Lafferty Ranch
Map SatelliteLocated on the west slope of Sonoma Mountain, near the summit, this area includes several communities representative of the inner Coast Range.
Much of the area is in grassland, with such native grasses as Danthonia californica and the non-native Phleum pratense mixed with numerous exotics.
An oak woodland, with coast live, Oregon, and black oaks, Quercus agrifolia, Quercus garryana, and Quercus kelloggii, is present and merges into a mixed evergreen with buckeye, Aesculus californica, madrone, Arbutus menziesii, and California bay, Umbellularia californica.
Other communities present include a riparian, with red willow, Salix laevigata, and big-leaf maple, Acer macrophyllum, as well as a small freshwater marsh. Some 200 species of vascular plants, 38 species of lichens, and a number of fungi have been identified in the area.
Animal life is typical and relatively abundant.
The area is underlain by rock of the Pliocene Sonoma volcanics.
Integrity: The area is grazed occasionally, but the vegetation is relatively undisturbed.
Use: Private
January 1980
Inventory of California Natural Areas
Revision © 2009 Steven Louis Hartman
