MARIN CHAPTER
CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY

Join the California Native Plant Society Marin CNPS Membership Meetings Monday, November 10 Ralph & Lisa Shanks "Indian Baskets of Central California" Marin CNPS Field Trips and Hikes Sunday, October 12 Walk cancelled due to Red Flag Warning at Sky Oaks Phone Sky Oaks ranger station at 415-945-1195 for details of watershed closure Wednesday, October 29 Bear Valley to Arch Rock, Pt. Reyes Sunday, November 9 The Trees of Dominican University, San Rafael Sunday, November 23 Indian Tree Preserve, Novato Sunday, December 7 Mount St. Helena Thursday, December 25 Big Rock Ridge Marin CNPS Plant Lists, includes updated Shoreline Plants for Oct 12 walk Marin Sightings Report (email us) your Marin native plant sightings and photographs Doreen Smith reports October 6: "Vernon and I pre-tripped the shores of Alpine Lake yesterday. The water level is down well below normal for the date this year but noteworthy plants are few. Still I will do the hike more or less as previously planned on the 12th Oct. but include L. Lagunitas as well because that has more water in it! The four-leaf clover fern (Marsilea vestita) was visible but no pillwort-ferns (Pilularia americana)." Doreen Smith reports September 25: "More news from our field trips! Yesterday we found a new native plant species for Marin - Calibrachoa parviflora (was Petunia parviflora) on the drying shore of Stafford Lake reservoir, Novato. It was one I couldn't initially identify to the delight of those present, who in the past may have suffered from my "know-them-all" deception. " Doreen Smith reports September 20: " We re-discovered Astragalus nuttallii (last recorded 1947) on our last CNPS weekend hike to McClures beach, Pt. Reyes. Brad Kelley took the picture. Perhaps we found it because I didn't take along my camera... " click on thumbnail photos for full plant images Rare plant of the month by Doreen Smith " Here are two plants for comparison that can usually be found blooming through November. One is common the other rare - but they look very similar to each other. As you can see these California asters have been put in a different genus from the one most of us are used to. Suisun marsh aster, Symphyotrichum lentum "Marin has just one very small known population of this rare aster - on the SW shores of Chileno Laguna. It definitely a wetland plant and is more common in the Suisun marshes, as one might expect. Fine specimens can be seen south of the first bridge across the slough that is a little south of Suisun City along Grizzly Island Road. At the same site there are Symphyotrichum chilense and the small-flowered annual S. divaricatum for anyone who cares to compare or key them. click on thumbnail image to see full plant Coastal aster, Symphyotrichum chilense "This is the commonest "aster" in Marin and can be found inland as well as on the immediate coast. The leaves are broader than the above species and it isn't always growing in wetlands but is often in dry soils and serpentine areas." click on image to see full plant For information and more photographs of California native plants, go to Calflora or CalPhotos. Marin CNPS Photo Gallery Common Bay Area Spring Wildflowers Common Bay Area Shrubs Arctostaphylos species of Marin County Orobanche species of Marin County Some Native Orchids of Marin County Delphinium bakeri pictures and article Plant Communities of Marin County Volunteer Opportunities in Marin County Point Reyes National Seashore Habitat Restoration Program workdays are normally held on the second and last Sundays of each month. Come out and join us for a day of work and friendship! Please meet up at Bear Valley Visitor Center at 9AM. If you're late and want to meet at the work site, please be sure to check at the Visitor Center front desk to confirm the location. Remember to bring a snack/lunch and water and wear clothes that can get dirty. Contact Ellen Hamingson at (415) 464-5196 or Ellen_Hamingson@nps.gov for more information. October 10-13 The HRP Salt Point Work Weekend will be happening over Columbus Day weekend. Suzanne and Woody have a bumper crop of pampas grass this year and a set of sharp new pulaskis (courtesy of Timothy) waiting for us! Workdays will be Saturday 10/11 and Sunday 10/12. Weed Watchers - Invasive Species Early Detection Point Reyes Weed Watchers needs your help in the early detection and monitoring of invasive species. For more information please contact Melissa at 464-5201 or Melissa_Potter@nps.gov Native Plant Seed Collection If you have not yet had a chance to join us, it is not too late to get involved! Come enjoy the beautiful setting of Point Reyes NationalSeashore, utilize or expand your botanical skills, and contribute to the success of restoration projects in the park! We are continuing to collect seed into the early Autumn season, focusing on shrub species and tufted hairgrass (Deschampsia cespitosa). Please contact Beth_Eisenberg@nps.gov or call (415) 464-5216, if you would still like to help! Rare Plant Monitoring at PRNS has finished for the year San Pablo National Wildlife Refuge Audubon California and the US Fish & Wildlife Service seek volunteers to assist with ecological restoration and monitoring at the Tubbs Island Enhancement Project in the San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Volunteers will have opportunities to learn ecological monitoring and restoration techniques and species identification. Monitoring will occur on limited access parcels, presenting a great opportunity to experience the San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Saturday October 18 Native Plant Revegetation SPAWN (Salmon Protection and Watershed Network) Fridays through mid-December Native Plant Nursery more Volunteer Opportunities in Marin County Jepson Herbarium Workshops October 18 Insect Diversity and Coevolution November 23 Lithocarpus densiflorus: An Environmental History of Tanoak New and Revised MARIN FLORA We are pleased to announce the arrival of the long-awaited, revised edition of John Thomas Howell's classic 1949 Marin Flora. The new edition is co-authored by Wilma Follette, Catherine Best and Frank Almeda, Senior Curator of Botany at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, and is a joint project of the Marin Chapter of the CNPS and the Academy of Sciences. This updated edition has added 416 line drawings to assist in keying species, new well-tested dichotomous keys, and color photos of plant communities in Marin. There are new maps along with satellite images of Marin County. As much as possible has been preserved of Howell's original plant descriptions that have long delighted botanists as well as his insights and poetic observations. Cover illustration: "Mt. Tamalpais from Corte Madera Creek" by Tom Killion © 2004 Hard and soft cover books will be available for purchase at chapter meetings or you can Order Marin Flora from the Marin Chapter CNPS Marin Chapter members have contributed many hours of volunteer labor and expertise; work was carried out at the Academy where plant specimens are retained. Publication was made possible by Tom Howell's generous remembrance of the chapter in his will when he died in 1994. Gardening with Native Plants in the San Francisco Bay Area Native Plants that Attract Birds Order Plant Communities of Marin by David Shuford and Irene C. Timossi CNPS Posters The State CNPS is seeking a conservation advocate to lead the Conservation Program download job announcement Junior Botanists Program E-mail questions or comments to Marin CNPS

Our logo is the Tiburon Mariposa Lily (Calochortus tiburonensis). This extremely rare lily can be seen blooming from the end of May through mid-June among the serpentine rocks of Ring Mountain in Marin County, California. In fact, this is the only place in the world it has ever been found growing in the wild. It was first noticed by botanists in 1971 when the small patch of land on which it lives passed from private into public hands. The plant is now in cultivation and can be seen in botanic gardens. Try your hand at identifying the parts of this flower: or View more photographs of this lily in its native habitat or Visit the College of Marin's "To See A World Project" to learn more about Ring Mountain The California Native Plant Society is a non-profit organization of amateurs and professionals united by an interest in the plants of California. Its principal aims are to preserve the native flora and to add to the knowledge of members and the public at large. It seeks to accomplish these goals in a number of ways, including: monitoring rare plants; acting to save endangered areas through publicity, and on occasion, legal action; setting policies and guidelines on conservation issues; providing expert testimony to government bodies; supporting financially and otherwise the establishment of native plant preserves. The work of the Society is carried out primarily by the volunteer efforts of the members of CNPS chapters throughout the state. Money at the State level is provided by the dues of members. Local chapters raise money through plant sales and poster and book sales. The California Native Plant Society has 9,000 members statewide. The Marin Chapter, which was founded in 1973, has approximately 500 members.

The Marin Chapter of the California Native Plant Society thanks Geology Professor Jim Locke and the College of Marin for hosting our Web Pages.