Mt. Tamalpais – Ridgecrest

On March 7, our botany class drove along Ridgecrest Boulevard in Mount Tamalpais and made a few stops along the Panoramic Highway, Ballou Point, and lastly on a trail along Cataract Creek. Within our stops, we saw a variety of habitats – for example, on the trail along Panoramic Highway we observed mostly coastal scrub and chaparral while at Ballou Point we observed many evergreen trees (Douglas firs, gold cup oaks, etc.). On our final stop along Cataract Creek, we observed ferns such as chain and sword ferns, which often thrive closer to bodies of water.

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While along the Panoramic Highway, we observed a checker mallow (Sidalcea malviflora), which is a dicot belonging to the Malvaceae family. The checker mallow is native to California but can be found throughout western North America in a variety of habitats, such as coastal sage scrub and chaparral. Its stem is pubescent. Most of the leaves are arranged in a basal rosette and are palmately lobed with rounded apices. It also has fewer cauline leaves which are highly dissected and oblong in shape. Its flowers are radially symmetrical and has 5 bright pink petals with white veins, making the flower attractive to butterflies.

     

We also observed California barberry (Berberis pinnata), which is a basal eudicot shrub belonging to the Berberidaceae family. The California barberry is confined to western North America and occurs in a variety of habitats such as woodlands, chaparrals, and forests. The stems are red and glabrous. Their leaves are odd-pinnately compound and leathery in texture. The leaves have slightly “wavy” or revolate margins with spines at its edges. The flowers are yellow, cup-shaped, and radially symmetrical. They are arranged in raceme inflorescences that appear umbel-like at first. Although we didn’t observe its fruit, the California barberry produces a purple, sour berry that is often used to produce purple dye; the sour taste is more palatable to songbirds than it is to us humans.

     

We also observed yellow mats (Sanicula arctopoides), which is a perennial herb native to California and which belongs to the Apiaceae family. The yellow mats often grow low to the ground, giving it its name (as well as its other common name, “Footsteps of Spring”). The leaves are palmately dissected and are yellow-green in color. Its leaves are also simple and have narrowly acute apices. The flowers are bisexual, yellow, and conspicuous (only about 1-2 mm in size). As is common in the Apiaceae family, the flowers are arranged in umbel inflorescences. The yellow mat displays prominent, star-like bracts which are fused at the base and are similar in color to its leaves.

                             

We had some difficulty finding plants that were flowering, but sights such as the wild orchid and the ground iris made it worth the while. The hike was a breeze since it didn’t actually involve much hiking at all. Even so, I think we made up for the less rigorous hike with the drive on the twisting and winding road (which my mind provided the Indiana Jones theme song as a background soundtrack to throughout). While on the trail along the Panoramic Highway, we were introduced to a plant with my favorite plant name – the soap plant, or amole (which I will never be able to think of without hearing “That’s amole”). We also ran into some old friends such as coyote brush, tanoak, chain ferns, and the California poppy. Much like all of the hikes we’ve been on so far, the views did not disappoint. From the pit stop at Ballou Point, we had a view of the San Andreas Fault which used to terrify me as a 7 year old in Los Angeles but is actually very beautiful in reality. We took a class picture, we received chocolates for correct identifications, and we even headed back with time to spare – overall, this trip was one for the books!

    

Honorable Mention Species

Fairy Slipper (Calypso bulbosa)
Family: Orchidaceae

Ground iris (Iris macrosiphon)
Family: Iridaceae

Cleavers (Galium aperine)
Family: Rubiaceae

Gold cup live oak (Quercus chrysolepis)
Family: Fagaceae

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