Glendora Ridge Road, Spring 2010
This gallery page is based on three visits to Glendora Ridge Road during the spring of 2010. The first was on April 9th, when it was too early for any massive spring blossom, although there were prominent displays of some species such as baby blue eyes and grape soda lupine.
The second visit was a field trip by our CNPS chapter on May 15th. While this was close to the peak of spring bloom, an ideal time to visit this area, there were some species for which we were a little early, such as Pacific stone crop, perhaps because of spring being a few weeks later than usual. On this occasion, we traversed the 12-mile length of the road from west to east, stopping at five different locations. After lunch we walked the short Cross Trail near Mt. Baldy Village.
The third visit was on July 10, as the spring bloom was drawing to a close.
Flora lists: Click the following for:
(1) Checklist of Vascular Flora of Glendora Ridge Road (PDF 463KB) by Bob Muns (optimized for half-sized paper), and
(2) May 2010 Supplement to the Checklist (PDF 92KB) by Jane Strong
The panels: The following panels of photos are from each visit, and for the May 15 event, each of the locations where we stopped.
A. April 9: Along Glendora Ridge Road, east to west
B. May 15: Stop 1
C. May 15: Stop 2
D. May 15: Stop 3
E: May 15: Stop 4
F: May 15: Stop 5
G: May 15: Cross Trail
H. July 10: Glendora Ridge Road
Click on the thumbnails to see higher-resolution images, 720 x 480 pixels.
A. April 9, 2010: Glendora Ridge Road
It's early spring here, still with ample snow at the higher elevations of the mountains. There was no snow at the modest elevation of Glendora Ridge Road, 4,200 feet.
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Looking towards Mt Wilson from eastern end of Glendora Ridge Rd |
Valley below Glendora Ridge Rd |
Baby blue eyes (Nemophila menziesii)
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Milkmaids |
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Grape soda lupine |
Mt. Baldy and Cattle Canyon |
Rattlesnake Peak and Iron Mtn |
Hairy ceanothus (Ceanothus oliganthus) |
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B. May 15, Stop 1, at 0.2 mile from the western end of Glendora Ridge Rd
From its western end, Glendora Ridge Road gradually gains elevation, and the nature of the flowering plants gradually changes. At this time of year there are fewer flowers to see at the western end.
C. May 15, Stop 2, at 4.7 miles from the western end of Glendora Ridge Rd
This stop, like the first one, still has not reached the area where the flowers are most prolific. However, grand panoramas of the mountains to the north and west can be seen.
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Looking west along |
Martin's paintbrush |
Coastal wood fern (Dryopteris arguta) |
Iron Mountain and Coldwater Canyon |
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Deer bush |
Pitcher sage |
Cow Cyn (foreground) to Rattlesnake Pk (far right) |
Elegant rockcress (Arabis sparsiflora var. arcuata) |
Oak tree (Quercus sp.) on edge of road cutting |
D. May 15, Stop 3, at 6.2 miles from the western end of Glendora Ridge Rd
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California fairypoppy (Meconella californica)
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Blue dicks (Dichelostemma capitatum) |
Virgin's bower or Western white clematis (Clematis ligusicifolia) |
Iron Mtn (L) and |
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Golden yarrow (Eriophyllum confertiflorum) |
Poison oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum) |
Yellow field monkeyflower (Mimulus brevipes) |
Baby blue eyes (Nemophila menziesii) |
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E. May 15, Stop 4, at 8.0 miles from the western end of Glendora Ridge Rd
This stop was notable for the amount of Pacific stone crop (Sedum spathulifolium) spread across the face of the rocky cutting on the southern side of the road.
F. May 15, Stop 5, at 9.1 miles from the western end of Glendora Ridge Rd
Here there are plants similar to those of the previous stop with a few new discoveries such as the foothill poppy and Bolander's woodland star.
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Across Cow Cyn to the mountains beyond |
Foothill or collarless poppy |
Elelgant rockcress (Arabis sparsiflora var. arcuata) with Sara Orangetip butterfly |
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Child's blue-eyed Mary |
Martin's paintbrush (Castilleja applegatei var. martinii) |
Blue larkspur (Delphinium patens)
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Bolander's woodland star (Lithophragma bolanderi) |
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G. May 15, Cross Trail
The Cross Trail begins almost at the western end of Glendora Ridge Road, only 0.2 mile from Mt. Baldy Village, and in the middle of the steep ascent of the road away from Baldy Village. There is no signpost to indicate the trail, which is relatively short and leads to an overlook of the valley where outdoor meetings have been held — a crude amphitheater.
The final two pictures on this panel are not from the Cross Trail, but from the drive back across Glendora Ridge Road at the end of the day. The exact location was not noted.
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Probably clustered broomrape |
Bishop's lotus |
Chia |
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Chaparral gilia |
Douglas's stitchwort (Minuartia douglasii) |
Woolly Indian paintbrush (Castilleja foliolosa) |
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Blue dicks |
Caterpillar phacelia (Phacelia cicutaria var. hispida) |
Mt Baldy Village area from Cross Trail |
Grape soda lupine (Lupinus excubitus) |
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H. July 10, Glendora Ridge Road, late spring
This panel of photos is from a special visit to Glendora Ridge Road to see the yellow mariposa lily. The peak of the spring bloom was over, but fortunately a few of the mariposa lily remained. It was a treat to find that the pitcher sage was in high bloom, together with a sprinkling of other flowers, some of which we had not seen during visits earlier in the spring.
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Yellow mariposa lily (Calochortus clavatus var. gracilis) |
Pale Chinese houses (Collinsia heterophylla) |
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Fragrant pitcher sage (Lepechinia fragrans) |
Heartleaf penstemon (Keckiella cordifolia) |
Blue stemmed keckiella |
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Grant's gilia (Gilia splendens ssp. grantii) |
Leafy daisy |
California buckwheat (Eriogonum |
Wild honeysuckle |
Prickly phlox (Leptodactylon californicum) |
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Golden yarrow (Eriophyllum confertiflorum) |
Indian pink (Silene lacaniata) |
Common yarrow (Achillea millefolium) |
Sticky monkeyflower (Mimulus aurantiacus) |
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ACKNOWLEDGMENT
All images © 2010-2012 Graham Bothwell
Thanks to Jane Strong for assistance in identification of plants and flowers.
