by Bart O’Brien O’Brien, RSABG director of special projects and co-curator of When They Were Wild

This article first appeared in the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden membership newsletter Garden Variety, Winter 2013

Check out a round up of related events here

California’s rich plant life has captured the imagination of horticulturists, scientists and artists for more than a century.

A collaborative project of Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens and Theodore Payne Foundation for Wildflowers and Native Plants, When They Were Wild interprets the unique diversity of the California flora from its origins to its current popularity.

This diversity has been depicted by talented artists who were also amateur naturalists, including Alice Brown Chittenden, Clara Mason Fox and James Milford Zornes. Illustrations by these and other artists, complemented by herbarium collections (museum specimens of dried plants), publications and ephemera, depict an era when many of these species passed from growing wild into domestication.

Some 200 items in the exhibition from the three collaborating institutions and from a number of other public and private collections tell the story of the iconic beauty of California plants and share the botanical, ecological and horticultural nature of native flowers.

Over the past three years, I have gathered and cataloged RSABG’s holdings that will be part of the exhibit and/or part of the extensive online resources for the exhibit. Irene Holiman, RSABG’s library specialist, and two Getty Multicultural Undergraduate Interns, Jessica Torres in 2012 and Jessica Dewberry in 2010, have been immensely helpful. Torres and Dewberry were indispensable in researching and writing up the artists’ biographies as well as scanning a wide array of paintings and documents.

The exhibit will be organized around several themes: a brief introduction to the biological setting of California; the discovery, describing, cataloging and depiction of California wildflowers; the science and horticulture of California wildflowers and a gallery featuring dozens of images that we’ve nicknamed “the garden.”

Many of these artists portrayed dozens to hundreds of California wildflowers. These works illustrate remarkable stories of beautiful plants. These stories are the stuff of legends; they meld scientific discovery and horticulture.

On display will be RSABG’s first edition copy of the original published image of the first California native plant to flower in cultivation in Europe: beach sand verbena (Abronia umbellata). This California wildflower was described and published by Jean Baptiste Lamarck in 1791 in his landmark 21-volume treatise, Tableau Encyclopedique et Methodique des Trois Regnes de la Nature.

As with many early images of California’s flora, this one has quite a backstory. The seeds of the plant were collected in Monterey in September of 1786, by Jean-Nicholas Collignon of the La Pérouse Expedition. This French expedition’s two ships, L’Astrolabe and La Boussole, carried the first non-Spanish European explorers to reach California’s shores since Sir Francis Drake’s landing in 1579. From California, the expedition crossed the Pacific and landed in Macao, and then traveled north until they reached Petropavlovsk on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on September 7, 1787.

The expedition departed from Petropavlovsk on September 30, 1787, but left Jean Baptiste Barthélemy de Lesseps to carry the expedition’s materials overland in order to report to the French Ambassador in St. Petersburg.

It took de Lesseps an entire year to reach St. Petersburg. From there, he traveled to Paris arriving on October 17, 1788. The La Pérouse Expedition was subsequently lost and was never seen again, leaving de Lesseps the only survivor.

Interestingly, the botanist Jean Baptiste Lamarck writes that the beach sand verbena had been growing in the Jardin des Plantes in Paris since 1788. In my research, I have not been able to ascertain whether the seeds were sown and germinated in 1788 (highly likely) or whether they were blooming in 1788 (highly unlikely, given the time frame). In any event, it is clear that this sand verbena is the first known California native plant to be grown from seed to flowering in Europe.

Abby Hird, Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) U.S. research associate and project manager, has set up a new office at RSABG. She recently moved from Boston, where she was hosted by the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University for the past three years. Andrea Kramer, BGCI U.S. executive director, said, "BGCI and its global network will no doubt benefit from the closer connection to Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden and we are grateful for their dedicated support as members of BGCI."

Hird is looking forward to working with RSABG staff and researchers and being activitly involved with the organization's world-class conservation programs. For 2013, she is continuing to continue developing BGCI's data services, and other major BGCI U.S. efforts such as the Care for the Rare interpretation project (read more about Care for the Rare here), carried out in collaboration with the United States Botanic Garden.

The Adopt-a-Butterfly program is a great graduation, birthday or Father’s Day gift and an easy way to show support for Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden.

The Adopt-a Butterfly program is available through July 28, 2013.

Proceeds benefit RSABG education programs, exhibits and conservation efforts. Supporters are able to select three adoption levels, all of which include special thank you gifts and personalized donor recognition. For more information, email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call (909) 625-8767 ext. 221.

Butterflies at the Garden

Visit the Butterfly Pavilion at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden from May 11 through July 28, 2013, and enjoy a unique experience that allows you to wander through a changing ecosystem and interact with free-flying butterflies and the plant life that supports them. You’ll see, up close, how butterflies use their tubular mouthparts to obtain nectar and watch caterpillars feed on leaves and go through the process of transformation into adults. Read more about the Butterfly Pavilion at the Garden.

Keep the butterflies fluttering with a gift that allows you to adopt a butterfly of your very own. It’s simple—and it’s the easiest pet you’ll ever own because we’ll take good care of your butterfly for you.

Adopt a Butterfly today!

Here's Why

There are lots of good reasons to adopt a butterfly:

You can show that your family, organization or company supports the environment and your gift allows you to take part in butterfly conservation.

A butterfly makes a unique wedding, anniversary or birthday gift.

You can honor or memorialize a loved one.

Your support allows RSABG to advance our work with scientists and communities.

Here's How

It’s so easy to make an adoption. Simply purchase the adoption package in the RSABG California Garden Gift Shop or call (909) 625-8767 ext. 221, to order an adoption package over the phone (we will ship packages to you or have them ready for you at the California Garden Gift Shop).

FAQS

Can I take my butterfly home?

All the butterflies stay here at the Butterfly Pavilion, but we highly encourage adoptive families to visit often!

How long will it take for my adoption package to reach me?

When you purchase your adoption package in the Garden Gift Shop, you can take it home right away. For phone orders, please allow at least two weeks for shipping and delivery.

What if I’d just like to donate to the program but not receive the adoption package?

You can always choose to donate more than the cost of the package or make a donation and not receive the package. Any outright donation (above and beyond the actual cost of the package) is tax-deductible and goes directly toward supporting RSABG’s conservation efforts.

For more information about making donations to RSABG, contact Debbie Carini, associate director of development, at (909) 625-8767 ext. 221.

How can I find out more about the program?

Give us a call at (909) 625-8767 or send us an email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Beautiful California Wildflowers!

March 9 – July 8, 2013 (both Where They Grow Wild and When They Were Wild have been extended!)
Gallery open: Friday – Sunday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m
Opening reception: Saturday, March 9, 11 a.m.

"Where They Grow Wild" is an exclusive display of original artworks from RSABG’s archival collections complementing the “When They Were Wild” collaborative exhibition with The Huntington, Theodore Payne Foundation and Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden.

Join us at the opening reception for complimentary light refreshments, guided tours of the RSABG library's "Wild in Print" collection and guided tours of the "Where They Grow Wild" exhibit at RSABG.

Special thanks to exhibition sponsors Randall and Janell Lewis.

Read more about the "When They Were Wild" in Bart O'Brien's article.

Related Events

Some events listed below are open to Gold Card and Director's Circle members only. Read about RSABG membership levels here.

 Related events at The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, Calif.

March 9 – July 8, 2013
“When They Were Wild: Recapturing California’s Wildflower Heritage” at The Huntington
Free with RSABG membership.
A collaborative project of The Huntington, Theodore Payne Foundation and Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden. Special Membership Benefit-RSABG members may visit The Huntington at no charge through the duration of this special exhibition with a valid RSABG membership card.

Friday, March 8, 1 - 4 p.m.
RSABG Members Exhibition Preview
RSABG members can join The Huntington members in special exhibition preview at the Boone Gallery of the "When They Were Wild." Free admission to The Huntington.

Fri., March 8, 6 - 8 p.m.
Gold Card Member Exhibition Preview
RSABG Gold Card members are invited to join The Huntington donors for an exhibition preview and reception. This is an exclusive event for RSABG Gold Card members, reservation are required. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.

Sun., March 17, 5 - 9 p.m.
When They Were Wild Director’s Circle Dinner and Exhibition Tour
Dinner and behind-the-scenes tour of the “When They Were Wild” art exhibit with Bart O'Brien, co-curator. By invitation only. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.

Related events at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden

March 9 – July 8
“Where They Grow Wild”
Gallery open Friday - Sunday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Free with Garden admission or membership.
An exclusive display of original artworks from RSABG’s archival collections.

March 9 – July 8
“Wild in Print”
Library display open Mon. – Fri., 9 a.m. – 12 p.m., 1 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Free with Garden admission or membership.
Reproductions of beautiful book illustrations of California wildflowers from the RSABG library collections.

March 23 – June 9, Sat. and Sun., 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Weekend Wildflower Walks
Free with Garden admission or membership.
Wildflower Walks around Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden
Guided walking tours with RSABG nature interpreters featuring beautiful California wildflowers and seasonal highlights.

March 30, 31 and April 1, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Wildflower Show
Free with Garden admission or membership.
Free admission for visitors over 65 on Monday, April 1.
Special exhibition of wildflowers from across the region brought indoors for an intimate viewing. Monday, April 1, Wildflower Show Senior Day - free Garden admission and tram tours on April 1 for visitors over 65.

Sun., April 7, 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Blooms and Beauty of Bighorn Mountain
RSABG members $65, public $95
This outing will highlight a rare transition zone between the local mountains and the Mojave and Sonoran deserts. This outing has reached enrollment capacity. Please look for similar events in the future.

Saturday, April 20, 1 p.m.
Lorraine Passero: “Clara Mason Fox: Pioneer, Painter, and Poet of Orange County, California”
California Author Series Talk and Book Signing
Free with Garden admission or membership.
Lorraine Passero delves into the life of Clara Mason Fox, whose illustration “Eschscholzia californica, Silverado Canyon,” was selected to represent the “When They Were Wild” exhibition. Register online here.

Sunday, April 21 and Saturday, May 11
Bart O'Brien: “California Wildflowers and Early California Nurseries”
Sun., April 21, 1 p.m., at Grow Native Nursery in the Veterans Garden 100 Davis Ave., Los Angeles
Sat., May 11, 1 p.m., at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden
Free with Garden admission or membership.
Bart O’Brien discusses the unusual journey that California’s native wildflowers took into our gardens. Register online here.

An inspirational fusion of horticulture, science, conservation and art revitalizes the California Plant Communities at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden.

Step off the pavement onto a new trail designed to help you explore the diversity of plant life in California. Brightly painted arbors are your threshold—gateway—to plant community interpretative hubs along the Communities Trail.

Along this new loop path you can learn how each area will evolve so that RSABG may more effectively demonstrate California plant associations while also connecting horticulture, conservation and research.

Gateways to the Communities Exhibition Opening Events
Thursday, April 4 through Saturday, April 6

Gold Card Opening Reception
Thursday, April 4, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
An exclusive event for RSABG Gold Card members, reservations are required.
To register, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call (909) 625-8767 ext. 221.

Members-only Private Tours
Friday, April 5, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Beginning each hour, guided exhibition tours led by RSABG horticulturists.

Exhibition Public Grand Opening
Saturday, April 6, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Free with Garden admission or membership.

Fifty-five acres make up the California Plant Communities at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden

The California Plant Communities offer visitors a chance to experience the distinct regional association of plants that share growing conditions. But the communities are some of the least publicly appreciated areas in the Garden. Scott LaFleur, director of horticulture, is working to change that.

“I want to make the communities more understandable to visitors,” said LaFleur. “The Gateways to the Communities will help us tell the story of our collections and share information about the connections between botanical research and conservation horticulture.”

The Gateways project is a long-term undertaking and a critical aspect of RSABG master planning that involves reorganization of the California Plant Communities. The communities’ overhaul will help RSABG better convey plant diversity and adaptations within specific geographical boundaries such as the California islands, Baja California and scrub communities.

It will rearrange the communities and gardens to put the right plant in the right place, while preserving accessioned plants that cannot be moved. Following the Master Plan, The Gateways project creates the Communities Trail, a main loop around the California Plant Communities with educational signs and occasional respite with shade, water and plant and communities information.

More than a dozen arbors donated to RSABG will soon become the thresholds—gateways—to each plant community. The brightly colored arbors will be interpretative hubs along the Communities Trail and will offer visitors an opportunity to experience the creativity and ingenuity of the RSABG horticulturists who in addition to caring for the Garden’s beautiful plant collections are creating amazing environmental art in the California Plant Communities.

Peter Crane, dean of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies at Yale University, will come to Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden on Monday, April 8, 4 p.m.

Dean Crane will discuss his book "Ginkgo: The Tree that Time Forgot," (Yale University Press, 2013).

Perhaps the world’s most distinctive tree, ginkgo has remained stubbornly unchanged for more than two hundred million years. A living link to the age of dinosaurs, it survived the great ice ages as a relic in China, but it earned its reprieve when people first found it useful about a thousand years ago. Today, ginkgo is beloved for the elegance of its leaves, prized for its edible nuts, and revered for its longevity. This talk will tells the rich and engaging story of a tree that people saved from extinction—a story that offers hope for other botanical biographies that are still being written.

Dean Crane, former director of Chicago's Field Musuem and former chief executive of England's Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, was appointed the Carl W. Knobloch, Jr. Dean of Yale's environment school in 2009. His research is focused on the diversity of plant life; its origin and fossil history, its current status and its conservation and use.

Dean Crane was awarded the knighthood in 2004 for services to horticulture and conservation. During his tenure at The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, which spaned from 1999 until 2006, Dean Crane helped establish the Millennium Seed Bank in addition to other plant conservation programs. Kew is considered one of the most influential botanic gardens in the world.

Read more about Dean Crane on his Yale University faculty page or Yale News page.

This lecture is part of the Botany Seminar Series at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden. The Research Department hosts a seminar series that brings speakers on a wide range of topics in evolutionary biology and ecology to Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden throughout the academic year. Read more about the seminar series here.

This event is free and open to the public. Please check in at the admission kiosk prior to the lecture for admission.

by Duncan Bell
Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden Field Botanist

Several years ago Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden (RSABG) teamed up with the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) through a contract grant from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Department of Fish and Wildlife to do rare plant surveys across California deserts as part of the Rare Plant Treasure Hunt (RPTH) program. Last year marked the third year for RPTH, a program created and named by Josie Crowford of CNPS.

It is largely a citizen-science program with the goal of getting volunteers out in the field to experience California wild places and assist in rare plant surveys. These surveys largely target rare plant populations that haven’t been revisited in more than 20 years in order to evaluate the current status of these populations.

Many people may be under the impression that the desert is nothing rocks, lizards and an occasional spiny plant—an open wasteland to be crossed to get to Las Vegas or Lake Havasu. But California deserts hold more than 35 percent of the flora of California and have some of the areas of highest diversity for the state. There are many botanically unexplored mountain ranges and valleys out there. In 2012 alone, there were five plant species found in California deserts new to science described by RSABG scientists and researchers.

The Rare Plant Treasure Hunt program largely focuses on the California deserts often associated with the development of renewable energy projects. There are currently thousands of acres proposed for possible development, of which a great deal has had little botanical exploration.

It is the goal of the RPTH program to get volunteers out to these places to experience them first hand and to educate others on California’s diverse flora and the importance of its conservation.

Volunteers from the Sierra Club, the Desert Survivors Organizations, HabitatWorks, The Wildlands Conservancy, CNPS chapters and subchapters from across California have often participated with Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden in the Rare Plant Treasure Hunt. But many volunteers were not affiliated with any particular organization, but were just interested in joining the group to explore and learn about the desert and to have a personal experience with these wild places while doing so.

The spring field season in 2012 was one of the driest years on record for the California deserts; most areas got only 0.01 millimeters of rain or absolutely no rain at all. Watching the doppler in the winter of 2011-12 was often like watching a blank screen as there was so little weather action. Watching the weather stations and dopplers frequently helps plant scientists predict which areas may have germination or bloom. But even in dry years, the desert rarely disappoints and almost every area visited had at least one rare plant population if not dozens.

The summer field season seemed to the opposite as some parts of the California deserts received the most summer rain they have received in more than a decade. The eastern Mojave in particular had an amazing summer bloom and RSABG/RPTH participants were able to document around 100 rare plant populations on just a few trips.

A total of 24 trips were made in 2012. These trips ranged from day trips to three-day excursions into very remote places. We started in March at below sea level around the Salton Sea, topped out on Southern California’s highest peak on Mount San Gorgonio at 11,500 feet in July, and then headed back down to the lower elevations following the summer monsoonal storms in September. We documented around 300 rare plant populations. Many of these were newly documented. We trekked into the Panamint Mountains and found the type locality of the Panamint daisy (Enceliopsis covillei), which is the plant that has always adorned, and will continue to adorn, the CNPS logo; this population had not been revisited since Frederick Coville made the first collection of this plant in 1891 on the Death Valley expedition. The new species was later named for him. We found the first population of Abrams spurge (Chamaesyce abramsiana) in Imperial County in 100 years; all historic populations from Imperial County are likely extirpated due to development and agriculture. We documented many range extensions of rare plants, locating populations where they had never been found before. We provided information that aided in the evaluation of plant species for the CNPS inventory, including information about its abundance (or lack thereof!) in California and about threats to historic occurrences of a given species. We had many wonderful treks into some amazing places and spent many nights under star filled skies. All in all, it was a very successful and productive year.

If you would like to learn more about the Rare Plant Treasure Hunt program please visit the Rare Plant Treasure Hunt Website.

Act Now! Save Taxes and Help the Garden Grow!

Make a Gift to Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden through your IRA

There is now an additional way to make a tax-efficient gift to Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden. Congress has passed legislation to extend the IRA Charitable Rollover for 2013.

Offered as part of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, the IRA Charitable Rollover allows individuals age 70 1/2 and older to make direct transfers totaling up to $100,000 per year to 501(c)(3) charities such as Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, without counting the transfers as income for federal income tax purposes. The IRA Charitable Rollover is retroactive and includes gifts in 2012 and 2013.

To make a donation to Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden:

For the 2013 tax year make your gift by direct distribution from your IRA to Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden between January 1 and December 31, 2013. Please notify RSABG in writing, by email or by phone.

To qualify for the rollover:

1. You must be at least 70-1/2 years of age when the gift is made.
2. The gifts from the IRA cannot exceed $100,000 per person ($200,000 for a couple) in a given year.
3. Gifts must be outright.
4. No goods or services can be received in exchange.

To learn more about how you can convert your taxable IRA distribution and potentially reduce your taxes, contact the Development Office at (909) 625-8767 ext. 222 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Individuals should consult with their legal and financial advisors before making an IRA gift to charity. The Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden Development and Business Offices cannot render tax or legal advice.

Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden 2013 Family Bird Fest results have been tabulated and submitted!

These results were recorded during Family Bird Fest on Feb. 17, 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden volunteers, staff and visitors and Pomona Valley Audubon Society members helped gather the data. More information about the Great Backyard Bird Count can be found here.

Total species: 41

Canada Goose 30 (flying overhead)
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
Cooper's Hawk 4
Red-shouldered Hawk 2
Red-tailed Hawk 3
Rock Pigeon 2
Band-tailed Pigeon 17
Mourning Dove 39
Anna's Hummingbird 43
Rufous Hummingbird 2
Allen's Hummingbird 3
Acorn Woodpecker 9
Nuttall's Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 7
Black Phoebe 13
Cassin's Kingbird 1
Steller's Jay 1
Western Scrub-Jay 57
American Crow 7
Mountain Chickadee 4
Oak Titmouse 6
Bushtit 21
Bewick's Wren 13
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 4
Wrentit 8
Hermit Thrush 2
Northern Mockingbird 3
California Thrasher 10
Phainopepla 4
Yellow-rumped Warbler 15
Spotted Towhee 27
California Towhee 46
Chipping Sparrow 23
Song Sparrow 3
Lincoln's Sparrow 1
White-crowned Sparrow 14
Dark-eyed Junco 34
House Finch 28
Lesser Goldfinch 26
American Goldfinch 4

Spring Hours at Grow Native Nursery
February through May

Grow Native Nursery Claremont
Wednesday through Saturday 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.
Sunday 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.

Grow Native Nursery in the Veterans Garden
Wednesday through Saturday 9 a.m. until 6 p.m.
Sunday 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.

Read more about Grow Native Nursery, a nonprofit nursery open to the public dedicated to California native plants.