American vetch
Vicia americana

Oso berry
Oemleria cerasiformis

White flowered onion*
Allium triquetrum

Forests
– Canyon gooseberry, just a few of the Chinese lantern flowers were blooming today. Shrubs are along the trail up from Madrone Park Circle and visible from the road, across the creek at the u-bend trailhead on Ridgewood.
– Fetid adder’s tongue, one of our most exotic blooms is showing its first flowers now.
– Tasmanian blue gum, native to Australia, has gum nuts that are blooming now.
– Trilium, white bloom floating on three large heart-shaped leaves can be seen in the Laverne road cut above Stolte Grove, at the creek just past 9 and in the forests.

Forest edges
– Albizia*, a wattle native to Australia and a garden escapee is blooming in the gully below Pixie Trail.
– California blackberry, is blooming white up on the ridge.
– Cape ivy, native of South Africa, is a noxious weed in California. It blankets shrubs, trees and ground, suppressing any other growth, is toxic to animals that eat it and to fish if it trails in the water.
– Green wattle acacia* tree native to Australia is starting to bloom with its bright yellow puff flowers.
– Manroot, the wild cucumber vine is blooming white.
– Miner’s lettuce with its white flowers at the center of an edible circular leaf is blooming in wet seeps.
– Pacific hound’s tongue is emerging all over at the forest edges. Tall spikes topped with pretty blue flowers are starting to show.
– Sourgrass, native to South Africa, is a noxious weed here. Bright yellow flower, sour stem sucking.
– Woodland strawberry is blooming white up on the ridge below Homestead Hill.

Meadows
– Death camus, a white star lily is starting to bloom in meadows.
– Greene’s saxifrage with its small white flower is blooming on the Ridgewood Rock.
– Indian warrior’s tall burgundy spikes are blooming all up and down the hillside under the oaks at 15 on the Homestead trail.
– Spring gold, a bright yellow ground hugging lomatium is blooming on the Ridgewood Rock.
– Wooly lomatium is blooming with its champagne froth clusters near its bright yellow cousin, spring gold, on the Ridgewood Rock.

Key to map:
I haven’t located plants on on the map if they are very prolific. Find them by their habitat.

Gallery of wildflowers and plants found in Homestead.

*Non-native

Pacific trillium
Trillium ovatum

Warrior's plume
Pedicularis densiflora

Woolly lomatium
Lomatium dasycarpum

Forests
– Fetid adder’s tongue, one of our most exotic blooms is showing its first flowers now.

Forest edges
– Albizia*, a wattle native to Australia and a garden escapee is blooming in the gully below Pixie Trail.
– Green wattle acacia* tree native to Australia is starting to bloom with its bright yellow puff flowers.

Meadows
– Death camus, a white lily is starting to bloom in meadows.
– Greene’s saxifrage with its small white flower is blooming on the Ridgewood Rock.
– Spring gold, a bright yellow ground hugging lomatium is blooming on the Ridgewood Rock.

Key to map:
I haven’t located plants on on the map if they are very prolific. Find them by their habitat.

Gallery of wildflowers and plants found in Homestead.

*Non-native

California goldenrod
Solidago velutina ssp californica

Forests
Fading
– Rosilla is blooming with its backwards facing yellow fringe is blooming along the creek between 11 and 12.

Forest edges
Fading
– Roughleaf aster is blooming in the forests.
– Sticky monkeyflower is blooming orange on bushes in meadows. It will bloom throughout the summer heat when its dark leaves will become sticky.

Meadows
Peaking
– Common California aster blooms tall and purple at meadow edges.
– Coyote bush, the male and female bushes are blooming in meadows.
– Pennyroyal, native to Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East is blooming with lavender tufted flowers below Cowboy Rock. Crushed pennyroyal has a strong minty smell and is a traditional folk remedy, emmenagogue, abortifacient, and culinary herb.
– Yampah with its tall white umbels at the end of a naked stalk is blooming in meadows.
Fading
– California everlasting with its white paper-like flowers blooms in meadows.
– California poppy, one of the longest bloomers, is bright orange in meadows up on the ridge.
– Common yarrow with its white cluster is blooming up on the ridge.

Key to map:
I haven’t located plants on on the map if they are very prolific. Find them by their habitat.

Gallery of wildflowers and plants found in Homestead.

*Non-native

American speedwell
Veronica americana

American trailplant
Adenocaulon bicolor

Broadleaf hellebore*
Epipactis helleborine

Coyote mint
Monardella villosa

Harvest brodiaea
Brodiaea elegans

Purple clarkia
Clarkia purpurea s. quadrivulnera

Rosilla
Helenium puberulum

Skunkweed
Navarretia squarrosa

Forests
Starting
– California coffeeberry has small clusters of white flowers. This waxy leaved shrub is a common presence in the forests.
– California honeysuckle, a vine, climbs shrubs and trees and blooms with pink flowers.
Peaking
– Alum root with its froth of dainty white bell flowers is blooming in forests.
– Forget-me-nots, native to Europe, is one of our most successful invaders. Easy to pull, easiest to identify when it’s flowering, so pull it then.
– Hedgenettle, a tower of purple flowers, is in the mint family. This grows all over in Homestead.
– Manroot, a native vine with large maple-shaped leaves is blooming white as it climbs.
– Ocean spray, a shrub with soft wavy-edged leaves has cones of bright white frothy flowers.
Fading
– Common snowberry, a shrub with pink flowers.
– Fairy bells cream flowers hang below the leaves of this woodland plant.
– Fringe cups has lovely lobed foliage with its fringed flowers on a tall stalk.
– Redwood sorrel is blooming near the redwood in the sliver of Land Trust between 435 and 441 Laverne.
– Star flower has dainty pink flowers and blooms in forests.
– Thimbleberry, a shrub with soft maple-shaped leaves blooms in forests with a flat white flower.
– White flowered onion*, edible and native to the Mediterranean, is blooming in wet spots with its white cone flowers. Pull it up by the roots if you can.
– White hawksweed with its white flowers is blooming in forests.
– Wood sweet-cicely’s small white flowers fade to form long edible seed pods.
– Wood rose blooms bright on rangy rose bushes in the forests.

Forest edges
Starting
Peaking
– Creeping snowberry’s small pink bell flowers are blooming in the forests.
– Featherweed has a brown tufted center flower with silver furred leaves.
– Sticky monkeyflower is blooming orange on bushes in meadows. It will bloom throughout the summer heat when its dark leaves will become sticky.
– Wavyleaf soap plant blooms with open white flowers at the end of a long stalk.
– Woodland strawberry blooms in sun, will persist for months in different habitats as they warm.
– Yerba buena, has small white flowers on this delicate creeping plant.
Fading
– California blackberry is blooming with paper-white flowers, on a thinner, trailing vine than Himalayan blackberry.
– Figwort, a great plant for insects blooms with a small maroon flower.
– Purple woodsorrel, native of South Africa, blooms with a magenta flowers.

Meadows
Starting
– Bluff lettuce, a succulent with a red stalk and yellow flower is blooming on sunny rock faces.
– California everlasting with its white paper-like flowers blooms in meadows.
– California poppy, one of the longest bloomers, is bright orange in meadows up on the ridge.
– Common yarrow with its white cluster is blooming up on the ridge.
Peaking
– Cow parsnip with its large white umbel is blooming in meadows and oak woodlands.
– Field madder, native to the Mediterranean, is one of the very small flowers in the grass of meadows.
– Ithuriel’s spear with its rich blue bell flowers is blooming in meadows.
– Lance leaf selfheal with its velvety tower of purple flowers is blooming in bright meadow areas.
– Naked buckwheat has tight pink flower clusters and blooms in meadows.
Fading
– Buckeye trees with their long cluster flowers are blooming now. Upper Laverne is lined with them and will be a tunnel of flowers soon.
– French broom, native to the Mediterranean, is one of our most aggressive invaders and also one of the easiest to pull.
– Narrow leaved clover, native of Eurasia, has a large clover flowers tipped in pink.
– Purple western morning glory is blooming in meadows.
– Scotch broom, native to Western Europe, one of the most aggressive invaders of our meadows is blooming with its yellow pea flowers. Pull it before it goes to seed if you can.
– Shamrock clover, native of Europe, has pretty yellow flowers.
– Short podded mustard, native to the Mediterranean, has small clusters of yellow flowers on long stalks. In the mustard family, the flowers are delicious.
– Silver lupine is blooming purple in bushes up on the ridge.

Key to map:
I haven’t located plants on on the map if they are very prolific. Find them by their habitat.

Gallery of wildflowers and plants found in Homestead.

*Non-native