PLANT COMMUNITIES

The plant communities of the Point Reyes Peninsula create an imaginary floristic border between northern and southern California, and its past and present. The relict stands of bishop pine (Pinus muricata) and Douglas fir (Psuedotsuga menziesii) attest to the Peninsula's island biogeography (Figure 5). Here, on the Point Reyes Peninsula, P. menziesii is at the southern most part of its range. P. muricata, too, is a remaining outpost near the perimeter of its extent. Both species are isolated from their relatives to the north and south--how did they end up so far removed from the rest of their respective populations? Were these species once more wide spread or is it a "fluke" that the bishop pine and douglas fir developed on this geologic "island"?

These are not the only questions to be answered, join the field trip and discover the unique qualities of other Peninsula habitats, including coastal prairie and rangeland, coastal beach and dune, coastal scrub, marshlands and intertidal communities (Figure 5; (Barbour & Major 1977; Evens 1993; Shuford & Timossi 1989).