Plants of Garland Ranch Regional Park    |   Back to Garland Home Carmel Valley, California  A project of Mindbird Maps & Books Ferns & Fern Allies   ·   Gymnosperms   ·   Dicots, Part 1   ·   Dicots, Part 2   ·   Dicots, Part 3   ·   Monocots Gymnosperms Pinaceae:  Pine Family Pinus radiata.  Monterey Pine. Tree. Planted in a number of areas, particularly along Carmel Valley Road, and along or near the Carmel River.  When I worked there in the late 70s, Park District General Manager Gary Tate wanted to cut down as many of these as could be removed without raising concern from the public.  (Curiously, he was more interested in eliminating the planted pines than he was in removing the also planted and entirely non-native Eucalyptus! [Note: Gary Tate contacted me in May 2010 to deny this assertion, and stated that he was equally interested in removing both. However, my recollection is that I was assigned to cut down Monterey pines only, and that there was no interest expressed in removing Eucalyptus. I seem to recall cutting a Eucalyptus or two on my own initiative and remember comments from Gary that discouraged this activity, or else, Native Plant Society activist that I was, they would have all been cut down within weeks.])   There were two other Monterey Pine specimens of particular interest: A large individual, not evidently planted, on a bluff above Wildcat Canyon. It died by the early 90s (it may have been the westernmost representative of the wild Monterey area population of this species); and along the road in the same area, a younger specimen, also not obviously planted, and possibly an offspring of the larger. Taxodiaceae: Bald-Cypress Family Sequoia sempervirens.  Coast Redwood. Tree. Groves of second growth redwoods occur along Garzas Creek, and especially in an eastward-branching side canyon of Garzas Creek. There are also a small number of redwoods planted in Laurel Canyon (as of early 1992, they were about 10-20 feet tall), and a couple which were still hanging on to life around La Mesa Pond.