Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

CyberneticPanda t1_jbc3osw wrote

The trees atop that cliff are Monterey Cypress trees. This stand and another in Pebble Beach are the only two remaining natural stands in the world. It is a Pleistocene relict species that is being pushed into the sea by the changing climate of the past 12k years. There is a fungal disease that affects new world cypresses called cypress canker, caused by Seiridium cardinale. Monterey Cypress are the most vulnerable to it, but the salt spray from the sea protects them from the fungus, so they don't grow that well elsewhere, despite being a popular landscape tree.

All new world cypress trees are beautiful and smell fantastic, but Monterey Cypress is one of the most hauntingly beautiful. Because of its growth on sea cliffs exposed to heavy winds, they are Krummholz trees. Krummholz means they are stunted and twisted by exposure to harsh, salty wind. Combined with the varied lichens and mosses in the grove, it makes hiking through there feel like something from a fantasy movie.

30

Winstonthewinstonian t1_jbchh4w wrote

[Trentepohlia](https://en.wikipedia.org//wiki/Trentepohlia_(alga)). Are they the same thing? Never heard it called cypress canker.

3

CyberneticPanda t1_jbcmmkj wrote

No the lichens dont hurt the trees. Lots of trees have fungal diseases called x canker. They develop a sore that leaks sap at the infection site.

5

Winstonthewinstonian t1_jbcsnzr wrote

Woa, didn't know about that. Very interesting thank you.

2

CyberneticPanda t1_jbcv80s wrote

Np. The various fungal pathogens that cause tree cankers and other plant diseases are mostly carried around the world by the nursery trade. Plant local grown native plants!

6