James W Cornett to Speak on Ocotillos and Joshua Trees March 13th

The final Botany Society Public Lecture of the season will be delivered by James W Cornett called "Hanging On: A Tale of Two Desert Icons." His talk will begin at 10 AM in the Discovery Lab at the State Park Visitor Center.
    
Cornett is know for his book "How Indians Used Desert Plants." This talk will focus on the ocotillo and Joshua tree which are iconic plants of the California deserts, indeed the entire Southwest. Not only are they two of the largest plants found on California desert flatlands, both species are widely planted as ornamentals and have names or images adorning hundreds of souvenirs and business logos from Las Vegas to Tucson and beyond. Cornett will share the results of his decades-long studies on the population dynamics of these two iconic species with particular emphasis on the Joshua tree as his research on this species has just finished. 

Who: James W Cornett
What: Hanging On: A Tale of Two Desert Icons
When: Monday, March 13, 2017; 10 AM
Where: Discovery Lab, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park® Visitor Center
Cost: Free to the public

Join the Warriors! Save Borrego's Wildflowers!

Join The BORREGO WEED WARRIORS on Saturday, March 4 and Saturday, March 11 from 8 a.m. – Noon to learn how to identify, report and destroy the plant menace Volutaria and Sahara mustard that are threatening our pristine state park wilderness and beautiful wildflower blooms. Meet the Invasive Plant Control Team and help save Borrego. Bonus: We’ll see and identify many beautiful wildflowers along the way. Think of this as a wildflower outing with a purpose – the purpose of protecting them into the future!

Meet: 8:00 am on the north side of Christmas Circle in the parking area near the Kiwanis Grapefruit Stand.

Bring: Gloves and a hula hoe tool (if you have one).  If you wish to be a surveyor (the eyes for the teams), we’ll show you how.  

Park Volunteers can record the eradication hours on their time sheets.

For more information, contact Pat Matthews, Patmatthews@hotmail.com or Ramona Robison, rrobison@cal-ipc.org, 916-802-2004

Phields of Phacelia

Phacelia crenulata var. ambigua

Carla Hoegen writes to report that the Badlands are blooming with fields of Phacelia, something she and Fred Melgert have never seen. These photos were taken in Fault Wash where you'll need 4-wheel drive. 

Thanks Carla.

Weeds ... We Can Live without 'Em

With the rains come the flowers...and the weeds.  A new weed has invaded Borrego Springs that presents an even greater threat to our flower fields than Sahara Mustard.  Its name is Volutaria, or desert knapweed. The community’s help is essential for stopping this weed.  

Because of the threat that Volutaria poses not only to our community but to the greater southwest region, the California Invasive Plant Council is holding a one-hour forum this Wednesday evening March 1, in the Anza Borrego Desert Natural History Association (ABDNHA) room.  

At Wednesday’s forum, plant experts will share with you (1) the grave threat Volutaria presents to Borrego and the rest of the southwest; (2) details of the eradication effort; (3) how to recognize Volutaria; and (4) why we need your eyes to help find Volutaria so that teams may stamp it out before it spreads any further. 

Our wildflowers – and the enormous beauty and economic benefit they bring to our community – are in peril. Now is the time to take action. The California Invasive Plant Council is mobilizing state and county agencies to eradicate Volutaria. But agencies cannot do it alone – they need your help in locating and fighting this threat. 

Please join the experts and Volutaria eradication team members in the ABDNHA library and meeting room at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, March 1, 2017. Admission is free.

A Surprise Awaits in Glorietta Canyon

Our intrepid field reporter Carla Hoegen says Crossosoma bigelovii are in bloom on the west side of Glorietta Canyon, You have to get over the boulders (not difficult according to Carla) to see these flowers. Enter these coordinates into your smartphone and let your GPS app guide your way:  33.194630 -116.395633.

Known by the common name ragged rockflower, it is one of only a few species in the flowering plant family Crossosomataceae. (See: Robert E. Preston & James R. Shevock 2017. Crossosoma, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, accessed on February 22, 2017.)

Thanks Carla!