imu

California

tive

Plant

Society

KERN CHAPTER

JUNE 2014

Alice Eastwood (1859-1953):

Heroine of Botany

by Nancy Nies

CONTENTS

Botany Notables - 1
Gardening with Natives - 2
Accolades - 3
Meeting Topics - 3

EVENTS

JUNE

19 — Meeting, 7pm
JULY
NO MEETING

AUGUST
NO MEETING

SEPTEMBER

W HILE CALIFORNIANS ARE

certainly familiar with the disastrous
San Francisco earthquake and subsequent fire
of 1906, they may not have heard of a heroic
act performed at that time on behalf of na-
tive plants by a daring woman named Alice
Eastwood. Then curator of botany at the Cali-
fornia Academy of Sciences, she rushed to the
heavily damaged Academy building as fires
raged nearby The herbarium was on the sixth
floor, and since most of the stone steps had not
survived the earthquake, Alice and a friend
somehow managed to climb up the metal
railing. They were able to quickly retrieve the
most valuable botanical treasures — 1,497 type
specimens — thanks to Alice's unconventional
decision as curator to house them separately
from the rest of the collection. After escaping A , . r .
with the specimens, Alice found a cart she

could use to transport and protect them over the next few days, even as
her own home and possessions went up in flames.

18 — Meeting, 7pm

Alice Eastwood was born in Toronto, Canada, but at age 14 moved to
Denver, Colorado with her family. There she attended high school, gradu-
ating as class valedictorian. She taught at the school for the next ten years,

without benefit of a college

education. During vacations,
she taught herself botany and
made collecting trips. In 1891
Katharine Brandegee, then
botany curator at the Califor-
nia Academy of Sciences, saw
Alice's collection in Denver
and asked her to help at the
Academy's herbarium. The
next year Alice Eastwood and
Katharine Brandegee became
joint curators of the Academy's botany department, and in 1894, upon Bran-

They were able to quickly re-
trieve the most valuable botani-
cal treasures ... thanks to Alice's
unconventional decision as
curator to house them separately
from the rest of the collection.

The California Native Plant Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of California native plants and
their natural habitats , and to increasing the understanding , appreciation, and horticultural use of native plants.

Courtesy of the California Academy of Sciences Archives

2

Mimulus Memo — June 2014

Alice Eastwood: Heroine of Botany (Continued)

degee's retirement, Alice became the sole curator.

During the five years it took to rebuild the Academy's
facilities in San Francisco, Alice studied at herbaria
in Europe and the United States. In order to replace
the Academy's lost collections, she made expeditions
to Alaska, Arizona, Baja California, British Columbia,
and Utah, being particularly interested in Western
U.S. Liliaceae and the genera Eupinus, Arctostaphylos,
and Castilleja. She also did extensive field work within
California, and named 125 species of California
plants. By the time she retired in 1949 at age 90, the
Academy's herbarium contained over 350,000 speci-
mens — almost three times the number lost in 1906 —
and Alice had published many books and more than
300 articles, edited the journals Zoe and Erythea, and
co-founded the journal Leaflets of Western Botany.

Like her mentor Katharine Brandegee, Alice
Eastwood was a woman ahead of her time. Broad-
minded, she promoted the interests of women,
plants, the outdoors, and natural resources. In
1903 only a few women were recognized in Ameri-
can Men of Science, and Alice was one of the two
listed with a star to indicate their being among
the top 25% of scientists in their field. She was an
energetic, robust woman who could cover twenty
miles a day on foot, and who was allowed to join
a men's hiking group when she showed that her
hiking ability rivaled that of the men. She explored
difficult Western terrain in long skirts, but also
designed a skirt that buttoned to make pants. Though
Alice was conventional enough to apparently have
twice been willing to give up her botany career for
marriage, both her suitors died before that could hap-
pen.

Alice Eastwood's name lives on in the plants named
for her, which include seventeen species and the gen-
era Eastwoodia and Aliciella. In 1950, she presided
over the International Botanical Congress in Swe-
den from a chair once used by Linnaeus. A tribute
written in 1942 by F. M. MacFarland, commemorat-
ing Alice Eastwood's fifty years of service to the
Academy, mentions the "frank, direct approach
to every problem and [the] modest, kindly spirit"
of the woman who risked her life to save valuable
specimens in 1906 and would dedicate her long life
to the study of native plants of California and the
Western U.S. — a true heroine of botany.

Author's note: For historical and personal details,

I am indebted in large part to Larry Blakely's well-
researched website on California botanists, "Who's in
a Name?".

Natives go " Commercial "

by Monica Tudor

T THE BAKERSFIELD COLLEGE GARDEN FEST
this year, a person came by and commented that
their homeowner's association was not in favor of na-
tive/ drought-tolerant plantings. I had recently read of
legislation* that allowed the homeowner to use native
plantings in spite of the HOA's rules. This and a sug-
gestion from a CNPS member got me thinking about
the use of native plants in Bakersfield's commercial
locations.

There are other locations where native plants are
featured, — CALM, for example — but what about
commercial developments? I've seen deer grass in
street medians, but even better are the newer de-
velopments on Stockdale highway from California

Pizza Kitchen all the
way to Riverlakes
Park. These are planted
with several varieties
of native plants. They
are mixed with typical
landscape plants (roses)
and other drought-toler-
ant plants (Texas ranger,
for example). Thank
you to the planners and
designers!

Unidentified mallow. Starting at the parking

lot at Riverlakes Park,

I noticed Salvias, penstemon, and manzanita. The
manzanita looks great and I'm jealous because it is
the plant I've had the most difficulty with, trying to
get it to grow in my own California garden. In front of
Target are some nice desert willows. At first I didn't
notice the bushes in the islands, but they are toyons.
The toyon is clipped to look like a boxwood, but nev-
ertheless it's cool to see it planted.

In front of Chipotle
is a mallow of some
kind and just over
is (what might be)
an Encelia actonii.
Heading east along
the bike path just
behind California
Pizza Kitchen and
the Elephant Bar is
deer grass, Cleveland
sage, white sage, and
redbud. These two establishments also use natives in
the landscaping facing the street. Their style is to use

Penstemon peeking through.

Mimulus Memo — June 2014

3

natives like regular commercial plants, so you'll find
their plants clipped and in orderly rows. Just goes to
show that natives can be used in a more formal style
landscape as well as a natural-looking landscape.

I have to confess that when I discover natives in parks
and commercial landscapes, it brings me joy. What's
not to love? The plants are beautiful, they provide
habitat and they are drought-tolerant, an important
consideration for our valley.

*The Davis-Sterling Act, Civil Code §1353.8. Low
Water-Using Plants, specifically states: "...a provision
of any of the governing documents of a common interest
development shall be void and unenforceable if it ... pro-
hibits, or includes conditions that have the effect of pro-
hibiting, the use of low water-using plants as a group..."

Germinating Ideas...

I F YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW HAS A

garden featuring at least some native plants, con-
tact Dorie Giragosian ( dorengiragosian@peoplepc.com ) . A
resource listing of such gardens will be invaluable in
the spring for planning possible garden tours.

Anyone with interest in and or knowledge of
fabric-dying with plants — especially natives —
contact Sasha Honig ( andum5@bak.rr.com ) for shar-
ing knowledge and resources.

Rare Plant Treasure Hunt

E njoy a day of botanizing in the mount

Pinos/ Los Padres National Forest area on Satur-
day, June 28. Help us search for several historically-
documented populations in the area. Hiking will be
easy, but at some altitude. Be sure to bring water for
the day, a lunch, and plenty of sun protection. Ticks
could be encountered but no poison oak (yay!). Meet
at 9:30 am at the Chuchupate Ranger Station's large
parking lot, 1 mile west of Lake of the Woods, about 8
miles from Highway 5.

For Info and to RSVP contact: Melinda Elster

( melster@charter.net ) or Danny Slakey ( dslakey@cnps.org) .

When: Saturday, June 28, 2014, 9:30am - 5pm

Where: Chuchupate Ranger Station

34580 Lockwood Valley Rd, Frazier Park

cents John an^Teresa"^ ^ 7^' and d °-

D t0thed ^Portto^^ efidd ^

through CALM^the Cahf f* e 7° yabie walk
and the work Li ™S Muse-
and label the plants 7 done to identify

Monica Tudor and Dorie r *
for their public outreach "TT ^ ° thers
annual Bakersfield CoW r ^ Sa,e at the
!?• . , Uile 8 e Garden Fest

Richard Spjm for h)s int

at our meeting i n March 8 presen tation
sociations. Ch 011 rare plant as-

Maria UJJoa-Crm

Chile in her talk on to soutb em

our meeting i n May. P rese ntation at

Chapter Meetings

ipcMing Tones

Thursday, June 19, 2014 - 7 pm:

Trevor Meadows, Central Valley Biolo-
gist - River Partners,

Revegetation and Seed Propagation.

Thursday, September 18, 2014 - 7 pm:
Steve Kranyak

Growing Natives in Bakersfield.

Thursday, October 16, 2014 - 7 pm:

Randi McCormick,

Natural Land Revegetation.

All chapter meetings are held the
3rd Thursday of each month at the
Hall Ambulance Community Room
1031 21st Street (21st & N St.), Bakersfield, CA.
Meeting times:

6 pm — Two discussion groups:
Identifying Plants and Growing Natives

7 pm — Program presentation

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