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Opuntia basilaris var. treleasei
Volume 7 May 2004 Number 5
THE NEWSLETTER OF THE BAKERSFIELD CACTUS & SUCCULENT SOCIETY
Monthly MeetingTuesday, May 11Olive Drive Church,
5500 Olive driveat 6:30 PM
(West of 99 freewayon corner of Olive drive &
Victor street)
This Month's Program
Hoodia HoodooPresented by
Bruce Hargreaves
Plant of the Month:Plant of the Month:SucculentSucculent
AsclepiadsAsclepiads(see page 7)(see page 7)
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Volume 7 Number 5
May 2004
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MMESSAGEESSAGE FROMFROM E ELL P PRESIDENTERESIDENTE
First of all, let me begin by wishing Alice Hargreaves the happiest of birthdays so far!!!
Of course, Bruce Hargreaves, our intrepid scientist, reporter, and regular contributor to the Cactus Patch,
and his wife Polly have arrived just in time for all three crucial events; namely, to celebrate
Alice’s Birthday, to speak at our May Meeting, and to be first in line at our annual yard sale just completed!!! We are so pleased to have Bruce and Polly here to tell us about all their adventures.
Speaking of the yard sale, in spite of lower traffic and the stiffest competition one can imagine, we actually faired pretty well. It’s still a little early to say at this sitting, but it looks as if we have earned about the same as last year. Having said that, however, we have so much left to sell that the Skillins have generously offered to have another yard sale tentatively on June 26th and 27th in order to sell the rest. Since our expenses are so much higher this year, a second yard and plant sale seems prudent to me, so we will discuss it at the meeting to see what the general membership think.
Lastly, I just wanted to mention how, once again, with the suffocation deaths of six kit foxes in Bakersfield last month, we are reminded of how especially tenuous life is for our endangered flora and fauna. Whatever the intent or causes of this tragedy, let there be no doubt that continuous vigilance in protecting our threatened and endangered species is always appropriate.
Matt Ekegren
BE SURE TO CHECK US OUT
ON THE WEB AT:www.BakersfieldCactus.org
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The Cactus Patch is the official publication of the Bakersfield Cactus & Succulent Society (BCSS) of Bakersfield, California. Meetings are held on the second Tuesday of each month at the times and places noted within. GUEST ARE ALWAYS WELCOME
2004 Officers
President – Matt EkegrenVice-President – Vonne Zdneck
Treasurer - Maynard MoeSecretary – Les Oxford
Editors - Stephen Cooley Linda Cooley
2004 Directors
CSSA Representative - openPast President – Bonnie East
2004 Chairpersons
Hospitality - Bill McDonaldLibrarian – James Parker
Field Trips – Lynn McDonaldCal State Garden – Bonnie East
Historian – openShow & Sale - open
Material in The Cactus Patch may be reprinted by non-profit organizations (unless such permission is expressly denied in a note accompanying the material) provided that the proper credit is given to the BCSS & the author and that one copy of the publication containing the reprinted material is sent to the editor. Reproduction in whole or part by any other organization without the permission of the BCSS editor is prohibited. Contact [email protected]
EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING NOTESApril 22, 2004
This months meeting took place at Vonne Zdnek’s beautiful new home and there were 2 guests of honor. They were Bruce and Polly Hargreaves from Africa, representing The National Museum of Botswana. Bruce has been contributing articles in the newsletter many times. AND he will be the featured speaker at the next BCSS meeting on Tuesday, May 11th. The subject will be “Hoodia Hoodoo.” Sounds interesting!
Many things are happening in May. First off:
1 Annual BCSS Garage Sale! May 1st and 2nd. Bring all your donations to Rob & Terry Home, 2901 22nd Street no later than Friday, April 31st for pricing. This is the big one. Check out your closets and storage areas and bring anything you think will bring dollars to the treasury.
2 Field Trip on May 15th to Ojai “Historic Tour.” The tour starts from the Home Depot parking lot at 7am (District Blvd. At Gosford Rd) Stops will be at local nurseries and pot places. For details, Call Lynn McDonald.
3 And another field trip the very next day at Huntington Gardens in Pasadena. Call for details.
4 The June Meeting (June 8th) will be at the CSUB Gardens. Call Bonnie East.
5 The August meeting will be held at The Cactus Valley Mexican Restaurant at 4215 Rosedale Hwy. Good Eating!
Les Oxford
We started the “social” portion of the meeting with excellent food, thanks once again to Mary, Rosemarie and Pat Filkins. Vonne acted as President for this meeting, since Matt was at home with Sylvia and their new baby Boy! We discussed field trips (May 15), yard sale (May 1&2), show and sale (October), the memorial service for Gordon Sanford, and future programs. Then Maynard Moe spoke to the
club about the naming of plants (“A Cacti by Any Other Name...”) He included lots of group participation and it was a lively presentation. We
learned about the history of Linnean classification. We also learned why classifying
plants based on vegetative structures is not a good idea and why using their reproductive parts and DNA provide a better basis for classification. We were impressed to learn of the most modern techniques being used (DNA comparison). After the talk, we had the Plant of the Month and the raffle. We had a pretty full house of 30 people attend this month!
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Membership in the Bakersfield Cactus & Succulent Society costs $10 per year for an individual and only $15 a year for a family. This extraordinarily reasonable price not only includes twelve issues of but entitles you to participate in club field trips to far-off (out-of-town) and exotic places (more exotic than Bakersfield). You will also receive a nifty name tag that will be your ticket to the members only plant raffle held every meeting featuring the best plant from the raffle table! All this is in addition to the wonderful programs and people at the meetings. To become a member contact:
Maynard Moe, [email protected]
Hoodia HoodooPresented by Bruce Hargreaves
Though Bruce is familiar to the club old-timers, many of the new folks have yet to meet him. Here is a “Short” CV as an introduction:
Hargreaves, Bruce
***** Member *****Kern Cactus Club -- 1963-72
BA, Field Biology, UCSB; and married Polly -- 1964Peace Corps Volunteer Teacher in Malawi -- 1965-68Son John born in Bakersfield -- 1969MSc, Public Health; Univ No Carolina -- 1970PhD, Parasitology, NYU -- 1974
Taught Parasitology, Univ Malawi -- 1976-81Son James born in Zomba, Malawi -- 1980Acting Head Herbarium & Botanic Garden, Malawi -- 1980Taught Botany, Nat. Univ Lesotho -- 1983-89Head of Natural History, National Museum of Botswana –
1989-96 & 2001-present
***** Member *****Bakersfield Cactus and Succulent Society
1997-present
(Total is 25 years in Africa)
CACTUSby L. Maynard Moe
"Cactus" is an ancient Greek term for a spiny plant. When first used itreferred to cardoon, the artichoke. Wild artichokes have stout spines onthe edible bracts. Cultivated artichoke varieties have lost those spines.The word was adopted to refer to what we now know as cacti when the first plants were brought back to Europe by the early explorers. Now it "only" refers to the members of the cactus family (Cactaceae).
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Yard Sale Wrap-UpI want to thank ALL the members who put in their time, muscle,
gently used items and salespersonship to help make the yard-sale a success. We were up against the largest number of competitive activities (AND giant church yard sales) that have been held all year. Although we started out slow, we picked up speed and, due to the gigantic amount of items we were able to scrounge-up, we came out over $700 in profit. (Hey, if you haven't paid for your finds, we'll be happy to accept your check at the next meeting!) Members supplied shoppers with the inspiration to BUY BUY BUY, and we picked up the names and addresses of four prospective new members! Of course, the first people to get to the Friday night set-up, was our long lost Botswana travelers, Polly and Bruce Hargreaves, and their son, John. Of course, they were also our first customers!
Thank you to all who contributed and also, BOUGHT all our wonderful items! (I still can't believe Linda found all that wonderful YARN! RIGHT UNDER MY NOSE!)
We saved all the 'good-junk' to run a small sale in June, when the Skillin's get rid of some furniture. It will be a one-day event, so keep that in mind, if you find something you may have over-looked this sale.
Again, I had a terrific time, and you are all the BEST! Terry
Plant of the MonthSucculent Asclepiads
These would be any of the succulent members of the Milkweed family (Asclepiadaceae) which
include: Hoodia, Caralluma, Desmidorchis, Duvalia, Frerea, Duvaliandra, Huernia,
Huerniopsis, Fockea, Luckhoffia, Ophionella, Orbea, Orbeanthus, Orbeopsis, Ceropegia, Pachycymbium, Stapelianthus,
Pectinaria, Piaranthus, Quaqua, Stapelia, Stapeliopsis, Tavaresia, Tridentea, Tromotriche, Echidnopsis, Edithcolea, Leachia, Lavrania, Notechidnopsis, Pseudopectinaria, Sarcostemma, Rhytidocaulon, Pseudolithos, Whitesloanea, Brachystelma, Cynanchum, Dischidia, Microloma, Pachycarpus, Raphionacme, Stomatostemma, Hoya, and Gonolobus – just to name a few.
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MAY’S PROGRAM
THE SUCCULENT GARDEN AT CAL STATEBCSS Garden Journal
April 17, 2004
Today was a good day in the garden. We had three wheelbarrows going! Ralph, Kenneth, James, Maynard, Bill and Linda all showed up to work for the morning. It was overcast and a lot cooler than it has been during the previous month of work. It was actually a perfect day for the work we were planning on doing. Between the 6 of us, the western dirt pile (a little more than a dumptruck load) was all relocated in its new area against the wall. It looks nice, with the elevation really adding a contrast to the flat areas. It is starting to look like a “plan” has actually been in existence! Maynard and Bill concentrated mostly on the wall. They were able to finish concreting a section and added blocks to the rest of the wall, which should be worked on again next week. In order to get all the dirt in, we had to move (and remove) some agaves, a yucca, some Opuntias, and a golden barrel cactus. Most of these have been replanted; some have been relocated to new homes. Most duplicates will be sold or given away, so we can have a more
diverse garden. We have a load of white Echinopsis and Aloe vera, all nice and big. I hope we’ll be able to sell some at the
yard sale. Maybe next weekend someone will help dig them up and pot
them for the sale. I guess that means bringing some big pots
with me! so, next weekend--on Sunday--I think our jobs are: figure out water lines, figure out which
plants to dig and pot for the sale, finish the wall, and if there are enough people, move the east dirt pile!
Linda Cooley
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BCSS Garden Journal April 25, 2004
Another day of work in the garden. It was much warmer today, so we tried to get an earlier start. During the week a lot more dirt was delivered, so we will have plenty to do whatever we want! Once again, James, Maynard, Stephen, Bill and Linda manned the shovels and moved dirt. This time we spread the eastern hill of dirt over the section of the garden destined to be the “Old World”. This part of
the garden will contain aloes, euphorbias, asclepiads, etc., all native to Africa and Europe and Asia. After reducing that pile of dirt to a mere suggestion of a mound, we turned out attention to the
“New World”. A few cacti needed to be moved so that more dirt could be added; I worked on banking the curve of the future path, building a rock wall to hold back the slope. We worked until about 11 am and it really seemed to be different when we were done! We will not be working next weekend, since we will
be helping with the Yard Sale. But the weekend after that we should be back out there, probably on Saturday morning (May 8). It would
sure go faster if we had more help! All are welcome; there are jobs for any skill level!
Linda Cooley
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DIVERSITY A Letter From Bruce
On 2nd April they celebrated Cultural Diversity Day at the University. We continue to see this in action. On 20th March we went to a concert with musicians from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Malawi. The audience didn't seem to appreciate Malawian music as much as the others, but it made Polly and me homesick. The concert was great despite starting after 11 (with an advertised 7 start!)
On the 26th March our choir presented an "Italian Evening" at the Blue Tree Restaurant. The food was lousy, but the audience didn't seem to mind. I never knew there were so many Italians in Botswana. We also had President Mogae present.
The next evening, Capital Players had a dinner to celebrate their 40th anniversary. Their roots are even older as they hived off from the MADS (Mafeking Amateur Dramatic Society) when British administrators were transferred to Gaborone just before independence. The film club has been running a series of Swedish films. Again, ourusually meager audience was swollen - this time by Swedes. Where do all
these people hide in the daytime?The Maitisong Festival began on 16th April with a show portraying
the first woman to become Kgosi (chief) in Botswana last year. The next night our choir was one of many at a festival concert. Unfortunately we had to miss the rest of the shows, including the Ladysmith Black Mambazo, as we flew on to the islands of the Singing Dogs on the 18th. (We finally got our tickets on the 23rd of March.) See you in Bakersfield in May.
It is interesting how succulents pop up in unexpected literature. Recently I read "The Lost Dinosaurs of Egypt" (William Nothdurft with Joshua Smith et al., 2003, Random House, N.Y.) and was fascinated by the last chapter which describes the environment of the Cretaceous dinosaur Paralition stromeri which they dug up in the Western Desert of Egypt. At the time of the dinosaur the area was a seashore with mangrove-like ferns providing food for the animals. Remarkably, the fern (Weichselia) was xerophytic (adapted to dry conditions). This was because salt water was not usable by the fern. The authors compare this to cacti in the everglades.
Another book with an interesting reference is "The Sleepers of Erin" (Jonathan Gash, 1994 in Lovejoy -- an Omnibus, Grange Books, London). The fictitious Lovejoy is a philandering antique expert of
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dubious morals. All of the Lovejoy books are delightful.
‘A copy.’‘But laboratory tests show it to be an original eighteenth-
century oil of a seafarer, Lovejoy….’ ‘Oh, John Tradescant was a seafarer all right…. And it's
old. But a famous building off Trafalgar Square'll be very cross if you go telling fibs, mate. They've got the original.’
‘John who?’ I was enjoying myself.‘Tradescant only sailed about to nick seeds, bulbs, plants,
anything that grew. His dad was as bad. He even raided the Mediterranean pirates to get a bush or two. Between them they introduced a load of stuff - apricots, Persian Lilac, Michaelmas daisies, the larch. They did Russia, the American colonies, North Africa. Tradescant's collection became the Ashmolean at Oxford.’ The old copyist had got Tradescant's wryly wicked smile just right, but the date of 1612 was a shade earlyish.
‘A copy?’‘Don't knock copyists. Turner himself started out as one.’It's a daft joke we play on ourselves, really. Find a
genuine flower painting by Palice and it's not worth a fiftieth of the price of a Turner copy.'
Incidentally, for those who don't recognise the name Tradescant, look for a genus in the Commelinaceae.
A third book (of the many I've read while on "leave") is "Origins Reconsidered" (Richard Leakey & Roger Lewin, 1993, Abacus, London). Toward the end he describes a camp of Homo erectus on the bank of a stream next to Lake Turkana. (This is loosely based on archaeology of the site.)
Back at camp a couple of women and a man engage in idle chatter, keeping an eye on the young child who did not accompany the hunting or foraging group. Yesterday, while he was stealthily tracking a young antelope, the man has slipped down a slope and gashed his leg on a jagged piece of lava. The hunt temporarily interrupted, his brothers tendered first aid. One of them searched for a clump of sansevieria, a succulent plant that grows around the lake. From some broken fronds, he twisted the juices, letting them
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drip on the open wound. The brother knew that unless he applied this natural medicine, the wound would become very red and the young man might die. Another stripped some thorns from a nearby acacia and began arranging them across the wound, piercing both sides of the gash. Thin strips of bark looped on alternate sides of the thorns drew the flesh together. First aid completed, the brothers continued on their way. Today, although the wound is sore, it looks clean, with little redness. The sansevieria worked, of course, he indicates to the women.
We continue to have cool days with occasional rain. This is a bit unusual for Botswana and probably too late for crops, but at least the depleted reservoirs should be filling.
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Field Trips OJAI FIELD TRIP -- MAY 15
The nursery (Desert Images) in Ojai opens at 0900. We will meet at the SW Home Depot parking lot Saturday morning beginning at 0645 for 0700 departure -- Gosford & District Blvd.
After the nursery we will then proceed slowly to Piru, via highways 33/126. We will meet at Rancho Camulos for our 1 hour tour. Cost is $5 adults, $3 children for admission. It is open from 1:00-4:00 to the public.
Bring a lunch, sunhat/screen, liquids & wear those comfortable shoes.
Windwolves Preserve
I also have a call in to The Windwolves Preserve to see if there is a morning open for a tour in early June. If there is, and we have an interest, I will arrange that. This is a wonderful day trip for those who have never been. A well-kept secret.
Lynn
ANNOUNCEMENTS
WE WELCOME NEW MEMBER:
Steve Hampson
Please add him to your roster.
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The picture shows Sansevieria aethiopica in fruit in theBotswana Botanic Garden where it occurs naturally.
PLEASE MAKE THE FOLLOWING CORRECTIONS TO YOUR ROSTER:
Please add:Joseph Sprenger
James Parker’s email should be changed to: [email protected]
Vonne Zdnek & Mickey McGuire’s phone number has changed to:
Linda Cooley has a new email
Ralph & Ken Rogers’ is no longer valid.___________________________
We learned that Gordon wrote his own obituary. He also had this to say
Old Foresters Never Die - They Just WiltHowever, some may return as distinctive
Specimens in God's Heavenly ForestsLook for me as a "Digger Pine"Along the fringes of California's
Great Central Valley
Gordon's family has created a memorial website. One can leave a story or article in the online guest book and as time goes on there will be other pictures and articles published. We expect to leave it there for his friends and family to visit.
http://www.rainbeaux.net/memoryof/GordonSanford/-Lynn
___________________________
The work at the ESA/BCSS garden continues just about every Saturday! We will start earlier now that it is hot--probably around 7-ish. We have been emailing and calling people, but it isn’t always possible to let everyone know the exact schedule. If you are interested in helping on a given Saturday, call Lynn or Linda to find out when it’s happening!
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UPCOMING EVENTSMay 11 BCSS meeting.
Speaker: Bruce HargreavesPresentation: Hoodia Hoodoo
May 15 BCSS Field Trip - Ojai LoopMay 15-16 Epiphyllum Society Sale (15th-16th) and Show (16th). LA County Arboretum 301 N. Baldwin Ave, ArcadiaMay 16 BCSS Field Trip? Huntington Botanical Garden Spring Sale
1151 Oxford Rd, San Marino May 22-23 28th Gates C&SS Show & Sale, 9-4 Sat. Show starts at 1pm. Jurupa Mts Cultural Center, 7621 Granite Hills Dr, Glen Avon, CAJune 5-6 San Diego C&SS Show & Sale, Balboa Park Room 101June 8 BCSS meeting. CSUB Cactus GardenJuly 1-3 CSSA Show & Sale Huntington Botanical Garden (HBG closed
July 4, admission free July 1)July 13 BCSS meeting. Aug 10 BCSS meeting at Cactus Valley Restaurant. Aug 14-15 Intercity Show & Sale 9am-5pm both days. LA Arboretum
Info: Tom Glavich
For more information concerning calendar events, contact the editorsTo have your article printed in
get in touch with:
Stephen Cooley, editor Linda Cooley, editor [email protected]
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