Coastal sage scrub

slope effect

.

Coastal sage scrub on the Santa Rosa Plateau, with oak woodland in background.

Coastal sage scrub, also known as coastal scrub, CSS, or soft chaparral, is a low

ecoregion, of the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome

Characteristics

Plant community

Coastal sage scrub is characterized by low-growing aromatic, and drought-deciduous shrubs adapted to the semi-arid Mediterranean climate of the coastal lowlands. The community is sometimes called "soft chaparral" due to the predominance of soft, drought-deciduous leaves in contrast to the hard, waxy-cuticled leaves on sclerophyllous plants of California's chaparral communities.

Flora

Characteristic shrubs and subshrubs include:

California sagebrush (Artemisia californica)
Black sage (Salvia mellifera)
White sage
(Salvia apiana)
California buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum)
Coast brittle-bush (Encelia californica)
Golden yarrow (Eriophyllum confertifolium)

Larger shrubs include:

Toyon
(Heteromeles arbutifolia)
Lemonade berry (Rhus integrifolia)

succulents, are also part of the flora. Hesperoyucca whipplei

, colloquially known as Chaparral Yucca, is commonplace throughout the climate zone.

Geographical subtypes

The coastal sage scrub plant community is divided into three geographical subtypes—northern coastal scrub, southern coastal scrub, and maritime succulent scrub.

The coastal scrub communities are divided into three regions:

Northern Coastal Scrub and Coastal Prairie, which extends from San Luis Obispo to Oregon.
Coastal Sage scrub, which extends from Ensenada, Baja California to Monterey.
Maritime Succulent Scrub, which can be found in San Diego County and
Baja California
.

The Northern Coastal Scrub consists of

Mimulus aurantiacus), Poison oak (Taxicodendron diversilobum), Coffee berry (Frangula californica), Golden yarrow (Eriophyllum confertiflorum

).

California sagebrush (Artemisia californica) can be found in Coastal Sage Scrub community, especially in Orange County. Some other plant species that can be found is also giant coreopsis (Coreopsis gigantea), Californian black sage (Salvia mellifera), California buckwheat (Eriogonoum fasciculatum), and Californian white sage (Salvia apiana).

Plant species that can be found in Maritime Succulent Scrub is coast prickly pear (

Cneoridium dumosum), and Dudleya

spp.

Northern coastal scrub

Northern coastal scrub occurs along the

Pacific Coast from the northern San Francisco Bay Area to southern Oregon. It frequently forms a landscape mosaic with the California coastal prairie

plant community.

The predominant plants are low

Douglas iris (Iris douglasiana), and grasses

.

Southern coastal scrub

Southern coastal scrub is mostly found along the maritime

San Diego County, and the northwestern region of Baja California state in Mexico, including the areas around Tijuana and Ensenada

.

Southern California

The metropolitan areas of

the Robert J. Bernard Field Station at the Claremont Colleges. In San Diego County, the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base protects larger areas, and the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar has vernal pools and the endemic mint Pogogyne abramsii. One of the largest remaining areas of inland coastal sage scrub is found in the Temescal Mountains

of Riverside County.

A few

Palos Verdes Peninsula

.

The endangered

Torrey Pines State Reserve in San Diego, one of only two known stands of this pine species.^[1]

Notes

^ "C. Michael Hogan (2008) Torrey Pine: Pinus torreyana, Globaltwitcher.com, ed. Nicklas Stromberg". Archived from the original on 2009-04-25. Retrieved 2008-09-26.

References

In: Mayer KE and Laudenslayer WF. A Guide to Wildlife Habitats of California. Sacramento, CA: California Department of Fish and Game; "Coastal Scrub"; de Becker, Sally. (1988).
Schoenherr, Allan A. (1992). A Natural History of California. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

External links

"California coastal sage scrub and chaparral". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.
National Park Service: Coastal Sage Scrub and Southern Maritime Chaparral Communities
Santa Barbara College, Biology Dept: "Soft Chaparral or Coastal Sage Scrub Community"
Calflora Database — Southern California Plant Communities — see #4. Coastal sage scrub.
Claremont Colleges: Robert J. Bernard Field Station website — Lists and photographs of organisms found in Coastal sage scrub.
Las Pilitas horticulture database: California coastal sage scrub plant community — text, images, species links.
Theodore Payne Foundation for Wild Flowers and Native Plants: Native Plant Guides — Southern California species.

[1] "C. Michael Hogan (2008) Torrey Pine: Pinus torreyana, Globaltwitcher.com, ed. Nicklas Stromberg". Archived from the original on 2009-04-25. Retrieved 2008-09-26.

[1]