#tarweed

thanks as always for the tag @grapehyasynth 🩷🩷

We're back in the saltwater marshes this week! This time the Bolsa Chica Reserve in Huntington Beach!

The upper transitional areas of Bolsa Chica are still pretty overtaken by invasive plants unfortunately, but we've got some natives too 🫶

Starting with an invasive:

Mesembryanthemum, these ones (two different species of the same genus) are super invasive ground cover succulents from South Africa (related to ice plants). The coolest thing about them aren't the flowers, but the leaves themselves which are covered in these water-filled bladder cells that genuinely look like rhinestones. Hate that they're invasive, but they're so damn cool.

Okay! Onto California natives!

Eriogonum fasciculatum, California buckwheat (I think?? If i remember correctly, these are the same plant species, just with different colored flowers)

Deinandra fasciculata, common tarweed

Eriogonum giganteum, St Catherine's Lace

Diplacus puniceus, red bush monkeyflower

Encelia californica, California coast sunflower

Layia platiglossa, tidy tips, unfortunately at the end of its bloom

+ BONUS pretty view :)

A San Diego tarweed bloom (Deinandra paniculata), not quite fully formed.

It’s a relatively rare plant, an annual herb that grows primarily in Southern California.