NEWSLET TER

UNIVERSITY of CALIFORNIA

Volume 13, Number 3

Published by the FRIENDS of the BOTANICAL GARDEN • Berkeley, California Fall 1988

A Sister Garden in the Tropics

Bromeliads at the Hummingbird Garden, Wilson Botanical Garden, CostaRica (photo by Jim Affolter)

T he air is cool, damp, and still, and the early morn-ing light too dim for photographs. I walk quietlydown the freshly mown path, past an arbor covered

with orchids, through a jungle of low-growing palms.Passing the research plots, I scan the trees overhead forthe baby kinkajou spotted yesterday. Just ahead, a shortbamboo fence marks the Hummingbird Garden, thehollow stems of the bamboo serving as flower pots forbright crimson and yellow bromeliads. I take a seat andwatch quietly, alert for sudden flashes of color and thecharacteristic buzzing. . . So begins a day for a visitor atour new sister garden, the Robert and Catherine WilsonBotanical Garden in southern Costa Rica.

With the world's tropical rainforests disappearing atrates that stagger our comprehension, the need for publiceducation and applied programs in tropical conservationhas never been greater. Botanical gardens, whose primarypurpose is to promote study and appreciation of the plantkingdom, are natural platforms for communicatingconservation issues to the public. One way to advancethis aim is to develop greater cooperation betweentemperate botanical gardens, with their well-developedprograms of education and interpretation, and tropicalgardens, whose floras and audiences place them in themiddle of the crisis.

We are therefore pleased to announce that the Uni-versity of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley and theWilson Botanical Garden in Costa Rica have formallyagreed to become Sister Gardens. The Wilson Garden hasone of the most prominent collections of ornamental andeconomic plants in Central America and is an importantfield station for the Organization for Tropical Studies(OTS). OTS is a non-profit consortium of over 40 Ameri-can and Costa Rican universities dedicated to education,research, and the wise use of natural resources in thetropics. U.C. Berkeley is one of the founding members ofOTS.

Rich Tropical ConnectionAlthough OTS now owns and administers the Wilson

Garden, it was founded privately in 1962 by Robert andCatherine Wilson. Before moving to Costa Rica, theWilsons owned a commercial nursery in Florida wherethey introduced many tropical species into the horticul-tural trade. Drawing on their extensive contacts, andtaking advantage of the rich native flora, the Wilsonsdeveloped an outstanding plant collection of tropicalspecies. In 1973, the Wilsons transferred the property toOTS, keeping a home 'on the grounds, and in 1986 OTStook over the horticultural operations under the directionof Luis Diego Gomez.

The tropical setting, the local fauna and flora, and therichness of the plant collections make a visit to theWilson Garden an unforgettable experience. Aroids,gingers, bromeliads, and orchids are abundant andGarden special collections are featured on "Tree Fern

Central America

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University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley

The Wilson Garden is located in the highlands 4 miles south of San Vito deJava, the main population and commercial center in Coto Brus County.

Hill" and "Maranta Trail". An astounding 80% of thetropical and subtropical palm genera are in cultivationhere along with a well-documented research collectionof Heliconias. In all, more than 1,000 genera in some 200families are represented. The Garden also includes a 300acre reserve of undisturbed premontane forest, rich inorchids and other epiphytes.

A Natural RelationshipOur two gardens have a strong basis for partnership

in our similar focus on research and education. We bothfill significant roles within our communities as publicmuseums and education centers, providing beautifulsettings for the appreciation and study of plants. We areboth active in promoting conservation and preservationof the world's dwindling biological diversity.

The decision to formalize our relationship grewnaturally out of the success of our cooperative effortsduring the past year and a half. A grant from the StanleySmith Horticultural Trust supported consulting visits tothe Wilson Garden, purchase of a computer, and instal-lation of computer programs to modernize the plantrecord keeping. Last July, Dr. Stephanie Kaza from theGarden, Dr. Kerry Walter from the Center for PlantConservation, and I spent two weeks in Costa Rica,primarily at the Wilson Garden, but also at La Selva Bio-logical Station, a key OTS field site. Kerry worked withGarden Director Luis Diego Gomez and several stafffrom the OTS San Jose office to install BG-BASE. Thisprogram will greatly enhance the ability of the WilsonGarden to exchange information with institutionsaround the world and to manage future development ofthe plant collection.

Stephanie and I concentrated on analyzing educa-tional and informational needs of Garden visitors, pro-posing interpretive tools, discussing exhibit develop-ment, and studying the curatorial status of the collec-tions. Stephanie coordinated the design of a new mapbrochure that will be printed in English and Spanish this

One of two recently renovated greenhouses at the Wilson Garden. (photo byJim Affolter)

fall. During our visit, Luis Diego was an endless source ofinformation, inspiration, and entertainment. Formerlyhead of the Costa Rican National Museum, Luis has nowdedicated himself to the rejuvenation of the Garden. OTShas provided support for developing the Garden as amodel site for the study of sustainable land use andconservation within the tropics. The Garden has recentlyreceived a grant of $127,000 from the National ScienceFoundation to upgrade physical facilities — furtherrecognition of its importance as a research institution.

Cooperative PledgeOur two gardens have agreed to work together in the

future by:• exchanging staff, information, and expertise;• providing research support for students in biology,

science education, and conservation;• exchanging plant material; and• developing training programs for students and

interns.Specific projects for the coming months include develop-ing a strategy for inventorying and mapping the WilsonGarden, completing the new map brochure, and engrav-ing plant labels for some of the collection.

On August 29,1988, as representatives of both gar-dens met beneath a grove of coast live oaks in the U.C.Garden, we formally agreed to establish our relationshipas sister gardens. A proclamation describing the promiseof cooperation is under review right now. We lookforward to a partnership designed to benefit both ouraudiences and a world of tropical plants and animalswhose time is running out.

—Jim Affolter

Touch-Me-NotImpatiens capensis(Illustration by Linda Cook)

Fall 1988

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Garden Colony on Campus

Despite losses in our native flora due to problemsof rarity and extinction, the total number ofspecies in California has actually increased in the

past two centuries. This is because approximately 10percent of the vascular plant species growing 'wild' inthe state are of exotic origin. Some of these are gardenescapees such as sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima), Redvalerian (Centranthus ruber), fennel (Foeniculum vulgare),pampas grass (Cortaderia selloana), gorse (Ulex europaeus),and the brooms (Cytisus spp.). Although many of theselend color to waste places, some such as the brooms andpampas grass are noxious pests. Other invaders ofdiverse origins are agricultural pests such as Bermudabuttercup (Oxalis pes-caprae) and the star thistles (Centau-rea spp.). Given the mobile nature of our society, it islikely that California will continue to provide a home foruncounted new introductions arriving by ship, air, rail, inpacking material, and by other means.

Occasionally I am asked if the Botanical Garden hasserved as the unintentional source of new introductionsinto California's exotic flora. A politically correct answerwould be "no" and the factual answer until recently wasalso "no" — at least as far as we knew. We are judiciousin what we acquire and plant out in the Garden, makingan attempt to avoid potential troublemakers. The weedsthat occur in and around the Botanical Garden arecommonplace species that are widespread elsewhere.However, the question of new introductions must nowbe answered "yes".

A Venturesome Touch-Me-NotIn late sumer of 1988 I noticed a small colony of Jew-

elweed or Touch-Me-Not (Impatiens capensis) growingalong the banks of Strawberry Creek behind the LifeSciences Building and a few individuals along the samecreek in back of Alumni House. This species is wide-spread in eastern North America and ranges naturally asfar north as Alaska. Its nearest known uncultivatedpopulations are in northwestern Oregon along theWillamette and Columbia Rivers. It isn't clear whetherthese plants are native to that region, or were introducedthere, since the first Oregon collections were made by mein 1958. In Oregon, Touch-Me-Not forms hyrbrid swarmswith the closely related native Jewelweed, I. ecalcarata.

In the late 1960s I collected seeds from a hybridswarm of Jewelweed in Oregon and established a smallcolony in the Garden along the streamlet by the NorthAmerican area behind the Tropical House. This channelultimately empties into one of the forks of StrawberryCreek. The colony establishes itself yearly via seedsscattered from explosive capsules — hence the nameTouch-Me-Not. For several years, the Garden flowersshowed the same features as the original population. Bythe 1980s there were only two variants — one identical toI. capensis and the other the same except without spots on

the petals. Spotlessness is a genetic trait from I. ecalcarata,a native Jewelweed that hybridizes with I. capensis innorthwestern Oregon. This one trait seems to have becomestabilized in the garden population, which is still thrivingand vigorous.

As far as I know, I. capensis is otherwise unreportedin California and is not grown as a garden plant. So myguess is that the campus colony originated from seedsthat were carried down Strawberry Creek from theBotanical Garden. The plant will probably not becomewidespread elsewhere in the state. In the British Isles it iswidely introduced along riverbanks, but it is not consid-ered a pest nor has it displaced native species there, so Iwould not expect this charming invader to become a pestin California either.

Ironically, another "weed" has also achieved distri-bution beyond the Garden by another means. Theprostrate purple-flowered Heal-All (Prunella vulgaris)that benignly infests the lawn area is a genetic dwarf,quite unlike the tall race of this species that grows inwooded areas. Our Heal-All is now known to universitystudents throughout the United States because of aphotograph used to illustrate the process of evolution inRaven, Evert, and Eichhorn's popular introductorybotany text, Biology of Plants. So, it is not always the bigplants that make the headlines; the little stories areimportant too.

— Robert Ornduff

Page 4 University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley

opical Botanic ardens and Arboreta in ConservationEditor's Note — This paper was delivered at a conference on,"Conserving Biological Diversity" in Davis, California onAugust 16, 1988. Luis Diego Gomez, Director of the WilsonGarden of Costa Rica, offered a Third World perspective on therole of botanical gardens in tropical conservation. With hispermission, we have reprinted an edited version of his paperwhich will appear in full in Beeline Vol. 2(2), 1988 publishedFriends of Lomas Barbudal.

ly in the recent years have botanical gardens asa group entered the sphere of environmentalconcern. They have been prompted to move from

o general desire to expand the comprehensiveness ofeehtcollections to take action directed at conservation.

They have moved from policies of specializing in certaingeographical areas or plant groups to a more active rolein conserving these areas or plants. Botanical gardens arebeing asked to go beyond their routine activities to a newrole. The question is how?

In the tropical and subtropical countries, botanicalinstitutions often languish and slide into oblivion fromlack of resources. It is time for temperate area gardens tofoster "sister institutions" in the tropics and share theirexpertise, help them locate and channel the necessaryresources to revitalize and keep tropical collections notmerely alive, but on some path to growth and relevancein their communities. The cooperative relationshipbetween the Wilson Botanical Garden and the U.C.Berkeley Botanical Garden is a good example of this kindof exchange of expertise and resources.

Luis Diego Gomez,Director, Wilson Garden—"We are quite pleased to becomeSister Gardens with UCBerkeley and we welcome you tovisit our Garden in San Vito."

(Illustrated by Francis Runyoncourtesy of Arnold Neuman)

Shared Conservation EffortsThe conservation of germplasm ex situ (out of the

natural habitat) is one thing botanical gardens do well. Intemperate countries it is quite expensive to keep tropicalplants under glass. Temperate botanical gardens mayfind it an interesting option to conserve special studycollections of tropical plants in tropical botanic gardens.This caretaking could be a useful role for sister institu-tions. Overhead funds for maintenance and other gardenexpenses would be a welcome financial resource to mostgardens and arboreta in the Third World. The cost ofkeeping such collections in tropical gardens can be metby producing propagation materials for collectors andcommercial growers.

Tropical botanical gardens should be encouraged tokeep and manage some areas of native, local vegetationwhere it is still possible. They will be small islands, butfor quite some time, all natural habitats have been islandson the decrease. At the Wilson Garden, second growthforest is certainly an island in a sea of coffee farms anderoding pasturelands.

We have proposed a plan to the Costa Rican govern-ment to create a series of representative reserves. Thesewould be selected to represent the biotic zones in thecountry with maximum possible diversity. They wouldbe managed without the restraints of present legislationfor National Parks and related conservation areas. Pro-tected areas must become useful witin the next 10 yearsas sources of germplasm to stock denuded areas, or theywill be defeating their own purpose.

Fall 1988 Page 5

Education at All LevelsGovernments and conservation agencies must give

botanical gardens the means to carry out extensiveenvironmental education programs at all levels. TheWilson Garden devotes a large portion of its budget toenvironmental education for students and ecoturistas,nature travel groups. We also want to work directly withthe landless and unemployed — the people who arepotential squatters in the area.

There is a tremendous need for educational booksand materials in Spanish about the local plants and planthabitats. We now use primarily books from Spain andpoor translations of temperate botany books. It is nowonder we do not care about our own forests!

Botanical gardens need to take an active advisoryrole in working with international agencies. They mustget together and redesign international policies concern-ing the introduction of plant materials. Many plants havesurvived better in European conservatories than in theirown habitats which are or soon will be destroyed orseverely altered. Government agencies charged withreforestation take their cue from international organiza-tions who only know about pines and eucalyptus. Abotanical garden must be able to present the properevidence against massive introductions of certain species,even at the risk of alienating potential donors.

Time to ActEvery so often there is a meeting of some sort and

magnitude on conservation issues. We spend so muchtime discussing the importance of these issues that, bythe time a course of action is chosen, the task will be sim-plified greatly — not because of the decades spent inanalysis and planning, but because there will be verylittle left to conserve.

We must realize that it is equally if not more impor-tant to spend as much time and money keeping livingcollections alive as in preparing herbarium specimens.Studies of chloroplast DNA will be a byzantine nicetywhen the source plants are becoming subfossils underthe asphalt of transamazonian highways, when the lastliving example of some plant is cozily potted in NewYork or Tokyo.

When we view the magnitude of these problems inbroad perspective, we see the immensity of the task athand. It is not just critical, it is essential that we allbecome active conservationists and not just distantscientists. It is time for botanical gardens to take up theirnew role with energy and dedication.

—Luis Diego Gomez,Director, Wilson Garden

Major donors for the new Tour Orientation Center (left to right): Mr. andMrs. Robert Riddell, Mrs. Nelson Weller, Mrs. S. Floyd Hammond, Mr. andMrs. Bernard Witkin, and University representative Errol Mauchlan. (photoby Stephanie Kaza)

President's Reception andGround-Breaking

On Sunday, September 11th, a lovely late-summerevening, Friends' President Robert Riddell welcomedspecial guests to a symbolic ground-breaking celebrationfor the new Tour Orientation Center. Honored guestsincluded former members of the Board of Directors,Honorary Trustees, and major donors to the Garden.Riddell outlined the Friends' many contributions to thewell-being of the Garden and Director Robert Ornduffspoke of hopes for improved parking facilities andeventual aesthetic and functional changes for the mainentrance area. Education Coordinator Stephanie Kazasuggested that the Garden's programs aim to reachbeyond the limits of the Garden walls and encourage asense of interconnection with plants and people aroundthe world.

The Tour Orientation Center will be a meeting placefor tour groups and offer a place for visitors to relax andenjoy the view over much of the Garden. The facility hasbeen made possible through the generosity of Mr. andMrs. Nelson Weller in honor of longtime Garden benefac-tor Mrs. S. Floyd Hammond, and of Mr. and Mrs. Ber-nard Witkin, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Riddell, and theFriends' membership. The project is scheduled for com-pletion before the end of the year.

The reception was graced by guitar duo musicprovided by the Young People's Musicians, and delicioushors d'oeuvres prepared by Trader Vic, thanks to thesupport of Freddie Fung.

Stanhopea wardii(also above)- pollinated by aEulaema bee which becomesintoxicated and falls through theflower chute picking up thepollinia on the way out.

(Illustration by Linda Cook)

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University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley

GARDEN SPOTLIGHT

An Exotic Journey

Hothouse plants have long been favorites amongtemperate gardeners, suggesting a world of exoticcolors, designs, flavors, and scents. At the glimpse

of a flowering orchid, the imagination runs wild, conjur-ing up walls of green jungle and thickets of lush vegeta-tion. While Berkeley is too cool and dry to grow mosttropical plants out-of-doors, we have captured manywonders under glass to lure visitors into the equatorialrealms. During the damp cold of winter, we invite you totake a journey to the tropics world which, in fact, is not,so far away.

Diversity in the RainforestThe Rainforest section of the Desert and Rainforest

House features tropical epiphytes, or plants that grow onother plants. These are not to be confused with parasites,plants that actually draw their nourishment from otherplants. Epiphytes are abundant in the tropics wherewater, sunlight, and nutrients are often more availablehigh in the canopy than down on the forest floor. Tropi-cal orchids, ferns, and bromeliads are common epiphytes,but we also have epiphytic pitcher plants (Nepenthes) andeven epiphytic cacti!

The orchids are the showiest feature of the Rainforestgreenhouse. The U.C. Berkeley collection has beencollected primarily by botanists rather than horticultur-ists and consists of species rather than hybrids. Thismeans the flowers are not necessarily chosen for size orcolor or spectacle, but are more widely representative ofthe vastly diverse orchid family. Almost all species arewild-collected and many date back to the 1950's orbefore. The collection is also unusual in that all speciesare "clean" — that is, uninfected by either Cymbidiumvirus or tobacco mosaic virus. In 1985, Dena Hutchin, aUCB graduate student in plant pathology, performed anElisa test on all our plants to check for virus, and theinfected plants were transferred out of the RainforestHouse.

Orchids are well-known for their extensive variationsin shape and color designed to attract specific pollinators.Like other tropical plants they can't afford to depend onrandom insect movement to accomplish pollination. Toinsure efficient transport, the pollen is packaged inmasses or pollinia and is carried in one packet to anotherflower by the pollinator.

Pollination Detective StoriesIn Catasetum spp. the flowers produce a strong

fragrance which attracts male euglossine bees that collectthis scent to produce pheromones. As they enter theflower, they inevitably touch one of the appendages or"horns" of the stem holding the pollinia. This stimulatesthe bent stem to snap like a metal spring, catapulting thepollinia onto the bee's back. The impact can sometimesknock the bee out of the flower!

Some orchids have pollination systems that involvefalse copulations. Ophrys speculum attracts a male waspby looking exactly like the female — complete with eyespots and a hairy abdomen. In the hammer orchids, thedeception even includes using a scent which is a copy ofthe pheromone released by the female wasp. The flowerproduces this scent several weeks before the femalewasps appear, so they can successfully monopolize theattention of the male wasps.

Flowers of Paphiopedilum, in the slipper-orchid group,have an inflated pouch which acts as a fly trap. The fliesare attracted by the unpleasant scent of the flowers andby the conspicuous pattern of spots and stripes. If theyattempt to land on or walk across the column, they slideoff its oily, flat surface and are caught in the large open-ing of the pouch. As they struggle to escape through oneof the side exits, they brush against the pollinia whichbecome affixed to their bodies on the way out.

Fall 1988

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Though we do not keep pollinators on hand for ourorchids (think of the greenhouse as an orchid monastery),our over 450 species are thriving and well. Unfortunatelyas rainforests are cleared at an alarming rate, orchids andother epiphytes are threatened with loss of habitat —their trees! This remarkable speciation took place in astable environment which is changing rapidly today.Reproductive mechanisms such as pollinator specificitythat have isolated populations into separate species, mayno longer be effective under disturbed conditions.

Tropical Economic PlantsThe tropics are the source of many important agricul-

tural plants, a theme that is illustrated in the TropicalHouse next to the Meeting Room. Many of the plants inthis greenhouse are of economic value: their products areprobably regular features in your household. As you facethe small pond, the house is geographically divided intoOld World species on the left and New World species onthe right. The specimens have recently been given newlabels, so take this article in hand and see what you candiscover!

The Epiphiyte wall of orchids by the pond in the Tropical House. (photo byStephanie Kaza)

In the Old World section, look up for the wildlysuccessful Aristolochia elegans, sending spotted pouch-shaped flowers across the ceiling wires. This plant isresponsible for the faintly fetid smell in the greenhouse,typical of fly-pollinated species. The Banana by theentrance has been pruned to reveal the complex flowersand maturing fruit. Nearby is another breakfast item —Coffee, originally grown in Africa before coming to theNew World. Perhaps the strangest flower on this side isthe dark brown-purple Bat Flower, Tacca integrifolia, pol-linated by flies (not bats). The whisker-like structures arethought to be derived from sterile flower stalks.

On the New World side, look for tree frogs andtadpoles. The tank bromeliads on the bromeliad tree areoften home to tadpoles in the tropics; here we havebrought in local tree frogs as part of the biological pestcontrol program. Instead of pesticides and poisons, weuse tree frogs, lacewings, ladybugs, and parasitic waspto keep insect damage under control.

One of the most fiercely armed specimens is the AntAcacia Tree (Acacia cornigera ) — a classic case of symbio-sis and coevolution in the tropics. Ants patrol the treeprotecting it from grazers and other insect pests, and inturn, the tree produces small oil rich food bodies at thetips of the leaflets as ant food. The ants live in the tree'slarge hollow thorns. The Cacao plant, source of ourchocolate has a large fruiting pod; the inconspicuousflowers are borne directly from the trunk. With somelooking you can also find the Chiclet tree — source ofchewing gum ingredient, a Rubber plant, and a giantEquisetum which is taller than its North American horse-tail relatives.

Many more species are of economic value to the localpeople of Central America, Asia, and Africa, but for themost part, we know very little about the potential uses ofmost tropical plants. Many species may be promisingsources of basic carbohydrates and protein; others maybe of great medicinal value. The source of these possiblecultigens are the wild areas and.local and indigenouspeoples that can teach us what they know. Our collec-tions at the Garden barely represent the enormousnumber of species in the tropics, but they offer a taste ofthe possibilities which may soon be lost because of globaldemands on the tropics.

—Stephanie Kaza

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University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley

GARDEN NOTES

Symposium a SuccessThe Friends' two-day Fall Symposium on Mixed Peren-nial Borders, organized by Elly Bade, was a tremendoussuccess and well-attended. Jane Brown of England andEleanor McPeck of Radcliffe College offered historicperspective in design. Roger Raiche from the UCBGarden provided information on California plants forcolor, and other guests spoke on Australian plants, ferns,and other elements in the border. The large group of over200 toured nine gardens in the East Bay after brunch inthe Garden on Sunday, while others participated in asupplementary workshop.

Conferences: Kurt Zadnik attended the Fifth AnnualHuntington Botanical Garden Symposium in mid-September on Succulent Plants, making new contacts inthe cactus world for possible future plant exchange forthe Garden. Elaine Sedlack traveled to China to attendan International Symposium on Botanical Gardensheld in Nanjing. She returned to many of the gardensshe visited in 1986 and had a chance to see Profes-sor Xu who helped design the Chinese Medicinal HerbGarden. Both trips were partially supported by theFriends' Horticultural Staff Development Fund.

Mesoamerican Area: The California Conservation Corpscontinues to be extremely helpful hacking and hewingsteep trails and steps into the side of the slope below thepropagation houses. Designs for the area are now in theplanning stages. Working with Jim Affolter and Stepha-nie Kaza, UCB student and Chiapas enthusiast JohnCloud has prepared a preliminary report on major inter-pretive themes and proposed a number design ideas. Heis currently compiling a data base of all the plants slatedfor this area with information on habitat, ethnobotanicaluse, and possible horticultural value. The Garden isworking with Frank Almeda of the California Academyof Sciences and Professor Brent Berlin of the UCB An-thropology Department to develop an appropriateplanting scheme for this new area.

Old and New Plants: The trunk of the Phoenix canariensispalm at the top of African Hill broke quite suddenly inmid-September — something palms rarely do. There is

In the Tropical House, new plantlabels have been prepared using theGarden's new computerizedengraving machine and were madepossible by a gift from MerlMcHenry in memory of S. FloydHammond.

Gardener Louis Caizza christens the new Garden tractor with a load ofcompost for Frank Magtibay. (photo by Stephanie Kaza)

no obvious explanation for this odd death — the drought?a broken heart? Fortunately there is another statelyindividual of this species by the bridge in the Palm andCycad Garden.

The Center for Plant Conservation national collectioncontinues to grow. Jim Affolter and Holly Forbes broughtback seeds of Eryngium constancei from the last knownpopulation of a vernal pool in Loch Lomond, Lake Countyand shipped off the seeds for long-term storage.

Publication: Curatorial Assistant Holly Forbes contributeda paper to a new publication, Plant Biology of EasternCalifornia: Natural History of the White-Inyo Range,Symposium, Volume 2. Written with Wayne Ferren, Jr. andJ.R. Haller of U.C. Santa Barbara, the paper focuses on FishSlough, an Area of Critical Environmental Concern (asdesignated by the Bureau of Land Management). The areais home to several rare and endangered species, includingthe endemic Owens Valley pupfish and Fish Slough MilkVetch (Astragalus lentiginosus var. piscinensis).

Milestones: Kurt Zadnik celebrated his tenth anniversaryof employment with the Garden surrounded by friendsand colleagues who toasted the occasion with humorousand revealing stories of the past. He hopes to spendseveral more decades here at the Garden caring for hisbeloved cacti and succulents.

Miracles: Assistant Manager Judith Finn has a newwonderful baby, Daniel Brandywine Finn, a healthyyoung boy who arrived on August 11th, Judith is quite thepleased new mother. She will return on December 1st toresume her responsibilities at the Garden.

Fall 1988 Page 9

Holiday Plant SaleSaturday/Sunday, December 10-11, 10am-3pm

The Friends of the Botanical Garden will hold theirannual Holiday Plant Sale on December 10-11 from10am to 3pm at the Botanical Garden. The sale will

feature a wide array of lovely plants for holiday gifts,including many hard-to-find species. Proceeds from theplant sale go to support the Garden's programs, activi-ties, and general operations.

Holiday special items include ferns, cacti, succulents,houseplants, epiphytic orchids, and Cymbidiums. All ofthe plants are grown from horticultural sources or seedcollected from the wild. They have been propagated fromthe garden collection, from collectors' gardens, and fromseed houses in the United States.

For the first time, bulbs will be for sale in Decemberrather than waiting for the Spring Sale when most of thecollection will have already flowered. So, in the spirit ofexperimentation, we offer Friends and the general publica chance to obtain these bulbs during the phase of newgrowth, in anticipation of their blooms next spring — inyour garden!

BULB SELECTIONS

*Plants for sale will be drawn from this list, depending on the condition of the plants at sale time.

Antholyza ringens (Iridaceae) — South African bulb with scarletand yellow flowers on a stem with a velvet appendage evolvedas a perch for pollinating sunbirds

Babiana spp. (Iridaceae) — our usual mixed hybrids from theGarden

Bellevalia spp. (Liliaceae) — several species of this genus formerlyincluded in Hyacinthus

Biarum tenuifolium (Araceae) — low-growing plant with black-purple spathe, wild-collected in Greece

Brunsvigia slateriana (Amaryllidaceae) — a rare South Africanfrom the garden that forms a ball of pink flowers over a foot indiameter. Not likely to flower for several years

Brimera amethystina (Liliaceae) — small plants with light blueflowers like a tiny hyacinth

Cyclamen spp. (Primulaceae) — a selection of rare species, mayinclude C. africanum, C. balearicum, C. cilicium var. intaminatum,C. coum graecum, C. creticum, C. cyprium, C. hederifoliium,C. libanoticum, C. purpurescens, C. repandum

Dracunculus vulgaris (Araceae) — a large (to 36") plant with tallvelvety spathes and deeply divided leaves, from SouthernEurope and Turkey

Ferraria crispa (Iridaceae) — yellow-brown frilled flowersintricately blotched and spotted with darker brown-purple fromSouth Africa

Gladiolus spp. (Iridaceae) — seldom offered northern hemispherespecies G. communis, G. illyricus, and G. palustris

Gynandriris sisyrinchium (Iridaceae) — formerly included in thegenus Iris, a low-growing light blue Mediterranean bulb grownfrom wild-collected seed

Iris spp. (Iridaceae) — a selection from the sub-genus Scorpiris(commonly called Juno Iris) including I. bucharica, I. graeberiana,I. magnifica, and I. warleyensis from central Asia and I. planifoliafrom wild-collected seed of Portugal

Lachenalia spp. (Liliaceae) — L. reflexa (yellow) and L. unicolor(purple) from the Garden. Colorful South Africans good forpots or the rock garden

Leucojuinautumnale spp. (Amaryllidaceae) — delicate fallblooming plant with white flowers flushed pink

Muscari spp (Liliaceae) — several species incuding M. aucheri,M. caucasicum, M. chalusicum, and M. commutatum

Narcissus spp. (Amaryllidaceae) — several species includingN. cantabricus, N. juncifolius (requinii), and N. rupicola

Nerine spp. (Amaryllidaceae) — N. filifolia from the Garden andN. masonorum, a dwarf species, both with typical pink trumpet-shaped flowers

Ornithogalum spp. (Liliaceae) — 0. narbonense and 0. refract urn,both from seed wild-collected in France

Sternbergia sicula (Amaryllidaceae) — originally wild-collected inGreece, bright yellow flowers in fall

Veltheimia bracteata (Liliaceae) — a cluster of pink tubularflowers on an 18" stem and an attractive rosette of wavy brightgreen leaves from South Africa

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Calendar of Events

CULINARY HERBS Sat, NOV 5Using garden herbs in the kitchen with Staff from the HerbSociety. $8 members, $10 non-members. Meeting Room,10-12noon.

HOLIDAY DECORATING Sun, NOV 20, Sat, NOV 26Make wreaths and arrangements from dried natural materialswith expert Wayne Roderick. Limit 18 per session. $20 members,$25 non-members each session. Meeting Room, 9:30-12:30pmSaturday, or 1-4pm Sunday.

PATRICK BOWE Thurs, DEC 1Special guest lecture on Spanish and Mediterranean gardens byauthor of The Gardens of Ireland. 7:30pm, Haas House Clubroom,Strawberry Canyon. $5 members, $7 non-members.

HOLIDAY PLANT SALE Sat-Sun, DEC 10, 11Orchids, bromeliads, ferns, cacti, succulents, houseplants, gardenand nature books for holiday gifts. 10-3pm both days.

GARDENING BETWEEN THE COVERS Sat, JAN 14Barbara Worl of Sweet Briar Press discusses the best in gardenbooks. 10-12noon, Meeting Room. $5 members, $7 non-members.

GARDEN BOOK SALE Sat, JAN 14Special buys on used gardening and horticulture books, 12-1pm,Meeting Room.

A NEW LOOK AT TREES Sun-Mon, FEB 19-20Guest speakers and workshop on tree care and new introduc-tions. California Academy of Sciences.

CHILDREN'S CLASSES

COOKING WITH PLANTS Sun, NOV 6Create and taste delicious herb teas, grass cookies, and specialtropical treats from the Garden with Celia Cuomo. 1-2:30pmfor ages 5-7, 3-4:30pm for ages 8-11. $6 per child.

WREATH-MAKING Sun, DEC 4Make a holiday wreath of native dried materials with StephanieKaza. 1-3pm, ages 8-12. $6 per child.

For information on classes and events, call 642-3343.

The Garden is open every day of the year except Christ-mas from 9:00am to 4:45pm. Public tours led by docentsare given on Saturdays (except on football home gamedays) and Sundays at 1:30pm. Admission to the Gardenis free.

Legend. • Express Humphrey Go-BARTA Berkeley BART Station

Friends of the Botanical GardenUniversity of CaliforniaBerkeley, California 94720

Nonprofit Org.U.S. Postage Paid

Berkeley, CAPermit No. 1061

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