Date: 06 May, 2017

Location: The Presidio (37.792789, -122.456763), elevation: 55.7 meters

This picture illustrates the directions from the University of San Francisco to the Presidio Ecology trail.

Site description:

The trail at the presidio that we went on was very close to school. We started on the Ecology trail and walked the trails towards the El Polin Spring. We saw many plants here including coyote brush, blue eyed grass, yellow monkey flower, and California Poppies.

Species descriptions:

Genus and Species: Clarkia franciscans

Common name: The Presidio Clarkia

Family: Onagraceae

Species Description:

This native annual species is extremely rare. It’s found only in two populations in the Presidio and three in Oakland. It’s usually found in serpentine grasslands. The leaves are wide at the base and get more narrow at the tip. They are lance-shaped and small. The petals are wedge shaped and they can vary in color from pink to lavender. The middle of the flower has more of a whitish color and the base is bright red-purple. The stem is delicately hairy.

Narrative:

Natalie, Sameer, Patrick, and I decided to go find this rare flower together. We met up at 1:30 in front of the library and started walking to the Presidio. James decided to ran to the Presidio so he met us on the way there. We practiced some of our specimen ID on the trail and actually ran into multiple Clarkias. It was a bit hard to take a selfie but we succeeded. It was a fun short trip despite the windy weather and the selfie struggles.

Date: 04 May, 2017

Location: Steep Ravine (37.88880,-122.62330), elevation: 247.3 meters

This picture illustrates the directions from the University of San Francisco to Steep Ravine.

Site description:

We went on the Steep Ravine trail, which is located along Webb Creek. We passed through a redwood forest. Our trail was pretty muddy and had many rocks and steps along the way. There were multiple streams and along these streams, certain species had grown. There were many dominant tall red wood species in this region. Some were fallen and we also saw one that was burnt, which reminded me of the lecture about redwood species and their tolerance for fire. There were also many fern species here.

Species descriptions and digital collections: These pictures illustrate the three species of plants that I have chosen to describe in my blog.

1) Genus and Species: Rubus parviflorus

Common name: Thimbleberry

Family: Rosacea

Species Description:

This species is native and a deciduous perennial shrub. The fruit of this flower is thimble-shaped hence the name thimbleberry. This rosacea family species does not have any thorns. The flowers have the classic white rosacea color with lots of stamens and five wrinkly looking petals. The leaves are palmate simple and there are tiny light gaps where sun gets though. The leaves also have dentate margins and are velvety. The stems can be glabrous to hairy.

2) Genus and Species: Hesperocnide tenella

Common name: Western stinging nettle

Family: Urticaceae

Species Description: this native species is an annual herb and in a new family that we learned about called the urticaceae family. It is stinging and can be very painful. It has opposite nodes and surprisingly it is edible if you boil it because the thorns fall out. The leaves are large and spade-like/heart shaped. They are also opposite. This species has a slender stem. The flower also has the stinging hairs. We saw some foam on this structure, which we learned comes from the spiddle bug that hides inside these foams to avoid predators. I found this interesting.

 3) Genus and Species: Zantedeschia aethiopica

Common Name: Calla lilly

Family: Araceae

Species Description: This perennial species is invasive and has super fleshy leaves, which grow from stalks from base of the stem. The flowers are very beautiful, showy, funnel-shaped and white in color. They are also fragrant. As you can see, there is a yellow spider inside the flower. Many plants in this family are poisonous. The bract is trumpet-shaped and surrounds the spadix (flower spike), which is covered with tiny flowers.

Narrative:

This was our last field trip but one of the funniest trips we’ve had. We drove to Steep Ravine and everyone fell asleep on the way except James and I. We entered the forest and started our way on a narrow trail. We got introduced to some new species. There were streams all along the way, which made everything much more beautiful. We could hear the sound of the water and smell the nature. I really enjoyed this trail. The trail stated to get wider but it was very muddy overall.

We came across some berry species and got to eat some of them. We saw evidence of fire on some trees in addition to many trees that had fallen down. But many redwoods had interesting growths as pictured below. The hike was intense but we finally arrived at a Ten feet ladder, which we all climbed. Then we got to pictures on the tree trunks. Most people walked ahead to go back so I fell behind and almost got lost but thankfully professor Paul, Kathryne, and Patrick found me. James also scared me really bad by hiding behind the trees.

It became very foggy on our way back but we had chips and stopped by hippie waterfalls and drank some fresh water. I’m very sad that our field course is almost over but I’ll take the amazing memories with me onto my next journey ?

Date: 27 April, 2017

Location: Mt. Tam (37.92355,-122.59647), elevation: 783.9 meters

This picture illustrates the directions from the University of San Francisco to Mt. Tam.

Site description:

We made multiples stops on this trip. After taking a class photo, we arrived at our first site, which was right by the middle peak and it was composed of serpentine sites. We saw many serpentine rocks and species in this region that were small serpentine endemics/tolerators. There were also a bunch of chamise at the beginning of our trip and the trail consisted of coastal shrub. We saw many orobanchaceae and fabaceae families. The second site was called “rocksprings.” We took the Bensten Spur trail and saw the beautiful Mt. Tam jewel flowers here, which is very rare. We also saw a big Douglas fir and gold cup live oak. As we made our way back to the cars, we saw many lupinus and blue eyed grass species.

Species descriptions and digital collections: These pictures illustrate the three species of plants that I have chosen to describe in my blog.

1) Genus and Species: Streptanthus glandulosus pulchellus

Common name: Mt. Tamalpais Jewel flower

Family: Brassicaceae

Species Description:

This annual herb is a native hairy species and it’s very rare. This species is endemic to Marin County, California. It has four petals with a purplish color. The narrow petals flare out above a colorful pouch that’s luminous like a gem. Leaves at the base of the stem are oval or lance-shaped with toothed margins. They are fleshy in texture and are pretty small. Another species called the Tamalpais jewel flower was also once found here a long time ago, which has cryptic-like leaves but we did not see it on our trip.

2) Genus and Species: Allium falcifolium

Common name: Sickle leaf onion

Family: Alliaceae

Species Description: this is a perennial native herb. It has long sickle-like leaves in addition to a magenta inflorescence. There are about six white stamens inside. It has parts of three and it is tolerator to almost endemic. It is found in open areas and it is deciduous. The simple leaves are basal and linear with entire margins and parallel venation.

 3) Genus and Species: Epilobium minutum

Common Name: Small willowherb

Family: Ongraceae

Species Description: This species is a native, freely branched annual wildflower and has soft hairs. This species grows in dry open areas. This plant likes nitrogen-rich soils. The flowers exist in the axils of the terminal, alternate leaves. They are very small and they vary in color from white to pale pink to red. They have an inferior ovary. The leaves are oblong to lanceolate and have a short petiole. They are mostly opposite.

Narrative:

We explored multiple serpentine sites at Mt. Tam on our field trip. We first stopped to take a class photo. Then, we continued onto our next site, which consisted of a rocky trail with a bunch of pointy Chamise. Professor Paul introduced us to multiple small serpentine tolerators and we finally got to see the beautiful Mt. Tam Jewel flower. Thankfully we didn’t encounter any rattlesnakes but we did see multiple lizards and a little cute frog. One of the most interesting species that we saw was the Western thistle but it was a bit scary with the sharp pointy edges and lots of bugs on it. We got to take more photos after seeing a larkspur. We then headed to the cars. Professor Paul brought popcorn for all of us hungry college students, which was very nice and made us all very happy. I look forward to the next field trip.

Here’s a very happy Negin 😀

Date: 20 April, 2017

Location: Ring mountain (37.91440, -122.48960), elevation: 115.3 meters

This picture illustrates the directions from the University of San Francisco to Ring Mountain.

Site description:

We started our trail at the Ring Mountain, which is located on the Tiburon Peninsula in Marin County. We came across a serpentine grassland, where we saw many serpentine rocks. Many of the species in this region were small, serpentine endemics. Some lived near the water in damp areas. We saw many species here that we had seen on our other field trips including clovers, California goldfield, lupines, and also some oak trees.

Species descriptions and digital collections: These pictures illustrate the three species of plants that I have chosen to describe in my blog.

1) Genus and Species: Calystegia purpurata

Common name: Smooth Western Morning Glory

Family: Convolvulaceae

Species Description: this native perennial vine was the first species we ran into that was assigned to the family that I was responsible for. The flowers are distinct because they are large and have a funnel/trumpet shape with fused petals, which vary in color from white to pink to purple. The leaves have a triangular shape with angled lobes and an acute tip. This species also has a narrow and fibrous stem. The growth is a vine form that can grow up to 10 ft. tall and wide.

2) Genus and Species: Leptosiphon androsaceus

Common name: False babystars

Family: Polemoniaceae

Species Description: this is a native and annual herb. The leaves are opposite, fringe-like, and are palmately divided into 5-9 linear lobes. They have a head inflorescence (the bracts are claw-like and they form the inflorescence). The flowers are 5-parted trumpet, pink with yellow and violet throat. The middle is yellow and a three-part stigma sticks out of it.

 3) Genus and Species: Allium unifolium

Common Name: One leaf onion

Family: Alliaceae

Species Description: this species is a perennial herb and it is a part of the onion/garlic family. It has a similar scent to onion/garlic. We came across this species in a wet area next to a stream. The inflorescence consists of multiple pink/purple bell-shaped flowers in an umbel on a leafless stem; there is lack of vegetation. However, we did see one sword-like leaf.

Narrative:

This field trip was very fun and eventful. We left campus in the afternoon and drove to Ring Mountain. When we arrived, two other people joined us. One of them named Shelly, was an expert on many plants and she taught us a lot of new things, which was very nice. We reviewed some old species and learned about some new ones. I finally saw the species that I was assigned to here, which was very exciting. I was unfortunately sick and had a second allergy attack, which was not a pretty sight to see. Despite that, the view was amazing and I was expecting to see Chinese houses for half of the field trip until I realized that it was the common name of one of the species.

Our whole class climbed up a gigantic rock and we took awesome pictures on it. Professor Paul had also brought little debbies again and challenged us on multiple species. I forgot that it had rained the day before so my white shoes are brown now after stepping into a giant puddle of mud. The trails were pretty and longer than usual but it was fun seeing everything and learning new things. We got back to campus around 5 in the evening. However, it was very difficult to park since it was 4/20. A very interesting day overall and I look forward to making the best of the few field trips left until graduation.

Picture of the Flax

Little Rattlesnake Grass

Oakland Mariposa lily

Q tips

Date: 06 April, 2017

Location: Edgewood County Park (37.4736625, -122.278627), elevation: 69 meters

This picture shows the directions from the University of San Francisco to Edgewood County Park and Natural Preserve.

Site description:

We headed down the Peninsula and arrived at the Edgewood County Park. Our first trail was an oak woodland region. We came across some dominant species such as poison oak, coast live oak, valley oak, and a variety of ferns including wood fern and gold back fern. The trail that we took back was a serpentine grassland. We saw many small species growing amongst all the grass here including Dwarf bladder clover, Winter cress, and pineapple weed. This trail was more rocky and most of the species here were native. We did have some invasive species here as well.

Species descriptions and digital collections: These pictures illustrate the three species of plants that I have chosen to describe in my blog.

1) Genus and Species: Wyethia angustifloia

Common name: Narrow leaved mule ears

Family: Asteraceae

Species Description:

This native perennial species grows up to three feet tall and has a showy yellow color. It has strap-like smooth, tapering green leaves. This species is found on grassy hillsides. Each flower head is actually made up of 20-100 individual flowers. The outer ray flowers look like petals while the inner disk flowers are tiny and tubular. A fun fact about these flowers that I have learned is that they are tasty to cattle. The seeds are also large and attract goldfinches during summer.

2) Genus and Species: Layia platyglossa

Common name: Tidy tips

Family: Asteraceae

Species Description: this species is native and grows during the months of March to Junes. It has composite flower heads. The 5-18 outer ray flowers have a bright golden yellow showy color with distinct, sharp-margined white tips. The inner disk flowers are numerous and yellow to orange. This species is pollinated by bees and has a sweet scent. The leaves are narrow, rough, and hairy. This species grows low to the ground. The leaves at the upper part of the stem are entire and the basal leaves are generally lobed. The leaves are usually alternate or opposite with simple blades.

 3) Genus and Species: Adiantum jordanii

Common Name: California maidenhair

Family: Pteridaceae

Species Description: This perennial native species has leaves that bend under, called “false indusia” as shown in the second picture. This species has short-creeping rhizomes and a reddish-brown to black, plastic-like stem. These ferns grow in shaded moist areas. Each leaf is made up of many rounded green segments. Each segment has two to four lobes and it may split between the lobes. The underside of eah segment has about one to four sori.

Narrative:

We left campus at one in the afternoon and drove to redwood city toward Edgewood County Park. The car ride was longer than usual. After about forty minutes, we arrived at our destination. We learned about many species during our trip. However, the weather was extremely windy, which caused dispersion of lots of pollen. My allergies started acting up thirty minutes after the start of our trip. Therefore, I was sneezing and crying the entire trip. My allergies stayed with me until the next day but I started feeling better after taking allergy medicine. In addition to the allergy madness, we saw turkeys and a small snake during our hike. Professor Paul brought us snacks, which was very nice and motivated us to answer challenging questions about the species that we saw. I look forward to our next adventures and challenges with snacks.

Date: 30 March, 2017

Location: San Bruno Mountain State and County Park

-First Trail: Ridge Trail (37.6969425, -122.4338293), elevation: 369 meters

-Second Trail: Saddle Loop Trail (37.7012794, -122.4342788), elevation: 225 meters

This picture shows the direction of our trip from the University of San Francisco to the San Bruno Mountain State and County Park.

Site description:

-The place we visited is a state park located in Northern San Mateo county. There are many native and small species that grow in this coastal scrub. The species are smaller in size due to the high winds in this region. There were various dominant species such as coastal buckwheat and California poppy on our first trail. Associated species included some irises, coastal heron’s bill, and lupines. The second trail was located close to the parking lot and included many species in the poaceae family.

Species descriptions and digital collections (3): These pictures illustrate the three species of plants that I have chosen to describe in my blog.

1) Genus and Species: Salvia spathacea

Common name: Hummingbird sage

Family: Lamiaceae

Species Description:

This perennial native species is found at low elevations. As the name suggests, this species is hummingbird pollinated. It is also fuzzy and has square stems in addition to a reddish inflorescence. The flower stems rise to 2-3 ft. above leaves that carry many large clusters of magenta flowers. This species also has bilateral symmetric flowers with long anthers. The leaves are sticky and they have a very nice scent as we can tell from the name of the family (mint family). The leaves are also blade oblong-hastate and have teeth rounded margins (dentations).

2) Genus and Species: Viola adunca

Common name: Blue violet

Family: Violaceae

Species Description:

This native species was the first violaceae family that we observed on our field trip. It has bilaterally symmetrical flowers in addition to entire, heart shaped (chordate) leaves. This species has open flowers and is a tiny herb. The stem is prostrate to erect and often woody at the base. The leaf is simple and can be glabrous to hairy. The sepals are lanceolate with petals light to deep violet in color.

 3) Genus and Species: Castilleja wightii

Common Name: Wight’s paintbrush

Family: Orobanchaceae

Species Description: similar to the Franciscan paintbrush, this native species comes from the orobanchaceae family and is a perennial herb usually found in coastal scrubs. It has stems with an abundance of short axillary shoots. The leaves are crowded and can be lanceolate to ovate. The leaves are fleshy and generally unlobed. The flowers are hairy with margins red to yellow and the lower lip dark green.

Narrative:

We started walking to the cars on a nice sunny day, when we noticed that one of the vans was missing. We spent a while looking for it and we were all anxious as the search cut into our in-n-out time. We ended up taking another van, which turned out to be low on gas. Therefore, we had to stop by a gas station. Finally, after an hour, we got to the trails and started our hike at the top (Ridge trail). We moved through many species quickly but me and two other people had to use the restroom, which made it hard to hike up. Professor Paul saved us by taking us to a public restroom near our next trail (Saddle Loop trail) . A little while later, we ran into a species commonly called “dwarf bladder,” which was coincidental. We saw the interesting “butter-n-cup” species as the last species on the trip then headed to in-n-out. This field trip was extremely fun and memorable. All of us were full and satisfied by the end of our trip.

-Professor Paul teaching us about dwarf bladder clover (smallest species I have seen so far)

-The Coastal heron’s bill species

-The interesting Butter-n-eggs species

-Creeping wood sorrel

-Pretty seaside daisies

-Another common species we have been seeing

-Italian thistle (very sharp and painful if you touch it)

-The perfect ending to a trip 🙂

Date: 23 March, 2017

Location: SCA trail (37.832143, -122.482281), elevation: 209.5 meter

This picture shows the direction of our trip from the University of San Francisco to the SCA trail.

Site description:

The trail is cut into the side of the mountain and faces westward. There are many native and small species that grow here. The species are smaller in size due to the high winds in this region. This is a coastal Scrub. There were various dominant scrub species such as California sagebrush and coyote bush. Associated species included poison oak, California blackberry, and California buckwheat. Shrubs were around 2 meters, canopy was continuous/intermittent.

Species descriptions and digital collections (3): These pictures illustrate the three species of plants that I have chosen to describe in my blog.

1) Genus and Species: Lupinus bicolor

Common name: Lupine

Family: Fabaceae

Species Description:

This species is a dicot and it’s native to California. It is found in open areas and is commonly called “miniature lupine.” It is a legume plant and has flowers with two different colors. The top banner petal has a squared off top edge and a large white patch with dark blue dots. The white patch turns magenta with age. Petals are generally blue but can also be pink or white. The leaves are palmately compound with 5-7 green leaflets. Inflorescence shows small flowers in whorls of usually 5 flowers along the short and hairy flower stalks. Flowers are deeply lobed. The petals are generally pointed and upper margins are ciliate near the tips.

2) Genus and Species: Erysimum franciscanum

Common name: Franciscan wallflower

Family: Brassicaceae

Species Description:

This species is an ornamental member of the Mustard Family. It’s biennial. The leaves are thin and basal. They are also oblanceolate and flat. Flowers have four petals and they are yellow to cream in color. They have a distinct midvein. Several delicate stems extend above a rosette. The coastal form has a woody lower portion while the upper portion is herbaceous.

3) Genus and Species: Phacelia californica

Common Name: Rock Phacelia

Family: Boraginaceae

Species Description: this species is a perennial herb. It has a purple erect stem. Floral heads are curled under. This species has early flowering and determinate inflorescence. It is extremely hairy and the flowers have five pedals. After some research, I learned that the flowers provide nectar for the endangered Mission blue butterfly found in this region. The leaves are generally compound and sometimes dissected. The corolla is bell-shaped and is blue to lavender in color.

Narrative:

We left campus at around one in the afternoon and headed to the SCA trails. This trail was relatively close to our campus. We had a hard time finding parking due to the nice weather and many tourists visiting the area. We finally parked and walked under the Golden Gate Bridge, which was fun. We then started our first field quiz, which took up most of the time and was difficult. There were many species that we had learned about on this trail. After the quiz, we continued to the Slackers Hill, which had a beautiful view of the bridge. It was extremely windy on our way back. We learned about a few species after our quiz that are shown in the images below.

Date: 09 March, 2017

Location: Mt. Tam/Ridgecrest (37.912957, -122.624790), elevation: 784 meters

This picture illustrates the directions from the University of San Francisco to Mt. Tam. Then, to Ridgecrest. We left campus at approximately 1:00 pm.

Site description:

The first trail that we came across was located in a coastal area with many coyote brush species. We also saw many other species including Scott’s broom, California Coffeeberry, and Houndstongue. Most of the species here were low to the ground and native. We did have some invasive species here as well. This region had some damp areas. The second trail was located in a redwood forest and we saw species such as oak trees and Douglas fir here.

(Picture of the first site we visited at Mt. Tam)

Species descriptions and digital collections (3): These pictures illustrate the three species of plants that I have chosen to describe in my blog.

1) Genus and Species: Sidalcea malviflora

Common name: Checker mallow

Family: Malvaceae

Species Description:

This species has bright purple to pink flowers in parts of five. The flowers are also open and they grow in groups. They come out alternatively. Anthers are white in color and stigma is the same color as the pedals. The stigma is broken into six tiny parts coming out from in-between anthers. This species is bee pollinated. The leaves are simple palmate and they have indentations with eight fingers but this can vary (there are species with entire leaves as well). The flowers look like a three quarter circle. The stem is hairy and this species is also white-veined.

2) Genus and Species: Taraxia ovata

Common name: Sun Cup

Family: Onagraceae

Species Description: this species is native and has four large petals. It also has a thick basal rosette arrangement (which refers to leaves that grow right at the base of the plant). The leaves are narrowly elliptic to ovate and they are also hairy. Leaf margins can be entire to wavy. The flower is pretty showy and big itself compared to mustards. There is yellow stigma in the middle and the midvein has a red color.

3) Genus and Species: Calypso bulbosa

Common Name: Fairy slipper

Family: Orchidaceae

Species Description: We came across this species off the Ridgecrest trail. This orchid is a monocot that has simple oval leaves with parallel venation. The leaf is basal and can be elliptic to ovate in shape. The blade is 3-6.5 cm long. The flowers are purple and showy. There is a single leaf illustrated in this picture. There is also a single stigma at the top. Flowers are generally pink.

Narrative:

We left campus at one in the afternoon and drove to Mt. Tam. We started our hike on this nice sunny day and came across many interesting species. Most of them were yellow and had interesting names. We saw coyote fur as we ended our hike at our first trail, which felt soft and looked somewhat fascinating. We saw many umbels here as well. We then drove up and started searching for a native orchid off of ridgecrest. Then, Professor Paul guided us to the serpentine rocks which were off the trail. We saw many species here. Professor Paul scared me when he pretended that something grabbed him from an empty hole in the ground. We climbed up and down the rocks but survived. Sameer also found a new species, which we added to our list. We came back to the cars and had some popcorn as we drove back to school. This was a very fun trip except the part where I was searching for ticks after the trip..but now I should start studying for my field exam so wish me luck next week!

Beautiful view (PC: Professor Paul)

Lost in the serpentine madness

The ground iris is beautiful

Here is a picture of Professor Paul showing us the coyote fur

The ultimate umbel

Species that Sameer found

Picture of a serpentine rock that shows the green color pretty well

Date: 02 March, 2017

Location: San Pedro Valley County Park (37.578450, -122.475945), elevation: 58.7 meters

This picture shows the directions from the University of San Francisco to San Pedro Valley County Park. We left campus at approximately 12:50 pm.

Site description:

The site that we visited is located near Pacifica. There are many native species that grow here. This region consists of moist and dry areas. The streams and creeks help to keep the area moist. In higher elevations, this region seems to be a coastal Scrub. There were various dominant scrub species observed here. The first dominant species that we observed was eucalyptus. There were also other stubby species. We observed the Manzanitas, California sagebrush, and coyote bush species here as well. Associated species included poison oak and California buckwheat. Shrubs were around 2 meters, canopy was continuous/intermittent.

Species descriptions and digital collections (3): These pictures illustrate the three species of plants that I have chosen to describe in my blog.

1) Genus and Species: Toxicoscordion

Common name: Fremont’s death camas

Family: Melanthiaceae

Species Description:

This is a California native perennial herb species that is toxic. The flower is bisexual. It has three pedals and three sepals that are undifferentiated. The stigma breaks into three as well. Perianth parts are white to yellow. The ovary is superior. The leaves of this species are sword-shaped and long, which go in many directions as shown above. The leaves are lanceolate to widely ovate. The stem is glabrous.

2) Genus and Species: Eriodictyon californicum

Common name: Yerba Santa

Family: Boraginaceae

Species Description: this species has dirty looking leaves. The leaves have strong tertiary venation underside, lanceolate to oblong. The leaves are elongated and bunched together. The margins of the leaves can be entire to toothed (dentate). The leaves also have short petioles. Flower is funnel-shaped and white-ish but is not present in these pictures. The stem is glabrous. This species is found on the slopes, woodlands, roadsides, and chaparral.

3) Genus and Species: Trillium albidum or Trillium chloropetalum

Common Name: either Giant white wakerobin or Giant wakerobin (hard to distinguish)

Family: Melanthiaceae

Species Description: We came across this species at the beginning of our hike. This is a California native perennial species found usually in moist canyons and coastal scrubs. It shows trillium modeling on the leaf. The flower is radial and has 3 white sepals and 3 white petals. The corolla is white to pink. Sepals are spreading. Petals point up (ascending). Anthers are purple to white. Something interesting that we learned was that deer bite these. Leaves are rounded to obtuse at the tip. There is also green to brown spotting on the leaves. Flowers have a sweet rose-like scent.

Narrative:

We left campus at 12:50 in the afternoon. It was a warm sunny day and we were all excited to begin our field trip. After about thirty minutes of driving, we arrived at San Pedro valley County and started hiking up. We came across a sign that warned us about mountain lions but thankfully we didn’t see any. Professor Paul taught us about some interesting species. We ran into multiple species that we had seen before such as Houndstoungue or sword ferns. The hike was fun and informative. We came back around 4:3o. I am excited for our next trip.

(I almost accidentally touched poison oak right after taking this picture…but I survived). PC: James

Bluewitch nightshade in the solanaceae family.

Date: 23 February, 2017

Location: Presidio Coastal Trail (37.940362, -122.56146) and Marine Headlands (87.834775-122.499125)

-Elevation: 55.7 m for the presidio and 234 m for Marine Headlands.

-The first picture illustrates the directions of our first trip (from the University of San Francisco to the Presidio Coastal Trails). The second picture shows the directions of our second trip (from the Presidio to Marine Headlands).

Site description:

-The first site we visited (The Presidio Coastal Trail) is located South to the Golden Gate Bridge. There are many native and small species that grow here. The species are smaller in size due to the high winds in this region. This was a coastal/Sagebrush Scrub. There were various dominant scrub species such as California sagebrush, black sage, and coyote bush. Associated species included poison oak, California blackberry, and California buckwheat. Shrubs were around 2 meters, canopy was continuous/intermittent.

-Marine Headlands, which was the second site that we visited, consisted of endemic species within the Central Western Region of the California Ecoregion. This was also a coastal/Sagebrush Scrub with California Sagebrush and Coyote brush as the dominated species.

Species descriptions and digital collections (3): These pictures illustrate the three species of plants that I have chosen to describe in my blog.

1) Genus and Species: Mimulus aurantiacus

Common name: Sticky Monkey Flower

Family: phrymaceae

Species Description:

This species, which we observed at the Presidio coastal trail, has opposite leaves. The leaves are also long (narrowly elliptic to linear) and have a rubbery feel to them in addition to containing a tertiary venation. They contain irregular dentation. This species flowers a lot. The perennial flowers are bilaterally-symmetrical and have an apricot (orange) color. They also have a funnel-form and are white in the middle (which tells us that the female part is receptive and ready to be pollinated). This species can become bush-like.

2) Genus and Species: Castilleja subinclusa

Common name: Franciscan Paintbrush

Family: Orobanchaceae

Species Description:

This species, which we observed around the Hawks Hill, has bright red flowers. The flowers also seem to appear open and airy. The middle part of the flowers is yellow. This species has early flowering. The stem has short axillary shoots. The leaves are about 3-8 cm long. They are monocot, thin, and also grass-like. The leaves have a lanceolate shape. They are entire and a bit hairy. This species is endemic to the California Coast.

 3) Genus and Species: Lupinus chamissonis

Common Name: Beach Blue lupine

Family: Fabaceae

Species Description: this is a famous legume plant. The leaves are entire, hairy, and compound palmate. They appear to be bluish green. The stem is erect. This species has legume pods and is restricted to the coast. The flower has a whorled inflorescence. The flower pedals appear to be violet to blue.

Narrative:

We left campus at around one in the afternoon and headed to the Presidio coastal trails. We drove in the Mercedes van that was very big. The weather was sunny and nice. The trail that we took had many native species and we learned about new species almost every step of the way. We continued walking until we came across the golden gate bridge and took some awesome pictures. Then we headed back to the car and drove to Marin headlands.

At the Marine headlands, which was across the Golden Gate Bridge, the weather was much colder. But as we walked, it started to get sunny. We learned about species with interesting names, which I have included pictures of in my blog. I remember running toward the sun with my arms wide open, trying to absorb all the heat after freezing in the cold wind. Dr. Paul then drove us to Hawk Hill, where we got to see a beautiful view of the bay and took more pictures. We headed back to campus around five. This was a very fun and informative trip!

Taking notes in the field. PC: James

View from the Hawk Hill

I was fascinated by the mosquito bill species

I now know how to make a comfortable bed if I ever get stranded

Professor Paul teaching us about the White nightshade