Recurring Events

See below for examples of recurring events held by the Herbarium, Conservatory, & Davis Botanical Society - Calendar year begins July 1.

Plant Identification Workshops  Monthly - For More information visit: https://herbarium.ucdavis.edu/identification

Ceanothus : March - August
Monthly Plant Identification session with Ceanothus  “See, I Know This!” (California Vascular Plant ID), led by Mike Bower, CA Field Botanists Association, Ceanothus 
No experience necessary and free, our workshops are a relaxing, collaborative, and fun way to build a useful technical skill, learn more about the plants around us, meet fantastic people with eager plant stories and expertise to share, and just plain have a good time.

Leskea Moss Identification 
Leskea Moss Identification session with CaBF (California Bryoflora Forum) Saturdays TBA 
Center for Plant Diversity

Lichen Identification Workshops
California Lichen Society at UC Davis Center for Plant Diversity. Folks are welcome to bring their own specimens and use the provided microscopes and other supplies to key them out, and there will also be a group keying session with a common lichen or two, so that we can all learn together.

Arboretum Plant Sales: October- November & April - May 
Arboretum Fall & Spring Plant Sales:  Davis Botanical Society Members receive admission to members-only plant sales at the UC Davis Arboretum. A printed list of active members will be distributed to the Arboretum prior to each sale.

Volunteer Sundays: November: January - once a month
Volunteer Sunday: Volunteer Sunday afternoons at the Center for Plant Diversity Herbarium, look for announcements in our calendar.  Limited participation, call herbarium at 530-752-1091 to RSVP.

Fall Student Seminars: November
Fall Student Seminars: Short talks from Student Recipients of Davis Botanical Society Grants. 
Announcements will be sent in the mail. Pizza will be served! Location is Plant & Environmental Sciences (PES), Room 3001  Date TBA

DBS Winter Open House at the Botanical Conservatory & Conservatory Plant Sales: November
Botanical Conservatory Greenhouses Open House - for more information visit the Conservatory website https://conservatory.ucdavis.edu/
Conservatory Plant Sales: Dates TBA - for more information visit the Conservatory website https://conservatory.ucdavis.edu/

Nights at the Conservatory Lecture Series: November - May 
Nights at the Conservatory:  Lecture Series & open greenhouses: Botanical Conservatory Greenhouses, north side of Kleiber Hall Drive Conservatory Website

May 22, 2025 - Jonathan Robbins: Hoya Help
January 23, 2025 - Gianluca Bacci: Everything Welwitshia
May 9, 2024 - Jason Liu, Orchid Pollination: Evolution of Flora scents, pigmentation and plant-pollinator interactions.
April 18, 2024 - Pershang Hosseini & Alison Colwell: Growing Native and Noxious Species of Parasitic Plants (Orobanchaceae)
November 21, 2024 - Bruce Ritter: All about Aroids

Botanical Tea in the Herbarium: January
Herbarium Tea: Every January, welcoming both students and DBS members, this annual event is co-sponsored by the Herbarium and the Davis Botanical Society.  Informational displays with light refreshments. Past exhibitions include:

2025 - California Plant Rescue Program
2024 - The Botany of Tea
2023 - Poisonous Plants 
2020 - Rare Plants of California

Biodiversity Museum Day: February
Biodiversity Museum Day:  https://biodiversitymuseumday.ucdavis.edu/
Free exhibitions at 10+ campus science collections, including the 
Herbarium and Conservatory

Student Grant Applications Due: March
Each year, the Society awards a number of research grants to UC Davis graduate and undergraduate students to carry out work that aligns with the broad goals of the UC Davis Center for Plant Diversity Herbarium and/or the UC Davis Botanical Conservatory.For more information visit: https://herbarium.ucdavis.edu/grants

Picnic Day: April
Picnic Day: https://picnicday.ucdavis.edu/
Emerging from humble beginnings as a tour of the University Farm’s new dairy barn, Picnic Day now offers a wide variety of entertainment and provides a host of opportunities for visitors to the Davis campus.  Campus-wide open houses including Botanical Conservatory Open House.

Field Trips: April - May
Field Trips: Davis Botanical Society Membership Required. Bring your own water, snacks, sunscreen, watch out for Poison Oak at some locations! Contact individual field trip’s leaders for field trips listed on our events calendar. Attendance limited. https://herbarium.ucdavis.edu/events-dbs

May 31, 2025 - Boggs Lake, Lake County. Leader
April 26, 2025 - McClure’s Beach, Pt. Reyes National Seashore
April 27, 2024 - Molok Luyuk/Walker Ridge
April 6, 2024 - Conifers of Bothe-Napa State Park
April 30, 2023 - Vernal Pools at Glide Tule Ranch, Yolo Bypass Vernal Pool Tour 
April 22, 2023 - Buttermilk Bend Trail at South Yuba River State Park

Davis Botanical Society Annual Spring Meeting & Program: May
Held at the Blanchard Room, Mary L. Stephens – Davis Branch Library 315 E. 14th Street, Davis, CA

May 8, 2025 - Mathew Gilbert, Title: Bark: a story of how bark forms and how time changes California’s iconic trees.  
May 4, 2024 - Dr. Jennifer Funk speaking on: “Drought strategies of native grassland species.”