Cali. native SW marsh/tidepool plants?

[TheMandarinFish]

Hey all,

I am taking a class in Cali native plant habitats and have to write a paper on native plant species.

Cool thing is, they can be aquatic or wetland, fresh or salt.

So I want to write a paper about plants that I can use in a 'fuge or mud 'fuge.

The professor told me pickleweed is prolific, as well as eel grass, etc.

I am interested in plants that can handle reef tank temperatures, as I would like to plant some. I imagine that pickleweed might be able to only because it is exposed to Bay Area sun a lot in shallow water, rather than off the coast.

Kelp might work too, but that grows in cold water off the coast; dunno about the reef temps.

Loan me your thoughts on this one, plz....

 

[kmk2307]

Hey TheMandarinFish,

Do these have to be true plants or could they be algae? As far as true plants go, check out mangroves, turtle grass, shoal grass, and other grasses. I'm sure there are lots more but that's all I can think of right now...

Kevin

 

[Plantbrain]

Pickleweed is a an emergent plant, most of the flowering plants except one are in the Bay. The SeaGrass will be on the rocky intertidal along trhe Ocean side.

Get a tide pool ID book from the libaray, go out to Bolinas in Marine on a low tide. There may not be a raod sign for the Town, it has a long history of disappearing, long story. Go all the way to the end of town and you'll side an entrance to the beach.
There are many lovely species of marine plants out there(lots of brown algae). But most all of them need cold water, nutrient rich. Lime green anenomes, you name it just about. Lots of life.

Down along the South bay there may be some spots. The Bay is mainly estuary with pickleweed/couple species of emergent tidal flat grasses, few other things mixed in.

If you like marine systems, I'd go to the tide pool. You'll like that better. The Sonoma coast is excellent and south along HWY 1 is good in spots.
Go at the lowest tide.

The bay is very turbid and submergent growth is tough. The open ocean side is better.

Not sure if the prof will let you do marine macro algae as plants.
There is no end to the intertidal literature out there.
If it's esturaries, then the same applies there, plenty to choose from but few species in general.
Some good books are Lobban's book, Graham's book, there are plenty of others, go the library, they have plenty on Seaweeds.

Another area that's neat is Serpentine plant communities. CA has lots of these endemics(some discovered not that long ago, one right over in Tiburon on top of a hill. Redwood forest is relatively easy also to find info etc. You hav eplenty to choose from. I'd check the intertidal with the prof first, then hopefully do that one if they say "yes" to the macro's.

Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[TheMandarinFish]

...

...

Thanks guys.

Prof has no problem with any native species.

I like the idea, which may be outrageous, of studying and setting up a small outdoor marsh or have some plants grow up out of my refugium.

Cordgrass and pickleweed grow in the same salinity as ocean water; I checked. They aren't kept fresh or even brackish, although the salinity varies of course seasonally (and daily too, I'm sure).

The temperature is the thing that makes it a challenge.

The plants that are in mud flats and the shallows of the bay, or especially the salt ponds, *have* to see at least slightly warmer temps in the full summer sun. It gets 100+ by the Bay at times, and the air temp is something the plants would have to deal with.

I bet the local macroalgaes would struggle though, since they are submerged in cold water 24/7. (I could research Cali. macros, though, the professor is flexible)

But the plants that emerge fascinate me. They grow large, quickly, in ocean water, and are the natural biofilters of the Bay Area. And there are huge restoration projects going on right now.
If a pump circulated from the display to an outside marsh tank, in some shade, could the salt pond / marsh plants make it?

 

[Plantbrain]

I'm trying to recall the guy's name(Rich?), but he works for the USGS out in Vallejo, he's perhaps one of the best folks for Marsh plant stuff. It'd be worth contacting him for references. If you called out there and say something about a plant marsh person, they'd know who you are talking about.
He's a heck of a nice guy as well.
Spartinia and the other plants have lots of research done on them, See journals such as Aquatic Botany etc.

Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[SunfishFun]

I would suggest taking a little trip to the Oakland/Alameda area. In Alameda are Crown Beach and Crab Cove, which are adjacent to one another. Fantastic estuary habitats! Mudflat, rocky shore, and sandy beach all in one location! Around Crab Cove everything is totally protected (also an informative visitor center), but I'm not so sure about Crown Beach. I was planning to find out, since Eel grass is abundant right off the beach and I am looking for seagrasses. Even has cool pipefish in it! This estuary is warmer than the Bay, which is warmer than the Pacific up here, but I don't know if this eel grass would make it in my tank.

Arrowhead Marsh is an awesome salt marsh hidden in plain view right near the Oakland Airport! It's part of a wetlands restoration program. Great place to see native plants and birds (including Calif Clapper Rail)! The water there is probably the warmest around here. Plants common there include Cordgrass, Pickleweed, Jaumea, Salt grass, Sea blite. That's all I can think of. I'm just thinking that although these plants thrive in relatively warm, salty water, they do not grow where they are always submerged. I doubt any are suitable for a reef tank, but I don't know about plant culture.

For more information about the places I mentioned or to get in touch with "plant people," I suggest you go to the website of the East Bay Regional Park District. Tons of their naturalists are experts who love what they do.
-maureen