bbell's Identifications

There were interesting insects crawling around inside the Lupine flower. Link to Green Lacewing larva: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/217208398

Harlequin Lupine (Lupinus stiversii) Native, annual, uncommon, sparsely hairy plant in the Legumes (Fabaceae) family that grows 1-5 dm (up to 20 inches) tall in sandy/gravelly soil, in open clearings, chaparral, foothill woodland, and in yellow pine forests. The multi-colored inflorescence has a yellow banner, rose-pink wings, and a whitish keel. The keel is ciliate on both margins, from the middle to the claw. Peak bloom time: April- June.

Jepson eFlora (with botanical illustration): https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=32090

Calflora (includes species distribution map in CA): https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=5216

Monterey County Wildflowers: https://montereywildflowers.com/fabaceae-lupine-ann/

Leaf Shape and Arrangement diagrams: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/Leaf_morphology.svg

Plant Identification Terminology: An Illustrated Glossary, 2nd ed., by James G. Harris and M. W. Harris, 2022.

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Lupine (genus Lupinus) are in the Pea (Fabaceae) family. They are nitrogen fixers and they help sequester carbon in the soil. "The Pea family has 5-petaled flowers, consisting of a wide upper banner petal, two wing petals, plus two lower petals which are fused to form a boat-shaped keel. Many produce heads or spikes, consisting of multiple individual flowers (examples are lupines and clovers). The seed pod is generally a “legume”; a long, flattish pod, swollen by the seeds, and splitting lengthwise along both the top and bottom.
Most lupines have distinct clusters of flowers in spikes, sometimes short, sometimes quite tall. Leaves are typically palmately compound, with leaflets ranging from very narrow to broad. It is useful to note whether the flowers are in whorls around the stem. It can also be critical to look at the keel, to see the pattern of hairs. Some are ciliate on both the top and bottom of the keel; some have hairs only near the claw (base), others only near the tip." https://montereywildflowers.com/fabaceae-lupine-per/

Pictorial Guide to Some Characteristics Needed for Lupine Identification http://tchester.org/plants/analysis/lupinus/identification.html

Key to Lupinus: Jepson eFlora https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_keys.php?key=9370
Taxon Page for Lupinus: https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=9370

INaturalist Project: Lupines of California https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/lupines-of-california

Lupine I.D. Tips and Links by INat yerbasanta :
"Reveal and photograph the keel petal (hidden within the wings) to document the hairs (if any) on the upper and lower surface along the entire length.
Keel image: https://tchester.org/plants/analysis/lupinus/pix/lupinus_formosus_g4_17_crop_70_label.jpg
Guide to documenting lupines in more detail (including calyx, banner spots, etc): https://tchester.org/plants/analysis/lupinus/identification.html#fig_1_caption

Branched Clover (Trifolium dichotomum) Corolla > (greater than) calyx is distinctive characteristic. Synonym: Trifolium albopurpureum var. dichotomum

Jepson eFlora: https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=47076
"Ecology: Coastal dunes, open slopes, meadows, oak woodland, disturbed areas. Habit: Annual, erect; hairy. Flower: calyx 4--8 mm, lobes 2.5--5.5 mm; corolla 7--12 mm, > calyx, dark purple, tips white. Flowering Time: April--June. Synonyms: Trifolium albopurpureum var. dichotomum"

(See notes by INat brett bell and INat fred watson in this observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/160999564)
brett bell:
David Styer now calls it Trifolium dichotomum (after book publication date) He writes: "Essentually, you have corrected my error. Thanks! I will now add T. dichotomum to the checklist and the database. In database I will put your names, Brett and Kayti, as the folks having found this."
fredwatson:
"iNat follows POWO, and POWO recognizes "dichotomum" at species rank.
Not in Styer (2019), but perhaps that's because Styer might have subsumed dichotomum under albopurpureum.
Matthews & Mitchell include a note from Randy Morgan about Monterey dichotomum being T. vicinum, but it's unclear if that's all Monterey dichotomum or just some.
Possibly same taxon by INat fredwatson in same location: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/213866328"

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COMPARED TO

(Not this observation species)
Rancheria Clover (Trifolium albopurpureum) A.k.a. Indian Clover. Native, annual, hairy-all-over clover WITHOUT involucre, that grows in open grassland and wet meadows. Flower heads are small and cylindrical, woolly, purple with pale pink tip, borne on long peduncles. Peak bloom time: May.
Flowers per Jepson: "Flower: calyx 4--8 mm, lobes 3--6.5 mm, > tube, tapered or bristle-like, plumose; corolla 5--8 mm, <= calyx, 2-colored (purple and white)."

Jepson eFlora https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=47029

Calflora (with species distribution map in CA): https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=8043

Plants of Monterey County: an Illustrated Field Key, 2nd edition, Matthews and Mitchell, 2015, pp. 175-176.

Flora of Fort Ord: Monterey County, California, David Styer, 2019, p. 118.

Monterey County Wildflowers: a Field Guide, Yeager and Mitchell, 2016, p. 65.

Monterey County Wildflowers– a photographic guide https://montereywildflowers.com/fabaceae-clover-xinv/

Leaf Terminology: Simple Diagrams/Definitions: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/Leaf_morphology.svg

Plant Identification Terminology: An Illustrated Glossary, 2nd ed., by James G. Harris and M. W. Harris, 2022.

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Trifolium (Clover) are in the Fabaceae (Pea) family. Trifolium has 3 leaflets per leaf and dense heads of small flowers. Clover are divided into 2 groups: those WITHOUT involucre and those WITH involucre (bracts at the base of the head which are fused to form a cup, bowl or wheel under the flower head).

David Styer regarding Trifolium: Fort Ord (National Monument), "which is roughly the size of San Francisco, has 33 species of wild Trifolium, 17 of which are native, and 5 of which are California endemics! . . ."
Flora of Fort Ord: Monterey County, California, David Styer, 2019, pp. 117-125.

Jepson eFlora Key to Trifolium: https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_keys.php?key=10383
Jepson Taxon Page for Trifolium: https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=10383

Irene's "working notes" for Trifolium in CCo, using Jepson eFlora Filter Keys:
Trifolium (Clovers) is divided into 2 groups: those WITH involucre (bowl-shaped cup holding the flowers),
and those WITHOUT involucre.
In CCo (Central Coast of CA) Jepson filter key search lists the following 12 Trifolium species WITH Involucre:
Jepson eFlora https://keybase.rbg.vic.gov.au/keys/show/4182?filter_id=55b17b2b4727a

Trifolium barbigerum
Trifolium depauperatum var. truncatum
Trifolium hydrophilum
Trifolium microdon
Trifolium obtusiflorum
Trifolium polyodon
Trifolium trichocalyx
Trifolium variegatum var. geminiflorum
Trifolium variegatum var. major
Trifolium variegatum var. variegatum
Trifolium willdenovii
Trifolium wormskioldii

20 WITHOUT Involucre in CCo:
Trifolium albopurpureum
Trifolium amoenum
Trifolium angustifolium
Trifolium arvense
Trifolium bifidum var. bifidum
Trifolium bifidum var. decipiens
Trifolium campestre
Trifolium cernuum
Trifolium ciliolatum
Trifolium dubium
Trifolium glomeratum
Trifolium gracilentum
Trifolium hirtum
Trifolium incarnatum
Trifolium macraei
Trifolium pratense
Trifolium repens
Trifolium resupinatum
Trifolium striatum
Trifolium vesiculosum

Calflora lists the following 4 native Trifolium in Monterey County that has an affinity to SERPENTINE soils:
Trifolium gracilentum, Pin point clover
Trifolium fucatum, Bull clover
Trifolium microcephalum, Small-headed Clover
Trifolium willdenovii, Tomcat clover
Calfora https://www.calflora.org/entry/psearch.html?namesoup=trifolium&countylist=MNT&serpentine=t&plantcomm=any&format=photos&orderby=taxon

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8-10 ft tall grass growing in open grassland in maritime chaparral habitat.

Giant Wild Rye (Leymus condensatus) Synomym: Elymus condensatus. Native, very tall, glabrous plant in the Grasses (Poaceae) family that grows 11-35 dm (up to 11 feet) tall on dry slopes and in open woodland. Peak bloom time: June-August.

Jepson eFlora https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=24165

"Plants cespitose, weakly rhizomatous. Culms 115-350 cm tall, 6-10 mm thick, usually several to many together. Leaves exceeded by the inflorescences; auricles absent; ligules 0.7-6 mm on the basal leaves, 4-7.5 mm on the flag leaves; blades 10-28 mm wide, abaxial surfaces glabrous, smooth, adaxial surfaces scabridulous, veins numerous, subequal or unequal. Inflorescences panicles, 17-44 cm long, 20-60 mm wide, lower nodes with 2-6 branches, branches to 8 cm, ascending, with 5-35 spikelets, upper nodes with pedicellate and sessile spikelets; internodes 3.5-10 mm, glabrous. Spikelets 9-25 mm, usually pedicellate, pedicels 0.8-2 mm, with 3-7 florets. Glumes 6-16 mm long, 0.5-2.5 mm wide, narrowly lanceolate, stiff, keeled, the central portion thicker than the margins, glabrous, smooth proximally, scabrous distally, 0-1(3)-veined, veins inconspicuous at midlength, apices tapering almost imperceptibly into an awn, awns subequal to the glume body; lemmas 7-14 mm, usually glabrous, apices acute, sometimes awned, awns to 4 mm; anthers 3.5-7 mm, dehiscent." http://beta.floranorthamerica.org/Leymus_condensatus

Flora of North America http://beta.floranorthamerica.org/Leymus_condensatus and http://beta.floranorthamerica.org/Main_Page

Flora of Fort Ord: Monterey County, California, David Styer, 2019, p. 240

Great 5 minute video of Fort Ord Flora and Fauna: https://fortordcleanup.com/archives/2020/natural-treasures-of-fort-ord-90-amazing-photographs/