Tag Archives: recreation

Photographs: Coastal Redwoods, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Redwood Trees and Ferns

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Redwood Trees and Ferns

Redwood Trees and Ferns. Muir Woods National Monument, California. August 19, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A group of closely-spaced redwood trees grows above ground-hugging ferns with green trees behind, Muir Woods National Monument, California.

In mid-August I visited Muir Woods (only a 90 minute drive from my home) to drop off some photographs and spend some time making new ones. I always arrive there very early – the crowds are otherwise overwhelming, especially in the summer – and when I got there almost no one else had yet entered the park. Because it was a morning with high fog, I was looking forward to shooting plants in the diffuse light that creates such wonderful saturated colors.

I wandered up and around the usual short loop that would be very busy in a few hours, but there were only a few other people there. Near the end of my wandering, as I was almost ready to exit, the fog began to thin just a bit and as I passed this group of trees there was enough light to better define their forms and texture.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Coastal Redwoods, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Andrew’s Clintonia

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Andrew's Clintonia

Andrew’s Clintonia. Muir Woods National Monument, California. April 11, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Newly emerging spring Andrew’s Clintonia (Clintonia andrewsiana) plant at Muir Woods National Monument, California with immature flowers.

I hope I have correctly identified this plant – with the help of a few people who contacted me after I posted the photo along with a request for plant ID help on my dan’s outside blog. The flowers are the tricky part. All of the photographs of this plant that I could find during my search for identification look different – but the plant apparently doesn’t actually blossom until a few weeks or a month after I made the photograph, so here we’re just seeing the early buds. The leaves look right. It grows in the right place – in the redwood forest and Muir Woods. And I found one online example with mature flowers that has the same single leaf near the top of the flower stalk. So I’s sticking with Andrew’s clintonia until someone comes up with a better idea!

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: Andrew’s Clintonia, Clintonia andrewsiana, andrews, flower, plant, stem, leaf, green, stalk, forest, woods, grove, redwood, floor, bud, bloom, nature, foliage, spring, muir, national, monument, park, golden gate, recreation, area, travel, scenic, stock

Photographs: Coastal Redwoods, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Fairy Bell Wildflowers (Disporum hookeri)

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Fairy Bell Wildflowers (Prosartes smithii)

Fairy Bell Wildflowers (Disporum hookeri). Muir Woods National Monument, California. April 11, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Spring Fairy Bells flowers among the plants on the forest floor at Muir Woods National Monument, California.

This plant grows on the forest floor beneath the Redwoods at Muir Woods National Monument and, no doubt, in many other similar places on the west coast. This is a rather subtle flower – its color is not that different from the color of its leaves, it grows in areas where the light tends to be somewhat dim, and the flowers hide beneath the spreading leaves. It isn’t a flower that I spot right away – unlike, say, trillium – and it is a bit tricky to photograph.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: Prosartes smithii, Disporum smithii, Fairy, Bells, flower, wild, wildflower, leaf, green, yellow, wihite, plant, foliage, nature, forest, floor, insect, bug, muir woods, national, monument, golden gate, recreation, area, park, marin, county, california, usa, stem, bud, bokeh, stock, Disporum hookeri

Photographs: Coastal Redwoods, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Red Alder Leaves, Spring

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Red Alder Leaves, Spring

Red Alder Leaves, Spring. Muir Woods National Monument, California. April 11, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Spring red alder leaves branch out above the creek at Muir Woods National Monument, California.

More red alder leaves from Muir Woods National Monument. I’m fascinated by the delicate patterns of the branches of this tree – in fact I have photographed these very same branches (yes, the same tree) a couple of time previously.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: red, alder, leaf, leaves, branch, twig, green, spring, new, growth, delicate, bokeh, nature, tree, forest, grove, muir woods, national, monument, golden gate, recreation, area, marin county, california, usa, redwood, foliage, creek, stock, green