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Color Spiking in San Gabriel Mountains

Fall foliage in the San Gabriel Mountains near Crystal Lake (11/10/23) Tim Vandehey
Fall foliage is NEAR PEAK in the San Gabriel Mountains reports Tim Vandehey. During his first fall really hunting the colors, Vandehey captured the area in some beautiful images of black oak trees and more.
 
He also reports that the area near Mt. Baldy is a mix of PATCHY/NEAR PEAK.
 
  • San Gabriel Mountains (5,900’) – Near Peak (50 – 75%), Go Now.
Waterfall near Mt. Baldy (11/10/23) Tim Vandehey
Fall foliage in the San Gabriel Mountains near Crystal Lake (11/10/23) Tim Vandehey
Fall foliage in the San Gabriel Mountains near Crystal Lake (11/10/23) Tim Vandehey
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Jurassic Park

Gingko biloba (c), Acer palmatum (l), Garden of Quiet Reflection, LA County Arboretum, Arcadia (11/30/22) Frank McDonough

A real Jurassic Park exists in Southern California, one where you can see living remnants of the Jurassic period. It is the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden in Arcadia.

It qualifies as a true Jurassic Park because of the spectacular Gingko biloba trees that inhabit it. Dating back 170 million years to the middle Jurassic period, the Gingko is one of the world’s oldest and most amazing trees.

It was one of the first trees to be cultivated. Though it has existed throughout all human history, it continues to fascinate us for its beauty – for sure – but also for the astounding things we continue to discover about it.

GigaScience reports a team of Chinese scientists found that with some 41,840 predicted genes, the gingko is known to have a considerable number of antibacterial and chemical defense mechanisms, making it highly resistant to disease and infestation.

They are so hearty that six trees growing within 2 kilometers of the atomic blast at Hiroshima were among a few living organisms to survive it. Some gingkos are known to have lived over a thousand years. 

BBC News tells us that the Gingko has a genome numbering 10.6 billion DNA nucleobase letters. In comparison, the human genome has but three billion. While gingkos have been used in Chinese medicine since at least the 11th century, few gingko-related remedies have been authenticated by Western medicine, the U.S. National Institutes of Health state.

Of course, what attracts us is not its science, but its beauty. Gingko leaves have long been symbols of artistic perfection, and Frank McDonough’s images of peaking gingkos support that premise.

Chinaberry, Melia azerdarach, LA County Arboretum, Arcadia (11/30/22) Frank McDonough
  • LA County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, Arcadia (482′) – PEAK (75-100%) GO NOW!
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Sycamore Canyon

California grape, Sycamore Canyon, Whittier (11/26/22) Frank McDonough

Q. What does the Botanical Information Consultant of the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden do on his day off?

A. He looks at trees.

What Frank McDonough did this past weekend can only be described as a busman’s holiday. He hiked Sycamore Canyon in Whittier on a day off, and when he came upon magnificent examples of California wild grape (Vitis californica), Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia), Southern California black walnut (Juglans californica), Frémont cottonwood (Populus fremontii) and California sycamore (Platanus racemosa), he had the presence of mind to photograph and share what he found.

For that, Frank earns a First Report for Sycamore Canyon and our thanks. 

Sycamore Canyon is a 3.3-mile out-and-back trail with a gain of 331 feet. It’s considered to be an easy hike. McDonough reported peak fall color throughout much of the trail, making it California Fall Color’s Hike of the Week.

Today, I spoke with Soumya Karlamangla, California correspondent to The New York Times. She observed that Southern California’s autumn color seems more iridescent and apparent than in previous years. She noted seeing vibrant vineyards near Santa Barbara this past week and said several of her SoCal friends believe this autumn stands out from previous years for its brilliance. She asked if we have any explanation.

I replied that this autumn has benefitted from mild weather (few storms and light breezes) that allowed foliage to retain their fall color. Cool nights and warm days have also combined to intensify color change. This has been common statewide.

Presently, both Los Angeles County and the San Francisco Bay Area are showing beautiful color, as McDonough has illustrated in his photos of Sycamore Canyon and the LA County Arboretum and Botanic Garden in Arcadia.

Southern California Black Walnut and Toyon, Sycamore Canyon, Whittier (11/26/22) Frank McDonough
  • Sycamore Canyon, Whittier (318′ – 945′) – PEAK (75-100%) GO NOW!
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Golden Coins

Julie Kirby reported this weekend from this magical spot in Descanso Gardens. As she said, “Like golden coins, the gentle breeze provided a continuous veil of leaves wafting to the ground. People stopped to take family photos on the bench at the tree’s base. One couple reported they take an annual photo there. Maybe it will be their Christmas card.”

The spot was peaking when she took the photo on Nov. 26 and the leaves were raining down.

  • Descanso Gardens, La Canada-Flintridge (1,188′) – PEAK (75-100%) GO NOW!
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Sunday Services

Gingko biloba, First United Methodist Church, Pasadena (11/26/22) Ken Lock

A celestial light shines through the stain glass window and a weathered Gingko biloba that appears to be raising its branches in praise at Pasadena’s First United Methodist Church.

It is peaking within the urban forests of Los Angeles County. Exotics are in their glory, praise the Lord.

  • Pasadena (863′) – PEAK (75-100%) GO NOW!
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Thanksgiving Color

Japanese maple, Gingko biloba, Garden of Quiet Reflection, LA County Arboretum (11/23/22) Frank McDonough
Chinese pistache, LA County Arboretum (11/23/22) Frank McDonough

There’s a lot to be thankful for during Thanksgiving Week. Leading the list on this site is the beauty of Autumn color.

  • LA County Arboretum & Botanic Garden, Arcadia (482′) – PEAK (75-100%) GO NOW!
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Rapid Change Down South

Chinese pistache (Sarah's radiance), Bauer Lawn, LA County Arboretum (11/17/22) Frank McDonough

“Rain, sunshine, and cool nights are causing things to turn here quite rapidly,” reported Frank McDonough of the LA County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, today. The change between what he posted ten days ago and now is significant. 

In past years, the LA County Arboretum’s peak extended two weeks into December. However, a few of its trees, presently, are nearly Past Peak.

Chinese pistache, Education center, LA County Arboretum (11/17/22) Frank McDonough
Redbud (/gleditsia triacanthos, Meadowbrook section LA County Arboretum (11/17/22) Frank McDonough
Redbud (l) and Gleditsia triacanthos (r), Meadowbrook Section, Crepe myrtle, LA County Arboretum (11/17/22) Frank McDonough

Enough peak color will remain to make a Thanksgiving Day week trip to arboreta and botanic gardens in LA County gratifying. Peak color should be seen at the arboretum into the first week of December, though go now to see it at its best.

  • LA County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, Arcadia (482′) – PEAK (75-100%), GO NOW!
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Avian Camouflage

Nanday Conures, Western sycamore, Peter Strauss Ranch, Cornell 11/14/22 Kathy Jonokuchi
Nanday Conures, Peter Strauss Ranch, Cornell (11/14/22) Kathy Jonokuchi

Had Kathy Jonokuchi not seen a Nanday Conure fly to one of the Western sycamores at the Peter Strauss Ranch in Cornell, she might not have been able to send photographs of them. Their lime green plumage is that well camouflaged with the chartreuse of peaking sycamore.

Until this past spring, the Peter Strauss Ranch in the Santa Monica Mountains NRA had been closed to the public since the Woolsey Fire of ’18 due to hazardous conditions. Western sycamore and live oak survived the fire, as did these naturalized parakeets which were busy devouring sycamore seed pods and occasionally squawking when another flock of conures flew by.

She captured a trio of Nandays inspecting a tree hole, one likely made by one of many acorn woodpeckers in the area.

Western sycamore, Peter Strauss Ranch, Cornell 11/14/22 Kathy Jonokuchi
Western Sycamore, Peter Strauss Ranch, Cornell (11/14/22) Kathy Jonokuchi
  • Peter Strauss Ranch, Santa Monica Mountains NRA, Cornell (790′) – Patchy to Near Peak (10 – 75%) Go Now.
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Stinky, Stinky

Frank McDonough, of the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, knows how to raise a stink.

He sends photographs of two of the most malodorous fungi in Southern California,  the fetid Stinky Squid fungus (Pseudocolus fusformis) and Yellow staining Agaricus (Agaricus xanthodemus), the latter of which is toxic and warns away diners with a chlorine-like smell.

I asked Frank if the Arboretum seeded the fungi or whether they just appeared naturally. He replied that Stinky Squid spores come with the wood chips the arboretum uses as ground cover and propagate following a “big rain event.” The fungi are fascinating and colorful additions to autumn’s show.

As for the rest of the Arboretum, its trees are showing Patchy color. Autumn blaze maple, tupelo, redbud, pin oak and crepe myrtle are among the first and brightest to fire up. Some of the most dazzling displays of peak to follow will include gingko biloba, American elm, red oak, liquidambar, Dawn redwood, cypress, chestnut and Chinese tallow.

Now that California’s mountain forests are nearly past peak, the urban forests, orchards, vineyards and arboreta and botanic gardens will paint the landscape, and as rains fall so will emerge fungi to satisfy the eye, if not the nose.

Autumn blaze maple, (Acer X 'Jeffersred') LA County Arboretum (11/8/22) Frank McDonough
  • LA County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, Arcadia (482′) – Patchy (10-50%)
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November Premieres

Southern California’s most colorful native trees are quaking aspen, black oak, Western sycamore, Frémont cottonwood and California black walnut. Of them, aspen are past peak, black oak are nearly past peak, and the others wait until November to premiere.

Los Angeles County color spotter Kathy Jonokuchi loves photographing local wild places and beings … the natural kind.

She has delighted readers with her images of Southern California’s naturalized parrots, the Nanday conures, has told stories of fire recovery in the Southland, and taken us to movie locations where fall color is featured.

On Friday, she explored Malibu Creek State Park where Valley oak (Quercus lobata) and California black walnut (Juglans hindsii) are blushing in anticipation of their roles in SoCal’s autumn feature. Too, she agreed that “November sunsets are pretty spectacular.” 

  • Malibu Creek SP (2,739′) – Just Starting (0-10%)