Deep in shade on a north-facing chaparral slope, this California fuchsia (Epilobium canum ssp. canum) has not savored direct sunshine for weeks. Overnight temperatures in the Santa Monica Mountains have dropped to freezing several times this Winter, and frosts have been common. But this hardy plant continues to bloom.
According to the Jepson Manual this subspecies ranges up to about 5000 ft. in elevation, and the parent species up to about 10,000 ft. As a genus, Epilobium is well represented by species that grow at higher latitudes and elevations, and must have developed adaptations that help it flourish in cooler climes.
From a run on the Old Boney Trail on December 27, 2008.
Rabbitfoot grass (Polypogon monspeliensis) along a vernal stream course in East Las Virgenes Canyon in Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve (formerly Ahamanson Ranch).
This grass is not native to California. From a run in October.
Fall color is not as widespread in chaparral as in some other plant communities. This vividly colored poison oak is along the Garapito Trail in Topanga State Park.
From a run of the Trippet Ranch Loop from Marvin Braude Mulholland Gateway Park at the southern end of Reseda Blvd., in the San Fernando Valley.
Sometimes growing as large as a supermarket cherry, the sweetish, thin-pulped fruit of hollyleaf cherry (Prunus ilicifolia) is a favorite snack of coyotes.
These are on the Chumash Trail in Rocky Peak Park. This is the first year since the 2003 Simi Fire that there has been a sizable hollyleaf cherry crop along the trail.
It is commonly reported that an “acid treatment” in the digestive tract of a coyote or bird is required for germination. However, according to the University of Texas Native Plant Information Network Native Plant Database, fresh seeds require no treatment.
