In Darkest Winter a Coyote Brush Blooms
Shh! It’s a secret! The Coyote Brush blooms this time of year. Most people hole up in their houses to hide from the rain about now and don’t know that this native shrub flowers in the late fall to early winter.
Hang on to your seats. I’m using a big word. The plants are dioecious which means there are both male and female plants. (Sound like another famous albeit non-native Humboldt plant?)
The male Coyote Brush plants have small yellow flowers and the females display fluffy white blooms. Yesterday’s storms pummeled Humboldt but, if you can get out to hills, these flowers are a reminder that winter has its own beauty.
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I have never even heard of a Coyote brush. Is that photo of your pond?
So why do you think it blooms this time of year? So the rain will wash all its pollen off, in hopes that the wild wind will carry it to the female?
Dioecious almost sounds like delicious, making me ask, is this bush edible?
The photo is of the pond below the house at dusk. I don’t know why the plant blooms now but because it does it provides needed nectar at a sparse time.
I don’t think the bush is edible–though sometimes the flowers smell amazing. (I thought the same about the word ‘dioecious’;>) The leaves produce an aromatic oil though. I would think the oil would make the plant more flammable but I read online that the Miwok’s used the bush as a fire retardant. So I’m comflumexed??
The photo is of the pond below the house at dusk. I don’t know why the plant blooms now but because it does it provides needed nectar at a sparse time.
I don’t think the bush is edible–though sometimes the flowers smell amazing. (I thought the same about the word ‘dioecious’;>) The leaves produce an aromatic oil though. I would think the oil would make the plant more flammable but I read online that the Miwok’s used the bush as a fire retardant. So I’m comflumexed??
…dioecious… …conflumexed…
Kym are you trying to raise the reading level of your blog? 😉
…dioecious… …conflumexed…
Kym are you trying to raise the reading level of your blog? 😉
Well, if only my readers had as large a vocabulary as I do, then I would be a shoo in for a college reading level;>
Well, if only my readers had as large a vocabulary as I do, then I would be a shoo in for a college reading level;>
[…] of the few plants that bloom this time of year, Coyote Brush smells delightful and draws in the few butterflys still around. This one is probing the flower […]
[…] of the few plants that bloom this time of year, Coyote Brush smells delightful and draws in the few butterflys still around. This one is probing the flower […]