These plants naturally group together to form rich habitats. Discover what flourishes in your corner of the county.
PEOPLE COME TO THIS COUNTY from all over the world to stand in awe under the towering redwoods of Muir Woods, hike the trails along the seashore, and enjoy the views from the Marin Headlands. Many of us have chosen to live here for the same reasons. It’s a place where coyotes still sing at night, deer meander peacefully through woodlands, and red-tailed hawks float on thermals over urban landscapes.
We can credit volcanoes, earthquakes, ocean currents and seasonal winds for giving us a county of great natural diversity. Massive moving plates folded the earth into Mount Tamalpais and Bolinas Ridge, creating a fog barrier and surprising climate variations from west to east. The creation of the Point Reyes peninsula extended the county to the west, adding different soil compositions and further biological complexity. Mountains, cliffs, dunes, and ravines all provided microclimates, each sheltering a unique array of life.
In this bountiful county, there are almost 1,800 species of native plants, including 17 that grow nowhere else. Marin is home to three unique species of jewelflower, tiny plants with stalks bearing delicate purple, cupped blossoms. When walking the trails atop Ring Mountain, you may be lucky enough to spot the endemic and rare Tiburon mariposa lily in bloom. Point Reyes is home to two unique species of native lilac as well as a tiny chocolate-colored checker lily that survives on rocky slopes.
These are not the heroes of Marin’s native plant world, however. That distinction belongs to the plants that anchor its soils, feed its pollinators and wild creatures, and create the landscapes that we all cherish. These plants have had millennia to adapt to the region’s local climate and soils, coevolving with insects, fungi and microbes to form complex networks of relationships that create the foundation of the region’s natural communities. If you look closely, you’ll notice that certain groups of plants tend to appear together wherever the climate, soil and temperature are suitable for them. These familiar groupings create distinctive habitats, each nourishing its own ecosystem of plants, insects and animals. In addition to evergreen forests, some of the predominant habitats in Marin include riparian, oak woodlands, chaparral and grasslands.
The riparian community that flourishes wherever there are waterways is populated by plants that not only require somewhat regular water, but can survive inundation — some for as much as two months at a time. This habitat is rich with places of refuge and diverse resources for a multitude of visitors, many of which are temporary migrants. Here, willows, rushes and horsetails help anchor the streambed, while ferns, thimbleberry and sedges stabilize the banks and create tangles of vegetation.
A little farther from the stream banks, deciduous valley oaks and buckeyes and evergreen redwoods, bays and madrones help cool the waters in summer and allow more light in winter, both conditions vital to the creek’s life support systems. Natural sloping banks, fallen logs, and dense overhanging vegetation create dappled shade and resting places for salmon and steelhead. A walk along Devil’s Gulch to Stairstep Falls or from Cataract Creek to Cataract Falls will cross waterways where giant elk clover and huge chain ferns dominate the banks, creating the atmosphere of ancient forests. Mount Tam’s Rock Spring Trail leads to a meadow traversed by a stream along which fragrant native azaleas bloom in late spring. Thanks to the mountain, the county is crisscrossed with streams and riparian habitats, yours for the exploring.
Most plant communities in Marin contain various species of native oaks, but an open-canopy oak woodland is a very distinctive plant habitat, rich with biodiversity and supporting more species than any other habitat type in the state. Oak woodlands primarily become established at lower elevations and in soils too dry to support a forest. Meadow grasses and wildflowe