Pollinator Posts by May Chen

  Near the bench at Diablo Bend, several showy spikes of Silverleaf Lupine flowers, Lupinus albifrons stick up above the small shrubs.  To me this is a sure sign that spring has arrived at the

With little time to spare this morning, I take a short walk along the paved road to the Water Tank.   In an attempt to clamber up an old tree stump, a Wild Cucumber, Marah

These are my observations at the Skyline Gardens, walking along Skyline Trail from the Steam Train Gate to Siesta Nose. Breaking through the soil, the dramatic Cow Parsnip, Heracleum maximum is coming back in force.

The large mosses growing on the trunk of a Buckeye tree are beginning to dry and curl downwards, appearing like poodle fur.  Dendroalsia abietina is one of the most conspicuous and easily recognizable mosses in

In a shady corner of the East Bay Regional Parks Botanic Garden under oak trees, the Giant Trillium or Wake Robin, Chloropetalum gigantium is blooming brilliantly.  The name “trillium” incorporates the Latin word for three

Having read about the plants already in bloom at the East Bay Regional Parks Botanic Garden in Berkeley, I pay a visit today to see what insects might be active on these early bloomers.  

Friends have reported major tree damage at Joaquin Miller Park in Oakland during the last rain storms.  I decide to check it out now that it has stopped raining for a couple of weeks.  There

It’s hay fever season!  The non-native Acacia is blooming profusely.   On the slopes near the FOSC nursery, some Silverleaf Lupines, Lupinus albifrons have started to bloom.   Lupines belong in the Fabaceae, or pea

A Wild Cucumber, Marah sp., has sent up robust branches from the ground.  For lack of support from the surrounding vegetation (which has been recently weeded), the flexible stems are helping each other stay upright

To avoid the strong winds, I enter the Skyline Gardens through the Steam Train entrance for a more sheltered walk. It’s been a while since I last visited this section of the trail and I’m

A young Bee Plant, Scrophularia californica is making a dash for the sun. Green leaves are unfolding from buds on the thorny Gooseberry branches.   That succulent specimen looks like an unfamiliar Crystalwort (a kind of liverwort)

House bound for days by the endless deluge of the atmospheric river, Andy and I are delighted that we can finally take a walk at Skyline Gardens and enjoy a little sunshine.  We opt for

At the end of the Water Tank Road, Andy and I decide to loop back to Siesta Gate on Skyline Trail.  We are treated to some pretty rain drops on plants.   The convex surfaces

It is a cool, crisp and sunny fall morning.  I am glad to be back at the Skyline Gardens to check for any sprouting seedlings at the Swale.    A dense patch of what looks