2018 - Robert's botantical adventures in Northern California

[Robert]

Beyond the pool of water, there was some open ground for hiking yet still plenty of snow to cross.



I always like to be the first one in to an area at the start of the spring season. Well, not this year! The tracks told me that someone had hiked in the previous day (one was female - the tracks told the story). In addition, other very subtle tracks indicated that someone else had arrive a week or so earlier.



As I hiked up the trail there has more snow than open ground in most areas.



I enjoy the solitude of the early season in the mountains. It is quiet and peaceful. At times a light gust of wind brushed through the trees. The fussing and territorial fighting of the birds activated my curiosity as their cacophony broke the silence.



The sleepy plants were awaking and thinking about growth. Clumps of Horkelia fusca ssp. parviflora were starting to green up.

[Robert]

Eriogonum species can look brown and dead during the winter, even without snow cover. With snow cover, most can certainly look like they have left this world for plant heaven. Eriogonum incanum is one species that tends to quickly show initial signs of some new active growth after snow melt, but it can also be very slow to show signs that it has fully recovered from its winter dormancy.



Most of the meadows were a sloppy, swampy mess of running water and muck. At this stage the meadows look lifeless, however on close examination there were all sorts of signs of life and new active growth. It will not be long and the first flowers of Ranunculus alismfolius and other early blooming species will appear.



The dry seemingly lifeless grasses are sprouting with new green growth.



Many of the meadow plants are well adapted to swampy waterlogged conditions in the early spring. Later in the season some of the meadows in this area become parched dry, while others will remain somewhat moist. Each meadow has its mix of species well adapted to various moisture conditions, elevation, exposure, soil type and substrate, and other variables.



New green growth was apparent everywhere. In this photograph there is a mix of both perennial and annual species.

[Robert]

Lyons Creek had a full head of water flowing through its channel. Last year with the extremely abundant snow pack there was some flooding at times during the peak of the snowmelt runoff. Not this year.

I only had the morning to explore around. I would have loved to stay longer, even forever, but I had other obligations in the afternoon. It was now time to hike out and plan my next visit to this area.

Until next time……

[Hoy]

Nice, and in a way, very familiar scenes. The plant species are different but the melting snow etc bring back memories!

[Robert]

Trond,

Our wintery-spring weather continued today.



There was just enough instability and convection for some rain showers this afternoon.



Tells Peak. In the high country I am sure there was some snow at the highest elevations.



I was a bit surprised that there was some small hail in some of the rain showers. It was not that cold and the atmosphere did not seem extremely unstable. At Loon Lake (6,424 feet - 1,958 meters) it was 46 F (7.8 C) at 3:00 p.m. Considering the circumstances this was "warm".

My morning at Lyons Creek brought back memories of my first trip on this trail back in 1960. There was no snow on the ground on that long ago trip, but it was overcast and had the same feeling. I was very aware of these feelings as I hiked along the trail the other day.

[Robert]

Interested in climatic data and the weather in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California? The following is an example.

April weather roundup for Peavine Ridge, 5,146 feet (1,569 meters), El Dorado County, California.

Average temperatures: High: 60.70 F (15.94 C)
                                      Low: 34.67 (1.48 C).
Highest temperature: 79 F (26.1 C) - 25 April
Lowest temperature: 19 F (-7.2 C) – 17 April
There were 13 days with low temperatures of = or < 32 F (0 C).

Precipitation for the month: 5.34 inches (138 mm).

On 1 April there was a snow cover of 20 cm, with a liquid equivalent of 3.31” (84 mm).
It snowed off and on through the month, however most of the month there was only a trace of snow cover on the ground. The month ended with no snow cover on the ground.

Currently I only have partial data on Relative Humidity, Dew Point, Wind Speed and Direction.

Average afternoon Relative Humidity: 46%
Average afternoon Dew Point: 38 F (3.3 C)
Average wind speed: 8 mph
Average wind gust: 13 mph
Prevailing wind direction: South to Southwest

I am working on my Poho Ridge outing and hope to have something posted soon. 

[Robert]

This is more or less a test.

This photograph was taken with a new iPad I need for my current project. On too bad for a gizmo. I can tell than with some practice it can do even better.

The iPad also makes videos. I'll need some practice with this but this opens some interesting possibilities on my outings.

[Robert]

Saturday, 28 April 2018 – The road to Poho Ridge was severely damaged by storms during the winter of 2017. The road is the only access into this area. There was considerable pressure from the U.S. Forest Service, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, Logger, and Recreationalist to repair and reopen the road. The county of El Dorado, who is responsible for the maintenance of the road, needed considerable time and funding to repair it. By mid March, of this year, the repairs were finally nearing completion and by April, I started to hear rumors that the road was now open. I took a bit of a chance on Saturday to see if indeed the road was open.



I hit the Jackpot. I drove the out to the crest on the opposite ridge and found the locked gate had been completely removed. My timing was perfect too. Many of the wildflowers were at the peak of their bloom cycle.

I was first greeted by hillsides of Ceanothus tomentosus in full bloom. This fine species is rarely cultivated in California, yet seems very worthwhile for the garden. We have a small specimen established in our Sacramento garden. It appears to be quite happy and blooms every year.



Our native Pacific Dogwood, Cornus nuttallii, can be very spectacular and they were in full bloom.



As I worked my way through the canyon, Bush Poppy, Dendromecon rigida, was blooming on the hot, dry, rocky exposures that this species enjoys.



The large bright yellow flowers are very showy. This is another species that is rarely cultivated. The growth is often long and willowy and the foliage is a very attractive glaucous gray.

[Robert]

I was finally able to visit a favorite fern grotto in this area. There is a large north facing cliff face where many different ferns species are found growing in an environment of constantly dripping water. In the winter the frozen cliff face can be festooned with many long icicles. At times, the foliage of some of the ferns can be seen completely glazed over in clear ice, looking somewhat like the ancient insects found in amber.

On this day there was no ice, the weather was overcast and fairly warm. Adiantum aleuticum is one of the species that enjoys this unique environment.



The relatively small Fragile Fern, Cystoperis fragilis, could be found in some of the moist rock crevices.



Polystichum californica is fairly common fern in this area. It is always seen in mesic - hydric situations.

It is amazing how many fern species grow in the Poho Ridge area. As I remember, I logged about 10 different species on this day.



After taking in the fern grotto, I moved on to the hot, dry, south-facing slope of Poho Ridge. Here I found an old friend Bush Lupine, Lupinus albifrons var. albifrons, blooming abundantly.



One of the most spectacular scenes on Poho Ridge, are the many blooming wildflowers found during the spring season. Many are growing directly out of rock crevices on brutally hot, dry cliff faces. Mimulus aurantiacus var. grandiflorus is one of those species. It was putting on a tremendous show in this environment.

[Robert]

On the steep slopes, where there is adequate soil, many other wildflowers were found blooming. Lupinus nanus was seen blooming in mass on many of the steep slopes.



(Not a good photograph) Fork-toothed Ookow , Dichelostemma congestum, was seen growing abundantly. Their flower show was quite notable, thus the photograph.



Much of Poho Ridge was severely burned over during the 2014 King Fire. Ceanothus integerrimus var. macrothyrsus is an obligate seeder. This species regenerated abundantly after the fire. Much of the ridge is now cover with thick semi-mature stand of this species. It was quite impressive seeing them in bloom on this day.



There are several sites on Poho Ridge where Viola lobata ssp. lobata can be found. It is a delightful species often seen growing under the high open shade of conifers and deciduous tree species.



A view of the King Fire burn area and the canyon of the South Fork of the American River.

[Robert]

Calochortus monophyllus is a common species on Poho Ridge and can be found growing in a fairly wide variety of habitats.



Iris hartwegii ssp. hartwegii is another common species on Poho Ridge. Most of the specimens I encountered on this outing were quite uniform in flower color.



Poho Ridge is near the upper elevation limit for the Apiaceae species, Tauschia hartwegii. A number of specimens were seen blooming near the crest of the ridge.



I had a very limited amount of time to visit Poho Ridge on this day. On my way out, I found small rocky ravine filled with interesting plant species. This Collinsia had bloomed yet. Based on the appearance of the foliage it was most likely Collinsia tinctoria.



Where there was abundant moisture Mimulus guttatus was seen blooming prolifically.

[Robert]

At one location, the parasitic species Orobanche uniflora had colonized itself on a stand of Micranthes californica. The show of small lavender flowers was very impressive. This species is also found in moist locations, generally in the shade. Its preferred hosts are members of the Asteraceae, Saxifragaceae, and Sedum spathulifolium.



Near the end of this outing I found some prime specimens of Silene laciniata ssp. californica in full bloom. This was a great way to end this short outing.

It was great to have access to Poho Ridge again. With my current work schedule, there is a great deal of uncertainty when I will be able to return again. At this point it is a blessing to have interesting work, however it does demand much of my attention at this time. The current situation will not last forever and at some point I will be able to return to a regular schedule of outings again. At this time, I have an outing scheduled for next Thursday.

Until next time……
 

[fermi de Sousa]

Hi Robert,
Thanks for another great report! And again new plants that I have never seen before!
Keep up the great work,
cheers
fermi

[Robert]

Hi Robert,
Thanks for another great report! And again new plants that I have never seen before!
Keep up the great work,
cheers
fermi

Thank you so much Fermi! 

My outings are starting to pay off with some very nice plants for our garden (see posting "looking good in our garden now - N. Hemisphere"). Work and outings will start to combine together as spring moves into the higher terrain of the Sierra Nevada. I'll see what I can do with my VHF-UHF transceiver and iPad. Live real time movies and reports from remote sites in the Sierra Nevada are possible now through repeaters. My brother, another ham radio operator, told me about radio communication with Australia through a local internet linked repeater. Fun stuff!  All sorts of things are possible now. It seems like real time questions and answers are possible - move the camera to get the exact details, current weather conditions, soil, etc.

[Hoy]

Great display, Robert!

At the moment I am at the mountain cabin. The snow has just disappeared from around the cabin and not much is in flower (only one Pulsatilla vernalis and a few Noccaea caerulescens). Therefore it is great to see yours!