Wildflowers should be spectacular this year Wildflowers should be spectacular this year (March 09, 2005)

By Marion Softky

Almanac Staff Writer

Hound's tongue, trillium, miner's lettuce, milkmaids, sun cups, wild mustard, shooting star -- California's early wildflowers are popping up in fields and woods around the Bay Area.

Until mid-April or even early May, visitors to local open space preserves can enjoy stunning displays of native flowers that used to carpet the Peninsula before the onslaught of subdivisions, malls, and European grasses.

Nowhere do the native wildflowers thrive more than at Edgewood Natural Preserve, where the serpentine soils discourage the common European grasses, and support the natives that have learned to survive their toxic chemistry.

Plus the late rains should make the park's big field -- visible driving south on Interstate 280 just past Edgewood Road -- a vibrant yellow with goldfields and tidy tips.

This year's bloom should peak between mid-March and late April, said Cindy Wilbur who arranges guided wildflowers walks on Stanford's Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve, another serpentine haven for California natives. "It completely depends on the sun," she said.

For people who would like to learn about California's special natives, a number of free guided walks are available.

At Edgewood Natural Preserve, docents lead wildflower walks every Saturday and Sunday through June 12 from 10 a.m. until about 1 p.m.

Most walks start at the Old Stage Day Camp on Edgewood Road about half a mile east of I-280. Five Saturday walks beginning April 16, start at the Clarkia Trailhead on Canada Road, just east of the freeway overpass.

No reservations are needed for the hikes, sponsored by the Friends of Edgewood Natural Preserve. Participants should bring a snack, water, a hat, and sunscreen.

For more information, or a detailed schedule, visit friendsofedgewood.org, or call 866-GO-EDGEWOOD.

The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District offers numerous free guided hikes to tour wildflowers on some of its 25 preserves covering nearly 50,000 acres of open space in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. For more information on hikes, some of which require reservations, visit openspace.org, or call the district at 691-1200.

Jasper Ridge offers fewer hikes with smaller groups from October 1 to May 31, Ms. Wilbur said. Most spring hikes are already subscribed.

For more information, call Jasper Ridge Tours at 327-2277.

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