The California Native Plant Society (CNPS) was formed in 1965 in the East Bay region. Today it is a statewide organization with thirty-three chapters. The East Bay Chapter covers Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. The state organization and the local chapters work together to increase understanding of California's native flora and to preserve this rich resource for future generations.

The flower in the banner at top is that of Grindelia hirsutula. Photo by Janice Bray

Click on the button to make a donation to the CNPS East Bay Chapter general fund.

 Native Here Nursery is on Facebook.

Photographs of native plants and related activity

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SUPPORT CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANTS

Calendar of Chapter Events

For twenty years amateurs and professionals concerned with the East Bay flora have found Barbara Ertter’s Annotated Checklist of the East Bay Flora an indispensable resource. Now Dr. Ertter and restoration ecologist, botanist and photographer Lech Naumovich have produced a second edition incorporating a wealth of new information. The book is available at Native Here Nursery and at the East Bay Chapter membership programs.  It may be ordered from Delia Taylor, deliataylor@me.com.  You may also order the book online by clicking on the Paypal button labeled "Buy Now" and following the instructions. 

Close-up of huge display of lupine, Knowland Park, Oakland.  Photo by Mack Casterman.

2013 Conservation Analyst Appeal

Thanks to our Chapter members and supporters of the Conservation Analyst Fund we have reached our goal of $40,000 for 2013.

Special thanks go to Thomas Wolf, whose generous donation brought us to the finish line.

The work of the Chapter Conservation Analyst, Mack Casterman, in defense of our local native plants and their habitat greatly strengthens our program. See the Chapter Conservation Blog for information about the East Bay Chapter’s conservation activities.

The Guidebook to the Botanical Priority Protection Areas of the East Bay is now available online.  Click here to access this marvelous resource, which includes a beautiful interactive map.

Rescue Tesla Park's natural treasures

Buttercup (Ranunculus californica) at Tesla Park.  Photo by Mack Casterman.

 Visit the Friends of Tesla Park web site, to learn more about the Friends' efforts to prevent  destruction of 3,400 acres of eastern Alameda County native habitat, and to get involved. 

 As a Friend, EBCNPS supports establishing Tesla Park as a non-motorized low impact historic  and natural resource park and preserve. 

 Also visit the State Parks web site announcing the first public meeting regarding development of  the General Plan and EIR Scoping public workshop for the expansion of Carnegie State Vehicular  Recreation Area.

Native grassland in Knowland Park  Photo by Mack Casterman

Alameda County Measure A1 was soundly defeated on Tuesday, November 6 thanks to the efforts of EBCNPS and its allies*. The defeat of Measure A1 is a resounding call from voters, not just in Oakland, but throughout the County, that Knowland Park is valuable and deserves to be protected. The success of our campaign has put Knowland Park on the map, and put us one step closer to gaining permanent protection for the Park and the plants and animals that call it home.

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AN IMPORTANT ADVANCE IN THE SYSTEMATICS OF CALIFORNIA PLANTS:

The Jepson eFlora is now on line.

See http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/IJM.html

The Jepson eFlora initially parallels the second edition of The Jepson Manual, Vascular Plants of California, which is the work of 300 authors and editors being published by the University of California Press.

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The East Bay Chapter of CNPS wants to keep track of rare and endemic native plants and plant communities in the East Bay. Within our catalogue of native plant species there is an abundance of rarity: from Mount Diablo endemics to Pleistocene relicts; narrowly distributed taxa to peripheral populations; and species that have suffered extirpations from changes in vegetation composition resulting from the introduction of non-native plant species or directly from human development. Based on the CNPS Inventory of Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Plants of California, a total of 127 of these plant species are currently known from our Chapter area. These species are separated into five categories of rarity: [Read more about the EBCNPS Rare Plant Program referred to in the poster above.]