fredwatson's Favourites
Photos / Sounds
What
Live Oak Witches' Broom Fungus (Cystotheca lanestris)Observer
yerbasantaDescription
Spores under 100x magnification. Some with camera optical zoom.
Extracted by dipping in tap water and siphoning spores from upper surface of water.
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Clay Mariposa Lily (Calochortus argillosus)Observer
aparrot1Description
Mariposa lilies growing on open, mountainous grassland near the coast. The soil appears hard packed, silty, clay-like, with some serpentine soil, now covered by mostly non-native grasses. In ancient times this area was a marine terrace.
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Clay Mariposa Lily (Calochortus argillosus) Similar in appearance to Butterfly Mariposa Lily (Calochortus venustus) but:
WITHOUT the maroon blotch/spot at outer end of petal.
Nectaries at base of petals are rectangular not square.
Hairs on nectary are long, dark purple-maroon, not short-yellow-hairy like C. venustus.
Calflora C. argillosus in Monterey County: https://www.calflora.org/entry/observ.html?track=m#srch=t&lpcli=t&taxon=Calochortus+argillosus&chk=t&cch=t&cnabh=t&inat=r&cc=MNT
Jepson eFlora: Clay Mariposa Lily (Calochortus argillosus)
"Stem: 40--60 cm, simple, bulblets present. Leaf: basal 20--30 cm, withering; cauline reduced upward. Inflorescence: +- umbel-like; flowers 1--4, erect; bracts 2--8 cm. Flower: perianth bell-shaped; sepals 20--40 mm; petals 20--40 mm, +- rounded, white to purple or pale yellow, central red spot within pale yellow, sparsely hairy; nectary 1 crescent or chevron, not depressed, densely short-hairy; filaments not dilated at base, anthers purple, pink to yellow-white. Fruit: erect, 4--6 cm, lanceolate. Ecology: Hard clay from volcanic or metamorphic rocks; Elevation: < 800 m. Peak bloom: April-June. Note: Flowers highly variable, generally showy."
Jepson eFlora: Clay Mariposa Lily (Calochortus argillosus) https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=76542
Monterey County Wildflowers: a Field Guide, Yeager and Mitchell, 2016--not listed
Plants of Monterey County: an Illustrated Field Key, 2nd edition, Matthews and Mitchell, 2015--not listed.
Flora of Fort Ord: Monterey County, California, David Styer, 2019--not listed
Monterey County Wildflowers, Trees & Ferns--not listed
See interesting discussion/comments re the Clay Mariposa Lilly growing in this area by Morgan Stickrod, helianthelsa and others:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/116355161
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/49858393
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/6185354
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Goldfields (Genus Lasthenia)Observer
vivienneoDescription
Trails in Garland Park near Boronda Rd
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Winged and Once-winged Insects (Subclass Pterygota)Observer
hkibakDescription
On Adenostoma fasciculatum
a-fasciculatum-bud-rosette
"Adenostoma Rosette Bud Gall" is an undescribed species per p. 236 "Plant Galls of the Western United States" 3rd Ed. by Russo (2021)
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Bearberries and Manzanitas (Genus Arctostaphylos)Observer
hkibakDescription
Here is the path I followed on Jepson (Keybase CW) to get to glandulosa:
- Burls at base of main stem, also above or not; plant sprouting after fire [ED: Some question whether this is a burl or a reaction to mechanical injury]
- Leaves with stomata on both surfaces, occasionally fewer adaxially, surfaces generally the same in color and/or hairiness [ED: Stomata are on both surfaces, but far fewer adaxially]
- Old stem bark smooth or peeling, +- red
- Plant erect; inflorescence panicle
- Twig and/or inflorescence axes and/or bracts glandular
- Glands black or clear (pink), on short and long hairs; burl hemispheric; KR, NCoR, SnFrB, SCoR, w SnBr, PR
- Twig generally glandular; KR, NCoR, SnFrB, SCoR, PR
Sorry I did not bring my good camera for the black glandular hairs but you should be able to make them out.
https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=49170
Also looks a great deal like the photos on page xx of David Stryer's "Flora of Fort Ord" (2019), his "key:"
- Long twig hairs
- Hairs glandular
- Medium sized leaves, soft and felty underneath [Scabrous]
- Shrubby growth habit [???]
- Smooth red bark down to burl
Burl present [???]
Note that the leaf petioles are more than 5mm
Comments/disputes welcome as always!
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Bearberries and Manzanitas (Genus Arctostaphylos)Observer
kvandevereDescription
In the middle of a large mixed stand of A. tomentosa and A. hookeri, this individual stands out - mainly due to its tiny leaves. It is upright, 2+ meters tall, and has no visible burl (I was also unable to find a burl by digging with my fingers, but there are several large stems suggesting a deeply buried burl is possible). The stems are as red and smooth as the surrounding hookeri, but the twigs are white and nonglandular puberulent to tomentose (although there are minute black spots on some twigs suggesting some glandularity). The leaves are only 1-2cm long, strongly bifacial, abaxially tomentose, and sparsely hairy above. They are similar in color to the surrounding tomentosa (much duller than the hookeri). The raceme-like (0-1 branches) nascent inflorescence is pendant and minutely nonglandular hairy (similar to the twigs) with leaf-like, lanceolate bracts. It shows no sign of preparing to bloom, putting it out of sync with both the tomentosa (which is already blooming) and the hookeri (which is about to start). I only found one berry that wasn't hollow and it appeared to have a fused nut – although it could have just gotten stuck together as it decayed.
So is this some kind of cross-clade tomentosa/hookeri hybrid? A really unusual A. crustacea crinita with a hidden burl? Or just one of the many, many obligate seeders I've never heard of?
The leaf comparison photo has the subject plant on the left followed by a hookeri leaf and a tomentosa leaf. The third photo shows it growing side by side with hookeri.
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Strawberries, Cinquefoils, and Allies (Tribe Potentilleae)Observer
mosanchezDescription
CW142
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Clay Mariposa Lily (Calochortus argillosus)Observer
aparrot1Description
Clay Mariposa Lily (Calochortus argillosus) Native plant, endemic to California, growing on grassy foothills above Toro Creek, on the SE side of Fort Ord. Substrate is decomposing sandstone on a former marine terrace. Last year, there were 100 +- on this knoll, the last week of May, 2021.
Similar in appearance to Butterfly Mariposa Lily (Calochortus venustus) but
1) WITHOUT the maroon blotch/spot at outer end of petal.
2) Nectaries at base of petals are rectangular not square.
3) Hairs on nectary are Long, dark purple-maroon, not short-yellow-hairy like C. venustus.
Jepson eFlora: Clay Mariposa Lily (Calochortus argillosus)
"Stem: 40--60 cm, simple, bulblets present. Leaf: basal 20--30 cm, withering; cauline reduced upward. Inflorescence: +- umbel-like; flowers 1--4, erect; bracts 2--8 cm. Flower: perianth bell-shaped; sepals 20--40 mm; petals 20--40 mm, +- rounded, white to purple or pale yellow, central red spot within pale yellow, sparsely hairy; nectary 1 crescent or chevron, not depressed, densely short-hairy; filaments not dilated at base, anthers purple, pink to yellow-white. Fruit: erect, 4--6 cm, lanceolate. Ecology: Hard clay from volcanic or metamorphic rocks; Elevation: < 800 m. Peak bloom: April-June. Note: Flowers highly variable, generally showy."
https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=76542
Monterey County Wildflowers: a Field Guide, Yeager and Mitchell, 2016--not listed
Plants of Monterey County: an Illustrated Field Key, 2nd edition, Matthews and Mitchell, 2015--not listed.
Flora of Fort Ord: Monterey County, California, David Styer, 2019--not listed
Monterey County Wildflowers, Trees & Ferns--not listed
See other interesting discussion/comments re the Clay Mariposa Lilly growing in this area:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/49858393
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/6185354
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Indian Fig Opuntia (Opuntia ficus-indica)Observer
rjadams55Description
The Mission Cactus in not native to the region, but was brought to Monterey County by Spanish missionaries and settlers. Both the fruit and pads (nopales) are edible. As part of the former Soberanes Ranch, these cactus are widespread in the canyon's dryer south-facing slope.
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Musk Stork's-Bill (Erodium moschatum)Observer
fredwatsonDescription
Sepal tips bristly
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Chaparral Currant (Ribes malvaceum)Observer
dariuslilesDescription
Multiple stemmed, hardy, and maple shaped leaves. The flowers are partially all connected making them tubular.
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Scorpionweeds (Genus Phacelia)Observer
fredwatsonDescription
Phacelia distans?
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Bearberries and Manzanitas (Genus Arctostaphylos)Observer
kvandevereDescription
Could this be another Arctostaphylos tomentosa x pumila? It's nearly 2 meters tall and surrounded by A. tomentosa (with a few A. pumila nearby). @jeffbisbee
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Lupines (Genus Lupinus)Observer
yerbasantaDescription
sprouting near where goats have been managing vegetation near Ft. Ord.
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Wild Buckwheats (Genus Eriogonum)Observer
jsignor211Description
8th observation
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California Aster (Corethrogyne filaginifolia)Observer
kuedaDescription
Considered current by Calflora and CNPS, but Jepson lumps it with C. filaginifolia: http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_cpn.pl?Corethrogyne+filaginifolia
