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California Native Plant Society
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January 2024 Newsletter
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 Marin Chapter of CNPS Turns 50
During 2024, we will be celebrating 50 years of native plant conservation and appreciation. Several activities will mark the occasion, including an August 24th gathering at the Corte Madera Community Center.
We are also planning botanically-oriented challenges and events to encourage both greater familiarity with Marin’s native plants in the wild and inclusion of more native plants in Marin gardens.
Whether you are a lover of Marin’s open spaces or passionate about native gardening, deepen your connection with Marin’s native flora by joining us this coming year! We hope to see you on the trail, at the upcoming events, and certainly at the 50th Celebration on August 24th!
Read more. . .
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 Marin Chapter January 2024 Meeting
“Invasions stink: the response of Dittrichia graveolens to competition and disturbance, and its seed bank dynamics”
Guest Speaker: Miranda Melen
Monday, January 8 @ 7:30 pm
Invasive species significantly threaten global biodiversity, often disrupting ecosystems and impacting native communities. Stinkwort (Dittrichia graveolens), is a rapidly spreading invader in California. In this study, we develop an improved understanding of the factors influencing stinkwort's invasion in California. We conducted a combination of germination trials, and greenhouse, mesocosm, and field experiments to integrate insights from evolutionary ecology, response to competition and disturbance, and seed bank dynamics.
Miranda Melen is a Ph.D. candidate specializing in plant invasion biology in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UC Santa Cruz. She is the recipient of the 2023 Howard-Kohn Memorial Scholarship from Marin Chapter CNPS.
Read more. . .
Register for this Zoom meeting here.
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 CNPS Marin Board News
We welcome in the New Year and a new Board of Directors for 2024 to CNPS Marin:
Co-President: David Long
Co-President: Kristin Jakob
Vice-President: Open
Treasurer: Bonnie Gosliner
Recording Secretary: Woody Elliott
 Directors:
Eva Buxton
Harriet Casserly
Paul da Silva
Bayley Elenzweig
Ann Elliott
Carolyn Longstreth
Laura Lovett
Stacey Pogorzelski
Eddie Robertson
Kate Wing
Many thanks to our new and returning officers, and to our chapter members who elected them during the December 2023 meeting. We will publish profiles of our new members in upcoming newsletters.
A special, warm thanks is due to Kate Wing, who is stepping down after 6 years ably serving the Chapter in the role of Treasurer. Kate kept track of our income, expenses and reserves, compiled scheduled reports and provided extra support around our spring and fall plant sales, which always present challenges. Happily, she will remain on the board, and is training our incoming Treasurer Bonnie Gosliner, to whom we are also very grateful.
Kristin Jakob & David Long, Co-Presidents
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 Field Trip Planning Update
As January rains fall on our hills and valleys, we anticipate beautiful wildflowers again this coming year.
After Susan and Carolyn announced their retirement last month, a few people expressed tentative interest in helping lead the program, but more folks would still be very welcome. If you value our field trips, consider joining the team to plan, promote, and lead this very important part of our chapter’s offerings.
Those who responded will be meeting this month. We hope to put a permanent team in place as well as plan field trips geared to the 50th Anniversary challenge to find 50 wild native plants. In addition, we hope to include more short and accessible hikes, including evening rambles as the days lengthen.
Contact Carolyn Longstreth, Susan Schlosser, Ann Elliott
cklongstreth@gmail.com scschlosser52@gmail.com annonfire@gmal.com
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Air Plants
We know that plants and animals adapt to their habitats with survival features or behaviors that make life possible in many habitats, from deserts to the arctic. Yet, air plants (Tillandsia) are amazing flowering plants (angiosperms) that live without their roots anchored in any type of soil!
The genus Tillandsia in Bromeliaceae (Pineapple family) includes several hundred species of evergreen, perennial, flowering plants. They are epiphytes, meaning “upon a plant” in Greek. They attach to a substrate, commonly a tree or a rock and also powerlines, but derive no nutrition from the substrate (i.e. not parasitic).
Read more. . .
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 Ring Mountain Wildflower Docents - Spring 2024
Our first Ring Mountain Docent Program launched last spring and was a great success! Become part of the second group of Ring Mountain Preserve Wildflower Docents. Join the Marin Chapter of CNPS and Marin County Parks for this fantastic opportunity to share your love of Ring Mountain’s unique ecology, wildflowers, and unusual serpentine grassland habitat with the general public, while also fostering stewardship of this Marin landmark.
This volunteer opportunity will run weekends from April through mid-June 2024. Participation in virtual and in-person training is required for all new volunteers. Virtual weeknight training will be held Tuesday evenings in March and early April. Two site visits to Ring Mountain will be on Saturday 3/23, and Sunday 4/6, from 10 am – 2 pm. A third optional site visit will be offered on 5/18. Some familiarity with native plants is helpful.
For additional details, questions, or to sign up, please contact Amanda Magallanes at Amanda.Magallanes@marincounty.gov.
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 Broom Service Visits Maurice Thorner Preserve
A dedicated crew who call themselves Broom Service are tackling patches of French and Scotch Broom mostly in San Geronimo Valley. Recently they addressed some patches just off the Thorner Ridge Trail above the Lagunitas School District’s upper campus.
If you would like to join the efforts of Broom Service, they supply tools and instruction (if needed). Bring gloves.
Contact Mel Wright ospreyflight@gmail.com Text: 415-999-4736
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 Plant Diversity And Viability In Uncertain Times
Northern California Botanists will host its 12th botanical symposium on January 8-9, 2024 on the campus of California State University in Chico. The sessions will also be available online. Optional workshops will be held on Wednesday, January 10. A 2-day schedule of presentations by working botanists will include sessions on Vegetation Classification, Climate Change, Grassland Restoration, Bryophytes, Locally Rare Plants, Now the Good News, New Discoveries, and a session of Lightning Talks.
The symposium will also include an evening reception, banquet, and keynote speaker John Vollmar, of Vollmar Natural Lands Consulting, addressing “The Heart of Conservation-Engaging Human Passion for Conservation Success.” The symposium is open to anyone: botanical enthusiasts, professionals, and students.
Read more. . .
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 Upcoming Marin Chapter Events
- 1/8 7:30 pm Chapter Meeting: "Invasions stink", Guest Speaker: Miranda Melen
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Other Activities in Marin and Nearby
- 1/13 10 am - 2 pm Feeding your Ecosystem Demonstration and activities at the Randall Museum, Yerba Buena Chapter CNPS
Be sure to periodically check CNPS.org/events for interesting talks and field trips sponsored by CNPS Chapters and staff throughout the state.
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 February Favorites
Got a favorite wildflower or native plant? Stretch your wings as a writer, photographer, or artist. Please send me a short article or image to highlight your pick for a special February Favorites newsletter issue (sort of like a pet issue, but for native plants.)
Ann Elliott, Newsletter Editor annonfire@gmail.com
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