Colorado IVatiTe PI ant Society N EW SLETTER Volume 4 Number 4 July - August 1980 "Dedicated to the Appreciation and Conservation of the Colorado Flora" OFFICERS 1979-1980 ADDRESS Pf '^’dent: Vi -President: Secretary: Treasurer: Lloyd Hayes J. Scott Peterson Sue Martin Myrna Steinkamp BOARD OF DIRECTORS Ann Armstrong (81) Boulder Bob Bowman (80) Ft, Collins Miriam Denham (80) Boulder Virginia Dionigi (80) Hygiene Tom Eamon (81 ) Golden Hugo Ferchau (80) Gunnison Lloyd Hayes (80) Ft. Collins Bob Heapes (81) Parker Sue Martin (81) Ft. Collins J. Scott Peterson (80) Ft, Collins Mark Phillips (80) Lafayette 494^0545 491-6524 442-1020 776-2609 279-1076 226-5365 841-3973 226-3371 491-6524 828-3021 COrt-lITTEES EDUCATION Virginia Dionigi HORTICULTURE & REHABILITATION Mark Phillips LEGISLATIVE vacant MEMBERSHIP Myrna Steinkamp PUBLICATIONS 0. Scott Peterson THREATENED & ENDANGERED Bill Harmon MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS & INFORMATION Please direct all membership applications, renewals and address changes to Myrna Steinkamp, Membership Chairperson, CONPS. Colorado Native Plant Society P. 0. Box 200 Ft. Collins, Colorado 80522 SCHEDULE OF MEMBERSHIP FEES LIFE $ 250.00 SUPPORTING 50.00 SOCIETY 25.00 FAMILY 12.00 INDIVIDUAL 8.00 STUDENT ^ RETIRED 4.00 Nonmembership subscriptions to the Newsletter are $ 4.00’. NE'^LETTER ARTICLES Please direct all articles of interest to the CONPS to Dieter Wilken, Editor, CONPS. Deadlines for the 6 bimonthly Newsletters are the end of January, March, May, July, September and November. CONPS ANNUAL MEETING Program: Wetlands versus Agricultural Lands: Perspectives on Values and Trade-Offs- by E.S. Mustard Denver Botanical Gardens Saturday, 25 October 1980 1:00 p.m. FIELD TRIP REPORTS The Plains Conservation Center trip was attended by twenty-eight people. We broke Into four groups which were lead by Ann Armstrong, Sandy Emrich, David Buchner, and Miriam Denham. Each of the groups recorded the species found, and Sandy Emrich generated the list of the species printed below. The list will be forwarded to the Colorado Natural Area program to aid their inventory process. We visited a replica of an early sod house and heard a lecture about early farming techniques and the rigors of prairie living many years ago. Agoseris qi auca - -Pale Ago se r 1 s Agr opy r on s mith 11 --Western Wheatgrass Al'l i um textile- - W i 1 d On 1 on . A1 vs sum mj nusr - A 1 ys sum Ambr osia a canthicarpa- -Sandbur Ar idrosace o cc1denta1is- -Western Rock Primrose pjsl^mthmmr-^^r^y Poppy Artemisia fjlifolijL—Sn very Wormwood A rtemisia friqida- -Frinqed Sage A rtemisia ludov1cian a--Pasture Sage Astra gal us bisulcatus- -Two -grooved Mil kv etch Astragalus crassicarpus - -Ground Plum Astragalus drummondi 1 --Drummond Milkvetch Boute loua graci l i s--Blue Grama Grass .. Br.a..s..s1.ca .. .rapa ssp. campestris- - Broomrape Brom opsis 1nerme- -Smooth Brome Grass Bromus tectorum --Cheatqrass B uchl oe dactyl o1des --Buffa1o grass Carex ^eTiQ^ 1a --Sedge Castil lija Int egra— Orange Paintbrush Cerat oTies Tinata--Winterfat C hoTTspora teheTTa— Blue Mustard Chrysot hamnus pa rryi — Parry ' s Rabbi tbrush Cirsium arvense- -Canada Thistle ^i^Tuni und ul atum- -Wavy1 eaf Thistle Col TomTa IfFTeari s— Slender leaf Collomia Co mandra umb el! a ta- - Bastard Toadflax Descurafnia pinna ta- -P1nnate Tansy Mustard Whi tl ow-wort E q'uiset um a rvense - -Field Horseta i 1 g e r g e n s - - Spreading Flea bane Eri ogon um e ffusum— Bushy Buckwheat 1 mum asperum— Western Wallfl owe r Ga ura coc cinea— Scarlet Gaura Glycyrrhiza l epidota— Wild Liquorice Grin del ia squarrosa — Gumweed GutTeTrezTa s arothrae— Broom Snakeweed Keter otheca vi TTbsa- -Hairy Golden Aster KoiTerla macrantha- -Pra1r1e Junegrass Lactuca serriola— Wild Lettuce Lappula ecBlWata— Beggars- tick La tnyrus po1ymo rphus--Wi1d Sweetpea Leucocrinum montanum- -Sand Lily Lithospermum inc is urn- - Narrow- leaved Puccooi l omatiLm oriental e- -Salt and Pepper Lomatium foenicu1^eum- -B1squitroot Lygodesmia gr a ndi fl ora- - S ke 1 e to nweed Mel 1 lotus s p . - - Swee t c 1 o v e r Mentzeli a sp.— Even 1ng star Oenothera albicaul 1s-- Prairie Evening Primrose Opunti a compressa— Prickly Pear Cactus Opun tia polycantha- -P1ains Prickly-Pear rictus Penstemon albidus— White Penstemon Phlox long ilOTia^'^ong- leaf Phlox Poa a r1da- -P lalns Bluegrass Poa Sandberg 11 - -Sandberg Bluegrass P opulus sarqenti 1 --Plains Poplar Psoralea t enuiflora- -Sl imleaf Scurfpea Rorippa sinuata- -Spreading Yellow Cress Rosa arkan Sana- -Arkansas Wild Rose Rumex crispus — Curly Dock Senecio sp. --Golden Ragwort S itanlon hystrix — Squirrel tail Grass Sphaeralce a coccinea - -Scarlet GlobemaTlow Stephanomeria paucifl ora — Wire-lettuce $ti pa coma ta— Needle and Thread Grass Stlpa viridula — Green Needlegrass Taraxacum officinale- - Common Dandelion Thalaspi arvense- -Penny Cress Tradescantia occidental 1 s— Spiderwort Tr aqopoqon dubius— Sal sify V erbasc um thapsus --Mullein Vio^lA n uttallii— Nuttall 's Violet "VuTpia octoflora--Six-week Fescue Yucca g1auca--Spanish Bayonet The Pikes Peak/Mueller Ranch trip was attended by twenty-four people, and Colorado College provided the leaders for this trip. They were Sue Tabor, Sandy Tassel, and Kathy Darrow. Bob Heapes provided the location of the Yellow Lady Slippers and the photographers had a field day as four different species of orchids were seen on this trip. An added note of interest, Bob Heapes and Sandy Tassel saw a brown bear when doing the reconnaissance ^r this trip a week before. Everyone was impressed with the Mueller Ranch, and we're looking forward to its development as a state park. All in all, the field trips were successful and generated new members for the Society. --Bob Heapes The Long Lake/Niwot Ridge trip was attended by fourteen people, and Miriam Denham and Mary Jane Foley provided leadership. The subalpine flowers V beautiful but everyone remarked about how dry the high ridges appeared. A list of the species observed is printed below. Ac hill ea mi ll ef o1 i um ~ - Ya r row Al lium gey eri --Wild Onion Anaphal is margari tacea- - Pearly Everlasting grayi— Ange fi c a An te n na r i a" r osea - -Pussy toe s Aqu i l egia caerul ea-" Bl ue Col umbi ne AquTl egia saxim ontana -«Dwarf Columbine Ar enaria f e ndl eri va r . tweedy i - -Alpine Sandwort Ar n i ca cord If ol j_a - - Ar ni ca Betula glanM Birch Bi s torta b i st ortoldes— Bi stort torta y i vi pifa- - Bi stort CaVtha~ leptosepala--Marsh-Marigold Campanjjl a rotundl fol 1a- -Harebel 1 Cast il fija mTnT£u— ^ et Pa i ntbru sh fcastilTeja o ccidental i s>-Vle stern Yellow PaTntbrush Caxyilijl rhexi folia- "Rosy Paintbrush Castiflela su fphu r e a - - Northern Yellow Paintbrush ^i .stiu m beer i ngianum — A1 pine Mous”e-ear Cirs ium scopu lor um- -Alpine Thistle Cl ementsi a’ rhbdantha--Queen ’ s Crown Dodec a t heoV pul cHe l lum- -Shooting-^ tar D ry a s~ ~6b t o p e t aTa “"41 q u n ta i n Av e n s Equ i se t urn" a rve"nse- -Field Horsetail Chomerioh ang uTtifol ium- "Fi reweed Eri ge ron melanocephal us- -Black-headed Daisy Erigero n per egrinus- -Lavender Daisy Eriqeron pfnnat1sectus--Cut-leaf Daisy E riger on simple x- -Alpine Daisy i gero n sp . —FI ea bane Da i sy Tohestus py gmaeus - -Haplo pappus Heter^theca fulc rata--Golden Aster Heu^_ej;;F"sp - - -Afum- root Hymenoxys acaul is var. caespitosa -- Actinea H ymeno xys grand if lora- -Qld-Man-of-the- Mbuntain Juncu s drummondi i- - Drummond ' s Rush L ewi s i a pygma ea - - P i gmy Bi tter-root Lloydia serot i na - -AT p Lily lonic era i n vol uc ra ta - - Bu $ h Honeysuckle Lu p 1 nu? ~argenteus - - Conmon Lupine Mer terisia cil iat a- -Tall Chiming Bel 1 s ^ ^tensia vi Fid is- -Green Mertensia .oxTs a 1 p i na - T'Qreox i s Qxyria ~digyna--Al pine Sorrel Pedi cul ari s'Tra c te osa - -Lous ewo r t Pedicul ar is groe nT a ndica- -Elephante1 1 a Pedicularis racemosa — Curled Lousewort P eFF teion Tl pi nFs— AT pine Pen s temon Penstemon virens— Small Flowered Beard-tongue Penste mon wh ippleanus --Dusty Penstemon Pen taphyflo ides f lor1b unda--Shrubby cinquefoil Phle um sp. --Timothy Grass Pol e monium del icatum- - Jacob's Ladder Polemoni um vi scosum --Sky Pilot Potentif la" d i vers i fol ia - - S u ba 1 p i n e Cinquefoil Primula parryi --Parry ' s Primrose Ramisch ia secunda--0ne-s1ded Wintergreen Ranun culus" in amoen us — Unpleasant Buttercup R ibes mo n 1 1 genum - TSuba 1 pine Prickly Currant Rhodiola integrifol ia --King's Crown Rumex crispus— Curly Dock Sax i fra ga hyperb orea s s p . debl l is - - Pygmy Saxifrage Saxifraga r homboidea- - Snowba 1 1 Saxifrage Sedu m lanceolatum l - S"t o n ec r o p S eneci o canus-- Wbol ly Groundsel S enecoi sp. --Groundsel S eneco i triangulari s --Butterweed Si bbaldia procumbens- - S i b ba 1 d i a Sl lene acaul 1 s--Moss Campion Sol idego mul ti ra d iata -- Go 1 d en ro d Ta raxac um off i c i na 1 e“-Common Dandelion T Ferm op sis dl vFrTcarpa--Go1 den Banner Tr 1 fol i urn dasypiyiTum — Whi proof C-over Trifol ium parry - -Rose Clover Trol lius laxu s— G1 obef 1 ower Vaccin i urn caesp i tg^um— Dwarf Bi 1 berry Va cc i nTum myrt il Tus-TTiry tl e Blueberry y eronjca worms kjold i i- -Alpine Spee dwe 1 1 Zygadenus e l ega ns --Death Camas --Mirian Denham Mary Jane Foley Bob Heapes The Golden Gate State Park trip unfor- tunately was cancelled for lack of interest, but we will probably schedule that trip next year. It is close to the Denver Metro area and offers an enormous number of flowers, some being unusual. It seems only right that we take advantage of this. Bill and Berta Anderson and Bob and Ann Heapes ob- served the area the week before, and the list that was compiled follows. Achillea lanulosa-^-Yarrow AgdserTs |ljuca--Tal se Dandelion Onion 5p^lAone cana densis- -Meadow Anemone An emone mu ft Tfj da --Wind Flower AquFleqia caer ul ea - -Blue Columbine cae rul ea var, da i ley a e^^ Spurless Columbine Ara b 1s_. f end leri- - Roc k-c ress Arcto.itajhiLoi yyjHJr^^ Arena Ha fend! eri“ -Sandwort Arnicn cordiXol la- -Ar n1 ^ Arnica fatjfpli^^ Astragal us ad su r gen s- -Mi 1 k Vetch Astra ga 1 jus a 1 pjjuj s_- - Alpine Milk Vetch. B i slpila bj s tor to 14 es " -Bistort Campanula rotundifol ia--Harebel 1 Cast i i 1 ejj 1 inariaefolia- -Wyoming Paintbrush Castjljela minJata'-Scarlet Paintbrush & s tl IVIpM -Yellow Paintbrush Cera^lum drvense.-~^ouse-ear Chickweed angus Tifol ium-- F i reweed C hen ojpodl uiF c a |ri t a turn-'- Strawberry Blite PAXrJYJn " Wh i t e T h i 5 1 1 e Col llwiTa IjHea r i s - Co 1 1 om i a CVunocail IS cho missoi - -Water Spring Beauty”' Delphini um ramosum- -Larkspur D^ecithi^^ pulc h ellum - - S hoo t i n g - s ta r Drabj ^lea- -Golden Dr aba DrJmo coT 'll s f i ssa— Sti cky Cinquefoil div e rgens— Spread i ng FI eabane EH j e rpn el ati or -- Tall F 1 ea ba ne flagel 1aris--Tra i 1 i ng FI eabane EOJfJPil §£tci^iyi”"Sbowy Daisy umbel latum- -Sul phur Flower Fry simuii as peru m--Western Wall f 1 ower PYiUl““Strdwberry FraTera spe cios a--Monument Plant ilD l afd ia' ari sta ta- - Blanket-fl ower GpliVSl b oreal e- - Bed straw Geral] i urn c aespitosu m- - Common VJi 1 d Geranium G era ni urn richar dson ii --White Geranium Hpo kp lia f i oV ibu nda - -False Forget-me-not Harbouria^ trachypTeura - - VI h i s k b r oom Parsley He 1 i a n the IJ^a q uinquenervis - -Little Tu'nf lower Heracl eum sph ondyl ium ssp. montanum-- Cow Parsnip Hydr ophyHum fendl eri - -Mater-leaf I porno p s i s c'and i d a - HlhTi te Gi 1 i a Eappu Ta' re cfowskiT- - Stickseed Ligu 'sticui' porteri — Loveage in iu m phn ade1phfcum --Wood Lily Linaria vulgaris — Butter-and-eggs Lonicera involucrata— Bush Honeysuckle Luplnui a rgen teas— Common Lipine Merte nsia cil iat a— Tal 1 Chiming Bells Hertensla lance ol ata- -Bluebells Oen othera caespitosa— Stemless Evening- primrose Oenothera coro riopifol ia— Cut-leaf 'Evening- primrose Oeno thera strigosa - - C ommo n Evening- ^ pHmrose Oxyt ropis la mbertii --Colorado Loco Oxytfopls 5ericea- -Whi te Loco PedicuTari s~ gr^ ca --E1 ephantel 1 a Penstemon a lpTnu 5--7\lpine penstemon Penstemdn virenS“ -Foothil 1$ Penstemon Penta philloides f 1 or 1 b un da —Shrubby cinquefoil P hysocarpus monogynus --Ni nebark T^ emontW foTTs^^^ - Leafy JacotEs' Ladder Potent ilia gracilis- - C i nque f o i 1 Potent fl la pen'syl vani ca— Prai ri e Cinquefoil EEHPES virginlana -^Choke Cherry Pseuiocymopterus mon t anus — Yel 1 ow Mounta 1 n Parsley Rosa wood sii--Wild Rose RuWs " i d a eu s - - W 11 d Red Ras berry RudBeckia h Trta- -Black- eyed Susan Rudbeckiii l acin iata — Tal 1 Coneflower ScuteTTa rla br Tttonii- -Skull-cap Sedum 1 aFce QTat um--Stonec rop Senecio fen dl eri --Golden Ragwort Stachys " pal us trTs- -Hedge- nettle Symphoficarpos occidental! 1 s --Snowberr.y Taraxacum officinale- -DandelTon Thai ictrum fendl eri --Meadow-rue Thermops is di var i ca r pa --Golden Banner Th laspi arvense — Permy-cress Tragopogon dubius- -Salsify Va leriana edul 1s- -Valer1an Zygadenus e1egans --Death Camas — Bill & Berta Anderson Bob & Ann Heapes * An enthusiastic crowd rallyed on the morn- ing of 28 June In Meeker, Colorado, to begin the botanical and geological excur- sion into the Piceance Basin. Partici- pants came from Longmont, Boulder, Denver, La Junta, Hotchkiss, Ft. Collins, Craig, Vernal, and Salt Lake City. Karen Wiley- Eberle and I would like to thank all of you who travelled so far to make the trip a success. Additionally, CoNPS would like to thank the Vernal and Craig BLM districts for their cooperation. The CONPS at Raven Ridge ye left Meeker and entered the Piceance Basin at Rio Blanco. The first stop, along Piceance Creek, where the Mahogany zone of the Green River formation was ey/^sed, was to visit a site inhabited by U; fescue ( Festuc a dasyclada ) and Barneby ' s col umbi ne ( Aquilegia barneby i ) . By the time we had departed the site, we had tentatively identified almost every- thing in the area. We then journeyed on to the C-b Oil Shale Tract leased by Occidental Petroleum, and met with Ed Baker, Environmental Coordinator. We looked over the site and were given an informative slide presenta- tion of their operation. After the pres- entation, we had lunch at the site, and had an opportunity to further discuss energy development and its effect on the Basin with Ed. We left Piceance Creek and made our way up Ryan Gulch, westward toward Cathedral Bluffs, stopping first to view the Dragon milkvetch ( Astragalus lutosu s) and the plants associated with its unique habitat. Several other stops were made to investigate the various vegetation zones as we proceeded higher in eleva- tion. When we reached the crest of the Basin, we stopped and hiked to the edge tQ-aJ>sorb the monumental view of the t dral Bluffs (proposed as a Colorado NaLural Area). Our last stop of the day was aimed at locating a "hanging garden" containing Sul 1 ivantia purpusi 1 , a unique species In western Colorado. We were fortunate and did find this veritable oasis in the high desert, in which even existed a liverwort ( Marchantia spp.). A very pleasing end to a long day. Sunday morning, we departed Meeker and headed westward for Raven Ridge (located northv^est of Rangely, of which a portion is proposed as a Colorado Natural Area). Outside of Meeker, we stopped to view the debris milkvetch ( Astragalus detri tails ), which appears to be quite rare in Colorado, though it is locally conmon in parts of northeastern Utah. After passing through the Rangely oil fields we stopped at Raven Ridge, an extrusion of a white shale member of the Green River formation upon which plants found in northeastern Utah can be found in Colorado. Those that we V jewed included the following species: I tantha rol 1 insii , Bolophyta 1 iHulata , MirabfTfs al ipes , Penstemon grahamii , Chamaecha enact is scaposa , and Eriogonum eph edr oides . Unfortunately, the herbaceous members were already at the fruiting stage. All in all, this trip gave us a brief look at two of the Sul 1 ivantia purpusi i at Cathedral Bluffs. Note water falling on each side of plant. more unique areas of our state, and allowed us a closer view of some of the more unusual native plants. [Par- ticipants may contact me if they desire a list of their fellow participants.] --J, Scott Peterson CoNPS ANNUAL MEETING Speaker: Eldie W. Mustard State Biologist, Soil Conser- vation Service Subject: Wetlands Versus Agricultural Lands: Perspectives on Values and Trade-Offs Mr. Mustard is highly qualified in the field of wetland values and preservation. He has conducted studies on the Colorado River Salinity Control, San Luis Valley wetland habitat, Walden Pond restoration in Boulder County and other related projects. The speaker's emphasis will be on critical habitats or sites, and their importance for the perpetuation of numerous plant species that have severe site limitations. Included will be a discussion of land use and land use ethics. Place: Denver Botanical Gardens, October 25 at 1 :00 p.m. The election for five directors for 1981 .will also occur at this meeting. Those directors whose term will be ending are as follows:. Miriam Denham, Virginia Dionigi, Hugo Ferchau, Scott Peterson, and Mark Phillips. Nominations for the elec- tion are provided by a nominations conmlt- tee and by petition from the general membership as provided for in the bylaws. SYMBIOTIC COHABITATION ON THE WESTERN SLOPE The majority of vascular plants growing under natural conditions are actually dual organjsms, the plant and root fungi. This association of a root and a fungus has been given the name mycorrhiza. It has been shown that the fungus aids the plant in nutrient and water uptake, and the fungus gains the benefit of being supplied nutri- ents by the host plant, resulting in a symbiotic relationship. There are three basic types of mycorrhizae: ectomycorrhizae, ectendomycorrhizae, and endomycorrhizae. Most of the research up to the present time has been done on ecto- mycorrhizae, which are associated primarily with timber species, such as the economic- ally valuable Pinaceae (Pine Family) and Fagaceae (Oak Family). The fungus is visible externally as a mantle on the root. The second type, ectendomycorrhizae, is similar to ectomycorrhizae, except that the tubular filaments (hyphae) of the fungus penetrate the root cells. This type is found mainly in members of the Ericaceae {Heath Family). The most ubiquitous type of root/fungus relationship is the endomycorrhiza^ The morphology of the endomycorrhizal fungus is extremely variable. Generally, there is a loose hyphal network that surrounds the root. As illustrated in the line draw- ing below, the ends of this network termin- ate in bulblike structures called vesicles. These can occur either in the soil or the root cortex. The vesicles contain droplets of oil and function as food storage organs or reproductive structures for the fungus. Another interesting phenomenon of the endo- mycorrhiza is the formation of branching structures, knovm as arbuscules (little trees), from the hyphae within the root cortex. Recent research indicates that these Structures function in the transport of nutrients, such as phosphorus, from the fungus to the root cell. Such mycorrhizae are referred to as vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizae (VAM). Cross-section of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhiza. 1 -ves i cl e ,2-arbuscul e , 3-hyphae, 4-root. With the increasing importance of energy resources (oil shale, tar sands and coal) on the western slop of Colorado and the semi-arid West, research on the revegetation of disturbed mine lands has become in- creasingly important. An important segment of this research has dealt with VAM and their Importance in revegetation. Several studies have shown that indigen- ous VAM fungal populations on disturbed sites are severely reduced, potentially hampering the establishment of the original native doimunity. Introduced species, such as Sal sol a kali (Russian Thistle), C h eno^odl ( Lamb s - quarters) and Chorisjior^ (Blue Mustard), which become’ es tab! isVied on disturbed areas have been found to be nonmycorrhizal . Other studies being undertaken include long-term topsoil storage and the effects of retorted oil shale on mycorrhizal fungi. He hope that this introduction to the micro- biological part of the native flora will illustrate the importance of studying the nonvisible and underground portion of our Colorado native flora. --Janine Sabaloni J. Scott Peterson