Field Trip Czar Lynn reported that, though there were no organized field trips planned, there were plenty of places to go this month. This includes the San Gabriel C&SS winter show, sales at the Fullerton Arboretum and the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, as well as our local CNPS native plant sale. She also mentioned that we should think about some more rock gathering trips now that the weather has cooled (the rocks are being used at the Cal State succulent garden).

Show & Sale chair Maynard gave us some facts and figures about last weekend’s show:

342 plants were entered in the show!
We made more money this year than last year.
We netted about $900.

If you have any ideas about what kind of books to acquire for the library, let an officer know about it (now that we have some cash to spend). Also, if anyone knows of someone that might have a program that the club would like to hear, let us know.

Maynard, meanwhile, slipped into a phone booth and changed from mild-mannered club treasurer to University Professor -- botanist extraordinaire, able to leap tall cactus in a single bound (okay, sometimes it takes him two bounds). He then gave his presentation “Strange Plants of South Africa.” The presentation focused on the similarities of plants in South Africa and California as well as the immense diversity of plants that exist in South Africa. This includes a vast number of succulents. Maynard explained some of the reasons that this diversity exists like high seed predation, short-range seed dispersal, and pollinators that travel far. We saw excellent pictures of both landscapes and plants (even the inside of a Fennestraria).

The meeting ended with the raffle with members and guests winning some fantastic plants.