Hillside walk, 23 March 2015
As of this week, the number of flowering plants is going down, the high point has passed. Nevertheless, the height of spring remains with us. The most obvious spring display is usually on the north hillside. Being so open, it's also the place where spring first begins to wane, and that is what is occurring on the north hillside, where a number of notable spring blooms have now gone.
On the other hand, the protected canyons are truly green, and flowering is very much at a peak. Most impressive this week is Canyon 8B, with masses of caterpillar phacelia (Phacelia cicutaria var. hispida), canterbury bells (Phacelia minor), and even some California primrose (Eulobus californicus). Canyon 5 is almost as good, as is Canyon 6. Canyon 3B, being more open, is drier although still damp in places.
In some places the presence of water in the ground is apparent in the form of green meadows. One example is some of the knolls on the north hillside, where blue dicks (Dichelostemma capitatum ssp. capitatum) are in bloom. Another example is along parts of the slope above Canyon 4, where Danny's skullcap (Scutellaria tuberosa) is present in surprising numbers. Then we have the area with miniature lupine (Lupinus bicolor) near the bottom of the north hillside and on the south hillside.
A new seasonal plant in bloom this week is narrow leafed bedstraw (Gallium angustifolium spp. angustifolium) along upper Lida Street.
