Field Trip 1: Baltimore Canyon | 020719

Cassandra Odulio

  • Date: February 7, 2019
  • Time spent there: 1:44pm-4:38pm
  • Location: Baltimore Canyon, 37.9369° N, 122.5609° W
  • Habitats seen: rocky outcroppings/cliffs, redwood forests, river/waterfall
  • Weather: clear and breezy

On Thursday, February 7, we left USF at 1:01pm and arrived at the Baltimore Canyon Open Space Preserve in Kentfield at 1:44pm. The walk to the bottom of the canyon was pleasant and we stopped many times to do plant identifications. The rest of the walk was an intense hike which was absolutely difficult and exhausting, but actually pretty invigorating and the views were gorgeous. We left at 4:38pm, and arrived back at USF at 5:26pm.

  1. Pellaea andromedifolia – Coffee fern
    • Family: Pteridaceae
    • NATIVE
    • Habit: Rhizome long-creeping, branched, > 20 cm, 0.5 cm wide; scales 2–3 mm, tan to orange-brown, mid-stripe dark or not. Leaf: +- unclustered, 20–60(80) cm, 10–20(30) cm wide, green to +- purple; stipe < +- 3 mm wide, +- light brown; blade (2–4)3-pinnate, elongate-triangular; segments generally 6–15 mm, 3–10 mm wide, tip +- rounded to obtuse, notched or not. Sporangia: 32- or 64-spored. Chromosomes: 2n=58, n=2n=87,116. Ecology: Generally rocky or dry areas; Elevation: 30–1800 m.
    • Jepson eFlora Author: Ruth E.B. Kirkpatrick, Alan R. Smith, Thomas Lemieux & Edward Alverson
  2. Arbutus menziesii – PACIFIC MADRONE
    • Family: Ericaceae
    • NATIVE
    • Stem: < 40 m, bark +- red, twigs stout. Leaf: blade < 12 cm, ovate to oblong, glabrous, rounded to pointed at tip, entire to minutely serrate, abaxially +- white, adaxially bright green. Flower: < 8 mm; corolla yellow-white or +- pink. Fruit: < 12 mm, spheric, orange-red, papillate. Chromosomes: 2n=26.Ecology: Conifer, oak forests; Elevation: 100–1500 m. Flowering Time: Mar–May
    • Jepson eFlora Author: Gary D. Wallace
  3. Cytisus scoparius – SCOTCH BROOM
    • Family: Fabaceae
    • NATURALIZED
    • Habit: Plant 2–2.5 m. Stem: branches generally 5-angled, green, hairy in youth, then generally glabrous. Leaf: on younger stems sessile, simple; on older stems petioled, leaflets 3, 5–20 mm, obovate to oblong; hairs appressed or 0. Inflorescence: axillary clusters of 1–2 flowers, pedicels < 10 mm, glabrous. Flower: calyx < 5 mm, glabrous; corolla golden yellow, banner generally 15–20 mm, reflexed or not. Fruit: 2.5–4 cm, flat, brown or black, glabrous except margin. Seed: 5–12.
      Ecology: Common. Disturbed places; Elevation: < 1000 m. Flowering Time: Apr–Jul
    • Jepson eFlora Author: Martin F. Wojciechowski