This gallery contains 8 photos.
The plant Leonard and I commonly call rock spiraea is a variety of Holodiscus discolor (oceanspray or cream bush). As I mentioned in my last post (“Rockmat” on 11-06-19), Petrophytum caespitosum is often also colloquially referred to as rock spiraea. … Continue reading
This gallery contains 8 photos.
Leonard and I were first introduced to Petrophytum caespitosum in October while visiting Great Basin National Monument in Nevada as “rock spiraea”. It was growing along the Mountain View Nature Trail. Hmmm. . . We were familiar with a “rock … Continue reading
This gallery contains 8 photos.
Another Mount Lassen wildflower/shrub photographed in Lassen Volcanic National Park in California: Shasta knotweed (Polygonum shastense) is an inconspicuous plant. Climbing up Mount Lassen I noticed these native perennials while looking around as Leonard was studying some rock samples. The … Continue reading
This gallery contains 2 photos.
In my previous post (see “Manzanita Leaf Fungus” on 08-20-2019), I discussed a manzanita (Arctosstaphylos ssp) gall caused by a fungus. An aphid, the manzanita leaf gall aphid (Tamalia coweni), also induces galls on manzanita shrubs. T coweni has an … Continue reading
This gallery contains 3 photos.
There are more than 50 species of manzanita (Arctostaphylos ssp) in California alone. Two agents induce galls in manzanita species. Exobasidium vaccinii, a fungus, is one of these agents. E vaccinii induces swollen, convex, bright red galls on the dorsal … Continue reading
This gallery contains 6 photos.
Leonard loves fruit pies. So when he noticed the desert gooseberries (Ribes velutinum) in the lanes between our pastures were ripe, he picked enough of the berries for a deep-dish pie – a feat in itself since desert gooseberries are … Continue reading
This gallery contains 7 photos.
Sadler oaks (Quercus sadleriana) are often an understory species beneath conifers but can grow on sunny, dry ridges and serpentine soils. Their range is approximately the same as the Brewer’s spruce (Picea breweriana) discussed in my previous post (07-14-19 “Brewer’s … Continue reading
