Purple Sanicle (Sanicula bipinnatifida) A.k.a. Shoe Buttons. Native, perennial plant in the Carrot (Apiaceae) family. Leaves are twice pinnatifid and sharply toothed. Flowers are spherical, reddish-purple, with prominently exerted stamens. Peak bloom time: March-April. Fruits are hooked. Indigenous people made an infusion of the leaves for snakebites.
Native American Ethnobotany: A database of plants used as drugs, foods, dyes, fibers, and more, by native Peoples of North America. http://naeb.brit.org/ and http://naeb.brit.org/uses/search/?string=Sanicula+bipinnatifida
Plants of Monterey County: an Illustrated Field Key, 2nd edition, Matthews and Mitchell, 2015, pp. 28-29.
Jepson eFlora https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=43166
Flora of Fort Ord: Monterey County, California, David Styer, 2019, p. 25.
Monterey County Wildflowers: a Field Guide, Yeager and Mitchell, 2016, p. 146.
Monterey County Wildflowers– a photographic guide https://montereywildflowers.com/apiaceae-sanicle/
5-minute video of Fort Ord Flora and Fauna, produced by David Styer: https://fortordcleanup.com/archives/2020/natural-treasures-of-fort-ord-90-amazing-photographs/
Oregon Flora https://oregonflora.org/taxa/index.php?taxon=8135
(The) Monterey Pine Forest: Coastal California's Living Legacy, 2nd. ed, The Monterey Pine Forest Watch, 2018. (Excellent book).
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sanicles (Genus Sanicula). Native, perennial plants in the Carrot (Apiaceae) family. Stems spreading to erect. Leaves simple or compound, ternately, palmately, or pinnately lobed or dissected. Blades orbicular to ovate in outline, margins entire or toothed. Flower heads are small, simple umbels, unlike Tauschia (Umbrellaworts) that have compound umbrels.
Jepson eFlora Key to Sanicles: https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_keys.php?key=10218
Plants of Monterey County: an Illustrated Field Key, 2nd edition, Matthews and Mitchell, 2015, pp. 28-29.
Flora of Fort Ord: Monterey County, California, David Styer, 2019, pp. 25-26.
Monterey County Wildflowers: a Field Guide, Yeager and Mitchell, 2016, p. 287.
Monterey County Wildflowers– a photographic guide https://montereywildflowers.com/apiaceae-sanicle/
Oregon Flora https://oregonflora.org/taxa/index.php?taxon=1394
Seen only in one small sandy wash, with moderate but not extreme moisture exposure judging from location
Contra Costa Goldfields are often seen together with the Hickman’s Popcornflowers along the rim of receding vernal pools on Fort Ord National Monument.
Link to confirmed observations nearby: flowering https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/169113156 and fruiting with black seeds: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/117937822
Contra Costa Goldfields (Lasthenia conjugens) Rare, native/endemic, annual plant that grows < 40 cm (up to 15 inches) tall in seasonal vernal pools and moist grasslands. It is distinguished by the number of its hairy phyllaries (12–18) that are fused for less than half of their length. It has 6–13 ray flowers. Peak bloom time: March-June. Leaves are linear and entire or occasionally pinnately lobed. It can be found locally in great numbers in vernal pools growing together with Hickman’s Popcornflower (Plagiobothrys chorisianus var. hickmanii), another rare vernal pool plant. Fruit: < 1.5 mm, club-shaped, glabrous.
Conservation Status: 1B.1 in California, US (CNPS).
The back cover of D. Styer's book shows a carpet of Contra Costa Goldfields (Lasthenia conjugens) growing in a drying vernal pool in Butterfly Valley (see key to places in Fort Ord, p. 1.)
Flora of Fort Ord: Monterey County, California, David Styer, 2019, p. 48.
Endangered Species Fact Sheets (species in Monterey County) http://www.elkhornsloughctp.org/factsheet/factsheet.php?SPECIES_ID=92
Excerpt: " Common Names - Contra Costa Goldfields
Family - Asteraceae (Sunflower Family)
Federal Status - federal endangered
(June 1997). Habitat: Vernal pools in areas with marine climatic influence; gen < 125 m. Key Characteristics: Annual herb < 4 dm tall, stems simple or freely branched above, glabrous or +/- hairy; leaves < 8 cm long, linear, entire or pinnately lobed, glabrous; involucre 6–10 mm high, hemispheric to obconic, phyllaries 12–18, fused less than half their length (all other taxa in our region have phyllaries fused > 2/3ds their length); receptacle dome-shaped or obconic, densely hairy; corolla yellow, ray flowers 6–13(18), the rays 5–10 mm, disk flowers many, style tips triangular."
Jepson eFlora https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=3729
CNPS Rare Plant Inventory: https://rareplants.cnps.org/Plants/Details/951
Flora of North America http://beta.floranorthamerica.org/Lasthenia_conjugens
Plants of Monterey County: an Illustrated Field Key, 2nd edition, Matthews and Mitchell, 2015, p. 69.
Monterey County Wildflowers https://montereywildflowers.com/asteraceae-sunflower1/
Monterey County Wildflowers: a Field Guide, Yeager and Mitchell, 2016, p. 301
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
In general:
5-minute video of Fort Ord Flora and Fauna, produced by David Styer: https://fortordcleanup.com/archives/2020/natural-treasures-of-fort-ord-90-amazing-photographs/
Fort Ord A Love Story, Dorothy E. Denning, 2024 (includes 1,000+ color photos)
Endangered Species Fact Sheets (species in Monterey County) http://www.elkhornsloughctp.org/factsheet/
CNPS Rare Plant Inventory: https://rareplants.cnps.org/Home/
Santa Lucia mts.
Dwarf Orthocarpus (Triphysaria pusilla) COMPARED TO Triphysaria versicolor:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dwarf Orthocarpus (Triphysaria pusilla) A.k.a. Dwarf Owl's Clover or Little Owl's Clover. Native, hairy, hemi-parasitic plant in the Orobranchaceae (Broomrape) family that grows up to 20cm (8 inches) tall in grasslands, lawns, pastures, roadsides, edges of vernal pools, and woodlands . The foliage is green, turning reddish-brown. The tiny flowers are almost invisible to the naked eye, but under a hand lens, there is a pouch that is dark red on top with lower lips that are also dark red. Peak bloom time: March-April.
Link to confirmed observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/157013964
Flora of Fort Ord: Monterey County, California, David Styer, 2019, p. 158.
Jepson eFlora https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=47296
Calflora (with species distribution map) https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=8133
Flora of North America http://floranorthamerica.org/Triphysaria_pusilla
Plants of Monterey County: an Illustrated Field Key, 2nd edition, Matthews and Mitchell, 2015, pp. 226-227.
Monterey County Wildflowers: a Field Guide, Yeager and Mitchell, 2016, p. 111.
Monterey County Wildflowers– a photographic guide https://montereywildflowers.com/orobanchaceae-xcastilleja/
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
COMPARED TO (less common)
Yellow-beak False Owl's-Clover (Triphysaria versicolor) A.k.a. Smooth Owl's Clover, or Yellow Owl's Clover, or Yellowbeak Owl's Clover. Native, green- to yellow-brown, generally glabrous, hemi-parasitic plant in the Orobanchaceae (Broomrape) family that grows 10--60 cm (up to 24 inches) tall.
There are 3 subspecies listed on Calflora. (The subspecies Triphysaria versicolor subsp. versicolor grows on Fort Ord) Triphysaria versicolor subsp. versicolor grows in grasslands, vernally moist seeps to dry grassy meadows, headlands, rock outcrops, and coastal prairies. Corolla is white fading to rose-pink with age, beak is white or rose pink, and the plant is purple-dotted. Peak bloom time: March-April.
Flora of Fort Ord: Monterey County, California, David Styer, 2019, p. 158.
(The subspecies Triphysaria versicolor subsp. versicolor grows on Fort Ord)
Link to confirmed observation of Triphysaria versicolor subsp. versicolor nearby: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/2833685
Jepson eFlora https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=47297 and
Jepson eFlora Triphysaria versicolor subsp. versicolor https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=53282
Calflora (with Triphysaria versicolor distribution map) https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=8134
Calflora, Triphysaria versicolor subsp. versicolor https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=8136
Flora of North America http://floranorthamerica.org/Triphysaria_versicolor_subsp._versicolor
Plants of Monterey County: an Illustrated Field Key, 2nd edition, Matthews and Mitchell, 2015, p. 225.
Monterey County Wildflowers: a Field Guide, Yeager and Mitchell, 2016. (species not listed)
Monterey County Wildflowers– a photographic guide https://montereywildflowers.com (species not listed)
Each plant had 1 tubular flower at terminal end of 3-4 inch tall pedicel. 4-6 plants observed near Chamise shrubs and other other wildflowers.
Oneflower Broomrape (Aphyllon purpureum) Formerly called Naked Broomrape (Orobanche uniflora). It has a variety of names in different references. It is a native, small, root-parasitic plant in the Broomrape (Orobanchaceae) family that grows 3.5–18cm (up to 7 inches) tall in moist soils. It is parasitic on members of sunflower and saxifrage families. There are no leaves on single stem that bears one purple flower with orange filaments. Peak bloom time: April-July.
Monterey County Wildflowers:
"Naked Broomrape – Aphyllon purpureum (formerly Orobanche uniflora) grows in "moist places, parasitic on members of sunflower and saxifrage families. It is a true parasite, without photosynthetic leaves. It has 1-3 beautiful, small bluish-purple flowers, on pedicels 3–12 cm long. Most of the plant’s stem is underground. This species generally has pale purple (occasionally deep violet) to yellowish flowers. [Note: All native California members of the Orobanche genus have been moved to the Aphyllon genus (see Jepson eFlora Revision 5, December 2017). It is now considered that A. uniflora is not found in California and that California plants previously treated as Orobanche uniflora did not belong to that species.]"
Monterey County Wildflowers https://montereywildflowers.com/orobanchaceae-xcastilleja/
Jepson eFlora with botanical illustration: https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=103312
Calflora https://www.calflora.org/entry/observ.html?track=m#srch=t&lpcli=t&taxon=Aphyllon+purpureum&chk=t&cch=t&cnabh=t&inat=r&cc=MNT and CA distribution: https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=13529
Monterey County Wildflowers: a Field Guide, Yeager and Mitchell, 2016, p. 110.
Flora of North America http://beta.floranorthamerica.org/Orobanche_uniflora_subsp._occidentalis
Along Glendora Ridge trail near Sunset peak
Western Pearlflower (Heterocodon rariflorum) Native, small, annual, rare plant in the Bellflower (Campanulaceae) family that grows in open areas at chaparral edges in seasonally wet soil. It is the only species in the genus Heterocodon. Stems are, thin, 5-30 cm long, simple, or branched from base, 4-angled, and sparsely hairy. Sepals are widely triangular, leaf-like, toothed, and 2-4 mm wide. Corolla is cylindric, tube is white to pale blue, lobes are purplish-blue. Peak bloom time: May. David Styer says he first discovered this plant on Fort Ord in 2016, and has only seen it in bloom one spring in 2017, and never since.
Flora of Fort Ord: Monterey County, California, David Styer, 2019, p. 82.
Jepson eFlora https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=28069
Plants of Monterey County: an Illustrated Field Key, 2nd edition, Matthews and Mitchell, 2015, pp. 120-121.
Monterey County Wildflowers: a Field Guide, Yeager and Mitchell, 2016 (species not listed)
Monterey County Wildflowers– a photographic guide (species not listed)
Is this the normal fruit? Bizarre
Hillside full of them! In an intact patch of stipa grassland with several other native forbs (t. laxa, wyethia angustifolia, chlorogalum pomeridianum, hemizonia congesta lutescens, etc), surrounded by invasive s and ATV scars
Maybe jepsonii?
Wetland habitat
Newly described taxon; see http://www.phytoneuron.net/2020Phytoneuron/01PhytoN-Erythranthehowaldiae.pdf
Growing in dense mats of moss over granite slopes. Type locality, beside SR108 at about 8180 feet (2493 m), Sierra Nevada, Mono County, California.
Appears to be phenotypic mutation/color morph of L. bicolor. Small patch of 10-20 individuals here all with this coloration.
Pod viewed from Point Pinos. My first from shore. Addy and Juni got to see them via spotting scope.
Appears to be L. arboreus and L. variicolor hybrid. Both species found nearby.
Appears to be the southern form of Calochortus argillosus, 100 miles north of its recorded range of the San Luis Obispo vicinity.
Growing in coastal dunes. Matches t. ssp. Arenaria, except white petals
Remote lake near 10,000ft, observed at least 15 individuals at this site. If anyone is studying this critically endangered frog, contact me for location details and data.
Patch of 15-20 individuals on east facing slope in gulch between heller drive and Kerr hall