Foothills hike sees rare South County flower in bloom

What better way to get an early start to Spring in the South County than taking an exclusive hike in the flower studded foothills and searching for a rare flower that blooms in the area — all the while taking part in a mini geology lesson?

That’s how a group of people from the community spent Saturday afternoon — under the sun on a guided walk and wildflower immersion experience at the Lewis Hill Preserve.

The preserve is owned by the Sequoia Riverlands Trust, and is protected for its rare Adobe Striped Lily bloom. The flower is filed as a threatened California species. It is distributed along the Southern Sierra Nevada foothills. The preserve is normally used as grazing land, but the animals were removed for the day, for the Sequoia Riverlands Trust’s once-a-year guided hike.

Those who came out for the day brought their cameras, hiking shoes and full attention as Fletcher Linton, a botanist for the Sequoia National Forest, led them through the steep grassy terrain just east of Porterville and gave them a lesson about the geologic conditions suited for the Adobe Striped Lily to grow there.

Jeff Steen toted his 1-year-old daughter, Sofia, in a backpack carrier and occasionally stopped to snap photos of some of the wildflowers along the way.

“We love to do things outdoors,” he said. “That’s one of the good things about living here, especially in the springtime.”

Having lived in the Bay Area for eight years before moving to Springville, he said the latter has just as much to offer as the former when it comes to nature you can enjoy.

That’s what each of the hikers seemed to be doing — enjoying the landscape. The group marched up one of the hills of the preserve, stopping at times to ask Linton questions, most often about the names of wildflowers they were finding.

Linton also stopped the group a few times to point out the two features the land is known for: the Adobe Striped Lilies and the serpentine rocks that enable them to bloom. The rocks are directly associated with the adobe soil that the flowers must grow from, he said.

Adobe soil is claylike, and is derived from a mix of climate conditions and the minerals that are in it, so the rocks prevalent in a given piece of land have an effect on the soil that is created.

Pointing to a neighboring hill, covered in granite instead of serpentine, he said the area produces small pockets of soil that could not accommodate the adobe striped lily. Where there are serpentine rocks, though, there are deep wells of clay soil. Basically, with a different mineral type, “you’re cooking with a different ingredient,” he said.

Only a few of the adobe striped lilies were found. People took turns, kneeling down to take a closer look at the flower for themselves or snap a few pictures of it.

The hikers kept fixed on Fletcher as he told them fact after geological fact. He passed around pictures and talked about the San Joaquin Adobe Sunburst, which is deemed threatened on the federal level and endangered on the state level.

One hiker, Linda Roddick, stayed especially tuned in and took notes on what Linton was saying. Facts about the area’s geology, she said, interest her.

“We live in such a neat geological state, and there is so much diversity in the geology of California that it is fun to learn about it,” she said. “Hopefully we can get people to appreciate what we have.”

It appeared that just about every hiker was appreciating the landscape at that point.

Erin Tinley said she decided to take the hike after she saw a notice about it in The Recorder.

“I drive past this hill every day to go to work, but I didn’t know it was a preserve,” she said. Then, while following Linton up a hill that overlooked surrounding stretches of green pasture, she said, “it’s a beautiful place. I can understand why it’s a special place.”

-- Contact The Recorder newsroom at 784-5000, Ext. 1043.