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

[Tim Ingram]

I think Polystichum imbricans is my favourite of all those plants - what a lovely fern that is with that young foliage. We grow quite a few species but not the smaller alpine forms. A trough combining those various different plants growing as they do in nature would be very nice .

[Gabriela]

Another great plant series Robert! Thanks for posting.
That combination of Polystichum, Pentagramma and Dudleya looks ready to be 'transposed' in the garden

[Robert]

I think Polystichum imbricans is my favourite of all those plants - what a lovely fern that is with that young foliage. We grow quite a few species but not the smaller alpine forms. A trough combining those various different plants growing as they do in nature would be very nice .

Tim,

I enjoy Polystichum imbricans ssp. curtum too. I have returned to re-examine some of the plants that I had initially thought to be spp. imbricans. So far, all of the specimens have definitely turned out to be ssp. curtum. The sub marginal sori are very clear on these plants. Since then I have examined specimens with mixed characteristics regarding the placement of the sori. I am uncertain how to understand this right now.

Besides all of this, Polystichum imbricans ssp. curtum is a very attractive plant. I do cultivate ssp. curtum in our garden and so far it appears to be of easy culture as long as the soil drainage is perfect (the plants are still very young and small). I almost always find ssp. curtum growing on cliff faces or rocky ledges. This certainly is a clue to its cultivation.

[Robert]

Another great plant series Robert! Thanks for posting.
That combination of Polystichum, Pentagramma and Dudleya looks ready to be 'transposed' in the garden

Gabriela,

The Polystichum, Pentagramma, Dudleya combination was just one of many beautiful sights this day.

I am very happy to share my experiences and am always happy to hear from those that express their appreciation. Thank you. 

[Hoy]

Trond,

I must not get sloppy with my work! 

Both Trifolium dubium and T. campestre grow in California and are easy to distinguish from each other, .....as long as one is paying attention. From the photograph I can not determine how striated the flowers might be. I do not want to get sloppy.    Thank you for this remark!        

Robert,

I don't think you ever go sloppy with your work

[Robert]

Robert,

I don't think you ever go sloppy with your work

Trond,

I think that I was joking around with myself. We all make mistakes - it is only human. I guess I was thinking of the lighter side of a simple mistake. Trying to not take myself too seriously. 

Both Trifolium dubium and T. campestre grow in our area. At times the two species can look close enough that they can be confused unless one takes the time to look more closely. I absolutely enjoyed your comment and appreciate that you were able to correctly identify the species from Norway. Very cool!    Also, such comments improve my abilities!    Very much a win win situation. 

[Robert]

A few scenes from yesterday's outing. The wildflowers were stunningly beautiful!



The South Fork of the American River full of water from snow melt. Great news for us here, in this part of California.



Poho Ridge looking southeast toward the Sierra crest. This area suffered considerable damage from the King Fire. There certainly was damage, however natural regeneration is proceeding. In addition, many areas appear to have gained benefit from the fire. More on this in my report.



Mimulus aurantiacus var. grandiflorus. One of many wildflowers seen in all of their glory.



Just a sampling of the amazing wildflower gardens seen yesterday.

[Hoy]

Robert,

you probably know more about European plants than I know about Californian ones


And you are right: stunningly beautiful blooming 

[Robert]

Poho Ridge

Part I

Wednesday, 11 May 2016

Sacramento Weather

High Clouds

Temperature, High: 89 F (31.5 C), Low: 55 F (13 C)

Placerville Weather

High Clouds

Temperature, High: 85 F (29.5 C), Low: 47 F (8 C)



Early in the morning I set out from Sacramento toward the Sierra Nevada Mountains. My first plan was to check on snow melt species in the Lyon's Creek area. At 6,144 feet (1,873 meters) the road started to get blocked by snow. The site I wished to visit is at 6,800 feet (2,073 meters) another 656 feet (200 meters) in elevation gain. It would have been a long hike over the snow and most likely considerably more snow at the Lyon's Creek site. I decided to retreat down the mountain and explore the Poho Ridge area. It will be better to visit Lyon's Creek in another 2-3 weeks.



Poho Ridge overlooks the South Fork of the American River. North of the river, the ridge runs from Silver Creek to the east, westward to Slab Creek. This area is just east of the area explored last.



As I drove down into the canyon I was very pleased to find Bush Poppy, Dendromecon rigida in bloom.



The flowers of this species are generally held at the end of long glaucous stems and with the same glaucous foliage. Plants can become rangy, however fire or a hard pruning will cause this species to produce many new shoots from the base creating a much bushier plant. The flowers are very attractive.



The north facing canyon slope is well forested with a mixed coniferous, deciduous broad leaf forest. This shady haven is enjoyed by species such as Calochortus albus (pictured) as well as a host of fern species and other shade loving species.

[Robert]

This north facing cliff also has an open spring with dripping / running water at all seasons along part of the cliff face.



Moisture and shade loving species such as Adiantum aleuticum thrive here. Polystichum californicum and Cystoperis fragilis were other moisture loving ferns found growing in mossy pockets on the rock face.



Still in the shade, but in much drier locations, Sedum spathulifolium clung directly to the rocks displaying their showy yellow flowers.



In other dry, but still shady locations, the airy wanders of Heuchera micrantha were covered with their small white flowers.



At the base of the rock face there were many colonies of Collinsia tinctoria still waiting to come into flower. This species can be easily identified by its distinctive molted foliage at this time of year.

[Robert]

Aralia californica always grows with its feet (roots) in the water. This specimen was growing directly out of the rock face with dripping and running water everywhere. This species has huge, bold, compound leaves that can be very striking in appearance.



From here I moved over to the sunny, south facing side of the canyon. On this bank of the river, the whole canyon side was covered with blooming yellow wildflowers.



This wildflower display extended from the river bank all of the way to the top of Poho Ridge.



Each rocky ledge had its own combination species and colors.



This ledge was dominated by Eriophyllum lanatum var. achilleoides and Acmispon argophyllus var. fremontii.

[Robert]

Acmispon argophyllus var. fremontii grows in very xeric envirnoments. I generally find them on hot, south facing rock ledges and cliff faces. Today was no exception.



As I moved up the canyon side I finally glimpsed the dominate species blooming on this canyon side. Everywhere there were huge drifts of Eriophyllum lanatum var. achilleoides in bloom.



Closer examination revealed that the Eriophyllum did not grow in pure stands, but in endless variation with other species. In some locations the combinations were stunning, as I will show later.



One example of the species mixture was this one of Eriophyllum lanatum blooming with Gilia capitata.



There were even differences to note among the Eriophyllum varieties. Many of the specimens I examined were the large flowered variety Eriophyllum lanatum var. grandiflorum with many of their ray flowers petals measuring 18-20 mm in length.

[Robert]

Another species sharing the sunny cliff faces was Mimulus aurantiacus var. grandiflorus.



This species generally blooms in a variety of pastel shades.



This day I observed blooming plants ranging from pale to light yellowish-orange. Mimulus aurantiacus var. aurantiacus also grows in our area, however variety aurantiacus has much deeper orange to orange-yellow flowers. In addition, the corolla lobes of var. grandiflorus are each distinctively 2 lobed.



Most of the plants were blooming profusely and looked great.



Other species had their subtle beauty too. Gilia capitata grew both in pure stands as well as mixed with other species.

This was all incredibly beautiful and I took a considerable amount of time examining everything, however there was much, much more to see.

To be continued........

[Gabriela]

What an amazing display of wildflowers Robert! Mimulus aurantiacus var. grandiflorus is incredible beautiful growing  like that on the rock face; and so are all the others.
Dendromecon flowers are similar with those of Hylomecon  (makes sense, they are all 'mekons')

[Hoy]

Gabriela,

I can't see any similarities with the Mekon?