A curious daisy

On the last Friday in March (Cesar Chavez holiday), I walked from Inverness Park for a hike in Bear Valley, not entirely sure of my route but running several options in my head. I entered the park along the Horse Trail and then walked along the Morgan Trail behind the Morgan Horse Ranch. I made a last-minute decision to take the Woodpecker Trail to check for mushrooms such as Scarlet Waxy Cap (Hygrocybe coccinea) or Western Amethyst Laccaria (Laccaria amethysteo-occidentalis). No luck this time, but not surprising this late in the season.

I struck out on the Bear Valley Trail and made a final decision on my route. I would hike up Meadow Trail to Sky Trail, then loop back returning on the Coast Trail and the Bear Valley Trail. I was especially looking forward to the Sky Trail and the last mile of the Bear Valley Trail on the ocean end. If I got too tired or moved too slowly, my backup plan was to return on Old Pine or Baldy. The weather was perfect for uphill hiking — mid 50’s, mostly sunny, and no rain to muddy the trail. It was a glorious afternoon with breath-taking views of the ocean and Point Resistance from Sky Trail. I was most pleased to say “hello” to a familiar, distinguished old bay tree along the way.

Point resistance jutting out and drakes beach in the distance, view from the end of sky trail

distinguished Old bay tree on the sky trail

On the shady Bear Valley Trail, Pacific Bleeding Heart (Dicentra formosa), Star-flowered Lily-of-the-Valley (Maianthemum stellatum) and Pacific Trillium (Trillium ovatum) were in full bloom while Fringe Cups (Tellima grandiflora), Douglas Iris (Iris douglasiana) and Red-berried Elder (Sambucus racemosa) were just starting to mature and flower.

Uncommon commons

Highlights from my 12-mile hike included more than a dozen banana slugs, springtime birdsong, a Common Cowparsnip (Heracleum maximum) leaf eaten down to its ribs, and another Common Cowparsnip (Heracleum maximum) with its stalk peeled and curled back like a banana. But the most remarkable sighting of the day was a small double-centered Common Daisy (Bellis perennis). I inspected other daisies along the way to see if this was not as rare as I assumed, but I didn’t see any others with double centers.