Discovering a common, often overlooked wildflower

LATO trail docents Mike and Ruby found this wildflower along the trail on May 28 and sent these photos with a request for i.d. help. This plant looked common to me and yet I couldn't immediately put my finger on its name. A little bit of sleuthing (Calflora is a great resource) revealed the identity: Common Vervain, Verbena lasiostachys. Check out this interesting "Plant of the Month" article from the Santa Monica Mountains Trails Council.

A closer look at wild hyacinth reveals tiny surprises

On April 27, two days after 0.2 in of rain fell on the LATO trail, I took a walk enjoying the many wildflowers on display. The lupine are putting on a spectacular show.  Look closely at this photo of a wild hyacinth and you can see a what seems to be a tick.  These are not ticks! They are plant mites, crawling rather quickly around some of the nearby flowers. Ticks and mites have a similar appearance because they are related. More information about mite taxonomy. Each science discovery leads to more questions!                                                             
--- Shared by LATO docent Mike Klatt, April 2014