I came back to look at the flowering plants that I had taken photographs of during my first Journal post. Moreover, most of them were dying due to the colder winter climate that California has now moved onto. Despite the colder conditions, there were a few plant species that thrived in this climate. One of these categories of flowers include the Yellow Trumpet flower. These flowers are most likely grown to survive the climate all year around. Additionally, there were many pollinators present at the time. This maybe due to the fact that the campus held a pleasantly cloudy weather, where the temperature was mildly warm with a cool breeze. This weather consequently ensured that the bees and other insects were free to thrive in an optimal warmth, without added temperature interferences.
During our trip to Long Beach, I spotted several Fan Palm trees, as well as several other species of plants. The weather at Long beach was quite breezy, yet sunny. Moreover, the endless lines of palm trees growing close to the docks at Long Beach were ideally tolerant to their environment. They are indeed flowering plants, and they sprout small but bright, yellow flowers. They are able to tolerate California's mediterranean climate due to their specific adaptations (i.e. their leaves, roots, truck,and growth rates). For instance, their large fan-shaped leaves enable them to reduce water loss from their surfaces. Additional features such as, their tall trunks, and large roots enable them to gather many nutrients, and also cement them to the ground firmly. Their branching roots also enable them to withstand the drought.
During our trip to Marsh Park and Steelhead I spotted a lot of native plants and trees. The climate in Marsh Park, was still very much warm with a slight breeze. However, most of the flowering plants that I had spotted were assimilated to dry climates, such as various species of cacti. Some common finds include: rosemary, morning glory, cape honeysuckle, and several others. All the plant species had certain adaptations to deal with water loss as well as infiltration from other mammals and insects. Steelhead on the other hand sported a much hotter temperature, and not many flowers were found here. The plants found did not technically bear flowers, and commonly included: maple trees, oak trees, several creepers, and many grasses. This may have been due to the temperature, and also the lack of nutrients for plant growth available in the surroundings.
I took several pictures of various flowering plants during mid-september around the Pasadena area, and also during our trip to the Arroyo. It was observed that there existed various species of flowers that had adapted to their natural environment. The environment in which the flowers were taken, at Pasadena City College, had warmer temperatures, and thrived with many flowers. However, I did not spot a lot of pollinators during the September season which was rather strange since it was indeed a warmer climate for flower growth, and an ideal time for pollination. This may have been due to the fact that the temperatures were a lot higher during September - much greater than the optimal warmth they prefer, thus consequently stressing the pollinators from arriving. However, there was definitely a more variety of flower species present during the September season. I spotted a lot of yellow trumpet flower plants, and also several plants from the Leucophyllum genus, and several other brightly colored flowers that I could not identify.
