Torreya californica at Bolinas Ridge
& Samuel P. Taylor State Park (Marin County)

by Eric Hongisto (and Lucas Machias)

   2022: LUCAS MACHIAS sent this photo (and the discussion on a Facebook page about it) on 22 February 2022 by email to Connie Barlow, who is posting this on the Torreya Guardians website. Here is the text in his email:
Torreya californica, Bolinas Ridge, Marin County (found several old growth nutmegs today, fire survivors, too)

Roger Raiche - That is an old one. Such a great conifer if you have space.

Eric Hongisto - If you ever get the time, there is a grove in Fort Ross to melt your heart, directly on the San Andreas Fault. The ground is red with needle; a couple hundred trees over 1/4 acre.

Roger Raiche - Eric Hongisto is it accessible to public?

Eric Hongisto - Yes; not on a well maintained trail; 80 years ago, there was a public trail, but no one except the cows have kept it going.

   2022: ERIC HONGISTO visited this majestic tree and captured this photo in December 2022. Here is the text in his email:
I found another great grove near top of Bolinas Ridge, above Samuel P Taylor park — maybe 200 trees inside a mature Fir and Bay mixed forest.

Most of the Nutmegs [Torreya] are on the young side. The best one was a huge double clonal structure. PHOTO LEFT.

FYI, 5 miles from parking lot, if you use 'proper trails' and then some bushwack down from ridge (approx. 800') to the tree.

38.01850° N, 122.73963° W

ABOVE JUNE 2023: Eric Hongisto writes, "Found several hundred more trees along a ridge south of Irving Creek inside Samuel P Taylor. These are a few of the largest specimens found in the first hundred yards from the road. No trails, but walkable inside this old growth mixed forest; firs, bay, madrone, and even a few ancient canyon oaks too."

   2022: Here is the most spectacular image that Eric captured of a potential champion in Samuel Taylor State Park.

This one is so inspiring that Connie Barlow posted it as the lead image on the Torreya californica wikipedia page.

July 2024 Eric reports that "downhill and south" from the site pictured here is perhaps the oldest torreya that is now a fallen log that is still alive because it has "15 year old regrowth vertical sprouts" coming out of the top of the log.

   2024: ERIC HONGISTO reports:
Here is the relative GPS location for the Willow Creek SP old growth grove of California Torreya.

It is best accessible by a mountain bike/old logging trail off the listed trails in the new park.

Directions: Freezeout Creek, trail begins 10 yards north from parking, follow 1 mile until fir and nutmegs get big, look off trail 30 meters to west. Exact site (with map) is posted on the I-Naturalist page:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/233507621

Notes: Old growth grove, approx. 10 trees found.

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