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BACPS | Newsletter |
| Spring 2006 |
by Paul Bourbin
On Saturday, July 8, we will be visiting a rather extensive stand of Darlingtonia on Mt. Eddy, and all are welcome to join us. Mt. Eddy is located due west of Mt. Shasta and Interstate 5. A friend of mine, who knows the area quite well, has graciously offered the use of his home in Dunsmuir as a base and dormitory. Dunsmuir is located about six hours north of San Francisco. I will be going up on Friday the seventh, so those who would like to go to Dunsmuir on Friday and spend time visiting and seeing the sights of Dunsmuir are welcome to stay at my friend's house overnight. Those who want to come up to Dunsmuir on Saturday should be there before 9:00 a.m. We will be leaving at that time to drive to Mt. Eddy.
The expedition comes in three levels of difficulty:
Upon our return to Dunsmuir, you have the option of staying Saturday night in Dunsmuir and leaving Sunday morning.
If you are interested in attending this expedition or would like more information, please contact me at (415) 648-8489 or send me email -- paulbourbin@hotmail.com -- to let me know that you plan to attend and to receive more detailed information and updates. Please let me know if you are going no later than June 26 (Monday), so that I can make proper arrangments.
by Stephen Davis
Date: Saturday, July 8
Time: 12-3
For directions: www.californiacarnivores.com
Peter D'Amato has offered to host the club at an informal get-together at California Carnivores, the largest carnivorous plant nursery in the US, and perhaps the world. I was up there the week before Father's Day to celebrate my Father's Day early. WOW! What a place! I got some great plants that I have not been able to find anywhere else. I've been there at least twice a year for most of the last 10 years now, and I still love it.
Mostly, though, it's just a real pleasure to relax with Peter and talk to some of the customers that come through the door.
I'd recommend carpooling so you will have that much more money for plants. Perhaps someone has an idea how we can post carpool information online?
We will have some food, and if you want to bring something to share, that would be a good thing too.
by Judith Finn
Date: May 13, 2006
Location: UC Botanical Garden, Berkeley
Attendance: ~40 people
BACPS President Stephen Davis told the members about the dedication ceremony for the new carnivorous plant and orchid display case that was made possible by the generous donation by the BACPS, as well as by individual members and donations made by the San Francisco Orchid Society. The April 9 occasion was highlighted by speeches delivered by the Botanical Garden Director, Paul Licht, and the U.C. Berkeley Chancellor, Robert Birgeneau. It was noted that addition of the mercury light in the display case improved the pitcher growth of the Sarracenia collection.
Randall Museum of San Francisco is having its annual Bug Day. Ron LaPedis, Christine Lam, and Tony Gridley
will represent the BACPS at the event. There was a call to donate plants for fundraising for the children's museum.
Stephen introduced Carl Wong, who was in attendance. Carl was the first president of the BACPS.
Stephen encouraged people to help Dominic Diaz, who is in charge of the August 26 plant show at the Lakeside Garden Center. Everyone is encouraged to participate to make the show a success. Stephen asked the members to consider lengthening the show to two days next year to achieve a better turnout. Having a plant auction should also be considered.
It was suggested that people inquire at their local garden center as to whether it would display information about our society to encourage new membership.
Paul Bourbin announced that he is planning a trip July 8 to see Darlingtonia in the wild. The location is on Mt. Eddy, west of Shasta and Weed. If you are interested, please e-mail him at paulbourbin@hotmail.com.
Lois Ochs brought in a flat of Drosera graminifolia and was offering to sell the plants to the members.
Stephen's last request was to encourage people to submit articles to our newsletter to add to its interest.
Geoff Wong and Judith Finn, who have both judged numerous BACPS shows, discussed with the members the criteria that they use for judging a show. People gamely allowed the plants that they had brought in for display to be used as examples.
The plants for the annual show are placed in separate categories according to their genus.
(Some categories are underrepresented, so members are encouraged to submit their plants for judging.)
The name of the grower is not shown on the card that accompanies the specimen so that the
judges will not be influenced. The ribbons are presented for first, second, and third place
for each genus and the "other category" (dish gardens, terrariums, etc.) There is an
additional ribbon given for "Best of Show."
The rarity of the plant material is not to be considered as one of the criteria. (This is meant to discourage people from automatically winning a ribbon by purchasing a very rare or endangered species. Conservation of rare CP is an important cornerstone of the Society.) Horticultural excellence is considered the primary priority in judging. Even a very common species, if grown beautifully and displayed well, can win in its category. Difficulty in growing a particular specimen is an important consideration in judging. Grooming is also a priority. Weeds, spent flowers, and tattered foliage should be removed. No insect pests should be present, although, because of the nature of the plants, their insect food is allowed. Containers should be clean, attractive, and suit the plant they are displaying. Some hybrids or named cultivars are naturally larger, more colorful, etc., than the average species. The judges should take this into account.
One of the members made the point that it is important to have the plants correctly identified. Also an interesting point was made that if a plant is not showing its carnivorous part (pitchers, for instance) but has outstanding floral display, should it win a prize?
If anyone would be interested in becoming a judge for the next show, please contact Stephen Davis.
Lindsey Davis showed her carnivorous plant science project to the Society. It was a very clever display demonstrating the effect of electric volts delivered to an unsuspecting Venus flytrap.
David Conner showed his strange new cultivar of VFT called 'Bart Simpson'. It has a triangular-shaped trap and sawtoothed edges similar to the cartoon character's hair. He also brought in a very tall Sarracenia 'Hummer's Okee Classic', S. flava 'cut throat', Drosera capensis 'Giant', and a flat of VFT 'Red Dragon'.
Mike Woodring brought in a fabulous S. flava that was all composed of flower stalks.
Bill Weaver showed a Drosera binata that he has been growing outside for six years. He also brought in a D. dichotoma and a D. filiformis.
Tony Gridley brought in a Pinguicula gigantea, a hybrid P. gypsicola × P. moctezumae, a Drosera adelae, and some specimens of Utricularia livida, U. graminifolia, and U. microcalyx that he grows on a south-facing window in a mix of peat and sand.
Stephen Davis showed a rock imbedded with Pinguicula, and a large blue glass plate also filled with butterworts.
Dominic Diaz brought in two examples of Sarracenia purpurea × S. flava. He explained that when he introduces more acidity to the media he achieves a very dark red color. Dominic also brought in a Pinguicula moranensis × P. emarginata that had a profusion of pink flowers.
U.C.B.G. displayed a Sarracenia flava var. cuprea and a S. flava 'cut throat'.
The plants on display at this meeting were exceptionally nice.
Sarracenia flava, S. alata × S. flava, S. leucophylla, five plants of S. oreophila, S. oreophila × S. purpurea, S. leucophylla × S. oreophila, two plants of Drosera 'California Sunset', and two plants of Pinguicula moranensis.
by Ron LaPedis
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It was a dark and stormy night...
Well, maybe the skies were threatening, but the weather held for the Randall Museum's annual Bug Day on Saturday, May 20. In addition to a BACPS booth stocked with scary plants and visited by even scarier kids ("Stop teasing the flytrap!"), there were plenty of other activities like a beekeeper working with a live colony of honey bees, gourmet grasshopper and mealworm cooking demos, a petting zoo, and centipede races. Kids and adults even marched in the bug parade to the tune of an ant playing "The Ants Go Marching" on a sax.
Volunteers Christine Lam, Tony Gridley, and Ron LaPedis spent six hours answering hundreds of questions like, "Are carnivorous plants good for the environment?" (this author thinks that they are because he uses Sarracenia in the kitchen instead of bug spray), and "How does THAT plant catch insects?" (pings slime very small insects into submission). Although pitcher plants and Venus flytraps draw the crowds, flowering bladderworts and butterworts are the conversation starters because it's not obvious how they're carnivorous. Putting some plants that do their carnivory underground -- the Genlisea and terrestrial Utricularia -- into transparent containers will help our presentation next time.
While BACPS members are wowed only over rare plants or those that appear to be pumped up on steroids, hundreds of kids from 4 and up were enthralled with ordinary flytraps, sundews, sarrs, pings, and bladderworts. Roving gangs of girls carrying handfuls of ladybugs kept the flytraps well fed, while a crane fly met its match in a Drosera binata.
Mike Woodring donated a mixed tray of plants -- including flytraps, sundews, and sarrs -- which sold briskly near the end of the day, one of them to a seven-year-old CP veteran. We also gave out dozens of "Intro to BACPS" and "How to raise your plant" sheets. $110 was raised for the club, and a fun time was had by all.
by Glenn Rivera
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I was attracted to carnivorous plants like a housefly to the brilliant pitchers of Sarracenia flava, and was hooked as quickly as the lobes of a Venus flytrap snap shut. Like many before me, their beauty enraptured me and their carnivorous nature captivated me. No other plants, to my knowledge, have aroused such curiosity and awe as these have. If there is one type of plant that can make a plant-enthusiast out of anyone, it is the carnivorous plants.
I purchased a modest pot of about five immature Venus flytraps three years ago to try my luck growing them. This marked the beginning of my fascination and obsession. After keeping the flytraps alive for a few months, and having done plenty of research, I revisited the carnivorous nursery, and not for the last time. My collection has grown considerably since then. Now I successfully grow Dionaea muscipula ("Typical" and 'Red Dragon'), Sarracenia flava ("Typical," "Red Tube," and "Coppertop"), S. × 'Judith Hindle', S. leucophylla, S. alata, S. minor, S. purpurea, S. × wrigleyana, Drosera capensis, Cephalotus, Nepenthes ventricosa, N. 'Effulgent Koto', Darlingtonia, and Pinguicula 'Pirouette'. No other plants bring me such joy as these do every day.
Carnivorous plants don't sound like they would be beautiful, but they undeniably are. Sarracenia flowers have been compared to those of orchids, and their leaves can be even more impressive than their flowers (personally, I enjoy a fresh crop of leaves more than a flower or two). It is quite a sight to see the dew on a sundew glistening in the morning sun -- dazzling, to say the least -- or the stunning coloration of the inside of Venus flytraps. Furthermore, the vibrant venation on some Sarracenia pitchers can be astonishingly intricate. It is no wonder carnivorous plants are becoming more and more popular!
The easy care of these plants is very appealing to me and anyone else who grows carnivores. All they ask for is a lot of sun, proper water, and a suitable soil mixture. I provide my plants with a sunny porch and plenty of water, and they thrive with little effort on my part. I water them only twice a month, filling up two water trays, and I don't have to worry about fertilizing them as they take care of that on their own.
It is no wonder that thousands of insects get stuck steadfast to sundews, or find their way into the alluring pitchers of pitcher plants or the jaws of Venus flytraps. I know I wouldn't be able to resist them either!
Glenn Rivera is a new member of BACPS and a 16-year-old high schooler at San
Marin High School in Novato, CA. He currently plays music like a madman,
including everything jazz (from Dixieland to Bebop) on the clarinet and saxophone.
His passion for plants and biology is making it difficult for him to choose
between a career in science and one in music. With his enthusiasm he will probably
do both, with a few carnivorous plants on the side to entertain him.
For further information:
Glenn Rivera
415-897-9021
cajazzbat@yahoo.com
by Joe Mazrimas
| BACPS COMBINED TREASURY REPORT | ||
| Mar. 25, 2006, and May 13, 2006 | ||
| ASSETS | BALANCE | |
|---|---|---|
| Raffle | $233.00 | |
| Bug Day proceeds | $90.00 | |
| TOTAL | $323.00 | |
| Current Balance (03-25-06 & 05-13-06) | $323.00 | |
| Previous Balance (01-28-06) | $2458.62 | |
| TOTAL | $2781.62 |
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The Butterfly Valley Botanical Area, near Quincy, California | The Darlingtonia State Natural Site near Florence, Oregon |
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July 7, 8, 9: Darlingtonia Trip
July 8: California Carnivores Get-Together
August 26, 2006: BACPS Annual Show and Sale, Lakeside Park Garden Center in Oakland
November 11, 2006: Fall Meeting
Captured by Captivating Carnivores photos -- Glenn Rivera; all other photos -- Tony Gridley
The BACPS Newsletter is a quarterly publication produced by the Bay Area Carnivorous Plant Society.
Please send newsletter submissions to Tony Gridley (tgridley@comcast.net). For more information on membership, subscriptions, or events, please visit our website: www.bacps.org.
