Wyoming Native Plant Society Box 1471 Cheyenne, WY S2003 Volume 10 T Number 2 February 1991 Treasurer's Report -Balance as of Occober 15, 1990: $310.65; deposits: dues $95,50, T-shirt sales $30.00, scholarship fund $117,00; disbursements; stamps $54.60, newsletter printing $27,46; new balance as of February 20, 1991; $471.09. RD Correction - In the book review of Colorado Flora :Eastern Slope in the last issue of the newsletter, 1 indicated that "Schrader's publication of Erltrlchum was not valid. The earliest validation used the spelling Erit richium , correctly given in Ind ex Nominum Genericorum . " Bill Weber has since sent me information on Schrader's publication and 1 have rechecked the original and find that Bill is apparently correct and that Index Nominum Genericorum and I are incorrect, Schrader’s publication using the spelling Eri trichum is indeed valid for the genus, although the combination for the species ^ nanum was not valid there. RD Scholarship - One application has been received for our annual scholarship . The Board will likely be acting on the application in the next month, RD *** BOTANICAL DRAGNET *** My name is Joe Friday. I was born in Raceme, Wisconsin. My buddy Spike and I are just umbel cops, but we can go anywhere a catkin, and we always get our man , It was warm in Los Angeles. It was so warm that Spike and I were when you cedar cell." His only anther was to fire a pistil from a window. We let him rachis with fire for a while, then we broke down the. door. He had exhausted his ammunition, and the floor was littered with Brassicaceaes . "Boys," he said, "I'm glad it's over, I lost my shoes, and mitosis cold," Sadie warned us that the sapwood try to escape, so we took him to the station and locked him up in a guard cell. Later she cracked up, so we sent her to the insane xylem. Then our Irish police chief, Luke O’Plast, gave me a raise* so now I have a funiculus to jingle in my pocket. I also have my name over my office door inflorescence lights, and I feel quite superior overy the whole thing, --- — -Ament * Later t*ie chief was talking prowtions. ! thought, "Is he Cereus, or is epigyrvjus a curve?" J”B"B 1 Wyomlug plant Families Family 3: Brasslcaceae (alternate name Crueiferae) , Mustard Family This is the third largest family of flowering plants in Wyoming with 142 species. Cotanon representatives include mustard, horseradish, wallflower, water cress, radish, cabbage, and broccoli. The latter two are normally only cultivated and do not persist in the wild. The primary identifying characteristic is the four separate petals In each flower. They resemble a cross which accounts for the alternate family name of Crueiferae. There are usually 6 stamens. The fruit (called a silicle or sillgue ) is unique usually having two seed chambers separated by a membranous partition. The outer covering usually falls away when mature leaving only the membranous partition with an opaque outer border. The superior ovary will distinguish the family from some other families with four petals but an inferior ovary. In summary, Che four separate petals, usually b stamens, superior ovary, and two chambered ovary and fruit will separate the Brassicaceae from our other families. Look for plants with flowers of four petals and the characteristic mustard fruit (see Figure). Flowers and fruits will often both be present on the same plant. Some of our species are weeds or cultivated flowers and vegetables, so check disturbed and cultivated areas as well as undisturbed sites - Flgyr*. Eraflalcaceae , Cen* t A 1 1 led flcuer with one petal renovEd ««cwtalal.a ; L- Laa^ 4vareUa; H. SucLldlw; H. OuCcbTiUlU; 0- Lobularia; P-CC- Fruits (x 0-9); F. Tbalrpodlvaii; Q. i t, Conrlagta; £■ Caulanthiua ; T. ErrelmH; U. Stanleja; V. Heaparla; H- HalcolMjU; X. St rept«nt hua ; Y- Baplunua} Z, Slsya- btlua; BA. Arabia; BB. itallBalaboa; CC. Barbarsa. DD-IX. Frvlia (x 1.5): DD. BaatuTtlua; E£. Pbraaria; FF. lorlppa; OC. SMlonbla; HU. Subularia; XL. TUaapl arrenao JJ-PF. Fruits (x 0.9)1 JJ. Btsaalca; KK. CanlaMicLe; LI. Farrra; MU. SctwaoocCnbc; Ml. Cbbtiapbta; 00. RruuaCrua; FF. Stteptantbella . 2 Family 4: Cyperaceae , Sedge Family This is the fourth largest family of flowering plants in Wyoming with 13& species of which 105 are in one genus, Carex . Carex (sedges) is our largest genus with almost twice as many species as our next largest genus . Members of this family are grass-like or rush-like with sheathing, usually 3-ranked leaves. They are often mistaken for a grass but each flower is subtended by a single chaffy bract rather than 2 or more- Unlike grasses, the stem is often 3-sided * In Carex , the ovary (which becomes the fruit called an achene ) is enclosed in a sac called the perlgynlum . Other members of the family include cotton grass and bulrushes. Find a sedge In flower and with triangular stems (usually grow in wet places) and find a grass in flower and compare the two - Also compare the leaves. Refer back to the Grass Family* Family 2, RD Figure, Cypcirace£« , A, SpLka ol Cairex lurdliu (x 3) • B. Ferlg^iulli bf Cxrex (k 3). c. AchtAc of Cairex (k 3). 0. One tCXmlnet* and Ehrcc pistillate apUtet oC Carei rejnoldxll (* 1.4). £. Spl)i« of HeBlcarpha (x 4). F, Splkelet of tjabreata 3). G. Splkelet Cleft * 3) Afiii aetiene Sfld perianth Crljht * 6) o[ Bleocharla paluatrla. H. Splkelet of Crpenu arlaCaCua (i 3). 1. Four aplkeleta of Krtapboima C* 0.9), J. Achene and perianth Cleft * S) and aplkelet Cflsfit X 3) of ScirpuB. Aruiual Meeting - The annual meeting is scheduled for the Big Horn Canyon - Pryor Mountains area on June 22 and 23, 1991- The tentative schedule is to meet at 8:00 am on June 22 at the Big Horn Canyon National Recreation Area Visitor Center at the junction of highways 14A and 789-310 on the east side of Lovell, Further details will appear in the next newsletter. RD Contrlbators This Issue - J"E'’B - John ’'Barney" Baxter, JLD = Jane L, Dorn, RD = Robert Dom, NK - Nancy Kastning, 3 Floristic Survey of the Sierra Madre MooatalDE - The florisclc survey of the Sierra Madre was conducted in 1988 and 1989- I was very concerned about Che state of the environment in the Sierra Madre, New dead-end roads had been built all over the range indicating that massive logging is being planned- Coinmuni c ies already appear to be depauperate from logging which has been done in the past- The construction to provide a new and improved, paved east-west highway was destroying considerably sized areas of vegetation in 1989, I think environmental action needs to be taken in the Sierra Madre to protect the few unique areas left there , including some of the massive aspen stands on the west side, the Quercus gambelli habitat present along Battle Creek, and the bogs on the north side of Blackball Mountain- Coinmunities which contain Erigeron pinnatisectus on the summit of Blackball Mountain also need to be preserved - Further studies should be done on the Ipom opsis aggregata ssp . weberi occurring on the west side of Battle Mountain and preservation plans should be drafted - The Huston Park and Encampment River wilderness areas need to be protected from overgrazing. Following is a description of the vegetation patterns and sensitive species found within the Sierra Madre- The Sierra Madre range is covered by a combination of Picea eng elmannii /Abies lasiocarpa , Finns contorta, and Populus tremuloides for^T¥ [spruce'^f ir , lodgepole pine, and aspen] at elevations ranging from 7,000 to 11,000 feet and are interspersed by mountain meadows and riverine communities- At around 10,000 feet, subalpine meadows are present, while in the foothills, Artemisia trldentata [big sagebrush] communities predominate, Pseudotsuga menziesll , Finus flexilis , and Quercus gambelli stands [Douglas-f ir , limber pine, and Gambel's oak] are very restricted in occurrence- The sagebrush community requires well-drained, deep soils (G- Jones, unpubl-)- The lodgepole pine forest thrives best on moderately acidic sands or gravelly well-drained loams- Spruce-fir forests survive best in colder, more mesic sites (Alexander et al - , 1986). Trillium ova turn and Cypripedium fasclculatum are infrequently found sensitive species which occur in the Shade of the~~trees - The aspen forest favors Lower slopes and alluvial benches with poorly drained soils. Lakes in the Sierra Madre are glacially derived- A, few of the smaller ones contain yellow water lily* Bogs are common in the Sierra Madre- A notable one is in the Huston Park area- This was the only place that Garex llmosa (a sensitive species for Wyoming) and Menyanthes trifollata were encountered” The Sierra Madre range contains a few rare species- One state and one county record were collected, Ipomopsi s aggregata ssp, weberi and Carex egglestonil, respectively. Other senstive species collected were Carex limosa , Gryptantha caespltosa , Cypripedium fasclculatum, Erigeron elatior, Erigeron pinnatisectus, and Tri ll ium ovatum [Others known to occur here include Haplopappu s coloradoensis , Gymnocarpium dryopterls , and Polys tlchum lonchitis]^ ~ Literature Cited Alexander, R- L-, G- R. Hoffman and J- M. Wirsing , 1986- Forest vegetation of the Medicine Bow National Forest in south-eastern Wyoming. A habitat type classification. USDA, Rocky Mtn , For. & Range Exp, Sca - Res. Paper Rii-271, 39 pp. Jones, G. (In prep.) Wyoming plant community classification- Wyoming Natural Heritage Program, The Nature Conservancy. NK [Note; This article was edited to reduce its length and some material was added, mostly that in brackets. RJ>] Wyoming Native Plant Society Box 1471 Cheyenne, WY 82003