2015 - Robert's adventures in the Northern Sierra Nevada - California

[Robert]

I needed to go to the post office today. I brought my camera along, maybe I would see something interesting.



Across the street there were a few Erythronium multiscapoideum still in bloom.



The weather has turned extremely hot and dry for this time of year. The Erythroniums were fading quickly.



Growing right next to the Erythroniums was one of our local endemic species, El Dorado County Mule Ear (Wythia reticulata). They still have a ways to go before they bloom. Being from around here they are easy from seed and to get established in the garden.



I should have known better.....  Once I got started looking for plants I decided to take the long way back to the farm to see what I might find.

Some nice clumps of Wythia bolanderi caught my attention.



From there I continued down the road until I found a field full on Eschscholzia lobbii.

[Robert]

I walked the field to see what I might find. More than I thought and for me very sad too, as the heavy equipment was already there ready to blade everything away for more houses in the next few days.

Red Maids ( Calandrina ciliata) were blooming here and there along with the Eschscholzia lobbii, Lupinus bicolor, Lasthenia californica and some stunted Sidalcea hartwegii.



There were also masses of the tiny flowered Linanthus bicolor.



Nearby some fine examples of Ceanothus lemmonii were in full bloom.

It may seem very hard to believe but this part of our county is full on massive housing developments, traffic congestion, and unfortunately no trace of nature. The only thing that often saves the native habitat is the terrain and the lack of water.

40 years ago in this area there were only a few ranches and miles of nature.

[Ed Alverson]

I saw this oak on my last outing to Traverse Creek. The leaves are very small and clearly evergreen or semi evergreen as per Quercus x morehus. The "tree" was equally small, about 2 meters tall.

I am not sure what to make of it. It grew with Quercus durata and other shrubby plants.

1.) It could be a natural hybrid of California Black Oak (Quercus kelloggii) x Q. durata.
2.) It could also be a natural hybrid of California Black Oak x Q. garryana var. breweri. Q. garryana var. breweri is on the Traverse Creek list, however I have never seen it in this location before.
3.) It could be a stunted Oracle Oak (Q. x morehus) or California Black Oak. This is unlikely. The leaves are very small and the other stunted trees in the area have full sized leaves. This "tree" is semi to fully evergreen, California Black Oak is deciduous.

Robert, explanations 1 and 2 are unlikely because both Q. durata and Q. garryana are white oaks, while Q. kelloggii is a black oak. Another possibility to consider is that this individual might be a backcross of Q. x morehus with Q. wislizenii, the evergreen parent with toothed but unlobed leaves. These hybrid oaks are interesting, and I think have some horticultural potential as well, as a cold-hardy and nearly evergreen black oak.

Ed

[Robert]

Robert, explanations 1 and 2 are unlikely because both Q. durata and Q. garryana are white oaks, while Q. kelloggii is a black oak. Another possibility to consider is that this individual might be a backcross of Q. x morehus with Q. wislizenii, the evergreen parent with toothed but unlobed leaves. These hybrid oaks are interesting, and I think have some horticultural potential as well, as a cold-hardy and nearly evergreen black oak.

Ed

Ed,

Thanks for the good ideas. It will probably take talented minds much keener than mine to solve this. I'm sure that a professional would have this solved in a nano-second. Clearly I am not a scientist, but I do enjoy thinking out ideas for myself, and I am happy that I am not afraid to make mistakes. I guess I am still like a child in awe and wonder over the natural world. Maybe my postings are like a little child saying "Dad! Dad! Look what I saw!" I think that it is important for everyone to know that I am no expert and anything I post could be flawed and / or be full of mistakes. I am certainly learning from my outings and hope that others get something positive out them too, mistakes, errors, flaws and all.

I have never seen Quercus x morehus or Q. wislizenii anywhere close to this area, however this does not mean your idea is not valid or could not occur. I have often found Quercus x morehus growing in areas where there are no Q. kelloggii within miles. I've done my best to check this out over may years.

Have you ever tried growing Q. x morehus from seed? I have never seen seed on them before. Do they produce viable seed? I have no idea!

[Robert]

Trond,

I hope that you find this posting. I have a book on the wildflowers of Placer and Nevada Counties, California. Two counties just to the north of El Dorado County where are farm is located. In the back of this book is a listing of all the vascular plants in the two counties. I counted over 2,000 and still did not finish counting. Hopefully this gives you an idea of the diversity of plants in our part of California.

[Hoy]

Hi Robert,

Yes, I find your posting!

I am travelling these days. Saturday we crossed the mountains from west to east in very nice weather. It is still a couple of meter with snow there but the road was good. A few hours later a snow gale hit but then we were safe at our summerhouse by the coast. There we only got rain. We had hoped to see some spring flowers but the snowfall last Thursday hadn't melted. (The east part of Norway was hit by a severe snowfall Thursday, about 40 cm in a few hours. It was chaotic on the roads (people had changed from winter to summer tyres on their cars because all the snow had gone) The Oslo Airport was also closed a while.)

We shuffled snow and made the summerhouse ready for summer! Sunday was very nice though and a lot of the snow melted and a few crocuses, snowdrops, irises, daffodils and other spring flowers appeared. Forgot to take pictures though. Then we left for Oslo to visit my daughters and mum. Here it is still a lot of snow from last Thursday.


Therefore it is very nice to study your spring flowers! They are all different from those growing here and from what you tell and show the diversity is much greater than here. Although we have some nice ones the flora of Norway is poor for a country with so many different habitats and climates. It is of course the glaciations which erased the flora and it hasn't had time to develop properly in a few thousand years.

I think the flora of Norway contains about 2000 species and 1/2 is brought in by people during the last 100 years!

[Robert]

Trond,

I am very curious about your flora in Norway, and am looking forward to some photographic samples when the season arrives.

Enjoy your time at your summer house.



Penstemon newberryi blooming in the garden now.



Erigeron barbellatus in a big tub. This one I like a lot!

The seed is from near 3,000 meters in the Sierra Nevada. Much snow and cold during the winter so maybe a good one to try. More or less the same for the P. newberryi, however generally found at about 2,000 meters or a bit more in the Sierra Nevada.

In the garden, the Cardamine californica seed is/was already ripe. I lost most of it, however I did get a little bit. I will have to keep an eye out for it on my outings.

Good news! Found some local livelihood that is flexible enough for my current situation. Something I like doing too. 

Enjoy yourself. Look forward to hearing from you when you get back to your coastal home.

[Hoy]

Robert,

Glad to hear that you've got something to do!

I like both Penstemons and Erigerons, especially when they are as showy as that!


We have moved a bit again and are now at our mountain cabin where it is still full winter although the sun has started melting some snow. Had a nice ski trip yesterday.
The cabin is in the mountain birch belt(at 950m) so we prefer to go higher up and in the alpine zone at 1100-1200m. In this area there are no high mountains just undulating hills with open views to other more mountain rich areas.




It is not much snow though, in fact it is less than normal. Farther west they have much more than usual.

[Robert]

Trond,

I enjoyed the photograph greatly. I was very surprised by how open the countryside looked. Is this natural or due to logging, agriculture, or some other activity? My wife and I watch many foreign films. The few we have watched from Sweden / and especially Norway show a much more forested countryside.

Thinking of films, my wife and I just watched "The Green Prince", the true story of Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of a top Hamas leader and Gonen Ben Yitzhak, a Shin Bet agent. For us the film was very inspiring.

I hope to get up to Jay Bird Canyon in the next few days. This is at a much higher elevation. It is hard to know how far along the plants might be, but I do want to check on Viola sheltonii and Lewisia serrata among others. Also, this is in the areas that was burned over by the King Fire last summer / fall.

[Hoy]

Thanks, Robert.

It is usually I who enjoy yours! Did you go to the cinema? I almost never watch films, neither at home nor at the cinema. I usually like the books better

It looks open because it is above the forest line and few trees grow here. The forest has also never got a chance to establish until now. When my father-in-law was a kid these plains were grazed by cattle (dairy). The milkmaids used all kind of wood to cook the milk and make cheese. The landscape looks empty but it isn't far from the nearest mountain hamlet. It is no cows here any longer, just a few sheep (in summer) and the woods creep upwards. The forest line here will be at about 1200m altitude maximum.

You can see more pictures here: http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=13006.msg329693#new

[Robert]

Trond,

We get videos from our public libraries. Most of the time we get books. We do not get the newspaper, have a radio, stereo, or TV, so both my wife and I read a lot. Yes, we like this too. 

Thank you for the information about the habitat. If I understand correctly, this area is above treeline, 1200m. I am sure as the season progresses I will have many more questions.

I was able to get out today, however I could not go to Jay Bird Canyon. The road was blocked. I did have an interesting outing. It will take me a few days to processes everything before I can make a posting.

[Hoy]

Robert,

It is years since I visited a library but I was a frequent user before

The area in the picture is slightly below 1200m but the trees will invade both due to little grazing and warmer climate.

Just ask if I express myself unclear!

Looking forward to your next posting.

[Robert]

Wednesday, 1 April 2015

Weather: Partly Cloudy

Temperature  High: 65 F (18 C)  Low: 35 F (1.5 C)

Today was my first chance to spend much time in the higher terrain this season. The plan was to drive to the top of Peavine Ridge and hopefully drive to Jay Bird Canyon to see Lewisia serrata and a few other plants of interests.



I made a few stops along the way. The first stop, at 5,131 feet (1,564 meters), was to walk an old logging road to see if there might be anything interesting.

Ribes roelzii is a common plant at this elevation. Many of the plants were already in bloom. Generally, at this elevation, there would still be some snow on the ground at this time of year. Most plants would still be dormant.



After a short distance, I came across a boggy area full of Asarum lemmonii, shaded by Alnus incana var. tenuifolia.



Fragaria virginiana, one of two Fragaria species in our area, was growing along the fringes of the boggy area and the small stream that emptied the bog.



I was very happy to see a fair diversity of plants in this area. This area has had two major crown fires in my lifetime and is currently being used as a tree farm. The photograph shows the mono-culture of Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa). From a distance the forest looks health, however the trees are very stressed. Over many years, I have walked this forest (and the first mono-culture that burned) and observed how nature restores balance. With time, some of the stressed trees die become homes for woodpeckers and other creatures, then fall over. Then other species, including other conifers sprout and grow, slowly returning the forest to balance and health.



I did not spend much time at this location, as I was hoping to get to Jay Bird.

Along Peavine Ridge, there are rocky, somewhat open areas where there are only a few very tall conifers. This was my second stop, 5,132 feet (1,564 meters). I found many interesting plants such as this Dicentra uniflora, well into growth. Some of the other plants of interest were Calochortus clavatus var. avius, and 2 species of Viola, V. purpurea, and V. sheltonii.

[Robert]

Another plant that I enjoy from this area is Dodecatheon. It keys out close to D. hendersonii, however it is also different. The flowers stems are a bright reddish color and very stout (at lower elevations the stems are green and slender). In addition there are differences in the texture of the foliage and color variations in the flowers. What ever it is, I find it throughout the mid-elevations and it is a fantastic ornamental plant for the garden.



I spend a fair amount of time checking on the plants at this location before moving on.

When I came to the turn off the Jay Bird Canyon, I found that the road was closed!



I continued down the main road until I found a promising dirt road to check out. I parked the truck at a locked gate in this beautiful fir forest, mostly Abies concolor and Pseudotsuaga menziesii. From this starting point at 4,699 feet (1,432 meters), I walked down a very steep dirt road, towards Silver Creek.



Along this dirt road was this nice pink form of Acrtostaphylos patula.



After a short walk, I arrived at Junction Reservoir, 4,484 feet (1,367 meters). I saw some rock outcroppings and went off to check them out to see if I might luck out and find Lewisia serrata.

[Robert]

The rocky areas continued for a considerable distance. Heuchera micrantha was one of the dominant species. Sedum spathulifolium was frequently seen as well as Penstemon newberryi. This was surprising to me as the species is generally not found at this elevation. In addition, this was a somewhat shady north facing slope. This is not the habitat where I expect to find P. newberryi.



I continued toward the Dam. The going was very slow and difficult as it was very steep, with many slides, and thickets of Huckleberry Oak. (Quercus vaccinifolia). At least I did not run into any Ceanothus cordulatus, a very common species at this elevation, with very wicked spines!



I finally found an access road to the Dam site. Cardamine californica were blooming everywhere at the base of the cliffs. This turned out to be an interesting area. I found Penstemon heterophyllus growing in this area with P. newberryi and P. laetus. I have never found P. heterophyllus growing this high into the mountains. It was somewhat strange seeing P. heterophyllus growing with the two Penstemon species that generally grow higher up the mountain.



Just beyond the Dam, there was a stair way down to Silver Creek.



I decided to go down a see what I might find along Silver Creek, elevation 4,308 feet (1,313 meters).