“. . ■ dedicated to the appreciation and conservation of the Colorado native flora” Volume 15, Number 5 September/October 1991 Low-elevation Biodiversity Tim Hogan University of Colorado Herbarium During the past several years I have had the good fortune to work on floristic projects in the Eagles Nest/Gore Range Wilderness Area and the City of Boulder Mountain Parks. The Eagles Nest is a 135,000 acre high elevation Wilderness Area that extends from the lower subalpine zone up to tundra- topped peaks of over 13,000 feet. In con- trast, the Boulder Mountain Parks is a 7,000 acre montane area that reaches from the plains to 8,000 foot summits. In the course of this work I have had the opportunity to compare a relatively small, low elevation preserve with a large “rock- and-ice wilderness.” Although the high elevation wilderness is nearly twenty times larger than the low elevation park, it is striking that the same number of species (ca. 400) were documented in each area. Furthermore, at least nine species in the Boulder Mountain Parks are listed by the Colorado Natural Areas Program as Species of Special Concern. These in- clude Betula papyrifera, Botrypus vir~ ginianus, Cylactis pubescens, Lilium philadelphicum, Listera convallarioides, Malaxis monophyllos, Pyrola picta, Smilax lasioneura, and Viola pedatifida. Although my work in the Eagles Nest helped to fill a void in our records at the University of Colorado Herbarium, the most remarkable result of that work was how typical the flora of that Wilderness Area is in relation to other alpine regions in the state. There is a great deal of talk these days about the preservation of biodiversity. In employing this term, conservation biologists are attempting to embrace the full diversity of life: not just the diversity of species numbers, but also the genetic diversity within and among populations, and the ecosystem diversity across landscapes. Nevertheless, species num- bers often serve as a useful indicator of biodiversity in the broader sense. For this reason alone, the results from the two floristic projects indicate that the smaller, low elevation study area serves a conservation role disproportionate to its size. Another reason that low elevation sites in Colorado are important for the preservation of our native species is their significance for animal popula- tions. Many animal species are limited by bottlenecks in the annual cycle — times when their food is limited or shel- ter from the elements is most precarious. Low elevation natural areas often provide the habitat these species need to survive the rigors of cold, drought, and famine. As botanists we do not need to be reminded that our floral riches are often as dependent on pol- linators and animal dispersal as they are on water and soil. —continued on page 6 Inside . - . Spiranthes 4 Workshops 7 Statutory Protection 4 Exotic Tree Willows 8 Mentzelias 5 Annual Mtg Reminder 9 Biodiversity, cont. 6 Rare Plant Update 10 Humor Back cover Page 2 Aquilegia Volume 15 Denver Chapter Meetings Come greet friends and help us get the meeting year started! cal studies at Colorado State University, will discuss his research in tropical rain- forests. Classroom C. Oct. 23rd: Bring slides of your favorite plants or plant places from summer’s ex- plorations. Classroom A. Dec. 11th: Compromise Nov-Dec meet- ing. Dr. Paul J^lburn, who has taught botany and ecology in Colorado, will present a program on either North Table Mountain or the alpine tundra. Classroom C. Feb. 26th: Tina Jones, regional naturalist, will present the Natural His- tory of Aspens. Classroom C. Jan. 22nd: Dr. Ron Sanford, academic coordinator of the program for ecologi- All meetings this year will be held at the Denver Botanic Gardens at 7:30 p.m. un- less otherwise announced. Meetings are generally held on the last Wednesday of the month. Contact Carol Dawson, 722- 6758, for meeting information. Aquilegia is printed on 100% recycied paper We look forward to seeing you soon! Schedule of Membership Fees Aquilegia is published six times per year by the Colorado Native Plant Society. This newsletter is available to members of the Society and others with an interest in native plants. Contact the Society for subscription information. Life $250.00 Supporting $ 50.00 Organization $ 25.00 Family or Dual $ 12.00 Individual $8,00 Student or Senior $4.00 Officers Gayle Weinstein President Vice-President Jim Borland Secretary Rob Udall Treasurer Myma P. Steinkamp 333-3024 329-9198 482-9826 226-3371 Membership Renewals/Information Articles from Aquilegia may be used by other native plant societies if fully cited to author and attributed to Aquilegia. Please direct all membership applications, renewals and address changes to the Member- ship chairperson, in care of the Society’s mailing address. Please direct all other inquiries regard- ing the Society to the Secretary in care of the Society’s mailing address. Newsletter Contributions The Colorado Native Plant Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to the appreciation and conservation of the Colorado native flora. Membership is open to all with an interest in our na- tive plants, and is composed of plant en- thusiasts, both professional and non- professional. Board of Directors Betsy Neely (92) Jan Wingate (92) Rich Rhodes (91) Peter Henson (92) Tina Jones (91) Tamara Naumann (91) Sally White (92) Velma Richards (92) Robert Udall (91) Gayle Weinstein (91) Boulder 443-8094 Denver 989-2137 Pueblo 719/545-4352 Denver 671-8858 Denver 759-9701 Boulder 440-8933 Morrison 697-5439 Englewood 794-5432 Ft Collins 482-9826 Denver 333-3024 Please direct all contributions to the newsletter to: Chapter Presidents Peter Root 4915 West 31st Avenue Denver, CO 80212 Please join us in helping to encourage interest in enjoying and protecting the variety of native plants in Colorado. The Society sponsors field trips, workshops and other activities through local chap- ters and statewide. Contact the Society or a chapter representative or commit- tee chair for more information. Deadlines for newsletter materials are February 15, April 15, June 15, August 15, October 15 and December 15. Short items such as unusual information about a plant, a little known botanical term, etc. are esf^- cially welcome. Camera-ready line art or other il- lustrations are also solicited. Please include author’s name and address, al- though items will be printed anonymously if re- quested. Articles may be submitted on disks (IBM-compatible, 5.25-in. DS/DD) if desired; please indicate word processing software and ver- sion used. Boulder Alison Peck 443-0284 Denver Metro Carol Dawson 722-6758 Ft. Collins Jennifer Crane 493-2142 Yamparika Reed Kelley 878-4666 San Juan Peggy Lyon 626-5526 Committees Conservation Elizabeth Otto 567-2384 Editorial Sally White 697-5439 Education Gary Finstad 791-3790 Field Trips Jeff Dawson 722-6758 Florissant Mary Edwards 233-8133 Hort/Rehab Dorothy Udall 482-9826 Membership Myma Steinkamp 226-3371 Publicity Julie Dulapa 752-2738 Workshops Bill Jennings 666-8348 Aquilegia Pages Numbers Announcements Natural Areas in the Western Landscape With regret . . . We report the recent deaths of long- time friends of the Colorado Native Plant Society, Marjorie Shepherd of Denver and George Kelly of Cortez, Colorado. Metro-area members may fondly recall chapter outings and plant hunting at the Shepherd cabin near Bailey. George Kelly is well known to Society members for his lifelong en- thusiasm for Colorado plants. Their contributions will be missed. The 18th annual natural areas con- ference will be held in Estes Park Oct. 15-18, 1991. The Natural Areas Association’s first national meeting in the Rocky Mountain West will discuss conservation of natural diversity on public lands in the West, and will include sessions on riparian restoration, live- stock grazing and natural diversity, the Colorado Natural Areas Program, rare plant management, and Greater Ecosys- tem/Biosphere Reserve Management. On Thursday, Oct. 17th, five full-day and one half-day field trips will be of- fered. Locations include Specimen Mtn./Horseshoe Park/Trail Ridge Road, in Rocky Mtn. Natl. Park; Lawn Lake alluvial fan/Geology of Rocky Mtn. Natl. Park; Copeland Willow CarrAVild Basin; Owl Canyon Pinyon Grove/Phantom Canyon Preserve/ Poudre River; Pawnee National Grasslands; and the Colorado Tallgrass Prairie Natural Area in Boulder Co. Registration for the conference is $50 per person and includes field trip transportation. For more information, contact Brooke Wineteer at (303)444-1060. Lodging is available directly through the YMCA of the Rockies, 2515 Tunnel Road, Estes Park, CO 80511-2550; phone (303)586-3341 or (303)623-9215 (metro). Ferrets in Little Snake? The BLM is proposing to amend the Lit- tle Snake Resource Management Plan because of a proposed reintroduction of black-footed ferrets. Ferrets would be reintroduced into northwestern Moffat County, Colorado, as a non-essential ex- perimental population. The environ- mental assessment and plan modifications would determine what restrictions on other resources will be necessary and what effects such restric- tions will have on other uses of the Little Snake Resource Area. The planning criterion for amending the management plan is “to establish a management objective which provides for black-footed ferret reintroduction while not adversely impacting other resources or uses.” BLM has identified the following general issues to be ad- dressed: access to public lands. economic and social conditions, threatened and endangered species, ran- geland uses, recreation uses, wildlife habitat management, mineral explora- tion and development, and public rights- of-way. BLM requests interested or affected parties to participate in this process by sending their specific comments for receipt by October 11, 1991. Comments may address issues above, effects on resources, and/or raise additional issues to be considered in the amendment process. Address comments to: Mike Albee, Project Coordinator Bureau of Land Management 1280 Industrial Ave. Craig, CO 81625 Brome Reminder If you have information about the naturalization of smooth brome, it’s not too late to contact Gary Finstad, who is compiling it for the Society and has received few direct responses to date. Gary is even willing to discuss general observations and opinions, as well as any facts and locations you can provide. You can reach him at 236-2702 (days) or 791- 3790 (eves). Page 4 Aquilegia Volume 15 The First Collection i William A. Weber University of Colorado Herbarium Harold Dahnke was rummaging around in the COLO herbarium recently and found a specimen ofAlisma triviale col- lected in Boulder County wetlands just west of Baseline Lake by Joe Ewan in 1941. This in itself is not surprising. But Ewan had noted on the label that it was growing, among other plants, with Spiranthes. This had to be S. diluvialis. However, we could not find any specimen of a Spiranthes collected by him. The Alisma must have been a specimen left behind when Joe took his large personal herbarium with him when he left the University. We wondered whether Joe merely saw the orchid or whether he might have col- lected a specimen. I wrote immediately to Joe, who has retired and is now at the Missouri Botanical Garden, and asked him if his field notes might tell us whether there was a specimen collected. I did not get a reply directly, but I heard very quick- ly from the curator of the herbarium at Tulane University, who sent me a copy of the pertinent page from Joe’s field notes, and a photocopy of the actual specimen, which is at Tulane with the rest of the Ewan Herbarium. And, of course, it is Spiranthes diluvialis^ col- lected almost 45 years before the species was discovered and described in 1984! Maybe there is a moral to the story, or a lesson, or something. When we work on the floristic level, Colorado collections in other herbaria are almost impossible to learn about. It would be helpful if col- lectors of the Colorado Flora would pass their collections through the her- barium of record where new records might be noted. Joe Ewan took his her- barium with him before there was a real herbarium of record here, and had he left his herbarium in Boulder, there is no guarantee that it would have been safe. Likewise, the huge collection made by Francis Potter Daniels on which he based his book, the Flora of Boulder Spiranthes diluvialis County, is in the University of Missouri herbarium, with a partial set in Field Museum. When I first worked on the Boulder County flora, I had to borrow the entire collection from Missouri, and several critical specimens could not be found. The situation is different now; the her- barium is safe, the flora is under serious study by numbers of people concerned with records, and a comprehensive catalog is about to be published. But still there are those collectors who evidently treasure their private collections more than they do the science to which the collections might contribute. Time and again someone tells me that such and such a species grows in Kiowa or Logan County, and why don’t I say so in my handbooks? The answer is, of course, that unless it is in the herbarium, it doesn’t exist, because at the present time our published statements have to be based on fact. I hope that we soon will see the day when sight records of at least common and easily recognized plants will be acceptable as herbarium records, just as they are in ornithology, but a generation of good field botanists must be trained to the task before it happens. Meanwhile, in every state of the union, plant collectors should, as a matter of scientific method, see to it that their col- lections are at least offered to the her- barium of record, even if only one or two might be retained there. ^ Spiranthes Nancy Chew, of the USFWS Regional Office, reports (as of Sept. 26) that she is preparing the Spiranthes listing pack- age for legal adequacy review by the Regional Solicitor’s office. She an- Plant Protection In Colorado from Colorado Revised Statutes 24-80-905. Columbine. The white and lavender columbine is hereby made and declared to be the state flower of the state of Colorado. 24-80-906. Duty to protect. It is hereby declared to be the duty of all citizens of this state to protect the white and lavender Columbine Aquilegia, Caerulea [sic], the state flower, from needless destruction or waste, 24-80-0-7. Limitation on picking state flower. It is unlawful for any person to tear the state flower up by the roots when grown or growing upon any state, school, or other public lands or in any public high- way or other public place or to pick or gather upon any such public lands or in any such public highway or place more than twenty-five stems, buds, or blossoms of such flower in any one day; and it is also unlawful for any person to pick or gather such flower upon private lands without the consent of the owner thereof first had or obtained. 24-80-908. Violation a mis- demeanor - penalty. Any person who violates any provision of sec- tion 24-80-907 is guilty of a mis- demeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not less than five nor more than fifty dollars. Status Update ticipates that the package will be sent on to Washington, D.C., by the end of Oc- tober. Statutory deadline for listing is Nov 13, one year from publication of the proposed listing notice. COLORADO MENTZELIAS (BARTONIA SECTION) Numbers Aquilegia tn. I m c “I I j: oo .£ o Q oa £ £ c 0 ) !■§ I a 'I CD CQ IlLl . O Q O U. UJ < I t^“ I i < to o OjO N-ieo ^ CO CO' CO CM m I I I I I I O -M- lO O » CO T- T- CM • ' , T- T- , lA •' fib o CO t- ooo a Q. Q. o o o o o o o o m o? o I UJ I- H- O 1 =" I 3 I — I UJ ; UJ Lu ; 88 CO CO l-.iV-.H UJ S • S * ' O I O I I o • CO I I 'T-OOl'r-O'r- it-t-CR u.u.S|ijlS|ulSu .-2 CO CO ^|C0 ^ CO ^ CO CO ^ 2 5 $! 5 : 2!5 5 :zz 2 O O O hr- to CO ^ CM hr- CM I I I I i I . O lO lO I o o o LL U. U. O r- lA O iO ID to ’“uJl U. U. LL il. U. UL U. O a> I I o ® I t I I COCM ; I I I I I I • ID ID • • o o ; i UJ i UJ I I • S 2 I * I I I O Q I I I I I O r- o o 5 UL u. -u. s 5 CO CO CO CO CO CO CO ID o> , O ID 00 JO I CO ^ T- CM I ID CR ® O O O O O O O li. U. U. U- UL UL LL 00 CD CO CM I ^ «0 00 a n UJ UJ 2^ I- I- O I 22 CO CO 22 2 2 ID CO r- ^ I I O O ID h- h- >->■ CO z g < cc m m < h- (C Page 5 Q. -J flC >ili i I*. -“ili fittn ^ 53 ..£.‘ 2 o 2 !B'q » E g “ O a# O CO QL Q. Q. I Pages Aquilegia Volume 15 Biodiversity, continued from page 1 The current wilderness legislation in Congress fails to protect many low elevation areas deserving of designa- tion. It is easier for politicians to set aside areas poor in water, timber, and mineral resources than it is to defend biologically rich wilderness. Areas such as Kannah Creek, middle and lower Sandbench, Troublesome, Ute Creek, additions to the South San Juans, and the Rainbow Trail on the east slopes of the Sangre de Cristos are neglected under the current wilderness proposal. I have taken two wonderful backpack trips along the crest of the Sangres this summer, and I am happy that this area is slated for wilderness designation. But if alpine environments are to retain their ecological integrity and not be turned into islands in the sky, they must also be protected along their flanks and shoulders. As members of the Native Plant Society we can play an active role in the preser- vation of natural areas in Colorado. As a collective voice, we possess a legitimacy to which policy makers will respond. As individuals who are in- timate with unspoiled places throughout the state, we are in a position to identify these areas and speak out when they are threatened. Sometimes these will be large areas nominated for wilderness designation. With the up- coming BLM Wilderness Proposal, this will be of critical importance in the near future. At other times the areas will be more modest in size, but still of critical importance. Perhaps we are all some- what culpable for the lack of low eleva- tion sites under wilderness protection; we have not done a good enough job in educating our elected officials and fel- low citizens of their ecological and evolutionary significance. I chose to work in the Eagles Nest Wilderness because of my abiding love for high places, perennial snowfields, sweeping rock, glaciated topography, and alpine forget-me-nots. My ap- preciation for softer, more subtle landscapes has developed more slowly. I remember eating my lunch one day in a small drainage on the northwest side of Green Mountain in the Boulder Mountain Parks. It was cool beneath the mixed forest and the silence was only ex- aggerated by a small stream in the bot- tom and the occasional call of a kinglet. I realized that a change had occurred in my perception and that my measure of beauty was no longer restricted to alpine landscapes. Beauty had been expanded for me, and the summits of my youth would no longer be complete without the forests, woodlands, and meadows that I had only come to know through the slow and patient botanizing of these environs. u . . . Integrity is wholeness, the greatest beauty is organic wholeness, the wholeness of life and things, the divine beauty of the universe. Love that, not man apart from that . . . —Robinson Jeffers We are living at a critical point in his- tory. Human population growth and our impact on the earth must be addressed if the massive assault on species, landscapes, and traditional cultures is to be slowed. The Colorado Native Plant Society and its members have both the expertise and the responsibility to speak out for the preservation of specific sites and the overall diversity of life on the planet. Number 5 AquUegia Page 7 CONPS Workshops — 1991-1992 Season Fall and Winter Workshops Botanical Illustration II Saturday, October 12, 1991 Leader: Carolyn Crawford Our first workshop on Botanical Il- lustration proved so popular, Carolyn Crawford has agreed to present a more advanced workshop. Drawing and dis- section of fall fruits will be the emphasis of this workshop. Fruits of VituSy Par- thenocissus, Smilax, Crataegus, Malus, etc., will be available to draw. In addition to the techniques of colored pencil and pen & ink, Carolyn will demonstrate her main medium, pastel pencil. It is planned to have a guest in- structor present watercolor techniques as well, but this is not confirmed. To be held at Foothills Nature Center, Boulder, Registration for Workshops Please mail in your registration this year. Jot down the workshops for which you wish to register, include your name, ad- dress and phone number, and send the note to: Bill Jennings, PO Box 952, Louisville, CO 80027. Be sure to include your mailing address and phone number if you mail in your registration. Registra- tion order will be first come, first served, by the date on your letter, or postmark if no date is included. Please register promptly, as workshops tend to fill up fast. If demand is suffi- cient, multiple sessions will be scheduled if the instructor is willing. Registrants will be notified by mail about two weeks before the workshop regarding session date, locaiton, lunch, supplies, suggested references, etc. Orchids of Colorado Saturday, December 7, 1991 Bill Jennings ^ As currently understood, there are 24 species of orchids native to Colorado, with three more known from within 75 miles of the state line in Nebraska or New Mexico. Although the identifica- tion of most Colorado species is straightforward, the bog orchid group (genus Limnorchis, also known as Platanthera or Habenaria) is very com- plicated and agreement between taxonomists is non-existent. In temperate North America, orchids are nowhere common and numerous very rare species are in the family. Best known for showy flowers from tropical plants, many Colorado species are in- stead rather drab. To be held at the Denver Botanic Gar- dens, Denver. Unless othenwse noted, the fee for each full-day workshop is $8 for members and $16 for non-members ($8 for mem- bership and $8 for the workshop). Please hold payments until the day of the workshop. Genus Draba in Colorado Saturday, January 11, 1992 Leader: Dr. Robert Price The Colorado Native Plant Society is fortunate to be able to bring Dr. Price back to Colorado to present this workshop. A Colorado native, his early work in genus Draba was done in Colorado. Now at Indiana University, he will present the latest research in this interesting genus in the mustard family (Brassicaceae). A special lecture will be presented Friday night, January 10, at a location to be determined. If demand is sufficient, a second section of the workshop will be held Sunday, January 12. Workshop to be held at the University of Colorado, Boulder (special thanks to Tom Ranker). Additional workshops tentatively scheduled for winter 1992 include Montane and Subalpine Grasses G^iiVLS Astragalus in Colorado Colorado Ferns Taxonomy and Cultivation of Native North American Rhododendrons Adopt-a-Rare-PIant Workshop. As plans are confirmed, winter workshops will be announced in later is- sues of Aquilega. jf. Page 8 Aquilegia Volume 15 Exotic Tree Willows in Colorado: Thoughts on the Reproductive Ecology of Crack and White Willows ^ Pat Shafroth, Jonathan Friedman, and Mike Scott Anyone who has walked, jogged, or hiked along a stream that drains the Front Range has probably passed sizable willow {Salix sp.) trees. Two large tree willows in our area are the crack or brittle willow {Salix fragilis) and the white willow or golden osier (Salix alba var. vitellina). Both species attain considerable size, often greater than 40 feet in height and 3 feet in diameter. Crack willow, the more common of the two, can be distinguished from white willow by its smooth, ascending, olive- green branches. White willow has gold- en yellow twigs and brownish yellow branches. Also, the branches and twigs of crack willow are very brittle at the base; hence its common name. Both of these species are introduced, and some claim that what we refer to as crack wil- low is actually a hybrid between S. fragilis and S. alba. Peachleaf willow (S. amygdaloides) is a native tree willow that grows in similar habitats, but has a smaller stature than crack or white wil- low, rarely exceeding 40 feet. Other ex- otic tree willows that might occasionally occur in riparian areas are the weeping willow (S. babylonica) and the globe wil- low (S. matsudana). Natives of Eurasia, crack and white wil- lows were introduced to colonial America where they were used as fast growing sources of shade, timber, gun- powder charcoal, basket withes, and also for erosion control and windbreaks. They have become naturalized in most of southeastern Canada and the eastern U.S. Presumably crack and white wil- lows were brought to Colorado by set- tlers in the late 1800’s. The oldest trees occur near long-established cities, towns, ranches, and farm houses. In fact, large crack willows are often the most prominent remnants of abandoned homesteads. The species apparently es- caped cultivation and became success- fully established along reaches of rivers and irrigation ditches. Crack willow was either more widely planted or has reproduced more successfully than white willow, as it is more abundant in our state. This May we noticed that all of the crack willows in a reach along Boulder Creek bore female catkins, while all of the white willows bore male catkins. The scarcity of male crack willows in North America was previously noted by H. D. Harrington in Manual of the Plants of Colorado and by R. A. Vines in Trees of East Texas. We decided to survey several reaches along some of the major Front Range drainages (Boulder Creek, Cache la Poudre River, Cherry Creek, South Platte River, Plum Creek) in an effort to verify this curious phenomenon. Of 2320 crack willows surveyed, we found only 3 males, and of 152 white willows, we found only 2 females. In addition, we found apparent hybrids of both sexes along sections of Plum Creek, Cherry Creek and the Cache la Poudre River. Our findings prompted us to hypothesize about the reproductive ecology of these species, especially crack willow. The extremely skewed sex ratios and apparent absence of very small individuals led us to believe that crack willow is reproducing primarily vegetatively. Along Plum Creek near the town of Sedalia, lone crack willows typi- cally punctuate the upstream ends of depositional bars in the stream channel. Apparently, branches that have cracked off larger trees have become lodged and rooted in the sandy channel, later trap- ping sediment and helping form bars. Along Cherry Creek in southeast Den- ver, young crack willows are present on the edges (especially upstream) of small rock check dams. These trees may have arisen from branches that were stopped in the check dam backwaters. Other authors have noted crack willow’s ability to reproduce from fallen branches and twigs (e.g.. The Complete Guide to Trees of Britain and Northern Europe by A. Mitchell, and Some American Trees by W. B. Werthner). We remained puzzled about why crack willows are apparently rarely reproduc- ing by seed. We reasoned that, since there are so few males, the females are rarely pollinated, and therefore the seed is almost entirely sterile, or aborts. In fact, we found an average of 2.95 seeds per capsule in a sample of 20 catkins col- lected along the Cache la Poudre River. To our surprise, more than 87% of 1000 seeds germinated in petri dishes. Be- cause we collected many of the catkins from stands of purely female in- dividuals, we feel that crack willow may be forming seed apomicticly; that is, producing viable seed without fertiliza- tion. Alternatively, female trees may simply be receiving pollen from some relatively nearby male white or crack willows. Crack willows may occasionally become established from seed, but apparently the conditions necessary for their estab- lishment and survival are almost never met. Genetic defects could also inhibit the survival of crack willow seedlings. However, seedlings that we planted in wet sand in early June are now (mid- August) 3-5 cm tall and experiencing low mortality. We hope to conduct ex- periments in the future to identify what factors are preventing more widespread seed reproduction. Clearly, many questions regarding crack willow reproductive ecology remain un- answered. Our speculations and con- clusions are based on limited observations. We welcome any informa- tion CONPS members may have on the history of crack and white willows in Colorado, or the locations of male crack willows, female white willows, or hybrids. Only through more observation and experimentation will we be able to unravel this interesting botanical story. Please send any correspondence to: Pat Shafroth or Mike Scott US Dept of the Interior FWS National Ecology Research Ctr Riverine and Wetland Ecosystems Branch 45 12 McMurray Ave. Fort Collins, CO 80521-3400 4, Aquilegia Page 9 Number 5 Plan now to attend the Society’s annual meeting, November 2nd at the Denver Museum of Natural History (DMNH). This exciting program explores one of our most threatened, and most neglected, vegetation types— the North American prairie. The destruction and loss of diversity now occurring in the tropical rainforests parallels the history of North America during the development and conquest of our native grasslands. Speakers will , go beyond botanical emphasis to ex- plore the relationships among plant communities, animals, and the early and modern human inhabitants of the prairies of the United States. An overall historical viewpoint will lend the program a sense of how sweeping chan- ges occurred to this once-vast biome, and how we can help protect and restore the ecosystems of the Great Plains. The Denver Museum of Natural History is co-sponsoring this discussion of the 1 grassland ecosystems that are an impor- tant part of Colorado’s history — and its future. 1991 Annual Meeting Reminder Program 8:00 Registration 8:45 Opening Remarks: Gayle Weinstein, president 9:00 History of the Grasslands Jane Bock 9:45 Mammalian Life on the Prairie David Armstrong 10:30 Break 10:45 Human Influences on the Grasslands: Joyce Herald, Dean Kanode 11:45 Annual Meeting Brief (voting for Board and bylaws) 12:00 Lunch, Board meeting Self-guided tour of DMNH Colorado Ecosystems dioramas 1:15 Introduction of New Board 1:30 Loss of Community Ed Gerrant 2:30 Restoration and Preservation of the Grasslands Bill Floyd, Floyd Reed 3:30 Adjournment About the Speakers Jane Bock, professor of Environmen- tal, Population, & Organismic Biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder, is a botanist with particular interest in the role plants play in our day-to-day lives. David Armstrong, professor and direc- tor of the CU Museum, is an expert in ecology of western North America and the effect of humans on native ecosystems. Joyce Herald is a staff member in the Anthropology Dept, at the Denver Museum of Natural History. Dean Kan ode, president of the Crow Valley Livestock Cooperative, works with the Forest Service in long-range planning in the Pawnee Grasslands area. Ed Gerrant is currently conservation director and curator of the seed bank for rare and endangered plants of the Pacific Northwest at Berry Botanic Gardens in Portland, Oregon. Bill Floyd was recently appointed USFS district ranger for Pawnee Na- tional Grasslands. Floyd Reed is a range management specialist, presently range staff officer of Pike-San Isabel National Forest. Page 10 Aquilegia Volume 15 Bill Jennings Some information on rare plants from the summer of 1991 has already been received. As the Adopt-A-Rare-Plant volunteers conclude their studies, there will be more reports on Colorado rare plants. Limnorchis ensifolia (Limnorchis sparsiflora sensu latu) We can now add Chaffee County to the list of counties where sparsely-flowered bog orchid occurs. A small population was seen on private land near Buena Vista in early August. The landowner was interested in selling his holdings to The Nature Conservancy. Both Rick Brune and I had checked the property. Unmounted specimens seen at RM in- dicate the presence of this orchid in the Flat Tops area, probably Garfield County. Epipactis gigantea As predicted, this orchid has finally been discovered in the seeps along the Dolores River. There is a line of seeps at the Wingate/Chinle contact on the east side of Sewemup Mesa in the Dolores River Canyon. Many of these seeps are accessible to those willing to do some climbing, but there is one right at roadside about 16 miles north of Uravan. A large pullout with trash cans marks the spot. Underneath an over- hang, there are a few plants of maiden- hair fern. However, as one walks upstream along the road, the seep line gains altitude quickly. About 150 paces up the road, the seep line is about 30 feet up the cliff. It is at this point that the or- chid was observed. The climb up to the plants is not particularly difficult. Erigeron kachinensis This diminutive daisy is in the same seep as the Epipactis ^gantea. There are plants next to the orchid, but there is one clump lower on the cliff, so that it can be accessed by climbing up only one ledge, about 6 to 8 feet above road level. In ad- dition, more plants were seen in a less accessible spot, a few hundred feet fur- ther upstream. Some climbing is neces- The Search for Rare Plants sary to get to this location, as the seep is getting further up the cliff as one goes upstream. Other sites for Kachina daisy are in Bull Canyon and Coyote Wash, tributaries of the Dolores River, in Slick Rock Canyon. There is no road along the Dolores in this part of the canyon. In the past, dirt and gravel roads made these sites relatively accessible, but with the cessation of uranium mining in the area, neither the BLM nor Montrose County is maintaining these roads, and they have washed out. Lengthy hikes are now necessary to access this portion of the Dolores. The BLM has signs in the area that Slick Rock Canyon is under study as a wilderness area. Listera borealis Two new sites were discovered this year. Sandy Righter found this little orchid on the Two Elk Pass Trail, near Vail in Eagle County on July 14. This is the first report for Eagle County. I found north- ern twayblade in Larimer County, north of Chambers Lake in the Laramie River drainage, visiting the site June 22, July 3, and July 10. At this site, all three Colorado species of Listera grow together. This is the first report for Larimer County. There are now eleven sites in nine counties. Listera convallarioides This little twayblade was found growing with the other two species of Listera in a roadside seep north of Chambers Lake. Although previously known from Larimer County (Rocky Mountain Na- tional Park), this new site increases the number of known Colorado populations to five. Other colonies are in Boulder and Routt Counties. A literature report for this species was investigated by Dr. William A. Weber. A specimen housed in the Herbarium Boissier, Geneva, collected in Colorado during the 1890’s was reported to be Listera convallarioides^ but a photocopy of the specimen conclusively showed it to be the common Listera cordata. Cypripedium fasciculatum Funding by the USDA Forest Service this year enabled me to study this plant. Populations in Rocky Mountain Nation- al Park, near Glendevey in the Laramie River area, on the east side of the Park Range near Buffalo Pass, south of Rab- bit Ears Pass, and near Grand Lake were recovered. The population near Buffalo Pass had an estimated 1000 plants, nearly all in bloom. Sandy Righter found two previously undocu- mented populations, based on reports by Diana Mullineaux and Mary Ellen Gilliland. These sites are in Eagle and Summit Counties. Sandy also located a new population in Eagle County last year. This orchid is known from 16 sites in Jackson, Larimer, Boulder, Routt, Grand, Summit, and Eagle Counties. Based on literature reports, it may be more common in Colorado than anywhere else in its range. Lilium phiiadelphicum ^ I also studied this species with funds from the Forest Service. Historically, most specimens of this plant have been taken in Larimer, Boulder, and Jeffer- son Counties. However, most specimens are very old and label data are scanty. I found no plants at most documented sites, but I heard of numerous populations through the grapevine. It appears that most existing populations of wood lily are given de facto protection by being on private land and thus inaccessible to the general public. There are sites in the National Forest west of Fort Collins; north of Nederland; and south of Sedalia. This plant is so showy it attracts im- mediate attention and is frequently picked or transplanted. At one site on public land, a woman was observed with a bouquet of flowers that included the lily. Close examination of that lily patch indicated both picking and trampling. Although there are numerous popul? tions in northern Colorado, all patchcr-^ examined were less than 150 plants, typically about 50 to 75. It should never be picked. Number 5 Aquilegia Page 1 1 Smilax lasioneura Carolyn Crawford has adopted this plant. It appears to be particularly numerous near Boulder. Plants were seen in Long Canyon, Gregory Canyon, Bluebell Canyon, along Skunk Creek, in Shadow Canyon, and along South Boulder Creek. In Jefferson County, a site collected by William A. Weber during the 1960’s was recovered. Plants in South Cheyenne Canyon, Colorado Springs (called to our attention by Lee Barzee) were also seen. Plants were sought, but not found, in Jarre Canyon southwest of Sedalia; in Waterton . Canyon (South Platte River); in Buck- horn Canyon (Larimer County; and Rist Canyon. Viola pedatifida The bird’s-foot violet attracted a lot of attention this year. Both Bob Powell and Anne Maley adopted it as part of the Adopt-A-Rare-Plant Program. Bob found plants along the Mesa Trail, be- tween Boulder and Eldorado Springs. Anne found a very large population on the Dakota Hogback north of Lee Hill Road. Some of the plants are in the area burned during the fall of 1990. In addi- tion Anne found plants in the Rampart Range, southwest of Sedalia, and in the Black Forest, northwest of Colorado Springs. Violets are not well understood in Colorado, and much more informa- tion is desired. Even the relatively com- mon species should be adopted. “Vaccinium globulare” This species has been consistently reported for tlie Park Range, near Steamboat Springs. Dr. William A. Weber, writing in Colorado Flora: Western Slope says: “What seems to be this species occurs in the Park Range, but it has not been collected in flower or fruit. It looks like a gigantic form of Vac- cinium myrtillus, but needs further study in the field.” A specimen collected by Jane Bunin on July 13, 1973, has been the center of the controversy surrounding this plant. Jo ^Ann Flock and I had sought the colony without success. Armed with a map provided by Jane Bunin, I rediscovered the plants on June 23, 1991. Slightly less than one mile east-southeast of Fish Creek Falls on the Long Lake Trail (trail 1102), there are four very large and apparently very old blueberry plants with woody stems as large as a pencil. Both very large leaves and normal-sized leaves were seen on the same plants. New growth leaves were larger than leaves emerging from old growth. I con- cluded that these are just old, large Vac- cinium myrtillus. On specimens of Vaccinium mem- branaceum (V. globulare is considered synonymous with this species by most modern workers) seen at B YU, the leaf serrations were pronounced and very regular, like a hacksaw blade. On all specimens and live plants of Vaccinium myrtillus seen, serrations are less regular and more subdued. Vaccinium membranaceum is a northwestern species reaching its southeastern limit in northern Utah. There is nothing remarkable about the location along Long Lake Trail with regard to associated northwestern species. Trillium ovatum, Rhodo- dendron albiflorum, Mimulus lewisii^ and Cypripedium fasciculatum were not seen in the area. In my opinion, specimens of large-leaved blueberries attributed to northwestern taxa are most likely Vaccinium myrtillus responding robustly to improved moisture and growing conditions. Eustoma grand if lorum Jim Borland and Ed & Jean Dubois both called my attention to a nice colony of prairie gentain growing along 1-25 north of St. Vrain Creek. With the land- owner’s permission, numerous plants were seen, some with almost white flowers. The area is somewhat dis- turbed, with Russian Olives and an ir- rigation system present. This site is in Weld County. Goodyera repens Study of this little cousin to orchid Goodyera oblongifolia was funded by the Forest Service in 1991. Goodyera repens is circumboreal, but in the western United States, there are scat- tered populations south of its main range across Canada and the Northeast. There are a few sites in Montana and in the Black Hills of South Dakota, but none are known in Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, or Nevada. In Colorado it is found from the Squaw Pass area southward into New Mexico, with a few popula- tions high in the mountains of southeastern Arizona, usually on cool north-facing slopes, often in little draws that attract moisture, but not enough to actually develop into a flowing stream. Three sites were recovered, including the Squaw Pass site. A new population was discovered in the Wet Mountains southwest of Pueblo. Betsy Neely found two populations in Las Animas County in 1987. The species is now known from Clear Creek, Jefferson, El Paso, Custer, Las Animas, Mineral, and La Plata Counties. It is most frequently en- countered in the Pikes Peak area. Page 1 2 Aquilegia Volume 15 Botanical Dragnet John "Barney” Baxter 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 beginning to drupe, and we were about to go to Abies Bar and get plastid when a call came in that a supermarket had been held up. We drove down there and said, “I just want the FAX.” “Well, lemma see,” she said, “this guy came in with a pistil, and I know he meant to stigma up, so I gave him all the cash. Then I watched him pedicel away on his pericycle. It had one petal missing.” I could tell by the style of the caper that it was the work of Pericycle Pete, the notorious supermarket bandit. We spent a week looking for apetalous pericycle, with no success. We were deep in glume. Then one day there was a knock awn the door. “Come in,” I said, and who should walk in but Sadie the Shoplifter, a gal whose favorite trick was to Caryophyl- laceae bit of feminine apparel from some display counter. “Boys,” said Sadie, “I’ve stolon my last bit of lingerie — I’m going straight. And to prove I’m Cereus, I’m going to lead you to Pericycle Pete’s hangout.” We hoped that Sadie’s change of heartwood mean that she wouldn’t stele anymore. She took us to Pete’s hideout, a sleazy apartment that he had rented from those notorious slumlords, Phil O. Dendron and his wife, Rhoda Dendron. “Culm awn out, Pete,” I yelled, “you ought to see the nice nucellus fellows have for you. Yew won’t pine away— yew’ll spruce up fir a change when you cedar cell.” His only anther was to fire a pistil from a window. We let him rachis with fire for awhile, 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 in- florescence lights, and I feel quite supe- rior ovary the whole thing. * Later the chief was talking promotions. I thought, “Is he Cereus, or is epigynous a curve?” Reprinted from the Bulletin of the Wyoming Na- tive Plant Society with the author’s permission. Calendar Overview 1991 Fall Workshops Oct 12 Botanical Illustration Foothills N.C, Boulder Dec 7 Orchids of Colorado Denver Botanic Gardens Jan 11 Genus Draba in Colorado Univ. of Colo., Boulder Special Events Nov 2 Annual Meeting Museum of Natural History, Denver Denver Chapter Oct 23 Favorite Slides Dec 11 North Table Mtn or Tundra Jan 22 Tropical rainforest research Feb 26 Aspens Colorado Native Plant Society P.O. Box 200 Fort Collins, Colorado 80522 Non-profit Organization U.S. Postage PAID Permit #1475 Denver, Colorado /