A quick visit to my plots at Hildebrand Open Space park yielded a couple of new bloomers. Plains/white larkspur (Delphinium carolinianum) is a new plant for me. It's blooming in one small area near the prickly pear that are in full bloom right now. 

Over the weekend we saw musk thistle (Carduus nutans) and desert false indigo (Amorpha fruticosa) blooming in the Rattlesnake Ridge-Harriman Lake area.



Plains/white larkspur (Delphinium carolinianum)

 musk thistle (Carduus nutans) 

desert false indigo (Amorpha fruticosa)



We've been seeing a lot of new bloomers in the past week. Many of the agronomic or introduced plants in Fabaceae family are flowering. These include yellow sweet clover (Melilotus officinale), alfalfa ( Medicago sativa), black medic (Medicago lupulina), red clover (Trifolium pretense), and Dutch clover (Trifolium repens).

Grasses that are showing their heads are timothy (Phleum pretense), orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata), crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum), foxtail (Setaria  sp.), and smooth bromegrass (Bromopsis inermis).

Wood's rose (Rosa woodsii), poison ivy (Toxicodenderon rydbergii), poison hemlock (Conium maculatum), and bush sunflower (Helianthus pumilus) are also in bloom now.

bush sunflower (Helianthus pumilus)

poison hemlock (Conium maculatum)



Poison ivy (Toxicodenderon rydbergii)



Wood's rose (Rosa woodsii)

black medic (Medicago lupulina)



yellow sweet clover (Melilotus officinale)

orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata)







foxtail (Setaria  sp.)

Prickly pear (Opuntia macrorhiza) is beginning to bloom at Rattlesnake Ridge. Also noted curly dock (Rumex crispus) in full flower/fruit. Smooth brome (Bromopsis inermis) and crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum) are shedding pollen. False salsify (Podospermum/Scorzonera laciniatum) is one of the yellow asters that I see with crane's/stork's bill on the south side of Harriman Lake.

 

Curly dock (Rumex crispus)

Prickly pear (Opuntia macrorhiza) 

 

Crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum)

False salsify (Podospermum/Scorzonera laciniatum)

Smooth brome (Bromopsis inermis)

Our neighborhood walk this morning led us to blooming yucca (Yucca glauca). That's the only new bloomer for today. 

Yucca (Yucca glauca)

 

This morning we went to Hildebrand Open Space park to check on the status of a couple of monitoring plots. A lot of flowers are blooming there. The list for today is: Jim Hill/tumble mustard (Sisymbrium altissimum), one-sided penstemon (Penstemon secundiflorus), copper mallow (Sphaeralcea coccinia), scarlet gaura (Gaura coccinea), western spiderwort (Tradescantia occidentalis), evening primrose (Oenothera flava), salsify (Trapogon dubius), Dalmatian toadflax (Linaria genistifolia dalmatica), Drummond's milkvetch (Astragalus drummondii), and Junegrass (Koleria macrantha). There was an unknown yellow aster that I need to figure out before posting.



Copper mallow (Sphaeralcea coccinia)

Jim Hill mustard (Sisymbrium altissimum)

Scarlet gaura (Gaura coccinea)

Evening primrose (Oenothera flava) with penstemon

One-sided penstemon (Penstemon secundiflorus)



Junegrass (Koleria macrantha)

Western spiderwort (Tradescantia occidentalis)