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Chaparral
Bracken Fern
(Pteridium aquilinum)
Bracken can be found everywhere from the deep redwood forest to the open meadow.This
fern is edible by many reports, but only when the fronds are very young and
curled up into fiddle heads. This plant is carcinogenic if it is not a fiddle
head, and it is not recommended either way. (3).
Chamise
(Adenostoma fasiculatum)
Very common in the chaparral. The leaves are like short, fat pine needles.
This plant has the ability to regenerate from the stump after a fire, a common
adaptation of many chaparral plants. It is also allelopathic, meaning that
it exudes a chemical that either inhibits or enhances the growth of nearby
plants. This can be done in a variety of ways, such as a chemical secreted
from the roots or accumulated in the leaves. Chamise concentrates a toxin
in it's leaves and is washed off in the rain inhibiting the growth of plants
around it. It blooms from May-June with white flowers that turn orange by
August (3)
Coyote
Brush (Baccharis pilularis)
In the sunflower family, this is a common chaparral plant, and can also be
found in disturbed and sunny areas.
Indian
Paint Brush (Castilleja foliosa)
Common in the chaparal and rocky sunny areas.
Knobcone
Pine (Pinus attenuatus)
Often grows in areas that have been disturbed by fire and its cones take heat
to open up and release seeds.
Manzanita (Arctostaphylos
sp.)
Occurs in three subspecies on campus, the brittle leaved, santa cruz, and
sensitive.
Sticky Monkey Flower (Diplacus aurantiacus)
Yerba Santa
(Eriodictyon californicum)
Very common in chaparral and dry sunny areas. It is a tall shrub with numerous
stalks. Often the leaves are covered with a sooty black fungus. The flowers
bloom from April - June.
Lucas Barth