SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA STATE PARKS:
Name:______________________________
The Canyons of Southern California are a specific type of Biome common to Mediterranean climates.
The climate is characterized by warm to hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters. The Biome includes
many plant and animal communities the interact. The communities of plants closely associated with
Mediterranean climate zones of California are the Oak and Pine Forest, the Riparian, the Alluvian, the
“Chaparral”,and the Coastal Sage Scrub. Plamt features distinct to this climate are small sclerophyed
leaves. The plants growth deep roots and rebound following the regular fires natural to the area.
During what months is the rain most abundant?
What are the day and night temperatures in the area in the summer?
What are some characteristics that show adaptations to the low water stress in this area of the plants in
the Chaparral?
Food Webs
All organisms occupy a specific habitat based on specific adaptations and play a role in an environment
called a “Niche”. The niche reflect the mode of obtaining food. What are some examples of organisms
you saw or that were described that occupy each of the following Niches;
1. Most abundant producers:
2. primary consumers:
3. secondary consumers:
4. tertiary consumers:
5. decomposer (FBI)
Now complete the food web
Place organisms in the box
according to Niche.
On a scale of 1-10, if 10 is healthy, what is the health of the ecosystem? Explain why you make that
rating?
Plant Families:Once you have used the dichotomous key to identify 10 plants. Name a plant you saw in
the family below and describe each of the following families according to Form (Tree, shrub or herb),
Reproductive Structure (Cone, Flower, spadix); Fruit, Flower or inflorescence.
Poaceae Family (Grass)
Aster (Sunflower)
Lamacea (Mint) plant family has square stems and leaves are usually fragrant.
Quercus (Oak)
Pea Family (Legume)
(Rosaceae) Rose
Solanaceae family (Deadly Night Shade)
Ericaceae (Manzanita)
Hollywood is named after what plant?
What plants are indicators of water?
What were common Trees in the habitat?
Use the remaining space to describe your experience of the habitat? Fear, enjoyment, smells, sounds or
other.
A dichotomous key is a tool that allows the user to determine the identity of items in the natural world,
such as trees, wildflowers, mammals, reptiles, rocks, and fish. Keys consist of a series of choices that
lead the user to the correct name of a given item. "Dichotomous" means "divided into two parts".
Therefore, dichotomous keys always give two choices in each step. Use the Key to identify 10 plants
chosen by the instructor:
Plant Number
Common Name
Genus or Family Name
Common Shrubs in Pacific Southwest
1a. Tree (taller than 10 ft) ,,,,go to 2
1b. Shrub,,,,,,,go to 21
2a. Tree has narrow leaves and cones......
2b. Tree has broad leaves (+/-) cones.........
P. Gymnosperm ............ go to 3
P. Angiosperm ...........
go to 4
3a. Leaves scalelike or narowly triangular..............Cedar
3b. Leaves needle-like or narrow and flattened ..........Pine
(Calocedrus decurrens)
(Pinus sp. )
4a. Leaves simple
4b. Leaves compound
.........go to 5
......... go to 14
5a. leaves alternate
5b. leaves opposite
...........go to 6
...........go to 13
6a. leaves deeply lobed
.......... go to 7
6b. leaves not deeply lobed, or are smooth ............go to 10
7a. leaves palmately lobed
7b leaves pinnately lobed
........... go to 8
.......... go to 9
8a. leaves star shaped............Liquidamber (rough non-shedding bark and round, spiked, dry fruit)
8b. leaves not star shaped ............Sycamore (smooth, shedding bark and round, spiked, dry fruit)
9a. Leaves have fewer than 5 lobes .....
9b. Leaves have more than 5 lobes .....
Poplar or Apple Tree
Oak Fruit is an acorn
10a. Leaf edges are smooth
.....
Go to 11
10b. Leaf edges are not deeply lobed or are serrated or dentate
.....
11a. Lower Leaf blade lighter in color than upper blade
11b. Lower and upper leaf blade the same color
Willow (Salix sp )
Eucalyptus (native to Australia)
.....
......
12a. Leaves thick and leathery some are spiney with hairs in axils of leaf
12b. Leaves not thick leaf surface lacks pubescence (hairs)
13a. Leaves lobed
13b. Leaves not lobed
.....
.....
Maple spp. (Acer)
Dogwood
.....Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia)
.....Catalina Cherry
Fruit looks like a pair of airplane propellers.
14a. Leaves palmately compound
14b. Leaves pinnately compound
......
......
21a. Leaves simple
21b Leaves compound
Go to 22
Bladder Pod (Isomeris arborea)
......
.....
Go to 12.
California Buckeye spp.
Black Walnut
22a. Leaves alternate
.....
Go to 23
22b. Leaves opposite, often strongly scented, and stems are square
.....
Sage (Laminacea spp, Mint family)
23a. Leaves clustered in fascicles (bundles)......California Buckwheat (Erigonum fasciculatum)
23b. Leaves not in fascicles and edges not rolled under.
..... Go to 24
24a. Leaf margins entire
24b. Leaf margins not entire.
..... Go to 25
..... Go to 28
25a. Leaves folded with red margins ........
25b. Leaves flat. Leaf margin not red
26a. Leaves longer than 3 cm
26b. Leaves shorter than 3 cm
.....Laurel Sumac (Rhus laurina)
.....Go to 26
..... Willow (Salix spp)
..... Go to 27
27a.Older portion of stem is red.and often unusually cold
27b. Older portion of stem greenish
..... Manzanita (Arctostaphylos)
......Green bark (Ceanothus spinosus )
28a. Leaves not lobed
28b. Leaves lobed
.....Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia)
.....Go to 29
29a. Leaves pubescent
29b.Leaves glaucous below
..... Flannel Bush (Fremontodendron californicum)
......Matilija poppu (Romney acoulteri)
Type of Leaf
Leaf Arrangement
Leaf Margin
Leaf Venation
Simple Leaf Venation
Compound Leaf Venation