Myrons Mopeds

Nature walk areas in or near Fullerton California
1-Puente 2-Orange 3,4-Coyote 5-Myrons Mopeds

Everything else is brown, except this blue-green Buffalo Gourd (Cucurbita foetidissima). The fresh young fruit can be eaten by people, but the mature gourd cannot, due to bitter compounds.

Stopping in the shade of a native California Black Walnut (Juglans californica). The shells are thick and hard to crack open, but the small nut inside tastes like a regular walnut.

Surrounded by yellow blooming Wild Mustard is a patch of purple blooming Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum). The lower leaves have beautiful white lines. This fancy and scary plant is edible, when prepared properly (by removing the spines).

This is coastal California Brittlebush (Encelia californica), often seen on roadsides like here. The inland version of this, Encelia farinosa, is more gray-green, and exudes a resin that was used by used by native Americans to treat various body pains.

North view from the ridge looking down on Rowland Heights. Foreground is Dwarf Olive (Olea europaea), a shrub variety that does not produce fruit.

A bee collects nectar from a Milk Thistle flower.

Happy to be blue is Sky Lupine (Lupinus nanus).

Rounded Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia) bushes dot the hillsides, along with oak. These evergreen shrubs are what Hollywood was named after.

Stinking Chamomile

True blue Sky Lupine.

Toyon close up.

What is it?

El Modena Open Space south view. In the background is the same kind of volcanic hill, but with residential development and a restaurant on top.

El Modena Open Space northwest view. The plants in front are brown Chamise with reddish brown dried flowers, and Coastal Prickly Pear Cactus (Opuntia littoralis), always green.

Looking east across coastal sage scrub.

Looking northeast from the “high road”, this lonely Eucalyptus tree can be seen for miles. The line of trees in the distance is Euclid Ave. In the far distance is eastern Puente Hills and Chino Hills.

Here spiny Prickly Pear Cactus grows thick, making off trail travel impossible. Plenty of winter rain has caused Sticky Leaf Monkey Flower to cover the cactus in orange bloom.

Most non-natives cannot live long in the dry climate. On the right, orange-brown lawn grass, dead after a month without water. Blooming yellow flowers of Black Mustard, upper left, lasts longer.

Maggie enjoys the peace and beauty.

In front is Chamise (Adenostoma fasciculatum), considered to be the dominant species of the chaparral plant community. In back is six foot tall yellow Black Mustard (Brassica nigra), a non-native named for the color of it’s seeds.

In the background is the former oil field. At far left is the start of the cliffs. On the back side of the mustard-colored ridge is a prickly pear cactus field, shown in the next exploration.

Maggie enjoys the peace and beauty.

The journey begins.

Oil field gravel road slopes upward.

Left, orange Sticky Leaf Monkey Flower (Mimulus longiflorus). The orange to red flowers resemble a monkey face. Right, yellow Golden Yarrow (Eriophyllum confertiflorum) brightens your day. Top, Coastal Sagebrush is what you smell in undeveloped natural places, along with sage.

View of Hawks Point, elevation about 500 ft. The vertical grooves are from the massive excavation in the 1950’s and 60’s. Sand and gravel from here, the Emery Borrow Pit, was used by Caltrans to build the elevated 91 freeway.

1920’s road goes off of a 100 ft cliff. What?

Here it is close to the cliff edge. Whoa.

1920’s road with colorful visitor.

All’s well at this old well marker.

West view from the “promised land” cliff top.
In front is Deerweed (Lotus scoparius), blooming with tiny yellow and orange flowers. Deerweed roots have bacteria that convert nitrogen gas into nitrates, usable by plants. Each plant and animal benefits the entire natural community in some way, although the benefit may not be apparent.

Another cliff top view looking northeast. In front center is Golden Yarrow. Left is aromatic White Sage. This area was cleared of vegetation in the 1960’s. Sagebrush, Chamise and White Sage live here. Hawks patrol the sky looking for rabbits and squirrels, gliding in slow circles on updrafts.

A field of Coastal Prickly Pear Cactus and Sticky Monkey Flower with a Blue Elderberry tree at right. Cactus fields like this were never cleared for oil extraction activities.

At the cliff edge is Blue Elderberry (Sambucus mexicana), aka Mexican Elderberry. The name is from sambuke, a flute-like musical instrument native people made from the pithy branches.

Mystery fence, between a cliff and a cactus field. Who would want to get poked by 100 needles and then fall off a cliff, to get over that fence?

The highest cliff-edge fence “to nowhere” is the Fullerton to Buena Park city boundary. Like the road “to nowhere”, it was there before excavation created the cliffs.

Clark Park’s low-lying natural area is home of the sage sisters, Wand Sage (Salvia vasevi), with long stalks and White Sage (Salvia apiana) with lavender flowers.

Lavender stalks of White Sage, the centerpiece of mother nature’s bouquet! White sage blooms are a major source of nectar used by bees to produce honey. At this time of year they always have bees on them gathering nectar.

Front, Stinking Chamomile, back, Coyote Brush.

Stinking Chamomile (Anthemis cotula).

Made in the shade is this young horehound.

Center is California Sycamore (Platanus racemosa). In the background is tall brown dried out Black Mustard. Foreground yellow flowers are Wild Cabbage, which looks the same but is half as tall.

Interesting and unusual is this Bladderpod (Isomeris arborea) aka Burro Fat. It grows on hillsides and has a foul smell. The fruit is like an inflated pea pod. Ranchers value this for animal feed.

All green from irrigation is this healthy Coyote Brush (Baccharis pilularis). These common coastal sage scrub plants are usually part green, part brown when they’re not near sprinklers.

This young Wild Cabbage (Brassica Oleracea) has buds that look like broccoli. That’s because it is broccoli. Six common vegetables are varieties of this same wild species, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, and kohlrabi.

Here is Wild Buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum). It has been used as a food crop and medicinal plant by various Native American tribes.

Coastal Prickly Pear Cactus has yellow flowers and red edible fruit.

Coastal Sagebrush, a variety with thinner needle-like leaves.

Here is a large Sow Thistle (Sonchus oleraceus). These are in “every” garden and flower bed. At maturity the flowers are small and cream colored, and the leaves and stems become purple-red. Here at the “edge of wild” weeds are allowed to grow. On the other side of the street they are not.

Center is Castor Bean (Ricinus communis), naturalized from the tropics. The seeds contain ricin, a very potent poison. Castor Bean Oil is a lubricant used in two-stroke engines that makes that “racing” smell. It is a great lubricant but leaves black carbon build-up, so it is only used in racing engines that are rebuilt and cleaned out often.

The orange stuff covering the blooming Chamise is a parasite called California Dodder (Cuscuta californica). Initially Dodder grows from seed and has green chlorophyll. But when a host is found, it changes into a parasite, sending out countless fibers that lack chlorophyll. The fibers absorb nutrients from the host plant. Here the host is Chamise but the preferred host is Laurel Sumac.

Here is bright red Heart-leaved Penstemon (Keckiella cordifolia).

This is Mule Fat (Baccharis salicifolia). It’s leaves resemble willow. Early settlers used this shrub as a browse for their livestock.

Is this Western Azalea (Rhododendron occidentale)? If it is it is outside of it’s range.

This is Red Bush Monkey Flower (Mimulus puniceus). It is both wild and cultivated.

Here is miss Laurel Sumac (Malosma laurina), a common landscaping plant that resists pests and disease. Find her in the wild and around most parking lots. Easily identified by the dried flower clusters that do not fall off.

A young Brittlebush (Encelia farinosa).

Here is a large image of water-loving plants. Left is Giant Reed, right is Cat-tail (Typha augustifolia), top is Arroyo Willow.

A large image of what?

This is Cape Plumbago (Plumbago auriculata). It’s a cultivated flower that survives in the wild in places.

Large image looking southeast. Packs of coyotes sometimes howl around here at dusk. Disneyland is about 7 miles straight ahead.

Maggie pauses in a large image of Prickly Pear topped with Buffalo Gourd, with an additional topping of orange stringy Dodder.

What is it?

What willow?

This plant grows on road sides. What is it?

Maggie explores a sloping hole in a patch of Giant Reed (Arundo donax). The light at the end of the tunnel is Brea Creek.

Happy tails to you!

This is Italian Thistle (Carduus pycnocephalus), getting ready to bloom. It has 3 sets of vertical spiny fins going up the stems and needle-sharp spines on the leaves. Not appetizing.

Here is Baby Blue-eyes (Nemophilia menziesii), a well known and cultivated wildflower. Here it is with contrasting orange California Poppy nearby.

What is this?

What is it?

What is this?

Is it Lemonade Berry?

This is a large image looking south at the fountain in the lowest part of the park. At right is Scrub Oak (Quercus dumosa). Scrub Oak is lower growing with flatter and bigger leaves than Coast Live Oak.

This is a large image of a patch of Our Lords Candle (Yucca whipplei). This giant yucca has the tallest flowers, at 10-15 feet. Some smaller yuccas are there mixed in.

Here is a Spear Thistle (Cirsium vulgare). The flower looks like a Milk Thistle, but the stems are not spiny and the leaves do not have the white stripes.

South entrance sign

A local Coast Live Oak

Upper creek trail

Wild Radish

This showy flower is called Fairy Duster (Calliandra eriophylla), aka hairy leaf calliandra. It likes dry, gravely, alkaline soil like on some dry hillsides and desert washes.

Here the lavender-pink Fairy Duster has taken over this one hill, growing rapidly, taking away sun, water and nutrients from other plants.

A large image from June 17 of Tule Reed (Schoenoplectus acutus). Tongva people made huts and boats out of this strong and light tubing. A purple blue Jacaranda tree beams across the lake.

Pepper trees are the most common wild trees in the area. Peruvian Pepper (Schinus molle) and Brazilian Pepper (Schinus terebinthifolia) look the same but flower at different times. They are not true peppers (Piper nigrum), but their fruit looks and tastes similar.

In front of a Pepper Tree is Poison Hemlock (Conium maculatum), a naturalized plant from Europe. The roots and seeds contain dangerous alkaloids. A mouthful will kill an adult person.

This is a native tree, Colorado Pinyon Pine (Pinus edulis). This 2-needle and the 1 and 4-needle Pinyon Pine varieties grow at low elevations along the desert slopes of Southern California.

What is this?

This is Sacred Datura (Datura meteloides) aka Angel’s Trumpet. The flowers are big white trumpets. This plant contains tropane alkaloids that are hallucinogenic and toxic. It has been used for centuries in religious ceremonies for the spiritual feeling it induces.

A fruitless Dwarf Olive.

Yellow flower Mule Fat?

All rise for the “Queen of the California Wildflowers”, the Matilija Poppy (Romneya coulteri). The queen stands over six feet tall with huge white deliciously fragrant flowers.

Here comes the Common Sunflower (Helianthus annuus), along the 1890’s Santa Fe tracks. Only homeless people, train crews and passengers get to see these six foot tall wonders.

Sunflower laughing at the fence.

This is Stinging Nettles (Urtica holosericea). It has barbed hairs on the stems that release formic acid when they pierce the skin, like an ant bite does. On the good side, it’s young shoots can be eaten and provide health benefits.

Stinging Nettles flowering, with a BNSF freight train passing by. Each train has several engines pulling over 100 containers. One passes by about every hour. That’s over 2000 shipping containers per day.

This is a baby Russian Thistle (Salsola tragas) aka Western Tumbleweed, growing through weed-stopping mulch where weed killer was recently sprayed!

This is Wild Radish (Raphanus sativus), a common weed. The 4-petal flowers are white in the middle and purple at the tips.

This common plant called Cheese Weed (Malva parviflora), because the tiny fruits are shaped like rounded cheeses. It is also known as Mallow. The lavender flowers are not usually visible because they don’t last long.

A mature Milk Thistle.

A field of Giant Rye Grass (Elymus condensatus). a purple head variety.

Here is a patch of Horseweed (Erigeron canadensis), surrounding a lone thistle. Horseweed has a single stalk, thin plain leaves, and when mature, a bunch of tiny white flowers on top. It’s the most abundant weed in the area.

This is a very common trail side plant called Star Thistle (Centaurea melitensis) aka Napa Thistle. The flowers have brown spines that say “do not eat” in plant talk.

This is Puvunga, on the campus of CSULB. The tree is a Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia), decorated and respected. It’s leaves are more cup-shaped than scrub oak, the holly-like leaf points are smaller, and the trunk is straighter.

Coyote Creek Park features native plants.

The state flower is the cheerful California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica). It was used by native people as a cosmetic.

Here is a lone blooming Buffalo-bur (Solanum rostratum) aka Kansas Thistle.

A lovely pink California Wild Rose (Rosa californica) in front of Purple Sage. It’s a summer chorus of sight and smell.

This is Pride of Madeira (Echium candicans), from Madeira Island, Portugal. It’s a popular ornamental that invades wild areas near the ocean.

What is it?

This is Black Sage (Salvia mellifera) with light lavender flowers, almost white. Native people ate the nutritious black seed nuts and used the aromatic leaves and flowers for tea and medicine.

Here, there and everywhere is Flax-leaved horseweed (Erigeron bonariensis), aka Argentine fleabane. It’s a world-wide weed.

Large image of the best spot. L to R, Pride of Madeira (blue), unknown (red), Chamise (white), California Brittlebrush (yellow).

Large image of Purple Sage (purple), unknown (yellow), and California Goldfields (orange)