Tag Archives: flower

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Sticky Monkeyflower

Leave a comment
Sticky Monkeyflower

Sticky Monkeyflower. Almaden Quicksilver Park, California. April 18, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Spring sticky monkey flower blooms at Almaden Quicksilver Park, Santa Clara County, California.

This is a very common springtime flower in the hills of central California – it is one of the first flowers that I recall learning to recognize when I was a kid. (Something about that name must have caught my attention.) These were photographed along one of my favorite trails at the Almaden Quicksilver Park in the south San Jose area of Santa Clara County.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: sticky, monkey, flower, Mimulus aurantiacus, Diplacus aurantiacus, bush, island, blossom, wildflower, plant, foliage, leaf, green, orange, bokeh, almaden, quicksilver, santa clara, county, park, mines, california, usa, san jose, spring, nature, stock

Photographs: Coastal Redwoods, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Andrew’s Clintonia

Leave a comment
Andrew's Clintonia

Andrew’s Clintonia. Muir Woods National Monument, California. April 11, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Newly emerging spring Andrew’s Clintonia (Clintonia andrewsiana) plant at Muir Woods National Monument, California with immature flowers.

I hope I have correctly identified this plant – with the help of a few people who contacted me after I posted the photo along with a request for plant ID help on my dan’s outside blog. The flowers are the tricky part. All of the photographs of this plant that I could find during my search for identification look different – but the plant apparently doesn’t actually blossom until a few weeks or a month after I made the photograph, so here we’re just seeing the early buds. The leaves look right. It grows in the right place – in the redwood forest and Muir Woods. And I found one online example with mature flowers that has the same single leaf near the top of the flower stalk. So I’s sticking with Andrew’s clintonia until someone comes up with a better idea!

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: Andrew’s Clintonia, Clintonia andrewsiana, andrews, flower, plant, stem, leaf, green, stalk, forest, woods, grove, redwood, floor, bud, bloom, nature, foliage, spring, muir, national, monument, park, golden gate, recreation, area, travel, scenic, stock

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Baby Blue Eyes Flowers

Leave a comment
Baby Blue Eyes Flowers

Baby Blue Eyes Flowers. Castle Rock State Park, California. April 19, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A group of baby blue eyes flowers blooming in the spring at Castle Rock State Park, California.

On this weekend’s Sunday morning hike out to Goat Rock at Castle Rock State Park (the one here in the San Francisco Bay area) I was surprised to find a large number of these flowers growing in an open area at the top of a low saddle above Goat Rock. I’m more used to seeing them in smaller groups and spread out more.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: baby, blue eyes, flower, Nemophilia menziesii, wildflower, petal, leaf, stem, branch, green, blue, bloom, blossom, bud, macro, spring, season, castle rock, state park, california, usa, goat rock area, sun, foliage, plant, nature, stock

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Fairy Lantern (Calochortus albus) Flower and Buds

Leave a comment
Fairy Lantern (Calochortus albus) Flower and Buds

Fairy Lantern (Calochortus albus) Flower and Buds. Almaden Quicksilver Park, California. April 18, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A fairy lantern flower in bloom with several buds on the plant yet to bloom.

I photographed this flower over the weekend along a trail at Almaden Quicksilver Park that I visit about this time every year… to photograph this flower. While I occasionally see the Fairy Lantern flower in other locations – if I look carefully – a small valley along the New Almaden Trail near the Mockingbird Hill entrance to the park often contains hundreds of these flowers. I thought that this weekend (April 18 and 19) would mark the peak of the bloom, but my hike their yesterday left me thinking that it may be another week – while some of the flowers had bloomed, many more were still only buds, as are the majority of this specimen.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: fairy, lantern, chinese, flower, bud, bloom, wildflower, pale, pink, round, green, leaf, pointed, stem, plant, bokeh, nature, foliage, forest, floor, almaden, quicksilver, mines, county, park, santa clara, san jose, nature, stock, Calochortus albus