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

Sydney Golden Wattle ¹
Acacia longifolia

Argentinian biddy biddy ²
Acaena pinnatifida

California sheepburr ³
Acaena pinnatifida californica

Cooper's Hawk ⁴
Accipiter cooperii

Common Yarrow ⁵
Achillea millefolium

Common Deerweed ⁶
Acmispon glaber

White-throated Swift ⁷
Aeronautes saxatalis

California buckeye ⁸
Aesculus californica

Red-winged Blackbird ⁹
Agelaius phoeniceus

seaside agoseris ¹⁰
Agoseris apargioides apargioides

Gulf Fritillary ¹¹
Agraulis vanillae

colonial bent ¹²
Agrostis capillaris

coastal onion ¹³
Allium dichlamydeum

Three-cornered Leek ¹⁴
Allium triquetrum

Fly Agaric ¹⁵
Amanita muscaria

Belladonna Lily ¹⁶
Amaryllis belladonna

coast fiddleneck ¹⁷
Amsinckia intermedia

Scarlet Pimpernel ¹⁸
Anagallis arvensis

American Wigeon ¹⁹
Anas americana

Mallard ²⁰
Anas platyrhynchos

Gadwall ²¹
Anas strepera

woolly angelica ²²
Angelica tomentosa

sweet vernal grass ²³
Anthoxanthum odoratum

Parsley-piert ²⁴
Aphanes occidentalis

Western Scrub-Jay ²⁵
Aphelocoma californica

Western Columbine ²⁶
Aquilegia formosa

coast rock cress ²⁶
Arabis blepharophylla

Four-spot Orb-Weaver ²⁷
Araneus quadratus

Red-masked Conure ²⁸
Aratinga erythrogenys

Pacific Madrone ²⁹
Arbutus menziesii

Great Egret ³⁰
Ardea alba

Great Blue Heron ³¹
Ardea herodias

California Sagebrush ¹⁰
Artemisia californica

Mugwort ³²
Artemisia douglasiana

Coyote Brush ¹⁰
Baccharis pilularis

American yellowrocket ¹³
Barbarea orthoceras

California Slender Salamander ⁸
Batrachoseps attenuatus

Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly ³³
Battus philenor

Mediterranean lineseed ³⁴
Bellardia trixago

Daisy ³⁵
Bellis perennis

California barberry ³⁶
Berberis pinnata

Bumble Bees ³⁷
Bombus

Cedar Waxwing ³⁸
Bombycilla cedrorum

Canada Goose ³⁹
Branta canadensis

Black Mustard ⁴⁰
Brassica nigra

Big Quakinggrass ⁴¹
Briza maxima

dwarf brodiaea ⁴²
Brodiaea terrestris

Bromus carinatus carinatus ⁴³

soft brome ⁴⁰
Bromus hordeaceus

Great Horned Owl ⁴⁴
Bubo virginianus

Red-tailed Hawk ⁴⁵
Buteo jamaicensis

Red-shouldered Hawk ⁴⁶
Buteo lineatus

Muscovy Duck ⁴⁷
Cairina moschata

Calamagrostis nutkaensis ⁴⁸

Anna's Hummingbird ⁴⁹
Calypte anna

chaparral false bindweed ¹⁴
Calystegia occidentalis

Hillside False Bindweed ⁵⁰
Calystegia subacaulis

Coyote ⁵¹
Canis latrans

Milkmaids ⁵²
Cardamine californica

Wilson's Warbler ⁵³
Cardellina pusilla

sandcarpet ⁵⁴
Cardionema ramosissimum

Italian thistle ⁵⁵
Carduus pycnocephalus

Hottentot-Fig ⁵⁶
Carpobrotus edulis

Turkey Vulture ⁵⁷
Cathartes aura

Hermit Thrush ⁵⁸
Catharus guttatus

Swainson's Thrush ⁵⁹
Catharus ustulatus

blueblossom ⁶⁰
Ceanothus thyrsiflorus

Echo Azure ⁶¹
Celastrina echo

Red Valerian ⁶²
Centranthus ruber

Field Chickweed ⁶³
Cerastium arvense

Brown Creeper ⁶⁴
Certhia americana

Wrentit ⁶⁵
Chamaea fasciata

Killdeer ⁶⁶
Charadrius vociferus

African flag ¹⁴
Chasmanthe floribunda

Wavy-leafed Soap Plant ⁶⁷
Chlorogalum pomeridianum

wavyleaf soap plant ⁶⁸
Chlorogalum pomeridianum divaricatum

amole ⁶⁹
Chlorogalum pomeridianum pomeridianum

Chrysolina bankii ⁷⁰

Alameda thistle ⁷¹
Cirsium quercetorum

Red-cage Fungus ⁷²
Clathrus ruber

Miner's Lettuce ⁷³
Claytonia perfoliata

Closterotomus norvegicus ⁷⁴

California Lady Beetle ³
Coccinella californica

Seven-spotted Ladybird ⁷⁵
Coccinella septempunctata

Three-banded Ladybug ⁷⁶
Coccinella trifasciata

Coccinella trifasciata subversa ⁷⁷

California Ringlet ⁷¹
Coenonympha california

Large Heath ⁷⁸
Coenonympha tullia

Northern Flicker ⁷⁹
Colaptes auratus

Orange Sulphur ⁸⁰
Colias eurytheme

Rock Dove ⁸¹
Columba livia

Poison Hemlock ⁸²
Conium maculatum

Olive-sided Flycatcher ⁷
Contopus cooperi

Shaggy Mane ⁸³
Coprinus comatus

mirror bush ⁸⁴
Coprosma repens

American Crow ⁸⁵
Corvus brachyrhynchos

Common Raven ⁸⁶
Corvus corax

fairy crassula
Crassula multicava

Monterey Cypress ⁸⁷
Cupressus macrocarpa

Steller's Jay ⁸⁸
Cyanocitta stelleri

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

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John McLaren Park - San Francisco, CA

Sydney Golden Wattle 1 Acacia longifolia

Argentinian biddy biddy 2 Acaena pinnatifida

California sheepburr 3 Acaena pinnatifida californica

Cooper's Hawk 4 Accipiter cooperii

Common Yarrow 5 Achillea millefolium

Common Deerweed 6 Acmispon glaber

White-throated Swift 7 Aeronautes saxatalis

California buckeye 8 Aesculus californica

Red-winged Blackbird 9 Agelaius phoeniceus

seaside agoseris 10 Agoseris apargioides apargioides

Gulf Fritillary 11 Agraulis vanillae

colonial bent 12 Agrostis capillaris

coastal onion 13 Allium dichlamydeum

Three-cornered Leek 14 Allium triquetrum

Fly Agaric 15 Amanita muscaria

Belladonna Lily 16 Amaryllis belladonna

coast fiddleneck 17 Amsinckia intermedia

Scarlet Pimpernel 18 Anagallis arvensis

American Wigeon 19 Anas americana

Mallard 20 Anas platyrhynchos

Gadwall 21 Anas strepera

woolly angelica 22 Angelica tomentosa

sweet vernal grass 23 Anthoxanthum odoratum

Parsley-piert 24 Aphanes occidentalis

Western Scrub-Jay 25 Aphelocoma californica

Western Columbine 26 Aquilegia formosa

coast rock cress 26 Arabis blepharophylla

Four-spot Orb-Weaver 27 Araneus quadratus

Red-masked Conure 28 Aratinga erythrogenys

Pacific Madrone 29 Arbutus menziesii

Great Egret 30 Ardea alba

Great Blue Heron 31 Ardea herodias

California Sagebrush 10 Artemisia californica

Mugwort 32 Artemisia douglasiana

Coyote Brush 10 Baccharis pilularis

American yellowrocket 13 Barbarea orthoceras

California Slender Salamander 8 Batrachoseps attenuatus

Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly 33 Battus philenor

Mediterranean lineseed 34 Bellardia trixago

Daisy 35 Bellis perennis

California barberry 36 Berberis pinnata

Bumble Bees 37 Bombus

Cedar Waxwing 38 Bombycilla cedrorum

Canada Goose 39 Branta canadensis

Black Mustard 40 Brassica nigra

Big Quakinggrass 41 Briza maxima

dwarf brodiaea 42 Brodiaea terrestris

Bromus carinatus carinatus 43

soft brome 40 Bromus hordeaceus

Great Horned Owl 44 Bubo virginianus

Red-tailed Hawk 45 Buteo jamaicensis

Red-shouldered Hawk 46 Buteo lineatus

Muscovy Duck 47 Cairina moschata

Calamagrostis nutkaensis 48

Anna's Hummingbird 49 Calypte anna

chaparral false bindweed 14 Calystegia occidentalis

Hillside False Bindweed 50 Calystegia subacaulis

Coyote 51 Canis latrans

Milkmaids 52 Cardamine californica

Wilson's Warbler 53 Cardellina pusilla

sandcarpet 54 Cardionema ramosissimum

Italian thistle 55 Carduus pycnocephalus

Hottentot-Fig 56 Carpobrotus edulis

Turkey Vulture 57 Cathartes aura

Hermit Thrush 58 Catharus guttatus

Swainson's Thrush 59 Catharus ustulatus

blueblossom 60 Ceanothus thyrsiflorus

Echo Azure 61 Celastrina echo

Red Valerian 62 Centranthus ruber

Field Chickweed 63 Cerastium arvense

Brown Creeper 64 Certhia americana

Wrentit 65 Chamaea fasciata

Killdeer 66 Charadrius vociferus

African flag 14 Chasmanthe floribunda

Wavy-leafed Soap Plant 67 Chlorogalum pomeridianum

wavyleaf soap plant 68 Chlorogalum pomeridianum divaricatum

amole 69 Chlorogalum pomeridianum pomeridianum

Chrysolina bankii 70

Alameda thistle 71 Cirsium quercetorum