Crest Canyon

Torrey sandstone with haemetite nodules:





This cryptic geophyte Dudleya brevifolia grows here:




Both the plant and the substrate it grows on are endangered.

Chorizanthe fimbriata - Fringed Spineflower

Okay, so that last post wasn't a very showy plant, so here is another small Chorizanthe that has pretty pink fringed flowers. Chorizanthe fimbriata - Fringed Spineflower

Chorizanthe Orcuttiana

Easily overlooked and and ephemeral is the Orcutt's Spineflower[Chorizanthe orcuttiana Parry].
This plant was not seen for 51 years and was once thought to be extinct.wiki page



This is an endangered Chorizanthe orcuttiana in all her glory:



This species is anomalous in that it's perianths are included in the involucre and it is cleistogamous(there are no visible flowers, it appears flowerless). Due to that I would guess that it has withdrawn from the pollination game. Without a known symbiont it has become lonely and rare. It surely existed during the 51 years between sightings but was overlooked or simply nobody was looking for it. On Sunday I counted ("Botanical Transect Monitoring") 298 of these in one of the two locations it grows. In wetter years the numbers would be higher.



Here is one growing with another more common Chorizanthe species which has more points per involucre than the three which the orcuttiana has. Also the other species has external flowers, one is visable in the picture.





Some Chorizanthe species like C. fimbriata that grows in my neighborhood even have showy (but small) flowers.

There must be something overlooked by the general public that is special to you, no? There are hidden things out there that you might know about. What are they?

Viola pedunculata

Viola pedunculata, a yellow native violet that can be eaten. When fully ripe the seedpod's explosive dehiscence makes it hard to collect the seeds.link

Owl's Clover

Owls Clover

Orthocarpus densiflorus Synonym Castilleja densiflora is an annual little green photosynthetic semi-parasite that taps into to other plants roots.

Wildflowers 2009

Some local wildflowers 2009:

Dodecatheon clevelandii ssp. clevelandii
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This one is Phacelia parryi













Amsinckia (fiddlenecks) with scorpioid cymes

Ringneck

San Diego Ringneck snake(Diadophis punctatus similis)



I rescued this one that was trapped in a bucket that I carelessly forgot to turn over. It released a smelly musk on my hand that easily washed off but never tried to bite. The bright red coiled tail is also supposed to frighten off predators.