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

[Hoy]

Robert,

I try to follow your trip while I am up here consentrating on mine!

Some plants are the same genera but most are different!

[Robert]

Trond,

I am enjoying your postings immensely! You can always catch up on my postings later. On this forum they do not seem to disappear - a great reference!

[Maggi Young]

Trond,

I am enjoying your postings immensely! You can always catch up on my postings later. On this forum they do not seem to disappear - a great reference!

Indeed Robert - it is the intention of SRGC to provide here a forum where discussion is possible and the information shared  is archived here and is searchable and available to all.

[Robert]

Indeed Robert - it is the intention of SRGC to provide here a forum where discussion is possible and the information shared  is archived here and is searchable and available to all.

Maggi,

Thank you for confirming my suspicions that information is archived. Having the information searchable, of coarse, makes the situation even better. I have to admit that I get in a rut using the forum in a simplistic way. I will have to experiment with some of the other features, as there are must be some useful tools available to make the information ever more useful.

In addition, archived information encourages me to provide the best possible postings. I like doing this anyway, so I always appreciate when others benefit from the information I provide.

It looks like I will be able to do some roadside botany today. Something enjoyable to look forward to. 

[Robert]

I was able to do some roadside botany on Saturday, 30 July 2016. Sunday was a long work day - up at 4:00 a.m. for a very long day. So here I am, the next day, rested and reporting on my findings. 



I decided to travel Iron Mountain Road into the High Country. The road bisects areas of soil based on both granite and volcanic activity. Soil type, elevation changes, soil moisture, exposure, and other factors provide habitat for an good diversity of plant species.

Eriogonum umbellatum var. polyanthum was in full bloom this day and was seen frequently along side of the road or on barren rocky areas. This was one of 4 species of Eriogonum seen this day; the others being E. nudum var. deductum (seen blooming in mass in some areas); E. incanum (finished blooming); and E. wrightii var.subscaposum (yet to bloom - a late bloomer).



Eriogonum umbellatum, in most of its numerous varieties, is a great garden plant and is very amenable to garden culture, at least in our area.



Elymus elymoides is a very common native Poaceae species in our region. It is found over a broad altitude range.



My first stop was at 7,419 feet (2,261 meters). At this stop there is a steep bluff that drops quickly to the northwest. About half way down the slope a large springs opens.

Angelica breweri was in full bloom at this site. It was found in bloom both on the flat area at the top of the bluff as well as scattered throughout the area down the steep slope.



Down near the spring there were some very healthy and attractive clumps of Agastache urticifolia.

[Robert]

Another shot of Agastache urticifolia. This is another species that is very amenable to garden culture. I had some nice clumps growing at the farm, however they are gone now.    I will be giving them a try in our Sacramento garden where they will most likely thrive - class I loam 30 feet deep!



Near the spring there were large stands of Heracleum maximum and Delphinium glaucum, both in bloom. Glyceria elata also thrives near the spring. Its common name is Mannagrass. The grain is said to be large and well worth gathering for food. I have never gathered the grain, but I would like to give it a try. I still have all of my grain processing equipment from my days of farming!    Another treat at this spring are the stands of Platanthera dilatata var. leucosytachys. They were not blooming. 



In the dry area beyond the spring I found one plant of Allium campanulatum still in bloom. Allium validum grows near the spring. I have found hybrids of the two species on this slope.



A big treat was seeing Delphinium glaucum still in bloom.



This is a most attractive species, with the tall flowering stems towering 3 + meters in height! Seeing them growing and blooming in quantity is an awesome sight.

[Robert]

My next stop was at a meadow, elevation 7,365 feet (2,245 meters). Acmispon nevadensis var. nevadensis seen in bloom as I stepped out of the car. This is a lovely species that I must try in the garden. The yellow to yellow-orange/red flowers are very showy and I like bright colors in the garden.



One of my favorite patches of Rudbeckia californica was in bloom.



This species, too, grows well into garden. I already have some planted in our Sacramento garden. They grew and bloomed well at the farm, however they cannot endure extreme drought and they are all gone now.



I did not want to stay long as there was a wedding in action at the other end of the meadow. Sidalcea glaucescens was blooming in dry areas near the Rudbeckia. Where it was swampy Mimulus tilingii was blooming. It has large yellow flowers with an extended lower lip. The calyx lobes are uneven, the upper most being the longest. M. moschata also grows in this meadow, and the above characteristics help distinguish the two species easily.

Another species of the marshy area was Epilobium hallianum. The fleshy runners have small bulb-like structures at the base of the plant where the stem rises above the ground. The flowers are somewhat small, but bright pinky-lavender.



From the meadow I moved on to Highway 88 and traveled up the road toward Carson Pass. Here the terrain changes back and forth, from granite to volcanic rock strata. From this view one can see the "salt and pepper", dark-light of the Sierra Nevada granite.

[Robert]

My last stop for the day was at 7,606 feet (2,318 meters). Here the habitat was high elevation chaparral. Arctostaphylos nevadensis, Quercus vacciniifolia, and Ceanothus cordulatus were the dominant species. Scattered in the chaparral were a few Lodgepole Pines, Pinus contorta ssp. murrayana and Pinus jeffreyi.

Erigeron breweri var. breweri enjoys this dry, sunny habitat and was blooming in scattered patches throughout this area.



In addition, Holodiscus discolor was in bloom scattered here and there in the chaparral.



Under a Lodgepole Pine there was a nice specimen of Salix scouleriana. This willow species is found in much drier habitats than most of our other native Salix species. There must have been some subterranean moisture as I also saw Salix lemmonii in the area. The last species of note was Prunus emarginata with its fruits now starting to turn bright red.



Before returning to the farm I got one last photograph of the volcanic peaks near Carson Pass. There was still a bit of convection cloudiness from the monsoonal moisture that had moved up previously. The day before there were huge thunderstorms in this area. For the time, the monsoon winds and rain have moved to the east. August and early September are the prime monsoonal times for us, sometimes brings thunderstorms and rain to the Sierra Nevada Foothills and the Great Central Valley. This is especially true when the weather is extremely hot, i.e. 40 C + in the Valley.

Also, the sky has been milky with smoke from the huge wildfire burning in the Southern Coast Range near Monterrey, California. For a week or so now the smoke has been terrible, the sun being very muted in the mornings and evenings from the thick smoke. This fire is burning in very difficult terrain and it may be a month before it is out. Such is life in California. With good rains the fire will bring a tremendous display of wildflower next spring. I wish that I could go see this!

Anyway, until next time..... Some native plants and invasives from the foothills.

[Hoy]

Interesting as always, Robert!

Glyceria fluitans is called mannagras both in Dutch and in Norwegian (it is also called sweet grass in Norw.)!

Just a short comment - I must leave now

[Robert]

A few photographs taken over the last few days in the Sierra Nevada Foothills.



A typical scene - away from the rampant development.



Another foothill scene - open grassland and oak savanna.



A beautiful 'Valley Oak', Quercus lobata. Valley Oak can grow to be quite massive in the alluvial plains of the Great Central Valley of California. This species is also found in the coastal foothills and valleys as well as in the lower foothills of the Sierra Nevada. Generally this species grows to be a smaller tree in the generally shallow and poor soils in the Sierra Nevada Foothills.

The 'Hooker Oak' was a Valley Oak and heritage tree growing in the alluvial plain of Chico Creek in the city of Chico, California. I remember visiting this tree when I was in my early 20's and it was still alive. The trunk was massive, with huge limbs that arched back down to the ground in a circle around the main trunk. From these branches grew secondary branches that created a huge dome. The whole tree must have covered an area the size of a baseball field, maybe larger.



Quercus lobata is very easily identified by the leaf shape and the acorns. The acorns are long and narrow with an acute tip.



A typical 'Blue Oak', Quercus douglasii. Blue Oak is generally the most frequently seen oak species in the lower foothills of the Sierra Nevada. In general, they are far more tolerant of drought, poor shallow soils, and adverse conditions of all the foothill oak species. In the spring their leaves emerge green, however they quickly turn blue-green and remain that color for the remainder of the growing season. This species is not known for any notable autumn leaf colors. At the best they will turn dull yellow, but this can be surprisingly attractive at times in the countryside.

[Robert]

Hypericum perforatum is a commonly found invasive weed in our part of California.



Hypericum perforatum is generally found in scattered groups, but at times they can dominate a whole field.



Acmispon americanus var. americanus is a native species. It is quite a tenacious species, growing often in the most hostile, hot and dry locations. I often find this species grow near the asphalt of roadways - so this species is at least likely to be tolerant of herbicides too.



Ascelpias fascicularis. I have been surprised and also pleased that I have seen this native species frequently. When I come across a patch, I always check for Monarch Butterfly larva. When I was a little boy I saw Monarch Butterflies all of the time. Now they seem quite rare. 



Cytisus scoparius is the most commonly seen 'Broom' in our area. This photograph is of Spartium junceum. Both species are invasive, non-native species. I rarely find Spartium , but when I do it is almost always in disturbed locations. For me it is somewhat hard to believe that this species is planted as an ornamental. To me it seems most unattractive, most likely my bias because of its noxious, invasive nature. 

[Hoy]

Robert,

The dry grasslands look more like ripe grainfields than anything else I am familiar with!
Acmispon nevadensis looks from your picture not unlike Lotus corniculatus which is very decorative. It is native here but has spread a lot in recent years.

[Robert]

Robert,

The dry grasslands look more like ripe grainfields than anything else I am familiar with!
Acmispon nevadensis looks from your picture not unlike Lotus corniculatus which is very decorative. It is native here but has spread a lot in recent years.

Hi Trond,

Lotus corniculatus has naturalize in the higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada. Several years ago I found them growing where there was an old log deck from a previous logging operation. The species is quite attractive, however my understanding is that it is invasive and perhaps even considered noxious in California. Fortunately I rarely see it growing in the Sierra Nevada. I will have to check with the Department of Agriculture as to its status. Personally I find the species attractive and would not mind grow it in our garden.

[Hoy]

Seems a lot of European plants have found their way to California. It is not the opposite way although some American plants have been spreading the last years. Most of them are uninteresting weeds

Nice oaks

[Robert]

Seems a lot of European plants have found their way to California. It is not the opposite way although some American plants have been spreading the last years. Most of them are uninteresting weeds

Nice oaks

Trond,

It is troubling the number of noxious and invasive weeds we have in California. In the case of grasses they have mostly displaced our native grasses and annuals. Bromus, Avena, and Hordeum species are some of the worst offenders.

Below are some photographs taken this past week of a few other invasive grass species in our area.



Goat Grass, Aegilops triuncialis, is one of three invasive Aegilops species in our area. I generally find Aegilops triuncials from the lower to mid-elevations in the Sierra Nevada. I do not see this species very often, however when I find it, it has established itself very robustly.



Cynosurus echinatus, Dogtail Grass, is an non-native invasive grass commonly found in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. This species is interesting in that is bears two very different spikelets in the same inflorescence.



Gastridium phleoides is less common and found in the Foothills of the Sierra Nevada. As the name implies, this species resembles Timothy, at least somewhat. Timothy, Phleum pratense, is sold as hay in our area and of coarse is a weed now. Phleum alpinum is native. I see it frequently in high elevation meadows.



Muhlenbergia rigens is one of our native, perennial, bunch grasses. It is an attractive species worthy of the garden. I see this species in the Sierra Nevada Foothills.