While I wasn't excited to leave the snowy winter of WI behind (no, really), I at least get to see some flowers and green leaves in CA, making up for missing it in WI this summer. It is still pretty early in the season for flowers, but below are a few I've seen so far. The wettest parts of the storm last week missed us for the most part, but we still managed to catch about 3" of rain. That means I'm traveling by foot mostly until the roads get a chance to dry off some. Otherwise, field work has been going well and the weather windy as usual.

Jepsonia malvifolia: Island Jepsonia. This little flower is endemic to the Channel Islands and Guadalupe Island (off Baja).

Isomeris arborea: Bladderpod. It has a very strong peppery smell on the mainland but is somewhat tempered on the islands. Could that have something to do with a lack of native herbivores on the island?


Dudleya greenei: Greene's Dudleya. I'm not 100% certain this is D. greenei and not D. candelabrum. It's not flowering yet, but the rosettes are just so darn cute. Plus, it doesn't shake and move all over in the wind while I'm trying to take close-ups, a definite bonus over the last few days.