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Winter 1999
M FOUNDATION
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by Jim Bauml or most of the 1.5 million years that we humans have occupied our blue planet, we have lived in a closer, let’s say intimate, associa- tion with our natural environment. Except for all but our most recent modern era, and then only in the most “developed” parts ; the word, our very survival from as required a very different set of skills Gacluding a detailed knowl- © edge of plants, animals, water locations, —__ and other natural resources. Over vast stretches of time, our © ancestors discovered by trial and error’ which parts of different plants were: edible, or edible when processed, and which were poisonous, or beneficial when used j in TMhogeration. They learned when —
maintain'strong ec local plants. are gleaned tk
_ ity. This is the art and science of
botanist John W. Harshberger for the “study of plants used by. “primitive
of interrelationships between plants ~ | and people, and others stress the
Z ‘interactions and their biological
Ethnobotany
clothing, shelter, and more. Many people are currently involved in recording this valuable body of knowledge, both for the benefit of those who have preserved the information within their cultures as well as for the benefit all of human-
_ ethnobotany. The term ethnobotany was first uséd i in 1896 by the American
and aboriginal” people. The science has moved through various phases
‘since those early years. Other, more recent definitions focus on the range
~ coevolutionary nature of people/plant
dases. Another definition describes ethnobotany as simply “the botany of aculture other than ours.” Ethnobotany is the study of plants F useful to people. Or, in another sense, it is the ongoing relationship: between people and plants. It may be ‘considered a hybrid between 1 anthiropology and botany, but jotanica studies cn also incorporate
plants including how they organize and
name their natural environment. Ethnobotany has become almost a
household word through such movies as
The Vert 56 Yeirs of Plants and People - Calipornia Arboretum Pioation (998-0008
“Medicine Man” and “The Serpent and the Rainbow” and books such as the imagina-
_ tive series by Carlos Castaneda starting | with The Teachings of Don Juan, Wade
} | } | } |
Davis ( The Serpent and the Rainbow and One River), and Mike Plotkin (Tales of a Shaman’s Apprentice). Other, more
Photo: Frank McDonough —_
Seed pod of T, cacao, source of chocolate.
academic books on ethnobotany have been published recently, with its acceptance as an established branch of study.
On the broadest scale, all plants are useful and essential, as they capture the sun’s energy through photosynthesis and convert it into carbon-based molecules that are the building blocks of life. But on a more specific level, ethnobotany is concerned with the myriad of plants which are used directly or indirectly to serve human needs. Of these, probably the one of greatest interest to most people is medical applications, and this is,
Continued on page two
} | et /
From the CEO
May you enjoy this season of thankfulness, merriment and new beginnings.
Winter in this part of the country is new to me. Instead of winter clothing, major home heating, and snow tires, I am looking forward to a cool, dry winter with acacias, Cassias, daffodils, and magnolias showing their glorious blooms. Hallelujah!
Changes continue to abound at The Arboretum:
STAFF: Permanent additions include Ross Varone (the new voice of The Arboretum), Gracie Guillen (tour guides, cashiers, and a host of other responsibili- ties), Jennifer Williams (my assistant) and Julia Garibay (film shoots and special events assistant). A hearty welcome to these highly qualified people who have sought out work at the Arboretum and are helping to take it to the next level. Nadia
Balaz is now our Special Events Coordi- |
nator in the new Special Events Division, which combines events and location work
MARKETING: | am proud to an- nounce that we have hired the marketing group CMS. Susan Dawson and Minnie Scott, our contacts, will focus on marketing, advertising and development. Watch for image changes and coordina- tion of all Arboretum outreach activities.
os
| a
res » ARS OR ET:OUM NEWS <7 PACE
| i
PLANTINGS: The staff at the Donald M. Kendall Sculp- ture Gardens at PepsiCo’s World Headquarters have arranged the transfer to
Arcadia of over 5,000 rhizomes of Japanese iris, [ris ensata. This collection includes over 40 varieties of the beautiful spring-flowering plant. We planted the majority of them in our Bog Garden, just west of the Bauer Pool. If all goes well, we should have a great display of bloom
during May and June and some equally great events to celebrate it. Some iris will be available at the Baldwin Bonanza
RETREAT: The CAF Board of Trustees is developing plans to sponsor a work- shop.on the future direction of the Arboretum. We will focus upon develop- ing a prioritized wish list for a “master plan.” This implies a lot of planning and development, which, of course, means increasing our membership, grant writing and other fund raising activities to pay
. for new programs, buildings and services
to the community at large. Please consider this as the “new” beginning of something of which you all will be proud. So when solicitations are made, please continue to be enthusiastic support-
j ers of our future.
Peter C. Atkins
rw o
Photo: Clyde Reavis
Ethnobotany
Continued from page one
indeed, a large and important component of ethnobotanical studies. Just one such example was the rediscovery of quinine, from the Cinchona tree, by missionaries in Peru from Indians who knew its properties. It is a potent anti-fever compound still used around the world to combat malaria. The continuing rise in interest in medicinal herbs in the Western cultures is a strong indication of the increased popular consciousness of the long heritage of medicinal plant use. In fact, the first European botanical gardens sprang up around medical schools where medical herbs were cultivated for use of faculty and students. These were the so- called “physic gardens.”
There is an abundance of plants at the Arboretum with stories that deserve to be told. A visit to the Tropical Green- house provides several examples. Just inside on the left is the famous allspice (Pimenta dioica) from Tropical America whose fruits are the allspice berries. The “jerked” foods of Jamaica, where the tree grows wild, feature the flavor of the berries. The broken leaves also have the same enticing aroma, said to be reminis- cent of a mixture of nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon. Just across the path is a grove of the colorful Hawaiian ti plant, Cordyline terminalis, native to Tropical Asia and Oceania. The cooked roots are very sweet and are eaten, used to sweeten other foods, or fermented in water and distilled into a potent beverage. The leaves have been eaten as a potherb and used to wrap other foods before baking them. That the plant itself is also valued as an ornamental in tropical regions is shown by the many color forms in existence. In the small pond at the entrance is an enormous clump of black- stemmed taro (Colocasia esculenta). In Hawaii, taro tubers are processed into the semi-fermented food poi or sliced and fried
Continued on page six
Ce
- oe ee
To continue in the South American section:
. On the right, across from the Escallonia, is a deciduous shrub native to tropical South America called Caesalpinia pulcherrima, Dwarf poinciana, Bird of paradise bush, or Peacock flower This shrub produces its red-orange blooms while the weather stays warm. A short distance up the road on the left is a bush that produces a round, bottlebrush-like, flower in reddish pink; this is Calliandra haematocephala, Pink powder puff, native to Bolivia. Also on the left, before the intersection, is Pereskia sacharosa, Uncactuslike cactus, which is native from Paraguay to Argentina, This leafy, deciduous plant more than earns the title “cactus;” all one need do is look between the leaves and notice the 1-2 inch spines it produces. Pereskia sends forth stunning pink flowers throughout the year.
Next to the Pereskia, on the corner, is Thevetia peruviana, Yellow oleander, which is a South American relative of common oleander (Nerium) and the tropical Plumeria. All parts of Thevetia are poisonous, which earns this plant one of its common names: Be still tree. The oddly shaped triangular seed of the yellow oleander is carried as a talisman or charm in the Caribbean and is the reason this plant bears yet another common name, Lucky nut. Thevetia produces trumpet-shaped yellow flowers all year long.
| Along Aorebirn Paths
Along Arboretum Paths will take you to a different part of the Garden each issue.
Ahead, on the right, is a medium sized tree with a bulbous trunk, avocado- like seed pods, and a beautiful ivory colored flower; this is Chorisia insignis, White floss silk tree. You might also notice some vicious looking thorns adorning this tree’s trunk and branches, a characteristic shared with the pink flowering Chorisia speciosa, Pink floss silk tree, seen towering on both sides of the road. The Chorisia produce a seed pod that, when ripe, cracks open to expose a white, cottony substance which bears the seeds (the floss can often be seen strewn about the base of the tree). This floss is used in South America as a stuffing for pillows, mattresses and toys. The inner bark of C. insignis is used to make cordage, and the tree itself is hollowed out to make dugout canoes. Neither Chorisia will regrow individual thorns if
they are lost or removed. Nearer the road, on the right, is a smaller, delicate tree adorned in early spring with funnel- shaped lavender blooms, Tabebuia impetiginosa, Pink trumpet tree. Somewhat inset, to the right of the tram road, is a large tree that has pronounced scars from large limbs it has lost; this is Erythrina falcata, Seibo. E. falcata produces graceful clusters of bright red blooms from late winter to spring. This particular tree is one of the largest of its species in California. Further up the knoll on the left can be seen a variety of Erythrina species, many of which possess oddly shaped blooms in various shades of crimson.
by Nelson Holmes
AUSTRALIAN SECTION
ARBORETUM NEWS / PAGE THREE
The Queen Anne Cottage
| by Sandy Snider The study of history is a challenge. Quite often, the more we poke and prod, the less likely it is that absolute truths will | remain absolute. So it is with the story of | the Queen Anne Cottage, the fanciful guest ' house of Elias Jackson “Lucky” Baldwin. | For years it was accepted as truth and , | unhesitatingly offered as history that the | | red and white Baldwin cottage was | | designed in 1881 as a home for Lucky’s | third wife, the lovely Jennie Dexter, whose stained glass portrait graces the Cottage’s | front door. Jennie died of tuberculosis in | 1881 at age 22, and, as the story goes, in | mourning for the loss of his young wife, E. | J. ordered the cottage which was to have been their home instead converted into a | guest house and Jennie Dexter memorial. | The State Landmark plaque in front of the Cottage cites the 1881 date. | While a touching story and even plausible history, this long-accepted version of the Queen Anne Cottage background is probably not true. By the time the Cottage was designated for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985, new evidence indicated that the actual building date was 1885-86 and that the intended mistress of the house was to have been Baldwin’s | fourth wife, Lillie Bennett. E. J. and the sixteen-year- old Lillie were married in the spring of 1884, and the Cottage, designed by Lillie’s father Albert A. Bennett, was quite likely intended as a honeymoon cottage for the newlyweds. Period
newspaper articles indicate the building
date. “The new cottage being built [italics added] for Mr. Baldwin is situated on a
| knoll next to a large lake,” commented
| Pacific Rural Press in the spring of 1885. “Baldwin’s Belvedere,” as the Los Angeles
| Times (May 8, 1886) referred to the
: Cottage, would be “ready for occupancy”
|_ in the summer of 1886. “On the bank of
| the lake,” noted the story in the Times,
“has been erected a beautiful cottage of
four large rooms and bath. From the main | drive a handsome shaded arbor leads up to | the marble steps which rise to a marbled floored verandah. Furniture and bric-a-
brac have been brought from the
proprietor’s rooms at the Baldwin Hotel in San Francisco. Marble mantels of Parian whiteness with deep-set grates — in which it is intended to burn gas, made on the premises from naphtha — lend an air of
solid comfort. . . . It is; however, in the
windows that the aesthetic hand of the artist found scope. . . . One of these contains a fine portrait of Byron, another of Shakespeare, a third a bathing scene. . . . Mr. Baldwin has also chosen to perpetuate a memory of the former Mrs. Baldwin, nee Dexter, not only by having almost a life size portrait of the lady, as she appeared in the halcyon days of maidenhood, hung in the bedroom, but in having a copy made on the glass that forms one of the doors. . . .
Continued on page six
5 Cottage Open House
=e ar me ae * 2
aes —*
ss
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Anne Coens a
, December He
. and 12, from 1:00 to 4:00 in the Aeron.
: Volunteer Bob Travis and his Santa Anita <
_ Model A Club will exhibit their vintage
— on nthe Cottage grounds = . e d
ARBORETUM- NEWS / PAGE FOUR
Welcome New Members
In addition to those already acknowledged for joining the California Arboretum Foundation in fiscal year 1998/99, we welcome the following to
The Arboretum Family.
Mike & Lori Macchia
Mrs. Cyndy Mako & Mrs. Eugene Malone Ms. Lola Malone & Miss Mindy Gorge Ms: Jeanette M: S
& Mrs. Roy Marquedant - Paul Marrero
FEA Norman Sturgeon Marshall
Martin bey Masten 223.2. & Anna-Masters
Ms. Shirley McLean Edward Hertera Ms. Barbara MeVe on
& Mrs. Judy seed O’ Rourke Allen & Joyce Oblo
Carey & & rs Come
ae geeks Owre
Isabel Pahbakian & P.M. Gealy
Ms. Ellen
Mrs. heat Palanza
Mr. & 2 John Palmer Pancoo
E. Mrs. a Mrs. Ofelia bk. Steere
Harvey Pearson & D. Wensing
Ms. Anne Pearson
Edward Pedroza
Mr. & Mrs. Robert S. Perkins Petersen
Mrs. Madeline Polansky & Ms. Judith Polansky Mrs. Chris Powers
Mr. & Mrs. Ray Ross Ms. Judy Rossi Mr. & Mrs.
Ms. Barbara Rowe Joseph & Susan Rucolo
Freak & Lise Russo Mr. Bruce Ryan & Mrs. Loren Tripp Mr. & Mrs. Stephen Sagan
WahPui Sam Eleanor G. Sanchez
Mr. & Mis. Jack Schwab
Mr. & Mrs. Cedric A. Scott
Rex Lee Searcey
Norman & Pat Seastedt
Mr. & Mrs. Robert Seino
Mr. & Mrs. David F, Shaver, Sr. Eileen Shaw & John Rodriguez Mr. Dean Shelly
Mrs. Sharon Sherman Catherine & William Shipman
me A. Smith & Mrs. Frank Snyder = & Mrs. R. Solis Anne Sommer & David Rabinowitz Mr. & Mrs. Jim Southern Val Spain & Julio Cervantes Mr. Dan & Mrs. Sharm Spangler
Ms. Edwina Tinea & Mr. Robert Miller
E. Trigg
Mr. & Mrs. Wallace Tripp
Tuan N. Truong
Mr. & Mrs. David Trygstad
Yen Tseng
Mr. & Mrs. Francis Turney
Mr. & Mrs. Arthur sae
Angel & Joyce Unami
Mr. & Mrs. Manuel A. Vibbiatiel an Hie
im Weiler Kevin & sides Wentz & Family Ms. W. Wi Mr. & ee tobe A. Westerholm Mr. & Mrs. James P. Whalen Mr. & Mrs. Harry E. Mr. & Mrs. L: Richard Wicklond Sue Wilcox & Edna M. Wilcox
Mr. & Mrs. Randolph G. Wiloon Mr. John Wojcik & Ms, Ha Le Sean & Sarah Wong Mr. & Mrs. Yuki Yamaguchi
ARBORETUM NEWS / PAGE FIVE
Queen Anne Cottage
Continued from page six
The artisan in charge of the fitting up says he has performed similar service in Bonanza Flood’s house at Menlo Park, where the windows were considered fine, but do not compare with Baldwin’s, though made in Europe, while the latter are of San Francisco manufacture.”
Why was Jennie Dexter perpetuated in glass and why did her portraits adorn a house intended for another? It is known that E. J. and Lillie separated sometime in 1885 and, though never divorced, they nevertheless maintained separate residences thereafter. The Cottage was most likely, then, designed as a honey- moon cottage for Lillie Bennett but, upon deterioration of his marriage, Lucky Baldwin simply designated the Cottage a guest house and filled it with memories of his great love, Jennie Dexter. Wyatt Earp, a personal friend, and Sarah Bernhardt, the famous actress who performed in the Baldwin Theater in San Francisco, were among remembered guests over the years.
With the death of Lucky Baldwin in 1909, his daughter Anita (born in 1876 to Jennie Dexter) closed the house and disposed of all furnishings. Fortunately, Anita removed and stored in the Coach Barn such detachable components as the stained glass windows, black walnut doors, marble fireplace mantels, the hearth tiles, and the encaustic tile entry floor. All of these items, plus original bathroom fixtures and the exterior marble walkway were returned to the Cottage during restoration in 1951-53. Refurnishing was coordinated by Maurice Block, retired curator at The Huntington Library and Art Gallery, using appropriate period pieces, while from the Baldwin family came original paintings, including the life sized oil portrait of Jennie Dexter that had captured the attention of the Los Angeles Times reporter in 1886.
Ethnobotany
Continued from page two
~ into taro chips. Around the world taro is a
major crop plant, especially in the tropics, grown for its edible tubers, leaves, stems, and sprouts. The Greenhouse also contains a large chocolate tree (yes, chocolate DOES grow on trees), Theobroma cacao, native to Tropical America. The name Theobroma appropriately translates to “food of the
Photo: Frank McDonough
Flowers of the cacao tree form directly on trunks and branches.
gods.” The orange, football-shaped fruits contain the seeds that are processed into the sweet, dark, universally prized ambrosia. And in the same corner climbing on a support is the vanilla vine (Vanilla planifolia), a true orchid, whose hand- pollinated flowers mature into a pod which is fermented to yield the distinctive flavor found in ice cream, soft drinks, syrups and confections we enjoy.
The stories behind the useful plants at the Arboretum are a means of connect- ing visitors with these specimens in the collections. With this in mind, a great deal of effort went into the development of large-format engraved signs that were set out in the Tropical Forest exhibit. These signs are both entertaining and educational and make the featured plants assume a special value. In the same way, many of the new plantings in the reno- vated Herb Garden, now being planted, will be interpreted with special signage.
My own ethnobotanical field work was conducted among the Huichol Indians of Mexico. One goal of this work
a
was to serve the Huichol themselves by preserving an important part of their cultural heritage for future generations. My second goal was to learn about plants that might have potential uses as new foods, medicine, forage, and other applications. Thirdly, the study contrib- uted to the knowledge of the vegetation of the region, in this case a largely undocu- mented floristic zone in western Mexico. Herbarium collections from that study included new species, range extensions, and other collections that have been incorpo- rated into the regional study Flora Novo- Galiciana. This work continues today with a project to document dye plants and their preparation, almost a lost art in the culture, and a project to
document the plants known and used by |_|
these Indians on the annual pilgrimage from their mountain homelands to the central desert of Mexico.
Today, 100 years since the term “ethnobotany” was coined, we respect- fully refer to “primitive” cultures as “preliterate”, and helpful native associates are “consultants”, not “informants” as in the past. And the Convention on Biologi- cal Diversity provides for equitable sharing of financial benefits accruing from plants discovered and removed from a certain geographic or cultural context. Ethnobotany continues to gain in importance, with its practitioners documenting botanical knowledge that is being lost at an alarming rate. The Arboretum is helping our visitors to appreciate the ethnobotanical heritage of the cultures whose plants we display. In the future, we will continue to feature useful plants with classes, signage, and special programs, communicating the important role that plants have had and still have in each of our lives.
PARE OR ETUM NEWS SPACES TX
Turn Your Membership Benefits into Blossoms in Your Garden!
JUST IN TIME FOR WINTER
PLANTING ... all members of the
Foundation receive a 10% discount at the following nurseries:
ALTADENA NURSERY 1968 N. Lake Ave., Altadena
BURKARD NURSERIES, INC. 390 N. Orange Grove Blvd., Pasadena DESERT TO JUNGLE NURSERY 3211 W. Beverly Blvd, Montebello
FOUR SEASONS ORCHID CO.
823 S. San Gabriel Blvd., San Gabriel
GARDEN VIEW NURSERY
12900 Lower Azusa Rd.. Irwindale
LAS TUNAS NURSERY
1155 E. Las Tunas Dr., San Gabriel
PLANT SYSTEM
2552 Hyperion Ave.. Silver Lake
PRESENT PERFECT 140 S. Kinneloa Ave..
Pasadena
ROGERS GARDENS
2301 San Joaquin Hills Rd..
Corona del Mar
SAN GABRIEL NURSERY
632 S. San Gabriel Blvd. San Gabriel SMITH & HAWKEN
519 S. Lake Ave., Pasadena
SOUTH PASADENA GARDEN CENTER
1507 El Centro. South Pasadena STEWART ORCHIDS 3838 Sepulveda Blvd., 3376 Foothill Rd.,
Culver City
Carpinteria *
PLAN AHEAD -
Baldwin Bonanza XXX Party & Plant Sale Friday, May 5 — Sunday, May 7, 2000
We need small garden carts and wagons for this major fund raiser for The Arboretum. If you are able to assist with a donation, please leave a message for Sylvia Guerrero at (626) 821-3222.
NAVE THE
DATES
Out of Our Past
@® THIRTY YEARS AGO there was a fire in the historical area. To quote a photo caption in Lasca (Los Angeles State and County Arboretum) Leaves, May 1973, “On December 26, 1969, a fire swept by 70-mile-per-hour winds cut through the center of the Arboretum producing scenes like these in the vicinity of the Queen Anne Cottage which, fortunately, escaped with only blistered paint. The trunks of Washingtonia robusta palms.in the area
still show scars from the fire.”
2® DID YOU KNOW that the Arbore- tum once had its own TV program? “Green Leaves,” a series of 13 half-hour programs, appeared on KNBC at 11:30
on Sunday mornings in 1968-69.
2@ AT ABOUT THE SAME TIME, a national search was on for Camptotheca acuminata, an uncommon tree from China. The Arboretum had a specimen donated by Arcadian Willard Hagen, as well as a second tree propagated from the first. The
original tree was sacrificed to medical science so that an extract, camptothecin, could be evaluated as a cancer treatment. *
AR BORE TU. M
Plant Quiz
_ Agriculture promoted a fiber crop. If
What i is it?
_ fields. The words for
~ they?
1. Marshmallows once were made with mucilage from the roots of what plant?
2. In the 1920s, the U.S. Dept. of you grow it now, you "re in trouble. |
be Poinsettia’ is neacd for -
4A new amusement has pee paths cut in grain
the paths and the grain sound the same. What are
5. Pineapples grow in Hawaii but where do they come
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ozrew pur OZR + OOS 0} Jopessequie
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NEWS +/+ PAGE
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For holidays AS
and other days make the Garden Shop your first, not last, stop
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Open from 9:30 to 4:30, 7 days a week , ‘THE ARBORETUM GARDEN SHOP ; (626) 447-8751
Remember, a gift from the Arboretum is a gift fe the Arboretum
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ETUM"
California Arboretum Foundation
A non-profit corporation benefiting
THE ARBORETUM of Los Angeles County
301 North Baldwin Avenue * Arcadia, CA 91007-2697
Hours: The Arboretum is open 9:00 am to 4:30 pm every day but December 25.
Arboretum Information: (626) 821-3222
Plant Advice: (626) 821-3239
Plant Science Library (626) 821-3213
TL GES + £T A 1 ad rE di 7 7 | o thea CalitAarnic Arhoaretium F, dass Swi, £9 Pad A r] i} ( unty of Los Ang CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Peter C. Atkins
Visit the CAF Website at www.arboretum.org
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PAID Arcadia, CA
®)_ Dated Material
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