graysquirrel's Journal

Hello folks!

As some of you may already be aware, I've been volunteering with @dlevitis at Sugarloaf State Park in an attempt to build a new plant list for the park.

The current list we have was published over two decades ago, contained only 400 species, and was restricted to only vascular plants. Since that time, the park's boundaries have expanded considerably, adding some interesting new habitats, and it has also burned multiple times resulting in some pretty major vegetation shifts. We're also hoping to add as many mosses, liverworts, and other non-vascular plants to the list as we can, since those appear to have never been surveyed at all.

We have a project for collecting observations taken within the park boundaries. However, species that are considered threatened usually don't get caught by the geographically-based projects since their locations are obscured. We have a second project for manually adding observations of threatened species.

It would be an enormous help if you all could see if you have any relevant observations, and if so, add them to the project. This link should show you any observations that would qualify:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?not_in_project=biodiversity-at-sugarloaf-ridge-state-park&place_id=91302&subview=table&taxon_geoprivacy=obscured&verifiable=any

Other ways you could assist, if you feel so inclined:
Going to the park and helping to fill in some of the gaps in observations:

Dan (@dlevitis) and I will be going on some expeditions to the more rugged areas of the park in the coming weeks, including some spots not generally accessible to the public - if you're interested in joining in those, please message him.

Identifications, including correcting inaccurate RG observations - if there's a species or genus you're particularly familiar with, it would be great if you could review any observations posted of it and make sure they're correct. Especially for things that have only rarely been recorded in the park.
This will take you to the Identify page for all the plants in the park: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/identify?quality_grade=needs_id%2Cresearch&iconic_taxa=Plantae&verifiable=any&project_id=sugarloaf-ridge-state-park-umbrella-project&place_id=any

So far, we've nearly doubled the number of plants on the list from 400 to about 775! We have set a deadline of the end of June for the "final" list (though we will of course continue to add species to the spreadsheet as we come across them).

We also have a number of species that were listed in the original Bowcutt list or have been mentioned on Calflora or CNPS checklists, which we have been unable to locate so far -or which may have already been observed, but not yet identified (this may be the case with a lot of the grasses, rushes, and sedges, in particular).
If you feel like going on a quest, you could search for:

Agoseris aparagoides var. aparagoides // Seaside Agoseris - I'm skeptical, since this is usually a coastal dune plant. However, an herbarium specimen exists at UC Davis identified as this.
Agrostis capillaris // Colonial bentgrass - notes just say "In grassland"
Agrostis pallens // Seashore bentgrass - "Adobe Canyon N of Sonoma Creek, N of Adobe Canyon Road, at Pony Gate trail juncture."
Allophyllum divaricatum // Purple False Gilia - on a checklist, no herbarium specimens recorded, though there's one from Cavedale Rd not too far away.
Ancistrocarphus filagineus // Woolly Fishhooks - notes say "grassland; disturbed sites"
Aphyllon fasciculatum // Clustered Broomrape - probably actually Aphyllon franciscanum, but we haven't found that species yet either. A fasciculatum tends to parasitize Artemesia species, and A franciscanum has a wider variety of hosts
Aphyllon tuberosum // Chaparral broomrape - Almost certainly exists in the park, but parasitizes chamise roots, so it's hard to find unless you're crawling around in chamise thickets
Arctostaphylos canescens ssp. canescens // Hoary Manzanita - been recorded from Hood Mountain in the north and Cavedale Rd in the south, and mentioned in the Bowcutt list
Arctostaphylos stanfordiana ssp. stanfordiana // Stanford's Manzanita - same as above
Barbarea orthoceras // Wintercress - We have two observations of Barbarea, but they have not been identified to species level and I can't tell if they're B vulgaris or B orthoceras.
Boechera breweri ssp. breweri // Brewer's Rockcress - Reported in Hood Mountain in 1902, and reputedly also found in the McCormick Addition of the park.
Brassica nigra // Black Mustard - on the CNPS checklist, and reported on Hood Mountain as recently as 2021
Brodiaea leptandra // Narrow-flowered California Brodiaea - Willis Jepson and Milo Baker both recorded this from near the mouth of Adobe Canyon, outside of current park boundaries. However, it's certainly possible it could be within the park as well, and it'd be really cool to find if so.
Bromus caroli-henrici - notes say "Sugarloaf Ridge State Park, McCormick Addition, along power line maint. road, directly under power lines, ~ 1 km WSW of NE property boundary at gate". Have not been to the area to look.
Bromus orcuttianus - "At Goodspeed trailhead pullout. On bank edge above Sonoma Creek."
Calamagrostis rubescens - on CNPS checklist, herbarium records from near Trinity Road in the 1940s.
Carex brevicaulis - Somewhere in McCormick Addition?
Carex densa - on Bowcutt's list, "In main campground. Ca. 150 yards south of Sonoma Creek; 1/4 mile NW of confluence with Rattlesnake Creek at toe of Sugarloaf Ridge."
Carex leptopoda - On several CNPS checklists. "Moist woodland along South Fork Santa Rosa Creek"
Carex simulata - On CNPS checklists. "Riparian".
Carex subfusca - Somewhere in McCormick, "Woodland"
Clarkia rhomboidea - reported 1930s, "3 mi w Kenwood; Adobe Canyon, 500 ft elevation, dry ground"
Conium maculatum - reported in 1994, "Just S of Adobe Canyon Road and kiosk, Along ephemeral swale, Wild oat grassland" Hopefully no longer present!
Crepis pleurocarpa - on CNPS checklist for McCormick Addition
Cryptantha muricata - on CNPS checklist, also reported from Hood Mtn in the past
Cymopterus terebinthinus var. californicus
Cynodon dactylon // Bermuda grass - "Adobe Canyon just NW of Sonoma/Rattlesnake Creek confluence"
Cytisus scoparius // Scotch broom - Hopefully no longer present . Single plant found in 1993, along Goodspeed Trail
Delphinium hesperium - several old records in the area, could already be observed and just not correctly identified, buried among the other observations of blue delphiniums from the park.
Didymodon rigidulus - moss. "Along trail near headquarters of Sugarloaf Ridge State Park. On seasonally moist, sunny soil among grasses in area of sheet drainage, in grassland with patches of Quercus agrifolia, Baccharis and Umbellularia."
Diplacus congdonii - Serpentine areas, no details.
Diplacus douglasii - same as above
Diplacus kelloggii - same as above
Eleocharis macrostachya - marshy areas?
Erigeron biolettii - on the Bowcutt list, recorded from Mt Hood and from Adobe canyon
Erigeron greenei - Calflora record from 2018 from in park
Eriocoma lemmoni (Stipa lemmoni) - on CNPS checklist, no details
Eriogonum compositum var. compositum - "Sugarloaf Ridge State Park, McCormick Addition, on steep slope above small canyon at sharp U-curve in powerline road, near W park boundary"
Erythranthe microphylla - old record from "Adobe canyon"
Erythranthe moschata - "Near pond"
Festuca elmeri - On Bowcutt's list, "Various habitats" -extremely useful description!
Fragaria vesca // wild strawberry - seriously, there are still zero iNat observations of a strawberry plant ANYWHERE in the park! There's gotta be one out there somewhere.
Fritillaria recurva // scarlet fritillary - found on hood mtn, might be in McCormick area too.
Galium divaricatum // Lamarck's Bedstraw - "Along Meadow trail about 3/4 mile from trailhead. East from trail about 100 yards."
Garrya flavescens - several observations of Garrya from inside the park but none have been identified to species level yet.
Harmonia nutans // Nodding Tarweed - several historical reports around the general area
Juncus nevadensis
Juncus occidentalis
Juncus oxymeris
Lemna minuta - I've found lemna in a bunch of the marshy/damp areas of the park but haven't managed to key any of them out yet.
Linanthus dichotomus ssp. meridianus - "rock outcrop above S fork, near logged grassland"
Lolium arundinaceum (Festuca arundinacea) - herbarium specimen originally reported as Festuca elmeri, but has since been reidentified. Reported in 1993, "At lower camping area, 50 m east of foot bridge."
Lolium multiflorum - possibly actually L perenne?
Lupinus adsurgens - One herbarium record, "near junction of Meadow, Hillside, and Gray Pine Trails, east of bridge across Sonoma Creek"
Lupinus affinis - on a CNPS checklist for the park, but no specimens or specific locations.
Lythrum hyssopifolia - "On Hillside Trail 1 mile from junction with Grey Pine Trail. Ruderal (middle of dirt road) near oak woodland of Quercus agrifolia and Q. kelloggii."
Melica subulata - "Adobe Canyon, campground S of Sonoma Creek about 150 yds. 1/4 mile NW of confluence with Rattlesnake Creek, toe of Sugarloaf Ridge."
Myriopteris gracillima - M intertexta and M covillei have been found, in difficult to reach rocky outcrops. M gracillima is probably out there somewhere as well.
Navarretia leucocephala ssp. leucocephala - Bowcutt only says "In Adobe Canyon"
Olea europaea // Olive - one mention of it in "woodland, lower Vista trail". Possibly a misidentification, or possibly it was killed in the fires?
Oxalis pilosa - On CNPS checklist
Oxalis suksdorfii - Also on CNPS checklist
Paspalum dilatatum - "Entrance to campground in Adobe Canyon." in 1996.
Persicaria amphibia - on CNPS list
Persicaria hydropiper - On CNPS list
Phoradendron villosum // oak mistletoe - Bowcutt reported this species, but the herbarium specimens have been synonymized with Phoradendron leucarpum ssp. tomentosum, in line with Jepson. We have iNat records identified as Phoradendron leucarpum ssp. tomentosum. However, POWO is in disagreement with Jepson, and considers Phoradendron leucarpum ssp. tomentosum to be native to the southeastern US and mexico, while Phoradendron villosum is the California species. So I'm not sure which name to follow or if all reports refer to a single species or not.
Pinus attenuata - on CNPS checklist, no other records
Platanthera elegans - "Brushy peaks trail"
Platanthera elongata - specimen collected from park in 1989, no further location details given
Poa nemoralis - on the park CNPS checklist, but has never been recorded elsewhere in the county and no specimens seem to exist. May be a misidentification.
Polygonum aviculare - reported as "growing in gravel road bed". Probably one of those species nobody bothers to photograph.
Polygonum douglasii - another one from the CNPS checklists with no further details
Polygonum spergulariiforme - somewhere in McCormick Addition
Polypogon interruptus - on CNPS checklist, and herbarium specimen exists from 1885..
Polystichum dudleyi - on CNPS checklist, and records exist for specimens from Hood Mountain and Bouverie.
Prunus emarginata - McCormick somewhere
Pseudognaphalium beneolens - perhaps already recorded and just not identified, who knows
Psilocarphus oregonus - on CNPS list
Pyracantha angustifolia - Possibly eliminated from park. "one plant seen along S fork, Sta. Rosa Cr."
Raphanus sativus - "disturbed grassland"
Ribes inerme - "Campground S of Sonoma Creek approx. 150 yds 1/4 mile NW of confluence with Rattlesnake Creek, toe of Sugarloaf Ridge."
Ribes quercetorum - Supposedly in McCormick, but no observations of this species anywhere else in the region
Ribes victoris - multiple old records, but no specimens collected since 1947.
Robinia pseudoacacia - old homestead sites, may not have survived fires
Rubus leucodermis - on checklists, but no location details given
Sairocarpus virga - on checklists, old records exist from hoot mtn and adobe canyon
Salix breweri - "Sonoma creek canyon" in 1933
Solanum americanum - CNPS checklist
Stebbinsoseris heterocarpa - serpentine areas
Trifolium glomeratum - "Trails, roads"
Trifolium incarnatum - "Disturbed sites"
Trifolium obtusiflorum - "seeps"
Trifolium oliganthum - "grassland; oak woodland, on Hillside Trail."
Trifolium striatum- "Near corral and service area/office. Along trail/old dirt road used for commercial horse rides."
Trillium ovatum - recorded as "Vegetative plant observed in redwood forest". No herbarium specimen, and quite likely was actually a young T albidum, which is common there. Still worth looking for though!
Triphysaria eriantha ssp. eriantha - reportedly collected near the park, might be within as well.
Viola pedunculata - McCormick somewhere
Whipplea modesta - Another one I'm surprised hasn't been observed yet.
Zeltnera davyi - "N-facing flat, old ranch road, S. of S. fk.Sta. Rosa Cr."
Zeltnera trichantha - "0.75 air mile S of Red Mountain, 0.5 air miles NNW of confluence of the Malm Fork, 1.0 air miles WSW of Brushy Peaks."

Some wildcard species that have been found in areas nearish to the park, and would be really cool to find if they exist in the park at all:
Amorpha californica var. napensis // Napa false indigo
Astragalus claranus Clara hunt's milk vetch
Calochortus uniflorus Large flowered star tulip
Hesperolinon clevelandii Allen springs western flax
Leptosiphon acicularis Bristly leptosiphon
Minuartia californica Sandwort
Navarretia heterodoxa Calistoga navarretia
Navarretia pubescens Purple navarretia
Odontostomum hartwegii Hartweg's odontostomum
Packera greenei Flame ragwort
Penstemon newberryi var. sonomensis Sonoma beardtongue
Trichostema ruygtii Napa bluecurls
Viburnum ellipticum Common viburnum
Xerophyllum tenax Beargrass