Hood Range Cypress Stand
Map SatelliteOn the crest of the Hood Range near Mount Veeder is the southernmost stand of the MacNab cypress, Cupressus macnabiana. It is relatively shrubby here and forms a dense thicket covering much of the area. The nearest population is approximately 50 kilometers (30 miles) to the north.
In the chaparral adjacent to the stand is one of the richest known Arctostaphylos localities in the State. Within a 45-meter (150-foot) radius four species are found, Arctostaphylos stanfordiana (the dominant), Arctostaphylos manzanita, Arctostaphylos canescens, and Arctostaphylos glandulosa ssp. glandulosa. The rare Ceanothus sonomensis is found here as are Ceanothus foliosus, Ceanothus cuneatus, and Salvia sonomensis. There are knobcone pines, Pinus attenuata, on the easterly facing slope.
The cypress are growing primarily on serpentine soil; the others are on a sandstone ridge.
Integrity: Aside from an abandoned bulldozed building site, the area is virtually undisturbed and has not burned for some 25 years.
Use: Private
September 1975
Inventory of California Natural Areas
Revision © 2009 Steven Louis Hartman
