Was Dragonflies, now Sea Fig
- To: B*@monterey.edu, r*@unm.edu
- Subject: Was Dragonflies, now Sea Fig
- From: K*@aol.com
- Date: Wed, 15 Sep 1999 18:46:23 EDT
In a message dated 9/15/99 4:48:50 PM EST, Barry_Garcia@monterey.edu writes:
<< Within my city, there is a fairly large pond (about mabye 1/4 mile long).
This is where i am sure the dragonflies originate from. Ever since the
drought ended in california some years ago, it has stayed full of water
all year. >>
There is an interesting (at least, I think it's interesting) bit of botanical
trivia associated with this particular body of water. I believe the pond
Barry is referring to is known as Dune Lake. It lies just inland from Marina
Dunes State Beach, and is clearly visible from State Highway 1, which
currently separates it from the dunes. Core samples taken from bottom
sediments show that this small lake has remained relatively stable for 1000
years or more, which is remarkable considering its proximity to the dunes.
There is a fascinating article in the January, 1998, issue of Fremontia (the
journal of the California Native Plant Society) entitled "Mysterious Nativity
of California's Sea Fig." Carpobrotus chilensis was first collected in
California at Bodega Head in 1841, but it has never been unequivocally shown
whether the plant is native or introduced. The study upon which the
Fremontia article is based attempted to do just that. One of the things they
did was to take core samples from Dune Lake, which is immediately adjacent to
Carprobrotus chilensis habitat, and extracted pollens from the sediments.
This part of the study demonstrated that sea fig has existed on the dunes
near Dune Lake for only the last 150 to 175 years. Unfortunately, that still
leaves the origin of the plant's appearance in California a mystery. To say
nothing of the appearace of the identical plant along the coast of Chile
(hence, the "chilensis").
Kurt Mize
Stockton, California
USDA Zone 9
