March 13, 2016

As soon as the sun comes out and the flowers shake off some of this wet, it will be spectacular out there. Iris and False Solomon seal are peaking at the forest edge. Meadows are dotted with the yellow of Buttercups and Mule’s ears, Oakland Star Tulip is hiding in the grass.

I have updated the HVLT wildflower catalog with photographs of all the flowers I have identified in Homestead. I also added a slideshow of nature photography from a longtime Homestead resident.

– Buttercups are blooming yellow in the meadows.
– Calla Lily’s large white blooms are in the wet places.
– Hazelnut bushes are budding out with new growth.
– Horsetail asparagus-like spears are emerging creeksides.
– Miner’s Lettuce with its little white flowers are blooming where it is wet.
– Mule’s Ears are blooming on Kerouac hill.
– Purple Sanicle is blooming below Amaranth and is coming elsewhere along the Homestead Trail.
– Swordfern, that has been looking all brown with its thrips infestation is coming green again with new growth.
– Three Cornered Leek, the invsive onion, is flowering in boggy places.
– Woodland Strawberry is blooming at the edge of the forest.

– Barberry is blooming below Amaranth and on the steep trail above the Indian Warrior.
– Bay Laurel trees are blooming. These trees are everywhere around here. The blooms have a lovely vanilla scent.
– Blue Dicks is blooming next to the Ridgewood bench on the Ridgewood rock and in meadows.
– California Blackberry is blooming all over the Land Trust.
– Checkerbloom is starting up on the ridge.
– Checker Lily is blooming. There is a hillside of it blooming below Amaranth between 4a and 9b on the map.
– Chickweed is blooming. This non-native plant is from Europe and has a long history in folk medicine.
– Death Camas is blooming in all the meadows including the 4a to 9b hillside below Amaranth. The entire plant is poisonous, hence the name.
– Fairy Bells will bloom for months. Flower bells hang under the leaves and are
– False Solomon Seal is blooming all along the edge of the bay forest along the Homestead Trail. They are exploding with their little white flowers.
– Footsteps of spring is blooming along the trail up on the ridge.
– French and Scotch Broom are bright with their yellow flowers. These are some of the most aggressive invasives here. Pull it if you can, cut off the flowers so it can’t go to seed. Do whatever you can to combat its advance.
– Indian Warrior is blooming in a large patch on the Homestead Trail at 9j (we cleared this hill of broom last October so the flowers will be on display as never before this spring).
– Iris, Ground Iris with white and various shades of purple blooms are popping up all over and will be at their peak soon.
– Manroots or Wild Cucumber is a native vine with white flowers that is blooming all over.
– Milkmaids are fading. This is a member of the mustard/radish family (edible).
– Mountain Sweet Cicely can be found blooming in the woods with small white flowers and long seeds. The fresh seed pods are sweet.
– Oakland Star Tulip, is blooming near the Indian Warrior patch, above the Ridgewood bench and near Amaranth.
– Pacific Hound’s Tongue is almost finished.
– Shooting Stars can be found blooming on the same 4a to 9b hillside as the Checker Lily below Amaranth, also at the HVLT work site and on the Ridgewood rock.
– Spring Gold I have only found blooming on the Ridgewood rock.
– Sun cups are blooming on the ridge and in sunny meadows.
– Saxifrage blooming now with lots of budding plants near by.
– Trilium is fading. There are still blooms in a few shaded places..

Finished blooming:
– Fetid Adder’s Tongue is finished blooming but still has the distinctive adder’s tongue-like seed pod. The plants are very distinctive with their opposing wing leaves mottled with red blotches.

Key to map:
I haven’t located Bay, Chickweed, California Blackberry, Manroots, Swordfern, French or Scotch Broom on the map as they are everywhere. Trillium, Pacific Hound’s Tongue, Milkmaids and Iris are also blooming in many more locations than are noted on the map.
a – Footsteps of spring (Sanicula arctopoides)
b – California barberry (Berberis pinnata)
c – Checker Lily (Fritillaria affinis)
d – Iris (Iris)
e – Blue Dicks (Dichelostemma capitatum)
f – Fetid Adder’s Tongue (Scoliopus bigelovii)
g – Saxifrage (Micranthes californica)
h – Shooting Stars (Dodecatheon hendersonii)
i – Indian Warrior (Pedicularis densiflora)
j – Checkerbloom (Sidalcea)
k – Mountain Sweet Cicely (Osmorhiza berteroi)
l – Spring Gold (Lomatium utriculatum)
m – Milkmaids (Cardamine californica)
n – Manroots (Marah)
o – Sun Cups (Taraxia ovata)
p – Pacific Hound’s Tongue (Cynoglossum grande)
q – Miner’s lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata)
r – California Blackberry (Rubus ursinus)
s – Fairy Bells (Prosartes hookeri)
t – Trillium (Trillium ovatum)
u – Oakland Star Tulip (Calochortus umbellatus)
v – Buttercups (Ranunculus californicus)
w – Purple sanicle (Sanicula bipinnatifida)
x – Mule’s ears (Wyethia mollis)
y – Woodland strawberry (Fragaria vesca)
z – Death Camas (Toxicoscordion fremontii)
A – Horsetail (Equisetum arvense)

Gallery of wildflowers and plants found in Homestead.

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