This event has been cancelled. The Los Altos Library informed us that all public programs in March have been cancelled due to the coronav irus. We will try to reschedule this talk later in the year.
Join us for the latest Chapter announcements and student presentations, me et fellow members and guests and enjoy a program together! Dr. Justen Whitt all will discuss the role of flower color in determining taxonomic boundari es, conservation status and restoration priorities for jewelflowers (St reptanthus sp.) on Coyote Ridge in south San Jose. He will provide upd ates on the “good news” of the reintroduced populations of the white-flower ed Metcalf Canyon jewelflower (S. albidus ssp. albidus) a top Tulare Hill nearby.
More recently, his team has turned their atte ntion to the closely related, and comparably rare, pink-flowered most beaut iful jewelflower (Streptanthus albidus ssp. peramoenus). They have been investigating the evolutionary and ecological distincti veness of this controversial taxon. The consistent differences in sepal col or and geography between the Metcalf Canyon and most beautiful jewelflowers support continued recognition of these rarities as distinct taxa. Developi ng a field-ready tool for reliable taxon identification based on sepal colo r is his team’s next challenge.
Justen B. Whittal l was born in Santa Clara; he grew up running trails in the south County an d surfing Santa Cruz beaches. He received a BS from Santa Clara University, an MS from Oregon State and a Ph.D. from UC Santa Barbara in Plant Ev olution (focusing on North America columbines). Justen has been an Associat e Professor at Santa Clara University in Biology since 2007. He has expande d his research to include flower color evolution in arctic mustards (Pa rrya) and Mediterranean campions (Silene), plus conservation genetics restoration ecology of Strepthanhus and wallflowers ( Erysimum). Justen is also the Editor-in- chief of Madroño, a peer-reviewed quarterly journal from the California Botanical Society.