Hobbs State Park / Conservation Management Area, Northwest Arkansas

Camassia scilloides

Back in April of this year Brian and I spent a week in the Eureka Springs area of northwestern Arkansas. We're planning a relocation there the first half of next year some time. This is prime Ozarks territory and the countryside is verdant, lush and green.

I picked up a hiking book at the local megabookstore during our day trip to Fayetteville and thumbed through it for a day or so. There were a couple hikes that were close to Eureka Springs: Lake Leatherwood and Shaddox Hollow Loop in the Hobbs State Park / Conservation Management Area. I've already blogged about Lake Leatherwood.

Camassia scilloides

The drive from Eureka Springs over to Shaddox Hollow took me through rolling green hills dotted with houses, farms, and the occasional light industry. I see a flash of pale blue go by to my right, on the north side of the road. A few u-turns later on the sleepy road I find a safe place to pull over. I get out of the car and walk back a dozen yards or so to find a spectacular mass bloom of Camassia scilloides. This is only the second species of Camassia I've seen, but I really love them. The pale blue heads of flowers evoke blue fireworks going off over the grass. An added bonus - the hillside is in the shadow of the morning sun and dew droplets are everywhere.

Trillium viridescens

I was very pleasantly surprised to find a robust and healthy colony of Trillium viridescens in the ditch itself! They were a little wind and insect damaged but were otherwise in great shape, with almost all plants in bloom.

Once I enter Hobbs State Park, the farms and houses disappear and the forest comes almost up to the side of the road. Along the shoulder were miles of Viola pedata, one of the showiest Viola I've ever seen! Upon reaching Shaddox Hollow I check in on the clipboard at the trailhead and head out. I didn't stay long - the entire area had undergone a controlled burn 4 weeks earlier. Burns of this nature are an integral part of maintaining a healthy forest but you have to visit them the next season, not 4 weeks, to see what a positive effect they have. After about 20 minutes and realizing the burn covered the entire area I headed back to the car.

Viola pedata

Arisaema atrorubens

On the drive in, I'd noticed a few other trailheads so I stopped at one of them on the way back: Van Winkle Hollow. The main attraction here is a restored lumber mill and attendant examples of life in the area during the mid-19th century. More interesting to me was a short wildflower trail right off the parking area. The trail was a short loop around the creek in the hollow. I noticed a controlled burn had happened here, too, but stopped short about 15 yards from the water's edge. A full crop of wildflowers was in bloom!
 I was greeted by a bright yellow clump of Senecio aureus along the water's edge at the start of the trail. Drifts of Polemonium reptans and Collinsia verna were along both sides of the trail. Then I spot Arisaema atrorubens. It was stunning! A surprisingly large flower, almost 2 feet tall, it really lives up to the Jack-in-the-Pulpit common name. This was quickly followed by another spectacular find, the miniature crested iris, Iris cristata.

Collinsia verna

As I continued down the trail, there were Vitis vines here and there, surprisingly little Japanese honeysuckle, but it was present. The American Dogwood, Cornus florida, were almost finished blooming but every so often one would be in perfect condition. I started seeing large patches of Podophyllum peltatum along with Phlox divaricata.

Iris cristata

Taking a detour up to the edge of the floodplain and up the gently sloping hillside i find a huge colony of Adiantum pedatum. The newly emerging fronds were captivating. Other species I noticed were Ribes missouriense, Viola pubescens, Hydrophyllum virginianum, and lots of Delphinium. One of the last things on the trail was a large Platanus occidentalis with a hole in the base of the trunk. The tree was leaning a bit but otherwise seemed perfectly fine. Nature!

Here are some additional shots from the day:

Adiantum pedatum

Polemonium reptans

Podophyllum peltatum

Ribes missouriense

Cornus florida

Mount Diablo State Park

Dichelostemma capitatum

Mount Diablo is my second-favorite open space featuring fabulous flowers in the immediate Bay Area. Located an hour's drive due east of San Francisco in Contra Costa County, the state park has about 20,000 acres that form the nucleus of an impressive collection of protected lands totaling over 90,000 acres.

The mountain is 3,864 feet high and stands alone, making it one of the most recognized and recognizable geographic features in the Bay Area and adjacent portions of the Central Valley. The views from the summit are spectacular in all directions. An elfin forest grows at the summit, with trees only a little taller than your average male hiker. Ceanothus cuneatus is a dominant species starting just above the middle of the moutain and reaching the summit. It grows thickly along the mountain's southern side and can produce a mass bloom in the spring that's breathtaking in appearance and almost overpowering in fragrance. A drive to the summit is heady and fragrant when the car windows are down.

Pinus sabiniana

 
The interaction of the Pacific and North American plates along coastal California is responsible for Diablo, along with the rest of the Coast Ranges. The mountain continues to grow several millimeters per year. Tectonic forces are also responsible for a rich variety of seemingly incongruous rocks and minerals on the mountain.

Diablo lies at range border for quite a few plants, producing an unusually high species richness. Prominent plant communities include mixed oak woodland, chaparral, and grassland. There is year-round water flowing from the mountain, particularly in Mitchell Canyon.

I first encountered my absolute favorite pine tree species on Diablo, Pinus sabiniana. The glaucous blue needles are instantly recognizable. It doesn't grow in dense stands, but as scattered individuals in chaparral and oak woodlands. And the cones! They're huge! The pine nuts are edible and were a source of food for the local Native Americans.

Ceanothus cuneatus

I've hiked three trails so far on Diablo - the Globe Lily Trail in Mitchell Canyon along the northern flanks of the mountain, the North Peak Trail near the summit on the southern flank, and the short loop trail directly below the summit. Each trail was filled with rich and interesting plant communities. The road to the summit along the southern flank can produce stunning displays of Eschscholzia californica and Ceanothus cuneatus.

Calochortus pulchellus

Diablo's signature flower is Calochortus pulchellus, a species of globe lily found only on Mount Diablo, primarily along the Globe Lily Trail in Mitchell Canyon. That trail also leads through a wonderful chaparral community dominated by Salvia mellifera and an almost pure white form of Eriodictyon californicum. Ericameria linearifolia grows alongside the trails in Mitchell Canyon and I wonder why that species isn't seen more in local gardens. I think it's just as beautiful as the shrub daisy from South Africa everyone grows.

Fritillaria affinis

I really enjoyed finding Fritillaria affinis and Ribes menziesii in a small pocket of woodland along the North Peak Trail. Further along in a grassland area were several delicate patches of Castilleja exserta, a favorite in the genus for me. There were even Cardamine californica in bloom! This is one of our first spring flowers but it was still blooming at ~3500 feet! Near the start of the trail we found lots of Arabis breweri on any boulder you stopped to investigate. We even found one of the rarest flowers in the Bay Area, Streptanthus hispidus, growing in gravel next to the trail.

I'll be back next year (if I'm still living here!) to see what more interesting things I can find!

Here are some additional photos from Mount Diablo:

Orobanche fasciculata

Allium serra

Phacelia breweri

Ribes menziesii

Vernal Pools

Vernal Pools are one of the more fascinating features of the California landscape. A vernal pool is a temporary body of water that is dry part of the year. In California they are formed during the winter rains and then go dry over the summer.

Navarretia leucocephala
ssp. bakeri

These pools are home to very specialized plant and animal communities, uniquely adapted to the challenging and rapidly changing conditions of the pool. They are especially known for their rare and diverse populations of amphibians and aquatic invertebrates, made possible by the lack of fish. They also harbor really interesting annual flowering plants that put on an ever-changing show as the pool dries up every summer.

Plagiobothrys bracteatus, vernal
pool popcorn flower

The most famous vernal pools are found in California's Central Valley, where very few remain after over a century of development, but we have one relatively close to San Francisco, at Mount Burdell Open Space Preserve, in Marin County: Hidden Lake.

Navarretia leucocephala
ssp. bakeri and
Juncus xiphioides

I visited Hidden Lake in late May just as the first ring of wildflowers was blooming along the eastern edge of the receding lake: Navarretia leucocephala ssp. bakeri. There were drifts of this tiny white flower starting to bloom, turning the edge of the lake white. Interspersed among the Navarretia was Plagiobothrys bracteatus, vernal pool popcorn flower, along with Juncus xiphioides, Iris-leaved Rush. Another amazing occurrence: tens of thousands of Pacific Tree Frogs swarming all around the edge of the lake - a fantastic sight.