Diario de atorkels

I decided to go to a new trail that runs along the back of my house. It was very dry and filled with a lot of brown grasses. It was hard to find many plants other than the grasses but I think I managed to get 5. It has been very warm here and there are a lot of snakes as this trail runs through a canyon, so I tried to be as fast as I could to avoid any encounters. I have really enjoyed exploring the natural places around me and have definitely found a greater appreciation for nature because of this class.

Hi! For this keying I decided to walk around and find trees in my neighborhood that I had not observed or keyed yet. I have realized that most of the trees in my neighborhood are similar, but I managed to find some new trees. The first tree that I am going to key is a Siberian Elm:

1. Key to groups: 1', 2', 3', 5', 8', 9', 13', 14', 15'
   Group- 11: 1', 2., 3', 4', 5'
   Key to specific elm: 1., 2'
   Species and book page: Ulmus spp., Siberian Elm, page 117

The next tree that I found is called Privets. They have a lot of pretty flowers and I noticed a ton of bees on it when I was taking these pictures. I also thought that the leaves were pretty as they were almost outlined in a lighter color.

1. Key to groups: 1', 2', 3', 5', 8.
   Group- 7: 1', 2', 5', 7', 9', 10', 12', 13', 15',16', 17', 19', 20'
   Species and book page: Calocedrus decurrens, Glossy Privet, page 5

I feel like I have definitely gotten the hang of keying and am noticing a better sense of identifying trees on my own.

Hi! I decided to use street trees from a different part of my neighborhood and a lot of the trees are very similar. This tree is pretty large but had a grey color trunk and bark that was pleasing to me. This tree is called a Chinaberry and here is my keying for it:

1. Key to groups: 1', 2', 3', 6', 7'
   Group- 6: 1', 3., 4', 6', 7', 9', 10.
   Species and book page: Melia azedarach, Chinaberry, page 85

The next tree I decided to observe was one in the same neighborhood as the Chinaberry. This tree is a Japanese Maple and it is very dense at the top and had a cool shape. This tree will change colors according to the seasons and can be a very vibrant red color. The keying for this is:

1. Key to groups: 1', 2', 3', 5', 8.
   Group- 7: 1', 2', 5', 7., 8'
   Kind of Maple- 1', 2', 9.
   Species and book page: Acer spp., pages 25, Japanese Maple

This keying was definitely the easiest so far. It can be very confusing at first but with patience and practice it becomes easier and you start to really get the hang of it. I have also noticed that I have become better at identifying trees around my house without needing the book based on these keying practices which is super cool to me.

The first tree I decided to observe and key is a Silver Maple tree that I found while walking my dog through the neighborhood park. There's a bunch of these located in my neighborhood and I was curious to as of what they were, especially because they have puzzle-like shaped leaves. The keying for this is:

1. Key to groups: 1', 2', 3', 5', 8.
   Group- 7: 1', 2', 5', 7., 8'
   Kind of Maple- 1', 2., 3', 6.
   Species and book page: Acer spp., pages 25, Silver Maple

The next tree that I decided to observe and key is a Chinese Pistache. This tree is located in the front of my house and the leaves are pinnately compound which looks really cool. The keying for this is:

1. Key to groups: 1', 2', 3', 6', 7'
   Group- 6: 1', 3', 11', 18', 24', 29', 30', 31', 32', 33'
   Kind of Maple- 1', 2., 3', 6.
   Species and book page: Pistacia chinensis, page 91

I have found keying to be not too difficult. I usually key the tree using the book before I upload to iNatualist and see how I do with that and then check myself using iNaturalist and work backwards through the book. I have found that with practice it has become more familiar and easier.

Hello! This week I went to a trail in Dublin, CA located in Alameda County. This trail is also by my house and is considered a regional park. I was hesitant to go because a couple of weeks ago there was a 6-year old girl attacked by a coyote on her neck (she is all fine now) up on the trail, but I went and it was all good. The vegetation was honestly pretty low as things are drying out. A lot of the plants were brown grasses and the occasional trees, it was super super dry and brown, which is a bummer because there's usually so much life and green during the rainy season. The landscape of this trail is uphill at first then levels out to view the entirety of the bay. This is a very pretty viewpoint at sunset or sunrise. I walked about a mile up and a mile back in the Donlon Point Staging Area. I look forward to continuing my adventures in places near my home.

Hello! These observations are all from a trail by my house that I run through every morning. I realized that there were a lot of similar plants and that a lot of them looked like Poison Oak or Poison Ivy, and I was right in that the floor of this trail is almost completely covered in this stuff. Now I know that I have to be careful when running through there and always wear long pants to be safe. This is a trail that is down below the houses and is very quiet and cool. The path is narrow so it is easy to follow. There is also water that runs along the side of the path. It is downhill at first then flattens out with some hilly features and ends with a hill. The trail is covered with plants including a lot of trees, but mostly an insane amount of shrubs and grasses. It is very quiet and I enjoy the peacefulness of this trail as well as the natural sounds from the water and the birds. I look forward to observing more plants that are located there over the course of this lab.

Ginkgo
Key to groups: 1', 2', 3', 5', 8', 9., 10.
Group- : no group
Species and book page: Ginkgo Biloba, page 8

Maples
Key to groups: 1', 2', 3', 5', 8.
Group- 7: 1', 2', 5', 7., 8'
Species and book page: Acer spp., pages 24-25 (pretty sure it's a japanese maple)

Hi! These were some cool plants that I found while on a hike on a trail by my house. The Horsetails are my favorite, they look like mini trees and with a bamboo like stem.

1. I would use the pampas grasses as toilet paper because it seems softer than any other leaves and it is also flat with no rough edges. I think this would be the best option.
2. I definitely think that street trees make neighborhoods more pleasant. Without trees on streets, they almost look naked and as they are missing something. Adding plants and trees to neighborhoods makes them more appealing to the eye and come across as more vibrant. Beautification can have endless positive impacts.
3. One pro to planting non-native trees in our cities is the increase in plants and beauty in urban areas. However, non-native plants can be very invasive to the natural habitat that is already living there.