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| Family: Themidaceae (Brodiaea) |
| Flowers — color: blue, size: 1/4", type: 6 petals |
When Blue Dicks' flower cluster rises out of the grass on a 12–18 inch stem, it is usually the only visible part of the plant. This head contains a half dozen or more tubular flowers that open to a bell with six petals [or more accurately, three petals and three identical sepals]. I see the color as blue, but my photos sometimes show a tinge towards violet. The stamens cling tightly around six fertile anthers with yellow pollen.
The form and color of this flower cluster resembles blue field gilia. Blue Dicks stems have no leaves, and a columnar core insead of spreading stamens.
Habit:
Blue Dicks are a perennial herb growing from a corm. Unlike bulbs, that are layered, a corm is solid. It has several thin leaves which are 4–16 inches long, normally obscured in the neighboring grass. It reproduces by seed or cormlets produced at the base.
Blue Dicks are enjoyed by both Native Americans and wild animals, and the cormlets get scattered during harvesting. They were actively managed, by fires for example, and corms collected only after the seeds dispersed. When hiking in the central parts of the Reserve, I feel lucky to see several Blue Dicks per mile. Near La Purisima Mission, I thought I was seeing hundreds per mile next to the hiking trial. This higher density must arise from former Chumash cultivation at the Mission.
Blue Dicks grow in several Southwestern states. They flourish during wet years but may remain dormant during drought. It prefers sunny grasslands, but occurs on other parts of the parkland.