A Sampling of Rare Plants From Ring Mountain
The plants of Ring Mountain are special because of adaptation to the toxic
chemicals commonly found in serpentine soils. The endemic mariposa lily
(found nowhere else) is a particularly rare plant.
The hand sketches below were were done by Helen (Drake) Muirhead. The
text and color images were graciously provided by Doreen Smith of the Marin
Chapter of the California Native Plant Society.
Tiburon
mariposa lily
Calochortus tiburonensis. . .Found only on Ring Mountain
this cryptically-colored mariposa lily was discovered in 1971 by a local
amateur botanist. The leaves are purplish and appear in spring in crevices
between serpentine rocks. The blooms blend in color with the drying grasses
at the beginning of June and last only a few weeks. By July all that remain
are the sturdy seed capsules.
Tiburon
buckwheat
Eriogonum luteolum var. caninum. . .A small annual,this
plant is almost invisible until it blooms, when it is covered in small
clusters of shell-pink flowers.
Tiburon
paintbrush
Castilleja affinis ssp. neglecta. . .While large
and easily-seen when in flower, this plant is almost impossible to find
in its vegetative stage. It is a perennial semi-parasitic on other plants,
like many in its plant-family (Scrophulariaceae). Its distribution includes
several nearby counties as well as Marin but nowhere is it common. Taxonomically
it is related to a much commoner red paintbrush so its name has been updated
to Castilleja affinis ssp. neglecta.
Marin
dwarf flax
Hesperolinon congestum. . .Another small annual,
a common plant life-form in California, to cope with a climate without
significant summer rain. The dwarf flax can occur in masses in a suitable
spring, its delicate pale pink blossoms are rarely still in the constant
breezes on Ring Mountain.
Oakland
star tulip
Calochortus umbellatus. . .An early bloomer, particularly
on the north-facing moister slopes of Ring Mountain. Though apparently
common in this site, its other locations have been taken over by development.
Oakland has very few left. It is not a showy flower but has a subtle charm.
A developing discussion on the diverse biology of Marin beyond Ring
Mountain has it's start here.
The Marin Chapter California
Native Plant Society has provided materials
on the plant communities of Marin.
TSAW
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