Seed Gallery (California Ark)

For the last year or so, my dad (the consummate naturalist and forester) has been working on a seed gathering project. Collecting seeds is a great idea, both for plant propagation in our gardens, and for preservation. Seed banks help preserve genetic diversity, provide a source for plant breeders, protect heritage plant varieties, and provide a seed source in case of natural disasters or war. In my dad’s case, I suspect he is just having pure, science fun!

Here is a gallery of some of the seeds collected throughout California. The pictures are taken with my Plugable Digital Microscope. I’m still working on techniques for using the tool to take botanical photos. In this case, I tried using a light table below the seed, but not sure it adds much (compare with Zooming In).

Pimpenella anisum (Anise)	Encelia farinose (Brittle Bush)
Washingtonia filifera (California Fan Palm)	Yucca brevifolia (Joshua Tree)
Marah macrocarpus (Wild Cucumber)	Unidentified - grass-like plant

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Plant Propagation – Dividing

A couple of months ago we changed our “Birds and Bees” series from sexual reproduction to asexual reproduction (see Plant Propagation– Cuttings, and Plant Propagation – Runners). We learned that asexual reproduction results in an offspring that is a genetic clone of its parent. Some plants produce offsets in the form of a new plant or bulbs.

Gardeners can benefit from these plant habits, by dividing a clump or digging up the bulbs, and replanting. Here are a couple of division projects I worked on this summer, using Jack Kraemer’s Grow Your Own Plants as my inspiration and guide.

Agapanthus spp. (Agapanthus)

I love Agapanthus. Our home came with a good collection of blue and white Agapanthus, and I have encouraged their growth all over the property. Some decry them as being common, and non-native. But I find them amazing and indestructible – thriving in both drought and monsoon.

Agapanthus originated in Southern Africa. They are monocots, and grow in clumps, sometimes even above soil. Periodically I dig up the clumps, and divide them by teasing apart their fleshy roots. They transplant easily to other garden beds, or to containers.

Agapanthus transplants

Agapanthus offsets ready to pull apart

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Crocosmia spp. (Crocosmia)

Our friends, Keith and Beth (both avid gardeners working their steep, terraced backyard) gave us some Crocosmia corms soon after we moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. Beth warned me that the plants are a bit invasive, so I planted them in a large container. Here in the Bay Area, the plants grow, flower, and die back twice a year. They bring a dash of orange color to the back patio when in bloom, and the long, strappy leaves catch the light in a beautiful way.

Crocosmia is native to the grasslands of Southern and Eastern Africa, from South Africa to Sudan. They are monocots, and grow from underground corms (often in chains, with the youngest corm on top and the oldest buried in the soil). The leaves have parallel veins, characteristic of monocots. Periodically I dig up the corms, thinning them out to give the remainder a little more room.

Crocosmia in a container

Crocosmia corms (and seeds)

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This brings our Plant Propagation series to an end for the year. We have barely scratched the surface of the topic, so look for more articles and projects in the future. In the meantime, I encourage you to look for ways to propagate your favorite plants. Redistribute the clones in your own garden, swap them with friends for genetic diversity, or give them away as gifts. You’ll save some money, spread some cheer, and participate in fun and practical science at the same time!

Tree Registries

Big trees are good for the planet, and for our health and wellbeing. A lot of cities, states, and nations are starting to take big trees seriously by registering and protecting them. Look at a few of the local and national registries that I found:

Registry or Site	Description
Oakland Big Tree Registry	Maintained by the City of Oakland (many cities maintain a tree registry) See the current list of Oakland’s big trees. See the Coast Redwood, and the Monterey Cypress: http://www2.oaklandnet.com/oakca1/groups/pwa/documents/webcontent/oak025516.pdf
California Register of Big Trees	Maintained by the Urban Forest Ecosystems Institute of CalPoly See the current list of California’s big trees, and search through the collection of 270 Big Tree listings and 153 National Champion listings:  https://californiabigtrees-test.calpoly.edu/
National Register of Champion Trees	See the current list of big trees found throughout the United States. For example, the champion spruce tree (Picea sitchensis) is found in Grays Harbor county, in Washington). https://www.americanforests.org/get-involved/americas-biggest-trees/champion-trees-national-register/
Archangel Ancient Tree Archive	This is both an archive of ancient tree clones, and a mission to propagate old-growth trees for reforestation. You can help. https://www.ancienttreearchive.org/
UNESCO World Heritage Sites	This is not a registry, but you can access the World Heritage List, and perform an advanced search using the theme “Forests”. Peruse the resulting sites. For example, select Madagascar, and The Tsingy de Bemaraha Strict Nature Reserve; or the Olympic National Park in Washington statue in the United States. http://whc.unesco.org/en/list

Next time you’re in the mood for trees, whether in your local neighborhood or travelling, check out a big tree registry for a registered tree near you!

Special thanks to Barry Adams, Community Outreach Coordinator at Lawn Starter, for alerting me about outdated links. He also recommended this fascinating article, Reborn – Redwoods Cloned from Giant Stumps Live Again. The article mentions the Archangel Ancient Tree Archive, a nonprofit organization that works to propagate the world’s most important old-growth trees before they vanish. I've added them to the list. Thank you, Barry!

--Margaret Quisenberry, 8/14/2021