SHRUBS
Mojave Yucca (Yucca schidigera). Blooms April-May. Used by the Kumeyaay for food (blooms) and for fibers (leaves) to make sacs and sandals. Points of leaves used for needle work and tatoos. The Mojave Yucca is only pollinated by one insect: the Yucca Moth. We know we don’t have Yucca Moths in the park anymore because our Yuccas never produce any seed. This is a true story of obligate mutualism, where both the plant and the moth rely on each other in order to survive. The Yucca moth adults have a very short life. They do not have feeding mouth parts so they cannot feed (they do all their eating/growing at the caterpillar stage). They only live long enough to mate and reproduce, then they starve to death. After mating and in order to reproduce, a female moth will collect pollen from the anthers (male pollen-producing part of the flower) of a Yucca plant, carry it to another Yucca plant and deposit the pollen in the stigma (female part of the flower), hence cross-pollinating the plant. She will then deposit a few eggs in the ovary of the flower, right below the stigma, where the seeds will eventually develop.

These eggs will hatch at about the same time the plant will have produced seeds and the moth larva will feed on some of these seeds (not all, some seeds will drop to the ground and create new Yuccas!). When the caterpillars have reached maximum size, they will fall to the ground and pupate, only to emerge the following season when the sweet smell of the Yucca blooms prompt them to come out of their cocoons. And the cycle starts all over again.

Redberry Buckthorn (Rhamnus crocea). Also known as Spiny Redberry. Smaller wooden shrub with Holly-like small leaves. Small discrete pale green flowers (Feb-Mar), fruits are bright red berries (May-June). The plant is dioecious (pronounced die-ee-shus), which means a single plant is either male or female. The flowers on the male bush only have male parts and the flowers on the female bush only have female parts. That means only female bushes bear fruit. Berries were consumed by Kumeyaay. The plant is native to US West Coast and Northwestern Mexico.

The Chapparal Bushmallow also attracts a very special bee called the Ochraceous Chimney Bee (Diadasia ochracea). This bee only visits native plants in the Mallow family and at the park, that means it is found exclusively on the Chapparal Bushmallow. This means the life cycle of these bees are tightly tied to the blooming cycle of the bushmallow. Like the majority of our native bees, The Ochraceous Chimney Bee is a solitary ground nesting bee. It is slightly larger than a honey bee, very hairy with pale yellow hair on its legs, abdomen and head. It also has gorgeous pale blue eyes!

Cliff Spurge (Euphorbia misera). The cliff spurge is a staple shrub at CNM. It is a semi-succulent drought deciduous plant. During really dry years, the cliff spurge looks indeed quite miserable (see Latin name) as all the leaves fall and all that is left are the crooked and knobby naked branches. During better years, the ovate taco-shaped leaves may remain on the plant year round. One particularity of plants in the genus Euphorbia is that a milky sap escapes from the branches/leaves when damaged. Another remarkable trait for Euphorbia plants is the flowers, which are morphologically very different from traditional flowers and called cyathium. What looks like white petals are actually bracts that are adorned with red or green/yellow nectar glands. The Cliff Spurge “flowers” can be found blooming year-round. Not all shrubs will be in bloom at the same time, but you’ll most likely find at least one shrub in any given month that has flowers on it. The nectar pads are often irresistible to pollinators large and small, especially at times of year when other nectar sources are scarce. California Native Plant Society considers this plant rare (“fairly threatened in California”) due to habitat loss.

ANNUALS
San Diego Creeper (Aphanisma blitoides). The San Diego Creeper is the only plant in the genus Aphanisma. It is sometimes called San Diego Coastalcreeper. It is a rare annual that likes the coastline of Southern California (including the Channel Islands) and Baja California (Mar-May). Because coastal habitat has dwindled rapidly in the last 50+ years, the plant is considered “fairly threatened” and is monitored closely at the park and in other San Diego locations. Aphanisma spreads on the ground (Feb/Jun), first with green lance-shaped leaves, then the stems and leaves turn red and later brown as it dies off for the season.

Nuttall’s or Lesser Snapdragon (Sairocarpus nuttallianus or pusillus). We have two species of these delicate annual snapdragons at the park: The Nuttall’s Snapdragon and the Lesser Snapdragon. They look almost identical with hairy stems and leaves, and purple pitcher-shaped flowers (Apr-May). They can grow upright or in a somewhat vine-like matter.
The Nuttall’s Snapdragon (A) has shorter and denser hair on the stems and leaves, which give a plant a softer, often lighter green look. Think of it this way: it looks cuddly and you want to cuddle with Mr. Nuttall’s plant. The Lesser snapdragon (B) has slightly longer and sparcer hair. The hair is also more glandular, which means it has a larger gland at the end of it, hence appearing more “knoby”. Guess what: you want to cuddle “less” with this one!

Texas Toadflax (Nuttallanthus texanus). The Texas Toadflax flower (Mar-Apr) looks similar to the Nuttall’s Snapdragon. However, the plant is usually smaller, the flowers smaller, paler and more delicate, and the stems slender with narrow lance-like leaves. Stems and leaves are usually hairless. This plant occurs from coast to coast in the US (Washington to Florida), but not in all northern states.

Lineleaf Whitepuff (Oligomeris linifolia). Let’s hear it for the none-showy plants! Oligomeris is the poster child in that category. It is a small plant with long slender leaves and a discrete inflorescence (Feb-Apr). The flowers are very small and only have two small white petals that are barely visible to the naked eye. But a flower is a flower, no matter how small. Lineleaf Whitpuff is native to several areas of the world, mostly sharing mediterranean or desert climates (Middle East, southern Europe, north Africa, southwestern US and northern Mexico). In San Diego, it can be found in coastal areas and in the desert, but nowhere in-between.

Dot-seed Plantain (Plantago erecta). The Dot-seed Plantain is a smaller plant with long needle-like basal leaves and elongated inflorescence with paper-like pale flowers. The flowers have a brown center that looks like… drum rolls… a dot on the inflorescence (Mar-May). A single plant can grow to about a foot wide, while other only grow to an inch or two. The Dot-seed Plantain, also called Dwarf Plantain, is one of the primary host plants for the endangered Quino Checkerspot Butterfly (Euphydryas editha quino), only found in Riverside County, San Diego County and Northern Baja California. Though the butterfly’s current range is Eastern San Diego county, it has been spotted near the coast in South Bay. Maybe someday, the Quino Checkerspot can call our park home!

Western Tansymustard (Descurainia pinnata). The Western Tansymustard is a native species in the Mustard family (Brassicaceae). The park is home to a sub-species: Menzie’s Tansymustard (ssp. menziesii). A San Diego Natural History Museum report from 2007 mentions that these common plants “are in limited numbers at the park and should be included in conservation planning”. We are happy to report we now have a healthy population of Western Tansymustard! Systemic weed removals (thank you Weed Warriors!) in some areas have helped our local mustard re-populate many spaces around the park. This native mustard can easily be told apart from other non-native mustard from its leaves. Leaves are “highly divided with pointed, toothed lobes or leaflets”. Translation: leaves are skinny and not filled in. They are also more hairy than other mustards giving the plant an overall lighter green look. The seed are said to taste somewhat like black mustard and were utilized as food by Native American people such as the Navajo.

Common Eucrypta (Eucrypta chrysanthemifolia). Eucrypta, also called Spotted Hideseed, is an inconspicuous annual plant that often grows in the shadow of other plants. It has small discreet white flowers (Mar-Apr), often adorned with purple stripes in the center. The leaves are highly divided and lobed, similar to the leaves of Chrysanthemums. This is how this plant got its Latin name: chrysanthemifolia. In the park, we have another similar plant called Racemed Fiestaflower (Pholistoma racemosum), found on the Bayside Trail and Coastal Trail. It is easy to tell them apart with one simple test: smell the leaves. Eucrypta exhibits a strong herbal fragrance.

Cleveland’s Tobacco (Nicotiana clevelandii). Did you know that Cabrillo National Monument has its own species of Wild Tobacco? Now you do! And there is quite a bit of it on the Oceanside Trail, especially toward the bottom of the hill, just before Cabrillo Road. The plant first grows close to the ground as a flat rosette with wide ovate leaves (Jan-Feb). Later, one or multiple stems shoot out from the center of the rosette and grow upright to 20” or more. The stems are adorned with slender pointed leaves and small white trumpet-shaped flowers (Mar-Apr).

Sleepy Catchfly (Silene antirrhina). The Sleepy Catchfly is very discreet and easy to miss on the trail. It has slender stems, narrow lance-like leaves and grows upright. It has small pink flowers (Mar-Apr) that emerge from an inflated oval calyx (the green leaf-like membranes under the flower). The plant is adapted to many terrains and micro-climate: In San Diego, it can be found from the coast to the mountains and sometimes into the desert. It is native to the Americas and has been introduced to Europe. One of the particularities of the Sleepy Catchfly is that it can, indeed, catch small insects! The stems have darker areas with glandular/sticky trichomes (hair) and insects can get trapped in those. However the plant is not a true carnivorous plant since it does not get any nutrients from the insects. It is what we call protocarnivorous (or paracarnivorous, subcarnivorous or borderline carnivore).

California Suncup (Camissoniopsis bistrota). The California Suncup is in the primerose family. This means flowers have 4 petals! It is native to Southern California and Baja California, Mexico. The plant grows in a prostrate manner, meaning close to the ground. The flowers are larger (a little smaller than a quarter) and bright yellow with red dots on the inside (Mar-May). There is another suncup species down on the Coastal Trail with flowers that look identical: the Beach Suncup (Camissoniopsis cheiranthifolia). The two plants can be told apart from their leaves. The California Suncup has longer lance-like darker green leaves, while the Beach Suncup has light green, oval shaped leaves with a rounded tip.

Clearwater Cryptantha (Cryptantha intermedia). A common umbrella nickname for species in the genus Crythantha and other related plants is Popcorn Flower. But Popcorn Flowers are hard to tell apart. They usually require a picture of the fruit for identification to species. We have two distinct species at the park. The Clearwater Cryptantha or Common Cryptantha is by far the most common and it is abundant on the Oceanside Trail. The other species, Guadalupe Cryptantha (Cryptantha maritima) has very small flowers, barely visible, and can be found off the coastal trail and on slopes south of the Oceanside Trail. The Clearwater Cryptantha grows low to the ground with hairy branching and small clusters of tiny white flowers (Feb-Jun). It is a pollinator favorite due to its long blooming period and abundance of flowers.

Small-seed Sandmat (Euphorbia polycarpa). The Small-seed Sandmat is a cousin of our Cliff Spurge and shares some of the same traits, like having cyathiums instead of traditional flowers and oozing white sap when branches or leaves are damaged (please see write-up on Cliff Spurge for more details). But it looks very different. Cliff Spurge is a shrub, but Small-seed Sandmat is a delicate annual or perennial ground cover. It sprouts early on in the winter or sometimes as early as September if monsoonal rains occur. It may be seen all the way through June and sometimes persist in the summer if temperatures remain moderate. However, it is most abundant in the spring (Mar-May), when many plants carpet the landscape. It is an important plant for very small insects. Many use Small-seed Sandmat as a shelter and nectar source. The Kumeyaay use an infusion from this plant to help cure sores, and stings and bites pain. Another name for the plant is Rattlesnake Weed. This name comes from a folk belief that the plant could be used to cure rattlesnake bites.

San Diego Wirelettuce (Stephanomeria diegensis). Wirelettuces, also called Twiggy-wreath Plants, are the Ugly Ducklings of the park. They start growing in the spring and look very ‘weedy’. As lettuce do, they start climbing and branching toward the end of the spring. Some plants grow as a small bush, others can tower overhead. When they start to bloom in the summer, they undergo a striking transformation. By that time, most of the leaves have wilted away and the blooms, delicate white to slightly pink flowers, stand alone on the stems, giving the plant a whimsical aspect, like snowflakes suspended in the air. This is one of the most popular plants visitors ask about in the summer and fall. It is also extremely popular with our native pollinators, including a diurnal moth called Schinia scarletina (sorry, no common name, yet). ‘Diurnal’ means the moth is active during the day, when most other moths are sleeping! Here is a common name I’ve made up for this moth: the Scarlet Wirelettuce Moth. Scarlet refers to the bright red underwing, seen when the insect is in flight or after landing. And even though they visit other blooms, they seem particularly fond of the Wirelettuce.

California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica). The California Poppy is one of the most popular flowers in California gardens. It is drought tolerant and the bright orange color is a favorite. In fact, it has been the California State Flower since 1903. Even though they are called California Poppies, they do grow in surrounding states. At Cabrillo NM, poppies can look different depending on where they grow. On the edges of the coastal trail, they are often small and more yellow in color, but most everywhere, they are the common orange color. Flowers are most showy during the day when they open fully. They close during the night. Peak blooming season is April, when the California Poppy Fairy Bee (Perdita interrupta) can be found visiting the flowers. Look closely if you want to find it: this very small bee is just a little bigger that the size of the year on a penny.

Miniature Lupine (Lupinus bicolor) and Collared Annual Lupine (Lupinus truncatus). We have three different species of Lupines in the park and two of them can be found on the Oceanside Trail, in the coastal zone. Leaves of both plants are palmate (A), meaning they look like spread out fingers on a hand. Typical of plants in the Legume family (Fabaceae), flowers are “lipped”: they have one upper petal (or two fused petals), called the banner and 3 lower petals (the keel in the center and the wings on either side). Our two species of lupines can easily be told apart by their size and flower colors. The Miniature Lupine is bluish-purple with a white and blue banner (B). Hence the Latin name: bicolor. The plant is also small in size (<2ft tall). In contrast, the Collared Annual Lupine is most often magenta-purple (C), with some of the older flowers turning a deeper purple color (D). The banner, keel and wings are fairly uniform in color and the plant is larger in size (>3ft tall). Both species bloom at about the same time, between March and May.

Clustered Tarweed (Deinandra fasciculata). Clustered Tarweed is an important plant in the park. It is a late blooming annual (May-Aug) that attracts many pollinators. One of them, the Pomona Longhorn (Tetraloniella pomonae) will only visit Clustered Tarweed. During drought years, when hardly any Tarweed is seen, the bee is absent. We know little about the clues these bees use to emerge on years when there is sufficient number of their favorite plant available. Tarweed also generally performs well in disturbed areas. This means it is a good native plant to fight other non-native invasives that might want to take up residence in bare patches. Clustered Tarweed also has sticky leaves and the Kumeyaay would gather a bunch and use them as a whiskbroom to clean up the fruit of the Prickly Pear cactus (tunas). There is a look alike plant in the park: Golden Yarrow. However, Golden Yarrow flower heads are entirely yellow, whereas Tarweed has dark brown to black stamens visible in the disk flowers (the tiny flowers at center of “the flower”). Golden Yarrow also blooms earlier than Tarweed (Mar-Jun).

San Diego Wild Cabbage or San Diego Jewelflower (Caulanthus hetetophyllus). The San Diego Wild Cabbage is one of those wildflowers that are easy to miss. Although it grows to a fairly good size (>20 inches tall), it is a slender weedy-looking plant with relatively small flowers. But for those who take the time to observe the blooms (Mar-Apr), it is well worth it. The top of the plant is adorned with small trumpet-shaped magenta flowers. The pointy leaves are much larger at the bottom of the plant and get smaller up along the stem. The San Diego Wild Cabbage is found in San Diego of course, but also south into Baja, California and north up to Santa Barbara. It is fairly common from the coast to the mountains, but doesn’t grow in desert areas.

Fringed Spineflower (Chorizanthe fimbriata). Fringed Spineflowers are one of the most beautiful flowers in the park. In average rain years in late spring (Apr-Jun), they provide pink carpeting to many bare spots on our south facing slopes. Believe it or not, it is a cousin to our California Buckwheat, being in the same family (Polygonaceae aka: Buckwheats). Fringed Spineflowers are named after their, you guessed it, fringed flowers.

California Primrose (Eulobus californicus). The California Primrose is sometimes called California Suncup. This common name can lead to confusion because it is also the common name for Camissoniopsis bistrota (see above) and both plants are fairly common in the park. So let’s stick to California Primrose! The plant first emerges in the early winter as a rosette of leaves on the ground. The leaves are serrated and have brown to black specks on the upper side. In early spring, long stems, up to four or five feet long, shoot up. The leaves of the stems are similar to the basal rosette leaves, except smaller and more slender. As all flowers in the primrose family, California Primrose have four petals (Feb-Apr). The flowers are yellow and sometime have some orange dots at the center.

PERENNIALS
Blue Dicks/Wild Hyacinth (Dipterostemon capitatus). Blue Dicks, also called Wild Hyacinth (for the immature crowds who can’t handle the first option), is an herbaceous perennial. It grows from an underground corm. A corm is similar to a bulb, except bulbs (like onions and ogres) have layers, while corms are solid. When blue dicks first sprout, long leaves may appear. They are usually sort of limp and stay close to the ground, despite being long. The plant then sends a single straight-up stem, which will be topped by a purple inflorescence called a head. The head may have anywhere from 2 to 15 flowers and may reach two feet in height. Blue Dicks can reproduce by seeds or cormlets. Cormlets are small corms that develop along side the main corm. Blue Dicks were an important food source for Native Americans. The corms could be dug up and roasted. Another name for the corm is “Indian Potato”.

Weed’s Mariposa Lily (Calochortus weedii). One of the most showy flowers we have in the park. The beautiful yellow flowers bloom later in the spring to early summer (peak: June). They attract many native bees since the large long anthers produce a lot of pollen when most other spring flowers have already died off. They are great in gardens because they are bulbs and will grow back every year. They are native to southern California where they are considered “vulnerable”. They also occur in Baja California where they are listed as “critically imperiled”.

Wishbone Bush (Mirabilis laevis). Wishbone Bush is a perennial, low-growing plant with delicate purple flowers (Feb-Apr). It dies down to the grown during the hotter months (sometimes a skeletal ghost of a plant remains) and resprouts after first rains. Wishbone Bush gets its name from the configurations of the leaves on the stems. A stem forks in two, with two basal leaves, forming a Y-shape, or wishbone.

California Aster (Corethrogyne filaginifolia). Also called Common Sandaster, the California Aster has bright to pale pink petal (ray flowers) and a yellow center (disk flowers). It is in the Sunflower family and is what we call a “composite”. What we typically think of as a single flower is in fact many flowers, also called a head. Each so-called ‘petal’ is indeed a single flower, called a ray flower. And the yellow center is composed of many individual flowers. As such, a single ‘head’ provides lots of opportunities for pollinators to forage. The California Aster blooms from later in the spring and through the summer. The blooms sometimes persist into the fall. It is a great food source for many of our bees and other insects during the hottest months of the year, when blooms are rarer.

Wooly Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja foliolosa). This plant is most striking when in bloom (peak March/May, but can persist through the summer). The orange/red inflorescence doesn’t look like typical flowers, but more so like colored leaves, giving the plant the look of its namesake: a paintbrush. Though it may not look like it, the Wooly Indian Paintbrush is a parasitic plant. All the sucking out of the nutrients from other plants happens underground, through its roots! That’s what we call a root-parasitic plant. At the Cabrillo Greenhouse, we have to sow Indian Paintbrush seeds with a woody shrub, in order for it to grow. We usually sow it along with California Buckwheat or California Sagebrush seeds. The paired shrubs don’t appear to struggle from being associated with or used by the paintbrush. On the Oceanside Trail, as well as on the Bayside Trail, you may once in a while run into a yellow Indian Paintbrush. It’s a rarer color morph, but we love them just the same.

Golden Yarrow (Eriophyllum confertiflorum). Golden Yarrow is one of our most common plants in the park. Eriophyllum means “wooly leaved”. Both leaves and stems are hairy, but the stems are so much so, they have a light silvery-green appearance. Golden Yarrow is not a true Yarrow (genus Achillea), but the inflorescence shape is so similar to the Common Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) that it is named after it. However, Common Yarrow is white and does not occur in the park. Golden Yarrow is considered a small shrub that grows only to about 20 inches tall. When in bloom (Mar-Jun), it is sometimes mistaken for Clustered Tarweed. However the plants can easily be told apart by looking more closely at the flowers. Golden Yarrow disk flowers (the ones in the center of the head) are entirely yellow. Clustered Tarweed disk flowers have brown anthers.

Shiny Biscuitroot (Lomatium lucidum). Plant in the carrot family, native to coastal mountains and canyons of southern California and Baja California. Blooms (Mar-Apr) are inflorescence of yellow flowers clustered in umbel (umbrella shaped). The leaves are large and shiny with several toothed lobes. The seed pods are often mistaken for flowers: they are flat red discs that remain on the plant for quite a while, before they brown and fall off.

Western Ponyfoot (Dichondra occidentalis). The Western Ponyfoot is a perennial ground cover that grows most vigorously between February and June. The leaves are round and bright green. The flowers are very small and seldom visible due to the leaves large size (quarter-size). Ponyfoot usually dies back in the hotter months of the year and re-emerges after first rains. There is a very similar species of Ponyfoot, almost identical in fact, that grows in a lot of ornamental gardens and unfortunately a few places at the park: The Asian Ponyfoot (Dichondra micrantha). They are very difficult to tell apart, but the best way is to look at the fruit.

Parish’s Nightshade (Solanum parishii). The Parish’s Nightshade is a fairly common plant on the west coast, from Oregon to Baja California. It grows well in coastal, inland chaparral, woodland or forest environments. It’s bright purple flowers (Feb-Apr) are medium sized (about ¾ in. diameter). Pale to dark green dots with a soft white edge occur on the inside of the bloom and the long yellow anthers are prominent at the center of the flower. Leaves are oblong, mostly smooth edged, and come to a soft point. Stems are slightly ridged or ribbed. The fruit is a berry, green or black, a little over ¼ in. round.

American Nightshade (Solanum americanum). We have two species of white flowering nightshades at the park. The American Nightshade is native, while the Black Nightshade (Solanum nigrum) is not. They look extremely similar and it is often difficult to tell them apart. American Nightshade is usually more densely leaved with smaller leaves and smaller flowers than Black Nightshade. However, the best way to tell them apart is with the length of the yellow anthers at the center of the flower: smaller for American Nightshade and about twice as long for the Black Nightshade (see photos below). Also, American nightshade sometimes has light purple flowers. That’s in contrast with Black Nightshade that have white petals. The fruits of American Nightshade are 1/8 to ¼ in. round, green or black and grow in clusters. The plant is a small bush that usually grows close to the ground and can spread over several feet. The blooming period of the American Nightshade is very variable depending on weather conditions, though flowers are most often seen in spring and summer.

Black Nightshade

American Nightshade

Locoweed (Astragalus trichopodus). This plant is known by many names: Santa Barabara Milkvetch, Rattlepod or Rattleweed, Ocean Locoweed, to names a few. Most Astragalus species are toxic so the plant is often removed from ranches so the cattle doesn’t eat it and become “loco” (crazy). But little is known about the actual toxicity of our particular species. The Locoweed is often mistaken for bladderpod because of its seed pods. They are a similar shape (bladder-like) and color (light green), but the two plants are very different. Bladderpod is a relative of Mustards, while Locoweed is a Legume. The Locoweed flowers are white to pale yellow (Bladderpod flowers are bright yellow) and is a small herbaceous plant growing close to the ground (Bladderpod is a medium upright shrub). Locoweed is a perennial and even though it dies back to the ground in the hot season, it re-sprouts after first rains. It is an early bloomer, sometimes showing it’s colors as soon as January, and is a favorite of Bumble Bees. It is very drought resistant and resilient. I have a patch of dirt at my house, where nothing grew. The Locoweed thrives there.

California Bumble Bee (left) and Yellow-faced Bumble Bee (right) are two of the five species we have in San Diego County. All five species occur in the park. The Yellow-faced Bumble Bee is the most common. It is easily recognizable from the other due to its yellow face and lack of yellow hair on the abdomen, except for a band near the end. The California Bumble Bee exhibits the same characteristics, but has no hair on the face.

VINES
Southern California Clematis (Clematis pauciflora). Clematis is a woody vine that climbs on many other plants, but doesn’t smother or parasitize them. It has dark green lobed leaves and small pale yellow flowers (Feb-Apr). After the blooms come the seeds. The seed clusters look like little balls of fur on the plant and these spark the curiosity of many visitors. The vine is deciduous and tends to disappear in the background of the chaparral during the hottest months.

Wild Cucumber (Marah macrocarpa). Wild Cucumber is a vine. It is not parasitic and only uses other plants for support using tendrils that wraps around sturdier vegetation. It doesn’t affect the health of the plant it climbs on except for temporarily depriving it of some sunlight. Wild Cucumber has two remarkable features. #1: its fruit! Yes, it is a cucumber, but it looks nothing like the fleshy vegetable found in our grocery stores. In fact, there’s nothing for us to eat. The fruit is hollow and houses M&M-sized seeds. The fruit certainly attracts the attention of visitors. It is fist-sized, green, and very spiky! While there is nothing for us to eat on a Wild Cucumber fruit, the seeds provide an excellent food source for many local rodents. Some of them will cache (hide) seeds under litter. Forgotten cache may germinate and become new plants! #2: the root. Another name for Wild Cucumber is Man-root. Why? The root can grow to a remarkable size. When the seed germinates, it sent a tuber downward and a shoot up. That tubber grows very quickly and is said to grow to the size of a man under ground. I have never seen one quite that big, but it certainly grows to the size of a boulder. A few roots are visible toward the bottom of the Oceanside Trail, before reaching Cabrillo Rd. Another larger root is visible on the hill side opposite to the Bayside Trail entrance (see photos to right).

SUCCULENTS
Ladyfingers (Dudleya edulis). Also called Fingertips, Ladyfingers is one of three Dudelya species we have in the park. Lanceleaf Dudleya (Dudleya lanceolata) and Chalk Dudleya (Dudleya pulverulenta) are the other two. Ladyfingers are abundant on the Oceanside trail. Since they are succulents, they are very resilient and drought tolerant. A large number of them were removed from the trail path before construction of the trail. They were kept at the Cabrillo greenhouse until construction was complete and replanted around the trail just before the grand opening. Ladyfingers are easy to identify: long thick finger-like leaves that spread up from a central root and the flowers are white (Apr-Jun). According to the book Kumeyaay Ethnobotany by Michael Wilken-Roberston, “people chewed the tender leaves to alleviate thirst. The inflorescences, when first coming up, are sweet, juicy and edible.”

Chalk Dudleya (Dudleya pulverulenta). The Chalk Dudleya is among the most popular native succulents in urban gardens, though they are still underused in comparison to exotic species. The tubular flowers sit on top of red-leafed tall stalks and are a favorite of hummingbirds, who will keep guard and chase any intruder. Flowers also attract many bee species, big and small. The smallest bees will enter the bloom and fit their entire body into it to get to the nectar. Just like the Ladyfingers, Chalk Dudleya plants were salvaged from the trail before and during construction and were planted back after the trail’s opening. On the Oceanside Trail, Chalk Dudleyas are most abundant toward the bottom of the hill and into the coastal area.

revised 22-Oct-24