California Buckeye
Aesculus californica
Color: White/pale rose
Common name: California Buckeye
Latin name: Aesculus californica
Family: HIPPOCASTANACEAE
Height: 4 to 12 m
Description: Sweet-scented flowers growing in erect clusters/spikes.
Leaf: Palmately compound with five (rarely seven) leaflets, oblong to lance-shaped with finely toothed edges
Range: C&S Northwestern California, S Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada Foothills, Tehachapi Mountain Area, n&c Central Western California, SW Mojave Desert, scattered in Great Central Valley near foothills
Habitat: Dry slopes, canyons, borders of streams.
Elevation: < 1676 m
Flowering time: May–June
Notes: Perennial deciduous tree or shrub endemic to California with a long lifespan. Only buckeye limited to California. All parts of the plant are TOXIC. Native Americans used ground seed as fish poison; nectar and pollen toxic to honeybees. Photographed June 2004. Horticulture — Given no specific additional requirements, grows especially well in zones 7, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, and 24 and also in zones 4, 5, and 6. Given moderate summer watering, grows especially well in zones 8, 9, and 18 and also in zones 3 and 10.
Photos 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.
Mojave Desert wildflowers This book is the standard by which all other wildflower books are measured. The author, Jon Mark Stewart, has combined super photography with concise information. This book has an entire color page to each wildflower covered, with a discussion of the wildflower. 210 pages with 200 color photos. More...
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(追記) (追記ここまで)
The Desert Environment
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Desert Geological Terms