FAHOVE ACTIVITIES CALEINDAF< October 18: Caldwell meeting at 6:30 pm in the her bar i urn , Boone Science Hall, College of Idaho. This will be a pot luck dinner meeting with a show and tell program of what members did last season. NOTE THIS CHANGE IN SCHEDULE. See the article below. November 15: Boise meeting at 7:30 pm in Room 218, Science Educ. Building, Boise State University. Program will be on the ecology of Astragalus yoder-nil 1 iamsi l Barneby and other interesting plants of Southwest Idaho by Roger Rosentreter. November 30: T&E Species Meeting at 8:30 am in the University Inn at Cap- itol Blvd. and University Dr., Boise. See article below for detai 1 s . December : No regular meeting planned for this month. COMING SPEC I — EVENTS POTLUCK DINNER MEETING Let's start out the new Pahove year with a pot luck dinner and get re- aquainted meeting. Bring one dish of your choice, either main dish, salad, or dessert, and your own table service. The program for the October 18 meeting in Caldwell program will be show and tell of what you did this past season. Bring your slides, photos, and collections for the informal program. The dinner will start at 6:30. T&E SPECIES MEETING An Idaho threatened and endangered plant meeting is scheduled for Friday, November 30, 1984 in Boise. The Idaho Native Plant Society plus several Federal agencies will be sponsoring this all day meeting, in which concerned parties from local, state, and Federal agencies will be discussing and recommending status for species currently on the T&E list and other plant species. The Natural Heritage priority system of identifying threats to individual species will be used. This is the first such get-together of botanists, ecologists, and land managers to be held in Idaho. Pahove and other concerned citizens are invited to attend and participate. The meeting will begin at 8:30 am at the University Inn, and continue throughout Friday and perhaps extend into Saturday. A no-host get-together is planned for Friday evening at a loca- tion to be announced later. Call Lynda Smithman at 344-2650 or Bob Parent! at 362-1152 or 334-1816. CONVENTION OF WESTERN NATIVE PLANT SOCIETIES The first convention of western native plant societies is planned for August 2-4, 1985 in La Grande, OR. The programmed activities will include field 1 trips in the vicinity, panel discussions, a series of short presentations on plant society activities and botanical topics, and evening social programs. The meeting will be sponsored by the Native Plant Society of Oregon, who will provide more information as to schedules, accomodations, and reserva- tions later. Sage Notes will pass on this information as it becomes avail- able. Mark these dates on your calendar and plan to attend. NOTES FROM T HI EL' PRES I DENT The 1984-85 program year for Pahove will be an exciting one. The invitation ■from Bob Parent i to co-sponsor with the Office of Endangered Species, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service a statewide conference on threatened and endan- gered species opens up many new opportunities for our members. The confer- ence will be one of the highlights of the year. In order to provide some new experiences we are experimenting with several changes in our program format. The first new adventure will be the October 18th potluck and informal sharing of summer explorations which will be held at our regional herbarium in Caldwell. I have recently seen Jon Trail’s ex- quisite enlargement of Astragalus star ills and I am sure that other members have equally delightful photographs, slides and stories which they will want to bring to our potluck "show and tell". In the past Pahove has held technical sessions on plant identification as well as on how to recognise a particular family or genus. Some of our members have asked that we re-establish these learning opportunities. Thus, we plan to hold a couple of technical sessions in combination with herbarium days on Saturday as a substitute for monthly meetings this winter. A group lunch is always part of the herbarium day agenda, so plan to attend. There will be stimulating programs at our monthly meetings and interesting field trips, which we will hear more about as the year progresses. We are sorry not to have Mary McGown’s talent on the Board this year. The University of Idaho is very lucky to have her. My term as President will be complemented by the capable team of Agnes Miller, Wilma Gluch, and Joe Duft. Our technical advisors and lay board members also provide valuable guidance and assistance. Join us for a dynamic year of learning about and working with our native plants. Lynda C. Smithman F> Fi O G F>: *=* M F- L_ <=k N FI I FI G COMMITTEE Pahove has been fortunate in having a wealth of resources for programs and field trips. To insure that we continue to receive creative ideas and that we schedule programs which address a variety of interests we have organized a program committee composed of Lynda Smithman, Barbara Nelson, Joe Duft, Mary Trail, Carolyn Sherman and Pat Packard. The committee welcomes ideas for programs as well as volunteers for presentations and field trips from the membership. Here is your chance to get involved, so please give your input to committee members. WELCOME TO FI EE W MEMBERS Paul & Lorraine Mann, Gerald Wood, Boise Cal dwel 1 Roger Rosentreter, Boise VOL » VIII NO . 1 QCTOBER-NOVEMBER 1984 |x| tZ Ul F" U 13 8 .X O ^6 r X O T"4 S OF' I IM T* EEI Ft El S "1“ By Nancy Shaw INTERMOUNTAIN FLORA, Volume Four, The Aster idae except the Aster aceae, Arthur Cronquist, Arthur H» Holmgren, Noel H. Holmgren, James L - Reveal, and Patricia K. Holmgren., ISBN: 0-89327-248-55 Clothbound: 573 p, illustrated? keys; index. The New York Botanical Garden. 1984. (Available •from Scientific Publications Office, The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY 10458. $75.00.) This is the third of a six volume comprehensive work on the flora of the Intermountain Region. Volume Four treats the Aster idae which includes 99 percent of the plants with petals united, no more stamens than corolla lobes, and stamens alternate with the corolla lobes. Easily understood keys, extensive descriptions, and line drawings are provided for nine orders, 28 families, 147 genera, and 737 species. TREES OF THE GREAT BASIN, A NATURAL HISTORY. R. W. Lanner, University of Nevada Press, Reno, NV. 1984. 256 p. (Available from the University of Nevada Press, Reno, NV. Hardcover: $19.50. Paperback: $12.50) This is the first of the Max C. Fleishmann Series of Great Basin Natural History. Short readable essays cover the natural history and ecology of 47 native trees of the Great Basin. Line drawings and color photographs accompany each essay. PRAIRIE WILDFLQWERS, An illustrated manual of species suited for cultivation and grassland restoration. R. Currah, A. Smreciu, and M. Van Dyke. Univer- sity of Alberta Devonian Botanic Garden. Softbound, 1983. 290 p. (Available from NP Accountant, Devonian Botanical Garden, University of Alberta, Edmon- ton, Alberta, Canada T6G IE9. $14.95) This manual provides a practical reference for gardeners, site planners, development engineers, nursery managers, and landscape architects. Descrip- tions, distribution, site requirements, propagation, commercial seed sources, illustrations, and literature references are presented for more than 130 native wildf lower species of the North American Plains. THE ENDANGERED SPECIES TECHNICAL BULLETIN, U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service. Issued monthly. (Subscriptions available through Endangered Species Technical Bulletin, Wildlife Management Center, School of Natural Resources, Unversity of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109. $12. 00/year . ) Until recently this bulletin was available only to Federal employees and official contacts of the endangered species program. The Wildland Manage- ment Center of the University of Michigan, School of Natural Resources is now cooperating with the World Wildlife Fund - U.S. to distribute the bul- letin monthly at cost with an insert summarizing their activities. NURSERY SOURCES, NATIVE PLANTS AND WILD FLOWERS. The New England Wild Flower Society. 1984. 53 p. (Available from the New England Wild Flower Society, Dept. NS, Garden in the Woods, Hemenway Road, Framingham, MA 01701. $3.50.) Sources of plant materials of wild flowers and other native plants of the United States with the exception of Alaska and Hawaii are listed in this up- to-date guide. Information was supplied by 193 nurseries. T MIEZ SOOLJlNlGEIFtS MOTEZOOOK: By Pat Packard Cattail. Typha lat-ifolia L. Pure stands of the -familiar cattail grow in wet places up and down the Snake River Plains and small clumps are found up to moderate elevations in the mountains,. Locally they are called tule although this isn't the tule of the rest of the West. This most useful of plants is available all year. The heavy rhizomes are easily located in shallow water and pried up with a stick. Their greatest •food value is in late fall through winter running something like 467. starch and 117 sugars (Air Force Manual, Survival Training Ed.) and can be eaten raw or cooked. If there is chance of pollution they should be cooked. They have been prepared in many ways. Often the core of the large rhizomes was dried, ground into meal and stored by early Indians. More tender rhizomes were roasted in hot coals or peeled and boiled as potatoes. They also are easy to use in making flour in the same way as bulrush, although this would lose the sugar. Harrington (1967) says the flour compares favorably with that from corn, wheat and rice in percentages of fats, proteins and carbohy- drates. The flavor is bland and has none of the bitter tang associated with many wild foods. Cattail flour is a remarkably good thickening agent for stews and gravy. Used in place of part of the flour in pancakes and quick bread recipes, it requires at least double the liquid called for by wheat flour which makes considerable adjustment of the recipe necessary. Scorched cattail flour makes a horrible, stinking mess. The sprouts are also found in the mud during the winter and throughout most of the year. These are most acceptable simply boiled and served with butter. They can be eaten raw from unpolluted locations. Leaves were once used in weaving mats which, at least in regions adjacent to this area, were the main part of Indian housing. Leaves were also used for thatching and some use was made in basketry. The fuzz is good tinder used with primitive equipment such as flint and steel or pyrite. It can be used for pillows and sleeping pads but packs badly and is not suitable for stuffing of a permanent nature. For temporary insulation in boots and mittens, it’s good and can prevent freezing and in an emergency can be used between blankets to make a crude sleeping bag, but it’s sure to escape and get in your nose during the night. Great Basin Indian babies sometimes used cattail fluff for diapers. The fuzz can be burned off leaving the tiny seeds already' roasted, but they are so small it requires a mountain of fuzz to produce a meal — don’t try igniting it all at once. Seeds were eaten as is, made into mush or ground into flour. At one time in rural parts of the Snake Country, cattails were a popular winter bouquet and as just that they can be rather attractive. They have to be gathered in the later part of the summer when mature but not so ripe that they blow up and shed fuzz all over the house. However children carried this form of home decorating a little too far. The brown outer covering of the cattails was scraped off with a dull knife and the resulting dirty white surface was colored all kinds of weird shades with crayons. Particularly7 disturbing effects could be obtained by ripples or, worst of all, if you were very careful , a checker board effect. Long suffering mothers allowed these monstrosities to grace the ’front room' of many a farm house all winter. VOL. VIII NO. 1 OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 1984 NEWSLETTER ADVERT I S EE M E IM T S INF'S has initiated an advertisement program as a service to members and to help de-fray the costs of our newsletter. Ads, personal or commercial, of a botanical nature, e.g. native plants sales, botanical publications, ser- vices, equipment and supplies will be published in Sage Notes at bargan rates. Ads should be submitted with payment by mail to our INF'S address or dir- ectly to the Newsletter Editor by the beginning of the month of pub- 1 i cation . The per issue rates are in the ad- jacent block. PERSONAL ADS . . . $1.00 (Up to 30 words) COMMERCIAL ADVERTISEMENTS 1/8 page . . . $4.00 1/4 page . . . $7.00 1/2 page . „ .$12.00 Full page . .$20.00 THIS BLOCK IS 1/8 PAGE SIZE! ABOUT THE I DAHO NATIVE F=-L_^!M”T SOCIETY OFFICERS President Lynda Smithman Vice President (Vacant) Secretary Agnes Miller Treasurer Wilma Gluch . . Chrmn of Board Joe Duf t . 344-2650 343-6234 343-3026 375-8740 Technical Committee Pat Packard, Bob Steele, Nancy Shaw, Dotty Douglas, and Bob Parent i . Lay Representatives Freda Younger and Barbara Nelson. Newsletter Editor Joe Duft Technical Editor Bob Steele Sage Notes is published bimonthly by the Idaho Native Plant Society, in- corporated since 1977 under the laws of the State of Idaho. Membership in the Society is open to all interested in our native flora. Dues are $6.00 per year on an anni- versary month /year basis. Send dues and all correspondence to I.N.F'.S., Box 9451, Boise, ID 83707. Red dots beside dues dates indicate that your dues have expired. You will receive only two issues after- exp i rat i on . F'AHOVE MEMBERSHIP REQUEST Enclosed is my $6.00 dues for membership in the Idaho Native Plant Society. (Send to regular I.N.F'.S. address as above.) Name (s) Address City, State, Zip New Renewal Telephone Address Change • * a i o n ‘qf ; i - 1 v ...y ' * ‘ f rft [ A> I :APf? I * sas i\cvv 1^r\r\ botanical garden . s* - <\}31 40/69\°M®PI ‘®s!°8 xgW xog JjftdBip 8A0l|Bd \ M& JmjTO ° L_ G IM T M EET I W G H EE I D The first annual threatened and endangered plant species meeting for Idaho was held November 30, 1984 at. the University Inn in Boise. Over 50 people attended the meeting including several out-of staters from as far away as Connecticut . The classification systems for plants with methods of prioritizing sensi- tive plant species were discussed at some length. The group then reviewed a list of about 50 species that have been considered for Federal threatened or endangered status. Eight additional were species suggested by the group. Of these, 42 were either recommended for category 1 or 2 status. Category ! comprises taxa for which substantial information on biological vul ner ab i 1 i t.\ and threat (s) are on file. Category 2 comprises taxa for which informatior suggests that endangered or threatened status is appropriate, but data or biological vul ner ab i 1 i ty and threat (s) are not currently known. A written summarization of the meeting will be prepared and sent. out tr participants and other concerned parties for further review and comments. Finally, a r ecommendat i on list will be submitted to Washington next sprim for inclusion in a supplementary Federal Register. The feelings of the group were that the meeting was extremely beneficial am should be continued on an annual basis. The second annual Idaho T&E planl meeting is planned for •‘two days in late November 1985. At this nexl meeting, plants on the state sensitive list will also be discussed. the: SCROUNGERS NOTEBOOK By Pat Packard Choke cherry. P ran as Virginians L. Choke cherry grows from the Snake River up into the Douglas fir zone. It! twigs are dark red-brown and shiny with horizontal lenticils and lont pointed, dark red-brown buds tending to cluster near the tips. Once you've seen it, it is distinctive.. The fruits may be red, black or lemon yellow. The leaves and the kernel of the pit contain amygdalin and possibly othei glycosides which under certain conditions will hydrolize through enzymatic action into benzal dehyde, glucose and hydrocyanic acid. The last compoum unites with hemoglobin of the red blood cells and excludes oxygen. Fresf leaves make good browse, but when wilted the hydrocyanic acid is produce! and .25”/. of the animals weight in leaves will cause death (Kingsbury, 1964), Pits are similarly toxic when eaten. The enzymes causing this reaction cai be denatured by heat. The dried fruits had wide use among early Indians. Paiutes in the Gwyhe< region, as was typical of most Indians of the Intermountain West, crushei the ripe fruit with the pit, shaped them into patties and dried them in th» sun, after which they were packed into cans or bags. If kept dry they woul i last 3-5 years (Trejo, 1974). Choke cherries make one of available into November, have to use pectin to make the best of our wild jellies. Fruit sometimes i? By that time it is so ripe that you would eithet it jell or decide t.o make pancake syrup instead. A tea of the bark was used for many things, particularly diarrhea ii children. It contains some tannin and was probably useful in this way There are records of it being used to control nosebleed and othei hemorrhages. Any basis for this use is not known, but apparently man' tannin-containing preparations were drunk to control hemorrhage. It wa< also used for upset stomach, coughs and colds as was tea of the rooi shavings. Dried bark was smoked to relieve headache or cold? powdered bar! was applied to sores. Snow blindness was treated by exposing the eyes t< the steam of boiling bark (Train, 1957). This is an important browse plant for big game in early fall making up 12! of the September diet of the Owyhee mule deer but disappearing from the mem after November. Protein content is high in late summer but falls to abou' VOL- VIII NO. 2 DECEMBER 1984 77. in November. Fat content is about 37. in September and October dropping to 3.5 7. in November. Cal ci urn-phosphate ratio is an unfavorably wide 10- 17:1. The shiny red-brown bark was used to decorate basketry. The juice of the fruit makes a pale, pink dye. The whole bark produces a good brown-pink on alum mordanted wool. With chrom it is dark brownish rose;, also a good col or . Trejo (1974) says in the Owyhee region choke cherry is tau-ee-sha-voi , Train (1957) gives it as toh-i.sh-a-booe or doh-i sh-ah-boo-e for Paiute and tohn- quah-zip or tone-gui sh-up for Shoshone. 1 9? Q 5 El IM D Fs IM G EE R Erl D WI 1_ D F~ I O UJ El C Ft. L_ Erl IM D Ft F£ A new Endangered Wildf lower Calendar published by the American Hor t. i cul t ural Society, P.0. Box 0105, Mt. Vernon, VA 22121 is now available for $5.95 from that address. Color photographs of 16 endangered wildf lowers of the United States illustrate this 8 1/2" X 23" wall calendar. Proceeds will be used to fund various conservation programs. One of these is the Wildf lower Redis- covery Reward Project that provides cash awards to non-profit organizations and individuals who provide confidential information on any plant thought to be extinct. Pahove has made a bulk purchase of these calendars and is offering them to members for * 5.75 each. They w ill be available at Pahove meetings or con- tact Joe Duft- at 3 75-8740 to pick up your copies. • W X B — DFI — O tUI EE Ft CL Ft S S O 8- F" ET FC BE! D A class on Idaho wildf lowers will be offered through Boise Community Schools for 8 weeks starting February 4, 1985. It is planned for Monday evenings, 7:00 to 9:30 at Borah High School, but check the community schools schedule next January. Dick Lingenfelter will teach the class. For more information contact Dick at 344-7742. F” Ft M O V EE MEMBER S S-8 X F" i I S T A new membership list will be prepared in January, and be distributed in the February issue of Sage Notes. To ensure your name being on the list, be sure your dues are up to date. Mail $6.00 for single, couple or family (at one mailing address) to INPS, P0 Box 9451, Boise, ID 83707. WELCO M El O IM EL" UJ MEMBERS Betty Schaaf, Boise, ID Charles A. Wellner, Moscow, ID James M. Glennon, Pocatello, ID William Shalter, Marsielles, IL. Duanne Atwood, Provo, UT J. Scott Peterson, Denver, CO Steven F. Briggs, Boise, ID Bob Shaekelford, Coeur d:' Alene, ID Vincent Lee , Ketch urn, ID Jared T. Wibberley, New Britain, CT Charles G„ Johnson Jr., Baker, GP( Bruce R. Boccard, Ashland, OR By Robert H. Mohlenbrocl M AGFA Ft 8 — ft INI EE S F-'OLJF^ — O =‘ CL O C K Mirabilis macfarlanei. Four-o'clock family. Perennial ; stems to 3 feet. Leaves opposite ? simple? nearly round? toothless ? to 3 inches. Flowers 4—} m a cluster ? subtended by green i sh- pur pi e bracts ? petals rose- purple tc pink ? funnel -s happed? to 1 inch. Season : May. I he Snake River , flowing northward as it forms the boundary between Idahc and Ur eg on , has carved the deepest gorge in North America. North fror Copperf i el d , past the Hells Canyon Dam and Pittsburgh Landing to the junction with the Salmon River , the Snake River is dwarfed by the steep walls of basaltic rock on either side. Some of the area, is virtually inaccessible, while other parts can be traversed only by rugged hikers. During the 1930s, E. B. -MacFarlane piloted boats up and down Snake River. He had noted during his excursions an attractive pinkish-flowering hert growing at one place along the river on the Oregon side. Thus, when i botanical expedition led by Lincoln Constance and Reed C. Rollins came tc the Snake River Canyon on May 15, 1936, MacFarlane had someone to show hi« unknown plant to. Constance and Rollins found that the boatman’s plant was a new species of four-o'clock, upon which they bestowed the name Mirabilis macfarlanei, MacFarlane’s four-o'clock. Since the area is nearly inaccessible and the plant is very rare, little has been seen of this plant since. In 1947, a small group of MacFar- lane's four-o'clocks was discovered along the Salmon River in Idaho, about ten miles due east of the original Snake River location. Today, this species is found in only a few locations in Oregon and Idaho, along the Snake and Salman rivers. Because of the very conspicuous nature of the plant, and because the areas where it occurs are receiving more and more visitor use, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service declared MacFar- lane s four-o'clock as an endangered species on October 26, 1979. The habitat for Mirabilis macfarlanei is in the open, either on steep sunny slopes or on gravel bars with full exposure to the sun. MacFarlane’s four-o’clock is a deep-rooted peren- nial which grows in clumps. The stems, which may grow to a height of three feet, bear several pairs of opposite, nearly round, toothless leaves about two to three inches long. From the upper parts of the plant are borne several clusters of bright rose-purple to pink flowers. Ill us. by Agnes Miller This is a reprint by permission from the book Where Have A 1.1. the Wi.l.df ioweri Gone? by Robert H. Mohlenbrock , Macmillan Publishing Co.? Inc. New Yort 1983. This book is currently avail abl e to members at a reduced rate o * 13.00 (save 20Z) from the Southern Illinois Native Plant Society ? Depart- ment- of Botany? Southern Illinois University , Carbondale ? Illinois 62901 This is an outstanding 256 page guide with illustrations to the threatened and endangered plants of the United States. It would make an excellent gif for anyone interested in the out-of-doors and America' s natural heritage 4 VOL. VIII NO DECEMBER 1984 ON THE ROAD WITH OPERATION WILDFLOWER by Marlene Frits, UI Agriculture Information At the Federal Highway Administration, they call it Operation Wildf lower. For the past few years, roadsides have been beautified, soil loss and weed spread have been reduced, cover has been provided for wildlife, and highway monotony— and with it the risk of accident - have been decreased. This season at the Soil Conservation Service’s Plant Materials Center at Aberdeen, Operation UJildflower is in full bloom with extensive studies on penstemons. The work is -being conducted by Chuck Howard, manager of the center, and his staff. The facility is located at the UI Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Aberdeen. Penstemons are show'/ wild-flowers, which resemble snapdragons. They can grow to three fee?t, depending on species, and produce red, blue or white flowers that bloom from late June through July. Penstemons have been planted along Idaho Highways near Plummer, White Bird and Mesa Hill and the interstate freeway near Glenns Ferry, Hammett, Twin Falls, Raft River and Inkom, as well as many smaller sites. "People call and compliment us on the flowers and say, "Oh, I thought they were just natural , " "said John Rinard, vegetation manager for the Idaho Transportation Department at Boise. "They aren’t. They" re the result of a lot of hard work by many people." Rinard noted that the major advantage of penstemons over other native wildf lowers is that they often grow where nothing else will. According to Howard, penstemons offer good ground cover, are dr ought~tol er- ant, grow in shallow soils and on harsh sites, are palatable to some degree to wildlife and livestock — and, in addition, they"re attractive. "If we’re going to use something on highways to break the monotony, they have to be colorful enough for people to see them," he said. Many native wildf lowers are difficult to establish, not lending themselves readily to cultivation or seed production. Howard is selecting among the penstemons in his plots those with the most viable seed and the most vigorous seedlings. Rinard said it is the policy of the Idaho Transportat i on Department to pro- mote the growth of native and other adaptable vegetation on roadsides as is compatible with safe highway use, attractive appearance and minimum main- enance . "The major purpose of seeding roadsides is to stabilize roadbeds, " he said, "but if we can make it look a little nicer while we" re stabilizing it, fine, let’s do that. That's where Operation Wildflower comes- in." I rv|F>£3 VICE; PRESIDENT POSITION FILLED The vice president position was recently filled by the IMPS board of direc- tors. This position, which is also chairman of the program committee, will be filled by Roger Rosentreter. Welcome aboard, Roger. ABOUT OUR X Dftl--!0 NATIVE F* L_ ft IM T' BOG I ET f OFFICERS President Lynda Smithman Vice Pres Roger Rosentreter Secretary Agnes Miller . . Treasurer Wilma Gluch - . . Chrmn of Board Joe Duft . „ 344-2650 0*34— 1 582 343—6234 O' 4 -■ O' O 2 6 375-8740 Technical Committee Pat Packard, Bob Steele, Nancy Shaw, Dotty Douglas, and Bob Parenti. Lay Representatives Freda Younger and Barbara Nelson, Newsletter Editor Joe Duft Technical Editor Bob Steele Sage Notes is published bimonthly by the Idaho Native Plant Society, in- corporated since 1977 under the laws of the State of Idaho. Membership in the Society is open to ail interested in our native flora. Dues are $6.00 per year on an anni- versary month/year basis. Send dues and all correspondence to I.N.P.S., Box 9451, Boise, ID 83707. Red dots beside dues dates indicate that your dues have expired. You will receive only two issues after ex pi ration. Ads, personal or commercial, of a botanical nature will be published in Sage Notes. Ads should be submitted with payment by mail to our IMPS address or directly to the Newsletter Editor. The per issue rates are" Personal ads (up to 30 words) are $1.00. Commerial advertisements: 1/8 page is $4.00, 1/4 page is $7.00, 1/2 page is $12.00 and full page is $20.00. LIBRAS APR i 1 W8 ii 3QTANICA1. OARQl r I It 191 Z0ZS8 oi|ep| ‘9S!00 ISt6 xoa it I jsjdBMO SAoqBei <*PPO0 JUOld, 91UTO <> ft i § o v ee ft o t i: v x ~r i el s c ft l_ ee m o ft fc 'ebruary 2 1 : Boise meeting at 7:30 pm in Room 218, Science Educ. Building, Boise State U n i v e r sit y „ P r o g r a m will b e o n t. h e b i o 1 o g y o f Eqai setum hyemale L „ by Scott Riley and al 1 el opath i c studies on Bro mas tec to ram L._ . by Wayne Owen, I a r ch 21 He r b a r i u m Day a t t he College of I d a h o f r o m 1 0 :: 0 0 a m t o 4 : 0 0 p rn „ The program will be a workshop on the taxonomy of selected p 1 a n t f a m i 1 i e s b y D r , F* o g e r R o s e n t r e t e r „ larch 16: Saturday field trip to the Boise Front to find fill! am a a sea e Qwnbe y a n d a t h e r s p r i. n g f 1 o r a „ M e e t at 8 : 0 0 a m i n the pa r k i n g lot of Camels Back F'ark, RSVF' Trip Leader Dr, Roger Rosen— treter at 334-1582, larch 21 Caldwell meeting at 7:30 pm in the herbarium, Boone Science Hall, College of Idaho, The program will be on Idaho’s Nat- ural Heritage Program by Steve Caicco of the Nature Conser- v 3. n c v »« tpr i 1 13: Saturday field trip to the Swan Falls area south of Kuna to view spring flora along the Snake River Canyon. F^SVP Trip Leader Dr, Tony Hoi thui j zen at work phone 383-2729. ipril 18: Boise meeting at 7:30 pm in Room 2:18, Science Education Bldg,, B o ise S t a t e U n i v e r sit y „ T h e p r o g r a m w ill be on the i n f 1 u e n c e o f i n s e c t s on the e n d a n g e r e d p 1 a n t M i r a b i l i s m a c f arl an e i C o n - s t a n c e S< R o 1 1 i ns by Dr. C h a r 1 e s B a k e r , B S IJ „ ipril 27: Saturday field trip to Rebecca Sand Hill near Weiser to view Astragal us mulfordzae Jones and pristine bitterbrush stands. Meet at 10:00 am at Perkins Restaurant ait State St. and Glen- wood for Eioise car pool i ng , then at 11:00 am at the Fiddlers C a f e in Weiser, ID. R S V F:' Dr, R o g e r R o s e n t. r ete r a t. 3 3 4 — 1 5 82 , lay 4: Saturday field trip to the Dautrich Memorial Preserve near the Snake River. Meet at the Boone Science Hall parking lot, Col- lege of Idaho at 10:00 am. F:"ield trip leader will be Dr, Pat F’ a o k a r d . R S V F:' L y n d a Smi th m a n 3 4 4 - 2 6 5 0 . 40TE: RSVP's are important as there may be a need to change or cancel a trip. I r &e EE F“ I ft IM T SPECIES F=* P'-t O Cl' EE C L.I IM O EE E< i«J ft V ^t the February 2nd Herbarium Day meeting at the College of Idaho, members agreed to take on the task of putting together and publishing an illustrated juide to the threatened and endangered plant species of Idaho. Slides and ither photographs will be gathered, narrations prepared, and a design which iccommadat.es local users will be developed. The first effort will concen- irate on the Federal list with a completion date planned for November 1985, "uture efforts may include plant species on the State Watch List. Ixl Q ~r EE £3 F • F< O M T Ml EE F:“ F« EE S X D EE IM T The 1984-85 program year is truly one of experimentation and growth. The number of Pahove members who were able to attend all or part of the T'&E Species Conference November 30 , 1984 was commendable. Special thanks to Roger Rosentreter, Agnes Miller and Betty Schaaf who, as a very talented committee organized and developed an outstanding poster display for us. Joe Duft,, Barbara Nelson, Dick Lingenfelter and Jay Smithman also contributed their art work to the display. I am proud of Pahove ? s participation in the first statewide T&E meeting which the LJS Fish and Wildlife Service asked us to co-sponsor. We all look forward to the second annual T&E meeting. Statewide representation is increasing which presents a wonderful challenge to all of us on meeting the needs of our growing and diverse membership. Several of our new members have volunteered to share their expertise and to lead field trips. Some interest has been. expressed in forming local chapters around the state. technical assistance is available. Articles and news items for publication in the newletter are certainly welcomed. Another suggestion involves using the newsletter as a forum for exchanging field information such as range extensions of rare species or denoting areas and tax a which need more field studies for protection planning. The possibilities of what we can do by working together are really quite limitless. We hope that all of our members will feel free to give Board of Directors and Technical Advisory Committee inputs on how to make the Idaho Native Plant Society a viable statewide organization which meets the needs of our many friends of native plants. I would also like to mention that Steve Caicco, Pahove member and Botanist with the Nature Conservancy, has volunteered to arrange publicity for our future meetings and selected field trips. Thanks, Steve, for picking up this important, job for our Society. L y n d a S m i t h m a n O O 03 O O D M T" rv§ M X I Ik V EE T G 5-S Robert H. Mohlenbrock Astragalus yodet — w illiamsii. Pea Family. Tufted perennial? stems s h o r t ,i some on 1 y w 2 t h s h a r p— po in ted leaf s t a 1 k s * L. e a o e s alternate? P o und » d 2 v 2 ded into / ~ 1 V tiny . folded leaflet s » flowers 2— & oer .aaf-naachinflW white Kith fa i n t pink stripes ? to 1/2 inch £ hJ v? fr u- p <3 S' f) <3 p Or 0 .▼ pt : r 1 o n g oer y corn- stem Pods >11 Pi“ *i I, X , t o 1 / 3 i n c h . S e a sons J ul y . A ugu s t One of the 1979 amendments to the Engangered Species Act gave authority to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to issue emergency endangered status to any plant that, it felt, might become extinct before the normal process of listing a species as federally endangered could become enacted. The emergency listing, which would provide protection to the plant from whatever outside forces might be threatening the species, could be in effect for not more than 240 days. After the 240 days had elapsed, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service either would have to make efforts to list the species as endangered through the normal process, or would have to drop the listing. The first use of this emergency listing process came on August 13, 1980, when a rare and little-known legume from southwestern Idaho and northwestern Nevada was declared endangered on an emergency basis. / QL . V I I I FEBRUARY -MARCH 1 98S NO. 3 r h e s p e c: i e g; w h i c h recei v e d t h e f i r s t e m e r g e n c y 1 i s t i n g w a s t h e 0 s g o o d 'I o u n t a :i. n m i 1 k v e t c: h , ft s t r a g a 1 u s y a ci e r - w i 2 2. i a m s i i , a p 1 a n t 1 h a t h a d b e e n i a m e d o n I y a fa o a t a y ear fa e f a r e . M i c h a e 1 Y o d e r - Willi a m s , who m a n a g e s t h e [Sagehen Creek Field Station in the eastern Sierra Nevada©, had -found' this Low growing perennial on July 11, 1979, in the Osgood Mountains in Humboldt bounty, Nevada,, The plants were growing on exposed ridge crests and flat xlateaus of decomposed granite or sandy soil at an elevation of 7,120 feet a fa o v e s e a 1 e v e 1 .. T h e o r i g i n a 1 specimen was sen t t o Dr. u p e r t. C ., B a r n e to y , the world's authority on milk vetches at the New York Botanical Garden, who r o n f i r m e d 1 h a t Y o d e r - W i Ilia m s s plant w a s a n e w s p e c i e s a n d a c c o r ding 1 y gave it its Latin name. As it turned out, a very small population of this same 3 p e c i e s h a d fa e e n found i n 1 9 7 7 aero s s t h e s t a t e 1 i n e in 0 w y h e e C o u n t y , Id ah o , b y S a r a h R l c hi a r d s . I n s p r i n g 1 9 S 0 , t h e U n i t e d St a t e s F i s h a n d W i 1 d 1 i f e S e r v ice e s t i m a t e d t ha1' there were about SCO plants of this species living in Nevada and 10 in Idaho. At both sites where Astragalus yoder— wi 1 1 i amsi i was growing, mining claim's for tungsten and gold ore had recently been made, and the Nevada s t a t i o n seeme d i n i m m i. n e n t d a n g e r . T h e e m e r g e n c y 1 i s t i n g s t o p p e d a n y j r o s p e c 1 1 n g f o r t Lx e t i m e a t t h e N e v a d a si t e , h u t m i n i n g operations contin u e within a mile of the endangered plant. There is even a road that runs right t h r o u g h t h e m a j o r p o p u 1 a t i o n o f t h i s spec i es . On April IS, 1 98 1 , t Li e e m e r g e n c: y 1 i s t i n g for ft s t r a - g a 1 u s y o d e r - w i 1 1 i a m s i i e x p i r e d , a n d t h e s p e ci.es is n o w g o i n g through the normal process for f eel er a 1 listing, 1' h is specie s i s a d w a r f pere n n i a 1 t h a t g r o w s i n t u f t s . A t t h e t i p of some of the stems are two to j e i g h t f 1 o w e r s t. hat d o n o t o v e r 1 a p each o t tier. The w h i t e petals h a v e f a i n t p i n k stripes. T h e longest of thee petals is about o n e -- f o u r t l"t i n c h . T h e ell :i p t i c p ods are a b o u t one t h i. r d i n c h long, but only one-tenth inch w i d e .. Th e f 1 o wer s b 1 oom d ur i n g J u 1 y a n d e a r 1 y A u gust ,. ‘ This is a reprint by permission from the book Where Have A1.1. the Wildf powers Gone? by Robert H. Mohl enbrock , Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc. New York 2983. This book is currently available to members at a reduced rate of $ 23.00 (save 207.) from the Southern Illinois Native Plant Society , Depart- ment of Botany, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois 62902. This is an outstanding 256 page guide with i 1 1 ustrat- ion s of the threatened and endangered plants of the United States. W I I D Fr I O lUJ El Ft W O Ft K S Ml O F“ E3 G M El D L J L_ EE D The Idaho State Federation of Garden Clubs is featuring a Wildf lower Work- shop at their State Convention to toe held in Idaho Falls April 17-19, 1985. An exhibit featuring the work of the Idaho Native Plant Society i& planned. 3 The workshop will include programs on plant identification, natural plant propagation, symbiosis and an evaluation of Man's responsibility to the plant world. A field trip will feature an onsite study. The Workshop is o p e n t. o the p u Id 1 i c .. F o r i n f o r m a 1 1 o n o n r e s e r v a t i o n s and g t her, c all R u t h T h a c k e r in Boise a t 385-9274 home or 384-4092 office or contact Lilian Pethtel by mail or phone., Route #2 Box 10, Kami ah, ID 83536 or 935-2313. T M EE S O FC O i J M G EE IE: S IN! O T EE S3 O O K B y P a t. P a c k ar d Willows. Sal i x spp . There are many species of willows along the streams and water courses of the Snake Country? some are fair sized trees but most are shrubby. By February when the weather begins to moderate, branches of some species turn brilliant yellow making a striking contrast with the deep red twigs of the dogwood. The buds of all willows have only a single bud scale fitting like a night cap over the bud. This is very distinctive. Willows also have a character- istic odor. The very young growth can be eaten if food is scarce, Jackman (1964) says the Oregon Paiutes used willow this way. Willow bark, like that of the related poplars, contains an aspirin-like molecule and was used by Indians for fevers. Bar k from 16 feet of willow branches one inch in diameter is required in the winter to equal two aspirin (Crowley', 1974). Other medicinal uses by" Shoshones and Paiutes included everything from sore eyes (Steward, 1938) to verier ial disease, blood purifier, dyseritary, diarrhea, toothache and dandruff (Train, 1957). It was probably equally useful in all cases. Willow is a minor part of the diet of the Owyhee mule deer in the fall but isn't eaten during the winter to any extent. It is high in both calcium and phosphate with a narrower than average ratio between them (Trout & Thiessen, 1973). Twigs were used for baskets, rims for scoop nets or frames for snowshoes and withes for binding. The inner bark was separated from the outer as soon as it was stripped from the branches, and was used for temporary tying. It doesn't last long. From the later part of January on, bouquets of pussy willows can be forced into bloom. The long straight branches have more pussies than old twiggy ones. Put in water and left in a cool location they usually bloom in a few days . By late winter the bark begins to slip and willow whistles can be made, A warm tan dye on unmordanted wool or a similar but slightly muddy color on alum mordanted wool is obtained from the twigs with bark. Chrom mordant produces a muddy camel tan. As dye, willows make good 'earth' colors beloved by back-to-nature enthusiasts but, for one viewing colors without preconceived notions, they lack clarity. Both Paiutes and Shoshone groups knew willow as sgg-vee arid suh-ee-be. Paiutes also used suh-ee-wee, cog-see-suh-ee-be while Shoshones used coo- see-see— bupe (Train, 1957). 4 'OL. VIII NO. FEBRUARY MARCH 1 985 =■ U O I I 0 1P11 "1" " X O INI S — F-" Ft O R* £* G G "'T I FI Q H G "T" X V EE P “ fi__ *=* |x| T Jy Nancy Shaw 5R0WING COLORADO PLANTS FROM SEED: A STATE OF THE ART. VOL II. GRASSES AND 5RASSLIKE PLANTS. T. E» Ful br i ght , E. F. Redente, and N„ E. Hargis, IJSDI Irish and Wildlife Service, Office of Biological Services, Western Energy and . a n d U s e T e a m » 1 9 8 2 , F W S / 0 B S - S 2 / 3 0 . 141 p. ( R equest P u b I i c a t i o n No,, 28 - 8 3 , 1.69910 from the National Technical Information Service, U. S„ Department of Commerce, 5235 Port Royal Road , Springfield, Virginia 22161. $13.00 paper : o p y .. $ 4 ,. 5 0 m i c r of i c he. ) 3R0WING COLORADO PLANTS FROM SEED: A STATE OF THE ART. VOL IV. FORBS. IJSDI "ish and Wildlife Service, Western Energy and Land Use Team. A82 FWS/OBS™ 3 2 / 3 0 . 1 4 1 p ,. (Aval. 1 a b 1 e a t no cost from USD I Fish and W i 1 d 1 i f e S e r v i c e , Office of Biological Services, Western Energy and Land Use Team, 2625 Redwing Road, Fort Collins, Colorado 80526.) These two reports summarize seed collection, processing, conditioning, storage, and germination information for native and naturalized grasses, jjr asslike plants, and f orbs of Colorado. Literature citation, lists of species tested by USD A, SCS Plant Materials Centers, and addresses of wes- : e r n P 1 a n t M a terials Ce n t e r s are a 1 s o i n c 1 u d e d . THE CHALLENGE OF PRODUCING NATIVE PLANTS FOR THE INTERMOUNTAIN AREA? -•ROCEEDINGS: INTERMOUNTAIN NURSERYMAN’S ASSOCIATION 1983 CONFERENCE; 1983 August 8-11; Las Vegas, NV. P. A. Murphy, compiler, 1984, General Tech- nical Repo r t 1 N T - 1 6 63 . 0 g d e n , l.J T : USD A , F o r e s t S e r v i. c e , I n ter m o u ntain F o r e s t and Range Experiment Station; 96 p. (Available at no cost from Inter. For. !< Rge. Exp. Sta. , USDA Forest Service, 507 25th Street, Ogden, Ut 84401). 1- u r' r e n t t e c h n i q u e s a n d p r o b 1 e m s i n t h e n u r s e r y p r o p a g a t i o n a n d o u t p 1 a n t i n g 3 f n a t i v e s h r u b an d t r e e s p e c i e s f o r r e v e g e t a t i o n , h a b l tat improv e m e n t , a n d Landscaping projects are discussed in a series of 17 papers. Aspects of i 3 e e d a n d vege t a t i v e pro p a g a t i o n a r e i n c 1 u d e d . SOURCES OF NATIVE SEEDS AND PLANTS. Soil C a n s e r v a t i o n S o c i e t y o f A m e r i c a . 1982. 33p . (Available from the Sail Conservation Society of America, 7515 T o r t h east A n k e n y Road , A n k eny, I o w a 5 0 0 2 1 „ S i n g 1 e c o p i e s $ 3 . 0 0 , 1 0 o r rn o r e ::opies $2.50 each, post paid.) . This publication contains the names and addresses of native seed and plant I producers from across the United States plus a couple of Canadian producers. DESERT PLANTS. F. S ^ Crosswhite, ed . Boyce Thompson Southwest Arboretum, University of Arizona, Superior, Arizona. (Available from the Boyce Thompson Southwester n Arboretum, F'Q Box AB , Superior, AZ 85273. $12.00 annual 1 y ) „ A quarterly journal devoted to broadening knowledge of plants indigenous or adaptable to arid and sub-arid regions, to studying the growth thereof, and to encouraging an appreciation of these as valued components of the land- scape. In line with these goals, a recent issue of Desert Plants included papers on the classification of life forms of the Sonoran Desert, with emphasis on the seed plants and their survival strategies; the Acanthaceae of the Southwestern United States; new plant records from the Sonoran Desert, and crassulacean acid metabolism. ■PtM UIF-O^TE: T H—i EE OSOOOO MTN., M I LK VETCI I By Roger Resent reter G v e i" m u c h a f i. t s r a n g e h s t a g a I u s y o d er- w i 1 1 2 a m s i i B a r n a b y h a s g o n e u n n o t i c a d for many years. Once the ecological preference of this species was per- ceived, its wider geographic range was discovered. In 1983, the author found extensive populations of A. yoder- wi II 2 amsi 2 in the Mu.df 1 at -Li tt 1 e 0 w y h e e a r e a „ f e r - n 2 1 1 2 a m s 2 2 occ u r /--) s' t /■' a g a l u y o < It occurs in limits of the Big S a g e , A r t e >» e s i a t r 2 den t a t a v a e y a n a , sagebrush, Artem:/. s 2a art use u! a, occurring y o d e r ~ w 1 1 1 2 a m s 2 2 p r e f e r hi; r e 1 a t i v e 1 y leve 1 B i g S a g e a n d 1 o w sage b r u s h . It a p p e a r r a t h e r t h a n a s p e c i f i c e d a p h i c m a t e r i a 1 » •j. t e s t o w elded t u. f f s , in a specific and narrow ecological cone. coarse loamy soils and is restricted to the lower elevational f r i g i d sen 1 t e m p e r a t u re regime. I n t h e 0 w y h e e M o u n t. a ins, M t n „ d o m i n a t e s i n f r i g i cl a r e a s w i t h low in shallow soil sites. Astragalus areas of mixed or ecotones of Mtn. ; to prefer coarse textured soils Parent material varies from gran- 15 u e t o t h e d i s c o v e r y o f 1 a rge a n d extensi v e p o p u. lations of A s t r a g a 1 us yoder -- w.z 1 1 2 ams2 2 in the Owyhee Mountains, this taxon is now recommended to be down graded to the Federal Watch List. l«J SEE I C O M EE T" O INS EE W M EE E M B EE Fi E3 Robert K« Moseley, Moscow, ID B O L.J "T O LJ I D M O NJ s T I V EE F:> 8 M T SOC I EE T V OFFICERS P r e s i d e n t L y n d a S m i thman . 3 4 4 - 265 0 V i c e P r e s FR o g e r FR o s e n treter 3 3 A- — 1 5 B 2 Secretary' Agnes Miller . . 343—6234 Treasurer Wilma Gluch . . . 343-3026 Chrmn of Board Joe Duft „ . 375 8740 Technical Committee Pat Packard, Bob Steele, Nancy Shaw, Dot t y Doug 1 as , an d Bob Par en t x „ Lay Representati ves F r e d a Y o u n g e r a n d B a r bar a N e 1 s o n . Sage Notes is published bimonthly by the Idaho Native Plant Society, in- corporated since 1977 under the laws of the State of Idaho. M e m b e r s h 1 pi i n t h e S o c i e t y is open t o all interested in our native flora. Dues are $6.00 per year on an anni- versary month/year basis. Send dues and all correspondence to I.N.P.S., Box 9451, B o i s e , I D 8 3 7 0 7 . Red dots beside dues dates indicate t h a t y o u r d u e s h a v e e x p 1 red . Yo u Newsletter Editor Joe Duft will receive only two issues after Technical Editor Bob Steele expiration. Ads, personal or commercial, of a botanical nature will be published in Sage Notes. Ads should be submitted with payment by mail to our INF’S address or directly to the Newsletter Editor, The per issue rates are: Personal aids (up to 30 works) are $1.00. Commerial advertisements: 1/8 page is $4.00, 1/4 page is $7. 00, 1/2 page is $12.00 and full page is $20.00. This issue of Sage Notes contains the 1985 INPS membership list. 6 IDAHO NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY MEMBERSHIP LIST 1 *^055 f\)E ATWOOD TA NATIONAL FOREST 3QX 1428 ;o, UT 84602 £< LILA BEVINGTUN D EDSON 3E , ID 83705 -6931 3IE BILLINGS 3 E HAYS 3E, ID 83702 -8303 BORLAND ADAMS STREET ZER, CO 80206 CE R. BOGGARD ALLISON STREET -AND, OR 97520 5) 488-1363 ZEN F BRIGGS 3 OAKLAND NO 5 SE, ID 83706 -9039 YE CAICCQ 7 LONGMONT BE, ID 83706 -3148 LIAM & MARY CLARK 5 KIRKWOOD PLAGE SE, ID 83709 —8605 |1IS DAVIDSON E JEFFERSON SE , ID 83702 -8649 TY DERIG . BOX 184 SER, ID 83672 TY DOUGLAS L DEPT, BOISE STA UN IV SE, ID 83725 -0933 & MAXINE DUFT 73 WESTVIEW DRIVE SE, ID 83704 -8740 MARION E.-BATEY RT . #1 , BURNS ST. EAGLE, IDAHO 83616 939-0210 MARY E. EDWARDS 2580 PARFET STREET LAKEWOOD, CO 80215 BILLIE ANN FARLEY 1905 WILLOW STREET CALDWELL, ID 83605 459-0524 SUSAN H. GILLILAND 510 S PHILLIPPI BOISE, ID 83705 344-9260 JAMES M. GLENNON 741 N ARTHUR POCATELLO, ID 83204 WILMA GLUCH 1010 N 7TH BOISE, ID 83702 343-3026 CONNIE GREEN 402 TAYLOR, BOX 344 RYDERWOOD, WA 98581 (206) 295-3626 WALTER HANKINS 9960 M REN SI BOISE, ID 83709 362-1429 KEN & SARAH HARRIS PO BOX 751 CHALLIS, ID 83226 879-4324 ANNE H. HOLLINGSHEAD P.O. 'BOX 3082 KETCHUM, ID 83340 JIM & LORNA IRWIN 221 12TH AVE E JEROME, ID 83338 324-7544 CHARLES G. JOHNSON JR. WALLOWA-WHITMAN NAT FOR PQ BOX 907 BAKER, OR 97814 LARRY MORSE 1800 N KENT ST ARLINGTON, VA 22209 FLORENCE MULDER P.O. BOX 2110 SUN VALLEY, ID 83353 726-8851 BARBARA NELSON 4350 HILL ROAD BOISE, ID 83703 343-6781 PATRICIA PACKARD HAROLD M. TUCKER HERBARIUM COLLEGE OF IDAHO CALDWELL, ID 83605 466-4923 ROBERT PARENT I 8364 DESERT AVENUE BOISE, ID 83709 362-1152 EVONNE PALMER P.O. BOX 1690 KETCHUM, ID 83340 726-7455 ROCKY MTN NAT HERITAGE J. SCOTT PETERSON 1370 PENNSYLVANIA ST #190 DENVER, CO 80203 MRS. TOM PETHTEL ROUTE #2, BOX 10 KAMI AH, ID 83536 935-2313 TOM & DIXIE PHILLIPS 256 PIERCE STREET TWIN FALLS, ID 83301 733-8582 MARVIN POULSEM 3631 S CAROLYN ST SALT LAKE CITY, UT 84107 MIKE & CAROL PRENTICE 3229 SAILMAKER LANE PLANO, TX 75023 ROGER ROSENTRETER BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT 3948 DEVELOPMENT WAY BOISE, ID 83705 334-1582 7 LORING JONES P.O. BOX 9107 MOSCOW, ID 83843 882-5412 FRITZ KIEFER IDAHO FLOWER 604 N. WALNUT GRDh BQTSE, ID 83712 344-2758 BOB ?< FERNE KRUMM MACKAY BAR SALMON RIVER STAR RT. MCCALL, ID 83638 VINCENT LEE PO BOX 2118 KETCHUM, ID 83340 788-2664 DICK LINGENFELTER P.O. BOX 5541 BOISE, ID 83705 344-7742 PAUL fy. LORRAINE MANN 407 E. SPRUCE CALDWELL, ID 83605 454-1064 MARY MCGOWN 1617 N 12TH ST BOISE, ID 83702 336-6811 MARK MCDONOUGH 4725 1 19TH AVENUE SE BELLEVUE, WA 98006 TIMOTHY C. MESSICK 1811 DONNER #3 DAVIS, CA 95616 AGNES MILLER 309 HOWE STREET BOISE, ID 83706 343-6234 ROBERT K. MOSELEY 1733 EAST F STREET MOSCOW, ID 83843 882-7964 ROBERT MOHLENBROCK DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UN IV. CARBONDALE, IL 6290 1 BETTY SCHAAF 9800 WESTVIEW DR BOISE, ID 83704 375-3029 WILLIAM SHALTER ROUTE 1 , BOX 294D MAR8IELLES, IL 61341 BOB SHAEKELFOED 2816 N 5TH COEUR D’ALENE, ID 83814 765-8926 CAROL SHAFFER F'.O. BOX 73 STAR, ID 83669 CAROLYN SHERMAN 1316 N 7TH BOISE, ID 83702 342-0674 NANCY SHAW FORESTRY SCIENCE LAB 3200 JEFFERSON WAY CORVALIS, OR 97331 FTS 420-4382 JAY it LYNDA SM1THMAN 819 N 1 8TH STREET BOISE, ID 83702 344-2650 ROBERT STEELE 5575 ROUNDUP BOISE, ID 83709 362-5013 JIM TORELL BOX 282 PARMA, ID 83660 722-6296 MARY TRAIL 1015 N 1 2TH BOISE, ID 83702 343-8196 JON TRAIL ROUTE #3 WEISER, ID 83672 642-3036 MARGARET L. WESTFALL 1130 SW 3RD AVE ONTARIO, OR 97914 (503) 889-5535 CHARLES A. WELLNER 439 STYNER AVE MOSCOW, ID 83843 BARBARA WHITES ITT US FISH & WILDLIFE S 500 NE MULTNOMAH, RM PORTLAND, OR 97232 CE 2 LELAND J. WILLIS PO BOX 623 ' BLACKFOOT, ID 83221 (208) 785-6300 JARED T. W^BBERLEY L. E. MAGUIRE, INC. 1 COURT ST. NEW BRITAIN, CT 06051 MARCIA WICKLOW— HOWARD 2415 S CHANNEL RD MERIDIAN, ID 83642 939-0975 GERALD E. WOOD 1900 CLEVELAND BOISE, ID 83705 336-8749 FREDA YOUNGER PO BOX 652 NAMPA, ID 83651 APR 1 1 7988 'S/CVV VvJrxK BOTANICAL GARQEH „ aAOued- Appos ition 0 IMHO NATIVE PL4NT SOCIETY NEWSLETTER VOL- VIII NO. 4 APRIL-MAY 1985 PAHOVE ACTIVITIES CALENDAR April 13: Saturday field trip to the Swan Falls area has been cancelled. Instead plan to join a work day at the new Idaho Botanical Bardens. Meet at 10:00 am above the old prison site with work clothes, lunch and handtools (shovel, rake, or tilling fork). Best entry is by way of Goodman Street off Warm Springs Ave. Call Chris Davidson at 343-8649 for more details. April 18: Boise meeting at 7:30 pm in Room 218, Science Education Bldg., Boise State University. The program will be on the influence of insects on the endangered plant Mirabil is macfarlanei Con- stance 8t Rollins by Dr. Charles Baker, BSU. This is also elec- tion night for new officers. April 27: Saturday field trip to Rebecca Sand Hill near Weiser to view Astragalus mulfordae Jones and pristine bitterbrush stands. Meet at 10:00 am at Perkins Restaurant at State St. and Glen- wood for Boise carpooling, then at 11:00 am at the Fiddlers Cafe in Weiser, ID. RSVP Dr. Roger Rosentreter at 334-1582. See article on page 2. May 4: Saturday field trip to the Dautrich Memorial Preserve near the Snake River. Meet at the Boone Science Hall parking lot. Col- lege of Idaho at 10:00 am. Field trip leader will be Dr. Pat Packard. RSVP Lynda Smithman 344-2650. May 16: No regular meeting this month. See you on a field trip. May 18: Saturday field trip to hike the 3 1/2 mile Hulls Gulch Nature Trail in the Boise foothills. Meet at the north end of 8th Street at 10:00 am, and bring a lunch. Contact trip leader Joe Duft at 375-8740. May 25-26: A weekend trip to the Salmon River canyon above Riggins to visit the Mirabil is site and the Chief Joseph Plains with palouse native vegatation. Plan to meet at Long Gulch at 12:00 pm MST on the 25th. We will camp at Skookumchuck. Call trip leader Craig Johnson, Cottonwood at 962-3245 or Roger Rosen- treter, Boise at 334-1582. RSVP. Jane 15-16: A tentative weekend trip to the Aquarius area on the North Fork of the Clearwater River. More details will follow in the next newsletter or call Roger Rosentreter. See the article on page 2. June 22: A Saturday trip to a Kapouka near Craters of the Moon National Monument. Boise area people should meet at Grant’s Truck Stop at 8:00 am for carpooling. A second meeting place will be the highway rest area at the intersection of Highways 20 and 75 at 11:00 am. RSVP trip leader Steve Caicco at 334-3402. NOTE: RSVP’s are important as there may be a need to change or cancel a trip REBECCA SAND H X by Roger Rosentreter The Rebecca Sand Hill near Weiser, Idaho is a massive alluvial deposit of sand which probably was deposited into Lake Payette during the Pliocene. It has a great deal of south facing slopes due to the Weiser River valley to the south. Presently, irrigated fields surrounded it on the east, south and west sides. These fields plus sparse vegetation occurring on lacustrine deposits to the north protect the site from wildfires. It is an isolated tract of BLM land surrounded by private land. Tree sized bitterbrush are common on the ridge and deer droppings are every- where. Some of these huge bitterbrush support large birds of prey nests. The south facing side hill slopes support 3—4 foot high needle and thread grass clumps and almost pure stands of Astragalus wulfordaa. This is by far the largest mulford mi 1 kvetch population known. These wel 1 -drai ned , sandy soils (entisols) have little cheatgrass or Medusahead on them. Many of the steep (greater than 45 percent) slopes of sand, rather than er — oding away, are covered with a crust of lichens and mosses. Common plants such as rabbitbrush (.Chrysothamnus nauseosus ssp. hololaucus (Gray) Hall & (lem.) occur in unusual shapes and large sizes. I believe many of these plants are very ancient individuals. Come see this unique area yourself when we visit it on April 27. See details on page 1. THE AQUARIUS, A SANCTUARY The Clearwater River country, having some of the lowest elevations in the State, warms up early and provides a long growing season for many unusual species. About 25 million years ago the present Cascade and Coast Ranges, rthicn intercept much of the rain coming off the Pacific, did not yet exist and the northern Rocky Mountain forests received full benefit of this oce- anic climate. The fossil record shows that many coastal species flourished in what is now called Idaho. But, as the Cascades gradually rose, Idaho’s Pacific climate diminished and with it most of the coastal flora. Today, portions of the Clearwater drainage, including the Aquarius area on the North Fork of the Clearwater, serve as sanctuaries for the last rem- nants of Idaho’s coastal flora. These low elevation areas surrounded by high mountains provide just enough critical environment for certain coastal species. Many species found in the Cascade and Coastal Ranges are common here but rare elsewhere in the state: Viola sempervi rons r Lycopodium selago , Triantal is 1 ati fol ia „ Carex handerson i i „ Rubus urs in us y the list goes on and on. Ferns are a special feature of the Aquarius. Thirteen different species can be found in this area. Careful observers may also find the rare ghost orchid iEburophyton ausiniaa ) or the rare clustered lady slipper ( C y pr i pad i urn fascicul atum) . A number of species more common to north Idaho are found in the Aquarius. White pine ( Pinus monticola ) and western red cedar ( Thuja plicata ) are common forest species. Devils club ( Opopanox horriduw) , bunchberry ( Cornus canadensis) , orange honeysuckle ( Lonicara ciliosa ), and Indian pipe iMono- tropa uni flora) can be found here. This is probably the southern most range for skunk cabbage ( Lysichituw amaricanum) in Idaho. There are also endemic species such as Cardamine constancai and L i gust icux verticil 1 atum , which add to the floristic uniqueness of the area. Recent studies in this area have discovered several new species for Idaho, and it is quite possible that observant Pahove members could find still more. 2 VOL. VIII NO. 4 AFRIL— MAY 1985 IDAH O Ixl O T O R O L_ HEIR I T rf^lGEEI PROGRAM by Steve Caicco The Idaho Natural Heritage Program is a cooperative effort between the State of Idaho and The Nature Conservancy to collect information on the fauna, flora, and natural ecosystems of Idaho. The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of biological diversity. Heritage Programs are the method by which TNC identifies lands which, if protected, would further their goal of preservation of natural biological diversity. There are programs in 40 states? in our region. Heritage Programs are established in Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, and Idaho, and are in the works for Nevada and Montana. The programs are typically under contract with a state agency. In Idaho, we are associated with the Non-game Program of the Department of Fish and Game. We approach our task of identification of areas with significant biological diversity in two ways, which we refer to as the ' coarse- f i 1 ter ' and 'fine- filter' approaches. The first of these focuses on ecosystems, both terrestrial and aquatic. Through the identification and preservation of high-quality examples of natural ecosystems, we protect the greater part of the elements of natural diversity within the state. The ' f i ne— f i 1 ter ' approach focuses on rare plant and animal taxa. By directing our preservation efforts toward protecting these elements, we can capture the biological diversity which might elude us if we focused solely on ecosystems. Our preservation priorities are determined by an estimation of the relative rarity and degree of endangerment of these elements. We keep manual files on each element that we collect information on, as well as mapping the location of the element as precisely as possible on 7.5' and 15' US6S topographic maps. We also store information on each element 'occurrence', the specific site at which the element is found. All of this data is also stored in computer files which can be searched in a number of ways (e.g., county, elevation, latitude and longitude, etc.). In addition to land protection, this information is available for a number of other uses. Included among these are environmental impact assessment, resource management, endangered species review, research, and education. ELECTION OT OFFICERS MEETING The election of new officers for the Idaho Native Plant Society will be at our April 18 meeting as scheduled on page 1. Nominations were received from the nominations committee at the March meeting in Caldwell. Those nominated were Roger Rosentreter for President, Steve Caicco for Vice President, Agnes Miller for Secretary, Wilma Gluch for Treasurer, and Jerry Wood for Lay Re- presentative. Nominations will again be open to the floor preceeding the election at the April meeting. WELCOME TO NEW AND REINSTATED MEMBERS Joanne Pavia, Bonners Ferry, ID 3 Chris Jansen, Boise, ID SOURCES OF PUBLICATIONS by Steve Briggs CURRENT PUBLICATIONS FROM THE FOREST, WILDLIFE AND RANGE EXPERIMENT STATION, UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO. Available from the Editor, Forest, Wildlife and Range Experiment Station, Unversity of Idaho 83843. Contains Station Bulletins, Station Notes, Miscellaneous Publications, Tech- nical Reports, etc. covering forestry, range, wildlife and fisheries re- search. Also has titles of publications for the College of Agriculture. PUBLICATIONS 1982-83 OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION SERVICE AND THE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. Available from the Bulletin Mailing Office, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331. This catalog contains listings for publications on many subjects, including animal pests, hort i cul ture, identification, conservat i on , gardening, and weed control . Many are free and many are available at a nominal cost. PUBLICATIONS CATALOG, UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY. Available from the Bulletin Room, UMC 48, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322. This publication contains listings of other publications on a variety of subjects e.g., agriculture, economics, forestry and trees, natural resour- ces, weeds and weed control. It also includes Extention Bulletins, Circu- lars, Leaflets, and other reports or series. PUBLICATIONS CATALOG #C0506, WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY Available from the Bulletin Department, Cooperative Extention, Cooper Publications Building, Washington State Unversity, Pullman, WA 99164-5912. Most publications from this office are $.25 each. Contains listings of publications from the Cooperative Extention office and the Agricultural Research Center. They include many topics such as animals, forestry, lawns and turf, and weather. THE SCROUNGERS NOTEBOOK By Pat Packard Blue Elderberry. Sambucus coerulea Raf. In moister places in the desert and drier places in the mountains are found the fat twigged blue elderberry. The red elderberry, Sawtbucus racemosa L. , is found along streams and has similar properties. Leaf scars are flat and opposi te. These plants are probably highly variable physiologically. There are reports in the literature of animals being poisoned feeding on elderberry and of the high forage value for game animals; of children being poisoned by making blowguns and whistles from the hollowed stems and of Indian flutes and hunters’ elk calls made from the same. Hardin and Arena (1969) found they contained a poisonous alkaloid and a cyanogenic glucoside causing nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and cyanide poisoning. Possibly these properties vary from place to place, as does the flavor of the berries. Kingsbury (1964) found toxic concentrations of nitrates but they seldom grow on high nitrate soil. The red elderberry is generally thought to have poisonous berries as well as stems and foliage. There have been many medicinal uses for all parts of the plant, most of them apparently imaginary. Also, considering the number of holes in the leaves by fall, it is difficult to take seriously the belief that a decoction of 4 VOL. VIII NO. 4 APRIL— MAY 1985 the leaves will keep caterpillars from eating plants. The berries may be picked into November. They vary in flavor— —in Owyhee County they are bad? toward Idaho City they would be at the bottom of anyone's preference list, but they are edible. Down the Snake towards Hells Canyon they are good. Poor flavored berries are popularly supposed to be improved in flavor by drying or cooking, but Harrington (1967) says in his area of Colorado, cooking intensifies off flavors. Better flavored berries make good jelly, jam, pancake syrup, pies and wine. They are high in calcium and vitamin A, thiamine and niacin and very rich in iron and potassium (Gibbons, 1966? Angier, 1974). One group of Paiutes used dried berries in the winter to control diarrhea (Train, 1957). If you find dried berries they make good raisins (if they were good berries to start with). The Paiutes called elderberries hoonogibu or hu~bu (Murphey , 1959), koo- booi a— du-nev, koon-oo-aip and who-booi e (Train, 1957) while the Shoshone said duhiem buh (Murphey, 1959), duh-he-yemba , du-yembe and hgh-tiem (Train, 1957). I T PROF I L_IEIS3 by Mary Me Gown Sisyrinchiuw angusti fol ium Mill Family: Ir idaceae Blue-eyed grass, blue star and eye-bright are all com- mon names that describe some aspect of this small- ’s" 1 owsr sc! member of the Iris F sm* 1 y . 51 us—o yec! gr ass describes its general morphology with the narrow grass- like leaves. But unlike a grass, it has umbellate, bluish to reddish flowers which may be one to few, and which are subtended by a two-leaved spathe, partially surrounding the inflorescence. 5, angusti fol i am grows in meadows and on grassy slopes, sometimes in marshes and ditches, but always where the soil is moist in the spring. In summer, the plant dies back to a rhizome that may get a thorough baking as the soils dries. Blue-eyed grass is found from southern Alaska south to Baja, California? east across Canada and to the east side of the Rocky Mountains in Montana and Wyoming and south. It is extremely variable and often regarded as several species. Illustration by Agnes Miller VOLUNTEER TOUR BU I DEE The US Forest Service is looking for volunteers to give tours at Lucky Peak Nursery east of Boise this spring, April through June. Tours would include the nursery facilities and a new nature trail adjacent the nursery. Contact the Boise National Forest at 334-1516 or the Lucky Peak Nursery at 343-1977. 5 tmormmg Arts USA ABOUT OIJR IDAHO NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY OFFICERS President Lynda Smithman - 344-2650 Vice Pres Roger Rosentreter 334—1582 Secretary Agnes Miller . . 343—6234 Treasurer Wilma Gluch . . « 343—3026 Chrmn of Board Joe Duft . . 375—8740 Technical Committee Pat Packard. Bob Steele, Nancy Shaw, Dotty Douglas, and Bob Parenti . Lay Representatives Freda Younger and Barbara Nelson. Newsletter Editor Joe Duft Technical Editor Bob Steele Sage Notes is published bimonthly by the Idaho Native Plant Society, in- corporated since 1977 under the laws of the State of Idaho. V Membership in the Society is open to ' all interested in our native flora. Dues are $6.00 per year on an anni- F versary month/year basis. Send dues and all correspondence to I.N.P.S., 1 Box 9451, Boise, ID 83707. Red dots beside dues dates indicate that your dues have expired. You will receive only two issues after expiration. Ads, personal or commercial, of a botanical nature will be published in Sage Notes. Ads should be submitted with payment by mail to our INFS address or directly to the Newsletter Editor. The per issue rates are: Personal ads (up to 30 words) are $1.00. Commercial advertisements: 1/8 page is $4.00, 1/4 page is $7.00, 1/2 page is $12.00 and full page is $20.00. J ft 5 S \ LIBRARY •APR 1 1 1983 » RC W i L_ Pi |v| T GUIDE ■ Dick Bingham, retired pr eject leader from the Moscow Forestry Sciences Lab, has just completed a comprehensive plant index for thee Seven Devils Mountains in the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area (NRA) . Dick, with help from another Forest Service retiree, Clyde J. Miller, has been working on this project, on a volunteer basis since 1977, Each year they have collected and identified native plants along a SO mile stretch of the Seven Devils area above 5,000 feet elevation. Their effort has resulted in the most comprehensive list of native plants available for the area, numbering over 722 species, subspecies or varieties. The Wal 1 owa-Wh i tman National Forest is using Dick's plant guide to develop a 70 page pamphlet describing the 210 most, common plants in the area, mainly f o r t o u r i. s t s v i s i t i n g the Hells C a n y o n N R A . An element of historical and detective work is involved in compiling and verifying such a plant list. Dick combed through seven herbariums in the area, reviewing over a hundred thousand specimens. He found over 2,700 individual herbarium specimens coming from the Seven Devils area. Dick also assembled and reviewed field notes from over 16 previous plant collectors from the area, dating back to 1899. In the process of reviewing these notes, he discovered old collections and located com espond i ng specimens in d i f f erent her bar i urns . Dick previously published, with D. M. Henderson, a "Guide to Common Plants of Hells Canyon," that describes plants found along the wild and scenic river corridor of the Snake River in Hells Canyon. PLANT PROFILES By Mary Me Gown Cal tha hi flora DC Family: Ranuncul aceae The flowers of this genus are apetalous, white or yellow and showy. The'/ are solitary or two to three per stem on long peduncles with five to 12 petal aid sepals. The genus name comes from an early Greek word for "some yellow-flowered plant." C . hi flora characteristics include leaf blades that are almost or as broad as long, reniform to cordate- based. The flowers usually occur two per stem and are white. This marshmar i gol d is found in wet alpine or subalpine places from Alaska to California and east to Idaho, Utah and Colorado. There are about 15 species of Cal tha found in colder regions of both hemispheres. The marshmar i gol d ( C . palnstris) of the eastern U.S. was used as a potherb by the Indians, though cattle reportedly have been killed by eating it. At least one relative in the West ( C . 1 e ptose pal a) is believed to be poisonous to cattle although elk consume it in large quantities. 1 1 1 us. by Agnes Mi I 1 er 5 UP EE I c: O M EE T O N EE' UJ ft N O Gloria M. Moore , Sun Valley, ID Richard T. Bingham, Moscow, ID Steve Pam Brunsfeld, Moscow, ID F< BINS T ft "l" EE D M l~ M B EE PE’ £3 Elizabeth Lovelace, E ft E-S O IM ft -p I VE PLANT S O C X El T" V" OFFICERS President Lynda Smithman Vice Pres Roger Rosentreter Secretary Agnes Miller „ . Treasurer Wilma Gluch . Chrmn of Board Joe Du-ft . . 344- -j:! 65 0 334- -i vJ U./ 2 343- -6 O ’ey 4 343- 02 6 375- ... o \ — 1 74 0 Technical Committee F'at Packard, Bob Steele, Nancy Shaw, Dotty Douglas, and Bob Parent i » Lay Representatives F r e d a Y o u n g e r and B a r b a r a N e 1 s o n . Newsletter Editor Joe Duft Technical Editor Bob Steele Sage Notes is published bimonthly by the Idaho Native Plant Society, in- corporated since 1977 under the laws of the State of Idaho. Membership in the Society is open to all Interested in our native flora. Dues are $6.00 per year on an anni- versary month/year basis. Send dues and all correspondence to I.N.P.S., Box 9451, Boise, ID 83707. Red dots beside dues dates on mail- ing labels indicate that. your dues have expired. You will receive only two more issues after expiration. ARJ i 1 s gg *n-r‘'‘Zn ^AWOAL GAftOetif ljij"" f=R August 24: A Saturday trip to the Middle Fork of the Payette River to observe aquatic plants. Meet at 8:30 am at Perkins Restaurant at State St. and Glenwood for Boise carpooling. Be prepared to wade in shallow waters. Contact trip Leader Roger Rosen - treter at 334-1582 for more details. Note: This is a change in scheduling. September 14: A Saturday trip by canoe or raft down the lower Boise Ri ver from Eagle Island to Star to search for endemics Mzmalas ringens L. and Lindernia anagal 1 idea (Michx.) Pennell. Meet at 8:00 am in the Boise State University Gym parking lot. Boats will be furnished for those without boats. RSVP either Roger Rosentreter at 334-1582 or Jay Smithman at 344-2650. September 28: Saturday work day at the new Idaho Botanical Gardens . Meet at 10:00 am above the old prison site with work clothes, lunch and handtools (shovel, rake, or tilling fork). Also bring plants that can be transplanted at this time. Best entry is by way of Goodman Street off Warm Springs Ave. Call Chris David- son at 343-8649 for more details. October 17: B'oise meeting at 7:30 pm in Room 218, Science Educ. Building, Boise State University. The program will be 'show and tell what you did this summer’. Bring color slides and plants. NOTE: RSVP’s are important as there may be a need to change or cancel a trip C- O F-' I _ M El Fi B Ft I LJM FREEACHSES LANDMAR I< The Harold M. Tucker Herbarium at the College of Idaho has recently logged in its twenty thousandth plant collection. Herbarium Director Dr. Pat Packard says each collection is given an accession (catalog) number. The landmark collection was Chrysothamnas livifolius Greene collected by Roger Rosentreter . The herbarium was started in the 1890’ s by Dr. William Judson Boone, first president of the College with the help of Aven Nelson from the University of Wyoming. Later it was named for Dr. Harold M. Tucker who was a student and then a C. of I. faculty botanist from the early 1900 11 s to 1959. Collecting for the herbarium originally focused on the Owyhee uplift and adjacent Snake River plains, and in recent years, collections has extended into central Idaho. Many of these collections are contributions from Pahove members including Roger Rosentreter, Lynda Smithman and Joe Duft. Dr. Packard became herbarium director in 1969, at which time the herbarium was stored in four wall cases. Today herbarium sheets fill 14 cases with 20,000 collections representing well over 1,000 species. Dr. Packard is currently working with computer data to develop a herbarium checklist of species and determine the exact number of species in the herbarium. The plant itself has horticultural possibilities, it is nonspecific with the commercial Oregon grape or Mahonia but a different growth form. Our form would be worth developing as a ground cover. F'aiute names were cor-ren-nup pah-vee or poo-heq-wee-dah (Train, 1957) or kaw danup (Murphey, 1957) while Shoshone groups may have used so-qo-du-yembe or t o h - y u h - 1 u - y u h - b u - h u h (Train, 1959) or so-go-t i embuh (Murphey, 1959). F“ L__ F* IM T F’ROF'ILES By Mary McOown Machaer anthera canescens (Pursh ) Family: Asteraceae Formerly named Aster canescens , this was one of the plants renamed in a revision of the genus Aster. The name Mac haeran thera is derived from the Greek machaira, meaning sword and combi ned with anther. M. canescens or the hoary aster is a biennial with a distinct, taproot.. The ray flowers are about 7 to 10 mm long and are deep blue to purple in color. The alternate leaves are toothed and slightly spiny. The flower heads are rather small, usually numerous and corymbose. Hoary aster is blooming now into late summer on dry, open places in the western plains and foot- hills. This aster is common and widespread east of the Cascades and in the Rocky Mountains, but is rare or absent throughout the Blue Mountain region of eastern Oregon. Illustration by Agnes Miller F" O F=- LP L_ *=* Ft F:> i *=» IM T K EC V S IM O UJ AVAILA 13 L_ EL Certain books from the popular five volume series Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest by Hitchcock et a.1 were out of print and not available. A recent printing by the University of Washington Press has renewed availabil- ity. This series can be purchased through the Book Shop in Boise at $40 per volume. A condensed version (same number of species) titled Ff or a of the E'§£ifi£ Nor thwest by Hitchcock and Cronquist is priced at $32.50. Either of these titles are excellent for Idaho botanists although the authors do not claim complete coverage of species south of the Snake F.iver in Idaho. F° O I S3 O IM O LJ S F:> L_ F* IM T LECTURES For the second year , Lynda Smithman has conducted poisonous native plant lectures as a community service. St. A1 phonsus Poison Control Center in Boise first contacted Lynda to do the color slide lecture program as a part of their public education series. This spring Lynda's agenda also included presentations at the BLM Shoshone District and at the Boise Interagency Fire Center for firefighters and other field personal. In her presentations, Lynda covers about 50 species of greatest concern in Idaho. Lynda says much of her material was developed by Dr. Pat Packard for a medical botany class at the College of Idaho. Lynda already has requests to do her program next year. * 4