Ramblings with Rebecca April 30 – May 16, 2005

ANNOUCEMENTS:

* I’ll bet you’ve met, or at least seen, the 11 head of cattle Daniel Gluesenkamp has “hired” to help manage invasive grass growth in the lower field! Because we’re sharing space in the lower field with this small number of very well-behaved cattle for the rest of this season (and maybe longer), it’s even more important than ever to be absolutely sure you never leave one of the gates near the highway open unattended! Gate keepers- you should also know that the fencing along the entry is electrified, a not- so-subtle reminder to these that fences are intended as impenetrable barriers! So- don’t grab or try to climb this fence… and DO let a member of the staff know as soon as possible if you see a cow or bull behaving in a too athletic, or otherwise inappropriate or un-bovine fashion ! We’ve heard tell of fence jumping once in a blue moon, and think we have that problem licked, but we want to know if you see any such shenanigans. With all that said, let me tell you these 11 are actually pretty docile, and very responsive. And, as odd as it might seem, grazing on a wildlife preserve is a necessary means of counteracting the effects of invasive, introduced non-native grasses. If left alone, the grasslands at Bouverie would be anything but “natural”. Instead, these areas would grow to more closely resemble unkempt pasture land with few if any native species, rather than the kinds of grasslands that evolved in before European interference. If you’d like to know more about the aspects of grassland ecology that make grazing such a vital tool for wildland management, please ask me or Dr. Daniel Gluesenkamp… we’d be happy to explain why these critters are our friends and how we monitor and manage their impacts to protect sensitive aspects of the natural preserve environment. * Another note from Dr. Dan: If you’re hiking near Josephine’s trail, you may notice a few very green squares of vegetation opposite the Josephine Memorial Rock at the start of that trail… This is Herb Robert (Geranium robertianum), a highly invasive weed that we are working hard to eradicate on the preserve. Dan and his assistant Chris DeVittorio, have put many hours into this effort, and would love to have you all take a minute to learn to recognize this one, so you can help us scout out troublesome outliers before they get well established. So, if you’re out that way- take a minute to look at it and smell the foliage (very distinct scent). It is similar to, but distinctly different from, some of the other introduced geraniums which do not pose the same level of invasive risk. If you spot this weed elsewhere on the preserve, please let Dan know where (Dan has posted a helpful informative poster about this plant on the bulletin board near the docent roomlet).

GILMAN HALL /NATIVE PLANT GARDEN/PARKING LOT AREA

Carpentaria californica, a.k.a. Bush Anemone (Tree Anemone), is flowering right now in the native plant garden. Named for William Carpenter, a Louisiana botanist in the Early 1800’s, this is the only species in this genus and is one of the rarest endemic shrubs in California. It naturally occurs in the Sierra foothills in Fresno County between Carpentaria californica, a.k.a. Bush Anemone (Tree Anemone), ~ 1500- 4000 foot (~ 450 – 1000 meter) elevation, along stream banks, in chaparral and oak woodlands. It is in the Mock Orange family (Philadelphaceae). This plant is known to be a fire resistant stump sprouter… but is not known to establish seedlings in nature. Cuttings are an effective way to propagate this plant, and according to Dr. Charles Quibell (the author of the Philadelphaceae section in the Jepson Manual and my plant instructor at SSU), the future of this species apparently lies in cultivation for horticultural purposes. It’s a pretty, showy plant. I also think that having this lovely native in this garden gives us the opportunity to share a good lesson with visitors about the importance of preserving habitat – which includes protection of the environmental factors as a whole that affect a species’ survival. So, when you look at this plant with the children and admire its flowers, you can also let them know that this plant used to grow wild in one part of California, which was its home. Now, it can no longer be found setting seeds in nature. Nature preserves exist to make sure wild and animals always have a home somewhere, and protecting species like this one also takes a lot of research to learn as much as possible about how the species survives, so that we can prevent changes that would interfere with survival. Also in this area, keep an ear peeled for the “harsh, buzzy rapid trill” Sibley describes for the Spotted Towhee. I can’t think of another way to put it that so closely estimates this distinct sound. I have heard and seen more activity than usual from birds of this species lately… watch for the deep rufous red flanks, white belly, black head, back and wings with white spots on the wing… a look as distinct as the call. Like their cousins the California Towhees (a.k.a. Brown Towhee), these fella’s are ground gleaners, doing a forward hop + backward scrape movement to unearth potential invertebrates, or seeds for food.

ROCKY ROAD & ACCESS TRAILS This area is a veritable wonderland of wildflower color right now. Chinese Houses, Collinsia heterophylla, and Diogenes’ Lanterns ( amabilis) are in full bloom long both of these trails. The purple pagoda flowers have great pollinator landing platforms built in – the lower lip of each flower is just about the right size for a bee to rest on… Calochortus amabilis, Diogenes’ Lantern and the flowers are also in the right range of the – Lily Family color spectrum to be attractive to bees. Gently pry open the three tightly closed of a bright yellow Diogenes’ Lantern flower, and you can appreciate not only the wonderful detail of the “working parts” of the flower, but also the task a Collinsia heterophylla, pollinator has to get Chinese Houses “Woolly Bear” caterpillar to them! Snapdragon ( Scrophulariaceae) Larva of one of 50 species of “Calochortus” is Family Tiger in California Greek for “beautiful grass” or “beautiful feeding place”, and interestingly, bulbs of some species of Calochortus (but probably not this one) have provided food for Native Americans. It is always a good idea to be cautious about eating native lilies, but many lilies are food sources. On the Rocky Road trail, I walked over a good sized black “woolly bear caterpillar” – the larva of a tiger Painted Tiger moth (possibly picta, the painted tiger moth), one of 50 species of Tiger Moths living in California - Family Arctiidae. When it’s time to morph, the cocoon will be made. mostly from the body hairs of the larva. The Buckeye trees (Aesculus californicus) are just beginning to bloom! As you may recall, these “candles” of flowers usually only yield one to three of the large, baseball sized fruits each. Pollination in this species definitely favors the natives… native bees manage just fine, while the introduced European honeybees do not fare so well. Buckeye poisoning doesn’t keep honeybees from visiting the plant, but it can wreck havoc on them after the fact… both the foraging bee, the queen, and the colony as a whole can be adversely affected. As you approach the benches, you may see Yarrow , Achellia millefollium, in flower. Although this plant has very “carroty” - looking leaves, a close look shows the compound arrangements of flowers typical of the Asteraceae, Sunflower family. Think about how this adaptive “strategy” helps both the plant and Yarrow - close-up. pollinator. Plants that provide many flowers close Notice how each “flower” is actually together really maximize the effect of whatever composed of many tiny flowers? (color, scent, pattern) attracts the pollinator to the Photo by Ranch Guide Ginny Martin. plant… because with so many flowers so close together, a single pollinator can do a lot in a short amount of time to help with the procreation of a plant species! YELLOW BRICK ROAD Watch for yellow-faced bumblebees pollinating the winter vetch, dense heads of clover flowers and Fork- toothed Ookow… another example of a pollinator finding peak efficiency with dense . NEAR THE WOODLAND TRAIL JUNCTION Watch for two interesting grasses in this area: The introduced Hedgehog Dogtail grass, Hedgehog Dogtail Grass Cynosurus echinatus – which Notice how prickly and is relatively low growing- asymmetrical it is. Blue Wild Rye in flower typically a foot or so, and the native Blue Wild Rye (Elymus glaucus)- which is in flower and stands much taller- a couple of feet to a full meter, I’d guess. Among the trees lining the seasonal drainage , I heard a number of bird songs, reminders that spring is the season of courtship… Listen for the musical call of the House Finch- which ends with a buzzy “eeerr”, the Warbling Vireo singing its warbly rosita song, the Orange-crowned Warbler’s dipping trill… who else can you hear, here? How many different kinds of bird songs can the children hear if you stop here for a minute and have them listen and count? YELLOW BRICK ROAD toward CANYON The spring hiking season must be nearing its close, because I am already seeing Chlorogalum pomeridianum, Soaproot, bolting! New flowering stalks are shooting up like spears of asparagus throughout the open grassland on the preserve, and I saw some in this area. Of course, like asparagus, Soaproot is a member of the Lily Family… and in just a few more weeks these stalks will branch to reveal delicate white flowers opening in time for evening pollinating moths to find them. About 25 feet up-trail from the Valley Oak that lives on the trail, there is a nice stand of Valley Tassels, Castilleja attenuata, and also our State Grass, Purple Needlegrass, Nassella pulchra (from the Latin for beautiful basket).

Nassella pulchra, Purple Needlegrass CANYON TRAIL Look for more Chinese Houses and Diogenes’ Lanterns at the canyon entrance. This is also a great time to find Filmy Dome spiders in their webs! These spiders belong to the Linyphiinae, and are specialized sheet- web builders that await their prey from under the dome-shaped web they weave… Along the first stretch of the Canyon Trail, I saw many of these silk- architects subtly posed and waiting… and a few, like the one in this photo – reaping the rewards of a well designed structure. Filmy dome spider and with prey

Just after the Camouflage Gate on the Canyon Trail, also watch for the delicate pink-blossomed Wood Rose (Rosa gymnocarpa), and then, on the hillside just before the trail turns toward Indian Flat, look for Columbine, Aquilegia formosa, - it was just about to open when I saw this bud:

After the log-over-the- trail… look along the hillside and you should see quite a bit of blooming Western Starflower, Trientalis latifolia. This flower has 5-7 white to pink petals which come out Western Starflower, Columbine, Aquilegia formosa of the center of an Trientalis latifolia in bud asymmetrical whorl of Ranunculaceae (Buttercup family) odd-sized leaves. Like Shooting Stars, this plant is a member of the Primrose family (Primulaceae). It is pretty common in shaded woodlands in our region. You can usually find more of it growing like groundcover along the Connector Trail here at Bouverie.

INDIAN FLAT and CANYON TRAIL BEYOND Woodland Madia, Madia madioides, is prolific here. This is an upright yellow flowering member of the Sunflower family, and like many sunflowers, it has hairy stems and leaves, which are also very simple and linear. This has been a good year for Craneflies! Giant Crane Flies are most often seen in the spring and summer- near streams and are often attracted to lights at night. It is one of the world’s largest flies, with body length reaching up to 60 mm ~ 2.5 inches for the body alone! Woodland Madia, Madia madioides Both Craneflies and Giant Craneflies are abundant all along the Canyon Trail, and I noticed quite a few in the Indian Flat area. Both the photo and the illustration below show one feature that is characteristic of the order Diptera: Dipterans have only one set of wings, with the hind wings reduced to knob-like structures, called Halteres, that help these flies maintain their equilibrium. Little is known about feeding habits of adult Crane flies, except that they are not predacious, so, despite any resemblance to mosquitoes or common names we may have heard, these critters definitely do not eat ‘skeeters! Among the many species of Craneflies, some have mouthparts that suggest they may feed on , but the adult mouthparts are not suited to predation. Most Cranefly Crane Flies Tipula sp. larvae feed on & Giant Crane Flies decaying Holorusia rubiginosa matter, some species feed Diptera, family Tipulidae; on living The largest family of Diptera with plants like > 400 species in California mosses and some are predatory. Cranefly larvae are tough-skinned grey, brown or black maggots that Haltere some people call “leather jackets”.

Hedge nettle Stachys ajugoides, is also flowering in this area. Many of you know this plant on site, but if you want to be sure the kids remember it, have them rub the leaves and smell their fingers… such a distinctive scent this Mint produces! And, there’s no harm in doing so because of course, it isn’t really a nettle at all! At Creek Access #1, you will see the rust-red sludge that is actually made by naturally occurring Iron-Fixing Bacteria (Leptothrix ocracea) which pull iron out of the water and bind it in their cell walls. At Creek Access #3, I as I was searching for Hedge Nettle Pipevine Stachys ajugoides Swallowtail Mint Family eggs (and finding them), I came across a newly emerged Woodland Cicada on the weedy Lemon Balm crowding out the Dutchman’s Pipevine there. Just across the trail, Woodland Star, Lithophragma affine, is in full bloom. Look for the delicate-stalked , white-flowered plant with petals that look toothed. There’s quite a bit here. Just a bit further, more Chinese Houses, Fork-toothed Ookow, and Sticky Monkeyflower are in bloom on the hillside. Continuing up the Canyon Trail past the 4th creek access point/ creek crossing, I enjoyed finding the Wild Grapevine patch decked with lush new pink-tinged foliage… and while I was standing there, I caught sight of a a large (3 – 4” ) yellow and black Western Tiger Swallowtail (Papillo rutulus) butterfly, flitting around a tall White Alder and Oregon Ash, growing intertwined along the edge of the creek. When you see butterflies spending a lot of time near a plant they are not feeding /drinking from, it’s worth considering why. Sure enough, Tiger Swallowtail larvae feed on Alders (Willows are another host plant for these caterpillars). This one may well have been seeking just the right protected place to lay its eggs. After passing the Connector Trail junction, I continued up the Canyon Trail and then, (~ 23 paces later) I looked up into the hillside, and saw a Western Tiger Swallowtail huge hole in a snag about 25 feet back from the Papillo rutulus trail… a hole that could only be… a Piliated Notice the striping on the butterfly’s Woodpecker -- nest hole! body too! This photo was borrowed for this educational purpose from mariposalibrary.org

th At the 6 Creek Access point, a bright yellow mass on a Slime Mold on downed log at rotting log caught my eye. And then I got excited! One of my Creek Access #6 favorite organisms- a SLIME MOLD! This one is probably Fuligo septica, a common yellow slime mold in our area. The best view of this plasmodium is probably from the Canyon Trail, although you can also see it from the edge of the creek. Visitors may be interested in knowing that Slime Molds have an absorptive nutrition… so, like a fungus, they absorb nutrients from other organisms. Slime molds, however, are not fungi. They are usually classified with the Kingdom Protista these Slime mold close-up… forming days – a group of organisms more closely related to algae spore producing structure. and seaweeds than to plants or fungi. A slime mold in its feeding phase moves as a wet network of slime, across decaying leaves or wood, taking in bacteria and other microscopic organisms for food. When the Slime Mold is ready to produce spores – and this is often triggered by changing environmental conditions (moisture, food availability). That is what is happening in this picture… the network of slime is coalescing into a single large spore-producing structure - called an aethalium. When it is mature, it will have developed a hardened shell around a mound of powdery spores, which will eventually crack allowing the spores to be dispersed by the wind. Heading up into the steeper upper stretches of the Canyon Trail, I noticed a close cousin of our lowland Fern-leaf , the Imbricate Phacelia, Phacelia imbricata growing among the fractured rocks. Like the Fern-leafed species, this Phacelia also has flowers in coils and deeply lobed, hairy leaves… and the flowers themselves are very similar. In this species, the are longer than the petals and this is very distinct. At the Waterfall Overlook: Seep Spring Monkeyflower, Sticky Monkeyflower with Chalcedon Checkerspot caterpillars, more Diogenes’ Lanterns, Tom Cat Clover, Pink and White Tiny Phacelia imbricata close-up Baby Stars (Linanthus

Phacelia imbricata, Imbricate Phacelia androsaceus), and Canyon Delphinium are all in flower, and Canyon Dudleya is just beginning to send up flowering stalks! Enjoy your hike and let me know what you see out there!