Wyoming Native Plant Society

Bom: 1471

Cheyenne, WY 32003

VolrnBe 6 , Number 2 February 1937

Treasurer's Report - Balance as of October 10, 1986: $464.22- deposits: $75.00;, disburse-
ments: newsletter printing $13.57, membership flyers $3.67; new balance as of February
15, 1937: $519.98. RD

Annual Scholarship - One application was received for the scholarship. The Board will
likely be considering this in the next month.

1987 Annual Meeting - The annual meeting is scheduled for July 18 and 19 primarily in
the Laramie Range between Cheyenne and Laramie, This is also the opening weekend for
Cheyenne Frontier Days. Details will appear in the next newsletter, probably in May, RD

Election - Nominations or volunteers are needed by the next newsletter for President,
Vice-President, Secretary- Treasurer, and Board Member. RD

Botanical Novelties

Townsendia nuttallii Dorn Hut tail's Daisy

This member of the sunflower family was apparently
first collected by F. V. Hayden with the Reynold's
Expedition probably in or near Sink's Canyon near Lander
in 1860. It was next collected by Peter Dunwiddie in
1973 near Boulder in Sublette County, near South Pass
in 19 77 independently by Robert Dom and Barry Johnston,
and in Teton County the same year by Robert Lichvar.

It was described in 1979. The plant is perennial and
about 2 inches high with basal leaves and flower heads
mostly sessile among the leaves. The ray flowers vary
from white to pink or lavender. It flowers In spring.

The species is now known from Big Horn, Carbon, Fremont,

Hot Springs, Johnson, Lincoln, Park, Sublette, Teton,
and Uinta counties. How it was overlooked for so long
is a mystery. It is named for Thomas Kuttall who
discovered four of Wyoming's other eleven species of
Townsendia on his trip which crossed Wyoming in 1834.

Cymopterus will lams li Hartman 4 Constance Williams' Cymopterus

This member of the carrot family was apparently first collected by Frank Tweedy in the
Big Horn Mountains in 1900. It was recollected by Beverly AJbee in 1975 and by Ronald
Hartman and Ann Odasz in 1979. Since then it has been found in many locations in the
southern Big Horn Mountains in Big Horn, Johnson, Washakie, and Natrona counties. Hartman
and Constance described it in 1985. The plant is a perennial about 5 inches high with
tiny yellow flowers. It flowers in spring. The species is named for Dr, Louis 0,

Williams, one of our members who collected in the northern Big Horn Mountains in the 1930 's
and discovered at least one new species there. RD

Willows - Willows are members of the genus Salix in the family Salicaceae. They are all
woody plants but their growth form ranges from large trees to creeping alpine or arctic
shrubs less chan an inch above the ground. There are only two other generally recognized
genera in the family, Populus , which includes cottonwoods, poplars, and aspen, and
Chcsenia , a willow-like plant of northeast Asia, For many years the family was thought
to be related to other amentiferous (catkin-bearing) families like the birches, walnuts,
and oaks, but more recently the concensus has shifted them far up the evolutionary scale
to near the violets and heaths. This does not mean that they are closely related to
these groups or that they were derived at a late date. Salicaceae is the only family of
the order Salicales so they are not especially closely related to any other plants. As
for age, there are willow fossils from the Cretaceous about 100 million years ago, shortly
after the flowering plants first appeared.

The genus Salix probably arose in a warm temperate or subtropical region of eastern
Asia and subsequently expanded mostly into the temperate and arctic regions. There are
about 300 species of willows distributed throughout the world except for Australasia and
most of the Malayan Archipelago. In the western hemisphere, there are about 100 species,
but only one occurs in South America and only three are known south of Mexico. In the
United States, Alaska and Montana have the most native species of any state with about
33 each followed closely by Wyoming with 32,

Willows are primarily pioneering species of mostly moist habitats. Each species tends
to have unique ecological requirements so they tend to grow in different microhabitats.
They are dioecious, that is, there are male plants and female plants. This makes them

obligate outcrossers. They are well known for hybridisation, but hybridisation is not
particularly conuton in North America. It is much more common in Europe where native
habitats have been more drastically disturbed for centuries.

Willows are the natural source for salicylic acid (C 7 H 5 O 3 ), a major ingredient in the
production of aspirin.

Those interested in more information on willows can refer to the following publications..

Taxonomy and. Evolution - Dorn, R. D. L976. A synopsis of American Salix,

Canad. J. Bot, 54 r2769-2789 .

Ecology - Brunsfeld, S. J. and T. D. Johnson, 1985. Field guide to the willows

or east-central Idaho. Univ. Idaho For., Wildl. fi Range Exp, Sta, Bull, No. .39. RD

Sagebrush in the Laramie Basin

The Laramie Basin is an anomaly among the basins of Wyoming: while the surrounding
hills and the northern part of the Basin support a shrub and grass vegetation typical of
most of Wyoming, the southern part of the Basin is nearly devoid of shrubs. Especially
striking is the rarity of big sagebrush ( Artemisia tridentata ) and black sagebrush (A,
nova). Black sage is common on the rocky hills around the Laramie Basin and Wyoming big
sage grows over much of the northern part of the Basin, but a person has to look carefully
to find either species out in the southern part of the Basin.

The distribution of Wyoming big sagebrush and black sagebrush around the Laramie
Basin, and the scarcity of both species in the Basin itself, have been the subject of my
work on a PhD under Dennis Knight of the U. W. Botany Department for the past several
years. My research is directed at answering two questions. First, why does black
sagebrush commonly grow on rocky, coarse textured soils and big sagebrush on more
favorable sites? (This pattern is common in the western U. S.) Second, what makes the
southern Laramie Basin inhospitable for these two species?

A shortage of soil moisture seems the most likely reason for the virtual absence 01
big and black sagebrush it the southern Basin. The terrain in the area is flat, which
should allow the strong westerly winds to sweep snow off the uplands. Snowmelt in the
spring supplies much of Che soil moisture, so areas blown clear of snow should be
relatively short of moisture. The restriction of the few black sagebrush stands in the
southern part of the Basin to east-facing slopes, where snow drifts, supports the
hypothesis of soil moisture shortage. To investigate thi.s idea, I’ve planted seeds of
both sagebrush species at several sites in the Basin, in watered and unwatered plots, to
see if recharging the soil moisture artificially' allows sagebrush seedlings to become
established. I plan to take soil samples from throughout the Laramie Basin to see if
soils where sagebrush grows do in fact receive .more moisture than do soils of sage-free
areas. Finally, I hope to use newly-avai lable digital terrain data to compare the
sagebrush distribution I've mapped with topography.

Various authors have attributed the occurrence of black sagebrush on coarse-textu red
soils of rocky hills to this species’s ability to withstand drought better than can big
sagebrush. I'm testing this idea by measuring water loss from big sagebrush and black
sagebrush seedlings (in the greenhouse) and adult plants (in the field). If black
sagebrush is the better of the two species at tolerating drought, it may be able to
control water loss better and survive on less soil moisture. Soil texture may also
influence habitat differences between the two species through mechanical resistance to
root growth or through aeration, and I hope to investigate these factors in my greenhouse
experiments .

I hope these research approaches will help us better understand some important, and
interesting, inhabitants of our Wyoming landscape. GJ

Grasses of Wyoming - A new book on the 250 species of grasses in Wyoming
is scheduled for publication this spring,, according to one o.f the authors,
Quentin Skinner, a University of Wyoming range management professor.
Skinner said the book will contain a floral key and a vegetative key based
on elevation and wetness of the site and associated trees, shrubs and
grasses. The book will also include pen drawings, textual descriptions and
pinpoint distribution maps of each species. The 40O'-page hardbound book,
authored by Gregory E3a listen, A. A, Beetle and .Bkinner, is being published
by the University of Wyoming Agricultural Experiment Stations and will cost
about $30, Skinner said. PW

Apparent State Records in 1986 - Introductions : Carbon Co., Dlanthus deltoides ; Laramie
Co., Echium vulgare; Goshen Co,, Gledjtsia triacanthos ; Niobrara Co., Setaria itallca .
Natives: .Albany Co,, Salix serissima ; Goshen Co,, Asclepias arenarla , Dalea villosa ,
Euphorbia geyeri; Crook Co., Lachea intermedia ; Sweetwater Co., Physocarpus alternans .
An additional record from Yellowstone Park initially misidentif ied in 1930 is Eupnorbia
supina . RD

2

Alpine Floiras - The following article is reprinted with permission from the Northern
Nevada Native Plant Society Newsletter, Vo I, 12, No. 7, September 1986. It should be
of interest to many of our members.

NOTES FROM THE MAY 20 SPECIAL NNNPS MEETING -- by Susan Koniak

Dr. Dwight Billings' presentation of "Alpine Floras Along the Cordillera from the
Arctic to Che Equatorial Andes" was both entertaining and informative. A number of
interesting points were brought out which I will briefly summarize. The term
"alpine" is not synonymous with "arctic" when referring to vegetation. Alpine or
high mountain environments stretch from the equator to the Arctic and Antarctic.
Generally alpine zones occur above timberline. Arctic zones occur far north and
are not necessarily at high elevation. Both areas are characterized by low air
temperatures during the growing season. Only a relatively small number of differ-
ent kinds of plants have adapted to growing and reproducing in these cold environ-
ments. ^

While^ the Antarctic has only two native plant species, the Arctic has around
iOOO. Some plants are endemic to the Arctic, but a great many more are endemic to
alpine regions. Low vegetation, mainly shrubs and perennials, with its treeless
landscape is designated, in a general sense, as "tundra." Annuals are very rare.
A relatively large group of tundra species are widespread and occur in both arctic
and alpine locations.

Most alpine vegetation in the Northern Hemisphere is similar both floristically
and in structure. However, differences are apparent betw'een the alpine vegetation
of the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada. The Sierra Nevada is a young
mountain range compared to the Rockies. It has low precipitation in the summer,
favoring relatively drought tolerant plants (i.e, Lupi nus , Eriogonum, and Castille-
_[a). In the Rocky Mountains, precipitation is relatively high in the summer and
there is a higher percentage of arctic species than in the Sierra Nevada. However,
the Sierra Nevada has a larger number of endemic alpine species. And, interesting-
ly, the Sierra Nevada has more species with red flowers that usually are associated
with hummingbird pollination.

In eastern Nevada, the Ruby Mountain alpine vegetation is more closely related to
the alpine vegetation of the Rockies than it is to that of the Sierra Nevada. The
Toiyabe and White Mountains have a distinctive Great Basin alpine vegetation.
Precipitation patterns in the Great Basin alpine areas are intermediate between
those of the Sierra Nevada and the Rocky Mountains.

Northern Hemisphere alpine vegetation is a mosaic of communities, generally
aligning along gradients commonly controlled by topographic exposure and distribu-
tion of snow and meltwater. Cushion and rosette plants, such as Phlox caespitosa
and Arenaria obtuslloba , are found on the exposed ridges. Herbaceous and grass-
like vegetation dominate the slopes (i.e. Geum , Miuuartia , and Carex ) . Below

melting snowdrifts, dwarf shrubs with herbaceous dicots and graminoids often form
meadows and bogs (i.e. Deschampsia caespitosa , Poa, Carex, Salix, and Caltha).

The Southern Hemisphere alpine vegetation is similar in form, though not in
species composition, to that in Northern Hemisphere alpine areas. In contrast,
equatorial alpine vegetation has little similarity in either form or floristics
with other alpine vegetation. The tropical alpine environment is under diurnal
control rather than annual, with great differences in day and night temperatures.
Frost is a nightly event and snow may occur at any time, but doesn't accumulate
very much. The days are consistently warm enough (a few degrees above freezing) Co
allow year-long growing seasons.

^There are two distinct high elevation zones near the equator; the puna and the
paramo. ^The puna regions are grasslands, often associated with cacti and shrubs.
In the paramo, alpine vegetation below 15,000 ft is commonly dominated by columnar
or arborescent life-forms. One important genus with a columnar form is Espeletia
(frailejon). The principal advantage of these giant rosette plants, which are
never dormant, is that the buds are protected at night by the leaves closing
around them. At 15,000 to 16,000 ft, the Espeletia paramo gives way to communities
of cushion plants, rosette plants, and tufted grasses. The colder, windier, and
snowier environment promotes greater similarity with more northern alpine areas,
and higher percentages of genera shared in common (i.e. Arenaria, Draba, and Poa).’

In both the Northern Hemisphere and the equatorial areas, the alpine taxa appear
to have moved up from lower elevations, adapting to the colder environments. Once
the plants adapted to the alpine environment, many of the taxa appear to have
migrated north and south along the Cordillera. The main vector for dispersion is
most likely birds. This would explain a number of disjunct species occurrence
patterns .

We were very pleased to have Dr. Billings speak to NNNPS members. Perhaps
another time when he returns to continue working on altered andesite areas he will
honor us with another interesting talk.

3

Gontiributors This Issue - RB - Robert Dorn, GJ - George Jones , PW = Phil White,

Zig-zag Cloak Fern, a dryland fern whieh we hope to see at our annual meeting this year.
Drawing by Jane Dorn.

Wyoming Native Plant Society
Box 1471

Cheyenne, WTf 32G03