Kennedy Meadows is one of many "meadowy" areas in the southern Sierras. At about 6400', it is reached from the 395 by turning west on Nine Mile Canyon Road just north of Pearsonville and approximately ten miles north of the 395/14 junction. From that junction it is about 27 miles to Kennedy Meadows, and you cross from Inyo Co. into Tulare Co., passing through an area that was burned most recently by the Manter Fire in 2000 and then by the McNally Fire in 2002, which at 150,000 acres was one of the dozen largest in California history, having just been overtaken in the record books by the 160,000 acre Station Fire in the Angeles National Forest. The McNally Fire was the largest in the history of Sequoia NF. Kennedy Meadows itself is one of those areas that does not look like a meadow to me, at least at this time of the year when it is fairly dry. Although the South Fork of the Kern River does flow past its lower edge, the prevalence of shrubs like rabbitbrush and sagebrush belie its name. On this outing we were joined by several people representing the southern sub-chapter of the Bristlecone Chapter of CNPS and several others from the Maturango Museum in Ridgecrest. This gallery is a good example of the fact that to get really good pictures, you need really good flowers, and we were clearly at the tail end of the blooming season here. Since this area is outside my usual range, there is more uncertainty as to identifications, and I welcome any corrections. An upside-down V next to the common name indicates a taxon that was new to me when I photographed it on this field trip, and an asterisk denotes a non-native taxon.

Wirelettuce
Stephanomeria sp. (tenuifolia?)
Asteraceae

Lesser indian paintbrush
Castilleja minor ssp. spiralis
Scrophulariaceae
[Named for Domingo Castillejo Muñoz, 1744?-1793]

Rubber rabbitbrush
Ericameria nauseosa
Asteraceae

Pennyroyal
Monardella sp.
Lamiaceae

Sticky lessingia
Lessingia glandulifera var. glandulifera
Asteraceae
[Named for Christian Friedrich Lessing, 1809-1862, and two of his relatives]

Evening primrose
Oenothera sp.
Onagraceae

Spanish clover
Lotus purshianus var. purshianus
Fabaceae

Unidentified

cf. Black medick *
Medicago lupulina
Fabaceae