Publication of the Wyoming Native Plant Society
Mar 2011, Volume 30, No. 1

Posted at www.uwyo.edu/wyndd/wnps/wnps_home.htm

In this issue:

Laramie False Sagebrush Saga 1

Wyoming Native Plant Society

Beginnings 3

Not So Long Ago 4

President's Greeting 5

Additions to the Flora of Wyoming -
Three North American Rarities in

the Brachytheciaceae 6

Penstemon Surprise 7

Berry Center: Breaking New Ground. . . 9

Laramie False Sagebrush Saga

By Bonnie Heidel

In May, 1898, Aven Nelson first laid eyes on
a yellow-flowered silvery sentinel perched above
Laramie that he would later describe as Tanacetum
simplex (Nelson 1899). Nelson's discovery came to
be called Laramie false sagebrush ( Sphaeromeria
simple x), more closely related to Artemisia than to
Tanacetum (Flolmgren et al. 1976), in the North
American Sphaeromeria genus. Laramie false
sagebrush all but disappeared from botanical view
after 1907, so it was included on the first roster of
over 3000 United States plants identified by the
Smithsonian Institute as possibly in need of
protection under the 1973 Endangered Species Act
(ESA).

A new chapter in the Laramie false
sagebrush story opened when the type locality was
rediscovered outside of Laramie by Robert Dorn in
1978. It was made a Category 1 species for listing
on December 15, 1980 under the ESA, as heralded
in "PLANT NEWZ" of the first Wyoming Native Plant
Society Newsletter [1(1)] in May of 1981. The type
locality was the site of a proposed quarry, a threat
to the survival of the species. These dire

Above: Laramie false sagebrush ( Sphaeromeria simple x).
By B. Heidel.

circumstances were changed by a conservation
easement at the center of the type locality by The
Nature Conservancy, a five-year effort that
culminated in 1982.

Exciting survey results marked the start of a
new chapter. Five additional populations were
discovered by Robert Dorn starting in 1984
straddling four counties (Mountain West
Environmental Services 1996) and six more
populations were found in the 1990's by Walter
Fertig, Ronald Flartman, and Amy (Roderick)

Taylor. It remained on the Category 2 list until that
list was discontinued in 1996. {Continued on p. 8)

WNPS News

30 th Anniversary

Wyoming Native Plant Society
P.O. Box 2500
Laramie, WY 82073

WNPS Board - 2011

2011 marks the 30 th Anniversary of Wyoming
Native Plant Society! Our Society was officially
established in the merry month of May. But
anniversary articles will run all year long.

Mark your calendar : The 2011 annual meeting of
Wyoming Native Plant Society will be on June 24-
26 in the Bighorn Mountains. You are cordially
invited. The itinerary will be in the May newsletter
and in a field trip mailing!

Field trip mailing : Look for a slate of fieldtrips
across the state that will be announced in a
separate spring mailing. The homepage will also
be used to post any late additions or changes.

New Members : Please welcome the following new
members to WNPS: Calla Canaday, Lusk; Lisa Cox,
Laramie; Katie Driver, Fort Collins, CO; Julie
Giacobassi, Wilson; Tim Lingle, Pinedale; Jarren
Kuipers, Cody; Marion Mahaffey, Kemmerer;

Steven Rolfsmeier, Chadron, NE; Brian Sebade,
Lander; Patricia Siegel, Teton Village; and Amarina
Wuenschel, Laramie.

Members for Life : Thank you to new life members!
The lifetime membership option was created with
passage of the 2010 By-Laws amendments. The
lifetime membership fee is $200, of which $50 is
directed to the Scholarship Fund.

2011 Scholarship Winner : We are proud to
announce that the 2011 Markow Botany Research
Scholarship is awarded to Nick Dobric for his
Masters research on "Forest regeneration response
to a bark beetle outbreak in northwest Wyoming."
Nick is a University of Wyoming graduate student in
the Botany Department, receiving the $500 grant.

...See botanical New Year's Resolutions made
by the President, p. 5.

President: Amy Taylor, Jackson
(ajrtaylor@hotmail.com)

Vice-President: Dorothy Tuthill, Laramie
(DTuthill@uwyo.edu)

Sec. -Treasurer: Ann Boelter, Laramie
(a m b749 @ya hoo.com)

Board-at-large:

Eve Warren, Worland CIO- 11)

(apacherian_savanna@yahoo.com)

Karen Clause, Pinedale (Tl-'12)

(Karen. Clause@wy.usda)

Editor: Bonnie Heidel (bheidel@uwyo.edu)
Webmaster: Melanie Arnett (arnett@uwyo.edu)
Teton Chapter: PO Box 6654, Jackson, WY 83002
(Amy Taylor, Treasurer)

Bighorn Native Plant Society: P.O. Box 21,

Big Florn, WY 82833 (Jean Daly, Treasurer

Treasurer's Report : Balance as of 14 Feb:
Scholarship = $2,705; General = $3,693; Total =
$6,398.

Contributors to this Issue : Ann Boelter, Robert
Dorn, Walter Fertig, Bonnie Heidel, Marcel Jouseau,
Elena Kosovich-Anderson, Amy Taylor, Dorothy
Tuthill.

The next newsletter deadline is April 18. Articles,
announcements, and suggestions are welcome any
time!

And now a word about our carbon footprint : The
100% recycled paper stock that was used last year
would not fold well if the newsletter issue ran more
than 10 pages, and it was literally heavier to mail,
increasing postage costs when issues exceeded 8
pages. The stock used in this issue is only 10%
recycled but from a Colorado mill. We are working
with the University of Wyoming Copy Center to find
the ideal, and welcome member expertise or
research legwork.

2

Wyoming Native Plant Society

Beginnings

By Robert Dorn

The Wyoming Native Plant Society is indirectly a
product of the environmental movement of the
1960's and 1970's. Before that time there was little
attention paid to the environment. Rachel Carson's
book Silent Spring in 1962 awakened the public to
their surroundings. Wyoming was at the forefront
of the movement, passing our first mine
reclamation law in 1969 which required the filling
of pits, regrading, and seeding. There was no
requirement for the seeding to be successful,
however. The National Environmental Policy Act,
passed in 1970, required environmental analyses
for all federally funded projects. This was followed
by the Endangered Species Act in 1973. In that
same year the Wyoming Environmental Quality Act
was passed. This required mined lands to be
returned to an equal or better use compared to
premining. The Federal Surface Mining Act, passed
in 1977, regulated coal mining in the entire
country. Provisions were incorporated to allow
states to run their own coal programs after
"jumping through the usual federal hoops."

Federal funding was provided for certain aspects
of the program. In that same year, 1977, 1
began working for the Wyoming Department
of Environmental Quality (DEQ) as a plant
ecologist. Part of the Federal funding could
be used to obtain data on rare or endangered
species. DEQ contracted with The Nature
Conservancy to establish a Natural Fleritage
Program in the state. An office was opened
in Cheyenne and I was appointed the liaison
between the Conservancy and DEQ. Bob
Lichvar was the plant taxonomist with the
Conservancy and he was primarily responsible
for establishing the Wyoming Native Plant Society
Other Conservancy personnel among our first
members included Mark Stromberg (zoologist), Don
Shute, Ellen Collins, Tom Wolf, and Linda
Williamson.

In the early years, the Society was involved
with nominating research natural areas on the
national forests. Most of these failed because of
the provision that required at least 50 years of no
grazing on the area. There were few other

avenues for protection at that time. One notable
success we did have was stopping a logging road
from being constructed through Dugout Gulch in
the Black Hills. Dugout Gulch harbors a dozen or
more rare Wyoming plants. I discovered the area
on July 3, 1976 when I found three first state
records, Geum canadense, Poiygonatum bifiorum,
and Haienia defiexa. I also found five additional
first state records in Crook County and two first
state records for Montana during that weeklong
field trip to give you some idea of how well the
area was collected at that time. The Society had
its annual meeting and field trip there in 1982 only
to discover that the gulch was staked for a new
logging road. We then contacted the Forest
Service and voiced our concern about the road.

You can see a brief history of the proceeding by
visiting the Society website and looking at the
Society newsletters for October 1982, page 2, and
November 1984, page 5. The ultimate outcome did
not materialize until many years later when it
became a designated Botanical Area.

DIIBOUT BULGE BOTANICAL BEES

^ Welcome ii Diignnt Balch -— 1

j 3 | 111*1 unique Jr?i pun! ulr* j bud. >1 brnh " ~

run* and tummon i£uii ipcuo iif ihr RLn k MilK 1
hSctji prrvrve l he b<-4ul> of Ita b> pfattWIft*

r|K InifcPAinK rlhH> 4 *hI mwi/iurk.

Where North Hots Sloth

F-*r Fnirei Ihr laui-.ll I ruethnnl JiunK til f «fa*la jrn|

aw Fufttoowd rorww «l flw Brairt

M-drv It * vrull luiSlv Irgrljtnd liTjjrijj-r knife I* Jr*

I Kic'bjI h IWwral <u*1 r*Unn tuditamJ pLtfilx

ujuiuw 14 rfv.- tfrji. nod rrfus* m i ht ran#**, <t-oi
ikrJvuKP —

tor***

_ n.jil +tTmttrn

^ID

Si .A J^%c\

m ^ if js

r V 'i 0

Black Hills ,1

Above: Black Hills National Forest sign

It doesn't hurt to be vocal. Civilized society has
been busy destroying the planet. If someone
doesn't point out the biological resources we have,
they will be destroyed and the average person will
never know it happened. I would hope that some
of our younger members, if they are so inclined,
will become active in speaking out and pursuing
protections for important native plant areas.

3

Not So Long Ago,,,

1987 Annual Meeting Attendees t left to right, 1st row: Louis Williams, Robert Dorn, Gail
Chance, Jane Dorn, Virginia Wheeler, Marlene Juday, Michele Potkin; 2nd row: Neil Snow,
Dennis Knight, Erwin Evert, Ronald Hartman, Rick Juday, Ernie Nelson; 3rd row: Larry
Cook, George Jones. Pat Pachuta, Hollis Marriott. Photo bv Phil White.

Even as we rally around plants, we celebrate members, both new and long-standing. Above is one of
the earliest gatherings ever captured on film, taken in the Laramie Range. Below is a flashback to 1981,
drawn from newsletters and archives for the first 20 years (Vignettes by Walter Fertig. Reprinted from
Castilleja 20(2); posted online).

1981

Ronald Reagan had just been inaugurated as the nation's 40 th President, James Watt was

making headlines as the new Secretary of the Interior, Governor Ed Herschler was advocating economic
development on "Wyoming's terms", and a group of plucky, pie-eating biologists met in Cheyenne to
found the Wyoming Native Plant Society. The inaugural, 2-page issue of the Wyoming Native Plant
Society Newsletter appeared on May 18 and was sent to 23 members. By the end of the year,
membership would grow to 41 and the Society's bank account would reach $220.

Much of the efforts of the Society in 1981 were directed at recruiting new members, establishing
the by-laws, and promoting education and plant conservation. During its first year, the newsletter
featured short articles on efforts to list two Wyoming endemics (Laramie false sagebrush and Ross'
bentgrass) under the Endangered Species Act, threats to the rare meadow pussytoes from proposed
gold mining the in the South Pass Area, and the first installments in a series of articles on the early
botanical exploration of Wyoming.

4

President's Greeting and
New Year's Botanical Resolutions

By Amy Taylor

Greetings from the northwest corner of
Wyoming. As newly elected president, I am
honored and excited to come on board as
Wyoming Native Plant Society (WNPS)
celebrates 30 years of promoting the state's
native plants and habitats. Anniversaries offer
the opportunity to reflect back and look
forward. I first became involved in WNPS in
1997 as a graduate student in the Botany
Department at the University of Wyoming. I
quickly became a WNPS groupie. Field trips
were a chance to experience Wyoming's wild
landscape, visit the rarest plants, and rub
botanical elbows with some of the best folks.
Among them were Stuart Markow, Robert
Dorn, Walter Fertig, Ron Hartman, Ernie
Nelson, Hollis Marriot, Erwin Evert, Charmaine
Delmatier, and fellow graduate students.

Fourteen years later, WNPS remains my
source for botanical inspiration, information,
and connection to others in the state. Each
year I look forward to four newsletters
{CastiHeja), local field trips, and the annual
meeting. And while I've never been great at
making and keeping New Year's resolutions, I
decided I might have better luck with botanical
New Year's resolutions - especially if they are
in print! My list, in no particular order, is
below. I encourage you to make your own list.

1. Attend annual meeting in the Bighorn
Mountains

2. Differentiate between local Aster species
and try to remember to which genera they are
now assigned - Aimutaster, Eucephaius,
Eurybia , Ionactis, Oreostemma, and
Symphyotrichum (Dorn's Third Edition of
Vascular Plants of Wyoming, 2001)

3. Add to my book collection: Field Guide to
Grasses of Wyoming (Skinner 2010), vintage
flower books

Above: Pearly everlasting {An a ph a Us margariticea)
adorns Wyoming byways. From: N.L. Britton and
Addison Brown. 1913. An Illustrated Flora of the
Northern United States, Canada and the British
Possessions. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, NY.
Images scanned by Omnitek Information Services, Inc.
for the Kentucky Native Plant Society.

4. Hug a whitebark pine {Pinus aibicauiis)

5. Seek out plants to add to my "life list" -
Jones columbine {Aquiiegia jonesii) and
Hesperochiron ( Hesperochiron sp.) - a
member of the Waterleaf family that stumped
most everyone at a recent Teton Chapter game
night of "Wildflower Jeopardy".

6. Lead a local field trip

7. Collect heartleaf arnica {Arnica cordifoiia) to
make a sore-muscle/bruise salve.

8. Teach our 5-year old daughter at least 5
new wildflowers

9. Contribute to CastiHeja newsletter

10. Think of WNPS whenever I see pearly
everlasting {Anapha/is margaritacea) . . .

Pearls, after all, are the traditional 30 th
anniversary gift. ...Happy 30 th Anniversary
Wyoming Native Plant Society!

5

Above: Brachythecium erythrorrhizon Bruch, Schimp. & Gumbel var. alpinum Kosovich-Anderson & Ignatov.

Illustration by E. A. Ignatova. Reprinted with permission from Arctoa.

Wyoming Brachytheciaceae (Bryophyta): three rarities for North America

Three significant Brachytheciaceae moss discoveries were recently announced from collections made
on the Beartooth Plateau of Wyoming (Kosovich-Anderson and Ignatov 2010). They include the newly-
described variety, Brachythecium erythrorrhizon Bruch, Schimp. & Gumbel var. alpinum Kosovich-Anderson &
Ignatov; Brachythecium brandegei (Austin) H. Rob., a species previously considered a highly localized endemic
of Colorado; and Sciuro-hypnum glaciate (Bruch, Schimp. & Gumbel) Ignatov & Huttunen, an arctic-alpine
species collected for the first time in continental North America, far-removed from the nearest known localities
in Greenland and representing an extraordinary disjunction in the Rocky Mountains. All three taxa were
collected as part of the senior author's documentation of the bryophyte flora in the Beartooth Mountains
(Shoshone National Forest). The newly discovered mosses are rare in North America and may warrant
conservation consideration in the state.

References

Kosovich-Anderson, Y.I, and M.S. Ignatov, 2010. Three interesting Brachytheciaceae mosses from the Beartooth Plateau
(Rocky Mountains, Wyoming, U.S.A.) Arctoa 19: 183-190. Posted electronically at:
http : //a rctoa . ru/ru/Arch ive-ru/ 19/ 1 7Wyomi ng . pdf .

6

A Surprising Addition to the
Flora of Wyoming

By Marcel Jouseau

A large genus of Wyoming plants just got
larger. There is one new addition to the Penstemon
genus, previously reported with 46 taxa (Dorn
2001). In early June 2010, while carrying out a
mapping survey to document the geographic
distribution of Penstemon acaulis L.O. Williams, in
southwest Wyoming, I came across plants of
Penstemon yampaensis Pen land [syn. P. a. var.
yampaensis (Penl.) Neese]. This lucky find occurred
on a ridge north of the Lucerne Valley,
approximately one mile north of the Wyoming-Utah
state line. A voucher was deposited in the Rocky
Mountain Herbarium (accession # RM 827540)
viewable at: http://www.rmh.uwyo.edu/.

Above: Distribution of Penstemon acaulis p ) and P.
yampaensis (a) plus its new location in Wyoming ( * ).
Map by M. Jouseau.

Up to now Penstemon yampaensis was
known only from northwestern Colorado Moffat
County and northeastern Utah Daggett County and
Uintah County. More specifically, in Colorado the
taxon is found in the Yampa River watershed,
Vermillion Creek watershed, Snake and Little Snake
watersheds. Better known locations include Irish
Canyon, Maybell, Sunbeam. In Utah it is known
from Clay Basin and Browns Park in Daggett Co.
and one location in Uintah Co. By contrast the

distribution of P. acau/is \s limited to the Flaming
Gorge Basin with its northern limit a narrow strip of
land in Sweetwater County north of the Utah-
Wyoming state line. The eastern limit Red Creek,
Browns Park area, in Daggett Co, Utah; the
western limit is about 5 miles west of McKinnon,
Sweetwater County and the southern limit is Phil
Pico Peak lower slopes and Sheep Creek Gap in
Daggett County, Utah (see map) However, the
identity of the specimens collected in the Red Creek
area and a specimen of P. acaulis collected in
Uintah Co., Utah (Kass & Preston #2679) may not
have been finally resolved as they may belong to P.
yampaensis (Franklin, 1992). Franklin states that
the range of P. acaulis" does not extend further
east than the east end of the Lucerne Valley
Peninsula." The location of the new find of P.
yampaensis places this record approximately 25
miles northwest of the westernmost record in

Browns Park and practically in the center of
the known distribution of P. acaulis.
Previously the potential overlap of the two
taxa had been suggested by Fertig and
Welp (2001) who stated: "Specimens of P.
acaulis from the Brown's Park area along
the Utah/Colorado border have broader I
leaves and appear to be morphologically
transitional towards P. yampaensis..”
echoing Neese in Welsh et al. (1987) who
wrote : "Penstemon acaulis is an unusual
penstemon of unparalleled dwarf habit.
Plants at the eastern end of the distribution
have slightly larger leaves and flowers and
have been recognized as P. yampaensis
Penl., but specimens from Brown's Park,
Utah, near the Colorado border are
geographically and morphologically transitional.

The variation seems best recognized at the varietal
level...".

A comparison of the voucher with the
voucher for the specimen collected by Penland and
deposited in the Rocky Mountain Herbarium
(accession # RM 248800) shows identical
characteristics. The plant is definitely caespitose
and acaulescent. The leaves are cineraceous (grey
color), 20 mm long and 2.5 mm wide, oblanceolate,
acute. The calyx is 6.5 mm long with lobes that are
long and acuminate. The corolla is 16 mm long,
rosy pink and externally pubescent, with golden

7

beard in the throat. Three flowers emanated from
the same point on the stem, on individual pedicels
7mm long and 0.5 mm in diameter. No seeds were
observed on the plant.

Penstemon yampaensis was found growing
in shallow, sandy soil on a flat rocky ledge of the
Wasatch Formation, as determined by overlaying
the location of the plant specimen on a digital copy
of Love's map of the geology of Wyoming. The
ground was void of any forbs, other than P. acaulis,
or grasses. The conditions are windy and arid. A
few junipers are scattered along the ridge. Plants
are permanently exposed to full sun.

It is always thrilling to find new locations of
taxa outside their known distribution and this find
was especially so, as it was unexpected. With this
find come questions regarding the distribution of
the two varietal forms as well as the evolution of
these two taxa. This find also suggests the need for

surveys to determine whether additional plants of
P. yampaensis can be found in Wyoming along the
Utah and Colorado state lines and to determine the
overall distributions of the two taxa in the regional
context of the three states and the extent of the
overlap and transitional forms.

References

Dorn, R.D. 2001 . Vascular Plants of Wyoming, 3rd ed.

Mountain West Publishing, Cheyenne, WY.
Fertig, W. and L. Welp. 2001. Status of stemless

beardtongue ( Penstemon acaulis var acaulis ) in
southwestern Wyoming.

Franklin, M.A. 1992. Report for 1991 Challenge Cost
Share Project Ashley National Forest. Target
Species: Penstemon acaulis vav. acaulis LO.
Williams, March 1992.

Neese, E. 1987. Penstemon Mitch, in: A Utah Flora,
Great Basin Naturalist Memoir No. 9, 1987,
Brigham Young University, ed.: Welsh Stanley
L., D. Atwood, S. Goodrich and L.C. Higgins, pp.
894.

Laramie false sagebrush saaa. cont. from p. 1

The rocky, wind-swept habitats of Laramie
false sagebrush were on lands managed by the
BLM. So in 2001, Laramie false sagebrush was
designated sensitive by the Wyoming BLM. The
BLM sensitive species designation is intended to
help prevent the need for federal listing of species
as Threatened or Endangered.

More recently, major new wind energy
resource areas were identified that overlap with
known and potential distribution of Laramie false
sagebrush. The potential distribution was identified
in a model (Fertig and Thurston 2003) that had
never been tested. For these reasons, additional
surveys were conducted by Wyoming Natural
Diversity Database in 2009.

In ensuing work, we (Joy Flandley and I)
expanded the distribution of Laramie false
sagebrush at ten known collection stations and
found six new populations, for a total of 22
population records in parts of the Laramie and
Shirley Basins, and in the Shirley Mountains. The
most current status report (Handley and Heidel
2010) brings all prior work into the "GIS age" and
provides current information needed to maintain its
populations, building on all other botanical
endeavors.

Laramie false sagebrush has becomes a
landmark plant of sorts for the Wyoming Native
Plant Society, and this article is by no means the
last chapter in the saga. We run it as a tribute to
the legions of people who have made contributions
to its current status, to all who care enough about
plants to read about them, and as a bridge to the
saga chapters that have yet to be written.

References

Fertig, W. and R. Thurston. 2003. Modeling the potential

distribution of BLM Sensitive and USFWS Threatened
and Endangered plant species in Wyoming. Prepared
for the Bureau of Land Management Wyoming State
Office by Wyoming Natural Diversity Database,
Laramie, WY.

Handley, J. and B. Heidel. 2010. Status of Sphaeromeria

simplex (Laramie false sagebrush), south-central to
Tanacetum (Asteraceae: Anthemideae). Brittonia 28:
252-262.

Holmgren, A.H., L.M. Shultz, and T.K. Lowrey. 1976.

Sphaeromeria, a genus closer to Artemisia than to
Tanacetum (Asteraceae: Anthemideae). Brittonia 28:
252-262.

Lowrey, T.K. and L.M. Shultz. 2006. Sphaeromeria. In: Flora of
North America Editorial Committee, eds. 1993+ . Flora
of North America North of Mexico. Vol. 19.
Magnoliphyta: Asteridae (in part): Asteraceae part 1.
Oxford University Press, New York and Oxford, pp.
499-502.

Mountain West Environmental Services. 1996. Inventory and
status survey for Sphaeromeria simplex. Prepared for
the Bureau of Land Management.

8

Berry Center: Breaking New Ground
By Dorothy Tuthill, Associate Director

Above: Bird's-eye view of Robert & Carol Berry Biological
Conservation Center. By Malone Belton Abel PC.

Next time you visit the University of
Wyoming campus, be sure to stop by the new
Berry Biodiversity Conservation Center (BC),
located a few buildings north of the Botany
Department, just south of Lewis Street. The
structure and its missions have been under
construction for the last two years or so, and both
reflect a progressive vision for UW. The structure
will be LEED certified, hopefully at the level of
GOLD, the second highest grade for a green
building. Landscaping on all sides will provide
continuity between the building and the campus
grounds, and a sense of place, with local boulders,
mature spruce trees, perennial plants, and plenty
of places to sit and relax or study.

One of the Center's missions is to inspire
passion for the natural world, provide a public
gateway to all the related facilities and resources
on campus, and increase understanding of
biodiversity and intact ecosystems. Still in
development, plans include state-wide science
activities, a variety of on-campus opportunities for
K-12 students, and programs and events of local
interest at the Center's auditorium. Several rooms
are equipped for long-distance education, with
videoconferencing and webcasting capabilities.

Another of the Berry Center's missions is to
enhance collaborative and interdisciplinary research
by bringing together scientists, students and
laboratories from across campus. Three of the labs

are core facilities available to all researchers and
students, including the Nucleic Acid Exploration
Facility, the Macromolecular Core Equipment
Facility, and the Stable Isotope Facility. The Berry
Center is also home to the director of the Program
in Ecology, twenty-two graduate students from four
departments, the Zoology Department's vertebrate
collection, two Zoology faculty members, the Berry
Chair in Ecology, and the Wyoming Natural
Diversity Database, a research group on Wyoming's
rare species.

The green roof is a feature that will
especially interest Wyoming botanists, to be
planted in the summer of 2011. This 3600 square
foot space covers much of the first floor, including
the vertebrate collection room, where its insulating
effects reduce the cost and effort of keeping that
large room at correct temperature. The roof will be
planted with 4200 seedlings and plantlets, in about
50 different species, all found within the Laramie
Basin or surrounding foothills. The irrigation system
is zonal, so that the combination of soil depth and
watering differences will provide a variety of
microclimates. A winding flagstone path will lead
visitors among the plantings, which will include a
cactus garden, a variety of shrubs, and swales of
wild flowers. As in the Laramie Basin, the whole will
be tied together with grasses and sedges. Most of
the plants will be purchased, but some must be
grown from seed. Faculty and students in the
Department of Plant Sciences have already begun
that task.

Not only will the garden be beautiful and
inspiring (we hope!), it will provide educational
opportunities for students of all ages. No other
native-plant green roof has been constructed at
such a high elevation, nor, of course, has any used
this combination of species. There will be plenty to
investigate— from species-specific mortality, to seed
set, to pollinators, and much more— to keep
students occupied for years.

The Berry Center was made possible
through the generosity of Robert and Carol Berry,
of Wolf, WY, with support of the Wyoming State
Legislature. The Berrys are actively involved in
conservation and restoration of the orange-
breasted falcon, a native of South and Central
America. When visiting the BC, be sure to stop in
the administration office to say HI and admire the
commissioned painting of these elegant birds.

9

What Good Is It For?

The rarest native plants and their habitats are more
than curios. Laramie false sagebrush, highlighted in
this issue, was identified as source of a potential
antitumor drug in the 1980's.

Dugout Gulch, also mentioned in this issue, is
featured in a new report to the Forest Service that
documents Bigelow's tansy-aster ( Dietaria bigelovir,
syn. Machaeranthera bigelovii ) as a new addition to
the Black Hills flora. It is a northern outpost of
global species' distribution, an extension of over
100 miles from the Laramie Mountains (Elliott
2011). Dugout Gulch is truly a textbook in
biogeography, and we haven't begun to read all the
pages!

References

Elliott, B.A. 2011. Dugout Gulch floristic inventory.
Prepared for Black Hills National Forest.
Elliott Consulting, Laramie, WY.

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, and annual student scholarship award.

Membership is open to individuals, families, or
organizations. To join or renew, return this form to:

Wyoming Native Plant Society
P.O. Box 2500, Laramie, WY 82073

Name:

Address:

Email:

$7.50 Regular Membership

$15.00 Scholarship Supporting Membership

$200.00 Life Membership

Check one: New member

Renewing member

Renewing members, check here if this is an address change,

Check here if you prefer receiving electronic email notice

Wyoming Native Plant Society
P.O. Box 2500
Laramie, WY 82073

10