Dedicated to the preservation of California's native plants
The mission of the California Native Plant Society is to increase understanding and appreciation of California’s native plants and to conserve them and their natural habitats through education, science, advocacy, horticulture and land stewardship.
Hot Topics
Clarkia speciosa subsp. immaculata (Pismo Clarkia)
I chose the Pismo clarkia because it grows in the area surrounding Mardi’s home and nowhere else. It grows naturally in about 20 occurrences from the southern Edna Valley, south through the foothills and valleys of the Southern San Luis Range, ending east of Pismo Beach and Arroyo Grande (Huasna Valley).
read moreWhy Grow Natives from Seeds?
by Marti Rutherford. You have probably wandered the nursery isles looking for the ever more popular native plants being sold. Do you ever consider how those plants have been propagated? Many, if not most, native plants in the nursery trade are propagated by cuttings. The nursery person knows what the plant will look like and behave like
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Five Morros Field Trip
Join us for a day on the Morros and learn which plants grow on each of these volcanic plugs. Ascend one, two, or more.
read moreSpring Wildflowers in Northern Santa Barbara County
2018 has been a surprisingly good year for spring wildflowers. Except for the January deluge and some good March storms, this has been a fairly dry year. In late September, 2017, several spot fires burned along Rucker Rd. just north of Mission Hills near Lompoc, California. In spite of sparse rainfall, there has been encouraging regrowth on trees and shrubs and blooming of wildflowers.
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Seed Exchange
I know it seems too early to be thinking seeds. Many of my plants are just starting to bloom. I just wanted to remind those who are interested that the seed exchange is going to take place ate the October meeting before the main program. Let a few of your garden...
read moreGardening Corner
A Commentary by John Nowak, Plant Sale co-Chairperson
The other day, while checking out at the grocery store, the cashier noticed my CNPS hat and asked me, “How do you become an environmentalist?” I thought for a moment and then I told him “I would start at home.”
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Plant Associations and the Geology of the Morros
What you are seeing is a display of the underlying geology manifested in the soils that lie above the bedrock. The browning grasslands are floored with ‘melange’ of the Franciscan Formation, a unit composed of sheared shale and bits and pieces of the ancient seafloor that were squished into a subduction zone… kinda like what happens if you try and push a slice of pizza under a door.
read moreFroom Ranch Opinion, Neil Havlik
Submitted to SLO Tribune At the San Luis Obispo city Planning Commission meeting of Jan. 24 regarding the proposed continuing care facility known as Villaggio at the Froom Ranch, several commissioners wondered aloud if the project was not “a good project in the wrong...
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Pigs Attack the Saltmarsh of Morro Bay… again
Wild pigs are again active in Morro Bay, causing damage while rooting for the tuberous reeds in the brackish freshwater seep zones close to the high tide line. This time they are at Shark Inlet. We last saw them in 2015 on both sides of the South Bay Boulevard bridge, and neither of the locations appear to have recovered.
read moreEvent Calendar
- 0404.May.Thursday
A Photographic Journey of California Lupines with Stuart Wilson
http://cnpsslo.org/event/a-photographic-journey-of-california-lupines-with-stuart-wilson/SLO Vets Hall801 Grand Ave, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401, USACHAPTER MEETING MAY 4TH IS OUR NEXT MEETING
A Photographic Journey of California Lupines
Stuart Wilson has long held a love and fascination of the genus Lupinus. After many springs spent photographing our local species, he decided to embark on a project to photograph every species and variety (104) found in California. Traveling throughout the state in 2015 and 2016, he has reached his goal (with a few noteworthy exceptions). He will give an overview of the great variety of forms found in the genus with tips on identification.
Stuart Wilson has been interested in photography since high school. After college in Orlando, Florida, he moved to Santa Barbara to study at Brooks Institute. He has traveled extensively in pursuit of nature subjects such as insects, amphibians and reptiles, and other small animals. He markets his photography through Science Source, a stock agency based in New York. He produced most of the photographs for Joan Lentz’s book. A Naturalist’s Guide to the Santa Barbara Region. He is a past president of Channel City Camera Club in Santa Barbara. Visit Stuart’s website to get a taste of the beautiful photographs featured in his talk.
LUPINE WORKSHOP ADDED PRIOR TO MEETING – COME AT 6PM TO ATTEND THE WORKSHOP
The CNPS monthly meeting Thursday, May 4 at the San Luis Obispo Veterans Hall will kick off with a workshop from 6:10 to 7:00 pm on lupine identification led by Dr. Dave Keil.
Our county is home to a diversity of Lupinus species, two of which grow nowhere else. Dave will give a quick intro to lupine features, and participants will then have the opportunity to try out the draft treatment on Lupinus from the nearly completed second edition of The Vascular Plants of San Luis Obispo County, California. Bring your hand lenses!
June is bringing a crammed-full sales table to the May meeting. Think of all those birthday gifts you have to buy, all your ugly T-shirts that need replacing, the thank-you gift to your maiden aunt, and the financial support you wish to give CNPS.
NEW ITEM JUST IN TIME FOR SUPERBLOOM. As well as the downloadable version, we have a CD with two versions of the program available at the sales table
- 1313.May.Saturday
Indian Knob on the Guidetti Ranch
http://cnpsslo.org/event/indian-knob-on-the-guidetti-ranch/Guidetti Ranch268-366 Indian Knob Rd, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401, USASaturday, May 13, 9:00 am, Indian Knob on the Guidetti Ranch with ECOSLO
Hike with a docent from the SLO Stewards Program to Indian Knob at Guidetti Ranch in the hills just south of the city of San Luis Obispo. This is a hike is one that can only be done with a docent since it is a private ranch under a conservation easement, and we only do it three or four times a year. Hopefully during the hike, we will see the two endemic flowers which the ranch has on it – the Indian Knob Mountain Balm and the Pismo Clarkia.
We will meet at 9:00 A.M. to carpool to the ranch, since there is not very much parking at the entrance to the ranch. This is a moderately strenuous hike, is approximately eight miles with an approximate 600 feet gain in elevation. The last half mile or so to Indian Knob the trail is very overgrown, so be prepared for some bushwacking. Since all of the hikers are required to stay with the docent, you will not be able to turn back whenever you want, so you must be prepared to hike the full eight miles.
Bring water, sunscreen, and a lunch with you; wear sturdy shoes; and be prepared to get back to our cars about 2:00. Also, since this is on private property, no dogs are allowed.
Only 20 people are allowed on this hike, so you must email Carolyn Huddleston, who is a volunteer with ECOSLO (the Environmental Center of San Luis Obispo) to reserve a spot; her email is carolyn.j.huddleston@gmail.com. If you are unable to go with us this time, you can email Carolyn and get your name put on the notification list for the next hike at the Guidetti Ranch, and she will email you the next time one is planned.
- 1414.May.Sunday
Arroyo de la Cruz & North County Bluffs
http://cnpsslo.org/event/arroyo-de-la-cruz-north-county-bluffs/Spencer's Market, Morro Bay2650 Main St, Morro Bay, CA 93442, USASunday, May 14th, 9:00 am, Arroyo de la Cruz, North SLO County.
Join us for this Mother’s Day visit to one of the “hottest” spots for botanical diversity in San Luis Obispo county. Our leader D.R. “Doc” Miller will take us to see the unique species located on these coastal bluffs. The Arroyo de la Cruz area features a variety of plant communities and a number of endemic and rare plants found only in this relatively small area.
Meet at the Elephant Seal Overlook (first entrance on the left going north) at 9:00 am. The field trip will last roughly 3 hours. Be sure to bring water, snacks, sturdy shoes, sunscreen, a hat, and layered clothing, as needed.
For those wanting to carpool from the south, meet in the parking lot of Spencer’s Market in Morro Bay (2650 Main Street) at 8:30 am.
For more information, please contact: Bill Waycott, (805) 459-2103, bill.waycott@gmail.com.
- 1616.May.Tuesday
Growing Grounds Farm Plant Sale
http://cnpsslo.org/event/growing-grounds-farm-plant-sale-2/Growing Grounds Farm Wholesale Nursery3740 Orcutt Rd, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401, USAGrowing Grounds Farm is a non-profit wholesale nursery located in San Luis Obispo. Growing Grounds offers California natives, Mediterranean perennials, succulents, restoration and mitigation plants, a wide variety of grasses, and a selection of perennial herbs.
Growing Grounds Farm is a wholesale nursery and does not sell directly to the public except on the 3rd Tuesday of each month from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m
- 2020.May.Saturday
DANA Adobe Naturefest
http://cnpsslo.org/event/dana-adobe-naturefest/Dana Adobe671 S Oakglen Ave, Nipomo, CA 93444, USAWe hope to see you there
![By Andy Murray (New Zealand honey bee on clover) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](http://cnpsslo.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Honeybee_on_clover_New_Zealand.jpg)
Native Plants
