Flora
Plant life in Northern California wastes no time. By February the monotone meadows of winter begin a chromatic crescendo that lasts well into summer. From the miniature marvels of lichens and mosses to things that live large – stratospheric redwoods and billowing oaks – this gallery celebrates all that grasps the ground and reaches for the sky.
The inner sanctum of our state flower, the California orange poppy. North Peak, Mt. Diablo State Park.
California buckeye in full bloom. Morgan Territory Regional Preserve.
California buttercup, Round Valley Regional Preserve.
A forest fire of moss sporangia sweeps across a boulder in Round Valley.
California buckeyes on a misty winter evening, Round Valley.
Buckeyes in full bloom at sunrise, Round Valley.
Chick lupine on Coyote Ridge, Round Valley.
Blue oak at sunrise in Round Valley's Murphy Meadow.
Paintbrush, Bald Ridge, Mt. Diablo.
Blue oak crown at sunrise. Round Valley.
Red-banded polypore fungus on blue oak, Round Valley.
Valley oak viewed from Highland Ridge, Morgan Territory Regional Preserve.
Bird's-eyes on Round Valley's Ribcage Ridge.
Bark peels on manzanita. Morgan Territory in June.
California buckeye and fog, North Peak, Mt. Diablo.
Shooting star, Ithuriel Ridge, Round Valley.
Silver bush lupine, Flag Hill, Sunol Regional Wilderness.
Foliose lichen, Round Valley.
Rose clover, East Trail, Mt. Diablo.
Juniper, Olympia Trail, Mt. Diablo.
Blue-eyed grass, Flag Hill, Sunol.
California coast redwoods on a foggy morning in Steep Ravine, Mt. Tamalpais State Park.
California wild grape, Mitchell Canyon, Mt. Diablo.
Valley oaks bracket Round Valley Creek in January.
Butterfly mariposa lily, Del Valle Regional Park.
Coulter pine cones, North Peak, Mt. Diablo.
Hound's tongue on Middle Trail, Mt. Diablo.
A valley oak, its acorn ready to take the plunge, flaunts the hues of autumn.
Valley oak in autumn, Round Valley.
Ceanothus on Middle Trail, Mt. Diablo.
Fog and frost at winter sunrise in Murphy Meadow, Round Valley.
Alyssum with dew on spider web, Brentwood.
Monterey cypress, Point Lobos State Reserve.
A fuchsia firecracker shatters the drab November landscape along Mt. Diablo's Mitchell Rock Trail.
Blue oak at sunrise in January. Round Valley.
Owl's clover on the summit in late winter.
Blue oak in autumn, Round Valley.
Fruiting bodies of chaparral clematis, Blackpoint Trail, Mt. Diablo.
Baby blue-eyes with violet variant, North Peak, Mt. Diablo.
Late-winter blue oaks in Donner Canyon, Mt. Diablo.
Ruby chalice clarkia, Morgan Territory.
The Monterey cypress known as Old Veteran. Point Lobos.
Yellow mariposa lily, Marsh Creek State Park.
Coast live oak, Mt. Tamalpais State Park.
Miniature lupine, Round Valley.
California buckeye in November, Coyote Ridge, Round Valley.
Tomcat clover along East Trail, Mt. Diablo State Park.
Round Valley buckeye blossoms in spring.
The California coast redwoods at Muir Woods National Monument tower up to 370 feet above the forest floor; their diameter can span 22 feet and their bark can measure a foot thick. Most of them are between 500 and 800 years old; some have lived for 2,000 years.
Red and yellow paintbrush, Eagle Peak, Mt. Diablo.
California buckeye in Round Valley, winter solstice 2016.
Virginia creeper, autumn morning in Nevada City.
Valley oak above the Clyma Trail, Morgan Territory.
Fog droplets on Mt. Diablo manzanita blossoms, Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve.
Maidenhair graces Middle Trail, Mt. Diablo.
Chaparral clematis, Prospector’s Gap Road, Mt. Diablo.
Blue oak at sunrise, Round Valley summit.