California Wild Flower
California State Library - History and Culture - State Insignia
California Indians cherished the poppy as both a source of food and for oil extracted from the plant. Its botanical name, Eschsholtzia californica , was given by Adelbert Von Chamisso, a naturalist and member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences, who dropped anchor in San Francisco in 1816 in a bay surrounded by hills of the golden flowers. Also sometimes known as the flame flower, la amapola , and copa de oro (cup of gold), the poppy grows wild throughout California. It became the state flower in 1903. Every year April 6 is California Poppy Day, and Governor Wilson proclaimed May 13-18, 1996, Poppy Week. ... [Read More]
State Tree and Flower
Maine designated the white pine cone and tassel as its state flower. Botanically, these are not considered flowers since gymnosperms do not have true flowers. The reproductive structures of pines are known as strobili. You could accurately state the Maine is the only state to have an official state strobilae. If you thought Oklahoma was the right answer, you are nearly correct. Mistletoe is a plant and is not a flower. It is, however, a flowering plant and bears true flowers, even though they are not showy. ... [Read More]
California Poppy
California Indians valued the poppy as a food source and for the oil extracted from the plant. Also known as the flame flower, the poppy grows wild throughout California. It became the state flower in 1903. Every year, April 6 is California Poppy Day. ... [Read More]
PCA Alien Plant Working Group - Saltcedar (Tamarix aphylla; chinensis; gallica; parviflora; ramosissima)
ECOLOGICAL THREAT: Saltcedars are fire-adapted species and have long tap roots that allow them to intercept deep water tables and interfere with natural aquatic systems. Saltcedar disrupts the structure and stability of native plant communities and degrades native wildlife habitat by outcompeting and replacing native plant species, monopolizing limited sources of moisture, and increasing the frequency, intensity and effect of fires and floods. Although it provides some shelter, the foliage and flowers of saltcedar provide little food value for native wildlife species that depend on nutrient-rich native plant resources. ... [Read More]
What's Blooming in Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
Beginning in the grassland were Bush Mallow, Cliff Aster, California Buckwheat, Chicory, Black Mustard, Slender Tarweed, and Slender Aster. In small clumps of chaparral, becoming denser as the trails dips into the canyon were Laurel Sumac, Chemise, Deerweed, Morning Glory, and Black Sage. There are stands of Toyon with limbs bending, heavy with flowers. One Golden Star was seen among an abundance of Purple Sage, Bird’s Beak, Bush Monkey Flower, and Narrow Leaved Milkweed; and less common are California Fuchsia and Horehound. Creek Monkey Flowers are at most of the many stream crossings, with Scarlet Monkey Flower much less frequent. At the upper end of the canyon are many Heart Leaf Penstemon, Plummer’s Mariposa Lilies, and Scarlet Larkspur. A new sighting for me turned out to be the rare Cream Bush. Only one of the largest plants still had blossoms, but there is a sizable distribution along several hundred feet of trail. Farewell-to-Spring, Honeysuckle, and Indian ... [Read More]
redwood
Another locally common flowering shrub, Rhododendron macrophyllum (California rose-bay, Coast Rhododendron), casts randomly scattered, artistic splashes of delicate pink flower color against the backdrop of the sometimes dark, misty and surreal background of the redwood forest. ... [Read More]
CVBDB Wildlife Photo Gallery
The wild cry of the night... ... AvianWildlife Resources Resident and Migratory Birds ... Plants and Flower Resources Coming Soon! ... [Read More]
PCA Alien Plant Working Group - Spotted Knapweed (Centaurea biebersteinii)
Flowers are purple to pink, rarely white, with 25 to 35 flowers per head. Plants bloom from June to October, and flower heads usually remain on the plant. Flower heads are oblong or oval shaped, ¼ inch wide and ½ inch across, and are single or borne in clusters of two or three at the branch ends. Leaf like bracts surrounding the base of the flower head are oval and yellow green, becoming brown near the base. The margins of these bracts have a soft spine like fringe, with the center spine being shorter than the lateral spines. The brown, oval seeds are 1/16 to 1/8 inch long, with pale longitudinal lines and a short fringe on one end. ... [Read More]
bearmountain
When Botanist David Magney surveyed the site in 1998, he identified a rare species not known previously to occur in the vicinity, Red Rock tarplant (Hemizonia arida). Red Rock tarplant is an annual herb that may grow 6 inches to three feet tall. It produces a flat-topped, short penducle flower head with pale yellow ray flowers and yellow disk flowers. The species is associated with clay soils found in western Mojave Desert washes. Previously, the species was known from less than ten occurrences, all near Red Rock Canyon in eastern Kern County. ... [Read More]
walkerpass
Joshua trees are pollinated by silver-gray, night-flying moths that lay their eggs in the flowers. As the pollinated flower matures, the larvae hatch and feed on immature seeds. After the seeds have fallen to the ground, the larvae bore their way out and pupate in the soil. When the adult emerges the cycle is repeated. ... The spring season (March-May) is the best time to observe annual plants typical of the desert such as gilias, monkeyflowers, poppies, goldfields, coreopsis, and woolly sunflowers. A multi-colored carpet beneath twisted Joshua trees makes for an image that is not soon forgotten by visitors to this arid world of gnarled life forms. ... [Read More]
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