Trees and Shrubs of Coyote Creek
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About Coyote Creek History of Coyote Creek 10. Coast Live Oak Quercus agrifolia The Coyote Creek watershed is the largest in Historically, the landscape around Coyote Creek Trees and Shrubs This evergreen oak is Santa Clara County, collecting water from 322 was dominated by sycamore woodlands, riparian common in Coast square miles and 16 creeks in the valley between scrub, and oak woodlands. The creek flowed Ranges of California. It of Coyote Creek the Guadalupe River and the Diablo Mountains The seasonally, exposing gravel beds during dry has tough cupped creek extends for over 30 miles from Morgan Hill to periods. (continued on back) Coyote Outdoor Classroom Milpitas and empties into the San Francisco Bay. th leaves with spiny Agricultural development in the late 19 century led 791 William Street, San Jose margins, dark green on top and light green on the to drainage ditches and channelizing the creek, bottom with small tufts of golden hairs where the increasing the flow of the creek, transforming open leaf veins intersect. Its acorns are an important woodlands into a denser riparian habitat, and source of food for wildlife, and were a dietary staple reducing the width of vegetation supported by for several Native American tribes. periodic flooding. 11. Coast Redwood Amid housing and business developments, Coyote Sequoia sempervirens Creek is affected by trash and pollution, yet sustains a variety of life. The creek follows most of The iconic coast its original route, giving it high potential for redwood is the tallest restoration. tree species in the world: the tallest known redwood is nearly 380 Bringing Back the Steelhead feet tall. This evergreen Coyote Creek was once spawning ground conifer grows along the California coast from for steelhead, an anadromous form of Monterey north. Coast redwoods have shallow, rainbow trout that is born in freshwater and spreading root systems and need abundant spends part of its life in the ocean. moisture, which they get from rain and fog drip. Coast redwoods are able to sprout from their Want to help clean up your local creek? Steelhead need gravel beds and cool, clean stumps, sometimes forming “fairy rings” around the Get involved with volunteer opportunities and other water in order to spawn. Dams blocking stump of an original tree. events with the Santa Clara County Creeks migration routes and loss of spawning Coalition, Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful, and the habitat have threatened populations in 12. Coast Silk Tassel South Bay Clean Creeks Coalition. California. Garrya elliptica Restoring steelhead to Coyote Creek is one This evergreen shrub of the missions of the Santa Clara County Creek Coalition. grows along the Created by the Santa Clara Creeks California coast. The Coalition and generously funded by the leaves are arranged San Jose Parks Foundation. opposite the stem and Visit sccreeks.org to download other have wavy margins. brochures highlighting selected plants The silk tassel is named for its dangling chains of and wildlife along Coyote Creek. white flowers that bloom in late winter and early sccreeks.org Steelhead, Oncorhynchus mykiss Published 12/2017 spring. Trees & Shrubs of Coyote Creek 1. California winter. Toyon berries are eaten by many species of 7. California Buckeye birds. blackberry Aesculus californica Rubus ursinus The Coyote Outdoor Classroom features a 4. Coffeeberry California native garden planted by the Santa Clara This tree has Rhamnus californica This deciduous shrub County Water District. Here you can see plants palmately compound or vine is a native native to the area and other parts of the state. This leaves of five leaflets This evergreen shrub is blackberry found in brochure highlights some of these plants. meeting at a single found in various habitats many plant point. It bears long and plant communities communities throughout California. The edible The dominant plant community around Coyote clusters of fragrant white throughout California. It berries are black when ripe. It may be confused Creek was historically sycamore-alluvial woodland, flowers in the spring. The has bluish-green leaves with the non-native Himalayan blackberry; however with open canopies and unvegetated gravel beds. California buckeye is drought- and reddish stems, and produces inconspicuous the California blackberry has fine prickles on the Most of this has been transformed into riparian deciduous, losing its leaves in whitish greenish flowers. Its berries ripen from red stems and tends to have leaflets of three, while the forest because of alterations to the water flow and the summer. In the fall, these to black and are eaten by many birds and small Himalayan has thorny spines and usually leaflets of the channelization of Coyote Creek. trees bear large fruits, which mammals. five. are an important food source Tour Map for many animals. 5. Pacific Madrone 8. California Grape Arbutus menziesii Vitis californica 2. California Lilacs Ceanothus ssp. This evergreen tree is This deciduous vine found along the grows in riparian areas Dozens species of California coast and along streams and ceanothus are native parts of the Sierra seeps, climbing up to California, and Nevada. Its smooth, other plants or growing many varieties of this reddish-orange bark flakes away in thin layers and on the ground, popular landscaping can look similar to manzanita bark, but madrones providing shelter and food for many birds and plant can be seen in have large oval leaves and can grow much taller. animals. It makes small bluish grapes that are this garden. These evergreen shrubs have tough These trees produce white urn-shaped flowers and edible for humans as well. leaves, often with three main veins, and produce reddish-orange berries that birds love to eat. dense clusters of fragrant white to blue flowers. 9. Valley Oak 6. Western Redbud Quercus lobata 3. Toyon Cercis occidentalis This winter-deciduous Heteromeles oak tree is found in arbutifolia A member of the pea foothill woodlands, and family, the western is common in the Also known as redbud is a small tree interior Coast Ranges, Christmas berry and with distinctive heart- Central Valley, and California holly, this shaped leaves. It is Sierra Nevada foothills large, evergreen shrub winter-deciduous, losing of California. It has deeply lobed leaves and bears is common on slopes its leaves in the winter. It flowers in late winter and long acorns in the fall. Its extensive root system and canyons in the Coast Ranges and Sierra early spring, producing small pink flowers on its draws water from deep underground, allowing it to foothills. It has long leaves with serrate margins. It bare branches. It makes large, brownish beanpods survive through hot dry summers. Its long acorns produces clusters of white flowers that bloom in the that are typical of the pea family. feed a variety of birds and wildlife. summer and turn into bright red berries in the .