CYRUS CANYON, KERN RIVER VALLEY
MARCH 2009
PAGE ONE
Photographs by Michael Charters




Although we were told that our original destination, the Kelso Valley, was still a bit early floristically, a juniper woodland area in Cyrus Canyon north of Lake Isabella was in amazing bloom, with many interesting species including the spectacularly beautiful and much sought-after Kelso Creek monkey-flower, Mimulus shevockii. We had hoped to make it a double treasure day by finding Mimulus pictus, but no luck on that one. I want to thank our group leader, Naomi Fraga, a botanist from Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, who is extremely knowledgeable about the flora of Kern County and the southern Sierra Nevada. An upside-down V next to the common name indicates a taxon that was new to me when I photographed it on this field trip, and an asterisk denotes a non-native species.


   
Argus gilia
Gilia brecciarum ssp. neglecta
Polemoniaceae
 
California poppy
Eschscholzia californica
Papaveraceae
 
Miniature lupine
Lupinus bicolor
Fabaceae


 
Silver puffs
Uropappus lindleyi
Asteraceae

 
 
Globe gilia
Gilia capitata ssp. abrotanifolia
Polemoniaceae
 
 
 
 
California goldfields
Lasthenia californica ssp. californica
Asteraceae
Kern sun cup ^
Camissonia kernensis
Onagraceae
 
 


 
Blue dicks
Dichelostemma capitatum ssp. capitatum
Liliaceae
 
Palmer's sun cup ^
Camissonia palmeri
Onagraceae


   
Evening snow
Linanthus dichotomus
Polemoniaceae

     
cf. Veatch's blazing star
Mentzelia veatchiana
Loasaceae
 
Sand cress
Calyptridium monandrum
Portulacaceae


   
Kelso Creek monkeyflower ^
Mimulus shevockii
Scrophulariaceae

RARE SPECIES
 
Cushion cryptantha
Cryptantha circumscissa
Boraginaceae


 
Dwarf athysanus
Athysanus pusillus
Brassicaceae
 
Redstem filaree *
Erodium cicutarium
Geraniaceae


 
 
Baby blue eyes
Nemophila menziesii var. menziesii
Hydrophyllaceae
 
 
Dobiepod, Slender keel fruit
Tropidocarpum gracile
Brassicaceae
Annual sandwort ^
Minuartia pusilla
Caryophyllaceae
Lace-pod
Thysanocarpus laciniatus
Brassicaceae

Rockjasmine monkeyflower ^
Mimulus androsaceus
Scrophulariaceae


 
Xantus' spineflower ^
Chorizanthe xanti var. xanti
Polygonaceae
 
Bajada lupine
Lupinus concinnus
Fabaceae


PHOTO GALLERIES
INDEX
CALFLORA.NET PAGE TWO
OF THREE
CALIFORNIA PLANT NAMES: LATIN AND GREEK MEANINGS AND DERIVATIONS

Copyright © 2009 by Michael L. Charters.
The photographs contained on these web pages may not be reproduced without the express consent of the author.

Comments and/or questions may be addressed to: mmlcharters[at]calflora.net.