Location: 486 ft above sea level | 37.913, -122.488

The hike began up on a residential hillside zone and as we walked past the mansions we were all tempted to find a high reward job which may or not be high risk. In reality we just walked up to the entrance of the trail which opened up from a street to a large rolling hills plain with a view to Mt. Tamalpais. The general feel for the area was like this and was not a very intense hike from our starting point. Lots of disturbed and serpentine rich areas were found on our hike and we were able to find many previously observed species and a few new species.

Silene gallica | Common catchfly

Habit: Herbaceous, proximal to ground, small
Leaf: Long elliptical or lanceolate simple leaves, acute, entire margins, small, parallel venation
Repro: Petals relaxed, petals parts of 5, hairy funnel,
Location: Near path, distrubed or open area, good sunlight exposure

Achillea millefolium | Yarrow

Habit: Herbaceous, erect, somewhat proximal to ground
Leaf: Long elliptical compound leaves, acute, highly dissected, feather-like, mainly basal
Repro: Petals white, petals parts of 5, large inflorescence, inner revolute, head-like inflorescences
Location: WAys away from path, disturbed or open area, strong sunlight

Platystemon californicus | Cream cups

Habit: Herbaceous, proximal to ground
Leaf: Lanceolate simple leaves, acute, entire margins, caudal,
Repro: Petals white and yellow, strong many anthers, bulb like anther structure, partly reflex petals, petals parts of 6
Location: Near path, open area, good sunlight exposure

Directions:

Get on US-101 N from Balboa St, Park Presidio Blvd and Veterans Blvd
Head west on Turk St toward Beaumont Ave
Continue onto Balboa St
Turn right onto Park Presidio Blvd
Continue onto Veterans Blvd
Keep left at the fork and merge onto US-101 N
Follow US-101 N to Tamalpais Dr in Corte Madera. Take exit 449 from US-101 N
Merge onto US-101 N
Take exit 449 for Tamalpais Drive toward Paradise Drive
Take Paradise Dr and Taylor Rd to Fire Rd in Tiburon
Use the right lane to turn right onto Tamalpais Dr
Keep right to stay on Tamalpais Dr
Turn right onto San Clemente Dr
Continue onto Paradise Dr
Slight right to stay on Paradise Dr
Turn right onto Taylor Rd
Continue onto Fire Rd

 
Location: 972 ft | 37.970, -122.645

The trail began from the road and went up through some forested areas and climbed further up through some plains and serpentine rich areas. The hike looped back around through some a different steep path with turn backs. Many species were not new but the abundance of all the species reminded us of how many  we recognized. We left around 1:20 PM and returned around 5:05 PM. The weather was warm and partly cloudy but overall on neither extreme.

Iris douglasiana | Douglas iris

Habit: Herbaceous, proximal to ground
Leaf: Long elliptical or lanceolate simple leaves, acute, entire margins, basal, parallel venation
Repro: Petals translucent, dissected-like flowers, large inflorescence, feathers weak petals, elliptical acuminate petals
Location: Near path, distrubed or open area, good sunlight exposure

Calochortus umbellatus | Oakland Mariposa Lily

Habit: Herbaceous, extremely proximal to ground, whole plant was near 5 inches tall
Leaf: Long elliptical or lanceolate, acute, entire margins, basal, parallel venation, simple
Repro: Petals thin, small flowers, truncate to acuminate petals, bract-like petals thin elliptical or lanceolate-like, parts of 3
Location: Far off path, extremely disturbed or open area, serpentine, extreme sunlight

Maianthemum stellatum | Starry False Lily of the Valley

Habit: Herbaceous, proximal to ground
Leaf: Long elliptical, acute, entire margins, alternate, one plane or ranked, parallel venation, thin
Repro: Petals extremely small, star-like flowers, elliptical petals, parts of 3?
Location: Immediately off path, amongst other plants, shaded

Directions:

Take US-101 N and Sir Francis Drake Blvd to Bolinas Rd in Fairfax
Head west on Turk St toward Beaumont Ave
Continue onto Balboa St
Turn right onto Park Presidio Blvd
Continue onto Veterans Blvd
Keep left at the fork and merge onto US-101 N
Use the right 2 lanes to take exit 450B toward San Anselmo
Merge onto Sir Francis Drake Blvd
Turn left onto Pacheco Ave
Turn right onto Broadway
Turn left onto Bolinas Rd
Drive to Bolinas – Fairfax Rd/Fairfax – Bolinas Rd
Slight left to stay on Bolinas Rd
Slight left to stay on Bolinas Rd
Continue onto Bolinas – Fairfax Rd/Fairfax – Bolinas Rd
Turn right onto Kent Pump Road
Destination is on right after 2 mi

Location: 231 ft | 37.473, -122.278

The trail began at a parking lot and crossed a small wooden bridge before traveling up a path towards some rolling hills in the distance. Much of the first portion was under the shade of trees while the latter half was more open in the hills and pastures where we found some disturbed serpentine areas. The area presented a lot of previously identified species but we could now see a number of new species and even families not observed before. Parts of the trail were significantly different to one another which provided different ecosystems upon which the species could thrive. We left around 1:10 PM and left near 4:25 PM or so to attempt to beat the oppressive temporal regime imposed by our overlords over at Google. Sadly we were only able to break-even thanks to the redirection of traffic thanks to the the very same puppeteers. The day was mildly cloudy with a slight breeze and began to rain on our trip back but with no problems otherwise.

Plantago erecta | California plantain

Habit: Herbaceous, extremely proximal to ground, whole plant was near 5 inches tall
Leaf: Long elliptical or lanceolate, acute, entire margins, basal, parallel venation, thin
Repro: Petals translucent, small flowers, small inflorescence, pseudo-reflexed petals, oval to round petals, bracts present, capitulum-like, parts of 5?
Location: In an open area with lots of other species, off the path, pervasive

Layia platyglossa | Tidy Tips

Habit: Herbaceous, acutely hairy, purple stem, weed-like, proximal to ground to bush-like height
Leaf: Leanceolate-like, lobed or highly dissected, opposite, raceme-like
Repro: Determinate flowers, flew flowers, largest component, obvious disk flowers
Location: Immediately off path, found in edges of pastures or in disturbed areas

 
Sisyrinchium bellum | Blue eyed grass

Habit: Herbaceous, proximal to ground
Leaf: Lanceolate, parallel venation, alternate,
Repro: Bracts, striped petals, 6 petals, petals obtuse/blunt with pointed or acute ending
Location: Immediately off path, in small clusters

Directions:

Get on I-280 S/State Hwy 1 S in Daly City from 19th Ave
Head south on 29th Ave toward Balboa St
Turn left onto Fulton St
Turn right onto Crossover Dr
Use any lane to turn slightly right to stay on Crossover Dr
Continue onto 19th Ave
Pass by Chase Bank (on the right in 0.8 mi)
Use the right 3 lanes to turn slightly right onto Junipero Serra Blvd
Use any lane to take the ramp onto I-280 S/State Hwy 1 S
Follow I-280 S to Edgewood Rd. Take exit 29 from I-280 S
Merge onto I-280 S/State Hwy 1 S
Continue to follow I-280 S
Take exit 29 for Edgewood Rd
Keep left at the fork, follow signs for San Carlos/Redwood City
Follow Edgewood Rd to Old Stage Coach Rd in Emerald Hills
Turn left onto Edgewood Rd
Turn right onto Old Stage Coach Rd
Turn left to stay on Old Stage Coach Rd