Page 1


image
Photographed on Sherman Pass Road

When you click on the images below, you will see a larger photograph of the flower. Below the flower, I have listed the common name, such as,

     Mariposa Lily

under that, the scientific name of the plant (genus and specific name),

     Calochortus venustus

and under that, the family in which the plant is placed:

     Onagraceae

Common names often refer to more than one flower.

"Yellow Monkey Flower" is a good example, where it is used with at least four flowers of the genus, Mimulus . So the scientific name will be helpful for those wanting specific identification.

Unfortunately, scientific classification undergoes changes from time to time, where taxonomists reclassify plants. Oscar Clarke, naturalist in Riverside, writes that "recent molecular research has suggested revolutionary repositioning of a family's traditional genera into other families."

This means that in some cases, more than visual analysis is required for proper identification. Unfortunate for the casual observer!

As an example, some plants in family Scrophulariaceae such as Castilleja (Indian Paintbrush) have been moved to family Orobanchaceae. In these cases I've indicated this as:

     Orobanchaceae (=Scrophulariaceae)

Transfers have been made between genera. Example:

      Chrysothamnus nauseosus (Rabbitbrush) is now accepted as Ericameria nauseosa.

This also happens with species. An example is one of the lotus plants. Formerly known as Lotus purshianus, it is now classified as Acmispon americanus.

This is an unfortunate change, for we lose the significance of the species name, purshianus, which honors the great botanist, Frederick Pursh, who, among other activities, worked on the flora collected on the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Some data bases, such as UCBerkeley's CalPhotos , use both the old and new names as search terms.



I've often included several photographs of a plant to show both the flower and leaves, and the entire plant in its habitat.

In some cases, there are photographs from more than one location to show different habitats. This often results in a difference in color, due to habitat and lighting. On one trip over Sherman Pass Road, I encountered rain and snow flurries. These conditions make flowers look very saturated with deep, beautiful colors and hues. I made no attempt to "adjust" the colors to make examples of the same flower look similar. In photographing flowers, one becomes aware that there is no "true" or "right" color for a flower. All botanists agree that the color or hue are not reliable indicators, since these change according to varying conditions.



Note: In viewing photographs on a monitor,
you might try Full Screen View (F11 on some browsers)
so the screen doesn't look so crowded!

Click on the image for a larger view
001-calochortus_venustus230343-650 002-amsinckia_tessallata3262-650 003-aquilegia_formosa80315 004-agoseris_glauca240698-650 005-anemopsis5363-650
Mariposa Lily Checker Fiddleneck Scarlet Columbine Pale Agoseris Yerba Mansa
006-argemone_munita240857-700 007-calystegia_macrostegia240755-650 008-arctostaphylos_patula240559-800 009-arctostaphylos_patula6235-700 010-arctostaphylos_viscida240583-650
Prickly Poppy California Bindweed Manzanita Greenleaf Manzanita Sticky Manzanita
011-arctostaphylos_05 012-arctostaphylos210895-700 013-artemesia_tridentata6800-800 014-artemesia_tridentata210945-800 015-aster_ascendens5432-650
Manzanita Bark Manzanita Gall Great Basin Sage Great Basin Sage Long-leaved Aster
016-adenostoma_fasciculatum240814-650 017-asclepias_cordifolia230674-650 018-asclepias_fascicularis3066-650 019-asclepias_speciosa260951-650 020-castilleja_applegatei-leaves210951-650
Chamise Purple Milkweed Narrow-leaf Milkweed Showy Milkweed Wavy-leaf Paintbrush
021-castilleja_linariifolia240828-650 022-castilleja_miniata260446-650 023-castilleja_minor6474-650 024-castilleja_exserta4095-700 025-centaurea_solstitialis110090-800
Linaria-leaved
Indian Paintbrush
Giant Red
Indian Paintbrush
Lesser Indian
Paintbrush
Purple
Owl's Clover
Yellow
Star-thistle
026-Clarkia_purpurea_ssp._viminea30091-650 027-clarkia_rhomboidea240659-650 028-clarkia_unguiculata4499-650 029-clarkia_xantiana145-700 030-claytonia_perfoliata2967-700
Winecup Clarkia Diamond Clarkia Deerhorn Clarkia Gunsight Clarkia Speckled Clarkia
031-centaurium_venustum507-650 032-coreopsis_bigelovii2978-650 033-collinsia_heterophylla1801-650 034-croton_setigerus2113-650 035-curcubita_foetidissima9286-650
Two Lobed Clarkia Bigelow's Tickseed Chinese Houses Doveweed Coyote Gourd
036-datura_wrightii240804-650 037-datura_wrightii4524-800 038-dichelostemma_capitatum2926-650 039-dodecatheon_jeffreyi739-650 040-encelia_actoni240834-650
Sacred Datura Sacred Datura Wild Hyacinth Jeffrey's Shooting Star Acton's Brittlebush
041-encelia_actoni0692sherman-800 042-epilobium_canum0619-800 043-epilobium_canum5107-web 044-equisetum_laevigatum240345-650 045-erigeron_foliosus4872-650
Acton's Brittlebush California fuchsia California fuchsia Smooth Scouring-Rush Leafy Daisy
046-eriodictyon_californicum230380-650 047-erodium_cicutarium2745-650 048-fremontodendron_californicum1932-800 049-helenium_bigelovii2390a-650 050-gayophytum_diffusum2582-650
Yerba Santa Redstem Filaree California flannelbush Bigelow's Sneezeweed Spreading groundsmoke


Go to Page 2


Return to Flora Index