Calochortus Kennedyi Our Cover Is a Painting by Carolyn Crawford of Arvada, Colorado
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Bulletin of the American Rock Garden Society Volume 48 Number 1 Winter 1990 Cover: Calochortus kennedyi Our cover is a painting by Carolyn Crawford of Arvada, Colorado. A photograph by Stan Farwig served as her model. Bulletin of the American Rock Garden Society Volume 48 Number 1 Winter 1990 Contents Wildflower Haunts of California, by Wayne Roderick 3 Lewisias of the Sierra Nevada, by B. LeRoy Davidson 13 Eriogonums to Grow and Treasure, by Margaret Williams 21 Calochortus-. Why Not Try Them? by Boyd Kline 25 California Rock Ferns, by Margery Edgren 31 Plant Gems from the Golden State, by John Andrews 35 Lewisias Wild and in Cultivation, by Sean Hogan 47 Pacific Coast Iris, by Lewis and Adele Lawyer 53 Diplacus for Rock Gardens, by David Verity 65 Identifying California Alpines, by Wilma Follette 66 '<ctns 2 Bulletin of the American Rock Garden Society Vol. 48(1) Wildflower Haunts of California by Wayne Roderick In California there is so much plants must produce a long tap-root diversity in climate and topography to survive the dry period, and this in that it takes nearly a lifetime to see all turn means nearly certain death to our interesting plants. For those who any plant dug. So remember, I shall have a few weeks to explore there bring the wrath of California down on are many places to visit. If you are your head for digging any plant! But here in July, it is too late in the year California will bless you for taking a to visit the deserts, to see fields of the little seed. Many of the places I annual wild flowers, or flowers of describe here are in plant preserves most of our bulbous plants. It is the or wilderness areas. Some of these higher areas of the state that are in areas I have personally fought to have full flower at midsummer. set aside, and I will personally hate Rock garden people are fortunate you, too, if you use this information that there are still a lot of our plants to exploit them by digging plants. left in the wild. We never had a Carl Highway 395 south from Reno is Purdy digging these plants by the one of the scenic drives and every millions, as happened with the road that turns up into the mountains bulbous plants of California. And leads up to natural rock gardens. A then there are billions of humans short ways up Monitor Pass on High• building houses, roads, highways, and way 89 one can find masses of Erio- bringing ever more acreage into culti• gonum wrightii. This white-leaved vation. Our list of rare and endan• mat does not bloom until fall, but gered plants is more than 160 pages what a plant to see! The flowers are long. If this is not enough to activate not the main attraction, but the the conscience and discourage the foliage is wonderful. On south along collection of plants from nature in Hwy. 395 into Bridgeport Valley California, consider that we have a there are sheets of Iris mis- long, dry summer. This means that souriensis in the meadows, and the 3 wsssfel. O'Brien, Oregon j,;.- ^ • Cwll^jQieen Pass |l Prairie Creek Redwcxxis'SStta?!^^- M • Mount Shasta & Mofnt Eddy * # 1 Eureka Trinity Alps Wilderness f • Lassen Na^bnal Park ifLake Tahoe Bridgeport Sadmgbag Lake i Bjistlecone Pines Preserve Mount Pinos California Wildflower Haunti 4 high, snow-covered mountains above everywhere. Mat plants are to be can be quite spectacular in June. seen at every turn. Eriogonums are From Bridgeport south all little roads perhaps the most common plants. In lead to campgrounds, good fishing Grand View campground one drives and good plant hunting. Just south of over or camps on Phlox couillei, Lee Vining the Tioga road takes off eriogonums and drabas. The road is to Yosemite and all the many things paved to the Schulman Grove, but to see in this park. But just short of above this on to the Patriarch Grove Tioga Pass is the road to Saddlebag are the most fantastic plants and Lake at 10,000' elevation. Park and scenic areas. There is so much to see, walk across the dam, and it's a short plan to spend two days or more. walk to the alpine zone. About 200 Most important, remember to spend yards beyond the parking area are the mornings up in the high eleva• masses of Phyllodoce breweri with tions, in areas like the Patriarch some good color forms. Then there is Grove, because bad thunderstorms a glorious meadow of Aquilegia are frequent in the afternoons. Of all pubescens and its hybrids. These are the areas to look at dwarf plants I so beautiful that they alone provide think the best is a little pass about enough reason for coming to this half a mile past the turn-off to the location. Aquilegia pubescens is Patriarch Grove. At the road summit white, while the other parent here is at 12,000' on Sheep Mt. is the great• A. formosa, with red and yellow est variety of species. This is a nearly flowers. In this population the flowers flat area, and plant hunting is fine in are lovely shades of pink and soft nearly every direction. But best is the yellows with an occasional pure area west and slightly north of the white. On up the trail are more little pass. Here are Castilleja nana, lakes, some with golden trout, and Eriogonum gracilipes (see photo, p. then Mount Conness and its glacier. 20), a few E. oualifolium (see photo, Fine plants abound all the way up. p. 19), Townsendia, Phlox, Draba, Still farther south on Hwy. 395 is and Potentilla species, just to name a Bishop, from which lead many inter• few. esting roads. But before you explore And then back down to the desert these, first load up with gas and water proper. (It is really desert all the way and head south to Big Pine and there to the top in these mountains.) From turn east on Hwy. 168 into the White the campground on down there are Mountains and up to Westgard Pass. no fewer than four species of Pen- Then up to the Ancient Bristlecone stemon, interesting eriogonums, Pines Preserve. From the time one Argemone munita (prickly poppy), turns up off the desert floor until and Mentzelia laevicaulis (blazing White Mountain Road at 7,000' on star), all in bloom in July. Growing in up until one turns around to come shady cracks in the Narrows can be back at perhaps 12,000', there are found a Heuchera of the H. rub- billions of pictures to take, so make escens persuasion. In hot rocky areas sure you have lots of rolls of film. on down to the valley are three There are choice rock garden plants species of cactus, Stanleya elata Wildflower Haunts 5 (prince's plume), and Encelia fari- time the traveler has and which direc• nosa (brittle-bush). From Big Pine tion to choose—up Mount Shasta or south on Hwy. 395 the desert is Mount Eddy, to Castle Lake or Cedar getting darn hot this time of year, but Lake, or on to other fabulous spots. to climb Mount Whitney one must go south to Lone Pine and drive up to Whitney Portal. Climbing up from here you can find Primula suffru- tescens (see photo, p. 37). At the ifegjl^^i end of the road are campgrounds that 'irK-CA-ii) ^&$0^v \\ K:- f. Y!M L could be full in midsummer. At such nM^. \ M ~'CJ YZW$fc?H3 elevations there could be frost every ?iwEk\ : >>>\i>- night, so make sure to bring warm fcflSrx clothing. About two and a half miles out of Lone Pine toward Mount Whit• ney is a turn-off up to the right. This road goes into the Alabama Hills, which is where all wild west motion pictures are filmed. In fact the road is called Movie Road, and the sage Fritillaria \\Jk meadows are Movie Flat. Just south lanceolata \\ 1 of Lone Pine is the turn-off to Death I Valley, a hundred miles away. It can be near hell getting there in July. In the middle of the town of Once in the Valley you are in hell. On Mount Shasta is the road that leads July 4, 1989 the temperature at up onto the mountain. There are few Furnace Creek was 122°F. The good rock garden plants here, but National Park Service asks visitors to those few are not just good, but stay out of the Valley at this season. great. The road ends at the old ski If there is time and coolness is area, and just short of the end is a desired, I would suggest a trip from parking area off to the right. Park Lake Tahoe to Carson City and here and walk over the little rise at Reno, then north on Hwy. 395. Go the end. Veer off to your left into the on to Susanville and then west on swale. Here are carpets of Penste- Hwy. 36 and north on Hwy. 89 to mon davidsonii by the acre. A few the entrance to Lassen National Park. other good plants are phlox, Lassen Peak is an active volcano. anemones and ferns. From here north all roads will be West and over the freeway on the scenic. On this drive in moist areas road to Lake Siskiyou (with a good are carpets of Phyllodoce and campground) take the road to Castle Kalmia polifolia, to mention only Lake (with a tiny campground of the two good plants.