Do you remember this photograph I posted of the yellow hills of Big Sur?

Well, I ran into Joe Burnett, biologist for the VWS’s Condor reintroduction program, last night and he suggested a challenge. If Jeff Norman were still around (we miss you Jeff!) this challenge would not be necessary.

This is the challenge – hike into Mt. Manual, and take close-up photographs of the various yellow flowers contributing to this unusual phenomena, and send them to me at kwnovoa@mac.com I will post them on my blog. If you know what they are, include that information. But even if you do NOT know what they are, send them in, and hopefully, someone can help us identify them. We will also see how much of what we are seeing is native or introduced.

Here is a close-up of one flower that is making the hills yellow, at least close to the highway. Is it also on Mt. Manual? I originally thought it was a tansy, but I believe that may be incorrect, and would love for someone to identify it for me. It is all over right now, in more abundance than I have ever seen – both in areas touched by the Basin Fire, and those untouched.

Do you know what this is? Barbara Woyt does. It is Eriophyllum staechadifolium or lizard tail, also known as Seaside Woolly Sunflower. Is it part of the display on Mt. Manuel? Get out there soon, as this display won’t last long in this hot weather! And send those photos in! Let’s all find out what is causing this unusual display! Thanks, Joe, for the challenge. Now let’s see if my readers are up for it!
(Note, this photo was not taken for the challenge, or it would be a closer shot. Here, I wanted the hills and ocean in the background, but a good photo for this challenge would clearly show the flowers AND the leaves for identification purposes as close-up as your camera would allow.)