California Coast - Summer 2006
In late June 2006 my husband, Ken, and I flew to San Jose, California for a birthday/family reunion. This photo shows the fog that blankets the Pacific coast on summer mornings. The water in the Pacific Ocean is so cold the moisture in the air condenses and thick fog is produced. When our family visited the west coast in July 1996 we told the kids that they would not be able to swim in the ocean because it was too cold. Our son must have not believed us because he took off running into the water. I'll never forget hearing him yell and come to a dead stop when his feet hit the water!
Golden Yarrow; Eriophyllum confertiflorum
Aster Family June 23, 2006 Hwy. 9 This was a "florally profitable" trip; I documented 142 different wildflowers, 67 were new to me. Golden Yarrow is very similar to Lizard Tail, they were tricky to tell apart.
Coast Indian Paintbrush; Castilleja wightii
Snapdragon Family June 24, 2006 Moss Landing, CA Thank goodness for good ID books, this group of flowers can be very hard to identify. The pretty red flowers add a real splash of color to the sand dunes.
These signs along the beach were where a bird had eaten a sand crab; for some reason, the birds avoid the head. We found half-eaten crabs all along the beach.
Silky Beach Pea; Lathyrus littoralis
Pea Family June 24, 2006 Moss Landing, CA I enjoyed seeing these pretty purple and white flowers blooming on the beach.
Beach Primrose; Cammissonia cherianthifolia
Evening Primrose Family June 24, 2006 Moss Landing, CA This pretty little yellow primrose is a common beach wildflower. It has thick leaves with little hairs to help protect the plant from the harsh conditions of wind and salt.
The hillsides are golden with dried grasses in the summer, which can be seen even from the air. The squares of green are fields of produce.
in a field in Castroville, CA. The plants look like large thistle plants.
Horned Searocket; Cakile maritima*
Mustard Family June 24, 2006 Moss Landing, CA This is a very common non-native beach plant.
was nearby, we drove there for our first of many visits to the shore. The fog was very thick, but we could still see some shore birds. This Curlew was working the surfline hunting for crabs and other crustaceans.
Fronds and a holdfast of giant kelp. This was a large wad of seaweed that had washed up on the beach.
American Avocets; Recurvirostrata americana
) are another common shorebird on the Pacific Coast, these were resting in a shallow slough in the Salinas River near the beach. The beaks of Avocets curve up, Curlews beaks curve down.
Poison Oak; Toxicodendron diversilobum
Sumac Family June 23, 2006 This is one of a couple of plants that every visitor to California needs to recognize (the other is Stinging Nettle). Like its eastern relative, Poison Ivy, it can grow as a vine or a small shrub. It also contains urushiol, the itch-inducing oil that causes skin reactions in many people. In the fall, the leaves turn a beautiful red and orange, setting the hillsides ablaze in color.
Yellow Sand Verbena; Abronia latifolia
Four-O'-Clock Family Moss Landing, CA June 24, 2006 I enjoyed seeing these yellow flowers on the beach. This is the first wildflower in many of the books when it is listed by scientific name!
Bull Kelp; Nereocystis luetkeana
) had washed up on the beach. The round, hollow end of the frond keeps the end of the kelp frond near the surface. I was surprised to learn that 10% of the gas in the float is comprised of carbon monoxide! The root-like holdfasts anchor the fronds to the rocks. Kelp (and other seaweeds) is not a plant, it is a type of brown algae in the Kingdom Protista. Some types of kelp contain chemicals such as carrageenan and algin, many people would be amazed to know that a lot of the foods they eat and their toothpaste contain these chemicals! Kudzu, the "vine that ate the South", has nothing on this kelp, it can grow up to 10 inches a day! It grows up to 115 feet long. According to the Monterey Bay Aquarium's website, the genus name, Nereocystis means "mermaid's bladder"! Who says taxonomists (people who name organisms) don't have a sense of humor! :)
The first morning that we walked on the beach we were excited to see these Sea Turtle tracks. We had arrived at low tide, it was obvious that the turtle had come out of the ocean during the night and returned to the water at low tide because there was just one set of tracks. Hopefully, the eggs will be unmolested by raccoons and other animals and in a couple of months the tiny hatchlings will make a mad nighttime dash to the ocean.
Hottentot Fig; Carpobrotus edulus*
Carpetweed Family June 24, 2006 Moss Landing, CA This plant is pretty when it blooms with its large pink flowers, however, it is highly invasive and covers large tracts of land. I noticed that in areas where this plant was very thick, no other plants would grow.
Lizard Tail; Seaside Woolly-Sunflower; Eriophyllum staechadifolium
Aster Family June 24, 2006 Moss Landing, CA This plant grows all over the coast. It has silvery-looking leaves to protect it from salt spray.
Herald-of-Summer; Clarkia amoena
Evening Primrose Family June 23, 2006 I was very excited to find this beautiful flower blooming along Hwy. 9. I had seen another Clarkia, the "Elegant" variety, but it was blooming along the side of the road at an intersection and there was a Monterey County deputy behind us, I didn't think it would be the best time or place to jump out of the car and take a photo! Being carted off to the police station would not be a good way to start a trip!
Beach Sagewort; Artemesia pycnocephala
Aster Family June 24, 2006 Moss Landing, CA Aaaack, "beach ragweed"! Like other ragweeds, these plants are wind-pollinated. Allergy sufferers beware!
Pacific Sand Dollar; Dendraster excentricus
) shells, called tests, washed up on the beach, so we were amazed to see many of them in one area. This is a true Sand Dollar, it does not have the 5 holes found in Key Hole Urchins. These echinoderms are related to sea urchins, sea cucumbers, and sea stars (a.k.a. "starfish"). The "doves" found in the inside of sand dollars are actually their "teeth"! Inside the living animal, they are arranged in the shape of a star in an organ called "Aristotle's Lantern". The live animals have a grayish-brown fuzz on the outside of the shell. The "flower" shape on the top of the test where the animals breathes. The little lines (channels) on the under side of the test funnel to a hole in the center, the mouth. Tiny feet move small pieces of food along these channels to the mouth. A second, smaller hole at the edge of the shell is the anus. The living animals should never be collected and removed from the water, dead urchins stink! I've seen stacks of dead urchins left on picnic tables at eastern beaches because parents wouldn't let their kids take them. I don't buy shells from shell shops, most likely the animals were taken from the ocean alive and then killed, "perfect" seashells are seldom found on the beach.
go, about 1 inch long.
Coast Indian Paintbrush adds a splash of bright color to the subdued dunes.
Yellow Bush Lupine ; Lupinus arboreus
Pea Family June 24, 2006 Moss Landing, CA I found this plant blooming at the Moss Landing Marine Laboratory, which was nice, because it had a name plaque. I did see a lot of these blooming in the wild along the coast.