Yellow flowers everywhere!

What’s that yellow flower?! Considering that we have 339 yellow flowers in Tuolumne County alone, it’s quite a daunting task to identify them. Well wonder no longer! In this series you will learn to identify all the yellow flowers you see while driving around Tuolumne County. First stop is Mechanics Bank in Groveland, CA. As you drive out of town look to your left before passing the bank and you will see a fairly large hill cut. Slated as a parking lot for the unused building, the construction crew hit bedrock and abandoned the project. At this time of the year it’s quite swampy. Perfect conditions for the yellow flowers you see gracing the California poppies. This flower is the common monkey-flower or Erythranthe guttata. It’s easily recognizable by its uniquely shaped flower decorated with red spots. An extremely adaptable plant, it can be found all over the Western U.S., including the splash zone of the Pacific Ocean and the geysers of Yellowstone. With the yellow of the monkeyflowers and the orange of the poppies this abandoned construction site is one of the best areas for viewing our native wildflowers. Make sure you stop and take in its beauty next time you are in town!