A Haitian orchid is enjoying celebrity status at the UC Botanical Garden, after scientists discovered that the long-time Garden resident is a distinct new species.

A low-growing plant with showy red-orange flowers, the plant has been in the Garden collection since the 1990s, bearing the name Maxillaria croceorubens

Ornithidium donaldeedodii

. But recent DNA analysis of flower and leaf material from the orchid, provided by the Garden, confirmed that the plant, in fact, is genetically distinct from M. croceorubens; study of its physical form and structure confirm its uniqueness.

The new orchid species - described recently in Lankesteriana, the international journal on orchidology - is named Ornithidium donaldeedodii, after orchidologist Donald Dod, who collected the specimen in the 1980s and served, in his later years, as a research associate for the UC Herbarium. Dod died in 2008, at 95. Read more...

 

by Bryan Gim
Volunteer Propagator Coordinator & Horticulturist, Arid House

This cultivar of the native silktassel bush is more compact and denser than 'James Roof'. The 8 to 10 inch catkins are shorter but more profuse. It is an evergreen shrub or small tree and grows to 10 feet. Give it full sun to part shade, and good drainage. Winter brings a dazzling display when it is covered in catkins of creamy white flowers with a maroon tinge. We have nice one-gallon pots for $15.00.

 

On-Site: Stop by the Garden Kiosk

Phone: 510-643-2755 x0

FAX: 510-642-3012

Mail: 200 Centennial Dr � Berkeley � CA 94720-5045

Special Gift if You Visit and Join on These Days
National Public Gardens Day: Friday, May 7
Mothers Day: Sunday, May 9
Visit the Garden and make a membership gift (or a gift membership) and we will give you a fine art print by Gary Bukovnik.

And to say veritie, and not to fable,
We are a merry rout, or else a rable,
Or company, or, by a figure, Choris, That fore thy dignitie will dance a Morris. - John Fletcher and William Shakespeare, The Two Noble Kinsmen (1684)

Sick Plant Clinic
Saturday, May 1,  9 am - noon

Berkeley Morris Dancers
Saturday, May 1,  12:15 - 12:45 pm
Welcome the merry month of May with a performance in the Garden entry plaza by the Berkeley Morris dancers. Morris dancing is a living tradition, linking pastoral communities of long ago with the cities, towns, and extended communities we live in today.
Free with Garden admission

Bringing Back the Natives
Sunday, May 2, noon & 2 pm
Come celebrate natives with our two special tour offerings. At noon families can join docents to learn about California Natives: Plants and People on our popular ethnobotanical tour.
At 2 pm join docent and California native propagator, Cristina Campbell,  on a tour through the California collection.
Free with Garden admission

National Public Gardens Day 
Friday, May 7,  9 - 5 pm
Come support your favorite public garden. To show our gratitude for your support we'll be handing out postcards and free one-time use passes to all visitors who come through this day.
Sign up for a membership and receive a fine art print (for details see the Membership Matters article in this Clippings). There will be docent tours at 11 am and 1 pm leaving from the Garden Shop.
Free with garden admission

Succulents for Little Green Thumbs
Saturday, May 8,   2  - 3 pm
Children of all ages, together with their parent/guardian, will explore amazing succulents, discover where and how they grow, and pot-up their plants to take home. The program features a mini-tour of the Arid House and Desert collections, and refreshments made from edible succulents.
$20, $17 members; price includes one adult and one child; $12 each additional child or adult per family, Registration required

Ragas and Redwoods:
Indian Classical Music in the Grove
Sunday, May 9,   2  - 4 pm   Mothers Day!
Join visiting artists from India Partha Bose on sitar with tabla player Indranil Mallick at this special Mother's Day concert. Perfect for families.
$15, $12 members


Horticultural Walk
Thursday, May 13, 1 - 2:30 pm
Join Horticulturist of the California Area Ken Bates on this special tour through the Garden's California collection.
$10; Free for Members, Space is limited; Registration required

Vertical Gardens
Saturday, May 15, 1 - 3 pm
Join guest horticulturists and designers from Flora Grubb Gardens in San Francisco to learn how to design vertical gardens. You'll learn the appropriate plants to use, their care and you will plant a vertical garden to take home with you.
$50, $40 members, Registration required

A Walk Through the Garden of Old Roses

Garden of Old Roses

Saturday, May 15, 10 am - noon
Join horticulturist Peter Klement for a lovely morning stroll through the Garden of Old Roses at the peak of its bloom. Discover the rose's rich historical background and listen to amazing ethnobotanical tales.
$20, $15 members, Registration required

Introduction to Chinese Traditional Medicine
Sunday, May 23, 10 am - noon
Come listen to Anastacia White, practitioner and teacher of Chinese Traditional Medicine talk on the principles of CTM. The talk will be followed by a walk in the Garden's Chinese Medicinal Herb Garden.
$20, $15 members, Registration required

Monthly Butterfly Walks
Tuesday, May 25, 3 - 4 pm Join Sally Levinson, Garden volunteer propagator, docent and caterpillar lady as she guides you through the collection in search of butterflies. Rain cancels this walk.
Free with Garden admission; Space is limited; Registration required; Children welcome

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Always check the Garden Calendar for event details and updates.
Reservations are accepted daily, including weekends, 9 am - 4:30 pm.
Call 510-643-2755 x03 for event registration or to purchase/renew a membership.

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Did you know there are over 500 public gardens in the United States?

National Public Gardens Day was established to raise public awareness of America's public gardens and their important role in promoting environmental stewardship and education, plant and water conservation, and education in communities nationwide.

Visit our Garden on May 7. We'll be handing out postcards and free one-time use passes to all visitors who come through this day. Sign up for a membership and receive a fine art print (for details see the Membership Matters article in this Clippings). There will be docent tours at 11 am and 1 pm leaving from the Garden Shop.

 

The UC Garden Clippings is a publication of the University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley. You can manage your subscriptions to Garden electronic publications by choosing Update Profile/Email Address at the bottom of this Clippings. The Update Profile/Email Address feature provides subscription options, allowing you to select those garden publications you wish to receive. Select Safe Unsubscribe to remove your email address from all UCBG electronic publications. The Garden offers five email publications:

• UC Garden Clippings: This is a monthly publication featuring garden events and stories.
• Updates: Occasional brief emails are sent to highlight special garden events.
• Plant Deck: This is a monthly email describing plants available for purchase in the Garden.
• Garden Clubs: This is an occasional publication describing special events and opportunities for garden clubs and plant societies.
• Tours: Be the first to know when the Garden has a new tour available for schools and other groups. Get details on arranging tours for your group.
• Garden Events & Programs: This is a quarterly preview of upcoming workshops, classes, tours and festivities.
  

Editor: Vanessa Crews, vcrews@berkeley.edu, 510-643-2937