Thought I would take a camera on my daily dog walk and capture some of the local flora. These succulents are growing in a mostly undisturbed area with occasional foraging by goats.
The most common of these plants is Euphorbia misera, a shrub.
It has spreading silvery branches (red when new) with small oval leaves that drop in the summer.
I have yet to get a decent picture of the cyathia (flowers), they are tiny and it's hard to get even one of them in focus when there is wind.
Looking up the hill
Now things get interesting. Spring after a rainy winter is when you want to go Dudleya hunting out here. You wouldn't notice most of them any other time.
The Euphorbias act as nurse plants and frequently you will see Dudleyas and cacti growing around the base of them.
The rosette of the Dudleya (lanceolata) is here, hidden away
Also hard to get Dudleya flower pics in focus sometimes, when the wind whips them around
Red stems here are a sign of prosperity. We had a wet winter, and these plants are properly hydrated.
The Dudleyas are primarily rock dwellers when they occur in the open.
D. lanceolata has these wild flamboyant blooms to help the hummingbirds find them
Again, the rosette is hidden from view
Typically in undisturbed habitat you will find Dudleyas in little groups. These are all seedlings, probably family. How many do you count in this picture?
Another fabulous Euphorbia and the first Dudleya reidmoranii (aka D. brittonii green). Bigger, fatter leaves, different flowers.
More of the bigger Dudleyas, and two barrel cacti (did you see them?)
This one has a virus or something, doesn't look healthy
These bigger green Dudleyas have greenish yellow, tubular flowers that hang downward when they open
Again, hard to get flower closeups in focus out there
Bergerocactus grows in big clumps when it's doing well
The local barrel cactus is solitary or branching or colony forming.
The Bergerocactus is also an excellent nurse plant, lots of Dudleyas and cacti down below.
Two Dudleyas and two barrel cacti in that picture.
You would not normally see the Dudleyas unless they were flowering, here's one tucked away down there.
4 Dudleyas in this shot
Barrel cacti (F. viridescens) with bright red spines in active growth, again these plants are properly hydrated at the moment.
Coming back along the same path, here is D. lanceolata again
The flowers are just so flamboyant
Another view up the hill
I am guessing these are a couple of seedlings that are barely hanging on for dear life (Bergerocactus)
A well formed specimen of Euphorbia misera
Survivors of fire, which happens fairly regularly here (more on that later)
Fruit here, these are ripe (and full of seeds). The only barrel cactus fruit I saw on the walk
Dudleya reidmoranii again, these plants are rocking
Bergerocactus
Hesperoyucca, nice form on this plant (these are monocarpic, like agaves)
Happy barrel cactus family (3 plants)
D. lanceolata can be a very drab plant
All these plants get lots of fog from the onshore breeze
Again, the Dudleyas only stand out when they flower
Bergerocactus and Euphorbia. I think the cactus is really old and was hit hard by fire at some point
Dudleya reidmoranii at the base
You need a good eye to see the Mammillarias some times. This was the only one I found. M. dioica
When the native shrubbery gets hit by fire, it comes back from the base.
That's the end of the tour. Hope you enjoyed today's walk!
