Native Plant Species Stories
By Kendra Saad, Programs Co-Chair
Deerweed (Acmispon glaber)
Acmispon glaber is one of the cheeriest and elegant native plants. Commonly known as deerweed, it has thin, bright green, gently arching, knee-high stems that are covered in small, bicolor yellow-red flowers for several months of the year. It looks delicate, but it is built tough. Its stems barely move when hefty bumblebees visit. The Kumeyaay used Acmispon glaber stems to make walls for their structures.
I first fell in love with Acmispon glaber at the San Diego Botanic Garden’s Native Plants, Native People Garden. It’s in a secluded valley that is often free of other visitors, so it’s a great place to stroll and meditate.
Acmispon glaber is not readily available from nurseries, so I was super excited when I found seeds sold through CNPS-SD two years ago.
The package recommended hot water treatment and/or liquid smoke. I put them in hot water, and then, since I didn’t have liquid smoke, I set them on fire in a metal bucket. I painstakingly planted the tiny seeds on a sloped garden in between Salvia spp. and Rhus integrifolia (lemonade berry) seedlings. I watered and watched them all winter. Nothing came up. I figured some birds must have enjoyed a smoky snack!
The next fall, however, I was weeding in an entirely different garden, separated by our house and a driveway, and I saw here and there the tell-tale tender green stalks and tiny leaves of the Acmispon glaber! I carefully weeded around them and watched them grow. And then in February, their sunny yellow and red flowers popped open. They have slowly spread west to other parts of my garden, but not one on the slope. It still baffles me today!
Here is a photo with two Acmispon glaber (foreground and background) in my garden along with an Artemisia species:
Acmispon glaber. Photo credit: Kendra Saad
A bumblebee (black spot) visiting a flower:
Acmispon glaber. Photo credit: Kendra Saad
California Threadtorch (Castilleja minor ssp. spiralis)
Julie Schneider Ljubenkov painted this image of a California threadtorch (Castilleja minor ssp. spiralis) she found near the headwaters of the San Luis Rey River in Cleveland National Forest near Indian Flats Campground. The California threadtorch also occurs in Hellhole Canyon County Park in Valley Center and she painted a California threadtorch portrait for that location in response to a call for an exhibition at the California Center for the Arts called “Finding Heaven in Hellhole.” She sent a note to the CNPS-SD discussion group that said, “CNPS and all members: please feel free to reprint or use the image. While the original is for sale, my goal in painting these is preservation, education, and appreciation. We need to show the world what beautiful wildflowers we have here in CA and San Diego County.” Thank you, Julie!
Castilleja minor ssp. spiralis. Photo credit: Julie Schneider Ljubenkov
I’m a big fan of Deer Weed, a couple of observations and a question.Deer Weed seams to flower early in the year and I’ve observed the Bramble Hairstreak butterfly (an early season butterfly) visiting it quite often. Looks to me Deer Weed often grows near or intertwined with California Buckwheat.I read and am working if it’s true, the yellow flowers change to red after they have been pollinated, that insects don’t see red and will concentrate on pollinate the yellow flowers.
Thanks for this! However, I typically see these in my area (in and around Encinitas), with somewhat purple-colored stems. Is this normal variation, or am I seeing a different plant?
There are six different species of Indian Paintbrush in San Diego California last time I checked the literature. There is a lot of variation in colors. See photos of this species and others on CalScape.