California’s Fading Wildflowers: Lost Legacy and Biological Invasions 9780520934337

Table of contents :
Contents
Illustrations
Tables
Preface
1. The Golden State
2. Pre-Hispanic Herbaceous Vegetation
3. Invasion Of Franciscan Annuals, Grazing, And California Pasture In The Nineteenth Century
4. A Century of Bromes And The Fading Of California Wildflowers
5. Lesson From The Rose Parade
Notes
Appendix 1. Location Of Franciscan Campsites, Franciscan Place Names, And Modern Place Names
Appendix 2. Spanish Plant Names For California Vegetation
Appendix 3. Selected Earliest Botanical Collections Of Exotic Annual Species In California
Appendix 4. References To Wildflowers In The Los Angeles Times, The Desert Magazine, And The Riverside Press Enterprise (Year Ending, July To June)
References
Index

Citation preview

California's Fading FadingWildflowers Wildflowers California's

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California's Fading Wildflowers Invasions Lost Legacy and Biological lnuasions

Richard A. Minnich

U"iIVFRSITY OF CALlFOR!\'IA PRESS

Berkeley

.

Los A/1geles

.

LO/1do/1

Universitv of California Press, one of the most distingui~hed university presses in the United States, enriches lives around the world by advancing scholarship in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Its activities are supported bv the UC:: Press Foundation and by philanthropic contributions from individuals and institutions. For more information, visit \VW\v.l1cpress.edu. University of California Press Berkeley and Los Angeles, California Univetsity of California Press, Ltd. London, England

© 2008 bv The Regents of the Universit) of California Librarv of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

\Irrin~ch, 'Vlinnich, R~chard Richard A. C,ilifornl,~'s nil California's fadmg fading nildflo~vcr-s wildflowers : lost legac\ legal'" :lnd Richard A. .llitiri~ch. \:linnich, biological rnva\ions invasions 1/ Rrchard bic~loglc~~l p. "11. cm. Includec Includes hrhltographrc~l bibl iogra phical reterences references and inileu. index. rssr;: 9 - 8 - 0 - 5 2 0 - ~ 5j~3.- (cloth: (cloth : alk. p'iper) llBI': 9,8-0-\20-25353-7 paper! 1. invasions-California. Plant I . Biological ~ n v , ~ s i o n ~ - C a I l f o r r i ~ ~22.i .. P l~nt in\a~ions-C.~~Iitornla. invasions-California. 3. \Y7ildflo\veri-Calitort~i~~. Wildflowers-California. I. Title. Q1I35F,156

2008

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To my parents, my wife 'and foundation Mavia, and my dnzighters Victoria and Jennj: who are taking on lives of their own arzd In memory of my mother, Mariorz

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Contents

List of Illustrat~ons List of Tables Preface T.

The Golden State

2.

I're-Hispanic Herbaceous Vegetiltion

T

L)

Spanish Explorations The Vice]-oy Mandate and Spanish "Boran~."

10

Calitornia Vegetation in the Sixteenth and Sewnteenth Centurivs

19

Desert Scrub F h e d Coastal CC~lifornia P~7stoand ZLrcatc

21

Bajn California

r8

Southern Calitornia

z9 40

Santa Kai-hara t o hlonterey

J6

25

hlonterey t o Snn Francisco Summer B ~ r r c n sin the Interior

49

Flowers a n d Barrens

6T

5i

;. Invasion

of Franciscan Annuals, Grazing, and California Pasture in the Nineteenth Century

6 (7

The Bunchgrass-Grazing Hypothesis The X'ritten Rccord, Spanish Land Tenure, ~ n Disciios d

67

(;roundar\,11r described the ,illur 1 ~ tans as " ~ I J Lel," c l e d ~l\ I-eteri-~ng to the e.itenil\ e clew t enlents thele. The 1'1 on11 shrub noted \\ as " P ~ l oA d ~ n "In reference to the ocottllo [ Fotrc~~r~ei aplerztferzb). On his 11a1 t o C a r r u o LiTCihn e x F ~ s hC I e t k AIo~mtain,Xrr ~ l l describecl ~ g ~ the region g e i ~ e r ~ c ~ lbased ll\ o n st'ltiments of his Y,lt11e Xmet lcan gurde: "Fxiept n e a the I 11el, the I est 1s ~ 1 1'ind d dl-I." HIS merit of C ~ r r 1 7 0\',~ller In San l l ~ e g oC aunt\ o n Octobel glr es J glinipse of the Important speiics of that '11 e'l. H e T\ I ote t h ~ the t qround d 5 col ered I\ ~ t ihn c s c ~ plant\ l ( A ~ , LeItfc.ci I tr) ' ~ n dt h ~ the t N,ltlr e Cal~tornl'ln\h a l e ('1s a food resoulie) " J lot of ~slesc'll;of other ,eeds, [but he] onli \ a n the to1 ndlo [scre\th e ~ nniesclulte, PI o ~ o p r sp r ~ b c r c e r r ~. .] . in s m c ~ lql u a n t ~ t ~ H . "e n r o t e t h ~ 111 t general b'Ldl the ~ o u t eI t i eled ~ 1s ~ bare hslls, m d those th'it ,Ire next t o the '11 I or o ,lie i a \ lnes of i t e r ~ l e eCllth."H e mmclged to 6nci "t\\ o seepi ,lnd next t o 1' 11111 suffiilent 17as-

Pre-Hispm~cHerhaceoui Vegetation

z5

ture for the horses." Arrillaga then entered San Felipe Valley, which had abundant pasture on the valley floor that he called zac'7tcin salado (salttolerant grass, Distichlis, o r less likely Hiluria). However, "the imrnediate hills, which are fairly high, are entirely without trees or pasture." He left the desert by ascending Banner Canyon to the Laguna Mountains near Julian. During his climb, Xrrillaga wrote that he saw "pasture and abundant mescal, but I did not see any other seeds. The immediate hills are likewise very bare" (October 2 6 ) . In 1776, Francisco CarcCs crossed the Mojave Desert from Needles t o the Mojave River, and then to its source in the San Bernardino Mountains (Coues 1900). His brief diary provides little insight into the vegetation. At a location near the Providence or Granite mountains, C;arces stated that the "road xvus level and grassy" (March h ) , perhaps an observation of galleta grass (Hilaria rigida) that is now abundant at higher elevations of this region. This location seems to be verified by his nest day's observation of "hills of sand" that possibly identify the Kelso dunes. He wrote on &larch 8 that there n7as"sufficient grass" at a location near Soda Lake, n o doubt a saline spring in the region. Pasture did not catch GarcCs's attention again until he struck the Mojave River, possibly near Afton Canyon (hlarch c ) ) . In the following days along the river, he described pasture, riparia11 forests of mostly cottonwood, rushes, wild grape, rnesquite, and "trees that gron7 the screw," believed to be Prosopis pubescens by Coues (1c)oo: 2401114), but more likely Prosopis glnndtilosa found along the river from Xfton Canyon to near Barstow. Garces also described cottonwood forests at Victol-ville, where they are presently abundant. Pedro Fages traiwsed the Mojave Desert north of Los Angeles from the San Joaquin Valley in 177' (Bolton 1931). He found a "niarsh" and "some lands covered with a little pasturage" in the \vestern Antelope Valley (August 8 ) . Near Palmdale, he \vas morc infatuated \vith the grotesque Joshua trees than pasturage, stating that "the land both to the east and south have more and more pnhn groves [Joshua Tree, Yticca brevifolii~]." O n the north edge of the San Gabriel Mountains, Fages saw "a stream full of water," very likely Rock Creek, but said that the area was "without land tor cultivation nor much pasturage in its vicinity." H e found a "swamp full of n ~ a t e r "as he entered the San Bernardino hlountains at the modern site of Silverwood Reserlwir ( o n the West Fork of the hlojave River).

COASTAL CXLIFOKNIA PASTO AND ZACATE

Perhaps the most significant observation made by the Portolri and Anza expeditions was the abundance of pasture for cattle along the length of

the Calltornia coast. Rarel\ n as camp nlade along the11 routes n hen pasture was not ment~oned,usuall) a cllit coast or a mountaln pass c o ~ e r e d w t h shrubland o r oak forest. The Engl~sh erslons of the d ~ a r i e sof Crespl, Altlza,and Font (Brown LOOT;Web de Anza Archives; Bolton r c) j o ~ , b ,1 9 3 3 ) t l e q u e n t l ~translate herbaceous cover as "gr,~ssland," hut is thls 1' i a l ~ dmterpretatlon? While such a translation may impart a realistic description of green cover that is herbaceous, "grassland" also has a taxonomic implication that the cover is dominated hy grasses. Resol\-ing this inherently difficult incongruity requires examination of the original Spanish, and in the context of the late eighteenth century. M o s t Spanish entries use pasto and m e ~ ~ (sL1cate) te to describe dry herbaceous cover, or variations of these n-ords, such as past'7les and zncatcin (see Appendix 2 ) . The VelAzquez Spanish-English dictionary describes zacate, a Nahuatl u o r d from c e n t r d hlewco, '1s "grass, h e r b ~ g e , o r hay." It can also refer to forbs (E. F r a n c o - V ~ z c m ~pers. o , c o r n ~ n . )Pnsto . 1s defined from an agrarian perspectll e as " p m u r e , " m d "the grass \\hlch serles for the feedmg of cattle." The \'elazquez d ~ c t ~ o n a also i \ equates pasto w ~ t hierbu, h w h ~ c hInems a n "herb, a p l ~ n not t possessing a wood! stern, but dymg down after flowermg" ( ~ . e 1.' , &cot iorb). P ~ s t oalso means "green food for cattle, grass (chiefh In p l u r ~ l )p, a t u r a g e and grass." In iem o f these definit~ons,p s t o and zilcilte doubtless ha\ e l arious meanlngs from one reglon to another. Zacnte can refer to a n i form of grass, e l e n a lawn. In the Chlhuahuan Desert, zacizte \\as used to reterred t o Erodltitn crczttnrwn, a dominant torb there, and other ephemeral ground c w e r (A. Kaus, pers. conim.). Other words used for "grass" cons~stentlj refer to plants rn rrparlan settings, not broadscale coler. The n o r d paIon (pmonales),meanlng "tall grass," \\as used onl! once In apparent reference to Sporobolus near a river. At one swampy localltf;, Garces found a plant that looked like rye (centnno),\.er)- likely Ell'tnirs condensatz4s, n o w called wild rye (the whole genus is called wild rye; Brewer 1883). Other words include cavrizo (reeds)and tule, plants that both grow near streams or in swamps. Prndo was used in the traditional usage, "wet meadow." The antonym for "pasture" is esteril, ~ v h i c hmeans barren, sterile, o r unproductive. Perhaps most significant is that words that tradio r z a ~ n t em m tionally refer to "bunch grass" such as gmwza, ~L~batzeta, collado, never appear 111 the dlaries. In a d d ~ t l o n ,the mord gr~mna 1s S p a n ~ s hand refers to a couple o f specles from Spain, but can also refer t o pasturage (E. Franco-Vlzcaino, pers. c o n m . ) . T h e next question 1s whether p s t o and zacate haxe different meanlugs. Thls 1s addressed h\ e x a n ~ n a t i o nof the field draft and the first re-

Pre-Hisp,ln~cHerbaceous Veget'it~on

27

T A B L E 2 . 1 U S E O F PASTO A N D Z A C A T E I N T H E J O U R N A L S O F C R E S P ~ ,F O N T , A N D C O S T A N S O

Dry Herbage (su~nmer)

1

Green Herbage

(writer)

Salt

C respi Costansh Font'

grass

Pate

Zaciztc

Both

Pnsto

2 -

26 21

24 1 -

26

0

9 -

-

8

Z'zcate 5

Both 4

1

vision of the original Crespi diaries (Brown 2001). Paired examination of the texts for each day shows interchangeable use of the words (Table 2.1). O n twenty-six occasions p~nstoivas used in both diaries, and z a c ~ t c tiventy-four times. However, one word in the field draft was substituted for the other in the first revision on twenty-six occasions. Costans6 and Font used pnsto almost exclusively. Since Font's accounts were largely In the ram! s e a o n , when forbs were described, his use of pasto may denote the presence of forbs. Clearl) the words Qasto and zncatc, and their derir atir es used to des c n l x herbaceous cover across coastal CCdiforn~a, represent ox erLippmg, ambiguous meanmg. Brown (2001) translates all references to herbaceous cox er J S "gr,lssland," but does he ha\ e l~censeto make such taxonornlc ~nference?These words mean pasture, i.e., herbaceous coler good for 111 estock, m d n o more should be ~nterredfrom them. ith the seaThe accounts of herbaceous co\ er in Cal~fornlaalso n of C r e s p ) and son of the exped~tions.The Portola e x p e d ~ t ~ o(journal the account of Pal6u of San Francisco occur during the dr!- season. They offer little botanical perspective because the vegetation was cured. Only on his return t o San Diego did Crespi see germinating green cover beginning near San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara. The journals of Font, Anza, and Crespi ( o n his second journey) were largely recorded in the winter and sprlng growing season; they offer more detad o n n d d f l o w ers and their botany as the diarists understood it. The following synthesis of the Spanish journals foc~iseson the taxonomy and distribution of pasturelands, wildflowers-in p r t i c u l a r the ethnobotanical plant, chia (Sal~jiacolunzbar.iizc)-tule sivarnps, and Native American burning of pasture and harvest of seeds. To avoid taxonomic inference in English translation of Spanish words for herbaceous cover, the s u m ~ n a r ybelo\v uses the word "pasture" for both pasto and

zrzsate. Words such as b'grassland" and "prairie"-a mixture of grasses and forbs-are avoided. While the generic use of "pasture" evokes grazing, which ultimately transpired across California during the subsequent tu-o centuries, the term does n o t c o n t ~ i ntaxonomic haggage. The reader d the Spanish exp1ort.r~had n o previous experience wit11 is r e ~ n i r ~ d ethat Ckliforslia other than familiarit!- xvith species closely reL1ted t o those in Spain, o r information obtained hy them from Jesuit missionaries n,ho resided in Baja California before r -66. Instead of tracing individual journeys, the sections that folloiv cornposite the Spanish expeditions regionall!. from south t o north, simul,~ting the a c t ~ ~ route al of the explorations. The first section briefly sums in Baja California from l l i n n i c h and marizes h e r b a c e o ~ ~vegetation Franco-Vizcaino ( r q ~ t i )and , sul~sequentsections include regional descriptions and maps of California pasture irom San Diego and San Francisco. For reference, the descriptions are identified hy p l x e names or calendar dates listed in Appendix I , which also provides the journals' sources. BAJA CALIFOKXIA

The broad distribution of herbaceous vegetation in Baja California parallels the accounts of Cabrillo and Vizcaino in the sixteenth ancl seventeenth centuries, during which pasture desirable for cattle grazing became more extensive as climates became moister lvith increasing latit~ide (Alinnich and Franco-Vizcaino I ~ ) L )1.SThe central desert of the Baja California peninsula was "sterile," and the first good p x t u r e \vas iiescribed a t Valle San Telnlo (lat. 31" h).M o r e extensive pasture 11-as f o u ~ i da t V'alle San Vicente, the plains of Ensenada, L7alleGuadalupe, and the illland basins of Ojos Negros. The outstanding descriptions of ,'\rrillaga and Longinos-Martinez reveal that the surrounding foothills and mountains Lvere covered extensively by coastal sage scrub and chaparral. The best summer pastures were mountain meadows in the pine forests along the crest of the Sierra Juirez and Sierrn Sdn Pedro l I i r t i r . \Y'ildflowers are rarely nientiosled in the Spanish journals. Forage n-as poor in the deserts and, although Crespi described northern Baja California in spring, the propensity of Portolri t o guide the expedition into the brush-covered mountains for secure \vater kept the expedition from the coastal plains and valleys. Crespi's journey crossed the fertile northern valleys in early t o late April through early Ma!; possibly too late for the flowering season. Father Junipero Serra once descrihed flolvers in the open chaparral of the southern Sierra San Pedro hIirtir. but this ob-

Pre-Hispcin~cHcrhxeous Vegetation

2 c)

servation coulcl have referred t o blooming shrubs (Minnich and FruncoVizcaino r 9 9 8 ) . Wildland fires did not catch the attention of the Spaniards. The Porto16 expedition traversed northern Baja Califosnia during the rainy season, a n d storms were reported in the diaries as late as L l a y During their descents of the Sierra San Pedi-o Rlirtir- t o Valle San Telmo, the expeditions saw Native Americans roasting mescal. In I 792,I.o11gi11os-hla1-tir1ez ascended the Sierra Sun l'edro hllirtir in Jul!; after a n unusually wet \\inter. H e saw a stream bursting out along the western escarpment, and t o dissuade the Native Americans of a myth he made them drink \vater o u t of a huge lake a t San Rosa meadow that ivas drowning Jeffrey pines along its shore. Today this lake forms in years with twice normal saintall (e.g., rq8o and 1 9 9 j ~(Minnich and Franco-Vizcaino 1 9 9 8 j . ;\pparently, the vegetation \\--as n o t dry enough t o burn, even in July. AI-rillaga traversed ; a dry winter, ancl the normally reliable Lathe mountains in I ~ L ) (after g u m Hansen in the Sierra J u i r e z was dry. Still, he recorded only smoke columns a t Indian encampments during his four journeys.

5OUTHERN CALIFORNIA

In southern C a l ~ f o r n ~(Eigure a 2 . 3 ) the Portoli eupedltioii SJ\\ mixed p ~ 5 ture m d brushl,~ndsalong the S m Diego c o ~ \ t and , extensir e tloiz ered pastures frorn present-da) Orange Count1 t o Ventur,1. The .Inzcl exped i t ~ o n sof r 774 d i d I-' 5-76 from X r ~ ~ o icrossed la pastuies from Hemet t o RI\ erstde betore j o m ~ n gthe I'ortola erpeditmn route a t h l ~ s s ~ oSan n G a b r ~ e l .N a t ~ v eX~nerlcanst r a t e d the Pm t o l ~e u p e d ~ t ~ ohnd l ) h) off e r ~ n gbaskets of ~ h l a( S a l ~ w ~olz~nzbamzei m d other seeds, e a ~ hgroup sendmg m o r d northward to the next t r ~ b a lleader t o p r e p x e for the expedmon's x r i \ 1' 1.

Crespi's journal in 1 7 6 9 (written on the Port015 expedition) traces the submerged coastline from San Diego t o the south edge of the Orange County plain a t Sun J u a n Capistrano (Figure 2.3). The rivers draining coast\vard trom the peninsular ranges produced a series of beach estuaries t h a t gave w a y upstream t o tule swamps mixed with sycamore forest a n d coast live oak woodland. T h e intervening mesas were covered by dry pasture in summer a n d flower fields in winter, interspersed with patches of coastal sage scrub and chaparral. T h e Portola expedi-

Pre-Hispanic Herbaceous Vegetation

30

X Pasture at a sprinq

Burned qround B Barren

A

0

20

40

60 km

Figure 2.3.Vegetation recorded by Franciscan expeditions in southern California (Brown 2001;Web de Anza Archives; Bolton 1927;Coues 1900; Teggart 1911;Burrus 1967;Priestly 1937;and see Appendix I).

tion encountered pasture burns beginning at Santa Margarita, offering the first of numerous accounts of fires seen along the California coast in 1769. Crespi wrote of cured pasture at all his stops along the San Diego County coast, including the San Diego mission site, Soledad Valley, San Elijo Lagoon, Carlsbad, San Luis Rey, Santa Margarita, Camp Pendleton, San Onofre, and San Juan Capistrano. When the party passed through the San Diego region in July, the dry pasture contrasted with green cover along the river courses and estuaries. Several of Crespi's accounts of "green grass" at several localities near the coast refer to estuaries. This is unclear in Brown's (2001) translation of estero as "inlet" instead of the cognate "estuary." August Bernard Duhaut-Cilly described in 1827-28 "a long sheet of seaweed, stretching more than a league to the south-southwest" (Duhaut-Cilly 1929: 218). The estuary was also described by him as a "floating field," most likely surf grass (Phyllospadix torreyii) in quiet waters and eel grass (Zostera spp.), which resides in the shallow water of bays and in muddy bottoms of the in-

Pre-Hlspanic Herbaceous Vegetation

31

tertidal zone ( M u n z ~ 9 7 4 )Estuaries . were also described a t San Elijo Lagoon a n d Carlsbad. Cl-espi's first glimpse of San Diego Bay took place at the end of the Bajn California journey where, from near Tijuana, he saw a "long stretch of level shore, all the land being well covered with pasture" (hlarch r 3 , 1 7 6 9 ) . In his letter to Paltiu, he described San Diego as "a large, level place in the midst of great meadows and plains, \vith very good pasturage for all kinds of cattle." (Bolton 19'7: 4). However, Font was less flattering ajter first seeing the pastures farther north, stating that there ivas "plenty of grass [zacate],although not as good or so abundant as in other places" (January 11, 1776).H e further added, "This presidio has n o advantages for raising crops nor, consequently, has the mission any." Further north a t Soledad Valle); Crespi wrote about both dry pasture and riparian vegetation: "After a league and a half, we came to a vastly handsome valley o r hollo~l:that because of the greenness, vie\ved while coming down from the tablelands seems nothing other than a field of corn [milperiaj. Having come down to the valley here, where was its greenness consisted of bitter lvild gourds [wlaha:usj, very large grass clunlps [gmtrdes zilcatdnes], a great many greens [quelitesl, many very lush wild grapevines [ p m z s , Vitis girdinna], and a great many rose of Castile bushes [Rosa californica]. . . . This valley . . . has excellent pasture on its sides." San Elijo Lagoon had "pasture-covered rolling tablelands [crr~pstados]"above the flood plain. The wild gourd xvas very likely GtczirbitLz foetidissima in San Diego Count); which is congeneric with familiar gourds in Spain. Likewise, the wild grape and the rose of Castile are also European congeners. The "large grass clumps" (zacattjnes)representing some perennial grass were the usual tule-rush swanlps (tztlar). The valley was not cultivated as a field of corn, as agriculture is not Izno~vn among California Indians except along the Colorado R i \ w (Kroeher 1953).

Similarly, lands around Carlsbad were "very low rolling knolls and

tablelands with good grass (pastas]." O n his \x7ay t o the site of Xlission San Luis Re!; Crespi "went up a grassy hill . . . and over very rolling tablel a ~ l d sand knolls all clad with good dry grass [zocate seco]. . . . We I I I L I S ~ hr~vetraveled a t w o short leagues . . . do\vn to a vastly large, handsome, all very green valley. . . . Its greenness . . . is a great deal o f wild grapevines, looking like planted vineyards [and] many tall grass clumps [zacatciner].There are the usual tule-rush swa113ps Itular]." The expedition next encountered the Santa hlargarita range. Crespi's account illustrates his acute observations of terrain: "We stopped here because a very high mountain range, ever since the day after leaving San Diego, has been con-

3

Pre-Hispanic f-Ierbaccows \'egeration

tlnulng upon our right h m d ( t o the east], and \ \ e no\\ ha\ e ~t er\ close b~ and seem~ngl! runnlng domm t o the sea."' T h e a r r o \ o n h e r e the part^ cCimped "he'irs north ,ind south, l a n d ] there seems t o be m o t h e r hollon Iolning ~t upon the north-northnest," apparentl) 1dentlf)mg T'lIeg,i C m \ o n . For the filst time, the! encountered ek~denceof recent pasture fires. Thelr entlre route that del! ( J u l ~ 20, 1 7 6 9 ) \\ a \ "nmong knolls m d 11111s of sheer soil and e\ er\ thing Ier\ o\ e r g r o \ \ ~1%~lth drv grass [sacatcl b ~ i r n toff here and there b\ the henthem." In Bolton's \ erslon o t the jou~n,il ( I 92- ), Clespi explains that the lands were "hurned hr the I~e'ithentor the purpose of h u n t i ~ l g11~1res m d r,ibblts." On the east slde ot C a m p Penclleton, Crespl "climbed ,i h ~ g h[ p o ~ non t the terrain] n lth a great a m o u n t o t rock. ,After t h s n e came onto ,I ier\ open, rollmg knolls and tablelands ot sheer sod, e\ er\ thing er\ 01 ergron n it11 d r \ g r a s [sacate]."' The f o l l o ing ~ d a \ 'it S , I ~Onofre, Crespl wrote t h ~ the t e x p e d l t ~ o n" M eent a m ~ dthe range of er\ ro11111g 11111s and t'ibleh zu~mte,golng up and d o n n through hollows 1,inds er! co\ ered n ~ t dr! ' i d dr) creeks . . . n ~ t h grand, \er! fine mrate." D ~ r m gthe march t o S m Juan Caplstrano, the e u p e d l t ~ o n " c a m o u t on tLihlelands, lov r o l i ~ n gknolls, hollows, and dr\ creeks . . . ,111 ot ~twell grass-gro~vn[e77zpastsdos = \\ell pCisturedj as be for^."^ As In rllost prerlous camps through the San Diego reglon, the Porroli expecl~tlonc a n p e d among "ver) tall green grasses" (grandes p ~ s t o s i s, u s t a ~ n e dh\ stream water a t San Juan C'ip~strano.C respi ~ l s \\rote o that the\ camped at a "tule-rush nlarsh." C r e s p ~recorded sex era1 large burns north of Sant,i \I,II g,lrlta. O n the east slde of C a m p Pendleton, he \\rote th'lt through "most of thls march \\ e found ~t burnt oft bt the heathens." E\ en at ,l "1 er\ green hollov " there \\as '''1 great den1 of grass [sacate] though burnt off m places." Fard Ier$ open, rolling knolls ther n e s t , a t C a m p Pe~ldleton,he d e s c ~ ~ b e"the a n d tablelands of . . . dr\ grass, though o r e r most of thls march burnt off by the heathens" ( J L I ~21, ) 1769). Again just t o the n e s t , "a tableland u i t h \ e r ) grand pasture . . . and ,111 sorts o t other \ e r \ lush green plants (yerbqes] . . . had heell burnt off b\ the heathens n(ot long ago."' At the orig~rlalI n l w o n slte of San J u m Caplstrano, about r ledgue north of the modern foundation, Font \vrote on Januar) 8, 1-76, that the site ivas called La Quema because Crespi's party saw a b ~ l r nin the "grass patches." T h e journal of Crespi's second journey (in 1-70) and Font's journal of the second Xnza expedition, six years later, give a strikingly different picture of the San Diego coast in the rainy season when the annual veg-

Pre-Hispanic Herbaceous Vegetation

33

etation was in full growth. In his march from San Luis Rey to Soledad Valley, Font wrote that "the country is green with a great deal of zacate" (January 10).O n April 17, Crespi wrote that the vernal herb cover near San Elijo Lagoon was being harvested by Native Americans, similar to what Father Ascencion reported nearly two centuries before at San Diego Bay. Crespi also recorded that the Indians showed displeasure that their harvest was being disturbed by livestock: All the country is very grass-grown with green grass in seed [empastadiz d e zacate], from which the heathens were now plucking their seed crops. And in many spots along the way we came upon a great many heaps of them. Some heathens came over from the village and gave us to understand that, since they were plucking [their seeds] at present and we had stopped in the hollow at a place where they had not yet plucked, we should move onward, and the attempt was made to keep our mount away so as not to [do] them damage, because they gave it to be understood that they were unhappy with their [livestock] eating the seeds.

The next day north near Carlsbad, Crespi was more specific that the harvested fields had abundant wildflowers, stating that his party "met the villages at all of the spots, all of them engaged in plucking the seeds of their grasses [sacates].It is a pleasure to see how the fields are abloom everywhere, and how fine their zacate is." As the journey approached San Luis Rey the following day, Crespi in hindsight suggested that wildflower fields were common, possibly since his departure from San Diego. He wrote that the expedition "crossed a handsome valley. The entire way [on this day] has been, like the preceding ones, very flowery," i.e., the expedition had encountered wildflowers along the entire journey.

San Jacinto Mountains and inteviov valleys of Riverside Pre-Hispanic herbaceous cover in the interior valleys and mountains of southern California was described in the rainy season by the Anza expeditions of 1774 and 177j-76 (Figure 2.3).The diaries of Anza, Garcts, Diaz, and Font (Web de Anza Archives; Bolton 193oa,b, 193 3) describe a remarkable transition from the vast desert scrub crossed in Sonora, Arizona, and southeast California to Mediterranean scrub and flower fields in the San Jacinto Mountains at Terwillinger Valley. Pastures continued from the San Jacinto Valley and Riverside and Mission San Gabriel. The Anza expeditions left the desert at the "pass of San Carlos" opposite Terwillinger Valley. O n the second expedition, Anza wrote, "We came out to level country with an abundance of the best pasturage, trees

34

Pre-Hispanic Herbaceous Vegetation

and grass, that we have seen thus far" since Arizona (December 22,1775). Anza also wrote that "from the pass of San Carlos are seen the most beautiful green and flower-strewn prairies [llanada hermosisimas mui verdes y flovidas]." In Anza Valley he wrote that "camp is surrounded by flowerstrewn and pleasant valleys [esta circundada de floridos] and several snow-covered mountains [Thomas Mountain, Coahuilla Mountain, San Jacinto Mountains]" (March I g, 1774). Font wrote, "Here the country is better than the foregoing, for after leaving the Pass of San Carlos the country completely changes its aspect, in contrast with that left behind on the other side . . . as if the scenery of the theater were changed, one beholds the Sierra Madre de California now totally different-green and leafy, with good grass [yervas] and trees . . . where as in the distance looking toward the California'sea [Gulf of California] it is dry, unfruitful and arid" (December 27, 1775). The descent from Anza Valley through Bautista Canyon to the San Jacinto Valley traversed chaparral and riparian forests of cottonwood, sycamore, and oak, after which Anza (on the second expedition) wrote that the party "came out on a level country with an abundance of the best pasturage, trees and herbs [yervas] we had seen thus far" (December 27, 177 5). Font appears to have captured the germination of annuals with the first rains, stating, "The valley of San Joseph [San Jacinto Valley] is very large and beautiful [hermoso]. Its lands are very good and moist, so that although this was winter time, we saw the grass [zacatito] sprouting almost everywhere in the valley" (December 30,1775). During the first expedition, Anza saw the valley in the full glory of spring: "All its plains are full of flowers, fertile pastures [pasto fertiles], and other herbs useful for the raising of cattle" (March 18, 1774). Impressed by the San Jacinto River and the line of cottonwoods along its banks, Anza wrote that the expedition came "to the banks of a large and pleasing lake, several leagues in circumference and as full of white geese as of water" (March 19), clearly Mystic Lake. The poorly drained parts of the valley had tule swamps like those along the San Diego coast. O n this day, GarcCs noted that "this is a very miry road. . . .The [cottonwood] groves are thickly sown with sacate, one species of which bears a seed much like rye [Zacate]. I have no doubt this is the grain the Gilenos call wheat [trigo], for they [Native Americans] told me there was . . . wheat which they harvested without planting it. There is a . . . very large marsh with much pasturage." Pasture continued west into the Riverside plains. According to Diaz, the party "traveled over plains well grown with pasturage, bearing on the right a snow-covered mountain [Mount San Gorgonio]. Having as-

Pre-Hispanic Herbaceous Vegetation

-

3 q )

cended a s n ~ l l rl ~ d g ethrough a \ e r ) eds) pass [western M o r e n o Vdle? 1, we entered a most beautiful and broad valle? [Rivers~de]"( h l a r c h 19). After crossing the Santa Ana RI\ er, Font made the most poignant ciccount of the 1egetatlon o n N e w Year's d a > of I 776: In 1' word, all this country from the I'uerto de S m Carlos forward is a region ~vhichJoes not produce thorns or cactus. In fact I did not see in all the district which 1 traveled as far as the port of San Francisco any spinous trees [matolzrllcs espi?~ososlor shrubs such as there are in the interior [deserts], except sorne prickly pears [nopirlis] and sorne nettles [hortigizs]which I sal\ near the port of San Diego. . . . Finally, this country is entirely distinct from the rest of America which I h,~veseen; and in the herbs ,md the flowers of y 10 florido de 10s c~~tupos] and alto in the f x t that the the fields [ hI~icrl~~zs rainy season is in winter, it is very similar to Spain. F,irtlm west, Xnza M rote d u r ~ n gboth of his eupeditmns that the p l a ~ n s betmeen the Santa A m River t o San Xntonio Creek In Pomon,l Vdle! hdd good pasturage. In the S m Gabriel V ' ~ l l e ~D, I J Z M rote that the expedltlons t r ~ eled r "7 le,igues t o the northu est o\ er \ er\ tertde p l a ~ n sM ~ t h much p a s t u r ~ g e "( M i r c h 21, 1774). 0 1 1 the second e ~ p e d ~ t ~ Font on, wrote that from "Rio San Antonio t o a t r ~ b u t ~ of i r ~the S m G'ibr~el R n er . . . one enters a Countiy r er) l e e~l m all d~rections,1% h ~ c hU e found kerb green 111 places, the flowers a l ~ e a d jbursting into bloom wheniitzdu y L Z 1~7sf l o ~ e s ] "( J c ~ n u a r?,~ 1776). 111

The t w o Anza expeditions joined the route of the I'ortolli expedition a t Mission San Gabriel. As a consequence, this region's vegetation received detailed accounting a t seventy-three camps from Orange C o ~ ~ nttoyLos Angeles, and from San Fernando Valley t o the Santa Clara River and west t o the Ventura plain. The journals reveal that both the coastal plains and interior valleys o f southern California were carpeted with pasture and flowers (Figure z.3). Specific localities where pasto or zac~ltewas described, from south t o north, include El Toro, Tustin, Yorba Linda near the Santa h a River, La Brea, Puente Hills, San Gabriel V7:111e!; Whittier Narrows, Los Angeles River, west Los Angeles, San Fernando Valley, Newhall, Santa Clara River valle>; and the Veutura plain. Burned pasture was frequently recorded and apparently extensive. Green cover and n-ildflo\vers were recorded in spring. O n e annual herb-chitr (Stzluia col~r~z11aui~zc)-camet o prominence in the Portoli expedition, as Native Americans offered this high-energy food t o the Spaniards nearly every day. The journals also describe gallery forests of sycamore and cotto11-

36

Pre-Hispanic Herbaceous Vegetation

wood along the major rivers in otherwise treeless ~ l a i n s Coast . live oak woodland grew in the Puente Hills and the Santa Monica Mountains. At San Juan Capistrano, the Portola expedition left the hilly coastal terrain of San Diego County and, in the words of Crespi, "came down to a spacious lain whose limit was lost to the eye." From near Irvine, Crespi noted, "There is not a tree toward this quarter, nothing but ground and grass [pasto]" (July 24, 1767). The ravine "had all been burned off by the heathens." East of Tustin, he wrote of extensive partially burned pasture: "All of this canyon, hollows and knolls [are] very grass-grown with dry grass [empastada de sacate seco]. . . . We traveled over very open country of very low rolling knolls and tablelands, all very grass-grown. We came onto a large plain, all sacate, although [it was] burnt off by the heathens" (July 26). He made clear the vastness of the pasture the following day, stating, "The size of this flat is vastly great in leagues, all grass grown with dry sacate." The expedition crossed burned pasture in the plains immediately south of the Santa Ana River. The San Gabriel Valley was described as having "very grass-grown soil [empastada] and which must be at least six leagues in length from east to west" (July 3 0 ) . Crespi also wrote that the area was an "exceedingly spacious valley of dark soil, all burnt off by the heathens." The Portola expedition crossed a swampy region and identifie,d a different riparian grass at the San Gabriel River. According to Crespi, the party "went WNW through fields of dry grass [pajotzales] and thickets, which detained us for a long time as it was necessary to clear a path at every step" (July 3 I ) . Crespi ~ contrasted the dry fields with the lushness of the Porciuncula (LosAngeles) River, which contained "very large, very green bottomlands, seeming from afar to be cornfields [milpas]" (August 2 ) . West Los Angeles was clearly identified by the La Brea tar pits, described as "large marshes of a certain substance like pitch; they were boiling and bubbling, and the pitch came out mixed with an abundance of water" (August 3 ) . To the west the party traveled "across level tablelands of . . . very good dry zacate" (August 4 ) . Near Ballena Creek, Fages "passed by two leagues of well grassed fields which skirt the range," i.e., the herbaceous cover reached the base of the nearby Santa Monica Mountains. The San Fernando Valley, as seen from the crest of the Santa Monica Mountains, was also covered with extensive burned pasture. Crespi wrote in his journal, "This is a large valley . . . very grass-grown soil [empastada], though most of it had been burnt off; many patches however had not been, where pasto still showed" (August 5 ) . In his field draft he wrote, "The valley has all been burnt off, but to us from the height looked to be

Pre-Hispanic Herbaceous Vegetation

37

fallowed cornfields." Pasture and burns continued to Newhall, where Crespi offered additional speculation on Native American burning, stating that the expedition crossed a "high pass, clad with dry sacate wherever it had not been burnt, as almost all of it had been, by the heathens, who perhaps burn it so that the grasses and plants [yerbajes] they subsist upon will give them a better yield of seeds after the rains" (August 8 ) . Descending the Santa Clara River, Crespi wrote that the flood plain consisted of "very good soil, very grass grown [empastada]with very tall broad grass," again in riparian habitat. Crespi's field draft states that the Ventura plain was "very grass-grown flat land, widest in extent from east to west [empastada de sacate]." In his first revision, Crespi indicated the extensiveness of the pasture there: "From this point onward, the land makes a very large embayment of flat, very grass-grown soil [llana m u i empastada] some five or six leagues in extent from east to west" (August 13). Fages described the area as a "spacious plain which stretches southward and westward to the sea; it is well grassed" (Priestly 1937: 46). He even proposed a mission site along the Santa Clara River (Mission Buenaventura), in part because of the "grassy fields" there. This section of the coast was also extensively burned. Fernando Rivera y Moncada, the military captain for the Port015 expedition, wrote on April 24, 1776, that his boat, passing outside the Santa Barbara Channel, landed at the Santa Clara River where "the gentiles destroy and consume the pastures with their burnings" (Burrus 1967: 3 10). The writings of Crespi and Font record green pasture and flowers across the Los Angeles plains in winter and spring. In early winter, the Port015 expedition returned to San Diego and the second Anza expedition returned to Mission San Gabriel, and diaries from both capture pastureland in the early growing season. In southern Orange County, Crespi wrote, "It is a pleasure to see what good green grass [sacates verdes] there is at all places" (January 19,1770). He also wrote that "the whole country [is] now greatly pastured [empastada] on all sides with very good sacate." Mission San Gabriel had "fine pastures for cattle and horses" (January 5,1776). Along the new "short-cut" near modern Highway I O I from Ventura to Los Angeles, Crespi saw a "a very sightly valley covered with pasturage" at Thousand Oaks (January 13,1770). El Triunfo were "plains of considerable extent and much beauty . . . with much pasture" (January 14). Font and Crespi also saw the Los Angeles ~ l a i n sin vernal flowering season. Font first suggested the presence of forbs on January 7, 1776, at the Santa Ana River, where "the road is almost entirely level, except for some hills about halfway, and all very green and covered with zacate and

Pre-Hispanic Herbaceous Vegetation various herbs [hierbas], among which is found a species of very small wild onion [cebollin]," very like a species of Allium. A month later into the growing season (February 11), Font gave a detailed account of wildflower fields in Orange County, flavored with nal\'e European taxonomy: Today Today I counted twenty-seven twenty-seven hills which whiz11 we ascended 'lscendrd and descended. descended.

Among the infinite variety of Oowers, flon-ers, such as as tulips and others of verv \er!diverse colors colors and very ver!. pretty, pretty. with \\.it11 which \vhich from from now no\\- on o n the fields, fields, groves, groves. and valleys of those lands I'lnils begin to be he clothed, clothed, I saw sal\- several se\rral like those in Spain. Spain. Among them are are some verv yes:- pretty and , ~ n dsmall ones ones with n-it11 five five petals, which \vliich look like a face, face, exactly exactl! like those which \vhich I1 saw salv in some gardens gardens in Cataluna (heartsease] Catalufia and which nhich are there called c'1lled pCIIsamiclltos p~izs~~ii~i~;ztos /Ileartseasej with u.ith only the difference that those are arc yellow yellou and somewhat brown hro~vn011 on the edges e d p of the petals, petds, while nhile these are x c entireh' entirely vellow !-ellon- and , i d have no odor.The T h e tulips may m a j be he the California C a l ~ f o r i lpoppy p~ o, ~p p ~(Eschscholzia (Eschscbolitt~calilornica), c ~ l l f oNi I C L ~ which )\I , h ~ c h fix c-petaled species may nia\ be a species species l ~ k the e European tulip. t u h p . The T h e five-petaled is shaped like of Layia. L a p . Font's language implies m p l i e s that t h a t the t h e flower f l o er ~ fields fields covered c o ered ~ the whole \\hole landsca pe, i.e., the land\cape, t h e fields, fields, groves, g r m es, and a n d valleys. \ d e \ S. F l o \ ~ e rfields were \\ere also seen in In the t h e direction of Los Lo\ Angeles. Angeles. At A t the the Flower Porciuncula River (the ( t h e Los Angeles River R11ei near ne'lr the modern m o d e r n Civic Cit IC CenC ellPorcilll1cula t e r ) , Font F o n t stated that t h ~ "the t \\ a s very 1er1 green gleen and ,lnd flower-strewn" flon er-stre\\ n " (Feb(Fehter), land was r u a n 21). 11). ~ o r t r a ~ the tehde San Fernando F e r n m d o Valley \'alle\ similarly: sirnilarl\ : "The " T h e valt alruary Crespi portrayed [ ~ t a t uerdeJ ~e w d e and a]n d 1s very \ e r p much m u c h grown g r o u n over m e l - with 1 ~ 1 t green h glass lsacate le? here is grass ley T a r m u s kinds k m d s of o f flowers; flolters; as '1s at a t the t h e rivers rir ers behind hehind us, there is a great deal various hich is I S all all in bloom" b l o o m " (April (April 27, 21, 1770). I 7-01. of chia, t h u , which Crespl's a c c o u n t of t h e chra 1s o n e of m m ! observations o b s e n c ~ t i o n of s this this anmCrespi's account the chia is one many IILLII wildflower U ildilo\\ e r throughout througliout southern s o u t h e i n California, a l ~ t o r n i a because , t h ~ herb hs e r b was nas nual this a n important food f o o d source source among a m o n g Native N a t ~ er Americans ,Irneiicans (Timbrook ( T m h r o o k et e t al. al. an 1982). It was w a s clearly clearl) an XI important ~ m p o r t mmember m t e m b e r of the the wildflower n ildflon er fields. fields. Brown B l o 11~ 1982). (1001)accurately ~ ~ c c u r ~translates ~ t e l ~ the t h e Spanish S p a n ~ word nh o r d chia C I J I L Z to t o "sage," "sc~ge,"because it~t (2001) 1s a member m e m b e r of the t h e genus genus Saluia Salr~a(columbariae). (colurnbatlac). However, H o n er er, his h ~ English s is t r , l n d a t ~ o nleads leads to t o confusion c o n f u s ~ o nwith 11it11 shrubby s h u~b b \ members n l e i n b e ~s of Saluia Salrfi1~7 111coastal coast~l translation in sage scrub, called saluia saliva in Spanish. S p a n k Hence, the t h e original o r i g ~ n aword n l o r d chia chra isIS used sage here. here. W h e n the t h e PortoLi Portola expedition e x p e d ~ t i o ncrossed c ~ o s s e dthe t h e northern n o r t h e r n plains p l a ~ n sof Orange Orange When C o u n t ) from f r o m Santiago S'lntiago Creek to t o the t h e Santa Ana XnC1River, R i ~ e r the t, h e same same area arecl of County flower flon e r fields fields described described by bx Font F o n t seven set e n years e'lrs later, l,lter, Crespi C respl gave ga\ e the t h e distrid~stslch1'7 in 111 relation to t o the the local landmarks. landmarl 111e oaks show u p upon the knolls and skirts of the m o ~ ~ n t a ~nn hs ,~ c h are bald [pcloizns1, but a fen plne trees are 1 ~ s ~ bon l e the surnlnits of the neal est n ~ o u n t , i ~ n s(September " 111,i n o s t l ~ghost pine ( P I ~ ~I u Sl ) ~ n ~ u n t ~ ) and Coulter pine (P. c o l ~ l t Ie )~. The follou ing d'tt C r e s p ~a m r ed a t Ragged Polnr, \I here the l m p x s a h l e c o d i n e torced the expedition t o I ~ O eT ida and cross the S a n t , ~L u c ~ aM o u n t a ~ n s Approaching . camp the\ found "rolling knolls clllJtablel,inds, d o s e t o sect w ~ t hT. er\ good so11and s i r ~ a t ebut 'ilso more burned p,~rture." The! made c'irnp m a sim~ll~ire'l of good pasture "that had not heen hurnt." Cre5pi's return trlp t o San D ~ e g otra\ ersed t h ~ sp o i t ~ o nof the c o a t durmg the earl1 wlnter I'linj season, a n d he recorded the mass germination o t annuals t h ~ had t not 1 et t ~ k e np l x e 111 the colder weather h ther north. H e \\ rote, "As we had had raln a nhile b ~ c ku p COLIII~I-T, \\ e h a ~ been e finding thm shoots of ~t d u ~ i n gthese last d a l s ' ~ilarches,but alread\ there 1s good sucatc here" (December 2 2 ) . O n his second journe!, C ~ e s spa~w floncr fields along the base of the h n t a I ucici h l o u n t a ~ n s .Near San Simeon, he wrote tliClthe "saw halt dozen n o m e n gathering seed during the d a j ' s march; but the wa\ the fields are ,tbloom o n ,111 s d e s 111 a splendict sight." H e also s'in ~ l d f l o n e r fields ascendmg Arroyo S m C,lrpoforo a t the U esteln base of the range: "It IS a pleasure t o see h o w flou er\ and well-pastured the m o u n t m l s are" s Crespi's last o b s e r ~atlon of floner fields, ( h l a r 16-17, 1 7 7 0 ) . T h ~ \\,is as the remaindel of his second journei t o AIonterei took place 111 the x m e r Interior of S a l l n x V a l l e ~ after , I\ ~ldflowershad completed their '~nnualgram th ckcles. CI

Santa 1,ticia M o u n t a i n s a n d Salinus Valley

The Portola journey tried t o stay xvithin eyeshot of the Pacific coast a t all cost, relying o n the navigational accounts of the Vizcaino expedition.

Homever, the cliff coast of the Santa I ucla ~ I o u n t a ~ fmced ns the exped ~ t i o n~ n l a n do i e r the range a t LArro\o S m C a r p f o r o , where the) descended Into the San Xntonio m d S\;dc~inientodramages before reachrrig the Salmas Vallel near Kmg C i t ~( F ~ g u r e2.4). For the second tlme 111 the journey, the expedition brlefl~departed the C a l ~ f o r n pasture ~a along the crest of the inounta~ns.Crespl descr~hed" t r e a c l i e ~ o ~slopes" ~s M~ t h dense oak woodlands and plne (September 16-20, 1-69). Xrro)o San Carpoforo had "no sod, but l a s t ~ n ~ o u of n tstone." On 111s second lourne), C r e s p ~saLv a local patch of a p e s s (~lt17es) in this area, one of the r,ue grobes of Sargent c) preis (Clrpwsstis snrge?ztu)in the southern C o ~ s t Range (,Xi)18, 1 7 7 0 ) .This Crespl exped~tionm m e d the southern~tlost grobe of coast redwood (Sequom senzpcr~~lie?2s) b\ a single c a m o n (ca. 5 k m ) , although the Anza expedition sel en )ears later heard rumors of ~r 111 the Santa L u c l ~LMountalnsfrom Narir e Cnllfoinians. Once o\er the first crest of the range, C r e s p ~n rote that "thls h ~ g hr'lnge, once clmibed, i~a not tollsome to get do\\ 11 from, as it n a s 1-olllng descenti, n ~ t sheer h so11 and plent~fuldr\ smcate" (September I-, 1-69). The Portola part1 1% 1 ' 5 not d~sappo~ntecl: the mterlor S'~nt,i I u c ~ hi l o ~ m t a m shosted magndicent stands of ~ d l e )o,iI\, c o a t h i e o ~ k and , ghost plne, '1s \\ell as extensi\e paitule, " l ~ k ep r h i In Europe," n ~ t hevtenslr e undei-stor~of part~,illr burned p'isture. At Jolon \ ' ~ l l e \ ,C r e s p ~n r o r e the "teriain gets e'liler, . . . lth drr grass [pasto d c -.L7cLltel gettlng e\ el bettei, n h e ~ eel\ it \\as not hurnt" (5epteiiiber 24). The\ camped In pal t ~ a l lb~ ~ i ~ i l epasd rule a t the San Xntoiiro RI\ er near Jolon, and ~ h o u Tt O !dometers north of ]olor1. 6) the tlme of the second X n r , ~e x p i d ~ t ~ oInn I - - $ - - h , the S p m ~ , l r d s ~ ~ e dthrough had d r e a d \ d r s c o ~ered another sho~tiut-a n e l l - p c ~ s t ~ioute C uesta P'lss, Xtascadero, ~ n LI~siron d San Xntonio to C ~ c i p i ' sroute In the Jolon VrCllle\.Although Font sax\ the reglon in c,ul\ Ll,lrch, he n r o t e that the art.'] '1s mostl\ dr) becauie the1 e h d been l ~ t t l er a n . Betn eel1 u e m Pasi and Psso Rohles, Font saw "1 er\ green m e ~ d o sn [pli1do5]" \T ith r h e ~ ra r m \ os, n hich f o ~ m e dthe \antcl \laigaiin,i ( S a l ~ i ~R~I \~ers ) (5la1-ch1,17-61. Font 'lppeas to ha\ e bten descrilmg cir\ ing plstule, I\ it11 green forclgefollon lng the I 11er. Eron1 hliislon \,in Antonio t o I( ;OI ] " 1. H I So b s e r ~'itlons of a Imdscape ot rodent t ' l ~ l ~ n gsuggest s that legetatlon \ \ a s too s p d ~ s et o o b s c ~ ~ them. re Ne'lr the top ot Tejon P ~ s lie s \I '1s reg'1led 11 ~ t ~hI J I L (I S J ~ L( 0~/ 1 1K1 ?I1 h 1 1 111e).one ot tlie d o m n a n t herbs 111 t h ~ t x e a (T\\~sselmannr q h - 1. C r e s p ~Eont, , and LAiiza'111 recorded r'lp~dc h m g e 111 h e r b a i e o t ~ scol er \\hen the1 marched from Concord across \ l o ~ n tDl'lhlo to nltness the 1 ast C entral \'alle\ (Figure 1.5 i. C r e s p ~" s ~ nt h ~ the t land opened mto 1 ' great pIc~ln '15 I a e l '1s the palm of the lic111d. the \ ~ l l opening e ~ ,lbo~lt half the quadrC1nt,slrteen quarteri f t o m the n o r t h n est to the southe'~it, ~ l lelel l I m d as t'ir as the e \ e co~ilclr e , ~ c l ~(' 'l l x c h 30, I - - 2 ) . Ilescend111sthe east side of AIo~inti31~lbl0 t o 1 4 n t ~ o ~Font h , n rote, "The 1,111d TI( er

:ure a t a sprinq or river lmer pasture 'en

Figure 2.6. Vegetation recorded by Franciscan expeditions in the Central Valley (Cook 1960; Coues 1900; Priestly 1937; Bolton 1927; Web de Anza Archives; and see Appendix I).

.j8

Pre-Hispanic Herbxtmus Vegetation

\vhlch me trat eled \\as 1er! d r ~. . . and for thls reason the zacate 1% as q u ~ t edry" (Xprd 3 , 1 7 7 6 ) . Xnza had the same oplnmn. K7hile the north flank of Rlount D n b l o hosted a "good msatt~-co1eredplain," X n t ~ o c h \ v ~ s"a very sterlle and d r j plam [Ilano I~ilst~7~zte1~ze1lte este~rl,1,seco]." Three leagues south of A n t ~ o c hFont , described the p l a n as "an a n d salty land, all n a t e r and mud flats" ( X p r ~4l ) . H e reported onl) one hurn In the tule swamps; 111 hls short journal he stated that " n e trod 01 er spongy decal ed ground colered wlth d r ~ e dscum, \T ith such an acrid dust arlss 1ourn~11, Font wrote, "TravIng from the ashes of burnt reeds." In h ~ long elllng south fro111 San Joaquin RI\ er, the part\ tra\ eled more than three leagues to the southeast m the midst of the tulii~es,\\ hlch for a good stretch were dry, soft, mellow ground, covered 1 ~ 1 t dry h s h e and w t h 1 ' dust n h ~ c hthe n lnd r a s e d troni the ashes ot the burned tule." H J I lng g1t en up t h e ~ rgoal of crosslng the "mmense" t a l l e ~to the Slerra Ne\ ada, Font m d the second Xnza expedition returned to the Coast Range, w h ~ c hwas descr~hedas "bare hdls" near L11 ermore Valle\ (Pdtterson Grade). Font was e m p h a t ~ cabout ho\v d~sagreeablet h ~ slandscape was, statlng, "In all the journe! t o d a j \ \ e d ~ dnot see a slngle I n d ~ a n , finding onlt human tracks stamped In the dr) mud. It appeared t o me that the countrv is so hare that ~tcould not easil\ be ~ n h a b ~ t eb)d h u n ~ a n be~ngs.At least I was left w t h no deslre t o return to tratel through lt, for . . . I had neher seen a n uglier i o u n t r \ " ( h p r ~4l ) . Xnza's perspectn e TT as s ~ m ~ l a"A11 r : of the countr) e e tr;i\ ersed todal, 1 ~ 1 t hthe exc e p t ~ o nof that w h ~ c hhas tvater, and the stretch \\ 1 1 ~ 1 1n e ha\ e traveled the last hdls is barren o f any pasturage [estenl dc todo parto], o r brush o r trees, a n d apparently it contmues that \z a) toward the east [m the dlr e c t ~ o nof the San Joaqum Vallev]." L h z a also \vrote that the D ~ a b l o Range south of L~vermorehad "\er) llttle pasturage" (Xprd j). These accounts of the Central Valle\ re\ eal a s t d i n g g r a d ~ e n 111 t the phenology of herbaceous cover. Summer heat had alreadt d r ~ e dout the ground cover, while the same m rlters crossed extenslt e flower fields of s the East Bay only three d a ~ before. In the early I Xoos, the Franc~scanssent out exped~tlonsto determine hether t o expand settlement and rnisslon a c t ~it\ i ~ n l a n dmto the Central V7alle) and S ~ e r r aNebada, first seen 171 F'lges and Crespi in 1 7 7 2 and b) Font and A n ~ in a 1776. Two km e x p e d ~ t ~ o n n sere undertaken h) Jose hlarla de Z a l v ~ d e aIn 180 j and h! G a b ~ ~ Mor'iga el the follonlng \ear, from whlch w e have the journal of Pedro Xluiioz (Cook rqboa,bi. The Za1t ~ d e dand hloraga e x p e d ~ t ~ o n sere folloned b\ a n u r n b e ~of smaller excursions into interior California before such explorations ceased ~ v i t h

Pre-H~spanicHerhxeous Vegetation

5 C)

the Mexican Revolution and the inevitable decline of the mission system beginning in the 1820s (Figure 2.6). The journals of these expeditions d o not have the same level of insight as those of Font o r Crespi, but the bleak images o f barren lands in the heat of summer did not demand sophisticated descriptions. In 1 8 0 j, Zalvidea explored the southern San Joaquin Valley (Cook ~ 9 6 0 2: q j - j ~ ) .The party left Mission Santa Barbara and crossed the Santa Ynez hIountains to Mission Santa Ynez. From there, the expedition traversed the Sierra Madre to Cuyama Valley on to Lake Buena Vista, Kern Lake, and the Kern River in the San Joaquin Valley. The Zalvidea expedition provided an unwelcoming assessment of the southern San Joaquin Valley. The western and central Cuyama Valley was "arid a n d saline [lvithl . . . n o grass" (July 22-23, 1 8 0 6 ) . The eastern Cuyanla Valley, was "arid, without herbage . . . [but] pasture grew o n the nearby hills" (July 24). The southern San Joaquin Valley and Lake Buena Vista was a labyrinth of t d e s surrounded by barren land. ACcording t o Zalvidea, the area "consisted of extensive plains. In quality the land is alkaline. The shore of the lake is completely covered with a great deal of rule. Elsewhere, and in the hills bordering the plains, I saw neither pasturage nor watering places." Areas northeast of the lake "have little zocate" (July 26). At Tejon Creek, Zalvidea "traveled about four leagues over arid, slightly grassy plains." H e made a n unflattering cornparison between the San Joaquin Valley and lands around an interior Southern California mission: "All this territory is similar in character t o that around Mission San Gabriel," suggesting that the forage a t San Gabriel was also of lo\v quality (July 27). H e then took a foray toward present-day Arvin, where he described the valley generally and even identified some summer herbs. H e wrote that the southern San Joaquin Valley "from north t o south . . . is surrounded hy hills which make a seniicircle. All this territory is covered with a species o f herb which has a little stem with a yello\v flower, the stalk being n o more than a quarter [ o i a yard] high. All the hills which encircle this area have also a little herbage t h a t . . . is not very dense" (July 28-30). The flower appears to he a tarweed (Hemizoniaspp. or Madia spp.). Zalvidea estimated the carrying capacity for a future livestock economy: "X11 the hills which encircles this area have also a little herbage such that, although the vegetation is not dense, the great extent of the ~ l a i n s will make it possible to maintain twelve thousand head of cattle." The expedition then traveled "four leagues north over pure plains with a lit-

tle gr.~ss" and r e x h e d the Kern Ri\ei-, \\here "all the teirltor! 1s alka11nen it11 some grass. To the north \\ ere bare hills" (August r ).Kern Lake ith llttle p s t u r ~ g eZ. a 1 ~de'i ~ e s t i ~ m t e dt h ~ "from t \\as Immense plain 1% the end of the lake t o the ri\ers elght t h o u s m d head of cattle could he m ~ ~ n t a i n e d .The " e s t i i i ~ t eco\ers an '1t-ea o f ~ h o u tyo,ooo hectares. Hence, the area could suppost 1' densltl of about one head per 10 hect'lres. Z a l i ~ d e aleft the d e l follon ing G1 ape\ me Can\ o n t o Tejon P ~ s and s tra\ersed the southern edge of the IZIolale Desert t o n e u C ~ I \ e r n o o d Keserl olr of the Ssn B e r m r d m o llountalris, before returning t o h l i s i ~ o n 5'1n Gahriel. The hlor,lg,l e x p e d i t ~ o nof r 806, froni hlch n e ha\ e \Iutioz's journal, recorded l ~ r r e nlands and poor p,lst~u-ealong the length of the C en(Cook 1960; \S7ester I 98 1). Tule s n ~ r i i p s ,meadon s, aller t r ~ V'llle~ l oak noodlantls, a n d r i p r i a n forests gre\\ long the floodpla~ns(Figure 2.6). The e x p e d ~ t ~ odeparted n h l r i s ~ o nCan Tuan Bautlsta o n the coastal slope of the Diablo Range, \\ here nearb) 5'111 Benlto Creek was ''A great pl,i~n ell c m ered \\ lth torage" (5cptemher 2 r ). The part! crossed Pecheco Pass Into "s,llme" land\ of the Tulare P1~11i~t \ m Liiis Creek (Septeniher 2 ; ) m d then entered a dense ,lrr,ll of distributmes 'ind s\\ ,imp o t the Alerced RI\ tx. n h ~ i h\r as "some\\ hat saline m d \ er\ heal 11) co\ered 1t11green egetatron ar thrs se,1son" (September 2;-24). The 5a11 Toacl~unRI\ er ~ t i e l fhad "fine meado\\ s of good land and excellent pasture" (September 2 5-26). N e x present-da\ A l e ~ c e dthe , pxt\ , tules, In the m ~ i l sot t n h ~ could h pushcd thro~:gh"'1 league of h ~ g hthrch be seen a few cle,~rrngs\2 ell col ered L\ 1t11gr'lss." T1ie.i camped in the tule swamps ~ n concluded d that "the l ~ n d1s r e , ~ l lm~ l s e r ~ b l e Salt . flats and hurron s are all that alkalr patches, \\ it11 the innumcr,lhle ground iq~111rc1 one can sec." The forage v, as " e u t r e m e l ~scant\ and that the countrl ~ p pe'lred t o have been burned o\ er 131 the I n d ~ l n sdid not conceal the fact t h ~ the t 1,111d 15 \ e r \ poor. Consequentl\ there 15 11ttle pastur,~ge" ~ S e p temher r - ) . I-roni the hlerced R ~ r e r the , expedirron tr,l\ eled northn ard along the east flank of the Centred VCllle\ x r o s s s p x s e l r cox ered plains u ith green pasture and tule s u ~ m p along s the 1-11 ei S. M L I I ~\oi rote ~ that the n a r r o n Tuolutnne Rir er flood p l a n "prot Ides on11 sm,lll meadon S m d a shortage ot pasture" (October I ) . The grass n a i s p r - s e on the n a r t o the Ctan~slausK11 er, h ~ i the t Cosumnes Rrr er n e a - L o d ~" h ~ dexcellent land tor c ~ g r i c ~ ~ and l t ~ ~grazing" re (October 1-7 i . The AIor,lg,~e x p e d i t ~ o nreturned south\v,~rdand ~ 1 g . mtound "11ttle p,lstur,lge ~t the T u o l u ~ n n e R I \ er." 3 l u l i o z as most impressed \Ihen the\ leturncd to IIerced R I \ er, I\ 111ch h ~ ''U s ~ d meado\vs e n ~ t land h perfect tor ralslng crops [ ~ n dgr'lr]

ing cattle." Ho~vever,the foothills t o the east had "restricted pasturage" (October 7-9). Pasture became increasingly sparse farther south in the semiarid southern San Joaquin Valley. From Mariposa Creek t o the C:lion~chilla River, hluiioz recorded that "all the country traversed today has very poor sacate" (October 10).At the San Joaquin River, east of Fresno, "X11 r y observed betu~eenthe Tecolate [Chowcliilla River] . . . the c o ~ ~ n t \ve and the Santa h a [Fresno River] is Lvorse than bad . . . there is little pasturage, a l t h o ~ i g hit is sparse and spread out widely" (October 11-12). Forays d o w n the Fresno River led to "nothing but bad lands, \vith little SJCLZ~C.'' T h e blealtest pasture \vas found a t the Kern River, \vhere "all the country which \ve have seen today is the most miserable noted in the entire expedition. There is n o green grass . . . even a t the r i v e r . . . there is a great scarcity of pasturage" (October 28). Lmving the valley a t Grapevine Canyon, there was a "lack o f ,-~lcntrfor the horses a t Camp" (October ;r i. T h e expedition concluded by follon~inga route along modern-day Interstate j t o Mission Sari Fernando. Later expeditions into the San Joacluin Valley were like\vise disparaging of the pasture ( C o o k 1960). The Father Luis hlartinez expeciition of ~ 8 1 6saw the same region in May and even reported a bunchgrass growth form, very likely Spoioboltzs nimidcs, a plant tolerant of high salinity and common in the marshes of the valley even non7. O t h erwise, the herbaceous I-egetation was very poor. hlartinez Ivrote that "in all o u r trip we did not see a good tree, nor \vood enough t o cook a meal, nor n stone, nor even grass enough tor horses, more than hunchgrass, o r w h a t groLvs in the swamps" (Cook I 960: 271; cf. Wester 1981 ). X letter from Fray Antonio Ripoll t o Father President Vicente Francisco de Sarria records that in the southern San Joaquin "there was a great dust storm 011 h l a y j, 1824" (Cook r q h r : I jj). I-LO\\'ERS A N D B A R R E N S

The pre-Hispanic vegetation o f California \vas not what is envisioned by modern scientific consensus. T h e record in Spanish journals reveals coastal plains covered by extensive pastures and fields of \vildflo\vers. While the taxonomy of \vildflo\vers is ~ m c l e a rin these accounts, \\.hat is most important is that the dominant lite-forms seen in California lvere cured pasture in summer and forhs in winter. T h e extensiveness of flower fields is suggested by the manner of observations in the Spanish J O L I I . I I ~ $ . Flowers described for a location were also observed in d ~ y ps ~ t o,r in ;I broader region. From Santa Barhara, An7.a wrote that all of southern

h2

Pre-Hispanic Herbaceous L'egetation

California had flowers. Font ~ v r o t ethat flowers were important d o n g the entire route from the pass of San Carlos to Riverside. H e also saw flowers for many days along the Salinas Valley and along eastern San Francisco Bay. Flower fields ivere not reported on the San Cruz M o u n tains coast o r in the Central Valley because the expeditions did not travel through these regions in spring. Crespi captured the wildflowers at their phenological peak a t Point Conception, where annuals have a late phenology linked to cold summers. Except for a report of "n1a1lon.s" in Mollterey Bay, Crespi did not report flowers north of the Santa Lucia M o u n tains because his journal of the first Portoli expedition rook place in summer a n d fall. Wildflowers were integrated into Native American traditions. They were recorded in Indian myths (Blackburn 1 9 7 5 ) , preserved in Indian burials (Timbrook et al. 19821, and the Franciscans sa\v men \vexing flowers as garlands. Timbrook et al. ( 1982) report Henzizonia ran~osissimz and Calandrinia spp. (red n ~ a i d s in ) a burial carbon-dated to 600 B . P . These plants, which are prepared as a pirzole, \vere also found in cemeteries on the mainland and on the Channel Islands. Wildflo\ners were a n important food resource. Tinlbrook er al. ( 1 9 8 ~ ) list plants from which seeds o r leaves were used, including species in the genera Amsinckia, Aste~;AstragL~lris,Crzlandrirzi~,CLzrnissonia, Chaen-

~rctis,Cryptantha, Eschschokia, Hewrizonia, Heterotheca, Lal'ia, Lepitlium, Lotus, Lupimrs, Mulzia, Pbacelia, Salvia, and Senecio. The Harrington notes on ethnobotany of the Chumash Indians of the Santa Barbara region reveal that the sinall seeds of flowering annuals kvere still remembered by Chumash after 1900 (Timbrook et al. 1382). Chin ( S a l ~ ~ i a colunzbaviae) was a staple food that was stored in baskets, toasted and ground into flower, and eaten dry o r mixed ~ v i t hwater to form a gruel. Baskets of chia were offered t o the Portol6 expedition virtually every day from San Juan Capistrano to Santa Barbara. Indeed, Crespi (writing to Palo~1)stated that all the towns and villages provided the party ~ v i t h"trays of very good pinoles, atoles and tamales as much as three times a day," and that they "gave us a good supply of chin for lunch, for there is good ihia in most places" (Bolton 1927: 3 3). Longinos-hlartinez proposed that chiir could be grown as a crop (Simpson 1 9 6 1 ) . There was fierce competition ior seed among Indian groups for the native plant food resource. Lo~xgi~los-l\/larti~~ez in 1792 Ivrote that "in this parr of the Santa Barbara Channel . . . their wars are frequent and alxvays originate over rights to seed-gathering grounds" (Simpson 1961: 117).H e also stated that "the gentiles living bet~veenSan Diego and San Buenaventura store up against the winter the plants that hear the most

Pre-Hispanic Herbaceous Vegetation

63

seeds. . . . These nations continually keep on hand small baskets of seeds and other footstuffs" (Timhrook et al. ~ 9 8 2 ) . Inspired by the extensive burning in coastal California during early land explorations, the Spaniards proposed a positive feedback theory in which burning increased the production of desired foot plants, a topic of several studies (e.g., Lewis 1971; Timbrook et al. 1782). O n the San Diego coast, Crespi proposed that Native Americans burned for the hunting of "rabbits and hares" (cf. Longinos-Martinez's account in 1792, Simpson 1961: j8-59). Near Santa Barbara, Rivera y Motlcada wrote that they "burn the fields as soon as they gather up the seeds, and that [burning] is universal" (Timbrook et al. 1982). At Montere); he wrote that the heathens burned "so that new weeds may grow to produce more seeds" (Clar 19j7: 5). Timbrook et al. (1982) suggest that most annual \vildflowers ripen i11 late spring and that seed shatter of native grasses in June o r July explains Crespi's reports of burned grasslands in August, consistent with seasollal burning practices of other Indian groups elsewhere in California (Bean and Lawton 1973; Anderson 2005). The first burns were seen in late July along the San Diego coast. Indians through burning may have selected for food crops such as chia and nurseinaids. While fire-stimulated forbs grow in early postfire successions in chaparral, the germination of most flowers of California pasture are not dependent on fire. The hypothesis of Parsons and Stohlgren (1789) that burning was probably rare before exotics can be refuted based on Crespi's account of California in 1769. Native American burning continued well into the Spanish mission period. Timbrook et al. (1982) and others cite Arrillaga's proclamation of ~ 7 9 3to stop Indians from burning the land. There was also a mission questionaire in 1798 that discussed whether punishment would he meted out to Native Americans when there was transgression against the common good, like killing cattle and sheep or firing pasture. Timbrook et al. (1982) propose that the cessation of burning during the European period led to a decline of rhia and other seed species. Alternatively, one can conclude that native forbs found across California were not dependent on fire (cf. Keele) and Fotherii~gham1997), with most germinating under cue of winter rains. Most forbs also grocv in interior California valleys and southeastern deserts, \vhere burning was seldom described, and wildflowers respond to precipitation cues. While the winter growth flush left cured pasture in summer along the coast, the interior valleys were barren in the dry season. Most herbs, having low lignin silica content, disarticulate upon desiccation. Some forb species have shown the capacity to cure into flarnmable biomass, including An~sinckiil,

Phacelia and Cqparzthcr, Ch,1ctzactls, Lcpidiunl, and SL11~'ii7 colzunhai,inc. species common in Indian burials. The Franciscms never saxv interior California in the growing season, hut a dominarice of forbs is consistent with the barrenness of these lands described by the Fages. Xnza, Zalvidea, and L'loraga expeditions. Remarkably, the Hasrington notes for Churnash tcrritor)- had n o refof plants for erence t o Native American burning to promote the human consumptior~[Tirnbrook et al. 1 9 8 2 ) . In vie\\. of the extensiw hurns seen by Crespi, this finding is enignlatic ~ ~ n l e explained by the ss tradition of burning having been forgotten. Spanish words for b ~ i n c hgrasses were not ~lsedto describe the herbaceous vegetation of California except in rule s~vamps.Instead, the espedition diarists used the virtually synonymous p;lsto and :ncate in reference to dry herbaceous cover. The ne\vly discovered Crespi field diary and first field revision published by Bro\vn ( 2 0 0 1 1, show t h ~ both t words lvere used interchangeably in daily iournal entries. Hence, whether pasto and :ilcilte represent grasses o r forbs is ambiguous. Neither ~ v o r dconl.eys botanical information. From the barnJ.,~rdperspective of the journal mandate, both lvords depict the potential pasture resource for 1iL.estock. Spanish lvords for bunch grasses, e.g., g m t m . also a livestock term, were not used in California even though a grazing economy lvas part of the Franciscan mission mandate. Is this finding a n artifact of Spanish botxlical knowledge, o r d o these accounts indicate that bunch grasslands xvere actually rare at European contact? Tirnbrook et al. ( r q 8 2 ) \vrite that grass seeds \\.ere barely discussed in the Harrington notes and conclude that this xvas a n indication that native grasses had been substantially reduced. Alternatively, the Spanish journals suggest that grasses may not have been important to the vegetation. Longinos-Martinez, the only Spanish scientist to visit California in the eighteenth century, does not discuss bunch grassland in his brief summary of the state's vegetation. Besides, perennial bunch grasses would have drawn accounts of green pasture in summer, even in the interior barrens. Although the Zalvidea and hlulioz journals of the interior valleys were written three decades into the Franciscan mission period, their explorations took place long before there \vas any settlement o r grazing. Both expeditions record extensive barrens across the Central Valley in summer. An exotic wild oat pasture would certainl!- have attracted their interest, yet their bleak assessment of the Central \'alley would appear t o preclude its presence. The common Spanish plant name ;7rJcnu \vas not used. Spanish colonization in the decades to follow hrought a new biota from

I're-Hispanic Herbaceous Vegetation

hi

Europe, as n e l l as l i ~ e s t o c kThe . intercontmental transfer of n e u spec~es that t q chance would occur a t scales of near rnill~onsof J ears was mstead compacted into t ~o\ centuries, with sei era1 specles reducing o r displacing the ~ n d i ~ e n o flora u s throughout the state. The findings here opens the door t o the prospect that mtroduced annual grasses and h i - h s elltered flou er field\, not perennial hunch grasslands.

CHAPTER

3

Invasion of Franciscan Annuals, Grazing, and California Pasture in the Nineteenth Century The Great Central Plain of California, during thr months was one smooth. continuous bed of XIarch, April, and MA>-, of hone)--bloom, so marvelously rich that, in nalking from one end of it to the other, a dist,~nceof 400 miles, your toot ~vouldpress a hundred flowers at every step. -1ohn

J ~ L I111 I I I-868 ( 1904:3 ;y

I

\Ye enco~mteredmole t h m one foreit of I ~ L I S ~\I Jhose I~, tall stalks nere abole the I tier's heads, and mlde, a s ~t\\ere. t n o thick nails on the t n o s1de5of the n ,l\. T h ~ ps l m t h ~ s become, for some \ e ~ r s J, te~rihlescourge tor p x t of C J forma. It m\ ~ d e 5the finest pasture Imds, and threaten5 to spread oler the entlrc countrt. -Augu\r Bern& lI~lh~iur-Cill\ In I 8 2 - i r g ~ y2 4 6 1

The dellberate rntroductlon of E ~ u o p e a narlnu,ll glasses and forbs b~ the Frmc~scannilsslonaries began an extra or dinar^ transfoiination of the Callfornl'i herbaceous flora, which is an ongolng process. In evplalning the t r C ~ ~ ~ s f o r m , atot ~modern on exotlc annual g r a s s l a d , the sc~enrificcommunit\ 1s still at the first step: detailing the hlstorr of In\ ,~sionsand aswclated change In C a l ~ f o r n ~pastures. a As ~t stands, there 1s dlsagreernent on when mdir dual species arrn ed and h01t the6 expanded geographicall\ across the state. Dlfference5 In the In! ~ d e r shabitat ' preierences are seldom apprec~ated.The obserr ations of Tohn Muir 'ind A ~ l g ~ lBernard st DuhautC1111 ~llustratethe complex~tiesof specles In\ aslons. hluir san the Central V7alle\ still col ered ~ t lndlgenous h wildflon ers tort\ 1 ears aftel introduced rnustxds had expmded aiross the Los Angeles plains in the I820s.

In\.asion in the Nineteenth Century

67

Conceptual nlodels on the history of California pasture are frustrated by the sparse written record from the Spanish and Mexican periods. Scenarios have been deduced from ecological models based largely o n theories of Fredrick Clements from the early twentieth century, which use hotanical data and field observations that became abundant after the gold rush and California statehood (Hamilton 1 9 9 7 ) ~not the Spanish journals. Because the early expansion of exotic species coincided \vith the introduction of livestock, whose collective numbers i~lcreasedto n~illions of animals by the nineteenth century, ecologists have also addressed the role of role o f grazing in the early expansion of European invasives. THE BUNCHGRASS-GRAZING HYPOTHESIS

The b~~nchgrass-grazing hypothesis has its origin with the eminent early t\.r,entieth-centi~ryecologist Fredrick Clelnents (1934) and wasperpetuated by Burcharn ( r q j 7 ) , Heady (1977), and Sims and Risser (2000). In the model, wild oats are thought to have replaced bunch grasses domi( S t i p a ) hy the mid-nineteenth century. Nanated by species of N~~ssell'r ti\-e perennial grasses were selectively eliminated because of high palatability. Wild oats and other introduced species \\,ere vectored by livestock. Growth of perennial grasses is slow and the germinable seed production was limited compared t o annual plants (hlajor and Pyott 1966). Annuals are characterized by heavy seeding, self-pollination, and rapid maturation and so replaced perennial cover. The transformation was facilitated by extreme drought ( I 857, 1862-64) and overgrazing by livestock. Clernents (1934) hypothesized that the destruction o f the grass prairie by overgrazing and fire \vas based o n "relict" vegetation, using his "plant indicators" method to determine potential "climax communities" (Clements 191 6). Clernents noted the presence of Nassclla pulchm along fenced railways, which he believed t o be undisturbed. From these observations il the "origihe concluded that grasslands dominated by N. p ~ d c l ~ rwere 1131 great climax" of California (Clernents 19 34; Clements and Shelford 1939: 285; Beetle ~ 3 4 7 Burcharn ; 1957: 90, 789, 192; Frenkel 1970). Climax theory, a supraorganismic concept of vegetation dynamics, is thought t o permit inference of mature vegetation assemblages. A4fundamental assumption is that disturbance by livestock is not natural and that, without it, California succession would inevitably proceed to bunch grassland, the climax, the closest affinity being the bunchgrass community, e.g., the Palouse of Washington State. Defenders of the hunchgrass-grazing hypothesis deny the Hispanic record by asserting that reliance should be on botanical collections ex-

68

Inv,ision in r h e Smereenth Century

cluslr el\, i.e., a cred~blehod\ of botan~calrecolds de\ eloped so late that pre-Hispan~c\ egetation 1s a n enqp,1. In the process the \ egetatloli baseline 15 hrought forw'lrd to the rn~d- linet tee nth ientur\, \{ hen p r e - H ~ s p a i ~ i c 1eget'ltlon as a l r e ~ d )contaminated h\ E u r o p e m annual g1 asses and torbs. In Head! 's r ~ e n(19--1, hlston has not reco~declthe \egetatlond d\nainlcs of the pristine Callforn~apr,lule. l l o s t collect~ngbegan n ~ t h W i l l ~ a mH e n n Brewer's itate sur\e\ 111 1860. Br rdising the bar of scient~ficscrutin\, the earl\ t r a n s h r m a t i o n before the alrlr a1 ot scletltlsts makes d~ificultthe e\ a l u a t ~ o nof p r e - H ~ s p m ~ coinposirlon c of herbaceous communltles (P'lr~sh1920; Burcham r c) j-: ~ c :;) F~enkel19-0; Bartolorne et '11. 1986; H,im~lton199-1. But thls 1s a t n o-edge s n ord. n'hde the Cpan~shclimes ha\ e t a x o n o m ~ c I ~ m ~ t ~ ~ tthe ~ oenx sp ,e d ~ t ~ op1 n so\ ide a S\ sternatic sparid iampling bet\\ een S m D ~ e g oand S m Franc~sco,u n p a ~,~lleledh\ m\ suri er of Californ~a that h a ne\ er been ~111urlt11 the late nmeteenth centurr, aild ,I deltaken b\ American botanists to this dar. Adding 11gor t o o b s e ~ations \ 111 pooll\ undei-stood, complex ecosr stems r a s e s more questions than a n i n er5 and du111mshes the pi ospect of sl nthesis of b~oadscalelandscape patterns. The ~11lft111gb a s e h e s\ ndroine from 1-69 to the mid-nmetrenth centur\ also changes the storl ( Jackson et al. L O O I ) . Bren e~ ( 1 9 6 6 )also hacl the i u i ~ f o r t u n eof basing h ~ s\nthesi\ s ot Californi,1 pastures on experlences during catastrophic diought and o\ergiarmg ot the earl\ I 860s. KThatc o i ~ d ~ i s ~ X\o n ould s hC1\e erne1 ged from his experience i f he had first \ 151tedCalifornia \\ ith John C. Freinont in the 18405, or John l l u i r 111 the late ~ 8 6 0 5 or , \ \ ~ t hS p a n ~ s hmissionariei in r -69; Ploponents of the bunshgr'~ss-grazingh\ pnthesis h,i\ e also proffered the h \ pothesis t h ~ the t abundance o t \\ ildflon ers n as m "opt~caldlusion" ( H e a d \ 1977). A borlg~nalherbaceous cor el I\ ~s bunch g1 ass, onl\ people just nonce the f l o n e r ~Quotmg l f u i r ' s x c o u n t of the Santa C l x a Vralle\ o n April I , r 868. "the hills were so cot ered n ~ t flon h ers that the\ seem to he painted." On the same trip, Muir refer1 ed to the C entral \'a1le\ as J "garden o f \ellon compos~tae"(Hecld\ TL)--: 492-03). According to HeLtd\, "but that n as earl\ AApril,\\ hen BLzeiZLZ cl11 1 S O S ~ O ~ L ZAIYISUZ, c krir uzte?medln,Eschscho1:i;l callfo~nrc'z,and others make t h e ~ brief r flo\\ ering season. . . . Slum eeks I m r the d e s c r ~ p t ~ o could ns \\ ell hare suggested 3 $e3 o i imxed grasses gent11 mo\ mg ln the mor~liilgbreeze. One could argue trom these obser\atlons that the r egetation \xc1s either m u u a l 01 perennid, o r a n u r t u r e of both" (492-93). The central questlon 1s hen European land use c o n t r ~ h ~ l t etod the con\ erslon of C a l ~ f o r n l a p'lstures. LIXestock glazing and p1 imltir e a g ~ ~ c u l ture of the F r a n c m m nus\ion n s t e m h a t e been r l e v ed as 1' transfor-

In1 m o n rn the K~neteenthCentury

h9

matlon from the N a t n e Amer~canh u n t ~ n gand g ~ t h e r ~ econorn! ng (K~hrl et al. T Y - 9 ) .The S p m ~ a r d came s t o Alta Cal~fornia111 1769 wlth a dlfferent culture, \vhich included introducing a grazing economy devoted primarily to cattle, and with the intent t o establish perinanent settlements. Sparse information in the first century of European colonization until the gold rush of 1849 suggested that settlement of California Ivas primitive, as it the entire state existed as a national park. In terms of wild landsc'lpes, E u r o p e m colonizatmn lust me'lnt the addition of ,l few more animal species t o join the wildlife, the extension o t a primitil-e frontier ruisnear the best harbor5. ~l s ~ o nsl stem, a n d g r o u th of tm-) c o c ~ s t csettlements VJhen John Bidwell crossed the Slerr'l N e l 'lda and Central Vallea t o the central C a l ~ f o r i mcoast 111 1 8 39, his first rinpressioms U ere that c ~ t tle and other d o n m t i c stock 111ed a5 LT 11d a n l ~ n ~Inl sprlctlne ivlldlands U~ t h an ,lhundance of other herlxr ores 5 u ~ has elk, deer, dnd antelope. Domestic a n m a l s were In effect "nddstock" more than II\ estock. C'lttle fended for themsel~es,horses hecame feral, and pigs h ~ In d the tule swamps. It is perhaps ironic that Zenas Leonard of the Joseph Walker part1 of 183 3-34 n a s perplexed that another c o ~ v ,(1.e the buffalo), a p r l m a n food source on therr journe-) froin the Cre'lt Plarns, was last seen n e x the Great Salt Lake, gilen the verdant green pastures the\ first s'in m the 51erra Nekada h o t h l l s ( leonard 19 59: 83-84). Leonard recdled in 1 8 3 3-34 that "huiiters complLllnedthere U a5 n o buffalo as the grass I\ as equC1ll>a s good and plent), and the pr~llriesand forests as extensne J S those of the region of the Rock? Alountaln" ( 8 4 ) .The5e earl! Americans had not J e t expcr~encedthe summer barrens d r e a d 1 f a r n ~ l i ~tuo the Cp~n1ard5and doubtless hostile to the a n m a l s ' survir al. Con! entional w ~ s d o mI S t h ~ St p a n ~ a r d srapidly destroyed Indian culture and changed the Cahforilra landscape, but historical records show that the t r m s f o r m a t ~ o nM as a gradual process, as N a t l ~e Cal~fornians111 rnterror C n l ~ f o r n ~contmued a to practlce t h e ~ Mr a) s a n d adapted to Spanish culture well into the mid-nineteenth centur!; with a dietary shift to horses (Phillips 1993). Native Americans along the coast, of course, were subjugated by the mission system as neophytes for the purpose of integrating them into this new econom>- and instilling in them the social norms of Roman Catholicism. The Spanish C r o ~ v nand the hlexican government after 1 8 2 2 had n o political control except along the coast. Keophytes escaped t o the interior Central Valley after the collapse of' the mission system in the 1830s. While cattle numbers had already built up along the coast, Bidwell, the Walker part!; Fremont, and others in the 1 8 j o s and 1840s did not see animals in the Central Valley except near the Sacrarnento delta. Agriculture was limited to a few small fields next

CALIFORNIA Scale d Miles

-

hmdm of Land Oscuponcy

0

Pt. Concspc

0

0

Figure 3.1. Lands under Mexican control and domestic livestock in I 846 (from Clar 1959).

Invasion in the Nineteenth Century

71

to settlements, and the numerous ranchos operated as small feudal estates. Irrigation was limited to ditches, dams were not built, and roads were ruts, if not unnecessary. Small numbers of cattle, sheep, horses, and other livestock brought to California in 1770 gradually built u p large herds approaching carrying capacity within about thirty t o forty years. In the end, the livestock economy was restricted t o the coast, first with the establishment of the Franciscan mission system a n d then with ranchos (Figure 3 . T ) . The California interior had n o livestock except for feral horses that escaped the ranchos. The open-range grazing economy continued t o dominate the state well after the gold rush a n d California statehood, until about I 880, but American settlement of the California interior after statehood virtually obliterated Native American culture by that time. While the Spanish and Mexican periods resulted in embryonic transforn~ationof the natural landscape, the Americans began a process of converting much of the state engineering, and development t o agriculture, mining, irrigationlhydra~~lic of aqueducts (Kahrl et al. 1979). The goals of this chapter are to evaluate grazing hy domestic and native herbivores, to establish a time line of the expansion of grazing by domestic livestock, t o develop a time line for the expansion of exotic annuals, t o describe California pasture in the nineteenth century, and t o assess the importance of grazing in the transformation of pasture.

THE WRITTEN RECORD, SPANISH LAND TENURE, A N D D I S E ~ ~ O S

The Spanish Crown never established a vigorous commerce in eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries (Cronise 1868: 59-60), even though they "had possession of the entire Pacific coast of the Ne\v W'orld, several of the best harbors in the world, and had resources afforded by markets in Europe and Asia, and n o scarcity of materials or labor for shipbuilding." Trade was nonexistent. Among the earliest settlers, John Gilroy, w h o had resided in California since 1814, said that for several years after his arrival the entire trade and commerce of California consisted of the shipment of a cargo of tallow once a year in return for a "a few cotton goods and n~iscellaneousarticles for the missionaries" (Cronise I 868: 61). The economy was self-sufficient and remote from any central politics of Mexico City a n d X e w Spain (Bancroft 1888: 300). California was particularly isolated during 1810-22 because of revolutions and collapse of the Spanish Empire in the N e w World. There are few writings of the California frontier after the initial Span-

ish explorations. T h e Frai~ciscans\\.ere n o longer required t o maintain diaries, and with their efforts tocused upon the conversion of indigenous Californians t o Christianity, they wrote little of the California landscape. h l o s t records were baptisms and burials, number of livestock, and accounts of battles ~ v i t hinterior Indians \vho incessantly raided missions ; for their horses, especially after about T 810 ( A s c l ~ m a n n1 9 ~ 9 b Phillips 1993). The Franciscans sent a feiv expeditions t o the California interior t o make peace with the Indians, including the Zalvide,~and l l o r a g a expeditions of r 8oj-06. Fexv visitors came to California either by land o r ship until the 1830s (Dnvis 1 9 ~ 9 ) . I n f o r m ~ t t i o no n the number and distribution of a ~ ~ i n i acan l s be understood in relation t o Spanish land tenure a n d rancho practices. Livestock grazing developed hand-in-hand with large land holclings coupled lvith the Royal Spanish land tenure system, almost exclusively along the Pacific coast from San Diego t o San Francisco and Sonorna \\.here year-round pasture was secure. T h e decision t o colonize the coast \vas doubtless shaped hy the observations of Crespi, Font, Fages, Palou, a n d later by the Zalvidea a n d hlorag:i expeditions, which clearly showed this region's superiority of pasture compared t o the California interior. Open-range grazing continued into the American period until around 1880. The history of Califosnia livestock grazing is detailed in Cleland's C'zttle O H a Thousat7d Hills ( I 9 6 4 ) . After the Franciscan expeditions, California lands were partitioned by grants ~ i n d e rSpanish la\v that recognized the king as owner of all the colonial possessions in the Americas. The Spanish colonial system used three institutions-the presidio, mission, and pueblo-to expand the frontier, in which control of the land was dependent o n royal land grants (concessions). The presidio was a military post both for the defense of the province and the maintenance of internal order. It also possessed large land ~ l n i t sto supply the garrison with food and t o furnish pasture for the king's cattle and other livestock. The pueblo ( t o w n ) was founded h)- civilian colonists \vith land l holdings covering areas of typically 3 square leagues in c o m n ~ u n a pasture. The missions had the responsibility of converting the indigenous population t o Christianity and also converting them from 11unti11g and t mission. ils gathering t o agriculture and grazing activities t o s ~ l p p o rthe emphasized by Cleland, the mission was a "frontier institution." It had n o place in a settled, well-ordered society over the long run, its function ceasing whenever the wilderness was adequately civilized. Mission land grants \\.ere never made in perpetuity but had enormous size. Most Caliin the 1820s. fornia lands were under mission control until secularizatio~~

F r o m t h e p e r d o t C h e r n o r Fages ~u ~ 7 8 t2o tlie hlexlc'ln o ~ e r t h r o w o t Sp~111shrule in I 822, there \vere only t n ent) pri\ ,lte r a n c h o conces51011s 111 Callfornla, half of t h e m m Lo5 Angeles. Discuios, o r land claim sketch m a p s , a r e a limited source of informnt i o n o n t h e vegetation (Kecker 1 9 6 4 ; H o r n b e c k 1 9 8 3 ) .According t o Cleland, the possession of a land g r a n t required a concession from t h e Spanish C r o w n . T h e recipient \vas required t o build a stone house, stock the r a n c h n ith a t led\t t u C) thous,lnd head of c,lttle, a n d p r o ~ i d e n o u g h 11'7i p c i 0s (CO\\ l>(>\ S ) ~ n sheepherders d t o pre\ e n t t h e stock f r o m \i andering. T h e g r m t could n o t m t r u d e m t o water, p'lstures, \\ ood, o r t m h e l ,111otted t o pueblos, o r Into mlsslon h o l d ~ n g s n, o r into Indian mncheiws. T h e A l e w c a n Congress 111 1 8 2 4 passed t h e LJ\\ of C o l o n i z a t ~ o nIn response t o t h r e ~ t sb\ England, France, Russla, m d expansion o f U.S. settlement Into t h e Gre,lt I'L1lns. T h e la\v w ~ passed s t o der elop st'ible, wella r m e d p o p u l a t ~ o n sof fore~gilersa n d h l e w c a n s in sparse11 popu1,tted areas of h l e u ~ c o i, n c l u d ~ n gC , ~ l ~ f o r nIt~ a~. l s po r o \ ided ,I l e g d structure for- t h e establlshnient of l ~ n dg r ~ n t s1n C d ~ t o r m b~u~t ,; \ I C X I C ~go\erI~ n o r s m , ~ d el ~ t t l eeffort t o hreC1l\ up rnisslon I m d s Into concessions. T h e overtliro\v of the Spanish dominion in M e x i c o in 1 8 2 2 w a s the d e a t h b l o n t o tlie ~ n i s s i o nsystem, although it h a d been decaying f o r years ( C r o nise ~ 8 6 8 I: g ) . KOn e w missions \vere f o u n d e d after I 8 1 3 . T h e Secularization Act of I 8 3 3 led t o the collapse of t h e mission system, a self-fulfilling legal prophesy under Spanish hn- hecause t h e nlission \vas a frontier institution t h a t never o\vned l a n d (Cleland I 9 6 4 ) . T h e California provim c ~ a go\ l criimcnt d r s t r ~ h u t e d~ ~ a t l o ndaol n l a m in hundreds ot l a n d grants, especc"~ll>after 1 8 4 0 . T o o b t a ~ ntitle of J h n d g r a n t , ,I petltloner p r o d u c e d J formal petlt i o n t h a t included 1' dlseiio s h o u ~ r l gt h e a r e a , location, n a t u r a l b o u n d arles, , ~ n d1,lndmarks of t h e g r a n t , a s \$ ell '1s ~ n f o r m , l t ~ oon n t h e keget ~ t i o n .T h e I ~ c kof drseiios until t h e I 8 30s 1s e x p l a ~ n e dby B e e c h ( 1 8 3 1 : 11): At that tinit: soldiers entered tor a term ot ten years, Jr the evpiration of \vtiich they nere allon.ed to retire to the Pueblos-villages erected for- this purpose. ,init ,~ttachedto the missions. where the men have a portion of ground allotted to them tor the support of their families. This afforded a competency to many; and \\.Me it txnefited them, it was of service to the go\.ernment, as the country hy that means became settled, and its security increased. Rut this privilege has laterly been withheld, and the applicants have been allowed only to possess the land and feed their c'lttle upon it. . . . The real cause. honever, \vas not explained to the soldiers; they merely heard t h ~ they t \vould n o t Iia\.e rhe land ceded to them for life as nsual, and they \Yere consequently more dissatisfied.

-4

In\ ailon

111

the S ~ n e r e e n t hCentury

Bidwell (1937: 391, w h o obtained the Chico land grant (Gillis and blagliari 2003: 7 3 ) , said that T Spanish league ( 6 .j square miles, 10 km') \vas considered a farm, the smallest grant conceded hy the Spanish government. Land grants were as large as I I leagues and could "take in the shape of the valley or tillable land, and not include the mountains which hound the valleys." Bidmell also wrote that to qualify for a Mexican land grant, a grantee had to reside in Mexico for t w o years, become a naturalized citizen, and convert t o Roman Catholicisn~(Gillis and Llagliari 2003: 71). The precautions the fathers had taken t o prex-ent free emigrants settling in the territory ultimately lvorked against their interest, because it deprived them of self-defense. According to Cronise ( I868: I j ), "Upper California was denied representation as a state in Mexico, and was declared a Territory. The great riches possessed by the California missions had become a subject of the much solicitude to the hlexican congress and in 1 8 2 6 3 law was passed to deprive the Fathers of their lands, and the labor of the Indians, stopping their salaries." T h e oration of General Vallejo records a "political tornado" (secularization) that "burst upon the mission system," which led the priests t o convert their livestock wealth into currency and also led to the mission slaughter of the early T 830s, from nrhich they only saved the hides. Vallejo wrote that "the pecuniary wealth of the Missions . . . \\.as sent o u t of the country t o Spain, Mexico, o r Italy. . . . Neither the governors nor the Californians ever partook of that xvealth" (Dayis 1929: 3 6 7 ) . According t o Cronise (1868: 161, "One of the missionaries at San Luis Obispo took $ ~ o o , o o owith him \\.hen he left for Spain in 1828. Clearly, the allegiance of the men of cloth xvas t o the church of Spain a n d ultimately the Vatican, not to California." Cronise ( I868: jq-60) continued, "In 1834, this branch of trade was increased by the missionaries killing immense numbers of their cattle, possibly 1oo.000, to obtain hides and tallom; a n anticipation of the movement for secularizing the missions." It lvas for this reason that the missionaries made a n unparalleled detailed inventory o f livestock that year. In more prosperous days, the Franciscan mission system kvas a country unto itselt: "One mission would assist another with hides and tallow, or with fur, skins, o r money, in payment f o r goods which it had purchased. . . . These nurnerous hlissions were in reality one institution, with a common interest" (Da\-is 1929: 203). Beginning in the I 820s, the accounts of vegetation by non-Hispanic visitors, resident Californios, and expeditions \vere sufficiently cotnprehensive t o permit general description of the herbaceous landscape and

Invasion in the Nineteenth Century

75

wildlife.' Fur trappers from the eastern United States and Canada began visiting the region to harvest sea otter and beaver, but they left few writings of the California landscape, mostly only commenting on the wildlife. Two important early accounts were the diaries of Zenas Leonard of the Walker party of ~833-34(Leoiiard 19j9) and John Bidwell in 1839 (Bidwell 1928, 1937, 1948; Gillis and Magliari 200 3). In the late Mexican period, foreign threats brought many explorers who took stock of California as potential spoils for their respective countries, with detailed descriptions of these lands during the Mexican period. In~portantearly wr~tingsiilclude those of Captain John C. Frtmont, August Bernard Duhaut-Cillj, Eugene Duflot de Mofras, Charles W~lkes,and writings from the iovJge ot the Blossom (Beechej 1831). Speaking for the U.S. perspectir e, Leonard (19 59: 94) M rote that the Spaniards are making inroads o n the south-the Russians are encroaching with impunity along the seashore t o the north, and further northeast the Rrmsh are pushing their stations into the very heart of' our territory (the nest), which even a t this da!; more resemble military forts t o resist invasion t h m trading stC~tions. O u r government s l ~ o u l dbe vigilmt. She should assert her claim by taking possession of the whole territory as soon as poss~hlefor me have good reason t o suppose that the territory west of the [Kocky] mountain n-ill some day be equally as important t o a nation as that on the east.

In Cronise's account ( I 868: 67), "The enunciation of the Monroe doctrine caused France and England, who were deeply interested in the Pacific coast to use all possible means to prevent the expansion of the United States into this region. Duflot de Mofras made his explorations of California to prepare the way for France to acquire possession of the country. In 1841 Maschal Soult, Minister o f War under Louis Phillipe, appointed Duflot de Mofras, an eminent French savant and diplomat, to make a thorough exploration of California. The U.S. Government dispatched Commodore Charles Wilkes, with a squadron, consisting of five vessels of war at San Francisco Bay." According to Cronise, Wilkes thoroughly surveyed the bay of San Francisco and the Sacrarnento River as far as Sutter's Fort and made the following assessinent: "De Mofras, in page 68, vol ii, of his report states that he was satisfied, from information he gathered on board of the English and United States vessels, that both parties expected to obtain possession of the country; while his o w n book was written to instruct the French officers how best to accosnplish the same subject" (67). X few early non-Spanlsh ohtamed land grants, such as Captain John Sutter and John Bld\vell, the latter of whom became the "right-hand man" at Sutter's Fort and built his own rancho at Chico. Sutter also closed do\\n

7h

In\ , w o n ~n the Nineteenth Centurx

the Russian settlement a t Fort Ross by international agreement, including the purchase of t w o thousand stock, and was surprised that the 111dians there spoke Russian (Gillis and hlagliari 2003: c) j 1. The earliest baseline of the California herbaceous flora lvere the 012servations of Captain Freniont, a n excellent botanist and naturalist, w h o provided superh detail of tlie herbaceous flora of California in t w o journeys (1844 and 18461, journeys that were directly linked t o the U.S. policy of Manifest Destiny ( t h a t the United States should stretch from the Atlantic t o the Pacific coast). This policy Lvas pushed hard by his future father-in-law, Senator Thomas H. Benson of Missouri, during the administration of President James K. Polk. In V7illiarn Davis's \-iew ( 1 9 2 9 ) , Washington D C wanted t o knoiv w h ~ this t country was like, and lvas curious how Boston merchants gre\v rich o n California's resources in a few years. Frkmont's ~nalldates\ v e x t o inventory the state and win over the Californians by peaceful means. His first trip in 1844 crossed the Central Valley from north t o south and exited coastal California via Tehachnpi 6 the same route but also entered Pass. His second trip in ~ 8 4 follo\ved into Mexican settled lands along coast t o the capital at hlonterey. In the \vords of Davis ( r 923: xxix), from June t o tlie end of Jul>-xvas a "recital of lawless ~ l c t scommitted against 3 people Lve hoped to \\in by kindness, including the Bear Flag revolt, murder of the de H a r o boys and old m a n Rerr!-essa, and kidnappings." In his diary Frkmont recorded killings and botany o n the same day. The end of the second expedition \vas a march t o Los ;lngeles, where he met u p ~ v i t hRobert F. Stockton's hrigade, and a brief battle resulted in the capitulation of the Californios. With the gold rush came a people ~ v i t ha laissez-faire belief that lands were open for the strong minded and the enterprising to seize and use in whatever way that \vould profit them (Kahrl er al. 19-9). Californi;~was rapidly overwhelmed by Americans, clismantling both Alexican and N a tive American cultures. Botanical collections are an inadequate source of data before the gold rush (Frenkel 1970). Bre~verand Watson (1876-80: j 5 j )of the California Geological Survey state survey of the flora, report that \vere only twenty-six known collections b e t n w n the Xlalaspina expedition in 1791 and U.S.-Mexican boundary survey ot 1849. Frenkel (1c)70: 4 0 ) states that "anyone searching the earliest botnnical collections is bound t o be disappointed by the dirth of common exotic plants." H O W ever, about forty collecters lvere active hetween ~ 8 4 and 9 the state survey in r 860. Information increased with the U.S.-AIexican boundary surve!- o f 1 8 4 9 (Whipple 1961; Parr!- r 8 j c ) ) , the Pacific Railroad survey of the 1 8 j o s (U.S. Department of War r 8 55-61 1, and the recording of the state's botany under William Henry Brev;er in the 1860s (Brewer and

Watson 1876-80). A n e a l t h of information was contributed bp explorers, naturalists, m d en\ lronmental h ~ s t o r ~ a nsuch s as John M u ~ (r I Y O ~ ) , Cl'11-ence K ~ n g(191 F),John Hittell (1874), Archduke Ludwig L o u ~ sSalbator ( ~ q z q )a,n d T ~ t u sFey C r o n ~ s e( 1 8 6 8 ) . John R~dwell( 1 q r 8 ) had man) famous guests a t his Rancho C h ~ c o~, n c l u d ~ nAsa g Gray, Slr Joseph Hooker, M w r , and D a ~ i dStarr Jordan. The gold rush also brought a flurrv of books and art~cleson the "nem" California.

G R A Z I N G BY NATIVE H E R B I V O R E S

An i m p o r t m t questlon with respect t o earl) invasions of European 311nual grasses and forbs 1s the mtenslt) of Ilr estock grazmg. The effects of donlestlc h e r b ~ores r ~c econornJ was were not noL el. The H ~ s p a n grazlng established In lc~ndscapeawhere n a t l t e herbivores had been ahundant for millennia during aboriginal times and where there existed diverse nlegafauna in the last g l a c ~ a maximuin l (see, e.g., h l a r t m 2005). At Eur o p e m contact in the late e~ghteenthcentur), the most Important herbivores were pronghorn antelope (htilocdplr7 L z t n e ~ i ~ ~ ~elk n ~(7C)e, w z s carladensis), a n d deer (Odocoilezis hetnionirs). Their broad distributions a t the beginning of European colonization are kno\vn from the Spanish journals (Brown 2001) and the late hlexican period (Figure ; . L ) . The Spanish missionaries observed antelope in flocks of perhaps half a dozen t o fitt!; mostly in the plains tliroughout coastal California [see Xppend1.i I for loc,it~onsof obser\ atlons). In t l i e ~ rm'lrch n o r t h u ard n lecorded ,intelopc m along tlie Pacific c o x t , the Portola e x p e d ~ t ~ ofirst V ~ l l cSan Telmo In northern B'ija C ,111forn1a (lat. 3 r " N; C respl, Xprd a , C respl first ohserr ed 14, 1769, In Rron n 200 I ). In X l t ~C , i l ~ f o r n ~]uan ,intelope north o t San D ~ e g o,lnd , ~ La t J o l l ~( ]ill\ 16,1-69), C a m p Pendleton (JLIII r r ) , and the I ~ . \ m eKanch ( J L I ~2I6 ) . In the \an G,ibrlel VI\/lex~canperiod. Cattle \r ere seen pr I ~ M J111 In coastal mlsslon, pueblo and p r e s i d ~ oI'lndi n here 11i estock could he gr,~zedo n secure 1earround p a t u r e . Cattle n e r e not seen 111 the Central I7allei except nt Suttcr's Fort ilnd other ranchos near the Sacramento Rlr er (compare F q ures 3.1 and 3.3 3. When the ViTCdkerpart1 tr,l\ ersed the S ~ e r r aYe\ J ~ ~J n the d Central X l l l e ~e'lst of present-dar S,~cr,lmentot o the C c l l ~ f o r n coast ~a 111 r X j j34, Leonard (19 59: 9 6 ) s'in cattle a t Alrss~onSan J u ~ B'lut~sta n m d 5an Eranc~sco,but none from the Sler~,I S e i ada t o the coast r m g e . \?'hen the p r t r o\er\r mtered along the coast north of llonterer, thei h ~ to d pror ~ d themsel\ e e5 \\ ~ t hneiv shoes, and "huntcls \\ere d~spatchedt o scour these h ~ l l stor the purpose of gettlng cattle h d e s to make m o c c ~ s ~ n.s.. . The\ brought the tongues In order to shon the numher e'lch man had kllled" ( 9 7 ) . K ~ d n e l (l ~ 9 4 85:4 ) st'lted that the L l i e r n ~ o Ranch ~e "U '1s the t r o n t ~ e rranch [at the t m e ~ ~ n defined d] the Intellor 111mtof c ~ t t l e . "B K n e l l (1948: obseried t h ~ ~t ~ n tSutter rl establ~slied111sranch In n h ~ 1st not\ Sacumiento, "no other c11111zedsettlement5 had heen attempted ant \I here east of the C o ~ s R'lnge; t b e f o ~e Sutter . . . the I n d ~ a n sh ~ re~gned d n first '11 rlr ecl into the Central Vdle\ ne'lr supre~ne."Indeed, when B ~ d ell Sxramento, he sa\\ c'lttle from Sutter's Fort t o the Sacramento RI\ er delta, \r here "beef . . . '1s d b ~ ~ n d m a itd of the best q ~ d ~" t( 1i 9 jl: 28 1. FI-ernont( 1848)gar e a s~rnllarplcture of I~restocka decade later. \\'hen he entered the C e n t r d L"~lle\ east of 5acrament0, he s ~ \ r"fresh green t ten miles ~ n t othe r aller, [the] c'lttle f e e d ~ n gupon ~ t " grass i o e~ ~ g h or ( 3 0 ) . At Kutte Creek, he s ~ \ \"c,~ttlen ~ t ha rancher^,^ nearbr," , ~ n d~t Deer Creek o n the Sacramento R I \ er near h l o u n t Lassen, he r ~ s l t e d"the r c ~ n c h oof 'Mr. Lassen, ,l natlie of G e r n u n \ ' i\ ho est,lhl~shed a r ~ i n s ) . I-+ sax\ '\ooo head oi c'lttle on a c h o . . . , I\ 111~11he h ~ itocLedvjr; t m n " nt Yuha Clt) ( 1-1. He rote before the o n w t ot the r'un\ season that " the counts\ looked parched and d r \ , the gr'isi e'lten don n br the cattle, U h ~ were h quite fat and fine beef" ( 3 0 ) . . ? \ p p r o L ~ c h ~the n g northern shores of San Franc~scoBdi trom S o n o m ~ he , s a u scattered "herds of cattle and b ~ n c l sof horses" ( 3 0 ) .There'ltter, he scl\\ c'lttle along co'lst bet\\ een S m Franc~scoa n d hlonterel, n here he sail the grass \\as eaten don11 b\ large herds. In both of 111s expedlt~onshe neier s ~ i c'lttle \ In the C e n t r d V a l l e ~south of Sutter'i Fort (Fremont L 84 7, T 8 4 8 ) . In southern C L ~ l ~ f o r ncattle l C ~ , \\ere encountered near the c o ~ s and t ~ n l a n dt o the f o o t b ~ l l sof the m o u n t a ~ n s .Land grants suggest cattle n e l e g~-,lzedIn nlountam m e a d o n s ~t Lake H e n s h a n and a t Cur ,maccl. \Y7hen he arrlred In Los Angeles, F r h o n t ( 1 8 4 8 ) s a n ~ ~ h u n d a nc,lttle t 'lcross the pl,~lns.

Invasion in the Nineteenth C:eritury

on co\r7sm d o t h e r 11veG r u i n g \vas d o n e b\ 1' '1st p o p ~ ~ l ~ ~oft iserni\v~ld s t o c k t h a t \ \ w e left t o fend in t h e ~ z i l d e r n e s s .C o a s t a l California w a s tre'lted like ,l vast b a r n ? x d , except there \vel-c n o b a r n c ( C r o n ~ t re 8 6 8 ) . Bidwell's first impression of t h e coastal r a n c h o s w a s t h a t "Spanish cattle kvere semi-wild a n d skittish, practically indistinguishable in t u n e ness f r o m t h e native wildlife, a n d often hiding i n t h e forests of t h e C o a s t R a n g e s t o escape t h e depredations h!- t h e r a n c h e m s a n d native Americans" ( 1 9 3 7 : j 8 ) . A t Livermore R a n c h , Bid\vell ( 1 9 4 8 : 54) stated t h a t ~t "U a5 t h e f r o n t ~ e lr-a n c h , ,lnd m o r e cuposed t h a n m \ o t h e r t o t h e rct\ ages of t h e H o r s e - t h ~ e fInd1'1ns o f t h e Clerrcl N e \ ~ d a . "H e a d d e d t h a t t h e n l l d cattle , ~ tL ~ ~ e l m o r"were e more dangerou\ . . . than g r ~ z t l ) d ,it thelr heals" ( 5 4 ) .T h e Wcdker p a r t \ also s'~\z a b ~ i n d a nst e m n ~ l cattle c a m p n e a r S a l JLIJII: " T h e U 11d cattle a r e er) timoi-ou\ k e e p m g h ~ d . a r e m u c h 11llder t h a n deer, prettJ 1nuc11 all day a n d teed ~t n ~ g h t The! t cattle 1nc11ne elk" ( L e o n a r d 1 9 j 9 : 9 6 ) . Leonard specu1'1ted t h ~ "these , 1s s u p p o s e d , t o m u c h t o rough a n d hrllj p x t s o t t h e c o u n t r y o n ~ n g ~t t h e S p a n ~ a r d as n d Indlans l i u n t ~ n gt h e m ivlien f o u n d In t h e p l u n s " ( 9 6 ) .

26 r ) w r o t e t h a t "cattle . . . r o a m e d in 1' 11,7lf-\\ 11d state u p o n t h e pl,iins, wir) - l m b e d , S\\ ift horses of large size, of large size a n d longer neck t h a n t h e h l e v ~ c a np r o t o t \ pe, ere t u b o r d m a t e d ~t tlines h\ ~ ~ o r n ~ i c h c ranchers." The r a n c h o h d s w e r e \aguel> dlstmct h o r n t h e prlstinc \ v ~ l d l m d sof C a l r f o n l ~ aT . h e m o s t d e r a ~ l e da c c o u n t of a r a n c h o f r o m t h e perlod \ v ~ s inade by L e o n a r d (19 59: 1 0 3 ) : ,111d

These people 11'1.r-e n o fences round their cleared or cultivated land, :llthough they raise an irnmerise a n o u n t o f \tack, such as horses, ~iiulehand horned h a t large over these extensive pastures all seasons cattle-'111 o f n - l ~ c range OF the year. rnany h e ~ n gi11 a manner totally xvild, so niuch so that, \vlien they nish to milk a co~v,they mount one o f their horses, noose her. hsten the cord to a tree, m d rhe~itie her feet, when she is forced to be quiet. During our \vhole sta!- in this country I h'1r.e never seen anything like a stahle or a barn, as the shelter for the dumb brutes-nor did I ever see anyone teeding an animal, u~iless~t\v,is s hvorite cow or horse that 113s bick. T ~ I s , ho\vever, is nor at all singular as any number of animals could subsist, and he in good order all seasons of the year, on tlirse plains, as in many spots the grass 1s green the \vliole yeas round. 7-he months ot August, September. and Octohrr ,Ire the least enticing to mm,lls, as it is the wxmest arid driest season of the year. ,\S soon '15 August set5 in, the heasrs inhabiting the dry prairies ~ n hills d repair to the l o ~ vn e t ground, where rhey can get enough to subsist upon until the dry season p'mes a\ira!. . . . During the [wilitcrJ

94

In\ asion

111 the

Nineteenth Century

wet \veather the animals grow fat, and the inhabitmts employ the prmcipal

part of this time in catching and domesticating them. Just before the gold rush, Vizetelly (1848: L)) n-as astonished that "cattle are suffered to run loose over the neighhoring pastures" between M o n terey and San Juan Bautista. Likewise, Revere ( 1 8 4 9 ~7: 7 ) also saw "extensive herds of wild cattle, [that] . . . betake themselves to the woods or ravines among the hills a t the approach of a stranger." Cronise (1868: 3 j 3 ) explained the lack of infrastructure on the ranchos: "The climate o f California is so mild in winter, which is in fact is the season of verdure, that very little feed and shelter is provided. Barns are almost unknown." Thornton (1848: 1 6 ) concluded that "the only trouble the people of California have in raising their cattle is to brand them annually with the peculiar mark of each owner." Only a felv cows were kept near the house for milking. Butter and cheese Lvere rarely made (Bidwell 1937: 3 9 ; Bancroft J 888: 347; Davis 1929: ij). At Jolon Ranch in the interior Santa Lucia Mountains, Brewer (1966: L) j ) noted that "the cattle here over the hills are very wild; they will run if they see a man a t a distance of forty o r fifty rods off. The vil~zchevosconsider it desirable that their cattle be wild-they are less liable t o be stolen or be caught by wild animals." Cronise ( 1 8 6 8 ) had the advantage of observing livestock in the transition between the Mexican period a n d the domestic livestock grazing that developed after the gold rush. H e admired the positive qualities of Spanish cattle: "The wild cattle of the Mexicans are poor, longhorned and lank-but they cross well bvith imported stock, carrying the fine points of the latter a n d the endurance of the former. Their flesh is tough, and their milk scant" ( 3 7 0 ) . According to Charles Wilkes ( I 844), the rearing of cattle required niini m u n ~lahor, mostly uaqttevos for herding and branding. Cattle were allowed t o roam except for slaughters for hides and tallow. John Aidwell (1937: 3 9 ) had a similar perspective: "Of all places in the m-orld, it appears t o me, that none can be better adapted to the raising of cattle than California. The cattle here are very large, and a person w h o has not a thousand is scarcely noticed as regards stock." Bidwell also observed that "it is a proverb here ( a n d a pretty true one) that a Spaniard will not d o any thing which he cannot d o o n horseback-he does not ~ v o r kperhaps o n a n average, one month in the year-he labors about a \leek, when he sows his wheat, and another week, when he harvests it, the rest of the time is spent riding about" ( 3 8 ) . Leonard ( 1 959) provided co~lsiderable detail on rodeos, use of ropes, and horse riding hy the Xlexicans alorlg the coast.

Invasion in the Nineteenth Century

95

Davis (1929: 241), m h ~ frequent s travels across the state 111the 184os, observed the exchange of cattle between ranchos through informal agreements: When cattle, old or young, were transferred from one rancho to another . . . it was generally done in the spring of the year, the new feed being then plentiful, and they were easier aquerenciado, or domesticated, in their new pasture than at any other season. A band of cattle taken to mother rancho, \vould be placed under the charge of t~qz4eros,and watched and herded a t first very carefully Becoming accustomed t o the new place, and less restless and uneasy, they xvere allowed more liberty of range, and at night were corralled. After some weeks, they were habituated to their new surrounding, and turned in with the other cattle, hecomlng a part of the general band belonging to the rancho. Davis also pointed out a rule that "all orejanos (calves without ear-mark o r brand) not following the cow, were considered as belong t o the rancho 011 which they were found" ( 4 0 ) . Since cattle lived essentially as wild megafauna along the coast, it is perhaps remarkable that the herds never expanded into the Central Valley. The rancheros doubtless chased down straps, but more likely the absence of cattle may be due to predations by Native Californians, w h o developed a taste for the flesh o f domestic livestock. Cattle would also have had difficulty swimming across o r trodding the mudflats and rivers. The harvest of cattle was a n "emergency process." According to Leom ard ( Ig 59: 1 0 4 ) , whenever a trading vessel anchored o n some portion of the California coast "the news is spread over the whole country like wildfire. The owners of cattle, w h o are of the wealthier class, collect together all the poorer Spaniards a n d Indians for the purpose of catching and butchering the cattle, in order to get their hides. This is the commencement of their sporting season. . . . After they strip off the hides and take out the tallow, a n d sometimes the choicest part of the meat, the remainder of the carcass is left on the ground t o be devoured by the wolves, o r for the wild beasts of the forest to feed on." Da\% (1929: 256) learned that "in the Matanza, the killing season is sumrner \\.hen cattle are fattest, each bullock producing a n average of ca. r 5 lbs. In winter, when cattle were killed for home consun~ptionand for use of the vessels, the tallow would average about 6 pounds t o the bullock." The spring \\as the dullest season of the year, as the cattle then became quite poor, and not many were killed. Cattle were killed for the use of the ranchos in winter ( 1 8 4 ) . Bancroft (1888: 340) provided detail on the matalzza ( m q t i e a r ) , o r slaughter:

K7hen a hacendado wished t o rz~tqirr~ri. or ~ l ~ ~ i , g I ihis r c rcattle, he w i t i ~ u men on horseback, w h o rode a t tull spced o l e r the tiel~is.armed with knives. I'asing near an ,~nimal.one g,lve ir 1' hlo\\ ~vitlithe l-families gre\v up In poverty. From the gold rush through the I 8 S O S , there was a cattle boom for local beef consumption, especially in the placers east of Sacramento, rather than for hides and tallo\v that could he exported from local ports (Cleland 1964). The number of stock increased rapidly and led to the expansion of livestock grazing into the Central Valle!-, nearly a century af-

Invasion in the Nineteenth Century

97

ter the introduction o f livestock grazing along the coast. For the first time, livestock ranchers faced the prospect of poor pasture in the interior harrens and soon discovered that they had t o drive livestock into the mountains to find forage. Cattle drives from southern California to gold rush country followed superior forage near the coast, passing through San Buenaventura, Santa Bai-hara, San Luis Obispo, Santa Clara, San Francisco, and Sacranlento. According to Cleland ( ~ 9 6 41: 0 4 ) , "The cattle, which necessarily lived off the country, usually started north when the grass had reached maturity after the early winter rains. Since they seldom traveled more than ten o r fifteen miles a da!; a 11e1-dxvas usually a full month o n the trail. Some southern ranchers leased grazing rights in the vicinity of San Jose, Sacrnmento, o r Sun Francisco Ba!; where the stock fattened after the long drive." Only in the spring growing season did southern California cattlemen drive livestock through Gorman and the Central Valley to the mines. By 1860, cattle demand generated hy the gold rush had collapsed, and the trade in cattle bet\veen the Micidle West and California had also declined. Cattle then perished in great rliiinbers from drought from 1862 to 1864 (109). AS stated hy Cronise (1868: 370), "The cattle market was gutted hy oversupply. A convention of stock raisers in ~ 8 6 s3id 0 there n.el-e three million cattle in the state, far heyond the wants of consumption." Cronise estimated that cattle in C:alifornia had declined to 600,ooo by the end of the drought. Cronise accurately predicted the future of livestock grazing: "As the Spanish grants became suhdi~.ided,the wild ranges grew sn~aller.As f a r m became more nuniel-ous they will be able to obtain legislatio~icompelling the herdsmen t o keep their stock for trcspnsing" ( 3 7 0 ) . Stock raising t x c m x more and more restricted to the Coast Range and the Sierra Nevada foothills. The X~uericansput in about as much labor into cattle raising a s t h e i r hleuican predecessors. According to Cronise, "The Tulare County t ~ l l esxvamps are excellent country for cattle feeding o n the roots of these plants and on fresh water inussels. On-ing to the heat of the clin ~ a t ein the summer, remoteness from market, etc., dairying is not extensivel!~ carried on-the most of the cattle raised being intended for the shambles Imeat]. . . . Cattle thrive in this region the year round without housing o r fodder, being rarely ever pinched by hunger o r suffering from cold" ( 3 2 9 ) . Indeed, livestock g r a ~ i n gin the I 860s in interior southern California, distant from the gold rush, was a throwback to the rancho days dec'ldes before. Cronise wrote that the rancheros of the Ter-uecula Valley lived "in the same style they did before the country became a State. O n e of these native Ranchers, l i ~ i n gnear Temecula, w h o oxvns several leagues

98

Invasion in the Sineteenth Century

of these p l a n s , and has near11 fi\ e thousand head o t Lattle . . . ne\ er sakes a d r o p of mdk, o r makes a polnt of butter-these being luxuries 111 llttle use here" (98-99). The main products were still hides and tallow at this late date. Much land was owned b\ Meuicans. WILD HORSES

During the rancho period, horses \yere the primary mode of transportation and were vital in the various seasonal activities of livestock grazing, mainly for tending livestock (Dayis r 9 2 9 ) . LIost rancheros maintained a ratio of about one horse to ten cattle. Ho\vever, horses o n the ranchos gradually dispersed and became feral in the Central Valley, as a result of horse stealing both by Spaniards and Indians, \vith the encouragement of Spanish law. The naturalization of horses became another source of grazing pressure in California pastures of interior California. The theft of horses was not recognized as a crime because of the cheapness of the animals. If a better cluality horse than your o\vn was found, then it was appropriate t o take it (Davis 19.19). The dispersal of horses reflected a cultural conflict. V'hat was owned by ranchers was nddlife to the Indians. Horse stealing Lvas the basis for the place name "Horsethief Canyon" on topographic maps throughout the state. It is unclear when horses first entered the Central Valley because their numbers in the ranchos may not have reached carrying capacities until circa I 8 10. As a result, horses may not have been a n Indian food resource as late as four decades into the mission period. Nonmissionized Indians in the interior may have continued a traditional hunting and gathering economy exclusively, beyond the reach of hIexican control t o the end of the eighteenth century. The earliest account of horses in the interior was during the 180 j Zalvidea expedition, whet1 he recorded in his journal that he spotted a wild horse near the Cuyamn River (Phillips 1991). Horses may have begun naturalizing in the Central \'alley beginning a t this time, but this is not documented in Spanish records. In 181 j, Sergeant J u a n Ortega with thirty men encountered two mounted Indians driving four horses (Phillips r 993 ) . Beginning in the I 8 m s , the Spanish conducted assaults on Indian villages of the interior and frequently captured horses (Phillips I 993). It is also unclear when Indians learned to ride horses. Ortega saw mounted Indians in c81 j. In the r83os, members of a Alexican expedition saw thirty Indians chasing deer o n horseback in the northern San Joaquin Valley (Phillips 1 9 9 ~ )In. the early 1840s, John Bidtvell ( I948: 50) observed an Indian on horseback without a saddle near h l o u n t Di-

Invasion ~nthe Kmeteenth Centun

99

ablo. In the 1830s and 1840s, non-Hispanic explorers saw "droves of wild horses" in the interior beyond Mexican control. Leonard (19 59: 8 6 ) was the first American to note the presence of wild horses, when the Walker party crossed the Central Valley prairies near Sacrarnento in r 8 33-34, noting "many places swarming with wild horses, some of which are quite docile, particularly the males, upon seeing our horses." H e also recalled that Indians brought horses to their camp for trade. Captain Sutter saw vast droves of wild horses in the San Joaquin and Tulare valleys, bred from those stolen by Indians from the missions (Bancroft 1888). Likewise, Bidwell (1966: I j ) recollected "countless thousands of wild horses, of elk, a n d of antelope roaming over the northern San Joaquin Valley." H e estimated herds were in the thousands a n d sometimes "twenty miles longm on the west side of the valley (Bidwell 1904; Gillis and Magliari 2003). In his first expedition in 1844, Fremont (184 j: 250j I ) saw "hands of elk and wild horses" along the Rio Merced and "droves of wild horses" along the San Joaquin River. In his second expedition in 1846 Frimont (1848: r 7 ) recorded "band of wild horses at the To-walurn-ne [sic] River." Davis ( I 919: 3 j ) , based on his visits to the ranchos, surmised that horses gradually filtered into the San Joaquin Valle); "which at the time Ivas entirely unsettled." H e wrote: "At times, a few mares, and perhaps a y o ~ n gstallion, would stray away from a rancho and get out of reach until in the course of time there were collected in that valley immense herds, thousands and tens of thousands of horses, entirely wild and untamed, living and breeding by themselves, finding there plenty of good feed t o sustain them" (36 ) . Wild horses were also reported in I I I L ~ C of ~ the Central Valley by Forbes ( r 8 3 9 ) , Wilkes (1844), and Lieutenant George Derby of the topographic survey (Farquhar J 937). Depending o n one's point of view, the expansion of horses into the Central Valley \vas facilitated by horse stealing or, alternativel!; by resource acquisition from the ranchos by the Indians. In the foothills of the Sierras east of Sacramento, "Indian hosts arrived t o a camp o t the Walker expedition with horses for the purpose of trading which were marked with a Spanish brand" (Leonard 19 jg: 8 7 ) .The party concluded that the Indians' diet, in addition to the staple of acorns, was dominated bp horsemeat. During his first expedition a t the Kern River, Frimont (1845: L 51 ) "ca~itionedIndians at camp with them for the night, not t o steal the horses." The hunting of horses also occurred in southern California. Davis ( ~ 9 1 9 1: 7 2 ) related that a t Rancho Jurupa near present-dav Riverside "the\ all noticed from the house a body of Indians in the distance, w h o

TOO

I n \ m o n m the Nineteenth Centur\

collecting horses die\ h a d stolen f r o m t h e ~ 1 1 s s 1 oSan n Gahriel a n d t h e R a n c h o Santa h a . . . . As B m d l n l h a d b u t fen m e n w t h hlin ,tt the tlme, ~ n t dh e I n d ~ m \r s ere In large i i ~ m b e r s h, e d ~ c nl o t d e e m it prudent , d c ~ t t e i n pthe t rescue of the a n m a l s . H e therefore p e r m t t e d t o ~ t t a c km t h e m t o m o \ e o f f t o thelr retreats w i t h o u t AII\ pursuit." Bldwell ( 1 9 4 8 : 4 8 ) also t o u n d thar " H o r s e T h ~ eIndl,lns t [llr ed] chieflh o n hor5e flesh; the) h a d been in t h e hablt of r'lldmg t h e r m c h e s ex en t o t h e ier\ c o x t , drl\ lng a\\ a \ horses b! the hundreds Into the mountains t o eat." H e rec,illed t h a t L irerrnore Ranch, In the mterlos C o a s t Range, " w a s m o r e exposed t h a n any o t h e r t o t h e ravages of t h e Horse-thief Ind ~ a n of s t h e h e r r a N e t a d a " ( 5 3 ) .D a \ is i rc)rc)i suggested t h ~ horse t stealing ~ncre'lsed h t e in t h e M e u i c a n period. H e recalled m 1839 t h a t "at t h e time of t h e coll,ipse of rulsslon 5) s t e m the S,lcr,lmento \'~lle! h ~ ndo ~ n h , i b i t , ~ n thut s I n d i c ~ nman1 ~, ot n horn n ere \ I ~ s s ~ oI n d l m s 15 110 h ~ c i left t h e m p o \ erlshed Allsslons, r e t u r n l i ~ gt o their tormer uncl\ ~ l l z e dIrfe, m,lklng occ,~slonal\ I N S t o t h e d ~ t f e r e n tr m c h o s t o s t e d horscs" ( T L) 1. H e suggested t h a t broken-do\\ n horses n e r e d s o g l \ e n t o t h e Indians: " V h e n t h e horses became d~sahleci,o r too p o o r for use, the! ere g a l erally gi\,en a\vay t o the p o o r e r people of t h e country, o r t o Indians w h o c o u l d m a k e t h e m useful" ( 4 0 ) . T h e tacilitation of horse expan5ion in the interior is explained in the f o l l m ~ i n ganecdote by Dayis: 11ere

I11 the morning, a r'lnchero \\-ould di\co\cr thar he n-,i\ \\-lthout horses for the use of the ranch. He \vould then horrolr- some horses from the ne~ght the h , J I I ~ten or tn.el1.e men \vould collect tosether m d go in p u r s ~ i of raiders. The) I\ ere nexly , ~ l n - ~s !successtul in ol ert'iking the thirl cs m d I-ecovering their horse\, though ottentimes not \vithout a fierce fight \\-it11 the Indians, . . . who \yere armed xvith bon.i and arro\v\, and thc CJifornitreq~~ently lost some ans w t h horse carbines. At these comhclts the IndiC~iii of their number, and often as mm! '1s eight or ten \vere killed. Once in a while, hut \.er!- seldom, the Indian5 \vex successful in e l ~ ~ dpursuit i ~ l ~md got sately an.^) ~ v i t hthc horses. ( h ; ) R ~ d w e l (l L9 4 8 : 48 1 first encountered e\ idence of horse hutcherlng a n d c o n s u m p t ~ o nIn h15 first descent of t h e 51e1-rclN e \ , l d ~In r 8 ;L): \Ye came to a place where there n.ds ,I great quantity of horse hones. >And\ye did not knorv \vhat it ~ n e m twe ; thought that a n army must have pcrished there. They \\.ere of course horses that the Indians had ciriyen in there and slaughtered. r\ f e n nights later, fearing depredations, v-e concluded to stand guard-all h u t one man, \rho \vouid not. So \ve let his t\vo horses roam nhere they pleased. In the morning they could not be iounii. A f e n miles away ive came to 1' village; the Indians had fled, hut 1r.e found the horses killed and some of the meat roastme o n a fire. (cf. Bidn-ell 151~-:-71

I n \ m o n ~n the Nmeteenth Century

r 01

At m o t h e r locatron he saw "the Indians . . . cuttmg the meat" o t their abandoned horses that could not negotiate a steep slope (B~dwell~ 9 4 8 : 4-1. Nat11e L?lmeri~an horse hutcher~ngelen occur^ ed 111the Coast Ranges n i t h m eleshot of the ranches. For example, Leoiurd ( I L ) ~ L116) ) : found t h ~ his t six stolen horses 1% ere butchered l>) Kat11e Amer~cansfor m e , ~ t ne'lr the h l ~ s s ~ oSan n Juan: the^ \X ent into a thicket, \X here the\ found r well butchered . . . the I n d ~ m 11ax s 111g kdled a large p o r t ~ o nof t h e ~ horses some o f the horses, m ere engaged 111 d r ing ~ the meat." The rancheros trequently r e t r ~ e ~ ethe d horses. D'ILIS ( ~ 9 2 9 :3 j ) I ecorded In his ncul,ltn e that "frequentl\ during the summer, 1 oung men, the sons o t ranchers, would go III companies of e ~ g h or t ten or t u e l ~ teo the T. d l l e ~o n their hest and fleetest steeds, to capture a number oi these nrld horses 'ind bring them to the r,mchos. When f i t t ~o r s1xt1 of the 1%~ l d horses \-,ere thus i,lptured, thex n e r e t'lken to the ranchos, corr,llled a t nrght a n d herded in the da) time, untd the\ became suffic~entl)subdued to the ~ntroducedamong the horses of the ranch." The I ancheros also retr~vedhorses with other m o t ~ ~r t l o n \Xccord~ng . to D a l IS, Some o t the wild hories cvere rounded up as part o t a conspil-'~cyt o avoid the militar! draft. The California parenti had dread of their sons being \ had 110 liking for ~ t . drafted into the arm!., and the young men t h e ~ n i e les Some of the more \vealthy rancheros had pre-arranged and reliable comniunicarions lvith their relations or friends living in Sonorna, \vho h v e them intormation whenever a squad of soldiers \vas about t o be sent out t o gather l d At sucli times 1 clung u p recruits, and of the direction the squad n ~ ~ u take. men \vo~lldhe sent off for a month of t w o from the rancho, either hunting game, or to tlle great San Joaquin valley t o lasso some of the numerous \vild horses these. (161-62)

When it \vas perceived that horses were degrading pasture o r reproducing in excessive numbers, at the expense of cattle, the rancheros would conduct horse slaughters by running them over cliffs o r steep slopes, like lemmings, even 011 the ranchos. Bancroft ( I 888: 346-47) found that by I 821-24 wild horses had become so "nuruerous that they \vould eat up the grass a n d spoil the pasture for the tame horses near tlle t o m m . The government resolved to hold a general slaughter in which the rancheros had large bands of breeding mares. In seasons of drought they would destroy large numbers of mares, and perhaps some of the horses, driving them over a precipice to get rid of them, and thus save feed for the cattle." Mission Santa Clara had another method. Davis (1929: 56) related that in ail "exceedingly dry season" the head priest "ordered the de-

103.

In\ man

111 the

Nineteenth Century

structlon of several thousand head of horses and mares belong~ngto the mlsslon, w h ~ c hwas accompl~shedb! drowning them In the Guadalupe river." V~zetelly(1848: raj) described anothes method that took place after California statehood: "As latel) as ten J ears ago, ~twas custornar) to corral large numbers of wild and half \vdd mares and s l ~ u g h t e rthem with a lance, merely to check the natur,d increase In the equme race." R e ~ e r e( 1 8 4 9 ~ r: o z ) found that "111 the plams of the Tulares corrals exist, formed by glens 111 the mountains . . . the) mould surround a large cabnllada of w d d horses, . . . the I n d ~ m \\.ere s alwa? s on hand, not t o get , to eat." horses t o r ~ d e but It is uilcertam whether horse \\.as preterred meat, o r whether horses were simply easiei- to raid from the ranchos than cattle. Several accounts from the 18;os and r 840s make clear that Indians would also eat beef. I11 the Mojave Desert, Fremont's party "killed three cattle, and the Indians had a great feast" (Fremont 184 g : 2 5 9 ) During Fremont's second expedition near Butte Creek, in sight of Sutter's cattle and an Indian rancheria, Fr6mont (1848: z j ) n,rote that "some of the Indians gladly run races for the meat and offers of a fat COW which had been presented t o us." However, s e m ~ w d dcattle n e r e dangerous and not e,ls~lyherded to the Interior. It would ha^ e also been dlificult to g u ~ d ecattle across the ri\ers a n d rule swamps of the Central V ~ l l e ) Wilkes . (1844: 174) wrote that " I n d ~ a n sstole 01717. horses becnuse they 1% ould not be able to a\ old pursuit by the rancheros . . . it the) took cattle." E\en as late as the Pac ~ f i cRailroad survey of T 8 5 3- 54, W h ~ p p l e( I 8 j 6'1: 1 3 4 ) stated that at San Bernardino "the settlers deem it necessary to \vatch their herds with as much vigilance as if they were upon the prairies [Great Plains], in the midst of Indians." Ph~llrps(199;) 'irgues that horse rardmg of the rancheros \+as more than simple resource extraction. Instead, he vie~vsharvest of horses as a n evolved response that lead t o the expansion of: economic freedom of Indians by providing thein with a trade commodity that undermined the Spanish- mex xi can system. After secularization, the coastal Indians went t o the interior with Spanish culture, language, trading practices, and agriculture. The fundamental question is why Indians \vould raid domestic horses of the coastal ranchos instead of taking nearby wild horses in the relative safety of the Central Valley plains. Bancroft ( r 888: 3 3 6 ) argues that it was easier for Indians to steal horses than t o tame them. H o w ever, Phillips (1993) asserts that Indians kept the fleetest horses for hunting elk. They also sought don~esticatedhorses for trade to New Mexico. H e concludes that the loss of horses from Indian attacks deprived ranchers of animals critical to the management of stock. This is supported by

Invasion in the Nineteenth Century

703

Lymau ( I8 50): "The swarms of Indians [the missions] once contained, have long since been scattered, and many of them, mingling with the wild tribes of the mountains, have become from their superior knowledge the most daring horse thieves." Alternatively, a critical question is whether Indian raids were part of a war, or were they hunts for an easy kill. Why should they keep returning to ranchos to obtain tame horses, given the risk of Spanish violence i n posed on them? If Native Americans were ineffective in harvesting wild horses, it follows that the dispersion of horses into the Central Valley resulted from continual escape of horses that became feral and bred. Phillips (1993) argues that raids as part of a war required an improved capacity to obtain horses, for example, by conducting raids on horseback. However, the deprivation of horses for rancher0 activities would also take into account the high reproductive rate of horses. Phillips's argument of Indian evolution may have merit. Indians may have been "neophytes" in horse acquisition in the Spanish and early Mexican periods, i.e., raids spontaneously led to the build up of feral horses. Raids after circa 1830 involved more sophisticated trade of domestic stock. The feral horse population disappeared rapidly beginning with the gold rush. Bancroft ( I888: 3 3 6) stated that during this period "Americans and Californians. . . lassoed them, catching all they wanted." Vizetelly ( r 848: J O j ) wrote that the "vast numbers of wild horses in California . . . have greatly diminished within a few years." Two decades later, Cronise ( I 8 6 8 ) , in his exhaustive survey of land use in California, did not mention wild horses anywhere in the state, including the Central Valley. Apparently they were slaughtered or tamed by the invading U S . settlers after the gold rush, helped along by mortalit). caused by the great drought of 1862-64. SHEEP GRAZING AND OTHER LIVESTOCK

The increase of sheep in Hispanic California very likely paralleled that of cattle. About r o o sheep were introduced to Alta California by 1773 from Franciscan expeditions and stock provided from Baja California (Bancroft 1888). The sheep population was well below carrying capacities into the early nineteenth century because of limited breeding stock. The number of sheep was only 6,000 in 1797 (Carman et al. 1892), but increased rapidly to about joo,ooo by the mission slaughter of the early I 8 jos (Duflot de Mofras 1937). By end of Mexican period in 1848, the distribution of sheep was similar to cattle withi11 the rancho system from

S,m Diego t o Sonoma. Cheep \\ ese nel el o h s e r ~ed in the Cal~iorniainterlor bl an\ non-Hispanic explorers of the Xlewcan p e r ~ o d . The ~mpoi-tanceof sheep X arled among the mlssions and ranchos, 31though sources g i e~confl~ctingdat,i. Bancroft's data ( 18 88) mdlcates that sheep populations \\ere gre'ltest a t L l ~ s s l o ~San l s Gabriel, San I uis Re\, and S ' I ~J u a n C a p ~ s t r a ~ i111 o s o ~ i t h e r nCaliforma (T'ible 3.4). Forbes ( 1 8 3 9 )m t e d that I jo,ooo sheep pastured a t h l ~ s s i o nSan I ~11s Re\ alone. S~milarl\D a ~ i s ' srancho e s t m a t e s g11 e the h ~ g h e s number t In San Diego ,md Los Angeles c o u n t m , '1s \I ell as for ranchos a t Tomales Ba\, Sutter's Fort, and a t the Go1 ernment K a c ~ o n a (upper l Salmas \'alle\ ) . h e a r l ) all the i i l ~ r s ~ oand ~ i s ranchos had a t least one hand of sheep. H o n e \ er, sheep I\ ere less popular t h m ~ ' i t t l ebecause the^ required ieliable herders n e x l r all the time. Sheep \\ere d s o \ulnerable t o pled,itols, especi,dl\ n1ou11tain lio~is,tor otes, a i d \\ 011 es ( B m c r o f t r 88 8 ) . Cal~forniasheepmen "folio\\ ed the time-honored practlies that c a n e f~ on1 Spain Into the a r ~ d pro^ mces of the South\\ est: o n ners d r o l e t l i e ~ rflocl\s illto bands of 1000 to r o o o a n ~ r n ~ l land s , p ~1' ~herder t In c h x g e of e'ich band" (Cleland 1964: 140). Sheep became feral o n l ~o n S,~iitaCruz Isl,iud in the '~hsenceof natural predators (Brurnbaugh 7980; A l ~ n n ~ c1980). h In the 1860s, Santa Cru7 Island had 30,000 sheep a n d Santa C s t a l ~ n j had . I\ 11d goats (Cro, ~ large, nlse 1868: 89-90). While the number of sheep in C , ~ l i f o r n ~\\as the poss~hleImpact of sheep grazing compared t o ~ a t t l e\X as less because ), \s as ,I rule anlong of sheep's srn'~llslze. According t o Da\ 1s ( ~ 9 2 9 there the rancheros that one c o n was equal to f i e~ sheep. Bidnell (19 37: 39) obsei-Xed that sheep "are small and the n ool r,~thercoarse." t ~ o the n imsslon s l ~ u g h Sheep numbers col1,ipsed 1 ~ 1 t hs e c u l a r ~ z ~ ~and ter, as well as f r o m drought in the ear11 184os, p o s s ~ b tl o~ as lo\\ '1s 3 1,600 b) 1 8 4 2 (Duflot de Xlofrc~s~ 9 . 5 7 )H. o n e x e l , Bidnell (193-: ;L)) sn\t "a great man! " m some places ,it that t m e , i n c l u d ~ n6,000 ~ on at the L~rei-moreRanch. H e s a n 1,000 a t S ~ ~ t t e rFort. According t o the 's 1 8 50 U.C. census, there were less than 18,000 sheep in C a l ~ f o r n i ~(Clel land 1964: I 38-40). From the gold rush through the 1 8 ~ O Sa ,gre'xt ~ n f l u xof sheep, posslbl) one-half m ~ l l ~ ohead, n ~ v a sd r ~ r e nInto C , i l ~ f o r n ~trorn a Nem MeuKO, first as a meat source and later for moo1 (Cronlse ~ 8 6 8 )Cleland . (1964: 109) estimates that about r o o , o o o sheep crossed the Colorado RI\ er en route t o C A f o r n ~ a111 1858, and 3 5,000 sheep came t o Los Xngeles m Februarj 18 59. In the fall of 18 j 9 ~t n a s s a d that 46,000 head f ~ o i nthe Rro Grande Valle~nere passlng through Xri7ona hound for Callfoi-n~a.In the w n t e r of 1 8 6 0 1' 11 esti~liated80,000 head arrited a t the

Invasion in the n'irlereenth Century

LOS

ferry o n the Colorado River. Cleland (1964: T i 8-40) \\'rites that by 1 8 6 0 the number of sheep in California had gro\vn t o about T million. Wool exports climbed from 17j,OOO pounds in r 8 5 4 t o 2 million pounds in 1860 and 11.4 million pounds in 1 8 7 0 ( 138-40). Grazers quickly learned they had t o employ transhur~~ance-usii~g mountain sulnmer pastures in seasonally t o assure year-round grazing f o r their herds-because forage was sparse in suininer. Transhumance of sheep in mountain meadows began in earnest during the drought of r 8 61-64 (Rurcham I 9 j 7 ) According t o Twisselruann ( I 967), some flocks would spend almost a n entire year away from their base in the Los Ranos region in the central San Joaquin Valle!; feeding south in late winter and spring, then north through the Sierra Nevada in summer and fall, returning home the following winter. In the 186os, ownership of lauds was of little concern t o migratory herdsman (T\visselmann 1 9 6 7 ) . R) the 1880s most of the valley grazing lands in Kern County were o\vned o r controlled by resident sheepmen. The \\-arm San Joaquin V&!; with its early gl-owth in good years, tvas ideal for winter sheep range and for lambing the ewes. T h e "long trail" sheep grazed in the San Joaquin Valley in \rimer a i d spring, in the Mojave Desert in late spring, ,111d in the Sierra Ne\,ada in summer and fall, along a route from Rakersfield through the Tehachapi Mountains, north t o M o n o Lake and the high eastern Sierra Ne\.ada. In southern California, livestock was driven to the San Bernardino and San Jacinto nlountains for surnnler pasture from the hlojave Desert, the Ri~.erside-Perrisplain, and from the present-day Joshua Tree N:itional Park (14innich 1 9 8 8 ) . Sheep grmv t o possibly 4 million in the 1870s. peaking a t 6.7 million in 1876, partly in con~pensationfor losses of cattle in the 1860s (Cleland r 964; Rurcham 1 9 j 7 ) . Extreme drought in I 876-77 and increase cropping of lvinter lo\rlands hegan a decline of sheep pasturing that continued into the early twentieth century (Locknlann 1 9 8 )~. According to Cleland (1964: 2091, pasture \vas so poor that "nothing green could be seen in n.ide stretches of the country" and sheep perished in great n u n hers. The suhdivision of large landholdings and the expansion of agriculture diminished winter pasture (Cleland 1964: 209). The newly formed forest reserves in the early r 890s closed off summer pasture, as interests regarding public lands shifted to\vard recreation (1.ockmann 1 9 8 1).Sheep drives in southern California shifted t o mouiltairl pastures of northern Baja California (Minnich and Franco-Vizcaino ~ 9 9 8 ) . Daris ( ~ 9 2 9stated ) that mules were never in large numbers. Leonard ( 1 9 ~ 91: 0 4 ) recalled that during the dry season mules were p t h e r e d into "large droves" and driven off t o market a t Santa Fe, N e w Mexico. Like-

I 06

Invasion in the Nineteenth Century

wise, Cronise ( 1868: 370) stated that "mules are not numerous-being chiefly used for freighting goods into the mines and over the mountains. They are also emplo! ed for packmg Into d~strlctsn here lvagon roads are ~mpracticable." Hogs were doubtless found In small n~inlberson the ranches throught~es. out C'111fornsa and appear to ha1 e gone feral in sheltered l o ~ ~ ~ l ~Cronlse (1868: 329) wrote that the T ~ ~ l a Count! re rule snarnps were excellent for swlne, which "were lrttle cared for, and rarelv seelng human he~ngs,soon become qulte n l l d , tnaklng it necessary tor the owner to shoot them when he wishes to secure a carcass." Hogs also ran feral in the h ~ l l sof Cat-alina Island (89-90). EARLY EXPANSION O F FRANCISCAN ANNUALS

While the Franclscan rnrssronarles Introduced European annual grasses and forbs, they wrote llttle about the expansion ok these species. An irnportant earl) source of botanical data mere m s s l o n b r ~ c k sof preclse age that contained plant reinalns from the beglnnmg ot the rnlsslon p e r ~ o d (Hendr) and Kelle! 192 j; H e n d n r 93 I ) . Bricks \\ere placed in u a t e r and the! dissol\ed, leavmg res~dualplant mater1'1ls. Most bricks contamed organic matter for binding and pre\ ention of shrmkage, especiall~ wheat o r barley straw. VCTeedsof all kinds were extensn el) used, partlcularlv those wlth fibrous stems, such as wdd r,e, sedges, tule, filaree, tarweeds, and >arIous grasses, but the presence of other nl~scellaneousmaterials suggests that much of the general refuse from a mlssion n as also used. As a consequence, the bricks bore a random sample of the local flora. Perhaps the best e ~ ~ d e n that c e S p a n ~ s hmlsslonarles mtloduced wild species either deliberately o r as foul seed that escaped ss the di~erslt! of crop plants brought to C a l i f o r n ~ aIn . the second Xnza expedltlon, Font s a n that Palou's garden a t h l ~ s s i o nCarmel ~ncludedlettuce, c'lullflower n a n d artichoke (March 12, 1776; see Xppendiv T ) . The m ~ s s ~ obrrcks recorded numerous cereal crops, ~ n c l u d m gPropo u heat (Trltmlrn vztlgare grnecurn Kcke., Trlt~cwnzzulgare ulbrdum Al.), L ~ t t l eCluh wheat (Trztrcunz compacturn himzboldtrz Kcke.), Cal~forniaClub n heat (Priticutn compacturn erinaceurn Kcke.), Conora wheat (Tiitlcurt~r~ulgatealbdzinz), Coast b a r l e ~(Hordeurn uctlgnre pallldzirrz Ser.). red oat (Aven'z h ~ ~ z u n t ~G.n aKochi, and European oat ( h e m sati~wL.). The S p a n ~ s h Friars also brought corn (Zca rnqh L.), red mexlcan or plnk bean (Phaseolzis ~~ulgarls L.), garden pea ( P ~ u nsatzzwrn z L .), \vat-ermelon [ Clt?ullirs uldgam Schr'ld), carrot (Datic~tscmotn L.), fig (Ficus carlciz L.), o l ~ k e

Invasion in the Nineteenth Century

107

(Olea europaea L.), and the European grape (Vitis vinifera L.) (Hendry 193'). Mission bricks document exotic wild species, including Erodium cicutarium, Brassica nigra, Malva parviflora, Poa annua, Hordeum muvinum, Medicago hispida, M. indica, and Trifolium wormskioldii (Table 3.3). The Spanish missionaries were aware of these species' spontaneous expansion in California. B, nigra and Malva parviflora received a lot of commentary from the very beginning, partly because of their negative impacts around the missions. The fathers stated that they actually introduced species. For example, in 1792 Longinos-Martinez said that in California "the four seasons of the year are very like those of Spain. Thus it has been seen that all the trees and seeds that have been introduced from that country multiply with the same abundance and quality as in that climate" (Simpson 1961: 31). A concept that plants were deliberately introduced at multiple locations was ingrained among the Mexican population in California. Parish (1920) stated that "there is a persisting tradition among the Spanish-speaking population that the mission fathers were accustomed to carry the seed with them, and to sow by the way side." Many of these invasives had expanded through large portions of California by the gold rush and the first government surveys in the midnineteenth century, but the frequency of records and age of bricks at individual missions suggests divergent rates of dispersal and expansion of the species in the mission period. Frenkel(1970) notes that many species are not commonly associated with Erodium cicutarium in the oldest (mission) walls, but frequently began to appear with them and with native species in later walls of the same buildings. This suggests a later arrival and a gradual expansion of these species compared to E, cicutarium, which expanded across California within a few years. What follows is a summary of the early expansion of the most widespread and abundant Franciscan invasives. Then comes an assessment of regional patterns of European invasions and the persistence of indigenous floras in the mid-nineteenth century. Brassica nigra (black mustard) A deliberate introduction by the Franciscan missionaries (Hendry 193 I; Frenkel 1970), this coarse annual was recorded in mission bricks in Baja California (Santo Domingo, San Vicente) and at Mission Soledad and Rancho El Sansal in central California (Table 3.3; Hendry and Kelly 1925). It had already invaded mission grounds by the 1770s. At Mission

TABLE

3.3

SELECTED ANNUALS AND HERBACEOUS PERENNIALS FOUND IN CALIFORNIA MISSION ADOBE HRICKS

Missiona

SFV

SAN

SDM

SVC:

Date of foullding Date of adobe brick

1769 1769

1771

1775 1775

Ino 1791 1797 Ino 1793-97 1797

X X

X

In7

SDD

SFR.

srs 1797 1811

SJB

SFS

1797 1824 1805-13 1824

RES

RV/

RNV

1834 1834-451837 1834 1834-451837

Ixonc

;\NNUAL Sf/erES tJodillJll ciclIf~lirt m c eInland, . . . the rounded hills [e.g. the P ~ ~ e nhrlls] t e 'Ire cmered w t h 1' deep rich loam, n111ch rn the spring pi-od~lccs1' 1u.iuri~ntcrop ot \r,lld oats." F x r h e r north t o n a d Los Angeles, he gel\c 1' more coniplete plcture:

Imaslon ~nthe Nineteenth Century

ILI

The Pacific Railroad survey of the 18 jos had a similar appraisal of the southern California plains. Bigelow ( I8 56: r 61, referring to the Los Angeles valley (the entire southern California coastal plain), wrote, "Grass and wild oats are abundant from one end to the other. . . . Pu'ature has peculiarly favored this region and adapted it to grazing by furnishing it with n s~iccessionof plants, . . . so that n o trouble o r expense is experienced in raising cattle and horses." During the course of a rainy season, he continued, "the first crop is called 'pin grass,' (Erodittm cicz.rta~izmz). . . the next is a crop o f leguminous plants, such as Mcdic~zgoand several ~ ) other , species of clover, (Trifolium);then follow wild oats ( A L J ~and species of grass in greatest abundance." Wllipple ( IS j6a: 134) descsitxd a mixture of grass and flowers in the San Bernardino Valley. H e saw a "great grassy plain . . . [that] contains numerous herds of sheep and cattle grazing o n the irnrnense sheet of tall and 1~1xuriantgrass . . . vai-iegated with an abundance of bright flowers." In the San Gabriel Valle); (Blake 1856: 7 j ) "large flocks of sheep were feeding on the burr of the California clover." At Point Conception, where flower fields were described by Crespi and Font eighty years before, Blake found a "growth of wild oats and weeds" ( 3 ) . In the state surve); Brewer described grassland across the southern California plains. West of Los Angeles, the Triunfo Ranch lvas "covered with gsass," the San Buenaventura area was a "fine grassy plain," and a t Santa Barhara "we rode over grassy hills, with some timber, where many cattle and sheep were grazing" (Brewer 1966: 45-49). In a rare first-hand account, Lougheed (19 51) wrote that his father "unarveled a t the sight of mustard" when he moved t o Los Angeles in the r 850s and gave remarkable detail of its distribution, largely in areas nit11 heavy, clay-rich soils. His tather found "great fields of mustard extended from the outskirts of the then Los Angeles city limits east a n d south through Alhambra, El Monte, a n d the Puente districts, Whittier, and Santa Fe Springs;. . . and [in] the San Pedro Redondo areas. . . . hlustard varied from 4 t o r o feet tall [1.3-;.o m J . " 111 1874, the Reverend T. M . Dawson ( I874) journeyed from San Pedro t o Los Angeles, along Duhaut-CillY1s I 826-2; route, where he rode through "a plain decorated with great quantities of jellow wildflowers," doubtless the black mustard. Cronise ( I868: 111)assessed the grazing potential of Santa Barbara County: "The highest mountains being covered with grass o r wild oats during the winter a n d spring, furnish nutritious pasturage for sheep and cattle during the entire year." Similarly, "Sitacoy and Santa Clara Val-

ILL

In\ asion ~n the N~neteeiithCentur)

t sixteen miles [Santa Ynez Rir er ~ a l leks have a frontage o n the c o ~ s of ley] . . . these valle! 5 and plains produce immense quantitses of wild must x d , \vlilch grows to the size of sniall trees sn some localites" (11j ) . In Los Angeles Count!, he said "these p l a m are c o ~ e r e dwith wild grasses, oats and clover" ( I O ~ ) . Archduke Ludwig Louis 5 a h a t o r ( ~ 9 2 9 8: 1 ) descr~bedthe seasonal course of livestock forage a t Los ,Angeles in 1876: During the winter and spring months are found the plants that afford [live~ i i 7bunch 1) grass. stock] considerable food; alfilerilla ( E r o d i l t ~ ~n - 1 ~ ~ t ~ 7 r i and The form ~rhichis most abundant of all the natir-e gro\ving grdsses [it is grows thickly in the hills neither native nor a grass, b u t an esotlc ger,~niun~] a11d plains, affording with its light greenish-yello\~color a soft tone on the landscape. This is one of the richest foods for cc~ttle. In summer and autumn, ~vildoats and burr clover furnish excellent fodder. The former, which the s seeds for ,l long time; the lattercattle eat \\-hen green, retains ~ t nourishing contains seed in a little spherical burr. . . . E \ m after the meadows turn earth brown in color, cattle and sliecp can subsist on these seeds on land which to the experienced appears to he a desert. I'ractic~ll>-all the p s t u r e lands are devoid of lveeds. J o h n Hittell ( 1 8 7 4 : 104-S), ~ v h oobserved the Los Angeles region in the 1 8 6 0 s ~stated that Avenn fatzra "grows \ w y luxuriantly and in some places surpassed in the height, size and abundance of stalks, as a field of cultivated oats which I have ever seen." The burr clover Aledicago hispida,which he called the white Californian clover, "has a large yellowishxvhite bloom. It grokvs 2-3 feet high 10.6-1.0 m] in moist places while in dry places it will mature its seed without rising more than t w o o r three inches. . . . The Melilotus officimles. . . . likes a very moist soil and crowds o u t nearly everything else." The interior valleys of southern California also afforded excellent pasture. Brewer (1966: 3 4 ) described inland plains near Corona as "a grassy carpet." Cronise (1868: 9 8 ) wrote that theTemecula area, which had the largest population in the Riverside-Perris plain at that time, had "the finest grazing lands in the southern portioris of the state, being covered with wild oats, clover, and other nutritious grasses, furnishing pasture for thousands o t cattle, horses, and sheep." The diser'lo of Rancho Cucamonga (1840s) showed pasture in the soutliern part of the land grant (Black 1 ~ 7 5 )In. 1860, the land grant received a description of the seasonal pasture cycle cornparable t o other parts of southern California: "The country from Cucamonga t o San Bernardino for 18. . . . In the lvinter this desert is covered with herbage, called alfilaria [Emditttn]grass, upon which the stock feed and fatten . . . in spring, . . . these now sterile hills

Invasion in the Kineteenrh Century

rz;

are co\ ered for leagues with heavv crops of wild oats and fragrant clover" (Black 1975: 4 5-46). There ,ire few reports of w~ldflowerfields from the S p m ~ s hand Mexican periods. C a l ~ f o r n i ,wildflo\zers ~ were s \ m b o l ~ z e dIn playing cards. Francis M. Fultz, w h o p r o ~ r d e dman! articles o n wddflo\l ers to the Los Angeles T m e s , recounted that the lack-of-spades plavlng card from the early S p m ~ s hdavs had a n linage of B n e f ~ a(Lasthetzra gizlctlzs), o r goldfie1ds.l The California poppy (Eschscholzza cal~fonucaiwas a c u l t ~ ~ r a l icon. The Spanish Californians gave poppies pretty names-n~napola, torosa, a n d adormidern, "the drowsy one," the latter on 'Iccount of the \%a! the petals fold u p and go to sleep 111 the evenmg, and c o p dc or0 (cup of gold).' The Tunes also reported the orlgm of the genus name Eschscholz~z.' Leonard H. Eschscholz of Ch,~rleston,South C a r o l ~ n a , \iewed tor the first tlme the poppies m m e d after one of his ancestors. T h e p o p p ~mas named for R u s s ~ a nsurgeon Johann F r ~ e d e r ~ cEsh chscholtz, w h o was part of the expedition that visited California in r 8 r 6. O n e of his shipmates was Adelbert \ o n Chamisso, \\ho g a \ e the C J ~ I fornia poppy its scientific name, Eschscholria califonzica. The earliest description of wildflowers in Los Angeles was made in February 1 8 4 7 by Revere ( 1 8 4 9 ~ 281): : "In the plain itself, the richest and most brilliant wildflowers flourish which far transcends a11 art; All colors, all shades of colors, all hues, all tints, all cornbinat~onsare there t o be seen. And the endless varlety bewilder the senses. P e r e n n d Incense 'iscends to hea\ en from these fragrant plains; a n d the slze w h ~ c hsome of the gorgeous flowers attain, w o ~ l l dseem fCibulousto a11 eastern florist. Among thein 'ire the popp) and a tulip whose floutmg and g a u d ~hues attract the hurnblist d ~ i and s ~ the rneekest Ilolet." The follov mg Tear , San B n a n t (1838: 417) reccilld. "In the Coueng,~plain [ s ~ csouthern Fernando Vallev] . . . ,i few davs [after J ram] h a l e made I' great change 111 the appearance of the Lountr\. The fresh grass is now s e \ e r d ~ n c h e s 111 h e ~ g h t ,and Inmy flowers are in bloom." In the U.S.-hlexican houndar) s u n e) of the earl\ r Xjos, E mar\ ( I8 5759: 18) referred to the coast,~lSan Diego reglon where he was based: It is in the latter part of ~vinterand during the earlier spring months that California puts o n her richest floral garb. In February the moistened ground becomes arrayed in a n assenihlage of varied tints. The pale blossom ot the elegant Drdrcatheor? u~tegrifc~lizmz [ c l e ~ ~ l n i t dnod i i ] on every hill side. blue L~rpiizesand rainho\v colored Gilias deck the ground. . . . The l Z i b ~ r rpeciosmtz hangs its scarlet pendants, and thc rich yello\v tlo\vers of Viola pedunculat,l are abundant every\vhere. . . . X 1,lrge number o f Hydrophl'lIdceize, including species of Wenzoph~la,Ph~zcelia,and EtltocJ [PhaccliL7],

are among the early tokens of spring, v-hile the or,lnge solored flowers of Escboltria (sic),the pale hlooms of P l ~ t ~ ' s t e ~ i ~, ~o ni zdthe . pink ones of Llccol~opsis,sho\v r h ~ the t poppy Llnlily iontrih~itelargei! to m&e up the v e r n ~ lflora. 111 r 876 a n d f o u n d A r c h d u k e S a l \ , ~ t o r[ ~ 9 2 9 2: 4 ) toured Los LAi~geles "the fields 111 ,lnd a b o u t Los i-\ngeles a l e particularl\ rich In flon.ers. T h u s In A l x c h t h e \ ,Ippear t o he clo'lked in red; in , i p r ~ 1l11 blue; U h ~ l e~n hLi! the\ resemhle masses of p u r e gold i E - \ t l ? ~ i h o l ; / c n~l)i i c h 1s ~ p t l )c'llled C o p d e O m , - c u p of gold." T h e T i t l ~ ~reported a 111 T 890 t h ~ "J t \\ ellknom 11 s u n er o r once told the n I iter t h a t [ h e rode] through mlles of these p o p p ~ e s111 the old d a \ s . " ' C I onisc I r 868: ;-;l described nildflo\ters 111 t h e c o n t e x t of the h o n e \ industr\ : "C a l ~ t o r n i ahas 1' gre'it Ixier! m d ekp'insc of \ e r \ ga? f l m ~ e r s like , t h e escolc111,i [SIC]. . . ; hut, '1s 1' rule, t h e g a l er t h e f l o i ~ e the r less hone\ it has. . . . H o n e \ h a c o m e t o m a r k e t from Los Angeles, a n d is so , ~ b u n c i C ~anntd che,lp ( t n e n t i file cents '1 p o ~ i n d ti h ~ t th e production does n o t wen1 reniunclatl\ e a t t h ~ tsm e . " A t D o s I'ueblos n e s t of CantLlBarbara, Breu e r ( r 9 66: -4) sal\ " T er\ green g r ~ s hilI5, s ~ o n hlch \\ ere 111 a p r o t ~ ~ s ~oot rnl ildflon ers." F l o n ers ~ l s o io\ ered t h e i n l m d \alle\ s. Kie\\ er ( 1 9 6 6 : 4 0 ) obser\ e d t h ~ "on t hills e ~ s t of C o r o n a o r Temesc,~l,I f o u n d sollie e.;qu~sltel\ b e ~ u t ~ tflo\\ ~ i l ers of \ er\ small size, s e \ e r d specles b e ~ n gliss t h a n a n ~ n c h111 liclght." I n 18-9 the Los Angclci reqlon 17 '1s i s ~ t e db\ a b o t ~ n i s t1. F. J,lmes, \\ h o pro\ lded J rare earl\ glimpse o f southern C a l ~ f nia o ~ \\ lth 1' scieno n o n \ m o u i r 8So).He n rote t h ~ t tlfic e \ e (see ~ l s A

g sit!, the hills, in the \ icinity of L 0 5 Angeles . . . the plain5 ~ u r r o u n d ~ nthe ,md the allc! s are one m c i s ot gorgrous, brilli,lnr ilon-er$. . . . XIost conS ~ ~ S L I O I of: I S ~ 1 1 both , for it5 ,thundanct. , ~ n dit\ color. is rlic C,ilitorni,~n popp!; t r r h s c b o l z ~ ~(.L?/~~OYIIICII. i It C O \ er5 d ~ r e o\ t gro~md.,ind the bright golden-yellon or or'inge ot 1t5 floners i h viiihle for ~nrles.One p,itch on a hriglir cle'lr da! [n.,ls] too dxzling tor the eye to g x r upon. . . . rrul! [,l] Field of the Cloth oi Golci. 111 place, \vilere the grourid U-sspl\)\ved paths of it had been left, sild they 5eemed like toi-ig~le5of fire running over the ground.

On-1s clover ( O r t h o c - n p l l s p ~ i l p i i m s c ~ t ~lie s ) , s l i d , "grows in dense masses, co\.ering the g r o u n d tor miles, a n d giving it a purplish hue." \Y7ildflowers t h a t were "so c o m m o n ns t o c o \ cr acres of g r o u n d " Ivere B'rericr ( LLlsthcwiLr) gmcilis a n d Atr~sivrckiaspcst'zhilis. Other c o m m o n species n w e Siii,llce;r tmlr$ola, P l q s t e r n o u califorr~iczis, Pcor~inj Pi7eo1riizi b m t ~ ~ w i i , I'enstcwlo~ (Kec-kiellcr) c o ~ t i i f i ~ l i ~ .Si-ropb~llai.i~z ls. c L ~ l i f ~ ~ t x iPcl1~~~,c e l i l l la~uosissiwza,P. tauccctifolia. Ncmopl?iliz i m l g t ~ i s( t i ~ e ~ ~ : i ~ sN. l i )m, r i t a ,

In~.asionin the Nineteenth Century

125

three species of Gilia, Miri~biliscaliforrric~r,V i o h p ~ i f ~ i ~ ~ZLzzischn~~ll~~ta, riiz c~zlifi~rtzica, and members of the genera Clrrrkia, Lzipimis, Hosackia (Lotzis),and Ast~agalzis.S L T ~ Lciz~.tftlilcea J ~ L Z and S. ~ o l ~ i t ~gl-exxl ~ in~ dry v i ~ ~ ~ sandy soil. J a m e s also noted t w o "alfillerilla" (Erodiztrri ciczltarirlm, E. ~noscl7lztltt~) as valuable forage plants. T h e pimpernel (Atrag~llis~ r z ~ t r . most conspicuous exotic sis) was common in cultivated g s o ~ n d s The species tvas Blassica t ~ i g m\vhich , James referred t o as "one of the most pernicious lveeds of the whole of Southern California, . . . [which] covered the ground in many places fos acres, t o the entire exclusion of other plants." J x m s rode through fields of it earl!. in spring \vhen it \vas '1s high 3 s the saddle on a horse. Another exotic n.ns MizlvL7 h i ~ ~ ~ l(pc7r~rlis iflorrr), n-hich g r a y "ever!.\vl~ere around houses a n d in waste ground; in old sheep and cattle corrals . . . so thick and strong that even a horse has difficult!- in forcing his \\-ay through it."

The central California coast s 'Ire co\ ered n ith green grass , ~ n dthe ~ldflo\\ers hegm t o appe,~r." Flom er fields in,i! IM\ e been more cxtenslve In the ~nl,lnd d l e i s of the C o ~ s Rt m g e . 7 he tlank of the GJTa l ~ mA I o ~ i n t ~ descending ~n\ mto \all Ioaqurn Vdle\ \\'IS "clotheti in the flor'll be,iut\ of ~ danced \ spring" (Fremont I 848: 38). L'Enfaiit ( 1 8 1 8 ) mlote ot the Cmta C h r a V,~lle\,"the hole p l a ~ n15 COT ered with w ~ l dflan ers . . . the e h \ \I ild o ~ t us ,IT 111g 11-1 the breeze." Revere ( r 84913) wrote that the lands from hIontere\ t o the s ~ i c h enaml~ 5,111n~splcllll U ere IllLemost o f the reglon: " d e l ~ c ~ o uplains, eled $1 ~ t hthose evquislte ~ld-tloneus ar) I I I ~ froiii the p&st blue to hr~ghtestfl'lrne-color n h ~ c hw e PI-oduced spontmeousl\ 111 all p x t s ot California." Rebere ( I 849'1) AISO suggested t h ~nt d d o ~ t ,s~ tt h ~tlme t neie most e\tensl\ e ~nthe plains: "the he~ghtson I\ h c h we rode, although t1ioi1h sands of feet ~ b oCt tlie le\ el o t the w,l, U ere la\ ~slil\sti-e\r ed ~ t wildflonei-s of a hundred hues, l x g e , ~ n dmore h e C ~ u t ~ tf uh lm ,in\ I h ~ e\er d seen. On the p l ~ i i ibelow growing 1 ' crop of o ~ t s son , ed and cultl\,lted hv n ~ t u r e shand long, m d the bright green stems shot up more thickl\ m d l u r u r ~ , ~ n t than l\ 111 m r cultnated field I ha\ e e\ er beheld." I-lhen lse the Re\ erend T. I h ~ g hH t u n t suggested that wild o ~ t gren s prim,lr~l\ 117 pldms 'doilg the c o ~ s t "VClst : tracts of wild oats grow up t o the coast range, the dr\ tops ~ n the d hllen gram of \r h ~ c hafford the best of p c t u r a g e \xlien tlie gr'lsses ot the \ alle\ s are h r o v n , ~ n d\\ ~tliered."

130

Invasion in the Nineteenth Century

In the late I 86os, John Muir often took "the slow trip" from San Francisco to Yosemite through the San Jose plain and Gilroy, where he saw a mixture of wildflowers and introduced grasses. (The alternative route was ~ route, Muir (1974: 19) found that the by steamer to F r e s n o . ) ' ~ l o nhis Diablo Range and Santa Cruz Mountains "still wear natural flowers, which do not occur singly or in handfuls, scattered about in the grass, but they grow close together, in smooth, cloud shaped companies, acres and hillsides in size, white, purple, and yellow, separate, yet blending to each other like the hills upon which they grow. Besides the white, purple, and yellow clouds, we occasionally saw a thicket of scarlet castilleias and silvery-leafed lupines, also splendid fields of wild oats (Auena fatzta)." Brewer (1966) saw extensive wildflower fields in the Coast Range in the spring of 1861. Approaching Santa Inez, he saw "very green grassy slopes, on which there were a profusion of wildflowers with brilliant colors" (74). At Nipomo Ranch, Brewer (1966: 76) reported that "large oaks scattered here and there, the green grass beneath, and the great profusion of flowers, made it look like a fine park." The hills near Lompoc "were covered with pasture, or grass, with a great profusion of flowers" (38). Farther north on the ranch, Brewer wrote that "the profusion of wildflowers, beautiful elsewhere, now tired us with their abundance and sameness" (78). Central Valley The great Central Valley of California was covered by vast sheets of wildflowers mixed with Erodium and clovers. Wild oats and black mustard appear to have been restricted to the floodplains of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers and their tributaries. The earliest description of the Central Valley northeast of Sacramento, by Jedediah Smith in 1828 (Evarts 19 581, is ambiguous: "The winter in this valley is the best season for grass and at the time of which I am now speaking the whole face of the country is a most beautiful green, resembling a flourishing wheat field." His use of "grass" map be akin to the Spanish zncate, i.e., green cover of any kind, and it is uncertain whether "wheat fields" represent wild oats, a plant name never used in his diary. In I 83 3, Zenas Leonard ( 19 59: 9 0 ) , who had no botanical background, crossed the San Joaquin Valley, apparently near the San Joaquin River during the dry season, recalling: "This day our course lay through a large prairie covered with wild oats . . . on the south side of the river." When he approached the San Joaquin River, he made a confusing description of wild oats, which may in fact refer to some native such as Hemizonia (tarweed): "This day our course lay through a large prairie covered with

Invasion in the Nineteenth Century

131

wild oats-which at this season of the year when nothing but [the] stock [of the plant] remains, has much the appearance of wild oats" (88). More explicit descriptions reveal that clovers were abundant species by the mid-eighteenth century. Bidwell (1937: 33), writing in 1839, said, "Here on this side of the Bay [Sacramento Valley], is an abundance of red and white clover growing with the grass." He described his Rancho Chico as "one of the loveliest of places. The plains were covered with scattered groves of spreading oaks [valley oak, Quercus lobata]; there were wild grasses and clover, two, three and four feet high [o.6-1.3 m], and most luxuriant" (Gillis and Magliari 2003: 94-95). Bidwell recalled that in spring the bears chiefly lived on clover, which grew luxuriantly on the plains, especially in the little depressions (vernal pools) on the plains (Gillis and Magliari 2003: 93 ). Frimont's two expeditions make clear that Erodium and clovers were important pasture in the Central Valley. In the Sierra Nevada foothills east of Sacramento, the "hills generally are covered with a species of geranium (erodium cicutarium) . . . with this was frequently interspersed good and green bunch grass and a plant commonly called burr clover" (Frtmont 1848: 17). When the San Joaquin Valley was "in the full glory of spring," the "geranium [Erodium] cicutarium was generally in bloom, occupying the place of the grass, and making the upland a close sward" (20). The rangelands of Butte County, near the Sacramento River, " consisted of excellent grasses, wild oats in fields, red and other varieties of clover" (27). He wrote generically that E, cicutarium "covered the ground like a sward" in the Sacramento Valley, where "squaws were gathering the seeds for food" (Frtmont 184 j: 243,2 j 3). E. cicutarium was abundant in the San Joaquin Valley. At Kern River, west of present-day Lake Isabella, he wrote that "instead of grass, the whole face of the country is closely covered with erodium cicutarium, here only two or three inches high [4-7 cm]'' ( 253). Wild oats and black mustard were concentrated in the floodplains. In 1834, Leonard (1959: 114, 120) saw extensive fields of wild oats along the San Joaquin River. At Colusa, on the Sacramento River, Bidwell once spooked a group of Indians who were eating wild oats, which grew in abundance there (Gillis and Magliari 2004: 88). Bidwell (1937: 33) stated that near his Rancho Chico mustard grew in abundance. He also said that wild oats overspread the Sacramento Valley before there was livestock grazing, stating, "Here are also innumerable quantities of wild oats, which I am told, grow nearly all over California, and grow as thick as they can stand, producing oats of an excellent quality; but as neither cattle nor horses are ever fed here, they are never harvested" (33). Frtmont's (1848: 24-27) explorations of the Central Valley record

T jr

In\~,lslonin rlir Nineteenth Crntur!-

w11d o ~ t In s the floodpluns. At the Sacramento RI\ er near Sutter's Fort, Fremont found " m ~ l doats . . . 111the bottoms" ( 1 4 ) .At another locatlon o n the rl1 er he reiterated that the ri1 er b ' b o t t o n ~\ve~-e s c m ered \\ ith oats" ( 1 6 ) .At the Buttes north o i Sacramento, "the u'lnge consisted of excellent grasses, w l d oats in fields, red ancl other \ m e t l e s ot c l o er. ~ . . . Oats I\ ere n o w dr) ~ n In g le\ el place5 exposed t o . . . the sun, rernamlng green m molster places and o n the hill 3lopes." Br! ant ( ~ 8 4 8300-1) : n m t e III late summer (Septenlbel 1 5 ) h o m the Coscurnne i s ~ cRI\ ) er that his "route has continued 01 er a flat p l a n gener,ill\ col ered n ~ t hl u r u r ~ a n grass, t U 11d oats, and ,I v'lrlet! ot sp,lrlillng flon ers." er! 11hel\ 1' summer mThe occurrence of n ild o ~ t along s the ri\ er5 is supported b\ land grant d ~ v i o from s the T 840s ( F ~ g i ~;.r e1 ; Becker T q 64 1. In the S a c r m ~ e n t o\'dl e ~most , lad gr'lnt concessions \\ere obtained ,llong the Sacr,imento R n e r 11 here the best pasture grmi s long the f l o o d p l ~ ~ Legal n. records for the dls~j20for Rancho de las Flores ( I 8441, I o m l e s south of Red Bluff on the S a c r ~ m e n t oRITer f l o ~ d p l ~sr'lte ~ n , that "11 ild o ~ t reached s t o the s ~ d tile s k ~ r t "(Becker 1964; and see Figure ;.qi. The iilsei2o sho\1 s the best p x t u s e long the rl\ ers on the eastern m d southern I~ordersof the I d g r m t . Liken ~ s ethe , cftsctio for R m c h o Omochumnes, i o mdes s o u t h e ~ ~ s t ot Cacramento, presents ,In elong,~tedpropert\ boundar\ b long the best l a d s near the rlr ers ( F ~ g u r 3. e j ). The K m c h o de los ,\lollnos cl'lseiio shows the r m c h on l ~ n dclbole the floodpIcm, l ~ n dt l l ~ Jt ~ Wtollo\\ s the 1-11er. s d \Y7ild oat5 cllso In\ aded I\ he'lt fields. Bidnell stated that "l\ ild o ~ t m \I ecds . . . ha\ e rendered the TI heat 111 some field5 u n d e s ~ l ~ ~fol h l eg r a n , and so has t o he cut for h ~ \ "(Clllls , ~ n d11,1gl1,1ri roo;: I 57). Other c x p e d ~ t ~ o of n s thrs perlod descrrbe the ~ h u n d m c eof herh '01 er long the r ~ ers r but d o not ~ d c n t ho ~ t s In . the P ~ c l f i cR,~ilro,ld surx e\ of the I X jos, Bike ( 1 8 7 6 ) described rlp,lrl,ln l i a h ~ t ,it ~ t O c o v , ~(Pose) Creek in the 5,111 J o a q ~ m\'cdle~, n here "1011 h m k s and bottom-land \\ere timbered n ~ t 1h' dense gran th of cotton\\ oods m d n lllo\t c, m d cons ~ d e r a b l egrasses can he wen long ~ t border," s I.e.. gr'15ses dld not occur he\ orld the f l o o d p l ~ i n W'ill~anison . (I8 F-: 1 6 ) , also ot the s u n e \ , n rote t h ~ "'tI l ~ i x u r i ~ gron.th ~nt of wlld oats c o \ e r s ,I large poltlon of the \ a l h , m d gir es ~t ,111 a p p e x m c e of high cult~r. a t ~ o n . "111 the s m l e p e r ~ o d , L ~ e u t e n m George t D e r h of the t o p o g r ~ p h i cs u n er \I rote that the T ~ i l e R n e r "had r ~ c ht r x t s of ar,lble land, tertile n it11 e\ err description of gr,lss" ( E , ~ r q ~ i h~~9~1r7 ) T. h e surrounding l ~ n d s\\ere " A be,l~~tlful, smooth, le\ el plaln, col ered \\ ~ t clox h er of different hlnds m d h g h grass." H e rote that farther south "the Kan eah RI\ er 1s ,I beaut~ful,smooth, le\ el plain cot ered with clo\ er of dltferent kinds and h ~ g hg s ~ s sm d

Figure 3.4. Disefio of Rancho las Flores. Courtesy of the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.

I34

Invasion in the Nineteenth Century

Figure 3.5. Disefio of Rancho Omochumnes. Courtesy of the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. thickly shaded by one continuous groves of oaks." The oak trees, very likely Quercus lobata, clearly define a floodplain, as the species does not occur outside riparian zones in that part of the San Joaquin Valley. Flower fields covered extensive areas of the Central Valley in association with Erodium and clovers. In I 834, Leonard (1959: 121) gave a broad picture of the San Joaquin Valley near the Sulphur River (San Joaquin River): "We also passed a great number of streams flowing out of the mountain [Sierra Nevada], and stretching afar toward the Pacific. The prairies were most beautifully decorated with flowers . . .interspersed with splendid groves of timber along the banks of the rivers-giving a most romantic appearance to the whole face of nature." In I 84 I, Bidwell (193 7: 46) described the scene at his Rancho Chico : "Never did I expect to see the earth so beautifully arrayed in flowers as it is here." In another passage, Bidwell wrote, "The snow-capped mountains on each side of the valley seen through the clear atmosphere of spring, the plains brilliant with flowers, the luxuriant herbage, all truly combined to lend enchantment to the view. In fact this valley . . . was as new as when Columbus discovered America" (Gillis and Magliari 2003: 94-95). In the 184os, T. John

Invasion in the Nineteenth Century

13

Mayfield (1929: 9 ) wrote from the Coast Range near Los Banos, "The entire plain, as far as we could see, was covered with wild flowers. . . . Covered with great patches of rose, yellow, scarlet, orange and blue." Flower fields caught the attention of John Ridwell, William G. Chard, A. G. Thoomes, R. H. Thornas, Job F. Dye and Major P. B. Reading in an expedition through the Sacrainento Valley in search for lands appropriate for submission of a land grant, ultimately Rancho de las Flores, on the Sacramento River, r o miles south of Red Bluff. They observed a mixture of exotic and native vegetation (Becker 1964): "A11 kinds of vegetation was most prolific, the wild oats reached to the saddle skirt. . . . They looked to the north, and saw that the coast range and the Sierra Nevada converge together . . . while to the south, a broad luxuriant plain stretched out before them laden with vegetation and sparkling with m y iads of Nature's fairest gems." The abundance of flowers is suggested by the name Rancho de las Flores (Figure 3.4). In his two expeditions, John C. Frdmont made an extensive record of spring wildflowers along the length of the Central Valley. The lower Sacramento Valley was "gay with flowers, . . . some of the banks being absolutely golden with the California poppy (eschscholzirr crocea)" (Frimont I 845: 245). A "sho\vy Lupinus" adorned the banks of the "Mukelemnus River [sic]" (24j ) . The Xrroyo Calaveras had an "open grove of oaks, a grassy sward beneath; with many plants in bloom." South of Calaveras he "came again among innumerable flowers; and a few miles further, fields of beautiful blue flowering Lupine. . . . A lover of natural beauty can imagine with what pleasure we rode along these flowering groves. . . . The Californian popp); of a rich orange color, was numerous today. . . . Under the shade of the oaks along the river I noticed erotlizttn cicl4tariurn in bloom, eight or ten inches high [zo-2 j cm]" (245 ) . Fremont also "saw squaws gathering it on the Rio 10s Americanos" (248). O n his second trip, Fremont (1848: 20) described the Sacramento Valley thus: "The higher prairies between the rivers presented unbroken fields of yellow and orange colored flowers, varieties of Layias and Eschsd~olziaCaliforniciz, and large bouquets of the blue flowering nemophylla nearer the streams." At another nearbp localit); he saw "the California poppy, (Esc/lsc/7oliia Califorvrica) the characteristic plant of the California spring; ~ z e t n o p h ~ l insignis la [sic], one of the earliest flo~vers,grohving in beautiful fields of a delicate blue, and erodium cicutariztm, were begillning to show scattered bloom" ( r q ) . At the Rio de los Americanos "the road led over oak tiinher . . . over slightly undulating, covered with grass intermingled with flowers" (21).The grass may have referred to Erodilttn, which at the time was called "pin grass." Near the Feather River, Fre-

~ i i o n tnoticed " m a n \ pl,ints \I ere In flou er, a n d a m o n g thein t h e Callt o r m a popp!, u n u s u d l ) magn~ficent.It I S t h e ch'il-,icter~sticbloom ot Callf o r n i , ~a t t h ~ sseason, m d the Bear Kir e r l ~ o t t o mnear ~ the hllls, \\ ere c o l ered n i t h it" ( 2 1 ) .k o r t h o f Sacrmlento, he m a d e the remarlzahle corilm e n t , "Flou ers \\ere u i ~ u s u ~ lal h\ u n d ~ n tT. h e splendid C a l i t o r n ~p, ~o p p c h a r a c t e r ~ z e dnll of t h e r o u t e of t h e h l l e l " ( 25 ) . l-louer fields also ch,lracterized Fremont's r o u t e in the San J o a q ~ i ~ n Valle). N e a r t h e 5,111 ] ~ A ~ L I I IRI ~ \ e r h, e \ \ r o t e In 171s lourrlal, On the third day out they , ~ p p ~ - o ~ c rlic h e dn ide and deep San ,]oaquin river. They noticed rhat the soil n-,I\ nor the sLumer~lllanc)of hues; and this, not confined t o small and rsolated spots, but the whole country IS one irumense flm er hed. The h1115look l ~ k glg'intlc e bouquets, and the l l ' l ~ ~ o s (pl,l~n\]l ~ k ea huge Persim carpet" ( h l o l - g ~ and n S c o h ~ e1964: 148). In m o t h e r t r ~ p111 I 8 5 2 Perkms wrote: Let any stranger to C'ilifornian scenery ride tliro~lghthe p l ~ i n s'it this season ot the ! e x ,~ndhe will find no language to express his astonishment ,111d cultir 'Iced gardens of the other lands drnir,ltion. None ot the most cC~refnlly can display tlie mlgniticenr m d gorgeous assemblage of colors with tlie plains, tlie hills, the river b'inks as far as the eye can rexll, are pained. Out ot the road track, the eye cannot rest upon a spot \vhicli is nor studded 1~1th tlor,ll gems. In some places is J patch ot ,In acre completely !-ello\v; another is all purple. another is blue, others are ,111 \vhite. \vliile alongside is ,inother ~ 1 red 1 and sc'irlet: ag'lin there ,Ire ptclies literally cro\ved \\.it11 flo\vers of ,111 h~lcsm d ,111 descriptions. (; I 5 ) Other explorers \ a w w ~ l d f l o n e r sin the Central V,llle). When Thornton ( ~ 8 4 8 8: 9 ) left San Frmclsco fot the Centr,ll \JC~1le\,he \\ rote, "In the flmr er season, ~ t blos\onis s make ,l be,iut~fuld ~ s p l . ~ \ .Blake " ( r y 56) of the I'mfic R,~ilroadsur\ e\ recogmred the sprlng ~ l d f l o ner se~lson 111 retrospect. R'hen he crossed the entral \ J ~ l l e \ ,he r e m x k c d t h ~ "the t s e x o n ot green g a s \ and flm ers had passed" ( C ) ) . Kewberr) ( T 8 $ 7 :12T ;) of the s u n e\ \I rote 111 L X j 5 that durmg the r , m \ season the southern portlon of the S,~cramentoValleb n '14 L L p e r p e t ~ iIn~ bloom. ll~ . . . Wrth l season \ egetatlle life I S agaln called ~ n t o the r e t ~ ~ of r nthe a u t ~ i m n a rain! 1 igorous actlon, and the c o u n t n , \\ h ~ c h a ten \T e k s hefore \vas ,I desert, 1s ~ O \ Ttrmsformed mto a flobver g,irden." 111 1862 nedr h I o u n t D ~ b l o , Bre\\er ( I 966: r h r ) contr,isted the ernal \ e x o n L\ 1t11the "bro\\n, d r ~ , dust\, and p'lrched landscape" he sa\z the pre\ ious summer. H e \\rote t h ~ tth ~ sreglon "IS non green 'ind lo\ ell, '15 0 1 1 1 ~ Cal~fornlac'in be 111 the sprmg. Flonel-s In great p r o f u s ~ o nand r ~ c h e s colors t ' ~ d o r nthe hdls and \alleys." 111 the I 8605, Cldrence Kmg and lohn Alulr s ~ \ zthe San J ~ , I ~ L I V'llle\ III m sprlng, uslng the road through P,~checoPass from S J I ~ Iuan R ' i ~ ~ t ~ \and t , l G~lrok.Thelr tr'ir els suggest that oat fields In the Coast R'xnge n ere replaced 131 \\ ~ldflowerfields In the Central Valle!. C. IGng (19 L 5 : 2 6 ) \\rote that , ~ Pacheco t Pd\\ he scl\v "the m ~ l d - o , ~surt,ice t oi the hlls," s ~ r n ~t loxB ~mJ t ' s (1848: 36 j ) observat~onof "dense oat grass" a t h l i s s ~ o nS'in JLLIII Bailtlst~.Once o \ e r the pass, C. 1Zl11g ( T ~ 5:T 2 8 ) descr~hedthe Central Valley hefore h m : " B 1 - o ~ nfoot-hdls, purple o \ e r then- lower slopes w ~ t h"fil-a-ree" blossoms, descend steeph t o the pl'm of C , i l ~ f o r n ~ICentrd a Valle~.1, I' gre'lt, 1 n 1 d pralrle sea, e ~ t e n d i i l gfor

138

Invasion in the Smeteenth Century

fike hundred m ~ l e s tnounta~n-locked, , betveen the S1e11asand the coast h ~ l l s ,and n o w a broad, arabesque surface ot colors. XIlles of orange, of \ iolet which colored flowers, cloudmgs of green m d \\ h ~ t e reaches looked like the shadom of a passing cloud, \ \ a n d e r ~ n gIn natural patterns oxer and through each other, sunn\ and intense long near our range, f a c ~ n gin the dlstance Into pale, blu~sh-pearltones." ~ through Pacheio Pass Into the CenWhen h I u r (1974: 21)t r a eled tral Valle), he went "through the foothills, past the San L u ~ sGonzaga Ranch, and w a d ~ i i gout in the g r m t l e ~ e ocean l of floners. This plam, 1% atered b) the San Joaqum and Sacramento Rir ers, formed one flower r bed, nearl) four hundred rides 111 length h\ thirt\ In n ldth." h l u ~ took a sample, "taken at random" near Hills F e r n , of all the floners "counted s er-field (Table 3.4). From one b\ one" to estlmate the richness of t h ~ flon 111s lew, h ~ sample s reflected the sea of flon ers across the \alle\ as a "cupful of water from a lake." From h ~ ds a t ~hIuir , appears to ha\ e crossed I L ) ,he descr~hed,sal mg "the a sea of goldfields (Lasthenm ~ ~ z z c ~TT~ hlch 1ellon of the Cornpositae is pure, deep, boss\ solar gold." H e also saw a purple stratusn, \ e r \ I ~ k e lsome ~ specles o f lupme, and a green~sh)elIon of a moss stratum. Some legumes ilia\ ha\ e been species of c l o ~ e r . The Geranlaceae is verj Iikel\r the introduced Evodlum clcutarlunz and p o s s i b l ~E. 1noscl7iztum. The t h ~ n l )follaged grass "nit11 scnrcel~an\ leat es [ t h a t /dld not interfere 1%ith the hght of the other flon e r i n appears to be the fescue (Festuca W I ~ L I P O S )mtroduced In the S p a n ~ s hperiod. As 14~1lulrcontinued east trom hls sampling site, he described the S ~ e r r aNeada as "that rn~ght?wall up-rising from the brmk of this lake of gold," In apparent reference to llillslopes dominated h> goldfields. Milu~r(1904: ;;8 1 sumrnar~zedh15 tlip across the Central VTalle\: "The Great Central Plam of C a l ~ f o r n ~durmg a, the ~ n o n t h of s h l x c b , Xprd and h l a ) , n a s one smooth, contmuous bed of hone\ -bloom, so mar\ elously r ~ c hthat, 111 n a l k ~ n gfrom one end o t ~t to the other, a distance of more l d 'lbout a hundred floners at e\er\ than 400 miles, vour foot \ \ o ~ ~ press step. Ahnts, g~lias,nemoph~las,castllelas, and ~nnurnerablecomposltae . . . one sheet o f purple and gold." F a c ~ n gm est from the Central \ials In near \le\t7 lev, he saw that "the last of the coast range f o o t h ~ l l mere all the \va) to Gilro~..T h e ~ rumon mlth the cille~1s one hi curles and slopes of ~nisnltableheautb. The\ n ere robed \X ~ t the h greenest grass a n d richest l ~ g h tI e\ er beheld, and we1 e coloured and shaded u ith m\ riads ot flowers of e\er\ hue, c h ~ e f lpurple ~ and golden \ellon." I S c r i p t ~ ootn the flon er fields of the The follou mg IS ~ I L I I ~~ ~' SI ~ O dLe ~ Central V a l l e ~m h ~ sessay o n bee pastures ( L l u ~ r1904: 340-441, a panorama t o be seen h!, man\ m the t n e n t ~ e t hc e n t u r ~:

Invas~on~nthe N~neteenthCentur!

Natural Order Ifarn~lr;l

T3c)

No. of Flowers

No. of Snecm

I'm~cles 1,000 Heads 3,.30
, set in the deep-hued verdure, pr-esentb a picrure not easily found outside of California. d a centur\ before, C r o n ~ s especulated As t h e Spaniards h ~ suggested t h a t N a t ~ v eAmerican burning encouraged \vildflowers a t the expense of exotic grasses: " T h a t t h e hills e\ eryn-here produced spontaneously f r o m !ear t o year a luxuriant c r o p of o ~ t s a, n d t h a t the T alle\ S, h u r n t u p a s the\ w e r e In s u m m e r a n d a u t u m n , were sure t o be transformed into flower gardens in t h e s p r ~ n g "( 3 4 6 ) . C a l i f o r n ~ aU ildflowers h a d a r e n ~ a r h a b l ~long , bloornmg season t h a t s journe!, F r e m o n t began s o o n after t h e first a u t u m n rams. O n h ~ second (1848: r g i noted t h a t t h e California p o p p y a n d bab! blue eyes become conspicuous 111 m ~ d w n t e r "At : t h e e n d o t J m u a r ~the , C a l ~ f o r n ~poppx, a [Eschscholz~nC ~ l i f o v n ~ athe , ) characterrst~cplant of the C a l ~ f o r n ~sprlng; a menzophylla ~ t i s i g m s[SIC],o n e of t h e e a r l ~ e s tfloners, g r o u ing in fields of d e l ~ c a t eblue, a n d evodmttz c t c z t t ~ n i ~ t mn ,e r e h e g m n m g t o s h o w scattered bloom" (cf. Wester 1381). T h e San J o a q u ~ nn x In the tull glor) of sprlng b~ t h e m ~ d d l eof h l a r c h . O n A p r d 11, F r e m o n t (1848: 20) o b serl ed t h a t "the Califorixa p o p p ~ a5 e \ er? \L here forming seed pods, a n d m a n y plants mere In flower a n d seed together." O n h l a ) 15, " T h e plants were n o w generally in seed." h l u ~ r( I9 7 4 : 23-24) described C a l i f o r n ~ apasture U lth a n in\ erted floral calendar: "February a n d M a r c h IS t h e rlpe s p r i n g - t m e of the plam, April t h e summer, a n d M a j t h e a u t u m n . " hIa\ t o Decernber IS t h e "winter-a winter of d r o u t h a n d heat." H e also g11es a m o r e detaded phenology of wddflower fields: By the end ofJanuary four species of plants were in flower. . . hut the flowers were not sufficientl!- numerous as yet to aftect greatly the general green of the young leaves. Violets made their appearance in the first \+eek of Fehruar!; and toward the end of this month the \\armer portions of the plain Tvere already golden with myriads of flowers of r'iyed compositae. This was the full spring time. . . . new plants bloomed every day. . . . In Llarch, the vegetation was more than doubled in depth and color; claytonin [miners lettuce, Clqtonial, calandrinia, a large white gilia, and t\vo neniophilas

\\.ere in bloom, together with a host of yellow compositae, tall enough now to hend in the wind. . . . In April, plant-hie, as a whole, reach its greatest height, and the plain, over all its varied surface, was mantled with a close, Furred plush of p ~ ~ r pand l e golden corollas. By the end of the month. most of the species had ripened their secds. (Muir 1c)o-t:3 4 5 ) Hittell's (1874: 370-71) calendar is similar t o the others: "Of n d d flowers, there are a great variety and abundance in California, and they have different seasons of blooming. . . . In the spring time, the hills are frequently covered with it, and the red, blue, or yellow petals hide everything else. Each month has its flowers." Cronise ( I868: 141-42) \vrote that "the grass starts as soon as the soil is wet. . . . At Christmas, nature \years her green uniform almost throughout the entire state, a i d in February and hlarch it is set with floral jewels. The blossoms increase in variety and profusion ~ i n t iApril, l when the) are so abundant in many places as t o show distinctly the yellow carpeting on hills five miles distant." The phenology of the wildflower season was both earlier and later in the year near the coast. Thornton (1848: 891, n7ho lived in the cool foggy summers a t San Francisco, wrote that the greatest number of flowers occured during the months of h l a y and June. Likewise, Brandegee (18 9 2 ) stated, "The plants have a much longer gro\ving season than in localities farther inland removed from the sea, and many perennials, especially herbaceous ones, are more o r less in bloom during the whole year." In winter, according t o Frkmont (1848: 3 0 ) , the vegetation along the coast between San Francisco and Monterey "appeared much more green and spring like, and further advanced than in the plains." Flo\vers persisted later into early sunliner after wet lvinters. For example in 1880, the New York Times reported that "although springtime is n o w left far behind, . . . yet the fields and hillsides are in bloom through man)- interior valleys. . . . Especially this year, there are more flo~versin June t h a n in April."~Flowerspersisted later into early summer after \vet years: "Although the Springtime is no\v left far behind, and a popular prejudice very justly associates the Spring with wild flolvers, yet the fields and hillsides are in bloom through many intel-ior vallel-S."

T h e first flora of C a l i f o r n ~n~ ~i a compiled s b) Brewer ,ind W'itson ( I87680) hased o n collections obtained across California during the earl\ r 8 60s. T h e flora pro1 ides onl) general, terse descriptions o n the distrlb u t ~ o nand abundance of the most i i n p o r t m t mildflo\~erspecies, e.g.,

TABLE".5 T A B L E 3 . 5 SELECTED S E L E C T E D WILDFLOWER \Y I L D F L O X ' E R SPECIES S P E C I E S RANGES RANGES FROM 1876-1880 S U R V E l , 1876-1880 F R O M THE T H E STATE S T A T E SURVEY, Species Species

Range

Amsinclcia intermedia

Dry open grounds. Common in the interior countn.

Baeria (Lasthenia) gracilis

Open ground, San Francisco Bay southward.

Cl/mldrinia menziesii (ciliata)

Abundant ... .-\bunJ,~nr . . . inin the rhe valleys aile! s and ,ind on on sunny sunny hillsides. \.ancou\er I.I. to ro Baja B,11,1 Calif. Calit. hillsides. Vancouver

Clstille/a foli%sa

Hillsides, :vlendocino .\Iendoc~nc> Co. to t o San S,ln Diego. Diego, most most Hillsides, CCl. common common southward so~~th\varii

Cthlenactis g/abriuswla

Open OFUIgrounds grounds ... . . . along along the the foot·hills toot-hills of of the the to Los L.os Angeles Angeles Sierra to Sierra

Chrysopsis (Heterotheca) sessilif/om

Santa Crm to San Diego

C/arkia

Valleys and hillsides, Mendocino. to Los Angeles and foothills of Sierra l\evada

purpurea

Corethrogyne (Lessingia) filaginifolia

Open places, San Diego to Santa Cruz, and in the interior to Tejon and Yosemite

CryptaJztha (lCritrichium) intermedia

Open grounds throughout the state

Eschscho/zia cCllifonzica

Sunnv exposures, particular'" valleys and low hills. throughout the state, ... often in great abundance. '\:lost conspicuous flower of the state flora and sometimes areas are made painfully hrilliant hy its intense glow in rhe hrighr sunshine.

Euuypta chrysanthemif(J/ia

Sh'ldy grounds. nor uncomlllon from Bay of San Francisco to San Diego Open ground. through the wesrern part of the stare Hills and sandv ground. ComIJlon rh rough the wesrern part of the stare.

Gnaph,71iull1 (dewrrens) calzl(Jrllicllll1

Cudweed. Common on hillsides. hom San Diego through Oregon.

Heterotheccl grandiflora

).,ear coasr. on sanl'" plains. \lonterev San Diego

Lz)'ia

n C ~ I - 1pMr p,lrr 1 o t the the state sr'lte C o n ~ i i ~ throughout cthroughout ~n the \\(srern Common rhe of

hl.,,,,,./,,,·,,,

to

LC!lidiulI1 nitidulI1

In \v'inter and earlv spring. from ab(we San Francisco to Los i\ngeles

LupinllS trwzcc7tllS

FrOlll San Francisco to Los .\ngeles

LlI/!lIZllS hirsutzssill1l1S

In dry places hum Sacramento to sollthern Californi'l

Madicz

Hills ,md pLlins. rh rough out California

Allrc7lJilis cdlif(JlHicd

On

NCJl10phila mmta i, Pholistoll1a ,ulritull1 I

Low shach' grounds. S'lcrarncllw VallC\ to Sail Diego

hillsides. southern California and eastward

I n ~ r a s i o nin tthe h e Nineteenth Century Century Invasion

r4.j

lo\v damp d a m p grounds, ... . . . bbright r~ghr Common in low the earliest exliest spring blue flowers flolvers from rhe

Ncmophyla il1sigllls (mcl1zicsii) OCl1othera calzfimzicd

Valley bottoms

Orthocarpus pur[JurdSCCI1S

C o m m o n on o n the hills and mountains of the Common . . . so s o abundant as ttoo give the ground 1a' coast ... purple hue for milts ... miles in some places ...

Pectocaryd (pcl1icilldta) lil1cdris

m sandy s m d ) or o r gravelly soil along long and Common in near the coast

PCl1stemol1 spectabilis

Dry plains and Ihills d l s ... . . . one of the hhandsomest andwmest species

Phacelia ramosissima

. . . San Francisco Bay ttoo the Dry ground, ground. ... southern sourhern limits of the State Stare

Ph,lCelid dist,ms (douglasii)

hlonterey southward south\vard Open grounds, from .\:Ionterey

Phacelia whitlal'ia (mil1or)

1.03 5311 Kernardino. Los Angeles to San Bernardino. Prized in cultivarion. cultivation.

Plagiobothrys canescel1s (califonziClts)

\rate Open grounds, common throughout the state

Platystcmon cdlitimzicus

Very common ... . . . on o n lower hills and , ~ n din \-alleys vallevs to S. ' Nlendocino ro S. California (:aliiornia hlendocino

Sel1ecio calitiJrl1icus

Low grounds, gro~unds,common from f t o m Santa S m t Karhar,l ~ Barbara ttoo San D ~rgo Diego Hills and plains, common tthroughout h r o u g h o ~ the ~ r state stare

Stephdnomeria (pal1iClllata) uirgatd Tro!Jldocarpum gracile

Valleys and m d low lot\ hills in the coast rranges m g e s from Angeles ttoo the Sacramenro Los Angelcs

Viola [Jcdunculdt,]

In coast ranges ... . . . southern California ttoo San Francisco and ~ n probably d north\\rard northward

ZausclJJzcria californica

Plumas In dry dr! localities local~riesfrom trom 'Japa Uapa and Plunias C~hl'ornia Co~rntiesttoo S. California Counties

Emmel1dnthc pel1duliflora

O p c n ground, not r,lrc trom Lake County Count! Open rare from ttoo San Diego

S,zll'ia columbariae

Stare Common throughout the State

Camissionia

On slopes

SOL:R(T:

Brewer

Jlld

\\.rarson I, II-:76-So1.

"common," compared to the standards of even "common," "abundant," "cil>~indant," e\ en somewhat Jepson manual (1925). ( 1 9 2j ) . Hence, comparisons cornpansons of modern floras, e.g., the Jepson present fJora with \'{!atson's state surthe prehent flora w ~ t hdistributions d ~ s t r ~ b u t ~in In o nthe s Brewer and Watson's All of Ivey e\ are hazardous at a t best. X11 ot the listed l ~ s t e dspecies are found extensively extensl\ el\ (Table 3.5). C a l ~ f ~ s ntoda\ ~ a (Table in California today A few ten. species inspired msplsed comments on their past abundance. ahundance. for For expurpurascells (owls ample, Orthocarpus Orthocalpus ptlrpwnscem ( o n 1s clover) cloker) was so SO abundant as a s ttoo give g n e the ground ,ground a purple hue for nmiles d e s in m some places. The California C aliforn~a poppy elicited p o p p ~(EschsclJOlzia ( f ; s c l ~ s c l ~ o lcalifornica) tmlq'or-nlca) z~a e l l ~ l t e dthe remark, "Sunny "Sunn) exposures,

146

In\ J S I O I I

111

the Kineteentl~Century

valleys and lo\v hills, throughout the state, . . . often in great abundance. This is the most C O I I S ~ ~ C L I O Uflower S of the state flora and sometimes large areas are made painfully brilliant by its intense g l o ~ vin the bright sunshine" ( 2 3 ) .111the Pacific Railroad surve!; Torrey ( ~j6:8 6.4) stated that Eschscholzia cnlifor~zicnwas "coinmon in most parts of California." The doininance of the poppy lvas captured as a metaphor for the gold rush by an anonymous ~vriterin the K e u ~York Times: "Of the \vildflowers along the road, the \rello\\- n e r e holding out best. By the myay, the prevalence of this color in California landscapes is alwa>s noticeable-as it were the floral symbol o i the aureate treasure hid under so much of the soil for m m y centuries."Brewer's work is also supported by lay articles, e.g., "Early Spring in California" (Cornllill hlagazine 188?),~ v h i c hdescribe the same genera as the dominant ones across California. P E R E N N I A L B U N C H GRASSLAPL'D

,\lid-nineteenth-ce11t~ir~ hotan~calobseri ~ t ~ o and n s l ~ n d s c a p edescrlpt ~ o n re! s eal that bunch grasslands n ere found In the footh~llso t the S~erra Ner ada and the Coast Range and in the A l o l a ~e Desert, M here ther are iound presenth (Beetle 1 9 4 7 ) ,lmt mere not described 111 the Central VaIlex. bloieo\er, Nilaaclli~( S t l p z ) a11d other bunch gr,isses n e r e not found 111 mission bricks, e\ en though the Spanish fathers often used the nearest refuse a\ a ~ l a b l e(Hendrk and K e l l ~192 5 ; H e n d n 19;T ) .V'hde the absence of e\ ~ d e n c emay reflect differential presen ,1t1011, the brlcks record frail species such as E ~ o d i i i mcicutm i z m . L l o r e o ~ e r the , importance o f preserl " p l m t remmls !X the atlon IS dlm~nlshedb) the "rnst,lntaneous b ~ ~ r i aof hand of m m , without natural select~onforces of blologlcal d e c ~ ~ n p ~ s i t l o n ~ n eroslon. d Only the rlparlan EI?,IMIIS was unco\ered 111 brlck samples. X11 the missions mere located long the C a l ~ f o r n ~co'1st a plaiix in areas where bunch grasslands were not described rn the nmeteeilth century. In the S i e ~ i aN e ~ a d aeast ot Sacr,lrnento, Fre~nont:(1848: 1 7 ) found "hills general11 covered n lth a species of ger,inium (cl o d r l m czcrtta ~izlu). . . [and] with this \\as frequentli interspersed good and green bunch grass ~ n adplant commonl\ called burr cl01 er." An "open prame, p d y c o ~ e r e dn i t h bunch grass" n as seen near the Xlokel-umne (sic) Rir er (16). When Brl'lnt (1848: 30j ) entered the Coast Range betneen ~ ~ t hthe n lld oats "tufts or Sacrcimento m d San Franc~sco,he s a w bunches of a specles o f grass, m hich remains green through the whole season." C r o n ~ s e( ~ 8 6 8 1: 2 2 ) u r o t e that the nlolst Coast Range of the P C ~ 1 xreglon o 111 northern h l o n t e r e ~Rai had "fine crops of mlld oats,

Int,ts~on~n the Nmeteenth Century

747

bunch grass, and a variety of clover and native grasses." In his general description of California vegetation, Cronise ( 1 8 6 8 : 3 5 6 ) stated that "hunch-grass is a peculiar herbage o n many dry hill sides, and affords a perpetual pasture. It occurs always in detached bunches, sufficient in size t o make a small mouthful and seems to be proof [adapted\ against drought-but is not cultivated." H e found "Festuca Scabrella (Torr.) [Poa scabrella]" growing on "north hillsides and lightly shaded woods," most abundantly o n "shady hillsides of the Coast Range" ( 5 2 3 ) . In the Central Valley, coarse grasses grew in riparian tule swamps. In the Pacific Railroad surve!; Blake ( 1 8 j 9 ) found Ocoya (Posi.) Creek to be a "swamp, without any vegetation except tufts of coarse grass and the common 'grease bush."' At Tulare Lake was a dense growth of rank grass and rule, which in a footnote is identified as Scirpzis lacustris. Botanical distributions in the state survey (Brewer and Watson r 8768 0 ) are consistent with the fragmentary observations of Frkmont and the Pacific Railroad surve); and also suggest that hunch grasses were not pervasive in the state. Purple needle grass, Stipa setigem (Nessella pztlchra) "is common on the coast ranges and on the foot-hills of the Sierra Nevada and. . . . ,is the most common and valuable "bunch-grass" of the dry hills" ( 2 8 6 ) .The state survey gave geographic ranges but did not assess the abundance of other bunch grasses. Koeleria csistrrta ranged from San Francisco and Santa Ynez northward to Oregon . . . to Pennsylvania." Melica i r n p r fccta gre\v "in various localities from San Diego northward to Oregon" ( 3 0 3 ) .Atropis tenuifolia (Poa scahella) was "frequent throughout the State from San Diego to Oregon and northward," and was "one of the most valuable of the bunch grasses" ( 3 1 0 ) . Other bunch grasses listed are riUS glaucus was found in "San parian species of tule swamps. E ~ ~ I M(sibiricus) Francisco, Ukiah, and elsewhere," ~vhileE1)v;zus triticoides "occurred at . and Fort Tejon, San Juan, Montere!; and San Francisco" ( ~ 2 6 )Hendry Kelly ( rqz j ) record Elynuts sp. in a brick from Mission San Jose. In Pasture a n d Forage Plants, Brewer ( I 8 8 3 : 961-62) summarized that eight grass species are known in California: "They are mostly hunch grasses. . . . M . imperfecta and M . stricte are the most abundant." Stipa (hTnssellcr) occidentalis was a common bunch grass in the Sierra Nevada. The rule swamp plant wild rye (Ely?;zus)was most C O I J I I ~ O I I in the interios. SUMhIER BARRENS I N THE INTERIOR

The interior foothills and plains were harren in the hot summer climates of the interior foothills and plains of southern California and the Central Valley, similar to accounts from the Spanish period. K'ildflowers,

14 1488

Invasion in the Nineteenth Century Century

374

SO

-..ill-

A/",,,f e is accustomed on the iurrounding p l a n s , we find the ground hidden from \ l e u b! ,I luxuriant g r o n t h o t grass, and the alr I S f r a g ~ - mwith t the pertume of flowers. The sound of f l o n w g brooks, and the notes of the w ~ l dbirds, greet the ear In strange contrast w ~ t hthe rdttlmg produced by the hot w n d ,is ~ts~veepsover the d r ~ e dweeds and gravel of the p l a n " ( 2 7 ) .G e n e r a h n g for the entlre San J o a q u ~ nV,llle), W~lllamson(18 j6: 1 3 ) wrote that "the plains het\veen the streams are destitute of fol~age."The part\ found rel~ef111 the higher elex ations of the T e ~ o nPass that borders the south end of the San loaquin Vcille\, noting, "The Tejon IS reall\ '1 be,~utlfulplace. It . . . produce5 fine groles o f oak, and a n ~ b u n d m c eo t grass, and the green ,ind tresh ~ p p e x a n c e of the spot presents A s t r ~ k m gcontr,ist to the parched 2nd barren p l a n 1101th of K" ( W l l l ~ ~ ~ m Is 8ojnh : 2 r ). L~ltewise,Blake (18 56: ;X ) observed t h ~ ~t t was onl? at higher elelatlons at Telon P a s that the expedition found "an abundance of excellent grass." The hotany of the Sacramento Valley was examined by Ne\vberry (18j-: r z ) of the Pacific R a i l r o d survey, who found the lands near Vacaville t o be "a tableland . . . covered with a thin coating of the grasses and other plants . . . characteristic of other gravel surfaces of the valley." His description of the prairie in the dry season is similar t o Charles lvilkes's report from 1841: "The center of the val1e)- is occupied by a broad alluvial plain, . . . of \vhich the soil is generally fine and fertile. . . .

154

In1 m o n ~n the Nineteenth Century

The more fertile surface is covered n,ith a groxvth of wild oats, o r grasses, interspersed with a great variety of flowering annuals, while the gravelly and more unproductive portions support a thinner grokvth of coarser , Mildaria (lZ/lizdiLli,etc.).Bordering the cenplants ( E r y n g i u ~ nHemimnia, tral plain is a second 'bench' o r terrace [that] . . . forins a distinct prairie plain. . . . The scenery of the foot hills is frequently picturesque and beautiful, with its lawn-like slopes and clumps of spreading oaks" (Wilkes 1844). In Rambles ofiz Botavrirt, l l u i r (1974) noted that citizens visiting Yosemite from San Francisco invariably went by boat along the route of ilavigation through the bay and up the San Joaquin River to Fresno. The "slow route" by horse or wagon across the Central Valley ivas avoided not only because of lost time, hut the valley \vas also undesirable. Xluir wrote, "I have lived in Yosemite L'alley three years, and have never met a single traveler w h o had seen the Great Central Plain of California in flowertirne; it is almost universally remembered as a scorched and dust-clouded waste, treeless and dreary as the deserts of Utah" (1974: 17). Muir ( I874) suggested that flower cover Ivas thin during the growing season, especially o n the hills, pointing out that with sespect to "the floral profusions extend[ing) t o the rolling foot-hills, . . . the redding tint of the soil shows through its vernal dressing." hluir (190.4:346) saw the barrenness of the Central Valley in relation to desiccation and decomposition of the flower fields: "The shrunken mass of leaves and stalks of the dead vegetation crinkle and turn to dust beneath the foot, as if it had been literally cast into the oven." In Keweah's R z ~Clarelice , King (191 5 : 141) described the Central Valley as "a plain slightly browned with the traces of dried herbaceous plants." An extract from Cornhill Magnziue ( I883) describes the crossing of the Central Valley as a perilous adventure in which "the summer wanderer travels in choking, blinding dust clouds." Cronise (1868: 323) distinguished the pasture on the western and eastern sides of the San Joaquin Valley. In Fresno and Llerced Counties, "nearly a third of its territory comprising the western part is extremely dry; the most of it so arid as t o produce but little grass, and being, a t best, fit only for sheep pasturage." In Kern Count!; "near all of the western part of the county is valueless, for agricultural purposes" ( 1 1 8 ) . Brewer (1966) found that the plain from Visalia to the Tule River for "thirty miles" was very barren. The Tule River had "\vide stretches of barren sand o n either side" ( 3 8 ) . Farther south near White River, "the road this day was through a desolate waste-I should call it a desertthe soil is barren and, this dry year [ I 8631, almost destitute of vegetation" ( 3 8 ) . Brewer ( I966) examined the Central Valley by riverboat in early J u n e r 864, after two consecutive winters of severe drought, landing

Invasion in the Nineteenth Century

I55

at Firebaugh's Ferry near present-day Fresno on the San Joaquin River. He recorded in his journal that over a span of 2 j miles "portions of this ride, for miles together, not a vestige of herbage of any kind covered the ground; in other places there was a limited growth of wire grass or alkali grass" ( j 10).The following day at Fresno, "for the first ten miles the ground was entirely bare, but then we came on green plains, green with fine rushes called wire grass, and some alkali grass. The ground is wetter and cattle can live on the rushes and grass. We now came on thousands that have retreated to this feed and have gnawed almost into the earth" ( j10). Barrens were also described in the interior valleys of the Coast Range. The eastern slope of the Santa Lucia Mountains was described in the Rancho Guadalupe disefio as "Sierra ~ r i d a " (arid mountains) (Online Archive of California). The barrenness of the interior northern Coast Range was recorded in the Russian botanical collections of E. Voznesenski in 1840-41 (Howell 1937). The expedition left the north coast for the interior basin in summer, where they traversed hot and desiccated country. Eastward from Santa Rosa the botanical labels, faithful to Latin botanical nomenclature, have the word "desertum." According to FrCmont (1848: 38), in the inland Coast Range "the plains become dry, parched and bare of grass. The cattle had climbed to the ridges of the Coast Range [where] good green grass [possibly perennial bunch grassland] grows there throughout the year." Brewer (1966) had a similar impression of the Coast Range. At Salinas Valley "soil was dry and parched and the grass as dry as hay" (97).Scanty pasturage was seen at Guadalupe ~ Panoche plain (144), and the Diablo Ranch (97), New Idria ( 1 3 9 )the Range south of Mount Diablo (278, 279). Brewer observed or experienced clouds of dust and dust storms at many locations in the interior. The San Juan (Bautista) plain produced "a cloud of dust, raised by the high wind like a gauze veil two to three thousand feet height," and at Pacheco Pass "the wind shrieked through the canyons; it had annoyed us much on coming up the pass by the dust it raised" (150). At the south end of the San Joaquin Valley, "the storm . . . struck us; but instead of rain it was wind-fierce-and the air filled with dust and alkali. . . . Sometimes we could not see a hundred yards in any direction-all was shut out by clouds and dust" (382-83). Brewer recorded that he saw dust in the Cuyama plain (84; cf. account of Zalvidea in Cook 1 9 6 0 ) ~ Guadalupe Ranch (97),the Panoche plain (144), Mount Diablo (ZOI), and the San Joaquin Valley near Coalinga. Blake (1856) described the southern San Joaquin Valley as a labyrinth of dry ground, rivers, lakes, and swamps, reminiscent of Fages's account of a labyrinth in 1772 (see Chapter 2 ) . From his vantage high up in the

156

Invasion in the h'ineteenth Century

San Emigdio Mountains that rim the southern margin of the San Joaquin Valley, Blake wrote, Northwards the vision was unobstructed, and the broad, extensive valley of the Tulares was before me. On one side the heights of the Sierra Nevada, and on the other, the ranges of the Coast Mountains, stretched out toward the north until the remote peaks were lost in the smokey distance. They seemed like great arms holding a semi-desert plain and its shallow lakes between them. The two small lakes, Buena Vista and Posuncula [Kern], were distinctly visible below, and the lone line of timber on the sloughs of Posuncula River lay spread out before me as if on a map. . . . The whole region seemed peculiarly brown and barren. (44) Burning rarely elicited comments from early American settlers, Muir, Brewer, King, or from the various U.S. government surveys. Leonard (1959) saw Native American campfires, i.e., "smoke rising from the prairies in different places." He apparently once saw a broadcast burn, but his description seems generic rather than a specific event: "At this season of the year, when the grass in these plains is dry, if a fire should be started it presents a spectacle truly grand-and if the flame is assisted with a favorable wind, it will advance with such speed that the wild horses and other animals are sometimes ~ u z z l e dto get out of the road" (86). Cronise ( I868: 3 14-1 5) suggested that most burning occurred in the tule swamps near the rivers, which he estimated covered 200,000 acres (60 km'), much of which was covered by a shallow water. In late summer, he said, "large sections of these lands become dry on the surface-the dense body of rushes, the growth of former years, having meantime wilted and dried up, the latter often take fire, and burning with terrific fierceness for days in succession, many thousand acres are burned over and stripped of both the dead and living tules" (314). He also stated that fires "break out in the grass and herbage, which late in the summer become dry as tinder, and sweeping over the plains and mountains, leave millions of acres scorched and blackened, though the heat is not generally sufficient to injure the forest trees or larger shrubbery" ( 3I S ) . It is unclear how he came to estimates of such large fires in areas he also described as barren in the dry season. The verdancy of coastal pastures was frequently compared to sparse pastures in the interior, first noted by Crespi, Font, and Fages in their traverses of the Carquinez Strait, and the difference was attributed to summer climate by several mid-nineteenth-century writers. At San Francisco Bay, Fremont (1848: 35) observed, "The country in July began to present the dry appearance common to all California as the summer advances except along the northern coast within the influence of the

Invasion in t h e Nineteenth Century

1 .57

fogs. . . . 111 some of these was an uncomi~~orlly luxuriant groxvth of oats, still partially green, while elsewhere the): had dried up." Farther south in the Coast Range, he saw that "the plains become dr!; parched and bare of grass," while "along the coast, the grass continues constantly and flowers b l o o n ~in all ruonths of the year" (38). Bt-en,er (1966: 257-58) wrote, "The finest grazing district I have yet seen in the state in among these hills, lying near the sea, rnoiste~ledby togsin the summer when the rest of the state is so dry." The "grassy slope" of the coastal Santa Lucia hlountains ( 9 2 ) contrasted with the interior slope. Bre~ver\\,rote that "on passing the Santa 1-ucia the entire aspect of the country changed. It was as if we had passed into another lard and other clime. The Salinas Valley [on the interior side] . . . is in~lchless verdant than we anticipated. There are more trees but less grass" ( 3 2 )Likewise, Hittell (1874) stated, "The natural pastures near the ocean keep green longer than those in the interior. . . . Fine pasture is found in some of the high parts of the Sierra Nevada, and many dairymen tvho have their homes in the valleys or foot-hills, drive their herds up into the mountains a t the beginning of summer." Referring to the Santa Lucia hlountains, Cronise (rX68: 116) \t7rotethat "the grasses are green and fresh on the south side [San Luis Obispol for more than a no nth after those o n the north side [Salinas Va1le):l are dried and withered." In northern Montere); near Pajaro, "The hills in the coast Range afford pasturage, in seasons when the plains and valley s~lfferfrom drought" ( ~ 2 2 ) . Walker Pass presents another cliinatic gradient between the interior California vnlleys and the Mojave Desert, where Mediterranean ecosystems are replaced by desert scrub, similar to that described in the Anza expeditions across the San Jacinto Mountains (see Chapter 2). After seeing wildflower fields in the Lake Isabella region, Frirnont ( 1 848: 252) looked into the Mojave Desert from Walker Pass 30 miles east and saw that "the distant mountains are bold rocks again; and below if the land had any color hut green." In the descent of this pass, he states that "the Erodiuin cicutariuru finally disappeared." Frimont's Native American colleague, who was fluent in Spanish and w h o was o n visiting relatives at the San Fernando Mission, said while "stretching out his hand" to the hlojave Desert before him: " N o hay agua; no hay zacate-nada. There is neither water or grass, nothing." \Y'ILDFLO\VkRS

A N D B U N C H GRASSES I N THE DESERT

Accounts of " p ~ l t n s "b\ Fages 111 r 772 (Priestly 1937) and " y ~ c a s "1" F r e ~ n o n t(1845: 257) identifj the Joshua tree 111 the nestern Alola\e

158

Invasion in the Sineteenth Century

Desert. Fremont's a\ ritmgs make clear that ,I " ngoph) llaceous shrub" (creosote hush) d o m n a t e d the hlojaae Deselt, just as Font and Arrlllaga a" mdotLz" 111 the Sonoran sam decades betore the " h e d ~ o ~ ~ d ~0 1l l ",gobet Desert. Surprmnglt, the most frequent accounts o t bunch grassland 111 California were made in the Antelope Valle\ In the ~x estern h l o j a t e Desert, where Nmsella (Stlpa)s p e ~ t o s ais non abundant. Kear Palmdale, Fremont (1845: 257) reached "the top of the spur, u h l c h n as cot ered w t h fine bunch grass." Blake (1856: 6 3 ) found bunch grass to be common o n the balaiia extending northtxard from the San Gabrlel hlountams, but ~t v, as "entirely b r o t ~n or dr)," p o s s ~ b l \Hdar ln t ~glda.At Antelope Vallet, "the surface was grat ell1 and not col ered h1 grass, but here and there a n lsolated dry tuft called 'bunch grass' could be tound" ( $ 2 ) .The M o jaie Desert near the S p a n ~ s hTrad near Barstom consisted of "a lexel h bunch grass" (\Y7hipple I 856a: p r a l r ~ eof great extent covered n ~ t green r r 5). Brewer ( I883: 9 6 1 ) noted that galleta grass (H/lLztra ~ i g l d aax) as "a hard grass occurring In . . . the sernr-deserts of San Bernardino Count). It 1s L aluable for feed, 1s said In places t o constitute three-fourths of the p'isture." Patches of \I ~ldflowersnrele seen In the Molat e and Sonoran deserts. l Fremont's part1 came upon Near the Llebre and San G a h r ~ einountaln\, fields of rlch orange-colored C a l ~ f o r n ~popp\ a rmngled 1 ~ 1 t other h flon ers of hrlghter tints. Near the foot the L ~ e b r eMountains, "red strlpes of floners" caught Fremont's attention, perhaps near the present-da~P o p p ~ Park (Fremont I 8 4 5: 2 57). On the north s ~ d eof the San G a b r ~ e hl l o u n talns, he "came to a most beautiful spot of flon er fields: lnstead of green, the hdls xxere purple and orange, n ~ t hunbrohen beds, Into t~hich each color LT as separatelj gathered. A pale straw colol, 111th a brlght yellow, the r ~ c hred of the Cal~fornlapoppy mingled w ~ t hfields of purple, col ered the spot \wth floral beautv" ( 2 5 7 ) . Clarence K ~ n g(191 5 ) entered southern Callfornla f l oin the Coachella V d l e j 111 late s p ~ m gafter the flouermg season. He crossed barren lands l ~ k those e descr~bedb) Spanish pllests between Y u m ~and Borrego Desert a century before. Leatmg for San G o l g o n ~ oPass from the Colorado h t e r along the trace of present-daj Interstate so, he m rote, "Fa1 ahead a u lute lme traced across the barren plam marked our road" ( I7 ) . Descending Coachella Valley, he saw that the basm \\as marked h1 "the shore-111ie o f a n ancient sea [preh~storlcLake Coahuilla]" (18). Neat a sprlng just a b o ~ the e eastern floor of the vallel, he sat\ " m n u t e flon ers of turquoise blue, pale gold, mau1 e, and rose" ( r 8 ) . In San Gorgomo Pass, he tound

Invasion in the Kmeteenth Century

159

that "scattered beds of flowers tinted the austere face of the desert" ( 1 8). Leaving the desert near Beaumont, he compared the new Mediterranean landscape with the desert, similar to accounts a t the "pass of San Carl o ~ "by Anza, Font, Garcis, and Diaz. C. Icing stated, "There are but few points in America where such extremes of physical conditions meet. Spread out below us lay the desert, stark and glaring. . . . Sinking to the west from our feed the gentle golden-green glacis sloped away flanked by rolling hills covered with a fresh vernal carpet of grass, and relieved by scattered groves of dark oak-trees [Q~.rerczcsagrifolial" (26). Little pasture covered the desert. O n the Mojave Desert side, Leonard ( 1 9j9: 123) of the Walker party descended Walker Pass, named for the expedition, and remembered that "our horses and cattle were pretty fatigued. . . . The country on this side is much inferior t o that o n the opposite [San Joaquin Valley] side-the soil being thin and rather sand!; producing little grass, which was very discouraging to our stock." The Owens Valley was found t o be almost entirely destitute of grass. Blake (18 j6: 62) described primarily shrub cover o n the alluvial fan bajada on the north side of the San Gabriel hlountajns: "The higher parts of the slopes are covered with a thin growth of the Yucca [Yucca hrez~ifolia]. . . occupying a belt i or 4 miles in width. They are interspersed with cedar [Jwzipews calif~rnic(~] which grow to be large shrubs. . . . Sage hushes, (Arternisins,) and many small thorny shrubs, grew thickly together [likely Coleogync ra~nosissima]. . . between the cedars." Grasslands were described along fault lines with perched water tables o n the i~orthernside of the Transverse Range. The Lake Elizabeth area, according to Blake ( I856: 62) had "an enormous growth of grass," which was part of a "fertile strip" where "grass grows luxuriantly in most of the valleys." At Silverwood Lake on the north side of the San Bernardino Mountains, Frtlnont (184 j: 257) found "tolerab1y good grass, the lower ground being overgrown with large bunches of the coarse bunch grass [C~zrcxaquntilis, or possibly MzrhlenlxrgiaJ," recalling Zalvidea's account forty years before. From there, Fremont left California, following the Spanish trail for Salt Lake City. H e traveled through the hyperarid MOjave Desert between the hlojave River and Colorado River, which he described as "country . . . extremely poor in grass and scarce in water, . . . tvhere the road xvas marked by the hones of animals," livestock left by previous t r a d e r s ( 2j 9 ) From there to Baker, "the zygopl~yllaceousshrub [was] constantly characteristic of the plain along the [Mojave] river." H e co~lldnot even camp on the Mojave River "because there was not a blade of grass in sight.""

rho

C A R R Y I N G C A P A C I T I L S X h D I ' R O D U C TlX'ITTi O F H I S T O R I C A L C A L I F O R X I X I'LZSTURE5

Writings from the Spanish and American periods clearly show that coastal estimate of primary pasture was more productive than in the interior. Ah productivity can be ohtained from historical data on cattle density and annual dry feed consumption (Table 3.6). The following estimates are based on the assumption that grazing is at carrying capacity; therefore, primary productivity of each rancho is proportionate to cattle density. Estimates are made using the number of livestock on rnnchos of a known size, determined from land surveys in Table 3. L . Data on cattle numbers for each rancho were compiled by Davis (1929: 389-9 j)using ,I "proven counti~lgtechnique" ( 13 8 ) among the rancheros, in ~vhichit n.as a rule among the hiaierrdLldos to slaughter as a yearly income about four-fifths of the yearly increase of the herds. Using Haciendado Vallejo as an example, Davis stated that the ranch "slaughtered eight thousand 7 Ten thousteers of three years of age and over in the i n ~ l t m z ~season. sand calves were castrated, earmarked, and branded ahout the first of March each year, or one-fifth of his great herds. . . . ,An increase of one t o every five head on the hacienda was the basis of the yearly estimate among the hacendados. To verif>-the rule, they counted the cattle as they went out of the corral, before the number became too g e a r on a hacienda." The areas of ranchos, measured in leagues, \\ere obtained from the governor's office and are largely consistent with areas published hp the U.S. government survey's general office (Table 3 . 6 ) . After California statehood, most ranch holdings remained under original ownership under protection from the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Davis's data was used for ranchos that were subdivided after California statehood. H e listed only "the most productive ranchos," as the other ranchos approved by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, largely from the California interior, "had little livestock." The areas of the ranchos Lvere obtained from LJ.S. Surveyor General's office. If area data could not he determined, densities were estimated from Davis's estimate of land area (in leagues and acres), which is usually consistent ~ v i t hsurvey office data. Differences arise where the subdivision o f land grants could not be determined. Estimates of cattle density (animal units) (Figure 3.8) are consistent with the accounts of pasture h>- Spanish and American ~vriters.The per capita density ranges from one head per 2-5 acres (1-2h a ) along the southern California coast, Monterey Bay, and San Francisco Bay. Per capita densit)- decreases to one head per j-10 acres ( 2 - j h a ) in the southern California interior valleys and inland valleys of the central Coast

3.6

TABLE

LIVESTOCK NUMBERS AND LAND GRANT AREA, WITH ESTIMATES OF LIVESTOCK DENSITY

Ranchos (after secu1arization) [modern place name/location I

c

. &2

,

, -- 2 5 2 .S -2 ,.Si*.E7 ;-c+-c

z

.

L

k

-

-5.

3

- --.S 5 ; 8 =$ s

- .-c

C

2

3

5

~2

,m

3 5

W

,'2 W

L

C

S

2

2 rz . z

z

gz"

" *

?.5--,,;

w

3.L

-

;F

2--ZV

P =h

z - 2

2

L

K ? i ,

-

;S

-m $ 2 2 .S 4

G , ?X -

C

$

*LFP&A 5;

g 2 3 2

~

- , . i s U&? 2 .g >>"-s X 2 6 1 5G

&

* " " X

-

S

"'

--

w 32 k 2- z x ; z s g 2

~ 5 Q' J ?3 ~ '

"-S r & 2W;. = -m

C_,

% 5 % % > S&. ? : C=z g 2 2 3 s- :

cse2z

e

S

L.-

;&-&g= 2 ,? g- S

r E T * . - s s

C L,c" 'NCdL , Z 3 , j - - FGzd,000

100

3 leagues

U,345

4.4

4.3

Cattle

Horses

Sheep

14,000

500

6,000

Land Area (Davis 1929)

,).-)

Acre/ Head

-

2,000 500

~

TABLE

}{anchos (after secularization) Imodern place name/location I I'unta I'inos I Pacific Crovel, Noche Buena, Salcito, San Francisquito Los Aromitas y Aglla Calientc ISanta Cruzj TlIlarcito IMonterey I Niporna I Nipomol LOlllpoc Monte Diablo Sotoyolllc ISanta Rosa I New Helvita ISutter's Forti Saucelito IMann Countyl Tomales/Baulinas 1"(1Il1a!es Bayl Los lVLCc! \\as d~scoveredIn 1772 h j the S p a n ~ s hexplorer, Don Pedro F'lges, ~t wasn't settled until long after the coastal reglons. As late as the n i ~ d -860s, I Colonel Baker's field at Kern RI\ er ~ v a the s onl, fenced p a t u r e betm een F~rebaugh'sFerrj near Fresno and Los Angeles where tr,lvelers could grass t h e ~ rhorses untethered." The gold rujh drew a large human p o p ~ l a t ~ oton San Frmcisco, as well as t o the Sacr,lmento goldfields, but few settlers lwed else\vheie 111

176

Invasion in the Nineteenth Century

Callfornla, where a M e w ~ a n - p e r l o dIIT estock economl pel sisted until bout 1880. T h e X m e r ~ c a n sexpanded lir estocL gr'izlng from the coast t o the Central Valle\, with transhummce Into the S ~ e r r aN e l a d a and southern Coast Range, \X ~ t dis,istrous h results. Bren er did not appe.11 t o recognize the poss~bilit\that the interior b'irrens n ,is a natur,~lcondltlon, deleterious t o l i estock ~ grazing, perhaps because he rr ~tnessedCalltornla 111 the great drought of 1862-64. It seems 11kelr that the Xmericans, frantlcalh In pursult of gold, n e r e not pa\ing attention t o the 11restock grazmg experience of the defe'ited Californlos. The 111 estock disaster of I 8 62-64 \X as related t o o \ er stockmg I\ ell be\ o n d numbers attamed 111 the Xlexican and Spmish periods. Grazing expanded Into marginal pasture of the interlor harrens a n d ultlmatel~into the meado\rs of the Slerra N e ~ a d aand southern Coast Range. T h e gold rush evpanslon of grazlng into intellor C~11to11iiap r o ~ l d e s ,I different test of the b u n c h g r x s - g i a r ~ n gh ~ p o t h e s i s ,especiall\ rn the , ,llulr, and KingC e n t r d VCdle\.M a n \ I\ riters, ~ncludlngW ~ l k e sDerlx, \\ ho all s ~ \ the v Central Iralle\ after normal or \\et \\ Inters, not dioughtdocument t h ~ the t Centr,ll V a l l e ~remamed In n lldfloners through the n ~ n e t e e n t hcenturi, just as Fremont h ~ seen d the aiea before grazlng 111 the earl\ T 840s. iizwza f'ztm and B I C ~ A SI IZ CI ~LI ~Lremamed ~ along the coast and along the rlr ers of the Central \ ' d l e ~ . Apparent1.i l>oth species, nat ~e \ to moist reglons o f the AIedite~I anean basin ( Jackson 198 j 1, had limits, and encouragement of tiomestlc herhn ores ~ e a c h e dt h e ~ ecological r faded t o e\p'lnd their r m g e s . "Rel~ct"theorr n a s challenged hecause natlr e b u n c h g r ~ s s e st h r ~ \ e \\ ~ t d h ~ s t u r b a n c e( B ~ s ell n 19 j h; Vi 111s r o o o ) . B1s1.i ell ( r q 5 6 ) pomted out that a t the t m e of C lement's ohserr ,ltions ( I c) cc)-18 1, railro'~d1 ~ g h t s - o f XI n e l e burned almost a n n ~ i a l l \and that f i e q u e n t l ~\ c ~ ~ c l l pzrlchln ~l \r as f'lr ored 1>1 burnlng. B ~ s nell ( 19 5 hi, S a l eh ( I oh-), m d Rarbour et '11. ( 1 9 9 3 ) speculated t h ~ frt equent burning b\ h a t n e Xinerlcans mclr ha\ e fCl\oredp ~ l r p l eneedle grass and other b ~ l n c hgic1s5es, perhcips 111 areas L\ here the\ a r t found p r e s e n t l ~111 the ~ o o t h i l l sot the S~err,iUe1 d i and the c e n t r d Coast Range. \Y7ills ( ~ o o opi ~ o p x e d t h ~ inan\ t rea as o f SasscllL7p1tlchi"7 might be mole common t o d , ~ \\T it11 file m,lnagement. Burn~ilgexpel-iinents a t the Sant'l R o s ~I'lC~teciuin southern C,il~foinia s h o n that frequent fires decre'1se the abundance o t ni,ln\ n,1tir e foihs ~1h (\\ 111s 1000; ct. \7;'elIr and ~ n n ~ n~h dl e sincre,lrlng W c ~ s ~donllnance r 9 h r 1. H o u er er, t h ~ sfinding mC1r ~ p p l \ s l t e - s p e ~ ~ f i c d l 1r' , ~ o n s t ~ ~ l l t d ~ l e m m afor ecologists \\ orkmg 111 coinple\ pldnt ~ s s e n ~ b l ~ gKurni~lg es. 111 coastal C , ~ l l t o r n rh1 ~ ~ N a t i ~e Xrnericms a p p e ~ r st o 11,1\c contributed t o the pi-oliter~tionof nildfloners (see C h p t e r r i . Thls e ~ i d e n c ecasts

Invasion in the Nineteenth Century

17:

doubt that Nassellil stands are "relicts" and hence o n the deduction from Clernents's climax model that railway stands represent remnants of past extensive perennial bunch grasslands across California. In a n anecdote, Twisselmann (1967: 189) wrote that some of the best surviving colonies of bunch grass grew in the Pinole Hills of eastern San Luis Ohispo Count); where "an entire colony of German settlers abandoned their homesteads when their last horse starved t o death in the dry year of 1898. . . . Thus, it is reasonable to assume that the present annual grassland of the upper San Joaquin Valley did not replace a perennial grassland in which Stipiz (Nassella) cernlia was dominant but a vegetation of native annuals; in this process, grazing played a n important hut far from fully understood role." Proponents of the bunchgrass-grazing model cite present ecological studies to explain the past, i.e., the equivalent of uniformitarian thought in geology that present processes help explain the past. Heady (1977: 4 9 3 ) writes: "After r j - y e a r s of study, . . . I believe that plant succession tended toward perennial bunch grass dominants on nearly all \\.elldrained upland sites, that numerous annual species were present, and that they dominated intermediate and low succession stages, just as they d o in many other grasslands." The question is whether he is concluding inductively from data o r fitting data deductively to a Clementsian model. Can one also extrapolate findings at the Hopland Research Station to all of California, and to the past from evidence in ecosystems already contaminated by exotic species? An alternative hypothesis is that California pastures were displaced hy invasive species independently of disturbance (hlooney and Drake 1986; Sauer 1988). Such species arrived in climate and habitat comparable t o conditions in their indigenous ranges in the Europe and had life traits that permitted rapid expansion, including short life spans, self-pollination, heavy seed production, rapid seed dispersal, capacity to colonize mineral soils, vigorous germination lvith first rains, and high productivity and growth. The pace a t \vhic11 European annuals expanded across California is nothing less than extraordinary (Bartolome T979; Wester 1981 ; Mooney and Drake 1986; Huenneke 1989; Blurnler 199 j ; Carlsen et al. r o o o ) . While domestic animals may have accelerated seed dispersal in the first years of grazing through disturbance, over lorlg time .cl tati ion. scales these species would have expanded without human f17.l' hlooney et al. (1986) cast d o ~ l b OII t the bunchgrass-grazing theory, based o n Wester's vieiv ( ,381) that bunch grasses grew in ta\,orable sites in the Coast Range and Sierra Nevada foothills, and that "the original grassland \\.as composed mostly of atmuals."

178

Invasion in the Nineteenth Century

Native herbivores are an unknown grazing force. California pasture supported abundant wildlife that also included semiferal cattle and horses in the Spanish and American periods. Clearly, the native fauna coexisted with the native flora over geologic time scales. While the number of animals is unknown, one can conclude that the consumption of biomass and trampling of soils was not unprecedented. Burcham (1957: 108) concluded that "none of the native mepfauna formed large migratory herds throughout the year after the manner of the bison." However, Leonard, Sutter, Bidwell, FrCmont, Davis, and others all described an abundance of native herbivores such as antelope, elk, and deer in the early to mid-nineteenth century. Twisselmann (1967: 316) pointed out the obvious: "The land was always grazed." He commented that "the very large herds of tule elk and San Joaquin antelope that roamed the valley before the coming of white man must have had the same effect on t in dry years as the sheep had" (4).While the southern the ~ l a n cover San Joaquin Valley was severely grazed in times of drought, "what permanent effect this had on the flora and vegetation is a matter of conjecture and debate" (316). He noted, "Certainly the enormous number of sheep that wintered in the San Joaquin Valley must have had an effect on the native flora. However, as their food preferences and habits are largely the same as those of the great herds of tule elk and San Joaquin antelope that roamed the valley before the white man came, it is doubtful the sheep actually eliminated many species or even greatly altered the character of the vegetation" (32). Another unexplored topic is the effect of trillions of rodents and birds (Schiffman 2000). Kimball and Schiffman ( z o o ) ) assert that the native California prairie assembled in the absence of grazing herds; invasive European grasses were exposed to grazing for centuries. The role of grazing should also be viewed in geological time scales because the evolution of the California flora coincided with the presence of a diverse megafauna that exerted cattle-like disturbance until the end of the last glaciation, only 10,000 to 12,000 years ago, and that included bison, horses, camels, antelope, mammoths, and mastodons (Bell et al. 2004; Woodburne 2004; Paleobiology Database). Wildflowers had long been part of California's heritage at least to the last glacial maximum. The same genera of desert flowers, many closely related to species found along the coast, have been recorded in packrat middens since the late Pleistocene, including modern dominants in Phacelia, Amsinckia, Eschscholzia, Salvia, Lepidium, and Cryptantha (Van Devender 1990; Spaulding 1990; Table 3.7). California's wildflower heritage in evolutionary time scales very likely extends through the Quaternary and perhaps long before.

TABLE 3.7 FOSSIL WILDFLOWERS AND BUNCH GRASSES IN PACKRAT MIDDENS IN THE MOJAVE AND SONORAN DESERTS

Period

1976

1977

Grand Canyon

Marble Mtns .. Owl Canyon, of Rocks

Picacho Peak Point

Latc P!cistoccnc

Latc Pleistocene

Lower Colorado Latc PleistoceneHoloccne

Crcenwater Vallcy

Pleistocenc

Luccrnc Valley River Vallcv Latc PleisrocencHoloccnc

X

X

X

X

X X

X X

X

X

x

X

Spaulding

X X X

x

X X X

Aristida Astragalus Clstillejd Chorizanthc Circiuln Cryptmztha Dithvred

1983

X X

Amsincl,id Arg:cfnone

King and Van Devcndcr

X

Location

King

X X

Source

Cole 1n6

Mead and Phillips 1n I

X X

X

X

X

Late Holoccnc

X

X X

X

Dral"l X

X X

X

X

X X

X

X

X

Eriog(Jnuln lCscIJsch()lzia FUIJhoriJia Cilia Ililaria Lcpidiurn

Cole and Wcbb Ins

X

X X

X

X

X

X

180

-c:

lr; :N

J'.

'"

x

0"-.

~~

u

CS ;)

Ci".

z

--0 :x; r:i

--0

c:

;j .9' ~

~

U

vs

....

2 c-: .....,

~:> ....

~~

v

~

....

-

~

~

0 ...:.
cds flower·s. flo\vers.

1888-89

156

""larch 9. The wildflowers have not been so abundant this winter as last. The rains were uot continuous enough.

1889-90

185

February 2.). Immense field of poppies ... [at[ the mesa king at the base of Mt. Cucamonga.

1890-91

129

February 28. Vegetation of all kinds is springing up and hills are taking on a delightful greenish tint.... In a few days, the golden poppy will tint the hill-sides with a warm, rich yellow, and beautiful flowers of a hundred different varieties Ispeciesl and hues will deck the are plains Iwithl many colors. J\larch 28. The Box Springs hills are covered with masses of golden poppies.

1891-92 1892-93

65 124

27. '.There IThere \\-ercl were I myri,lds myriads of April 27. o t beautiful flowers bedeck our flo\r.ct-s ... . . . that hedeck o u r ... . . . fields. fields.

\clarch 23. \'Vildflowers are becoming ven abundant, especially the beautiful golden poppv. April J. The drive down the valley, following the canal least Riversidel, is one of great beauty at this season of the year. The hills are covered with a carpet of emerald green bedecked with beautiful wildtlowers. The air is sweet with the fragrance ... and the exhalations of blossoms so numerous as to seem like solid beds of yellow, and blue, and white. April J 7. People gather gorgeous wildllowers upon the broad expanse of the plains and the sloping mesas, or to wander among the charming nooks and corners of the manv beautiful canvon retreats (l.os Angeles Tunes). Nlay .3. Dry weather has affected the wildllowers

1893-94

(Los Angeles Times).

1894-95

164

1895-96 1896-97

75 128

March .3 J. The hillsides were never so gorgeously beautiful with wildflowers I Murrieta I (Riucrsidc

Press Fnter/Jrise). March 25. U'est West Riverside seems to hhave h1,irch a \ c quite an attraction for wild-growing tor 11-ilcl-grov ing flowers, flo\vcrs, especially r\pcciall!poppies.

T h e F a d i n g of Caliiorni'~\Y'ildflowers

ZOL

PON,'

Comments

1897-98

5i

-

898-99

18

-

(79

121

t e h r u , m 26. U J I I I ~ \I t i l d f l o \ t e ~ son the hdls . . .

129

.\larch 6, 1903. T h e golden popplei re again in bloom; nlso cream cups. bah> blue eyes, and wvesal other small \ arieties. .April 3 . [ C o r o n a ] The nies,i is covered with \vildflo\ve~-S.

I68

LLarch h . Those going to C.old\vatet- C h : o n report . . . thc! found such 'I profusion of wild flo\vers as the! 11~dne\-er seen before. LL~rcli18. In h a \ been man!- days [yrnss] since there h,is h e m s~iclia11 a h ~ ~ n d a i i cofr \vildflo\r.ers, '1s are no\,- t o be tound 111 rhls neck o t the n-oods. T h i j ~ n o r n i n g .cro\\tis of school children and touricrs \yere o u t o n Rubidouu Hill. \\here they Lvrre g.ithermg the henutics h! the h ~ ~ i d t au il d the '11-niload. ,\l,lrih 1 0 . Spire the poppic\. But it the crowds o f pcople ,ind chilciren \\ho h,ivc been engaged in pulling L I thc\e ~ l i e , ~ u t ~ flo\vers f ~ ~ l do not sho\v more discretion, the popples \\-l11 not be there next year. . . . Therefore, all persons \vho \ v m r Ri~.esside to h a t e these poppies in p a r prc)iusion are urged not t o ptck the flottcss no\\ rn'lking Rubidoux Hill 5 0 ~~ttr~ictive.

splcuous most other \ears. There were n o reports in ~ 8 j,8 188-, 1896, I 898-1900, and 1904, all > e a r s with belon -norrn,ll preciplt'ltlon. Beglnnmg 111 the I 880s, the Los A ~ g e l e sT ~ n w sfrequent11 puhl~shed "brel itles" on \.X hat became 1' f ~ m o u sfield of- C a l i t o l i i i ~popples a b o e~ P,lsClclencl,called the "Altar Cloth oi San Pasqual" t h ~ schapter'h Eliz,~bet11 Grlnnell epigraph, and the "Ales,~de los Flores." The Altar Cloth of San Pasqual L X X named LA S a b a n i l l ~de San Pasclu,d-the altar cloth of Saint Pascal, a samt w h o knelt ~ m o n the g \\ 11dflovers and pral ed n hde he tended sheep in Old S p u n . The p o p p ~field IJX a t the end ot a r a ~ l \$'I\. f r o m Los Angeles. X b o ~ ethe floners n a s the t o u r m mecc~lof the Echo M o u n t a m inclme-n r,l~ln,lr c~siendinga 30-degree slope to the Alount L o n e Ta\ ern, and the h l o u n t Hat-\ drd Obsel I'ltorl o n the sum-

The Fading of California Wildflowers

203

Figure 4.1.Gathering of wildflowers at the "Altar of San Pasqual," the famous poppy field above Pasadena, ca. 1900. Note the rail car in the background. Courtesy of the Herald Examiner Collection/Los Angeles Public Library.

mit of Mount Wilson. The poppies were admired by rail, and seen from above. The Altadena poppy field was a microcosm of a broader spectacle (Figure 4. I). Charles Fredrick Holder (1889: 3), a fresh immigrant from the wintery east and the inspiration behind the Rose Parade, wrote picturesque descriptions of the Pasadena landscape, inspired most by the fact that he could see wintery snows on the nearby mountains and fragrant flowers in the middle of winter in town: "We can see the flurries and watch the white wraiths tossed aloft by the wind on the upper range: yet where we stand, the odor of the orange, rose, violet and hundreds of flowers fill the air." He recounted the region's recent history: "Fifteen years ago, the San Gabriel Valley constituted several large ranchos, owned by the Bandini family, and several others, Spanish and American. Great live oak trees covered large tracts, and the bare spots were overgrown with sage brush and grease-wood, or carpeted with a variety of flowers found nowhere else in the world in greater beauty or profusion" (5). He described flowers from many sites about town. From Millard Canyon he looked down on the Pasadena plain and saw "Pasadena . . .

a t l o u r feet, a \ '1st crazl quilt, o r c h e i k e r b o ~ d~ rcolored in m a n j tints a n d hues." Los Flores C a n \ o n h a d "its profusion of flov ers, l o o k m g do\\ n o n P o p p ) L a n d " ( H o l d e r T 889: ;8 ). \X7ilson's R a n c h , directlt bel o w M o u n t Wllson, h a d "huge S ) c a m o r e s o n \\ hose hranches t h e great California c o n d o r rests. . . . a n d pasture . . . b l o o m ~ n g\vith flowers in mid-winter" ( 6 2 ) .H o l d e r n as iueinber of tlie L1alle\ H ~ m Ct l ~ thh a t origm , i l l ~ e s t a b l ~ s h e dt h e T o u r n a m e n t of Roses, no\\ the Rose Parade. T h e n a m e T o u r n a m e n t of Roses refers t o the h c t that the first e\ e n t In r 890 e m p h a s ~ z e da tout-nament of r'lces, m d o t h e r competitions, n o t the par a d e (Hendrickson ~ 3 8 8 1, 9 8 9 ) . H o l d e r d e x c r ~ b e dthe n ildfloners in rel a t ~ o nt o j a c k r a b b ~ thunting: "Instead of folloning the r o ~ d s ., . . the hunts t a k e j o u across c o u n t r \ m here ) o u r horse beats o ~ l 'It wide sm at11 In a grom t h of flo\vers t v h l c h j o u h a d n e l e r heard of o r seen before. You plmx t h r o u g h them, Ilterallr a inass of color, brdllant a n d remarkable" ( H o l d e r I 889: 91). ~ of flon ers during the growlng H o l d e r recounted t h e L I ~ L L I sequence SeaSO11: At rhe. . . . first r i n , [the messs] assumt. ,l change of raiment-first green \\it11 the rapid groxving alfileri,~.\o \ ,~lu,lhle'1s natnr,ll todder. This covers the length m d hrcadth of the land, marking the high m d h!- \v,l!-s with ne\i-born tints. S o o n after the ad\.e~irof the ,tlfilrri~.come tlie cielicare bells l i ~ p dcrean-colored flo\\,er, d,~intilypoised o n I' slender stock [cream c ~Pt sl L i , g i ~ ~ ~ b ~vhich ~ t / ~ q is ~ sahund,lnt , earl! cups, Pli7t?'stm1(ii1~ ~ z l i ~ o u z lor in springl. On the upper slope5 t11c~-m x s like \no\\-, ch'lnging the color of the fields. In Februar!; possibly e'lrlier, . . . the poppy spI,~shesof color come here and there: the sirerglon- of the mount,~insseem ro Ii,~vebeen transferred to the plains helo\v a n d finall!- the slopes 'lppex ,I fire w r h the golden flo\vers. 111certain place^, near canyon\. on the hill\ oi S'xn Ratael Ranch, and in K'ilson's Canyon-the "shooting star," or .heric,ln con.slip is found I Dodec-izt/~eotzc l e l d ~ i ~ d Ye11mv ~ i ] . \-ioiets [ I i o l n pdltt~c~rlatiij n o n a p p e x cowring the ground In many places, noddmg In clunips of gr'lin fields, or forming ,I gorgeou\ horiier to thr roadsides together \\it11 the Inxses o t a little blue cup-shped flo\vel--the ' ' h ~ h !hluetts" of the cliildren [Xermpliili7 tvzctzz-iesiil,but n o \ \ others tollo\v. . . . The p i n t e r s brush colors the hillsi~iesm d fields n-it11 vil-id tints, resting o n a matting of velvet greens, formed by clovers of m m y kinds. The iris rears ITS grxetul n-hile e\-ening shapes in brilliant mclsses [blue e!-ed grass, .\'~s~';~ii~c-I~r~rmI, p m r o s e [C"ii71iss0ni~~], rock rose [Heli.i~zthrttlmll,wild pe,? [ L , d q ~ ~ lors , Lotus], tulip [CLilocl?ortlrs.i,v ~ g ~ ~ reseml-rling el! a tulip], and nun!- more in the floral rhr011g. Kells o f blue and \\.hire, trumpets ot purple mci pink, tlie lovely Penstemon, the gorgeous cilene, huge ox-eycd dc1iw5 [dn ,~srerace,le], delic'lte cruc~ters,golden dandelions [?l, blue m d U hitr sn,lpdragens [ h t i l . rl~imtini z ~ t t t ' l l l ~ i z l ~make ~ t ~ l ~this ] , Chri\tm,~sgreeting. i 10--S; hot,mical interprer'ltions h! Ancirw Smders, pers. comm.)

The F'lding Fading of California Krildflo\vers Wildflowers

2°5j 20

Holder also ~ l \ odescribed descr~bedthe distribution distr~hutionof o f the introduced ~ntroducedhblack l x k nmustard. iu~t~~rd. In the "miniature hills hetneen between Pasaden'~ Pasadena and Los Ange" r n ~ n i ~ ~ t uvalleys" alle\ r e S" of the hdls les, "the m wild mustard grows, rising five mJ in slender 11d n1ustc~rd gron s, nsmg fi\ e or o r six feet [T [I.8-2.0 .8-2.0 m] yellow blossoms, as if shafts, topped with it11 ~ d o hlossoins, w ~f a shower of ot fJoss floss had fallen from hill up tlns this is veritable golden yellow sea, shimmerthe skies. s k ~ e sFrom . the h111 1s a \eritable ing and gleaming trade winds. Then descend and rlse rise in gleanling in 111 the cool tr'lde 111 the golden masses, the fJowers meeting I your horse's head, see the bunches of flon ers ineetmg o u r horse'\ violets, spring T). V'ln Van D\ Dyke x~olets, sprlng up at a t every e\er\ step" (4 (41). ke (r886: (1886: 36-39) 36-39] described a,I similar region. The rrainy sirn~larfJoral flor,ll calendar for the Pasadena reglon. a n \ season s a s o n hbegan egm by "shooting nwith i t h the "star-like" "star-l~ke"alfileria alfileri,~and m d was followed b\ " s h o o t ~ n gstars, ... ... clover\, ... . . . and the light llght of of the popp) h , ~ tflamed fl'i~ned along the ineadon clovers, poppy tthat meadowss Can Gabriel G a b r ~ e!\10untains]." Mountains]." l and bl,lze\ blazes on the northern hdlsdes hillsides [next to the San specles described hi ~nspring were clovers, clmers, lilies, Idles, Other species by 111m him to bloom later in flonei 5, white h ~ t eand blue." i n \ , pphacelia, h x e l ~ , \etches, ~, ,x\ters, and" and "bell iris, vetches, lupines, asters, bell fJowers, blue." ~ 1Atzgelcs s Tlmes first referemed 5 ~P na s q u d ppoppy o p p ~field on on The 1Los Angeles Times referenced the San Pasqual June 6, r 8 8 3, when Jeanne C . C u r , n r o t e ,l s k e t ~ h tor a torthcoming June 1883, Jeanne C. Carr, wrote a sketch for forthcoming volume Southern California Paradise (Lindley olume A Southem Callfo~nra P~zrz~dlse ( L ~ n c i l eand 'lnd ~ I\XTidney V d n e ~Ir 88 8). 8 ) . Carr \\ iote: "The [Spanish] [ S p a ~ i ~ sfathers tat h ]he^ s \zwere ere excellent e ~ c e l l e njudges t of the quality clual~t\of land. I d . wrote: judges of And nowhere \\,IS flor,ll spender \\111ch folio\\ s the early e,irl\ was the outburst of floral which follows Irains alns more dazzling d u 7 l i n g tthan h m upon the meSdS lnesas of San Pasqual, \\here where the homesteads Pasadena stand sun-steeped escholzia ste,lds of P,~s,lden,l \tancl tto-day. o - d ~ \ The . e s c h o l m [sicJ Isic] overo\erspread the earth with ruddy gold, lupins ith its rudd\ luplns [sic Isle]1rolled ttheir h e ~ rblue Ibillows ~ ~ l l os \ \ ead thc e ~ r t hI\ uplands." 1ttoward o n '11 d the upl,ind\." l In r888 r 888 the Times T m c s reported, The profusion of wildflowers will attract the most latent interest, and "poppv land" as the upper mesa or Altadena is called, and that seems aire with their glow, is a marvel to the eastern eye-a solid mass of golden Hollow, so vivid and intense that it has been seen from the ocean 25 miles awav, the old mariners calling the Alradena uplands at this time the land of fire, or Terra del Fuego. A detailed picture of the mesa reminds vou of John jvluir's picture of the Central Valley. The roadsides arc lined with wild flowers of every hue, that succeed each other in endless varicrv as the cbys slip bv. IS

l\early thirty years later, Saunders (T 914: 1°3) wrote of this floral landmark: "At the base of the San Gabriel Sierra north of Pasadena is an elevated mesa tilted to the south .... It was known in the Spanish days by the name of La Mesa de las Flores (the table of the flowers), because of the exuberant growth of poppies which covered it like a golden table cloth, its folds dropping down into the valley. The story goes that flowery flame could be seen plainly in clear weather from vessels at sea." Indeed, Saunders captured the Altadena poppy field in a color-tinted black-and-white photograph. The Times reported the status of the flowers at the end of the rail line

206

The F'lding of California W'ildflowers

at Altadena nearly ever!- year, often as a brevity in the editorial section (Table 4.5; Figure 4 . r ) . Cominents o n the Xltadena poppy field were accompanied by statements of the flan-ers o n the mesas between Los Angeles and Pasadena, and o n black mustard fields belo\v Los Angeles to the seashore. The frequency of reports gives every impression that wildflowers were seen throughout the region most years. Exceptional displays occurred in normalJ-ears with well-distributed rains and in nearly all the \vet years. What follows are highlights from extensive coverage in the Times for days listed in Table 4.5. In 1888 the Times reported, "On every hillside a garden of b1osso111ing tvildflowers; in every valley the colors of the rainbow spread in unnumbered blossoms," and "the roadsides are lined with wild flowers of every hue, that succeed each other in endless variety."'"~"' While the dry ~vinterof I 888-89 elicited no remarks on wildflo\vers, the following year, the third wettest at Los Angeles to this day, produced at Altadena "deep copper rivers [that] wind a1va)- or spread out in \yell-defined patches against the green."2' By late spring came the "profusion of wildflowers with which the hillsides, mesa and canyons in the neighborhood are adorned in all the colors of the rainbow."" During the \vet year of 1892-93,the railway ride along Mission Canyon showed "everything is abloom, . . . the ground is carpeted with flowers; fields of wild mustard are yellon- as the sunshine . . . clematis garlands the roadside, and sunflowers, butter cups and 'baby-blueeyes' are everywl~ere."'~In the dry spring of r 894,the poppies still rnade "the foothills a field of the cloth of gold."'4 Flo~verson the mesa during the rainy year in 189 j were an epiphany for a lady who had just come in from viewing the poppy-covered hillsides of Pasadena: "She was farily bubbling o l w with delight. 'It is a dream of beauty,' she exclaimed. 'It is as if one of the brightest sunset clouds had dropped down and wrapped the hills in its mantle.""' For others, the view from the Echo Mountain summit down t o Pasadena was "vast golden, radiant floods of California poppies." The next month it was reported that "bloom[s] run riot everynd~erein garden and field. The hillsides are golden with the nodding poppies; the broad levels are a sea of c o l o ~ . " ~ " Dry winters diminished the poppy fields from 1898to I 900as in Riverside (cf. Table 4.4). In February 1898 the Times reported that "the gay and golden poppy of the foothills is now in evidence and a right brave show she makes."'- In 1900 the poppies faced "great crowds going up by the electric cars and returning laden with golden flowers . . . and it seemed as though the flowers must be exterminated by their onslaught but the supply seemed to stand the strain very well. . . . It is noticeable, however, that they are retreating toward the mountains, and it seems only a question of

TABLE 4.5 OBSERVATIONS O F POPPY A N D W I L D F L O W E R F I E L D S AT LOS ANGELES A N D PASADENA, 1886-1918

Flo\\ e r PON1 A b u n d m i e "

Precip. P,lttern O b s e r a~ t ~ o n s ( J u l ~to J u n e )

D a t e s of F l o n e r R e p o r t s

Cl~ii\v~nrer drought Fallin inter floods

Ileccmber 6 , J a n ~ ~ a r ! , 28, 29, 30, 3 1, Febru'iry l L, \farcl1 16, 22, April 12 Fehruar!

7 hlarch

9, 26

htLtrch 12, 27, April

-

Februar! 11, l l a r c h 10, Xla! 21 December

February 2, Xlarch 18, llay 3 h'larch 10, l l a r c h 28, 31, Xpril 9, 2.7. 28, 26, July 22 January 1 , hlarcli 1, blarcli 17

Evenly distributed

February 2, 6, April 10

Winrerlspring dro~~ght

Februarx- 23

J,inuarylMarcli F~illi\vinrerdrought E\ enl\ d i s t r i h ~ ~ t e d Spr~rig E\rnl! distrrburcd Late spring Vl1inter1spring

&lay 1.5

Winterlspring

February 18, 2.5, hlarch l5,26

\YintcrIspring

J a n ~ u r ! 3 1, hlarch 2 1, 29

Winter

F e b r m r y 24, 2 6 , April 1

E\ enl! distributed

January 28, February 23. b l x c h l l , 21, Xpril 2 1

7

February 13, M a r c h 8, 28, April 2 Fchruary 5, April I I

Flmver

PON' Ahuntianct. ' 19 11-12

-7

:i :;

1912-13

X9

'- :,.

191.3-14

1.58

f

.-

1914-1.5

114

:i:,.

1915-16

l33

.S

1916-17 191;18

I'rccip. PCltrern Ohserv~r~oni (Jul!- to June1 .\IIc~\\-IIITL'I. tiroilght,

Dates of Flotver Reports . \ l ~ r c I il l . .April l, 19. 28

~ a n ~ ~ ~ i ~ - y / k e l ~\ Irc ~i ~ r c~ l i1.3. ~ r30. ~ .\p~-ill l . 1 3. 18. June F~llln111re1;fli~i)iiing \lclrcli 9 \X inter

\ I , ~ r c l i 8, April 3. 4, 19

Fchru,11-! h. \ l , ~ r c h 30

93

\X'intrr. flooding Fall/\\ 111rcr

.\l+

;1.

93

Lire \ p r ~ n g

\I+

l

:

tmle n h e n under present c o n d ~ t ~ o the n s p o p p must become p r x t l c , i l l ~ e ~ t e r m ~ n a t In e dt h s II C I ~ I ~ J . " "\X hen the drought encted 111 T ~ O the T , TIVZCS reported that "the poppr . . . [IS]mlliing great sp1,ishes of color l ~ k 1'c runmng prame fire In the 1on.l~nds."'' In I 902, the S m t a Xna \'cille\ had 1' protuslon ot \ v ~ l d f l oers \ ~ 111 the c m \ ons and on the f o o t h d s : "Poppy hunters \I ere out rn full torce." ' ' The follon mg \ e a r ,I r x e i n o u tell on the popp~es,"and In 1904 people o n l ~\i shed for \i ~ l d f l o n e ~'iss ,drought had p x d u c e d "thc dull monotonr ot dust" trom the g r , m ficldi." Drought-hl-eakmg r'ms In 1905 m u l t e d 111 e\;cellent I~te-blooming flo\\ ers, but school c h ~ l d r e nfound ~td ~ t f i c ~to~ lsell t flo\\ ers bout t o n n. In I 905 ,.ll~cth l e r r ~ l lD,I\ ~ d s o nn rote thdt "111 ij71te of c u l t ~ atlon r ~ n d rts needs, it 1s p r o b ~ b ltrue ~ rli,tt there 'ire it111 fieldi of \i dci flon et s ,icschool c h l d , on11 In most t o n 11s \\ e must ce\sible t o e\ er\ ( ,il~torn~,l suppurt t h ~ the t d ~ m efor the t~olle\ -e,>r r ~ d e1s ~ l s ,icccss~ble." o '' Flou ers 11ere "suffic~ent"111 1906,after ,inother U et \\ intel and sprmg, 111 splte ot "predatlons b\ !oung ho\ S. The hloomi 'ire bemg pluilicd ~t a fealh11rate. BOJs ~ b o t o~n n~ p~cl, t them c,~relessl~ \o t h ~ In t m,in\ inst,inces the p l ~ n t tliemsel\es s 'Ire deitlor eci. The blossoms A I e sold fol ,I fen cents ,i ~ L I I I C I I J ~ O L t Io ~ n 11.'' The T~rlzesalso I-epolred t h ~ Lt . , i l t h o ~ ~the g l ~pop~ ~ l a t l oo fn Soutliern C c i l ~ t o r nh~a,i~been i o large11 ~ncre,lsed~ L I lng I the p s t \ e ~ l l ,the p o p p crop h ~ also s been c ~ ~ ~ g m e nsutficientl\ ted t o go s leporttd t h ~ t J I ~ L I mI ~ d there ~ , nlll be m m n t u l tor 11s all." It \ s ~ ,ilso " U he11 Alr. H e n n Huntmgton rcturns to Loi Angele\ t ~ o m Ne\\ York he v 111 look In am tor the beds of popplei tli,it ould b t c ~ p e c t e dto do^ 11 the roadheds of 1115 Interul h n [ ~ a ~A\] l nlines. . . . 5,ld t o i,1\ the poppies h,1\ c not popped" t h ~ stp ~ l n g ."

''

The Fading of California Wildflowers

209

Another bumper crop developed in 1907, an average rainfall year but with well-distributed rains. In February the Times claimed "the greatest crop of [poppies] that we have ever had since the original pepper tree was planted at San Juan Capistrano [in the 1830~1."" Weeks later: "The plains are spangled with poppies amid the emerald carpet that covers almost every square foot of the whole territory of southern C a l i f ~ r n i a . " ~ ~ By late spring had appeared "broad patches of golden poppies, streaked with long lines of yellow mustard three feet tall [I m], and blotched at a thousand points with bunches of purple larkspur."" In 1911 the Times reported that "the California poppy and the wild mustard blossoms are painting the canyons and the sides of the mountains until they look like fields of the cloth of gold, recalling the heraldic days."39 The following year, aviators visiting the Griffith Aviation Park and "gathered arms full of poppies on the flying field."40 Flower fields were scarce after 1915, and massive floods distracted Los Angeles citizens from flowers in 19I 6. A string of dry years beginning in 17 17 diminished the flower fields. City officials and members of the Los Angeles business and civic organizations toured rapidly developing areas across the mountains and visited poppies not in Los Angeles, but at Palmdale and the Antelope Valley, a prophetic event that earmarks the retreat of wildflowers and wildlands to the d e ~ e r t . ~ ' The flowering season lasted from January to as late as April in wet years (Appendix 4), which is similar to accounts by Muir, Cronise, and others from central California from the mid-nineteenth century. In Trees, Shrubs and Wild Flowers of Southern California, Jeanne C. C a r r wrote, In February, the advance-guard of the poppy family (Eschscholzia californica) is observed taking possession of old furrows in fields and orchards. . . . Two weeks later rank patches, with open, bright-yellow flowers, appear in company with blue Nemophilas, nodding cream-cups (Emmenanthe penduliflora), purple Calandrinias and yellow violets, which have bronze linings and delicate penciling of black lines upon their petals ( ? ) . . . Dodecatheons . . . cover the moist hanks. White "forget-me-nots" exhale their delicate odor. But not for many weeks shall we reach the summit of the floral year, when, perchance, after a walk or ride through miles of poppies. . . . We touch an island of blue larkspur or lupine. . . . All through March, April and May, plants of Layia platyglossa (tidy tips) are scattered orer the ground. It is nearly always found associated with the moss like Gilia dianthoides. The commencement of the vernal years varies greatly, but Christmas nearly always finds the earth thickly furred with the starry mats of Feleri, (Emdium cicutarium), with young grass and clover, and from the first rain to the end of April the floral display increases, until, at its height, distinct bands of color, blue or orange may be traced in the landscape for many miles (Lindley and Widney 1888: 3 2 7 )

2 1o

The Fading of C'llifornia \Vildflowers

Holder ( I 889: 75), whde not a botanist, captured both \vildland and urban phenologl around P,~\adena: "In October, the weclther grows sllghtl) cooler, and soon the rams come. This glves renewed lift to all vegetatlon, and mstead of trost, snon, and Ice, the I m d blooms like a garden, the mesas are carpeted with a succession of flowers, the lo\v hills taken o n a vivid tint, and the air is filled \vith fragrant odors. . . . Yet how cold Pasadena really is, is shonm by the fact that the roses, callas, and all flowers, kvildland and other~vise,bloom throughout the entire lvinter." U l t i ~ n a t e l the ~ , flon el-s and exotlc annuals cure m the dr! season. 17an D ~ k (1886: e ;7), in a descr~prionof autumn, stated that "the plains and slopes lie bare and brown; the low hills that break a\vay from theme are )-ellow with dead foxtail [farmers foxtail, Hordeurlz ~ ~ z L ~ Y ~or~wild z~zvI], oats, gray with mustard stocks." Until circa 1920, there were very fen- reports of n.ildflo\vers in the sparselj populated desert, \\here x c e s s \\as lllnlted Ln poor roads. In a r x e exception, the Rlvcrstde Press E~pztcrprmreported that "all the desert is ablaze of blooin" in 190 j, a I\ et 1 ear- U it11 11ea1j apring r ~ ~ i nwhich s, also breached the Coachella C 'lnal, floodi~igthe Salton Sed n ~ t nh a t e r s of the C o l o r ~ d oR~ver.The report also describes "1 erbenas and babl blue eyes [in] bloom when the\ are onl\ a fen ~ n c h e s11igh."~' O n e of the earhest accounts of desert n d d f l o \ ~ers in the Aloj,lr e Desert north of Los Angeles was reported b\ the Tmc.s 111 I 906, another M et 1 ear m ~ t h]lea\ 1 sprlng rams. The Board of P u h l ~ c'X'orks, d~rectedb! W i l l ~ a mhfulholland, made a n auto tour to the S ~ e r r aNex ada, source of the future O n e n s Valle? aqueduct. The) reported t h ~ "the t ,\loja\ e Desert 1s carpeted w ~ t h flowers that come up after the rains, but nowhere else is it so gorgeous with blossonls as in the lvesterly bend of Antelope 1;alley. Thousands of acres are covered with poppies of vivid orange, so thickly that one could pick a dozen blossoms from any square foot of land. Under the poppies are myriads of small golden yellow flowers IImtberziu gmcilis], and here and there a streak of purple runs through the gold and orange einbroidered thickly upon a carpet of vivid green. Lliles and miles of flanling prairie unrolled before the speeding cars."43 When the aqueduct was completed, land values and land clearing skyrocketed in Los Angeles, especially in the San Fernando Valley (LlcWill i a ~ n s1946). California's flora lvas even used to bring about its o w n destruction. During the spring of 191 2 imaginative land developers at Van Nuys, with little regard for nature's floral legac); "celebrated poppy day" to entice investnlent. The public was invited to gather flowers among "the fields a t the new town of Van Nuys . . . aglow with thousands of yellolv blossonls." A p ~ c n i cbarbecue was tendered for those w h o came, and au-

The Fading of California Wildflowers

7-71

tomobiles took visitors t o the poppy fields. The Times later reported, "These beautiful spring days are attracting many people from the city t o the golden poppy fields surrounding the new t o w n of Van Nuys. . . . Nearly every car returning has people laden with the flowers, which may he gathered anywhere in this vicinity, without restriction. Van Nuys is growing as rapidly as ever, and in the next few months bids fair t o eclipse even its past enviable record in the building l i ~ ~ e . " ' ~ T Times he also listed the sale of hundreds of lots. Poppies were replaced: "Four thousand sacks of: seed potatoes have been planted around Van Nuys this season, 100,ooo fruit a n d \valnut trees have been set o u t in new orchards, and 7 j00 acres (3,000 h a ) planted in sugar beet^."^' Bit by hit, wildflower fields were carved away from the plains of Los Angeles, hut automobiles allowed people t o drive farther and farther away t o new flower fields distant from the expanding town. Charles Frances Saunders (1914: 9 9 ) perhaps best encapsulated the impending fate of wildflower fields around Los Angeles, quoting a professor acquaintance: A humiliating fact in connection \vith our California nild flon ers . . . is the average Californian's indifference to them. Not only does he not know their names, he does not even see them, as he slashes right and left in his haste to subdivide the State into building lots and orange ranches. Why, man, the gardens of Europe are full of California wild flon.ers, and have been for three generations-raised from seeds carried there by English collectors-such flowers as clarkias, collinsias, lupines, gilias, eschschotzias, godetias, phacelias, mariposa tulips, penstemons, and a score more. Now here . . .

In eulogizmg Los Angeles's w~ldflowerfields, Saunders ~ n v o k e dHesperides, the nymphs ot class~caln q thology who, with the a d of a dragon, protect a garden of golden apples: "Year by ear more and more of these Hesperlan gardens of the w l d 'ire bemg broken u p b\ the encroaching settlenlents of men; and 0111) the other da) I saw a p l o w m m , knee deep m eschscholtzia, drlvlng his furrows straight through f i ~ eacres of them and quenchmg their sheeted fire with the upturned earth" (104).

FLORAL BRILLIANCE AND COLLAPSE ALONG THE "CIRCLE TOUR"

In 1926 Phillip M u n z , lead a u t h o r of A CalifomiuFlom, publisl~edby the Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Garden in 19 j q , wrote in the Los Angeles Times t h a t in southern California "every canyon, every hillside, every valley, every ridge has its o w n quota of color and beauty."'"

W ~ t h i ndecades thls X n o n became J d i s t m t memo1 l,and this 15 \I ell~ E ~ z t e i p ~ r s ea ,n d In documented 1x1 both the Tunes, the R l l ~ e i s r dPress

The D e s e ~ Magazmc. t From the 1880s to 1920, the n ~ l d l a n d sof the Los AAi~geles plains and interior valle! s hosted a n impressi\ e pastel of color er er) sprlng, as first descr~bedb) the F r m c ~ s c m sIn the 17-0s and l x nrlters after the Gold Rush. The retreat of n~ldflo\versdue to urbanrzation m d agr~culture\vas furthered by the expansron ot brorne3, slender I\ 11doat, and suinmer must x d lnto areas that had neler seen the plon or bulldozer-first In Los Angeles, then 111 the southern C ,difornia interior I' ~ l l es and ~ San 1oaqui11 V'llle~, and later 111 the desert. Beginnrng 11-1 r q r o , 1% ildflon er5 n ere clo~umented\ irtuall) e\ er) spring h\ the Los Ar~yrlesT m e s rn c o o r d ~ n ~ t ~noith n the Xutomoblle C l ~ l hof Southern C ~ h t o r n r , ~on , whose board T u r ~ ce d~ ~ t o r ss e r ~ e d t, o encourage the readersli~pto spend days ot'f work seelng the n-ildflo\vers In the countr! ( F ~ g u r 4.2). e Articles 111 the Tiriaes \\,ere more than c a ~ u d l records, because temporal trends we1 e ~ m d robust e b\ the nen spaper's tocus on ,I "clrcle t o ~ i r "to f ~ t o r r t esltes m d floner festl\-thirty years b e h e . G. B. Burtnett w r o t e in ~ 9 3 4 , Before o u r ton-ni \\.ere put o n rhe map, the present ciicmtlot p x r of vast g,lrden ot blooms [ t h ~ht d ] heen soiving their s t . d ~ n coming d LIP asain for thousands of years. \X'itli the scrtling ,ind cultiration of land this natural cycle xvas destroycti. . . . Both tlioie w h o mourn tor the good old days \vhen the SAIIFernmdo Valley w ~ l scarpeted n-1t1i altern,~restrips o t blur m d gold, when the cultivated fields of rods! \yere solid n1,lsses of both delicate m d brazen colors, c m see a r,1y of cheer aIie,ld for lovers of the \vild flower in n a t ~ ~ r ,scrtings. ll The eneniies of the 11-ild flon-er are IveeJs, foreign to Californ~a,the encroachment of ,lgl-iiult~~re ,lnd to\vn sites. . . . c~ .r ~.1 1fields ii took the place of natlvc plains, orchards and ormge grol-ei folloned and man!. of these g'lre n.'~!for the to\vn site. Then i,ime the v'icant lot. Cultivation ceased and weeds, mostl! emigrant planrs from foreign countries and, took possession of the gromd. These \veeiis pcrpctuare themselves ,ls once did the n-ild flon.ers. . . . , . . . \.ac,~nt lots ha\-e hcen X\-CE

1 '

gro\ving \vecds for mmy years. The ground is impregnated with their seed and their root syste~m.~'

Ot all Chl~fornia'sbumper crops this ye,lr, none is more hu~nperlslirhst thc to.ir,lil crop. In other !ears, tourail used to get h!,, h!. posing '15 g r ~ s sunr~l, c seed and vipened ivhen we Lvere off: guard, it suddenly t17r~1stup a p l ~ ~ r nof: them. But still it lvas a lowly cousin o f grass. This y e x each incli! idu'11 iortnil seems to rhink it 1s J tree. \%'hat used to be mere puddles ot foutail Ii'ii-e e u p ~ i ~ l elike d the n,~r~on,d debt ~ n no\v d you c m , if !ou a r c fool enough, n d k through tossing seas of foxtail \vhicIi is xvaist deep. In Iiiany Soutlil,i~iiltowns and villages it has been neceswl-y to hire nion-irig crc\vs tc harvcst fourail from the vacant lots lest children get lost In

T h e heit d o c u m e n t , ~ t ~ oofn l ~ e r h ~ i c e o u\ es g e t , ~ t ~ own ~ co~lducted s h) the Calltornia Vegetat~onType M a p (VTM) Sunre! of 1929-34 (W1elslander 1 9 3 8 ) . The p r m a \ rn'lnd'ite of the sur\e! n 'is t o p u h l ~ s hm ~ p s b) t o p o g r . i p h ~q~u ~ d r a n g l em , effort completed for most ot coastal southern Cr~litornia.Legend information for California grassland clearly indlc'ites that In\ e species mere dominant In the areas mapped, n hich mcluded most of the uncultnated o r urbanized plains of co'istal souther11 C c ~ l i f o ~ - belo\\ r i ~ ~ i the coastal sage ucrub and c l ~ a p a r r dbelt. Grasslands extended ~ n l a n dt o the edge ot the hlolar e and C o l o r , ~ d odeserts. It is unfortunate that some quadrangles n.ere mapped \vhea herbaceous se the species composition. M a p s gencover Ivas too i n ~ n ~ a t t~o ~identify erally show the symbol "Gr" without species-level jnforrnation for individual polygons. W ~ i l d h v e r sare rarely indicated hy the survey i m p s , although the legend deslgn'1t1on "grass and herbs" In some of the qu'idrmgles n i 111 ~ fact ~ ~ d e n t l f \natlt e torbs. Legend descr~ptronsof \eget,it~on maps for co'~st,il reglons recoi-d gr,issl,~nds dormn'ited h\ A~~crln, K T O ~ ~ I IHorde1trn, ~S, cind L1 odittm ( S m I u ~ Re), s C orona, Triunfo P ~ s iCal,ib,~s,~s, , Ramon,i quadimgles). In the San LLIISRe) q ~ ~ a d r ~ l n gthe l e , domin,lnt spec~esrareh exceeded I toot (0.3 m ) 111 height, but 111 large areas near the c o a t , oats (Alwz'i ipp.) torrned alnioit pure stands, 'Ittauilng heighti of 2 - ; teet (0.6-1.0 m ) . The legend for the Corona q~ladranglestates that grasslands were t w o dist ~ n c tt) pes near the coast. The most pre\ alent U as composed ot Auen'z 5pp. 2-3 feet tall (0.6-1 .o m ) , 111 a s k o c ~ ~ t ~1 o~ n1 tanother h F r m c l s c m 111-

222

The Fading of C,ilif'ornia Wildflo\vers

vasive, clover (Medicago hispida). The second type 11.3s dominated by farmers foxtail (Hordeurn nzurinzztn), which occupied valley floors. At San Juan Hill, grasslands of species of Erodiz4n1, ,l.ledicago, Avena, and B ~ O M I had U S small colonies of native C a l a n d r i n i ~n?en:iesii ~ and Baeria (Lasthenia) chrysostowza. Black mustard (BrassicLrn i p ) ,\-ar)-ing4-6 feet ( I .32.0 m ) in height, was common over much of the grassland of the quadrangle. The coastal sage scrub had understory of Erodittrn cicutari~tm, Bronzus mollis, B. n~i~driteusir ( B . rzibens on maps),Allena spp., and Medicugo hispida. The Triunfo Pass and Calabasas quadrangles were mapped when the grassland nras immature. Annual herbs Lvere dominated by Az~ena, Bronzus, Hordezinz, and Erodirim. Henzizoi7ia fnscictzlotu and Brassica 17igm were also in abundance. Flats and southerly exposures in coastal sage scrub (termed "sagebrush") ~ v e r ecovered with Bro~nzisr~iheils(madritensis), Hordetinz murintim, and Medicago hispida. Some northerly exposures had populations of native hunch grasses in Stipa (IWLzscella)and Poa. The composition of grasslands in the interior valleys fronting the San Gabriel Mountains west of Pomona (Piru, Santa Susana, San Fernando, Pasadena, Pomona quadrangles) was similar to that on the coast, with grassland being dominated by Aztei~n,Bromzrs, Festzica, Erodiztm, and hlcdic'zgo. Most grassland occurred on deep-soil hills overlying Miocene or post-Miocene bedrock along the Santa C l x a River valley, O a k Ridge, the Santa Susana ,Mountains, and from Holly\vood through the Puente Hills t o Corona. Except for the plains from Thousand Oaks to the western San Fernando Valley, virtually all grasslands in valley floors had long since been plowed. The V T M survey mapped n~ustards4 to I G feet in height ( I . 3-3.0 m, Brclssicu nigrd) in the Whittier Hills and the San Jose Hills. Farther east, only "grass and herbs" \\-ere delimited from Pomona to San Gorgonio Pass. VTM workers stated that most grasslands in the San Bernardino quadrangle Ivere "not natural," but represented agricultural clearings formerly cultivated that became occupied ~ v i t h"weeds and annual grasses." l e also covered with The unplowed plains of the Elsinore q ~ ~ a d r a n gwere "grass and herbs," dominated by B r o m u s , Atgem, and E r o d i t m . Lake Elsinore \I-as dominated by Distichlis spicata, and Casa Lorna by Salicor~ziuspp. Herbaceous cover in coastal sage scrub consisted of Eroditirlz, B r o m u s rz4hem (madritensis),and A r w a spp. "Grasses and herbs" defined the grasslands of the San Jacinto quadrangle. V T M maps along the edge of the Mojave Desert (Elizabeth Lake, Tujunga, Rock Creek quadrangles) rarely depict grassland except in disturbed areas. Legend information indicates that "grass and other herbs" embraced cultivated areas now growd over with Bro~nzisti1~7Tlrite??sis and

The Fadmg ot Cal~tornlaW~ldflowers

22j

Frodzzim czctitanzm, the two most abundant mvasi\es of the desert reand seen presently. Coastal Invasibe species, 111ported b j Parish (1920) cludlng Avena, Medlcago, Festzica, and Brasslea, were not found t h ~ far s into the Intenor. T k o areas south of Palmdale were shown to have c o ~ e r of the natlve desert needle grass, Stlpn speclosa, in the Tujunga quadinngle, doubtless the same species seen b) Frimont there in the 1840s. V T M workers reported that grasslands 111 the Molave Desert cons~sted o i ahandoned cultivated areas doinmated b j E r o d m m czcutar~umand Bt omws rztbem (madrztensls). Floral explosrotz, 193 7-1 94 I Fsom 193j to 1941 came a n unprecedented succession of spectacular flower years in which virtually all of southern California was alnlost annually decorated by extensive flower carpets, even the most arid deserts. The rainy winter of 1934-3j brought out wildflowers even in the Los Angeles region. Fields of lupine were seen in Carbon Canyon, Brea, La H a h r a Heights, and Yorba Linda Hills, and a solid inass of lupine was seen bordering Lake E1sinore.-" The lower San Joaquin Valley was like "a vivid oil painting, with inasses of color and dozens of varieties on hill a n d dale." At Death Valley, the Tinzes wrote, "the entire section between Stove Pipe Wells a n d Furnace Creek is ablaze with desert marigolds."-' The Times also reported that "this year o n account of the gracious ahundance and well-spaced distribution of the season's rains, the ~ v i l dflower gardens . . . carpeting o u r so-called deserts have reached a perfection that few have ever witnessed."-' A month later, flower lovers were "enjoying one of the greatest displays of wild b l o o n ~in the history of southern California."-"~~ a retrospective ~lrticle,the Times reported that the flowers of 193 j were the hest display since 1~11-22.-~ After an off year, another great hloom colored southern California wildlands in 1937.Lynn J. Rogers wrote, "You can wandes the length and breadth of the Southland today and catch nature in her pastel mood of bright color." Kear Palmdale she sa\v "stretching before us like a flanl-. iug sea was a vast field of golden poppies" (Figure 4.3). ' However, the flo~verpastures in Kern County began experiencing the same fate as those in the San Fernando Valley in 1912.According t o the Tin?es, "A warning was given not t o attend the Arvin Flower Festival because jooo acres (r,oooh a ) of the formerly b e a u t i f ~ fields ~l have been planted to potatoes and gsain which might be destroyed if trampled upon." The festival moved to Shaftet-, 3 0 miles (50k m ) northwest of Arvin.-"11 the Coachella Valley, flower fields near Indio were consunled hy t w o bands of sheep,

224

The Fading of California Wildflowers

Figure 4.3. Wildflowers in the Antelope Valley, 1936. WPAILos Angeles Public Library. totaling 1,000 head, from Phoenix, Arizona. Officials called on Riverside County authorities to put an immediate stop to the uncurtailed grazing that "threaten[s] destruction of hundreds of acres of beautiful desert

wild flower^."^^ The flooding rains of March 1938 brought "one of the most lavish displays of wildflowers since the great year of 1935.'''~ The Shafter Exchange Club festival saw "brilliant spreads of flowers" throughout Kern County. At White Wolf grade in the Tehachapi Mountains, the Times wrote of "many acres of long-stemmed lupines and white popcorn flower while higher on the slopes are brodiaea and poppies. At the foot of the Grapevine are thousands of acres of lupines in a blue sea of blossom. Owl's clover and golden sunshine are to be found along the Taft highway." At the same time, "flowers were not so good the Mojave Desert" because the heavy rains had a late start: "Desert flowers here . . . will be found interesting only to those not expecting large expanses of color." Wildflowers "won the battle with man" at Arvin, as "two sections of the potato fields that were plowed over the previous year are now very brilliant with the golden glow of poppies." European weeds were winning the battle at Los Angeles, but had not made their way into Gorman. According

to the Tmzes, "A fen courdgeous blossoms here ~ n there d as L ou d r ~er across the colner of S m F e r n m d o V a l l e ~glves n o h ~ n of t the '1st sea of hlue and purple that bursts hefore > o u r c\ es below the G ape\ ~ n e . "The h l o l a ~e Llesert, \\ h ~ c hhad llghter r u n s , \\ as "not llterall\ one gre'lt g.11den, nor as c ~ h ~ ~ n dIna nhlosson~s, t '1s In former springs."-9 The spring o f 1939 hosted the "best w l d f l o n e~s p e c t x l e m Inam \ e x s In the \testern Antelope \i1lle\," \TIIKII was a s o l ~ d111ass o t bloom. The blue lupine field a t the Gr'ipevine \\as "broken u p b~ slmll p'ltches of golden p o p p ~ c s ,ex enlng snon; sun cups, o\\ls clot er dnd other smallei 1'11leties. T h e M o j a \ e Desert \ z r x c o ~ e r e d M ith mlllioris of Coreopsis and the route from M ~ J JeTt o Barstou 15 c m ered n ~ t Indian h pamt brush, lupme, /oshua blooms, [ m d ] desert herhena." T h e J ear 1940 n as unusual because \ \ ~ l d f l o n e r sgerm~n'lted earh m I csponse t o t ~ o p ~ c storms al In September 1 9 3 9 m d \X ere nourished b\ \\ 'li-m temper ,ltures all U inter. The desert \\ as " t h ~ c k\ \ ~ t l iartlsts, tor the sunflo\xers are III b l o o n ~ . " ' ~BT AL~rch,Dedth VCllle\ and the h l o l , ~ \ e Desert had "hecl\\ carpets of flouers." At D a t h Vcille\, the T I ~ C ~ Se ported t h ~ "the t gi een and gold carpet o t desert sunflou er5 contmues t o s p ~ e a d~ t perfume s throughout the floor o i the \'llle\." F l o \ ~ e rfields 111 Kern Count) \\ere the hest slnce J 93 j. B\ late hl'lrch, \\ ~ l d f l o ners \I ere "the most plofuse In I 5 ~ e a ~ s . " " O nthe ;\loja\e Desert there was ",I n i ~ t c h l e s \carpet of l u p ~ n s ,popples, verbena, d a ~ s ~ ecoreops~s, s, dewt PI-ui~rose ,ind other countless T d ~ i e t i e s . "PL~1n1 ~ ~ 5prmgs had "one of the greatest d ~ s p l a5\ ot wddflo\\ ers In recent \ A'iIdflo\\ er d ~ s p l as\ e. ~ ~ s l t the e d Inland Empire ,lround Can R e r m ~ d r n oand R ~ \ e ~ s t d Sadl>, T'I ~ldflo\\erfields of the \I e5tern Antelope V a l l e ~and \an Eernando V,& d bloo~n~ng le\ \\ere scarce due t o plo\\~ng." Late rams n l ~ l n t d ~ l l ethe season troni April to Julr."" T h e \\ lilter of I 940-41, the \\ ettest I ear slnce r 889-90, ploduced a e cross southern California. k . i p c ~ n s ~blooms \e once 111 ,l l ~ t e t ~ mbloom b e g m ~ ~ n f o l d ~a tnthe g Grape\ me, Antelope Valle\, dnd m the illland alTmes reported, "It 1s ,111nost j o T e'1r.s smce the le\ s n e x RI\ e r s ~ d eThe . Golden St'lte has been as b o u n t ~ f u las it 1s todar n 1t11 U ildflo\\ ers." In Kern Count! "thous,~ndsof square mdes of countr\ s ~ d e[-ere] d1r.e ~ t h b l o o ~ n sot color . . . fields of poppies were seen e i e n 111 01-~1nge Count\." t ' x o t ~ cblack must,~rds t d c o ~ e r e dc o a s t ~southern l C , ~ l i f o rplains. ~ ~ i ~ The h l o l a w Desert a n d De'tth Vallej "otfer[ed] another n o l k of color."" Vl'hen columnist Lee S h ~ p p e )descended the L r . ~ p f i l n e ,he \\rote, "Vlle thought for a moment, that the o c e m had m m e d into the \,llle~ belov us. There l,lr a se,1 of f l o \ ~ e r s stretch~ng , awa\ as f ~ 3sr e \ e could see." H e added, "I 1%on't describe ~ t It. 1s s ~ m p l \sorneth~ngthat takes 1 our

'"

'-

breath awa\ and cannot be descr~hed."~'Theclrile rour followed "a back r o ~ dthrough the foothills t o Beaumont [San T m o t e o Can1 on] and on even s ~ d colorful e s h o ings ~ of popples and other .i arietles o t ~ u l d f l o \ -r ers were m e\ ~dence."""Thegron 1ng season spanned into late sprlng. At Lake Elsinore, the T m e s reported o n h l a \ 11 that hde "some \\heat m d b a r l e ~fields ,111-ead? are turnmg bron n, . . . the rollmg hills are a lot elk green, and . . . flon ers are e\er\ n here." The T m e s also pro1 ides e x l \ ekidence that ~ n ~ a sei species, r most 11hel1TI 11d oats, which t h r ~ v e 111 hlgh I ainfall, \r ere a l r e a d ~rniued in the I\ ~ldflo\\ er fields: "In sorne of the places where the floners a l e b l o o m ~ nthe ~ glass has grorrn so h ~ g h that lisltors have to get out 111 the fields to see the blossoms to hest ' I ~ Ta ~ l t a g e . " ~ ~

The string of almost annu,il n ~ l d f l o er ~ s s h o n s that began in the 1930s ended n i t h the 1941 lmdscape rnasteiplece, and the onset of Vlorld VlrClrII. If wildflov eers proliferated during the \c '11, ~t \I as not recorded for posterit\. Gas rationing and required donations of spare 511 es to the go\ernrnent rer rented normal reporting l31 the Tunca. Coluinn~stI ee Shippep dwelled on " m e m o r ~ e sot lor el~ness.""' People could not drive to the desel ts, iilcluding the scouts, ~ n sorne d ohserr ers IT ere drafted into the n d ~ t a r \ Shippe\ . wrote that 'bnxndsn e l e turned elsen here . . . and people could not drire t o the deae~ts.'"" E \ e n T1~eDeseit hlilgazlnt., \c hich g a \ e o u t s t a n d ~ n gannual accounts o t desert flon eri in ~ t s p r ~ n g issues heg~nrmlgIn 19 ?c), ceased leportlng in I 94 3-4 7. Randall Hena public relat1on3 officer for the m l derson, the rungazme's e d ~ t o r \\,IS , tar? m the Saharj. Desert. The deserts n ere also nelc l\ lnr 'ided b~ split grass i Sch~sm~is ha?l~ata), a small desert grass n a t ~ to ~ esouthern Europe, not thern Africa, and the Near East ( J x k s o ~1i9 8 j; Brooks 1999; X p p e n d ~ x;i . Scblanzus bu?botts i t a s first collected in Callforn~aas earl\ as 19; 5 at Kettleman Hllls l>\ Robert F. H o o ~ e (Robhlns r 1940; Tn ~sselmann196-i. It became a dornl n m t annual 111 the deserts h! the 1940s. R\ 19 j I , 11s range included hundreds of thousands of acres of arid Callfornla, Arizona, and Bala Cd11forma. According t o krnest Tu ~sselmann(196-: I 8 j 1, In the San Joaquin Valley split grass expanded explosir e l ~d u t ~ n gthe great drought of 194 j to 1951,and he noted that "it 1s tenacious 111 extreme drought because a fractlon of seed germnates each rear, lear mg most seeds tor reserle 11hen a cohort per~shesbeiore reproduction." Cpht grass also ~ o l n e d other In\ asn es In coastal grasslands.

The Fading of California Wildflowers

7-27

The flower displays were probably limited by deficient rainfall in 1942, but the following two winters yielded heavy rains in winter and spring. In 1943, "hillsides and lowlands of Arvin were carpeted with golden poppies, lupine and other varieties." The only evidence of wildflowers reported in The Desert Magazine were two photographs of sand verbena near Palm Springs. The Times reported a begrudging cancellation of the Arvin Flower Festival: "burning up gasoline and rubber to see the flowers is unpatriotic-if not unsafe-and the Arvin Booster Club, for one, has swallowed its pride over the display and has withdrawn its annual invitation to motorists. "l4 California experienced profound drought and poor flower displays in the postwar period. In 1946, Lee Shippey saw "exciting patches of wildflowers" between Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo, but only "ankle high" miniature flowers grew in the Antelope Valley in ~ ~ ~ ~Desert . ~ V h Magazine provides insight as to how the fickleness of climate led to variability in wildflower displays, as evidenced by reports of naturalists and botanists, in particular Mary Beal, a resident of the Mojave Desert who frequently wrote for the journal (Appendix 4). In 1946, cold and lack of rain in February stopped the growth of plants germinating in fall. Tiny wildflowers barely had enough soil water to reach bloom. The following year, the failure of spring rains forced annuals to reach early flower, leading to smaller plants and smaller blooms. In 1950 there was insufficient precipitation to initiate germination and the rains arrived too late the following spring. Lavish displays covered the Mojave Desert in 1949 due to extraordinary snowfall. The snowpack, which lasted one to two months on the desert floor to as low as 3,000 feet elevation (900 m), led to abundant growmg-season soil moisture.y6Below the "snow belt," the Coachella Valley "was bathed In c o l ~ r . " ~Lynn - Rogers took the "circle tour" of Kern County-Molave Desert and wrote that she saw "one of the most beautiful flower displays Southern California has shown in more than nine years." Kern County had "some of the most vivid panoramic displays of wild-flowers in nine years, but old-time residents will find the districts that once supported lavish acres of wild flowers have been converted to agricultural uses. However, there still are great many sectors where the plow has not turned the earth."y8 More and more land was converted to potatoes.'y Columnist Lee Shippey focused on the resulting Kern County dust storms: "Forty-thousand acres (16,000 ha) which used to produce nothing but wildflowers, which tens of thousands annually drove to see, now are producing potatoes and cotton, and when high winds hit that broad, level sweep the dust is about -

~

The F,~diiigoi California \Y'ildflowers

7-28

as ple,~santas smudge 111 the P o m o m \'~lle\."' " T h e Tuizes later reported that "a c o m b m , ~ t ~ oont agr~culturalencro,lchment ~ n msufficlent d ram I I A ~all but iped out the colortul plcture that forn~er11 greeted thousands o t 101ers of m t u r e , hotanlsts, 'ind tourlsts m Kern COLIII~J 'S 1 aller fields and h ~ l l s. . . the profusion of i o l o r that tormerli carpeted Kern Count! 's hllls ,lnd d'lles 1s gone fore! er." AAneffort h\ the Kern Count\ C h ~ m b e r to effect leg~sl,~tn e actlon for the establ~shinentof ,I ''U ~ l d f l o ner presen e" v, as unsuccesshl. "In reient e x s , Kern C ountr 's n 11d-floner season hns been thought of more m ternls of the IIol,l\ e Desert.""" Hlstor) repe'lted itself. Los Angeles h m d e d its flonels o ~ e tro Kern COLIII~T and Kern ount! handed ~ t flon s ers t o the 12lolal e Desert. Drought persisted through the I c) jos, but eucellent desert hlooms \vere 111 I c) 5 L and I c) j 8, both El N ~ l i o e'lrs d e s c r ~ h e dIn T h e Desert ,lIag~r:~~re if 1t11she-nor~n~tl, n ell-d~str~huted rams. The R I LC ~ S I PI ~ CPSS Erlte~.prtse reported t h ~ 11) t 5 2 b r o ~ ~ g the h t best flon erlng 111 ,I dec'lde, \X hether o n a ; c - ~ m l ec ~ r c l etous round L,ll\r 1ZIathen s o r a 3 jo-mde tour of the Sonoran Desert."" Kern C O L I I hosted ~ ~ T "the most b r d l ~ ~mantle nt of gloildflo\\ ers . . . ~u L j L e'lrs." " Flo\\ ers d ~ not d p r o l ~ f c r ~ l 111 t e Lo\ r~ous Angeles. A ~ r p l m e s ere used t o p h n t U ildfloir er seed 111 the W ' h t t ~ e r Hdls,lU4m effort t h ~ ct l e ~ r l \d ~ dnot r e c o g n m the seed hank , ~ d a p t a tlon o t the natlr e herbaceous flor'l, a n d more ~mportantlxthe cornpentlon produced h\ mr asl\ e grasses. In rc) 5 8 , k e 11~ C aunt\ h'id the best flon er 1 ear in a decade, 'lnd De'lth \'cillei n ,is " c a ~ p e t e d111 br~lliant!ellov s, m hites, and purples." l '" "Old-tlmers" stated that the " flo\vers around Tm entl -Nme P d m s n ere mole 11eaut1tul t h m the1 ha\ e been smie 7 c)3 8.'''''6 By late sprmg, Kern C ounti flon ers n ere seen in "rnassn e spreads." In retrospect, the Time5 n rote t h ~ rt 9 5 8 n '1s "onc of the best 111 recent memorx."lO" On11 l o c c ~hlooms l merc reported d u r m g most of the T c ) i O S . Color'"~ ful h~llside\In T Y j o and 195 I \ v e x l~rnltedt o Kern C o ~ ~ n t \ .P'ltches of lupme wei-e seen In the Palos Verde H ~ l l s .' ' l In I g 5 3-56, T h e Desert hl~7gazrtzemade consistent reports o f e u e l l e n t majs gerrnln,ltlon from earl\ U Inter rams, but n.~ldflo\ter f a l u r e s resulted from poor spring r ~ ~ nIns .19 j 3 a descent o f S m Gorgonlo Pa\s to\\ aard the desert ,lt P ~ l m Sprmgs brought notlce of "shx desert n ~ l d f l o ers n p o k ~ n gtheu- heads o u t of the sand." ~ I J I I Jflo\\ ers d ~ e d ~ t h o u tblooming. l ' l C ~ t ~ z c nIns the C o , ~ c h e l l ,VC1lle\ ~ protested 5heep grazing 111 the n ild flon er reserl es. T h e circle t o u r of k e r n C o u n t l brought .'! ~ s t a sof color." Flou er5 ere found on11 111 "secluded areas" ot Kern Count! un r 9 54.' I-' In 1956 there n ere a fen good blooms o n the c ~ r c l etour. k e r n Count! hdd the "best p a n o r a n m drspla! s of wlldflon ers srnce r g 5 L . " The

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' ''

The Fading ot California Wildflon.ers

229

foothills of the Antelope Valley had patches of wildflo\vers from Lancaster t o G o r m a n . l l \YiIdflo\vers \Yere vil-tually absent during extreme drought in r 9 5 9 61. In 1 9 59, the Titnes reported that "m~ildtlowersare a rare sight in this drought-stricken spring." O n e patch of poppies was found a t the town of Tehachapi, and a few others \vet-e seen n e x M o j n ~ - e .'"'he Tehachapi M o ~ i n t a i n sin the following spring had "many splashes of color," but photographs show only an ankle-high flower carpet."- The ~ v i n t e rof 1960-61 n.as the driest according t o instrumental records. Few annuals r for sparse displays in I

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;

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11o\vi11g L~, liferation of Hromzts wzadritensis and Avem fl~titsin wet years from I 992 to 1 9 9 8 ; and n return of mustards and flowers in the drought from 1999 to 2003 (Figure 4.6). Similar trends were observed at repeat photo points in the Sonoran Desert at Snow Creek and Blaisdell Canyon near Palm Springs. Above-normal precipitation may have triggered the proliferation of bromes in the desert after 1978, b ~ l frequent t drought-triggered brorne retreat (increase in wildflolvers) since the 1990s. Salo LOO^) speculates that bronies expanded in t w o periods, 1930-4 j and the late twentieth centus!; in association with higher rainfall from the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. While there is strong evidence for brome expansion since the late r 9 6 0 s ~the \vet phase of 1930-15 was accompanied by spectacular native blooms in California, suggesting that the brornes had yet to dorninate grasslands in interior California. The modern dominance of "second wave" exotics has produced a new p a t e r n in the interannual variability of flower abundance. While abundance correlated with precipitation in the early t\ventieth century, the best flower years no\v occur in the first wet years after invasive-depleting droughts. As a result, mass blooms have become ever more infrequent

254

The Fading ot Cal~forniaWildflowers

throughout southern California except in the hyperarid deserts, beyond the range of red brome. The future of desert biological invasions may be one of episodic expansion and retreat with precipitation variability. The winter of t o o l - 0 2 , the driest year since 1849, was the ultimate test o t bronle reshence ag'unst premature cr'ishes. H o n e I e r , field data , ~ R~verslde t suggests that mdlvldual n Inters are ne1 er dr! enough to engender "perfect" crashes, i.e, total extinctions at regional scales, as seen recently In the desert. iVhde drought 111'1~suppress brornes, rare survivors of the bottleneck lvill rapidly recolonize interior valleys within years. Brornes and oats will maintain a permanent presence in coastal California. With broad-scale extirpation, brome recolonization may require decades in the desert. Bromtts tnad~itensishas not been observed at Blaisdell since 1989 and a t Snow Creek since r o o r . It was hypothesized that the displacement of indigenous herbaceous cover by Mediterranean annuals possessing different fuel characteristics increased fire hazard a n d reduced fire intervals in many areas, the grassifire feedback hypothesis ( D ' h t o n i o and i'itousek 19921. However, the historical role of fire t h r o ~ g h o u tC,llifornia has been mitigated by the removal of fuel by livestock grazing. The relationship between changing California pastures, climate variahilit!; and grazing pressure is poorly documented because comprehensive fire records for ranchlands d o not exlst before the 196os, and the mterannual status of herbaceous specles composition and blonlass 1s r a r e l ~sampled. h.loremer, the S p a n ~ s hrecord demonstrates that m d ~ g e n o u sflower pastures along the coast burned extensi\el! before the mIaslon of European annuals. In a modern example, n ildflon ers doinmated h) A m s l n c k ~ atcsscllata w t h standmg bioinass of 1.0 to 2.0 tons ha fueled the 30,000-hectare P ~ o n e e r t o w nfire in 2006 In the Llolar e Desert ~ f ter unprecedented h e a ~ ramfall j In the 2004-05 wmter (Table 4.9). It is problematic whether the displacen~entof mdigenous herb corer b~ F r a n c m a n w ~ l doats and black mustard ould engender ~ h a n g eIn burning rates in a positive feedback in coastal California ( D ' h t o n i o and \'itousek 1992), In Lieu of the w~despre,ldburnlng In ndtl\e forbfields recorded In Crespi's journal. H ~ e\Mer, the feedback model lna1 ha1 e m e r ~m t the Interior, u here summer harrens are n o n c o ered ~ n it11 cured t I eal in ould produce brome grassland. It would be expected t h ~ wet long growing seasons, hlgh biomass, and fire o u t b r e A s in the floner ) the dust and fields of lnterlor Cahfornia. St111, Brewer ( ~ 9 6 6lamented barrenness of the Central Valle) in the summer of 1862, after n ~despread heavy rain a n d floods the previous winter. A pattern of limited productivity a n d burning in both wet and dry !-ears raises the importance

'

The Fading o f California Wildflowers

2-55

of the brome invasions in increasing the rate of burning of inland regions in the 1960s. The effect of fire on exotic annual grassland parallels the effect of drought. VlJhile the intrinsic flammability of bromes and slender wild oats may encourage burning, postfire successions ofterl consists of increases of less flammable native and exotic forbs with long seed life, whose germination is fire-, charate-, or smoke-stimulated (ICeeley 2000). Sims and Risser ( 2 0 0 0 ) concluded that fires shift the annual grassland species from grasses t o legumes and forhs. The effect of fire o n population dynamics and species composition of annuals depends on the season of burning. Time-series data at Riverside show that spring burns convert hrome grassland into forhfields (Figure 4.6). Spring or early summer burns, just after desiccation of the herb layer, select for seedbanking forbs and bunch grasses because nonshattered seed of bromes a i d oats in ambient position are killed by high flame temperatures. Seed survives o n the soil with lower flame temperatures in fall hurns after shatter (cf. Wills 2000). Postlegumes, and native flowers disarticufire annuals including Ero~llizii?~, late and leave minimal fuel. Hence fires d o not recur on these sites until after there is recolonization by bron~esand oats, often years later (cf. hleyer and Schiffinan I 999; Brooks et al. 2004). The distribution of bunch grasses in botanical treatments at the turn of the t\ventieth century is similar to that in Brewer and Watson's ( 18768 0 ) state survey of flora, i.e., moist areas of the Sierra Nevada foothills and the Coast Range. Abrams (1904) found Stipil (Nassella) pttlchlrz o n mesas, grassy hills, and in open places in the chaparral belt, while Davidson and Moxlej- (1923) found it t o be common o n adobe banks on plains and in foothills from Los Angeles to San Diego in the Coast Range. In cen, Beetle (1947) f o ~ ~ n d tral C:alifornia, Jepson (192 j), Smiley ( ~ g z r )and it mostly in the Coast Range and the Sierra foothills.

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT

OF EXOTIC ANNUAL GRASSLAND

Historical accounts reveal that pse-Europcan herbaceous cover in California consisted of ubiquitous dense fields of \vildflowers from the coast to the foothills of the Sierra Nevada and southern California Coast Range, with thin cover across the desert. This is a far cry from the bunch grassland baseline accepted by many in the ecological community. First, Clernents deduced vegetation change sing space-for-time substitution hased o n climax and relict theory. S h e vegetation was originally bunch grassland, hut cattle g r a ~ i n gselectively rernoved bunch grasses and led

to proliferation of both \vildflo\vers and E u r o p e m , ~ n n u , ~ lthe s , expansion of introduced species eventunlly leading to modern grasslands. The Stanford school (Mooney et al. 198 h; Huermeke 1 9 8 9 ) concluded that annuals were "invasives" that spread \vithout the help of livestock or other disturbances, but left unclear the status of bunch gl-assland a s a haseline ~.egetatioti.This study concludes t h a t the baseline vegetation of \vildtlo\vers was displaced by inva5ives. The botanical vocabulary of Franciscan mission,1sies limits even speculation on spatial patterns of species composition, only sho~vingthat the Franciscans consistently observed the ivildflon-es life-torm along the coast from San Diego t o San Francisco, often for days ~t a time. \X7e can he collitnbL7i.i:lc~i in southern certain onl!- of the abundance of chia iSl7l~~in California. The species con~positionis h!.pothesized to he the same suite of species collected or obserl-ed since the mid-nineteenth centus!; notably L~stlierli'l,Calmin the genera Escl1sc-l7ol;iil, AmsiizikiL~,Xr?t1op/?il~7,

drirzia, C,'hllenactis, Choi.izmthe, Ci.ptil?ztl~il, Fi~z?izer~ilntl?e, Ei.iogot~~tt~~, klwcrl'ptrn,Gili~z,l ~ ~ y iI-epidiim, a, L ~ i p i i ~ ~Phaceli(i, is. SL71i1iL7, Setzecio, and I7iold, t o name a few. While the Franciscans never recorded \rildflo\c-ers in the interior valleys of California, mid-nineteenth-century explorers, botanists, naturalists, and settlers sa\v extensive torbfields throughout this region. Coastal flo\ver fields produced cured pasto and :~7c;ltt~in summer. Spanish journals clearly show that burning XVJS extensile in this assemblage, the fires nlostly- initiated by N a t i w ,-imericans to enhance local food resources. Several genera leave abundant cured I>iomass, including Amsinckia, Phaceliu, Chaemactis, and Lepidiiirn, and S~rl~~i,1 (ioliitnbiviL7e). The "interior flocver field" assemblage disarticulated into barrens in summer, which burned much less frequently than 11longthe coast. Fire intervals were highly variable in response t o fluctuating interannual precipitation. T h e extraordinarily widespread extent of burned territory recorded by Crespi in the summer o f 1769. after a ivinter of normal precipitation days recorded in the Portoli expedition's journals, suggests that coastal forbfields are sufficiently productive to burn most years. Perhaps the interior pastures burned e s t e n s i ~ d yin abnorn~allyn-et years. LIost fires were reported in reeds and rule sivamps in the Central Valley. While the Franciscans were unflattering in their descriptions of the desert, it is reasonable to assume that this region was co\.ered by thin hut highly variable cover of wildflo\vers, as seen today. This I>otanicalcol-nmunity has subtle floristic differences from those on the coast, lvith desert wildtlowers often consisting of closely related species to coastal members of the same genera, including Philceli'l, Aimi7zckii~,Cq'ptrrntl?a, Esch-

s c / ~ o b aL, L Z S ~ / ~(western C ~ C ~ Udesert rnargm), Chef zzmnthc, C'hacnuctrs, Emrnenarzthe, Enogor~zim,Eucr~lpta,G ~ ~ ILayza, L I , Lepldltm, Castrllep, Litpzm s , iblulrmtwnz, Metztzella, Mlrabllzs, Conopsts, Pectoca?yn, Pl~mtago, SL?/ZJIL?, YCIICCIO, M a l ~ ~ c o t l m Abroma, x, C L ~ ~ ~ ~ and I I IGeinen L Z , ( jaeger 1941 ).Desett lands were barren most years hut could support dense f l o r ~ pasture ntter e u t r a o r d ~ n ~ ~ \\,et r i l j u mters, with sutfic~entb i o m ~ s to s c,lrr\ fires such as 1112005. The bunch g r z s e s Hrlarln rzgrda m d N~rssellii(Sttpa) specros~z,first reported m the desert b) FrCmont, were ' ~ b u n d m t111 the Antelope Valleh m d at h ~ g h e re l e \ , ~ t ~ o not s the hfojave Desert. Dense growth of nati\ e x m u a l g r s s e s Botlteloun and A r ~ s t ~ carsled da fires across 50,ooo hectxes In the h g h deserts, ~ncludingthe Alojahe N a t ~ o n ~Pre~l serl e m d Ioshu'a Tree Nc~tion,~l P ~ r k111 2005-06. By the mid-nineteenth century, coastal pastures of California Ivere alread) covered with European specles. B l ~ c kmustard was eytenslve In c o ~ s tsouthern ~l C a l ~ f o r n b\ l ~ the r 7905 and presuinabl~In c o a s t ~cenl tral C a l ~ f o r m ab~ that tlrne. h l i s s ~ o nb r ~ c k sre\ eal t h ~ wild t o ~ t began s t h e ~ expm51011 r somen hat Liter, po$\1131~ '1s Llte as r X I o, but had I eaihed thelr modern range along the coast and Central Valle~floodplains b ~ the . gold rush. The reports of Fremont, Mulr, Bremer, C l ~ r e n c eKing,, and others cle'~rl>show that coasted flower fields were n o longer ubiqu~tous. Interior California beyond the ranchos was still graced with indigenous flo\ver fields in the mid-nineteenth century. Muir saw flower carpets and Hittell sa\v a "galloping rainbow" in his rail crossing of the Central Valley. Interior flower fields were i n ~ d e by d Erodizim, clovers, and fescue, which coexisted with native forbs. The rapid expansion of introduced annual\ suggests that the) d~spersedInto n e n territory ~ndependentlyof livestock grazing. Reports o f fire from the mid-nineteenth century pale in co~nparison with Crespi's remarkable account o f California in 1769. Coastal oat-mustard prairies doubtless carried fire a t high frequencies, but pastures were also being consumed by one million head of cattle and other livestock. Interior valleys burned rarely in summer because the new invaders of the interiol--Eroriiz~rn, clovers-left little cured fuel alongside the sparse remains of native forbs. Zalvidea, Mulioz, Frtmont, Wilke, Darb!; Muir, Kmg, Brewer, H ~ t t e l l ,and m m y others lamented the barrenness of the Central Valle~..Desert flower fields were l ~ t t l echanged from p r e - H ~ s p a n i i times, as native forbs were joined only by Erodizim ciczitnrizm. Beginning in 1880, a second lvave of European invaders, led hy Bromtis nzadritensis, B. diilndrc~s,and Averzn barbntn, began invading oatmustard prairies along the coast and into interior tlower fields. Franciscan oat-mustard prairie apparently reached its ecological range by the

rmd-n~neteenth c e n t u n . "Second \\ ave" in\ aders were ,lbundmt a n d c grass1,lnd lx the time o t the Calldommant constituents of e x o t ~ annual f o r n ~ aVegetation T l p e h l a p ( V T M ) S u r ~ e Lof 1929-34 Red hrome moved across the Mojave Desert for the first time in the 19 jos, and has since been l o ~ n e dby two annuals from hliddle Eastern deserts: spht grass (Schtsnztts barhatzs) in the 1940s and Sah,~r'~ I I I L I ~ L I S ~(Bmssrca torilnefortzr) In the 1970s. H ~ s t o r ~ cnenspaper ~ll 'iccounts indicate that bromes had displaced wddfloners at Los Angeles and other coastal reglons b\ the I ~ ~ O 111 S ,the interlor valle) s and southern S m Jo,~quinh l l e ) b) the late rghos, and m the deserts beginning in the late 19-0s. X7ildfloners M ere suppressed el en In the deserts untd the rggos, n hen the abundance s by "crashes" from drought, atter 1988 In the Sonoof brome w ~ rerersed ran Desert and 1997 In the .Mola\ e Desert. \Y7ildflo\vers,Ire presentlv most abundant m the C d ~ f o r n deserts, ~a n here brorue crashes 'Ire frequent eken under normal precipltntion. "Second \VJT e" exotlcs, e s p e i ~ a l lB~i o m l s rnndiitenszs, enhanced b u r ~ l ~ nIng the Interior \ allex s and western 1 1 1 ~ gins of the desert. W~ldflowershave persisted In Frmciscan exotic m n u c ~grasslmds l along the coast almost euclusively in nutrient-poor soils, such as in the coastal dunes a - o u n d Montere) BATJ S seen b~ Crespi, Fremont, and the h ~ a t z o m lGeogmphzc (Hall 19291, in beach dunes near Santa hlonic,~ slat ton^ and Loncore 1997), in serpentme rocks at J a s p ~ R r ~ d g e(Huenneke et al. ~ g q o )and , near DJ\ is ( L l ~ c h ~Barbour, ~el pers. cornin.). Since 1960, bromes a n d slender wild oats have come to dominate a11 of interior California, with Franciscan oats and black mustard still prevailing along the coast. Both assenihlages have i n ~ x i v ecompanions in Erodittrn, Schisr~zzts,Medicngo, Trifolirtnz, and BlassicLr geniczilata. Tallstatured bromes and o ~ t tend s to domlnate in ) ears \\ it11 high r C l ~ n h l l , I\ h ~ l e Etodtrtnz, Sch~snzz~s, cl01 ers, and summer mustard tend to domlnate in drought. Wildflowers n o n persist s p a r ~ n g lin~ s e m ~ a ~ reglons id such as the Carrszo Pl'l~n, the southern San loaquin \'aIle~., and lnterlor valleks of southern Calsfornia, M ~ t ht h e ~ r' ~ b u n d m c eIncreasing 'lfter inL a s n e "crashes" from drought or sprmg fires. In the past, n ~ldflou er ,117undance was proportional to total m n u a l precipltcltion and L\ ell-d~str~buted rams. Tod,~!, wildflower splashes occur on11 rarelx, In the first wet hears follov sng long-term drought.

~

CHAPTER

5

Lessons from the Rose Parade There is one California wild flower that every Californian, however unobserving, knows and loves, as the Briton his daisy or the Irishman his shamrock, and that is the native poppy or esclischoltzia. Poets apostrophize it; artists paint it and craftsmen work it into their handiwork; it is solvn in gardens and tradesmen employ it as a mark for their merchmciise. Ever) spring millions of its blossoms are brought indoors and set in vases and howls, where it illuminates the h glow of imprisoned rooms of half of Calitornia ~ i t the sunshine. To a degree that c m br said of n o other State device, it is the floral emblem ot the Commonwealth-not a token voted by a little knot of flower enrhusiasts, but the spontaneous choice of a whole people, who h e it and adrnit it into their dail! life. -Ch,ules

F r m c e s Saunders i I i) r4: 102-3)

In New York, people are buried in the snon: Here o u r flowers are blooming and our oranges are about to bear. Let's hold a festival to tell the world about our paradise. -C:harle5

Fredvick Holder i n

I

890

(Heiicirickson I ~ X L ) : z i

Saunder's praise of t h e Califosnia p o p p y is truly historic, a s this flowert h a t f o r m e d brilliant carpets t h r o u g h o u t the state only t w o centuries ago, a n d annually d r e w weekend tourist c r o w d s t o t h e valleys a n d deserts only a half century ago-is s o rare t h a t G o v e r n o r Reagan i n 1977- be,'VUI a n initiative t o set u p a p o p p y reserve t h a t eventually c a m e t o pass in t h e Antelope Valley. T h e near demise of t h e copa de oro a n d its floral c a n patriots w a s n o t only t h e product of l a n d clearing, h u t also o t displacem e n t by invasive E u r o p e a n annuals, transforming nearly all of California's landscape, plowed or not. Late-nineteenth century California

r 60

L essons from the Rose Parade

culture, \\ hich was 01111 one centur\ lemo\ ecl horn the p r e - H ~ s p a n ~basec line, \ alued ~ t w s l d f l o n e r h e r ~ t a g e and , this IS still expressed in modern pastlines. Floral socletles sprung u p In ,111 the local t o n n s and hosted weekend flouer parties for the n e ~ ~ h b o r h o oThe d . U e n I e x ' s Rose P,?rade 111 P,isaden,i n as the ~nstituttonaloutcome o t the coruh~nedforces of southern Cal~fornia'sflor'll socletles. O n e rlgorous pClraderequireinent h ers. \ v x that the floats must be ent~relrcol ered ~ t flou The offic~alstor! 1s that the K e n Yeai's Rose P,lr,~de(Tournament of Roses) \\as established hr the \'alle\ H u n t Club, 1' 11 e\clusi\ e prlr ate soc ~ a club l domin,~tedb\. "an e l ~ t ecadre of P,~saden,i'ssuper r ~ c h , "m ~ n \ from the cold cl~rnatesof the l l i d n est ( H e n d r ~ c k s o n~ 9 8 9 )\Y1inter . flow ers ,ind the m ~ l d( h l ~ f o i n i aclirn,~ten e r e the c e n t r d concepts behind the tournament. The ~de,ln,is i n s p ~ r e dbr Charles Fredrick Holder 111 1889, \i ho stated "111 h e n York, people ,Ire hurled In the sno\\. Here our flon ers are hlooining and our o t ~ i n g e s'Ire ~ h o ~t oi th e x . Let's hold ,I testl!1 '1 t o tell the \\ orld about OLISp , ~ r , ~ d ~ s( H e "e n d r ~ c k s o n1989: L).O n Januarr 1, r 890, there \\as a p , ~ r a d eof floner-col ered hoises cii~dbuggies m d an afternoon of p u b l ~ cgames on the "tom11 lot." The p a r d e x i '1s t o resemble the \Yfest's r e r s ~ o no f the test11al of roses in N ~ c e Frmce. , In tact, the first t o u r n ~ m e n t\X as del oted more particularl~t o a progr,lm ot sports, especrCdl\t o recollect~onof the old S p m ~ s hCal~forni,ldar S of horsemanship ~ n the d patade o i floner-hedecked \ e h ~ c l e s\\as an incldental teature ( H e n d r ~ c k s o n1989). The tourne\ of rings coupled m ~ t h the floral d ~ s p l ~prompted )s Professor Holder, the f i ~ s piesident t of the Tournament of Roses, t o SJX, “hen we h a ~ the e name ri e n mt-The T o ~ i r n a m e n of t Roses" ( H e n & ~ c k s o nI 9 8 9 ) . But Holder's 1dea5, e \ e n the concept of floats in the p x a d e , had precet d r e ' ~ d r celebrated four dent 111 Indies' flower o r g a n ~ z a t ~ o nt sh ~ had "flo\xer f e s t ~als" r In the r880s.l In r 889, the c ~ ot n I os Angeles put o n a grand exhibition a t " H a ~ a r d sPax ~lron."' The L~diesn ere " m a k ~ n g' ~ l l the c~rr,~ngements and I' c o ~ p sot carpenters m d 1,iborers . . . \teie not glr en b r e a t h ~ n gtlrne h! t h e ~ rfair bosses." The l ~ i ~ h l ~ \\.,IS g h t ,I "floral mount" of "W~lson'sPeak, o n $1 h ~ c hrests the o h s e n a t o r \ . " The moun~ J I I I \\'IS a "miniature" that m ~ "m s euact d u p l ~ c a t eof bature.5 orlglnal . . . [ ~ n dgives ] one an idea of the grandeur, the n ddness of the mount a m o n m h ~ IS h t o be placed the beacon I ~ g h tof science for s o u t h e ~ n Caltforma [the h l o u n t Wllson Obserl atoryl." kloral socletles of e x h citr had t h e ~ or w n booths, lust as each c ~ n to n~ contributes ~ n d~~d \u n floats l t o the Rose Parade. The per~shabdit)of cut flon ers m the f e s t ~a1 t n as soli ed b) c o n t r ~ b u t ~ o nfrom s the local p o p u l a t ~ o nAccm . dmg to 1' Tln~eb

I essons trom the Row I'arade

rhr

reporter, "a large quantity ot fresh florvers had been received and the decorations of the different booths had been perfected." FloLvers apparently came from the hillsides and people's yards. The pavilion Ivas jammed ~ v i t hone o f the most fnshionable audiences that \\,as ever assembled in the city. The visitors t o California xvere astonished hy the "variety of flo\vers." But even flowers can he "mind numbing" in time. According t o the Times, "Those w h o have become accustomed t o the infinite variety of this semi-tropic region, groxv t o ignore that tvhich is s o in]by the strangers from the Atlantic-bound East." This ~ ~ i e d i a t e observed ly forum \vas a microcosnl of the cosll~politallizationof flowers. In addition t o native wildflo\vers, floral favorites were "sunflowers, crocus, dahiln, heliotrope, lil~;dandelion, hollyhock, japonica, violet, mignonette, Touch-me-not, tulip, and nightingale." The European gr~rdenrose lvas a favorite in the decorations and the eventual inspiration for the Rose P3rade. Thanks t o Holder's proposal for a Rose Parade, "floral mounts" hecame "parade mounts" ~ v i t hwheels. But e \ m this heritage has \vitl~eredas the Rose Parade has lost sight of its historical baseline. As Los Angeles grew t o cosn~opolitanstatus, transportation became more efficient, and its citizens consequently became detached from the neighboring landscape. An increase in the speed of technology resulted in a n increase in the overall pace of life, leading t o a decrease in the human ability t o stop and observe and form bonds of attachment t o local landscapes. T h e globalization of flowers paralleled the globalization of the world's hiota (Coates 2006). Native flowers n o longer dominantly covered the hills and, as a result, \vere quickly forgotten-hy the untrained eyes of the masses and even by the few trained eyes of botanists a n d naturalists. X plethora of evidence documents that the California landscape ivas coated by wildflomers. Pre-Hispanic indigenous cover of California was not grassland, not even prairie-a mixture of flowers and grasses-but forblnnd like that fo~1,ldin most deserts of the world. California is a desert half the year. This story has been overlooked because of a fla~vedh > pothesis that bunch grasses were pervasive in the past. As a consequence, we take for granted the rapidly fading wildflower heritage because the perception of past vegetation among the scientific c o m m ~ m i t yand the public has been built upon this erroneous pre~nise.This bunchgrass story has canalized us t o perceive California ecosystems in a certain wa!; preventing us from observing, doubting, and searching for alternative evidence t o construct alternative stories. After all, language is the way lve rnodel the world. T h e bunchgrass model attains even greater stature be-

262

Lessons from the Rose Parade

cause wildflo\vers are n o longer a reminder of their former \ - a t presence in California wildlands. The bunchgrass theory diverted the attention of citizens and scientists from the state's \vildflower heritage. The bunchgrass-grazing hypothesis n,as created by range managers and scientists influenced hy the Dust Bo\vl tragedy of the 19jos, t o a point that it became a n idie frse that has kept blinders on us. Unfortunately, science is invariably compromised when it is i n t e r ~ ~ o v e~nv i t hgovernment policy (Grove and Kackham 2001). The fundamental finding that ivildflowess are being displaced by p~llsesof invasive annuals demonstrates the importance of historical ecologj- in testing and constraining hypotheses o n vegetation change over time, because information on past herbaceous vegetation in California cannot be tested against real-time observations. Historical ecology is treated as a "natural experiment" in \vhich one must account for the evolutionary ratchet of time-the irreversibility of the past-and all m-e can d o is accept that it has happened, accumulate as much evidence as possible, and learn from it in a11 future circumstances. The hope is that the knoivn baseline can he pushed farther back t o paleo time scales from palynological and macrofossil evidence. It is unclear whether pollen o r phytolith records will be useful in the assessment of the forh flora, because these methods preferentially record wind-pollinated species, especiall>-grasses. Perhaps packrat midden studies can be expanded into LIediterranean ecos!-stems from the California deserts. Just as primary historical evidence has been reanaIyzed in this study, there 1s potential for large amounts of archaeological evidence to be reinterpreted from a historical ecological perspective. Amazingly, in the modern era of endangered species protection L-irtually none of the native wildflowers, now only a fraction of their former abundance, are part o f the agenda for species protection and recovery. Newly expanding star thistles garner higher priority as invasil-es than bromes and oats that have already suffocated the wildf1ou.e~flora. People's vie~vs have changed from landscapes t o species in an environn-rent of incl-easingly specialized science and the legal framework of' endangered species protection. W h a t is striking about eighteenth- and nineteent11-ce11t~ir~ writings is the interest in holistic landscapes as broad-scale vegetation o r as a pastoral resource. The Rose Parade exemplifies the rnisdirectio~lof modern concern: people are looking a t the individual flan-ers instead of the float. M u s t we continue to pursue science as framed hy existing government policy, o r instead can we use science to question, challenge, m d change government policy? Legal structures are tunnel-visioned to the "protection" of rare species, not biological landscapes. Species protection is irrational, because the sal-

Lessons from the Ro\e Parade

263

vation of one species usually comes at the expense of its neighboss. Isolation of one species is close to impossible, if not futile, and it is vital to deal with the entire floristic package. Species have multiple and complex relationships with other species and with the abiotic elements of landscapes. Moreover, the first assumption in the implementation of National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act is that "total protection" is the only way to save a species. Natural disturbance processes are largely ignored and disregarded thanks to the early twentieth century Cle~nentsianlegacy that fire and disturbance are "unnatural." In fact, grazing, fire, and floods, which have always been a part of the landscape dynamic, may be beneficial to species protection. Grazing removes thatch, reducing the competitive advantage of exotic species over natives. Fire brings out native forbs in abundance, a relationship that Lvas well understood by Native Americans at the time of European contact. A "David and Goliath" opportunity for restoration of California's wildflowers rests on the observations that the damage to the region's herbaceous vegetation has been accomplished by only a few species. Exotic ansiuals came without their pathogens and have not been selected by local conditions, wide native annuals in all their diversity have a history of adaptation and evolution over geologic time scales. Exotics have already shown their vulnerabilit); indeed local extirpations, to such factors as drought and early season fires. As with Eucalyptus (Coates 1006), natural predators will eventually catch up with the bromes and oats, encouraged with human intervention through biological control. Invasive species that dominate California's landscape are few in number. This fact alone brings promise, hecause land managers can reduce or extirpate a few huge "birds" with one "stone." The restoration of California's wildflower flora will require mallagenient strategies involving the entire landscape, ~ v i t ha historical perspective. The greater we understand the past, at all spatial scales, the better we can manage landscapes for today and into the long-term future. Local research studies have restricted application because local, high-precision field measurements with limited time scales of data collection have often lead to dangers of extrapolation to landscapes. Smallscale findings have reduced the probability of addressing broad-scale ecosystems. As stated by Jackson et al. ( Z O O ~ ) it, is important to increase the breadth of data collection in order to see the big picture of landscapes over long time scales. Another approach is to accept a "less than total" understanding of ecosystems-sacrifice a level of precision, quality, ancl conlpleteness of evidence collected-and to employ an "adaptive management" perspective. Based on the assumption that the system is chron-

2 6 ~

Lrison\ from the Rose Parade

ically changing, and that o u r kno~vledgeof the system is chronically changing, one must he open t o nexv ideas and tinkering with the system of stud!; followed by revision ( o r overhaul) of management plans. Potential al-enues for effective managenlenr and conservation t o preserve some degree of history in our landscape include spring burning, use of pathogens as biological controls of: in! asi\.es, dedication of netv n d d flower reserves, and encouragement of seasonal grazing by domesticated livestock. California ecologists, l>otanists,and the public a t large should redirect their attention t o the state's nildflo\ver flora, which has great potential renewal a t extensi\-e scales. The nddflowel- flora still exists as a long-lived seed "banked" in the soil of millions of acres of degraded California lands. F e ~ v\vildflo\ver species have become extinct, and during rare years and in scattered locales they still nppeflr in abundance, reminding us of the past while directing us in the future.

Notes

CHAPTER I

J . One l e a g ~ ~ isea hour's ride on a horse, a variable quantity depending o n the ad~ersitieso f terraln, usually 2-j kilometers. 1. The Santa hlargarita Mountain spur extends \vest t o C a m p Pendleton onl! 10 kilometer\ from shore. ;. The use of "sheer soil" in Crespi's journal requires explanation, '1s this phrase IS ~lsedrepeatedly It was translated from pzzm, meaning "pure" soil, \ \ - I d 1 implies t h ~ itt was likely a loam, \vith a high \veathered clay fraction. Crespi frequently associated herbaceous cover \vith "pure soil" tliroughout California. 4. The wording "as before" r a e a l s a writing style common in the Spanish journals, meaning that the vegetation of one day was s~rnilart o that encountered o n previous days' rn'lrches (i.e., the English "ditto"). 5 . The n~iciespreadextent of Indian burning from San Diego County north\vard along the coast is suggested hy a mission questionnaire published in 1798. \X1hile Native X ~ n e r i c m slvrre "granted the )-ear t o gather their \vild seeds, (they] were punished for setting fires," especially when burning was \-iewed as a "transgression against the common good, like killing cattle m d sheep, o r firing p s t u r e " (Timbrook et al. 1 9 8 2 ) . 6. In Alexico pcljoiz often refers t o co'lrse straw or 3 tall grass. After floods it leaves perennial straw like a stalk when it dries. As with other sites, bunch grasses along the San Gahriel River grow in riparian habitats.

7-66

?Jotes to Pages j 8-4

j

7. "OJ. contique subimos y h,~xarnosr y lomas. Emre la infinita variedad de flores, como tulipanes, y otras, de mu!- diversos colores, y rnuy lindas, con que desde ahora se empiezan 6 X estir aquellos canios, montes, y v'illes, de aquellas tierras, vi varias como en Esparia; 7 entre ellas unas 111~1yhermosas y pequeiiitas de cinco hojas, que parece forman una cara, totalmente parecidas ilas que vi en Cataluria en algunos jardines llalnadas alli Pensamientos, solo con la diferencia que aquellas son amarillas, y algo nloradas en los extrenms de las ojas, J. estas son todas amarillas J. n o hilelen" (Web de Xnz'l Archives, Font expanded diar!,, February 11, 1776). . . . Tiene esta grandis8. "Tiene este rio mucha chia buena p ~ r refl.escar. a sima Ilanura toda la campifia llena de chia mui b ~ i e n ade refrescar, y es tanta, clue aunque la gent~lidadsea muchCx,me parecih impossible que puedan cojer ni 11 ' mitad de ella. A la actuahdad esta\-a en flor: y flor morada" (Brown 2001: 686-88). g. In 1792, as part of a survey of the northwest coast of America, John Sikes made a sketch ot the coast near Santa Barbara Point. It shows a n indentation of coast a t Santa Barhara nit11 coastal plain and the Santa Ynez Llountains in background (Bronm 196-i. The Santa Ynez ,\Iountains contain a few coast live o'iks, but are other\vise fe,itureless. A n o a k grove covers a steep coastal bluff in the foreground right, 2nd ,111other oak grove lies hehind a n Indian village. There are oak groves in can) 011s of steep coastal bluff o n the right. Unfortunately, the past~lreo n the coastal plain J I I ~vegetation on the slopes are ind~stinguishable. T O . "Todo el terreno que ocupan es tan fertil, y hermoso. como los dernas independientes de esta canal, en donde tiene, recrearse la vista, especial~nenrela que ha registrado la suma esterilidxl del Golfo de Calitorni,i, donde n o se ve. ni Arboles, ni Yerbas esteriles, !-aqui por el contrario estin tocando las aguas del mar, campos tan verdes, como floridas" (W'eh de Xnza Arih~ves.Xnza d ~ a r yApril . 14,1-74). 11. "X las seis y media de la manaria salimos de esr'i rancheri,i y punta de San Juan Bautista de 10s Pedernales, siguiendo el rurnho del norueste por tierra Ilma cerca de la playa, mui empastadd. A poco pasamos estLipunta y divisamos otra retirada yue formava otra encenada. Luego de salidos empesamos a encontrar el campo mui florido de varias especies de flores de todos colores, clue aunque en todo el camino y en la canal encontramos muchas flores, n o con la ahundan, ~ hlancas, arnarillas. ci'l clue aqui, porque todo es una flor, much‘^ c ~ h u n d a n c ide encarnadas, moradas, azules: muchas violetas, a n a r i l l x o .~leliasque se suelen semhrar en jardines, mucha espuela de cav'~llero, ~ n u c h ocardosanto florido. mucha chia florida, y lo que ni6s agraciava el campo. el ver de todos los colores de n i u ~diferentes species (Brown z o o I : 710-1 r ) . I 2 . "En la Punta de la Concepcion r'imata la serrcinia, que wnirnos dexando ila derecha; 7 desde ella muda cl terrano mucho de aspecto: t o d ~la tierra mL1y florida y verde con m u c h variedad de racates buenos pastos, y hierbas olorosas y utiles; y oy desde que salimos hasta parar vi mucho hiriojo marino totalmenre el mismo en la hoya, y en el gusto como el que se cria en las penas !-en las p'iredes en la marina de Cataluria con la diferencia, que se lavenra el rronoco de la tierra como media vara, riene la oja m'is delgacia, y estaba 'ljorn lnlly florido con unas flores arnarillas 5 rnodo de mirasoles pequenos, que i o n la a h u n d : l l ~ c i ~

Notes to P ~ g e s49-159

267

caus,~ban1111a her~nosavista en todo el camino" (Web de Anza Archives, Font expanded diary, February 28, 7776) 13. "El camino, como todo, de lindo pais, verde, frondoso, florido, fertil, hermoso, y lucido" (Web de Anza Archives, Font expanded diary, March TO,1776). 14. A member of the Buckeye family, Hippocastanaceae, California buckeye (Aesctd~lscalifornica), is an abundant species in the Santa Cruz Mountains. I j. "Los campos son tan verdes de yervas, y t~lpidosde diversas flores campestres, como 10s de mas atras" (Web de Anza Archives, Anza diary, April 1 , 77761 I h. In his journal Font recorded twenty-five days of rain during the 177 j76 Anza expeditim (an asterisk (".I denotes observations of storm runoff): Novenlher 3; December 12, T ;, 14, T j , 23, 26; January L, 21, 23; February j, h, 7, 8, 9i+, Ioii, l I, I 2, T 3, I.+:', I j, 17; March L),I O , ; ~ ;May 4 (VC'eb de Anza Archives, Font diaries) .Additional evidence that 1775-76 was not a drought year was Font's observation that the road along Bautista Canyon in the San Jacinto Mountains lvas damaged by floods (May 5). He also recorded on May 4 that he still sa\v sno\Ir in the c'lnyons of the sierra, a normal occurrence in late spring. CHAPTER

3

I . The term "Californios" evolved from the early nineteenth century until statehood to describe a population of resident Californians of Hispanic and nonHispanic origins. They were in alliance against FrCmont and others in the California conquest. 2. Los Atzgeles T i n m (April I j, T L ) z ~California's ), composite \vild flo~vers (Frances M. Fultz), p. X-17. j. Cos Angeles Tirnes (March 2, r q j z ) , For the first t m e in years: Will we see wild flowers like these again? (Theodore Payne), p. F-24. , views poppies named for 4. Los Afzgeles Tirncs (March 21, r q ? ~ )Visitor his ancestor, p. 8; Los Augeles Times (April 4, 199 I j, Rain's golden payoff poppies: Spring is expected to bring an abundance of wildflonrers in the Antelope Valley (David Colker), p. 7-A. j. Los Angeles Times (January 30, 78901, p. 7. 6. New York Times, (July r5, 1880), n.p. 7. New York Times (October 21,1872), Homeward journey-Colorado rev~sited(anonymous), n.p. 8. Fremont's crossing of the Mojave Desert is perhaps best evoked by his description of the people with him: "and still forced on south by a desert on one hand, and a mountain range on the other; guided by a civilized Indian, attended by two wild ones fro111the sierra; a Chinook from the Columbia [River!;and our o\vn mixture of American, French, German-all armed; four or five languages heard at once; above a hundred horses and mules, half wild; American Indian and Spanish dresses and equipments intermingled-such \\.as our composition. ahead and on the flanks; a front and Our march \vas sort of a procession. SCOLIIS a rear division; the pack animals, baggage, and horned cattle, in the centre; and the \vhole stretching a quarter of a mile along our dreary path. In this form, we journeyed, looking more like wc belong to Asia than the United States of America" (FrCmont T 84 j: 2.5~)).

sott.5 to Pages 1 8 ;-208

268

CHAPTER

4

I . Los A n g p l ~ Tiines s ( l l ~ r c l29. i I 8 9 I j, ~ ) o e mh! Elizabeth G r i n d , p. 11. 2. 7.0s Angeles T ~ m e s(Xug 18911, R e e d , p. j. 3. Los Angeles Tnizes (Llay I 5 , r y o j ) , S,~vethe lvilii posies, from a paper

;.

by Xllce Aterrill Dayidson read before the State Federation of \Y70men's Clubs, p. 11;. 4. Los Angeles Times ( J u l y j, 18901. Brevities, p. 7. 5 . 1.0s ,4ngeles Times (11,1! I - I 8961, Pomona hre~ities,p. 28. h. Los Angeles T i ~ n e s(December j, I q r z ) , State Highnay Commission asked to help fight ~vecds(T.C. Holr), p. 1 x 9 . -. Rir~ersideBee ( X t ~ y30, 18891, 11.p. 8. Los Angeles 7'iiiws !September 19. I y r h l , n.p. 9. Los Angcles Tinles (July r 6. 1 8 9 6 ) . O u r nati\s flora: Some flowers of Los Angeles County ( G . T D ~ m n i p. , IT. 10. Los A;~gclesTimes (Januar!. ;I I 90:). Popp! time is coming, p. 114. T I . Los Angeles T i ~ n c s(April J , 1 9 0 8 ) . Clean up, dress up, p. 114. 1 2 . Los .4ngeles Times ilia! 20 18821, About ton-n, p. ;. L ;. Los Angeles Ti7nes i.lpril 9, T 8 9 2 ) , News and business, p. 8. 1 4 . 1.0s Angeles 17mes (Xlay 24, 188-i, The tmvn of Lordsburg: Fertile in soil, salubrious in climate, delightful in scenery (Pasadend Union), p. 3. 1 5 . Los Angeles Tinzcs (I>ecember r o , 19601, The Salv,~tionof our he,~uties (Ed Ains\vorthj, p. K6: cf. 1.0s Angeles T I ~ I C(MA!J S j 1 9 6 8 ) . Farm planned t o propagate wild flowers, p. B4; Los .41lgtalt>sTimes (April r j. 19- jl, 'Wild floxver power, photographs. p K'S I . I 6. Los Ai~yc~les T i m t ~ s(Decenlher I S, I 8yo1, The state flower, p. 8. I-.. Los Angelcs Times !,June6, T S S ; ) , Graphic sketch o f J r ~ c hand cliarmIng spot (Jeanne C. Carr), 1-7 0 2 . 1 8 . Los Angeles T m e s (Febru-lr! 23, 1 8 8 8 ) . A m~d\r-interda)-A true land of flowers, p. 3 . 19. 1.0s .-\nge/cs T ~ I M(January C~ 2, I 8 8 8 ) , Are !ou ne,lry and hea\>-laden? Come and tdke a rest, p. 3. 20. Los Angelcs Times (Februar! r;, 18881, .A rn~dninrel-day-.A true 1a1d o f flon-ers, p. 3 . 2 1 . Los Angeles Times (January 30, 1 8 9 o ) , Editorinli. p,-. r r . Los Alzgcles Times (April r 2, 18901, L o i Flores !-1 ~ Niiiss-;\ s pretty wildtlon.er festival. p. ;. z j. Los ,4ngeles Times (Xlarch 1 9 , ~ 8 9 1,; p. S. 24. 1-0s Angeles Times (Xlarch 18. 1 8 9 4 ) ,Times e'lgle, p. 19. r j. Los Angeles Times (Xlarch I o, 189 j ) . The Saunterer. p. 2 1 . 16. Los Angeles Times (April 28, I 8 9 j ) , The Sarulterer. p , 2;. 2-. Los Angeles Tllnc~s(February 23, 18981, Editorial. p. h. 28. Los A n g e l ~ sTiinrs (Januclry r o . I yooj. All long the Ime, p. Iy. 1 9 . LOS .-\ngeles T i i n e ~i l l a r c h 8, 1901 1, Beautiful Smr'l A ~ , I\'alley, p. '15. 30. Los A ~ ~ c /Times P s (AIarch I-. I 9021, 1'opp)- field d~!; p, 1;. 3 I . 1.0s Ai~gelesTimes iFehr~ur! 14, r 9 0 3 i , Snowflakes t~11o n suniliir-ie i m d , p. A I . 32. Los ,4ngeles T ~ i n r si J a n u x y I-, I 9 0 4 ) . The E,~glc.p. -7.

Notes to Pages 208-219

269

33. Los Atzgeles Times (March 10, 190 j ) , Poppies fail to pop: Golden dream in limbo, p. 119; Los Angeles Times (May 15, I ~ O S )Save , the wild posies, from a paper by Alice Merrill Davidson read before the State Federation of Women's clubs, p. 113. 34. Los Angeles Tirnes (February 18, 19061, Vandals strip poppy beds: Flower fields are despoiled about Pasadena, p. Iq. 3 j. Los Angeles Times (February 18, 1906), Pen points, p. 114. 36. Los Atzgeles Tinzes (February 7, ~ g o g )Editorial , pen points, p. 114. 37. Los Angeles Times (March 11, 1909), Where everlasting spring abides, p. 114. 38. Los Atzgeles Times (April 21, 19091, The land of beaut); p. 114. 39. Los Angeles Tinzes (April 2, I ~ I I )Pen , points, p. 114. 40. Los Angeles Times (April I, 1912), Auto parties, p. 112. 41. Los Angeles T m e s (May 13, 19171, Large party wild visit Antelope Valley, p. VI. 42. Riverside Press Enterprise (March 29, r g o j ) , 43. Los Angeles Tinzes (March 30, 1qo6), An auto tour in Owens Valley: Board of Public Works finds plenty of water in Owens River and views the line of the conduit. Much seen in trip, p. 117. 44. Los Angeles Times (April 19, I ~ I Z )Poppy , day at Van Nuys, p. 118. 4 j. Los Angeles Times (April 28, 1912), Fields are ablaze: Hundreds seek Van Nuys district to gather golden poppies-Building activity in new town 1111abated, p. VIj. 46. Los Angeles Times (September rq, 1926),Wildflo~versof southern California (Philip A. Munz), p. K r j . 47. Rizwside Press Enterprise (February 6, I ~ Z O p. ) , j. 48. Los Angeles Titnes (April 17, I ~ L I )Golden , poppy may be found not far away, p. VIII. 4 9 Los Angeles Tinzes (May 7, Ig22), Wildflowers riot of bloom (Mary E. Walter), p. 111. 50. Los Angeles Titnes (hlay 14, 1922), Carpet of mild flowers: X riot of bloom, p. VI6. j r . Los Angeles Tirnes (April j, 192 j ) , Ocean of color and riotous beauty in Central Valley's vast fields of wild flowers, p. 3 j . j r . Los Angeles Times (Feb 21, ~ 9 2 6 1 Flmvers , of the garden and desert in Banning Pass (blary Henderson), p. 52. 53. Los Angeles Titnes (hlarch rq, 1927), Wild flower fiesta, p. 10. 54. Los Angeles Titnes (March I j, 1927), Wild-flower day observed in Porterville, p. 7 ; Storm-washed land n o n in full bloom (San Fernando), p. 7. -55. Los Angeles Tinzcs (April 3 , I ~ z ; ) , Blossoms intrigue motorist: Desert country in bloom to present picture with riotous color, p. Gr 4. 56. Los Angeles Tirnes [April 27, I q27), Pathway to pageant garden of nrild flolvers: Road to Hemet lined with blosson~sto greet visitors to annual Ramona Pla!; p. 13; Los Angeles Times (April 17, 19r7), Flowers of desert at height: Winter's heavy dotvnpour brings \verllth of color to carpet earth (Charles H. Bigelom), p. G I . l ~ s (hlarch 24, 1928), Poppies at full glor!. in valle); p. 6. 5 7 Los A ~ ? ~ eTimes 58. Los Angeles Times (April 22, 1928), Rare flowers in full bloom, p. G I .

Sores to Pages r r 9-21

2-70

j

5% Los Angcles Tiwies (Xlarch L-, 19291, Annual floner pageant begmc: I\lan\ areas report nuinbei of 1 metles in bloom . . , p G: 60. Los Angeles Tlmes (blarcli 21. 1929), Gd'i arra\ of floners greets e\e: ul p Fr. outdoor shoxr of ild blooms becom~ngmor e b e c ~ u t ~ fdad\, T h ~ bear's s 61. Los Angeles T~mea( l l a r c h 2.8, 193o), \"~lle.i area ablaze n i t h n i l d flon ers, p. 13. h r . Los Angeles Times (March 8. 193 I ) . Flower fiesta day announced: San Joaquin spectacle to be at hest in a week; Kern County invites public to feast its ex es, p. AI. 5;. Los Angeles Tzmes (,\I,lrch 2-, 19 ;r ) ,\'alle\ blossoms lure (Xlma 01erholt), p. Fq; Los Angeles T m e s ( L 4 p ~10, i l I ~ ; L ) p. , El. 64. Los Angeles T m e s ( X I x c h 1 8 , 193 L ) ,XI\ In flonel fete thronged: Thousands \ 1st fest~ra1 at H~storicTejon Rancho; Vast panor'lma ot glorious bloom greets kisitors, p. 10. 6 j . I os Angeles T m e s (April 9, I 9 ;2 1, Rainona p ~ g e a n t ' sscene blooming, p. 4; Los Angeles Times ( X p ~ i;,l 193 2 ) . Acres of color: C a l ~ f o r n ~ av' sildflone~ shon (Helen K'. Klng), p. J r r . 6 6 . Los Angeles Tlmes (Aprd I h, r9; 3 ), ,\l\ riads of acres of 1 aried hued blosw m s greet motorists throughout Southland, p. DL. h-. Los Angeles T m e s (hlarch 18, rc)34),\Yrild h i e r 5 of Kern th~rstliigfor ra~nf'lll, p.29. 6 8 . L os Angeles Tlmcs (Llarch 1,I 934), Eternal 11fefor the n ~ldfloner (G.B. Burtnett), p. H8. 69. L os Angeles T ~ m e s( M a \ 20, 19-3j),No faddist for collecting but thorough when I go In for foxtail, Lee side 0'1 .A ( l e e Shippel i , p. A4. -0. I os Angeles Times (March 193 (1, Flowers n o n hlooimng, p. E r . r . Los Angeles Tzvzes (March 10, 193 ,-),Blooms non carpeting fields and h ~ l l s ~ d e(Llnn s J. Rogers), p. E T . ~ ~ p. X4. 'L. L os Angeles Tzmes (Llarch 11, I 9; j ), \X'~ldtlon er f e s t al, 71. 1 os Angeles Tlmea (Xprd ; I 9; j ), Van-colored blooms transforms thousands of 'lcres In southern California: Great h n I S ~at best. p. E-. 74. Los Angeles Tznzes (March 19, r y i h ) , Along El C a n i n o Real (Ed Amsworth), p. 14. 7 j . Los Angeles Times ( A p r ~18, l 193-1, Southland's fields aflame M ~ r hflowers ( L l n n J. Rogers), p. FI. -5. Lo5 Angeles Tlmes (,\larch I I , 19371, Arl in flov el v ~ r n i n gIssues: Kern Chamber s t x e s poppv fields n o n are planted in potatoes, p. 14. -7. Los Angeles Tunes ( J a n u m 12, 1937)) Indio aroused a s sheep destro) desert flowers, p. A j. 78. Los Angeles Times (April r , 1938), X7ild flower festiwl ready: Kern blooms a t peak for event tomorrow at Shafter, p. 9. 79. L.OS Angeles Tines (April 17, I 9381, Wild flowers furnish spectacular display: Hills and dales of California garbed by nature in dress of brilliant hues, p. EI; Los Angeles Tmzes (April 10, 19-38),Flowers o i brlllimt hue carpet Southland: California hills and \ alleks present nature's pageant of sprlng bloonis ( L l n n J. Rogers), p. FI; Los Angeles Tunes (Xfab I, 1938). Desert x e a s garbed in colorful dress of Cal~forniawlldflowers (L\nn J. Kogers), p. F T .

-

;.

Notes to Pages

22 5-228

271

80. Los Angeles Times (April 9, 1939), Southland in full bloom: Wildflowers dress countryside in spectacular beauty, p. Fq; Los Angeles Times (April 16, 1939), Southland cloaked in riot of color (Lynn J. Rogers), p. FI. 81. Los Angeles Times (February 13, 1940), What goes o n ? (Chapin Hall), p. A. Los Angeles Times (February 26, 1940), Lee side 0'L.A. (Lee Shippey), p. Aq; Los Angeles Tirnes (March 30, 1940);Los Angeles Times (March 21,1940), It looks like a big year for wild flowers, p. 14. 82. Los Angeles Times (March 25, 1940), Death Valley's wild flowers most profuse in 15 years: Warm winter and rains speed desert carpet, p. 16 83. Los Angeles Times (March 21, 1940), It looks like a big year for wild flowers, p. 14. 84. Los Angeles Times (March 31, 1940), Wild flowers glorify Southland (Lynn J. Rogers), p. FI. 85. Los Angeles Times (March 25, 1940), Along El Camino Real (Ed Ainsworth), p. A2. 86. Los Angeles Times (April 7, 19401, Rain to hold wild flowers, p. F6. 87. Los Angeles Times (April 14, 1940), Hills wear floral garb, p. F8; Los Angeles Times (July 24, 1940), Along El Camino Real (Ed Ainsworth), p. 8. 88. Los Angeles Times (April 20, 1941)~Floral paradise unfolds (Lynn J. Rogers), p. EI. 89. Los Angeles Times (April 10, 1941), Lee side 0'L.A. (Lee Shippey), p. Aq. go. Los Angeles Times (April 27,1941), Floral pageant reaches climax (Lynn J. Rogers), p. FI. 91. Los Angeles Times (March 16, 1941), Southland now abloom (Lynn J. Rogers), p. EI. Los Angeles Times (May 11, 1940, Pastoral trails of yore beckon motor travelers (Lynn J. Rogers), P. FI. 92. Los Angeles Times (April 29, 1942), Lee side 0'L.A. (Lee Shippey), p. Bq; Los Angeles Times (February 13, 19421, What goes on (Chapin Hall), p. 8. 93. Los Angeles Times (March 17, 1943 ),Wild flowers present greatest array, but-, p. 8. 94. Los Angeles Times (March 17, 1943), Wild flowers present greatest arra); but-, p. 8. 95. Los Angeles Times (May 28, 1946), Lee side 0'L.A. (Lee Shippey), p. A4; Los Angeles Times (March I j, 1947), Wild flowers bloom in Antelope Valley, P A3. 96. The Desert Magazine (March 1949), Gorgeous flowering season is forecast, p. 2 j. 97. Los Angeles Times (March 20, 1949), Coachella Valley bathed in color (Lynn Rogers), p. E8. 98. Los Angeles Times (April 17, 1949), Kern wild flowers out in profusion (Lynn Rogers), p. EI. 99. Los Angeles Times (March 26, 1949), Poppies crowded out by potatoes, p. 7. 100. Los Angeles Times (February 16, 1949), Lee side 0'L.A. (Lee Shippey), P. AS. 101. Los Angeles Times (March 26, 1949), Wildflowers crowded out by potatoes: Kern County's once vast flower fields bow to agricultural advance, p. 7.

10.. Rli~ersitfcPrcss E~tti>rprise[April 4. 1 9 g 2 1 ,Spring "h~isrsout" in Lvildflowers all over, p. 9. I 03. Los Aizgcles T i i i ~ si.-\pril r o , 19 5 1 1 , X'ild flowers colur Kern County I-illls ( L . y i Rogrrs), p. ALL. ~ ~ c ) i ~P ) l, ~ n e sp l ~ n t\vikltloners 011 104. L o s Angeles T t i ~ i ~( JjJ I ~ L I X 21. \Y7hittier Hills. p. 2 1 . 10.5. Los Aizgcles Ti11tc.s (,\I,lrch 11, 1 9 - 8 ) . Desert evpecrs l ~ n n e crop r ot \vddflo\vers, p. L); L o s Ailgelej Tl~iic>s iXlarcli r. rq-Xi, Sr,~sonconies earl!- to Xlojale Desert: Death \"llle! has c q e t of f l o w r s , p. Ai. r 06. Los Aizgclcs Tii~rrs( . i p r ~4, l I9.58 1. \Kid flon-er\ hloomi~igr~clil!- in Kern C O ~ l l l t ~P., B-. 10-. 1.0s .Aizgelcs Tilv~es(April 6 , r c ) j X l . Kern I\-ilii flolver displn).s Intrigue t Lynn Rogers), p. C8. 108. Los Arzgclrs T l ~ u e s(hl,~rcliI . r q j ~ l \Y~ililflo\ver , season ii now under \v,~!- (W700dxvarJRadcliffei, p. ICl h. 109. 1.03 A i t g ~ i c sTimes (XI,~rcli1 -, I V S O ~ Spring , flo\\ers c'lrper Kern fields and tooth ill^. p. 23; L o s A i ~ g c l e sT ~ CI AIxcli S 16. r c ) 501, Tour g u ~ d e tsl x o u s ~ ~ l d s to tloxver ,lse,ls (Lynn Rogersi, p. D I 2: 1.0s Aiigclrs Tliiies i.\l,~rch ~ j 197 , I i, \1'1ld flowers of IZern Count! arrr,lct man!- (Jirnm! K,douin~si,p. Eq. 110. Los , A ~ ~ ~ c T/ ci ~s i ~ i '(;\PI-il c -, 19\01. tlo\\ers col-er hilisiiies ~t l',llos \'erdes, p. X-. r r T . T ~ Jllesert C ,tlL7gL7ai1e(February 1%; i, \Yildflo\\er h o o r s h e x p r o m isc of h r i l l ~ m rearly spring dispL1y. p. r q ; T11c 1Icjc~i.tZLzy,z:iiti' (,\l,~rcliI 95; ), Cactus blossom\ to 1112 most conipicuous dewrt flower in .\1,1!-. p. 26. 111 . L o s Ailgelcs T l i i ~ c( l~l a r c l i 5 , I 9-j ;i , \Yildtlo\ver d,image seen from 5hcep: Coachclla \'alley c~rizensprotest g r , ~ ~ i ningrrser! cs. p. X-. r1 3 . 1.0s z - \ i z ~ ~T I~~I I~Z (,-\pril C S I , I c ) ~I.?Time1)- < h o n . r r ~hring crop of n ild flo\vers, p. ?Lb. 114. Los Aitgeles T l m i ~illclrcli 11, 1qj4i. \Y'ild tloneri color Kern C:o~inty secludecl ~ r e ~ lp.s , ;\6. 11j . Lor ~ \ I Z ~ C / C Tiiizrs S (April I , 19 561, [ell,i t A e liirriguc Iisitor-s i I . y n Rogcrs), c

'

p. C l .

16. 1-0s . - I i i ~ d i ~T si i t z c ~( ~ l p r i -2. l I -9 I.\Y-IIJ flo\wr, hloom In T e l i a c h ~ ~ ~ 1-0s zAi~:,'r/iv-1iiltes l.-\priI 16. I q j c ) ! , Kern Count!. tlon.ers 111 l u h ~lispl~~!, p. (:I L . I I-. I.os .-\i~geles T I I I I P(SA l ~ r c 1 h 1. ~ q h o iSpring , n 11dflan-ess hlooin in Kern C O ~ l l l t p. ~ , 2-. I I S. l.or lAil,ylcs Tiritc~s(Febmlr!- r-. r q h I I ,Kern Count! ~ln\-rils \viId flo\\-er 121-e~ ic\\,, p. C:y, 1 I-sianPark, Xlojave extillguished: L~ghtningand arson blazes-plus a "phantun~"--pop up, p. A q ; Los A~?ge/es Times (Jul!- 77, rc)8o), Wind-whipped fire south of Palmdale fully contained (Eric Malnic), p. X;: 120s ,411geles7?171esI July -, 19801, Some fires still burn but heat of weekend eases (Kristina Lindgren and Roger Smithi. p. B j . 14.;. Los Angdes Tcnzcs (July 29, I 9801, Cre\vs struggle t o control fire above Palm Springs: 7700 acres scorched ~Lorr,iineBennerr and Dororhy Townsend), p. X?. 148. Los Angeles Times (August 22, ~ 9 8 0 1 ,Fires in desert Ivorst on record (Lorraine Kennett), p. R L ~ . r 49. Los Angeles Times (I21,irsh I 3 , I 98 j),The s e ~ s o n ' searly tor n i l d h v ers (Michele and Tom Grimm), p. 14. 1 jo. Los Angeles Times ( J u l ~1 8 . 1983 1, Four blares char I ,000 acres (Ted Thackrey Jr. and John Oaks), p. C I . 1-j1. Los Ar~gelesT ~ v ~ (April es h. r 9861, Lancaster Popp!- Park is in bloom (hlichele and Tom Griinm), p. 10. 1 51. Los Angeles Tlrnrs (,April 4, J C ) L ) T I , R , I I ~ ' sgolden p a y f f poppies: Spring is expected to bring an abundance o t wildflowers in the Xnrelope \'alley; Tours are avail'ible a t the reser\-e outside Lancaster (D'ivid Colker). \'alley Edirion, p. 7A. r -53. Los Angeles Times (March 28, 198-1, Vi'ildfl~werswhen the C,ilifornia deserts are in bloom, a particular species of nature lover f x e s its greatest challenge (Bob S ~ p c h e n )H, o m e Edition, p.1. I j 4 . Los Angeles Times (April 11, I qX-), Time to n-nke LIPm d smell the AIItelope Valley poppies (John McKinney), H o m e Edition, p. 6. J j j. Los Ar~gelesTimes (March 2-, I 988 1, A spectacular sholv of n-ildfhvers (Xlichele and Tom Grimm), H o m e Edition, p. : ~ j h .Los Angeles Times (Xpril 2, 1988i, Life in Death \'alley. H o m e Edition, p. 6 . I j7. Los Angeles Times (April 9, ~ q y o i Drought , d r a m poppy preserve of its bloom (Lynn O'Shaughinessy), Valley Edition, p. j . T 58. Los Angeles 7iines (March 29, 19911, Bloom' good poppies . . . soon the Lancaster poppy festival is lust one excuse t o celebrate spring's blush (Eller1 Clark), H o m e Edition, p. j. T 59. Los Angeles Times (April 18, 1991 i,Vi7ildflowers (Gloria Gray), H o m e Edition, p. h. 160. Los Angeles T m e s (Xpril 8, I L ) ~ Zphotograph ), and caption, San Diego County Edition, p. j. T h r . Los Angeles Times (March 28, I 993 1, Travel insider winter showers have brought April Flowers sightseeing: Here 1s one writer's pick of six wildflo\zrerviening destinations in southern California (Christoplier Reynolds), H o m e EditlOIl, p. 2. 162. Los Angeles Times (hlarch LL),1 9 9 2 ) )Bloom' good poppies . . . so011 the Lancaster poppy festival is just one excuse t o celebrate spring's blush (Ellen Clark), H o m e Edition, p. j .

Kotes to Pages 237-243

27.5

r 63. Los Angeles Times (April r9, ~ q y z jThey're , back! In the Antelope Valley, the hills are alive with this year's colorful carpet of wildflowers, even if the poppy reserve is a disappointment (Robin Xhcarian), Home Edition, p. I . I 64. Los Angeles Times (blarch 28, 1993 j, Travel imider winter showers have brought April Flowers sightseeing: Here is one writer's pick of six wildflowerviewing destinations in southern California (Christoplier Reynolds), Home Editlon, p. L. I 6 j. Rlzwslde Pless Erzterplse (April 16, 1991), Intruder grass crop, n.p. ~ 19, 1994),Desert bloom park's br~lliantpopr66. Los Angeles T I V(March p m herald the arr~valof sprmg (P1111Sne~derman),Valle) Edit~on,p. I . 167. LOSAngeles Tlnzes ( A p r ~L, l 1 9 ~ ) j )Popular , natile p o p p m c r o n n Antelope Vallel h~llswith gold, V'dlev Edit~on,p. 2. 1 6 8 . Los Angeles Tznzes ( h p r ~ 21, l rqq jj, Golden opportunitv to see s n t e flower: B r ~ l l ~ a pn to p p ~blooms will dram thousands to the two-day event, featuring crafts, a carnival and races (Sharon Moeserj, Valley Edition, p. 32. I 69. Los Angeles Times (June I o, 199 j ) , Santa ClaritaIAntelope Valley controlled burn planned for poppy field Lancaster: Tuesday's experiment aims to destroy plants that impede the flower's growth ( P M Sneiderman), Valley Edition, p. 22. I 70. Los Angeles Times (March 10, 19981, Predicting poppies is impossible; Mildflowers: It's hard to say whether the fields will pop with color, experts say; But throngs of visitors are expected at the Lancaster reserve anyway (David Colker), Valley Edition, p. I . 171. Los Angeles Tunes (Xprd 18, 1 9 9 6 ) ~ Valley weekend: The bloom 1s off the poppy this year; Due to a warm winter, visitors mill find few flo~versat the California Reserve in the Antelope Valley (Bill Locey), Valley Edition, p. J B. 172. Los Angeles Tinzes (March LO, 1997), Wild things, we think we love you: Its wildflower season, but better act cluickly-it could he one of the shortest in recent years (Angie Chuang), Home Edition, p. 50. 171. Los Angeles Times (March 16, 19y8), Wildflowers transform State's desert; Nature: Normally arid area is exploding with color; Some call it the bloom of the centur) (Diana Marcum), Home Ed~tmn,p. j. 174. Los Angeles Tlnzes (March 22, I y y8), Anza-Borrego: Blooms da\ ; Desert br~ghtenswith flower$ and new B&B ( John NfcKinney), Home Ed~tion, P. 4. 1 7 5 Lo5 Angeles Tznzes (March 1, 1998), Desert flowers go ~ i d dth15 !ear, Home Editron, p. j . 176. Los Angeles T w e s (April r ;, 1998),It's a jungle out there, Orange County Edition, p. I . 177. Los Angeles Tinies (May 3 I, 19991, Joshua Tree to remain open despite fire; Blaze: Although 13,000 acres have been blackened, firefighters expect full containment by Tuesday; Officials say lightning sparked flames, confined to northwest area of park, Home Edition. p. 3. 178. Los Angeles Times (March 3 I , z o o r ) , The experts agree: There's just no predicting poppies, Valley Edition, p. BI. 17% Los Angeles Times (April 30, 20011, Painted ladies are leaving their mark; Insects: Wildflowers blossoming after heavy rains provide a banquet for migrating butterflies, which often end up splattered on cars (Scott Gold), Home

276

Kotes to Pages rq4-rho

Edition, p. X;; Rlz~erside1 ' 1 . e ~E n t r i p ~ s e(;\psi1 I 8 , 2001 1, Colors of spring: Late rains and sunshine combined t o provide what is being the best flower season since the El Nifio years of the mid-rqgos (Thoinas Buckle).), p. B I . I 80. Los Angeles T m e s iJune 13, 2002), C h w l s e x t l o n ot thrrst In Calrforn~a desert d r l spell: Wlldl~fe,scores ot plant '111d m ~ t n a sl p e c m ale suffermg m the , Ed~tlon,p. B8. longest drought on record ( Janet \Y ~ l s o n )Horne 181. Los Angeleh TZIMCS i l l a r c h I r , Loo? ), f o r L a n ~ ~ ~ s t en'iture r's enthuslasts, ~ t ps o p p ~l o l e once more: Some Antelope Vallel d\\ellels are g l d d ~about the return of the state flower, w h o absence last year was a serious blow t o local tourism (Richard Fausset), H o m e Edition, p. B3. I 8 2 . Los Angeles T L ~ Z (hiarch LZS 8, 200 j 1, Brief, beautiful rebmh: Desert is teeming with wildflowers after record rainfall (1-ouis Sahaguni, H o m e Edition, p. Br; Los Angeles Times (Xlarch ; I , l o o - ) . Lush with t h v e r s , lousy with tourists: Death Valle~'S stunnmg bloom dr'iui throngs, strxnlng roads, motels and p a ~ kscrhices (Louis Saliagun). H o m e E d ~ t ~ op. n ,X I . r 83. Klvers~dePiess L n t e i p ~r ~ ei l l a r c h 10, 200 j 1, Wddtlo\\ers are bloomrng: Resurrection of beakit\ (Pat O ' B r ~ e n )p, A-. I 84. Los Angelch Ttmes (June 16. 200 j l, Crem s m a h g head\\ a\ ,Igarnst fires ~ after hurnraging In 1 4 o j a ~e Nat~on'ilPresene: The fit e blazes are 6 j " conta~ned ing 6j,:00 acres and razing five homes. six trailers (Louis S,ihagun), H o m e Edition, p. B?; Los Angeles Tiines j July 18, LOO^), High hurniiiit!; rain help damp fires' spread: Officials expect the San Bernardino Count>- blazes-which have burned o\ er 8 j,ooo acres o l e r nlne dal \-to be contamed tomght ( l l a e \ e Reston), Horne F d l t ~ o n ,p. B-. r 8 j . Los Angeles Tzrzes (June I 9 , LOO j 1. W'lldtire threatens n e x l ~300 homes, H o m e E d ~ t l o n p. , KIL. 186. Los Angeles R n m ( J u l ~21, 2006), L~ghtningsparks 5eleral n e n desert , B i ; Los A ~ g e l e sT I ~ Cj JSL I ~ \ 2 j , 20061, I o n M I I I ~helps fires, H o m e F d i t ~ o n p. cren5 fight to c o n t u n nem brush files, H o m e F d ~ t ~ o p. n . B-. 187. MODIS R a p ~ dResponse S ~ s t e i n R , e d T m e , ]ul\ 12, Jul\ 21, 2006,

CHAPTER

5

I . Los Angeles Ti')ms (April 16, 1 8 8 9 ) , Flower festil-al: Preparations for the grand opening tonight; A small army of decorators a t ~vork-additional list of ladies w h o are t o preside over the booths-Advance notes, p. 4. 2 . LOSAngeles Times [April 18, 18891. Flower festival: The second night at hazard's pavilion; A vivid description of WJilson's Peck--Iiew ~nenibersadded to the various committees-An excellent programme carried our last night, p. 2.

APPESDIX I

Location of Franciscan campsites, Franciscan place names, and modern place names

P O K r O I A EXPEDITION

(1769-17701,

SAN D I E G O T O 1fONTERE'r

A N D 5 4 N b R A N C I C C O .\%D R E T U R N T O S A h D I E G O , D I A K I k S O F C K E S P ~ ,C O 5 T A N 5 0 , A N D E A G F S

hlodern place name o r landscape descrrpt~on .\li\s~onSan Diego

I a Jolla

Latit~~dc (" 11 1 "'l 3

L

- 47' 50

Lo~i~ltude (

San Parsicio

Tripp Flat

3 , r,

Santa Cdtharina

Coyote Canyon

3;

S m Gregorio

Rorrego Valley

3;

approaching Santa Ola) a

near Ilemca11

;2

Santa Olaya, Colorado R.

Renito Judrez, Colorado R i ~ e r

;2

SECOND ANZA EXPEDITION

(I-'j-17761,

-. 7

YU\lA T O XII$SION

SAN GABRIEL A N D M O N T E R E Y , S X h F R A N C I S C O T O A N T O C H , AND RETURN T O YUMA, DAIRY O F F O N T

Placs name in Franciscan diary o r landscape description

Alodcrn place name o r Ic~ndscape descr~ptron

Nokernher joDecember 3

Colorado R I \ er, ; branches

NE of Yuma, Xr~zona

December 4

pond

Yunia

Ilecernbes 6-8

Lake Olla\ a

Beniro Juirez, Bai,l C a l i i o r n ~ a

December 9

- leagues \X7N\X'

Queretaro, Baia Ca1itornr.1

December ro

- leagues \X1NVI'

December r 1

Pozo de S m t a Ro\a

December I r

;leagues

Ilecember

7

N

Puehla, Raja Californi.~ hlexicali Plaster Clt>-, CO!-ote K k s h

long leagues NN\Y.; San Sahastiin

Superstition Ilountain, Harpers \Yell

December T 8

valley extends t o Srerra Madre

San Felipe Creek, Ocorillo \Xrells

.3 3

Ilecember r q

S m Gregorio

Borrcgo \'alley

33

Dccernber

Santa Cntharina

Reatties Ranch, Rorrepo \'alley

3;

13-T-

20-22

I

Appendix

I

December r ?

canyon crosses the Sierra M a d r e

Coyote Canyon

December 24-2 j

mountains of rock

Fig Tree \'alle!; upper Coyote Can!-on

December 26

Puerto de San Carlos

Terwilliger Valley

December 27-28

Valle San I'atricio

T r ~ p pFlat

\',~lle San Joseph

Hemet, San Jacmto Valley

December 50

lake t ~ d 1of geese

Myhttc I ake

December 3 I

R. Santa Xn,l

Santa Ana R I \ er, Rt\ e r s ~ d e

December

2c)

Santa . h a River, Riverside Arroyo cie los Alisos

San Antonio Creek

arroyo t h ~ joins t San Gabriel K.

San Gahriel Valley

J a n u a r y 4-6

Misihn San Gahriel

hlission San Gabriel

January

Santa Ana Kivcr

Santa Xna River, Placentia

s

San Juan Capistr~no San J u w Capistrano River January

NUr ot San I u ~ s 3 3

TT-

08

TT-

Soledad V~l,tlle\

10

, \ l ~ s s ~ oSan n D~ego

January r r February 8 A ~ LHedionila I ~

3;

near 1.a Quenia liio Santa Aria

Santa Ana River, Placentia

klisi611 San Gabriel

hIissio11 San Gahriel

February r r

P o r c ~ i ~ n c u Kiver la

Glendale

February r r

Xgua Escondida, little lake

Encino

February

17

Re1

12-20

I s l m d s of Santa Barbxa-

Place name in F r a n c i i c x ~ diary or landscape description

February 19

llodern p l ~ c ename o r landsc.~pe descripr~on

Santa Clara Kiver

C)sn,1rd. Snnra Clara River

La Rincon,lda

Kincon I'oinr

Village of hlescaltitbn

Santa B x h a r a

Kancheria Nueva

La5 Ll'lg'l5 Canyon

V~llageof F1 C o w

Point Conception

Pwrtii Concepcith. Pedernales

Sant,l Ynez River at be'lch

I.,~gunaGraciosj.

Sari A n r o n ~ o Creek 'it I>raih

El Kuchhn

Pisnio B e x h

h l i ~ l i ) nSan Luis Ohispo

hlission San Luis Ot11spo

hlontcrcy Ilay 6

Puerta San Carlos, Santa Catharina

F R O M U.5:MEXICO

Fig Tree \TLllley, Coyote Canyon

X l o d e ~n pl'ice name o r Iandscapc descr~pr~on

Octoher 24

borlarge ~ n d e n t ~ t ~ o U.S.-Xlcwico n der, ca. ro km SE In the slerra of Ocotillo

October r4

Point San Sahasrian

C L I ~ I I Z O\Y1sh

October

San Felipe

SJII Felipr \'alle!; A ~ L LCaliente I

October 26

heights o f sierra

Banner C,~n!-on. Julian

October 26

laguna, meado\\

Cu!-,mac,l State Park

October z6

timber of San Diego, Xrro)-o San Luis

San Diego Can? on

October

Xlisi611 S m D i e p

M ~ s s i o nSan Diego

2-

.'

JOURNEY OF JOSF ZALVIDEX

( 1 8 0 j ) , FROM

SANTA BARBXRA T O M I T S I O N SAN GABRIEL

Place name in Franciscan diar! o r landscape descr~ption

Xlodern place name o r 1;indscape description

July 1 8

hiision Santa Rarhxa

Llission Santa Barhara

July 19

Mision Santd Ines

l l ~ s s i o nS m t a Y n e ~ S, o l v a ~ ~ g

July

r r lengues N

S ~ s q u o c( reek

10

2-

B O R D E R T O SAX D I E G O

Place name in Frmciscan diary o r landscape description

I j

j;

ZIIS~IOU

r16

31

Appendix

I

north, broken rnountalns

Sierra ,Madre Mountains, Cuyarna Creek

July 22-23

plains, stream

W Cuyama Valley

July 24

east 4 leagues

E Cuyania Valley

July z 5-16

8 leagues north

Buena Vista Lake

luly 1;-jo

4 leagues north

San Joaquin Valley SE of Bakersfield

July 3 1

4 leagues north

near Lamont

August r

j

August

2

;leagues south

S of Bakersfield

August 3

I league, south of lake

Kern Lake bed

August 4-5

Grapevine Canyon Grapevine

August 6-7

east [=SE] through Castaic Lake, Tejon Pass canyon

Jul)

21

leagues north

Kern River a t Bakersfield

Augujt 8

n-ide valley

.Antelope Valle)

August

east across I 5 league valley

Palmdale

August ro

passed hills of Mision San Gahriel

N of San G a b r ~ e l Mountains

August

s w a m p full of \vater

Silverwood Lake

M i s i h San Gabriel

Cajon Pass, hlisslon San Gahriel

i)

17-12

August

T

:

MOKAGX EXPEDITION

( I 8 0 6 ) , I N T O C E N T R A L VALLEY

DIARY OF M U ~ ~ O Z

Place naine in Franciscan di,~ryo r landscape description

hlodern place name or landsc~pc description

September ro

Alision San J u a n Baut~sta

Mission San Juan Bautista

September

east along ~ l a i n , San Bcniro Creek, I 'hleagues Hollister

L

r

Latitude (" 11)

3 h"

$0'

36

jo

Place name in Franciscan Jinry o r Imdscape description Septemher

22

September 23-24

E 8 leagues, R' edge Tulare I'lain

1lodet.n pllice n a m e or laiiiiscape descr~ption

L~titude (" 11)

San 1 L I I L liesert o ~ r ,3 -

tremcndous swamps

beptemher 25-26

5eptetiiber

4 leagues north

2--28

5eptemhe1

j leagues E N E

29-30

October

I

Octoher 2-3

hLYr -4 le,igues. big river

N t o river

Ocroher 4-5

XK' 6 leagues

October 6

C9111p O f October r

Octoher --X

c a m p of September r j

October 9

8 leagues cast

t o o t h ~ l l sE of Alerced Kiver

October

leagues easr [=SE]

Cho\vchilla Rirer

October 11-T?

X leagues easr I=SSF.]

San Jo,?iluin Ri\er. 36 E of Fresno

October 14-19

east [=SSE] t o Kings R.

Kings River

36

Octoher

same direction

foothills K' of Sequoi'l National P'lrk

j6

October 2 6

S leagues

T L I IKi\-er ~

3 (3

October r -

h leagues in same direction [ S j

I'oso Creek

35

October 28

rlver of Z a l ~ i d e a journey

Kern Kit er

-7 q

October 29-30

3 leagues downstream

Kern Ri\ er

3

20-2

TO

j

>-

.>-

Appendix

October,

j

Kovember

~OURCF:

I

2

297

many wild grapes

Grapevine Canyon, Tejon Pass

Mislon San Fernando

ylission San Fernando

Dates and Francis(an-diar~' place nan1l'S from Cook

(T960).

34

5°

uS

55

r6

lIS

27

APPENDIX 2

Spanish plant names for California vegetation

fir (Abies concolor) In southern California cactus ALAMO,A L A R I E D A A L, A X ~ I L L O poplar. mostl>-Fremont cottonwood (Poprtlzrs fiemorztii) , ~ L . A R I O N E G R O black cottonwood (Poptrltis trichocarpa) A L I S O traditional meaning in Mexico is alder (Alms); in California it refers to sycamore (Platarzus racetnosa); Brolzn (2001) and Bolton (rgr.i, rc)joa,b, 1 9 ~ 3erroneously ) translate aliso to "alder"; Roberts (1989) and Xlinnich and Franco-Vizcaino (1998) translate aliso to California sycamore (P. lucevvroso) A M A R A X T H Atrru~unthtisspp. A R B O L tree 'IRBOLES C O R C N O cork tree, very likely Qtlerctls iigrzfili~z(term used h>-Pedro Fages in Priestly 1937) A R B O L I L L O shrub A R B U S T O shrub, bush A V E L L A N A S hazelnuts, California buckeye (Aesczilus ~~djfrjrr1ic~2) A V E N O wild oat B O S Q U EV, O S Q U E thicket, woodland, n.ood B O S Q U E C H A P A R R O a shrubby growth B O S Q U E E S P I X O S O literally, "spiny brush" or "wood" inchaparral, likelydomh a t e d by Cennothur BRERALES "hranibles," in reference to dense c h a p ~ r r a lot the Santa XIonica Mountains C A C W A N I L L A unknown C . \ C O X I I T E S a species of Iris C A I . A B A S A ~ wild gourd ( Cztctirl~itnfoetidissitm) C A R D O S S A N T O S prickly popp!; holythistle C A K R I Z O a large cane grass, reed grass, prob'ldy rule (Sciup~is spp.)

ABETO

ABROJOS

Appendix

2

C A S T A ~ ~ O cSh e s t n ~ ~ tCalifornia s, buckeye

299

(Aesculus callfornicu); could be Chrysolepis chrysophylla, hut the only stands of this tree grow far from the Spanish routes in the redwood belt of the Santa Cruz Mountains C A V A L L E K O larkspurs (Delphinium spp.) C E B O L L I N wild onion (Allium spp.) C E D R O coast redwood (Seq~toia senzperl&wzs)in the Santa Cruz and Santa Lucia mountains, incense cedar (Calocedrus decurrens) in southern California and the Sierra Nevada C H A M I Z OC, H E M I Z O thicket; used ca. 1790-1890 in reference to chamisedominated chaparral (Adenostoma fasciculatttm); in the desert it refers to thickets of other species C H A P A R K A L used by Crespi in San Diego County as a "thicket" of shrubs, like traditional usage in Mexico; in the Spanish period "chaparral" hvas never used in its modern usage C H I A Salvia colurnbariize C H O Y A pencil opuntia, mostly Opuntia acanthocarpa and 0. ccl~inocurpaof the Sonoran Desert, 0. littoralis in coastal southern California C I E N E G A S marshes, swamps C I P R E S cypress, in reference to Cupressus macrocarpa at Carmel, and C. sargentii in the Santa Lucia Mountains C L A V E L E S marigolds C O B E ~ ACSO V, E N A S something that gives much shade and shelter, perhaps cottonwoods C O G I E S P L I E C o lavender (Salvia apiann, S. mellifera) D A T I L little date, Mojave yucca (Yucca schidigera) D E S I E R T O desert, wasteland, area free of herbaceous cover or pasture E M B O S C A D O thicket of (small) trees E M P A S T A D A pasturage, herbaceous cover useful to livestock E N C I N I L L O ~ snlall live oaks E N C r N o evergreen oak tree, almost exclusively coast live oak (Quercus agrlfolra), hut refers to canyon live oak ( Q . c h r p d e p i s ) in the high mountains, mostly the San Jacinto and San Bernardino mountains in southern California E N C I N O S C H A P A R R O S a growth of low brush or chaparral, very likely doniinated by scrub oaks in the Quercus dumosa complex E N C I N O S D E P O C O small live oaks E N E A rushes E N M O N T A D O D E M A T O R K A L E S thickets of chaparral E N M O N T A D O S brush ESPINAS t h ~ r n s E S T E R I L sterile or barren land, desert E S T E R O estuary, translated by Brown (2001) as "inlet," of the sea into terrestrial stream drainage F L O K E S flower F R E S N o ash tree (Fraxinus latifolia) G A L L E T A the perennial grass Hilnria rigida G O B E R N A D O R A the "governor," or a plant that rules (i.e., dominant species), creosote bush (Larreu tride~ltata)

Appendix

2

"little stinker," LdYi'cL7 ti'rcfentdtd (Roberts 1989) herbage, herbaceous plants, not "grass" as translated h!- Brown [ L O O I ) and Web de Xnza Archives H I E K B A S , F,RBA-\S,E R V A S herbaceous plant, forb ~ ~ n - o samphire jo (Crithtn~uvzm ~ ~ i t i i n t ~ vperhdps zj. fennel H O K T I G A S rlettles (Urtica hlosericeo) jo J O B A ( c o c o s . ~ )Sin~nzondsidc h ~ n e n ~ i ~ j u c x ~ o sshrub or tree nit11 a fruit resembling the spiny black olive (Bucidii b~iseu'is)of Cuba and southern Florida, possibly Hcte~ornelesarbutiiolirr or Rhus ovata (Andrew Sanders, pers. comm.), in Bautista Canyon in the San Jacinto Mountains j u ~ c o sreeds J U N ~ P E R O S juniper, exclusively used in reference to juniper-like leaves of chanlise ( 2 4 d e n o s t o i ~f ~uos c i ~ t ~ l ~ ~ t ~ t n ~ ) L X U R E L E S California laurel tree, hay tree i 1;tnl1ell~1l~ri~7 ii7lifomicil) L I K I O S lilies (1.ilium spp.) M A D K O ~ O lit er all^; "madrone," but more generail! il1cmhrrs of Ericsceae; refers t o Arbutus ~ m ~ z z i e s ai it a fen, localities near San Francisco, and to Arctostapbylos spp. in Baja California (see hlinnich and Franco-Vizcaino 1 9 ~ 8 ) 3 i ~ ~ v .niallvn; q ~ probdbly the California poppy (Eschscholzi,~~ ~ d ~ f o i ' n i c ~ ~ ) M . ~ N Z A N I LL A mdnzanita (Arctost~ph?'los spp.) a i x R r s c o salt grass M A T O R A L s h r ~ ~ b h weeds d, ~ X T O R A L L EE~\ I > I N O ~ O Sthorny hushes or shrubs. Ion- shrubs. e.g. mulefat along dry washes ~ I E S C A L agave, most likely desert agave ( A p v~ I P S P ~mescal T I ) ; heads made from Yucco uhipplei h1 E 5 Q U I T E PI'050p~Sgh?zdll~0~17 M I K X S O L E S sunflowers, used to descrilx Er~c.cliiif&inosL7 in c o x t a l sage scruh near Riverside ,2.lOPiTEC:ILLO, M O N T E C I T O 1 0 scrub ~ ~ s i o n r u o s A thickets, in reference t o chaparral N O G A L E 5 walnut, J t ~ g l ~ colifol-nit-‘7 ~ns in southern California ,tnd 1.hiizds~inear Concord; traditionally, the pecan tree N O P A L prickly pear thicket ( a pad O p ~ t n t i nssp.) X O P A L I S prickly pear (Opuntia spp.) P A L O c o r . o u r > o coast redwood (Sequora senipewirens) P X J O N . S E T A C I A a grass, coarse straw; in northern Llexico, J "tall grass"; in California, apparently refers to S p o ~ o b o l u sspp. P . A J O N A L E S dry grass r ~ ~ ~ b r marshes j o s P.*RKAS grapes (\'itus g i ~ d i a n a ) P A R V I L L A burrobush ( A m / ) ~ o s (i ~~LiL M Z O S ~ I ) P E L r l D O S hare or hsld, b ~ r r e n treeless , PALX\ palm, in Baja Califori~i~l K'd~i7zgt~iziilf i l i f e ~ ~1Y~ ,r o b ~ t s t a17d ~ ~ , BrLzl,ca nnndto P A L O A D A K ocotillo (Fouyuiei.io splendrns) P A L M I I o little p21111, Alojave y u c c ~(I'nc-c~~ sc-hidigernj HEDIONDILLA

HERBAJE

Appendix

2

wild grape (Vitus girdiana, V. californica) burrobush (Ambrosia dumosa) P A S I T A raisin, possibly made from elderberry (Sambucus spp.) P A S T O pasture, forage sufficient for livestock, "grass" P E N S A M I E N T O S heartsease, perhaps Layia platyglossa P I M P A J A R O S sucker buds P I N A B E T E literally, "pine fir," seen in the Santa Cruz Mountains, either coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) or Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga nzenziesii, P. macrocarpa) P I N O pine, pines of Sierran mixed conifer forest, and serotinous pines of Pinus. sect. sabinianae and P. sect. oorcarpae, and in reference to Pseudotsuga macrocarpa in southern California (usually seen at a distance); pinos are invariably identified to species because modern stands occur in monospecific forests P I N O N pinyon pine (Pinus monophylla, P. quadrifolia), seen mostly in northern Baja California P R A D O meadow Q U E R C U S I L I X oak with similar morphology to Mediterranean pin oak, perhaps Q. douglasii, or some member of the Q. berberidifolia complex (term used by Pedro Fages in Priestly 1937) Q U E R C U S R O B U R oak with similar morphology to deciduous English oak, very likely Q . lobata (term used by Pedro Fages in Priestly 1937) Q U E R C U S S U B E R oak with a similar morphology to coast live oak, very likely Qtterctrs agrifolia (term used by Pedro Fages in Priestly 1937) R A I Z E S onions, called "amole" by Native Californians R A M A J O S brush R O B L E deciduous oak tree, invariably in reference to valley oak (Qtterctts lobata); doubtfully attributed to Q. douglasii due to its smaller size to Q. lobata (i.e., would be poor timber) R O M E R I L L O sagebrush R O M E R O rosemary, most likely Eriogonutn fasciculatutn or Artemisin californica R O S A D E L C A S T I L L AR,O S A L E S rose of Castille (Rosa cnlifornica), seen near streams in California; R. ininutifolia in maritime desert scrub of Baja California R O S E M A R Y rosemary, shrub with rosemary-like leaves (needle-like leaves with fascicules), chamise (Adenostoma fasciculatum), or California buckwheat (Eriogomtn fasciculatzm) S A B I N O S, SAVIN o S coast redwood (Sequoia setnpervirens) in the Santa .Cruz and Santa Lucia mountains, incense cedar (Calocedrtts deczurens) in Sierra Nevada and San Bernardino Mountains S A L V I A sage ( S a l ~ ~apiana, ia S. nzellifera, S. leucophylla), or possibly Artemisiu culifornica S A U C E willow (Salix spp.) S O T O L E sour cane of an agave or yucca, possibly Yucca whipplei inflorescences T A S C A L E juniper, J ~ ~ i p e r u californica s in Baja California T E X O C O T E perhaps Rhus irztegrifolia or R. ovata; fruit of this plant gives a very refreshing drink, somewhat acid like the tamarind, made by soaking pulp in water (Priestly ~ 9 3 7 ) T O R N I L L O screwbean mesquite (Prosopis pubescens) T R I G O \vheat, in reference to wild rye (Elymus condensatrts) PARROS

PARVILLA

Appendix

2

tule (Scirpus spp.) tulips, probably Eschscholzia californica T U N A pad opuntia (Opuntia spp.) V E R E J O N brush, tall sticklike shrub (Baccharis glzitinosa), Fraxinus trifoliolata in Baja California V I O L E T A violets (Viola spp.), or less likely Nemophila spp. Y E R B A S literally "herbs," forbs, green cover Z A C A T A L E S pasture patches, green cover, "grass" Z A C A T E pasture, green cover Z A C A T E S E C O dry grass, dry pasture, dry cover; grandes zacatones-large grass clumps Z A C A T O N S A L A D O salt-tolerant grass, probably Distichlis spp. Z A R Z A bramble TULAR

TULIPANES

APPENDIX

3

Selected earliest botanical collections of exotic annual species in California

Species1 herhariu~n accession

1D

collector

year

location

S p a n i s h i M e x i c ~ t nPeriod exorics

hfl,trcus Jones

San Luis Obispo

S. B. Parish

San Bernardino

S. B. Parish

Sail Bernardino mesas

T. S. Brandegee

Santa Barbara C o ~ l n t y

H . A. Brainard

Santa Clara Count\; San J o s e

F. W. Hubby

Santa Rarhara County, Ojai

J . Burtt Davy

Antelope Valley

J. Burtt Davy

San Joaquin \'alley

1 . Burtt D a y

h l o u n t Dlablo

J. Burtt Davy

Alameda Count): Livermore

S. B. I)arish

I

899

San B e r n a ~&no

J. Burtt Davy

1899

Long Vallev, N C m s t Range

J. Burtt Davy, W'dter C. Blasdell

I $99

hlendoclno, U k ~ a h

J. Aurtt Davy J . Burtt D a ~ y

~ $ 9 9 Santa Clara Count\, 1 I o u n t

Hamdton

Appendix 3

3 04 Species/ herbarium accession

ID

collector

\ear

location

S p a n i s h / M e x i c a n Period exotics

Bmsrcn n i p UCloz8 L

W.H . Bre~ver V?.L. Jepson

JEI'S j 3 245 UCrorX4

J . Rurtt

UClorX;

J. Kurtr Da\ y

UCl028j

H. ?\I. H ~ 1 1

LJ(:j698z, -6981

H. %I. Hall

U V j 5209

J. Burtr Ddvy

1902

\'entura County. Santa Paula

UCD42~3o

I.loyd Te\ is

1902

I nke T A o e

I l o d o c County. Goose \"1lle! S,~cramentoCount!, Elk Grove Stockton S ~ n t aR o i I5lmd ~ sal1 Jo'lql1111 C;oLl~lt~-. \Y7'l\-erl>Berkele~ Bcrkcle! Sr,inford Un11cr,it!\X'?\t 1'~1llll~iMarti,J. C. h'[. 19851. J L I ' I ~ B,lurist,i de Anza: l l i x i o del Primer \'iaje a IJ. California, 1774. Sociedad Sonorenw de Hisroria, Hermosillo, Sonora. 1 Alexico. ~ 2 pp. AIooney, H . LA.,m d J . X . Drake ied5.i. 1986.Ecology of Biological I n ~ a s i o n sof North America and H a ~ v ~ ~Springer-\'erlag, ii. Nen f i r k , 3.1 pp. hloone!. H . A . Hamherg, S. P., and J. L l . .Drake. I 986.The inv,lsions of p l m t s and a n i m d s into California. In Ecology of Biological Invasions of North Americs m d H a ~ v a iH. ~ , X. hlooney and J. .A. Drake (eds.1, 2 jo--2.Springer-\'erlng. N e ~ vYork. XIorpan, D. L., a n d J . K. Scob~e.1964.Three Years in Califor~nia:X'illiam Perkins' Press. KerkeJournal of Life a t Sonora. 1849-1 8 j 2.Universit!. of Califor~li~i Le!. California. 424 p. hlorris, E. 2001.T h c o d ~ r eKex: The Rise of Teddy Roosevelt. Random House. New York. 772 pp. Aluir, J. 187.1 Summering in the Sierra. Overland Alonthl\- , ~ n dOur West l l a g azine r 2, no. J (January):79. . r 883.The Sierrd hIadre Mo~mtains-hy John Lluir. In Southern California Paradise-Being a Historlc and Descriptive Account of Pasadena, San Gnbriel, Sierra Aladre, and 1.a Canada. Edited and published by R.\Y7. C. Farnsnorth, Pasadena, CA. . 1904.The Mountains of California. The Century Co.. New York. 81 pp. . ~ 9 4 %Yosemite and the Sierr'l Kevadd. Houghron llifflin, Boston. 132 PP. . 197.1 Ramblcs of a Botanist among the Plants and Clim,~tesof Califorliiil. Dawson's Book Shop, Los LAngeles. 43 pp. AI~rnz,I? X. 1974.X Flora of S o ~ ~ r h e C:al~fornia. rn University of C,ll~forniaPress, Berkeley ro8h pp.

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