Soka Sees Lessons in Native Plant Exhibit

A new collection of plant samples native to the Santa Monica Mountains, the Simi Hills and the San Gabriel Mountains has been donated to Soka University’s Botanical Research Center and Nursery.

Keith Dobry, an entomologist for the Envicom Corp., collected about 1,500 samples of flowers, fruits and herbs indigenous to local mountain areas over six years while surveying threatened flora and fauna on private land slated for development.

Storing them in the university’s herbarium, Dobry, who manages Soka’s botanical research center, said the $10,000 collection provides opportunities for research on about 750 species.

“All parts of this collection were found in sites surveyed for private landowners considering development,” Dobry said. “Because they were found on private land, there are some species here that scientists previously had no access to. A few of these are endangered species.”

Besides providing new knowledge of plant life in this part of Southern California, Dobry said the collection educates the public about certain species that are in danger of extinction due to development.

Collected from such controversial areas as Elsmere Canyon in the Santa Clarita Valley, where a landfill is proposed, some plant samples will serve as historic testaments to development in the area, Dobry added.

“These plants have historic value because when people see plant samples from places like Elsmere Canyon, they’ll be able to realize what was there before the area was turned into a landfill,” Dobry said.

“They can point out to others that this is what we had there. And now it’s just trash.”