California Fuchsia, Hummingbird Trumpet
Epilobium canum
Color: Red
Common name: California Fuchsia, Hummingbird Trumpet
Latin name: Epilobium canum
Family: ONAGRACEAE
Height: To 3 feet.
Description: It is a subshrub notable for the profusion of bright scarlet flowers in late summer and autumn. Petals 8–17 mm.
Leaf: 5–50 mm, linear to egg-shaped, green to grayish, sometimes strongly toothed.
Range: California Floristic Province, Desert Mountains
Habitat: Dry slopes, ridges
Elevation: < 3000 m.
Flowering time: Jul-Nov
Notes: Epilobium canum is often pollinated by hummingbirds. In a garden the plant prefers to be cultivated in well-drained soil exposed to full sun but protected from the wind, and needs little watering. Cultivated varieties come in other colors besides red — pink and white are common. It is a perennial herb that is native to California and is also found outside of California, but is confined to western North America. Photographed June 17, 2005 in the San Gabriel Mountains with a Canon EOS 10D, 100mm macro lens.
Source: Santa Monica Trails Council
www.smmtc.org/plantofthemonth/plant_of_the_month_200909_California_Fuchsia.htm
We have an online wildflower field guide that is designed to help you identify desert wildflowers by color, scientific name, region and common name. The pictures are sized to work on the iPod, iPhone, iPad and similar devices. With your iPod or phone you will easily be able to identify wildflowers while in the desert. Links for downloads are on the bottom of the Wildflower Field Guide page.
Photo tips: Most digital point-and-shoot cameras have a macro function - usually symbolized by the icon of a little flower. When you turn on that function, you allow your camera to get closer to the subject, looking into a flower for example. Or getting up close and personal with a bug. More on desert photography.
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What's Blooming Now - Check the Wildflower Reports
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