<HTML>On Thursday, Sept. 12, Sara Grove, Marci Jones and Karen Vaughn from the Vegetation Management Program, Resources Management, discovered the tree form of Tanbark Oak (Lithocarpus densiflorus var. densiflorus) while working in the vicinity of the Cascades Dam. Prior to this discovery, a single site was known in the park for the shrub form - Lithocarpus densiflorus var. echinoides. Congratulations to Sara, Marci and Karen for the discovery of this species. This confirms a theorized population within Mariposa County, and is disjunct from the main range of Tanbark Oak in the central and north Coast and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges.
Note: Please avoid approaching these trees if you have recently been hiking in the coast range, where Sudden Oak Death Syndrome is prevalent. (S. Fritzke).</HTML>