The different plant communities that make up the Point Reyes peninsula are as varied as the different neighborhoods one would expect to find in a bustling city. As you travel around the Seashore, you pass from luxuriant forests of and , into windswept coastal grasslands. You hike through , enjoying the multitude of shrubs with their different smells and textures, to arrive at a bordering an estuary. Or perhaps you take a stroll out amongst the to look for rare wildflowers on a spring day. These communities are dynamic. One melds into the next, change sweeps through in dramatic and subtle ways so that what you experience during one visit may be quite different when you return. The next generation of visitors, many years from now, may hike the same trail and experience a mature forest where you walked among newly sprouted trees invading a meadow. All of these dynamic plant communities combine to form a wonderfully diverse tapestry of plant life at Point Reyes National Seashore. Enjoy your exploration!
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![An incredible amount of shrubs, all covered in a white fuzz, dominate a hillside.](/common/uploads/articles/images/nri/20240808/articles/0568CB3F-A96E-4D38-5449F6CB6D6A2196/0568CB3F-A96E-4D38-5449F6CB6D6A2196.jpg?maxwidth=200&quality=90) This year, the San Francisco Bay Area Inventory & Monitoring Network’s Botany Team has been confronted by a tenacious trio of problematic species collectively referred to as “broom”. ![A forest viewed from above contains a mixture of green and brown trees.](/common/uploads/articles/images/nri/20230612/articles/F135D543-9957-71A7-8B33FFBCF0EC59B1/F135D543-9957-71A7-8B33FFBCF0EC59B1.jpg?maxwidth=200&quality=90) Sudden oak death is devastating forests along the California and Oregon coast. Infection is particularly impacting the native tanoak tree, an ecologically and culturally important species that has long been a staple of west coast forests. The mass loss of tanoak trees has far-reaching affects, including on biodiversity, Indigenous tribes, and climate change. This immersive story aims to give an overview of the disease, local and wide-scale affects, and management strategies. ![Microscope view of yellowed grass spikelets with long, needle-like awns.](/common/uploads/articles/images/nri/20230227/articles/C39A4657-F81C-B674-5D0BB7514829AF27/C39A4657-F81C-B674-5D0BB7514829AF27.jpg?maxwidth=200&quality=90) Meet GIS Intern Shea Nolan, get a peek at post-field season indoor botany, and test your invasive species ID skills in this fall-winter issue. Also catch invasive species profiles of two grassland troublemakers, Bromus tectorum and Rytidosperma penicillatum, and a native species profile on the charming redwood forest floor groundcover Oxalis oregana. ![Two people collecting and recording data by a road, with a view of the San Francisco Bay beyond.](/common/uploads/articles/images/nri/20221107/articles/3DEC4C4E-AAB1-AA66-DFDEC4F07D619575/3DEC4C4E-AAB1-AA66-DFDEC4F07D619575.jpg?maxwidth=200&quality=90) You'll find coastal wetland wonders, Point Reyes post-fire monitoring, September invasive species surveys in the Presidio, and salt marsh plant community surveys featured in this issue. Noteworthy invasive species profiles include false ice plant and oxeye daisy, and don't miss a native species spotlight on the sticky, strangely shaped Point Reyes bird’s-beak, a threatened species in California! ![Cluster of small light bluish-purple flowers at the tip of a branch covered in glossy green leaves.](/common/uploads/articles/images/nri/20220927/articles/01989491-A142-A47D-D9C8792DB705565F/01989491-A142-A47D-D9C8792DB705565F.jpg?maxwidth=200&quality=90) Internship projects, invasive species early detection surveys across Golden Gate, and plant community surveys in squishy salt marshes and dense Douglas-fir forests are among the features in this August issue of Botany News. You'll also find info on two high priority invasive plants to look out for, parrot's feather and old man's beard, and a native species spotlight on the beautiful, sturdy, and ecologically and ethnobotanically significant blueblossum ceanothus. ![Botanist Lisa Schomaker is pictured smiling.](/common/uploads/articles/images/nri/20211018/articles/D92BD242-F9FE-BF08-25FDEAE19A01AC9F/D92BD242-F9FE-BF08-25FDEAE19A01AC9F.jpg?maxwidth=200&quality=90) Meet Lisa Schomaker, botanist for the San Francisco Bay Area Inventory & Monitoring Network. Discover how Lisa cultivated an early love of the outdoors into a career studying plant communities in national parks. Plus, get Lisa's perspective on what it's like to monitor the diverse ecosystems of the San Francisco Bay Area! ![Two people look down through dense bunches of tall sedges. One holds a tall yellow device.](/common/uploads/articles/images/nri/20220825/articles/5DAA3D79-D2A2-4A59-60BF25D127CCBC5F/5DAA3D79-D2A2-4A59-60BF25D127CCBC5F.jpg?maxwidth=200&quality=90) This July, the Invasive Species Early Detection team mapped invasive plants at John Muir National Historic Site and at Rancho Corral de Tierra and the Presidio of San Francisco in Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Yellow star thistle, Algerian sea lavendar, and Oppositeleaf Russian thistle emerged as noteworthy early detections. Meanwhile, the Plant Community Monitoring team surveyed freshwater marsh plots and shine a spotlight on the ecological benefits of poison oak. ![Two women on a rocky outcrop looking out over a hilly landscape.](/common/uploads/articles/images/nri/20220705/articles/1FE0CACA-D9C1-600B-BEA026D64F31C0EE/1FE0CACA-D9C1-600B-BEA026D64F31C0EE.jpg?maxwidth=200&quality=90) Beyond the breath-taking views that give Bay Area national parks their claim to fame lie incredibly diverse plant communities. Since 2013, National Park Service botanists, seasonal technicians, interns, and volunteers have established and revisited over 150 permanent plots, building a baseline for long-term data collection. This summer's botany team has hit the ground running, enjoying snacks on the hillsides of Tennessee Valley and sleeping beneath the stars in Pinnacles. ![Photo of sunlit oak tree grove.](/common/uploads/articles/images/nri/20211019/articles/0BC50D8C-D5E7-C386-B716C79F8C916C47/0BC50D8C-D5E7-C386-B716C79F8C916C47.jpg?maxwidth=200&quality=90) What impact could prescribed and cultural burnings have on the distribution of Sudden Oak Death? Community plant monitoring bio tech Danielle Parson's reflects on her experiences monitoring oak woodland plant communities that are suffering from Sudden Oak Death. and considers what it would take to collaboratively steward these special places. ![Close up photo of plant with red and green leaves.](/common/uploads/articles/images/nri/20211025/articles/3CADA954-9DBC-D199-7F9268EBB4C29A6F/3CADA954-9DBC-D199-7F9268EBB4C29A6F.jpg?maxwidth=200&quality=90) Although poison oak can cause uncomfortable skin rashes, it is a vital part of California native plant communities. Join biological plant technician Mackenzie Morris as she explores the trials and tribulations of being exposed to poison oak as part of her work stewarding the native plant communities of the San Francisco Bay Area National Parks.
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