One of the beauties embedded in the central coast is the Morro Bay salt marsh and estuary. It is home to many different native plants and animals that use the unique aspects of an Estuary to their advantages. The Morro Bay Estuary is so calm and quite some may think that very little happens in this area, however, it is a biodiversity hotspot and a place where many different plants and animals have complex relationships with their environment.
If you go out to Morro Bay, a very special place to check out would have to be the Marina Peninsula Trail off of Main Street by Morro Bay State Park and the Morro Bay Natural History Museum. At the end of a long parking lot by the Bayside Cafe you reach a trail head to a small loop trail that includes a boardwalk. It is about a 0.7 miles flat loop that overlooks the estuary and part of the bay. What is so special about this trail is that it takes you right past a federally protected plant called Seablite (Sueda californica). Federally protected as an endangered species means that if you happen to come across the plant, please make sure not to step on it, pick it, or remove any part of it in any way. The Seablite only grows in Morro Bay and the Marina Peninsula trail passes by one of the spots it is still located.
In addition to Seablite, there are other special plants that grow in the Estuary. The unique characteristics of salt marsh plants is their ability to grow in such salty water. Most plants that live in non- salty water conditions would be placed in a hypertonic solution when introduced to saltwater. In simple terms this means that the water would leave the plant cells to balance salt content and therefore causing the cells and plant to wilt and die. Plants that inhabit the Morro Bay Estuary have a special way to adapt, either a salt excretor or a salt accumulator. Salt excretors, such as Alkali heath (Frankenia salina), work by pushing salt ions out of their veins and into their tissue. These kinds of plants you can see a white coating on them of salt and can sometimes even lick the salt off, although I do not recommend licking any random plant you see with a white coating. The salt accumulators, such as Pickleweed (Salicornia pacifica), work by storing salt in special chambers called vacuoles. Once the vacuole becomes too full of salt then they turn red and eventually fall off of the plant. About now, late August, the Pickleweed is starting to turn some beautiful reds and paint the estuary with gorgeous color.
Sometimes getting out and doing something in nature can feel like a chore, hiking can feel too strenuous and you might not know where to go that is relaxing. The Morro bay Estuary is an amazing place to check out if looking for something easy to do that involves so much nature. Whether there is sun or fog it is a beautiful place that will always have wildlife and a thriving ecosystem. So when you get a chance, I really recommend driving out on Main Street Morro Bay to the Marina Peninsula trail and enjoying the 0.7 mile trail with a boardwalk that takes you right out to the estuary and its biodiversity.
