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Plagiobothrys chorisianus var. chorisianus     Photo courtesy CalPhotos

Unlike much of the rest of the country, winter in the Bay Area brings renewed life and reminders that spring is not far off. And although I\'m writing this during a cold spell in late December, the days are sunny, the hillsides have greened up nicely, and I\'ve even seen a few poppies in flower already. By the time this article is published, we will be in the throes of spring and there will be ample wildflowers to view. One group you might want to try adding to your life list is the popcorn flowers.

The borage family (Boraginaceae), also known as the forget-me-not family, is a relatively large group comprised of some 100 genera and 2,000 species worldwide. The family occurs throughout temperate and subtropical regions of the northern and southern hemispheres, but has its major center of distribution in the Mediterranean region. Economic uses of borages include garden plants (e.g., heliotrope, bluebells, forget-me-not), herbs (e.g., comfrey), and dyes (e.g., alkanet, a reddish dye used to stain wood and marble, and to color medicines, wines, and cosmetics).

California is host to 188 indigenous members of the borage family. These include such genera as Amsinckia (fiddleneck), Cryptantha, Cynoglossum (hound\'s tongue), Hackelia (stickseed), Harpagonella (grapplinghook), Heliotropium (heliotrope), Mertensia (bluebells), Pectocarya (combseed), Plagiobothrys (popcorn flower), and Tiquilia (crinklemat), among others. In California, Cryptantha and Plagiobothrys are the two most species-rich members of the family, each with 62 native taxa here.

The popcorn flowers are prostrate to erect, annual or perennial herbs, less than one-and-a-half feet tall. They generally have strigose (i.e., bearing stiff, straight, sharp, and appressed hairs) stems branching at or near the base. Like all members of the Boraginaceae, they bear small, five-petaled flowers in scorpioid racemes (i.e., coiled inflorescences that look like a scorpion\'s tail) that mature sequentially as the "tail" uncoils. The popcorn flowers can be difficult to distinguish from the cryptanthas out of flower. In fact, without a strong gestalt for the genera, you will need mature flowers and fruits with nutlets to tell them apart—not exactly a user-friendly field trait for the casual botanist. But it does account for the name, which combines the Greek words plagios (on the side), and bothrys (a pit, referring to a feature of the seed). If you can\'t find it in A Flora of San Francisco, California, you\'ll have to look for it by its former name, Allocarya.

Of the 62 California taxa of Plagiobothrys, two are listed as endangered under the federal or state endangered species acts; three are presumed extinct in California; seven are on the CNPS List 1B (rare, threatened, or endangered in California and elsewhere), and one is on the CNPS List 2 (rare, threatened, or endangered in California but more common elsewhere). Two more taxa are considered species of special concern. There is some question about the validity of Choris\'s popcorn flower as a distinct taxon, as it appears to intergrade with P. c. var. hickmanii, and some of the trait differences between the two varieties might be environmentally induced.

Plagiobothrys chorisianus (var. chorisianus) is an annual herb recorded only from Santa Cruz, San Mateo, San Francisco, and Alameda counties. Considered a species of wetlands, Choris\'s popcorn flower occurs in moist, grassy places in coastal prairie, coastal scrub, and chaparral habitats below 525 feet above sea level. The California Natural Diversity Database includes only 12 records for the variety, nine of which are recent and likely to be extant, and all of which are restricted to San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties. Most of these records describe the habitats in which it was found as wet, grassy swales and meadows near the coast. Choris\'s popcorn flower is distinguished by its relatively large white flowers, which are nearly a half inch wide. Flowering occurs March through June.

Choris\'s popcorn flower is named for Login Andreevich Choris, an artist who sailed on the Russian vessel Rurik as part of the Kotzebue Expedition from 1815 to 1818. He accompanied Johann F.G. von Eschscholtz and Adelbert von Chamisso, who collected the type specimen of Choris\'s popcorn flower near the Presidio in 1816. Within San Francisco, Choris\'s popcorn flower was recorded from near Lobos Creek, Golden Gate Park, Mt. Olympus, Clarendon Heights, Twin Peaks, and the Potrero District. As Peter Raven reported in the San Francisco flora, although the species had been extirpated from the central city itself, it could still be found in 1958 covering entire fields in Visitacion Valley.

Three other species of Plagiobothrys occurred historically in San Francisco: the state-listed endangered San Francisco popcorn flower (P. diffusus), bracted popcorn flower (P. bracteatus), and stalked popcorn flower (P. stipitatus). To the best of my knowledge, no populations of these remain anywhere in the city. Another two species, Torrey\'s popcorn flower (P. torreyi var. diffusus) and Greene\'s popcorn flower (P. reticulatus var. rossianorum), were recorded in the Presidio as recently the 1950s, but they have not been sighted lately. You\'ll have to travel to Marin County for your best chances to see popcorn flowers.

Choris\'s popcorn flower is on the CNPS List 1B.2, which indicates that it is regarded as rare, threatened, or endangered in California. If it is a valid taxon, its geographic distribution is very limited and it is threatened by development. Regardless of whether or not a plant species is included on any state or federal lists, species included on the CNPS List 1A, 1B, and 2 are considered to meet the criteria for listing as rare in California. Pursuant to the guidelines of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), it is therefore mandatory that impacts to Choris\'s popcorn flower be evaluated during preparation of CEQA documents (e.g., Environmental Impact Reports, Mitigated Negative Declarations). So as you head out next spring, be sure to take a good hand lens—just in case you stumble across a popcorn flower.

'; article.date = '2007.03'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Quillworts: Nuttall\'s Quillwort (Isoetes nuttallii) & Flowering Quillwort (Lilaea scilloides)'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '

flowering quillwort

As we welcome the rainy season in California, as the hills awaken from their drought-induced dormancy, I thought I\'d introduce two taxa that will soon appear. Those of you who are accustomed to reading in this column descriptions of the more attractive members of our native flora might be horribly disappointed with the subjects of this issue, as these two plants are practically invisible and can only be appreciated by the geekiest of belly crawling botanists. I give you - the quillworts!

Quillworts are tiny, sedge - or grass-like denizens of aquatic or marshy locales. Other than morphology and common names, these two unrelated species have little in common. While both are vascular plants, they differ dramatically in that Isoetes reproduces by spores, while Lilaea is an angiosperm, producing true flowers and seeds. Both form tufts of narrow, quill-like leaves usually no more than four inches tall. Both can easily be overlooked or mistaken for the likes of toad rush (Juncus bufonius), low bulrush (Isolepis [Scirpus] cernuus), spikerush (Eleocharis), young grasses, or other monocots. You\'re forgiven if you stop reading now.

Nuttall\'s quillwort (Isoetes nuttallii) belongs to the Lycopodiopsida, a class of plants that diverged in the Early Devonian Period, nearly 395 million years ago, about 150 million years before the evolution of flowering plants. This was the same period that witnessed the diversification of the fishes and the origin of amphibians. Nuttall\'s quillwort belongs to the Isoetales, an order that first made its appearance in the Upper Devonian/ Early Carboniferous (about 345 million years ago). There are two extant genera in this order, Isoetes and Stylites. Both are small, herbaceous plants restricted to marshy or aquatic environments. Stylites is found only in bogs bordering a lake in the Andes Mountains of Peru. Paleobotanists mostly agree that the members of Isoetales represent the last living remnants of the group that gave rise to the club-mosses (Lycopodium) and spike mosses (Selaginella).

Nuttall\'s quillwort is a member of the family Isoetaceae, the quillwort family. The genus Isoetes consists of about 150 species with a nearly worldwide distribution, albeit restricted mostly to cool climates. Some 24 taxa in the quillwort family are recorded in the Flora of North America, with six native species found in California. The leaves of Nuttall\'s quillwort are hollow and quill-like, arising from a central perennial corm. It is drought-deciduous, losing its leaves in the summer and surviving the dry season underground. Nuttall\'s quillwort inhabits many plant communities, including chaparral and lodgepole pine forest, although it is restricted to seasonally wet sites near vernal pools or temporary streams within those plant communities. It occurs from San Diego northward along the coast, Great Central Valley, and the Sierra foothills through Oregon and Washington, up to 9,000 feet in elevation.

In San Francisco, Nuttall\'s quillwort was collected in 1938 from a springy slope above the Presidio Golf Course (Howell, et al. A Flora of San Francisco, California, 1958). According to Michael Chassé of the National Park Service and Mark Frey of the Presidio Trust, it can still be found at the Presidio in the open field along Washington Boulevard across from Immigrant Point, as well as in the remnant prairie adjacent to the Log Cabin. It is not known from any other San Francisco location or from San Bruno Mountain.

Although morphologically similar, at least to those who are not lying down with their noses in the dirt, flowering quillwort (Lilaea scilloides) is a true flowering plant which produces seeds, not spores. As a member of the order Potamogetonales, it is related to the pondweeds (Potamogeton, Stuckenia), ditch-grass (Ruppia), arrow-grass (Triglochin), surfgrass (Phyllospadix), and eelgrass (Zostera).

Flowering quillwort is a monocot belonging to the arrow-grass family (Juncaginaceae [formerly Lilaeaceae]). This family consists of a single species in a single genus, with a range that extends along the western edges of North and South America from southern Chile and Argentina to British Columbia. In the United States, flowering quillwort occurs in California, Oregon, Nevada, Washington, Idaho, and Montana. In California, it is very common in wet soils near ponds, lakes, and slow streams of coastal and interior valleys. It occurs up to about 5,000 feet in elevation and can be found in most of the state\'s cismontane counties.

In San Francisco, flowering quillwort was collected in the swamps of the Presidio and near Lake Merced (Howell, et al. 1958). Michael Chassé reports that it still can be found at the Presidio on a seasonally flooded site adjacent to the serpentine outcrop at Inspiration Point. Although it has also been recorded at McLaren Park, that population is likely to have been extirpated.

Neither Nuttall\'s quillwort nor flowering quillwort is regarded as a rare or threatened species by the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) or the California Native Plant Society (CNPS). Flowering quillwort is considered a species of local significance by the Yerba Buena Chapter of CNPS due to its restricted occurrence in the county. Nuttall\'s quillwort is not currently considered a species of local significance, although its restricted occurrence here and the limited availability of suitable habitat in the chapter area might be cause for reconsideration.

Populations of both "quillworts" at the Presidio represent an unusual and rare resource, and, I\'m happy to be able to report, they are being monitored and managed. Kirra Swenerton of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy is even experimenting with techniques for propagation of Nuttall\'s quillwort in hopes of expanding its population size. If you\'d like to learn more about restoration programs at the Presidio, or to volunteer, contact the Community Programs Manager Adam Sharon at the Presidio native plant nursery at 415-561-4826. Maybe, if you\'re really friendly, they\'ll show you the quillworts in their natural setting. Happy winter. Let it rain.

'; article.date = '2006.12'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'San Francisco\'s Native Cherries : Bitter Cherry (Prunus emarginata), Hollyleaf Cherry (Prunus ilicifolia), Western Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana var. demissa)'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '3 Cherries Area, BV Hill

When studying vegetation associations, we have a tendency to focus on anomalies. A high concentration of rare species is one aspect that immediately draws our attention. Rarity, of course, has a wide variety of definitions and possible explanations (see Yerba Buena News from 2000, vol.14, nos.3 and 4). But we can gain insight into the age, origin, and evolutionary relationships of the local flora when the rare species present are relictual or newly-evolved.

Finding a rare plant population here and there is always exciting. Its presence gives us a rationale for assigning a higher value to that location than another site lacking rare species. But then there are the "gold mines" of biological diversity, the mother lodes that host unprecedented numbers of rare species. Frequently, such sites are associated with geologic discontinuities, peculiar and isolated soil types derived from unusual geologic formations (see Yerba Buena News from 2001, vol.15, nos.3 and 4). Soils derived from serpentine and other ultramafic (ferromagnesian) rocks are famous for hosting unique (and highly evolved) plant species with restricted geographic distributions (see Yerba Buena News, 1995, vol.9, no.2). And with an estimated 1,100 square miles of such soils occurring in California (Kruckeberg 1985), such sites are hard to miss. A large band of ultramafic substrate runs diagonally across the entire city of San Francisco‹from the Golden Gate Bridge pilings, through the Presidio and Lone Mountain, under the US mint, through Potrero Hill and southeastern Bernal, to Hunters Point. An estimated 12.5% of species endemic to California are restricted to ultramafic substrates and 15% (some 285 taxa) of all listed threatened and endangered species in the state show some degree of association with these soils (Safford, et al. 2005).

Other unique plant assemblages associated with distinct geologies include the Ione chaparral (Amador County), the Pygmy Forest of Mendocino County\'s hardpan marine terraces, the carbonate endemics of the San Bernardino Mountains, the pebble plains and limestone endemics of Big Bear Valley (which probably supports the highest concentration of endemic plants at a single location in the US), the chaparral of Pine Hill\'s gabbro formation (El Dorado County), the basaltic lava grasslands of North Table Mountain (Butte County), and of course, the ultramafic soils of the Cook and Green Pass/Red Butte Wilderness area of the Siskiyous, to name a few. The beautiful book California\'s Wild Gardens (CNPS 1997) provides a wonderful introduction to these locales and many more. For an excellent overview of California\'s biodiversity, see the California Department of Fish and Game\'s Atlas of Biodiversity in California (CDFG 2003).

One of the many factors contributing to the tremendous plant diversity found in California today has to do with the floras of past geological epochs that repeatedly advanced and retreated with global climate shifts. During the ice ages, the Arcto-Tertiary geoflora thrived and advanced southward. During periods of drought, elements of the Madro-Tertiary geoflora advanced westward from the Great Basin region. And during warm, moist periods, the Neo-Tropical geoflora left its mark on the California landscape with northerly invasions. With the advance and retreat of these floristic elements, overlaps resulted (e.g., at the Cook and Green Pass area you can see significant overlap of southern and northern floral elements). And where topography or substrate provided micro-environments favorable to the retreating flora, they created refugia capable of supporting plant species that were otherwise being extirpated. A simple but dramatic example of this is the giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum). These trees, once circumpolar in distribution, were literally scraped off the face of the earth by advancing glaciers. On the entire planet, they persisted only in small groves in the central Sierra, where they were protected from glacial ice movements.

That\'s a ridiculously long introduction to the topic of this installment of "Focus on Rarities." I hope you\'ll forgive me this digression. Since becoming aware of such things (relatively late in life), I\'ve been intrigued by localized assemblages of otherwise common related tree and/or shrub species not often all found in one location. The more species are packed into a small area, for whatever geologic or evolutionary reason, the more excited botanists become (and you know how excited they can get!). A spectacular example of this is Russian Peak in the Klamath Mountains, where you can see 16 species of conifers in a single square mile.

But assemblages don\'t have to be so dramatic to provide us with insight into the evolutionary and geologic histories of the indigenous flora at a particular locale. There\'s a unique example of this to be found right here at Bayview Hill in the heart of San Francisco. Near the summit of the hill, three native species of cherry can be found within a stone\'s throw of each other. These are bitter cherry (Prunus emarginata), hollyleaf cherry (Prunus ilicifolia), and western chokecherry (Prunus virginiana var. demissa). None of these is rare. In fact, they are all quite widespread throughout the state. So what\'s cool about that, you ask?

Bitter cherry and western chokecherry occur along the coast from the Oregon border to San Diego County, inland from Modoc to Riverside, and east of the Sierra Nevada; both extend into Oregon and Washington. Western chokecherry typically occurs in foothill woodland and yellow pine forest up to 8,200 feet in elevation. Bitter cherry occurs in yellow pine forest and red fir forest up to 9,000 feet. While these two species also occur in chaparral, they are restricted to moist settings.

Hollyleaf cherry has a somewhat narrower distribution, occurring in the Coast Ranges from Napa to San Diego counties, inland from Yolo to Imperial counties, and extending into Baja California. Hollyleaf cherry occurs in chaparral and foothill woodlands in more xeric environments; it does not occur above 5,000 feet.

While all three species also occur on nearby San Bruno Mountain, Bayview Hill is the only location where all three occur in San Francisco County. According to A Flora of San Francisco (Howell, et al. 1958), western chokecherry occurred at Lake Merced, Twin Peaks, and San Miguel Hills, in addition to Bayview Hill. Katherine Brandegee recorded hollyleaf cherry from throughout the "Mission Hills, Strawberry Hill, Hunters Point, and the bluffs near Visitación Bay" around 1890, but its range had already been reduced to Bayview Hill by 1958. Bitter cherry was not listed in the 1958 flora. Today, bitter cherry is found at Glen Canyon; western chokecherry is also present on Tank Hill; hollyleaf cherry is found only at Bayview Hill.

To me, Bayview Hill feels like one of those micro-habitat refugia. With a fractured chert bedrock at or near the surface, this site is fast-draining and typical for hollyleaf cherry. Hollyleaf cherry, which is most extensive in the southern half of the state, reaches its northernmost coastal distribution in San Francisco. Bitter cherry and western chokecherry, typically associated with moister, more forested habitats, overlap hollyleaf cherry here. It\'s a subtle clue to the geologic history of the region, to the ebb and flow of floristic elements whose roots are farther to the north or to the south. This story might be a little vague to inspire much awe in most folks. But then, you know how excitable botanists can be! And it might not even be true. It\'s just a story. Fun to contemplate.

'; article.date = '2006.09'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Yellow Mariposa Lily (Calochortus luteus)'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = 'Yellow Mariposa Lily

Based entirely on aesthetics, perhaps no other group of California\'s native wildflowers incites more awe than the lilies. Maybe due to the fact that so many beautiful lily hybrids are available as cut flowers and garden bulbs, or because they are so infrequently encountered in the wild, it is always a special treat to come across lilies in the field. Looking over the gorgeous illustrations by Catherine Watters in Peggy Fiedler\'s book Rare Lilies of California will quickly give you an idea of what I mean.

The Liliaceae (in the class Liliopsida or Monocotyledones, the monocots) is a large and tremendously diverse family, including some 3,500 species in 250 genera worldwide. Although widespread (occurring in temperate and tropical latitudes of the Americas, Africa, Europe, Asia, and Australia), many genera are highly restricted in their distribution. While most members of the Liliaceae are herbaceous-with swollen storage organs such as bulbs, corms, and rhizomes-the family also includes evergreen succulents and woody climbers. Over the years, taxonomists have assigned members of the Liliaceae into such separate families as the Agavaceae, Amaryllidaceae, Calochortaceae, Smilacaceae, and Trilliaceae. According to the Jepson Online Interchange, these families are not currently recognized and, for the time being, the Liliaceae remains intact.

California supports some 323 native lilies belonging to 34 genera. These include such familiar genera as Agave, Allium, Brodiaea, Calochortus, Chlorogalum, Dichelostemma, Erythronium, Fritillaria, Lilium, Trillium, Triteleia, Yucca, and Zigadenus. A few of the many familiar non-native members of the lily family include Agapanthus, Aloe, Asparagus, Asphodelus (asphodel), Cordyline (lily tree), Ipheion (spring star flower), Muscari (grape hyacinth), Narcissus (daffodil), Nothoscordum (false garlic), and Tulipa (tulip).

In California, the lilies contribute a disproportionate number of rare species. Of the 2,101 taxa on the California Native Plant Society\'s on-line Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants, 115 (5.5%) belong to the Liliaceae. Eighty-four (73%) of these belong to just five genera: Calochortus (26 taxa), Allium (20 taxa), Fritillaria (15 taxa), Lilium (12 taxa), and Erythronium (11 taxa).

The genus Calochortus includes the mariposa lilies, globe lilies, fairy lanterns, star-tulips, and pussy ears. There are 58 described native taxa of Calochortus in California, out of a total of 70 taxa listed in the Flora of North America. Noted for their exceptionally beautiful flowers, these lilies are perennial, bulb-forming herbs, found in western North America and Central America. Many members of the genus possess highly varied nectaries (glands) on the petals. The generic name is derived from the Greek kalos (beautiful) and chortus (grass). Nearly 50 percent of the described taxa of Calochortus are considered rare, with one listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act, two listed as rare under the State Endangered Species Act, one presumed extinct, 17 on CNPS List 1B (rare, threatened, or endangered), one on CNPS List 3 (more information needed), and four on CNPS List 4 (limited distribution).

Yellow mariposa lily is a widespread species with deep yellow, tulip-shaped flowers at the tips of stems up to 18 inches tall. The flowers, which may appear from April through June (late-May in San Francisco), often have a hairy, reddish-brown blotch near the center of the petals. It can be found on heavy soils in grasslands, woodlands, and mixed evergreen forests below 2,300 feet in elevation. It is distributed in coastal California from Santa Barbara to Humboldt counties, and inland from Tulare to Tehama counties. It has also been recorded east of the Sierra Nevada in Inyo County.

Calochortus luteus is the only member of the genus recorded from San Francisco County. In A Flora of San Francisco, California (1958), Howell, Raven, and Rubtzoff cited recorded locations from the Potrero Hills and Hunters Point. Chapter board member Margo Bors discovered and has been monitoring the last remaining populations of yellow mariposa lily left in our chapter area. One population of about 60 plants is located on serpentine in Starr King Open Space, a three-and-a-half-acre grassland community park on Potrero Hill, west and south of Starr King School. The Hunters Point population, consisting of as many as 1,000 plants, is located on a fenced serpentine hillside owned by PG&E, across Evans Avenue/Hunters Point Boulevard from the PG&E power plant and India Basin Shoreline Park. Yellow mariposa lily has not been recorded from San Bruno Mountain, but it is fairly common elsewhere on the San Francisco Peninsula, in Marin County, and in the East Bay.

Calochortus luteus is not listed under the state or federal Endangered Species acts, nor is it listed as rare by CNPS. However, due to its restricted occurrence, it is regarded as a species of local significance by the CNPS Yerba Buena Chapter.

As I write this in mid-April, it\'s still raining and cold. I just returned from the eastern Mojave, where I had to flee a blizzard among the chollas and Joshua trees. Perhaps by the time you read this in June, there will still be time to see this lovely spring blossom on our grassy hillsides.

'; article.date = '2006.06'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Tidy Tips (Layia platyglossa)'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = 'Tidy-tips

Having grown up in the nursery business in southern California, my interest in plants centered solely around the unusual and the exotic. In particular, plants from far-off tropical regions captured my fancy, as I imagined myself trudging through tropical rain forests in search of new never-before-seen specimens. I collected peperomias, palms, philodendrons, cycads, ferns, beaucarnias, ficus, tradescantias, you name it. If it was from a distant land, somewhere I\'d like to travel, I collected it. Ironically, I didn\'t develop an interest in California\'s native flora as a youngster, even though I spent a great deal of time traversing our San Diego canyons and mesas. I\'m somewhat embarrassed to admit it, but it really wasn\'t until attending college in San Luis Obispo that I paid any attention at all to our native plant communities. And only while in graduate school at San Francisco State University did I develop an educated appreciation for the phenomenal species diversity with which we are blessed.

As a college student, a horticulture professor gave me my first introduction to California\'s plant communities. It was during a slide show that I saw images of the spring bloom on the Carizzo Plain and Mojave Desert, a day that literally and figuratively opened my eyes. When I finally saw a real spring bloom in person, I was breathless. No, really breathless. Hay fever, you know. But despite incessant sniffles and sneezing fits, I was hooked. (I have since discovered that regular allergy shots can eliminate my springtime symptoms, which has greatly added to my enjoyment of our annual grassland displays.)

Among California\'s coast and inland grasslands is a host of exquisite springtime wildflowers. From the golden poppy, the very essence of California, to lupines, to owl\'s clover and goldfields, California\'s fleeting seasonal burst of color is truly something to behold.

One of my favorite annual wildflowers has always been tidy-tips. Perhaps as much for its quaint common name as its appearance, tidy-tips always catches my eye. This member of the daisy family (Asteraceae), is a short-lived, low-growing annual. Tidy-tips has glandular, unscented herbage. Leaves are one- quarter inch to four inches long, linear to oblanceolate, and sometimes fleshy. The lower leaves are often lobed. Inflorescences are made up of bright yellow disk flowers and yellow ray flowers distinctly tipped with white. In the Bay Area, flowers appear from March to May.

The genus Layia is named for George Tradescant Lay (1792-1845), botanist on the ship HMS Blossom which visited California in 1827. It was on this same vessel that Captain Frederick W. Beechy misinterpreted Juan Manual de Ayala\'s 1775 map of San Francisco Bay, assigning the name Isla de las Alcatraces to what is now known as Alcatraz. The island originally assigned this name was then christened by Captain Beechy as Yerba Buena Island.

Tidy-tips is one of 14 species in the genus occurring in California, all of which are restricted to the state (with the exception of the widely distributed Layia glandulosa). In fact, all of the species of Layia occurring in North America can be found here. For those who care, tidy-tips belongs to the tarweed tribe Heliantheae, which also includes such genera as Madia, Hemizonia, Centromadia, Holocarpha, Blepharizonia, and Achyrachaena, among others.

Tidy-tips is distributed in the northwestern, central western, and southwestern regions of the state, as well as the Central Valley. It occurs mostly below 6,500 feet in elevation, and is found in chaparral, foothill woodland, northern coastal scrub, valley and foothill grassland, and yellow pine forest habitats.

In A Flora of San Francisco, California (1958), Howell, Raven, and Rubtzoff cite recorded locations for tidy-tips at Point Lobos, Sunset Heights, Lake Merced, Twin Peaks, San Miguel Hills, Potrero, and on serpentine at the Presidio and Hunters Point. In San Francisco County, it is only extant in the Presidio, at Inspiration Point in relatively thin serpentine soils, and has been extirpated from all other locations. Given its limited distribution in San Francisco, the Yerba Buena Chapter of the CNPS has placed tidy-tips on its list of locally-significant plant species. It is not otherwise regarded as a special-status species by the California Department of Fish and Game and has no protected status as a rare plant under state or federal law.

Tidy-tips is uncommon on San Bruno Mountain, occurring in grasslands in Colma Canyon and on the Ridge Trail. Elsewhere on the Peninsula, it occurs at Mori Point, Crystal Springs Reservoir, Sawyer Ridge, near La Honda, Woodside, near Stanford, Black Mountain, San Jose, Swanton, near Mill Creek, Hilton Airport, near Felton, and near Mount Hermon. In the East Bay, tidy-tips can be found in the East Bay Hills at Mt. Diablo, Altamont Hills, Livermore Valley, Antioch Dunes, and the Mt. Hamilton area. In the North Bay, it occurs on Mount Tamalpais, Tiburon, Inverness Ridge, and the Point Reyes Peninsula. It is uncommon in Sonoma County.

Spring is coming. Last year\'s floral display was phenomenal. Unfortunately, that\'s no guarantee that 2006 will be a repeat as the bloom varies tremendously from year to year. Nonetheless, it\'s a good time to start planning a visit to your favorite springtime destinations. For a splendid display of annual wildflowers (including tidy-tips) close to home, try Mori Point south of Pacifica. Shoot for May, when you can wander the cliff tops in the sunshine, overlooking the Pacific, while surrounding yourself in a spectacular burst of color.'; article.date = '2006.03'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'California Hazelnut (Corylus cornuta)'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = 'Calif.Hazelnut

In their most familiar form, hazelnuts, or filberts, are marble-sized nuts produced primarily from two European species, Corylus avellana and C . maxima. Hazelnuts are believed to be native to Asia Minor, from whence they spread to Italy, Spain, France, and Germany via Greece. They have been cultivated in China for more than 5,000 years. Most commercial hazelnuts today are cultivated in various parts of the world, particularly Turkey, Italy, Spain, China, and the United States. Prior to the 1940s, hazelnuts were exclusively imported, but now Oregon grows about 95% of the filberts consumed in the United States.

Hazelnuts have long been recognized as an excellent source of concentrated protein and they are widely used in desserts and pastries. Recently, they have been found to be an excellent source of fiber, antioxidants, phytoestrogens, and monounsaturated fat (the good fat). Hazelnuts are the richest nut source of folic acid (folate), and they also contain niacin, vitamin B6, vitamin E, potassium, and calcium, as well as the micro-nutrients magnesium, copper, zinc, selenium, and phosphorus.

The common name, hazelnut, is believed to come from the Anglo-Saxon word haesel meaning a headdress or bonnet, referring to the shape of outer shell covering. The derivation of the Latin name corylus, which means hazel tree, is from the Greek word korus, meaning helmet, referring to the shape and hardness of the nut shell. One source of the English common name filbert is St. Philibert\'s Day, which occurs on August 20, more or less corresponding to the season in which the nuts ripen. Another possible source of the name is an anglicized German word vollbart, meaning full beard and referring to the appearance of the husked shell. Hazelnut is not related to the astringent, witch hazel, which is derived from the shrub Hamamelis, a member of the sweet gum family Hamamelidaceae, which includes Liquidambar.

The genus Corylus belongs to the birch family (Betulaceae), which includes the birches (Betula) and alders (Alnus). A closely related family, Fagaceae, includes the oaks (Quercus), beeches (Fagus and Nothofagus), and sweet chestnuts (Castanea). There are about 15 species in the genus Corylus, occurring throughout the north temperate regions of North America, Europe, and Asia. There are only two species native to North America, American hazel (Corylus americana) and beaked hazel (C. cornuta), which includes two subspecies, California hazel (C. c. ssp. californica), and beaked hazel (C. c. ssp. cornuta). California hazel is most often treated as a variety of the northern C. cornuta, as it is in The Jepson Manual. However, according to the Flora of North America, the California hazelnut may be more deserving of subspecific status due to conspicuous differences in habit, leaf shape, pubescence, the presence of glandular hairs, form and size of the involucre, habitat, phytogeography, and several other features.

Calif.Hazelnut

Known variously as Corylus rostrata var. californica, C. californica, C. cornuta var. glandulosa, and C. rostrata var. tracyi, California hazelnut is the only hazel occurring in California. It forms an open, spreading shrub, six to twenty feet tall, with large, rounded-to-obovate leaves with doubly-serrate margins. Leaves are up to four inches long, velvety-hairy, and with a cordate (heart-shaped) base. Plants are monoecious, meaning both pollen and seeds are produced on the same plant, but the flowers are either male or female, the latter in pendulous catkins. Unlike the birches, the male and female flowers of hazelnuts develop at the same time, generally January through April. The small, edible nuts appear from May through autumn.

California hazelnut occurs in many plant communities, but typically is restricted to moist shady sites, often near streams. It grows in forests along the coast from the Santa Cruz Mountains to Del Norte County, and inland along the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada from Tulare County north into the Klamath and Cascade ranges. The distribution of California hazelnut extends through Oregon and Washington into British Columbia. It occurs from sea level to as high as 7,000 feet. A distribution map can be seen at http://www.efloras.org/object_page.aspx?object_id=6001&flora_id=1 .

Despite its large range, California hazelnut is quite rare on the northern San Francisco Peninsula. In A Flora of San Francisco, California (1958) Howell, Raven, and Rubtzoff cite recorded locations at Laguna Honda, the gully east of Lake Merced, Strawberry Hill in Golden Gate Park, and the Mission Hills. Unfortunately, the only known extant locations in San Francisco County are Yerba Buena Island, Fort Point, and Brotherhood Way. To the south, California hazelnut can be found on San Bruno Mountain, Montara Mountain, and throughout the Santa Cruz Mountains. (Don\'t miss Randy Zebell\'s Montara Mountain Hazelnut Trail field trip on Sunday, February 26!) To the north, it can be found on Angel Island, the Tiburon Peninsula, and from Mt. Tamalpais to the Point Reyes Peninsula and beyond. In the East Bay, it occurs in the Oakland-Berkeley hills and on Mount Diablo.

Native Americans used California hazelnut twigs in basketry. Stems were scraped with a sharp rock or peeled with teeth, and the stripped stems and inner bark were used for thread, rimhoops, baskets, and sieves. As an excellent source of protein, the nuts were ground into flour and used in bread. In the eastern United States, American hazel was used by native Americans medicinally for hives, biliousness, diarrhea, cramps, hay fever, childbirth, hemorrhages, prenatal strength, and teething, to induce vomiting, and to heal cuts. It is considered a useful horticultural plant and is available at commercial nurseries. Its cultivation and transport, however, should take into consideration that it is an associated host for sudden oak death, which is caused by the fungal pathogen Phytophthora ramorum.

California hazelnut is not listed as rare or endangered under the state or federal endangered species acts, nor is it on any of the rare lists maintained by the California Native Plant Society. In San Francisco, it has been added to the Yerba Buena Chapter\'s recently created draft list of locally significant plants.

'; article.date = '2005.12'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Coffee Fern (Pellaea andromedifolia)'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '

Coffee FernThe true ferns, which belong to the Division Pterophyta (Class Filicopsida), first evolved during the so-called Coal Age or Carboniferous Period, which extended from 345 to 280 million years ago. The first appearance of ferns predates even the horsetail family (Equisetaceae), another "ancestral" spore-bearing group that dates back to the lower Permian Period (280 to 225 million years ago). These vascular, spore-bearing plants persist on all continents except Antarctica, ranging from tropical to temperate to arctic environments. They include species that float on water and terrestrial plants from sea level to high altitudes. They can range from tiny aquatic forms less than one-half inch in diameter to giant tree ferns growing over 80 feet high. (For a discussion of California\'s ferns and those species indigenous to the San Francisco Peninsula, see San Francisco Ferns in the December1996 issue of Yerba Buena News.)

Growing up in the nursery trade, I always enjoyed seeing ferns appear spontaneously beneath our greenhouse benches, out of the drain holes of other potted plants, and even from the wooden gutters overhead. I\'m probably not alone in my association of ferns with damp, dank recesses of steep ravines, rock overhangs, moist woods, and tropical settings. When I first began to explore California\'s dry, scrubby hillsides, I have always been amazed by the discovery of ferns growing in such atypical locations as the cracks of rocks on south-facing slopes, nestled among chaparral shrubs, on open grassy hillsides, and on exposed slopes at high elevations. The tenacity of these ferns seems so out of character and utterly remarkable.

I\'ve singled out coffee fern for this newsletter for its very tough nature, its attractive form, and for its rarity on the northern San Francisco Peninsula. Also known as coffee cliffbrake, coffee fern is a creeping perennial, producing short underground rhizomes and triangular fronds up to two feet long. The fronds are normally tri-pinnate (three times compound) with round, leathery dark green and in-rolled pinnae (leaflets). Sporangia (spore-producing structures) are partially hidden beneath the in-rolled edges of the pinnae. The generic name, Pellaea, is derived from the Greek pellaios, meaning "dark," possibly alluding to the stalks of this fern which are generally dark. The specific epithet andromedifolia refers to the presence of leaves like those of Andromeda, the bog rosemary.

Coffee fern is usually found in dry, stony places in cismontane California from northern Baja California to Mendocino and Butte counties, including the Channel Islands. It occurs in chaparral, foothill woodland, valley and foothill grassland, and yellow pine forests below 4,000 feet. I\'ve seen it growing on dry, rocky slopes in eastern San Diego County, on sites where ferns are about the last group of plants you might expect to encounter.

Coffee fern is one of six species of native members of the genus in California. In their 1958 A Flora of San Francisco California, Howell, Raven, & Rubtzoff cite only a single location of coffee fern in San Francisco. As reported by Katherine Brandegee, the species occurred at Sunset Heights. Our chapter members have reported it from three locations in the chapter area: Glen Canyon, Sharp Park, and Yerba Buena Island. Interestingly, coffee fern has not been recorded on San Bruno Mountain. Elsewhere on the Peninsula, it can be found at Edgewood Park. In Marin County, it can be seen at Angel Island, Ring Mountain, Mt. Burdell, Mt. Tamalpais, and other sites. In the East Bay, coffee fern occurs at Point Molate, the East Bay Hills, Mt. Diablo, and the Mt. Hamilton Range.

Some of the other drought-tolerant ferns that occur on dry slopes in the Bay Area include birdfoot cliffbrake (Pellaea mucronata), goldback fern (Pentagramma triangularis), coastal lipfern (Cheilanthes intertexta), Cooper\'s lipfern (Cheilanthes cooperae), Coville\'s lipfern (Cheilanthes covillei), lace fern (Cheilanthes gracillima), and California lace fern (Aspidotis californica). Of these, only coffee fern and goldback fern occur in San Francisco County. Birdfoot cliffbrake is recorded in the 1958 flora as having been reported on "hills near Bay View" in the southeastern part of the city; it is no longer found here.

With their soft, lacy texture and bright green leaf color, ferns present a lush, soothing appearance, whether in a natural or landscaped setting. We understandably associate them with moss-covered rocks, near springs and creeks, and in moist woods. But California\'s droughty ferns might cause you to reevaluate your stereotypes. During the long hot summer, these scrappy little plants shrivel up to the point where they\'re hardly recognizable as ferns. But come winter, they turn green and vibrant, like any proper fern. So, the next time you find yourself traversing a rocky, hot, south-facing slope, don\'t forget to keep an open eye, and an open mind, for ferns.

'; article.date = '2005.09'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Tuberous Sanicle (Sanicula tuberosa)'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = 'Tuberous Sanicle

Here in San Francisco, with relatively little undeveloped land and three quarters of a million inhabitants, you might be inclined to think that there isn\'t much left to discover. After all, San Francisco, home to the California Academy of Sciences, was the jumping off point for so much early botanical exploration. Yet here we are, nearly 200 years since Chamisso and Eschscholtz made their first botanical collections at the Presidio, and plant species long thought lost are still being rediscovered.

One such miraculous reappearance is Sanicula tuberosa (tuberous sanicle). Thanks to the efforts of Michael Chasse, Marie Fontaine, and Emily Magnaghi, working with the Golden Gate National Parks Association, a population of this species was found on serpentine soil at Inspiration Point in the Presidio in the spring of 2001. (The significance of serpentine-derived soils is discussed in our June 1995 Yerba Buena News.) Tuberous sanicle, also known as turkey pea, was recorded by Katherine Brandegee in 1892, who listed it as "not common." Howell, et al., indicate in their 1958 A Flora of San Francisco, California that the species "would be expected on dry, rocky slopes, perhaps on serpentine, probably in the eastern part of the city," but Sanicula tuberosa was never collected in San Francisco County.

Tuberous sanicle is a member of the carrot family (Apiaceae), whose members are often referred to as umbels, after the older family name, Umbelliferae, and the type of inflorescence characteristic of the group.California is host to 169 native umbels belonging to 29 genera. Some other California genera you might know include Angelica, Eryngium (button-celery), Heracleum (cow parsnip), Lilaeopsis, Lomatium, Perideridia (yampah), and Tauschia, to name a few. Worldwide, there are some 3,000 species in 300 genera, distributed throughout sub-boreal North America, Europe, Asia, South America, and Africa. The family has even made the leap across Wallace\'s Line, occurring throughout Indonesia, southern and eastern Australia, and New Zealand. As you might think, members of the carrot family have important economic uses, most notably as foods (carrots, parsnips, celery) and spices or flavorings (parsley, fennel, dill, anise). Others are sources of gum resins, medicines, and perfumes, and some are used in gardens.

Of the approximately 40 species of Sanicula worldwide, 22 occur in the continental United States, and 13 of those are native to California. This past spring, if you were hiking on any of the northern peninsula\'s grassy knolls, you undoubtedly came across footsteps-of-spring (S. arctopoides). Two other common members of the genus found in San Francisco are purple sanicle (S. bipinnatifida) and Pacific sanicle (S. crassicaulis). Another member long since lost from the San Francisco Peninsula is adobe sanicle (S. maritima), last recorded here in 1891.

Tuberous sanicle is a low-growing biennial producing, as its name implies, a small round underground tuber; all of the other California sanicles produce taproots. In outline, the leaves are triangular to ovate, one to five inches long, and three-times divided. The small yellow flowers occur in umbels (think "umbrella" to imagine the arrangement of this type of inflorescence), appearing March through May. The species occurs on open to wooded gravelly slopes below 8,000 feet in elevation. The habitats it is typically associated with include meadows, chaparral, foothill woodland, red fir forest, and yellow pine forest.

Tuberous sanicle has been recorded in every California county except Modoc, Mono, Inyo, and Imperial. Its range extends into southwestern Oregon and Baja California. With such a distribution, you would rightfully assume that the species is not rare. Indeed, it is not, but it is locally rare. While the San Francisco population does not represent a range extension or even an occurrence at the outer edge of the species\' distribution, it is of local significance because it has not been recorded in the county for more than 100 years. It is also locally rare in San Mateo County, occurring only at Edgewood County Park.

Any time a long-lost species is rediscovered anywhere it is cause for excitement. So next time you are looking over your favorite hillside thinking to yourself that there\'s nothing new to be found, keep an open mind and open eyes-you could become a local hero for making a new discovery!

'; article.date = '2005.06'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Dune Tansy (Tanacetum camphoratum)'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '

dune tansyIn several previous issues, I\'ve written about San Francisco\'s coastal dunes and some of the plant species that inhabit them. Many of the beautiful, intriguing, and rare dune species that get attention in this column are short-lived annuals that appear infrequently and require you to lie on your belly to actually get a good look (thus the term "belly plants"). Worse still, many are "comps" (members of the sunflower or daisy family, Asteraceae, formerly called Compositae), a family that causes many people to shake their heads in dismay and walk away muttering something unprintable about this group of hard-to-identify plants. Dune tansy has much more "curb appeal." And, although a member of the daisy family, it is pretty easy to identify in the field, especially since it is the only member of the genus that you are likely to encounter in these parts and it is unlikely to be confused with any other comp.

First identified from material collected in San Francisco by Chamisso, dune tansy occurs on stable and semi-mobile coastal dunes. Its geographic range includes Alameda, Contra Costa, Del Norte, Humboldt, Los Angeles, Marin, Mendocino, San Francisco, San Mateo, Solano, and Sonoma counties. Some botanists have split off those plants occurring from Mendocino County to British Columbia as belonging to T. douglasii, although this species is not currently recognized by Jepson Interchange Online. For those of you who keep track of such things, dune tansy belongs to the mayweed tribe of the sunflower family (Anthemidae), which also includes yarrow (Achillea), dog-fennel (Anthemis), chrysanthemum, and sagebrush (Artemisia), among others.

Dune tansy is a robust, aromatic perennial herb, which forms colonies developing from underground rhizomes. Dune tansy grows two to three feet tall and has feathery leaves that might remind you of yarrow (Achillea millefolium) on steroids. Leaves are gray-green, tomentose (hairy), bi- or tri-pinnately compound, up to ten inches long and one to two inches wide. Inflorescences consist of flat-topped clusters containing three to fifteen heads of yellow flowers. Flowering occurs from June through September.

In San Francisco, dune tansy was formerly distributed as broadly as were the coastal dunes, which extended over what is now Golden Gate Park to Buena Vista Park, north to Point Lobos and south to Fort Funston. It can still be seen today near the Cliff House and Sutro Heights, at remnant dune locations overlooking the outer Sunset District (Grandview Park, Golden Gate Heights, Hawk Hill, and the Sunset Heights rock outcrop), and at Fort Funston. It has been reintroduced at Crissy Field and at Linda Mar Beach in Pacifica.

Dune tansy is an attractive herb well suited to the sandy soils found in the backyards throughout the Sunset District. It is an excellent choice for planting in gardens and, like so many of our beautiful and popular natives, doesn\'t need any summer water or care once established. Tanacetum camphoratum is on the "perennials for gardens" section of Bringing Back the Natives (BBTN) list of plants that provide caterpillar food and/or nectar for up to sixty Bay Area butterfly species - www.bringingbackthenatives.net .

'; article.date = '2005.03'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Coastal Terrace Prairie'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '

Calif.oatgrass

California, which is known for its phenomenal diversity of plant and animal life, is equally remarkable for its diversity of distinct and not-so-distinct plant communities. It has been suggested that California\'s biologic diversity is directly related to its geologic diversity (Raven and Axelrod 1978) and is the result of the effects of tremendously varied microclimates, topography, soils, organisms, and time (Kruckeberg 1986).

A discussion of California\'s plant communities and community classification is well beyond the scope of this article (for a good synopsis, see the introduction to A Manual of California Vegetation by Sawyer and Keeler-Wolf, 1995). Just as taxonomists can be categorized as "lumpers" or "splitters," so can ecologists involved in the classification of plant communities. With ecologists, the category to which communities belong usually has more to do with the scale at which they are working. Suffice it to say that many classification schemes have been proposed. The number of habitats, plant communities, or plant associations in California ranges from as few as 15 (Sochava 1964), 29 (Munz and Keck 1959), 230 (Holland 1986), 260 (Sawyer and Keeler-Wolf 1995) to an almost unbelievable 2,073 (CDFG 2003).

When I see the word "prairie," I usually think of vast expanses of tall grasses on a featureless plain dotted with the occasional buffalo. Prairie (noun): An extensive area of flat or rolling grassland; especially, the plain of central north America. In the United States, grasslands currently cover an estimated 310 million acres of land (over 16 percent of the total land area), more than any other single vegetation type (Barbour and Billings 1988). The California prairie, also known as the foothill-valley grassland, covers approximately 5.35 million acres, with another 3.87 million acres found beneath an oak overstory, occupying over nine percent of the total land area of the state (Barbour and Major 1988).

In keeping with our discussion of the grasses found in San Francisco and nearby coastal areas, I thought I\'d switch gears to discuss one of the prominent grassland plant communities found here.

Coastal terrace prairie is typically comprised of a dense, tall grassland dominated by both sod- and tussock-forming native perennial grasses. It is naturally patchy in occurrence and variable in composition, reflecting differences in slope aspect, soil texture, and moisture availability. This vegetation community occurs on sandy loam soils of marine terraces near the coast and is restricted to cooler, more mesic sites within the zone of fog incursion. Although coastal terrace prairie consists of many of the same native species that comprise valley/foothill needlegrass grassland, annual species are less important in community structure. Coastal terrace prairie is distributed from Santa Cruz County to Oregon (Holland 1986) and its range closely matches that of northern coastal scrub (Holland and Keil 1990), with which it is generally associated.

red fescue Like other grassland communities, coastal terrace prairie is characterized by the species which comprise it. The dominant species vary from north to south and with distance from the ocean. Coastal terrace prairie is also commonly referred to as Festuca-Danthonia grassland, for the two most common genera. In our area, characteristic native grass species include California oatgrass (Danthonia californica), red fescue (Festuca rubra), Idaho fescue (Festuca idahoensis), California brome (Bromus carinatus), coastal tufted hairgrass (Deschampsia cespitosa ssp. holciformis), blue wildrye (Elymus glaucus var. glaucus and E. g. var. jepsonii), big squirreltail (Elymus multisetus), Torrey melic (Melica torreyana), Pacific reedgrass (Calamagrostis nutkaensis), purple needlegrass (Nassella pulchra), foothill needlegrass (Nassella lepida), and one-sided bluegrass (Poa secunda).

Like all of California\'s grasslands, coastal terrace prairie has been subjected to a long history of human-caused disturbance. Intensive livestock grazing, changes in fire regime, erosion, land development, and invasive exotic species all have resulted in the loss of native grassland habitats throughout the state. Along the coast, the expansion of eucalyptus, Monterey pine, pampas grass, and Cape ivy are readily apparent, overruning many of the remaining stands of coastal terrace prairie. Perhaps surprisingly, it\'s not just the exotic interlopers causing the damage. Native shrub species such as coyote bush, poison oak, and California blackberry are also found invading native coastal grasslands, and their spread represents nearly as great a threat as that of non-native species.

Although not as expansive as the prairies of the American Midwest, California\'s coastal prairies are a characteristic part of the state\'s wind-swept western edge. Dramatic, yet soothing, the coastal grasslands are a sheer joy to drive past and even more enjoyable to explore on foot. Winter is roaring in. Mother Nature is waking from her drought-induced hibernation. I can\'t think of a better time to walk across a grassy terrace next to the wild ocean on a stormy day.

Literature Cited:

  • Barbour, M. and W.D. Billings. 1988. North American Terrestrial Vegetation. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge. 434 pp.
  • Barbour, M. and J. Major. 1988. Terrestrial Vegetation of California. California Native Plant Society, Special Publ. No. 9, Sacramento. 1020 pp.
  • California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG). 2003. List of Terrestrial Natural Communities Recognized by the California Natural Diversity Database. Natural Diversity Database, Wildlife and Habitat Data Analysis Branch. September.
  • Holland, R. 1986. Preliminary Descriptions of the Terrestrial Natural Communities of California. California Department of Fish and Game, The Resources Agency. 156 pp.
  • Holland, V.L. and D.J. Keil. 1990. California Vegetation. 4th edition. Calif. Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. 318 pp.
  • Kruckeberg, A.R. 1986. An Essay: the Stimulus of Unusual Geologies for Plant Speciation. Syst. Bot. 11:455-463.
  • Munz, P.A. and D.D. Keck. 1959. A California Flora. Univ. of Calif. Press, Berkeley. 1681 pp.
  • Raven, P. and D.I. Axelrod. 1978. Origin and Relationships of the California Flora. Univ. Calif. Publs. In Botany 72:1-134.
  • Sawyer, J.O. and T. Keeler-Wolf. 1995. A Manual of California Vegetation. California Native Plant Society, Sacramento. 471 pp.
  • Sochava, V. 1964. [Physicogeographical Atlas of the World.] Acad. Nauk. USSR, Moscow. 298 pp. Translated in: Soviet Geogr., Rev. and Trans. 6(5/6):1-403, 1965.

'; article.date = '2004.12'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Bryophytes - Those Fascinating Mosses and Liverworts'; article.authors = 'Lori Hubbart'; article.content = '

Rough MossMosses and liverworts are bryophytes, non-vascular green plants. Having no vascular, or circulatory, system, these small plants must absorb their moisture from the atmosphere through osmotic pressure. That means they also absorb whatever toxins might be present in the atmosphere, but have no way to rid themselves of the toxins. Since the toxins will eventually kill them, bryophytes make excellent monitors of air pollution.

There are large areas in Europe in which the once abundant mosses have completely died off due to pollution. Many European cities have bags of mosses dangling over the sides of bridges to measure air pollutants. Americans tend to want to use expensive, complicated machines for monitoring air pollution, when bryophytes are just as effective and far more reliable.

Mosses and liverworts are resources in other ways than as indicators of air pollution. For example, they capture nutrients from raindrops, which pass over the leaves of trees and then onto the mosses growing on the branches and trunks. When the mosses decay, they transfer these nutrients to the soil beneath. This is one way that bryophytes are vital to genuine forest health.

Another major cause of loss of the moss flora in northern forests is unregulated collecting. Tree trunks are stripped of their moss coverings by day laborers who are dropped off in the remote woods and picked up in the evening with their sacks of moss. The mosses are used for various decorative purposes. All the trees are stripped of moss for the bottom eight feet, an odd sight indeed. Sphagnum mosses are also threatened by harvesting, though not to as great a degree as some of the forest mosses.

Sphagnum mosses are an especially interesting group of bryophytes, not closely related to other types. They are plants of northern wetlands, and are able to greatly acidify their surroundings. This happens when hydrogen ions leach out of the moss into the surrounding wetlands. Some sphagnum bogs are found to be more acidic than lemon juice.

Sphagnum has been used for dressing wounds, since it absorbs 30 to 40 times its dry weight in liquid-including blood! It also disinfects, since most infectious microbes cannot survive in the acid environment created by sphagnum. One exception, oddly enough, is the organism that causes leprosy. So, if you ever need to bandage leprous sores, you cannot count on sphagnum to be of much use.

Sphagnum bogs are important habitats, with all sorts of interesting properties. In some places within a bog the mosses are dead, and in other places they are still living, giving rise to dramatic differences in water temperature in the same bog. An excellent sphagnum bog is near Fort Bragg, owned by the College of the Redwoods. Mendocino County is just far enough north for these bogs to form - most are found further north.

'; article.date = '2004.12'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Purple Needlegrass (Nassella pulchra)'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '

purple needlegrass (Note: legislation was signed by Gov. Schwarzenegger Aug.23, 2004 recognizing purple needlegrass as the official State Grass of California.)

As promised (or threatened, depending on your viewpoint), I am continuing our exploration of some of the wonderful native grasses that can be found on the San Francisco Peninsula. Today\'s subject is the most widespread and common of our native perennial bunchgrasses, purple needlegrass, which has a very good chance of becoming our state grass.

Purple needlegrass is a prominent component of numerous plant associations including chaparral, coastal scrub, and foothill woodlands. But the most characteristic image associated with purple needlegrass is the so-called "California prairie" (Barbour and Major 1988), more commonly referred to as valley and foothill grassland (Holland 1986). As described by Sawyer and Keeler-Wolf (1995), stands of purple needlegrass warrant designation as a distinct plant association, which they named the purple needlegrass series. Following their classification scheme, purple needlegrass is also a prominent member of the California oatgrass series, foothill needlegrass series, nodding needlegrass series, and the blue oak woodland series. Purple needlegrass occurs on dry slopes below 5,000 feet in the Coast Ranges from Humboldt to San Diego counties and extending into Baja California, in the Sierra foothills, and on the Channel Islands. I\'ll save a discussion of the history of disturbance and threats to California\'s native grasslands for another time.

Purple needlegrass belongs to the grass tribe Agrostideae, a large group of grasses that includes such genera as Agrostis, Calamagrostis, Muhlenbergia, Ammophila, Alopecurus, Polypogon, and others. Purple needlegrass was formerly assigned to the genus Stipa, but was reassigned to Nassella upon release of The Jepson Manual (Hickman 1993). Other members of Stipa have been reassigned to the genera Achnatherum and Hesperostipa. Other members of Nassella occurring in San Francisco County include foothill needlegrass (N. lepida) and nodding needlegrass (N. cernua) (Howell, et al. 1958).

Purple needlegrass is a clumping perennial bunchgrass. It is fairly readily detected in the late summer, when the surrounding non-native grasses have died back, by its persistently green foliage. Stands of purple needlegrass will have a hummocky appearance, with clumps looking like mounds dotting a slope. It is most noted for, and its common name is derived from, the long, purplish, twice-bent awns that extend from the tip of each of the flowers that develop from March through May. En masse, the awns give an area a purplish hue.

purple needlegrass remnant grasslandIn San Francisco, purple needlegrass can be found near O\'Shaughnessey Boulevard, above the intersection of Palou Avenue and Phelps Street, and on Tank Hill, Twin Peaks, Yerba Buena Island, Bayview Hill, Bernal Hill, Billy Goat Hill, Brooks Park, Corona Heights, Dorothy Erskine Park, Edgehill Mountain, Fairmont Park, Glen Canyon, Kite Hill, McLaren Park, Mt. Davidson, in the Presidio, above Hunters Point Boulevard, and above the Laguna Honda Reservoir.

Purple needlegrass grasslands are not generally afforded much protection from development. As a habitat, it is an "association that is considered rare and worthy of consideration by the California Natural Diversity Database" (CDFG 2003). As such, some local governments, inspired by public comment during review of proposed development projects, will require mitigation for unavoidable impacts to native grasslands. As a matter of course, many biological consultants routinely map distinct stands of native bunchgrasses when conducting surveys of land slated for development as a way of calling attention to the unique biological resources present at a particular site. Whether or not a consultant\'s suggestions for avoidance or mitigation are implemented usually depends on the will of the lead agency (county, city, town, etc.) responsible for assuring compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). I\'ll share with you a little secret: lead agencies don\'t like to upset their constituents. If the public raises issues persistently, the lead agencies can be forced to address those issues in their CEQA documents. This doesn\'t necessarily work for every project, but, by attrition, causes an evolution in the thinking of those folks making the decisions regarding how, where, and what gets built. Your actions as concerned citizens have an effect.

The preservation of our native grasslands has increasingly become a cause celebre, earning more and more attention by the public and regulators. As you hike the Bay Area this fall, see if you can spot native grasslands. The more closely you look, you\'re sure to enhance both your understanding of and appreciation for this group of plants that, quite literally, holds the earth together.

'; article.date = '2004.09'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Pacific reedgrass (Calamagrostis nutkaensis)'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '

Pacific reedgrass

I was reading two excellent articles about native grasslands in the April issue of Bay Nature magazine, when it dawned on me! In nearly 11 years of writing this column, I\'ve completely neglected the grasses. I\'m a huge fan of our resilient native grasses, and a long-time advocate of the preservation of our remaining native grasslands. I\'ve surveyed native grasslands all over the state, and designed and implemented numerous native grassland restoration projects (even in my own yard). How could I have failed to share my enthusiasm for a group of plants that, perhaps even more than the oaks, exemplifies the California landscape? This is the first in a series of articles about some of the San Francisco Peninsula\'s native grasses.

The grasses are an oft-maligned group of plants, primarily due to their confusing and tiny floral parts and the consequent difficulty of keying them out, but also because their pollen causes "hay fever" and great springtime suffering by many people (myself included). To many folks, they all look alike. But to others, they are exquisite and sublime. I\'ve often wondered why horticulturists insist on importing exotic (and frequently highly invasive) ornamental grasses when California is host to so many equally handsome grasses. I suppose the old adage applies: the grass is always greener...

The typical grasses belong to the family Poaceae. Although their flowers might not look like much, the grasses are indeed flowering plants, belonging to the same Division (Anthophyta) as magnolias and daisies. However, unlike the dicots (Class Dicotyledonae), the grasses are monocots (Class Monocotyledonae), the same Class as lilies, orchids, and irises. The monocots can usually be readily distinguished from dicots by parallel leaf venation and the presence of floral parts in multiples of three. As you might expect, there are exceptions, but this rule holds true for the most part. The monocots are also differentiated by producing only a single seed leaf (cotyledon) and having vascular tissue (phloem and xylem) arranged in bundles scattered throughout the stem instead of in a ring at the stem\'s outer edge (such as the cambium in dicots). Did you ever wonder how a palm tree (a monocot) can stay intact in the face of a hurricane\'s wind, while the trunk of a woody tree many times greater in diameter snaps like a match stick? Those vascular bundles give the monocot stem extraordinary flexibility and strength.

Worldwide, there are approximately 9,000 species of grasses belonging to some 650 genera. They include the most important agricultural crops known to civilization such as rice, wheat, corn, oats, barley, millet, sorghum, sugar cane, and bamboo. California supports around 580 taxa of grasses belonging to 121 genera. These consist of 364 native taxa and 217 naturalized non-native taxa. Another 80 or so species are used as ornamentals or are cultivated as agricultural crops. Our native grasses range from tiny annuals to robust perennials forming large clumps or vastly spreading colonies. California\'s native grasslands have undergone an assault for the past 200 years, suffering from the spread of well-adapted Mediterranean annual grasses, over-grazing, fire suppression, land clearing, and, more recently, development. Many grass species are on the verge of extinction. Currently, there are nine California grass taxa listed by the federal government as endangered and another three listed as threatened. The California Native Plant Society has a total of 19 taxa on its List 1B (rare, threatened, or endangered in California and elsewhere), 26 on its List 2 (rare, threatened, or endangered in California, more common elsewhere), three on its List 3 (need more information), and 15 on its List 4 (watch list of plants of limited distribution).

Not appearing on any list, except perhaps my top-ten list of most beautiful clumping native grasses, is Pacific reedgrass (Calamagrostis nutkaensis). This densely tufted perennial grass grows in clumps up to four feet high. It produces short rhizomes and tends to form dense to sparse colonies. Its clumping growth form can be mistaken for the invasive non-native species tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) and Harding grass (Phalaris aquatica), which are also common along the coast. But unlike these plants, Pacific reedgrass produces dense, elongate, purplish panicles (flower spikes) up to ten inches long. Leaf blades are flat, about a quarter of an inch wide, and rough to the touch. They form a collar where they join the stem, with a ligule about a tenth of an inch long. Flowering occurs from May through August.

Pacific reedgrass is restricted mostly to moist coastal slopes, meadows, and bogs from Monterey County northward to Alaska. It is often considered dominant enough to warrant classification as its own native community (Sawyer, Keeler-Wolf 1995). It is also a component of California oatgrass (Danthonia californica) grasslands, tufted hairgrass (Deschampsia cespitosa) grasslands, and salal (Gaultheria shallon)-black huckleberry (Vaccinium ovatum) scrub. Pacific reedgrass typically occurs in habitats that are seasonally or permanently saturated with shallow freshwater. It can occasionally be found at inland locations and has been recorded historically from Contra Costa and Alameda counties, although it is presumed to have been extirpated from these counties. It is considered a facultative wetland indicator species (FACW), occurring in wetlands 66-99% of the time.

In San Francisco, Pacific reedgrass was recorded by Howell, et al. (1958) only on the north side of Twin Peaks, near the summit. It can still be found there. Members of the Yerba Buena Chapter of CNPS have also recorded it from Mt. Davidson, Mt. Sutro, Mountain Lake, and O\'Shaughnessy Boulevard. In northern San Mateo County, Pacific reedgrass occurs at Sharp Park, and at several locations on San Bruno Mountain, San Pedro Valley County Park, and Montara Mountain. In Marin County, it has been recorded from Sausalito, Mt. Tamalpais, and the Point Reyes Peninsula.

Pacific reedgrass is a unique component of coastal habitats. It is valuable for controlling soil erosion, and is capable of persisting even with the encroachment of eucalyptus and invasive grasses. Nowhere is this more evident than on Mt. Davidson. It has probably escaped overgrazing due to the coarseness of its foliage making it somewhat unpalatable. All things aside, it is very encouraging to come across remnant stands of Pacific reedgrass while hiking on our fabulous coastal slopes. Keep an eye out for this magnificent native species!

References:
Howell, J.T., Raven, P.H., Rubtzoff, P. 1958. A Flora of San Francisco, California. University of San Francisco, San Francisco.
Sawyer, J.O., Keeler-Wolf, T. 1995. A Manual of California Vegetation. California Native Plant Society, Sacramento.

'; article.date = '2004.06'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Dutchman\'s Pipe (Aristolochia californica)'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '

Dutchman\'s Pipe

An interesting and not-so-obvious native vine is Dutchman\'s pipe. Also called California pipevine, this species is most recognizable by its one- to six-inch long, heart-shaped, and somewhat fuzzy leaves. It is found vining on the ground and up into adjacent trees and shrubs. It is usually associated with oak woodlands and redwood forests in riparian settings, although I have found it growing in full sun in grasslands (albeit near an unvegetated creek channel). It also occurs infrequently in chaparral and foothill woodland.

The common name refers to the similarity between the blossom and an old-fashioned Meerschaum pipe. The flower, which lacks petals, actually consists of a fused calyx forming a u-shaped, upturned and somewhat inflated tube. The tube itself is mottled or striped greenish and brownish-purple, and is one to two inches long. In many ways, the flowers appear very similar to those of the vining pitcher plant Nepenthes, found in southeast Asia. In our area, flowering occurs from January through April. You can consider yourself fortunate if you see this vine in flower, for its blossoms are short-lived and quickly disappear.

Dutchman\'s pipe is a member of an unusual plant family, Aristolochiaceae. Belonging to the Order Aristolochiales, this group is something of an evolutionary outlier of the Subclass Magnoliidae, which includes the buttercups, laurels, poppies and magnolias. Worldwide, the pipevine family consists of only seven genera and about 625 species. It occurs in tropical to temperate regions of the Americas, Africa, and Eurasia. Although its distribution extends to Indonesia, it does not occur across the Wallace Line or into Australasia. Only two genera of this family are native to California, the other being Asarum (wild-ginger).

Many species of pipevine are cultivated for their curious flower shapes and attractive foliage. The family and generic names are derived from two Greek words-cristos and locheia,meaning "noblest" and "childbirth," referring to its purported medicinal properties. The roots and stems of most members of the genus are toxic. Plants in this family contain aristolochic acid, which has received rather mixed reports on its toxicity. According to one report, aristolochic acid stimulates white blood cell activity and speeds the healing of wounds. But it is also carcinogenic and damaging to the kidneys. Traditionally it was chewed in minute doses or used as a weak tea to promote sweating, stimulate the appetite, and promote expectoration. It has been used to treat toothache by placing bits of bruised root in hollow teeth. An extract of the root has been drunk to relieve stomach pains, and the boiled root, or a decoction of the whole plant, has been used to treat fevers. It must be used with caution, as it is irritating in large doses. The chewed root or crushed leaves of Aristolochia tomentosa was one of the most popular remedies for snake bites in North America, hence one of its common names, American snake-root. Aristolochic acid is currently being tested as a cancer-fighting compound.

In the Bay Area, Dutchman\'s pipe is probably most noted for its significance as a host plant for the pipevine swallowtail butterfly (Battus philenor). It is the only native food source for caterpillars of this species. The pipevine swallowtail butterfly has black wings with blue markings and a wingspan of two-and-a-half to four inches. Females have less blue and bigger pale spots on their wings than males. Pipevine swallowtails are also distributed throughout most of the eastern United States, the southwest, and into Mexico. Because Dutchman\'s pipe is poisonous to vertebrates, adult pipevine butterflies are poisonous to birds and other predators. In an evolutionary phenomenon called Batesian mimicry, the coloration of pipevine swallowtails is copied by other butterflies such as spicebush swallowtails (Papilio troilus), female black swallowtails (P. polyxenes), black-form female tiger swallowtails (P. glaucus), and females of the species Speyeria diana and Limenitis arthemis astyanax. Such mimicry announces to potential predators that these species are to be avoided, even though, in reality, they do not feed on toxic plants and therefore are not poisonous.

Aristolochia californica is endemic to California; it is entirely restricted to the state. It occurs along the coast from Monterey County to Humboldt County, inland in the Bay Area, and extending northward through the Sacramento Valley and into the northern foothills of the Sierra Nevada. In San Francisco, it has been recorded historically from Strawberry Hill and elsewhere in Golden Gate Park, Lake Merced, and Laguna de la Puerca (now known as Pine Lake). Extant populations can be found at Strawberry Hill and Lake Merced. I have recorded about seven new populations on Yerba Buena Island. Nearby, it occurs at numerous locations on San Bruno Mountain, Angel Island, Marin County, and the East Bay.

Happy spring botanizing!

'; article.date = '2004.03'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Skunkweed (Navarretia squarrosa)'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '

Navarretia

Anyonewho has ever hiked with a botanist has probably been witness to the peculiarritual of picking small pieces of plants, rubbing them between index fingerand thumb, and holding the slimy product up to their noses. Like wine enthusiastssniffing a cork, botanists rely on more than just sight to identify plants.Smell can be a very useful indicator of a specimen\'s identity. Many plantspecies have particular odors emanating from oil glands in leaves or stems,or from glandular hairs. Some are pleasant. Some stimulate the digestivejuices by reminding us of a favorite spice or herb. And some can elicit revulsion,which is especially amusing when coming from an unsuspecting family memberor friend.

Many plant species found in the five mediterranean climate regions ofthe world are noted for having fragrant herbage. Perhaps no aroma better characterizesthe vegetation of California than sage. Our state is home to many, many plantswith pleasant-smelling leaves or stems-California bay (Umbellularia californica);members of the Asteraceae or sunflower family: Artemisia, Gnaphalium,Madia, Holocarpha, Centromadia; members of the Apiaceae or carrot family:Sanicula; members of the Lamiaceae or mint family: Salvia (sages),Trichostema (vinegar weed), Monardella (coyote mint, pennyroyal); members of the Rosaceae or rose family: Potentilla-to name a few.

But then there are the skunkweeds, so named for their mephitic (derivedfrom the Latin name for the skunk genus, Mephitis) odor. These littleannual herbs qualify as what is affectionately referred to as "belly plants," These diminutive plants are easily overlooked. But when disturbed by a hiker\'s shoes, many species give off a pungent skunk-like odor. The strength of the odor is really rather remarkable. It permeates the air. You don\'t even haveto see them to know you\'ve trodden across a patch of the skunkweeds. Andthe similarity between this little herb and that all-too-familiar aroma ejected from the business end of a skunk is astounding.

The skunkweeds belong to the phlox family (Polemoniaceae). The family consistsof approximately 320 species in 19 genera, occurring throughout the Americas,Europe, and Asia. It is characterized primarily by perennial and annual herbs,but also includes shrubs, lianas, and small trees. The only economic usesof members of the phlox family are for their value as ornamental plants,such as Phlox, Polemonium, and Gilia.

California is host to 17 native genera in the Polemoniaceae. In California, the genus Navarretia consists entirely of native species, and includes27 species and 16 subspecies. Among these are three state- or federally-listed species, nine CNPS List 1B species (rare, threatened, or endangered in Californiaand elsewhere), and seven CNPS List 4 species (of limited distribution).Named after the Spanish physician F. Navarrete, who lived in the 1700s, theskunkweeds consist of annual, erect herbs with glandular, hairy, or puberulentfoliage. There are approximately 30 species in the genus, which occurs inwestern North America, Chile, and Argentina.

Skunkweed (Navarretia squarrosa) is another of those species thatare considered common and widespread in the state, but have become rare inSan Francisco. The species was first named based on collections made in the Presidio by Eschscholtz in 1824. It was once common in disturbed sites, on sandy and clayey flats, and in vernally moist depressions in the city. Itwas formerly found between Lobos Creek and Fort Point, on the Sunset District dunes, and around Lake Merced, Laguna Honda, Mt. Davidson, and the San Miguel Hills. The remnant populations are restricted to sandy sites in the Presidio, e.g., off Battery Caulfield Road. The range of skunkweed includes open, wet, gravelly flats and slopes below 3,000 feet from the North Coast Ranges, northernSierra Nevada foothills, and San Francisco Bay, to the South Coast Rangesand Baja California.

Skunkweed has long-hairy, glandular stems two to twenty inches tall. The leaves are once to twice pinnately compound. The flowers of skunkweed arenot unattractive. Surrounded by sharp-pointed bracts, the tubular flowersare a deep blue and occur in dense heads, much like the gilias. Skunkweedflowers from May through July.

So on your next hike, use all of your senses. Don\'t disdain the habitof sniffing twigs, leaves, branches, and bark. But beware of the quirky little trick botanists like to play-after enticing companions with sample aftersample of mints, sages, and tarweeds, slipping in a ringer like skunkweedwithout warning. Would a skunkweed by any other name smell as ... awful?

'; article.date = '2003.12'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Michael\'s rein orchid (Piperia michaelii)'; article.authors = 'Jake Sigg'; article.content = '

Piperia michaeliiAbout ten years ago our chapter Rare Plants Committee did an extensive but vain search for Piperia michaelii, Michael\'s rein orchid, on Brotherhood Way, a site where it was reported (as Habenaria elegans) in A Flora of San Francisco, California (1958). Although widespread in its distribution in California, it is nowhere common, in fact fairly rare. It is in the CNPS Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants of California on List 4, a "watch" list of plants which, if habitat continues to shrink, may become rare.

In July I was working alongside Lake Merced volunteers Craig and Martha Spriggs and Natural Areas Program (NAP) gardeners Carolyn Gates and Licia De Meo on the mesa at Lake Merced. Carolyn spotted an orchid growing by itself in a very open situation with no tall plants around. It didn\'t look like either of the other two native orchids we were familiar with, Piperia maritima and Spiranthes romanzoffiana. California Academy of Sciences botanist Tom Daniel subsequently identified it as the long-lost Michael\'s rein orchid. A few days later the NAP gardeners found a second population nearby.

After fifteen years of intensive involvement in the city\'s tiny, heavily-impacted natural areas, we continue to make exciting discoveries. It adds to the many other rewards experienced by those working to restore the land here.

'; article.date = '2003.09'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Yerba Buena (Satureja douglasii)'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '

yerba buena

As a departure from the usual theme of this column, I\'m writing today about a plant that is neither restricted in its distribution nor at the limits of its geographic range on the San Francisco Peninsula. Rather, it is a species that is interesting in its namesake and historical uses. Yerba buena (Spanish for "good herb") was the source of the original name of the Mexican village that later became the great city of San Francisco. Yerba Buena Island was also named for the herb that is reported to have once covered its slopes. The town\'s name was officially changed from Yerba Buena to San Francisco in 1847.

Described by Linnaeus in 1831 from collections made in the Presidio by Chamisso around 1816, yerba buena is common and widespread, being usually found in shady, moist places from coastal bluffs to foothill woodlands. It occurs generally near the coast from Los Angeles to Humboldt County, the Channel Islands, and with two disjunct populations recorded in Butte County. It ranges northward to the western Cascade Range of Oregon and Washington, to British Columbia, and east to Idaho and Montana.

The specific epithet of yerba buena, "douglasii" comes from David Douglas, who made more than 500 plant collections in California in 1823, when he was sent by the Royal Horticultural Society of London to collect species that would grow in England. No other collector has more plants associated with his name than David Douglas.

Yerba buena is a member of the mint family (Lamiaceae), and one of a group of plants commonly known as savory. The savories have long been considered to have healing powers. Leaves of this aromatic herb were used by native Americans and early settlers to brew a pleasant tea to cure stomach ailments, for reducing fevers, and for treating eye infections and colds. It is widely believed to be an effective tonic for the digestive tract, as are many of the mints, and to have antiseptic properties. Branches of the herb were tossed on the fire to create an aromatic disinfectant. Indigenous peoples wrapped the stems and leaves around their heads to treat headache, and used it in skin washes to treat rashes and prickly heat. Even today, because of its pungent oils, it is commonly used in toothpaste and soaps.

Savories also have a reputation as aphrodisiacs. In the first century A.D., the Roman naturalist and writer Pliny the Elder gave the herb its name "Satureja," a derivative of the word "satyr," the character from Greek mythology who was half-man, half-goat, with an insatiable sexual appetite. According to lore, the satyrs lived in meadows of savory, thus implying that it was the herb that made them passionate. In more recent times, the noted French herbalist Messeque claimed savory was an essential ingredient in the love potions he made for couples.

Within San Francisco, yerba buena was recorded in the 1958 San Francisco flora as occurring near the mouth of Lobos Creek, Laguna Honda, Twin Peaks, the dunes of the Sunset District, Pine Lake, and Lake Merced. It has been recently reported from several of San Francisco\'s remaining natural areas, including Laguna Honda, Twin Peaks, Mt. Davidson, and Glen Canyon, and it is abundant in the Presidio. In San Mateo County, it is present on San Bruno Mountain and throughout the Santa Cruz mountains.

Yerba buena is readily discernible by its mat-forming habit. Of the three Satureja species native to California, it is the only one that is prostrate. It is a perennial creeper, frequently rooting along the stems. Its leaves are opposite, rounded, and 1/2 - 1.5 inches across. Stems are usually less than 3 feet long. It produces tubular, white to lavender flowers less than 1/2 inch long, which form in the leaf axils. Flowering season is from April to August.

Yerba buena is regarded as having excellent horticultural qualities, growing well in rich, moist but well-drained soils in partial shade or full sun near the coast. It will take light foot traffic, giving off a lovely minty fragrance. It is an attractive herb for ground cover and in shady garden borders. It is readily available at nurseries (please don\'t pick plants from the wild!).

'; article.date = '2003.09'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Coastal dune scrub'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '

Lessingia

I\'ve just returned from a spring break jaunt to one of my favorite places in California - the coastal dunes of central California. While attending Cal Poly, I spent three years wandering the coastal dunes, pygmy oak forests, and coastal chaparral of San Luis Obispo County, especially Montana de Oro State Park. This year\'s trip was a chance to introduce my son to the dynamic scenery and biodiversity that can be witnessed along the California coast. San Franciscans are indeed fortunate to have access to some splendid examples of this coastal legacy, which is so characteristically Californian. I\'ve written about our coastal dunes in past newsletters (see the article on dune gilia, vol. 11, no. 2, June 1997), describing the former extent and glory of the San Francisco dunes. This article is dedicated to the remaining dune scrub habitat in San Francisco and the herculean efforts underway to restore and preserve this habitat and the rare species still to be found there.

In California, our coastal dune systems are associated with the mouths of rivers passing through the Coast Ranges. Key elements in the formation of coastal dunes are a sediment source and a shoreline perpendicular to the prevailing winds. A typical cross-section of a sandy central and northern California coastline, beginning at the water\'s edge and moving downwind, might include the following distinct zones: beach, foredune complex (primary foredunes, dune hollows, dune mat, foredune ridge); moving dunes (sand sheet, transverse dune, dune blowouts); dune slack ponds and lakes; and stabilized, vegetated dunes. It is this latter zone where we find coastal dune scrub habitat. Dune scrub varies in species composition between southern, central, and northern parts of the state. Central dune scrub, which extends from Bodega Bay to Point Conception, consists of a dense cover of scattered shrubs, subshrubs, and herbs, generally less than three feet high. It is restricted to stabilized backdune slopes, ridges, and flats.

San Francisco\'s sand dunes are a relatively recent addition to the landscape, having appeared in the last 10,000 years as the sea level was rising. Prior to development, San Francisco\'s western side once supported as much as 14 square miles of dune scrub habitat. Unfortunately, there are only three published accounts of the San Francisco dune vegetation (Ramalay 1918, Reynoldson 1938, and Kaufeldt 1954), providing little more than a snapshot of the habitat. The latter study was conducted literally just ahead of the bulldozer, as the final portions of open dune in the Sunset District were about to be developed.

Dunes at Fort Funston, 1937This photo shows the future site of Battery Davis, at Fort Funston, in 1937. The photo was taken from a long-vanished hilltop somewhere close to Skyline Boulevard at approximately the location of today\'s entrance road. It clearly shows the original hilly terrain of south Fort Funston as well as the groundcover and vegetation spread. This is just one of several hundred photos taken by the Army Corps of Engineers. Among other topics, the photos document the construction of Battery Davis from the survey stage to final transfer. Although most photos show close-up construction details, dozens and dozens of the pictures contain landscape views of the construction site that are invaluable for research. Actually, the original pictures in this Corps of Engineers collection aren\'t really photos. They are 8" x 10" negatives, so their detail is exquisite.


Coastal dunes are by their very nature dynamic. The effects of wind and water and the addition and removal of sediment result in a constantly shifting, eroding, and self-renewing ecosystem. It\'s really quite magical. The real wonder, however, is the biological diversity such an ecosystem supports. But this dynamic nature makes the dune system highly vulnerable to subtle (and not so subtle) alterations. Development aside, the biggest threat to coastal dune habitats is invasive non-indigenous species. The spread of invasive species has been called one of the most serious threats to natural plant communities on the planet (Heywood 1989, Cronk and Fuller 1995). Once they get a toe-hold in a natural plant community, invasive non-indigenous species result in a decline of the populations of native species and a simplification of the ecosystem, causing a tremendous drop in biological diversity. Nowhere is this more apparent than right here in our own backyard. Plantings of Monterey cypress and Monterey pine (native to California, not native to our stretch of the coast), the dreaded Hottentot fig (a.k.a. ice plant), and, of all things, European beach grass all can replace a hundred or more species of native plants on which innumerable birds, butterflies, and beetles depend.

Efforts to restore native dune habitats are costly, tiring, and, in some cases, thankless work. The controversy surrounding the removal of trees (the charismatic "mega-vertebrates" of the plant world) summons up strong emotions. It\'s very difficult to envision the end product without having observed it, in all its glory. Summer is a wonderful time of the year to do just that. Even on a cold, foggy June day, stand among dunes (stick to the trails, please) and soak up the tranquility. On sunny days, let your eyes absorb the different shades of gray and green.

Remnants of San Francisco\'s coastal dune scrub habitats can be found at the Presidio at Feral Dunes, Lobos Creek Valley, North Baker Beach, Crissy Field, and Presidio Hills. Another nearby locale is Fort Funston. To learn more, visit the Presidio\'s web page at http://www.nps.gov/prsf/home.htm. See the Habitat Restoration page for opportunities to volunteer on one or more of the habitat restoration efforts ongoing around your city.

Common & rare plants in SF\'s dune scrub.

References:

Cronk, Q.C.B., and J.L. Fuller. 1995. Plant Invaders: the Threat to Natural Ecosystems. Chapman and Hall. New York. 241 pp.

Heywood, V.H. 1989. "Pattern, Extent, and Modes of Invasions by Terrestrial Plants." Pages 31-60 in J.A. Drake et al., eds. Biological Invasion: a Global Perspective. John Wiley and Sons, New York.

Kaufeldt, Carlos E. 1954. "Observations on San Francisco\'s last major sand dune, with notes on its flora and insect fauna." Wasmann Journal of Biology 12(2):293-325.

Ramaley, F. 1918. "Notes on Dune Vegetation at San Francisco, California." Plant World 21:191-201.

Reynoldson, W.F. 1938. The Flora of San Francisco Sand-Dunes, its Composition and Adaptations. M.S. Thesis, University of California, Berkeley. 57 pp.

'; article.date = '2003.06'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Stinging Phacelia (Phacelia malvifolia)'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '

stinging phaceliaStinging phacelia is amember of the waterleaf family (Hydrophyllaceae). The family name is derivedfrom the Greek words hydro (water)and phyllon (leaf). The waterleaffamily consists of some 20 genera and around 300 species of mostly herbaceoussubshrubs. Members of the family occur throughout North and South America,central and southern Africa, Southeast Asia, and far eastern Russia. Othergenera in the waterleaf family include Pholistoma, Eucrypta, Emmenanthe (whispering bells), Nama (purple mat), Nemophila (baby blue eyes), and Eriodictyon (yerba santa). Members of the waterleaf family arenoted for the value as ornamental plants. The family, which is most closelyrelated to the phlox family (Polemoniaceae), does not include any particularlyinvasive species.

The genus Phacelia includes some 175 species found in the New World.The genus is especially well represented in western North America. Californiahosts 94 species and 29 subspecies, all of which are indigenous. San Franciscosupports three species of Phacelia(P. californica, P. distans, P. malvifolia). The genus Phacelia derivesits name from the Greek word phakelos (cluster) for the tightly coiled, one-sidedclusters of flowers. Several species of Phacelia are valued garden plants, such as Californiadesert bluebells, P. campanularia. The foliage of many has a pleasant fragrance, although some have a foul odor.Some members of the genus produce highly irritating hairs on the leaves andstems, which cause vesicular dermatitis. Although dermatologists report that dermatitis causedby stinging phacelia is similar to resembling that caused by poison oak, I findit more like stinging nettle (Urtica dioica - Urticaceae). The irritationis caused by compounds contained in pustules or glands at the base of thehairs.

Stingingphacelia is a branching herbaceous annual, reaching up to 3 feet high. Itproduces entire (not dissected) maple-shaped leaves similar to members of themallow family (Malvaceae ñ hence the species name). The leaves and stems aredensely covered with stiff yellow hairs. Flowers appear April through June andconsist of tight clusters of small, white flowers in caterpillar-like coils.The stamens protrude noticeably beyond the petals.

Stingingphacelia occurs in moist sandy and gravelly places below 3500 feet in redwoodforests, mixed evergreen forests, closed-cone pine forests and northern coastalscrub. It is distributed near the coast from San Luis Obispo County northwardto Oregon, where it has possibly been extirpated. The species has been recordedin San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Mateo, San Francisco, Marin, Sonoma(uncommon), Mendocino (rare), and Contra Costa counties. In San Francisco,stinging phacelia was recorded historically from Lobos Creek, Point Lobos,Laurel Hill Cemetery, Golden Gate Park, Lake Merced, Mt. Davidson, San MiguelHills, and Bayview Hills. It can still be found at Lobos Dunes, Sharp Park,Grandview Park, Glen Canyon, Strawberry Hill in Golden Gate Park, OíShaugnessyBoulevard, and Yerba Buena Island. Nearby, it is also present on San BrunoMountain, Angel Island, Montara Mountain, Pedro Point, and in the CrystalSprings watershed. The type specimen was collected by Chamisso in the Presidioin 1816.

Althoughthe flowers are not particularly showy, stinging phacelia is an attractivespreading herb. Phacelias are a valuable source of nectar native wasps, flies,bee flies and ants, as well as honeybees. It would make a fine edge or fillerplant for the garden, especially on our loose sandy soils. Just donít plant ittoo close to any pathways, remember its irritating properties when weedingaround it, and be aware that it can become weedy when cultivated in sandy soils.

'; article.date = '2003.03'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'California Broom-Rape (Orobanche californica)'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '

Orobanche californica Here\'s an obscure little group of plants with which you might not be familiar. The Orobanchaceae is a family of flowering plants (dicots) consisting entirely of obligate parasites. An obligate parasite is an organism that is not capable of producing its own food because it lacks chlorophyll and is unable to undergo photosynthesis. Obligate parasitic plants are completely dependent on their hosts for nutrition. They parasitize the host plants via root-like projections called haustoria, which penetrate the stems or roots of the host plant, making contact with the water- and food-conducting tissues. An obligate parasite with which you are no doubt familiar is the bright orange dodder, or witch\'s hair (Cuscuta salina var. major, family Cuscutaceae) found on pickleweed (Salicornia virginica) in Bay Area salt marshes. Some parasites co-exist harmlessly with the host plants, while others quite literally suck the "life blood" out of them, eventually causing their demise.

Contrast this with partial, or hemi-parasites, like mistletoe (Phoradendron spp., family Viscaceae), Indian paintbrush (Castilleja spp., family Scrophulariaceae), and Indian warrior (Pedicularis spp., family Scrophulariaceae). These flowering plants have green leaves and/or stems and are capable of undergoing photosynthesis. They similarly parasitize the stems or roots of their host plants, but tap only water and dissolved minerals from the host plant, not the products of photosynthesis, and cause little harm.

The broom-rape family consists of about 14 genera and 180 species, distributed mainly in temperate Eurasia and North America. It is closely aligned with the figwort family (Scrophulariaceae). California\'s representatives include two genera, 13 species, and 9 subspecies, all of which are indigenous. The name broom-rape is derived from Medieval Latin for the underground turnip-like stock (rapum) of broom (Genista spp. and Cytisus spp.) Rape is the name given to the varieties of mustards (especially Brassica napus) which produce a turnip-like taproot and are grown for seeds and fodder. The seeds are used for the production of rape oil, and to a limited extent for the food of cage birds. I assume that the derivation pertains to the underground stock of the plant and the fact that it grows on the roots of other plants. The name of the genus is derived from the Greek words orobos for vetch and anchone for choke. Members of the genus cause substantial economic losses in legume crops throughout western Asia and northern Africa.

California broom-rape is a leafless, non-green plant consisting of little more than a simple or branched underground tuber-like stem attached to the roots of a host plant. In fact, the only time it is visible above ground is when it flowers, August through September. The spike-like inflorescences protrude through the soil surface two to fifteen inches. The stout, round stalk is surrounded with pale to dark purple tubular flowers one-half to two inches long on short pedicels. California broom-rape is parasitic on members of the sunflower family (Asteraceae). Near the coast Orobanche californica ssp. californica is typically associated with seaside woolly sunflower (Eriophyllum staechadifolium) and gumplant (Grindelia spp.) Elsewhere, other subspecies are parasitic on such plants as sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata), coyote bush (Baccharis pilularis), fleabane daisy (Erigeron spp.), and aster (Aster spp.)

The type specimen of California broom-rape was collected by Chamisso in San Francisco in 1816. In San Francisco, it is known historically from coastal bluffs and sandy hills at Land\'s End (1923), Ingleside (1920), and the sand dunes (1914). Unfortunately, it has not been reported from San Francisco in recent years. California broom-rape inhabits sandy or heavy soils. On the northern San Francisco Peninsula, it is extant on San Bruno Mountain, Mori Point in Pacifica, and elsewhere. California broom-rape reaches its northern limits along the Mendocino County coastline, extending southward through Sonoma, Marin, San Mateo, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Barbara counties.

The underground stems of Orobanche are indeed edible. In Tunisia, for example, the floral stem is removed at a point beneath the flower. Being starchy, it is dried, ground into flour, and then mixed with barley flour. The Chambaa and the Touareg tribes of North Africa eat the plant raw or boiled, where it is used as a diuretic. I call broom-rape a lunch plant, not because it is edible, but because one usually comes across them only accidentally when sitting on the ground for a lunch break. So next time you\'re out hiking the coastal hills in late summer, stop for lunch near a clump of seaside woolly sunflower. Maybe you\'ll come across this oddity. And be sure to let us know if you find it in the city! (See Plant Species Rediscovered in Presidio.)

'; article.date = '2002.12'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Rare Plant Species Rediscovered in Presidio'; article.authors = 'Michael Chasse|Marie Fontaine|Emily Magnaghi'; article.content = '

<I>Hayfield Tarweed</I>During the past few years, some interesting plant species have been rediscovered in the Presidio\'s natural areas. Most had not been recorded in San Francisco since the 1958 publication A Flora of San Francisco, California. A few hadn\'t been observed here since the late 1800s. Although none of these species are considered to be rare, threatened, or endangered on the global or state levels, here in San Francisco they are uncommon members of our local flora. Thanks to the efforts of community-based stewardship, more eyes are out there to observe the full diversity of our natural areas.

Some examples of taxa recently located in the Presidio:

  • ALISMATACEAE
    Sagittaria montevidensis Cham. & Schldl. ssp. calycina (Engelm.) C. Bogin. (Montevideo arrowhead)
    This is a new record for San Francisco County. Three individual plants emerged from sandy soils along Mountain Lake after an old water tank was removed this past year. The closest Bay Area records are from Sonoma County.
  • APIACEAE
    Sanicula tuberosa Torrey (tuberous sanicle)
    Approximately 30 individuals were located on thin serpentine soil at Inspiration Point in spring of 2001. Tuberous sanicle was listed as "not common" in San Francisco by Katherine Brandegee in 1892 and was never collected in San Francisco County. A winter bloomer, tuberous sanicle is rare in San Mateo County, but is common on serpentine in Marin and infrequent in Sonoma.
  • ASTERACEAE
    Hemizonia congesta DC. ssp. luzulifolia (DC.) Babc. & H.M. Hall (hayfield tarweed)
    This species was collected in San Francisco in 1852 by N. J. Anderson and in 1881 by Parry. Brandegee reported it from Potrero and southeastern San Francisco in 1892. The type specimen, H. luzulaefolia var. fragarioides (Kellogg), came from "the vicinity of San Francisco." Three individuals were recently (2002) located in a moist, thin-soiled serpentine prairie near Doyle Drive. [Editor\'s note: I have been informed that Hemizonia congesta ssp. luzulifolia has recently been subsumed to H. c. ssp. congesta because it is not considered distinct enough to merit separate status. For details on Bruce Baldwin\'s research and citations to original literature, see http://ucjeps.herb.berkeley.edu/tarweeds.html.

  • FABACEAE
    Trifolium albopurpureum Torrey & A. Gray (Indian clover)
    A healthy population of this species was located within the serpentine grasslands of Inspiration Point during the summer of 2002. The last known report of Indian clover in San Francisco was by Rattan, who collected it in 1885.
  • PORTULACACEAE
    Montia fontana L. (water montia, blinks)
    Evelina Cannon noted its presence with a collection from the southeastern part of San Francisco in 1895. Brandegee reported it in 1892 from "wet springy places" in the western and southern parts of the city. Other San Francisco specimens date from 1879. Two good-sized populations were recently (2002) located within moist, serpentine coastal prairie at Fort Scott.
  • PRIMULACEAE
    Centunculus minimus L. (false pimpernel, chaffweed)
    Kellogg and Harford collected it in 1866 and the 1890s near San Francisco. The last known San Francisco record comes from 1892; Brandegee reported it growing on "cliffs between Lobos Creek and Fort Point [where it was] very abundant about the Presidio in company of Cicendia quadrangularis." These two species were recently located on the Presidio\'s coastal bluffs, still in the company of each other, but both in low numbers.

Other new or long-lost species recently added to the Presidio\'s plant inventory:

  • ASTERACEAE
    Layia hieracioides (DC.) Hook. & Arn. (tall madia)
    Microseris douglasii (A. Gray) Schultz-Bip. (Douglas microseris)
  • BRASSICACEAE
    Guillenia lasiophylla (Hook. & Arn.) Greene (California mustard)
  • FABACEAE
    Trifolium barbigerum Torrey (bearded clover)
    T. bifidum A. Gray (notched-leaf clover)
    T. macraei Hook. & Arn. (twin clover)
  • GENTIANACEAE
    Cicendia quadrangularis (Lam.) Griseb. (timwort)
  • LAMIACEAE
    Mentha arvensis L. (marsh mint)
  • OROBANCHACEAE
    Orobanche californica Cham. & Schldl. (California broom-rape)
    Orobanche fasciculata Nutt. (clustered broomrape)
  • PLANTAGINACEAE
    Plantago elongata Pursh. (annual coast plantain)
  • POLEMONIACEAE
    Gilia clivorum (Jepson) V. Grant (purple-spot gilia)
  • ROSACEAE
    Potentilla rivalis Nutt. (brook cinquefoil)
  • JUNCACEAE
    Juncus tenuis Willd. (slender rush)
    Juncus xiphioides E. Meyer (iris-leaved rush)
  • POACEAE
    Agrostis microphylla Steudel (small-leaved bent grass)
These occurrences are recorded in a recently-developed vascular plant occurrence database for the Presidio. The database stores Presidio records dating back to 19th-century collections, on up to the present. It can be viewed at the Presidio Native Plant Nursery, 1244 Appleton Street, near Fort Scott. (A public copy of this database is not yet available). For more information call the Nursery at 415-561-4868 or email Marie Fontaine at Mfontaine@ggnpa.org.

'; article.date = '2002.12'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Spreading Wood Fern (Dryopteris expansa)'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '

<I>Spreading wood fern</I>There is something about ferns that is naturally soothing to the human eye. Long popular with houseplant enthusiasts, ferns seem to radiate tranquillity. Whether it is the form and texture of their delicate fronds, the nature of the settings in which they occur, or the fact that they predate flowering plants, ferns capture our imagination and calm our city-shattered nerves. Growing up in the nursery business, I always had a particular fondness for ferns. I associated ferns with exotic, tropical locales and enjoyed watching them develop seemingly spontaneously beneath our greenhouse benches and, quite literally, out of the woodwork. In my travels, I am always drawn to locations where ferns grow. As a youth (a noun I can no longer use to describe myself) I never imagined that so many different species of ferns grew so close to home.

The true ferns belong to the Division Pteridophyta. California\'strue ferns belong to the Class Filicinae, which consists of four orders, nine families, 24 genera and 74 native species. In San Francisco, 12 native species in eight families can still be found and another two are recorded historically but have not been seen recently. (For more information on San Francisco\'snative ferns, see the "Focus on Rarities" article "San Francisco Ferns", December 1996.

In continuing my exploration of locally rare species (species known in only one or very few locations on the San Francisco Peninsula) there is one fern that especially merits mention. Dryopteris expansa (spreading wood fern) is a stout, woody, creeping or ascending fern with fronds up to one meter long. It is in the same family (Dryopteridaceae) as western sword fern (Polystichurn rn uniturn) and is typically found in similar habitats, namely redwood and mixed evergreen forests. It is, however, more characteristically riparian in nature, and is especially associated with stream banks. While it is rare in San Francisco, snreadino wood fern is recorded from San Mateo County to Del Norte County, and extends northward to Alaska. It is also known from Canada, the Rocky Mountains, New England to North Carolina, Greenland and Eurasia. The type locality for the species is Germany, where it was originally named Polystichum dilatata by Hoffmann in the early 1800s.

Spreading wood fern captured my attention for a couple of reasons. I wasn\'t familiar with it when I first came across it. I was conducting surveys of the vegetation in Lobos Creek to assess damage from the infamous slope failure that caused a home to tumble into the creek during the heavy rains on December 11, 1995. Walking in the creek as I was, surrounded by dense stands of aquatic plants with old oaks lining the banks, I could scarcely believe that I was in San Francisco. And there was this rather large fern, growing in standing water in Lobos Creek, where it formed 4-foot tall clumps on decaying logs. I had to keep reminding myself that I was still in the city and not in a much more remote and exotic locale.

Co-occurring with spreading wood fern in Lobos Creek are punctate knotweed (Polygonurn punctaturn), small-fruited bulrush (Scirpus microcarpus), slough sedge (Carex obnupta), common large monkey-flower (Mimulus guttatus), American oenanthe (Oenanthe sarmentosa), duckweed (Lemna minuscula), common scouring rush (Equiseturn hyemale), stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) and wire rush (Juncus effusus,). Woody species found along Lobos Creek include arroyo willow (Salix lasiolepis), shining willow (Salix lucida ssp. lasiandra), and American dogwood (Cornus sericea ssp. sericea). Lobos Creek supports one of three remaining native populations in the Presidio of wax myrtle (Myrica californica), which is abundant on its banks.

Spreading wood fern is truly rare in San Francisco. To my knowledge, Lobos Creek is the only site where it can be found in the City. To the south, it is recorded from the San Francisco Watershed Reserve and Butano Creek; it is not listed in the flora of San Bruno Mountain. To the north, it is recorded from Marin County (Steep Ravine, Mount Tamalpais, Bear Valley and Point Reyes Peninsula); it is listed as rare in the floras of Sonoma and Mendocino counties. Although not officially recorded for the East Bay, it has been noted on East Bay Municipal Utility District lands.

Spreading wood fern is not considered a "special status species" by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California Department of Fish and Game, or the California Native Plant Society. As such, it has no status as a protected species under any existing laws or policies. And although it is widespread in North America and Europe, the tiny population in San Francisco most certainly represents a unique biological resource. Spreading wood fern reaches its southernmost limits on the San Francisco Peninsula, representing a relict of a cooler, moister epoch. If you\'d like to take a trip back in time, visit the Lobos Creek restoration area. At the same time, you will have a glimpse into the future and be able to marvel at the tremendous efforts of the staff of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and their volunteers to restore and preserve these natural wonders.

'; article.date = '2002.09'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Fiesta Flower (Pholistoma auritum var. auritum)'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '

fiesta flowerContinuing our exploration of local rarities, there is one species that was, until recently, thought to have completely vanished from San Francisco County. Fiesta flower, so named because garlands of its leaves and blue-lavender blossoms were donned by young girls during Mexican celebrations, once occurred on Bayview Hill and in southeastern San Francisco. In their 1958 book A Flora of San Frandsco California, Howell, Raven, and Rubtzoff mention collections of fiesta flower made in 1892, but don\'t indicate whether or not it was still present at time of publication. But in 1996, fairly extensive stands of fiesta flower were located on Yerba Buena Island, representing the last populations in the county.

Fiesta flower is a member of the waterleaf family (Hydrophyllaceae), which consists of some 20 genera and around 300 species. The family is especially well represented in the western United States, although members are also found in South America, central and southern Africa, Southeast Asia, and far eastern Russia. Other genera in the waterleaf family include Phacelia, Eucrypta, Emmenanthe (whispering bells), Nama (purple mat), Nemophila (baby blue eyes), and Eriodictyon (yerba santa).

Originally assigned to the genus Nemophila in 1833 by the English botanist John Lindley, fiesta flower was subsequently changed to Pholistoma auritum (Nils Lilja 1839), Ellisia aurita (Jepson 1943), then back to Pholistoma. California supports three native Pholistoma species.

Fiesta flower is an inhabitant of shaded slopes and deep canyons. It is found on coastal bluffs, talus slopes, woodlands, and streambanks. Along the coast, fiesta flower reaches its northernmost limit in Mendocino County, where it is known from a single collection on serpentine north of Willits. It is also rare in Sonoma County, where it is recorded from shaded slopes near Bouverie and the Trinity-Cavedale area. In Marin County, fiesta flower occurs only on Angel Island. South of San Francisco, fiesta flower is uncommon on shaded slopes of San Bruno Mountain near Brisbane, in the Santa Cruz Mountains, along Pescadero Creek and Stevens Creek, and near Saratoga. Further south, it occurs in Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and San Diego counties. Inland, fiesta flower is known from Lake and Tehama counties to Calaveras County in the central Sierra Nevada foothills and Kern County in the Tehachapi Mountains. In the East Bay, it grows on the Mount Hamilton Range, the East Bay Hills, and Mount Diablo. A different variety (var. arizonicum) occurs in the Sonoran desert scrub of Arizona and California.

Fiesta flower is a fleshy, prostrate annual with many brittle, coarse, loosely branched, angled stems, which have bristles or hooked prickles. Leaves are oblong in outline, two to six inches long, and have seven to thirteen lobes. Petioles are widely winged and clasp the stems. Flowers, which are about an inch in diameter and blue to purple with darker marks in the corolla throat, appear in March, solitary or in cymes.

The last remaining populations in San Francisco are on the western slopes of Yerba Buena Island, growing beneath coast live oak trees (Quercus agrifolia) and subject to cools winds and fog drip. Other plants associated with these stands include stinging phacelia (Phacelia maivifolia), oso berry (Qemleria cerasiformis), bee plant (Scrophularia californica), poison oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum), elderberry (Sambucus mexicana), and Pacific pea (Lathyrus vestitus var. vestitus).

I find it intriguing that the last known populations of fiesta flower in San Francisco and Marin counties occur on islands. The stands of fiesta flower on Yerba Buena Island are remnants of what is presumably a more widespread population on the northern San Francisco Peninsula. They have persisted despite the planting and colonization of invasive non-native species such as eucalyptus and French broom, road building, and development. Both the Yerba Buena Island and Angel Island populations represent important sources of seed for reintroduction into the appropriate mainland settings. For this reason alone, we are encouraging city administrators to incorporate this locally-unique biological resource into their long-term reuse plans for Yerba Buena Island.

'; article.date = '2002.06'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'California Croton (Croton californicus)'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '

California CrotonThe Endangered Species Act (ESA), which was signed by President Nixon in 1973, was a much more robust piece of legislation than any of its authors had either imagined or intended. Despite all the controversy it has generated over the years, repeated attempts to rewrite or amend it into oblivion, and incessant legal challenges, the ESA has endured as one of the most significant pieces of environmental legislation in history. To industry and many landowners, the ESA denies citizens just use of their lands. To many environmentalists, it doesn\'t go far enough, permitting continued degradation of habitats essential for the continued survival of listed species.

The ESA emphasizes the protection and recovery of only listed species or those proposed for listing. It therefore ignores endangered or rare habitat types and populations at the limits of the range of otherwise common or widespread species. (September 2000, - The Meanings of Rarity - for definitions of rarity.) From an evolutionary perspective, such outliers are probably highly significant, representing remnant taxa that have persisted in the face of changing environmental conditions. Such populations may therefore possess greater genetic variability (heterogeneity) than the taxon as a whole. Consider, for example, the giant redwood (Sequoiadendron giganteum), which doesn\'t even appear on the California Department of Fish and Game\'sList of Special Plants. This significant "remnant" from another geologic time is not afforded protected status under the ESA.

California\'sdiverse flora is so varied due to the expansion and contraction of alternate "waves" of the three main geofloras over the past 65 million years. Our flora, therefore, consists of elements from the more temperate north (Arcto-Tertiary), the xeric (dry) Great Basin (Madro-Tertiary), and the tropical south (Neotropical-Tertiary). Species from one geoflora that are left behind, so to speak, as the wave recedes, are relicts or remnants of a once more widespread flora. Such local anomalies have long been the source of fascination and interest among scientists and amateurs because they represent a glimpse into the past or simply because they appear out of place. While such species don\'t meet the criteria for listing under federal or state law and are afforded no legal protection, they most certainly represent unique and potentially significant biological and genetic resources. But, unless they are identified as sensitive resources under local General Plans, impacts to such relictual populations are completely unregulated.

In the next few issues of this newsletter, I will focus on some of these local rarities. The San Francisco Peninsula is home to many. In coming weeks I will prepare a summary of the non-listed taxa still found in San Francisco County which are at the limits of their range. Here is the first installment.

California croton (Croton californicus) is a member of the Euphorbiaceae, the spurge family, which includes over 7,500 species in 300 genera worldwide. The family is mostly tropical, occurring in North and South America, Africa, Eurasia, and Australia. Commercially important members of the family include potted plants (poinsettia-Euphorbia pulcherrima, and numerous cactus-like succulents), castor oil (castor bean-Ricinus communis), tung oil (Aleurites spp.), rubber (Hevea brasiliensis), soap substitutes (Sapium spp.), purgatives (Jatropha curcas), and the infamous Mexican jumping bean (a seed of Sebastiania pringlei containing the larva of a moth that wiggles when warmed). Members of the family are famous for their white latex with caustic properties. (My dad once got sap of a euphorb in his eyes while taking cuttings, and he wound up in the hospital.)

The genus Croton is well developed, with about 300 species in Brazil alone and a worldwide distribution of nearly 1,000 species. The genus derives its name from the Greek word kroton, meaning "tick," which its seeds resemble.

California boasts only two native species (compared to six in Arizona). Croton californicus inhabits sandy soils, dunes, and washes below 900 meters. It is widespread and common along the south coast and southern deserts of California, extending into Arizona and Baja California, where it is called vara blanca and el barbasco. California croton is found in coastal sage scrub, chaparral, desert scrub, and coastal strand habitats. It reaches its northernmost limits on the dunes of San Francisco and Antioch, where it is infrequently encountered. The species is recorded in the floras of Arizona, and the counties of San Diego, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Kern, Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Francisco, and Contra Costa. I have seen it in Riverside, San Bernardino, Imperial, and Ventura counties. In San Francisco, California croton was recorded historically from Lobos Creek, above Baker\'sBeach, Lone Mountain, Pine Lake, Lake Merced, and the Bayview Hills. It can still be found at the Presidio dunes and on San Bruno Mountain. San Francisco is the type locality for the species, where it was collected and named Hendecandra procumbens by Eschscholtz in the early 1800s.

California croton is a mostly prostrate perennial herb. Its stems are multi-branched and covered with grayish-whitehairs. Gray-green leaves are one to two inches long, less than an inch wide, and oblong to elliptic in shape. When crushed, the leaves have a strong but pleasant aroma. The male and female flowers are inconspicuous, borne on separate plants in terminal racemes, and appearing June through November in our region, earlier in the southern parts of the state.

California croton is one of those ghost-like sand dwelling plants. Its grayish color and low, multi-branched form make it quite inconspicuous. From appearance, it might remind you of dove weed (Eremocarpus setigerus, a spurge), beach saltbush (Atriplex leucophylla), beach-bur (Ambrosia chamissonis), or even coastal sagewort (Artemisia pycnocephala). Crushed leaves of California croton were used by native Americans to stupefy fish and were applied as a hot poultice to treat rheumatic pain. A salve made by mixing the crushed or powdered dry leaves with tallow was also used as a pain reliever.

In the Bay Area, California croton is a relict of a habitat type that is itself a relict. The coastal dunes of the northern San Francisco Peninsula are unique. And the presence of California croton is further proof.

'; article.date = '2002.03'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Endemism in the California flora, Part II'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '

Emmenanthe roseaTo understand how geology affects biology one needs first to consider the forces that influence the edaphic environment. Jenny (1941, 1980) described soil formation as a function of climate, organisms, topography, parent material, and time. Pedogenesis (the evolution of soil) begins with the geologic processes responsible for the formation of the three basic types of parent material: sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous. Variations in topography and climate affect rates of weathering as do the types of organisms associated with the soil. Finally, the amount of time these forces have had to interact ultimately affects soil formation. Major (1951) adapted Jenny\'s factors of soil formation to describe the evolution and distribution of vegetation types. He reasoned that the same five factors-climate, topography, organisms, parent material, and time-are primarily responsible for the distribution of species. Kruckeberg (1986) attributed botanical (or biological) diversity to these five factors as well.

The presence of many rare taxa in one place is often associated with soil properties unusual for the surrounding region. Such substrates include serpentinite, granitic, carbonate, volcanic, and alkaline soils. Soils derived from serpentinite often support highly restricted and diverse plant taxa (Mason 1946b; Kruckeberg 1969). Serpentine endemism has been linked to deficiencies in calcium and abnormally high concentrations of magnesium, chromium, and nickel (Kruckeberg 1969; Fiedler 1985). Properties like these have been suggested as being sufficiently unique to account for this high degree of endemism (Kruckeberg 1951; Walker 1954; Whittaker 1954; Tadros 1957), although opinion as to their specific effects varies.

Kruckeberg (1984) described specific taxonomic and evolutionary responses by populations confronted with such a "geo-edaphic challenge." These include: 1) taxa that are excluded from serpentine, 2) indifferent taxa that occur on or off serpentine, 3) taxa largely confined to serpentine in parts of their range, and 4) edaphic endemism, or taxa completely restricted to serpentinite. Excluded taxa are those that lack the ability to become established on a particular soil due to mineral deficiencies or toxicities and/or peculiar physical properties. Edaphic endemism, on the other hand, is the result of specific physiologic requirements of a taxon being met by a particular geologic formation (Kruckeberg 1984). Endemism has also been attributed to a lack of competitive ability on soils supporting the regional vegetation (Billings 1950; Gankin and Major 1964; Wood 1989). One example of a mechanism whereby low competitive ability could lead to endemism was offered by Tadros (1957) and Wicklow (1964) who suggested that increased microbial activity inhibits the spread of Emmenanthe rosea, a serpentine endemic, onto more fertile, non-serpentine soils.As you wander the hills of the Bay Area, look at the patterns in the vegetation. Slope aspect, exposure to or shelter from prevailing winds, fog drip, and substrate are the dominant climatic and geologic factors affecting the distribution of most of our local plant communities. Can you think of more? Happy ecologizing!


Literature Cited

Axelrod, D.I. 1958. Evolution of the Madro-Tertiary Geoflora. Bot. Rev. 24:433-509.
Axelrod, D.I. 1968. Geological history. In P. Munz (ed.). A California Flora and Supplement. University of California Press, Berkeley, pp. 5-9.
Billings, W.D. 1950. Vegetation and plant growth as affected by chemically altered rocks in the western Great Basin. Ecology 31:62-74.
Drury, W.H. 1974. Rare species. Biol. Conserv. 6:162-169.
Fiedler, P.L. 1985. Heavy metal accumulation and the nature of edaphic endemism in the genus Calochortus (Liliaceae). Am. J. Bot. 72:1712-1718.
Gankin, R. and J. Major. 1964. Arctostaphylos myrtifolia, its biology and relationship to the problem of endemism. Ecology 45:792-808.
Hickman, J.C. 1993. The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California. University of California Press, Berkeley.
Jenny, H. 1941. Factors of Soil Formation. McGraw-Hill, New York.
Jenny, H. 1980. The Soil Resource: Origin and Behavior. Springer-Verlag, New York.
Kruckeberg, A.R. 1951. Intraspecific variability in the response of certain native plant species to serpentine soil. Am. J. Bot. 38:408-419.
Kruckeberg, A.R. 1969. Soil diversity and the distribution of plants, with examples from western North America. Madroño 20:129-154.
Kruckeberg, A.R. 1984. California Serpentines: Flora, Vegetation, Geology, Soils and Management Problems. University of California Press, Berkeley.
Kruckeberg, A.R. 1986. An essay: the stimulus of unusual geologies for plant speciation. Syst. Bot. 11:455-463.
Kruckeberg, A.R. and D. Rabinowitz. 1985. Biological aspects of endemism in higher plants. Ann. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 16:447-479.
Major, J. 1951. A functional, factorial approach to plant ecology. Ecology 32:392-412.
Mason, H.L. 1946. The edaphic factor in narrow endemism. I. Environmental influences. Madroño 8:209-226.
Mason, H.L. 1954. Migration and evolution in plants. Madroño 12:161-169.
Raven, P. 1964. Catastrophic selection and edaphic endemism. Evolution 18:336-338.
Raven, P. 1988. The California Flora. In M. Barbour and J. Major (eds.). Terrestrial Vegetation of California. California Native Plant Society, Sacramento, Special Publ. No. 9, pp. 109-137.
Raven, P. and D.I. Axelrod. 1978. Origin and Relationships of the California Flora. University of California Publs. in Botany 72:1-134.
Stebbins, G.L 1978a. Why are there so many rare plants in California? I. Environmental factors. Fremontia 5(4):6-10.
Stebbins, G.L 1978b. Why are there so many rare plants in California? II. Youth and age of species. Fremontia 6(1):17-20.
Stebbins, G.L. and J. Major. 1965. Endemism and speciation in the California flora. Ecol. Monogr. 35:1-35.
Tadros, T.M. 1957. Evidence of an edapho-biotic factor in the problem of serpentine tolerance. Ecology 38:14-23.
Walker, R.B. 1954. The ecology of serpentine soils. II. Factors affecting plant growth on serpentine soils. Ecology 35:259-266.
Whittaker, R.H. 1954. The ecology of serpentine soils. I. The vegetational response to serpentine soils. Ecology 35:275-288.
Wicklow, D.T. 1964. A Biotic Factor in Serpentine Endemism. Thesis. San Francisco State University.
Wood, M.K. 1989. Factors Affecting the Distribution of Arctostaphylos myrtifolia and A. viscida: the Role of Plant-Plant and Soil-Plant Interactions. Master\'s Thesis. San Francisco State University.

'; article.date = '2001.12'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Endemism in the California flora, Part I'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '

S.F.lessingiaA couple of issues ago I wrote about some of the concepts of rarity in plants. One of the most fascinating aspects of California botany is the extent to which our native species are endemic, or restricted, to the state. California is well known as a center of floristic diversity and for exhibiting a high degree of endemism (Stebbins and Major 1965). In general, variations in climate, topography, and geology are strongly correlated with floristic diversity. In the United States, California is exceeded only by Hawaii in terms of the number of endemic plant species (Stebbins I 978a, b). The Jepson Manual (Hickman 1993) lists approximately 6,000 native plant species, subspecies, and varieties. Another 300 or so receive mention as minor taxa. Over 2.2% of the genera and 30% of the species of vascular plants in California are endemic (Raven 1988). Considering the California Floristic Province alone, which excludes the Great Basin east of the Sierra Nevada and the deserts, the percent of endemic genera and species increases to 7.5% and 48%, respectively (Raven 1988).

The extant California flora is composed of elements that evolved during three distinct geologic epochs; the northern temperate Arcto-Tertiary Geoflora, the Madro-Tertiary Geoflora, and the NeotropicalTertiary Geoflora (Axelrod 1968). With the onset of a global drying trend following the Eocene (38-54 million years before present), mesic (moist) Arcto-Tertiary and NeotropicalTertiary elements were gradually displaced by xeric (dry) elements of the Madro-Tertiary Geoflora (Axelrod 1958). Expansion of xeric habitats is thought to have exerted a major selective pressure leading to the development of the xeromorpbic features (e.g., thick cuticles, reduced leaf surface area, spiny stems, drought deciduousness, etc.) that are common in the present-day flora.In addition to climate, California\'s mosaic of geologic substrates has also had a strong influence on shaping the state\'s flora. It has been suggested that a majority of California\'s endemism and populational disjunctions can be directly linked to diverse edaphic (soil) conditions (Raven 1964; Stebbins and Major 1965). Relictual elements of more mesic ancestral floras can be found in microhabitats protected from an increasingly arid climate. Particular edaphic properties, such as increased moisture-holding capacity, may create refugia for less xeromorphic species, allowing them to persist in the face of increasingly droughty conditions.

Humans have long been aware of sharp discontinuities in vegetation and that some soils are more productive than others. This fact alone has had a pronounced impact on civilization by determining where large population centers could persist. But it wasn\'t until the nineteenth century that any direct correlations were drawn between geologic substrates and the vegetation they support. Franz Unger, an Austrian botanist, first emphasized the significant role of geology in plant distribution in 1836 (Kruckeberg 1969). Having observed the divergent species composing the vegetation of two facing mountain slopes in northeastern Tyrolia, Unger hypothesized that the primary influence on plant distribution in this region was the mineral content of the soil. Since then, chemical and physical properties of soils have been widely cited as the most critical environmentalfactors affecting the distribution of plant species and vegetation types.

More recently, the general discontinuity of the physical environment and its role in isolation, speciation, and natural selection of plant populations has become the focus of attention by ecologists and evolutionary biologists. Mason (1946, 1954) suggested that environmental diversity results in broad selective powers. In this way, he related edaphic discontinuities with genotypic differentiation and endemism. Raven (1964) proposed that marginal populations are often found on soil types unusual for the species as a whole and that substrates unfavorable to those species becoming dominant as the result of changing climatic conditions could permit the persistence of retreating species as relictual populations. Such thinking led to the concept of species adapted to a particular substrate being competitively superior to otherwise more widespread species. Drury (1974) thought of species restricted in this manner as being adapted to "stressed" sites and that preadaptation to these sites can be seen as a strategy for survival leading to ecotypic differentiation.

Kruckeberg (1969) reduced environmental factors affecting plant distribution to two broad groups - climatological and geological. He felt that the interaction of microclimate, biotic features, and geology creates a rich mosaic of microhabitats but that edaphic influences play the dominant role in determining diversity and the distribution of plant species. Raven and Axelrod (1978) and Kruckeberg (1986) agreed that geologic diversity begets biologic diversity and Kruckeberg and Rabinowitz (1985) stated that the overall magnitude of geological discontinuity may be the ultimate cause of local rarity.

'; article.date = '2001.09'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Alkali Milk Vetch (Astragalus tener var.tener)'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '

Along with the sunflower (Asteraceae) and the grass (Poaceae) families, the legume family (Fabaceae-also called Leguminosae) ranks among the most species-rich families of flowering plants, consisting of some 650 genera and 18,000 species worldwide. The family is divided into three subfamilies, the mimosas, the sennas, and the beans. Members of the family range from vines to herbs to shrubs to trees, occupying a tremendous variety of habitats in tropical, subtropical, and temperate regions. The legume family is of extreme importance to humans, providing an important source of protein, timber, dyes, animal fodder, as well as plants of ornamental value. Economic crops include peanuts, soybeans, clovers, garden peas, lentils, lupines, wisteria, wattle, mesquite, tamarind, and even the dreaded French broom. A unique feature of most legumes is the presence of root nodules containing bacteria (Rhizobium spp.), which are capable of converting atmospheric nitrogen into other nitrogen compounds readily usable by plants. Crop rotation, incorporating a legume every three years, can substantially replace the nitrogen used up by other crops.

In California, the legumes are also only second to the sunflower family in terms of the number of species that have naturalized here. The Jepson Manual lists 50 genera, 29 of which include at least some native taxa. Some of the more recognizable genera include western redbud (Cercis occidentalis), broom (Genista), wild pea (Lathyrus), lotus or deer weed (Lotus), lupine (Lupinus), the clovers (Trifolium), and, of course, milk vetch or loco weed (Astragalus). Of the 1,742 taxa listed in the CNPS\'s Inventory of Rare and Endangered Vascular Plants of California, 76 (4.4%) belong to the Fabaceae. Fifteen of these are state- and/or federally-listed as Endangered, Threatened, or Rare.

Astragalus is perhaps the most species-rich genus of all flowering plants, comprising an estimated 2,000 taxa worldwide. California alone boasts 142 indigenous species, subspecies, and varieties. In California, the genus is unique for the lack of non-native taxa; none are listed in The Jepson Manual. The milk vetches belong to the subfamily Papilionoideae. With the exception of western redbud, all of the genera listed above are in this subfamily.

Alkali milk vetch is an annual herb inhabiting playas, clay soils supporting valley and foothill grasslands, and alkaline, vernal pools. It occurs in open, alkaline and vernally moist meadows from sea level to 200 feet in elevation. It is believed extant in Alameda, Merced, Napa, Solano, and Yolo counties. It is believed extirpated from Contra Costa, Monterey, San Benito, Sonoma, and Stanislaus counties. Threats to the species include habitat destruction, especially agricultural conversions. Alkali milk vetch was last collected in the Bay Area in 1959. It is protected at the Jepson Prairie Preserve. Alkali milk vetch is known from San Francisco from historical records. It was purportedly identified in 1868 by Kellogg and Harford, occurring in low, sub-saline fields in the Mission Dolores area.

Alkali milk vetch is a delicate, sparsely hairy to smooth herb, growing one to twelve inches high. It has seven to seventeen leaflets on blades one to three-and-a-half inches long. It produces two to twelve pink-purple flowers per inflorescence. Fruits are elongated legumes under an inch long. The variety flowers from March through June.

Alkali milk vetch is not listed by the state of California or the federal government, so it is afforded no protection under the state or federal Endangered Species Acts. It is on the CNPS List 1B 3-2-3. This status indicates that the variety is rare, threatened, or endangered in California, is distributed in a limited number of occurrences, is endangered in a portion of its range, and is endemic to California. List 1B species meet the criteria for listing pursuant to the state Fish and Game Code, and impacts must be considered during preparation of environmental documents relating to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Unfortunately, unless a species is formally listed as endangered, threatened or rare by the state or federal governments, it has no official protection. CEQA provides for the protection of these "special-status species" only so far as the lead agency is willing to incorporate comments from the public, the CNPS, or the Department of Fish and Game.

'; article.date = '2001.03'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Meanings Of Rarity Part II'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '

Presidio ClarkiaContinuing our discussion of the meanings and causes of rarity in plants, I\'d like to briefly explore some of the historical concepts of rarity.

Especially in the past 80 years, the restriction of plant species to narrow geographic ranges and the discontinuity between plant communities has been the subject of considerable attention. One of the reasons for this interest is the belief that rare species can offer insight into the evolution of species, telling us about their origin, age, and rate of speciation.

There has been a great deal of speculation concerning the relative significance of environmental factors and their effects on the distribution of plant species. On a continental scale, moisture availability, length of the growing season, and the number of frost-free days exert a strong influence over the distribution of broadly defined vegetation types. This is the first filter leading to isolation, which in turn leads to speciation and specialization. While these broad vegetation classes might conform neatly to such generalizations, the more subtle variations in vegetation on a smaller scale are far less clear-cut.

In his ""age and area"" hypothesis, Willis (1922) proposed that species are rare because they have recently evolved and haven\'t had time to expand their range. Gleason (1924) pointed out that this hypothesis falsely assumes that all species migrate at the same rate. Fernald (1924) proposed his theory of ""relictual endemism,"" suggesting that narrow endemics are old taxa that had once been more widespread. He held that as a taxon gets older, it becomes senescent and loses its competitive ability.

Griggs (1940) also related rarity in plants to a lack of competitive ability. He described rare species as those that cannot compete successfully with more common, widespread species and find their habitats in the early stages of succession. Stebbins (1942) agreed, but did not support the notion that rare species are restricted to pioneer habitats and are ""dying out."" Instead, Stebbins suggested that rare species are genetically depauperate, that is, lacking heterogeneity, and that this makes them poor competitors. In their landmark paper on Clarkia franciscana, Lewis and Raven (1958) observed repeated extinction and recolonization events by closely related species. With their theory on ""saltational speciation,"" they proposed that if such events were repeated often enough, the result would be speciation and the formation of highly endemic populations. Lewis (1962) further suggested that sudden, catastrophic alterations in climate could similarly drive selection and lead to the development of endemic species, especially among populations on the margin of a taxon\'s range.

As more and more work was done along these lines, it became evident that all these hypotheses offered only partial explanations for rarity. Because natural systems involve complex interactions between highly variable environmental conditions and the genetic history of individual organisms, the usefulness of such generalized concepts is limited. This led to the development of a more holistic view of biological associations and distributional patterns in the 1970s. Stebbins (1980) proposed a ""synthetic approach"" when looking at the history of rare taxa. In his gene pool-niche interaction theory, he attempted to synthesize the effects of a unique discontinuous habitat, the evolutionary history of a population, and the genetic make-up of the population. Fiedler (1985) expanded Stebbins\' line of thought, suggesting that rarity is the product of the age and genotype of a taxon, its evolutionary history, taxonomic position, ecology, populational and reproductive biology, land use history, and recent human uses.

Other factors have had a pronounced effect on our perception of biological rarity. Harper (1981) described rarity as a phenomenon in both time and space, and given the patchiness of all natural environments, suggested that rarity has different meanings to different people. Harper claimed that a major problem concerning rarity results from taxonomic bias, something I alluded to in our last newsletter. Human subjectivity, then, must also be taken into consideration when attempting to account for rarity. In this way, the subject of rarity has become increasingly complex, perhaps more accurately reflecting the dynamic interactions that are the reality of natural systems.



References
Fernald, M.L. 1924. Isolation and endemism in northeastern America and their relation to the age and area hypothesis. Am. J. Bot. 11:558-572.
Fiedler, P.L. 1985. Heavy metal accumulation and the nature of edaphic endemism in the genus Calochorus (Liliaceae). Am. J. Bot. 72:1712-1718.
Gleason, H.A. 1924. Age and area from the viewpoint of phytogeography. Am. J. Bot. 11:541-546.
Griggs, R.F. 1940. The ecology of rare plants. Bull. Tor. Bot. Club 67-575-594.
Harper, J.L. 1981. The meanings of rarity. In H. Synge (ed.). The biological aspects of rare plant conservation. John Wiley and Sons, New York, pp. 189-203.
Lewis, H. 1962. Catastrophic selection as a factor in speciation. Evolution 16:257-271.
Lewis, H. and P.H. Raven. 1958. Rapid evolution in Clarkia. Evolution 12:319-336.
Stebbins, G.L. 1942. The genetic approach to problems of rare and endemic species. Madroño 6:241-258.
Stebbins, G.L. 1980. Rarity and plant species: a synthetic viewpoint. Rhodora 82:77-86.
Willis, J.C. 1922. Age and area. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, England.

'; article.date = '2000.12'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Meanings Of Rarity Part I'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '

San Francisco CollinsiaSince writing my first article for the Yerba Buena Chapter newsletter in 1994, I\'ve focused primarily on the individual taxa - extant, extirpated, or extinct - that make up San Francisco’s natural heritage. Aside from occasional departures to discuss communities or particular locales, the focus has always been on the species, subspecies, and varieties themselves. It dawned on me that I’ve never actually discussed the concept of rarity. I think it’s about time.

Biologically, the term "rare" typically refers to a species’ limited geographic distribution, limited population size, or limited numbers. Taxa (a taxon is a distinct entity such as a species, variety, or subspecies) can be considered rare if they occur as infrequent individuals but scattered over a wide geographic area, as abundant individuals with a very narrow geographic range, or as infrequent individuals with a narrow geographic range. The term endemic is also frequently used to refer to organisms restricted to a particular locality. Plants that only or mostly occur on a particular soil type, such as serpentinite, are said to be edaphic endemics. The presumed origin or evolution is thought to play an important role in rarity or endemism. Paleoendemics, for example, are taxa that were once more widespread but have become isolated due to climate changes over geologic time. Neoendemics are taxa that were never common, but are believed to have diverged from a more widespread ancestor (i.e., speciation).

The concept of rarity is much less clear-cut than one might think. This is primarily due to the fact that the species concept, and especially the subspecies concept, is debatable. The American evolutionist Ernst Mayr defined a species as "a group of actually or potentially interbreeding natural populations that is reproductively isolated from other such groups." In other words, hybrids between species occur rarely in nature. Truth is, taxonomists have historically had little or no experimental evidence on which to base their taxonomic decisions. Species were typically differentiated based solely on morphological features (form and structure), phenology (growth and reproduction), and assumptions regarding their evolutionary relationships. Species are therefore groups of organisms that differ in one or more characteristics and do not intergrade extensively when occurring together in nature.

Populations of organisms within the same species that are more or less distinct from one another but still intergrade may be classified as subspecies or varieties. A large number of the taxa in California that are considered to be rare are subspecies of more common species. This is where the taxonomists fall into one of two categories - lumpers and splitters. Lumpers tend to be conservative in formally distinguishing a population or race as a subspecies. Splitters tend to be willing to do so based on very subtle differences between populations. The decision to lump or split populations can have great conservation implications from a legal standpoint.

A species might occur from Oregon to Baja California, but consist of large, isolated populations along a continuum from north to south. As a species, the organism would not normally be regarded as rare. However, if the populations are distinct enough to be legitimately classified as subspecies, they could be regarded as rare. If such populations are under imminent threat of extinction, the populations could even warrant protection under the state or federal Endangered Species Acts.

The term "rare" can mean many things to many people. It can mean infrequent, uncommon, or unusual. But it also implies highly valued or special, two very subjective and emotionally charged terms. In my consulting business, we don’t like to use the word "rare" for this very reason. Instead, we refer to taxa as having "special-status." Special-status species are those that are state- or federally-listed as Endangered or Threatened, are on the California Department of Fish and Game’s lists of special plants and animals, are on the California Native Plant Society’s 1A, 1B, or 2 lists, meet the criteria listed in the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) guidelines, or are otherwise protected under such legislation as the Migratory Bird Treaty Act or specific sections of the California Fish and Game Code. This is a large list.

Are all special-status species rare? By no means. Do they represent valuable biological resources? Certainly. In any case, pursuant to CEQA, impacts to special-status species must at least be addressed when assessing potential effects of proposed human activities on the environment.

'; article.date = '2000.09'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Beach Layia (Layia carnosa)'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '

Layia carnosaThe sunflower family (Asteraceae, also known as Compositae) is the largest family of dicots, consisting of some 1,300 genera and 21,000 species worldwide. It is also the largest plant family in California. The Jepson Manual lists 710 native species and 155 naturalized species in 205 genera found in the state. Of the 39 taxa listed in our chapter’s publication Rare and Endangered Plants of San Francisco’s Wild and Scenic Places (revised January 2000), ten (26%) are members of the Asteraceae. Of the 1,742 taxa listed in the CNPS Inventory of Rare and Endangered Vascular Plants of California, 222 (12.7%) belong to the Asteraceae.

The genus Layia is a member of the Heliantheae tribe (subtribe Madiinae). The subtribe includes such common Bay Area genera as Achyrachaena (blow-wives), and Lagophylla, Madia, Hemizonia, Holocarpha, and Blepharizonia (all tarplants and tarweeds). Layias are low annuals with white to yellow ray flowers and yellow disk flowers. Perhaps the most familiar member of the genus is tidy tips (Layia platyglossa), a prominent player in some of California’s most impressive wildflower fields.

Beach LayiaBeach layia is a prostrate herb inhabiting coastal strand and coastal dune habitats from sea level to 60 feet in elevation. It has been recorded from as far south as Point Conception and as far north as Humboldt County. Although plenty of suitable habitat is available in southern Oregon, to my knowledge the species has not been recorded there. Specifically, it is extant in Humboldt County (Humboldt Bay dunes), Santa Barbara County (Vandenburg Air Force Base), Monterey County (Del Monte Forest) and Marin County (Point Reyes Peninsula). Beach layia is protected in part at two locations owned and managed by the Bureau of Land Management; these include the Manila Dunes Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) and the Mattole Beach ACEC.

Although the California Native Plant Society’s Inventory of Rare and Endangered Vascular Plants of California indicates that beach layia is presumed extirpated from San Francisco County, the species was not recorded in Howell, Raven, and Rubtzoff’s 1958 A Flora of San Francisco, California. However, abundant suitable habitat was present in the Sunset District prior to development, so that the species occurrence there is easy to imagine, and its presence in San Francisco is specifically referred to by John Hunter Thomas in his 1961 Flora of the Santa Cruz Mountains of California.

Beach layia is glandular but unscented, prostrate to erect, from one to seven inches high. It produces four to ten white ray flowers (ligules) and five to 45 yellow disk flowers from March to July. It is distinguished from other layias by the presence of plumose non-woolly pappus, glandular herbage, and purple anthers.

Like so many other inhabitants of coastal strand and dune communities, beach layia has suffered mightily at the hands of humans. This already dynamic habitat has been seriously degraded by off-highway vehicle use, hikers, and, more recently, invasive exotic plants. Lands that were once shunned as wastelands due to the ever-shifting sands have become increasingly valuable for their proximity to the ocean, fresh air, and views. Some of San Francisco’s other dune inhabitants that have been eliminated or threatened with extirpation include San Francisco lessingia (Lessingia germanorum), San Francisco Bay spineflower (Chorizanthe cuspidata var. cuspidata), compact cobweb thistle (Cirsium occidentale var. compactum), round-headed Chinese houses (Collinsia corymbosa), San Francisco wallflower (Erysimum franciscanum), dune gilia (Gilia capitata ssp. chamissonis), many-stemmed gilia (G. millefoliata), wedge-leaved horkelia (Horkelia cuneata ssp. sericea), large-flowered linanthus (Linanthus grandiflorus), curly-leaved monardella (Monardella undulata), and San Francisco campion (Silene verecunda ssp. verecunda), among others.

Beach layia was listed as endangered by the State of California in January 1990. The federal government listed it as endangered in June 1992. It is also on the CNPS’ List 1B 3-3-3, the highest level on endangerment short of extinction (highly restricted occurrence, endangered throughout its range, and endemic to California). As such, any impacts to the species must be considered as significantly adverse pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act, and appropriate mitigation measures must be developed to reduce impacts to a level that is less than significant. Typically, mitigation measures are developed in consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the California Department of Fish and Game.

'; article.date = '2000.06'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Checker Mallow (Sidalcea malvaeflora)'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '

Checker Mallow It\'s the dawning of a new millennium. What better New Year\'s resolution than to get out of the confines of our walled environments and tantalize our senses with the colors and textures of the natural world. Even in the midst of our crowded and busy city we have the opportunity to get away from it all with a short bus ride. With spring upon us, the days are getting longer; it\'s time to step out of our shells.

During my travels in the central and southern portions of the state, one plant family always elicits a smile when found in the wild. While not a particularly diverse group, the mallow family (Malvaceae) includes some spectacular members. Related to the garden hibiscus, the family is characterized by mostly large, showy corollas with fused filament tubes in the center. Worldwide, the family includes some 100 genera with 2,000 species. It is best represented in South America but occurs throughout North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. The family has great economic value, including such species as cotton (Gossypium spp.), okra (Hibiscus esculentus), China jute (Abutilon avicennae), and numerous ornamental species such as hollyhock (Alcea rosea). Hibiscus is the largest genus, with some 300 mostly tropical species.

Many people are surprised to learn that some showy members of the family are native to California. None is showier than rose-mallow (Hibiscus lasiocarpus), found on the banks of the San Joaquin/Sacramento River Delta. Other significant native genera include Indian mallow (Abutilon spp.), five-spot (Eremalche spp.), tree mallow (Lavatera spp.), bush mallow (Malacothamnus spp.), alkali mallow (Malvella leprosa), checker mallow or checker bloom (Sidalcea spp.), and globemallow (Sphaeralcea spp.). Of course, the non-native mallows (Malva spp.) inhabit just about every vacant lot in the southern two thirds of the state.

The family supports a large proportion of rare species. The 11 native genera include 49 native species and 38 subspecies. Of these, 40 taxa are included in the CNPS Inventory of Rare and Endangered Vascular Plants of California (2 on List 1A-presumed extinct in California; 23 on List 1B-rare, threatened, or endangered; 3 on List 2-rare, threatened, or endangered in California; and 8 on List 4-limited distribution).

Sidalcea, the genus with the most California species, is one of my favorites. It includes 18 species with 33 subspecies; 12 are listed in the CNPS Inventory. In the Bay Area, its most common member is Sidalcea malvaeflora ssp. malvaeflora. Much less common is another subspecies, S. m. ssp. purpurea. As is characteristic of the species, both taxa develop from a perennial rhizome and woody caudex. Leaves appear in early spring on stems that trail one to three feet. Purple to rose-pink flowers, up to two inches across, develop in dense terminal racemes or spikes from February through June. Subspecies purpurea is distinguished from ssp. malvaeflora by having purple calyces and stipules, basal leaves mostly less than two centimeters (0.8 inches) long, and hair-like (rather than stout) pedicels.

Sidalcea malvaeflora ssp. purpurea inhabits grassy slopes and openings in forests near the coast from southern Mendocino County to northern San Mateo County. In San Francisco, S. m. ssp. malvaeflora has been recorded historically from the Presidio, Lake Merced, Laguna Honda, Twin Peaks, McLaren Park, and Bayview Hill. It is still present on most of these locations, Bernal Hill, and other local open space preserves. Although S. m. ssp. purpurea has not been documented in the City, it could co-occur with its more common relative. If you find it, let us know!

While none of the Bay Area subspecies of S. malvaeflora are listed in the CNPS Inventory, subspecies purpurea is proposed for listing as a 1B:2-2-3 taxon. Such taxa are rare, threatened or endangered in California, distributed in a limited number of occurrences, endangered in a portion of their ranges, and endemic to California. List 1B species meet the criteria for listing pursuant to the state Fish and Game Code, and impacts must be considered during preparation of environmental documents relating to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Unfortunately, unless a species is formally listed as endangered, threatened, or rare by the state or federal governments, it has no official protection. CEQA provides for the protection of these "special-status species" only so far as the lead agency is willing to incorporate comments from the public, CNPS, or the Department of Fish and Game.

'; article.date = '2000.03'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'San Francisco Wallflower (Erysimum franciscanum)'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '

San Francisco WallflowerWhen we think of the mustard family (Brassicaceae or Cruciferae), images of fields of yellow or violet-flowered weeds usually come to mind. Fallow agricultural fields dominated by wild mustard (Brassica spp., Hirschfeldia incana) or wild radish (Raphanus sativus) make European visitors feel right at home. These widespread weeds have found their way onto vacant lots and dryland farms in every county of the state. Many other nonnative members of the family are familiar to us, including the alarmingly invasive perennial pepperweed (Lepidium latifolium) and hoary cress (Cardaria draba). The Jepson Manual lists 59 non-native cruciferous taxa present in California.

But there\'s a kinder, gentler side to the family. This side is represented by 264 native taxa in 44 genera and it includes some of our most endangered species. Some of the more elegant examples include the jewelflowers (Streptanthus spp. and Caulanthus spp.), rock cress (Arabis spp.), and Draba spp. Representatives are found from the seashore to 8,200-foot alpine elevations and into the deserts. Ninety-nine taxa in the Brassicaceae are considered to have special status (i.e., they are listed by the state, the federal government, or CNPS), of which 17 are listed as Endangered.

One very attractive group is the wallflowers (Erysimum spp.), which include annual herbs to short-lived perennials. Wallflowers produce basal rosettes of leaves with leafy stems. They are mostly found among dunes and coastal scrub throughout coastal California, although one species occurs above 6,000 feet. In California, the genus Erysimum includes 13 native and three nonnative taxa. Five are listed as state or federally Endangered and another five are listed by CNPS.

A relatively frequently encountered species is the San Francisco wallflower (Erysimum franciscanum). This biennial or short-lived perennial produces one to several stems up to two feet tall. Its leaves are coarsely toothed, linear to oblanceolate, and have branched hairs. Basal leaves are one to eight inches long. Cream to yellow flowers in the family\'s typical cross-shaped (crucifer) four-petaled form are produced from March through June. Fruits consist of elongated siliques up to five inches long.

San Francisco wallflower grows in open, woody, or brushy places in rocky to sandy soil, decomposed granite, or serpentinite. The species occurs near the coast from Santa Cruz County northward to Sonoma County. Within San Francisco, Erysimum franciscanum has been recorded historically from Point Lobos, Lone Mountain, Laguna Honda, and Lake Merced. It can still be found at Grandview Park, Hawk Hill, 14th Avenue and Ortega, above Baker Beach, and on the serpentine bluffs below Battery Boutelle on the Presidio.

San Francisco wallflower has no formal state or federal status as a protected species. It is on the CNPS List 4, which is considered a watch list. Species on this list are of limited distribution or infrequent throughout a broader area in California and their vulnerability or susceptibility to threat appears low at this time. While these species cannot be considered "rare" from a statewide perspective, they are uncommon enough that their status should be monitored regularly. Few of the plants on List 4 meet the definitions of rare plants pursuant to the California Fish and Game Code (Section 1901, Chapter 10 of the Native Plant Protection Act or Sections 2062 and 2067 of the California Endangered Species Act).

Even though San Francisco wallflower doesn\'t qualify as rare in the state, it is sufficiently uncommon in the city to warrant protection. It is indeed a gem when discovered on the loose sandy slopes of Grandview Park or elsewhere. Watch for it beginning in March. Don\'t be a wallflower; get out and look for the wallflowers!

'; article.date = '1999.12'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Fragrant Fritillary (Fritillaria liliacea)'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '

Fragrant FritillaryFritillaries belong to the lily family (Liliaceae), along with agaves, onions (Allium), goldenstar (Bloomeria), Brodiaea, Calochortus, blue dicks (Dichelostemma), fawn lily (Erythronium), true lilies (Lilium), Muilla, Scoliopus, false Solomon\'s seal (Smilacina), Trillium, Triteleia, Yucca, and death camas (Zigadenus), among many others. Worldwide, the family includes 4,600 species in 300 genera. California supports 220 native species in 33 genera, along with another 11 nonnative species and six nonnative genera.

Like orchids, lilies tend to inspire awe when encountered in the wild. Their dramatic shapes, frequently brightly colored flowers, and short flowering period lend to our sense that we have indeed witnessed a rare treat when we happen upon them. In fact, many lilies are rare. The California Native Plant Society\'s Inventory of Rare and Endangered Vascular Plants of California lists 101 taxa as warranting some level of protection. Eight taxa are listed or proposed for listing as endangered or threatened under the Federal Endangered Species Act and another eight are listed under the California Endangered Species Act.

Fritillaries are a shy and delicate group of perennials, producing flowers with no consistency whatsoever. Eighteen species have been recorded in California, all native. Some 100 species are known from the temperate zones of the Northern Hemisphere. Plants produce bulbs that develop short stems with alternate (or whorled), sessile, linear to ovate leaves along their length. Flowers are typically bell- or cup-shaped and nod on the ends of pedicels. Fritillaries are closely related to the Old World genus Tulipa, the tulips. The name is derived from the Latin fritillus, meaning a dice box or checkerboard, alluding to the checkered markings frequently found on the petals.

Fragrant fritillary is a low-growing herb, whose single, erect, 15-inch stems bear two to 20 alternate, linear to ovate leaves one-and-a-half to five inches long. White flowers with greenish stripes, about one-and-a-half inches across, nodding, sometimes sweet smelling, appear between February and April. Fritillaria liliacea occurs in heavy soils on open hillsides near the coast in coastal prairie, coastal bluff scrub, and coastal scrub habitats. It has been recorded from Alameda, Contra Costa, Monterey, Marin, San Benito, Santa Clara, San Francisco, San Mateo, Solano and Sonoma counties. A healthy population persists in Marin County near Nicasio Reservoir, but such small isolated occurrences are always at risk of cataclysmic disturbances, whether human or natural. Historically, fragrant fritillary was recorded in San Francisco from Bernal Heights (1890), Potrero Hills (1895), and Twin Peaks (1892). A reintroduction attempt on Bernal Heights produced a flowering individual in 1997 but no viable population has been reestablished to date.

Fragrant fritillary currently has no formal state or federal status as a protected species. It is on the CNPS List 1B: 1-2-3, a code which indicates that it is rare, threatened, or endangered in California; rare but found in sufficient numbers and distributed widely enough that the potential for extinction is low at this time; endangered in a portion of its range; and endemic to California. Under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), impacts to the species would be considered a significant adverse effect on the environment and must be addressed in environmental documentation.

Two of the challenges facing conservationists are that fritillaries don\'t flower every year and their blooming period can be exceedingly short. In addition, the stems appear to be readily browsed by deer, rabbits, and cattle. The California Department of Fish and Game guidelines for evaluating impacts to rare plants require focused botanical surveys during each season in which all target species would be recognizable, but multi-year surveys are not typically performed. The likelihood of finding a fritillary in any given year is, at best, hit or miss. So, next year, start your flower searches a little early and see if you can\'t add a new one to your "life list." But if you should find this jewel, be certain to provide us with an accurate description of its location and population size.

'; article.date = '1999.09'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Franciscan thistle (Cirsium andrewsii)'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '

Franciscan ThistleIn keeping with our theme from the previous newsletter, the subject of this issue is another rare member of the sunflower family indigenous to our region, Franciscan thistle. Many comps (short for Compositae, alternate name of the plant family Asteraceae) have common names that include the word "thistle." In fact, some of our most pernicious weeds are thistles, including yellow star thistle (Centaurea solstitialis), purple star thistle (Centaurea calcitrapa), Italian thistle (Carduus pycnocephalus), milk thistle (Silybum marianum), and the much dreaded cardoon or artichoke thistle (Cynara cardunculus). (By 1855, Charles Darwin was already writing of vast areas in Argentina covered with artichoke thistle, a native of the Mediterranean region.) Even some members of the genus Cirsium (C. arvense, C. vulgare) are well known pests in natural areas.

Perhaps because we associate thistles with invasiveness or because of their tendency to be unapproachable due to their spiny nature, many folks tend to avoid the thistles. Few groups pose as great a challenge to identify (or to press specimens, for that matter) as the genus Cirsium. Handling the flower heads with their numerous and very sharp phyllaries is not exactly enjoyable (more than a few swear words have escaped my lips when working with them). But, like so many of our botanical jewels, spending the time to get to know them has its rewards.

The thistle tribe (Cynareae) consists of some 35 genera found naturally on all continents except South America. They are especially evident in the Mediterranean region. In California, we boast 32 taxa belonging to 24 species. Of these, seven taxa are state- or federally-listed as endangered or threatened and another five are listed in the CNPS Inventory of Rare and Endangered Vascular Plants of California.

One rare thistle indigenous to the San Francisco Peninsula is Franciscan thistle (Cirsium andrewsii). This biennial or short-lived perennial produces numerous fleshy stems reaching up to seven feet in height. Leaves are thinly cobwebby above, becoming glabrous, gray-cobwebby to tomentose below. The species produces one to a few flower heads in loose cymes. Heads contain bright red tubular flowers from June through July.

Franciscan thistle inhabits bluffs, ravines, seeps, mixed evergreen forests, and coastal scrub habitats, sometimes on serpentine. It has been found in Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Sonoma counties. In San Francisco it was recorded historically from Fort Point and east of Lake Merced. Presently, within the city, it can only be found on serpentine seeps below Battery Boutelle in the Presidio.

Franciscan thistle is on the CNPS List 4:1-1-3, indicating that it is rare but found in sufficient numbers and distributed widely enough that the potential for extinction is low at this time. The CNPS List 4 is merely a watch list, intended to encourage regular monitoring of the status of native populations. The species currently receives no formal protection under the state or federal endangered species acts nor is it regarded as a significant resource under the California Environmental Quality Act. Nonetheless, its occurrence in our little corner of the world, one that has been so heavily altered by human beings, is noteworthy. Its presence at the Presidio along with so many other botanical treasures emphasizes our need to support the National Park Service\'s efforts to preserve, enhance, and restore some of our most fascinating natural plant communities.

'; article.date = '1999.06'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Diablo sunflower (Helianthela castanea)'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '

Diablo SunflowerTaxonomically speaking, few families are capable of causing attacks of sweating, heart palpitations and nervous laughter as the sunflower family (Asteraceae). Grasses aside, the composites, with their complex inflorescences characterized by ray and disk florets, pappus, chaff and phyllaries, frequently cause one to abandon all hopes of reaching a successful conclusion when working through the key. We usually resort to asking someone who already knows the answer and accept it at that. The sheer number of taxa adds to the sense that a positive identification is nothing short of a miracle. After all, Asteraceae is the largest family of dicots, consisting of some 1,300 genera and 21,000 species worldwide. It is also the largest plant family in California. The Jepson Manual lists 710 native species and 155 naturalized species in 205 genera. Those of you who know their way around Munz\'s A California Flora are aware of the fact that the sunflower family is divided into 12 tribes, a taxonomic division ignored in The Jepson Manual to avoid confusing the uninitiated (i.e., most of us).

But the family offers great rewards, providing us with a diversity of forms and colors unrivaled among vascular plants. Representatives range from the most diminutive of annuals to robust, long-lived shrubs and even a few tropical members that approach tree status. The family also includes some of our most notorious weeds, yellow star thistle and German ivy to name just two. And some or California\'s rarest plants belong to the sunflower family. Of the 1,742 taxa listed in the CNPS\' Inventory of Rare and Endangered Vascular Plants of California, 222 (12.7%) belong to the Asteraceae.

Included in this list is Diablo helianthella (Helianthella castanea). This stout perennial produces abundant basal and cauline leaves arising from a woody caudex. It produces large, solitary heads 1-2 in. across and comprised of 13-21 bright yellow ray flowers up to 1 in. long. Flowers develop their full glory from April through June. It forms ground-hugging clumps up to a meter across. At first glance, one might confuse this species with one of the mule ears (Wyethia sp.), a closely related member of the Heliantheae tribe. Other members of the tribe include the true sunflower (Helianthus), balsam root (Balsamorhiza), encelia, and viguiera, found in the southern part of the state. Truth is, Diablo helianthella is distinguished from mule ears chiefly by having sterile ray flowers, not a characteristic that is readily recognizable to the casual observer.

Diablo helianthella most typically occurs in the ecotone between chaparral and grassland or woodland habitats. Its distribution is restricted to Alameda, Contra Costa and San Mateo counties. It is presumed extirpated from San Francisco and Marin counties.

The flora of San Francisco lists Diablo helianthella as having been recorded from the Bayview Hills in the late 1890s. It can still be found inhabiting grassy slopes on San Bruno Mountain above Harold Road in Brisbane. In the East Bay, it is relatively widespread occurring throughout the Diablo Range, and stretching from the East Bay Hills to south of Niles Canyon. Diane Lake\'s excellent compilation of unusual and significant plants of Alameda and Contra Costa counties lists the species as occurring at 28 general locations.

Although not exceedingly rare, Diablo helianthella is considered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a Species of Special Concern. It is on the CNPS\' List 1B: 3-2-3, indicating that it is rare, threatened or endangered in California, of restricted distribution, endangered in a portion of its range and that it is endemic to California. The species has no formal state status, although impacts to it should be addressed during the environmental review process, pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act.

This spring, when you are out enjoying the floristic bounty that is ours, keep your eyes open for this beauty. It\'s worth hiking that extra mile to add it to your life list.

'; article.date = '1999.03'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'The Monardellas'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '

Monardella villosaEveryone loves the mint family. We cook with it, it smells nice, it doesn\'t die in our herb gardens, and one member is the original namesake of our city (and newsletter). The family is Lamiaceae (also know as Labiatae), which includes such commonly known genera as mint (Mentha), yerba buena (Satureja), horehound (Marrubium), hedge-nettle (Stachys), sage (Salvia), thornmint (Acanthomintha), pitcher sage (Lepechinia), henbit (Lami urn), and bluecurls (Trichostema). In California, the mint family comprises 100 native species and 14 non-native species with 20 genera native to the state and seven introduced genera.

The most speciose genus of mints in California is Monardella. The monardellas, pennyroyals, or coyote mints, as they are lometimes called, consist of 29 species and 24 subspecies, all of which are native to California. The genus is native to western North America and adjacent areas of Mexico, and is found nowhere else. Of the California species, 23 taxa are listed by CNPS as rare - two presumed extinct; 12 on list 1 B (rare in California and elsewhere); one on list 2 (rare in California, more common elsewhere); one on list 3 (more information needed); and seven on list 4 (plants of limited distribution). One subspecies is listed as endangered by the state of California.

The genus Monardella is made up of low-growing annuals and perennial herbs with small, simple, and pleasantly fragrant leaves. Some species form woody stems at the base. Flowers are tubular, rose to purplish, violet, or white, two-lipped and irregular. The genus hybridizes readily, and identification can be challenging. Many species have exacting soil requirements, making them difficult to cultivate.

In the Bay Area, we can find about eight monardellas. These include M. antonina ssp. antonina, M. brewen, M. douglasii ssp. douglasii, M. lanceolata, M. undu)ata, and M. villosa (including ssp. franciscana, ssp. globosa, and ssp. villosa). In San Francisco, however, ourmonardella diversity is restricted to few and scattered populations of coyote mint, Monardella villosa ssp. franciscana, which can be found in the Presidio, above Laguna Honda Reservoir, and on Bernal Heights, Twin Peaks, Mt. Davidson, Bayview Hill, and Yerba Buena Island. Coyote mint is a clumping perennial developing into a low mound from a woody base. It is typically associated with dry, rocky locations in coastal scrub and woodland habitats near the coast. It is distributed from the central coast, throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and into the north coast ranges. Our local plants produce lavender flowers from June through August.

Historically, another member of the genus occurred in San Francisco. Curly-leaved monardella (M. undulata) is an annual inhabitant of coastal strand and other sandy coastal areas. It was last recorded near lake Merced but hasn\'t been seen there or anywhere else in the city in many years. Curly-leaved monardella can still be found in Sonoma, Marin, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Luis Obispo counties. It produces rose-purple flowers from May through July. Because curly-leaved monardella has a limited distribution, CNPS has placed it on its list 4, indicating that it\'s worth keeping an eye on, even though its vulnerability or susceptibility to threat appears low at this time. While the species cannot be considered rare from a statewide perspective, it is uncommon enough to warrant monitoring.

Like all the native mints, a monardella is lovely to encounter. I almost always consider it worth a longer look, taking in its refreshing aroma and snapping a photo or two. Monardella villosa ssp. franciscana would certainly be a worthwhile addition to any garden. It is not adapted to sandy soils, preferring soil that is a little heavier. It requires good drainage to prevent rotting in winter. Avoid summer watering. The flowers are attractive to bees and butterflies so you will also be supporting your local wildlife.

'; article.date = '1998.12'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Northern Coastal Salt Marsh'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '

Heron\'s Head saltmarsh, SFIn this issue, I am focusing on another of San Francisco\'s rarities, but this time it is a habitat, not a particular species. Northern coastal salt marsh is a highly productive plant community dominated by herbaceous, suffrutescent (subshrubby), salt- tolerant hydrophytes (water plants), typically forming a dense mat of vegetation up to three feet high. Species are segregated vertically into more or less distinct zones defined by the degree to which they are inundated by the tides. This plant community occurs along the California coast from Oregon to near Point Conception where it intergrades with southern coastal salt marsh. It is especially extensive around San Francisco Bay but is also well developed at Humboldt Bay, Tomales Bay, Elkhorn Slough, and Morro Bay.

Perhaps the plant that is most characteristic of northern coastal salt marsh is pickleweed (Salicornia virginica). This succulent, salt tolerant perennial forms a dense canopy over large expanses in the Bay. Other commonly encountered native plants include California cordgrass (Spartina foliosa), alkali heath (Frankenia salina), salt grass (Distichlis spicata), dodder (Cuscuta salina var. major), jaumea (Jaumea carnosa), sea lavender (Limonium californicum), and marsh gum-plant (Grindelia stricta var. angustifolia), among many others.

Northern coastal salt marsh provides habitat for numerous endangered, threatened, and rare animals and plants. Some of the rarest animals in the Bay that are dependent on salt marsh habitat include the California clapper rail, California black rail, salt marsharvest mouse, salt marsh common yellowthroat, Alameda song sparrow, and salt marsh wandering shrew.

Calif.sea-bliteSome rare plants, known from historical records to be associated with salt marsh habitats in San Francisco Bay, are Point Reyes bird\'s-beak (Cordylanthus maritimus ssp. palustris), soft bird\'s-beak (Cordylanthus mollis ssp. mollis), Marin knotweed (Polygonum marinense), Suisun marsh aster (Aster lentus), Humboldt Bay owl\'s-clover (Castilleja ambigua ssp. humboldtiensis), Mason\'s lilaeopsis (Lilaeopsis masonii), rose-mallow (Hibiscus lasiocarpus), Delta mudwort (Limosella subulata), marsh gum-plant (Grindelia stricta var. angustifolia ‹see September 1996 newsletter), California sea-blite (Suaeda californica), marsh horsetail (Equisetum palustre) and hairless popcorn-flower (Plagiobothrys glaber), among others.

In the past 150 years, filling and construction of dikes have reduced the area of San Francisco Bay by 37 percent. The fringes of the Bay have long been subjected to filling and diking for agriculture, salt production, and development. Currently, the San Francisco Bay covers 478 square miles at high tide and receives runoff from approximately 40 percent of California\'s land area. Fewer than 45,000 acres of the San Francisco Bay estuary\'s historic tidal marshes remain intact, a reduction of 92 percent. The San Francisco Bay Area is the fourth most populous metropolitan area in the United States and the Bay continues to fall under relentless assault. The region\'s booming economy, high land and home values, and influx of people place a constant pressure to expand development ever further into the Bay.

San Francisco itself has few examples of northern coastal salt marsh, none of which are either extensive or unaltered. Salt marshes can be found north of Pier 94 and at Pier 98, South Basin, India Basin, and the Islais Creek Channel. There is a good potential to restore these sites. A wetlands creation effort is being proposed for Treasure Island. In the meantime, San Franciscans need to travel a bit to experience the natural beauty of our salt marshes. There are excellent salt marsh interpretive centers and wildlife viewing areas at Hayward, Newark, Alviso, Palo Alto, and Tiburon, among others. Fall is probably the most splendid season to visit the marshes as migratory birds begin their travels southward and the colors of the vegetation are most vivid. Marsh gum-plant will still be in bloom as are the bird\'s-beaks, if you\'re fortunate enough to see one. Bring your cameras and binoculars. Enjoy the fall.

'; article.date = '1998.09'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Plants of Yerba Buena Island Part II'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '

Dune GiliaIn the last issue, I presented a little of the colorful history of Yerba Buena Island (YBI) and hinted at the botanical treasures that have persisted, despite what seems like a concerted effort to remove what nature had intended. Those of you who attended the first annual CNPS walking tour of YBI on April 12 got a glimpse of the remnants of the natural plant communities that were once more widespread on the island, as well as of the overwhelming threats facing them. The goal of the tour and of this column is to point out what a centerpiece the island is, both geographically and botanically, and to build a constituency for the preservation and restoration of its remaining natural communities.

Despite a long history of human disturbance_mining, development, road construction, planting of invasive exotic plant species, and fire_YBI still supports several excellent examples of some of the San Francisco Peninsula\'s original vegetation types. Of special interest are stands of Coast Live Oak Woodland and Northern (Franciscan) Coastal Scrub. These vegetation types are similar to remaining stands still found in the city of San Francisco and are probably more closely related to the prehistoric flora of San Francisco than any other land mass bordering the Bay, with the possible exception of Angel Island. Some portions of these native plant communities are remarkably intact and may represent a very valuable genetic resource. Several plant taxa found on YBI occur in only very limited numbers in San Francisco, making them a potential source of genetically appropriate propagules for restoration efforts on the mainland. To date, I have recorded 105 native plant taxa at YBI representing 40 families and an additional 178 non-native plant taxa representing 48 families.

While no state or federally-listed endangered, threatened, or rare plant taxa have yet been found at YBI, numerous species of botanical significance were found. Perhaps of greatest interest is the presence of quite a few populations of dune gilia (Gilia capitata ssp. chamissonis). Within San Francisco, dune gilia occurs at several locations in the Presidio and one location in the Sunset District on Hawk Hill. It is restricted to sand hills and dunes between San Francisco and Bodega Bay. Dune gilia is currently being considered for placement on the CNPS List 1B, "plants rare, threatened, or endangered in California and elsewhere." A total of ten populations of dune gilia have been mapped at YBI, including two new populations found on the Coast Guard\'s portion of the island during our Easter tour. Other taxa of botanical interest detected include Dutchman\'s pipe (Aristolochia californica), large-flowered sand-spurrey (Spergularia macrotheca var. macrotheca), yellow bush lupine (Lupinus arboreus), stinging phacelia (Phacelia malvifolia), fiesta flower (Pholistoma auritum var. auritum), common montia (Claytonia exigua ssp. exigua). In addition, YBI supports numerous mature individuals of what are presumed to be indigenous coast live oaks (Quercus agrifolia), as well as oso berry (Oemleria cerasiformis), and some very large toyons (Heteromeles arbutifolia) and California buckeyes (Aesculus californica).

Other less significant but nonetheless unique features of the island\'s vegetation include dense stands of arroyo willow (Salix lasiolepis) resembling mangrove stands at the high tide line of Clipper Cove, a dense stand of giant horsetail (Equisetum telmateia ssp. braunii), no fewer than seven species of ferns including western bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum var. pubescens), wood fern (Dryopteris arguta), western sword fern (Polystichum munitum), California polypody (Polypodium californicum), maidenhair fern (Adiantum jordanii), coffee fern (Pellaea andromedaefolia) and goldback fern (Pentagramma triangularis var. triangularis), and substantial populations of cobwebby thistle (Cirsium occidentale var. occidentale), blue dicks (Dichelostemma capitatum ssp. capitatum) and coyote mint (Monardella villosa ssp. franciscana).

To the best of our knowledge, these recent surveys represent the first detailed assessment of the flora of YBI. Because the island has been under control of the military, it has not been readily accessible to botanists for over 100 years. YBI could not be surveyed during preparation of the 1958 flora of San Francisco by Howell, Raven and Rubtzoff, and therefore was not included in the flora.

It is hoped that this first assessment of the remaining native vegetation of YBI will assist in the development of a Reuse Plan that recognizes the significance of the botanical resources on the island and provides for their preservation and ultimate enhancement. The transfer of YBI to the city of San Francisco offers a rare opportunity for the preservation of natural resources that have never been readily accessible to the general public, despite being situated in the center of a large metropolitan area.

'; article.date = '1998.06'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Plants of Yerba Buena Island Part I'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '

Yerba Buena<Departing slightly from the usual approach of this column, I\'d like to introduce you to a familiar yet unexplored feature of the Bay, Yerba Buena Island (YBI). It is rare indeed, in the midst of this megalopolis, to have an opportunity to botanize on a piece of land that was entirely overlooked by our earliest botanical explorers and those who followed. Because it was under military control, YBI could not be surveyed for the 1958 flora of San Francisco by Howell, Raven, and Rubtzoff, so it was not included in that publication. This article will present an introduction to the post-colonial history of YBI. Part two (in June) will discuss some of the more interesting botanical resources still to be found there. I would have loved to tell this story sooner, but the Navy made me wait until its reports went public.

In 1996 I was asked to conduct rare plant surveys and vegetation mapping on YBI as part of a base closure study. I was skeptical about finding anything of interest. As seen from the Bay Bridge, dense stands of eucalyptus and French broom seem to dominate the island\'s steep slopes. I was very surprised and thrilled to discover that YBI still supports a high diversity of native plant species and relicts of natural plant communities. The flora of YBI offers an exciting glimpse into the past, providing us with a hint of how the island looked prior to colonization. Now that 75% of the island belongs to the city, we have an unprecedented opportunity (and responsibility) to study, preserve, and enhance some of the best (and in some cases, the last) examples of the northern peninsula\'s natural heritage.

YBI is a natural geologic feature (unlike the man-made Treasure Island) of approximately 150 acres situated in San Francisco Bay. It is the southernmost of three Bay islands, including Angel Island to the north and Alcatraz to the northwest. Originally named Isla de Alcatraces (Pelican Island) in 1775 by Juan Manuel de Ayala, it was renamed Yerba Buena Island in 1826 by the English cartographer Captain Frederick W. Beechey, when he misread the Spanish maps and applied the original name to what is now called Alcatraz. YBI\'s name (like our chapter\'s) comes from the fragrant mint Satureja douglasii, which no longer occurs there. Between 1837 and 1850, YBI was called Goat Island after the goats that were grazed there to supply ships\' crews with fresh meat. In 1895, the name Goat Island was officially adopted by the U. S. Geographic Board, but pressure from the Native Daughters of the Golden West caused it to be changed back to Yerba Buena Island in 1931. Other unofficial names have included Wood Island (named for the wood, presumably coast live oak, Quercus agrifolia, that was cut and supplied to sailing vessels, not for this author, who came much later); Sea Bird Island; Spear\'s Island, after Nathan Spear, the man who brought goats to the island and claimed ownership from 1835 and 1849; and Treasure Island, for the rumors of treasure buried there. The only treasure ever buried there was smuggled opium.

YBI has a long history of human disturbance. Following colonization by Europeans, grazing by free-roaming goat herds and harvesting of native oak woodlands resulted in the virtual deforestation of the island. During the period of private ownership from 1835 to 1867, several buildings were constructed, including a barn, stable, windmill, carpenter\'s shop, forge, and wharf. Oyster beds were farmed off the eastern side of YBI and a quarry was established to supply building stone for San Francisco and ballast for ships. In 1867 the Army established a base there and (illegally) assumed complete control of the island. There were many lawsuits, but the Army prevailed. The Navy assumed control of the island in 1898.

In 1887, the military began planting trees on the island as part of California\'s first Arbor Day. While most of these plantings on the ridge and hilltop were killed by harsh weather and fire, some of the trees planted at lower elevations are believed to have survived to this day. The Navy established a training station and built barracks for 500 men in the eastern cove. World War I prompted a major building project on YBI, canvas tents were erected at the eastern end, and the facility\'s personnel reached 13,000 during the war. In 1923, due to overcrowding, all naval training facilities on Mare Island and YBI were transferred to San Diego. Construction of the Bay Bridge was completed in 1936 (during which time a mastodon tusk was found), after which the Navy constructed Treasure Island (TI) which once again led to an increase of activity on YBI.

During World War II YBI functioned as a Receiving Ship for transfer of men to ships and bases, processing an average of 1,500 men per day. As the island became overcrowded, the function was transferred to Treasure Island in 1946. After World War II the Coast Guard became the primary tenant of the eastern side of YBI. In 1966, apartment-style officers\' quarters were constructed on the north and west slopes.

YBI had two Native American burial sites and three colonial burial areas, none of which remain today. One Indian burial site was originally located near the summit of the island where the signal tower is now, and the second was situated in the eastern cove. Native American remains were excavated by U.C. Berkeley anthropologist Dr. E. W. Gifford. A colonial cemetery was established in 1849 near the western end of Macalla Road near TI Road. It was relocated to the Presidio in 1938, prior to the opening of the Golden Gate International Exposition; Expo officials didn\'t want visitors to have to drive by a depressing cemetery.

'; article.date = '1998.03'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Coast Rock Cress (Arabis blepharopbylla)'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '

Coast Rock CressThe rugged, rocky slopes and ridges of the northern Santa Cruz Mountains provide stunning views and spectacular botanizing at any time of year. The northern or Franciscan coastal scrub habitat, interspersed with patches of coastal terrace prairie, supports a diversity of herbaceous and shrub species perhaps unparalleled anywhere else in California. While the hiking may be challenging at times, it is easily forgotten in the anticipation of another breathtaking view and yet another suite of native wildflowers around every bend.

Early spring is a very rewarding time to hunt for wildflowers along the trails of San Bruno Mountain, Montara Mountain, and Twin Peaks. If you look around on rocky outcrops between February and April, you\'re likely to spot one of our prettiest wildflowers, coast rock cress. This herbaceous perennial member of the mustard family (Brassicaceae) is notable for its bright, fragrant, rose-purple flowers with petals up to 3/4" long. Blossoms develop on terminal racemes which arise on stems up to 1 2 inches tall from a simple or short-branched caudex. Rosettes of obovate, petiolate, basal leaves with entire or toothed margins reach lengths of one to three inches. Stem leaves are much reduced, sessile and widely spaced.

Coast rock cress is known from Sonoma, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, and Monterey Counties, as well as from a single Contra Costa County location on Red Rock Island off Point Richmond. It typically occurs in small colonies on rocky slopes dominated by grasses with sparse shrub cover. It is frequently found growing in association with seaside daisy (Erigeron glaucus), bluff lettuce (Dudleya farinosa), checker mallow (Sidalcea malvaeflora), footsteps-of-spring (Sanicula arctopoides), Indian paint brush (Castilleja aiffnis), silver bush lupine (Lupinus albifrons var. collinus), checker lily (Fritillaria affinis), and many other wildflower species.

Coast rock cress is endemic to the San Francisco Bay Area. Due to its limited geographic range and relatively infrequent occurrence, it has been placed on CNPS List 4, a watch list. Although it is not presently considered rare from a statewide perspective and its vulnerability and susceptibility to threat appear low at this time, CNPS regards the species uncommon enough that its status should be monitored regularly. Coast rock cress has no formal status as a federal or state-protected species. However, due to its CNPS listing, the California Department of Fish and Game treats as a "Special Plant Species" and recommends that impacts to it be addressed in environmental review documents.

Late winter and early spring can be especially rewarding seasons to hike the coastal hills of San Francisco and San Mateo counties. Brisk, clear air, constantly changing array of cloud formations, and even a sprinkle or two make for an invigorating escape from office, computer terminals, phones, heated air, and responsibilities. As you move from viewpoint to viewpoint, hearing your heartbeat in your ears, you just might come across a patch of coast rock cress. This would be as good a place as any to catch your breath. Have a nice winter.

'; article.date = '1997.12'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'San Francisco Bay spineflower (Chorizanthe cuspidata var. cuspidata)'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '

SF Bay SpineflowerIn the last newsletter, we discussed the extensive coastal dune communities that were present in San Francisco\'s not too distant past. The coastal dune systems along the west coast of the United States have suffered terribly at the hands of humans. Coastal and river sand mining, residential and road development, invasive exotics, river damming and water diversion projects, and oil exploration have resulted in the loss and degradation of these diverse and highly sensitive plant communities. The impact of humans on the coastal dune communities has been perhaps even more devastating than that experienced by coastal wetlands.

What remains are eight major dune areas from San Francisco northward (San Francisco, Point Reyes, Dillon Beach, Bodega Beach, Point Arena, Fort Bragg, Humboldt Bay, and Crescent City) and five to the south (Monterey, Morro Bay, Nipomo Dunes, Los Angeles, and San Diego). Of these, the dunes at Humboldt Bay, Point Reyes, Morro Bay, and parts of the Nipomo/Santa Maria complex are the least disturbed. Dunes at Monterey and San Diego Bay have been used by the military. The remaining seven areas have been highly impacted and altered.

In San Francisco, remnants of coastal dunes can still be seen at Crissy Field, Baker Beach, Lobos Creek, Point Lobos, Fort Funston, Lake Merced, Grandview Park, Hawk Hill, Yerba Buena Island, and along Ocean Beach. The Golden Gate National Recreation Area and the National Park Service have undertaken an ambitious program to restore the dunes at Baker Beach, Lobos Creek, and Crissy Field. San Francisco Recreation and Park Department is in the process of acquiring Hawk Hill and will restore natives there and at Lake Merced.

A total of 14 rare plants occur or once occurred on San Francisco\'s dunes. These include compact cobwebby thistle (Cirsium occidentale var. compactum), round-headed Chinese houses (Collinsia corymbosa), San Francisco wallflower (Erysimum franciscanum), dune gilia (Gilia capitata ssp. chamissonis), many- stemmed gilia (Gilia millefoliata), San Francisco gumplant (Grindelia hirsutula var. maritima), short-leaved evax (Hesperevax sparsiflora var. brevifolia), wedge-leaved horkelia (Horkelia cuneata ssp. sericea), beach layia (Layia carnosa), San Francisco lessingia (Lessingia germanorum), large-flowered linanthus (Linanthus grandiflorus), curly-leaved monardella (Monardella undulata), San Francisco campion (Silene verecunda ssp. verecunda) and San Francisco Bay spineflower (Chorizanthe cuspidata var. cuspidata).

San Francisco Bay spineflower is a prostrate member of the buckwheat family (Polygonaceae). You might be more familiar with better known members of this family, the buckwheats (Eriogonum spp.). San Francisco Bay spineflower grows four to eight inches high and produces a basal rosette of oblanceolate leaves one to two inches long. The branching inflorescences of capitate or headlike clusters of flowers have a pair of opposite bracts that look very much like the basal leaves. Flowers consist of a white to rose petalloid calyx inserted into a pinkish involucral tube. Flowers are about an eighth of an inch long and develop from April through July.

San Francisco Bay spineflower, like many members of the genus Chorizanthe, seems to thrive on otherwise barren, disturbed sites on loose mineral soils. It has been found in coastal prairie, coastal dune, coastal scrub, and coastal bluff scrub habitats. It occurs in Sonoma, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, and possibly Santa Clara counties; it is believed to have been extirpated in Alameda County. In San Francisco, the variety occurs in several different populations at the Presidio and Fort Funston. It is especially abundant on the dunes in the Lobos Creek valley where the National Park Service has restored ten acres of native dune scrub habitat. Elsewhere on the Peninsula, San Francisco Bay spineflower has been reported from the Lake Merced area, Colma Canyon, and the vicinity of Pacifica.

San Francisco Bay spineflower is currently on the CNPS List 1B: 2-2-3. This status indicates that the variety is rare, threatened or endangered in California, is distributed in a limited number of occurrences, is endangered in a portion of its range, and is endemic to California. Although the variety has no formal state or federal status it is considered a special plant by the California Department of Fish and Game. As such, all impacts must be addressed under the California Environmental Quality Act. San Francisco campion was formerly considered a Category 2 Candidate for listing as endangered or threatened by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). As of February 28, 1996, the USFWS ceased to maintain their list of Category 2 and Category 3 Candidate species, so the San Francisco Bay spineflower is now considered a species of special concern.

'; article.date = '1997.09'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Dune Gilia (Gilia capitata ssp. chamissonis)'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '

Dune GILIAPrior to 1835, Spanish andMexican settlements were restricted to the area around Mission Dolores and thePresidio, which were founded in 1776. Even as late as the 1880s, the city ofSan Francisco was primarily confined to the northeastern corner of thepeninsula. Western San Francisco was usually described as a barren, treelesswasteland supporting only scattered grasses and shrubs. It was considered to beof little or no value for grazing or agriculture and supported no usabletimber. Extensive sand dunes stretched from Lake Merced to Point Lobos, fromthe ocean shore to the western bases of Mt. Davidson, Mt. Sutro and Twin Peaks,across the length of Golden Gate Park to Buena Vista Park, and across thenorthern end of the city, around and over rock outcrops, from the ocean to thebay. Lakes formed on the leeward sides of the dunes at Lake Merced, Pine Lake,Laguna Honda, the chain of lakes near the western end of Golden Gate Park, andMountain Lake. Following World War II, vast housing projects began to cover thedunes. Carlos Kaufeldt’s 1954 observations on the last major sand dune inSan Francisco documents the destruction of the area between Rivera and OrtegaStreets, Sunset Blvd. and 41st Avenue in July 1952. All that remains of thisonce extensive dune system consists of highly altered habitat fragments locatedat Hawk Hill, Grand View Park, Fort Funston, Lobos Creek and Baker Beach.

In past newsletters, we havealready discussed two other rare members of this plant community, San Franciscolessingia and San Francisco campion; another is dune gilia. While most membersof the phlox family (Polemoniaceae) are not necessarily considered maritime species,three of the eight subspecies of the genus Gilia capitata are restricted entirely to California\'s coastalstrand communities. Considered by Howell, Raven and Rubtzoff  (A Flora of San Francisco,California, 1958) as "one of SanFrancisco\'s most attractive flowering plants", dune gilia representsanother rare and exciting gem among the City\'s dwindling coastal dune habitats.

This exquisite annual herbproduces copious pale to light blue flowers in dense clusters. Flower heads areup to an inch and a half across and contain 50 to 100 funnel-shaped blossomsthat develop from May through July. Stems are fairly stout, very glandular andgrow up to two feet tall. Bipinnate (twice dissected) leaves to four incheslong form a basal rosette. Leaves are fleshy, glandular and have the sameskunk-like odor characteristic of many navarretias (in the same family). Uppercauline (stem) leaves are gradually reduced in size.

San Francisco is the typelocality for Gilia capitata , whichwas first collected here by Eschscholtz around 1824. It was originally assignedthe name Polemonium capitatum .Subsequent name changes have included Gilia chamissonis (Greene), G. achilleaefolia (Brandegee), G. a. subsp. chamissonis (Abrams), G. capitata var. regina (Jepson) and back to G. chamissonis (Howell). Verne Grant, a Polemoniaceae systematist with the Rancho Santa AnaBotanical Garden gave it its current name, which has remained unchanged forabout 45 years.

Dune gilia typically formssmall to extensive colonies on loose sand and disturbed sites near the coast.It is restricted to sand dunes in San Francisco, Point Reyes and possibly AngelIsland in Marin County, and Bodega Bay and the mouth of the Russian River inSonoma County. In San Francisco, dune gilia can still be found in abundance onthe Presidio at the Lobos Creek dune restoration area, above Baker Beach andjust north of the Marine hospital along Battery Caulfield Road. Last year, CNPSYerba Buena Chapter searchers discovered a new population of dune gilia on HawkHill above Lincoln High School and several populations on the west side ofYerba Buena Island. Historic locations for dune gilia in San Francisco includeLone Mountain, Laurel Hill Cemetery, Lake Merced and the Sunset District.

Currently, dune gilia has nostate or federal status as a rare, threatened or endangered species. As such,it receives no protection under the state or federal endangered species acts orthe California Environmental Quality Act. Based on its limited distribution andperceived threats to its continued existence, the subspecies will be listed asa 1B:3-3-3 taxon in the sixth edition of the CNPS inventory of rare andendangered California plants. This status indicates that the subspecies is rareand endangered throughout its range, limited in distributed to several highlyrestricted occurrences, and endemic to California.

'; article.date = '1997.06'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'San Francisco Campion (Silene verecunda ssp. verecunda)'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '

Silene verecundaSpring is once again upon us and this winter\'s abundantrains have given us high hopes for an extraordinary spring wildflower seasonthroughout the Bay Area and the state. The grassy slopes of San Francisco\'smany hills (those not already covered with dense stands of eucalyptus, pines orcondos) should offer residents fantastic glimpses of the botanical glory stillto be found.

Not to be outdone, the dune scrub communities at the continent\'sedge also puts on a spectacular display of flowers and colorful new growthduring the spring. Perennial shrubs such as coast buckwheat (Eriogonumlatifolium), mock heather (Ericameriaericoides), lizard tail (Eriophyllumstaechadifolium), yellow bush lupine (Lupinusarboreus), sticky monkey flower (Mimulusaurantiacus ), and coastal sagewort (Artemisiapycnocephala) are especially prominent.Examples of our spectacular coastal dune flora can be easily viewed directlyabove Bakers Beach along Lincoln Boulevard in the Presidio. Look for therestored habitats in the northeast corner of Pershing Drive and Lincoln (Wherrydunes) and along the trail connecting Lincoln Near Bowley Street, just north ofLobos Creek, that connects Lincoln with the former Public Health ServiceHospital. The National Park Service is constructing new trails and putting upinformative signs to add to the enjoyment.

A rare member of our coastal scrub community is SanFrancisco campion. Also known as the Mission Dolores campion, it occurs incolonies on sandy soils and rock outcrops among coastal scrub, chaparral,coastal prairie and grassland habitats near the coast. This member of the pinkfamily (Caryophyllaceae-the same familyas carnations) is a perennial herbdeveloping several densely hairy, glandular and erect stems to around 20 incheshigh. Leaves are thin and flexible, the lower ones one to two inches long andlinear to lanceolate in shape. It produces fairly abundant white to rosecolored tube-shaped flowers with five two-lobed spreading petals. Floweringoccurs from March to August.

San Francisco campion is currently on the CNPS List 1B:3-2-3. This status indicates that the subspecies is rare, threatened orendangered in California, is distributed in one to several highly restrictedoccurrences, is endangered in a portion of its range, and is endemic toCalifornia. Although the subspecies has no formal status under the CaliforniaEndangered Species Act, it is considered a special plant. As such, all impacts must be addressed under theCalifornia Environmental Quality Act. San Francisco campion was formerlyconsidered a Category 2 Candidate for listing as endangered or threatened bythe United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). As of Feb. 28, 1996, theUSFWS ceased to maintain their list of Category 2 and Category 3 Candidatespecies and now considered San Francisco campion a species of special concern.It was officially rejected for listing by the USFWS in 1995 and it currentlyhas no status as a federally protected plant under the federal EndangeredSpecies Act.

Within San Francisco, San Francisco campion can be found onthe Presidio at Wherry dunes above Bakers Beach and on Mt. Davidson. The Wherrydunes population represents perhaps the largest and most intact stand of thesubspecies remaining. Historically, San Francisco campion is known from GoldenGate Park, the Sunset District, Lake Merced, Lands End and San Miguel Hills(Diamond Heights). As described in the California Native Plant Society’s Inventoryof Rare and Endangered Vascular Plants of California, San Francisco campion is known from fewer than 20occurrences in San Francisco, Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties. However, a searchof the California Natural Diversity Data Base resulted in only four recordedlocations, the two listed above plus San Bruno Mt. and Edgewood County Park inSan Mateo County. (See Field Trips, April 20, page 4.) There is an additionalunconfirmed report of the subspecies occurring on Montara Mountain. SanFrancisco campion is not listed in Thomas\' Flora of the Santa CruzMountains of California although there isan unconfirmed report from Santa Cruz County.

If you\'d like to get involved in restoring habitat for thisrare plant, the National Park Service has numerous ongoing projects involvingeverything from pulling weeds to building trails to propagating native plants.To find out what you can do to help preserve native habitats on the Presidio,contact Marc Albert at the Park Service field office at 668-4392. Friends ofLake Merced\'s native plant task force is interested in reintroducing SanFrancisco campion near the lake, and always welcomes new volunteers.

'; article.date = '1997.03'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'San Francisco Ferns'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '

California polypody Ferns make up one of the most popular groups of plants, exhibiting a tremendous variety of forms, shapes and unique life cycles. Approximately 11,000 species of true ferns have been classified (in comparison with the more than 325,000 species of seed-bearing plants) ranging from tiny aquatic forms less than one half inch in diameter to giant tree ferns growing over 80 feet high. The stems of most species found in the temperate zone, however, are reduced to underground creeping rhizomes. It is estimated that the ferns first appeared on Earth around 320 million years ago.

The true ferns belong to the division Pterophyta. California\'s true ferns belong to the class Filicinae, which consists of four orders, nine families, 24 genera and 74 native species. While ferns are typically associated with moist areas such as forests and streams, many of California\'s species occur in dry situations.

As you might expect, there isn\'t a lot of good fern habitat left in San Francisco. However, 12 native species in eight families can still be found within San Francisco County and another two are recorded historically but have not been seen recently. Although none of these taxa is listed as rare by CNPS as rare within San Francisco, the habitat for most is severely restricted and the distribution of naturally occurring populations is highly threatened.

Just because winter is just around the corner, doesn\'t mean that we have to shut ourselves indoors waiting for spring\'s bounty to appear. The California polypody and goldback fern can be seen only in the rainy season and quickly go dormant when the rains cease. Both the polypody and goldback fern can be seen only in the rainy season and quickly go dormant when the rains cease. Both the polypody and goldback fern favor north-facing surfaces such as cliff faces and thin, rocky soils. The goldback finds cracks in roadcuts or trailcuts in which to insert its thread-like roots. The polypody (=many feet) creeps indefinitely outward with its rhizomes, sometimes forming massive sheets. These vegetative masses in turn provide lodging places for seed of other plants such as buckwheat or succulents like dudleya and stonecrop (Sedum ), thus paving the way for plant succession. The other native polypody is leather fern, whose thick, leathery leaves are held by the plant year-round. It survives dessication by a shiny, cuticle-covered upper frond surface and cartilaginous, in-rolled margins protecting the spores on the underside. Surviving more than six months of dryness is tough for an evergreen fern, so the haunts of this plant are where it is regularly kissed by coastal fog. In such places as the eucalyptus-cypress plantation on Mt. Davidson, where it is not only bathed by refreshing fogs but also dripped on by the tree canopies, it forms massive sheets on the tree boles and limbs. In heavy winter gales such as we experiences last winter, some of these sheets are dislodged and fall to earth.

The cheerful lady fern embodies the very essence of rebirth of hope in late winter when the unfurling fresh light green fronds contrast with the deeper green of other plants and the dark brown of last year’s fronds and leaf litter. It needs constant moisture in the growing season and doesn’t want to ever dry completely. Streamside or poolside is ideal, and it brightens up dark, shady places.

Speaking of moisture, the reason why Woodwardia was extirpated in San Francisco is because of its high moisture demands. It likes its roots to be in contact with copious water at all times of the year, a kind of habitat that was preempted by invasive weeds. This big, bold, dramatic fern ought to be reintroduced to its rightful place, along the shores of Lake Merced, Lobos Creek, and Islais Creek in Glen Canyon.

The evergreen wood fern somehow manages to survive the long dry season without the special equipment of leather fern. This is all the more surprising when you consider its habitat –dry slopes, usually in the dappled shade of oaks or shrubs. Its fronds resemble those of lady fern, although smaller. Although not as appealing as lady fern, its drought tolerance and evergreen character may recommend it to gardeners. The same can be said of our western sword fern, the very same fern so prominent a part of redwood forests. It thrives along the coast as a component of scrub and coastal prairie. It is tough and reliable and makes a nice companion for columbine (Aquilegia), irises, California fescue (Festuca californica), and Nootka reed grass (Calamagrostis nutkaensis). Large numbers have survived the heavy-duty competition of English ivy and German ivy in Glen Canyon, on Mt. Davidson, around Lake Merced, and in the Presidio.

What does one say about the ubiquitous, cosmopolitan bracken fern? Wherever it occurs in the world it takes a geographically distinct form. The rhizome ranges over wide expanses, sometimes covering several acres. A single frond arises at intervals along this rhizome, the yellow stem being tough and wiry. It can become invasive in the garden, but is easily controlled by pulling up unwanted fronds on occasion.

 

SAN FRANCISCO FERNS AND WHERE TO SEE THEM

LEGEND: SF = A Flora of San Francisco, California; P = Presidio; BH = Bernal Heights; BV = Bayview Hill; GC = Glen Canyon; GP = Grandview Park; LC = Lobos Creek; LH = Laguna Honda; MD = Mount Davidson; SH = Strawberry Hill (Golden Gate Park); TP = Twin Peaks; YBI = Yerba Buena Island

 

Azollaceae - Mosquito Fern FamilyAzolla filiculoides (mosquito fern): LC,P

 

Blechnaceae - Deer Fern FamilyWoodwardia fimbriata (giant chain fern): SF,P? (believed extirpated), GC (reintroduced)

 

Dennstaedtiaceae - Bracken FamilyPteridium aquilinum var. pubescens (western brackenfern): GP,LC,LH,MD,P,SF,SH,TP,YBI

 

Dryopteridaceae - Fern FamilyAthyrium filix-femina var. cyclosorum (lady fern): P,GC,MD,SF,SH

Dryopteris arguta (wood fern): BV,LH,MD,P,SF SH,YBI

Dryopteris expansa (wood fern): LC (not listed in flora)

Polystichum munitum (western sword fern): BH,GC,LH,MD,P,SF,TP,YBI

 

Isoetaceae - Quillwort FamilyIsoetes nuttallii (Nuttall\'s quillwort): P,SF

 

Marsileaceae - Marsilea FamilyMarsilea vestita ssp. vestita  (clover fern): SF (extirpated)

 

Polypodiaceae - Fern FamilyPolypodium californicum (California polypody): BH,BV,GC,GP,LH,MD,P,SF,SH,TP,YBI

Polypodium scouleri (coast polypody): GP,LH,MD,P,SF

 

Pteridaceae - Fern FamilyAdiantum jordanii (maidenhair fern): P,SF,YBI

Pellaea andromedaefolia (coffee fern): LH,SF,YBI

Pellaea mucronata var. mucronata (bird\'s-foot fern): SF

Pentagramma triangularis ssp. triangularis (goldback fern): BH,BV,P,SF,TP,YBI

'; article.date = '1996.12'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'The Gumplants (Grindelias)'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '

Just because spring is over doesn\'t mean we have to put away our Jepson Manual and give up botanizing around the Bay. Summer and fall bring with them a whole new suite of species that are just completing their life cycles, offering lots of showy (mostly yellow) blossoms. One genus that is only just starting to flower around August is Grindelia, the gumplants.

Gumplants belong to the sunflower family (Asteraceae) and are readily recognizable by their large and abundant bright yellow flower heads and dark green, shiny leaves. They are especially notable for their very sticky (gummy) inflorescences. In the Bay Area, our gumplants are mostly low perennial shrubs restricted to salt marshes, scrub or grasslands near the coast and alkaline places inland.

Identification of species of Grindelia is made difficult by their overlapping, sometimes ambiguous, characteristics, and further complicated by the fact that they readily hybridize with each other. To make matters even worse (as if that were necessary for any genus in this family), the nomenclature has changed with the publication of each new flora. For example, in A Flora of San Francisco, California (Howell, Raven and Rubtzoff 1958), six species or forms of Grindelia were recognized as occurring in the city. Of these, A California Flora (Munz 1968) recognized only five as distinct taxa, which <I>Grindelia hirsutula</I>The Jepson Manual (Hickman 1993) has further reduced to four. Today, depending on who you talk to, only three taxa still occur in San Francisco, and two of these are recognized as special-status species by the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) and the California Native Plant Society (CNPS).

San Francisco Gumplant

Grindelia hirsutula var. maritima is the rarest of our gumplants. Originally described as G. rubricaulis var. maritima from a collection made at Point Lobos by Edward Lee Greene in 1892, it probably represents the San Francisco Grindelia collected by Chamisso in 1816 (see Yerba Buena News, June 1996, page 8). Formerly known as G. maritima, it is restricted to sandy or serpentine slopes and sea bluffs below 1,300 feet in elevation in San Luis Obispo, Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Mateo, San Francisco and Marin counties. This few-branched perennial subshrub grows to one and one half feet tall. Its glabrous stems are red-brown to red-purple and its leaves are gray-green. It flowers from July through September.

San Francisco gumplant occurs at several locations in the Presidio including above Crissy Field near Lincoln Avenue, and between Baker Beach and the Golden Gate Bridge. Elsewhere in the City, it can be found on Twin Peaks, above the Laguna Honda Reservoir, and along Lake Merced Boulevard. south of Brotherhood Way. It is also known historically from Mt. Davidson, Point Lobos, Fort Funston, and Glen Canyon.

San Francisco gumplant is currently on the CNPS List 1B:2-2-3. This status indicates that the variety is rare throughout its range, distributed in a limited number of occurrences, endangered in a portion of its range and endemic to California. All impacts to this species must be addressed in environmental documents pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Until elimination of the category earlier this year, San Francisco gumplant was considered a Category 2 candidate for listing as rare or endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Marsh Gumplant

Grindelia stricta var. angustifolia (formerly known as G. humilis) is another shrubby gumplant that is considered sensitive by CNPS. This relatively robust perennial subshrub grows three to five feet tall and forms a dense bush of fleshy, dark green leaves with green or red veins. Glabrous stems are green to deep purplish-red and glabrous. It flowers from August through October.

<I>Grindelia stricta</I>

Marsh gumplant is relatively common throughout our region, occurring only in coastal salt marshes in all eight Bay Area counties as well as Solano and Monterey counties. Due to the limited amount of coastal salt marsh remaining in San Francisco, however, the distribution of marsh gumplant is severely limited. It can still be seen around India Basin and at Pier 94, Pier 98 and Hunter\'s Point Naval Station. It is known historically from the mouth of Islais Creek.

Marsh gumplant is on the CNPS List 4:1-1-3, indicating that its vulnerability or susceptibility to threat appears low at this time; that it is rare but found in sufficient numbers and distributed widely enough that the potential for extinction is currently low; that it is not endangered; and that it is endemic to California. Under CEQA, impacts to the variety are not required to be addressed in environmental documents.

Hirsute Gumplant

Grindelia hirsutula var. hirsutula is similar to San Francisco gumplant. The two varieties are distinguished by fruit characters: hirsute gumplant has reddish, smooth, two- to three-ribbed fruits; San Francisco gumplant has golden or grayish, deeply ridged fruits.

Hirsute gumplant occurs on sandy, clay or serpentine slopes in grasslands and coastal sage scrub. It is distributed from Ventura to Napa counties. In San Francisco, hirsute gumplant is only known from Corona Heights. It is recorded historically from Visitacion Valley and Bayview Hill. The variety has no status as a protected or special-status species.

'; article.date = '1996.09'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'San Francisco Orchids'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '

Those of you who typically associate orchids with the tropical rain forests of South America, Africa or Asia might be surprised to learn that California supports a respectable assortment of members of this most inspiring family. Native orchids can be found from northern California to Baja California, from sea level to nearly 11,000 feet in elevation, and in a variety of habitats from dry forest floors to bogs and meadows. While the orchids found in California are neither as spectacular nor as diverse as those found in other regions of the world (more than 18,000 species in 750 genera have been identified), their discovery is still greeted with at least a little fanfare by botanists and plant fanciers. The Jepson Manual describes 30 native species and one naturalized non-native species of orchids in 11 genera in California.

It would probably come as a surprise to the average San Franciscan to learn that there are native orchids growing right here in this urban center of 750,000 inhabitants. The species, green rein-orchis and ladies tresses, can still be found. Four other species of orchids are recorded as having once occurred here, although sadly they have not been seen in decades and are presumed extirpated in the city. Summer is the time to see our last two species in all their glory. It\'s also the time to look for any vestiges of the other four. Here is your official guide to San Francisco\'s existing and lost orchids.

Piperia elegans

Green Rein-orchis (Piperia elegans)

Green rein-orchis is a low terrestrial perennial orchid growing from a tuber-like root called a caudex. It produces two to five linear to widely oblanceolate leaves around ten inches long and up to two inches wide. A spike up to 20 inches high is densely covered with greenish-white flowers about a quarter to a half-inch across. Flowers, which have a curved spur up to a half-inch long, appear between May and September. Green rein-orchis occurs infrequently in dry shrublands and coniferous forests below 1,500 feet in elevation. It is distributed principally along the Coast Ranges from the western Klamath Range to Baja California. In San Francisco, the species is fairly abundant beneath Monterey cypress trees along Lincoln Boulevard between Baker Beach and the Golden Gate Bridge. It can also be found on Bernal Heights, above the Laguna Honda Reservoir, on Mt. Davidson, Twin Peaks, and above O\'Shaughessy Avenue in Glen Canyon. Historical locations include Sunset Heights and near Pine Lake west of Stern Grove. Piperia elegans has been treated under a variety of names including Habernaria greenei (used in the A Flora of San Francisco, California, hereafter referred to as S.F. Flora) and H. elegans, H. e. var. maritima, H. maritima, H. greenei, H. michaeli, H. unalascensis, and Planthera elegans.x

Ladies Tresses (Spiranthes romanzoffiana)-

Spiranthes romanzoffiana

Ladies tresses is another herbaceous perennial orchid developing from tuberous roots. It produces a stout, glabrous stem three to 12 inches high. Basal leaves are linear to oblong, one to five inches long. Cauline or stem leaves are reduced to lance-linear bracts one half to three inches long. Flower spikes are one to six inches tall, usually with flowers densely arranged in a distinctive spiral pattern. White to cream flowers, about a half-inch across. Flowers develop from June through August. Ladies tresses are found in wet meadows, freshwater marshes and seeps at elevations up to 10,000 feet. The species occurs in northwestern California and the Modoc Plateau, the Sierra Nevada, the Central Coast, Arizona, New Mexico and the northeastern United States. In San Francisco, ladies tresses can be found growing with green rein-orchis at the west end of the Presidio, and possibly on Mt. Davidson. Historical locations include Point Lobos, Fort Point and Lake Merced.

Michael\'s Rein Orchid (Piperia michaeli)

Michael\'s rein orchid is very similar in habit and appearance to green rein-orchis. It grows six to 28 inches high with basal leaves three to nine inches long and one half to two inches broad. Flowers are green to yellow-green, and have a spur a quarter to a half inch long. This orchid is on CNPS List 4, indicating that it is of limited distribution. It occurs on dry sites in coastal scrub, woodlands and forests below 2,000 feet. It is found on the North Coast, Sierra Nevada foothills, San Francisco Bay Area, Central Coast and Channel Islands but may be extirpated in San Francisco. Historical locations include the slopes east of Lake Merced, Golden Gate Park, Mission Hills and southeastern San Francisco. S. F. Flora treats this species as Habernaria elegans. We still have some hope of relocating this species in San Francisco someday.

Striped Coralroot (Corallorhiza striata)

This herb, which lives in partially decayed leaf litter, persists underground as a short, branched rhizome. It only appears above ground when flowering from May through July. During this time, it produces red-brown to purplish stems six to 20 inches high. Flowers are pinkish-yellow to whitish and tinged with purple. This widespread species was only once recorded as occurring in San Francisco in the western part of the city in the late 1800\'s.

Stream Orchid (Epipactis gigantea)

Growing up to 40 inches high and produces showy greenish to yellowish flowers with red-purple veins, this widespread orchid has not been seen in San Francisco since 1891, when it was recorded as occurring in marshes near the Russ Gardens at Sixth and Harrison streets.

White-flowered Bog-orchid

(Planthera leucostachys)

Another tall orchid growing up to 40 inches in height produces a dense inflorescence of white to cream, half-inch flowers. Treated as Habernaria leucostachys in the S. F. Flora, it was recorded from marshy meadows near Visitacion Bay and was said to be "remarkably abundant in a strawberry field beyond St. Mary\'s College".

'; article.date = '1996.06'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'San Francisco Collinsia (Collinsia multicolor)'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '

<I>Collinsia multicolor</I>With the approach of spring, the San Francisco’s natural areas will begin their annual advertisement to the pollinators. Soon it will be time for all those who have been cooped up in stuffy offices and homes to get outside and watch nature show her stuff. And one doesn\'t need to go far from home. There isn\'t a neighborhood in San Francisco that doesn\'t have some remnant of the Peninsula\'s natural history nearby. It\'s just that you sometimes have to look closely.

One of San Francisco\'s more spectacular locales but most neglected pieces of real estate is Bayview Hill. This rock formation, jutting skyward behind Candlestick (oops, 3-Com) Park, is passed and ignored by thousands of motorists commuting to and from downtown every day. Granted, it doesn\'t look like much at 55 miles per hour. But Bayview Hill supports one of the finest examples of native coastal scrub and grassland left in the City. Spring is the time to catch this gem in its full glory.

Last March, CNPS members requested and were granted access to the fenced off portion of the western edge of Bayview Hill owned by KOIT Radio. What we found was a veritable garden of native wildflowers. One of the more spectacular finds was the largest display of San Francisco collinsia seen in many, many years.

San Francisco collinsia (Collinsia multicolor), also known as Franciscan blue-eyed Mary, is a member of the figwort family (Scrophulariaceae). It is an annual herb producing loosely branched stems ten to 20 inches tall. Leaves are narrowly triangular, about one inch long and form in pairs that clasp both sides of the stem. Flowers are a lovely lavender to violet-blue with a whitish upper lip. They form a series of whorls, one stacked on top of the other, forming a very showy inflorescence as much as ten inches high. San Francisco collinsia flowers March through May.

First described by the John Lindley and Sir Joseph Paxton in 1851, this relative of the plants commonly known as Chinese houses is found in moist and shady areas in closed-cone coniferous forests, coastal scrub, and occasionally on grassy slopes, below 800 feet in the counties of Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Mateo and San Francisco, where it reaches its northern limit. In San Francisco County, the species is only found on Bayview Hill. The main population is on KOIT property, which is (thank goodness) fenced. One small population occurs further up slope among the eucalyptus trees and another occurs on the north end of the hill surrounded by French broom. Not too far away, San Francisco collinsia is also known to occur at several locations on San Bruno Mountain.

Although San Francisco collinsia is afforded no official protection under state or federal laws, it is presently on the CNPS List 4:1-1-3. This is a watch list for species of limited distribution and does not usually place any constraints on development. CNPS is, however, currently proposing to change the plant’s status to List 1B:2-2-3. This designation indicates species that are rare, threatened, or endangered in California or elsewhere; distributed in a limited number of occurrences; endangered in a portion of their range; and entirely restricted to California. The California Environmental Quality Act mandates that full consideration be given to List 1B species during the preparation of environmental documents.

Part of the rationale for changing the sensitivity status of San Francisco collinsia is a reevaluation of the extent, size and viability of the remaining populations. Invasion of coastal scrub and grassland areas by eucalyptus, French broom, sweet fennel, pampas grass, and other invasive exotic species poses a very serious threat to San Francisco collinsia. Nowhere is this more evident than on Bayview Hill. Threats from development are also very worrisome.

The City of San Francisco presently owns the top portion of Bayview Hill and a 100-foot wide easement stretching toward Highway 101. The land was donated to the City in 1915 by the Crocker Land Company. KOIT Radio owns the western end of the hill. The estate of Carl Donnelly owns the northern and eastern slope as far as Jamestown Avenue. The City has been in a very contentious battle with the estate to acquire the upper 30 acres of this land to add to its Bayview Park. The southern slope of the hill, where the hill was quarried, belongs to Executive Park.

If Bayview Hill supports any natural habitat, it is by pure chance. This fabulous outcrop of franciscan chert once represented a mini San Bruno Mountain, supporting extensive coastal scrub and grassland linked directly to other hillsides and valleys on the eastern side of the peninsula. Neglect and a few bad decisions have resulted in the loss of all but a tiny patch of these habitats. The top of the hill is now covered with tall eucalyptus trees, blocking what is one of the more interesting views of downtown and the Bay. Large stands of French broom have become established on the hill and this scourge is steadily claiming more and more of the remaining natural open areas.

The Yerba Buena Chapter of CNPS has long been involved in efforts to inspire the City to clean up the park and acquire the remainder of the hill, restore the native habitats, and protect and preserve the remaining biological gems that can still be found there. If you\'d like to get involved, see our list of neighborhood restoration groups at Habitat Restoration.

Now is the time to head for the hills! But please, don\'t pick the flowers!

'; article.date = '1996.03'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'San Francisco Owl\'s Clover - Triphysaria floribunda'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '

San Francisco owl\'s cloverSan Francisco owl\'s-clover isanother of San Francisco\'s rare beauties in extreme danger of being lost fromour city forever. This annual herb in the figwort family (Scrophulariaceae)produces openly branched, straw-colored, erect stems four to twelve incheshigh. It is readily recognized by its creamy-white flowers, with long slendertubes and inflated lower lips with three prominent sacs, arranged in compact, dense inflorescences one-halfto two inches high. Blooming generally occurs April through May, but can startas early as March. The leaves are one half to one-and-a-half inches long anddeeply divided into five to nine linear lobes. Flower bracts differ only graduallyfrom the leaves, being smaller and with three to seven lobes. Fruit capsules,less than a quarter inch long, contain 20 to 30 dark brown seeds.

San Francisco owl\'s-cloverwas first described in 1835 by the outstanding English taxonomist George Bentham,probably from specimens collected by David Douglas, who is credited withcollecting more than 500 California plant species for the Royal HorticulturalSociety. Formerly called Orthocarpus floribundus, its nomenclature was revised to Triphysariafloribunda by Chuang and Heckard in1991.

San Francisco owl\'s-clover isa very narrow endemic, restricted to open places in coastal prairies andoccurring on both serpentine and clay soils. It is most abundant near Drake\'sBay and the Point Reyes lighthouse in Marin County, the northernmostoccurrences of the species. In San Mateo County, the California NaturalDiversity Data Base lists historic populations on Point San Bruno in South SanFrancisco and on San Bruno Mountain, although the species hasn\'t been seen ateither of these locations since the mid 1960s. Other historical San MateoCounty locations listed in Thomas\' Flora of the Santa Cruz Mountains ofCalifornia (1961) include Colma,Burlingame, San Mateo, Seal Cove, San Andreas Lake, and Belmont, but none ofthese populations are believed extant.

In San Francisco County, onlya single population of San Francisco owl\'s-clover is still present. Occurringon serpentine, this stand is located in the Presidio near the lastnaturally-occurring individual of Raven\'s manzanita (see September 1995 YerbaBuena News). In 1982, the populationsize was estimated at around 1,000 plants. Only 22 were counted in 1985 andnine were counted in 1993 and 1995.

The Natural Diversity Data Base lists other historicalpopulations of San Francisco owl\'s-clover at Potrero Hill and near Lake Merced.Very little habitat remains for the species on Potrero Hill and it has not beenseen there since 1881. It was last seen near Lake Merced in 1907. The flora ofSan Francisco by Howell, Raven and Rubtzoff, lists other historical locationsas above Fort Point, Bakers Beach, Bayview Hills, and San Miguel Hills.Due to the abundance of SanFrancisco owl\'s-clover on the Point Reyes Peninsula, the species does notreceive any official federal protection under the Endangered Species Act. TheUnited States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) presently lists it as aCategory 2 Candidate for federal listing. This designation if given to taxa forwhich existing information indicates that a listing may be warranted, butsufficient biological data to support a proposed ruling are lacking. Given theUSFWS\'s current moratorium on new listings, a proposal to change the status ofSan Francisco owl\'s-clover is not likely any time soon.

Similarly, San Franciscoowl\'s-clover does not have any official status as a threatened or endangeredspecies under the California Endangered Species Act. However, the CaliforniaDepartment of Fish and Game (CDFG) does consider it a special plant species andhas assigned it a global rank of G-2 (6-20 estimated occurrences or 1,000-3,000individuals or 2,000-10,000 acres) and a state rank of S2.2 (same populationstatus as G-2 but considered threatened).

Similarly, San Franciscoowl’s-clover does not have any official status as a threatened orendangered species under the California Endangered Species Act. However, theCalifornia Department of Fish and Game does consider it a special plant and hasassigned it a global rank of G-2 (6-20 estimated occurrences, or 1,000-3,000 individualsor 2,000-10,000 acres) and a state rank of S2.2 (same population status as G-2but considered threatened).

Perhaps the most accuraterepresentation of the actual rarity and threatened status of San Franciscoowl\'s-clover is provided by the CNPS\'s Inventory of Rare and EndangeredVascular Plants of California, whichlists the species as a 1B:2-2-3. This designation indicates that the species israre and endangered, has an occurrence confined to several populations or toone extended population, is endangered in a portion of its range, and isendemic to California. Taking into account that only a single, tiny populationof San Francisco owl\'s-clover remains south of Marin County, and consideringits former extent and loss of habitat in San Francisco and San Mateo counties,the species may well be deserving of official state and/or federal status.Without a concerted effort to preserve the San Francisco population, thespecies could easily be extirpated from this county as well.

Current threats to San Franciscoowl\'s-clover in Marin County include grazing and trampling by cattle. It\'s tooearly to tell what effect the recent Point Reyes fire and efforts to fight itmight have had on the species, although it is expected to continue to thrive aslong as it hasn\'t been too heavily impacted by the cutting of fire breaks, roadgrading, or equipment operation during efforts to control the blaze. In SanFrancisco, the former extent of the species has been most significantlyimpacted by a loss of habitat as a result of urban expansion. The last naturalSan Francisco population is threatened by human trampling, rodents, exoticplant invasion and shading from nearby Monterey pines (Pinus radiata) and Monterey cypress (Cupressus macrocarpa), although most of these threats have been reduced bymanagement of the site.

Although the National ParkService has yet to implement a species-specific program to preserve SanFrancisco\'s last population of Triphysaria floribunda, the site is being carefully monitored. Efforts toprotect the site have included removal of invasive exotic species such asGerman ivy (Senecio mikanioides)and ice plant (Carpobrotus edulis),removal of Monterey pines, and restricting human trampling by use of fencing.Future restoration efforts by the Park Service will include conducting seedgermination trials using seed of the more abundant Point Reyes populations. Ifgermination rates and transplanting prove successful, seed would be collectedfrom the San Francisco plants and raised with the hopes of increasing availableseed for reintroduction onsite.

To find out what you can doto help preserve native habitats on the Presidio, check out the "Habitat Restoration" page of this website. Get involved and have fun too!

'; article.date = '1995.12'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Raven\'s manzanita (Arctostaphylos hookeri ssp. ravenii)'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '

Raven\'s manzanitaNo discussion of our chapter area\'s rare and endangered plants would be complete without mention of Raven\'s manzanita. Also known as the Presidio manzanita, it is perhaps the single most endangered taxon in San Francisco County, with only one naturally occurring individual remaining in the wild. Historically, Raven\'s manzanita occurred on three sites, but these populations were all lost to urbanization during the 1930\'s and 1940\'s. These historic locations include the Laurel Hill Cemetery, situated between Parker and Presidio avenues, Geary Blvd. and California Street; the Masonic Cemetery, bounded by Fulton and Turk streets and Parker and Masonic avenues; and Mt. Davidson. The only place the species still occurs in the wild is the Presidio.

Raven\'s manzanita, prostrate, evergreen member of the heath family (Ericaceae), is a serpentine endemic, which means that it evolved on and is entirely restricted to serpentine-derived soils. Arctostaphylos hookeri ssp. ravenii is one of the manzanitas that do not produce basal burls (enlarged root crowns). It has finely hairy stems that root on contact with the soil. It has light green round to round-elliptic leaves less than one inch across, and produces small pink urn-shaped flowers from February through March.

Raven\'s manzanita has probably always been rare. Even before colonization of the San Francisco Peninsula, its distribution is thought to have been highly restricted. Because only a single naturally occurring specimen is known to occur in the wild, Raven\'s manzanita has received a great deal of attention. The California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) listed it as an Endangered species in 1978 and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) followed suit in 1979. The California Native Plant Society (CNPS) has always placed it at the top of its list of threatened species, where it remains on the List 1B (rare, threatened, or endangered in California and elsewhere), with a 3-3-3 rarity, endangerment, and distribution (R-E-D) code (restricted to one occurrence, endangered throughout its range, and endemic to California). As required by the Endangered Species Act, a recovery plan was prepared for Raven\'s manzanita in 1984. Since assuming control of the Presidio, the National Park Service (NPS) is actively protecting the remaining specimen and undertaking efforts to expand its last stand. In 1987, the CDFG, USFWS, NPS and the Army signed a Memorandum of Understanding to protect the Presidio\'s rare plants.

Perhaps no other native California genus has been the subject of so much controversy among taxonomists as has Arctostaphylos. Raven\'s manzanita is no exception. It has been collected, classified, and reclassified numerous times throughout botanical history. In 1892, Kathleen Brandegee identified our single Presidio specimen as A. pungens. In 1952, Peter Raven noted that this plant exhibited strong similarities with A. franciscana, which is extinct in the wild, and to A. montana from Mt. Tamalpais. Philip Wells was the first to treat Raven\'s manzanita as a separate taxon, treating it as a subspecies of A. hookeri. James Roof argued for a closer kinship instead with A. pungens, but his proposed name change never gained acceptance.

In addition to accidental catastrophes, the last specimen of Raven\'s manzanita is threatened by competition for light by such species as Monterey pine, Monterey cypress, and ice plant, as well as the native Ceanothus thyrsiflorus. Vandalism and foot traffic are also a perpetual threat. In 1985, road widening destroyed some of the plant\'s habitat. Despite all these dangers, the plant has been successfully propagated. Cuttings that were transplanted in 1988 flowered for the first time in 1991. Plants are currently being grown at the Presidio nursery. Reintroduction efforts will be restricted to the Presidio as it supports the only remaining historical habitat for the subspecies.

What can you can do? The NPS is undertaking the monumental task of controlling invasive plant species that threatened to overgrow some of the last remaining examples of San Francisco\'s native plant communities and volunteers are always needed. If you would like to learn more about these efforts, check out our Habitat Restoration page for regularly scheduled restoration work parties.

'; article.date = '1995.09'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Marin Dwarf Flax & serpentine (Hesperolinon congestum)'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '

Marin dwarf flaxIn the December issue of Yerba Buena News, we introduced Clarkia franciscana (which has just been federally listed as Endangered),a species occurring only on soils formed on serpentine parent material.Serpentinite, California\'s state rock, is the greenish rock occurring in a lineof outcrops visible from Hunter\'s Point, Potrero Hill, under the U.S. mint onMarket Street, and underlying Laurel Hill and Baker Beach. Serpentine isabundant above Fort Point, and the south tower of the Golden Gate Bridge wasconstructed on what the newspapers called "pudding stone." Elsewherein the Bay Area, serpentine can be seen near Crystal Springs in San MateoCounty, in the Oakland-Berkeley hills, on Angel Island, and from Tiburon tonear the summit of Mt. Tamalpais. Serpentine occurs on every continent of theworld.  In California serpentineoutcrops cover over 1,100 square miles, primarily in the northern half of thestate.

Serpentine soils are ofspecial interest to ecologists because of the unique plant assemblages usuallyassociated with them. Botanists are especially interested in serpentine derivedsoils because such soils have given rise to a remarkable degree of speciation.The so-called "serpentine syndrome" consists of a high level ofendemism, the occurrence of indicator species, and sparse vegetative cover.

Of the 1,742 taxa listed inthe California Native Plant Society’s Inventory of Rare and EndangeredVascular Plants of California, 285(16 percent) occur on serpentine soils. Of the 33 sensitive taxa occurring inSan Francisco County, 11 (33 percent) occur on serpentine. Presidio clarkia andMarin dwarf flax are two of these. The others include Arctostaphylos hookeri ssp. franciscana (extinct in the wild), Arctostapylos hookeri ssp. ravenii (known from a single location), Cirsium andrewsii, Grindelia hirsutula var. maritima, and Triphysaria floribunda.

Fritillaria lileacea,Sanicula maritima, and Sidalceahickmanii ssp. viridis, occur elsewhere on serpentine, but the San Franciscopopulations have been extirpated. Erysimum franciscanum sometimes grows on serpentine, but in San Francisco itis found only on ocean-blown sand.

Hesperolinon congestum is a member of the flax family (Linaceae). It is alow annual herb with dichotomously branching stems two to six inches high. Thestems are sharply angled and frequently pubescent above the nodes. Leaves arelinear, alternate, glabrous to occasionally pubescent, and one-half to one inchlong. The species has well-developed stipule glands with a pronounced reddishexudate. Inflorescences are congested near the tips of the stems. Sepals arelance-ovate, pubescent on back, acuminate, less than one-quarter of an inchlong, and have distinctively gland-dotted toothed margins. Petals are pink torose and slightly larger than the sepals. Anthers are pink to purple, while thethree styles are whitish. The ovary has six chambers and develops into a minute,short ovoid capsule. The flowering season is from May through July.

Marin dwarf flax isrestricted to serpentine grassland and chaparral. It is known from only roughlyfifteen locations in Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo counties. The type localityof the species is on the Tiburon Peninsula in Marin County, and the NatureConservancy\'s Ring Mountain Preserve is the only population being activelymanaged for the species. Only one other stand is known in Marin County and thesite is planned for development. In San Mateo County, the largest and mostsignificant populations occur within the Crystal Springs Watershed. Recently,the County has published plans for an extensive trail system that could damageat least two populations of Marin dwarf flax. The species also occurs atEdgewood County Park; with the rejection of a proposed golf course on the site,hopefully these populations will be preserved.

Hesperolinon congestum is currently listed as threatened by the CaliforniaDepartment of Fish and Game, has just been listed as threatened by the U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service, and is on the CNPS List 1B: 3-3-3 (restricted inoccurrence, endangered throughout its range, and endemic to California).Twenty-five percent of the historic populations of the species have been lostto residential development and road construction. Extensive searches ofsuitable habitat have been conducted with very limited results. No managementplan for this species has been developed.

In San Francisco, Marin dwarfflax has been collected historically at Laurel Hill Cemetery (1912), on Mt.Davidson, Inspiration Point, and above Baker Beach. The populations at LaurelHills, Mt. Davidson, and possibly Inspiration Point have been extirpated. Onlythe Baker\'s Beach population persists. The National Park Service has initiatedefforts to preserve this population and is in the process of developing amanagement plan for the species through consultation with the U.S. Fish andWildlife Service. We hope that this last known San Francisco occurrence can beadequately preserved.

'; article.date = '1995.09'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Presidio clarkia (Clarkia franciscana)'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '

Presidio ClarkiaPlant taxa can be considered rare for a variety of reasons. Species that could all be called rare inlcude those that occur very infrequently but are distributed over a wide geographic area, are locally abundant but occur over a restricted range, or, in the most extreme case, occur infrequently over a restricted range.

Since the 1920\'s, rarity in plants has been the subject of numerous scientific debates. Explanations as to why plants are rare include that they are newly evolved and haven\'t had time to expand their ranges, that they are old and have lost competitive ability due to decreased genetic diversity (heterozygosity), and that they are restricted physiologically to a narrow range of environmental conditions (e.g., soil type, water regime, temperature, etc.). Depending on the species, any of these may be accurate.

Authors of the various theories as to how a plants come to be rare generally cite one or more species that offer evidence in support of their hypotheses. In 1958, Harlan Lewis and Peter Raven offered their own ideas of how plants speciate and come to have restricted ranges. In their theory of catastrophic selection, or saltational speciation, they observed repeated episodes of extinction and recolonization events by closely related species within the genus Clarkia, especially among populations occurring at the geographical periphery of their ranges.

One of the species Lewis and Raven chose as an example of catastrophic selection was Presidio clarkia (Clarkia franciscana), a species first described by them. This slender, branched herb is a very rare member of the evening-primrose family (Onagraceae). It is found only on serpentine derived soils supporting coastal scrub and coastal prairie. Presidio clarkia is a small annual, self-pollinating herb with finely hairy stems reaching 18 inches in height. Its leaves are narrow, lance-shaped, and less than 2 inches long. Flowers develop from erect buds from May through July. Petals are wedge-shaped with a blunt tip, to one-half inch long, and are lavender-pink shading to white near the middle and with a bright reddish purple base.

The historic distribution of Presidio clarkia is unknown. For a long time, it was thought to only occur at two extant populations in the Presidio; a third has been extirpated. In 1988, disjunct populations of Presidio clarkia were found in the Oakland Hills. Genetic comparisons made between the Presidio and Oakland populations concluded that at least one of the Oakland populations is indigenous and was not planted by a well-meaning but potentially misguided botanist. Although the discovery of the Oakland populations has greatly increased the likelihood that Presidio clarkia can be protected, its numbers are still so low that extinction remains a distinct possibility.

Presidio clarkia was listed as Endangered by the state of California in 1978 and it was proposed for listing as Endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1992; the federal listing is still pending. It is also on the CNPS List 1B:3-3-3, indicating that it is endangered in California, distributed in one to several highly restricted occurrences, is endemic to California and endangered throughout its range. Under the federal Endangered Species Act of 1973, a species qualifies for listing as Endangered when it is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range. Under the California Endangered Species Act of 1984, a species is considered eligible for listing as Endangered when its prospects for survival and reproduction are in immediate jeopardy from one or more causes. It is against federal and state law to pick or in any way disturb Presidio clarkia.

Despite improved management of Presidio clarkia by the National Park Service, populations in San Francisco continue to be threatened by illegal off-road vehicle activity, encroachment by invasive weed and horticultural species, and some proposed GGNRA projects. For eight years, CNPS Chapter members worked with the Army to remove exotics from serpentine grasslands on the Presidio and they continue to be active in assisting the National Park Service with its attempts to preserve this very rare species. For information on volunteer work parties, check our Habitat Restoration'; article.date = '1995.03'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Lessingia (Lessingia germanorum)'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '

<I>Lessingia germanorum</I>This new column isintended to familiarize our members with some of San Francisco and San Mateocounties\' rare, endangered, and otherwise unique plant species. Each issue willfeature a different species. We will describe the plant’s taxonomicfeatures, its distribution, habitat affinities, flowering times, legalprotection, and current threats, as well as provide historical and otherinteresting information. We will also describe the efforts of chapter membersand others to preserve these threatened members of our unique flora.

InOctober 1816 the Russian vessel Rurik landed at the Presidio during a three-year long expeditionalong the West Coast of North America. On board were two of California\'s mostfamous early botanical explorers, the naturalist Adelbert von Chamisso and asurgeon by the name of Johann Friedrich Eschscholtz. Together, Chamisso andEschscholtz collected 82 plant species at the Presidio. Chamisso ultimatelynamed more than 30 new species from his Presidio collections. (See the January1979 issue of Fremontia)

One of the new species that Chamisso collected and named was Lessingia germanorum. The genus was named in honor of the Lessing brothers. One of the brothers, the German botanist C.F. Lessing, was an authority on the Asteraceae (sunflower family) and studied most of Chamisso\'scollections.

Today, San Franciscolessingia is one of San Francisco County\'s most endangered plant species. Adiffusely branching member of the sunflower family, the plant is a low erectannual growing six to 18 inches in height. It produces mostly solitaryinflorescences approximately one half-inch high containing 20-40 deep lemonyellow disk flowers. The outer expanded disk flowers have brownish spots in thethroat. No ray flowers are present in this species or in most other species of Lessingia.The plant blooms from July through December.

San Franciscolessingia is found only on sandy flats and sand dunes close to the coast. Allthat remains of what is presumed to have been a common inhabitant of SanFrancisco\'s extensive sand dune complex consists of four naturally occurringpopulations and one introduced stand in the Presidio and one population at thewestern base of San Bruno Mountain. It is entirely restricted to openings onloose shifting sands devoid of substantial shrub cover.

Lessingiagermanorum is listed asendangered by the state of California, is a C-1 candidate for listing asendangered by the Federal Government, and is on the CNPS List 1B:3-3-3. Underthe California Endangered Species Act, a native plant listed as endangered isone whose "prospects of survival and reproduction are in immediatejeopardy from one of more causes". C-1 candidates for federal listing arethose for which sufficient information exists to support listing as endangeredor threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. CNPS List 1B species arethose considered endangered in California and elsewhere. The 3-3-3 designationfor rarity, endangerment and distribution means that the species is distributedin one to several highly restricted occurrences, endangered throughout itsrange and endemic to California.

Given itscurrent status, San Francisco lessingia is protected from all impacts. Onlycollecting for scientific or management purposes is allowed and a permit fromthe state Department of Fish and Game is required.

Because SanFrancisco lessingia is restricted to loose sandy habitat, it is highlysensitive to disturbance resulting from off-trail foot, bicycle, horse, andvehicle traffic. However, its most serious threat appears to come from invasiveshrubs and trees, which shade it out and render its habitat completelyunsuitable. The remaining populations of San Francisco lessingia are currentlythreatened by the advance of eucalyptus and Monterey pine trees and aredisturbed by foot and vehicle traffic. Chapter members are very active in assistingthe National Park Service with its preservation efforts in the Presidio.Volunteers for weeding parties are always welcome - see this site\'s "Habitat Restoration" page to check out work parties in the Presidio.

'; article.date = '1994.12'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Saltmarsh Dodder (Cuscuta salina var. major)'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '

Cuscuta salina var. major
click to enlarge

Beginning in May, as you drive past the salt marshes rimming San Francisco Bay, you might begin to notice an orange hue starting to spread over the tops of pickleweed plants. On closer inspection, you\'ll see what looks like orange threads forming a net over the shrubs. Over the course of the summer, this brightly colored netting can completely obscure its hosts, looking like some kind of alien invasion. But this is no alien. It\'s saltmarsh dodder (Cuscuta salina var. major), a home-grown curiosity, indigenous here, and doing what comes naturally.

Known by such folksy names as devil\'s guts, devil\'s hair, devil\'s ringlet, hailweed, hairweed, hellbine, love vine, pull-down, strangleweed, strangle gut, tangle gut, witch\'s hair, witch\'s shoelaces, and goldenthread, all dodders are parasites that capitalize on the photosynthetic abilities of their host plants. Although germinating seedlings of Cuscuta produce tiny roots, the stems quickly attach to host plants and break off their terrestrial connection. In fact, if seedlings do not come into contact with a host plant within about ten days, they will exhaust their food stores and perish. From aerial stems, dodder produces haustoria, rootlike structures that penetrate the cell walls of green plants (but without penetrating the protoplast of the cell), absorbing the nutrients and water they need for growth. Similar structures are found in fungi, functioning in the same way. Although lacking much visible green in their stems, most species of dodder do contain low levels of chlorophyll. In temperate regions, dodder is typically regarded as an annual, although in mild climates such as ours haustoria can overwinter, sprouting again in the spring. Looking more like the hair for a Halloween costume, you\'d be forgiven if you were uncertain in which Kingdom dodder falls. But it is indeed a flowering dicotoledonous plant (Division Anthophyta, Class Magnoliopsida).

Until recently, dodder was placed in its own family, Cuscutaceae. But taxonomists have recently determined that the basis for this determination, its parasitic nature, was not sufficient grounds for separating it from the morning-glory family (Convolvulaceae), the family to which it once again belongs. Worldwide, there are about 170 species of Cuscuta, all of which are parasitic. Numerous species of dodder are regarded as highly invasive, problematic pests on a variety of hosts. Largeseed dodder (C. indecora) and field dodder (C. campestris) are major pests in the western United States, infesting alfalfa and clover crops. Although not present in California, fortunately, giant dodder (C. reflexa) is a serious pest of citrus, coffee, peach, and forest trees. However, especially dense infestations can physically reduce the light reaching host leaves as well as weaken the host plant\'s natural resistance to diseases. Dodder can also spread viruses between plants. Some species of dodder, most notably Japanese dodder (C. japonica), are used in Asian medicines as a male aphrodisiac; a liver, kidney and digestive tonic; and for "female reproductive problems." Most infestations of non-native dodder are reportedly associated with Asian immigrant communities, as the seeds are imported with the herb treatments (Markmann 2006). In fact, the planting of this species by Hmong immigrants as a home-grown source of these traditional medicines has alarmed state officials, who are actively working with members of that community to educate them about the environmental hazards posed by its spread.

California\'s native dodders grow on a variety of herbaceous and shrubby species and, when confined to natural plant communities, they are not considered invasive or particularly problematic. However, because dodder has the potential to become invasive, the federal government considers all Cuscuta species as noxious weeds.

California supports 11 native species, nine varieties, and two naturalized non-native species of dodder. Native species of dodder occur in chaparral, grasslands, yellow pine forests, creosote bush scrub, and salt marshes. Some of the host plants on which dodder can be found include Ambrosia, Artemisia, Asclepias, Aster, Ceanothus, Cressa, Eriogonum, Eryngium, Haplopappus, Hymenoclea, Larrea, Medicago, Polygonum, Prunus, Quercus, Rhus, Salicornia, Salix, Suaeda, Trifolium, Xanthium, and many members of the sunflower (Asteraceae), legume (Fabaceae) and goosefoot (Chenopodiaceae) families.

Saltmarsh dodder produces twining, yellowish-green to bright orange stems. The stems are fragile and easily broken into segments when handled. The leaves, inconspicuous and nonfunctioning, at least in the traditional sense, are reduced to small scales arranged alternately on the stems. Flowers are produced in small clusters along the length of the vining stems. The flowers themselves are about 1/4 inch wide, consisting of five, white, almost translucent petals. Fruits are small, white, berry-like capsules producing a single seed surrounded by the whithered corolla. In our area, saltmarsh dodder blooms from May through September.

Saltmarsh dodder occurs at low elevations and in saline locales from the Mexican border to British Columbia. The range of the genus extends eastward to Utah and Arizona. The primary host plants of saltmarsh dodder are the pickleweeds (Salicornia spp.), alkali weed (Cressa truxillensis), and seablite (Suaeda spp.), although our local variety (C.s. var. major) occurs mostly on pickleweed. Locally, it has been reported "attacking" the invasive glasswort (Salsola soda) and may have contributed to its eradication at Piers 94 and 98.

No California dodders are considered rare or endangered, and none is regarded as being at risk of extinction by the California Native Plant Society. Here in San Francisco, saltmarsh dodder is considered locally significant due to its very restricted distribution in the county. This is, of course, merely the result of the limited amount of saltmarsh habitat found within our area. In their A Flora of San Francisco, California, Howell, Raven, and Rubtzoff (1958) report records for saltmarsh dodder from the Presidio, near Islais Creek, near Hunter\'s Point, and in Vistacion Valley. Within the county limits, you can still find it in the Presidio, at India Basin, and at Heron\'s Head Park (Pier 98).

So during your summer wanderings around the Bay\'s edge, while bird watching or enjoying the magic of a summer fog bank pouring over the coastal hills, you might want to take witness to that rapidly spreading orange netting as it creeps over the pickleweed. Look for the flowers. See which birds collect the tiny white fruits; harvesting by birds has not yet been documented. And when you see the orange mats, don\'t worry. It\'s not yet another scourge wrought by humans upon the natural world. This one was here long before we showed up.

REFERENCE:

Markmann, C. 2006. Summary of Dodder (Cuscuta japonica) Biology, Concerns, and Management. Revised and augmented by R. Marushia. July 21. California Department of Fish and Game. Available on line: http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/phpps/ipc/noxweedinfo/pdfs/jdodder_summary.pdf'; article.date = '2007.06'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'California Seablite (Suaeda californica)'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = 'Suaeda californica

It\'s not often, in the course of our amblings, that we happen upon an endangered species. Not the kind whose days just seem numbered because of Sudden Oak Death, strip malls, or red roof disease (i.e., sprawling Spanish-style housing), but an honest to goodness, listed by the government, covered under the Endangered Species Act, with a capital "E" Endangered species. Of course, when you\'re on a specific quest, that\'s one thing. But to happen upon one in the course of some unrelated activity, well, that\'s just plain fun.

I was recently doing a survey for the Port of San Francisco in the heavily industrial area around Pier 94. After looking at roadside swales, vacant lots filled with rubble and supporting an unimpressive array of weeds, I needed to get away from the incessant roar of truck traffic and machinery, dust, and the breathtaking (literally) stench of used restaurant grease being processed (I\'ll never eat another French fry!). So I walked over to the Bay\'s edge for some peace and quiet, and a stench of another, the almost pleasant odor of the Bay muds. After a quick inventory of the plants and birds inhabiting this industrial shoreline, I found myself standing over the top of something that made me say to myself, "That\'s different!" What I was standing over was a large, healthy specimen of California seablite, a federally listed Endangered species! More on what it\'s doing there in a moment.

Of course, San Francisco County has its share of Endangered species, which have avoided extinction only through the grace of people. Presidio clarkia, Presidio manzanita, San Francisco lessingia, all of which are being actively protected, have the good sense to occur in a national park, while species like marsh sandwort, beach layia, San Francisco popcorn-flower, and adobe sanicle have been long since lost, at least to our peninsula.

California seablite is an evergreen shrub belonging to the... wait a second, well, it used to belong to the goosefoot family (Chenopodiaceae). OK, so now it\'s in the amaranth family (Amaranthaceae). It would appear that the Chenopodiaceae has fallen out of favor as all of its former designates have been shunted into the Amaranthaceae. Where was I? Oh. So, the now extinct goosefoot family included such genera as the saltbushes (Atriplex), pickleweeds (Salicornia), goosefoots (Chenopodium, go figure!), and everyone\'s dinnertime favorites, beets (Beta vulgaris) and spinach (Spinacia oleracea). There is an ecological theme with this bunch and it has a general propensity for growing where conditions are otherwise inhospitable to plant life. Saline soils, intense heat, prolonged drought, and even total inundation by saltwater characterize the locales where many of these plant thrive. The physiological mechanisms accounting for this feat of survival are fascinating but a topic for another day. Suffice it to say, this is a remarkable group of plants, no matter to which family it is assigned. Most members are halophytes (salt-tolerant plants), with deep, penetrating roots and with either mealy-textured or hairy leaves or succulent stems and no leaves at all. When it was still a valid entity, the Chenopodiaceae included some 100 genera and 1,500 species occurring in temperate and subtropical regions of six continents. Now, well, who knows?

Also known as broom seepweed, California seablite is one of five species of Suaeda native to California. It forms a mounding shrub up to about two feet tall. The spreading stems are surrounded by somewhat succulent, narrowly-linear gray-green leaves, one-half to one-and-a-half inches long. To me, the stems are reminiscent of the completely unrelated burro tail (Sedum morganianum) of horticulture. The inconspicuous flowers appear July through October.

California seablite is restricted entirely to California and has been recorded from Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara, and San Luis Obispo counties. Its natural habitat is the upper intertidal zone of coastal salt marshes on coarse, well-drained sediment deposits composed of sand and shell fragments. Extirpated from the San Francisco Bay around 1960, presumably as a result of shoreline development, the remaining two natural locales are Morro Bay and near Cayucos in San Luis Obispo County. It was first described in 1874 based on material collected in the Bay Area. It was originally believed to occur as far south as Baja California. However, the southern California plants have since been determined to be estuary seablite (Suaeda esteroa).

So, how did it get to Pier 94? Heron\'s Head Park is an urban greening and restoration project located at Pier 98. Completed in 1999, the project resulted in the restoration of five acres of tidal salt marsh on filled shoreline originally intended as the site of a container shipping terminal or as the landfall for a second bridge crossing to Alameda County. The 25-acre public park is managed by the Port of San Francisco, which offers a variety of educational and public participation programs dealing with the ecology and wildlife of the Bay. A couple of small seedlings of California seablite were planted out at the park around 2001. Those first plants have thrived and multiplied, and now about a dozen robust specimens have become established there. And, based on the species\' spontaneous appearance at nearby Pier 94, it is spreading.

About the same time, the National Park Service attempted to reintroduce California seablite at the restored Crissy Field Marsh. Using seed collected from Morro Bay, 28 plants were produced and planted out at the site. Unfortunately, the attempt to reintroduce the species there has not met with success, as none of the plantings have survived.

California seablite was first proposed for listing under the Endangered Species Act in 1991 and it was formally listed as Endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1994. At the time of its listing, the only extant stands of California seablite were estimated to support as few as 500 plants. Because the species occupies such a narrow ecotone, it was predictably sensitive to human activities that affect its micro-topographic position, such as increased sedimentation rates, dredging, sand mining, recreation, and development. It was never particularly abundant in the San Francisco Bay, even in the late 1800s. At that time, its core populations were San Francisco, Oakland, Alameda, and San Leandro; it was last collected here in 1958. It was also known from Palo Alto and Richmond. California seablite is on the CNPS List 1B.1.

So, if you want to see a real Endangered species, take a stroll over at Heron\'s Head Park. And for those of you who are mourning the demise of the Chenopodiaceae, don\'t worry. I hear rumors that it will be reinstated. Maybe we should start a movement to prohibit taxonomists from coming within 500 feet of each other!

2004 article in the Chronicle about Heron\'s Head Park

2006 article in Bay Nature about the park

'; article.date = '2007.09'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Coast Silk Tassel (Garrya elliptica)'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = 'Garrya elliptica

Shifting our focus far from the shores of San Francisco Bay, let\'s turn our attention to the scrub-covered coastal hillsides. Hidden among the chaparral, scrub, and oak woodland, blending in with all the other sclerophyllous evergreen species, is a large leathery shrub or small tree called coast silk tassel (Garrya elliptica). With its relatively nondescript form and leaf characteristics, it is likely to escape notice. That is, of course, until it blooms. From afar, its unusual pendulous non-showy flower clusters might remind you of oak branches draped with the lichen California Spanish moss (Ramalina menziesii), making it a very attractive ornamental shrub for your native garden.

Although it resembles some strange oak relative, coast silk tassel is a member of the silk tassel family (Garryaceae) and not the oak family (Fagaceae). In fact, evolutionarily, the two groups are quite distant. On the one hand, the oaks belong to the Sub-class Hammamelidae (Order Fagales), a relatively small group of trees and shrubs made up of 11 families, 46 genera and nearly 1,400 species. This is a mere 0.56 percent of the estimated 250,000 flowering plant species in the Division Anthophyta (Heywood 1985). On the other hand, the Garryaceae belongs to the Sub-class Rosidae (Order Cornales), a tremendously large and diverse group of plants of every size and shape, including vines, annual herbs, shrubs, and trees. The Rosidae includes some 89 families, nearly 3,300 genera, and more than 59,000 species, comprising nearly a quarter of all flowering plant species.

However, despite its robust lineage, the Garryaceae is not well represented, consisting of only a single genus of evergreen shrubs with about 18 species. It is restricted entirely to southwestern North America, northern Central America, and the West Indies. Characteristics of the family include dioecious individuals (male and female flowers borne on separate plants), with opposite leaves that are simple and leathery with short petioles. The flowers lack petals and are borne on pendulous catkin-like clusters. Fruits are one- or two-seeded berries. If you\'re inclined to hold any belief that his arrangement of families represents an evolutionary hierarchy, Munz (1968) placed the Garryaceae between the dogwood family (Cornaceae) and the madder family (Rubiaceae).

In California, the sole genus, Garrya, is represented by six species, with a total of nine species occurring in western North America (USDA online database). They range from sea level near the coast to the foothills of the Sierra Nevada to the mountains of the eastern Mojave Desert to the Oregon border. With the exception of Garrya elliptica, California\'s garryas mostly form shrubs less than ten feet tall.

Also known by the monikers silk tassel bush, wavyleaf silk tassel, quinine bush, and just plain garrya, Garrya elliptica is a shrub or small tree growing as tall as 25 feet, but specimens half that height are usual. Young twigs are densely hairy (villous). The elliptic to oval leaves are two to four inches long, dark green and subglabrous above and felty-woolly on the undersides, the individual hairs being curly or wavy. The leaf margins are generally quite wavy (undulate). Both the male and female inflorescences are pendant, three to six inches long, forming January through March. The fruits are small globose berries covered in white tomentum (fuzz), becoming glabrous (hairless) with age. For those of you who shy away from the seemingly sub-atomic floral traits that are often necessary to “key” out species (like nutlet scars of Plagiobothrys), shake your head in confusion by such obscure traits as axile ovary placentation, or find it unethical to have to sacrifice an entire specimen just to know what used to be there before you pulled it up (like bulb coat patterns in Allium), you\'ll be pleased to learn that it is the easily visible characteristics of the leaves and the leaf hairs that distinguish the species of Garrya. Isn\'t that refreshing?

Coast silk tassel occurs on dry slopes mostly below 2,000 feet in elevation. It is associated with chaparral, coastal scrub, and mixed evergreen forests of the outer Coast Ranges from Ventura County northward to Oregon. In San Francisco, coast silk tassel was recorded from brushy slopes of Sunset Heights (Brandegee 1891), and in thickets along the bay shore from Fort Point inward (as reported in Howell, et al. 1957). Within the limits of San Francisco County, it is still present in Glen Canyon and the vicinity of Lake Merced. On nearby San Bruno Mountain, coast silk tassel is present as an occasional inhabitant of lower Colma Canyon, Bitter Cherry Ridge, lower Devil\'s Arroyo, and other slopes and ravines (McClintock, et al. 1990). Several attempts have been made to reintroduce coast silk tassel at the Presidio. Seeds have been collected from San Pedro Valley Park but germination rates have been very poor. So far, attempts to grow the species at Mountain Lake have not met with much success, with a single individual surviving (remember, they\'re dioecious, so it takes two to tango). However, plants grown from cuttings are looking promising at Tennessee Hollow and the Park Service is planning to attempt to establish it at Fort Point.

None of the California garryas is listed as rare or endangered under the federal or state endangered species acts, or has been assigned any status as a rare species by the CNPS. As such, impacts to it receive no protection or review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). In our local chapter area, CNPS has designated it as being locally significant due to its restricted occurrence and perceived threats to its continued existence here.

As I mentioned, it is an easy plant to overlook, as your eyes scan the brushy slopes. But starting in January, you won\'t need to stand directly next to one to know what you\'re looking at. So on your rainy day strolls, keep coast silk tassel in mind. I\'m quite sure you\'ll think to yourself, "Hey, that\'d look great in my yard." Just be sure to buy one at a nursery, and not dig up a seedling in the wild…we need them all.

'; article.date = '2007.12'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Hooker\'s Fairy Bells (Prosartes hookeri)'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '
Prosartes hookeri
click to enlarge

Although the common name might look familiar, you probably don\'t recognize the Latin name of this member of the lily family (Liliaceae). The generic designation was recently changed back to its original name, assigned in 1839. Perhaps you\'ll recognize the name listed in The Jepson Manual: Disporum. A rose by any other name…

Hooker\'s fairy bells is an upright perennial herb occurring in moist, shaded woods. Leaves are distinctly heart-shaped, unequal at the base, one to three inches long, and with pointed tips. Plants are sparsely branching, roughly pubescent, and one to three feet tall. The pendulous, bell-shaped flowers have creamy to greenish-white recurved petals a little over half an inch long. The flowers, which grow in clusters of one to six, appear March through May. Fruits consist of bright red berries appearing July through September.

Hooker\'s fairy bells occurs away from the immediate coast from Monterey County to Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and Alaska, and eastward to Idaho and Montana. In California, it is restricted to elevations below about 5,000 feet in the Coast Ranges, occurring in mixed evergreen and redwood forests. Although considered common, it\'s very likely that you haven\'t knowingly seen this plant, as it blends in quite well with the forest understory. When you first come upon it, you might think you\'re looking at false Solomon\'s seal (Smilacina spp.). Even if you see it in flower, you\'re likely to doubt you\'re looking at a lily. But when you do see it, you\'ll know you\'re looking at something different.

Named for Sir Joseph Hooker (1785-1865), director of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, England, and the founder of the Journal of Botany. Hooker\'s fairy bells was first described by John Torrey (1796-1873). Torrey, a professor of botany and chemistry in New York, described the specimens from many of the early expeditions to the west coast. The names of both Hooker and Torrey have been immortalized in the scientific and common names of many plants.

On the northern San Francisco Peninsula, Hooker\'s fairy bells is quite rare, restricted as it is to Mount Sutro and the greenbelt above UCSF. It is also extant at Sharp Park and uncommon on San Bruno Mountain (McClintock, et al. 1990), just over the county line. Until relatively recently it occurred above the Laguna Honda Reservoir. There are no historic records of it occurring in the San Francisco Presidio. In their A Flora of San Francisco, California, Howell, Raven, and Rubtzoff (1958) list the species as having occurred in the "hills south of Golden Gate Park." Katherine Brandegee (1891) listed the species as occurring in Sunset Heights. Thomas (1961) lists Hooker\'s fairy bells in redwood and Douglas fir forests, mixed forests and brush-covered hills at Crystal Springs Lake, La Honda, Kings Mountain, Stevens Creek, Los Gatos, Uvas Canyon, and Soquel.

Hooker\'s fairy bells is not listed as rare or endangered under the federal or California endangered species acts, nor has it been assigned any status as a rare species by the CNPS. As such, impacts to it receive no protection or review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). However, in our local chapter area, the CNPS has designated it as being locally significant due to its restricted occurrence and perceived threats to its continued existence here.

This spring, when you are planning your walks, try to find Hooker\'s fairy bells at Mount Sutro, where it is still thriving.

'; article.date = '2008.03'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'California Larkspur (Delphinium californicum)'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '
Delphinium californicum
click to enlarge

Always a hit in any springtime garden are the larkspurs. Most noted for their tall spikes of deep blue, white, or red flowers with the characteristic spur, larkspurs belong to the Ranunculaceae, or the buttercup family, well-known for its garden ornamentals. Other members of this family, comprised of 50 genera and 1,800 species, include the buttercups (Ranunculus), anemones (Anemone), columbine (Aquilegia), clematis or bower vine (Clematis), hellebore (Helleborus), and meadow-rue (Thalictrum).

But there is oh so much more to the larkspurs than what we know from our local garden center. Larkspurs are perennial herbs that develop from a caudex (the persistent and often woody base of an herbaceous perennial). They occur throughout the northern hemisphere in the Arctic, temperate, and subtropical regions, extending south of the equator into the mountains of Africa. All plant parts of larkspurs contain the compound delphinine, a poisonous alkaloid that can cause vomiting and even death in mammals. Across the western United States, larkspur, especially tall larkspur (Delphinium bareyi), is a significant cause of fatal poisoning in cattle.  

The scientific name of the genus is derived from the Greek delphinion and the Latin delphinus, meaning dolphin, presumably for the resemblance of the flowers to the stylized images of the marine mammals. Worldwide, there are some 300 species of delphiniums, and the Flora of North America lists 61 species (85 taxa). California supports 58 native taxa, 20 of which are endemic to the state, which means that they occur nowhere else. Three of our delphiniums are on the federal endangered species list, and a fourth is listed as rare by the State of California; 15 others are considered worthy of listing as rare under the California Endangered Species Act.

There are two subspecies of Delphinium californicum, and they overlap geographically. Hospital Canyon larkspur (D.c. ssp. interius) is known from just 11 locations in Alameda, Contra Costa, Merced, San Benito, Santa Clara, and San Joaquin counties; it is a CNPS List 1B.2 taxon. The more common California larkspur (D.c. ssp. californicum) has been recorded from Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, San Mateo, Alameda, San Francisco, Contra Costa, Marin, Sonoma, Napa, and Solano counties. Hospital Canyon larkspur has not been recorded from our chapter area.

California larkspur is a stout perennial growing two to seven feet tall, often having two or more hollow stems developing from a single root system. Leaves are palmate, four to five inches across, and with three to 15 sharply cut lobes. Sepals are lavender and densely puberulent (covered with fine, short hairs). Flowers are lavender to greenish white, developing on 12- to 20-inch-long racemes; flowering occurs April through June. California larkspur occurs in dense chaparral from sea level to 3,000 feet in elevation. Hospital Canyon larkspur, which is distinguished by its greenish-white sepals and glabrous (hairless) upper petals, is restricted to openings in chaparral and wet spots in cismontane woodland.

In our area, California larkspur is presumed still extant on Bayview Hill, where it once occurred among the thickets of hollyleaf cherry (Prunus ilicifolia) (Howell, et al. 1958); a single individual was seen about ten years ago, but its current status has not been documented. Historically, California larkspur was known from Strawberry Hill in Golden Gate Park, and Mission and Potrero hills (Brandegee 1891). Nearby, it has been seen recently at Sharp Park, and is known from Colma Canyon, Romanzoffia Ravine, and Owl Canyon on San Bruno Mountain (McClintock, et al. 1990). It can also be found in the hills and mountains of San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties (Thomas 1961), Montara Mountain, Mount Diablo (Ertter and Bowerman 2002), Mount Hamilton (Sharsmith 1982; Ertter 1997), and Marin County (Howell, et al. 2007).

California larkspur is not listed as rare or endangered under the federal or California endangered species acts, nor has it been assigned any status as a rare species by CNPS. As such, impacts to it receive no protection or review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). However, in our local chapter area, CNPS has designated it as being locally significant due to its highly restricted distribution.

If you hurry, you might still find this rather spectacular plant still in flower. And if you happen to find it on Bayview Hill, by all means let us know!

'; article.date = '2008.06'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Douglas’ Bluegrass (Poa douglasii)'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '
Poa douglasii
click to enlarge

If you\'ve been a long-time reader of this column, you probably know that I have a thing for our native grasses. Previous discussions have covered Pacific reedgrass (Calamagrostis nutkaensis, June 2006), purple needlegrass (Nassella pulchra, September 2006), and coastal terrace prairie (December 2006). Depending on your appreciation for grasses, you may have found these articles either wonderfully informative or painfully tedious.

The first challenge most people face with grass identification is one of basic vocabulary; grass flower parts just don\'t jibe with our usual notions of what makes up a flower. No petals or sepals; instead, there are glumes, lemmas and paleas. Spikelets, florets, awns, sheaths, ligules, and other body parts add to the confusion. Another hindrance to a better understanding of this group, at least for those of us with aging eyesight, is the fact that most grass flowers are TINY! They are best viewed hunched over a dissecting scope (I\'m sure you all have one of those handy) with a dissecting needle in each hand and tweezers in your toes. And for folks like me who suffer from hay fever (I am especially allergic to grass pollen—bad career counseling), a walk in the meadow can bring on physical discomfort. But I assure you, armed with a simple hand lens, a botanical glossary, and a handful of Benadryl, you too can overcome these hurdles. After all, grasses probably contribute more to the greening of your immediate surroundings than any other plant group. In fact, it is estimated that grasses constitute fully 20 percent of the world\'s vegetative cover. So why not get to know them?

The best glossary I know (it resides permanently next to my scope and Jepson Manual ) is Plant Identification Terminology: an Illustrated Guide, by Harris and Harris, 2001 ( $18.95). This small, novice-friendly paperback, with definitions and illustrations of every botanical term you\'re likely to ever come across, is absolutely invaluable. A nice introductory book is Grasses in California, by Crampton, 1974 ( $14.95). For the real grass enthusiast, there is the most useful two-volume 1971 Dover reprint of the 1950 Hitchcock classic Manual of the Grasses of the United States ( $16.95 per volume). And, while I have not yet seen the new California Grasslands, edited by Stromberg, Corbin, and D\'Antonio, 2007 ( $55), it\'s sure to become a valuable addition to my library. (You can browse all these books at the San Francisco Botanical Garden Library.)

Due to popular demand (ok, our chapter president made a passing suggestion), I bring you another of our lovely perennial grass species, Douglas\' bluegrass. I won\'t repeat earlier discussions of the wonderfully diverse and fascinating grass family (Poaceae or Gramineae) or of native bunchgrass grasslands (see the above-mentioned articles on our chapter website ). But this article wouldn\'t be complete without a few basic facts. Worldwide, there are more than 9,000 species of grasses in 650 genera, comprising about 3.6 percent of all flowering plant species. California is host to about 580 taxa of grasses (364 native and 217 naturalized nonnative) belonging to 121 genera. Grasses are indeed flowering plants, belonging to the same Division (Anthophyta) as magnolias, roses, petunias, and pansies. By way of refresher, flowering plants are divided into two Classes: the so-called dicots (Class Magnoliopsida) and the monocots (Class Liliopsida). In addition to the grasses, monocots include the lilies, palms, bamboos, orchids, bromeliads, agaves, onions, rushes, sedges, cattails, iris, and philodendrons, to name just a few.

The genus Poa, the namesake of the family, is one of the most diverse in terms of number of species. The Flora of North America lists 91 Poa species. California boasts 36 native taxa, and hosts another ten nonnative species that have become naturalized. Members of the genus, usually lumped together under the moniker “bluegrass,” include both annuals and perennials. The majority of our native bluegrass species are perennials (22 perennials versus 3 annuals). The species with the widest distribution is one-sided bluegrass (P. secunda), which occurs across the length and breadth of the state, from sea level to above 12,000 feet. Howell\'s bluegrass (P. howellii ) and Bolander\'s bluegrass (P. bolanderi ) are also recorded from the Mexican border to Oregon, although the former is restricted to elevations below 3,200 feet while the latter occurs between 5,000 to 10,000 feet. Most of the remaining native species exhibit a geographic distribution restricted by habitat type, latitude, and/or elevation. Seven of our bluegrass species have special status; two are federally listed endangered species, three are CNPS List 2 species, and two are CNPS List 4 species.

Douglas\' bluegrass is a tufted perennial developing from long rhizomes or stolons. One of only three overlapping species that occurs on dunes (the others being P. confinis and P. macrantha), it is distinguished by its relatively longer (>>0.18 inch) lemmas and scabrous to coarsely hairy stems. Douglas\' bluegrass is also dioecious, which means it produces male and female flowers on separate plants. The dense inflorescences develop at the top of short (one- to three-inch) stems, appearing from April through June. It is a relatively common constituent of shifting coastal dunes and sandy soil on coastal bluffs below 300 feet in elevation, occurring from Santa Barbara County in the south to Del Norte County in the north.

Douglas\' bluegrass is not a rare species. It has no status under the federal or State endangered species acts, and it is not listed as rare, threatened, or endangered by CNPS nor considered locally significant by our local chapter. But, by virtue of its habitat affinities, you can be sure that it is not common in our chapter area; there aren\'t many examples of these habitats left in San Francisco.

In San Francisco, Douglas\' bluegrass is known historically from Lone Mountain and the bluffs of the seashore (Brandegee 1891); and near Point Lobos, in the Richmond District, and on the dunes of the Sunset District (Howell, et al. 1958). It can still be found today along the western ridge line of the Sunset District at Hawk Hill, Grandview Park, and the Sunset rock outcrops. It can also be found at the Presidio (south end of Baker Beach and Crissy Field), Lake Merced, and Fort Funston.

The next time you drive down The Great Highway, make a note of the dense grasses that were planted there to stabilize the drifting sands when the road was rebuilt about a dozen years ago. What you\'re seeing is the invasive nonnative European beachgrass (Ammophila arenaria). Now try to imagine that same area revegetated with all the indigenous elements that once occurred here like Douglas\' bluegrass, American dunegrass (Leymus mollis ssp. mollis), beach bursage (Ambrosia chamissonis), beach morning glory (Calystegia soldanella), yellow sand verbena (Abronia latifolia), beach pea (Lathyrus littoralis), dune sagebrush (Artemisia pycnocephala), dune buckwheat (Eriogonum latifolium), beach evening primrose (Camissonia cheiranthifolia), among many, many others. In the words of the Beach Boys, “Wouldn\'t it be nice?” In fact, such restoration efforts are ongoing. The best examples are underway at Baker Beach and Crissy Field. If you\'d really like to get some hands-on experience and get to know these species up close and personal, try joining one of the volunteer work parties hosted by the Presidio Park Stewards www.parksconservancy.org.

'; article.date = '2008.09'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Kellogg\'s Yampah (Perideridia kelloggii)'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '
Perideridia kelloggii
click to enlarge

I\'ve often wondered about the affinities some of our native wildlife species have for introduced plant species. How did those creatures manage before the Europeans began messing up the ecology of California by importing, on purpose or by accident, all those weeds? It is well known that numerous native wildlife species, such as monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus), hummingbirds and raptors (birds of prey) seem to make very good use of eucalyptus. Butterflies that benefit from introduced species include American lady (Vanessa virginiensis, which utilizes milk thistle [Silybum marianum]) and painted lady (Vanessa cardui, which utilizes yellow star thistle [Centaurea solstitialis]). Native bumblebees (Bombus spp.) collect the pollen of forage crops like alfalfa (Medicago sativa) and clover (Trifolium spp.).

Another example is the anise swallowtail butterfly (Papilio zelicaon). You perhaps associate this beautiful black and yellow swallowtail with sweet fennel (Foeniculum vulgare), that horrible weed of vacant lots and fields, or poison hemlock (Conium maculatum). But before the introduction and spread of these plants, anise swallowtail made do with other native members of the carrot family (Apiaceae or Umbelliferae) such as hog fennels (Lomatium californicum, L. dasycarpum, L. utriculatum), as well as the subject of today\'s discussion, Kellogg\'s yampah.

Kellogg\'s yampah is a stout herbaceous perennial found in moist places below about 4,000 feet in elevation. It occurs in open or wooded sites and such plant communities as coastal prairie, mixed evergreen forest, chaparral, and foothill woodlands. Kellogg\'s yampah is endemic to California, occurring in the Coast Ranges from Santa Clara to Del Norte counties and in the Sierra Nevada foothills from Mariposa to Sierra counties. It produces leafy (caulescent) stems two to five feet tall that develop from a cluster of fibrous to slightly thickened roots. The leaves are compound, being divided into leaflets one to four inches long with a seemingly inflated sheath at the point of attachment to the stem. The small white to pinkish flowers occur in umbels (think “umbrella” to imagine the arrangement of this type of inflorescence), appearing July through August. The genus Perideridia is entirely restricted to North America, with the greatest diversity found in the western United States. There are 20 taxa of Perideridia in North America, 17 of which occur in California, all indigenous.

As mentioned, Perideridia belongs to the carrot family. Worldwide there are 434 genera and about 3,800 species in the family; California supports some 206 species in 48 genera. Most are non-woody herbs with thick and often hollow stems, and with leaves that wrap or sheath the main stem (think of celery). The family is valued mostly for its edible plants: carrots, celery, fennel, chervil, parsley, parsnip, etc., and herbs, including coriander, cumin, caraway, dill, and angelica. However, it is unwise to eat wild members of this family unless their identification is certain, as some are extremely poisonous. Species considered deadly include poison hemlock (common in our area), water hemlock (Cicuta virosa, not occurring in California), and hemlock water dropwort (Oenanthe crocata; also not occurring here). Mildly poisonous members of the family that are present in California, in addition to poison hemlock, include western water hemlock (Cicuta douglasii), spotted water hemlock (Cicuta maculata), and water parsley (Oenanthe sarmentosa, fairly common in local streams).

The common name “yampah” comes from the Yampah Ute Indians of Colorado. The word yampah means “big medicine”, and Kellogg\'s yampah was a staple of this and many other native-American tribes. The tuber-like roots were cooked like a vegetable and were dried and ground into flour (pinole) for baking. The seeds were eaten as a remedy for colds and indigestion and the roots were chewed to relieve sore throat. The flavor ranges in taste from radishes to carrots. Yampah was such an important staple and a commonly used word that it was almost given to the state we know as Colorado.

Kellogg\'s yampah is common and widespread throughout the Bay Area, occurring in the coastal counties of Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, San Mateo, San Francisco, Marin, and Sonoma, as well as inland in the East Bay and North Bay. Historically, in San Francisco, it was reported from the Presidio, Laguna Honda, Mt. Davidson, Twin Peaks Bayview Hill, Hunter\'s Point, and the San Miguel Hills (A Flora of San Francisco, California Howell et al.,1958). It has become much less widespread in the City now only found on Bayview Hill, Bernal Hill, and the Presidio. Elsewhere on the Peninsula, it can be seen at San Bruno Mountain, Crystal Springs, and Edgewood Park where volunteers have restored a terrific stand.

Kellogg\'s yampah has no protected status under the federal or state endangered species acts, and is not considered a special-status species by the California Department of Fish and Game, nor listed by the CNPS. But like so many other pieces of the biological puzzle, it is part of the intricate and interconnected ecology of our region. Not only does its presence contribute to the biological diversity in its own right but also helps to maintain the diversity of insect life which adds so much to our own enjoyment of the natural world. So, the next time you\'re pulling out sweet fennel, be sure to replace it with some yampah to keep the anise swallowtails around.

'; article.date = '2009.03'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'California Saxifrage (Saxifraga californica)'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '
Saxifraga californica
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It\'s not all that often that we get to report some positive news regarding our local flora. More often than not, especially in the intensively developed, occupied, and abused landscape that makes up this city of three quarters of a million people, the news is of habitats lost, conservation battles waged, or the insurmountable odds faced by those brave souls dedicated to the preservation and restoration of our remaining patches of natural vegetation. But exciting and positive news is just what I\'d like to share. Well, it\'s sort of positive.

Just this year, three small and precarious populations of California saxifrage (Saxifraga californica) have been discovered in San Francisco, having had the good fortune of reaching a recognizable state while a knowledgeable botanist happened to be in the neighborhood. First documented in San Francisco County by T.S. Brandegee (1891) and then by Peter Raven in the 1950s (Howell, et al. 1958), California saxifrage has not been documented in the City since. A search of the Consortium of California Herbaria database1 doesn\'t yield a single accessioned specimen of California saxifrage from San Francisco County, despite an abundance of suitable or formerly suitable habitat. So what is California saxifrage, you ask?

The saxifrages might be more familiar to those of you from the northeastern United States, as this group is most common in temperate regions of East Asia, Europe and North America. The saxifrage family (Saxifragaceae) has a worldwide distribution and includes some 600 species in 40 genera. Other native California members of the family include Boykinia , golden saxifrage (Chrysosplenium), alum root (Heuchera), Jepsonia, woodland star (Lithophragma), miterwort (Mitella), Tellima, piggyback plant (Tolmiea), and laceflower (Tiarella). Formerly assigned to this family are the currants and gooseberries (Ribes), which are now assigned to the Grossulariaceae.

Worldwide, there are some 400 species of Saxifraga, with about 20 species or subspecies native to California. The genus consists of mostly perennial herbs growing from a non-woody caudex2 or rhizome3 and is distinguished from other members of the family by having two or more non-showy flowers with five conspicuous sepals, ten stamens, non-fused styles, and (you\'ll love this one) two ovary chambers. Leaves are roundish and not jointed to the petiole.

California saxifrage is a delightful, delicate plant that would be right in place in your rock garden. It has mostly basal leaves arising from a short erect caudex. The leaves are ovate to oblong, with slightly serrate margins, and one-half to two inches long on slightly shorter petioles. It produces succulent, greenish-red, upright flower stalks (inflorescences) that are four to twelve inches high. The five purplish sepals are soon reflexed, revealing white petals less than a quarter of an inch long. The fruits are capsules. In our area, flowering occurs from February through April.

California saxifrage has been recorded from 45 of California\'s 58 counties, occurring from San Diego to Siskyou County and from the coast to the Sierra Nevada foothills and the Transverse Ranges. Its range extends south into Baja California and northward into southwest Oregon. It is restricted to moist, shady locations below 4,000 feet in elevation. As the name implies, saxifrages (Latin, saxum, rock and frango, to break) are often associated with rocky ground, occurring in rock crevices.

Past chapter president Jake Sigg reports the presence of a very small population of California saxifrage on Bayview Hill at the radio tower site, a botanical hot spot. He found a few plants there one year, but they went the way of the dodo. But in mid March of this year, while weeding nearby, Jake found a few plants at a different location clinging to existence. Early this year, during a weeding party in the remaining native grassland near the intersection of Palou Avenue and Phelps Street, Natural Areas Program (NAP) staff found a population of about two dozen plants of California saxifrage. And in late March NAP staff found several dozen plants growing on Billy Goat Hill (Castro Street and 30th Street). Chapter newsletter editor Barbara Pitschel recalls seeing the species on Bernal Hill some 35 years ago, but despite many years of work and walks there, she has never seen it again.

The existence of California saxifrage in San Francisco is not surprising; there is an abundance of highly suitable habitat, if not for the presence of so very many invasive species. These delicate moisture-loving perennials are easily squeezed out by dense grasses and forbs that not only over-top them but also dry out the soil before they can flower and set seed. The Palou-Phelps population is growing among a bed of the horribly invasive and pernicious Bermuda buttercup (Oxalis pes-caprae). The Bayview Hill population is threatened by sheep sorrel (Rumex acetosella) and annual grasses. The Billy Goat Hill population is threatened by Bermuda buttercup, perennial sweet pea (Lathyrus latifolius), English plantain (Plantago lanceolata), and annual grasses.

In her 1891 catalog of the plants of San Francisco, T.S. Brandegee reported her observations of California saxifrage as being the eastern Saxifraga virginiensis, confusing it with a widespread species from the eastern half of the United States and Canada. She recorded it at Mission Hills and Laguna Honda. Howell, et al. (1958) reported it from the Bayview Hills. On nearby San Bruno Mountain, McClintock, et al. (1990) reported California saxifrage as an occasional occupant of moist grasslands and brushy or rocky areas in Colma Canyon, Cable Ravine, Devil\'s Arroyo and the vicinity of East Powerline. There is no record of California saxifrage at the Presidio and I have never found it on Yerba Buena Island, although it has been recorded on Angel Island. It has been recorded from every county surrounding San Francisco Bay.

The (re)discovery of California saxifrage at these forgotten remnants of natural habitat, isolated in a sea of housing and industry and all but given up for lost amid the invading weeds, provides continued hope that there are discoveries yet to be made and motivation for the citizens of San Francisco to fight for the preservation of these last vestiges of our natural heritage.

Footnotes:
1 http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/consortium
2 A caudex is the persistent, often woody base of a herbaceous perennial.
3 A rhizome is a horizontal underground stem or rootstock.

'; article.date = '2009.06'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Locally Significant Plants Of San Francisco'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '
Collinsia multicolor
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Over the years, I\'ve touched on the subject of what makes a plant species “significant” in a legal or biological sense. In fact, that is the reason we started this column to begin with. For each species introduced here, I usually include a brief discussion of its legal status and mention whether or not impacts must be addressed in environmental review documents pursuant to the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act. And occasionally, I have made reference to our chapter\'s list of locally significant plant species. I think we\'re overdue for a discussion of what all these categories mean. This topic comes up now because our chapter is embarking on a critical review and revision of our list of locally significant plant species; more on that effort in a moment.

The laws comprising the legal framework for the conservation of plant species in California include the federal Endangered Species Act (FESA), the California Endangered Species Act (CESA), the Native Plant Protection Act (NPPA), and CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act). (See Morey and Ikeda 2001 for a more detailed discussion). We sometimes talk about species having “special status. ”This term refers to plants and animals that are either protected outright under the law or those that meet the criteria for listing. In general, species on the CNPS lists 1B and 2 are considered as meeting the criteria for listing. Under CEQA guidelines (§§15065 and 15380), impacts to special-status species must be considered significant and must be evaluated in environmental review documents like Environmental Impact Reports (EIRs) or Mitigated Negative Declarations (MNDs). This doesn\'t mean that the impact is prohibited. (Used here, significant has a defined legal meaning and is not equated with statistical analysis.) Depending on the lead agency\'s attitude and the level of agency and public input, significant adverse impacts to special-status species warrant mitigation designed to reduce the level of impact to a less-than-significant level.

In the bad old days, when the biology section of an EIR fit onto two pages and was prepared by someone with no training in biology, a project may have been deemed to have no adverse impact on biological resources if it didn\'t directly impact a federally or state-listed species or an obvious wetland. Given the biological diversity of the state and our limited understanding of the true rarity of its indigenous flora and fauna, biologists with the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) and CNPS were justifiably concerned that significant direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts to biological organisms were not being adequately evaluated.

The process by which species may be formally listed is long and cumbersome. There was (and continues to be) a sense of urgency about the loss of species and habitats before they can be formally listed as endangered. As a science-based organization, CNPS undertook the monumental task of developing criteria and categories for classifying plants of varying degrees of rarity and subjected to varying degrees of threats. This effort culminated with the publication of the first edition of its Inventory of Rare and Endangered Vascular Plants of California in 1974. The CNPS Inventory is regularly reviewed and updated and is available on line for anyone wishing to learn more about the rare plants in their area. As such it serves as a defensible, definitive source of information about plant species that should be included in any impact assessment, greatly expanding the list of species formally listed by the state or federal governments. This has played a critical role in raising the level of awareness of other rare species and in ensuring that fewer species fall through the cracks during the environmental review process.

We introduced the issue of rarity in plants in this column in 2000 (volume 14, numbers 3 and 4), followed by a discussion of endemism in 2001 (volume 15, numbers 3 and 4). Rarity, along with perceived threats to their continued existence, both natural or human-caused, are the basis for the listing of species under FESA and CESA or their inclusion on any of the CNPS lists. Thanks to the advocacy of the CNPS, there is relatively little controversy any more regarding the protection of plants that are rare on a statewide or global scale. However, species that are rare on a smaller geographic scale, such as a county, also warrant attention.

Although they may be common elsewhere, have a wide distribution, or be at little or no risk of extinction on a local scale, plant species may be unique for a variety of reasons. Some species may occur infrequently, representing an unusual resource in a region, while others may be common but occur in a habitat type that is itself rare or declining due to human-caused pressures. Other species may be locally common but represent populations that are isolated or occur at the limit of the species distribution. These so-called peripheral populations may possess genetic traits that give them “enhanced evolutionary potential for adaptation and speciation” (Leppig and White 2006). Isolated or peripheral populations of some species may actually be better equipped genetically to adapt to environmental shifts. Alternatively, isolated populations may also have an increased susceptibility to extirpation. Such populations may play an increasingly important role in the face of the pressures posed by climate change. For these reasons, conservation of locally rare species is controversial and a tougher sale to the general public and, more importantly, government decision-makers.

Because they are otherwise widespread or common, locally rare species are not

cause they are otherwise widespread or common, locally rare species are not afforded formal protection under the endangered species acts and generally don\'t meet the criteria for listing. Therefore, they typically are not evaluated in environmental documents. However, pertaining to the discussion of a project\'s environmental setting in EIRs, CEQA §15125[c] states: “Knowledge of the regional setting is critical to the assessment of environmental impacts. Special emphasis should be placed on environmental resources that are rare or unique to that region and would be affected by the project. The EIR must demonstrate that the significant environmental impacts of the proposed project were adequately investigated and discussed, and it must permit the significant effects of the project to be considered in the full environmental context.” (Emphasis added.)

It wasn\'t until 1992 that Dianne Lake of the CNPS East Bay Chapter led the first effort to identify the unusual and significant plants of a specific region, namely Alameda and Contra Costa counties. In its seventh edition, Dianne\'s Rare, Unusual and Significant Plants of Alameda and Contra Costa Counties (CNPS East Bay Chapter, 2004) identifies six ranking levels and specifies the criteria for inclusion on the list. With 1,500 species recorded in the East Bay Chapter area, 114 were already listed as rare or endangered statewide. But an additional 588 species would meet the criteria for listing if only these two counties were considered. And it is these species that the report seeks to draw attention to when evaluating the environmental impacts of proposed projects. An eighth edition of the report is due out in the spring of 2010. To date, only one other CNPS chapter (Channel Islands; Ventura County) and the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden (Santa Barbara County) have undertaken similar efforts for their respective regions. Both lists can be found online at .

In 1996, our Chapter\'s Rare Plant Committee prepared its first compilation of the rare plants of San Francisco (Wood 1996). In 2005, our chapter began compiling a list of locally significant plant species for all of San Francisco County (revised in 2006, available at . This list is based on a simple evaluation of the relative rarity of native species in the City and lacks the more formal selection criteria used in the East Bay.

The Yerba Buena Chapter is now embarking on a more ambitious project to refine its list of locally significant plant species. The motivation for this effort comes from an increased awareness of the biological value of such species; the ongoing conservation efforts of San Francisco\'s Natural Areas Program (NAP) and the Presidio Trust; continuing threats to the City\'s remaining natural areas by development, invasive species, and benign neglect; the upcoming transfer of Yerba Buena Island to the City from the Navy; and publication of the long-awaited revised Flora of San Francisco by Dr. Tom Daniel at the California Academy of Sciences. The revised list will incorporate our current knowledge of the number and size of plant populations, the rarity of the habitats in which they occur, threats, their isolation from other populations, and whether or not they are at the limits of their distribution, among other criteria.

We have initiated the formation of a Locally Significant Plants Program and the formation of a Locally Significant Plants Working Group. In addition to serving as a clearing house for our knowledge of San Francisco\'s locally rare species, objectives of this program will be to provide the basis for the City to establish an ordinance addressing locally significant species and to get them addressed in the General Plan. David Magney of the Channel Islands Chapter managed just such a coup. The Ventura County General Plan specifies that “locally important species/communities” are a significant biological resource to preserve and protect. Closer to home, Santa Cruz County has enacted a “Sensitive Habitat Protection Ordinance,” which specifies that no development activities that would result in disturbance to “rare, endangered or locally unique plants and animals or their habitats” can occur until a biotic review is conducted and necessary mitigation measures are developed to protect the habitat. Peter Brastow, CNPS Rare Plant Committee co-chair and founding director of Nature in the City , in coordination with numerous other conservation organizations, has recently made similar recommendations to the City in testimony at hearings for the update of the Recreation and Open Space Element of the General Plan.

It is important to stress that primary motivation for this undertaking is not to stop the otherwise legal development or use of public and private lands. Rather, as already required under CEQA, it is our goal to ensure that land use planning decisions fully evaluate all significant adverse environmental effects and provide appropriate mitigation. And, as always, raising public awareness of and advocating for the preservation of our botanical heritage is at the top of our to-do list.

References:
California Native Plant Society (CNPS). 2009. Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants (online edition, v7-09b). California Native Plant Society. Sacramento, CA. Available online at http://www.cnps.org/inventory.
Lake, D. 2004. Rare, Unusual and Significant Plants of Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. Seventh edition. California Native Plant Society, East Bay Chapter. March 1. Available online at .
Leppig, G. and J.W. White. 2006. Conservation of Peripheral Plant Populations in California. Madroño, vol. 53, no. 3, pp. 264-274. Available online at .
Morey, S. and D. Ikeda. 2001. Conserving Plants with Laws and Programs Under the Department of Fish and Game. Pp. 12-16 in Rare Plant Scientific Advisory Committee, D.P. Tibor (convening ed.), Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants of California. Sixth edition. California Native Plant Society Press, Sacramento, CA. Available online .
Wood, M. 1996. Rare and Endangered Plants of San Francisco\'s Wild and Scenic Places. Rare Plant Committee, California Native Plant Society, Yerba Buena Chapter. Revised January 2000. http://www.cnps-yerbabuena.org/experience/plant_guides.html.'; article.date = '2009.09'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Western Columbine (Aquilegia formosa)'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '

Aquilegia formosa
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A favorite component of the lush gardens of Europe and the eastern states are the columbines. Fancied for their lacy foliage and exquisite blossoms, the columbines are hardy perennials that add springtime excitement to woodland settings. With two-inch to three-inch long flowers in shades of blue, red and orange, with contrasting, backward-pointed spurs, columbines produce abundant and unique blossoms. The nectar-bearing spurs are very attractive to hummingbirds. Horticulturists tend to think only of the European strains, but there are about 18 species native to North America, including the state flower of Colorado (A. caerulea).

Columbine is a member of the crowfoot or buttercup family (Ranunculaceae), consisting of annual and perennial herbs, vines and even low shrubs, and includes completely aquatic species. The family includes some 1,700 species belonging to 60 genera with a worldwide distribution, but centered in temperate and cold regions of both hemispheres. Members of the family exhibit a wide array of flower structures with a wide variety of pollination modes. Most flowers are insect pollinated although some are wind pollinated; most annual species are self-pollinated. Other well-known genera include Anemone, Delphinium, Clematis, Helleborus, Thalictrum, Myosurus, and, of course, Ranunculus. Members of the family are not of great economic importance, although many genera are valued ornamentals. Some genera are highly poisonous, containing toxins such as Protoanemonin, alkaloids and glycosides. Early accounts of deaths are attributed to Aconitum, whose tubers were mistaken for Jerusalem artichokes (Helianthus tuberosus).

The genus Aquilegia consists of perennial herbs developing from a caudex (a thickened, modified stem at or below ground level). It is distinguished from other members of the family by its radial flowers and petals with long, backward-pointing spurs. There are some 70 species in the genus, found in temperate North America and Eurasia. Twenty species are native to the United States. California supports three native species with another two species whose taxonomic status is unresolved.

Western columbine has a wide distribution, occurring from Alaska southward through the western United States and into Baja California, Mexico. According to the Flora of North America, western columbine includes three varieties recorded; The Jepson Manual and the Jepson Online Interchange do not currently recognize the subspecific taxa.

Western columbine is distinguished from the other California members of the genus by its red sepals, yellow petals with straight to incurved spurs. Flowering occurs April through June. It grows up to a meter and a half tall (five feet) and is an inhabitant of streambanks, seeps, chaparral, oak woodland and mixed evergreen or coniferous forests. It can be found throughout the California Floristic Province, also referred to as “cismontane” California. This geographic unit refers to lands west of the crest of the Sierra Nevada and the western edge of the Great Basin in the north and the Mojave Desert in the south. (For a more detailed discussion of California\'s system of geographic units, see The Jepson Manual [Hickman 1993]). Western columbine has been recorded from 46 of California\'s 58 counties. Locally, it occurs in all nine of the San Francisco Bay Area counties.

According to A Flora of San Francisco, California (Howell, et al. 1958), western columbine was known from San Francisco as a single specimen collected in 1895, although they report that in her publication, “Catalogue of the Flowering Plants and Ferns Growing Spontaneously in the City Of San Francisco,” Katherine Brandegee (1891) inferred that it was rather widespread. Nowadays, western columbine is restricted to Glen Canyon Park, the nearby O\'Shaughnessy Hollow, and possibly Mt. Davidson; it is not present in the Presidio. Western columbine is considered uncommon on nearby San Bruno Mountain, and is recorded from Bitter Cherry Ridge (McClintock et al. 1990). It is considered common in the East Bay and Marin County, Montara Mountain, and the Santa Cruz Mountains. Although rare in San Francisco, the numbers of western columbine are increasing thanks to the propagation efforts of the CNPS and the Natural Areas Program.

Justifiably so, western columbine is not included in the CNPS Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants (CNPS 2009). However, because it is seen so infrequently in San Francisco County, western columbine appears on our chapter\'s list of locally significant plant species. Next spring, as you are exploring any of San Francisco\'s parks and natural areas, be sure to look for the eye-catching blossoms of western columbine. And if you find it, let us know when and where it was spotted.

References:
Brandegee, K. 1891. Catalogue of the Flowering Plants and Ferns Growing Spontaneously in the City of San Francisco. Zoe II 91:334-386.
California Native Plant Society (CNPS). 2009. Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants (online edition, v7-06d). California Native Plant Society. Sacramento, California. Available online at http://www.cnps.org/inventory.
Hickman, J.C. 1993. The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California. Univ. of California Press, Berkeley, California. 1400 pp.
Howell, J.T., P.H. Raven, and P. Rubtzoff. 1958. A Flora of San Francisco, California. Univ. of San Francisco. 157 pp.
McClintock, E., P. Reeberg, and W. Knight. 1990. A Flora of the San Bruno Mountains. California Native Plant Society, Sacramento, California Special Publ. No. 8. 223 pp.

'; article.date = '2009.12'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Franciscan Manzanita (Arctostaphylos franciscana)'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '
Arctostaphylos hookeri ssp. franciscana
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In previous articles, we’ve had the opportunity to pass on exciting news regarding the discovery in San Francisco of botanical treasures long lost or seldom seen—yellow mariposa lily in a Hunters Point neighborhood, fiesta flower and dune gilia on Yerba Buena Island, San Francisco collinsia and California saxifrage on Bayview Hill, to name a few. We’ve used these occasions to emphasize that there are still discoveries to be made in this metropolis, citing them as examples of the surprisingly rich biological diversity of our remaining natural areas and as a rationale for their preservation and management. But these discoveries never made the papers and none can compare with the earth-shattering news of the rediscovery of Franciscan manzanita, a plant thought extinct in the wild for nearly 70 years.

Last seen in the wild in 1947 and maintained only in cultivation, a single wild plant of Franciscan manzanita was discovered this past October in the Presidio. Hidden by overgrown vegetation, the plant was exposed when trees and shrubs were cleared to make way for construction of the Doyle Drive replacement project. It was found by Dr. Dan Gluesenkamp, Director of Habitat Protection and Restoration at Audubon Canyon Ranch, who spotted it while driving home and informed his colleagues at the Presidio. As soon as they crossed the highway to take a closer look, the Presidio’s ecologists knew they had something special. And while its true identity won’t be confirmed until DNA analysis is complete, the two people most qualified to hazard a guess, San Francisco State University scientists Dr. Thomas Parker and Michael Vasey, believe the specimen to be the long-lost Franciscan manzanita.

The genus name Arctostaphylos is combined from the Greek words for “bear” and “grape cluster”; the common name, manzanita is Spanish for “little apple.” It belongs to the heath family (Ericaceae), which includes azaleas and rhododendrons, madrone (Arbutus menziesii), salal (Gaultheria), and huckleberry (Vaccinium), among others. Typically associated with acidic substrates, the family is widely distributed in North America, Europe, and Asia, as well as the tropics of South America and New Guinea, and in southern Africa. The manzanitas include 62 species and at least 30 subspecies or varieties. Although its main center of diversity is along the central California coast, members of the genus are also found in Mexico, Central America (Guatemala), Europe, and Asia. Typically known for their smooth, burgundy-red bark, the manzanitas vary from prostrate, mat-forming plants to large shrubs or trees approaching 30 feet tall. The combination of dry summers and winter rainfall, frequent fire, and a diversity of soil types have likely contributed to the spectacular diversity of manzanita species in California.

The Franciscan manzanita (formerly named A. hookeri subsp. franciscana) is a low-growing, spreading shrub associated primarily with outcrops of serpentine or other ultramafic rock. The legendary botanist Alice Eastwood first described Franciscan manzanita as a unique species in 1905. Eastwood and others collected from a scattered population of Franciscan manzanita along the edge of a serpentine quarry in the Laurel Hill Cemetery. The area is now occupied by the Laurel Hill Playground, where one can still see traces of serpentine rock along its edges. The Franciscan manzanita also formerly occurred at Masonic Cemetery and on the windswept greenstone slopes of Mt. Davidson. It grew with Raven’s manzanita in all three locations, and possibly others, until being lost to development—but not before a number of horticulturists, including James Roof and Lester Rowntree, salvaged some of the original specimens, just ahead of the bulldozers. The Franciscan manzanitas of Laurel Hill are preserved at several botanic gardens, including the Regional Parks Botanic Garden at Tilden Park in Berkeley and the San Francisco Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum. These institutions deserve much credit and thanks for preserving the original Laurel Hill genotypes.

At the same time as Franciscan manzanita was being driven from Laurel Hill Cemetery, bulldozers were at work in another part of town. The construction of Doyle Drive in the late 1930s scraped through the Presidio’s serpentine headlands, fragmenting the wildflower-studded “mesa” first described by the Spanish colonists upon their arrival in the area. Ironically, these destructive forces likely provided for the renewal of a dying species by stimulating seed lying dormant in the soil to germinate. As cars passed by on their way to the recently completed Golden Gate Bridge, a manzanita emerged unnoticed along the top of a serpentine roadcut. Here it grew on a remarkably small patch of ground surrounded by highway ramps and roadways. Australian tea tree (Leptospermum laevigatum) and other exotic plants eventually over-topped their low-growing neighbor. This one plant managed to evade detection by contemporary botanists who over the years found a number of rare species in nearby fragments of serpentine prairie. But they missed the biggest prize of all, until a series of serendipitous events this past October led to the greatest manzanita discovery since 1952, when Dr. Peter Raven rediscovered the shrub first identified by Kate Brandegee in 1892, Raven’s manzanita (A. hookeri (renamed montana) subsp. ravenii.)

The excitement over the recent discovery of Franciscan manzanita has been slightly tempered by its extremely vulnerable location within the Doyle Drive reconstruction corridor. Fortunately, a network of experts came together immediately after its identification to consider every possible option for its conservation, as well as providing for the eventual recovery of the species. Various federal agencies and manzanita authorities worked with CalTrans to develop a conservation plan that includes its propagation by cuttings, rooted stem layers, and seeds; seed bank salvage and germination; and the movement of the “parent” plant to a suitable (and secret) protected natural area in the Presidio. In the meantime, specialists in manzanita propagation are growing cuttings at botanic gardens and native plant nurseries to safeguard the genotype and to provide source material for subsequent plantings. Coincidentally, co-author Michael Chassé has been working on a graduate studies project at San Francisco State University to analyze the prospects of establishing multiple viable populations of Franciscan manzanita on the northern San Francisco peninsula. The combination of ex situ conservation and maritime chaparral restoration may provide this species with a brighter future than could have ever been imagined over half a century ago.

Although the Franciscan manzanita was once a candidate for inclusion on the federal endangered species list, it was never listed because no natural populations remained. But with this discovery, an emergency petition for listing under the Endangered Species Act has been filed by the Wild Equity Institute, the Center for Biological Diversity, and the California Native Plant Society. The species has been on the CNPS List 1A, indicating that it is presumed extinct. A proposal has already been made to change its status to List 1B.

In reading the local newspapers, you may have been amazed about all the excitement generated by the discovery of Franciscan manzanita. You might even have chuckled to yourself, thinking something like, “Oh, those crazy botanists get so excited about such little things.” But if you’re a regular reader of this column, perhaps you can appreciate the remarkable diversity of plant life that can still be found in San Francisco, and perhaps you are at least a little excited that there is still the chance to discover new and unique species growing right under our noses. Have an adventurous spring!

Epilogue: Feds Find Funding to Protect Franciscan Manzanita:

Responding to a petition filed by the Wild Equity Institute, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has secured funding to start the Endangered Species Act protection process for the Franciscan manzanita in 2010. The individual plant has already been moved to a more secure home in the Presidio of San Francisco, and, with the help of the Endangered Species Act, recovery efforts for the entire species can begin in earnest. Learn more at http://wildequity.org/sections/12.

'; article.date = '2010.03'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica ssp. holosericea)'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '
Urtica dioica ssp. holosericea
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Stinging nettle might seem an odd subject for this column. It\'s certainly not rare. And who on earth wants to have an encounter with a plant known for the dermal discomfort caused by contacting its stinging hairs? But there is a lot to say about this plant and, by no means, does all of it involve cursing. In fact, stinging nettle is a most remarkable plant, one that plays a rather important role in our local ecology, perhaps in some ways you might not expect. Much like poison oak, once you can look past its nasty reputation, you can begin to appreciate it for its beauty, ecological role, and even the evolutionary story it has to offer.

The nettle family (Urticaceae) includes some 800 species in 45 genera; it is found in tropical, subtropical, and temperate regions on six continents. The family consists of deciduous annual and perennial herbs, perennial shrubs, lianas, and even small trees. These flowering dicots belong to the same subclass (Hamamelididae) as the oaks, birches, sycamores, walnuts, myrtle, and she-oaks (Casuarina). It is in the same order (Urticales) as hemp, mulberry, and elm. Members of the nettle family are well known noxious weeds, invading and densely colonizing disturbed streamsides, roadsides, canopy openings, fields, and orchards. Some members are useful for the harvestable bast-fibers that make up their stem tissue. Others are popular ornamental plants like artillery fern (Pilea microphylla), Elatostema, and Pellionia.

But the family is most notable for the presence of stinging hairs that function like hypodermic needles. The short, sharp, translucent and hollow hairs have bulbous bases filled with a pain-causing liquid reported to include a histamine, acetylcholine, and an as-yet-unidentified substance. Some genera have non-stinging hairs that are soft and flexible and lack the bulbous bases. Some have both. Perhaps the most notorious of all is the stinging-tree (Dendrocnide spp.) of northeastern Australia and Indonesia. Like stinging nettles on steroids, the hairs of these invaders of rainforest canopy openings can cause excruciating pain for days and weeks, painful sensations for months and years, and has even purportedly resulted in human deaths. (What do you expect? It\'s from Australia.) I once tagged along with some ecologists collecting forest regeneration data in Queensland. They had been collecting years of data on huge forest quadrats that they had to throw out when this plant took over; there was no way to work on those sites. I asked if the plant is as bad as rumored. They assured me that it was and that any attempt to experience it, even on the tiniest bit of exposed skin, would be foolhardy.

Many folks feel similarly about our own nettle, especially after pushing through a stand with bare arms and legs. All parts (stems, petioles, and both leaf surfaces) are covered non-stinging and stinging hairs which, when brushed, inject an irritant just beneath the surface of the skin. Treatments for stinging nettle include applying a topical anti-inflammatory like hydrocortisone ointment, aloe vera, saliva, or hot mud compresses, and taking analgesics like acetaminophen. My favorite tried-and-true remedy is to gather up and crush a bunch of mugwort leaves (Artemisia douglasiana), which can almost always be found nearby, and rub them over the affected area, effectively neutralizing the stinging sensation.

This perennial herb spreads from underground rootstocks, developing stout, unbranched stems three to nine feet tall. It sometimes almost forms a forest of fuzzy stalks. The fuzzy, serrated leaves are gray-green and grow up to five inches long. Recorded from 55 of California\'s 58 counties, stinging nettle is generally associated with low, damp places, stream banks, and wooded or brushy flood terraces below 9,000 feet in elevation. The small, greenish non-descript flowers lack petals. The male and female flowers develop in separate clusters on the same plant, a trait that distinguishes this subspecies from Urtica dioica ssp. dioica. In our area, flowering occurs from June through September.

Last year in this column (March 2009, vol. 23, No. 1) I touched upon the surprising role non-native plants play in supporting native butterflies, and I pondered how such organisms thrived before the introduction of non-native hosts. Like the native Kellogg\'s yampah (Perideridia kelloggii), stinging nettle is sure to have played (and continues to play) an important role. In this case, despite (or perhaps because of) its stinging hairs, Urtica is an important larval host plant for the red admiral butterfly (Vanessa atalanta) and the elusive satyr anglewing (Polygonia satyrus). According to Yerba Buena Chapter lepidopterist Liam O\'Brien, the red admiral has made a great adaptive choice by also utilizing another non-native member of the nettle family, pellitory (Parietaria judaica), found in every crack along every sidewalk, thereby ensuring a virtual year-round flight; the satyr anglewing, however, has not made the move and is still completely dependent on the stinging nettle.

In our chapter area, stinging nettle is plentiful in Glen Canyon and is found occasionally at Lake Merced/ Brotherhood Way. It is present in the Presidio; it is abundant along Lobos Creek, and it has been included in several restoration projects at El Polin, Dragonfly Creek, and Thompson Reach. It was recently found to have spontaneously reestablished itself at the Historic Trail on Mount Sutro. Historically, it was reported as occurring in sandy soils among oaks in Golden Gate Park, at Pine Lake, Lake Merced, Mountain Lake, Lobos Creek, and above Bakers Beach (Howell, et al. 1958). Although common throughout the Bay Area and beyond, suitable habitat for stinging nettle in our chapter area is quite limited. And, like poison oak, efforts to promote its spread could reasonably be met with disdain. But not every spot on the planet needs to be comfortably accessible to us humans. We have lovely parks for casual enjoyment. In fact, it is just such defensive mechanisms as stinging hairs and caustic oils that may have kept such species around and doing what they do naturally - like feeding butterfly larvae. Now, what could be wrong with that?

'; article.date = '2010.06'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //***BEGIN ARTICLE ENTRY newArticle(); article.title = 'The Tarweeds'; article.authors = 'Michael Wood'; article.content = '
Holocarpha virgata
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If you\'ve walked through any of the Bay Area\'s grasslands in the summer, you\'ve no doubt notice patches of dainty daisies with small white or yellow blossoms. Pleasing to the eye, you\'ve also no doubt had another of your senses tickled by these plants. That turpentine odor that you pick up on your boots or pant legs and notice when you get back in your car can mean only one thing... you\'ve wandered through a field of tarweeds.

Belonging to the sunflower family (Asteraceae), the so-called tarweeds are assigned to the tribe Heliantheae and the subtribe Madiinae. There are some 127 species of tarweeds in 17 genera with a center of diversity occurring in California and Hawaii. Also known as tarplant and rosinweed, the tarweeds are notable for the presence of glands on the leaves, stems, and involucres (bracts surrounding the inflorescence) that exude a sticky, strong-smelling resin. Our native California tarweeds belong to the genera Anisocarpus, Blepharizonia, Calycadenia, Carlquistia, Centromadia, Deinandra, Harmonia, Hemizonella, Hemizonia, Holocarpha, Jensia, Kyhosia, Layia, and Madia. Other members of the subtribe but not commonly called tarweeds are blow-wives (Achyrachaena), eyelashweed (Blepharipappus) whitecrown, (Holozonia), and hareleaf (Lagophylla).

But back to the tarweeds. Until Dr. Bruce Baldwin published his ground-breaking work on the group and reassessed the taxonomy of the species, the tarweeds were pretty much divided up between two genera, Madia and Hemizonia. A California Flora and Supplement (Munz 1968) lists 18 species and five subspecies of Madia and 27 species and six subspecies of Hemizonia. Of course, that has all changed now. The genera Hemizonia and Madia still exists (thank goodness), but some members are now assigned to some of those unfamiliar genera listed above.

The tarweeds are mostly annual herbs with the aforementioned aromatic herbage. The group of plants formerly lumped under the genus Hemizonia also includes one perennial shrub species. Several members have spine-tipped leaves and involucres. These species have the well-deserved common name of spikeweed, which is readily apparent to anyone that has ever tried to collect specimens. Our local Hemizonia and Madia species (and their derivatives) are mostly summer-flowering denizens of grasslands and fields. The spikeweeds, more common in low-lying alkaline flats around the edge of the bay, flower late summer and into the early fall, while the layias are mostly spring-flowering. Long after the non-native annual grasses have turned brown and the other flowering herbs have dried up and blown away, the tarweeds can put on quite a show.

With relatively deep roots and small leaves, tarweeds are able to tap moisture held deep in the clayey soils and to limit water loss during the heat of the day, making these summer-flowering plants well adapted to growing long after the last rains have fallen. By flowering as late in the season as they do, they are almost the only game in town for such pollinators as native bees. And although they might be the only green plant in the field, they tend to be avoided by grazing cattle because of the accumulation of the pungent resin on their leaf surfaces. In fact, by late summer, few animals can forage on tarweeds.

Many tarweeds produce copious amounts of seed and they were a staple of many Native American tribes. Seeds were collected and ground into pinole or meal, which was eaten dry. Seeds and roots of tarweeds were also stored and consumed through the year. The seeds are also consumed by a wide variety of birds and small mammals.

In addition to being pretty and at least to some, pleasant-smelling, many of the tarweeds have very limited distributions. In California, the group includes 11 species that are federally and/or State-listed as Endangered, Threatened or Rare, 32 species that are on the CNPS list 1B, one on List 3 and seven on List 4.

In San Francisco, only five tarweeds can still be found, but only is common. Coast tarweed (Madia sativa, which includes what was formerly known as M. capitata) grows abundantly in the grasslands of Bayview Hill, Corona Heights, Glen Canyon, along O\'Shaughnessey Boulevard, and in the Presidio. Little tarweed (Hemizonella minima; formerly Madia m.) is known only from McLaren Park. Hayfield tarweed (Hemizonia congesta ssp. luzulifolia) has been found growing in coastal prairie near the Log Cabin in the Presidio. Ten plants were counted in 2002, but they have not been observed there for at least four years. Tall tidy-tips (Layia hieracioides) and tidy-tips (Layia platyglossa) are both known only from the Presidio. With the exception of coast tarweed, each of these species will be included on our chapter\'s revised list of locally significant plants.

Tarweeds known historically from the County (Howell, et al. 1958) but no longer present include spikeweed (Centromadia pungens), coastal tarweed (Deinandra corymbosa), fascicled tarweed (Deinandra fasciculata), Kellogg\'s tarweed (Deinandra kelloggii), smooth layia (Layia chrysanthemoides), woodland layia (Layia gaillardioides), threadstem madia (Madia exigua), and slender tarweed (Madia gracilis).

So this summer, when you\'re out hiking in the grassy hills of the Bay Area, remember to follow your nose as well as your eyes. And when you pick up that strong odor of turpentine, look for the source. You\'re likely to be rewarded by spying some very pretty native heerbs that you might otherwise have overlooked.

Happy summer.

'; article.date = '2010.09'; addArticle(article); //***END ARTICLE ENTRY //************************RARITIES ARTICLES***************************************// raritiesArticles = sortArticles(raritiesArticles, 'date');