This is an uncommonly long photo gallery because it's the result of three visits to this area. First, I joined a small but enthusiastic group led by Bob Muns and Liana Argento. We began at the Arroyo Seco trailhead at the intersection of Windsor and Ventura near JPL and meandered slowly up the road along the creek. We saw many things in bloom and enjoyed hearing Bob's commentary on the plants. Around lunchtime we had arrived at the junction of the Brown Mountain fire road, and being under the impression that the rest of the group was going to have lunch and then go home, I continued a couple of miles up the fire road to find some things that I hadn't seen down below. Upon my return I found the group heading back down the road from a streamside location that Bob described as having many species of interest. So I turned back and spent another pleasant half an hour photographing a dozen or so things which had not been in evidence until that point. Then I made a quick follow-up visit to get the Eriastrum, and then a second follow-up visit during which I spent a couple of hours in the wash area that Bob had told me about. It was a very rich locality, and in one spot from where I was standing I could see five species of Phacelia within about 20'. Since much of this area is near to present or former human habitation, there are quite a lot of invasive plants, and an asterisk next to the common name indicates such a non-native species. I am also trying to keep up with the name changes in JM2 and will so indicate those in the future. Thanks to Tom Chester for the identifications from samples of the Cryptantha muricata and microstachys, the Spergularia and the Camissonia. |
