Frank Niccoli gave a presentation to Gardening with Natives on September 25, 2018 at the Saratoga Library, Saratoga. The basic plant categories discussed included:
- Soap producing
- Edible bulbs
- Grains and leaves
- Seeds and nuts
- Berries
- Edible flowers
Frank's slides, listing each of the plants including notes, are in PDF format and may be viewed in three parts, at the following links. In order to see the slide's captions (speaker note, including plant names for each slide, mouse over the comment cloud in the upper left-hand side of the slide.
- Part 1 of 3 (PDF - 9 MB)
- Part 2 of 3 (PDF - 9 MB)
- Part 3 of 3 (PDF - 4 MB)
Modern life depends entirely on plants from all over the world, but the plants that nourished the native people of California for thousands of years were only our local plants. Learn what plants these people used for food, medicine, and material sources. You’ll find that the speaker has a passion for California ethnobotany.
Frank Niccoli has been a gardener for over 50 years and is the past president of the founding chapter of the California Landscape Contractors Association. He was voted Member of the Year by his peers in 2001 and 2004. He teaches numerous classes at Foothill College.