This document contains descriptions of various plants and trees found across different habitats in California. It includes details about the physical characteristics, habitats, and ranges of species such as Field Mustard, California Poppy, Redbud, Acorn Woodpecker, Red Pine cone, Green Moss, Chamise, Yucca, Golden Brodiaea, Manzanita, Blue Elderberry, Claytonia, Menzies’ Fiddleneck, Red Fir, and Giant Sequoia. Photos and descriptions are provided for each plant/tree discussed.

1. Photo Essay ProjectMaria LoyaBiology 10Spring 2011Instructor: Bethany Bush

2. Valley Grassland

3. Guillenialasiophylla(Common name: Field Mustard)Family: Brassicaceae (Mustard)Habitat: Dry, open, disturbed areas Guillenialasiophylla, a dicot, is an annual herb. Flowers have 4 bright yellow petals,. Both lower pinnate leaves and upper arrowhead leaves clasp the stem.

4. California PoppyThe California poppy is a perennial and annual plant, native to the US, and the official state flower of California. It can grow 5–60 cm tall.Habitat:grows hardily in grassy and open areas from sea level to 2,000m (6,500 feet) altitude in the western US throughout California.

6. Foothill Woodland

7. Redbudtypically grows 20–30 feet tall with a 25–35 foot spread. It generally has a short, often twisted trunk and spreading branches.

8. The mule deer on the average, 40–42 inches at the shoulders and stretching 80 inches or so nose to tail. An adult buck will weigh from 150–300 pounds (68–140 kg)

9. Acorn Woodpeckera medium-sized woodpecker is about 21 cm long with an average weight of 85 g. The Acorn Woodpecker has a black head, back, wings and tail, white forehead, throat, belly and rump. The eyes are white. The adult male has a red cap starting at the forehead, whereas females have a black area between the forehead and the cap. The white neck, throat and forehead patches are distinctive identifiers.

10. Mixed Conifer

11. Cone of Red Pine TreeThis is a young cone, Around 17 months oldhttp://www.esu.edu/~milewski/intro_biol_two/lab_3_seed_plts/Pine_megastrobili.htmlThis cone is maturing around 22 months old

12. Conifer TreesThree of the most common conifers that grow in North America are pine, fir and spruce trees. Three of the most common conifers that grow in North America are pine, fir and spruce trees.

13. Green Mossit is typically 1–10 cm (0.4–4 in) tall. They commonly grow close together in clumps or mats in damp or shady locations

14. Chaparral

15. ChamiseLike most Chaparral shrubs, sprouts quickly from roots that survive fire. Storehouse of moisture and nutrients, its roots can resprout even before it rains. Yucca occurs mainly in chaparral, coastal sage scrub, and oak woodland plant communities at altitudes of 300–2500 m. reaches 0.9–3 m tall, bearing hundreds of elliptical (bell shaped) white to purplish flowers 3 cm diameter on a densely branched panicle up to 70 cm broad.

16. Golden Brodiaeaa perennial wildflower that produces one to two basal leaves up to 50 centimeters long by 1.5 wide. The inflorescence arises on an erect stem up to 80 centimeters tall. It is an umbel-like cluster of several flowers each borne on a pedicel up to 7 centimeters long. The flowers are variable in size, measuring one to nearly three centimeters in length

17. Manzanita Treeevergreen shrubs or small trees present in the chaparral biome. There are 106 species of Manzanita, 95 of which are found in the Mediterranean climate and colder mountainous regions of California, ranging from ground-hugging coastal and mountain species to small trees up to 20 feet (6m) tall. Manzanitas bloom in the winter to early spring and carry berries in spring and summer.The berries and flowers of most species are edible.

18. Riparian

19. Blue Elderberry AKA Sambucus MexicanaThese trees grow on moist, well-drained sunny sites, usually occurring in openingng moist habitats The leaves are pinnate with 5–9 leaflets . Each leaf is 2–12 in long. They bear large clusters of small white or cream-colored flowers in late spring; these are followed by clusters of small black, blue-black, or red berries.

20. Claytonia perfoliataAKA Miner's lettuce, Winter Purslane, Spring Beauty, or Indian lettuce.This is a trailing plant, growing to a maximum of 40 cm in length, but mature plants can be as small as 1 cm. The first true leaves form a rosette at the base of the plant, and are 0.5-4 cm long, with an often long petiole.

21. Menzies’ Fiddleneck This is an annual herb, 1–3‘ tall. Leaves are ¾–6" long. It has small yellow-orange flowers in coils at the ends of the branches. The leafy stems have both long, spreading, bristly hairs and very short, dense, downward-projecting ones.

22. Red Fir

23. Giant Sequoia

24. Mountain Meadows

26. The End