainly get an inspirational feeling when ever I get the opportunity to spend some quiet moments of reflection in a such a grove.

Coast Live Oak: photo by Cliff Hutson

California Native Plant Week - 2022

 California Native Plant Week

California Poppy: photo by Cliff Hutson

California Native Plant Week began last Saturday, April 16, and will run through April 23rd. 

California is the most biologically and geographically diverse state in the United States. This makes for a large and diverse native flora. Southern California, the region that I am most familiar with, encompasses about 2,200 species of native vascular plants. (I have written about a few.) That is about half the flora occurring anywhere in the state, just to you some idea of what nature has in store.

No matter where you are,  check out what the California Native Plant Society is offering in celebration of this week. 

Five Spot: photo by Cliff Hutson

Earth Day

Earth Day is this coming Friday, April 22.  I would recommend observing it by going out and looking for native plants. But, here are some other suggested activities.

Summer Holly

Summer Holly

Comarostaphylis diversifolia: photo by Cliff Hutson

Summer holly (Comarostaphylis diversifolia) is found in coastal chaparral from Santa Barbara County southerly into Baja California. There may be populations on the Channel Islands as well. Some sources cite that the geography makes for two subspecies: Comarostaphylis diversifolia ssp. diversifolia in coastal Southern California and Baja; and Comarostaphylis diversifolia ssp. planifolia on the Channel Islands and the Transverse Ranges north of Los Angeles. It is not very common, but not yet listed as rare.

A slow‐growing, evergreen shrub or tree to 20 ft. tall. Attractive features include shiny leaves, white flowers, red berries and shredded bark. While the flowers are urn-shaped similar to the more familiar manzanita, the red berries are warty or wrinkly rather than smooth. That feature also distinguishes it from toyon. Summer holly is a member of Ericaceae, commonly known as the heath or heather family, a family of flowering plants found most commonly in acid and infertile growing conditions.

Hoary-leaved Ceanothus

Hoary-leaved Ceanothus

Hoary-leaved Ceanothus: photo by Cliff Hutson

hoary |ˈhôrē|

adjective ( hoarier , hoariest )

1 grayish-white : hoary cobwebs.

• (of a person) having gray or white hair; aged : a hoary old fellow with a face of white stubble.

• [ attrib. ] used in names of animals and plants covered with whitish fur or short hairs, e.g., hoary bat, hoary cress.

A Hoary Leaf: photo by Cliff Hutson

 

There are at least 52 species of ceanothus in the world. California is home to 43 species, sometimes known as California lilac, and 13 of these are native to the chaparral of Southern California. The dominant species in our local, lower-elevation, Santa Monica Mountains is Bigpod Ceanothus, Ceanothus megacarpus. However, at higher elevations it is replaced  Ceanothus crassifolius, Hoary-leaved Ceanothus. 

Plants in the genus Ceanothus are divided in to two groups - the subgenus Ceanothus and the subgenus Cerastes. The later is actually the larger group. But, I think that most of us, thanks to its showy displays, are more familiar with the former which is characterized by thin leaves that have three main veins, arrayed alternately on the stems. The leaves of Cerastes are leathery with a single main vein, and generally opposite in arrangement. 

A member of the Buckthorn family (Rhamnaceae) it is a large, evergreen shrub which may grow to twelve feet in height.  The leathery olive green leaves have white fuzzy undersides, which makes them hoary. The field guides I use describe the leaves as being “small”, which seemed a bit vague.  An internet gardening catalog stated they they are 1/4­ to 1/2" long. However, I took some measurements on a specimen at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden and found them to be closer to 1-1 1/2”. Which reminds me of the old taunt - “Who are going to believe, the facts or your lying eyes?” The small (truly about a quarter of an inch), rounded flowers are white with the inflorescences borne on short stalks.

Hoary-leaved Ceanothus is distributed through the Outer South Coast Range, Transverse Range, Peninsular Range, and Northern Baja on dry ridges or slopes below 3700'. Which is to say locally we can find it in the Verdugo, San Gabriel, Santa Monica and San Bernardino Mountains.

Fairy Duster

"In the end, we conserve only what we love. 

We will love only what we understand.

We will understand only what we are taught."

- Baba Dioum, Senegalese poet

Calliandra eriophylla

Fairy Duster: photo by Cliff Hutson

During the time that I worked as a naturalist, I liked to have a theme in mind when I led an interpretive walk. I saw this as a means of engaging the audience’s interest, as opposed to just wandering around identifying plants until their eyes glazed over. One of the themes I used was “does the common name of this plant make sense”.  A favorite plant for these discussions was the Fairy Duster, Calliandra eriophylla. It took  little imagination to see that the fluffy pink blossoms do rather resemble feather dusters scaled down to fairy size, assuming we are thinking of Tinker Bell instead of Titania.

The flowers appear between late winter and late spring. They have dense clusters of pale to deep pink stamens and are about two inches wide. I think that they are quite attractive; and, in fact, Calliandra is derived from the Greek kallos, "beautiful," and andra, "stamen”. The leaves are also interesting being twice pinnately compound with each division bearing five to ten pairs of leaflets.

The plant, also known as False Mesquite, is a densely branched shrub, about two feet tall and twice as wide, native to western North America. A member of the Pea Family (Fabaceae), it belongs to a group of primarily tropical plants that include Acacias and Mimosas. However, Fairy Duster grows in sandy washes and on slopes in the arid desert and grasslands of California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas; and Mexico.

But, to say it occurs in California may be a bit misleading as it is found only in the Creosote Brush Scrub community and then seemingly limited to Imperial and San Diego Counties. Due to this geographic circumscription , it is included in the California Native Plant Society Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants on list 2.3 (rare, threatened, or endangered in California; common elsewhere). In the interest of full disclosure, I would like to point out that one specimen was collected by Dr. Robert F. Thorne (of RSABG) on April 12, 1964, in Riverside County and that there is also a questionable 1881 accession from Kern County. I, myself, first encountered Fairy Duster while hiking in Riverside County. It was on land that was starting to be developed somewhere outside of Palm Springs, so it may not have been a natural occurrence.

Wherever we find it, I think it offers people an opportunity to ask people to look more carefully at nature and by observing this one flower they might go to focus on other aspects of nature rather than passively walk though it.

One is not going to value something they do not know and love.

Farewell to Spring

Last Day of Spring - June 20, 2020

California Native Plant Week #9

A 9 Day Week

"Eight days a week
Is not enough to show I care"

- The Beatles

An eight day week was not enough for The Beatles, and apparently not for California Native Plant Week as well. So, here we are with my last plant for this year.

x Chiranthofremontia lenzii

x Chiranthofremontia lenzii: photo by Cliff Hutson

X Chiranthofremontia lenzii (hybrid monkey hand tree) is a large bush that is a hybrid between Mexico's Chiranthodendron pentadactylon and California's Fremontia californicum. It has a glorious yellow/orange blooms. The distinctive flowers appear in late spring and early summer; the stamens are long, curve upward, and give the distinct impression of a clawed hand or paw.

The nothogeneric name is derived from the two generic names using "Chir- antho" (hand, anther) and "Fremont" portions of the parental generic names. The species epithet honors Dr. Lee Wayne Lenz, Director Emeritus of Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, who made many native hybrids, including Fremontodendron 'California Glory,' 'Pacific Sunset,' and 'San Gabriel'.

Hybrid Monkey Hand Tree: photo by Cliff Hutson

Earth Day Again

I was in grad school when the very first Earth Day happened.  The campus was alive with the sound of music and many well attended events. Obviously, this year's 50th anniversary observance has to be very different. The Union of Concerned Scientists has planned a three-day event called Earth Day Live.

What Is Earth Day Live? Find out here.

California Native Plant Week #8

Wildflower Meadows

Meadow with Lupins: photo by Cliff Hutson

Technically, a meadow is simply an open habitat vegetated by grasses and other non-woody plants. However, few things evoke magical memories like spring wildflowers.

Common Meadowfoam: photo by Cliff Hutson

Collinsia: photo by Cliff Hutson

Tidy Tips and Lupins:  photo by Cliff Hutson

Clarkia amoena: photo by Cliff Hutson

Clarkia Fan: photo by Cliff Hutson

California Native Plant Week #7

Ninebark

Ninebark: photo by Cliff Hutson

Pacific ninebark or western ninebark (Physocarpus capitatus) is a shrub that is native to California and confined to western North America—from southern Alaska east to Montana and Utah, and south to southern California—in the redwood forest, chaparral, yellow pine forest, red fir forest and wetland-riparian communities. The plant gets its common name from its bark, which may peel showing several layers

It is a deciduous bush up to 8 feet tall, with round 3-to-5-inch clusters of white flowers having five petals and numerous red-tipped stamens, flowering May through July. The blossoms have been noted as being attractive to a large number of native bees. Also, small animals and birds find shelter in its branches. The leaves are lobed, about 1.2–5.5 inches long and broad, alternate, generally serrate, and remind me of small grape or currant leaves, though some say they are maple-like. They turn intense red to orange in the fall. The fruit is an inflated glossy red pod, which turns dry and brown and then splits open to release seeds.

Many nurseries recommend the plant not only for its delightful display of flowers and its showiness in fall, but also for the sculptural attractiveness the rest of the year. It grows best in moist environments, but it is drought-tolerant to a degree.

Save the date(s)

Earth Day is April 22, but at least one organization is proposing a week's worth of activities. 

California Native Plant Week #6

Joshua Tree

Joshua Tree Forest: photo by Cliff Hutson

While I am hesitant to once again write about a plant and perhaps draw too much attention to one of our over-pressured national parks, this tree is one of California's most iconic species.  

The park is named for the Joshua trees (Yucca brevifolia) native to the Mojave Desert, but it does occur outside those boundaries. And, sadly, some say that in the not too distant future it may no longer grow there.  

California Native Plant Week Takes a Different Turn This Year

A thoughtful essay from CNPS:  Native plants can offer hope, fun, and healthy distraction during stay-at-home orders.

Another way to connect with nature:  Birds

"Millions of people who aren’t frontline workers in the COVID-19 pandemic are adjusting to a new routine that means staying home — or close to it. Many are seeking solace outside."

But, wait, there's more!

There are plenty of other fun activities easy to enjoy while maintaining safe social distancing.

California Native Plant Week #5

Gilia tricolor (Bird's-eye gilia)

Bird's-eye gilia: photo by Cliff Hutson

Gilia tricolor, a dicot, is an annual herb that is native to California, and is endemic (limited) to California.  Blue stamens encircle the yellow throat of the flower, which is set off by a dark purple ring. All this color provides a vibrant signal to the bees that pollinate this plant.

Citizen Science Month: April 2020

Life in the time of Corona has placed many, if not most, of us under quarantine, lockdown, or "safer at home". Keeping occupied is said to be good for our mental health. One way to that is to participate in citizen science programs. Check out this site  or Science Friday to see if that might be a fit for you.

California Native Plant Week #4

Dogwood

Dogwood: photo by Cliff Hutson

Our native Dogwood (Cornus sericea, syn. C. stolonifera, Swida sericea) is a shrub found throughout northern and western North America; and beyond. Common  names include Redtwig Dogwood, Red-rood, American Dogwood, and (subsp. occidentalis) Western Dogwood.

Cornus sericea Berries: photo by Cliff Hutson

California Native Plant Week #3

 Common Monkey Flower

Common Monkey Flower: photo by Cliff Hutson

Yellow flowers that are popular with bumble bees.

California Native Plant Week #2

California Bay

California Bay: photo by Cliff Hutson

Native Plant Week: April 11- 19, 2020

Umbellularia californica: photo by Cliff Hutson