MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Middletown's Trailside Park is 107 acres of beauty at Middletown's west end.
The park has something for everyone with gracious grasslands, forested woodlands and seasonal wetlands, and also holds vernal pools.
The Lake County EcoArts' annual sculpture walk is held here each June through October.
There are restrooms, benches and picnic areas scattered throughout the park. The hike is flat and easy, with a 1.5-mile loop. As though that weren't enough, it's a bird watcher's paradise.
Among the many striking plants in the park is manzanita. Manzanita, or Arctostaphylos manzanita, is easily recognized by its beautiful, burnished mahogany trunk and limbs.
There are more than 100 species of manzanita, which thrive from British Colombia to Mexico.
Manzanita is often found in the chaparral biome, and is an evergreen tree, or shrub. Its wild branches and thick trunk are sometimes swathed in cinnamon-stick curls of bark, which aid in protecting the tree from insect damage.
Manzanita is also characterized by its thick olive-colored, oval leaves, and, in late winter, its white-to-pink clusters of flowers.
Honeybees thrive on these bell-shaped beauties. Hummingbirds can also be seen frequenting its flowers and quail love to hide out in secluded, shady spots.
The park's manzanita stands are quite thick and look to be impenetrable to large animals. However, according to V.K. Chesnut, in summer and fall, deer, coyote and bear browse on the manzanita's prolific berries.
The Spanish meaning for manzanita is “little apple.” This moniker refers to its small, apple-shaped fruit, which begins as a green color, then turns red.
American Indians traditionally prepared a cider from the treated berries and a tea from its leaves. The berries could be dried and stored for future use as well.
Other American Indian uses for manzanita were as a frame for a sturdy wood-carrying pack and children loved to place the blooms on their tongues for a sweet nectar treat.
A word to the wise: These wild foods, if not properly prepared, cause distress or illness.
Kathleen Scavone, M.A., is an educator, potter, writer and author of “Anderson Marsh State Historic Park: A Walking History, Prehistory, Flora, and Fauna Tour of a California State Park” and “Native Americans of Lake County.” She also writes for NASA and JPL as one of their “Solar System Ambassadors.” She was selected “Lake County Teacher of the Year, 1998-99” by the Lake County Office of Education, and chosen as one of 10 state finalists the same year by the California Department of Education.