$5.00 (Free to Members) VOL. 35, NO. 1 • WINTER 2007 FREMONTIA JOURNAL OF THE CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY FLORA OF THE WHIPPLE MOUNTAINS— THE “NOSE” OF CALIFORNIA INVASIVEINVASIVE PLANTSPLANTS IMPACTIMPACT TRADITIONALTRADITIONAL BASKETRY PLANTS NATIVE GRASSES IN THE GARDEN REMEMBERING GRADY WEBSTER BUCKEYEVOLUME 35:1, AS WINTERBONSAI 2007 AN ORCHID IN SAN DIEGO CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY FREMONTIA CNPS, 2707 K Street, Suite 1; Sacramento, CA 95816-5113 Phone: (916) 447-CNPS (2677) Fax: (916) 447-2727 VOL. 35, NO. 1, WINTER 2007 Web site: www.cnps.org Email: [email protected] Copyright © 2007 MEMBERSHIP California Native Plant Society Membership form located on inside back cover; dues include subscriptions to Fremontia and the Bulletin Bart O’Brien, Editor Bob Hass, Copy Editor Mariposa Lily . $1,500 Family or Group . $75 Benefactor . $600 International . $75 Beth Hansen-Winter, Designer Patron . $300 Individual or Library . $45 Brad Jenkins, Jake Sigg, and Carol Plant Lover . $100 Student/Retired/Limited Income . $25 Witham, Proofreaders STAFF CHAPTER COUNCIL CALIFORNIA NATIVE Sacramento Office: Alta Peak (Tulare) . Joan Stewart PLANT SOCIETY Executive Director . Amanda Jorgenson Bristlecone (Inyo-Mono) . Sherryl Taylor Development Director/Finance Channel Islands . Lynne Kada Dedicated to the Preservation of Manager . Cari Porter the California Native Flora Dorothy King Young (Mendocino/ Membership Assistant . Christina Sonoma Coast) . Lori Hubbart The California Native Plant Society Neifer East Bay . Elaine P. Jackson (CNPS) is a statewide nonprofit organi- El Dorado . Amy Hoffman zation dedicated to increasing the un- At Large: Kern County . Lucy Clark derstanding and appreciation of Califor- Fremontia Editor . Bart O’Brien Los Angeles/Santa Monica Mtns . nia’s native plants, and to preserving Betsey Landis them and their natural habitats for fu- Senior Conservation Botanist . Marin County . Bob Soost ture generations. position open Milo Baker (Sonoma County) . CNPS carries out its mission through Liz Parsons Rare Plant Botanist . Kristi Lazar science, conservation advocacy, educa- Mojave Desert . Tim Thomas tion, and horticulture at the local, state, Senior Vegetation Ecologist . Julie Monterey Bay . Rosemary Foster Mount Lassen . Catie Bishop and federal levels. It monitors rare and Evens endangered plants and habitats; acts to Napa Valley . Marcie Danner save endangered areas through public- Vegetation Ecologist . Anne Klein North Coast . Larry Levine ity, persuasion, and on occasion, legal East Bay Conservation Analyst . North San Joaquin . James Brugger action; provides expert testimony to Orange County . Sarah Jayne Lech Naumovich government bodies; supports the estab- Redbud (Grass Valley/Auburn) . lishment of native plant preserves; spon- Legislative Advocate . Vern Goehring Marie Bain Riverside/San Bernardino counties . sors workdays to remove invasive plants; Legal Advisor . Sandy McCoy and offers a range of educational activi- Katie Barrows Sacramento Valley . Diana Hickson ties including speaker programs, field Website Coordinator . Mark Naftzger San Diego . Dave Flietner trips, native plant sales, horticultural CNPS Bulletin Editor . Bob Hass San Gabriel Mtns . Gabi McLean workshops, and demonstration gardens. San Luis Obispo . Lauren Brown Since its founding in 1965, the tradi- BOARD OF DIRECTORS Sanhedrin (Ukiah) . Vishnu tional strength of CNPS has been its Santa Clara Valley . Judy Fenerty Brad Jenkins (President), Sue Britting dedicated volunteers. CNPS activities Santa Cruz County . Brett Hall are organized at the local chapter level (Vice President), Steve Hartman (Trea- Sequoia (Fresno) . Peggy Jones where members’ varied interests influ- surer), Lynn Houser (Secretary). At Shasta . Susan Libonati-Barnes ence what is done. Volunteers from the Large: Charli Danielsen, Dave Flietner, Sierra Foothills (Tuolumne, Cala- 33 CNPS chapters annually contribute Diana Hickson, Arvind Kumar, David veras, Mariposa) . Patrick Stone in excess of 87,000 hours (equivalent South Coast (Palos Verdes) . Magney, Spence McIntyre to 42 full-time employees). Barbara Sattler CNPS membership is open to all. Tahoe . Michael Hogan PROGRAM DIRECTORS Members receive the quarterly journal, Willis L. Jepson (Solano) . Fremontia, the quarterly statewide Bul- CNPS Press . Holly Forbes position open letin, and newsletters from their local and Gail Milliken Yerba Buena (San Francisco) . CNPS chapter. Mark Heath Conservation . position open Horticulture . Peigi Duvall MATERIALS FOR PUBLICATION DISCLAIMER: The views expressed by authors published Posters . Bertha McKinley CNPS members and others are wel- in this journal do not necessarily reflect and Wilma Follette come to contribute materials for publi- established policy or procedure of CNPS, cation in Fremontia. See the inside back Rare Plants . position open and their publication in this journal should cover for manuscript submission in- not be interpreted as an organizational Vegetation . .Todd Keeler-Wolf structions. endorsement—in part or in whole—of their ideas, statements, or opinions. Printed by Premier Graphics: www.premiergraphics.biz FREMONTIA VOLUME 35:1, WINTER 2007 CONTENTS THE “NOSE” OF CALIFORNIA: AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE STATE’S PLANT DIVERSITY by Sarah J. De Groot........................................................ 3 The Whipple Mountains are the easternmost part of California. Surprisingly, this distinc- tive mountain range had not been the subject of a thorough botanical inventory until Sarah De Groot undertook the project for her recent Master’s thesis. In this article she shares some of her discoveries about unusual plants from the “nose” of California. INVASIVE PLANTS IMPACT CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANTS USED IN TRADI- TIONAL BASKETRY by Jeanine M. Pfeiffer & Elizabeth Huerta Ortiz .......... 7 This innovative article connects the biological issue of invasive species to the cultural concerns of traditional basketry. Invasive plants are causing many problems affecting both production and producers of traditional baskets—from elimination of habitat for desirable plants to health problems for artisans caused by chemicals used to control weedy species. NATIVE GRASSES IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GARDENS by Barbara Eisenstein .................................................................................. 14 Interest in gardening with perennial grasses continues unabated. These grasses can and should be a part of all gardens as they bring movement, form, and texture to the landscape. The author-photographer of this issue’s photo-essay demonstrates the beauty and dynamic nature of these easily grown and essential components of Southern California gardens. GRADY LINDER WEBSTER: 1927-2005 by Marcel Rejmánek ................... 16 Grady Webster was a prominent botanist at the University of California, Davis, for 39 years. He is widely known and published in botanical circles, particularly for his work with the Euphorbiaceae (including a highly regarded monograph of the genus Phyllanthus, and a realignment of the family into five subfamilies). Grady also inspired many students with his field-based California Floristics class. GROWING NATIVES: CALIFORNIA BUCKEYE AS BONSAI by Elmer Grossman ...................................................................................... 19 One might not expect that California buckeye would be a satisfactory bonsai subject, but the author shares his 40 years of experience with such a specimen. This discussion of such an unusual horticultural use of one of our native plants may lead others to further sharing and experimentation. RE-VISITING THE “SPARKLERS” OF CORTE MADERA by Lucy A. Dueck ...20 The 1980 discovery of a disjunct population of Spiranthes porrifolia in San Diego County leads the author on a hunt to find these plants. BOOKS BRIEFLY: WEEDS IN CALIFORNIA ............................................... 22 BOOK REVIEW .......................................................................................... 23 THE COVER: A California barrel cactus (Ferocactus cylindraceus var. cylindraceus) blooms brightly in front of the dark volcanic Savahia Peak, on the outwash plain southwest of the Whipple Mountains. Photograph by S. De Groot. VOLUME 35:1, WINTER 2007 FREMONTIA 1 THE “NOSE” OF CALIFORNIA: AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE STATE’S PLANT DIVERSITY by Sarah J. De Groot ocated in southeast San Bernar- by steamboat, wrote, “Among the Mojave and Arizona Sonoran flo- dino County, on the eastern- group of fantastic peaks that sur- ristic regions, it is no surprise that most portion (“the nose”) of mount the chain is a slender and plants from all three floristic ele- California, the Whipple Moun- perfectly symmetrical spire that fur- ments are represented. In spite of Ltains are home to California’s larg- nishes a striking landmark, as it can this interesting biogeographic situ- est population of saguaro cactus be seen from a great way down the ation, few botanical collections had (Carnegiea gigantea; Brum 1973) and river in beautiful relief against the been made beyond roadside col- many other interesting plants (see sky” (Ives 1861, 55). This spire is lecting. Figure 1). The mountains range from presently called Monument Peak From this study, 383 different 102 to 1,259 meters (335 to 4,131 (see Figure 3). kinds of plants were recorded from feet) in elevation, and habitats in- The study area for this floristic the mountains. This included five clude windy ridges, washes, volca- project encompassed about 129,500 natural hybrids. Non-native