zanefour's Journal

1. A plant with regular flowers - Pot Marigold (Calendula officinalis)
2. A plant with irregular flowers - Daffodils (Genus Narcissus)
3. A monocot - Three-cornered Leek (Allium triquetrum)
4. A dicot - Red-flowering Currant (Ribes sanguineum)
5. A plant in the pea family (Fabaceae) - Green Wattle
6. A Gymnosperm - Pines (Genus Pinus)
7. A terrestrial plant that is not a seed plant - Unidentified Plant # 2
8. A plant with pinnate leaves - Western Swordfern (Polystichum munitum)
9. A plant with opposite lives - Unidentified Plant # 1
10. A plant in the sunflower family (Asteraceae)- Dandelions (Genus Taraxacum)

Due to an extremely busy week,unfortunately highlighted by two midterms, I was unable to venture into a truly natural area, like the Berkeley hills. Therefore, I decided to attempt to track the inertia of nature in the concrete streets of Berkeley. By this, I mean I looked for spots in which plants seemed to exist without human intervention and care within the cityscape, specifically ones that had sprung up through or around curbs. I took photos of quite a few different plants, but I wasn't completely sure which were wild/naturalized, so I attached all of them.The changing of the seasons was definitely at play for the plants I observed because they appeared to have bloomed in response to the arrival of spring. I noticed this because I had walked through many of these areas in the past year and they were previously bare.

In addition to the plants, I also observed a Cross Orbweaver spider and what appeared to be a fly of the Superfamily Muscoidea. While I'm unsure of whether the spring season affected the spider's appearance, the fly was busy pollinating a newly blooming Naples Garlic plant when I snapped a photo of it.

Although it's a poor quality photo, I'm pretty sure I witnessed a Western Scrub Jay while hiking on the Stonewall Panoramic Trail. It looked like it was perched on Coyote Brush.

For this exercise, I hiked on the Tanglewood Path and the Stonewall Panoramic Trail in the Berkeley hills.

After turning over a log, I found an isopod. It was a small organism, which leads me to believe it was utilizing the wood covering for shelter, protection, or both. It seems like it would be extremely dangerous for one of these to wander outside of such an area because of the probability of either being eaten or squashed by some other organism. In addition, many species of isopods are found in marine environments, which might mean that this particular land species was interested in finding a cooler area in the dryer chaparral. Under this same log, I also found a spider. When I witnessed this spider it was on the move, scurrying around the area covered by the log. This area was filled with different insects, leading me to believe that this spider used the space in order to acquire food or, like the isopod, to gain shelter and protect itself from predators.

Later, I found Coyote Brush. It makes sense that I would find this organism because a chaparral environment is primarily a shrubland.The plant's sticky and small leaves also work to conserve water and thus survive in the hot and dry summers that characterize the chaparral.

As I moved through the chaparral, I saw a plethora of California Towhees situated within the brush. Some stayed in one spot for a while, while others moved freely throughout different areas of the brush. The bird's color is extremely similar to the brush and this could possibly be an adaption in order to evade predators and humans. Moreover, by living within the brush, the birds feed on seeds and insects in that area.

Finally, I found a plant which I was unable to identify. However, it was very low to the ground and located in an area with mostly dirt, dried up leaves, and logs. Therefore, maybe its leaves are long and thin in order to lessen the chance of losing water.

For this exercise, I hiked on the Tanglewood Path and the Stonewall Panoramic Trail in the Berkeley hills.

One of the first organisms I noticed is what appears to be a California Blackberry. The California Blackberry needs regular moisture in order to produce its best fruit, which means it found its niche in the moist nature of the evergreen forest. Similarly, I also found a mushroom, an organism that thrives in cooler and wetter areas.

Later, I came across a California Hedge Nettle. Apparently, this organism likes moist slopes under some shade. This is fitting, because I found it on a slight incline under partial shade provided by the many trees above it. Therefore, it clearly carved out this niche.

I also took a photo of the aforementioned trees, which I assume to be some sort of evergreen species. These trees clearly thrive in the evergreen forest where their constant leaves allow them to participate in photosynthesis year round. In addition, the waxy nature of the leaves allows them to contain water they might otherwise lose.

I also found a plant within the genus Euphorbia. These plants have a poisonous sap, which may have been adapted in order to fend off herbivores who might attempt to end the plant's life.

For this exercise, I took a hike in the hills directly behind UC Berkeley's Clark Kerr Campus.

However, before I ventured out on the hike, I found a spider at my house and snapped a photo of it. Therefore, this spider represents the arachnids taxa. Later, a citizen scientist on Inaturalist observed the finding and believed it to be part of the Genus Oecobius.

While on the hike, I first encountered some sort of fly, which one citizen scientist thought looked like a Calliphora Vomitoria. Therefore, this fly represents the insects taxa.

Then, I walked passed a large grove of Tasmanian Blue Gum trees, which represents the plants taxa.

After the trees, I hiked a little deeper into the hills and found some mushrooms, which represent the fungi taxa.

Finally, as I was walking back towards campus, I took a route that exited onto Clark Kerr's track. Near the side of the track, I found pools of water that were home to what looked liked tadpoles. Therefore, they represent the amphibians taxa. Later, Professor Loarie identified them as Sierran Treefrogs.

For this exercise, I took a hike in the hills directly behind UC Berkeley's Clark Kerr Campus.

First, I came across a flowering Bermuda Buttercup, a pretty plant with vibrant yellow flowers, which I consequently deemed to be a plant with flowers (flower).

Next, I found a plant that had a plethora of leaves, about six per stem, but no flowers. I later realized that it too was a Bermuda Buttercup, meaning it had yet to flower. Therefore, I considered it to be a plant with no flowers (bare). In addition, its leaves led me to believe it was a plant with leaves (leafed out).

Lastly, I observed a plant that had an elongated twig-like body which jutted out of the ground. I discerned that it was a plant still dormant (bare) because I saw the same body nearby, but with leaves attached to it.