Health & Fitness
Spring Wildflowers Are Out at China Camp State Park
The wildflower show at China Camp State Park is just starting to take off in all its glory. Cynda Vyas will lead an easy hike to learn about the beautiful plants and flowers of China Camp.
The arrival of spring heralds the opening of a grand show of colorful wildflowers across the hillsides of China Camp State Park. Friends of China Camp sponsored a free docent-led wildflower hike on Saturday, April 6, taking hikers on an easy stroll around the Turtle Back Hill Nature Trail. Natural History Docent Cynda Vyas led the hike, pointing out plants and wildflowers, and talking about the environment of China Camp.
The first plant that Cynda indentified was right at the trailhead, a big bush of poison oak. There were several children in the group of hikers, so it was especially important that we all learned to identify this plant, which is prevalent throughout China Camp. Poison oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum), can cause severe allergic rashes and itching for many people after contact with the skin. It is a woody shrub, but can also take the form of a vine, climbing up the trunks of oaks and other trees.
As we started off down the trail, we noticed the hillside meadows dotted with the bright orange blossoms of California Poppies (Eschscholzia californica). The colorful poppy is the official state flower of California and takes its scientific name from Dr. Johann Friedrich von Eschscholtz, who visited San Francisco Bay on the Russian ship Rurik in 1821. It was given this name by French-born German writer and botanist Adelbert von Chamisso, another member of the Rurik expedition. Eschscholtz in turn identified the Sun Cup and assigned it the scientific name Camissonia ovata, after his friend Chamisso. Sun cups are very common alongside the trails of China Camp in the spring, and can be spotted by their bright yellow flowers surrounded by a low lying rosette of leaves.
Find out what's happening in San Rafaelwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Other wildflowers out on the grassy slopes of Turtle Back Hill include Blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium bellum), Checkerbloom (Sidalcea diploscypha), and California Buttercups (Ranunculus californicus). The most prominent non-native plant in bloom right now is the ubiquitous Vetch, whose purple blossoms cover the grasslands of the hill. The delicate blossoms of Ground Iris (Iris macrosiphon) can be seen peeking up through the grass alongside the trail. Another trailside beauty that is out in profusion is the Purple Owl’s Clover (Castilleja exserta), which is a favorite with children. Close inspection of the blossoms reveal the origin of the name, as tiny white owl’s faces can be seen amid the purple flowers. Another flower that excites the imagination of children is the Shooting Star (Dodecatheon hendersonii), whose stamens point outward, resembling the tip of a star shooting across the sky, while the petals and sepals jut backward like the fiery tail of a comet.
Off to the right of the trail, Turtle Back Hill gradually descends into the vast salt marshes that line the shores of San Pablo Bay. Sticky Monkey Flower (Mimulus aurantiacus) can be seen in the brush just above the salt marshes, its first flowers coming into bloom now. The sticky resin of the flowers, which will stay in bloom well into late summer and early fall, provided a natural antiseptic to the indigenous Miwok, who used this flower as a natural band-aid. The salt marshes themselves are green and brown now, but will come into bloom later in the summer, providing yet another round of the ongoing wildflower show at China Camp. Gumplant, Jaumea, and Alkali Heath will add their own bright colors to this ever changing environment.
Find out what's happening in San Rafaelwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
We walked around the hill, with the view opening up across the salt marshes to Jake's Island. We then continued into the oak woodlands on the eastern side of the hill, where all four types of China Camp's oak trees can be found. Coast live oak, valley oak, black oak, and blue oak give this forest a rich diversity. As we rounded the last corner of the trail, we came out of the oak woodlands and back into the open grassy meadows. Up on the hill, the first Coast Mule Ears (Wyethia glabra) could be seen making their appearance. We finished off the hike by completing the loop around Turtle Back Hill, after learning a wealth of information about the wildflowers and environment of China Camp State Park.
The Turtle Back Hill Nature Trail is a fully accessible trail that complies with the standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In addition to being accessible to wheelchairs, it also features interpretive panels with Braille signage and tactile elements for the visually impaired. The California Department of Parks and Recreation has developed a series of audio MP3 files to provide visitors with their own guided tour of the trail. Called the Turtle Back Trail Interpretive Audio Tour, the six MP3 files can be downloaded from the state parks website and loaded onto an iPod or MP3 player.
Cynda will lead another wildflower hike on Saturday, April 13, starting at 1 p.m. Hikers will meet at the Turtle Back Hill trailhead and hike the three quarters of a mile trail around the hill. The hike will be cancelled in the event of rain. Call the China Camp Ranger Station at 415-456-0766 to register.