California Wildflowers - Late Spring Edition
Hello and welcome to my first blog! Through my posts, I hope you can take a deep dive into California wildflowers and where to find them. In this edition, I traveled to the Marin County Water District reservoir , Bon Tempe Lake. Bon Tempe is located about 25 miles outside of San Francisco and provides extensive trials and panoramic views of the reservoir. Dogs are allowed on leash and the lake is not open to swimming. Though the trail at Bon Tempe is blanketed by trees most of the way, it is best to hike in the morning if you would like to avoid the heat. A hat, sun glasses, and sunblock is highly recommended as well as water depending how long you are looking to walk.
Late spring fosters great conditions that facilitate searching and finding wildflowers in the Bay Area. The walk around Bon Tempe led me to find two intriguing wildflowers.
California wild Rose
(Rosa Californica)
Rosa Californica or California Wild Rose is a species of wild rose that is native to California. It can be found growing in many parts of the state. Much like domesticated roses, this plant is a perennial that flowers in mid to late spring. Each flower contains only five petals. The plant flowers abundantly and produces small, pink flowers with a white center.
Baker’s Larkspur
(Delphinium bakeri)
Delphinium bakeri or Baker’s Larkspur, is an endangered species endemic to the California. Restorations efforts have been ongoing since 2009 in the Marin Municipal Water District, where the plant can be found growing around the trails of Bon Tempe Lake, in the Mount Tamalpais watershed. This plant boasts gorgeous violet flowers that grow on a long spike. The word delphinium is derived from latin “delphis” meaning dolphin, as the shape of the flower bud resembles the marine mammal.
As always when visiting natural preserves be sure to follow all guidelines. Do not cut or disturb the plants. I always encourage pictures but please be sure to continue the preservation efforts of California native plants and flowers. If you are interested in learning more about California wildflowers and would like to keep up with the blog, I will try to post every two weeks on Wednesdays. You can also sign up for email updates. Thank you for reading!