Fire Followers

After visiting Elsinore Peak on March 22, Ron Vanderhoff led the monthly OC-CNPS hike to a site that had been burned about 18 months before. A few die hards also visited a further site that had been burned just last summer.  Ron is a fire follower, because some of the most rare and exquisite wildflowers are fire followers.  The burn sites were at the ridgeline just off Highway 74.

Sometimes the fire-bare hillside confuses a plant.  We saw California Peonies (Paeonia californica),  dotting a bare hillside.  While the ones properly shaded down the road were just budding, these had mostly bloomed already.  But I caught one!

Truth in advertising:  these Peony flowers face down; I'm propping this one up.  But aren't they enchanting?  The bushes looked so lush on the burnt hill.

Another anomaly was a big patch of Narrow-leafed Miner's Lettuce (Claytonia parviflora) out on an exposed hillside. 

Narrow-leafed Miner's Lettuce was as succulent as its more common relative, but doesn't have much leaf to nibble.

We found shrubs that were resprouting from their crowns: Eastwood Manzanitas and oaks.

Eastwood Manzanita (Arctostaphylos glandulosa) sprouts surrounding a burnt trunk.

This oddly-named Golden Eardrops (Ehrendorferia chrysantha) had a great view.

A hazy Lake Elsinore in the background.

The premier fire follower is Fire Poppy.  While it can be rare, you see it a long way off.

Fire Poppies (Papaver californicum) - worth the hunt!

Some fire followers are subtle, like Whispering Bells.

Whispering Bells (Emmenanthe penduliflora).  This patch was all flowers, no leaves.

How frequent was fire in California before Europeans came?  Assertions vary widely.  Native Americans sometimes set fires too, to renew grasslands.  What we know is that some seeds germinate best after their seeds are "roasted." Some shrubs will sprout from live crowns that survive the fire.  Thus begins the natural succession of plants in that habitat.  That is, if invasive mustard or another bad actor doesn't take over.

Black Sage (Salvia Mellifera) sprouts getting ready to create chaparral again.

Nature has its own rhythm.  Some of these fire followers lurk silently as seed for years, until the heat activates them, and they spring to life, briefly lighting up the ashy hillsides.  I'm glad I was a fire follower too!

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