The study and science of plants.
Although the disease is popularly known as Sudden Oak Death, the funguslike organism that causes it, Phytophthora ramorum, is also responsible for less severe symptoms in a number of other native and nonnative plants. The continually growing list of affected … Read more
by Linda H. Beidleman and Eugene N. Kozloff, University of California Press, 2003, 505 pages, $29.95 (www.ucpress.edu). Linda H. Beidleman, an instructor at UC Berkeley’s Jepson Herbarium, and Eugene N. Kozloff, a professor at University of Washington, have put … Read more
by Glenn Keator, University of California Press, 2002, 251 pages, $14.95 (www.ucpress.edu). Bay Area botanist Glenn Keator, author of The Life of an Oak: An Intimate Portrait (Heyday Books, 1998), has now assembled the well-written, easy-to-use Introduction to Trees … Read more
It's almost impossible to imagine the California landscape without oak woodlands. But this most familiar and prolific habitat faces a number of serious threats, including unchecked suburban development and Sudden Oak Death. Fortunately, many parks in the Bay Area, including those of the East Bay Regional Parks, offer welcome refuge for a variety of oak woodlands.
Though it's the most extensive natural habitat in California, chaparral's brambly ways discourage human visitors. Still, plenty of wildlife finds sanctuary in its tangled, brushy universe, as do the dormant seeds of wildflowers as they await the inevitable next fire, forceful sculptor of this complex landscape.
What a seemingly simple, but deceptively complex question! Ultimately, perhaps, the least speculative—but not completely satisfactory—answer is that manzanitas inherited this trait from their ancestors. There is compelling evidence that manzanitas (genus Arctostaphylos) are derived from a group of trees, … Read more
A winding path through Kathy Welch’s garden leads to an oak grove. Photo by Saxon Holt. Kathy Welch had already begun to consider renovating her yard in the Oakland hills when she made a few discoveries. “I found a trillium … Read more
by David J. Gubernick (photography) and Vern Yadon (commentary and data) Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History and Carmel Publishing Co., 2002 198 pages, $28 (800) 731-3322 This visually seductive book is organized around the six botanical regions of Monterey … Read more
Calling all lovers of native trees, shrubs, perennials, bulbs, and seeds! With the advent of the rainy season, fall is an excellent time to plant natives: Moist soil gives roots a much better opportunity to grow deeply without frequent watering. … Read more
The aggressive pathogen Phytophthora ramorum that causes Sudden Oak Death (SOD) continues to spread, adversely affecting more and more oak trees in the Bay Area and throughout the west. This past summer, the California Department of Food and Agriculture announced … Read more
Independent, nonprofit environmental journalism connecting people with nature in the San Francisco Bay Area.
