Aquilegia

Newsletter of the Colorado Native Plant Society

" . . dedicated to the appreciation and conservation of the Colorado native flora"

Volume 1 1 , lumber 5

September 1987

C ALENDA R

October t? - ANNUAL MEETING

Arapahoe Community College
Littleton

Theme: Our Public Lands

November 1A - Seed Dispersal
Mechanisms

Workshop : Dr. Boyce Drummond

February 20 - Native Deciduous
Trees

Workshop: Gill Fechner

April 23 - Wlldflower Photography
Workshop: Bill Jennings and
Loralne Yeatts

DENVER CHAPTER

The Denver Chapter meets on
the %th Wednesday of each month
from September through May (except
December) at 7:30 pm at the Denver
Botanic Gardens House, 909 York
Street, Denver. The following
programs are scheduled for fall:

September 23rd
Boeky Mountain Ferns
Peter loot

f 0 ^ October 28th

Penstemon - A levlew of the Genus
Panayotl Kelaidxs

(See the Insert for the Boulder
Chapter program schedule)

A NNHA L meetins

Plan to attend the CONPS AN-
NUAL MEETING at Arapahoe Community
College on Saturday, October 17.

Our topic will be ^Our Public Lands
- Managing and Preserving Them".

Morning field ^t^Lps will offer
a chance to visit \a\iptur s ery.* empha-
sizing native ,pl^ijbs or a visit to
wetland mi tighten and vegetation
management slfcfes at Chat field Ar-
boretum and Chat fie Id State Recrea-
tion Area.

Our afternoon session will in-
clude the annual business meeting
of the Society and a variety of
speakers on topics relating to
public land management and the
plants found on public lands.

RUTH ASHTON NELSON

Colorado lost an eminent bota-
nist and Denver Botanic Gardens a
loyal friend in the death of Ruth
Ashton Nelson in Colorado Springs
on July 4, 1 9 87 * Mrs. Nelson, who
was born in Massachusetts, celeb-
rated her 90th birthday last Novem-
ber 29.

Ruth Nelson lived and worked
in Colorado and the Rocky Mountains
for more than 60 .years, leaving a
rich legacy of writings on the
plants of this area. She was an
avid field botanist and had the
gift of writing about plants with
unusual understanding and clarity.

Early in her life she mani-
fested a remarkable interest in
botany while living on a farm in
Massachusetts. She recalled that
her mother helped her identify the
plants she brought in from the
field using Asa Gray’s Lessons in
Botany, and Eleld...... For est, and. ..Gar-
den Botany (published in 1878). As
a young girl she visited the Rock-
ies with her parents during summer
vacations. The impressions of the
mountains and their colorful wild-
flowers were so inspirational that
she later returned to spend her
life among them.

Following her graduation from
Mount Holyoke College Ruth Ashton
moved to Estes Park where she took
a position with the National Park
Service spending several summers in
field studies of the plants of the
Rocky Mountain National Park. She
also bought a small ranch northeast
of Estes Park where she spent many
happy years. Her research resulted
in the publication of her first
book, Plants of Rocky Mountain
National Park in 1933. This was
the first comprehensive publication
on the plants of the park, and it
was so well received that Mrs.
Nelson published revisions in 1953,
1970, 1976, and 1982. The work
also led to a Master’s degree in
botany from Colorado State Univer-
sity .

In 1931 she married the late
Dr. Aven Nelson, one of the great
Rocky Mountain botanists, then pro-

2

fessor of botany at the University
of Wyoming and Curator of the Rocky
Mountain Herbarium that he estab-
lished on the campus at Laramie,

For 20 years the Nelsons collected
and worked with the plants of the
Rocky Mountains, preparing thou-
sands of specimens and publishing
numerous papers. They spent one
summer surveying and collecting the
plants of Mount McKinley National
Park under the sponsorship of the
National Park Service. The collab-
oration of this remarkable team
ended with the death of Dr. Aven
Nelson in 1952,

But Mrs. Nelson continued her
botanical activities unabated, car-
rying out the revisions of her
first book and publishing in 1969 a
new book, Handbook of Rocky Moun-
tain Plants . This book treated
plants found in the national parks
and national monuments in seven
western states from Canada to Mexi-
co. A second edition of this very
successful work was published in
1977. In the meantime Mrs. Nelson
had published another book, Plants
of Zion National Park , in 1976
under the auspices of the Zion
National History Association.

Before her health began to
fail Ruth Nelson had started work
on a book on the wildflowers of
Arizona. She had long dreamed of
doing this publication to fill what
she recognized as a need. She
regretted greatly that she was not
able to carry out this project.

But she had long since realized her
goal of writing books on wildflow-
ers that could be used and under-
stood by beginners and others who
had little or no botanical back-
ground. Unquestionably, her books
opened the door to the recognition
and enjoyment of the mountain wild-
flowers for countless numbers of
students, visitors and residents of
the area. The botanical heritage
of Colorado and the Rocky Mountains
has been greatly enriched as a
result of her life and work, ^

Dr, William G. Gambill, Jr.
(reprinted with permission from
Green Thumb News, newsletter of the
Denver Botanic Gardens)

A VISIT TO WHITE ROCKS

On June 27th a group of CONPS
members led by Bill Jennings of the
Boulder Chapter visited the White
4 Rocks preserve east of Boulder*
These sandstone bluffs along Boul-
der Creek have long been of in-
terest to naturalists and are now
fortunately protected as part of
the Boulder city open space system.
We parked over a mile from the
bluffs and approached them on
trails which are part of the open
space system. Most of the plants
we saw along the way were unremark-
able and already showing the ef-
fects of hot, dry weather. As we
moved along the base of the rocks
some of us flushed out a family of
great horned owls which were spend-
ing the day in a small canyon. We
saw the horned owls several times
during the day but did not see the
barn owls said to live in the area.

We stopped for lunch under an
overhanging area of the cliff which
provided a fine view of Boulder
Creek and the plains and hills to
the south. This site was probably
-used by pre-European people long
ago. Here we saw the two most
unusual plants of the area. One,
the groundnut, Apios americana f was
familiar to me from the eastern
United States. It is a vine legume
resembling a small, creeping Wis-
teria . This is another of the
plants that has been used as evi-
dence of a past western extension
of the eastern deciduous forest.

The plants we saw did not have
their clusters of brownish-purple
flowers .

Across the face of the cliff
above us was a thin layer in the
rock which forms the habitat of the
black spleenwort , Asplenium adian-

tum-nigrum , which is one of Colora-
do's most unusual plants. This
fern was discovered by Darwin An-
drews, a Boulder nurseryman, and
named Asplenium andrewsii after him
by Aven Nelson, Later . taxonomists
have regarded it as a disjunct
population of the old world Asple-
nium adiantum-nigrum which is known
from only a few places in the west-
ern hemisphere. Whether this is a
relict of a formerly widespread
distribution or another of the
widely dispersed populations which
ferns can produce with their air-
borne spores will always be a mys-
tery. The ferns appear to be
thriving in their restricted habi-
tat on the formation. What special
conditions are they finding here?
Why aren't they growing in the many
othe sandstone habitats in the
United States? Perhaps we should
look more closely at foothills
sandstone areas before quarrying
them.

At the top of the bluff we
found some rainwater pools on the
sandstone which had fairy shrimp in
them. These interesting crusta-
ceans have resistant eggs which
survive the drying of their habi-
tat. With the coming of rain a new
generation hatches, mates, lays
eggs and dies in a period of sev-
eral days. In this area we also
found a shrub which we at first
thought to be a strange willow but
it turned out to be the sand cher-
ry, Prunus bessevi .

This was a very enjoyable
trip. Bill Jennings knew the areas
and its plants very well. Access
to the White Rocks is quite limited
and I urge members who have a
chance to participate in authorized
visits to the area to do so.

Peter Root

r*.

i

3

CEC Fall Outings Schedule for B1M Wilderness Study Areas

Oct. 4 A day hike into Bull Gulch. This is one of the most

inspiring areas along the upper Colorado River. It
is noted for its beautifully sculpted canyons. The
area is located near Eagle, Colorado.

contact? Chris Hanna

468-0694 (0) or
453-2561 x304 (W)

Oct. 364 An overnight hike to the palisades WSA near Gateway,
Colorado. Palisades contains some of the most
impressive rock formations in Colorado. The area
contains fascinating hoodoos and Canyons.

contact: Sharyl Kinnear
245-9829 or
Jane Schleiraer
443-9311

Oct. 3 & 4 A backpack trip up Tabeguache Creek. Tafoeguache is
a spectacular canyon which contains Indian ruins as
well as unusual vegetation.

contact: Hank Wright
259-3202 <w)

Oct. 3 & 4 This trip will go to Windy Gulch and Black Mountain
WSAs. The areas contain impressive canyons and lush
vegetation. Wildlife in the areas is abundant and
include such animals as deer and mountain lion.

contacts Kirk Cunningham
494-6407

Oct. 16-18 A backpack trip to Cross Canyon WSA. Cross Canyon

contains ruins, petroglyphs, and beautiful cottonwood
groves. The area is located 30 miles northwest of
Cortez, Colorado.

contact: Tamara Wiggins
247-1142

Nov. 14-15 A trip to Beaver Creek WSA. Beaver Creek is located
just 30 miles south of Colorado Springs. Beaver
Creek is one of the most wild and scenic canyons
along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains.

contact: Lee Baker
322-1288

4

CORPS WORKSHOPS

Sat., November 14, 1987
r-N Seed Dispersal Mechanisms
Leader; Dr. Boyce Drummond

To be held at the Pike Peak
Research Station in Florissant.

Sat., February 20, 1988
Native Deciduous Trees
Leader: Gill Fechner

Sat., April 23 , 19 88
Wildflower Photography
Leaders; Bill Jennings and
Loraine Teatts

Enrollment in workshops is
always limited, usually due to room
constraints, so you must register
in advance. To register and for
more information about these work-
shops, contact CORPS workshop coor-
dinator, Bill Jennings, 360 Martin
Drive, Boulder, 80303, 494-5159.

Be sure to include your mailing
address and phone number if you
mail in your registration. Regis-
trants will be notified by mall

about two (2) weeks prior to the
workshop regarding final location,
time, lunch, suggested references,
etc. Please register promptly as
workshops tend to fill up fast.
However, cancellations sometimes
create openings, so you might check
with Bill up to the night before
the workshop if you want to try to
register at the last minute.

The fee for each workshop is
$8 for members. For non-members,
the fee is $16. If you plan to
attend more than one workshop per
year, it is cheaper to join COMPS
as an individual C$8/year) and come
to workshops as a member. lou may
pay in advance or at the workshop,
whichever you wish.

BOOK RE¥IEW

High Color: Spectacular Wild-
flowers of the Rockies
Western EXE Press, Box 917, Tel-
lur! de v CO 81435 $22*50

While books of color photo-
graphs of vildflowers are already
available in great abundance, this
one may be interesting to CORPS
members. Skillful photography has
produced quite a few plates which
show both foreground and background
in sharp focus and good attention
has been paid to plant detail. A
striking example of this is a plate
of Cast ille , 1a occidentalis which
clearly shows the hairiness of the
inflorescence .

The only negative comment I
have about this book is that either
because of the type of film used or
some aspect of the printing pro-
cess, some of the plates have un-
realistically vivid colors. Other-
wise it is an attractive book which
even has included the latest nomen-
clature for the plants it shows.

The publishers have offered to
donate $5.00 to CORPS for each copy
ordered direct by Society members
who identify themselves. Be sure
to do so when ordering this book.

Peter Root

5

COLORADO NATIONAL MONUMENT

AND GRAND MESA FIELD TRIP

The trip on June 12 - 14 to
Colorado National Monument and the
Grand Mesa gave me a chance to see
an area I have been curious about
for several years* Located close
to the western edge of the state,
the Monument is an easy place to
visit* It was established to pro-
tect geologic treasures but also
shelters interesting plants, ani-
mals, and traces of ancient human
inhabitants. We met at the Monu-
ment headquarters where we were
given an orientation by Claudia
Rector of the Monument staff. Dr.
Robert Young gave us a geologic
overview of the region and our
CGNPS trip leaders, Jim Borland and
Joann Young, previewed a few plants
for us.

The next day our first stop
was in a disturbed riparian area
where some ponds have been formed
by gravel dredging. The plants
here weren f t very exciting but we
were led up the road by a pair of
Gambel’s quail. The next stop
along US Rt . 50 had more interest-
ing plants. We photographed the
rare Igo ffiggala pumi JLa, Atr ip lex
oorrugata (a Mancos shale endemic),
and Machaeranthera pinnatifida -
interesting for its yellow flowers.
Other stops revealed further plant
highlights such as the endemic
Stanleva albescens in full flower
and an array of cacti including the
rare Sclerocactus glaucus .

After lunch at the appropri-
ately named Wild Rose picnic area,
we headed up to Land’s End at an
elevation of about 10,000 ft. The
ten mile curving road climbing
nearly 6000 feet was quite a chal-
lenge to drivers. I was glad that
our driver, Harlan Richards, had
had many years of mountain driving
experience.

The flowers on top made the
ride up worth taking. We found a
different species of Mertensia . M.
brevistvla . lovely lavender Town-
asn dia gl ab fi l la, yellow Mahonia
repens . deep purple Delphinium nel-

sonii . and tiny, pink Lewisia pyg-
maea . We also enjoyed magnificent
views of distant mountains - the La
Sals, the San Juans, and even the
Sangre de Cristo range.

Grand Mesa, one of the largest
flat-topped mountains in the world,
was once a lake bottom. About
twenty million years ago molten
volcanic rock oozed from beneath
the lake in several eruptions de-
positing erosion resistant layers
that are now the cap rock. In the
floors of the canyons are some of
the oldest known rocks, while the
canyon walls and bluffs expose
formations produced during a vast
geological history.

Early morning found us up and
exploring the areas close to our
campsite before the day’s trip
began. Joann and Jim led us down
Serpentine Trail through a pinyon-
juniper ecosystem. Interesting
elements we saw included Rocky
Mountain maple, Amelanchier . and
Holodiscus . A real novelty was
Fraxinus anomala . the world’s only
single leaved ash. Only a couple
of bends down the trail a handsome,/-^
green collared lizard posed on a
rock for the cameras. Moving along
we saw the rare Lomat ium latilobum
and Rhus s imp lici folia . We also
saw' some interesting hybrids such
as Cercocarpus intricatus x ledi-
f oli-U_3 and Q u ^ rc„us. gambelii x hay-
ardii .

This trip was a wonderful
introduction to a little-known re-
gion of the state. Our leaders are
to be commended for their careful
planning and thorough knowledge
that allowed us to see so many
interesting plants and spectacular
scenery In a limited time. If a
similar trip is offered in the
future I recommend that you con-
sider going on it.

Lee Barzee

6

FLORISSANT FOSSIL BEDS FIELD TRIP

This year f s field trip to
/ ”~ % lorissant Fossil Beds National
Monument on Saturday, June 27 » was
cause for celebration. Begun in
1981, the herbarium which the Colo-
rado Native Plant Society has been
forming for the National Park Ser-
vice was complete enough to be
useful to naturalists from the
Monument as well as all other in-
terested individuals. The Pikes
Peak Research Station, 5 miles from
the Monument, offered to house our
collection in its new laboratory
until such time when the Monument
has adequate facilities of its own.
The new herbarium now has nearly
900 mounted plants representing
some 425 species. A large share in

RESTORING THE EARTH - 1988

The first national gathering
to consider the restoration of all
Natural resource types and the
edesign of urban areas will be
held on January 13 * 16 at the
University of California, Berkeley.
The conference is organized by the
Restoring the Earth project of The
Tides Foundation, San Francisco,
and cosponsored both by the College
of Natural Resources and the Cenver
for Environmental Design Research
of the University of California,
Berkeley. Proceedings wil be pub-
lished and distributed by the Cen-
ter. The conference will bring
experts in natural resource restor-
ation and management together with
a broad selection of academic,
government, industry, foundation,
labor, public health, and environ-
mental representatives; further the
exchange of scientific information
on restoration; and present the
accomplishments and capabilities of
restoration techniques in resource
management and planning. Partici-
pants will help create new solu-
Lons to the nation’s environmental
problems through restoration of
damaged resources.

this effort has been due to Dr.
William A, Weber, who has identi-
fied or verified the plants in this
collection, as well as printing
computerized labels and helping
with advice and problem solving.

Our first stop on the field
trip was a tour of the new labora-
tory of the Pikes Peak Research
Station and an inspection of the
CONPS collection. Following our
visit, we spent the rest of the day
searching for species that may have
been missed, or recollecting cer-
tain ones we still need.

In our trek from the "Potato
barn" to the Twin Rocks area, more
than 100 blooming species were
recorded and two new species for
the herbarium were collected.

Topics to be covered include
restoration of coastal ecosystems
and estuaries; rivers and lakes;
streams and fisheries; rangelands,
prairies, mined lands, forests and
wildlife; atmosphere and climate;
dry lands and agricultural lands;
urban environmental planning; and
control of toxic wastes. Formal
refereed papers will be presented
at scientific and technical ses-
sions. Non-technical sessions will
include accounts of restoration
successes and discussions of policy
issues, legislation, litigation,
trends, and resource conflict re-
solution. The program also in-
cludes keynote panels, plenary ses-
sions, workshops, films and exhib-
its,

Deadine for call for papers
is October 15, 1987. Submit 4
copies of abstract (title and 200-
400 work descriptions of proposed
20-minute presentations). Final
text of accepted papers will be due
November 30, 1987. Information is
available from: Restoring the
Earth Conference, 1713 C Martin
Luther King Jr. Way, Berkeley, CA
94709, 415-843-2645.

7

OFFICERS

President

Eleanor V on Bargers

756-1410

Vice-President

Steve 0* Kane

1177-01 S3

Secretary

Meg fan Mess

279-2569

Treasurer

Myma P. Steinkamp

226-3371

BOA BID OF BIIRECT MS

Lee Barzee (§8}

Colo. Spgs.

634-4715

Jim Borland CM)

Denver

329-9198

Carol Brandt C ®7 )

Ft- Collins

484-925 1

Virginia Crosby CS?) Lafayette

666-5333

Miriam Denham (8?) Boulder

442-1020

Mark Gaiatowl tseb (881 Beribeud

5 32- 4 6 35

Elizabeth Otto (88)

Idaho Springs

967-2304

Velma Richards (88)

Englewood

794-5432

Les Shader ($1)

Ft. Collins

#t84-0107

Eleanor fen Sargent

(87) Denver

756-1400

'Chapter Presidents (Members of Beard)

Bottlder

Virginia Crosby

666-5303

Denver Metro

Peter Boot

433-934©

Ft. Collins

Carol Brandt

M-92S1

COMMITTEES

Conserva^' * nm

Sue Martin

226-3371

Editorl a i

Peter loot

413-934©

Educatl £»

Miriam) Denham

4«_|02®

Field Trips

II evils BeBee

733-103®

Florissant

Mary Edwards

2J3-S133

Horticulture A

Cay le Weinstein

333-3024

Rehabilitation

Membership

Byrna Stelrakamp

226-3371

Publicity

workshops

Bill Jennings

494-5159

Colorado native Plant Society
P.O. Box 200

Fort Collins, Colorado 80522

SCHEDULE OF MEMBERSHIP FEE'S
Life $25-3.00 Family or Dual $12.0®

Supporting 50-00 Individual 8.00,

Organization 25.00 Student or Senior

MEMSLETTEF C0HTW1 B0TI OHS
Please direct all contributions to Use newslet-
ter to

Peter Moot

%315 Meat 3 1st Avenue
Denver, CO 80212

Deadlines for newsletter materials are February
15# J&pril 15, June 15# August 15, October 15 and
December 15.

There is a special need for short Iters such as
some unusual Information about a plant, a little
known botanical term# etc. Please Include au-
thor "g name and address, but items will toe
printed anonymously if requested.

MEMBERSHIP lElEKALS ££B INFORMATICS
Please direct all membership applications, re-
newals and address changes to the MEMBERSHIP
chairperson. In care off the Society*® mailing

address.

Please direct all other Inquiries regarding the
Society to the SECRET! R¥ In car® of the Soc-
iety*® mailing address.

wiose-prolf 1 1

<U’ffg»«B»ZAtscj«u
l#-S- Vtowtagpe
mib

Penal t #1415
liens ver, Colorado

Ti me Value Material - Mailed on or about September 24

CSS)&^> £ga&g3s- £$&£££>

COLORADO NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY
BOULDER CHAPTER

CALENDER

September 8 Colorado Life Zones

Take a pictorial hike with Dr- Miriam Denham? Boulder
botanist ? from the plains and prairies of Colorado through
the mountain forests to the alpine tundra.

This slide-talk will explore the abundance and variety of
plant (and animal) life associated with the different elevations!
zones in the state.

October 13 Willow Carrs of Boulder County

What are willow cams?

Why are they of interest to the members of the Native Plant
Society and the citizens of Boulder County?

Join Boulder County planner Dave Hal lock for a slide show
describing these mountain wetland areas that are critically
important to the preservation of county populations of elk as
well as a variety of fish and birds.

November 10 Wildf lowers of the Arapahoe Pass Trail

Frank Beck? professional geologist and one of the county's
most knowledgeable amateur botanists? will present a slide show
of the wildf lowers along one of the most beautiful and most
popular trails in Boulder County.

December 8 Restoring the Green

David Buckner? ecological consultant? will discuss the legal
requirements for revegetation and the success of revegetation
programs in this "before and after" look at mining sites.

Meetings are free and open to the public. Monthly meetings are
held on the second Tuesday of the month at 7:30 pm at the
Foothills Nature Center? 4201 North Broadway? Boulder.

Call 449~30 £ i 1 or 666-5303 (eve) for further information.

*&£&>