Hillside walk, 06 July 2015
The flowering species count is declining as we head into summer. In fact, the count this week is the same as it was this time last year.
It's a joy to see The chaparral yucca (Hesperoyucca whipplei) in bloom. I counted six visible from the north hillside and six from the west hillside. No doubt there are others that weren't visible.
The laurel sumac (Malosma laurina) continues to have widespread flowers, probably more than any other plant in this quantity of flower, although the blooms are starting to look a little beyond their prime.
The number of “remnant” blooms is noticeable. For example, sacapellote (Acourtia microcephala) is busily going to see in many locations; but I saw just a single purple flower on just one specimen, located in the upper part of Canyon 3B. That canyon is so often a surprise in what it contains, probably because it is partly protected from direct sunlight. Another notable remnants included a single bloom of mesa prickly pear (Opuntia x vaseyi) in the Lida Street horseshoe bend, and a few blooms of male mulefat (Baccharis salicifolia) along Lida Street.
