In March and April, vast expanses of blue lupine, orange poppies and pink shooting stars cover the hills and valleys. In May, rocky areas are covered by patches of orange monkeyflower. Purple clarkia appear in large groups on many banks along roadsides. A number of Clarkia species are called “farewell-to-spring”, to the point of confusion, because they appear at the end of spring. Four species of Clarkia were seen on Figueroa Mountain, and can be seen in the slideshow. Other flowers blooming en masse in May, are the more subtle colors of purple sage, white sage, deerweed, chamise, golden stars and golden yarrow. Butterflies are also more numerous in May.

(Purple Sage - Figueroa Mountain, May 18, 2008)

Dispersed among many mass flower communities, are an assortment of other interesting flowers that do not flower until May. I came across a number of new-to-me species this year, one of which was found by Callie on her return trip from Manzana Creek - dwarf brodiae at a place she calls the “meadow”. It immediately appeared to be a brodiae, and I found another photo of the Figueroa species in Calphotos for a full identification.

(Dwarf Brodiae - Figueroa Mountain, May 14, 2008)

Another newly observed species was purple navarettia, seen in a number of different places. It is a tiny plant that can be easily overlooked. It was identified using the Flickr group “Guide to California Wildflowers”.

(Purple Navarettia - Figueroa Mountain, May 14, 2008)

Indian breadroot was seen at a higher elevation, a little further from the “meadow” area. Recognizing it as a member of the pea family, I opened the Jepson Manual to the Fabaceae section and read the first entries to start keying the plant, and my brain froze at the terminology. So I leafed through all the Fabaceae diagrams looking at the leaves, which were quite distinctive, and found the plant. Calphotos photos helped confirm the id.

(Indian Breadroot - Figueroa Mountain, May 26, 2008)

Another new, very beautiful plant, Deer Brush, was flowering en masse at the top of Ranger peak. It was identified with the help of the plant list provided on the SBBG Figueroa Mountain trip, and was confirmed by Calphotos.

(Deer Brush - Figueroa Mountain, May 26, 2008)

Slideshow - After clicking on the link below, click on the “i” in the middle of the screen to see picture titles. It may be a good idea to click the “Fast” button, because there are many photos.

• Figueroa Mountain, Happy Canyon Road, late spring