Pagodas in the Patchwork
Small pale flowers of Chinese pagodas (Collinsia spp.) occupy the foreground of a broad horizontal landscape layered with Adonis lupines, owl’s clover, California poppies, fiddleneck, miniature lupines and narrow-leaf goldenbush. Their distinctive tiered blossoms resemble miniature pagodas while the surrounding wildflowers form successive bands and patches of color across the Tejon Ranch foothills.
The small pale flowers in the foreground immediately caught the photographer’s attention. Viewed closely, their tiered blossoms resemble miniature pagodas, giving these members of the genus Collinsia one of their descriptive common names.
These particular plants were growing in full sun on the Tehachapi foothills. The exact Collinsia species was never confirmed and the photographer did not encounter these plants blooming on the ranch again.
Beyond them, the landscape opened into a broad patchwork of Adonis lupines, owl’s clover, California poppies, fiddleneck, miniature lupines and narrow-leaf goldenbush. The attraction was not simply any one species but the way different flower communities and colors formed successive layers across the terrain.