A member of the Asteraceae family, Italian thistle is an annual herb native to the Mediterranean region and is widespread in California, Oregon and Washington, however it is not found east of the Sierra Nevada. It was accidentally introduced into United States (Batra et al. 1981) and California (Goeden 1974) in the 1930s. Robbins (1940) reports it as early as 1912 near Fort Bragg in Mendocino County. It forms a deep taproot and prefers fertile, well drained soils but is found in disturbed areas, roadsides, pastures, meadows and grasslands. It dominates sites and crowds out native species and discourages wildlife from entering infested areas. It grows well in oak savanna and can carry grass fires to tree canopies. Although Italian thistle can grow to over six feet it is usually knee high and is often present in clusters. Its leaves are white-woolly below, hairless-green above and deeply cut into two to five pairs of spiny lobes. Stems are slightly winged. The thimble-sized flower heads in pastel shades of rose, pink to purple flowers are clustered in groups of two to five are covered with densely matted, cobwebby hairs. Italian thistle is bisexual and a single plant can produce 20,000 seeds in one season (Wheatley and Collett 1981). Its light seeds are spread by lodging (bent or broken stems in contact with the ground), wind, vehicles, and animals and also may spread from seed-contaminated hay and soil from infested quarries. To remove Italian thistle dig them out 2-4 inches below the soil before flowering. Mowing is a waste of time, in fact, plants cut 4 days after flowering can still produce viable seed. Italian thistle seedbank may last up to 10 years. Intensive grazing by sheep and goats is effective. A pre-emergent and growth regulator such as Milestone is one of the most effective herbicides for thistles and generally does not harm grass. Did I say don’t touch Italian thistle? Wow does it hurt! Use your thickest gloves!
Image: By Gmihail at Serbian Wikipedia (Own work)
[CC BY-SA 3.0 rs (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/rs/deed.en)
or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons
I volunteer at the botanic garden Tuesday mornings. The display of yellow Viola on the undeveloped portion of the hills was wonderful this year and it occurred to me that there would be lots of seeds. I would really like to have the propagation crew at the garden try to grow some of these as I think they would make a nice addition to our gardens. Granted they disappear in the heat of the summer but they could make a nice groundcover under some of our shrubs and need no water in the dry time. So I approached Eve. Eve is the person who started the garden as an extension of her senior project at Cal Poly. She was receptive to the idea. I asked if I could take a bit more for other uses. Again the answer was yes and extended to some of the other plants on the hills. So when I thought the seeds might be ready I ventured out.
These are hills that are brown in the summer. They are covered with oats and ripgut and some other not so nice plants. But there are patches of Viola and Sidalcea and Sisyrhincium. So I had a goal of collecting all three. Finding those patches was not always easy. The plants disappear into the dried grasses. But I could find some. And in my wandering looking for patches I was excited to discover that not only are there the invasive sorts of grasses but there was lots of Stipa pulcra, some Melica californica, Melica imperfecta (or at least a different kind of Melica), Elymus triticoides (I think), Elymus condensatus, Hordeum bracyantherum and the most exciting find, for me, was some Danthonia californica. I am not collecting seeds of those grasses because they are not represented in great numbers and I want all the seed that’s there to possibly increase populations. But I am collecting the seeds of the Viola, Sidalcea, and hopefully the Sisyrhincum.
However, patience is a requirement. Finding the patches of Viola was not nearly as challenging as finding the seeds ready to gather. I am honing my observational skills and getting up close and personal with the plants. I was looking for black, ripe seeds so black drew my attention. Often the black was a little beetle that I saw only on violets. Is this a good bug or a bad bug? I have no idea. But if it is providing food for the birds in my book it’s a good bug. Perhaps it’s one of those specialist bugs that only use one plant. Questions. Down on my knees I can see the developing seed capsules and I have observed that as they ripen they lift and point to the sky. Once ripe, the capsules pop open. Sometimes a few seeds remain in the opened capsule. Whether these are defective or not I don’t know but I have collected them. At least they are black. Picking a few capsules early results in green seeds. I have picked a few, unopened but upturned, which have resulted in the sound of popping seeds in the paper bags at home. I have gotten some black seeds out of these. My favorite find is to see the open capsule, still green, and filled with black seeds. Treasure! But it has taken weeks of venturing up on the hill to get a few tablespoons of seeds. Some of these will find their way to the seed exchange.
The Sidalcea is another story. I found that many of the flowers did not develop into seeds, but in some areas there were more that developed than others. Does this reflect the presence of more pollinators in some areas than others? In some areas the stalks were half gone. Are they browse for deer? More observations lead to more questions. But I did collect a few seeds that seemed to be ripe. The capsules on these plants seemed to dry with the seeds remaining in the capsule. But as they dried they would separate a bit and I found that if I just brushed my fingers across a capsule seeds would fall into my hand. I found capsules with just a few seeds remaining so assumed these were ripe. I don’t have many seeds of these but after sharing with the botanic garden a few will end up at the seed exchange. You should want these. I have a Sidalcea grown from seed that has been blooming for several months in my garden. I think it’s beautiful.
As for the Sisyrhincium, I don’t have seeds yet and am not sure that I will. Those patches, which were so obvious and seemed so huge when they were covered with their blue-purple blossoms, are very hard to find when there is no flower to beckon. Those that I have found are not yet ripe. The capsules are still green and I don’t know if I will have any luck finding ripe seeds. But I am going to try.
What about not having the right shoes? The shoes I wear at the botanic garden are really old worn out hiking shoes with that open mesh sort of fabric for breathability. They are really great grass seed collectors. Those seeds penetrate through the open mesh and through my smart wool socks and into my skin. Almost intolerable. Before I drive home I have to remove my shoes and get rid of those seeds. I am pleased to find that they collect Stipa seeds too which means that there are plenty of Stipa seeds to be had. But I am very conscious of the fact that I don’t want to be transferring these seeds to the trails so they are no longer used for hiking.
Reminder: Seed exchange before the October meeting.
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 question should be rephrased, “What ecological advantage and evolutionary fitness does the presence of this toxin contribute?”
Amanita phalloides is a newcomer to California. It is known to be a native of Europe, and its first verified collection in California dates to 1938. Anecdotally, its introduction is ascribed to an accidental arrival on the roots of cork oak trees. It is now known from Southern California to British Columbia. A similar introduction (on the roots of Italian chestnuts?) affects the East Coast.
Death cap is an ectomycorrhizal symbiont. This means it forms connections on the root-tips of forest trees; in California, its typical (but not exclusive) partner is coast live oak. Unlike many symbionts which are highly host specific, death cap is promiscuous in its associations as it spreads worldwide. It is now present in South Africa, Australia and most other similar climes.
Ectomycorrhizal (EC) fungi collect major nutrients, nitrogen and phosphorous, and exchange these with the host tree for sugars. Delicate hyphal strands extend outward from the root tip mass into the surrounding soil and mulch. EC also allows efficient active transfer of macronutrients, micronutrients, and soil water to the tree. The chronic phosphorous limitation in serpentine soils makes the EC symbiosis especially important for local forest types on this soil. Studies in Norway discovered up to 50% of a birch tree’s sugar is exchanged at the root tips with EC symbionts.
Death Cap – Amanita phalloides
Other studies describe how a mushroom, Laccaria bicolor, lures springtail insects (Folsoma candida) into traps, consumes them, and transfers the nitrogen obtained to its host tree.
Trees form non-exclusive associations with many fungi. Studies at Pt. Reyes show more than 15 taxa of EC fungi present at the root tips of coast live oak from a single grove. Most of the live oak symbionts are not deadly or even dangerous, and include the sought after chanterelles.
It is an entirely open research question as to whether the recent invasion of Amanita phalloides into the California oak forest is supplanting native fungi. Studies (in Bishop pine) have shown that EC fungi partition their habitat niches very precisely, allowing multiple fungi to coexist in close proximity. I have visited the particular chanterelle patch since the 1970’s without noticing the Aman5.0ita, so the 2012 fruiting might possibly represent a replacement of one symbiont for another, or just be a fortuitous fruiting of an established co-dominant.
The “competitive exclusion principle” argues that if these organisms are competing within the same precise niche, the most successful will replace all others. The deadly toxin of Amanita’s is alpha-amanitin. This is a heat-stable cyclic peptide that interferes with the transcription function of RNA in the nucleus of cells of virtually all organisms.
Humans, dogs, rabbits, and guinea pigs are equally poisoned. The toxic crisis is caused by irreversible liver or kidney damage, as the molecule concentrates in those organs. More expansively: organisms other than bacteria are affected by alpha-amanitin. Insects, worms, flowering plants, and even viroids (infectious single strands of RNA) that cause “mad cow” and disease in plants cannot replicate when treated with amanitin.
Amanitin is a large, very stable molecule (C39H54N10O14S) so it represents a significant metabolic cost to the fungus to create. Several, widely unrelated, taxa of gilled mushrooms possess amanitin toxin, so its synthesis has been separately evolved several times in fungi –supporting the assumption this represents an important competitive innovation for the species. Fortunately, amanitin is too large to cross the blood/brain barrier, so even victims with irreversible liver and kidney damage due to mushroom poisoning are not affected mentally.
An evolutionary entomologist working in New York State, John Jaenike, has discovered four species of mushroom flies in the genus Drosophila that lay eggs in the gills of fruiting Amanita phalloides. The fruit fly taxa are related to ones that inhabit rotting skunk cabbage, but in New England have recently transferred to the recently introduced Amanita fruitings.
Jaenike discovered that Amanita phalloides is toxic to the damaging parasitic nematodes Howardula that reproduce in the stomach of fruit flies. The toxicity of the death cap to the parasitic nematodes results in much greater egglaying (fecundity) by the fruit flies. The fruit flies are affected by the toxic amanitin, especially the males, but the poison is more than offset by the increase in reproduction.
Janike also discovered that most other insects using mushrooms as egg laying sites (craneflies and forest gnats) shun use of the Amanita (due to its toxicity).
Fruiting mushrooms are a scarce and erratically scattered resource for reproduction and larval feeding. Fruiting mushrooms are fully and completely consumed by mushroom gnat larvae, and Jaenike postulates fierce competition for insect breeding sites. Jaenike has published several papers describing the Amanita-Drosophila-Howardula food web. Mushroom flies secured a niche free of competition by exchanging an evolved tolerance to sub-lethal poisoning for escape from nematode parasitism. The increased fitness leads to greater egg-laying ability, and has provided the evolutionary inertia for this recent adaptation.
Nematodes are significant pests of commercial mushroom production, epidemic infestation can result in the loss of the growing beds. The oyster mushroom, Pleurotus osteraceus, traps and consumes nematodes in noose-like knots of hyphal tissue.
So why are Amanita so poisonous? It is an unlikely deterrence to vertebrate predation of the fruiting caps, as the effect is slow-acting (36-72 hours before the toxic crisis in humans) and the toxin is not concentrated in the cap. Evidence supports the hypothesis that the fitness obtained from synthesizing the toxin is secured within the hyphal network. Perhaps toxic Amanita obtain nitrogen from poisoned nematodes, or protect themselves (and their symbiont hosts) from plant parasitic nematode predation.
Perhaps the toxin suppresses the growth of competing fungal webs. It seems clear the toxic effect of death cap is intrinsic to its invasive success worldwide.
John Chesnut | Rare Plant Coordinator and Education Committee at CNPS-SLO, John teaches horticulture at Cal Poly
Sources:
Jaenike, J., “Parasite Pressure and the Evolution of Amanitin Tolerance in Drosophila,” Evolution,Vol. 39, No. 6 (Nov., 1985), pp. 1295-1301. Jaenike, J. and T J. C. Anderson, “Dynamics of Host-Parasite Interactions: The Drosophila-Howardula System,” Oikos Vol. 64, No. 3 (Sep., 1992), pp. 533-540. http://web.uvic.ca/~stevep/pdfs/AmNat_02.pdf
Pringle, Anne, Rachel I. Adams, Hugh B. Cross, and Thomas D. Bruns, “The ectomycorrhizal fungus Amanita phalloides was introduced and is expanding its range on the west coast of North America,” Molecular Ecology (2009). http://arnarb.harvard.edu/faculty/pringle/pubs/Pringle_MolEcol_2009.pdf
Horton, Thomas R., and Thomas D. Bruns, “The molecular revolution in ectomycorrhizal ecology: peeking into the black-box,” Molecular Ecology (2001)10, 1855–1871. http://www.cnr.berkeley.edu/brunslab/papers/
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 produces yellow petals while petals in C. chilensis flowers are reddish to pinkish. However, color can be misleading as the yellow flowers of C. edulis dry pinkish.Newly dry flowers in both species are quite showy.
Most identification manuals indicate that the two species can be separated on the shape of their succulent leaf cross-sections – rounded triangular in C. chilensis and sharp triangular in C. edulis. C. edulis is said to have the leaf angle pointing away from the stem axis bearing a few teeth toward their tip. I have to admit that I haven’t observed that character particularly in our area.
After indicating how different these two species are, I need to report that the literature also reports that they hybridize. In other words, separation may not be quite as easy as the characters would indicate.
I find the common name, ice plant, to be misleading, but understandable. First, let’s look at the misleading part. There is nothing in their appearance that indicates ice. Their ranges, like most of us people in Southern California, avoid areas where any significant ice would be found. I suspect the water in their succulent leaves would quickly freeze if they were exposed to severe or even extended near freezing temperatures. Growing ice crystals in their water filled cells would destroy cell membranes causing cell death which leads to leaf and plant death. So where does the common name, ice plant, come from?
I believe this is an example of a common name being more stable than the scientific name. Until the early to middle of the last century the species now found in Carprobrotus, along with a number of other cultivated succulent ground covers, were all included in a single large genus, Mesembryanthemum. Some even separated Mesembryanthemum into its own family Mesembryanthemaceae due to their showy petals. Today, there is essential unanimity that not only should old genus, the Mesembryanthemum, be split up but that it belongs in the family Aizoaceae. The non-ice plant genera in the Aizoaceae lack showy flowers because they lack showy petals. Think New Zealand spinach, Tetragonia expansa.
There is a plant still in the genus, Mesembryanthemum, whose stems and leaves surfaces are covered with large silvery cells that resemble ice crystals at a distance. This species, Mesembryanthemum crystallinum, is occasionally found around Morro Bay. I believe the common name for this species with this distinctive surface feature became the default common name for all the species in the broadly defined genus, Mesembryanthemum.
In older flower books, C. chilensis is said to be native to coastal California. How could this be? I’m guessing that it was a very early introduction. I assume it went like this: An early merchant ship delivered its cargo to southern Africa. It didn’t have a full load to pick up there, so it filled out its cargo hold with ballast. In the early days, ballast consisted of soil dug up from a nearby beach. That beach soil contained seeds and probably also pieces of ice plant. (I observed a “dried” succulent growing off a several year old herbarium sheet at my undergraduate school.) The ship then sailed to Chile and/or California where it picked up a full load of paying cargo. To make room for this paying cargo, it just dumped the African soil on New World beaches. It makes sense to me that this happened before the first botanical surveys were done in California so that the species was recorded as “native.” It should also be noted that C. chilensis appears to me to be a little less invasive than is C. edulis. That is, native plant diversity seems to be diminished less.
Oh, I haven’t given the individual species common names besides the generic name, ice plant. The only name I know for C. edulis is freeway ice plant. The edulis part of the scientific name refers to the fruit being eaten by southern African peoples. A source on the internet noted that young leaves were also cut up into salads. The Jepson Manual gives C. chilensis the common name of sea fig. This is a much better name than the older, and I assume politically incorrect, name Hottentot fig. Both species were widely planted as a ground cover, especially on steep, bare slopes. I believe they are no longer recommended for this purpose. Their leaves and stems are heavy; their roots are shallow. Thus, when the soil becomes saturated, the shallow roots and heavy wet stems and leaves actually increase soil slumping. Of course, this was exactly what they were planted in the first place to prevent.
by Dirk Walters, illustrations by Bonnie Walters | Dirk and Bonnie Walters are long-time CNPS-SLO members, contributors, and board/committee participants. In addition to his work at Cal Poly, Dirk is the current CNPS-SLO Historian.
The plant for the cover of this OBISPOENSIS is found in many habitats from dry to moist and from wood edge to open fields. It is found primarily in the coastal area west of the Santa Lucia mountain divide.
It’s common or California hedge-nettle (Stachys bullata). This species is certainly not rare but it is not overly abundant either. It’s widespread but snooty where it grows. The flower books and floras state that it is found in our shrub lands (coastal scrub, dune scrub & chaparral) as well as oak forests. This is true, but if one wants to find it look in these communities where the soils tend to be moist.
I tend to think of it occupying the drier edge of the riparian habitat. As surface streams dry hedge nettles will move into the stream bed itself. The species can be found in relatively dry areas such as the Elfin Forest and Sargeant Cypress Forest found on West Cuesta Ridge. Both areas have lots of fog and contain plant species that are able to condense fog onto their leaves and stems. Leaves and stems, however are poor absorbers of liquid water, so the water drips off onto the soil surface where it sinks to where the plant’s roots absorb it. Fog drip is a significant source of water.
I remember reading a Cal Poly Biology Department senior project done for Dr. Robert Rodin many years ago. They found that rain gauges placed under the trees recorded over 20 inches more water than ones placed in the open.
The “hedge” part of the common name, I assume, comes from the habit of these plants to grow in fence rows and along roadsides, especially the old world species. The “nettle” part of the common name comes from its resemblance to the stinging nettle (Urtica). The surface of leaves and stems are coated by short stiff hairs. These hairs merely impart a sandpapery feel, but do not cause the rash and itching or pain of the true stinging nettle. I find it a rather pleasant feel and you have to touch them to get the pleasant citrusy odor that arises from the bruised leaves.
Stachys is fairly large (ca. 300 sp. worldwide, 8 CA & 5 SLO Co.) genus of mints (Lamiaceae or Labiatae). It contains a number of plants used as food or medicine, particularly in the Old World. The medicinal plants generally go by the common name of betony while the ones producing edible tubers go by the various names. These include chorogi, Chinese or Japanese artichoke, knotroot. I found no reference to any of our California Stachys species, including S. bullata, possessing either edible or medicinal properties. The closest I came was one suggestion that leaves might to be tried as a poultice. That is, bruise a few leaves in warm water and apply the mixture to minor wounds and rashes. This is how the various betony species are used around the world and is the explanation for another common name for the species in this genus, woundwort.
References to hedge nettles are noticeably absent from my California native gardening books. The current Jepson Manual recommends that they be planted in areas where they get occasional water (3-4 times during dry season). It indicates that native hedge nettles are very hardy and might work in an area that needs stabilization. However, they caution that being hardy, they can become invasive.
by Dirk Walters, illustrations by Bonnie Walters | Dirk and Bonnie Walters are long-time CNPS-SLO members, contributors, and board/committee participants. In addition to his work at Cal Poly, Dirk is the current CNPS-SLO Historian.
The Hoover Award was established by the San Luis Obispo chapter in 1974 to recognize a person that has made significant contribution to the success and well being to the SLO chapter of CNPS.
The selection is made at a meeting of the past recipients, and the award is generally presented at the annual banquet.
In Recognition of Distinguished Service
Susi Bernstein and Judi Young
2014We are pleased to announce that the Hoover Committee, composed of past recipients of the award, has selected Judi Young as the 2014 honoree.A California native, Judi grew up in a family that for generations has valued our unique environment and ecosystems. Add to that a love of flowers and plants that was nurtured and encouraged during her growing up years; home gardens have always been an important part of her life. Judi moved to the Central Coast to be closer to her family, and we met Judi when she started to occasionally ‘hang out’ with her parents Heather and Jim Johnson at CNPS events.Judi’s talents are many and varied, with experience as a floral business owner, electronic communications, and a web design consultant. In 2010, the local chapter board sought to improve our small and dated website. With her internet experience, artistic eye and interest in native plants, Judi saw the possibilities of revamping the website and stepped up to the task at hand. Today, our chapter has a beautiful, informative website that she designed and continuously updates.
In 2012, Judi also took on Publicity duties for our chapter, keeping the public updated on events and news through Community Calendar posts and the occasional Facebook ad. She also maintains our email newsletter list and sends Obispoensis directly to our inboxes.
Judi is very important to our chapter’s appeal to younger people who use social media to connect with causes and attend events. She constantly reminds us what is possible in the modern world of communication, and how it can benefit our outreach to existing and new members. To further increase our outreach presence, Judi has set up and maintains a Facebook page (along with Mardi Niles and Kristie Haydu and others) , a very effective venue for connecting with people who want to know more about native plants. In fact, just recently a group of home-schooling mothers contacted us via Facebook, requesting some assistance with tree identification on the Bob Jones trail in Avila Beach. We were able to provide the needed information, and we also attended a somewhat spontaneously organized fieldtrip with these mothers and their children out on the trail! This sort of connection with interested people, previously unaware of CNPS, was made possible by Judi’s successful efforts to move us into the modern age.
In addition to Judi’s importance to our digital communications, she is also a big help in many other aspects of the local chapter, including as a regular Plant Sale cashier.
Congratulations to Judi Young!
– Susi Bernstein & Linda Chipping
Suzette Girouard
2013This Year’s Hoover award recipient, Suzette Girouard, grew up in the La Crescenta area located east of Los Angeles. Suzette got her love of gardening from her mother and also her uncle Ed who had an extensive vegetable garden in his backyard.While still in high school she worked at Descano Gardens in La Cañada Flintridge solidifying her love of plants. During these early years Suzette knew she wanted to study horticulture and especially viticulture. Suzette started her dream by attending Fresno State University where she graduated in 1986 with a degree in Horticulture/Viticulture and a minor in Agriculture Business. Around 1994 Suzette moved to Pennsylvania where she lived for about ten years.During the fall of 2004 she returned to California and moved to San Luis Obispo. After searching the web for plant groups in our area, she became interested in the California Native Plant Society. After attending her first meeting she was hooked and joined. It was not long before this hard worker started volunteering for many projects including ,weed removal, banquet preparations, meeting clean up, and plant sale coordinating.
As all of our previous Hoover award recipients, Suzette has gone the extra mile with her commitment to help better the society and our local chapter.
Congratulations to Suzette Girouard!
Matt Ritter and Dirk Walters
Matt Ritter and Dirk Walters
2012
Matt Ritter joined the chapter shortly after arriving at Cal Poly to teach botany. He was assigned to teach a course on California native plants and their communities to prospective elementary school teachers. Finding the subject fascinating, and needing a teaching aid, he wrote and photo illustrated the picture book Plants of San Luis Obispo: Their Lives and Stories.
He encourages his students to attend our Chapter meetings in the many botanic courses he teaches, and instills in many an appreciation of both native flora and field work.
Early on Matt accepted the Chapter vice presidency, which is a difficult and time consuming job as it encompasses the role of program chairman. It is Matt we have to thank for the high quality of our speakers, and the large number who have come to us from outside our county. These speakers, including himself, have made several fine presentations.
Our wealth of speakers comes in part because Matt is highly regarded in the academic community. He is a contributing author to the second edition of The Jepson Manual, and to the Flora of North America project. He is also editor-in-chief of Madroño (the journal of the California Botanical Society). Matt was a Kenan Fellowship awardee at the National Tropical Botanical Gardens, and teaches for the Organization of Tropical Studies in Costa Rica.
As well as authoring numerous academic papers, his book A Californian’s Guide to the Trees among Us has national distribution.
Matt has lead several field trips into our native habitats, grasslands and urban treescape. Following the tradition that a CNPSer is only truly happy when their face is buried in a plant key, he and Dr. Keil have run premeeting keying exercises that have been enormously popular. He chairs the City of San Luis Obispo TreeCommittee.
The Chapter has long supported a student scholarship program. Matt volunteered to look after the program,
— Dr. Dirk Walters: Chair, Hoover Awards Committee
Bill Shearer, 2011 Hoover Award recipient
2011
In the world of gardening with California native plants, one never knows when they will be captivated by its magic. It was in the late 1990’s, as Bill was walking his dog through Pismo State Beach, Oceano Campground’s Native Plant Garden, and meeting Jack and Grace Beigle, that he became aware of the possibilities of gardening with native plants. It started by Bill asking lots of questions. One thing let to another and Bill eventually joined the “Garden Gang” on Tuesday mornings and in Grace’s words, “He was enthusiastic!”
Bill has now contributed countless hours to the development of the garden. He has also worked on the removal of non-native invasive species and on
restoration projects in the Oceano Campground and at the North Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove. Today his special project is the reforestation of the peninsula area in the Oceano lagoon and serving as Co-chair of the
Garden Committee. By the way, Bill has just been awarded his 1,000 hour pin by the Central Coast State Parks Association for the work he has done in the state parks.
Bill’s enthusiasm for gardening with native plants was brought to a new level around 2002, when Bill signed
up for a California native plant gardening class at the Dunes Center in Guadalupe. It was taught by Al Naydol,
who was an active CNPS member, an expert “Cal Native” gardener and at that time was Chief Environmental Officer of Vandenberg Air Force Base. The spin off from those classes was a group of south county CNPS members called the “Native Rooters.”
Bill’s garden at his home in Arroyo Grande is a beautiful oak woodland in the middle of the city, where Bill’s knowledge of California native plants is evident everywhere and he has generously shared his garden on many CNPS Garden Tours.
Bill has also made additional contributions to our chapter by propagating, cultivating, and delivering native plants to our November Plant Sale and helping out at our monthly meetings, our annual pot luck banquet and at work parties through the county. Thank you for your contributions to the SLO chapter of CNPS.
Marlin Harms, 2010 Hoover Award recipient
2010
Marlin Harms’ quiet enthusiasm and wondrous photographs are vital both to conservation and appreciation of our county’s wildflowers. Marlin’s photographs are featured prominently throughout “Wildflowers of San Luis Obispo” including the cover photograph of a Calochortus venustus display at Laguna Lake. Typical of Marlin’s enthusiasm was his effort to locate and photograph missing subjects for that book. Marlin is never content with just a pedestrian image, he wants to improve and highlight each species with his art and he is helping germinate the Chapter’s next big publication, a guide to the Carrizo wildflowers.
Marlin has played a behind-the-scenes, but vital role in the successful conservation campaigns preserving so much of our county. His photographs of Hollister Peak, the Sur Sur Ranch, the East West Ranch, and the Palisades property in Los Osos presented to foundations, Congress, and the Legislature generated the excitement and support for those conservation victories. Additionally, Marlin has contributed plants he has grown from seed to our annual plant sale for more than 15 years, quietly supporting our chapter’s centerpiece fund-raiser.
George Butterworth, 2009 Hoover Award recipient
2009
The honoree of the Hoover Award is George Butterworth. The Hoover award was presented at CNPS-SLO’s January, 2010 banquet in recognition of George Butterworths distinguished and unstinting contributions to our county’s flora, including —
his work describing the flora of the Carrizo and the Chimeneas Ranch Reserve,
the herbarium he created for Chimeneas and the Carrizo,
his expertise and work in the substantial state and CNPS plant association mapping effort for valley grassland
his well-planned and delightful field trips into the Chimeneas, Carrizo and Elkhorn Plains, and his annotated checklists,
the local butterfly and plant associate checklist that he created in support of our chapter’s community outreach goals.
Heather and Jim Johnson, 2008 Hoover Award Recipients
2008This year it is our privilege to present the Award to Heather and Jim Johnson. Heather and Jim moved to this county about 10 years ago. In short time, they became acquainted with San Luis Obispo’s “organizational landscape,” transferred their CNPS membership to our chapter, and jumped right in.
Their mark on our chapter has grown steadily through the years. With Heather’s knowledge and artistic vision, and Jim’s attention to detail, the local chapter continues to blossom.
Lauren Brown, 2007 Hoover Award recipient
2007Lauren Brown is the 2007 recipient of the Hoover Award. Lauren first came to notice of the chapter people when she consented to be our Chairperson of our newly formed committee on the control of aggressive exotics ❨weeds❩. This she did by becoming our liaison with several local governmental agencies responsible for weed control. We soon notice that she was helping out all over the place.
Lauren served as the Chapter President for two years and she did a fantastic job. She masterminded the Chapter’s hosting of the State Board Meeting last fall. As President of the Chapter, Lauren was also our Chapter representative to the State CNPS Board. The State Board is large and most of the Chapter attendees attend and then go back to their chapters without much state involvement. The State Officials thought enough of Lauren’s work on the Board that she was asked to run for state office.
John Chesnut 2004 Hoover Award recipient
2006John Chesnut, this year’s recipient of the Hoover Award has made significant contributions in all three important functions of our statewide society: our scientific authority represented by our Rare Plant and Vegetation programs; our Conservation program, in which we fight for proconservation actions of government and the private sector and oppose destructive activities; and, our Education programs that involve public field trips, horticultural programs and other forms of public outreach.
2005This Hoover award recipient has enriched our chapter in many ways. Her enthusiasm, inquisitiveness, and love of native plants, especially those of San Luis Obispo, are shared and appreciated by everyone that has met with her, be it a first-time field trip attendee or one of our botanical experts.
This year’s recipient, Mardi Niles, became our Field Trip chair in 2003. We have had excellent field trips planned and very rewarding turnouts in the years that she has been organizing this very important part of our chapter. Mardi takes great care to plan her walks and line up the leaders well in advance. That she really cares about the people who attend the walks is obvious. Hike leaders have told us how much they appreciate her organization and the assistance she provides when needed.
2004Larry Vierheilig was given the Hoover Award. The list of Larry’s accomplishments is impressive, including work with Nipomo Native Garden, Dunes Forum, Dunes Collaborative and People for Nipomo Dunes. He worked with the Land Conservancy of SLO County to identify and preserve special places in the Nipomo area. For over two years Larry wrote monthly native plant gardening articles for the Adobe Press; subsequently he donated them to the SLO Chapter for publication in the Obispoensis. He rescued hundreds of native plants from the corner of Pomeroy and Willow (Ceanothus Corner) for use by the community and established a permanent preserve at Knollwood Estates development for the endemic population of Pismo clarkia, Clarkia speciosa ssp. immaculata at Knollwood. For his contributions to CNPS Larry is very deserving of this award.
2003Susie Bernstein was honored with the Hoover Award at this year’s Annual Banquet. As Education Chair for our chapter, she has shared her infectious enthusiasm for plants and people. For several years, she has been helping with Creek Day, Bob Jones Trail Day and the Farmers Market booth. Her major focus has been assisting the seventh grade science teacher at Los Osos Middle School to develop a plant curriculum. She has taught the students about plant communities and native plants, and how to grow them.
2002Charlie Blair received the Hoover Award this year at the Annual Banquet. Thanks to Charlie’s enthusiasm and leadership the Lompoc area has a CNPS subchapter. Charlie is the one who organizes field trips, finds monthly speakers and attends chapter and state board meetings. We are fortunate to have such an energetic and knowledgeable person in our chapter.
2001The Hoover Award was presented to Eleanor Williams at the Annual Banquet. Eleanor was honored for her long time service to the San Luis Obispo Chapter of CNPS. She has served as committee chair for field trips and membership committees and as CNPS representative to the Pine Pitch Canker Task Force. In the field she has lead Wild Flower Weekend hikes, worked with the C.C.C. on creek side vegetation restoration, volunteered at the Plant Sale every year, and staffed the information and sales booth. She is currently working with the docents maintaining the demonstration garden at Montano de Oro. Thank you, Eleanor, for giving so much to CNPS!
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A member of the Asteraceae family, Italian thistle is an annual herb native to the Mediterranean region and is widespread in California, Oregon and Washington, however it is not found east of the Sierra Nevada. It was accidentally introduced into United States (Batra et al. 1981) and California (Goeden 1974) in the 1930s. Robbins (1940) reports it as early as 1912 near Fort Bragg in Mendocino County. It forms a deep taproot and prefers fertile, well drained soils but is found in disturbed areas, roadsides, pastures, meadows and grasslands. It dominates sites and crowds out native species and discourages wildlife from entering infested areas. It grows well in oak savanna and can carry grass fires to tree canopies. Although Italian thistle can grow to over six feet it is usually knee high and is often present in clusters. Its leaves are white-woolly below, hairless-green above and deeply cut into two to five pairs of spiny lobes. Stems are slightly winged. The thimble-sized flower heads in pastel shades of rose, pink to purple flowers are clustered in groups of two to five are covered with densely matted, cobwebby hairs. Italian thistle is bisexual and a single plant can produce 20,000 seeds in one season (Wheatley and Collett 1981). Its light seeds are spread by lodging (bent or broken stems in contact with the ground), wind, vehicles, and animals and also may spread from seed-contaminated hay and soil from infested quarries. To remove Italian thistle dig them out 2-4 inches below the soil before flowering. Mowing is a waste of time, in fact, plants cut 4 days after flowering can still produce viable seed. Italian thistle seedbank may last up to 10 years. Intensive grazing by sheep and goats is effective. A pre-emergent and growth regulator such as Milestone is one of the most effective herbicides for thistles and generally does not harm grass. Did I say don’t touch Italian thistle? Wow does it hurt! Use your thickest gloves!
