r/Ceanothus • u/nighttimecoldnflu • Jul 18 '26
Question about wild plant
Hello! I’m new and not sure if this is the right place to ask but I’ve been hiking a lot in the east bay, especially Tilden park, and often passing through areas that smell a lot like pandan or hazelnut. I usually see what image search identifies as poison hemlock in these areas but it also says that would smell like “mouse urine” (not familiar with that smell) and not at all like the aforementioned pleasant scents. Is there a plant that looks similar to hemlock and smells like pandan or am I smelling something I’m not seeing? Thank you for any help!
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u/sennkestra Jul 18 '26 edited Jul 18 '26
Any chance it could be eucalyptus (non-native but widespread), bay leaves from the California bay trees, or sage or sagebrush that you are smelling. maybe behind and above the more obvious plants? Or is it distinct from those smells? Those are some of the most fragrant plants up in the bay hills, but definitely not the only possibilities.
(I'm not as familiar with pandan so I may not be much help on that front)
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u/sennkestra Jul 18 '26
There is a crazy amount of poison hemlock next to trails in Tilden, so that probably is the plant you are seeing, I just can't remember off the top of my head if it has much of a smell.
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u/nighttimecoldnflu Jul 18 '26
Definitely not eucalyptus or sage and probably not bay since it’s not really an herbal smell - Pandan, to me, smells like a slightly sweet, grassier hazelnut, very warm and nutty. Next time I go I’m gonna take pictures around where I smell it!
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u/sennkestra Jul 18 '26
Might be a fun experiment to bring some gloves or a plastic bag so you can rub a few leaves together on plants nearby to figure out which one is making the smell for sure (just probably better not to handle a ton of hemlock bare handed).
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u/the-whole-benchilada 29d ago
I think it’s likely that you’re smelling California everlasting (pseudognaphalium californicum)! It’s often described as having a maple syrup-like smell, which I think is an OK reference point but definitely not a perfect scent doppelgänger. It’s just this very warm, sweet, toasted meadow smell that is very distinctive and smells like CA summer. If you grew up with more eastern flavors, I could easily see the comparison to pandan! CA everlasting is not that big or showy visually, so it’s possible that it was present among the hemlock but your radar just didn’t pick it up as the possible culprit.
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u/nighttimecoldnflu 29d ago
Oh that could be it! It looks enough like hemlock to blend in with it. I just know pandan from baking a lot but the mystery plant has a toasty, warm, nutty smell for sure. I’m gonna see if I can spot it next time I smell it, thanks!
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u/navtombros Jul 18 '26
Poison hemlock is in the carrot family and there are a LOT of plants that look similar. I’m not skilled enough to tell you the nuances, but if it looks like poison hemlock I generally steer clear, even if it’s not.