California Grasses Workshop

Target Audience: This workshop is intended for participants who already have a botany background and want to learn more about grasses and how to identify them.

Full Description: Grasses and grasslands are both ecologically and economically important, and knowledge of grasses has practical applications in many fields such as wetland delineation, rangeland assessment, erosion control, and ecosystem restoration. Knowledge of how to use a dissecting microscope can aid in identification, because grasses have wind-pollinated flowers that are highly reduced and lack petals or other showy parts. Attendees of this hands-on, two-day workshop will be introduced to the common native and non-native grasses of California, gain familiarity with the basic structure and identifying features of grass plants, and learn how to identify grass genera and species. Grasses are really not that hard once you get to know them!

This workshop will take place in an indoor classroom with microscopes and dissecting tools for studying collected plant specimens.

Participants will:

• Gain an understanding of the diversity of California grasses (both native & non-native)
• Learn the basic structure of grass plants and how to recognize the common genera and species
• Become proficient with grass identification (using a dissecting scope and the dichotomous keys in The Jepson Manual, 2nd Edition)

Schedule subject to change.

Venue: This workshop will be held in a classroom at San Jose State University, located in San Jose, California. Additional details will be provided to registered participants about a week before the workshop.

Materials Provided: CNPS will provide relevant handouts and references, dissecting microscopes, dissecting tools, and plant material.

Physical Requirements: This workshop will take place in an indoor classroom, participants will be seated at a desk using a microscope.