February 2005 x . j The ■•X'. Sr fr\ Bay Leaf California Native Plant Society • East Bay Chapter • Alameda & Contra Costa Counties www.ebcnps.org CALENDAR OF EVENTS Plant Sale Activities, p. 4 Tuesdays, February 1,8, 15, 22, 9 am to noon, Mer- ritt College Board of Directors’ Meeting Wednesday, February 2, home of Laura Baker, 79 Roble Road, Berkeley Native Here Nursery, p. 4 Fridays, February 4, 11, 18, 25, Native Here Nursery open 9-noon Saturdays, February 5, 12, 19, 26, Native Here Nurs- ery open 10-1 Field Trip, p. 5 Saturday, February 12, 10 am, Bryophyte Field Trip, Huckleberry Regional Preserve Native Plant Restoration Team, p. 3 Saturday, February 26 at 9:30 am, Scotch broom and thistle removal, Skyline staging area, Redwood Regional Park MEMBERSHIP MEETING Bryogeography of California: what can we learn from the mosses about past and future climate change? Speaker: Jim Shevock Wednesday, February 23, 2005, 7:30 pm Auditorium, Orinda Public Library (directions below) Bryophytes (mosses, liverworts, and hornworts) are remarkable organisms. Collectively, bryophytes can be characterized as plants lacking flowers and fruits, roots, and a defined system of vascular tissues for transporting fluids through the plant. They reproduce not by seeds, but by single-celled spores. Bryophytes also have a wide array of vegetative means for spread- ing and colonizing new habitats. Since they are not confined to living on soil, bryophytes are quite content to live on rocks, bark, or even leaves. Bryophytes oc- cupy all of the earth’s habitat types except the marine environment. Bryophytes are vulnerable to environmental changes, which makes them excellent indicators of climate change. Bryophytes generally have much wider geo- graphic ranges than vascular plants. However, they are typically restricted to more specific microhabitats, causing them often to have widely disjunct distribu- tion patterns and be prone to localized extirpations. Like the flowering plants, some are common and widespread while others are quite rare. Knowing the distribution range and preferred habitat types for a particular species, we can reflect on how that species occurs in California. We can also look for places on the landscape where species are likely to appear in California as climatic shifts occur. Jim Shevock is National Park Service Research Coordi- nator at the Californian Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit based at UC Berkeley. He is also a research asso- ciate of the Department of Botany, California Academy of Sciences, and a research associate at the University Herbarium at UC Berkeley. Jim has six flowering plants and two mosses named in his honor. East Bay CNPS membership meetings are free of charge and open to everyone. This month’s meeting will take place in the Auditorium of the Orinda Public Library at 24 Orinda Way (in Orinda Village). The Auditorium is on the second floor of the building, accessible by stairs or an elevator. The Auditorium will open at 7:00 pm. The continued on page 2 continued from page 1 meeting begins at 7:30 pm. Refreshments will be served after the presentation. Please contact Sue Rosenthal, 510-496-6016 or rosacalifornica@earthlink.net, if you have any questions. Directions to Orinda Public Library at 24 Orinda Way: From the west, take Highway 24 to the Orinda/ Moraga exit. At the end of the off ramp, turn left on Camino Pablo (toward Orinda Village), right on Santa Maria Way (the signal after the BART station and freeway entrance), and left on Orinda Way. From the east, take Highway 24 to the Orinda exit. Follow the ramp to Orinda Village. Turn right on Santa Maria way (the first signal) and left on Orinda Way. Once on Orinda Way, go one short block to the parking lot on the south- east side of the new two-story building on your right. There is additional free parking beneath the building as well as on the street. From BART (four blocks): Exit the Orinda station, turn right and cross a pedestrian bridge, then cross a second pedestrian bridge on the left. Go one short block on the sidewalk to the third pedestrian bridge. Go two blocks on Orinda Way to the Orinda Library. Sue Rosenthal ENDANGERED, THREATENED, RARE, AND UNUSUAL When regulatory and botanical worlds collide, plant species are typically classified into hierarchies based on rarity, distribution, and endangerment. Within these hierarchies, criteria such as limited distribution, diminished abundance, and/or habitat alteration or outright destruction provide some of the information used to apply varying levels of legal protection. The intensity of these indicators, in part, is a determin- ing factor for which plants are listed as “endangered”, “threatened”, “rare”, or “unusual”. In general, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) evaluate the need for legal protection based on the above criteria and elevate the status of plant species to Endangered or Threatened as warranted. For East Bay examples, large-flowered fiddleneck ( Amsinckia grandiflora) is listed as “Endangered” by the USFWS and the CDFG, and Santa Cruz tarplant (Holocarpha macradenia ) is listed as “Threatened” by the USFWS and Endangered by the CDFG. These plants are truly threatened and endangered. Large- flowered fiddleneck is known from only three natural occurrences statewide. Santa Cruz tarplant is known from fewer than fifteen occurrences; those in the East Bay are introduced. Natural populations of Santa Cruz tarplant in Alameda and Contra Costa counties have been extirpated. We at the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) have a stake in what may be considered for listing by the CDFG. This is facilitated by the CNPS’s Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants of California. This inven- tory acts as the CDFG’s list of species that have al- ready been elevated to special-status by state or federal listing, as well as plant species considered worthy as candidates for such listing. The Inventory is continually tracked through endeavors by local herbaria, academ- ics, and CDFG’s California Natural Diversity Database, which is fed information from professional botanists, amateurs, and even casual enthusiasts. Plant species with only a CNPS listing may be considered as “rare”, even though they are not state or federally listed. A good example of such a plant species is Livermore tarplant (Deinandra bacigalupii). In the Inventory this species is List IB (plants rare, threatened, or endan- gered in California and elsewhere). It is described by the Inventory as distributed in California in one to several highly restricted occurrences, fairly endangered in California, and endemic to California. This plant is truly rare and in fact endangered enough throughout its narrow distribution of three populations to warrant listing as federally endangered. Western leatherwood (Dirca occidentalis) , also a List IB species, is more widely distributed in the Bay area, although it is not known elsewhere in California. Dianne Lake has been tracking “unusual” plant spe- cies in Alameda and Contra Costa counties for more than a decade. In Dianne’s publication Rare, Unusual and Significant Plants of Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, Seventh Edition, “unusual plants” refers to species that are rare, threatened or endangered in Al- ameda and Contra Costa counties but not necessarily in the rest of the state, including plants that are on a high-priority watch list for our region. The East Bay counties have been divided into 40 botanical regions to more accurately track distribution. Legal protection for locally unusual species can be found in the Califor- nia Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Unfortunately the lead agency in the CEQA process rarely considers impacts to such species to be significant, if they are even addressed in biological inventory documentation to begin with. Two plant species that occur on the Unusual list are Oregon grape (Berberis nervosa) and yellow bush lupine (Lupinus arboreus). Each of these species are known from two or less botanical regions in the East Bay, currently or historically, although 2 THE BAY LEAF February 2005 they are widespread in other botanical regions of the western states. While state and federal agencies are charged with keeping up with the plant species that need statewide protection, CNPS and its local chapters are looking towards the horizon before the sun sets on less con- spicuously imperiled, but beloved members of the California landscape. Heath Bartosh NATIVE PLANT RESTORATION TEAM It seems that the East Bay Regional Parks District has learned how to put the “party” aspect back into work party. Jil Kiernan, the volunteer operations represen- tative from the Parks District, graciously hosted last month’s event. We were provided a vehicle to move supplies, drinks and muffins — even white paper suits which we wore to protect ourselves from poison oak. Jil herself was on hand all day to answer questions and pitch in with the work. It’s part of the Park District’s recent effort to nurture and support volunteers from the community. They are off to a great start. February will find us back at Skyline Gate in Redwood Regional Park to continue the removal of scotch broom and thistle seedlings from a forest of small madrones. We’ll be meeting at the Skyline Gate Staging Area on Saturday, February 26 at 9:30 am. To reach the work site, take the trail to your left, the East Ridge Trail, to the Eucalyptus Trail. Go right on the Eucalyptus Trail. It is a bit of a hike (a little over half a mile). The site is at the point where the Phillips and Eucalyptus Trails converge. There are maps at the bulletin board in the parking lot. Directions: Take Highway 13 to the Park Boulevard exit. Go east to the first intersection: Mountain Bou- levard. Take a left onto Mountain, a short distance to Snake Road, right on Snake (uphill) straight through onto Shepard’s Canyon. Take Shepard’s Canyon all the way to Skyline Boulevard. Turn right on Skyline a short distance to the Skyline Gate Staging Area. Sky- line is the next major staging area beyond Sibley and Huckleberry Preserves going southeast. Greg Wolford Native Plant Restoration Team ready for action THE BAY LEAF February 2005 3 PLANT SALE ACTIVITIES Tuesdays February 1,8, 15, 22 9 am to noon Merritt College Landscape Horticulture Department Parking fee: 50 cents Rain or shine, there will be someone at the nursery on Tuesday mornings, working with the plants and ready to help with plant purchases Shirley McPheeters 925-376-4095 NATIVE HERE Fridays, February 4, 11, 18, 25, Native Here Nursery open 9-noon Saturdays, February 5, 12, 19, 26, nursery open 10-1 Triteleia laxa, Dichelostemma sp., Ranunculus calif or- nicus, and two species of Delphinium have emerged from the soil and are available for sale at the nursery through the spring. Trees, native grasses, shrubs, as well as Dudleya caespitosa and other perennials are also on hand. We have sown some annuals in six packs, and they may be ready this month, too. Shoppers are encouraged to drop in whenever the nursery is open. Volunteers are encouraged to join in on those days as well. Some seeds will still need to be sown this month, seedlings will need to be separated and put into indi- vidual pots, labels will need to be made, and plants will need to be tended. There is a task for every skill level, so don’t be shy about coming in to help. Unless there is heavy rain or high winds, the nursery is open as posted, so there is rarely cause to phone ahead. The nursery is located in Tilden Park, at 101 Golf Course Drive (across from the Golf Course main en- trance) . Charli Danielsen, charlid@pacbell.net I would not have every man, or every part of a man, cultivated, any more than I would have every acre of earth cultivated: part will be tillage, but the greater part will be meadow and forest, not only serving an immediate use, but preparing a mould against a distant future, by the annual decay of the vegetation it supports. From “Walking”, by Henry David Thoreau MEMBERSHIP The East Bay Chapter will host a booth at the San Francisco Flower and Garden show at the Cow Palace from March 16 through March 20, 2005 . Volunteers are needed to work two-hour shifts. Admission is free for volunteers (a $20 value). To volunteer, please contact Delia Taylor at 510-527- 3912 or deliataylor@mac.com. For information about the S.F. Garden Show, you can visit www.gardenshow.com. This is an excellent way to communicate our mes- sage to the public. We will have some beautiful native plants and information about our group. Suggestions are welcome. Delia Taylor CONSERVATION The conservation committee met in January so that its members could update each other on their projects and set goals for the year. Having the Conservation Analyst is working out very well. Volunteers still carry out many important tasks for the committee. Jessica is able to consistently stay in contact with the planning agencies, coordinate with other CNPS conservation personnel, and initiate corre- spondence on vital issues. Volunteering to speak as the voice of CNPS is much easier now because Jessica as- sembles the information that volunteers need to make the case for plant preservation in specific projects. If you are interested in participating in the chapter’s conservation efforts but missed the January conserva- tion committee meeting, you may join the committee at any time by contacting Jessica, jjolson@ebcnps.org, or Charli Danielsen, charlid@pacbell.net. Jessica attended the CNPS Chapter Council meeting along with John Game (Rare Plants) on December 4. A new volunteer, Carol Castro, has an “adopt a site” conservation project. She is in charge of looking for planning updates in her hometown of San Leandro and the greater Hayward area. She will alert Jessica and the committee when plant related issues arise. In January, after months of editing, the chapter’s com- ments on the Wetland Regional Permitting Program, a part of the East Contra Costa County Habitat Conser- vation Plan/Natural Communities Conservation Plan 4 THE BAY LEAF February 2005 (ECCC HCP/NCCP) were submitted. Sue Bainbridge, Laura Baker, Carol Witham, Dick VrMeer, Charli Dan- ielsen, Doris and Joe Willingham, and Jessica Olson put in many hours honing our comments on this high priority input to a crucial process. Within a week after sending a comment letter to Al- ameda County Planning Department, Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Fish and Game (DFG), and US Fish and Wildlife Service regarding the Livermore Intensive Agriculture Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR), DFG and the Army Corps responded that they would spend time reviewing our letter and the plan. Jessica has set up a tentative schedule and guest list for several conservation related field trips to take place this spring. The Conservation and Field Trip Commit- tees will comment and refine the plans. These trips are designed to raise awareness of the botanical resources for decision makers. In addition to setting the agenda for the conservation meetings, drafting letters, and briefing volunteers for our chapter, Jessica has new duties funded by state CNPS to assist with State Conservation planning, and helping Ileene Anderson with state issues. With the grant from the San Francisco Foundation and the generosity of our chapter members, the part time position of East Bay Conservation Analyst is funded through 2005. Contributions from members to extend the funded period are always welcome. They may be sent to CNPS, 2707 K Street, Suite 1, Sacramento, CA 95816 and need to be earmarked for East Bay Con- servation Analyst Fund. Charli Danielsen, Conservation Coordinator FIELD TRIPS Bryophyte Field Trip, Saturday February 12, 10 am, Huckleberry Regional Preserve Eric Harris leads this year’s bryophyte (mosses and liverworts) walk to Huckleberry Regional Park. We recommend bringing a hand lens, a magnifying glass, or camera lenses for close work for the best view of the unique features of these non-flowering plants. For those interested in bryophyte keys and catalogues, Eric will bring several reprints for sale of a key published in a recent issue of Madrono. This trip will focus on bryophytes, but there may also be a few vascular plants in bloom, such as Arctostaphylos pallida or Dirca oc- cidentalis. Directions: From north Oakland /Berkeley above Highway 13 take Grizzly Peak to Skyline Boulevard, and follow Skyline Boulevard south to the Huckleberry Regional Park gate and parking lot on the left side of the road. You will pass the Sibley Regional Park gate a few minutes before you arrive. From Oakland and points south or west of 13: Take Highway 13 north and exit at Thornhill/ Moraga. Turn right onto Moraga at the traffic light at the end of the exit ramp. Go south on Moraga, parallel to 13, until you reach the traffic light at the intersection of Snake Road and Moraga. Turn left and proceed uphill on Snake past many smaller streets; look for the yellow divider line on Snake and the AC Transit bus stop signs going uphill. When Snake Road ends at Skyline Boulevard, turn left and follow Skyline Boulevard to the Huckleberry Regional Park gate, which will be on your right. Janet Gawthrop ACTIVITIES OF OTHERS Bay-Friendly Garden Tour Looking for Volunteers Sunday, May 15, 2005, 10 am-4 pm A diverse collection of gardens featuring natural gar- dening techniques will be included in the 2nd annual Bay-friendly Garden tour. To help staff these gardens, we are looking for volunteers that have an interest in and general knowledge of natural gardening and na- tive plants. Volunteers will meet other gardeners and receive an organic cotton t-shirt, an advance copy of the tour book, discount nursery coupons and other garden gifts. For more information, please contact Jeanne Nader at jnader@stopwaste.org or 510-614-1699. Sponsored by StopWaste.org. All gardens are located in Alameda County. Bringing Back the Natives garden tour A variety of bird- and butterfly- friendly, pesticide-free, water conserving, low maintenance gardens that con- tain 30% or more native plants will be open on Sunday, May 1, 2005, from 10 am to 5 pm in various locations throughout Alameda and Contra Costa counties. Free admission; registration required at www.BringingBac kTheNatives.net. Space is limited; register early to en- sure a place. Sponsored by Kathy Kramer Consulting and the Urban Creeks Council. For more information, or to volunteer to greet tour participants and answer questions, email Kathy@KathyKramerConsulting.net or call 510-236-9558 between 9 am and 9 pm. THE BAY LEAF February 2005 5 February is an excellent time for studying mosses, and this month Jim Shevock will give a talk about the geography of California’s bryophytes (see page 1). This photograph shows four mosses that are widespread in central California, growing together on a soil bank in Monterey County. The mosses are species ofAtrichum (bottom center, with broad leaves), Timmiella (long lanceolate leaves on upright stems), Claopodium (trailing across the other species) and Fissidens (smaller plants with capsules, center left). The Ca- lopodium is a pleurocarpous moss, as shown by the trailing stems, whereas the short upright species are known as acrocarpous. Photo and caption by John Game. 6 THE BAY LEAF February 2005 Board of Directors 510-841-4681 510-527-3912 pepel 066@comcast.net deliataylor@mac.com President Elaine P. Jackson 3311 Estudillo Street, Martinez 94553 925-372-0687 Elainejx@mindspring.com Vice President Laura Baker 79 Roble Road, Berkeley 94705 510-849-1409 Lbake@aol.com Treasurer Holly Forbes 7128 Blake Street, El Cerrito 94530 hforbes@uclink4.berkeley.edu h 510-234-2913 w 510-643-8040 Recording Secretary Barbara Malloch Leitner 2 Parkway Court, Orinda 94563 925-253-8300 bleitner@pacbell.net Corresponding Secretary Heath Bartosh 112 Gilbert Court, Martinez 94553 925-957-0069 hbartosh@nomadecology.com Past President Joe Willingham 2512 Etna Street, Berkeley 94704 510-841-4681 pepel 066@comcast.net Education/Outreach Bay Leaf Editor and Web- master Joe Willingham 2512 Etna Street, Berkeley 94704 Bay Leaf Mailing Holly Forbes 7128 Blake Street, El Cerrito 94530 510-234-2913 hforbes@uclink4.berkeley.edu Education Joyce Hawley 631 Albemarle Street, El Cerrito 94530 510-524-5485 jwhawley@aol.com Field Trips Janet Gawthrop 360 Monte Vista Avenue #214 Oakland 94611 510-654-3066 Janetg24@excite.com Gardens Regional Parks Botanic Garden Liaison Sue Rosenthal PO Box 20489 Oakland CA 94610 510-496-6016 rosacalifornica@earthlink.net Plant Sale Shirley McPheeters 104 Ivy Drive, Orinda 94563 925-376-4095 Programs Sue Rosenthal P.O. Box 20489, Oakland 94620 510-496-6016 rosacalifornica@earthlink.net Publicity/Media open Conservation Conservation Committee Chair Charli Danielsen 101 Golf Course Drive, Berkeley 94708 510-549-0211 charlid@pacbell.net Conservation Analyst (Staff) Jessica Olson, Conservation Analyst P. O. Box 257, Woodacre jjolson@ebcnps.org Grants Sandy McCoy 1311 Bay View Place, Berkeley 94708 wbmccoy@earthlink.net Hospitality Irene Wilkinson 440 Camino Sobrante, Orinda 94563 925-254-3675 Membership Delia Taylor 1851 Catalina Avenue, Berkeley 94707 Stewardship Native Plant Restoration Team Greg Wolford 2945 Otis Street, Berkeley 94703 510-848-6489 californica@mac.com Native Here Nursery Project Manager Charli Danielsen 101 Golf Course Drive, Berkeley 94708 510-549-0211 charlid@pacbell.net Sales Manager Margot Cunningham 415-488-4851 cell: 415-238-1143 Plant Science Rare Plants John Game 1155 Spruce Street, Berkeley 94707 510-527-7855 jcgame@lbl.gov Unusual Plants Dianne Lake 1050 Bayview Farm Road #121, Pinole 94564 510-741-8066 diannelake@yahoo.com Vegetation Susan Bainbridge 2408 Parker Street, Berkeley 94704 510-548-2918 suebain@ssci.berkeley.edu California Native Plant Society East Bay Chapter PO Box 5597, Elmwood Station Berkeley CA 94705 Chapter web site www.ebcnps.org Recorded Chapter Information 510 - 464-4977 State CNPS web site www.cnps.org Membership Application Name Address Zip Telephone I wish to affiliate with: East Bay Chapter (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties) Other Membership category: Student, Retired, Limited income, $20 Individual, Library, $35 Household, Family, or Group, $45 Supporting, $75 Plant lover, $100 E-mail Patron, $250 (optional) Benefactor, $500 Mariposa Lily, $1000 Mail application and check to: California Native Plant Society, 2707 K Street, Suite 1 , Sacramento CA 95816 THE BAY LEAF February 2005 7 This year may be a good one for flowers in our deserts, since we have had strong rains. Shown here is ghost flower ( Mohavea con ferti flora, named for the Mojave River), a beautiful early spring annual found in rocky terrain in Joshua Tree National Monument and elsewhere. It has creamy white flowers with maroon blotches and is one of only two species in the genus Mohavea. Photo and caption by John Game. California Native Plant Society East Bay Chapter P.O. Box 5597, Elmwood Station Berkeley CA 94705 Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage Paid Oakland, CA Permit No. 2018 Time Value February 2005 issue