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BAY AREA CARNIVOROUS PLANT SOCIETY NEWSLETTER
Volume 10, Number 4, Fall 2001
October 20, 2001
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NEXT MEETING
Date: November 17, 2000, Saturday
Time: 12:00 Noon
Location: University of California Botanical Garden, Berkeley
Program: Bian Tan (Strybing Arboretum): "Plant Exploration in the
Highlands of Northern Vietnam, Bali, and the Philippines"
ABSTRACT: In an ongoing effort to develop the Arboretum's Southeast
Asian Cloud Forest, Strybing Arboretum Collections Manager Bian Tan
collected seeds and cuttings from cloud forests in Bali, the
Philippines, and the highlands of Northern Vietnam. This last expedition
was in collaboration with researchers from the Missouri Botanical
Gardens and Vietnamese botanists. Through slides, Bian will tell us
about this expedition into limestone areas that are home to rare and
endangered species, and how foreign botanists are assisting with SE
Asian plant conservation efforts.
Bian's slide show will focus on the cloud forest habitats of selected
southeast Asian countries as seen from a professional botanist's
perspective, including some Nepenthes sites in the Philippines.
Especially interesting for plant growers will be to learn about the
various factors that contribute to a cloud forest ecosystem, which will
help in recreating these conditions at home.
The meeting starts at noon with the social, display, and plant sale (10%
of sales and auction go to BACPS). Announcements begin at approximately
1:00 p.m., followed by the elections, program, raffle, and auction.
Members are encouraged to bring plants for the display table, auction,
and raffle.
The University of California Botanical Garden is located on Centennial
Drive above the main U. C. campus, between the Stadium and the Lawrence
Hall of Science. For more detailed directions, call the Information
Center at 510-643-2755 or consult the BACPS web site
(http://www.bacps.org). There is a parking fee and an entrance fee.
Any questions regarding the meeting should be directed to Geoff Wong.
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ELECTIONS
Elections for BACPS officers in 2002 will be held at the next meeting on
November 17. Please forward nominations to Larry Logoteta or bring them
to the meeting. To date, the
following nominations have been received.
President: Geoff Wong
Vice-President: Greg Lum
Secretary: Judith Finn
Treasurer: Joe Mazrimas
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PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
Mike Ross
I am pleased with the nominations for the critical areas of our club.
Please attend and help vote in your choices for the BACPS leadership.
Our next two meetings have scheduled excellent speakers and
presentations. Also remember to bring in donations for the raffle table
and plants you wish to sell in the silent auction.
Hope to see you at our next meeting.
Cheers,
Mike
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MEMBER PROFILE: GREG LUM
Greg Lum
Growing plants for me took root at an early age. Since I was 12 years
old my mom and aunt exposed me to the world of growing colorful orchids
and arranging flowers. I started growing orchids and other odd plants
when I was just finishing 4th grade and needed something to keep me busy
during the summer months. When I was about fifteen I purchased my first
two carnivorous plants - one a cobra lily and the second none other than
a Venus flytrap during a summer vacation in Michigan. While attending
Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory in San Francisco, I became active in
the San Francisco County Fair Flower Show. This was my first encounter
with such plants as Nepenthes, Cephalotus and Sarracenia. The Flower
Show was something that I looked forward to every summer, because I
would enter in dozens of categories ranging from floral design, orchids,
African violets, succulents and carnivorous plants. Winning numerous
awards for innovative design work and horticultural excellence at an
early age was a great feeling.
In 1991 I attended California Polytechnic State University, San Luis
Obispo and graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Ornamental
Horticulture, which is now EHS (Environmental Horticultural Science),
with a concentration in Sales and Service in December 1996. While at Cal
Poly, I became involved with the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade in
Pasadena as a Cut Flower Grower and Floral Designer for the years of
1992-1995.
During my college years growing insectivorous plants at school was a
challenge due to the dry Santa Ana winds and high salt content in the
water. One of my college class projects was to educate my colleagues on
how to grow carnivorous plants with a focus on propagation. I lost many
plants through trial and error and decided to keep many of my plants at
home in San Francisco. Raising Nepenthes in large fish tanks proved to
be most successful in San Luis Obispo, due to the high humidity in the
tank. Not only did they grow well with a western exposure with blinds
and supplemental fluorescent lighting, but they were also a topic of
conversation when my roommates and I had our "wild" college parties.
I joined the ICPS and BACPS in 1989 and when I was in high school
published a short article in CPN (Vol 20(3), 1991) about myself and how
I grew my plants. After college I would be able to make the BACPS
meetings only occasionally because I work on the weekends. Now I am able
to make it to the meetings and hope to become more involved with the
society. Almost all of my plants are grown outside in a cool greenhouse
with no heat just good old sunlight and some light shade when needed.
Just after college my collection had exceeded between 200-250
carnivores, 100-150 orchids and over 2 dozen bonsai plants, plus other
miscellaneous plants like African violets, cacti and succulents. Due to
my involvement in ice and roller hockey and work, I've scaled my
collection back to a mere 75 carnivores, a dozen orchids, and 24 bonsai
plants. I just didn't have time for everything.
Currently my after work activities include ice and roller hockey,
watering my plants and taking care of my nieces at home.
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MINUTES FROM MEETING ON AUGUST 4, 2001
Judith Finn
About 40 people attended the Bay Area Carnivorous Plant Society Meeting
on August 4, 2001, at the Randall Museum
Larry Logoteta reminded us that we still have T-shirts available for
$15. This and 10% of plant sales and the auction is what keeps the
membership fees low for BACPS. Larry told us about a recent trip to
Butterfly Valley in Northern California, an outstanding location for
Darlingtonia californica. He was alarmed to find the population of
plants drastically low and is afraid visitors to the region are poaching
plants.
Geoff Wong passed along a message from David Gray reminding us that the
next International Carnivorous Plant Society conference will be held in
Tokyo next June. Dormitories will be available for $30-$40 a night,
making accommodations more affordable. Dues for ICPS will be going up to
$25 in 2002.
The main feature of the meeting was a lecture and presentation on
lighting, presented by Brooke Taggart of "Plant'It Earth", located at
2215 Market Street in San Francisco.
Photosynthesis for plants growing inside our homes can be improved
greatly by providing additional lighting. There was an explanation of
different wavelengths of light. The red and blue ends of the spectrum
are especially important for plant photosynthesis even though the color
is not especially appealing to people. High pressure sodium, which
produces light in the red-yellow range, is presently most popularly used
for supplementing sunlight. It aids in fruiting and flowering.
Incandescent light bulbs waste most of their energy giving off heat.
Florescent lighting is a cheaper alternative. Use a cool white and warm
white positioned 12" or less above plants.
It was advised that reflective material, like aluminum foil or
reflective Mylar, around plants adds a lot to the effectiveness of
supplemental lighting. Sodium lights should be replaced every 2 years
and fluorescent lamps every year. Timers can be used to control day
length, 12-14 hours for many plants. Lights could be also be used just
early and late in the day to supplement natural sunlight. Air movement
by fans is always desirable. The American Orchid Society has a new book
on supplemental lights. If you are thinking of investing in lighting it
would be advisable to talk to a knowledgeable person who can help you
with your specific situation.
DISPLAY PLANTS. Joe Mazrimas: Nepenthes clipeata, Nepenthes x
briggsiana (lowii x ventricosa). Peter D'Amato: Drosera regia, D.
scorpiodes, Sarracenia oreophylla "Sand Mountain", S. rosea, Nepenthes
spathulata, Pinguicula agnata, P. gigantea, and P. moranensis. U. C.
Botanical Garden: Pinguicula laueana, P. moranensis, and Utricularia
alpina.
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TREASURER'S REPORT
Joe Mazrimas
INCOME DEBITS BALANCE
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Dues 35.00
Tee-Shirts 15.00
Sellers 85.50
Raffle 103.00
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TOTAL INCOME 238.50
Randall Museum 25.00
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TOTAL DEBITS 25.00
Current activity (05-26-01 to 08-04-01) 213.50
Previous balance (05-26-01) 2005.61
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BALANCE (08/04/01) $2254.31
U. C. Berkeley Fund (separate) $1427.50
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
This section is available for members to post plant-related
announcements (events, items wanted or available, information wanted or
to share, etc.). Please submit announcements to the editor.
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WINTER MEETING
At our first BACPS meeting in 2002 Alfred Lau will present a slide show
on Mexican Pinguicula and other native plants in habitat. Alfred spent
over 4 decades in Mexico undertaking major expeditions to remote areas
to fulfill his life's passion for plant hunting and botanical research.
Among the species he discovered are Pinguicula laueana, P. gigantea, and
several other butterworts still undescribed.
The meeting will be held held on February 2, 2002, tentatively at the
Randall Museum. However, if building renovations at the Museum are still
in progress, our backup location will be the University of California
Botanical Garden.
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BACPS CALENDAR
2001-2002
November 17 Fall Meeting, U. C. Botanical Garden: elections
December 28 Deadline for submissions to next Newsletter
February 2 Winter Meeting, (location to be determined)
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BACPS CONTACTS
President Mike Ross
Vice-President (shared) Larry Logoteta
& Bill Weaver
Secretary Judith Finn
Treasurer Joe Mazrimas
Program Coordinator Geoff Wong
Newsletter Editor Geoff Wong
E-mail Distributor Bill Weaver
Snail Mail Distributor Paul Bourbin
Business Manager Larry Logoteta
Auction Manager Glen Rankin
Auctioneer Peter D'Amato
Raffle Manager Mark Bellinger
Randall Museum Liaison (help desired)
UCBG Liaison Judith Finn
Website Manager Albert Huntington
Website: http://www.bacps.org
Mailing address: BACPS, 825 Bennington Street, Manteca, CA 95336
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Please send articles, comments, or inquiries to the editor, Geoff Wong.
If you wish to be added or removed from the distribution list, please
send a message to Bill Weaver.
This document is designed for courier 10 point font.
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