Chimineas Ranch is a remote and beautiful area - just west of the Carrizo Plains National Monument.The fawn colored hills are sere and seemingly barren - even in early April. But there are an amazing number of wildflowers spangling the bleached grasses, hugging the lean dry soil, clinging precariously to the steep, sandy banks.
I am fortunate to be in a group that is led by an extremely knowledgeable botanist. Quiet, unassuming, he leads us straight to the areas of greatest interest. At each stop people tumble out of the vehicles, notebooks and reference guides in hand. Plants are scrutinized, animated discussions ensue. More than once loupes are employed to examine pistils, stamens, the tiniest of pollen bearing anthers. At first self conscious (I have no loupe! No field guide!) I soon enter into the spirit of the day and in short order am flinging myself into the grass, camera clicking madly.
Fiddlenecks - Amsinckia menziesii
San Joaquin blazing star - Mentzelia pectinata.
Long beaked filaree - Erodium botrys
Blue Dicks - Dichelostema capitatum
Indian paintbrush - A Castilleja of some sort. (But I have no idea which, since I have no loupe! Or field guide!)
And finally, lupin in a dark and smokey color that absolutely sings against the taupe and grey of the native grasses.
4 comments:
Sounds like a fun time.
omg, I am LOVING that tiny Mentzelia! That's lately becoming one of my favorite genera.
Chuck,
They are lovely! I think Annie's has them.....
Chloe M.
That's my kind of field trip! You captured some lovely wildflowers. It reminds me of my college days when I took a semester long course on native plants. We would spend every Saturday at a different site, taking little pieces of each plant and taping them into our notebook along with writing their botanical name. By the end of the semester the plants were falling apart and the notebook was stained and weather beaten. But seeing your photos makes me realize how nice and much easier it would have been to have a digital camera instead! Progress can indeed be good.
Jean,
The class sounds wonderful. And the notebook sounds like a keeper.
Digital cameras are wonderful as well though - so EASY.
Chloe M.
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