MARIN CHAPTER
CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY

revised 17 May 2008; e-mail Marin CNPS Join the California Native Plant Society Marin CNPS Membership Meetings Monday June 9 Glenn Keator "Creating California Native Gardens" July/August - summer break Saturday, September 13 chapter potluck and slide show Marin CNPS Field Trips and Hikes Sunday May 18 Palomarin Trail, PRNS Tuesday May 20 Loma Alta, North Slope Tuesday May 27 Pine Mountain Sunday June 1 Tiburon Saturday June 21 Mt Tam - Rock Spring to West Point Inn Sunday June 29 Pt Reyes National Seashore - Bull Point Sunday July 6 Berkeley - Tilden Botanc Garden Sunday Juy 20 San Francisco - Strybing Arboretum Sunday August 3 Tomales Bay State Park Jepson/Johnstone Loop Sunday August 17 Fairfax - Deer Parkp Marin CNPS Plant Lists David Herlocker's MCOSD Summer Outings Saturday May 17 & Sunday May 18 2nd Annual Eco-Friendly Garden Tour, sponsored by Marin Art & Garden Center (MAGC) and Marin County Stormwater Pollution Prevention Program (MCSTOPPP) Pre-registration is required! Register through MCSTOPPP by calling Gina at 415-499-3202. Cost: $15 per adult Gardening with Native Plants in the San Francisco Bay Area Native Plants that Attract Birds Marin Flowers of the month for May by Doreen Smith Jewelflowers, Streptanthus species click on images for larger view "Marin has several jewelflowers of interest growing in Marin. They are in the Mustard family, Brassicaceae, and have the characteristic 4 sepals, 4 petals and 6 anthers but unlike many other spp. in the same plant family the flowers are bilaterally symmetrical. "Our most remarkable species is Streptanthus niger, Tiburon black jewel flower, of the serpentine-soil areas of the Tiburon peninsula. Of course it isn't really black, the flowers just have a very dark calyx. "Other species of the Streptanthus glandulosus group in Marin may have pink, purple, yellow or white flowers. The white-flowered one is blooming now on Azalea Hill but in a reduced size due to the last two dry months . "Streptanthus batrachopus, the Tamalpais jewelflower is usually very small, growing on serpentine- bald sites on the n. side of Mt. Tamalpais and also further n. into the Carson Ridge/San Geronimo Ridge chaparral wilds." Volunteers Needed Native Plant Seed Collection Point Reyes National Seashore is currently seeking volunteers to help with the native plant seed collection during the spring/summer of 2008. Seed collected will be used in several revegetation projects taking place during the fall of 2008/2009. Saturday, May 31 Wednesday, June 4 Saturday, June 7 Wednesday, June 11 Wednesday, June 18 Additional workdays will also be scheduled for later in the season (as different species mature). Time: 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Meet at Bear Valley Visitor Center at 9:00 am. Bring lunch, water and sturdy boots. Training on grass identification and seed collection protocols will be provided. Please RSVP to Beth_Eisenberg@nps.gov or call (415) 464-5216 Rare Plant Monitoring With the help of CNPS volunteers, Pt. Reyes National Seashore monitors rare plant populations in areas where management changes may occur. If you are interested in assisting us, please contact Ellen Hamingson at (415) 464-5196 or Ellen_Hamingson@nps.gov. We generally meet every other Friday at the Inverness General Store parking lot for a 9:30-2:30 workday. The next scheduled workdays are June 6th and 20th. Please call to confirm. more Volunteer Opportunities in Marin County Saturday June 14 & Sunday June 15 Fairfax Eco-Fest Marin CNPS will have an information table at EcoFest, to be held at the Fairfax Pavilion during the Fairfax Fair. Admission is free. Stop by and say hello, Wildflower Sightings in Marin County Report (email us) your Marin native plant sightings and photographs to be included here For information and more photographs of California native plants, go to Calflora or CalPhotos. Plant Lists for Marin localities click on images below for full-size views Doreen Smith reports May 8: "Joe's Marin Headlands field trip along the Coast Trail from the Golden Gate Bridge to the old Rifle Range last Tuesday was very abundantly floral. Most colorful among the many species of flowers encountered on the E. side of the ridge were red Franciscan paintbrush, Castilleja subinclusa ssp. franciscana." Doreen Smith reports April 30: "Today was David Herlocker's Soulejule expedition. I participated for only a very short time as I had set myself the job of monitoring rare plants in the area. A discovery there was a patch of little mudwort, Limosella acaulis, in the drying seasonal wet place NE of the dam.The rest of the group I left to hike round the reservoir. They found Pogogyne serpylloides, a tiny mint with a strong pleasant odor. "The reduced population of Delphinium bakeri on the Marshall-Petaluma road is now flowering. "Along the cliffs S. of Tomales, Amsinckia lunaris and Clarkia concinna ssp. raichei are flowering in much the same sites as Arabis blepharophylla. "Near the junction of Chileno Valley Road and the Tomales-Petaluma road, Iris longipetala are abundant on the W. of the road and Hemizonia congesta ssp. congesta (with white flowerheads) is in the grassy field to the E. of the road." Doreen Smith reports April 21: "Marin CNPS had a good field trip yesterday to the Missimen wildflower area in Snell Valley, Napa county, where we saw several unusual flowering spp. not found in Marin." "Hesperolinon congestum, a State and Federally-listed endangered species, is just starting to flower on Ring Mountain. " 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 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. 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. 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 Order Plant Communities of Marin by David Shuford and Irene C. Timossi CNPS Posters Ted Kipping's Potluck/Slideshows every third Wednesday through June at the San Francisco County Fair Building Sunday June 21 10am-4pm The Garden Conservacy's Marin County Open Day includes David & Carolyn Long's "magical, virtually 100% California native hillside garden" in Mill Valley. The CNPS has been named as a benefitting organization of the Garden Conservancy's 2008 Open Days Program and will receive a portion of the $5 entrance fee to this garden. 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.