Sunday at FRC, Part 2

 Here's a side view, showing the back of the blossom, of Shelton's Violet or Fan Violet, Viola sheltonii, which a week ago was just beginning to bloom on the campus nature trail and around Oakland Camp.  It's been nearly a week since I saw maybe a half dozen on each of those hikes to today when they are the most common blooming wildflower on the hill, probably numbering in the thousands.  When there are that many blooming, it is fun to photograph them from many angles and in many different settings.

 These violets are emerging from a ground cover that until now was almost solid with dried leaves of last fall's California Black Oak, Quercus kelloggii.

 The subtle color variations in the fully-bloomed plants are the most noticeable to the casual hiker, but to one who crawls around the ground a lot, the buds are pretty colorful, too.  If you have a little background in photosynthesis and organic chemistry, they are even more fascinating.

 This specimen, blooming next to a fallen log of Black Oak, is kept company by some new starts of Bedstraw, Galium aparine.  This fascinating vine-like plant has a coating of fine hairs or hooks that act like Velcro when you grab a handful.  Bedstraw is in the Family Rubiaceae, the same family as Coffee, Caffea sp.  Many species and varieties of coffee are grown commercially around the world, mostly in tropical climates.  New species are still being discovered in remote places such as Madagascar where a species without caffeine has been found.  Some people use Bedstraw as a coffee substitute.  I'd recommend doing a little research before trying it.  At the very least, you want to know what species of plant you are testing.

 Chickweed is an interesting ground cover found all around the Northern Hemisphere.  Cultivated in some places for aesthetics and/or culinary interest, and treated like an undesirable weed in others.  Such are the vagaries of human society.

Here's a view of some Bedstraw coming up amidst a mat of moss.  This vine thrives in moist, shady areas early in the spring, but gets pretty hardy as summer approaches and sometimes grows into large masses even when conditions are drier and sunnier.  Cute, small white blossoms, then seeds that stick together and especially stick to your socks.

Blogging from Chico

I never thought I'd be blogging from Peet's Coffee Shop in Chico.  This morning we drove down Feather River Canyon from Quincy and saw lots of wildflowers at 55 mph.  Unfortunately, we have appointments to keep, so I didn't stop for photography.  Several species of Lupines are in full bloom, as are their extended family members, the Vetches.  Saw an amazing crop of Azaleas near the Rock Creek Powerhouse.  Also, lots of Red Larkspur, Paintbrush, and Filaree along the road for miles.  The most memorable, however, were the Wallflowers, Erysimum capitatum, that were concentrated between the Pulga Bridge and Jarbo Gap.  I didn't stop, so the above photo is from last year's file.  It shows why this is called Wallflower.  It's a member of the mustard family, Brassicaceae. 
I have two sets of photos on my desktop from the FRC campus - one set is Part 2 of last Sunday's walk, and the other is from a short walk on campus Wednesday afternoon.  I'll post those tomorrow as my battery is getting low and I have other business to take care of in Chico.  A slow drive down the canyon is recommended for wildflower lovers.  Be careful of traffic.  Some folks just need to get through the canyon as fast as possible and tailgating is common. 

Sunday at FRC, Part 1

 Checked out the nature Trail at Feather River College yesterday and spring has definitely sprung. The most impressive sight was the huge number of Shelton's Violet blooming all over the south- and west-facing slopes.  I'm saving those photos for tomorrow's post.  The emerging Corn Lilies are a beautiful sight along the creeks that drain the campus.

 The Forsythia on the main part of the upper campus are showing off their bright yellow blooms.  More views of them in tomorrow's post. 

 Along the lower part of the nature trail loop, the Gooseberries are blooming.  Depending on sun exposure and moisture, they are in many different stages within a small area.  Some have very young buds, some are about to bloom, and others are already blooming.  Makes for many artistic photo possibilities.

What season is it?

It's Dandelion Time

 This was meant to be a three-photo story, but I got carried away.  The re-appearance of Dandelions every spring makes me happy.  They are a very clever plant.  The above photo shows a whorl of Dandelion leaves in a spot that gets mowed periodically.  They have "learned" that a mower might be coming, so the buds form below the blades whenever possible.  This particular plant was probably mowed a dozen times last summer, so it has come back ready for another season.

 Another survival "trick" of Dandelions is a fat and deep tap root.  It can store enough energy that no matter what happens above the surface - mowing, grazing, or evens poisons up to a point - it can support the growth of a whole new stem and set of leaves, ready for another round of seed making.

 I photographed this one in a nearby area that never gets mowed.  The buds formed around six inches above the surface, and the stem will get another few inches taller before the blossom goes to seed.
So, these three photos, taken this morning, accompany the story I had in mind, just a little celebration of Dandelions' ability to survive.  The remaining photos are from my archives, all taken in 2012, and are just a further celebration.

 This group were in the forest a few hundred yards from my house in a place that never gets mowed.  These "free and happy" dandelions sometimes send their buds up 2 feet or more above the surface before blooming.

 This one was photographed on the practice football field at Quincy High School before it was mowed.  I believe it was in May.  There were many thousands of Dandelions blooming, and as I walked slowly across the field, I saw many insect wonders including this hovering bee.

 Many types of flies like Dandelions, too, and if you click on this one you'll see more detail in the blossom.  It's pretty incredible.  Dandelions are composites, in the Family Asteraceae, so this "flower" is actually several hundred individual flowers in a cluster.

 Another bee coming in for a landing.  For a similar composition, but with the bee approaching a Lupine, search for plumascounty.org.  The slide show on the home page begins with my photo taken at Table Mountain.  Many people have told me that for them it captures the spirit of spring.

 My son loves Dandelions, too.  While this might seem destructive to the extreme Dandelion lover, I can assure you that my son loves Dandelions alive, too.  But he also loves fire and when he discovered the almost explosive nature of a cluster of mature seeds, he had to ignite a few to watch the fires.  They burst into flames rather quickly, and if a sufficient quantity were confined, I'm sure it would be explosive.  Most people would agree that we have no shortage of Dandelions, so I hope this activity is not considered cruel.

                                        I've titled this one "Dandelion Fun #2."

 Playing with my camera settings, I was able to get a dark background.  I call this one simply "Art."

I got lucky again with insects.  I was attempting to photograph the cluster of beetles when a butterfly, or possibly a skipper, flew in.  There's always great drama around Dandelions if you are patient enough to wait.  Some years ago I learned of a Dandelion Preservation Society.  It was dedicated to disseminating positive information about Dandelions and discouraging the use of herbicides.  They are edible, and quite nutritious.  They make good wine.  The list goes on.  Today I did an internet search for the society and the only information I could find indicated that the society has closed down.  Other websites, maybe copy cats, were selling artsy-craftsy stuff with dandelion images.  Seemed more dedicated to commerce than preservation.
One last tidbit.  The name comes from the French dent de lion which means lion's tooth and describes the margins of the leaves.

A New Family Debuts

On a South-facing slope on Radio Hill I found a patch of Mahala Mat blooming.  It's Ceanothus prostratus, a member of the Buckthorn family, Rhamnaceae, which includes lots of familiar plants.  In the Quincy area we have Deer Brush and Buck Brush, which are both Ceanothus, and Cascara Buckthorn, which is Rhamnus purshiana.  The first two have clusters of small white flowers which remind people of Lilacs, and these are sometimes called Lilacs, but there's no close relation.  The garden-variety Lilacs are in the Olive family, Oleaceae. 

A New Violet in Town, and It's Yellow!

 A week ago I posted new leaves of this Violet but it wasn't yet blooming.  I found my first one blooming today on Radio Hill.  It's Viola pinetorum, or the Pine Violet.  Problem is there are several other species that are sometimes known as Pine Violets.  A good reason to learn the Latin.  Only one Latin name per species.  That's a rule.  A similar looking one, the Stream Violet, Viola glabella, hasn't bloomed yet and when it does, it'll be in a very different habitat.

I'm repeating my photo of Shelton's Violet, AKA Fan Violet, Viola sheltonii, because the blossoms of these two species are very similar, but the leaves, as you can see, are radically different.  By the end of April, we'll be able to find a couple more species of yellow violets plus one white and one violet species.  And that's not counting all the cultivated varieties and hybrids that get loose from gardens, including the Pansies which are also in the Genus Viola.  Feel free to ignore all this tech talk and just enjoy looking, drawing, photographing, and conversing about violets.  So, why are they called violets?  Believe it or not, the flower was named before violet became the name of a color.