Below are the contents of the February 2012 edition of the Napa Valley CNPS newsletter.
You may view the entire newsletter as it was emailed, view a printable version, or browse from the list of articles below:
- Wildflower Walks | Plant of the Month
- Latest Volunteer Opportunities (on Volunteer Opportunities page)
- Upcoming Events (on Activities & Events page)
Also below are the contents of the April 2012 edition of the Napa Valley CNPS Newsletter.
You may view the entire newsletter as it was emailed, view a printable version, or brose from the list of articles below:
- Spring Planting & Native Plant Sale|Plant of the Month - Arctostphylos
- |Sudden Oak Death Blitz Project |New Jepson Manual|
February Newsletter Articles
WILDFLOWER WALKS IN NAPA COUNTY
Margaret Barson
The wildflower season can best be described as a time of anticipation. Every year is different. We don't always know which areas, if any, will provide marvelous displays but most of the 'old friends' will pop up in familiar places, to a greater or lesser degree. And then there is the unexpected bloom; one that 'hasn't been seen in years' or 'has not been seen blooming here before'. It’s always a satisfying treasure hunt.
And so the search begins in March. Milkmaids will reliably be everywhere. Shooting Stars, Buttercups and Hound's Tongue will add pink, blue and yellow to the mix. Leaves will be pushing up, challenging identification and promising bloom to come.
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Milk Maids Cardamine californica |
Houndstongue Cynoglossum grande |
Buttercup Ranunculus californicus |
There are many places to visit for early season treasures. Bothe Napa Valley State Park has Calypso Orchid, two species of Trillium, Mission Bells, Coltsfoot, Dutchman's Pipe and soft Hazelnut leaves beginning to unfurl. Las Posadas boasts carpets of the small narrow-leaved Pansy Monkeyflower mixed with Goldfields and Nodding Madia. Cobb Mountain Lupine is a specialty here. These and many more plants grow among an almost mystical boulder field. A few Scarlet Fritillary can usually be found along the edge. More of this flower awaits us at Aetna Springs where the road cuts literally 'drip' with Fawn Lilies in some years. That is something 'not to miss'.
On the day of the plant sale and wildflower show on April 14th at Skyline Park, Baby White Eyes, the pale form of Baby Blue Eyes, will blanket the hillsides. Zigadene, Danny's Skullcap, Toadflax and Blue Dicks will be there, too. A parasite, Naked Broomrape, was found several years ago among California Saxifrage along Lake Marie Rd. The native plant however, is resurging. Help us find its tiny blue flowers.
Trillium Nodding Madia Madia nutans Star Lily Zigadenus formantii Baby Blue Eyes Nemophila menziesii
As the season progresses we will visit The Land Trust of Napa County's Snell Valley Preserve with its many serpentine specialties in addition to Tidy Tips and Star Tulip. Later we will see some of the few remaining vernal pools at Mead Ranch, now protected by the Land Trust of Napa County.
When the Clarkias begin to cover the road cuts on the way to Lake Hennessey, this aptly named flower, 'Farewell to Spring', signals the winding down of the Spring wildflower season. But we know that summer blooms are just around the corner.
This is just a taste of what is out there. We hope this will be your year to learn about the amazing diversity of plant life in our county.
GARRYA ELIPTICA, SILK TASSEL BUSH
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Silk Tassel catkin |
| One of the most dramatic winter flowering shrubs in California is the coast silk tassel (Garrya elliptica). It is native to the coastal counties and the mountains of the coast range. Although plants can grow to 24 feet with an equal spread in the wild, they are usually smaller and are fairly slow growing in the garden. The oval, dark, evergreen leaves have a leathery texture and wavy margins. They have a bitter taste and were used by early settlers as a substitute for quinine (hence, its other common name, the quinine bush). Garrya is dioecious (male and female flowers on separate plants) and it is the male that is spectacular in bloom. Beginning in December and lasting into early spring, long, silvery-green catkins (slim, cylindrical flower clusters) hang from the branches which cascade downward approximately four to six centimeters in length. This plant produces tiny dark seeds that can become airborne as small fluffy wind-blown cotton. The coast silk tassel is very slow to start but once established, it will make up for lost time. In its native range it likes sun to part shade and infrequent watering, and works well as an informal hedge or screen. This plant is not grazed to a great degree by deer or rabbits, and is hardy to cold temperatures of about 15 degrees Fahrenheit. It is moderately drought tolerant, but is more luxuriant with rainfall. |
If you are not on the coast, seek out the species of silk tassel bush like G. fremontii or G. flavescens that grow in inland areas but are more difficult to find than the more readily available G. elliptica.
Adapted from an article by Vivian with contributions from the Horticulture Committee of CNPS.
You can help!
A volunteer work group meets weekly for garden maintenance. To join, simply stop by between 9 a.m. and noon on Thursdays (rain cancels).
Missed out on volunteering at the plant sale? Never fear, there's plenty to do! Visit our Volunteer Opportunities page for the latest opportunities.
April Newsletter Articles
Native Plant Sale and Wildflower Show
Saturday & Sunday, April 14th & 15th, 10am-4pm.
Skyline Wilderness Park, 2201 Imola Ave., Napa
• If you missed planting your natives this past fall, try planting this spring to give the roots time to establish before the dry hot days of summer. Don't forget to mulch! Once your newly planted natives are in, check their water needs by digging down one to two inches every week. If the soil is moist, don't water. If it is dry, give your plants a thorough watering. This is especially important the first summer. By the second summer they shouldn't need water.
• Some of our favorite plants like manzanita, ceanothus, matilija poppy and fremontia do especially well when planted during the wet season. Help reestablish California's native flora and fauna by trying some of these charmers in your yard! Come to the sale!
Wild Lilac, Ceanothus thyrsiflorus Matilija Poppy, Romneya coulteri Flannel Bush, Fremontia
This is our the biggest plant sale of the year!
Expert help will be available to help you find the right plant combinations for your garden.
Survey your garden and come in with your wish list. Spring Plant List enclosed.
Free admission to Skyline Park during the Sale
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Plant Sale Preview Party & Wine Tasting for CNPS members and guests
Friday, April 13, 7-9 pm
A not to miss event! Members receive first pick of over 1,000 plants while enjoying a glass of wine, a chance for our door prize and sharing time with friends and fellow members.
All current members receive 10% off during the entire sale!
All proceeds benefit the Martha Walker California Native Habitat Garden.
Help us advertise the sale by copying the flyer and sharing it with friends and co-workers. Let’s bring habitat-rich plants to all Napa Valley gardens!
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Plant of the Month: Arctostaphylos
Manzanita, Spanish for “Little Apple” because the red berries look like miniature apples, is the common name for the genus Arctostaphylos. There are more than forty species in California, not to mention all the cultivars, subspecies and hybrids. Most are found in the chapparal areas. 
Manzanita species grow from two inches (some of the coastal species) to twenty feet tall (many interior species). They are popular for their shiny red or mahogany colored bark and the small urn-shaped flowers that vary from pink to white and are popular with hummingbirds.They are evergreen and very drought tolerant.
Plants in this family are highly mycorrhizal (associated with symbiotic fungi). This allows them to survive in many harsh environments, but it also makes them very susceptible to over watering and fertilizing. They should not be summer watered nor fertilized.
Manzanitas are great wildlife plants. Providing nectar for butterflies, hummingbirds, and native insects (they're cool!). Many manzanitas regulate their nectar to attract different insects, butterflies and hummingbirds during the day. Birds, bears, deer, and other animals are known to eat the ripe berries and the bush provides shelter for birds and other small animals
The fruit is a white berry that turns red-brown as summer wears on. The California native Americans usually collected the ripe berries by beating the shrub to drop the berries into baskets. The fruit was eaten raw or cooked, crushed for beverages or made into jellies. Dry seeds were ground into a fine flour and made into a mush, or shaped into thin cakes and baked on top of hot ashes. The green fruit has a high acidity but was known as a thirst quencher. The flowers were steeped for tea. The wood was used for utensils and pipes. The Spanish settlers were also known to pick the berries while still green and used them to make a soft drink or jelly.
There were also medicinal uses for Manzanita. Manzanita berries were made into a tea and applied as a lotion for relief from poison oak. The leaves were used to make a tea for stomach relief and weight loss, for a bath to aid rheumatism, as a wash to stop certain types of headaches. Chewed leaves were used as a poultice for sores.
See several species of Manzanita in the entry garden by the South Gate at the Martha Walker Garden in Skyline Park.
Sources: Las Palitas Nursery http://www.laspilitas.com/groups/manzanita_arctostaphylos/Manzanita.html
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New Jepson Manual Published
The second edition of the Jepson Manual: Vascular Plants of California has recently been published by UC Press as a print volume and an interactive digital version. It is the work of 300 authors and editors. The ebook incorporates interactivity, portability, and convenience. The ebook is compatible with the iPad, Kindles (after conversion), computers, and the Nook, and will allow rapid navigation through keys to families, genera, species, and subspecies using links. The new Jepson can also be accessed online at http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/IJM.html. Unlike the print and ebook versions, this version does not contain illustrations. For more information, go to: http://www.ucpress.edu/book.php?isbn=9780520253124
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BE PART OF THE 2012 SOD BLITZ
Sudden Oak Death Lecture, Napa - Saturday May 12, 9:00am
Napa UCCE Classroom, 1710 Soscol Ave
2011 was a bad year for our native oaks. Prolonged Spring rains resulted in a significant spread of Sudden Oak Death (SOD) throughout the State, including areas like Marin and Sonoma that have alreadywitnessed serious outbreaks in the past, and new areas like the East Bay and the Carmel Valley.Get involved and help map the distribution of SOD in the State by joining the group of hundreds of citizen scientists who have been helping for the past four years by participating in their local SOD Blitz. Attend a one-hour long training session offered by U.C. Berkeley’s Dr. Matteo Garbelotto.
Plant material will be processed at Berkeley and the results will be posted on an interactive web-available map by 1/10/2012. (Do not bring material before you attend the training session, as plants need to be sampled following a precise, although simple, protocol!) Training sessions on how to manage SOD are offered monthly at U.C. Berkeley, and weekly during the Fall in various California locations. There, you will learn to identify SOD infected leaves, pick up a SOD Blitz collection package, and collect symptomatic plant leaves in your community.Main reasons to participate in the 2012 SOD Blitz:
- * SOD distribution changes every year.
- * 2011 was a major year (a “wave” year) for SOD spread and most of the spread occurred AFTER the 2011 Blitzes were conducted.
- * Years following a “wave” year are also conducive to the spread of SOD. Hence, we predict the pathogen will spread even further in 2012.
- * 2012 Blitzes follow a NEW protocol that will allow us to estimate the actual local SOD infection rate, in addition to informing the public on local SOD distribution.
Napa UCCE Classroom, 1710 Soscol Ave.
Contact: Bill Pramuk - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Matteo Garbelotto, Director: U.C. Berkeley Forest Pathology Laboratory Website: www.matteolab.org
