naturally I forgot to attach the images. This time I will.
Image #1 This is a closeup of the leaves and acorns of canyon oak. According to the authors of "Oaks of California", this species "probably has the largest acorns of any North American Quercus, especially if trees from coastal hardwood forests are measured." The acorns are certainly large but I think that the bur oaks of the southern states, especially Texas, probably have larger acorns. The leaves are shiny and bright green above but dull and more bluish or grayish below with many tiny golden or silvery hairs. The golden color extends to the acorn scales and this is why this species is also known as goldencup oak. The scientific name of chrysolepis, which means gold scale, also refers to this particular characteristic.
Image #2 Cuyamaca Rancho State Park was mostly recovering from a relatively recent fire. In fact we later learned that it had burned twice in the last few years. This image shows several canyon oaks that burned but they were resprouting...I think from the roots? In some areas where the fire was not as intense, I guess, the trees were able to resprout from the trunk and limbs. Some were able to resprout almost all the way to the top! The leaves of this species can be either smooth or spiky. On old trees the leaves are mostly smooth but leaves from trees that are resprouting are mostly spiky. This image was taken while we were hiking up Stonewall Peak.
Image #3 After leaving Cuyamaca Rancho State Park we went to Palomar Mountain State Park. There were some burned areas here as well but they were not nearly as extensive as at Cuyamaca. This tree was an especially nice one located next to an Employee Residence at the campground. It was 15.5' in girth.
Image #4 A closeup of the trunk of the same tree showing the fairly smooth bark.
Image #5 Looking up the trunk of the same tree.
Image #6 Another nice tree next to a bunch of boulders. This species often seems to be growing among boulders.
Image #7 This is still in Palomar Mountain State Park at the campground within site of the previous two trees. This tree was 17.4' in girth. A nearby tall canyon oak made it into the low 80's in height.
Your post is proof positive of the good side of southern California...I'm seldom a defender, not having ANY affection for high density populations ANYWHERE.
While I've not been to Cuyamaca Rancho SP, I was sent with a USFS firefighting crew to protect the Palomar SP and later the Observatory...I do recall the oaks, but confess that my attention was focused on the big-cone douglas fir, one a few relict stands statewide, and they were doing well there...felt good to be protecting them...hope they made it through the last series of fires that you refer to...mine were during the late eighties.
> Date: Sun, 29 Nov 2009 20:16:02 -0800
> From: dougbidl...@yahoo.com
> Subject: [ENTS] canyon oak
> To: wnts@googlegroups.com; entstrees@googlegroups.com
> ENTS,
> naturally I forgot to attach the images. This time I will.
> Image #1 This is a closeup of the leaves and acorns of canyon oak. According to the authors of "Oaks of California", this species "probably has the largest acorns of any North American Quercus, especially if trees from coastal hardwood forests are measured." The acorns are certainly large but I think that the bur oaks of the southern states, especially Texas, probably have larger acorns. The leaves are shiny and bright green above but dull and more bluish or grayish below with many tiny golden or silvery hairs. The golden color extends to the acorn scales and this is why this species is also known as goldencup oak. The scientific name of chrysolepis, which means gold scale, also refers to this particular characteristic.
> Image #2 Cuyamaca Rancho State Park was mostly recovering from a relatively recent fire. In fact we later learned that it had burned twice in the last few years. This image shows several canyon oaks that burned but they were resprouting...I think from the roots? In some areas where the fire was not as intense, I guess, the trees were able to resprout from the trunk and limbs. Some were able to resprout almost all the way to the top! The leaves of this species can be either smooth or spiky. On old trees the leaves are mostly smooth but leaves from trees that are resprouting are mostly spiky. This image was taken while we were hiking up Stonewall Peak.
> Image #3 After leaving Cuyamaca Rancho State Park we went to Palomar Mountain State Park. There were some burned areas here as well but they were not nearly as extensive as at Cuyamaca. This tree was an especially nice one located next to an Employee Residence at the campground. It was 15.5' in girth.
> Image #4 A closeup of the trunk of the same tree showing the fairly smooth bark.
> Image #5 Looking up the trunk of the same tree.
> Image #6 Another nice tree next to a bunch of boulders. This species often seems to be growing among boulders.
> Image #7 This is still in Palomar Mountain State Park at the campground within site of the previous two trees. This tree was 17.4' in girth. A nearby tall canyon oak made it into the low 80's in height.
I certainly understand why you might want to stay away from much of the more populated areas of southern California but there are always interesting pockets of beauty everywhere you look...even here!
I really don't know exactly what the fire burned at Palomar SP. I wish we had more time there. We got in one afternoon and left the next morning. Not enough time to do much exploring but I was mostly looking for some nice canyon oaks which were very easy to find as they were everywhere in the campground. Only one other person was at the campground the night that we were there. Very nice! Much nicer than our experience at Cuyamaca Rancho SP where some jokers decided to bring the city with them...ugh!
Doug
--- On Sun, 11/29/09, DON BERTOLETTE <forestorat...@msn.com> wrote:
> From: DON BERTOLETTE <forestorat...@msn.com> > Subject: RE: [ENTS] canyon oak > To: entstrees@googlegroups.com > Date: Sunday, November 29, 2009, 10:58 PM
> Doug-
> Your post is proof positive of the good side of > southern California...I'm seldom a defender, not > having ANY affection for high density populations > ANYWHERE.
> While I've not been to Cuyamaca Rancho SP, I was sent > with a USFS firefighting crew to protect the Palomar SP and > later the Observatory...I do recall the oaks, but confess > that my attention was focused on the big-cone douglas fir, > one a few relict stands statewide, and they were doing well > there...felt good to be protecting them...hope they made it > through the last series of fires that you refer to...mine > were during the late eighties.
It's hard to believe, but if you go east of the stretch from San Diego to LA, about 50 miles, you end up in really wonderful motorcycle or sportscar roads going through forests, woodlands, and grasslands before hitting some serious desert country. One of our favorite wineries (called In the Middle of Nowhere Winery!) was started there in the early thirties.
> Date: Tue, 1 Dec 2009 18:45:23 -0800
> From: dougbidl...@yahoo.com
> Subject: RE: [ENTS] canyon oak
> To: entstrees@googlegroups.com
> Don,
> I certainly understand why you might want to stay away from much of the more populated areas of southern California but there are always interesting pockets of beauty everywhere you look...even here!
> I really don't know exactly what the fire burned at Palomar SP. I wish we had more time there. We got in one afternoon and left the next morning. Not enough time to do much exploring but I was mostly looking for some nice canyon oaks which were very easy to find as they were everywhere in the campground. Only one other person was at the campground the night that we were there. Very nice! Much nicer than our experience at Cuyamaca Rancho SP where some jokers decided to bring the city with them...ugh!
> Doug
> --- On Sun, 11/29/09, DON BERTOLETTE <forestorat...@msn.com> wrote:
> > From: DON BERTOLETTE <forestorat...@msn.com>
> > Subject: RE: [ENTS] canyon oak
> > To: entstrees@googlegroups.com
> > Date: Sunday, November 29, 2009, 10:58 PM
> > Doug-
> > Your post is proof positive of the good side of
> > southern California...I'm seldom a defender, not
> > having ANY affection for high density populations
> > ANYWHERE.
> > While I've not been to Cuyamaca Rancho SP, I was sent
> > with a USFS firefighting crew to protect the Palomar SP and
> > later the Observatory...I do recall the oaks, but confess
> > that my attention was focused on the big-cone douglas fir,
> > one a few relict stands statewide, and they were doing well
> > there...felt good to be protecting them...hope they made it
> > through the last series of fires that you refer to...mine
> > were during the late eighties.
> Doug-
> It's hard to believe, but if you go east of the stretch from San
> Diego to LA, about 50 miles, you end up in really wonderful
> motorcycle or sportscar roads going through forests, woodlands, and
> grasslands before hitting some serious desert country. One of our
> favorite wineries (called In the Middle of Nowhere Winery!) was
> started there in the early thirties.
> -Don
> > Date: Tue, 1 Dec 2009 18:45:23 -0800
> > From: dougbidl...@yahoo.com
> > Subject: RE: [ENTS] canyon oak
> > To: entstrees@googlegroups.com
> > Don,
> > I certainly understand why you might want to stay away from much
> of the more populated areas of southern California but there are
> always interesting pockets of beauty everywhere you look...even here!
> > I really don't know exactly what the fire burned at Palomar SP. I
> wish we had more time there. We got in one afternoon and left the
> next morning. Not enough time to do much exploring but I was mostly
> looking for some nice canyon oaks which were very easy to find as
> they were everywhere in the campground. Only one other person was at
> the campground the night that we were there. Very nice! Much nicer
> than our experience at Cuyamaca Rancho SP where some jokers decided
> to bring the city with them...ugh!
> > Doug
> > --- On Sun, 11/29/09, DON BERTOLETTE <forestorat...@msn.com> wrote:
> > > From: DON BERTOLETTE <forestorat...@msn.com>
> > > Subject: RE: [ENTS] canyon oak
> > > To: entstrees@googlegroups.com
> > > Date: Sunday, November 29, 2009, 10:58 PM
> > > Doug-
> > > Your post is proof positive of the good side of
> > > southern California...I'm seldom a defender, not
> > > having ANY affection for high density populations
> > > ANYWHERE.
> > > While I've not been to Cuyamaca Rancho SP, I was sent
> > > with a USFS firefighting crew to protect the Palomar SP and
> > > later the Observatory...I do recall the oaks, but confess
> > > that my attention was focused on the big-cone douglas fir,
> > > one a few relict stands statewide, and they were doing well
> > > there...felt good to be protecting them...hope they made it
> > > through the last series of fires that you refer to...mine
> > > were during the late eighties.
> Chat with Messenger straight from your Hotmail inbox. Check it out
> -- > Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org > Send email to entstrees@googlegroups.com
> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en > To unsubscribe send email to entstrees+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
While it has been several decades now since I have lived there, I've been low-key about my time there.
As a northern California Native (born and raised), I have many friends there, and have travelled all over the state (it's a BIG state, so there's still a lot to see).
You've visited some of my favorite places all ready, and you've chosen some EXCELLENT tree country for your upcoming visit.
I have a 'WNTS Trip Report-Tehipite Valley' coming up soon, that includes the North Fork of the Kings River, from an adventure I had in 1973. Key words might be something like " Gorge of Despair, Tehipite Dome, Castle Creek Falls, "8'dbh western red cedars", rattlesnakes, etc.
I already know my upcoming New Year's resolution! I'm going to wade into decades of slides, negatives, an prints currently closeted or 'storage unit-ed', and import them into the digital image world. There is some good fodder there for WNTS Trip Reports!
-Don
From: garybel...@me.com
To: entstrees@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [ENTS] canyon oak
Date: Wed, 2 Dec 2009 12:53:22 -0500
Don,
My wife and I went out to CA last April to see Big Sur and then drive the different biomes from Big Sur to the east of Joshua Tree NP.
Once you get east of the coast there is lots of open country, isolation, and diverse habitat/niches.
We're going to spend 2 weeks out at Yosemite, Kings Canyon, and Sequoia NPs next May.
Gary
On Dec 1, 2009, at 10:47 PM, DON BERTOLETTE <forestorat...@msn.com> wrote:
Doug-
It's hard to believe, but if you go east of the stretch from San Diego to LA, about 50 miles, you end up in really wonderful motorcycle or sportscar roads going through forests, woodlands, and grasslands before hitting some serious desert country. One of our favorite wineries (called In the Middle of Nowhere Winery!) was started there in the early thirties.
-Don
> Date: Tue, 1 Dec 2009 18:45:23 -0800
> From: dougbidl...@yahoo.com
> Subject: RE: [ENTS] canyon oak
> To: entstrees@googlegroups.com
> Don,
> I certainly understand why you might want to stay away from much of the more populated areas of southern California but there are always interesting pockets of beauty everywhere you look...even here!
> I really don't know exactly what the fire burned at Palomar SP. I wish we had more time there. We got in one afternoon and left the next morning. Not enough time to do much exploring but I was mostly looking for some nice canyon oaks which were very easy to find as they were everywhere in the campground. Only one other person was at the campground the night that we were there. Very nice! Much nicer than our experience at Cuyamaca Rancho SP where some jokers decided to bring the city with them...ugh!
> Doug
> --- On Sun, 11/29/09, DON BERTOLETTE <forestorat...@msn.com> wrote:
> > From: DON BERTOLETTE <forestorat...@msn.com>
> > Subject: RE: [ENTS] canyon oak
> > To: entstrees@googlegroups.com
> > Date: Sunday, November 29, 2009, 10:58 PM
> > Doug-
> > Your post is proof positive of the good side of
> > southern California...I'm seldom a defender, not
> > having ANY affection for high density populations
> > ANYWHERE.
> > While I've not been to Cuyamaca Rancho SP, I was sent
> > with a USFS firefighting crew to protect the Palomar SP and
> > later the Observatory...I do recall the oaks, but confess
> > that my attention was focused on the big-cone douglas fir,
> > one a few relict stands statewide, and they were doing well
> > there...felt good to be protecting them...hope they made it
> > through the last series of fires that you refer to...mine
> > were during the late eighties.
