FLOERKEA AGAIN IN BRITISH COLUMBIA Two weeks ago I made a trip to the interior and found Floerkea proserpinacoides (Limnanthaceae). It grows in periodically wet places near Salmo and Christina Lake. I did not have time nor means (my trip was supported by the Vernon naturalist club) to see, how common it is, but it was abundant on those places where I found it. Floerkea was first reported in B.C. by John Macoun, but his report was based on Limnanthes macounii. Macoun had a second thought, dropped Floerkea and listed Macoun's meadowfoam as L. douglasii. (Then he sent the specimen to Trelease, who finally described L. macounii.) In early 1970's Schofield et al. collected L. macounii on William Head and the specimens were erroneously labeled as Floerkea before Bill Parker corrected it. This record was again a source of apocryphal reports of Floerkea in British Columbia. In Salmo and Christina Lake Floerkea grows in seepy places together with Suksdorfia ranunculoides, Dodecatheon pulchellum and Delphinium burkei. (BEN # 0 May-1991) ------------------------------------------ Turner, Nancy J. & Adam F. Szczawinski. 1991. Common Poisonous Plants and Mushrooms of North America. Timber Press, Portland Oregon, 311 p. US$54.00 ISBN 0-88192-179-3 I had a short peep into this book, an excellent hard cover book with colour photographs. You know the authors and many of you are familiar with the best botanical publishing house in North America. The book is worth the high price and the Royal Museum Store will carry it. If you are in a hurry to get it, Timber Press can be reached by phone at (503)-292-0745. (BEN # 1 June-1991) ------------------------------------------ Tod F. Stuessy. 1990. Plant Taxonomy: The systematic evaluation of comparative data. Columbia University Press, New York. 514 p. US$55.00 ISBN 0-231-06784-4 I got this book yesterday. It is an excellent publication summarizing the theory and techniques of (mostly) plant taxonomy. The author treats the broad topic very clearly and presents all possible views. In the rich literature you also find Jim Pojar's pioneering work on chromosome counts of the Pacific Northwest plants. On the other hand, I do not know, how could have Stuessy ignored the phytogeographical works of Hulten or Meusel. The book ends with this paragraph: "We as taxonomists celebrate diversity. We celebrate the wildness of the planet. We celebrate the numerous human attempts to understand this wildness, and we mourn its loss through human miscalculation. We sense the aesthetic of life and much of our efforts are aimed at reflecting this composition. Above all we celebrate the challenges of being alive and dealing with the living world. There is no greater responsibility, privilege, nor satisfaction." (BEN # 1 June-1991) ------------------------------------------ CLAYTONIA (MONTIA) PERFOLIATA COMPLEX From: aceska@cue.bc.ca Last month Dr. John M. Miller visited B.C. herbaria and went through the collections of Claytonia perfoliata & C. spathulata (=exigua) complex. He and Dr. Chambers (OSU) are preparing a treatment of this group to be published (most probably) in the Systematic Monographs. The summary of this treatment as I remember it from my conversations with Dr. Miller: C. perfoliata is green and has rhomboid basal leaves. C. parviflora is green and has linear basal leaves. C. exigua subsp. exigua (= C. spathulata) is glaucous and bracts are free almost to the base. C. exigua subsp. glauca is glaucous and bracts are fused around the stem. C. rubra is glaucous, bracts are fused, and it grows on beaches near the ocean. Seeds have fleshy aril (elaisome) in the notch (almost none in C. exigua) like in C. perfoliata and C. parviflora. C. perfoliata x sibirica was found on several locations (e.g. the Lighthouse Park in Vancouver), and it has two pairs of bracts. There were few more things which I don't remember. Does it sound complicated? Yes, but the answer is simple: collect what you see (and then see what you had collected). (BEN # 2 June-1991) ------------------------------------------ BOWEN ISLAND, VANCOUVER & SOUTHERN INTERIOR From Terry Taylor c/o I would like to mention a few recent finds, by myself and other naturalists, that may be of interest. On a survey of the south coast of Bowen Island, near Cape Roger Curtis, Linaria canadensis, Plantago elongata, Arenaria stricta, Aspidotis densa, and Camassia were observed. Pityrogramma was seen on the rock beside Sargeant Bay Park near Sechelt. Typha angustifolia forms a healthy population near Wreck Beach, and one collection was deposited in U.B.C. Herbarium last July. Collected Epilobium hirsutum beside railway tracks near Ocean Park last summer. Don Benson of V.N.H.S. reported many plants of Spartina patens at Maplewood Mudflats. Another threat to our wetlands? Huber Moore, a naturalist at Keremeos, reported Phacelia ramosissima near Osoyoos. Although the collection was sparse, his identification looked correct. He previously collected Cenchrus longispinus in the same area. Both collections were placed at U.B.C. He has recently given me a sterile collection of the Phacelia which I have not taken to U.B.C. yet. Huber sent descriptions of his rare plant locations to Ted Lea in the Dept. of Environment, last [this was the end of Terry's message] .... (BEN # 2 June-1991) ------------------------------------------ RE: BOWEN ISLAND, VANCOUVER .... From: Adolf Ceska 1. The Bowen Island locality looks very suitable for Githopsis speculariodes (very tiny, some plants still in flower now), if not Githopsis, then perhaps at least Heterocodon rariflorum (mostly with only kleistogamous flowers). 2. What Camassia? Both C. quamash & C. leichtlinii were collected by John Macoun in "Chilliwack." Do you know any locations on the mainland coast? 3. My northernmost location of Pityrogramma triangularis (which, by the way, was recently renamed to Pentagramma triangularis) is on a small islet from the group of the so-called "Flower Islets" off the eastern coast of Reid Island. 4. Spartina patens and especially S. alterniflora are invasive and do pose a serious threat to the coastal environment. S. patens has been collected in B.C. by Chris Brayshaw at Goose Spit off Commox in 1979 and 1984. The situation of the occurrence of Spartina in the Pacific Northwest has been summarized in: Spartina workshop record: Seattle, Washington November 14-15, 1990. (Eds.: Mumford, T.F.,Jr. et al. 73 p. Washington Sea Grant Program, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195. 1990. ISBN 0-934539-13-8 Price: US $9.95). Looking for some references on Spartina I came across the following beauty: Mi ts'ao yen chiu ti chin chan--22 nien lai ti yen chiu ch'eng kuo lun wen chi = Research advances in spartina--achievements of past 22 years. Nan-ching : Nan-ching ta hsueh hsueh pao pien wei hui, Nan ching ta hsueh ta mi ts'ao chi hai t'an k'ai fa yen chiu so pien chi ch'u pan, 1985. (From UC Berkeley BioSci library QK495.G74 M52 1985.) 5. Typha angustifolia is also spreadable! Cf. Stuckey, R.L. & D.P. Salamon. 1987. Typha angustifolia in North America: A foreigner masquerading as a native.[Abstract] Ohio J. Sci. 87(2):4. 6. For Epilobium hirsutum see: Stuckey, R.L. 1970. Distributional history of Epilobium hirsutum (great hairy willow-herb) in North America. Rhodora 72:164- 181. 7. Ron Walker told me that he saw Cenchrus at the junction of the White Lake road and highway # 97. (BEN # 2 June-1991) ------------------------------------------ NEW FINE BOTANICAL BOOKSTORE Flora & Fauna Books 121 First Ave, South Seattle, WA 98104 Phone: (206) 623-4727 (BEN # 2 June-1991) ------------------------------------------ CONSLINK CONSLINK is a bulletin board operated by the Smithsonian Institution and dealing with issues of conservation. To subscribe send the following message to LISTSERV@SIVM.BITNET: To: listserv@sivm.bitnet Subject: (does not really matter) subscribe conslink Your Name (E.g.: subscribe conslink John Doe.) The server picks up your return address and puts you on the list of subscribers. The address of conslink is conslink@sivm.bitnet and you will get any news and announcements sent to this address. At the same time, everything what you send to conslink@sivm.bitnet will be distributed to all subscribers. (BEN # 2 June-1991) ----------------------------------------- RE: CAMAS ON BOWDEN ISLAND Terry Taylor confirmed that Camassia he found on Bowden Island was Camassia leichtlinii. I am still looking for the location of Macoun's collections of Camassia quamash @ C. leichtlinii from "Chilliwack." Rumours about the occurrence of camas on the Tsawwassen Indian Reserve persist. (BEN # 3 17-June-1991) ------------------------------------------ SAD NEWS Mrs. Krajina died in her sleep about two weeks ago. I met her shortly after we came to Canada in 1969. I remember that I was rather embarrassed when she addressed Prof. Krajina as "Vladicek," the most diminutive diminutive you can make from Vladimir. She was the proverbial great woman behind the great man and she will be missed. (BEN # 3 17-June-1991) ------------------------------------------ HERB You can make a subscription to the HERB network (similar principle as the CONSLINK mentioned in the last BEN). HERB contains news about medicinal and aromatic plants. I posted there a request for information on skirret (a medieval vegetable, now forgotten) and I got back some useful information. In turn I answered a request for information on Malva verticillata and got a thank you E-mail with a comment on B.C. environmental issues (excerpt of a letter from the University of Pennsylvania to the University of New York - see below). You can subscribe to HERB by sending the following request listserv@trearn.bitnet Subject: subscribe herb your name (e.g. subscribe herb Jim Pojar). Whatever message you send to herb@trearn.bitnet will be automatically send to all the subscribers. (BEN # 3 17-June-1991) ------------------------------------------ AN EXCERPT FROM HERB Message from the New York State University [guessed from the address]: We will be traveling to Vancouver next week; hopefully we will find a home in Vancouver or Surrey - somewhere close to UBC. A friend from University of Pennsylvania just told me about a logging raid at UBC; can you confirm the truthfulness of this rumor? On June 12, 9:47 PM, my friend wrote: } } I find B.C. to be very beautiful, but you may be put off by } the frontier mentality. There was actually a logging raid } on the U.B.C. campus when we were there last summer. } The university clearcut a patch of virgin forest to sell for } housing. The first thing anyone knew about the plan was } when they were driven from their houses by the smoke of the } burning slash. This was right in the city on lands } entrusted to the university. Imagine what happens out in } the wilderness! If we were moving to B.C., I think we } would get heavily involved in environmental groups. } Unfortunately, things are at such an advanced state of } decline that no group other than Earth First! seems to have } the tactics necessary to reverse the course of destruction. } It's quite a challenge. }-- End of excerpt And end of my excerpt. (BEN # 3 17-June-1991) ------------------------------------------ Phillips, R. 1991. Mushrooms of North America. Little Brown @ Co. Boston-Toronto- London, 319 p. [softcover] $29.95 ISBN 0-316-70613-2 Excellent book with "over 1,000 color photographs." You perhaps know books on "Bulbs," "Shrubs," "Roses" by Roger Phillips & Martyn Rix, or "Wild Food" by Roger Phillips. The book on "Mushrooms" continues in this tradition. It has nice 'studio' photographs, short descriptions, distributions etc. It is an excellent book, but it has one drawback: it does not list any synonyms. [P.S. Book is available in the Royal Museum Shop.] (BEN # 3 17-June-1991) ------------------------------------------ ADIANTUM PEDATUM IS NOT IN B.C. It is official. According to Cathy Paris Adiantum pedatum occurs only in the eastern North America and what we know under that name from British Columbia should be called Adiantum alleuticum (Rupr.) Paris. A. pedatum subsp. calderi described by Cody from Quebec and reported from several serpentine localities (mainly) in eastern North America is just A. alleuticum. A. pedatum subsp. subpumillum described from Jim Pojar's specimens by Wagner is treated as an ecotype without any taxonomic value. Paris, C.A. 1991. Adiantum viridimontanum, a new maidenhair fern in eastern North America. Rhodora 93: 105-122. (BEN # 3 17-June-1991) ------------------------------------------ FROM CONSLINK EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS The ancient forests of the Pacific Northwest are the last relatively intact "old-growth" ecosystems in the United States. Found principally in northern California, western Oregon and Washington, and southeast Alaska, these forests contain the world's most diverse collection of giant evergreen trees: cedar, Douglas fir, western hemlock and Sitka spruce. Some of the oldest trees were seedlings at the time the Magna Carta was signed seven hundred years ago; one of the most spectacular, the Douglas fir, can live as long as 1,2000 years. But today, less than five percent of the original forest is protected. The rest is being logged at the rate of nearly 70,000 acres per year, threatening not only the remaining trees but a wide variety of rare animal species as well. Among these are the northern spotted owl, which was recently listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, and the marbled murrelet, an unusual seabird that depends on old growth forests to nest and reproduce. The Wilderness Society has launched a national public education campaign intended to protect spectacular stands of trees that have been the focus of intense local and national controversy, including the publication of a book, Saving Our Ancient Forests . In an easy-to-read style, it outlines a blueprint for protecting these national treasures, such as recommending using recycled paper products instead of throwaways, and emphasizes alternative construction methods that reduce reliance on wood. Saving Our Ancient Forests also provides colorful descriptions of the animals that populate ancient forests, and highlights several endangered plant species that directly benefit human health, including the cascara tree, whose bark is used as a laxative, and the Pacific yew, whose bark contains a powerful cancer-fighting chemical called taxol. A companion coloring book, Color the Ancient Forest , introduces youngsters to the unusual animals and plants that give ancient forests their unique character. Saving Our Ancient Forest can be purchased directly from The Wilderness Society for $5.95, plus $3.00 for shipping and handling, by writing to: The Wilderness Society, P. O. Box 296, Federalsburg, MD 21632-0296. The companion coloring book is available for $4.95 from The Wilderness Society, 900 Seventeenth Street, NWW., Washington, D.C. 20006-2596. (BEN # 3 17-June-1991) ------------------------------------------ REVIEW OF NEW BIODIVERSITY JOURNAL By Jan Schlamp The Canadian Museum of Nature recently released the first issue of its new quarterly bulletin, Canadian Biodiversity. The stated goals of the bulletin are to publish articles on biodiversity, bridge the gaps between professional disciplines and the public, circulate news on Canadian and world biodiversity, express views on the needs and value of biodiversity research, discuss methods, principles, and ethics of biodiversity conservation, and review books and major articles on biodiversity, and indeed the first issue goes far towards meeting all of these goals. The issue opens with three essays on biodiversity on definitions, rationales for conservation, and ethics. These are followed by several brief articles ranging from a review of the U.S. Biodiversity Act placed before the U.S. Congress in January of 1991 to a scientific report of a pilot GIS study of tree diversity in Canada, an indication of the diversity within the bulletin. Short scientific papers, legislative and NGO updates, philosophical essays, and even a page of environmentally oriented quotes made for interesting reading, the only drawback being that there was no apparent organization to their occurrence within the bulletin. There were two separate sections entitled Biodiversity News Notes (short communications and notices of upcoming meetings and conferences) and Book & Periodical Niche (where various books, journals and journal papers are reviewed and followed by complete ordering information). As far as the last section is concerned, the reviews and descriptions of the books and journals should prove very useful, but it is unclear how the articles are chosen for review (only two on fishes in the first issue) or whether such reviews would be a good use of space. On the whole, I found this to be a refreshing new publication with articles and news not repeated in other popular journals. Additionally, the issue was aesthetically pleasing. It was printed on sturdy, non-glossy, cream-colored recycled paper (using vegetable oil ink) and contained nice graphics in the margins and in various open areas. I thought the page of quotes was an especially nice touch. Canadian Biodiversity is available in either an English or French edition, and may be ordered from the Canadian Centre for Biodiversity, Canadian Museum of Nature, P.O. Box 3443, Station D, Ottawa, Ontario K1P 6P4, Canada. Individual subscriptions: Canada--Can $15; Developed countries--US $15; Developing countries--Can $5. Library subscriptions are twice these amounts. (BEN # 3 17-June-1991) ------------------------------------------ THE USSR VEGETATION SYNTAXA PRODROMUS by K. Korotkov, O. Morozova & E. Belonovskaja. Edited by Dr. Gregory Vilchek First review of USSR vegetation syntaxa, classified by Braun-Blanquet method. 1000 associations and 60 classes. Characteristic species, main ecological features etc. 250 references, 300 pages. US$25.00 Send the order to Dr. Gregory Vilchek P.O.Box 25 Moscow, 117071 USSR with a check for US$25.00 made up to the account 4778.56.02427, Longyearbyen Sparebank, Sparebank, Svalbard, Norway. (BEN # 4 18-June-1991) ------------------------------------------ JIM POJAR RE: BEN #3 Mrs. Krajina was a wonderful lady. I'll always remember the field trip with her and "Vlady" up the Stewart-Cassiar road back in 1973, and her Boletus soup. Who is Cathy Paris? Is this the face that launched a thousand name changes, and toppled the towers of pteridophyte taxonomy? Those of us who have seen Adiantum "imbricatum" (as I call it) in the wild know that it is a taxon, with as much legitimacy as, say, Trillium hibbersonii. (BEN # 4 18-June-1991) ------------------------------------------ RE: ADIANTUM SUBPUMILUM Cathy Paris was a student of David Barrington (he studied Polystichum in Costa Rica). There is a strong eastern bias in pteridology and areas with a great phytogeographical diversity such as the Pacific Northwest are viewed and treated in the same manner as the Canadian Shield. One sample from B.C. and one from Washington are usually enough to make conclusions. Cathy saw a locality of A. subpumilum in Washington (either La Push or Neyah Bay). I would like to mention the observation of Judith Jones who plants A. subpumilum commercially and she claims that there are "reversals" to the normal form in about 2 per cent of plants. I agree that this case is about the same as Trillium hibbersonii, but what is T. hibbersonii? Dr. Kruckeberg and the Seattle botanists still distinguished what they called A. alleuticum, a stiff plant with upright pinnae. (BEN # 4 18-June-1991) ------------------------------------------ ERYTHRONIUM MONTANUM -- REQUEST FOR INFORMATION TO: All field botanists FROM: G. Allen, University of Victoria allenr@uvvm.bitnet Erythronium montanum (avalanche lily) is only known from two areas in B.C. Last summer four of us (Gerry Allen and Joe Antos from UVic, Richard Hebda and Bob Ogilvie from RBCM) flew to the vicinity of Mt Waddington to look for it, and found LOTS of plants. It is locally abundant above the mouth of the Homathko River (Scar Creek, Hidden Mt., Landmark Mt.), and has also been found above the Klinaklini River (Saffron Creek, Hoodoo Creek). (This is about 51 6 to 51 20 N, 125 0 to 125 45 W.) If you are doing field work in the B.C. Coast Mts. this summer (anywhere between Garibaldi Park and Terrace!), please keep your eye out for avalanche lilies. (Field marks: White flowers, plain green leaves, found above 800 m elevation.) If you find a new locality, please send info (lat, long, elev, and if possible a pressed sample) to Gerry Allen, Department of Biology, University of Victoria, Victoria, B.C. V8W 2Y2 (or by e-mail to ALLENR@UVVM.bitnet). We are looking at morphological and genetic variation in E. montanum, and we would like to know how widely distributed it is in B.C. Your assistance will be much appreciated. [Gerry is going to the CBA meeting - I hope, she will give us a short report in BEN. - aceska@cue.bc.ca] (BEN # 5 20-June-1991) ------------------------------------------ BOTANY B.C. 1991 From: Del Meidinger Everyone I've talked to thoroughly enjoyed the meetings and field trips. Assumming that they're mostly telling the truth, the meetings were again successful. There were lots of opportunities for inter-agency communication, learning about streams and stream-side ecosystems, the basics of conservation biology, lichen-forming fungi, bogs, and estuaries. The accommodations, food and facilities were AOK and the weather cooperated. Some great T-shirts were made, and enjoyable evening entertainment was provided by everyone (especially Adolf; the quartet of Andy, Dave, Mike and Donald; and the 'Spice' presenters). (BEN # 6 4-July-1991) ------------------------------------------ BOTANY B.C. 1992 From: Del Meidinger Place: Lac La Jeune (Kamloops) When: end of May, early June Topics: Weeds, Grasses, Aquatic vegetation, Saprophytic & Parasitic plants, and whatever else seems appropriate for the area. Organizing Committee: Evelyn Hamilton, Bob Scheer, Fraser Russell, Alex Inselberg, Wayne Erickson, and Ted Lea. (BEN # 6 4-July-1991) ------------------------------------------ ADDITIONAL TOPIC FOR BOTANY 1992 From: Andy MacKinnon "Botanical Songs" (anybody with a song about plants, or with plants in it, or a song which could be corrupted by punsters to be about plants e.g. "Friends and Anemones", should send words or, better still, sheet music, to me or Dave Clark for inclusion in a Botany B.C. songbook). There was a general feeling that the next meeting should be more 'basic' (i.e. not 'applied') botany. [Andy added the 'Botanical Songbook' idea after the 'AGM'. Other ideas that came up after the fact were presentations on 'weird plants' -- instead of just saprophytes/parasites. Del Meidinger] (BEN # 6 4-July-1991) ------------------------------------------ ERYTHRONIUM MONTANUM IN THE WASHINGTON CASCADES From: Terry Taylor I have seen E. montanum as far north in Washington as the Bagley Lakes area, beside the trail below Herman Saddle. This is on the north side of Mount [...] Washington. I had previously believed it did not reach beyond the south side of Baker in this area. If any plants have managed to cross the Nooksack River there could possibly be populations on the south side of the Chilliwack valley. (BEN # 6 4-July-1991) ------------------------------------------ OKANAGAN FIELDTRIP From: Andrew Harcombe After refinding a letter sent to Ted Lea from Huber Moore, the CDC group, in concert with Trevor Goward and Malcolm Martin from Vernon went on a search for Phacelia ramosissima. Mike sarrell had transferred the location onto a colour air photo after talking to Huber. Although it turned out to be the wrong location, the Group of Seven found and collected the Phacelia, a first for Canada. Growing with it was Penstemon richardsonii and Thelypodium laciniatum-- this latter species has now been seen in several diferrent locatio [...] of Halimobolos whitedii near Oliver. What an obscure plant to locate in tall grass! Huber also reports it from near Keremeos and near Cawston. We also saw Dave Murray in Anchorage earlier this month, in the company of 3 Russian botanists. He passed on his greetings. Apparently you have connected with them electronically though the University? (BEN # 6 4-July-1991) ------------------------------------------ CONFERENCE ON BOREAL FOREST From: louis@cs.athabascau.ca (Louis Schmittroth) Our organization, the Friends of the Athabasca has been battling a huge forest giveaway here in Alberta for the past three years. This is the ALPAC (85% Japanese owned) pulp mill project, which is now unfortunately under construction. Associated with this is a ``Forest Management Agreement'' giving the pulp mill company rights to 70,000 sq kms of public land. This agreement has not yet been signed. We are trying to get a hand in the negotiating the terms of this agreement, but prospects are dim. We need to raise the level of public interest and concern with forestry issues, and have therefore decided to sponsor a Conference on the Boreal Forest. Here is the announcement we have sent out: Friends of the Athabasca Environmental Association Announcing a Conference on The Boreal Forest What is it, how should it be managed, will it survive? When: October 4,5,6, 1991, Friday, Saturday, Sunday Where: Athabasca, Alberta (100 miles north of Edmonton) Who: The general public, foresters, politicians Why: To share knowledge, gain insight, influence policy Fee: $50 for 3 days, $30/day for Saturday or Sunday (half-price for students, seniors, and the ``needy'') Friday evening will be devoted to registration, and a keynote address describing the boreal forest in all its beauty and diversity. There will be a cash bar and an informal social gathering. Coffee and lunch will be available at the conference hall Saturday and Sunday. Two half-day sessions are planned for both Saturday and Sunday. Each session will begin with a keynote talk, which will be followed by short presentations from each of four panelists. The audience will have adequate time for questions and discussion following panel presentations. The four general areas are: Ecology of the Boreal Forest, Non- fibre Uses of the Forest, Use and Management of the Forest, and Lookin to the Future. J. Stan Rowe, author of the widely acclaimed collection of essays Home Place, has accepted our invitation to be a speaker, as has Herb Hammond, RPF, of Winlaw, B.C., who has pioneered new methods in forest management. David Schindler and Susanne Bailey will both participate in the conference, as will Bill Fuller. Other speakers will come from government, the University of Alberta, the forest industry, the native community, local small-scale forest users, and community-based forestry in other parts of Canada. Address: Boreal Forest Conference, Friends of the Athabasca, Box 1351, Athabasca Alberta T0G 0B0 Tel. 403-675-4408, 2993, 2601, 3349 (BEN # 6 4-July-1991) ------------------------------------------ POLYSTICHUM KWAKIUTLII ALERT From: Adolf Ceska Last year Dave Wagner (Univ. of Oregon, Eugene) described a new species of Polystichum from British Columbia, Polys- tichum kwakiutlii (Wagner, D.H. 1990. Polystichum kwakiutlii sp.nov., the elusive bipinnate ancestor of P. andersonii. Amer. Fern J. 80: 50-52.). It is a hypothetical diploid parent (with P. munitum) of P. andersonii. The type specimen was collected at Alice Arm in 1934. It resembles P. braunii (bipinnate fronds with pinnules having short petioles), but it has proliferous bulbils on rachis and entire indusia. The following key to B.C. Polystichum species (from the manuscript of the Vascular Plants of British Columbia) may help to identify this elusive species. P. kwakiutlii and P. californicum (collected in 1897 on Texada Island) were excluded from the Vascular Plants of B. C.; species that has not been collected since 1940 do not officially occur in B. C. (Ignore all specimens older than I am!) A. Can you look for P. kwakiutlii and other Polystichum species (we have only one specimen of P. setigerum in our herbarium)? B. Can you look for a hybrid P. andersonii x munitum? I saw a large population of this hybrid in the Mt. Baker area. The hybrid looks like P. munitum with slightly more incised pinnae and has leaves with proliferous buds. Polystichum key (after D.H. Wagner) 1. Fronds pinnate, the pinnae not deeply cleft again, with only shallow teeth along the margin. 2. Lowest pinnae triangular or subtriangular to broadly trowel-shaped, symmetrical; all pinnae spreading- spinulose; stipe length less than one tenth of the frond; spores spiny .................... P. lonchitis 2. Lowest pinnae ovate to lanceolate-falcate, asymmetri- cal; pinnae incurved-spinulose; stipe length more than one tenth of the frond; spores with folded or bumpy surface, without spines. 3. Pinnae arranged in the plane of the frond, distant; stipe and rachis persistently chaffy with scales more than 1 mm wide; indusia ciliate; pinnae cuneate at the base ................... P. munitum 3. Pinnae folded inwards and oriented about 45ø to the plane of the frond, imbricate; stipe and rachis often naked; scales less than 1 mm wide; indusia entire; pinnae oblique at the base .. P. imbricans 1. Fronds bipinnatifid to bipinnate, the pinnae deeply lobed, incised, or again pinnate. 4. Pinnae not at all spinulose nor apiculate ......................................... P. lemmonii 4. Pinnae apiculate to spinulose. 5. Fronds clearly twice pinnate, the pinnules dis- tinct, sessile or petiolate 6. Fronds with a vegetative buds on the rachis; indusia entire .................. P. kwakiutlii 6. Fronds without vegetative buds on the rachis; indusia sparsely ciliate on the margins. 7. Pinnules at the base of the pinnae of unequal length, those pointing up conspicuously larger than those pointing down ............................... P. setigerum 7. Pinnules at the base of the pinnae about the same length ..................... P. braunii 5. Fronds bipinnatifid, the pinnules adnate to the costa for more than 2 mm, usually with fused bases. 8. Pinnae lacking filiform scales on either sur- face. 9. Pinnae acute at the apex, especially at the base of the blade, armed with coarse (visible without magnification) spreading teeth; stipe shorter than 1/4th of the frond ............................ P. kruckebergii 9. Pinnae obtuse at apex, especially at the base of the blade, armed with fine, incurved teeth; stipe at least 1/4th of the frond length ....................... P. scopulinum 8. Pinnae with filiform scales beneath. 10. Fronds with a vegetative bud on the rachis, usually one third of the way down from the tip. 11. Indusia sparsely ciliate on the margin; infralaminar trichomes with contorted projections ............. P. andersonii 11. Indusia entire; infralaminar trichomes simple .................. P. kwakiutlii 10. Fronds without a vegetative bud. 12. Pinnae not incised to the costa, the pinnules connate at least one-fourth their length .......... P. californicum 12. Pinnae incised to the costa, the pin- nules scarcely connate ... P. setigerum (BEN # 7 10-July-1991) ------------------------------------------ CARPET BEETLES OUTDOORS From: Cris Guppy In June both Adolf Ceska and Lesley Kennes brought in varied carpet beetles [Anthrenus verbasci] collected from local flowers in gardens [Angelica archangelica & Chrysanthemum leucanthemum]. I have compared these with specimens in the collection, and there is no doubt as to there identity. Lesley Kennes' sample included one Dermestid which was slightly larger and black. It appears to be an Orphilus sp., of which there are several similar species. [Moral of the story: Do not bring carpet beetles into your herbarium with collected plants! - AC] (BEN # 7 10-July-1991) ------------------------------------------ SANICULA MARILANDICA ETC. From: Jim Pojar Adolf, [..ethnic remarks deleted...] how common or uncommon are Sanicula marilandica, Parnassia parviflora, and Agrimonia striata up here in the Skeena drainage? I used to think they were just around Hazelton-Cedarvale, but Rosamund found the first two in a young aspen stand along the Telkwa High-Road near Glentanna (also known as Glacier Ho! because of the stupendous view). Last summer I found Pyrola grandiflora in alpine tundra up in the Telkwa Mtns. Are there any records from further south. Answers - AC We have some old collections of Sanicula marilandica from Kitlathdamot, Nass River (WB Anderson 1925), Kitwanga, Skeena River (CF Newcombe, 1922) and Kitimat (Mrs. Mendel, 1970). When I went through the Sanicula folder I found a collection of Trautvetteria caroliniensis (misidentified by the Mayor of Esquimalt) from West Kootenays (Maryland Creek, 49 04' 116 54.5'). Agrimonia only from Hazelton and Kispiox and Parnasia parviflora mainly in eastern B.C. (but also in Vanderhoof). Pyrola grandiflora south in the Cassiar District and Ft. Nelson. Nice collections from Gladys Lake by you, Jim. Check sepals on your Telkwa specimens. They should be longer than broad, if they are triangular, go for P. chlorantha! SEND US VOUCHER SPECIMENS FOR YOUR FINDS ! (BEN # 7 10-July-1991) ------------------------------------------ RE: ERYTHRONIUM MONTANUM Fred Nuszdorfer sent me a map where he indicated the occurrence of E. montanum from the Lillooet area. Sites were seen and reported by Bob Green and Paul Courtin, but there are no voucher specimens. REMEMBER TO COLLECT VOUCHER SPECIMENS OF ANY INTERESTING EXTENSION! (BEN # 7 10-July-1991) ------------------------------------------ CHRYSANTHEMUM LEUCANTHEMUM IN SMITHERS From: Marten Geertsema There seems to have been an explosion of ox-eye daisy in the Smithers area this year. Many fields and road sides that a few years ago, and even last year, had a few scattered plants, now are white with the daisy. We plan on mapping the extent of infestations this summer. Perhaps Banner's poorly managed "farm" is also the epicenter of this composite. (BEN # 7 10-July-1991) ------------------------------------------ RE: ERYTHRONIUM MONTANUM From: G. Allen Thanks to BEN readers for the tips on Erythronium montanum locations; they are being followed up as you read this. Please keep up the good work, and COLLECT VOUCHERS. A reminder: E. montanum is very difficult to distinguish from E. grandiflorum (yellow glacier lily) EXCEPT when in flower; shape of the leaf bases is not a reliable field character. The latter species is much more common than the former, especially away from the coast. [COMMENT: I agree with you, Gerry, and I would like to stress again, collect vouchers!! Lately I got reports of Gentiana platypetala from mountains above Jordan River, Abies concolor from hot springs near the Yukon border, etc., etc. You don't have to have a plant press (should not it be a standard equipment of crews studying forest vegetation?), an old phone book is fine. On a piece of paper write where, how, when, and who. We all get excited when we see plants growing out of their ranges and sometimes make mistakes in identification. Adolf ] (BEN # 8 8-August-1991) ------------------------------------------ TWO HUNDRED YEARS OF BOHEMIAN BOTANISTS ON THE PACIFIC COAST From: A. Ceska Two hundred years ago, August 10, 1791 THADDAEUS HAENKE, the first Bohemian botanist on the Pacific Coast, came with Malaspina's expedition to Nootka Island. The Malaspina's expedition stayed on Nootka Island till August 28, 1791. A part of Haenke's collection was sent to the Czech National Museum in Prague where K.B. Presl (with the help of his elder brother J.S. Presl and other specialists) published "Reliquiae Haenkeanae" and described some new species from our area. I can mention Dryopteris expansa, Torreyochloa pauciflora, Oenanthe sarmentosa, Carex anthoxanthea, Calamagrostis nutkatensis, and yes, even Rosa nutkana. (BEN # 8 8-August-1991) ------------------------------------------ PROF. RUDOLF BECKING IN VICTORIA From: A. Ceska Prof. Rudolf Becking will be in Victoria from August 10 through August 14. He is a prominent vegetation scientist and you may know especially his excellent review article on the Braun- Blanquet school (Becking, R. 1957. The Zurich-Montpellier school of phytosociology. Bot. Rev. 23: 411-488). He is interested in phytosociology of old growth forests and in marbled murrelets, and he wants to visit the murrelet nesting site in Walbran Valley. He will be in the museum (herbarium and bird collection) Monday Aug. 12. If you want to meet Prof. Becking, please phone me at work (387-2423 or 356-0908) or at home (477-1211 - 24 hr. answering service). (BEN # 8 8-August-1991) ------------------------------------------ CENCHRUS IN BRITISH COLUMBIA From: A. Ceska I was in the Okanagan Valley last week and collected Cenchrus on the outskirts of Osoyoos (Highway #3 and 25th Street). Terry Taylor also mentioned the species on BEN. I will notify the Agriculture Canada weed specialists about this fact. This grass is not pleasant when it sticks to your pants, although it is better than Opuntia fragilis. (BEN # 8 8-August-1991) ------------------------------------------ PLANT TAXONOMISTS ONLINE From: A. Ceska E-mail addresses of about a hundred plant taxonomists(and about 20 herbaria) are listed in the PTO list. I can send you a copy of the list, if you are interested. There is a computer network conference called BIO-NAUT where people ask questions on how to contact this or that biologist anywhere in the world and often somebody else knows the answer. (BEN # 8 8-August-1991) ------------------------------------------ Muller, Mary Clay. 1991. Field Guide to rare vascular plants of the National Forests in Alaska. R10-MB-128 USDA Forest Service, Alaska Region, Juneau, AK. 63 p. [USDA Forest Service, Alaska Region, Box 21628, Juneau, AK 99802-1628] Nice small field guide with illustrations of about 40 species rare in coastal Alaska. The full list of rare plant taxa of the "US Forest Service Region Alaska" is given in appendix. I found it a very interesting reading. (BEN # 8 8-August-1991) ------------------------------------------ !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THIS BEN IS ENTIRELY DEVOTED TO ERICACEAE - THE HEATHER FAMILY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PREFACE This is a BIG BEN ! I had a hard time to put it together. If you want to read it, make a hard copy (what a term!), this stuff is not for a screen reading. I ran the contributions through the style checker and the readability index calls for grade 16! Fasten your seat belts! One word you should know before reading this BEN is the TAUTONYM. (I could not find it in any dictionary, including the Mrs. Byrne's Dictionary of Unusual and Preposterious Words!) The tautonym is a species name in which the species part (specific epitheton) repeats the generic name. Tautonyms are allowed in the zoological nomenclature, but disallowed in the botanical nomenclature. But are they really disallowed? Read on, if you want to know the answer. I would like to thank Bob Ogilvie, Del Meidinger, Terry Taylor and Oluna for their contributions. (BEN # 9 5-September-1991) ------------------------------------------ VACCINIUM IN BRITISH COLUMBIA From: R.T. Ogilvie One of the values of a taxonomic treatment which is continental or country-wide in scope is that it can present a comprehensive treatment of species throughout their range, showing their geographic diversity, and formalizing this diversity by treating it at the rank of species, subspecies or variety. To understand a species in British Columbia it is helpful to know its taxonomic variability throughout its geographic range. For example, the Ferns and Fern-allies of Canada (Cody & Britton, 1989) provides a valuable perspective on circumpolar species such as Athyrium filix-femina, Gymnocarpium dryopteris, and Dryopteris filix-mas, and also helps clarify our species problem in B.C. Polystichum through concepts derived from the pioneer research on cytotaxonomy, polyploidy, and hybridization of Polystichum in Europe and North America. A recently published monograph of Vaccinium in North America, by Vander Kloet (1988), gives an interesting alternative view of our British Columbia species of blueberries, huckleberries and cranberries. Of the 17 native taxa of Vaccinium in B.C., 7 occur across Canada and the rest are mainly cordilleran or coastal. Five of the B.C. taxa are omitted from Vander Kloet's treatment, except for being listed without discussion, in an appendix of synonyms. Among these are the tetraploid Vaccinium alaskaense which is included in the diploid V. ovalifolium. There are a number of distinctive characters separating these two taxa: leaves, pedicels, fruit, corolla shape, and time of flowering; all these characters were tabulated and discussed by Calder and Taylor (1968). Vaccinium globulare is combined under V. membranaceum, and the nomenclature is confused with V. deliciosum: V. membranaceum var. rigidum is a synonym of V. globulare, not a synonym of V. deliciosum, as indicated by Vander Kloet. Also, V. occidentale (ssp. occidentale), a tetraploid, is lumped into V. uliginosum, a diploid. The diploid V. microcarpum is included in the tetraploid V. oxycoccos (s. str.), as is var. intermedia the hexaploid hybrid between these two taxa. And there is no recognition of the North American taxon Vaccinium vitis-idaea ssp. minus. Vander Kloet gives a brief commentary on finding hybrids among V. ovalifolium, deliciosum, and caespitosum at Forbidden Plateau, and among V. ovalifolium, deliciosum, and membranaceum at Mount Seymour. But no morphological or chromosomal data are given to support that these are indeed interspecific hybrids rather than phenotypic intermediates among those species. Here then, is another way to look at our B.C. species of Vaccinium; it is one which emphasizes similarities rather than elucidating differences. Unfortunately, we are given the author's conclusions with no explanation, no discussion, and no supportive data from which we can evaluate these conclusions. (BEN # 9 5-September-1991) ------------------------------------------ COMMENTS TO VANDER KLOET'S VACCINIUM TREATMENT AND BOB'S REVIEW From: Adolf Ceska 1) I did not find Vander Kloet's treatment interesting. Weird would be a better term. 2) If you do not recognize Vaccinium alaskaense, you can find many hybrids "whose parentage is a curious mixture of V. deliciosum, V. ovalifolium and V. membranaceum" (Vander Kloet p. 124) on Paradise Meadows and Mt. Seymour. 3) There are people among us, who can identify sterile Vaccinium alaskaense with closed eyes. (On the last Botany BC meeting Fred Nuszdorfer ate branches of Vaccinium ovalifolium, but would not touch branches of V. alaskaense; according to Fred, those are not edible.) 4) More favourable review of Vander Kloet's book by Bill Crins was published in the last Canadian Field-Naturalist 105:145. (BEN # 9 5-September-1991) ------------------------------------------ VACCINIUM GLOBULARE From: Del Meidinger The taxonomic entity known as Vaccinium globulare Rydb. (V. membranaceum Dougl. ex Hook. var. rigidum {Hook.} Fern.) is locally common in the Flathead River valley of B.C., but rare to infrequent throughout the rest of the southeast interior. The reason this entity is interesting is that on our side of the Canada - U.S border, ecologists have generally NOT recognized Vaccinium globulare, whereas in Montana and Idaho, Forest Service ecologists do not recognize Vaccinium membranaceum -- their guides only note Vaccinium globulare! Key characters distinguishing the two species are based mainly on the shape of the leaves and flowers: Vaccinium globulare: leaves oblong-obovate, rounded to abruptly acute at the apex, 2-4(5) cm long; corollas as broad as long. Vaccinium membranaceum: leaves ovate or ovate-oblong, gradually acute to acuminate at apex, 2-5 cm long; corollas longer than broad. Patricia Martin studied the "taxonomy of the Vaccinium globulare, V. membranaceum complex in western Montana" as part of her Masters Thesis in Wildlife Biology. She found that almost all the flowers collected in Montana & Idaho had corollas that were broader than long, some were equal (round) and NONE were longer than broad. In looking at leaf shape, she found a lot of variability. She felt that the shapes of the second, and sometimes the third and fourth leaves were "least altered by physiological developments from position on the stem or flower formation" and should be used for species differentiation. However, both membranaceum- and globulare-like leaves were found in the area with globulare-like flowers. It seems that she considered that flower shape was inconclusive as collections that she made from near the 'type' locality of V. membranaceum had corollas that were broader than long. In using leaf shape, she concluded that "no pattern of distribution for any type was obvious". So, what do we conclude? Based on descriptions of Vaccinium globulare, we do have this entity in B.C. (definitely in the Flathead valley; I'm not sure of the other locations cited in Straley et al. as there are only three specimens in the Victoria herbaria). Whether we should recognize the entity as a species or variety of V. membranaceum is not clear from morphological characters and requires some further biochemical evidence! Until then, we should have a closer look at leaf and flower morphology of our Vaccinium's in SE BC! (BEN # 9 5-September-1991) ------------------------------------------ VACCINIUM ALASKAENSE VS. DELICIOSUM From: Terry Taylor Does anyone know how to distinguish between young or depauperate populations of Vaccinium alaskaense and robust ones of V. deliciosum? (BEN # 9 5-September-1991) ------------------------------------------ BOG CRANBERRY From: R.T. Ogilvie What is the botanical name for the bog cranberry? When placed in the same genus as the blueberries and huckleberries the name is Vaccinium oxycoccos. But if the cranberries are considered generically different from Vaccinium, the correct genus name is Oxycoccus. This results in the combination Oxycoccus oxycoccos, where the same word is used for the genus and species. And this is where the nomenclatural problems arise. The Code of Botanical Nomenclature does not permit the specific epithet to exactly repeat the generic name (a TAUTONYM). But taxonomists are not in agreement over how this rule is to be applied. Some take a literal interpretation of the rule, and say if the generic name and specific epithet are not spelled exactly the same this is a "paratautonym" not a tautonym, and such names are acceptable. There are several examples where the genus and species have slightly different spellings because of different case endings or because of a Greek vs. Latin spelling. Oxycoccus oxycoccos and Lycopersicon lycopersicum (the tomato) are examples of the latter, and are nomenclaturally correct according to these taxonomists. Other taxonomists have argued that the intent of the rule is to avoid using the same word for the genus and specific epithet, including situations where they have different spellings and are a potential source of confusion; further examples of these are: Lysichitum/Lysichiton, trachycaulum/trachycaulon, macrocarpum/macrocarpon, polyanthemus/polyanthemos. There has been periodic discussion of tautonyms over the last 10-15 years. E.L. Little proposed an amendment to the Botanical Code to include orthographic variants (as in Latin and Greek case endings) as tautonyms if these variants of the specific epithet repeat the generic name. This proposal was opposed by Nicholson (1975 [all cited papers published in TAXON - AC]) on the grounds that including orthographic variants of names ("paratautonyms") as tautonyms would lead to a subjective definition of tautonyms, and would make the rule difficult to follow. Little's proposal was rejected at the nomenclature sessions of the Leningrad Botanical Congress (1975). Terrell (1977) presented a lengthy argument against accepting paratautonyms and made another proposal to redefine tautonyms to include orthographic variants. This proposed amendment was also rejected by the 1981 Sydney Botanical Congress. Terrell, Broome and Reveal (1983) got around the problem of the paratautonym Lycopersicon lycopersicum by proposing to conserve the widely used name Lycopersicon esculentum, and rejecting the name Lycopersicon lycopersicum. This was accepted by the 1987 Berlin Congress. At the same Congress Rajwar (1985) proposed an amendment to Recommendation 23B.1(e): "In forming specific epithets, authors should comply with the following suggestions: to avoid those which have the same meaning as the generic name (pleonasm), particularly those that could be considered having the same origin or as a variant spelling of the generic name (paratautonyms)". This proposal was rejected at the Congress. The most recent ruling on tautonyms was by the nomenclature editor of Taxon (Nicholson, 1987), and it dealt with our plant Vaccinium oxycoccos. MacMillan was the first to propose treating the cranberries under Oxycoccus, and he made the combination Oxycoccus oxycoccus (L.) MacMillan 1892. This is obviously a tautonym; but Nicholson states that it must be corrected to Oxycoccus oxycoccos, since it is based on Linnaeus' spelling of V. oxycoccos. With this corrected spelling Nicholson concludes that this is not a tautonym and so it is acceptable as the correct name. But other botanists have voiced dissatisfaction with this application of the rules, pointing out that MacMillan intentionally published six tautonyms along with his Oxycoccus oxycoccus, just as Karsten published a series of tautonyms along with Lycopersicum lycopersicum. The rules of nomenclature allow the correction of unintentional spelling errors, but it is clear that MacMillan's and Karsten's tautonymous spellings were intentional. At the present time there is no overall resolution of these nomenclatural problems: one specific case (the tomato) has been solved by conserving a more widely used name, but there is still disagreement over the definition of tautonym, and disagreement over whether "paratautonyms" are nomenclaturally correct, and disagreement over whether intentional tautonymous spellings can be corrected and validated. To go back to the initial question, the correct botanical name of bog cranberry, according to the most recent ruling, is Oxycoccus oxycoccos (L.) MacMillan if placed in a separate cranberry genus, or Vaccinium oxycoccos L. if included in the blueberry and huckleberry genus. (BEN # 9 5-September-1991) ------------------------------------------ ESSAY ON TAUTONYMS From: A. Ceska Once upon a time my friend Marlene gave birth to a baby girl. Marlene and her husband Brian decided to call the baby ERICA. A few days later Brian came to the hospital to take his wife and child home and somebody asked him what the baby's middle name was going to be. "HEATHER," was his answer. When he told Marlene this, she shook her head and said: "Isn't that redundant?" Some botanists would consider this a pleonasm and would be reluctant to accept it, just as Marlene was. ERICA HEATHER OLIVER [not a fictitious name !!!] is now chasing boys somewhere around Los Angeles. Brian could have answered, "Her middle name is ERIKA, with a 'k' as in 'knight'." This would be the so-called paratautonym, and I hope it would have been rejected even by the hospital official. The International Code of Botanical Nomenclature does not allow tautonyms. Bubo bubo bubo (owl) or Bufo bufo bufo (toad) normally accepted in zoological nomenclature are ridiculed by us, reasonable botanists. In his excellent book "Composition of Scientific Words" W.R. Brown wrote: "NOMENCLATURE NEED NOT COMPETE WITH THE HALLELUJAH CHORUS." But has anybody checked, how Haendel spelled his Hallelujah's? It really does not matter, since I know that he meant to write "Hallelujah, Alleluia, Halleluiah." No tautonyms at all. (BEN # 9 5-September-1991) ------------------------------------------ SHOULD LEDUM REST IN PEACE? From: A. Ceska Based on cladistic analysis Kron and Judd (1990) united Ledum with Rhododendron. There are some significant differences between these two genera (e.g., Ledum has free petals and capsules splitting from the bottom up, whereas Rhododendron has fused petals and capsules splitting from the top down). If you treat Ledum as a part of Rhododendron, you will run into some new names coined by Kron & Judd (1990) and by Harmaja (1990): R. groenlandicum (Oeder) Kron & Judd = L. groenlandicum R. columbianum (Piper) Harmaja = L. columbianum, R. neoglandulosum Harmaja = L. glandulosum, R. subarcticum Harmaja = L. decumbens, R. tomentosum (Stokes) Harmaja = L. palustre. If you wish to treat Ledum decumbens as a subspecies of Rhododendron tomentosum, you have to create a new combination. If you prefer to treat Ledum as Ledum, you just shake your head. (BEN # 9 5-September-1991) ------------------------------------------ VACCINIUM MYRTILLOIDES ON VANCOUVER ISLAND ? From: Adolf Ceska Vander Kloet's map of the distribution of V. myrtilloides has two dots on Vancouver Island. I have not seen any specimens of this species from here. Have you ever come across it? V. myrtilloides is the only western species with hairy twigs. Looking for V. myrtilloides, you can find Geocaulon lividum. On the first sight it looks like Vaccinium, but it belongs to the Santalaceae. We know only three location of this plant on Vancouver Island (Wowo Lake, Anderson Lake, and Turtle Lake). (BEN # 9 5-September-1991) ------------------------------------------ SPOTTED RHODODENDRON ALBIFLORUM From: O. + A. Ceska Last summer we found a population of R. albiflorum with yellowish to reddish dots on the corolla. The buds have a red tinge and flowers seem to be smaller than in normal plants. The population occurs in the Mt. Brenton area north of Duncan on Vancouver Island. We would greatly appreciate any sightings (or specimens) of similar plants. (BEN # 9 5-September-1991) ------------------------------------------ NEW LITERATURE Vander Kloet, S.P. 1988. The genus Vaccinium in North America. Agriculture Canada Research Branch Publication 1828. Canadian Government Publishing Centre, Ottawa. xi + 201 p. $48.50 ISBN: 0-660-13037-8 [paperback] [Reviewed by R.T. Ogilvie in this BEN.] Middleton, D.J. 1991. Infrageneric classification of the genus Gaultheria L. (Ericaceae). Bot.J.Linn.Soc. 106: 229-258. [Ten sections and 22 series with more than 130 species. The author includes Pernettya into Gaultheria. Mr. Austin Wilson used to have an excellent collection of Gaultheria in his Victoria garden. He would appreciate this paper more than I can.] Ravanko, O. 1990. The taxonomic value of morphological and cytological characteristics in Oxycoccus (subgenus of Vaccinium, Ericaceae) species in Finland. Ann. Bot. Fennici 27: 235-239. [The author was unable to distinguish tetraploid Vaccinium oxycoccos from hexaploid V. hagerupii. In Finland there were enough morphological characters to separate diploid V. microcarpum.] Kron, K.A. & W.S. Judd. 1990. Phylogenetic relationships within the Rhodorae (Ericaceae) with specific comments on the placement of Ledum. Syst. Bot. 15: 57-68. [See Should Ledum rest in peace?] Harmaja, H. 1990. New names and nomenclatural combinations in Rhododendron (Ericaceae). Ann. Bot. Fennici 27: 203-204. [See Should Ledum rest in peace?] (BEN # 9 5-September-1991) ------------------------------------------ MONTIA HOWELLII AND CIMICIFUGA ELATA IN BC? (OR ELSEWHERE?) From: Tom Kaye, Oregon Department of Agriculture kayet@cgrb.orst Does anyone have information on recent sightings of either of these plant species? Both taxa are candidates for listing as Threatened or Endangered under the Oregon Endangered Species Act. We are currently involved in cooperative projects with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service regarding these plants in Oregon, and we would like to know their status to the north. Has anyone seen either of them recently? Montia howellii grows in vernally moist habitats west of the Cascades (in Oregon, often in dirt roads through pastures!), and Cimicifuga elata occurs in old-growth Douglas-fir, usually on north slopes. Any information on these species in Canada would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! (BEN # 10 14-September-1991) ------------------------------------------ RE: MONTIA HOWELLII AND CIMICIFUGA ELATA IN BC? From: A. Ceska Some time ago I tried to answer the same question to Peter Zika. My feeling is that Montia howellii is more overlooked than really rare. It is common on Rocky Point (page 92 in the Washington Atlas, the unmarked peninsula with Garibaldi Hill), and infrequent along the shore in Victoria (Harling Point, Cattle Point), Trial Island, near Ladysmith (Yellow Point) and on Hornby Island. It has a similar distribution as our endemic Limnanthes macounii, but it has a wider ecological range (it also grows on glacial till - heavier soil - where Limnanthes usually does not occur). The fact that M. howellii grows on disturbed soils does not surprise me. The main threats of Montia and other annual species are the land development and especially the competition of introduced perennial grasses. In Garry oak habitats (Q. garryana) introduced species make almost 50 per cent of all species (Roemer, 1974, Ph.D. dissertation). Disturbance (such as trampling or light grazing) helps to keep open areas suitable for establishment of annual species. In the draft of "rare species tracking list" developed by the B.C. Conservation Data Centre, Montia howellii and Castilleja levisecta have the highest rarity rating of all the species of the coastal British Columbia. Cimicifuga elata last collected in B.C. Cascades in the mid 1950's. Older (1916 or so) collections from Mt. Cheam by Macoun. Bob Ogilvie and I were looking for it in 1984-6, did not find any. This spring I saw the Cimicifuga habitats in Portland and have a better picture about its ecological niche. I hope it is still with us, in spite of the logging. I will repost your note in spring, if we (BEN and I) are still on E-mail. (BEN # 10 14-September-1991) ------------------------------------------ RE: BEN #2 - CLAYTONIA EXIGUA SUBSP. GLAUCA From: Art Guppy c/o cris.guppy@rbm.galaxy.bcsystems.gov.bc.ca I am very glad to see that Miller & Chambers are about to correct a botanical oversight of extraordinary tenacity: i.e., the failure to recognize that the small, early flowering, glaucous Claytonia with fully connate cauline leaves is not C. perfoliata, but is obviously close to what has been called C. spathulata. I regret they have used the subspecies classification, rather than varieties, but at last two plants have been put together. The little connate-leaved Claytonia is very abundant each spring on Camas Hill [Art's property on Sooke Rd. past the junction of Kangaroo Rd. - AC] right beside where I park my car, and it has been a source of irritation to not have a reasonable name for it. In disturbed areas (e.g., my veg. garden) it grows by hundreds amid thousands of C. perfoliata, and I have seen exactly two intermediates -- probably hybrids. Otherwise the taxa are entirely distinct. Last winter, looking over old photos, I noticed two taken in John Dean Park, April 12, 1966: one shows typical C. spathulata [= C. exigua subsp. exigua], the other shows the form with fully connate leaves, so certainly they grew together there then, and likely still do. It would be interesting to look for intermediates; if there are none, it would be very interesting. I will collect on Camas Hill and watch for hybrids to turn up again. (BEN # 10 14-September-1991) ------------------------------------------ NEW PUBLICATIONS, PAPERS, ETC. ECOSYSTEMS OF BRITISH COLUMBIA by Meidinger, D. & J. Pojar [eds.]. 1991. Special Report Series no. 6. B.C. Ministry of Forests, Victoria, B.C. xii + 330 p. ISBN 0-7718-8997-6 Price: $25.00 [Paperback, spiral binding] Available from: Crown Publications Inc., 546 Yates Str., Victoria, B.C. V8W 1K8 (604) 386-4636 Fax.:(604) 386-0221 [This is a fascinating publication! It ..."describes terrestrial ecosystems of British Columbia within the framework of the ... biogeoclimatic ecosystem classification." It is a result of about 15 years of surveys and studies (not counting the studies done by Krajina and his students) and it is loaded with useful information. User will have no difficulties to navigate through the book, in fact, you do not have to read the book at all. Just look at the pictures! British Columbia criss-crossed with all biogeoclimatic zones marked; for each zone a typical slope profiles (catenas?) with main associations (and even the Sasquatch with a Teutonic helmet in fig. 61, peeping from the bushes!). Congratulations guys, you did a very nice job! The price (in Canadian $$$) is very reasonable. - AC] (BEN # 10 14-September-1991) ------------------------------------------ SYMPOSIA, MEETINGS A PUBLIC SYMPOSIUM ON B.C.'S THREATENED & ENDANGERED SPECIES When: September 28 & 29, 1991 Where: Robson Square Conference Centre, Vancouver, B.C. Organized by the Northwest Wildlife Preservation Society & the Federation of B.C. Naturalists Further Information: Endangered Species Conference c/o/ Northwest Wildlife Preservation Society P.O.Box 34129, Station "D" Vancouver, B.C. V6J 4N3 Phone: (604) 736-8750 SYMPOSIUM ON BIODIVERSITY OF NORTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA When: October 28-30, 1991 Where: The Flamingo Resort Hotel, Santa Rosa, California Presented by: University of California Cooperative Extension and Wildland Resources Center REGISTRATION $75.00 per person if received by Sept. 15, 1991 (Checks payable to U.C. Regents) Further information: Extension Forestry, University of California 163 Mulford Hall Berkeley, CA, 94720 (415) 642-2360 INTERNET jleblanc@nature.berkeley.edu (BEN # 10 14-September-1991) ------------------------------------------ RE: BEN #2, #10 - COMMENTS ON CLAYTONIA EXIGUA, ETC. From: Ken Chambers, via Tom Kaye (kayet@cgrb.orst.edu) Dear Adolf, I showed Ken Chambers here at OSU the exchange in BEN concerning Claytonia and his work with John Miller, and he offered to make this contribution to the next BEN. Your readers may find it interesting. --Tom Kaye Ken Chambers: In BEN #2 Adolf Ceska noted some information, given him by Dr. John M. Miller, about our pending revision of the Claytonia (Montia) perfoliata complex; and in BEN #10, Art Guppy verified from his personal observations that a perfoliate form of C. exigua exists (named by us as subsp. glauca). Claytonia exigua is the correct name for what goes by Montia spathulata in most current references. As Adolf reported, this species differs from C. perfoliata and C. rubra by its near lack of an ant-attracting elaiosome on the seeds; its other major difference is in having chromosome numbers based on x=8, whereas all C. perfoliata and C. rubra are based on x=6. We have never seen natural hybrids between exigua and perfoliata, which Art said might occur in stands of the two species he has observed. Such hybrids would be completely sterile, but there is a rare chance that their chromosome number might double to make a fertile allopolyploid. That would indeed be interesting to discover. The perfoliate-leaved C. exigua subsp. glauca is always found to be diploid, with 2n=16; the one other subspecies of C. exigua is polyploid (4x and 6x in California; usually 6x in the Pacific Northwest). On Vancouver Island, C. perfoliata and C. rubra are polyploid and intergrading, the most common chromosome levels being tetraploid (2n=24) and hexaploid (2n=36). Diploid C. rubra is in the Cascade Range and eastward and is a very distinct taxon morphologically, usually red in color due to betalain pigments, deltoid-leaved, and usually with a deeply notched "perfoliate" leaf-disc below the inflorescence. The subspecies on Vancouver Island, called ssp. depressa, is not glaucous (as Adolf said) but rather is green and has ovate leaves densely massed in a flattened rosette. Where it co-occurs with C. exigua, the latter taxon is distinctive in being gray-glaucous, becoming flesh- colored as the foliage ages; its leaves are linear to narrowly spatulate. As already mentioned, the seeds of rubra have a distinct elaiosome, lacking in exigua. These taxa are quite thoroughly confused in the treatment in "Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest," by C. L. Hitchcock. Another overlooked taxon in Claytonia in our region is the fertile tetraploid derivative of the hybrid, C. sibirica X C. perfoliata; its species name is C. washingtoniana (Suksd.) Suksd. It does not have "two pairs of bracts" as Adolf said, but rather has a single pair of cauline leaves which are broader and more symmetrical than in C. sibirica and may show a little basal fusion. It is told from sibirica by its smaller flowers whose pedicels often are 2-4 at a node in the raceme, with irregular internode lengths between nodes--versus the very regularly spaced, one-per-bracteate-node flowers of sibirica. Washingtoniana differs from C. perfoliata in its larger flowers and in having a bract at each node of the raceme. Its chromosomes are a combination of the 12 large ones of sibirica with the 12 small ones of perfoliata. All three taxa have seeds with a large elaiosome, and their leaves have an expanded blade, versus the linear to slightly spatulate leaves of C. exigua ssp. glauca. There are also linear-leaved types within the C. perfoliata complex (we use the name C. parviflora for them); but they are upright, not depressed plants, green not glaucous, and have seeds with a conspicuous elaiosome. [Adolf: Many thanks to Prof. Chambers for his contribution. I apologize for the inaccuracies in BEN #2 (and in any other BEN).] (BEN # 11 22-September-1991) ------------------------------------------ SAXIFRAGA CESPITOSA ETC. ON MT. WELLS, VICTORIA From: Art Guppy c/o cris.guppy@rbm.galaxy.bcsystems.gov.bc.ca I visited Mt. Wells, off Humpback Rd. May 31 and noticed, in addition to many of the usual plants for the area, items of possible interest. There are masses of Saxifraga cespitosa -- close to var. emarginata (Small) Rosend: glandular only, but somewhat lax in habit -- on the west side of the summits (where low cloud collects at night in spring and early summer). The same plant is on Camas Hill [Art's property on Sooke Rd. - AC], also on the west side, but in smaller numbers. On one of the secondary summits of Mt. Wells there are a very few plants of Luina hypoleuca, rather small in stature (15 cm) and very handsome. Nearby is what I take to be Arenaria rubella, though some plants look like annuals. However, two had the remains of last year's inflorescences. Perhaps introgression with A. stricta? (Read Minuartia rubella and M. tenella, if preferred.) Regarding Saxifraga cespitosa, Clark's Wild Flowers of B.C. has a photo of a few-flowered, probably depauperate plant of this species which he states was a "densely pubescent form occurring hear Sooke Harbour." -- apparently what Hitchcock calls var. subgemmifera and which is reported to occur in the Puget Sound area. Has anyone seen this pilose or arachnoid form on Vancouver Island? (BEN # 11 22-September-1991) ------------------------------------------ MT. FINLAYSON (NEAR VICTORIA, B.C.) CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC From: Adolf Ceska Few weeks ago owners of Mt. Finlayson posted no trespassing signs on the trail to Mt. Finlayson. Mt. Finlayson is a nice hill (elev. 415 m) adjacent to the Goldstream Provincial Park. It is a locality of several plants rare on Vancouver Island (Cheilanthes gracillima, Idahoa scapigera, Crocidium multicaule, Orobanche fasciculata, Trifolium depauperatum, Woodsia scopulina, etc.) and the type locality of Saxifraga rufidula. Sisyrinchium douglasii and Arctostaphylos columbiana form nice stands near the top. From the rich bryoflora I would like to mention relatively rare liverworts Targionia hypophylla and Athalamia hyalina. Dr. Newcombe collected Lomatium macrocarpum (the only locality known on Vancouver Island) and Arnica cordifolia (Jennet Renfroe knows it from the nearby Highlands) on Mt. Finlayson, but I do not know where. Any publication that mentions the Goldstream Provincial Park also mentions Mt. Finlayson, usually with a comment that Mt. Finlayson is not a part of the Park. Why not ? My friends in the B.C. Ministry of Parks, should not you buy it ? If you do, get Jocelyn Hill (locality of Meconella oregana, Githopsis specularioides, Idahoa and Crocidium) as well. You will create a nice, exciting park reaching from the Goldstream Park (s.str.) to Mackenzie Bight. (BEN # 11 22-September-1991) ------------------------------------------ EDITORIAL NOTES From: Adolf Ceska The problem of long lists of addresses has been solved thanks to our network guru Gary Shearman. All subscribers on BITNET and other NET's should get uncluttered BEN. Subscribers on All- in-One (Royal B.C. Museum and a part of the B.C. government) can use "rwd" or "pwd" commands (read-without-distribution or print-without-distribution, respectively) to suppress printing of addresses. Other B.C. government subscribers (on PROFS etc.) may have a similar system available; just ask your system operator. In order to get this system running I had to divide the original distribution list into three separate lists. Consequently, if you use an automatic reply to BEN's (as Rick Kool once did), you will address only that part of subscribers that are on the same distribution list as you are. E.g., if you are on BITNET, you will communicate only with the BITNET subscribers and not with those on the B.C. government networks. In order to make sure that you contribution gets to all subscribers, please submit it to my address (aceska.cue.bc.ca from non-government net's or simply aceska from all-in-one etc.). (BEN # 11 22-September-1991) ------------------------------------------ PERIGLACIAL NOTES FROM THE HAINES TRIANGLE This summer I was fortunate indeed to visit the Alsek- Tatshenshini area of the so-called Haines Traiangle of northwestern-most British Columbia. It was primarily a reconnaissance-level evaluation of a proposed wilderness area centred on Tats Creek in the Alsek Ranges of the St. Elias Mtns., but naturally I also botanized. The terrain is spectacular and unrelentingly formidable, including "some of the most rugged country in North America" (Holland 1976). We were mostly in the Alsek Ranges, which lie between the Coast Mtns. to the east and the higher, wet ter, more heavily glaciated Icefield and Fairweather ranges to the west. Mountain slopes are very steep, dissected, and brushy, while the valley floors of the major streams are vast, flat, and occupied by braided rivers heavily charged with glacial sediments. "The low timberline and general lack of vegetation in many parts, coupled with many evidences of stagnant and receding ice, give the appearance of a land just emerging from its glacial cloak" (Holland op. cit.). Nevertheless, there are lots of interesting plants, which we'll get to in a bit. The valley of the Alsek River provides the only low- elevation breach of the windward mountain front, so some interesting weather funnels in from the North Pacific. The climate of most of the Alsek Ranges Ecosection (Fenger et al. 1990) appears to be a cold transitional type, drier than that of the wet coastal belt (which occurs mostly in ad- jacent Alaska), but moister, considerably snowier, and less continental than that of the Tatshenshini Basin Ecoregion to the east (basically north and east of the confluence of the O'Connor and Tatshenshini rivers). Based on Krajina's original map but no fieldwork, we used to think that the Coastal Western Hemlock zone penetrated into this part of the province along the lower Tatshenshini and Alsek. But we were wrong. The biogeoclimatic zonation portrayed on the 1:500,000 regional map (Pojar & Nuszdorfer 1988) was corrected following fieldwork by Ketcheson and others in 1988/89, and is accurately depicted on a 1:500,000 wildlife habitat map (Fenger et al. 1990) The middle Tatsheshini drainage (Duke Depression Ecoregion; see Fenger et al.) is relatively straightforward, with a sequence of more or less typical BWBSdk, SWB, and AT in a cold dry climatic region. From the O'Connor River on down the Tatshenshini, things change dramatically. Ketcheson (1989) delimited a cold coast-transition climatic region, basically t he Alsek Ranges from the height of land west of the middle Tatshenshini and south and west from the O'Connor. Subzones in this region are: BWBSwc (wet cold boreal); previously undescribed; 100-600/700 m SWBwc (wet cold subalpine); previously undescribed: 600/700-900/1000 m AT (undifferentiated alpine); previously undescribed; 900/1000 plus m These subzones have no equivalent in B.C., although the landforms and vegetation (see Viereck and Dyrness 1980) are similar in many respects to that of the Chugach and Wrangell mountains of south central Alaska. Lower elevations along this stretch of the Tatshenshini (BWBSwc) have open forest and scrub, with Populus bal- samifera ssp. balsamifera extensive on floodplains and carrying on up the lower slopes, where joined by scattered Picea glauca and Betula papyrifera, and lots of willows. Populus tremuloides is uncommon, Pinus contorta and Abies lasiocarpa appear to be absent, and I saw no Tsuga heterophylla, Picea sitchensis, or Alnus rubra. Spruce and other conifers appear to be absent along the B.C. portion of the Alsek above its confluence with the Tatshenshini. The extensive stands of balsam poplar are noteworthy. In places (such as along Ninetyeighter Creek) it is the only tree species present except for scattered white spruce, and dominates an unusual forest type with an understory of Alnus crispa ssp. sinuata and a forest floor rampant with Coelog- lossum viride and Boschniakia rossica. Young seral vegetation on sandy-gravelly riverbars is characterized by Salix alaxensis, S. sitchensis, Alnus incana, Shepherdia canadensis, Dryas drummondii, Epilobium latifolium, Hedysarum mackenzii, and Solidago spathulata. I collected Salix setchelliana on such a riverbar at the confluence of the Tatshenshini and O'Connor. Mountain slopes and valleys at medium to high subalpine elevations are covered primarily by shrubby vegetaion, mostly willows and slide alder (Alnus crispa ssp. sinuata). The Spruce-Willow-Birch zone here has no scrub birch (Betula glandulosa) and only scattered white spruce. There are some very open stands of white spruce and balsam poplar, with a thick understory of slide alder and willows. The predominant thickets have tall shrubs of slide alder, willows (Salix commutata, monticola, alaxensis, barclayi), other shrubs such as Sorbus sitchensis and Ribes laxiflorum, and a lush herb layer including Epilobium angustifolium, Heracleum lanatum, Valeriana sitchensis, Dryopteris "assimilis", Senecio triangularis, Veratrum viride, Gym- nocarpium dryopteris, Aruncus dioicus, Sanguisorba sitchen- sis, Pyrola asarifolia, and Rubus arcticus. There are many moist meadows dominated by Calamagrostis canadensis, Epilobium angustifolium, and Heracleum lanatum. In late July the fireweed was in bloom, and huge mountain- side patches were suffused with pink, which highlighted a dark tracery of grizzly bear trails. The SWB also has extensive Festuca altaica-dominated meadows. A Festuca altaica-Geranium erianthum moist meadow at 780 m near Tats Lake featured Phleum alpinum, Calamagros- tis canadensis, Hierochloe odorata, Trisetum spicatum, Vahlodea atropurpurea, Carex macloviana, Luzula parviflora, Angelica lucida, Trientalis arctica, Erigeron peregrinus, Veronica wormsk- joldii, Pyrola asarifolia, Aconitum del- phiniifolium, Artemisia norvegica, Arnic a latifolia, Senecio triangularis, Epilobium angustifolium, Achillea millefolium, Rubus arcticus, Veratrum viride, Ranunculus occidentalis, Viola langsdorfii, Sanguisorba sitchensis, Valeriana sitchensis, Moehringia lateriflora, and Vaccinium caespitosum. I also found Saussurea americana in this com- munity. A drier Festuca altaica-Empetrum nigrum meadow had Trisetum spicatum, Cares microchaeta, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, Vac- cinium uliginosum, Galium boreale, Achillea millefolium, Huperzia selago, Coeloglossum viride, and Botrychium lan- ceolatum. The extensive alluvial gravel bars and freshly exposed till support a Salix- Dryas drummondii-Epilobium latifolium community type, with thickets of Salix alaxensis, S. mon- ticola, S. commutata, S. lanata, S barclayi, S. arctica, Alnus crispa ssp. sinuata, Shepherdia canadensis, and stunted balsam poplar. Other characteristic species include Heracleum lanatum, Equisetum variegatum, C alamagrostis canadensis, Deschampsia cespitosa, Trisetum spicatum, Erigeron acris, Arabis lyrata, Pyrola asarifolia, Castilleja unalaschcensis, Parnassia kotzebuei, Stereocaulon paschale, S. tomentosum, and Rhacomitrium spp. There are also some nice sloping fens on toe slopes, with Trichophorum cespitos um, Eriophorum angustifolium, Carex capillaris, C. membranacea, C. kelloggii, C. garberi ssp. bifaria, Platanthera dilatata, Equisetum arevense, E. variegatum, Erigeron peregrinus ssp. peregrinus, Tofieldia pusilla, Viola palustris, Sanguisorba sitchensis, Anemone parviflora, Thalictrum alpinum, Pinguicula villosa, Poten- tilla fruticosa, and Leptarrhena pyrolifolia. The alpine tundra vegetation of the drier climatic region, as for example on calcareous sedimentary ridges at 1500-1700 m on the west side of the Tatshenshini near Sediments Creek, is about what would be expected---- dwarf willows, Dryas, Festuca altaica, and lots of lichens. The prevailing tundra type can be characterized as Salix reticulata-Festuca al- taica, with Salix polaris, Dryas integrifolia, D. oc- topetala, Potentilla diversifolia, Solidago multiradiata, Campanula lasiocarpa, Bistorta vivipara, Myosotis alpestris, Artemisia norvegica, Antennaria monocephala, A. umbrinella, Gentiana glauca, G. propinqua, Cerastium beeringianum, Stellaria monantha, Senecio lugens, Zygadenus elegans, Sibbaldia procumbens, Veronica wormskjoldii, Anemone par- viflora, Lupinus arcticus, Arctostaphylos rubra, Hedysarum alpinum, Mertensia paniculata, Sanguisorba sitchensis, Silene acaulis, Sedum rosea, Lycopodium alpinum, Aconitum delphiniifolium, Empetrum nigrum, Poa alpina, P. arctica, Phleum alpinum, Festuca brachyphylla, Carex microchaeta, C. albo-nigra Kobresia myosuroides, and Juncus drummondii. Snow beds have Salix reticulata, S. polaris, Artemisia norvegica, Carex microch aeta, Phyllodoce empetriformis, Valeriana sitchensis, Veratrum viride, Ranunculus occiden- talis, and Vahlodea atropurpurea. Exposed windblown ridgecrests with fine scree supported excellent cushion plant tundra that included Dryas in- tegrifolia, D. octopetala, Silene acaulis, Saxifraga tricuspidata, S. cernua, S. adscendens, S. nivalis, S. punctata, Potentilla fruticosa, P. uniflora, P. hyparctica, Salix polaris, S. stolon- ifera, Vaccinium uliginosum, Taraxacum ceratophorum, Senecio lugens, Antennaria monocephala, A. alpina, Hedysarum alpinum, Papaver radicatum, Anemone parviflora, Myosotis alpestris, Oxyria digyna, Astragalus alpinus, Campanula lasiocarpa, Ranunculus nivalis, Cardamine bellidifolia, Stellaria monantha, Sedum rosea, Draba spp., Agropyron violaceum, Hierochloe alpina, Festuca brachyphylla, Poa arctica, Trisetum spicatum, Luzula spicata, L. arcuata, Carex albo-nigra. I also collected Polemonium boreale ssp. boreale var. villosissimum, Oxytropis huddelsonii, Arnica louiseana ssp. frigida, A. angustifolia ssp. tomentosa, Erigeron uniflorus ssp. eriocephalus, and Saxifraga bronchialis ssp. funstonii on these ridges. West over the height of land on upper slopes (acid intrusive Noisy Range-it was) on the west side of Tats Creek, the alpine tundra in the moister, transition climatic region was quite different. At 1020 m, a Cassiope stelleriana-Empetrum nigrum-Phyllodoce glanduliflora mesic to moist, alpine heath: Cassiope mertensiana, Phyllodoce empetriformis, P Xintermedia, Vaccinium uliginosum, V. caespitosum, Salix stolonifera, S. arctica, something intermediate between the two (funny goings-on between S. arctica and S. stolonifera in this region, as I recall Argus mentions), S. reticulata, Lycopodium sitchense, L alpinum, L. clavatum, Huperzia selago, Castilleja parviflora, Valeriana sitchensis, Hieracium triste, Luetkea pectinata, Artemisia norvegica, Veratrum viride, Trientalis arctica, Sanguisorba sitchensis, Rubus arcticus, Antennaria umbrinella, Bistorta vivipara, Pedicularis capitata, Anemone richardsonii, A. parviflora, Gentiana glauca, Arctostaphylos rubra, Carex microchaeta, Vahlodea atropurpurea, Festuca altaica, Hierochloe alpina, Luzula parviflora, and L. arcuata. At 1300 m, Salix-Empetrum nigrum-Loiseluria procumbens with Salix reticulata, S. stolonifera, Arctostaphylos rubra, Cassiope tetragona, Dryas octopetala, Sedum rosea, Pedicularis capitata, Silene acaulis, Artemisia norvegica, Antennaria monocephala, Lupinus arcticus, Gentiana glauca, Anemone narcissiflora ssp. interior, and I also collected Primula cuneifolia ssp. saxifragifolia, which was common. On Pentice Ridge east of the Melbern Glacier, at 1600 m on granitic rubble, I collected Dodecatheon frigidum, Arnica louiseana ssp. frigida, and Oxytropis jordalii. Note that I was only there for three days, and only had a few hours to spare for real collecting. No doubt there are other interesting species and B.C. rarities to be dis- covered. The region is virtually uncollected west of the Tatshenshini. It definitely deserves a proper biological survey, not just our usual rushed, opportunistic reconnais- sance. Perhaps something like the expedition to the Brooks Peninsula. There is money around these days, if a campaign were to be properly orchestrated. And don't forget the area is under siege by heartless mining interests and Howe Street charlatans. Sincerely yours, Jim Pojar Forest Science Officer Smithers (BEN # 12 24-September-1991) ------------------------------------------ PC VTAB 1.3 From: Del Meidinger Version 1.3 of PC-VTAB is now available. If you haven't heard of PC-VTAB, it's a PC version of the UBC VTAB program for vegetation and environment data tabling. It combines the best features of the mainframe VTAB and the BCFS vegetation tabling program (VEGSORT), constancy data tabling program (CONMENU), and environment/mensuration data program (ENTREE). So, if you're collecting, entering, editing, and tabling vegetation data, this program is for YOU. For a copy, send three high density diskettes to : Del Meidinger Forest Science Research Branch BC Ministry of Forests 31 Bastion Square Victoria V8W 3E7 It takes about 2.8 Mb of hard disk space. (BEN # 13 7-October-1991) ------------------------------------------ BOTANICAL 'COFFEE' TALK From: Del Meidinger Times-Colonist -- October 3, 1991 -- FRONT PAGE "Kiwis spend years hunting orchid - then sit on it" "AUCKLAND, New Zealand -- Botanists who spent years searching for a rare orchid-- thought to be extinct -- found the precious flower when they accidentally sat on it during their lunch break. After four futile days wallowing in a peat bog in search of the tiny Corybas carsei, the demoralized conservation department botanists paused for lunch and found they were sitting on the flower, the New Zealand 'Herald' reported. The orchid blooms just two days a year. Despite the weight of the scientists, the plant was not harmed and 14 others were found nearby. They are being kept at a secret location." Note: I wonder if our conservation botanists have any stories that would merit the front page of the Times-Colonist! [I sent the story through E-mail to three botanists in New Zealand. Their answer, if any, will appear in the next BEN - AC] (BEN # 13 7-October-1991) ------------------------------------------ NOXIOUS WEEDS From: Jim Pojar JANOS anxiously awaits the results of your district-wide weed survey. Gap analysis is certain to confirm our fears; heavy infestations centred on the Banner property, with an alarming secondary upwelling at Bigelow Lake (S. Thomson residence). And what about Lythrum salicaria ???? It could be infiltrating the Bigelow littoral as we "speak". [Jim, I have just returned from the speakers tour to Gold River, Courtenay, and Parksville. As a school trustee you may be interested in one school that had a head lice infestation. Shortly after a head check they had an earthquake drill and children cuddled up under the desks and loudly counted to sixty. I am sure that the earthquake drill helped to spread lice. Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) has made it to Quadra Island, and to the Campbell River and Courtenay River estuaries. Naturalists from Courtenay are pulling it out and composting, but Motel Washington planted it around the motel's pond. The management does not want to destroy it and the naturalists suggested a municipal bylaw banning this plant from Courtenay gardens. Meanwhile, the municipality of Esquimalt with their ecologically minded mayor (Cris Clement, R.P.Bio 348) banned untidy lawns with Taraxacum, Hypochaeris and Leontodon. I also checked a population of Spartina patens near Goose Spit, Comox, discovered in the 1970's by Chris Brayshaw. Spartina is doing very well in the upper Salicornia zone. - Adolf] (BEN # 13 7-October-1991) ------------------------------------------ SOMETHING OF LITTLE IMPORTANCE FROM: Andy MacKinnon, Forest Geriatrician I need some sound botanical advice, BEN editor. I have always believed that members of the genus Ribes could be separated into 'gooseberries' and 'currants' depending on whether they were armed (gooseberries) or not (currants). Several people (and several published works) agree. Recently I have come upon two books which differ, one of them describing Ribes lacustre, for example, as "prickly currant" (an oxymoron?). Please advise. Please append to my previous request this one (unless you can solve it pre-BEN): One common name for Rubus arcticus is 'dwarf nagoonberry'. I have been unable to determine the origin of this unusual name. Could someone please enlighten me? Thanks, Adolf. As with bank cards and Botany B.C., I don't remember how I got along before BEN. Regards, Andy MacKinnon, Old Growth Project 387-6536 (fax) 387-0046 (BEN # 13 7-October-1991) ------------------------------------------ NOXIOUS WEED ALERT From: Roy Cranston Just received a copy of BEN #13 through David Ralph. I was previously unaware of this ... service, Please add my name to your mailing list for future additions. For information we have issued Weed Alerts to noxious weed personnel on the following: 1. Rush Skeletonweed - Chondrilla juncea. This was discovered at the CP Rail station at Sirdar in 1990. Identification confirmation by Bob Ogilvie. 2. Wild Four O'Clock - Mirabilis nyctaginea. Discovered at Spences Bridge by Ministry of Agriculture staff in 1991. 3. Velvetleaf - Abutilon theophrasti. Found in cornfield at Chilliwack in fall of 1990. 4. Syrian bean caper - Zygophyllum fabago. Reported to us by Okanagan County, Wash. weed control staff as being right on the border at Nighthawk. Surveys on our side of the border failed to find any plants. (BEN # 14 14-October-1991) ------------------------------------------ POSITION OPEN - BOTANY TECHNICIAN - ROYAL ONTARIO MUSEUM The Botany Department of the Royal Ontario Museum is seeking a Technician to maintain two herbarium collections, the Vascular Plant Herbarium (TRT) and the Cryptogamic Herbarium (TRTC), and to do other related activities associated with each. The incumbent will sort, identify, mount, and label specimens, enter data on computer, maintain herbarium equipment and supplies, fill loan requests and respond to public inquiries, and participate in fieldwork. Qualifications include a University degree with specialization in Botany and at least 2 years technical or collections-related experience. Candidates must be able to identify fungal and/or vascular plant specimens; experience with bryophytes, lichens or algae would be an asset. Strong organizational skills and high level of accuracy are required as well as demonstrated communication, interpersonal and supervisory skills. Experience with MS-DOS, Wordperfect and dBase are also essential. Previous fieldwork would be an asset, and the qualified candidates must be able to undertake fieldwork under isolated conditions and move and carry heavy objects. A driver's license is required. Please apply in writing, no later than October 18, 1991, to: Cheryl McClellan, Human Resources Department, Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen's Park, Toronto, Ont. M5S 2C6. Phone: 416-586-5547, FAX: 416-586-5863 (BEN # 14 14-October-1991) ------------------------------------------ WASABI SEARCH UNSUCCESSFUL From: Adolf Ceska Last weekend Dan Borman (WA) with his wife and a small child came to search for wasabi on Rendezvous Islands near Quadra Island. Wasabi, or Japanese horse radish (Eutrema wasabi) is an essential ingredient to sushi or sashimi as all the Yuppies on the BEN list certainly know. Dan heard about wasabi having been grown there, however, his search turned out only a new locality of Petasites japonicus. He said that an interesting system of terraces was build in the creek valley and it is difficult to imagine that all that work would be done only to plant Japanese colt's foot, whose culinary value in Japanese cuisine is marginal. It is possible that a similar search in spring or early summer could bring better results. (BEN # 14 14-October-1991) ------------------------------------------ ELECTRONIC BOTANY HOW TO From: Adolf Ceska When Rick Kool introduced me to CONSLINK list I rejected it immediately, objecting that it would add to my e-mail I had to read (cf. Hans Roemer's reaction to BEN). After few messages I received through the CONSLINK, I realized that there is another dimension to the e-mail than messages about oncoming parties or calls for lost or forgotten trolleys. I subscribed not only to CONSLINK, but also to HERB, ECONET, WILDNET, BIOSPHere, RECYCLE etc., etc. To satisfy my programming ambitions I read PASCAL lists. Occasionally I called for help addressing the lists, or answered the question asked by others. (I have already mentioned several of these lists on previous BENs and I'll bring a longer list of lists later.) I missed a list that would deal with botany and the Pacific Northwest and I created BEN. The first pre-BEN message was a news about fruiting Takakia, a mysterious liverwort of the Queen Charlotte Islands and Brooks Peninsula which turned to be (as Barbara Murray predicted) in fact a moss. I thought Jim Pojar and people in Smithers should know. The BEN subscriber list has been growing ever since. I would like to answer Bill Burk's message (BEN #13) and I solicited several articles on electronic communication that will cover these questions. Some questions are answered in Gary Shearman's article (How BEN works). Rick Kool in Datastroika calls from breaking the Government computing structure and getting access to TELNET and FTP. The advantages of having TELNET and FTP are clear: If you have the access to TELNET, type telnet melvyl.ucop.edu You will get connected to the library catalogue of the University of California libraries with over 10,000,000 titles and you can search for whatever you want. If you do not know, how to search, type "help" at the prompt and the help will come. There was a case of mushroom poisoning of seventy-seven Vancouver policemen this spring (the Hyatt Regency Hotel served raw morels at the retirement party for the Chief of the Vancouver Police) and I was asked what was the toxin and how to detect it (I guess that a mass poisoning on the police party calls for an investigation!). MELVYL gave me bibliographic references of about fifty books dealing with mycotoxins. Another nice network service is TAXACOM. Based in Buffalo, you can access it through your modem by phone, however, you have pay for your phone call. A cheaper way to get to TAXACOM is through FTP (File Transfer Protocol) by typing a command ftp herbarium.bpp.msu.edu Few words of warning. FTP is NOT a user-friendly operation. You have to know what you are doing. I have several articles on how to use FTP and I will stuff them in BEN. At this time I am appending a short list of instructions distributed by TAXACOM (How to use TAXACOM FTP server ...). The access to MELVYL and TAXACOM is free of charge. There are obviously better data bases such as DIALOG, where you have to pay connecting charges and a fee for any bit of information you extract from the data base. (BEN # 14 14-October-1991) ------------------------------------------ HOW BEN WORKS From: Gary Shearman I'm sure we are all enjoying Adolf's "BEN" newsletter. I must congratulate Adolf for his initiative in taking advantage of the opportunity to make BEN so widely available. Adolf has asked me to explain how BEN gets distributed. BEN is being distributed as electronic mail on the Internet. The Internet has evolved over a number of years into a very large and extremely important vehicle for the academic and research communities. It is a high speed electronic "highway" or "pipeline" connecting university campuses, research labs and developers in a large and growing number of countries. The whole Internet itself is now growing very rapidly, 30% a month is the figure that I have seen. The cue telecommunications node is one of the distribution points for BEN. CUE is connected to BCNet, which is our regional network. BCNet is a part of CA Net, which is the Canadian component of the Internet. CA Net is connected to the rest of the Internet at two points, Vancouver and Toronto. CUE has established a "distribution list" for BEN. A distribution list solved the annoying and growing problem of seeing everyone's name at the start of each BEN. Adolf mails an issue of BEN to that list and it automatically gets delivered to the individual "mailbox" of each person on the list. For those receiving this through the BC Systems All-in-One or Profs services, the route is somewhat different. Adolf has now split BEN into a couple of other lists expressly for people using Government e-mail service. The connection between that service and the Internet is still evolving. [See article on DATASTROIKA !] Adolf has already mentioned other distribution lists available to the Internet community, such as "Herb", which is a list containing news about medicinal and aromatic plants. As many of you with Internet connections will already know, it is also possible to log into remote services, such as the University of California's MELVYL library catalog [through TELNET], and to retrieve files from remote archive servers [using FTP]. A short personal anecdote might best serve to illustrate the potential of this wonderful resource. Some months ago I had occasion to ask a technical question on one of the newsgroups connected to the Internet. I had several answers back in 24 hours. The most useful one came from a gentleman at the University of Tasmania! He recommended that I join a new list on the subject that was just starting up at Yale. That incident certainly brought home to me just what a powerful vehicle the Internet is. (BEN # 14 14-October-1991) ------------------------------------------ DATASTROIKA From: Rick Kool When David Mattison, a Librarian at the BC Records and Archives Service, first mentioned the concept of 'datastroika' to me, I knew I had found a kindred spirit. For years, I had been boggled by the monopoly on computing and electronic communications that the British Columbia Systems Corporation (BCSC) had. All government electronic mail had to go through one of BCSC's three clunky systems- IBM's Profs, WangOffice, or DEC's All-In-One. The problem with BCSC were both the cost, and the hassle. Most email in most government ministries is internal, that is, you are most likely to be communicating with someone in your branch, then in your ministry, then in other ministries, and least likely to go out to the rest of the world. So, to get a message to a guy down the hall, I have to hook into a computer across town, send a message, pay for someone to handle the call and store it until my associate also logs on to a distant machine to get my message. This is not cheap! Why not, I thought, have email decentralized- have it live in my building for all of the internal stuff, and then use BSCS as a router for anything going elsewhere. And, at the same time, save on the cost of using an expensive system with a high overhead cost! The other problem is that BCSC won't let me do what I want to do. While BCSC is part of the Internet through its association with BCNet, I can't seem to get them to let me use the Telnet or FTP features of BCNet. Telnet, for example, allows a user to jump to the logon of a distant computer anywhere in the world. One use of this is for on-line library searches. The University of California has an on-line catalogue of many millions of volumes, all of which can be searched at no cost through a Telnet connection. Other libraries in North America and Europe also have this option, assuming you can get to them. FTP (anonymous file transfer protocol) allows a user to logon to a remote host and take files. This might mean going into a software repository at Stanford and getting the latest virus checker, or going into the Jet Propulsion Lab and taking a number of the Voyager images. REAL Internet email lets you do these things- BCSC seems to have difficulty. The real solution is to have all the different branches and/or ministries to have their own Internet address. The cost is relatively cheap and communication within government would still be easy (as easy as it is to talk to anyone anyplace in the world). Telnet and FTP would be available, at no charge, to those wanting to use them. IF YOU ARE A GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE, ASK YOUR SYSTEMS PEOPLE ABOUT GETTING ACEESS TO TELNET AND FTP. Datastroika is unlikely to come about quickly. However, voice your concern! Ensure that you can access your electronic birthright, the freedom of network access! {As an added note, the University Computing Services of the University of BC puts out a great monthly publication, Campus Computing. Call them for a free subscription! - RK} (BEN # 14 14-October-1991) ------------------------------------------ HOW TO USE TAXACOM FTP SERVER ON THE ACADEMIC/RESEARCH NETWORK TAXACOM FTP Server allows Internet access to scientifically oriented text files and programs, especially those dealing with aspects of systematic biology. Available for downloading is the journal Flora Online, the DELTA taxonomic programs, the LABELS3 herbarium data management programs, and other material of interest to systematic biologists. Access is by "anonymous FTP" at ftp herbarium.bpp.msu.edu or 35.8.196.1. From a computer connected to the Internet, start the FTP program and use either the host name or IP address given above as the destination, e.g. FTP 35.8.196.1. Enter "anonymous" as the user id. "Dir" or "ls" lists the files in the current FTP SERVER directory. "Cd" to change directories; the TAXACOM files are located under the subdirectory "pub" (once connected at the "FTP>" prompt, type "cd pub"). To return to the previous parent directory type "cd .." "Get " copies the remote file to your computer, "mget" uses "*" as a wild card symbol to copy multiple files in one operation. For help with other FTP commands, type "help" at any FTP> prompt. When downloading compressed (8-bit) files be sure to specify "binary" or "image" at the FTP> prompt before issuing a "get" or "mget" command, otherwise the files you retrieve will be unusable. The programs you receive are generally for MS-DOS microcomputers, so you should copy these to such machines. (BEN # 14 14-October-1991) ------------------------------------------ MUSHROOM DAY IN THE ROYAL BRITISH COLUMBIA MUSEUM When: Saturday October 26, 1991 10:00 - 16:00 Where: Royal B.C. Museum - Lobby This is an annual event organized by the mycologists from the Pacific Forestry Centre (John Dennis, Brenda Callan & Al Funk) with help of other mushroom enthusiasts (Ted Underhill, Adolf & Oluna Ceska) and often also with moral support of Andy MacKinnon. (BEN # 15 23-October-1991) ------------------------------------------ TRIP TO SAANICH INLET From: Adolf Ceska On October 12 the expedition consisting of Hans Roemer, John Pinder-Moss, Oluna and Adolf tried to find a locality of poison oak (Rhus diversiloba) in Saanich Inlet. Poison oak was collected there by J.R. Anderson about ninety years ago. We launched our three-men Zodiak in the Goldstream Marina and went slowly along the shores of the inlet from the marina to the mouth of the Spectacle Creek and to Elbow Point. We did not find any poison oak. We used this opportunity to check the Giant Chain Fern (Woodwardia fimbriata) on the Malahat side of Saanich Inlet. This locality was discovered by J.R. Anderson. Later Dr. Newcombe and his son followed Mr. Anderson's instructions and made a nice collection of Woodwardia in 1919. In 1977 we used Dr. Newcombe's notes and rediscovered the site on a field trip with Jim Pojar and George Douglas. (Jim found it.) The population of Woodwardia has declined since our trip in 1977. There were about thirty plants of Woodwardia there in 1977, today we found only about twelve plants. Some old thick rhizomes had one or two relatively small leaves and we saw several dead rhizomes. The series of cold winters, denser and darker growth of a second growth forest, or drier soil conditions are probably responsible for the decline. I phoned to people who watch the Woodwaria population on Mark Lane off Willis Point and their plants are growing well. (BEN # 15 23-October-1991) ------------------------------------------ DUCKS UNLIMITED, ENVIRONMENTALISTS LOCKED IN BATTLE Calgary Herald, Oct. 12?/91 (Jim Love via BIOSPH-L) For months, environmentalists in Manitoba have fought a bitter, public battle over the plan by Ducks Unlimited to build an office building amid some of the best waterfowl habitat in the country. No full public federal environmental review will be done. The building is two stories and will have 100 employees. The location in Oak Hammock Marsh has been compared to Point Pelee National Park in Southern Ontario. The marsh is half the size of Prince Edward Island. The Centre hopes to attract 200,000 visitors annually. The World Wildlife Fund is fighting the project. (BEN # 15 23-October-1991) ------------------------------------------ RE: BEN #11 ALASKA FISHERMEN PROTEST BC MINE From: J.A. Love (via BIOSPH-L) US fishermen who work the lower Alsek River have set aside their differences with river rafters and joined their opposition to the Windy Craggy copper mine in northwestern British Columbia. "I'd like to send a message to the BC government that as a commercial fisherman, as a person who makes his living on this river, they should not let this mine go through," said Paul Smith, who has fished the Alsek for 10 years. , "A mine would wipe out this river and not only that, it will destroy one of the greatest wilderness rivers in the whole West Coast so that no one's kids will be able to enjoy it." The mine is proposed by Geddes Resources of Toronto but opposed by environmentalists and river rafters on the Alsek and Tatsenshini Rivers. Glacier Bay rangers said more than 635,000 kilograms of fish were caught last year on the lower Alsek river. Greg Dungeon, a law enforcement officer in the Glacier Bay preserve, said fishermen who used to object to the disruption caused by river rafters now see them as allies to protect the fisheries and a traditional way of life. "They're now seeing rafters as confederates rather than conspirators," said Dungeon. Mine proponents say it would employ 600 people for at least 20 years and would contribute one percent to the worlds copper production. There are concerns, however, that the deposit's high sulphide content will create an uncontrollable problem with acid mine drainage. Smith said he is worried about acids and chemicals which will be contained in a tailings pond behind a huge earthen dam in a high earthquake zone. (BEN # 15 23-October-1991) ------------------------------------------ WILDERNESS BRAWL LOOMS: Calgary Herald October/91 (Jim Love via BIOSPH-L) The conflict over Tatshenshini wilderness in northwestern BC "is probably going to be hotter than South Moresby. It's a classic wilderness story, a national and international issue," says Harvey Locke a Calgary Lawyer who' president of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society. To Geddes Resource Limited of Toronto (Northgate Exploration and Cominco are major shareholders) want to take the top off Windy Craggy mountain in an open pit mining operation that would giver it access to one of the richest mineral deposits in Canada. - 165 million tonnes of ore over the next 50 years. - copper, cobalt, sliver, gold. - 350 million a year in gross copper revenues alone. Geddes President Gerald Harper says mine will be in operation in mid-1990s if it gets appropriate environmental approvals. Project will generate $200 million in direct taxes. Main Environmental issues: A 100 kilometre long roadway and an acid-rock drainage lake that will be formed by two dams. Harvey Locke says that if the Lake Geddes plans to build on a tributary of Tats Creek (Flows into Tatshenshini river) and gets into the river it will turn it into an "acid sewer" and wipe out a major Alaskan Salmon fishery downstream. This is one of the most seismically sensitive areas of North America. Gerald Harper downplays the danger from the man-made lake that would be five kilometres long by one kilometre wide by saying the lake is necessary because the waste material mined with copper has a high iron ore sulphide content which will eventually produce sulfuric acid when exposed to air and water. Its put under water to stop that process. - All structures will be designed to withstand an earthquake that would be powerful enough to topple mountains and produce tidal waves that would wash away coastal communities. - "If our dam go breached by an earthquake of that size there wouldn't be a Tatshenshini river for it to flow down." - As for the road, road traffic will be limited after production to four trucks a day (During production one every ten minutes). - Fuel and slurry (mine ore in water) will be transported by pipeline). US National Parks Conservation Association and World Wildlife Fund are working to draw attention to the problem. They have obtained coverage by numerous magazines, including LIFE. The Tatshenshini wilderness is probably the most densest grizzly bear habitat in the world. Its the only place in BC where the Blue Bear or glacier bear, a species of black bear can be found. There are golden and bald eagles in abundance. Locke says, "Its scenically astounding with big glaciers coming down to the river at 1000 feet elevation - one of the wildest places I've ever seen," says Locke, an experienced wilderness traveler who places the Tatshenshini river trip among the two 10 river experiences in the world along with Africa's Zambezi some Himalayan rivers and the Bio-Bio in Chile. Locke, president of a group that in the past advocated a co- operative approach to issues such as management of the Waterton National Parks ecosystem and Bow Valley Corridor developments says "No compromise is possible on this open pit mine. No mine is the only solution." (BEN # 15 23-October-1991) ------------------------------------------ VICTORIA MARATHON Del Meidinger and Andy MacKinnon participated in the Victoria Marathon on October 13. They both finished. It was the first marathon for Del, the second for Andy. Congratulations! (BEN # 15 23-October-1991) ------------------------------------------ MUSHROOM SEMINAR - UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA "Mushroom biology, notes on Agaric ecology, biogeography, evolution, anatomy, taxonomy and impact on society" Speaker: Dr. Scott Redhead - Biosystematics Research Institute, Ottawa Time: Friday October 25, 1991 3:00 p.m. Place: University of Victoria, Cunningham Building 146 Free: Coffee and cookies (BEN # 16 24-October-1991) ------------------------------------------ KULAJDA [kool-aida] - SOUTH BOHEMIAN MUSHROOM SOUP Ingredients: handful or more of dried mushrooms, 3 medium potatoes, caraway, salt, 400 g sour cream, table spoon of flour (Five Roses - All Purpose), vinegar. Boil dried mushrooms, diced potatoes, caraway and salt for 20-35 minutes or until mushrooms are tender. Mix flour into sour cream and add it in the soup. Boil for 15 minutes. Add salt and a few drops of vinegar (be careful not to overdo it!). (BEN # 16 24-October-1991) ------------------------------------------ WANTED: DOCUMENTED DESTRUCTIONS OF NATIVE PLANTS From: Nancy Turner & Alison Davis Nancy Turner and Alison Davis (Environmental Studies Program - UVIC) started an inventory of documented cases of the destruction of rare, endangered or unusual plants in "natural" park areas. This could include park activities such as trail or road construction, moving, placement of structures or ditches, etc. over plant habitat, theft of plants, or any other intentional or unintentional human activity. If you know of any such case, please provide as much information as possible about the circumstances: date, season, location, what took place, what plant(s) were involved, and what was the impact on plant populations, with quantitative estimates if possible. We would like your assessment of how the destruction happened, and how or if it could have been avoided. Would you be willing to be cited in this inventory as "personal communication." We are hoping to compile this information to see if any patterns emerge that would provide clues for suggestions to avoid such incidents in the future. For example, we suspect that park works projects undertaken in the winter months may cause undue destruction of plants not visible or recognizable at this time of year. If initial reconnaissance could be made during the growing season, placement of trails, picnic tables, pit toilets, or salmon spawning channels could be adjusted to avoid specific patches or populations of plants. The results of this study would, we hope, be published in a journal like Canadian Biodiversity. Thanks for any observations (or insights). (BEN # 17 31-October-1991) ------------------------------------------ RE: DOCUMENTED DESTRUCTIONS From: Adolf Ceska 1) You can contact Nancy through e-mail by sending a message to BTURNER at the governmental network or to Bob.Turner@rbm.galaxy.bcsystems.gov.bc.ca 2) When Nancy phoned me about this project, she quoted my article in the Victoria Naturalist that described destruction of Nuttall's quillwort (Isoetes nuttallii) in Beacon Hill Park. - The city parks department erected a plaque commemorating that a principal of a Japanese high school donated several sakura trees to Victoria. The only suitable place for this very important memorial was a wet depression hosting locally rare plants. 3) Several years ago Oak Bay engineering department serviced hydrants in Uplands Park in winter and their heavy truck got stuck in a big vernal pool in the open meadow area of the park. To cover the mess they brought a load of gravel and spread it over the tracks. I have to stress that the Oak Bay parks department did not know what the other department was doing. 4) Ignorance is a common denominator of all these cases. "Father, forgive them: for they do not know what they do." [Luke 23:34]. We Bohemians would say "O sancta simplicitas!" [O holly simplicity!] These were the last words of the Czech reformer Jan Hus at the stake when he saw an old peasant woman bringing a bundle of sticks to throw on the pile. 5) There is a remedy. Form, join, contact, support, help local groups such as Friends of Beacon Hill Park, Thetis Lake Nature Sanctuary Association (the danger of building the Vancouver Island highway "Colwood Interchange" in Thetis Park is still real !!), Neighbours of the Chinese Cemetery. Ten years ago I went with the Oak Bay municipal council to Trial Island. It was out of season, but people making decisions realized that Trial Island is more than a pile of rocks. It is an ecological reserve now. (BEN # 17 31-October-1991) ------------------------------------------ RARE AND ENDANGERED SPECIES & MT. FINLAYSON From: Sherry Kirkvold (skirkvold@cue.bc.ca) Just a note to let you know that the info from BEN 11 on Mt. Finlayson has been circulated within our office [B.C. Ministry of Parks]. The people who look after purchasing land had no idea of the botanical value of the area, only its recreation value. Unfortunately, the asking price for this piece of land is the reason that nothing is happening at present, although there is certainly an interest in acquiring this property. I would suggest that botanists continue to share their knowledge about localities of rare plants etc. to assist those responsible for acquiring land in making informed decisions. (BEN # 17 31-October-1991) ------------------------------------------ CURRANTS, GOOSEBERRIES, AND OTHER OXYMORONS From: Bob Ogilvie (bob.ogilvie@rbm.galaxy.bcsystems.gov.bc.ca) When I read Andy MacKinnon's request for advice and enlightenment on oxymorons and nagoons I couldn't resist the urge to respond. Currants and gooseberries are separated by three characters: gooseberries have spines and prickles, the pedicels are not jointed so the berry falls with the stalk attached, and the flowers and berries are solitary or in small (2-4) clusters. Currants lack spines and prickles, the pedicels are jointed so the berry falls without a stalk, and the flowers and berries are in elongated racemes. These three characters are usually correlated, so some taxonomists have used them to define separate genera: Grossularia - the gooseberries, and Ribes - the currants. Unfortunately for taxonomists these three characters are not consistently correlated: there are prickly currants (Ribes lacustre, Ribes montigenum) and spineless gooseberries (Ribes inerme)**. Splitters have dealt with these anomalies either by making a third genus (Limnobotrya lacustris, Limnobotrya montigena), or else ignoring them. These misfits have also been given a diversity of common names: Ribes lacustre has been called prickly currant, bristly currant, bristly black currant, swamp black currant, black gooseberry, swamp gooseberry, and swamp black gooseberry. Oxymorons are not restricted to Ribes. How about Black Blueberry for Vaccinium membranaceum (Taylor & MacBryde), or Red Blueberry for Vaccinium parvifolium (Hitchcock). And there is Rubus, divisible into the blackberries having a fleshy receptacle which forms part of the fruit, which should be black; and the raspberries in which the receptacle is not fleshy and the fruit separates from it leaving a hollow centre, and the fruit should be red. Thus, we have Rubus pubescens called Red Blackberry and Rubus leucodermis called Black Raspberry. Which brings us around to Andy's second question: Rubus arcticus - nagoon berry. I always associate this name with other vernacular names like: osoberry, wahoo, yampah, wapato, or puccoon - resonant folk-names which enliven botanical nomenclature. I know these few words cannot do justice to such fundamental questions, but I hope they have cast a small light which will illuminate the way to an ultimate understanding of nagoons and oxymorons. ** Spineless gooseberry (Ribes inerme) is not only an oxymoron, but also a misnomer. It has spines ! - AC (BEN # 17 31-October-1991) ------------------------------------------ RE: NOXIOUS WEEDS - MIRABILIS NYCTAGINEA From: Terry Taylor (c/o rtaylor@cue.bc.ca) Huber Moore found a population of Mirabilis nyctaginea near Okanagan Falls about three years ago. (BEN # 17 31-October-1991) ------------------------------------------ BEN MAIL BOX From: "William R Burk" When I received over 25 copies of the same message on 7 October from you, I was a little reluctant to communicate as I had trouble deleting the messages. But that has been fixed. As I may have mentioned before, I am the biology librarian at the University of North Carolina--Chapel Hill and also I am a botanist with the formal education in mycology. I was very excited to see your notice about Scott Redhead's talk and only wished I was in your area. We have a local mushroom club of about 85 people which I helped co-found ten years ago. Presently I am the Secretary/Treasurer and help put together the club's newsletter. I hope we could use the recipe that you provided in our mycophagy section of the newsletter. Let me know if it is all right to do so. My special interest in botany, although old-fashioned, is the bibliography of mycology. If there are others out there with similar interests in any area of botany, I would certainly like to hear from them. I appreciate your electronic newsletter. Bill Burk (BEN # 17 31-October-1991) ------------------------------------------ MUSHROOM DAY IN THE ROYAL BRITISH COLUMBIA MUSEUM Mushroom Day October 26 was a success. The Newcombe Program thanks to the Pacific Forestry Centre (Brenda Callan, John Dennis, Rod Garbutt), external experts who happened to be in Victoria (Scott Redhead, Lorelei Norvell), and all volunteers (Al Funk, Ted Underhill, Andy MacKinnon, David Lai, Oluna Ceska) for their help. If you are interested in a list of mushrooms on the show, send me a message (aceska@cue.bc.ca). David Lai took addresses of people interested in mycology. If you are interested in joining a mycological group in Victoria, send your name to Brenda Callan (bcallan@pfc.forestry.ca). (BEN # 17 31-October-1991) ------------------------------------------ NEW LITERATURE Arora, David. 1991. All that the rain promises and more... : a hip pocket guide to western mushrooms. Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, California. xxii+261 p. : ill. ; 18 cm. [I heard that this is a nice book and I have ordered few copies for the Royal Museum Shop.] Harmaja, H. 1991. Taxonomic notes on Rhododendron subsection Ledum (Ledum, Ericaceae), with a key to its species. - Ann. Bot. Fennici 28: 171-173. [Further arguments for inclusion of Ledum into the genus Rhododendron. New name for Ledum palustre as Rhododendron should be R. tomentosum Harmaja.] (BEN # 17 31-October-1991) ------------------------------------------ NEXT BEN BEN will be silent in November. After thirty years of marriage, Oluna and I decided to have a honeymoon. I was in the Czechoslovak army when we got married and they gave me one day for the wedding and two days for travel. The situation in Czechoslovakia was extremely tense. The Berlin Wall was just being erected and Oluna's parents insisted on our marriage: they wanted to see Oluna as a widow of a fallen soldier rather than a heartbroken girlfriend. We are going to paramos and jungles of Ecuador. I have a material for one more BEN and I hope to put it together before I leave. It will be a technical issue with lists of discussion lists, info on useful computer software and on problems with networking. Boring topics for most of you, but you can skip it, if you are not interested. Hasta luego! (BEN # 17 31-October-1991) ------------------------------------------ CORRECTION OF BEN # 17 In WANTED: DOCUMENTED DESTRUCTIONS OF NATIVE PLANTS I gave a wrong GEMS (Government E-Mail System?) address of Bob Turner: His correct address is RDTURNER. Cdnet address was correct: (bob.turner@rbm.galaxy.bcsystems.gov.bc.ca). Snail address : Nancy Turner & Alison Davis, Environmental Studies Program, University of Victoria, Victoria, B.C., V8W 3P4 (BEN # 18 8-November-1991) ------------------------------------------ MARK IN YOUR CALENDAR December 4, 1991 - David Douglas Society Annual Meeting. Phone Bill young (652-3002) for details. December 5, 1991 - Seminar on "Finnish forest ecosystem studies in laboratory scale: nutrients, carbon, biodiversity" by Dr. Heikki Setala (Univ. of Jyvaskyla, Finland) - Pacific Forestry Centre, 506 West Burnside, 10:30 a.m. (BEN # 18 8-November-1991) ------------------------------------------ NEW SUBSCRIBER Judy Godfrey's GEMS address is JGODFREY. (BEN # 18 8-November-1991) ------------------------------------------ HIGH AWARD TO LASZLO ORLOCI Prof. Laszlo Orloci (Univ. Western Ontario, London, Ont.) was elected to the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in summer 1991. (BEN # 18 8-November-1991) ------------------------------------------ NEW PUBLICATION Douglas, G.W., G.B. Straley & Del Meidinger [eds.]. 1991. Vascular plants of British Columbia. Part 3 - Dicotyledons (Primulaceae through Zygophyllaceae) and Pteridophytes. Special report series # 3, B.C. Ministry of Forests. 177 p. (BEN # 18 8-November-1991) ------------------------------------------ THANK YOU ALL I was surprised how many e-cards I got to our belated honeymoon. The nicest came from Jim Pojar: "Adolf, I thought your life and 'work' in Victoria has been one long honeymoon." Thank you, Jim, you are very kind indeed! (BEN # 18 8-November-1991) ------------------------------------------ USEFUL DISCUSSION LISTS In previous BEN's I mentioned few lists worth subscribing to (CONSLINK, HERB). Most of the lists are served by a program LISTSERV and in order to subscribe, you have to send the following message To: listserv@ Subject: ... does not matter ... subscribe your name E.g. If I want to subscribe MUSEUM-L@UNMVM.BITNET, I will send the following message: To: listserv@unmvm.bitnet Subject: get me on museum-l subscribe MUSEUM-L Adolf Ceska That's it. Do not send your subscription to the list address (such as museum-l@unmvm.bitnet). If you do, the message goes to all the subscribers and they will see right away that you misunderstood my instructions. I grouped the lists into several categories. The lists are order by their activity. Those most active are listed first, least active last. 1) Lists on ecology and environment ECONET@MIAMIU.BITNET - A discussion of Ecological and Envi BIOSPH-L@UBVM.BITNET - Biosphere, ecology, Discussion List CONSLINK@SIVM.BITNET - Discussion on Biological Conservation RECYCLE@UMAB.BITNET - Recycling in Practice UNCEDGEN@UFRJ.BITNET - Public discussion List about Envir 2) Lists on botany, use of plants, applied botany HERB@TREARN.BITNET - Medicinal and Aromatic Plants discussion list NEWCROPS@PURCCVM.BITNET - New crops AG-FORST@IRLEARN.BITNET - BIOSCI AgroForestry Bulletin Board AGRIC-L@UGA.BITNET - Agriculture Discussion 3) Lists on botanical techniques, classification, etc. TAXACOMA@MSU.BITNET - TAXACOM announcements TAXACOMP@MSU.BITNET - TAXACOM programmers TAXACOMT@MSU.BITNET - TAXACOM technical CLASS-L@SBCCVM.BITNET - Classification, clustering, and phylogeny est MORPHMET@CUNYVM.BITNET - Biological Morphometrics 4) Lists of certain societies and interest groups ASEH-L@TTUVM1.BITNET - AMERICAN SOCIETY OF ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORIANS ENTOMO-L@UOGUELPH.CA - Entomology discussion list ECOLOG-L@UMDD.BITNET - Ecological Society of America list EJC@SUVM.BITNET - Information Exchange Among Ecology Students a ENVST-L@BROWNVM.BITNET - Environmental Studies Discussion List MUSEUM-L@UNMVM.BITNET - Museum topics PACIFIC@BRUFPB.BITNET - Pacific Studies, whatever comes 5) Lists of general network information NEW-LIST@VM1.NoDak.EDU - List of new lists BIO+NAUT@IRLEARN.BITNET - Search for an address (biologists) LISTS NOT SERVED BY LISTSERV An excellent list of this kind is WILDNET. If you want to subscribe, send your message (in free language) to Eric Woodsworth / Canadian Wildlife Service / Saskatoon / Canada / 306-975-4023 !ejw@access.usask.ca or woodsworth@sask.USask.ca LISTS FOR BIRDERS BIRDEAST@ARIZVM1.BITNET BIRDCNTR@ARIZVM1.BITNET BIRDWEST@ARIZVM1.BITNET BIRDCHAT@ARIZVM1.BITNET BIRDBAND@ARIZVM1.BITNET BIRD_RBA@ARIZVM1.BITNET The National Birding Hotline Cooperative (NBHC) is pleased to announce that another list, BIRDBAND, has been added to those available for those interested in wild birds. The following lists are now available on NBHC: BIRDEAST -- Transcripts of current Eastern U.S. Hotlines BIRDCNTR -- Transcripts of current Central U.S. Hotlines BIRDWEST -- Transcripts of current Western U.S. Hotlines BIRDCHAT -- A list to discuss birding experiences, birding hotspots, and just about anything else of interest regarding wild birds. Please, no chatter here about pet birds. BIRDBAND -- A list provided for bird banders to discuss their trade. BIRD_RBA -- The original NBHC list, now reserved for discussions amongst those providing hotline transcripts to the first three lists. The rules are few and simple: 1) no discussion of pet birds is allowed on BIRDCHAT or BIRDBAND. 2) no postings of any sort, other than transcripts of bona fide U.S. hotlines, are allowed to BIRDEAST, BIRDCNTR, or BIRDWEST. That's it! (BEN # 18 8-November-1991) ------------------------------------------ POP UP YOUR dBASE FILES A shareware program POPDBF is an excellent program. With the use of a hot key, you can access different data bases from your application program. You can browse, view, and even export data from the data base into a word processor. The registration costs US$35.00. The program is in a file POPDBF.ZIP on the Big Blue & Cousins (Victoria IBM PC Users' Group) bulletin board and I downloaded a copy. I browsed through the manual (over 50 pages) and was amazed. The cut-and-paste capability of the program is impressive. (BEN # 18 8-November-1991) ------------------------------------------ NEW VERSION OF DELTA PROGRAMS New versions of the DELTA programs are now available on the Taxacom FTP server. The server can be reached via anonymous FTP at: herbarium.bpp.msu.edu (35.8.196.1). These were made available for network distribution by M. J. Dallwitz, CSIRO Division of Entomology, Canberra, Australia. New features include: Changes to CONFOR in formatting and typesetting directives, an option for translating into HENNIG86 format, and directives for character images. Intkey has been completely rewritten, new features include: improved scrolling, pop-up menus and help screens, the ability to link illustrations with characters and taxa, improved memory handling for larger data sets, among others. The DELTA programs run under MS-DOS and are distributed as self-extracting, archive files with *.exe file names. There are also three text files in the distribution. When FTPing from the Taxacom FTP server, be sure to put FTP into "binary" mode, with the "binary" or "image" command at the "FTP>" prompt, otherwise the 8-bit, self-extracting archive files will be unusable. (From: TAXACOMT list) (BEN # 18 8-November-1991) ------------------------------------------ LASER PRINTER ARCHIVAL QUALITY ? There have been a vivid discussion on TAXACOM TECHNICAL re archival quality of the laser printer prints. Most participants agreed that teh laser printers produce permanent copies. The last contribution, however, was rather interesting: From: TAXACOM TECHNICAL Authorizing-Users: Linda Sims To: Adolf Ceska Reply-To: Linda Sims Subject: Laser printer generated labels. >From TAXACOMT@msu.edu Tue Oct 29 07:26:02 1991 >Comments: Converted from PROFS to RFC822 format by PUMP V2.2 From: Linda Sims I submitted for testing with the Conservation Analytical Laboratory of the Smithsonian Inst., a series of untreated, treated, and several types of printer labels (mainframe,desktop laser and impact printer generated). The results were published in the "Curation Newsletter" Spring 1990, No. 10:2-3. However, under field conditions (Peruvian jungle), a recent finding has changed my views on this topic and I can no longer recommend laser printed labels for entomol- ogical labels. These problems and new preliminary findings will be published in the "Insect Collection News" due out Nov. 1991. Linda Sims Dept of Entomology National Museum of Natural Hist. Smithsonian Institution MNHEN003@SIVM.BITNET (BEN # 18 8-November-1991) ------------------------------------------ FROM WILDNET Subject: The truth about StatSoft and CSS:STATISTICA Message-Id: <9110281436.AA00521@pmbrc.UUCP> Sender: pmbrc!ejw (Eric Woodsworth) The document "The Truth about Statsoft and CSS:STATISTICA" by Leland Wilkinson (president of Systat, Inc) is a searing condemnation, with a number of examples, of a company named StatSoft which has been "producing marketing materials which contain serious factual errors and false allegations concerning SYSTAT, SPSS, STATGRAPHICS, and other statistical packages. Furthermore, its extremely negative marketing materials conceal the fact that StatSoft has imitated SYSTAT's advertisements, many of its algorithms, and even copyrighted material in SYSTAT and other packages." The numerous examples demonstrate how CSS produces very wrong results for many basic procedures, how it obviously fails to understand many of the procedures and graphical techniques in other packages, and how it attempts to cover up its incompetence. The basic moral of the story is "don't buy it". For further details, contact Systat, Inc. I can provide details to those who are interested. (BEN # 18 8-November-1991) ------------------------------------------ EDITORIAL BEN is back. Our trip to Ecuador was exciting and interesting but if you want to go there for a honeymoon, better wait those thirty years. It was quite stressful. We enjoyed a short trip to the tropical jungle (where we got lost); paramos were equally exciting. Ecuadorians were nice to us. We did not have money to get to the Galapagos, so we should try again one day. I was thinking about BEN every day and I got tears in my eyes when I saw a sign "BIG BEN BAR" in the Alameda Hotel in Quito. Before we left I sent earlier issues of BEN to those botanists around the Pacific Northwest who are not on e-mail. I will include their notes in the next issue of BEN. I would like to stress that (paraphrasing WILDNET's disclaimer) all "information and opinions expressed in BEN are solely the responsibility of the originator." (BEN # 19 21-December-1991) ------------------------------------------ LAST MINUTE CHRISTMAS PRESENTS - ALTIMETER WATCHES Cassio 376 and Cassio 510 watches combine the watch with an altimeter, barometer and a depth sensor (for diving). There is also a Citizen brand that does about the same. (BEN # 19 21-December-1991) ------------------------------------------ BOTANICAL SEMINARS - UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA Biology Department, UVIC All seminars on Friday at 146 Cunningham 15:00-16:00 with Social Hour in Carl Reading Room 16:00-17:30. Jan 24, 1992 Louis Hobson (UVIC): Carbon concentrating mechanisms in aquatic plants. Jan 31, 1992 Rolf Mathews (SFU): The paleoecology of rising timberlines and falling lakes - an early Holocene analogue for the future climate in western Canada. Feb. 14, 1992 Nigel Livingston (UVIC): Are plants masters of thermodynamics, economics and feedback theory? Feb 28, 1992 M. Jones (Okanagan College): Biological costs and benefits of ectomycorrhizae? (BEN # 19 21-December-1991) ------------------------------------------ NEW LITERATURE Pojar, J. 1991. Subalpine and alpine vegetation of the Gladys Lake Ecological Reserve, northern British Columbia. Contributions to Natural Science #12, Royal British Columbia Museum. 28 p. ISSN 0829-609X Price: $2.00 + GST ($0.14). Available from the Royal Museum Shop or from the Crown Publications. This publication is a good survey of vegetation of a part of the Spatsizi Plateau Wilderness Park. Jim did the fieldwork in 1975 when he was still with the Ecological Reserves Unit. The work describes plant communities and gives their floristic composition in several summary tables. The vegetation-habitat relationships are summarized in separate tables. Jermy, Clive & Josephine Camus. 1991. The illustrated field guide to ferns and allied plants of the British Isles. Natural History Museum Publications, London. xiv + 194 p. ISBN 0 565 01172 3 [Paperback] Price: $21.50. "Written by experts on the staff of Botany department at The Natural History Museum, London. [The book] is a definitive account of the species of ferns and allied plants encountered in Britain and Ireland." Good identification keys. "The salient diagnostic points are clearly listed against line drawings made by Peter Edwards" (pteridologist at the Kew herbarium). This is an excellent treatment. One thing I did not like is the omission of synonyms. (BEN # 19 21-December-1991) ------------------------------------------ SATIN FLOWER: A NAME CHANGE From: R.T. Ogilvie bob.ogilvie@rbm.galaxy.bcsystems.gov.bc.ca Early spring brings to each region its own spectrum of gay flowers. One of the showiest of the display in the Pacific North-west is the "Grass Widow", which dangles magenta cups from the summit of its slender, swaying stems. These words were written by Harold St. John in 1931 in a paper on the nomenclature of the Satin Flowers (Grass Widows, or Purple-eyed-grass) in the genus Sisyrinchium or Olsynium. In B.C. there are two taxa: a coastal one restricted to the saaniche habitats of Vancouver Island and adjacent Gulf Islands (Sisyrinchium douglasii), and an Interior taxon restricted to the Adams Lake - Chase - Little Shuswap Lake area (Sisyrinchium inflatum). Two recent publications have proposed splitting off the Satin Flowers from the rest of the Blue-eyed-grass taxa into a separate genus. One of these, by Goldblatt, Rudall and Henrich (1990, Syst. Bot. 15:497) is based on the results of a cladistic analysis, the other paper by Anita Cholewa and Douglass Henderson (1991, Madrono 38:232), is a short note on the nomenclature of Sisyrinchium inflatum. The satin-flowers differ from the blue-eyed-grasses in having larger flowers, 2-3 (1-4) flowers per inflorescence, reddish-purple (not blue) flowers but varying from light magenta, pale lilac-pink, reddish-purple to deep-purple; the filaments of the stamens joined together in a tube between one-third to one- half their length, and the tube slightly to strongly enlarged at the base; and the stems are more rounded and the leaves are non- equitant. It was David Douglas who discovered the coastal satin- flower in 1826 at The Dalles just east of the Columbia River Gorge, and it was named Sisyrinchium douglasii by Dietrich in 1838. Rafinesque split off the satin-flowers into a new genus Olsynium in 1836, and the combination Olsynium douglasii (Dietrich) Bicknell was made by Bicknell in 1900. The Interior satin-flower was discovered by Wilhelm Suksdorf at Spangle just south of Spokane, and it was named by him in 1923 as Olsynium inflatum Suksdorf. Harold St. John's 1931 paper, from which the above lines are quoted, evaluated the characters separating Olsynium from Sisyrinchium, and he concluded that flower colour is too trivial a character and filament fusion too variable to warrant recognition of separate genera. In the same paper he argued for recognition of separate species for the coastal and Interior satin-flowers, since they maintain their morphological differences and show no sign of hybridizing where they grow together naturally in south-central Washington, and when cultivated in the same garden they maintain their distinguishing features. St. John treated the two taxa as Sisyrinchium douglasii Dietrich and Sisyrinchium inflatum (Suksdorf) St. John. The recent paper by Goldblatt et al. (1990) presents the results of a cladistic analysis of 26 morphological, anatomical and chromosomal characters of the New World sisyrinchiums and related genera. They conclude that the separation of Olsynium from Sisyrinchium should be recognized. Douglass Henderson and Anita Cholewa, who have done biosystematic studies on the Pacific Northwest sisyrinchiums, agree that the satin-flowers warrant generic recognition, but the Interior taxon should be treated as a variety, not a species. In their 1991 note they accept Olsynium douglasii for the coastal satin-flower, but make the name change Olsynium douglasii var. inflatum (Suksdorf) Cholewa & Henderson for the Interior satin-flower. We have thus gone through a full cycle of name changes, starting with Sisyrinchium in the 1800's, Olsynium from 1900 to 1930, Sisyrinchium for the last sixty years, and now back again to Olsynium. Nor is this the end of the nomenclatural story. We also have a yellow-eyed-grass on the southwestern coast which we have been calling Sisyrinchium californicum (Ker-Gawl.) Dryand. Does the yellow-eyed-grass stay with the blue-eyed-grass genus or go into the purple-eyed satin-flowers? Fortunately for future splitters, the question has already been answered; in 1812 the yellow-eyed-grasses were split off into the genus Hydastylus. So there is the name Hydastylus californicus (Ker-Gawl.) Salisbury for those who wish to use it. (BEN # 19 21-December-1991) ------------------------------------------ THE SEARCH FOR RARE PLANT COLLECTIONS From: Del Meidinger On December 9th, George Douglas and Del Meidinger visited the Williams Lake Forest Region herbarium (WLK). This herbarium contains 5622 mounted sheets of vascular plants. Through the efforts of Anna Roberts and Ray Coupe', this is one of the best small herbaria in BC. The plants are well mounted and kept, and the identifications are excellent. With Anna's assistance, we examined 83 sheets of rare plants for entry into the Conservation Data Centre data bank. Almost all these collections were Anna Roberts! A suggestion for BEN: a synopsis of BC herbaria; local College, Federal, Provincial (BCFS, BC Environment, etc), plus the UVIC, UBC and Royal BC Museum herbaria. Info such as address, # of specimens mounted, (and unmounted?), curator, accessibility, etc. [Add: pest control, special collections, duplicate exchange, loans, u.s.w. - AC] RE: THE SEARCH ... From: Adolf Ceska 1) Anna Roberts' contribution to the knowledge of plants in the Cariboo-Chilcotin area is phenomenal. If you do not know Anna, or if you are not sure, check "The Birds of British Columbia" Volume One, page 39. Anna is an excellent ornithologist and she can listen to birds while collecting plants. I visited the Williams Lake herbarium quite a few years ago and I agree with Del. I wish the Royal BC Museum would get more duplicates from Ray & Anna (or Jim, or ?). 2) Speaking about important herbaria. What is the situation with the BC Forest Service herbarium in Nelson? I know that it contains many good distribution records from SE British Columbia. Is it still in the storage, who knows where? 3) The suggestion for the herbarium synopsis is fine and any contributions are welcome. Question for the BENitos outside BC: Does your herbarium have any specimens from British Columbia? The Anderson's collection, for instance, went to the Pullman herbarium. Where are the old collections from Port Renfrew's Botanical Beach University of Minnesota station? (BEN # 20 31-December-1991) ------------------------------------------ RE: CHONDRILLA JUNCEA (BEN # 14) From: Malcom E. Martin, R.R. #1, 3 - 48, Vernon, B.C. Canada V1T 6L4 We have had Chondrilla juncea just north of Vernon since at least 1985 or 86 on bare, unstable sides of a disused gravel pit. No competition, plenty of room to spread but it doesn't to be doing so, bar a few plants on roadside nearby. Lulling us into a false sense of security? [Chondrilla looks like an anorexic chicory: a composite with heads of blue flowers on wiry stems with wiry leaves - AC] (BEN # 20 31-December-1991) ------------------------------------------ RE: VACCINIUM SP. (BEN # 9) From: Ed Tisch, Peninsula College, Port Angeles, WA 98362 Here on Olympic Peninsula, where I have collected data on Vaccinium for many years, I've rarely had trouble separating mature V. alaskaense, V. ovalifolium and V. deliciosum in the field. The first two, though often similar in size, are readily separable on vegetative features alone. Our larger Vaccinium species have depauperate (juvenile) evergreen forms that do present problems where V. alaskaense, V. ovalifolium, V. parvifolium and V. membranaceum occur mixed. I've always felt a bit uncertain about these. Relative to Terry Taylor's question regarding the separation of juvenile V. alaskaense and robust specimens of V. deliciosum, I would offer the following suggestions; (1) V. deliciosum is relatively shade intolerant and rarely extend into shaded environments -- nor does V. alaskaense (at least over here) often extend into subalpine meadows where V. deliciosum tends to occur in admixture with V. membranaceum. (2) Therefore, in older, closed forests expect to find V. alaskaense; in younger (subalpine) forests with canopy openings be on the alert for occasional V. deliciosum. (3) The leaves of V. deliciosum tend to be glaucous, widest above the middle, basally cuneate, and usually stand somewhat upright on the twig. Those of V. alaskaense are generally non-glaucous, widest at or below the middle, basally obtuse or rounded, and tend to have a horizontal disposition. Relative to A. Ceska's question regarding the occurrence of V. myrtilloides on Vancouver Island: after 25 years of "looking" I have never encountered anything that even resembles V. myrtilloides on the Olympic Peninsula -- which shares quite a bit of phytogeography with Vancouver Island. (BEN # 20 31-December-1991) ------------------------------------------ RE: CIMICIFUGA ELATA (BEN # 10) From: Ed Tisch Tom Kaye asked about Cimicifuga north of Oregon. There are only 3 or 4 records of this plant on the Olympic Peninsula, probably all in fairly close proximity in a moderately warm north-south valley called Elwha Canyon. Two early collections, one definitely from that area, are listed in G.N. Jones' (1936) Botanical Survey of the Olympic Peninsula. About 10 years ago, on "posted" property in that same valley, I stumbled into a small population growing at the shaded base of a basaltic cliff. If anyone wished to see the site, I'd be willing to guide them to it. This is just north of Olympic National Park, very close to the road, in an area bristling with NO TRESPASSING signs. (BEN # 20 31-December-1991) ------------------------------------------ PLAYING GOD - WHY WE SHOULDN'T TRY TO SAVE EVERY ENDANGERED SPECIES This is a title of an article series related to the problem of vanishing species. The series is published in THE ATLANTIC magazine, January 1992 issue (vol. 269, no. 1) and it is worth reading. [AC] (BEN # 20 31-December-1991) ------------------------------------------ NEW BOOKS -- PHILLIPS STRIKES AGAIN Some time ago I announced a new mushroom book by Roger Phillips. Malcolm Martin pointed out to me that Roger Phillips wrote a nice book on European mushrooms and although there are many mushrooms that grow both in Europe and North America, Phillips used different photographs for each book. Malcolm recommend to buy the European edition as well, if you can find it. Roger Phillips and Martyn Rix joined their forces again and produced the Random House "indispensable new reference book for every gardener" similar to those on Roses, Shrubs or the Bulbs. This time it is on PERENNIALS. It does not fit in one volume and the authors had to split their topic into "Early" and "Late" perennials. Each volume costs $30.00, I have not bought it, but I will. (BEN # 20 31-December-1991)