By Kathryn Reed

OROVILLE – It was like walking on a carpet of tiny wildflowers. And, yet, looking in the distance it was like a watercolor.

Table Mountain is usually awash in color this time of year. And while the flora is more robust compared to anyplace in Tahoe now, the lack of rain in the North State is making this wildflower season a bit lackluster compared to some years.

Still, the array of flowers last weekend on this 3,400-acre ecological preserve owned by the state Department of Fish and Game was well worth the trek. The state acquired the land from cattle ranchers in two purchases – one in 1992, the other 1997.

It’s wildflower season on Table Mountain in Oroville. Photos/Kathryn Reed

Cattle still graze on this expanse of land. This, according to the two leaders of the hike, is a good thing because it keeps the non-native grasses “plowed” which allows the wildflowers to prosper.

Individuals, families and organized groups are scouring the landscape. Heads are bent down looking at the various flowers that create a mosaic. With this being lava country, the terrain is uneven – another good reason to keep looking down.

What keeps looking like a yellow carpet is actually various species of flowers. California gold fields is the most popular.

This area is also home to the Montana state flower – the Montana bitter root.

Brian Gilmore, who led this Fish and Game trek, said the Lewis and Clark expedition ate the bulb of this plant and that it has a succulent leaf.

Many of the plant species thrive in vernal pools. And while there are spots of water, where we walked last Saturday was dry and should have been under water in a normal March.

Table Mountain meadow foam, white tipped clover, cow bag clover, coyote thistle, butter and eggs, poppy, lupine, dwarf stone, blue-eyed gilia, California buttercup, jewel flower, purple owl’s clover, valley man-root, Larkspur delphinium – those are just some of the flowers we learn about.

A California horn lark could be heard nearby.

We catch a garter snake snacking on a Pacific chorus frog. This is a terrestrial snake – so after it swallows it needs to hang out on rock, which helps with its digestion.

In the nearby creek, Gilmore plucks a newt from the water. He enlightens the group that normally picking up bright colored amphibians is a bad idea because the color indicates it is poisonous.

Normally this time of year the six waterfalls in the preserve are flowing – not so now.

While Table Mountain is free to the public to access, to roam, to picnic, to fly kites, for those who don’t know their flowers, a guided hike is highly recommended.

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Note:

More info about Table Mountain, including tours, is online.

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