John McLaren Park - San Francisco, CA

McLaren Park is named for the fabled master gardener of Golden Gate Park. It was dedicated in 1927 by John McLaren himself, who wished for a place of “unspoiled alpine joy in the City”. Soon after, Boy Scouts planted thousands of trees and WPA crews built the first trails and roads. McLaren Park started as a 500-acre spread, but by the 1950's had been reduced to the current 317 acres. About half of the park remains undeveloped and is designated by RecPark as protected Natural Areas.

This second-largest land area in the City's park system contains a diverse mosaic of habitats filled with birds, butterflies, bees, bugs, grasslands, forests, wildflowers, weeds, and the sounds and smells of nature. Though much of the park was cultivated and ranched in earlier times, and invasive plants and human activity sometimes diminish the ecosystem's health, a rich tapestry of life still thrives there. So far, 306 species have been reported in McLaren, and you can find them all here.

So please take some time to explore this guide, and then go explore the park!

Click on any plant or animal and get more info, plus a map of observations.
On the upper right you can click on either GRID or CARD layout mode. There are sort and search options too, and a taxonomy tree on the left.
The print to paper/pdf mode provides several field guide layout options.

NOTE! This electronic field guide is still in development and uses "unofficial" iNat guide features, so if the system occasionally burps or you see funny formatting here or there, don't despair, the iNat team is working on it. Please enjoy the guide with this caveat in mind.

Let us know if you have any questions of if you have an interesting plant or wildlife sighting in the park. Or, join iNat and log your own observations, so we can find out about it here!

Other iNat views:

iNat McLaren Park main page -- map and filter by species, date, and more
McLaren iNat Stats Page -- latest observations and statistics

For more information, visit:

McLaren Park Collaborative -- comprehensive guide to the park, park events, and the park community.
Save McLaren Park -- understanding and protecting the park's natural areas.
SF RecPark Info Page
Trail and Features Map
Philosopher's Way
Wiki Page
Nerds For Nature -- citizen science for techies and nature enthusiasts.
SF RecPark Natural Areas Plan for McLaren -- information about the park's natural features, and plans to protect and manage them.

Background Info

Much of the data in this guide was collected during an iNat-powered bioblitz in May, 2013 in partnership with Nerds For Nature. Volunteers and visitors continue to record observations. We're also planning more McLaren bioblitzes in the future so watch this space or sign up for the Save McLaren Park newsletter to stay informed about upcoming nature-related events in the park.

Other information for this guide comes from decades of field reports and species lists lovingly and laboriously compiled by CNPS and Audubon and the SF Breeding Bird Atlas and SFRPD's McLaren Natural Areas Plan and so on, as well as our own observations in the park. These were collated by Save McLaren Park and entered into the database by iNat folks. So this guide really is a fairly comprehensive collection of plants and critters that have been sighted in the park at some point or another in semi-recent history, even though there are still many holes to fill with updated confirmations.

By default, my name shows up as the "compiler" of the McLaren guide, but I'm more like the administrator. For example, I can do things like add McLaren-specific comments to particular species pages -- in this case, a remark I remember from Alan Hopkins during an Audubon bird walk in the park a few years ago. So, as you're wandering through the guide and you see something that you know a lot about that looks wrong or incomplete for that species in McLaren, please drop me a line and I can add it to our collection of the park's nature knowledge.

The real compiler, of course, is the innovative iNaturalist software, written and maintained largely by Ken-ichi Ueda. Ken-ichi has an infectious enthusiasm for sharing the dazzling diversity of nature, and it comes through loud and clear in his clever crowd-sourcing creations. Basically, iNaturalist is a social and archival network which enables and encourages online naturalists to help identify species observations. When two or more site users agree on an ID, the observation becomes Research Quality and is logged into the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) for researchers around the world to use (and for local park visitors to use in this field guide). Listen to this Commonwealth Club presentation by Ken-ichi and Scott Loarie to better understand this revolutionary scheme to document and comprehend biodiversity.

Thanks,
Ken McGary
Nerd For Nature and Save McLaren Park volunteer less ↑

All 360

Acmon Blue ¹
Plebejus acmon

African flag ²
Chasmanthe floribunda

Alameda thistle ³
Cirsium quercetorum

Allen's Hummingbird ⁴
Selasphorus sasin

American Coot ⁵
Fulica americana

American Crow ⁶
Corvus brachyrhynchos

American Goldfinch ⁷
Spinus tristis

American Kestrel ⁸
Falco sparverius

American Lady ⁹
Vanessa virginiensis

American Robin ¹⁰
Turdus migratorius

American Vetch ³
Vicia americana

American Wigeon ⁷
Anas americana

American brooklime
Veronica americana

American vetch ³
Vicia americana americana

American yellowrocket ¹¹
Barbarea orthoceras

Anise Swallowtail ¹²
Papilio zelicaon

Anna's Hummingbird ¹³
Calypte anna

Argentinian biddy biddy ¹⁴
Acaena pinnatifida

Arroyo Willow ¹⁵
Salix lasiolepis

Australian Tortoise Beetle ¹⁶
Trachymela sloanei

Australian tea tree ¹⁷
Leptospermum laevigatum

Baby sage
Salvia microphylla

Baltic rush ¹⁸
Juncus balticus

Barn Swallow ¹⁹
Hirundo rustica

Belladonna Lily ²⁰
Amaryllis belladonna

Bermuda Buttercup ²¹
Oxalis pes-caprae

Bewick's Wren ²²
Thryomanes bewickii

Big Quakinggrass ²³
Briza maxima

Birdsfoot trefoil ²⁴
Lotus corniculatus corniculatus

Black Mustard ¹⁸
Brassica nigra

Black Phoebe ²⁵
Sayornis nigricans

Black Sage ²⁶
Salvia mellifera

Black-crowned Night-Heron ³
Nycticorax nycticorax

Blue Dicks ²⁷
Dichelostemma capitatum

Botta's Pocket Gopher ²⁸
Thomomys bottae

Brewer's Blackbird ²⁹
Euphagus cyanocephalus

Bristly Ox-Tongue ³⁰
Helminthotheca echioides

Broad-footed Mole ²⁸
Scapanus latimanus

Bromus carinatus carinatus ³¹

Brown Creeper ³²
Certhia americana

Brown-headed Cowbird ³³
Molothrus ater

Bumble Bees ³⁴
Bombus

Bushtit ³⁵
Psaltriparus minimus

Cabbage White ³⁶
Pieris rapae

Calamagrostis nutkaensis ³⁷

California Blackberry ³⁸
Rubus ursinus

California Buckthorn ³⁹
Frangula californica

California Fuchsia ³³
Epilobium canum

California Fuschia ⁴⁰
Epilobium canum angustifolium

California Gull ⁴¹
Larus californicus

California Lady Beetle ⁴²
Coccinella californica

California Polypody ⁴³
Polypodium californicum

California Poppy ⁴⁴
Eschscholzia californica

California Ringlet ³
Coenonympha california

California Sagebrush ⁴⁵
Artemisia californica

California Slender Salamander ⁴⁶
Batrachoseps attenuatus

California Tortoiseshell ⁴⁷
Nymphalis californica

California Towhee ⁴⁸
Melozone crissalis

California barberry ⁴⁹
Berberis pinnata

California buckeye ⁴⁶
Aesculus californica

California buttercup ²⁷
Ranunculus californicus

California fescue ⁵⁰
Festuca californica

California figwort ³
Scrophularia californica

California golden violet ⁵¹
Viola pedunculata

California manroot ⁵²
Marah fabacea

California melic ⁵³
Melica californica

California oat grass ⁵⁴
Danthonia californica

California sheepburr ⁴²
Acaena pinnatifida californica

Calla Lily ⁵⁵
Zantedeschia aethiopica

Canada Goose ⁵⁶
Branta canadensis

Cape ivy ⁵⁷
Delairea odorata

Cardinal Meadowhawk ⁵⁸
Sympetrum illotum

Cedar Waxwing ⁵⁹
Bombycilla cedrorum

Central Coast iris ³⁹
Iris longipetala

Chestnut-backed Chickadee ⁶⁰
Poecile rufescens

Chrysolina bankii ⁶¹

Cleavers ⁶²
Galium aparine

Closterotomus norvegicus ⁶³

Coast Live Oak ¹¹
Quercus agrifolia

Coast Redwood ⁶⁴
Sequoia sempervirens

Coccinella trifasciata subversa ¹⁶

Common Bird's-foot-trefoil ⁶⁵
Lotus corniculatus

Common Buckeye ⁶⁶
Junonia coenia

Common Carp ⁶⁷
Cyprinus carpio

Common Cattail ⁶⁸
Typha latifolia

Common Checkered-Skipper ⁶⁹
Pyrgus communis

Common Deerweed ⁷⁰
Acmispon glaber

Common Ivy
Hedera helix

Common Lomatium ⁷¹
Lomatium utriculatum

Common Raccoon ⁷²
Procyon lotor

Common Raven ⁷³
Corvus corax

Common Three-Square ⁷⁴
Schoenoplectus pungens

Common Vetch ⁷⁵
Vicia sativa

Common Yarrow ⁷⁶
Achillea millefolium

Cooper's Hawk ⁷⁷
Accipiter cooperii

Coyote ⁷⁸
Canis latrans

Coyote Brush ⁴⁵
Baccharis pilularis

Crescent-cup Liverwort ⁷⁹
Lunularia cruciata

Curly dock
Rumex crispus

Daisy ⁸⁰
Bellis perennis

Edited by Ken McGary, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

Photo Credits

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John McLaren Park - San Francisco, CA

Acmon Blue 1 Plebejus acmon

African flag 2 Chasmanthe floribunda

Alameda thistle 3 Cirsium quercetorum

Allen's Hummingbird 4 Selasphorus sasin

American Coot 5 Fulica americana

American Crow 6 Corvus brachyrhynchos

American Goldfinch 7 Spinus tristis

American Kestrel 8 Falco sparverius

American Lady 9 Vanessa virginiensis

American Robin 10 Turdus migratorius

American Vetch 3 Vicia americana

American Wigeon 7 Anas americana

American brooklime Veronica americana

American vetch 3 Vicia americana americana

American yellowrocket 11 Barbarea orthoceras

Anise Swallowtail 12 Papilio zelicaon

Anna's Hummingbird 13 Calypte anna

Argentinian biddy biddy 14 Acaena pinnatifida

Arroyo Willow 15 Salix lasiolepis

Australian Tortoise Beetle 16 Trachymela sloanei

Australian tea tree 17 Leptospermum laevigatum

Baby sage Salvia microphylla

Baltic rush 18 Juncus balticus

Barn Swallow 19 Hirundo rustica

Belladonna Lily 20 Amaryllis belladonna

Bermuda Buttercup 21 Oxalis pes-caprae

Bewick's Wren 22 Thryomanes bewickii

Big Quakinggrass 23 Briza maxima

Birdsfoot trefoil 24 Lotus corniculatus corniculatus

Black Mustard 18 Brassica nigra

Black Phoebe 25 Sayornis nigricans

Black Sage 26 Salvia mellifera

Black-crowned Night-Heron 3 Nycticorax nycticorax

Blue Dicks 27 Dichelostemma capitatum

Botta's Pocket Gopher 28 Thomomys bottae

Brewer's Blackbird 29 Euphagus cyanocephalus

Bristly Ox-Tongue 30 Helminthotheca echioides

Broad-footed Mole 28 Scapanus latimanus

Bromus carinatus carinatus 31

Brown Creeper 32 Certhia americana

Brown-headed Cowbird 33 Molothrus ater

Bumble Bees 34 Bombus

Bushtit 35 Psaltriparus minimus

Cabbage White 36 Pieris rapae

Calamagrostis nutkaensis 37

California Blackberry 38 Rubus ursinus

California Buckthorn 39 Frangula californica

California Fuchsia 33 Epilobium canum

California Fuschia 40 Epilobium canum angustifolium

California Gull 41 Larus californicus

California Lady Beetle 42 Coccinella californica

California Polypody 43 Polypodium californicum

California Poppy 44 Eschscholzia californica

California Ringlet 3 Coenonympha california

California Sagebrush 45 Artemisia californica

California Slender Salamander 46 Batrachoseps attenuatus

California Tortoiseshell 47 Nymphalis californica

California Towhee 48 Melozone crissalis

California barberry 49 Berberis pinnata

California buckeye 46 Aesculus californica

California buttercup 27 Ranunculus californicus

California fescue 50 Festuca californica

California figwort 3 Scrophularia californica

California golden violet 51 Viola pedunculata

California manroot 52 Marah fabacea

California melic 53 Melica californica

California oat grass 54 Danthonia californica

California sheepburr 42 Acaena pinnatifida californica

Calla Lily 55 Zantedeschia aethiopica

Canada Goose 56 Branta canadensis

Cape ivy 57 Delairea odorata

Cardinal Meadowhawk 58 Sympetrum illotum

Cedar Waxwing 59 Bombycilla cedrorum

Central Coast iris 39 Iris longipetala

Chestnut-backed Chickadee 60 Poecile rufescens

Chrysolina bankii 61

Cleavers 62 Galium aparine

Closterotomus norvegicus 63

Coast Live Oak 11 Quercus agrifolia