News from the Bernard Field Station

We’ve recently updated the BFS Plant List. Here are the changes:

NEW ADDITIONS:

Eleven new plants have been added to the list – five natives, four non-natives, and two California native that appear to have been planted – it seems that someone has been seeding the parkway with wildflowers! They new additions are:

• Sunflower Family (Asteraceae):

• Chaenactis artemisiifolia (White Pincushion) – native. A single plant was spotted growing in the upper Neck.
  

  White Pincushion (Chaenactis artemisiifolia) growing in the ‘Neck’. ©Nancy Hamlett.

• Erigeron foliosus var. foliosus (Leafy Fleabane) – native. A number of these are growing in two patches in the East Field burn area.
  

  Leafy Fleabane (Erigeron foliosus var. foliosus) growing in the East Field. ©Nancy Hamlett.

• Dimorphotheca sinuata (African Daisy) – non-native. This southern African native is widely grown as an ornamental and has naturalized in Southern California and Arizona. At the BFS, several plants were spotted in the burn area west of the drive.
  

  African Daisy (Dimorphotheca sinuata) growing amid Phacelia distans in the burn area just west of the entry drive. ©Nancy Hamlett.

• Borage Family (Boraginaceae)

• Emmenanthe penduliflora var. penduliflora (Whispering Bells) – native. A single plant of this charming Phacelia relative was spotted in the sage scrub southeast of pHake Lake.
  
  

  Whispering Bells (Emmenanthe penduliflora var. penduliflora) growing southeast of pHake Lake. ©Nancy Hamlett.

• Phacelia campanularia (Desert Bluebells) – CA native, but not endemic to the BFS. Spotted in the parkway where it was likely seeded as part of a wildflower mix.
  

  Desert Bluebells (Phacelia campanularia) growing in the Mills Ave parkway. ©Nancy Hamlett.

• Phacelia cicutaria var. hispida (Caterpillar Phacelia) – native. Several plants were growing next to the trail on the south side of pHake Lake. Although recorded at other sites in Claremont, this species had not previously been reported at the BFS.
  

  Caterpillar Phacelia (Phacelia cicutaria var. hispida) growing by the path on the south side of the lake. ©Nancy Hamlett.

• Mustard Family (Brassicaceae)

• Eruca vesicaria ssp. sativa (Garden Rocket) – non-native. Salad anyone? Several plants of Garden Rocket, also known as arugula, appeared behind the infirmary. This Mediterranean native has naturalized in Southern California, but is not considered invasive.
  

  Garden Rocket (Eruca vesicaria ssp. sativa) growing behind the infirmary. ©Nancy Hamlett.

• Goosefoot Family (Chenopodiaceae)

Several plants of two species known as Russian Thistle or tumbleweed were spotted in the East Field. Besides being quite prickly, these Eurasian natives contain high levels of toxic oxalates and serve as an alternate host for a leaf-hopper that carries a virus of important agricultural crops. Although the California Invasive Plant Council considers their impact “Limited”, we plan to remove them whenever we spot them.

• Salsola australis (Russian Thistle) – non-native
  
  

  Russian Thistle (Salsola australis) near Mills Avenue in the East Field. ©Nancy Hamlett.

• Salsola tragus (Russian Thistle) – non-native
  
  

  Russian Thistle (Salsola tragus) near Mills Avenue in the East Field. ©Nancy Hamlett.

• Legume (Bean & Pea) Family (Fabaceae)

• Lupinus succulentus (Arroyo Lupine) – native. Several plants of Arroyo Lupine appeared behind the field house.
  

  Arroyo Lupine (Lupinus succulentus) growing behind the field house. ©Nancy Hamlett.

• Lupinus nanus (Sky Lupine) – CA native, but not endemic to the BFS Like P. campanularia, L. nanus was spotted in the parkway where, like the Desert Bluebells, it was likely seeded as part of a wildflower mix.
  

  Sky Lupine (Lupinus nanus) growing in the Foothill Blvd Parkway. ©Nancy Hamlett.

NAME CHANGES:

Advances in plant phylogeny – largely through the newer molecular techniquest – have led to new understanding of the relationships of many plant species and, in some cases, to changes in taxonom. Here are the recent name changes of BFS plants:

• Chamaesyce albomarginata to Euphorbia albomarginata
• Chamaesyce serpyllifolia to Euphorbia serpyllifolia
• Trifolium gracilentum var. gracilentum to Trifolium gracilentum
• Juglans californica var. californica to Juglans californica
• Calandrinia ciliata to Calandrinia menziesii
• Anagallis arvensis to Lysimachia arvensis
• Phoradendron serotinum ssp. macrophyllum to Phoradendron leucarpum ssp. macrophyllum

SUBTRACTIONS:

We have not been able to confirm the following plants as being present on the BFS; consequently, we’ve moved them to the list of “Unconfirmed plant reports”. If you spot any of these at the BFS, please let us know, and we’ll document them and restore them to the main plant list:

• Baccharis salicina (Emory Baccharis)
• Hazardia squarrosa (Saw-toothed Goldenbush)
• Isocoma menziesii (Coastal Goldenbush, Menzie’s Goldenbush)
• Epilobium canum ssp. canum (California Fuchsia)
• Eulobus californicus (Mustard Evening-Primrose)
• Navarretia hamata (Hooked Navarretia)

Tags: African Daisy, Arroyo Lupine, Caterpillar Phacelia, Chaenactis artemisiifolia, Desert Bluebells, Dimorphotheca sinuata, Emmenanthe penduliflora, Erigeron foliosus, Eruca vesicaria, Garden Rocket, Leafy Fleabane, Lupinus nanus, Lupinus succulentus, Phacelia campanularia, Phacelia cicutaria, plants, Russian Thistle, Salsola australis, Salsola tragus, Sky Lupine, Whispering Bells, White Pincushion