Theodore Payne Foundation for Wild Flowers and Native Plants

Oak trees host an incredible number of species who rely on their shade, acorns, pollen, and bark. Some insects take it a step further, parasitizing and changing the oak's growth through chemical and mechanical influence to create galls. The distinctive red cone gall wasp (Feron kingi) forms its galls on the leaves of white oaks (Quercus sp.) (1st and 2nd images). The larval chamber within the gall provides a safe place for the young wasps to grow and develop through the fall, until they crawl out of the cone's point in February. If you've ever seen what looked like a brown apple hanging from a live oak tree (Quercus agrifolia or q. wislizeni), then you've spotted another common wasp gall! The live oak apple gall wasp (Amphibolips quercuspomiformis) deposits its eggs in the stem buds of a live oak during the summer. The oak grows a round, pulpy home for the developing wasps, who have plenty of space in the galls central larval chamber. The wasps emerge the following spring. Galls can also be found on many shrubs, including manzanitas (Arctostaphylos sp.). The manzanita leafgall aphid induces a fold in the leaf of a manzanita by stinging a specific cells in a pattern that causes the leaf to swell and fold over the female aphid. Once protected within the leaf fold, the aphid begins producing young, turning the manzanita leaf into a bright red, fleshy nursery. Other parasites forego plants for more mobile prey, like rodents or other mammals. The Cuterebra in picture 5 is part of a group known as bot flies. Female botflies deposit their eggs directly onto a host (or sometimes, through an intermediate vector like a mosquito, housefly, or tick), and the hatching larvae burrow down into the warmth and safety of their mammalian host. Once they reach their mature size as larvae, they burrow out of their host and pupate in the soil. Our Oaktober iNaturalist observations showcase some of the spookier residents found here at the Foundation. If you'd like to contribute to our understanding of the flora and fauna of TPF, check out our iNaturalist project here: https://lnkd.in/guyb9Dix! #tpf #californianativeplants #californianativewildlife #theodorepaynefoundation #iNaturalist #communityscience

We hope to see you tomorrow at "Planting for the Future", Eagle Rock's annual celebration of native plants! The ERNC will be giving away free native plants (while supplies last!), and we'll be alongside other amazing community organizations sharing resources, info, and advice on planting and caring for your new natives. See you there! #californianativeplants #theodorepaynefoundation #theodorepayne #TPF

🪰🪴☠️ October 30th - Spooky Native Plants of California - Looking for mid-week Halloween plans? Join us online for this fascinating presentation exploring California's very own Little Shop of Horrors. From carnivorous plants to poisonous species and more! There's no shortage of creepy adaptations. This class will be recorded and available for ticketed registrants to view for 2 weeks. Sign up here: https://lnkd.in/gZJa5CdB Photos c/o Cole Oost

We're excited to host a table at Mujeres de La Tierra's annual Day of the Dead Community Festival! Mujeres de La Tierra is a grassroots environmental equity organization that inspires, leads, and builds environmental and conservation efforts primarily among unrecognized communities in Los Angeles, with their work having impact at the local, state, and national level. Their Day of the Dead festival is a free family and community focused event to celebrate Day of the Dead, as well as bring awareness to Mujeres de La Tierra's work. We'll be giving out seed packets, sharing planting guides, and speaking to the community about native plants and their importance in conservation and restoration. We hope to see you there!

🐬🌴 Garden Tour '25: From Coast to Crest ⛰️🌲 For the 2025 Garden Tour, Artist Alexander Vidal illustrates the unique topography of LA and the breadth of flora and fauna in our own backyards. This visual reminds us of our power as native plant gardeners to create a patchwork of habitat all over the region. The artwork—notably absent of the asphalt arteries that fragment and dissect the land—reminds us of the once-contiguous habitat that our gardens seek to reclaim. There's one day left to support the native plant gardening movement by sponsoring the tour! Sign up at: https://lnkd.in/ga8Wfqm5

To volunteer with TPF or check out upcoming opportunities, visit https://lnkd.in/gTtRxjDy Thank you, Analisa! #theodorepaynefoundation #californianativeplants #tpf #tpfvolunteers #volunteerwithus #getinvolved #volunteer

Stachys albens (whitestem hedgenettle) is a mint endemic to California. The plant is fuzzy all over and the leaves are reminiscent of lamb's ears. Whitestem hedgenettle is a very generous plant that spreads by rhizomes and blooms from May to October. This plant has a wide habitat distribution and can be found anywhere between sea level and and elevation of 9,000 ft. This dreamy little hedgenettle is very easy to grow in sun-to-part sun, regularly watered areas. It is a host plant for the larva of the variable checkerspot butterfly. Pick up some whitestem hedgenettle for your garden today, or read more information here: https://lnkd.in/gzCH4tii

The Fall Sale is upon us, and that means it's time for one of our biggest volunteer calls of the year! With the steady traffic of cars and carts full of native plants, our small parking lot can easily become overwhelmed. Some volunteers help us by greeting incoming cars and directing them to parking. These "Parking Greeters" offer up smiles and directions from comfortable perches in the shade. Other volunteers are "Cart Wranglers", swooping into the lot to retrieve emptied orange nursery carts and pull them back up the hill. Whether you want to offer up friendly assistance as a greeter, or get your heart rate up as a wrangler, we need you as a volunteer! Volunteer shifts are available either morning or afternoon, and our sale volunteers can join TPF staff for complimentary lunches and snacks! Plus, if you're interested in shopping the Fall Sale, volunteering gives you a great opportunity to scope out the plants yourself, and then pick up whatever you've got your eye on either before or after your shift! Sign up to volunteer for the Fall Plant Sale here: https://cerv.is/0292x794

All around you in the garden, miniature monsters buzz, wriggle, and crawl. In the soil, climbing up plants, these tiny terrors are one of the most important forces of the natural world. Some fear them, some adore them, most don't even know what lurks all around them... 🕷️🕸️ Join us on October 22 for "Creepy Crawly Bugs of California", a spooky, silly introduction to the bugs we share our homes and gardens with! Taught by bug enthusiast and TPF staff member Lou Avery, you'll learn about galls, house centipedes, and more! Then, you'll be led on a mini bio-blitz walk in the TPF gardens to try and find some of the notable insects you just learned about, and learn to identify them using the iNaturalist app. 🔍🐛 Spots are limited, register here: https://lnkd.in/g6_-vrg7

The UCLA Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden Fall Fest on October 19 will feature an afternoon full of horticultural activities like weaving and seed bomb making, as well as food, music, and amazing community organizations! We'll be there representing the Theodore Payne Foundation with our traveling Seed Museum, native plant guides, and free seed packets. This event is free and open to the public — we hope to see you there!