California flowers - Post 2

Discussion in 'Plants: Identification' started by wlsnde, Nov 30, 2015.

  1. wlsnde

    wlsnde Active Member 10 Years

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    Continued .. The first of these photos was taken along the coastal road, just north of Bodega Bay. They look to me to be asters, but again, I've never seen them growing like this at home. They were naturalized, in a gorgeous display along an embankment by the road, with more growing down a steep embankment toward the ocean. The second flower was growing along the road on the way from Sacramento to Monterey - note the dime in the picture, for an idea of size. Finally, the third photo was taken in Monterey and shows a flower which is reminiscent of Bergenia, but I'm pretty sure isn't. At least, it certainly isn't like the one that grows at home in the Surrey area.
     

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  2. Silver surfer

    Silver surfer Generous Contributor 10 Years

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  3. wlsnde

    wlsnde Active Member 10 Years

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  4. Silver surfer

    Silver surfer Generous Contributor 10 Years

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    Thank you.
    Looks like Carpobrotus edulis.

    Carpobrotus edulis - Google Search

    Quote wiki..
    "California
    Although it may have arrived by ship as early as the 16th century,[7] [8] C. edulis was actively introduced in the early 1900s to stabilize dunes[7] and soil along railroad tracks; it was later put to use by Caltrans for ground cover along freeway embankments.[7] Thousands of acres were planted in California until the 1970s. It easily spreads by seed (hundreds per fruit) and from segmentation (any shoot segment can produce roots). Its succulent foliage, bright magenta or yellow flowers, and resistance to some harsh coastal climatic conditions (salt) have also made it a favored garden plant. The ice plant was, for several decades, widely promoted as an ornamental plant, and it is still available at some nurseries. Ice plant foliage can turn a vibrant red to yellow in color. Despite its use as a soil stabilizer, it actually exacerbates and speeds up coastal erosion. It holds great masses of water in its leaves, and its roots are very shallow. In the rainy season, the added weight on unstable sandstone slopes and dunes increases the chances of slope collapse and landslides."
     
  5. Sundrop

    Sundrop Well-Known Member

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    One more example of human arrogance and shortsightedness.
     
  6. Axel

    Axel Active Member

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    I wouldn't be surprised if these actually were Lampranthus hybrids (instead of Carpobrotus).
     
  7. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    I found a page with good photos of both, which I thought would help me figure out how to distinguish them, but it's not helping, particularly for Lampranthus species-2.
    The African Garden - Aizoaceae Image Index - Carpobrotus, Lampranthus etc. (Asphodelaceae)
    Lampranthus species-1 looks pretty clear, with a much smaller area of stamens, but hybrids would look even more like Carpobrotus?
    Here is another page
    Aizoaceae

    Axel, are you going by the likelihood in that location, or is there something you're noticing (that we could notice) about the plant's appearance?

    I'm interested because I remember displays of ice plants in Monterey (California), and I used to think it was a plant I could recognize.
     
  8. Axel

    Axel Active Member

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    To be honest Wendy, it's more about the impression than anything else. Unfortunately the harsh sunlight makes the foliage pretty much impossible to see, but Carpobrotus tends to be a smaller, more prostrate plant, while Lampranthus tends to be a bit more shrubby. I may be wrong but I'm not convinced that such light pink version of Carpobrotus edulis exists either. The area of stamens is very variable in Lampranthus, it is very prominent in L. aureus for example, hybrids involving that species will generally have bigger "eyes".

    Then again, I'm not stating that these are definitely Lampranthus hybrids, I may be totally wrong, though the photograph of Lampranthus on the website of PlantzAfrica (here) looks awful a lot like the plants shown here.
     
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  9. wlsnde

    wlsnde Active Member 10 Years

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    Thank you to all, and my apologies for the delay in responding.

    The Limonium and Anagallis arvensis. are correct, for sure. Judging by my recollection of the Caprobrotus-like flower, I suspect those actually *are* Lampranthus. During the trip, I saw quite a lot of Caprobrotus and any beds I saw of it were closer to the ocean, growing on sandier soil than these were, plus the Caprobrotus had larger, more succulent and well spaced leaves than what we saw up on the hill. Also, the flowers in Caprobrotus were almost invariably more spread out, while based on Internet photos, Lampranthus tends to bear its flowers in bunches, and closer together. But I'm really not sure if that is enough to identify them .. I guess we'll just have to go back to the California coast and have another look (double darn) and get more photos.
     
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