Serpentine Soil Communities of Marin County

Dichelostemma congestum is a species of flowering plant known by the common name ookow or fork-toothed ookow. This perennial wildflower is native to the hills and mountains of western North America. Its tall, thin, naked stem is topped with an inflorescence packed densely with six to 15 flowers, each about a centimeter wide and long, with usually six petal-like lobes in shades of bright purple. less ↑

Triteleia laxa (previously Brodiaea laxa) is a triplet lily known by several common names, including Ithuriel's spear and grassnut. It is native to California where it is a common wildflower, and it is occasionally found in Oregon. It bears a tall, naked stem topped with a spray of smaller stalks, each ending in a purple or blue flower. The flower is tubular, opening into a sharply six-pointed star. The plant grows from a corm which is... less ↑

Kniphofia uvaria is also known as Tritoma, Torch Lily, or Red Hot Poker due to the shape and color of its inflorescence. The leaves are reminiscent of a lily, and the flowerhead can reach up to 1.52 m (5.0 ft) in height. There are many varieties of torch lily, and they bloom at different times during the growing season. The flowers are red, orange, and yellow. less ↑

Scoliopus bigelovii is a species of flowering plant in the lily family known by several common names, including California fetid adderstongue, Bigelow's adderstongue, slinkpod, and brownies. It is native to California, where it is known from parts of the San Francisco Bay Area and North Coast Ranges. It may occur just over the border in Oregon. It occurs in old-growth forest in the understory of redwoods. It grows in mossy, moist places, often in shade. This... less ↑

Prosartes smithii, formerly Disporum smithii, is a species of flowering plant known by the common name largeflower fairybells. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to northern California, where it grows in shady forest and woodland, including redwood forests. It is an erect, branching perennial herb growing up to 1 m (3.3 ft) tall. Its narrow, fuzzy stems bear wide, oval-shaped, pointed leaves up to 12 cm (4.7 in) long and mostly hairless. The inflorescence produces up... less ↑

Clintonia andrewsiana is a species of flowering plant in the lily family known by the common names Andrews clintonia and red clintonia. It is native to Oregon and northern California, where it grows in shady, moist areas of the coastal redwood forests. It is a rhizomatous perennial herb growing 30 to 80 centimeters tall. Around the base of the plant are 5 or 6 wide, hairy, oval-shaped green leaves up to 30 centimeters long and 12... less ↑

Trillium ovatum, the Western Wake Robin, Pacific Trillium, or Western White Trillium, is a member of the Trilliaceae family, or sometimes included within the Liliaceae or Melanthiaceae. It occurs in parts of the western United States and western Canada, usually in rich forest. In the northern part of its range, which includes southern British Columbia, extreme southwestern Alberta, Washington, Oregon and east to Montana, Wyoming and northern Colorado, it often grows under Douglas-fir. Other trees which... less ↑

Toxicoscordion fremontii (syn. Zigadenus fremontii), known as the common star lily, Frémont's deathcamas (after John C. Frémont) or star zigadene, is an attractive wildflower found on grassy or woody slopes, or rocky outcrops, in many lower-lying regions of California, southern Oregon, and northern Baja California. Like other deathcamases, T. fremontii grows from a more or less spherical bulb, which in this species has a diameter of 20–35 mm. Its leaves can reach up to half a metre... less ↑

Volvopluteus gloiocephalus, commonly known as the big sheath mushroom, rose-gilled grisette, or stubble rosegill, is a species of mushroom in the family Pluteaceae. For most of the 20th century it has been known under the names Volvariella gloiocephala or Volvariella speciosa, but recent molecular studies have placed it as the type species of the genus Volvopluteus, newly created in 2011. The cap of this mushroom is about 5–15 cm (2–6 in) in diameter, varies from white to grey... less ↑

Pleurotus ostreatus, the oyster mushroom, is a common edible mushroom. It was first cultivated in Germany as a subsistence measure during World War I and is now grown commercially around the world for food. However, the first documented cultivation was by Kaufert. There is some question about the name Pleurotus corticatus, but no question that he cultivated an oyster mushroom. It is related to the similarly cultivated "king oyster mushroom". Oyster mushrooms can also be used... less ↑

Hygrocybe coccinea, sometimes called the scarlet hood, scarlet waxcap or righteous red waxy cap, is a colourful member of the mushroom genus Hygrocybe. These waxcaps are found across the Northern Hemisphere from China and Japan to Europe and North America. The small bright red mushroom is a familiar sight in unimproved grasslands in Europe in late summer and autumn, and woodlands in North America in winter. less ↑

Omphalotus olivascens, commonly known as the western jack-o'-lantern mushroom, is an orange to brown-colored gilled mushroom native to California and Mexico. To an untrained eye, O. olivascens appears similar to some chanterelles, but unlike the chanterelle, the jack o'lantern mushroom is poisonous. While not lethal, consuming this mushroom leads to very severe cramps, vomiting, and diarrhea. less ↑

Phaeolus schweinitzii, commonly known as velvet-top fungus, dyer's polypore, or dyer's mazegill, is a fungal plant pathogen that causes butt rot on conifers such as Douglas-fir, spruce, fir, hemlock, pine, and larch.P. schweinitzii is a polypore, although unlike bracket fungi the fruiting body may appear terrestrial when growing from the roots or base of the host tree. The fruiting bodies, appearing in late summer or fall, commonly incorporate blades of grass, twigs, or fallen pine needles... less ↑

Lactarius rufulus, commonly known as the rufous candy cap, is a species of fungus in the Russulaceae family. The fruit bodies have fleshy brownish-red caps up to 10 cm (3.9 in) wide, and closely spaced pinkish-yellow gills. The stem is up to 12 cm (4.7 in) long and 3 cm (1.2 in) thick and colored similarly to the cap. The species, known only from California, Arizona, and Mexico, grows on the ground in leaf litter near oak trees. The fruit bodies resembles... less ↑

Hydnellum peckii is an inedible fungus, and a member of the genus Hydnellum of the family Bankeraceae. It is a hydnoid species, producing spores on the surface of vertical spines or tooth-like projections that hang from the undersurface of the fruit bodies. It is found in North America, Europe, and was recently discovered in Iran (2008) and Korea (2010). Hydnellum peckii is a mycorrhizal species, and forms mutually beneficial relationships with a variety of coniferous trees,... less ↑

Sarcoscypha coccinea, commonly known as the scarlet elf cup, scarlet elf cap, or the scarlet cup, is a species of fungus in the family Sarcoscyphaceae of the order Pezizales. The fungus, widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere, has been found in Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America, and Australia. The type species of the genus Sarcoscypha, it has been known by many names since its first appearance in the scientific literature in 1772. Phylogenetic analysis... less ↑

Helvella lacunosa, also known as the slate grey saddle or fluted black elfin saddle, is an ascomycete fungus of the Helvellaceae family. It is probably the most common Helvella species. The mushroom is readily identified by its irregularly shaped grey cap, fluted stem, and fuzzy undersurfaces. It is found in Eastern North America and in Europe, near deciduous and coniferous trees in summer and autumn. less ↑

Gyromitra infula, commonly known as the hooded false morel or the elfin saddle, is a member of the ascomycete mushrooms in the family Helvellaceae. The dark reddish-brown caps of the fruit bodies develop a characteristic saddle-shape in maturity, and the ends of both saddle lobes are drawn out to sharp tips that project above the level of the fruiting body. The stem is white or flushed pale brown, smooth on the outside, but hollow with some... less ↑