Last June, I went out to Pine Canyon in Diablo Foothills Regional Park to look for wildflowers. It was a spectacular year: the heavy rains extended the season for blooms.
It seemed like every corner I turned, there were new beautiful flowers and plants to see.
This year, wildflowers are again beginning to bloom across Mount Diablo. The Mount Diablo Interpretative Association publishes a weekly wildflower report, so check that out if you want to see what’s blooming now.
If you want to visit Pine Canyon, here are some wildflowers you might get to see—either now or later this spring.
1. Elegant Clarkia (Clarkia unguiculata)
Elegant clarkia in Pine Canyon. Photo by Laura Kindsvater
2. Yellow Mariposa Lily (Calochortus luteus)
Yellow mariposa lily in Pine Canyon. Photo by Laura Kindsvater
3. White Mariposa Lily (Calochortus sp.)
This mariposa lily might be Calochortus argillosus or Calochortus umbellatus.
White mariposa lily in Pine Canyon. Photo by Laura Kindsvater
4. Bush Monkey Flower (Diplacus aurantiacus)
Bush monkeyflower in Pine Canyon. Photo by Laura Kindsvater
5. California Poppy: White Variant! (Eschscholzia californica)
White California poppies in Pine Canyon. Photo by Laura Kindsvater
6. Woolly Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja foliolosa)
Woolly paintbrush in Pine Canyon. Photo by Laura Kindsvater
7. Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
Yarrow in Pine Canyon. Photo by Laura Kindsvater
8. Ithuriel’s Spear (Triteleia laxa)
Ithuriel’s spear. Photo by Philip Bouchard | CC BY NC-ND
9. False Baby Stars (Leptosiphon androsaceus)
False baby stars in Pine Canyon. Photo by Laura Kindsvater
10. Farewell to Spring (Clarkia sp.)
Farewell to spring in Pine Canyon. Photo by Laura Kindsvater
11. Harvest Brodiaea (Brodiaea elegans)
Harvest brodiaea in Pine Canyon. Photo by Laura Kindsvater
12. California Buckeye (Aesculus californica)
Bonus: Butterfly on Mariposa Lily
I think the butterfly might be a variable checkerspot (Euphydryas chalcedona).
