We saw a lot of blooming wildflowers in the Millville Plains and Parkville area on this joint Shasta Chapter CNPS–Shasta Environmental Alliance driving field trip. Many species were near peak bloom; we made three stops to identify them. Field trip leader David Ledger pointed out the mima mounds on the plains and discussed various theories about their development in hardpan areas, as well as the difference in flower composition between the mima mounds and the flatlands. Farther on, at the Parkville Cemetery, we saw many different plants including blue-eyed grass, a member of the Iris Family. On the plains, we found bird’s-eye gilia, frying pan poppy, and woolly meadowfoam, but none were open due to the cloudy skies. At our final stop, we found yellow star-tulips growing among black oaks, gray and ponderosa pines, deer brush, buckbrush, and Lemmon’s ceanothus.
~David Ledger
