NEWS RELEASE
Oakland Museum of California
www.museumca.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
29 March 2007

California Wildflower Show Blooms at Oakland Museum of California
Museum celebrates Mother Nature and Mother’s Day May 12 & 13

Tony Morosco, Club-Haired Mariposa Lily Calochortus clavatus

The colorful Bigelow’s Sneezeweed, Purple Mouse-ears, and Seep Monkey flowers are some of the likely specimens on display at this year’s Annual California Wildflower Show, at the Oakland Museum of California the weekend of May 12-13. Lilies, orchids, and poppies chime in for a riot of blues and hues.

The Wildflower Show is a great place for moms on Sunday, May 13, when the museum celebrates Mother’s Day with family activities (1–4 p.m.) and a concert (2–3 p.m.) with African drumming and mariachi musicians. Admission is free on May 13, one of the museum’s free Second Sundays.

A popular spring tradition at the museum, the Wildflower Show offers a profusion of freshly gathered native species (none endangered) on display, in arrangements, and dissected for study. On Saturday, May 12, the show is included with museum admission .

The search for flowers will center on the western slope of the Sierra and east of the Bay Area, in the western foothills. “We’ll drive east until we find ’em!” said Christopher Richard, natural sciences curator with the museum.

This year the museum has added wildflower talks over the weekend:

What is the California Native Plant Garden? (Saturday, 1 p.m.) East Bay landscape architect David Bigham shares his years of experience creating residential and commercial gardens with California native plants.

Sierra Nevada Scenes and Flora. (Saturday, 3 p.m.) Dr. Linda Ann Vorobik, botanical illustrator, teacher, and researcher, plans a slide show guide, based on her forthcoming book, to the many diverse areas and habitats within the Sierra.

Tony Morosco, Indian Warrior Pedicularis densiflora

Creating California Native Gardens. (Sunday, 1 p.m.) Bay Area botanist, teacher and author Glenn Keator talks about creating gardens according to plant community—chaparral, grassland, redwood forest, and oak woodland. Tips on pesticides, fertilizers, and watering.

Seeking Inspiration and Direction for Landscaping with Natives While Exploring Our Wild Places. (Sunday, 3 p.m.) Pete Veilleux, founder of East Bay Wilds native landscape firm, uses his photos and personal explorations to advise what to plant where.

The fragrant and colorful annual Wildflower Show is a field day for armchair botanists and nature lovers. The museum displays more than 200 species and up to 300 specimens to be admired and examined. Microscope stations allow a closer look at the flowers’ complex structures and, occasionally, their insect inhabitants.

California Native Plant Society volunteers will be on hand all weekend to answer questions. Visitors can learn how to use native species in their gardens and conserve the state’s botanical diversity, or get information about existing threats to native wildflower populations and the organizations devoted to their protection. Representatives of Calflora will demonstrate their native plant ID web site.

Preparation for the annual Wildflower Show begins with three- to four-day gathering trips. The first days are spent prospecting for specimens, which are later carefully collected “in bud,” kept in a bleach and sugar solution for freshness, and driven to the museum in shaded, air-conditioned cars to prevent heat damage. Botanists quickly sort, identify, and label them for the show. A cadre of floral arrangers prepares the flowers for display.

Stunning posters from previous California Wildflower Shows will be available for a nominal donation. Note cards based on the 2007 poster will also be for sale.

A list of the species in the 2007 show can be found here.

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The annual California Wildflower Show is organized by the Oakland Museum of California in collaboration with the California Native Plant Society, which monitors the collecting; the Jepson Herbarium of the University of California, Berkeley; the University of California Botanical Garden; and the San Francisco Botanical Garden. It is presented with the support of the East Bay Municipal Utility District, the Natural Sciences Guild, and members of the Oakland Museum of California.

Museum hours for the California Wildflower Show are 10 to 5 on Saturday and 12 to 5 on Sunday. Admission on Saturday, May 12 is $8 for adults, $5 seniors and students with ID, and free for museum members, kids five and under, and Oakland city employees. Sunday, May 13, is a free Second Sunday. The museum is located at 1000 Oak & 10th Street, one block from the Lake Merritt BART. For more information, visit www.museumca.org or call 510/238-2200.
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