Native Plants of Catalina Island

I had the opportunity to go hiking on Catalina Island in April and I saw an amazing display of California native plants. The Hermit Gulch trail is approximately a 4-mile looped trail. We started at the Hermit Gulch Campgrounds, hiked up to the summit, then back down towards the Wrigley Botanical Gardens.  It is moderate hike, along well marked trails, that took us about 2.5 hours.  It was an overcast day, so when we reached the Garden to Sky Summit, we couldn’t see both sides of the island, as promised, but the wildflowers were so beautiful and definitely made the hike worth the effort.

I saw many plants I recognized, including the purple Lupinus succulentus, Arroyo lupine or Succulent lupine, and the Scrophulariaceae, creek monkey flower, the bright red Castilleja affinis, or Indian paintbrush. And even saw a few flowers that I’d never seen before. I looked them up on the Catalina Island Conservancy’s website.  One was a beautiful white flower with purple spots, the Catalina Mariposa Lily, and a small clover like flower called the Crab Lotus or Small Flowering Lotus. One flower looks like a sage, but I haven’t identified it yet.

If you’d like to hike in Catalina, next time you go to Catalina Island, you must get a hiking pass from the Catalina Island Conservancy.  The pass is free. Stop at the nature center on the way to the campground, to fill in the forms, or you can sign up online by going to their website:  http://www.catalinaconservancy.org/index.php .  Happy Trails ~

Map of the hike. (photos by Esther Blanco)

Lupinus succulentus

Castilleja affinis ssp. affinis - Indian Paint Brush

Calochortus catalinae - Catalina mariposa lily

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