The Elfin Forest: A Land of Mythical Woodland Beings? Maybe Not Quite...

In some parts of the world, magical places really do exist.  Glittering snowcapped peaks, oasis pools of turquoise and ferny fairylands are all out there, just waiting to be discovered! 

 

A couple of weeks ago while exploring the Morro Bay area with my mom (visiting that part of the state for my cousin's wedding), we came across an enchanted place unlike any other: El Moro Elfin Forest.

 

The Elfin Forest

While there are no actual elves, fairies, pixies, dryads, or other small woodland folk inhabiting this forest (that we saw), the miniature woodland is certainly possessed by its own type of botanical enchantment.  The landscape is filled with an abundance of flowering jewels (wildflowers and flowering shrubs), fluttering gems (butterflies and birds)... and beautifully sculpted dwarf trees, for which the forest is named. 

Though the graceful forms of dwarfed Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia) look like they may have been twisted and set in place by the hand of a giant playing with a toy set, the real sculpting agents at work here are a combination of harsh winds off the Pacific Ocean and the nutrient poor soil of ancient sand dunes in which the trees are rooted. 

The stunted Coast Live Oaks found in the Elfin Forest are genetically no different from nearby trees of the same species, which regularly grow to 50 feet tall.  Here, the small trees are only about 12 feet tall, though in some groves the dwarfed oaks may be up to 400 years old.  They grow in pockets amid a mosaic of other hardy plant communities, generally found in the shelter of dunes which afford some protection from the high winds.

Lace Lichen (Ramalina menziesii) drapes elegantly from the branches of the oaks, adding to the mythical air of this enchanted forest.  Lichen is made up of algae and fungus living together in a symbiotic relationship, and it benefits the trees as well by collecting additional nutrients and moisture from the damp, foggy coastal air.

In addition to the coastal live oak woodland, the 90-acre El Moro Elfin Forest Natural Area preserves seven other distinct plant communities and habitat types.  Most of these habitats pose serious challenges for plants and animals living there (such as the highly saline soil of the salt marsh; the nutrient-poor soil of dunes; and the high winds and low precipitation over the whole area).  These environmental challenges have led to the development of specially adapted species. 

Riparian Woodland, dominated by California Sycamore (Platanus racemosa) and willow (Salix spp.), is found along Los Osos and Chorro Creeks.  Beyond the reach of all but the highest tides, evaporation concentrates salts and soil salinity is high, allowing Coastal Salt Marsh to develop.  Pickleweed (Salicornia spp.) and Salt Grass (Distichlis spicata) are indicators of this community, though the line between it and the Brackish Water Marsh community is blurred.  Where fresh and salt water mix, and tides flood twice a day, the soil salinity is lower and sedges (Carex spp.) and rushes (Juncus spp.) dominate marshes with brackish water.  (It seems backwards, I know, but have a look at the map below to understand how the habitats or communities are arranged in relation to the topography of Morro Bay.)

Twice a day, the tides of the bay cover and uncover a valuable (and terribly underappreciated) habitat: the mudflats.  Mudflats are home to an astounding variety of invertebrate life (clams, crabs, shrimp, amphipods and polychaete worms, to name a few) , which provides a nourishing and reliable food source for innumerable birds, particularly species like curlews, willets, whimbrels, dowitchers, sandpipers and plovers.  Birders are bummed when the tide is in; we love mudflats!  (Edward F. Ricketts' classic and highly recommended Between Pacific Tides devotes an extensive chapter to mudflats and their invertebrate inhabitants.  You'll never look at a lowly mudflat the same way again!)

Overlooking Maritime Chaparral to Coastal Salt Marsh, Brackish Water Marsh and tidal mudflats beyond.

Above the tidal influence is an old complex of sand dunes, now stabilized by extensive vegetation.  The dunes present another challenging habitat, as the sandy soil is low in nutrients and the coarse particles have very little capacity to retain water.  The little rain that does fall (an average of around 16 inches per year) sinks quickly into the sand and beyond the root zone of most plants.  In addition to low rainfall, high winds blowing in off the ocean have desiccating effects and are heavy-laden with salt particles.  The saving grace of this environment is the ocean's moderating effect on temperature (it never gets extremely hot or cold along the coast) and the regularly high humidity and fog, which greatly reduces plants' water loss through evaporation and eases the stress of drought that would otherwise prove too great for survival.

Growing on the stabilized dune system is a mosaic of plant communities, including Coastal Dune Scrub, Maritime Chaparral, an oak/manzanita complex, and of course, our dwarfed Coast Live Oak Woodland.

Coastal Dune Scrub is comprised largely of California Sagebrush (Artemesia californica) and Black Sage (Salvia mellifera), perfuming the air with their wonderful scent - especially if you happen to brush against these aromatic plants.  (But do watch out for Poison Oak!)  Other noteworthy plants include Coast Silver Lupine (Lupinus chamissonis), the flowers of which also smell fantastic, and Fuchsia-flowering Gooseberry (Ribes speciosum).

Black Sage and Sticky Monkeyflower grow intertwined

Maritime Chaparral is a fairly rare and unique plant community that differs from the chaparral of interior areas in its much milder climate.  Chamise (Adenostoma fasciculatum) and Buckbrush (Ceanothus cuneatus) are two plants characteristic of Maritime Chaparral, though other species are present, such as Sticky Monkeyflower (Diplacus aurantiacus) and Black Sage, and overlap with adjacent communities.

The Oak/Manzanita Complex, a locally accepted plant community (though not really an "official" vegetation type), is a blend of Maritime Chaparral and Coast Live Oak Woodland that grows in the protection of dunes.  The dunes provide enough shelter to allow the oaks to mingle with the otherwise treeless chaparral plant community, and also allows shrubby chaparral manzanitas to grow to almost treelike proportions.  The federally threatened Morro Manzanita (Arctostaphylos morroensis), the species found here, is so specially adapted to this particular climate that it is found only in the immediate area, from Morro Bay State Park just to the north, through the Elfin Forest and south to Montana de Oro State Park (a span of less than eight miles).  I would have taken a photo of it, but I received a very painful sting on my hand from a mysterious flying insect that put a bit of a kink in our plans.  That's my excuse, anyway.

The map below, from the website of El Moro Elfin Forest, outlines the approximate locations of the various vegetation types and habitats found within the natural area.



Source: http://www.elfin-forest.org/index.htm

Although I said the elfin forest is not inhabited by any small woodland folk, that's not entirely true. 

Peering closely beneath the shrubs and trees, you may discover the telltale signs of one of the forests most impish inhabitants: the Dusky-footed Woodrat (Neotoma fuscipes).  Piled against the trunks of shrubs and trees, under the protection of dense branches above, are woodrats dens or nests (sometimes called middens or lodges) that look to the casual observer like large piles of sticks.  These domed structures can reach up to five feet high and as much as eight feet wide.  Woodrats in the genus Neotoma are also known as packrats, so named for their curious habit of stealing, stashing and hoarding found objects, particularly shiny objects humans tend to leave lying about. 

So perhaps the elfin forest is home to a few mischievous (and furry) woodland sprites after all!

The midden (den) of a Dusky-footed Woodrat