Thanks to Dale from California aka Dfunk@Flickr, you and I get to enjoy this image of Calamagrostis nutkaensis from Crocker Grove in California. Dale shared the image through the Botany Photo of the Day Flickr Group Pool; you can see the original image here if you are interested in a larger version. You might also like to check out Dale's other photograph of Crocker Grove.
As I was researching Pacific reedgrass, I came across two issues of Botanical Electronic News on the subject of the European “discoverer” of this plant, Tadeáš Haenke (it was certainly known to the native peoples of the region). By coincidence (a 4 in 1461 chance!), Haenke's date of birth is the same day as this entry, December 5. I highly encourage you to read both BEN 287 and BEN 288 for fascinating accounts of this Bohemian-born botanist. Frankly, his tale would make a good movie. He was born in Bohemia, trained by a Dutch botanist, permitted to be part of a Spanish expedition to explore the Pacific by an Austrian emperor, travelled as far north as northern British Columbia and died in South America. The next time you feel inconvenienced from missing a flight or connection, keep in mind that Haenke missed the two expedition boats he was supposed to be on – twice. Indeed, he missed the expedition boats when they left from Spain, by only a few hours! He finally caught up with the expedition eight months after it had left Spain. The written accounts from BEN also go into intriguing detail about the Malaspina Expedition and the fate of Haenke's plant collections.
You can also learn more about Calamagrostis nutkaensis from Calflora and the online version of the Jepson Manual.
Photography resource link: Biofoto – Forening For Naturfotografer is in Norwegian, but the gallery of photographs for your inspiration isn't restricted by language. I particularly like the images by Einar Ytrelid on page 4.
Very nice. Is that a real deer in the background?
Yes, that's a real deer. We have tons of them in that area of California. At dusk and in the morning, you can see them all over the grassy hills as you drive along the highway. In wooded areas, you can see them any time of day if you are quiet.
Great picture. The deer in the background is the crowning touch.
I hadn't noticed the deer in this photograph, but I imagined an elk antler sticking out from behind a tree in the distance in Dale's image of Crocker Grove (2/3 from the left of the image, half-way down).
Excellent photo!
Calamagrostis nutkaensis is a coastal species, distributed all the way from Alaska to southern California. It generally doesn't occur too far inland (I wonder how far from the coast Crocker Groive is?). This species is one of eleven species of Calamagrostis in California.
Always thought that the life of David Douglas,(Douglas Fir) a botanical explorer from Scotland would make a fantastic movie...he explored western Canada, Paciic USA down to Santa Barbara then went to Hawaii where he fell into a pit used to impale cattle but was impaled himself, died, working for the Royal Botanical Society, London when both Americans and Brits had claims for Pacific Canada....(about 1805-1820?)
Also curious to a source for the lives of botanical explores, people like Sargent, David, Jesuits in China, etc. Any sources?
David, a great place to start is another Vancouver-based web site: Plant Explorers. After that, though, I think you'll find you need to look up individual explorers online, or try to track down some books. We have an extensive collection of books on plant explorers here at UBC, but lack of time prevents me from compiling a list and getting it online.
Daniel,
nope, not an elk in the other Crocker Grove pic, just a broken branch. To the best of my knowledge, elk have not been reintroduced to the area (if they were ever there). I'm not sure how the folks in Pebble Beach, on the Monterey Penninsula, where Crocker Grove is located (Jeff), would react to such a large beastie in their midst. The Roosevelt elk, the "coastal" elk in California, is, after all, the second largest member of the deer family after the moose.
Eric, I was only using my imagination - I knew that it wasn't, but I think it's alright to have the occasional flight of fancy. Thanks for the enlightening commentary on elks of California; I didn't know that about the Roosevelt elk.
Since it is doubtful I'll have another opportunity to link to it, some of you might be interested to read The Case of the Irish Elk.
Washington was supposed to be the world leader in elk concentrations before they were killed off during settlement. Local areas now full of shrubs and low trees probably weren't in the past, apart from the effects of lumbering and fire suppression possibly there were elk everywhere keeping things opened up as well, as can be seen in the Olympic National Park portion of the Hoh Valley.