Tag Archives: Flora

The Mighty Chia Seed, Cuyama Badlands

Posted on October 3, 2016 by Jack Elliott

The Cuyama Badlands can be a wicked and terrible place for a human on foot with minimal supplies. Heaved aloft, scorched and desiccated, it’s a land clawed open and washed away by spotty cloudbursts that quench a sparse growth of piñon pine, juniper and sagebrush. … Continue reading →

Posted in Reference | Tagged Backpacking, Badlands, Chia, Chumash, Ethnobotany, Flora, Hiking, Native Americans, Nature, Non-fiction, Travel | 7 Comments

Fritillaria Ojaiensis, Rare Wildflower

Posted on February 26, 2015 by Jack Elliott

A single Fritillaria ojaiensis growing along Fremont Trail in the Santa Ynez Mountains. This photo is from early spring 2014. This variety of lily is endemic to California. It’s listed by the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) as being rare … Continue reading →

Posted in Santa Barbara County | Tagged Flora, Fritillaria ojaiensis, Hiking, Hiking (2), iPhoneography, Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Photos, Rare Plants, Santa Ynez Mountains, wildflowers | 5 Comments

Calochortus Fimbriatus, Rare Wildflower

Posted on July 27, 2014 by Jack Elliott

Calochortus fimbriatus, the late-flowered Mariposa lily, is in bloom at the moment in the Santa Ynez Mountains. A patch of the flowers thrives in the droughty dryness and summertime heat on a south facing rocky hillside at this particular location. … Continue reading →

Posted in Santa Barbara County | Tagged Calochortus, Flora, Hiking, Hiking (2), iPhoneography, Los Padres National Forest, Mariposa Lily, Nature, Photos, Rare Plants, Santa Ynez Mountains, wildflowers | 2 Comments

Blue Elderberry Wildcraft

Posted on July 3, 2013 by Jack Elliott

Clusters of wild blue elderberries. “Delectable dishes made from elderberry are a leftover from old time housekeeping, when table luxuries were not so varied and abundant as they are now.” New-York Tribune, September 11, 1921 Wild elderberry trees are abloom … Continue reading →

Posted in Santa Barbara | Tagged Elderberries, Flora, Foraging, Hiking, History, Nature, Photos, Pics, Traditional Knowledge, Wildcraft | 2 Comments

Wild Cucumber, Trout and Pictographs

Posted on April 1, 2013 by Jack Elliott

Wild cucumber (Marah macrocarpus, previously called Echinocystis macrocarpa), also known as Manroot or Bigroot, was called molo’wot’ in Barbareño Chumash and chilicote in Spanish. Got it? “And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah; for … Continue reading →