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BACPS | Newsletter |
| Fall 2004 |
Next Meeting: February 5, 2005
Meeting at California Carnivores
BACPS Team Propagation Project
Date: Saturday January 15, 2005, 12PM-2PM
Location:
UC Botanical Garden, Berkeley
Just back from a harrowing high-adventure trip through the roughest and most remote CP sites in South America, you can expect exciting stories and incredible images of CP and other rare and unusual plants from Fernando Rivadavia. Fernando resides in Brazil and is visiting the Bay Area for a short time. Don't miss this opportunity to speak with one of our greatest CP explorers.
Get a sneak peak from the "Holy Grail" article below.
Bring a snack to share.
Program Topic: Geoff Wong on "Pinguicula and Utricularia in the Cloud Forests of Ecuador"
Date: February 5, 2005, 12PM-4PM
Location: UC Botanical Garden, Berkeley
At the February meeting Geoff Wong will give a presentation, "Pinguicula and Utricularia in the Cloud Forests of Ecuador", illustrated by photos of villages, mountains, forests, and exotic plants including orchids, aroids, bromeliads, and, of course, some CP. The dramatic elevation changes in Ecuador produce habitats ranging from steamy lowland jungle to cloud forest to permanent snowcap, sometimes in less than 40 miles as the crow flies.
In this issue we're happy to be able to show some original CP artwork by San Francisco artist Cara Barnard. For information on sales of prints/originals, please contact her directly at caragb28@yahoo.com.
(Click on thumbnails to view larger images.)
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by Stephen Davis
Wow! What a year! Our little society is growing up! We have had a lot of fun get-togethers, put on a significant plant show, and have seen previews of plants that few will see until published sometime in the unknown future.
We started the year with our Winter meeting featuring Peter D'Amato, Harry Tryon, and Damon Collingsworth who gave an incredible presentation and slide show of their trip to the Darlingtonia bogs of Northern California. We were treated to information and insights that you will never see printed in a book.
One of our members, who started with us as a kid and is now a well-known expert in the field of carnivorous plants -- Nepenthes in particular, as well as orchids -- came home from Kuching, Borneo, Malaysia, and gave a breathtaking slide show of his adventures in Borneo and elsewhere. Ch'ien Lee, who worked for a time at Malesiana Tropicals in Borneo, wowed us with his photos, and you would have thought we were watching fireworks on the 4th of July with all the ooohhhs and aaaahhhhhs during that all-too-short bonus meeting. We sat enraptured as he told how he rediscovered a number of species of Nepenthes, usually right after a good nap. Ch'ien Lee is an accomplished photographer, and we are selling his posters at the meetings.
One of the biggest questions people ask every year is "What soil is best for my plants?" Our Spring meeting dove into the details, as some of California's best growers sat on a panel and discussed their soil recipes and growing conditions. Bill Baumgartl pulled it all together and helped make sense of the theory so we could choose the right mix for our plants ourselves.
We had our first potluck in many years this summer and got together at my house. I got to show off my bog garden, and there were many plants for trade and sale as well. It was a casual afternoon and I think very relaxing. I certainly enjoyed being able to show off my garden and plants. It felt good seeing people comfortably relaxing in swings and sitting on the grass with a drink and talking about their interest in plants and sharing stories of success and disaster. New growers got a real appreciation for the plants and may have learned more than they bargained for.
Three years ago our annual CP show consisted of 3 sparse 8-foot tables and took a few minutes to judge. Last year Phil Faulisi took the bull by the horns and turned it into a real event. So much so that we outgrew the UC Botanical Garden and moved to the Garden Center at Oakland this year. It was a good thing, too, as we were just comfortable in the new digs. We drew vendors and show participants from as far away as Fort Bragg in the north (if not further), LA to the south, and even people from the Valley. The 2005 show is going to be even bigger!
This fall we had a slide show made from a very special CD sent to us by one of the great explorers of CP in Australia. We learned that the 4th book in the Carnivorous Plants of Australia "trilogy" is in the works, and we actually got a preview of the plants that will be featured. We can thank the hard work of Joe Mazrimas, who had helped Allen Lowrie research his first books, for sharing and leading the discussion with us after Allen sent him the CD in gratitude.
We instituted a seed purchase from Allen Lowrie's seed list. Allen probably has the most extensive seed bank of CP in the world, but it is very difficult to get the catalog, and very expensive for an individual to purchase. Each order, no matter what the size, costs about $60 in shipping, phyto, and other fees. The club picked up these fees and made a small order by individuals possible. Club members ordered over $700 worth of seeds! I can't wait for people to start bringing in some of these plants! I want to thank Ted Berry and Joe Mazrimas for managing the program and putting the order together.
2004 was the year for improving communications. Tony Gridley has done an incredible job of managing and putting together this newsletter. Thanks to Albert Huntington, our website now has more capacity and is just waiting for someone to step up to the plate and dust it off (see Volunteers Needed below). Albert kindly donates his time and money to maintaining the website for the BACPS.
2005 is the year for membership. We will be doing several things to get the word out about our club and increase attendance. If you have any ideas, please help us out and share them. PR will be important, and we would welcome people with experience in this, or just the enthusiasm to move things forward a bit.
Since we are bringing in a lot of new members, it also means lots of beginners. Several people have approached me about the need to do something for beginners, and they have started to put things together. If you have a suggestion, I'd like to hear it.
The CP show of 2005 is going to be even bigger, so please contact me and offer a little bit of your time. We won't ask for more than you can give. We know how busy everyone is. The people who helped out last year thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Again, PR is our Achilles' heel, and we need some help there. We are making some inroads already, so it's not starting from scratch.
I want to thank all of you for re-electing me to the position of President. It's an honor, and I really enjoy working with all of you.
For those of you who are active on the listserves and bulletin boards, you
may have heard of the exploits of Fernando Rivadavia over the years. A true
Indiana Jones of the CP world, he has braved the deepest of jungles,
rainforests, and mountains, and faced many, many dangers to get a glimpse of
CP in the wild. A true botanist, he has discovered several CP species and
expanded our knowledge of their range and growing habits. He may also be
nuts, but only by a matter of degree.
His latest exploits into the highlands of South America have netted him a rare find that he and others have been searching out for many, many years. His adventure took him to some of the roughest and remotest sites in South America, where he re-discovered the very rare Drosera meristocaulis. An unfortunate accident with a machete had him sewing up his own leg and waiting days for rescue.
Originally described in 1957 from an expedition in 1953, D. meristocaulis is
a stem-forming sundew that has often been compared to D. scorpioides. Unlike
almost every other carnivorous plant that takes great care to hoist its
flower well away from its hungry leaves, D. meristocaulis has made its
priority clear, as its oversized flower is nestled in amongst the actively
trapping leaves. It will be fascinating to find its pollinator.
Currently, the feeling is that D. meristocaulis "is a relic species lost in
one of the most isolated spots of the Americas." The buzz on the web was
how similar this plant is to the Australian pygmy Drosera. Fernando
commented that it looks like a plant straight from one of Allen Lowrie's
books on Carnivorous Plants of Australia, with just a few subtle differences
to set it apart. I'm sure quite a few discussions are going on behind the
scenes debating and pondering how closely related this Drosera is, or is
not, to the Australian plants. DNA studies should prove interesting.
Fernando is currently recovering from his injuries and very active on the CP listserve. Say hi to him if you are on the CP listserve, and congratulate him. I want to thank Fernando for supplying us with these photos and an overview of his expedition. We look forward to hearing the details of his adventures and seeing pictures at the special meeting to be held in January.
by Stephen Davis
As some of you heard, Peter and Marilee were having a 20% off sale at
California Carnivores to celebrate Halloween. I thought it would be fun to
set a date for a casual get-together and take advantage of the sale. Peter
thought that was a great idea and graciously offered to give us a short
presentation on Nepenthes history, growing tips, rooting cuttings,
pollination of flowers, and more. He supplied some snacks, and many members
brought some of their favorite food items too.
Now, as all of you know, short cannot really be used to describe Peter, nor
can it ever be used in reference to his presentations. Fortunately, Peter's
presentation was, as always, captivating and left us with a lot of great
information to stew on. There were at least half a dozen soil components on
display. The benefits and disadvantages of each were explained, and reasons
for there not being one mix to fit all people's growing situations became
clearer. We learned the difference between male and female flowers, and were
shown optimum pollination and seed-sowing techniques.
Peter has developed a very efficient way to grow seeds and root cuttings in
a tray system, and there were quite a few nuances explained that help him
have a very high success rate. For instance, cut the growing tip of a
cutting, as they have a tendency to swing around looking for an anchor,
pulling nearby plants out of the soil in the search. Peter also warns, "Never cut a growing tip on a vine unless you already have ground shoots at the base of the plant; on rare occasions you may lose the mother plant if no grow shoots are already sprouting."
Every time I go up to see Peter and Marilee there are more and bigger plants. Some of the Nepenthes are simply incredible. I spent a good 10 minutes checking out an incredible N. bicalcarata. I enjoyed some leisurely conversations with other club members, something I never seem to be able to do, as I am always organizing or selling plants. Even without all the normal duties, time flew, and I left much later than I planned.
Marilee was doing better, but unfortunately wasn't quite able to make the meeting.
We are truly fortunate to have the award-winning author of The Savage Garden and owner of one of the largest CP nurseries in the world right in our back yard, always ready and willing to freely share his knowledge with us. It was pouring rain that day, so the turnout wasn't as large as it might have been if we had had nice weather, but to those that braved the elements, this was a fantastic opportunity to learn about Nepenthes and see and buy great plants.
by Judith Finn
Bay Area Carnivorous Plant Society
November 13, 2004
Attendance: 30 people
Stephen Davis began the meeting by reviewing our annual plant show,
which had been held at the
Lakeside Garden Center at Lake Merritt in September.
We had several plant vendors, whose high-quality plant material added
greatly to the professionalism of the event. Dominic Diaz, who is a new
member of the BACPS from Turlock, took the show by storm. As the grower's
name kept popping up with every blue ribbon, it was clear to see that we
had a new, fabulous plantsman in our midst. He pays attention to details.
Not only does he grow things well, but he presents them with an aesthetic
flair. He grows them in terrariums, without covers, or on layered shelves
under fluorescent lights. He specializes in Pinguicula because they are
easier to adapt to small spaces. He also grows Sarracenia outside but,
with 100-degree temperatures and 15% humidity in Turlock, they are toast
by late summer.
Stephen thanked everyone who participated. Some people came from as far away as Los Angeles. Hopefully we will have more participants next year. There were some categories that only had 1 or 2 entries, so everyone has a chance to raise their plant's self-esteem by making it a recipient of an award. "You could have been a contender!" Next September, think about how you could make our show more exciting. Give your ideas to Stephen. We will place a banner outside the building next year, as many visitors to the park had no idea what they were missing.
Peter D'Amato had a discount sale at California Carnivores. His partner, Marilee Maertz, is out of the hospital and improving. We all wish her a speedy recovery.
Stephen also told us about the New England Carnivorous Plant Society,
which has been in existence for 1.5 years. They have challenged their
members to a contest of growing Sarracenia clones. They must bring them
in at the end of the year, and whoever has grown them the best wins.
He suggested that we also might enliven things by producing a list of
desirable plants that we have grown and do a trade with the NECPS
(see Stephen's article below).
Christina Palmer took the podium and presented her idea to make the society more pro-active. She feels that we should start a list of desired plants, propagate them, and then make them available for sale and exchange at the meetings. For matters of privacy, individuals do not want their collections publicized, so Christina is willing to gather people's wish lists of desirable plants. Those who are growing these specific plants can then make them available. This would result in getting rarer items into more people's collections -- always a good idea for our collections as well as multiplying rare individual plants (see Christina's article below).
We were also informed that Orchard Supply, and perhaps other similar outfits, carry fans with 4 mister attachments. It is meant to cool off environments, but they would make great inexpensive humidifiers.
It was decided that for consistency, the Annual Plant Show will be the first Sunday in September at the Lakeside Garden Center, and the other 3 meetings will be at the Botanical Garden at the University of California at Berkeley.
Bill Baumgartl made a special announcement of congratulations to John Pizzicara, who tissue cultured Venus flytraps for a school project, and brought the resulting plants in for sale -- very impressive.
Joe Mazrimas held the procedure and quickly held a general nomination and vote.
The 2005 board is:
President: Stephen Davis
Vice President: Bill Baumgartl
Treasurer: Joe Mazrimas
Secretary: Judith Finn
Joe Mazrimas: "On Tuberous and Pygmy Drosera" (see Joe's article below)
Joshua Meibos
Nepenthes hybrid, Pinguicula 'Pirouette', and book by Lowrie
John Pizzicara
Nepenthes alata brought in by John, 6 Drosera brought in by Melissa Mork
Brocchinia reducta and a Stanhopea orchid, known for its strong perfume and elaborate pollination lure, were brought in by Sheryl Elwood.
Pinguicula moranensis, Drosera nitidula hybrid, and a jewel orchid were displayed by Stephen Davis.
Nepenthes tobaica was shown by Domenic Diaz, then donated for the raffle. He also brought in a Pinguicula 'Aphrodite' and a Drosera pulchella × nitidula that has flowered constantly since May. He grows it at 70 degrees under lights and floods the trays to 2" deep and then lets it dry out. He also had a gorgeous pink-leaved Pinguicula 'Pirouette'. He said it becomes a darker bronze if grown closer to the lights.
Joshua Meibos brought in a pygmy sundew that he has been growing for 5 months. He has about 15 plants that he grows in a terrarium at a window in his house.
Glen Rankin brought in a wonderful display of Drosera to illustrate Joe Mazrimas's slide show. They included D. erythrorhiza ssp. squamosa, D. erythrorhiza ssp. collina, D. scorpioides, D. macrantha, D. lowriei 'Giant', D. ramellosa, D. rosulata 'Hills Form', D. bulbosa ssp. major, and D. tubaestylis.
by Joe Mazrimas
Allen Lowrie sent me a CD with about a hundred pictures depicting known tuberous and pygmy species with the addition of about a dozen new species. Thanks to Steve Davis, who took this file and converted it to a Microsoft PowerPoint format, I was able to show BACPS members a vast array of these Australian plants at the November meeting. I gave a short talk before the slide show, and this is a summary of what I said.
There are about 50 species each of the tuberous and pygmy species that grow in southwestern Australia. This area has a Mediterranean-type climate similar to California where we have a hot, dry summer followed by wet, cold winters. These two types of plants grow in the wet, cold winter and have adaptations to survive the scorching hot summer.
Tuberous plants survive as tubers buried 2 inches to 2 1/2 feet under the
surface depending on location, watertable, and shade. Most tubers are
surrounded by a papery sheath that acts as insulation. A new sheath grows
every year and is added to the old sheath. One tuber was found to have 60
sheaths, suggesting it was 60 years old.
Dormancy lasts 1-4 months, and a stolon emerges from the eye of the tuber slowly making its way to the surface. This process can take between 2 weeks and 2 months. If the stolon is damaged by accident or eaten by a slug, a new stolon will emerge below the damage. One species, D. stolonifera, has a firm gel protecting the growing point. The stolon also branches, and new tubers begin growing from the terminal ends. Eventually, the old tuber will shrivel up and die after a certain number of years.
Another important adaptation is that some species have a thick root mass encasing the entire portion of the underground stolon. When the stolon recedes back to the tuber, it leaves a tube-like passage which in the following year is used by the growth of a new stolon.
Dormancy is not broken by the onset of rain or cool temperatures. There is a biological clock set off by unknown factors. Its well known that a set of the same species tubers will break dormancy at the same time even matching tubers growing in the northern hemisphere.
There are 4 kinds of tuberous plants:
One thing that can be said about the flowers is that they are all highly fragrant and sweetly scented.
The pygmy Drosera are primarily divided into 5-petaled and 4-petaled species. There are two adaptive features that separate them from all other Drosera.
Gemmae are produced in the autumn as asexual vegetative buds and form a compact cluster in the center of the plant. They are held together under tension by structures called stipules. It takes one strategic drop of rain to trigger the cluster to explode sending gemmae up to 6 feet away. Stipules are silvery-white and springy like a fish scale. In the summer, as a group, they act like an umbrella to protect the developing leaves. The stipules compress the new buds tightly together. The wiry roots lift the plant a few tenths of an inch off the hot surface. The roots are alive and act like stilts during this time.
Growth is broken by a reduction of temperature in the autumn. At this time the morning dews give enough moisture to have the new roots emerging to set the plant back on the surface. With the rains, leaf growth begins and the new roots penetrate the soil deeply.
All pygmy Drosera have flowers sweetly perfumed. In one plant, D. sewelliae, the flower is twice the size of the plant.
There are 4 habitats:
by Stephen Davis
I have been in communication with other clubs around the world, and the New England Carnivorous Plant Society has asked if we would like to have a plant swap with them this spring.
This sounds like a lot of fun, and we will have more details at the next meeting. The NECPS is a new society doing great things. You should check out their site at www.necps.org.
by Christina Palmer
You can help the BACPS Team Propagation Project by making a list of plants you would like to grow and/or think other people should grow. Bring your lists to the next meeting. This will give us an idea of how much interest there is and what species to focus on. If things go well at the next meeting, we can hand out assignments to volunteers. For those assigned to propagate a species they do not know how to obtain, we can discuss methods of discreetly obtaining starter samples that will protect the identity of the donor.
by Stephen Davis
It has been pointed out to me that our website is a little long in the tooth and could use a bit of sprucing up and updating. Anyone have experience with websites and an artistic flair? We have a great group and need to have a website that inspires people to join and attend meetings!
There are a number of small tasks that can be done in an hour or three that will help out the club tremendously.
Right now we have photos of all the plants that were at the CP show. The photos need to be labeled, and then I can put them up in a slide show like last year's. It took me roughly one or one-and-a-half hours to do this last year. If you can do it, I can send you a CD with the photos so you can work on it on your own PC. You do need to be able to burn your own CD to send them back, and you don't need to be able to identify CP either.
We need someone who can do some basic organizing to get our PR off right for the show next year. We need to start as early as possible. You will get plenty of help, and I've found it doesn't take a lot of time, just a little organization.
by Joe Mazrimas
| BACPS TREASURY | |||
| SEPTEMBER 19, 2004 | |||
| INCOME | DEBIT | BALANCE | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sellers | $200.00 | ||
| Raffle | $143.00 | ||
| Reg. Auction | $ 50.00 | ||
| TOTAL | $393.00 | ||
| Rental of Merritt Garden Center | $ 825.00 | ||
| Xerox seed list and directions | $ 11.42 | ||
| Lowrie's seeds and $20 postage | $ 863.89 | ||
| American Express check fee | $ 20.00 | ||
| Registered air-letter | $ 11.85 | ||
| Ribbons | $ 62.91 | ||
| Misc. | $ 15.00 | ||
| TOTAL | $1810.07 | ||
| Current Balance (09-19-04) | ($1414.07) | ||
| Previous Balance (05-15-04) | $4166.19 | ||
| TOTAL | $2752.12 | ||
| UC Berkeley Fund (separate) | $1427.50 |
*************************************************************
| BACPS TREASURY | |||
| NOVEMBER 13, 2004 | |||
| INCOME | DEBIT | BALANCE | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seller | $ 6.00 | ||
| Raffle | $ 14.00 | ||
| Seed Sales | $162.00 | ||
| Reg. Auction | $ 6.00 | ||
| TOTAL | $188.00 | ||
| Oakland Society Membership | $25.00 | ||
| Current Balance (11-13-04) | $ 163.00 | ||
| Previous Balance (09-19-04) | $2752.12 | ||
| TOTAL | $2915.12 | ||
| UC Berkeley Fund | $1427.50 |
January 15, 2005: Fernando Rivadavia Visit, UC Botanical Garden
February 5, 2005: Winter Meeting, UC Botanical Garden
The BACPS Newsletter is a quarterly publication produced by the Bay Area Carnivorous Plant Society. For more information on membership, subscriptions, or events, please visit our website: www.bacps.org.
BACPS