|
BACPS | Newsletter |
| Fall 2011 |
| Winter Meeting Is Saturday, January 21, 2012 |
| Meeting Minutes | |
| Treasurer's Report | |
| Upcoming Events | |
by Geoff Wong
Date: Saturday, January 21, 2012
Time: Noon-4:00 p.m.
Place: San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers, Golden Gate Park
Program: "Carnivorous Plants of Southern Africa," by Fernando Rivadavia
As a sequel to a presentation on Genlisea almost a year ago, Fernando Rivadavia will lead us on an expedition to Africa, a contrast of both well-studied and little-known carnivorous plants.
Two widely distinct carnivorous plant floras are found in southern Africa: one concentrated around Cape Town in southwestern South Africa, and another more widespread CP flora occurring over most of tropical sub-Saharan Africa. The Cape CP flora is mostly winter-growing, whereas the tropical African CP flora is mostly summer-growing, merely because of the pattern of the rainy season in each area -- the plants will grow when water is abundant.The most famous of the two floras is, of course, the Cape CP flora. This is due, in part, because it occurs over a smaller area and is fortunate enough to have been more intensely studied together with the fascinating Cape Flora as a whole, not to mention the uniqueness and beauty of some of the local CPs, such as the dazzlingly flowered Drosera cistiflora and D. pauciflora, the living fossil D. regia, known from a single mountain top, and the endemic family Roridulaceae with its two species Roridula gorgonias and R. dentate, large bushy plants that defy our definition of a carnivorous plant through their symbiotic relationships with insects and spiders.
The less famous of the two CP floras occurs across tropical Africa. This is still the least studied of all CP floras in the world, although it is one of the richest in number of species. This is because the plants occur over a large area which is extremely poor, is often inaccessible due to wars or mere lack of roads, and simply hasn't received much funding for basic research over the years. Numerous are the species of Drosera, Genlisea and Utricularia from this region, which is also home to Aldrovanda vesiculosa and the part-time CP Triphyophyllum peltatum.
Although most CP species from tropical Africa appear to be relatively widespread, they are nonetheless extremely understudied and are still often known from only one or a few herbarium specimens, or have only recently been photographed in their native habitats. A huge potential for discovering new species exists in this area -- as well as for extinction, unfortunately, due to habitat destruction. In the Cape CP flora most species appear to be much more localized, occurring in narrow ranges. Although also threatened with extinction due to habitat destruction, many of these are apparently safe in nature preserves.
I will try to briefly describe these two African CP floras through pictures of CPs and their habitats taken on two trips to South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Please bring plants for the show and tell table. Donations are gratefully appreciated for the raffle and auction, which are our major fundraisers. Members are also welcome to bring plants to sell or auction. A portion of the proceeds (10%) will be collected for our fundraising efforts.
Attendees are encouraged to bring a snack or drink to share. As a token of our appreciation, donors will receive a free raffle ticket.
For directions to the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers, visit their website
at www.conservatoryofflowers.org. Click on the map on the right
for directions to parking areas close to the Conservatory where free
street parking is usually available. Enter through the side gate on the east side of the Conservatory
(on the right as you face the entrance). The meeting room is directly in front of the gate.
The Conservatory has graciously offered their meeting room for our use. The admission fee will be waived for BACPS attendees. Feel free to arrive early and enjoy the Conservatory's extensive tropical plant displays and special model train exhibit "Playland at the Conservatory: A Garden Railway Celebrating San Francisco's West End."
by Judith Finn
Date: October 15, 2011
Location: U.C. Botanical Garden
Attendance: 50 - 60
Our president, Bill Weaver, began the meeting by discussing Jonathan Pham's proposal for a new BACPS logo.
Joe Mazrimas announced that our annual show in Oakland's Lakeside Garden Center will now occupy two rooms.
We had so many vendors last year that the crowd had a difficult time maneuvering around the room. The vendors
had a very successful day, earning about $7,000.
We are planning to have the 2012 show on June 16. Joe would like to invite vendors from Los Angeles
since in previous years they brought unusual plants that would be of interest to our members.
Larry ran our usual casual officer elections. The new board is the same. (We would love to encourage more participation in the club's primary functions and leadership. Any assistance and participation will help the club to grow and be vibrant and relevant. We always need new energy and ideas!)
The BACPS is going to be 20 years old so we will celebrate the event at our April meeting in Berkeley with a birthday cake.
Geoff Wong announced that our favorite Brazilian, Fernando Rivadavia, will talk about African carnivorous plants at the January 21 meeting in San Francisco.
Damon Collingsworth provided the audience with fabulous photographs that he took of California's
most beloved carnivore -- Darlingtonia californica. Last September Damon, Mike Wang, and Harry Tryon
toured several Darlingtonia sites in the border area of northern California and southern Oregon.
There main venue was near Gasquet in Del Norte County. The last trip Damon made to the area was in 2003
with Peter D'Amato. October 5 marked the 170-year anniversary of the discovery of the plant by the plant
explorer Brackenridge. The autumn is a good time to see the plants because the pitchers darken into
beautiful shades of red. They discovered a lot of variation in pitcher size, shape, and color. Unfortunately
rain was their constant companion. Damon did an impressive job of capturing the habitats in beautiful sharp
images even with this handicap.
They started their trek in Oregon, driving on unmarked and unpaved logging roads. They came upon open pools with plants 2 1/2 feet tall with some of the stolons growing into the water. They discovered an alpine lake that was also a habitat for bears. Damon was grateful to have Harry as a guide because of his experience with bear country. They scrambled up a mountain to discover a very large area of Darlingtonia, some growing in between driftwood in an aquatic habitat. The lake was stream fed so the water was not stagnant. Damon showed a covered bridge with red-colored Pinguicula growing on Serpentine blue rock and epiphytically on pieces of wood. He had photos of Darlingtonia growing on rocks next to a waterfall. Harry refers to this spot as "Darlingtonia Falls." They came upon a warning sign, "Beware Oakie on Patrol," reminding them that this is also a territory of rogue pot farmers.
Damon explained about the ecology of wetlands and how the water kills off the conifers and allows the
carnivorous plants to grow -- especially sundews. He also described how moss can hurl their
sporophytes at 90 miles an hour through mechanical compression.
Next, Harry drove his intrepid four-wheel drive to a location which contained a huge patch of very red Darlingtonia next to a green patch. They also showed a beautiful golden-colored clone. He explained how fire also benefits the carnivores by clearing the trees, etc., that shade their habitat. Their favorite spot Harry calls "Alpine Farms" near Gasquet because of the pot growers. Unfortunately, autumn is harvest time so they were cautious. They followed a water course up the side of a cliff to find its origin. It allowed for a profusion of plants to exist.
The next place Harry called "Bear Wallows" because the bears leave footprints that fill with water which allows the Drosera to flourish. The seed pods face upward so they do not fall to the ground, but instead get picked up by the fur of the bears. Damon showed some photos of fun variations in the pitcher plants at "The Ponds" -- a series of ponds connected by a stream. Some of the plants had upward-turned tongues and strangely shaped fenestrations. At "Pinguicula Cliffs" he showed butterworts growing in rock cracks, and at "8 Dollar Mountain" three-foot-tall Darlingtonia pitchers. The surrounding territory was dry and hot, but the plants grow where springs emerge. Plants from these stressed environments would probably be much easier to grow in our collections. He observed that, although Darlingtonia californica has larger clones in Oregon, they are less varied than in California.
Damon strongly advises, when visiting these areas, to have Harry as a guide. He is not only knowledgeable about where the locations are, but his four-wheel-drive vehicle and his knowledge of bears and pot farmers make him an invaluable guide.
Damon's presentation was a visual feast so I have not been able to adequately describe it.
Felicia Morrison brought in two Darlingtonia californica and Nepenthes boschiana.
Christopher Lew displayed a Sarracenia purpurea × S. leucophylla that he got from the
BACPS raffle. He grows it in full sun in the South Bay.
Griffin brought two Sarracenia hybrids and a Venus flytrap that he bought at our
annual carnivorous plant show in Oakland.
Three Sarracenia leucophylla, Utricularia livida, U. sandersonii "Blue." Luis Bonachea brought in Drosophyllum seed
S. gilpinii × S. minor, S. wrigleyana × S. psittacina, Darlingtonia californica.
by Joe Mazrimas
| BACPS TREASURY REPORT October 15, 2011 | |||
| ASSETS | DEBIT | BALANCE | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raffle | $50.00 | ||
| Auction | $69.00 | ||
| Seller | $21.00 | ||
| TOTAL | $140.00 | ||
| Oakland Show | $945.00 | ||
| Current balance (10-15-2011) | ($805.00) | ||
| Previous balance (6-25-2011) | $7538.44 | ||
| TOTAL | $6733.44 |
January 21, 2012: Winter Meeting. "Carnivorous Plants of Africa," Fernando Rivadavia.
Conservatory of Flowers, San Francisco.
April 14, 2012: Spring Meeting. Program TBD.
University of California Botanical Garden, Berkeley.
June 16, 2012: Annual Show and Sale.
Garden Center, Lakeside Park, Oakland.
July 21, 2012: Summer Meeting and Potluck. Program TBD.
California Carnivores, Sebastopol.
UCBG 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.