2015 - Robert's adventures in the Northern Sierra Nevada - California

[Robert]

Robert,
We well understand that!
The previous Victorian Government had reversed a ban on cattle grazing in the High Country which the government before them had imposed. They said it was doing "a trial" to see if cattle helped reduce fire risk. But all the scientific community were up in arms because there was nothing scientific about the way they were doing it. And the alpine ecosystem was just starting to recover! To me it was simply because part of their power base were the cattlemen who got free grazing for their cattle.
Fortunately that government only lasted one term and the new one re-imposed the ban,
cheers
fermi

Fermi,

It sounds like good news in your part of the world. Around here, the U.S. Forest Service has been slowly phasing out cattle grazing on the National Forest Lands (extremely slow). Some of the more sensitive areas are now free of cattle grazing. Unfortunately for us, some things are very slow to change. Cattle grazing does nothing to reduce the fire danger as, for the most part, cattle are grazers not browsers (such as deer). I have seen much destruction done by cattle, especially in riparian habitats. Meadow plants suffer greatly, not to mention the introduction of invasive foreign plants. I am certainly hoping for positive change, however right now it is very slow.

On private lands some of the cattle ranchers are very progressive and have found ways to preserve the native plant species and continue ranching in an economically viable way. Much of California grassland is invasive plants anyway. Fencing and controlled burning protect sensitive areas. It seems like a win-win situation.

[Maggi Young]

I can say this, because I'm  A Scot - we often have to explain the  humour of our English cousins!! 
( and vice-versa!)

 Robert, think of the old saying - "There's gold in them thar hills...."      translate to Demder Hills and there you have it! 

[Hoy]

Alan,

Can you explain Demder Hills? 

Robert,

I got curious nd found this:

http://benkappers.blogspot.no/2012/08/theres-gold-in-dem-der-hills.html   

[Robert]

Ah! Now I get it!  A very good play on words!

Thank you for the help, everyone.

Alan, now that I get it, I love the humor!  Thank you, it is always great to lighten up and smile!

There is plenty of humor that I do not understand even here in the U.S.A. and I certainly enjoy laughing and having fun. Oh well!

[Maggi Young]

Anyone  who has had their interest in California native plants raised by Robert's most excellent  reports may also  be interested in  this website maintained by Michael Wall, retired curator and seed conservation program manager at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden : http://www.mynativeplants.net/

[Robert]

TRAVERSE CREEK

[/b]

Tuesday, 14 July 2015

Weather: Clear

Temperature, High: 90 F (32 C), Low: 57 F (14 C)



I had a few hours to myself on Tuesday so I decided to take a trip out to the Traverve Creek area and have a look around. Traverve Creek is only a 1/2 hour drive from the farm, and a low elevation site at , 2,220 feet (677 meters). We are well into our dry season, it would be interesting to see what I might find this time of year.



Conditions are very dry at this time of year, however I found no shortage of plants in bloom.

Asclepias fascicularis is often found in dry locations. As most Asclepias do, it attracts Monarch Butterflies and, yes, I saw Monarch Butterflies too. I was very happy to see the butterflies as they are not seen in our parts very often any more.



There were many Silene laciniata ssp. californica still blooming. The plants look healthy enough, yet they are stressed to a degree as most of the seed capsules were aborted. That the farm where they get some attention the seed capsules are full of seed.



Polygala cornuta is a member of the Polyalaceae and another late bloomer.



I find them to be quite attractive and will give them a try in the garden at some point.

[Robert]

Most of this area is mid-elevation chaparral on top of a serpentine based soil. The soil is shallow (if there is any), rocky, and extremely dry this time of year.



And yet there are many plants still blooming this time of year. Most of these have very sticky, glandular foliage that is often quite small.

The annual Lessingia leptoclada was seen frequently. Where numbers of them grew together they put on a good show. Some of the other species seen in bloom were; Madia glomerata, pictured last week, Grindelia camporum, Gum Weed, pictured two weeks ago, and Calycadenia multiglandulosa, very difficult for me to photograph.



Soon I crossed one of the small tributary creeks. Here the habitat is much different with many shade and moisture loving species in bloom such as Boykinia occidentalis, with its stems of tiny white star shaped flowers, Mimulus cardinalis, and Lilium pardalium.



On the other side of the creek immediately the dry conditions started again as I moved to higher ground.

Here I found the last fading flowers of Monardella sheltonii. This was a great find as it is not a commonly found species. Out of bloom it can be easily be identified by its weakly toothed, adaxially glabrous, and abaxially densely puberulant leaves. The leaves of Monardella odoratissima are abaxially pitted. All of this can be easily seen with a hand lens.



Further along Castilleja applegatei was seen blooming. Many of the plants had already dried up for the season, and yet some were still blooming. With the fall rains all of them will grow new green growth from the brown dead looking, dry stems.

[Robert]

Helianthus bolanderi is another annual species rarely seen these days.



Eriogonum tripodum is a great little late blooming Buckwheat species. It has been more than a month now and they are still blooming.



They grow in a very harsh, dry environment. A very xeric species well worth growing for its late season flowers, compact growth and attractive gray foliage - climate permitting.



At still point I moved down the hill toward Traverse Creek.

[Robert]

With our drought conditions Traverse Creek is very low. I decided to walk, or more like jump, from rock to rock up stream to see what I might find. There were trout still surviving in the warm water!



Soon I found buds of Lilium pardalinum gretting ready to open.



Lilium pardalinum is a moisture loving species, always found near water in our area. Most of the Lilies had already finished for the season, however I did find this stem in bloom.

I did not have a great amount of time this day, so it was time to quickly return to the truck and the farm. Despite the time limitations, I was very pleased to see many interesting plants! 

[Alan_b]

Robert, I love reading about your adventures and seeing pictures of the plants you find.

When I was growing up, the phrase "There's gold in them thar hills" or "... dem der hills" seemed to recur in movies and TV shows and has been etched into my brain.  I don't know the origin of the phrase, it is still widely quoted and long-established since Mark Twain used it in his book, "The American Claimant", apparently.  Alluding to the fact that you seem to have a very wide choice of choice of places you can visit, I made a rather dubious attempt at humour.  Thanks to Maggi for the translation.   

[Hoy]

Robert

Your outings are always welcome, either long or short!  And the plants are always interesting

Does the watercourse dry up eventually?  The bigger plants have deep roots I suppose, but the smaller one, do they live on dew?

At the driest place I visit regularly (my summerhouse) the plants that can withstand long drought in the shallow soil are either succulents or depending on morning dew.

[Robert]

Robert, I love reading about your adventures and seeing pictures of the plants you find.

When I was growing up, the phrase "There's gold in them thar hills" or "... dem der hills" seemed to recur in movies and TV shows and has been etched into my brain.  I don't know the origin of the phrase, it is still widely quoted and long-established since Mark Twain used it in his book, "The American Claimant", apparently.  Alluding to the fact that you seem to have a very wide choice of choice of places you can visit, I made a rather dubious attempt at humour.  Thanks to Maggi for the translation.   

Alan,

I was delighted by your humour!    It just took me awhile to get it.  And, yes, I am very fortunate to have many choice locations that I can visit that are very close by.

I am also delighted that you are enjoying the diary. As you might guess, I enjoy getting out into nature; the plants, the wild creatures, and so much more. 

[Robert]

Robert

Your outings are always welcome, either long or short!  And the plants are always interesting

Does the watercourse dry up eventually?  The bigger plants have deep roots I suppose, but the smaller one, do they live on dew?

At the driest place I visit regularly (my summerhouse) the plants that can withstand long drought in the shallow soil are either succulents or depending on morning dew.

Trond,

I have never seen Traverse Creek dry up. With the current drought there is always a first time. I certainly hope that the creek does not dry-up as there are trout and many other living beings dependent on the creek for survival. It would be very sad to lose them. 

There is not much moisture in the air at this time of year and dew is extremely limited. Most of the xeric plants survive by conserving water in some way. Many of the plants have highly glandular and pubescent foliage, stems, etc. that help them survive and conserve water. Some plants lose their leaves during the summer such as Aesculus californica, California Buckeye, others dry-up, go dormant, and look dead. With the first rains they come back to life. Other plants such as Sedum and Dudleya have fleshy leaves and change their water use metabolism.

Most of the plants that live near and depend on a water source will die if the water dries -up.

I need to make an effort to photograph some of the non-blooming plants too. Many, such as Lady Fern, Athyrium filix-femina, are only active during the growing season and are dormant during the winter.

[Hoy]

Let us hope that Traverse Creek never dries up!

[Robert]

THE BLUFF

Thursday, 16 July 2015

Weather: Clear

Temperature, High: 95 F (35 C),  Low: 64 F (18 C)

While making a survey of our local flora I like, when possible, to return to a site several times in the growing season to witness the progression of the various species. On my 21 May outing I found an interesting bluff with several springs that opened up somewhat high on the side near the crest. At that time, the early bloomers such as Dicentra uniflora and Sanicula tuberosa were blooming, however at this time there was not much else going on. I had a good hunch that there could be some interesting plants found here later in the season. Two months later, I have now returned to check on the situation.



This bluff is located near a low col with this great view off to the northwest. The crest of the bluff is at 7,468 feet (2,276 meters) in a pure Red Fir, Abies magnifica, forest.



At the crest, conditions are dry, however there were many sub-shrub and perennial plants in bloom. Sidalcea glaucescens (pictured) was putting on quite the show with many Monardella odoratissima var. pallida blooming nearby. There were also many of the rayless Aster, Aster breweri, blooming (Now known as Eucephalus breweri    ) among the creeping stems of Symphoricarpus mollis.



The bluff drops off steeply, the soft volcanic soil full of lose stones of all sizes. Even in the open areas walking and climbing, was difficult.



Where there was more moisture were thick stands of Lupinus polyphyllus.



Also in these fringe moist areas, drift of the bright yellow Mimulus moschata caught my attention. From my understanding, this species has been in use and hybridized in the U.K. for a very long time. Not so here in California. This is a shame as it is a very attractive perennial species. I find it quite easy to grow at the farm.