An ant forages among the florets of a wreath plant.

I've run past wreath plants thousands of times in the chaparral of local open space areas. At a glance, the nondescript wiry brown plant isn't very appealing. But, it's one of a few plants you'll see blooming in the chaparral in the Fall, so on a run this last November I took a closer look. This revealed a lavender-tinged composite flower that is anything but mundane. And, as I was to discover, a case of probable mistaken identity, and an example of one of the ways new species occur.

The photograph is of valley oak savannah on the north slopes of Laskey Mesa in Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve (formerly Ahmanson Ranch). This area was burned in the 2005 Topanga Fire. If you look closely, the condition of the trees varies widely. Some have full crowns; some partial crowns; and some are nearly bare.

Snow Plant (Sarcodes sanguinea) is so different from the norm that each encounter is memorable. In a world where most plants are green, its startling red color and unusual structure always make an impact.

This showy, if somewhat bizarre looking, flower (Clarkia unguiculata) blooms late in the Spring, and is also known by the common name Farewell to Spring.