The spring of 2015 was a good one and I made six visits to Placerita Canyon in March and April, covering the main trails and some trails I hadn't been on before. The park is situated in the transition zone between the San Gabriel Mountains and the Mojave Desert, and contains sandstone formations, seasonal streams, riparian oak woodlands, and stands of cottonwood, California ash and beautiful native sycamores, providing linkages between the Angeles National Forest, the Santa Susana Mountains, the Simi Hills and the Santa Monica Mountains. One notable resident, the Oak of the Golden Dream, is an official California Historic Landmark. The story goes that in 1842 a minerologist named Francisco Lopez took a nap beneath this tree and dreamed of floating along a river of pure gold. Upon awakening and finding himself hungry, he dug up some wild onions and discovered flecks of gold clinging to the bulbs. This was supposedly the first documented discovery of gold in California. Regardless of the extent to which the story is true, the tree is still there and the visitor is welcome to rest beneath its leafy branches. Placerita Canyon is conveniently located on Placerita Canyon Road just off of the 14 Freeway. I was greatly aided by the list entitled Flora of Placerita Canyon Natural Area which was compiled by Ian Swift, Mickey Long, and Daryl Koutnik. With only a couple of exceptions, I have purposely avoided including non-native species of which there are a lot here, and those that are included are indicated by an asterisk next to the common name.

Twining snapdragon
Antirrhinum kelloggii
Plantaginaceae
[Named for Albert Kellogg, 1813-1887]

Whispering bells
Emmenanthe penduliflora
Hydrophyllaceae

White pincushion
Chaenactis artemisiifolia
Asteraceae

Branching phacelia
Phacelia ramosissima
Hydrophyllaceae

Short-winged deerweed
Acmispon glaber var. brevialatus
Fabaceae