Castilleja

Publication of the Wyoming Native Plant Society

May 2014, Volume 33C2]

Posted at vvww.wynps.org

SOS: A Signal of Reclamation Progress

Wyoming Bureau of Land Management has amassed
over 350 native plant species in eight years of running
the Seeds of Success [SOS) program full throttle [Figure
1). Many of the seeds collected this year will be used in
Native Plant Materials Development research projects
including evaluation of Greater Sage-Grouse habitat
forbs for commercial production, assessment of
genetic exchange between cultivars and local
genotypes, and comparison of range-wide responses to
climate change conditions. Seed will also be put into
long-term storage for conservation as well as for use in
restoration and reclamation seed trials.

Buchloe dactyloides
(Buffalograss) is
now among SOS
collections in
Wyoming. From:
USDA-NRCS
PLANTS Database /
Hitchcock, A.S.

(rev. A. Chase).

1950. Manual of the
grasses of the United
States. USDA
Miscellaneous
Publication No. 200.
Washington, DC.

T Wyoming-Funded Regional Seeds of
|._ Success Collections Available for R&D,
2006-2013

Above: SOS collecting stations among BLM field offices, 2006-2013

Further information on the SOS Program is posted
by the BLM rhttp: //seedsofsuccess.smugmug.com/ ;
http://www.blm.gov/wv/st/en/programs/pcp.htmn

In this issue:

SOS: A Signal of Reclamation Progress 1

Weeding Fiction From Fact 3

Native Plant-Bee Mutualisms 4

Growing Native Plants: Perennial Grasses 6

Weed Invasion Patterns in Southwestern Wyoming: Weeding Fiction From Fact

How do energy developments and related surface-disturbing activities affect weed invasion of natural vegetation?
Generalizations abound, though most studies on the spread of non-natives have addressed the matter for no more
than one weed species at a time in a limited study area. This spring, a new publication presented a regional
perspective across the sagebrush steppe of five southwestern Wyoming counties.

Relationships between the distribution of invasive plants and human activities were teased out, factoring in for
distance from such activities, and independent environmental variables [Manier et al. 2014). Sixty paired transects
of 1 km length were placed across five southwestern counties relative to seven invasive plant species, and 11 known
activities or absence of such [Continued, p. 3).

WYNPS News

2014 Scholarship and Grant Winners : The 2014
Markow award winners are Elizabeth Pansing
[University of Colorado, Denver), graduate student,
for her project examining the role of microsite type
and rodent seed theft in Whitebark Pine
regeneration; and
the Sage and Snow
Garden Club in
Pinedale to
purchase native
plants for their
water-wise
demonstration
garden. They
were awarded
$600 and $800,
respectively.

Thanks to
everyone who
applied. ..and all
who make it possible.

2014 Annual Meeting : Register now for the 2014
Annual Meeting, June 20-22 in Lander. Join a hike to
Popo Agie Falls on Friday eve, longest day of the year;
botanize like crazy at Red Canyon Ranch and join the
Bioblitz series featuring birds, bats, butterflies, fish,
frogs, small mammals and plantsl An evening catered
dinner will be followed by an expert bee biologist
talking about wild bees of Wyoming wildflowers.
Then on Sunday, explore the new Desert Yellowhead
population on the Beaver Rim and flowering cohorts.
Register now, by mail, or by credit card using PayPal.

- reservations for the Annual Meeting dinner are due
by June 7 [$20 per adult; $10 for kids age 12 and
younger). OR you can bring your own dinner. All
events are open to the public. See the annual meeting
insert [this issue) for more details.

More 2014 Field Trips : See this issue for a few new
field trips around the state. Also: see the Teton
Chapter homepage for hike events!

[ http : / /tetonplants. wordpress.com/ )

Treasurer's Report : Balance as of 17 April 2014:
Scholarship = $773; General = $5,914; Total = $6,687.

The Next Deadline : Please send articles and
announcements for the October issue by 18
September. Ideas are welcome any time!

New Members : Please welcome the following new
members to WYNPS: Janet Bala, Pocatello, ID;
Beverly Halm-Levin, Jackson; Linda Johnson, Salt
Lake City, UT; Lillian McMath, Los Gatos, CA; Jayne
Peeters, Big Horn; Meredith Taylor, Dubois; Jill
Welborn, Wheatland.

Wyoming Native Plant Society
P.O.Box 2449
Laramie, WY 82073

WYNPS Board -2014
President: Dorothy Tuthill, Laramie
r dtuthill@uwvo.edu^

Vice-President: Karen Clause, Pinedale
r kdclause@centurvtel.neO
Sec.-Treasurer: Ann Boelter, Laramie
r amb749@vahoo.com1
Board-at-large:

Joan Lucas, Wilson ['13-'14)

r ioanlucaswv@gmail.com 1
Walt Fertig, Phoenix, AZ ['14-'15)
r waltola64@gmail.com 1

***Look for us on Facebook!* * ***

Editor: Bonnie Heidel [bheidel@uwyo.edu)
Webmaster: Brenna Marsicek
[brennamarsicek@gmail.com)

Sublette Chapter: Julie Kraft, President
[jewelyjoe@hotmail.com)

Teton Chapter: Amy Taylor, Treasurer;
[tetonplants@gmail.com)

Bighorn Native Plant Society: Jean Daly, Treasurer
[P.O. Box 21, Big Horn, WY 82833)

CHAPTER CORNER

The next Teton Chapter program is: Tuesday, May 27,
when nationally acclaimed botanists Drs. Noel and
Patricia Holmgren will present their work on the
multi -volume, definitive Intermountain Flora. For
more information, see:
http : //tetonplants . wordpres s .com/ .

Contributors to this Issue : Ann Boelter, Robert Dorn,
Bonnie Heidel, Olivia Nater, and Dorothy Tuthill.

2

Weeding Out Fiction From Fact [cont. from p. 1)

• Major highway

• Primary road [paved or gravel)

• Secondary road [gravel)

• Tertiary road [gravel)

• Reclaimed tertiary road

• Unofficial road [two-track)

• Railroad

• Oil and gas pipeline [buried)

• Overhead power lines

• Oil and gas well pad

• Reclaimed well pad

Above: Russian thistle [Salsola tragus], a widespread
non-native plant of sagebrush steppe, from: Mosyakin,
S.L. Salsola, In: Flora of North America Editorial
Committee, eds. 2003. Flora of North America North of
Mexico. 16+ vols. New York and Oxford. Vol. 4, pp.

398-403.

How was Russian thistle
introduced to North America? It was
probably introduced accidentally in
flaxseed imported from Russia.

While many strong direct relationships were
documented between weed frequency and distance
from disturbance, one of the more surprising results
reported by the authors was that a subset of weed
species have frequencies independent of distance to
surface-disturbing activities, including alyssum
{Alyssum desertorum], halogeton [Halogeton
glomeratum] and Russian thistle [Salsola tragus].
Another surprise was the disturbance having highest
cumulative numbers of different invasive weeds was
not associated with the activity that disturbed the
biggest blocks of surface area. Instead, it was
associated with the unofficial roads [two-tracks) that
might look as though they have little development.

The reader is referred to the original publication,
its links to raw data, and discussion of management
implications for further information.

Reference

Manier, D.f, C.L. Aldridge, M. O'Donnell, and S.j. Schell.

2014. Human infrastructure and invasive plant
occurrence across rangelands of southwestern
Wyoming, USA. Rangeland Ecology and
Management 67: 160-172.

Plant Hikes in Collaboration
with Meteetsee Museums

An exciting weekend of botanical tours are
offered by Meteetsee Museums, in collaboration
with agencies and Wyoming Botanical Society.
The Sub-Alpine Botanical Tour is set for
Saturday, June 28, to the Dick Creek Lake area
near Meeteetse. It will be led by Michael
Kirkpatrick. The High Desert Botanical Tour is
set for Sunday, June 29, lead by Earl Jensen to
the Bobcat Draw area [between Worland and
Meeteetse). In case of bad weather or very poor
road conditions, the latter would be held near
the Legend Rock area. Both tours will leave the
Meeteetse Museums at 9 a.m. and begin on site
around 10:30 am. For more information, and to
confirm dates, contact:

http ://meeteetsemuseums.org/calendar.html .

Free and open to the public!

3

How will climate change affect native plant-bee mutualisms?

By Olivia Nater

Climate change can differentially shift phenology
[the timing of biological events, e.g. flowering and
insect emergence) of plants and their pollinators,
potentially resulting in "plant-pollinator mismatch"
[Memmott et al. 2007). Loss of synchrony between
timing of flowering and pollinator activity causes the
degradation of plant-pollinator network structure and
is a likely cause of recent extirpations of native bee
species [Burkle et al. 2013). My study, partly funded
by the Wyoming Native Plant Society, aimed to
elucidate how local plants and their pollinators
respond to temperature rise and how this will affect
pollination services. In 1975 and 1976, a UW graduate
student conducted a weekly floral census at a site ~25
miles south of Laramie, WY. 1 repeated this census
over three growing seasons [2011-2013), to
investigate how flowering phenology [timing of
flowering) has responded to local increases in winter
temperatures over the last 40 years [Fig. 1).

Figure 1 [above). Winter temperatures recorded by the Laramie
airport weather station are now 2-6 °C warmer than in 1973.
Hourly temperature measurements from 1973 to 2012 are shown
in gray in the background, with (unchanged) annual mean [black
points and line) and significantly changed monthly temperatures
[blue: January, gray-green: March) overlaid. Circles indicate mean
temperatures and upward and downward pointing triangles
indicate temperature maximums and minimums, respectively.

Figure 2 [right):
plot.

T exscapa -
P. hoodii -

R. ranunculinus -
L. montanum -

C arvense -
.4. textile -
C, umbellata -
1. spicata -
C. flava ~

E. boof<Bn -

S. fanceo/atum -
P. iaric/Mus -

H villosa -
G sarothrae

I 1 1 1 1

May Jun Jul Aug Sep

Total bloom span

Figure 3a [above). Flowering phenology of 14 plant species in
heated [red) and control [black) plots. Vertical dashed lines mark
the beginning and end of the floral census period. The timing of
peak bloom is indicated by triangles.

In 2013, 1 also exposed plants and bees to
experimental warming at the same site to determine
the potential for climate-driven plant-pollinator
mismatch. In early May 2013, 1 set up open-top
polycarbonate warming chambers at one of my field
sites and monitored plant flowering phenologies in
both heated and control plots over the course of the
growing season [Fig. 2). Additionally, I placed cocoons
of two native mason bee species, Osmia aglaia and
Osmia californica, into the same plots and recorded
bee emergence daily. I was unable to detect a
difference in bee emergence between heated and
control plots because bees began emerging in large
numbers from both treatments as soon as they were
set out, due to the late start of the experiment. Plants,
however, responded more slowly, and I observed high
response diversity, whereby some species flowered
earlier in heated plots, some phenologies were
unaffected, and some even appeared to be delayed by
warming [Fig. 3a).

I compared my entire plant phenology dataset
[2011-2013) to the historical dataset [1975-1976,
Tepedino and Stanton 1980) from the same site, and
found significant advances in all 14 species under
study [Fig. 3b). First bloom occurred on average 12.0

4

days earlier during 2011-2013 than during 1975-
1976; a much greater and more consistent shift than
what I found with experimental warming. Artificial
warming experiments tend to underpredict actual

Figure 3b (above). Flowering phenology of 13 plant species from
historical [1975 and 1976, blue) and modern [2011, 2012, and
2013, black) censuses. Dashed lines mark the mean beginning and
end of the historical [blue) and modern [black) sampling periods
and triangles indicate times of peak bloom. All phenologies were
significantly advanced in recent relative to earlier censuses.

advances in the timing of flowering [Wolkovich et al.
2012). If I had begun heating plants earlier in the year
to match observed increases in winter temperatures
over the past 40 years [Fig. 1), I would have likely
recorded a stronger phenological response. Based on
thermal time models, first emergence of native bees
has advanced by an average of 8.0 days [Nater, in
prep.), which indicates that bees and plants may be
responding differently to climate change. Unlike many
insect phenologies, plant phenologies also rely
strongly on other cues such as photoperiodicity [King
and Heide 2009) and timing of snowmelt [Saavedra et
al. 2003, Inouye 2008), which may cause this
discrepancy between plant and insect responses to
temperature rise.

To examine how pollinator limitation might affect
plant reproductive fitness, I excluded pollinators from
flowers of three species and compared seed set of
open and bagged flowers. Pollinator limitation is
harmful to the fitness of green gentian [Frasera
speciosa), textile onion {Allium textile] and prairie
thermopsis {Thermopsis rhombifolia], as both number
and weight of seeds produced from flowers covered
with nylon mesh bags were significantly reduced

compared to the seed set of open flowers that had
access to insects. F. speciosa was able to set seed
without insect pollinators, but seed number and mean
seed weight were much lower in bagged pods.
Whereas bagged A. textile and T. rhombifolia flowers
did produce fruits, these were small and shriveled and
did not contain any developed seeds. These plants are
therefore unlikely to be able to successfully reproduce
without the help of pollinators.

In conclusion, the future viability of bee and plant
species under climate change will depend on their
degree of specialization and their ability to adapt to
changing environments. Strictly codependent species
are at much greater risk of extinction than generalist
species [Memmott et al. 2007, Burkle et al. 2013). As
different native bee species vary in the timing of their
activity periods [Bartomeus et al. 2013) and in their
phenological and physiological responses to warming
[Friind et al. 2013), high species diversity can ensure
plant-pollinator synchrony and will provide
pollination services with some protection from
environmental change. Therefore, it is of utmost
importance to increase efforts to conserve
biodiversity of native plants and their pollinators.

References

Bartomeus, I., M. G. Park, J. Gibbs, B. N. Danforth, A. N. Lakso, and
R. Winfree. 2013. Biodiversity ensures plant-pollinator
phenological synchrony against climate change. Ecology
Letters 16:1331-1338.

Burkle, L. A., J. C. Marlin, and T. M. Knight. 2013. Plant-Pollinator
Interactions over 120 Years: Loss of Species, Co-Occurrence,
and Function. Science 339:1611-1615.

Friind, )., S. L. Zieger, and T. Tscharntke. 2013. Response diversity
of wild bees to overwintering temperatures. Oecologia
173:1639-1648.

Inouye, D. W. 2008. Effects of climate change on phenology, frost
damage, and floral abundance of montane wildflowers.

Ecology 89:353-362.

King, R., and 0. Heide. 2009. Seasonal flowering and evolution: the
heritage from Charles Darwin. Functional Plant Biology
36:1027-1036.

Memmott, J., P. G. Craze, N. M. Waser, and M. V. Price. 2007. Global
warming and the disruption of plant-pollinator interactions.
Ecology Letters 10:710-717.

Saavedra, F., D. W. Inouye, M. V. Price, and J. Harte. 2003. Changes
in flowering and abundance of Delphinium nuttallianum
[Ranunculaceae) in response to a subalpine climate warming
experiment. Global Change Biology 9:885-894.

Tepedino, V., and N. Stanton. 1980. Spatiotemporal variation in
phenology and abundance of floral resources on shortgrass
prairie. Western North American Naturalist 40:197-215.
Wolkovich, E. M., B. I. Cook, J. M. Allen, T. M. Crimmins, J. L.

Betancourt, S. E. Travers, S. Pau, ). Regetz, T. J. Davies, N. J. B.
Kraft, T. R. Ault, K. Bolmgren, S. J. Mazer, G. ). McCabe, B. J.
McGill, C. Parmesan, N. Salamin, M. D. Schwartz, and E. E.
Cleland. 2012. Warming experiments underpredict plant
phenological responses to climate change. Nature 485:494-
497.

5

Growing Native Plants

Part 12. Perennial Grasses

By Robert Dorn

Grasses can be classified as either cool season or
warm season. Cool season grasses start growth in
early spring and mature in late spring or early
summer. Warm season grasses start growth in late
spring or early summer and mature in late summer.
Grasses are used mostly as specimen plants, accents,
or for native lawns. Advantages of native grass lawns
are that they need less water and less mowing. A
disadvantage is that our best natives are warm season
grasses so they do not green up as early in the spring
as non-native lawn grasses. The following five
examples include three accent grasses and two native
lawn grasses. Only one, Elymus, is a cool season grass.

Andropogon gerardii, Big Bluestem, grows to 6 feet
tall and 18 inches wide. The leaves turn reddish or
russet in the fall. The inflorescence is a series of 3 to 6
narrow, elongate spikes each to 4 inches long and
appearing from July to September. The plants occur
on the plains along the eastern edge of Wyoming,
especially in moist depressions. They prefer full sun
and well drained loamy soils and are drought tolerant.
It can be grown from seed and is also in the nursery
trade.

Andropogon gerardii, Crook County

Bouteloua gracilis, Blue Grama, is popular for native
grass lawns. It is rhizomatous but often densely
tufted also. The flowering stems grow to 1 or rarely 2
feet tall. When not in flower, the plants are generally
only 3 or 4 inches tall. The inflorescence is a comb-
like spike to 2 inches long, often nodding, 1 to 3 at the

tip of each slender stem, appearing from July to
September. The plants occur naturally in dry, open
areas of the plains, basins, and foothills. They prefer
full sun and dry, well drained soils including sandy
and alkaline soils. It does best below 7500 feet. It
needs about 1 inch per month of moisture. It is
drought tolerant becoming dormant and brown until
moisture returns. Mow as infrequently as possible to
maintain vigor. Seed for several cultivars is available
commercially. Cultivar 'Hachita' sometimes
recommended for our area was selected from New
Mexico. A better choice might be the Bad River
ecotype from South Dakota or seed gathered from
within or adjacent to Wyoming. Surface sow in mid to
late spring. Lightly cover with soil to provide some
protection against rodents and birds. For lawns use
about 0.5 to 1 pound of pure live seed [PLS) for 1000
square feet for a thick initial stand. Custom harvested
seed is usually not pure so more may be needed.
Water regularly until well established and control
weeds. Plant plugs are also available.

Bouteloua gracilis, Goshen County

Buchloe dactyloides, Buffalograss, is another
popular grass for native grass lawns. It is usually a
better choice for lower elevations. It spreads by
stolons forming dense mats and grows to 4 or rarely 8
inches tall. The male inflorescence is a short spike to
Vz inch long, 2 spikes per stem. The female
inflorescence is a bur-like cluster of 2 or 3 flowers
mostly hidden by the curly vegetative leaves. The
flowers appear from May to July or August. The plants
occur naturally in moist areas on the plains. They do
not do well above about 6500 feet elevation. They
prefer full sun or light shade and moist [about 15
inches moisture annually or more), loamy or clayey

6

soils. The plants are not salt tolerant and not as
drought tolerant as Blue Grama. Mow infrequently.
Seed is commercially available as are plant plugs and
sometimes sod. Water and control weeds until well
established. For lawns, use 1 pound of pure live seed
[PLS) per 400 square feet. Cultivars may be mostly
female plants. Get seed or plants adapted to our
latitude. Research the possibilities on the internet,
especially information from Wyoming seed
companies.

Buchloe dactyloides, Fall River County, SD

Elymus cinereus, Basin Wildrye, is a cool season
bunchgrass that grows to 6 feet tall and forms large
clumps to 3 feet across. The leaves turn tan in winter.
The inflorescence is a narrow spike to 8 inches long at
the stem tips appearing in June and July. The plants
occur naturally in open areas, especially in gullies and
other temporary drainageways that receive extra
moisture, in the basins, valleys, and plains. They
prefer full sun and dry to moist, loamy, well drained
soils and are drought tolerant once established. Seed

Announcing :

Plants With Altitude, a guide to hardy, water-
wise, beautiful and accessible wildflowers and
shrubs native to Wyoming or adjoining states
was released this spring. It is by Amy A. Fluet,
Jennifer S. Thompson, Dorothy E. Tuthill, and
Brenna R. Marsicek.

It is a paperback book with color photos and
spiral binding, 66 pp., now available for $5
including tax; or $8 with shipping, from: UW
Berry Center, Rm 231; University Bookstore; or
online at wyomingnativegardens.org. Also
available through some conservation districts.

is commercially available. It can also be grown by
rootstock division.

Elymus cinereus, Carbon County

Schizachyrium scoparium. Little Bluestem, is a
bunchgrass with short rhizomes and grows to 2 or 3
feet tall. In winter the plants are various shades of
reddish-brown, rust, or mahogany [see the Society
website for photo in color). The inflorescence is a
series of narrow, elongate racemes to 2 inches long on
the upper part of the stems appearing from July to
September. The plants occur naturally on dry, open
hills in the foothills, valleys, basins, and plains, often
where gravelly. They prefer full sun and dry, well
drained soils and are drought tolerant. It does not
tolerate mowing or clipping more than once a year.
There are several cultivars in the nursery trade. It can
be grown from seed or rootstock division.

Schizachyrium scoparium, Goshen County

7

Wyoming Wildflower App

Smart phone apps are becoming flora-sawy! Flora
ID Northwest has recently published a new Android
app for Wyoming Wildflowers on the Google Play
Store. They are pleased to make this available in a
"field friendly format" that is the culmination of nearly
20 years producing interactive plant keys. The app is
titled "1850 Wyoming Wildflowers." It is much more
comprehensive than the usual wildflower book or
app, with many more species, over 5,700 photos, and
sophisticated interactive keys with all the
functionality of the keys in our PC programs. The app
includes 93% of all the native and naturalized, non-
grasslike flowering species in Wyoming. Species can
be sorted by either common or scientific names, with
synonyms listed in descriptions.

For more details, see their web site, www.flora-id-
northwest.com or the web page on Google Play Store
r https://plav.google.com/store/search?q=%22flora%

20id%20northwest%22&c=apps ). The Google link
will give you access to Wyoming and the other 27
apps available, covering 18 western and central states
and 4 Canadian provinces. The apps will run in
Android cell phones and 7- or 10-inch tablets with
Android versions 3.0 or higher. Kindle Fire users
should be able to get the apps from Amazon by late
June.

Wyoming Native Plant Society is a non-profit
organization established in 1981 to encourage the
appreciation and conservation of the native plants and
plant communities of Wyoming. The Society promotes
education and research through its newsletter, field trips,
annual student scholarship and small grants awards.
Membership is open to individuals, families, or
organizations. To join or renew, please return this form to:
Wyoming Native Plant Society
P.O. Box 2449
Laramie, WY 82073

Name:

Address:

Email :

Checkone:[ JNewmember [ ] Renewingmember
[ ]Renewingmembers,checkhereifthisisanaddiesschange
[ JCheckhereifyouprefertoreceivethenewsletterelectronically

Membership

[ JWYNPSannualmembership: $10.00
[ ] WYNPS annual membership + scholarship support $20.00

[$10.00 formembership and $10.00 for Scholarship fond]
[ ] WYNPS Lifetime membership: $300 [$150 formembership and
$150 for Scholarship func^

[ ] Sublette Chapter annual membership: $5.00
[ ] Teton Chapter annual membership: $5.00

Totalendosed: THANK YOU!

Wyoming Native Plant Society
P.O. Box 2449
Laramie, WY 82073