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>> Hello, and welcome back to The Wild Gardens.
I'm your host, Martin Hale.
Today, we're in the St. Gabriel Mountains.
Behind me is San Antonio Falls.
This is a beautiful waterfall, one of many that you'll find here
in the St. Gabriel Mountains.
You know, John Muir once said that the St. Gabriel Mountains were the most up
and down mountain range he'd ever traveled, and it's true.
They're very steep, but there are lots of good wildflowers to find here.
So let's go out and see what we can find now.
Come on.
Have you ever noticed those big mountains in the background
when you see a movie that takes place in Los Angeles
and a panoramic shot is shown?
Those mountains are the St. Gabriel Mountains.
Here's a view from the other way around.
They're part of the transverse range that runs roughly west to east
and north of the Los Angeles Basin.
They are an inescapable presence here.
They rise up very steeply on the north and south slopes
with very little in the way of foothills.
The tallest peak at 10,054 feet is Mount San Antonio,
known to us locals as Mount Baldy because of the sparsity of trees.
To the west are some smaller ranges that make up the western part
of the transverse range.
To the east are the San Bernardino Mountains.
This range of mountains are rather unique in California
and indeed elsewhere in the US because they run west to east
instead of the usual south to north.
It's good to remember as we look at these beautiful wildflowers
that most of these plants evolved here.
They have adapted to soil, the climate conditions,
and all the other factors that are invisible to the casual observer.
As in the desert and the chaperelle, they are part of an intricate,
interweaving chain of life that we are also part of.
Let's begin around an area called Chaleo Flats.
Here's one. It's called Early Onion.
These are good-looking flowers.
In fact, so far all of the flowers I've found in the genus Allium
have been very good-looking.
I like the white petals with the dark brownish-purple lines.
Beautiful!
Whenever I've found these plants, it's been on a semi-shaded bank
near or under oak trees.
This particular example is growing at an elevation of about 5,000 feet or so.
They're really fine-looking fellows, aren't they?
This one's called Narrowleaf Goldenbush.
This is another of those plants I can't pass up,
especially if it's a beautiful specimen like this one.
We've seen the Narrowleaf Goldenbush before, but look at this.
Look at the way it grows around that rock.
See how it dresses up this beautiful picture.
A landscape gardener couldn't do any better.
To me, this is a Mohavan desert or Sonoran desert plant.
This is the one that had the varnish-like odor if you crushed the leaves in your
fingers.
That's a defense mechanism to keep it from being devoured by grazing animals.
It's a fine-looking member of the Sunflower family.
Now here's another one of those lovely gilias for which I don't have a
definite ID.
We've seen gilias without firm IDs over many of our visits.
They're always good-looking, but these are particularly pretty.
Gilias are a member of the Flocks family.
Here's another member of the Sunflower family, commonly called fleabane daisy
or fleabane aster.
These plants are common here in the San Gabriel Mountains
as well as the San Bernardino Mountains.
They can grow up to three feet tall. I've found them that way.
I've also found them hanging over rocks. Most of the time,
they're eight to twelve inches tall when I find them.
They grow up to elevations of nine thousand feet or more
and they bloom between late April and July.
It was once thought that they repelled fleas. That's where they get the name
fleabane from.
Here's a plant called Bishop lotus. The flowers themselves are rather small.
They're common in mountain settings like this.
The elevation here is about 5,000 feet, which is getting toward the limit for
this plant. Further down, you can find them in all kinds of habitats,
including deserts and chaparral. The blooming period depends upon the
elevation the plant is growing at. As you can see,
it's a low-growing, spreading plant.
This facility is semi-unidentified. By that I mean
there are two possibilities for what it might be.
It's either a facilia curvipis whose common name is dwarf facilia
or it's a facilia David Sony, commonly called
Davidson's facilia. I find these all the time.
Whichever they are, they seem to like drier areas like this.
They are low-growing but the flowers aren't particularly small.
They're fun to find because the color stands out
and they are unlike anything else except themselves.
I've found what looks like one or the other of these
in many mountain locations in southern California.
Well anyway, I know what this is. Its common name is snowplant.
I always get excited when I find these growing on a forest floor.
To say the least, this is an unusual looking plant.
Now these plants are parasitic but unlike the parasitic plants we've seen
in past visits, this plant is not parasitic directly
on green plants. Instead it's connected to a fungal
host that's in turn connected to the green plant host.
Plants such as these are sometimes called mycoparocytes.
I found these plants in the San Jacinto Mountains in Riverside County
and in the San Gabriel's and on Mount Pinos.
Their range actually extends up through the Sierra Nevada Mountains
and into Oregon.
Another flower I've found in many mountain locations
is this western wallflower.
The pretty yellow flowers clustered on the long stem are a common site
all over these mountains. They do have an impressive range.
They grow all over California's mountains and eastward
into the central U.S. The nectar produced by the western wallflower
is attractive to several kinds of butterflies.
They're a member of the mustard family.
Let's move on now to other parts of these mountains
and look at a real beauty.
For years I've been going to the same place on the Glendora Ridge
to find these impressive giant blazing stars.
The flowers are large and beautiful.
The leaves have barbs that will stick to your clothes
so if you find one of these plants be careful how you move around it
unless you want to wear part of it.
It has a range that covers most of California except the Central Valley
and the deserts. It also extends northward into British Columbia
and eastward into Wyoming. The best times to look at these flowers
are in the morning early or the late afternoon.
They're a member of the stick leaf family.
I always seem to find these Indian pinks growing out of banks.
Wherever it is they're always growing out of some steep bank.
You can't miss this perennial with the long stems in the bright red flower.
The leaves and stems are sticky. Sometimes insects are trapped on them
which also gives them the name catchfly.
We're at about 4,000 feet of elevation here which is the upper limit of this
plant's habitat.
I've found these Indian pinks growing almost at sea level in North San Diego County.
Here's another lower elevation wildflower. It's called Scarlet Larkspur
or Scarlet Delphinium.
These showy members of the Buttercup family are hard to miss because of the red color.
Like the Indian pink we just looked at this is a chaperelle plant.
The lower elevations of the mountains here in southern California
are chaperelle which is why we find these plants here.
You can find these up to 5,000 or so feet of elevation.
The flowers are pollinated by hummingbirds.
They generally bloom between late April and July.
The backcountry in the more northerly part of these mountains is another area for wildflowers.
Now here's a good one. It's common name is Guncite Clarkia.
I've run into this member of the Evening Primrose family on many occasions
here in the northern part of the San Gabriel Mountains. They're usually in more sheltered
shady areas but I found them in the open too. The unusual shape and arrangement of the petals
makes them a very interesting flower to find.
The botanical name Clarkia is in honor of William Clark of the Lewis and Clark expedition.
Minzilias are difficult to identify in many cases because different species can be so close in appearance.
This one could be either a Minzilia Veciana or possibly a Minzilia Afenis.
The common name could be either Stickleaf or Yellow Comet.
Whichever it is they are nice looking little yellow flowers.
These prickly flocks always catch the eye with that beautiful hot pink color.
I've found these flowers in virtually all of the southern California
Mountaine and Chaperelle regions. They bloom rather early depending upon elevation.
Many times my eye has been caught by the brilliant pink splashes high on the rocky banks
as I drove into the Azusa Canyon. They're a member of the Flocks family, their namesake.
Here's a Santa Cruz Island suncup. I don't know that these are rare,
I just don't seem to find them that often. The tiny flowers with large leaves makes for
an interesting contrast. I think of this one as more of a Chaperelle flower.
This plant is a member of the evening Primrose family.
Here's a good looking red fellow. It's called Scarlet Bugler.
I found these plants in Chaperelle and Mountaine settings up to about 6,000 feet of elevation.
They can be found growing in open places, oak woodlands or even pine forest at the upper limits
of their habitat. They're spread out all over California and down into Baja California, Mexico.
In spite of their being so common, they're always fun to find because of the red flowers, I think.
The long flower would indicate pollinization by hummingbird, but I'm told that bees like them too.
They bloom from April through July.
Here's another penstemon. This one's commonly called Grinnell's Beard Tongue.
These are nice looking flowers with that lavender-like color.
I've found these flowers in the San Jacinto Mountains and the San Bernardino Mountains,
as well as here in the San Gabriel's.
They grow a lot lower than many of the other penstemons, only 14 to 16 inches high.
Usually, I find them on dry rocky slopes or banks, but I've also found them growing next to streams too.
Note the wide open flower on this bumblebee-pollinated species.
Compare that with the long tubular hummingbird-pollinated flowers on the Scarlet Bugler we just looked at.
We'll try not to disturb this character while he has his breakfast on this yellow yarrow.
These plants have a flower arrangement that's very similar to the true yarrow, which is white.
The yellow yarrow is actually a member of the Sunflower family.
These plants can be found growing up to 10,000 feet of elevation.
They're popular in gardens for their long blooming time and easy care.
Before we move on to even lower but wetter elevations,
I thought we might take a look at something else these mountains have.
Waterfalls.
All this rugged terrain is perfect for making waterfalls.
We'll begin at the San Antonio Falls, and then we'll go back into the past with some old home movies.
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Let's move down to the Azusa Canyon and lower elevations.
We're at the West Fork of the San Gabriel River right now here in the San Gabriel Mountains.
A lot of fly fishermen come here, but I come here for something else.
I bet you can guess what it is. I find a lot of wildflowers in this neighborhood.
The Azusa Canyon is a beautiful scenic part of the San Gabriel Mountains.
It has the two forks of the San Gabriel River flowing out of it.
Because of its lower elevation, it's more chaparell in nature than the mountains,
and the plants reflect that.
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Let's begin with the Horryleaf Sanothis.
This shrub is common in almost all chaparell areas.
You can find it growing below 3500 feet or so of elevation.
It ranges from the coastal ranges behind Santa Barbara down to Baja, California,
and Mexico. Hummingbirds visit the flowers and quail eat the fruit.
They're a member of the buckthorn family.
These shrubs flower early and stay in bloom for a good while.
You can't miss the Horry Sanothis if you catch one in bloom.
The blue color is striking as the shrub flowers on a hillside or in a canyon.
It's generally found below 5000 feet of elevation,
but I found them growing slightly higher at Palomar Mountain.
Like the Horryleaf Sanothis, we just saw hummingbirds visit this shrub and quail eat the fruit.
This pretty flower is called a California bell or wild Canterbury bells.
The flower is good sized and with its color it draws a lot of attention from passersby.
It's a facility and it's a common species on dry slopes,
road cuts, and especially recent burns.
I found these in almost all the chaparell areas we have in Southern California.
They're a member of the Waterloo family.
They can bloom as early as February in some places and through June.
There are many species of Indian paintbrush in the wild gardens of California.
This local fellow is called Martin's paintbrush.
It's my favorite paintbrush. I bet you can't guess why.
Well, unfortunately, it's not named after me anyway.
They're pretty growing on a bank.
If you remember, like the other Indian paintbrush we've seen,
the red petals we think we see are not petals but bracks that are leaf-like.
These plants can be found from chaparole woodlands to pine forest up to 9000 feet of elevation.
Here's a caterpillar facility growing up against this bank.
This is another early blooming plant that stays around till May or early June.
This is another chaparole plant that grows below four or five thousand feet of elevation.
The flowers can be off-white or lavender in color.
I find the lavender-colored flowers to be more attractive,
but they're a good-looking wildflower either way.
The caterpillar part of the common name refers to the way they're curled up, like a caterpillar.
It's time to leave the beautiful majestic St. Gabriel Mountains behind.
It's hard to imagine a range of mountains like this next to a city like Los Angeles.
When you're standing by a waterfall, listening to the sound of the cascading waters,
it's even harder to remember that millions of people live nearby.
The need to protect the natural inhabitants, both flora and fauna, is absolute.
If you visit during the spring you'll be able to see both the waterfalls
and the wildflowers. I urge you to do so.
After you've experienced this place, you'll understand what a treasure it is.
May the wildflowers bloom until the turning of the earth ceases to be.
Join us next week at this time for another visit to the wild gardens.
I'm your host, Martin Hale. Until then, so long.