Ashes To Wildflowers: Image Page 9 (2022)
Post-Burn Plant Succession Following Comet Fire East Of Palomar College,
Including Remarkable Leaf-Litter Ant, Other Insects, Spiders & Rattlesnakes
Compiled by W.P. Armstrong During Winter & Spring Months Of 2021
Plant names follow Checklist Of The Vascular Plants Of San Diego County by
Jon Rebman & Michael Simpson, San Diego Natural History Museum, 2006.
One Year Following Comet Fire
Bush Mallow (Malacothamnus fasciculatus) 27 March 2022
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3 important quantitative field measurements in plant ecology are dominance, density and frequency. One year after the Palomar College Comet Fire of January 2021 there is a shrub that has the highest values by far in all 3 measurements: Bush Mallow (Malacothamnus fasiculatus). Since last year, this prolific, native fire-follower has spread by seeds and underground stems (rhizomes) into thickets of pink flowers.
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2 Species Of Minute Wildflowers In Phlox Family (Polemoniaceae)
On Bottlewort Trail Easily Overlooked On Dry Slopes In April 2022
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Woolly Star (Eriastrum filifolium) on parched slopes one year following the Comet Fire (April 2022). The plant is undersized due to the very dry soil along trail.
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Another Minute Wildflower In Phlox Family (Polemoniaceae)
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Navarretia hamata ssp. hamata. A very small, prickly wildflower of early summer with a slight skunky scent growing along Bottlewort Trail with the previous species (Eriastrum filifolium). For its unique odor it is given the common name of "skunkweed."
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Canchalagua (Centarium venustum) of the gentian family (Gentianaceae). I saw a few of these along Bottlewort Trail on 16 May 2022. It is a beautiful late spring wildflower in local hills, especially after abundant spring rains. Note the unusual spirally twisted anthers.
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29 July 2022: Coastal Wood Fern (Dryopteris arguta) Growing With Coastal
Sagebrush (Artemisia californica) On Slope Above Child Development Bldg.
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Coastal Wood Fern (Dryopteris arguta): I was surprized to find this fern in such a dry area of coastal sage scrub north of the burned area. In fact, I didn't even find it on nearby Owens Peak with several other fern species.
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Bottlewort Trail & Comet Fire Post Burn: 19 March 2023
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