On April 26, the California Botanical Society held their annual meeting and banquet at the Romberg Center in Tiburon. Earlier in the day, the botanists visiting from all over California were divided up into two groups and Doreen Smith and Eva Buxton led fieldtrips on the county’s Ring Mountain and Old St. Hilary’s preserves. In addition to a beautiful display of spring flowers, we saw the special-status Tiburon paintbrush (Castilleja affinis subsp. neglecta) and Oakland star tulip (Calochortus umbellatus) in bloom, as well as Tiburon mariposa lily (C. tiburonensis) and Tiburon jewelflower (Streptanthus glandulosus subsp. niger) in bud. Dr. Susan Harrison of UCD was the keynote speaker, presenting her research on the potential effect on various plant communities from climate change.
Click on the images for a larger version. Photos by Vernon Smith.
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| Eva recounting some Ring Mountain preserve history. | Doreen trying to lead enthusiastic botanists back to the trail. |