There are more native plant species in San Diego County than any other county in the contiguous United States. San Diego has many varied habitats from the coastal plant communities to the inland valleys and foothills to mountains and deserts. And all of these plant communities are within a few hours drive. Many times I have been on the coast in the morning, driven through the foothills to the mountains and dropped into the desert and returned home in a single day. Now I find myself (Jim Duggan) hiking the trails that twine though San Diego County. I always have a camera on hand. Below are the geophytes that I have encountered. (There are a few that I haven’t found in the wild yet, such as, Calochortus dunnii, C. superbus and Bloomeria clevelandii.) Photos and text by Jim Duggan.
Allium species:
Allium haematochiton, Allium parryi, Allium peninsulare
Bloomeria crocea
Brodiaea species:
Brodiaea elegans, Brodiaea filifolia, Brodiaea orcuttii, Brodiaea terrestris var kernensis
Although Brodiaea elegans is found in San Diego, it is uncommon and this photo is from northern California.
Calochortus species:
2 photos of Calochortus albus, Calochortus concolor, Calochortus invenustus, Calochortus splendens, Calochortus weedii var. weedii
Chlorogalum parviflorum
Dipterostemon capitatus
Fritillaria biflora
Hesperocallis undulata
Iris missouriensis
Lilium humboldtii ssp. ocellatum
Muilla maritima
Toxicoscordion species:
Toxicoscordion fremontii, Toxicoscordion venenosum
Triteleia laxa
Although Triteleia laxa is not native to San Diego, I have found it naturalized along Hwy 15 just north of Escondido, very tall plants with large heads; they stopped me in my tracks.