A Sight For Sori: Ferns of the Northern Sierra Nevada
December 15, 2022
7:00 – 8:00 PM (Via Zoom)
Shane Hanofee
Redbud Chapter of the California Native Plant Society
View the presentation here.
Lacking the showy reproductive structures of the angiosperms and the stately heights of the gymnosperms, ferns nonetheless highlight an incredible evolutionary success story. First appearing 360 million years ago, they both predate and have survived beyond the age of the dinosaurs. The earth carries roughly 10,000 extant species of ferns and of those, California houses relatively few. Yet, the ferns which grow here have had to contend with California's dry Mediterranean climates, a far cry from the mesic ecosystems which support the bulk of fern diversity. In this talk, concentrating on the northern Sierra Nevada, we take you on a tour of the ferns to be found from the valley floor to the alpine peaks discussing identification tips, highlighting adaptive traits, and sharing interesting factoids that will have you pushing past the flowers and cones in pursuit of fronds to flip.
Shane Hanofee is a self-taught certified field botanist who became enamored with native plants shortly after moving to California from New York over a decade ago. Since then, he has travelled throughout California exploring and documenting California's fascinating flora along the way. In that time, Shane has developed a keen understanding of the floristics of the northern Sierras in particular, while cultivating a love for plant taxonomy and science communication. He is the current president of the Redbud Chapter of the California Native Plant Society and a Dean W. Taylor Botanical Exploration Memorial Award recipient. He lives in Grass Valley, CA with his wife Ashley, dog Camus, and two cats, Kafka and Bertie.
