Hospitable Habitat - Notes

1/6/2013

Out of the Wilds and Into Your Garden
Hospitable Habitat
Providing for Ground-living
Creatures

C.M. Vadheim and T. Drake
CSUDH & Madrona Marsh Preserve

Madrona Marsh Preserve
Gardening with Western L.A. County Native Plants February 7th & 10th, 2010
Project SOUND - 2010
© Project SOUND © Project SOUND

First, you need to know a little bit about
What makes for good lizard habitat? the lizards you can hope to attract

 Southern Alligator
Lizard
 Western Fence Lizard
 California Legless
Lizard

The trick is to supply a safe environment that provides
what they need to thrive – in short a habitat

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Southern Alligator Lizard
Elgaria multicarinata webbii
Alligator Lizard is well-named

 Large, smooth scales

 Long alligator-like snout

 Longitudinal fold on each
side of the body


Take on color of
their surroundings
 Size:
 Up to seven inch body
 May have a tail nearly twice
the length of its body, making
http://www.wildherps.com/species/E.multicarinata.html the largest individuals 21
inches from end to end.
 A regenerated tail is shorter
and usually a different color
from the rest of its body.
 Coloration: © 2004 Pierre Fidenci
 Varies from brown to yellow
ochre.
 Adults are marked with dark  Alligator Lizards, especially the males, have large, triangular-
crossbands, while juveniles are shaped heads, giving them a formidable appearance. The large
not. head and long, snake-like body make a chance encounter in the
 Newly molted individuals can woodpile, or under a shrub, startling, to say the least.
be very brightly colored
 They can bite – but they don’t really want to

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 The Southern Alligator Lizard's  The Southern Alligator Lizard is often
range extends from WA to seen in yards and gardens, sometimes
central Baja California. In out in the open or in the garage, but
southern California usually under piles of wood, rock, or
 Alligator lizards are found in other debris. Don't be surprised to
almost any natural habitat in find them on your porch or patio – or
California (except most of the garage.
deserts and very high
elevations.) but most frequently  Their diet includes various insects,
throughout the coastal plains
small animals such as young mice and
 Active during daylight, they are birds, tree frogs, and even other
frequently seen moving on the lizards. Eats a variety of small
ground, and occasionally up in invertebrates. Will also eat small
bushes. They are also often lizards and small mammals. Feed mainly
found underneath debris, beach on arthropods, snails, and occasionally
driftwood, and near human eggs
settlements.
 Alligator lizards do not typically  After the May mating season, up to 20
bask in the sun out in the open eggs can be laid in June or July. The
or on top of a rock like many incubation period is about 55 days,
other lizard species. They seem after which the hatching yields tiny
to prefer sunny spots with some
cover nearby. individuals, rarely more than three
inches long from nose to tail.

Guidelines for creating habitat for ground-dwellers Atriplex (Saltbush) species provide
excellent habitat

 Provide dense shrub/grass cover –perching, cover &
nest sites
 Provide a brush pile/logs for cover

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Saltbushes : Habitat plants par excellance! Coast Quailbush - Atriplex lentiformis (ssp. breweri)
 Foliage
 Attract beneficial insects to the garden
- lacewings, ladybugs, and hoverflies
 Many weird and fun insects – good
plants for insect-watching
 Attract butterflies (larval food for
some sootywing skippers)
 Fall/winter/spring browse for deer, elk
 Dense cover for birds, rabbits, just
about any ground-dweller

 Seeds
 Very nutritious food source – high in
protein
 Eaten by many creatures (including
humans): don’t fertilize if you plant to
http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/shrub/atrlen/plant.jpg

eat them – takes up & stores many
metals © Project SOUND © Project SOUND

* Four-wing Saltbush – Atriplex canescens * Four-wing Saltbush – Atriplex canescens
 A plant of western U.S.
 Dry places from N. Dakota to
Mexico
 Usually in deserts or dry
shrublands/steppe, short-grass
prairie

 In CA, in dry foothills, deserts
http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242100016
(Great Basin, Mojave & Sonoran)
 Locally in dry foothills of the
San Gabriel’s – interior Coastal
Sage Scrub (Antelope Valley;
Sunland)
 Mojave Desert (Lancaster);

 Wide range soils, temperature,
etc. – very tough & adaptable
 Several varieties

http://www.perennialfavoritesnursery.com/native_a-f.html
© Project SOUND http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?3084,3089,3095 © Project SOUND

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This is a plant you’ve no doubt seen…. Four-wing Saltbush: manageable sized shrub
 Size:
 3-6 ft tall; usually 4-5
 4-8 ft wide; can be pruned

 Growth form: extremely variable
 Mounded woody shrub; old wood
very tough
 Very densely branched
 Quite long-lived – 50+ years

 Foliage:
 Gray-green; silvery with
extruded salt; drought deciduous
 Branches gray to white
 Leaves small, leathery

 Roots: long (to 40 ft) taproot +
shallow laterals; very drought tol. –
© 2004 Steven Perkins
resents moving after established
http://www.naturesongs.com/vvplants/saltbush.html

Flowers are understated…
Seedpods, however,
 Blooms: usually summer to late fall; are showy
may be as early as Apr. or as late as
Nov.
 Dry pods remain on plants
 Flowers: until stripped off by wind
 Dioecious (separate male & or eaten by animals – very
female plants) but sometimes nutritious
monoecious
 Pods have ‘4 wings’ –
http://www.fireflyforest.com/flowers/other-plants/plant06.html

 Flowers remind of Artemisia; hence the common name
small flowers on stalks
 Very unusual & can be
 Seeds: showy in good years
 If planting, be sure to keep dry
seeds for 1 yr. ‘ripening’ to  1 large hard seed per pod
improve germination
 Role of fungi in
 Vegetative reproduction: germination process
sprouting from younger wood
http://www.fireflyforest.com/flowers/other-plants/plant06.html Project SOUND
© © Project SOUND
http://biology.burke.washington.edu/herbarium/imagecollection.php?Genus=Atriplex&Species=canescens http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Atriplex_canescens_inflor.jpg
http://www.wnmu.edu/academic/nspages2/gilaflora/a_canescens3.jpg

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An easy care plant  Soils:
 Texture: well-drained; sandy
Pruning Saltbushes - easy
soils are best
 pH: any local including alkali  In the wild, are eaten back
(pH 8.0-9.5) extensively by deer, elk,
 Tolerates salty soils, water rabbits
 In the garden, you are the
 Light:
browser – with your pruners
 Full sun to some shade
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Atriplex_canescens_inflor.jpg  Trim back about 1/3 the
 Water: length of branches in fall for a
 Winter: usually rain will suffice neat look
– don’t over-water  don’t cut back into old wood –
 Summer: best in Zone 2 in prune like a Salvia
gardens (occasional water) –  will rejuvenate the plant
needs to be under some water
stress  Can also hedge-shear

 Fertilizer: none; likes poor soils –  For best habitat value, leave
http://sep.csumb.edu/class/ESSP303/2008/plants.htm
some branches at the base –
too rich can kill
i.e., leave it pruned as a shrub
Branches are brittle – no foot traffic
http://allergy.peds.arizona.edu/southwest/grass_weeds/wingscale.htm

Four-wing Saltbush used
extensively in Southwestern
 As a shrub in commercial plantings
KEEPING LIZARDS OUTDOORS
– low maintenance/little water

 Excellent water-wise hedge  To prevent lizards from entering the home, seal all
openings 1/4 inch and larger.
 In plants with a desert plant
 Check areas such as corners of doors and windows,
http://biology.burke.washington.edu/herbarium/imagecollection.php?Genus=Atriplex&Species=canescens
palette – used like Salvias or around water pipes, electrical service entrances,
Coyote Bush - silvery color ventilation screens, water pipes, etc.
 Tight-fitting door seals, with no gaps at the edges, are
 For erosion control important prevention measures.
 As a fire-retardant plant – with a  Unlike rats and mice, lizards cannot gnaw through
little summer water wood and other common building materials.
 For re-claiming mine tailings &  A number of materials can be used to seal access
other environmental problems points, including insulating foam, caulking, flashing,
and steel wool.
 Also used as dye plant (yellow &
‘Navajo Black’ & medicine (emetic)
http://www.delange.org/FourwingSaltbush/FourwingSaltbush.htm © Project SOUND © Project SOUND

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1/6/2013

Lycium species – the Boxthorns -
California Boxthorn – Lycium californicum
are also excellent habitat shrubs

 Dense, thorny foliage – good for
perching, hiding & nesting
 Flowers
 Fruits – eaten by birds, ground-
dwellers – high in vitamin C (in
Solanaceae,
like tomatoes)

http://www.sci.sdsu.edu/plants/sdpls/plants/Lycium_californicum.html


Wolfberry – Lycium andersonii
Right at home on
the bluffs…

 Fine with salty soils,
salt-spray, high winds
& blowing sand
 Habitat is
disappearing – on
CNPS ‘rare’ watch list

© 2005 James M. Andre
© 2004 Michael Charters

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1/6/2013

Wolfberry – Lycium andersonii
Charles Lewis Anderson, M.D. – a man
 Plant of Southwestern deserts with a passion for Nevada plants
and desert foothills
 Name commemorates Charles Lewis Anderson, MD (1827-
 Locally in Mojave Desert – tho’ a 1910). Anderson practiced medicine in Carson City NV during
report from PV the years 1862-1867.
 Dry, stony hills, mesas in desert  Amazingly, in spite of all of his other endeavors, he found
http://www.graniteseed.com/seeds/seed.php?id=Lycium_andersonii and creosote bush scrub – usually the time to pursue his lifelong interest in botany. He was one
along washes of the very first botanists to collect extensively in Nevada
 Many of the plants he collected turned out to be new to
science when examined by Asa Gray of Harvard, to whom
Anderson sent all his Nevada specimens.
 Anderson wrote the first flora of Nevada, and in its
introduction observed: "the country is as rich in vegetable
novelties as it is at all times in mineral wealth."

http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?7625,7636,7637
© Br. Alfred Brousseau, Saint Mary's College © Project SOUND © Project SOUND

Wolfberry is a typical Boxthorn – all quite similar looking
 Size:
 usually 4-6 ft tall; to 10-12 ft
 to 10 ft wide; slow – probably long-
lived, even in water-wise gardens

 Growth form:
 Mounded woody shrub
 Very densely branched – good cover;
thorns

 Foliage:
 Small, fleshy leaves – larger with some
water
 Very different look from other foliage
– nice accent plant

 Roots: deep; surface roots also – typical
Gerald and Buff Corsi © California Academy of Sciences
desert shrub; re-sprouts after fire or
major damage/pruning http://www.schweich.com/imagehtml/IMGP2394sm.html

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Flowers make the Fruits – think tomato
desert bloom
 Were used extensively as food
 Blooms: in spring (Mar-May); by native desert peoples: only
depends on timing of winter rains eat fully ripe fruits
 Raw
 Flowers:  Dried – raisin fashion
 Purple to white  Cooked for a sauce
 Dried and used as flavoring for
 Small – but very nice shape & soups, stews
lots of them - showy  Dried as a ‘leather’
 Good hummingbird plant
 Very high in vitamins A, C and
E, flavanoids and other bio-
active compounds. Fairly good
source of essential fatty acids,
which is fairly unusual for a
fruit.
 Birds and small animals eat
http://www.nps.gov/plants/sos/bendcollections/images/Lycium%20andersonii_JPG.jpg
fruits & seeds – desert
packrats store them

 Soils: Garden uses for
Easy to grow with  Texture: must be well-drained – Boxthorns
benign neglect sandy or gravelly is best
 pH: any local is fine  Water-wise hedges
 Fine with salty soils, water,  As an accent plant; flowers &
maritime exposures
foliage, red fruits
 Light:  As a container plant
 Full sun is best  As all-round good habitat
 Will take light shade (or some © 1998 Larry Blakely plants: food, cover, nest
afternoon shade) in hot gardens sites.
 Water:
 Winter: rains usually suffice;
don’t over-water in clay soils
 Summer: quite drought
tolerant; looks best in Zone1-2
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Lycium_andersonii

to 2 in garden setting

 Fertilizer: none; likes poor soils –
remember, it’s a desert plant

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Western Fence Lizard - Sceloporus occidentalis
Fence Lizards are sometimes called ‘Bluebellies’
longipes
 2-4 inch body (snout-vent length);
total length of about 8-9 inches
 Brown to black in color (the brown
may be sandy or greenish)
 Most distinguishing character is
their bright blue belly; ventral side
of the limbs are yellow.
 Also have a blue patch on their
throat. This bright coloration is
faint or absent in both females and
juveniles.

Gold-speckled
one from PV


Probably our most Some people are a little afraid of lizards…
commonly seen lizard
 Found in a wide variety of open,
sunny habitats, including
woodlands, grasslands, scrub,
chaparral, forests, along
waterways, next to ponds, and
around suburban dwellings.
 Diurnal. Often seen basking in
the sun on rocks, downed logs,
trees, fences, and walls.
 Active when temperatures are
warm, becomes inactive during
periods of extreme heat or  The Western fence lizard eats beetles, flies,
cold. Probably active all year
when temperatures are caterpillars, ants, other insects, and spiders.
favorable and there is sun for
basking.  If you're bigger than the lizard, it is a friend. -
If the lizard is bigger than you....run!
http://www.wildherps.com/species/S.occidentalis.html

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A word about cats..
Interesting fact…lizards are indeed our friends

 Western Fence Lizards may reduce the incidence
of Lyme Disease in their range! It has recently
been discovered that when infected ticks feed on
the blood of these lizards, the Lyme disease
spirochetes they carry are destroyed. In areas
with Western Fence Lizards, about 5 percent of
http://hannahgreenfield.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/bobcat.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/griff42/image/48377834

ticks carry the disease, while in other areas 50
 Western Fence Lizards commonly sun themselves
percent of ticks harbor the disease. on paths, rocks, and fence posts, and other high
places. Unfortunately, this behavior makes them
—Reported by the NY Times News Service, April 19, 1998. an easy target to predation by snakes, birds, and
even some mammals, like cats. They protect
themselves by employing their fast reflexes,
© Project SOUND
which is common in many other lizards. © Project SOUND

Guidelines for creating habitat Chamise – Adenostoma fasciculatum

 Provide sunning spots – with cover close by
 Leave some areas relatively ‘human-free’ for most of the day
© Project SOUND Gary A. Monroe @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database © Project SOUND

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Chamise – Adenostoma fasciculatum Typical Chaparral site with Chamise

 Foothills of CA south to Baja
– including Channel Islands

 Dry slopes & ridges;
chaparral & mesas below
5,000 ft.

 Most common chaparral
species throughout the
foothills and coastal
mountains of California -
present in ~ 70% of
http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?Adenostoma+fasciculatum California chaparral.

 Also called ‘Greasewood’

http://www.laspilitas.com/nature-of-california/plants/adenostoma-fasciculatum

Chamise blooming in Santa Monica Mtns Chamise – a typical Chaparral shrub
 Size:
 6-10+ ft tall & wide
 size really depends in water

 Growth form:
 Dense, mounded shrub – excellent
cover plant for habitat
 Many stiff branches; bark is red-
brown (young) to peeling-gray
(older wood) – wood ‘greasy’
Steven Perkins @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database

 Foliage:
 Leaves needle-like – in bundles
(fascicles) – hence the name
‘fasciculatum’
 Aromatic; can be deciduous in
drought

 Roots: sprouts from a burl after fires
– rejuvenation pruning
© 2008 Thomas Stoughton

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Chamise and other Chaparral shrubs – Flowers - really showy
born to burn  Blooms: any time from Feb-June;
 Small, dry, resinous usually April-May in the Madrona
leaves Native Plant Garden

 Shreddy bark  Flowers:
 Small, tubular white/cream
 Oily wood flowers
 5 petals – looks like member
 Dead branches
of Rose family
 Ability to re-sprout  Blooms clustered on long
readily from a flowering branches – literally
sprouting stem/root 1000’s of blooms
(the burl)  Attracts insect pollinators

 Seeds:
© 2008 BonTerra Consulting

In nature, Chamise burns every 10-40 years; stems older than about 50  Hard coats – require acid
scarification or brief
years are exceedingly rare, but individual plants may be quite old
exposure to heat.

Chamise is one  Soils: Chamise: might be right
tough shrub  Texture: any as long as it is
fairly well-draining
for your garden
 pH: any local  Excellent choice for slopes –
good erosion control
 Light:
 Full sun  Brightens up an area in bloom
 Water:  Nice background plant –
interesting foliage shape, color
 Winter: don’t over-water
 Summer: very drought  Can be hedged or used as a
tolerant, but better with screen
occasional summer water (Zone
1-2 or 2) – keeps it green  Of course, a great cover plant
for all sorts of ground-
 Fertilizer: none; likes poor soils
dwellers – birds, lizards, small
 Other: pinch low-growing forms mammals (rabbits, etc.).
to keep low – will need severe
pruning to rejuvenate – you’re the  Teas/salves from foliage/bark
‘fire’ used for skin infections;
branches for arrow shafts
http://www.calflora.net/bloomingplants/chamise.html

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Low-growing variety & cultivars The California Towhee - Pipilo crissalis
make nice woody groundcovers
 ‘Black Diamond’
 Dark green foliage
 Low-growing; can be used as a
groundcover or bonsai
‘Black Diamond’  ‘San Nicolas’
 Truly prostrate form from San
Nicolas Island

http://www.flickr.com/photos/eastbaywilds/3358077566/in/set-72157621930969588/

Adenostoma fasciculatum var. prostatum © 2007 Tom Greer tbphotos@comcast.net


Identifying your CA Towhee Habitat for CA
Towhee
 Length: 7.25 inches
 Preferred habitats include shady
 Conical bill underbrush, open woods, pinyon-
 Dark eye juniper woodlands, and suburban
gardens.
 Brown crown
 Likes dense cover and leaf litter.
 Buffy throat Leaf litter is good for many
birds as well as most California
© 2007 Ron Wolf  Black ring of spots on native plants.
breast
 The California Towhee forages in
 Pale gray underparts the leaf litter by scratching,
 Brown upperparts with both feet at once, in a fast
hopping motion.
 Rusty undertail coverts
 They feed on seeds and insects
 Long tail within the leaf litter or
occasionally on berries or seeds
 Juvenile (Spring to Fall) in bushes.
© 2008 Kim Cabrera
heavily streaked below

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Guidelines for creating habitat * Parajo Manzanita – Arctostaphylos pajaroensis

 Let native plants go to seed or fruit
 Leave leaf litter if possible. Provides a home for insects – food © 1995 Dan Post

for ground-dwellers

* Parajo Manzanita – Arctostaphylos pajaroensis Parajo Manzanita – exceptionally attractive

 Size:
 Endemic to Santa Cruz and
 4-8+ ft tall
Monterey counties in the
Monterey Bay region  6-8 ft wide

 Maritime chaparral on deep  Growth form:
to shallow, sandy soils or  Woody shrub/small tree
sandstone outcroppings -  Mounded/sprawling to erect
sometimes on edges of Oak  Typical red bark
Woodlands  evergreen

 Foliage:
 Used as one parent in  Leaves dense, somewhat
several horticultural hybrid erect
http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?Arctostaphylos+pajaroensis
cultivars – very attractive  Color: blue-green – with red-
foliage orange tips to new growth
 Very attractive-looking


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1/6/2013

Flowers are fantastic –  Soils:
of course! Plant Requirements  Texture: likes a sandy soil –
comes form N. CA coast
 pH: very slightly acid best – 6.0-
 Blooms: winter - usually Dec-Feb 7.0
in western L.A. Co.
 Light:
 Flowers:  Full sun to part-shade
 Typical small flowers of
manzanita – urn-shaped  Water:
 Light to darker pink  Winter: don’t over-water
 Thousands at one time – this is http://www.flickr.com/photos/eastbaywilds/2994359348/
 Summer: best with occasional
among the showier flowerers water (Zone 1-2 or 2), but quite
 Hummingbird magnet drought tolerant near coast
 Fragrant!
 Fertilizer: none; use an organic
 Fruits: mulch
 Edible  Other: looks best with little
 Loved-by fruit-eaters of all pruning, but can be shaped – even
sorts kept below 3 ft.
© 2004 Aaron Schusteff

Parajo Manzanita is great for
coastal gardens ‘Sunset’
 Prune up for a small, dense tree –
good nesting sites
 Hybrid - A. pajaroensis x A. hookeri
 Use as a specimen/accent shrub ssp. hookeri
– very attractive year-round,  Very colorful new foliage
http://www.laspilitas.com/nature-of-california/plants/arctostaphylos-pajaroensis-paradise-manzanita
with sculptural shape http://www.flickr.com/photos/eastbaywilds/sets/72157608574988902/
 Low-growing – to about 3-4 ft
 Chosen for garden hardiness
 As an all-round habitat plant –
winter nectar, fruits and cover-
nest sites

 Has an ‘old-fashioned look’ –
perfect for Edwardian or
Victorian garden

 Nice addition to a scent garden
http://tmousecmouse.blogspot.com/2009_01_01_archive.html
http://www.flickr.com/photos/eastbaywilds/2994359348/

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Hospitable Habitat - Notes

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