Wildflower Identification Guide (Orange)

Coarsegold, California
Revised 1-4-09

NOTES Elegant Clarkia (Closeup) Clarkia unguiculata Evening Primrose family	Elegant Clarkia, Double (Closeup)	Elegant Clarkia, Double	NOTES California Dodder Cuscuta californica Morning Glory family
NOTES Menzies' Fiddleneck AKA Common Fiddleneck Amsinckia menziesii var. intermedia Forget-Me-Not family	NOTES Globemallow Sphaeralcea sp. Mallow family	NOTES Whiteleaf Manzanita, Berries Arctostaphylos viscida Heath family
NOTES Scarlet Pimpernel (Closeup)	Scarlet Pimpernel AKA Poor Man's Weatherglass Anagallis arvensis Primrose family	NOTES Indian Pink (Closeup)	Indian Pink AKA California Indian Pink, Catchfly, Campion Silene californica Evening Primrose family
NOTES California Poppy (Closeup)	California Poppy Eschscholzia californica Poppy family	NOTES Squawbush, Berries	Squawbush, Leaves AKA Skunkbrush, Skunkbush Sumac Rhus trilobata Sumac family

NOTES:

California Dodder
Bloom: July–October
Description: Annual herb or parasitic vine, leafless. Stems are creamy orange; flowers are tiny, whitish bell-shaped flowers in dense clusters. The seeds germinate in the soil, but the young plants rotate until they come into contact with a climbable host plant, adhering by suckers (haustoria), and the roots then wither away. Dodders spread virus diseases from one host to another.   BACK
California Poppy
Bloom: February–September
Description: Annual or perennial herb, up to 2' tall, erect to sprawling. Leaves blue-green, finely dissected, alternate, mostly at base of stem. Flowers vary in color from buttery yellow to a crimson golden orange, 2–3" across, with 4 wedge-shaped petals. Sepals join into a cone that is pushed off as flower opens. Conspicuous flat, pinkish rim at ovary base. Flowers fold at night & on cloudy days.
Special: Native. California state flower. Spanish name means "poppy of the countryside." Natives used leaves & roots (mildly sedative & analgesic) for toothaches, headaches, spastic colon, & gallbladder ailments; fried petals in bear grease to make hair oil; cooked leaves for greens. However, herbage contains toxic alkaloids.   BACK
Elegant Clarkia
Bloom: June–July
Description: Slender annual herb, 6–36", stems often stout. A few lanceolate leaves (¾–3") with buds nodding along an erect raceme of a few flowers. Flowers are 4-petaled (1–1½") with circular, diamond-shaped, or broadly triangular ends with a reddish blotch, and narrowly stalked bases.
Special: Native. Clarkia seeds were among the most highly prized foods of Sierra Nevada Native Americans, especially Miwoks. When ripe, the tops of plants were tied in bundles and dried on rocks. Then the plants were unbundled and seeds dislodged by beating with sticks. The seeds were parched and ground into meal, eaten dry or with acorn meal.   BACK
Globemallow
Bloom: July–October
Description: Perennial herb, similar to hollyhocks. Globemallows are densely covered with detachable hairs that irritate the eyes and discourage animals from eating them. Subspecies are difficult to tell apart, and often hybridize.
Special: Native.   BACK
Indian Pink
Bloom: March–August
Description: Annual herb. Stems 8–20", erect or trailing. Leaves ovate, 1¼–3", opposite. Bright red flowers are 1–2", fringed, resembling pinwheel. 5 petals each having 4–6 lobes.
Special: Native. Indian Pinks are NOT pink colored. The name refers to the "pinked" edges, and its family. A sticky secretion on the upper part of the stem often enmeshes small insects (hence the common name Catchfly). Young shoots edible after cooking.   BACK
Menzies' Fiddleneck

Bloom: April–May
Description: Annual herb, 1–3'. Leaves ¾–6" long, narrowly or broadly lanceolate. Small yellow-orange flowers in coils at ends of branches. Calyx with 5 narrow lobes; corolla about 1/8", all petals joined to form a funnel with a narrow tube and abruptly flared end. The leafy stems have both long, spreading, bristly hairs and very short, dense, downward-projecting ones.
Special: Native. The name refers to the shape of the coiled flower. As blooming proceeds, the coil opens. Herbage & seeds contain toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids.   BACK
Scarlet Pimpernel
Bloom: March–July
Description: Annual herb; creeper; 4-sided stems forming 4–10" mats. Leaves to ¾", opposite or in whorls of 3, are shiny, bright green. Blossoms are small (¼"), flat, bright pinkish-orange (rarely, a blue phase may be mixed in).
Special: Not native. Can cause minor dermatitis. Flowers close in cloudy or humid weather, giving it the variant name Poor Man's Weatherglass.   BACK
Squawbush
Bloom: February–June
Description: Deciduous shrub with clumping habit. Bright orange to red berries in fall.
Special: Native. Related to Poison Oak. Brilliant yellow to red fall color.   BACK
Whiteleaf Manzanita
Bloom: February–April
Description: Shrub, up to 16'. Branches deep maroon, shedding in thin strips. Leaves leathery, pale or gray-green, ovate to elliptic, up to 1½" wide. Inflorescence is a cluster of many 3/8" urn-shaped, nodding flowers, pink to white. Brown fruits (which have sticky surfaces) look like tiny apples, hence its name (manzanita is Spanish for "little apples").
Special: Native. Fruits are a valuable wildlife food source (genus name is Greek for "bear berries"). Natives ate berries raw & dried. Pulp used to make cider. Skin tonic made from leaves to relieve poison oak rash.   Flowers edible. Manzanitas thrive on poor, stony soil, including burned areas, especially on dry slopes, usually in full sunlight.   BACK