Characters and traits
For this homework, I decided to focus on the diversity in leaf and stem traits in native, vascular plants at the Anthony Chabot Regional Park in Alameda. The first plant I came across was a flowering plant with ivy-like leaves, while the second was a vascular plant with very thin, furry leaves and a bluish color -- an amazing tribute to the biodiversity here when two plants so different can grow feet apart. The other flowering plants I came across, by comparison, had similar traits to the first in that they were low-growing with wide leaves and small flowers (though there was a variance in amount of petals). Throughout the hike I came across many of the usual suspects for a chaparral biome. They were shrubs with spiky, wide leaves used for protection against herbivores, and I would often see birds using their insides for protection (although the birds were too quick to catch a shot of). Two of the standout vascular plants had thin, bright leaves that seemed to contrast the darker, wider, and possibly spiked leaves I saw in the chaparral biome of the Chabot Regional Park. I can only assume that these plants have other traits (such as one of them that had spiked stems) to protect their leaves from herbivores. One other plant I came across was actually dead but was a flowering plant with very thin leaves, a greater amount of flowers than any of the others in the area, and no spikes or any visible protection. I could only assume that this plant was either not in season, or not native/adapted to the area because its traits were so unlike the others -- but hopefully we will see if an when the plant is ID'ed. Overall, it was very interesting to see the common traits that the plants in the Chabot Regional Park's chaparral biome evolved in order to protect themselves and survive.
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