Plants at Hastings

A product of the work of Dr. Jim Griffen

For over 25 years, Dr. Jim Griffin worked at Hastings on various aspects of plants and plant ecology. Jim wrote a flora, (or a book describing each plant) for Hastings. For each plant, Jim wrote up a brief description and included some interesting natural history. The Flora of Hastings is based on over 3,000 specimens of plants preserved by Jim and kept in the Hastings herbarium. Vegetation Data Collection ➜

Vascular Plants

Over the landscape as a whole the six Quercus oak tree species are the most conspicuous plants. Adenostoma fasciculatum shrubs dominate chaparral habitats. Avena and Bromus grasses dominate the grassland, although often with a rich mixture of dominant forbs. One plant that has a great influence on how people use the reservation is the shrubby / viny Toxicodendron diversilobum, poison-oak!

The species list below is based on the Flora of Hastings Reservation, Carmel Valley, California. 1995. Griffin, James T., 3rd. Edition (Stromberg, Mark R., Berman, R., and Mathews, M. A., eds.) 90 pp. Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California Berkeley.

Bryophytes: Mosses, Liverworts, Hornworts

Although small in stature, bryophytes play significant roles in diverse terrestrial ecosystems. They are found growing on soil, rocks and/or trees throughout the world, from coastal Antarctica to the peat bogs of the Northern hemisphere, from the deserts of Australia to the rain forests of the Amazon. They are an essential part of this planet’s biodiversity. 

The lists below were compiled by Ken Kellman in February, 2007. We have 101 species of known mosses and 14 liverworts and hornworts. You can also download the Moss or Liverwort and Hornwort data sets (Excel).

LICHENS

About 109 species are included in this list from the Hastings Natural History Reservation (HNHR). The Reservation, on Carmel Valley Road, is administered by the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley.

Little collecting was done on rock, so there are undoubtedly many additions to be made from that source. Only partial determinations are available for some taxa, but such reports are helpful to show presence. Also included are a few additional reports by Bruce Ryan from his short stay at the Reservation some years ago.

HASTINGS VEGETATION DATA

In 1991, Jim Griffin and Mark Stromberg re-sampled 40 plots on abandoned farm fields (1937-1996) and relict Nassella grasslands on Hastings, as well as 40 plots on adjacent ranch land. These data are discussed in:  Stromberg, M. R. and J. R. Griffin. 1996. Long-term patterns in coastal California grasslands in relation to cultivation, gophers and grazing. Ecological Applications 6(4): 1189-1211.

GRIFFIN PLOTS- SOILS, ANNUAL PRODUCTIVITY, SPECIES ABUNDANCE, 1971-1991

• Cover Data, All 80 Sites, with Species Names, Abbreviations 1991
• Soil Nutrient Data from 80 sites (above) with vegetation cover, 1991
• Frequency Data, all sites, 1971, 1978, 1991, in Cornell Ecology Program Format
• Annual Grassland Standing Crop and Litter, With and Without Gophers 1968-1991
• Sampling Location Map for Soil and Vegetation Sampling- Stromberg and Griffin 1991

KEITH WHITE PLOTS- BLUE OAKS STANDS, NASSELLA STANDS, 1962-1965

Keith White was the vegetation ecologist at Hastings for years in the 1960s. A prolific worker, Keith published on the Monterey Pines, the Blue Oaks, the understory herb layer and the native grasslands.

• Keith White Data Sets, Maps

MAPS, REPORTS OF FIRE HISTORY, PLOT LOCATION, VEGETATION

• Talley, Steven N. and J. R. Griffin. 1976? Fire ecology of a montane pine forest, Junipero Serra Peak, California. Unpublished manuscript, Hastings Archives.
• Talley, Steven N. 1976. Role of Fire, Junipero Serra Peak. Los Padres Forest Contract 000171, Sect I.
• Griffin, J. R. 1976. Ecological Survey of Junipero Serra Peak for Botanical Area Designation. USFS Contract 1180-PSW-75
• Griffin, J. R. 1976 Map of Pinus lambertiana, Junipero Serra Peak USFS Contract 1180-PSW-75 Fire History Map & Descriptions of Fires 1930-2003
• Vegetation Plot Location Map, Historical Geographic Site Names- Hastings
• Vegetation Map of Hastings

COASTAL TERRACE PRAIRIE VEGETATION DATA

From 1998 to 2002, Mark Stromberg, Vern Yadon and Paul Kephart sampled data from California coastal terrace grasslands. These data are described in: Stromberg, M. R., P. Kephart and V. Yadon. 2002. Composition, invasibility, and diversity in coastal California grasslands. Madroño 48: 236-252. Several additional coastal terrace grasslands, not discussed in the paper, were sampled are included below. The files are stored in the online storage platform: Box.

• Summary Data for 33 Sites, Cover Data, By Species, Coastal Terrace Grasslands
• Individual Data Sheets

DISTRIBUTION OF FOREST TREES IN CALIFORNIA

James Griffin, the long-time resident botanist at Hastings, worked with William Critchfield to map the distribution of forest trees in California and produced a publication by the USFS. This publication (Griffin, J. R. and W. Critchfield 1972. Distribution of Forest Trees in California. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Stations Research Paper PSW-82, 114pp.) has been scanned and can be downloaded either in its entirety or in smaller segments. This work includes distribution of trees based on the Wieslander maps compiling the natural vegetation of California (Jensen, H. A.(1947. “A system for classifying vegetation in California.” California Fish and Game 33: 199-266.) and interviews with hundreds of regional foresters. By the way, these VTM maps are being digitized; contact Barbara Allan Diaz for more details. 

• Griffen & Critchfield – Distribution of Forest Trees in California