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

[Robert]

On this day the flowers of Madia elegans were still open. Generally, and especially when the weather is hot, the flower are wilted and closed when the sun starts to shine on them.



The flowers of Madia elegans are very beautiful. They are all different too. Some have dark markings at the base of the ray flowers, other do not. Some flowers are large - other smaller. I especially like the scent of the foliage.



Bermuda Grass, Cynodon datylon, is generally found in the hot and wintertime mild Central Valleys and Southern California. I am glad it is not much of a pest in the foothills as it can be difficult to control in a garden.



Centromadia fitchii, my favorite species for scented foliage in the autumn.  We are expecting our first major rain later this week. Its scent will fill the air everywhere and it will be divine.



Lonicera interrupta, Chaparral Honeysuckle, a native with bright red fruit.

[Robert]

When I travel at a leisurely pace I like to check on everything including dried up plants. It is amazing what one can learn from examining them. The species name of this Avena can not be determined from the dried spikelets. All that is left are the dried glumes. Even the leaf blades were too damaged to revile any clues. However, later on I did find some native Stipa. This was a great find as invasive grasses have taken up 99.9% of the grassland niche.



Occasionally Horehound, Marrubium vulgare (pictured), can naturalize itself. More surprising to me was the Catmint, Nepeta cataria, that I found nearby. This species too can naturalize itself, however this seems to rarely occur in our area.



Nicotinia acuminata var. multiflora, an invader, can be weedy in waste areas. All or most parts of this species are densely glandular-hairy, and extremely sticky.



As we head into the autumn and winter months the bark of Arctostaphylos species attracts my attention. Even within a species there can be interesting differences in the bark. This bark is peeling in a very attractive and interesting way. When I finally make it to the coastal mountains there are many species of Arctostaphylos with many different characteristics to their bark to see.



A view across some dry pastureland to Bigcut.

Where the cumulus clouds can be seen on the left side of the photograph is Bigcut. This gash in the hillside was created by hydraulic gold mining sometime between 1850 and 1880. I have explored this area in the past and everything has been striped down to bedrock for many miles along this contour. Even today, after more than 100 years, very little if anything grows in this area.

[Robert]

Here is a nice view to the west down the Weber Creek drainage.



This is a view to the east up the Weber Creek drainage. The tall bright green conifers are Pinus ponderosa. The gray conifers are Pinus sabiniana. Most of the broad leaf trees are Interior Live Oak, Quercus wislizenii. There are many other tree species in this photograph, however I will get to them when we transition into autumn-winter.

It may seem hard to believe but this is all private land with many houses nestled in among the trees.



One last scene of Grassland, Oak Savannah, and Oak Forest in the background. Once we get a goodly amount of rainfall this autumn the winter grasses (mostly invasives) will sprout within days.

 

[Hoy]

...

When I travel at a leisurely pace I like to check on everything including dried up plants. It is amazing what one can learn from examining them. The species name of this Avena can not be determined from the dried spikelets. All that is left are the dried glumes. Even the leaf blades were too damaged to revile any clues. However, later on I did find some native Stipa. This was a great find as invasive grasses have taken up 99.9% of the grassland niche.
......

Occasionally Horehound, Marrubium vulgare (pictured), can naturalize itself. More surprising to me was the Catmint, Nepeta cataria, that I found nearby. This species too can naturalize itself, however this seems to rarely occur in our area.
......

Nicotinia acuminata var. multiflora, an invader, can be weedy in waste areas. All or most parts of this species are densely glandular-hairy, and extremely sticky.
.....

Isn't it a bit strange that the native plants are outcompeted by foreign ones? One should believe that the natives were best adapted to the climate and soil conditions. I know it is a problem many places though, also here, but seemingly not as extensively as there.

[Hoy]

............
As we head into the autumn and winter months the bark of Arctostaphylos species attracts my attention. Even within a species there can be interesting differences in the bark. This bark is peeling in a very attractive and interesting way. When I finally make it to the coastal mountains there are many species of Arctostaphylos with many different characteristics to their bark to see.



......

I like the bark of this! It reminds me of a young birch 

[Tim Ingram]

The bark of Arctostaphylos is beautiful. If these were more amenable in cultivation they would be grown here in the UK like some of the rhododendrons that have such fine bark (and foliage and flowers!). Acer griseum in our garden has the same impact, especially backlit by the sun. I marvel at your knowledge of the plants and places you visit Robert - truly inspirational and just knowing a little about the Californian flora from an 'armchair' and books makes you want to learn more and more. Verbena bonariensis is highly valued in our garden for the same reasons you describe (I could imagine it beginning to naturalise here as well), and in the UK with huge losses of natural meadows over the last fifty or sixty years non-native 'meadows' - what we call Prairie Gardening with perennials, but also with annuals - has really come to the fore in recent years in response to environmental concerns. I don't think insects differentiate between the two  .

[Robert]

Trond,

For me it is ironic that invasive plant species have come to dominate some habitat niches here in California, especially in many low elevation regions. Many of the alpine high elevation habitats are considered fragile, however in general there is a much lower rate of invasion by non-native species in these areas. This is especially odd considering the pasturage of sheep in alpine meadows during the days of John Muir. Based on my readings by John Muir, many of the ecosystems were able to, at least partially, restore their original balance once grazing, logging, etc. pressures were removed. Why this has not occurred at lower elevation sites is interesting. Discovering the reasons why could prove helpful in restoring some of our native habitats here in California.

[Robert]

Tim,

It is somewhat surprising to me that at least some Arctostaphylos species are not more amendable to cultivation in the U.K. In California Arctostaphylos species are native to a very broad variety of ecological habitats. The first thing that comes to my mind are the species that are native to the California coastal fog belt (cool summers with high humidity). The issue of adaptability must be complex.

Loss of habitat and species diversity is a huge issue, at least for some of us, here in California. The delta of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers is almost dead (according to a recently published report). This effects of this habitat loss has extended into San Francisco Bay and beyond into the Pacific Ocean in the vicinity of the Farallon Islands.

Personally I have noticed the loss of beneficial insects in the city of Sacramento, in particular insects of the order Hymenoptera and Lepidoptera. Many migratory bird species have diminished greatly too. This is all very alarming.

[Tim Ingram]

Interesting to read your comment re. John Muir and sheep grazing Robert because now there do seem to be much more concerted efforts to restore the natural vegetation in parts of Scotland which have been so completely denuded by sheep and deer (and the 'clearances' of past times). The Carrifran Project is a prime example which must lead the way, particularly because it has been so closely monitered and studied. Obviously the alpine flora in the UK is a shadow of that in America or Europe but the mountain habitats can quite rapidly regain their natural flora, particularly from refuges that have been inaccessible to grazing animals. I imagine that the climatic severity of the higher elevations places a strong limit on non-native species because most of these will not have originated from similar environments and therefore not have a competitive advantage, whereas at lower altitudes competition from non-natives will be much more successful. From what you say though this doesn't seem so true of grasses?

[Hoy]

Regarding foreign invading species, I think it is much greater probability that a lowland species should hitch hike across the dam than a high altitude species anyway.

Here in Norway a lot of people and organizations claim that we should increase the amount of grazing animals because the culture landscape disappear in thickets and advancing forests. We are also importing concentrate feeds which should be unnecessary.

[Maggi Young]

This may be of interest:
Attacking Invasive Cheatgrass at Its Root http://blog.nature.org/science/2016/09/07/attacking-invasive-cheatgrass-root-soil-microbes-biocontrol-sage/

[Hoy]

Cheatgrass, Bromus tectorum - didn't know it was invasive over there. Her it is rare and red listed!

[ian mcdonald]

New Zealand Willow-herb, Epilobium brunnescens, turns up in remote mountain areas in the north of the UK. The seeds are small and wind blown.

[Robert]

Bromus tectorum, Cheat Grass, is an invasive grass that primarily occupies the middle elevations of the Sierra Nevada. I posted a photograph of this species this past spring on Poho Ridge. Control at this time seems to be very complex. From my observations fire may effectively control this species in the Sierra Nevada under the natural conditions that existed say 300 - 400 years ago. Unfortunately such condition no longer exist in most circumstances.

Fortunately I do not see Medusa Head, Elymus caput-medusae, often.

Tim,

Sheep and other livestock certainly were instrumental in the introduction of invasive species in the high elevation meadows of the Sierra Nevada. This most likely began at an early date.

At this time I am doing some preliminary research into the history of livestock grazing on the western slope of the Crystal Range. The original Wright's Lake dairy effected the Lyon's Creek drainage, an area of prime attention to me. To the north were the Van Vleck high elevation summer pastures. Sheep Sorrel, Rumex acetosella, is a persistent invasive found both at the Van Vleck sites as well as in the Lyon's Creek drainage. There is evidence that this species has existed at both sites for a considerable length of time.

Verbascum thapsus, Tragopogon sp., Phleum pratense, and a few other invasive species can be found at the Van Vleck sites. These species seem to occupy sites disturbed by commercial logging operations within the past 35 years. I feel reasonably certain that Phleum pratense was introduced as hay for cattle (horse droppings is another possibility). The Verbascum and Tragopogon most likely came via commercial logging, however there are other possibilities too. I remember cattle at the Van Vleck sites into the early 1970's.

To my knowledge there has never been any commercial logging within the Lyon's Creek drainage. In the past three years and numerous outings, I have not found Verbascum, Tragopogon, or Phleum pratense within the Lyon's Creek Drainage. My first outing within the Lyon's Creek drainage was in 1960. Despite being very young (5 years old), I can still remember the cow bells in the forest. When livestock grazing ended, I do not know - yet.

Livestock grazing has existed at both sites for a very long time, yet there is evidence that there has been considerable restoration of the natural and native flora at both sites. Within both regions there are sites that are extremely sensitive to invading species and yet as of today they seem reasonably healthy. There are other similar high elevation sites where cattle still graze the land. I have been told that invasive species, a few quite noxious, are of considerable concern in these areas. This information came from the Department of Agriculture, however I have yet to check on this myself.

Clearly I still do not have enough information to come to any conclusions, however it is very fascinating to me. Based on the information provided to me by the Department of Agriculture, invasive species can be a serious problem even a high elevations within the Sierra Nevada.

Stay tuned....with the luck of God I will know more in 20 or 30 years. 

[Robert]

I may not see Medusa Head, Elymus caput-medusae, often, however it is easy to find in our area if one looks in the right locations.



I had a short time today to poke around on the El Dorado Trail. There are many disturbed areas along the trail so it did not take long until I found some dried remains of Medusa Head.



How does one identify this species from dried remains? 1.) 2 spiketlets per node  2.) 2 awn-like glumes that are fused at the base 3.) lemma 5-veined.

I was very fortunate to find any old lemma as they usually break off above the glumes. The veins are faint at this time of year, however I was able to make them out with a hand lens.