Ironwood | Magazine of Santa Barbara Botanic Garden | Issue 34

MAGAZINE OF SANTA BARBARA BOTANIC GARDEN

I SS U E

Ironwood

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Ironwood

Volume 34 | Fall/Winter | 2023-24 Editor-in-Chief: Jaime Eschette Editor: Brie Spicer Designer: Kathleen Kennedy Staff Contributors: Annie Ayers; Hannah Barton; Neda Brehm; Michelle Cyr; Jaime Eschette; Kylie Etter; Kristen HasenstabLehman, Ph.D.; Jenny McClure; Keith Nevison; Melissa G. Patrino; Scot Pipkin; Caroline Shepherd; Kevin Spracher; Christina Varnava; Steve Windhager, Ph.D. Guest Contributors: Julia McHugh, George Yatchisin Ironwood is published biannually by Santa Barbara Botanic Garden®.

As the first botanic garden in the nation to focus exclusively on native plants, Santa Barbara Botanic Garden has dedicated nearly a century of work to better understand the relationship between plants and people. Growing from 13 acres in 1926 to today’s 78 acres, the grounds now include more than 5 miles of walking trails, an herbarium, a seed bank, research labs, a library, and a public native plant nursery. Amid the serene beauty of the Garden, teams of scientists, educators, and horticulturists remain committed to the original spirit of the organization’s founders — to conserve native plants and habitats to ensure they continue to support life on the planet and can be enjoyed for generations to come. Visit SBBotanicGarden.org.

The Garden is a member of the American Public Gardens Association, the American Alliance of Museums, the California Association of Museums, and the American Horticultural Society. ©2023 Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. All Rights Reserved.

1 Director’s Message 3 Biodiversity in the Living Collection 6 California’s Flora: A Natural Solution for a Changing Climate 14 Revealing Hidden Species Interactions Through the Building Blocks of Life 20 The Bug Report: Wasps — Predators, Parasitoids, and Pollinators 23 Curb Your Enthusiasm for Invasive Plants 26 Do Cultivars Support Biodiversity?

30 Landscape Transformation Begins at Elings Park 34 The Garden’s Impact

Santa Barbara Botanic Garden 1212 Mission Canyon Road Santa Barbara, CA 93105

36 From the Archives: Photos of Times Past

Garden Hours Daily: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Members’ Hour: 9-10 a.m.

Phone: 805.682.4726 Development: ext. 103 Education and Engagement: ext. 161 Membership: ext. 110 Nursery: ext. 112 Registrar: ext. 102 Volunteers: ext. 119 Board of Trustees Jeremy Bassan Sharon Bradford Frank W. Davis, Ph.D. Mark Funk, Board Chair John Gabbert George Leis, Vice Chair Bibi Moezzi, Treasurer

Contents

William Murdoch, Ph.D. Helene Schneider Warren Schultheis Kathy J. Scroggs, Secretary Ann Steinmetz Nancy G. Weiss

Leadership Team Jaime Eschette, Director of Marketing and Communications Jill Freeland, Director of Human Resources Denise Knapp, Ph.D., Director of Conservation and Research Keith Nevison, Director of Horticulture and Operations Melissa G. Patrino, Director of Development Scot Pipkin, Director of Education and Engagement Steve Windhager, Ph.D., Executive Director Join Our Garden Community Online Sign up for our monthly Garden Gazette e-newsletter at SBBotanicGarden.org and follow us on social media for the latest announcements and news.

39 Donor Story: Preserving One of Santa Barbara’s Treasures 40 The Giving Guide 41 Field Notes: Poetry Inspired by Nature 42 The Book Nook 43 The Budding Botanist: Backyard Bird Count

IN HONOR OF

Gerry Rubin In recognition of his kindness and innovative storytelling, which has played a vital role in shaping the Garden’s voice.

You will be missed.

@SBBotanicGarden Santa Barbara Botanic Garden Santa Barbara Botanic Garden

On the cover: Fall leaves and lichen lend color to the Garden's landscape. (Photo: Greg Trainor)

Director’s Message

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s I look back on this past season, I’m so proud of the work Santa Barbara Botanic Garden and the community (that's you!) are doing together. We've worked with The Nature Conservancy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, and U.S. Geological Survey to delist two rare plants on the Channel Islands, kicked off our first Landscape Transformation Project at Elings Park, launched a certification program for landscape professionals, removed numerous invasive species in Mission Canyon before they could become established, welcomed nearly 250 kids and their families to learn about native plants through our Summer Camp program, grew our membership to over 6,000 households, and more.

And this is just the beginning.

With the changing seasons comes a fresh chapter here at the Garden — a chapter holding ambitious goals of transforming landscapes across California’s central coast by 2030. It’s our most audacious challenge yet — one that focuses on securing the future of every native plant in our region and the intricate web of life they sustain. Through these goals, our commitment to wildlands diversity remains steadfast, but we’re also eager to redefine how landscapes around homes and businesses are managed.

That’s why I am excited to share with you our three strategies to develop whole, vibrant native sanctuaries along the central coast by 2030: We are working to grow the native plant movement, achieving a minimum of 30% coverage of native plants in the places where we — as a community — live, work, and play. Through sharing our horticultural expertise, we aim to inspire and train advocates, cultivating a community committed to expanding the use of native plants everywhere.

We are determined to contribute to the success of California’s 30x30 initiative and other comparable efforts to conserve and manage California’s lands to support biodiversity. Through the creation of essential resources, we’ll empower informed conservation action that fosters native plants. We’ll ensure no native plant in our region goes extinct, while actively facilitating restoration through research and tools that impact the 30% of California that is to be protected.

We will create a legacy through advocacy for native plants, driving impactful change in policies and actions.

By exemplifying a model that harmonizes people and the planet, we strive to make the Garden a sought-after hub of expertise. Our commitment extends to nurturing future leaders and influencing government plans, as we dedicate ourselves to cultivating and training a diverse community of conservation champions.

So let’s dive in, starting with this issue of Ironwood. You’ll learn about DNA-based research and the importance of stuyding our Living Collection to the many hands involved in a landscape transformation at Elings Park and the removal of invasive species around Mission Canyon. We’ve been committed to the transformative power of native plants for nearly a century and, thanks to your support, we’ll continue this work well into the future.

Whether it’s a seed in your backyard, a voice in the crowd, or a vote in the ballot box, small acts can have a huge impact on the planet we call home. Together, we’ll create a world where native plants thrive, and our children and grandchildren can revel in the wonders of a rich and diverse ecosystem.

Let’s get growing!

Steve Windhager, Ph.D. Executive Director Ironwood 1

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Biodiversity in the Living Collection By: Christina Varnava, Curator of the Living Collection

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alifornia is a biodiversity hot spot, with thousands of species, subspecies, and varieties of plants that can be found nowhere else on Earth.

species. These factors aren’t the whole story, but they are a huge part of why California’s flora is so special.

You have probably read that fact in an Ironwood article before or maybe you’ve seen it on our website or perhaps you have heard it in a talk, and it’s certainly true. You may have also been left pondering a simple question: Why is that the case? What exactly makes California (and especially the California Floristic Province, or CA-FP) so special? It’s not a simple answer, and botanists have been discussing this puzzle for a long time. Papers and books have been written; tears have been shed ... We could create an epic tome on this subject, but for now, we’ll just start with the broad strokes. I’ll include some sources at the end of the article if you want to do a deeper dive.

Read on, and we will explore some of the reasons that California has such incredible plant diversity, while highlighting some of the incredible specimens you can find in Santa Barbara Botanic Garden’s Living Collection.

Although many new species form here, California’s amazing biodiversity is boosted thanks to low rates of extinction. New species form, and older ones may become extinct, and these events generally happen over a very long time at a rate that can be analyzed by scientists. In comparison with other places, the rate of extinction in California over the past several million years has been relatively low. In other words, California’s diverse landscape has served as a refuge for many species that may have otherwise died out.

The Singularity of California’s Flora

Why Is California So Special?

To begin to answer the question of why California is so rich with plant diversity, we’ll need to think a bit about what California is like. Visualize traveling from the south to the north and think about all the changes in the landscape that you would experience.

California has a lot of diversity in habitat, topography, geology, and climate. In a relatively short space, you can traverse from a sandy sea-level habitat with cool breezes to blazing-hot alkaline soil in the deserts to high-elevation coniferous forests with granitic soils.

For plants, these multifaceted habitats mean lots and lots of niches. In ecological terms, an organism’s niche is a specific set of environmental conditions where it thrives. Organisms in the wild are all competing for a shared pool of resources. For example, plants need specific amounts of light, water, and nutrients in the soil. More niches mean that many different types of plants can coexist together since each species can get the amount of water, nutrients, and light it needs without facing as much competition. You can think of these niches as little islands of habitat where plants can thrive. These islands have two different effects that boost plant diversity: They can help shelter species that might have otherwise gone extinct, and they can catalyze or accelerate the formation of new Opposite: Sandmat manzanita (Arctostaphylos pumila) (Photo: Dieter Wilken)

Snow plant (Sarcodes sanguinea) (Photo: Betty [Potts] Randall)

An especially interesting part of plant biodiversity in California is due to so called “relictual” plants.

These are types of plants that have no remaining close relatives. Generally, these groups once had more living relatives which went extinct sometime Ironwood 3

in the distant past for various reasons. Some of the most fascinating and iconic members of the California flora are these types of plants that lack any surviving close relatives. These no longer occur anywhere else on Earth, but they have survived here in the CA-FP. The towering coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), Matilija poppies (Romneya coulteri and R. trichocalyx), Channel Islands ironwood (Lyonothamnus floribundus), tree anemone (Carpenteria californica), and the California bay laurel (Umbellularia californica) are all examples of these relict groups that you can find growing in the Garden. There are others you might find as you explore California, including the fascinating snow plant (Sarcodes sanguinea) and the massive giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum).

Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) (Photo: J. R. “Bob” Haller) Hairy Matilija poppy (Romneya trichocalyx) (Photo: Randy Wright)

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The diverse landscape of California can also help create new species in addition to sheltering older lineages. As plant populations spread and encounter various soil types, climates, and elevations, those plants can adapt and change to be more suited to these environments, eventually evolving into new species. California is the center of diversity for a few groups of plants. This means that more species of

these groups are found in California than anywhere else.

Manzanitas (Arctostaphylos spp.) are a great example of this phenomenon. Manzanitas are an iconic part of the California flora: an astonishing 106 of our 107 known types can be found within the CA-FP. Our Living Collection has representatives of 60 species and subspecies, as well as 34 hybrids, selections, and cultivars. Plants growing in our Manzanita Section encompass habitat from the lush redwood forests in Del Norte County to Otay Mountain near California’s border with Mexico.

Finally, perhaps the most special example of California’s plant biodiversity: the Channel Islands.

The Channel Islands are a major contributor to the diversity of the California flora. Islands in general are well known to have high levels of biodiversity.

New species can form more easily on islands, since any organisms that get to them are automatically isolated from other populations. The Channel Islands have many unique plants. Some of these are new species that have formed, whereas others are very old lineages of plants that have managed to survive there while they went extinct elsewhere. For example, fossil evidence indicates that in the distant past the island oak (Quercus tomentella) was once a far more widespread species. Over time it became isolated to the Channel Islands, where it thrives today. The Channel Islands ironwood shares a similar story, and its unique leaves can be found in fossils as far east as the Rocky Mountains. The same goes for other iconic species like the Santa Rosa Island Torrey pine (Pinus torreyana ssp. insularis).

Our Living Collection’s Role in Conservation Our Living Collection is a thriving example of biodiversity conservation in action, with multiple specimens of each of these unique plants mentioned that come from across their native ranges in the wild.

Some of these plants are highly desirable for the home gardener, but others are more challenging to cultivate or not suited for home garden conditions.

The Garden is home to the largest collection of Channel Islands plants on the mainland, which includes each of those species mentioned and many others. All told our collection houses just over half of all species endemic to the Channel Islands.

The collection is also home to many specimens of widespread plants that happen to occur on the islands.

These plants do not represent new species, but they still harbor genetic diversity due to the fact that the populations are isolated on the islands. For example, a few of the bigleaf maple trees (Acer macrophyllum)

Santa Rosa Island Torrey pine (Pinus torreyana ssp. insularis) (Photo: Christina Varnava)

that live in the Backcountry Section were collected from Santa Cruz Island. These trees have adapted to different conditions than some of their mainland relatives and display very different leaves with much narrower lobes and a far more tough and leathery texture, a sign of adaptation to drought conditions.

This collection is an incredible testament to decades spent by researchers at the Garden studying and protecting these plants in the wild.

California Plants and People Need Biodiversity These pieces are all part of the story of California’s rich plant diversity. From new species emerging to ancient lineages finding shelter, California’s plants seem to appreciate the diverse landscapes as much as humans do. As you explore the state, I hope this perspective helps you to appreciate the plant diversity that California has to offer.

If you’d like to read more about the Garden’s (and other botanic gardens’) role in plant conservation, visit: BGCI.org/about/botanic-gardens-and-plantconservation. O Kier, G., Kreft, H., Lee, T. M., Jetz, W., Ibisch, P. L., Nowicki, C., Mutke, J., & Barthlott, W. (2009, June 9). A global assessment of endemism and species richness across island and mainland regions. PNAS, 106(23). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0810306106 Lancaster, L. T., & Kay, K. M. (2013, April 1). Origin and diversification of the California flora: Re-examining classic hypotheses with molecular phylogenies. Evolution, 67(4), 1041–1054. https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.12016 Raven, P. H., & Axelrod, D. I. (1995). Origin and Relationships of the California Flora. California Native Plant Society.

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California’s Flora: A Natural Solution for a Changing Climate By: Scot Pipkin, Director of Education and Engagement

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n the southern flank of the Tehachapi Mountains, there is a ridge that overlooks the Antelope Valley.

Like its neighbors, this ridge runs east to west, before turning and rising to the southernmost reaches of the Sierra Nevada. Unlike its neighbors, this particular ridge is home to a small plant community that might not exist anywhere else in the world. Here, one can find three iconic California species all growing within a few yards of each other: valley oak (Quercus lobata), blue oak (Quercus douglasii), and Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia). While the two oaks can often be found growing alongside one another in the foothills that create a ring around California’s great central valley, mixing in the Joshua tree, one of the great ambassadors of the Mojave Desert, is pretty unique (figure 1).

If one were to ascend this ridge, all the way to its crest, they would find themselves standing at the interface of a block of limestone — ancient marine sediments thrust upward to a height of 6,000 feet (1,828 meters) above today’s sea level — and the granitic rocks more typical of the Sierra Nevada. On

these out-of-place substrates, another curious plant community emerges. Here, plants specialized to live in much more specific conditions can be found, including pine green gentian (Frasera neglecta; figure 2), a plant endemic to Southern California’s Transverse Ranges and a small corner of the Sierra Nevada. These limestone roof pendants are also home to the Tehachapi buckwheat (Eriogonum callistum), a recently discovered species that is only known to occur in these limestone soils and nowhere else on Earth.

In some ways, this ridge is just a tiny blip in the story of California’s flora. It’s a relatively small area that yields to more typical vegetation on all sides — rubber rabbit brush (Ericameria nauseosa) and saltbush (Atriplex spp.) in the lower elevations and white fir (Abies concolor), canyon live oak (Quercus chrysolepis), and great basin sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) up higher. However, this spot, at the cusp of such geographic drama — the great Mojave Desert, the Sierra Nevada, the Central Valley, and even some influence from the Pacific Coast — is emblematic of

Figure 1: At the westernmost edge of their range, Joshua trees (Yucca brevifolia) grow alongside nondesert plants such as valley oaks (Quercus lobata) and blue oaks (Quercus douglasii). (Photo: Scot Pipkin)

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larger forces at play. Here, we get a glimpse at the impressive geography that has incubated some of the most celebrated biological diversity on Earth.

Why Biodiversity Matters Recounting California’s geographic prowess and extolling the conditions that support North America’s most diverse flora isn’t purely a navel-gazing exercise.

These features directly contribute to why California is home to so much life. Each species, subspecies, or other wild population can be imagined as a solution to a puzzle: how to survive under a set of biotic and abiotic conditions. We can look at each species thriving, surviving, or hanging on in each location as a potential model for how we as humans can continue to inhabit this land.

Since time immemorial, humans have recognized the healing powers that plants provide. For most of our history as a species, medicine has come directly from plant sources. In many cases, this is because plants have developed chemical adaptations to reduce herbivory and combat fungi, viruses, and bacteria. When we drink tea or take an extract of these plants, we ingest various terpenes and other chemicals, which help us stave off infection and relieve acute symptoms such as a headache. For the last several centuries, ethnobotanists and other western scientists have scoured the globe in search of plants and other organisms that provide lifesaving medicines. Indigenous people have known about these medicines and more since the time of the stories that teach how to collect and process.

In our current age of climate upheaval, we can also turn to the astounding diversity of life to provide models for how we might continue to survive on a planet whose climate is becoming increasingly unpredictable. As human actions have accelerated and exacerbated the systems that moderate our climate, life that has been able to gradually adapt to more subtle shifts over millennia is put in a predicament.

Plants are particularly vulnerable to these rapidly changing conditions. Warmer temperatures may trigger early flowering or entice pollinators to emerge before flowers have developed. These mismatches in timing can have catastrophic effects on fruiting, seed set, and reproduction for plants. If the timing of such processes becomes out of sync over years or decades, plants may struggle to survive.

Observing Nature To Help Our Communities Not far from where the oaks and Joshua trees meet, an enthusiast of acorns would be able to find a particular shrubby tree, Alvord’s oak (Quercus x alvordiana). This interesting plant, which can either

Figure 2: Pine green gentian (Frasera neglecta) is an endemic plant that only grows in the Transverse Ranges and extreme southern Sierra Nevada in California (Photo: Scot Pipkin)

be evergreen or deciduous, grows in the dry regions of Monterey, San Benito, Kern, and Los Angeles counties. What if this tree, a hybrid between blue oak and one of either Tucker’s oak (Q. john-tuckeri) or turbinella oak (Q. turbinella), could prove to be an attractive landscaping plant for those who want an oak in their yard but don’t have space (or the right climate) to support a plant with a 50-foot (15-meter) spread? Maybe this is just the right plant for those looking for “climate-forward” choices that provide all the habitat-creating effects of an oak alongside reliable performance in a hotter, drier world. While it may be far-fetched to think that a somewhat obscure hybrid oak will be the key to landscaping with native plants during the climate crisis, Alvord’s oak is an illustration of how California’s rich floristic biodiversity may yet hold the secrets to building habitat in our communities as the sands of climate shift under our feet.

Closer to home, Santa Barbara Botanic Garden is considering how other members of the oak genus (Quercus spp.) might be viable solutions as native Ironwood 7

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street trees. Oaks that perform well in ever-hotter urban conditions would be a huge asset, keeping in mind that species used as street trees need to have a natural upright growth form with a single main stem, can take pruning, and are able to grow in somewhat tight spaces.

If you walk to the southeastern corner of the Meadow Section of the Garden, you will find a magnificent Englemann oak (Quercus engelmannii), a species that largely grows in San Diego County and into Baja California, Mexico, but also has populations as far north as Pasadena (figure 3). This tree has successfully been planted in places like the Apple campus in Cupertino. We are also looking at successful plantings of the island oak (Quercus tomentella) in locations along the new multiuse path at Las Positas as indications that this tree might become a workhorse native tree for urban areas across our region. Taking a creative look at all of the tools in our floristic toolbelt is important to achieve the vision of healthy and vibrant communities where people, plants, and the web of life thrive.

Bringing Biodiversity Back Home There are many ways, as the saying sometimes goes, to peel an orange. This holds true for bringing biodiversity back into our yards and communities.

However, there are a few rules of thumb that can be employed to help us along the way. First, it’s important to remember that planting for biodiversity doesn’t simply mean acquiring as many kinds of plants as we can and putting them in the ground. While that is a surefire way to achieve a richness of plant species, it doesn’t achieve the objective of providing lush, nourishing habitat for an abundance of wildlife.

A single hummingbird sage (Salvia spathacea) planted next to coral bells (Heuchera sp.), goldenrod (Solidago sp.), and a solitary narrow-leaved milkweed (Asclepias fascicularis) aren’t likely to do a whole lot for supporting wildlife. Particularly if your space is limited, consider selecting a smaller number of overall species and massing them into blocks of habitat through mass planting. This will ensure that your yard is supporting populations of invertebrates, birds, and other wildlife, not just individuals.

Of course, the provision of habitat is always mitigated by which species you have selected. A single coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia) tree will provide an abundance of habitat over its lifetime. Even a single smaller shrub, such as a well-placed buckwheat (Eriogonum spp.) can provide a massive boost to the habitat quality of your yard.

Figure 4: 3D diversity provides important habitat structure for a variety of wildlife. (Photo: Saxon Holt)

In addition to massing habitat plants in blocks to ensure that your design supports whole populations of organisms, especially invertebrates, it’s important to think about the 3D structure of your design. We know that certain pollinators are attracted to certain kinds of flowers based on color, shape, odor, etc.

Similarly, invertebrates, birds, frogs, salamanders, and others have certain structural requirements they are looking for in a habitat. Birds in particular make use of many different parts of a habitat, ranging from the tree canopy to the ground (figure 4). Maximizing the structural diversity of your design will help provide the various micro-habitats that will support diverse avifauna. If possible, try to use plant species that will provide an overhead canopy above 10 to 15 feet (3 to 4.5 meters), a shrub layer beneath that, and some number of subshrubs and/or groundcovers low to the ground. Not only will these plants provide food and foraging habitat, but they will also help create a rich light-scape, where sunlight and shadows interplay to offer hiding spaces, branches to sing from, and shelter for reproductive structures (nests, egg sacks, shelter for young, etc.).

Adding seasonal diversity to your landscape can be another important way to ensure that the plants you install are doing the most to support local ecosystems.

California’s Mediterranean climate means that plants will flower just about every month of the year. By planning your garden’s calendar to ensure that flowers and fruits are constantly available for wildlife, you are not only doing a good turn for biodiversity, but you’re also making your garden a more delectable place for people.

Opposite, figure 3: Could the Englemann oak (Quercus engelmannii) be a reliable, native street tree for California’s future? (Photo: Greg Trainor)

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Figure 5: Bladderpod (Peritoma arborea) is a tough, attractive native plant that pollinators love. (Photo: Scot Pipkin)

Figure 6: Elderberry (Sambucus mexicana) is a small tree whose creamy flowers are chock full of invertebrates in spring and blue berries create a feast for birds in summer. (Photo: Betsy Collins)

There are also abiotic decisions you can make to support biodiversity in your yard or neighborhood.

A source of clean water is always a welcome feature for almost all wildlife. Being mindful of your ground surface can also help biodiversity. Ensuring pathways are permeable allows water to absorb into the ground and supports healthy subterranean communities that will improve soil quality and growing conditions for your plants. Access to the soil can be a major benefit for organisms such as native bees, many of whom actually nest in cavities dug into the earth.

Six Native Plants To Boost Biodiversity Although the over 6,000 taxa of native California plants are not all available as landscape choices for residents, there is quite a palette of native species that we can add to our yards and neighborhoods to grow biodiversity. While the stalwart oaks, sages (Salvia spp.), toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia), manzanita (Arctostaphylos spp.), and Ceanothus are fantastic plants for supporting species-rich communities, we 10 Ironwood

Figure 7: Yerba santa (Eriod fragrant, leathery leaves an purple flowers. (Photo: Sco

can augment the most widely available California native plants with other species that can be found in the nursery trade.

Bladderpod (Peritoma arborea) This small-to-medium shrub is tough and can bloom vigorously. A member of the caper family, bladderpod (figure 5) has expressive yellow blooms that attract a variety of pollinators. Coupled with its compound leaves displaying three silvery leaflets, this plant has a lot of attractive features. Bladderpod works hard in the wild, creating habitat in some of California’s harshest environments. I think it deserves a little pampering in our neighborhoods.

Elderberry (Sambucus mexicana) This small tree is a great choice if you have a mulched basin or location where water collects. While elderberry trees (figure 6) can do just fine with little water once established, it’s not a bad idea to provide a little extra water initially. Once established, an elderberry provides habitat, medicine, musical instruments,

dictyon californicum) has nd attractive clusters of white to ot Pipkin)

Figure 8: Catalina cherry (Prunus ilicifolia ssp. lyonii) is a delight to bird-watchers. (Photo: Scot Pipkin)

and beauty. When left alone, they can grow in a wild, multi-stemmed shape that wildlife love. With a bit of grooming, this plant is a living sculpture. Know that elderberry can be toxic if handled incorrectly. Consult a trusted resource before processing. Hint: the Garden Shop has several relevant books available.

Yerba Santa (Eriodictyon californicum) This tough shrub has fragrant, leathery leaves and beautiful purple flowers in late spring. Yerba santa (figure 7) grows by rhizome, so once established, it can spread. For those interested in growing their own medicine, this plant is a powerful and much-celebrated treatment for a number of respiratory conditions.

Minimal time spent searching “Eriodictyon yerba santa” on Google Scholar yielded this nugget: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.

2020.00208/full.

Shout out to herbaria for helping ensure people can try a study like that. Remember to consult trusted

Figure 9: California aster (Corethrogyne filaginifolia) is great creeping or cascading over bumpy, rocky soil.

(Photo: Scot Pipkin)

resources when making medicine. Stay tuned for some upcoming classes and other content to help you grow your own.

Catalina Cherry (Prunus ilicifolia ssp. lyonii) Though not necessarily a “sleeper” choice, the attractive Catalina cherry tree (figure 8) continues to impress. It's not the best street tree due to the red stain fruits will leave on concrete, but one of these in the backyard or a sloped area can be a bird-watcher’s delight. Plant nerd as I am, I do love just being around the Genus Prunus, which yields so many of my favorite fruits.

California Aster (Corethrogyne filaginifolia) This low-growing perennial can create a carpet of purple florets that the insects crave. Once established, don’t try to water this plant much. Like the bladderpod, this is quite a tough plant. The California aster (figure 9) is a great choice if you have rocky soil or some topography to creep and cascade over.

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Figure 10: Chaparral mallow (Malacothamnus fasciculatus) has lavender-colored flowers that bees love. (Photo: Scot Pipkin)

Chaparral Mallow (Malacothamnus fasciculatus) This honorable mention is a spreading, upright plant that has attractive foliage and can proliferate lavender flowers that bees love. The chaparral mallow (figure 10) is not as widely available in the nursery trade as some of the other plants (hence the honorable mention), but like the aforementioned yerba santa and the celebrated Matilija poppies (Romneya spp.), this is a plant that spreads via rhizome. Once established, it can take over, so just know before you grow.

Slow Down, Connect, and Enjoy The gift of life, we’re told, is something to cherish and celebrate. Often, this is said in the context of our own lives, encouraging words to inspire deeper personal joy and appreciation for our cognitive and physical 12 Ironwood

resources as humans. While I completely agree with this sentiment, it strikes me that we can also think about the gift of life as it manifests in all the forms around us — animal, vegetable, mycological — and the inspiration and comfort we can derive from playing a small part in the perpetuation of life on Earth. Growing biodiversity allows us to tap into this larger celebration. By viewing our gardens as pockets of biodiversity, we connect with forces that are at the same time ancient and novel, spiritual and scientific.

In California, gardening for biodiversity is also a reminder to celebrate the rich, diverse landscape we get to call home. I wish everyone reading this the joy of discovering an exquisite organism living in their garden, attracted to the celebration of life that native plants bring. O

Nurture Nature

Become a Member Join us as we build a community of native plant advocates and lead a movement toward a healthier planet — one native seed at a time.

Become a member today by contacting us at membership@SBBotanicGarden.org

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Revealing Hidden Species Interactions Through the Building Blocks of Life By: Kristen Hasenstab-Lehman, Ph.D., Conservation Geneticist and Lab Manager

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ne of the most foundational properties of living organisms on our planet is DNA. And the underlying molecular structure of DNA is the double-stranded helix, an image you’ve likely seen countless times, in various styles and iterations. The double helix is used as a motif in jewelry, art, and more, evoking its connection shared by nearly all living things. But for scientists, it is the link to understanding how species interact. We at Santa Barbara Botanic Garden are excited to be using advances in DNA science as a new tool in our conservation tool belt.

Let’s get into specifics for a moment. We know DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, codes the plans for cellular machinery necessary for life to function and replicate.

Deoxyribonucleic acid is composed of repeating units of nucleotides often called the building blocks of life.

Each nucleotide or building block (you can think of them like LEGO pieces) contains three parts: a phosphate group, a sugar group, and one of four types of nitrogen bases (A)denine, (T)hymine, (G)uanine, and (C)ytosine. The nitrogenous bases form the core of the nucleotide, with A only ever pairing with T, and G pairing with C. So, with these pairs plus phosphate and sugar as the backbone, you have one nucleotide block. The blocks then join together further to form two long, reverse-complement strands that we recognize as the double-stranded helix. Changes in the order of nucleotides over millions of years results in the dynamic and rich forms of biodiversity around us.

Leveraging Science To Protect Threatened Species Each creature has a unique combination of A T G and C bases, and that unique sequence presents scientists with a novel way, known as DNA metabarcoding, to identify what animals have been eating. In the Garden’s Plant Genetics Lab, we’re using DNA metabarcoding to better characterize species interactions and food webs for taxa native to the Channel Islands, from foxes to snails. With that information, we can better protect these important food webs for their survival.

There is a rich body of literature describing the diet of imperiled animals, such as Channel Island foxes, based on the physical examination of their scat (or 14 Ironwood

feces). In these studies, researchers collected scat and identified various prey items in the samples.

However, this approach requires expertise in recognizing the small body parts of invertebrates, or soft-bodied animals, that form a large part of the diets of these charismatic omnivores. Soft-bodied animals and plants are particularly difficult to identify, as they do not preserve as well passing through the digestive tract of a fox. This is where DNA-based methods come in.

This cutting-edge metabarcoding technology improves our ability to examine predator-prey food webs in two ways. First, they can be applied to charismatic vertebrates like foxes to detect softtissued components of their diet. Second, the approach works for any kind of animal, including invertebrates, with equal success in food item detection and precise identification.

The DNA Process at a Glance To begin a diet study using DNA metabarcoding, scat of the focal species is collected either fresh or in the field. Back in the lab, we then grind up the scat and isolate any DNA present in the sample. We copy small, specific segments of DNA of the prey, often referred to as “barcodes,” that allow us to identify the DNA in the scat. We do this through a lab technique called Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) that can generate thousands of copies of these barcodes of prey items. Small identification tag molecules, which are also made out of A T G and C bases, are then added to each of these individual PCR samples.

We then place all the identification-tagged PCR reactions into a single, small tube, which when full will appear as nondescript as water to the naked eye. However, once that clear liquid is put on a highthroughput DNA sequencer, it is turned into billions of A T G and Cs. Following an initial sorting of data by sample, we then compare those unknown sequences found in the scat samples to a large reference database of barcode sequences with known identities. Once we identify our unknown sample sequences using this reference database, a new understanding of the diet composition can emerge, one generated in a Opposite: San Clemente Island bird’s-foot trefoil (Acmispon argophyllus ssp. adsurgens) is eaten by San Clemente Island fox (Photo: Kristen Hasenstab-Lehman, Ph.D.)

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San Clemente Island fox (Urocyon littoralis ssp. clementae) Introduced chukar (Alectoris chukar) (Photo: Chien Lee) (Photo: Adam Searcy)

noninvasive way using nucleotides (those LEGO-like pieces that are the building blocks of life).

How Are We Using DNA To Advance Conservation?

At the Garden, we are applying these exciting DNAbased methods to better understand the diet of foxes on San Clemente and San Nicolas islands, as well as land snails across the archipelago. These studies are informing ongoing conservation efforts for these species.

San Clemente Island Fox The largest land mammal and one of the top predators on San Clemente Island is the San Clemente Island fox (Urocyon littoralis ssp. clementae). Previous studies using manual examination of scat revealed a highly seasonal and diverse omnivorous diet for this island fox. Our metabarcoding results were consistent with finding some vertebrate prey items like the endemic San Clemente Island night lizard (Xantusia riversiana reticulata) and a variety of invertebrates. However, we also found foxes frequently consume a large number of moth taxa. (We suspect foxes are consuming these species while they are caterpillars and grubs.)

In addition, foxes are eating a surprising number of native plants, including a reliance on prickly-pear (Opuntia). These results give land managers evidence for better managing a robust fox population into the future.

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San Nicolas Islandsnail (Micr species included in our snail

San Nicholas Island Fox For our study of the San Nicolas Island fox (U. littoralis ssp. dickeyi), scats were freshly collected

by U.S. Navy staff during trapping season in the late fall and winter. In collaboration with former Garden Lab Technician Seth Kauppinen, our findings reflect those on San Clemente Island, and showed that invertebrates are the largest and seemingly most important component of the fox diet. Moths represented a novel and previously unknown portion of that diet on San Nicolas. Our detection of a high proportion of invasive garden snails (Cornu aspera) in fox diet was consistent with the physical examination of the scat. The top three vertebrates detected in fox diets included San Nicolas Island deer mouse (Peromyscus gambelii ssp. exterus), common side-blotched lizards (Uta standsburiana), and the introduced chukar (Alectoris chukar).

San Nicolas Island Snails While our studies of island foxes represent important contributions to resource management on both San Nicolas and San Clemente, the exciting and novel application of metabarcoding also allows us to reveal the diet of animals for which physical scat examination was not possible before — enter island land snails. On San Nicolas Island, in collaboration with the U.S. Navy, we collected fresh scat from five native and two invasive species of snails. Excitingly, metabarcoding reveals that snails utilize both plants and fungi as food items. Plant species detected included giant coreopsis (Leptosyne gigantea), Menzies’ goldenbush (Isocoma menziesii),

rarionta feralis) is the most rare of all diet studies (Photo: William Hoyer, III)

San Nicolas Island deer mouse (Peromyscus gambelii ssp. exterus) (Photo: Chien Lee)

California saltbush (Extriplex californica), pink sand verbena (Abronia umbellata), island morning glory (Calystegia macrostegia ssp. amplissima), and miner’s lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata).

Ambersnail (Cantinella) consume mosses growing in and around their preferred habitats, vernally wet ditches, and pools. While the plant results were interesting, our newly assembled fungal reference library demonstrated that a wide variety of fungi are consumed by all snail species — more than scientists ever suspected. The macrofungi consumed included a beautiful array of mushroom forms including deer mushrooms (Pluteus), oyster (Pleurotus), cups

Common side-blotched lizard (Uta standsburiana) (Photo: Matt Guilliams, Ph.D.)

(Peziza), and hairy curtain crust (Stereum hirsutum).

Our metabarcoding results also show that snails will consume lichens when they encounter them.

Partnering With the U.S. Navy To Improve Public Databases The accuracy of DNA identification of diet items using the metabarcoding approach depends on a robust barcode reference library. Each sequence present in the reference library ought to be linked to museum specimens with expert taxonomic identifications. Though analyses are possible solely using DNA sequences available on publicly accessible databases, as we used on San Clemente Island, we

Below: Part of the San Nicolas Island specimen collection team: (left to right) Benjamin Carter, Ph.D. (bryologist); William Hoyer, III; Rikke Reese Næsborg, Ph.D. (lichenologist); Adam Searcy (biologist); Matt Guilliams, Ph.D. (botanist), and Christian Schwarz (mycologist). (Photo: Kristen Hasenstab-Lehman, Ph.D.)

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know these may fail to detect important food items.

Publicly available sequences from these databases may include misidentifications, and local species from the study area may be missing entirely.

The California Channel Islands are home to many endemic or native plants, animals, and fungi that occur nowhere else on Earth. Many have never been sequenced for barcode markers. In an effort to improve metabarcoding analyses for the Channel Islands, the Garden partnered with the U.S. Navy in 2019 to build a barcode reference library for San Nicolas Island. We sequenced all plants known to occur on the island. We also focused on adding local sequences for understudied groups such as lichenized fungi and macrofungi, bryophytes, and terrestrial invertebrates. Taxonomic experts — including Tucker Lichenologist and Curator of the Lichenarium Rikke Reese Næsborg, Ph.D.; Tucker Systematist and Curator of the Clifton Smith Herbarium Matt Guilliams, Ph.D.; Research Associate Christian Schwarz; biologist Adam Searcy; and former Conservation Technician Stephanie Calloway — collected, identified, and prepared museum specimens and tissue. The Garden’s Conservation Genetics Lab Technician Caitlin Hazelquist and former lab techs Isabel Rivera and Emily Thomas

Conservation Genetics Lab Technician Caitlin Hazelquist, preparing metabarcode libraries (Photo: Kristen Hasenstab-Lehman, Ph.D.)

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isolated DNA from each specimen and generated DNA barcodes for the reference library. As of today, our efforts added 545 species and 820 sequences to public databases that continue to serve as tools for conservation throughout California.

Contributing to Global Conservation Efforts While the use of these sequences informed and improved our diet analyses for San Nicolas Island foxes, they are impactful for conservation beyond the Garden’s work. Metabarcoding is increasingly a tool used by land managers for biodiversity monitoring, and our reference library will be used by other scientists applying these methods to improve analyses beyond our own.

We have come far in our understanding of predator and prey relationships using the technology of metabarcoding, but there is much more to understand. Our conservation science is on the forefront of showing these connections using this code, and it will take a broad, diverse group of people using this information to ensure these delicate webs are preserved for future generations. It’s exciting and fascinating, and the Garden is determined to help lead the way! O

Clockwise from top left: Dwarf shield mushrooms (Pluteus nanus) (Photo: Christian Schwarz); island morning glory (Calystegia macrostegia ssp. amplissima), a Channel Islands endemic plant, is an important part of snail diet (Photo: Kristen Hasenstab-Lehman, Ph.D.); a possibly undescribed species of oyster mushroom (Pleurotus) on giant coreopsis (Leptosyne gigantea) (Photo: Christian Schwarz); hairy curtain crust (Stereum hirsutum) (Photo: Christian Schwarz)

11th Annual Conservation Symposium

Tiny Taxa Doing Big Things Presented by Nakashima-Rennie Family

January 20, 2024 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

SBCEO Auditorium Tickets now available SBBotanicGarden.org

Scan to learn more.

The Beer Garden March 16, 2024 Purchase your Grand Cru Experience tickets on November 27, 2023, at 9 a.m.

Cheers!

Scan to purchase.

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The Bug Report: Wasps — Predators, Parasitoids, and Pollinators By: Kylie Etter, Ecology Technician

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asps are wonderful. They are essential contributors to healthy ecosystems. These hard-working critters are in the Order Hymenoptera along with bees (vegetarian wasps), ants (wingless, social wasps), and sawflies (prehistoric wasps). Why am I calling beloved bees “vegetarian wasps”? Well, bees evolved over 100 million years ago from a group of wasps to utilize pollen as their main food source for their offspring. The line between bees and wasps is fuzzy. A good, works-most-of-the-time way to tell bees and wasps apart is that wasps generally have less hair and no hairs forming stripes and, frankly, they just look tougher.

Wasps are very diverse, with over 100,000 described species belonging to 89 currently recognized families worldwide. There are likely hundreds of species yet to be described by science. Wasps vary in size, color, and life history. The smallest wasps measure under 0.04 inches (1 millimeter) and the largest are up to 1.57 inches (4 centimeters). Wasps can be metallic or matte, spotted or striped, and a vast array of colors.

Wasps are also very diverse in their life histories, ranging from predators (figures 1 and 2) to parasitoids (figures 3, 4, and 5) and social to solitary ground nesters (figures 1 and 2).

Figure 1: Thread-waisted sand wasps (Ammophila sp., Family Sphecidae) provision their nests with caterpillars and sawflies (BugGuide). Sand wasps paralyze their prey and carry the prey back to their nest in their mandibles, seen protruding here. (Photo: Kylie Etter)

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Parasitoid wasps must have been the inspiration for some of the biggest science-fiction horror movies in history, like the “Alien” franchise. Parasitoid wasps lay their eggs in or on an insect host, where their little ones get all their necessary nutrients until they eventually kill the host and emerge as adults. A pretty spooky but important-to-understand life history!

Some parasitoids have a broad group of hosts and are opportunistic, while others parasitize only a single species. Parasitoid wasps are used in biological control (aka, bio-control) for a lot of agricultural fruit and vegetable pests and can be thanked for keeping the plant-munching insects in your own garden in check.

If you are not screaming “I love wasps!” yet or even “I guess wasps are important!,” maybe this can sway you: Wasps are pollinators also! A pollinator is any animal that picks up pollen from a flower and deposits it on the stigma of the same or different flower. Some wasps may stop for nectar while doing the hard task of catching and dragging food home for their offspring (figures 1 and 2 were captured on flowers). Other wasps, such as pollen wasps (subfamily Masarinae) have actually abandoned the meat-filled diet for their growing babies, and they provide their young with pollen and nectar like bees do (figure 6).

Figure 2: A sand wasp (Bembix sp., Family Crabronidae) on a California brittlebush (Encelia californica) flower at the Devereux Slough at University of California, Santa Barbara. Sand wasps usually nest in sandy ground and prey on flies to feed their young (Photo: Kylie Etter)

Figure 5: This orange ichneumonid wasp (Netelia sp., Family Ichneumonidae) was near Rattlesnake Canyon Trailhead, Santa Barbara.

Ichneumonid wasps are parasitoids of caterpillars. (Photo: Kylie Etter)

Figure 3: These photos show a pincher wasp (Family Dryinidae) female and leafhopper (Family Cicadellidae) with a pincher wasp larva growing inside to outside it. Females lack wings and can use their strong forearms to grab a host while they oviposit an egg into them. The egg is laid internally, but as the larva gets bigger it expands outside of the host body and creates a hard exterior around itself for protection. (Pincher wasp photo: Helen M. Noroian; leafhopper photo: Zach Phillips, Ph.D.)

Figure 6: A pollen wasp (Pseudomasaris coquilletti, Family Vespidae) was observed in the Pollinator Garden Section at Santa Barbara Botanic Garden in the spring. They collect pollen and nectar from flowers to supply their nests. (Photo: Kylie Etter)

I think wasps have gotten a bad rap. Some wasps might bother you and try to take some of your lunch to feed their young, but most wasps don’t want anything to do with you or your sandwich. There is a huge diversity of wasps out there, and they are an important part of the intricate web of relationships in our ecosystems. Whether you like them or not, they are helping us in unnoticed ways every day.

Figure 4: This pteromalid wasp (Family Pteromalidae) was collected from a restoration site. This family parasitizes a wide range of hosts and is important for biological control. This specimen was only identified to a family because there is still a lot to learn about wasp identification, and there are not great resources for these smaller parasitoid wasp families.

(Photo: Kylie Etter)

If you’re interested in learning more, check out the iNaturalist app or look for the books “The Social Wasps of North America” by Chris Alice Kratzer and “Hymenoptera: The Natural History & Diversity of Wasps, Bees & Ants” by Stephen A. Marshall. O Ironwood 21

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Curb Your Enthusiasm for Invasive Plants By: Caroline Shepherd, Habitat Restoration Technician, and Neda Brehm, Restoration Technician

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ou might not think about where your water comes from when you turn on the tap. It is a gift from nature, yes, but more specifically it comes from a watershed. A watershed is an area where every water droplet converges into a common outlet. We can consider watersheds on small, local levels or on large, regional levels. Either way, you are in a watershed no matter where you are on land.

Santa Barbara Botanic Garden sits within the Mission Creek Watershed, which begins high in the mountains among the Coulter pines (Pinus coulteri), flows through the rugged and breathtaking Mission Creek, and finally enters the city of Santa Barbara before emptying into the Pacific Ocean. The Garden’s watershed is home to endangered species like the steelhead trout, tidewater goby, and rare plants native only to Santa Barbara, like the rare Santa Barbara honeysuckle (Lonicera subspicata var. denudata).

Healthy watersheds provide habitats for all kinds of plants and animals, and they are vital for humans too! Watersheds provide us with clean water, flood mitigation, pollinator services, soil infiltration, recreational activities, and more, as long as they are healthy and functioning properly. Here at the Garden, that’s where our work comes in. One of our goals is to protect and care for Mission Canyon, so that it can be enjoyed for generations to come and continue to provide its key services to Santa Barbara residents.

amok. In fact, they are one of the top threats to biodiversity.

Invasive plants have developed ways to spread and thrive in harsh and unfavorable conditions, which is what makes them so successful and threatening.

Because they are so easy to grow, they can be very tempting for home gardeners and horticulturalists.

The fact is, at least 48% of invasive plants in California found their way from our wildlands by escaping cultivation (Bell et al., 2007). For example, the popular ornamental vine periwinkle (Vinca major) has roots that break off easily in flowing creeks and grow anew further downstream. This aggressive vine often dominates woodland understory and chokes out other native plants. You can avoid planting an invasive and support greater biodiversity by planting native plants. As an alternative to periwinkle, you can plant woodland strawberry (Fragaria vesca), beach strawberry (F. chiloensis), or Douglas Iris (Iris douglasiana) as ground covers that will favor similar conditions to periwinkle but not spread and become a noxious weed.

Other invaders like purple pampas grass (Cortaderia jubata), an ornamental bunch grass prized for its female plants that bear silky hairs on their flowers, can self-pollinate and produce numerous seeds

Is the Removal of Invasive Species Really Worth the Trouble?

When watersheds are disturbed, nonnative invasive species often find ways to establish in our creeks and beyond. What are nonnative invasive species, you ask? First, not all nonnative plants are invasive, but for the ones that are, you need to look out! The invasive ones are plants that have been introduced from another region — either intentionally or unintentionally — and cause damage, from reducing biological diversity to altering basic properties of the ecosystem, like fire regimes and water availability.

Accident or not, these plants have escaped their original habitats, and without the natural enemies that would have kept them in check, they can run Opposite: After a rainy year, one of the many pools located in Mission Canyon looks especially full. (Photo: Holly Huff) Right: Habitat Restoration Technician Neda Brehm removes purple pampas grass (Cortaderia jubata) in Mission Creek. (Photo: Holly Huff)

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that easily disperse to new locations by wind and water. Originating from the Andes Mountains of South America, purple pampas grass is adapted to grow in many habitats and soil types but often favors areas that receive coastal fog and have moist ground, making it a perfect contender to colonize the coastline and waterways of California’s coast.

Deergrass (Muhlenbergia rigens) is a great native replacement plant with its similarly large bunchgrass form that thrives in various conditions and will attract an array of birds, butterflies, and caterpillars.

There are many reasons to help curb the spread of invasive species, but one that really resonates in Southern California is the threat of wildfires. Some invasive species can increase the frequency of fires, like Mediterranean annual grasses which dry out during the warm season and are easily ignitable. The infamous invasive annual mustards (Brassica nigra and Hirschfeldia incana) are known to paint the hills with yellow flowers in the spring and dry up during late summer to fall, creating tall stands of flashy fuels. Some invasive plants even have oils in their leaves and bark that can be highly flammable when accumulated on the ground over time, like many eucalyptuses (Eucalyptus ssp.) that are planted all over California.

A Botanic Garden Committed to Native Plants Many botanic gardens scout and introduce new species for display and present them to the

horticulture trade for their ornamental value. While this can increase visitation and add aesthetic beauty to gardens, the species can escape and become invasive in local habitats. This begs the question, is it still beautiful if it’s harming the environment we depend on? For us, the answer easily is no.

Luckily, ecosystem health and natural beauty don’t have to be compromised when you garden with native plants. At the Garden, for nearly a century, we’ve exhibited the beauty of native plants and the relationships they have with people, other animals, and the planet as a whole.

This commitment doesn’t end with our Garden boundaries.

Restoring Mission Creek Watershed While we can’t remove all invasive species to protect native plants, we are doing what we can to protect and restore our native habitat right in our watershed.

Since we know invasive plants spread rapidly through water, and typically downhill, our teams mapped invasive and rare species present in and around the Mission Creek watershed over the course of a year.

This mapping helps us determine which species we should prioritize for removal based on the impact, abundance, and feasibility of us doing so successfully.

Our findings are published on our website if you’d like to learn more about this process and what was discovered.

Armed with this data, one plant we’ve been able to

Did you know?

• The economic cost of invasive plants in natural areas, agriculture, and gardens is estimated at $35 billion per year (Pimentel et al.,1999, as cited in Reichard & White, 2001).

• The global cost of invasive species is estimated at nearly 5% of the world’s economy (Thorn, 2016).

• At least 57% of endangered species are negatively impacted by nonnative invasive species (Reichard & White, 2001).

Shortpod mustard (Hirschfeldia incana) accumulates dry, fine “fuel” during the fire season, increasing the risk of fire to occur. (Photo: Neda Brehm)

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Getting involved is easy. Here are a few ways you can start improving biodiversity today!

• Use a boot brush before and after hiking to remove any invasive seeds you may be carrying on your shoes.

• Avoid planting invasive plants in your home gardens. Instead, start a wildlife habitat by selecting native plant alternatives over popular ornamental plantings Check out our “Plant This, Not That” guide for ideas!

• Aim for 30% native plants in your garden and if nonnative ornamentals are a must, make sure the species you choose are not invasive.

• Learn how to control and properly remove invasive plants so they don’t spread further.

Check out websites like Cal-IPC.org to learn about plants in your area.

• Do not dump aquaria or houseplants into the environment, especially not in lakes, streams, rivers, ponds, or other natural areas.

Large-scale landscape photo of Mission Creek Watershed (Map: Caroline Shepard)

prioritize is the removal of pampas grass since it is highly invasive, has the capability to spread rapidly with its copious seeds, and is growing directly in the creek high up in the watershed. With machetes, axes, and hori hori garden knives loaded into our packs, a team of Garden horticulturalists and restoration technicians chopped down and ripped out over a dozen plants in the upper reaches of the watershed this summer, reducing the chances of the plant spreading any further.

As you might imagine, it was hard work removing all those plants! Does this leave you wondering what you can do to help? Join us and grow native plants.

It may seem like your backyard is separate from our natural environment, but it is not. Everything is connected. By planting native plants you’re helping improve biodiversity so all organisms in your area are supported. We all have the power to help our environment and ensure our local watersheds remain havens of life for everyone to enjoy.

• Be a community scientist! Help land managers track invasive species by posting your invasive plant photos to iNaturalist or CalWeedMapper apps.

• Become a volunteer at the Garden and learn more about native plants and other ways we’re working to ensure biodiversity thrives. Visit SBBotanicGarden.org for more tips, tricks, and content to support your journey. O

Invasive grass species spread by finding their way onto our clothing, shoes, and pets. (Photo: Neda Brehm)

Bell, C. E., DiTomaso, J. M., & Wilen, C. A. (2007). Invasive Plants: Integrated Pest Management for Home Gardeners and Landscape Professionals. UC ANR Pub 74139.

Cortaderia jubata - Bugwoodwiki. (2014, January 8). Bugwood Wiki. Retrieved October 9, 2023, from https://wiki.bugwood.org/Cortaderia_jubata Reichard, S. H., & White, P. (2001, February 1). Horticulture as a Pathway of Invasive Plant Introductions in the United States: Most invasive plants have been introduced for horticultural use by nurseries, botanical gardens, and individuals. Oxford Academic. Retrieved October 9, 2023, from https://doi.org/10.1641/0006-3568(2001)051[0103:HAAPOI]2.0.CO;2 RBG, Kew. (2016). State of the World's Plants 2016. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320673453_State_of_the_World's_Plants_2016/citation/download

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Do Cultivars Support Biodiversity?

By: Keith Nevison, Director of Horticulture and Operations

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ongratulations! Your interest in native plants has piqued and you are inspired to start a garden from scratch this spring. You diligently research native plants from a trusted resource (perhaps Calscape.org or “California Native Plants for the Garden”), selecting for flower color, mature size, drought tolerance, and amount of sun required per day. You feel ready to visit a local nursery and start purchasing from your list. But wait a minute. You arrive to find a jumble of names associated with the plants you’ve planned: ‘De La Mina’ verbena, ‘Bee’s Bliss’ sage, ‘Howard McMinn’ manzanita, ‘Concha’ ceanothus, ‘Wayne Roderick’ seaside daisy. How does one decipher this plant code, and what does it all mean? Fret not — you've stumbled across the world of cultivar names, and I’m here to help you navigate it.

What Is a Cultivar?

Before we begin discussing how cultivars factor into a biodiverse garden, we should define cultivars and discuss how they relate to the world of plants. At its basic definition, a cultivar is a botanical contraction of a few words: “cultigen” or “cultivated” and “variety."

This neologism, aka new word, was coined in 1923 by the famed Cornell University horticulturist Liberty Hyde Bailey to distinguish between wild plants and those selected, grown, and adapted through human cultivation. The process of selecting plants to become distinct cultivars typically begins in a wholesale nursery by plant breeders or growers who notice a unique plant characteristic that is different than a wild species that it’s closely associated with. A desire to preserve those features is what drives new plant selections and the development of cultivars in the nursery trade, which each year sees more options arrive at your retail nursery. With different nurseries promoting their own cultivars, it’s not unusual to see cultivars rivaling or outnumbering their straightspecies counterparts when shopping for plants at the nursery.

From Hybridization to Cross-pollination Okay, we’ve defined cultivar, but how do plants emerge with desirable features that warrant selection in the first place? The process of creating a new plant cultivar can come about in a variety of ways.

‘Roger’s Red’ grape (Vitis ‘Roger’s Red’) is a hybrid that crossed spontaneously between a wild California grape (Vitis californica) and a European common grape/wine grape (Vitis vinifera). It produces beautiful fall color and plump grapes, along with a vigorous growing habit. (Photo: Greg Trainor)

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Left: ‘Canyon Belle’ coral bells (Heuchera ’Canyon Belle’), a Santa Barbara Botanic Garden introduction (Photo: Corinne Gallagher) Center: ‘Canyon Snow’ iris (Iris ’Canyon Snow’), another Santa Barbara Botanic Garden plant introduction (Photo: Tricia Wardlaw) Right: ‘Avis Keedy’ hummingbird sage (Salvia spathacea ‘Avis Keedy’), a Santa Barbara Botanic Garden introduction discovered by long-time Garden volunteer Avis Keedy, named in her honor (Photo: Heather Wehnau)

Some cultivars are the result of careful breeding and hybridization efforts done over years by a plant breeder curious about combining the qualities of two closely associated plants through the process of controlled cross-pollination. Good examples of this are the myriad options of Pacific Coast irises (Iris spp.) or coral bells (Heuchera spp.) that are found in many locations throughout Santa Barbara Botanic Garden.

application of a cultivar name, identified in a plant’s name inserted in single quotes. This is how we get plants named for significant botanists — ‘Lester Rowntree’ manzanita, for instance — as well as names that evoke images from some of the iconic locations of our state, such as ‘Pigeon Point’ coyote bush. By the way, another in vogue term that you might come across in the horticulture field is a “nativar,” which is shorthand for a native cultivar. The more you know!

Sometimes natural hybrids result via a spontaneous cross that happens when two nearby plants connect without human interference. One good example of this is ‘Roger’s Red’ grape, which was determined to be a wild California grape (Vitis californica) crossed with a European common grape/wine grape (Vitis vinifera) that was found growing near the Russian River by noted Bay Area horticulturist Roger Raiche.

Do Cultivars Support Biodiversity?

Now that we’re well into our tour of cultivars/nativars, let’s discuss what role they have in a biodiverse garden. Most cultivars are unlike wild species in that they typically require reproduction via cuttings in a greenhouse in order to keep the desirable trait inherent in the plant. Wild species on the other hand are often grown from seed, which ensures that different plants have genetic distinction from each other. The question arises, “Is it disadvantageous to wildlife to plant a garden primarily featuring cultivars as opposed to wild species?” The answer to this question informs modern research on this topic, which has heretofore been conducted in experiments on native plants and cultivars, principally in the New England and mid-Atlantic regions in the U.S. In fact, my own graduate research on this topic involved an experiment surveying pollinator attraction in the Genus Phlox, comparing several species with their

Yet another method for selecting cultivars happens when a wild plant is identified in a natural population that is unique from others that are adjacent to it.

This is the case for ‘Avis Keedy’ hummingbird sage, a yellow-flowering version of hummingbird sage, which is beloved for its tropical fruit punch aroma and ability to thrive in shady settings.

How To Identify a Cultivar at Your Nursery What distinguishes cultivars from wild species is the 28 Ironwood

cultivars to determine if notable differences were present. Samples of nectar were taken to analyze whether cultivars differed from wild, straight species in sugar content, which could help explain levels of attraction as well. Long story short, at least for Phlox, deliberately bred cultivars featuring larger flowers or abnormal colors were not as attractive as straight species, but the most attractive plant in the study was a cultivar derived from a wild population which has smaller flowers produced in copious quantities, giving more opportunities for moths to drink nectar, thereby supporting a larger number of pollinators than the wild-type garden phlox (Phlox paniculata).

This is a topic that remains relatively unstudied in the Western U.S., and our Garden team is very keen to set up horticultural experiments in the future to shine more light on this question.

At the end of the day, the safest method of ensuring high-quality habitat in your garden is to strive to establish native plant species that occur naturally or occurred historically in your area. Ultimately, native plants have evolved over millions of years in concert with native wildlife, so we can rest assured that these wild plants will feed and shelter our native mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates, and other creatures occurring around our homes.

With that said, back to our original predicament, it can be difficult to find wild species at the nursery with cultivars in ever-increasing dominance in the marketplace. There are a few different approaches therefore to consider. One is to grow your own native plants from seed to ensure that you are contributing to natural biodiversity, providing the genetic diversity that will keep the creatures in your garden healthy and thriving. Another is to experiment with using some native cultivars. Here at the Garden, the sections of our Living Collection feature a wideranging mix of cultivars and wild species, which we have ethically harvested from across the California Floristic Province since our founding in 1926. In fact, our long history in the realm of California’s native plants features more than 35 years of work (1955– 1992) with renowned horticulturist and plant breeder Dara E. Emery. He created many important cultivars, through the Garden’s Plant Introduction Program, that remain popular today.

Since we grow such a wide array of wild species along with cultivars in our collection, we take comfort in knowing that we have abundant habitat available for our beloved songbirds, chorus frogs, butterflies, and even occasional night-roaming bobcats and mountain lions that wander through the margins of our property.

Santa Barbara Botanic Garden plant breeder/horticulturist Dara E. Emery posing with one of his Heuchera cultivars (Photo: Mary Carroll)

Especially for those starting with a predominantly nonnative landscape, cultivars can be a positive step in the direction toward growing 30% native plants in our urban landscapes (https://resources. ca.gov/Initiatives/Protecting-Biodiversity), one of the Garden’s defined strategic goals to ensure biodiversity thrives. Cultivars can be a gateway into the larger, diverse world of native plants, so feel free to consider finding a place for them in your native landscape, working them in between straight species for maximum positive environmental impact. O Ironwood 29

Landscape Transformation Begins at Elings Park By: Julia McHugh, Elings Park Contributor

E

lings Park is the site of a new collaboration with Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, partners, and community volunteers, which allows park visitors to see firsthand how California’s native plants can transform a landscape.

Work has begun on the park’s South Bluffs to remove the invasive plants from a 1-acre (.4-hectare) area, which will be planted later this year with species native to the region. Science experiments will compare the abundance, diversity, and composition of plant and animal life both before and after the transformation, compared with the areas still planted with invasive species.

Even though Elings Park is mere steps away from thousands of residences and has nearly a quarter million visitors annually, a large portion is undeveloped. Many people who play in its popular sports leagues or attend concerts or weddings here have never visited the scenic South Bluffs.

During the Spanish period and into the last century, this area was used for livestock grazing. Later, parts were plowed under and planted with beans. After that venture failed, the hills became overgrown with invasive, nonnative plants — and was once the domain of a feral mule who reportedly chased local children!

Elings Park was just 97 acres (39 hectares) when it opened in 1985, thanks to a community campaign that turned the former landfill into a free public park. In 1994, it expanded to 230 acres (93 hectares) with the purchase of the adjacent property, which is now called the South Bluffs.

The site of the Landscape Transformation Project is next to the park’s Sierra Club Trail. This trail is popular with walkers, runners, mountain bikers, and dogs and their humans (members of the Elings Park Dog Owner Group, EPDOG) for its shady oak (Quercus spp.) groves, sunny, ocean-facing hilltops, and spectacular views.

The hope is that park visitors will leave inspired and begin transformations in their own backyards and in landscapes across Santa Barbara County and beyond.

Plus, the project is being documented for future reproduction in other local areas. These photos offer an intimate overview of its first steps.

Volunteers willing to get their hands dirty can find out more and sign up at SSBotanicGarden.org/ conservation/our-impact/restoring-habitats/elingspark-transformation. O

The Landscape Transformation Project at Elings Park began in May 2023 with a bioblitz — a three-hour assessment of the pollinators, birds, bugs, and plants (both native and invasive) on part of the South Bluffs. Santa Barbara Botanic Garden’s Matt Guilliams, Ph.D., the Tucker systematist and curator of the Clifton Smith Herbarium (holding phone), trains "blitzers" the iNaturalist app, which will be used throughout the program to store data. (Photo: Julia McHugh)

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May also marked the first of eight free Nature Walks to explore Elings Park’s biodiversity. Led by Santa Barbara Botanic Garden experts, the monthly walks focus on the park’s plants, pollinators, or birds. The Garden’s Terrestrial Invertebrate Conservation Ecologist Sarah Cusser, Ph.D. (center), encourages a close-up look at plants growing on the hilltop. (Photo: Julia McHugh)

A series of public forums in August and September invited community members to learn more about the project and give input on the plans. The forums were held online via Zoom and in person at Santa Barbara Botanic Garden and at Elings Park (above). They were led by Denise Knapp, Ph.D. (center), the Garden’s director of conservation and research, and Scot Pipkin (left), the director of education and engagement. (Photo: Julia McHugh)

The 1-acre (.4-hectare) project site was delineated into eight sections, which were then cleared. Half of them are covered with black plastic to discourage nonnative weeds. The other half received sheet mulch — layers of cardboard, woodchips, and mulch. Which will work better?

The answer will become clear by the time planting begins in December.

(Photo: Julia McHugh)

Community volunteers, Santa Barbara Botanic Garden staff, and personnel from project partner Channel Island Restoration used pickaxes to dig trenches along the edges of each plot, where the edges of black plastic tarps were buried to help hold the tarps down. It took a lot of effort but was ultimately satisfying to break through the hardpacked soil. (Photo: Julia McHugh)

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“Native plants lay the foundation that support all life on Earth. Through this project, we’ll demonstrate, through science, the value of native plants and a healthy ecosystem,” says Denise Knapp, Ph.D., Santa Barbara Botanic Garden’s director of conservation and research, who oversees the project.

“This multifaceted project also helps us to determine best practices for restoring the rest of the South Bluffs.” (Photo: Julia McHugh)

The restoration site is adjacent to a popular South Bluffs trail offering panoramic ocean and city views, including the Santa Barbara Mission and former Saint Anthony’s Seminary (far left). Time-lapse photographs and video footage to document the project’s process will be taken from the permanent bench in the photo, facing the project site. (Photo: Julia McHugh)

A planting section is nearly “tarped,” with sandbags to hold the black plastic in place. For the next few months, the sun’s radiant energy will basically cook the invasive plants and their seed banks underneath the tarp. The plastic is removed in December when planting of California’s native plants begins. Some of the invasive seeds may survive, so there’s weeding and watering through May to get the plants established. (Photo: Julia McHugh)

Channel Islands Restoration’s Wyatt McLean (left) joins Denise Knapp, Ph.D. (center), and Santa Barbara Botanic Garden’s Maintenance Associate Dennis Rose (right) on the first day of “tarping.” Volunteers are still needed to continue the restoration work, which will include building metal gopher traps, un-tarping and preparing the sites for planting, assisting with the planting itself, weeding, watering, and tending to the native plant seedlings as they grow. (Photo: Julia McHugh)

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May also marked the first of eight free Nature Walks to explore Elings Park’s biodiversity. Led by various Santa Barbara Botanic Garden’s experts, the monthly walks focus on the park’s plants, pollinators, or birds. They set the stage for discussions about the impact that landscape renovation can have on an ecosystem. (Photo: Julia McHugh)

Grow With Us

Welcome, Seniors We invite those 60 and better to enjoy a day in the Garden — for free — thanks to our generous sponsor.

Join us on one of our upcoming 2024 dates.

Reservation are required.

Sponsored By

February 21 | April 17 | June 26 August 14 | October 9 | December 11 Ironwood 33

T H E G A R D E N ’ S I M PACT

Only with your generous support, can Santa Barbara Botanic Garden ensure biodiversity thrives along the central coast so our community and future generations can flourish.

Here’s a peek into some of the progress we’ve made this past year!

2.9M Seeds Our Conservation Seed Bank safeguards nearly 3,000,000 seeds, protecting 305 rare species from extinction.

1,400 Native plants being planted at Elings Park as part of our new initiative to revitalize public gardens and open spaces in Santa Barbara Country.

19-hours

California Native Plant Landscaper Certification program is revolutionizing how landscapes around California homes and businesses are maintained.

110,000 Visitors from around the world experienced the wonder and beauty of California’s native plants at the Garden, selling out our county-issued attendance cap for the year.

10,000 Hours

974 Taxa Our Living Collection has 974 unique native species, subspecies, and cultivars.

1934 The year the oldest specimen in our Living Collection records, a bigcone Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga macrocarpa), was planted.

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Nearly 300 volunteers support our education, conservation, and horticulture teams throughout the year, driving our mission forward.

211K

The number of unique specimens of California’s plants, lichen, and fungus currently in our Clifton Smith Herbarium continues to grow. The Garden is home to the second largest collection of lichens in the U.S.

After 26

Years

We restored healthy populations of the Santa Cruz Island dudleya (Dudleya nesiotica) resulting in it being removed from the federal endangered species list.

11,405

Samples The Garden’s Tissue Bank contains more than 11,000 DNA samples representing 120 plant families and 465 genera. Helping us better identify and protect rare plants.

250

Campers and their families created new memories at Summer Camp in the Garden and left inspired to become our next stewards for the planet.

162.7 Feet (49.6 Meters) Our tallest tree is a coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens).

55+ Contracts With 23 scientists on staff, a seed bank, a genetics lab, and more than 55 active contracts with local and national partners, we’re a conservation powerhouse creating a better future by harnessing the power of native plants.

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From the Archives: Photos of Time Past By: Hannah Barton, Garden Archivist

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ne of my favorite activities when I have spare time between projects and need a brain break is to browse through our immense digital archive of photography, and I am especially drawn to early photographs of Santa Barbara Botanic Garden grounds and surrounding areas. I particularly enjoy picking out old photos and trying to figure out exactly where they were taken and comparing past and present vantage points.

Lately, though, I’ve been expanding my search to include images taken outside of the Garden grounds, including more of our neighboring hills and canyons and the greater Santa Barbara area. Looking at these photos provides a wonderful reminder that while our Garden feels expansive both in acreage and in the breadth of flora we are able to display, we are but a small portion of an extremely biodiverse watershed in Mission Canyon. O

Upper right: Mission Canyon, ca 1903; Mission Canyon extends from the top of the Santa Ynez Mountains to the point where Mission Creek widens near the Santa Barbara Mission, totaling around 2,400 acres (971 hectares). Mission Creek is the principal drainage for the majority of the city of Santa Barbara and has been one of the most abundant resources for local communities for hundreds of years.

Below: Entrance boulders are seen in the distance on Mission Canyon Road, ca 1903 (Photo: W.L. Newton) Opposite: View of Mission Canyon from La Cumbre Peak, ca 1948; Mission Canyon boasts a very diverse flora of over 400 species, much of which is chaparral, oak woodlands, and coastal sage scrub. (Photo: Walter Douglas)

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SBBotanicGarden.org

Become a Volunteer

Make Friends and Help Us Grow. Get Started Today.

We will match your interests, abilities, and availability with the Garden’s current volunteer needs. By becoming a volunteer, you will be making a substantial contribution to the preservation of California’s native plants and habitats.

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Learn more by visiting SBBotanicGarden.org/ support/volunteer

Donor Story: Preserving One of Santa Barbara’s Treasures By: Jenny McClure, Donor Relations Manager

and why she and her husband, James Hodgson, have made a commitment to preserve it for future generations.

As someone who shares their passion for preserving and showcasing California’s native plants, I understand how much they value the beauty and tranquility of the Garden. The Garden and the work we do along the central coast and beyond is an incredible community resource. With support from people like Sharyn and James, we’re able to provide a place of respite and inspiration for people of all ages — and for future generations, the stewards of our planet.

Sharyn’s desire to ensure the Garden continues to foster a great appreciation for native plants and the natural world is priceless. We’re exceedingly grateful for Sharyn and James’s decision to join our Blaksley Bliss Society by including the Garden in their estate plan. Through their commitment, they are supporting the Garden beyond their lifetime and ensuring the mission continues. This form of legacy giving allows Sharyn, James, and others like them to make a powerful impact well into the future.

Sharyn Main and her husband, James Hodgson

S

haryn Main’s love of native plants goes back as far as she can remember. Growing up in Santa Barbara County, she could often be found playing in neighborhood creeks, hiking local trails, and exploring the far reaches of the area. Through these adventures, she got to know and appreciate the region’s unique native plants and the diverse habitats they support.

This love of the natural world continues to inspire her today. As a member of Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, Sharyn enjoys visiting throughout the year to cherish the many ways the Garden’s landscape changes over the seasons, from the obvious to the more subtle.

She tells me fondly about the scent of sage (Salvia spp.) that welcomes her on every visit or the sight of blooming buckbrush (Ceanothus cuneatus) and what it’s like seeing the colorful spring meadow in all its glory. It’s during these times she says she is instantly transported to her early wilderness experiences.

Your legacy can be a part of the Garden’s story, a testament to your love for nature and your commitment to preserving it. Whatever form your gift takes, your commitment helps maintain the Garden’s beauty and supports our ongoing conservation, education, and horticulture programs.

When you’re ready, I’m available to assist and guide you through the process of exploring our various, flexible giving options, such as trust planning, gifting stock, qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), or donoradvised funds (DAFs).

Please feel free to contact me directly at jmcclure@ SBBotanicGarden.org.

Together let’s continue to cultivate the Garden’s future, ensuring it remains a source of joy, inspiration, and learning for many generations to come. O

These moments are just one reason she’s grateful the Garden provides an accessible connection to nature Ironwood 39

The Giving Guide

A

t Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, we know everyone has different priorities and different ways they can afford to give back to their community, which is why we have a variety of opportunities for you to get involved.

Beyond traditional cash donations, here are a few popular giving options to consider that are mutually beneficial. This means, by choosing one of these giving methods, you can make your gift go even further than with cash alone. We encourage you to consult with your financial advisor or tax professional to better understand the benefits specific to your circumstances.

Gifts of Stocks or Appreciated Assets: If you own securities or other assets that have appreciated in value, gifting these to the Garden can provide significant tax advantages. When you transfer stocks or assets, you may avoid capital gains taxes and receive a charitable deduction for the full, fair market value of your gift.

Grants from Donor-advised Funds (DAFs): If you have a DAF, you can recommend a grant to the Garden. This allows you to receive an immediate tax deduction when you contribute to the DAF and then grant funds to the Garden over time. This is an efficient, sustained way to both manage your giving and support the Garden’s mission to conserve native plants and habitats.

Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs): If you are 70½ years old or older, you can give up to $100,000 from your Individual Retirement Account (IRA) directly to a qualified charity such as the Garden without paying income taxes on the contribution. This method, also known as a QCD, can satisfy your required minimum distribution (RMD) for the year.

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Every gift, be it big or small, supports the Garden’s ongoing conservation, education, and horticulture programs. With your support, we’re creating a world where nature thrives and our children and grandchildren can revel in the wonders of a rich and diverse ecosystem.

As a cherished member of the Garden community, we are grateful for your generosity in whatever form it takes. Thank you for considering the Garden in your planned annual giving.

Please hold on to this as a guide for your future giving. For more details on how you can help further our mission, please visit us at SBBotanicGarden.org/ support/.

Field Notes: Poetry Inspired by Nature By: Jaime Eschette, Director of Marketing and Communications

Ars Botanica

Fall in Santa Barbara only seems to be missing, as here it eases,

doesn’t drop, doesn’t declare itself spectator-ready in gaudy hues.

But

greens find a deeper peace. What

flowers, fades, leans as it must to dirt.

Still the desert willow hoists George Yatchisin (Photo: Greg Trainor)

W

hen George Yatchisin isn’t working as a food, wine, and cocktail writer here in Santa Barbara, you may spot him under his favorite oak (Quercus spp.), taking in the view of Santa Barbara Botanic Garden’s Meadow Section and the mountains beyond. This special spot “slays him” every time he visits.

We’re honored to have George join us in this issue of Ironwood to share his latest work, “Ars Botanica.”

You can enjoy more of George’s work in his books “Feast Days” and “The First Night We Thought the World Would End.” He is also the co-editor of the anthologies “Big Enough for Words: Poems & Vintage Photographs from California’s Central Coast” and “Rare Feathers: Poems on Birds & Art.” O

its last

feathered and flowered salute to the heat

these foothills cradle long into the calendar.

Weep not for it, actually a

trumpet vine

hearty enough to rive rock, its blooms a mauve and violet blast. Instead,

learn each instance of manzanita,

fierce

and ferrous branches a mere inch thick,

leaves lapping skyward, green tongues of fire.

McMinn, Pacific Mist, Carmel Sur,

Paradise.

A garden’s a poem, after all, what we create to treasure the obvious precious we would manage to forget, to foul.

— George Yatchisin Desert willow (Chilopsis linearis) (Photo: Randy Wright)

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The Book Nook By: The Garden Staff

“All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis” | Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katharine K. Wilkinson It is easy to feel the doom and gloom of living in a world with a rapidly changing climate, but there are so many things that can still be done, so many things that can still be saved. The climate crisis needs to be addressed and combated by a cooperative and collaborative community, and this book provides hope that this is happening. This climate anthology includes essays by 60 women from different backgrounds, disciplines, and occupations. It has a mix of perspectives from the political to the ecological to the artistic. “All We Can Save” elicits inspiration and excitement about all the work that people are doing to help our planet.

Recommended by Kylie Etter, Ecology Technician O “California Plants: A Guide to Our Iconic Flora” | Matt Ritter Best kept close by — on a nightstand, coffee table, or atop your commode — this book celebrates California’s native plants with 1,000 color images of our iconic flora. If you’re looking to nudge someone over the precipice of plant enthusiasm, “California Plants” is the perfect tool.

Leaving behind jargon and technical language, Matt Ritter orchestrates an introduction to our state’s major plant communities. Within the book, you will meet 500 species of California’s vascular plants. As you flip through the pages, I challenge you to find a species you haven’t yet met. Along the way, you may fall deeper in love with the plants that make up our home.

Recommended by Annie Ayers, Herbarium Technician O

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“Golden State Naturalist” Podcast Michelle Fullner I realize this isn’t our typical recommendation in that it is a podcast, but I’m so excited about this one that I felt it deserved a place on our list. I first caught Michelle Fullner’s “Golden State Naturalist” podcast on my way to work one morning and was inspired by her episode with John Muir Laws about nature journaling and why it’s important.

Hint, attention and curiosity are skills, and you need to practice them to improve! Even beyond this episode, there are lots of topics to explore as Michelle interviews some of our leading experts about what makes California so “golden.” And, if you ask me, Michelle’s enthusiasm is contagious, so I always leave feeling inspired to continue our work to conserve California’s precious natural resources, starting with our native plants.

Recommended by Kevin Spracher, Interpretation and Exhibitions Curator O “Black in the Garden” Podcast Colah B. Tawkin I’m in love with this podcast. With every new episode of “Black in the Garden,” Colah B. Tawkin is inspiring a new generation of plant lovers to join the movement.

I’ve learned so much about the historical aspects of botany and horticulture, improving my skills both in and out of the garden, plus her down-to-earth approach and absolutely hilarious sense of humor often have me laughing out loud. If you’re looking for a fresh take on horticulture, I highly recommend you listen in. Colah makes it fun to learn, connect, and grow through her love of her culture and plants. Also, accompanying her podcast, you must check out the beautiful art by Portland, Oregon–based artist Paula Champagne, @makerchamp. It’s so good!

Recommended by Melissa G. Patrino, Director of Development O

The Budding Botanist: Backyard Bird Count By: Michelle Cyr, Youth and Family Programs Manager

Welcoming Our New Arrivals

A

s leaves begin to change and a crispness fills the air, this transformation not only marks the changing of seasons but the arrival of our fall bird migrants. From Rufous Hummingbirds navigating to Mexico to White-crowned Sparrows flocking from the interior mountains to the coast, each year these winged travelers embark on epic journeys for a warmer winter. Gardens that provide bird-friendly native plants help welcome and support these visitors with both food and habitat.

Cedar Waxwing

Backyard Bird Count With fall and winter being such a special time to view this abundance of birds, it is an opportunity for us to both appreciate and better understand these migratory marvels. Tracking biodiversity through bird counts is a vital practice that provides invaluable insights into the health of ecosystems. Keeping a record of the number and types of birds seen in your garden or open spaces over time can serve as crucial indicators of environmental changes, such as shifts in climate or habitat loss.

Above: Anna's Hummingbird

Northern Mockingbird

Below is a list of both residential and migratory birds that you may observe in the places where you live and play. Record what species you notice, and then repeat the process to discover any changes. The more often you record, the more you’ll discover!

Common Residents

Seasonal Visitors

o Acorn Woodpecker

o Allen’s Hummingbird

o American Crow

o Cedar Waxwing

o Anna’s Hummingbird

o Hermit Thrush

o California Scrub Jay

o Hooded Oriole

o Dark-eyed Junco

o Lincoln’s Sparrow

o Mourning Dove

o Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Hooded Oriole

Spotted Towhee

o Northern Mockingbird o Townsend’s Warbler o Red-tailed Hawk

o White-crowned Sparrow

o Spotted Towhee

o Yellow-rumped Warbler

All photos on this page: Alan Schmierer

Townsend's Warbler

Want to contribute your findings to science? eBird is a global community science project where participants can visit local bird hot spots and log their own bird count. Get started here: eBird.org. O Ironwood 43

Make Protecting Your Habitat a Habit Become a member today to support the Garden’s mission to conserve native plants and habitats throughout California.

Membership

Membership Benefits

Family: $125

– Digital membership card to expedite check-in at the Garden and for reserved parking.

Individual: $75 Includes year-round admission for one individual.

Dual: $100 Includes year-round admission for two adults.

Includes year-round admission for two adults and up to five named dependent children or grandchildren under 18.

– Two one-time-use guest passes.

– Reciprocal benefits to over 345 gardens and arboreta nationwide.

ADD-ONS FOR MEMBERSHIPS

Add Plus One: $25

– Advance registration and reduced fees on classes, field trips, lectures, and special events.

Includes admission for one individual (not named) on each visit in addition to named members.

– 10% discount at the Garden Nursery and Shop, as well as at other participating local nurseries.

Add Dog Friendly: $30

– Mailed subscription to the Garden’s biannual Ironwood magazine and monthly Garden Gazette e-newsletter.

Additional donation to support a dog-friendly Garden and includes a branded doggie bandana.

BECOME A GARDEN ADVOCATE For $35 a year you can help support the Garden and stay up-to-date on events and research. Includes mailed biannual Ironwood magazine and monthly Garden Gazette e-newsletter.

Does not include admission to the Garden or other benefits listed above.

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Scan to become a member.

Philanthropic Tiers GUILD

Wildflower: $200 Includes all of the benefits of a membership, plus admission for one guest each visit. Also get six one-time-use guest passes, branded Garden tote bag, and free 1-gallon native plant from our Nursery.

OTHER WAYS TO SUPPORT

Give Today Whether you are a home gardener, hiker, teacher, or busy professional, the Garden’s programs help deepen connections to nature, ultimately ensuring its protection for the future.

Will you join us in championing a better future for us all?

Ironwood: $500

Leave a Legacy

Includes the benefits listed under Wildflower, plus eight one-time-use guest passes and one free education class for two.

Connect with us to learn how to include the Garden in your will and explore more resources to help you and your family plan for the future.

CIRCLE

Make a Tribute or Memorial Gift

Manzanita: $1,000 Includes all benefits listed above, plus 10 one-time-use guest passes, two free guests per visit, physical cards sent in the mail, and invitations to Circle exclusive events.

Honor a loved one with a plant tribute or memorial bench.

Sycamore: $2,500

Whatever your motivation, we welcome your talent and enthusiasm.

Includes all benefits listed above, plus 15 one-time-use guest passes.

Redwood: $5,000 Includes all benefits listed above, plus 20 one-time-use guest passes.

CORPORATE

Volunteer

Contact Us Volunteer Team 805.682.4726, ext. 119 volunteer@SBBotanicGarden.org Membership Team 805.682.4726, ext. 110 membership@SBBotanicGarden.org

Spending time in nature improves productivity and promotes improved mental health — even a few minutes a day can make a big difference.

Development Team 805.682.4726, ext. 103

Give your employees access to the Garden while supporting the conservation of native plants and habitats. We have several tiers of corporate membership available starting at $2,500. For more information, please email our membership office at membership@SBBotanicGarden.org.

SBBotanicGarden.org/support

SBBotanicGarden.org Ironwood 45

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID SANTA BARBARA, CA PERMIT NO. 451

1212 Mission Canyon Road Santa Barbara, CA 93105 805.682.4726 SBBotanicGarden.org

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