BBBBB EEEEEE NN N ISSN 1188-603X BB B EE NNN N BBBBB EEEEE NN N N BOTANICAL BB B EE NN NN ELECTRONIC BBBBB EEEEEE NN N NEWS No. 36 August 10, 1992 Address: aceska@cue.bc.ca Victoria, B.C. ------------------------------------------------- PROCEEDINGS SAVED (RE: BEN #35) >From: Susanne Rautio c/o aceska@cue.bc.ca The Proceedings of the Symposium on the B.C.'s Threatened and Endangered Species have found a sponsor. They will be published and distributed by the B.C. Federation of Naturalists, 321-1367 W. Broadway, Vancouver, B.C., V6H 4A9. Many BEN readers were interested in the Proceedings and some suggested that the Proceedings should be made available as an electronic file. GROVE OF BIG WESTERN HEMLOCK TREES >From: Adolf Ceska and Hans Roemer A grove of big western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) was reported to us by two employees of the MacMillan Bloedel Company. The grove is situated in a subalpine bowl at 750 to 950 m elevation and has near record-size hemlock trees scattered in the amabilis fir forest. Two biggest trees had DBH 2.52 and 2.38 m and height 38.71 and 52.12 m, respectively. The British Columbia record tree has DBH 2.59 m and height 54.88 m. The grove is at the headwaters of the Cous Creek SW of Port Alberni on Vancouver Island. The MacMillan Bloedel wants to log a part of the grove in 1993, but we recommended to protect it as "pocket wilderness." GEUM CALTHIFOLIUM >From: Terry Taylor c/o rtaylor@cue.bc.ca On July 16 I discovered a small population of Geum calthifolium at the base of the West Lion, and made a small collection which I gave to Olivia for the U.B.C. collection. They had some previous material collected by Fred Perry and John Davidson in 1914 and 1915, but no later collections from this far south. THREATENED STAND OF GARRY OAK IN DUNCAN >From: Adolf Ceska An interesting Garry oak site in Duncan (Vancouver Island) is threatened by a near-by subdivision. Although the stand bears signs of heavy grazing (dominant ground cover is orchard grass - Dactylis glomerata), it has some interesting native plants, such as a large population of upland yellow violet (Viola praemorsa). On the transition between the forest edge and wetlands we found a large population of tall woolly-heads (Psilocarphus elatior - the 3rd extant population in B.C. I know) and a smaller population of needle-leaf navarretia (Navarretia intertexta - less than 10 populations known in B.C.). ANCIENT EVIDENCE SHREDDED >From: Times-Colonist @ Ring Last year the Capitol Regional District (CRD) drained Heal Lake in the Victoria Highlands in order use it as a garbage dump. The peaty deposits of the lake bottom offered a long palaeobotanical and dendrochronological record for the last 12,000 (or so) years. In order to assist Dr. Richard Hebda with the work on Heal Lake, the CRD gave him a small grant. What they did not give him, however, was the time needed for collecting dendrochronological data. One day logs from the lake were hauled to a heap and few days later were shredded for hog fuel. TWO RECREATION BRANCH TECHNICAL REPORTS >From: Terje Vold, BC Forest Service, Recreation Branch We've just completed two reports which may be of interest to BEN viewers: 1. An inventory of undeveloped watersheds in BC (larger than 5000 ha). 2. Undeveloped watersheds on Vancouver Island larger than 1000 ha. If any one would like a copy, give me a call at (604) 387-8482. AGRIMONIA REQUEST >From: Naohiro Naruhashi, Toyama, Japan I would greatly appreciate seeds of Agrimonia striata and of any other Agrimonia from your area for our cytological studies of Agrimonia. Dr. Naohiro Naruhashi, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Toyama University, Gofuku, Toyama 930, Japan. PINK AGOSERIS IN THE ROCKIES (see BEN #24) Bill van Dieren reported pink Agoseris (A. lackschewitzii) from Bald Hills above Maligne Lake. Agrostis lackschewitzii was described in 1990 by Henderson & Moseley (Henderson, D.M., R.K. Moseley & A.F. Cholewa. 1990. A new Agoseris (Asteraceae) from Idaho and Montana. Systematic Botany 15(3): 462-465). Agoseris lackschewitzii is related to A. aurantiaca and A. glauca : A. lacksch. A. aurantiaca A. glauca outer villous ciliate villous phyllaries obtuse acute acuminate eglandular eglandular glandular beak < body > body < body anther tube 1.2-1.8 mm 1.5-3.0 mm 3.5-6.0 mm flowers pink orange yellow Agoseris elata (not in B.C., but south) has a beak longer than the achene body and glandular trichomes on outer phyllaries. AGROPYRON & BOUTELOUA PUZZLE >From: Don Gayton, BC Forest Service, Nelson As a BC and a BEN neophyte, I don't have a contribution but rather a question. As a recent prairie emigre, I am puzzled about the distribution of two grass species, and wonder if anyone has any hypothetical, plausible, logical or even factual explanation for the following: why do the Rockies seem to form an absolute western boundary for blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis) and an absolute eastern boundary for bluebunch wheatgrass (Agropyron spicatum), when theoretically their niches should overlap? PUBLICATIONS Douglas, Sheila. 1992. Trees and shrubs of the Queen Charlotte Island: an illustrated guide. Published by Islands Ecological Research, Box 970, Queen Charlotte City, B.C., V0T 1S0. 99 p. ISBN 0-9695550-0-8 Price: CDN$ 14.50 [paperback] [Nice little book with over 30 plates of line drawings by the author. I missed little tidbits of information relating to the Queen Charlotte Islands, such as a note on the famous Golden Spruce. - AC] -- Patricia Ann Bromberger - patt@squid.tram.com Tramway Unix Systems in Naturally Beautiful BrUtish Columbia :-) :-) "Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty." (Anne Herbert)