Santa Teresa Recap

Hi everyone, WOW, thanks for a fantastic hike yesterday!  We saw so much beauty, what an awesome time to be in a gorgeous park!

There's no way I can touch on everything we saw, so a couple highlights only.  Feel free to post pics or ask questions in the comments section.

Right out of the gate we saw some awesome bulbs.  Here's a great little article about Ithuriel's spear (explains the name origin): http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/triteleia_laxa.shtml.  We also saw a bunch of Brodeia, here's a good link with pictures: http://calscape.org/Brodiaea-elegans-(Harvest-Brodiaea)?srchcr=sc5706e03ecae8f.

We mused for quite some time on the medicinal and alcoholic possibilities of Mexican Elderberry.  Some of us enjoyed the flower smell more than others.  Here's an article which discusses literature on medicinal uses.  My own experience is that the berries make a tasty and helpful tincture.  Never consume leaves, and always cook berries thoroughly before use.  http://nathistoc.bio.uci.edu/Plants%20of%20Upper%20Newport%20Bay%20(Robert%20De%20Ruff)/Caprifoliaceae/Sambucus%20mexicana.htm

We also talked about Yarrow (the white flower in the pic above with Pat) and its uses in native plant landscaping.  Yarrow, and many other native wildflowers, grow easily from seed.  I recommend Larners Seed for wildflower seeds.  It is the only company that I know of that sells ONLY California natives, so you don't have to worry about origin.  The website is informative. The founder, Judith Larner Lowry, is an excellent author and a bit of a local legend.  Check it out at:  http://www.larnerseeds.com/

Wildflower shows such as the one we enjoyed yesterday are because of serpentinite, the California state rock.  It's poor in nutrients and high in heavy metals, and our local wildflowers have evolved to enjoy exactly these conditions.  Here's an article about it:  http://www.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/information/publications/cgs_notes/note_14/Documents/note_14.pdf.

We were very lucky to see an extremely rare plant, the Santa Clara County Dudleya.  Unfortunately I didn't get any good picture, but if you did, post it in the comments.  If you look at the Calflora map, here:  http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-taxon=Dudleya+abramsii+ssp.+setchellii, you'll see what a tiny distribution it has.  Those are the only places where it occurs in the world!

Towards the end of the day we enjoyed the glorious sights and smells of California buckeye.  We saw a tiger swallowtail nectaring on its flowers.   As our class precedes, we'll have plenty chance to smell it when more flowers are open.

Thanks again, and I will see you in two weeks at Coal Mine Ridge!