Succulents and More™

I took advantage of the break between Christmas and New Year to visit the University of California Botanical Garden (UCBG) at Berkeley, about an hour from Davis. As expected, there were few visitors, which made for a leisurely pace and allowed me to take as many photos as I wanted, even in places that are often crowded (like the small Tropical House). Unfortunately, what was forecast to be an overcast day (good for photography) turned out to be sunny, so taking photographs in forested areas was all but impossible. UCBG covers 30+ acres and is subdivided into nine major geographic regions (Mediterranean, Southern Africa, New World Desert, Mexico/Central America, South America, Eastern North America, California, Asia, Australasia) and several special collections (like Orchid, Fern & Carnivorous Plant House, Arid House, Tropical House, Cycad & Palm Garden, Garden of Old Roses, Crops of the World Garden, Herb Garden, Chinese Medicinal Herb Garden). I didn’t walk through all areas...

In far Northern California where my parents-in-law live, manzanitas (genus Arctostaphylos ) are among the most widespread native shrubs. According to Wikipedia, manzanitas (approximately 60 different species) are found from British Columbia, Canada all the way down to northern and central Mexico. There are ground-hugging species barely a foot tall to small trees 6 ft. or more in height. All except one species are evergreen, and they share small urn-shaped flowers in shades or white and pink, and fruit that look like tiny apples (“manzanita” means “small apple” in Spanish). Greenleaf manzanita ( Arctostaphylos patula ) flower Photo source: Wikimedia Commons Greenleaf manzanita ( Arctostaphylos patula ) fruit Photo source: © 2009 Keir Morse, Encyclopedia of Life The dominant manzanita species in Mount Shasta is greenleaf manzanita ( Arctostaphylos patula ). It is native to the coniferous forests of the Western U.S. and grows at moderate to high elevations (the town of Mo...