Summertime on the Northern California Coast

Dudleya farinosa, growing along
cliffs at Pt. Reyes National Seashore

The spring bloom in California is world-renowned as one of the best natural floral displays on the Earth. Less known but just as interesting are our summer-blooming flowers, especially along the coast.

This summer I visited the Chimney Rock and Lighthouse Trail areas of Pt. Reyes National Seashore, Abbott's Lagoon at Pt. Reyes, and Bean Hollow and Pescadero State Beaches in San Mateo County. The rugged coast, with tidepools and crumbling cliffs make for a spectacular background to the flowers, appearing like colorful jewels sprinkled among the dry grasses of summer.

Castilleja affinis and Dudleya farinosa, Bean Hollow
State Beach, San Mateo County

Most people botanizing along the coast in the summer are looking for orchids. The most common coastal orchid is Piperia elegans and its various subspecies followed by Spiranthes romanzoffiana. However, orchids are not the showiest or most numerous. Other showy wildflower genera in bloom include Grindelia, Eriogonum, Dudleya, Monardella, Angelica, Agoseris, Orobanche, Camissonia, Castilleja, Cirsium, Madia.

My favorites are the orchids and the various Castilleja species.

Here is a sampling of what I saw on my walks:

Piperia elegans ssp. decurtata is a locally
endangered subspecies restricted to a
few sites in the southern part of
Pt. Reyes National Seashore

Orobanche californica ssp. californica - Chimney Rock,
Pt. Reyes National Seashore

Angelica hendersonii - Bean Hollow State
Beach, San Mateo County

Spiranthes romanzoffiana - - Bean Hollow
State Beach, San Mateo County

Oenothera elata - - Bean Hollow State Beach, San Mateo County

Castilleja ambigua - - Bean Hollow State
Beach, San Mateo County

Castilleja affinis - - Bean Hollow State Beach,
San Mateo County

Astragalus pycnostachyus var. pycnostachyus -
Pescadero State Beach, San Mateo County

Gentiana affinis var. ovata - Abbott's Lagoon,
Pt. Reyes National Seashore

Horkelia californica - Abbott's Lagoon,
Pt. Reyes National Seashore

Polygonum amphibium var. emersum - Abbott's Lagoon, Pt. Reyes National Seashore

Eriophyllum stoechadifolium - Abbott's Lagoon,
Pt. Reyes National Seashore

Mentha arvensis - Abbott's Lagoon,
Pt. Reyes National Seashore

Stachys chamissonis - Abbott's Lagoon,
Pt. Reyes National Seashore

Symphyotrichum chilense - Abbott's Lagoon,
Pt. Reyes National Seashore

Castilleja affinis - Pescadero State Beach,
San Mateo County

Navarretia squarrosa - Pescadero State Beach,
San Mateo County

Abbott's Lagoon

One of my favorite botanizing spots is Abbott's Lagoon at Point Reyes National Seashore. The terrain is haunting and windswept. The dunes and adjacent scrub covered hills are home to a spectacular array of coastal wildflowers.

San Francisco, particularly the western half of the City, consisted of this ecosystem before the arrival of Europeans. I enjoy looking out over the lagoon and imagining how San Francisco used to appear. Lake Merced, in the southwestern corner of San Francisco, used to be a coastal lagoon similar to Abbott's Lagoon.

Here are some of my favorite images from Abbott's Lagoon:

Grindelia hirsutula var. maritima

Cirsium quercetorum

Chorizanthe cuspidata

Dudleya farinosa

Camissonia cheiranthifolia

Anaphalis margaritacea

Symphyotrichum chilense

Silene scouleri var. scouleri

Monardella undulata var. undulata

Cirsium occidentale var. occidentale

Gentiana affinis var. ovata

Coastal Dunes, Abbott's Lagoon

Plagiobothrys reticulatus var. rossianorum

Happy Nature Photography Day!

The North American Nature Photography Association sponsors Nature Photography Day on June 15 every year.

I actually didn't know about this until June 16, and as I was traveling to Portland, Oregon, on the 15th, I wasn't out in nature on the day, so I'll cheat a little and present a sampling of images I've taken in nature on the days leading up to Nature Photography Day!

Calochortus luteus, Yellow Mariposa Lily
Skaggs Springs Road, near Healdsburg,
Sonoma County, California

Monardella villosa ssp. franciscana, Coyote Mint
Sneath Lane Trail, SFPUC Watershed,
adjacent to Sweeney Ridge,
Golden Gate National Recreation Area,
San Mateo County, California

Postelsia palmaeformis, Sea Palm
Salt Point State Park, Sonoma County, California

Oak Woodland
Forest Highway 7, Mendocino County, Mendocino National Forest, California

Fritillaria recurva, Scarlet Fritillary
Forest Highway 7, Mendocino County,
Mendocino National Forest, California

Clarkia rubicunda, Farewell to Spring
Edgewood County Park, San Mateo County, California