Friends of Griffith Park is excited to announce a special planting will take place on Sat., Jan. 12, 2019 from 9-11 AM in the area directly across the street from the Live Steamers Railroad Museum. (5202 Zoo Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90027)

What makes this so special?
We’re planting sycamore trees germinated from sycamore seeds collected in Griffith Park. We’ll also be joined by biologist Barbara Brydolf who, along with FoGP’s Laura Howe, helped to grow these plants. Barbara will briefly speak about the importance of this planting so it’ll be a learning/planting experience. Kids of all ages are welcome to join.

California Sycamore (Platanus racemosa) is a winter deciduous tree that is endemic to California and is found only in California and Baja California. It is fast growing to about 25 meters and is long-lived, to as much as 400 years. California Sycamore is associated with riparian (streamside) areas, both closely and at some distance to watercourses. Its seed is wind-dispersed. In a natural setting, California Sycamore commonly forms characteristic communities with other riparian tree species, such as Coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia), Southern California black walnut (Juglans californica), California bay (Umbellularia californica), and willows (Salix spp.), all of which are found in Griffith Park. California Sycamore woodlands are considered rare to very rare throughout California (A Manual of California Vegetation; 2009, Sawyer, Keeler-Wolf, & Evens).

River Ridge Natives is a plant nursery that specializes in growing locally-sourced native plants for riparian restoration. We use nursery best management practices to minimize risk of spreading infection to native populations. California Sycamores for restoration in Griffith Park were propagated using seed collected from the Park populations of Crystal Springs and Live Steamers. We are in Tulare County, an area in which PSHB/FD and KSHB/FD have not been detected. Barbara Brydolf is the owner of River Ridge Natives.
Education:
B.S., California State University at Los Angeles
PhD., University of California at San Diego
Research Experience:
Cooperative Nesting Behavior in the Groove-billed Ani Studies of the Endangered Bolson Tortoise in Durango, Mexico
Investigation into the myb gene in the slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum
Biological Survey of Fort Irwin
Investigation into the effect of disturbance on abundance of birds at Fort Irwin
Investigation into the germination requirements of various California native plant species

More details are available here…  https://friendsofgriffithpark.org/calendar/