There is an old homestead near this observation. My best guess is that it was planted by the old residents. Of course non-native to California.
Gravid female.
Found growing under Quercus agrifolia. When cut produced a milky latex.
Found growing under Q. agrifolia. I've never seen one of these before so I am a bit loss to what it is exactly.
Observed growing on a steep hillside in association with Mimulus aurantiacus, Artemisia californica , Baccharis pilularis,Quercus agrifolia, and lots of Poison oak.
Found growing under Quercus agrifolia. Had not produce any flower yet, so I'm uncertain to which species of Corallorhiza.
You know I've seen this plant from time to time, but I have never known what it is called :\
This is one of the plants that my lady prides herself on being able to identify, silybum. Non-native invasive to California.
First time I have seen bluewitch nightshade in this canyon.
Arroyo Viejo or Old man creek. Our creeks are a vital part of the green spaces in the San Francisco bay area. Fredrick Olmsted when visiting Oakland to help design the Mountain View Cemetery had suggested that the city maintain green spaces all along the creeks within the city limits. Noting that it would provide a green space for all its citizens and serve as a corridor for it's wildlife. Unfortunately, the idea was never really taken up till much later and after most of the creeks had already been paved over. Still there exists places where these creeks flow and are still havens of habitat for our Oakland wildlife. Please note the car in the creek. Any guess to what year, make, and model?
This has to be by far one of my favorite California native plants. Beautiful lupine flowers with shining silver foliage and a low maintenance plant to boot. This shrub makes an excellent addition to any East Bay garden.
California Phengodid - A glowworm found under a rock in an coast live oak woodland. Seen finishing it's meal of a millipede. This was the first glowworm I'd ever seen apart from the ones my sisters took to bed. I have posted a video to youtube see link below.
The reason I went to Leona was because we used to trap for snakes in that area when I was a wildlife tech, and we used to catch these really cool mygalomorph spiders that I never got to identify, so I was hoping to encounter some wandering males on the trail. Got skunked on the spiders, but I found another wonderful little animal we used to catch in the area: a Sharp-tailed Snake! Found this little one under a rock.
One of the last snakes I saw working as a wildlife biologist. Sigh.
