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FRIENDS OF EDGEWOO D NATURAL PRESER VE Edgewood Explorer September 2008 Volume 15 Number 3 invaluable interpretive tools for the docents. INTERPRETIVE C ENTER TO BENEFIT EDGEWOOD’S DOCENT AND O UTREACH The Interpretive Center will give us a home base to PROGRAMS post our activities and efforts, making information by Carol Hankermeyer and Kate Finnigan clearly visible to all visitors and inviting them to get Everyone is so looking forward to the new Interpre- involved in a variety of volunteer opportunities. tive Center being planned for Edgewood, especially those of us in the Inter- Finally, as it is being designed as a “green” building, pretive Program, who so the building itself closely interact with the will serve as a public through the Out- model of environ- reach work with the chil- mental conserva- dren and the Docent-led tion. walks. Now all we have Of primary importance is to do is raise the the fact that the interpre- money. To date, tive center will be located we have raised at the entrance to the pre- well over half of serve, which could not be the funds needed more ideal, as it will pro- for the building, vide a clearly defined exhibits, and park- area for docents, visitors ing-lot improve- and students to gather for ments. We hope to hike orientation or group complete funding discussion. It will also be in time to break a good safe distance from ground next sum- the cars cruising the in- mer after the wild- ner parking lot, which is A rendering of some of the proposed exhibits for the Interpretive Center flower-walks sea- always a worry with the children. The outdoor am- son has ended. The phitheatre will be particularly useful for organizing goal is to have the Center operational in 2010. For and addressing those hikes attended by a large num- more information about the Center, its exhibits, and ber of people. And, of course, the Center will have the current funding status, contact Julia Bott, Execu- restrooms, which will be a welcome convenience for tive Director, San Mateo County Parks Foundation, everyone. The Interpretive Center will also be a se- at 650-321-5812, or visit www.supportparks.org. cure place to store all the reference materials we pro- INSIDE THE EXPLORER vide to the docents and the public, such as maps and flower lists. It will also serve as a safe and secure Edgewoodiana ....................................................2 place to send anyone who might need to leave a hike Flies That You Might Like.................................3 that turned out to be too demanding for them. Mad As A March Hare.......................................4 Healing Plants—Yerba Santa.............................5 Inside the Center, there will be exhibits designed to Membership Dues ..............................................7 give an overview of the entire Edgewood experience, Adopt-A-Highway..............................................7 as well as much detailed information on what there is Adopt-A-Weedway…………………………….7 to discover in the preserve, and these exhibits will, Belly Botany…………………………………...8 hopefully, capture the interest of students and adults Upcoming Events ...............................................8 alike. And, of course, these exhibits will also provide Page 2 Edgewood Explorer September 2008 EDGEWOODIANA — A QUESTION ABOUT amount of time after the herbicide has been applied. GRASSLANDS MANAGEMENT The dye makes the herbicide visible, which helps the by Carolyn Strange person applying the herbicide spray with greater pre- Edgewoodiana recently received this question from a cision, which is especially useful in areas where the visitor to Edgewood: non- native Dear Edgewoodiana, invader is Recently while hiking at Edgewood, my family and I inter- have noticed areas sprayed with blue dye close to the spersed parking lot. Usually this means that an herbicide has with de- been sprayed in the area. Is someone using herbicide sirable in a nature preserve, and if so, how can this be? natives. Thanks, Also, Nona being able to I am delighted to have a guest writer answering the clearly question this issue. Christal Niederer is a Staff Biolo- Harding Grass (Phalaris aquatica ) at Edgewood see a gist with Creekside Center for Earth Observation, and © Kathy Korbholz treated project coordinator for San Mateo County’s Grass- area pre- lands Management Project. vents under- or over-application; it also improves safety by making spills obvious. Yes, the blue dye near the parking lot is an additive applied with an herbicide that is being used to treat The knowledge and training of the person working the invasive, non-native perennial, Harding grass with an herbicide is also of great importance, of (Phalaris aquatica). Harding grass treatments at course, and at Edgewood, only certified park staff Edgewood are part of the Grasslands Management were allowed to apply the Envoy. Project funded by the San Mateo Weed Management Area.* After we had initial success in the open grass- We are hopeful that by being able to use all the ap- lands areas of Edgewood, we widened our attention propriate tools against this weed, including occa- to larger infestations of the grass under the 280 over- sional herbicide spraying, we can eventually elimi- pass and in the Day Camp area of the park. nate it from Edgewood. ________ Invasive, non-native species such as Harding grass *To learn more about Weed Management Areas, are a major threat to biodiversity at Edgewood. Hard- please visit their website at www.cdfa.ca.gov/phpps/ ing grass can be particularly hard to treat because of ipc/weedmgtareas/SanMateo/SanMateo_hp.htm its system of rhizomes, which are underground stems that store large amounts of energy. Consequently, repeated treatments are usually needed to wear down What do you want to know about Edgewood? this plant’s reserves. Send your questions to: [email protected] Because of its known tenacity, Harding grass at Edgewood is being treated with a variety of tech- niques, including mowing, digging, tarping, and ap- plying an herbicide. Herbicidal treatment was in- A flower falls, cluded for two reasons: 1) it is known to be one of even though we love it, the more effective ways of treating this weed and 2) and a weed grows, it was to be used on only relatively small areas. In even though we do not love it. order to minimize impacts to non-target species, we ~Dogen , chose to use the grass-specific herbicide, Envoy. En- voy also has the advantage of having no “re-entry Japanese Buddhist monk time” requirement, meaning that people do not need and philosopher to be excluded from a treated area for a specified 1200-1253 September 2008 Edgewood Explorer Page 3 EDG EWOOD FLIES THAT YO U MIGHT LIKE that are so often ignored but are so very important to native plants. by Paul Heiple Whenever one thinks of flies, it is usually an unpleas- The larvae of these flies ant image that comes to mind—decay loving pests are even more varied than that spread disease and filth. And those people who the adults. One of the most also know that mosquitoes and gnats are flies, can common types of Syrphid add “bloodthirsty” to the list. All of these are insects fly larvae is a predator that that can make life in the out-of-doors miserable. feeds on soft-bodied in- However, this article is to show that not all flies are sects such as aphids. This bad. A group you may not even recognize as flies is larva often looks like a actually beautiful, and for most of the species in the headless caterpillar, and is group, completely beneficial. These flies are the frequently green with hover flies, members of the family Syrphidae. white or yellow strips, which make it blend in The Syrphid flies are so varied that it seems only two with a plant's stem. It Syrphid Fly Larva statements can be made that cover all the species: hunts by tapping about the stem like a blind person they have a false vein in their wing that is only pig- with a cane, moving back and forth in an arc, and ment, and they commonly hover in the air completely then moving forward a bit to tap out another arc. motionless except for their wings. Other than that, When it encounters prey, it uses a hook in its mouth they vary from small to moderately large flies, are to grapple its victim and lift it off the plant stem. And usually brightly colored, and may or may not be then, as it prefers its meal in liquid form, it sucks the hairy. Many so resemble bees and wasps, it can re- juices out of its prey before casting the drained body quire a careful look to tell the difference. aside and moving on to repeat the process with the next victim. One larva can eat hundreds of aphids The flight pattern of these insects is very distinctive: during its two-week growth period. so much so that they can be iden- Syrphid fly larvae that are not predators are plant tified even from feeders and scavengers, but they have little else in very blurry vid- common with each other. One plant-eating group has eos. Such was the taken to eating bulbs, and, like most fly larvae, looks case at Jasper like white maggots. Another larva scavenges in the Ridge, Stanford's nests of social insects such as ants, and is round and biological pre- flat. And yet another lives and feeds in polluted water serve located be- so low in oxygen, it has evolved a long tail that it tween the towns sends up to the surface of the water and through of Woodside and which it breathes.

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