The Living Landscape: Mellow yellow
- Kathleen Scavone
- Posted On
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Finally! As I write this, our favorite star, the sun is shining brightly in our beautiful, blue Lake County skies once again.
After living in a sepia-colored, smoky world for so long I began paying attention to the diversity of yellow flora and fauna in the surrounding landscape now.
Those who study color psychology tell us that the color yellow solicits our attention more than almost any other color.
Yellow is said to be the shade of cheerfulness and contentment; of hopefulness, creativity along with inspiration. The happy-face color is also the color of vibrant lemons and cheerful daffodils.
Yellow tarweed makes itself known before it is even seen, through its piquant scent that clings to clothes if you happen to brush against it as you wander by. If you touch it you'll have sticky fingers for some time to come.
According to Calscape, the California Native Plant Society guide there are 51 kinds of tarweed native to California, and most are yellow or white in color.
These summer-to-fall blooming flowers have earned their name due to the secretions that coat their leaves and stems.
The special coating plays several important roles. One is that it aids the plants in retaining moisture during the heat of the day, thereby rendering them drought-tolerant, and another is that tarweed's coating keeps them from being eaten by insects or animals.
There are studies that show that some tarweed species attract insects by causing them to adhere to the plants' sticky coating then in turn, allow yet another kind of insect to dine on the tarweed victims who are stuck. This clever ability causes a decline in insects that are undesirable to the tarweed.
Some varieties of the plant were used by native peoples when they harvested the seeds to make pinole.
The book, “California Indians and their Environment” by Kent G. Lightfoot and Otis Parrish, explains that seeds from some tarweed varieties were stored raw, for use during the year when they could be cooked and pounded prior to consumption.
Is there any flower more cheering than the pollinator-friendly sunflower? These butter yellow beauties attract a large variety of both native bees and honey bees along with other pollinators such as moths and butterflies, all while producing delicious and nutritious seeds for human and avian consumption.
The Great Sunflower Project is a great way to investigate this humble plant as well as to contribute to citizen science. The organization has more than 100,000 members and has a handy set of bee identification cards for those who are interested and curious.
Native sunflowers, which grow in spring, and are smaller in stature, are also terrific pollinator-friendly plants and were used as a food source for native peoples.
A familiar but invasive yellow plant is the starthistle, a noxious weed that probably arrived in California during the Gold Rush era by fastening itself to alfalfa seed. This spiky plant originated in Turkey or Greece.
The release of a particular type of weevil – along with control burns and herbicides in some areas – has somewhat reduced the onslaught of starthistle plants. Its mellow yellow color, along with the fact that it attracts honey bees, is not reason enough to like this plant, since it takes over and crowds out native plant populations and is poisonous to horses.
I've never met a bird I didn't like, and the lesser goldfinches that congregate at my feeder always put a smile on my face. They are found in open woodlands in the oaks, cottonwoods and willow trees where they consume a variety of seed types.
These diminutive yellow and black songbirds use their sturdy bills to pry open seeds but sometimes complement their diet with plant lice.
The primary color of yellow may influence your mood and your thinking – it may even determine your snack choice by persuading you to dine on some delectable golden, locally grown pears and apples.
Kathleen Scavone, M.A., is a retired educator, potter, freelance writer and author of “Anderson Marsh State Historic Park: A Walking History, Prehistory, Flora, and Fauna Tour of a California State Park” and “Native Americans of Lake County.”