​Q&A with Native Seed Farm Program Coordinator Rachel Lambert, Part 2

Irvine Ranch Conservancy’s Native Seed Farm Program Coordinator, Rachel Lambert, is giving us an inside look at what species are growing on the Farm this year and other behind-the-scenes information. Make sure to catch the first part of this interview, which was published last week!
 
What flower species are planted on the Native Seed Farm this year?
This year we’re growing over 50 native species including American bird's-foot trefoil, Strigose lotus, Bicolored/mini lupine, Wishbone bush, Vinegarweed, Deerweed, Winecup clarkia, Purple owl's clover, White pincushion, Yellow pincushion, Cobweb thistle, Common cryptantha, Slender buckwheat, California poppy, California goldfields, Chick lupine, Arroyo lupine, Parry's phacelia,
California plantain, Coastal tidy tips, Smallhead clover, Littleseed Mhuly, Coastal sagebrush, California buckwheat, White sage, Black sage, Coastal Prickly Pear Cactus, Palmer's goldenbush, Menzie's goldenbush, Ragweed, California mugwort, Woolypod milkweed, Narrow-leaf milkweed, California brome grass, Common sand aster, California croton, Sticky monkeyflower, Blue wildrye, California fuschia, Leafy daisy, Longstem buckwheat, Common sun rose, Cliff aster, California melic grass, Longleaf/Silverleaf lupine, Branching phacelia, California bee plant, Western blue-eyed grass, Goldenrod, Giant needle grass, Foothill needle grass, One-sided blue grass, Goldenstars, Orange fiddlenecks, and Schoolbells.
 
What flowers are currently in bloom?
Wishbone bush (Mirabilis laevis) which has magenta blossoms that only open in the afternoon. California poppies (Eschscholzia californic) are at full steam and Arroyo lupines (Lupinus succulentus) just started! California goldfields (Lasthenia gracilis) are little tiny yellow flowers, like daisies but smaller than a penny, and Orange fiddlenecks (Amsinckia intermedia) will start to bloom soon!

​Q&A with Native Seed Farm Program Coordinator Rachel Lambert, Part 1
 
The first day of spring is just around the corner and Irvine Ranch Conservancy’s Native Seed Farm is starting to show signs of color! Every year the Farm grows more than 50 native species that will be harvested for seed and used to help restore the Irvine Ranch Natural Landmarks. Irvine Ranch Conservancy’s Native Seed Farm Program Coordinator, Rachel Lambert, is giving us an inside look at what species are growing on the Farm this year and other behind-the-scenes information. Check back next week for Part 2 of this interview.
 
What is the process of deciding which species will be planted each year?
It's a long and thoughtful conversation back and forth between the restoration site managers and the Farm manager--we call it making a "plant palette." Like a color palette in home decor, these are the array of species that we will be painting the hillside with! But it's not about looks, it's about function.

Since 2005, Irvine Ranch Conservancy has made it their mission to preserve and restore natural habitats found throughout the Irvine Ranch Natural Landmarks. With their newest restoration project, Irvine Ranch Conservancy staff and volunteers will plant 500 acorn seedlings at the Augustine Staging Area Nursery in Limestone Canyon that will be used to maintain vital oak woodland habitats.
 
The acorns collected by the Conservancy are sourced locally from oak trees throughout the area, giving them a greater chance of success due to acclimation to local climate and soil. After the acorns are collected, they will then be planted at the Augustine Nursery, where staff and volunteers will assist in tending and growing the acorns to seedlings until they are ready for planting. Restoration projects such as this allow Irvine Ranch Conservancy to expand its work of restoring habitats that support local wildlife and plant species.

​One of the rarest species on the Irvine Ranch Natural Landmarks today is a hardy-looking cypress tree: Tecate cypress. Tecate cones are serotinous, meaning they release seeds in response to a specific environmental trigger, rather than at the point of seed maturation. Historically, this trigger has been low-intensity fires, but as fires have grown in frequency and intensity during the last 50 years, the health and propagation of Tecate cypress is increasingly under threat.

The natural land in Orange County has been home to humans for thousands of years. You might have wondered from time to time how people survived – what they ate, where they sheltered, how they dealt with heat and drought. Indigenous groups like the Tongva lived in the area for many years before Spanish explorers colonized the area. These groups moved with the seasons and subsisted on the lands, using tried-and-tested techniques to prepare food you might not have known was edible.