The Natural History of Foster City, California

by James K. Sayre

a draft manuscript

12 May 2005

Chapter 15 - Sketches about Plants

Edible Plants with edible greens include: Rosemary, Swiss Chard, Sweet Fennel, Iceplant, Curly Dock, Pickleweed, and Cheeseweed (Mallow).

Plants with edible blossoms include: Wild Mustard, Wild Radish and Bermuda Buttercup

Useful Plants include: Blue Gum Eucalyptus (for tea).

Dodder - an orange-colored parasitic plant that grows on pickleweed in marshy areas; tiny whitish blossoms in Septembe. It is also called .i.Witch's Hair;.

.i.Bindweed;, Convolulus arvensis, growing in a crack on sidewalk on Tarpon Street on 6/25/97. It had a white flower. It is in the same family as the Morning Glory. It was originally from Europe.

Gum Plant Grindelia latifolia and G. stricta (var. augustifolia) which grow along the marshy edge of the Bay, sometimes get their roots wetted with salt water when there is a very high tide (+8.0 feet or higher).

.i.Cordgrass ;- found in marshy and muflat areas, partially submerged by tidal baywaters on a daily basis; seeding tassels bloom in August.

.i.Australian saltbush; - planted by city workers between the outer levee and the bikepath; one of few wild plants that is still green in August; pigeons come to eat the tiny ripe reddish fruits in August.

.i.Curly dock; - Rumex crispus - a volunteer plant originally from Europe, matures and produces seeds by May, plants leaves develop beautiful autumn shades of red in May and June.

.i.Ice plant; - Sea fig - Carpobrotus chiltensis - rose-colored flowers & Hottentot fig - Carpobrotus edulis - yellow flowers - from South Africa - planted in vast acreages along the banks of freeway interchanges in California by Caltrans; planted in Foster City by city workers along inner banks of levees - for soil stabilization and beauty.

.i.Sweet fennel; - Foeniculum vulgare - another great import from the Mediterranean area - edible seeds, flowers, and roots - although care should be taken to avoid the very poisonous Hemlock plant of somewhat similar habit - the fennel always has the characteristic licorice-like smell to it - the fennel has a large yellow flower head - the Hemlock has small white flowers and purple spots on its stems; the large field located between Beach Park Blvd, the Bay and the Belmont Slough has a magnificent stand of fennel which is covered with yellow flowers in the summer.

.i.Broom;, the yellow-flowered brooms bloom early in the year; after heavy January 1995 rains, broom bloomed in February.

.i.Filarees; - Erodium spp. - several species grow in this area - all originated in Europe and bring with them many old fanciful English names: Storksbill, Scissors, Clocks, etc.

.i.Wild oats; - Avena fatua - another European import that came early to California with the first Spanish missionaries - in the feed and seed grains.

.i.Annual Italian ryegrass; - Lolium multiflorum - a decorative sort of grass with its characteristic alternating splayed seed pods at the top of its stem.

.i.Foxtail; - Red brome - Bromus rubens - familiar to anyone who has walked through a vacant field in California in late spring or early summer - the seedpods are barbed in such a way as to stay in one's clothing and in one's shoes

.i.Acacia; - Acacia spp. - an import from Down Under - Australia - several different species are grown here as ornamentals, with their masses of bright yellow flowers starting as early as January and continuing into the summer; by late January many of the acacias are blooming in Foster City. Some acacia trees are located near to Hillsdale Blvd: some grow next to the Chevron Station at Foster City Blvd.

.i.Red-flowered Eucalyptus; - Eucalyptus ficafolia - a low-growing tree with beautiful scarlet, orange or red blossoms in the summer (June, July and August) (and basically invisible the rest of the year) - can be viewed along Foster City Blvd., near Polynesia Drive and in other sites scattered around the city including a small grove along the north side of Hillsdale Blvd before crossing over the drainage lagoon bridge towards Pilgrim Drive; some of these trees began to bloom in February, after the heavy rains in January, 1995. There is a single tree growing in the center strip of Hillsdale Blvd. west of Edgewater Blvd. Across the bay in Hayward, several fine specimens can be observed on both sides of the entrance to Route 92 west of I-880; one observed blooming (rose-colored blossoms) in December 1994 and January, 1995, next to Longs Drugs, off of Hillsdale Blvd. Starlings observed feeding on the flowers of the Scarlet-flowering Gum (Eucalyptus ficafolia) on 12 July 1997.

.i.Yate Eucalyptus; - specimens may be observed in parking lot for old library. Features fused seed pods. Buds and blooms in April: flowers are pale yellow-green arranged in a spherical mass.

.i.New Zealand Christmas Tree; - Pohutukawa - Metrosideros excelus - a small tree covered with dark red flowers in early summer - several specimens located on Foster City Blvd. near Beach Park Blvd.

.i.Myoporum; - Ngaio - Myoporum laetum - "The Boring Tree" a small, umbrella-shaped, salt-resistant, wind-resistant tree from New Zealand - one of the original plantings when Foster City was first built - located in many areas - many along Beach Park Blvd. - produces many small white flowers in the spring, followed by small purplish fruits in the summer, which are eaten by several species of birds, including English Sparrows, House Finches, Mockingbirds and Starlings; this tree was introduced to California about the time of the Civil War [McClintock]. It is quite frost-tender so it is only grown in coastal areas of California. Small flocks of Bushtits often visit Ngaio in search of insects. These small gray birds are very active. The can be heard communicating to each other with their high pitched squeaks. A very wet winter, such as January, 1995, will result in the tree bearing its purple fruits as early as February.

.i.Flaxleaf Paperbark; - Melaleuca linariifolia - in June, this paperbark produces masses of white flowers - several can be observed on Hillsdale Blvd just west of the fire station.

Cajeput tree - .i.Paperbark; - Melaleuca quinquenervia - small tree with very papery layers of outer bark - can be observed on the middle divide of Hillsdale Blvd. just east of Foster City Blvd. This species has spread through a major part of the Florida Everglades National Park and adjacent areas.

.i.Santolina; - Lavender Cotton - Santolina chamacecyparissus and Santolina virens - small low, herbs with masses of yellow flowers - can be seen growing in beds in front of the library

.i.Bottlebrush; - Callistemon spp. - a red-flowering evergreen shrub or small tree from Australia - flowers are arranged in the shape of a bottlebrush.

.i.Silky oak; - Grevillea robusta - a tall, stately evergreen tree, from Australia, which produces bright orange flowers in the early summer - other members of the genus Grevillea are small, delicate shrubs, often cultivated by gardeners

.i.Cabbage palm; - Giant dracaena - Corlyline australis - a tall plant, palm-like in structure - from New Zealand - part of the leftover plants from the ages of the dinosaurs - specimens can be observed growing in front of apartment buildings along Beach Park Blvd.

.i.Eucalyptus; - a large genus of Australian trees and shrubs (the latter referred to as mallees) - many species are planted in Foster City, including the Compact blue gum, Ironbarks, the Lemon-scented gum, the Red-flowering gum, the blue box and Lehmann's mallee.

.i.Blue gum trees;; .i.Eucalyptus globulus;; in Foster City two nice specimens of the compacta variety may be seen along the south side of Hillsdale Blvd., just east of Pilgrim; they have white blossoms in the winter; have been planted in many Peninsula locations as windbreaks. The compacta variety features several branches near the ground, instead of the usual single trunk. This variety evolved spontaneously in Niles, California about a century ago. See blue gums planted along El Camino Real in Burlingame. These trees were originally planted as "nurse trees" for the elms planted at the same time. They were scheduled to be cut down, but protests from the local residents scotched that idea. John McLaren, the botanist architect for Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, was also responsible for many of the local plantings of eucalyptus on the Peninsula, including the aforementioned blue gums on El Camino Real in Burlingame.

In Foster City, on Hillsdale Blvd., there are two specimens of blue gums, both on the east side of Foster City Blvd., located on private property on the southern side of the street. Their typical blooming season is December through January, but sometimes it can extend to April, especially at the top of the tree, which is the location of the last blooms.

.i.Pioneer plants; that are among the first to grow on the Shell Beach include Pickleweed, Sickle Grass, Gum Plant, Plantain, Wild Radish and Sweet Fennel.

.i.Swiss Chard;, .i.Beta vulgaris;, can be seen growing along the banks of the outer levee, especially between the Belmont Slough and the saline seasonal pond. It is the same plant as the Beet. In England, Swiss Chard is called Silver Beet. It is a biennal, but is often grown for food as an annual. In this mild climate, a single plant may live several years.

.Lichens ;are small, low primitive plants that can be found growing on trees, rocks, fallen trees, and old lumber. Lichens are a combination of two plants in one: the fungi provides the main structure and the inner layer of algae provides most of the nutrition and energy for lichen through the process of photosynthesis. Lichens have been divided into three categories: crustose (tightly bound to rock surfaces) lichens, foliose (flat, leaf-like or platelet forms) lichens and fruticose (erect or hanging) lichens. The first two categories can be found in Foster City. The third form, fruticose, is often seen hanging from oak trees in the coastal foothills. It is often called, "Spanish Moss." although this name applies to an entirely different family of plants that live in the southeastern part of the United States. Identification of particular species of lichen is difficult and usually requires expert examination with a microscope or strong hand lens.

End.

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