Ribes malvaceum cv Dancing Tassels--Chaparral Current

Dancing Tassels: this currant is perfectly named. The pale pink pendulous posy packs really do polka. (Silly alliteration, huh?) Currents are edible, but I think that the fruits are too small to bother with. The birds love them. In bloom now in the California area of the UC Botanical Garden.

Carex Baccans--Berry Sedge--Crimson-Seeded Sedge

It is obvious why this is called Berry Sedge; it is a sedge whose seeds look like berries. So pretty, it is sometimes used in bouquets. Apparently this is not common in cultivation, although it is supposed to be hardy. It likes partial to full sun and moist soil. This specimen is right next to the Japanese pool at the UC Botanical Garden.

Iris confusa--Bamboo Iris

Graceful leaves and frilled lavender flowers, so lovely! And in bloom now at the UC Botanical Garden at the edge of the lawn. And will continue for several months. It is called Bamboo Iris because the leaves have a bamboo look to them. The leaves lay flat on the ground later in the season and root, thus enlarging the patch. The rhizomes also spread. Very easy to grow, not particular about water or soil. It prefers part shade to shady conditions.

Dragonfly--Varigated Meadowhawk

This dragonfly was just too still when I was taking a picture of it. I thought maybe it was dead. When I reached out to touch it, it still didn't move. But it was still flexible, so if it was dead, it had died recently. Both damselflies and dragonflies are common at the UC Botanical Garden where this one was found. They are not hard to tell apart. Generally, dragonflies are heavy-bodied and hold their wings open when they perch. Damselflies are thinner and hold their wings along their bodies when they perch.

I don't know which dragonfly this is, but it looks like a Variegated Meadowhawk to me, and that one occurs in this area (and also most of the western US). The VM perches on twigs. This one was on a leaf, but close to twigs. And also, the VM flies all year around in the south. So it would not be unusual to see it this time of year. So that is my guess. Varigated Meadowhawk. Maybe I will see if I can find someone to verify.

27 Jan 2011: Several sources have confirmed my ID.

Rhododendron arboreum

I think that this is the logo for the UC Botanical Garden. Now in bloom at the UC Botanical Garden.

Comarostaphylis arbutoides AKA Arctostsaphylos arbutoides

This has flowers and fruit at the same time (NOW at the UC Botanical Garden). In its native habitat, it has flowers and fruit all year long. I'll have to watch this one and see if it does, too. Can you tell how bumpy the surface of the fruits are? Some people put it in a separate genus because of that. Plants in the Arctostaphylos genus are supposed to have smooth fruit. But they both have those distinctive urn-shaped flowers.

Euphorbia millii v. roseana--Crown of Thorns

Like most Euphorbs, this one has toxic milky juice which deters herbivores. We get latex, used in gloves, balloons, rubber bands and pencil erasers, from a plant in the Euphobiaceae family, Hevea brasiliensis. No wonder so many people have a reaction to latex, it is designed to keep animals away! The sap of E. candelabrum is so toxic it has been used to make poison arrows. E. cooperi is so strong that breathing in the vicinity of a broken stem can cause throat irritation. E drupifera has been used to remove warts. E. sheffleri has been used as a fish poison. These plants create some strong stuff!

I now have a new appreciation for plants and a new respect for Euphorbs. Be careful when you are weeding those spurges!