Harrison Grade and Cunningham Marsh
Saturday, June 22, 10:30 a.m.
Late June brings us many summer flowers that are not present during the peak of the spring flowering season. This is especially true for serpentine habitats and freshwater marshes in Sonoma county. At
Harrison Grade, a serpentine forest borders a chaparral area dominated by large stands of Sargent cypress (Hesperocyparis sargentii) and shrubs such as Baker’s manzanita (Arctostaphylos bakeri ssp. bakeri) and Jepson’s ceanothus (Ceanothus jepsonii). Small flowers such as serpentine blue curls (Trichostema laxum), starflower brodiaea (Brodiaea stellaris), and endemic Pennell’s birdsbeak (Cordylanthus tenuis ssp. capillaris) are some of the small beauties we hope to encounter. Part of this hike will be in rough, steep terrain, among chaparral and without a trail. From Harrison Grade, we’ll continue to Cunningham Marsh, where our main objective is to find the rare Pitkin lily (Lilium pardalinum ssp. pitkinense) and other marsh species.
Meet at 10:30 in Occidental in the parking area along Main Street in front of the Union Hotel. We‘ll carpool to the Harrison Grade area and stop several places along Harrison Grade Road, Stoetz Lane, and the Harrison Grade Ecological Reserve. We estimate returning to the Union Hotel by 4 p.m.
An access permit with participant’s names is required for groups visiting the Harrison Grade Ecological Reserve, managed by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Please contact Susan Schlosser
by June 10 if you plan to participate.
Email: scschlosser52@gmail.com or call/text 707-834-6525
Leader: Terry Gosliner is a CNPS member and a Curator in the Department of Invertebrate Zoologyand Geology at the California Academy of Sciences, where he specializes in the evolution and systematics
of nudibranchs (sea slugs). While his research focuses on marine biology and often takes him to coral reefs in the Philippines, he has a life-long passion for native California plants. As a child he grew up in Marin and explored the plants of the Mt. Tamalpais Watershed from an early age.
Image: Serpentine Blue Curls, Trichostema laxum
Terrence M. Gosliner