. . . dedicated to the appreciation and conservation of the Colorado native flora" Volume 13, Number 2 I Sought Isoetes Loraine Yeatts 2 Sept. 1988. Armed with raft, rake, plant press and brand new hip-waders, Veima Richards, Jan Wingate and I ad- vanced on Bierstadt Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). During our 1988 summer wetlands plant survey, we decided to document an F. J. Hermann collection of Isoetes lacustris plants which had washed ashore and are now enshrined in the University of Colorado herbarium (COLO). In its growth habit, this fern-related member of the Isoetaceae resembles a miniature aquatic onion cluster, with bright green, slender, elongated cylindrical leaves (sporophylls) forming a rosette arising from corms rooted on lake bottoms or shorelines. The quill-like leaf form gives this plant its common name, quillwort. Megaspores and microspores, the asexual reproductive cells, are encased between dorsal and ventral leaf surfaces at their flattened bases and are arranged in alternating cycles in the rosette. The megaspore surface ornamentation characterizes each species but high-powered magnification is required to see this. A megaspore looks a little like a golf ball with an average diameter of 0.25 to 0.8 mm. Undaunted by the stares of curious picnickers and ravenous, aggressive ducks who thought we should share our lunch with them, we proceeded to pump upthe raft and feed pistachio shells to the ducks. With our knowledge of Isoetes limited to textbook images we spread out to max- imize our search efforts. Velma, In her new hip boots, waded out into hip deep water. Jan patrolled the shoreline and I launched the raft, poling along with the rake. As I worked my way across the lake, I observed quantities of pondweed and masses of algae floating above the lake bot- tom ooze, but nothing recognizable as Isoetes. When Jan and I reconnoitered at the far end of the lake we realized that Velma had not moved from the spot where we left her and we wondered whether she was stuck in the ooze. But since Isoetes was our priority and Velma's head was above water, we continued our search. continued on page 3 March/April 1989 Calendar Overview Additional information about calendar items will be found throughout this issue. Workshops and Meetings April 15 Pollination Ecology Leader: Dr. Boyce Drummond April 15 Rare Plant Volunteers Leader: Betsy Neely, TNG May 13 Board Meeting; 1:30 PM At Gayle Weinstein’s Home Field Trips May 20 - 21 Southeast Grasslands Leader: Rick Brune May 27 - 29 West Central Colorado Leaders: Joanne Young and Jeff Dawson June 10 Phantom Canyon Leader: Alan Carpenter June 18 Middle Park Endemics John Anderson June 20 - 23 Yampa River Trip Leader: Tamara Naumann July 8 Pueblo West/Arkansas Valley Jim Borland Page 2 Aquilegla Volume 13 ANNOUNCEMENTS Could It be . . . your LAST Newsletter? Membership renewal time Is running out if you wish to con- tinue receiving AquHegia on a timely basis. To determine your dues status, look at the mailing label on this issue. "Paid thru 1 988" means your renewal has not been received (or credited, if sent in recentiy). The Society has many programs, field trips, and workshops planned for 1 9^, and welcomes your participation. Also, there will be important plant conservation issues to be addressed this year, and the Society needs your support to maintain and increase its effectiveness. We look forward to the publication this spring of the monograf^ on Gdorado's rare plants. For all these activities, the Society needs your philosophical and financial support - please send your 1989 renewal NOWf! [See addre^ on outskle cover] CONPS To Use A Liability Waiver As we all are aware, we live In an increasingly litigious society— individuals and organizations fmve been sued for many reasons, some obvious and some less so. In addi- tion, on occasion the Society has been asked by property owners for a release of Itebility for an activity to be con- ducted on their land. Your ScKJiety’s Board of Directors has considered this situation, and has evaliated the choices available to protect the Society and its officers, directors, and members. Purchase of liability insurance vms investigated; ft was found that the costs would have forced a significant dues incr^se, and would have covered only our members, and only under limited circumstances. After examining the practices cl groups and organizations similar to ours In purpose and type of activities available to members, the Board hasdetermlr^ that our needs wmild best be served by use of a liability waiver. Accordingly, signing of the waiver has b^n estat^ished as a prerequisite fCH' participa- tion In Society fl^d trips and workshops. For your advance infomnation, the waiver to be used is printed as an In^rt with field trip policies in this issue. Pl^se review it carefully. You will be asked to sign a copy of the waiver for each field trip or workshop In the future. The Society is grateful to Mr. David Weinstein, attcMmey-at- law, for his advice and consultation regarding this proce- dure. The Society also tfmnks Tina Jones for investigating insurance options. Denver Chapter Activities March 22: CImpter Meeting, 7:30 PM, Denver Botanic Gar- dens, Classroom A. Bill Jennings will present the "Rarest of the Rare", his slide show f^turing some of Colorado’s most unusual plant species. Using the srate "Plant Species of Special Concern", Bill has photographed 55 rare plants in recent years. His talents In wildflower photography en- sure that this will be a spectacular evening. April 26: Chapter Meeting, 7:30 PM, Denver Botanic Gar- dens. Classroom A. Rod Mitchell, Denver Audubon Society, will discuss the new wildlife habitat maps prepared by the Society. He is also interested In hiring about your favorite places. Elections for new officers will also take place at this meet- ing, so please plan to attend. Call Carol Dav^n at 722- 6758 If you would like to nominate someone (or yourself!). May 24: Final chapter meeting of the y^r and potiuck din- ner, at Jim and Dorothy Borland’s house, 320 Adams, Den- ver; phone 329-9198. Plan to arrive early (around 6 PM) foaa^ a tour of Jim’s garden, followed by a potiuck dinner. June 3: Mt. Falcon hike and potiuck lunch. We’ll meet at 8:00 AM at the east parking lot (south of Morri^n on Colo. 8, follow brown aixl white park signs) arxl carpod to the top. After hiking down, we’ll regroup at the Morrison C^bin for a tour and potiuck lunch. More information will be provide at chapter meetings. The Denver Chapter usually m^ts on the fourth Wednes- day of Mch month (except summer). Contact Carol Daw- SOT (722-6758) for Information on chapter activities. ■"■i Ii'i'i'ili! Ii:i:!!!!!;!!! i::!!!!S3SaSa=: i: i::!!!!!!!!!!IL j Editorial Gratitude . . . to those who were able to submit articles to AquHegia on diskette. Thanks to Betsy Neely, Elizabeth Otto, Ann Cooperand Sue Martin forartlcles in this l^ue, and to Brian Geils (unpublished trip report). This Is very helpful to the newsletter compiler, and enhances our ability to get AquHegia to you promptly. And our apologies . . . to Jim Borland, for neglectir^ to associate his name wit, his intriguing article on Leucocrinum montanum [Instant Experts; Vol. 13. No. l.J We thought we had that problem solved, and promise to do better from now on. Number 2 Aquitegia Page 3 r laogtes Adventures, continued from page 1 Within a few minutes 1 saw my first lso§tes in an area of the Jake with a firm gravelly txjttom and under about two feet of clear water. At this point Jan was finding floating leaves along the shoreline. As I pded my way back toward Velma I discc^ered that most of tf^ lake bottom was carpeted with isoetes caked with and hiding under the mud colored mass of algae, in water one to three feet deep. Velma with book In hand was trying to Identify the iso§tes she had found almost as soon as she entered the water. She wasn't stuck in the mud, just In concentration. Having thorough- ly amused the tourists, the ducks and ourselves, we pressed some plants, deflated the raft and sloshed down the trail ^ger to Identify our find. My tentative tdentlfication of our specimens as iso§tes satacm ssp. muricata {L echinospora ssp. muricata) was confirmed when Peter Root carried some sammples to Pennsylvania fern ^pert Jim Montgomery. The Hermann specimen at COLO is also this species, and a new record for Rocky Mountain National Park and Larimer Co. 3 Sept 1988. 1 headed up the East Inlet traH on the west side of RMNP. My heightened awareness of lso§teB con- tributed to my realization that the green hue extending from the ^or^lne of Lone Pine Lake out Into waist deep water was a total carpet of Isoetes, The plants here were am- ^iblous, with some totally emersed in shore mud and meet submersed, ringing the deep central portion of the Elizabeth Otto The Colorado Native Plant Society Board of Directors met on January 21 at Tina Jones' house in Denver. Memb^s of the Board and Committees have been very active over the past ^veral months. Miriam Denham, chair of the Education Committee, has been organizing the CONPS display for the annual Garden and Home Show starting February 3rd In Denver. The theme for this year's show Is •'Everything is Coming Up Roses" so our display will focus on the Rosaceae. Miriam, along with Carol Dawson and Tina Jon^, has put tc^ether a display on edible rose species as w^l as species of that family that can be used in xeriscaping. lake. The bright green leaves were not algae encrusted making them much easier to recognize. These plants ap- peared at least superfk^ialiy different from those in BiersMt Lake, with smaller, firmer more spreading leaves. I carried a few plants home In baggies so they could be studied while fresh. After spendir^ two months in my refrigerator In a Jar of water, one plant Is happily growing under tap water rooted In bentonite clay from my yard. The adap- tabllty of this species, Isoetes bolanderi, amazes me and raises questions of culture and habitat requirements (in- cluding effects of water levels ami motion, temperature, nutrients), modes of propagation and dispersal, abun- dance, etc. With my curicmlty aroused I continued up the East Inlet trail to Lake Verna, finding lso§tes bolanderi in the stream between the lakes and abundantly blanketing the shallow water lake tottom along the shore of Lake Verna. Library research shows that /. setacea ssp. muricata Is fre- quent over most of North America with its southern limit in Colorado. l$o§te$ bolanderi, also frequent, Is found west of the continental divkJe In Colo'ado and western North America, It Is apparent that these plants are anything but rare, and I am anxious to continue the search next y^r to determine if lso§tes species are merdy overlooked/urxler- coliectml or truly localized but abundant In a few areas. If any CONPS members are intrigued by these curious plants, don hip tK)ots, Join in the hunt, and share any in- sights you may gain with the rest of us. A committee of the Bc^rd has also been exploring the pos- sibility of establishing a cooperative agreement with the National Park Servtee at the Rocky Mountain National Park to facilitate CONPS members participating in research projects In the Park. If you are Interested in this project, contact Dorothy Udall or Brian Gells. The Board also agreed to donate $250 for the publicatfon of an educational brochure for the Pawnee National Grasslands. CONPS will be listed In the brochure as a sup- porter and we will review the brochure before it is published. Speakiixi of publishing, our own Rare Plant Monograph Is coming along. We have rais^ over $8000 for the publica- tion and hope to have it availaWe by summer. If you have not yet sent a donation for this special project, it’s still not too late. We need additional money for up-front expenses. And ^e final note, CONPS will again participate in a spe- cial summer program at the Denver Botanic Gardens. This year, rather than special activities during the extended eve- ning hours, the Gardens will be offering weekend programs. We have been given the weekend of July 15 and 18 to coordinate workshops, slide shows, field trips or tours of the Gardens, If you woi^d like to help out on this project, contact Gayle Weinstein or Tir^Jones. Page 4 AquHegia Volume 13 A Message from the Field Trip Chairman This edition ofAquHagia provides descriptions for field trips through early July. Additional trips In July and early August have not yet been finalized and will be announced In the next newsletter. Some new procedures will be used on field trips this year. First, all participants wilt be required to sign a waiver to protect the society from liability. The trip leader will have the forms and signing will occur when the group gathers to begin the trip. Second, we want to standardize the method of recording species lists from field trips. A new form has been pre|:Mred and will be available from the trip leader. As before, a vcrfunteer on each trip will be asked to record a list of all species observed in flower for Society records. Other participants are encouraged to help with this. Third, to ensure a better record of field trip reports, the field trip chairman will do more fdlow-up this year. As before, the trip leader will ask for a volunteer to write an ar- ticle describing the trip and its highlights for the newslet- ter. Please be wilting to share your experience with those who were not able to be there. Reports should be thorough enough to convey the experience, but stop short of provid- ing a complete substitute for the trip. Other procedures and policies will remain the same. Please be sure to re-read the field trip fX)Ilcles printed in this issue. We are trying a new type of trip this year, a raft trip down the Yampa River. If people are interested, we can have trips of this sort in subsequent years. Other suggestions for dif- ferent types of trips, such as backpacking trips to more remote areas, have been made recently. If you have ideas for future trips, or comments on the selection for this year, c^ll Jeff Dawson, the field trip chairman, at 722-6758. Jeff Dawson Volunteers Needed The Denver Museum of Natural History's Zoology Dept, needs assistance in developing their herbarium. Volunteers would be involved in the following possibilities: collecting and mounting Colorado plants, labeling plant folders and herbarium sheets, typing collector’s data into a computer, and various other herbarium jobs. If Interested call Tina Jones (759-9701 ) or Elaine Smith (447-9641). Inquiries may be addressed to: Attention Herbarium, Denver Museum of Natural History, Zoology Dept, 2001 Colorado Blvd., Den- ver, CO 80205. Enviroscope ^ Those Interested in more thorough coverage of environ- mental issues will welcome the recent announcement by The Colorado Daily of a new weekly column, Enviroscope, designed to provide environmental thinkers and the public "a chance to say something about the profound environ- mental crises facing us". In an introductory column, Dale Bailey. Enviroscope coordinator, comments that "news coverage of the environmental crisis should reach beyond the latest environmental mistake. It needs to be long-range; it must have a vision." Articles are being sought from bureaucrats, private sector leaders, environmentalists across the spectrum, elected officials - af>d anyone with a concern to address and a solution to propose. Criteria for articles submitted are: Ar- ticles should be about a single environmental topic, authors should offer a solution to a problem and defend that solution In a coherent and to-the-point style of writing, and submissions should be 400 to 500 words long, typed double-space. For more information or to submit articles: Enviroscope, Colorado Daily, Attn: Dale Bailey, PO Box 1719, Boulder, CO KI306: or phone 443-6272. Roxborough Seminars Roxborough State Park and the Rocky Mountain Nature As- sociation will offer a series of field seminars this year. One which may interest CON PS members is on Identifying Spring Wildf lowers - Keys to Using Plant Keys to be held April ^h at the Park’s O’Malley Visitor Center. Each seminar runs from 9 AM to 4 PM and has a $4 registration fee which includes instruction, materials, morning coffee and a snack. If you find yourself searching through plant guides each spring wishing you could remember the names of your favorite wildflowers, this seminar is for you. Vickey Trammell will share the basics of wildflower identificatiqiH|v providing a better understanding of plant structure ar^ family characteristics to improve your skills in using ^anX keys. For additional information, please contact Rox- borough State Park at (303)973-3959. Number 2 Aqullegia Pages Improving Wlldflower Photography Workshop Report by Gwen Kittel Loraine Yeatts and Bill Jennings led this highly instructive and Interesting v^orkshop last April 23rd at the Foothills Na- ture Center In Boulder. As any of you who have seen Loraine and Bill’s slide presentations know, their photos are eX' quisite! From laixiscapes to the most up-dose-and-per- sonal photos of Individual flowers, their photos have that "Sierra Club Calendar - Ooooahhh! quality to them, "How did she capture that light? "Gee, the composition of this side is simply perfect! With these thoughts in mind, I went to this workshop to learn some of Loraine and Bill’s secrets to excellent wlldflower photography. First we reviewed the hardware. This gave us the oppor- tunity to ask "What’s this button for?" and other questions to become more familiar with our cameras. We learned about different lenses and what types are best for dose ups. There seems to be a trade-off between magnification and optical quality. The best advice given for hardware was to practice and get to know your equipment well. Loraine talked about composition and aesthetics. A few of the basic rules, she said, are to never divide the picture ^’^directly in half, but divide it into thirds horizontally and ver- tically. Then place the focal point at the Intersections of these imaginary lines. Other tips were to "garden" the area in the field, removing blades of grass, rocks, etc. A blurred object In the background or foreground of a close-up shot can distract from the main subject and ruin a photograph. The highlight of the workshop for me was viewing slides. It was an opportunity to take a critical look at one another’s best and worst shots with our new knowledge. One thing we did was cropping. By holding a magazine in front of the projector, we could view the slide in its new cropped form, it was surprising to see what a difference It made to a close- up of aflower to crop out a small but distracting out-of-focus blob in the bottom of the picture. Cropping can really make a so-so shot a Mbulous one! Bill Jennings took comparative photos of the same subject under Wentical lighting with five different types of film (Fujicolor, Kodachrome, Ektachrome, etc.) A conclusion was reached that some films are good for reds, some for grays, and some for low light, but none was best in all areas. What to do? For me, still learning to get the exposure right, I stick with one kind of film. But Loraine just carries several cameras with a different type of film in each one! Other pointers were if you’re worried about getting the cor- rect exposure, bracket the f-stop, one up, one down, and you’ll be sure to get at least one well-exposed shot. When taking photographs at very slow shutter speeds, place your forefinger on the shutter and a thumb under the camera, and squeeze with equal pressure from above and below. This gives a little less movement For the afternoon we went out and tried some high tech hardware in the field. I took a close-up of Mertensia, with two extension tubes, a tripod, arid a cylindrical windbreak Loraine had made. My photos didn’t turn out quite as spectacular as Loraine’s, but maybe with a little more practice . . . This workshop was well-organized and provided a wealth of information. Thank you, Loraine Yeatts and Bill Jennings! Ed. Note: We would like to thank Gwen for contributing this report and hope ft will Inspire some of you to report on this year’s workshops and field trips! P.G.R. Parry Oatgrass Danthonia parryi Pages Aquiiegia Volume 13 CONPS Field Trips for 1989 Southeast Grasslands and Canyons May 20-21 Rick Brune Bring curiousity and expertise to explore this seldom visited part of Colorado. We’ll visit the rim of the Purgatolre Canyon, along Van Bremer arroyo on the west side of Ft. Carson, and a rare plunge pool community in Pearly Canyon on the east side. Other fxssstbilities include Picture Canyon, C^rrizo Canyon, and Comanche National Grassland. Roadrunners. tarantulas, and other Chihuahuan desert species occur here. There are also many archaeological sites, petroglyphs and pictographs. Something for everyone. The itinerary has not been finalized and will depend partly on weather and road conditions. Mixidy roads could make some ar^s Inaccessible. RegiHar cars should be alright, but 4WD vehicles are helpful. We will camp Saturday night, probaWy on Ft. Carson or at Comanche National Grassland. Either site would provide primitive camping, with no mcAels nearby. The trip involves visits to several locations using vehicles and moderate walking. Further details, including meeting time and place, will be provided to trip registrants. For information and to register, call Rick Brune, 238-5078 (Dnv). West Central Colorado May 27-29 Leaders: Joanne Young and Jeff Dawson This three-day trip will explore several areas in the Grand Junction region, in- cluding Grand Valley, Unaweep Canyon, Gateway, Naturita and Douglas Pass, with each day having a different focus. We will travel primarily by car, with fre- quent stops along the way. On Saturday, May 27th, a field trip will go to Black RkJge and the edge of Rat- tlesnake Canyon, west of Colorado National Monument. This area has been proposed as an addition to the existing monument. A 2- or 4-wheel drive vehicle with good clearance will be nec^sary. Meet at 10 AM at the Colorado National Monument Visitors Center; bring lunch. We will return by 4 PM or 5 PM. On Sunday, May 28th, we will drive through Unaweep Canyon to Gateway, and then explore along the Dolores and San Miguel River Valleys as far as Naturita. We will see species such as Penstemon umhensis, Gilia subnuda and the local endemic Lygodesmm dolomnsis, as well as spectacular scenery and interesting geology. Number 2 Aquflegia Page? Phantom Canyon Preserve Saturday, June 10 Alan Carpenter The Nature Conservancy’s Phantom Canyon Preserve Is located northwest of Fort Collins at an elevation of 6000 to 68CK) feet. It consists of a striking canyon system formed by the North Fork of the Cache la Poudre River. A variety of plant associations occurs In upland parklands, rocky canyon rims, cliffs, riparian bottoms, side canyons, and moder^e to steep side slopes. The Nature Conser- vancy acquired the Phantom Canyon Preserve In December, 1987. Since that time, staff members In TNC’s Colorado Field Office have been developing a management plan to guide visitor use and biological studies. An important part of the biological Inventory is a complete checklist of plants at the preserve. We have made a start, but more inventory work needs to be done. The purpose of this field trip Is to explore portions of the preserve and add new species to the checklist. This trip is scheduled to coincide with peak flowering. One rare species, the Larimer aletes, occurs in the preserve and will be in fruit at this time. The meeting time and place will be 10:00 AM sharp at a locked silver-colored gate on the west skJe of US Highway 287, 4.7 miles north of the intersection of US 287 and the Cherokee Park Rd.; the locked gate is about 35 miles north of Fort Cdllns and about 8 miles north of Livermore. We will car- pool in a van from here to the preserve, will head for home about 5:00 PM. Please bring the usual botanizing tools (hand lens, flora, etc.), a lunch, water and rain gear. No fishing or plant collecting will be allowed on this trip. For more Information and to sign up, please call Alan Carpenter at 444- 1^50 (W) or 443-8094 (H) (Boulder). Trip limit Is 14 people. Middle Park Endemics June 18, 1989 John Anderson We will visit sites of the recently proposed endangered species, AsMgafus osterhoutH (Oster- hout milkvetch) and Penstemon pen/and// (Penland beardtongue), as w^l as other rare state species such as Atetes nuttallii. These are species whose n^rest relatives or occurrences are in WycMTiing and which represent a southern extension of an arid Wyoming floristic element. They grow on shale badlands around the town of Kremmling. Another Middle Park endemic, Physaria osterhoutH Payson. which is a form of P. fforibunda with pendant slllques, can also be investigated. In addition, we will lcx)k at the site of the proposed Muddy Creek Reservoir which will inundate some areas of the Osterhout milkvetch. Participants will meet at 10 AM at the Hot Sulphur Springs State Wildlife Area Campground 2 miles west of Hot Sulphur Springs along Highway 40 at the west end of Byer’s Canyon in T1 N R78W Si 6 NE. Those arriving the night before, on the 17th, can camp there or stey at a motel in Hot Sulphur Springs (a recommendation is the Riverside Hotel; phone 303/725-35^). Reser- vations are required: call Jeff Dawson at 722-6758 (Denver) to sign up. In accordance with CONPS policy, there will be no collecting on this trip. Pages AquHagm Volume 13 Field Trips, continued Pueblo West/Arkansas Valley July 8 -9? Jim Borland Travel part of the Arkansas River route that Pike, Long and Fremont took in the ^rly to mid- 1800’s. Explore the out- crops of the Niobrara Formation and its unique collection of endemic plants. Expect to see the rare Parthenium tetraneurls and the elusive and troublesome Mirabtfis rotundifotius vi/hich has been confused with its neighbors Oxybaphus hirsutus and the beautiful M. muttiflora. Plants indicative of calcium, sulfur, salt and selenium soils abound alongside rafts of choice pulvinate rock garden species. Common dryiand and riparian species that will be seen in- clude: Zinnia grandi flora, Melampodium leucanthum, Sphaeralcea angustifoiia, Hofmanseggia drapanocarpa, Artemisia arbuscuia, Atriplex confertifoUa, Frankenia jamesii, Sarcobatus vermicufaWs and perhaps Sacchar/s. The trip will begin in the vicinity of Pueblo Reservoir at 9:00 AM on Saturady July 8th. Walking sidetrlps from vehicles will be mostly on level ground and be 1/2 mile or less. Ar- rangements for overnight camping and the possibility of extending this field trip another day to see the rare Mentzella densa and additional botanical investigations up the road to Cripple Creek are being explored. Reservations required, trip limit 25. To register, call Jim Borland, 329- 9198 (Denver). Institute of River Ecology July 9 - 14 at Bailey, Colorado The Denver Audubon Society invites you to experience the Institute of River Ecology, now in its third year. Explore the ecological diversity, wildlife, and colorful history of the South Platte, one of Colorado’s majorrivers. Consider the management of Rocky Mountain water resources, the use of bottomland habitat by livestock, protection of wildlife, birds, fisheries, and many other usea Use advancedsam- pting methods to discover how many fish inhabit secluded str^ches of the river . Observe birds in streamside habltat- sof the mountains and on the plains. Join us, and share these experiences with top experts on all sides of the Is- sues. This is an exciting learning opportunity that you will remember for many years to come. Registration is limited: the fee is $350, covering all the week’s expenses. University credit is available at the op- tion of the participant. Dr. John Emerick of Colorado Schod of Mines is the principal instructor. Please address inquiries concerning the Institute to:Susan Q. Foster, Director; Institute of River Ecology: c/o Thorne Ecological Institute, 5370 Manhattan Circle, #104; Boulder, CO 80303 (303)499-3647. Number 2 Aquifegia Page 9 FLORAL TRIBUTES Ann Cooper I had a close encounter of an unfriendly kind last weekend. I was, at the time, in hot pursuit of a brown thrasher who lurked in a tangle of hackberry and wild plum. As I clam- bered up the wintery gully I stumbled into the largest and most vicious patch of Opuntla phaeacantha I have chanced to meet For 'phae', read dark. For ‘acantha’ read spines-those dark spines jabbed through my soft- sided hiking boots and into my feet. I might as well have been barefoot! And as I dealt with my problem, I had time to think about the family Cactaceae! My early acquaintance with cacti began with a meager and miserable collection of pot-plants. They never grew. They never flowered. They merely collected dust. They rejected the cool, humid climate of my English window-ledge. What I didn’t know then was the thievery that took place in Arizona and New Mexico, as well as Central and South America, to provide the nursery stock for much of the European collectors market I knew cacti came from the desert, thrived in the heat. My concept of desert back then was Sahara-ish. I had no ap- reclation of Sonoran, or Mohave, or Great Basin. Now that have felt the midday heat of Tucson, when only the cac- tus wren and the quails sing of life, I understand the remark- able adaptations the cacti have developed to prevent heat stress anid water loss; the thickened, waxy cuticle; the lack of persistent, functional leaves; the sunken stomata that open to admit carbon dioxide at night, (storing it as malic acid until it is needed for photosynthesis once the sun comes out), and close to prevent water loss by day; the various spines which cast shadows; the barrel bodies that provide the most inside for the least surface area, but that can concertina to accomodate more, or less, water supp- ly when necessary; the network of shallow roots to sop up the brief desert rainfall; the down-curved 'drip-tips’, spines which direct the droplets of condensing dew to the roots of the plant; the mucilaginous cell-sap that becomes more and more viscous as water reserves are used, binding the dwindling water ever more tightly. All that is fine for the heat of summer. But some members of the cactus family manage cold-weather survival too. Our own Pediocactus stmpsonii grows up to around 9, WO’ In Rocky Mountain National Park. In winter it hunkers down into the ground and is protected by the snow-cover. Opun- tias are found up into British Columbia, Alberta and On- tario-as far north as the 60th parallel. I read also of Tephrocactus species that are 'the only taller plants to nave penetrated as far as the edges of glaciers in the Andes, where white T ephrocactus looks iike snowfields or flocks of sheep from a distance". Does that mucilaginous cell-sap have some anti-freeze properties too, I wonder? Our Colorado species are average as cacti go, not setting any records. I am most familiar with the Front Range species. Coryphantha vivipara I think of as a vivid blotch of magen- ta among the prairie grasses. The first I saw were at Crow Creek, in the Pawnee grasslands. It is named from the greek koryphe, a cluster, and anthos, flower. The mound I photographed was a huge cluster of flowers covered with pollinating insects. Echinocereus vinWf torus, hen and chickens or green pitaya, is almost invisible in winter, grey and withdrawn. Come spring it plumps up and by flowering time is very at- tractive, though not showy, with its greenish flowers. The name derives from echinus, hedgehog or urchin, and cereus, waxy. As far as common names go, I prefer green pitaya. Hen and chickens still brings to mind a common succulent sempervivum I remember from my English days! Opuntias are by far the most common of the Colorado cacti. They Include Opuntia imbricata, (or Cylindropuntia Imbricata), the candelabra cactus. The tree form is sup- ported by a woody, reticulated skeleton. We have O. mac- rorhiza, the prickly pear and O. phaeacantha, the New Mexican prickly pear. O. polyacantha, the starvation cac- tus, has very prickly pads and dry fruits. O. fragitls, the brit- tle cactus, which breaks easily, is the one you are likely to find travelling with you, or your dog. Does it ever flower? Or is it so successful as a vegetative reproducer that flowers have become almost superfi uous? - next page Page 10 Aquilegk Volume 13 Floral Tributes, continued from page S In general the flowers of the prickly pears have numerous stamens, petals, sepals and bracts, spirally arranged aiKi somewhat intergrading. The stamens are sensitive to insect movement, and will curve around the back of an incoming bee. The Opuntias are all edible, some more so than others. The seeds can be dried and ground up into a flour, or soup thickening. The more pulpy of the prickly pear fruits can be peeled and eaten raw, or cooked into a basic syrup to make jelly-once you have got past the glochids that is! Those little tufts of barbed hairs are usually much more painful to encounter than the more vicious looking spines. They break off In the skin, leaving stubs to become Inflamed. The spines just poke! (I’ve wondered about the potency of that stab, however. Do the spines bear some FK)ison? I can find no mention it in the literature.) Amazing th^ glochids turn up In 90% of the human fecal remains examined from excavations at Mesa Verde! And talking of the past, the only fossil cacti known are a Pleistocene OpunM from Arizona and a much more ancient prickly-pear look-alike from Utah, dating back some 50 million years. One odd sugg^tion from my reading 1 am unatte to verify. Do prickly pears align themselves with their flat sides ^st-west, so that the mkfday sun strikes the narrow blade-edge? As usual, I sign off with more questions than answers. Number 2 Aquflegla Page 1 1 WANTED: ADOPT A RARE PLANT VOLUNTEERS Betsy Neely The Nature Conservancy’s mission is to find, protect and maintain the best examples of natural communities and populations of rare plant species. To date, the Conservan- cy has helped to secure 5 preserves protecting rare plant species (on the Species of Special Concern li^, Cdorado Natural Areas Program) in Colorado. These include: *Biack spleenwort, Aspienium andrewsii (Poiypodiaceae), known from 3 widely disjunct |X)pula- tions in Utah, Arizona and Colorado (Category 2, State list 1), is prota:t^ at White Rooks in Boulder Co., a coopera- tive effort with the City of Boulder Open Space. *Braya humilis (Brassicaceae), a small white-flowered mustard restricted to calcareous substrates above treeline, is protected at the West Hoosier Preserve along the Park/Summit Co.iine on a 4-acre mining claim (Category 2, State list 1). Braya is al^ known from Chaffee, Lake and Gunnison Cos. * Larimer aietes, A/etes humiliB (Apiaceae), is protected at the Phantom Canyon Preserve In Larimer Co. NW of Ft. Cdlins. Aietes is currently known from only Larimer and Boulder Cos. (Category 2. State list 1). *Rockloving aietes. Neoparrya litiiophlia, (Apiac^e) (Category 2, State list 1) is protected at its type locality, Faiislta Dike, a volcanic dike north of the Spanish P^ks in Huerfano Co. with a five y^r lease. This species is also known from Rio Giande, Chaffee, Saguache and Conejos Cos, ♦Dwarf rattiesnake prfantain, Goodyera repens (Or- chidaceae) (State list 2 = rare in Colorado but relatively common elsewhere within its range) Is protected at Bar Nl Ranch, southwest of the Spanish Peaks, in Las Animas and Costilla Cos. We are currently working on projects to protect species such as Erlogonum brandegel, Astragalus osterhoutli, Penstemon peniandii, Lesquereila congests, and Physaria obcordata. And there are so many more rare species wraiting for our attention! We would like to at l^st douWe the number d rare plant projects in Colorado In 1989. if we are to preserve the natural diversity of a state as large and complex as Colorado, each and every con- servation decision must be a sound one! To select sites wisely, we need precise biological information not only on the presumed b^t sites, but also for the full array of alter- nate sites. We are developing the ^opt a Rare Plant Program to help update Information on rare plant species (for the CNAP data base) and to help the Conservancy’s project selection process. The primary objective of the program is to assess the current status of selected rare species, and to deter- mine which popjation sites are the most outstending, thus qi^lifying for Conservancy projecte. You could help us by joining our Adopt a Rare Plant Volun- teer Program this summer. You would gather information on one rare plant species. Equipf^ with maps and Infor- mation, you would: • visit known populations of rare species • search for new populations In similar habitat • evaluate sites in terms of set criteria for poten- tial preserves We are having a training workshop for volunteers inter* ested in ’’adopting" a rare plant on Saturday, April 15 at The Nature Conservancy office in Boulder. Come learn the details of this exciting program! We will cover every- thing you need to know to get started to become a rare plant "parent', such as map reading, inventory techniques, and completing field forms. Weather f^rmitiing, we will conduct a short field evaluation at a rare plant site close to Boulder. For more Information, contact Betsy Neely at 444- 2^0. 1244 Pine St„ Boulder. CO ^302. President Vice-President Secretary Treasurer Eleanor Von Bargen Beth Painter Meg Van Ness Myrna P. Steinkamp Board of Directors Betsy Neely (90) Jim Borland (90) Boyce Drummond (89) Brian W. Geils (90) Tina Jones (89) Neal Osborn (89) Elizabeth Otto (90) Velma Richards (90) Eleanor Von Bargen (89) Gayle Weinstein (89) Colo. Spgs. Denver Florissant Fort Collins Denver Pueblo Idaho Springs Englewood Denver Denver 756-1400 482-2283 279-2569 226-3371 634-4715 329-9198 689-2025 482-8607 758-9701 546-0319 567-2384 794-5432 756-1400 333-3024 Chapter Presidents (Members of Board) Boulder Margie Wortzman 494-1640 Denver Metro Carol Dawson 722-6758 Ft. Collins Jennifer Crane Committees 493-2142 Conservation Sue Martin 226-3371 Editorial Peter Root 433-9340 Educaticm Miriam Denham 442-1020 Field Trips Jeff Dawson 722-6758 Florissant Mary Edwards 233-8133 Horticulture/Rehabilitatlon Dorothy Udall 482-9826 Membership Myrna Steinkamp 226-3371 Publicity Tina Jones 759-9701 Workshops Bill Jennings 494-5159 Life $250.00 Family or Dual $12.00 Supporting 50.00 Individual 8.00 Organization 25.00 Student or Senior 4.00 Membership Renewals and Information Please direct all membership applications, renewals and address changes to the MEMBERSHIP chairperson, in care of the Society’s mailing address. Please direct all other inquiries regarding the Society to the SECRETARY in care of the Society’s mailing address. Newsletter Contributions Please direct all contributions to the newsletter to: Peter Root 4915 West 31st Avenue Denver, CO 80212 Deadlines for newsletter materials are February 15, April 15, June 15, August 15, October 15 and December 15. There is a special need for short Herns such as unusual in- formation about a plant, a little known botanical term, etc. Please include author’s name and address, although items will be printed anonymously if requested. RETURN AND MAILING ADDRESS Colorado Native Plant Society P.O. Box 200 Fort Collins, Colorado 80522 Non-profit Oganization U.S. Postage PAID Permit #1475 Denver, Colorado Time Value Material - Mailed on or about March 27