Wildflowers | Santa Barbara Hikes

Common name	Botanical Name Sort descending
Unknown little white flower	Carrizo Plains Grew under a juniper bush. five petals, shade, white
Unknown small purple flower	Toro Canyon This small flower grew in the shade. five petals, purple, shade, summer
Unknown tiny purple flower	Unknown flower Very short flower about 1 inch high. Grew on dirt road in sandy clay soil at about 4-5000' elevation above Carrizo Plains. five petals, purple, sun
Common or White Yarrow	Achillea May, near Manzana Schoolhouse Likes shade shade, white
Purple Perez	Acourtia microcephala? Spring, Potrero Trail A botanist friend identified this. I have never seen the purple part. In summer it dries up and is very crunchy as you walk on or by it. It tends to grow under the Chamise. purple, shade
Chamise	Adenostoma fasciculatum Toro Canyon Park This is one of the most common of the chaparral plants in our area. It is what usually makes a trail overgrown first. sun, summer, white
Crinkle Onion	Allium crispum Figueroa Mountain Apparently this variety grows exactly here. They are about 6 inches high and so pink you can see them from the road, if you are observant. magenta, pink, red, six petals
Fiddlenecks	Amsinckia menziesiispring, sun, yellow
Scarlet Pimpernel	Anagallis arvensis This little plant is usually considered a weed, and grows like one too. But it appears on wildflower lists all the time and has a respectable name. I have always loved these. I used to play with them when I was a child in Goleta. five petals, orange, peach, pink, summer, weed
Yerba mansa	Anemopsis californica Gaviota Hot Springs I can't remember if we went during Spring or Summer. shade, six petals, summer, white
Chamomile	Anthemis Dirt road green, summer, yellow
Twining snapdragon	Antirrhinum kelloggii West Fork Very small and really looks like a snapdragon, so it's easy to identify. purple, summer, sun
Rose Snapdragon	Antirrhinum multiflorum Montecito Peak These flowers are a little sticky to the touch. pink, purple, sticky, summer, sun
Wild Parsley or Carrot	Apiaceae Early Spring, Arroyo Burro Trail Related to carrot, I think. shade, sun, yellow
Manzanita	Arctostaphylos ssp. Trail to the Playgrounds A common chaparral plant, easily recognized by the red, peeling bark. Blooms in spring. white, sun
California milkweed	Asclepias californica Early Summer on Manzana Trail near the Schoolhouse gray, pink, red, shade, silver, summer
Asphodel	Asphodelus fistulosus Found in Malibu. These are all over in Santa Barbara, too. I also saw some at Parma Park, but the photo didn't come out. six petals, summer, sun, white
Coreopsis and Filaree	Asteraceae and Erodium cicutarum Carrizo Plain The pink is Erodium cicutarium, the Filaree. The yellow is Coreopsis, a member of the Asteraceae family. These both grow closer to Santa Barbara as well. five petals, pink, sun, yellow
Common Locoweed	Astragalus didymocarpus May, Hurricane Deck These are pretty common is dry places and will rattle like a rattlesnake when brushed against after they've gone to seed. summer, sun, weed, white, yellow
Mulefat	Baccharis salicifolia Romero Canyon These are members of the sunflower family. They are invasive. They like to grow near creeks. invasive, white
Hairy Bur-marigold or Beggar-ticks	Bidens pilosa Cold Springs Trail A weed. shade, yellow
Golden Stars	Bloomeria crocea Upper Davy Brown Trail These are summer blooming and like grassy meadows and hills. six petals, summer, sun, yellow
Popcorn Flower	Borage, Cryptantha spp. Willow Springs Trail I think "Popcorn Flower" is a catch all name for tiny, fluffy white flowers. But apparently they are identified quite precisely by microscopic examinations. I didn't do any of that, of course. sticky, white
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
Red Maids	Calandrinia ciliata Carrizo Plains The camera doesn't quite capture the electric red that these are. They look way too purple-pink here. five petals, pink, red, sun
Fairy Lantern or Globe Lily	Calochortus albus May, near Manzana Schoolhouse In various stages of going to seed. You can see the fruit in the upper right corner. shade, white
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
Weed's Mariposa Lily	Calochortus fimbriatus These hairy kind like to grow in sunny places half-way up the mountains and bloom early summer. I've seen them on Inspiration Point, Mission Ridge and near the power lines on Arroyo Burro trail. pink, red, summer, sun, white
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
Suncups	Camissonia bistorta Carrizo Plain Low growing spring flower. four petals, sun, yellow
Evening Primrose	Camissonia boothii Willow Springs Trail Near Figueroa Mountain, off Catway Road. I have seen them near Carrizo Plains, too. five petals, pink, 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
Beach Primrose	Camissonia cheiranthifolia March, Oso Flaco Dunes four petals, sun, yellow
Charming Centaury	Canchalagua I can't remember where I saw this. I think it is a member of the gentian family. five petals, magenta, pink, purple
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
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
Yellow Indian Paintbrush	Castilleja affinis Spring, Little Pine Mountain in the burn area yellow, red, summer, sun
California thread-torch	Castilleja minor ssp. stenantha Manzana Trail This flower grows on the creek banks. It resembles Indian Paintbrush. orange, red, summer, sun
Desert Candle	Caulanthus inflatus Carrizo Plains I think wildflower enthusiasts like these so much because they are so weird. They are about knee-high, waxy, with a thick, fleshy green stalk and small bulbous purple flowers barely hanging from thin threads from the sides. purple, red, sun
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 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
Tocolote	Centaurea melitensis East Camino Cielo Rd. Invasive weed, grows everywhere. Is easily confused with Start thistle, but has shorter thorns and is generally a shorter plant. It also seems to have a larger range including higher altitude than star thistle. invasive, summer, yellow
Star Thistle	Centaurea solstitialis East Camino Cielo Rd. Invasive weed, grows everywhere. Is easily confused with Tocolote, but has longer thorns and is generally taller. Seems to grow at lower elevations than Tocolote can. invasive, summer, yellow
Mountain Mahogany seeds	Cerocarpus betuloides These can be found in the chaparral. The flowers are white. These are the seeds. summer, sun, white
Yellow Pincushion	Chanactis glabriuscula Figueroa Mountain Road Blooms in full sun in spring. Can be found in Little Pine Mountain area, too. sun, yellow
Soap plant	Chlorogalum pomeridianum Toro Canyon Finally I find out what bloomed from the distinctive, low-growing, long, narrow lily-like leaves I kept seeing on the trail. These are very tall. summer, sun, white
Turkish Rugging	Chorizanthe staticoides Cold Springs Trail There is a good patch on the dirt road at the powerlines on Cold Springs Trail. pink, summer, sun
Thistle	Circium vulgare Near 19 Oaks There are many kinds of thistles that look similar to this one. The heads on these are about 1 inch across. pink, purple, red, summer, sun, weed