Common Milkweed (kotolo) Asclepias eriocarpus

Common Milkweed (kotolo) Asclepias eriocarpus

common milkweed-imageThe cover drawing and article for this issue of the OBISPOENSIS was written and drawn by Alice Meyer. She was a very active member (and first Hoover Award Recipient in the 1970 and 80’s. She is the one who named our newsletter, OBISPOENSIS, and served as its editor (and typist) for the many years. She is also responsible for setting up the first successful chapter plant sales as well as recruiting our current Plant Sale Chair. She didn’t restrict herself to CNPS. She was also active in the Morro Bay Audubon to which she submitted a number of articles entitled “MEET A NATIVE PLANT’. Below is one of those articles. It was chosen since milkweeds are so important in the conservation of the Monarch butterfly and is being encouraged as a garden plant. Members of this genus serve as the primary food source for Monarch butterfly larva. While eating the milkweed leaves, the larva incorporate the milkweed toxins into their bodies and its these milkweed toxins that protect the Monarch larva from most predators.

I do need to mention a taxonomic update. In her first paragraph Alice places the milkweeds in the taxonomic family, Asclepiadaceae. This was where it was placed up until the 1990’s. Today the two families of milky sapped species [milkweeds (Asclepias) and dogbanes (Apocynum)] have been combined into the single family, Apocynaceae. Milkweeds are primarily temperate in distribution while the dogbane relatives are primarily tropical. Classical taxonomic work always accepted these two families as very closely related. Modern taxonomic studies (including DNA work) have discover the relationships to be intertwined which required their unification into a single family. A number of these formally separated but closely related families have now been combined.

-Dirk Walters

MEET A NATIVE PLANT Asclepias eriocarpus

Milkweed is a perennial plant of the milkweed family (Asclepidiaceae) family. The species shown is common in the Coast Ranges, Sierra Foothills south to Coastal Southern California from 100 to 2000 ft. The species shown is Asclepias eriocarpa (as-KLEP-i-as aor-ee-CARP-a). Monarch butterflies lay their eggs on this plant. The plants are erect and sturdy from 18-36” tall, with leaves 3-4” long, in whorls of 3 or 4 leaves. These are covered with fine hairs, which make them look and feel like flannel. Stems and leaves contain a milky juice, a form of latex.

The clusters of flowers appear in May at the ends of stems between the leaves. The structure of the flowers is very unusual. The corolla is cut into 5 petals. These are turned down so the hide the calyx. The stamens stalks are joined into a tube and the five ‘hoods’ are attached to the base of the column; this is the ‘crown’ of corona, and in this species the crown is pink or purplish. It is actually the nectary of the flower. The flower and its stem is creamy white. In the center of the flower is a fleshy column or tube formed by the stalks of the stamens, capped by the stigma, hiding the two tubes of styles leading down to the ovaries.

The pollen in each anther-cell is a waxy mass of different anthers and adjacent masses of different anthers are attached to a cleft gland. This resembles tiny saddle-bags, clipped together, and if a bee catches her foot in the cleft she may pull out and fly away with two pollen masses to fertilize another flower. To do this, she must get her foot caught in the cleft of another flower.

The probabilities of a bee catching a foot in the cleft of two different flowers, first to collect the pollen sacs, then to deposit them in another flower is so remote that this is called ‘lottery pollination’. When a flower is pollinated its stem enlarges and the petals fall off. The calyx remains at the base of the downy seed pod which becomes 3 to 4” long and the remains of the hoods hang on to the tip of the pod for time. When the pod is ripe, and dry, it splits lengthwise, revealing neat rows of seeds, each with a parachute of fine hairs attached. As soon as the these hairs are dry, the seeds will fly away on the wind to be dispersed. Flowers that have not been pollinated along with their stems, wither and fall away.

-Alice G. Meyer

Carrizo Plain April 1 2017

Carrizo Plain April 1 2017

Carrizo Plain April 1 2017

Images submitted by Nancy Chalk who attended the CNPS-SLO annual field trip to Shell Creek to view the Carrizo Plain wildflowers

Images submitted by Steve Schubert who attended the CNPS-SLO annual field trip to Shell Creek to view the Carrizo Plain wildflowers

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Just fill out the form below and include a link to your Google Drive or Dropbox images.

Please send only pictures you took yourself to observe copyright laws, and tell us where and when you snapped your photos. If you can, please also include the name of the flowers shown either in the title of the image or in your email.

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Wildflower post

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Carrizo Plain March 23 2017

Carrizo Plain March 23 2017

Carrizo Plain March 23 2017

Ken & Gina Robinson report from Elkhorn Road, March 17

“Found this specimen on March 17, 2017 along Elkhorn Road – Desert Candle (Caulanthus inflatus)”

 

Allison Gong also sent an image taken on the Carrizo Plain on March 23, this one of Fiddlenecks

“Hello, I took this picture of young fiddle necks (Amsinckia menziesii var. intermedia) on Soda Lake Road on 23 March 2017.”

M.O. sent this image of Soda Lake overlook, taken March 23

Yes, that blue is water in Soda Lake!  Baby Blue eyes (Nemophilia menziiesii) as reported earlier remain on the overlook hillside facing Soda Lake. Distant yellow swaths of color above Soda Lk. are presumably the same as that pictured above.
Sorry I cannot recall exactly which hillside we surveyed many years ago and found the greatest plant diversity of all our many many miles of transects across all of the NM.  It was near the entry into the NM, on R side of Soda Lk rd.  as one enters from Hwy 58.  A 3 member crew, Jeremy took the vehicle to the far side of the hill in order to pick us up at the end of our transect.  But then he rejoined us to ask what was taking us so long.  It was all the plant names we were recording–the longest list of any of our hundreds of plots–such reflected the diversity of plants at that transect.  There were a few grasses there, but mostly wildflower annuals

Nancy Chalk sent these images from Shell Creek Road, Highway 58

“Still building out. Not peaked. Creek is flowing nicely! The baby blue eyes are just emerging. The creek is flowing nicely. I saw a few wild alliums, baby blue eyes, purple owls clover and desert dandelion. I walked the creek as I look for lillies. Those are elusive! Anyway, besides gold fields and tidy tips and fiddlenecks … we are a couple weeks out from peak.”

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Carrizo Plain April 2006 and more

Carrizo Plain April 2006 and more

Carrizo Plain April 2006 and more

Richard Pradenas has shared his images from the Carrizo Plain

Many of these images are from April 2006, some from August or October to show contrast of seasons.

“I’m fairly certain I have the names of the flowers correct for all but #13 “WildPurpleGila”; if anyone can identify this please let me know.”

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Carrizo Plain Wildflower Report March 12 2017

Carrizo Plain Wildflower Report March 12 2017

Carrizo Plain Wildflower Report March 12 2017

HERE’S WHAT’S BLOOMING ON THE CARRIZO PLAIN THIS WEEK

Many people have asked when the wildflower season will peak. One guess is in two-four weeks, but we really can’t say precisely as each season is different.

“Still a little while until the peak, but getting better. Last year it was mid March to Late March but it varies year to year. Looking better each week and continued warm weather and rain will help.” – Carrizo volunteer Ben R.

In Bloom

Fiddleneck – Various places on valley floor.

Goldfields – Soda Lake Road between Washburn Admin. Site and KCL Campground, Goodwin Education Center. Starting to see other spots on the valley floor.

Filaree – Valley floor throughout the monument. Just popping up, not showy.

Baby Blue Eyes – Soda Lake Overlook.

Hillside Daisies – Small parts on the hillsides going to Selby Campground Road.

Poor Blooming

Red Maids x various places on valley floor.

Fremont’s Phacelia x various places on valley floor.

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Invasive Species of the Month – Emex spinosa

Invasive Species of the Month – Emex spinosa

Spiny emex (Emex spinosa)

Mark Skinner (mskinner@coastalrcd.org)

Spiny emex is in the Buckwheat family (Polygonaceae) and is an up and coming invasive species in California’s south coast. It’s from the Mediterranean region of Africa infesting disturbed areas especially coastal areas with sandy soils. Spiny emex spreads rapidly, crowding out native species. It has simple lime green or yellowish bronze leaves which looks like dock (which is relative) or spinach. The plant is usually two to twelve inches in diameter and produces seeds with a hard, prickly casing and spines that project from the corners. It is easy to dig out of the ground with a fork. Older plant with lots of seeds can easily shred plastic bags. Handle gingerly with tough gloves. For large monotypic infestations, Telar is an effective herbicide.

Carrizo Plain Wildflower Report March 3, 2017

Carrizo Plain Wildflower Report March 3, 2017

Carrizo Plain Wildflower Report March 3, 2017

HERE’S WHAT’S BLOOMING ON THE CARRIZO PLAIN THIS WEEK

Right now we are starting to see Goldfields, Fiddleneck, and Filaree  (Erodium cicutarium) pop up, but no wildflower color yet. Here are some images from previous years to whet your appetite.

Images courtesy of (and copyrighted by) Marlin Harms

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Just fill out the form below and include a link to your Google Drive or Dropbox images.

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Coast Live Oak

Coast Live Oak

Dirk Walters, illustration by Bonnie Walters

Oaks have been in the news a lot recently. Essentially all of it has been bad from the Oak’s point of view. First, there was the clearing of valley (Quercus lobata) and blue (Q. douglasii) oaks in the Paso Robles area. and then the spread of Sudden Oak Death (SOD) into our county. The notes along with Bonnie’s drawing were the Obispoensis cover back (more…)

Common (White) Yarrow (Achillea millefollium)

Common (White) Yarrow (Achillea millefollium)

Common (White) Yarrow (Achillea millefollium)

The plant discussed in this issue of the Obispoensis is one that I’ve wanted to take on for a long time, but could never bring myself to ask Bonnie to draw. Since we are using photos to illustrate it by, I think it’s time. One look at the leaves will indicate the reason for my reluctance. The leaves, which are up to four inches long and two inches wide, are divided two or three times into hundreds (thousands) of long, thin, needle-like segments which are weakly aromatic.

The species epithet (millefollium) translates into ‘thousand (mill) leaf (follia). The leaves spiral up the stem getting smaller higher up the stem. The flowers are small and clustered in heads which are themselves crowded into flat topped clusters. Most plants in the wild produce whitish flowers but occasionally one finds plants baring yellowish or pinkish tinged flowers. These have been selected for deeper colors for use in the garden.

There are many sites on the web that offer these ‘colored’ varieties for sale. The species is extremely variable which would be expected by its essentially worldwide range. It’s found throughout the Northern Hemisphere and just about everywhere in the Southern Hemisphere where humans have settled. A plant with such a wide a distribution as well as a strong correlation with human habitats would certainly be considered an introduced weed. I knew it in the roadsides and pastures of the Midwest, North East and in various weedy and native habitats here in California.

So, where is it native?

One can find any answer you want to believe on the Web. In fact, if I’d been asked where it was native before researching this article, I’d have said Eurasia. I found at least one web site that would have agreed with me. However, a majority of botanical sites as well as the Jepson Manual give its native range as “the entire Northern Hemisphere! So accepting it as a California native plant, where does it grow in California. Answer, practically everywhere there’s they can get sufficient water. Yarrow is found from sea level to over 10,000 feet in a wide variety of habitats (including weedy ones) throughout that altitudinal range. One of the better local places to find it is in our coastal dunes where it can be found spreading across the base of dune slip faces. As such it is serves as an important dune stabilizer. I should point out it is that because of its extreme variability common yarrow has had many scientific names applied to it, but recent thinking have reduced most of them to varieties.

How did it get its name?

The genus, Achillea, was applied to the plant by the Father of Taxonomic Botany, Linnaeus himself in the 1700’s. He named it in Honor of the Greek hero, Achilles. Why did he name it after a non-botanical war hero who was killed in the Battle of Troy? Again if one should look up this plant on the Web, one would find lots and lots of sites that discuss its medicinal uses, many with warnings they are not guaranteeing its effectiveness. In the 17-hundreds yarrow was considered a panacea or a cure-all. The story goes that Achilles was charmed and no weapon could harm him. He’d the protection via his mother dipping him in the river Styx when he was a baby. The River Styx was the transport medium for souls to get to Hades (the land of the dead). However his mother was afraid he would drown if she let go of him completely; so she held him by his heel which therefore did NOT come in contact with waters granting protection. So at Troy, Achilles was killed by a poison arrow which nicked his unprotected heel.

Why bring up Achilles Heel? According to the story told by my major Professor, no modern Pharmacopeia (an official list of medicinal plants) contains yarrow. I.e. after extensive testing, experts have determined that yarrow has NO medicinal value. That Achilea millefolium has no medicinal value “is in fact yarrow’s Achilles heel”.

SOME REALLY SILLY PAST YARROW USES (Source: Botanical.com)

  • Put it under your pillow and you will dream a vision of your future spouse
  • Snort it as snuff
  • Stick it up your nose to either (a) stop a nose bleed, or (b) to start a nose bleed to let blood out of your head to relieve a headache
  • Stick it in the other end and it stops your piles from bleeding
  • Use it as a shampoo and it will prevent baldness
  • Use it in Devil Worship… it was once called ‘The Devil’s Nettle” and maybe not so silly… it was a salad ingredient in the 17th Century, and was mixed with hops to make a more potent beer in Sweden and parts of Africa. Now your’e talking.

– Dr. Dirk Walters (drwalters@charter.net)

 

 

In Memoriam: “Jack” Beigle

Many members of our chapter will remember with a smile the work done by Jack and his wife Grace in supporting our chapter and for his work in association with Kathleen Jones (the Dune Mother) in the protection of the south county dune system. Jack also played a major role in a pampas grass eradication program,
and helped bring the very first conference of the just formed California Exotic Plant Council (now CalIPC) to Morro Bay. He was a State Park Docent, particularly at the Oceano Dunes Center and Butterfly Preserve. Jack died in December in Pacific Grove, and is survived by his wife, Grace and children.

Invasive Species of the Month – Brassica tournefortii

Invasive Species of the Month – Brassica tournefortii

Sahara Mustard

Sahara mustard is annual from the Mediterranean and has been spreading rapidly into coastal San Luis Obispo County. It is in Los Osos, Grover Beach, Oceano, the Nipomo Mesa and the Santa Maria River. Sahara Mustard first appeared in North America in 1927 in Coachella Valley and has spread throughout the Sonoran Desert. It grows in disturbed areas: mainly roadsides, dirt roads and construction sites. Locally it has spread from sticky seeds on pick-up truck tires, construction equipment, rodents and from wind. One of the awful qualities about this weed is that it out-competes native plants, especially annuals, simply because it grows very densely.

Sahara mustard image

Basal rosette (David Chipping)

The 3 to 12 inch deeply lobed leaves exist as a rosette which is low, only several inches above the ground. The small, pale yellow flower stalks may reach 4 feet and produce zillions of seeds (actually up to 9,000 seeds) that are viable for more than 3 years.

Controlling Sahara mustard may be done by hand pulling. It is easier to pull than Black mustard. Sahara mustard is prolific and annoyingly often grows amongst tree and shrub plantings: pulling is the only option in this instance. It is best to pull when they are emerging. Once seed pods develop, the plant will set seed after it has been pulled, so it should be removed from the site.

When away from native plants monotypic Sahara mustard may be sprayed with Telar, Milestone, Garlon 3A or Transline (they are all broad leaf herbicides). Grazing is not a good idea because there is are toxic compounds in the seeds.

– Mark Skinner mskinner@coastalrcd.org

featured image: The pale yellow flower, with 4-7 mm petals, and siliques, growing to 3-7 cm long (David Chipping)

Hoover Herbarium Update Winter 2017

Thank you again to everyone who made 2016 a huge success in the herbarium. Here is some important info about the herbarium this quarter:

  • The times this quarter are Thursdays 3 – 5 pm and Fridays 12 – 2 pm.
  • I now have the ability to pay for metered parking so please let me know if you’d like to use that option.
  • Dr. Paul Wilson is guiding us on a moss collecting hike on Feb. 11th and will be talking with us in the herbarium on Feb 10th during the volunteer session.
  • Last quarter, we mounted almost 1,000 new specimens. That was really incredible and thank you to everyone who helped manage the large number of students who were in there!
  • We also finished cataloging the Herbarium Library, and boy did we find some treasures. We are still in the process of refiling all the books.
  • Cathy and Jason are making progress on our lichens and mosses.
  • The SLO Voucher Flora Project is still happening and we are chipping away at that. All of our records can be searched here:
    • Plants: http://nansh.org/portal/
    • Mosses: http://bryophyteportal.org/portal/
    • Lichens: http://lichenportal.org/portal/

In other big news, our newest Botany faculty member, Dr. Dena Grossenbacher, has arrived to Cal Poly. She starts this quarter. She studies Mimulus and Clarkia, among other
wonderful plants. I’m sure you will all meet her at some point this quarter.

– Dr. Jen Yost

See also: Volunteer at the Hoover Herbarium

Volunteer at The Hoover Herbarium

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.

herbarium plant sheet

A herbarium plant sheet, a important archive of our local flora

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. Parking permits are required 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, or park off campus and walk in. I can pay for metered parking, but you’ll want to arrange that with me first.

Questions: email Jenn Yost at jyost@calpoly.edu.

– Dr. Jen Yost

See Also: Hoover Herbarium Update Winter 2017

Facts about Oaks

quercus_agrifolia-attrib-required

Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia)

IMAGE: By PeterOMalley (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons


The greatest girth of a single trunk coast live oak, measured at a height of between 1.3-1.5 m above the ground, is 30. 15 ft. (9.19 m), the tree being “The Grand Oak” at Highland Springs Resort in Cherry Valley, California.


The nemesis of the Coast live oak, as far as sudden oak death is concerned, is California Bay. The record for this tree is a girth of 30.51 ft. (9.3 m), located in the Rancho San Antonio Open Space in Palo Alto.


The Pechanga Great Oak Tree of Temecula is a Coast live oak that is probably the oldest oak in California and possibly the world, dated at about 2,000 years.


Canyon Live Oak is also impressive. The largest is in the San Bernadino Mountains and is 12.7 m in girth. This is also a species at great risk from Sudden Oak Death. although not in drier locations.


The tallest oak Valley Oak, a white oak which are not affected by Sudden Oak Death. The tallest specimen is in the Covelo Valley in Mendocino County, and stands at 140 feet (42.7 m).


The Field Guide to Plant Galls of California and Other Western States (by Ron Russo, U.C. Press) identifies more than 300 species of galls, including 95 found only on oaks. They are created by wasps.

Wasp

IMAGE: By Alex Wild, part of the University of Texas at Austin’s “Insects Unlocked” project. [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons


Over 150 species of wasp are known to be associated with oak galls. However just one of these wasp species is associated with another 90 insect species that utilize the gall in some way.


Oak Gall

IMAGE: By Franco Folini from San Francisco, USA [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons


The round galls, called oak apples, on California Live Oak can be a source of fountain pen ink. Find out how to make it here.


Doug McCreary writes, in Living Among The Oaks, “Oak environments are among the richest wildlife habitats in the state; 110 species of birds use oak habitats during the breeding season, and 35 percent of California’s land mammals utilize oaks during
some time of their lives. California’s deer herds are particularly dependent on oak habitats.”


The oaks (Family Fagaceae, genus Quercus) belong to an old lineage of trees and shrubs that dates back to at least the Late Cretaceous (about 85 million years ago). The oldest fossils are most closely aligned with Fagus, the beeches, but there are also suggestions of chestnuts (Castanea) in some of these ancient materials. These fossils are known, to date, only from Georgia, in the south eastern United States. When it comes to the origin of the oaks (Quercus spp.), there is much better evidence. The fossil record reveals that trees similar to oaks first appear about 32-35 million years ago, and trees related to extant species appear by about 25 million years ago. By about 23 million years ago, trees representative of most major groups of oaks have appeared. Dr. Richard Jensen,Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Indiana

The Juniper-Oak Plant Association of Caliente Mountain

The Juniper-Oak Plant Association of Caliente Mountain

Caliente Mountain is the highest spot in the County, and forms the western side of Carrizo Plain National Monument

The oak on Caliente Mountain. is Tucker’s oak, a scrub oak with blue-green, spiny leaves that stands a little over head height but can reach to 7 meters. Quercus john-tuckeri, as it is properly called, is named after John Tucker (1916-2008), Professor of Plant Science at U.C.Davis who also wrote the oak treatment in the Jepson Manual.

Hoover in his “Vascular Plants of San Luis Obispo County” called the oak Quercus dumosa var. turbinella, and  that, at that time, Tucker called the same tree Quercus turbinella sap. californica. Added to the confusion is known hybridization with blue oak, Quercus douglasii. The oak is mixed in with California juniper, Juniperus californica, and a mix of chaparral plants including chamise. This association of oak and juniper ca also be found in the uplands of the Great Basin and Arizona, although the species are different. This is part of the great “P-J”, the pinyon pine- juniper association that is very common in the uplands of the arid west.

The “P” of the “PJ” is rare in the Caliente Range, but much more common on the flanks to Mt. Pinos to the southeast. Both oak and juniper are present at the summit. The balance between them varies from place to place, with the junipers seeming to tolerate slightly drier sites than the oak.

You can visit this interesting plant association by driving up the dirt road toward Selby Campground, and branching to the right just before the campground. The road is drivable in a vehicle with normal clearance, but is narrow in places and has some steep drop-offs. During the droughty spring of 2016 there were still a lot of flowers to be found along the road, including a lot of wind poppies (Stylomecon heterophylla) and yellow sheets of Monolopia.

Oak’s companion on Caliente Mt. is the California juniper, Juniperus californica. It is here seen with its distinctive blue-grey berries. These are not true berries, but cones with merged fleshy scales. Berries are very bitter, and were/are used in the flavoring of gin. Gin’s name is derived from the French and Dutch word for juniper.

You don’t have to go all the way to the top of Caliente Mt., as there are large stands along Highway 58 between Navajo Creek and the Carrizo Plain. Another large stand lies on the north slope of the ridge that borders Highway 58 between La Panza Road and Shell Creek.

The stand near Shell Creek is an excellent example of the control of vegetation by slope aspect, as the south facing slope of the ridge is grass covered and has almost no trees. This can be seen as you drive east on Highway 58 toward La Panza Road.

-David Chipping

Iceplant (Carpobrotus edulis)

Iceplant (Carpobrotus edulis)

Invasive Species of the Month: Iceplant (Carpobrotus edulis)

Iceplant is a perennial in the Aizoaceae family, native to South Africa and grows in sandy areas on the coast from Eureka to Baja. This succulently leaved plant is overwhelming and carpets the land. I’ve seen outcompete giant Coreopsis and beach spectacle pod. Iceplant competes for nutrients, water, light and space. In very dry places they have long straggling woody stems. The pink or yellow flowers are beautiful and peak in early summer. The leaves root in the soil at the nodes and reproduces by seed. Seeds that passes through an animals gut germinates better.

Iceplant may be pulled and removed–which is the case at Piedras Blancas lighthouse, with spectacular results from the emerged native plant seedbank. Iceplant may be sprayed and the dead matter makes an excellent mulch for native plantings. Frost also kills Iceplant.

According to Cal-IPC iceplant was brought to California in the early 1900’s for stabilizing soil along railroad tracks. It was planted along freeways by Cal Trans until the 1970’s. Now it provides job security for weed warriors.

– Mark Skinner

Carpobrotus edulis or Carpobrotus chilense?

These two species are very similar, and the Jepson descriptions do not fully cover the overlap of features. Generally C. chilense has smaller magenta flowers (3-5 cm diameter) compared to 8-10 cm for C. edulis, which favors yellow flowers, but there is color ‘crossover’. The flower of C. edulis is pedicelled and C. chilense is sessile. The fruit of C. edulis is triangular in cross section, that of C. chilense more rounded and softer.

Carpobrotus edulis on earthquake-elevated mudflat, Shark Inlet, David Chipping

Carpobrotus edulis on earthquake-elevated mudflat, Shark Inlet, David Chipping

The photograph above shows a massive carpet of Carpobrotus at Shark Inlet. The bench in the foreground used to be pickleweed marsh until the Paso Robles earthquake caused the sand dunes to press down into the mudflat, squishing the edge of the flat above the high tide line and enabling the iceplant invasion.

– David Chipping

Fall Color

Fall Color

O.K…. so we’re not Vermont. However we do have some pretty fall color displays. If you like the gold of aspen, you will see the same colors in our closely related cottonwood stands, both trees belonging to the genus Populus. (more…)

Water a Milkweed, Kill a Monarch?

Water a Milkweed, Kill a Monarch?

Monarch caterpillar feeding on Asclepias fascicularis

All of our local native milkweeds are perennials, but like a lot of our drought-adapted plants, die back and go dormant during the long late summer and fall drought. Many gardeners, knowing there is a monarch butterfly/ milkweed connection, try to keep the milkweeds green all year, or use non-native milkweeds that stay green. Cal Poly’s Dr. Francis Villablanca has shown that winter breeding by monarchs will take place if green milkweed is available, which would not normally happen in the overwintering populations in SLO County. Nonstop breeding on the same plants can perpetuate the transmission of a devastating parasite called OE, for Ophryocystis elektroscirrha.

Normally, the transmission cycle is broken when milkweeds go dormant. The infection can kill adults as they emerge from their chrysalis, while mildly infected monarchs fly poorly, don’t reproduce normally, and die early. These very sick butterflies can then carry spores of the pathogen into the milkweeds in other gardens or along the entire migration route.

You don’t have to tear out a non-native milkweed if you cut it way back. While the infection issue is much greater for the central USA migration paths, it is critical that we take preventive actions on the coast, especially since we are still determining how bad it actually is in California.

Many thanks to Dr. Villablanca of Cal Poly on putting all of this together.

David Chipping

Native Plants for Erosion Control

Native Plants for Erosion Control

Coffeeberry Frangula californica – Images courtesy of Marlin Harms

Way back in 1992 the Watershed Education Program for San Luis Obispo County, in conjunction with U.C. Extension and the Soil Conservation Service (now Natural Resources Conservation Service) produced a list of native plants suitable for erosion control. CNPS feels that the wildfires of 2016 justifies republication of this list, although we have editied for species name changes and removed a couple of non-native species from the original list. The Highway 41 fire burned two years later, but that was far smaller than the current spate of fires.

David Chipping

Lupinus albifons

Trees and Shrubs

Alnus rhombifolia
White Alder 1,2
Acer macrophyllum
Big Leaf Maple 1,3
Acer negundo var. californicum
Box Elder 4
Artemisia califomica
California Sagebrush 5, 12,26
Baccharis pilularis Coyote Brush 12, 27
Ceanothus cuneatus
Buckbrush 5, 6, 12
Cornus glabrata
Creek Dogwood 1, 16, 18
Frangula californica
Coffeeberry 5, 10, 28
Hazardia squarrosa
Goldenbush 6
Heteromeles arbutifolia
Toyon 5,12,28
Myrica califomica
Bayberry (Wax-Myrtle) 1, 16
Plantanus racemosa
California Sycamore 1, 16
Populus trichocarpa
Black Cottonwood 1, 16
Querus agrifolia
Coast Live Dak 5,12,17,27, 28
Rhamnus crocea
Redberry 5
Ribes divaricatum
Wild Gooseberry 8
Ribes menziesii
8, 24
Ribes menziesii var. hystrix
8,20
Ribes speciosum
Fuschia flowered Gooseberry 8
Rosa californica
Wild Rose 1
Rubus ursinus
California Blackberry 1, 9, 20
Salix lasiolepsis
Arroyo Willow 1, 16, 18,22
Salvia mellifera
Black Sage 5, 6, 26
Salvia spathacea
Hummingbird Sage 20
Sambucus nigra ssp. caerulea
Blue Elderberry 1, 5, 11, 12, 28
Umbellularia californica
California Bay, California Laurel 2, 5, 12, 16, 24

Toyon and Sycamore

Forbs and Grasses

Acmispon americanus
Pink Deer-Vetch 6,12
Artemisia douglasiana
Mugwort 1,5,24
Bloomeria crocea var. aurea
Golden Stars 25
Claytonia perfoliata
Miner’s Lettuce 16, 17
Crassula connata var. connata
Pygmy Weed 6
Cryptantha sp.
Cryptantha 6
Cyperus eragrostis
Umbrella Sedge 1
Delphinium sp.
Larkspur 6,28
Eleocharis palustris
Common Spike rush 1,16
Elymus glaucus
Blue Wildrye 5,12,15,20,27
Elymus triticoides
Creeping Wild rye 5,12,15,19,22,27
Epilobium ciliatum ssp. watsonii
Willow Herb 1
Equisetum telmateia
Giant Horsetail 1, 11,28
Erigeron canadensis
Horseweed 1,13
Eschscholzia californica
California poppy 5,6,23
Helianthus annuus
Sunflower
Hoita macrostachya
Leather Root 1, 18
Hordeum brachyantherum
Meadow Barley 15,19,23
Lupinus albifrons
Bush Lupine 5,6,28
Lupinus succulentus
Lupine 14,15,28
Microseris sp. 6
Mimulus cardinalis
Scarlet Monkey Flower 1,16
Mimulus guttatus
Monkey Flower 1,16
Phacelia distans
Phacelia 6
Poa secunda
Pine Bluegrass 5,12,23
Schoenoplectus americanus
Threesquare Bulrush 1,19
Scirpus microcarpus
Small Flowered Bulrush 1
Selaginella Bigelovii
Spike Moss 6,25
Spergularia sp.
Sand Spurrey 19
Stachys bullata
Hedge-Nettle 1,20
Stipa cernua
Nodding Stipa 5
Stipa pulchra
Purple Needle Grass 5,6,12,14,23,27
Symphyotrichum chilense
Wild Aster 1,11
Typha domingensis
Narrow Leaved Cat-Tail 1, 24
Verbena lasiostachys var. lasiostachys Verbena 1,25
Vicia americana
Vetch 20

Comment KEY

1. Prefers moist areas

2. Tolerates winds

3. Resistant to Oak Root Fungus

4. Messy, attracts pests

5. Drought resistant

6. Dry, sandy, or rocky areas

7. Needs irrigation

8. May not be available in nurseries

9. Seldom a good crop of fruit

10. Better with some summer water first year

11. Invasive root system

12. Good wildlife cover

13. Common weed

14. Heavier soils

15. Good on fresh cut/Mill

16. Not for dry areas

17. Not for saline areas

18. For stream beds

19. Can handle saline/alkalai

20. Shaded woody areas

21. Can not tolerate wind

22. Spreads rapidly

23. Open hills and plains

24. Canyons

25. Will grow in serpentine soils

26. Keep on dry side

27. Not in standing water

28. Some species may have poisonous parts

Invasive Species of the Month – Cortaderia jubata

Invasive Species of the Month – Cortaderia jubata

Invasive Species of the Month

Jubata grass (Cortaderia jubata)

Mark Skinner

There is an intense infestation of Jubata grass on the California coast. As almost everyone knows it mars the most
beautiful places such as Big Sur. On their web site California Invasive Plant Council (CalIPC) describes that Jubata grass is native to northern Argentina, Bolivia, Peru Chile and Ecuador. It was grown in France and Ireland from seed collected in Ecuador. It may have come to California from France and was first seen in 1966. Jubata grass has been called the “marriage weed” as honeymooners dragged the plumes behind their cars in Big Sur. Oy! What a mess!

Jubata grass flowers from late July to September. No pollination is necessary for reproduction. Flowers are female
only, which produces viable seed. Each plume may contain 100,000 seeds! Plants may have 1 to 30+ plumes. I started removing Jubata grass in the mid 1990’s with Jack Biegle and John Nowak, just north of Oso Flaco boardwalk.
I’ve been at it ever since and removed hundreds from the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes, San Luis Obispo, Cambria and
Vandenberg. I’m happy to report that from the many hundreds that were in the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes there are only about twenty remaining.