Coastal Live Oak Riparian Forest

Coastal Live Oak Forest in the Presidio
Will Elder, NPS
 
 
Coast Live Oak Riparian Forest

Live oak riparian forest is a stream or lake associated community dominated by dense stands of coast live oak. It is found above the willow riparian zone. The understory is usually more dense than that found under oak woodland, but at the one site where this community exists in the Presidio, along Lobos Creek, the understory is degraded by a dense cover of Cape ivy.

Typical Sites at the Presidio: Bordering Lobos Creek.

Common Native Plants

Common Name Scientific Name Family
Poison oak Toxicodendron diversilobum Anacardiaceae
Wild cucumber Marah fabaceus Cucurbitaceae
Coast live oak Quercus agrifolia Fagaceae
Bee plant/California figwort Scrophularia californica Scrophulariaceae

Did You Know?

The Officers' Club at the Presidio

The modern-day Officers' Club was part of the original Spanish Presidio. In the front section of the building, excavations have uncovered adobe walls dating from the 1790's.