Date: April 26, 2018
Location: Upper Mount Tamalpais State Park
Latitude: 37.9235° N, Longitude: 122.5965° W, Elevation: 2,572 ft.
Site Description: Mount Tamalpais, located in Marin County, is a site known to provide for great hikes and camping sites. Additionally, Mount Tamalpais have many hillside habitats and serpentine soils as well. Mount Tampalpais adjoins the Golden Gate National Recreation Area as well as several Marin County Open Space Preserves, providing for nearly 40 miles of continuously publicly accessible open space.
Species description: The yellow monkeyflower, also known as mimulus guttatus in the phrymaceae family, is an annual or rhizomed perennial herb. The leaves are abruptly reduced upwards, ovate to round, and the base is generally irregularly small-lobed or dissected. The inflorescence is raceme with yellow flowers. The flowers have unequal lobes, with the lowest 2 upcurved in the fruit.
Narrative: On the way to upper Mt. Tam, I got quite car sick, as we were going pretty high up a windy road. However, once we got there and I was able to get some fresh air, I really enjoyed the scenery with the nice clear and sunny weather. We also passed by West Point Inn where Prof Paul said there were pancakes, so I could not stop thinking about strawberry pancakes the rest of the trip. Mmmm…