California Horticultural Society hMaas been dedicated to bringing together gardeners and garden professionals, through meetings and other events, to share their experiences since 1933.

Not a member yet? Join today!

April 2024

May 2024

Introduction to Ethnobotany

with Dr. David Pepper
May 20, 2024 – 6:30 p.m. in-person

From childhood and family custom, Dr. David Pepper was destined to dabble in herbs and other plants, an orientation which found resonance in his medical practice. Many, even most of the drugs we use arise from plants’ roots, leaves, and shoots, along with such organisms as molds and fungi. Even more broadly, for both our ancestors and ourselves, these same non-animal life forms are the source of food, shelter, and well-being, including the current resurgence of interest in psychedelic compounds.

With so much of modern life finding its origin in plants, Dr. Pepper will discuss indigenous American practices—today, at our remove, categorized as ethnobotany—along with current practices to provide benefits to our lives from botanical sources.

David Pepper is a semi-retired Family Physician who for more than thirty years practiced and taught Family Medicine with UCSF. From delivering babies to assisting hundreds at the end of their lives, with a vast variety of medicine—ER, Obstetrics, Hospital and Clinic Medicine—always with a bent toward prevention and Community Medicine. His “end game” combines his interest to help people die well, where most want to be (at home) and in relative tranquility.

Not a member? Join today!

Supporting Each Other

Plants do not recognize race, economic condition, or social class. Plants can take root in any spot where they can find sufficient sunlight and moisture. Appreciating and nurturing plants can reduce stress, provide food, and promote community.

Nurturing plants can be for everyone, everywhere. Spending time around plants—gardening, spending time in a park, hiking through trees, or playing in a meadow—is good for mental health, promoting relaxation and relief from stress and worries. There are physical benefits to sunlight, fresh air, soothing scents. 

Whether you have a full garden, some house plants, or a few herbs on your windowsill, we encourage you to take time to appreciate the colors, textures and smells, and to share your interest with others. Share photos and web links, offer horticultural help and advice, talk to young people about gardening, growing food, and the role plants play in our world. We can all help shape the future for good. 

A day trip to find and identify some of the many types of Calochortus in California. Led by Kipp McMichael as a follow-up to his in depth presentation at our March meeting (available on our YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@CaliforniaHorticulturalSociety)

Not a member? Join today!