Edible Plants on UC Berkeley Campus

Perennials, 50–180(–250) cm, aromatic (rhizomatous). Stems 1–20, erect, brown to gray-green, simple, hairy or glabrescent. Leaves cauline, bicolor (white and green to light gray-green); blades narrowly elliptic to widely oblanceolate, (1–)3–11(–15) × 0.5–2(–6) cm (proximal with 3–5 lateral lobes, distal mostly entire), faces sparsely tomentose (abaxial) to sparsely hairy (adaxial). Heads (usually nodding) in (leafy) paniculiform arrays 10–30 × 3–9 cm (branches widely spreading, ascending, stout). Involucres narrowly turbinate to campanulate, 2–3 × 2–4 mm. Phyllaries (green to gray) ovate, tomentose to pubescent. Florets: pistillate 6–10; bisexual 6–25; corollas pale yellow, 1–1.5 mm, glabrous, sometimes glandular. Cypselae ellipsoid, 0.5–1 mm, glabrous. 2n = 54. less ↑

More info for the terms: achene, adventitious, cover, litter, presence, root crown, sclerophyllous, shrub

This description provides characteristics that may be relevant to fire ecology, and is not meant for identification. Keys for identification are available (e.g., [60,94,155,156,210]).

California sagebrush is a drought-deciduous subshrub [14,21,30,52,63,93,168,210] with several to numerous stems arising from the root crown [79]. It grows to a height of 2 to 5 feet (0.5-1.5 m) and is the tallest shrub in the coastal sage scrub community [146,155,156,210]. Lower branches are woody and generally do not exceed 0.2 inch (50 mm) in diameter [129]. California sagebrush branches support numerous leaves from 0.8 to 2 inches (2-5 cm) long and 0.5 to 1 mm wide [79,155,156]. Leaves are seasonally dimorphic [203]. Leaves attached to the main branches or stems are slightly larger and appear early in the growing season. Most of the larger leaves remain on the stem during the dry season, although they may wilt [68,70,204]. On lower branches, side-shoots develop from the leaf axils of larger leaves. The side-shoots develop smaller, persistent leaves [70,72]. The smaller leaves remain wilted for long periods of time under water stress and rehydrate within hours of rainfall [204]. Due to the presence of terpenes, leaves are highly aromatic [93,209]. The inflorescence, 4 to 12 inches (10-30 cm) long and 0.4 to 4 inches (1-10 cm) broad [79], produces 20 to 50 flower heads, with each head containing 15 to 30 disk florets [79,146]. Inflorescences also produce 6 to 10 pistillate flowers [60,94]. California sagebrush flowers are normally yellowish or brownish in color, but along desert borders they are commonly red [79]. The fruit, an achene, is extremely small and lightweight (60 µg/seed) [15,54,79,146].

Allelopathy: The essential oil from California sagebrush contains 5 toxic terpenes. It has been suggested that the release of terpenes by California sagebrush contributes to the relative lack of vegetation under and adjacent to the shrub [82,121,213]. During the 1st rains of December, the leaf drip from California sagebrush is toxic. The rain leaches toxins from the leaves and litter that is absorbed by the soil, adding to toxins previously deposited by volatilization during the dry season [116].

Community structure and productivity: In a coastal sage scrub community in the Santa Monica Mountains, California sagebrush and black sage comprise approximately 75% of the community cover. The mean annual aboveground live biomass, mean annual aboveground primary production, and litterfall of the coastal sage scrub community are 925 g/m², 355 g/m², and 199 g/m², respectively [68]. Similar research in the Santa Monica Mountains assessed the biomass and production of California sagebrush in stands burned 22 years prior to the measurements. California sagebrush peak aboveground biomass (June) and net annual production are presented in the following table [72]:   Foliage Wood Dead Twigs Inflorescences Twigs Total Peak aboveground biomass (g/m²) 51.4 377.4 101.4 ----* ---- 530.2 Net annual production (g/m²/yr) 31.3 ---- ---- 3.1 20.6 55.0 *No data

Photosynthesis/transpiration: California sagebrush plants have a thin leaf cuticle and numerous stomata that allow for a high photosynthetic rate in response to water availability. Consequently, California sagebrush has a higher transpiration rate and a longer period of water stress than sclerophyllous species with thick leaves and deep roots [57,139,146].

Roots: California sagebrush plants have fragile, fibrous roots that penetrate shallowly into the soil [9,30,92,139,146,163]. The shallow root system allows for rapid soil moisture absorption and growth at the beginning of the rainy season [56,139,146].

Adventitious rooting was observed within California sagebrush communities at Starr Ranch, Orange County. The development of adventitious roots occurred at the basal portions of their stems, an area covered with soil from erosion or silt deposits. In areas of packed soil, adventitious roots did not occur in California sagebrush. Of 98 California sagebrush plants sampled, approximately 10% exhibited adventitious roots [122]. less ↑

The humble yet cheerfully attractive daisy is familiar to most as a 'weed' of lawns and a feature of many children's games (4). The small, hairy, spoon-shaped leaves, which are green throughout the year, are arranged in flat, neat rosettes (5). The upturned flower heads look like single flowers, but actually consist of a number of small, tightly packed individual flowers or 'florets'; this arrangement is a type of inflorescence known as a 'capitulum' (6). The flower heads have bright golden-yellow central discs, composed of 'disk florets', which are surrounded by petal-like white 'ray-florets' that often have deep pink or reddish flushes on the underside (2). This species was described as the 'day's eye', by Chaucer and 'the emperice and flour of floures alle' (5). less ↑

Plants (1–)5–40(–60) cm; taproots seldom branched. Stems 1–10+, erect or ascending, sometimes ± purplish (usually equaling or surpassing leaves), glabrous or sparsely villous, slightly more so distally. Leaves 20+, horizontal to erect; petioles ± narrowly winged; blades oblanceolate, oblong, or obovate (often runcinate), (4–)5–45 × (0.7–)1–10 cm, bases attenuate to narrowly cuneate, margins usually shallowly to deeply lobed to lacerate or toothed, lobes retrorse, broadly to narrowly triangular to nearly lanceolate, acute to long-acuminate, terminals ± as large as distal laterals, ultimate margins toothed or entire (secondary lobules irregular, perpendicular to retrorse), teeth minute to pronounced apices acute to acuminate or obtuse, faces glabrous or sparsely villous (commonly on midveins). Calyculi of 12–18, reflexed, sometimes ± glaucous, lanceolate bractlets in 2 series, 6–12 × 2.8–3.5 mm, margins very narrowly white-scarious, sometimes villous-ciliate distally, apices acuminate, hornless. Involucres green to dark green or brownish green, tips dark gray or purplish, campanulate, 14–25 mm. Phyllaries 13–18 in 2 series, lanceolate, 2–2.8 mm wide, margins scarious (proximal ²/3) to narrowly scarious, apices acuminate, erose-scarious, usually hornless (seldom appendaged), callous. Florets 40–100+; corollas yellow (orange-yellow), 15–22 × 1.7–2 mm (outer). Cypselae olivaceous or olive-brown, or straw-colored to grayish, bodies oblanceoloid, (2–)2.5–2.8(–4) mm, cones shortly terete, 0.5–0.9 mm, beaks slender, 7–9 mm, ribs 4–12, sharp, faces proximally smooth to ± tuberculate, muricate in distal ¹/3; pappi white to sordid, 5–6(–8) mm. 2n = 24, 40, [16, 32]. less ↑