Flowering Collomia growing under Coulter Pine at almost 5000ft elevation, off Chew's Ridge Rd.

Grand Collomia (Collomia grandiflora) A.k.a. Large flowered Collomia, Mountain Collomia. Native, annual, uncommon, glandular plant in the Phlox (Polemoniaceae) family that grows up to 3 ft tall in conifer forests, woodlands, chaparral, in mountainous terrain at elevation 400-10,000ft. Petal color varies from pale peach, yellow to orange, fading white. Anthers are blue. Peak bloom time: April-June.

Field Guide: Wildflowers of California, California Native Plant Society, 2024, p. 468.

Calflora (includes species distribution map in CA): https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=2300

Jepson eFlora: https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=20021

Monterey County Wildflowers: https://montereywildflowers.com/polemoniaceae-misc/

Leaf Terminology: Simple Diagrams/Definitions: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/Leaf_morphology.svg

Plant Identification Terminology: An Illustrated Glossary, 2nd ed., by James G. Harris and M. Harris, 2022.

"Phlox family flowers are mostly tubular. Instead of distinct petals, they have spreading lobes, fused to the tube at their base. They may be bell-shaped with gradually spreading lobes, or funnel-shaped, with a slender tube and abruptly spreading lobes. Typically, there are 5 lobes, with 5 stamens attached to the tube, and 3 stigmas on the pistil." Monterey County Wildflowers https://montereywildflowers.com/polemoniaceae-misc/

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PLANTS (Annotated References)

Field Guide: Wildflowers of California, California Native Plant Society, 2024 (excellent new publication, exquisite color photos!)

Calflora (CA native plants, includes species distribution maps, plant communities, links) https://www.calflora.org/search.html
Jepson eFlora (CA native and naturalized plants with botanical illustrations, some videos) https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/
Plants of Monterey County: an Illustrated Field Key, 2nd edition, Matthews and Mitchell ,2015 (2300+ species)
Monterey County Wildflowers (photographic guide of wildflowers, shrubs and trees) https://montereywildflowers.com/index/
Monterey County Wildflowers: a Field Guide, Yeager and Mitchell, 2016 (950+ species with photos)
Flora of Fort Ord: Monterey County, California , David Styer, 2019 (includes peak bloom times)
Native American Ethnobotany: Traditional Native Plant Uses (U.S. plants for medicines, fibers, tools): http://naeb.brit.org/
Leaf Terminology: Simple Diagrams/Definitions: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/Leaf_morphology.svg
Plant Identification Terminology: An Illustrated Glossary, 2nd ed., by James G. Harris and M. Harris, 2022