Add some tequila and it would be a sunrise.
2022-03-11 Point Pinos, Pacific Grove, CA [DSC02790]
No blubber, just thick luscious fur and a high metabolism to keep them warm in the North Pacific waters, powered by shellfish (urchins) which otherwise destroy the kelp forests. In a more recent discovery, by removing crabs in the estuary near Monterey more sea slugs survive to clean the algae blooms from the seagrass, leaving a thriving ecosystem despite extremely high nitrogen runoff from nearby farms.
2022-03-11 Monterey Bay, Monterey, CA [DSC02712]
Shore birds doing shore bird things.
2022-03-10 Spyglass Beach, Pismo Beach, CA [DSC01859]
The same sea lion as #322, lying on top of a huge boulder. We didn't know how she(?) got there. It was much too high even for high tide, and she's a bit too heavy to fly. We later watched her clamber down an improbably steep slope and go for a swim. Mystery solved.
2022-03-09 Leo Carrillo State Beach, Malibu, CA [DSC01029]
The flowers of Phacelia crenulata come in a coiled stack, looking something like a scorpion. It carries a bit of a sting as well, with a rash of contact dermatitis cases in the spring when it comes out.
2022-03-08 Mission Creek Preserve, Desert Hotsprings, CA [DSC09921]
A weedy native annual Amsinckia tessellata has an interesting property that it outcompetes the non-native cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), later giving way to the native wild rye, big squirreltail (Elymus multisetus).[1] Ecosystems are complicated.
2022-03-07 Live Oak Picnic Area, Joshua Tree NP, CA [DSC09600]
[1] Leger, Elizabeth A.; Goergen, Erin M.; de Queiroz, Tara Forbis. 2014. Can native annual forbs reduce Bromus tectorum biomass and indirectly facilitate establishment of a native perennial grass? Journal of Arid Environments. 102: 9-16. DOI:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2013.10.015
You can tell that Penstemon utahensis(?) is pollinated by hummingbirds by the red colour and narrow corolla (not fully open in this photo). Bee-pollinated Penstemon tend to have a broad blue or white corolla with a landing pad and concentrated nectar. DNA studies show 20+ lineages of Penstemon switching from bee to bird pollination independently.[1] This might be because hummingbirds are more efficient pollinators, going from 1.6% to 2.5% efficiency by adding bird specializations. There are no lineages that reverted to bee pollination, which is perhaps not surprising. Birds will pollinate bee-specialized flowers but not the other way around so the pressure is in one direction.
2022-03-07 Oasis of Mora, Twentynine Palms, CA [DSC09540]
[1] Wilson, Paul, et al. "Constrained lability in floral evolution: counting convergent origins of hummingbird pollination in Penstemon and Keckiella." New Phytologist 176.4 (2007): 883-890. DOI:10.1111/j.1469-8137.2007.02219.x
Hanging on the edge of a cliff these cacti don't get much water (less than 25mm/month in winter and almost none in summer), but they still add a splash of cover.
2022-03-06 Cottonwood Spring Oasis, Joshua Tree NP, CA [DSC09250]
Golden hour shortly after dawn when the light is yellow. Not much snowpack here which is why LA needs to import 85% of its water from the rest of the state.
2022-03-08 San Bernardino Mountains, CA [DSC09906]
Rorschach test with a cliff face. Feeling a little pressure?
2022-03-07 Hidden Valley, Joshua Tree National Park, CA [DSC09872]
It's near the end of breeding season so these will be mostly pups hanging out on the beach learning to fend for themselves.
2022-03-10 Elephant Seal Vista Point, San Simeon, CA [DSC01964]
Mom and pup. Another feat of parenting she will go without food or water for a month, converting 40% of her body weight into 5 or 6 L of milk per day (50% fat, 100 MJ). It's an efficient process: The pup gains over half the mass that mom lost.[1] Then off she goes, putting on the pounds for next year's marathon, leaving the pup to fend for itself.
2022-03-10 Elephant Seal Vista Point, San Simeon, CA [DSC01969]
[1] Costa, D. P., et al. "The energetics of lactation in the northern elephant seal, Mirounga angustirostris." Journal of Zoology 209.1 (1986): 21-33.
New word for the day: catkins (from middle dutch for "little cat") are the flower clusters on a willow. To me they look like fuzzy caterpillars (from old northern french for "hairy cat"). Pussy willows come from a few species which produce small gray catkins (hence pussies rather than catkins).
2022-03-14 Mountain Lake Park, San Francisco, CA [DSC03625]
First pyramid taller than Giza (4500 years).
2022-03-14 Transamerica Pyramid, San Francisco, CA [DSC03526]
A bold bird eying my chocolate croissant figuring he is deserving.
2022-03-14 Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA [DSC03462]
Not true eels, just very long fish. Around age seven they mate for life, settling in a cozy cave for the next 13+ years. They are active parents with one present at all times during the three months that the eggs develop, protecting them from rockfish and pulling in fresh seawater.
2022-03-11 Monterey Bay Aquarium, Monterey, CA [DSC02395]
One of the early bits of British botanical pillage, Joseph Banks sent some root cuttings of Melaleuca citrina from Cook's voyage to Australia (among others) to establish the exotic botanical gardens at Kew. Like others in the myrtle family it produces the herbicide leptospermone which it uses to keep down the competition.
2022-03-13 San Francisco Botanical Gardens, SF, CA [DSC03365]
Used in cosmetics since biblical times, Cistus ladanifer resin helps to fix scents so they last longer. It provides antioxidants and a bit of sun protection, so it's a useful addition to skin creams. Bonus: it is cytotoxic to melanoma while leaving non-cancerous skin cells alone.[1]
2022-03-13 San Francisco Botanical Gardens, SF, CA [DSC03362]
[1] Gaweł-Bęben, Katarzyna, et al. "Characterization of Cistus× incanus L. and Cistus ladanifer L. extracts as potential multifunctional antioxidant ingredients for skin protecting cosmetics." Antioxidants 9.3 (2020): 202.
Duck, duck, goose! I don't dare tag it since it might tag me back!
2022-03-13 San Francisco Botanical Gardens, SF, CA [DSC03361]
A male wearing breeding colours in the local pond this spring. There were no females around so he moved on.
2022-03-21 NIH pond, Bethesda, MD [DSC03813]
A duck unphased.
2022-03-13 San Francisco Botanical Gardens, SF, CA [DSC03303]
Corydalis cheilanthifolia from "cheilanthes" (lip fern) + "folia" (leaves).
2022-03-13 San Francisco Botanical Gardens, SF, CA [DSC03328]
Awakening with the morning light, this Arctotis sp shakes the dew off its petals as it opens for the day.
2022-03-13 San Francisco Botanical Gardens, SF, CA [DSC03327]
Another South African native Agapanthus praecox seems to do well around the world, for example being treated as invasive in Tasmania. Not top 100 worst species but still likely to cause harm by crowding out natives with its dense root network.
2022-03-13 San Francisco Botanical Gardens, SF, CA [DSC03324]
Pericallis × hybrida is a hybrid from the Canary Islands with a wide range of cultivars. Although perennial in zones 9 to 11 it is usually treated as a potted plant forced to bloom at Christmas or Easter then tossed in the compost.
2022-03-13 San Francisco Botanical Gardens, SF, CA [DSC03320]
Kind of funky to see a conifer with flowers, but even though it looks like a pine Psoralea pinnata is a legume. In soil remediation studies it has been shown to extract large amounts of iron and chromium, so look for it in mine tailings on your travels to South Africa.
2022-03-13 San Francisco Botanical Gardens, SF, CA [DSC03313]
A treasure for dry landscapes, Lobelia laxiflora provides food for hummingbirds. Like other lobelia it produces alkaloids with medicinal effects such as reducing swelling.
2022-03-13 San Francisco Botanical Gardens, SF, CA [DSC03307]
Despite being a fast spreading flexible ground cover for zone 7-9 Iris japonica appears not to have escaped cultivation. Except one in the mountains of Columbia, all the wild observations are from Japan and China.
2022-03-13 San Francisco Botanical Gardens, SF, CA [DSC03306]
A magnolia, but I'm not sure which species (there are dozens species and hybrids at the SFBG). Historically the magnolia was used as the type genus for all flowering plants (that is, the most typical), but genetic analysis has shaken the tree. It is no longer monocots (single-leaf seedlings like lilies) and dicots (dual-leaf seedlings like magnolias), but instead monocots, 3-part flowers and 4&5 part flowers. There are some stragglers such as Amborella trichopoda which exists as a single species in its order on a single island in the Pacific. Think platypus vs. mammal for the degree of difference—that's a species worth preserving!
2022-03-13 San Francisco Botanical Gardens, SF, CA [DSC03297]
Wikipedia claims Omphalodes cappadocica is from woodland habitats in Turkey, but iNat only shows them on the slopes of the Caucasus Mountains near Sochi. There is observation bias (25X more observations in Sochi compared to a similar box in Turkey) but we should still see a few. The Royal Horticultural Society lists plant range as Turkey & Caucasus.
2022-03-13 San Francisco Botanical Gardens, SF, CA [DSC03293]
Berberis aquifolium or maybe Mahonia aquifolium: there is no consensus on whether Mahonia exists as a separate genus. An ointment made from the wood has been shown to effectively treat psoriasis (lots of alkaloids).[1] The berries are sour but edible. You can dye from them and from the roots.[2]
2022-03-13 San Francisco Botanical Gardens, SF, CA [DSC03292]
[1] Janeczek M, Moy L, Lake EP, Swan J. Review of the Efficacy and Safety of Topical Mahonia aquifolium for the Treatment of Psoriasis and Atopic Dermatitis. J Clin Aesthet Dermatol. 2018 Dec;11(12):42-47. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6334833/
[2] https://www.stravaiginyarnco.com/journal/2018/4/20/traditional-sinixt-dye-oregon-grape