CALIFORNIA LIVE OAK TREE

The botanical name (in Latin) for this kind of tree is Quercus agrifolia, and its popular name is “Coast live oak.” These trees stay green year around (that is why they are called “live oaks”), thus they are referred to as “evergreens.” They do not shed their leaves en masse in the fall, like a true deciduous tree. 

These trees are native to the California Floristic Province, and they are confined to living west of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range: from Mendocino County south to scattered localities in northern Baja California, Mexico. 

Their mature height is about 82 feet (25 m). Some specimens can be as old as greater than 1,000 years. They are extremely drought-tolerant. Their fruit consists of acorns (slender reddish brown) that is hard-shelled. In historic times, the acorns were a standard food source. 

Back in 2002 and 2003, a majestic live oak tree (about 400 years old and the biggest live oak tree I have ever seen) grew in the southwest corner of Santa Clarita. Then, "out of the blue," local developers deemed "it was in the way and needed to be removed." The tree was right in the middle of a road that was planned for widening, and the developers wanted to cut the tree down and turned into sawdust. The public said NO WAY! A protestor named John Quiqley climbed the tree and lived in it (24 hours a day) for several months, back in 2002 and 2003. My family and I visited him, as did hundreds of other concerned citizens. The public outcry was effective, and the developers finally decided that they would move the tree to a new location a short distance away. The move did happen, and, I am glad to say, that the tree is alive and doing well at a spot just down-canyon where it originally grew. Shown below is an image of this relocated tree. It is now forever protected! This just shows you what can happen when the public says “enough is enough.” 

Figure 1. The "Oak of the Golden Dream," now located in the southwest corner of Santa Clarita, southern California. This tree, which has an amazing legacy, was almost cut down by developers so in order to widen a pre-existing road. The public said "NO WAY," and the tree was saved. It was moved to a new, nearby location, which is shown here.

Figure 2. Oak leaves from the "Oak of the Golden Dream."

AN ANCIENT LIVING TREE: THE ARAUCARIA TREE

 A “Fossil Tree” That Lives Today: Araucaria (The Monkey Puzzle Tree”)

These distinctive trees may look similar to pine trees but they are only distantly related. They are not true pines. The araucaria tree is largely confined today to the Southern Hemisphere (e.g. New Caledonia, eastern Australia, New Guinea, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay), but modern-day humans have dispersed them today throughout many places in the world (there are 20 extant species). These trees are also found today in humid, subtropical Mediterranean areas. They do not like cold conditions! 

During the worldwide warm times of the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, when the distribution of land was vastly different than from today, Araucaria trees were widespread. 

Araucaria trees are up to about 80 m tall (262 feet). Their horizontally spreading branches are covered with needle-live leaves. They also have cones, and the female ones have large edible seeds, similar to pine nuts. The widely spaced branches of Araucaria are symmetrically triangular (thus very distinctive!).

Classification

Kingdom Plantae

Clades (4 of them)

Class Pinopsida

Order Araucariales

Family Arucariaceae

Genus Araucaria

Type Species Araucaria heterophylla (its common name is “Northfork Island Pine”).

Figure 1. A living example of the Araucaria tree in Southern California.

HYDRANGEA FLOWERS: THE LITMUS-PAPER FLOWER

The name Hydrangea is Greek (for water vessel), in reference to the shape of the seeds of this flower. Hydrangea is typically a a shrub 3 to 9 feet in height, but it also occurs as smalls trees, typically less than 100 feet tall. It is a plant native to Asia and the Americas (with Asia having more species diversity).

The colors of its flowers can be blue, purple, purplish gray, red, pink, greenish white, or white. 

The color of their flowers depends on the acidity of the soil. For example, their flowers can change color (even in one season), for example from from blue (= acidic soil) to pink (= alkaline soil), if the soil acidity changes. Thus, these flowers are natural pH indicators of the soil.

  Classification

Kingdom Plantae

Clade (6 of them)

Order Cornales

Family Hydrangeaceae

Genus Hydrangea: a genus with about 98 species.

Type Species H. arborescens Linneaus

There are two main inflorescenses (shapes) of the flower heads: round (resemble “pom-poms”) or round, flat with a subdued center core.

Hydrangea prefers consistent moisture and moderate temperatures. Hot, dry summer conditions are not good for them.

Fossil Record: Imprints in Paleogene strata at Jaw Mountain, Alaska.

Also imprints in Miocene deposits in Oregon and California.

Miocene seeds in Poland.

Figure 1. Blue Hydrangea, blue color indicates growth in acidic soil.

Figure 2. Purple, pink Hydrangea.

Figure 3. White Hydrangea. 

CHINESE LANTERN FLOWER, AN UNSUAL LOOKING FLOWER

This very distinctive perennial flower has been known by many names, including the “Chinese-lantern,” “redvein abutilon,” “redvein Indian mallow,” “redvein flowering maple,” “bladder cherry,” “Japanese-lantern,” “strawberry ground cherry,” “winter cherry,” etc. The currently accepted botanical name is Abutilon pictum. The word “pictum” is Latin for “painted.

                                   Figure 1. The Chinese Lantern flower (each bloom in this image is about 1.5 inches in diameter)..

This flower grows as a shrub, up to 16 feet (5 m) in height. 

This flower is unforgettable because of its very prominent and unusual orange-red, bell-shaped flowers with dark-red veining. There are five petals (2 to 4 cm long). It blooms from April to September. It likes the full sun. Its cultivars can be yellow, pink, orange, or red. During its growth, this flower can also be surrounded by a very porous and fragile “lace-like” veil or delicate webbed net, which can resemble a "webby" lantern. 

This flower is native to southern Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Today, this flower, or its human “designed” cultivars, are widespread in USDA Zones 3-9 throughout the world. There is a “rub,” however, as this plant is highly invasive because of it having fast-growing and rapidly spreading underground rhizones. Thus, it is recommended by gardeners to be grown only in pots (and never directly on the ground!).

In summary, this is one of the most distinctive and memorable flowers that I have ever seen (i.e., I saw it at a commercial gardening shop).

  Classification

Kingdom Plantae

Clades (4 of them)

Order Malvales

Family Malvaceae

Genus Abutilon

Type Species A. pictum

Note: While researching the Chinese lantern flower, I discovered in Wikipedia 2026, that this flower was mistakenly confused with the flower Physalis alkekengi, which belongs to family Solanale [= the deadly nighshsad flower family]. Although these two flowers do superficially resemble one another, they are not the same plant! The actual Chinese lantern flower belongs to genus to Abutilon, as indicated above.

Reference

Wikipedia 2026

“FLAMBOYANT” CUTTLEFISH

This new post augments one I did on August, 2019. This update focuses on two examples of exotic/very colorful examples of so-called "flamboyant" cuttlefish.

First, however, a few summary comments about cuttlefish. They are marine mollusks (sepiids) related to squids and octopus. Cuttlefish can change color and texture in an instant in order to provide camouflage or to communicate. They live in tropical, shallow-marine waters (mainly the western Pacific Ocean) where coral reefs and sea grasses are present. They are absent from the Americas.

Cuttlefish are mostly small (rarely exceed 0.5 m in length) and have flattish bodies. Their bodies are flat, and they have large eyes with W-shaped pupils. They have 10 appendages: eight arms (with suckers) near the head and also two much longer tentacles, which extend along the sides of their body. Their eyes are large and have W-shaped pupils. They also have a sharp, parrot-like beak. They use their fins for swimming and for jet propulsion (i.e., they expel water from their interior mantle area). They can also release dark colored ink to confuse predators.

They have internal shell, called the cuttlebone-[note: pet stores sell these cuttlebones for  caged birds to gnaw on, thereby keeping their bird beaks sharp.] The cuttlebone, which consists of porous aragonite [calcium carbonate], is a unique internal gas-filled chamber that provides buoyancy for the cuttlefish.

Cuttlefish have a sharp beak (they can bite you!); thus they eat small mollusks, crabs, shrimp, fish, octopus, worms and other cuttlefish. In turn, cuttlefish are eaten by dolphins, sharks, other large fish, seals, and seabirds. Cuttlefish have a lifespan of about two years. They are born as mini-adults with no larval stage. 

Cuttlefish are eaten by dolphins, sharks, seals, and seabirds.

Almost all cuttlefish are venomous! Their venom is mostly mild, except for the “flamboyant cuttlefish,” [see two examples shown in Figures 2 and 3, below]. The venom of these flamboyant cuttlefish is as seriously lethal as that of the blue-ringed octopus!

There are about 120 known species of cuttlefish. They are up to 30 inches (75 cm) in length. They have one of the brain-to-body size ratio of all invertebrates. Thus, they are highly intelligent. Another interesting fact is that they can change their body color in an instant. The largest cuttlefish can weigh up to 23 pounds!

  Classification (note: they are neither a squid nor an octopus)

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Mollusca

Class Cephalopoda

Order Sepiidae

Family Sepiidae

Genus Sepia (there are about 12 extant extant genera)

Type Species Sepia officinalis

The geologic time range of cuttlefish is Miocene to Recent. 

Figure 1. Sepia swimming:

Figure 2. A camouflaged, venomous “flamboyant” cuttlefish:

Figure 3. Another venomous example of a “flamboyant” cuttlefish:

All the images are from picryl.com [=public domain].

REFERENCES:

G. Ross (editor). 1998. Family Sepiidae, pp. 505-509. In Mollusca The Southern Synthesis. Part A. Fauna of Australia Volume 5. Chapter 13, pp. 504-508. 

 WIKIPEDIA, 2026

AN UNFORGETABLE FLOWER

I recently saw this flower (3 feet and 10 inches tall) in my neighbor’s yard and was immediately impressed by the beauty of this very unusual flower. At first glance, it looked like one flower had overgrown a different species of flower. I quickly discovered that it is a single plant (and a single species) of flower. It did not take me long to identify it as being a hybrid of the Canna indica plant, known by several common names: Indian shot, African arrowroot, Sierra Leon arrowroot, etc.).

Figure 1. This flowering plant is a hybrid of Canna indica. This plant grows rapidly. Its flowers can be multi-colored, like the one shown here, or they can be predominantly only a single color (red, orange, or yellow).

[note: The small blue flower in the upper left-hand corner is a completely different flower (please ignore it)].

Figure 2. Canna indica, with a multi-colored flower.

This plant can bloom 10 to 12 weeks after planting. It grows rapidly (two to six inches per week). This plant, which has underground rhizomes, can live for five to 10 years. Reportedly, it blooms from August to October, but in Santa Clarita, Southern California, this flower blooms even in late May. Its fruit consists of red balls that resemble strawberries. Its seeds are black and circular. Its flowers can be red, orange, or yellow, or  in the case of the hybrid shown here, all three colors.

Classification

Kingdom Plantae

Clades (6 of them!)

Order Zingiberales

Family Cannaceae

Genus Canna

Type Species C. indica

Canna indica is a perennial flower native to the Americas (e.g., southern South Carolina, southern Texas. It eventually spread south to South America (Venezuela to Chile and Argentina), as well as the Andes and along the Peruvian coast. 

In modern times, it has been grown in much of Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, southeast Asia, tropical Africa, China, Madagascar, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Cambodia, Fiji, and Hawai, etc. It has now been a cultivated flower, for thousands of years.  It sum, it thrives in temperate, subtropical, or tropical mountain climates: up to 6,600 feet in elevation. It can survive the winter in pots, by only in a warm or relatively warm climate (USDA Zones 8-10).

This plant evolved in early Cenozoic time, 66 to 40 million years ago: between early Paleocene and late Eocene time (Wikipedia, 2025). Its closest relatives are bananas, birds of paradise plants, gingers, and arrowroots. 

THE KOMODO DRAGON

This animal, which is also as the Komodo monitor lizard, is a large reptile whose male adults weigh up to 200 pounds and up to 8.5 feet in length. The females are up to 160 pounds and 7.5 feet in length. They are carnivores with 60, yellow, iron-coated, razor-sharp teeth, which are laterally flattened. Their 60 serrated teeth are quickly replaced every 40 days or so. They also have a long forked tongue. Their tail is as long as their body. Their maximum speed on land is 12 miles per hour. They lay eggs. These animals prefer hot, dry places and can dig holes to crawl into, if it gets too hot. 

Figure 1.  The Komodo dragon.

They can eat up to 80 percent of their body weight in a single meal. They rely on their tongue to detect and taste their prey.

They live in the wild today on a few Indonesian islands, with the main population today on Komodo Island. In the geologic past (their oldest known fossil remains are early Pliocene time (about 4 or 5 million years ago), and about 3.8 million years ago, they lived in Australia.

Some zoos (e.g., Smithsonian National Zoo, Saint Louis Zoo, and Nashville Zoo) have representative specimens of them.

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Chordata

Class Reptilia

Order Squamata (lizards and snakes)//

Family Varanidae

Genus Varanus

Type Species V. komodoensis

CALIFORNIA POPPY FLOWER

Since 1903, this flower has been the official state flower of California (the “Golden State”). To flower taxonomists, this flower is referred to as Eschcholzia californica. It is native to western North America. This flower occurs also in southern Washington, western Oregon, and northwest Baja California Mexico. There are a few subspecies; some of which live in Texas and south throughout Mexico.

The poppy’s flowers lack nectar but are rich in pollen; thus this plant is very attractive to bees. The flowers can be orange, yellow, ivory, or almost red. By the way, contrary to public opinion, the poppy flower does not contain opium.

Poppy flowers become partly closed on cloudy days. They prefer full sun, but are phototropic (i.e., close at night). This flower is easy to grow and is drought tolerant.

  Classification:

Kingdom Plantae 

3 Clades (see Wikipedia for the names)

Order Ranuculales

Family Papaveraceae

Genus Eschzcholzia

Species californica

Note: It is against the law to take California poppy flowers from public land. The same goes for private property, unless you have permission from the property owner.

This plant is a short-lived perennial although they do reseed themselves for the next year. Poppies can function as short-lived (one year) annuals in colder areas.

Figure 1. Four poppy flowers in our garden (these poppies “came with” from seeds mixed in with a purchased Borago [see one of my earlier posts on flower plants). Diameter of each poppy flower is about 1.5 inches.

Figure 2. Close-up of one of the poppy flowers shown above.

CATTAILS

These distinctive plants are tall and thin. They are reed-like plants that live in continuously wet areas, namely along edges (shores) of ponds, lakes, canals, ditches, marshs, and other areas where water is contained. They help to stabilize shorelines and also provide proctection for wildlife (e.g., birds, turtles, fish, mollusks). They are perennial (year around) and are hearty plants.

Figure 1. Cattail overview (picture taken during summer--in a small lake).

Figure 2. Cattail "fuzz" (picture taken in autumn).

Figure 3. More cattail "fuzz," (an autumn picture).

In autumn, their spike-like tops sprout brown, fuzzy, cattails that resemble the snack called “corn dogs.” The fuzz is the final stage of seed dispersal, when the seed heads mature and release wind-dispersed cotton-like seeds.

     Classification

Kingdom Plantae

Clades (4 of them)

Order Poales

Family Typhaeceae 

Genus Typha [this genus has about 30 species].

Cattails live mainly in the Northern Hemisphere, but it is likely that these semi-aquatic plants originated in eastern Asia (just like about every other plant).

The earliest fossil record of Typha is from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichian) rock in Eisleben, Germany (Wikipedia, 2025). An Eocene-Oligocene occurrence of a fossil cattail is knonw from the Florissant Fossil Beds in Colorado (Edwards and Weber, 1990).

References

Edwards, M. E. and W. A.Weber. 1990. Plants of the Florissant Fossil Beds Natioinal Monument. Bulletin no. 2, Pikes Peak Research Station, Number 2. 24 pages. This publication is available online, for free. 

 

Wikipedia, 2025

FRESHWATER vs. MARINE CLAM SHELLS

You might think that distinguishing between the major two types of clams is trivial, or perhaps, complex. Well, it would be trivial, if you knew where they collected (ocean marine versus a freshwater lake or stream). But, what it you did not know the location where they were collected (e.g., data never indicated by a former collector).  Then how would you decide--are the specimens marine or freshwater? That is what every molluscan paleontologist could encounter when examining previously collected specimens.

But, there is an easy way to distinguish these two major groups of clams (bivalves): Look at their hinges. Freshwater clams will have somewhat “fuzzy” looking hinges. Ocean clams will have “clean cut” “teeth” along their hinges. 

Figure 1: Comparison of valves of a fresh-water clam (on the left), versus an ocean clam (on the right). The scale is in centimeters. Both specimens show the external view of a valve and also the partial view of its corresponding other valve. The fresh-water clam (8.3 cm in length and 6.5 cm in height) is Plagiola lineolata, no locality data).

Notice how the hinge-line teeth of the fresh-water clam are “fuzzy,” whereas the hinge teeth of the marine clam (7.2 cm long and 5.4 cm tall), recent, dredged from the Gulf of California, Hybolophus gibbosus, formerly in genus “Eucrassatella”), are sharply distinct.

That is how you distinguish a fresh-water clam from a marine one, in one quick glance! Just look at the hinges!

 

Historical Overview of Late Cretaceous Mollluscan Paleontologists on the west coast

The history of collecting, studying, and naming of Late Cretaceous marine mollusks on the Pacific Coast of North America (PCNA) can be subdivided into three informal groups:

The Pioneers (1860’s to 1890’s):

Gabb, Whiteaves, White, and Cooper were the pioneers. Gabb was, however, the first collector on the PCNA, although Conrad studied PCNA specimens sent to him in Philadelphia. Conrad, who was very knowledgeable about Cretaceous faunas worldwide, never set foot in California.

The Second Wave (early 1900’s):

Among the many examples are Waring, Packard, and Anderson. “The Second Wave” workers explored many geographic areas not covered by the “Pioneers.” “The Second Wave” workers included some university professors, whose students commonly ended up working in the petroleum industry.

The Modern Era (late 1950's to present):

Popenoe (1897–1981), who was mainly affiliated with universities, was the “game changer.” He integrated detailed biostratigraphy into his studies and utilized the same stage names (e.g., Turonian, Campanian), which were used worldwide. He also revolutionized the whole concept of Late Cretaceous gastropod and bivalve studies by establishing lineages based on a good working knowledge of the systematics of many major families of mollusks. He also provided detailed locality information. Popenoe benefited from his association with Takeo Susuki, who collected many specimens and gave expert advice on the principles of photography and scientific illustration. 

                                       Willis Parkison Popenoe III ("Parky") (1879–1981)

Popenoe collaborated also with LouElla Saul. Their discoveries of many new taxa centered on their detailed knowledge of Late Cretaceous mollusks, as well as on their ability to thoroughly and carefully clean the apertures of gastropods and the hinges of bivalves. Without knowing these details, any systematic work borders on/or is largely guesswork.

THE ECHIDNA FROM “DOWN UNDER”

The primitive mammal echidna (also known as the spiny anteater) is a quill-covered monotreme (i.e., a type of ancient marsupial). The echidna, along with the platypus, are the only egg-laying mammals living today. 

Figure 1. Two views (front and left side) of the extant echidna Trachyglossus sp. (an 1863 public domain image).            

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Chordata

Class Mammalia

Clades (two of them)

Order Monotremata

Family Trachyglossidae

Genus Tachyglossus

Type Species T. aculaeatus  

There are two living genera: Tachyglossus lives in Australia and New Guinea and Zaglossus, which lives only in New Guinea. The former has no known fossil species, but Zaglossus has two fossil species (known only from New Guinea).

The echidna is a quill-covered monotreme-type of ancient marsupial and is an egg-laying mammal. Echidnas are closely related to another egg-laying mammal, namely the duck-billed platypus. These are the only groups of living mammals that lay eggs.

Echidnas do not have a poison spur. They also have no teeth. Although they are unable to bite or chew, they use their long sticky tongues to catch termites. Echidnas are powerful diggers! They do not have a venous spur.

The fossil record of echidnas is poorly constrained, but they apparently evolved from the duck-billed playpus sometime between 112 and 19 million years ago (middle Cretaceous to early Miocene).

THREE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA FLYING INSECTS

                                          Figure 1. "Crane fly."

Tipula planicornis (has a large-sized body about 1 3/4 inches long) and very long and thin legs. This insect somewhat resembles a very large mosquito, as it has a long body and long legs. It also has brownish wings. It feeds on nectar and is active all year. There are three living species of this crane fly in the Los Angeles area (Hogue, 2015) p. 248).

Figure 2. "Western leaf-footed bug." 

The second insect featured in this blog post is Leptoglossus clypealis, the “western leaf-footed bug.” It is classified as being in family Coridae. This insect is 18-19 mm long. It is brown with a flared [triangular shaped arrow-head like] flat extension on its rear legs. It also has a white, zig-zag band across its wings (Hogue, 2015). This insect is commonly found on Jupiter trees, but it can be a pest on agriculture crops. 

                                   

                                   Figure 3. "Brown Stink Bug"

The third insect featured in this blog is Euschistus servus?, or the “brown stink bug.” It is dark colored, with a “shield-shaped” body. It can grow to a length of 13 mm. It attacks peaches, tomatos, bans, corn, squashi, etc. There are at least 20 described species, and they are active during the day (Wikipedia, 2026). Theses kind of bugs, like the other two species mentioned here are active during the day and can produce  an acrid-smelling vapor which discourages its enemies (Hogue and Hogue, 2025). The geologic time range of “stink bugs,” is early Triassic (250 230 million years ago to Recent (Wikipedia, 2026. 

Reference

Hogue, C.L. [revised by J.N. Hogue] 2015. Insects of the Los Angeles Basin, 3^rd ed. Natural History Museum of the Los Angeles Basin, 479 pp.