We meet once a month, on the second Mondays of : January - June and October - November LOCATION: The Redwoods 40 Camino Alto Mill Valley

6:00 p.m. Dinner with the speaker Our usual dinner venue, the Cantina, is closed for renovations , so if you wish to join the speaker and others, please call Kristin Jakob at (415)388-1844 by the Sat before the meeting date to be included in the reservation and to receive directions to the restaurant (venue yet to be determined).
7:30 p.m. Meet at The Redwoods, 40 Camino Alto, Mill Valley. Books and Posters for sale
8:00 p.m. Main Program :

PAST PROGRAMS

Monday June 9, 2008
"Creating California Native Gardens
Illustrated presentation
by guest speaker
Glenn Keator

We in California are lucky to find ourselves in a climate that is gentle enough to allow us to include plants from all over the world in our gardens. But should we? There are compelling reasons to turn to California natives, which are already adapted to our habitats and microclimates. California native gardens give us a sense of place, low maintenance, and great beauty. Glenn Keator’s talk will feature Marin County plant communities as inspiration to create appropriate local gardens. We’ll visit the hot, dry chaparral; the cool, shady redwood forests; the open oak woodlands; and the wildflower-filled grasslands.

Glenn Keator is a freelance teacher, botanist, and writer specializing in California native plants and their garden culture. He teaches at San Francisco Botanical Garden, Regional Parks Botanic Garden, Merritt College, and College of Marin. Glenn has written several books on natives including The Life of an Oak, Introduction to Trees of the San Francisco Bay Region, and a pocket guide called Trees and Shrubs of Mt. Diablo. His newest book, Designing California Native Gardens, with Alrie Middlebrook (UC Press), forms the basis for this talk. A limited number of copies of the book will be available for purchase (at a discounted price) and signing after the presentation.

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Monday May 12, 2008
Our May speaker succumbed to the flu, and was unable to give us his update on Sudden Oak Death. We wish him a speedy recovery, and will try to line him up to speak in November or January. Meanwhile we are very grateful to our Rare Plants chair, Doreen Smith, who very ably filled in with a program on rare plants of Pt. Reyes.

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Monday April 14, 2008
"Lester Rowntree and Hardy Californians: A Woman's Life with Native Plants"
Illustrated presentation
by guest speaker
Lester B. Rowntree

Lester Rowntree was a pioneer in the study, cultivation, and conservation of California native plants. While remembered today primarily for her 1936 classic, Hardy Californians, which UC Press recently republished in an expanded edition, Lester also authored over 700 popular articles and gave hundreds of public lectures as she tirelessly promoted the cause of native flora. Besides her botanical and horticultural messages, the public seemed equally enchanted by Lester's gypsy lifestyle and her irrepressible personality, empowered as it was by a mystical blend of natural philosophy and religion that was enriched by her outdoor life. In this talk her grandson, Lester B. Rowntree, will talk about this fascinating woman's life with native plants. The talk will be illustrated with pictures from the Rowntree family archives, as well as with original photographs taken by Lester herself.

The Speaker: After three decades of teaching in San Jose State's Department of Environmental Studies, Lester B. Rowntree is now a Visiting Scholar at UC Berkeley where he researches and writes about local and world environmental topics. In addition to editing the recent edition of Hardy Californians, Lester is currently working on a natural history book of California's Central Coast for UC Press. He is also the author of over a dozen college textbooks. He lives in Berkeley and has long been a member of the East Bay chapter of CNPS.

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Monday March 10, 2008
"Sustainability and the Living Roof at the new California Academy of Sciences"
Illustrated presentation
by guest speaker

Join us for a lecture to learn how construction of the new California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park was informed by the institution's commitment to the environment and its sustainability. As eco-friendly continues to take center stage, buildings of all kinds and sizes are going green. Almeda will discuss ways in which the new Academy is setting some of the highest standards for green architecture in everything from water and energy efficiency to natural light and ventilation, recycled building materials, and last but not least the challenges and benefits of a living roof.

Lagunitas coho salmon are listed as endangered at the State and federal level and are the largest remaining wild run of coho salmon in Central California. The Salmon Protection and Watershed Network (SPAWN) is a 501c3 organization in West Marin working to protect and restore endangered salmon populations and creek ecosystems. Paola Bouley will talk about the importance of riparian forests and floodplains to salmon in California and highlight SPAWN’s grassroots efforts to revive and protect local riparian forests and coho salmon in West Marin.

Paola has a M.S. in Ecology from the Romberg Tiburon Center for Environmental Studies and San Francisco State University, and a B.S. in Marine Biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Over the past 10 years, Paola has worked with the GGNRA, PRBO Conservation Science, and the Nature Conservancy monitoring migratory songbirds and working actively in the restoration of Bay Area wildlands. Since 2004, she has worked as the watershed biologist (that is, a community ecologist) for SPAWN. Working closely with volunteers, she helped launch SPAWN’s watershedbased native plant nursery, and helps manage programs to monitor coho salmon and streams, restore native riparian habitat on private lands, and advocate in support of environmentally sustainable land and water management policies.

SPAWN naturalists lead creek walks for the public to view endangered coho salmon in the Lagunitas Watershed through the winter months (November- January). For more information, visit the SPAWN website

The Golden Gate National Recreation Area contains more endangered species than any National Park in continental North America: more then Yosemite, Yellowstone, Kings Canyon, and Sequoia National Parks combined. This astounding array of imperiled biodiversity - in the midst of the Bay Area’s vibrant civilization - is certainly cause for celebration, but also concern, as the species’ dire status may indicate that something is wrong with our relationship to the Park.

In 2008, CNPS will embark on an exciting campaign to reconnect people with these species: the Endangered Species Big Year. Like traditional listing competitions, the Endangered Species Big Year provides Park visitors with opportunities to see each of the 33 listed species found in the Park, both through individual exploration and guided expeditions. Over a dozen trips are scheduled in Marin County alone, for species such as Northern Spotted Owl, Tiburon Paintbrush, Marin Dwarf Flax, and Mission Blue Butterfly.

But it doesn’t stop there: the Endangered Species Big Year also empowers individual competitors to take 33 conservation action items that aid species recovery, reconnecting people with the preservationist values of this urban national park experiment.

Peter Brastow is Founding Director of Nature in the City, the first and only organization wholly dedicated to the conservation and restoration of the Franciscan bioregion. Peter started Nature in the City on the heels of working for the National Park Service at the GGNRA, where he was the Presidio Ecological Restoration Coordinator. He still serves as Rare Plant Co-Chair for CNPS’ Yerba Buena Chapter, and managed rare and endangered plant restoration and monitoring while working at the Presidio. Prior to his 10-year stint at the GGNRA, Peter did graduate work in biogeography at UCLA, an experience that taught him about both our current ecological crisis as well as its social and cultural origins.

Peter and Nature in the City are playing a leading role in the GGNRA Big Year Project because of its direct confrontation with our collective relationship with nature where live. Speaking of which, though his work is in the city, Peter recently moved with his wife and two boys to San Anselmo, where Peter hopes to contribute to the region’s cultural ecological transformation, including along his own creek frontage!

Planting with some of our native flowering shrubs and wildflowers can yield three seasons of garden bloom. Come see a sampling of the myriad possibilities. Ted’s photography is superb, so this presentation will be both informative and visually stunning. Ted’s interest in the natural world began early and led to studies of natural history and a passion for plants. After working at Strybing Arboretum, Ted founded a tree pruning business, Tree Shapers, and earned a reputation as one of the most artistic of Bay Area arborists. He is an accomplished and widely-published plant photographer, and an avid gardener, active in a wide array of horticultural societies. Ted’s California native gardens have appeared in three books - one on wildflower gardening. Ted has been a longtime member of this chapter and a frequent presenter at our meetings.

Monday October 8, 2007
"The Poetry of John Thomas Howell and the making of the new Marin Flora"
Illustrated presentation
by guest speaker
Wilma Follette

Co-author Wilma Follette will give a slide-illustrated talk with selected quotes from Howell’s classic work. As much as possible of the original species discussions, along with his insights and unique - often poetic - observations, has been retained in the new edition. Wilma will share selections of these and relate tales from the 12-year work on the new Flora, a joint project between CNPS Marin and the California Academy of Sciences. Both hardcover and softcover editions of the Flora will be available for purchase (by check or cash) at the meeting, and Wilma will autograph copies as desired.

Wilma is a third-generation, native-born Northern Californian - 44 years here in Marin - with a lifelong interest in the outdoors. In 1973 she was one of the founders of the Marin Chapter of the California Native Plant Society. For this society and other organizations she has led numerous field trips locally and around the state, including weekly trips in Marin during March, April, and May over the past 25 years, identifying spring wildflowers, making plant lists, and monitoring rare-listed species for public agencies. For 11 years, Wilma taught a fall community education class in plant identification at the College of Marin. Since 1979 she has enjoyed working with botanical artists to produce and has overseen the distribution of six different wildflower posters for the state organization of CNPS, for which work she has been honored as a Fellow of the society.

Wilma’s husband Bill, who has pursued photography as an avocation since a boy, devotes much energy to flower photography especially, and they travel together throughout the western states pursuing their joint interest. While Bill waits for the breeze to die down and jockeys for the right angle and "most sincere" arrangement, Wilma endlessly keys out and checks references to get the correct epithet on the subject at hand. The result is a collection of over 15,000 slides and great memories of interesting plants in beautiful locations.

The California chaparral is a distinctive plant community occupying the Mediterranean-climate zone of coastal California and the Sierra foothills. In this talk, David Ackerly will discuss the diversity of plant strategies for surviving the summer drought, and the role of drought and fire in shaping the evolution of the chaparral flora. In addition, he will share preliminary results of ongoing studies on the potential impact of climate change on endemic plants of California, with an emphasis on the chaparral and other coastal vegetation.

David Ackerly is an Associate Professor in the Department of Integrative Biology, and the Curator of Ecology for the UC and Jepson Herbaria, at the University of California Berkeley. A native of New England, he conducted his Ph.D. and post-doctoral research at Harvard University, including field work in Brazil, Mexico, New England, and Japan. Professor Ackerly and his research group study the ecology and evolution of plant traits - characteristics such as leaf size and thickness, flowering time, and seed size - that reflect the ecological diversity of terrestrial plants. Current projects in his lab are examining vernal pools of the Central Valley, evergreen shrubs in California and Australia, tropical forests in Ecuador, woody plants in the Sierra Nevada, and potential impacts of climate change on the endemic flora of the California Floristic Province. At Berkeley, Professor Ackerly teaches courses on Ecology, Plant Ecology, Biodiversity, and Plants of the UC Botanical Garden. He is married to documentary film maker Noel Schwerin, and they live in San Francisco with their twin seven-year- old boys.

In 2006 Reny Parker photographed 200 species of flowering plants that were new to her in our area-this after 17 years of photographing wildflowers. Come and enjoy a special slide presentation of the more unusual and difficult to find beauties. Reny will also show us her new photographic guide Wildflowers of Northern California's Wine Country & North Coast Ranges. This guide contains 358 species of wildflowers in 83 plant families, 272 pages, and 542 color photos. Included are bloom times, habitats, garden tips, native uses, natural history, plant family traits, and 33 wildflower hot spots with maps.

Reny has lived in rural northern California for 40 years, currently with her husband and two cats off the power grid in northern Sonoma County. She began photographing in 1964; for the past 17 years Reny has focused her lens on wildflowers. Her works have appeared in books, on cards and posters. See hundreds of Reny's photographs on her web site: Wildflowers - A Closer Look. She is past president of the Milo Baker Chapter (Sonoma County) of the California Native Plant Society. Camera in hand, Reny roams the western states and Canada in spring and summer indulging her passion to capture and communicate the delicate beauty of wildflowers.

Monday April 9, 2007

"Southeast Arizona - Flora and other Wildlife" Illustrated presentation by guest speaker Bob Stewart

When you visit southeastern Arizona at any time of the year, put aside your California expectations and biases. Here, a little over 1,000 miles away, a very different world awaits. The number one rumor to dispel is that this is a very hot, flat, deserty kind of place, therefore boring and tedious. Most people from California think of Phoenix or Yuma when they think of Arizona. But southeastern Arizona is full of high basins and mountains over 9,000 feet, and it borders Mexico. The diversity of flora and fauna is high.

Although there is a general overlap with the California flora, there are many different species and some different families to add spice to a botanical visit. The saguaro, Carnegiea gigantea, a rare plant in California, is strikingly abundant once you cross into Arizona. Many families that occur in California have different genera in Arizona: for instance, Graptopetalum in Crassulaceae; Crotalaria, Desmodium, Erythrina and Mimosa in Fabaceae; Jatropha and Cnidoscolus Euphorbiaceae; Hybanthus in Violaceae; Tetramerium and Anisacanthus in Acanthaceae; Bouvardia in Rubiaceae; and Macrosiphon in Apocynaceae, just to mention a few.

One special species in the Cochlospermaceae, Amoreuxia palmatifida, blooms in the summer and fall. Its yellow petals with two sets of stamens open only at night to be pollinated by moths. Of the approximately 11,500 species of moths in North America, over 3,000 occur in southeastern Arizona!

The most exciting time to be here is during the monsoon season (late June to September), because this is when the most rain falls. At that time the region is a paradise for botanists, birders, and entomologists.

Born in 1936 in New York City, Bob moved on to earn an AA Degree (1956 San Mateo College, CA), a BA Degree in Social Science and English (1960 San Jose State University, CA), a BA Degree in Biology (1962 S.F. State University, CA), and an MS Degree (1965 Oregon State University). He holds a Life Teaching Credential and taught Biology in California public schools from 1962 to 1969. From 1969 to 1979, Bob was Landbird Biologist and Director of Education at the Point Reyes Bird Observatory, where he presented talks for 500 groups and published many scientific papers, including several on the Wilson's Warbler. From 1979 to 1982, Bob taught Biology at the College of Marin, and from 1982 to 1997 he held the position of Naturalist for the County of Marin, leading over 2,000 free public day outings featuring bird behavior, migration, song and nests, butterflies and other insects, spiders, grasses and other flowering plants, mushrooms, lichens, habitats, and general ecology. From 1973 to the present, Bob has also led numerous private birding and natural history tours to various locations in California (mostly Sierra Nevada), SE Arizona, Texas, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Trinidad & Tobago. He has published two books, Common Butterflies of California (1979 West Coast Lady Press; 10,000 sold), and Butterflies of Arizona, a Photographic Study (2001, with Priscilla and Hank Brodkin).

Monday March 12, 2007

"From Aristolochia to Zigadenus, the Transformation of a Marin Garden" Illustrated presentation by guest speaker Joan Pont

March, 1983 news alert: two new home owners move into their 1960 ranch style home. A botanical survey of the "garden" would take about two minutes to complete. Eucalyptus, Monterey pines, oleander and agapanthus, all plants that seem to thrive in highway median strips.

1984: all trees cleared and non native underbrush removed. Some residual stalwart plants reappear with the cheerful suncups (Camissonia ovata) leading the way. Joan joins the Marin Chapter of CNPS and gets inspired

Fast forward to 2006: 163 species of native plants in the garden. Learn all about it at the March meeting, intentionally scheduled before the plant sale!

Joan Pont grew up in Palos Verdes, California. The peninsula still has sizable open space and residual outcroppings of native plants that Joan can now recognize but could not then. She attended Wellesley College in Massachusetts and Harvard Medical School in Boston. A return trip to California brought her back to Stanford and UCSF for Internal Medicine Residency. She is an Internist and Assistant Chief of Medicine at Kaiser in San Rafael, and married to another physician, Allan Pont. They have one son, Sean, a senior at Cornell University. Gardening was taken up as a serious hobby when she and Allan moved into Mill Valley in March of 1983, a wet year. In the intervening 24 years, there has been plenty of opportunity to hone gardening skills. Inspired by reading that Thomas Jefferson recorded all his gardening experiments, a high tech log of the garden was developed with the computer savvy of son Sean.

Monday February 12, 2007

"A Peek At Wildflowers on the peaks and slopes of Mt Tamalpais and Mt Diablo..."
Illustrated presentation by guest speakers Ken Lavin and Mia Monroe

An intimate look at some of our favorite flowers with stories about their uses, names and discovery. Learning about the plants is often a good lead into the area's history and past lore or a chance to discover a bit of geology, too! Good trails to discover seasonal wildflower displays, special floral features and good views will be highlited.

Rangers Ken Lavin and Mia Monroe will combine their years of hiking and botanizing the area's two distinctive peaks, sharing the stories the public has most enjoyed and giving you some behind the scenes news on park activities. Mia has been at Muir Woods for a quarter of a century and has found her niche among the non-flowering plants from tall to small. Ken also rangers among the tall trees but has also been President of the Mt Diablo Interpretive Association (he knows the names of each tarantula on that mountain!).

Although California leads the US in its proactive approach to climate issues, most natural resource professionals in California do not explicitly address climate change in their work protecting species and habitats. Environmental changes likely to occur in this century necessitate, however, that management and conservation planning efforts incorporate an awareness of the high-probability climate impacts affecting wildlife. In recent work sponsored by the California Energy Commission and the California EPA, researchers developed a set of possible climate "scenarios" for California and used these to assess statewide impacts. Although it is impossible to predict site-specific effects, regional models suggest a relatively narrow range of probabilities for such factors as temperature increase, sea level rise, loss of snowpack, and increased fire risk. California's plant and animal species will respond in different ways to these changes. Research is ongoing towards understanding how species' ranges and demographic patterns will shift, and how critical ecological relationships will be affected. The multitude of potential changes in ecological relationships suggests that management "rules of thumb" developed in past climates may quickly become obsolete, and that managers must be prepared for surprises. Although there are many uncertainties, we have enough information to act. Landscape-level planning that allows species to move and adapt to climate change is above all important.

Brian Ellis works for the Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) Program of the California Energy Commission. He is a research contract manager in the PIER Environmental Area concentrating on projects studying the ecological impacts of climate change and carbon sequestration. He received a B.S. in Physics and a B.A. in Nature and Culture from the University of California at Davis.

We are exposed to a variety of landscapes, including our residence, place of work, and the places we frequent, such as walkways, parking lots, and freeways. So many of these planted areas require large amounts of water, fertilizer, pesticides, herbicides, and often quite a bit of effort. In areas of low summer rainfall where water can be scarce, or where other natural resources and wildlife are at risk, this type of landscaping does not seem wise or sustainable.

How can we use our California native plants to conserve resources and contribute to a healthy ecosystem while creating beautiful landscapes?

We are happy to welcome Peigi Duvall, Horticulture Program Director for CNPS, landscape designer, and Santa Clara Valley Chapter member, who will share insights and experiences about the good use of native plants in the landscape. The CNPS Horticulture Program works to bring more awareness to the public about our wonderful California flora.

Peigi Duvall grew up in Monterey, CA, and has been playing in California’s natural beauty ever since. She is certified in Landscape and Ornamental Horticulture and professionally designs native gardens throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.

Sandhill Sage (Artemisia pycnocephala)
Monterey Manzanita (Arctostaphylos hookeri ‘Ken Taylor’)
and Yerba Buena (Satureja douglasii)
photo by Peigi Duvall

Monday October 9, 2006

"San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge and the Marin Islands"
Illustrated presentation
by
guest speaker Giselle Block

San Pablo Bay contains some of the largest contiguous tracts of tidal marsh and open space in the San Francisco Estuary. The environments of San Pablo Bay provide habitat for a diversity of wildlife and plants including many that occur nowhere else in California. The San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge (SPBNWR) lies along the northern border of San Pablo Bay and comprises 13,000 acres of tidal marsh, tidal mudflats, seasonal freshwater marsh, and sub-tidal environments. The focus of management efforts at SPBNWR is restoration and enhancement of tidal environments for the benefit of estuarine dependent species.

Giselle Block is a Biologist with the SPBNRW and Marin Islands NWR. Her talk will cover topics ranging from the National Wildlife Refuge System, endangered species of the refuge, common wildlife and plant species of the refuge, and current efforts to restore native plant assemblages of SPBNWR and Marin Islands NWR.

Sonoma Creek photo by James Martin

Wild Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) are certainly among the most interesting challenges introduced to California. Though native to other parts of North America, Wild Turkeys never successfully colonized California, and so the recent introduction and expansion of turkeys in California creates tantalizing questions and research opportunities. In November 2002, I initiated the first experimental assessment of turkey impacts in California. This exclusion experiment evaluates the effect of turkeys on grounddwelling invertebrate populations, acorn removal, and vegetation structure and composition. This presentation will give an overview of the history and biology of California’s introduced turkeys, describe research underway at Audubon Canyon Ranch’s Bouverie Preserve, and include presentation of preliminary results that improve our understanding of introduced turkey ecology.

Daniel Gluesenkamp, Ph.D directs Habitat Protection and Restoration for Audubon Canyon Ranch and leads in the development, implementation, and evaluation of conservation and restoration projects at ACR preserves. His work involves experimental evaluation of management techniques, oversight of stewardship activities such as control of invasive alien species, and collaboration with neighboring land owners and agencies to protect ACR lands. Daniel's research focuses on the factors structuring plant communities, particularly as related to the invasion and spread of introduced species, with work in habitats ranging from desert riparian zones to subalpine Sierran meadows. He earned his Ph.D. at the University of California at Berkeley with research that revealed how populations of native and alien thistles are shaped by plant competition, by insect herbivory, and by effects of habitat productivity on the relative intensity of competition versus herbivory.

Monday May 8, 2006 "The Inyo-White Mountains and Sweetwater Range" Illustrated presentation by guest speaker Ted Kipping

The Inyo-White Mountains, though reaching 14,000 ft., are very dry due to the "rain shadow" effect of the equally high Sierra Nevada range just to the west. The result to most observers would seem a near moonscape were it not for the surprising ridgetop appearance of the remarkable bristlecone pines. Thanks to decent roads, thousands of people have had the privilege of walking on the upper reaches of this range.

The Sweetwater Range, just north of the Inyo-Whites, although only 11,000 ft. in elevation, is even drier, more remote, more picturesque, and is so sparsely vegetated on top as to make the Inyo-Whites seem lush in comparison. Nonetheless, it is a place of austere beauty, of bare mineral soils in an artistic array of pastels, with choice alpine plants appearing all the more rewarding for their scarcity. Alas, without a helicopter, few of you will ever stand on its summit, as access is horrendous. The easiest way to enjoy this remote but compelling place is to come to our meeting and view it in comfort!

Ted Kipping studied Natural History at Columbia University, New York, and has been involved with horticulture for thirty-five years. After completing his studies, Ted wanted to apply his knowledge, and went to work at Strybing Arboretum in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. There he worked with a broad range of trees and other plants. Ted's interest grew more and more towards trees and shrubs, and in 1976 he started his own tree-trimming enterprise, dubbing himself "Tree Shaper". Ted continues to operate his Tree Shaper business out of San Francisco, and, as skilled with the camera as with the secateur, he is a sought-after consultant and popular speaker. A life member of CNPS and numerous horticultural societies, Ted has a love of plants that extends from the tallest trees to the smallest jewels of the plant kingdom, and he pursues this passion from his own private rock garden to the far corners of the globe.

Monday April 10, 2006 "Vernal Pools: California’s Unique Seasonal Wetlands" Illustrated presentation by guest speaker Denise Cadman

Vernal pools form as a result of our Mediterranean climate; areas of impermeable soils and depressions in the landscape fill with winter rainfall. This special seasonal habitat has led to the evolution of many endemic species, plants and animals, found no place else in the world. Join our speaker for a tour of vernal pools and learn how and where they form, with an emphasis on the pools and flora of the Santa Rosa Plain.

Denise Cadman, a native of Santa Rosa, holds an M.A. in biology with an emphasis in plant ecology. She currently works for the City of Santa Rosa as a Natural Resource Specialist in the Utilities Department. The core of her job involves managing the natural resources on city owned properties in the Laguna de Santa Rosa that are irrigated in their recycled water program. Denise also teaches part time at Santa Rosa Junior College in the Life Sciences Department. In addition, she and her family run a small, draft horse powered farm, growing chemical-free fruits and vegetables for the local farmer’s markets.

"My Favorite Wildflowers of Mount Diablo" Illustrated presentation by guest speaker Yulan Chang Tong

Yulan Chang Tong was born in China. Educated in Taiwan in the field of chemical engineering, Yulan travelled to the U.S. to continue her studies and received a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry at the University of Illinois in 1961. Publications include 21 U.S. patents, 20 other publications, and many presentations in the field. After retiring from chemistry, Yulan began a second career as a nature photographer. Exploring extensively in California, she has enjoyed its variations of desert, coastal region, foothill, and montane habitats. Her nature studies and photography have taken her to Alaska, Arizona, Wyoming, South Africa, Mexico, and many other destinations around the world. Yulan is a docent at Mt. Diablo State Park and works in the school program. She resides in Walnut Creek.

His photos have been published in various books and magazines on orchids, carnivorous plants, and California’s Wild Gardens. He recently co-authored a book on the Central and South American orchid genus Masdevallia (Timber Press), and is currently working on a book about Calochortus.

Richard received his Ph.D. in Botany from Ohio State University in 1988 following an M.S. Botany from the University of Alberta in 1981 and a B.A. Botany from Rutgers in 1978. He has spent the past 18 years primarily teaching undergraduates in all aspects of plant biology, with an emphasis on systematics, evolution, and genetics. Richard has taught at Sonoma State University, and served as Curator of its North Coast Herbarium of California, since 1999.

Tom received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 1980, following an undergraduate degree from Duke. He was Curator at the Arizona State University from 1981 to 1985. Tom has been Assistant Curator, Associate Curator, Chairman, and is presently Curator of the Department of Botany at the California Academy of Sciences. His research for the past 20 years has centered on members of the family Acanthaceae (shrimp plants and their relatives), native and naturalized, occurring in Mexico. Tom’s other research interests involve floristic studies in western North America, and current projects include a revised flora of San Francisco and floristic catalogs of certain mountain ranges in Arizona and the Mexican state of Sinaloa.

Jack will present an illustrated lecture about the natural history of the Sierra Nevada, and the process of creating a field guide. He will also bring original illustrations that have been painted in the field and studio. Jack has studied the natural history of the Sierra for many years. He is trained as a wildlife biologist and is an associate of the California Academy of Sciences. He has spent the last four summers painting Sierra wildflowers from life. During the 2005 wildflower season alone, Jack spent more than 70 days in the field working on illustrations for this book. His illustrations capture the feeling of the living plant or animal, while also including details critical for identification.

In the summer of 2004, Laws published Sierra Birds: a Hiker’s Guide. He is also a regular contributor to Bay Nature magazine with his "Naturalist’s Notebook" column.

Monday, June 13, 2005

"Battling Weeds with Foreign Bugs: A Good Idea for Cape Ivy?
The Benefits and Risks of Classical Biological Control of Weeds"
Illustrated presentation
by
Jake Sigg and Joe Balciunas

Many people are aware of invasive plants but are unfamiliar with how deep and broad the problem is and how severely these organisms threaten native biological communities and human welfare. Technologies for dealing with the problem are few, expensive, controversial, and often not very effective. The control of problem plants by biological means sometimes offers the only hope of coping with a desperate problem.

Although the rat-and mongoose and cane grub-and-cane toad failures are frequently cited as "biological control mistakes", these biologically-based experiments were never part of classical biological control, which attempts to manage foreign invaders by releasing carefully-selected and tested natural enemies from the pest's native land. Classical biological control, as practiced now, is far more sophisticated, but it still presents unique risks. This presentation goes into the inner workings of the science, using as example the effort of great interest to coastal California, the Cape ivy biocontrol program of the USDA Agricultural Research Service. Jake Sigg and USDA Agricultural Research Service scientist Joe Balciunas will talk about the history of the problem and the program.

Jake Sigg was Invasive Exotics Chair for the California Native Plant Society for 15 years. One of the many tasks he undertook was to raise money to fund some of the overseas research for the Cape ivy control program. He is retired from 32 years as gardener and gardener supervisor for the San Francisco Recreation-Park Department, and now serves CNPS full-time as a volunteer at state and chapter level.

Dr. Joe Balciunas is a research entomologist with USDA's Agricultural Research Service in Albany, CA. In 1998, he initiated and currently leads the USDA-ARS research project to develop biological control agents for Cape ivy. This includes overseeing the research in South Africa by USDA-ARS cooperators located in Pretoria. Prior to coming to Albany in 1996, he founded, and for 11 years, was the Director of USDA's Australian Biological Control Laboratory, where he led the team that discovered and developed the successful biological control agents for melaleuca trees in Florida. With more than 30 years of training and experience in classical biological control of weeds, Joe now frequently serves as spokesman for this tool.

Dr. Katherine Schick works as a curator at the Essig Museum of Entomology and the University of California at Berkeley. She holds a doctorate in Entomology from the University of California at Davis and her specialty is systematics (evolutionary relationships) among Cynipoidea (the superfamily which includes gall-inducing cynipid wasps). Kathy has also taught biology part-time at San Joaquin Delta College for the past several years.

Monday, April 11, 2005 "Highlights of Carson Pass, Sierra Nevada" Illustrated presentation by Ted Kipping

Monday, March 14, 2005

"The Cedars - Sonoma County’s Spectacular Serpentine Canyonlands"
Illustrated presentation
by
Roger Raiche

Roger Raiche grew up in Newport, Rhode Island and moved to California in the late 1970's. Until recently, he co-owned the Bernard Maybeck Cottage in Berkeley with his partner David McCrory. For many years, Roger oversaw the California Natives section at the U.C. Botanical Gardens in Berkeley. With over 25 years as a field botanist and garden designer in California, Planet Horticulture co-founder Roger Raiche, is known for both his encyclopedic knowledge of California plants and his rarified garden designs. Synthesizing international travel, formal horticultural training, and many year of practical experience creating gardens, Planet Horticulture co-founder David McCrory has established a distinctive sensibility for landscape projects, large and small. As a design team, Raiche and McCrory work with clients from project conception through the installation process, tying all the details together. Working in the diverse micro-climates and gardens of the Bay Area, Raiche and McCrory see each garden as a living creative environment that will evolve over time with the passing of each season. Raiche and McCrory are the proprietors of Gold Leaf Vineyards in Sebastopol, a wine country estate which features two vacation rental homes, each with unique Planet Horticulture gardens. Raiche and McCrory are also the owner-stewards of The Cedars, a unique ultra-mafic canyon system in northwest Sonoma County. Working with artists and scientists to understand and relate to the land they are preserving, The Cedars is their most cherished project.

The Sonoma coast has an abundance of beautiful park lands and miles of pristine hiking trails. Most of the trails see little foot traffic, even on the weekends. This talk will describe two particularly lovely walks. The first is from Shell Beach to the Pomo campground which begins in coastal grasslands, meanders through riparian habitat and ends up in the majestic redwoods. The second walk is located in Salt Point State Park. It begins just above sea level, travels through Bishop Pine/Grand Fir/Redwood forest, then to an area of pigmy forest dominated by pigmy cypress and dwarfed redwoods, ending up in a large, open meadow that is resplendent with wildflowers in the Spring. This presentation will be accompanied by photographs highlighting the special features and diverse flora of the region.

Walter Earle, along with Margaret Graham, founded Mostly Natives Nursery, located in the town of Tomales, in 1984. The nursery offers a wide selection of native plants, many of which are grown from locally collected seed. Walter has been a dedicated member of CNPS for many years and was a past president of the Milo Baker Chapter. His knowledge of plants and his skill at photographing them in their native habitat are both renowned.

Shelly was born and raised in western Washington and considers herself a naturalist, botanist, and lichenologist. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Western Washington University, and was introduced to the world of lichens while working on a forest ecology research project with the University of Washington. This led to a job identifying canopy epiphytes at the Wind River Canopy Crane Research Facility in south central Washington. Inspired by the adventurous field of canopy ecology, she entered graduate school to further explore the ecological role of lichens in the forest canopy and learn how to climb trees. Shelly earned a Master of Science degree in Natural Resources and Environmental Studies from the University of Northern British Columbia in Prince George BC, Canada. After graduate school she worked for 3 years at Point Reyes National Seashore as the rare plant specialist and is currently employed by Sonoma State University to study the plant pathogen that causes sudden oak death.

Lichens are visible and abundant in many California ecosystems. There are approximately 1,000 species of lichens in California, found in nearly every possible habitat from alpine peaks to desert soils and city sidewalks to rural fence posts. In addition to their beautiful colors and ingenious architecture, lichens are important contributors to ecosystem function. Lichens provide food and shelter for a variety of animals, aid in nutrient cycling, help to maintain forest humidity, and stabilize soil. Lichens are well known for their sensitivity to air pollution and can be used to assess air quality. Lichens also have economic value. They are used in perfumes, dying fabrics, and pharmaceutical uses such as antibiotic salves, deodorants, and herbal tinctures.

Join us for an entertaining and informative presentation by a leading researcher in the field on one of the most important and distinctive plant habitats in California. Dr. Hugh Safford, a geologist-ecologist, jointly Research Associate at UC Davis and Regional Ecologist for the US Forest Service, will present a program on plant species diversity in California serpentine-regional patterns and possible causative factors. This will be a summary of the statewide and regional patterns of species diversity on serpentine, a look a the history of serpentine (geology, soils, vegetation), a discussion of disturbance effects (grazing, burning) on serpentine vegetation, how these differ from "normal" vegetation, and a more detailed look at the Sierra Nevada.

Pamela C. Muick is the Executive Director of California Native Plant Society. The mission of California Native Plant Society (CNPS) is to increase understanding and appreciation of California's native plants and to conserve them and their natural habitats through education, science, advocacy, horticulture and land stewardship.

CNPS is a thirty-eight old, non-profit, science based conservation organization. A 32 member Chapter Council guides policy direction and twelve-member board governs CNPS. CNPS has approximately 10,000 members organized into 32 chapters located throughout California. The annual budget is about $1,000,000 and a staff of eight handles day-to-day operations.

Prior to CNPS, Pam served as the Executive Director of Solano Land Trust for six years where she was responsible for raising more than $7 million dollars and protecting over 4,000 acres of farmland and 4,000 acres of open space, including King Ranch, Jepson Prairie and Lynch Canyon. Pam developed the first comprehensive countywide plan for farmland protection in Solano County. Also, she was part of a coalition that developed an open space vision for Solano County.

Prior to the land trust, Pam was actively engaged in land management, particularly of California's oak habitats, for over twenty years. She designed and implemented habitat restoration projects in San Joaquin, as well as in Sonoma and Monterey counties. On these and other projects she has collaborated with a broad spectrum of public and private entities.

Based on her years of experience in oak habitats Pam originated the idea for the book Oaks of California which she co-authored. She was an editor of The Ecological City: preserving and restoring urban biodiversity, and has written numerous articles. Pam has taught at San Francisco State University, UC Berkeley and UC Extension.

From 1992 to 1994, Pam worked with the US Agency for International Development in Washington D.C on biodiversity issues in Asia as an American Association for the Advancement of Science fellow. This prestigious fellowship included travel assignments in Nepal, Pakistan and Thailand.

Pam received masters and doctoral degrees from UC Berkeley, in Forestry and Wild land Resource Policy & Management, based on research on oak regeneration and restoration. She earned an undergraduate biology degree from Sonoma State and an associate degree from Santa Barbara City College.

Mono Basin is the watershed area for Mono Lake, an ancient salt lake best known for its tufa towers, brine shrimp and for the several million migratory birds that use it as a filling station as they travel along the Pacific Flyway. The Mono Basin is also home to a dazzling array of wildflowers ­ tiny pink mimulus that cover the pumice flats around Mono Lake; deep blue larkspurs, golden yellow buckwheats, and crinkly-petalled prickly poppy in the sagebrush; red columbine and purple monkshood along the streams; tiny white violets, rosy elephant’s heads and purple asters in the montane meadows near the summit of Tioga Pass. Ann will describe the variety of wildflowers she has encountered in her many years of botanizing in the Mono Basin. Ann is the Senior Botanist for Garcia and Associates in San Anselmo, and CNPS’s new Rare Plant Program Director.

This slide-illustrated talk examines the nature of the problem of invasive plants and its dynamic, our personal relation to it, and why it is important to us. The phrase "the threat to the world's indigenous biological communities posed by invasive nonnative plants is exceeded only by the threat from development" is so frequently quoted that it has become gospel. Jake is of the opinion that invasive weeds now destroy more habitat than does development.

Who needs another crisis to become exercised about? While the subject is a serious one, Jake is in the battle for the long term and that requires taking a light-hearted approach. These are exciting times; the problem, although frightening, is vulnerable to human ingenuity. Jake hopes that heightened awareness will lead to addressing a problem that an increasingly urban world ignores, unaware of how it affects them.

Jake Sigg is chair of the CNPS Invasive Exotics Committee and conservation chair and past president of the CNPS Yerba Buena Chapter. He is retired from 32 years with the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department; as gardener in Golden Gate Park and as gardener supervisor in Strybing Arboretum and Botanical Gardens, where he was de facto curator of collections. He now works six days a week trying to save our natural heritage from the threat of aggressive weeds. That work includes writing; his latest includes an article in the April 2003 Fremontia titled Consider the Weeds of the Field-- My, How They Grow!, and, in the October 2003 issue, Triple Threat from South Africa, about Cape ivy, yellow oxalis, and the sneaky grass ehrharta.

Spring has sprung, and now wildflowers all over Marin and the rest of California appear to be smiling at us or trying in some other way to attract our attention. But are they really? Of course, the answer is, “Not exactly….” It has been known for some time that the attractive efforts of flowers are directed primarily at insects and other animals that pollinate them.

However, the exact details of these plant-animal relationships are still imperfectly known. Which pollinators are most significant for which plants, how effective the pollination process is, and how it varies over time and space are all important questions whose answers could tell us much about the future viability of populations of plants and there pollinators.

Four years ago, a group of faculty and students from College of Marin began to investigate the pollination ecology of dune plants at Abbott’s Lagoon in the Point Reyes National Seashore. This month’s speaker is Paul da Silva, who will discuss past, present and future aspects of this work. This will provide an opportunity for members to become reacquainted with some familiar local plants and to learn about some lesser-known aspects of their existence.

Paul is a professor at the College, where he teaches in the biology, natural history and environmental science programs. He received his M.S. in resource management from U.C. Berkeley, where he studied interactions among grasses and shrubs in coastal ecosystems. Later he earned his Ph.D. in entomology, also from U.C. Berkeley, for work involving interactions among plants their herbivores and their natural enemies. Since then, he has continued to pursue interests in interactions among plant and insect members of ecological communities.

Have you ever tried to propagate native plants yourself? Seems like it should be easy, after all they grow here naturally. What’s the big deal? We’ll talk about the special world of wildland seed collection and growing for habitat restoration for the National Park in your backyard. How we maintain genetic diversity, assure the survival and continued evolution of the native habitats of Marin; how we make those sometimes stubborn native seeds sprout and the precautions we take during the growing process will be discussed? Bring your questions about plants you have tried to grow without success. We make time for propagation and native plant growing questions.

Betty Young has been propagating and managing nurseries since graduating from UC Davis 20 years ago. 15 of those years have been in nurseries growing native plants for habitat restoration. Betty is now Director of the 5 Nurseries supported by the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy for the GGNRA.

Native Plant Journal and Native Plants Network website contains general and specific native plant propagation information, with some contributions from Betty Young.

Native Plant Nursery System Contact Information:
Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy website
Betty Young, 415-331-6917
Muir Woods Nursery 415-383-4390
Tennessee Valley Nursery, 415-331-0732
Marin Headlands Nursery, 415-332-5193
Fort Funston Nursery, 415-239-4247
Presidio Nursery, 415-561-4826

Although The Jepson Manual was published only 10 years ago, it is out-of-date as a result of the phenomenal progress in plant systematics. Some significant taxonomic changes have already been made and others are on the horizon; it is estimated that 57% of the families in the 1993 edition of The Jepson Manual will require substantial revision.

The Jepson Herbarium has initiated a five-year project (2003-2008) to produce a scientifically revised Jepson Manual. The Second Edition will provide revised treatments for all taxa in the 1993 edition of The Jepson Manual and include new treatments for taxa that have been added to the flora of the state since 1993 (either as new to science or as newly reported for California).

This month's lecture will include a discussion of the effort to produce a Second Edition and a variety of companion materials including electronic keys and improved distribution maps with geo-referenced localities. Additionally, some of the recent taxonomic changes in major California plants groups will be reviewed.

Staci Markos is Project Manager and Development Coordinator for the Jepson Herbarium. She completed her undergraduate work at UC Davis and graduate work at San Francisco State (M.A., systematics of the Arctostaphylos hookeri complex) and UC Berkeley (Ph.D., evolutionary patterns in Lessingia).

California is among the world's best and most diverse places for conifers. Among the superlatives, we have the world's bulkiest tree (giant sequoia), the world's tallest tree (coast redwood), and the world's oldest tree (bristlecone pine). The talk will survey some of the most outstanding of our 50+ species, including areas rich in species, such as the Russian Peak Wilderness area in the Klamath Mountains, where 17 species occur within one square mile!

Glenn Keator is a free lance botanist, writer, and teacher in the Bay Area. He teaches at Merritt College, Regional Parks Botanic Garden, California Academy of Sciences, and Strybing Arboretum. His specialty is growing California native plants. His two latest books are Life of an Oak with Heyday Books and Introduction to Trees of the San Francisco Bay Region with UC Press.

Kathy and Dave Biggs planted their pond with mostly native plants instead of tropicals, and it has attracted 24 species of dragonflies, 54 species of birds, 2 dozen species of butterflies and several species of mammals. A visual slide tour of the pond and its plantings, and also slides of many of the critters who have visited will be given. They will discuss the pond's layout and native plant life.

Monday, October 13, 2003 Treasure Hunt for Salvias New Species of Salvias for the Garden presentation by Betsy Clebsch

"Betsy Clebsch is a noted amateur botanist and horticulturist La Honda, Northern California, having made and tended gardens in Virginia, Texas, and California. She became intrigued with salvias when she began her second California garden, a country retreat left unattended for several weeks between visits. That required sturdy, drought tolerant plants like many of the salvias. "Writing about the culture of salvias would not have been possible has I not has a large garden in which to grow, observe, and enjoy the plants...and nursery people and botanists who visited the garden gave invaluable information as to a plant’s source and who has grown it." Clebsch has participated in many plant explorations and exchanges seed and rare plants, particularly salvias, with many botanical gardens."
- taken from "A Book of Salvias" by Betsy Clebsch, which has been revised and republished this year by Timber press as a new book of slavias-sages for every garden’.

Monday, September 8, 2003

The Great Sand Waste: History and Conservation of San Francisco's Dunes
presentation
by
Pete Holloran

Ever wish to travel back in time to witness a favorite landscape before it suffered the ravages of industrialization? In the absence of time travel, historic photographs provide a window on the past that helps us understand the dips and swells of the contemporary city. The advent of photography coincided with the rise of San Francisco as a wealthy urban center, so it's no surprise that its photogenic environs were well-documented by dozens of excellent photographers during the second half of the 19th century. Thanks to gracious support from local archives and collectors, Pete Holloran will use dozens of photographs of old San Francisco to illustrate his slide show on the evolution of its dune landscapes. Nearly a third of San Francisco--including most of the Richmond and Sunset Districts as well as Golden Gate Park, Hayes Valley, and downtown--were covered by extensive sand dunes. It wasn't all just open sand either. A rich mosaic of oak woodlands, tightly woven dune scrub, and interdune slacks and ponds were scattered across the landscape. Now mostly gone, the dunes of San Francisco persist in remnant oak woodlands in neighborhood parks, patches of dune scrub at the Presidio and Fort Funston, and sandy backyards throughout the city. And at Crissy Field, of course, one of several dune restoration projects that Pete has been involved with over the last eight years. In addition to his work with the National Park Service and other land managers, he served for four years as president of the Yerba Buena chapter of the California Native Plant Society. His articles on the history of dune landscapes have appeared in Bay Nature and Reclaiming San Francisco (1998, City Lights Books). He is now working toward his Ph.D. in environmental studies at UC Santa Cruz.
-Photo from the Greg Gaar Collection; probably taken by William Worden in 1910 in the Sunset District.

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Monday, June 9, 2003
Weed Eradication Efforts at Pt. Reyes National Seashore
presentation and slide show
by
Jane Rodgers

Presenting "Cliffhangers at Point Reyes National Seashore," the story of dune restoration and iceplant removal to protect threatened and endangered species at the seashore.

Bigraphical Data: Jane Rodgers
Vegetation Program Manager at Point Reyes NS since March 2003.
Vegetation Manager at Joshua Tree National Park Jan. 1994- Feb. 2003.
Environmental Volunteer US Peace Corps Republic of Niger Nov 1990-Feb 1993.
Graduated with BS Forestry UC Berkeley 1990.

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Monday, May 12, 2003
The New Kingdoms of Life: Now We Are Six (or Eight, or More!)
presentation and slide show
by
Alan Kaplan

Recent advances in molecular biology have produced a deeper understanding of the relationships among living organisms. What once was considered to be a simple division between animals and plants (a two kingdom system) has become a multiplication of many more kingdoms of life. Evolutionary biologists have divided the bacterial level of life (a single kingdom when many of us were in school) into two great groups each comprised of many kingdoms. The evolutionary line encompassing organisms with nucleated cells has been expanded from a 3-kingdom system of animals, plants, and fungi to include at least one additional kingdom of one-celled organisms (and their close multicellular cousins) called Protista. And now many scientists view the kingdom Protista as too much of a grab bag and consider its members to be a number of separate kingdoms as well.

Fossil and other geologic evidence can be used to create a time line for the events that ultimately resulted in life as we know it today. Among the many fascinating stories elucidated through the fossil record are the origin of photosynthesis, the establishment of the earth’s oxygen-rich atmosphere, the organization of the nucleated cell, and the foundation of the kingdoms of life.

Alan Kaplan, naturalist for the East Bay Regional Park District, will present a fascinating slide-illustrated introduction to the latest theories on the origin and organization of life and the evidence supporting them.

Alan has had a keen interest in one-celled life forms since he got his first microscope. He studied bacteriology in high school and microbiology in college, and taught a laboratory section on microbiology at UC Berkeley. His programs through the Tilden Environmental Education Center are always popular, and his interests and knowledge span vast areas of the natural world.

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Monday, April 14, 2003
TRADITIONAL USES OF PLANTS OF MARIN
presentation and slide show
by
Charles Kennard

Photographer and naturalist Charles Kennard presents a slideshow on native and introduced plants and their uses for food, medicine, baskets, cordage, and boat-building.

A professional photographer for many years, Charlie combined this skill with an interest in local history for his book San Francisco Bay Area Landmarks: Reflections of Four Centuries. During the past ten years he has taken workshops and received hands-on training in habitat restoration through the Golden Gate National Park Association and other organizations, while he also developed a fascination for local botany and botanical photography. Since 1988 he has been attending classes in traditional California Indian skills through MAPOM and other groups, and is self-taught in other basketry techniques. He is on the board of Friends of Corte Madera Creek Watershed, being active in the areas of public education and habitat restoration.

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Monday, March 10, 2003
"If We Build it They Will Come: Gardening for Bees in Urban California"
presentation
by
Mary Schindler

Mary Schindler is a recent graduate from U.C. Berkeley who became involved in Dr. Gordon Frankie's bee research 3 years ago. Since she began this research, she has had the opportunity to watch thousands of bees in action as they interact with flowers (natives and exotics) in the urban and natural environment. The aspect of her research she most enjoys is fieldwork, which involves wandering around in nature reserves and beautiful residential gardens, observing gorgeous flowers, and counting bees at work.

In the upcoming presentation, Mary Schindler will report on the most recent bee research project headed by Dr. Frankie. The first of its kind, this project aims to provide new information on the diversity of bees identified in the urban residential areas of Berkeley and Albany, California, and to document the unique relationships between urban bees and flowers.

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Monday, February 10, 2003
"Two botanically interesting mountains of California:
A presentation of the vegetation and plants of
Snow Mountain in Mendocino National Forest
and Mount Pinos in Los Padres National Forest"
illustrated slide show
by
Ken Himes

Both of these isolated mountains are very interesting botanically. Many plants are at their natural limits of their range. Ken Himes, who has lead several overnight trips to both mountains for the Santa Clara Valley Chapter of CNPS, will give an illustrated slide show of both the common and unexpected plants of each region. Ken has held several positions during his 17 plus years with the Santa Clara Valley Chapter and currently is the chapter representative with the volunteer program to control the spread of invasive exotics st Edgewood County Park & Preserve on the San Francisco Peninsula. He is also employed with the city of Belmont in the Parks & Recreation Department.

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Monday, January 13, 2003
"Calflora: A Library of Information on California Plants"
program by
Tony Morosco

Calflora has assembled and integrated a rich collection of photographs and plant information from many sources and provides it for free on the web site www.calflora.org. With more than 28,000 plant photos (representing over half of all California species), reports for over 8,000 kinds of California plants, more than 15,000 synonyms that simplify searching, and over 850,000 plant observations, Calflora has become an essential resource for many, and a vital outreach tool for teaching about California plants. Over 200,000 people visited the website in May of 2002 alone. Partnered with CNPS, state and federal agencies, professional botanists, and hundreds of private contributors, Calflora is developing innovative strategies to expand and refine the available collection of plant information, and to create more learning opportunities for the public. Come learn about what information Calflora has for you, how you can participate, and what improvements are in our near future.

Tony Morosco is Technical Manager for Calflora and has been intimately involved with establishing the nonprofit organization since 1997. Tony's botanical background centers on floristics and information about plants on computers, and California plant conservation. Tony is current President of the East Bay Chapter of CNPS, former Council Member of the California Botanical Society. Tony has worked on the revision to Howell's Marin Flora while an intern at the California Academy of Sciences, and various projects at the Jepson Herbarium.

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Monday, November 11, 2002
"Plant Galls"
program by
Ron Russo

California's rich diversity of habitats supports an equally diverse array of native plant species. Many native plants are focal points around which numerous vertebrate and invertebrate species spend a portion or all of their lives. Of spectacular note is the incredible display of plant galls or tumor-like swellings induced largely by specific insects. These strange growths appear mostly on the leaves, buds, stems, and flowers of native plant hosts. Of special interest is the number of species that appear on oaks, willows, sage, and wild roses. Tiny wasps, flies, moths, mites, and various fungi and viruses are the pinciple agents involved in gall formation. Join us for a lively and entertaining journey into one of nature's least known realms...plant galls and gall inducers.

Ron is the Chief Naturalist for the East Bay Regional Park District where he has worked for 36 years. Ron has published over 30 papers and articles in journals and magazines, in addition to six field guides including Plant Galls of the California Region, Pacific Coast Fish, Pacific Coast Mammals, Pacific Intertidal Life, Mountain State Mammals, and Hawaiian Reefs. He has been an instructor for the California Academy of Sciences, University of California Berkeley Extension, and the California State Park Training Academy. In addition, Ron has conducted training seminars throughout the United States for several state park, county, and federal park and land management agencies. Currently, Ron guides trips twice a year into Southeast Alaska to observe whales and other wildlife. Ron's specialties include nudibranchs, sharks, mushrooms, galls, mammals, and humpback whales. In 1989, he received the distinguished FELLOW award from the National Association for Interpretation.

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Monday, October 14, 2002
"An Interpretive Look at Marin County's Wildflowers"
slide show by
Diana Roberts

We will take an up-close look at many of Marin County's wildflowers as we enjoy our Autumnal revival of Spring. We will hear interpretive tidbits about the flowers, including Miwok uses of native plants, mythology, and ecological niche.

Diana Roberts is a writer and member of the Marin County chapter of CNPS. She has worked as an interpretive ranger at Point Reyes National Seashore and at Golden Gate National Recreation Area's Marin Headlands, where she created a 100+ image visual interpretive guide to the wildflowers of the Marin Headlands. Learning to look closely at wildflowers to see their hidden beauty has taught her to see everything - not just wildflowers - more clearly. She wants to help the uninitiated (potential new members of CNPS?) have a similar experience.

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Monday, June 10, 2002
"Mariposa Lilies and Friends"
slide show by
Stephen Lowens

Stephen Lowens, long-time member and past newsletter editor of the Marin CNPS, avid wildflower watcher and amateur photographer, will give the presentation. The show will feature virtually all known species of the genus calochortus that grow in the United States. A brief history of the taxonomy will be presented, as well as general descriptions and maps of where the species grow. This will be an evening for feasting on the beauty of the flowers - technical details will be kept to an absolute minimum.

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Monday, May 13, 2002
"Conservation of Soils of California "
presentation by
Emily Roberson

Emily will speak on the soils of California. She will describe how soils are formed and key components and processes that occur within them. She will also discuss how conservation of soil health relates to CNPS native plant conservation work. Finally, Emily will present examples of CNPS conservation projects in areas where threats to the integrity of soil processes is a key component of the imperilment of native plant communities.

Emily Brin Roberson is Senior Land Management Analyst for CNPS and Project Director for the Native Plant Conservation Campaign. She holds a bachelors degree magna cum laude in plant ecology from Harvard University and a Ph.D. in soil microbial ecology from UC Berkeley. She worked as a researcher in the plant and soil sciences in the U.S. and France for 10 years before joining CNPS in 1993. Her work focuses on native plant conservation advocacy with the federal and state land management agencies.

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Monday, April 8, 2002
"Production Trilogy: Assembling Botanical Illustrations, Watercolor Plant Portraits, and Fremontia"
presentation by
Linda Ann Vorobik

You key a plant in The Jepson Manual, you write on a lovely note card, you read Fremontia: how are the images and text created, and what does "publication" really involve? Linda Ann Vorobik, botanist, illustrator, and Fremontia Editor, describes the process of her work, from pencil to CD-ROM burner, with examples from her latest projects. By using examples from the new Jepson Desert Regional Manual, she describes how the final 110 electronic illustration plates were assembled from scans of the original Jepson Manual illustration plates and new drawings. With her botanical watercolors (several framed paintings will be displayed), she shows how such plant portraits are created. Finally, Dr. Vorobik overviews how your CNPS Journal Fremontia is assembled, and solicits your input for Fremontia.

Dr. Vorobik has been a part of large botanical projects for several years (The Jepson Manual as Principal Illustrator, The Flora of Santa Cruz Island as Principal Illustrator and Page Designer, the Flora of Yosemite National Park as Technical Editor, etc.) and is now Illustrations Editor for the two Flora North America grass volumes as well as Fremontia Editor. She resides in Berkeley where she is a Visiting Scholar at UC, and in Washington state where she is a Visiting Scholar at UW, Seattle, but lives on Lopez Island.

Linda will have notecards, prints, and original artwork for sale; 30% of proceeds will be donated to the CNPS Marin Chapter.

Linda will be offering two illustration workshops through Friends of the Jepson Herbarium:
March 9-10: Basics of Botanical Illustration, UC Berkeley Campus and Botanical Garden
April 18-21: Desert Wildflowers: Sketching With Watercolors, Granite Mountain Research Station
For more information call the Jepson Herbarium at 510-643-7008 or visit the UC/JEPS web page.

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Monday, March 11, 2002
"Useful Plants and Seaweeds"
presentation by
Autumn Summers

Come explore the world of edible and medicine plants that is in our own gardens and open spaces. Through slides and fresh specimens, we will discover the many native plants of the Bay Area that can and have been used as food and medicine by humans for hundreds of years. These riches include familiar plants such as manzanita, oaks, willow, California bay and California Poppy plus some not so familiar plants including hedge nettle (Stachys spp.), silk tassel (Garrya spp.), figwort (Scrophularia spp.), gumweed (Grindelia spp.) and some local seaweeds.

Autumn has been a plant addict for the last 12 years. She graduated from the California School of Herbal Studies in 1988 where she currently is a member of the teaching staff. Other studies include receiving a BA in Anthropology with an emphasis in Ethnobotany from Sonoma State University. Her current focus is on teaching botany, edible and medicinal plant use, and seaweed classes in and around the Bay Area including a summer course at Sonoma State. She is the past President of the Sonoma County Herb Association and lives in Sebastopol.

References:
Native American Ethnobotany by Daniel E. Moerman, Timber Press, 1998
Native American Ethnobotany Database - online lookup
The Flavors of Home - A Guide to Wild Edible Plants of the San Francisco Bay Area by Margit Roos-Collins, Heyday Books, 2001
Medicinal Plants of the Pacific West by Michael Moore, Red Crane Press, 1993
Little Acorns - A Guide to Marin County Plant Lore by Ruth Stotter, Stotter Press
Edible and Medicinal Plants of the West by Gregory L. Tilford, Mountain Press Publishing Company, Inc., 1997

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Monday, February 11, 2002
"Death Valley, Spring 1998: Wildflower year of the century"
presentation by
Rosemary Donlon

The El Niño rains of 1997-98 didn't all fall on the Central Coast - there was enough left to bring a record 5.8 inches of rainfall to Death Valley (average rainfall, 1.7 inches). The rains were spaced just far enough apart to ensure an extensive growth period and continuous bloom for much of the Death Valley flora. Monterey Bay Chapter, California Native Plant Society past president, Rosemary Donlon, was there for a week in March and a week in April of 1998 to see and photograph the phenomenal display.

Death Valley’s geologic history, topographic diversity and climatic extremes make it home to a fascinating flora. Of the nearly 1,000 plant species found in this National Park, 22 are found nowhere else and another 33 have only a few populations found elsewhere. Many of these bloomed in record profusion in the El Niño rains, some for the first time in years. Come see the vast fields of desert gold, the rare golden carpet, Gilmania luteola, rock mimulus, Death Valley sage and other beautiful treasures of one of our state’s magnificent National Parks.

Rosemary Donlon is a landscape designer and horticultural consultant in Carmel, California and specializes in native plant landscaping. She is the past president of the Monterey Bay Chapter and is a member of the state CNPS horticultural committee. Rosemary began to hear about Lester Rowntree soon after she became a CNPS member about 20 years ago. Her serious interest grew as she helped plant some of the first areas of the Rowntree Native Plant Garden in Carmel and she began to be intrigued by Lester’s elegant writing as well as her immense knowledge of California’s native flora.

While studying in Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s ornamental horticulture and botany departments she decided to compile a bibliography of Lester’s journal and magazine articles, little realizing the magnitude of the task she had undertaken. (Lesters’s own estimate was that she had written approximately 100 articles over her lifetime.) That project has expanded considerably (and extends to include over 680 articles) and has taken her to libraries all over the country. Her current projects include compiling and editing a collection of Lester Rowntree’s articles on the horticultural use of California native plants for publication by CNPS.

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Monday, January 14, 2002
"Charles Kellogg, founder of the Save the Redwoods League"
presentation by
Dabney Smith

Charles Kellogg was a famous vaudeville performer. He recorded bird songs for Victor Records, and these were best sellers. He travelled with John Burroughs in the West Indies for two weeks, observing nature. The last known photograph taken of John Muir is with Charles Kellogg. So who was Kellogg and what does he have to do with native plants? Kellogg built what may have been the world's first motor home. It was made from a single redwood log. He used the "travel log" to tour the country and promote the newly formed Save the Redwoods League.

Dabney Smith is a park ranger for Santa Clara County Parks. She currently works at Mt. Madonna County Park, the former estate of Henry Miller, the cattle king and savior of Tule Elk. Dabney graduated with a B.S. in Biological Science from Cal State Hayward in 1970. Shortly thereafter, she met Rick Bergman and Gini Havel. Upon Rick's recommendation she joined the newly formed Marin Chapter of the California Native Plant Society. She attended Gini's field biology classes at the College of Marin, and sometime thereafter met Wilma Follette and Phyllis Faber. She considers Gini, Wilma, and Phyllis her mentors, and responsible for her lifelong adventures with native plants.

An original historical brochure about Charles Kellogg and his talents (reproduced in its entirety by the Humboldt Redwoods Interpretive Association)

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Monday, November 5, 2001
"California Deserts in Spring"
slide presentation by
Rob Badger

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Monday, October 1, 2001
"Gardening With Native Plants for Wildlife & Insects"
slide presentation by
Leanna Beeman-Sims

This slide presentation will explore using our wonderful native flora to create a garden for butterflies, birds and beneficial insects. The interdependence of plants and insects takes us to a new, deeper level in our gardens. Most of the information I have comes from personal observation and experience, gardening in a mostly native setting in Western Sonoma County. I have found that by nourishing butterflies, the garden attracts many other wonderful beings that live in community with native plants.

Leana Beeman-Sims is first and foremost a habitat gardener. She started Wayward Gardens, a nursery specializing in habitat plants, three years ago on her farm outside Sebastopol. She is a Master Gardener and current President of the Milo Baker Chapter of CNPS.

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Monday, 4 June, 2001
"Rare Plants of Point Reyes"
presentation by
Doreen Smith

More than half of Marin's listed rare, threatened and endangered plants grow on Pt. Reyes. For many of these species this area has the only abundant populations left in California/the world. Other plants not (yet) officially recognized as special will be included as they are different from other morphs of the "same" species of and in the rest of the state.

Doreen was born in England, educated at the Universities of Bristol and London and has a B. Sc. in Botany. Her first "real" job was at the Herbarium, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, working on the flora of tropical East Africa. She did graduate work in ecology and conducted pollen analyses of marshes. Since coming to the U. S. in 1967, she has worked in Radiation Biology and taught Elementary Science. She has also taught non-credit Botany courses at the College of Marin.

Doreen learned about the local flora mostly from field trips with CNPS. She is a treasured member of our Marin CNPS board, on which she has served as education chair and is currently chair of rare and endangered plant. She is a frequent field trip leader and has an eagle eye for the minutiae of our diverse flora.

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Monday, 7 May, 2001
"The Marin/Sonoma Weed Management Area"
presentation by
Amanda Stephens

Amanda will discuss the formation process of this new group and what it has accomplished in just two short years. It is a group of enthusiasts that work toward education about and eradication of noxious weeds within Marin and Sonoma Counties. Funding has been received in both 2000 and 2001 from the California Department of Agriculture as well as from the Marin County Board of Supervisors.

Amanda graduated from CalPoly, San Luis Obispo with a degree in Animal Science. She worked as an Agricultural Biologist in 1995 for Fresno County and for 2.5 years for Mendocino County. Amanda came to work for Marin County in 1999 and became Chairperson of the Marin/Sonoma Weed Management Area in May of 2000.

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Monday, 2 April, 2001
Sudden Oak Death...new developments in host range biology and potential control
presentation by
Dr. Matteo Garbelotto

In 1995, a mysterious oak-killing disease was discovered in Marin County. Since then, it has been identified in six coastal counties of central California, where it has killed tens of thousands of coast live oaks, tanbark oaks and California black oaks. The pathogen believed to cause the disease, a previously unknown species of Phytophthora fungus, is now also believed to cause disease in ornamental rhododendrons and in huckleberry.

Dr. Matteo Garbelotto, a plant pathologist and mycology extension specialist in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management at UC Berkeley, is a leading researcher in the effort to understand this new disease, termed Sudden Oak Death or Oak Mortality Syndrome. Dr Garbelotto will discuss the history, diagnosis and distribution, the fascinating story of isolating and identifying the causative agent, and current ideas on managing the disease.

Dr. Garbelotto received his Bachelor's degree in Forestry from the University of Padua, Italy in 1988. He continued his studies in Padua and received a Master's degree in Silviculture/Forest Pathology in 1990. Matteo then left Italy and came to Berkeley to study Plant Pathology and received his M.S. in February of 1993. Matteo received his PhD in December 1996.

Currently, Matteo is a Forest Pathology & Mycology Extension Specialist and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management at the University of California, Berkeley.

For more information on Sudden Oak Death, visit: California Oak Mortality Task Force or U.C. Cooperative Extension in Marin County

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Monday, 5 March, 2001
Native Ferns for the Garden
demonstration by
Miriam Leefe

Tonight's program will not include a slide presentation, but will take the form of a demonstration on the cultivation of ferns, particularly local California native species and their uses in Marin gardens.

Miriam will bring examples of ferns for the demonstration. These ferns, raised at the Strybing Arboretum Society's nursery, will be available for sale at the end of the program, with proceeds benefitting the Arboretum.

Miriam Leefe has been Fern Chair at the Strybing Arboretum Society in Golden Gate Park for nearly twenty years. She has consulted for public and private fern gardens throughout the Bay Area, spoken for many horticultural societies, and taught Master Gardening classes on ferns.

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Monday, 5 February, 2001
"The Tomales Bay Dune Complex"
slide presentation by
Dr. Peter Baye

Dr. Baye's talk will include a slide presentation on the contemporary Tomales Bay Dune system. This is the area also known as the Dillon Beach Dunes or the Sand Point Dunes. His talk will cover dune landforms, geomorphic processes, dune wetlands, vegetation, and plant species. He will offer examples of other dune systems in California and elsewhere to highlight geographic comparisons and distinctions of the Tomales system.

Dr. Peter Baye is a well-known botanist and plant ecologist specializing in the flora and ecology of coastal plant communities, particularly sand dunes, beaches, and tidal marshes. He has studied and worked on conservation of coastal dunes and marshes since 1975 ranging from Great Britain, the Maritime Provinces of Canada, New England, the Great Lakes, and California. He is currently employed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services Endangered Species Program and is stationed at the Mare Island sub-office.

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Monday, 8 January, 2001 "Plant Communities of the White Mountains of California ..." slide presentation by Terry Sozanski

Terry Sozanski grew up in Sydney, Australia, where after graduating from Sydney University, he worked as a chemist before embarking on a world journey in 1975. He settled in Marin County and has lived here since 1981 where he works as a painting contractor. He studied landscaping at the College of Marin and has a keen interest in horticulture. He has been a photographer for 25 yrs and now specializes in plant and landscape photography.

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Monday, 6 November 2000 "Frontier Botanists on the Pacific Coast..." program by Richard Beidleman

This lecture will follow early botanical adventurers on the Pacific Coast from George Steller in 1741 on an Alaskan island, penning the West's first botanical paper (in Latin), to Professor Willis Jepson of the University of California (Berkeley), boating and botanizing in 1912 on the Colorado River. In between, what an interesting diversity: among them Captain Cook's botanist and Captain Vancouver's botanist, naturalists with the French, Spanish, Russian and American oceanic expeditions; David Douglas of the Fir, Thomas Nuttall of the Pacific Dogwood, John Charles Fremont of CNPS's Fremontia, and of course not to be overlooked, Alice Eastwood of the California Academy of Sciences. The talk will be illustrated with color slides of these early botanical explorers' haunts and some of the plants which they collected.

Dr. Beidleman is a Research Associate, University and Jepson Herbaria, University of California (Berkeley), and Professor Emeritus(Biology) at the Colorado College. Although professionally an ecologist, with a Ph.D from the University of Colorado, he has for a number of years researched the impact of the American frontier on science, and more recently the impact of the Australian frontier on natural science. He has lectured and written extensively on these topics and is currently working on a book about California's frontier naturalists. With his wife Linda he has co-authored Plants of Rocky Mountain National Park, just published by Falcon Press, and will have an article in the next issue of Fremontia on CAL botanist Jepson's 1912 rowboat trip down the Colorado River. While in Colorado, Dr. Beidleman served for eight years on the Colorado State Park Board, including four years as chairman, and he is a member of both CNPS and the Colorado Native Plant Society.

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Monday, 2 October 2000

"Native Plants Are For The Birds"
program by
Doreen Smith
Rare and Endangered Plants Chair, Marin CNPS

Before humans altered the native California vegetation patterns the native birds occupied all habitats in Marin County. If you are planning to garden with some or all native plants you may want to know which birds are most compatible with which plants. Birds require cover, nesting sites and food. Many plants provide all three and a balance of trees, shrubs and herbaceous species is ideal for both humans and birds.

If your garden is on the margins of one of the wildland areas, the birds most attracted to that plant community are in the neighborhood and likely to visit you. Some very urban areas also have native bird populations. If you like herbaceous perennials, hummingbirds are particularly easy to attract in Marin County.

One thing to remember is that if you use chemical pesticides in the garden, the insects many birds feed on become poisoned and poisonous to those birds, so it is unkind to attract birds to such a spot. Usually, an "organic" garden can be attractive to humans as well as wildlife and be in balance ecologically. Provide water, keep your cats inside and enjoy your birds and flowers.

Doreen was born in England, educated at the Universities of Bristol and London and has a B. Sc. in Botany. Her first "real" job was at the Herbarium, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, working on the flora of tropical East Africa. She did graduate work in ecology and conducted pollen analyses of marshes. Since coming to the U. S. in 1967, she has worked in Radiation Biology and taught Elementary Science. She has also taught non-credit Botany courses at the College of Marin.

Doreen learned about the local flora mostly from field trips with CNPS. She is a treasured member of our Marin CNPS board, on which she has served as education chair and is currently chair of rare and endangered plant. She is a frequent field trip leader and has an eagle eye for the minutiae of our diverse flora.

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Monday, 5 June 2000

"Upper Caribou Lake Area of the Trinity Mountains"
program by
Stewart Winchester
Diablo Valley College

For over fifteen years, Stewart Winchester has been taking students into the field to explore floristically diverse regions of the West, including alpine flower field trips to every mountainous part of California, Oregon, and Nevada that he can reach. Tonight he will share one of his favorite destinations with us, the Caribou Basin of the Trinity Alps Wilderness. This area offers some of the greatest diversity of conifers and perennials in the North Coast Ranges of the state. Because of the glacial scour of granite (like the Sierra's) many species make for an outstanding rock garden display in July and August.

Stewart has a background in in Environmental Science and Horticulture and is currently an instructor at Diablo Valley College. He has taught in the DVC Horticulture Department for over ten years and has also been an instructor with the Merritt College Landscape Horticulture Department for over ten years.

Stewart claims our Marin Chapter's Terry Sozanski as his mentor in photography. At past meetings, Terry has shared with us his photographs from a number of Stewart Winchester's field trips.

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May 2000

"Invasive Cordgrass in San Francisco Bay lands"
program by
Dr. Debra Ayres,
U.C. Davis

Smooth cordgrass, Spartina alterniflora, is native to the eastern U.S. and was introduced into south San Francisco Bay 21 years ago. It has since spread by deliberate planting and tidal dispersal. This species is very robust and capable of out-competing our locally native California cordgrass, S. foliosa. Smooth cordgrass is able to grow at both higher and lower levels of the intertidal plane than our native species, which is left no refuge. In addition, the two species are now hybridizing.

Dr. Ayers and her colleagues at U.C. Davis' Bodega Marine Laboratory have been studying the spread of Spartina alterniflora and S. foliosa x alterniflora hybrids in California marshes. DNA markers diagnostic for each species were used to detect the two parental species and nine categories of their hybrids. The California coast outside of S.F. Bay contains only the native S. foliosa. All nine hybrid categories exist within S.F. Bay, implying that several generations of crossing have occurred and that hybridization is multidirectional. Hybrids are found principally near sites of deliberate introduction of S. alterniflora, and S. foliosa is now virtually absent from these areas. Marshes colonized by water-dispersed seed contain the full gamut of hybrid types.

Dr. Ayers will discussed this research and the dangers that this introduced species and its hybrids pose to the tidal ecosystem. Physical traits of the hybrids were displayed so that CNPS chapters can recognize these menaces to our marshes.

Debra graduated from U.C. Berkeley in 1976 with a B.A. in Botany, and in 1978 from the University of Oregon, Eugene, with an M.A. in Biology. From 1992 to 1997, Debra has been a researcher and teaching assistant in the Department of Plant Biology at U.C. Davis, from which, in 1997 she was awarded a Ph.D. in Ecology.

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April 2000

Growing a National Park
program by
Greg De Nevers,
Resident Biologist at Audubon Canyon Ranch

Greg presented a brief history of Audubon Canyon Ranch, and tied this to the larger history of land protection and preservation in Marin County and the national scene. He also discussed the history and future of vegetation in coastal California, with illustrations drawn from the local landscape.

Greg was born in San Francisco and raised in San Rafael. He attended Redwood High School, then UC Santa Cruz, receiving a BA in Environmental Studies in 1980. His Senior Thesis was a flora of the Kingston Range, an isolated mountain range in the eastern Mojave Desert. After college he taught biology at Kuskokwim Community college in Bethel, Alaska. He then spent three years in Panama documenting the flora of the lands of the Kuna Indians (San Blas, east of the canal). During this time he developed an interest in the systematics of neotropical palms, which he continues to pursue.

For 13 years Greg was Resident Biologist at Pepperwood, a 3,117 acre preserve in Sonoma County. At Pepperwood Greg developed a strong interest in newts (Taricha). He has done botanical field work in Tanzania, Madagascar, Costa Rica, Colombia, Yugoslavia and Mexico.

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March 2000

Invasive Species in Native Habitat
program by
Katrina Strathmann of the GGNRA

The greatest threat to native species - second only to land development - is non-native invasive species. In preserves throughout the United States, invasive species are outcompeting natives and causing extirpations when invasions go unchecked. In the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which hosts over 1,200 native and non-native species of plants, staff and volunteers are controlling, or at the very least slowing the spread of, invasive species in order to protect native plants and habitats. Katrina Strathmann of the GGNRA will present an overview of invasive plant species, followed by an introduction to the most invasive species that occur in the Park, including basic biology, where they come from, and some of the Park's recent efforts at control.

Katrina Strathmann has worked and volunteered in habitat restoration in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area since 1997, working on invasive species control, revegetation, native plant propagation, and rare species monitoring. She coordinates a volunteer program for high-priority invasive species control (called IPP for "invasive plant patrol") consisting of individual hikers patrolling specific regions of the Park, (ie, the Gerbode Valley, Tennessee Valley, Rodeo Valley, Oakwood Valley, Coyote Ridge, Wolf Ridge, etc.) for new infestations of the Park's high-priority invasive species (ie, French broom, gorse, Helichrysum petiolatum, Leucanthemum vulgare, cape-ivy, etc.), removing where appropriate and mapping the infestations. This is a critical component of invasive species control in the Park, as staff and larger volunteer crews do not often work in more remote areas. In addition to focusing on ox-eye daisy, pampas grass and acacia control in the Marin Headlands. Katrina is also conducting research on a rare native species, Cirsium andrewsii, in collaboration with the San Francisco Presidio. A self-taught botanist, she is working toward a graduate degree in plant ecology.

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February 2000

An Introduction to Lichens
program by
Janet and Richard Doell

Richard will begin this program with a multi-media show depicting a wide variety of lichens set to music and without commentary as a short introduction to the diversity found in lichens. Janet will follow with a more traditional slide presentation describing what lichens are, how they are divided into three main taxonomic groups, how they reproduce, the structures used in their identification, the roles they play in the environment, their vulnerability to pollution and some of their uses.

Richard Doell was born and raised in California. His professional career was as a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, where his main area of study was the earth's magnetic field. His interest in lichens started with his marriage to Janet, and he audited a lichen course taught by Dr. Harry Thiers at San Francisco State "in self defense" as Dr. Thiers put it. Combining his long-standing interest in photography together with his exposure to lichens, he has helped many newcomers to this branch of botany become aware of the wide diversity in these interesting organisms through his slide shows and photographs.

Janet grew up in Europe and Canada, following her father around to his various posts in the U.S. Foreign Service. She moved to San Francisco in 1950 after working for six years in Washington D.C. as a translator. After many years spent raising a large family she became interested in lichens while a re-entry student at San Francisco State in the 1970's, studying under Dr. Harry Thiers. She received her Master's Degree in 1982. Her thesis study consisted of dating a rock fall in Nevada using lichenometry, a method of dating the exposure of rock surfaces by studying the lichens present on them. Following a number of years more devoted to sailing than to lichen study, she and Richard returned to the Bay Area in the early 1990's and she found a medium for information exchange among local lichenologists. As a member of CALS (California Lichen Society), she has been active in giving lectures and leading field trips for CNPS and other groups interested in learning about lichens.

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January 2000

Floristic Discoveries of North America
program by
Dr. Barbara Ertter, Curator of Western North American Flora and Administrative Curator of the University and Jepson Herbaria, U.C. Berkeley

Contrary to recurring perceptions that the flora of North America north of Mexico has been fully explored and catalogued, the rate of ongoing discoveries has remained remarkably constant for much of the last century and shows no evidence of tapering off. This is particularly evident in western and southeastern North America, where dramatic new species are still coming to light, even along highways and near major cities. Furthermore, the majority of ongoing discoveries are dependent not just on professional taxonomists, but on the collective efforts of individuals and organizations operating outside of academia. The incompleteness of our floristic knowledge takes on critical significance in an era when decisions are being made that will irrevocably determine the fate of our national floristic heritage.

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November 1999
Dr. Jerry Powell
Recovery of Plants and Their Associated Caterpillars from the 1995 Inverness Fire

Dr. Powell will share the results of his ongoing survey of certain Inverness Ridge burn sites he has been regularly monitoring for the return of plants and the moth larvae that feed upon them.

Dr. Powell was awarded a Ph.D. at U.C. Berkeley in 1961 from the Department of Entomology (now Department of Environmental Sciences). He later joined the faculty there and has been conducting research on the reproductive biology of moths and their relationships with larval host plants. His current title is Professor of The Graduate School at U.C. Berkeley.

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October 1999
Dr. Martin Griffin
Saving the Marin - Sonoma Coast

The remarkable stories and dramatic battles behind the preservation of most of Marin and Sonoma's beautiful coastal habitats will be described by the man who worked the hardest to win their protection, Dr. Martin Griffin. In large part we have Dr. Griffin to thank for saving Richardson Bay, and for the creation of the Audubon preserves on Bolinas Lagoon and Tomales Bay, which in turn led to the protection of the Marin Headlands and creation of the Pt. Reyes National Seashore. Marin came ominously close to having a major freeway and attendant development all along its coastline. Dr. Griffin is currently embroiled in efforts to protect the Russian River from gravel mining and other threats.

Dr. Griffin has combined a lifetime committed to wildlife protection with a distinguished statewide career in Public Health. While practicing medicine in Marin County in the late 1940's and early 1950's, he saw the destruction of the tidelands, bays, and coastal rivers as a threat to his patients' health. In 1961 Dr. Griffin helped pioneer coastal protection by creating Audubon Canyon Ranch and later, co-founding the Environmental Forum of Marin and Friends of the Russian River. A graduate of Stanford Medical School and U.C. Berkeley School of Public Health, he holds the Governor's Award for his Infectious Disease Control programs and the Marin Conservation League's award for California watershed protection. An avid fly-fisherman and white-water canoeist, Dr. Griffin now resides in Sonoma County where he and his wife Joyce own the landmark Hop Kiln Winery and work to restore the Russian River salmon fisheries. In 1998, Dr. Griffin wrote and published a book "Saving the Marin - Sonoma Coast", copies of which will be available for purchase and signing at tonight's meeting.

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June 1999
Margaret Ely
Up Close and Floral - Microphotography of California Native Wildflowers

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May 1999
Wilma Follette
Point Reyes: The Island in Time

Point Reyes, that fabulous piece of real estate jutting out from the Marin County coast, encompasses dunes and beaches, meadows and forests, swamps and marshes, and an amazing variety of plant life, including many rare species. As taxpayers, you, the owners of this fantastic property, want to keep in touch with it.

Those who have heard Wilma speak know how delightful, substantive, and thoughtful her presentations are. Wilma is a third-generation northern Californian (41 years in Marin County) with a lifelong interest in the outdoors. She was a founder of the CNPS Marin Chapter in 1973. For 22 years she has led field trips locally and around the state, including weekly spring trips in Marin identifying wildflowers, making plant lists, and monitoring rare-listed species for public agencies. For 11 years she taught a plant identification class at College of Marin. Since 1979 she has enjoyed working with California artists, producing and distributing six CNPS wildflower posters.

Wilma's husband Bill, who has pursued photography as an avocation since boyhood, devotes tremendous energy to flower photography. The result is a collection of more than 15,000 exquisite slides of interesting plants in beautiful locations, some of which will enhance this program.

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April 1999
Toni Fauver
Wildflower Walks and Roads of the Sierra Gold Country

Bay Area resident Toni Fauver has just published her second California wildflower guide book, Wildflower Walks and Roads of the Sierra Gold Country, and will share with us her extensive knowledge of the diverse flora and special places of the Sierra foothills' Mother Lode region. Toni's book features elegant pencil drawings by botanical illustrator Martha Kemp and includes historical notes by Helen Breck. Both of these contributors plan to be present for this slide presentation and book signing.

Toni Fauver has an extensive and varied background in California native plants. She graduated from U.C. Berkeley with a major in Conservation of Natural Resources with an emphasis on native plants. She has gathered specimens for the Oakland Museum's annual Spring Wildflower Show for 20 years. She has done volunteer work for the CNPS and the U.C., Tilden, and Strybing botanical gardens, and has conducted wildflower classes and hikes here and abroad for many years. Her first wildflower guide, Wildflower Walking in the Lakes Basin of the Northern Sierra was published in 1992.

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March 1999
Dr. Robert Patterson
"Who's Who in the Phlox Family:
The way they were versus the way they are (or will be)"

"The Polemoniaceae is truly a California family, with over one-half of its 300-plus species native to California. Many species of Polemoniaceae contribute to the showy spring and summer wildflower displays, making it one of the more readily recognized families in our flora. Even after a few field trips newly introduced botanists begin to recognize and master the names of many of our native polemons. But is our current taxonomic knowledge of the family accurate? Does it portray true relationships among species and genera? Ongoing research by workers at several institutions is causing us to reevaluate what might define a genus in this family, and what features best resolve evolutionary relationships.

This talk will provide an introduction to the ideas held by the "new polemoniologists", and to the approaches that support these ideas. Using the genus Linanthus as a model we will e