Wyoming Native Plant Society ^QX 1471 Cheyenne, 82003 Volume 3, Number 3 May 1939 February 15. 1989: $480.49; deposits: dues ff sf!;, L no"'"T f prlntlog $16.17, Annual Report to Secretary $3.00, scholarship $200.00; new balance as of May 8, 1989: $274.82. RD scholarship of $200.00 to Nancy Kastnlng of the University of Wyoming. Nancv's Cathed^ar'^rltff? s Saturday: 1 Business meeting at the Scenic Turn-Out. 2. Visit Cathedral Chffs-Swamp Lake Botanical Area and observe a number of rare borea species including Primula egaliksensis. Arc tost aphylos rubra. Orchis rotundifolia Scirous pumilus, myrtiilifolia, Carex livida, and others. 3. Visit a Tup^b garden on Rattlesnake Mountain, if road is passable, and observe a nLber of regional clrff specialists including Aquiiegia jonesii, Shoshonea pulvinata 1 Dues - Dues are due by the annual meeting. Unless you have paid in advance, a dues notice is enclosed with the newsletter. The enclosure of a dues notice began last year and has resulted in a more timely return of dues but has created the problem of making a quorum difficult to achieve at the annual meeting. Some of the problem can be remedied by voting for officers when you return your dues. In order to conduct other business, we may need to amend the bylaws to lower the quorum or else put certain business items out to the entire membership for a mail vote. The Board can act on many of the business items if necessary, RD Election of Officers - Our nominees for officers are i President George Jones; Vice-President - Mail Snow; Secretary-Treasurer - Robert Dom; Board Member - Ernie Nelson,. Hollis Marriott. Neil is currently a Board Member, His election to Vice-President would create a vacancy for Board Member, In that case, whoever receives the most votes for Board Member will get the regular 2 year term and the other will finish the L year term for the seat occupied by Neil. If you do not plan to attend the annual meeting , please vote by mail when you return your dues (if before the annual meeting, June 24). Write-ins are welcome for any office, RD Grasses - The grass family, Poaceae or Gramineae , is the second largest family in Wyoming in terms of number of species. Over 200 grass species are known from the state. The grasses are likely the most important economic plants in the state because of their importance for gracing. Grasses have the capability for withstanding grazing better than most plants because of their intercalary meristem at the base of the leaf blade which allows the leaf to continue to grow from the base after the top has been removed, An early interest in grasses by the U. S. Department of Agriculture helped finance some early plant collection work by Aven Nelson and Per Axel Rydberg among others. The interest was still there in the 1930' s to provide summer jobs for botany students like Louis Williams and Marion Ownbey . After the appearance of A. S. Hitchcock's Manual of the Grasses of the United States In 1935, financial support began to slowly disappear for taxonomic work on grasses , Grasses began to invade Wyoming at least as far back as the Oligocene some 30 million years ago. The invasion coincided with the uplift of the Rocky Mountains which cut off the warm, moist Pacific air which had earlier supported subtropical vegetation in the state. As the grasslands evolved, so did grazing animals- Wyoming grazers included the camel, horse, and bison. The horse and camel disappeared about 7000 years ago as did the prehistoric bison which was replaced by our smaller, modern bison. As is the case with our other vegetation, grass species are adapted to different habitats- On our eastern prairies where the moisture is adequate and the soils are well developed , the deep rooted , taller grasses predominate unless they are reduced by heavy grazing. These include Western Wheatgrass, Needle and Thread, Big Bluestem, and Junegrass - In the drier, shallow soil areas, the shorter and shallow rooted grasses are more common. These include Sandberg Bluegrass, Blue Grama, and Galleta , Other grasses are adapted to specialized habitats from bogs to alpine tundra. One of our grasses, Agrostis rossiae , is known, only from the Geyser Basins of Yellowstone Park. A grass with such a restricted d is t r ib uc ion is very unusual . In recent years, some of our native grasses have been promoted for lawns to help conserve water. The most popular are Buffalo Grass, Buchloe daccyloides , and Blue Grama, Boutelo'ua gracilis , The main drawback is that these species are "warm-season" grasses so they do not green up very early in the spring. RD Montana Native Plant Society Field Trip - The MKPS is planning a field trip to the Pryor and Big Horn Mountains along the Montana-W’yoming border on May 26-29, 1989 . They will camp Friday night at Palisades campground on the West Fork of Rock Creek west of Red Lodge and meet at 9 AM on Saturday morning at the IGA parking lot on the north end of Red Lodge. Bring plenty of food, water, and warm clothing- Let trip leaders know you are coming by May 22 (Steve Harvey 536-1348 or 994-4212 [work], or Jan Nixon 587 -2,532" or 537-0120 [work], telephone area code is 406 if outside Montana) . Request for Crass Seed - The Soil Conservation Service Plant Materials Center in Aberdeen, Idaho, is in need of small amounts of seed of Sandberg Bluegrass, Poa secunda , and the related taxa of Canby Bluegrass, Poa canbyi, Nevada Bluegrass, Poa nevadensis , and Big Bluegrass, Poa amp la . If you are interested in gathering some seed for them, write the Secretary-Treasurer for collecting details . 2 WyoniiDg Endemics Fhysaria eburnlflora Rollins Ivory-flowered Twlnpod , T ■? ; ~ J.winpQO ™d°ju?e I's “''t't"'!,/""."’' ““ collected by Robert Dcro on May 7 and June 18 1977, at Muddy Gap In Carbon County. Reed Rollins collected adjacent Natrona County and described the species in III 1. ! T ^ sterns arising frcn, the base and subtended by a rosette of leaves. The petals are crear^y in color TrtJT'T \ ^{l Srow on calcareous or granitic slopes and ridges in Carbon, Natrona, and FrenonC counties. They are most common around the Ferris Mountains , Physarla dornil Lichvar This member of the mustard family was first collected by Robert Dorn on June 27, 1979, near Sage Junction in Lincoln County. Robert Lichvar collected it at the same locality in May of 1980 and again in 1981 and 1982 and described the species In 1983, The plants average about 5 inches high with several stems arising from the base surrounded by a rosette of leaves. The petals average about 1/2 inch long and are yellow. The plants grow on a white shale in a small area in Lincoln County, ED Wildflower Symposlun - a symposium on Wyoming wlldflowers Is planned for September 8 and 9 , 1989, in Cheyenne. This will include information on grow- ing wlldflowers. For registration information write Wlldflowers, P. o. Box 1003, Cheyenne, WY 82003, or phone 307-634-8816. Junfof ^ ^ (continued) - Louis Williams received his Ph. D- in ^liL ^ ^ Washington University in St. Louis. Like most students graduating that year I had put out feelers for a Job that wt^airknew tha^" ^ Merrni Ha not In every university. Dr. Elmer D. Merrill had indicated to me that there was a very slim possibility of an opening in the ^es Orchid Herbarium at Harvard. That at least was one hope." Mid-June, right after cotjmjencement , was the best time to collect montane plants in the Wyoming Big Horn Mountains. Louis had advance orders for twelve Co Che Big Horn Mountains with plant presses, sleeping bags, a 2-burner groceries and fishing gear. Trout were the^main course of many f were abundant in high mountain streams ^a ew casts by a good fly fisherman brought enough trout for a meal . " ar ^ther than fish, was the little town of Dayton down at the base of the mountains . We could go down there, stock up on our food vrn ^ ^ ^ on a bit of rocky Ld hi: ""1 f Greenman to say thaThe and that the position at Harvard was open for me first , 1 was to be there to begin being an " 0 rch idol og is t " on'september "The foUowing_ summer they collected botanical specimens In the Beartooth Mountains in Wyoming and adjacent Montana, setting camp up at 9 000 feet on the lake at the base of Beartooth Butte. Tiny plants covered the rugged mountain ra“rTAVd »as good and plants drlad juicily Tn thjt ratified atmosphere. Mosquitos were abundant;" "For seven years Louis did research and identification of orchids in the t Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts." "recruited" military service but was The Rubber be T “T P^^nt procurement programs. T V Corporation, a United States Government Corpor^ion asked Louis to go to Brazil to work in the wild rubber program." Thus ended his work in the Rocky Mountains and began his long distinguished work in South and Central America as well as Africa. Contributors Thla Issue - RD - Robert Dorn, EE - Erwin Evert. Wyoming Native Plant Society T-^Shlrta ate still available for $9-00 per shirt plus $2.00 for shipping. Sizes are S^ H, L, and XL, Make checks payable to Mary Neighbours and mail to her at Box 3165, University Station, Laramie, VY 82071* The original design, Penstemon caryi , is still being used.