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Native Orchid Tour, Sunday July 30th 2006
Sixteen
POS members
met up with Ron Parsons
in the parking lot at the
intersection of Skyline and 92 at 9 am sharp, Sunday July 30th. We departed
at about 9:20, setting out for our first stop at a beach area in Pescadero.
All arrived at parking lot, with Mary Gerritsen and Ron Parsons checking to
make sure all members were present and accounted for. We then set off for a
short walking tour along the coast above the rocks, and were amazed at the
wildflowers we saw. A very large succulent in flower was a
Dudleya species,
which was everywhere. We also saw buckwheat,
Owl's clover,
mallow, non-native Calla lilies, various plants of the celery family, and yes,
a native orchid, Spiranthes romanzoffiana.
The ocean was wonderful, with sea lions frolicking in the surf, pelicans and cormorants flying by, and the occasional hawk circling the area. Ron Parsons was able to give identifier information on almost every plant that people pointed out and asked "what is this", although how much we will all remember the next day is open to question.
From there we departed for a more inland location, a road that serviced the old Nike Missile Base on the top of Sweeney Ridge in Pacifica. After a short, slightly strenuous hike of about a half mile, we came across our next native orchid, Piperia elegans. And amazingly just a few feet away, several plants of Piperia michaelii were also spotted. This in addition to wildflowers such as Indian Paintbrush, Lotus weed, Sweet Angelica, Monardella totally made our day.
After snapping as many photos as possible of these native orchid species, some members continued further up the hill in the hopes of seeing more wildflowers, while others made their way back to their cars and home. However, all in all, it was a successful trip, with lots of interesting tidbits of information that everyone appreciated.
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