I'd never seen one of these little flowers before - a rosy sandcrocus (Romulea rosea). It was blooming by the road next to the Little River Airport. I was on my bike and almost missed it because it's very small and stealthy. It was worth a stop for a closer look. It reminded me a little of blue-eyed grass, or a brodiaea lily. Turns out the first is close-ish - at least they're in the same family - the Iris family.
Rosy sandcrocus isn't a California native. It evolved in South Africa, was cultivated as an ornamental, and has become naturalized in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and California. I think they're only just becoming recognized as naturalized here, or perhaps they're rare, as I don't find them in wildflower guides.
I'm mostly passing over including non-native plants in this blog, but that's just my prejudice against the invasive ones. There are some very pretty, more benign introduced plants, and introduced plants are big presence in our wild flora. California has a welcoming Mediterranean climate that many plants brought from similar places around the world (South Africa, Southwestern Australia, parts of Chile, and of course the Mediterranean itself) have made themselves at home here.
Photos taken April 2.
No comments:
Post a Comment