Sipping verbena

 

 

Fiery Skippers (Hylephila phyleus) on Pink Sand Verbena (Abronia umbellata)

Emerging from the sand

 

Pink Sand Verbena (Abronia umbellata), 24 October 2018

 

June and November

This is just a quick follow-up to a post in June (see "Color in the strand").  And it's a lesson in breaking out of familiar patterns.  I often look for Pink Sand Verbena flowering during the summer. But until this past week, I had no idea that its flowering season extended into November!

On 21 November I happened to walk by an area where some of the plants grow at Doran Beach and many of them were in full bloom.

 

Seeds were developing on many of the plants, but I was surprised at the number of flowers that were visible in late November.  Perhaps it's typical for this species and I just hadn't noticed it at this time of year before.  Or maybe the peak in its flowering time varies from year to year depending on growing conditions?  You'd have to have much better records than I do to know the answer, but it's fun to wonder about.  And it sure was nice to see it in both June and November!

 

Color in the strand

 

Pink Sand Verbena (Abronia umbellata)

photographed in the coastal strand at Doran Beach, 10 June 2013

 

 

This species is uncommon in the Bodega Head area and only occurs at a couple of sites.