Coast live oak trees occur from Mendocino County south into Baja California and are the quintessential California coastal oak tree species. They are commonly found in shaded ravines and on north-facing slopes in a variety of soils. The sandy loams of the campus mesa historically supported vast swaths of oak woodland, which, during the whaling period, were largely cut for fuel to cook down the blubber. The partly shaded, dappled understory of these trees includes a wide diversity of native ferns, grasses, shrubs and herbs, though only leaf litter is often found below fully closed, densely shaded canopies. Being one of California’s most important and diverse plant communities, they support many species of wildlife with their complex structure, wood, leaf litter, and nutritious acorns. Coast live oaks are susceptible to sudden oak death and the invasive shot hole borer, two new threats, as well as many other diseases and pests. Development, agriculture, and historic clearing have diminished their range, and they are increasingly under threat from invasive weeds and drought.
Coast live oak
| Quercus agrifolia | Chumash - ku’u |
| Fagaceae (beech family) | Spanish - encino |
Large evergreen, broadly spreading tree, 6-20 m (20-70 ft) in height. The bark is smooth grey to deeply furrowed brown, and the leaves are holly-like and prickly at the margins. They can be distinguished botanically from other live oaks by the clusters of little hairs on the undersides of their leaves at the vein junctions (circled). Sometimes fast-growing and very adaptable, older trees are often much wider than tall. The same trees bear male and female flowers in the spring, and make acorns in the fall.
They are symbiotic with many mycorrhizal fungi, including edible chanterelles, which share water and scarce nutrients with the trees in exchange for sugar (carbon). They also die by fungi like Armillaria whose mushrooms are also edible. While they can live to be over 250 years old, most old trees have heart rot, which eventually kills them. The Chumash have long relied on oaks for food, fuel and other uses, collecting and processing their acorns for centuries. This practice is still ongoing today.
Toyon
| Heteromeles arbutifolia | Chumash - kwe’ |
| Rosaceae (rose family) | Spanish - toyon |
Arborescent shrub to 7.5 m (25 ft). Found in oak woodlands and cooler areas of chaparral and coastal sage scrub. May be shrubby and stunted in full exposure or poor soils, or tall and reaching under the canopy of trees. Toyon flowers in the spring through mid-summer, and the telltale red berries mature in the fall and winter. These support many bird species including the cedar waxwing, California thrasher, American robin, and northern mockingbird, as well as mammals such as black bears and coyotes.
Although they contain cyanide and must be prepared correctly, the mealy berries were a traditional staple food of the Chumash, and the wood was made into bows, arrows, and other material goods. Two bows found in the Santa Barbara backcountry in the 1970’s along with arrows and basket fragments appear to have been fashioned from this beautiful wood. Toyon is sometimes called Christmas berry or California holly.
California coffeeberry
| Frangula californica | Chumash - xutash, xuta |
| Rhamnaceae (buckthorn family) | Spanish - yerba del oso |
Evergreen shrub, 1.5-4.5 m (5-15ft) tall and wide, with reddish-purple stems, orangish roots, and yellowish wood. The flowers are small, white, and star-shaped, and are of great interest to many species of bees and hummingbirds. The berries and their seeds resemble those of the coffee plant, hence the common name. Berries begin green, maturing to reddish, and eventually turn almost black.
They are eaten by many forms of wildlife including California thrashers, band-tailed pigeons, mockingbirds, foxes, and bears, the latter of which have a great proclivity to the fruit, hence one of their Spanish names, yerba del oso. The aged bark of a closely related species, Frangula purshiana, is marketed as an herbal laxative called Cascara Sagrada. The bark of both species contains cyanide and therefore must be correctly processed, in this case by aging, before it is safe for consumption. The barbareno Chumash name for this plant refers to the glossy, dark fruits, which resemble the pupil of coyote’s eye. Coyote plays an important role in Chumash mythology and origin stories.
California man-root, wild cucumber
| Marah fabacea | Chumash - molo’wot’ |
| Cucurbitaceae (gourd family) | Spanish - chilicote |
Emergent vine, arising from a large underground tuber 1-7m (3-20ft) in height. In early winter, vines of Marah begin to twine their way up various coastal sage scrub, chaparral, and oak woodland vegetation, ultimately drying brown, often to a crispy dust in the dry season. After fires, with supporting vegetation burned away, they may sprawl prostrate across the ground.
The fruits are notably large, green, and spiny, maturing into a dry, tan-colored, spiny shell containing 2-4 large seeds that can be black, reddish, or yellowish. These are traditionally strung onto necklaces by the Chumash. The large, sometimes partially exposed tubers can resemble a buried man, hence the name man-root. The plant was used medicinally, as a hair rinse, and the dry fruits considered as the only safe place to hold a magical substance called ‘ayip (Timbrook, 2007:123). There is evidence that toasted and ground Marah seeds were used as pigments or pigment binders in California Indian rock art paintings. Rats appear to eat many of the seeds.
Bitter gooseberry
| Ribes amarum var. hoffmanii | Chumash - stɨmɨy |
| Grossularaceae (currant family) | Spanish - barburi, baburi |
Semi-deciduous shrub, to 2 m (6 ft), with red and white hanging flowers and with stems and branches that are covered in spines. It can be found scattered about oak woodland, coastal sage scrub, and chaparral. The fruit is spiny and has large seeds, but despite the name, is delicious and edible. Hummingbirds and native bees covet the flowers, which bloom in late winter when relatively few nectar resources are available.
A red-flowered species, the fuchsia-flowered gooseberry (Ribes speciosum), also occurs in the area. Because of its narrow distribution to the coastal portions of Santa Barbara County, this plant is listed as rare by the California Native Plant Society. It is named after the ornithologist and botanist Ralph Hoffman, who fell to his death collecting plants on San Miguel Island in 1932.
California wild rose
| Rosa californica | Chumash - washtiq’onlq’on, waštiqoliqol |
| Rosaceae (rose family) | Spanish - rosa, rosa de Castilla |
Rhizomatous shrub, 0.8-2.5 m (3-8 ft) tall, often forming thickets. Found along canyon creeks and low-lying areas in grasslands, oak woodlands, and coastal sage scrub, they do best not far from moisture. Thickets of this extremely thorny-stemmed plant are good cover and protection for California quail and their young. California quail now rarely occur or breed on campus or surrounding coastal areas.
High in vitamin C, the fruits (hips) can be made into jelly and tea, or eaten raw, as in the Chumash tradition. Chumash peoples have also used wild rose as a treatment for children’s skin rashes and stomach aches. (Timbrook, 2007). About 20 species, subspecies, or varieties of native roses occur in California, some rare. The straight stems of Rosa californica can be made into arrows.
Hummingbird sage
| Salvia spathacea | Chumash - qimsh |
| Lamiaceae (mint family) | Spanish - diosa, diosita |
Rhizomatous, herbaceous perennial, 0.3-1 m (1-3 ft), with reddish-pink flowers. This shade or partial-sun-loving perennial herb is distinct from the other perennial sages in the area due to its herbaceous, non-woody structure. It is found primarily within the fog belt in chaparral, coastal sage scrub, and especially oak woodland and higher riparian settings.
Tea made from the plant may be a useful decongestant, and has been used by the Chumash for centuries. It is valued by hummingbirds and native bees for its floral resources. Some bees, such as the black carpenter bee, will drill through the side of the corolla tube of each flower to get nectar, thus bypassing pollination. Viable seeds can be difficult to find because insects often eat them.
Blue elderberry
| Sambucus nigra ssp. caerulea | Chumash - qayas |
| Adoxaceae (moschatel family) | Spanish - saúco |
Shrub/arborescent shrub, to 8 m (25 ft). Found in oak woodland, coastal sage scrub, chaparral and other habitats, from the coast to the Sierra Nevada mountains. A prolific fruit producer, it supports many native birds, as well as bears and other animals.
Traditionally used by Chumash peoples for bows, fire drills, food, medicine, containers, pipes, feather wands, musical instruments and more, it may have more individual uses for native Californians than any other plant (Joe Dabill, pers comm.). Elderberries on the coast display drought-deciduousness, losing leaves in response to seasonal summer drought. The woody stems and branches have a pithy core that is easily hollowed out. The Kumeyaay Indians of Mexico and Southern California use the shredded, inner bark as skirts. Raw berries are generally considered toxic and must be cooked.
Poison oak
| Toxicondendron diversilobium | Chumash - yasis |
| Anacardiaceae (sumac family) | Spanish - yedra |
Shrub or vine, 1-7 m (3-20 ft), with three-lobed leaflets that turn reddish as they mature. Drought deciduous. Found in many places and plant communities. Oil produced in the leaves can cause severe dermatitis and an itchy rash. When the stems of poison oak are broken, the plant produces a black sap that was used by Chumash as a treatment for warts and skin cancers.
It bears a strong resemblance to the related Rhus aromatica; fragrant, or three-leaved sumac, which is an important basket-making plant for native people throughout California.