After you’ve roamed the wildflower areas described in this issue, stop by the Oakland Museum of California for the 2002 California Wildflower Show on May 11-12. The museum’s crew gets up before dawn on Saturday and collects wildflowers from the … Read more
Botany
Winter Issue 2002
New Cachuma Redwoods Book
One of the distinguishing features of life in the Bay Area is the presence of the world’s tallest trees, Sequoia sempervirens, coast redwoods. Now, everything you might want to know about redwoods can be found in two new books. Coast … Read more
Winter Issue 2002
How have exotic garden plants impacted our native fauna?
Animal habits, or behavior, can indeed change due to the presence of nonnative plants. Two examples come to mind. Fennel is a plant native to the Mediterranean region of Europe which became an invasive weed in the Bay Area subsequent … Read more
Winter Issue 2002
Often-Overlooked Lichens are Essential to the Bay Area’s Environment
Is it a mushroom? A moss? Bacterial scum? Trod on underfoot or passed by in blissful ignorance, lichens are perhaps the least understood element of the Bay Area landscape. But they are everywhere. And when we look closely at them, a colorful and diverse world opens up before our eyes.
Fall Issue 2001
California Shrub Book
University of California Press natural history guides are always welcome additions to a nature lover’s library, and the newest in the series is no exception. Trees and Shrubs of California, by John D. Stuart and John O. Sawyer, is the … Read more
Botany
Be Careful with Fiddlenecks
In his article on “The Changing Nature of Joaquin Miller Park” author Rex Burress wrote that the fiddle-heads of young bracken ferns are edible “either cooked or raw.” However, before you head out to pick ferns for your soup pot, … Read more
Fall Issue 2001
Sudden Oak Death Update
A lot has happened in the battle against Sudden Oak Death (SOD) since Bay Nature reported on it in January. To date, the disease has been identified in black oak, coast live oak, tanbark oak, and Shreve oak trees in … Read more
Fall Issue 2001
The Vale of Tesla
Nestled in the hills southeast of Livermore, at the border between the San Joaquin Valley and the Bay Area, the old Tesla Mine townsite in Corral Hollow sustains a vibrant mix of inner south coast range plants and animals along with the traces of a rich human history. But a state proposal to create an off-road vehicle park in the hollow threatens to reopen old scars on this tranquil landscape.
Summer Issue 2001
Trees of Golden Gate Park and San Francisco Book Review
After reading The Trees of Golden Gate Park and San Francisco, it’s difficult to know which is more significant—that Golden Gate Park exists at all, or that in today’s world of “political correctness,” this totally man-made park, full of non-native … Read more
