DATE: APRIL 19, 2018
LOCATION: Ring Mountain (Tiburon , CA)
LATITUDE & LONGITUDE: 37.912125, -122.485893
ELEVATION: 604FT
MAP:
SITE DESCRIPTION
This trail was a mixture of slight inclines and declines but mostly flat surfaces along with open chaparral and serpentine soils. In addition, there was an abundance of grassy areas with very slightly muddy paths. This site was located behind a residential area that overlooked the Marin County and parts of the Golden Gate Bridge as well. Though not many new plants were observed, some new plant families were such as Caryophyllaceae.
SPECIES
“Scarlet Pimpernel”
This non-native Californian species is also called the Anagallis arvensis and is in the Myrsinaceae family. It is an annal with opposite or whorled leaves and have an elliptic leaf shape. The flower generally has 5 free petals and is orange-red in color. It is also sessile and is found in disturbed locations.
“Yarrow”
This species is also called Achillea millefolium and is found in the Asteraceae family and is native to California. This plant can look Apiaceae due to the umbel inflorescence but is indeed in the Asteraceae family. The flowers on this plant are white and is found in an abundance of habitats. The leafs are fine and pinnately divided.
“Common Catchfly”
This plant is also called the Silene gallica and is in the Caryophyllaceae family and is not native to California. This is one of the newer families that we observed. This plant is an annual and the stem is erect and the leaves are gradually reduced. The flowers are white in has 5 petals and is hairy and looks claw-like. The stems have a red-pinkish hue to them. it is generally found in field areas and disturbed areas.
NARRATIVE
We left the USF campus at approximately 12:50PM and arrived to Ring Mountain across the Golden Gate Bridge in about 40 minutes. The weather was sunny and bot too warm nor too windy. This particular hike was fairly easy since it was mostly flat grounds with sight uphill and downhill portions. Many of the plants we observed were plants that we have already seen before but the view of the hike was extremely nice. It was also interesting to see that this hike was in the backyard of a residential neighborhood with gorgeous houses.