Join us for the latest Chapter announcements and a student presentation, and enjoy a program together!

You may have spotted some of our beautiful jewelflowers on hikes recently - but which one is which? Dr. Justen Whittall will discuss the role of flower color in determining taxonomic boundaries, conservation status and restoration priorities for jewelflowers (Streptanthus sp.) on Coyote Ridge in south San Jose. He will provide updates on the “good news” of the reintroduced populations of the white-flowered Metcalf Canyon jewelflower (S. albidus ssp. albidus) atop Tulare Hill nearby.

More recently, his team has turned their attention to the closely related, and comparably rare, pink-flowered most beautiful jewelflower (Streptanthus albidus ssp. peramoenus). They have been investigating the evolutionary and ecological distinctiveness of this controversial taxon. The consistent differences in sepal color and geography between the Metcalf Canyon and most beautiful jewelflowers support continued recognition of these rarities as distinct taxa. Developing a field-ready tool for reliable taxon identification based on sepal color is his team’s next challenge.

Justen B. Whittall was born in Santa Clara; he grew up running trails in the south County and 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 Evolution (focusing on North American columbines). Justen has been an Associate Professor at Santa Clara University in Biology since 2007. He has expanded his research to include flower color evolution in arctic mustards (Parrya) and Mediterranean campions (Silene), plus conservation genetics and restoration ecology of Streptanthus and wallflowers (Erysimum). Justen is also the Editor-in-chief of Madroño, a peer-reviewed quarterly journal from the California Botanical Society.

CNPS General Meetings are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Chapter President Vivian Neou at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or the Chapter phone at (650) 260-3450.

The event will be broadcast on Zoom and live streamed on YouTube. To join on YouTube, go to:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpqpu65F9GNXdqBoN4hIptQ
Please RSVP on Meetup to see the Zoom information about joining this event.