On November 8 and 9th, 2018,,,,,,,,,79,940 of the 96,314 acres(83%)of the Santa Monica National Park was burned to the ground by the Woolsey Fire, 30 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles.............As the Chaparral flora ecosystem of this region is highly fire dependent(historically burning every 80-100 years), many of the first pioneering flowering plants will spring back to life immediately if there is sufficient rainfall during the October-March rainy season............Greater Los Angeles has averaged 15 inches of rain annually since record keeping began in the 1880's.............Thus far this year, SoCal has received 16.6 inches(hooray!) with more predicted tomorrow thru Friday..............As a result, Santa Monica National Parklands and all other open space preserves in the L.A. region are literally emerald green with grasses and wildflowers blooming forth..............A cautionary note is that a significant percentage of the new growth is by the invasive, non-native-alien Black Mustard plant.............."Native to North Africa and the Mediterranean, Black Mustard arrived in the United States as a stowaway on a shipment of date palm to Palm Springs in 1927 and then lingered in patches across SoCal"............... "The weed put down roots in earnest after Hurricane Kathleen doused California in 1976 and jump started the plant’s germination"............. “There was this gigantic explosion of mustard, and it’s never been the same since"............."The mustard has displaced wildflowers, shrubs and trees entirely in some of the park’s fields and canyons".................."Expanses of land that were dappled with sage, native oaks and flowers have become tangled with the weed"............."It dramatically changes the chaparral habitat, negatively affecting all the animals and insects that are dependent on the native flora being there."............'Black Mustard sprouts earlier and faster than most chaparral plants, hording precious space and water"............."It’s so rapacious that it can choke even hearty Toyon and Ceanothus, let alone delicate blossoms"............"While the Black Mustard's pretty yellow flowers make the hillsides appear to look postcard-perfect, biodiversity gets negatively hammered and its browned out-dormant late Summer phase is notorious for helping wildfires blossum into out-of-control towering infernos"

https://www.theacorn.com/articles/nature-paints-the-town-green/

Nature paints the town(Los Angles) green

Flower power in full force thanks to fire-rain combo

| February 21, 2019

By John Loesing

FacebookTwitterGoogle+PinterestEmailLinkedInCopy LinkPrintSMSShare

SPRING FLING—Ranger Ana Beatriz of the National Park Service took this recent photo of the green grass and brightly colored California poppy flowers currently blooming in the local Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

Biologists say last year’s Woolsey fire and the recent steady rains are working in tandem to give the local hills their most beautiful splash of green, yellow and gold in many, many years.

The peak flowering season that typically occurs in March and April is happening right now, and local biologists are excited.

“We are expecting a very good showing because of the fire,” said Mark Mendelsohn of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

Mendelsohn and a team of biologists who are closely monitoring the new growth believe the Woolsey fire has helped propagate a host of “fire follower” herbaceous plants, foliage that only blooms after a wildfire. There are more than 100 of these types of plants.

The rain storms that came in the weeks following the fire arrived at just the right time and in just the right amount, the experts say.

At the Cheeseboro Canyon measuring station, more than 14 inches of precipitation has been recorded for the season. Last year, less than 2 inches had fallen by this time.

FLOWER POWER—Acres of lavender “shooting star” plants can be seen

 in the local mountains. Dan Klebesadel of Agoura Hills took these photos while on a recent hike.

 “I have only seen these in Alaska in marshy areas and was rather surprised to see them in our backyard.”

A riot of color

Park service staff have reported seeing California poppies (Eschscholzia californica), blue dicks (Dichelostemma capitatum), shooting stars (Primula clevelandii), lemonade berry (Rhus integrifolia), lupines and wild cucumber (Marah macrocarpus) in the Santa Monica Mountains.

The leaves of deerweed (Acmispon glaber) and morning glory (Calystegia macrostegia) and many other species have been spotted but not the flowers themselves.

Big-pod ceanothus (Ceanothus megacarpus), one of the most common shrub species, has been turning entire hillsides white with their flowers.

 The alien, non-native invasive Black Mustard plant looks pretty with it's 
yellow flowers, but negatively destroys the chaparral ecosystem, hurting all other native plants, insects, birds and animals that call the region home

And the ubiquitous black mustard (Brassica nigra) is also back, albeit not welcome in the region. The plant’s pretty yellow flowers make the hillsides look postcard-perfect, but biologists say the plant is an invasive species known for displacing native plants and is notorious for helping wildfires spread.

The so-called fire follower flowers that the public will see in coming weeks include several species in the lupine, phacelia, poppy, popcorn-flower, lily, snapdragon, and sunflower groups, as well as virtual carpets of morning glory and wild cucumber.

One example of a fire follower is the aptly named fire poppy, which shows up in different shades of orange and red, and grows below 2,500 feet in recently burned chaparral and woodland.

Woodlands and shrub lands were hit hard by the fire; in some cases, all above-ground plant matter was consumed.

On November 8 and 9th, 2018,,,,,79,940 of the 96,314 (83%) acres of 
the Santa Monica National Park was burned to the ground by the Woolsey Fire,
 30 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles

The trees that were lost will take many years to sprout anew, but shrubs will rebound quicker.

As for oak trees—both valley and coast live—biologists say that if they don’t resprout this spring it’s likely they are dead.

But, said John Tiszler, a plant biologist who has worked at Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area for 22 years, “We should see some kind of response from them.”

“Even if we see resprouting, it doesn’t necessarily mean the tree will recover. They don’t always make it in the long run. After the Springs fire, a number of oak trees initially resprouted but then they ultimately didn’t make it,” Tiszler said.

The Woolsey fire literally burned the Santa Monica Mountain
Parkland down to the ground

Some good places to view the colorful hillsides include Paramount Ranch, Cheeseboro/Palo Comado Canyons and the Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve.

Malibu Creek State Park, which saw heavy destruction from the Woolsey fire, is rebounding nicely, too.

But the park service asks that visitors stay on trails and not tread on the new vegetation. Regulations prohibit picking of wildflowers so they can produce seed for the next wildflower season.