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California
Native Plant Society – Riverside San Bernardino Chapter Newsletter
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The Encelia |
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Second and Third Quarter 2006 – www.enceliaCNPS.org |
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Our Featured Plant |
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Lichen Diversity in California By Kerry Knudson, The Herbarium, Dept. of Botany & Plant Sciences, University of California, Riverside, California 92591-0124 email: kk999@msn.com |
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The
Sonoran Lichen Project, funded by the National Science Foundation, is coming
to a close as we are putting together maps and making last minute additions
and revisions to treatments in April. The third and final volume of the
Lichen Flora of the Greater Sonoran Region should be published by this fall
(the first two volumes are for sale only online at http://nhc.asu.edu/lichens/flora/order.jsp). The title is deceptive, as the over eighty lichenologists from around the world who worked on the treatments included specimens from southern California up to Santa Barbara County in their studies. Thus the flora is a flora of southern California too. Many
new species were discovered and named during the studies for Volume Three, a
number of them from southern California. Over
the last two years I sent all the Verrucaria I collected to Othmar Breuss of Austria who was
working on this difficult genus of crustose lichens. While surveying lichens
on carbonate rock in Cactus Flats in the San Bernardino Mountains for the
National Forest Service (see Crossosoma 31:1 for full survey results, |
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I
collected a number of specimens of a small gray Verrucaria crust morphing out of other lichens. It literally
grew out of them. Since lichens grow as little as a tenth of a millimeter a
year you could easily see all the stages of this drama which takes as long as
ten years to complete in an area of ten centimeters. A brown crust of Staurothele
areolata, for instance, would begin
to turn gray. Then gray Verrucaria
crust would very slowly emerge from the inside of the dwindling body of its
brown lichen host, as it absorbed its algae and made a meal of the fungus.
Finally the gray Verrucaria would
become independent and continue growing toward other lichens in the immediate
vicinity as it drew energy from the photosynthesizing algae it had absorbed
from the lichen crust it had destroyed.
Like human beings, lichens are their own worst enemies.
Othmar
Breuss recognized the new species immediately by its difference in spore size
from similar gray Verrucaria and
called it Verrucaria bernardinensis
Breuss, named after its type locality
in the San Bernardino Mountains. It is being published in Vol. 3 of the Sonoran
lichen flora with a photograph. It is described as growing on Staurothele species but I have recently determined collections
from San Jacinto Mountains and Reno, Nevada of V. bernardinensis growing on other lichen genera, species of Aspicilia and Acarospora. It is omnivorous in its taste for other lichens. This also differs
from related species.
Another
newly described lichen species from southern California is a yellow Acarospora,
another crustose genus found on rock
and soil. The common species, Acarospora socialis H. Magn., is all over California and Arizona. It is
one of the first species one notices when one starts paying attention to
lichens. Most lichenologists collect it ten or fifteen times and start ignoring
it. That is how the new species got overlooked.
The
new species, Acarospora robiniae,
was collected on Santa Cruz Island by a good friend Robin Schroeder from ASU. I
named it for her when I described it for Vol. 3 of the Sonoran lichen flora. It
is a glossy yellow, not as citrine as A. socialis, with a different microscopic structure, but it also
has a distinctively different chemistry. If you put a drop of Chlorox on it, it
turns red-pink because of certain acids it produces in its cortex.
In the last year I have charted it from Santa Barbara to
Point Loma in San Diego County and seen several collections from Baja. It
occurs only directly in the maritime zone, a regular fog zone, along the
immediate coast. Its most inland location is at the UC Dawson Preserve where
fogs roll up from Carlsbad funneling into Los Monos Canyon.
(For photographs of A.
socialis, go to www.specieslist.net
and enter "social" in the search field. For a photo of A. robiniae, got to
http://www.rolfmuertter.com/images/fieldtrips/2006_02_22_SMM/DSCN2294.JPG)
Though most lichens take an expert to identify, the species
are as distinct from one another as vascular plant species.
These
two new species, among dozens described in the three volumes of the Sonoran
Lichen Flora, illustrate the exploration of California’s lichen diversity is
far from over. The current Revised Catalog of California Lichens,
Lichenicoles, and Allied Fungus by
Shirley Tucker and Bruce Ryan was just published online at the Jepson Herbarium
website for free as Constancea 84 (http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/constancea/84).
It lists 1574 taxa occurring in California, 36% of all taxa reported for North
America. In its first edition in 1979, the catalog covered 999 species (1060
including infraspecific taxa.) The species number known has nearly doubled
since 1945, when Herre reported 794 species and varieties known in California.
Neither of the two species I’ve discussed was listed in the new catalog. They will be included in next year’s online revision of the catalog. Already over 20 lichens reported new for the state are ready to be included and the main author Shirley Tucker has just begun to record the new additions to the state flora reported in Vol. 3 of the Sonoran Lichen Flora.
And still hardly a month goes by without the report of a new state record.
NEW MEMBERS – WELCOME!!!
Mary Brent Wehrli and
Terry Cornett, Palm Springs
Patricia Crawford,
Wildomar, Jennifer Hinojosa, Adelanto
Phyllis Oswald of Palm
Desert and Don Hedgepeth of Rancho Mirage moved into RSB Chapter
Marsha Malone, Chino,
Rose Ramirez, Temecula, Jeff Brandt, Los Angeles
Lori Bladsoe, Las Vegas NV,
a joint member of Mohave Chapter & RSB
also
welcome to Joan R. Hampton of Orange County Chapter who selected RSB as her
second chapter.
PRESIDENT’S
MESSAGE AND OTHER NEAT THINGS
From
Katie Barrows
Fond
Farewell to Conservation and Horticulture Chair Alison Shilling
In May our
chapter board bid a fond farewell to Alison Shilling, our conservation chair.
Our Riverside/San Bernardino chapter will not easily replace the dedication,
enthusiasm, knowledge and amazing spirit that Alison shared with us since
joining the board in 2000. Alison has moved to the Davis area to be near her
family. We will miss her.
Alison’s efforts
on behalf of native plants in Riverside County are impressive. In fact her
dedication to CNPS was recognized at the March 2006 Chapter Council meeting in
Claremont where she received an outstanding volunteer award. As our
conservation chair, Alison has represented CNPS on the San Jacinto River Watershed Council and the State OHV
Park Committee as well as on many other conservation issues. For many years she
faithfully attended the Western Riverside County Multiple Species Habitat
Conservation Plan meetings and then served on the Implementation Committee for
the Western Riverside County Regional Conservation Authority. She has written
countless letters and spoken up at innumerable meetings on behalf of native plant
heritage. She has served as our Horticulture Chair and has always been there to
help propagate plants and organize the plant sale.
In addition to her committee
responsibilities, Alison frequently served as an alternate representative to
the CNPS Chapter Council, attending meetings in various parts of the state. I
have had some wonderful opportunities to work with Alison
As a resident of the Lake
Mathews area, Alison was also active on the Lake Mathews Area Rural
Association, speaking for open space and the rare plants and animals in her
neighborhood.
I know I speak
for all our members in thanking Alison for all she has done for us. As fellow
CNPS member and activist Tom Egan told Alison in a recent email, “You are an
inspiration and not only have CNPS members gained from your
dedication, but all Californians have benefited from your efforts.”
It has been our great pleasure to work with Alison. We all admire her strength,
commitment, and irrepressible spirit. I’m sure it won’t be long before Alison
is active in her new home, sharing her love for and knowledge of our native
plants. We all wish her the best.
Dear
Members: We are still looking for a person or persons who would be willing to
step in to help with some of the conservation issues Alison so ably covered for
us for so many years. Our Conservation Committee needs your help. Please
contact Katie Barrows if you can help with a little or a lot
(kate.cnb@verizon.net).
AND MORE…
Local Tribute to Alison Shilling
Relayed by Michael Duval, who commented: I thought that our
list site would appreciate seeing this tribute, copied and pasted from the Lake
Mathews Area Rural Association. I can add nothing to these heart-felt
sentiments except to say I will miss you, Alison and your efforts in support of
our California Native Plant Society.
"As those of you at the RAGLM Meeting heard me speak tonight,
Alison Shilling has been a long time volunteer on the RAGLM board. She came on
board to protect and speak for the interest of environmentalists, to protect
the Open Space and wildlife areas in Riverside County. She like myself is very
outspoken and defends those interests strongly.
“She did not want to burden the community with her problems. So, at her request, nothing was said to
the community ... until tonight. I had tried to get Alison to show up at the
meeting tonight. It had been my hope to thank her personally on behalf of the
whole community for her unending loyalty to this community. I broke her
silence. Alison's cancer had returned. Her husband’s cancer had returned as
well. As she and her husband were under going treatment for this, Alison still
gave to this community. When she was feeling well enough, she was out there
putting up signs and attending meetings. When she was too sick to do these
things, she still stayed in contact with the RAGLM board and members of the
list sites. That's dedication!!! As if that in and of itself were not enough,
Alison's husband did not beat his fight with his cancer. Through even this
tragedy she kept right on giving to this community. With the passing of her
husband, Alison decided she would be better off to sell her place and move.
This would mean leaving behind the property she and he had so loved.
“All that she's given this community and now she leaves us. She
and I have a number of times been at opposite sides on issues, but she has
always been an excellent community volunteer and for all that she has given to
this community, there just are no words to state how thankful each and every
one of us should be, and that I am. Alison, you will be irreplaceable. What a
pleasure it has been to serve with you and work with you. Your will power and
strength amaze me. You are one
outstanding person. Over all this, all I can say is "Thank You!!!"
but it still sounds so cheap. If there were only a way to pay you back for all
you've done for all of us. You will be missed. I wish for you all the happiness
you dream of... You deserve it!!!
“Through the ups and downs, I thank you for standing by me when I
needed it and for just everything. Thank you Alison!!! Thank You... from the
bottom of my heart!"
Cindy Ferry”
AND MORE
NOTABLE CNPS FOLKS
While
spraying castor bean at Featherly Regional Park last month, Bill Neill was
interviewed for this article on invasive weed control, which includes a
thoughtful discussion of herbicide safety. The article was published in
the January/February 2006 newsletter of the California Native Plant Society's
Orange County Chapter, and is posted at www.occnps.org.
Bill remarked that RSB chapter has sponsored his
volunteer work by paying for herbicide at Big Morongo Canyon, Sycamore Canyon
and Santa Ana River Regional Park.
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Beginner’s Corner: Interview with a Cereal Killer*
Joan Hampton, with Bill
Neill
*Thanks
to Brad Jenkins for the title
For nearly three
years, I idly wondered about the mysterious Invasive Exotics Chair, Bill Neill,
listed on the back of the OC CNPS newsletters along with the rest of our
committee chairs. Shortly before Christmas, I had the opportunity to accompany
him on his rounds at Featherly Regional Park in
Yorba Linda. Our conversation overturned many of my preconceptions.
I had imagined that he
went into an area to eliminate multiple species of non-native plants, but
that’s not the way he operates. He goes in to a particular area with a defined
plan for eliminating one or more specific species. Once he commits himself to
an area, he makes repeat visits until they are brought under control. Initial
visits focus on large specimens, while subsequent ones are aimed at seedlings.
On this occasion, he targeted castor bean (Ricinis communis), spraying plants at the base so that overspray would
be less likely to harm adjacent natives.
Bill’s hit list, in
his own words, includes weed species that eventually will displace the native
flora entirely, yet provide poor habitat for wildlife. Castor bean, he says,
has been prominent in the news recently as the source of ricin, a potent poison
implicated in bioterrorist threats. With its enormous tropical leaf, castor
bean is very shade-tolerant and it easily shades out adjacent native plants.
Castor bean is not restricted to riparian areas, but it thrives there. Large
mature plants are highly susceptible to herbicide, and thus can easily be
controlled, but the large seed can remain viable for years after the parent
tree is gone. He cites an incident where two children died from ingesting
castor bean seeds (which they ate like pinyon nuts gathered on a family outing)
and another where a horse died from eating castor bean leaves.
Through research at
various public agencies’ websites, he found out that castor bean poisoning is
harmful to multiple organs: breathing vaporized ricin causes pulmonary edema;
skin contact produces dermatitis; ingestion of leaves or seeds (which are even
worse) leads to gastrointestinal hemorrhage plus liver, spleen and kidney
failure. Castor bean poisoning is slow-acting and difficult to diagnose, and has no antidote.
Once the parent plant has been eradicated, the larger job
will be controlling successive waves of castor bean seedlings that sprout from
the persistent seed bank. Because the seed is relatively large and immobile,
most seeds produced in previous years will remain under the parent tree canopy
or short distances downslope, sprouting initially as dense carpets of seedlings
after the parent dies. The seeds are newly exposed to sunlight during spring
months. Furthermore, the seeds can remain viable for at least a decade.
Bill’s hit list
contains only one cereal, the giant reed (Arundo donax), noted for its abundant thirst for ground water. It
is uniquely virulent in its ability to destroy riparian habitat. Resembling a
cross between dwarf bamboo and giant corn stalks, Arundo grows to heights
approaching 30 feet and forms impenetrable thickets that shade out small trees
and shrubs. Large trees are eventually killed by fire because Arundo is highly
flammable and converts riparian corridors from natural fire breaks to fire
conduits. Add to this the fact that Arundo is a water thief: I could show you a
10-acre stand of solid Arundo near the Rio Hondo channel that is completely
impenetrable and devoid of trees and wildlife. Arundo is exceptionally
shade-tolerant and expands slowly but inexorably where introduced
intentionally, by accident or by flooding, until it becomes abundant enough to
carry hot wildfires though a riparian corridor, which kills the native trees.
Another water thief,
the tamarisk or saltcedar tree (Tamarix ramosissima), provided the motivation that eventually led to a
career switch from petroleum engineering to professional herbicide applicator
during 1998-1999. Bill became concerned about its proclivity for invading and
taking over desert springs. He says that throughout much of the Colorado River
and Rio Grande watersheds, tamarisk has become the dominant plant species,
replacing native riparian trees such as cottonwood, willow and mesquite. In
Death Valley, where he got started, he observed that National Park Service
staff had started removing tamarisk from Eagle Borax Spring in the early 1970s
because the spring was drying up. Removing the tamarisk brought the return of
surface water and native reeds and waterfowl, and mesquite trees regained their
vigor. It was an impressive example of ecological restoration.
Inspired by this
recovery, Bill earned his herbicide applicator’s license in 1983, and started
to organize volunteer work parties to remove tamarisk from desert springs and
riparian areas throughout the California desert and occasionally in neighboring
states. He is currently one half of a partnership named Riparian Repairs,
working as a contractor funded by various grants throughout southern
California. OC CNPS is one of his sponsors for volunteer work. Orange County
parks where he does volunteer work are Carbon Canyon Regional Park, Featherly
Regional Park, Craig Regional Park, Santiago Oaks Regional Park, Irvine
Regional Park, Caspers Wilderness Park and Peters Canyon Regional Park. In
addition to his other efforts, he now performs contract work at Shipley Nature
Center in Huntington Beach, following several years of volunteer weed control
work there.
The risks posed by
herbicides raise a number of hotly debated questions: can we be certain that
none of them are dangerous to humans? To farm animals? To wildlife ecosystems?
To soil microorganisms? How long do they persist in the soil? Are herbicide
testing procedures adequate? Should manufactured herbicides be replaced by
naturally derived ones? Should the use of herbicides be curtailed in favor of
mechanical methods of weed control?
Let’s
begin with a look at testing procedures.
Since it is not
feasible to test herbicides on every organism that might be affected, and
certainly not on human subjects, researchers use so-called surrogate species as stand-ins. These can include fish, newts,
salamanders, crustaceans (such as the minute water flea), tadpoles, adult toads
and frogs, rats, mice, and (particularly for eye testing) rabbits.
Pesticide
manufacturers conduct testing. It generally takes seven to ten years to bring a
product to market, because tests examine long-term effects on at least three
generations of the specimens studied. Apart from obvious, acute toxic effects,
researchers also assess the possibility of mutation leading to birth defects
(including the inability to successfully reproduce), cancer-causing potential,
and persistence in the environment. In California (the state with the most
rigorous requirements) test results are reviewed by the California Department
of Pesticide Regulation, whose website is http://www.cdpr.ca.gov.
The national overseer is the Environmental Protection Agency.
The possibility exists
that some drastic toxic effect (akin to that of DDT) may have been overlooked,
but thus far nothing significant has turned up for common herbicides used
today. That does not mean that a given product is safe under all conditions.
For example, certain herbicides used where food crops are grown may only be
sprayed after the crop has been harvested. Some of the sprays Bill uses are not
allowed for applications where they could enter ponds or waterways, because of
toxic effects on fish, amphibians, or aquatic vegetation. Species that live in
water are vulnerable to skin contact, ingestion or inhalation of pesticides. Products
intended for use around water must undergo additional testing to be awarded a
type of license known as aquatic registration.
Very often, herbicides
are mixed with other substances, such as refined vegetable oil (for bark
penetration) or surfactants (for leaf penetration). In some cases, these
surfactants are more toxic to animal life than the herbicide, and their
presence places restrictions on how the herbicide may be used.
Opponents of
manufactured pesticides argue that they should be replaced with less harmful
natural plant-based products. For example, as a science fair project, a
fourteen-year-old school girl experimented with using oleander extract to kill
Arundo with great success. Other natural toxins that have been suggested are
those present in chrysanthemums, in castor bean, and in poison hemlock (Conium
maculatum). But because of their
extreme toxicity, these natural extracts create far more problems than any
herbicide currently in use, to the public, to the ecosystem where they might be
applied, and to the health of the person applying them.
In addition to the
seven- to ten-year time span required to test accepted pesticides, Bill states
that manufacturers spend forty to eighty MILLION dollars to satisfy EPA
requirements and to bring a new, active ingredient to market. A company
attempting to sell one of these natural extracts would first have to undergo
the complete testing process, required since the extract’s intended use would
be as a pesticide. It is possible that some suitable substance will be found
and will survive the rigorous testing procedures, but that hasn’t happened thus
far.
Disregarding their
potential as pesticides, we don’t even know how much risk these plants pose to
the public in their natural state, proliferating along stream banks and in
other natural areas. In short, we know a lot about the properties of
manufactured herbicides, but nearly nothing about natural plant extracts,
except for their extreme toxicity. We cannot conclude here that Mother Nature
knows best.
Bill has concerns
about health risks to himself from working around these toxic species. He
researched the subject extensively, but found almost no hard data. Personal
protection that he uses in the field includes gloves, long sleeves, and safety
glasses with side shields. He cleanses the gloves after each use.
Another option
advocated by herbicide opponents is to replace chemical treatments with
mechanical removal of invasive plants. Options include tarping, cutting, or
digging them out. This can be successful with small infestations and a large
volunteer crew, but while there are exceptions, it is usually not feasible
where the weeds are widespread.
In conclusion, we may
not love the idea of spraying herbicides in our wild areas, but for the time
being it is the most effective method of weed eradication.
NEW
CNPS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
From
Katie Barrows
CNPS welcomed our new Executive Director, Amanda
Jorgenson, at the Chapter Council meeting in March 2006. Amanda has a diverse
and fascinating background. Prior to coming to CNPS, she was the Country
Program Coordinator in Ecuador for the Wildlife Conservation Society. Working
with Ecuador’s Ministry of the Environment, Amanda led the establishment of a
cooperative program for management of the Yasuni Biosphere Reserve in the
Amazon, bringing together local government agencies, national conservation
groups, indigenous organizations, universities and oil companies. She has also
worked for Fundacion Natura in Columbia, Tropical Research and Development Inc.
in Florida, and World Wildlife Fund-US in Washington, D.C. She has a BS in
Biology from George Mason University and an MA in Latin American Studies,
Tropical Conservation and Development from the University of Florida,
Gainesville.
CLASSES
TO TAKE
Experience Nature with the Desert Institute at Joshua Tree National Park
The Desert Institute offers
exciting, short outdoor courses in natural history, science, survival skills,
and the arts. Adults can explore the natural wonders of the park with expert
instructors. Each student will
have an intimate learning experience with the natural world. This is a great
way to visit Joshua Tree National Park and the surrounding area, where sunshine
is plentiful in this fascinating backdrop of ancient rock formations and desert
vegetation. Below is a course
calendar for fall 2006. Please
call or email the Desert Institute to request a course brochure at 760-367-5535
or desertinstitute@zippnet.net.
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Saturday, September 23 |
Desert Night Sky |
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Sunday, September 24 |
Insects of the Desert |
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Saturday, September 30 |
Geology of San Andreas Fault |
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Sunday, October 1 |
Reptiles of the Desert |
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Saturday October 7 |
Drawing the Desert |
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Sunday, October 8 |
Watercolor Painting in the
Park |
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Saturday, October 14 - Pine
City: |
A Desert Woodlands
Exploration |
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Sunday, October 15 |
Smith Water Canyon |
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Saturday & Sunday,
October 21-22 |
Native American Basket
Weaving |
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Saturday & Sunday,
October 28-29 |
Advanced Native American
Basket Weaving |
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Saturday & Sunday, October
28-29 |
Archaeology of Joshua Tree
National Park |
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Saturday, November 4 |
Native Californian Pigments
& Paints |
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Sunday, November 5 Stubbe Springs: |
A Closer Look at a Desert
Water Source |
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Friday & Saturday,
November 10-11 |
Photographing the Joshua
Tree Landscape |
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Sunday, November 12 |
Mystery of the Wonderland of
Rocks |
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Saturday & Sunday,
November 18-19 |
Geology: Creation of the JT Landscape |
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Friday & Saturday,
December 1-2 |
Map & Compass Basic
Skills |
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Sunday, December 3 |
Map & Compass Advanced
Skills |
