Field Trip & Outings Reports – May, 2025

There are so many treats – masses of wildflowers, magical serpentine outcrops, majestic views to the east and south, and out of the way populations of rare species. Join Karen & Allison, Ring Mountain docents, for two more excursions June 4 & 18, or stop by on a weekend to see this jewel.

CNPS Stewardship at Ring Mountain May 13, 2025
We had a great stewardship day on Ring Mountain!  We worked with Amanda Magallanes, Ring Mountain Stewardship Coordinator with Marin County Parks, to remove tocalote (Centaurea melitensis), false brome (Brachypodium distachyon), Italian thistle (Carduus pycnocephalus), and other non-native invasive plants. These invasive species compete with native bunch grasses and wildflowers for space, moisture, and nutrients. False brome also builds up a thick layer of thatch which inhibits native seed germination. We worked to clear areas around buckwheat (Eriogonum nudum var. nudum), serpentine monardella (Monardella purpurea), and hill morning glory (Calystegia subacaulis ssp. subacaulis), and created openings for next year’s annual wildflowers, such as sky lupine (Lupinus nanus). Amanda then led a walk to look for the elusive Tiburon mariposa lily (Calochortus tiburonensis), only found on Ring Mountain – it wasn’t flowering, but we did see its telltale long, straplike leaves rising from between serpentine rocks.  For more information on the unique assemblage of plants on Ring Mountain see the CNPS Ring Mountain Plant List and the new book Serpentine Grassland Plants of Ring Mountain.

Caroline Christman

Gravity Car Fire Road Walk May 14, 2025
We had a clear, gorgeous day to enjoy a stroll through the varied ecosystems along this path. Starting in the shade of coast redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens), we wound in and out of forest overstory and sunny clearings resplendent with sticky monkey flower (Diplacus aurantiacus ), finally ending with majestic views and a unique assemblage of chaparral vegetation at the Double Bow Knot. In the sunny spots we were treated to a flurry of bees and butterflies, such as the anise swallowtail (Papilio zelicaon), enjoying late spring blooms. One highlight was watching several species of bee exploring flowers of thin-lobed horkelia (Horkelia tenuiloba; California Rare Plant Rank: 1B.2). Another was finding a faded flower stalk on beargrass (Xerophyllum tenax), so that our “mystery grass” could be identified as a member of the bunchflower or corn lily family (Melanthiaceae)!

Caroline Christman

Regional Parks Botanic Garen, May 21, 2025
We strolled through EBRP Botanic Garden taking in the richness and diversity of plant life from different regions of California.  In the Klamath-Shasta section, we stopped to admire the towering and stately Port Orford cedar (Chamisypres Lawsoniana), with its deep, blue-green, scaly leaves arranged in pendulus, flat, lacey sprays on the branches.  We looked closely at a rare and endangered species of marbled ginger (Asarum marmoratum), and the carnivorous cobra lily (Darlingtonia californica).  In the Sierra section, we were treated to a view of a Bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva), a grove of quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides) and many different, architecturally stunning species of buckwheats in bloom, including Wright’s buckwheat (Eriogonum wright II), lava buckwheat (Eriogonum prattenianum) and Donner buckwheat (Eriogonum ursine).  In the Santa Lucia section, we visited the majestic grove of Santa Lucia fir (Abies bracteata).  In the Channel Island section we compared the smooth-margined, simple leaf of the Santa Catalina ironwood (Lyonothamnus floribundus ssp. floribundus), to the toothed-margined, pinnately compound, fern-like leaves of the Santa Cruz ironwood (Lyonothamnus floribundus ssp. aspleniifolius.  See photo.  We were regaled by blooms throughout the Botanic Garden, including Iris, Penstemon, flannel bush (Fremontodendron californicum), Silene, woolly bluecurls (Trichostema lanatum), creek dogwood  (Cornus sericea ssp. sericea), bush anemone (Carpenteria californica) and more.  Even though we spent hours at the Botanic Garden, there was so much more to see in this 10-acre botanic gem nestled in Wildcat Canyon.

Anna Gil