California Poppy
California Poppy, The Herbal Resource
The San Francisco Bay area, Bear Valley and Morgan Territory Regional Reserve are just some of the places to go to find the brightly colored California Poppies. Similar in color to that of a ripe apricot, these poppies grow from sea level to about 6,500 feet. The flowers form at the tops of long stems and have four soft, round petals. In general the blooms are about three inches in diameter. California poppies are one of the first flowers to bloom, usually starting in February and will blooming well into September. The seeds spread fast and these flowers grow well along roads, or in areas of previously disturbed soil, such as after a forest fire.
Royal Lupine
Lupine, marghe.us
Treat your camera lens to a sweet view with these deep blue flowers. Royal Lupine, also known as big leaf lupine, is considered to be an herb of the pea family. It can be found from sea level to about 5,200 feet elevation. This lupine grows somewhat more stout than other varieties of lupines found on the east coast of the United States. They are often found in damp bogs or alpine meadows from the High Sierra Nevada to the Transverse and Peninsula mountain ranges, according to the California Academy of Sciences. The leaves are characteristic of all lupine with deep green palmate (finger-like) leaves which can grow quite large. In northern California these blooms peak in mid-April.
Yellow Tidytips
Tidytip, Calflora
The primary palette is completed with a field of poppies, lupines and yellow tidytips. These three flowers often grow in the same meadows of northern California. They belong to the asteraceae (aster) family and are similar to sunflowers. Yellow Tidytips bloom from early March to May and can be found from sea level to about 6,000 feet elevation. They are common in meadows, sage scrub areas, and coastal plains, and are also found on the Channel Islands off the coast of northern California. They have yellow daisy-like petals but the ends of these are split like the tongue of a snake. The tips of the petals are white.
