Common name Botanical Name
Godetia Clarkia Clarkia amoena

I identified this one from a gardener's web site. It looks just like a flower I used to sell at the flower stand, but a little different. It is definitely Clarkia, but I am not perfectly sure that Godetia is its exact common name.

four petals, pink, purple, red, summer, sun, white
Golden Ear-drops Dicentra chrysantha

Manzana Trail
It grew in the sun near but away from the river.

summer, sun, yellow
Golden Stars Bloomeria crocea

Upper Davy Brown Trail
These are summer blooming and like grassy meadows and hills.

six petals, summer, sun, yellow
Golden Yarrow Eriophyllum confertiflorum

Cold Springs Trail

summer, sun, yellow
Gumplant Grindelia camporum

Summer, Bill Wallace Trail
Actually not on the trail, but wandering in the hills above the campground.

sticky, summer, sun, yellow
Gumplant Grindelia camporum

Summer, Malibu
In a natural area near the beach.

sticky, summer, sun, yellow
Hairy Bur-marigold or Beggar-ticks Bidens pilosa

Cold Springs Trail
A weed.

shade, yellow
Hairy or Narrowleaf Fringe-pod Thysanocarpus curvipes

Spring, Carrizo Plain

shade, sun
Hareweed, Gumweed Tarweed or Sticky Madia Madia gracilis

Romero Trail
These small flowers grow next to the trail kind of as if they were weeds instead of wildflowers. Maybe they are.

eight petals, sticky, yellow
Harvest Brodiaea Brodiaea jolonensis

Much purpler than this picture. Member of the Amaryllis family. Seen on the Tresspass trail near Gaviota.

blue, purple, six petals, sun
Hawkweed Hieracium argutum

Tunnel Trail
Summer blooming member of sunflower family.

summer, yellow
Hedge Nettle Stachys bullata

Cold Springs Trail past Forbush Flat
These are members of the mint family.

pink, purple, shade, white
Horsetail Equisetum arvense

Romero Trail
These grow in or next to creeks. They are also purchased at the nursery for the garden.

green
Humboldt Lily Lillium paradalinum

Late spring, Fir Canyon
Sometimes the flowers don't make it because of a bug that eats it before it can bloom.

orange, sun
Hummingbird Sage Salvia spathacea

Common in shady moist places under oak trees.

pink, red, shade
Ice Plant Conicosia pugioniformis

March, Oso Flaco Dunes

sun, yellow
Indian Paintbrush Castilleja affinis

Spring, Little Pine Mountain along the trail

gray, red, shade, summer, sun
Indian Paintbrush Castilleja affinis

Spring, near Forbush Flat

gray, red, shade, summer, sun
Indian Pink Silene californica

Boulder Creek Trail out of Dough Flat
More toward Ojai.

pink, red
Indian Pinks Silene laciniata

Rattlesnake Trail
These grow in the shade in the lower sections of our frontcountry trails and bloom in summer or spring.

pink, red, shade, summer
Indian Pinks Silene laciniata

Cold Springs Trail
These are rather strange-looking Indian pinks. They are larger with a dark center. We thought maybe there was a bug in the center, but it was just the stamens.

pink, red, shade, summer
Indian Warrior Pedicularis densiflora

Trail to the Playgrounds
These flowers are members of the figwort family and are parasitic on the roots of certain chaparral plants. I saw them growing under chamise bushes.

pink, red, shade
Islay Cherry Prunus ilicifolia

Grows all over in Chaparral, has edible cherries in early fall. Also called Holly-leaf cherry.

sun, white
Johnny Jump-up Viola pedunculata

Early Spring, Arroyo Burro Trail going down the North side
These are common on Snyder Trail near Paradise Road, too.

shade, yellow
Lanceleaf Dudleya Dudleya lanceolata

Lost Valley Trail at the Pine Tree
Actually right underneath the pine tree. The flowers extend from a stalk from the middle of the plant and form a little umbrella of smaller stems with these waxy little flowers attached.

gray, orange, red, silver, sun, yellow
Large-flowered lotus Lotus grandiflorus

Blue Canyon Trail
These are pretty common near the coast in the early spring. They last pretty long, but they don't smell like anything.

pink, red, shade, summer, sun, yellow
Long-beaked filaree Erodium botrys

McMenemy Trail
These are a type of geranium. Very small, about 2-3 inches high with a flower about 1/2 inch in diameter.

five petals, pink, purple, sun
Lupine Lupinus bicolor

Spring, near Zaca Peak
You can drive out to the end of Cataway road and walk a little ways to see this display.

blue, purple, shade, sun
Lupine Lupinus bicolor

Spring, near Zaca Peak
These were exceptionally blue.

blue, purple, shade, sun
Maidenhair Fern Madiantum jordanii

These can be found in the shade in moist places like near creeks. They are pretty common. They also like waterfalls.

green, shade
Manzanita Arctostaphylos ssp.

Trail to the Playgrounds
A common chaparral plant, easily recognized by the red, peeling bark. Blooms in spring.

white, sun
Mariposa Lily Calochortus catalinae

Spring, Little Pine Mountain
Grew in a recently burned area. Also called Catalina Marioposa Lily.

pink, sun
Mariposa Lily Calochortus clavatus

Manzana Trail
Here's a yellow mariposa lily.

shade, summer, sun, yellow
Milkmaids Cardamine californica

Cold Springs Trail
Milkmaids are some of the first to bloom in spring. They like the deepest shade and moist canyon hillsides not to far from creeks.

pink, shade, white
Miner's Lettuce Claytonia perfoliata

Spring, Rattlesnake Connector Trail
Miner's Lettuce is very common in shady areas and is edible.

green, shade, white
Miner's Lettuce Claytonia perfoliata

Willow Springs Trail
Very common in front and backcountry. Grows in shade, very tiny, sometimes the leaf is reddish. Edible. This one was varigated.

five petals, green, shade, white
Mission bells or checkered lily Fritillaria ojaiensis

Cold Srings Trail near the Santa Ynez River
I've seen a good patch of these on the Santa Cruz trail near the trailhead (the real trailhead, not the dirt road). Some other flower web sites show pictures of these the color of chocolate lillies. Grows in deep shade and blooms in spring.

brown, green, shade, six petals, yellow
Morning Glory Calystegia macrostegia

West Fork Cold Springs
This picture is good to see the buds, which are flat and triangular. The leaves are shaped like triangular arrowheads, too.

shade, summer, white
Mountain Lilac or Ceanothus Ceanothus spp.

Late winter/early spring (same thing for Santa Barbara)
Ceanothus blooms in shades of white to lilac. Smells wonderful as you walk under canopies of it.

sun, white
Mountain Lilac or Spiny ceanothus Ceanothus spinosus

These can be white to blue to purple to lavender. Grows pretty much everywhere in the chaparral mountains. When it's young and encroaching the trails, the bark is green and the spines are terrible to walk through.

blue, white, lavender, purple, sun
Mountain Mahogany seeds Cerocarpus betuloides

These can be found in the chaparral. The flowers are white. These are the seeds.

summer, sun, white
Mountain violet Viola purpurea

Mission Pine Basin
Grew in sandy washes. Bloomed in April.

yellow
Mulefat Baccharis salicifolia

Romero Canyon
These are members of the sunflower family. They are invasive. They like to grow near creeks.

invasive, white
Mustang Mint Monardella lanceolata

Davy Brown Trail
Likes sun. Blooms in June. Attracts butterflies. Found also on Manzana trail toward Schoolhouse.

purple, summer, sun
Mustard Evening Primrose Camissonia californica

Romero Trail
These small flowers are recognizable by their four petals and slender, bare stalks.

four petals, sun, yellow
narrowleaf goldenbush Ericameria linearifolia

Hurricane Deck
There are many kinds of flowers that look similar to this and that are related. Seems like half the flowers in our region are some variation of the sunflower, which are also a variation of Aster.

sun, yellow
Nevada Cinquefoil Potentilla glandulosa ssp. nevadensis

Manzana Creek
The distribution map of this sub species does not put it in Santa Barbara County, but it is in Ventura County. Perhaps it has arrived here on somebody's boot. It was found in the shade on the bank of Manzana Creek on the way to the schoolhouse.

five petals, shade, sticky, yellow
Owl's Clover Orthocarpus purpurascens

Spring, Aliso Trail
Owl's clover is pretty common and likes grassy meadows.

pink, sun
Oyster Plant Tragopogon porrifolius

Parma Park
European biennial found near dirt roads. It produces a large dandilion like seed display. The roots are edible.

purple, summer, weed
Pearly Everlast Gnaphalium californicum

Manzana Trail
Also called California Everlasting. Has a nice butterscotch smell especially after it dries more.

summer, sun, white