Monterey County Magazine - Spring 2006
A Journey through Monterey County’s Wildflowers
|
Monterey County hosts the richest diversity of plants in California because it offers some of the most varied climates
and topography in the state. Within the boundaries of the county, from the sand hills of Prunedale to the hot open
flats of Lockwood, to the fog shrouded enclave of Pebble Beach lay many different microclimates and habitats for native
and exotic plants to enjoy.
No other county boasts wide open grassy plains spread with a carpet of Gold Fields and Padre's Shooting Stars, oak
woodlands of centuries old valley and live oaks filled with the knocking of woodpeckers above blue clusters of Fiesta
Flower. We have deep shadowed canyons filled with massive redwoods where the mountain lion lurks by night while sun
baked hills sport spiky yuccas within the sound the of the whitewater surf. Sierra-like forests of Ponderosa pines
sighing in an offshore wind under wheeling stars can view coastal terraces caressed with soft moist fog. Groves of
endemic cypress and pine on rocky outcrops are within sight of world famous golf courses and stately mansions.
As you travel south along Hwy. 101 you pass one of the most unusual spots in our county, Pinnacles National Monument.
Rising up among the rounded hills of the Gabilan Range, Pinnacles lies directly over the San Andreas Fault which helped
to create it's up thrust landscape over 20 million years ago. The drive to the monument entrance takes you through
typical Gabilan Range flora of golden grasses, live and blue oaks and stands of dark junipers. Splashed with color in
April and May, by June the grass is sear and the flowers reduced to dry husks by the inland heat so different from the
often-foggy bluster of the valley floor.
But rounding a corner you are faced with a landscape transported from the drier southland by the relentless northward
push of the fault. Consisting of steep rock spires and frozen lava flows from an extinct volcano, the Pinnacles rise
up above the surrounding landscape clothed in nearly desert-like flora of brush. Wraith-like Gray Pines sprout and curve
at odd angles from the wrenched rock outcrops and nod their tassels toward knife cut canyons choked with huge fallen
boulders which create a maze of caves and dark passages filled with rushing water in winter, intrepid hikers and endangered
bats in summer.
My favorite landscape at Pinnacles is approached from the less visited west entrance above the melting adobe ruins and
lonely wind- swept white chapel of Nuestra Senora de la Soledad Mission. At the Chaparral Ranger Station, the Balconies
Trail passes through a subtle garden of dry land natives that could have been orchestrated by the best garden designer.
The dry hot air rippling through the canyon is accented by the whine of cicadas in the trees and filled with the dusty
aroma of sagebrush, ceanothus and pine. Along the trail, arching interior live oaks are under planted with masses of wild
rose, pink flowered in spring then decorated with red clusters of hips on 3 foot tall thickets of spiny stems. Further
along a meadow is cut by a winding stream lined with asters, solidago and felted grey shrub willows before passing among
drifts of buckwheat. The interior buckwheat, Erigonum, has tiny leathery green leaves and a wide low habit that is clothed
in late spring with pale pink flower clusters. As summer brings intense heat and dryness, the flowers slowly turn a rich rust
color with several shades on the drift that grows under the sparse shade of the draping branches of the Grey Pine, Pinus
coulterii. Deeper in the canyon pine, oak and silver stemmed sycamore jostle against the vertical cliffs above a cobble
strewn stream.
As you move forward the walls close in very tight: your feet are forced onto the gravel bed of the now dry stream, through
a low passage under a massive boulder wedged by mere centimeters between the canyon walls then a into confusing jumble of
rocks and passages of the Balconies talus caves. Within, your path is chosen as much by intuition in the dark as by the small
white arrows painted on the rock faces to guide you over each climb and drop until your reach the cool shaded north end of
the canyon. The steep walls themselves are popular with rock face climbers and peregrine falcons, red tail hawks and
California condors.
But Pinnacles is not the only adventure that combines rich flora with an unusual landscape. Just to the north of Monterey is
Fort Ord Dunes State Beach which offers a landscape sculpted not by the fiery forces of the underworld but by the ceaseless
action of sea and wind.
From the highway the dunes that shelter the traffic from the winds off the bay appear monotonous but are a diverse tapestry of
plants. At close inspection you find spiny tufts of foliage sprouting in open spots among low shrubs; the pink flowered Cobweb
Thistle, Cirsium occidentale. Often mistaken for a common weed, this floral gem has a striking beauty when it's spines and the
spider web-like filaments laced among them are dusted with fog mist. All around it are masses of pale pink coastal buckwheat,
host to the endangered Smith's Blue Butterfly whose males have sky blue wings. A hawk perches on an old telephone pole above
this landscape that has been disturbed again and again not only by the shifting of the dunes but decades of bulldozing, bombing,
rifle fire and war games staged by the US Army.
Some small areas seem to have been spared the worst assaults and destruction by a partnership between the military and the California
Native Plant Society that moved to preserve the last remnants of the areas former floral glory. Other areas are only now beginning to
throw off a heavy blanket of exotic iceplant, spread by the Army to hold down the blowing sand after the original plants were ripped
away. These areas showcase this ecosystem's strong will to reclaim the dune and already bare spots sport sand verbenas, wormwood, Indian
paintbrush, lupines and beach heather. But the sand dune habitat is very delicate and prone to damage from hikers and bikers, so a
nearby habitat is more inviting to the explorer.
Within the former Fort Ord Military reservation, now home to California State University Monterey Bay lie miles of old roads and trails
that offer another slice of unique habitat, the coastal oak scrub. This landscape is part forest, part sand dune where ancient wind blown
deposits have become stabilized by plants and allowed trees and other woody plants to thrive. Here the wind is ever present and keeps
the live oaks pruned low and twisted but the softly rounded topography, mostly maintained by the Bureau of Land Management and the Fort
Ord Reuse Authority, provide endless opportunities for mountain biking, hiking and horseback riding. Fog can blow in at any time but when
the sun warms the landscape it is golden and olive and fragrant.
For years this area was used for military target practice so many areas are still considered too dangerous to enter due to unexploded
ordinance lurking among the manzanitas and ceanothus. But these restricted areas have provided shelter for rare plants such as the rosy
Douglas Spine Flower, which flourishes after a target practice wild fire that also signals the bloom of the orange Fire Poppy, Papaver
californicum. Fire Poppies only bloom during the brief spring period directly following a fire and their scattered seeds will remain
dormant in the soil until the next wild fire occurs whether it is the following summer or a decade later.
An afternoon spent exploring the rich network of trails within Fort Ord will bring you back to the beach for the sunset. Sprouting from
the sand hill all around you are pale yellow bladderpods, pink iceplant, and fragrant Artemisia, the waves at your feet, birds scurrying
across the damp sand in the dying light. Toast the end of another beautiful day here with a fine Monterey County Merlot or Chardonnay.
Dave Egbert, The Coastal Gardener
