This page was only maintained during 2000-2001. Later bloom reports for Fallbrook trails can be found amidst trails for other locations in Southern California - see Botanical Trail Reports.
See also Wildflowers in the Fallbrook Burn Area, 2003.
In these descriptions of the flowers blooming along the trails and roads, usually only the first encounter of a flower is listed, except for exceptional displays. If a flower is beginning or ending it is designated with (b) or (e) after the name.
The observations are presented in chronological order, with the latest observations at the end.
All observations are taken in public areas with the exception of the Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve, which is open to the public only via guided tours. I report here the bloom observations from that location since it is representative of many similar locations in Fallbrook.
October 17 at Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve 11:32 to 3:48 pm, conditions sunny and hot (88°), then cooler (75°) and breezy, changing within a few hours. All pictures linked below are from this day, except those marked with "^", which are pictures from outside SMER.
Surprisingly, there were 28 plants in bloom, 6 with fall color (leaves: 2, berries: 3, blooms: 1), 2 with pretty seed heads, and 1 in bud.
- Near Ranch House: shortpod mustard (Hirschfeldia incana), little horseweed, plantain (see also plantain field), Russian thistle, doveweed, telegraph weed, sacred datura^, lotus with maroon banner and yellow wings, deerweed, twiggy wreath plant, (senna, a cultivated plant).
- Near Stone Creek: California buckwheat (red/brown color), matchweed, squaw bush (red leaves), poison oak (red leaves), mugwort (identification probable, not certain), common hazardia (goldenbush), lotus with yellow flower, bedstraw^1, scarlet monkeyflower^, everlasting (flowers in dried form), honeysuckle (berries), sugar bush (buds), hollyleaf redberry (berries), California sagebrush, purple vetch, San Diego Sedge (seedhead), goldenrod, morning glory, rattlesnake weed2.
- Near Temecula Gorge: brickellbush, California fuchsia, virgin's bower (seed), willow herb^, saltmarsh fleabane^ (Pluchea odorata), toyon (green berries), toyon (red berries), white clover, western goldenrod2.
^ The linked picture was not taken at SMER.
1 The bedstraw illustrated above is the one listed on the SMER plant list, Galium angustifolium ssp. angustifolium. However, we suspect that the one we saw is Galium aparine^, which is not on the SMER plant list.
2 Not on the SMER plant list, but definitely present.
January 7 at Chaparral Trail, De Luz Ecology Center, by Scott Gordon
- buckwheat (e), deerweed (b), white-flowering currant (b), two-tone everlasting (b), bush monkey flower (b), squaw spurge, wand chicory (e), wild cucumber, rock - rose, black mustard (b), wishbone bush (b), mule fat (e).
January 18 at Chaparral Trail, De Luz Ecology Center, by Scott Gordon
- New blooms: morning glory (b, Calystergia macrostegia ssp. cyclostegia)
January 19 at Heller's Bend Preserve 12:35 to 1:29 pm, conditions sunny and pleasant (temperature in low 70s).
- mule fat (few flowers), deerweed, a single stunning coyote bush in full seed (id probable, but from a distance; other coyote bushes ending their seed display), bush monkeyflower (b), telegraph weed (e), few-flowered virgin's bower (b).
January 20 at Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve 8:50 am to 12:30 pm, conditions sunny and pleasant (temperature in the 60s to 70s).
- Ranch House to just past Stone Creek: hoaryleaf ceanothus (a single plant alongside the road at the Creek in full bloom; another just outside SMER also along a drainage; otherwise all hl ceanothus did not even have prominent buds!), purple vetch, bush monkeyflower (b), wild cucumber (b), mustard (b), mule fat, California buckwheat (e).
- Just past Stone Creek to Gorge Descent: (no new blooms).
- Descent into Temecula Gorge and in the Gorge: virgin's bower (seed, ending), redstem filaree (b), toyon berries (e), two-tone everlasting (buds), felt-leaf everlasting, manzanita (shiny black berries), twiggy wreath plant (e, last few blooms), purple nightshade (b, first few blooms), white sweet clover, a single deerweed (on south bank of river in full sun, all others on this trip not in bloom, despite many deerweed in full bloom elsewhere in Fallbrook)
January 26 at Chaparral Trail, De Luz Ecology Center, by Scott Gordon
- New blooms: Hoary Leaved Ceanothus (b, Ceanothus crassifolius)
January 28 at Santa Margarita River Trail 2:15 to 3:15 pm, conditions cool and overcast (temperature ~60).
- Sandia Creek Trailhead to one mile east: one plant each of telegraph weed, cucumber, wild radish, mule fat, felt-leaf everlasting.
February 1 at Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve 10:12 am to 3:51 pm, conditions sunny and pleasant (temperature in the 60s to 70s).
- Ranch House to just past Stone Creek: one red berry left on a single hollyleaf redberry, hoaryleaf ceanothus (a single plant alongside the road at the Creek in full bloom; some prominent buds on a number of other, but not all, hlc; purple vetch, manzanita (some with buds, some with black berries), wild cucumber (b).
- Just past Stone Creek to Gorge Descent: sugarbush (some white showing on some buds), mustard, ceanothus tomentosus (buds).
- Descent into Temecula Gorge and in the Gorge: virgin's bower (seed, ending), bicolor everlasting (buds), mule fat (blooms and seeds), sow thistle, arroyo willow, bush monkeyflower (b), virgin's bower (pauciflora), California buckwheat (two plants - b, a few other plants - e), croton, toyon berries (e), deerweed (two plants on south slope of gorge), a single telegraph weed (b), white sweet clover.
February 2 at Chaparral Trail, De Luz Ecology Center, by Scott Gordon
- New blooms (all beginning): Dandelion (Taraxacum officionale, Blue-Eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium bellum, in a watered area), Shooting Star (Dodecatheon clevelandii, in a watered area).
February 9 at Santa Margarita River Trail 3-5 pm, conditions cool and sunny (temperature ~60).
- Stagecoach Lane Trailhead to Rainbow Creek via lower and upper trail: (blooms not in any particular order) wild cucumber (blooms and seed pods, including one full-size seed pod!), hoaryleaf ceanothus (b), bush monkeyflower (b), manzanita (black berries), tree tobacco, deerweed (b), dodder (b), ceanothus tomentosus (b), sugarbush (b), mule fat (seeds), California buckwheat (e).
February 21 at Chaparral Trail, De Luz Ecology Center, by Scott Gordon
- New blooms (all beginning): Shepherd's purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris), Filaree (Erodium), Miner's Lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata).
March 3 at De Luz Ecology Center
- Chaparral Trail: shepherd's purse, redstem filaree, wild cucumber (b), wishbone bush (buds), morning glory (buds), dodder (b), rock rose, hoaryleaf ceanothus (b), one bloom on one prickly phlox, a single manzanita, one last flower on twiggy wreath plant (wand chicory), peony (buds), white-flowering currant (e, with fruit), chaparral whitethorn (buds).
- Portion of Garnsey Trail near playground: baby blue eyes, yellow-flowered annual (senecio sp.?), { blue-eyed grass (b), a single shooting star (b), both in watered area }.
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Copyright © 2000-2005 by Tom Chester and Jane Strong.
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Comments and feedback: Tom Chester | Jane Strong
Updated 11 January 2005.
