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

[Hoy]

Tim,

I am sure you are able to learn Norwegian if you relly wish

I did visit Akureyri in my youth. I and 3 friends hitchhiked all main roads in Iceland I remember we ate a lot of sausages and meshed potato seasoned with thyme we found everywhere

[Hoy]

Robert,

I usually use yr.no when I am abroad. It is as accurate as anything local and often more accurate abroad than at home! Due to the topography the local weather in Norway is very difficult to forecast.

Ser fram til din neste rapport

[Robert]

Tim,

I thought you might be interested in the September 2015 issue of Fremontia, the journal of the California Native Plant Society. There is a good article and summary of the life of Lester Rowntree. What a same her field notes were lost in a fire. 

[Tim Ingram]

Thanks Robert - I'll make a note of that. Just looked on the CNPS website and the older issues could make good winter reading online! A while ago I also found some transcripts of an interview with Wayne Roderick so this would be nice subject for an article, bringing together some of these highly significant figures who have studied the Californian flora - I think they are little recognised by gardeners in the UK, just in the same way as  remarkable figures like Jim Archibald and many other UK plants-people are not. When you grow plants from seed you quickly realise how significant such people are!

[Robert]

AMERICAN CANYON CREEK

28 October 2015

Weather: Rain Showers
Temperature, High: 66 F (19 C),  Low: 56 F (13 C)



American Canyon Creek was a favorite destination this past winter. The canyons are still somewhat wild with much wildlife, a good variety of plant species, and beautiful scenery. My last visit to this area was 7 January of this year, so a return visit was long over due.



I was greeted near the trailhead by this spectacular Madrone Tree, Arbutus menziesii, in full fruit. Over the years I have noticed that most mature Madrone trees do not fruit every season. What a shame, for when they fruit well they are very beautiful.



From the trailhead at 1,769 feet, 539 meters, the trail quickly heads down the east facing ridge toward American Canyon Creek far below. Here the forest is dominated by large Douglas Fir, Pseudostuga menziesii, with an under story of many California Bays, Umbellularia californica, as well as a scattering of other species. The light rain that was falling heighten the scent of the Bay trees making the hike very pleasant.



This time of year the large trunks of the Canyon Live Oaks, Quercus chrysolepis, appear black and foreboding.



The leaves of Canyon Live Oak are green adaxially and noticeably gray abaxially making it easy to distinguish this species from our other large growing Live Oak, Quercus wislizenii.

[Robert]

The occasional Bigleaf Maple, Acer macrophyllum, filled the under story with their usual bright yellow autumn color. The bright yellow color is striking against the deep green Douglas Fir and California Bay trees.



Where there was running water, California Wild Grape, Vitis californica, created their jungle-like effect as the vines climbed rampantly and high into the tall Douglas Fir and various Oaks. Today all the grapes I saw produced predominantly yellow autumn shades with only tints of red. In other parts of California some can have bright scarlet autumn leaves.



On the forest floor the low growing evergreen Berberis aquifolium var. dictyota grew in small carpets and colonies.



At this time, the only summer dormant fern showing new growth was our Gold Back Fern, Pentagramma triangularis.



Most of the Gold Back Ferns were still dormant as the ground is still very dry in this area. This species is very tough. Here the new growth has been burned back due to the high temperatures and lack of moisture. When the ground becomes consistently moist they will recover completely.

[Robert]

Rather than follow the trail down to the creek, I decided to traverse the east facing canyon ridge as it slowly shifted to north facing high over the Middle Fork of the American River far below.

The evergreen fern, Dryopteris arguta, grew thickly in places on the shady slopes.



Here the Dryopteris ferns looked very healthy. In other areas this fall I saw the same species extremely stressed by the drought conditions.



Another handsome under story species was California Hazel Nut, Corylus cornuta var. californica. This shrubby species can grow in multi-trunked thickets, however today I only saw individual shrubs, often with bright golden yellow autumn leaves.



At times the route opened out to promontory points with terrific views of the surrounding territory. These clearings are often great sites to find many of our native bulbs and annual wildflowers. Even this late in the season there were the dry remains of Brodiaea elegans, Chlorogalum pomeridianum, and Calochortus albus. Healthy green clumps of Iris hartwegii dotted the grassy areas. I certainly hope that I can return during the spring bloom.



This view is of the west facing slope of American Canyon Creek. In general the forest looked good with very few dead or stressed trees.

[Robert]

This is another view looking northeast with the Middle Fork of the American River far below.



Dutchman's Pipe Vine, Aristolochia californica, was a frequent sight.



I was very please to find a few vines with ripe seed pods - or maybe over ripe. Most of the pods were already empty, however I did find a few seeds. I enjoy growing this species as the larva of our Swallowtail Butterflies feed on the foliage of this species.

Down the street from our Sacramento bungalow the developers removed the last habitat for our swallowtail butterflies. The huge Dutchman's Pipe and native grape vines the grew into the giant Valley Oaks are all gone now. I hope some of the seeds are still good and sprout so I can plant Aristolochia on the property around our bungalow.



On another promontory grew the Shrub Oak, Quercus dumosa. I rarely see this species and was very pleased to find many health shrubs in this area. This evergreen species grows only 2-3 meters tall and as wide at maturity.



As this sign implies, one needs to be aware at all times. Our big cats are not much different than the tigers of India or the lions and leopards of Africa. I did not see any signs of Mountain Lion today, however I did see sign of Bear.

Earlier in the spring, I found a fresh deer carcass that a Mountain Lion had brought down. When I returned a few hours later the cat had drug the carcass about 50 feet down the trail (and had eaten most of it). I did not see the cat, however I am sure that it saw me. 

[Robert]

I was somewhat surprised to find Star Flower, Trientalis latifolia, in this area. This species is seen frequently at higher elevations. This must be close to the lower elevation limit for this species in our area.



Finally after a good hike, I located some good stands of Styrax redivivus with ripe seed pods. I greatly appreciate this species in the garden. The springtime white flowers have a delightful fragrance and it is a xeric species needing little or no summer irrigation to thrive in our area. It is a small shrubby species unlike S. japonica, which can become a small tree in our area.



Time had finally run out and it was time to return to the truck. Before turning back I saw a Black Oak, Quercus kelloggii, attempting to turn scarlet



This species generally turns yellow / gold in the autumn, but on rare occasions there is a tree that will have scarlet shades to the leaves mixed with the more common gold colour.

This outing was very productive. I cover 5.87 miles (9.45 km) and logged a goodly number of species in an afternoon. 

[Maggi Young]

Where the Vitis californica covers a tree, does the tree suffer much or can it co-exist with the vine clambering all over it?

[Robert]

Where the Vitis californica covers a tree, does the tree suffer much or can it co-exist with the vine clambering all over it?

Maggi,

The Vitis and trees, surprisingly, co-exist very well together. Occasionally a tree will be smothered or broken down by the weight of the the vines, but not too often. In the Sacramento Valley there are still a few locations where the giant Valley Oaks are covered with huge grape vines. It is quite the sight!

This situation worked out well for the filming of the 1938 movie "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland - what a great movie!  . Some of the filming took place in Bidwell Park, Chico, California. To this day there are still giant Valley Oaks with grape vines growing all over them. This was used very effectively in the movie. 

[Maggi Young]

Thanks Robert - and especially for the extra colour in the form of the movie information (they don't make films like that any more - nor do they have such stars!)

[Hoy]

I enjoyed your outing as always, Robert

Although we have had nice weather here for some time now I have not had much daytime for outings. Then it is relaxing to follow you. I do love forests

The only vine of some size here is Lonicera periclymenum. Although it can grow quite large I have never seen that it break down trees but it can strangle them.

I had to remove a very huge Actinidia deliciosa in the garden. It almost broke down the house and my wife suffered (not for the house's sake but for the lack of sun)

[Robert]

Trond,

We have a huge male Actinidia deliciosa that climbs into one of our giant native Interior Live Oak, Quecus wislizenii. The Actinidia shares the oak with a Concord Grape. Somehow they all coexist happily. The male Actinidia also pollinates all the female Actinidia vines (in a different location). We will be picking all the kiwi fruit any day now. It goes into cold storage along with the apples and pears. First we will enjoy the pomegranates and persimmons. When we are finished with them then we will start in on the fruit in cold storage. This way we have fruit all winter into the early spring. 

We have had some good rainfall the past 3 days, about 38mm total. There has also been some good snowfall in the Sierra Nevada, 2-3 feet (.6 - 1 meter) in the higher terrain. We have not seen this for awhile.     

[Robert]

Middle Fork of the American River

Wednesday, 18 November 2015

Weather: High Clouds
Temperature, High: 61 F (16 C), Low: 34 F (1 C)



This day, I traveled up the Middle Fork of the American River starting at the confluence with the North Fork of the American River. The trail follows an old railroad grade on the north facing bank of the River. The railroad transported limestone from an upstream quarry to the town of Auburn on the north ridge far above the river. Part of the quarry is still in use, however trucks are now used to transport the limestone.

The trailhead started at 702 feet (214 meters), dropped down toward the river bank at 618 feet (188 meters) and then followed the railroad grade upstream.



Many ravines dropped steeply down the canyon face towards the river. Despite some good rainfall to-date, most of the ravines were still dry. Most were filled with Bigleaf Maples, Acer macrophyllum, with bright gold autumn leaves contrasting against the deep green of the evergreen oaks and conifers. It was a warm day, but cold air flowed down the shaded ravines bring a welcome autumn chill to the air.



Part of my mission this day was the gather cuttings from some select forms of Mimulus aurantiacus var. grandiflorus I had found the previous spring.

Before arriving at the site, I came across a huge patch of Berberis aquifolium var. dictyota. The colony ran well up the hillside and disappeared into the forest above.



The foliage on most of the plants was still its usual blue-green color, however a few leaves had started to turn red. I hope that I can return to see this patch when many of the other leaves turn red and contrast with the newer foliage which will stay blue-green. It should be a beautiful sight.



I knew exactly where I was going and soon arrived where the Mimulus aurantiacus was located. The plants do not look like much now, but they were gorgeous in the spring when they were blooming. Part of what I like about the plants in this area is the various flower shades of cream, to yellow-orange on the different plants. For me, definitely something to work with! Some of the plants at this site are exceptional, however I am very excited to see what sort of color variation the future generations might have as I cross pollinate and grow seedlings on.