Hillside walk, 02 April 2018
This week sees the continuation of the spring bloom explosion, with a really big jump in the number of blooming species. Even so, the explosion doesn't so far look as big as in some previous years.
The hillsides are looking even nicer than last week. Once again, four o'clock (Mirabilis laevis var. crassifolia) is the predominant flower on the north hillside, with plenty of California bluebells (Phacelia minor) not too far behind, especially on the lower part of the hillside. Less obvious but equally significant are strigose lotus (Acmispon strigosus) on the mid north hillside, and California plantain(Plantago erecta) at the bottom of the hill.
The west hillside is cooler and even has some places that generally don't see the sun. It's on the west hillside that things can begin to bloom before blooming elsewhere on this hillside. Such is the case this week with black sage (Salvia mellifera). But my favorites on the west hillside are Danny's skullcap (Scutellaria tuberosa) in Canyon 5, lemonade berry (Rhus integrifolia) on the upper slope of Canyon 4, and, new this week, common fiddleneck (Amsinckia intermedia) just over the top of the western crest.
This is the first year that I've gone looking for the flowers of black cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa) on a regular weekly basis. This is because it's in a location at the top of Canyon 6 that is awkward to reach. But the search has been rewarded. Flowers have been present three weeks in a row, and this week they are especially numerous, all in the upper leafless reaches of the trees. The flowers are difficult to photograph because I can't get close to them, and I'm photographing them from beneath with the bright sky above.
