• East view from Crissy Field overlook with old Coast Guard station on left and city on right

    Presidio of San Francisco

    California

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Coastal Dune Scrub Community

Coastal Dune Community
Will Elder, NPS
 

The dune scrub community is found on inland dunes landward of the foredune community. It is characterized by densely-packed shrubs interspersed with scattered areas of grasses, wildflowers, and open sand. The dune scrub community is represents several stages of ecological succession that follow disturbances such as fires or dune blowouts. Dune blowouts are areas where high winds may reactivated the dunes, causing sand to blow out and uprooting vegetation in the area; new dunes may also form and cover an established dune community if the blown out sand is deposited in a localized area. Urban encroachment and the introduction of non-native plants has greatly reduced the extent of the dune scrub community in San Francisco, where it once covered 14 square miles.

Typical Sites at the Presidio: Feral Dunes, Lobos Creek Valley, North Baker Beach, Crissy Field, and Presidio Hills.

Common Native Plants

Common Name Scientific Name Family
Bush Lupine Lupinus arboreus Fabaceae
Sticky Monkeyflower Mimulus aurantiacus Scrophulariaceae
California Coffeeberry Rhamnus californica Rhamnaceae
Chamisso's Lupine Lupinus chamissonis Fabaceae
Coyote Bush Baccharis pilularis Asteraceae
Lizard Tail Eriophyllum staechadifolium Asteraceae
Mock Heather Ericameria ericoides Asteraceae
Poison Oak Toxicodendron diversilobum Anacardiaceae

Rare and Endangered Plants

Common Name Scientific Name Family

San Francisco
Campion

 Silene verecunda Caryophyllaceae
Dune Gilia Gilia capitata ssp.chamissonis Polemoniaceae
San Francisco Lessingia Lessingia germanorum var. germanorum Asteraceae
San Francisco Spineflower Chorizanthe cuspidata Polygonaceae
San Francisco Wallflower Erysimum franciscanum Brassicaceae

Check out the Rare and Endangered Plants Page

Did You Know?

Albert Sidney Johnston

Colonel Albert Sidney Johnston, commander of the Pacific branch of the army, prepared the defenses of the San Francisco Bay and ordered the first garrison of Fort Point. Kentucky-born Johnston then resigned his commission to join the Confederate Army; he was killed at the battle of Shiloh in 1862.