Mt. Diablo Wildflowers

Whoever said April showers bring May flowers was obviously not from California.  Though we do have rain forecast for tonight and tomorrow.  Our wildflowers are already on full display.  I went up to Mt. Diablo in the Mitchell Canyon area to check out the wildflowers on a day off about ten days ago.  I was not disappointed.  A really beautiful section of the mountain with a huge variety of wildflowers.

One of the first things we saw were Ithuriel's spears.  Not my favorite bulb since the flowers remind me of agapanthus, but just opening or scattered about a grassy meadow, I think I could learn to like them.

Some type of allium, either Allium serra or unifolium I think.

Indian warrior and Indian paintbrush.  The latter with some unusual host plants, like a salvia.

Larkspur aka delphinium.  There was also a red one that I rarely see.

Clematis ligusticifolia, chaparral clematis, was all over a couple of slopes.  And some of the trees.

More after the jump.

Some clematis seed fluff.

And not sure what this little guy is.  Some type of hound's tongue maybe. [edit: Probably Scutellaria tuberosa, or blue skullcap - see comments for correction]

Also seen, though not photographed were Phacelia distans (white phacelia), poppies, miners' lettuce, blue-eyed grass, buttercups, lupine, 2 or 3 types of ceanothus, lacepods, woodland stars (Lithophragma heterophylla), and the most beautiful scrophularia I've ever seen, which I know is not necessarily saying much, but it was pretty.

For a complete list of the plants of the flowers of Mitchell Canyon look here.