Exploring Nature in the San Francisco Bay Area

Meet a Newly Named Nudibranch With a Unique Approach to Sex

Scientists spotted <i>Doto urak</i> 40 years ago but are just discovering the full glory of its weirdness.

By Allie Skalnik • May 14, 2026

The Spring 2026 Issue


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These Fabulous Flowers Are Spring’s Final Encore

When other plants start hunkering down, clarkias send up a dazzling array of pinks.
These Fabulous Flowers Are Spring’s Final Encore

IN SEASON IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

The Gopher Underground

Years ago, in my mother’s garden, an ominous mound appeared: a volcano- or horseshoe-shaped pile of earth with an off-center hole, plugged with loose dirt. Her response, echoing the response of generations of frustrated gardeners, was to reach for a shovel and try to destroy the burrow, but a season’s…

Staff picks

Postcards from Pescadero

True, there was no e-mail, snail mail, or even Pony Express, but somehow postcards from intrepid explorers of the San Mateo coast in days of yore have reached our mailbox. Take a unique trip through time and discover how the beach and marsh at Pescadero came to be the treasures we love to visit today.