Visited on May 3, 2018

Location: Lower Mount Tamalpais 37.9235° N, 122.5965° W; Elevation: 2,572 feet

Mount Tamalpais is the highest point of the Marin County. It has three summits, the West, Middle, and East peaks. The mountain contains many microclimates including cool and foggy in lower ocean-facing valleys with their redwood forests, to hot and dry on the manzanita slopes, cool and breezy at the summit and shady on the heavily Douglas-Fir-forested north slopes near Alpine Lake. The area that we focused on was the Douglas Fir Forest habitat, which is also one of the dominating species of this area. This time we visited the lower half of the mountain.

Adiantum Aleuticum

Common Name: Five Finger Maidenhair; Family: Pteridaceae

Adianyum Aleuticum is fern that is native to California. The individual leaves are blade like with blade like leaflets as well. It gets its name from the palmate way it grows. The color of the leaves are very bright green. Like most ferns in this family, the stems are rubbery and almost black in color. This one was found growing on one of the slopes near a lot of other ferns that can be found in Mt. Tam. The maximum height is about 3.6 feet.

Rubus Spectabilis

Common Name: Salmonberry; Family: Rosaceae

Rubus Spectabilis is a dicot shrub that is native to California. The leaves have dentate margin and generally grow in groups of three. The flower is a beautiful fuchsia/magenta color with 5 petals, which is typical of the Rosaceae family. The fruit of this tree is very raspberry like and are yellow to orange-red. This one was found almost at the end of the trail. The maximum height of this shrub is 13 feet.

Myosotis Latifolia

Common Name: Wide-leaved forget-me-not; Family: Boraginaceae

Myosotis Latifolia is a dicot, perennial herb that is native to California. This flower resembles houndstongue. It has big leaves with pinnate venation at the base of the flower. The flower has 5 petals and are a beautiful baby blue to almost white color. They seem to grow in groups of 6. The center of the flower is yellow with white surrounding it. This one was found among a field of the Forget-me-nots. The maximum height is 5 feet tall.

Information About Our Trip

We left USF around 1:00 pm and the weather was around 58 degrees. This trips was really nice because we were hiking around mini waterfalls and mini bodies of water. The entire hike was really relaxing with the sound of the water in the background constantly pouring. The trail was not too bad, mostly downhill. I was getting sad because I always enjoy our field trips and I knew this would be the last one, not including the field quiz. This area is so beautiful and I will definitely come back. My favorite flower that I saw on the trip were the forget-me-nots because blue is my favorite color, especially this shade of blue.

Visited on April 26, 2018

Location: Upper Mount Tamalpais 37.9235° N, 122.5965° W; Elevation: 2,572 feet

Mount Tamalpais is the highest point of the Marin County. It has three summits, the West, Middle, and East peaks. The mountain contains many microclimates including cool and foggy in lower ocean-facing valleys with their redwood forests, to hot and dry on the manzanita slopes, cool and breezy at the summit and shady on the heavily Douglas-Fir-forested north slopes near Alpine Lake. The area that we focused on was the Douglas Fir Forest habitat, which is also one of the dominating species of this area

Castilleja Foliolosa

Common Name: Wooly Paintbrush; Family: Orobanchaceae

Castilleja Foliolosa is a dicot, perennial herb that is native to California. This flower has typical orobanchaceae flowers that are bunched up and bilateral. The obvious defining characteristic is the bright red/orange tips of the petals. The leaves are a paler green and are linear and only seem to come from the base of the flower. This one was found all over the higher parts of Mount Tam. The maximum height is 2 feet.

Tauschia Kelloggii

Common Name: Kellogg’s umbrellawort; Family: Apiaceae

Tauschia Kelloggii is a dicot, perennial herb that is not native to California. The umbel inflorescence of this flower signifies the belonging to the Apiaceae family. The stem is very celery-like and the leaves are highly dissected, looking like parsley almost. The flowers on this plant is yellow and it is less dense looking than other Apiaceaes we have seen. This one was found more towards the lower parts of our hike. The maximum height is about 3 feet.

Mimulus Guttatus

Common Name: Yellow Monkey Flower; Family: Phrymaceae

Mimulus Guttatus is a dicot, annual or perennial herb that is native to California. The flowers are very typical mimulus with the two upper petals and three lower petals, making the flower bilateral. The color of the petals are usually yellow. The leaves are generally obvate and are a more paler green color. I noticed that there are red dots on the petals on the inside. This ones was found in a small patch of yellow monkey flowers. The maximum height is about 2 feet.

Information About Our Trip

We left USF around 1:00 pm and the weather started off cold when we left USF, probably around 55 degrees, however when we reached the top of the mountain, then it felt warm, but my phone said it was only 59 degrees. I really like everything Mount Tam has to offer. Aside from the windy trip up the mountain, everything was beautiful. The hike has small waterfalls that look like backyard fountains where you will probably see a chain fern because of the water. I can’t wait to continue down the mountain next trip.

Visited on April 19, 2018

Location: Ring Mountain: 37.9099° N, 122.4858° W; Elevation: 604 Feet

Ring Mountain is on top of the Tiburon Peninsula and has one the most beautiful views of the city. Ring Mountain is known to have serpentine soils, limiting the available species on this mountain. The Tiburon Mariposa Lily can be found on this mountain and only on this mountain. With its open fields and beautiful views many hikers come to this mountain to relax and enjoy this site.

Layia Platyglossa

Common Name: Tidy Tips; Family: Asteraceae

Layia Platyglossa is a dicot, annual herb that is native to California. It has typical Asteraceae characteristics of ray flowers and disk flowers. However, the defining characteristic is the two-colored petals. The petals on this flower have a lobe-like tip that is white while the rest of the petals and disk flowers are yellow. The leaves are green and usually linear to lanceolate. These were scattered all over Ring Mountain. The maximum height is 2 feet.

Linum Bienne

Common Name: Flax; Family: Malvaceae

Linum Bienne is a dicot, annual herb that is not native to California. The stem is glabrous with lance to linear leaves. The petals are light blue and free and have a translucent venation towards the base of each petal. This flower was found alone in the field. The prettiest part of this flower is the blue stigma that pops up from the middle of this radially symmetrical flower. The maximum height is 2 feet.

Matricaria Discoidea

Common Name: Pineapple Weed; Family: Asteraceae

Matricaria Discoidea is a dicot, annual herb that is native to California. The leaves are sessile, glabrous, and highly dissected. The flowers look like little yellow pineapples with only disc flowers and no ray flowers. These ones were found on the way up to the hill growing through the cement on the ground. The maximum height is 5 inches tall.

Information About Our Trip

We left USF around 1:00 pm and the weather was really warm, around 60 degrees. This area is breath taking with its beautiful view of the city. The people that live in those homes there must be rich because they were gorgeous and huge with a beautiful height. I was honestly stressed out during this field trip because I had an evolution exam right after so I couldn’t really focus on what was going on. However this hike was really just about reviewing past species we’ve seen so it was a really nice hike to get my mind off of my exam.

Visited on April 12, 2018

Location: Carson Falls: Latitude: 37.963486 Longitude: -122.624888; Elevation: 900 feet

Carson Falls at Pine Mountain is a beautiful area that offers a beautiful hike for visitors and a great spot for a botany field trip because of the amount of species that inhabit this area. This area has become known as a bay area mystery spot due to the beautiful hidden falls in the trail that drop about 50 feet. Because of the falls this area has been known to have an ever changing climate. This location offers serpentine and non-serpentine soils. The trails are filled with oak trees and California bay trees, creating a fresh atmosphere for hikers.

Iris Douglasiana

Common Name: Douglas Iris; Family: Iridaceae

Iris Douglasiana is a monocot, perennial herb that is native to California. The perianth is normally light to dark purple or pale cream. The petals are usually veined in a purple hue. It is funnel shaped with triangular stigmas. The stem is usually branched. This one was found on its own was picked probably by some hikers. This flower comes in parts of three. The maximum height is about 3mm.

Thermopsis Californica

Common Name: California Goldbanner; Family: Fabaceae

Thermopsis Californica is a dicot, perennial herb that is native to California. The flowers are a bright yellow similar to other Fabaceaes we have seen in the field. The leaves are similar to trifoliate leaves but could also be individual leaflets. The leaves have a simple pinnate venation. This one was found in a field full of California Goldbanners in the open field areas we passed. The maximum height is 2 feet.

Delphinium Nudicaule

Common Name: Canyon Larkspur; Family: Ranunculaceae

Delphinium Nudicaule is a dicot, perennial herb that is native to California. This flower has typical delphinium characteristics such as the sepals pointing forward and the lower petals flattened. The petals are usually scarlet to orange-red and look like little witch hats. The inflorescence is pedicel. This one was found at the top of the beautiful waterfall. The maximum height is 4 feet.

Information About Our Trip

We left USF around 1:00 pm and the weather was warm enough for a great hike. The best part about this trip was probably the waterfalls. It was beautiful, the water falling was really gentle and relaxing for us to be around, while we were surrounded by a bunch of delphiniums. It was a change in scenery for us with the open area of the falls. This was probably one of my favorite locations that we have visited. It made me feel relaxed even though we are in the midst of finals and graduation and stress. I always enjoy how our trips make me forget about my stress.

Visited on April 5, 2018

Location: Edgewood Park: 37.4732° N, 122.2782° W, Elevation: 820 feet

Edgewood park can be traced 35,165 million years ago. This was when two tectonic plates converged and created most of the rock that underlies this region. One of the many types of rocks, or soils, found here is serpentine soil and it is one of the unique features of this park. Edgewood park consists of numerous geologic and climatic changes, creating various habitats for plant species to thrive. This park contains many habitats including: wetland, Grassland, Oak Woodland, and Chaparral plant communities. This variety offers many habitats for various plant species to grow and thrive, it is a great place to see fields of spring wildflowers.

Wyethia Glabra

Common Name: Smooth Mule Ears; Family: Asteraceae

Wytethia Glabra is a dicot, perennial herb that is native to California. It has typical Asteraceae characteristics of leaves with a pinnate venation and a flower with a head inflorescence, ray flowers, and disk flowers. The ray flowers and disk flowers are typically yellow and the petals are said to look like mule ears. It is typically found in a chaparral habitat. This one was found alongside the trail at the edge of it. The maximum height for this flower is about 25 cm.

Sisyrinchium Bellum

Common Name: Blue eyed grass; Family: Iridaceae

Sisyrinchium Bellum is a monocot, perennial herb that is native to California. The flowers are blue-purple with truncated tips. Two defining characteristics is the darker purple veins on the light purple petals of the flower and the bright yellow pistil in the center of the flower. Most Iridaceaes are ovary inferior, contain 6 petals, and have long thin leaves. This one was found along the trail mixed with some ferns and other plants. The maximum height of this flower is 1 foot.

Clematis Lasiantha

Common Name: Pipestem; Family: Ranunculaceae

Clematis Lasiantha is a dicot, perennial herb or shrub that is native to California. The leaflets of this flower generally grow in groups of 3 or 5. They have dentate/lobed margins and are green in color. The flower generally has 4 white petals and multiple stamen that have a cream color. They also have multiple pistils on the flower. This one was found growing among a bunch of poison ivy on a slopey area. The maximum height is 15 feet.

Information About Our Trip

We left USF around 1:00 pm and the weather was nice for a hike. The drive felt really long and we made Dylan feel uncomfortable because were talking about female struggles. The hike felt really uphill steep but surprisingly interesting because of all the wildflowers growing in this area. A lot of the flowers seen on this trip were very small and grew in large patches. Most of the species we saw grew on serpentine soil. My favorite species that we saw was the California maidenhair because of the distinct black stems that reminds me of my black hair. The toughest part about this trip was the plethora of toxicodendron diversilobum, which made it hard to take pictures without getting poison oak.

More Species We Saw

Lupinus Succulentus

Common Name: Arroyo Lupine; Family: Fabaceae

Vinca Major

Common Name: Vinca; Family: Apocynaceae

Lithophragma Affine

Common Name: Common woodland star; Family: Saxifragaceae

Visited on March 22, 2018

Location: San Bruno Mountain State Park: 37° N, 122° W, Elevation: 1,314 feet

San Bruno Mountain State Park is the northern end to the Santa Cruz Mountain Range. The elevation ranges from 250 to 1,314 feet. The 2,416 acre landscape offers beautiful views of San Francisco and the bay. The park provides several different habitats for species to thrive. The varied topography of San Bruno Mountain creates microclimates with dramatically different weather conditions because of the exposure to the Pacific Ocean on one side and the San Francisco Bay on the other. The habitats are mainly wetlands and coastal prairie grasslands. The dominating species are shrubs such as the Coyote Brush.

Scrophularia Californica

Common Name: California Bee Plant; Family: Scrophulariaceae

Scrophularia Californica is a dicot, perennial herb that is native to California. The leafs are dentate with a pinnate venation and a truncate/cordate base. The flowers are bilaterally symmetrical and typically redish maroon. The flowers have two upper lobes and then have a rounded body. The inflorescence is cyme-like. This one was found at the very beginning of the trail at the top of the mountain. The max height is 4 feet.

Sidalcea Malviflora

Common Name: Checker Mallow; Family: Malvaceae

Sidalcea Laviflora is a dicot, perennial herb that is native to California. The leaves are typically lobed with a pinnate venation. The flowers are generally pink with white venation. This flower is radially symmetrical. This one was also found in the beginning of the hike at the top of the mountain on the slope of our trail. The maximum height is 5 inches.

Erysimum Franciscanum

Common Name: Franciscan Wallflower; Family: Brassicaceae

Erysimum Franciscanum is a dicot, perennial, herb native to California. The leaves are dentate with pinnate venation and elliptic shape. The flowers are typically cream to white with 4 petals and have a tube-like body. This one was found on the side of the trail at the lower part of the mountain. The maximum height is 15 inches.

Information About the Trip

We left USF around 1:00 pm and the day was actually supposed to be stormy and wet, but the sun came out. The winds were insanely strong and almost blew us off the mountain, but the views of the bay and the city were so beautiful when we were on top of this mountain. There weren’t a lot of tall trees so we were in mostly very open areas. Honestly, we all just wanted to go to in n out to grub on some burgers and fries. Anyways… my favorite plant we saw during the trip was the California Bee Plant because of the red-burgundy color of the petals and the cute shape that makes it look like it has tiny ears. The trip was really fun and we celebrated our knowledge with burgers.

Visited on March 8, 2018

Location: Mount Tamalpais 37.9235° N, 122.5965° W; Elevation: 2,572 feet

Mount Tamalpais is the highest point of the Marin County. It has three summits, the West, Middle, and East peaks. The mountain contains many microclimates including cool and foggy in lower ocean-facing valleys with their redwood forests, to hot and dry on the manzanita slopes, cool and breezy at the summit and shady on the heavily Douglas-Fir-forested north slopes near Alpine Lake. The area that we focused on was the Douglas Fir Forest habitat, which is also one of the dominating species of this area.

Ceanothus Jepsonii

Common Name: Musk Brush; Family: Rhamnaceae

Ceanothus Jepsonii is a dicot shrub that is native and endemic to California. Its leaves are glabrous with dentate margins and an opposite orientation. The margins of the leaves are dentate and revolute. The flowers are typically blue to white and are small with 4-6 petals and sepals, however the one that I took a picture of had no flowers yet. This one was found near the serpentine soils.The maximum height is about 1 meter.

Arctostaphylos montana

Common Name: Mt. Tamalpais Manzanita; Family: Ericaceae

Arctostaphylos montana is a dicot shrub that is native to California. The leaves are elliptic with an almost perfect oval shape and an entire margin. The flowers are small bell-shaped flowers that are smaller than the other Ericaceae species that we have encountered. The flowers are pink-to white and hang from the stems of the shrub. This one was scattered around the open area we were in by the serpentine soils. The maximum height of this shrub is about 8 meters tall.

Calypso Bulbosa

Common Name: Fairy Slipper; Family: Orchidaceae

Calypso bulbosa is a monocot perennial herb that is native to California. The stem is kind of dark brown in color. The flower is a vibrant pink/purple color with the typical features of an orchid of a modified banner, keel, and wings, with a lip for the landing pad for pollinators. The flower that we found was along the trail. The maximum height is 7.2 inches.

Information About the Trip

We left USF at around 1:00 pm and after the windy drive up the hill that made me really nauseous we finally arrived around 1:45 pm. The weather was beautiful when we arrived, probably around 60 degrees F. However, when we entered the the Douglas-Fir Forest, the sun went away and we entered a more shady area. The hike was really hard core and intense but it was honestly really fun. My favorite species we saw today was the Fairy Slipper Orchid. It was so bright against the dark soil and greenery, and so dainty and fragile.

More Species we Saw:

Ceanothus Cuneatus

Common Name: Buck Brush; Family: Rhamnaceae

Primula herndersonii

Common Name: Mosquito Bill; Family: Primulaceae

Visited on March 1, 2018

Location: San Pedro Valley in Pacifica, 37.5779° N, 122.4757° W; Elevation: 940 feet

The San Pedro Valley is a 1,052 acre area locates in Pacifica. It is a well known hiking trail that surrounds the Southern area of the San Pedro Creek, offering a variety of habitats for many plant species. These habitats include coastal scrub, grassland, and riparian habitats. The intense diversity of this park includes the arroyo willow, trillium, western leatherwood, and many more. The dominating species of this area is the Coyote brush, Baccharis pilularis.

Lepechinia calycina

Common Name: Pitcher Sage; Family: Lamiaceae

Lepechinia calycina is a dicot shrub that is native to California. The stems and leaves are pubescent. The leaves have a pinnate venation with dentation on the outer parts of the leaves. The most defining characteristic of this plant is the flowers that grow to look like small pitchers. The flowers are very tubular and the calyx grows with a similar shape, hugging the petals. The flowers of this one are white. The ones we found was growing on the slopes, higher up on the hill. The maximum height is about 8 feet.

Trillium albidum

Common Name: Giant white wakerobin; Family: Melanthiaceae

Trillium albidum is a monocot, perennial herb that is native to California. The leaves are large and ovate with a palmate-like venation. This flower generally has 3 petals and sepals. The one we found has white petals, however they can also be pink. The stamen on this flower have a yellow and purple colored anther. This particular one was found at the beginning of the trail next to its relative, Trillium chloropetalum. The maximum height is 2.3 feet.

Vaccinium ovatum

Common Name: Evergreen Huckleberry; Family: Ericacea

Vaccinium Ovatum is a dicot shrub, native to California. The leaves are leathery, elliptic, and dentate. The venation is pinnate. The flowers are bell-shaped with a light pink color, a defining character of the Ericaceae family. This particular one was found towards the top of the hike on one of the edges of the trails. The maximum height of this flower is 13 feet.

Information About the Trip

We left USF at around 1:00 pm and the weather had been cold and rainy, but stopped on our way there. It was definitely cold when we got there, but at least the rain had paused for a little, enough to go through a lot of different species. The hike up the hill was very fun and I barely noticed that we were hiking up hill. My favorite plant species that we saw was _______ because of the bell-shaped flowers that are very appealing to the eye. When we got the top of the hill, we were able to see a beautiful view of Pacifica. We then began our journey back down the hill where we got absolutely poured on by the rain. It was definitely cold and uncomfortable because I had wet socks, but it was a fun experience to rush down the hill while it was pouring to get back to the van.

More Plant Species We Saw:

Trillium chloropetalum

Common Name: Giant Wakerobin; Family: Melanthiaceae

Barbarea Orthoceras

Common Name: Winter Cress; Family: Brassicaceae

Marah spp.

Common Name: Man-Root; Family: Cucurbitaceae

Visited on February 22, 2018

Location: Mount Burdell: 38.1394° N, 122.5931° W, Elevation: 1,558 feet

Mount Burdell is a summit that is 1,558 feet high from the Novato Valley. The habitat is considered to be a serpentine grassland. Because of this kind of habitat, many rare plant species grow here, however, there are many Oak Trees that grow in this location as well. In 1977, the San Marin Improvement Association purchased the Mount Burdell Preserve in hopes to restore and improve the conditions of this open field. The condition of this mountain has improved greatly since then.

Toxicoscordion fremontii

Common Name: Meadow deathcamus; Family: Melanthiaceae

Toxicoscordion fermontii is a monocot, perennial herb that is native to California. Its leaves are long and green. Its flowers are bisexual and are white and yellow in color. The petals are ovate and come in multiples of 6 and the flower has a nectary center which is yellow. There are also 6 stamen. The inflorescence is raceme. This was found on a slope before the open field part of the mountain. The maximum height is 1.5 meters.

Mimulus douglasii

Common Name: Purple mouse ears; Family: Phrymaceae

Mimulus douglasii is a dicot, annual herb native to California. The leaves of this flower are ovate to obovate and are whorled, closer to the soil. The flower of this species resembles a ‘mickey mouse’ shape and is a bright fuchsia in color. The lobes of the flower are uneven and from the side you can see a tube-like throat. This purple mouse ear was found in random places in the open field on serpentine soil. The maximum height of this flower is about 4 inches.

Ranunculus Californicus

Common Name: California buttercup; Family: Ranunculaceae

Ranunculus californicus is a dicot perennial herb that is native to California. The leaves of this herb are highly dissected and is usually divided into 3 segments. The flower is bright yellow, multipetalled, and radially symmetrical. This particular buttercup pictured was found in the open field. The maximum height is 2 feet tall.

Information About the Trip:

We left USF at around 12:45 pm on Thursday. The weather was about 55 degrees Fahrenheit. The drive over there was beautiful with the sun beaming down on the Golden Gate Bridge. When we got there it immediately got colder than what we had anticipated the weather would be. It was freezing cold and even rained a little bit when we were out on the field. A trend I noticed about the species located at Mount Burdell is that they are all very small in size. Most of the flowers I saw were smaller than a dime and stood about 4 inches from the ground. In contrast to those tiny flowers, we also observed huge Oak Trees that had grown in the open area that we were. I liked the openness of the area we were in, I just wished the weather was nicer when we were out there!

Visited on February 15, 2018

Location: Presidio of San Francisco 37.7989° N, 122.4662° W; Elevation: 243 feet

The Presidio of San Francisco was founded in 1776 and it served as a military fort at the Golden Gate. In 1994, it became a National Park where you can observe many species of plants. It is a combination of scrub, grassland, woodland, wetland, and bluff habitats allowing the growth of a variety of native and invasive plant species to grow. There is no one dominating plant species at this location however, the invasive iceplant has begun to dominate the area.

Eschscholzia californica

Common Name: California Poppy; Family: Papaveraceae

Eschschlozia californica is a native dicot and annual/perennial herb of California. This species can grow in various communities, including Coastal Prairie and Northern Coastal Shrub. The leaves are green and highly dissected. The flower is typically yellow and orange, with an orange base. This species has 4 petals, disc sepals, and many stamen. The flower and leaves grow from a single point. The California poppy was found all over the trail, usually in sunny areas. The maximum height is 0.6 meters.

Heteromeles arbutifolia

Common Name: Toyon; Family: Rosaceae

Heteromeles arbutifolia is a dicot shrub native to California. The leaves are simple, elliptic, and leathery. The venation is pinnate and transparent when held up to some light. This particular Toyon found had no flowers yet, however the flowers are generally urn-shaped and white. The fruit is bright red and round with cyme inflorescence. This Toyon was found on a slopey area under the sun. The maximum height is 9.1 meters.

Fragraria chiloensis

Common Name: Beach strawberry; Family: Rosaceae

Fragraria chiloensis is a native, dicot perennial herb of California. It has a coastal habitat. The leaves are generally obovate, glabrous, and dentate towards the top of the leaf, pinnate venation. The flowers are white with 5 petals and the hypanthium bractlets are unlobed. This particular beach strawberry was found towards the beginning of the trail and seemed to be isolated from other plants in the area. Although this particular Beach strawberry had no fruits, the fruit of this plant are edible berries that are red. The maximum height is 0.15 meters.

Information About the Trip:

We left USF around 1:00 pm and it was about 60 degrees when we reached the presidio. The trip began at a beautiful location called Immigration Point where we could see all the ground we would cover on the hike. My favorite species that we observed on this trip was the California Poppy, just because of the bright and eye-catching colors our state flower has. The views on this field trip were beautiful and we were able to see the coast as well as the entire Golden Gate Bridge from where we were.

More Plant Species We Saw:

Lupinus chamissonis

Common Name: Beach blue lupine; Family: Fabaceae

Carpobrotus edulis

Common Name: Iceplant; Family: Aizoaceae

Oxalis pes-caprae

Common Name: Bermuda buttercup; Family: Oxalidaceae