Saturday, April 14, 2007
Time: 9:00 AM to Noon.
Meet at the Wisura Gate entrance to the Garden (at the northeast end of the visitor parking lot).
Trip leader: Bart O’Brien, Senior Staff Research Associate, Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden.
This walking tour of the Garden will focus on some of the more interesting botanical highlights of Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden’s living collection including: a rare F1 Quercus x morehus, an F2 Quercus x ganderi, Arctostaphylos australis a rare and unusual manzanita from Baja California, Mortonia utahensis a limestone endemic from the eastern Mojave, both boojums (Fouquieria columnaris), our single site native specimen of Quercus durata var. gabrielensis, and many other unusual plants. We will also visit our large groves of Pinus quadrifolia and Adenostoma sparsiflorum. Many of our plants should be in full bloom at this time, and there are always many birds and lizards to observe.
Expect to cover a lot of territory within the Garden’s 86 acres – much of our time will be spent in the Plant Communities portion of the Garden (our northern 55 acres). Wear comfortable shoes and bring some water – in case it is warm! If it is raining, we will focus on sheltered parts of the Garden including the nursery, greenhouses, seed collection, growth chambers, etc. until the rain stops or noon