So yesterday after wandering around Picchetti Ranch OSP looking for fancy Clarkias, I drove up Stevens Canyon Rd a bit to see what I could see- Stevens Creek County Park and Fremont Older OSP are there too for you to check out. There are several “little parking lots” (see previous post about person wandering about and wondering where they parked). Having a paper or Avenza or other online map is helpful. I did see a small population of Clarkia unguiculata on the west side of the road.
(1,2) Then I spot red, and go Wut? I don’t usually see Scarlet Monkeyflower except on the plant in a pot in my backyard that @instaglenn1 got me from a @northcoastcnps plant sale a lot of years ago. I’ve seen them at Pinnacles NP too. So basically, screech! There were a lot of them here in the damp ditch. They like damp ditches.
#erythranthecardinalis
(3-5) A side trip to McClellan Ranch to see if the Valley Broomrape growing under the gigantic old Elderberry were doing anything yet. They were not. #aphyllonvallicolum #aphyllonvallicola #orobanchevallicola
The CA Native Plant Gardens at @mcclellanranchpreserve are looking pretty lush though. There’s always something blooming. @grassrootsecology takes care of a lot. The @scvasaudubon feeders are up again!
Rewind back to Picchetti-
(6) The CA Nutmeg tree. #torreyacalifornica
(7) For next year- Fernald’s Iris #irisfernaldii
(8) Barely visible moth in the gulch.
(9) The Creambush or Ocean Spray are blooming now. They have a faint pleasant aroma.
#holodiscusdiscolor
(10) Looking down into Stevens Canyon from Zinfandel Trail to the Reservoir, Fremont Older OSP, Stevens Creek County Park, and across the Bay.
#picchettiranchopenspacepreserve
@midpenopenspace