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Looking for Some High-Class California Cacti in the Wild by S.W. Edwards, Ph.D. Garden director Steve Edwards shares his passion for California's superlative cactus flora and his experiences with some of his favorite cacti in the wild. California Cactus Flowers and Their Pollinators by Stephen Ingram Cactus flowers are ephemeral, beautiful, and exhibit intriguing features that attract specific pollinators. The Cactus Clan: Cactaceae by Glenn Keator Arising from ancient ancestors adapted to drought, cacti are stem succulents that have successfully colonized a range that extends from southern Canada to the deserts of South America. Cacti, Agaves, and Yuccas of California and Nevada by Stephen Ingram reviewed by Sue Rosenthal Cacti, Agaves, and Yuccas of California and Nevada by Stephen Ingram is a thorough, beautifully illustrated, and accessible guide to the general characteristics of California's and Nevada's cacti, agaves, and yuccas as well as to more than 60 individual taxa.

Over some seventy years now, California's four large native botanic gardens--Rancho Santa Ana, Santa Barbara, U.C. Berkeley, and the Regional Parks--have played vital roles in the introduction of native cultivars. These great gardens have joined a number of private nurseries in this endeavor.

Most cultivars are clones, in other words they involve genetically identical plants reproduced vegetatively. A cultivar may begin as a selection made in the field, for instance an unusually floriferous individual that really stands out from run-of-the-mill examples of a common species. Or it may begin as a hybrid individual that unexpectedly appears in a garden setting where two species that could never have a chance to interbreed in the wild are growing together. A cultivar could even begin as a mutant new branch with unusual foliage on a tree that hitherto seemed unremarkable. . .

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The Role of the Regional Parks Botanic Garden in the Preservation of Rare Plants
By Joe Dahl
From Volume 3, Number 2, Summer 1999

With the coming of warmer weather the perennial and deciduous plants of the Regional Parks Botanic Garden have emerged. The warmer weather has brought an increase in visitors who are lured by the pleasant weather and the new, lush, late spring growth that appears to have renewed the Garden. Beds that appeared empty over the winter months are now covered in leafy mounds and flowers of many colors.

Lately, I have been approached by Garden visitors who wish to compliment the staff on the wonderful appearance of the Garden. It occurred to me that there are aspects of the Garden beyond its obvious beauty that many visitors may not be aware of. Not only does the Regional Parks Botanic Garden house an extensive collection of California native plants, but many of the plants in the collection are listed as rare or rare and endangered by the state of California. In the Garden are also examples of plants that have become extinct in the wild...

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