CROSSOSOMA SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BOTANISTS January, 1979 Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, Claremont, CA 91711 Wot- iL IN THIS ISSUE SCB Membership Dues (see renewal form p. 6) . 1 Calendar/Field Trips. What to plan for through May . 2 Election Results . 5 New Board Members . 5 Editorial . 7 Mathias Garden Named at UCLA . 9 SCB MEMBERSHIP DUES We have had a fairly good response to our first dues announcement, but many still have not renewed their memberships. If you are one of these, please use the enclosed renewal slip (p. 6). We hope no one felt that his rights to secret ballot were abrogated by the appearance of the first renewal form on the back of the ballot. We did not consider this a matter of great importance, since several people listed on the ballot had to talley the election results anyway. 1 CALENDAR 12 February, Monday, 10 AM-12 Noon, Tour of the UCLA Botanic Garden with Dave Verity. This tour will not include the Japanese Garden, because it is not open on Mondays, Parking at UCLA is sometimes a problem, so the best thing to do is to go to one of the pay-parking lots. We will meet at the Botanic Garden entrance at 10 AM. 1? February, Saturday, 10 AM-12 Noon. Tour of the UCLA Japanese Garden, with student volunteer guide. We will meet at the Hilgard and Sunset parking lot and shuttle from there, because parking at the Garden is limited to three cars. 24 February, Saturday, 9:30 AM. Seventh Annual Fungus Foray. San Dimas and Marshall Canyon areas. Take Foothill Freeway (210) to San Dimas Ave. exit in San Dimas; go north on San Dimas Ave. 0.4 mi to Foothill Blvd., then east on Foothill Blvd, 0.5 mi to San Dimas Canyon Rd., then north to San Dimas Can¬ yon Rd. 0.1 mi to San Dimas Canyon Park, Park near the west end of the Park and assemble at the edge of the parking lot. Orientation is at 9:30 AM. Maps to suggested collecting areas in both canyons will be distributed. (Map 2.) Review. Reassemble at 1 PM at the orientation site (San Dimas Canyon Park) to display and review specimens. Experienced mycologists will be present to assist participants. Beginners bring collecting sack or basket, waxed paper, digging tool, knife, and fungus keys (if you have any). Leader: Dr, Martin Stoner, Cal Poly, Pomona. (714) 598-4462 or 598-4479, 10 March, Saturday. Deep Canyon. With Jan Zabriskie. The University of California has established the 15,000 acre Deep Canyon Desert Research Area at the western edge of the Colorado Desert. The area is located at the base of the Santa Rosa-San Jacinto Mts., ca. 75 miles from Riverside and 2-1/2 hours from Los Angeles. The purpose of the center has been to 2 tu Map 1. Deep Canyon desert Research Center 2 . San Dimas Canyon provide wild land on which biologists can make long¬ term studies of the native desert biota. To reach the area go south (from Highway 111) on Portola Rd. Somewhere along this road there is, or used to be, a sign saying "dead end road." You may ignore this. Continue south. The turn-off to Deep Canyon is the first one to the left, just as Portola Rd. bends. The gate here is unlocked. Continue on and follow the signs to the locked gate at the re¬ search area boundary, where we will meet. Car pools will probably be necessary from here, because parking at the station is limited. (Map 1.) People who want to camp overnight must call Dave Michener at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, (714) 626-3922, to make arrangements. Bring water and lunch. Jan Zabriskie says March 10 should be near the peak of the season. 31 March, Saturday. SCB Plant Sale. The cold weather has bumped off many of our plants. "Chance seedling" that are usually available for potting from the RSA grounds (for instance of Acalypha and Beloperone) were badly frosted. A large group of South African pelargoniums that Walter Wisura was holding for us were killed. And no Arctostaphylos or Ceanothus is available from RSA. So we need con- tributions desperately. This is not to say there will be nothing, just that we suspect the variety will be less. Apparently it's been a hard season for everyone, but the Theodore Payne Foundation has a good stock still, and we will be able to offer many things that otherwise would be unavailable. 7 ATpril, Saturday. Kearney Mesa Vernal Pools. Leader: Tom Oberbauer. 10 April, Tuesday. Kearney Mesa. Leader: Michel1 Beauchamp. 12 April, Thursday. Kearney Mesa. Leader: Helen Chamlee. We have arranged through Mitch Beauchamp for three separate vernal pool trips to the interesting Kearney Mesa area, site of the increasingly rare 4 Poqoqyne abramsii. The mesa is at the Miramar Naval Station. “wi“wITT meet on each trip under the check¬ ered water tower at 10 AM on Kearney Villa Rd., 3/4 mi north of Clairemont Mesa Blvd., east side of Highway 163. Each tour will last from 10 AM to 12 Noon. 13-16 April, Friday - Sunday. Baja California--San Quentin. For details call Walt Wright (714) 529-4134 between 9 AM and 12 Noon. 21-22 April, Saturday - Sunday. Annual excursion to Catalina Island. For details call Walt Wright (number given above). We will need to know at least 30 days in advance if you plan to come along on this trip. Final date for pay¬ ment will be two weeks before departure. 11-12 May, Friday-Saturday. Southern California Academy of Sciences meetings. California State Univer¬ sity, Northridge. Featuring a symposium on "Rancho La Brea and the Pleistocene in Southern California" and a special section on marine mammals. For more information write: Southern California Academy of Sciences 900 Exposition Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90007 or call (213) 744-3384. ELECTION RESULTS The election results are as follows: President C. Davidson; Vice-President—Marvin Chesebro; Trea¬ surer—Patty Rogers; Recording Secretary--Bonnie Rich; Corresponding Secretary—Jeanine Derby; Directors Walter Wisura, Michell Beauchamp, Bruce Tucker, Robert Thorne. NEW BOARD MEMBERS Michell Beauchamp, a well-known Southern Califor¬ nia botanist, is a San Diego native now living with his wife and 2-1/2 year old daughter in National City, 5 1979 MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL FORM SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BOTANISTS Membership in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BOTANISTS is for the calendar year (January to January). Please take the time to renew your membership using this form. Make checks payable to; SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BOTANISTS and mail to: Southern California Botanists 1500 North College Avenue Claremont^ CA 91711 [ ] Student [ ] Retired $4.00 [ ] Individual or Family $5.00 [ ] Group (business, school, etc.) $10.00 Enclosed please find $ _. NAME ___ ADDRESS CITY __ ZIP PHONE _ DATE 6 where he is principal consultant at Pacific Southwest Biological Services. He received his MS degree from San Diego State and was a post-graduate student at the New York Botanical Garden, He has travelled in SE Asia, Malaysia, and Hong Kong, where he made a large plant collection. In his spare time he is also bulle¬ tin editor for the California Native Plant Society. Bonnie Rich received her BA and MA degrees in botany at UCLA and was working on pollination biology of Lupinus with Dr. Frank Almeda. She is currently a research associate in the herbarium at UCLA. She is co-author (with Jeanette Coyle) of Common and Inter¬ esting Plants of Baja California (Natural History Pub¬ lishing Co.) and is working on a book with Norman Roberts on the plants of San Diego County. She be¬ longs to the folk dance group Jazna Planina, plays mandolin, flute, and Bulgarian flute (kaval). Walter Wisura is Plant Propagator at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden. Born in Czechoslovakia and edu¬ cated in Germany, Walter has travelled throughout Europe and Scandinavia, has lived in Iceland, and prior to coming to Rancho Santa Ana, worked at the botanic garden at Kirstenbosch, South Africa. Both Kirsten- bosch and RSA are devoted to the native floras of their respective countries (or states). He is especially in¬ terested in field collecting and can often be identi¬ fied by his odd habit of placing fresh Penstemon cut¬ tings in an ice cooler, where beer and other important things are usually kept. EDITORIAL PAGE Have you received any of those fancy corporation brochures proclaiming concern for environmental pro¬ tection? I have seen a few, including a beauty from Exxon, full of color photographs of wildflowers, dense forests, majestic panoramas, rugged Alaskan mountain- scapes—all the things that make American wilderness and parklands beautiful places to visit. I am im¬ pressed by the Exxon brochure, though, of course, one must expect a certain amount of self-serving publicity from the natural resource industries. For instance, Exxon's Highland Uranium operation voices great pride in its restoration of the Wyoming steppe. Not only is the rolling contour of the land returned to hide the ugly scars of open pit mining, but so are the hills seeded to grassland, grassland that is eight times more productive in fodder than the natural range. And naturally this enhances the herds of antelope, the 7 rabbits, the gophers, hawks and coyotes...and so on. Building up unnaturally high populations of native animals by seeding non-native grasses is not what ecology is all about; but at least something is being done to repair the earth, and we should be grateful for small favors. American industry is in a difficult position. If a corporation does not grow, it stagnates. Corporate officers have a legal responsibility to shareholders (you and me). They also have a societal responsibil¬ ity to avoid environmental degradation and pollution. We all realize that balancing the two philosophies is not easy and is becoming more difficult. Rational policy is not achieved more easily through blind rhetoric and pompous speechmaking, nor by loud crowing of environmentalist victories. Too often we end up in non-productive confrontations be¬ tween corporate spokesmen and environmental agencies and a noxious misunderstanding arises. The picture given is often one of sharp lines: on the one side, the gallant champions of the virgin forest armed with writs and subpoenas and a vast array of rare species; while on the opposing side may be a legion of little men and big machines hacking and chopping at the green hell of nature. The cumbersome term "environmentalist" itself contributes to the misunderstanding by masking the identity of the real victors—who are all of us— at least those who depend on the earth for survival. Occasionally, only occasionally, I'm sure, a few irresponsible or exaggerated predictions are quoted in the papers. For instance, Don-Lee M, Davidson (utter¬ ly no relation to the editor of this modest letter), President of the National Forest Products Association, responded to President Carter's plan for reorganiza¬ tion of federal resource agencies by claiming it would "reduce the standard of living and U.S. world economic power." When I was young, comic books were going to do this; and later on, when I was in high school, pornography was bringing about the decline of the west. Then there is the Rare II—Rape I Theater in which the National Forest Service attempt to assess land management practices in Western states wilderness areas. This has been met with near violent opposition in some regions by those who oppose the "lock-up" of any more wilderness as tantamount to communist 8 takeover. Using "lock-up" to mean land closed to mining, drilling, and grazing, but instead open to the public for non-motorized recreation is ironic. "We're highly concerned about jobs, community stability, and utilization of resources that, if left unmanaged, would go to waste," said Howard McDowell, head of the Inland Forest Resource Council. Renewable resources are not wasted simply because we do not use them. That is not what ecology is all about either. We know the problems facing us. Decline of the West is no longer a joke. We have placed too heavy a burden on our fossil fuel supply as an energy source for manufacturing and transportation and as a source of raw materials in the production of chemicals and fertilizers that enable us to overproduce crops and animals year after year on soil that would otherwise grow just a fraction of what we squeeze out of it. We know the problems and dream of solutions. Somewhere out there yankee ingenuity will devise the deus ex maahina that will save us all just like in the comic books we read years ago. I hope so. Otherwise, future generations, if any, will find us listed in the encyclopedia right along with the Assyrians, the Hittites, and the proto- Hattians. And whoever heard of the proto-Hattians. UCLA BOTANICAL GARDEN NAMED IN HONOR OF DR. MILDRED MATHIAS Dr. Mildred Mathias, Professor Emeritus of Botany and Director of the UCLA Botanical Garden from 1956 to 1974, was recently honored by having the university garden named for her. Actually she was at one of her multitude of botanical committee meetings, this time in Ft. Worth, Texas, when the announcement came from Chancellor Charles Young. Of course Mildred imagined something perfectly dreadful must have happened for Chancellor Young to be calling her, and she could not have been more surprised to hear the news. When she returned to UCLA, she asked how everyone had managed to keep it such a secret and was told it was no problem at all—since she was never there. People familiar with Dr. Mathias' incredible schedule, including tours to the Amazon and the botanic gardens of the world, will appreciate this. Naming of the UCLA garden in honor of Dr. Mathias is a well-deserved tribue to one of Southern Califor¬ nia's best-known botanists and long-time friend of Southern California Botanists. 9 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BOTANISTS C V -o O CQ o D C > < - 1) < o < « U ^ S - on t = c o ^ O « s ocs i; CROSSOSOMA SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BOTANISTS March, 1979 Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, Claremont, CA 91711 CROSSOSOMA, vol. 5, no. 2, April 1979 ^ Editor: C. Davidson Editorial: Bruce Tucker Contributors: Bruce Tucker, David Michener, Chris Davidson TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Plant sale announcement . Centerfold 2. Editorial .2 3. Errata from 5(1) . 7 4. Field trip announcements . 5 5. Open letter to SCB members .7 6. Catalina Island field trip . 6 7. Membership cards taped below statement . 4 8. Book coupon . g 9. Crossosoma editorial staff and contributors 10. Board of Directors list .3 11. Announcement of next Board meeting—April 19, 1979 (3rd Thursday of month) .1 SCB BOARD MEETING: The next regular meeting of SCB will be on April 19, 1979 in the main lecture room at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden. ^CROSSOSOMA, vol. 5, no. 1, January 1979 (was issued February 25 Membership dues: $4, $5, $10 1979 EDITORIAL: Every once in a while, an SCB function occurs without anything going wrong. This happy occasion usually results when one person (almost always a Board member) burns more than the usual amount of midnight oil. What is frustrating is that because one person is just not enough to make an entire organization work, our membership frequently gets disgusted with the work we're doing. The newsletter you receive from time to time (hopefully six times a year) requires the herculean effort of the editor. What this has meant in the past is that he does everything himself. The difficulties are com¬ pounded because no one has volunteered to fill the position in charge of field trips (or for that matter, of the lecture series), so checking all the details, etc., etc. frequently delays Crossosoma. The growth in the membership has also created problems. Dealing with the flood of renewals at the beginning of the year is time consuming. There has always been a strong push to expand the membership, but in realistic terms a small, active membership which is easily managed by a volunteer crew, is preferable to a large and unwieldy organization devour¬ ing everyone's time. The only way that SCB can continue to operate (and improve) is for more people to volunteer their time. There are several positions which need filling: field trip and lecture series chairs are open now. Member¬ ship chair, recording secretary, president, vice president and perhaps treasurer will be opening up in the fall. There will be three or four Board positions vacant by the end of the year. Now is the time for inter¬ ested Ixjtanists and amateurs alike to start attending Board meetings, volunteering time to scout out possible field trips, writing articles for Crossosoma, offering to give lectures, etc. so that SCB does not stagnate. I hope that many of our "Retired” members, who are frequently some of our most active members, might consider helping with the "chores"; that student members contribute some interesting articles on their current research; and that everyone in general become more active in SCB. COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN Book Sales Membership Publishing Chris Davidson Marvin Chesebro Dick Tilforth Walt Wisura David Michener Bruce Tucker Conservation Plant Sale 2 President Vice President Treasurer Recording Secretary Corresponding Secretary Directors SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BOTANISTS OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS, 1979 Chris Davidson 213 744-3378 LA County Museum of Natural History 900 Exposition Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90007 Marvin Chesebro 510 West 6th St. Los Angeles, CA 90014 Patty Rogers 11959 Nebraska West Los Angeles, CA 90025 Bonnie Rich Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden 1500 North College Ave. Claremont, CA 91711 Jeanine Derby 741 Serpentine Drive Redlands, CA 92373 Walter Wisura Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden Robert F. Thorne Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden Dick Tilforth Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden Bruce Tucker Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden Membership, Assistant Treasurer David Michener Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden Book Sales 213 387-4971 home 213 627-4878 213 820-4149 714 626-3922 714 792-6946 714 626-3922 714 626-3922 714 626-3922 714 626-3922 714 626-5922 home 714 626-3922 714 626-5922 home Mitchel Beauchamp 714 474-7219 c/o Pacific Southwest Biological P. O. Box 985 National City, CA 92050 1843 East 16th St. 714 477-9488 National City, CA 92050 3 MEMBERSHIP CARDS: This year all members of Southern California Botanists will receive a membership card (enclosed in this issue of Crossosoma). Please sign the card and fill in the appropriate membership category name (Retired, Student, Individual, Family or Organization). When purchasing books at the SCB Plant Sale on March 31, or at the Southern California Academy of Sciences meetings in May, simply show your membership card to insure receiving the 15% discount. Many of you will notice that the mailing label has other dates stamped on it besides '79. This is because you have overpaid, or renewed more than once. I have tried to keep track of how many times you sent in checks; one family is paid up through 1981.' Thanks to one and all for supporting SCB. 4 SCB EVENTS: 7 April, Saturday. Kearney Mesa Vernal Pools. Leader: Tom Oberbauer. 10 April, Tuesday. Kearney Mesa. Leader: Mitchel Beauchamp. 12 April, Thursday. Kearney Mesa. Leader: Helen Chamlee. We have arranged through Mitch Beauchamp for three separate vernal pool trips to the interesting Kearney Mesa area, site of the increasingly rare Pogogyne abramsii. The mesa is at the Miramar Naval Station. We will meet on each trip under the checkered water tower at 10 AM on Kearney Villa Rd., 3/4 mi north of Clairemont Mesa Blvd., east side of Highway 163. Each tour will last from 10 AM to 12 Noon. V 13-15 April, Friday-Sunday. Baja California—San Quentin. For details call Walt Wright (714) 529-4134 between 9 AM and 12 Noon. 21-22 April, Saturday-Sunday. Annual excursion to Catalina Island. For details call Walt Wright (number given above). We will need to know at least 30 days in advance if you plan to come along on this trip (March 21). Final date for payment will be two weeks before departure (April 7). 11-12 May, Friday-Saturday. Southern California Academy of Sciences meetings. California State University, Northridge. Featuring a symposium on "Rancho La Brea and the Pleistocene in Southern California" and a special section on marine mammals. For more information write: Southern California Academy of Sciences 900 Exposition Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90007 or call (213) 744-3384. A prize of $50 is awarded by SCB for the best paper in the Botany Section. 5 BOOK COUPON: Agaves of Baja California by H. S. Gentry A fine monograph by one of Americas well-respected taxonomists. Paperback, printed by the California Academy of Sciences. Mail orders to: SCB Booksales RSA Botanic Garden 1500 North College Claremont, CA 91711 ,64 postage S shipping $7.00 Please send copy(ies) of Agaves of Baja California. Enclosed is $_ ($7.00/copy). Ship to: ____ $8.00 list 2.00 -25% $ 6.00 .36 tax $6.36 CATALINA ISLAND FIELD TRIP UPDATE: We will leave for Avalon from the Long Beach Terminal at 7:30 AM, Friday, April 20. Camping will be at Empire Landing both Friday and Saturday nights. Facilities include cabins, hot showers, wood stoves, and beach barbeques. Bring your own food and cooking utensils and all your own personal gear. Coast Guard regulations forbid transport of combustible fuels by passengers, so do not bring Coleman stoves or lanterns. Water is available. On Sunday we will go to the southern part of the island and visit the Renton Mine area, a region of closed canopy forest with Cercocarpus and Crossosoma. The number of people is limited to ca. 25 so make re¬ servations early by sending a check for $15.00 to Walt Wright, payable either to Walt or to SCB. We will return on the 4:00 PM boat from Avalon on Sunday and will arrive in Long Beach around 5:30 or 6:00 PM. 6 OPEN LETTER TO SCB MEMBERS: The previous issue of Crossosoma (January 1979) contained an en¬ closure from a private business. While we in no way comment upon the merit of this firm's activities, we feel it is important to state that the Board of Directors of SCB never approved such an enclosure to be carried by Crossosoma. There appears to have been considerable misrepre¬ sentation of the nature of this announcement. We deplore this mis¬ understanding and will endeavor to prevent similar mistakes in the future. Our apologies to Dr. Martin Stoner for the delay in announcing his fungus foray, which is deeply regretted. Bruce Tucker Robert F. Thorne Bonnie M. Rich David C. Michener ERRATA IN CROSSOSOMA, JANUARY 1979: Page 2: The field trips scheduled for February 12 and 17 were cancelled. Pages 4 and 5: Mitchel Beauchamp not Michell Beauchamp. Page 7: Norman Roberts not Bonnie Rich, is coauthor (with Jeanette Coyle) of Common and Interesting Plants of Baja California. All, however, are preparing the Common and Interesting Plants of San Diego Co. for Natural History Publishing Co. of La Jolla, CA. Crossosoma vol. 5(1) was issued January 1979; no. 1 was issued February 23, 1979. 7 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BOTANISTS - ^ c f > c < — ^ a> < o < « u <-> ^ § i z s O u L CROSSOSOMA SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BOTANISTS Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, Claremont, CA 91711 Croesosoma Vol. 5, No. S 75 7979 Editor; C. Davidson Asst. Editor: M. Chesebro Contents Field Trips . 2 Botanical Gardens and Arboreta to Visit .. 3 Travel Opportunities . ^ International Aroid Society .'7 Tips for Home Gardeners . Horticultural Notes from All Over .. A Wild Goose Chase on Santa Catalina Island . Preservation of the Santa Monica Mountains . Travel and Lectures of Aventura The next SCB Board Meeting will be on May !b7, 1979 in the large lecture room at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden. Interested members are invited to attend. Henceforth all SCB meetings will be on the third Thurs¬ day of the month. 10 11 Field Trips Members who want to go on the following field trips must send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to Walt Wright (326 Redwood Ave., Brea, CA 92621). He will be glad to send more information to you. Please do not call on the telephone) Walt has been inundated with phone calls. S-3 June. Coso Mountains. This is your chance to see the Coso Mtn. pictographs and rock art. The area has become very restricted in the past two years and only a few groups are allowed in. The number of cars is limited, so be sure to write to Walt early if you are interested. 16-17 June. Greenhorn Mtns. 23 June. Mt. Pinos (Fine Mountain) . The spring flora should be at its peak in many areas, and we may see a few condors. SCB Field Trips 21-22 July. Southern Sierra. Dave Mitchener will lead an SCB trip to the southern Sierra on this weekend, but the exact locality has not been chosen yet. For details call Dave or watch for announcement in the next Crossosoma. This will not be a backpack trip, but will involve only day hiking. 10-12 August (13th optional). Telescope Peak. Our last trip to Telescope Peak was not too well attended, so here's a second chance to study the natural history of the tallest of our desert mountains. Alan Romspert, who worked in the Panamint Range for 6 years, will be the trip leader. He has prepared a 16- page species list for the Panamints, which will be made available to those who want one. We will meet at Thorndike Camp in Wild Rose Can¬ yon on Friday night. On Saturday we will make the 7- mile hike to the peak. There is an optional hike to Eagle Spring, the highest spring in the Panamint Range, at 10000 ft. Both bristlecone and limber pines are in the vicinity. 2 Septembep (date undetermined). Charleston Mountains. Last year's trip didn't work out too well, so we've decided to give it another try. Charleston Peak is an extremely interesting place and a flora is available, done by Ira Clokey. The Los Angeles State and County Arboretum (LASCA) A surprising number of people I talk to have never heard of LASCA, one of the finest arboreta in the world, and that's no exaggeration. I've seen botanic gardens from Singapore to Santa Barbara, and I must say that to miss this one is to miss one of Los Angeles' great attractive features. Of course no one who reads Crossosoma falls into the above-mentioned category, so I shall simply mention that from now till June and even later will be optimum times to see the Arboretum. Most plantings are organized by continent, with a large number of representative specimens from Europe, South Africa, Australia, China and Japan, and a few tropical localities. Taxonomy students can study great numbers of families and genera otherwise available to them only in dry textbooks, and botanical photographers can add many new families to their slide collections. (Open 8 AM to 5 PM daily except Monday.) The Huntington Botanical Garden The above hyperbole notwithstanding, the Hunting- ton Garden is scarcely ready to be outdone by LASCA. Earlier this year Fred Boutin took a small number of SCB members on a much appreciated tour. Situated on Henry Huntington's estate and associated with an equally famous library and art gallery, the Huntington garden attracts masses of Los Angeles' foreign visitors--as you know, if you've been there, it's possible to walk through the magnificent cactus and succulent collection without hearing a word of English. Students will find an opportunity here to study many families and genera not found at LASCA in addi¬ tion to the fine palm collection and the cacti. 3 Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden Known familiarly as "The Rancho" or simply as RSA, this is one of the few botanical gardens in the world devoted solely to the native flora. (Another is the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden.) May and early June are particularly good times to see RSA/ though the early bloomers are best seen in April. The garden is located on the top of Indian Hill Mesa, along with a home demonstration garden and the administration buildings. At the foot of the mesa towards the north are about 80 acres of native plant communities in which all or as many as possible plants found in a given plant community (e.g., island chaparral, redwood forest, etc.) are grown together. On week days guided tours are available for school groups with reservations. —C.D. Travel Opportunities The Sierra Club Outing Catalogue The Sierra Club Outing Catalogue for 1979 is available from the following address: Sierra Club Outing Department 530 Bush Street San Francisco, CA 94108 There appear to be some unusually fine trips planned, both domestic and foreign. Prices range from a low of $50-60 for service trips (trail maintenance and clean up) to $2635 for 28 days in Indonesia. 4 Earthwatch Travel opportunities of a different sort are offered by Earthwatch expeditions. These are designed by researchers so that the participants who furnish the monetary support of the expedition are able to participate in the research projects they are support¬ ing. The 1979 catalogue of expeditions is available from Earthwatch, 10 Juniper Road, Box 127, Belmont, MA 02178. The trip that Natural History Museum entomologist Julian Donahue and I made to Costa Rica' last year was successful beyond our wildest dreams. We were joined in San Jose by an intelligent and enthusiastic team of six (mostly high school students) who helped us collect over 1300 plant specimens and 30,000 insects in just two weeks. With Earthwatch assistance we will be re¬ turning again this fall. Outdoor Discovery Akin to the above but certainly much less expen¬ sive is Outdoor Discovery. Outdoor Discovery is a group of credentialed teachers, biologists, mountain¬ eers and outdoor enthusiasts who have the common goal of sharing their knowledge and love of the wilderness with others. Every member of the staff is an expert in his field of interest and at the same time is a qualified and energetic group leader. The group was incorporated as a non-profit educational organization in 1978 and grew out of an eight-year old organization called Sierra Guides. Their purpose is to promote wilderness preserva¬ tion through education. Their objectives are to expand learning through education in outdoor environ¬ ments, and to reach people to appreciate and under¬ stand the natural wo rid. A further objective is to create a safe yet challenging environment in which pa'rticipants will feel free to explore their potentials. 5 Current activities--The staff at Outdoor Dis¬ covery is arranging all types of educational field trips. Not only do these encompass many different areas such as deserts and mountains, but also they focus on different aspects of the outdoor experience: botany, ecology, zoology, geology, and practical out¬ door knowledge. Instructors have researched field trip sites and know about the important features of each area. Basic cost for each course is $18 per day, which covers all meals, group gear, educational materials (plant lists, reprints, etc.) and instructor. There may be an additional fee in some cases for courses with special guest instructors. The $18 must be paid at least two weeks before the start of the course. Briefly, the course for 1979 are as follows: Edible Plants Workshop, 17-19 May; Backpacking in Yosemite, 16-20 June; Hawaii: Exploring the Wilder¬ ness of Maui and Kauai, 19-29 June; Wilderness Wander¬ ings, High Sierra, 21-30 June; Introduction to Botany and Wildflowers, Hockett Plateau, 7-12 July; Backpack¬ ing in Kings Canyon National Park, 15-21 July; Women and Wilderness, Sequoia National Park, 16-22 July; Rock Creek Plant Ecology, High Sierra, 29 July-4 August; Geology Field Study in the Klamath Range, 5-11 August; Mountain Cookery, 11-14 August; August Back¬ pack, High Sierra, 12-18 August; High Sierra Cross Country Backpacking, 19-28 August; Nature Photography with Marion Patterson, Yosemite National Park, 26 August-1 September; The Volcanic Geology of Mt. Lassen National Park, 6-11 September; Yoga and Meditation, Sierra Nevada, 10-14 September. Members wishing more information on these very worthwhile courses should write to: Outdoor Discovery P. 0. Box 356 Menlo Park, CA 94025 —C.D. 6 International Aroid Society, Southern California Chapter We have received a communication from the Southern Califor¬ nia Chapter of the International Aroid Society including their by-laws and an announcement of a $3.00 charge for local dues. SCB members with an interest in Araceae, philodendrons, anthuriums, etc., should write to Mr. Bill Virden, President, 14336 Poway Rd., Poway, CA 92064, for more information. Dues for the national chapter are $10.00, and most of the local meet¬ ings appear to be in the San Diego area. --C.D. Tips for Home Gardeners C. Davidson, Natural History Museum Reader Lawrence Nielson has forwarded to me a few pages of an introductory book on organic gardening that explains the bio¬ dynamic/French intensive method of cultivation. To be honest I had never heard of this technique, so I read on in Mr. Nielson's enclosure to see what wisdom might be hidden in these large con¬ temporary words. As it turns out they simply mean that optimum soil texture for root growth and natural fertilizer for nutri¬ ents can increase the yield per acre by allowing the crafty gardener to plant things closer together. Somewhere along the way to the 21st Century, a few people forgot these simple techniques. Those of us with some gardening experience have had consid¬ erable time while planting, watering, and weeding to ponder how remarkable it is that anyone would not be able to grow a plant in the first place. A woman acquaintance of my father's once approached him for advice, for he was known far and wide as the person to go to with green-thumb questions or black-thumb problems. It seems she wanted to know if her tulip bulbs were correctly placed before she proceeded any farther. They were all carefully placed in the ground upside down. I saw this happen. And in the intervening years I've heard a number of almost identical stories; apparently this is a very common thing, to plant bulbs upside down. Well, you have to start somewhere. The garden I work in is in Idaho, at an elevation of just above 5000 ft., where the winters are long and snowy and the plants can benefit fully from a long, undisturbed rest. All the soil is hand-made and replaces the natural glacial clay and rocks. 7 Long beds were dug out to a depth of 3 ft., and filled with a mixture of 1/3 topsoil, 1/3 cow or sheep manure, and 1/3 compost, along with a few choice mudsuckers or squawfish for good measure and when available. This last bit of "Indian" wisdom I have read was actually first practiced by the English. It can have its drawbacks, if one lives in an area with too many dogs, as they will dig the garden back up. We have achieved great success in growing truly remarkable Iris, lilies (including native species from other parts of the world), oriental poppies, and peonies. Species from distant places such as Meaonopsis hetonioifolia (blue poppy of Tibet), and Thaliatpum roahebvunianum from Japan also thrive. The Meco- nopsis , usually described in English catalogues as an annual or short-lived perennial, lived over 12 years, reached a height of 3 ft. and is now reincarnated as a ring of offshoots that no doubt some way will equal their former glory. The point of all this is that the methods described in the book Mr. Nielson has recommended. How to Grow More Vegetables by John Jeavons, work equally well for ornamental plants and are not hard to learn. The amount of work will vary with space available and the industry of the gardener, of course. So those who always wanted to return to the earth and have a fine garden, but were in a quandary about where to begin might consider order¬ ing the above book from Ecology Action of the Midpeninsula, 2225 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, CA 94306. No price is given, but I'm sure they will welcome inquiries. Horticultural Notes from All Over Dick Tilforth, Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden Do you know what a horticulturist is and what he does? This explanation comes courtesy of Kinnikinniak , the publication of the Devonian Botanic Garden. People who are just setting out on a lifetime of gardening for fun or profit will often meet many unusual persons along the way. Among these are horticulturists, a strange breed with green thumbs, dirty hands, glazed eyes and a distressing lack of concern for trivial things like money. A beginner will often ask "How do I distinguish a horticulturist from a botanists?" Good question. This cannot be done simply by looking at the specimen. Instead one should seat the object of inquiry in front of a plant. If the specimen begins to dissect it, mutters about the xylem connected to the phloem...it is a botanist. If on the 8 other hand, various colored solutions are brought out and watered into the plant, or cuttings surreptitiously taken when no one is looking, then it is a horticulturist. A good rule of thumb is that botanists cut 'em up while horticulturists pot 'em up. There are many horticulturists, some of whom actually per¬ form useful services. The plant breeder for example. On the face of it, plant breeding might be considered a fairly safe occupation but it does have hidden dangers. One poor soul tried to cross Uhnus (Elm) with Aaev (Maple) but ended up the Ulcers. A Wild Goose Chase on Santa Catalina Island Walter Wisura, Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden At the north end of the sand dunes at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden grows a dark blue Ceanothus arbcreue. When it is covered with a lacework of countless sweetly-scented flowers in the spring, it is a lovely sight. Elsewhere in the garden are other specimens in "less desirable" hues, appearing to be washed out or faded somewhere between baby blue and white. For reasons that remain to be explained people desire shrubs and other plants with flower colors as close to black as possible, so one sunny morning Dick Tilforth and I set out for Catalina Island to hunt for more of this elusive dark blue Ceanothus. After outliving two successive freeway traffic snarls, we arrived at the Long Beach boat landing with five minutes to spare. The crossing was rewarded by the appearance of spouting gray whales on their way north. Mark Hoefs of the Wrigley Memorial Garden on Catalina met us at the Avalon Harbor and drove us to Empire Landing. Along the way were many plants of C. arboreus, but of course they were not dark enough to please us. Buffalo grazed among the Queraus dumosa, and pale Dodeaatheon olevelandii ssp insulave, island shooting star, was in bloom. At Empire Landing we were received by Mark's parents and soon we set out to explore the island more thoroughly. On the grassy slopes nearby were numbers of Crossosoma oalifomiaa in bloom, the toyons still had lots of red berries hanging on, and scattered individuals of Lupinus trunaatus flowered in the grass. High above the rocky shores of the west side we saw Enaelia aali- forniaa, and in some valleys were beautiful stands of Ppunus lyonii. On grassy slopes toward the north end of the island were 9 swarms of Astragalus triahopodus ssp leucopsis displaying their cream-colored inflorescences. On lonely beaches beautiful dark purplish Abronia maritima and light purplish pink A. umbellata were lending color to the early season. On the rock outcrops groups of Dudleya virens were just developing inflorescences. On the next day, renewing our search, we roamed through more of the chaparral-covered hills around Avalon. On rocky ledges we found Dudleya hassei and Phaoelia oioutaria var his- pida, while higher on the hills we saw flowering Ribes vibumi- foliim; and in some cooler gullies lurk large numbers of AdianUm jordanii and Pityrograrrma triangularis. We investigated a number of stands of Ceanothus arboreus each day, but regretably found none that lived up to our color expectations. So the in¬ troduction of a new, darker shade of this island endemic will have to wait for another day. Preservation of the Santa Monica Mountains' The office of Congressman Anthony Beilenson has kindly for¬ warded on to me some interesting literature concerning the con¬ gressman's efforts to have the Santa Monica Mountains set aside as a national recreation area. In the text of the law creating the national recreation area appears the interesting neologism "airshed." This is perhaps not the first time this word has been used, but it is the first time I have seen it; and in its own subtle way it signifies a realiza¬ tion that mountains are essential for something else beside being a place to build new houses. SCB members interested in learning more about the Santa Monica Mts. and the various efforts being made to preserve them should write to: Congressman Anthony C. Beilenson 11000 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90024 10 Travel and Lectures of Aventura It is regrettable that an explanation was not included with the above brochure mailed with the January 1979 Crossosoma. The activities are being arranged by Pamela Axelson under the auspices of the Santa Monica Chapter of the National Audubon Society. We are advised that any profit will go to the Natural History Institute of Ecuador. It was believed that our members would like to know of these opportunities, including extension division credits offered by the University of California at Riverside. W. Walton Wright will lead a Galapagos tour and a botanical tour in Ecuador. Marvin Chesebro 11 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BOTANISTS a o < — S 5: < O < ™ u U 0 “ TO _ CC U L CROSSOSOMA Between May 20 and June 18, 1978, a delegation of ftnerican botanists from the Botanical Society of America toured the People's Republic of China at the invitation of the Chinese Science and Technology Association. A reciprocal visit by a group of cur distinguished botanical colleagues from the People's Republic was scheduled for early sunmer, 1979; and on May 20, I ' was delisted to receive a telephone call from the biology de- psartment at OCIA asking me to assist with the arrangements on the Soutiiern California leg of their one-ronth stay in the United States. All the logistics of the visit were planned by Dr. William Schoepf, Professor of Paleobotany at UCLA and were coor¬ dinated throu^ Dr. Dan Walker, Assistant Professor of Biology. The host was Dr. Harry Ihott^eon, the head of the Biology Department. the original group of Chinese consisted of ten menbers, in¬ cluding Trip Leader Dr. Ohng Pei-sung, who did not ccme to Los Angeles, and two deputy trip leaders, Yin Hung-chang and Wu Cheng-yi. All spidce relatively good English, much better than the average American's Chinese, though an interpreter Mr. Chiu Bing-chin, acociipanied the delegation (the youngest menber at 35); and Mr. Su Feng-lin from the Chinese Foreign Affciirs Bur^u came along for good measure. CXir first contact was at a day-long "open house" and recep>- tion at tCIA on May 25, in which department maibers arrived at various times to meet and chat with the delegation. We had an excellent lunch prepared pot-luck by faculty wives and students and thai saw a short movie on Asolta culture techniques in place of a saninar "Fifty years of plant biology in China" that Dr. Tanj was to have given. At 6:00 PM a vast group of local botanists gathered in the banquet rocm of Ho's Chinese Restaurant for dinner and excessive toasts to fossils, algae, ferns, hi^er plants, lower plants, physiology, and our host. Dr. dhorpson. Cn the 21st we drove the delegation to Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden in Claremont for a visit to a garden featuring only Califiomia native plants. These were in fact anong the only native plants seen by the groip during its visit, and most de¬ ferred a tour of the RSA buildings and facilities to see seme actual California species. This was modestly annoying to seme faculty maibers who had planned to distribute loads of reprints and to give a full account of the fine herbarium and laboratories, (ffcwever polite they might have remained at their earlier stops, in Nav York, Miami, St. Louis, Boston, etc., the delegation 2 finally decided they had seen enou^ buildings, laboratories and classrooms; now they wanted to see some of the outdoors.) Ihis is viiat Bill Schoepf felt they would rather do when he or¬ ganized the trip to RSA cind then into the desert. One merber vdio did not cone with us to PSA was Dr. Yin, vAk 3 spent the two days we were gone visiting Dr. Jcdin Bonner at Cal Tech, where he had been a student during the 1930's. He met us later at the airport. Dr. Yu, Deputy Director of the Botany Institute of Academia Sinica and Vice President and Secretary of the Botanical Society of China, asked John Dourly, Superintendent of the Grcxinds at RSA, if he mL^t look at the plant introduction records and see the system that was used to keep track of things. Ihis was one of his particular interests. During the ensuing discussions, they kept looking at each other and wondering such things as "Is it?" and "Can it be?" and finally Yu looked over and said, "Jchn, is that you?" Well, yes, it was John, the same John and the same Yu Te-sun who knav each other in Scotland 30 years ago. Ihe tearful reunion was a ccnplete surprise to both. We had a quick lunch aM then drove directly to our matel in 29 Palms. Bill Schoepf and Dan Wcdker had CB radios in their cars, so they could keep in touch. I drove the middle car. fti the way ny Chinese colleagues kept up non-stop chatter that I would have given anything to understand. What features of the drive were inpressing them? What did they think of the endless cars, Winnebagos, motels, and houses through the San Gabriel Vhlley? Ihey did not share too itany perscxial thou^ts with us, but I was asked how much my camera cost; and Dr. Li, Research Associate fron the Nanking Institute of Geology and Paleontology, ccmmented on the number of small private airplanes overhead. Late in the afternoon we arrived at the 29 Palms Inn, a series of private adobe duplexes, off the main road and virtually surrounded by virgin creosote bush scrub. I had promised Dr. Wu I would go off prowling with him in the desert to see if anything was still flowering, but before I had even moved ny modest over- ni^t supplies into the rocm, he was far off in the distance. Soon he returned with that cheerful Chinese smile that I find so infectious and a clutch of wildflowers he had scrounged up, in¬ cluding Olneya, Prosopis, Larrea, Atriplex, and a dried up Langloisia. Dr, Wu is a Chinese botanist of considerable note. Head of the Kunmin Botanical Institute in Yunnan, he is in charge of 20 staff botanists, among others, who ctre cxxi^riling a flora of the 3 Provinoe of Yunnan that will include sone 20,000 species. (ycluiB 1 of this work has already appeared.) Uiis is the south- easternmost province in China cind includes tropical, si±>tropical, and tenperate regions as well as seme very rugged and scenic topograpty and steep-walled river valleys. When the political relationship between the US and China became realistic and travel between the two countries became possible, I thou^t that this would be the most interesting part of China to visit, if not in fact the only part I wanted bo see; but I despaired of ever actually seeing it because of its bordering in the south and imagined practical difficulties. How was I ever to find out if there were even any botanists in Yunnan with vrfYom to establish contact. Will wonders never cease? We discussed the possibilily of an exchange of herbarivm specimens and botanical literature, and I am no longer so pessimistic about the chances of going to China and actu^Llly getting some botanical work done. We arrived back at the motel from our short desert excursion just in time for a magnificent dinner of curoz con polio that the manager Jane Grunt had prepared for our group. We ate around the swimming pool and again made toasts to everything that seemed appropriate. After dinner a fire was prepared in a leirge iron barbeque dish, and we gathered cuound it and exchanged Chinese and American scaigs. Mr. Su, viio was reported to have a very fine voice, entertained us with a nuttfcer of arias frem Chinese opera and a remarkable number about the victories of Chairman ^fao. Several other American motel guests joined us and their children sang seme kids' songs that were a little too cute, tut the Chinese appeared to appreciate the performance greatly. The next day (Sunday) we were on a very ti^t schedule, with 45 minutes leeway between a 6:45 AM breakfcist and a 7:00 HI fli^t to San Francisco. CXur itinerary included five stops in Josliua Tree National Manument and a trip up the aerial tranway up Mt. San Jacinto. I had initially some reservations about hew much wculd still be in flower, but the hi^er elevations in the nonument were at the peak of season. Dr. Wu was delisted, obviously. He and I were always out bounding through the vegetation at each stop, causing Bill considerable consternation, since he was determined to keep the caravan on schedule. Along the way we saw three species of Yuaaa (Y. sahidigera, Y. brevifolia, and Y, whippbei), Fouquieria, Lyaium cooperi, Satazaria, Hymenoalea, Peuoephyllum, and a quantity of desert ephemerals like Anisoaoma aoaulis. Esahsoholtsia, and Mentzelia. These are all oomnon desert genera to us, but for Dr. Wu and the others th^ were all "Plantas raras vel minus oognitas." Cameras clicdced ceaselessly and voluminous notes were scribbled down in Chinese as well as in English. slides shew Dr. Wu crouched dcjwn examining a grey shrub. Dr. Fan and Mr. Chiu posed on a large roede with a grovelet of joshua trees lurking in the background. Dr. Sheng dissecting an Eriophyllim flcwer. Bill with cin array of 3-D topo maps ex¬ plaining the panorama at Keys View scenic overlook (5185 ft. elev.), Dr. Yu writing notes on everything. One surprisingly in¬ teresting stop was the great formidable forest of Opuntia bigelo- vii at a place called Cholla Cactus Garden, in vhich we had about 4 minutes to wander abcut. Our picnic lunch at Cottorwexxd Springs was pleasant, thou^ windy, and I was excited to be able to shew aryone interested the very rare and localized Tetracooeus hallii that was abundant around our picnic tables. Drs. Wu and Yu completely ignored it, unfortuantely, and darted off aerross the way to see a few lithe specimens of Stanteya pinnata. I will have to admit, too, Stan- leya really is more interesting than Tetpoaoaaus, Dr. Yu, vhose specialty is Hosaceae, was perplexed by a shrub of Prunus fasoiau- lata, vhich he (did not inmedLately recognize as a Prunus. That is understandable, I think. I had heard once the noxious, disconcerting rumor that the Chinese did not drink beer and thus had a misgiving or two before we began this trip. I have never gone into the desert without a copicus supply of Budweiser or suitable facsimile thereof. And I did not knew hew Bill and Dan wculd feel abcut the subject, since I had not met them. Then I heard frem Dan that they (do have regular beer in China but tdoat they prefer it warm. Now, I was alrea(dy firmly ccrinitted to (drive a car. But warm beer? Well, Dan assured me there was no way he was going anywhere with warm beer. They could drink it any way they wanted, but ours was going to be plenty cold. And in fact no one wanted warm beer at all; and those vho did not care for beer had cold Coke and 7-up. Scxndicw driving to the tranway we lost time and arrived abcut an hour late. The ride is spectacular and lifts one threu^ a nunber of (desert hillside vegetation types, finally ending in mixed conifer fcarest with Jeffrey pine, white fir, and sugar pine. Dramatic fractures and intrusions of lifter colored minerals rampage across the darker cliff facss like lightening bolts. The shorter Chinese in the group edged closer to the windows so they wculd not miss anything. Cameras clicked and more volumes of notes (rfere taken. We had only a brief 15 minutes at the top, be¬ cause we were so late; perhaps we can try to stay longer next time. 5 Vfe drove like mad to get back to the airport in los Angeles in time. I nearly ran out of gas, and of course practically no gas station were open late Sunday afternoon. Luckily Bill had an extra five-gallon gas can on his Blazer, vdiich saved the day. We arrived barely in time for a v*ry hasiy dinner at T. J. P^^jeroom’s near LAX and put our frierxis on fli^t 522 just a few minutes before it left. Thcugh we exchanged few personal obser/ations, our kindred interests allowed a friendship to develop, and our tepe is that it will not be interrupted again. We have a great deal to learn from our bri^t, hard-working Chinese colleagues, and it has been too long since we have heard from than. But then good things are worth waiting for. Fig. 1. At Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden. Left to Righti Dr, Thome (pointing). Dr. Wu Chlng-yl, Dr, William Thl, Dr, Hau Jen, and Dr. LI Hsln-hsueh, 6 7 Ihe Panamint Mauntains form part of the western boundary of Death Valley. One can easily form a picture in one's mind of Irw the Panamint Mountains must look: broken wagon vdreels half- buried in shifting sands, a few pitiful bones arri skulls strewn abcut, helpful signs pointing to "Anyvdiere 500 mi." and "next water 250 mi.;" and as the name must indicate, no gold vrfiatso- ever. Hie geographical place names on the map do little to arrest tdiis rampant, if not forbidding, picture: Starvation Canycai, Hungry Bill's Ranch Ruins, Shorty's grave, and so on. looking east fron Panamint Valley or west from Death Valley, the Panamint Range in person does mjch to confirm, in fact, the ill impression. The only relief in the desolation is snow-capped Ttelesoope Peak (11,049 ft. elev.). But a botanist can sometimes see possibilities vAiere others mi^t not be able to. One must always look more closely. Hidden far up in the rugged canyons one sees from the valley near Badwater, for instance, are cool oases and springs, cold streams and cottorsrood trees, and evai a respectable waterfall. Cne might never have guessed such delights judging only frcm the scattering of blue dots labelled "springs" on the auto club map. In mid-May I went out bo the Panamints with Alan Romspert, vho has been studying the flora of the range for the last six ye^s, to look for additional species that mi^t have been emitted frcm his extensive checklist. Our first camp was far up Johnson Canyon, just south of Starvation Canyon and about 20 miles southwest of Badwater. The road is strictly 4-vheel drive material and winds for 7 to 8 miles (the odometer read 9) throu^ hot, dry creosote bush scrub and dark stones with a few zebra- tail lizards scampering abcut on them. The steep walls along the upper parts of the wash bear Eiianide wens (rock nettle) and Pleiiroaoronis pluriseta (arrow leaf); large clunps of Penstemon frutiaiformis grew toward the margins of the rocky channel. Part of the way there is literally no road. The Icwer spring in Johnson Canyon (3900 ft. elev.) is not on ny auto club map. Here a three-inch pipe spouts cool water in¬ to a shallow loasin of roclcs cemented together and surrounded lay cottemwood trees (Populus fremontii), arborescent willows (Salix laevigata), mesquite {Prosopis glandules torreyana) , and wild grape {Vitis girdiana). A sliort distance up the hillside from the spring is a seepage that harbors Cavex aurea (a sedge with tiny, golden fruits), Eleooharis (spike rush), and Adiantum oapillus-veneris (maiden hair fern). Qiaracteristic of the iiimediately surrounding creosote bush scrub are Coleogyne ramo- sissima (blacJtbush), Eviogonum heermannii, Enaelia vipginensis ssp. aatonii, and Euphorbia inaisa. Flowers on the Salazaria 8 (bladder sage) were so dense that entire plants were vivid purple. I hiked up to a pinnacle some distance above the spring and found 30 species even though the best flowering was two weeks past. Resting occasionally on any flat piece of limestone that h^pened to be about, I began to corpare the rugged desert carbon scenery before me with the tropical rainforest, vdiich is to me one of the most biologically exciting areas in the world. For sciiE, terperate botany beccmes anticliiratic after a trip to the tropics; tut I am relieved that this has not yet affected me, for I still find the California deserts irresistible. Perhaps it is because so many aspects of the enviroiment are immediately dis¬ cernible and identifiable: the texture of the soil, limestone or granitic sand; the slope and erosion, and the massive desert bajadas; the special relationships of the plants themselves; and then I knew the names of more than half of the species. The shapes and forms of geologiced artistry are inpressive, and the relaticxiship between me and vdiat I see is no longer one of a bi¬ ologist responding to the challenge of nature to unravel some great mystery, tut sinply beccmes an effort to describe ny sur¬ roundings adequately. I find r^idly that I am no Joseph Wbod Krutch. When I returned, Alan had the carp set up, and we sur¬ vived the rest of the late atftemoon with beer, rum and ooke, and a good dinner. fti the 17th we walked far rp Johnson Canycxi to Hungry Bill's Ranch. Fed by melting snow from Sentinel and Porter Peaks and the ridge in between, the creek (pjresumably Johnson Cr.) has a fine flew of very oold water. Islands of aquatic vegetation occur along the way wherever the creek swells out into flat places and forms small meadews, containing, inter alia, Eleoaharis montevi- densisy Junaus arotiaus ssp. mexicanus, Equisetum hyemale, E, laevigatum, Carex nebrasoensie, Anemopsis aalifopniaa, and Epipac- tis gigantea (stream orchis, a rather attractive orchid and not boo cotimcn in the desert). Several miles upstream the canyon widens to about 50 m of flat, arable land that was turned into a farm in the 1880's hy a group of Scandinavian iitmigrants vho raised vegetables and packed them over the mountains to Panandnt City durir^ its heyday. This strenuous project seems to have been abandoned, and seme time later an Indian named Hungry Bill lived there. Seme lingering pear trees and a few specimens of Ailanthus altissima persist today along with Hungry Bill's "sunmer cabin," or wiclcirp and a few rusting shovels and miscellaneous scr^s of iron. Running along the hillsides and around the periphay of the original farm site is a thick stone fence that probably Icept animals away from the vegetables at one time. Now it is a little dilapidated. Back under the Ailanthus trees is a swinming hole that Alan had told me 9 about and that I had been locfcLng forward to during our trudge up the canyon. Someone had damned the stream tliere, but the results were outrageous, and the pool remained about five inches deep and five feet across. However, the water was bitter cold, and a deeper hole wais really unnecessary. we got back bo canp about noon and had lunch. I decided not to put the morning's collections into the press so we could reach our next stop early enoui^ to do some more collecting. Hanaupah Canyon is just two carycms north of Johnson Canyon and has a nuch better road. We reached the lower end of the can¬ yon vrfiere the road begins to get very steep, and there met Sylvia Winslow of Inyokem, a desert veteran of perhaps 70 years. She had driven up in a new Blazer and was waiting for seme friends near an abandoned, desert-style dwelling, its door permanently open, its windows pemanently broken. The inside walls bore the usual lihreuy of grafitti. We talked to Sylvia for a while and then drove on with her about a half mile more, vdiere we parted and she strolled back to the dwelling. The road becomes very steep and untrustworthy not too nuch farther on, so we parked and decided to wedk over to a beautiful waterfall that was visible from the road. This entailed a nearly vertical drop down of about 500 ft. to a dry credc bed and an equally draanatic climb bo a ridge on the other side. The creek in Hanaupah Canyon branches just east (below) our point of descent, and we had to cross the dry south fork to reach the wet north fork by walking over and around the rocky ridge formed in the angle of their "confluaice." The north fork cascades off a hi^ ledge onto a lush tangle of Vi tie girdiana at its foot. It took about 40 minutes to get there, thou^ it is not more than 200 m frem the car. We also enjoyed the cool spray. One new plant that was not on Alan's list appeared along the way. Cilia filiformis, a yellcw-flcxirered species that I managed to lose before I got it into the press the next day. we drove back to the cabin and said farewell to Sylvia, vho was still waiting there, and set off for the Desert Research Center Cal state, Fullerton has leased in the Avawatz Mountains. It was after 11:00 PM when we ctrrived, so we had a speedy dinner and crashed, thorcu^ly tired. The next day. May 18, was press-plants-of-the-17th day, a process requiring two hours of great strain, since we had un¬ accountably run out of beer. It was under such conditions that I lost Cilia filiformis, a very small plant. After the plants were all duly squashed, we drove to Baker with deliberate speed, got some beer and a little gas, and headed for Los Angeles. 10 « > a x: o rt -S E ■ e hc • e c -H o ^ >> Is kc o -p 0) PQ h C «> X • P. o CO 0) "-a 3 E •P O • S=" g O C -H V fa ^ fH P^ O *< CO r; bcu o % . s £ g ^4 j? ”o . --PC o o >> rt • C o o c ¥ *« 5 fl'pLd >> *-3 •3 c X •H ca ♦» a ^ o -< a tio^ <^515 • o S. tC ^ •H 4J P Ct- n ca 11 CA) H c/} z < H O aq < J CROSSOSOMA CROSSOSOMA Vol. 5i No. November, 1979 Editor; C. Davidson Associate Editor; M. Chesebro FLORA OF THE AI.IAZON Dr Mildred Mathias, Professor of Botany Emeritus at UCLA, will lecture on November IR, 1979 at 7:30 PM, at the Santa Monica Public Library. The library is located at 13^3 6th St. on the corner of Santa Monica Blvd. in Santa Monica. The topic for the evening will be the "Flora of the Amazon," subject to Dr. Mathias' right of substitution. Dr. Mathias, past-president and long-time member of Southern California Botanists, has wide experience in the Hew World and Old World tropics and leads regular field tours to the Anazon region each year. She lectures frequently and has always been a very popular guest speaker. If you can’t go to the Amazon River right away, this is the next best thing. Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden in Claremont, a Garden devoted to Native California Plants, will sponsor a plant sale on Saturday, November 3rd, from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. Autumn in California, when growth-stimulating rain finally penetrates the parched earth after the long Svimmer drought, is the best time to plant native plant materials. This Fall sale, therefore, provides an un¬ usual opportunity to choose from a wide variety of Ca¬ lifornia trees, shrubs and groundcovers which can then be planted at the optimal time. Plant fanciers as well as the layman interested in drought-tolerant or ecologically oriented landscaping will both be interested in the selection of plants for the sale which includes ten different species of Cal¬ ifornia Lilac ( Ceanothus ) and eighteen different vari¬ eties of Manzanita ( Arc^ostaphylos ) as well as Fremon- tias ( Fremontadendron ), Irises (Iris), and Monkey flo¬ wers ( Mimuius j. Along with California succulents, a selection of unusual Iceplants from South Africa will aslo be available. Staff and faculty from Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden will be on hand throughout the day to give in¬ formation and advice on these plants which have all been grown at the Garden and are known to do well in the soil and climatic conditions of Southern Califor¬ nia. Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden is located north of Foothill Blvd and east of Indian Hill Blvd. in Claremont. Visitors should take the Indian Hill exit from the San Bemadino Freeway and proceed north to Foothill Blvd., or the last exit from the Foothill Freeway and proceed east. For more information about the sale, call (714) 626-1917 or (714) 626-3922. Bonnie Busenberg, Di¬ rector of Educa¬ tional Services Rancho Santa Ana Bota¬ nic Garden 1500 N. College Ave Claremont, California 91711 (714) 626-1917 The future of wildlife and natural areas in the California desert is theme of the two-day sympsium -- sponsored by the Western Regional Office and Southern California chapters of the Audubon Society,,in con¬ junction with the Southern California Academy of Sci¬ ences -- planned for October 27-28 in Landis Audito¬ rium at Riverside City College Topics will cover four areas: (1) status of rare, threatened, and endangered species; (2) studies of spatial requirements of large predators; (3) studies on impacts of various land uses; (4) newly discovered critical areas, potential new Natural Areas, and prime birding sites. All material to be presented is new and serves as update on Audubon's 1977 Desert Sympo¬ sium at Lancaster. In the first area, speakers and topics now sche¬ duled include DR. FRED TURNED of UCLA discussing the flat-tailed horned lizard; SID ENGLAND of BLM discuss¬ ing the Coachella Valley fringe-toed sand lizard; DR. MARK DIMMITT of the Arizona-Sonoran Museum with new information on the magic gecko; DR. JOE JEHL of Hubbs- Sea World with the results of a two-year study on the Inyo Towhee; DR. DAVID SOLTZ of CSU-LA on the desert pupfish. MARY DeDECKER, expert on the flora of the northern Mojave Desert, will describe management pro¬ blems associated with protection of federally listed species on the Eureka Dunes and elsewhere in that re¬ gion. DR. ROBERT OHMART of Arizona State University will review the history and present situation of the Submitted by: DESERT WILDLIFE TO KEY SYMPOSIUM OCTOBER 27-28 Colorado River, focusing on its future outlook for bird habitats. In the area of spatial requirements, AL HARMATA of the University of Montana will present results of his 1978 research on the foraging areas of Prairie Falcons in the western Mojave DR. TOM O'FARRELL, formerly of the Desert Research Center at the University of Nevada, will report findings on the home range and movements of desert kit foxes; DAVID ZEZULAK of UC-Davis will report on the home range and movements of bobcats at an undisturbed site in Joshua Tree National Monument, comparing his findings with those in San Diego County and Lava Beds National Monument. In the area of land use impacts, DR. HOWARD WIL- SHIRE of the U.S. Geological Survey will discuss the results of continuing studies on the effects of off¬ road vehicles. DR. LARRY LaPRR AND STEVE CARDIFF of UC-Riverside will summarize their study on the effects of yucca harvest on birds and vegetation in the east¬ ern Mojave. ROBERT WEBB of Standford will present 1978-79 findings on the effects of sheep grazing on vegetation. DR. BAYARD BRATTSTROM and MICHAEL BONDE- LLO of CSUF will report on effects of vehicle noise on desert vertebrates. MICHAEL WEINSTEIN of Solvang will report on his year-long study of the effects of recreation use on the avifauna in Afton Canyon. Papers on potential new binding and Natural Areas will cover such sites as the Chuckwalla Bench, Mil¬ pitas Wash, Chuckwalla Valley Dune Thicket, Darwin Falls, and others. In all, some 24 papers are planned -- and the com¬ mittee assures us that those attending the conference will be able to critically evaluate the wildlife and natural area portions of the California Desert Plen which is scheduled to be available for comment in Jan¬ uary, 1980. On both October 27 and 28, times are 8:30 a.m.- 5:00 p.m. The $10.00 registration fee covers both days. Audubon is handling the registration, so make your check payable to NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY and mail it with the form below: / To: Desert Seminar 1322 Oak St. Santa Monica, CA 90405 Please register me for the October 27-28 Symposium at Riverside City College. I enclose $_ registration fee. Name___ Addr e s s___ City_^State_ ZIP_ (If registering for other as well as yourself, list their names and addresses below:) Make check or money order payable to NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY. Fee is $10.00 for each registrant. FIELD T/.IP TO McI.tATH BEACH STATE PARK Hobin Lee Smith of Envicom will lead a trip to kcJrath Beach State Park on Saturday, November 10th Orientation will be at 10:00 AWi in the parking lot. Mclrath Beach exemplifies the convergence of four plant communities: salt marsh, fresh water marsh, coastal dunes, and riparian. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BOTANISTS c 9J ~o o THE R. F. THORNE PHYLOGENETIC CAPITULUM NEWLY REVISED The explanation supplied with our first phyletic chart fold- out (Crossosoma November 1978) was written by our president, now somewhere In the wilds of Ecuador or Bolivia. I shall take ad¬ vantage of his absence to write up my own explanation of this newly revised phyletic fold-out, thus avoiding certain scurrilous remarks about legibility (a hand-lens does help) and "Big Bang" and similar facetious theories of angiosperm evolution. Some biologists take this "bubble phylogeny" less seriously than do others. I Insist that the enclosures are balloons, not bubbles, and that they are Intended to represent a cross-section at this point In time of the various suborders, orders, and superorders of flowering plants. The balloons generally Indicate by their size the number of extant species recognized for each group and by their position their relative degree of phyletic specializa¬ tion. Those closest to the empty center, representing the vast number of largely unknown extinct protoanglosperms, are the least specialized. Those closest to the periphery are the most special¬ ized, l.e., probably least like the extinct early angiosperms. The shape of the bubbles, oops balloons. Is largely due to space considerations but the longer balloons are Intended to indicate greater evolutionary depth. In so far as a two-dimensional exposition permits I have attempted to place nearest each other those superorders that I regard as coming from relatively recent common ancestors. Surely no superorder now extant has arisen from another extant superorder. That statement probably holds true for orders, suborders, and even families as well. It Is more realistic to state that two related families, etc., have arisen from Immediate common ancestors. The heavies lines surround the superorders, whose names end in -Iflorae, and the thin lines within the balloons surround the orders, with names ending In -ales. The suborders, where present, are Indicated by constrictions and have names ending In -Ineae. Only the Asterales are supplied with subfamily and tribal names, ending respectively In -oldeae and -eae, a concession to our teeming syanantherologlsts. The monocots, the smaller of the two angio¬ sperm subclasses, are to the right; the much more numerous dlcots are to the lift of the heavy dividing line. Since the chart was revised November 28, Is It now only mildly obsolescent. Any resemblance to previous phyletic charts Is purely coincidental and most deplorable. In preparing the latest synopsis of my classification, to be published ultimately with this phyletic "hedge," I have obtained for each higher category the latest estimate of the number of their accepted species, here summarized for the statistically Inclined. According to my highly suspect figures, the Monocots total 51,260 species In 7 superorders, 12 orders (with 13 sub¬ orders), and ^(9 families (120 subfamilies and undivided families); the Dicots total 167,170 species In 19 superorders, ^2 orders (with 52 suborders), and 287 families (5^6 subfamilies and un¬ divided faunllles). Since your pocket computer may be unreliable, the angiosperm totals are 26 superdrders, 5^ orders, 336 families or 666 subfamilies and undivided families (notorious splitters 2 tend to recognize my subfamilies as families and suborders as orders), and 2l8,fJ30 species. The last figure may be slightly off by some thousands plus or minus, but still that is a lot of flowering plants. It should make your memorization of our limited California indigenous flora, some 5»000 species, seem like a minor chore. Robert F. Thorne, Sometime Phylogenlst BOTANISTS IN THE FIELD Chris Davidson, our president, is on his annual excursion to study the botany in the part of the Amazonian Basin lying within Bolivia. Shortly before his planned departure there was the l8lst revolution in Bolivia (certainly not in anticipation of the arrival of Chris), so his alternate areas were the parts of that basin in Peru and/or Ecuador. When his plant presses arrive in Los Angeles next spring, he will then be off on his one month study at Missouri Botanic Garden for final identifica¬ tion and cataloging his collections. Walt Wright has been on a three month automobile excursion through Texas, into Mexico as far as the Yucatan Peninsula, and return through Texas and Arizona. We understand his primary interest is the collection of seed. We hope these members will have an appropriate account of their studies for Crossosoma. Bob Thorne has found one additional occasion to botanize, not being content with research, publications, phylogenetic capltula, teaching, preparation of floras, etc., etc. With the gas shortage he as a good citizen undertook to walk from his home in Claremont to Rancho Santa Ana Garden. The first morning he realized he was se'elng a substantial number of families, so he equipped himself with a hand counter and counted families on his morning and evening walks. Not being a creature of habit, other than being a compulsive botanist, he chose different routes and found in excess of 180 families on one route and no less than 150 families on any route. If and when the gas shortage ceases and Bob returns to driving his car, we hope he leaves his hand counter at home. 3 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BOTANISTS January Feb. 12 Feb. 17 Feb. 2^4 March March 10 March 31 April 7, 10 and 12 April 13-15 April 20-23 May 15 June 2-3 June 16-17 June 23 July 21-23 August Aug. 10-12 August 20 Sept. 29-30 November December 1979 Review Crossosoma No. 1 UCLA Botanical Garden, Dave Verity UCLA Botinical Garden, Dave Verity Seventh Annual Fungus Foray, Martin Stoner Crossosoma No. 2 Deep Canyon, Jon Zabriskie Annual Plant Sale Kearney Mesa Vernal Pools, Mltchel Beauchamp, et al Baja California (San Quentin, Bahia de Los Angeles, etc.) Walt Wright Catalina Island (Empire Landing), Walt Wright Crossosoma No. 3 Coso Mts. (China Lake), Walt Wright Greenhorn Mts., Walt Wright Mt. Pinos Southern Sierras, Dave Mltchener Crossosoma No. k Telescope Peak, Alan Romspert Lecture at Pomona College "Origin of Monocotyledons Professor Rolf Dahlgren, Unlv. of Copenhagen. China Lake Crossosoma Crossosoma 1 ) Southern California Botanists Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden 1500 North College Avenue Claremont, CA 91711 S. C. B. BALLOT JANUARY 1980 ELECTIONS PRESIDENT Marvin M. Chesebro /_/ Other_/_/ VICE PRESIDENT Alan Rumsport /_/ Other_/_/ SECRETARY Barry Prigge /_/ Other_/_/ TREASURER Frits Zeylemaker /_/ Other_ /_/ DIRECTORS: Jeanine Derby /_/ Kay Wright /_/ C. Eugene Jones /_/ Barbara Joe Hoshizake /_/ Others_ /_/ / 7 Please fold ballot in half, staple, stamp and drop in the mail before January 11, 1980. THANK YOU FOR VOTING! 1500 N. College Avenue Claremont, California 91711 \, //7^i Wi' f / tMCJtMiUTIlM ‘I vH, r. ii V %/,V W' » ..» ANGtOSPHRMAE ntJbAA .% ueMn€ ^ 4>»r«lp» A«a«« Imm Ibi4-AM> #«f Ail» CKHTlAHirUOflAK UMIlFUhAil HONUCUTYLCDOMILAt oTtLEDOHEAE ANG lOSPERMAE Fr«pared by Bruca S, Tucker Beviaed November 28, 1979 itOttEET r. THOENE Eaiicho SaiilA Ana Eotanic Caid«n SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BOTANISTS Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden 1500 North College Avenue Claremont, CA 91711 The purpose of the SOUTKERi) CAliIFORNIA BOTANISTS Is the study, preservation and conservation of the native plants of California; and the education of the public to the value of the native flora and its habitats. Membership benefits include: Various field trips throughout the state led by competent field botanists and biologists. A yearly plant sale featuring native California species. An annual symposium on various aspects of the California vegetation. The SC3 newsletter, CROSSOSOMA. Discounts on botanical and natural history books. Dues are for a calendar year. New members Joining from May through September, please deduct $1.00 from your dues. Those Joining in October through December are credited with the following year's dues. Membership categories are: rj student or retired* $l< .00 OJ Individual* $ 5.00 Cj Group or organization $10 .00 ■ This Includes membership for the rest of the family. Date _ Name___ Address ___ City_ Zip Code_ Phone ( _)_ In addition, I want to give $_ to help support SCB. Hake check payable to: SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BOTANISTS. Mall check and form to: SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BOTANISTS 1500 North College Avenue Claremont, CA 91711 / f [. M .'ni hi-- ' ^:lr_ O'" • . iunv^A ■ *r> ^ if s j',’, “ > t>i £TX ■.. ji . ;. l_ U"-] ■ ■; U**) -X, , .., 2,1 •rr ■ ■’ 3> ■ : \ 'll .; V .. '»>.• 1 ^'3 ir<^J.'S '«^.T . t'/l ..0|'. KI,M(;!i4(i:i i,v:j*r. - ; gg fiimclMO :-r V ,,.,- 2 ^,, V, , ■•••■■■ ' . ■ •''''■ ‘i'? ^■.'> , i •'J-j£ ■:<•-.,/• f, O^fi' •••ij,'/,. ;!fn ’..ft ■< ’ ,1 ■ >. -Of iuo'i a-.-,-. rt. . V1-'^o(srtj }..(y >,,5- >0310,.,.; ,.i ■•< J.-isjvJs-J t** : f ff *“»()::!: <»M '■ 0 . > ■• n;--, .a u'l; Ji. \ ..■;,-'ir> I .'. i - .. .- . . . ■ " ■ X'.iruA'..- Jk i,‘ u.i'5I,;a'. I 'ffl ■SMBi*. ea»^t»AA ■ ■> ' -n:)! Uf.-:'- : 3> Jl. ,,'C >.9,„ -li,; ■ 3} Tii 1 Jjllje ■tnat.-i ;■ ia>, I'A »■ t ' -■ ■ I. ' if•' ,■ •iJia . r ;■!' -W-fc 1 .:0 ' j C QJ 73 fn cd O -P i 'I,