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Indian Rhubarb – Darmera

Indian rhubarb, Rock Creek, Meadow Valley (10/18/18) Michael Beatley

Indian rhubarb, Rock Creek, Meadow Valley (10/18/18) Michael Beatley

Indian rhubarb, Rock Creek, Meadow Valley (10/18/18) Michael Beatley

Indian rhubarb, Rock Creek, Meadow Valley (10/18/18) Michael Beatley

One of California’s most spectacular native plants is Darmera, or Indian Rhubarb.

With its large, umbrella formed, orange-red leaves, it is spectacular when contrasted with wild blue streams and lush riparian foliage in the Shasta Cascade.

Plumas County color spotter, Michael Beatley visited “Rock Creek in Meadow Valley, which flows into Spanish Creek, which flows into the North Fork of the Feather River, which flows into the Sacramento river and on to San Francisco Bay.” Rock Creek and Spanish Creek were gold mining creeks in the 1860s.

To get to the most colorful examples of Darmera beside these creeks, you’ll need to hike to them. Begin by driving six miles west of Quincy along Bucks Lake Road toward Meadow Valley.

“Just before the park,” Michael explains (which park, he never said – but we figure there must be only one), “turn left onto the USFS dirt road at the sign that reads, ‘Deans Valley, Meadow Camp 2 miles.’ At the bridge is Meadow Camp, a National Forest campground which lies beside Rock Creek.  Hike downstream.  There are no trails; forge your own. The Indian Rhubarb is at Peak and just Past Peak. Gold pan, if you like. Best time is 10 a.m., as the sun crests the tree tops hitting the water. The  campground is dry and free. The road is dirt, bumpy, but accessible by car. This is a hiking spot for fall color, not a drive by.”

I tried to find the camp on Google maps, but could not. You’ll have to trust Michael’s directions to find it. This may just be the time to pack along a copy of the 3rd Edition of NOLS Wilderness Navigation by Gene Trantham and Darran Wells.

It’s NOLS’ official guide to finding your way in the outdoors, since no bread crumbs were otherwise left by Michael to follow. 

Indian rhubarb, Rock Creek, Meadow Valley (10/18/18) Michael Beatley

  • Indian Rhubarb, Rock Creek, Meadow Valley – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!

 

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Last Fruit of the Season

Hawthorn, El Dorado Hills (10/18/18) John Poimiroo

Hawthorn (Crataegus), according to Celtic lore, embody contradictions.

Beautiful in springtime with their abundant white blossoms, Hawthorn produce bonny bouquets. Yet, their long, sharp thorns (a member of the rose family) and deathly smell when harvested, discouraged the Celts from picking them.

It became a bad omen to bring beautiful blooming branches of Hawthorn blossoms into a Celtic home, as when cut they smell like decaying flesh and were seen as an omen of death. The Celts believed the Hawthorn to be imbued with male energy, yet also stood as a symbol of female fertility … more duality.

In autumn, their branches hang heavy with bright red berries, attracting birds. The berries are long lasting, often into winter, are delicious fresh, dried, juiced, made into syrup, wine, jam or jelly and said to benefit the heart and circulation in reducing blood pressure and cholesterol, as they are a diuretic (consult a physician before using for this purpose).

Though, their long thorns are so discouraging, that when planted in dense rows they are used as impenetrable fences for livestock or privacy.

In our yard is this Autumn Glory variety of tree that gets taller each year (they grow to 25′). Presently, it is carrying heavy bunches of fruit upon its thorny limbs.

Its dark-green, leathery leaves are showing the earliest signs of color change, with its edges now gilded. Eventually, green leaves will turn to gold and the tree’s fresh red fruit will wither.

Hawthorn is, of course, not native to California, but like the Celts, we love its beauty and fear its thorns. 

  • Hawthorn, El Dorado Hills – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!
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Meadow Valley Morn

 

Pacific dogwood, Bigleaf maple, Black oak, Meadow Valley (10/16/18) Michael Beatley

Aspen, Meadow Valley (10/16/18) Michael Beatley

Black oak, Meadow Valley (10/16/18) Michael Beatley

Manzanita, Meadow Valley (10/16/18) Michael Beatley

Dogwood, Meadow Valley (10/16/18) Michael Beatley

Mornings are golden in Meadow Valley, Plumas County color spotter Michael Beatley reports.

Michael shot pictures  along Big Creek Rd,  just west of Meadow Valley in Plumas County.  It is the lower road to Bucks Lake. Turn Left at the split in the road where the sign reads, “Bucks Lake via Big Creek Rd for RVs.” The road is populated with bigleaf maple, Pacific dogwood, black oak, and some quaking aspen.

As Beatley’s photographs show, this nine-mile road to Bucks Lake is gorgeous and “worth the drive.” Intense purple, orange, red, yellow, vermillion, gold, lime, pink and green tones, illuminated by shadowed light create magical results on a Meadow Valley morn.

Best time of the day to drive Big Creek Rd. is between 9 a.m. and noon. A 4WD vehicle is required. Accommodations may be obtained in Quincy (click the UpStateCA graphic below for guidance).

Plumas County is at Peak now and through the coming week. A trip to the Northern Sierra now is a must for anyone who’s never seen it at Peak. 

  • Meadow Valley – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!

 

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Apple Harvest

Oak Glen (10/12/18) Alena Nicholas

Oak Glen (10/12/18) Alena Nicholas

Oak Glen (10/12/18) Alena Nicholas

Oak Glen (10/12/18) Alena Nicholas

Oak Glen (10/12/18) Alena Nicholas

As American as … Apple Hill, Julian and Oak Glen.

These California apple harvest destinations are famous for their cider, pie, strudels, confections and sauce, all made of apples, of course.

Even though the apple pie was invented in England, the following prove that nothing could be truer than the expression “as American as apple pie:”

  • In El Dorado County, Apple Hill is so popular that a free shuttle bus system has been established to keep the roads in Camino from becoming gridlocked on autumn weekends;
  • Ten restaurants serve apple pie in Julian, a city of 1,500 (San Diego County) and
  • Twenty-four varieties of apples are grown and sold at Oak Glen (San Bernardino County).

That’s just the start of why autumn adventures in apple country has become such a tradition for Californians. Presently, fall color is Just Starting, though the apple harvest is happening, and Americans LOVE their apples.

San Bernardino County color spotter Alena Nicholas was there, today, and sent these images, but no apple pie. C’mon, Alena, share the love. 

  • Apple Hill, Camino (3,133′) – Just Starting (10-50%)
  • Oak Glen (4,734′) – Just Starting (10-50%)
  • Julian (4,226′) – Just Starting (10-50%)

 

Oak Glen (10/12/18) Alena Nicholas

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Sweet As Can Be

Sugar maple, Hideaway Rd., Greenville (10/12/18) Jeff Luke Titcomb

Sugar maple, Hideaway Rd., Greenville (10/12/18) Jeff Luke Titcomb

Sugar maples (Acer saccharum) are sweet to the eye. Perhaps that’s why so many were planted in Plumas County.

This particular specimen sugars the scenery along Hideaway Rd. in Greenville.

Leaves of the sugar maple can evolve in color through a full spectrum from dark green to lime, to yellow-green, to yellow, to yellow-orange, to orange, red and burgundy, during autumn.

Though numerous of the exotic trees have been planted in Quincy, Greenville and other Plumas County towns (Northern Sierra), none seem to have naturalized, leading a UC Davis botanist, with whom we consulted, to conclude that planting one is not likely to interfere with the growth of native trees. 

Sugar Maples, Plumas County (3,586′) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW! 

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Airbrushed with Crimson

Davis Knotweed, Lassen Volcanic National Park (10/4/18) Shanda Ochs

Davis Knotweed, Lassen Peak Trail (10/4/18) Shanda Ochs

It almost appears as if the trailhead to Lassen Peak was airbrushed with crimson in this photograph by Shanda Ochs, taken yesterday afternoon.

The color, in fact, comes from Davis Knotweed (Aconogonon davisiae). There are 27 varieties of knotweed native to California. Douglas knotweed grows in Lassen Volcanic National Park at this elevation.

Shanda said, “It was spectacular with the fog which made the color pop!” The dusting of frost on the volcano adds to the photo’s drama.

Notice the golden-orange ground cover near the base of the trailhead. The source of that color remains unidentified. Though, Fall Color creds go to the first person to comment and identify it. 

Lassen Peak Trail, Lassen Volcanic National Park (8,200′) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW! – Davis Knotweed

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California Wild Grape

California Wild Grape, Cameron Park (10/5/18) John Poimiroo

California Wild Grape, Cameron Park (10/5/18) John Poimiroo

Fremont Cottonwood and California Wild Grape, Cameron Park (10/5/18) John Poimiroo

California Wild Grape, Cameron Park (10/5/18) John Poimiroo

California Wild Grape (Vitis californica) is a treat for fall color foragers.

It’s known to climb as high as 50′ and one specimen I found in Cameron Park easily topped that height. It had overgrown a stand of  Frémont cottonwoods, with grapes hanging in bunches like Christmas ornaments all the way to the top of the trees.

This woody vine is found growing between sea level and 4,000′, often climbing into trees, Falcon Press’ Plants of Northern California reports.

In autumn, their large grape leaves turn a vibrant yellow or deep red at peak.

Only a few leaves had yet blushed, though I plan to  return to get more pictures and purloin a basket of grapes, which have a very pleasant, mild and sweet grape flavor. 

 

California Wild Grape (1,198′) – Patchy (10-50%)

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Seeing Red

Crimson Knotweed, Cliff Lake, Lassen Volcanic NP (9/12/15) Shanda Ochs

One of the earliest fall colors to enjoy in California’s mountains is red.

Though if you seek it, look downward. As, the red of which I write is crawling along the ground.

In the Shasta Cascade, it is the Crimson Knotweed that carpets volcanic slopes above 7,000′ in the Northern Sierra and Southern Cascade.

Dwarf Bilberry, Cascade Lake, Hoover Wilderness (9/5/18) David Senesac

In the Sierra Nevada, Dwarf Huckleberry or Sierra Bilberry (Vaccinium nivictum) grows in subalpine fir forests and alpine fell fields usually between 8,000 and 12,000′,  John Hunter Thomas and Dennis R. Parnell write in Native Shrubs of the Sierra Nevada.

Naturalist David Senesac hiked up into the 20 Lakes Basin of the Hoover Wilderness (Eastern Sierra) in early September to find ruby Dwarf Bilberry (Vaccinium caespitosum), “a turf height species of the blueberry family” blushing near timberline elevations in the weeks before autumn.

This plant is often red-purple in color, but ignites when backlit with light, adding vermillion vibrance and verve to its otherwise austere environs. 

Peak (75-100%) – Bilberry and Knotweed

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Identifying NorCal Plants

Plants of Northern California, Falcon Guides

With more than 7,000 species of native plants in California, it’s easy to misidentify one. As a journalist, not a scientist, I’ve made more than a few wrong identifications on this site. Hopefully, few misidentifications are still posted here, though – admittedly – I come across one, now and then. When I do, I correct it.

However, when you combine California’s native species to the thousands of non-native (exotic) plants in our gardens, parks and cities, it’s easy to imagine the difficulty involved in reporting accurately 100% of the time.

In order to identify obscure plants, I’ve sent photos of them to naturalists, botanists and foresters who’ve then identified them, but that takes time. So, increasingly, I refer to books and sites for answers. Recent additions to my library are field guides published by Falcon Guides.

In a previous post, I referenced Dr. Eva Begley’s Plants of Northern California. It illustrates, through color photography and text, native plants that grow west of the Sierra Nevada. This area includes the north San Francisco Bay, North Coast, Klamath and Cascade Ranges, and the Sacramento Valley.

Trees, Falcon Pocket Guide

Sierra Nevada Wildflowers, Falcon Guides

In the book, species are organized by color and family, and text describes their blooming period, elevation and habitat, plant characteristics, and other interesting facts. It is particularly useful in identifying flowering plants.

What has often bothered me about some field guides is that they’re written for scientists by scientists. So, common plants are often omitted, I suppose, because the author might think they’re so common that everyone must know what they are.

Dr. Begley did not make that mistake. Ordinary, as well as extraordinary plants are illustrated with sharp, colorful photographs and simple, direct and helpful text.

Falcon Guides even thought to print a ruler on the back cover, to help take the guesswork out of measuring blooms in the field and includes a glossary of terms (e.g., pinnate) that might otherwise be confusing to users.

Plants of Northern California has little within it to help in identifying deciduous trees or Sierra Nevada plants, though combine it with Falcon’s pocket guide Trees by Todd Telander and Sierra Nevada Wildflowers by Karen Wiese, and you have solid foundation of reference materials that will help you identify California plants when searching for California Fall Color. 

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Bracken Ferns – A Carpet of Gold

Bracken Fern, Kyburz (9/9/18) Walt Gabler

Bracken Fern, Kyburz (9/9/18) Walt Gabler

Bracken ferns are carpeting the forest floor near Kyburz (4,058′) with golden yellow color.

The Bracken (Pteridium aquilinum) flourishes in life zones from sea level to 10,000′ in elevation and is found in meadows, pastures, woodlands and forests (source: Plants of Northern California, by Eva Begley, A Falcon Guide).

North Coast color spotter Walt Gabler was returning from a Search and Rescue conference at South Lake Tahoe, when their bright yellow color attracted his eye during a rest stop in Kyburz, near U.S. 50. 

Near Peak (50-75%) – Bracken – These showy autumn ferns vary, presently, in fall color from Just Starting to Peak, depending on locale. They’re near peak in Kyburz, off US 50.