Wyoming Native Plant Society Box 1471 Cheyenne, WT 82003 Volume 8, Number 2 February 1989 S34 50 October U, 1988 i $476.47; deposits; dues ^5 48 ’ ^ $10.00; disbursemeuts : aewslettet prlntlnx $13.48, stamps $25.00; new balance as of February 15, 1989; $480.49. RD ^ meeting for 1989 is tentatively scheduled for June 24 and 25 in the Cody area. Details will appear In the May news let tfr. Wyoming Endemics Descura inia torulosa Rollins collected I'y R^chL^lcatt on July and the petals are whitish but only about 1/16 inch Ion® tk* i hi- * it ha.%rcrnt;;; Lomatlum attenuatum Evert a..i. ^ -r - 5 — ; ;;j;;^x.vciL Attenxmte Biscultroot 1975 in The^ Shosh^^^^N^ family was first collected by Erwin Evert on June 20, 1983’ The nl.nrr National Forest west of Cody. Evert described it In 1983. The plants average 6-8 inches high and have much dissected leaves. The flowers are yellow and appear In the latter half of May and first ha^f of JuL cSterr^Tb" 1-8 but they are borne in u^L^rt^ clusters. The plants grow on open, dry, rocky areas in the Cody area of Park 1983/*RD^^^ illus^atlon drawn by Erwin Evert is taken from Madrono 30:144, 1 Coaiferfi - The conifers, more familiarly known as our evergreen trees, are members of Che gymnosperms (naked seeds). There are two major groups of seed plants, Che angiosperms or flowering plants which have their seeds generally enclosed in an ovary which becomes the fruit , and the gymnosperms which have no covering over the seeds* Most conifers have their seeds on scales of cones. The pine cone is a familiar example. Conifer cones are unisexual but most species have both male and female cones on the same tree , Most junipers are an exception with only one sex per tree* Conifers are the dominant plants In our mountains . All of our conifers except the junipers belong to the pine family. We have four native genera in the pine family; Abies , the true firs; Picea, the spruces; Plnus , the pines; Pseudotsuga , the Douglas-flr. The pines have their leaves (or needles) borne in clusters of 2-5. There are five species native to the state; limber pine, whitebark pine, ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine, and plnyon pine* Ponderosa and lodgepole are economically important for lumber products . The spruces have sharp-polnted, four-sided leaves. There are three native species; white spruce, blue spruce, and Engelmann spruce. The firs bear their cones erect rather than hanging down. We have two species, subalpine fir and white fir, although all material of the latter appears to be intermediate to subalpine fir. Douglas-flr is best recognized by the three-lobed bracts protruding from between the cone scales , There are four species of juniper native to the state Including Utah juniper, a desert species. Their leaves are scale-like except for common juniper which has needle-like leaves in whorls of three. The remaining two junipers are creeping juniper and Rocky Mountain juniper* All of our conifers are good candidates for landscaping, but some are better than others. For moist. Sheltered areas blue spruce is the best tree and common juniper the best shrub* Creeping juniper is good for stabilizing steep slopes. Drought tolerant trees are ponderosa pine and Utah juniper* Ponderosa is the fastest growing of our pines* It can be transplanted easily upto a height of about two feet but must be obtained from a heavy soil that holds together well so that the roots are minimally disturbed* RD Representative conifers - A, Common Juniper, B, Rocky Mountain Juniper, C. Engelmann Spruce, D, Douglas-fir, E- Subalpine Fir, F, Ponderosa Pine. 2 Hyomlog Botany In the 30-e (continued) - After arriving at the Missouri rh < " 1933 Louis WllUans consulted .ith Ir. Jesse Graen^ni about a thesis project. “The genus Merteusla was decided upon as one s™ enough yet ptoyidang sufficient problems for a thesis. The principal range of the genus was in the Kochy Mountains, a region I was familiar with and whire I might carry on the field work that would be useful In a monographic study " Mat M 1 National Park as Lnger- Naturalist. The location was good for I could stay at the family ranch and in broTht collecting In these high mountains. The ■•empl(.yment" brought ^“5150 a month toward next school year, and a dollar was worth quite a t and services. The most important day of chat year waa September Loui/ir I were married. We left th^t same day for St. au^r'^ cXc'uons"" "Work on the accimulated western collections went more rapidly. Rua took Send o7rto endlessly and made the specimens into sets ready to send off to subscribers. Grad work went well for now there were cases full of borrowed specimens of Mertenala. Little by little they seemed to makf sense until, one day, they began to fall into place, an expLlence I suppose most monographers have at some time, and I did many times in^later years." ^ e waited ^th anticipation for the spring day to come when we might get in T mountains. We planned to search tL mLntllns Srtlnsir^Jr aua got to the point where she could spot a wouU 20 but tLr^"^ ^ sagebrush when we were going as fast as our old car wouia go, but that was not very fast! w 'conservation Service to search through Nebraska, Colorado and Wyoming and to collect seeds from any likely lookll; species of grasses. Marlon Ownbey working toward a masters at UnlvLslty ^ Wyoming was to be my assistant. The "Gods” had been kind to usJ We were elthfr "L" J “,V expenses, paid a much better salary than elthY of us had really expected, and to top It all off each of us were given a fffhe^ bhre%"d&: Penstemoo cnryl - The_ plant on the society T-shirt. Penstemon caryl. Is endemic bv ?! ?! of bnd Montana. TTVas described Merritt specialist of the flgwort family. In 1920. commoratlog ^ discovered the species In the Big Horn Mountains In 191o! 42?1917. llJ ^ 1° Sorth American Fauna No. Th!“t! a'"”,?*/???'’ received for the scholarshlp(s) . The Board will likely be acting on this in the next month. RD p!!!ld!!t ' t>y the next newsletter for President, Vice-President, Secretary-Treasurer, and Board Member. NAME THAT PLANT Unscramble the letters and fill in the blanks- KR AROO n Early Uyoming plant nut. i m~m T H U BR ol CMV 2. Eastern representative in Wyoming's flora. Q 13 X]' 3 , Lunar representative in Wycming '5 flora. S.py LOT LEU/EM ACTNOI 1 0 A ^ 'w/ V L kJ i L, t IN m, I ni n I i I I Wyoming hot spot. h LiJR BU H '“CL L^vei^harhinge? of the Wion ahead. 6. ^ t ...down by the ri vers i de down by the riverside... / ???ssX“eXpM“endei.icsl1 Wyoming's FOR ANSWER. SEE PAGE 4 . 3 Contributors This Issue - KD = Robert Dorn, UJM - Hollis J. Harriot. Wyoming Native Plant Society T-Shirts are still available for $9.00 per shirt plus $2.00 for shipping. Sizes are S, K, L, and XL. Make checks payable to Michele Fotkln-Stahl and mail or deliver order to her at 1008 Park Ave . , Laramie, WY 82070. Ideas and artwork are being solicited for alternate designs for the shirts. Send any ideas to Michele, NAME THAT PLAHT : Sarneby's Clover, T r i f o L i urn barnebyi , i$ endemic to the Hugget sandstone on the Red Canyon Rim south of tanCer. <1. Aven NeUon 2. Bur Oak 3. Botrychium 4. TeLlowstone 5. Claytonia 6. Bulrush). HJM US AIR PORCE MOVES IM DEFENSE OF COLORADO BUTTERFLY PLANT In spite of its name, the "Colorado'* butterf lyplant , Gaura neomexicana ssp, coloradens is . is nearly _ endemic (restricted) to Wyoming. From 1984 through 1936, 20 populations in Laramie Co. were documented. One extends into Nebraska, and two small populations were found in northern Colorado in 1984, but were not relocated in 1988. Historically, the butterf lyplant extended at least as far south as Ft. Collins. The butterf lyplant prefers broad drainage bottoms. It generally occurs close but not immediately adjacent to streams — an intermediate position in the moisture gradient from emergent streamside vegetation to upland prairie. Unfortunately, this habitat is well-suited to other uses, such as grazing and haying, and is often sprayed with herbicide as it is also home to leafy spurge and Canada thistle. Due to rarity and ^ endangerment, the Colorado butter f lyplant is a candidate for Federal listing. In an effort to avoid the lengthy and expensive listing process, the US Air Force, The Nature Conservancy and the US fish and Wildlife Service are working cooperatively towards protection of two butter f lyplant populations on Warren Air Force Base west of Cheyenne. Conservancy staff have worked on contract with the Air Force to map and monitor populations on the Base. Censuses showed a decline of almost 50% in the larger of the two populations from 1986 to 1988. The cause? Noxious weed invasion is probably a major factor, but lack of natural disturbance probably is involved also. The plant grows in somewhat open habitat; it appears to be part of a serai stage in riparian succession. Designation of a Colorado Butterf lyplant Research Natural Area on the Base has been recommended. Such a designation would make protection a long- term policy, and perhaps open funding channels for monitoring and habitat improvement (the Dept, of Defense devotes a tiny portion of their budget to environmental management, but a tiny portion of the DOD budget translates into significant funding) . Base environmental staff are actively pursuing designation, and their case is strong. However, they must negotiate channels up through SAC headquarters and further (the Pentagon?) , a formidable- sounding task. We wish them luckl HJM Wyoming Native Plant Society Box 1471 Cheyenne, WY 82003