Flowers of Crystal Cove State Park: The joys of a foggy morning

A few weeks ago I went backpacking with a couple of friends in Crystal Cove State Park’s inland section. We camped overnight at the Lower Moro Campground, and were the only ones there. It was wonderfully peaceful.

Fog rolled in a few hours before the sun went down, so sunset, moon, and starry night shots were all out. But the fog hung around until well after dawn, leaving everything covered in a beautiful shroud of dew the next morning. It made for perfect macro photography, and my companions were patient enough to let me spend some time trying to capture the beauty.

I woke up to a foggy morning at Lower Moro campground in Crystal Cove, and found this beautiful little purple and white flower covered in dew.  I love the few strands of spider silk connecting the flower to its stalk, also covered in water droplets.  A botanist friend of mine identified this as _Stephanomeria sp._, a plant in Asteraceae. (Thanks Jeremy!) (Marc C. Perkins)
A beautiful way to wake up. I love the few strands of dew-covered spider silk connecting the flower to its stalk. A botanist friend of mine identified this as wreath plant, _Stephanomeria sp._, a plant in Asteraceae. (Thanks Jeremy!)

The same plant was also covered in tiny flower buds, which the dew accentuated gorgeously:

This small green and purple flower bud growing out of a stem is covered in dew on a foggy morning at Crystal Cove, and the dew is lensing the background into focus.  The few strands of spider silk are also covered in dew. A botanist friend of mine identified this as wreath plant, _Stephanomeria sp._, a plant in Asteraceae. (Thanks Jeremy!)
A small green and purple flower bud (_Stephanomeria sp._) covered in dew on a foggy morning at Crystal Cove.

I also got a picture of the same plant with both a flower bud and flower in the same frame, but I won’t bore you with that in this post.

Nearby there was a shrubby aster covered in bright yellow flowers:

This yellow Asteraceae flower is a composite flower (capitulum)consisting of multiple individual flowers attached to the same base.  Here the flowers on the outside of the composite flower (the ray florets) are open, but the inner flowers (the disk florets) are still closed.  The ray florets fuse their petals into one giant lobe.  See the next picture to see the same plant's flower with the disk florets open. This is most likely one of the several species of tarplant, possibly _Deinandra_. (Marc C. Perkins)
This yellow Asteraceae flower is a composite flower (capitulum) consisting of multiple individual flowers attached to the same base. Here the flowers on the outside of the composite flower (the ray florets) are open, but the inner flowers (the disk florets) are still closed. The ray florets fuse their petals into one giant lobe. This is most likely one of the several species of tarplant, possibly _Deinandra_.

Some of the inflorescences were just starting to open (above), while others were almost fully open (below):

This yellow Asteraceae flower is a composite flower (capitulum)consisting of multiple individual flowers attached to the same base.  In this picture both the flowers on the outside of the composite flower (the ray florets) are open as well as the inner flowers (the disk florets).  The ray florets fuse their petals into one giant lobe (which may people confuse with the petals of a single flower), and the inner flowers fuse their petals into a tube.  See the previous picture for the same plant's flower before the disk florets are open. This is most likely one of the several species of tarplant, possibly _Deinandra_. (Marc C. Perkins)
In this picture both the flowers on the outside of the composite flower (the ray florets) as well as the inner flowers (the disk florets) are open. The inner flowers fuse their petals into a tube. This is most likely one of the several species of tarplant, possibly _Deinandra_.

As we were hiking out we came across some Datura. Datura has been one of my favorite plants to find, thanks to spending my grad school days working on caterpillars (Manduca sexta) that fed on them in Arizona:

_Datura_ flowers are just gorgeous; they're gigantic and radiantly white, a beautiful contrast to the rest of the plant's lush green leaves.  The plants are horribly toxic to most animals, which is how they can get away with being so showy in xeric environments.  This is probably _Datura wrightii_ (Jimsonweed). (Marc C. Perkins)
_Datura_ flowers are just gorgeous; they're gigantic and radiantly white, a beautiful contrast to the rest of the plant's lush green leaves. This is probably _Datura wrightii_ (Jimsonweed).

They’re just lovely plants. After spending all day working out in the desert back in Arizona, where the plants are typically small and wiry, it was refreshing to come across the large green leaves and beautiful flowers of Datura (it also meant I was one plant closer to finishing my day in the field).  The plants are horribly toxic to most animals (including humans), which is how they can get away with being so showy in xeric environments.

And, speaking of grad school days, I was able to spot what looks like a Manduca egg on top of a leaf next to a Datura flower:

A _Datura_ flower next to a leaf that has what appears to be a _Manduca_ (sphinx moth or hornworm) egg laid on it.  The plant is probably _Datura wrightii_ (Jimsonweed) , and was seen in Crystal Cove State Park. (Marc C. Perkins)
That little green ball bearing sure looks like a _Manduca_ egg laid on a _Datura_ leaf next to a flower; if so, it'll hatch into a caterpillar soon. The plant is probably _Datura wrightii_ (Jimsonweed).

A little while later, we spotted a hawkweed flower with a guest inside:

I believe that this is white hawkweed (_Hieracium albiflorum_), and I think that's a wasp visible inside of it.  Please correct me if I'm wrong :) (Marc C. Perkins)
I believe that this is white hawkweed (_Hieracium albiflorum_), and I think that's a small wasp visible inside of it. Please correct me if I'm wrong 🙂

It was a beautiful day for plant photography, and I’m extremely happy that I had my new macro lens and tripod along with me. Happily, I was able to spend time on more than just flowers during the trip, and I’ll post those images in some upcoming posts.

More pictures

To see more pictures from the trip, head to my Crystal Cove State Park Wilderness Gallery.

Getting There

Crystal Cove State Park: Located along Pacific Coast Highway (Highway 1) between Corona Del Mar and Laguna Beach in Orange County, California. I camped at the Lower Moro Campsite, which is about a 2 mile hike in from the parking lot. Parking is plentiful at a new parking lot and picnic area past the Moro Campground (for RV’s), but you must pay either a day use fee for the state park or an overnight fee. The park is currently open from 6am – sunset; their website has lots of good information on it.

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