California Wildflowers

The rainy season of 1997-1998 is the wettest on record, and it is a great spring for wildflowers. These are photos of the spring bloom on the Central Coast. The photos are spread across several pages.

   

Eschscholzia californica, the California Poppy, blooms in early spring. Most are a bright orange, with flowers about 2 inches across. But poppies are quite variable, and there are strains in many colors, including white, red and yellow.

   

Lupines begin blooming in March and continue throughout the spring. Most lupines are blue, but other colors are represented too. There are white lupines, and the colorful Harlequin Lupine blooms in yellow and red. These flowers dominate our spring landscapes as much as do California Poppies.

Lupines belong to the Leguminoseae or the Pea Family. Note that the seeds are enclosed in a pod. Lupines come in many sizes too. Bush Lupines are found on the Central Coast. Blue bush Lupines in Santa Maria bloom in March. Yellow bush Lupines in Nipomo wait until April.

 
Owl's Clover or Orthocarpus belongs to the Figwort Family, the Scrophulariaceae. It's related to the Snapdragon. Like the Lupines, Owl's Clover often occurs in large drifts. It begins bloom in March and continues to May.

 
The flowers are set in dense spikes, and the color is a reddish purple. Other species of Owl's Clover have flowers in white or yellow. The flowers have lips like the Snapdragon. Can you see that the flowers have 3 purple spots on the lower lip?

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