Two visits to Bull Point in one week
On Wednesday July 17, 2024, I joined a field trip led by Shannon Burke of Marin County Parks. She shared her deep knowledge of plants, insects, and birds along the way. I especially appreciated her stories of plant names. I did this hike with her 6 years earlier and marveled at what we found in this inconspicuous pasture land. An annual trip to Bull Point in summer has been a necessity for me ever since. This time, I was paying close attention and taking notes since I had agreed to co-lead this same hike for the Marin California Native Plant Society (CNPS) three days later. How fortunate to have Shannon’s guidance!
At the parking lot, Shannon pointed out the many non-native plants including bright yellow shortpod mustard, towering poison hemlock with maroon speckles — the blood of Socrates. Poison Hemlock is deadly poisonous. In fact, The hollow stems of the plant are deadly for up to three years after the plant has died. Shannon demonstrated how the seed pods of Wild Radish break into distinct pieces. She also pointed out a diminuative mallow plant near the ground, the red Carolina Bristlemallow with a seed pod shaped like a wheel of cheese.
Once on the trail, Shannon spotted a brown Ox-eyed Satyr butterfly (Cercyonis pegala ssp. boopis) in the pasture. She noted the spots are larger in the female, and they act as a deterrent to predators. We spotted dainty Pale Flax flowers hidden among the grasses, the ancient predecessor to modern flax seed. It’s a pale bluish-purple veined flower with a vivid blue center.
The pasture was inundated with non-native Velvetgrass. We waded through it waist-high during much of our trip. It grows prolifically and crowds out native plants. We turned our attention to the native spiky Coastal Button-Celery (Eryngium armatum) that carpets the edges of the trail. If you look very closely (a hand lens is helpful) you’ll see tiny purple flowers at the center of the spiky flower heads.
A charming flower that is widespread in Point Reyes and has a long blooming season (March to July) is the Western Blue-Eyed Grass. Like California Poppies, the flowers open up in the sun. I often walk past them tightly closed in the morning only to return to a trail bordered with their cheery purple clusters in the afternoon. Shannon pointed out they are in the Iris family and have 3 petals and 3 sepals. Because the sepals look identical to the petals, they are called tepals. What’s a sepal, you ask? Sepals are the outer protection of the flower bud - usually greenish and often resemble reduced leaves, while petals are usually colorful and showy. Sepals and petals that are indistinguishable, as in lilies and tulips, are sometimes referred to as tepals. (reference: Britannica)
We paused on the trail to observe a beetle that mimics a bee, the Bumblebee Scarab Beetle (Lichnanthe ursina). It’s a fuzzy beetle with tiny comb-like antennae and unlike bees, they don’t sting. See below for a photo of Shannon holding it. The larvae feed in the sand. In a testament to Shannon’s power of observation, she spotted a caterpillar with a minuscule parasitic larvae on it’s back.
Nearby, a Northern Harrier flew low over the pasture. Shannon explained that harriers breed on the ground and the adults can pass prey in midair. The males are gray and the females are brown while the juveniles have a pumpkin-colored chest. Their hearing is as acute as an owl’s. They are very agile flyers — their long tail acts as a rudder. Nearly every time I’ve visited Bull Point, I’ve seen at least one harrier.
We headed across the dry grassy pasture toward the soggy marsh near Creamery Bay, walking past the honey-scented blooms of Yellow Bush Lupine and plenty of Yarrow which has coagulation properties. The genus name, Achillea refers to the mythical Greek, Achilles, who carried Yarrow into battle to staunch his army’s wounds.
At the marsh, we spotted at least a dozen Point Reyes Checkerbloom (Sidalcea calycosa ssp. rhizomata) flowering and fruiting. All my photos came out blurry but I’ve photographed it extensively in previous trips and included it on my Bull Point Trail web page. It blooms April to September with peak flowering in June and July. It can also be seen near the boardwalk at Abbotts Lagoon. Checkerbloom is endemic to California and Point Reyes Checkerbloom is a rare plant. Read more about its status on the CNPS rare plant inventory.
Next, we were treated to two striking Leopard Lily (Lilium pardalinum). They are fairly easy to distinguish from the Coast Lily. The Leopard Lily has more spots (as one would expect from a leopard) and the petals are folded back forming a round lantern with the reproductive parts (pistil and stamen) protruding fully outside the petals.
Low-growing waxy heart-shaped leaves of the Western Lily of the Valley (Maianthemum dilatatum) were nestled at the base of nearly every shrub. I spotted one remaining flower which is an example of how late flowers bloom at Bull Point. The lily’s peak blooming period is May. This plant has many ethnobotanical uses. The roots and leaves are used medicinally, and the berries are occasionally used for food.
We headed back across the pasture to the marshy area on the other side of the trail where many large shrubs hide rare plants. Shannon told us about the white flowered Western False Asphodel (Triantha occidentalis), discovered in 2021 to be a carnivorous plant. The sticky stem traps insects which it slowly digests with a digestive enzyme produced by the tiny hairs on the stem. Don’t worry bumblebees, it’s only able to trap tiny insects such as fruit flies. Read more about his fascinating carnivorous plant.
We spotted several Pacific Chorus Frogs vocalizing among the shrubs and grasses. We found two stands of the rare Coast Lily (Lilium maritimum)— one blooming but fading and the other unopened. The blooming period is May through August, peaking in June. The lily is pollinated by Allen's and Anna's hummingbirds when first open, and later by bumblebees. It’s the most rare plant at Bull Point. It is known to hybridize with the Leopard Lily but I don’t know if any resulting hybrids exist at Bull Point. We savored their beauty for a while then focused on the nearby flowering shrubs.
The Pacific Wax Myrtle (Morella californica) thrives in the marshy areas at Bull Point. The fruit is eaten by many kinds of birds in small quantities but it’s a favorite of the “Myrtle” (Yellow-rumped aka “butterbutt”) Warbler. The berries are a vital source of food and contain almost 50% fat, which helps the birds thrive in winter.
Shannon also shared stories about the Western Labrador Tea (Rhododendron columbianum), a beautiful flowering shrub growing nearby. In the 18th century, German brewers put it in beer to make it more intoxicating but it caused too much rowdiness so the practice was stopped. The plant has been used medicinally as a tea astringent, diaphoretic, diuretic and laxative, however, it can be toxic if the tea is allowed to steep too long. The fragrance of the leaves has also been shown useful in repelling insects and rodents. Hmm, maybe I should try rubbing the leaves on my clothes to ward off ticks?
Another plant with incredible medicinal uses is Common Selfheal (Prunella vulgaris) which has two subspecies var. vulgaris and var. lanceolata. The leaves on Lance Selfheal (Prunella vulgaris ssp. lanceolata) are slightly more narrow — “lance-like” than the more oval leaves of Eurasian Self-Heal (Prunella vulgaris). I read conflicting opinions on whether Eurasian Self-Heal is native to California. iNaturalist says both subspecies are native however, I also see this Calflora-sourced list showing Eurasian Self-Heal as introduced. The name itself should be enough to conclude it was introduced but it’s not always that simple. It’s an issue for the insatiably curious to explore.
A stellar plant in this marshy area blooming in numbers was White Bog Orchid (Platanthera dilatata). I followed a trail of distinctive white spikes from one orchid to the next. Sprinkled throughout this wet zone were Bog St. John’s-Wort (Hypericum anagalloides) aka Tinker’s Penny and a few delicate Marsh Harebell (Eastwoodiella californica) nestled in the foliage.
We saw two other notable plants that thrive at BullPoint. Large-flowered Leptosiphon (Leptosiphon grandiflorus) also called Large-flowered Linanthus, a rare plant in the CNPS database, and the smaller white, pink, yellow or magenta Variable Linanthus (Leptosiphon parviflorus). Both are in the phlox family. Shannon explained that lepto siphon means thin tube in latin and refers to the very long flower stem that contains the ovary far below in the spiky green pom-pom-like foliage. It loves sandy soil which is plentiful at Bull Point.
Finally, we ventured out to the dunes to look for Curly-leaved Monardella and Point Reyes Silverspot butterflies. We saw one butterfly but it flew past too quickly to photograph. The butterfly lays its eggs on the Western Dog Violet which by summer are dead or dying. The butterfly larvae eats its own egg shell, builds a silk home, and hibernates until the violet blooms in the spring. The larvae hatches as a caterpillar, eats the violet and the cycle continues. Read more about the butterfly and where to find it in this blog post devoted to it.
On our way back to the trailhead we looked for the iridescent Coyote Brush Beetle but I only found one which fell quickly out of my reach. Usually dozens crowd onto each Coyote Brush plant — we must be too early in the season at Bull Point. We passed plenty of low-growing pale Alameda Thistle (Cirsium quercetorum) aka brownie thistle and a few patches of the rare Point Reyes Horkelia (Horkelia marinensis).
I found 3 ticks on my clothes this trip. Not bad considering we were off-trail hiking through brush the entire time. I was grateful to Shannon for guiding this hike as a reference for my trip to Bull Point 3 days later. Read my field trip report on the CNPS Marin website.
