Have You Paid Your Dues?

Transcription

1 Opuntia basilaris var. treleasei Volume 11 January 2008 Number 1 THE NEWSLETTER OF THE BAKERSFIELD CACTUS & SUCCULENT SOCIETY This Month's Program The Karoo in Botswana Melocactus matanzanus one of the raffle plants that will be at the January meeting The Bakersfield Cactus & Succulent Society % Stephen Cooley, editor thecactuspatch@aol.com presented by Bruce Hargreaves Monthly Meeting Tuesday, Jan. 8 Olive Drive Church, 5500 Olive drive at 6:30 PM (Building 6, Room 604) Have You Paid Your Dues?

2 T Volume 11 Number 1 January 2008 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 2008 Officers President Ed Colley Vice-President Jerry Garrison Treasurer - Maynard Moe Secretary Anne Lee Editors - Stephen Cooley Linda Cooley 2008 Directors CSSA Representative Maynard Moe Past President Vonne Zdenek The Cactus Club members show up with all the food, but with no plates, cups or sodas. Anne Lee headed home for plates and Jerry headed to the store for sodas. We started to eat then Lynn and Bill McDonald show up with all the stuff; plates, cups and sodas. Lynn and Bill had to work that day and didn't get there till later (I thought anyone like me is retired, SORRY). We ate, and after dinner, I gave two gift packages to Alice Hargreaves and Bill and Lynn McDonald, for having the most attendance all year long Chairpersons Hospitality - Bill McDonald Librarian Rose Mary Maguire Field Trips Lynn McDonald Historian Stephen Cooley Show & Sale Maynard Moe 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 thecactuspatch@aol.com 2 3

3 We started the Silent Action -- it lasted about 1/2 hour and the Club members got a lot of nice plants. Ed Colley, President JANUARY S PROGRAM The Karoo in Botswana presented by Bruce Hargreaves The southwestern corner of Botswana is generally classified as Kgalagadi (aka Kalahari) along with the rest of the country. True Kgalagadi is savanna rather than desert (although it is commonly called desert). A survey of the plants in SW Botswana shows many species which belong to the Karoo of South Africa (which is a true desert). This means there are many more succulents. (The rest of Botswana is sadly lacking in succulents.) Ironically this area forms the Kgalagadi District and contains the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. A Message From Your Past and Present President Welcome to all new members. The officers from 2007 were all voted in for Good job. All of our members got a lot of nice plants from our Silent Action at our Christmas party. And the food was good too! Our Show and Sale this year was a success, with thanks to Nick Wilkinson from Grow Nursery at Moonstone Gardens for the Sale Plants and judging the Cactus Club Members Show Plants that got some very nice ribbons. pictures by Bruce Hargreaves & Sidney Kelley 4 Our Field Trips were put on by Lynn McDonald, she will continue. I know a lot of us have a lot going on throughout the year, but we need to go on field trips that Lynn puts on, its a lot of work putting it all together and they're a lot of fun, too! 5

4 Our Club is still a great place to learn about cactus and succulents and other plants too. The Club's goals are to better ourselves in our knowledge of the cactus and succulents of the World. here are about nine species of Pterocactus named and all are from Argentina. They like full sun and will tolerate temperatures down to 45º F.* My pledge this year is to encourage members and myself to go on field trips. Ed Colley, President MORE INFO: Plant of the Month Pterocactus tuberosus *I have a Pterocactus tuberosus that has over-wintered outside in the ground through our coldest winters (20º F). Also, a potted plant has survived on the patio through the same winters - Stephen Cooley Jack G. Reynolds While sifting through my copy of Britton and Rose, I came across this delightful little cactus from Argentina. The thing that I find most charming about it is that it develops large tuberous roots from which several to many branches each about one half inch in diameter and up to a foot or more long. The branches are a brownish green color with numerous areoles bearing minute white hairlike spines. The areoles are arranged in a spiral pattern around the cylindrical branches. According to B&R, the seeds of the genus Pterocactus are unique in that they have a wing. The drawing of the seed shows a circular flange up to 3 mm. wide that runs completely around the seed which are quite large being about 6 mm. in diameter without the wing. The ovaries are terminal on the branches. Flowers are shades of pale pink, yellow and white and about 25 mm. in diameter 6 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 a members only plant raffle. All this is in addition to the wonderful programs and people at the meetings. To become a member contact: Maynard Moe, treasurer Lithops44@bak.rr.com 7

5 Bragging Rights Do you have a plant that you are proud of? Bring it to the next meeting and brag about it at our new 'Brag Table.' Show off a little, it doesn't matter what you bring in as long as you can tell us why you think it's special. This is not just a place for show-quality fancy succulents, maybe you have a plant with an interesting history or story - bring it in! Salt Marsh and Stately House A Letter From Bruce I goofed. October was not as dull as recorded. I left off the 9th when our money was finally transferred from Botswana (after several s and phone calls which woke us up at 2 a.m.) And then there was the BB King concert at the Fox on the 17th! He s getting old, but still fantastic. November was certainly more exciting, however. The 2nd was an opening of the botanic garden in Botswana. Too bad I wasn t there, but I m glad to see it s finally official. (I did get a garden hat.) On the 4th we went to the annual Taste of the Arts at CSUB. Next day our household goods came from Botswana- 133 boxes (73 of them books). We re still sorting! Then on the 9th we tasted more of the arts at a concert by the CSUB Singers. There are noticeably fewer of us old folks singing nowadays, but the quality was up to par. On the 17th the Mayflower Society had its annual dinner and I spoke on my visit to Plymouth, England. We migrated to Sacramento for our family Thanksgiving. It was the usual overeating. Our son, James, and his wife, Emily, and son, Michael, flew off to Arizona in the morning to have dinner with the other mother, Margaret. Our older son John took us to the IMAX 3D Beowulf on Friday. It is not quite the original story. Next day we shopped for electronics and books in Roseville and toured the gimcrack stores of Folsom. On Sunday our grandson and his parents returned from Arizona and we drove up to Quincy where James fixes computers for the Polly & Hazel at the Salt Marsh 8 9

6 schools. The Feather River canyon is still spectacular - did you know the Tehachapi loop is rivaled by another rail loop in this area? The Oroville Dam was dreadfully low. This was all the more saddening to me because I remember a summer at Bidwell Bar before the dam was built. Quincy was cold and we all five came down sick so our stay was not the pleasant visit it should have been. After a quick tour of the town we settled down to watching episodes of Wonderfall, a series Polly & I missed. One high note was a book from Emily on Culpepper s Herbal Remedies (C.F. Leyel 1979, Wilshire Book Co. No. Hollywood). Emily was disappointed to find the plants are British* and thus not pertinent to Quincy. The illustrations are poor, but the information is good. We drove back to Sacramento on the 29th. The biggest wildlife spotted was a deer. On the 39th we visited Kaiser Permanente where John works to see his exhibit of pictures for a Red Cross Fair. He s getting quite good - this year he has included a calendar of caves and other things from a recent visit to Guatemala- but he s not quitting his day job. That evening we returned to Bakersfield. But enough of now. Returning to our Cornwall visit, we are now up to the 18th of July. In the morning we went shopping in Newquay and after lunch we went to the Gannel Estuary to see salt marsh plants. As expected there was plenty of glasswort (Salicornia spp.), a world wide salt-loving succulent. It is allegedly edible, but years ago I was served some by friends in Reading and found it to be much too salty. Other plants seen were Sueda, a relative of glasswort, Danish scurvy grass (Cochlea danica) which has a high vitamin C content and is not a grass but rather a mustard relative, sea arrow grass ( Triglochin maritimum) which is also not a grass but a reed related to Juncus, and sea purslane (Atriplex portulacoides) which is not related to purslane but is a relative of salt bush. Polly found a ball and exercised Hazel s dog while we went on to look at other plants along the roadside. There were South African mesembs on the rock wall, trees with hawthorn fruits and giant dandelions of the genus Sonchus. Next we went to Trerice, a stately home which is part of the National Trust. The gardens were not outstanding - mullein with moth caterpillars, orpine, spurges etc. - but the main room had a great display of 18th century games, crafts etc. which we were allowed to handle. The gift shop had books and I bought Wild Flowers of the Cornish coast (Trevor & Endymion Beer, 2004, Tor Mark Press, Redruth). It has excellent photographs (the cover shows Portland Spurge) and lists a few uses such as the eringoes made from the root of sea holly (see last month s letter) which are said to be an aphrodisiac. We had snacks in the restaurant and then toured a collection of lawnmowers in one of the barns. On the 19th we went to Eden, but I ll save that for next month. * With exceptions such as purslane (Portulaca oleracea) which is worldwide. The succulent leaves and young shoots are cooling to the blood and they are much cultivated in Holland. (In fact, the Dutch doctor in Chitipa, Malawi, back in the 60s grew this and served it to us.) Visit us on the web at: Trerice 10 11

7 UPCOMING EVENTS T Electronic Version Bonus Page Here are a few things I found on the internet in an effort to fill this page Jan 8 BCSS Meeting 6:30pm Olive Drive Church program: The Karoo in Botswana speaker: Bruce Hargreaves Feb 12 BCSS Meeting 6:30pm Olive Drive Church program: Bozi Tree speaker: Jack Reynolds Mar 11 BCSS Meeting 6:30pm Olive Drive Church program: Opuntia speaker: Charles Spotts Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park Nossob Webcam Information page: Webcam: Feb 9 Sand Diego Winter Show & sale 9am to 4pm. Room 101 Casa Del Prado, Balboa Park. Apr South Coast C&SS Show & Sale. South Coast Botanical Gardens, Crenshaw Blvd, Palos Verdes Apr Green Scene Plant Sale at the Fullerton Arboretum Associated Rd, Fullerton Apr 27 South Bay Epiphyllum Society Show & Sale. South Coast Botanical Gardens, Crenshaw Blvd, Palos Verdes May 3-4 Sunset C&SS Show & Sale Veterans Memorial Center, Garden Room, 4117 Overland Ave, Culver City How to Select and Peel Opuntia Cactus A YouTube video: Mein Kleiner Grüner Kaktus contact the editors for more information Stephen Cooley thecactuspatch@aol.com Linda Cooley X7487linda@gmail.com (My Small Green Cactus) A YouTube video that features the singing of the Comedian Harmonists - a german vocal group. A wonderful song from the 1930's