Date: March 1, 2022

Location: San Pedro Valley in Pacifica, California – Brooks Creek Trail

The latitude is 37° 34′ 15.59″ N and the longitude is -122° 28′ 8.39″ W. The elevation gain is 636 feet.

Site description: The general topography includes the edge of Montara Mountain, the northern extent of the Santa Cruz mountains with a canyon on one side and a valley below on the other side. There was a waterfall in the distance, but it did not have enough water flowing to be visible. The hike was a 2.2 mile loop on Brooks Creek Trail, which is split from the Old Trout Farm Loop Trail. At the top of the trail, there was a scenic outlook of the ocean and a Pacifica town. The general habitat is an open chaparral with low, extremely thick shrubs. The dominant species in San Pedro Valley are madrone, coyote brush, manzanitas, golden and bush chinquapins, oceanspray and blue gum eucalyptus trees. Also, Andean pampas grass was a dominant, non-native, and invasive species that was being killed off to maintain their growth levels.

 

Species descriptions and digital collections:

Toxicoscordion fremontii (Deathcamus): The deathcamus is a monocot and a perennial, toxic herb that is native to California and in the family Melanthiaceae. It is a white flowering plant that is herbaceous and stands at about 2 feet tall. This plant has super long, basal, and grass-like leaves with parallel venation. The stem is thicker and light green color. The deathcamus has 6 white creamy petals (3 petals and 3 sepals) with stalk-like raceme inflorescence. It has 6 yellow-tipped anthers, 3 parted stigma with the ovary being superior, and nectar rings at the base of the flowers. It can be found on grassy or woody slopes with a good amount of sunlight.

 

 

 

 

Sambucus racemosa (Red elderberry): The red elderberry is a woody, treelike shrub that is native to California and in the family Adoxaceae. This shrub has white clustered flowers that produce very bright red drupes and stands at 4 meters tall. The stems are soft and are a light green color. The bark is a light brown color and has dots that look like warts. The red elderberry has pinnately compound leaves with opposite nodes and dentate margins. It has white clustered inflorescence with 5 tiny petals, many yellow anthers on top of the flowers and 3 fused carpels. Its microhabitat is moist areas with high nutrients and can grow in shady or open spaces. The red elderberry is edible and is mostly used for making jelly.

 

 

 

Rubus parviflorus (Thimbleberry): The thimbleberry is a perennial herb and shrub that is in the family Rosaceae and is native to California. This plant stands at 1.5 meters and can spread by their morphological feature of rhizomes. Thimbleberries grow on woody, thornless stems that branch often. The leaves are palmate simple leaves, which are very big with a double toothed margin and a fuzzy texture. The leaf arrangement is alternate and the leaf duration of this species is deciduous. The thimbleberry has white flowers with 5 rounded petals and 5 sepals that have a feathery extension. Also, has numerous yellow anthers surrounding a cluster of many styles. The thimbleberry produces bright red berries that are edible and sour. They are found in moist, shaded areas on the edge of woodlands or mountains.

 

iNaturalist observations:

Deathcamus link: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/107803034

Red elderberry link: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/107803073

Thimbleberry link: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/107803106

Narrative: We left around 1:00 pm and arrived at 1:45 pm. We went on this first trail (Hazelnut Trail) for about 15 minutes to look at about three species of plants. Then, we went to the Brooks creek trail and hiked uphill for awhile until the downhill part of the last half of the hike. At the top, we were able to look out over the town of Pacifica, which was an amazing view. The weather was a little cloudy and 62 degrees, which was a great temperature to hike in. I observed a large spot of manzanita trees because of the acidic soils in that area and many different berry species. I reflected on how hard it was to identify the coffee berry plant and how many species of berry producing plants that I had no idea about. Also, I couldn’t believe how strong the scent of the pitcher sage leaves were! That was my favorite hike so far!

Additional photos: