Yup, stuff is starting to bloom, already. Kinda started out my survey thinking I'd see mostly non-natives as they seem to get an early start (part of their successful strategy). Looks like I was right, but a few bloomers are native.
Red maids,
Calandrinia ciliata, happily, are native, but can be invasive, according to
the UC IPM folks. For example, in a field of baby spinach. Learn something new, every day.
Shepherd's purse (NOT lacepod as I'd thought, think I got fooled by this last year, too),
Capsella bursa-pastoris, has an INSANE distribution. A highly successful non-native plant. Check out
it's distribution in the US and Canada (scroll down). Yowsa!
Chickweed,
Stellaria media, or so I think. There are 32 species of chickweed in Stellaria,
according to the USDA, so I'm just hopin' my local-ish wildflower guide is on the mark. Non-native.
California burclover,
Medicago polymorpha, is also up. And also introduced (non-native).
And the
whiteleaf manzanita,
Arctostaphylos manzanita, is budding up, gettin' ready to launch.
A particularly well-named native plant, the little apple (manzana=apple ita=diminutive suffix):
Spring is starting, apparently. I'd better get to ordering seeds!
biobabbler
