Hillside walk, 13 May 2019
It's monkeyflower season. The bush monkey (Diplacus aurantiacus) is gorgeous this week, it couldn't be better. The flowers are really fresh, all looking new. The plants are spread over a wide range of locations across the hillsides.
The number of flowering species took a leap upwards this week. The past week has seen cool weather with some light rain, under 4 mm total. That may be the reason for so many species to continue blooming beyond their more normal flowering period. Examples include three species of lupine (Lupinus spariflorus, L. truncatus, and L. bicolor); the suncup (Camissoniopsis sp.); common Pacific pea (Lathyrus vestitus var. vestitus); and miner's lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata ssp. mexicana).
This week sees the first seasonal flowers of the clustered tarplant (Deinandra fasciculata) at the bottom of the north hillside, Also, the spectacular Vasey's prickly pear (Opuntia vaseyi) in the Lida Street horse bend