Hillside walk, 11 March 2019
Today's observations show a big leap upward in the number of native flowering species, even though some of the new seasonal blooms are in relatively small numbers. The grasses are beginning to go to seed, too, and this hides much of the beauty of the flowers.
Nevertheless, the hillsides are currently spectacular. Of major note this week is that in two different places, one on the mid north hillside and the other on the west hillside, we have a field of lupines, something I've not witnessed at this location. These are collar lupines (Lupinus truncatus). In general they have their spikes up and flowering although not yet fully developed. Elsewhere on the upper north hillside the stinging lupine (Lupinus hirsutissimus) has isolated small groups of individuals in full bloom. I am also monitoring the miniature lupine (Lupinus bicolor), which has plenty of foliage, but no flowers at this stage.
The first few flowers of Danny's skullcap (Scutellaria tuberosa) are now in bloom in Canyon 4. This is surprising because the main group of these that is more apparent is in upper Canyon 5.
