5. A TRANSECT ACROSS NORTHERN CALIFORNIA 



The following pages present a synoptic account of the compo- 

 sition and distribution of California plant communities, together 

 with some discussion of outstanding characteristics of the com- 

 munities or of certain of their component species. In northern 

 California all major plant communities of the North Coast ranges 

 and adjacent coastal areas can be encountered by making a tran- 

 sect starting from the shores of the Pacific Ocean in Marin County 

 and working eastward across the North Coast ranges, the Central 

 Valley, and the Sierra Nevada to the Nevada state line. 



Coastal Strand (Plate 5 A, Map 2) 



The first terrestrial plant community encountered above the 

 high tide line in northern California is the Coastal Strand com- 

 munity. Common plants in the Coastal Strand community are 

 Ambrosia chamissonis, the Silver Beachweed of the Compositae; 

 various species of the saltbush gtnws Atriplex (Chenopodiaceae); 

 various lupines such as the beautiful yellow Bush Lupine (Lupinus 

 arboreus, Leguminosae); the colorful sand verbena (Abronia spp., 

 Nyctaginaceae); Beach Primrose, Camissonia cheiranthi folia, of 

 the Onagraceae. Also present are the introduced succulent ice 

 plants Mesembryanthemum nodiflorum and M. crystallinum 

 (both Aizoaceae); and the attractive Beach Morning Glory, Con- 

 volvulus (sometimes called Calystegia) soldanella (Convolvula- 

 ceae). All these members of the Coastal Strand community are 

 widespread in this community, and most of them occur only in 

 this distinctive plant community. The Coastal Strand plant com- 

 munity occurs in loose sand above the high tide line on Pacific 

 coast beaches along the entire length of California, and extends 

 both south and north of the state's borders. Some of the species 

 in this community are very widespread outside California. For 

 example. Beach Morning Glory is found all along the Pacific 

 coast of North America and in South America and the Old World 

 as well. 



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