Life in Our Watershed Investigating Vernal Pools

winter spring summer/fall

Flower Facts

Version 4 FLOWER FACTS Table of Contents

White Flowers Pink, Red or Purple Flowers Popcorn-flower 1 Checkerbloom 20 Soap Plant or Soaproot 2 Douglas’s Beardstyle 21 Spokepod 3 Downingia 22 Valley Tassels 4 Elegant Brodiaea 23 White Hyacinth 5 Field Cluster Lily 24 White Meadowfoam 6 Filaree 25 White Navarretia 7 Red Maids 26 Sacramento Beardstyle 27 Yellow Flowers Scarlet Pimpernel 28 Biscuit Root 8 Vasey’s Coyote-thistle 29 Butter-and-eggs 9 Vernal Pool Monkeyflower 30 Fiddleneck 10 White-tipped Clover 31 Field Owl’s-clover 11 Winter Vetch 32 Fremont’s Tidy-tips 12 Frying Pan Poppy 13 Blue Flowers Hawkbit 14 Itherial’s Spear 33 Narrow-leaf Mule’s Ear 15 Miniature Lupine 34 Vernal Pool Buttercup 16 Green, Brown or No Flowers Vernal Pool Goldfields 17 American Pillwort 35 Yellow Star-thistle 18 Little Quaking Grass 36 Vernal Pool Dodder 19 Medusahead 37 Pale Spikerush 38 Purple Needlegrass 39 Special Illustrations Water Starwort 40 Sunflower Family 12 Woolly Marbles 41 Pea Family 34

common name: Popcorn-flower

scientific name: Plagiobothrys stipitatus var. micranthus family: Boraginaceae (fiddleneck) habitat: vernal pools size: plant 2 to 10 inches tall, flower 3 to 6 mm fun facts: Small butterflies like to sip nectar from these tiny white flowers. description: Popcorn-flower is a member of the © Carol Witham fiddleneck family. Flower buds are held in a tight coil (spiral) at the top of the plant. The flowers open starting from the bottom of the plant moving toward the top. This causes the stem to uncoil. The seeds are produced in fours and many species have small hooked spines with which they hitchhike on fur or socks. Many species of Popcorn-flower occur at Mather Field. This species is the most common one found in vernal pools. The other species are either upland plants or have a more sprawling growth form. life cycle: Popcorn-flower is an annual. This species germinates while underwater. The young plants produce long floating leaves in order to get air and sunlight and to hold the plant upright. It blooms from April to May and is often the dominant plant in patches © Carol Witham in a vernal pool. ecology: Nectar from the Popcorn-flower is a favorite of small butterflies in the Lycaenidae family. These investigate: Another member of small blue, gray, or copper (as in the color of a penny) the borage family at Mather Field butterflies can sometimes be quiteabundant on is the Fiddleneck. Can you see the flowers. how they are similar?

common name: Soap Plant or Soaproot

scientific name: Chlorogalum pomeridianum family: Liliaceae (lily) habitat: grassland size: cluster of leaves 1 foot or more across, flower 1.5 to 2.5 cm fun facts: Native Americans used the root of this plant as a soap and to stun fish. It contains chemicals which

Beatrice F. Howitt, © California Academy of Sciences make it slippery like soap. These same chemicals para- lyze the gills of fish. description: Member of the lily family. The flowers have three petals and three sepals which are similarly colored and appear to be six petals. The flowers are white or pale pink. The leaves are in a bunch at the base of the plant (a basal rosette) and have wavy edges.

life cycle: Soap Plant is a bulb-forming perennial. For most of the year, the plant consists of a cluster of leaves about a foot in diameter. In May, the plant sends up a tall stalk with many branches and delicate flowers.

© Carol Witham ecology: Flowers are pollinated by night flying moths and open just as the sun goes down. They are very fragrant in order to attract their pollinators which are flying around in the dark of night. Try visiting at sunset to see and smell the Soap Plant flowers.

common name: Spokepod

scientific name: Thysanocarpus radicans family: Brassicaceae (mustard) habitat: grassland size: plants up to 15 inches tall; flower 1 to 2 mm, pod 0.5 to 1.0 cm fun facts: The common name comes from the spoke- like pattern of veins on the seed pod. description: Member of the mustard family. The © Carol Witham tiny flowers have four petals and are white. The seed pods are flat disks hanging from delicate stems along the stalk. The pods are cream colored with green and sometimes pink lines.

Lacepod (Thysanocarpus curvipes) is similar to Spokepod, but the pods have perforations (holes) like a doily along the edges between the spoke-like pattern of veins. life cycle: Spokepod is a an annual. It blooms in early March. Most people do not notice the flowers because they are so tiny. The seed pods begin to grow in late March. ecology: Members of the mustard family usually have a bitter flavor caused by mustard oils. This helps to protect the plant from some herbivores. Some insects and mammals eat the mustard plants anyway. Broccoli is also a member of the mustard family.

investigate: The seed pods of Spokepod split in half and drop the single seed which is in the center of the pod. Can you find pods that have already dropped their seeds? Can you find any flowers?

scientific name: Castilleja attenuata family: Scrophulariaceae (figwort) habitat: damp grassland size: plant 4 to 12 inches tall, flower 4 to 6 mm across

fun facts: Most Castilleja are hemi- parasitic (partially parasitic) on other plants. description: Member of the figwort family. The flowers are long tubes with three inflated (balloon-like) sacks near the top. In Valley Tassels, the inflated sacks have a series of pink, yellow and black spots which resemble tiny faces.

Note that the multi-lobed bract of Valley Tassels is white tipped. The other owl’s-clovers at Mather Field have purple multi-lobed bracts or simple, green, leaf-like bracts.

© David Rosen/Wildside Photography life cycle: Valley Tassels is an annual. It germinates in the late fall or early winter. As the weather begins to warm in the early spring, the plants grow very quickly and bolt up through the grasses to bloom. Valley Tassels bloom in April.

ecology: Valley Tassels is a hemi-parasite on annual plants. The tips of its roots tap into the root system of the other plant and rob nutrients. Unlike the Vernal Pool Dodder (Cuscuta howelliana) which is a true parasite, the Castilleja can only steal a portion of the nutrients it needs and has to make the rest through photosynthesis. Most owl’s-clovers require very specific environmental conditions for successful germination and growth. Some years there will be very few plants or even none, while other years there might be millions! Very little is know about how the owl’s-clovers are pollinated.

common name: White Hyacinth

scientific name: Triteleia hyacinthina family: Liliaceae (lily) habitat: grassland size: plant up to 15 inches tall, flower 1.4 to 2.5 cm across fun facts: Flowers are generally beetle pollinated. © David Rosen/Wildside Photography description: Member of the lily family. Each flower has three petals and three sepals. But in Triteleia the sepals are colored like the petals so that the flower appears to have six petals and no sepals. The flowers are white with a green central vein.

You may recall that Brodiaea have three stamens and three stamenoides. Dichelostemma have three true stamens and three stamenoides which have reduced stamens at their tips. The Triteleia have six true stamens and no stamenoides. life cycle: White Hyacinth is a bulb producing perennial. Early in the season, the plants produce one © Carol Witham or a few grass-like leaves. By the time the flowers are ready to bloom, the leaves have dried up and the flowers bloom in umbels (clusters) on a tall leafless stem. Only older plants with well developed bulbs have enough stored energy to produce flowers in April or May. It can take four years or more for Triteleia to bloom the first time. ecology: Triteleia bulbs are an important food source for burrowing rodents such as Botta’s Pocket Gophers. The bulbs have a nutty flavor and Native Americans ate them as well.

common name: White Meadowfoam

scientific name: Limnanthes alba family: Limnanthaceae (meadowfoam) habitat: wet grassland, seeps, pools size: plant up to 12 inches tall; flower about 2.5 cm across fun facts: This plant may save the whales because its seeds produce an oil which can be used to lubricate (make slippery with oil) machinery.

© Carol Witham description: Member of the meadowfoam family. The lower stems and leaves have long silky hairs. The outer sepals are also hairy. Note the distinctive venations (arrangements of veins) on the petals which serve as nectar guides for pollinators. How can Meadowfoam save There are no other species of large white flowers at whales? Mather Field which could be confused with White Meadowfoam. Meadowfoam is not common in the Whale oil, made from the Mather Field vernal pools and grassland. blubber of sperm whales, can lubricate fine machinery, life cycle: White Meadowfoam is an annual. It germi- even under conditions of nates in wet areas soon after the rains begin in the fall. high heat and friction. As a Its oily seeds float and in particularly wet years the plant result it is used to lubricate can occupy vast areas. White Meadowfoam can bloom fine machinery. Many, many as early as March, often while its roots and leaves are whales are killed every still under water. year to supply this need. Meadowfoam seeds contain ecology: Meadowfoam is pollinated by solitary bees. an oil which is very similar to The bees gather pollen and nectar to feed their offspring the whale oil. Commercially and, in so doing, pollinate the plant. Their large, oily grown meadowfoam oil may seeds may be highly nutritious to some insects, birds someday replace whale oil and rodents. and eliminate the need to kill these magnificent creatures for their fat.

common name: White Navarretia

scientific name: Navarretia leucocephala family: Polemonaceae (phlox) habitat: vernal pools size: plant 4 to 6 inches tall, each flower 3 to 5 mm, flower cluster 2 cm or more across description: Member of the phlox family. Each small white flower is a long tube with five lobes or petals. The flowers are arranged in heads that have spiny-

© Carol Witham looking bracts. Bracts are small leaves just below the flowers. White Navarretia is white flowered and appears to sprawl along the ground. The similar Spiny Navarretia (Navarretia intertexta) is also white flowered but the plants are more tall and slender. fun facts: White Navarretia is a good nectar source for migrating Painted Lady butterflies.

investigate: Investigate how life cycle: White Navarretia is an annual plant. It White Navarretia and Vernal Pool germinates under water and grows very slowly until Dodder co-exist. Team up with the water warms and the pool begins to evaporate. It the Vernal Pool Dodder specialist blooms when all of the water has dried up in May. in your class. Find them growing ecology: White Navarretia produces large amounts together in the field. of nectar and is attractive to the domestic Honey Bee as well as native insects such as butterflies. Because it is so good at attracting pollinators, the parasitic Vernal Pool Dodder (Cuscuta howelliana) often puts its flowers within the clusters of White Navarretia flowers.

common name: Lomatium or Biscuit Root

scientific name: Lomatium caruifolium family: Apiaceae (carrot) habitat: wet grassland size: plant up to 1 foot tall, flowers in clusters 1 to 2 cm across fun facts: The common name Biscuit Root comes from the fact that Native Americans made a type of flour from the large taproot.

© Carol Witham description: Member of the carrot family. The tiny (1-2 mm across) flowers have five petals. They are arranged in clusters called umbels. The leaves have delicate fern-like divisions. The plant is generally long- lived and grows each year from a carrot-like taproot which stores energy.

Lomatium is the only yellow flowered member of the carrot family at Mather Field. It prefers locations in between the wet vernal pools and the dry mima mound tops. investigate: Lomatium is closely related to a number of the life cycle: Lomatium is a perennial. The leaves herbs and spices used to flavor generally die each year and new ones grow as soon foods. Rub the leaves or seeds as it rains in the fall. Biscuit Root blooms in March and then smell your fingers. Does and early April. it remind you of something you have tasted in spicy foods? ecology: Biscuit Root is eaten by a number of animals. The roots are tasty and moisture-filled and are eaten by rodents during the summer. The leaves are eaten by rabbits. The large and oily seeds are a favorite food of some birds. Early settlers to California also used this plant as a herb for flavoring food.

scientific name: Triphysaria eriantha family: Scrophulariaceae (figwort) habitat: grassland (damp) size: plant 4 inches tall, flower 0.8 to 1.3 cm long

fun facts: This plant is a hemi-parasite because it taps into the roots of other plants to steal nutrients. description: Member of the figwort family. The © Carol Witham flowers are long tubes with three inflated (balloon-like) sacks near the top. In Butter-and-eggs, the sacks are bright yellow.

Note that the multi-lobed bracts of Butter-and-eggs are purple. The other owl’s-clovers at Mather Field have white tipped bracts or solid green bracts. life cycle: Butter-and-eggs is an annual. It germinates in the middle of the winter, but does not grow very much until the weather begins to warm. Butter-and- eggs blooms in March and April.

ecology: Butter-and-eggs is a hemi-parasite on annual © David Rosen/Wildside Photography plants. The tips of its roots tap into the root system of the other plant to rob nutrients. Unlike the Vernal Pool Dodder (Cuscuta howelliana) which is a true parasite, the Triphysaria can only steal a portion of the nutrients it needs and has to make the rest through investigate: From the shape and coloration of the flower, photosynthesis. Butter-and-eggs is probably Most Owl’s-clovers require very specific environmental insect pollinated. Can you figure conditions for successful germination and growth. out which insect pollinates it? Some years there will be only a few plants and other Be sure to look at tiny crawling years there might be millions! Very little is known insects as well as flying ones! about how Owl’s-clovers are pollinated.

common name: Fiddleneck

scientific name: Amsinckia menziesii var. intermedia family: Boraginaceae (borage) habitat: grassland (often disturbed) size: plant up to 3 feet tall; flower 4 to 10 mm across fun facts: The plants can be harmful to cattle if eaten and the bristly hairs can irritate human skin. description: Member of the borage family. Flowers are tubular (shaped like a tube) with five petals. © Carol Witham Flower buds are held in tight coils (spirals) at the top of the plant. The flowers open from the bottom of the plant to the top causing the stem to uncoil. The seeds are produced in fours and have small hooked spines used to hitchhike on fur or socks. Fiddleneck is the only yellow-orange flowered member of the borage family at Mather Field. The coil investigate: Another member of of yellow-orange tubular flowers is quitedistinctive . the borage family at Mather Field is life cycle: Fiddleneck is an annual plant. It Popcorn-flower. Can you see how germinates in the fall and blooms during the first they are similar? warm days of March. It may continue to bloom into May in favorable locations.

ecology: Fiddleneck readily colonizes disturbed areas such as roadsides, plowed fire breaks and orchards. It is a very common plant in the Central Valley and foothills of California. Plants from different areas may have different leaf shapes or flower color, but are the same species.

common name: Field Owl’s-clover

scientific name: Castilleja campestris family: Scrophulariaceae (figwort) habitat: vernal pools size: plant 4 to 7 inches tall, flower 6 to 8 mm across fun facts: Field Owl’s Clover often supports the parasitic plant Vernal Pool Dodder (Cuscuta howelliana) which is the yellowish string-like plant in the bottom photo.

The other owl’s-clovers all have colorful, multi-lobed bracts. Only Field Owl’s-clover has simple, green, leaf-like bracts. life cycle: Field Owl’s-clover is an annual. It usually germinates after the water in the pools has become very shallow and warm. It blooms from April to May and can be one of the dominant species in a pool.

© Ken Davis ecology: Most owl’s-clovers require very specific environmental conditions for successful germination and growth. Some years there will be very few plants or even none, while other years there might be millions! Very little is know about how the investigate: Try watching a owl’s-clovers are pollinated. Field Owl’s-clover for a while to find out if any insects visit it. Be sure to look for small crawling insects as well as the flying ones. Do you think Field Owl’s-clover is pollinated by insects?

common name: Fremont’s Tidy-tips

scientific name: Layia fremontii family: Asteraceae (sunflower) habitat: grassland size: plant 4 to 10 inches tall, flower up to 5 cm across fun facts: Tidy-tips are insect pollinated. The white circle with a yellow center is like a bull’s-eye or target marking the nectar to guide the pollinators. description: Member of the sunflower family. Each © Carol Witham flowerhead is actually made up of 20-40 individual flowers. The outer ray flowers look like petals while the inner disk flowers are tiny and tubular (tube-shaped). ecology: As with the California Goldfields Lasthenia( californica) In Fremont’s Tidy-tips, the ray flowers are bright yellow with which they grow, the Tidy-tips at the base and pure white at the tips. They have a deli- produce large quantities of nutri- cate fragrance. tious seeds. Native Americans may life cycle: Fremont’s Tidy-tips are annuals. They have collected the seeds for food. germinate after the first fall rains. As soon as the weather Many rodents and insects such warms, they grow quickly and can bloom in late March as ants depend on these seeds for or early April. food as well.

common name: Frying Pan Poppy

scientific name: Eschscholzia lobbii family: Papaveraceae (poppy) habitat: grassland (shallow soils) size: plant 4 to 8 inches tall, flower 1.5 to 2.5 cm fun facts: Early Spanish-Californians made a hair-oil from the plant which made their hair shiny. They believed that it also made their hair grow. description: Member of the poppy family. All © Carol Witham members of this family have four petals. The flowers are yellow. The leaves are delicate and fern-like. Frying Pan Poppies are the smaller of the two poppies at Mather Field. The similar California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica) is a much larger plant with much larger golden or orange flowers. life cycle: Frying Pan Poppy is an annual plant. It investigate: Can you figure out germinates in the fall and blooms during the first what insects pollinate the Frying warm days of March. It may continue to bloom into Pan Poppy? Are these the same May in favorable locations. It prefers shallow soils insects that pollinate the related where there is less competition from annual grasses. California Poppies? Compare Frying Pan Poppy and California Poppy. Is ecology: Frying Pan Poppy leaves are very it easy to see the difference? nutritious and are eaten by a variety of native herbivores such as rabbits.

common name: Hawkbit

scientific name: Leontodon taraxacoides family: Asteraceae (sunflower) habitat: vernal pools, wetlands size: plant 8 to 10 inches tall; flower 20 to 40 mm across

fun facts: The genus name (Leontodon) means “lion tooth”. This plant is not native. description: Member of the sunflower family. Each © Carol Witham flowerhead is actually made up of 5-50 individual yellow flowers. In Hawkbit, all of the flowers making up the flowerhead are ray flowers. The center ones just have shorter petals than the outer ones. The flowers of Hawkbit look like those of the common Dandelion which may grow in your yard. The leaves of Hawkbit are in a basal rosette (arranged at the base of the stem) and the flowers are borne on 8-10 inch tall, leafless stems. If you look at the leaves with your hand lens, you will see that the hairs on the leaves are forked at the tip like a snake’s tongue.

life cycle: Hawkbit can be an annual, biennial (living for two years), or a perennial depending upon the habitat. At Mather Field they are probably annuals. They germinate after the pool water has begun to evaporate. They bloom in late May after the Goldfields and other native sunflowers have set seed. ecology: Hawkbit is one of the few non-native species which can colonize vernal pools. At Mather Field it is particularly abundant on the lower terrace. Hawkbit was introduced to California from Europe.

common name: Narrow-leaf Mule’s Ear

scientific name: Wyethia angustifolia family: Asteraceae (sunflower) habitat: grassland size: plant up to 3 feet tall; flower 5 to 8 cm across fun facts: Narrow-leaf Mule’s Ears are particularly tasty to cattle and cannot survive in areas which are heavily grazed. description: Member of the sunflower family. Each flowerheadis actually made up of 20-100 individual © Carol Witham flowers. The outer ray flowers look like petals while the inner disk flowers are tiny and tubular (tube-shaped).

Narrow-leaf Mule’s Ears is a very distinctive plant with large golden sunflowers. No other species at Mather Field has flowers quite this big.

life cycle: Narrow-leaf Mule’s Ears are perennial plants. They live for many years. Each year the above-ground foliage may die back. The large taproot stores energy for the next year’s growth. Narrow-leaf Mule’s Ears bloom in late April and May.

ecology: This plant is very uncommon in the Central Valley because of year-round cattle grazing. Every time a plant puts up a new leaf, it gets eaten. The plants are never allowed to get big enough to bloom and make seeds. Eventually the taproot uses all of its stored energy and the plant dies. Narrow-leaf Mule’s Ears does well at Mather Field because this land has not been used as cattle pasture.

Wyethia make large, highly nutritious seeds which are used by burrowing rodents and insects such as ants. If you break apart a seed head, you will see that the seeds resemble and smell like sunflower seeds but are much smaller.

common name: Vernal Pool Buttercup

scientific name: Ranunculus bonariensis var. trisepalus family: Ranunculaceae (buttercup) habitat: vernal pools size: plant 2 to 8 inches tall; leaves 6 to 20 mm long; flower 6 to 10 mm across fun facts: Vernal Pool Buttercup shades out other plants with its floating leaves. description: Member of the buttercup family. The © Carol Witham small flowers have tiny yellow petals. The head of seeds is much larger than the flower was andresembles an unripe berry. Two other buttercups occur at Mather Field. One has large, maple-shaped leaves, yellow flowers and seeds that are covered in hooked spines. The other is white- flowered with fern-like leaves and grows in the water. life cycle: Vernal Pool Buttercup is an annual. It germinates in wet areas soon after the rains begin in the fall. It has two forms, one suitable for wet vernal pools and one for dried vernal pools. Its early leaves have long stems so that they can float on the surface of the © Ken Davis water. Leaves produced after the water evaporates have shorter stems. Vernal Pool Buttercup blooms in April. ecology: Vernal Pool Buttercup is usually one of the dominant species in the pools in which it occurs. It grows very fast and produces leaves which float and shade the bottom of the pool. Fast growth helps it to compete well against other plants. The shading leaves reduce the competition from other species by preventing sunlight from reaching their seedlings.

common name: Vernal Pool Goldfields

scientific name: Lasthenia fremontii family: Asteraceae (sunflower) habitat: vernal pools size: plant 3 to 6 inches tall, flower up to 1.5 cm across

fun facts: Goldfields are pollinated bysolitary bees. The mother bees collect pollen to feed their offspring (young).

© Carol Witham description: Member of the sunflower family. Each flowerhead is actually made up of 20-100 individual yellow flowers. The outer ray flowers look like petals while the inner disk flowers are tiny and tubular (shaped like a tube). Vernal Pool Goldfields occur in vernal pools. They have numerous ray flowers that give the flowerhead a round appearance. These two features help to distinguish Fremont’s Goldfields from the other species ofLasthenia which occur at Mather Field. investigate: The solitary bees that pollinate Vernal Pool Goldfields life cycle: Vernal Pool Goldfields are annuals. They look like small black or dark gray germinate as the water gets very shallow and warm in flies. You can tell that they are bees the spring. As soon as the pools begin to dry in April by the yellow pollen stuck into they bloom. special baskets on the hind legs. Can you find any of these bees on ecology: Vernal Pool Goldfields are the food source the flowers? for native, solitary bees. The bees collect pollen and nectar to feed their offspring and, while doing so, pollinate the plants. In some areas of California there is evidence that Native Americans collected the seeds of Goldfields for food. They used baskets to collect the seeds from the drying plants.

common name: Yellow Star-thistle

scientific name: Centaurea solstitialis family: Asteraceae (sunflower) habitat: disturbed areas, grassland size: plant up to 2.5 feet tall, flower 5 cm across including spines description: Member of the sunflower family. Each flowerhead is actually made up of 20-40 individual yellow flowers. The spines on the sepals may still

© Jo-Ann Ordano, © California Academy of Sciences be sharp long after the plant is dead. The Yellow Star-thistle plant is silvery-green when young and gray-green later in the season. Yellow Star-thistle is not easily confused with any other species at Yellow Star-thistle is insect pollinated. Mather Field. During the late spring and summer life cycle: Yellow Star-thistle is an annual. It when it is in bloom, there are very few germinates in the late winter. In the beginning, it puts native insects. Yellow Star-thistle is most of its energy into growing a very long taproot. pollinated by domestic Honey Bees. If Later, as most of the grassland begins to dry and turn bee keepers were to remove their hives, brown, the Yellow Star-thistle grows quickly. The long few Yellow Star-thistle flowers would be taproot allows it to find moisture still remaining in the pollinated. With reduced pollination, soil below the shallow grass roots. Yellow Star-thistle there would be fewer seeds produced. begins to blooms in May. It can bloom throughout the summer and fall. ecology: Yellow Star-thistle is non-native and considered invasive because it competes with native species. It is particularly suited to occupy recently investigate: Observe where disturbed areas where it quickly becomes the Yellow Star-thistle grows at Mather dominant Field. What are some of the reasons species. Yellow Star-thistle is so successful why it might grow there? here because it uses the deep soil moisture which most native plants and non-native annual grasses cannot reach.

common name: Vernal Pool Dodder

scientific name: Cuscuta howelliana family: Cuscutaceae (dodder) habitat: vernal pools

size: Flowers aren’t easily seen; the plant resembles orange string.

fun facts: Vernal Pool Dodder is a parasite on other © Carol Witham plants. description: Member of the dodder family. The plant consists of a mass of orange stems which resemble string. If you look closely you may see smaller stems entering the tissue of other plants. Vernal Pool Dodder has no leaves and produces very tiny, hidden flowers. If you find what looks like a bunch of yellowish-to-orange string or something that looks-like a tangle of fishing line or spaghetti, you have probably found Vernal Pool Dodder. life cycle: Vernal Pool Dodder is an annual plant. It

Vasey’s Coyote-thistle in bloom with Vernal Pool Dodder. germinates on the tissue of other plants in February or © David Rosen/Wildside Photography March. It grows larger as the spring continues. It blooms in late May or early June, often putting its flowers within the flower clusters of other species such as Navarretia or It instead it hides its flowers within Coyote-thistle (pictured left). the flower clusters of the host plant. There the dodder flowers get ecology: Dodder is parasitic on other plants. It gets its pollinated by insects attracted to the nutrients by stealing them from the host plant. Because host plant’s showy flowers. it has no need to produce its own nutrients, it does not have to perform photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is the method used to convert sunlight to energy. Because Vernal Pool Dodder does not have to photosynthesize, it doesn’t investigate: Can you find where the require leaves and chlorophyll. Chlorophyll gives most dodder plant is attached to its host plant? plants their green color. In addition, Vernal Pool Dodder does not produce nectar to attract pollinators.

common name: Checkerbloom

scientific name: Sidalcea calycosa family: Malvaceae (mallow) habitat: vernal pools, wet grassland size: plant up to 12 inches tall, flower 1.5 to 2.0 cm across fun facts: The common name Checkerbloom comes from the checkered pattern of veins on the petals. description: Member of the mallow family. The © Carol Witham flowers are made up of five petals and many stamens. The petals are pale pink to white. Leaves are often rounded or maple leaf-shaped at the bottom of the plant and divided into palmate (hand-shaped) lobes at the top. There may be more than one species of Checkerbloom at Mather Field. This species blooms early in the season investigate: The Checkerbloom along with White-tipped Clover (Trifolium variegatum) and White-tipped Clover grow on the edges of the vernal pools. The plant that blooms together, bloom at the same later in the season may be a different species. time, and have similar colored flowers. Do you think that they life cycle: Checkerbloom is an annual. It blooms in may be pollinated by the same April and early May at Mather Field. insects? When an insect visits a Checkerbloom, what part of its body ecology: Checkerblooms have large almost nut-like would get pollen on it? seeds which are highly nutritious. They are an important food source for burrowing rodents and birds. Most vernal pools do not have Checkerbloom. Only a few at Mather Field have Checkerbloom rings.

common name: Douglas’s Beardstyle

scientific name: Pogogyne douglasii family: Lamiaceae (mint) habitat: vernal pools, wet grassland size: plant 1 to 4 inches tall, flower 9 to 20 mm long and 7 to 10 mm across fun facts: Crush a leaf to make a minty smell on your hands. description: Member of the mint family. The stems are © Carol Witham brown to greenish and, like all plants in the mint family, square (four-sided). The leaves have lots of stiff hairs sticking out from the edges. The small red-purple to violet-colored flowers have a long lower lip that is pale pink with a bright violet spot. The flowers of Douglas’s Beardstyle are much larger than the similar Sacramento Beardstyle (Pogogyne zizyphoroides). The enlarged lower lip has a distinct bright spot which is missing from the Sacramento Beardstyle. life cycle: Douglas’s Beardstyle is an annual plant. It germinates in the vernal pool bottoms just after the water has dried up. It blooms from May to June after most of the rest of the vernal pools plants have made seeds and died. ecology: Douglas’s Beardstyle only occurs in a few vernal pools on the Mather Field while the more common Sacramento Beardstyle grows in many of them. This indicates that the Douglas’s Beardstyle has very special requirements for germination and growth that only a few vernal pools can provide.

common name: Downingia

scientific name: Downingia species family: Campanulaceae (bellflower) habitat: vernal pools size: Plants are 3 to 10 inches tall; each flower is 7 to 18 mm; Two-horned Downingia usually has larger flowers than the other two species.

fun facts: Downingia are pollinated by native solitary Two-horned Downingia (Downingia bicornuta) bees. The bees collect pollen to feed their offspring. © Carol Witham description: Member of the bellflower family. Each flower has five corolla lobes or petals. The two upper petals are smaller then the three lower petals. The flowers are mainly blue with white, yellow or other colors. Two-horned Downingia (top photo) has a pair of purple bumps near the center of the flower and the trigger hairs are long and twisted. Toothed Downingia (middle photo) has fang-like trigger hairs and no dark spots. Folded Downingia (bottom photo) has folded back upper petals with a small horn between them.

Toothed Downingia (Downingia cuspidata) life cycle: Downingia are annual plants. They germinate © Carol Witham under water. When the pools dry in May, they bloom.

ecology: Downingia are endemic to vernal pools. In some pools, their mass bloom can look like a blue sky reflected off water. Each vernal pool will usually only contain one or two species of Downingia.

Downingia must cross-pollinate to produce seeds. To prevent accidental self-pollination, the flower matures in stages: It goes from being a male flower to being a female flower. When the flower is male, the solitary bee rubs against the trigger hairs to release pollen. When the solitary bee visits a female flower, the pollen is rubbed off onto the Folded Downingia (Downingia ornatissima) © Carol Witham stigma to pollinate the flower.

common name: Elegant Brodiaea

scientific name: Brodiaea elegans family: Liliaceae (lily) habitat: vernal pools, wet grassland size: plant up to 1 foot tall; flower 4 to 5 cm across fun facts: Brodiaeas are closely related to the “garden” Amaryllas. They have underground bulbs which they use to store energy. description: Member of the lily family. Each flower has three petals and three sepals. In Brodiaea the sepals are colored like the petals, so that the flower appears to have six petals and no sepals. Elegant Brodiaea have purple flowers. You can tell Elegant Brodiaea from the similar Crown © David Rosen/Wildside Photography Brodiaea (Brodiaea coronaria) by the position of the stamenoides (white things similar to the stamens). In Elegant Brodiaea they are pressed up against the petals while in Crown Brodiaea they are pressed against the stamens. Vernal Pool Brodiaea (Brodiaea minor) blooms later in the year with shorter, pale blue flowers.

investigate: Brodiaea are insect life cycle: Elegant Brodiaea is a bulb forming perennial. pollinated. Watch to see which Plants produce one or two grass-like leaves early in the insects visit the flowers. season. By the time the flowers are ready to bloom, the leaves have dried up and the flowers bloom inumbels (clusters) on a tall leafless stem. Only older plants with well developed bulbs have enough stored energy to produce flowers in April and May. Most plants do not bloom in their first 4-5 years. ecology: Brodiaea bulbs are an important food source for burrowing rodents such as Botta’s Pocket Gophers. The bulbs have a nutty flavor and Native Americans ate them as well.

common name: Field Cluster Lily

scientific name: Dichelostemma capitatum family: Liliaceae (lily) habitat: grasslands, woodlands size: plant up to 1 foot tall, flower 8 to 12 mm across in clusters fun facts: Field Cluster Lilies are one of the most common of California’s early spring wildflowers. They occur in many habitats. description: Member of the lily family. Each flower has three petals and three sepals. In Dichelostemma the sepals are colored like the petals so that the flower appears to have six petals and no sepals.

© Pamela Kirkbride If you examine the Brodiaea species, you’ll find three white stamenoides which alter- nate with the stamens. Dichelostemma also have three white stamenoides, but each of these has a tiny reduced stamen at the tip that you can see with a hand lens. ecology: Field Cluster Lily bulbs are an life cycle: Field Cluster Lily is a bulb- important food source for burrowing rodents forming perennial. Plants produce one or such as Pocket Gophers. The bulbs have a two grass-like leaves early in the season. By nutty flavor and Native Americans ate them the time the flowers are ready to bloom, the as well. leaves have dried up and the flowers bloom in heads or tight clusters on a leafless stem. Only older plants with well developed bulbs have enough stored energy to produce flowers in April. It may take three to five years before the bulb is mature and the plant can flower.

common name: Filaree or Storksbill

scientific name: Erodium botrys family: Geraniaceae (geranium) habitat: grassland (often disturbed) size: plant 4 to 36 inches tall, flower 1.5 cm across, seed up to 10 cm long fun facts: Filaree is not native to California. Its seeds can be used to show how plant seeds can move around and plant themselves. You can also make scissors out of the seeds. description: Member of the geranium family. The flowers have five pink petals. Each flower produces five seeds attached to a long stalk. As the seeds dry, they detach from the stalk and coil. If they get damp again, they uncoil. © Kevin Rice Several species of Erodium occur at Mather Field. Filaree is the most common and can be found in a variety of habitats. life cycle: Filaree is an annual plant. It germinates in the fall and blooms during the first warm days of March. It may continue to bloom into May in favorable locations. Sometimes it germinates in the vernal pools before they fill with water. When the pool fills, the Filaree curls up and dies within a week or so.

ecology: Filaree can be particularly abundant in the first year or two after a grassland fire. That is because the blackened soil heats up from the sun more than soil with vegetation does. The extra heat tells all the Filaree seeds to germinate. So right after a fire, Filaree is a dominant species. In deeper soils, the Filaree is usually replaced by invasive, non-native annual grasses within a few years.

common name: Red Maids

scientific name: Calandrinia ciliata family: Portulacaceae (purslane) habitat: grassland (disturbed) size: plant with stems up to 1 foot; flower 8 to 30 mm across fun facts: Flowers are only open when the sun is shining. Also known as “poor man’s weather vane”. description: Member of the purslane family. © Kevin Rice The bright red-pink flowers with five petals and numerous stamens are distinctive (unlike any others). The plants are sprawling. life cycle: Red Maids is an annual plant. It germinates as soon as the rains begin in the fall. It can bloom as early as February or March and is generally in seed by the time the vernal pool plants begin to bloom.

investigate: Red Maids are ecology: Red Maids occur in grasslands native, but often grow in disturbed and fields. They are particularly plentiful areas. Natural disturbances can be in disturbed areas where they can be the caused by burrowing rodents or dominant species. Red Maids were used as a digging predators. Can you find Red pot herb by early settlers and their seeds are a Maids growing on soil which was favored food of doves. disturbed by animals?

common name: Sacramento Beardstyle

scientific name: Pogogyne zizyphoroides family: Lamiaceae (mint) habitat: vernal pools, wet grassland size: plant 1 to 4 inches tall, flower 4 to 8 mm long and 2 to 3 mm across fun facts: Crush a leaf to make a minty smell on your hands. description: Member of the mint family. The stems © Carol Witham are square and reddish. The leaves have lots of stiff hairs sticking out from the edges. The very tiny, tubular (shaped like a tube) red-purple to violet- colored flowers are tucked away within the leaves. The flowers of Sacramento Beardstyle are much smaller than the similar Douglas’s Beardstyle (Pogogyne douglasii). They also lack the distinct splotch of dark pink on the pale lower lip. life cycle: Sacramento Beardstyle is an annual plant. investigate: Tiny flowers can It germinates in the vernal pool bottoms just after the actually be very intricate and water has dried up. Compared with other vernal pool beautiful under magnification. Use plants, it grows rather slowly, but even tiny plants can a hand lens to peek into these be distinguished by their minty smell. It blooms from secretive flowers and to view the May to June, generally after the grasslands are brown. hairy leaves. Can you figure out who pollinates these tiny pink flowers? ecology: This is the most common Beardstyle at Mather Field. It occurs in most, if not all, of the vernal pools.

common name: Scarlet Pimpernel

scientific name: Anagallis arvensis family: Primulaceae (primrose) habitat: wet grassland size: plant up to 16 inches tall; flower 7 to 11 mm across fun facts: A little weed common in gardens and waste places. The genus name (Anagallis) means “amusing” in Greek. description: Member of the primrose family. The stems are smooth and square. The plant usually has many branches and is sprawling. Each flower has five sepals, five petals and five stamens. The seeds mature in a round ovary Gladys Lucille Smith, © California Academy of Sciences that opens by the top coming off like the lid of a jar. These are the only salmon (yellowish pink) colored flowers to be found at Mather Field. Chaffweed (Centunculus minimus) has very What is a weed? similar stems and leaves, but the flowers are much smaller (1 to 3 mm) and have white A weed is a plant that easily moves petals. in and colonizes new sites, usually following some type of disturbance. A life cycle: Scarlet Pimpernel is an annual. weed is a plant out of place. It can germinate almost any time of the year. The weeds in vernal pool grasslands Depending upon location and moisture, it were brought to California from other blooms from March to September. parts of the World. The plants and ecology: Scarlet Pimpernel is not native to animals which controlled their popula- California. It came from Europe and was prob- tions in their homelands do not live here. ably accidentally brought here by early settlers. This allows the weeds to grow out of The plant is toxic to both humans and animals. control and displace plants and animals native to California. The flowers open every day in the sunshine and close again at night.

common name: Vasey’s Coyote-thistle

scientific name: Eryngium castrense family: Apiaceae (carrot) habitat: vernal pools size: plant 8 to 18 inches tall, flower 2 to 3 mm in the summer fun facts: Plant has two different forms: when in water the leaves are hollow to carry air to the roots; later the leaves are solid and prickly like a thistle.

© Carol Witham description: Member of the carrot family. The plant has a fleshytaproot like most members of this family. The flowers are tiny and purple and bloom in the early summer. They occur in pale green, prickly heads where the leaves are clustered. This is the only green prickly plant that occurs in vernal pools. life cycle: Coyote-thistles are one of the two vernal pool plants that live for more than a few weeks. They are short lived perennials or biennials (live for two years). They grow from a fleshy taproot while there is water in the vernal pools. As the pools dry, their leaves become prickly. Vasey’s Coyote-thistle blooms in June. ecology: Vasey’s Coyote-thistle has two different leaf forms; one for when it is aquatic (growing in the water) and one for when it is terrestrial (growing on land). Vernal Pool Dodder (Cuscuta howelliana) often grows on Vasey’s Coyote- Vasey’s Coyote-thistle in bloom with Vernal Pool Dodder. © David Rosen/Wildside Photography thistle and even puts its flowers in the flower clusters of the coyote-thistle (see bottom photo on left).

investigate: Can you find an example of both leaf forms on the same plant? Or on two different plants in the same pool?

common name: Vernal Pool Monkeyflower

scientific name: Mimulus tricolor family: Scrophulariaceae (figwort) habitat: vernal pools size: plant 1 to 5 inches tall, flower 10 to 25 mm

fun facts: Mimulus means mime or mimic, an action often associated with monkeys. description: Member of the figwort family. The bright red-pink-and-yellow flowers are tube shaped at the base and have five irregular lobes or petals. The Vernal Pool Monkeyflower is rarely confused with any other species in the vernal pools. Downingia are similarly face-shaped but are much smaller and generally blue or purple. © David Rosen/Wildside Photography life cycle: Vernal Pool Monkeyflower is an annual plant. It is endemic to vernal pools. It germinates as the pools dry in the spring. Vernal Pool Monkeyflower blooms in April-May. ecology: Vernal Pool Monkeyflower often does well in slightly disturbed areas. Look for them on old gopher mounds which were submerged under water during the winter. Whether they like the fluffier soils or the reduced competition from other plants is not certain.

investigate: Judging from the shape and coloration of the flower, Vernal Pool Monkeyflowers are probably insect pollinated. Can you figure out which insects?

common name: White-tipped Clover

scientific name: Trifolium variegatum family: Fabaceae (pea) habitat: vernal pools, wet grassland size: plant 8 to 14 inches tall, flower 1.5 to 2.0 cm fun facts: Native clovers are a good source of nectar and attract a variety of native and non-native bees.

description: Member of the pea family. Each pea flower is made up of five unusually shaped petals. The top petal © Carol Witham is the banner petal and often has a contrasting color. The two side petals are alike and are called the wing petals. The lower two petals are joined into a single boat-shaped petal called the keel petal. The flowers are deep purple with white or pale pink tips.

White-tipped Clover is the only native perennial clover at Mather Field. It grows in large clumps and each plant has many flowers. White-tipped Clover often occurs with Checkerbloom (Sidalcea calycosa). life cycle: White-tipped Clover is a short-lived perennial and generally only lives a few years. The plants die back during the summer and then re-sprout from the complex © David Rosen/Wildside Photography root system when the rains arrive in the fall. White-tipped Clover begins blooming in April as the pools begin to dry, but may continue to bloom into May. investigate: The Checkerbloom ecology: Clover flowers are very high in nectar and and White-tipped Clover grow attract a variety of bees and other insects. Clover honey is together, bloom at the same time, very tasty and highly nutritious. and have similar colored flowers. Watch to see if the same pollinators visit both flowers? White-tipped Clover has a delightful perfume. Find a patch and sniff the air for its scent on a warm day.

common name: Winter Vetch

scientific name: Vicia villosa family: Fabaceae (pea) habitat: grassland (often disturbed) size: Plants are long and viney, growing up to a few feet long; each flower is 1 to 1.5 cm long, the clusters have 10-30 flowers. fun facts: This plant is not native. Ranchers often scatter seeds of this plant in their pastures because it

description: Member of the pea family. Each pea flower is made up of five unusually shaped petals. The top petal is the banner petal. The two side petals are alike and are called the wing petals. The lower two petals are joined together and are called the keel petal. Winter Vetch has large flower clusters, each with about 20 purple flowers. Sometimes the flowers are pink or white. The other vetch species which occur at Mather investigate: Where in the Field have only one or two flowers in each cluster. vernal pool grassland do you see vetch growing? What are life cycle: Winter Vetch is an annual. It germinates some reasons it might prefer with the fall rains but does not grow very much until to grow there? the temperatures warm up in the spring. Then it grows very fast and produces lots of flower clusters. Winter Vetch begins to bloom in March and may continue to grow and bloom into late May. ecology: Winter Vetch, like most pea flowers, produces lots of nectar. Bees and other insects visit the flowers. Honey made from Winter Vetch is similar to that made from clover and is nutritious and tasty.

scientific name: Triteleia laxa family: Liliaceae (lily) habitat: grassland size: plant 1 to 1.5 feet tall; flower 3 to 4 cm across fun facts: Flowers have blue pollen which is an unusual color for pollen. description: Member of the lily family. Each flower has three petals and three sepals. In Itherial’s Spear © Carol Witham the sepals are colored like the petals, so that the flower appears to have six petals and no sepals. The flowers are blue to dark purple. You use the following characteristics to distinguish Triteleia from the similar Brodiaea and Dichelostemma flowers:Brodiaea have three stamens and three stamenoides. Dichelostemma have three true stamens and three stamenoides which have reduced stamens at their tips. The Triteleia have six true stamens and no stamenoides. investigate: Large and showy flowers are a good indicator that life cycle: Itherial’s Spear is a bulb producing Triteleia are insect pollinated. perennial. Early in the season, the plants produce Observe the insects which visit one or a few grass-like leaves. By the time the the flowers. flowers are ready to bloom, the leaves have dried up and the flowers bloom in umbels (clusters) on a tall leafless stem. Only older plants with well developed bulbs have enough stored energy to produce flowers in April.

ecology: Triteleia bulbs are an important food source for burrowing rodents such as Botta’s Pocket Gophers. The bulbs have a nutty flavor and Native Americans ate them as well.

common name: Miniature Lupine scientific name: Lupinus bicolor family: Fabaceae (pea) habitat: grassland (damp) size: plant 4 to 16 inches tall; flower up to 5 mm fun facts: All Lupines have palmate (hand-shaped) leaves. description: Member of the pea family. The plant is most noticeable for its palmate leaves and the large pea pods that hold its seeds. The blue flowers are rather tiny, especially when compared with other lupines. © Carol Witham Pea flowersare made up of five unusually shaped petals. The top petal is the banner petal. The two side petals are has nectar, the banner petal is bright alike and are called the wing petals. The lower two petals are white. After the flower is pollinated, joined into a single boat-shaped petal called the keel petal. the banner petal turns reddish-purple and no longer advertises the flower to life cycle: Miniature Lupine is an annual plant. It insects. germinates following the first rains in the fall and can be ready to bloom by late March. When the seeds are mature, The genus name Lupinus means wolf. the pod splits violently and flings the seeds out. Plants of this genus were once thought to rob the soil of nutrients because ecology: Lupines are insect pollinated. The insect lands on they tend to grow in poor soils. We the wing petals. These sway under the insect’s weight and now know that Lupines can occur on cause the stamens and/or stigma to brush up against the the poorest of soils because they collect insect’s under side. atmospheric nitrogen and actually Lupines only make a small amount of nectar for the make the soil richer in nutrients. pollinator. To advertise that the flower is un-pollinated and

common name: American Pillwort

scientific name: Pilularia americana family: Marsileaceae (marsilea) habitat: vernal pools, wet grassland size: entire plant about 5 cm tall fun facts: American Pillwort is related to ferns. It makes spores instead of seeds. description: Member of the marsilea family. This plant is a fern ally (a close relative of ferns). In ferns the © Carol Witham leaves are called fronds. The stem is underground. The plant is often irregularly shaped with fronds sticking up out of the ground in lines that follow the underground stems. The plant’s spores are borne along the underground stems and resemble small, round, and hairy pills or peas. There are a couple of other delicate, green plants that might be confused with American Pillwort. Flowering Quillwort (Lilaea scilloides) tends to be a bit larger and has both underground and aboveground flowers. Quillwort (Isoetes orcuttii) has similar fronds, but they are straight and come from a single point in the soil. life cycle: American Pillwort is related to the fern. It grows from spores instead of seeds and does not make flowers. It is most easily observed on the drying mud around and in vernal pools early in the spring. ecology: American Pillwort is a very unusual little plant. Dig one up to show off its little pill-shaped spore packets. Stick it back in the ground and it will be just fine. By producing its spores underground, the American Pillwort pre-plants itself and guarantees that next year’s generation will have just the right growing conditions!

common name: Little Quaking Grass

scientific name: Briza minor family: Poaceae (grass) habitat: grassland (moist) size: plant up to 6 inches tall; floret 3 to 4 mm across fun facts: The florets of this grass resemble the rattles on the tail of a rattlesnake. description: Member of the grass family. Each grass flower is made up of a pair of tiny bracts,

© T.K. Komura the stamens and pistil. The flowers are grouped into clusters called florets (a cluster of flowers). Because grasses are wind pollinated, they do not need showy flowers to attract insects. In fact, petals could block the wind and prevent pollination. The rattle-like florets of this plant are distinctive and you are unlikely to confuse it with any other grass. investigate: Each floret of Little Quaking Grass is made up of life cycle: Little Quaking Grass is an annual. numerous individual flowers. Can It germinates over the winter. It blooms in you count the bracts and figure out April and May. how many flowers make a floret? Is every floret made up of the same ecology: Little Quaking Grass is not native number of flowers? in California. Usually non-native plants are considered weedy and bad for the ecosystem. However, this plant is not an aggressive weed and only occurs sparingly. These kinds of non- aggressive, non-native plants are sometimes called naturalized (meaning that they live here in harmony with the native species).

common name: Medusahead

scientific name: Taeniatherum caput-medusae family: Poaceae (grass) habitat: grassland, disturbed areas size: plant 6 to 10 inches tall; floret 5 to 8 cm including awns fun facts: Medusahead contains a mineral commonly found in rocks: silica. description: Member of the grass family. Grass flowers are smaller versions of regular flowers but without the petals. In Medusahead each floret (cluster of flowers) is made up of several individual flowers. Each seed has a long awn (needle-like end). Medusahead is a gray-green grass found on mounds © David Rosen/Wildside Photography and outside the vernal pools. A few similar grasses occur at Mather Field, but none of them have really long awns (up to 2 inches) clustered together in a floret.

investigate: Medusahead’s high life cycle: Medusahead is an annual grass. It silica content also prevents the dead germinates during the winter. It grows most plants from decomposing (rotting) quickly in the late spring when the weather warms. easily. In the field, can you find Medusahead blooms and sets seed in late May. patches of last year’s Medusahead? What grows in these patches of ecology: Medusahead is a non-native plant dead grass? introduced into California from Europe. It is very aggressive and easily competes with native plants. It is considered invasive in California. Herbivores avoid eating it because of the high silica (rock) content. The fine rock crystals cause extra wear on their teeth.

common name: Pale Spikerush

scientific name: Eleocharis macrostachya family: Cyperaceae (rush) habitat: vernal pools, wetlands size: Plants are up to 24 inches tall; stem looks like a long green straw with a tiny pine cone-like flower at the tip. fun facts: The stems are hollow when the plant is in water and solid when the ground is dry.

© Carol Witham description: Member of the rush family. Rushes are closely related to grasses. Each flower is made up of a tiny bract and the stamens and pistil. The flowers are arranged in a cluster that looks like a tiny (up to 8 mm long) pine cone. Pale Spikerush is the only grass-like plant in the vernal pools with a tiny brown scaly flower at the tip of its straw-like stem. life cycle: Pale Spikerush is a perennial plant with long underground roots called rhizomes. It is one of the two vernal pool plants that lives longer than a few weeks. The plant can reproduce using seeds and it can spread © Carol Witham by sending out rhizomes that produce more stems. Pale Spikerush blooms in April. ecology: Pale Spikerush prefers the deepest vernal investigate: The cone-like flowers pools where it can often be one of the dominant species. are wind pollinated. The stamens You can tell which parts of a vernal pool hold water the usually hang out of the flower in longest by finding the patches of Pale Spikerush. order to be exposed to the wind. Can you find flowers in which the stamens When there is water in the vernal pools, its stems are are hanging out? What is another hollow to transport air down to the roots. When the perennial plant in vernal pools? water is gone, the stems fill in with pith (hard spongy- looking material) to make the stems stronger and harder to bend or break.

common name: Purple Needlegrass

scientific name: Nassella pulchra family: Poaceae (grass) habitat: grassland size: plants up to 2 feet tall fun facts: Purple Needlegrass is the “state grass” of California. description: Member of the grass family. Each grass flower is made up of a pair of tiny bracts and the © Carol Witham stamens and pistil. Because grasses are wind pollinated, they do not need showy flowers to attract insects. In fact, petals could block the wind and prevent pollination. At Mather Field, Purple Needlegrass is the only bunch- grass (perennial grass which grows in bunches) which has long needle-like awns on the grass seeds. The awn (or long bristle) helps drill the seed into the soil. life cycle: Purple Needlegrass is a perennial bunch- investigate: Purple Needlegrass grass. It forms dense clumps of leaves up to 1 foot tall. only occurs in some locations on It blooms in May and the flower stalks can be up to 2 Mather Field. Can you figure out the feet tall. type of habitat it prefers? ecology: Purple Needlegrass remains green throughout the year. Both the leaves and the roots are important food sources for native herbivores during the hot, dry summer months. Rabbits eat the leaves and rodents nibble on the roots. It was once common but has been crowded out of most grasslands by invasive, non-native, annual grasses.

common name: Water Starwort

scientific name: Callitriche marginata family: Callitrichaceae (water starwort) habitat: vernal pools, wet areas size: Clusters of floating leaves are 1.0 to 1.5 cm across. fun facts: Water Starwort is water pollinated. It also buries its seeds in the drying mud. description: Member of the water starwort family. The plants are rooted in the vernal pool bottom and have long, stringy stems which end in a cluster of floating leaves. The © Carol Witham flowers are tiny (up to 1 mm across) and are seldom seen. Flowers occur down where the leaf meets the stem. Other species of Callitriche may occur at Mather Field in the wetlands and along drainage channels, but Callitriche marginata is the only species which occurs regularly in vernal pools. life cycle: Water Starwort is an annual. It germinates in wet areas soon after the rains begin in the fall. As the vernal pools fill, the stems get very long so that the leaves can float on the surface of the water. As the water evaporates, the floating leaves drift around because their stems are now longer than the distance between the water surface and the soil. ecology: Water Starwort flowers shed pollen on the surface of the water where the wind and water’s surface tension carry it to other Water Starwort flowers for cross-pollination. As soon as the water evaporates, the Water Starwort plants its seeds in the drying mud. To do this the stems below the ovaries grow very quickly and push them into the soil. This guarantees that the next generation will have a suitably wet spot in which to grow.

common name: Woolly Marbles

scientific name: Psilocarphus brevissimus family: Asteraceae (sunflower) habitat: vernal pools size: plant up to 4 inches tall, each “marble” 1 to 2 cm across fun facts: Each fuzzy “marble” contains both leaves and flowers. © T.K. Komura description: Member of the sunflower family. Each flowerhead is made up of 20 or more disk flowers. These are well hidden in the cob-webby fuzz. The plants are pale green. The top photo shows the plants early in the season. The flowerheads are visible in the center of the leaves. The bottom photo is later in the season when the leaves curl up. life cycle: Woolly Marbles are annual plants. They germinate as the vernal pool water warms and begins

© Carol Witham to evaporate in the spring. Once the water is gone, they grow quickly. Woolly Marbles can be seen from late April until the rains begin in the fall. The flowers are well hidden in the fuzz. They bloom in May. ecology: Woolly Marbles are endemic to vernal pools. Endemic means they cannot grow in other environ- ments because they are either too dry or too wet. The investigate: The individual plants do not release their seeds until the rains come flowers are very well hidden in the in the fall. This prevents them from blowing away into cob-webby fuzz of the plant. See if unsuitable habitats. you can find the disk flowers in the Woolly Marbles by using your hand. Woolly Marbles are able to grow in vernal pools long after many other vernal pool plants have dried up. Their fuzz keeps the dry air from touching the plant and stealing its moisture.