May luck be your friend

  

A couple of photos to help celebrate St. Patrick's Day!  

Above, a Sierran Treefrog (Pseudacris sierra) framed by Douglas Iris (Iris douglasiana) leaves.  

Below, Coast Rockcress (Arabis blepharophylla) and clover (Trifolium sp.) leaves:

 

 
With many thanks to Eric for the great photos!

Four tri's!

  

Lottia triangularis

 

 

 

Rissa tridactyla

 

 

Tritonia festiva

 

 

Trifolium macraei

 

Well, I realize it might be hard to see the connection among all of these photos, but I needed something to celebrate NHBH blog post #3,333!  In previous years I noted when I crossed the 1,000 and 2,000 marks, so here's a post to observe crossing 3,000 with four tri's!  Whew!  Thanks for staying with me!

Soft pink

 

Thanks to Peter for showing me a diversity of clover species today, including this Small-head Clover (Trifolium microcephalum), photographed near Westside Park in Bodega Bay.

Bearded

 

Bearded Clover (Trifolium barbigerum), Bodega Head, 19 April 2017

P.S.  Check out the interesting color patterns on this clover's leaflets (on the left-hand side of the photo).  I'm intrigued by the markings, so I did a quick search into what's known about the patterning.  It sounds like they're formally called "anthocyanin leaf markings" and they're known to be linked to certain genes.

Pinpoint

 

Pinpoint Clover (Trifolium gracilentum), Bodega Head, 19 April 2017

 

Young clover

 

☘  Happy St. Patrick's Day!   ☘ 

 

Trifolium wormskioldii

 

Close-up of Cow Clover (Trifolium wormskioldii) 

These clovers were photographed along Westshore Road between Owl Canyon and Campbell Cove on 31 May 2013 .  Here are two more views of this striking, large, native clover (sometimes called the Coast Clover or Springbank Clover).

 

 

According to Wikipedia, this species was named after a Danish botanist, Morten Wormskjold.  He participated in an 1815 Russian expedition aboard the Rurik commanded by Otto von Kotzebue.  Other famous naturalists on this expedition included Adelbert von Chamisso and Johann Friedrich von Eschscholtz.

Tomcat

 

Tomcat Clover (Trifolium willdenovii)

photographed in the coastal prairie on Bodega Head, 24 April 2013

 

If you're wondering, this species was named after Carl Ludwig Willdenow (1765-1812), a German botanist known as one of the founders of the field of phytogeography (the study of the geographic distribution of plants).

The most diverse genus

What's the most diverse genus of plants on the Bodega Head peninsula?

 

Did you guess clovers (Trifolium spp.)?  Do you know how many species of clovers have been documented on Bodega Head?

 

Answer: 21 species of Trifolium have been recorded so far.  Can you guess how many are native vs. introduced?

 

 

Answer: 10 native, 11 introduced.  What habitats are they found in?

 

Most of the native species are found in grasslands or coastal prairie on the outer portion of Bodega Head.  A few are found in wet seeps along coastal bluffs.  Most of the introduced species are found in disturbed areas such as roadsides and around buildings.

It's a little too early to find clovers in bloom, but I'll post some more photos as they start to flower.  Meanwhile, here's another image — look for evidence of herbivory!

P.S.  This post was inspired not only by this spectacular group of plants, but also by a certain Boston sports team coming to town on Friday night.  We're off to see them play in Sacramento — Go Celtics!