This rare plant sure made us drive, drive, drive to reach it, reminding us it really is all about the journey. Come along on the journey of appreciation for the small and spikey Howell’s Tauschia.
Tag: flower
Ahh the things we’ll do for an onion….
What would you do to observe a new-to-you rare onion? Well, on this day in May of 2024 we put in a lot of miles, beat up our car, beat up our muscles, and would do it again for the Minnesota Mountain Onion.
California’s Flaming-Trumpet, Collomia rawsoniana
Some botanical trips take us to the most random and remote parts of California. This beautiful and elusive plant was no different! The Flaming-Trumpet, Collomia rawsoniana is truly a botanical beauty!
Floral Friday: Ramshaw Meadows sand verbena, Abronia alpina
A sand verbena in the alpine of the Sierra Nevada Mountains? What? It’s pink and purple, and forms a beautiful little cluster? Read all about this fascinating plant worth a backpacking trip to meet. Let me introduce you to Abronia alpina.
Tidy Tips, an overlooked California superbloom superstar
Ever heard of the flowering plant called ‘Tidy tips?’ If so you’ve probably visited a superbloom site this year in California. If not these adorable flowers of the genus Layia are sure to delight your senses. Learn about four species in this blog post, afterwards you’ll be itching to go find some for yourself.
Oooo La La Orchids, Costa Rica Blog pt. 3
Would you travel to Costa Rica to hunt for orchids? That’s exactly what we did, and found an incredible diversity of species, structures, colors and sizes. From the 2-3 mm flowers to ones the size of tennis balls the world of orchids is one to admire and fascinating to learn about.
Three Months in Fernbrook, What Two Naturalists Got Up To
Ooooo boy, spenidng three months in San Diego County lead to many interesting observations and adventures. Take a read of the mysterious critters we documented!
Nature Journaling, Monday to Friday: Backyard Flowers
Looking for a way to combine your creative side with an interest in botany or nature? Nature Journaling is the activity, the practice, the mindfulness activity for you! Each day Monday to Friday I journaled a flowering plant that was currently blooming in my backyard in Fernbrook, CA.
Why So Many Yellow and Purple Flowers?
Why were all the flowers I was seeing in Central CA yellow and purple in color at the end of summer? Take a read to see what I discovered, or didn’t . . .
Northern California Plant Relicts, four plants still kicking it after millions of years
Ever wondered about what plants still exist from when dinosaur’s stomped around? I researched a little bit about four Northern California plants I found while living there in the spring of 2021.
Calochortus, The Coolest Lilies of California?
Have you ever found yourself oo-ing and aww-ing over a Mariposa Lily? Or a Cat’s Ear Flower, or a globe flower? Well you were looking at the Calochortus genus! It’s a beautiful and interesting genera, let me tell you a bit about it!
Five Fantastic Fire Following Flowers
Fire is a natural process is in California’s natural history. Once a wildfire has come and gone the landscape can be transformed into a sea of color, it’s not all doom and gloom. I investigated five fire following plants and tell the tales of how I stumbled upon them.
Marin County and Beyond! What this naturalist got up to in April
Wow, April was the month of wildflowers! Exploring from our home base in Mill Valley we camped, hiked and explored many different habitats in order to see as many flowers as possible. If you are curious and want to see a sampling of our finds and hear about the corresponding adventures, read on!
Charming Colors and Strange Structures of the Southern California Desert Flowers
Wow, while searching for flowering plants in the Southern California deserts can be tough at times there sure are incredibly beautiful plants! I explore and share stories of our recently found charming and unique shaped plants.
Questions for a Cactus
The charismatic plant of the desert that cant be avoided visually, but intentionally avoided physically is of course the cactus! After hiking around Joshua Tree NP for weeks I had some questions for these funky fun plants.
Chloe Van Loon's Nature Blog 