Garden.

January /February, 1979

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Los Angeles County Department of Arboreta and Botanic Gardens

Sharing the ta

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ble with guest of honor Lovell Swisher, Jr., right, were, center,

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Dick Bergen, club president, and Dr. Samuel Ayres, Jr., longtime club member
and one of the founders of the Arboretum.

Men’s Garden Club of Los Angeles

AST NOVEMBER 9, the Men’s Gar-

den Club of Los Angeles held
one of its regular luncheon meetings
in the Demonstration Home Gar-
dens at the Los Angeles State and
County Arboretum. Sixty-five mem-
bers and guests were on hand for
the event which was enhanced by
a lovely fall day. The club occupies

a rather special place among organi-
zations concerned with gardening.
Its membership is made up largely
of professional people — lawyers,
doctors, business executives — who
share a common interest in horticul-
ture. What they do, they do with
style, a reputation they have had for
the last 28 years.

Among other things, the club’s
meetings are well known for the

Photo by William Aplin

superior quality of the menus, the
table settings, and the programs.
These have been arranged for many
years by Lovell Swisher, Jr., execu-
tive vice president of the club and
one of its original members.

On this occasion, the feature of
the meeting was the celebration of
Mr. Swisher’s 92nd birthday. For
the main course, Francis Ching,
Arboreta and Botanic Gardens di-

Regional edition of Garden

LASCA 1

rector, had prepared his often-
praised barbecued beef. Table dec-
orations were made from plants in-
troduced to Southern California by
the Arboretum. Mr. Ching identified
these plants and gave his guests a

road view of the Department's
plant introduction program over the
past 30 years. He also spoke about
the recently developed Prehistoric
and Jungle Garden and some of the
plants growing there.

Following the luncheon, Mr. Ching
led a tour of the Tropical Green-
house and Prehistoric Garden after
which each guest received a most
appropriate gift, a Cycas revoluta
plant, bringing with it the end of
another memorable meeting of the { > z Ri tt -
Men's Garden Club of Los Angeles. ag@gieumencimas e. ~@te,

see % = spt

Following luncheon meeting, Director Francis Ching led members of the Men’s
Garden Club on tours of the Arboretum Prehistoric Garden, above, and the
Tropical Greenhouse, below.

Photos by William Aplin

2 LASCA ill

Herb Garden Improvement’

OW THE YEARS, improvements
in the 1.2-acre herb garden at
the Los Angeles State and County
Arboretum have been mainly horti-
cultural— developing special gar-
dens like the Shakespeare, kitchen
and medicinal gardens, installing
low borders of Italian myrtle (Myr-
tus communis ‘Italica’) along paths,
moving beds to more favorable loca-
tions, and the like

Last October, plans were drawn
up aimed at improving public amen-
ities. The first item called for im-
proving the paths, often made mud-
dy from sprinklers or runoff from
rain, with flagstones cut from Palos
Verdes rock. The Southern Cali-
fornia Unit of the Herb Society of
America donated $750 for this work
which began with laying the flag-
stones on the central path that leads
through the Knot Garden and sun-
dial area. The paving will eventual-
ly continue to a point near the Tallac
Knoll waterfall. The next develop-
ment calls for the installation of an
interpretive center consisting of a
display case, shelter, and benches.
The Hancock Park Garden Club of
Los Angeles has donated $3,000 for
the construction of the center. The
display case will contain different
types of herbs together with infor-
mation on their horticultural require-
ments and their availability. The
back side of the case will be used as
a bulletin board to announce meet-
ings and other activitiees of the
society.

Descanso Gardens Enchantment

tT six oclock in Descanso Gar-

dens last September 22nd,
some 350 people were sitting down
to tables on the main lawn for a
dinner-dance presented as “An En-
chanted Evening.” By the time the
orchestra was playing their last set
five hours later, everyone was agree-
ing that the affair, sponsored jointly

New flagstone paving
in Arboretum Herb

Garden.

Photo by Frank Simerly
by the Southern California Camellia
Council and the Descanso Gardens
Guild, had truly lived up to its
billing. On the practical side, it had
achieved its basic purpose: raising
funds — close to four thousand dol-
lars —for the planned new garden-
center building. On the lighter side,
the setting was enchanting, the
weather was perfect, the dinner and
music excellent, and the program, a
salute to former County supervisor
John Anson Ford on his 95th birth-
day, a delight.

Many people contributed to the
success of the evening. Mrs. Randy
McDonald and Mr. Tom Hughes
were co-chairmen, Mr. Tom Burrows
was master of ceremonies, and Mrs.
Joseph Barrett presided over the
presentations to Mr. Ford with the
assistance of Mrs. Merrill Bittner
and Mrs. Marilyn Stoke, both past
presidents of the Department Board
of Governors. Miss Susan Garner, a
USC vocal arts major, sang a song
based on a poem by Mr. Ford, Mrs.
Dory Grade presented a picture she
had painted in his honor entitled
“Remembering Descanso,” and Mr.
Ken Anderson, former chief art di-
rector of Disney Productions, gave
Mr. Ford two cartoon birthday cards
he had drawn. Before the dancing

started, the winners of 15 raffle
prizes were announced, the number
one prize being a steamship trip
from Los Angeles to Vancouver and
return.

Bienvenidos a South Coast

Ci. To 200 PEOPLE attended a
dinner-dance presented by the
South Coast Botanic Garden Foun-
dation last October 7 as part of a
continuing effort to raise funds to
meet their pledge for the South
Coast Botanic Garden Administra-
tion Center and garden buildings.
The theme of the affair was “Bien-
venidos” or welcome. This led easi-
ly to the early-California-rancho
theme with guests invited to dress
in costumes appropriate to the per-
iod. This the majority did, thereby
adding greatly to the festive atmos-
phere, to the particular delight of
Patricia (Mrs. William) Box, a
trustee and a foundation member
who chaired the event

The “Early California Rancho
Celebration,” as it blossomed into,
started at 6 p.m. and lasted almost
to midnight. Dinner and dance were
held in the gaily decorated Hall of
Horticulture. The dinner featured
barbecued beef prepared by De-
partment Director Francis Ching

LASCA 3

0

whose culinary talents have aided
numerous fund-raising events in
recent years. On this occasion, there
was also entertainment and dancing
provided by Miss Lilly Johnson,
singer-guitarist, and the Joe Valenti
Jazz Orchestra. The door prize, a
roundtrip for two from Los Angeles
to Guadalajara, donated by Western
Airlines, was won by Mr. and Mrs.
Ove Hoyer, of Long Beach, both
charter members of the foundation.
Mr. Hoyer is also a member of the
Department Board of Governors,

Assisting in the organizing and
staging of the event was a committee
of Peninsula and South Bay resi-
dents composed of Marie Louise
Ferren, Mary Lou Steinmetz, Lucille
Anthony, Eunice Antosik, Sue Ap-
pelt, Shirley Bradley, Lillian and
Randy Mynum, Ernie Chapa, Marian
Chu, Helen Gates, Sharon Guthrie,
Mary Harrison, Louise Hillman, Jan
Kellogg, Joan Meadowcroft, Burt
Nakamura, Chris Peters, Cindy Pet-
ers, Sharlene Petersen, Sharon Ryan,
Edna Schoenbaum, Lura_ Willon,
and Jack Young.

School Field Trip Grant
A $5,000 grant from the Times-

Mirror Foundation to the De-
partment of Arboreta and Botanic
Gardens last September has made
possible the continuation of school
field trips to each of the Depart-
ment’s gardens. What the grant
accomplished was to allow the
schools to pay the $10-per-bus en-
trance fee where funds had not been
previously budgeted.

The need for the grant could be
traced back to Proposition 13 and
the ensuing economic domino effect
it caused. First, admission and tram
fees were ordered by the Board of
Supervisors at the Arboretum, Des-
canso Gardens, and South Coast
Botanic Garden. The admission
charge was extended to include each
busload of students visiting a gar-
den as part of their school field trip
program. The schools, their budgets

4 LASCA

already strained by Proposition 18,
could not pay the fees and began
cancelling their garden field trips.
The reduction was dramatic. As an
example, the average number of stu-
dents that used to visit the Arbore-
tum in the month of October
dropped from 1,500 to 300 this last
October.

Apprised of this situation, Mr.
Charles R. Redmond of Times-Mir-
ror announced the contribution of
$5,000 “to assist in underwriting the
cost of transporting school children
by bus to the Los Angeles State and
County Arboretum, Descanso Gar-
dens, and South Coast Botanic Gar-
den during the 1978-79 year.”

By November, the number of
school field trips to each garden be-
gan to rise. At this writing, it is
expected that the number will con-
tinue to rise and, as Director Francis
Ching wrote to Mr. Redmond,
“enable at least 500 school groups
to participate in field tours that give
youngsters an insight into the re-
lationship between plants and man,
or a view of California history in
which the Arboretum and the land
it occupies played an integral part.”
Supervisor Peter Schabarum accept-
ed the grant on behalf of the Board
of Supervisors,

Pruning Demonstrations
Tr IS THE TIME of year to cal]
attention to three pruning dem-
onstrations at South Coast Botanic
Garden and Descanso Gardens. The
reason, of course, is that the time to
prune and the objectives of prunin
go hand in hand. Basically, piting
is done to remove dead or diseased
haping a tree or

done during the
before new growth starts.

A demonstration on th
of roses will be Siven at Descanso
Gardens Sunday, January 14 start
ing at 1 p.m. It w; hand ;
members of the
staff and membe
Society.

€ pruning

dred chairs will be set up on the
main lawn for the session during
which experts on hand will field
questions from the audience. A spe-
cial feature of this event will be the
sale of some outstanding roses,
among them last year’s All American
Award winners. The proceeds of
the sale will go toward improve-
ments in Descanso’s famous Rose
Garden.

A rose-pruning demonstration will
also be given at South Coast, this
one on January 7th from 2 to 4 p.m.
This presentation will be by the
South Coast Pacific Rose Society.

On January 14th at South Coast,
Superintendent Armand _ Sarinana
and members of the South Coast
staff will give a deciduous fruit tree
pruning demonstration from 1 to 4
p.m.

Mark J. Anthony

AS THIS ISSUE OF Lasca Leaves

was going to press, word came
to us of the passing on November
18 of Mark J. Anthony, former su-
perintendent of Descanso Gardens.
Mr. Anthony, who was 70 years old
at the time of his death, was assist-
ant superintendent at Descanso from
1955 to 1961 and then superintend-
ent until his retirement in 1973.
During his years at Descanso, he
left his horticultural imprint on all
parts of the garden, notably the
native plant section in which he
took particular pride. His chief hor-
ticultural interest, however, was 10
camellias, and he will be long re
membered for his contributions 4s
a breeder and grower both privately
and in the famous camellia garden
at Descanso. Two new camellias he
developed he named after his wife,
Catherine, and his daughter, Chris-
tine. He also has a son, Thomas.
Mr. Anthony was born in Rock
Island, Illinois. He came to South-
ern California at an early age where
he attended high school and what
was then Pasadena Junior College:
earning a degree there in landscape
esign

.

(LASCA continues after page )

ECONOMIC PLANTS

ORANGES

HE BIRTHPLACE of the orange is

buried in southeast Asia. Most
writers on the subject believe either
south China or Cochin-China (pres-
ent-day Vietnam) to be the most
likely location, although there is no
record of truly wild oranges having
been found in these areas, nor, for
that matter, in any other area.
Though the native habitat of the
orange remains uncertain, there is
no doubt that it has been cultivated
in China and India from remote
ages.

Oranges were introduced into
Europe in the sixth and seventh cen-
turies by the Arabs who during their
conquests planted orange trees in

pain. From Spain the fruit was
taken to Italy and then to other
countries. Although pleasantly aro-
matic, these oranges were extremely
bitter and sour and were used main-
ly as a seasoning for fish and meat,
the way we now use lemons. When
the archbishop of Milan, in 1529,
gave a sixteen-course dinner, the
menu included caviar and oranges
fried with sugar and cinnamon,
brill and sardines with slices of
orange and lemon, oysters with
oranges and pepper, and sparrows
with oranges.

In the 16th century, Portuguese
sailors brought home from India
oranges that were sweet. In the sev-
enteenth century they brought back
even sweeter ones from China. The

Leonid Enari

new orange quickly replaced the
bitter orange and rapidly became
one of the most appreciated and
wanted of all fruits. Today, the
botanical name for the bitter orange
is Citrus aurantiacum L. and for the
sweet orange, Citrus sinensis (L.)
Osbeck. In the past they were con-
sidered to be the same species.

The desire to grow oranges in
colder climates led to the develop-
ment of orangeries where trees were
planted in giant boxes and moved
in and out with the seasons. The
first orangeries were nothing more
than heated buildings with large
windows. As the years passed, they
became more elegant. The orangery
of Louis XIV contained facilities for
banquets and balls held between
stands of flowering and _ fruiting
orange trees to create the impression
that guests were dining and dancing
in the middle of an orange grove.
The king’s gardeners had found the
secret of forcing and were able to
bring the orange trees into bloom
any time of the year. By 1850,
orangeries had become architectural
masterpieces comparable with pal-
aces and cathedrals.

From Europe, orange seeds were
taken to’ the new world by Spanish
and Portuguese explorers in the sec-
ond half of the 15th century. The
first orange grove in California con-
sisted of 400 trees. It was planted
in the San Gabriel Mission in 1804

and was named after Father Su-
perior Zalvidea who had brought
the seed from San Rafael, Mexico.
The mission became the nucleus of
California orange growing, supply-
ing young trees for home and com-
mercial planting.

Andrew Forbes, who wrote one of
the earliest works on California
(printed in England in 1835), cites
wheat, maize, barley, pease (peas),
beans, potatoes, hemp (marijuana),
grapes, olives and grasses as the
principal crops of California, but
makes no mention of oranges.

William Wolfskill, an ex-trapper
and trader from Kentucky, who in
1865 bought the famed Rancho
Santa Anita, which included the
present Arboretum site, was the first
to see the commercial possibilities. In
1841, he planted an orange orchard
in what is now downtown Los Ange-
les. In good years, this orchard
brought him an income of $1,000 an
acre. The last crop disposed of in
his lifetime, from about 28 acres,
sold on the trees for $25,000. Wolf-
skill’s success stimulated others, and
there was a considerable increase in
orange planting after 1850. In 1862,
there were about 25,000 orange trees
in the state; by 1882 the number
had increased to 500,000. It may be
mentioned here that in 1881 the top
price for a box of approximately 200
oranges was $3.00, considered by
the growers of that time to be a

LASCA 5

marvelous return on their invest-

ment.

Up to 1880 or so, all cultivated
oranges were grown from see
Unlike apple, cherry, peach and
many other fruit trees, oranges come
fairly true from seed, the fruit from
practically all seedlings being mar-
ketable. The fruit from an orchard

Deahan grove in San hands Valley,

of seedlings, however, lacks uni-
formity, which is one of the chief
requisites of a commercial product.
Further, seedling trees grow so
large they make gathering the fruit
expensive. For these and other rea-
sons, commercial orange trees today
are propagated asexually by bud-
ding. Each orange-growing area has
its own favorite varieties. In Cali-
fornia and Arizona commercial culti-
are Washington Navel an
Valencia. In Florida, growers prefer
Parson’s Brown, Hamlin, Pineapple,
Homosassa, Temple, Valencia and
Gim Gon. The last cultivar

seems to be identical to Valencia.
The Washington navel orange was
introduced into the United States in
1870 by William O. Saunders, super-
intendent of the Horticulture Bureau
of Agriculture (now Department of
Agriculture), Washington, D.C
Saunders had received from an
American Presbyterian missionary in

Bahia, Brazil, a crate of twelve
young budded trees from a superior
variety that was sweet, seedless, and
had an umbilicus (navel) at its
blossom end. The trees were propa-
gated, and a number of them sent
to Florida and California growers.
Mrs. Luther (Eliza) Tibbet of
Riverside was one of three persons
in California to receive trees. She
and her husband planted two in their
homestead garden and gave budding
material from them to other growers.
Most of the Washington navel trees
in California, and they number in
the millions, originate from these

two trees. When Mr. Tibbet sold
his property in 1903, the new owner
gave the two parent navel orange
trees away. One tree was given to
Frank A. Miller, a hotel operator,
who transplanted it in the inner
court of his hotel. He was helped
in the planting by President Theo-
dore Roosevelt, a guest in the hotel

California. ;

Photo courtesy of Sunkist Growers, Inc.

at the time. The tree, however, died
several years later.
was presented to the City of River-
side and transplanted to its present
location near Palm and Magnolia
Avenues where it is still living, but
in declining health. It is designated
California State Historical Land-
mark No. 20.

Compared with other subtropical
trees, the orange tree is slow-grow-
ing. It requires about 15 years for
a seedling to reach 25 to 30 feet,
considered to be a typical mature
height. The size of budded trees
depends on the seedling they are

6 LASCA

budded to and varies from 5 to 25
feet.

Orange trees flower in February
and March, producing waxy-white,
exquisitely textured fragrant blos-
soms in great number. The fruit sets
in February or March and attains
maturity one year thereafter when
the tree blossoms again. A_ tree
covered with green leaves, white
flowers and _ orange-colored fruit
offers an enchanting picture. Few
authors described the flowering,
fruiting tree better than William S.

Cross section of an orange. A. Epicarp (flavedo). B.
Endocarp (edible portion divided into segments ). D. Pith

Spalding who, in his book, “The
Orange,” published in 1885, called
it “a bride, clothed in satin emerald,
crowned with snowy wreath and
decked with precious jewels.”

After reaching maturity, seedling
trees produce fruit in large quanti-
ties. A 77-or 78-year-old tree in the
garden of the San Gabriel Mission
is reputed to have borne 10,000
oranges in one season. Of course,
few orange trees produce similar
yields.

Botanists call the fruit of orange
and other citrus trees hesperidium.
It differs from a berry in having a
leathery rind and many juicy seg-
ments in place of solid pulp. The
inner white and spongy part of the
rind is known as albedo or meso-
carp, the outer colored part of the
rind as flavedo or epicarp. The epi-
carp is rich in small glands contain-
ing an essential oil.

The color of an orange has no
correlation with the maturity of the
flesh and juice inside. It can be

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green when ripe or orange-colored
when not ripe. In the tropics,
oranges remain green even when
fully ripe. They become bright
orange only in regions where night
temperatures are below 50° F. much
of the ripening period. When cold
nights come before the fruit is fully
developed in size, the surface turns
to bright orange. When warm nights
return, and this happens occasionally
in California, the fruit turns green
again and remains green even when

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i
t

the inside becomes ripe and is as
sweet as it can be.

The soluble solids in oranges are
composed of sugars, organic acids,
amino acids, Vitamin C, Vitamin B
complex, pectins, essential oils,
esters, glucosides and other organic
compounds. It also contains inor-
ganic compounds. It is interesting
to note that the highest concentra-
tion of Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid,
is found in the flavedo, less in the
albedo, and least in the juice. It is
also interesting that there is more

ae ee
ae . Lai ay

Drawing by M. Wallace

Mesocarp (albedo). C.

Vitamin C in green, unripe oranges
than in ripe oranges.

The juiciness of an orange is af-
fected by the climate in which it is
produced. In wet climates like
Florida, oranges have thin skins, are
less sweet, and contain more juice.
In arid climates like California, they
develop a thick skin, are sweeter and
contain less juice. In Florida, it is
said that you can run over a Cali-
fornia orange with a ten-ton truck
and not even wet the pavement.

LASCA 7

Most California oranges are eaten as
fresh fruit. Most Florida oranges,
as many as 80 percent, are sent to
canneries that produce frozen orange
juice concentrate.

Before being shipped to market,
oranges are washed, dried, waxed
graded and sized. Sometimes they
are also gasséd or dyed. In the
gassing, or degreening process, as
the packers prefer to call it, green
or partially green oranges are put
into ethylene chambers for a few
days. When taken out, they will
have turned orange. The same hap-
pens to green oranges when they
are stored in a room with ripening
or ripe apples, pears, bananas or
some other fruits which naturally
give off ethylene gas in addition to
carbon dioxide gas as they breathe.
An apple can degreen a dozen or so
oranges. In California, oranges are

v

often gassed to improve their already
good looks. e “color d
stamped in purple letters on the
rind of oranges means that they have
been bathed in a solution of a dye
known as Red No. 2. This dye is
actually pink, but when applied to
the green or partially green surfaces
it produces an orange color.

There is no way to make an unripe
orange ripe after it is picked from
the tree. Apples, pears, and some
other fruits go on ripening for weeks
after they are separated from the
tree, oranges do not.

The world production of oranges
is about 600 million boxes. Each box
weighs 70 pounds. The United
States, with its 173,472,000 boxes, is
the biggest producer in the world,
followed by Brazil, Spain, Italy,
Israel, and Mexico. In the United
States, Florida is the leading pro-

ducer, followed by California, Ari-
zona and Texas.

A small orange grove can be seen
at the Los Angeles State and County
Arboretum near the Coach Barn in
the Historical Section. It was plant-
ed over 30 years ago to complement
the Old Fashioned Rose Garden
that was a part of the homesite of
the 8,500-acre Rancho Santa Anita
E. J. “Lucky” Baldwin had acquired
in 1875. Baldwin was very active in
the orange business at one time. In
1891, he had a 500-acre orange
grove at the ranch plus a million
young orange trees in an adjoining

ursery. This is long since gone,
leaving the grove at the Arboretum
among the few urban examples of
orange growing for city-dwellers to
enjoy.

Dr. Enari is a senior biologist on
the Arboretum staff.

LOS ANGELES STATE AND
abl ARBORETUM, Arcadia
.m

nuary 7 — 9 a.m. to 5 “
"Gladiolus Bulb § Sale
ted by Southern California Glad-
y

—8p.m

Theodore Payne Foundation Lecture
“Effects of lags and on Na-
i sear director,
Tilden bitemical Garden, paige
January 27, onl 9 a.m. to 5 p.m

Bonsai

Presented a Baikoen Kenkykai Bonsai

im Lorman, horticulturist
Presented by California Arboretum

n Lecture
Exotic Economic Plants

nari, Arboretum senior biologist

Presented by California Arboretum
Foundation

March 16 nen p.m
The Payne Foundation oe
“Our Hetithes of Wild Flow
Mr an rs. Roy menaend nature
sitennecihets

pes 31, April 1 — 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
ri
Presented by Aril Society
BESCANSO | GARDENS, La Canada
January 1

g Demonstrai tion
Sriechaed | a Descanso staff and

:

CALENDAR
JANUARY, FEBRUARY, AND MARCH

Pacific Rose Society

February 25 — 10 a.m.
Sunday Morning Walk
Camellias, botng ghana: par ane Shrubs
eorge Lewis, su
March 3, 4 — Sat., 12 a.m. to5 pm.
Sun., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Camellia Show
Presented by Southern California

Camellia Council
March 17, is Set, 12 a.m, to 5 p.m.
Sun., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m
Daffodil Show
Presented by Souther California
Daffodil Soci
Mar. 31, April ets di 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sun., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m

Presented by cars Gardens
Bonsai

SOUTH Rit BOTANIC
GARDEN, Palos Verdes Peninsula
January 7 — 2 p.m.

Sunday Afternoon in the

Slide/ Wiles on “Teo he monte

Charles

Presented Hong South Soe Botanic

rden Foundat

Demonstrat
Armand Sarinana, superintendent, and
garden sta

January 21 —

Rose Pruning Demonstratio:
Presented by South Coast Rose Society

January 27, 28 —
Camellia Show
Presented by South Coast Camellia

y

9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

February 4— 2 p.m
Sunday in the Garden—Talk and Tea
Dr Mildred Mathias
Sern) by vebeoe aig Botanic
oun

February 11 — nas
Bonsai Demonstration, Japanese Sumi
Esai Display
Presented by South Coast Bonsai
ssociation
February 18 — 2 p.m.
Fuchsia Pruning Demonstration
Presented by South Coast Fuchsia
ciety
February 25 — 2 p.m
Care of Indoor and ‘Outdoor Ferns
Bob Heckenlaible

rch 4— 2 p.m
“Colorful Spring Plantings and Baskets
Demonstration
ocky Marshall, Crest Nursery
March 11— 2 p.m
Orchids for the Am
Jerry Rehfield, Brinsc ale South Bay

ie ne Gears, president, South
Coast Camellia Soci
March 21 — 2 p.
. Safari to Your Backyard
president, Palos Verdes
iety

ning Walk

athe aeatnik superin-
tendent

8 LASCA