What lives in the El Cerrito Hillside Natural Area
Native blackberry rivals poison oak as the most common understory plant in the Hillside Natural Area. This patch is in sun near willows along a creek, but it also flourishes under oaks. It is easily recognized by having prickles rather than thorns -- if you can grasp it without pain, it's native blackberry.
Tiny rare mariposa lily found in few locations. Location is inaccurate due to rarity.
Common in shady woods and wood edges, blooming.
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Common groundcover on shady slopes, especially north facing. Blooming.
Pacific sanicle, with ball-like yellow flowers and rounded, three-part leaves, is a common understory plant that also forms large patches along trails in semi-shade.
Purple sanicle, with finely divided, blue-green, shiny leaves, is much less common than its yellow-flowered cousin. It may prefer more sun.
Pacific false bindweed, whose flowers and heart-like leaves show its close relationship to morning glories, is a tough, drought-tolerant trailing vine.
Narrowleaf mule-ears, with sunflower-like blossoms rising slightly above clumps of wave, rather strap-like leaves, forms striking patches in grasslands.
Graceful bedstraw is reasonably common in semi-shade to almost full sun, growing by itself or supported on shrubs. But you have to look closely because it is so tiny.
Wood fern is widespread in the oak understory. It is stiffer and less delicate than lady fern, which is rare in the area.
Miner's lettuce, with crunchy round leaves and tiny white flowers, is a fairly common groundcover in areas with moisture and a mix of shade and sun.
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Giant vetch, growing in thickets in damp areas, is easily recognized by warm pink blossoms and large "fronds" with 16 or more leaflets.
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Blooming in NW grassland, with Stipa and blue-eyed grass.
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Large clumps along and above lower north creek, blooming.
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Tiny but tough annual lupine growing in full sun in rocky service road.
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Large feathery fern with prominent stalk. More common at edges and in scrub than in forest, as here.
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Grassy meadows along fire road north of King Court entrance
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Large gray shrub, growing with Solanum americanum, poison oak, and native blackberry, near top of Hillside Natural Area S. of entrance at end of Regency Court, NE of oak forest.
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On trail cut mini-bluff short distance in from Douglas Drive entrance; also elsewhere in steep, dry areas. Old fronds and tiny new ones uncurled after rain.
Note map here shows nonexistent road overlay; trail is isocontour along hill.
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Above trail in from Douglas, starting at channel crossing, with tangle of native blackberry, honeysuckle, Erharta, more. Just beginning to bloom. Some pink, some white.
Satellite map shows nonexistent straight road overlay; trail is isocontour below.
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Yarrow flourishes throughout the area, often in surprisingly shady places, although this was in full sun.
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Needlegrass is just beginning to flower; this is from very high on the hill, in full sun. I don't know whether this is Stipa lepida, cernua, or pulchra, but it's lovely to see the long, delicate needles flashing in the breeze. At the foot of the clump is last fall's goldenrod.
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Stachys is one of the most common groundcover plants. This one, first I saw blooming in spring, looks like Stachys bullata, but could be Stachys rigida -- experts have identified both in the area, and they are difficult to tell apart
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Small patch on flat above old quarry, between service road and cliff.
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Saw nest only, not rat. Several nests in oak forest.
Meadow above high service road. Not keyed to subspecies
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Common in oak forest
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at road junction; remant of coastal scrub. Hope others will report other locations. This is almost certainly v. albifrons, but I have not keyed out.
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Death camas, zigadene (Toxicoscordion, previous Zigadenus), probably T. fremontii but not keyed out. Abundant in meadow and edge of woods.
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East of service road near Schmidt Lane. Very bold. How does it survive here, with all the dogs going by?
Common in upper meadows; looks like coyotes dig for them.
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Help us catalog and map plants growing in the El Cerrito Hillside Natural Area, 90+ acres of urban wilderness. This project aims to:
--Help people appreciate and enjoy this gem,
--Learn more about how animals use this urban oasis.
--Identify and map native plants and plant communities that should be protected and encouraged,
--Identify and map invasives that should be control... ...more ↓
fivecreeks
created this project on January 25, 2012
