March 2016 HAPTER EETING C M Native Landscaping Tuesday, March 15 Field Trip Casa del Prado Room 101 Friday, March 25 to the infield at the Del Balboa Park Mar Racetrack; see page 5 for details. See Presentation: pages 3-4 for field trips to natural areas. Without Insects, Plants Would be Boring By Dr. Michael Wall The diversity of flower shapes, colors, and sizes inspires gardeners, artists, and wedding planners around the world. Similarly, the diverse and variable chemistry of plants creates the flavors and aromas that inspire chefs and perfumers. The love-hate relationship that insects have with plants drives this diversity. Floral aroma and color attract pollinators to help plants reproduce, and the pungency of some of your favorite herbs evolved as feeding deterrents. Join our See page 5 for more info. speaker, Dr. Michael Wall, to celebrate our six-legged friends and discover the ways they have shaped and have been shaped by plant diversity. WELCOME NEW 6:30 p.m. – Natives for Novices: BIRDSCAPING YOUR GARDEN - presented by Teresa Everett. MEMBERS! 7:00 p.m. – refreshments, browsing, & socializing. 7:30 p.m. – presentation. David Allen Martin Niwinski Chapter meetings are free and open to the public. Lauren Krase Patrick Sample Joyce Maschinski Justin Yee Dr. Michael Wall is the Curator of Entomology at the San Diego Natural History Museum. He RECEIVE YOUR NEWSLETTER O N L I N E got his undergraduate and Master’s degrees in Botany To receive your newsletter via email, please contact us at: before turning to “the dark [email protected] side” with a PhD in Entomology. If your email address has changed from what we He is a “stinkbug taxonomist” have on record, please let us know. by training, but is currently studying patterns of endemism and local insect biodiversity. Save the Date! BOARD MEETING Wednesday, March 2, 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. 4010 Morena THIRD ANNUAL Blvd, Suite 100, San Diego (Thomas Guide 1248 C4). CNPS-SD Executive Board meetings are always the first TOUR DE PLANTS Wednesday of the month, except when the 1st Wednesday falls on a holiday. Members are welcome to Otay Valley Regional Park attend as observers. To add an issue to the agenda, please email [email protected]. Saturday, April 16, CNPS Statewide 10:00 am Workshops 2016 Professional training for botanists, biologists, ecologists, and more THE 2016 SCHEDULE IS HERE! How to Photograph Flowering Plants Like a Pro Rare Plant Survey Protocols Measuring & Monitoring Plant Populations For Kids, Plant Nerds, and Everybody Wetland & Riparian Plant Identification Vegetation Rapid Assessment/Relevé Afterparty: About noon we’ll drive one mile to the Vegetation Mapping Applebee’s at 610 Palomar in Chula Vista for Introduction to Plant Identification (Northern CA, refreshments and camaraderie, where we will again Southern CA, SF Bay area) award the beloved…Prizes of Little or No Value! You Full details and registration information for each will undoubtedly win one! But if you fall in the lake, workshop will be posted online at you’re ineligible for a prize. So be careful out there! More details in the April newsletter. www.cnps.org/workshops as it become available. General Field Trip Information TECOLOTE CANYON Chapter field trips are free and generally open to the NATURAL PARK public. They are oriented to conservation, protection and enjoyment of California native plants and wildlife, and we adhere to all rules and guidelines for the lands March 6; 8 a.m. to noon. Meet at the on which we are visiting. In our arid region it is very Tecolote Nature Center on the first Sunday of important to be prepared for hiking on rugged and the month. Wear sun protection and steep terrain and during wide temperature ranges and comfortable walking shoes; bring water. Rain at rapidly changing conditions. Participants should wear 8 a.m. cancels. Directions: exit I-5 at study footwear and carry sufficient water, sun Seaworld/Tecolote exit. Go east (away from protection, food, clothing layers, personal first aid and Mission Bay) on Tecolote, past the ball fields, other supplies you may need. If you have any along the driveway to the very end. Free and questions about a particular field trip, please contact open to the public. Kay at [email protected] . Matilija Poppies grow in the Tecolote Nature Center’s garden. 2 invite you to learn about nature’s wonders in the hills FIELD TRIPS south of El Cajon. Just a quarter of a mile from Cuyamaca College, where Enjoy Nature’s Gardens! a historic steel railroad bridge crosses the Sweetwater March 5, Saturday 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Post- River, lies the northern edge of the huge San Diego National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge includes at least fire Re-growth in Black Mountain Open Space four different plant communities: chaparral, riparian with Restoration Volunteer Beth Mather. woodland, oak woodland, and coastal sage scrub. CNPS invites you to come see the return of life to land Former ranchland in the refuge is being restored to that burned in May 2014. We will identify plants and appropriate native species, including some uncommon discuss how to encourage the regrowth of coastal sage plants. Following cool-season rains, the plants start scrub species. flowering, and caterpillars will follow. We’ll look for dot-seed plantain (Plantago erecta), the plant that rare The majority of this area was degraded, with quino checkerspot butterfly caterpillars feed on. We’ll artichokes and exotic grasses, but the fire also burned also check on the population of San Diego ambrosia a large healthy patch of coastal sage shrub. On the (Ambrosia pumila), a beautiful ground-covering rare walk to the naturally recovering coastal sage scrub, we plant that is found along the Interpretive Loop Trail. will see degraded land where a small planting project is ongoing, and many non-native weeds are being controlled. We will walk through unburned and Quino checkerspot burned coastal sage shrub where a few aggressive butterfly (Euphydryas weeds is all the management that is needed. editha quino) on Our leader for the day is retired research biologist Beth dotseed plantain Mather. Beth volunteers in this area, removing exotic (Plantago erectaI). plants by various means, and leading volunteer planting parties. Last year at least twenty species of plants - phacelias (Phacelia spp.), wild cucumber (Marah macrocarpa), chia (Salvia columbariae), paintbrush (Castilleja sp.), and various lilies – were flowering among the shrubs that define the coastal sage scrub plant community: California sagebrush Meet at 10 a.m. in Rancho San Diego Town Center by (Artemisia californica), black sage (Salvia mellifera), the YMCA at the Southwest corner of Jamacha Road and flat-top buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum). and Campo Road (SR 94). From there we squeeze into Directions: Meet at 10 am at the Lusardi Creek as few cars as possible and ride to the little parking lot Trailhead in the NE corner of Black Mountain Ranch at the trailhead, about ¼ mile away. Community Park, located at 14700 Carmel Valley Road Wear closed-toed shoes and bring water and snacks. o o (Black Mtn. Park Way), 32 59'21”N, 117 7'48”W. We The Loop walk is on level, well graded paths. Some recommend getting to the event ten minutes early in people may want to do more exploring on the trail case the parking lot is full. If so, park in the Glider Port beyond the Loop. Boots are recommended to extend across Carmel Valley Road and walk to the trailhead. the hike where the trails get rugged. The paths are irregular so wear hiking footwear. Have e-Scavenger Hunt participants will use their smart sun protection, drinking water, and a notepad or phones to access a series of photos online to locate device so you can take notes. Birds may be active, so designated sites in the habitat. They will take habitat consider bringing binoculars if you have them. and plant photos that answer questions about those sites. Then they will post their photos to a website to March 19 Saturday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. - All produce a shared photo essay about the Loop Trail ages are welcome! San Diego Nat’l Wildlife Refuge environment. ‘Interpretive Loop Trail” by the Historic Bridge. For general event information: contact Kay Stewart at Extra activity: a Smartphone Photography [email protected]. Contact Ann Wellhouse e-Scavenger Hunt. The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s regarding the e-Scavenger Hunt at staff and CNPS member and educator Ann Wellhouse [email protected]. 3 Directions: Allow three hours travel time from I-8/I-5 Saturday, March 26, 10 a.m. – Sunday, in San Diego and adjust time based on your starting March 27, 4 p.m. point. From I-15 take SR 78 east. Follow directions to Ramona (15+ miles) and continue 15+ miles farther. Borrego Palm Canyon Campground - Anza-Borrego Just past Dudley’s Bakery turn left on SR 79. In about Desert State Park. 12 miles turn right on County S2. In 4.5 miles turn left San Diego County deserts received rain in January. onto S22. Meet at 10 a.m. to hike Hellhole Canyon at Good news because this late rain may extend the the Hellhole Canyon trail head in the Hellhole Canyon bloom until late March when we have a weekend parking lot before S22 joins Palm Canyon Drive. camp-out scheduled. What to bring: For Saturday or Sunday day trippers, On Saturday we will visit two east/west canyons, bring lunch and water. For overnight camping, bring Hellhole and Borrego Palm. It has been reported that your own camping gear and food plus lots of water and more water is flowing this year than they have seen in a dish to share for the pot luck dinner.