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Great news from Audubon Canyon Ranch

December 6, 2017

You can find the original post on Facebook here – https://www.facebook.com/AudubonCanyonRanch/videos/1733235170030396/

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🌸 Fun Fact Friday: Shooting Star 🌸 Shooting

🌸 Fun Fact Friday: Shooting Star 🌸

Shooting Star (Dodecatheon hendersonii – also known as Primula hendersonii) is one of California’s most whimsical native wildflowers.

With backward-swept petals and bold central cones, they resemble little stars falling from the sky.

These fascinating blooms rely on buzz pollination, where native bumblebees vibrate the flower to shake out pollen. Talk about teamwork!

🌿 You’ll find them blooming from February to May in moist grasslands, foothills, and oak woodlands. By early summer, they vanish entirely, going dormant underground until the following spring.

🎨 Their colors range from lavender and magenta to white, often with a vibrant yellow "eye" near the center. Their aerodynamic design isn’t just pretty—it's perfectly shaped for pollination by their bee partners.

💡 Despite their fragile appearance, they’re a hardy symbol of California’s native floral diversity—and a seasonal favorite for pollinators.

🌼 Bonus Bloom shown pictured here with the Shooting Star: California Saxifrage (Saxifraga californica)

This dainty wildflower with small, white, star-like petals is often blooming nearby. It thrives in moist, rocky habitats—streambanks, canyon walls, and shady granite outcrops.

Saxifraga means "rock breaker" in Latin, a nod to the tough mountain homes these plants anchor themselves in. Not bad for such a delicate-looking bloom.

📍 Watch for both on spring hikes, they’re fleeting but unforgettable.

#FunFactFriday #ShootingStarFlower #Dodecatheon #PrimulaHendersonii #CaliforniaWildflowers #BuzzPollination #CaliforniaNativePlants #SaxifragaCalifornica #GreeneSaxifrage #SpringWildflowers #PollinatorFriendly #Conservation #NapaLandTrust

🌿 Protecting Napa, Preserving Our Future 🌿

🌿 Protecting Napa, Preserving Our Future 🌿

Napa County’s landscapes are more than just breathtaking views—they are home to diverse wildlife, rare species, rich agricultural heritage, and essential water resources. Since 1976, the Land Trust of Napa County has permanently protected 96,000 acres—ensuring these lands remain wild, thriving, and resilient for future generations.

Through conservation easements, land acquisitions, and land stewardship, we safeguard the places that make Napa unique, special and even rare. From restoring native habitats to reducing wildfire risks, our stewardship programs ensure that protected lands remain healthy and vibrant.

💚 Join us in preserving Napa’s natural legacy! Support conservation through donations, memberships, or volunteering—because the land that sustains us all deserves to be protected.

🔗 Learn more & get involved: napalandtrust.org

#NapaLandTrust #ConservationMatters #ProtectNapa #WildForever #LandStewardship #LandProtection #ProtecWhatYouLove

🌷 Happy Mother's Day from all of us at Napa Lan

🌷 Happy Mother's Day from all of us at Napa Land Trust! 🌷

Today, we celebrate the mothers who lead with courage, nurture with tenderness, and teach with patience, just like a mother bear guiding her cubs through the wild.

Whether you care for children, animals, gardens, or communities, your love leaves a lasting imprint. Your strength protects, your care sustains, and your wisdom helps the next generation grow.

We see your devotion mirrored in nature every day—from the quiet resilience of a bear raising her young in the forest, to the enduring bonds that sustain our shared home.

To all the moms and mother figures—thank you for making the world more compassionate, connected, and full of life. May today bring peace, appreciation, and the love you so freely give.

Happy Mother’s Day! 🐻💞

#MothersDay #NapaLandTrust #CelebrateMom #MothersInNature

🌿📚 Fun Fact Friday: The Golden Fairy Lantern

🌿📚 Fun Fact Friday: The Golden Fairy Lantern ✨

Scientific name: Calochortus amabilis
Also known as: Diogenes' Lantern, Golden Globe Lily, Short Lily

Meet the Golden Fairy Lantern, a captivating wildflower endemic to Northern California. With its nodding, golden-yellow blooms, this plant brings a touch of enchantment to Napa’s spring landscapes. Though typically golden in color, rarer orange or reddish variations have been spotted in the wild.

🌿 Where It Grows:
Calochortus amabilis is native to Napa, Sonoma, Lake, Mendocino, and Solano counties. It thrives in chaparral, oak woodlands, and mixed evergreen forests, and is well-adapted to open, dry areas with well-drained or serpentine soils.

🌼 Bloom Time:
Depending on elevation and climate, this perennial blooms from April through June.

🧬 Cool Science Fact:
The lantern-shaped flowers hang facing downward, shielding their reproductive parts from rain and harsh sunlight. The petals are lined with fine, silky hairs, releasing a subtle scent that attracts native bees and beetles. This species also thrives in serpentine soils, which are notoriously nutrient-poor, making this wildflower a symbol of resilience and ecological specialization in California’s plant communities.

✨ Did You Know?
The Latin name amabilis means “lovely” or “pleasing”—a perfect match for this glowing gem. The common name "Diogenes' Lantern" refers to the Greek philosopher Diogenes, who famously carried a lantern during the day in search of truth.

The Kashaya Pomo people traditionally used the bulbs of this plant as a food source, roasting or boiling them like small potatoes—a reminder of the deep relationships between native plants and Indigenous cultures.

Next time you're hiking in Napa, keep an eye out—you might spot one of these golden lanterns glowing at your feet. 💛

#FunFactFriday #GoldenFairyLantern #CalochortusAmabilis #NativePlants #CaliforniaFlora #NapaNature #ConservationInBloom #LTNC #WildflowerWonder #DiogenesLantern

🌿 Wildflower Wonder 💜 Spring is painting th

🌿 Wildflower Wonder 💜

Spring is painting the land with lupine! These native blooms make us smile, support pollinators, and remind us why land conservation matters.

#NapaLandTrust #Lupine #NativeFlowers #LandProtection #Conservation #WildflowerWonder

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