24 5 & 6 th 41th annual southern california botanists ... · poster session, mixer and banquet...
TRANSCRIPT
Volume 24 Number 5 & 6 September-December 2015
41th Annual Southern California Botanists Symposium
Back to the Flora: A Journey through Southern California
Saturday, October 10th, 2015
8am-5pm Pomona College-Seaver Auditorium
Poster Session, Mixer and Banquet at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden afterwards
See Included Program and Registration Form
A Note From the President
El Niño and a Climate of Hope
AS MEMBERS OF SCB, we look forward to a bright and floriferous future. Many of you are probably watching the developing El Niño weather pattern in the Pacific Ocean. Current models, as of early-August, predict that there is a greater than 80 percent chance that El Niño conditions will persist into the spring of 2016. While it is still too soon to predict what this will mean for Southern California weather, events like this in the past have led to above average precipitation and some of the region’s best shows of spring wildflowers.
If this winter proves to be wetter than average it will be time for us botanists to dust off our plant presses and cameras, and head to the nearest fields of wildflowers. As a native Californian, and long-time lover of our native flora, I don’t think it is too far of a stretch to consider our spring displays of wildflowers as one of the world’s finest natural treasures.
In El Niño and drought years alike, it is important to document California’s floristic diversity. This information can be used to educate the public about our state’s precious botanical heritage and to advocate for its protection. The many Southern California botanists currently working on regional and local floras provide a baseline of floristic knowledge and a tremendously important source of information for researchers and conservation advocates.
At this year’s SCB symposium, on October 10th in Claremont, we pay homage to the past efforts to document our botanical diversity and showcase a series of talks on current floristic projects. These talks will feature beautiful photos and rich information on a wide variety of habitats across Southern California. SCB is committed to providing a venue for the dissemination of floristic research, as the upcoming symposium and our recent publication of the Flora of the Verdugo Hills illustrates. I look forward to seeing you at this year’s symposium. -Nick Jensen
Additional Symposium Info
Student Travel Grant Up to ten, $100.00 travel grants will be awarded to students in need of financial assistance to attend the 2015 symposium. An application is available on the Southern California Botanists website and grants will be prioritized based on student need. Additionally, student poster presentations qualify for free symposium registration. Visit socalbot.org for more info. Applications for student travel grants can be downloaded at:
http://socalbot.org/flyers/2015_SCB_Student_Stipend_application.doc
Applications should be sent to:
SCB Grant Opportunities
SCB is offering three grant opportunities in 2015. The Annual SCB Grant, the Susan Hobbs Grant, and the Alan Romspert Grant in Desert Botany.
NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID Claremont, CA PERMIT NO. 147
Southern California Botanists 1500 North College Avenue Claremont, CA 91711-3157
Address Service Requested
APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP ___Individual (family) $25.00
___Organization $35.00
(International Orders please add $10.00)
Please circle one: New Member or Renewal
Name____________________________________________
Address__________________________________________
Address__________________________________________
City______________________State_____Zip____________
Phone (optional) (___)___________________
Email address:_________________________________
In addition, I want to give $_________to help support SCB. Make checks payable to Southern California Botanists and mail to: Southern California Botanists Membership 1500 North College Ave Claremont CA 91711-3157
Leaflets of the Southern California Botanists
Editors: Thomas Huggins and Sarah Ratay
c/o Sarah Ratay, PhD Student UCLA Ecology and Evolutionary Biology ���621 Charles E. Young Drive South ���
Box 951606��� Los Angeles, CA 90095-1606
For membership information, please use the Claremont address to the left. Also, please visit our website at www.socalbot.org. This newsletter is copyrighted © 2015 by Southern California Botanists, Inc. All rights reserved. Please circulate or recycle Leaflets.
Proposals must be turned in by November 30th, 2015. Maximum funding is one thousand dollars ($1,000) per person per year. See www.socalbot.org for grant instructions.
SCB Annual Grant: SCB announces its annual program of grants to support member research in field botany (e.g. floristics, taxonomy and ecology). Preference will be given to research on Southern California native species.
Susan Hobbs Grant for Field Research: This year, SCB will be awarding a grant specifically for field research. This award is supported by funds raised in memory of Susan Hobbs, long-time member of SCB.
Alan Romspert Grant in Desert Botany. SCB will be awarding a grant specifically for desert botanical research. This award is supported by funds raised in memory of Alan Romspert, long-time board member and contributor to SCB.
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Monkey-Flowers & Flower Monkeys!
Pictured above, Naomi Fraga and her workshop participants in the San Gabriel Mountains during her SCB workshop “Monkey-Flowers in the Field” on June 7th. At least six unique monkey-flower species were seen despite the dry conditions, and a good time was had by all!
SCB Workshops
Oaks of Southern California Fred Roberts Saturday & Sunday, November 7-8, 2015
Oaks are an important element of the California landscape, and as group, are easily recognized.
Nineteen species and five additional varieties are known to occur in Southern California. However, telling them apart is not always easy. Many oaks are similar in appearance and, especially the white oaks, hybridize promiscuously. The goal of the class is to teach participants to recognize key characters, how to separate the Southern Californian species, recognize hybrid forms, and learn something about the systematics and the ecology of Southern California oak species through a combination of a projector, fresh material, dissecting scopes, and a field trip. For more information and registration:
Upcoming Workshops and Symposia
Santa Barbara Botanic Garden John C. Pritzlaff Conservation Symposium
Saving Rare Plants: What Will It Take to Meet the Challenge?
November 6, 2015, 10-4 pm, Santa Barbara CA
With 35% of California’s plants now rare or endangered and with the current extinction rate 1,000 times that of pre-human levels, one might ask is it even possible to save these plants? With 2,300 imperiled species, where do you start? And why is it worth our attention with so many other competing causes? This year’s speakers are addressing these questions with thoughtful answers, new scientific resources, and inspiring partnerships. The challenges and complexity of each species and each situation are met with unprecedented opportunities that give us hope for meeting the increasingly vital need to preserve our plant biodiversity. For more information and registration visit:
www.sbbg.org/classes-‐events/lectures-‐symposia
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Cal-IPC 2015 Symposium
October 28-31, San Diego Convention Center
Join fellow land managers, researchers, and conservationists to catch up on the latest findings in invasive plant biology and management. In addition to the customary focus on effective program planning and tools of the trade, our 24th annual Symposium will also feature a special one-day conference on
Habitat Conservation Planning and Invasive Plant Management. Don’t miss this rare opportunity! For more information and registration visit:
http://www.cal-ipc.org/symposia/index.php
Call for Board Nominations
Interested in serving on the Board of Directors for Southern California Botanists? The Board meets six times a year to plan fieldtrips, allocate funds, plan the yearly symposium, and evaluate grant proposals. The meetings run approximately 90 minutes and occur at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden in Claremont, CA usually from 7:30-9:00pm on Wednesdays. To encourage participation of Board Members throughout southern California, meetings can be attended remotely via Skype. Contact the co-editor of Leaflets at [email protected] by November 30th if you are interested in serving.
Information to be included in the next issue of LEAFLETS (Vol. 25, No. 1) should be sent to the editor by November 20th, 2015. Please email material to [email protected], or mail to: Sarah Ratay, PhD Student UCLA Ecology and Evolutionary Biology 621 Charles E. Young Drive South Box 951606 Los Angeles, CA 90095-160
Polypodium californicum Kaulf.
Family: Polypodiaceae
Illustration by Fred M. Roberts.