. . dedicated to the appreciation and conservation of the Colorado native flora” Volume 12, Number 1 DENVER CHAPTER PROGRAMS The Denver Chapter of CONPS meets on the fourth Wednesday of each month from September to May (except December) at 7:30 pm at the Denver Botanic Gardens House, 909 York Street, Denver. Programs for early 1988 include: Wed., January 27 Landscaping with Native Shrubs Presented by Gayle Weinstein Gayle is in charge of design and maintenance of the outdoor collections at the Botanic Gardens. Wed., February 24 Two Forks Presented by Rocky Smith Rocky Smith of the Colorado Environmental Coalition will dis- cuss the impact of the proposed Two ^r^orks reservoir on the South Platte liver. Come and hear some new information on the possible effects of this project on scenery and wildlife. January/February 1988 Colorado Flora : Western SlQp.e. We still have discounted copies of Weberns new Colorado Flora : Western Slope available. The price is $15 picked up or $17 mailed. Contact Les Shader, c/o CONPS, P.O. Box 200, Fort Collins, 80522-0200, or phone 484-0107. (Rumor has it that the next edition will not be out for about a year.) CALENDAR January 30 - Rare Plants in Wyoming — Are There Any? Workshop: Hillis Marriott February 20 - Deciduous Trees of Northern Colorado Workshop: Dr. Gilbert Fechner April 2 - Identification and Class- ification of Crvptantha (Boraginaceae) Workshop: Dr. Walter A. Kelley April 23 - Improving Your Wildflower Photography Workshop: Bill Jennings and Loraine Yeatts May 14 - Natural Communities of Colorado Workshop: Sue Galatowitsoh WORKSHOPS Sat., January 30, 1987 Rare Plants in Wyoming: Are There Any? Leader: Hollis Marriott In 1986 ,* The Nature Conservan- cy hired Hollis Marriott as "Wyo- ming Botanist" to upgrade the Wyo- ming rare plant database maintained by the Department of Environmental Quality. Working in cooperation with the Rocky Mountain Herbarium at the University of Wyoming, Hol- lis has spent the last two field seasons trying to determine just exactly which plant species are rare in the state and what protec- tion efforts are needed. This workshop will cover rare and pos- sibly threatened Wyoming plants, with emphasis on those closest to Colorado. Slides, specimens, maps, keys, some live material, and dis- cussions will be used to address the problems of rarity: What is rare? Why save rare plants? How do we save rare plants? To be held at Foothills Nature Center, 4201 N. Broadway, Boulder. Sat., February 20, 1988 Deciduous Trees of Northern Colorado Leader: Dr. Gilbert Fechner Workshop regulars may remember Dr. Fechner *s excellent workshop on coniferous trees in November, 1985. This time, we will obtain an ac- quaintance with the native deci- duous trees, especially in Acer . Alnus . Betula, Celtis . Populus ^ and Quercus . Topics to be covered include morphology, ecology, dis- tribution, and importance of the native species in the above genera. A key will be provided and winter twigs and pressed specimens will be available for examination. To be held at the Natural Resources Re- search Laboratory, Colorado State University campus. Fort Collins. This will be a half-day workshop (9 am - noon). Registration fee: $5. Sat . , April 2, 1988 Identification and Classification of Crvptantha (Boraginaceae ) Leader: Dr. Walter A. Kelley Plants in genus Crvptantha . usually called "miner’s candle", are hard to identify, often requir- ing careful study of the nutlets. Dr. Kelley has investigated this group extensively and will show just what to look for, both in the field and in the herbarium, when trying to key plants. Nutlet ter- minology in particular is confus- ing, so he has prepared a series of slides and line drawings that will be thoroughly discussed during the workshop. Primary empasis will be on the perennial species, particu- larly those of the western slope. Dr. Kelley has indicated he has lots of specimens for us to tear apart. To be held in El 12, Plant Science Building, Colorado State University campus, Fort Collins. 2 Sat*, April 23, 1988 Improving lour Wildflowar Photography Leaders: Bill Jennings and r Lorraine Yeatts If you h,ave ever seen their slide shows, you know that Loraine and Bill usually take good pic- tures. While luck and patience play a role in good photography, so do composition, light, film, and depth of field. Topics to be covered include differences in films, differences in cameras, how and when to use flash, the interac- tion of depth of field and lens f- stop, and how to deal with a tri- pod. To be held at the Foothills Nature Center, 4201 N. Broadway, Boulder. We will work indoors in the morning. After lunch, we will put our new-found knowledge to work and go photograph some flowers north of Boulder. Sat,, May 14, 1988 Natural Communities of Colorado Leader: Sue Galatowitsch Most are familiar with the life-zone concept: plains, foot- hills, montane, etc., but within each life zone are a number of plant communities. A plant com- munity is an association of plants, regularly and repeatedly seen in a particular exposure, on a particu- lar rock type, or in a moist or dry environment within a given life zone. Sue will explain exactly what is meant by a natural communi- ty, how to recognize one, the im- portance to the diversity of the natural flora, and above all, will present examples of numerous plant communities native to northern Co- lorado. Location to be announced, but to be held primarily in the field. ^or next fall and winter ( 1988 - 89 ), we have already received tentative commitments from instruc- tors for workshops on the following topics: Identification of Carex (Sedges) ; Pre-sett lement/Post-set- tlement Vegetation in the Arkansas Valley; Identification of Penste- mons; Poisonous Plants; and Identi- fication and Taxonomy of Aquatic Plants . 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 CONPS 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 mail about two (2) weeks^jprior 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 woi^Ksnop per year, it is cheaper to join CONPS as an individual ($8/year) and come to workshops as a member. You may pay in advance or at the workshop, whichever you wish. It takes considerable time and effort for the instructors to plan and develop workshops and field trips. Please let us know how you like the workshops and field trips we plan. We need your suggestions for others, as well as your feed- back on whether you found them informative and exciting or dull and uninteresting. We need to know whether we are serving you, our members, the way you wish. 3 BOTANISTS INSPIRE BIRDERS Birdwatchers in Colorado have started a major research project which originated with British bota- nists. The Colorado Bird Atlas Partnership has initiated a five- year effort to survey the breeding birds of Colorado on a detailed scale; 300-400 volunteer field workers will census blocks three miles on a side> one in each topo- graphic map. The atlas procedures follow those developed in several of the eastern states of the U.S. Although Colorado is the first western state to undertake an at- las, most eastern states and Cana- dian provinces have similar pro- jects underway. The idea originated in Great Britain, where botanists produced, in 1962, an Atlas of British Flora . This mapped plant distributions by presence or absence in 10 kilometer grids. It took 1500 botanists ten years to plot the distributions of 2000 species of plants. Inspired by the botanists, and by a couple of pilot projects, the British produced the Atlas of Breeding Bie ds in lr.itain mA I rA lMlA in 1976 . The book relied on five years of work by 10,000 observers. We in Colorado have initiated the Colorado bird atlas through the cooperation of the federal and state agencies concerned with wild- life, the various Audubon and bird clubs across the state, and inter- ested colleges and museums. Head- quarters are at the Denver Museum of Natural History. The five-year project started in 1987, and will culminate in a published atlas and a database compatible with the wildlife database used the Colorado Division of Wildlife. Ornithology is a science which depends on amateurs for much of its information, thus permitting devel- opment of this massive project with reliance mainly upon volunteers throughout the state. Government agencies support the project because it will provide them with new, more precise data on the birds of the state. They will have better information to use in carrying out their environmental responsibilities. The Audubon chapters support it for that rea- son, as well as because it will simply add to our knowledge about Colorado birds. CONPS President Eleanor Von Bargen expressed interest, and recommended an article in Acui- legia . Do you suppose she sees an Atlas of Colorado Flora in our future? We bird watchers would be glad to cooperate, as best we can, in such a botany project, even as we realize that collecting data on plants requires a much different effort. Even though bird breeding and plant seasons probably are comparable in length, we have only 250-275 breeding birds in the state. I suppose Colorado has five to ten times as many plants. At any rate, we Colorado bird atlasers want you Native Planters to know about our effort. Maybe you can come up with a comparable effort. Hugh Kingery Project Director 4 COLORADO ON THE EDGE A Conference About the Future of Colorado’s Environment February 12 and 13, 1988 Coloradans are on the verge of making final decisions about their future environment. Will the Front Range of Colorado look like south- ern California in a few years? Will our last remaining pockets of wilderness be turned over to oil and gas drilling or be sacrificed to timber cutting and more ski developments? This conference will explore visions for Colorado’s future and discuss strategies for keeping the ’’wild” in Colorado. The conference opens with a discussion panel, to be held on the Auraria campus in Denver, in which six well-known citizens, active in public affairs, will share their perspectives on how to integrate economic growth with environmental protection . The Saturday morning session, held at the CU campus in Boulder, will start with an overview of — ^folorado through time, beginning 'f /ith its past as an undeveloped frontier up to land uses of today. Two possible scenarios will be portrayed. The purpose of this session is to highlight Colorado’s rich past and to inspire new people to become involved in its future. Senator Tim Wirth will speak during the buffet luncheon in the UMC ballroom. Saturday afternoon will con- sist of concurrent sessions/stra- tegy workshops covering Colorado’s major environmental issues, includ- ing: air, water, wildlife, recycl- ing, pesticides, and hazardous materials, outdoor recreation, the state legislature, ecosystems and biodiversity, agriculture, wilder- ness, rivers, urban land use, and grassroots activism. After the issue sessions will be a wrap-up panel of environmental leaders dis- cussing future directions for Colo- rado’s environmental community. Following a reception for speakers and students, wilderness author and advocate Roderick Nash will give a keynote address en- titled, ’’Colorado Wilderness: Past, Present, and Future”. The final event of the conference is an "I Love Colorado” Valentine’s Eve dance, with Hot Rize, a Colorado bluegrass band. The fee for the conference is $12 for the Friday and Saturday programs, and $5 for the luncheon, or $15 prepaid, for both. (The dance is additional.) For more information contact the CU Environmental Center, UMC 331, Campus Box 207, University of Colorado, Boulder, 80309-0207. Registration for ** Colorado On The Edge" Name Address Phone □ Conference only (Fri.a Sat.) $12 □ Conference & Luncheon $15 □ Conference- Lunch, & Dinner Sat. $25 □ C.U. students- Conference only Free □ C.U. students* Luncheon $5 * Send registratbn to: The Environmental Center* UMC 331 A, Campus Box 207, U. of CO, Boulder, 80309 * Make checks payable to University of Colorado” •please note: Admission to the dance with Hot Rize is additional to the conference fee. Students $3. Others $5. (Tickets will be sold at the door) 5 Seed Dispersal Mechanisms Workshop The CONPS first workshop for the 1987-88 season took place Nov- ember 14, 1987 , at the Pikes Peak Research Station. The subject was "Seed Dispersal Mechanisms" and it was conducted by Dr. Boyce Drum- mond, director of the station. The Pikes Peak Research Station is located near Florissant, Colorado at an elevation of about 8,800 feet, with a spectacular view of the mountains. The station is an interdisciplinary scientific labo- ratory which involves research and the studying of geology, biology, and anthropology in the surrounding mountain environment. The station provides accredited courses through a number of colleges and universi- ties. Workshop leader Dr. Boyce Drummond gave participants a fasci- nating day of learning. Drummond has studied plant/animal relation- 8th BIENNIAL HIGH ALTITUDE REVEGETATION WORKSHOP March 3 & 4, I 988 Holiday Inn Prospect Street Fort Collins Since 1974, the High Altitude Revegetation Workshop has been a pre-eminent forum for the discus- sion of the technology and unique environmental issues pertaining to revegetation and rehabilitation of disturbed lands at high elevations. The Workshop is held every other year. It is a non-profit endeavor organized by a standing committee of volunteer profession- als representing universities, go- vernment agencies, mining com- panies, ski areas, landscape archi- tects, highway engineers, and con- tractors. The 1988 High Altitude Revege- tation Workshop program will in- clude special sessions dealing with: adapted plant materials current research case studies in high altitude revegetation ships for twenty years and holds a Ph.D. in Ecology and Entomology from the University of Florida. ^ After an introduction and his- tory of seed dispersal, Dr. Boyce Drummond transitioned into a pre- sentation on why "seeds disperse and what are the advantages to dispersal”. It benefits a seed to disperse and escape from its parent location if conditions are not good at the parent location. Seed pre- dators such as birds and rodents can prey more where seeds are dumped together such as the ground area right below a tree trunk, so it is obviously to the advantage of the seeds to be able to get to another location further away from the parent site. What about com- petition with your siblings at the continued next page reclamation materials and techniques reclamation of mill tailings The Workshop will also include an extensive exhibition area, spe- cial luncheon and banquet presenta- tions, and keynote address. Registration for individuals will be $115 and will include lun- ches, a banquet, and the published proceedings. Students may register for $ 25 * (Student registration does not include the lunches or banquet . ) Registration and program in- formation may be obtained from: Gary Thor Department of Agronomy Colorado State University Fort Collins, CO 80523 ( 303 ) 491-6517 Interested exhibitors should contact : Mark Theisen Bowman Construction Supply, Inc. 2310 S. Syracuse Way Denver, CO 80231 (303) 696-8960 6 continued from previous page parent site? This could be another reason to disperse somewhere else, "^^aybe light and water conditions are not quite suitable at the ori- ginal parent site. Dr. Drummond talked about ‘^directed dispersal hypothesis”. Some seeds produced are valuable to a certain bird or animal which in turn carries the seeds to an outlying location. Chickadees and jays have long been known to cache seeds in bushes or trees as a food source. Dr. Drummond elaborated on seed morphology and classification of fruit types. Previously parti- cipants were asked to bring unusual seeds to the workshop so that we could all better comprehend seed structure and seed adaptation. A most interesting fruit passed around the classroom was a campanu- la with shaved holes or pores lo- cated at the base of the fruit . After hanging down in the flowering stage the fruit then stands erect enabling the seeds to drop outwards rom the bottom. Perhaps the most fascinating segment of the workshop highlighted modes of seed dispersal. The dis- persal classes were broken down into the following: self-disper- sed, wind-dispersed, no special dispersal, water dispersal, disper- sal on animal exteriors, dispersal by animal harvesters, and dispersal by animal interiors. An example of self-dispersal is found in Geranium fremontii which expels its seeds outward. Wind dispersal is more apt to occur when the seed is greatly reduced in size such as milkweed, and where there is a high surface to volume ratio such as silver maple seeds. Beggar *s-tick or Bidens has a grasping or cling- ing adaptation that increases the likelihood of their transportation by animal or man exterors. Dis- persal by animal interiors can be observed with birds and the disper- sal by animal harvesters can be seen with ants. Boyce Drummond provided a most comprehensive and informative bib- liography. Another interesting aspect of the class was the know- ledge disseminated about the build- ing of a seed collection. A number of participants viewed the CONPS’s herbarium col- lection for the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, which is housed at the Pikes Peak Research Station . Those of you looking for an educational interesting weekend excursion would be well advised to visit the Pikes Peak Research Sta- tion. This facility is located on privately owned land that has been declared a National Environmental Study Area by the National Park Service. Dome Rock Wildlife Area, Mueller Ranch State Park, and the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument are all nearby for view- ing. Tina Jones 7 SUMMER COURSES AT MEEKER This summer the University of Colorado will offer a series of courses at Meeker, Colorado. Two of these which will be conducted between June 13 and July 1 should interest CONPS members. MUSM54T-3 Museum Field Methods in Botany A study of mosses and lichens with intensive field work from desert-steppe to alpine-tundra. Emphasis on field and laboratory recognition of mosses and lichens in all life zones. Instruction includes plant taxonomy, the use of dichotomous keys, and methods of collecting and preserving plant specimens. The course format con- sists of the study of mosses and lichens in the field and labora- tory. Students will have the op- tion of assembling a collection of herbarium specimens. This course is especially suitable for life science teachers, naturalits, botanists, foresters, ecologists, zoologists, and land managers who need practical training in recogni- tion and museum methods of Colorado western slope plants. Jo Ann Flock, Assistant Cura- tor of Botany at the University of Colorado Herbarium, has extensive experience in collecting, identi- fying and preparing lower plants. Research experience includes pro- grams being carried out in Colo- rado, the Bering Strait, the Brooks Range in Alaska and New Zealand. MUSM547-3 Museum Field Methods in Botany A study of western slope flora with Intensive field work from desert-steppe to alpine-tundra. Emphasis on field recognition of flowering plants in all life zones. Instruction includes plant taxon- omy, the use of dichotomous keys, and methods of collecting and pre- serving plant specimens. The course format consists of the study of plants in the field and labora- tory. Students will have the op- tion of assembling a collection of herbarium specimens. This course is especially suitable for life science teachers, naturalists, bot- anists, foresters, ecologists, zo- ologists, and land managers who need practical training in recogni- tion and museum methods of Colorado western slope plants. William A. Weber, Professor of Natural History and Curator of the Herbarium at the University of Colorado at Boulder, is an author- ity on the flora of Colorado and author of Rocky Mountain Flora and Colorado Flora: Western Slop e, the first text completely covering Co- lorado west of the continental divide. A Fellow of the Linnean Society, his research has taken him from Scandinavia to New Guinea, Nepal, Japan and the Galapagos Islands, with his most recent work taking place in the Altai of the USSR. For more information, call John Dunn, 303-492-6409 or toll- free in Colorado, 1-800-332-5839. 8 The Fort Collins Chapter of CONPS is working with the City of Fort Collins, Fort Collins Audubon Society, and Poudre River Trust to create a small (1/2 acre) prairie garden at the Gustav Swanson Nature Area along the Poudre River in downtown Fort Collins. The main feature of the nature area will be a handicapped-accessible nature trail along the river through bot- tomlands dominated by cottonwoods and willows. The understory con- sists primarily of alien species such as summer cypress, smooth brome, crested wheatgrass, and quackgrass . While our aim is not to re- create the full diversity of spe- cies found in the native prairie, we would like to demonstrate that native species can be used to create an attractive low-mainte- nance, water conserving landscape. We also would like to establish additional populations of native species (such as prairie gentian) which are rare in the area, and provide visitors an opportunity to ^ experience first hand the beauty of native plant species. We will utilize seeds of native plants occurring in the Fort Collins area to perpetuate the local genetic strains . The site we will reclaim is located near the proposed entrance to the nature area. In November, CONPS volunteers cleared the dense stand of summer cypress from the site. Also this fall, CONPS volun- teers collected local seeds of big and little bluestem, blue grama grass, Canadian wildrye, switch- grass, western wheatgrass, june- grass, blazing star, coneflower, penstemon, prairie gentian, golden- rod, stoneseed, sunflower, and skunkbush. We are searching for good stands of Indian grass, side- oats grama, little bluestem, and other showy natives (including those mentioned above). If you know of any good seed collecting areas near Fort Collins or have seed that you would like to donate please contact us. Volunteers are needed for seed collecting and cleaning, site preparation and planting. If you would like to participate in this exciting pro- ject, please call Betsy Neely (224 4193 ) or Alan Carpenter ( 491 - 4991 ) 9 FIELD TRIP TO MESA DE MAYA The Mesa de Maya is a lava- topped tableland about 50 miles east of Trinidad rising abruptly nearly 1000 feet from the surrounding rangeland. In this area of more than 300 square miles of mesas and canyons, drained on the north by the Arkansas River and the south by the Cimmaron River, are to be found unusual plants and archaelogical treasures of great interest. On the evening of 21 September 1987, we met at the lovely ranch home of Willard and Mary Ann Louden for a generous ranch buffet dinner. The evening was spent enjoying the home and renewing acquaintances and making new friends. Saturday morning, shepherded by Willard and his brother, Richard, we all loaded into two pickups and were given a guided tour of some of the many acres of the Mesa de Maya region; driven over primitive "roads" many miles to see the only known Colorado plants of mesquite ( Prosopis glandulosa ) , stopping frequently along the way whenever someone saw something not recognized or interesting. We had lunch at Goteras Springs, spotting some plants of Lobelia cardinalis in full bloom. Then we were the way on to see the only known Colorado plants of Bear Grass, Nolina texana . Along the way three wild burros were spotted and Willard took off, rounding them up so they could be seen by those in the second truck, Saturday night we were on top of the Mesa de Maya and enjoyed an excellent meal cooked over a large open fire. The day had been cool, pleasant and overcast and we enjoyed the heat of the fire as well as the food , About 12:30 A.M., we woke to a fine drizzle. Richard got up early and resurrected the fire, so those of us who had been damp joined him, and were joined shortly by all, The^^ rain let up slightly as we enjoyec^^ our hot breakfast cooked over the open fire. The rain drizzle returned, so sadly we decided that it was best not to continue to botanize. Those riding in the backs of the open pickups did their best to stay dry and warm - some more successfully than others - and we returned to the ranch house. Mary Ann and Willard put out a snack buffet while they prepared dinner. Because of the long drive back to Denver and points north, many decided to leave early. In spite of the truncated trip, the group identified about 135 different kinds of plants. So, thanks to Ivo Lindauer, we had a very successful trip and were able to see an area not generally open to the public. Dale L. and Miriam L. Denham 10 BLADDERWORTS Bladderworts (Utricularlaceae) notoriously difficult to iden- tify, partly because they grow under water, collapse when taken from the water, and don*t fruit very frequently. We have three of them in Colorado. Goran Thor has just published a paper ( Utrlcularla stygia Thor, a new Utrlcularla species in Sweden. Svensk Bot. Tldskrift 81:274-280. 198?) that introduces a new and ingenious method for telling them apart. It appears that inside the bladders of the leaves there are four-celled, four-branched hairs (presumably aiding to trap the microorganisms that enter the bladders) whose cells are linear-oblong, all at- tached at a common point. Visual- ize these hairs asa set of four matchsticks, two long and two some- what shorter. In the common Utri- cularia vulgaris the long arms form a V with a narrow angle, and the short arms form an upside- down V with an angle of over 90 degrees. In the less common U. minor the two pairs of arms all point in the same direction, the longer pair within the shorter pair, like a four-toed bird’s foot. In Ui. oohroleuca (known from only one or two collections) the short pair form a straight line perpendi- cular to the V-shaped longer pair. And if you find one in which the long pair and the short pair are in a straight line like two pairs of cigars end to end you will have added a species to the State. Flora: IL. intermedia 4 which occurs in America in the east and the far northwest, and which could well be expected in Colorado. 11 OFICERS Pr^ident Eleanor Von Bargen V1ce“Presi