Tag Archives: milkmaids

Milkmaids Blossoms

Milkmaids Blossoms
Milkmaids wildflower spring blossoms, California.

Milkmaids Blossoms. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Milkmaids wildflower spring blossoms, California.

While I never have been very good at keeping track of the names of various California wildflowers, I look forward to them each spring. And despite my inability to remember what to call them, I generally know where and when I will find them, and I usually recognize the plants even when the flowers are not present.

There are a few local places I go to find them. These spots are not what anyone else would regard as being special during most of the year — a segment of a trail most folks follow for exercise, a lonely hilltop in a county park, a narrow place in a little canyon I know. These flowers are from one of this places, a little canyon in a county park where I’ve hiked for years.


G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.

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Milkmaids Plants, Redwood Forest

Milkmaids Plants, Redwood Forest

Milkmaids Plants, Redwood Forest. Muir Woods National Monument, California. March 21. 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Blooming milkmaids (Dentaria cardimine californica) plants on the forest floor beneath the redwoods at Muir Woods National Monument, California.

Another bunch of milkmaid flowers along a hillside trail at Muir Woods National Monument. These flowers were growing in small grotto-like hollow in the hillside, and the plants in the background are the ubiquitous redwood sorrel (or Oregon oxalis) which look just like clover plants.

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: Dentaria cardimine californica, milkmaids, flowers, plants, blossoms, blooms, bud, plant, foliage, leaf, fern, petal, four, stem, forest, grove, redwood, muir woods, national, monument, park, golden gate, national, recreation, area, marin county, spring, travel, scenic, nature, stock, california, usa, sorrel, oregon, oxalis

Milkmaids Flowers, Redwood Forest

Milkmaids Flowers, Redwood Forest

Milkmaids Flowers, Redwood Forest. Muir Woods National Monument, California. March 21, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Flowers of the milkmaid plant bloom on the forest floor beneath the redwoods, Muir Woods National Monument, California.

In a very dark section of the trail above the creek bottom at Muir Woods I found many, many flowers last weekend, including quite a few milkmaid flowers. These are a bit tricky to photograph – especially when a breeze is blowing! As the flowers wave in the moving air, in very dark conditions on the forest floor it is hard to avoid blowing out the brightest part of the flowers.

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: Dentaria cardimine californica, milkmaids, flowers, plants, blossoms, blooms, bud, plant, foliage, leaf, fern, petal, four, stem, forest, grove, redwood, muir woods, national, monument, park, golden gate, national, recreation, area, marin county, spring, travel, scenic, nature, stock, california, usa