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.

Dedicated to the preservation of California's native plants

Fiscalini Ranch, January, 2019. Cambria, California. Marlin Harms.

Hypogymnia sp., Tube Lichen. Marlin Harms.

Phaeolus schweinitzii, Dyer’s Polypore.
Marlin Harms.

Mycena purpureofusca, Cone-dwelling Mycena. On cone of Monterey Pine, Pinus radiata. Marlin Harms.

Coastal Lichens on Rock–Caloplaca & Acarospora.
Marlin Harms

Gymnopilus spectabilis, Laughing Gym, After Showers. Marlin Harms.

Hot Topics

Succulent Smuggling Comes to the Central Coast

Last spring, the story of a Dudleya smuggler in Mendocino County hit the news when an observant person noticed something odd while waiting in line at the local post office. (Here's a link to one of the news outlets covering that story.) Now we have our own case of...

Maintaining Garden Tools

February is pruning month and with all the rain its time to get out the pruning tools. A dull, unsharpened tool can be dangerous to use so it is wise to sharpen them before use. Some general rules about sharpening tools. First, always wear gloves when sharpening...

Winners and losers under the impact of intense drought

As we have just experienced an intense and prolonged drought, a team of scientists has just published in Nature Climate Change Letters an analysis of impacts in the Carrizo Plain. They quantified the responses of 423 species of plants, arthropods, birds, reptiles and...

Wildflowers of San Luis Obispo 2nd Edition

The Revised and Expanded 2nd Edition of our wonderful Wildflowers of San Luis Obispo, California has arrived just in time for the holidays! 20 new plants have been added and the SLO City open space map has been updated including trailhead directions. The new cover photograph of Woolly Blue Curls with the distant view of an oak studded grassy hillside puts you on our Central Coast.

European Beachgrass (Ammophila arenaria)

Ammophila arenaria is in the Poaceae family. It is native to northern Europe and
spread from plantings from the late 1800s to the late 1900s. Andrea Pickart has
written that European beachgrass is the most pervasive exotic plant species
currently threatening coastal dunes on the west coast of the U.S. and is invasive in
every major dune system from Santa Barbara County …

Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolium)

Toyon, Heteromeles arbutifolium is a wonderful, hardy, native California evergreen shrub. It can be a good screen in the yard, growing up to 6 feet fairly quickly. It tolerates soils from serpentine to clay, to sand. It is not as flammable as other chaparral shrubs. It is a great forage plant for bees, butterflies, and …

Help is needed at the sales table

We could use some help behind the counter at some of our meetings and events. You can be as involved as you like: selling and writing receipts, report on the sales after the meeting, even order books. Please consider a few hours to keep us operating!

Event Calendar

< December

< 2019 >

January

February >

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
December	December	1	2	3	4	5
6 Fiscalini Ranch Preserve Fiscalini Ranch Preserve 9:00 am-12:00 pm 01-06-2019 Windsor Blvd Cambria 1820 Windsor Blvd, Cambria, CA 93428, USA 1820 Windsor Blvd, Cambria, CA 93428, USA http://cnpsslo.org/event/fiscalini-ranch-preserve/ Join us for a look at the biology of this spectacular openspace overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Our visit will include a look at tidal effect zones, seasonal freshwater marshes and wetlands, as well as the Monterey pine forest (part of three remaining native stands in the world). Meet at 9am the south end of Windsor Blvd in Cambria. Be sure to bring your wildflower guides, adequate water and food, a hat, sturdy shoes, and dress in layers for the weather. For more information contact Bill Waycott, 805-459-2103. Participants should arrive with protective gear in the event of a possible rain shower	7	8	9	10	11	12 Annual Banquet Annual Banquet 5:30 pm-9:30 pm 01-12-2019 Morro Bay Veterans Memorial Building 209 Surf St, Morro Bay, CA 93442, USA 209 Surf St, Morro Bay, CA 93442, USA http://cnpsslo.org/event/annual-banquet/ Details here
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
27	28	29	30	31	February	February

Volunteer at the Hoover Herbarium

During the volunteer sessions at the Hoover Herbarium, people can take part in any number of activities. One of our primary responsibilities is mounting new specimens. This involves taking dried and pressed plants and glueing them to paper. When we mount plants, we do it in such a way that those specimens will last for hundreds of years. Each specimen is a physical record of what plants occurred where and when. Without this valuable information we wouldn’t know when a species goes extinct, expands or contracts its range, or where species occur. After mounting, the specimens are databased and geo-referenced. Then they are filed into the main collection. We have over 80,000 specimens at the Hoover Herbarium. We are also working on a SLO Voucher Collection, which will contain one representative specimen for each species in the county. Volunteers look through our specimens and pick the one that should be added to the Voucher Collection. Additionally, we are actively working on our moss and lichen collections. Volunteers can choose what aspects of the work they would like to participate in. Any and everyone is welcome. The Hoover Herbarium is located on the 3rd floor of the Fisher Science Building (33) in rooms 352 and 359.

Starting Sept 18th, the herbarium volunteers sessions will be Mondays from 3-5 pm and Fridays 9 – 1.

Parking permits are required on campus Monday through Thursday, 7:00 am through 10:00 pm; and Friday, 7:00 am through 5:00 pm. You can either buy a $6 day pass, a $4 3-hr pass, park in a metered space, ride the bus, or park off campus and walk in. Questions: email Jenn Yost at jyost@calpoly.edu

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