Diario de liyingtan

My observations represent flowering and leaf phenology as they are either bare (of both flowers and leaves) or with flowers and leaves.

I found Genus Vinca growing at the base of a tree on campus. Its purple and white flowers were framed by thick green leaves, indicating that it had started flowering and leafing and thus, was an example of flowering and leaf phenology.

In contrast, I found 2 plants that were bare of any leaves or flowers. One was found by the roadside (I think it is dry grass, with no flowers) and the other was found by Strawberry Creek and its branches were bare of both flowers and leaves. As such, these two plants represented a different type of flower and leaf phenology (bare/dry).

The 5 taxa I found were Plants (pink and white flowers), Insects (Water Strider), Mammals (Fox squirrel), Mollusks (Barnacles) and Birds (brown bird).

The pink and white flowers represented flowering plants because it had the characteristics of flowers and leaves. The water striders represent insects as it has 3 main body parts and antenna, and belong to the Family Gerridae. The fox squirrel represents mammals as it is warm-blooded, has four legs and hair, and is a vertebrate. The barnacles are mollusks because it is soft-bodied and covered by the external hard shell . The brown bird represents birds as it has feathers and wings.

Together, these 5 observations represent 5 iconic taxa on the Tree of Life.

The chaparral biome was relatively dry and hot, especially in comparison to the moist evergreen forest.

1. French Broom: The French Broom is considered an invasive plant in California. It has dense, slender green stems and very small leaves to reduce excessive loss of moisture in the dry growing conditions in the chaparral biome. It is also a fire-climax species adapted to regular stand-replacing fires which kill the above-ground parts of the plants, but create conditions for regrowth from the roots and also for germination of stored seeds in the soil. This is useful in the chaparral as the dry conditions can often lead to fires. It is also short, shrubby and woody which reflects its hardiness and ability to conserve energy.
2. California Poppy: In the colder northern California, the California Poppy is annual. It dies off in the winter but the roots survive to grow another plant when the weather warms in the Spring. The California Poppy is able to self-seed, ensuring its survival and is adapted to fire. It is also very tolerant to droughts and high temperatures, idea for the arid environment in the chaparral.
3. Ladybug: The ladybug has shield-like fore wings that allow it to live under loose bark where it is cooler, allowing it to weather the hot conditions. It is also poisonous, ensuring that it is protected from predators.
4. Poison oak: The poison oak is very shrubby and woody, reflecting its hardiness against drought. In general, the poison oak is able to adapt easily to different environments, accounting for why its so prevalent!
5. Milk Thistle: The Milk Thistle has thorns and spiky leaves to prevent excessive loss of moisture so as to combat the dry conditions, and also to protect itself against herbivorous animals.

The moist evergreen forest biome was much cooler and shadier, and relatively more humid.

1. Lichen: Lichen are small, hardy and highly adaptable. They grow fast in moisture-abundant conditions as they are able to absorb the moisture for growth. It seems like they depend on the trees to grow as well.
2. Blackberry: Blackberries have woody stems and are extremely hardy and are able to withstand cold temperatures and moist conditions. It also has thorns that help it creep and extend itself into areas that have the most suitable growing conditions.
3. Western Swordfern: The fern has very large, broad leaves to allow it to capture as much sunlight as possible for photosynthesis. It can also grow on other trees and take nutrients from it. Its compounded leaves also increases its overall surface area, thus allowing for increased photosynthesis.

4. Redwoods: Extremely tall and most of its leaves occur near the top, so as to capture maximum sunlight and increase photosynthesis.
   Leaves appear to be thin and needle-like, helping to increase surface area for photosynthesis. Redwoods are evergreen and do not lose their leaves, thus allowing for continual food production.

5. Fungi: Fungi grow best in damp conditions like the moist evergreen forest. I found these mushrooms growing out of a log - they likely feed on the nutrients from these organic matter in order to survive. They don't have leaves either indicating that they do not rely on photosynthesis/much sunlight for food production. This is good since the fungi grows on the forest ground where little sunlight reaches.