The February 2009 Bay Leaf California Native Plant Society • East Bay Chapter • Alameda & Contra Costa Counties http://www.ebcnps.org CALENDAR OF EVENTS Native Here p. 3 Native Here open for business and volunteer help: Fridays 9 am to 12 pm, Saturdays 10 am to 2 pm, and Tuesdays 12 pm to 3 pm Meeting to Plan for 2009 Plant Fair and Native Here Projects: Saturday, February 21, 1:30 to 3:00 pm Field Trips p. 4 Saturday, February 7, 10:00 am, Huckleberry Botanic Regional Preserve Sunday, February 15, 2:00 pm, Redwood Regional Park, Oakland Sunday, February 22, 9:30 am, Mount Olympia at Mount Diablo State Park MEMBERSHIP MEETING The Plant Names, They Are A- Changing Speaker: Ellen Dean, Ph.D. Wednesday, February 25, 7:30 pm Location: Garden Room, Orinda Public Library (directions be- low) The names of plants have been in flux for centuries. Over the past decade, however, name changes have occurred at an accelerated pace. The most numerous and dramatic changes are being made at the family and genus levels, based on analyses of molecular data with modern phylogenetic methods. The resulting evolutionary trees are converted to taxonomic classifications by recognizing monophyletic groups (all the organisms in a monophyletic group are known to have developed from a common ancestral form, and all descendants of that form are included in the group), so that species and genera are grouped with their closest relatives. Analyses of molecular data have led to some surprises, and many groups recognized in the past are no longer accepted. Families no longer recognized in the upcoming Jepson Manual include Hydro- phyllaceae, Capparaceae, Lemnaceae, Aceraceae, and Hippocastan- aceae. The large lily family used in the current Jepson Manual will be broken into 16 small families with unfamiliar names such as Themidaceae. The Scrophulariaceae will be completely rearranged with Penstemon (beardtongues) becoming part of Plantaginaceae and Castilleja (paintbrushes) part of Orobanchaceae. Examinations of the Plants National Database and Flora of North America, both cov- ering the entire United States, indicate that many familiar genera Board of Directors Meeting Wednesday, February 25, 6:00-7:15 Garden Room, Orinda Public Library See article on page 2 about new day and time. Membership Meeting see below Wednesday, February 25, 7:30 pm Garden Room, Orinda Public Library will be revised as well. Ellen Dean will provide a preview of name changes that will be incorporated into the next Jepson Manual as well as the fascinating science behind the changes. Ellen Dean is the Curator of the UC Davis Center for Plant Diversity herbarium and performs plant identifications for UC Cooperative Extension specialists and farm advisors, including Master Gardener personnel. East Bay CNPS membership meetings are free of charge and open to everyone. This month’s meeting takes place in the Garden Room of the Orinda Public Library at 24 Orinda Way (in Orinda Village). The Garden Room is on the second floor of the building, accessible by stairs or an elevator. The Garden Room opens at 7:00 pm; the meeting begins at 7:30 pm. 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 sta- tion 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 southeast side of the two-story building on your right. There is ad- ditional free parking beneath the building as well as on the street. continued on page 2 MEMBERSHIP MEETING continued from page 1 from BART (4 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 2 blocks on Orinda Way to the Orinda Library. Next Program Wednesday, March 25, 7:30 pm, Orinda Library Garden Room Ralph and Lisa Shanks — Indian Baskets of Central California, Art, Culture, and History NEW TIMES FOR BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETINGS Beginning this month East Bay Chapter Board meetings will be held just before the monthly East Bay Chapter programs. That is, the Board will meet in the Garden Room of the Orinda Library from 6 pm to 7:15 pm on Wednesday, February 25, and similarly in March and April. We hope this change will make it easier for interested members to sit in on Board meetings to learn what goes on. Our Board members will be able to stay for the program without having to go out an extra night. As time allows, Board members will have a turn to introduce themselves and tell briefly about an on-going project. MEMBERSHIP NOTES As we promised last month, we have a fellow member we would like you to get to know. Her name is Frances Dahlquist. She is a member of the East Bay Chapter of the California Native Plant Society (EBCNPS) and lives in eastern Contra Costa County. Frances has been working with California native plants for about 5 years; she has a lovely garden that has been planted in stages since 2004. Frances Dahlquist TT . . Her garden features mainly natives from Contra Costa County, including many that can live without supple- mental water. While Frances enjoys plants a lot, the main goal of her garden is to provide food and shelter for local wildlife. For this reason she aims for diversity when choosing plants. One of the great benefits to maintaining this type of garden is watching the native wildlife that comes by. Frances likes to take pictures of insects in the garden, with a special interest in bees. Frances particularly admires the insect attracting abilities of Salvia mellifera (black sage), Solarium umbelliferum (bluewitch nightshade), Grindelia camporum (gum plant), Lessingia fdaginifolia (common California aster), Malacothamnus fasciculatus (chaparral mallow), Ribes indecorum (white flowering currant), and California pop- pies. Her garden will be on the Bringing Back The Natives Garden Tour this year. Frances is currently working with her city planning department in an effort to encourage the use of native plants in develop- ment projects. With the help of fellow EBCNPS members she developed a list of native plants local to eastern Contra Costa Please come to the Garden Room to see your EBCNPS Board in action. Delia Barnes Taylor County and provided it to the city planning department. She is also working with Kathy Kramer, director of the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour, to take the department on a private tour of native plant gardens this spring. Please feel free to contract Frances (thru Elaine) if you’d like more information on how to do the same thing for your city. Finally, she likes to fund the activities of EB-CNPS by participating in a workplace giving program her employer, PG&E, offers. PG&E will match contributions by employees and retirees to environ- mental and educational charities made through this program. Frances has pledged $1332 to EBCNPS for 2009, and PG&E will match that pledge. If you are thinking about helping your local chapter financially, do check with your present or former employer to see if they have a matching program. If you would like to be featured in this column, please send me a write-up of yourself, and your CNPS experiences. A photo would really capture your moment. We are open to all ideas. 2 THE BAY LEAF February 2009 Elaine Jackson, elainejx@att.net Carroll Castro, carollbcastro@hotmail.com Have any questions about upcoming events? Interested in getting more involved? Please don’t hesitate to contact us. elainejx@att.net, 925-372-0687 or carollbcastro@hotmail.com, 510-352-2382 Getting More Involved and Having Lots of Fun Doing It Think Globally, Volunteer Locally Brentwood — The Friends of Marsh Creek will be planting a Califor- nia Native Demonstration Garden in Creekside Park. Contact Mary Grim 925-672-6522 x 113 or email mary.grim@ca.nacdnet.net Martinez — Help needed at the new Native Plant Garden at the John Muir Historical Site Visitors Center. Join us on most Mon- day or Tuesday mornings for an hour or so of general cleanup at our beautiful new garden. We have finalized the Color 8 j Garden Book, and it will be available at the John Muir Visitors Center for a $5.00 donation. Contact Elaine Jackson at 925-372-0687 or email elainejx@att.net Martinez — Strentzel Meadow is in the process of planning a native butterfly garden and possible seeding of additional native grasses. If you would like to help let me know, elainejx@att.net Mt. Diablo State Park — Looking for volunteers to help restore Mitchell Canyon’s upper Mitchell Creek. It is mostly weeding black- berry and periwinkle, some planting in wet season and irrigation in dry. Work is physically demanding. Every Wednesday 8 am-2 pm and the 3rd Saturday of each month 9 am-3 pm. Contact Dave Caniglia at cani@mindspring.com or 925-287-9733. NATIVE HERE NURSERY Buy Local Natives from Native Here and Support Our Chapter’s Activities Native Here has expanded hours through February. Having the Nursery open on Tuesdays from noon to 3 pm allows agencies, park staff, and landscape professionals, as well as home gardeners, more opportunities to buy plants during the prime planting season. The extra hours also allow us to better accommodate requests for contract-grown plants. The Nursery continues to remain open from 10 until 2 pm on Saturdays, as well as the time-honored Friday nine to noon hours. Customers are welcome to purchase plants during the Nursery’s open hours. • Come buy plants throughout the winter. Annuals are sprouting up and we’re putting them out for sale as they come up. Bulbs are coming out as well. Soap roots came up first, followed by Dichlelostemma and Triteleia. • Come to the Nursery to find out about unadvertised specials! • Check the Native Here pages on the Chapter website www.ebcnps.org as there is now a list of plants available as of the first of this year. It will be updated in May. Pleasant Hill — Volunteers are always welcome at the Pleasant Hill Adult Education Center Garden. Contact Monika Olsen at 925-937-1530 or email phecgarden@prodigy.net Walnut Creek — Native demonstration garden on The Iron Horse Trail in Walnut Creek near the Walnut Creek Intermediate. Contact Judy Adler, jadlermtnmama@sbcglobal.net (Do you have or know of a local event coming up in your neigh- borhood that would be a good location for CNPS to have a display table? You can host it. Come on up to our Native Here Nursery (during business hours) and pick up supplies to pass out. Call us with any questions.) New Members Please join us in welcoming those who joined in the November/ December time frame: Clara Muggli, Megan Keever, Wendy Renz, Jessica Ching, Bea Moore, Ellen Hopkins, Laurie Koteen, Patricia Maurice, John Nicol, Forrest Merrill, &c Tania Zaleski. Please let me know if I am missing your name. Many thanks to all of you that have renewed your membership throughout the year. May you enjoy many more years with EBC- NPS. Elaine Jackson and Carol Castro • Come to a meeting to plan the 2009 Plant Fair and Native Here Projects for the next fiscal year, at the Nursery on February 21 from 1:30 to 3 pm. • Volunteers are welcome at the Nursery to help replen- ish our stock. We will sow seed, transplant, weed, move plants around, water, and perform other tasks. If inter- ested, show up when the Nursery is open or email us at nativehere@ebcnps.org to arrange other volunteer times. We accept used pots during our open hours on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. We reuse some of them and put the rest in the bin just outside the top gate. Anyone is welcome to take pots from this bin to use for their own planting projects. Featured Plant for February 2009 All of the previously featured plants: Cornus sericea, Oemleria cerasiformis (October, 2008); Quercus agrifolia (November, 2008); Physocarpus capitatus, Ceanothus gloriosus exaltatus , Arctostaphylos bakeri ‘Louis Edmonds’ (December, 2008); Aesculus californica and Cupressus sargentii (January, 2009) remain available. This month continued on page 4 THE BAY LEAF February 2009 3 NATIVE HERE we are featuring Ribes divaricatum var. pubiflorum, a wonderful flowering shrub with the unfortunate common name “straggly gooseberry”. If you need a barrier planting that has good wildlife continued from page 3 value, this is an excellent choice. For the month of February, buy one Ribes divaricatum at the regular price and get a second one (same or smaller size) for one dollar! Ribes divaricatum var. pubiflorum Photo by Janice Bray FIELD TRIPS Saturday, February 7, 10:00 am, Huckleberry Botanic Re- gional Preserve Join past president Charli Danielsen for a leisurely walk (2-3 hours) on one of her favorite trails, repeating the traditional winter Huck- leberry Path walk. For Charli, this walk is truly “memory lane”, so be prepared for a lot of reminiscences and East Bay CNPS history, as well as enjoying the winter flora of the preserve. Expect to see pink flowering currant in bloom (Ribes sanguineum var. glutinosum), the heart-leafed Alameda manzanita (Arctostaphylos pallida ) and the companion brittle-leafed manzanita (A. tomentosum), and the huckleberry for which the path is named. Of course we’ll see the weedy invaders and the native understory plants also. Plant lists will be available, or you can look up the species on line with the “What Grows Here” feature at www.calflora.org. If rain is predicted, that will be a blessing and we’ll wear rain gear. If it’s a heavy storm, we’ll bag it. Although the path has easy grades, the surface may be slippery, so wear footwear that has traction and good ankle support. Directions: From either north or south on Highway 13, take the Moraga/Thornhill exit and follow Moraga Avenue past the stoplight at the end of the ramp. Moraga will run south alongside 13 for several blocks, changing its name to Mountain Boulevard after a couple of stop lights. Turn left at the stop light onto Snake Road, and follow Snake uphill to the stop sign, and then turn a hard left to follow Snake uphill (if you see Shepherd Canyon Park on your right, you missed the turn; go back and turn right at the stop sign.) Where Snake ends at Skyline Boulevard, turn left and follow Skyline a short distance to the Huckleberry parking lot. Skyline has been under repair in the recent past near the Huckleberry Park entrance, but access remained for foot and bicycle traffic. If the road is closed for repairs, you can park near the closure, and proceed the last 60-70 yards to the parking lot on foot. Sunday, February 15, 2:00 pm, Redwood Regional Park, Oakland We will walk along the stream and on the slopes above Redwood Creek in this large East Bay redwood forest, looking at early flow- 4 THE BAY LEAF February 2009 ering plants and the trees and shrubs of the redwood forest. We will also look for newts and rainbow trout in Redwood Creek. The whole walk is about 2.5 miles with steep uphill and steep downhill portions. Walkers who want to avoid the steep trails can return along the stream trail about halfway through the walk. Meet at the Redwood Gate parking area at 2:00 pm. Directions: To get there from the northern East Bay, get on 13 South (go east on Ashby Avenue in Berkeley, for example) and take the Redwood Road exit. From Oakland, go east on 35th Avenue (which turns into Redwood Road). From the southern East Bay, take 580 West to 13 North and exit at Redwood Road (immediately after the junction). From San Francisco, take the Bay Bridge, stay- ing to the right (but do not go to San Jose). Take 580 East, and then 24 East (towards Walnut Creek). Take the 13 South exit from 24 and then the Redwood Road exit. Once on Redwood Road, go east (uphill). At the top of the hill you will cross Skyline Boulevard and then pass various equestrian facilities. Go down into the valley. About two miles from Skyline Boulevard, turn left into Redwood Regional Park, following the entrance road to the end to the parking lot. Walk takes place rain or shine. ACTIVITIES OF OTHERS Come join us every 3rd Saturday of the month in the Botany Department at the new California Academy of Sciences. Volunteers will help prepare plant specimens for botanical research and have fun interacting with others interested in botany. We will train new and experienced plant mounters in the techniques used here at CAS and look forward to your ongoing participation in working through our large backlog of plants. To sign up: Rosalind Henning; 415-379-5111, rhenning@calacademy. or g For questions: Rebecca Peters: 415-379-5392, rpeters@calcademy.org Susan D'Alcamo: 415-379-5354; sdalcamo@calacademy.org First training session: February 21, 9 am - 4pm Ongoing dates: March 21, April 18, May 16, June 20, 2009 Be sure to let us know you're coming. www.calacademy.org Workshops at the Jepson Herbarium http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/ workshops/ 2009/ index.html Sunday, February 22, 9:30 am, Mount Olympia at Mount Diablo State Park Gregg Weber will return to the canyons above Clayton to see many late winter flowers, with possible performances by sun, sky and clouds. Winter blooms to look for should include two species of manzanita, violas, nemophila, and some early composites in flower. This is a strenuous walk with 2300 elevation gain on the way out, and all downhill on the return trip. The round trip distance is about 8 miles, so the trip will take 4-6 hours. Bring lunch and water and be prepared for a wide range of temperatures. The trip will proceed despite official predictions of rain, and we will decide on the day of the trip if the weather is sufficiently inclement before returning. Directions: Take 24 or 680 to Ignacio Valley Road. Continue on Ignacio Valley Road into the city of Clayton, where you turn right onto Clayton Road. Take Clayton Road past the first intersection with Marsh Creek Road; in about a mile, it becomes Marsh Creek Road. Continue straight on Marsh Creek Road and turn right onto Regency Drive. Go three blocks on Regency Drive, then turn left onto Rialto Drive and follow it to the end. Regency Drive also ends at a trailhead, but that is for a different trail; be sure to turn left onto Rialto. Meet the group at the end of Rialto. Intermediate Bryology February 21-22, 2009 Brent D. Mishler and Ken Kellman Location: Valley Life Sciences Building, UC Berkeley Grimmia February 28-March 1, 2009 Roxanne Hastings Location: Valley Life Sciences Building, UC Berkeley High Sierra Camp & Workshop The historic Golden Trout Camp, at 10,000 ft., justr south of Mt. Whitney, is a unique 3-mile hike-in wilderness camp. Natural history and B&W photography sessions start on 6/21, 6/28 & 7/5. $495 for a full week, meals included. Contact Paul at 805-688-8344 or GoldenTroutWorkshops@ Gmail.com See www.GoldenTroutWorkshops.org THE BAY LEAF February 2009 5 Vegetation Sampling in Maritime Chaparral Mt. Diablo State Park February 22 and March 21, 2009 Please join the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) for two Vegetation Sampling Field Trips in Mt. Diablo State Park, Contra Costa County These two 1-day trips will focus on fine-scale vegetation sampling in maritime chaparral plant communities Who should attend? Professional botanists, ecologists, resource managers, and conservationists. Participants should have basic plant identification skills. Trip leaders: Erin McDermott, East Bay Chapter Vegetation Chair Julie Evens, CNPS Lead Vegetation Ecologist Jennifer Buck, CNPS Vegetation Ecologist Location: Mt. Diablo State Park is located east of Walnut Creek in the San Francisco Bay Region. There is a parking fee for any car entering Mt. Diablo State Park. You may want to carpool. General: $7.00 per car. Senior (62+): $6.00 per car. Meeting place (Sunday 2/22 & Saturday 3/21): Curry Point Trailhead parking lot at 1 0 am To get there from Interstate 680 take exit 40 for El Cerro Boulevard in Danville and head east. Take a slight left onto Diablo Boulevard. Travel 2.2 miles and turn left onto Mt. Diablo Boulevard. Mt. Diablo Boulevard will turn into South Gate Road as you climb up the mountain and pass the ranger's kiosk. Curry Point Trailhead is on the right side of the road on a hairpin curve to the left. The trailhead is 5.4 miles from the left turn onto Mt. Diablo Boulevard at the bottom of the hill. Equipment list Please bring the following equipment/supplies: • Clipboard • Notebook and pencils • Sturdy boots and field clothes appropriate for conditions • Water • Bag lunch • Snacks Optional items: • Compass and/with clinometer • Binoculars • Digital camera • GPS unit rsvp/questions/carpool information: Contact Erin McDermott at 510-701-2890 or email at emcdermott@nomadecology.com 6 THE BAY LEAF February 2009 Arctostaphylos auriculata (Mt. Diablo manzanita) Photos by Janice Bray A. auriculata is limited in range to Mt. Diablo. It is listed by CNPS as IB. 3, rare, threatened, or endangered in CA and elsewhere. The photos are from the CD East Bay Native Plants, produced by Janice Bray with help from Charli Dan- ielsen, Gregg Webber, and the volunteers at EBCNPS Native Here Nursery. The CD is available from Native Here Nursery. THE BAY LEAF February 2009 7 Board of Directors Elected Officers President Delia Taylor 510-527-3912 deliataylor@mac.com Vice President Carol Castro 510-352-2382 carollbcastro@hotmail. com Treasurer Holly Forbes hforbes@berkeley.edu h 510-234-2913 w 510-643-8040 FAX 510-642-5045 Recording Secretary Barbara Malloch Leitner 925-253-8300 bleitner@pacbell.net Corresponding Secretary Janet Gawthrop janetgawthrop47@gmail. com Past President Charli Danielsen nativehere@ebcnps.org 510-549-0211 Education/Outreach Bay Leaf Editor and Web- master Joe Willingham 510-841-4681 pepel 066@comcast.net Bay Leaf Assistant Editor David Margolies 510-654-0283 dm@franz.com Bay Leaf Mailing Holly Forbes 510-234-2913 hforbes@berkeley.edu Education open Field Trips Janet Gawthrop janetgawthrop47@gmail. com Regional Parks Botanic Garden Liaison Sue Rosenthal 510-496-6016 rosacalifornica@earthlink. net Grants Sandy McCoy sandymccoy@mindspring. com Hospitality open Membership Elaine P. Jackson 925-372-0687 elainejx@att.net Carol Castro 510-352-2382 carollbcastro@hotmail. com Plant Sale Interim Chair Sue Rosenthal 510-496-6016 rosacalifornica@earthlink. net Book Sales Elly Bade bebade@sbcglobal.net Programs Sue Rosenthal 510-496-6016 rosacalifornica@earthlink. net Publicity/Media open Conservation Conservation Committee Chair Laura Baker 510-849-1409 Lbake66@aol.com Conservation Analyst (Staff) Lech Naumovich 510 734-0335 conservation@ebcnps. org Stewardship Native Plant Restoration Team open Native Here Nursery 510-549-0211 Charli Danielsen Project Manager nativehere@ebcnps.org Margot Cunningham Sales Manager bunchgrassmarg@gmail. com Janice Bray Liaison to Board nativehere@ebcnps.org Plant Science Bryophytes John Game51 0-527-7855 jcgame@stanford.edu Rare Plants Heath Bartosh 925-957-0069 hbartosh@nomadecol- ogy.com Unusual Plants Dianne Lake 510-741-8066 diannelake@yahoo.com Vegetation Erin McDermott erinmcd2004@yahoo. com Members at Large Gregg Weber 510-223-3310 Peter Rauch peterar@berkeley.edu Membership Application Name Address Zip Telephone I wish to affiliate with: East Bay Chapter (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties) Other Membership category: Student, Limited income, $25 Individual, Library, $45 Household, Family, or Group, $75 Supporting, $75 Plant lover, $100 Patron, $300 E-mail Benefactor, $600 ( °P tional) Mariposa Lily, $1500 Mail application and check to: California Native Plant Society, 2707 K Street, Suite 1, Sacramento CA 95816 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 2009 issue