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canyonwalkerThe fun thing about hiking along the craggy ocean bluffs on California's Central Coast is that every bend you round, nay even every 50' in a straight line you walk, a new perspective comes into view and it's beautiful. That's why this "Whale Peak Loop" trail we were hiking Saturday (see part 1 blog) starts out being about anything but Whale Peak itself. Oh, we'll get there eventually. It's just there's so much beauty down at the coast to spend time walking in.
![Walking the cliffs at Soberanes Point, Garrapata State Park, Calif [Aug 2021]](https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/canyonwalker/33413618/769255/769255_original.jpg "Walking the cliffs at Soberanes Point, Garrapata State Park, Calif [Aug 2021]")
Part of what makes these scenes beautiful is the brilliant red and green ground cover. It's also a bit surprising. I don't remember seeing so many plants growing on these bluffs on past trips. Without it you'd see a lot more bare rock. Craggy, bare rock is beautiful in its own way, too. I know I like it. Its beauty is subtle, though, and hard to capture with photographs.
So, yay for plants, right? Better pictures and better for the environment, right? Uh, not so much.
![Closeup of ice plant on California's Central Coast [Aug 2021]](https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/canyonwalker/33413618/769285/769285_original.jpg "Closeup of ice plant on California's Central Coast [Aug 2021]")
The plant that's growing all over the cliffs in this area is named ice plant, Latin name carpobrotus edulis. It's a succulent that grows thick, triangular leaves. You can see them in the enlargement pic above. (It's a crop at 100% from the original of the pic I shared above it. It's from near the edge of the frame with a super-wide angle lens so image quality is not the best.)
Ice plant's red and green leaves create striking colors. And it makes flowers, too. It wasn't flowering during this visit, though on previous visits to California's Central Coast we've seen it flowering in brilliant yellow, pink, and magenta.
So what's not to like? Well, ice plant is a nonnative species from South Africa. It was planted in California starting about 100 years ago to help control erosion along rail and road embankments. It did that job well and it really thrives in the Central Coast environment. And that's where the problem lies. It thrives so much it has choked out many other species of plants.
One plant or another, what's the difference? you might ask. Well, some of those plants are needed by native animal species for food or nests. By killing off those plants, ice plant is causing these animals to die off. Ice plant also spreads easily over cliffs and dunes. The bare rock and sand are important habitat for other animals. With loss of habitat they're dying off, too. Various state and local groups are working to remove areas of ice plant and seeing rapid return of native plants and animals. Sometimes it's Kill a plant, save an animal.
Keep reading! Hiking Whale Peak Loop, part 3
Part of what makes these scenes beautiful is the brilliant red and green ground cover. It's also a bit surprising. I don't remember seeing so many plants growing on these bluffs on past trips. Without it you'd see a lot more bare rock. Craggy, bare rock is beautiful in its own way, too. I know I like it. Its beauty is subtle, though, and hard to capture with photographs.
So, yay for plants, right? Better pictures and better for the environment, right? Uh, not so much.
The plant that's growing all over the cliffs in this area is named ice plant, Latin name carpobrotus edulis. It's a succulent that grows thick, triangular leaves. You can see them in the enlargement pic above. (It's a crop at 100% from the original of the pic I shared above it. It's from near the edge of the frame with a super-wide angle lens so image quality is not the best.)
Ice plant's red and green leaves create striking colors. And it makes flowers, too. It wasn't flowering during this visit, though on previous visits to California's Central Coast we've seen it flowering in brilliant yellow, pink, and magenta.
So what's not to like? Well, ice plant is a nonnative species from South Africa. It was planted in California starting about 100 years ago to help control erosion along rail and road embankments. It did that job well and it really thrives in the Central Coast environment. And that's where the problem lies. It thrives so much it has choked out many other species of plants.
One plant or another, what's the difference? you might ask. Well, some of those plants are needed by native animal species for food or nests. By killing off those plants, ice plant is causing these animals to die off. Ice plant also spreads easily over cliffs and dunes. The bare rock and sand are important habitat for other animals. With loss of habitat they're dying off, too. Various state and local groups are working to remove areas of ice plant and seeing rapid return of native plants and animals. Sometimes it's Kill a plant, save an animal.
Keep reading! Hiking Whale Peak Loop, part 3
