Pink Rockrose (Cistus incanus)

Crimson-spot Rockrose * (Cistus ladanifer)

South Coast False Bindweed (Calystegia macrostegia ssp. intermedia)

California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica)

To pick them is a crime, to see them is a pleasure!

Horehound? (Marrubium vulgare)

Santa Monica Mountain Range
Ahmanson Ranch (Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve)
Family: Lamiaceae

Spring is approaching! We've had rain, and now it's a beautiful weekend for the year's first sunburn and a hike in the mountains. I've seen this plant around for a long time, but never knew what it was. I always thought it looked like a curly mint plant. Indeed, it may be. I'm not 100% sure this ID is correct. I have a hunch, though.

Have you heard of horehound candy? Google it.

Oxalis pes-caprae * (Bermuda buttercup, African wood-sorrel, Bermuda sorrel, buttercup oxalis, Cape sorrel, English weed, goat's-foot, sourgrass, soursob and soursop)

West Hills, suburban road verge and

Orcutt Ranch

Family: Oxalidaceae

*invasive, non-native

In the late winter, after an atypical amount of rain, we've been having some warm sunny days here in LA County. This means it's time to start the blog up again! Here's a weed (of many common names) I plucked in my neighborhood. I saw this same plant at Orcutt Ranch, a city-owned park, garden, and historical property later in the week. This is an invasive weed in SoCal. I wonder if I'll catch it creeping up into the mountains. 

Santa Catalina mariposa lily (Calochortus catalinae)

Santa Monica Mountain Range
Topanga off of Topanga Canyon (Route 27) and Old Topanga Road
Topanga State Park

Family: Liliaceae