2016 - Robert's adventures in the Northern Sierra Nevada - California

[Robert]

Tim,

Thank you for the reading suggestions. I will be adding them to my reading list.

Maggi, Tim -

I have very good luck using Worldcat (I think that it is worldcat.org) to find obscure books. We have it at our public library and I have been able to find all sorts of difficult to source books.

I have taken a relax view to plant names. I will use whatever communicates my ideas. I am comfortable with Symphytrichum spathulatum or Aster occidentalis, Primula hendersonii or Dodecatheon hendersonii. 

[Robert]

Monday I was out scouting the east side of the Sacramento Valley for vernal pools.



The countryside on the east side of the valley is beautiful this time of year.



Here the Cosumnes River leaves the foothills and enters the flood plain of the Sacramento Valley.



Here one is more likely to find California Poppy, Eschscholzia californica. E. lobbii and E. caespitosa are more frequently seen in the Sierra Nevada foothills.



A beautiful view with the snow capped Crystal Range in the far distance.

[Robert]

I only saw one vernal pool in good condition on private property. Unfortunately, I could not take a closer look.

I did see other early wildflowers in bloom such as Lomatium utriculatum.



Also, plants of the Cryptantha / Plagiobothyris complex. A few are easy enough to key out to the species level, many of the others are a bit more difficult. Having them set seed is helpful in this regard.

I also saw plants of the Ranunculus canus, californicus, occidentalis complex. R. californicus grows on our farm property. I spotted R. canus, once again on private property. I was hanging over a barbed-wire fence trying to get a good photograph. It did not turn out.    This is another group of plants that is not very easy to key out. There are many inter-grades and plants too often fit in somewhere in between two species.



I now have a good idea where I can find some vernal pools on public land. I will be returning there on Thursday to check on this site (weather permitting - looks like rain on Thursday    ). The following week the plan is to check on the North Fork of the Mokelumne River (Tiger Creek and maybe Salt Springs Reservoir). I have not been to these areas for a number of years and I am quite eager to return. The first outing to Mount Diablo will have to wait until April.

Until then........

[Gabriela]

Fermi,
I have to believe in taxonomists, otherwise it would mean I don't believe in Linnaeus  otherwise like Robert says
" personally I find that much of the DNA sequencing and changes in taxonomy make sense".

When it comes to names, I like to be able to make informed choices, such as although I know Hepatica is an Anemone now, I still call it Hepatica and so on...From my point of view as long as when discussing or buying/ selling a plant there is agreement about the name everything is fine. The problems arise when the two parties involved are referring to two different plants under the same name.

And thank you for the book suggestion Tim, I will look after it.

Robert,
You got the right attitude related to the names 
However, it is not recommended for commercial purposes. I am always reminded by a conversation from Through the looking glass - I cannot quote because I don't remember exactly, but was about like this:
A gnat asked Alice if the insects she named would answer to their names, and when she said no, it followed with the question: What is the use of their names if they don't answer to them?
Alice replied +/-: It is no use for them, but it is for us.

So, when talking with someone about Dodecatheon or Primula, I just want to know we are both talking about the same thing that's all. 

[Robert]

I had a very interesting outing to the Deer Creek Hills yesterday. I will be reporting on this soon.



The first of the Erythronium multiscapoideum blooming at the farm. Most of the wild populations locally are not this far along. Generally it is the other way around.

[Ed Alverson]

I saw my first flowers of Erythronium oregonum in the wild yesterday, and I have four species blooming in my garden. This is turning out to be an exceptionally early year, we've had very little freezing weather and spring phenology is 2 to 4 weeks ahead of average timing. It some ways it is good, but in other ways it is worrisome too.

Regarding taxonomy and nomenclature, the Heywood book is an excellent reference, I highly recommend it. However, you want to make sure to get the most recent edition, there are older editions that are now out of date.

The real problem with plant names is not the taxonomists, but the cladists. These are researchers who insist on a very restrictive definition of taxa that is rather ignorant of how evolution works. Cladists insist that a taxon can only consist of an ancestral species and all its descendants. Cladists do not accept taxa that are either polyphyletic (sensible) or paraphyletic (myopic, in my opinion).

Polyphyletic taxa refer to situations where the same morphological condition has arisen in two separate lineages, and the taxa clearly are not related. An example of this is the finding that many of the general formerly placed in the Lily family (Camassia, Allium, etc.) are more closely related to Amaryllis and Narcissus that to Lilium. The segregation of many genera from Aster is due to the realization that Symphyotrichum, Eurybia, Eucephalis, etc. are more closely related to Solidago than they are to Aster. The other non-polyphyletic alternative would be to lump Solidago with Aster, but that makes no sense.

Paraphyletic taxa occur where a particular discrete lineage has arisen from within a larger lineage that otherwise retains shared morphological characteristics. Dodecatheon represents a monophyletic  lineage of plants derived from within Primula, possessing a special adaptation to buzz pollination. Actaea represents a monophyletic lineage of plants with animal-dispersed fruits (berries) derived from within Cimicufuga, which has dry fruits (follicles). This is the way that evolution works, and to combine these genera makes no sense to me. Another example in the animal world is with birds, which essentially are a lineage derived from within the broader group of animals we call dinosaurs. A strict cladist would require that we call bird watchers "dinosaur watchers".

Wikipedia has decent entries for "monophyletic", "polyphyletic", and "paraphyletic" if anyone is interested in getting better understanding of these terms.

Ed

[Robert]

Ed,

Thank you for your insights.

The "human" equation is certainly a part of science, whether we want to acknowledge such things or not. This can certainly lead to much disagreement, agitation, and confusion. I like to take a very broad interpretation of Heisenberg's uncertainty principle - i.e. there is a limit to the accuracy that anything can be known. I meant what I said to Gabriela's statement, "It never ends.....", there will always be new insights, information and knowledge that will change our perceptions in any given field of science.

These days, I like to stay open to creative new insights and avoid the agitation of controversy (most likely wishful, magical thinking on my part       ). New creative insights seem to come out of nowhere and often from the most unlikely sources. I try the best I can to stay open to folks and their ideas. Very often excellent insights come from those that are unlettered and ordinary and too often they are completely disregarded. How would our gardens, or the world for that matter, change if we paid attention to such things. Originally, Gandhi was a shy, tongue-twisted, ineffective lawyer. What a transformation! How could such a transformation take place? Our gardens seem the perfect environment for peaceful transformation and creativity. Who know what will come from it.

The bloom cycle seems very unbalanced this season. The saw the first Salvia sonomensis in bloom today. Others at lower elevations and warmer sites show no sign of blooming yet. In general, it has been far too warm, at least for the past month. We could very easily get a hard killing frost.

It is pouring rain right now. What a blessing for us. 

[Hoy]

When it comes to names, I like to be able to make informed choices, such as although I know Hepatica is an Anemone now, I still call it Hepatica and so on...

"Anemone hepatica" was the second Latin plant name I learnt from my mother more than 50 years ago, I was about 7 years old. (The first was Tussilago farfara, still the same I think.) She had learnt it from her mother who had learnt it from her father I had to tell my children it was "Anemone hepatica" but now we are back to the former again

I take it with a smile. In my sense I am a cladist like Ed describes it but my heart often objects.

Scientific names are important both for layman and scholar. Using scientific names you know you are talking about the same species but if the names change, especially if too many names change too quickly, a lot of us easily get confused. Still I welcome the changes. This will continue while more and more species are DNA sequenced but will eventually slow down when this comes to an end. Maybe not in my time though

In the meantime I enjoy the reports from Robert!

Robert,

When do the trees normally leaf out? With the hot weather you have had I would expect the trees to be in leaf already. Or are they, like many plants here, depending on the length of the daylight period more than the temperature?

[Robert]

Robert,

When do the trees normally leaf out? With the hot weather you have had I would expect the trees to be in leaf already. Or are they, like many plants here, depending on the length of the daylight period more than the temperature?

Trond,

Yes, some of the trees are leafing out early. Some are clearly waiting until their usual time. What is very interesting this year is the irregular behaviour of many species. Within the same species, some are leafing or flowering early others are not. I can tell that there is some sort of interaction between length of daylight, temperature, soil moisture levels, winter chilling hours, and most likely other factors. Not linear at all! It is very much a complex web of factors. I guess one can tell that I am not a reductionist -  I tend to see the world as a complex and amazing interaction of many, many things. I love it, there is always something to learn - a journey that has no destination. 

[johnralphcarpenter]

You're a philosopher, Robert!

[Gabriela]

You're a philosopher, Robert!

And quite a good one!

Scientific names are important both for layman and scholar.

I agree with this Trond. But there are some changes that I don't welcome and I have to tell you why:
My observation is that the ‘cladistic movement’ has accentuated the divide between various groups which I describe as:
 ‘molecular botanists’ (some don’t actually know plants/narrow specialised) – the ‘botanists-gardeners’ (botanists who also like to grow plants) and  - the ‘simple gardeners’ (who just garden for the sake of gardening). Then we have the horticultural industry that floats somewhere above all (at least in NA).

[Robert]

Deer Creek Hills

Thursday, 3 March 2016

Weather: Cloudy
Temperature, High:65 F (18 C), Low:51 (10.5 C)



The Deer Creek Hills are an area of rolling hills and open steep located in Southeastern Sacramento County. Large tracts of land are part of the Deer Creek Hills Preserve. The land is only partly preserved as the preserve is still a working cattle ranch. Much of the lower parts of the Deer Creek Hills are forested with Blue Oak, Quercus douglasii. On this outing it was the only tree or shrub species that I observed. Other parts of this area may be different, but I did not travel to any of those sites.

The upper parts of the Deer Creek Hills is open steep, a grassland predominantly of non-native invasive grasses and other non-native dicot herbs.



I started my hike at 235 feet (72 meters) elevation in an area of Blue Oak, Quercus douglasii, forest and open meadow.

A number of streams run through the hills in places creating pools of slow moving water. I observed a few Northern Water Plantains, Alisma triviale growing semi-submerged in the water.



Fiddleneck, Amsinkia intermedia, were abundant and in full bloom.



Butter and Eggs, Triphysaria eriantha, was common too. This species can sometimes grow in huge colonies. I remember such colonies when I was a little boy growing up. Recently I have not seen such an event. Maybe such things still occur in other parts of California. The species is widespread throughout much of California, so this is certainly possible.



At this elevation Blue Dicks, Dichelostemma capitatum, were blooming in quantity. This area is rich in Themidaceae.

[Robert]

A very low growing native clover, Trifolium depauperatum var. depauperatum, grew in among the grasses. There were plenty of the non-native invasive Trifolium species in this area too, none of which were blooming at this time.



I did not see many, but there were a few robust clumps of the annual Phacelia cicutaria. The plants were well budded, however no open flowers were seen. The range of this species continues into the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. I also observed this species on the North Fork of the Cosumnes River a few weeks back.



More Triphysaria eriantha. I have to admit the sight of this species blooming brings back fond childhood memories.



Meadowfoam, Limnanthes douglasii. I associate this species with vernal pools. I was hoping to find some today, but I did not have any luck. I found these two blooming plants in a moist area in the middle of a dirt road. I was hoping for something better. It is such a beautiful species.



In a few areas there were very nice little mixed "flower gardens". Here growing was Dichelostemma capitatum, Amsinckia, and a Popcorn flower, most likely Plagiobothrys nothofulvus. I saw many of them this day, often in large masses. The 9mm across flowers and the early bloom were suggestive of the species nothifulvus.

[Robert]

Soon I moved into an area of open steep. I have to admit my frustration. This was an area rich in Apiaceae many of which I photographed. Not one turned out!     Lomatium marginatum was particularly abundant, in full bloom and looking very nice. There were several Sanicula species, both S. pinnata and bipinnatifida being in bloom. The flowers of Sanicula pinnata are not very showy, however the foliage is very fragrant of cilantro. Very nice.

Another interesting species I found was Carex fracta. This species is generally found at higher elevations in the Sierra Nevada. Carex feta is somewhat similar and is found at this elevation. This was clearly C. fracta. There was only one clump. My theory is that the seed came from the cattle, as their summer pastures in the Sierra Nevada are at the right elevation.



The Deer Creek Hills are within the Calaveras complex a very complex and often confusing terrane. In this area the rocks are fairly simple, most of them being sedimentary, laid down during the Permian and Jurassic time, jammed into the Sierran trench later in the Jurassic and now metamorphosed into vertical columns of slate. In this area, fractures in the rock were filled with quartz, creating these outcroppings.



To the north there is a road and site called "White Rock" named after the quartz formations.



The steep tops out at 525 feet (160 meters). As stated earlier, the grasses are predominantly non-native invasives. Most were not in bloom yet, however I did recognize the blooming heads of Soft Chess, Bromus hordeuceus and Hordeum murinum. A species too tiny for my camera to photograph was the minuscule Crassula connata. It is surprisingly colorful with its red and green foliage.



Also up in this habitat were more of the annual clover Trifolium depauperatum var depauperatum. I find this tiny clover quite lovely and am tempted to grow it in a trough.

[Robert]

Working my way back to the truck I came across the diminutive Sagina decumbens ssp. occidentalis. The small airy flowers can be easily over looked among the grasses. The pinky-magneta flowers are Calandrinia menziesii.



I finally came to the end of my outing. This day I cataloged far more non-natives than native species. Although this area was part of the Deer Creek Hills Preserve I felt the flora was still degraded by the continuation of cattle ranching. I also felt the area could be good habitat for Calochortus luteus and some other species of interest, but felt disappointed by what I saw. Walking back to the truck I was ready to write the place off as an unproductive area to study native plants.

As I neared my truck, I heard an auto approaching from my back side. It was a truck with two men from the preserve. One was the site manager / biologist. Turns out we hit it off very, very well. They shared a wealth of information with me. I inquired about the prospects of finding Calochortus luteus. Oh! no problem, just give me a call and I will open the gate for you over there. In such and such place you will find thousands in bloom in April or May depending on the weather. The vernal pools are located over there and so on....... I meet the most wonderful people! 

Needless to say I will be returning later in the season.

Until next time.