Dee Himes will share her multi-year Calochortus Treasure Hunt, which aims to find and photograph all the mariposa lilies in California. Calochortus belongs to the Liliaceae family, and California has the greatest number of taxa of any state in North America. There is at least one Calochortus species found in every county in California. Dee will highlight their distributions with maps and charts, demonstrate morphological differences between the species and, most importantly, showcase photographs of some of the beautiful flowers she and her husband, Ken, have encountered during their three-year treasure hunt. 

This video trailer offers a fantastic preview of Dee’s talk: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRpi261ywgQ. 

Dee Himes has been an active member of California Native Plant Society (CNPS) since 2012. In addition to serving on the state CNPS Board, she has held roles as our Chapter Treasurer, a board member, and Field Trip Chair.  She was also an active “Weed Warrior” at Edgewood County Park and Preserve. Dee has worked as a professional horticulturist in landscape maintenance and served as an Adjunct Instructor of horticulture at Foothill College in their Environmental Horticulture and Design program. She has a strong interest in botany, geology, ecology, habitat restoration, fauna and photography and she is passionate about sharing her knowledge.

Zoom registration: Calochortus Treasure Hunt, Part I: www.cnps-scv.org/talk-20250324