NRS :: Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve

Common Riparian Plants in Cold Canyon

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Photos: Laura Kindsvater

Redbud (Cercis occidentalis), a nitrogen fixer, thrives in a multitude of habitats in Cold Canyon: at streamsides, on dry slopes and in chaparral. The pods are reputedly edible. Native Americans also used the bark and shoots for dark pattern work in basketry.

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Photos: Laura Kindsvater

Cottonwoods (Populus fremontii) grow to be large trees with coarsely grooved, grey bark. Their leaves are wide and somewhat heart-shaped, with teeth along the margin. The trees require lots of water and grow right at water's edge or sometimes even in the stream.

California bay (Umbellularia californica) has bunches of small yellow flowers in March and elongated leaves that smell strongly aromatic when crushed. Also known as peppernut, the fruits of this plant are edible. The Patwin may have dried them for later use, roasted or parched them in a fire to make them less bitter, then and cracked and ate them.

Early Californians discovered many medicinal uses for this plant. They used it to cure headaches, stomachaches, and rheumatism, as well as in their dwellings (to repel fleas). The leaves of this plant are not those traditionally sold as "bay leaves" but make a marvelous substitute.

Photo: Laura Kindsvater

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Flower of Aristolochia californica

Photo: MIchele Johnson

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Leaves of Aristolochia californica

Photo: Laura Kindsvater

Oddly shaped, sack or tube-like flowers mark the blooming of California pipe vine, Aristolochia californica. Fungus gnats pollinate this plant, drawn by a metallic odor. The sepals of this flower are colored green or light brown with a lining of pink or red thickened tissue and purple veins. The leaves are heart-shaped.

Baccharis salicifolia

Photo: Laura Kindsvater

Willow (Salix sp.)

Photo: Laura Kindsvater

Mule-fat (Baccharis salicifolia) looks very similar to a willow. It's easy to mistake it for one, unless it happens to be blooming, and then its wispy, fluffy seed heads reveal its true identity as a relative of the common dandelion. Mule fat grows along stream banks as well as in the creek.

Different species of willow are very difficult to tell from one another. There are at least four different species in Cold Canyon. They only grow close to or in the stream. Willows are famous in the ethnobotanical world for manufacturing the chemical compound from which aspirin was derived.

Photos: Laura Kindsvater

Crush the leaves of spice-bush (Calycanthus occidentalis) for its distinguishingly strong, sweet smell. The unusual flowers of this plant, made up of numerous, spirally arranged petals and sepals, are bright pinkish red and measure approximately 5 cm in diameter. The leaves can be quite long, up to 15 cm in length.

Photos: Laura Kindsvater

Bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum) is easy to identify in spring and summer when it has leaves. There are many old maple trees growing by the cold store of the old homestead. The paired "fruits" of the maple, which botanists call "samaras," are winged for distribution via wind.

Native Americans lined their baskets with maple's large, graceful leaves. They also shredded maple bark to make aprons or skirts, the standard attire for women, as well as to make diapers and for wrapping the dead before burial.

Maidenhair fern (Adiantum jordanii)

Photo: Laura Kindsvater

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Giant chain fern (Woodwardia fimbriata)

Photo: Brother Alfred Brousseau (1)

Ferns abound along the banks of Cold Creek. Maidenhair fern (Adiantum jordanii) has small, delicately shaped, round leaves with crinkly edges. Two centuries ago, the Patwin of Cold Canyon probably collected maidenhair fern stems, weaving them into black basketry patterns.

The beautiful leaves of giant chain fern (Woodwardia fimbriata) grow to lengths of 1 to 3 meters. The Native Americans also collected this fern, extracting the two white strands in the stem, dying them red with the bark of red alder, and then using them for red pattern work in basketry.

UC Davis NRS Reserves

Common Riparian Plants in Cold Canyon