Category Archives: wildflowers

Street View: Lupine Along Valley Circle Blvd.

Arroyo lupine (Lupinus succulentus) blooming along Valley Circle Blvd. in the West San Fernando Valley.

Arroyo lupine (Lupinus succulentus) is one of the first lupines to bloom in the local grasslands and open areas of chaparral. Here it’s blooming along Valley Circle Blvd. in the West San Fernando Valley.

Another early bloomer is miniature lupine (Lupinus bicolor), a tiny lupine that is best viewed on your hands and knees. On Lasky Mesa it typically begins to bloom in mid to late February, about the same time as goldfields.

From this morning’s out and back run to check out a local trailhead.

Street View: Castle Peak

Castle Peak from Valley Circle Blvd.

On today’s run, a muted morning sun highlighted Castle Peak in a tree-framed view from Valley Circle Blvd. This native bush sunflower (Encelia californica) was happily growing along a side street.

With MRCA/Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy lands and trails closed, local State Parks closed, and County trails closed, street views will be the norm for a while.

Related post: Castle Peak

Goldfields Are Blooming and Valley Oaks Greening!

Goldfields blooming on Lasky Mesa, March 7, 2020

Goldfields are tiny wildflowers, but their bright yellow color more than makes up for their diminutive size.

New leaves on a valley oak in East Las Virgenes Canyon. March 11, 2020.
New leaves on a valley oak in East Las Virgenes Canyon.

Goldfields bloomed a little early on Lasky Mesa this year. Depending on the conditions, they usually begin to bloom in mid-February. Because of this rain year’s wet December and dry January-February, the goldfields began to bloom a little early — around February 4. The flowers aren’t as numerous as last year, but there are still a few small patches of goldfields to be seen.

Usually, about the same time goldfields begin to bloom, valley oaks are starting to sprout new, bright green leaves. This Winter, the foliage on valley oaks at Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve (Ahmanson Ranch) began to turn brown in mid-December and I saw the first new leaves begin to sprout at the end of February. This sprawling valley oak is in East Las Virgenes Canyon.

Looking for Boney Peak

Boney Peak from the Backbone Trail
Boney Peak from the Backbone Trail

Along with Sandstone Peak, Tri Peaks, and Exchange Peak, Boney Peak is an officially named peak that is part of the Boney Mountain massif. The peak is located about 0.5 mile southwest of Sandstone Peak and is easily accessed from the Backbone Trail.

I’d climbed the other peaks in the area, and run past Boney Peak many times, but never scrambled to its summit. Getting to Boney Peak from the Wendy Drive trailhead was pretty much the same as doing Sandstone Peak. I took the “escalator” up the Western Ridge of Boney Mountain to Peak 2935 and then ran over to Tri Peaks. From there, I followed the Tri Peaks Trail to the Backbone Trail, near the Mishe Mokwa Trail junction.

Tri Peaks from the top of Boney Peak
Tri Peaks from the top of Boney Peak

The use trail to the top of Boney Peak leaves the Backbone Trail about a mile from the Tri Peaks/Mishe Mokwa Trail junctions. Other than a little brush, it’s fairly easy to get to the peak’s boulder-strewn summit. There was a red register can stashed in the rocks. (The title photo of Boney Peak was taken where the use trail begins.)

The actual high point of the peak is atop, a large, exposed summit block. Various trip reports describe the easiest route up the summit block as class 3. That seems about right. Although relatively straightforward, the use of handholds is necessary, and a fall would ruin your whole day. Like many such boulders, it is easier to climb up than to climb down, and someone without rock climbing experience could easily find themselves unable or unwilling to climb down.

California poppy blooming along the Chamberlain Trail segment of the Backbone Trail in February
California poppy blooming in February!

From Boney Peak, I returned to the Backbone Trail and headed west, down the Chamberlain Trail and on to the Danielson Multi-Use area. A few brightly-colored, yellow-orange poppies were already blooming along the trail. The rest of the run was the usual jog up Sycamore Canyon to the Upper Sycamore Trail, and then back to Satwiwa and Wendy Drive.

Here’s a 3D Cesium interactive view that shows a GPS track of my route. The view can be zoomed, tilted, rotated, and panned. Placemark and track locations are approximate and subject to errors.

Some related posts: Looking for Boney Mountain, After the Woolsey Fire: Boney Mountain and Pt. Mugu State Park, Boney Mountain’s Western Ridge

California Fuchsia Along East Las Virgenes Canyon Road

California fuchsia in Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve

If the wildflower is red, the season is Fall, and you are in Southern California, the flower is probably California fuchsia. You might also find there is a hummingbird feeding on the “hummingbird trumpets,” or hovering nearby, watching over its flowers.

California fuchsia along Bulldog Mtwy fire road in Malibu Creek State Park.
California fuchsia along Bulldog Mtwy fire road in Malibu Creek State Park.

As a result of the wet 2018-19 rain season, and somewhat cooler than normal summer, California fuchsia is especially abundant this Fall, with some exceptional displays along local trails.

I’ve added California fuchsia, and a few other flowers that are blooming this Fall, to my Weekday Wildflowers slideshow. These are wildflowers photographed this year on weekday runs from the Victory Trailhead of Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve.

Some related posts: More Weekday WIldflowers, Weekday Wildflowers

Rogue Weekday Wildflowers

Non-native black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) at Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve (formerly Ahmanson Ranch)
Black-eyed Susan

The most recent additions to my Weekday Wildflowers photo album include two non-native wildflowers seldom seen at Ahmanson Ranch — black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) and bachelor’s button (Centaurea cyanus).

Bachelor's button (Centaurea cyanus), found along East Las Virgenes Creek. July 9, 2019.
Bachelor’s button

Both were found along the Lasky Mesa Trail near the dry streambed of East Las Virgenes Creek. They likely escaped cultivation or were part of a seed mix scattered in the area.

Weekday wildflowers are flowers I’ve encountered during 2019 on weekday runs from the Victory Trailhead of Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve (formerly Ahmanson Ranch).

Some related posts: More Weekday Wildflowers, Weekday Wildflowers