Lilies That Grow in Rock Piles & Milkweed Pollination Explained

Join us as we first take a look at a bizarre, wooly-ass milkweed that only grows in the state of California, giving a somewhat in-depth explanation of milkweed pollination biology while tenuously perched on a small hill above a road, cursing and laughing. Then we return to the ultramafic dungeon, where we witness a Lily that has one of the strangest ecologies of them all, only growing in the rubble piles created by weathering ultramafic rock (the presence of which on the Earth's surface indicates the former presence of a subduction zone).
It's hard to feel like you wanna mack somebody in the head with a brick when you're staring at this beauty - Fritillaria falcata, Lily Family - Liliaceae. What a stunner. It's rare as hell, extremely localized, and half the populations are probably endangered by human impacts like cattle or OHV damage. Not only is it incredibly beautiful, but it has some of the strangest goddamned habitat - only occurring in openings in the surrounding chapparal on steep slopes composed of talus created by weathering ultramafic rock/serpentine (if you don't know what this is, ask). Serpentine and the other ultramafics in the area fracture and break really easily, creating talus piles composed of rocks that range in size from marbles to golf all size. It is in these rocky talus piles that Fritillaria falcata sets up shop. They are geophytes, of course, producing bulbs, and the bulbs exist about 8-10 inches below the surface of the talus piles. These talus piles shift and collapse when you walk on them, making photographing or observing these bastards extremely risky for them.
This episode dedicated to the memory of John Prine (RIP). Also dedicated to my friend Holly, a lovely felonious butch lesbian from Boston who is very much still alive.
Species list :
Asclepias californica
Artemisia californica
Fritillaria falcata
Streptanthus sp.
Erysimum sp.
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[@cwetfeet]

"Looks like a god damn bath towel" I wish my field guides had descriptions like this.

[@ealaibracket1]

I would pay a lot of money for a field guide written by him.

[@katiekane5247]

Made me lol!

[@snowmiser4893]

I'd love to see a segment dedicated to horticultural atrocities.

[@aboz8649]

Please

[@blxssup2839]

Yessss

[@pomodorino1766]

It would be great

[@intheweeds232]

"this country today is a highly polarized cultural toilet, ya know?" yes! this does make me feel better!! thank you cpbbd. really, thank you.

[@stephanie_a333]

Y'know Tony? Seeing that bumbleebee drinking rare lilly nectar *did* make me release all the bull plop of the human world. *Thanks!*

[@boa9535]

“Pink bubbly things.” And, “it’s nice to be soft sometimes.” Encouraging men to be less aggressive. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

[@TheDancingHyena]

My man, just as I was wondering when you'd be back. These video are like crack

[@cgriggsiv]

You my friend definitely have immense beautiful views

[@atomicwendy]

not only are you very intelligent and hilarious but, a really nice guy!

[@rfrost23]

Thank you for reminding us how little we matter. It's very comforting.

[@wallamashala9558]

Thanks for showing what outside looks like from all on lockdown~!

[@sapphirestrm]

Joey descending into a wonderful rant~ realizes the need for beauty: Let's not go there, we don't have to go there. Thanks Joey for the reminder!

[@richtourist]

Yes, I find I'm able to do the same thing now, more and more easily... just don't go there; drop it; forget it; decide on a different path. I think he is helping a lot of people.

[@Bimtavdesign]

That Frtitllaria is amazing😍😍😍

[@heidijpalmer]

OMG this guy is the best!!!! Need to appoint you Secretary of Interior

[@TheDroopYJ]

Best damn channel on the intertubes. Even the whole titternet. Cultivation of native plants is a fantastically old and wonderful idea.

[@SuperDaveP270]

Asclepias are some of my favorites. I have a spot I go to that is full of A. humistrata, always a treat.

[@hlengiweluthuli698]

Regards from Durban the Asclepias californica is a very attractive plant

[@regnbuetorsk]

lol, indumentum. In italian, "indumento" is a generic (and not much used anymore) word for "clothing"

[@sc4ml1kely]

I've watched so many of your videos, I am finally able to follow along with your rants!

[@ShawnStrickland]

This guy is so awesome, thank you for all your amazing information!! Cheers from Canada!

[@demonorse]

The flowers on my milkweed here in Michigan smell incredible, I can smell them inside the house.

[@zachduperron8543]

Good ol California milkweed, I love the plant and how it looks. If l lived down there I’d grow those since I have a butterfly rearing hobby and the milkweeds looked very cool.

[@HarryCandles123]

Thanks for the post. Also to say thanks for the link on all the good reading from Uncle Vinny. Much appreciated.

[@MonoiLuv]

Another video, another gift

[@themidnightrambler4865]

Thanks, Tony, for making these videos. I really enjoy them. I live in Arizona, out in the boonies. I don't like living in the city. I get out into the back country, quite a lot. You and your videos have inspired me to buy three books about the different things that grow, around my area such as plants, trees and cactus. Hopefully, I'll now know what things I'm looking at and photographing when I'm out.

[@godemperorofmankind7255]

The cities are not fit for human habitation anyway. Living in a more rural environment has been linked to so many health and mental benefits. Greetings from Northern Utah by the way.

[@stephaniewilson3955]

Another entertaining video. I am glad that you are still filming and posting. You take care!

[@nekkoke]

Always a pleasure to watch.

[@themidnightrambler4865]

I appreciate your shout out to John Prine. I loved that guy and his music.

[@RKarabeckian]

? Did I miss that? And John Prine didn't die. He rose.

[@PinkBunnyCorporation]

These flowers look like they are about to fire some giant space laser.

[@citrus_sam3939]

"butch lesbians that have a lot of male aggression" me, a butch lesbian with male aggression: hMmmmmmm

[@aboz8649]

That whole aside about it made me laugh so much It was so niche but so on point

[@hamilt55467]

It’s always cute seeing it. Like chihuahuas, all bark no bite 😃

[@gabriellesmith219]

@@hamilt55467 eat big shit my guy

[@EnjoyerofYoutube]

Is that a "hmmm" of agreement or dissent? Or confusion?

[@citrus_sam3939]

@@EnjoyerofKZbin agreement, haha thought it was just coincidental

[@timk4452]

"looks like a goddam bath towel" duly noted as I learn these botanical terms from this guy.

[@space____taco]

Thank you for all your videos. Watching you slide down on your ass having a bit of fun made my day.

[@pililogan5769]

You nailed this one. Nice! I love it.

[@danielirvin4420]

Do love a good talus slope! Thanks for the kick in the arse, going to get off the couch and check on the coltsfoot in the asphalt pile.

[@williampacey9194]

Appreciate your love of all the great plants trying to live with us. Most people don’t try to live with them so the plants do their best to find existence.

[@arnoldmmbb]

thanks for the content tony!

[@PlaidHiker]

You are an inspiration

[@grantrennie]

Great video, hello from Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@Silly_Meg]

Joe, I think that bee was flashing you! Thanks for taking these trips for a lot of us. Love your videos. I’m on a mission trying to watch all your videos or at least most of them. Ciao

[@thedudegrowsfood284]

"there are too many people, and they're everywhere" root cause of so many problems

[@eden7010]

gene eric No, it's capitalism. Overpopulation isn't a problem at all, what matters is how the people are acting.

[@urchickie]

I know! I can’t stand us

[@missanna208802]

@@eden7010 is that why an Inuit tribe 200 years ago caused lake eutrophication, Easter island has no trees, and COMMUNIST CHINA is one of the dirtiest places in the world? I could go on and on, but facts don't matter to people who are brainwashed by murderous propaganda, so really my comment is a total waste of time unless it reaches the eyes of someone who might be on the fence.

[@missanna208802]

Eric, yes there are too many people and we use way too many resources because we haven't figured out how to not be our own worst enemy. The situation is dire, but there are simple thing you can do to lessen the 7ish pounds of CO2 you put into the atmosphere each day like growing some of your own food, eating far less animal products..,a huge amount of our carbon footprint comes from the transportation of our food. Methane, which is far worse than carbon when it comes to warming is produced in huge amounts by the cattle industry. If we stopped eating beef, we could cut warming by something like 2/3rds, if I remember correctly. I dont think that number even includes the dairy industry. I know that is not going to happen, but if you only eat meat as a condiment once or twice a week or as more of a condiment rather than as a main course, you drastically reduce your warming inputs. Watch "cowpocalypse" for more info on that and find out what happened to oprah when she mentioned not eating burgers. Also, hopefully people will start grocery shopping like they do now, making really good lists and having some extra food on hand to reduce trips to the store, and perhaps a lot of businesses will find the benefits of worming from home when possible and for me, I am really enjoying online classes. It makes getting to class so much easier and saves me so much time, gas, and money and I wish classes from now on could be online and in person since some things like labs are better if you are there but lectures are easier from home. You can also cultivate a lot of edible native plants which also saves on water. Dont forage from the wild, but even in my high desert climate in sagebrush steppe, there are a lot of edible natives

[@raphlvlogs271]

"overpopulation" in short.

[@ranke]

Great video! Love them asclepias!! Would have invited you to my place in croatia (to see some orchids) this year but with the lockdown we’ll see when I can do this

[@dbrowne9341]

another real and fantastic check on reality thanks so much beautiful!!!

[@stevet6993]

@8:18 look at the bum on that bumblebee.... throwing those dollar bills.

[@skie6282]

Love this guy

[@pfcaraujo]

Monarch butterflies love the milkweed. I’ve been helping out the caterpillars by bringing them in with a milkweed branch and covering them in a net to protect them from the red wasps who eat all caterpillars

[@LayneLovesThings]

“So, let’s say dat yer a playnt”. God I love you so much.

[@craighoover1495]

You go back to the same plant every year?? What is it that makes you do this pray tell? I like this mind you. I think it's great. Nothing like personal observation over a long time. Just curious. How long have you been doing this? I have found that curiosity in me will make me do pretty incredible things just to get an answer. Very dangerous. In a good way. Nicest Easter Lily I have ever seen! Thanks for bringing this to us!

[@katiekane5247]

I do it too, it's like visiting an old friend to see if they're still alive.

[@mupetrus]

Best channel on KZbin. Tell us the edibility though brotha. Gonna need that info for the fallout. Bigups from BC

[@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt]

Cultivating is the best bet, it would seem. Either in a garden or conscientiously propagating and planting NATIVE edibles of your choosing around your property/neighborhood/community. This is what California Indians did. The entire damn landscape was their garden. Geophytes with tuberous or bulbous roots, oak trees (acorn meal), etc., native members of the brassica family (there are some really terrible invasive plants in this family that form monocultures and become problematic, preventing native species from growing), etc. I try to encourage people to get away from foraging, though this is a huge trend now, and instead move more towards actively propagating plants that are native (ie have evolved with theocal ecology for millions of years). A hundred people doing this could easily help restore ecosystems that have been fucked into a coma by modern society.

[@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt]

Also important to identify invasive plants and actively remove them so more natives can grow. Some invasives can even be used as food (ie "foraging"), like many members of the brassica family. Spent half an hour yesterday removing Sahara Mustard (one of the worst invasives in the Mojave and Sonoran deserts) from sensitive dune areas while singing and cursing to myself. The leaves are covered in irritating hairs, but the root is like a thick stalk of kohlrabi.

[@lukejarvie4082]

@@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt I live in the sonoran desert. What's your favorite native edible that I should be planting that does not have glochids?

[@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt]

@@lukejarvie4082 any of the agave species... You can cut the leaf blades off and roast the heart (this is the first step in distilling tequila) and it is one of the most delicious things I've ever eaten.

[@Hayley-sl9lm]

The last thing we want is some fucking hipsters pulling up natives so they can put their #forageporridge on instagram

[@Nubic1]

Thank You! :)

[@alexistowles1497]

I truly enjoy, I learn a lot about about plants .. great content. Lol funny

[@mikemc8575]

Thank you. Made my day

[@katthefantastic]

thank you

[@gerristephenson7277]

That lily is gorgeous

[@c0rnsocks]

Thanks bud

[@ho2cultcha]

interesting bumblebee! are you in San Benito?

[@richwallace8901]

Natoli's on Belmont makes the best pepperoni and they got an imported provolone to go with it. I'd like to find a flower that smells like dat.

[@williamruff1331]

Come down to southeastern untied states. You’d love the biology here

[@dyllllllan]

Finally, a video title thats explicitly un-explicit, you beautiful bastard. Know I know what I’m clicking

[@featheredfan]

The Bee looks like (probably) a male Bombus melanopygus, the Black-tailed Bumble Bee.

[@nonoluigi]

That Asclepias leaf idumentum looks like wet dog hair. Beautiful plant. So do you keep a master calendar for when interesting stuff blooms all around the world? If so, would be something to publish for other botanical well-wishers pursuing eco-tourism, especially subscribers here.

[@vc4546]

Fighting the good fight my friend

[@kennygrenier4011]

Holy shit that flower is gorgeous 7:18

[@lynnmoss2127]

Beautiful ascelpias. Please find an asclepias latifolia! Thank you for your vids

[@elig7087]

Just found your channel, do you have a favorite flower of all time?

[@garrettduey3429]

Oh? You just mentioned it...man I love that Solanoana. Have only seen photos and I hope to order seed if I can find it

[@k33k32]

I love the fact that Jack barely acknowledges and never comes over when called.

[@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt]

He's mad at me since I put his ass on a diet.

[@k33k32]

@@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt I'm impressed Jack was able to get tubby. Usually cow dogs run it off. You need more days out in the field with Jack.

[@thelaughingtiger146]

Don't forget the tripod this time. Lolll

[@chrisbowen8385]

Maybe you've done it in a past video? Could you disect a gynostegium nice on video?

[@garrettduey3429]

I am fascinated with the Asclepias right now, thank for some great information. That Californica is super beautiful!! If you know where to find the Salonoana, did I get that name?, I would love if you include that in a video sometime..

[@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt]

It's in a video I did last May

[@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/pWPcaaelZp2JkKc

[@garrettduey3429]

hey, thank you much!! I will enjoy that video for sure..

[@studiopolycultura]

When will you be back in the bay?

[@datdoor6236]

it looks like a spider came on that california milkweed when zoomed in on the flowers 3:00

[@sounddesignerinc.1770]

Chicagoans are so down to Earth!

[@mykneegrow]

can you make your own version of a bushcraft video ? I think most people are waiting for the day you upload to learn from you

[@jaycannabis9538]

The fuckin heffer line! Thank you brotha! I’m a hemp guy but you bring the fun and information to botany that many others don’t! 😂😂

[@lfrias78]

Beautiful fucking plants! That Milkweed was awesome.

[@willydig1873]

Did you or would you ever make a video in New England. ?

[@andybaldman]

I'd love to see him get out to the northeast. Prolly not gonna happen though, with all of the other places he has access to.

[@davidkaplan2745]

Scree-surfing. Fun.

[@Purwapada]

. Science is a way of descrption. If you know what I mean..

[@RDnAC]

8:44 Depressing political situation currently summed up 11:52 Subliminal Advise on how to Choose your friends wisely

[@grannyplants1764]

Oh my gosh your thumbnail... a 45 adapter for a 33 spindle... geez I’m old 😱🌿🌻

[@RDnAC]

@@grannyplants1764 teehee

[@DavidAtchison121]

Cheers

[@upaiaq]

I'm pretty sur I've seen the Fritillaria falcata growing in the San Bernardino Mountains.Maybe something like it.

[@upaiaq]

www.calflora.org//cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-taxon=Fritillaria+falcata

[@upaiaq]

Nope, different plant.

[@grantrennie]

I'd like to help you to create a botanic garden with big glasshouse on the outside of new york city as a nice place for new yorkers to visit, after the current crisis is over (currently April 2020 for future readers)

[@andybaldman]

He ain't gonna help you.

[@pjc7729]

@@andybaldman You never know unless you try.

[@andybaldman]

@@pjc7729 If you know this channel or Joey at all, you'll know how silly it is to even ask.

[@pjc7729]

@@andybaldman I understand you man, there is a slim chance that he will be interested but a slim chance is still a chance so it doesn't hurt to try even if it's silly from your perspective.

[@andybaldman]

@@pjc7729 Not only is there no chance, there's a negative chance, as just asking him is probably just going to annoy him. Because if you know this channel at all, you know that he'd never be interested in something like this, for many, many reasons. It annoys me that this person is even asking.

[@upaiaq]

Thanks for going through the trouble of inserting key words and what the shit.

[@grannyplants1764]

Yes....then getting so pissed off they can’t be read because the completely idiotic, illogical captions are covering them 🤬🌿

[@bigchieftomato]

lemme know when you're going to be in Los Angeles brother! I wanna get out and hike with you (if possible). I Hope to go on a hike today or tomorrow and see some mushrooms with all this great rain. Stay safe while you're out there and keep having fun :)

[@dragoniraflameblade]

Does CPBBD grow plants at home?

[@grannyplants1764]

I would doubt it... seems like he’s on the road botanizing and videoing whenever he can...plus I’ve learned from him unless a plant is “commercial” or tissue cultured already a pot of soil with fertilizer and other stuff really can’t provide them the specific microbiome enriched soil they prefer. He seems to prefer leaving them in situ. Yes I do have a lot of houseplants...now I wonder, for example, if my small ant plant ( Myrmephytum selenium) while it is growing nicely.....is it “happy” 🌿🌱🌻

[@arnorrian1]

Do Asclepias californica's seedpods look like budgies standing upside-down like Asclepias syriaca's do? Asclepias syriaca is called parrot plant here because of them. It's foreign, but not terribly invasive. Bees love it to bits, though. I once saw 5 species of bees on a single flower.

[@ChainsGoldMask]

Prine and Holly♥️

[@AlyxGlide]

Wish someone would stick their appendage in my stigmatic slit 😩 What a beautiful flower

[@johnnywoodstock]

Pls do a 4/20 special next week dedicated to cannabis

[@llabronco]

Did you say “moose?” ...in CA?

[@jomercer21113]

Fuckin' fabulous!

[@glennbrennan7999]

Dude needs come to Ireland

[@hairyrosette9642]

Please do, eriogonum ovalifolium var. Williamiae.

[@hairyrosette9642]

And the hotspring environment of steamboat hotsprings. While of course your commentary on the human cancer that is Reno.

[@swaddington9399]

SAVE MILKWEED AND SAVE MONARCH BUTTERFLIES!!!

[@ShawnStrickland]

8:50 so fucking true.

[@richieoftampa994]

So I identified a square stem with an asteraceae flower. Where do I bring my thinking from here?

[@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt]

Take a look at the phyllaries (the bracts on the outside wall of the flowerhead) and compare with species that grow local in your area using the "explore" feature on inat. A flora can be useful tool, but many have descriptions that are a pain in the ass to use for those not formally trained in the convoluted world of the vernacular of plant morphology

[@richieoftampa994]

@@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt It may be Bidens alba.

[@brainwashingdetergent4322]

You remind me of my pa

[@headybrew]

I love you, man! Only f*ckn guy I know that swears more than my father. A lot more. Haha! And you both appreciated the beauty that's all around us if we only look.

[@gerristephenson7277]

Will monarch eat this?

[@haroldcooper7926]

If chalcedony makes you hard, why not do a paleobotany piece from a petrified forest.

[@AzidationsAnonymous]

As a butch lesbian I approve this episode