Hillside walk, 17 August 2015
The regular mid-summer flowers are doing their best, especially saw toothed goldenbush (Hazardia squarrosa), American lotus (Acmispon americanus var. americanus), and notably narrow leaf milkweed (Asclepias fascicularis). The latter was in solid bud last week, and this week is fully out. Ir has a short flowering, which means that by next week the flowers are like to be withered. The usual long-blooming summer flower, leafy California buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum subsp. foliolosum) continues very much in evidence although it's now slightly beyond its peak.
The rain of fours weeks ago may be causing a peak of blooms at this time, the number of flowering species being currently higher than it was at this time in either of the two preceding years. In this category I would include rattlesnake weed (Chamaesyce sp.), deerweed (Acmispon glaber var. glaber), morning glory (Calystegia sp.), California coffeeberry (Frangula californica), and especially four o'clock (Mirabilis laevis var. crassifolia). The mirabilis this week is flowering in substantial numbers over the north hillside although today's flowers are withering by the time I saw them around 9:30 a.m.
The past week has seen hot weather, three or four days of 100F or higher. The peak yesterday was 104F (40C). This has made very little difference to this week's flowers.
