Yellow Star Thistle

 Yellow Star Thistle

Yellow Star Thistle (Centaurea solstitialis) is a member of the Aster family (Asteraceae) that can be frequently seen in empty dry lots and commons. The plant is also known as golden star thistle and St. Barnaby's thistle. As usual, the common name thistle share several Latin names, for example a well known plant bull thistle is a different genus, Cirsium vulgare.

Centaurea solstitialis flowers with thorns

Yellow star thistle is a good name though because the thistle does indeed look like a star, but that effect is produced not by flowers but by long thorns sticking around it.

Ambrosia artemisiifolia

Ambrosia artemisiifolia

Ambrosia artemisiifolia or comon ragweed is the most widespread species of Ambrosia. I have already written about silver burr ragweed (Ambrosia chamissonis). Indeed you can see close resemblance between two different species of the same genus Ambrosia. The leaves look very similar and the tassels of flowers are common to both. But Ambrosia chamissonis grows mainly on the sea coast while Ambrosia artemisiifolia is common on the dry land. It does not mind the hot climate. Beach variety is also more prostrate while common ragweed plants grow tall.

Common ragweed flowers

The name artemisiifolia is given to the plant because the leaves resemble those of a related genus Artemisia (wormwood or sagebrush). The smell is also somewhat similar though Ambrosia have tougher leaves and bigger flowers (still very small though) that are green or yellow. An interesting thing about common ragweed is that it is supposed to be one of the major culprits of hay fever though I personally never suffered from this particular plant.

Like Artemisia, Ambrosia belongs to the Aster family (Asteraceae).

Conyza canadensis

Conyza canadensis

Conyza canadensis or horseweed is a plant that can be found in dry (and not only) areas. With Croton setiger and Ambrosia artemisiifolia it makes the big three that can be found blooming in the heat of the August on the dry plains. So what can be found about conyza?

Conyza canadensis

Other names for conyza include coltstail, marestail and butterweed. The former two are obvious for the plants's resemblance to coltstail. Note that there are plants named horsetail (Equisetum) and mare's tail (Hippuris) that are quite different from Conyza. The name butterweed is most likely given for the plants resemblance to senecio genus, which is commonly known as butterweed (among other common names).

Conyza flowers. Notice resemblance to senecio.

One interesting fact about conyza is that the plant developed resistance to herbicides. Another fact is that Zunu Indians used crushed flowers to cause sneezing by inserting plants in the nostrils.

As the name canadensis implies, conyza grows in Canada and also in Britain so it is not exclusive to hot climate though it sure strives here. During the heat the top of the plant can be seen wilting down but it straightens up when the air becomes cool.

As you can guess by looking at the flowers conyza is part of the aster family (Asteraceae).

Cocklebur

Cocklebur (Xanthium)

Cocklebur or Xanthium is a plant belonging to the aster family (Asteraceae). It has big triangular leaves and the seeds are spead by forming burs that attach to passing humans and animals.

Cocklebur leaf closeup

Cocklebur's green bur can be glimpsed behind a leaf

Cocklebur with lots of green burrs

Ambrosia chamissonis

 Ambrosia chamissonis growing among the dunes

Ambrosia chamissonis (silver beach ragweed) is a plant that I have just recently discovered in our dunes. At first I though it was some kind of chenopodium: the triangular shape of leaves and striped stem led me to this opinion. However I quickly found out that it was Ambrosia or beach ragweed, a member of the Aster family (Asteraceae).

Ambrosia chamissonis leaves

So what's up with this plant who is masquerading as chenopodium when in fact it is an aster? It has leaves that can have different shapes: oval or deeply lobed. The leaves are fleshy but not quite as fleshy as those of succulents. The flowers are in a spike. The stems can be very hairy or just barely. Yet it has some kind of integral appearance and once you know it, it is easy to recognize. I guessed it was the same plant in spite of different shape of the leaves. The fruit is supposed to form a burr but I have not seen those yet.

Here is another picture of the flowers. An interesting thing was that the species with cut-leaves were blooming while the ones with triangular/oval shape were not.

Ambrosia chamissonis in bloom

And here is a picture of the stem:

Ambrosia chamissonis close-up of the stem

Want to see a hairy stem? Here it is:

Ambrosia chamissonis hairy stem

And one more:

Ambrosia chamissonis stem and leaves

Yes, I know I ran amok with this one.  But it is exciting to find some new plant and to be able to identify it quickly.

Like other plants with clusters of usually tiny or very small flowers ragweeds are wind pollinated. These kind of plants may cause hay fever because they need wind to have their pollen spread out unlike flowers that are pollinated by insects. Incidentally this Ambrosia happens to have male and female flowers growing on the same plant.

Why is this plant called Ambrosia (it's a Latin name, too)? Good question. It has smell, not unpleasant but nothing to invoke images of the famous food of the gods. I don't think it is even used as spice.The common name ragweed speaks for itself.

Pathfinder

 Pathfinder (Adenocaulon bicolor)

Pathfinder, trailplant or Adenocaulon bicolor is the plant that can be found in redwood forest and probably other forests as well. The plant is fairly easy to recognize: it has big triangular leaves that are green on the outside and whitish on the inside. If you walk on the leaves and intentionally turn them over while stepping on them, you'll see the marked trail of white underside, hence the name pathfinder.

Pathfinder underside of the leaf. Notice different color.

Pathfinder blooms but the flowers are very small and inconspicuous but at least they have tall stems.

Pathfinder bloom

Adenocaulon bicolor belongs to Aster (Asteraceae) family of plants.

Chicory

 Chicory near Avenue of the Giants

Chicory (Cichorium intybus) is the plant that everybody's heard about but as a matter of fact it is quite rare, at least in places where I've lived. It is a recognizable plant: it has tall stem, about 5 feet high and several flowers along the stalk. Their location is very unusual. The color of flowers is light blue. Notice the petals have serrated outer edge.

 Chicory flower

The stem did not have flowers all over. Some were were still buds, especially the upper part of the stem.   

Close-up of the stem with buds

Chicory gave its name to the whole tribe within Aster family. Like other plants of this family, the roots are edible. They can be made in a coffee substitute.

Smooth hawksbeard

 Smooth hawksbeard (Crepis capillaris)

Smooth hawksbeard (Crepis capillaris) belongs to Aster family (Asteraceae). This family is so large that it is subdivided into groups called tribes (just like American Indians). Crepis belongs to Chicory tribe. Other tribes include aster, anthemis, thistle, sunflower and senecio. The division is rather self-evident: members of the tribe look like their famous representatives: thistles, aster, etc. Chicory tribe is one of the popular ones, though they are all popular. Our beloved dandelion is member of the chicory tribe. The flowers of this tribe seem to have only ray flowers.

Smooth hawksbeard near Avenue of the Giants

Smooth hawksbeard looks like a small dandelion: it has bright soft yellow flowers that add color to the summer meadows. The leaves are also small and look like the leaves of the dandelion.

The purple salsify from the previous post also belongs to chicory tribe.

Purple Salsify

 Salsify at the marsh

Purple salsify is a plant that undoubtedly belongs to Sunflower or Aster family (Compositae or Asteraceae) . It looks like a big purple or blue daisy.

 Salsify flower

Like dandelion, its flowers eventually turn into puffs.

 Salsify flowers turned into seeds

Salsify roots are reputed to be edible and supposed to taste like oysters. Hence, another name for the plant: oyster plant.

There is also yellow salsify.

Coltsfoot

Coltsfoot is another popular plant that grows in the redwood forest. It seems to like thimbleberries, as I saw lots of coltsfoot plants under thimbleberry bushes. The leaves even look a little similar but they are different enough to tell that they are two different plants.

 Coltsfoot

Coltsfoot has very big leaves, deeply lobed. The flowers are small and white and form a head with multiple flowers. It belongs to aster family (Asteraceae).

Mugwort

Mugwort, also known as artemisia, is an interesting plant. It is known mainly for its medicinal purposes. It grows wild pretty much everywhere. The leaves smell really good when crushed.

Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris)

Note that there are several varieties of Artemisia genus. The most common are Artemisia californica (coastal sagebrush) and this Artemisia vulgaris (mugwort).

Camomile

Wild camomile (Matricaria chamomilla)

Camomile is a common medicinal plant common for soothing properties. It's great for making infusions to  help you relax and sleep better. The yellow flower exudes a very nice scent when crushed between fingers. It can be also dried and preserved for future use.

But the most peculiar thing about this plant is it likes to be stamped on. You notice it always grows on the sides of the roads and trails, occasionally right in the middle of the road.And when you step on it it springs right back.

There are two common varieties: German or wild camomile (Matricaria chamomilla) and Roman or English camomile (Chamaemelum nobile). Notice that white petals can be present in both varieties.

In America the most common variety is without petals, in Europe the more common species have white petals around a yellow middle.

 Roman camomile

  Roman camomile

Coastal Sage

 Coastal sage (Artemisia californica), Escondido, CA

So we had black and white sage on this site. There is another plant known as coastal sage, purple sage or sagebrush. In spite of its name "sage" this is not a true sage (salvia). It's a very popular plant, it grows pretty much everywhere.

The plant in the above pictures is Artemisia californica and it is not part of the mint (Lamiaceae) family but aster  (Asteraceae). Like salvias it has a nice smell especially it you crush a leaf between your fingers. This plant can be also used to spice up a dish.