Mimulus Memo California Native Plant Society — Kern County Chapter March/April 2010 Tuesday, March 16^*^ 6:00 PM Everyone is welcome to attend meetings in the Kern County Superintendent of Schools Building on the corner of 17th and The parking building is located on 18th between “K” and “L“. (( L“. Tour the new Native Plant Nursery at the Panorama Vista Preserve Bill Cooper and Rich O’Neil of the Kem River Parkway Foundation will give us a tour and a talk about the new Native Plant Nursery at the Panorama Vista Preserve. We will learn how the thousands of pots have been filled with cuttings and seeds with the goal of re-vegetating the Preserve and along the Kern River at other spots. This will be a wonderful opportunity to see how it’s done! We also will have a short tour, so wear walking shoes, and be prepared for the weather. The time will have changed so we will have sunlight for the program, but no time to key at this meeting. Refreshments will be served! To join us, turn east off of Manor on Roberts Lane, driving past the horse stables until the end of the road. The gate is signed and will be open, so drive in and turn at the second left, to the shade structure and C-train for parking. This is east of the housing development. You may want to go to the website www.panoramaviSta.org for a map and to see all of the work done by our own Andy Honig, and Bill, Rich, and other volunteers. Web Master Sasha Honig has started a blog you may connect to at this site, to see what is going on! Rain cancels. Tuesday, April 20*** 6:00 pm Kern County Superintendent’s Offiee (see above) Bring your loop, Twisselmann-Moe or Jepson, and we will provide the plants. Learn to key! 6:50pm Chapter Business 7 : 00pm Program : CALIFORNIA ’ s Miniature Monkeyflo wers : small plants with big problems Speaker: Naomi Fraga of the Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Gardens and Ph. D student at Claremont Graduate University. Naomi will share her dissertation research which focuses on a group of species in the genus Mimulus (commonly known as monkeyflowers). Mimulus is particularly diverse in western North America, where 75% of the total number of species are found. At least 52 species of Mimulus are currently listed by government agencies and native plant societies as sensitive, rare, threatened, or endangered, making Mimulus a group of conservation concern. However, with 90 to 170 species recognized, the species boundaries in Mimulus remain unclear. Resolving taxonomic issues, and identifying species, must happen before conservation measures can be established. In her study, Naomi has uncovered two new and previously undescribed, and therefore unnamed, species of Mimulus. Come to see and hear about cutting edge research on species in our chapter logo genus! [The picture at the right is from Naomi’s website: http://anabaena. net/1 6:00pm Plant identification 1 The Tejon Ranch Conservancy has invited us back to the Ranch for what we hope will be an outstanding spring bloom! We'll have a field trip March 6 to Comanche Point (600’- 1,200’ elevation) and another May 1 to the Caliente Creek area of Tejon Ranch (800’ - 1,200’ elevation). We'll work on creating plant lists during both field trips, so come prepared to key! On the trip to Caliente Creek, we will also try to rediscover Vasek’s clarkia (Clarkia tembloriensis ssp. calientensis). Ellen Cypher will assist with plant identification. Be sure to bring lunch, water, hat, sunblock, layers of clothing, and wear sturdy boots. Pets and smoking are not allowed on Tejon Ranch. You may want to bring along copies of plant lists from nearby areas such as Wind Wolves Preserve and Hungry Valley (available on the Kern CNPS Chapter web site: www.KernCNPS.org) as a starting point, as well as your Kern County Flora, Jepson Manual, and any other references that may be appropriate. Please notify Lucy Clark at lucyg39 1 @ gmail.com if you plan to attend, by 8pm the previous Friday, for each trip. We have to inform them of numbers. Meet at the south end of the Wild West Shopping Center parking lot at the corner of Real Road and Stockdale Highway, at 8 am to carpool to either site. If coming from the east, meet at 8:45 am at the gate of the Tejon Ranch (for the Comanche Point trip). Please be prompt, as the gates must be locked once everyone arrives, for the group to start. Directions to the sites are as follows: Comanche Point (Sunday, March 14, 8:45am-?) - [DATE CHANGED from March 6] We will enter at the Tejon Ranch gate at the end of Comanche Point Road. To get there, from Bakersfield, we will take Hwy 99 south to HWY 223, turn east to Arvin, and then turn south on South Derby Road/Tejon Highway. Tejon Highway dead ends into Herring Road/Comanche Point Road. Turn left (east) on Comanche Point Road follow it around to the Tejon Ranch gate. Please be there at 8:45am. From points east, go west on HWY 58 and exit at HWY 223. At South Derby Road/Tejon Highway, turn south (left) and go through Arvin to the dead end at Herring Road/Comanche Point Road. Turn east (left again) on Comanche Point Road, and follow it around to the Tejon Ranch gate. Please be there at 8:45am. Caliente Creek (Saturday. May 1, 8:45am-?) - We will meet at the intersection of Bena Road and HWY 223 (just south of Highway 58, near the new Veterans' Cemetery). From HWY 58, exit on HWY 223. Bena immediately crosses 223. Please be there at 8:45am. March 27, Saturday- Mimulus pictus Picnic Join Lucy Clark and Clyde Golden in the foothills for another picnic with masses of our chapter’s logo plant in bloom. If you wish, we will hike around the property to check out what else is up and/or blooming. It is the beginning of a spectacular season, and we will hope for even more rain to keep things colorful. (Lucy has promised Dorie that if the rains stop, she will tote water in a bucket uphill to keep the Calico Monkeyflower alive.) Bring your lunch and a drink, binoculars, and something to sit on if you are not fond of granite. Dessert will be provided. You may go or stay as your time allows. Meet at 9:30am at the Denny’s at the corner of HWY 65 and Merle Haggard Drive/old Standard Road to car pool up to Woody. Have a full tank of gas, as there are no services. If you are coming from the east side of the Sierra, please contact Lucy at Iucvq391@amail.com , and a map and directions will be sent to you. 2 This has been as annual an affair as nature has permitted, and we welcome you, rain or shine. Sequoia Riverlands Trust’s Vernal Pools (Saturday, April 3, 2010, 10:00 am-noon) What: An easy, two-mile guided walk through Sequoia Riverlands Trust’s James K. Herbert Wetland Prairie Preserve, where you will get a ehanee to view the rare and exotie vernal pool eeosystem. The 725-aere preserve proteets one of the largest remaining vernal pool grasslands in the San Joaquin Valley. View wildlife and gain an understanding of the distinetive speeies adapted to sueh a unique environment. Over 130 bird speeies, ineluding burrowing owl, golden eagle, blaek-neeked stilt, western meadowlark and red- winged blaekbird nest or forage on the preserve. Those interested ean return to Bakersfield via the Pixley Vernal Pools, a preserve of the Center for Natural Lands Management, and a National Natural Landmark. Please go to www.KernCNPS.orq for artieles/lists of plants found there. Who: Bobby Kamansky, biologist and eeologist. Where: (See below for carpooling info.) The preserve is loeated at the junetion of Road 168 and Highway 137, between the towns of Tulare and Lindsay, on the south side of the road. .From the south, take HWY 99 north to Tulare. Take Exit 87, CA-HWY 137/Tulare Ave. Make a slight right at E. Sierra Ave., then a left onto S. Spruee St., then turn right at CA-137 East (E. Tulare Ave). Drive east 7 miles, to the signed entranee on your right side at the junetion of Road 168, whieh eomes from the north. Enter at the pole barn, just past the sign. Bring: water, luneh, binoeulars, field guides and a friend. Wear waterproof shoes, layered elothing, sunglasses and a hat. Please, no dogs. There are no Porta-Potties or water at Herbert. Donation request : $10 Sequoia Riverlands Trust members; $15 non-members. Join that day and attend the program for free. Memberships start at $35 for an individual or $50 for a family. Meet: At Denny’s parking lot on the eorner of HWY 65 and Merle Haggard (7* Standard) at 8:30am to earpool. April 17, Saturday - El Paso Wash, Indian Wells Valley This is a trip to which the Creosote Ring Group of the Bristlecone Pine Chapter has invited us. Leaders: Kathy LaShure & Jane McEwen. We will explore the area southwest of Ridgecrest (north drainage of El Paso Mountains) that is the proposed site for the Solar Millennium Ridgecrest project. Ileene Anderson, Center for Biological Diversity biologist, has given us some guidelines. "Eschscholzia minutiflora ssp. twisselmanii (Red Rock poppy), Cymopterus deserticola (Desert cymopterus), Phacelia nashiana (Charlotte's phacelia) are rare plants that immediately come to mind, although I think the Cymopterus is a bit of a long-shot. The other 2 are likely though. Also in that wash area, keep your eye open for cross between Hymenoclea salsola and Ambrosia dumosa. I found this in Dove Canyon years ago - big shrub that I couldn't ID (embarrassing). Inter-genetic hybrids are unusual and should count for something!! We can also look for cryptobiotic soil crusts, unusual plant assemblages, new rare alliances as described in the new Manual of CA Veg." We might also spot a Desert Tortoise munching on wildflowers! Meet at 9:00 AM at the intersection of Brown Road & Powerline Road. That's 7 miles south of the intersection of Hwy 178 and Brown Road in Inyokern or 2.9 miles west of the intersection of Hwy 395 and Brown Road (coming from Ridgecrest). Passenger cars OK to meeting site. Bring water, snacks, hat, sunscreen, Jepson Desert Manual, notebook and pencil, camera. For further information, please contact Kathy LaShure ( desert encelia(g)verizon.net ). For people on the west side of the Sierra, we will meet to car pool in the Tuesday Morning parking lot at the corner of Auburn and Fairfax at 7:15am. May 1, Saturday - Caliente Creek at Tejon Ranch (see page 2) 3 • Keep up with meetin<^ info, field trips, and other current announcements • View and submit pictures of California LUildflowers • Look at the most recent /Wmulus /Vlemo, or read older ones www.KernCNPS.org Our next All Member Meeting has been booked /TTX Mimidus Memo Events Calendar \ Superintendent of Schools office, downtown. Field Trips \ RFCRNT ANOTINCFMF-NTS \ 1 Pf«idem-8 KEIi.NC.VJ4.ANMALK)nVCK / Message — \ Meetiiiss.&, Other Ereitte, updated May 6, 2009 1 ll \ up date d M ay 6, 2009 rw SMAtfM sms -tvs. a • \ Check out the list of leftover plants rrom me plant sale (prices reduced!) Contiicts Lucy Clark: President Phi^'bi’ejraphs - by Mrsmb^rs 1 — Submit Yours Today <■ ^ \ TWISSELMANN MOE FAMILY INDEX All in