Observations by nordstrom

This plant was found under a redwood forest. There were only a few other plants that looked similar. The leaves were around an inch in length and very circular and round. The ends of the leaves were slightly sharper and came together more. The back of the leaf looked the same. It has a smooth texture. It was an inch and 1/2 tall.

The vine was around a ruler in length. The flowers were smaller than a penny. There were very veiny. The flowers were a spadix shaped. The leaves had a fuzzy texture. This was found in a grassland area nearby a forest. There were around fifty others of this same flowers. I saw the Spanish clover on the iNaturalist observations on the TeenNat project. The pictures and the description matched my observation.

This was found in a grassland area that was recently burned with control. It was found in the charcoal. There was over twenty of the buds in the plant. There were a few other plants of the same species in the area as well. The bright yellow and circle shape helps me identify it as a sunflower with the use of Calflora. It has a very sticky texture with a mint scent. The buds of the flowers was with soft prickles.

The area I found this oak in was a grassland and there were a dozens more oaks around. The leaves were a deep green and had a waxy texture. The edges were roughed and prickly which helped with identifying it as an Oak. The branches were thinner which meant this oak is young and it was about 10 feet tall. It appears 15 feet wide. The leaves do not curl as much as other oak and the leaf was not as separate. No visible acorns. This oval shape and the thorns on the leaves and the broad shape of the tree helped me identify it. The descriptions and photos of the leaves on the field guide "Trees: Guide to familiar nature trees" by Zim Martin was what led me to this identification.

This was found on a leaf in a sunny, chaparral environment. It was under a few oak bushes. It appears smaller than 1/4 in length. Its body is a round shape and a green color with a few black spots. There are two antennae. The habitat, size, and color match the description of the insect on bugguide.net, which helped me ID this. The green is fairl bright. The legs have a black marking as well.

This tree was found in a chaparral environment. A few other manzanitas nearby and one madrone. The leaves are a neutral green and teardrop shaped, with only one vien in the middle. The bush is around 8 ft in diameter. The bark is a dark red and peeling the way manzanita does. The leaves only are an inch and a half in length. The leaves are slightly fuzzy.

This insect was found in forest area in a cone shaped small hole in loose soil on a train. It camoflauged very well in the dirt. It has two body divisions and two antenaee. The body has a shell-like texture. I watched it dig its way into soil backwards which is how I indentified it as an Antlion. Its a larvae because of its size. On BugGuide.net, the photos I saw of this genus matched my own photos.

I found this plant nearby a pond and many mints were surrounding. It was around three feet tall and the leaves looked around nine inches longs with a line divided each leaf. The leaves were 1/4 in width. It was dirty green and dirty orange color. The flowers at the middle of the plant were roughed on the edges. The flowers were in clusters. Over twenty of the same plants all around the same pond.

We were able to catch this butterfly into the catcher's net. The wingspan was about three inches. The center of the butterfly's wing together was very black. The body has yellow and it was one inch. Found near a pond. I indentified it as the Anise Swallowtail because of looking at the three swallowtails found in the area of Pepperwood Preserve. I chose this one because the Anise had a black to yellow ratio similar to the butterfly I found.

This plant was found under a forest area with many oak trees around. It was around two inches in height. More than ten visible veins on the leaves. There was four leaves on each plant I saw. The edges of the leaves are serrated. It reminded me of a mint leaf such as spearmint, but I did not smell after touching the leave. There was a fuzzy/hairy texture of the leaves. There were dozens of the same plants all around. It was a light green and a bluish/gray color of the underside of the leaves. I believe it is a mint because of the shape of the leaves and the fuzzy texture and pictures I viewed on Inatuaralist. Nicole Barden, an environmental educator, agreed with me.

This was found on the top of a hill in dry soil and in direct sun. The stems were around 12 inches tall and a dark pinkish color. They were stiff. The bud itself was an inch in length. Many prickles were on it and the leaves. 20 thistles of same color were surrounded in the area. The color, location, and blooming period match well with the description on CalFlora. Also, the photo taken Dylan Neubaeur in 2011 of this thistle looks very similar to my photo. The stems in the bud matches the white color of the tips in the photo.

This flower was found in a dry chaparral environment and was surrounded by more than a hundred similar plants and other wildflowers. It was also nears mints. It is easy to break and the flowers are smaller than a dime. There are five petals and 12 inches in height. I indetified it as the Zeltnera muehlenberg because of the descriptions and pictures. It is native to California, it is very similar looking to the Zeltnera vanuesta.

This fern was found in a very shady and foresty area that was nearby a creek. The bush is over five feet tall. Around twenty ferns of similar side are around. The ends are very wilty. I identified this fern because after looking at pictures of the same fern taken by Yuna Lee, I noticed her photos had the sori that had a chain shape. It was very similar to the leaves I found of the photos on plantlust.com. . The texture was slightly similar to the one of leather.

This wildflower was found in dirt with little nutriets and water. it was very dry. It was foun in sunny chaparaal area. Flower bus were covering the entire stem. There was a rough texture to the buds. The stem was around 12 inches tall and was rounded. Hundreds of the same flower surrounded it. The flower itself is smaller than a penny. On both sides, three petals enclose smaller flowers within. This looks very similar to the Three-rayed Tarweed pictures on Ucanr.edu and it is native to this area, but the color is different to the flower I pictured. The buds look the same with the form and the rough texture with bumps.

This frog was in length less than an inch without the legs being outstretched. There is a black line near his eye and spots on the webbed feet. It was found in the grasses near a small pond. With the help of Californiaherps.com, I was able to indenitify the frog because it is native in the range. It spends a lot of time near water and can be found in various types of environment in California, especially ponds. The Sierran Treefrog has the same stripes and spots. I also believe it is a juvenile because it is so small and matched the size pictures on the website. Over a hundred other frogs surrounding.

This spider was found in the grasses nearby a pond in its web. The belly of the spider is very colorful with colors of brown, black, yellow and orange. There are two different spiders shown in the same spot, one has a better view of the belly and the other has the view of the back. The head is furry. The total length includes the legs is around two inches. The legs are very decently long. I identified this due to the photos I found insectidentification.org that perfectly matched the photos I took.

This orchid was found under many trees and on a hill. It is more than a 12 inches long. It is very thin and the flowers appear smaller than a penny and very wilted/crusty. It is a dark yellow, greensish flower. I have concluded it is a piperia orchid because of the long spur, the stalkish shape, and the similarity to the pictures found in The Wild Orchids of California book by Ronald A. Coleman.

This newt was found in a creek that was very covered by many trees. It was cool and shady and the creek was low level, but with sufficient water for organisms. It is around four and half inches long with including its tail. The back of the newt is a dark brown color and there is a rough texture of numbs along the back. It was very limy. The belly was a dirty orange color. Based on the the California Herps website, I concluded it is the Rough Skinned Newt because the lower eyelids are dark in color and the eyes do not pop out of the head as much.