Many plants this week...

Life has been crazy! I have been working long hours in the field (10+) and have not had a chance to update my blog. We are busy and I have been shuttling around the bay area which is good since the one site I was at last week was devoid of plant life.

I did find this small mustard, Lobularia maritima, an introduced plant native to the Mediterranean. The common name is sweet alyssum and is supposed to have a sweet smell to them which is where they got their name.

Brassicaceae can be a hard family to key out if you do not have fruits. The first major key break asks if the fruits are longer than wide and goes from there. Luckily there were fruits on the plant and the rest of the key was easy. I forgot to smell the flowers to see if they are in fact sweet.
My next plant is a member of the pea family Fabaceae. Lotus corniculatus or more commonly, birdfoot trefoil is also a non-native plant in California. This plant hails from Eurasia and is found throughout California on account it is used for livestock feeding and crop rotation.
I have seen this plant all over the bay area but was also afraid to key it out. Fabaceae can also be a hard key to work on account of the sheer numbers of plant species but I was bored one day watching construction workers so I gave it a shot. Not that bad at all.
What separates this plant out from the hundreds of other Lotus species is the distinct leaf. The leaf has 5 leaflets but 2 reduced and stipular in position. This means that the 2 bottom leaflets are found at the base of the leaf and not on the petiole. Very distinctive.
One of the last flowers I have encountered and collected this week is one of my favorites. I collected this plant in a shady riparian area at one of the work sites. I love this area because it is shady and cool while the rest of the site is hot, hot, hot. In this little oasis, the native (finally) Mimulus cardinalis grows in abundance.

I first saw this flower growing in this creek bed way back in May and every time I walk thorough this area the plants are still flowering. There is plenty of water in the creek and it is nice and shady, a great place to grow! I finally collected some this week.
My last plant of the week is a fake mum. At the windowsill on the 6th floor of the academy, someone brought a few fake mums in and placed them by the window. I was bored from working on my thesis so I took a few shots.
we have a great view of the city from the 6th floor...