Winter white

  

When we first moved here ~19 years ago, there was a brief but beautiful snowfall.  At the time we didn't know the area very well yet, but we drove around and ended up on Joy Road where there was snow on the redwoods.  I've always wanted to see it again, so this morning I drove Joy Road on my way to work.  There wasn't a lot of snow, but there was a little here and there.  (I'm not totally sure whether it was snow or graupel, but the visual effect was similar.)  Will there be more tomorrow?

A little further down the road, I noticed a Western Trillium (Trillium ovatum) in flower.  A different kind of white!

 

 

Spring beauties

 

Fetid Adder's Tongue (Scoliopus bigelovii)

 

Western Trillium (Trillium ovatum)

Both of these photos were taken in Guerneville on 21 February 2016.

For a little more information about these wonderful spring wildflowers (and additional photos), see the Fetid Adder's Tongue post from 28 February 2013 and the Western Trillium post from 18 March 2015.

Heralding the arrival of spring

 

I'm glad that Michelle and Kyle mentioned that you can find Trillium near the side of the road in Occidental.  I stopped briefly to take a few pictures on 18 March 2015.

This is Western Trillium or Western Wakerobin (Trillium ovatum).  Having spent most of my time at the ocean, I don't have a lot of experience with them.  I read that while most are white when they start flowering, they fade to a deep-rose color.

Here are two more examples of flowers that are further along:

 

 

"Trillium" refers to the flower parts coming in sets of threes (see below).  I wondered about the name "wakerobin."  I found a few references online that explained the name derives from the fact that these flowers bloom at the same time that robins are heralding the arrival of spring.

 

This is a good time of year to see Trilliums — catch them if you can!