Location + Site Description:
Mt. Tamalpais to Ridgecrest and Homestead Fire Road trail’s geographic coordinates are: 40.741895°N, 73.989308°W (Ridgecrest) and 37.889385°N, 122.554904°W (Homestead). The elevation of Mt. Tamalpais is about 2,572 feet which is surrounded by oak woodlands and coastal shrubs which we saw in the first site location. The Homestead Fire Road trailhead was our first site which was basically an open space of shrubs and many flowering plants from the families Asteraceae and Apiaceae. The trail consisted of a slight decline with many rocks and a stream along the trail which became very muddy. This was a quick walk around of less than a mile loop. The second trail was Ridgecrest which is about 10 minutes away from the first site. This trail consisted of woody areas of species from the families Fagaceae, Ericaceae, and Liliaceae. This trail consisted of a constant incline and decline in different areas with many fallen trees from the previous day. This hike offers beautiful woody spaces and open spaces which included Mt. Tamalpais Mountain Theater! Overall the entire trip was quite beautiful (as always) since there were views that one can see Oakland from the distance.
Species descriptions + digital collections:
1. Ceanothus cuneatus
Ceanothus cuneatus is commonly known as the buckbrush from the Rhamnaceae family (yay!). The grow in a 90° angle which is noticeable that they grow in a messy growth form. They are sessile with tiny leaves that have very intricate reticulations that look like multiple little dots. They commonly grow as a short shrub with a bunch of tiny blueish flowers which is similar to the California lilacs from the same family. This specific species is commonly found in the coast of San Francisco and is very abundant in those areas.
2. Sanicula arctopoides
Sanicula arctopoides are commonly known as the yellow mats from the Apiaceae family. These grow very low to the ground in patches consisting of umbel-like flowers with yellowish leaves. This family may possibly resemble the Asteraceae family, but it is a common mistake as it seems like the flowers grow in a head form. However, it is noticeable that they grow carrot-like! The yellow mats are commonly found near the ocean, where there are patches on the ground, with bright yellow flowers.
3. Diplacus douglasii
Diplacus douglasii is commonly known as the purple mouse ears from the Phrymaceae family. These species are in the “monkey flower” species which are found in mountains and foothills of California. This specific flower was found in an open foothill area, by itself, hiding in between different plants. The purple mouse ears may be quite hard to find because they grow really close to the ground. It is called “mouse ears” because the flower petals are in the shape of ears that have some sort of open mouth that has gold and purple stripes.
Narrative
We left the USF campus at around 1:15pm and got back at 4:40pm. The weather was sunny, but super windy especially in the open areas of both sites. Majority of the walk was pretty normal with a few uphills and downhills depending on the area. However, it was difficult to walk across both trail sites due to the mud and fall trees from the insane weather the Bay Area got the Tuesday before. This trip was pretty fun though because Professor Paul slightly made it seem like a competition at some point, trying to find certain flowering plants! But of course Professor Paul found them himself giving him the credit (ha ha). During one of the species introduction, we even got to see a pretty giant furry bee pollinating a ground iris! Overall, this field trip was fun and relaxing as it was our first trip back from Spring break AND not being able to go on our planned field trip before due to weather circumstances.
