Last Wednesday I drove from Quincy to Grass Valley on business, but risked never getting there because there were so many new species of wildflowers blooming along the way. Between photography and snack stops, we took four hours for a trip that would have taken two if there were no scenic attractions or bakeries along the way. I'm posting the photos in two sets; first the Plumas County portion of the trip, then Sierra and Nevada Counties. Then, hopefully, I'll catch up with posting some of the amazing things I saw today, June 1, around Quincy. Will have to wait till morning for the second set and today's new ones.
OK, I'm back (Monday, June 3), and I still haven't identified the Blue flower above, but I'm convinced it was part of a cultivated wildflower mix that had been broadcast around the new road cut into a planned development. I don't know who's going to buy the homes, if they're built, because we're having an extremely slow real estate market. I like that because there will be an unnatural abundance of semi-wild flowers around that area for a while.
The Tidy Tips,
Layia platyglossa, grow naturally in the Sierra foothills, but are a part of many popular "wildflower" mixes sold commercially and used by road departments.
The Common Madia,
Madia elegans (below), can be found around Quincy with or without human help. Lots of it grows around the corners of Chandler Road and Quincy Junction Road. The fact that they're open in the morning and closed to the point of almost disappearing in the afternoons is good free entertainment for naturalists.
This little yellow (below) beauty is also still a mystery to me. Looks easy, but I haven't found it in any of my books.
One of my roadside favorites (below) the Yellow Salsify, or Goatsbeard, or Oyster Plant,
Tragopogon dubius, was photographed n the side of Highway 70 by the eastern end of Chandler Road. Nice colorful fly visiting.
The Mountain Pride, and bright red Penstemon, was the first noticeable bloom as we headed up the Gold Lake Road out of Graeagle. This genus,
Penstemon, was long a member of the Family Scrophulariaceae along with Monkeyflowers and Snapdragons, but recent genetic studies have broken up that family and the Mountain Pride is now in the Family Plantaginaceae. This is
Penstemon newberryi.
This next one, growing near the Mountain Pride, is a Groundsel of the Genus
Senecio. I'll wager a guess that it's the Alpine Groundsel,
S. werneriifolius. Close relative of the Goldenrods.
Bitter Cherry,
Prunus emarginata, was lush with blossoms near the summit of Gold Lake Road. At certain times of day it gives off a powerful fragrance that I find pleasant, but its name, and that of its close relative, Choke Cherry, suggests that some don't find it pleasant. The name most likely referes to the fruit that is extremely bitter unless you pick it at its exact peak of ripeness. Even then, it may have to be cooked to be palatable.
The Interior Rose,
Rosa woodsii, is currently blooming over a wide range of elevation, from well below Quincy at 3,400' to well above the 6,500' near the summit of Gold Lake Road.
I love the brilliant blue of the first flower, and then the varied hues of pink and yellow throughout the rest of the post. I've noticed in my hikes that flowers of similar color tend to bloom at the same time. I suppose it makes pollination more successful, if pollinators can anticipate which colors will be present as they collect nectar and pollen. Then again maybe the wildflowers are just playing with complementary and analogous color displays.
ReplyDeleteColorful as they are, I think the first four photos are of cultivars. Madia seems to grow around here naturally, but I think Tidy Tips is natural to lower elevations and mostly shows up around here in garden mixes. The sheer density of these first four and the proximity to new roads into a prospective development, which we need like a hole in the head, makes me think the seeds were broadcast by the road builders, like CalTrans does in many places. Just to confuse naturalists, I suppose.
ReplyDeleteThe blue flower is phacelia campularia or California bluebell, also desert bluebell. It is a native of desert areas in California and the Sonoran Desert. It was probably seeded there, but is stunningly beautiful no matter.
ReplyDelete(Roseindigo)