Wildflower Identification Guide (Orange)

Coarsegold, California
Revised 4-20-08

NOTES Elegant Clarkia (Closeup) Clarkia unguiculata Evening Primrose family	Elegant Clarkia, Double (Closeup)	Elegant Clarkia, Double	NOTES Common Dodder Cuscuta cephalanthii Morning Glory family
NOTES Globemallow Sphaeralcea sp. Poss. Coulter's Globemallow, S. coulteri Mallow family		NOTES Indian Pink (Closeup)	Indian Pink AKA California Indian Pink, Catchfly, Campion Silene californica Evening Primrose family
NOTES Scarlet Pimpernel (Closeup)	Scarlet Pimpernel AKA Poor Man's Weatherglass Anagallis arvensis Primrose family	NOTES California Poppy (Closeup)	California Poppy Eschscholzia californica Poppy family
NOTES Squawbush, Berries	Squawbush, Leaves Rhus trilobata Sumac family

NOTES:

California Poppy
Bloom: February–September
Description: Annual, sometimes perennial. 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: 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
Common Dodder
Bloom: July–October
Description: Annual, leafless, true parasitic vines. 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
Elegant Clarkia
Bloom: June–July
Description: Slender plant 6–36", stems often stout. A few lanceolate leaves (ž–3") with buds nodding along an erect raceme of a few flowers. Flowers are 4-petaled (1–1˝") with circular, diamond-shaped, or broadly triangular ends with a reddish blotch, and narrowly stalked bases.
Special: 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: 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. BACK
Indian Pink
Bloom: March–August
Description: Perennial. Stems 8–20", erect or trailing. Leaves ovate, 1ź–3", opposite. Bright red flowers are 1–2", fringed, resembling pinwheel. 5 petals each having 4–6 lobes.
Special: 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
Scarlet Pimpernel
Bloom: March–July
Description: Creeper; 4-sided stems forming 4–10" mats. Leaves to ž", opposite or in whorls of 3, are shiny, bright green. Blossoms are small (ź"), flat, bright pinkish-orange (rarely, a blue phase may be mixed in).
Special: Poisonous. 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.
Special: Related to Poison Oak. Brilliant yellow to red fall color. BACK