This trip was intended to try to find a species for which I have been searching for several years, Petunia parviflora or wild petunia. It is more commonly found from Santa Barbara County northwards, but has been seen and vouchered from a number of different locations in Southern California, including this location which we were given by Steve Junak of Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. Unfortunately, the entire McGrath State Beach area was a much drier habitat than I believe this species prefers, and we did not find any today. We did see other things of interest, including many introduced species, and I have noted those with an asterisk. NOTE: I finally did locate the Petunia at Camarillo Regional Park in 2010.

Wild heliotrope
Heliotropium curassavicum
Boraginaceae

Marsh jaumea
Jaumea carnosa
Asteraceae
[Named for Jean Henri Jaume Saint-Hilaire, 1772-1845]

Yerba mansa
Anemopsis californica
Saururaceae

Rush
Scirpus sp.
Cyperaceae

Arrowleaf saltbush
Atriplex triangularis
Chenopodiaceae

Silverweed
Potentilla anserina ssp. pacifica
Rosaceae

White sweetclover *
Melilotus alba
Fabaceae

Poison hemlock *
Conium maculatum
Apiaceae

Silver beach bur
Ambrosia chamissonis
Asteraceae
[Named for Ludolf Karl Adelbert von Chamisso, 1781-1838]

Sacred datura
Datura wrightii
Solanaceae
[Named for Charles Wright, 1811-1885]

Pink sand verbena
Abronia umbellata ssp. umbellata
Nyctaginaceae

Seacliff buckwheat
Eriogonum parvifolium
Polygonaceae

Wild radish *
Raphanus sativus
Brassicaceae

Salt cedar *
Tamarix ramosissima
Tamaricaceae