Oct 2004 Castilleja Newsletter, Wyoming Native Plant Society

8/9/2019 Oct 2004 Castilleja Newsletter, Wyoming Native Plant Society

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CastillejaA Publication of the Wyoming Native Plant Society

October 2004, Volume 23, No. 3www.uwyo.edu/wyndd/wnps/wnps_home.htm

In this issue:Relicts and Refugia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Floristic Diversity of Wyoming Counties . . . . . . 3Botanical Novitiates Find Botanical Novelty . . . . 4Critical Habitat for the Colorado Butterfly Plant . 5

Requiem for a Lawnmower review. . . . . . . . . 6Rocky Mountain Natural History review . . . . . .7Whitebark Pine - excerpt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Cynoglossum boreale addition to the state flora 9Raising Livestock and Lowering Carbon Dioxide . 10Scholarship Announcement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Natives vs. Imposters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Relicts and Refugia

By Bonnie Heidel

For all of the breath-taking alpinetopography of the Medicine Bow Range, someof its heart-thumping botany lies low acrossrolling expanses. Three years and three stagesof peatland research have documented vastmontane fen systems in the Medicine BowRange, refugia for eleven rare Wyomingvascular plant species of concern including fiverelict species previously unknown fromsouthern Wyoming.

Peatland rare species are disjunct orperipheral as they are present in Wyoming,denizens of high latitudes, not state andregional endemics that are the focus of mostWyoming Natural Diversity Database botanyresearch. However, review of the Wyomingplant species of concern list in 2002 comparedagainst regional peatland floras indicated that

Above: Eriophorum gracile (slender cotton-grass)iscircumboreal, with outlying distribution in northwesternWyoming, the Medicine Bow Range and South Park in

Colorado By B. Heidel

peatlands harbor close to 10% of the rare

Wyoming plant species of concern.Botanists took a plunge into peatlands

with pilot site surveys on the Medicine Bow andthe Shoshone national forests to compile aworking list of peatland rare species, flora, andvegetation at a small number of known orinferred peatland study sites (Heidel andLaursen 2003 a, b; Mellmann-Brown 2004).Results pointed to (continued on p. 9)


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WNPS NEWS

20 05 Scholarship announcement! See p. 11Fieldtrip photographs: See p. 7

2005 Wyoming P lant ConferenceInitial plans are brewing for a 2005 Wyoming PlantConference next spring, jointly hosted by Wyoming

Native Plant Society (WNPS) and WyomingTechnical Rare Plant Committee, as well asprospective institution and agency partners. WNPSmembers who might be interested in helpingorganize such an event are invited to send theirnames, contact information, and interest, whetherin helping develop the programs, localarrangements, special events, partnerships orpublicity; via the WNPS homepage or 766-3020.

By-Laws Brainstorm

-Look for a vote by WNPS members on By-Lawsamendments in the upcoming December issue ofCastilleja. Amendments are under consideration tocreate a life membership category and put theWNPS membership year, Board term of office, andfiscal year in line with one another. WNPSmembers who might be interested in helping draftor review By-Laws amendments are invited to sendtheir names and contact information via the WNPShomepage or 766-3020.

Nominations sought: Members interested in running

for the 2005 WNPS Board are encouraged tocontact Jean Daly, President, or Bonnie Heidel,Editor (see contact information, below). Officerterms run for one year. Board members-at-largeserve for two years. The ballot comes inDecember.

Wyoming Native Plant SocietyP.O. Box 2500, Laramie, WY 82073

WNPS BoardPresident: Jean Daly (Big Horn) 674-9728

Vice President: Melanie Arnett (Laramie) 742-0988

Sec.-Treasurer: Drew Arnold (Laramie) 742-7079Board Members: Kent Houston (Cody) 527-6572

Katherine Zacharkevics (Spearfish, SD) 605-642-2240

********Newsletter Editor: Bonnie Heidel (Laramie;email: [email protected])Teton Chapter: PO Box 82, Wilson, WY 83014

(Joan Lucas, Treasurer)Bighorn Native Plant Society: PO Box 21, Big Horn, WY

82833 (Jean Daly, Treasurer)Webmaster-Tessa Dutcher ([email protected])

Native Plant Partners: The Board of the WyomingNative Plant Society moved to join the ranks ofnative plant societies across the country in theNative Plant Conservation Campaign. This nationalnetwork of affiliated native plant societies, botanicalgardens, and other plant conservationorganizations is dedicated to informationexchange and advocating for native plant species

and community conservation through:

? increased funding and support for plant scienceresearch and education,

? use of local native plants in restoration,

? prevention and control of infestation by invasiveexotic plants

? improved staffing and funding for Federal botanyprograms, and

?

stronger Federal laws for conservation of nativeplants and ecosystems

Additional information is posted at: http://cnps.org/NPCC

Contributers to this issue include: Tyler Abbott,Jane Dorn, Walter Fertig, Bonnie Heidel, and HollisMarriott.

Treasurers Report: Balance as of 7 September2004: General Fund $890.28; Student ScholarshipFund: $149.00; Total funds $1,039.28

New Members: Please welcome the following newmembers and subscribers to WNPS: BenChesebro, Laramie; McCracken Research Library -Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody; Karen Ferguson,Buffalo; Alison & Dick Jones, Wilson; YelenaKosovich, Irkutsk, Russia; Phil & Martha Roberts,Red Lodge, Montana; Rik Smith, Laramie.

*********Meeting announcement: Intermountain NativePlant Summit III, regarding native plantpropagation and restoration research. Nov. 3-5 atBoise State University, Boise, ID. Includespresentations, a germplasm workshop, forums,and poster displays. There is no registration feebut pre-registration is encouraged. For a copy ofthe program, to pre-register and get hotelinformation, contact: [email protected] .

**The next newsletter deadline is 19 November.**


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Floristic Diversity of Wyoming Counties

By Walter FertigAlthough defined using political (and often

geometric) principles rather than biological criteria,counties can provide a convenient framework forquantifying distribution patterns of Wyomingsvascular plant flora. Of Wyomings 23 counties,Fremont has the highest species richness with1558 taxa, or about 55% of all vascular planttaxa found in the state. Fremont Countys highdiversity can be attributed to a wide mix of

habitats, ranging from high peaks of the WindRiver and Absaroka ranges to desert basins andrich wetlands along the Wind and Sweetwaterrivers. Park County is a close second toFremont, with 1540 taxa (54.8% of the stateflora), though it should be noted that thesefigures do not include the portion of the countycontained within Yellowstone National Park. Ifconsidered as a county-equivalent, Yellowstonewould rank 6th in the state with 1368 taxa, just

ahead of the other county it encompasses,Teton County. Overall, species richness isgreatest in those counties with high mountainranges and lowest in the counties of the GreatPlains.

If total area of the county isconsidered, however, Albany County emerges asthe states winner for vascular plant richness. At11,160 km2, Albany is half the size of Fremont

County and 2/3 the size of Park County, butbased on the number of species per log (area),

Albany comes out highest, followed by Park, andthen Fremont (Yellowstone NP emerges in fourthplace under these criteria). Alas, poor Goshen,Campbell, and Niobrara counties still have thesmallest floras no matter how you slice it.(Editors note: See articles on pp. 1, 4, and 9 aboutspecies additions that bolster the Albany County lead,

and boost the Crook County tally... and the state flora.)

Above: Number of vascular plant species and varieties per county in Wyoming. Numbers derivedprimarily from Dorn 2001 (Vascular Plants of Wyoming, 3 rd edition) and additional county records forTeton County (Stuart Markow), Lincoln County (Clay Kyte & Walter Fertig) and Yellowstone NP(Jennifer Whipple) and statewide from Bonnie Heidel and others.


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Above:Dave Thornedemonstratesgood fieldtechniques

From: Hitchcock, C.L. and A. Cronquist. 1961. Pt. 3. Saxifragaceaeto Ericaceae. In: C.L. Hitchcock, A. Cronquist, M. Ownbey, andJ.W. Thomas. Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. Universityof Washington Publication in Biology.

Botanical Novitiates Find Botanical Novelty

By Hollis Marriott

Another wet summer in southeastWyoming produced wonderful opportunities forfield botanists this year. Visiting friends marveledat the wildflower shows in montane meadows andalpine fellfields of the Medicine Bow Mountains. Ihad enjoyable excursions scouting out field trippossibilities for the University of Wyomingsummer field botany course. And students

admitted that all that time spent learning plantfamilies and how to use dichotomous keys wasworth it -- when they discovered a new record forthe Medicine Bow Mountains at the base of thehigh peaks of the Snowy Range.

Saxifraga occidentalis , the westernsaxifrage, was previously known from Wyomingbut had not been reported for the Medicine BowMountains. The closest known locations are inthe Laramie Range about 60 miles to the east,

found during floristic inventory by Barb Packer inthe late 1990s. It also grows in the Black Hills(WY and SD), the Sweetwater Rocks area, onCasper Mountain and in the mountain ranges ofnorthwest Wyoming. The full range of thespecies extends from Alaska and western Canadasouth through the Pacific Northwest and RockyMountains into New Mexico.

True to its name, Saxifraga occidentalis isa lover of rocky sites. Saxifraga is derived fromthe Latin saxum, a rock, and frango, to break;members of this genus are also known asbreakstones or rockfoils. The name may alsorefer to the use of saxifrages by herbalists intreating stones of the urinary tract. Thesecond part of the scientific name, occidentalis,means western. For some mysterious reason,this species is listed as Alberta saxifrage in theUSDA Plants Database, considered by some to

be the final word on common names. Westernsaxifrage is obviously more appropriate, based ontranslation of the scientific name as well asdistribution of the species.

Like many saxifrages, Saxifragaoccidentalis has a scapose growth form, with acluster of basal leaves and a leafless floweringstem, usually less than 25 cm tall. Flowers arewhite, small (petals less than 3.5 mm long), andvariously arranged -- from open branchedinflorescences to compact clusters. Inflorescencetype has been used to distinguish varieties within

the species, but with only limited success due tosignificant regional variability. Material from theMedicine Bow Mountains fits var. occidentalis , withrather small and compact clusters of flowers.

Botany 4640 students Ben Pieper andDave Thorne collected the western saxifrage notfar from US Highway 130 near Snowy RangePass. It was growing on an interesting moistmicrosite on a west-facing slope just below theridgecrest, causing us to scratch our heads as tothe source of the water ... seepage through

buried talus? There were several tiny pondletsnearby. This area has been botanized since

Aven Nelsons first years in Wyoming, so why anew find? Is this saxifrage a recent arrival or wasit overlooked in the past? My guess is that areaslike the Snowy Range are so complex in terms ofmicrosite diversity that it takes a lot of searchingto hit all distinct plant habitats. This probably willnot be the last botanical discovery for the Range.


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Critical Habitat and ConservationAgreements Under Consideration for

the Colorado Butterf ly Plant

By Tyler Abbott,U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service- Wyoming Field Office

Right:Gaura neomexicana ssp.coloradensisBy Walter Fertig

The Colorado butterfly plant (Gauraneomexicana ssp. coloradensis ) is a short livedperennial herb adapted to early to mid-successionriparian habitat. This species is a regionalendemic restricted to approximately 1,700 acresof habitat in Laramie County in Wyoming, westernKimball County in Nebraska, and Weld County inColorado. The Colorado butterfly plant iscurrently listed as federally threatened through itsentire range. Of the known populations, the vastmajority occur on private lands managed primarilyfor agriculture. Haying and mowing at certaintimes of the year, water development, land

conversion for cultivation, competition with exoticplants, non-selective use of herbicides, and lossof habitat to urban development are the mainthreats to these populations.

On August 6, 2004, the U.S. Fish andWildlife Service (Service) published in the FederalRegister a proposal to designate critical habitat forthe Colorado butterfly plant on approximately8,486 acres along 113 stream miles. TheEndangered Species Act requires that the Servicedesignate critical habitat for species when they

are listed, or soon thereafter. Critical habitatrefers to specific geographic areas that areessential for the conservation of the species andthat may require special managementconsiderations. Designating an area as criticalhabitat does not affect land ownership or set up apreserve or refuge. Critical habitat only affectsactions or activities where there is Federalinvolvement (Federal actions, funding, permits, orauthorizations).

Designating critical habitat is onemechanism for providing habitat protection for theColorado butterfly plant. However, workingcooperatively with private landowners to protecthabitat for the plant through conservationagreements is the Services preferred approachto protecting this species on private lands. TheService has been working with the Wyoming

Stockgrowers Association, the WyomingAssociation of Conservation Districts, theWyoming Department of Agriculture, the NaturalResources Conservation Service in Wyoming andNebraska, the City of Fort Collins in Colorado, andthe City of Cheyenne in Wyoming, to developconservation agreements with willing landownersto provide for its conservation.

These agreements will include specificon-the-ground actions to alleviate threats to thespecies, and allow the Service access to private

land for annual monitoring of populations. Theseagreements enable the Service to take anadaptive management approach to evaluatesuccess of management actions undertaken, andthey facilitate the collection of data needed forfuture recovery of the species. If adequateprotection is provided to the Colorado butterflyplant through a conservation agreement with alandowner, the Service will exclude that parcel ofland from critical habitat. Currently, one suchagreement is in place, and several more are inthe process of being completed.

The first step in evaluating theconservation needs of the Colorado butterfly plantis to monitor current status of the speciesthroughout its known range of occurrence.Thanks to willing landowners the Service, with thehelp of Dr. Don Hazlett, was able to survey 80percent of the Colorado butterfly plants knownrange of occurrence during the summer of 2004.Information collected during these surveys, inaddition to previous survey data provided byWyoming Natural Diversity Database and the

Colorado Natural Heritage Program, provides thebaseline data used for development ofconservation agreements. The Service looksforward to continuing to work with landowners tocomplete a number of conservation agreementsprior to the finalization of critical habitat by theend of this year. With the help of Wyominglandowners, the Colorado butterfly plant couldbecome the first federally listed plant species inthe state to be de-listed.


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Botanists Bookshelf

Requiem for a Lawnm ow er - Gardening in a

Warmer, Drier World, 2nd Edition ,by Sally Wasowski & Andy Wasowski, 2004.Taylor Trade Publishing. Paper, 211 pages.

Reviewed by Jane Dorn

It is not easy to promote the use ofnative plants for landscapes without soundingdogmatic, but the Wasowskis have written a bookthat does just that. Each chapter of this easy-to-read book combines humor, anecdotes andsound advice to gardeners to advance theconcepts and practices of landscaping with nativeplants. The Wasowskis have deliberately writtenthis book with a minimum of technical terms,scientific names and professional jargon whichtend to scare readers away from some books on

this topic. While the Wasowskis have lived in andfrequently written about Texas gardening, thisbook presents sound landscaping principals thatcan be applied to any part of the country,including Wyoming and the Rocky Mountains.

For anyone who has ever had to speakbefore an audience about landscaping with nativeplants, this book should be required reading. Themajor anti-native plants arguments andmisconceptions are addressed, so that, afterreading Wasowskis book, you too can easily

refute these cherished notions without starting ariot. For example, if you find a gardener whoreally loves non-native plants like roses orpetunias, the Wasowskis point out that localnatives will mix well into the more traditionallandscape, and that using natives doesntnecessarily mean 100 percent native. Or, whenyou hear someone equate xeriscaping withexpanses of gravel and cactus, you would beable to point out it really means balancing plantselection with available natural moisture and thatnative plants have already figured out that trickwithout human help. Even the weed laws issueis addressed with good advice on how toapproach the touchy issue of neighbors who viewyour naturalistic plantings as a weed patch.

The title chapter Requiem for aLawnmower, is obviously a plea to stop schedulingsummer weekends around municipal wateringrestrictions, mowing, weeding, and fertilizing thenon-native, monoculture called a

lawn and create a landscape that might includenative grasses and is adapted to local conditions.

As Sally points out, because we werent spendinginordinate amounts of time doing [lawn]maintenance, we were free to simply enjoy ourgarden.

It is easy to talk about use of nativeplants for landscaping, but as this reviewer canpersonally testify, much harder to put intopractice if one depends on the offerings of thetraditional nurseries. The Wasowskis point out intheir chapter Our Unsung Horticultural Heroes,there may be tougher ways to make a living thangrowing native plants for nursery stock, but notmany. This is one area where native plant

supporters can make a difference. Encouragelocal nurseries to stock natives, then buy thosenatives. Ask for other natives. Encourage yourgardening friends to purchase and use nativeplants from local nurseries. Encourage nurseryowners to participate in native plant activities. Begenerous with your knowledge of native plantculture.

The book is set up in seven sections witha total of 48 chapters. Each chapter is a short,stand-alone essay which creates easy pick-and-

choose reading. It would be a good addition toany public library. If you are already a convert tothe landscaping -with-natives philosophy, youmight want to add this non-technical book to yourown library as an excellent first book to loan todoubters and possible converts, and a goodrefresher when you need to communicate withnative-plants-wont-work gardeners.


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Botanists Bookshelf

Rocky Mount ain Natur al History Grand

Tet on t o Jasper, by Daniel Mathews, 2003.Raven Editions, Portland, OR, 2003. 656 pp.

Reviewed by Walter Fertig

The only thing I enjoy as much as a rousingday exploring nature in the out-of-doors is readingabout the natural history and lore of the plants,animals, and environment that I enjoy in person.Much to my wifes lament (though she knew fullwell of my affliction and married me anyway), Imust have just about every popular field guide totrees, wildflowers, birds, reptiles, fish, rocks, andbugs in print, as well as most of the current andclassical technical manuals. While all these bookshave their practical uses and charms, it is hard tolug more than one or two on a long field outing,

and, frankly, most are not very scintillatingreading for cold wintry days when Im spendingmore time inside than out.

So Im always very pleased to find a book likeDan MathewsRocky Mountain Natural History Grand Teton to Jasper. This pocket-sized bookcovers the entire gamut of Rocky Mountaincritters and landscapes, from rocks, minerals, andclimate to insects, birds, mammals, fish, herptiles,fungi, ferns, mosses, and flowering plants. Ofcourse no one book can cover every single

species in these diverse groups (and still beportable), so instead the author focuses on themost common and typical forms. Mathewswriting goes well beyond the terse descriptions ofstandard guides (though these are included too)to discuss the biology, ecology, and history of hissubjects in pleasurable and fact-filled prose. ThusRocky Mountain Natural History is a field guide

writing that just happens to also have handsomemeant to be read and enjoyed as good natureline drawings, color photos, and descriptive texton hundreds of biological topics and species.

My favorite sections of the book are thefrequent sidebars on a variety of topics, rangingfrom contemporary ecological theory to musingson weeds and whirling disease, biographies of

leading naturalists of the 18th

and 19th

centuries,Indian folklore, and animal behavior. Additionalsupplemental information is provided in theappendices, including the most informed critiqueof the state of taxonomy that Ive read by anon-taxonomist.

Rocky Mountain Natural History specificallycovers only the northwest corner of Wyoming from the Absarokas and Wind Rivers to GrandTeton and Yellowstone national parks. Most ofthe book addresses the northern Rockies of

Canada, western Montana, northern Idaho,northeastern Washington, and the Wallowas ofeastern Oregon. Many species are included thatwont be found in Wyoming, but it is never bad toexpand ones horizons and learn about newareas. The quality of the photos is first rate,though unfortunately most are quite small tosave space. The line drawings are also mostlyexcellent, especially the timeless art of the lateJeanne Janish (from theVascular Plants of thePacific Northwest series) and some illustrationsattributed to Willis Jepson Manual Jepson (who I

had no idea was such an accomplished artist).Reading Mathews book is a lot like having an

entertaining naturalist along for a hike. Other fieldguides and manuals will still have a place in myknapsack, but none of these can rival RockyMountain Natural History for sheer variety ofnatural history factoids and wit.(Editors note: See the next page for an excerpt!)

A

Above: In June, Wyoming Native Plant Society and Above: The hike offered a rousing day exploring and swapping

Buffalo Bill Museum conducted a Heart Mountain hike. botanical lore. Photos b Nathan Bender Buffalo Bill Museum


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Whitebark Pine

By Daniel Mathews

With their broad crowns and tufted, paler foliage, whitebark pines are easy to tell from the other high-country

conifers.Theyre easy to tell even in death. If you find yourself in a subalpine forest with large, bleached, forked and crooked

dead tree trunks towering over young spruces and firs, this was once a fine whitebark pine grove. Were in the midst of acatastrophic decline of whitebark and limber pines throughout most of our region. It seems to be caused by both

introduced blister rust and the ramifications of fire suppression; fire tends to control the pines worst enemies andcompetitors. The worst native enemies are dwarf-mistletoe and bark beetles. Fire suppression allows overly densestands of lodgepole pine to stagnate; these attract epidemics of bark beetles, which head upslope looking for other pines

after they overpopulate their lodgepole resource. They prefer bigger whitebarks, with bark thick enough to protect andnourish their larvae. Most ghost forests of whitebark pine were killed by blister rust, but in the area from the Sawtooths

to the Bitterroots (which may be too dry for blister rust) bark beetles are the culprits.While studying whitebark mortality in the Salmon River area, Dana Perkins found some magnificent survivors. The

oldest is 1270 years old placing whitebark pine eleventh on the longest-lived tree species list and the biggest is 8feet in diameter [2.6 m]. Fires initiated fine stands of whitebarks in Montanas Mission and Whitefish Ranges, but blisterrust killed most of those.

Growth form varies with elevation. In the alpine zone, whitebark pine grows as krummholz (dense prostrate shrubs).Its a major component of krummholz patches especially in the Wind River, Wyoming, and Salt River Ranges. At its

lowest elevations it may grow straight and single-stemmed, resembling lodgepole pine. Whitebark pines are shade-intolerant and fairly fire-resistant, especially on high sites where they are widely spaced and the undergrowth is low. Fire

suppression has tipped the scales in favor of the competition spruce and fir and the pines enemies have piled on,greatly accelerating the decline. Once pines are gone from a stand even blister rust-tolerant ones wont be able to retakemuch lost ground until a fire takes out the forest. Pines have failed to return to much of the great 1910 burn in northern

Idaho, possibly because blister rust was already making pine nuts scarce in that area.Normally, whitebark pines reseed into large burns much faster than other trees, because whitebark pine nuts travel on

adopted wings. Their own undersized wings remain stuck to the cone scales while the cones remain stuck to the branch.Fat, heavy and wingless, the seeds wouldnt go far in the wind even if the cone did open, but they fly as far as fourteen

miles in the beaks of Clarks nutcrackers. Whitebark pine seedlings grow from caches buried and then forgotten by thesebirds, who prefer to cache seeds in bare or burned areas, enabling whitebarks to broadly recolonize large burns wherewind-disseminated trees can only crawl back, generation by generation, from the green periphery.

Nutcrackers cache up to 15 pine nuts together. Several may germinate and grow as a clump. Diana Tomback

investigated whether the multi-stemmed form typical of whitebarks is genetic or a result of clumped seedlings fusing asthey grow up. The answer: both, in roughly equal numbers. You cant tell fusers from clones visually.

In another study, she found that patches of whitebark krummholz destroyed by a fire were replanted by nutcrackers

within a few years. Krummholz whitebarks dont produce cones (theyre too stressed) so there would be no other way fothe species to get established on sites where it cant grow erect.

Many characteristics of whitebarks and their Eurasian relatives apparently co-evolved with nutcrackers and theirrelatives, having no obvious adaptive value other than to accommodate these birds. Cones are borne on vertical branchenear the top of the tree, making them easy for birds to see and work on. Nutcrackers came to North America from Asia

only two million years ago, likely bringing whitebark pines ancestors with them.They may even help save the species from blister rust. The fungus kills trees from the top down, eliminating cone and

seed production early. In heavily infected stands, nutcrackers are thus forced to find the small percentage of whitebarkswith rust-resistant genes. Unfortunately, these desperately hungry nutcrackers will most likely eat a much higher

proportion of seeds they collect than normally, but those that they do plant will be selected for resistant genes. We haveto hope there are still enough nutcrackers around to take care of the replanting when fires, sooner or later, provide theseedbeds.

Though long overlooked by forest researchers because of their low commercial value, whitebarks are extraordinarilyvaluable to wildlife. Grouse find their dense crowns cozy in winter. Red squirrels and both black and grizzly bears eat

tons of pine nuts. Bears get them by robbing squirrel middens. Blister rust became widespread in the Yellowstoneecosystem only in the 1990s but its already seen as a serious threat to grizzly recovery there.

Excerpted with permission from Rocky Mountain Natural History Grand Teton to Jasper. Raven Editions, Portland OR, 2003.


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Addition to the Flora of Wyoming:

Cynoglossum boreale

Cynoglossum boreale (northern wildcomfrey) CROOK COUNTY: Cynoglossumboreale is now known from the Black Hills ofWyoming (Tatina et al. 2004). It was discoveredin northern and east-central parts of the Bear

Lodge Mountains during 2002 plant surveys anddocumented from 37 locales.

Cynoglossum boreale is a perennial thatgrows up to 0.5 m tall in open coniferous anddeciduous forests of the Black Hills between 1200and 1500 m. It is native to boreal forests ofCanada and hardwood forests of thenortheastern United States. All of the Wyominglocales where it was documented showed signs ofdisturbance associated with logging or grazing,and the authors present this addition to theWyoming flora as reinforcing an earlier hypothesis(Larson and Johnson 1995) that C. boreale migrated or was introduced recently to the BlackHills and is becoming more widely established.

What is a native species? A USDAdefinition is widely-used: A plant that lives or

_______________________________________

Relicts and Refugia continued from p. 1

a need for baseline systematic inventory. Thesecond stage of peatland inventory spanned fourlarge landscapes on the Medicine Bow NationalForest that represent about 10% of the nationalforest. Digitized soils mapping, National WetlandInventory mapping, and color aerial photographswere used to survey all large areas of the twosoils units containing organic soils. One hundredfifty-six fen sites were ground-truthed anddigitized. They are located primarily indrainageway settings, and to a lesser extent, in

glacial kettles (Heidel and Thurston 2004).Finally, intensive documentation of fen

vegetation and flora were conducted at a set ofsites representing the array of fens this lastsummer (Heidel and Jones in preparation). Theflora includes five new additions to the southernWyoming flora (Table 1), and they are rare andlocalized compared to the extensive fen habitat.

grows naturally in a particular region without director indirect human intervention. The possibilitythat Cynoglossum boreale has spread or wasoriginally introduced in Wyoming by humanintervention is inferred by its habitat affinities andthe timing of discovery after extensive floristic

work had already been conducted (Marriott1985).

The characteristics ofCynoglossumboreale that distinguish it from C. officinale includeits blue corolla, obovoid nutlets, and absence ofleaves on the flowering stem.

Literature citedLarson, G.E. and J.R. Johnson. 1995. New vascular plant

records for the Black Hills of South Dakota and

Wyoming. Prairie Naturalist 27:115-121.Marriott, H. 1985. Flora of the northwestern Black Hills,

Crook and Weston counties, Wyoming. M.S.Thesis. University of Wyoming, Laramie.

Tatina, R., V. Coenen, N. Tashe, K. Barton, C. Dockrill,A. Joynt, and B. Leoppky. 2004. First record of

northern wild comfrey from Wyoming. PrairieNaturalist 36: 125-126.

_______________________________________Table 1. New additions to the southern Wyoming floraon peatlands of the Medicine Bow Range

SCIENTIFICNAME

COMMONNAME

NEAREST WYLOCALES

NEAREST COLOCALES(from Weber

and Wittman2001)

Carex leptalea Bristly-stalksedge

Absaroka, Beartoothand Teton ranges

ColoradoSprings,Tarryall

Range

Eriophorumgracile

Slendercotton-

grass

Beartooth Range,Jackson Hole

South Park

Muhlenbergiaglomerata

Marshmuhly

Absaroka Range,Black Hills, JacksonHole, Upper GreenRiver

Absent

Sparganiumnatans Smallbur-reedAbsaroka,Beartooth,YellowstonePlateau, JacksonHole, Wind Riverranges

At scatteresubalpine

locales

Trichophorum

pumilum(Scirpus

pumilus)

Pygmy

bulrush

Absaroka and GrosVentre ranges andJackson Hole

South Park


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Relicts and Refugia continued from p. 9The Medicine Bow peatland flora also

includes two species once known from a fewMedicine Bow Range locales, including Carexpaupercula (Carex magellanica; Bog sedge) andEpilobium oregonense (Oregon willow-herb) thathave been documented to be widespread in theRange. The bryophyte flora was also

investigated.Fens on the Medicine Bow Range

represent more than odd vestiges of northernplant distributions; they are a major slice ofMedicine Bow Range wetland vascular plantspecies and habitat diversity. Furthermore, theycomprise a high proportion of net wetlandacreage and significant total landscape area,spanning over 1% of the entire landscape of thetwo largest study areas. The largest fen site was89.4 acres, and the longest fen site was 1.5 miles

in length.The fens may also be important inregional water cycles. A hydrological study at the

Elk Creek study bog suggested it functioned likea sponge at the head of a drainageway, providingslow, stable water release. Its subsurface peatwas 80-85% water by volume, with hydraulicconductivity averaging a sluggish 0.0239 cm perday (Sturges 1967). Yet this same fen readilyreturned water to the atmosphere, like anevapotranspiration pump (Sturges 1968).

Medicine Bow refugia and relicts lie in

secret no longer, but they still hold puzzles totheir past, present and future.

Acknowledgements This work was conducted throughchallenge cost-share project agreements betweenMedicine Bow National Forest and Wyoming Natural

Diversity Database.Literature cited

Heidel, B and S. Laursen. 2003a. Botanical and ecologicalinventory of peatland sites on the Medicine BowNational Forest. Prepared for Medicine BowNational Forest. Wyoming Natural DiversityDatabase, Laramie.

Heidel, B and S. Laursen. 2003b. Botanical and ecologicalinventory of peatland sites on the ShoshoneNational Forest. Prepared for Shoshone NationalForest. Wyoming Natural Diversity Database,Laramie.

Heidel, B. and R. Thurston. 2004. Extensive inventory ofpeatland sites on the Medicine Bow NationalForest. Prepared for the Medicine Bow NationalForest. Wyoming Natural Diversity Database,Laramie.

Heidel, B. and G. Jones. In preparation. Botanical andecological characteristics of peatlands on MedicineBow National Forest.

Mellmann-Brown, S. 2004. Botanical and ecologicalinventory of selected peatland sites on theShoshone National Forest. Prepared for ShoshoneNational Forest. Wyoming Natural DiversityDatabase, Laramie.

Sturges, D. L. 1967. Water quality as affected by aWyoming mountain bog. Water Resources

Research 3(4): 1085-1089.Sturges, D. L. 1968. Hydrologic properties of peat from a

Wyoming mountain bog. Soil Science 106:262-264

Raising Livestockand Lowering Carbon Dioxide

A prospective new economic enterprise isproposed for private grazing lands in Wyoming sequestering carbon credits in rangeland soils(Campbell et al. 2004). The premise is thatcarbon credits can be created by adopting rangemanagement practices that store carboncompounds faster than current practices, andthat new storage capacity can be evaluatedeconomically and sold.

The carbon storage potential and costs ofseeding alfalfa, thinning sagebrush, mineral blockplacement, and dispersing range utilization thruwater developments were compared individuallyand collectively. Planting alfalfa showed the largestincrease in carbon storage, but mineral blockplacement was the most cost-effective approachto creating carbon credits. Private grazing lands in

the U.S. are said to hold the capacity to storeadditional carbon equivalent to about 5% of thetotal U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide, so theresearchers concluded that carbon credits holdpromise in raising livestock and lowering carbondioxide in Wyoming.

Literature citedCampbell, S., S. Mooney, J.P. Hewlett, D.J. Menkhaus, andG.F. Vance. 2004. Can ranchers slow climate change?Rangelands 26: 16-22.

REFUGIAare natural habitats that have remainedstable over time, and are more restricted in thepresent than they were in the geological past.RELICTS are species or vegetation stands thathad more widespread distribution in the geologicalpast than in the present, persisting in a givenarea. FEN is a type of peatland, i.e., wetland

where organic matter accumulates undersaturated conditions, and that receives significantinputs of water and dissolved solids from amineral source rather than solely from theatmosphere.


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Wyoming Native Plant Society2005 Botany Research Scholarship

Applications are due by 28 January 2005.

Scholarships will be awarded in March, 2005.

Electronic copies of the scholarship application are alsoposted on the WNPS homepage at:www.uwyo.edu/wyndd/wnps/wnps_home.htm

The Wyoming Native Plant Society was established in 1981 for the purpose of encouraging appreciation andknowledge of the native flora of Wyoming. Towards this end, the Society has promoted research on native plants andhabitats in Wyoming through its annual scholarship program. One to three scholarships in the amounts of $300-500 areawarded each year to undergraduate or graduate students conducting research in Wyoming. Projects may address anyaspect of vascular and nonvascular botany, including taxonomy, ecology, genetics, plant geography, range science,

population biology, physiology, palaeontology, and mycology.

2005 Student Scholarship Application

Name __________________________________________________________________

Address_________________________________________________________________

School _________________________________________________________________

Department Advisor _______________________________________________________

Project Title _____________________________________________________________

Research Goals and Objectives______________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

Summary of Project: On 1-2 separate pages, please include introductory information, methods, andbudget information that state the intended purpose of the funding in overall project plans.

Please send completed applications to:

Wyoming Native Plant SocietyPO Box 2500Laramie, WY 82073

Deadline for applications: 28 January 2005.


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Gardeners Guide: Natives vs. ImpostersFall is a great time to plant trees, shrubs and

many perennials. But have you ever visited the gardencenter and wondered which plants were native and goodfor wildlife, and which ones were problematic invasive

exotics?

The talented staff at eNature and NationalWildlife Federation have created a new field guide to

native and invasive plants. Unlike other native/invasiveguides, this guide focuses on plants that are commonlyfound at garden centers or in plant catalogs so it's

relevant to the home gardener.

The plant guides are searchable by state andthe native list can then be sub-divided according to plant

type (for example, evergreen shrubs, wildflowers, vinesor aquatic plants). Each plant has a color photo and afull field guide description as well.

This guide is going to be an invaluable resource

to anyone wanting to garden in an environmentally-friendly way and is a much needed resource to backyard

wildlife habitat enthusiasts. Check it out!http://enature.com/native_invasive/natives.asp .

The Wyoming Native Plant Society, established in

1981, is a non-profit organization dedicated toencouraging the appreciation and conservation of thenative flora and plant communities of Wyoming. The

Society promotes education and research on nativeplants of the state through its newsletter, field trips, and

annual student scholarship award. Membership is opento individuals, families, or organizations with an interest

in Wyomings flora. Members receive Castilleja, theSocietys quarterly newsletter, and may take part in allof the Societys programs and projects,

including the annual meeting/field trip held eachsummer. Dues are $7.50 annually. To join or renew,

return this form to:

Wyoming Native Plant Society

P.O. Box 2500

Laramie, WY 82073

Name: _______________________________________

Address: _____________________________________

_____________________________________________

___ $7.50 Regular Membership___ $15.00 Scholarship Supporting Member($7.50 goes to the annual scholarship fund)

Wyoming Native PlantSocietyP.O. Box 2500Laramie, WY 82073

Documents

Oct 2004 Castilleja Newsletter, Wyoming Native Plant Society