Volume 7, Number1, Page 1 Winter 2003

Department of Environmental Horticulture • University of California, Davis GROWING Points UC Davis Environmental Horticulture Department Establishes IR-4 Center by Heiner Lieth, Ron Lane and Linda Dodge http://envhort.ucdavis.edu The Department of Environmental Hor- regional Research Project #4 in 1963 to Registering a material to provide a dif- ticulture at UC Davis has taken on the task address the shortage of pest control options ferent class of chemical to use in a spray of working with growers and the USDA for minor crops. A separate Ornamentals rotation. Interregional Research Project #4 (IR-4) to Program was created in 1977 and, since Registering a material that provides a develop data needed for registration of crop then, over 9000 registrations have been shorter reentry interval. protection materials that are of interest to processed for ornamentals. The Registering a material that is currently growers of specialty crops in the Western Biopesticide Program to support research registered, but does not contain provisions United States. and registration activities on biological pest for commonly used application equipment IR-4 is the only publicly funded pro- control agents began in 1982, and 1998 saw such as ultra-low volume or electrostatic gram in the U.S. that conducts research and the establishment of a Methyl Bromide Al- sprayers. submits petitions to the Environmental Pro- ternatives Program. (Note that “material” refers to insecti- tection Agency (EPA) for registration of The IR-4 Program has evolved as a cides, miticides, fungicides, plant growth pest control agents on specialty crops. Spe- bridge to registration by generating and regulators, insect growth regulators, as well cialty crops include nursery and landscape supplying independent, high-quality re- as various biological pest control agents.) plants as well as cut flowers and potted search data needed by EPA in order to In addition to industry input, we also plants (in addition to most vegetable, fruit, register compounds for use on specialty seek assistance to help us obtain plants and nut, herb, and spice crops). crops. Collaborations are the strength of related resources for the experiments. The The crop protection industry lacks in- the IR-4 program. Input is sought continu- expectation of the IR-4 program is that the centive to pursue registrations on specialty ally from the commodity production side of manufacturers supply the materials and that crops for many materials because the low agriculture as well as from the crop protec- growers supply plants. The funding pro- acreage involved means low return on in- tion industry, USDA and federal and state vided to us by the IR-4 program is fairly vestment. Recognizing this, the state land regulators. minimal and earmarked entirely for sala- grant universities and the U.S. Department The Environmental Horticulture Depart- ries. It is also of obvious interest to the of Agriculture (USDA) organized the Inter- ment at UC Davis has made a commitment industry to have us work with new plants to develop an IR-4 Center at the Depart- and fresh materials for each experiment. The IR-4 ment and we have begun to set up research- Both growers and manufacturers benefit Program able projects. We have established a website from this process in having their products facilitates at http://envhort.ucdavis.edu/ir4. In order included in the trials. the to make the program most effective, we Our highest priority is to respond to the registration need industry input to identify labeling is- needs of the California ornamentals indus- of pest sues that will provide the greatest benefit to try. We have identified a set of experiments control growers. Some examples of projects that that we will work on for the next few months. agents for would be considered for funding include: In addition, we are seeking industry input to specialty Registering a material for a particular identify experiments that we could begin crops. application where there is currently no ef- this summer and fall, or at some time in the fective, registered product. future. GP In This Issue... Brass Buttons on Golf Courses- page 2, EH Hosts Ag. Science Field Day for FFA Students-page 3, Kat Anderson Co-Edits Book on Habitat Burning- page 3, Popular New Garden Plants- page 4, New Diagnostic Guide for Abiotic Disorders- page 5, Chair Notes- page 6, Urban Foresty News- page 7

The University of California prohibits discrimination against or harassment of any person on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, physical or mental disability, medical condition (cancer-related or genetic characteristics), ancestry, marital status, age, sexual orientation, citizenship, or status as a covered veteran (special disabled veteran, Vietnam-era veteran or any other veteran who served on active duty during a war or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized). University Policy is intended to be consistent with the provisions of applicable State and Federal laws. Inquiries regarding the University’s nondiscrimination policies may be directed to the Affirmative Action/Staff Personnel Services Director, University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources, 1111 Franklin, 6th Floor, Oakland, CA 94607-5200 (510) 987-0096. Volume 7, Number1, Page 2 Winter 2003 Cotula sp. (Brass Buttons) and Its Control on Golf Courses in the Sacramento Valley by Dr. Lin Wu, Dept. of Environmental Horticulture

A small, dicotyledonous plant known as (Asteraceae), Solvia sessilis. Cotula and both erect and prostrate phenotypes Brass Buttons (Cotula sp.) has become a mexicana was found on golf greens as well have been found adaptive to different field noxious weed on some golf greens in as on fairways and rough areas. Cotula habitats (Lloyd, 1981). Cotula dioica and California’s Sacramento Valley. This low australis and Solvia sessilis were growing weed forms large, rough patches only found on fairways and rough on golf greens (Fig. 1). Broadleaf herbicide areas. Twenty samples collected control has not been successful because of from the golf greens all were C. reoccurrence of the weed after eradication mexicana. Cotula mexicana is a of the existing vegetation. The current perennial herb, rhizomatous and method to deal with this problem is to stoloniferous, with prostrate remove it with a cup cutter and replant with branches and glabrous leaves bentgrass plugs. This management strategy aggregated at branch tips. It can 4mm is laborious but not successful because of reproduce both by seeds and veg- the constant invasion of this weed on put- etatively by short rhizomes and ting greens. One-third of golf greens on stolons (Fig. 2). Figure 2. Individual tillers of Cotula mexicana from some of the golf courses in the Sacramento Plant samples of C. mexicana sod samples collected on a Sacramento Valley Valley are infested. In the summer of 2000, were grown in the greenhouse putting green. At left, a tiller with attached rhizome the Department of Environmental Horticul- (Fig. 3) and plugs collected from and roots; center, a single tiller; and right, a ture at UC Davis collected plant samples the golf course were transplanted vegetatively reproduced secondary tiller. from the Haggin Oaks Golf Course, which onto the experimental green in had suffered a large infestation. Samples the Department of Environmen- were collected in May 2000 from golf tal Horticulture at UC Davis. Both the C. maniototo have been used for bowling greens, fairways and roughs and were grown greenhouse-grown and transplanted plants greens in New Zealand, but weed control is were treated with the difficult compared with grass (Evans, 1984). herbicide Weed-B- Infestations of C. mexicana on golf greens Gon, which contains in California seem to be increasing. This 10.60% mecoprop, plant is capable of out competing a low-cut 3.05% 2,4-D and bentgrass sod. Without appropriate man- 1.30% dicamba. The agement, Brass Buttons can become a seri- rate of application was ous pest on putting greens in the Sacra- diluted 25 times with mento Valley. deionized water. Both greenhouse-grown and Management recommendations transplanted plants 1. Remove existing large weed were killed after two patches on the golf green using a cup cutter weeks of herbicide ap- and replace them with bentgrass plugs. plication. However, Apply broadleaf herbicide over the golf seedlings emerged green to control small weed spots and seed- from the killed spots lings. after four weeks of her- 2. To prevent introduction of weeds bicide application (Fig. by foot and equipment from fairway and Figure 1. Dense, low growing patches of Cotula mexicana 4). The emergence of rough onto the golf greens use broadleaf adapted to close mowing found on putting greens in the weed seedlings after herbicides to control the weed sources on Sacramento Valley. the eradication of the the fairway and rough areas. existing weeds sug- 3. Brass Buttons seed begin germi- in the greenhouse. When the plants reached gests that seeds produced by the weeds nating in late March. Apply broadleaf her- flowering stage, they were checked for tax- under low mowing conditions were able to bicides on golf greens in April to kill the onomy, flower morphology and vegetative reestablish themselves after killing of the infesting seedlings. Monitor golf greens growth habits. Three species having simi- existing plants. through the year and apply herbicide if lar growth patterns were identified. They Plant species in the family Asteraceae, weed seedlings appear. were Cotula australis, Cotula mexicana, such as C. mexicana, C. australis, and and a species in the same family Leptinella filicula, are genetically variable Continued on page 8 Volume 7, Number1, Page 3 Winter 2003 EH Hosts Ag. Science Field Day for Local FFA Students Early on Saturday morning, March 1st, vines and groundcovers (see photo). In of which was donated by Sacramento’s thirty high school students descended on addition, various tools and budded or grafted Capitol Nursery. Grad student Jesse the EH department wearing the bright blue material had to be correctly identified. Af- Hoekstra and SRA Linda Dodge served as jackets of FFA and representing several ter a break for lunch, results were tabulated reasons judges for the plant judging portion local chapters of this agricultural education and individual and team awards were given of the contest. and leadership organization including out. The mission of FFA is to make “a posi- Livingston, Selma, Woodland, West Val- tive difference in the lives of young people ley and La Sierra. Their objective was to by developing their potential for premier participate in the Ornamental Horticulture leadership, personal growth and career suc- competition as part of Ag. Science Field cess through agricultural education.” There Day. are nearly 500,000 student members from Students began the day with a written all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin exam on general horticultural knowledge Islands. Originally founded in 1928, the with questions derived from CAN’s Retail organization changed its name in 1988 from Nurseryman’s Manual. They were then Future Farmers of America to the National judged on their transplanting skills, trans- FFA Organization to reflect its evolution in ferring marigold liners to one-gallon pots. response to expanded agricultural opportu- Next came the judging competition where nities encompassing science, business and students were required to rank four plants in technology in addition to production farm- each of the categories of trees, shrubs and ing. flats of impatiens. They then appeared FFA functions as one component of the individually before judges for each cat- Mary Rowan, an undergrad in the Agri- overall agricultural education programs in egory and explained the reasons for their cultural Management and Rangeland Re- the nation’s schools. Classroom teaching rankings. sources program, served as the overall co- with a practical approach and hands-on The final task of the day was to correctly ordinator of the event. EH grad students supervised agricultural career experience identify 100 items set out on greenhouse Shannon Still and Neil Mattson along with are the other components of the program. benches including species names of annu- several volunteers assembled the plants and For more information, visit FFA's website als, perennials, houseplants, shrubs, trees, other materials for the competition, much at: www.ffa.org GP Kat Anderson is Co-Editor of Important Work on Habitat Burning by Native Peoples A common misconception about the native peoples of North America is that they lived in harmony with nature in a wilderness that remained pristine until the arrival of Europeans. Omer C. Stewart, an anthropologist at the University of Colorado, was one of the first to recognize that Native Americans made significant impacts across a wide range of environments. They regularly used fire to manage plant communities and associated animal species through varied and localized habitat burning. In the 1950s, he summarized his findings in a manuscript entitled Forgotten Fires: Native Americans and the Transient Wilderness that has remained unpub- lished until now. Editors Henry T. Lewis, retired professor of anthropology at the University of Alberta, and M. Kat Anderson, ethnobotanist with the National Plant Data Center of the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (based in UCD’s EH department), were given access to Stewart’s work and have presented his findings in the context of current knowledge about native hunter-gatherers and their uses of fire. Stewart’s research shows that the North American landscape has been regularly shaped and renewed by the land and fire management practices of native peoples for thousands of years. Forgotten Fires: Native Americans and the Transient Wilderness by Omer C. Stewart was published by the University of Oklahoma Press in November 2002 and can be ordered at their website: www.oupress.com GP Volume 7, Number1, Page 4 Winter 2003

Popular New Plants for Your Garden by Linda Dodge

Visit any local garden center these days tings. Angelonia can also be used as a cut and you’re likely to be overwhelmed by the flower and is reported to have a soft scent. variety of colorful container plants, peren- nials and bedding plants offered for sale. Calibrachoa x hybrida- trailing petunia The fact that home gardening is now Calibrachoa is a genus in the Solan- America’s favorite pastime has motivated aceae (nightshade or tobacco family) that seed companies and vegetative propagators was separated from the genus Petunia in to develop a dizzying array of new cultivars 1985, when it was shown to contain four in the past several years. At last year’s more chromosomes. There are about 25 California Pack Trials, over four hundred species of Calibrachoa now recognized, new varieties were introduced to growers mostly native to South America. Since and garden center managers to add to their 1988, Japanese plant breeders have devel- palettes of plants consumers can’t live with- Calibrachoa oped several cultivars suitable for home out. In addition, the World Wide Web now garden use and gardeners have eagerly allows producers to make detailed cultural grown these plants since the mid 1990s. information easily available to the general Calibrachoa plants are winter hardy in public to ensure gardening success and re- consists of thirty species but only selections USDA Zone 7 so they can be planted in fall peat business. of A. angustifolia and A. integerrima have as well as summer in southern gardens. Three such genera of plants introduced been developed for home gardening. In As the common name “trailing petunia” to the gardening public in the 1990s that their native tropical and subtropical South suggests, Calibrachoa plants are smaller, have become wildly popular are Angelonia, America, plants are found naturally in damp more prostrate versions of their familiar Calibrachoa and Sutera (bacopa). With areas and are cultivated as perennials and relative. Flowers are funnel-shaped and up the help of many talented plant breeders, subshrubs. In the Northern Hemisphere, to one inch in diameter, occurring profusely these humble wildland plants have devel- angelonia is hardy in USDA zones 9 and 10 at nodes of the low-growing stems which oped into garden treasures in a selection of but should be treated as an annual else- can be up to twenty inches in length. Flower forms and flower colors. One horticulturist where. It is known by the common names color ranges from white and yellow to pink, who always has his finger on the pulse of “summer snapdragon”, “angelonia” and cherry, rose, red and blue. A variety with new plant development is Dr. Allen “angel flower”. Armitage of the University of Georgia. Angelonia plants reach a height of 18 Much of the information here is taken from to 30 inches and spread 1 to 2 feet across. his excellent 2001 reference, Armitage’s The stems are upright with simple, entire Manual of Annuals, Biennials and Half- leaves in an opposite arrangement. About Hardy Perennials published by Timber a dozen flowers occur in a terminal spike- Press. This is a fun read, by the way, as Dr. type inflorescence and each is up to 1 Armitage has a great sense of humor. inch across and slightly two-lipped re- sembling a small snapdragon. Flower Angelonia angustifolia- summer color ranges from white, pink and laven- snapdragon der to blue and purple. Angelonia is a genus in the The most appealing feature of Scrophulariaceae (snapdragon family) and angelonia is its tolerance of summer heat (and drought). It performs well in gar- den beds in full sun and will flower continuously under warm conditions. Sutera (Bacopa) These bushy, upright plants also work well in large containers. Plants may require cutting back at some point during terra cotta colored flowers is also available. the summer and can tolerate a 12 inch Full sun and long days are needed for maxi- pruning, after which they will branch and mum flowering. Little or no viable seed is rebloom in two weeks. produced. Angelonia plants require good drainage Calibrachoa plants are suitable for rock and benefit from one or two fertilizer appli- gardens and the front of planting beds. cations during the growing season. Be- Their trailing nature and smaller scale make cause plants produce little or no viable them excellent for use in containers and Angelonia seed, they are not likely to become weedy. Plants can be propagated by vegetative cut- Continued on page 5 Volume 7, Number1, Page 5 Winter 2003 New Diagnostic Guide for Abiotic Disorders of Landscape Plants Available from ANR by Linda Dodge

Ed Perry, Mike Henry and Pam Geisel. EH acteristics commonly mistaken for disor- alum and horticultural consultant Nelda ders are outlined. Case studies of actual Methany completes the team of expert au- problems, including their diagnoses and thors. treatments, are also presented to illustrate Illustrated with over 300 color photo- the process and challenges involved in plant graphs, most of this publication focuses on disorder diagnosis. the occurrence, symptoms and diagnosis of Abiotic Disorders of Landscape Plants- 20 specific abiotic disorders affecting land- A Diagnostic Guide is the perfect compan- scape plants. Problems related to environ- ion to ANR Publication 3359 Pests of Land- mental conditions include low and high scape Trees and Shrubs. Make room on temperature injury, sunburn, sunscald, high your bookshelves and order this compre- and low light, wind, air pollution, and light- hensive publication from ANR Communi- ning and hail injury. Cultural problems cations Services by calling 800-994-8849 consist of water and aeration deficits, nutri- or log on to http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu. ent deficiencies, salinity, specific ion toxic- GP ity, pH, girdling and kinked roots, and graft incompatibility. Man-made problems in- clude natural gas injury, mechanical injury and herbicide and other chemical phytotox- Do you know if the plants around you icities (see photo). Many helpful tables are are suffering from aeration deficit, specific included summarizing symptoms and ion toxicity, sunscald, girdling roots, graft causes. Tolerance of plant species to indi- incompatibility or herbicide phytotoxicity? vidual abiotic disorders is also outlined in These and other abiotic plant disorders, table format. caused by environmental or physiological Several other useful chapters are in- factors, can be responsible for as much cluded to supplement the information on damage to landscape plants as biotic (liv- specific disorders. Methods used in the ing) agents such as pests and diseases. process of diagnosing plant disorders are Now available from UC’s ANR Com- summarized including tools to aid in exam- munications Services as Publication 3420, ining plants and taking samples. A step-by- Abiotic Disorders of Landscape Plants- A step diagnostic strategy is outlined to sys- Diagnostic Guide is sure to be the definitive tematically ask the right questions and ac- reference for landscape professionals and quire the facts needed to render a good avid horticulturists on plant disorders caused diagnosis. Guidelines for collecting soil, Distorted leaves on rose (Rosa sp.) by nonbiological factors. Among the au- water and tissue samples and interpreting caused by winter application of thors are four UC Cooperative Extension laboratory test results are included. De- glyphosate (Roundup). Normal shoot is landscape farm advisors- Larry Costello, scriptions of naturally occurring plant char- on the right.

Continued from page 4 in the closely related genera of Sutera or Flowers can be white, lavender, scarlet hanging baskets. At their peak, plants Jamesbrittenia. Today’s cultivars are iden- or deep blue. Bacopa plants display best bloom so prolifically that the foliage is tified taxonomically as Sutera grandiflora, in containers, patio pots, window boxes barely visible. S. cordata, Jamesbrittenia breviflora or J. and hanging baskets where the masses of hybrida. The name “bacopa” has stuck, small flowers can be readily seen. They Sutera and Jamesbrittenia- bacopa however, and is now generally used as the work well as fillers in mixed container This trailing plant from South Af- common name for these species. plantings and can also be used as flower- rica first came on the market identified Used as an annual, bacopa has trailing, ing groundcovers. Give bacopa partial as a species of Bacopa or water hyssop wiry stems with heart-shaped, toothed or afternoon shade and keep well wa- in the Scrophulariaceae (snapdragon leaves. The flowers bloom from late spring tered. In hotter climates, plants may lose family). Further study revealed it, and through to frost, are star-shaped with five vigor and not flower as well. Plants are subsequently developed varieties, to be petals and usually less than one inch across. cold hardy to 28° F. GP Volume 7, Number1, Page 6 Winter 2003

Notes From the Chair...by Heiner Lieth EH Club Hosts keen interest in the prospects for horticul- ate Group. Tom is co-advised by Malcolm Career Night ture as their life’s work. The common North. The Environ- thread derived from all the presentations Kathren Murrell Stevenson, a doc- mental Horticul- was that a genuine love of plants is the key toral student in Plant Biology studying with ture Club, made up to success in any horticultural profession. Michael Barbour, was recently awarded a of undergraduate Chancellor's Teaching Fellowship. The and graduate stu- Picnic Day Set for Saturday, April 12 purpose of this program is to give outstand- dents, held their “Career Night” event in The EH Department will once again ing graduate students valuable experience early February, inviting a distinguished participate in this annual event showcasing in a variety of teaching activities. Kathren group of guests to speak about job opportu- the UC Davis campus for student families will assist Dr. Barbour with the Trees and nities in various horticultural fields. John and the public. Several guided tours of our Forests course next fall. GP Anderson of Hedgerow Farms in Winters research greenhouses will talked about the field of habitat restoration take place from 12:30 to and the growing demand for nurseries spe- 3:30 pm. The mini-semi- cializing in producing plants for restora- nars by faculty and staff tion. Kathleen Socolofsky of the Davis are back by popular de- Arboretum spoke of her experiences in the mand. The EH Club will field of public garden management. EH be selling T-shirts and giv- alum John Lichter (MS 1990) related his ing away bedding plants. adventures as a consulting arborist. Don We hope to see you there! Shor of Redwood Barn Nursery in Davis (EH grad in 1980) spoke of the trials and Student tribulations of the retail nursery business. Accomplishments Another EH grad John Nitta (1975) of Michael Barbour has High Ranch Nursery in Loomis talked about had two of his graduate students pass their Career Night host Shannon Still (in front) the challenges of running his large whole- oral qualifying exams to advance to candi- passes out EH T-shirts to the evening's sale nursery business in an area experienc- dacy for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy speakers (from left to right) John Nitta, ing rapid urban development. A question this winter. Fabrice De Clerck is in the John Anderson (behind Shannon), Don and answer session followed and the stu- Geography Graduate Group and Tom Shor, Kathleen Socolofsky and John dents’ thoughtful questions revealed their Rambo is a member of the Ecology Gradu- Lichter.

Environmental Horticulture Seminar Series, Spring Quarter 2003 Mondays 4:10 pm to 5:00 pm, Environmental Horticulture Dept. Room 146

DATE TITLE SPEAKER Mar 31 Damage and Recovery of Sierra Nevada Conifers Ed Royce Environmental Horticulture, UC Davis and from Surface Forest Fire Kennedy Meadows Field Station Apr 7 Micropropagation, vitrification, and free radicals Luis Pedro Barrueto Cid Environmental Horticulture, UC Davis and EMBRAPA, Brazil Apr 14 Vegetative Propagation of Alstroemeria Species: Roy Sachs Professor Emeritus Environmental Horticulture, Some Success but Mostly Failure UC Davis Apr 21 Developing New Technology to Solve Perennial Michael Parrella Professor, Department of Entomology Insect Problems in Floriculture and Associate Dean, CAES, UC Davis Apr 28 Update on Nematode Management on Becky Westerdahl Nematology, UC Davis Ornamentals May 5 Biogeography of the Korean Peninsula - Woo-Seok Kong Professor and Chair, Geography An Ancient and Diverse Flora Kyunghee University, Seoul, Korea May 12 High-nitrogen, disease-suppressant compost as Michael Raviv Head, Newe Ya’ar Research Center, ARO, a medium for container-grown crops Israel May 19 Sensor systems for counting and Michael Delwiche Bio. and Ag. Engineering, UC Davis sizing trees in commercial nursery fields May 26 (no seminar) Memorial Day June 2 Comparative Genomics in Conifers Kostya Krutovskii Institute of Forest Genetics, USDA/FS; Environ. Hort., UC Davis Volume 7, Number1, Page 7 Winter 2003 News from the Center for Urban Forest Research by Jim Geiger 10th Anniversary Celebration danger warning indicator re- The Center will hold a ceremony on wards implementation of Monday, April 7, 2003 to mark ten years of good landscape and struc- providing research on urban forest issues tural practices. ecoSmart is for the USDA Forest Service. The festivi- a web-based software pro- ties will begin at 12:30 pm with a short gram designed to evaluate ceremony to recognize the vision and inspi- trade-offs between different landscape prac- nia. These publications can be viewed on ration of those that made the success of the tices on residential parcels. It quickly dis- the Center’s website: http:// Center possible. Light refreshments will plays buildings and landscape features on a cufr.ucdavis.edu. then be served. graphical user interface. Components in- clude FireWise, WaterWise and Assessing Tree Canopy Cover Urban Heat Island Presentation Coming EnergyWise. A recently completed study of tree Soon The FireWise component allows users canopy cover in Davis, CA by Scott Maco Dr. Greg McPherson has been invited to assess the threat of fire. They can place and Greg McPherson suggests that 25% by the U.S. EPA to make a presentation their home on a lot and interactively add, tree canopy is an appropriate long-term during an urban heat island conference call remove, grow, and prune trees. A fire- target for Davis street and sidewalk sur- scheduled for March 18, 2003. Greg’s danger indicator warns them of the likeli- faces, and may be applicable to other com- presentation will cover several topics re- hood of structural ignition by changing from munities where the goal is to achieve a mix garding the mitigation of urban heat islands green (low), to yellow, to red (high) in of ages and species. The study demon- including “Strategically Planting Trees to response to changing amounts of radiant strates a simple and efficient way to quan- Conserve Energy” and “How to do Parking heat on the house. The FireWise tool is in tify a city’s total canopy cover as well as the Lots Right.” the beta-test stage, and could be used to amount of cover over streets and sidewalks. The call usually attracts 40-50 people train those conducting residential fire risk The process is a starting point for managers working in environment or energy offices, evaluations or as a web-based self-evalua- who wish to make informed decisions re- non-profits, and industry (cool roofing, as- tion tool in conjunction with work by local garding the benefits provided by street trees. phalt and concrete). Typically 3-4 main FireWise councils. Field testing will begin The full article can be viewed at the Journal speakers participate and then some time is this spring in various locations in the West. of Arboriculture website (http://joa.isa- set aside for people to voluntarily provide arbor.com) in the November 2002 issue updates. New Tree Guide in the Works (Vol. 28, No. 6). To participate in the call contact Eva The newest in the series of community Wong, Heat Island Reduction Initiative tree guides will be available by Arbor Day Staff Changes (HIRI), U.S. Environmental Protection of 2003 (April 25). Titled Northern Moun- Leaving – Dr. Lisa deJong’s last day at Agency, 202-564-3528. tains and Prairies Community Tree Guide, the Center was February 7th. She was a fire this new publication is designed for the research scientist who did pioneering work Redesigned Website Cold and Snowy climate region covering in South Lake Tahoe. She was with the The Center’s website has a new look. the northern tier of states from eastern WA, Center only 18 months, but made signifi- Be sure to check it out at http:// OR and AK to ND, SD and NE. Portions of cant contributions in furthering the under- cufr.ucdavis.edu. The website contains KS, CO, NM, UT, NV and CA are also standing of the human side of fire manage- descriptions of current research, many pub- included. The tree guide will answer a ment in the urban/wildland interface. Some lications available in PDF format, staff in- number of questions about the benefits com- of her work is available on the Center’s formation and a calendar of upcoming pre- munity trees provide. What is their poten- website at http://cufr.ucdavis.edu. sentations along with much more of interest tial to improve environmental quality, con- Leaving – Sabrina Mathis, an ecology to urban forest issues. serve energy and add value to communi- intern, is also leaving the Center. Her last ties? Where should residential and public day was February 21st. Sabrina was hired Demo of New Computer Fire Tool is a trees be placed to maximize their cost- under the 1890 Scholarship Program in Big Hit effectiveness? Which tree species will mini- 1995 and completed her undergraduate work The Center’s new ecoSmart Design Soft- mize conflicts with power lines, sidewalks before coming to us in 1998. She recently ware FireWise Tool was a big hit at the New and buildings? fulfilled her contractual obligations under Orleans National Fire Plan meeting in Janu- This will be the fifth in the series of tree the Scholarship Program and has decided ary. Dr. Greg McPherson demonstrated the guides that already includes the Rainy North- she needs a new focus in her life. Sabrina’s tool – stressing the interactive capability of west climate region of western WA and OR, long-term goals include law school in the the computer-based tool that allows users to and the Inland Empire, South Coast and San fall of 2004, and some foreign travel. GP test various firewise techniques. A fire- Joaquin Valley climate regions of Califor- Volume 7, Number1, Page 8 Winter 2003

Continued from page 2 References Lloyd, D.G. 1981. Evolution of pros- trate and erect habits in Cotula section Leptinella and other New Zealand plant groups. New Zealand Journal of Botany 19: 247-253. Evans, P.S. 1984. The use of Cotula for bowling greens in New Zealand. Journal of Sports Turf Research Institute. 60: 37-44.

Acknowledgements Mr. Larry Johnson, Superintendent of North Ridge Country Club in Fair Oaks, and Mr. Daniel A. Giammona, Superinten- dent of Haggin Oaks Golf Complex of Capi- Fig. 4. Occurrence of seedlings of Cotula Figure 3. Plants of Cotula mexicana tal City Golf in Sacramento assisted in the mexicana on the experimental putting grown in a greenhouse exhibiting a survey of the weed infestations and sample green after the existing vegetation was prostrate growth habit with glabrous collections on the golf courses. Ellen A. eradicated by a broadleaf herbicide. pinnate leaves and small flower heads (2 Dean and Jean Shepard of the UC Davis mm in diameter). Herbarium provided assistance in plant iden- tification. GP

For free subscription, contact Linda Dodge, Managing Editor Environmental Horticulture Dept., University of California, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616 Phone: (530)752-8419; Fax: (530)752-1819; E-mail: [email protected] GP Download back issues of Growing Points (PDF format): http://envhort.ucdavis.edu

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