An Easter Sunday morning walk with the California Native Plant Society, Orange County chapter yielded some wonderful wildflowers and native plant sightings, at Elsinore Peak/South Main Divide Road/Riverside County, California. The hike was 2.7 miles and included some steep sections, but mostly was done at a very easy pace - the better to see, photograph and talk about the plants.

Photos: Flickr

Route: Everytrail

The walk was led by the indefatigable Ron Vanderhoff, field trip chair of the chapter, and was joined by 30+ other interesting folks from all walks of life. Native plant expert Chris Barnhill of the Fullerton Arboretum was joined by his wife Nancy, and they shared their enthusiasm and knowledge all day. Sarah Jayne gets credit for spotting the best patch of Sibaropsis hammittii, a very rare plant with a small pink flower in the Mustard family that had everyone excited. Geologist Ron Jones shared his knowledge of the unique basalt uplift formations of the Elsinore Peak area, and the intermittent granitic sections. Diane Etchison pointed out a gorgeous Lark Sparrow perched right next to our parking lot, and later spotted the rare Palmer's grappling hook, Harpagonella palmeri. There were so many more informative and fun moments; even considering all of the flowers, the best part of a CNPS hike is the interesting and knowledgeable companions that share the trail. It's mind-boggling.

So, Chocolate lilies, really? Yes, these upside-down tulip shaped flowers come in varied shades of shiny maroon mixed with green, and overall effect is a rich chocolate brown color. Elsinore Peak had a great display of Fritillaria biflora this year, and as always I took too many pictures of them.

Other plant highlights of the day:

• -- Wonderful displays of Goldfields, Lasthenia californica, that turned sections of the ground bright yellow in artistic swathes.
• -- Grape soda lupine, Lupinus excubitus var. austromontanus, greeted us with perfect flower spikes and striking silver foliage at the top of a very picturesque hill with great views.
• -- "Onion Hill", so name by the botanists who come here to see the common, but beautiful flower globes of Allium haematichiton, Red-skinned onion, and the 3 other rarer onions that all grow in the same area. You could actually smell the onions!
• -- The several members of the Carrot family loving the heavy clay soil, especially Lomatium dasycarpum ssp. dasycarpum, Wooly-fruited Lomatium, with its lacy foliage and Queen Anne's lace type flowers, and the maroon puffball flowers of Sanicula bipinnatifida, Purple sanicle.

Check out the pictures for more plants and the people, too! If you go to Elsinore Peak, Onion Hill and the surrounding areas, step lightly! There are lots of unusual plants everywhere.