california natives | Far Out Flora

Foredune Beach Plants

January 21, 2012 by Matti | 2 Comments

Astragalus nuttallii - Ocean Bluff Milk Vetch

We found these salt tolerant gems down at the Asilomar State Beach along the foredune. I’m always amazed that plants can grow in such harsh conditions such as this Astragalus nuttallii (Ocean Bluff Milk Vetch). I fell in love with the highly textured leaves, but its seed pods made me giggle.

Astragalus nuttallii - Nattall's Milkvetch

Here’s another pic of Astagalus nuttallii gripping on between the sand and a rock. You’ve seen foredune before if you lived near a salty beach and even some fresh water lakes. There’s a moment when the sandy beach stops and vegetation starts. Basically, that’s called the foredune.

Abronia latifolia - Sand Verbena

Here’s another foredune trooper, Abronia latifolia (Sand Verbena). It more succulent than herbaceous when you see it on the beach. Seems Abronias come in yellow or lavender blooming forms…and probably others that I’m just not yet familiar with.

Asilomar State Beach

Oh BTW…all these pics were taken down in Asilomar Beach in Monterey Bay, but we see these beach plants along our beaches too here in SF.

Erigeron glaucus - Seaside Daisy

A couple of Erigeron glaucus (Seaside Daisy) were poking their heads out of the beach scrub. We found these blooming up closer to the road than along the crashing ocean waves.

Erigeron glaucus - Seaside Daisy

We just received our first big rains of winter which means that wildflower season is just around the corner. We can’t wait to see some mega patches of wildflowers. I think this year we definitely want to hit the Edgewood Preserve a little earlier this year, as we missed all the action in 2011. Do any of you have sweet spots you wanna share?

– Far Out Flora

Edgewood Natural Preserve Wildflowers

June 29, 2011 by Matti | 7 Comments

Chlorogalum pomeridianum - Wavy-leafed Soap Plant

Wildflower season is getting pretty scarce here, and we tried to get in one more hike before everything dries up. 30 minutes south of SF there’s a cool place called Edgewood Natural Preserve just outside of Redwood City. (oh, btw…we did this hike about 4 wks ago). Kudos to Megan…she did all the leg work trying to identify the names on these guys with the help of their wildflower identifier tool. There’s always a chance that the ID is off, but hey…we try. Check out this Chlorogalum pomeridianum above. These California native perennials grow from bulbs and can be lathered into a soapy foam in your hands with a little water.

Calochortus luteus - Yellow Mariposa Lily

Calochortus luteus is another bulb grower that likes our western coast. I didn’t realize it until now, but Megan just saw these in Tiburon on her solo trip.

Bellardia trixago - Mediterranean Lineseed

Bellardia trixago - Mediterranean Linseed

Sounds like Bellardia trixago are a little obnoxious out in the Bay Area. Native to the Mediterranean, here it grows like a weed and likes to seek out neighboring roots. After latching on to them, it starts stealing nutrients from their wildflower buddies.

Lotus scoparius var. scoparius - Deerweed

Butterflies dig the nectar from this Lotus scoparius var scoparius. Extra bonus, their larvae enjoy munching on this guy too. Seems like a great plant to have if you adore attracting some winged friends. Wildscaping does a great in-depth write up to check out.

Snake hiding in the Grass

So we were hiking along and…OMGosh we saw a big old snake. Actually, Megan saw it first. Sensing her slight panic…I just froze. Another two feet and my foot would have been stepping on it. Oh, did I say it was big? Okay, only 4-5 feet long…but still a little freaky.

Snake heading down the hole

Not certain why maybe a guy thing, but I felt the urge to get super close to it to see if it had a rattle. Well, it didn’t so I felt safer. What we saw next was awesome. It slithered along for a couple minutes then jetted straight down what looked like a gopher hole. Crazy.

Achyrachaena mollis - Blow Wives

Okay, Matti has a new favorite common name for a plant. Yes, Achyrachaena mollis is also known as Blow Wives. I must work that into conversation some time today.

Brodiaea - Cluster Lilies

Gnaphalium californicum - California Cudweed

Gnaphalium californicum grows readily up and down most of the West Coast. NOTE we don’t recommend this, but heard that people brew this guy into a make shift tea. Any harvesters out there do this regularly?

Mimulus aurantiacus - Sticky Monkey Flower

Maybe it’s because this is one of the few flowers that I can regularly identify, or the name just rolls off my tongue…but I love Mimulus. Seems to grow well in a variety of soils and sorta a work horse in the landscape. Hey, you know who has the heartbeat on CA wildflowers? Phyte Club. You must swing by their blog and give them a read.

– Far Out Flora

December 10, 2010
by Megan
3 Comments

A Bleak Neighborhood Is Revived

The New York Times did a little slideshow/bit about our neighborhood about two weekends ago, which described it as bleak (now revived of course). We’re walking distance to most of the places they uncover, and now feel extra cool doing … Continue reading →

July 14, 2010
by Megan
9 Comments

Craving Cactus

C0mpleting mission last weekend, Operation Escape the Fog…we ended up at Cactus Jungle over in Berkeley CA in the East Bay. I love the structural element of cacti in the garden, but always need help when trying to identify them. … Continue reading →

April 21, 2010
by Megan
1 Comment

Plant ID: Foxglove, Rose, Daisy

We’re up to 104 plants for our Plant ID class, Week 9. This is where it starts to get hard to keep them all straight, and remember the first plants we learned. I’m drawing blanks on quite a few of … Continue reading →