On Wednesday, October 18, 2017 at 7:30 PM, at Room 18 of the Hillview Community Center, 97 Hillview Avenue, Los Altos, California 94022, the De Anza Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society will feature a program by Don Selcer on Sierra Nevada, A Backpacker’s Paradise.
Don Selcer, a retired doctor, grows many rhododendron species and other rhododendrons from seed in his Oakland Garden, is an active member of the California Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society and performs volunteer work in the Asian Collection of the University of California Botanical Garden, where there are many rhododendrons.
http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu/asia
Don Selcer has traveled to rhododendron habitats in India and in China, and in early May, 2012 went on a Rhododendron Species Foundation & Botanical Garden sponsored expedition to the Chinese provinces of Guangxi, Guizhou, and Chongqing.
http://rhodygarden.org/cms/
http://rhodygarden.org/cms/our-plants/expeditions/steve-hootman-expeditions/
During the program, Don Selcer (who likes backpacking, collecting things, photography and rhododendrons) will talk about exploring the Sierra Nevada for wildflowers.
In the Sierra Nevada can be found two of the three species of rhododendrons found in California, Rhododendron occidentale and Rhododendron columbianum.
http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-taxon=Rhododendron+occidentale
http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-taxon=Rhododendron+columbianum
Information on the De Anza Chapter, and the rest of the American Rhododendron Society can be found at:
http://www.deanza-ars.com
https://www.rhododendron.org
https://www.rhododendron.org/membership.htm