BAY AREA CARNIVOROUS PLANT SOCIETY BULLETIN
SEPTEMBER 2003
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REPORT FROM BACPS MEETING
Geoff Wong
The BACPS Plant Show and Sale last month was a great success.
Members brought in stunning plants for display. Vendors from as
far away as Fort Bragg, San Luis Obispo, and Hawaii offered a
wide selection of species, and an excellent variety of plants
was available at the raffle table and auction. It was
especially gratifying to see a lot of new people that we hope
will become part of the BACPS membership. A more detailed
report on the show will appear in the Fall BACPS Newsletter.
I'd like to give special acknowledgement to Phil Faulisi whose
countless hours of careful, thoughtful planning and attention to
detail made the event such a success. Thanks also go to
Stephen Davis who worked closely with Phil to plan the show;
Larry Logoteta, Bob Hole, and Chris Ullsperger for flyers and
publicity; Albert Huntington for website publicity; Peter
D'Amato, Kari Perlman, and Geoff Wong for judging; Judith Finn
and Nathan Smith for arranging the meeting room at the U.C.
Botanical Garden; and, most importantly, all the exhibitors,
vendors, and donors who brought in plants.
MISCELLANEOUS ANNOUNCEMENTS:
NEXT MEETING. At the BACPS fall meeting on November 8, Tuan
Nguyen will give a slide show on his trips to Australia,
Malaysia, and other exotic lands. He will emphasize
not only the plants themselves but also how they relate to
their habitats. It promises to be an interesting,
educational talk. Details will be coming in the Fall
Newsletter.
The next meeting will also include annual elections. Please
consider running for office since the long-term health of BACPS
depends on new people taking turns guiding the organization.
Don't worry about it being too much work since there are plenty
of experienced old-timers and volunteers to who will take
care of the day to day tasks. The main thing we are looking for
is an inflow of fresh ideas which will help us best serve the
members. Larry Logoteta is chairing the Election Committee
this year.
CP INFORMATION SHEET. New member Melissa Mork wrote and
produced an information sheet on CP aimed particularly at
folks new to the hobby. Pick up a copy at one of the meetings.
It's both informative and entertaining!
BACPS LOGO. Have you wanted to get your hands on items with
the BACPS logo? Bob Hole volunteered to set up a web-based
store that makes bumper stickers, mugs, T-shirts, and many
other BACPS-labeled products available to us. For starters, the
BACPS Board decided to go with the least complicated
arrangement by using Bob's pre-existing store. Thanks, Bob,
for putting this together! (See his write up later in the
bulletin.) Albert Huntington put a link on the BACPS website,
so it's ready to go.
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ELECTIONS
Larry Logoteta
Well, everyone it's that time of the year to start thinking
about electing officers for the new year 2004. The offices of
President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer are open.
Please send your nominations to me by October 8.
Larry
Election Committee
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BACPS STORE
Bob Hole
BACPS now offers bumper stickers, mugs and tote bags. Order
online at http://www.bacps.org. They make great gifts. Show
your support, order today!
Through CafePress (http://www.cafepress.com) BACPS will sell
products such as bumper stickers, t-shirts, lunch boxes, mugs,
etc. with images, logos or text on them. They offer about fifty
different products on which to put our designs.
To set up a basic store they charge nothing. A basic store
includes the possibility of offering only one design on a
particular product. For instance, one bumper sticker design,
one t-shirt design, etc. (although the bumper sticker and
t-shirt do NOT have to be the same design).
As "owner" of the store, BACPS is allowed to purchase items at
base price and then sell them ourselves at meetings, outreach,
etc., although BACPS would take the financial risk. Minimum
order quantity is 1 (one), however, so the society would not
need to over order as we might from traditional suppliers.
There are price breaks above 15 identical items.
For the store, CafePress provides all manufacturing, shipping
(charged to buyer), customer service, credit card/check
services (they do take checks, like mail order), and handle
returns. They have a 30 day money back policy, however we don't
get charged for returns (we just don't make profit on them).
We do the marketing and design.
Impact on BACPS.
- Immediate Cost: time of preparing, reviewing and approving
images.
- Long-term Cost: about $5/month if BACPS wants an independent
"premium" store. Zero if a "basic" store is wanted, or BACPS
accepts my offer of free space in my already existing store.
CafePress provides all physical logistics (money collection,
manufacture, shipping, customer service), they are located in
San Leandro.
- Benefit to BACPS: getting name out there, some monetary
return depending on sales and ultimate prices set.
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CP FIELD TRIP
Peter D'Amato
I want to remind everyone that the CP field trip to Gasquet
is getting close. It would be helpful if you could let me or
Harry know if you plan to attend, or might attend, so that we
have some idea of how many people to expect, especially for
the reception on Friday evening. However, reservations are NOT
necessary and you are perfectly welcome to just show up. We'll
be visiting some really impressive sites. Hope to see you all
there!
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Below is the original announcement published in the August
BACPS Bulletin.
Peter D'Amato and Harry Tryon will be hosting an informal
field trip to Gasquet this September 19, 20 and 21 (Friday,
Saturday and Sunday). Harry Tryon, a retired Bay Area teacher,
returned to his home county of Del Norte and bought a lovely
house off Darlingtonia Way in Gasquet, with a river view. He
has found many new CP sites not familiar to most of us. We will
have a casual wine and cheese get-together Friday at Harry's
house starting at 5 pm. We will meet Saturday and Sunday at 10
am at the Gasquet Ranger Station to begin the day's events.
More details will be announced later. Peter's phone number at
California Carnivores is 707-824-0433 (or write him at the
above e-mail address) and Harry's is 707-457-3705 for more
information. Make plans now to join us for a weekend of cobra
plants, butterworts, sundews, sasquatch and fun!
DISCLAIMER: The above field trip is not associated with nor
endorsed by BACPS. BACPS does not assume responsibility for
any of the activities.
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ASSISTING NEPENTHES TO FORM LARGE PITCHERS
Zach Lim
I, and a few others, have found a way to increase the pitcher
size in Nepenthes (Tropical Pitcher Plants). By adding a layer
of moist long-fibered sphagnum or live sphagnum under a
developing pitcher, the added humidity seems to help the growth
of the pitcher. As the pitcher grows, you may see that it is
increasing in size. As an end result, the pitcher, when opened,
tends to be much larger then the surrounding pitchers without
this "humidity treatment". I have yet to try this on other
"cup" pitchers (mainly Cephalotus f.), so if anyone is
attempting this, please let me know. Thank you.
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MOSQUITO CONTROL
Bob Hole
West Nile Virus has arrived in California. It is a mosquito-
borne disease. Those of us growing our CPs outdoors or in
greenhouses should regularly take a few moments while admiring
our plants to look for signs of mosquito eggs or larvae,
especially if you've seen them in past years. This should
help protect you and your family. Local vector control offices
will be going into high gear in the next couple of years,
trying to eradicate any source of standing water where
mosquitoes might breed, and probably start spraying heavily in
some areas. Be aware of any local policies about standing water
that may be put into effect that could cause your growing
situation a problem, and be proactive. I suppose this means
I've got to junk the idea of growing my Drosera in an old
tire. :)
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CARNIVOROUS PLANTS UK FORUM
Aidan Selwyn
I would like to make the BACPS aware of the Carnivorous Plants
UK Forum http://www.cpukforum.com/forum/portal.php
The forum is a meeting place for all who are interested in the
fascinating world of carnivorous plants. We are based in the UK,
but our membership is international and increasingly so. The
forum is completely independent and is maintained and run by
volunteers. We have over 700 members many of whom are very
knowledgeable in all aspects of carnivorous plants and freely
share their expertise. We also like to think of the forum as fun
place to be and there is a chatroom attached.
I would encourage you and your members to visit and consider
joining the forum. If you would like to add a link to the forum
from your site, please do so.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Regards,
Aidan M. Selwyn
Moderator
Carnivorous Plants UK Forum
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BACPS CALENDAR
September 23 Deadline for submissions to October Bulletin
October 1 Deadline for submissions to Fall 2003 Newsletter
October 8 Deadline for nominations
November 8 Fall Meeting, U.C. Botanical Garden: Elections
February Winter Meeting. Date and other details TBD.
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BACPS CONTACTS
President Geoff Wong
Vice-President Greg Lum
Secretary Judith Finn
Treasurer Joe Mazrimas
Newsletter Editor Greg Lum
Bulletin Editor Geoff Wong
E-mail Distributor Bill Weaver
Snail Mail Paul Bourbin
Publicity Larry Logoteta
Membership List Mike Ross
Auction Glen Rankin
Auctioneer Peter D'Amato
Silent Auction Mike Ross
Raffle John Pizzicara
Website Albert Huntington
Business Manager Larry Logoteta
Website: http://www.bacps.org
Mailing Address: BACPS, 825 Bennington St., Manteca, CA 95336
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The BACPS Bulletin serves as a monthly forum for members to
make CP-related announcements: events, want ads, items for sale
(non-commercial), information sought, growing tips, etc.
Submissions must be in plain text and received by Geoff Wong
or Bill Weaver no later than the 23rd of the month prior to publication.
This document is best viewed with courier 10 point font.