Botany 4/20 Edition: Ring Mountain Herb, Grass, and Tree

April 20, 2017

Ring Mountain (37.9099, -122.4858)

Ring Mountain is located on the Tiburon Peninsula in Marin County. The site is a serpentine grassland with a unique microclimate and geology. The soils at Ring Mountain are derived from serpentine rock; thus, they possess a high heavy metal content with a limited supply of nutrients. The conditions at this site provide a home for many unique, rare species – many of which are serpentine tolerators or serpentine endemics. Many small herbaceous species were observed at this site (many small, colorful wildflowers and grass species), as well as a few woody trees and shrubs (coast live oak, California bay, coyote brush).

—Species Observed—

Calochortus umbellatus (Oakland mariposa lily, Liliaceae)

This lily is a very rare perennial species (listed as endangered on CalFlora) that is native and endemic to California. Its distribution is primarily in the range of Northern California around Marin County. This lily was observed with small, pale purple petals that are a bit squared-shaped and wide at the ends, with a seemingly acuminate tip. The Oakland mariposa lily is unique because its sepals and petals are differentiated – thus, it possesses no tepals which are usually characteristic of lily species.

Morella californica (California max wyrtle, Myricaceae)

   

The California wax myrtle is a shrub that is native to California with a distribution that is limited to western North America. In the summer (June/July), the shrub produces bright red berries that appear at leaf axises (picture above on right show capsules where berries grow) and look very similar to raspberries. Its lanceolate (narrow, long) leaves are very rough and leathery with dentate margins. This shrub was observed with a slight yellow coloring to the leaves, typical for this species.

Calystegia subacaulis (Smooth western morning glory, Convolvulaceae)

The smooth western morning glory is a perennial herb that is native and endemic to California. Its petals are (as the name implies) very smooth and soft, usually creamy and white, sometimes with a pinkish tinge. A distinguishing characteristic of the flower is that its petals are fused and form a sort of trumpet shape. As pictured on the bottom (taken from CalFlora), its leaves are unique, with a sort of spade shape with obvious lobes at either side of the base. The smooth western morning glory takes on a vining growth form, as can be seen in the bottom picture.

—Reflections—

This was a beautiful site – one of my favorites. The views of the land were absolutely magnificent, with grassy fields extending far into the distance and very unique rocks of all sizes spattered at various points throughout the trail (we got to climb a really cool-looking, huge one – pictured below). The skies were bright blue with a few large, puffy marshmallow clouds scattered throughout, and the sun was shining brightly and boldly. There was a slight breeze, but it was a pretty hot day!

I had pretty bad allergies on this hike (note to self: find a natural allergy treatment for future hikes) and the heat dehydrated me and I ran out of water, which was not the best. On top of that, I was super hungry for a savory meal – the Honey Dijon chips (shoutout to Prof. Paul) we got to eat after the hike made me so incredibly happy.

Regardless, I really fell in love with this land we were exposed to. This was a really good hike too – good distance, a perfect amount of incline and not too many downhill points. I kept looking out to admire the view – grasses swaying gently with the breeze, the faint blue silhouette of the mountain range in the distance, the colorful wildflowers speckled throughout the flat field. Nature is wondrous – it can make you feel so terrible sometimes, but its beauty and majesty are certainly worth it.

P.S. Note that this field trip was on 4/20 – a huge holiday in San Francisco. The drive back to the city took longer than usual because there was so much traffic. The traffic around our school was crazy, and there were so many people walking to and from Hippie Hill – it took us forever to get into our parking lot because of all the cars. Two helicopters were suspended in the sky, probably documenting all of the madness going down. This was definitely a memorable part of our trip. Shoutout to to Cannabis sativa and them stoners.

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