Santa Ana Mountains History, Habitat and Hikes by Patrick Mitchell

Author:Patrick Mitchell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing Inc.
Published: 2013-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

Trees

“Few are altogether deaf to the preaching of pine trees,” wrote John Muir. “Their sermons on the mountains go to our hearts; and if people in general could be got into the woods, even for once, to hear the trees speak for themselves, all the difficulties in the way of forest preservation would vanish.”

Fuchsia-flowered gooseberry is attractive in bloom.

The next several pages are dedicated to the trees found in the Santa Ana Mountains. Centuries-old oak woodlands can be found throughout the range, and many noteworthy conifer stands are located here as well. So go to the mountains and listen to the trees; they have much to teach.

CONIFERS

Big-cone Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga macrocarpa). This is a distinctive conifer that grows up to sixty feet high. Its branches are slightly upturned at the ends. Its crown comes to a point at the top. Six-inch cones distinguish this tree from the common Douglas fir, which has cones less than half that size. One-and-a-half-inch needles are blue green and flat. One of the largest-known stands of this species occurs in Trabuco Canyon.

Coulter pine (Pinus coulteri). This is the largest of the conifers in the Santa Ana Mountains. It grows up to eighty feet high with a broad and pointed crown. Bark is dark brown. Its needles are in groups of three and six to twelve inches long and blue green. This tree is abundant along the crest of the range. The cones of the Coulter pine are the heaviest known. Some are eighteen inches long and may weigh up to ten pounds. Seeds from these cones were an important food source for native peoples. Extra precipitation from summer fogs may explain the dense stands of this tree along the crest.

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