tgosliner's Identifications

Link to confirmed observation of Scouler’s Willow nearby: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/122424863

Scouler's Willow (Salix scouleriana) Native, shrub or slender tree in the Willow (Salicaceae) family that grows in wetlands and non wetlands in many plant communities such as Pine Forest, Red Fir Forest, Lodgepole Forest, Subalpine Forest, Foothill Woodland, Chaparral, Valley Grassland, and coastal wetland-riparian habitats. Leaves are oblanceolate to obovate to narrowly elliptic, dull green above, and short or long-silky or woolly underneath. Petioles are white, velvety and 2--13 mm long. Peak bloom time: February-June.
Indigenous people had many uses for the plant as medicine, tools, and basketry. 33 traditional uses are described here: http://naeb.brit.org/uses/search/?string=Salix+scouleriana

Jepson eFlora: Plants of California (includes botanical illustrations) https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=42973

Calflora: Wild Plants of California (includes species distribution map) https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=7289

Plants of Monterey County: an Illustrated Field Key, 2nd edition, Matthews and Mitchell (2300+ species), 2015, pp. 292-293.

Flora of North America http://beta.floranorthamerica.org/Salix_scouleriana

Native American Ethnobotany: Native plants used as food, medicine, dyes, tools, fibers and more by indigenous people of North America: http://naeb.brit.org/uses/search/?string=Salix+scouleriana

Leaf Shape and Arrangement diagrams: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/Leaf_morphology.svg

Monterey County Wildflowers– a photographic guide https://montereywildflowers.com/index/ (species not listed)

Monterey County Wildflowers: a Field Guide, Yeager and Mitchell (950+ species), 2016

Coastal California's Living Legacy: The Monterey Pine Forest, 2nd. ed, Nikki Nedeff, et. al. The Monterey Pine Forest Watch, 2018

The specimens were found in a tidepool in the high intertidal zone near 33*31'11''N 117*45'50'' W. The tide pool contained less than a foot of water at the time of observation (3:55PM), which was right before low tide.