With entertainment venues shut down, we've all come up with creative ways to spend our leisure time. Many of us are taking advantage of the extra time to exploring our neighborhoods; as I've done so in University Heights, I've discovered a nice concentration of native plant gardens and an enthusiastic group of garden owners, who have lent their front yards to create this self-guided tour.
I hope many of our neighbors will follow these routes and simply appreciate the beauty and diversity of native plants. Others may want to use the tour to create field trips for their home school. I offer the resources below to help you develop your own mini-curriculum.
I hope many of our neighbors will follow these routes and simply appreciate the beauty and diversity of native plants. Others may want to use the tour to create field trips for their home school. I offer the resources below to help you develop your own mini-curriculum.
Download your own Tour map:
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Download a map of The Point:
Download info on native plants at The Point:
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Selected plants along the tour have labels with the common name, Latin name, and the plant family. Here's a checklist of the native plants along the tour, you can use this to note specific plants that you may want to research further:
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Below are some questions that might provoke discussion and inquiry. You may choose one (or a few) species and describe it in detail, or choose a question and compare among various species.
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1. Does the plant have flowers? If not, is there evidence of past flowers (on the ground, dried up, buds (future flowers) or fruit (matured flowers)? Identify the parts of the flower you can see.
2. Many flowers need an insect to spread their pollen to similar plants (others just use the wind). What kind of pollinator do you think the flower would attract? |
3. Describe the plant's leaves. Color, shape, thickness, texture. Leaves take in carbon dioxide from the air to use in growing, but must lose water when they do. Compare the leaves of native plants with other plants (e.g. tropicals). Do the leaves of native plants have any special traits that would conserve water?
4. Many native plants have smells. (To smell the leaf without harming the plant, squeeze it between your finger and thumb, then smell.) If you smell something (even if it smells good), that means the plant produces certain chemicals, usually to keep it from being eaten. What might eat these plants?
5. Wild plants were basically the grocery store and pharmacy for Native Americans. Which plants do you think might be nutritious? medicinal? Uses for some of the plants are the tour can be found at arboretum.ucsc.edu/pdfs/ethnobotany-webversion.pdf, with in-depth information here: https://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/486/files/plantreferenceguide2014_03_03_14.pdf
6. The first part of the Latin name is the genus. Some plants on the tour are in the same genus (this is like being brothers or cousins). Do you see (or smell) any similarities between plants in the same genus that make them different than other plants?
7. The plant family contains a larger group of plants (many different genera [genuses]). Do you see similarities between plants in the same family that make them different from other plants?
8. In nature, plants occur in certain areas -- their range. All range of all the plants on this tour includes at least part of California. A species might be native to the California (but not normally found in San Diego), or San Diego County (but not in this particular area), or native to this particular area. You can check the range of your species at: https://calscape.org/. Which species might you see on a hike in Mission Trails Park?
9. Lack of water is the biggest problem for plants in a natural setting (not so much in someone's garden, usually!). Many native plant leaves are adapted to conserve water, by having lighter coloring, thicker leaves, or tiny hairs. On which plants can you find these features?
4. Many native plants have smells. (To smell the leaf without harming the plant, squeeze it between your finger and thumb, then smell.) If you smell something (even if it smells good), that means the plant produces certain chemicals, usually to keep it from being eaten. What might eat these plants?
5. Wild plants were basically the grocery store and pharmacy for Native Americans. Which plants do you think might be nutritious? medicinal? Uses for some of the plants are the tour can be found at arboretum.ucsc.edu/pdfs/ethnobotany-webversion.pdf, with in-depth information here: https://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/486/files/plantreferenceguide2014_03_03_14.pdf
6. The first part of the Latin name is the genus. Some plants on the tour are in the same genus (this is like being brothers or cousins). Do you see (or smell) any similarities between plants in the same genus that make them different than other plants?
7. The plant family contains a larger group of plants (many different genera [genuses]). Do you see similarities between plants in the same family that make them different from other plants?
8. In nature, plants occur in certain areas -- their range. All range of all the plants on this tour includes at least part of California. A species might be native to the California (but not normally found in San Diego), or San Diego County (but not in this particular area), or native to this particular area. You can check the range of your species at: https://calscape.org/. Which species might you see on a hike in Mission Trails Park?
9. Lack of water is the biggest problem for plants in a natural setting (not so much in someone's garden, usually!). Many native plant leaves are adapted to conserve water, by having lighter coloring, thicker leaves, or tiny hairs. On which plants can you find these features?
To learn more about California native plants in our region, I recommend the following books:
Native Plants, Torrey Pines State Reserve and nearby San Diego County Locations" by Margaret Filius -- great photos of plants and diagnostic features; organized by families, but includes an index by color. Most plants native to the University Heights area are included in this book.
San Diego County Native Plants, by James Lightner. Includes most species you'll encounter, including non-natives. Descriptions are mildly technical and dense, photos are necessarily smaller. For intrepid high-schoolers and older.
Native Plants, Torrey Pines State Reserve and nearby San Diego County Locations" by Margaret Filius -- great photos of plants and diagnostic features; organized by families, but includes an index by color. Most plants native to the University Heights area are included in this book.
San Diego County Native Plants, by James Lightner. Includes most species you'll encounter, including non-natives. Descriptions are mildly technical and dense, photos are necessarily smaller. For intrepid high-schoolers and older.
