Volume 27 Number 5 & 6 September-December 2018

44nd Annual Southern California Botanists Symposium

Botany in the Hot Seat: Vegetation, Fire and Climate Change

Saturday, November 3, 2018

8am-5pm Pomona College-Seaver Auditorium

Poster Session, Mixer and Banquet at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden afterwards

See Included Program and Registration Form

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

With the recent wildfires throughout the state and the on-going drought searing southern California, now seems like a great time to host a symposium about the effects of drought and fires on California’s vegetation. We are working on putting together an exceptional list of speakers for the 44th annual SCB symposium Botany in the Hot Seat: Vegetation, Fire, and Climate Change. We will host presentations about the effects of fire and climate change on vegetation in the Mojave Desert, southern California walnut woodlands, coastal sage scrub, chaparral and pine forests.

I hope that all of you reading this will plan to attend the symposium. It’s a great event that brings together many of the best and brightest botanists in Southern California.

-Justin Wood, SCB President 2018

Additional Symposium Info

Student Travel Grants Up to ten travel grants will be awarded to students in need of financial assistance to attend the 2018

symposium. The amount of the award, up to $100.00, will vary based on the distance traveled. Applications will be 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 online at the SCB website. Completed applications should be sent to: students@socalbot.org.

Call for Poster Abstracts

The SCB symposium poster session will be held concurrently with the Mixer at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden in the East Classroom between 5:30 and 6:30pm. Posters should be no larger than 36" horizontally and 48" vertically. Poster Abstracts are due by September 14, 2018, and must be submitted electronically to posters@socalbot.org. The abstract is limited to 250 words and should be a single paragraph describing the poster. Submitters will be notified if their poster has been accepted by September 21, 2018. Please do not submit abstracts for posters that have been previously displayed at a SCB symposium. A free 1-year SCB membership will be awarded to the student with the best poster.

SCB Grant Opportunities

SCB is offering four grant opportunities in 2018. The Annual SCB Grant, the Susan Hobbs Grant, the Alan Romspert Grant in Desert Botany, and the SCB Conservation Grant. Proposals must be turned in by November 26th, 2018. Maximum funding is one thousand dollars ($1,000) per person per year. See www.socalbot.org for grant instructions. SCB Annual Grant: a grant 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: 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: 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.

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

Editor: Thomas Huggins & Nick Jensen

c /o Thomas Huggins 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 © 2018 by Southern California Botanists, Inc. All rights reserved. Please circulate or recycle Leaflets.

SCB Conservation Grant: a grant funded through a contribution by a SCB board member, to support projects and research that contribute to the conservation of rare plants in southern California.

Other Funding Opportunities Mary DeDecker Botanical Grant The Bristlecone Chapter of the CNPS is pleased to request applications for the Mary DeDecker Botanical Grant that promotes research and projects which increase understanding and appreciation of the flora of the Eastern Sierra region. The program will award grants of up to $1000 each. Anyone may apply, but we are especially interested in helping graduate and undergraduate college students as well as elementary, middle, and high school students. The application form is available at the Bristlecone Chapter website: www.bristleconecnps.org. Torrey Botanical Society Graduate Student Research Fellowship The Torrey Botanical Society supports graduate and undergraduate fieldwork with six annual rewards. Applications for the 2019 competition will be accepted beginning October 15, 2018. Details are available at the society’s website: www.torreybotanical.org.

Field Trip Reports

Crystal Cove

Despite some challenges organizing the field trip, nine of us met at the Trader Joes across from Crystal Cove State Park on the morning of May 12th. It was a cool and overcast morning. Ironically, it had even rained that morning and more then a few participants wondered if the trip might be canceled.

I had conducted rare plant surveys along the ocean bluffs at Crystal Cove State Park in the spring of 2017. The bluffs between El Moro Beach and Pelican Point present some of the most diverse rare plant sites in Orange County. On one small bluff ridge overlooking the beach north of the Historical District, I had seven (eight counting locally rare) species of rare plants. Some of the mesas were decked out in yellows and magentas with wildflowers.

It was quite a bit drier this spring. Most of the shrubs were leafless and hardly an annual was anywhere to be seen. Still, we had an enthusiastic group, including three wildlife agency staff hoping to catch a glimpse of the elusive Davidson’s saltbush (Atriplex davidsonii). I had relocated Davidson’s saltbush last spring along these bluffs after the plant had gone missing from Orange County for 85-years.

We didn’t see it. We did however, find Coulter’s saltbush (Atriplex coulteri), beach red sand verbena (Abronia maritima), California box thorne (Lycium californicum) and woolly sea-blite (Suaeda taxifolia), cliff spurge (Euphorbia misera), and one very tiny many-stemmed dudleya (Dudleya multicaulis). We also saw the Locally Rare plant species, beach saltbush (Atriplex leucophylla) and the Orange County Turkish-rugging (Chorizanthe staticoides subsp. chrysacantha). None of these rare plants were in large numbers (except the shrubs) and some individuals quite diminutive but participants went away satisfied.

Overall, wildflowers were largely absent, which was not a great surprise considering how dry conditions were. Regardless, the ocean, beach, and ragged coastal bluffs of Crystal Cove State Park always present a delightful backdrop to any field trip. I expect next year will be more favorable and I hope to make the field trip an annual SCB tradition.

-Fred Roberts

News and Notes

Endangered Bluecurls Makes a Comeback!

On June 1, 2018 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that Trichostema austromontanum subsp. compactum (Hidden Lake bluecurls) would be removed from the endangered species list because of successful recovery efforts. This small plant with blue flowers is known from only one location in the world, a seasonal lake in the San Jacinto Mountains. Naomi Fraga, SCB Secretary, and Director of Plant Conservation at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden in Claremont, California, says “Hidden Lake bluecurls is an example of a true conservation success story. This species benefits from conservation decisions and land management actions that are informed by the best available scientific research. Population surveys, monitoring and seed banking efforts conducted in partnership with California State Parks will continue to ensure that future generations will know and appreciate this little gem of a California native plant.”

Prior to being listed as threatened in 1998, this species was impacted by recreational uses including hiking, swimming and horseback riding. Since that time, the Service worked with the Mount San Jacinto State Park to reduce impacts. Additionally, RSABG conducted research on this species to increase understanding of its life history such as demography, germination requirements and seed bank viability.

Online Market Spurs Dudleya Poaching

Dudleya farinosa, a common succulent that grows on the coast of northern California and the central coast, have

been poached recently as popularity for the plant grows in east Asian online markets. Two counts of poaching have been successfully convicted by California Department of Fish and Wildlife law enforcement in Mendocino County and Big Sur. Coastal southern California has over 23 rare Dudleya taxa that could potentially become a target, so please keep a watchful eye out when you're out exploring our botanical treasures.

-Katie Gallagher

Upcoming Events, Workshops and Symposia

State of the Los Angeles Watershed Symposium

September 27, 8 am – 6:30 pm, Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles. Based on 10 years of monitoring, the Council for Watershed Health will report on the condition of the LA River, including water quality, habitat assessment, and aquatic health. Panel discussions will focus on identifying gaps in research, data, and regional efforts. For more information and registration please visit: www.watershedhealth.org. California Invasive Plant Council Symposium

November 7-10. Monterey. Join fellow land managers, researchers, and conservationists to catch up on the latest findings in invasive plant biology and management. This year’s theme “BioDiversity: Expanding Our Vision.” The symposium will feature the latest in invasive plant biology and management, with talks, posters, trainings, discussion groups, and field trips on projects addressing invasive plants from riparian, grassland, mountain, coastal, and aquatic/wetland habitats. For more information and registration visit: www.cal-ipc.org

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. Meetings are held at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden in Claremont, CA, and run approximately 90 minutes, from 7:30-9:00pm on Wednesdays. Meeting can also be attended remotely via Skype. Contact the co-editor of Leaflets at nickjjensen1@gmail.com by November 20th if you are interested in serving.

Plant Puzzler

Puzzle by N. Jensen

Clues

1. Number of corolla lobes 2. Ovary position 3. Inflorescence bract 4. Homologous to calyx 5. Lettuce genus 6. Receptacular bract 7. Liqueur made with artichokes 8. Type of fruit 9. Type of inflorescence Send the puzzle solution to nickjjensen1@gmail.com before November 20th. The winner will be selected at random from the pool of correct answers, and will receive their pick of cool SCB merchandise at the annual Symposium! Last puzzle solution: POACEAE! Congratulations puzzle winner Sarah DeGroot – see you at the merch table, Sarah!

Information to be included in the next issue of LEAFLETS (Vol. 25, No. 1) should be sent to the editor by November 20th, 2018. Please email material to huggins@ucla.edu, or mail to: Thomas Huggins, UCLA Ecology and Evolutionary Biology 621 Charles E. Young Drive South Box 951606 Los Angeles, CA 90095-160