Featured Plants
An indepth look at a plant – what makes it special, where to find it in the natural landscape, and other notables written by John Chesnut.
Flannel Bush (Fremontodendron californicum)
This month’s cover drawing by Bonnie Walters is a repeat of flannel bush, Fremontodendron californicum. It was last used on the OBSIPOENSIS cover back in 1991. Does anybody remember it? Fremontodendron classification It is being reused now due to a request Bonnie received to use some of her drawings for a project associated with “Learning among the Oaks” program. Of course, this required us to go back into our archives to find it. Also, it was obvious to us that the write-up that accompanied the earlier cover was clearly out of date....
read moreAsparagus Fern or Bridal Creeper
Asparagus Fern or Bridal Creeper Asparagus asparagoides This month’s plant is a South Africa native that has become naturalized in Southern California where there has the potential to become an extremely troubling weed species. It is already considered so in some localities in Southern California, New Zealand and Australia. It had become a major infestation in the oak grove near Lupine Point in the Los Osos Elfin Forest until it was successfully removed after much effort. The problem with its eradication is obvious from looking at the...
read moreWhy is the Death Cap Deadly?
Why is the Death Cap Deadly? by John Chesnut On New Year’s Day I visited a favorite, and normally productive, chanterelle patch outside San Luis Obispo to discover an enormous fruiting of the dangerously toxic death cap mushroom (Amanita phalloides). My culinary disappointment was tempered by my growing fascination with the question, “Why are mushrooms deadly poisonous?” Proximally, the answer is direct: because they contain a peptide, alpha-amanitin which halts RNA transcription in the cell nucleus. In broader context, the...
read moreBlue Oak
Blue Oak (Quercus douglasii) Bonnie’s drawing on this cover of the Obispoensis includes an acorn, a couple of leaves and a two individual blue oak (Quercus douglasii) trees from Shell Creek. This species of oak is extremely common in a vertical band through the center of our Chapter area. It is most common east of the Santa Lucia crest and west to the San Juan River drainage. It occurs only occasionally near the coast where it is replaced by the coast live oak (Q. agrifolia). In the Carrizo Plain area the Tucker oak (Q. john-tuckeri)...
read moreCalifornia Polypody
Common Polypody or California Polypody (Polypodium californicum) Bonnie’s drawing this time represents a fern recently found in the Los Osos Elfin Forest. The fern is the common or California polypody (Polypodium californicum). It was found by Al Normadin while scouting for his recently led trip in the Elfin Forest. It is a quite common and widespread fern on the Central Coast, where it is commonly found growing along edges or out of cracks in rocks. It is especially common on north facing slopes. However, I was surprised to find it reported...
read moreCalifornia Bay Laurel
California Bay Laurel (Umbellularia californica) Bonnie’s cover drawing this time is a modified repeat from May 2009. It is derived from one that she did for David Keil and my plant taxonomy text. My guess is that it is a tree that almost all of you know already. It is one of the first trees for which I learned its name. It is known locally as the California bay laurel or simply California bay. Its scientific name is Umbellularia californica and belongs to the laurel, sassafras, cinnamon or camphor family (Lauraceae). As can be surmised...
read moreLace Lichen
Ramalina menziesii This “plant” is actually a pairing of convenience of two organisms neither of which is considered a plant in current thinking. It is a kind of lichen which is made up of an alga and a fungus. It is a partnership of convenience because the partners stay together only under conditions that neither could survive alone. When conditions favor one or the other, the favored partner leaves (alga) or expels its partner (the fungus). Why isn’t it a plant, or more to the point, what is a plant? Based on Classical Greek...
read moreHoary Stinging Nettle
Urtica dioica subsp. holosericea About the cover: This month’s plant is one most of us try to avoid. This is because of the trichomes (hairs) that cover its stem and leaves. The hairs have a bulbous base filled with a fluid that when deposited on unprotected skin causes a burning or stinging sensation. Bonnie has drawn a couple of these hairs. It turns out that the irritating fluid is most effective if deposited in a cut. To insure this cut, the sharp point of the hair breaks off leaving a jagged tip which when dragged along the skin results...
read moreFoothill Penstemon
Bonnie’s cover for this Obispoensis was used for a banquet program cover back in 1984. We have no record of it ever being used as a newsletter cover. We would welcome a note form anyone who might remember it (drwalters@charter.net or 543-7051). You might notice something else about the appearance of the drawing. It has much more fine detail than Bonnie’s drawings used in Dr. Keil’s and my textbook or more recent newsletters. This is because it was done to size (3½ x 3½ inches) using fine drawing pens. It was not drawn to be reduced or...
read moreIce Plant
Carprobrotus spp. “Ice plants” Bonnie’s drawing is a generalized drawing representing two species commonly called ice plants. They both are fairly common along the coast and within freeway and railroad right-of-ways. The two species are Carpobrotus chilensis and C. edulis. They should be easy to distinguish. According to the new Jepson Manual, C. chilensis has smaller flowers (3-5 cm compared to 8-10 cm) and leaves (4-7 cm as compared to 6-10 cm in C. edulis). Flower colors are reported to be different as well. C. edulis...
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