April 10, Wednesday. 7:30 pm “From Bees to Hummingbirds: Convergent Evolution in Penstemon Flowers.” Among penstemons, hummingbird pollination has evolved from bee pollination over a dozen times. Retired ecology and evolution professor Paul Wilson will discuss these two pollination syndromes involving color, nectar rewards, and dispensing of pollen, and he will explore the rate … [Read more...] about From Bees to Hummingbirds: Convergent Evolution in Penstemon Flowers
California Desert Plants: Ecology and Diversity
Wednesday – February 14 The desert areas of California include the northwestern portion of the Sonoran Desert, the largest part of the Mojave Desert, and the western margin of the Great Basin. Michael Kauffmann, co-author of California Desert Plants (Backcountry Press 2022) will take us on a journey to explore these vast and intimate desert landscapes through their … [Read more...] about California Desert Plants: Ecology and Diversity
How to Use Natural History and Population Modeling to Save an Endangered Milkvetch, and other Similar Species
A recently graduated Master's student at Cal Poly Humboldt, Sean Stewart, will present his findings on the difficult life of Applegate's milkvetch (Astragalus applegatei). Once believed extinct, A. applegatei, was rediscovered in the 1980s in and around Klamath Falls, Oregon despite massive changes to its historical habitat. While little is known about this plant, the … [Read more...] about How to Use Natural History and Population Modeling to Save an Endangered Milkvetch, and other Similar Species
Native Plant Show-and-Tell
Evening Program, Wednesday, December 13, 7:30 pm Join us for a fun evening of wildflower pictures taken by Chapter members Don Hollander, Gail Kenny, Tony LaBanca, Mary Ann Machi, and Paul Wilson. This program will include plants from Del Norte County and southern Oregon, Redwood National Park, Horse Mountain, southern Humboldt, various CNPS field trips, the eastern Sierra, … [Read more...] about Native Plant Show-and-Tell
Restoring our Salt Marshes: Control of Spartina densiflora (Cordgrass) in Humboldt Bay
Evening Program, Wednesday, November 8, 7:30 pm Andrea Pickart, long-time ecologist with the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge, will describe the profound effects of invasion by Dense-flowered Cordgrass (Spartina densiflora), an invasive plant that was introduced to Humboldt Bay in the 1800's. Andrea will show the progress made over the last 10 years in restoring salt … [Read more...] about Restoring our Salt Marshes: Control of Spartina densiflora (Cordgrass) in Humboldt Bay