Welcome to the 29th Annual Wildflower Hotline, brought to you by the Theodore Payne Foundation, a non- profit nursery, seed source, book store, and education center dedicated to the preservation of wildflowers and native . This is the Friday, April 15th report. New reports will be posted each Friday through the end of May.

The warm weather we have been waiting for has arrived, but brings with it a mixed blessing. Flowers at lower elevations will now quickly fade, but others we are eager to see for the first time are just beginning their spring bloom. This next week is California Native Plant Week, so do get out to celebrate the flowers!

At the Environmental Nature Center in Newport Beach the early spring favorites are closing their show for the year as mid to late spring flowers are getting ready for their opening act. Hummingbirds are eagerly waiting a turn at the nectar-filled flowers of the fuchsia-flowered gooseberry (Ribes speciosum), chaparral currant (Ribes malvaceum), coral bells (Heuchera spp.), bladderpod (Isomeris arborea) and scarlet bugler (Penstemon centranthifolius). The butterflies are hanging out at their favorite nectar bars—the California (Encelia californica), buckeye tree (Aesculus californica), and Conejo buckwheat (Eriogonum crocatum). Driving east from Orange County over the Santa Ana Mountains through Cleveland National Forest on the Ortega Highway (74), enjoy a salute to the red, white and blue. Flowering all along the canyon walls are several kinds of blue and white flowering ceanothus (Ceanothus spp.) and bright red paintbrush (Castilleja sp.). Pull off at any of the trailheads and take a short hike to get a closer look at these and many other flowers just starting to bloom. With the onset of hotter temperatures in Anza Borrego Desert State Park, annuals in the valley are completing their lifecycles and depositing seed into the soil bank for another year. The succulent cacti and many flowering shrubs and trees will still delight the color-seeking visitor. There are still wildflowers blooming in the canyons, especially on north facing slopes and are a beautiful reward for visitors willing to get out and look for them. The Gander's cholla (Cylindropuntia ganderi) and the silver (Cylindropuntia echinocarpa) cholla are quietly displaying their yellow-green flowers tucked within prickly stems. The barrel cacti (Ferrcocactus cylindraceus) are proudly wearing their crown of yellow flowers. Most noticeably, the hot pink flowers of the beavertail (Opuntia basilaris) and the flaming red blossoms of the hedgehog cacti (Echinocereus engelmannii) will catch your eye dotting the landscape. In Blair Valley, along the Morteros Trail there are some especially nice displays of hedgehog cacti, including at least one plant with 100 blossoms. The parasitic plants are on the prowl throughout the desert. The white rhatany (Krameria grayi) looks like a pile of interlocking thorny twigs most of the year, but when is in flower, it’s quite lovely with its red-purple flowers. The gaudy bright orange dodder (Cuscuta sp.) is an interesting color contrast on the intense blue indigo bush (Psorothamnus schotii). Its tangled bunches of coarse thread-like stems gives dodder its other common name—―witch’s hair.‖ The (Orobanche cooperi) is an odd looking plant sticking up six inches above the sand, and is aptly named the ―burro-bush strangler.‖ A root parasite on members of the sunflower family, you’ll see it hanging around brittlebush (Encelia farinosa), burro-bush (Ambrosia dumosa) and cheesebush (Hymenoclea salsola). You

Orobanche (Orobanche cooperi), photo courtesy of may have to get down on your hands and knees to see its small Anza Borrego Desert Natural History Association purple flowers. But don’t stay there too long or you may find yourself a host to this pretty, but insidious little plant.

Great photo opportunities are being reported in the northern Park regions of Joshua Tree National Park where Parry’s nolina (Nolina parryi) is flowering. This yucca relative with its six-foot flower stems bearing dense clusters of creamy white flowers provides a dramatic counterpoint to the stark mountain terrain of Joshua Tree National Park. Nolina is blooming on trails around the West entrance and in Queen Valley. For best sightings, drive the Queen Valley Road which is unpaved but accessible to regular autos. The early annual flowers on the low-lying Bajada in the south of the Park are fading to be replaced by blooming brittlebush (Encelia farinosa) and some cacti. Yellow desert dandelions (Malacothrix glabrata), desert senna (Senna armata) and (Coreopsis californica) brighten the roadsides in the Pinto Basin and Wilson Canyon. Bladderpod (Isomeris arborea), brittlebush (Encelia farinosa), buckwheat (Eriogonum spp.), desert mallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua), desert paintbrush (Castilleja angustifolia), Mojave mound cactus (Echinocereus engelmannii), desert rock daisy (Perityle emoryi), heliotrope phacelia (Phacelia distans), and indigo bush (Psorothamnus schottii) can be seen dotting the rocky slopes throughout the Park. Lining the washes, pale yellow scalebud (Anisocoma acaulis), Wallace’s woolly daisy (Eriophyllum wallacei) and desert star (Monoptilon belloides) show their bright little faces from their sandy frames. Driving north on Hwy 395, watch for the stirrings of spring bloom. In the Alabama Hills and along roadsides just south of Big Pine impressive patches of the pale yellow scale bud (Anisocoma acaulis) are lining the highway. Apricot mallow, (Sphaeralcea ambigua) and desert paintbrush (Castilleja chromosa) stand out as red buoys in this yellow sea. You have to get out of the car to inspect other flowers including yellow throats (Phacelia fremontii), Fremont gold (Syntrichopappus fremontii), Wallace’s woolly sunflower (Eriopyllum wallacei), sand blossoms (Linanthus parryae), little blazing star (Mentzelia albicaulis) and the dainty little gilia (Gilia sp.). The geology of the area provides a dramatic background for the bountiful flowers. Much more than poppies (Eschscholzia californica) are blooming at the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve. The grape soda lupine

Giant nolina (Nolina parryi), photo credit to (Lupinus excubitus var. hallii) is very showy with blue-purple flower stems the Needles BLM Field Office standing tall above the silvery foliage. The purple owl's clover (Castileja exerta ssp. exerta) is still standing sweet along side the brassy goldfields (Lasthenia sp.), but they are fading fast, so get yourself out to see them. If you are still there taking photos on the trails in late afternoon, try to capture the masses of white evening snow (Linnanthus dichotomus) shining like moonlight along trails. This is a splendid day trip.

Coming west on the I-10 from Joshua Tree, stop at Whitewater Canyon Preserve. The canyon slopes lining Whitewater wash are covered with yellow brittlebush (Encelia farinosa). It is one of the best displays of this plant anywhere in the desert. Lining the trails along the wash are baby blue eyes (Nemophila menziesii), and desert pincushion (Chaenactis sp.) with a few showy bush poppy (Dendromecon rigida) and bush penstemon (Keckiella sp.) standing above them. Start at any trail from the visitor center north along the wash and canyons. Traveling from the desert to the mountains there are sweet little wildflowers blooming at the Baldwin Lake Ecological Reserve in the San Bernardino Mountains. The preserve sits on a special substrate called the pebble plains. Most plants growing there are diminutive and you will spend a lot of time on your knees to get good photos, but it is well worth the effort. The tiny plants include Douglas' violet (Viola douglasii), Parish’s rock cress (Boechera parishii) and a cute short shooting star (Dodecatheon hendersonii). Other flowers now include the pygmy flower rock jasmine (Androsace septentrionalis), alkali draba (Cusickiella douglasii), slender phlox (Microsteris gracilis) and much much more!

Back to the lowlands in Riverside County visit Harford Springs Wildlife Preserve. All along the trails and in the shade of the preserve’s famous junipers (Juniperus californica) are patches of goldfields (Lasthenia coronaria), baby blue eyes (Nemophila menziesii) and phacelias (Phacelia spp.). Walk among the grasses on the gentle slopes near Ida Leona road to see Fremont’s Lily (Zigadenus fremontii), wild ( praecox) and blue dicks (Dichelostemma capitatum var. capitatum) with a few sightings of the rare Munz’s onion (Allium munzii). At the Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve in south Riverside County, many trails are now experiencing peak bloom. Allow yourself to enjoy a slow-paced walk and be richly rewarded with the expansive and colorful landscape. There are showy displays of yellow-gold Western buttercup (Ranunculus occidentalis), blue–eyed grass (Sisyrinchium bellum), and pink checker mallow (Sidalcea malvaeflora ssp. sparsifolia). Look for patches of goldfields (Lasthenia californica) blue dicks (Dichelostemma capitatum var. capitatum), California poppies (Eschscholzia californica), and Chinese houses, zillions I’ve been told, (Collinsia heterophylla). It’s OK to brush up against the sticky- monkey flower (Mimulus aurantiacus) along the trail, but watch out for the poison oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum) hiding beside it! With the Santa Ynez Mountains serving as a dramatic backdrop, strolling in the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden is a beautiful and leisurely way to view California wildflowers. The meadow at the entrance is dominated by California poppy (Eschscholzia californica), meadow foam (Limnanthes douglasii var. sulfurea), and Cedros Island verbena (Verbena lilacina). Flannel bush (Fremontodendron californicum), purple sage (Salvia leucophylla), bush poppy (Dendromecon rigida), and island tree poppy (Dendromecon harfordii) are in peak flower along the margins of the meadow. Walk through the Desert Section to photograph the colorful desert marigold (Baileya multiradiata), scarlet bugler (Penstemon centranthifolius), beavertail cactus (Opuntia basilaris), many-flowered leptosiphon (Leptosiphon floribundus), and apricot mallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua). The shaded trails in the canyon offer slopes ablaze with canyon sunflower (Venegasia carpesioides). In the Los Padres National Forest drive the popular road up Figueroa Mountain for not to be missed wildflower viewing. All along the sunny slopes you will find amazing displays of poppies (Eschscholzia californica), with hillsides so orange it can be seen from miles away. At the beginning of the climb up the mountain, patches of purple fiesta flowers (Pholistoma auritum), buttercup (Ranunculus californicus), blue dicks (Dichelostema capitatum), hummingbird sage (Salvia spathacea), lupine (Lupinus spp.), wild (Allium spp.), Johnny jump-ups (Viola pedunculata), and Chinese houses (Collinsia heterophylla) add color within the dappled shade of oaks. Red Indian paintbrush (Castilleja sp.) prefers rocky slopes and chia (Salvia columbariae) dominates the sunnier locations. The vista point offers a view of slopes covered with yellow coreopsis (Coreopsis sp.), and orange poppies (Eschscholzia californica). As you pass the Ranger Station, there is an impressive display of orange wall flowers (Erysimum capitatum), and bush lupine (Lupinus albifrons). Continuing along the road, cream cups (Platystemon californicus) and prickly phlox (Leptodactylon californicum) are bright beacons among the lush grasses. Along the corridor between the Figueroa Campground and the Davy Brown trailhead, you will be see wonderful displays of goldfields (Lasthenia sp), buttercups (Ranunculus californicus), lupine (Lupinus sp.) and a field full of yummy chocolate lilies (Fritillaria biflora). Up in the Coast Ranges at Pinnacles National Monument, the popular trails are decked out in welcoming colors. Along the Balconies Trail, join in the happy fiesta hosted by both blue (Pholistoma auritum var. auritum) and white fiesta flowers (Pholistoma membranaceum). Even at that party, you will still find lots of wallflowers (Erysimum capitatum var. capitatum) and shrinking violets (Viola pedunculata)! The High Peaks trail has Fremont’s star lily (Zigadenus fremontii), Indian warrior (Pedicularis densiflora), sticky-leaf monkey flower (Mimulus aurantiacus), woolly Indian paintbrush (Castilleja foliolosa), California buttercup (Ranunculus californica), shooting star (Dodecatheon clevelandii ssp. patulum), and baby blue-eyes (Nemophila menziesii) ready to greet you as you walk by. Other showy flowers that occur throughout the monument include, California butterweed (Senecio californica), lupines (Lupinus spp.), chia (Salvia columbariae), red maids (Calandrinia ciliata), larkspur (Delphinium patens ssp. patens) and California saxifrage (Saxifrafa californica). Across the Great Valley, drive along Hwy 198 at Three Rivers. This highway leads into the Sierra around Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks. The foothills are decked out in vivid spring pink of western redbud (Cercis occidentalis) and bright blue bush lupine (Lupinus albifrons). The flowering trees and shrubs are being accompanied by the warmer weather bloom of California poppy (Eschscholzia californica), blue dicks (Dichelostemma capitatum) and harvest brodiaea (Brodiaea elegans). Along side the blue dicks and brodiaea is the very dainty and showy fairy lanterns (Calochortus amoenus). Get out the cameras and get this one!

That’s it for this week. Look for our next report on Friday, April 22 and check back each week for the most up to date information on southern and central California wildflowers.

If you would like to be a wildflower reporter send your information about wildflower blooms and their location to [email protected] by Wednesday of each week when blooms of note occur.

NATIVE PLANT & WILDFLOWER EVENTS:

Antelope Valley California Poppy Preserve  Jane S. Pinheiro Interpretive Center is now open from 10am - 4pm weekdays and 9am – 5pm weekends for the duration of the wildflower season. Free guided tours will be offered daily beginning March 12: 11 am on weekdays; 10 am and 2 pm on weekends.

Zuma/Trancas Canyons

 TUE 4/19 9am Moderate Hikers: Backbone Trail On this 8-mile, 1400’ gain hike, go past Upper ZumaFalls then up the Zuma Ridge Trail. Bring water, lunch, and lugsoles. Rain cancels. Info: 310-202- 0331. 4hrs SC

Topanga State Park  Springtime Splendor Stroll on Sundays, April 17 starting at 1:00pm. Join a docent naturalist in viewing emerging wildflowers and other signs of spring. Duration: 2hrs. For more information call the Topanga Canyon Docents at 310-455-1696.

Diamond Valley Lake  Seasonal Wildflower Loop Trail. This 1.3-mile loop trail extends from the Lakeview Trail and is rated as an easy-to-moderate hike, with some rugged terrain. Open from sunrise to sunset. Parking is $7 and a $2/person Lakeview Trail fee includes a map of the wildflower trail.

Wildflower Walk at Descanso Gardens Sunday, April 17, 1 p.m. Take in the fabulous spring blooms in the California Garden in this guided walk led by Rachel Young, native plant horticulturist. Meet at Center Circle. Free with Gardens admission: $8 adults, $6 seniors/students, $3 children 5-12, free for children 4 and younger.

RIDGECREST Celebrates Desert Wildflowers With Festival April 15-17. In the city of Ridgecrest between the Sierra Nevada and Death Valley just off US 395, the Maturango Museum embraces the season with its Annual Wildflower Show April 15-17. This year for the first time the California State Assembly and Senate have declared April 17-23 as Native Plant Week and Ridgecrest adds to the observance with the First Annual Desert Wildflower Festival over the same April 15-17 weekend. For festival schedules in advance, go to www.ridgecrestdesertwildflowerfestival.com or phone 800-VISIT-30 (800-847- 4830).

Los Padres National Forest Figueroa Wildflower Tour, April 16, 9:30 am – 2:00 pm For information call, (805) 925-9538 or email [email protected]

Seventh Annual Cambria Wildflower Show The Seventh Annual Cambria Wildflower Show, presented by Friends of the Fiscalini Ranch Preserve, will be held on Saturday, April 30, from noon until 5 pm and Sunday, May 1, from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. at the Cambria Veterans Memorial Building, 1000 Main St. You will see a display of fresh wildflowers collected from the Monterey County line to the Morro Bay Estuary and from the coastal bluffs to the ridge of the Santa Lucia Mountains. Fresh flower will be labeled with its botanical name and family, along with its common name. Over 400 individual specimens are expected to be on display. The wildflower show will be free to students of all ages, but we will be asking others for a $3 donation at the door to help cover costs. A reference list will be provided to everyone attending and a list will be available for purchase. These will be valuable aids to those who would like to continue investigating the wildflowers they see every day. Call 927-2856 or e-mail [email protected]

California Native Plant Society Chapters

California Native Plant Week, April 16 – April 23. Visit www.cnps.org to find out what activities your local chapter is sponsoring. A few are listed below.

CNPS-Los Angeles/Santa Monica Chapter Field trips: Sat., April 16: Caballero Canyon, Lower Trailhead. Starting at 8:30am. Chaparral Chatter Wildflower HikeBring hat, water, and snacks (boots are recommended). Duration: 3 hours. For more information, directions and to RSVP, call 818-782-9346 or 818-881-3706

Native Plant Week Symposium, Wildflower Show & Plant Sale APRIL 23, 2011 (SATURDAY); 9AM-4PM Sepulveda Garden Center, 16633 Magnolia Blvd., Encino Sponsors: California Native Plant Society & Theodore Payne Foundation

CNPS-San Diego Chapter Field trips:

 Sat., April 16 - Public Plant Hike, Buchanan Canyon 10:00am – noon. For more information

CNPS-Channel Islands Chapter Native Plant Home Garden Tour. Saturday, April 16, 2011, 9 am – 5 pm. Check website for more information. www.cnpsci.org. Register at www.sbbg.org

CNPS-Riverside/San Bernardino Chapter Field Trips:

 Harford Springs: Sunday, April 17, 10 am to Noon Enjoy a Family-friendly hike with free magnifying glass for kids. Harford Springs is a 325-acre wildland park south of Lake Mathews on Gavilan Road. Meet at Park Headquarters at 10 am. Contact: (951)-787-6797

 Lake Skinner: Sat., April 23, 9:30 am to 1:30 pm Explore plants and animals of the sage scrub, chaparral, and riparian habitats of the Lake Skinner Reserve with Christine Moen and Arlee Montalvo. Meet at Old Schoolhouse parking lot at 9:30 am; 3.5 mile hike starts at 10 am. Info: contact Arlee Montalvo ([email protected], (951-640-9549)). Wildflower Workshop Thursday, April 21, 2011, 7 pm Riverside-Corona Resource Conservation District, Building F