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Everyone flocks to nature preserves in spring to see displays of native wildflowers, but some wildflowers keep blooming all summer and into the fall. There are even some plants that only start blossoming in late summer. Here are some of the wildflowers you can see in the Bay Area this time of year:
The most ubiquitous flower right now is hayfield tarweed. This plant, which can have white or yellow flowers, can be seen carpeting California grasslands starting in July or August. The most distinctive feature of tarweed is its resinous fragrance. To me, it smells like the faint lingering pungency several days after a skunk has sprayed in the vicinity, but others have compared it to turpentine, and to still others, the odor is reminiscent of marijuana smoke. So if you’re hiking in a grassy area and you notice a pungent aroma, don’t assume someone is lighting up nearby – at least, not until you’ve looked around to see if there’s a patch of innocent-looking tarweed flowers near you.
Other wildflowers you might spot on a hike include false goldenaster, the white clustered blooms of California cudweed, or the vivid pink Clarkia flowers, which begin blooming in late May or June but can last into fall in some areas.
It’s not a wildflower, but a common source of fall color in California is poison oak. The leaves of this rash-inducing native plant turn bright red in late summer and fall. We’re taught to recognize poison oak with the rhyme “leaves of three, let them be,” but that doesn’t work so well once the leaves have fallen from the plant. So if you see bright red leaves scattered on the trail, it’s probably poison oak, and you should not pick it up – just enjoy the pretty red color from afar!
What’s blooming where you hike? Tell me in the comments!
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