Observations by bglover01

This looks like industrial-strength bermuda grass. It gets 2-3 feet high with a big clump of roots. The pictured plants are still babies. I dig them up instantly when I see it and try to get all off the roots. I don't fill in the hole for months on the theory that the plant could possibly grow back from any remaining bit of roots if they don't dry out. I put them in the trash, not the green waste, because the seeds might survive composting.

Mostly on and around a rocky cliff and chaparral area. I can only get close to a few individual plants due to the cliff and the spectacular poison oak plants. They are growing in clumps of up to maybe 10 feet but also a few individual plants. The total area where these are growing is about 5,000 or 6,000 square feet. The blooming clumps look like lavender clouds. The leaves appear soft. haven't noticed them before but this year, after all the rain in Southern California, they are all over this small area. I haven't noticed them anywhere else but maybe that's just me. It could be some kind of thistle.

My front yard used to be all bougainvillea. When I removed them, about 20 of these plants grew as volunteers. The leaves are about 3” long and 2” wide and a “flat” green; not glossy. The flower looks like a tomato flower only white. Marble sized fruits are purple. The plants are about 3’ tall and about 2’ wide. Crushed leaves have a mild, grassy scent somewhat like a chile. I don’t recall seeing these in my neighborhood but that may be because my neighbors are not was whimsical about their landscaping as me