Hidden Villa wilderness in the spring. Hostel Trail, just above Toyon Trail on the way to the Top of the World. June 14, 2005, 7 am. What a gift to the spirit, to be on the trail early on a spring morning! In the foreground group, left to right: a. California Sagebrush (Artemesia californica), "Cowboy/cowgirl Cologne". HVEEP lore says that cowgirls and cowboys would put this on before going to the opera. More seriously, strong odors in plants tend to lessen losses to insects and browsing from mammals. b. Sticky Monkey Flower (Mimulus aurantiacus). The leaves have one very sticky side; the blossoms look a little like monkeys. Wikipedia says (9/08): "The Miwok and Pomo Native Americans used the Sticky Monkey's flowers and roots to treat a number of ailments, but it was particularly useful for its antiseptic qualities as it expedited the healing of minor scrapes and burns." c. Blue Witch (Solanum umbelliferum). Related to the Deadly Nightshade and the wild tomatillo, and a relative of the potato and tomato. Look, but don't eat! In the background, top left, you can see the spikes of blossoms from the California Buckeye (Aesculus californica). From Wikipedia (9/08): "The California Buckeye is a plant adapted to a dry climate; it starts dropping its leaves as soon as summer arrives to help it conserve water...Local native tribes, including the Pomo, Yokut, and Luiseño, used the poisonous nuts to stupefy schools of fish in small streams to make them easier to catch. The bark, leaves, and fruits contain the neurotoxic glycoside aesculin, which causes hemolysis of red blood cells. Indian groups occasionally used the nuts as a food supply, after boiling and leaching the toxin out of the nut meats for several days, although it was not a preferred food. Even the nectar of the flowers is toxic, and it can kill honeybees and other insects which haven't coevolved with the tree. When the shoots are small and leaves are new they are low in toxins and are grazed by livestock and wildlife." This is a wonderful tree; its hemispherical shape stands out in the Hidden Villa wilderness throughout all seasons. Instead of losing its leaves in the winter as is common in snowy areas, the buckeye loses its leaves in the heat of the summer, to conserve water. The large "buckeye" nuts remain on the branches, to drop off at the first sign of fall rain. They scatter about the hillsides, the roots eagerly seeking the moist earth.

Question: we know that buckeye nuts can roll down the hill. But how did buckeye trees spread to the top of the next hill? Buckeye nuts are too large for deer, rabbits, or squirrels to spread very far. Answer: There are two mammals known to spread buckeye nuts: a. Humans (in the last 15-20,000 years or so). b. Camels (before that). Yes, there were camels living at the place we now call Hidden Villa, before there were people. (Many megafauna became extinct at roughly the same time as people spread south from the Bering Strait.)