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Mosses and Ferns Appear After the Rains
What’s the Difference?
Both are primitive plants that don’t reproduce with flowers.
They reproduce both sexually (with sperm and eggs) and asexually (with spores).
They both tend to grow in mosit locations. because their perms need water to ”swim” to the eggs
Spore capsules on moss
Sori on underside of fern
Mosses and Ferns in the same habitat
The text and images were provided by biologist Al Torretto. The video is of Al talking about mosses and ferns
Come See the Mushrooms at Blue Sky!
For fungi lovers and the mushroom curious, now is the time to visit Blue Sky! Fungi play an important role in Blue Sky’s ecosystem by decomposing dead plant material and thereby returning nutrients to the soil. And the underground filaments of fungi connect to plant roots, helping plants take up more nutrients. In exchange, the fungi get carbohydrates from the plants, which they need as they cannot, like most plants, produce these themselves.
Watch Al Torretto talk about the importance of fungi in the video below.
Please, DO NOT pick or kick Blue Sky’s mushrooms!
Below are some photos of Blue Sky fungi taken by Al Torretto.
From left to right and top to bottom: Bird Nest Fungi, Common Fieldcap, Golden Ear, Golden Milkcap, Hairy Curtain Crust, Jack-O-Lantern, Oak-loving Gymnopus, Oak-loving Bolete, Orange Bonnet, Shaggy Mane, Splitgill Mushroom, Tall Psathyrella
Soils of Blue Sky
Look around the landscape at Blue Sky. In some places you will see rocks and in other places you will see plants. Mosses and lichens can grow (very slowly) on rocks that are in shady spots but larger plants need soil in order to grow, as soil supplies them with both water and nutrients. Without soils, there would be very few trees, shrubs or wildflowers! Plants need nutrients from soil to grow and survive. These nutrients are dissolved in soil water that plants are taking up during the daytime. Plants need water from the soil to control their temperature- without water, plants can overheat and ultimately die.
Granite in Coastal Sage Scrub Habitat Mosses and Lichens
Not all soils are alike
From a plant’s perspective, not all soils are the same, since some soils can supply more water, nutrients and air to plant roots than other soils. Soils are formed from different materials, in different climates, for different amounts of time and in different parts of the landscape. Soils are classified into soil series and mapped so people will know the characteristics of different soils, how to best manage them and how well they will support plants.
At Blue Sky, the material from which all the soils are formed is granite (and other igneous rocks very similar to granite). These rocks and the minerals in them formed deep in the earth at much higher temperatures and pressures than those at the earth’s surface. Now at earth’s the surface, these primary minerals are slowly dissolving and forming new minerals, called clay minerals. This process is called weathering. Depending on their chemical structure, some primary minerals will weather relatively quickly, releasing nutrients in the process, whereas others will take many thousands of years to dissolve. Granite is a rock that can contain as much as 50% of the mineral quartz. Quartz is not only the slowest mineral to dissolve but it doesn’t contain nutrients required by plants. However, granitic rock is composed of other minerals that do contain plant nutrients and, as these minerals weather, plants take up some of the nutrients they contained.
Once plants are established in a landscape, many of the nutrients they have taken up from soil are recycled after their leaves fall or the entire plant dies. Many soil microbial organisms feed on dead plant organic matter and, in the process, release nutrients to the soil environment which are then taken up again by plants. So another way in which soils can differ is in the amount of organic matter they contain.
How to Identify a Sandy Loam or Sandy Clay Loam
Take a small sample of soil, wet and knead it into a small ball, and then squeeze it between your thumb and forefinger to make a ribbon. As you do this, it should feel gritty and should fall apart before it reaches 1 inch in length. If it stays together for more than an inch, then it is a sandy clay loam.
USDA SOIL Texture Triangle
Clay minerals, due to both their very large surface area and to their chemical structure, can retain the nutrients from decomposed plant material and slowly release these nutrients to growing plants. Larger, quartz particles in soil do not do this. Soil particle sizes are clay (smallest), silt and sand (largest). The distribution of particle sizes in soil is called soil texture. A sandy soil consists of mostly sand size particles, whereas a loam will have a mixture of clay, silt and sand size particles. Blue Sky soils have a lot of sand size particles in them because they are derived from granitic rocks, but as they have been weathering for many thousands of years, they have some silt and clay size particles as well. The texture of all Blue Sky soils is sandy loam, which mean they contain some clay and silt size particles, but are predominantly sandy. Sandy loam soils are often favored by gardeners. The high percentage of sand means that the soil will generally have good drainage and good aeration. However, sand size particles don’t retain or supply the nutrients that plants need as well as silt and clay size particles do.
The four soil series at blue sky
The soils in Blue Sky are derived from similar material and have similar texture; the main factor that distinguishes them is their position in the landscape. This will give the soils different characteristics, primarily soil depth and organic matter, that are then used to assign them to different soil series, each with its own name. Soil depth is very important to plants, because it means there is a greater volume of soil for their roots to take up nutrients and water. Landscape position also influences the erosion of soil and the movement of water, which in turn affects the soil, decreasing its depth and organic matter content, and then the vegetation. In consequence, the soil series at Blue Sky are generally associated with one of the 4 habitats.
The Visalia soil is found at the bottom, flat part of the landscape, called the toeslope, near the stream. It is formed from particles that have been carried by water from further upslope and deposited at the bottom of the slope. This material is called alluvium. These soils can be fairly deep (60 inches) and are also in a position where the most water is available in the landscape. This is where the riparian habitat and parts of the oak forest habitat at Blue Sky are found. This biome includes trees such as sycamore and willow, which need water near the surface to survive. Because of the lush vegetation found in this biome, the soil has a lot of organic matter (2.5%) in its surface layer (0-12 inches). This soil is usually dark grayish-brown.
The other 3 soils at Blue Sky are located on the footslopes and backslopes. They differ in depth, with the Cieneba soil being the shallowest soil (4 to 20 inches), followed by the deeper Vista soils (20 – 40 inches) and then the deepest Fallbrook soil (40 - 60 inches) and the degree to which weathering has occurred, with Cieneba being the least weathered and the Fallbrook being the most weathered. Due to landscape position, the Cieneba soil is the most subject to erosion and consequently is younger than the Vista or Fallbrook soil series. You can see Cieneba soils along road cuts as you walk up to the Ramona dam. They are young soils that form on slopes (9-85%) from weathered granite. This soil is primarily associated with the coastal sage scrub habitat within Blue Sky but it is also found on the upper north facing slopes that you can see from the Toretto and Green Valley Truck trails. These soils are often rocky (up to 35% rock fragments). They have a surface layer (A) a bit enriched in organic matter (<1%) on top of weathered granitic material that still has some rock structure (Cr) and may have some cracks in it that roots can grow through.
Fallbrook Series Vista Series Cienaba Series
What are the soils where i live?
There is an easy way to find out! Go to the following site:
https://casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/gmap/
Click on Menu and choose Zoom to Location. Click on “Automatically display soil data after my location is determined” and then click Use My Current Location. Allow your web browser to determine your current location.
You will see a soils map of your area superimposed on an aerial photograph. (You can choose other images on which to superimpose the soil map by clicking on the layer icon on the right hand side of the screen.) The name of the major soil series associated with the soil map unit you are located in will appear on the left hand side of the screen. The names of other soil series will appear immediately below that because a soil map unit, though primarily one type of soil, will include smaller amounts of other soils. There is information about the primary soil below this and if you click on the highlighted name of your soil, you can get even more information about your soil!
If you want to explore another location, enter location option, such as Blue Sky Ecological Preserve, and then click on go. You will see the soil map for Blue Sky. Just click on one of the map units to learn more about the soils in that map unit.
Contributed by Susan Riha
Oaks of Blue Sky
Nothing symbolizes the City of Poway more than an oak tree. At one time there were vast groves of them throughout this area.Blue Sky with its north facing slopes, canyon and available ground water, is ideal habitat and has one of the last great stands in Poway.
What makes an oak tree an oak tree?
Acorns! The tree’s fruit containing the seeds.
Since oaks are pollinated by the wind, they do not need to have big, colorful, showy flowers to attract animal pollinators.
Male flowers which produce pollen are dull yellow and hang down from catkins.
The very small, brown, female flowers which, when pollinated, become the acorns with seeds inside.
the 3 species of oaks in Blue Sky
Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia)
This broad spreading species is the largest in size, the longest living, and the most abundant of our oaks. Some have reached 75 ft. in height and 130 ft. in spread, and have lived as long as 375 to 400 years. The name “Live Oak” refers to the fact that they don’t drop their leaves in the Fall like most northern and mountain oaks; they stay “evergreen” all year.
Engelmann Oak (Quercus engelmannii)
This species is rare in Blue Sky. Since it can handle slightly drier habitats, they are often found farther out from the streambed than the Coast Live Oaks. When conditions are very dry, they will drop some of their leaves to conserve water.
California Scrub Oak (Quercus berberidifolia)
This plant is a “true oak” even though it is not a tree. Its body form is that of a shrub, with many small trunks coming out of the ground. It is one of the dominant chaparral shrubs in San Diego county. Forming impenetrable thickets, scrub oaks requires less water so they can survive in a drier habitat. There are many specimens along the main trail in Blue Sky. It sometimes hybridizes with Engelmann oaks. A few of these hybrid oaks can be found in Blue Sky.
Oaks are a Keystone Species
Many other organisms depend on oaks at Blue Sky.
Acorn Woodpecker: Best known for its habit of hoarding acorns woodpeckers drill small holes in dead sycamores or pines, then store harvested acorns in the holes to be eaten during winter.
Gray Squirrel: Squirrels needs to eat the equivalent of their own weight weekly. They will work relentlessly to make sure they have nuts in lean times and can collect and bury up to 50 nuts an hour during high nut season.
Mule Deer: Acorns from oaks are an important food source for deer in late summer, fall and early winter, and comprise about 35% of their diet from September to December.
Oak Gall Wasps: Oak galls are abnormal plant growths found on foliage and twigs that are produced by this small insect. Inside the galls are the eggs and larvae of the insect. The larvae feed, pupate, and emerge from the gall as adult wasps.
Oak-Loving Bolete: These mushrooms shares nutrients with the roots of oaks, forming a mutually beneficial relationship with the tree.
famous oak trees in blue sky
Text and most pictures courtesy of Al Torretto.
Parasitic Plants
Approximately 99% of plants on earth make their own food (sugars) by the process of photosynthesis. They also acquire their water and minerals through their roots and, in rare cases, their leaves, but about 1% of plants derive some or all their nutritional requirements from another living plant. These are the parasitic plants.
All parasitic plants develop a specialized root-like organ called the haustorium, which penetrates the host plant, connecting them to the host’s vascular tissue (veins/pipelines) that carry water and minerals up, and sugar down.
The following are some parasitic plants found in Blue Sky:
Dodder
This orange vine is Blue Sky’s most abundant parasitic plant. Dodder seeds germinate in soil and must find a host plant within a few days. If they don’t find a suitable host the seedlings will die. Seedlings that find a suitable host twine around the plant and insert haustoria into the tender stem. The haustoria penetrate and tap the plant's vascular system for water, minerals, and sugars. They rely upon their host plant for survival. Once the vine taps the host plant its connection to the soil is severed. Small, white, bell-shaped flowers form in late summer and early fall and can produce copious amounts of seeds. In Blue Sky, sumac and buckwheat are favorite host plants of dodder.
Dodder on buckwheat Dodder vine wrapped on host plant Dodder flowers
OWL’s clover
Photo by A Torretto
This common pink/purple spring wildflower is a species of hemiparasite, deriving some of its nutrients directly from the roots of other plants by infiltrating them with haustoria. As a result, its own leaves are small and reduced. Some of its host plants are California poppies, lupines, and California goldfields. Owl’s Clover is an annual plant and must sprout from seeds each year.
Chaparral Broomrape
This plant parasite spends most of its life underground growing attached to the roots of shrubs, usually chamise. It is a true parasite because it lacks leaves and chlorophyll and must take all of its nutrients (sugar, water, and minerals) from a host plant.
The only time you will see chaparral broomrape is when it grows its flowers above ground to reproduce. The dark purple inflorescence of several flowers form a small “Christmas tree” shaped grouping that sticks out of the ground.
Detail of Chaparral Broomrape flowers Grouping of Chaparral Broomrape flowers
Broad Leaf MistleToe
This species of mistletoe is a partial parasitic plant on a variety of trees and woody shrubs in BlueSky. It is usually found on sycamore trees. As a hemiparasite the mistletoe taps its host tree for water and nutrients but contains chlorophyll and can photosynthesize sugars for itself.
The plant produces clusters of flowers with white to light pink berries. These juicy berries are eaten and spread by the phainopepla, or silky-flycatcher. When eaten, the seeds pass unharmed through the bird’s digestive system. If the birds’ droppings happen to land on a suitable branch the seeds stick and grow into another mistletoe plant.
On Sycamore in Blue Sky Berries Leaves Phainopepla
The text and most of the images were provided by biologist Al Torretto.
Butterflies of Blue Sky
Butterfly Facts
The larva (caterpillars) of each species of butterflies eat the leaves of only specific species of plants. Example: monarch caterpillars eat only milk weed leaves.
Adult butterflies have a liquid diet. Using their proboscis, which functions in the same way you or I might use a straw, butterflies drink nectar from flowers.
By traveling from flower to flower to feed, butterflies carry pollen and enable plants to reproduce.
Many butterflies can taste with their feet to find out whether the leaf they sit on is good to lay eggs on and be their caterpillars’ future food.
There are about 24,000 species of butterflies.
Different species of butterflies range in size from a tiny 1/8 inch to a huge almost 12 inches
California Sister (Adelpha californica)
California sister, is common in Blue Sky. The upper surfaces of their wings are dark brown to black with wide cream white bands dissecting both wings and two orange patches near the tips.
The eggs of California sister are green. They are laid singly on tips of oak leaves on the upper surface.
Their larvae (caterpillars) feed on the leaves of Oak Trees. This diet makes them unpalatable to predators.
Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa)
The mourning cloak butterfly is large, With a wingspan up to four inches. The dorsal side of its wings are a dark maroon with ragged pale-yellow edges. Bright, iridescent blue spots line the area between the maroon and the yellow.
Mourning cloak eggs are amber-yellow when first laid, eventually becoming almost black. They are laid encircling the stem, on plants whose leaves that will become the larvae’s food.
Upon hatching, the caterpillars will begin to eat the leaves of the plants, which in Blue Sky are willows and wild roses. They also eat elm leaves, which are not found in Blue Sky.
Western Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio rutulus)
At 4 inches, these are Blue Sky’s largest butterflies. Their wings are yellow with black stripes and blue and orange spots near their tails. They have the "tails" on the hindwings that are often found in swallowtails.
Females will lay green, shiny eggs on the underside of leaves on host plants where the larvae (caterpillars) will emerge to feed on the leaves. The common host plants for their caterpillars are sycamores, willows, alders, and cottonwoods.
Young caterpillars resemble bird droppings and as they molt, they eventually turn bright green, with a pair of large yellow eyespots with black and blue pupils.
Behr's Metalmark (Apodemia virgulti)
This small species (1 in.) is Blue Sky’s most common butterfly. Its upper side is red-brown to black, checkered with black and white spots. It has a brick-red patch on its forewing. Their name refers to the small, golden or silvery, metallic-looking spots commonly found on their wings.
The caterpillar of Behr’s Metalmark eats leaves of its host, California buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum), which is very common in Blue Sky.
Sara Orangetip (Anthocharis sara)
The upper side of the male forewing has a large, orange-red spot with a dark, narrow border. The female spot is smaller with a dark border with white wedges. The underside of the hindwing exhibits scattered dark-green marbling.
Their eggs are orange in color. The eggs are laid on the stems, pedicels, and the bases of petioles of their host plants.
When the larvae emerge, the caterpillars eat the buds, flowers, and fruits of plants in the mustard family.
West Coast Lady (Vanessa annabella)
The upper side of the butterfly is orange-brown with an orange bar at the leading edge of the forewing. The hindwing has 3 or 4 blue submarginal spots. Its wingspan: is1 1/2 - 2 1/4 inches.
Their eggs are green in color, are laid on leaves of their host plants.
Their larvae (caterpillars) feed on the leaves of mallows and nettles in Blue Sky.
Text and most pictures courtesy of Al Torretto.
Come see the Poppies at Blue Sky
The poppies are blooming now, as well as some other wildflowers.
