From aceska@cue.bc.ca  Sat Feb  1 01:34:38 1997
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Date: Fri, 31 Jan 1997 21:58:21 -0800
From: Adolf Ceska <aceska@cue.bc.ca>
Message-Id: <199702010558.VAA15758@cue.bc.ca>
To: ben@cue.bc.ca
Subject: BEN # 155
Status: RO
X-Status: 

                                                   
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. 155                              January 31, 1997

aceska@freenet.victoria.bc.ca        Victoria, B.C.
-----------------------------------------------------------
 Dr. A. Ceska, P.O.Box 8546, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3S2
-----------------------------------------------------------

BOTANY BC, A ROLE MODEL FOR WASHINGTON STATE BOTANISTS
From: AR Kruckeberg <ark@u.washington.edu> originally
      printed in Douglasia Winter 1997

A  novel  botanical gathering occurs annually over the border in
Canada. Novel, indeed, in the waning years of this century, when
botanists now most often gather  to  share  their  findings  and
techniques  from laboratories equipped to probe the mysteries of
DNA molecules and proteins. Rather, Botany BC harks back to  the
days when field botany (read, Natural History!) was a common and
respected  pursuit.  Especially in the study and appreciation of
regional floras is the "gel jock" botanist supplanting the field
botanist. Yet Botany BC is hardly  an  anachronism;  it  thrives
each  year on the premise that total immersion in one's regional
flora can be fun and an unforgettable learning experience.

>From my attendance this summer at a 3-4 day excursion  in  north
central  British  Columbia  with  about  thirty women and men of
Botany BC, I learned that its diverse clientele all leave  their
appointed  tasks  in  land  management, recreation, forestry and
rehabilitation ecology to renew  their  contact  with  the  real
world  of  BC's  biodiversity.  Most  attendees  work for the BC
government: Ministries of Forestry, Environment, the  Endangered
Species program and the like; academics are in the minority. The
annual  gathering  of  self-motivated BC naturalists is hardly a
conference; much more it is: "Botany BC, a very  informal  group
whose  sole  purpose is to put together an interesting, informa-
tive, fun-filled trip each year. It brings  together  interested
botanists  from  throughout BC and adjacent areas from many dif-
ferent fields (forestry,  mine  reclamation,  etc.)"  [Craig  De
Long,  the  1996 convener]. Besides fascinating habitats visited
during the day, evenings combine an informal botanical talk with
social activities.

This year Botany BC  focused  on  unusual  habitats  within  the
Prince  George  area.  We  visited  a serpentine outcrop (Murray
Ridge) and a limestone habitat  (Pope  Mountain),  both  located
near  Fort  St James and the scenic Stuart Lake. With the aid of
botanists  familiar  with  the  local  flora,  we  put  together
creditable  check lists for these two, and other, edaphic sites.
I had given a talk the night before on Pacific Northwest serpen-
tine ecology, so all were primed to encounter a  unique  vegeta-
tion.  And  it  was! On Murray Ridge we witnessed the serpentine
form of maidenhair fern (Adiantum aleuticum) in a subalpine  fir
(Abies  lasiocarpa)  forest.  Then  at  the  summit  a  sparsely
vegetated serpentine outcrop with a number of exceptional  herbs
and  shrubs.  The  uniqueness  of  the flora was repeated on the
limestone of Pope Mountain. No endemics, but a peculiar  mix  of
wide-ranging  species.  Then  back  to  Prince George for a fine
catered dinner, followed by an evening  talk  on  forest  mycor-
rhizae (Hugues Massicotte). And the night  before, it was Canad-
ian folk singing by Andy  McKinnon  around the  campfire at Lake
Stuart.

The next day again focused on unique habitats: wetlands,  dunes,
and  the  like,  in  the  Rocky  Mountain  Trench east of Prince
George. I saw my first tamarack (Larix laricina) in a  bog  set-
ting;  it  was  the  dominant  tree,  mostly  dwarfed by the bog
habitat.

In yet another bog, we saw a rich wetland  flora:  club  mosses,
ericaceous shrubs and sedges. After bog-slogging in the morning,
we entered a remarkable habitat that could have been on the west
side  of  the  Olympic Peninsula: the West Twin Creek old-growth
cedar-hemlock forest, and here we  were,  almost  to  the  Rocky
Mountains!  Notable  absentee  in  this  mesic western hemlock -
western red cedar forest was vine maple. At  this  stop  we  had
Trevor Goward, lichenologist, regale us with a novel notion that
lichens  serve  as  indicators  of  stages in forest succession.
Goward claims that some lichens  are  only  found  in  very  old
growth  forests,  what he calls "antique forests". The last stop
of the day was just west of  Valemont,  where  the  highway,  BC
Route  16,  borders  a  thinly forested duneland along the upper
Fraser River. Scattered lodgepole pine grows here with kinnikin-
nik and Juniperus communis in the pine understory,  as  well  as
herbs (including a rare sedge and locoweed - Astragalus sp.).

So the three days of rich botanical fare in the field and in the
informal  lecture- discussion sessions came to an end; it was an
exciting experience for me to be with Canadian  companions  who,
freed from their appointed daily chores, reveled in the devotion
to  fun  with  botany.  An added thrill for me was an all-day BC
Rail trip from North Vancouver  to  Prince  George.  It  gave  a
kaleidoscopic view of BC vegetation and scenery from wet coastal
forest up into the dry interior (ponderosa pine and sagebrush at
Lillooet),  then  on  east to the Cariboo Plateau for a taste of
the subboreal spruce forest. There is "method"  in  my  relating
this  delightful  event.  I  believe it can be matched below the
border. Washington state has the flora, the requisite  amenities
for hostelry, and above all a potential clientele. We could pull
it  off here, just as well as the Canadians do it! Our potential
clientele: botanists, ecologists, and wildlife specialists  with
the  federal  and state agencies (USFS, BLM, NPS, DNR, etc.), as
well as junior college and high school botany/biology  teachers,
graduate  students  - yes, and even academics from the four-year
colleges and universities.

Botany BC's organization is simple, especially as it is divorced
from any government agency. One host  convener  per  year  at  a
given meeting area; their own bank account, and modest registra-
tion  fees  to cover housing, meals and transport. I could envi-
sion our version of Botany BC  holding  annual  outings  in  the
Columbia Gorge, the Hanford Reach, the Columbia Plateau country,
the  Okanogan  Highlands,  the  North  Cascades, and the Olympic
Peninsula, and elsewhere, well into the future. So  let  us  in-
itiate  a  "Botany  Washington"  field tour some time before the
century plays out. We have the botanists and the botany to  make
it  work!   I am  willing to be  the "point - person"  to get it
started. 
Art Kruckeberg, University of Washington, Botany, Box 351330, 
Seattle, WA 98195. 
Phone: (206) 543-1976.   E-mail: ark@u.washington.edu 


HYBRID LARCH FOR REFORESTATION OF DISASTER AREAS - NW BOHEMIA
From: Jiri Sindelar & Josef Frydl c/o <FORINST@MS.ANET.CZ>

Forests cover 34.4% or 4 626  million  hectares  of  the  former
Czechoslovakia,  with 33.4 and 39.9%, respectively, in the Czech
Republic and Slovakia. Development of  these  forests  has  been
influenced by human activity.

The health of forests in the Czech Republic forests is declining
quickly,  mainly due to air pollution. For example, 54.5% of the
forests in 1986 were affected by  air  pollution  while  only  6
years  later about 58.3% were affected (Domes, 1992). Air pollu-
tion results in the acidification of soils  and  depositions  of
harmful  substances  including  compounds  of sulphur, nitrogen,
fluoride, chlorine, and heavy metals.

The damage is most severe in Northern Bohemia.  For  example  in
the  Ore  Mountains  (Krusne  hory  Mountains)  and Orlicke hory
Mountains, soil pH can be as low as 2.2 ( Materna, 1978). Norway
spruce, the predominant tree species in these  areas,  is  quite
susceptible to air pollution.

To  alleviate  the  problem  in  forests  in  the Czech Republic
forests, it is necessary to reduce the effects of air  pollution
and  then  to  regenerate forest stands using tree species which
are genetically and economically suitable for  the  sites.  Good
tending  of  young  stands,  especially  on  an ecological-sound
basis, is also very  important  for  re-establishing  productive
forests  in  the  regions affected by air pollution. Our results
with larch inter-specific hybrids progenies in the Ore Mountains
region indicate that they are good candidates  for  regenerating
the forest stands in air pollution damaged areas.

For more than 50 years, intensive provenance testing of European
larch  (Larix  decidua  Mill.) and Japanese larch (L. leptolepis
Gord.) has provided basic information on the natural variability
of these species (Paques,  1992).  In  the  Ore  Mountains,  two
research  plots  with  larch  inter-specific hybrids were estab-
lished in  1970  as  a  part  of  a  program  to  determine  the
feasibility of using such trees for reforestation in areas which
have been heavily damaged by air pollution.

Observation  made on 18-year old trees show that growth was slow
on sites heavily affected by air pollution, but that  the  trees
were  otherwise  healthy.  Our  results indicate the possibility
that using inter-specific hybrids  of  larch  for  reforestating
disaster areas will be successful in the Ore Mountains. Compared
to European larch progenies, hybrids grow more quickly, avoiding
the detrimental effect of ground frosts, competition from weeds,
and  animal damage. We propose the establishment of larch hybrid
seed orchards to provide seed for reforesting these areas.

Literature

Domes, Z. 1994. Forestry of the Czech Republic. Workshop Country
   Report, FAO, Rome, 1994, 25 p.
Materna, J. 1978. The effect of industrial pollutants on  forest
   trees:  Physiological  and  ecological  aspects. UVTIZ Praha,
   Lesnictvi, 5, 76 p. [In Czech]
Paques, L. 1992. Current status of inter-  and  intra-  specific
   hybridization.  Pp.  108-122 In: Results and future trends in
   Larch breeding on the basis  of  provenance  research.  Proc.
   IUFRO Centennial Meeting of the IUFRO Working Party S2.02-07.
   Berlin.
Sindelar,  J.  1987.  State of health and growth of Larch (Larix
   sp.) progenies from open pollination  and  controlled  cross-
   breeding in the Ore Mountains. race VULHM, 70(1987): 37 - 69.
   [In Czech]

Authors' address:
   Ing. Jiri  Sindelar, C.Sc.  and  Ing. Josef  Frydl, C.Sc.
   Forestry and Game Management Research Institute
   Jiloviste - Strnady
   156 04  Praha 5 - Zbraslav nad Vltavou
   The Czech Republic


RESOURCE ECONOMIST/SOCIOLOGIST FACULTY POSITION - BAMFIELD
From: Emily L. MacQuarrie c/o <sfshome@igc.apc.org>

At The School for Field  Studies'  Center  for  Coastal  Studies
located in Bamfield British Columbia.

Experienced  in: Cost benefit analysis, Sustainable development,
Extensive experience developing survey  tools,  Experience  with
First  Nations  peoples, Knowledge of local politics in a social
and cultural context, Assessment and evaluation methodology, The
Social Science of natural resources,  The  human  dimensions  of
wildlife  and  conservation  biology.  All faculty positions are
residential and require faculty to live on site  with  students.
Programs  are  offered  to  32 college students for semester and
summer programs. Faculty will teach the equivalent  of  one  and
one  half  courses  per  semester, oversee students directed re-
search projects and participate  in  all  daily  living  at  the
center.  Room  and  board are provided by SFS. Salary is $25,000
American, and health insurance is provided.

Requirements: Ph.D or Masters degree with at least  4  years  of
applied  experience.  Relevant work/living experience in British
Columbia or similar ecosystem. At least 2 years  at  the  under-
graduate  level  with  full  course  responsibility (writing and
grading exams, lecturing, etc.), a  demonstrated  commitment  to
conservation  and experience working  with applied  conservation
and management issues.

To apply: Send cv and a detailed letter  explaining  skills  and
experience to:

   SFS BC Search, 16 Broadway, Beverly, MA 01915
   Fax: (508) 927-5127, Phone: (508) 922-7200 ext. 304
   E-mail: sfshome@igc.apc.org

----------------------------------------------------------------
Submissions, subscriptions, etc.:  aceska@freenet.victoria.bc.ca
BEN is archived on gopher freenet.victoria.bc.ca. The URL is:
gopher://freenet.victoria.bc.ca:70/11/environment/Botany/ben
Also archived at   http://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/ben/
________________________________________________________________

From aceska@cue.bc.ca  Tue Feb 11 02:25:58 1997
Received: from cue.bc.ca (aceska@cue.bc.ca [199.60.222.200])
	by calzone.oit.unc.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id CAA21738
	for <london@sunsite.unc.edu>; Tue, 11 Feb 1997 02:25:54 -0500 (EST)
Received: (from aceska@localhost) by cue.bc.ca (8.7.5/8.7.3) id WAA21966 for ben; Mon, 10 Feb 1997 22:50:28 -0800
Date: Mon, 10 Feb 1997 22:50:28 -0800
From: Adolf Ceska <aceska@cue.bc.ca>
Message-Id: <199702110650.WAA21966@cue.bc.ca>
To: ben@cue.bc.ca
Subject: BEN # 156
Status: O
X-Status: 

                                                   
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. 156                              February 10, 1997

aceska@freenet.victoria.bc.ca        Victoria, B.C.
-----------------------------------------------------------
 Dr. A. Ceska, P.O.Box 8546, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3S2
-----------------------------------------------------------

LECTURE ON KAMTCHATKA IN VICTORIA, FEBRUARY 16, 1997

Dr.  Vojtech  Holubec, the Czech botanist and expert alpine gar-
dener, will speak on Sunday, February 16, 1997, at 2:30 p.m., in
room A240 of the Human & Social Resources Building at UVIC.  His
topic will be

   Kamtchatka  -  A  land of fire, ice, beautiful alpines and
   fantastic dwarf willows.

Admission is $5.00 and tickets are available  at  the  door,  at
Ivy's Books and at all Dig This stores.


TALL BUGBANE (CIMICIFUGA ELATA) IN BRITISH COLUMBIA
From: Adolf Ceska <aceska@freenet.victoria.bc.ca> &
        the CDC Newsletter No. 5 - December 1996

Seek  and  ye  shall find! On September 18, 1996, Jane Wentworth
(Washington Natural  Heritage  Program)  took  botanists  George
Douglas  and Jenifer Penny (both from the B.C. Conservation Data
Centre [CDC]) to a site of  tall  bugbane  (Cimicifuga  elata  -
Ranunculaceae)  on  Vedder  Mountain  in Washington, in order to
survey the plant's habit and habitat. This paid off nicely  next
day,  when  Jane,  George, and Jenifer discovered over 50 plants
growing in a 6-hectare area of a  70-100-year-old  western  red-
cedar  (Thuja  plicata)  stand  in  the British Columbia part of
Vedder Mountain near Cultus Lake. Tall  bugbane  was  considered
extinct  in British Columbia since the last collection came from
the late 1950's, and the plant has not been seen lately [cf. BEN
# 10]. The plant is on the rare  plant  lists  over  its  entire
range in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia.

There  was  initial  concern for the viability of the new Cultus
Lake site, since it fell partly within a small business  logging
sale  area  in  the Chilliwack Forest District. This concern was
quickly alleviated when Ian Blackburn and Greg George (from  the
B.C.  Ministry  of  Environment)  took  immediate action. Within
days, a site inspection by the logging  company  and  CDC  staff
resulted  in  alteration  of  the  sale  area boundaries and the
establishment of  a  Wildlife  Tree  Patch  for  the  Cimicifuga
population.

After  this  find  was  published  in  the  British Columbia CDC
Newsletter  (No.  5  -  December  1996),  Rob  Scagel   (Pacific
Phytometric  Consultants) reported to the CDC another population
of Cimicifuga elata in the cut  blocks  on  the  north  side  of
Vedder  Mountain,  in experimental plots established by the B.C.
Ministry of Forests. He also mentioned  the  occurrence  of  the
species  near  the  junction  of the Tamihi Creek with the Chil-
liwack River, and along the ridge top trail from Chipmunk  Creek
to  Mt.  Cheam.  (The early botanist J.R. Anderson collected the
plant from "Mt. Cheam" in 1899.)

Both Rob Scagel and George Douglas urge botanists  to  look  for
new  sites of this plant. Mt. Liumchen of the B.C. Cascade Range
is another area where the plant has been seen in  the  past  and
not  collected  since  1957.  Please  contact Dr. George Douglas
(phone 250-256-5019, e-mail gwdouglas@fwhdept.env.gov.bc.ca) for
more information on how  to  gather  data  needed  for  the  CDC
database of rare and endangered plant species. For more informa-
tion on the ecology and conservation of Cimicifuga elata see BEN
# 121.


CULTIVATION OF CASTILLEJA
From: Art Guppy, P.O.Box 7216, Stn. "D", Victoria, B.C. V9B 4Z3

[Adolf  asked  me  to  write  a short note on the cultivation of
Castilleja levisecta. That is a difficult assignment. In fact it
is impossible for me to do it as a short note.]

Castillejas are hemi-parasites which  attach  to  the  roots  of
other plants. Identifying host plants is difficult. I have in my
garden  8  Castilleja  species that have reached flowering size,
and another 4 are coming along, but are still  quite  small.  Of
these  12  species I found in the literature only one host plant
identified. Castilleja linariifolia (the state flower  of  Wyom-
ing)  can  sometimes  be  seen growing with Artemisia tridentata
(sagebrush) with no other plants  nearby,  so  identifying  that
parasite-host   pair  was  not  difficult.  By  doing  a  little
plantwatching, I have been able to identify common hosts of  two
castillejas  frequently  seen  at low altitudes on southern Van-
couver Island. Castilleja miniata commonly grows on Alnus rubra,
and C. hispida is often on Symphoricarpus albus or on Holodiscus
discolor. Frequently these castillejas are found where rock  and
hard  clay  keeps the roots of the trees or shrubs near the sur-
face. I have grown these castillejas in pots  with  their  hosts
and  observed  them  to  thrive and flower very well. I have ob-
served that at the edges of  subalpine  meadows  C.  miniata  is
often  associated  with  willows,  but  have not yet tested that
pairing.

When I have not known the natural host for a castilleja, I  have
tried  a  substitute  host  and  often these are successful, but
sometimes there are problems that probably would not arise  with
the  natural host. Castillejas on substitute hosts seem prone to
wilting on warm days as if unable to get sufficient  water  from
their hosts.

This  brings me to the problem that I have writing about Castil-
leja levisecta. I don't know its natural host. I do  have  a  C.
levisecta thriving in a pot on Symphoricarpos albus, but I don't
suppose anyone would want Symphoricarpos albus in a garden as it
is  a  very  invasive weed. In my garden I have two plants of C.
levisecta growing on a dwarf form of Spiraea japonica, and  last
May  one  produced  13  inflorescences, though these were not as
plump as they are in nature, likely because the  plant  was  not
getting enough water from its unnatural host.
[In  the  Beacon  Hill  Park, where Castilleja levisecta used to
grow, and on Trial Island, two plants that regularly accompanied
Castilleja levisecta were Eriophyllum lanatum  and  the  coastal
variety of Festuca rubra. - AC]

Recently  I  have  been  trying  Symphoricarpos mollis as a host
plant for several castillejas, and the first results are  excel-
lent.  I doubt this is ever a host plant in nature as its choice
of habitat probably would not suit castillejas. I  have  a  very
showy,  semi-dwarf  form  of C. hispida from the Oregon Cascades
growing on this host, and it is  doing  extremely  well.  Unlike
Symphoricarpus albus, S. mollis seems not to be invasive provide
one  cuts  back the long runners. I have great hopes for success
using this host with C. levisecta.  When  I  have  the  sunshine
yellow  of  C.  levisecta  next to the blinding red of Oregon C.
hispida, you will need sunglasses to view them.

All of the 12 species of castilleja growing in my garden and  in
pots  have  been raised from seed. I do not recommend collecting
castilleja plants from the wild as the combination of the  shock
of  being  moved  to  a new host would almost certainly kill the
castilleja. Certainly growing from  seed  is  much  quicker  and
easier.  Twice  I  have  had a castilleja in a bloom within less
than 6 months of the germinating of the seed.

There are several ways of growing castillejas from seed,  but  I
can  only  describe the two I have used. Several books recommend
what I call the "sow and pray  method";  that  is  one  takes  a
handful  of seed, goes out in the garden, and scatters it about.
That might succeed if you are good with prayer.

I have used what I call the "improved sow and pray method." This
requires some preparation. You must propagate a number  of  pos-
sibly  suitable  host  plants (strong growing perennials). These
should be young seedlings and rooted cuttings, quite small,  and
with  roots near the surface. Tastefully space these prospective
hosts about where you hope to have castillejas, and then sow the
castillejas seeds close to the host roots. Choosing the time for
sowing requires luck and judgment; it must be  early  enough  in
the  winter  to allow the seeds a sufficient period of cold, but
the earlier you sow, the more time the rain has to wash away the
seeds. With an easy species such as Castilleja miniata, provided
you use plenty of seed, your chances of success are very good.

I no longer need to sow seeds of Castilleja miniata because  the
plants self-sow prolifically, and I frequently pull up seedlings
as  weeds.  With other species I generally do not have much seed
to spare, and I use the more painstaking method which follows.

You will need clean, sterilized sand, a suitable container  such
as  500  gram yogourt container and, as a cover, a piece of thin
plastic cut from a plastic bag. Put about 2 cm of moist sand  in
the  bottom  of the container, level it, and sow the seed evenly
over the surface. Sprinkle on enough dry sand  to  almost  cover
the  seeds. (The dry sand will immediately take up moisture from
the moist sand.) Place the covered  container  in  a  fridge  at
about 5 degrees C.

Germination  will usually take place in the fridge after about 1
to 4 months. If there has been  no  germination  after  3  to  5
months,  depending on what seems a reasonable period of cold for
the species, bring the container out of the fridge and place  it
in  a  window or in a green house. Some castillejas seem to ger-
minate  best  in  the  cold;  others  need  warmth.   Castilleja
levisecta  seeds  will  germinate  in  the fridge within about 2
months.

While the seeds are in the fridge, you need to get  host  plants
ready.  Fairly  young seedling host plants or small rooting cut-
tings are best as their roots are  near  the  surface  and  they
won't  cut  off  light to the tiny castilleja seedlings. Pot the
hosts in a well-drained, light, sandy soil. Deep  clay  pots  of
about  14  cm  diameter  are  suitable.  The potted hosts can be
plunged in the garden until the castillejas need them.  At  that
time  submerge  the pots in water for at least 24 hours to drown
any unwelcome guests; then allow them to drain for some hours.

When the seedlings castillejas have unfolded their seed  leaves,
they  are ready to plant, but they can be left in the fridge for
some time after that without suffering harm. Make several  small
hollows  in  the  soil near the host roots. Use a spoon to scoop
out the tiny castillejas with their roots enclosed in moist sand
and place them in the hollows. Dry sand can be used to  fill  in
around them, and this should immediately be moistened. Place the
pot  in  a clear plastic bag, and close the bag above the pot to
form a tent. If the host is tall it may protrude from  the  bag.
Place  the  pot  where  it  will  get plenty of light but little
direct sun. After the seedlings are growing  you  can  gradually
open  the  bag and then roll it down. Thin the seedlings down to
no more than three in a pot. When  the  castillejas  are  sturdy
young  plants,  they and their host can be removed together from
the pot and planted in the garden.

----------------------------------------------------------------
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Also archived at   http://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/ben/
________________________________________________________________

From aceska@cue.bc.ca  Sat Feb 15 11:22:39 1997
Received: from cue.bc.ca (aceska@cue.bc.ca [199.60.222.200])
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Received: (from aceska@localhost) by cue.bc.ca (8.7.5/8.7.3) id HAA26662 for ben; Sat, 15 Feb 1997 07:45:08 -0800
Date: Sat, 15 Feb 1997 07:45:08 -0800
From: Adolf Ceska <aceska@cue.bc.ca>
Message-Id: <199702151545.HAA26662@cue.bc.ca>
To: ben@cue.bc.ca
Subject: BEN # 157
Status: O
X-Status: 

                                                   
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. 157                              February 15, 1997

aceska@freenet.victoria.bc.ca        Victoria, B.C.
-----------------------------------------------------------
 Dr. A. Ceska, P.O.Box 8546, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3S2
-----------------------------------------------------------

INTERACTIVE KEYS
From: M. J. Dallwitz, T. A. Paine, and E. J. Zurcher
      <delta@ento.csiro.au>

Computer-based  multi-access  keys,  also  known  as interactive
keys, can offer several advantages over conventional keys:

    A correct identification can be made in spite of errors by
    the user or in the data.

    Characters can be used, and their values changed, in any
    order.

    Numeric characters can be used directly, without being
    divided into ranges.

    The user can express uncertainty by entering more than one
    state value, or a range of numerical values.

Other desirable features include:

    Advice on the most suitable characters to use at  any  stage
    of an identification.

    Character  dependencies:  certain  character  values  making
    other characters inapplicable.

    Provision for  gaps  in  the  values  recorded  for  integer
    numeric characters.

    Storing, searching, and displaying free-text information.

    Locating errors which were circumvented by the
    error-tolerance mechanism.

    Use of probabilities.

    Provision for restricting any operations to subsets of the
    characters and taxa.

    Glossaries and notes on interpretation of characters.

    Illustrations of characters and taxa.

    Provision for information retrieval.

    Finding the differences and similarities between taxa.

    Finding diagnostic descriptions.

    The ability to handle large data sets efficiently.

    Data sharing with other description-based applications:
    description writing, generation of conventional keys, and
    phenetic and cladistic analysis.

It  is  an inevitable consequence of the flexibility of interac-
tive keys that much of the strategy involved in carrying out  an
identification  is  left  to  the  user. Good strategies must be
learnt if the keys are to be used to the best advantage.

M. J. Dallwitz, T. A. Paine, and E. J. Zurcher
Division of Entomology, CSIRO, GPO Box 1700, Canberra, ACT 2601,
Australia. Fax +61 6 246 4000. Email delta@ento.csiro.au.
Home Page http://www.keil.ukans.edu/delta/


RANDOM ACCESS PLANT IDENTIFICATION (RAPID)
From: Alex Inselberg <aei@junction.net>

[This is an  abbreviated  abstract  of  the  Forest  Renewal  of
British Columbia funding proposal.]

RAPID  will  be  an  interactive  plant  identification computer
program which will greatly accelerate the process of identifying
vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens within B.C. The  program
and  its  database  will  continue  to grow and evolve, and will
possibly  become  our  most  valuable  and  readily   accessible
resource for plant identification. Images and line drawings will
be  an  integral  part  of  RAPID.  In addition to the program's
primary function, it will also be a useful teaching aid.

The random access approach to plant  identification  is  dynamic
compared  with  the restrictive dichotomous key approach used in
traditional paper-based methods. This  will  allow  greater  ex-
ploration  of  the  rich  descriptive  attributes  of plants, in
addition to their  ecological  characteristics.  RAPID  will  be
constructed  as  a relational database, which is a sophisticated
and efficient way to store and quickly retrieve information.

Plant identification will begin with the selection of any  of  a
variety  of  characteristics  from an introductory menu. For ex-
ample, identification will involve decisions on  the  following:
location  in the province, type of site, plant life form, physi-
cal size features, and a variety of properties  associated  with
stems,  leaves, inflorescence types, flowers, fruits, and roots.
If you have an idea of the plant family or genus,  you  will  be
able  to  begin your search from that point. With each selection
of a characteristic feature the list of likely candidate species
is potentially shortened. The program will also advise on  those
characters  most  likely  to  discriminate  amongst  the species
remaining. For example, if the type of leaf margin  is  able  to
discriminate  amongst  the  remaining  species in your candidate
list, it will automatically move to the  top  of  your  list  of
"best" characters.

In  the  event  a  given  plant characteristic cannot be clearly
defined, e.g. a leaf is pubescent or possibly tomentose, you can
ask the program to include all species with either  description.
Likewise if you are unsure your sample is considered a tree or a
shrub,  you can include both trees and shrubs in your selection.
For those species which may be indistinguishable without  exper-
tise  and  access  to  materials such as a microscope or special
chemicals, the user will be notified  with  a  warning  message.
Likewise  if  a crucial plant component must be present in order
to make a positive identification, the user will be notified.

Plant names may be displayed  in  either  common  or  scientific
names,  along  with the correct Latin code used to enter species
names on field data forms. Explanation of any of the terminology
used in the menus and keys will also be readily available in the
form of text, diagrams and images.

Approach: Efforts are being made to learn about similar  systems
and  initiatives  in  other parts of the world. RAPID's features
will be carefully selected to ensure it meets the needs of field
personnel here in B.C., as well as the broader goals and  stand-
ards  of  international  data exchange. RAPID will ultimately be
the property of the B.C. Government.  Wherever  possible,  RAPID
will  be  a  cooperative effort with other developers of similar
initiatives and databases within and outside of the province.

When this project goes ahead, a web page will be constructed for
the purpose of information exchange and updates.

For more information on interactive plant identification see the
following:
http://www2.euronet.nl/users/mbleeker/prog/swtaxlst.html#ch210

[For interactive identification programs  see  also  BEN  #  96,
March 25, 1995.]


INTERNET ACCESS TO DELTA PROGRAMS AND DATA
From: Mike Dallwitz <miked@ento.csiro.au>

The  DELTA  programs,  and  several data sets, are available via
anonymous ftp from
    ftp.keil.ukans.edu (directory: /pub/delta) and via WWW from
    http://www.keil.ukans.edu/delta/

The file Index.txt (note the upper-case I) contains  a  list  of
the  available  programs and data. Most of the subdirectories of
delta contain text files *.1st which contain  information  about
downloading  and  installing  the  programs or data in that sub-
directory. When using ftp, always enter the command `binary'  at
the start of the session.

When downloading the program distribution files, place them in a
directory  \DELTA.  To install the programs, follow the instruc-
tions in Delta.1st.

The programs are supplied with documentation files, sample data,
and a list of references. The conditions of use are  in  a  file
delta.use,  and  the prices in delta.reg. These files are within
both of the self-extracting archive  files  delta1@.exe  (MS-DOS
INTKEY) and deltaw@.exe (MS-Windows INTKEY).

There  is  a  mailing list, DELTA-L, for discussion of DELTA and
announcements of updates. To subscribe, send the message
    SUBSCRIBE DELTA-L your-first-name your-last-name by email to
LISTSERV@NIC.SURFNET.NL

----------------------------------------------------------------
Submissions, subscriptions, etc.:  aceska@freenet.victoria.bc.ca
BEN is archived on gopher freenet.victoria.bc.ca. The URL is:
gopher://freenet.victoria.bc.ca:70/11/environment/Botany/ben
Also archived at   http://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/ben/
________________________________________________________________

From aceska@cue.bc.ca  Sat Feb 22 12:23:36 1997
Received: from cue.bc.ca (aceska@cue.bc.ca [199.60.222.200])
	by calzone.oit.unc.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id MAA27789
	for <london@sunsite.unc.edu>; Sat, 22 Feb 1997 12:23:28 -0500 (EST)
Received: (from aceska@localhost) by cue.bc.ca (8.7.5/8.7.3) id IAA17574 for ben; Sat, 22 Feb 1997 08:35:42 -0800
Date: Sat, 22 Feb 1997 08:35:42 -0800
From: Adolf Ceska <aceska@cue.bc.ca>
Message-Id: <199702221635.IAA17574@cue.bc.ca>
To: ben@cue.bc.ca
Subject: BEN # 158
Status: O
X-Status: 

                                                   
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. 158                              February 22, 1997

aceska@freenet.victoria.bc.ca        Victoria, B.C.
-----------------------------------------------------------
 Dr. A. Ceska, P.O.Box 8546, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3S2
-----------------------------------------------------------

SAPROPHYTES AND PARASITES - ODDBALLS SENSU POJAR & MACKENZIE
From: Mann, H.E. & M.V.S. Raju (1996) - Blue Jay 54(4): 192.
       [abbreviated introduction to the paper cited bellow]

Parasites,  in  general,  are organisms that live on or in other
individuals and draw their nourishment from  their  hosts.  Most
plants,  on the other hand, are autotrophic, and can manufacture
their own complex nutrients independently from simple  naturally
occurring   substances.   But  even  here  in  the  green  (with
chlorophyll),  self-sustaining  plant  kingdom,  evolution   has
perhaps been diverted several times to produce a small number of
saprophytes and parasites.

The  saprophytes  are  those  that  survive on a wide variety of
complex organic substances without depending  on  other  plants.
Their  aerial  parts are non-green (lacking chlorophyll) and the
underground roots become  variously  modified  by  showing  very
irregular  branching.  Often  these  irregularly  branched roots
morphologically resemble  corals,  and  hence  they  are  called
coralloid  roots,  as in some plants such as Pine Sap or Indian-
pipe (Monotropa)  of  the  family  Monotropaceae,  or  Coralroot
Orchid (Corallorhiza) of the family Orchidaceae. Their roots are
usually  associated externally and/or internally with fungi, and
such an association is called mycorrhiza.

Unlike the  saprophytes,  parasites  depend  directly  on  other
plants  for  their  growth,  development  and  reproduction. The
parasites can be classified into two  types  -  a)  complete  or
holo-parasites  and  b)  semi-  or  hemi-parasites. The complete
parasites are those that depend on autotrophic plants for  their
living.  They  are non-green and cannot photosynthesize. [Broom-
rapes (Orobanchaceae),  Dodders  (Cuscutaceae),  and  Mistletoes
(Loranthaceae) can be given as an example.]

The  semiparasites  do  contain  chlorophyll but depend on other
living plants for water and other  simple  nutrients.  [A  large
group of genera in the Scroph family (Scrophulariaceae), includ-
ing  Indian  Paintbrush (Castilleja), some member of the Santal-
wood family (Santalaceae) such as Bastard  Toadflax  (Comandra),
can be given as an example.] Some semiparasites in nature may or
may  not depend on hosts for their living. The former are called
obligate semiparasites; the latter, facultative  or  circumstan-
tial  semiparasites.  In  all  parasites  the roots, usually the
lateral roots, become modified to form haustoria  (the  part  of
the  root  that penetrate the host), which facilitate the uptake
of water and other nutrients from the host plant.  The  faculta-
tive  semiparasites, under favourable growth conditions, may not
produce haustoria. (In some instances, haustoria of the parasite
become attached to its own root, causing some destruction.  This
phenomenon  is  called self-parasitism, which is not uncommon in
parasites, especially in semiparasites.)

Mann, H.E. & M.V.S. Raju. 1996. Some parasitic  plants  of  Sas-
   katchewan. Blue Jay 54 (No. 4 - December 1996): 192-198.


RE: CULTIVATION OF CASTILLEJA [BEN # 156]
From: Mary Barkworth <stipoid@cc.usu.edu>

My  advisor - Marion Ownbey commented that he had simply planted
Poa pratensis in the plots where he was growing  Castilleja.  At
least, that is what I think he said - it was a long time ago ...
But  the  experimental garden did not have shrubs in it. Has Art
Guppy tried grass (as a host)?


COMMENTS ON ARTICLE "CASTILLEJA IN CULTIVATION" [BEN # 156]
From: Loren Russell, Corvallis, Oregon <loren@peak.org>

In my  experience,  Castillejas  do  not  have  restricted  host
ranges, nor are the hosts necessarily woody plants. I have grown
C.levisecta  on  for about 6 years, from a seed population given
me by Mrs. Florence Free, of Seattle Washington. Mrs.  Free  had
obtained  seed of this species on Whidbey Island Washington, and
had maintained it in the garden for about 20 years when she gave
me the seed. She has since had to give up her garden.

Mrs. Free had started both Castilleja levisecta and  C.  miniata
in  her  garden  by  rubbing  seed directly into mats of the New
Zealand composite Raoulia levisecta, growing in her rock garden.
Both Castillejas had become self-seeding in  this  rock  garden,
among a great variety of exotic and native plants.

I  sow  Castilleja  levisecta  in 4-inch pots in mid-winter, and
germination is usually complete by mid-March; seed sown  outside
after  the  end  of February will not germinate. (This and other
observations indicate that this is a D-40 germinator  in  Norman
Deno's  terminology.)  The  seed of C.levisecta, and probably of
most Castillejas is very long-lived in dry storage. Some of  the
original  batch  of seed from Mrs. Free's garden germinated last
winter, about 6 1/2 years  after  harvest.  The  seed  had  been
stored  dry  in a basement room at about 15-20 C, without desic-
cants.

Castilleja levisecta grows on very  well  to  about  the  6-leaf
stage,  after which it is necessary to transfer the seedlings to
a host. Acceptable  hosts  have  included  Raoulia  tenuicaulis,
Festuca  ovina,  Aster alpinus, Potentilla megalantha. While all
of these are exotic species, it is clear  that  C.levisecta  can
successfully  establish  root  connections with a great range of
host plants of diverse taxonomic groups.


PAINTBRUSH - CASTILLEJA CAN GROW WITHOUT A HOST
From: Jon Splane <jons@EFN.ORG> originally posted to
        Alpine-L the Electronic Rock Garden Society
        <ALPINE-L@NIC.SURFNET.NL>

I have grown and bloomed for a couple of years several clones of
what I identified as C. hispida. These were grown from  seed  in
pots  of  a soilless mix based on composted fir bark with a sub-
stantial amount of pumice added. No "host" plants were  present,
although  weeds frequently appeared. Weeds were removed whenever
noticed. Moss also colonized the pots  and  was  pretty  much  a
permanent  fixture. I doubt the Castillejas were able to use the
moss as a host.

The seedlings made very slow growth  for  most  of  their  first
season, but appeared healthy. The pots were constantly moist and
fed  with  slow  release  fertilizer  and  an occasional shot of
soluble. They were well, but not extravagantly  fertilized.  The
second season they got the same culture and grew moderately well
and bloomed in mid summer.

The  following  spring  a  took some cuttings from these plants.
When the new shoots were just poking up  through  the  ground  I
removed  half  a dozen of these right were they were attached to
the crown. These rooted easily under cover in a mix  similar  to
the  one  growing  the mature plants but with more pumice and no
fertilizer. Most grew on after being potted  up  and  eventually
bloomed.

These  Castillejas  were  around a couple more years and bloomed
but never looked like they were  happy.  They  might  have  done
better in the ground. When I've seen this species in the wild it
has  been growing in a fairly clayey loam with good drainage and
little organic material in the soil. I don't think  their  even-
tual demise was due to lack of a host.

[Similar observations were reported  by L.R. Heckard in 1962, in
the  article on "Root parasitism in Castilleja" published in the
Botanical Gazette, 124: 21-29.]


ERRATA

BEN # 154 - YUKON COLLECTING PERMITS -I made a mistake in  phone
   number  for  the collecting permits. It was given as 668-5363
   it should be 667-5363. I hope you can distribute  the  change
   with my apology. - Bruce Bennett

BEN # 156 - Apologies for the German spelling of Kamchatka. - AC

----------------------------------------------------------------
Submissions, subscriptions, etc.:  aceska@freenet.victoria.bc.ca
BEN is archived on gopher freenet.victoria.bc.ca. The URL is:
gopher://freenet.victoria.bc.ca:70/11/environment/Botany/ben
Also archived at   http://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/ben/
________________________________________________________________

From aceska@cue.bc.ca  Tue Mar 18 03:01:41 1997
Received: from cue.bc.ca (aceska@cue.bc.ca [199.60.222.200])
	by calzone.oit.unc.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id DAA00720
	for <london@sunsite.unc.edu>; Tue, 18 Mar 1997 03:01:35 -0500 (EST)
Received: (from aceska@localhost) by cue.bc.ca (8.7.5/8.7.3) id XAA29942 for ben; Mon, 17 Mar 1997 23:23:12 -0800
Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 23:23:12 -0800
From: Adolf Ceska <aceska@cue.bc.ca>
Message-Id: <199703180723.XAA29942@cue.bc.ca>
To: ben@cue.bc.ca
Subject: BEN # 159
Status: O
X-Status: 

                                                   
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. 159                              March 17, 1997

aceska@freenet.victoria.bc.ca        Victoria, B.C.
-----------------------------------------------------------
 Dr. A. Ceska, P.O.Box 8546, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3S2
-----------------------------------------------------------

NPSBC - NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

The  first  Annual  General  Meeting of the NPSBC - Native Plant
Society of British Columbia was held in Victoria on  March  9th,
1997 and ellected the first board of directors:

   President:       Douglas Justice
   Vice President:  Tom Wells
   Treasurer:       Sylvia Mosterman
   Secretary:       Ross Waddell

The remaining directors are:
Adolf Ceska, Theresa Duynstee, Pam Meneguzzi, Verna Miller, Wilf
Nichols, John  Olafson,  Bruce  Peel,  Giles  Stevenson,  Paulus
Vrijmoed, Josette Wier, and David Williams.

The aim of the Native Plant Society of British Columbia is to 
encourage  knowledge, responsible  use  and  conservation of 
British Columbia's native plants and habitats (cf. BEN # 144)

If you want to become a member, please,  send  your  application
and the membership fee (Individual - $20.00, Associate - $15.00,
Corporate - $75.00) to

   Ross Waddell, NPSBC Secretary
   2012 William Street
   Vancouver, B.C.  V5L 2X6
   Telephone: 604-255-5719


PLANTWATCH - SPECIAL BOTANY NIGHT - VICTORIA - APRIL 2, 1997

Special  Botany Night:   Wednesday,  April  2,  1997, 7:30 p.m., 
Swan Lake Nature Centre. (Free admission)

Elisabeth Beaubien (Research Associate of the  Devonian  Botanic
Garden,  University  of  Alberta  in  Edmonton)  will talk about
"Plantwatch 97" - a phenology program launched by  the  Devonian
Garden.


EXHIBIT OF FRUITS (ACHENES AND PERIGYNIA) OF THE SEDGE FAMILY

Anna  Roberts  (Williams  Lake,  B.C.) was inspired by fruits of
Cyperaceae and created what she called  the  "biomorphic  sculp-
tures"  of  various  Cyperaceae achenes and Carex perigynia. Her
exhibit "SEDGES" will open  in  the  Station  House  Gallery  in
Williams  Lake,  B.C. on April 3rd, 1997, and will last till the
end of April. Don't miss it!


ORTHOCARPUS BARBATUS (SCROPHULARIACEAE) IN BRITISH COLUMBIA
From: Frank Lomer, Honourary Research Associate, UBC
         Herbarium, Vancouver, B.C. c/o <ubc@unixg.ubc.ca>

Grand Coulee owl-clover, Orthocarpus barbatus Cotton, an attrac-
tive yellow-flowered species endemic to central Washington,  was
collected on May 27, 1995 in low ground in Stipa-sagebrush hills
south  of  the  golf  course west of Highway 97 in Osoyoos. Many
hundreds of plants grew at this site in one small  area  at  the
foot  of  115th  Street  on the south side of a cattle fence ad-
jacent to a new and  very  destructive  subdivision  (Lomer  95-
198).  In 1996 I revisited this site and the population seems to
have increased.

A second Canadian site for this species was found about 5 km due
east of the first site, on June 16,l996 in sagebrush flats south
of Highway 3, 49 0'25" N, 119  24'18"  W  (Lomer  96-079).  This
population  was considerably larger and covered a wide area near
an old cattle corral. Orthocarpus barbatus was collected earlier
at this same site by George Douglas and J.M. Illingworth on June
24, 1994 (Douglas # 12848).


BIOLOGY OF POPLARS
From: Adolf Ceska <aceska@freenet.victoria.bc.ca>

Stettler,  R.F.,  H.D.  Bradshaw,  Jr.,  P.E.  Heilman,  &  T.M.
   Hinckley  [eds.] 1996. Biology of Populus and its implication
   for management and conservation. NRC Research Press,  Ottawa,
   Ontario,  Canada.  539  p.  ISBN  0-660-16506-6  [hard cover]
   Price: CND$49.95 (in Canada), US$49.95 (other countries).

The study of poplars has been the focal theme of the  University
of   Washington/Washington   State  University  Poplar  Research
Program since 1978. This book offers a summary of the results of
these studies. The  twenty  chapters  (authored  by  forty-seven
researchers)  are  divided into two principal parts: 1) chapters
dealing  with   systematics,   evolution,   molecular   biology,
hybridization, ecology, fungal pathogens, and herbivore interac-
tions of poplars (Chapter 1 through 11), and 2) chapters dealing
with  the  physiology, growth, productivity, and stress response
of various poplar species and their hybrids (Chapter 12  through
20).

The  book  covers a wide range of topics with poplar as a common
denominator. Although this  book  is  a  valuable  reference  to
everything  related to poplars, it also contains valuable infor-
mation on applications of molecular biology, hybridization,  and
physiological  assessments  of  deciduous  tree  species. Anyone
interested in these fields will find it as a valuable reference.

The book is reasonably priced and very well produced. A  general
subject  index  and  an index of authors would have improved the
book.

Order information:
The book can be ordered from

   Monographs Orders
   NRC Research Press, M-55
   National Research Council of Canada
   Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0R6
   Telephone: 613-993-0151  Fax: 613-952-7656
   e-mail: research.journals@nrc.ca
   Web site: http://www.nrc.ca/cisti/journals/mgraphs.html

Authorized distributor (USA)

   Aubrey Books International Ltd.
   Telephone: 301-587-3950
   e-mail: aubrey@access.digex.com


FLORA OF THE RUSSIAN ARCTIC VOL. II: CYPERACEAE - ORCHIDACEAE
From: Adolf Ceska <aceska@freenet.victoria.bc.ca>

Flora of the Russian  Arctic.  Volume  2.  Translated  from  the
   original  Russian  "Arkticheskaya Flora SSSR" by G.C.D. Grif-
   fiths, edited by J.G. Packer. University  of  Alberta  Press,
   Edmonton. 1996. 233 p. ISBN 0-88864-270-9 [hard cover] Price:
   CDN$125.00

This  volume  of an English translation of the Russian "Flora of
the Soviet Arctic" contains original volumes III  (Cyperaceae  -
published  in  January  1966)  and IV (remaining monocots - pub-
lished in April 1963). The most important parts of  this  volume
are  the  classical  treatment  of  sedges (genus Carex) by T.V.
Egorova and Tolmachev's treatment of Juncaceae.  Egorova's  dis-
cussions  of  taxonomical problems of sedges growing in the Rus-
sian Arctic are relevant to Canadian and North American  readers
and  anybody with even only a slight interest in Carex will find
an important reference  in  this  publication.  The  translator,
G.C.D  Griffiths,  and  the English edition editor, J.G. Packer,
should be commended for their work on this volume.

The price of this volume is  prohibitive  and  put  this  useful
publication  out of reach of many students who should have it in
their reference library. According to the  Acknowledgements  and
according  to  the  promotional note, only a part of this volume
was funded by the NSERC grant. As a result,  this  volume  costs
almost  twice  as  much as the first volume (cf. BEN # 132), and
yet it is only about two thirds the size of  the  first  volume.
The  University of Alberta Press did an excellent job in produc-
ing the first two volumes of this English edition. Compared with
the paperbacks printed on ugly newsprint paper  of  the  Russian
edition,  this  English edition looks like a limited bibliophile
edition, but we have to pay comparably high price  for  it.  Can
NSERC  help  again?  (NSERC  =  Natural  Science and Engineering
Research Council, the  principle  academic  granting  agency  in
Canada)

Please send orders to:

   UBC PRESS
   6344 Memorial Drive
   Vancouver, B.C. Canada V6G 1Z2
   Tel.: (604) 822-5959
   Fax: 1-800-668-0821 (toll-free within North America)
   Fax: (604) 822-6083 (outside North America)
   email: orders@ubcpress.ubc.ca

**Special Price for Two Volume Purchase**
Flora of the Russian Arctic, Vol. I & II        $175.00

**Special Price for Complete Series**
Order the entire series now and save $200!
Flora of the Russian Arctic, Vols. I-VI         $500.00
(If you already own Volume I, deduct $65.00)

ADD  Shipping & Handling ($5.00 per book)
*Canadian orders only* add 7% GST
**Orders from outside Canada are payable in US dollars.**

MasterCard and VISA accepted. Please make cheques payable to UBC
Press. Orders from individuals must be prepaid.

For more information visit the following web site:
http://www.quasar.ualberta.ca/press


TWO BOTANICAL JOBS, SUMMER 1997, IN SMITHERS, B.C.
From: Phil or Carla Burton <symbios@mail.netshop.net>

Symbios  Research  and  Restoration  is  looking  for  two field
botanists / ecologists to work on  vegetation  surveys.

Activities will involve  transect  and  plot  layout;  recording
tree,  snag  and  windthrow  diameters  and  height; determining
seedling and sapling densities and recent leader growth; vegeta-
tion sampling  using  line  intercept  method;  and  lichen  and
bryophyte surveys on rotting logs, tree bases, and (possibly) in
the  canopy.

These positions are based in Smithers, B.C. You will be  respon-
sible for your own accommodation and meals.

We  are  particularly looking for individuals with strong LICHEN
AND BRYOPHYTE IDENTIFICATION SKILLS. Work will start June 2  and
will continue to the end of August, 1997.

If interested in one of these positions, please contact me prior
to April 30:

   Carla  Burton,  Symbios  Research  and  Restoration 
   Box 3398, Smithers, B.C. V0J 2N0 
   Tel. 250-847-0247 Fax. 250-847-0278 
   e-mail:  symbios@mail.netshop.net

----------------------------------------------------------------
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BEN is archived on gopher freenet.victoria.bc.ca. The URL is:
gopher://freenet.victoria.bc.ca:70/11/environment/Botany/ben
Also archived at   http://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/ben/
________________________________________________________________

From aceska@cue.bc.ca  Sat Mar 22 05:17:09 1997
Received: from cue.bc.ca (aceska@cue.bc.ca [199.60.222.200])
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Date: Sat, 22 Mar 1997 01:40:10 -0800
From: Adolf Ceska <aceska@cue.bc.ca>
Message-Id: <199703220940.BAA13327@cue.bc.ca>
To: ben@cue.bc.ca
Subject: BEN # 160
Status: O
X-Status: 

                                                   
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. 160                              March 22, 1997

aceska@freenet.victoria.bc.ca        Victoria, B.C.
-----------------------------------------------------------
 Dr. A. Ceska, P.O.Box 8546, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3S2
-----------------------------------------------------------

BOTANY BC '97 - AUGUST 1ST TO 3RD, 1997, CATHEDRAL LAKES

The  BC Conservation Data Centre is organizing this year's meet-
ing and we are excited to offer an opportunity to do  some  high
country  botany at Cathedral Lakes Park. We have booked space at
Cathedral Lakes Lodge,  and  space  is  limited  in  the  lodge,
chalets,  and  cabins.  There are camping sites in the park, and
the lodge can accommodate limited numbers of campers for  meals.
We  are still working on the details, but the registration forms
will be mailed out early next week.


ACAULON - A NEW BRYOPHYTE GENUS IN BRITISH COLUMBIA
From: "D. Ross Priddle" <yb396@freenet.victoria.bc.ca>

One Sunday afternoon in February of 1997 I went for  a  walk  at
McNeil  Bay,  Victoria,  B.C.  I walked east and north along the
rocky shoreline. A ways along (before the point) and  back  from
the  shore  at  the  vegetation margin on the sandy soil beneath
small shrubs I discovered a tiny bulbiform moss  which  appeared
to  have  included  sporophytes.  I collected a small sample and
later  identified it  as Acaulon muticum var. rufescens  (Jaeg.)
Crum.  I  sent  the  specimen  to Dr. R.H. Zander at the Clinton
Herbarium in the Buffalo Museum of Science, New York  (BUF)  who
confirmed my identification and deposited the specimen there.

This  moss has not been previously reported in British Columbia.
Crum & Anderson (1981) illustrate this taxon and give the  range
as  "Quebec  to  Michigan, Iowa, Kansas and south to Florida and
Texas; California and (according  to  Grout)  Arizona."  On  the
Canadian  Checklist (Ireland et al., 1987) the taxon is verified
only for Ontario, with literature reports from  Quebec and  Sas-
katchewan.

Dr. Zander is the recognized expert on Pottiaceae and is working
on  the  treatment of Acaulon for the forthcoming Flora of North
America. He offers this key:


1. Leaves awned; laminal cells papillose abaxially
   .............  1. Acaulon schimperianum (Sull.) Sull. & Lesq.

1. Leaves cuspidate or blunt; laminal cells smooth.

   2. Plant  often  three-angled,  about  1.0 mm  high;   leaves
      keeled; seta about as long as the diameter of the capsule;
      spores about 30 um, finely papillose
      .....................  2. Acaulon triquetrum (Spruce) C.M.

   2. Plants  flattened-globose  or three-angled; leaves broadly
      channeled; seta short,  about  0.3  the  diameter  of  the
      capsule; spores 30-50 um, smooth or papillose
      .........................  3. Acaulon muticum (Hedw.) C.M.

      3. Spores  shortly  ellipsoidal, brown, densely papillose-
         roughened
         .....................  3a. Acaulon muticum var. muticum

      3. Spores nearly spherical, yellow, smooth
         ......  3b. Acaulon muticum var. rufescens (Jeag.) Crum

Acaulon muticum var. muticum seems to be rare in North  America,
although  it  is  more  common  in  northern and central Europe.
Acaulon muticum var. rufescens seems to be common plant in parts
of North America (see above).

Crum, H.A. &  L.E.  Anderson.  1981.  Mosses  of  eastern  North
   America. Columbia University Press, N.Y. 1328 p.
Ireland, R.R., G.R. Brassard, W.B. Schofield, & D.H. Vitt. 1987.
   Checklist of the mosses of Canada II. Lindbergia 13: 1-62.


BRYOLOGICAL EXCURSION, 10 MAY 1997, SWAN VALLEY, MONTANA
Toby Spribille <Spribille_Toby/r1_kootenai@fs.fed.us>

A  bryological excursion day is planned for 10 May 1997 near the
northwest Montana  town  of  Bigfork,  led  by  Drs.  Dale  Vitt
(University of Alberta, Edmonton) and Lars Soederstroem (Univer-
sity  of  Trondheim, Norway). The object of the field trip is to
bring together people with interest in mosses and liverworts  to
meet  and  exchange ideas and information while inventorying the
bryoflora of the bottoms of the Porcupine  Creek  drainage  just
southeast  of  the town of Bigfork in the beautiful Swan Valley.
This is an area with high  species  diversity  and  many  unique
phytogeographic  elements,  including  boreal and coastal. There
are several calcareous fens in  the  area.  The  excursion  will
include  guided  visits to these unique habitats as well as sur-
rounding upland terrain.

Excursion participants will meet at the  Forest  Service  Ranger
Station  in Bigfork at 8:00 AM on the morning of the 10th of May
and will carpool to go to the  field  sites.  The  excursion  is
planned to last until about 4:00 PM. Participants are advised to
bring  raingear and rubber boots, a boxed lunch, collecting bags
and hand lenses.

Accommodations and restaurants are found in abundance in Bigfork
and nearby Kalispell.

Registration is free of charge. To register, please provide your
name, mailing address (incl. e-mail!) and phone/fax to

   Toby Spribille
   Fortine Ranger District
   Kootenai Nat'l Forest
   P.O. Box 116
   Fortine, MT 59918

   Phone: (406) 882 4451  Fax: (406) 882 4835
   e-mail: Spribille_Toby/r1_kootenai@fs.fed.us

This will  allow  us  to  anticipate  turnout  and  better  plan
specific  activities.  In  addition,  this will allow us to mail
vicinity maps to registrants to help them plan their attendance.


NEW BOOK ON MOSS GARDENING
From: Marshall Crosby <crosby@mobot.org> originally posted to
         bryonet-l@mtu.edu [abbrev.]

Schenk, G. 1997. Moss gardening, including lichens,  liverworts,
   and  other  miniatures. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis,
   MO. 261 pages, 97 beautiful color plates. Hard cover. Prices,
   postpaid: $38.50 U.S. addresses; $39.50, all other addresses.

At last, a comprehensive, up-to-date, sensible book  on  growing
mosses  and similar things. The perfect answer to those frequent
queries from gardeners about how to grow  mosses.  Or  for  that
matter  to  those  who want an introduction to mosses, including
what's not a moss. Sections include transplanting,  propagating,
and  growing  mosses  in  containers,  for bonsai, and as ground
covers.

See our web site, http://www.mobot.org, for additional bryophyte
(and other) titles.

Send order to:

      Department Eleven          Phone: (+1) 314-577-9534
      Missouri Botanical Garden  Fax:     (+1) 314-577-9594
      P.O. Box 299               E-mail:   dept11@mobot.org
      St. Louis, MO 63166-0299   Web:  http://www.mobot.org


ORCHIDS OF THE OTTAWA DISTRICT, ONTARIO, CANADA
From: Marilyn Light <mlight@aix1.uottawa.ca>

Reddoch, Joyce M. & Allan H. Reddoch. 1997. The orchids  in  the
   Ottawa   District:   Floristics,  phytogeography,  population
   studies and historical review. Special Issue of The  Canadian
   Field-Naturalist, vol 111, no. 1: 1-186.

This  186-page  work  describes  the 44 orchid species that have
been found within 50 km of Canada's National  Parliament  Build-
ings  in Ottawa. It contains information on identification, past
abundance, population changes, development cycles  and  relative
stability  of colonies. It is presented as a baseline study from
which to design further research and prepare effective  planning
measures to protect wild orchid populations.

The Introduction describes the history of collecting and record-
ing  since  1856,  principal orchid habitats, local distribution
patterns, rare species, colour forms, capsules and seeds, bloom-
ing dates and other topics.

Each species account provides detailed information on the  above
topics,  as  well as a brief description of the plant. A drawing
and a spot distribution map accompany each account. Correlations
of some species with the Canadian Shield  or  the  St.  Lawrence
Lowlands,  or  with  calcareous rock, sandstone or sand deposits
are shown. Long-lived colonies of many  species  are  described,
and  population  studies  are included for Corallorhiza striata,
Goodyera pubescens, G. tesselata, Platanthera  hookeri,  P.  or-
biculata and Spiranthes cernua.

To obtain copies of this journal issue, send CAN $10. plus $2.50
(postage and handling) for each copy to

   The Canadian Field-Naturalist
   P.O. Box 35069, Westgate P.O.
   Ottawa, Canada K1Z 1A2

----------------------------------------------------------------
Submissions, subscriptions, etc.:  aceska@freenet.victoria.bc.ca
BEN is archived on gopher freenet.victoria.bc.ca. URL: gopher:
//gopher.freenet.victoria.bc.ca:70/11/environment/Botany/ben
Also archived at   http://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/ben/
________________________________________________________________

From aceska@cue.bc.ca  Thu Apr 10 02:56:49 1997
Received: from cue.bc.ca (aceska@cue.bc.ca [199.60.222.200])
	by calzone.oit.unc.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id CAA05172
	for <london@sunsite.unc.edu>; Thu, 10 Apr 1997 02:56:47 -0400 (EDT)
Received: (from aceska@localhost) by cue.bc.ca (8.7.5/8.7.3) id XAA11117 for ben; Wed, 9 Apr 1997 23:19:51 -0700
Date: Wed, 9 Apr 1997 23:19:51 -0700
From: Adolf Ceska <aceska@cue.bc.ca>
Message-Id: <199704100619.XAA11117@cue.bc.ca>
To: ben@cue.bc.ca
Subject: BEN # 162
Status: O
X-Status: 

                                                   
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. 162                              April 9, 1997

aceska@freenet.victoria.bc.ca        Victoria, B.C.
-----------------------------------------------------------
 Dr. A. Ceska, P.O.Box 8546, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3S2
-----------------------------------------------------------

CAMPYLOPUS  INTROFLEXUS  - MOSS INTRODUCED IN BRITISH COLUMBIA
From: Terry Taylor <ttaylor@terragen.com>

In August of 1994 while botanizing the northern  part  of  Burns
Bog  [south  of  Vancouver,  B.C.],  near  the  area  where  the
Eriophorum virginicum  has  been  introduced,  I  noticed  large
populations  of  what  appeared  at a distance to be Racomitrium
heterostichum. They grow on what is otherwise bare peat.  Closer
inspection  showed  apical hairpoints diverging horizontally, as
they do in C. introflexus. Microscopic examination of leaf cross
sections also indicated a Campylopus. Dr.  Wilf  Schofield  con-
firmed  my  previous speculation when I gave him the collection.
Last year a population was also found in the  Big  Bend  Bog  in
Burnaby  and fertile material was also collected at another site
in Burns Bog.

Campylopus introflexus (Hedw.) Brid. is an introduction from the
southern hemisphere and had not  been  collected  previously  in
Canada, although it does occur along the Oregon coast.


BRYOPHYTES UNINTENTIONALLY INTRODUCED TO BRITISH COLUMBIA
From: Wilf Schofield <wilfs@unixg.ubc.ca>

The  introduction  of  bryophytes to the British Columbian flora
has not significantly enriched the  flora.  This  is  in  strong
contrast  to  the  vascular  plants,  in which introductions are
reported to form over 20% of the vascular flora.

Apparent introductions are characterized by the fact that  their
presence  in the province is discordant with their natural world
distribution.

Some bryophytes associated with  disturbed  soil  appear  to  be
introductions  because  they are unknown from undisturbed sites.
In the B.C. flora Micromitrium tenerum, Orthotrichum  diaphanum,
Physcomitrium  immersum, Pottia truncata, Pseudephemerum nitidum
and Tortula amplexa could  well  be  introductions,  but  it  is
impossible to be confident.

Other  species  common  in  the  indigenous  flora are obviously
spread by human activity, especially in the production of exten-
sive disturbed sites near roads and  gardens.  Mosses  that  fit
this  category  include Atrichum undulatum, Barbula unguiculata,
Calliergonella   cuspidata,   Ceratodon    purpureus,    Funaria
hygrometrica,  Leptobryum  pyriforme, Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus
and Tortula muralis as well as many others, plus  the  liverwort
Marchantia polymorpha.

In lawns, especially in urban areas, several mosses are favoured
by  the conditions maintained through lawn-mowing and fertiliza-
tion, as well as winter conditions of  the  lawn.  Some  mosses,
including  several  species  of  Brachythecium (largely undeter-
minable, and possibly exotic in origin), Rhytidiadelphus  squar-
rosus,  Calliergonella  cuspidata  and  Pseudoscleropodium purum
often form extensive carpets. It is possible that  these  mosses
are  transported  accidentally  from one lawn to another by lawn
maintenance workers. In the final mowing in autumn,  the  mosses
are  usually  of  a stature that allows them to be fragmented by
the lawn mower. These fragments adhere to the mower and are,  in
consequence,  transported  to another lawn where they detach and
are scattered. During the winter, when the grass is dormant, the
moss  fragments  are  able  to  flourish  and  grow  under   the
favourable  light  and moisture conditions and produce extensive
carpets. Moss killers applied in the spring can destroy most  of
these,  but if any living plants persist, they are fragmented as
the lawn is mowed, and the next winter repeats the process.

The bryophyte  introductions  appear  to  have  originated  with
horticultural  plants. Pseudoscleropodium is often used as pack-
ing material for nursery stock in Europe, where the  species  in
native  to  the  flora. It is probable that this was transported
out of Europe through this means. In both  eastern  and  western
North  America it is confined mainly to lawns, although in B.C.,
at lest, it is known from near coastal cities  (Vancouver,  Vic-
toria,  Nanaimo),  but  is  also  on Galiano Island and probably
elsewhere. It has also been  introduced  to  Australia  and  New
Zealand  as  well  as other non-European localities. Pseudocros-
sidium hornschuchianun, Pottia truncata, Physcomitrium immersum,
and Lunularia cruciata  are  associated  almost  exclusively  to
gardens  or to the perimeter of agricultural land, and sometimes
persist briefly in a site. It is reasonable  to  speculate  that
these originated with soil in pots of garden seedlings.

The  introduction  of  Campylopus  introflexus  (endemic  to the
Southern Hemisphere) and Orthotrichum diaphanum are difficult to
explain. The Campylopus is confined in B.C. to  Burns  and  Bend
Bogs  in  the Lower Mainland, to disturbed peatland. It is known
in western North America also from Oregon  (sand  dune  slacks),
and  adjacent  California  (seemingly  natural  habitats).  This
Campylopus was introduced to  Europe  many  years  ago  and  has
spread  relatively  rapidly.  Terry  Taylor  has discovered both
fertile and vegetative populations, sometimes,  covering  exten-
sive  tracts.  The  plants  are  brittle,  and the fragments can
readily establish the species in new sites after  transfer.  The
Orthotrichum  is  indigenous to North America, but the only B.C.
sites are in Vancouver (concrete walls and introduced cottonwood
trees). The species is not common in western United  States,  so
its  appearance  in  Vancouver  in  anthropogenic  sites is mys-
terious.

The intriguing problems remain concerning the vegetative popula-
tions of several species of Brachythecium  in  lawns.  Some  are
extremely  abundant.  Sporophytes  are  essential  for confident
determination. Lawn mowing appears to impede sporophyte  produc-
tion,  keeping  the  populations in a vegetative state. sp It is
apparent that  introduced  bryophytes  harbour  many  intriguing
problems worthy of attention.


BIOGRAPHY OF CHARLES CHRISTOPHER PARRY

Weber,  W. A. 1997. King of Colorado Botany: Charles Christopher
   Parry, 1823-1890. University Press of Colorado, Boulder,  CO.
   216 p. ISBN 0-87081-431-1 [hardcover] Price: US$39.95.

   Ordering   information:   Order   from  University  Press  of
   Colorado, P.O.Box 849, Niwot, CO 80544. Toll-free  number  1-
   800-268-6044.  $US39.95, shipping $3.00 for first book, $1.00
   for each additional.

Charles Christopher Parry is well known to botanists  worldwide.
More than eighty new species of flowering plants were named from
Parry's Colorado collections, and many more from his collections
in Mexico and the American Southwest. Fascinated with mountains,
Parry  made  barometric  observations  that  permitted the first
accurate estimations of altitudes of the  high  peaks.  Yet  his
greatest contribution to science was through the distribution of
his  botanical  collections  to the museums of the world. Except
for  his  name  having  been  affixed  to  many  of   Colorado's
wildflowers,  two mountain peaks, and a creek in Middle Park, he
is hardly known in Colorado. . . . [The book] combines the lists
of Parry's  collections  with  the  scientific  and  semipopular
descriptions of his travels, up till now found only scattered in
rare periodicals and old newspapers. This is a work that will be
of interest to naturalists and all others interested in the West
as it existed during Parry's lifetime.

----------------------------------------------------------------
Submissions, subscriptions, etc.:  aceska@freenet.victoria.bc.ca
BEN is archived on gopher freenet.victoria.bc.ca. URL: gopher:
//gopher.freenet.victoria.bc.ca:70/11/environment/Botany/ben
Also archived at   http://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/ben/
________________________________________________________________

From aceska@cue.bc.ca  Sat Apr 19 04:09:38 1997
Received: from cue.bc.ca (aceska@cue.bc.ca [199.60.222.200])
	by calzone.oit.unc.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id EAA27341
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Received: (from aceska@localhost) by cue.bc.ca (8.7.5/8.7.3) id AAA07755 for ben; Sat, 19 Apr 1997 00:26:15 -0700
Date: Sat, 19 Apr 1997 00:26:15 -0700
From: Adolf Ceska <aceska@cue.bc.ca>
Message-Id: <199704190726.AAA07755@cue.bc.ca>
To: ben@cue.bc.ca
Subject: BEN # 163
Status: O
X-Status: 

                                                   
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. 163                              April 19, 1997

aceska@freenet.victoria.bc.ca        Victoria, B.C.
-----------------------------------------------------------
 Dr. A. Ceska, P.O.Box 8546, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3S2
-----------------------------------------------------------

1997 MEETING OF THE ALASKA RARE PLANT FORUM

From: Alan Batten & Carolyn Parker <fnclp1@aurora.alaska.edu>
       originally published in the ALA [University of Alaska,
       Anchorage, Herbarium] Newsletter

The meeting of the Alaska Rare Plant Forum in Anchorage on April
2-3  was an enjoyable opportunity to meet with other Alaskan and
Yukon botanists and to catch up on what everyone is doing.  Alan
Batten  presented results from the upland sites of last summer's
fieldwork for BLM in the Yukon-Tanana  Uplands.  Carolyn  Parker
summarized  the high points of the whole 3-year inventory of the
Yukon-Tanana Uplands alpine floristic survey as well as present-
ing her work with Yukon-Charley National  Park  in  the  Ogilvie
Mountains and along the Yukon River. These combined surveys have
resulted  in  a new species for the state flora, Draba ogilvien-
sis, and several new localities for species listed  'Species  of
Concern'  by  USFWS  and/or  being tracked by the Alaska Natural
Heritage Program.

Mike Emers of the USFWS reported on  the  Porcupine  River  trip
that  he and David and Barbara Murray took last June investigat-
ing the flora of the dry south-facing bluffs  along  the  river.
The  flora  of  these  bluffs has some striking differences from
similar bluffs  along  the  Yukon  River.  Two  new  species,  a
fleabane (Erigeron) and a hepatic (Asterella) will eventually be
described from this area.

Bruce  Bennett  of  the  Canadian  Wildlife Service, Whitehorse,
talked about issues affecting rare  plants  in  the  Yukon,  and
about  distributed  a  preliminary  list  of rare plants for the
Yukon.

Donna DiFolco of NPS reported on populations of Aster yukonensis
that have been located in the Brooks Range over the last  couple
of years.

Randy  Meyers  of  BLM  in  Kotzebue  summarized  the  status of
Oxytropis arctica var. barnebyana and reported on her  fieldwork
along the Squirrel River in northwest Alaska.

Rob DeVelice and Bev Shulz of the US Forest Service talked about
the ecosystem mapping project that the Forest Service is working
on.

Connie  Hubbard  of the Forest Service talked about their inven-
tory of Arnica norbergii, a taxonomic entity that may or may not
be distinct from A. lessingii, that occurs along  the  right  of
way of the road being built from Portage to Whittier.

Steve  Talbot, of USFWS, gave an account of the work he is doing
with CAFF. (Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna). CAFF is  an
international group trying to come up with a list of Arctic rare
species.  Much  of  their effort has to do with reconciling dif-
ferent taxonomies as well as balancing different ideas of  rare-
ness  and  different  ideas  of  "arctic"  espoused by different
nations. Dave Murray has also been involved in this work.

Rob gave us the latest list from  the  Alaska  Natural  Heritage
Program of Alaskan species ranked S3 and rarer. He also reported
on  fieldwork  with  Dave  Murray  on  the Seward Peninsula, and
described several rare taxa known from that  area,  including  a
new species for Alaska, Douglasia beringensis."

[Thanks to  Bruce Bennett  <Bruce.Bennett@ec.gc.ca>  for sending 
me this article, and to the authors for permission to post it on
BEN. - AC]


SIX NEW INTRODUCED SPECIES IN BRITISH COLUMBIA
From: Frank Lomer, Honourary Research Associate, UBC
         Herbarium, Vancouver, B.C. c/o <ubc@unixg.ubc.ca>

1. Anchusa arvensis (L.) M. Bieb. - Boraginaceae

Found growing around a Post Office box at the corner of  Highway
3  and  Highway  41 (south to USA) next to Rilkofs Store, Almond
Gardens, a few km west of Grand Forks. A  bristly  hispid  plant
that  looks  a lot like Amsinckia, but has clear blue flowers. A
few more plants were seen in an  adjacent  pumpkin  field.  Col-
lected September 20, 1996 (Lomer 96-157).

2. Chenopodium pumilio R.Br. - Chenopodiaceae

This  Australian weed looks a lot like C. botrys except that the
flowers appear in small glomerules at the base  of  the  reduced
upper  leaves,  instead  of  branched  panicles as in the latter
species. First seen in Urands Nursery (a very good plant  shop),
Highway  3  at  the  south  end of Christina Lake, east of Grand
Forks. C. pumilio is sparsely established  along  the  beach  in
front  of  the  private  lots  west of Christina Lake Provincial
Park. It grows in sandy ground when the lake has receded in late
summer. There were also quite a few large plants in  soil  piles
along  a  dirt  road nearby. Collected September 20, l996 (Lomer
96-160).

3. Hordeum murinum L. ssp. glaucum (Steudel) Tzvelev - Poaceae

A small clump of this weedy annual grass was growing in sand  by
the  beach  path in front of the tennis courts, Kitsilano Beach,
Vancouver. H. murinum ssp. murinum is abundant  along  the  same
beach.  Subspecies  glaucum  has  a  wider inflorescence that is
purplish tinted in summer. The central spikelet is  stalked  and
the  central  floret  is somewhat less than the lateral florets.
Collected July 4,l996 (Lomer 96-099).

4. Rudbeckia laciniata L. - Asteraceae

Collected on Lion Island, west of Annacis Island  in  the  south
arm  of  the Fraser River between Richmond and Delta, on October
16, 1996 (Lomer 96-181). About 6-10 plants  were  seen  on  this
uninhabited  island  along the tidal shore in swampy ground with
Phalaris arundinacea and cattails. Grown  in  gardens  and  fre-
quently  escaped  in  temperate regions. A single plant was also
reported from the ponds at Jericho Beach Park in Vancouver.

5. Soliva sessilis Ruiz & Pavon - Asteraceae

A South American weed that has the appearance of a small  umbel-
lifer.  Growing  on seasonal moist, trampled ground in a natural
grassy area near the amphitheater  in  Ruckle  Point  Provincial
Park,  Saltspring Island. Collected May 18, 1996 (Lomer 96-007).
This species formed a relatively large patch with many  hundreds
of  small,  more  or  less prostrate plants. This population has
achenes with slight wing margins formerly known as S. daucifolia
Nutt.,  but  The  Jepson  Manual  includes  it  along  with   S.
pterosperma  (Juss.)  Less. as been merely forms of S. sessilis.
More common in California.

6. Trifolium striatum L. - Fabaceae

Collected by Terry Taylor next to Village Bay Ferry booth, Mayne
Island, June 1, 1996 (Taylor 96-7).


NEW BOOK: THE NATURAL HISTORY OF POLLINATION

Proctor, M., P. Yeo, & A. Lack. 1996.  The  natural  history  of
   pollination.  Timber  Press, Portland, Oregon. 479 p. ISBN 0-
   88192-352-4 [Hardback], ISBN 0-88192-353-2 [Paperback]  Cost:
   US$ 42.95 [Hardback], US$24.95 [Paperback]

   Ordering information: Toll-free number for credit card orders
   (US+Canada)  1-800-327-5680;  in Canada call Cavendish Books:
   1-800-665-3166.

----------------------------------------------------------------
Submissions, subscriptions, etc.:  aceska@freenet.victoria.bc.ca
BEN is archived on gopher freenet.victoria.bc.ca. URL: gopher:
//gopher.freenet.victoria.bc.ca:70/11/environment/Botany/ben
Also archived at   http://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/ben/
________________________________________________________________

From aceska@cue.bc.ca  Wed Apr 30 04:35:19 1997
Received: from cue.bc.ca (aceska@cue.bc.ca [199.60.222.200])
	by calzone.oit.unc.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id EAA11648
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Date: Wed, 30 Apr 1997 00:54:19 -0700
From: Adolf Ceska <aceska@cue.bc.ca>
Message-Id: <199704300754.AAA00176@cue.bc.ca>
To: ben@cue.bc.ca
Subject: BEN # 164
Status: O
X-Status: 

                                                   
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. 164                              April 30, 1997

aceska@freenet.victoria.bc.ca        Victoria, B.C.
-----------------------------------------------------------
 Dr. A. Ceska, P.O.Box 8546, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3S2
-----------------------------------------------------------

SYN-TAX 5 WORKSHOP IN ANCHORAGE  ALASKA,  12-14  SEPTEMBER  1997
From: "Stephen S. Talbot" <75327.1053@CompuServe.COM>

Two  years  ago I met Janos Podani at the IAVS meetings in Texas
and then again last summer in Budapest. I  have  been  very  im-
pressed  with his SYN-TAX 5 computing package and invited him to
come to Anchorage. It is with great pleasure  that  I  send  the
following workshop announcement for possible inclusion in BEN.

   Special Three-day Workshop
   12-14 September 1997
   Alaska Pacific University

Exploration of Multivariate Data Structures in Biology:
How to Use the SYN-TAX Package on the Mac or PC
by Dr. Janos Podani

This  three-day course will combine morning lectures with after-
noon hands-on application to teach the basic  concepts  and  ad-
vanced  features  of  the  SYN-TAX  5.0  computing package. Par-
ticipants are encouraged to bring their own data sets.

 1. Classification. Hierarchical,  non-hierarchical,  and  fuzzy
    approaches.
 2. Ordination.  Metric and non-metric multidimensional scaling.
    Principal components analysis.
 3. Evaluation of classifications and ordinations.  Comparisons,
    consensus, meta-analysis, and Monte Carlo tests.
 4. Character   ranking.  Rearrangement  of  distance  and  data
    matrices to elucidate diagonal or block structures.
 5. Pattern analysis  of  species  assemblages  using  digitized
    field data.

The  workshop will be held at Alaska Pacific University and will
be limited to 20 participants. Cost of  workshop:  $200.  Checks
should  be  made payable to "Alaska Pacific University" and sent
to: SYN-TAX  Workshop,  Environmental  Science,  Alaska  Pacific
University,  4101  University  Drive,  Anchorage,  Alaska 99508.
Classes from 9:00-12:00 and 1:00-4:00 pm. Macintosh  Power  PC's
will  be available in the laboratory as well as a smaller number
of DOS machines. Participants may also bring  their  own  laptop
computers.  Further  information  concerning the SYN-TAX package
may be found on the Web homepage (http://ramet.elte.hu/).

Suggested reading:
Podani, J. 1994.  Multivariate  data  analysis  in  ecology  and
   systematics.  A  methodological  guide  to  the  SYN- YAX 5.0
   package. SPB Academic Publishing bv, P.O. Box 97747, 2509  GC
   The Hague, The Netherlands. ISBN 90-5103-094-0

Registration form and more information can be obtained from:

Stephen  Talbot, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1011 East Tudor
Road, Anchorage, AK 99503; phone (907) 786-3381, fax (907)  786-
3976, email: 75327.1053@compuserve.com (Stephen Talbot).


SACRED FUNGUS IN TRADITIONAL NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURE

Blanchette,  R.A.  1997  Haploporus  odorus:  A sacred fungus in
   traditional native American culture of the  northern  plains.
   Mycologia 89: 233 - 240.

Abstract: The Indigenous Peoples of the northern American plains
used  Haploporus  odorus  to  ornament sacred robes, human scalp
necklaces and other cultural properties. The fungus was  also  a
component  of  medicine  bundles and used for protection against
illness. Numerous collections, some dating to the  early  1800s,
from the Blackfoot, Blood, Cree and other northern plains tribes
indicate  this  fungus  was used widely as a component of sacred
objects and as a symbol  of  spiritual  power.  The  exceedingly
fragrant anise-like scent of H. odorus sporophores appears to be
the  reason  this  fungus  was  selected and revered. Collection
notes and historic photographs provide additional  evidence  for
the  importance  of  this  fungus in traditional Native American
culture. The significance of this fungus  has  remained  obscure
due  to  misidentification  of  the  fungus as carved cottonwood
roots, loss of information on traditional Native  American  cul-
ture over the last century and lack of previous ethnomycological
investigation.

Robert  A.  Blanchette Department of Plant Pathology, University
   of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108.
   E-Mail: robertb@puccini.crl.umn.edu


CATALOG VERSUS CURATE - UPDATE
From: Una Smith <una@doliolum.biology.yale.edu> originally on
         TAXACOM <taxacom@cmsa.berkeley.edu>

In  September 1995, I posted an article on TAXACOM re cataloging
versus curating natural history  collections,  which  started  a
lively  discussion. My original article is included below. It is
also archived, along with the entire thread  that  followed,  on
http://www.keil.ukans.edu/archive/ taxacom.html. Recently, I was
asked if my views have changed over the past year and a half. In
short:  no.  In fact, the posted replies to my article convinced
me that the problem is far more severe than I had realized.

Here's one common scenario: a funding agency awards a  grant  to
build  an electronic catalog for an important collection. By the
end of the grant period the money is gone but only a  tiny  part
of  the catalog has been done. "The agency said our grant was to
cover cataloging 40,000 specimens, but they only gave us  enough
money to pay for doing 1,000!"

How  did this happen? The funding agency and the institution had
very different ideas of  what  the  term  "catalog"  meant.  The
agency expected a small amount to be spent on each specimen, but
left  the  particulars  up  to  the institution; the institution
spent most of the money on a few very difficult  specimens,  and
nothing  on  the  rest.  This  is not a good outcome for anyone,
except perhaps the one or two scientists who are most interested
in those few specimens.

Apparently, this is a common scenario. Why? I think  the  reason
for this is evident in some of the replies to my article back in
September 1995. Several people (dare I say, taxonomists?) stated
that  curation  and  cataloging  are  (or should be) one and the
same. Cataloging can be fairly cheap  and  painless  (especially
when  done  in the course of curating), but curating (especially
of important, *old* collections), is always expensive.

Why are funding agencies so willing to pay for rapid  cataloging
of  old collections, but not for "proper" curation? Because once
the catalog is available on the Internet,  specialists  anywhere
in  the  world will be able to locate specimens of "their" group
in that collection. It is these taxonomic specialists  who  will
(and  should) be expected to do the extensive, detailed curation
that is so  expensive.  If  they  are  like  me,  they  will  be
delighted  to  perform  this  valuable  service  in exchange for
access to these important, historic collections.

CATALOG VS CURATE - ORIGINAL ARTICLE
From: Una Smith <una@DOLIOLUM.BIOLOGY.YALE.EDU> originally
   posted to TAXACOM, 12 September 1995

Over the past few years, I have visited numerous  museums,  her-
baria,  and  botanical  gardens in the course of my research, to
look  at  specimens.  Invariably,  it  seems,  I  also  talk  to
curators,   collection   managers,   and  computing  system  ad-
ministrators about their on-line cataloging efforts.

One theme that emerges consistently is the difficulty of finding
a good relationship between cataloging and curating.  Cataloging
is  the  creation  of  data  records in a consistent format on a
tangible medium. Curation is the analysis of specimens  and  all
pertinent  data,  with  various  goals  in mind: verification of
known data, validation of that data,  discovery  of  interesting
links  or  patterns  among  the  data,  determination of correct
identifications, and taxonomic  and  systematic  treatments  and
revisions.

In  some institutions, on-line catalogs are perceived as an end-
product, and as being (ideally) fixed. Also, there appears to be
a great deal of difference of opinion about what various funding
agencies want when they fund "cataloging" projects. Hence, there
is sometimes intense pressure on research staff to do "complete"
and "final" curatorial work on all  specimens  as  part  of  the
cataloging  effort,  regardless  of  the scientific value of the
specimens or the area of  expertise  of  the  curator.  It  also
requires  highly  trained  researchers  to spend huge amounts of
time doing what could be done, for the most  part,  by  a  semi-
skilled  clerical  worker, student trainee, or volunteer. Conse-
quently, cataloging  can  become  an  excruciatingly  difficult,
expensive, and slow process.

Is  it  practical to make curatorial work a principal element of
cataloging work, and not the other way around? Is it useful?  Is
it  even  desirable?  I  think  not.  In fact, I think it may be
extremely detrimental to natural history  research  institutions
and to our science.
Comments,  anyone?  Because  I  think  that  many people reading
TAXACOM find themselves in exactly the sort of situation that  I
describe  here,  and may feel hesitant to post anything that may
appear to be a criticism of their own institution, I would  like
to  propose the following: If you wish to post a comment on this
topic, but do not want your identity known, you may send  it  to
me  via e-mail privately (be sure to check your headers!), and I
will post your article with a pseudonym. If  you  do  not  state
that  you  wish me to post your e-mail, I will hold it in stric-
test confidence.


BEN # 163 - ERRATUM

ALA is the official abbreviation of  the  University  of  Alaska
Herbarium in Fairbanks (not Anchorage).

----------------------------------------------------------------
Submissions, subscriptions, etc.:  aceska@freenet.victoria.bc.ca
BEN is archived on gopher freenet.victoria.bc.ca. URL: gopher:
//gopher.freenet.victoria.bc.ca:70/11/environment/Botany/ben
Also archived at   http://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/ben/
________________________________________________________________

From aceska@cue.bc.ca  Tue May 13 07:43:56 1997
Received: from cue.bc.ca (root@cue.bc.ca [199.60.222.200])
	by calzone.oit.unc.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id HAA03366
	for <london@sunsite.unc.edu>; Tue, 13 May 1997 07:43:53 -0400 (EDT)
Received: (from aceska@localhost) by cue.bc.ca (8.7.5/8.7.3) id AAA13695 for ben; Tue, 13 May 1997 00:20:30 -0700
Date: Tue, 13 May 1997 00:20:30 -0700
From: Adolf Ceska <aceska@cue.bc.ca>
Message-Id: <199705130720.AAA13695@cue.bc.ca>
To: ben@cue.bc.ca
Subject: BEN # 165
Status: O
X-Status: 

                                                   
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. 165                              May 13, 1997

aceska@freenet.victoria.bc.ca        Victoria, B.C.
-----------------------------------------------------------
 Dr. A. Ceska, P.O.Box 8546, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3S2
-----------------------------------------------------------

HAROLD A. SENN (1912-1997)
From: FNA Newsletter 11(1): 5. [abbrev.]

Harold  A. Senn died on 22 January 1997 in Victoria, B.C. He was
born on 12 January 1912 in Caledonia, Ontario. He  received  his
Bachelor  of Science and Master of Arts from McMaster University
on Hamilton, Ontario, and went to the University of Virginia  to
complete  his  Doctorate of Philosophy in Pant Genetics in 1937.
After postdoctoral work  at  Harvard  University's  Arnold  Her-
barium,  he  joined  the  Canadian  Department of Agriculture in
Ottawa as a botanist. From 1960-1978, he  was  Director  of  the
Biotron  at  the  University of Wisconsin in Madison. He and his
wife retired to Victoria, where he pursued his lifelong love  of
gardening,  developing  a special interest in rhododendrons from
around the world. Dr. Senn was a fellow of the Royal Society  of
Canada and a life member of the Agriculture Institute of Canada.


NEW SPECIES OF VASCULAR PLANTS FROM THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST

Reveal,  J.L.,  F.  Caplow,  &  K.  Beck. 1997. Eriogonum codium
   (Polygonaceae: Eriogonoideae),  a  new  species  from  south-
   central Washington. Rhodora 97(1995 [sic!] No. 892): 350-356.

Eriogonum codium, a low, matted, cespitose perennial with tomen-
tose  flowers  and achenes found on the Hanford Nuclear Reserva-
tion, Benton Co. Washington,  U.S.A.,  is  described  as  a  new
species.  It  belongs  to the same group of matted perennials in
the subgenus Eucycla as E. chrysops but has  a  cymose-umbellate
inflorescence  similar to E. cusickii. The tomentose flowers and
achenes readily distinguish the new species from all of its near
relatives. Eriogonum codium is highly  restricted  in  its  dis-
tribution.  Approximately  5000  plants  grow interruptedly in a
narrow band 2.5 km long and less than 30 m  wide.  The  Hansford
Site  is currently managed by the U.S. Department of Energy. Any
change of ownership or management of this area could potentially
threaten the viability of this highly restricted species.


Barkworth, M.E., R.L. Burkhamer, & L.E.  Talbert.  1997.  Elymus
   calderi: a new species of the Triticeae (Poaceae). Systematic
   Botany 21(3): 349-354.

The  authors  examined  the type specimen of Agropyron yukonense
and concluded that the holotype probably represents "one of  the
many sterile hybrids that occur in Triticeae." None of the other
60-70  specimens  identified  as  A.  yukonense  (or  one of its
synonyms) matched the holotype or the original description. This
suggests that the non-holotype plants represent a  new  species.
Morphological, cytogenetic, and molecular results support inclu-
sion  of  the  new  species  in  Elymus. The name Elymus calderi
Barkworth is proposed in honor of J. A. Calder, a taxonomist who
worked extensively in western Canada. Elymus  calderi  grows  in
the Yukon Territory, eastern Alaska, and northern British Colum-
bia, on benches and in sandy alkaline soils, often forming large
stands.


NEW ETHNOBOTANICAL PUBLICATION - GITKSAN NATION

Compton,  Brian  D.,  Bruce Rigsby and Marie-Lucie Tarpent, eds.
   1997. Gitksan Ethnobotany by  Harlan  I.  Smith  (1925-1927).
   Mercury   Series   Paper  132,  Canadian  Ethnology  Service.
   Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull, Quebec. 210 p.  $27.95
   ISBN 0-660-15968-6 [hardcover] Cost CND$27.95

This  document represents an edited version of a manuscript from
the Canadian Museum of Civilization prepared  between  1925  and
1927  by  Harland  I.  Smith on Gitksan ethnobotany. It contains
information on 112 botanical species with  traditional  cultural
roles among the Gitksan [northwestern British Columbia].

The  publication  is available from the Canadian Museum of 
Civilization (tel.: 1-800-555-5621, e-mail: 
publications@cmcc.muse.digital.ca).


THE LAST VOLUME OF THE MICHIGAN FLORA HAS BEEN PUBLISHED
From: "Thomas G. Lammers" <lammers@FMPPR.FMNH.ORG> originally
          on TAXACOM <TAXACOM@CMSA.BERKELEY.EDU>

The  third  and  last  volume  of "Michigan Flora," by Edward G.
Voss, was published in late December 1996. Like  the  first  two
volumes,  this  beautiful  hardback  book  was subsidized by the
Hanes Fund, so it is an incredible bargain. All three  parts  of
the  Flora  can  be  ordered by sending a check in U.S. dollars,
payable to "University of Michigan Herbarium," to: University of
Michigan Herbarium, North University  Building,  Ann  Arbor,  MI
48109-1057. The prices quoted below include packing and postage.
Sorry, but credit card orders cannot be accepted.

Part I, Gymnosperms and Monocots, $14.00 to US addresses, $16.00
to foreign addresses.

Part II, Dicots (Saururaceae-Cornaceae), $14.50 to US addresses,
16.50 to foreign addresses.

Part III, Dicots Concluded, $16.50 to US addresses, $18.50 to
foreign addresses.

For  more  information,  call Linda Williams in the UM Herbarium
(313 764-2407, lwilliam@umich.edu) or see  the  Herbarium's  Web
site:
http://www.herb.lsa.umich.edu/umherb.htm


MESSY DESKS - RE: APRIL 1ST ISSUE(S) OF BEN

Once  upon  a  time  the British scientific weekly New Scientist
used to publish an April Fools' issue called Old  Scientist.  As
much  as I like New Scientist, the Old Scientist was the issue I
was always looking for.

Their tradition was discontinued some time ago, but as you might
have noticed, it still survives in BEN. With a very  few  excep-
tions,  April Fools' postings on BEN are real articles. Only the
story of frozen Jara da Cimrman (BEN # CXXXII) was a hoax.  Jara
da  Cimrman  is  a  ficticious  Czech  genius who was created by
Ladislav Smoljak and  Zdenek  Sverak.  (Zdenek  Sverak  wrote  a
script  to  the Oscar winning Czech film "Kolya," and played the
musician; his real son Jan Sverak directed the movie.)  Jara  da
Cimrman, a multifaceted genius, became an object of many studies
and  Jan  Rehacek's  contribution posted on April 1996 BEN was a
good example of these.

The article that hit the screens of many BEN readers was  indeed
taken  from  The  Week  in  Germany  - January 8, 1993. It is my
suspicion that in  their  article  on  messy  desks  the  German
writers  tried  to  repair  the  image of Germans all around the
world as being obsessively punctilious.

The "volcano" model brought an animated reaction from  many  BEN
readers:  it is always good to know the name of the syndrome you
are afflicted with even if there is no cure for it. My co-worker
with whom I used to share an office for quite a few  years  went
even further in her organizational technique:

   "There  is  quite  a  lot of truth in the article on messy
   desks. However, where are the times when I still  operated
   within  the  'volcano'  model!  In the present time I have
   more something like 'lava flows' -  everything  is  spread
   evenly  wherever  you  look.  I  am also often sharing the
   experience of Mr. Vrba. My cottage is  raided  by  robbers
   several  times  each  winter  and thanks to my 'lava flow'
   technique, the robbers have never been able  to  find  the
   valuable stuff that I keep there embeded in the lava."


BEN 164: ERRATUM - SYN-TAX WEB PAGE
From: Janos Podani <podani@ludens.elte.hu>

Please  note that there was an error in the SYN-TAX web homepage
address. It should be:
http://ramet.elte.hu/~podani

----------------------------------------------------------------
Submissions, subscriptions, etc.:  aceska@freenet.victoria.bc.ca
BEN is archived on gopher freenet.victoria.bc.ca. URL: gopher:
//gopher.freenet.victoria.bc.ca:70/11/environment/Botany/ben
Also archived at   http://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/ben/
________________________________________________________________

From aceska@cue.bc.ca  Tue Jun  3 04:18:58 1997
Received: from cue.bc.ca (aceska@cue.bc.ca [199.60.222.200])
	by calzone.oit.unc.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id EAA27127
	for <london@sunsite.unc.edu>; Tue, 3 Jun 1997 04:18:55 -0400 (EDT)
Received: (from aceska@localhost) by cue.bc.ca (8.7.5/8.7.3) id AAA03993 for ben; Tue, 3 Jun 1997 00:34:11 -0700
Date: Tue, 3 Jun 1997 00:34:11 -0700
From: Adolf Ceska <aceska@cue.bc.ca>
Message-Id: <199706030734.AAA03993@cue.bc.ca>
To: ben@cue.bc.ca
Subject: BEN # 166
Status: O
X-Status: 

                                                   
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. 166                              June 1, 1997

aceska@freenet.victoria.bc.ca        Victoria, B.C.
-----------------------------------------------------------
 Dr. A. Ceska, P.O.Box 8546, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3S2
-----------------------------------------------------------

BOTANIC GARDENS & CONSERVATION - LECTURE IN VANCOUVER, B.C.
From: Dana DeKoven <dekoven@vandusen.org>

VanDusen Botanical Garden presents: "Botanic gardens & conserva-
tion" - A Special Lecture with Timothy Walker, Superintendent of
the University of Oxford Botanic Garden.

As we approach the next millennium, botanical gardens world-wide
are  taking  a  leading role in plant conservation. Join Timothy
Walker as he explores botanical  gardens  that  have  turned  to
their  own  backyards to conserve and study local flora, and are
now working together to preserve  plant  diversity  and  protect
threatened and endangered species.

Monday,  June  23,  1997  at 8 pm in VanDusen Botanical Garden's
Floral Hall.  Tickets:  $10  (Canadian)  VanDusen  Members;  $15
(Canadian) Non-members.

To  register,  or  for  more information, please call VanDusen's
Registrar's office at (604) 257-8666.

   VanDusen Botanical Garden
   5251 Oak Street (at 37th Avenue)
   Vancouver BC Canada
   V6M 4H1


THE GENUS HYPERICUM - ST. JOHN'S WORT - IN BRITISH COLUMBIA
From: Frank Lomer, Honourary Research Associate, UBC Herbarium,
         Vancouver, B.C. c/o <ubc@unixg.ubc.ca>

All species in the family Hypericaceae that are known to grow in
British Columbia can be found within  a  relatively  small  area
around the Fraser River delta near Vancouver. Although there are
only  two or three native species in British Columbia, a growing
number of introduced species have complicated what was  once  an
easy family to key out. I hope the following key will be useful.

Key  was  adapted from  The Flora of Canada Part 3, H.J. Scoggan
1978-79, Flora of the British Isles, Clapham,  Tutin  and  Moore
l989, and my own observations.


1. Petals  purplish,  inconspicuous;  stamens  in  three  groups
   alternating with large orange glands; leaves  oblong-ovate,to
   2 cm. broad; lower leaves often purplish
   .......................  1. Triadenum fraseri (Spach) Gleason

1. Petals yellow, stamens lacking intervening glands

   2. Plants  shrubby,  flowers  about 2 cm. across; leaves 4-15
      cm. long; ripe fruit a purplish-black berry
      .............................  2. Hypericum androsaemum L.

   2. Plants not shrubby; leaves mostly less than 4 cm.; fruit a
      dry capsule

      3. Flowers conspicuous; petals >  8  mm.;  stamens  >  35,
         united at base into 3-5 clusters

         4. Stems rounded with 2 raised lines

            5. Sepals   linear-lanceolate,   mostly  acute,  but
               sometimes not clearly so
               .....................  3. Hypericum perforatum L.

            5. Sepals broader, blunter tipped; leaves broader in
               outline
               4. Hypericum  formosum   H.B.K.   var.   scouleri
               (Hook.) Coult.

         4. Stems quadrangular

            6. Stems  with  wings;  leaves  densely  dotted with
               translucent glands; petals a little  longer  than
               sepals, with few scattered black border dots
               .................  5. Hypericum tetrapterum Fries

            6. Stems  without wings; leaves only sparsely dotted
               with translucent glands; petals 3 times  as  long
               as sepals, with elongated black dots and streaks
               6. Hypericum  maculatum Crantz ssp. obtusiusculum
               (Tourlet) Hayek

      3. Flowers inconspicuous; petals < 6 mm.; stamens not more
         than 35 and not in clusters

         7. Flower bracts foliaceous; leaves oblong to ovate

            8. Stems usually prostrate and rooting at the  lower
               nodes;  flowers solitary or few, not spreading on
               branches
               ...............  7. Hypericum anagalloides C.& S.

            8. Stems usually erect, not rooting at lower  nodes;
               flowers many, spreading on branches.
               ...........  8. Hypericum boreale (Britt.) Bickn.

         7. Flower bracts narrow, subulate

            9. Principal  leaves  lanceolate  to  nearly oblong;
               inflorescence generally erect
               ...............  9. Hypericum majus (Gray) Britt.

            9. Principal leaves  elliptic,  partly  clasping  at
               base; inflorescence in well-developed plants much
               compounded with numerous flowers
               .......................  10. Hypericum mutilum L.

1. Triadenum  fraseri  (Spach)  Gleason (Hypericum virginicum L.
   var. fraseri (Spach) Fern.)
   Native to eastern North America and introduced in  the  Lower
   Fraser  Valley.  First  collected September 4,1991 from south
   Burnaby (Lomer 91-259). Now known from four locations:
    1) Burnaby peat extraction bog
    2) Richmond cultivated cranberry bogs
    3) Douglas Island (20 km east of Vancouver)
       in an undisturbed swamp
    4) Pitt River on a rotting log  Probably  originally  intro-
   duced  in  cranberry bogs, but now found in completely undis-
   turbed areas though never abundant. Reported by  J.M.  Macoun
   in  1913  from Ucluelet, Vancouver Island where it was intro-
   duced in a cranberry bog.

2. Hypericum androsaemum L.
   Introduced from Europe. Perhaps a garden escape, but I've not
   seen it grown in any garden or sold  in  any  nursery.  First
   collected  in  a  ditch  along a railroad track west of White
   Rock, a few km from the  Washington  border  (Lomer  88-070).
   Also  well established in blackberry thickets above Horseshoe
   Bay ferry terminal, and on  wet  cliffs  of  Capilano  River,
   North Vancouver.

3. Hypericum perforatum L.
   A common Eurasian weed in southern B.C.

4. Hypericum formosum H.B.K. var. scouleri (Hook.) Coult.
   Infrequent  native  species  throughout  southern B.C. In the
   Lower Fraser Valley it is rare along the tidal shore  of  the
   Fraser River.

5. Hypericum tetrapterum Fries
   Known in B.C. only from the UBC Botanical Garden where it was
   first  collected September 10, 1991, in a ditch at the corner
   of Southwest  Marine  Drive  and  16th  Ave.,  University  of
   British  Columbia  Campus,  Vancouver  (Lomer  91-269).  Also
   collected by Gerald Straley along a small stream in the Asian
   Garden. Native to Europe.

6. Hypericum maculatum Crantz ssp. obtusiusculum (Tourlet) Hayek
   A European weed much like H. perforatum but stouter and  with
   wider, more rounded leaves. First collected August 8, 1937 at
   "Spanish  Banks",  Vancouver  (Eastham 4278). It can still be
   found today at Spanish Banks in Jericho Park.  Now  it  is  a
   widespread  weed  in  the Lower Fraser Valley. Collections at
   UBC also from Pemberton and Prince Rupert.

7. Hypericum anagalloides C.& S.
   Infrequent native in southwest B.C. in bogs, ditches, and wet
   lawns.

8. Hypericum boreale (Britt.) Bickn.
   Native to eastern North America. Now  a  locally  common  and
   often abundant plant of cranberry bogs and wet river banks in
   the  Lower  Fraser  Valley. First collected in B.C. from Van-
   couver on September 25, 1961 (K. Beamish s.n. UBC 90257).  It
   can  be  invasive  in  open muddy habitats where rare natives
   like  Lindernia  anagalloides,  Gratiola   neglecta,   Tillea
   aquatica, and Lilaeopsis occidentalis grow.

9. Hypericum majus (Gray) Britt.
   Infrequent  in southern B.C. Variable in size and leaf width.
   I've seen this species in the following habitats:
      -dry pond in railroad yards
      -muddy tidal shore of the Fraser
      -abandoned gravel pit
      -cultivated cranberry bogs
   H. majus is considered a native plant in B.C., but I think it
   might be introduced. Our populations seem well  west  of  its
   typical range in eastern North America, it can be quite weedy
   in  both disturbed and natural habitats, and I believe it was
   unknown in B.C. until less than 50 years ago.


10. Hypericum mutilum L.
   Another introduced species native to eastern  North  America.
   Similar  to H. majus, but the leaves are broader and rounder,
   and the inflorescence is more widely spreading. Also  similar
   to  H. boreale from which it can be told by the narrow rather
   than broad flower bracts. These last three species are  vari-
   able  and  not  always  easily told apart. First collected in
   Coquitlam (25 km east of Vancouver) on a newly  cleared  lot,
   on September 7, 1991 (Lomer 91-264). It also grows on a small
   island  in  the  Fraser  River  down  the  hill from Hospital
   Street, New Westminster. Probably more widespread.


WILDFLOWERS OF THE NATIONAL FORESTS IN ALASKA
From: Mary Stensvold / Don Muller <ping@ptialaska.net>

The new Alaska  Region  brochure  entitled  WILDFLOWERS  OF  THE
NATIONAL  FORESTS  IN  ALASKA  has  just  been  published. About
150,000 copies were printed and sent  to  Forest  Service  units
throughout the Alaska Region for distribution to the public.

WILDFLOWERS  OF  THE  NATIONAL  FORESTS IN ALASKA contains color
photographs and descriptive information highlighting 50  of  the
most common wildflowers occurring in southern Alaska.

The  production  of  the  brochure was coordinated by the Alaska
Region Botany Program in response to numerous  wildflower  iden-
tification  questions  from the public. They were also developed
enhance people's awareness of Alaska's flora.

Mary Stensvold, Regional Botanist, USDA Forest  Service,  Alaska
Region 204 Siginaka Way, Sitka, Alaska 99835 (907) 747-6671

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Date:	Wed, 18 Jun 1997 06:47:11 -0700
From:	Adolf Ceska <aceska@cue.bc.ca>
Message-Id: <199706181347.GAA07580@cue.bc.ca>
To:	ben@cue.bc.ca
Subject: BEN # 167
Return-Path: <aceska@cue.bc.ca>
Status: RO
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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. 167                              June 18, 1997

aceska@freenet.victoria.bc.ca        Victoria, B.C.
-----------------------------------------------------------
 Dr. A. Ceska, P.O.Box 8546, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3S2
-----------------------------------------------------------

Dr. W. DWIGHT BILLINGS (1910-1997)

William  Dwight  Billings died this past 4 January 1997 ending a
long and productive life. He is  a  person  of  particular  sig-
nificance  for those interested in arctic and alpine research as
he was a pioneer in North American plant physiological  ecology,
and  much  of  his  research  emphasized  problems in alpine and
arctic environments.

Caldwell, M.M. 1997. W. Dwight Billings 1910-1997  In  Memoriam.
   Arctic and Alpine Research 29: 253-254.


AS DIFFERENT AS APPLES AND PEARS
From: Rhoda Love <rglove@oregon.uoregon.edu> published in
      Oregon Flora Newsletter, Volume 3, Number 2,
      Corvallis, Oregon, 1997 page 9.

Working  on  the pome-fruited members of the Rose Family for the
Oregon Flora Checklist, I  ran  into  a  controversy  which  has
apparently  been  brewing (like apple cider?) since pre-Linnaean
times: namely, should apples and pears both  be  placed  in  the
pear genus, Pyrus?

My  immediate  task  in this case, was to provide a name for the
wild crabapple of the Pacific Coast. This is our  pretty  little
dark-fruited  tree  which Peck (A Manual of the Higher Plants of
Oregon) called Pyrus diversifolia Bong., and Hitchcock (Vascular
Plants of the Pacific Northwest) called Pyrus fusca Raf.

Abrams (Illustrated Flora of the Pacific States) and  Thomas  J.
Rosatti  (in  Hickman,  The  Jepson  Manual:  Higher  Plants  of
California) both placed the crabapple in Malus, the apple genus,
calling the species Malus fusca. (Raf.) C. Schneider.

Pyrus L. was the genus name given to both apples  and  pears  by
Linnaeus  in  Genera Plantarum, 1754; while Malus [Tourn.] Mill.
was the pre-Linnaean name used for the apple genus by Tournefort
and later adopted by Miller in the 8th edition of his  immensely
influential Gardener's Dictionary in 1768.

Presumably  Peck  and Hitchcock, like Linnaeus, the great class-
ifier, felt that the similarities between apples and pears  were
more  important than the differences. There is no doubt that the
two groups are rather alike with their fleshy pomes and  similar
spring blossoms.

On  the other hand, I found that the great American botanist and
horticulturist, Liberty Hyde Bailey, although originally in  the
single-genus  camp  (Manual  of  Cultivated Plants, 1924), broke
away and put apples in Malus and pears  in  Pyrus  in  the  1949
edition of this work.

In  a  charming  article  in Gentes Herbarum (1949 8:40), Bailey
lists six morphological features which he feels can be  used  to
distinguish  apples  from  pears.  Several  of  these are: apple
blossoms are mostly borne in umbels and pears in racemes;  apple
fruits  lack stone cells while pear fruits have them; apple buds
and young growth are  tomentose  while  pear  growth  is  mostly
glabrous.  Another distinction noted in Bailey's Manual and also
in Flora Europaea (1968) is that Malus styles are  usually  con-
nate 1/3 to 2/3 their length while Pyrus styles are mostly free.

The  modern  tendency  to separate apples and pears continues to
the present where recent papers by experts on  the  pome-fruited
rose family members (for example, Phipps, 1990, Canadian Journal
of  Botany,  68:2209;  and  Dickson,  1991,  Systematic  Botany,
16:363) split the two groups into Malus and Pyrus. I have by  no
means  had  the opportunity to study the world's many species of
apples and pears, and must rely on experts who have  noted  dif-
ferences that separate the two genera.

This  has all been rather a long way to go about stating for OFN
readers that, for the Oregon Flora Checklist, I have  been  con-
vinced  by  Bailey, the editors of Flora Europaea, Phipps, Dick-
son, and Rosatti in the Jepson Manual, and have decided to  call
our native Oregon crabapple Malus fusca .


TWO SPECIES OF DIMINUTIVE WATER-LILIES IN NORTH AMERICA

Wiersema,  J.H.  1997. Nymphaea tetragona and Nymphaea leibergii
   (Nymphaeaceae): two species  of  diminutive  water-lilies  in
   North America. Brittonia 48(1996): 520-531.

Although  all  past floras of northern North America have recog-
nized only one species of diminutive  water-lily,  actually  two
distinct  species occur in the region. The circumboreal Nymphaea
tetragona  Goergi  ranges  in  North  America  from  Alaska   to
southeast  corner of Manitoba. (There is one old collection from
NW Washington - Whatcom Co.: Pond nr.  Ferndale,  7  July  1939,
Muenscher 10,166.) Nymphaea leibergii Morong is distributed from
eastern  British  Columbia  across  Canada to eastern Quebec. It
ranges just across the US  border  into  Maine,  Michigan,  Min-
nesota, Montana, and Idaho.

Within North America both species appear to be rare over most of
their  ranges except in Alaska, where N. tetragona is common and
northern Ontario where  N.  leibergii  is  known  from  numerous
sites.

The  main distinguishing characters are carpellary appendages on
a stigmatic disk. These are long (3 mm  or  more),  flaccid  and
purplish  in  N.  tetragona, and short (less than 1.5 mm), stiff
and greenish in N. leibergii.


THE OREGON PLANT ATLAS PROJECT
From: Scott Sundberg <sundbers@ava.BCC.ORST.edu> abbrev. from
      http://www.orst.edu//dept/botany/herbarium/info.html

Oregon, with its incredible diversity of  habitats,  is  blessed
with  an  enormous  variety  of plants. Over 4,400 species, sub-
species and varieties of native and naturalized plants  grow  in
Oregon  from  the  mild  climate of the southern Oregon coast to
arctic conditions at mountaintops. The goal of the Oregon  Atlas
Project  is  to  produce  distribution  maps  of Oregon vascular
plants in conjunction with a new Flora of Oregon. The atlas will
include dot maps for each species,  a  series  of  map  overlays
(e.g.,  ecoregions,  actual  vegetation,  potential  vegetation,
climate zones), and an  introductory  chapter  on  factors  that
influence  plant  distributions.  The Atlas will be available in
both printed and computerized forms.

Sources of records include herbarium specimen  label  data,  the
Oregon  Natural Heritage Program database of rare plant records,
and various checklists. We estimate that  approximately  167,000
records  are available from herbarium specimens housed at Oregon
State University (OSC, ORE, WILLU) and another 30,000 are in  28
smaller herbaria scattered throughout Oregon. Species lists from
a  wide variety of sources will provide hundreds of thousands of
additional records. In the database and maps generated from  it,
vouchered and unvouchered records will be clearly distinguished.

In  order  to collect additional plant locality information from
throughout Oregon, project leaders have divided the  state  into
174  "blocks"  of  12-20  townships.  Most blocks are squares 24
miles on a side containing approximately 576 square  miles,  but
they  vary  in  size,  especially along the state's borders. The
initial goal will be to secure a list that includes one specific
locality for each plant species, subspecies, and variety in each
block. A Handbook for Field Participants  in  the  Oregon  Plant
Atlas  Project  outlines general procedures for conducting field
work.

The computerized version of the Atlas will  be  accessible  over
the  Internet. It will function as a database, allowing users to
perform queries in a wide variety of ways. Information  for  the
Atlas  is  entered  into  a Paradox 5.0 relational database. The
database will later be transferred to a  SUN  workstation  using
UNIX  software  to allow access through the Internet. Users will
have the option of viewing locality maps or  tabulated  informa-
tion  from  the  database.  For example, maps could be generated
showing  the  distribution  of  one  or  a  group  of   species,
localities  where  a  particular  person  collected  plants,  or
localities of a plant during a designated time period. The  user
will  be  able  to move a cursor to a dot on the map and call up
the information associated with that location. A variety of base
maps will be available, allowing analysis  of  correlations  be-
tween  broad-scale  components of the environment and plant dis-
tributions. Users will be the map makers-- maps will be  dynami-
cally  constructed  to  user  specifications. Data will be peri-
odically updated and maps will reflect the latest information.

The Atlas project is led by a diverse group,  including  profes-
sional  systematic  botanists  and lay botanists, a cartographer
and  Geographical  Information  System  specialist,  a  database
specialist,  and  two  ecologists.  It  is  coordinated by Scott
Sundberg. The project is a partnership between the Oregon  Flora
Project  and the Native Plant Society of Oregon (NPSO). The NPSO
has appointed Bruce Newhouse of Eugene  as  the  NPSO  Statewide
Atlas Field Coordinator.


SUBFOSSIL BEETLES AND THE EVOLUTION OF MIMA MOUNDS

Nelson,  R.E. 1997. Implications of subfossil Coleoptera for the
   evolution of  Mima  Mounds  of  southwestern  Puget  Lowland,
   Washington. Quaternary Research 47: 356-358.

Large,  enigmatic  earth  mounds are distributed over surface of
Mima Prairie in west-central  Washington,  about  2  km  WSW  of
Littlerock  in  southwestern  Thurston County. Individual mounds
are typically 2.5-12 m in diameter and  0.3  -  2 m  high.  They
consist  of  organic-rich  gravelly  sandy  loam overlying thick
outwash sand and gravel. Various  authors  have  attributed  the
origin of the Mima Mounds to periglacial processes, differential
erosional processes, seismic shaking, and earthmoving activities
of pocket gophers (Thomomys mazama).

Subfossil  beetle  remains recovered from the base of a mound at
Mima Prairie consist of species that would be expected in rodent
burrows and nests; all  but  one  species  are  obligate  burrow
inhabitants.  These results suggest the past presence of burrow-
ing rodents (probably pocket gophers) in  the  mounds,  although
none  live  there at present. Whether or not the gophers created
the mounds, they may well have been instrumental in  maintaining
mound geometry until very recently.

[For  more  on  Mima  Mounds see pp. 290-304 in Kruckeberg, A.R.
1991. The natural history of Puget Sound country. University  of
Washington Press, Seattle.]
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From aceska@cue.bc.ca  Sat Sep 27 05:22:17 1997
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Date: Sat, 27 Sep 1997 00:59:36 -0700
From: Adolf Ceska <aceska@cue.bc.ca>
Message-Id: <199709270759.AAA14755@cue.bc.ca>
To: ben@cue.bc.ca
Subject: BEN # 172
Status: RO
X-Status: 

                                                   
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. 172                              September 27, 1997

aceska@freenet.victoria.bc.ca        Victoria, B.C.
-----------------------------------------------------------
 Dr. A. Ceska, P.O.Box 8546, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3S2
-----------------------------------------------------------

THE ECOLOGY, GENETICS AND CONSERVATION OF LLOYDIA SEROTINA
From:  Barbara  Jones,  Countryside  Council  for Wales, Bangor,
   North Wales, GB <b.jones@ccw.gov.uk>

Lloydia serotina (L.) Rchb. (Liliaceae) is found in a number  of
alpine  and arctic locations throughout the northern hemisphere,
ranging from alpine  tundra  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  the
European  Alps to near coastal situations in Alaska and Siberia.
It is not found in the European arctic however and in Britain it
is a rare and protected species, only occurring on  a  very  few
cliff  faces  in the Snowdonia Mountains of North Wales. Concern
at  the  vulnerable  nature  of  these  peripheral  populations,
together  with  the  fact  that  very little was known about the
species,  prompted  research  into   the   ecology,   population
dynamics, reproductive ecology, habitat and genetic variation of
populations  in  Wales,  the  European  Alps  and North America,
including British Columbia and Washington State.  The  main  aim
was  to  assess the performance of the Welsh populations against
that of the large populations  at  the  centre  of  the  species
range,  however,  interesting results also emerged regarding all
the populations studied, especially those in  peripheral  situa-
tions  such  as  the  Pacific north-west, Wales and the Southern
Rocky Mountains.

The characteristics of the habitat vary  throughout  its  range,
influenced  by  latitude,  climate  and  land use, with the more
'typical' habitat consisting of gently  sloping  alpine  tundra,
exemplified   by  the  localities  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  in
Colorado. Further north however, the preferred  habitat  becomes
more  rocky, with the cliff bound populations in Wales providing
an extreme example. These more northerly populations also tended
to be much smaller than  those  in  the  centre  of  its  range.
Demographic  studies  revealed  that vegetative reproduction ap-
pears to predominate over sexual  reproduction  in  all  popula-
tions,  with +rhizome' type structures issuing from the bulb and
forming daughter plants. The smaller,  more  peripheral  popula-
tions  showed  slightly  lower flowering and seeding levels than
the larger populations studied during a three year  period,  but
sexual reproduction does occur and seed produced is viable.

All populations studied had large percentages of male flowers as
well  as hermaphrodites, raising interesting questions regarding
the possibility of androdioecy in the  species.  Initial  inves-
tigations  into pollen production and viability suggest that the
theoretical requirements for double fertility in male flowers in
androdioecious populations is not met with in  Lloydia,  but  it
may  be  possible  that  males are maintained in a population if
they have an increased vegetative reproductive capability.

A survey of protein polymorphisms in 16  populations,  including
one  from  Vancouver  Island, one from southern British Columbia
and one from the  Olympic  Peninsula,  showed  lower  levels  of
isozyme  variation  in  the  smaller populations, especially the
most northerly and southerly ones in North  America,  suggesting
the  occurrence  of genetic drift. The Welsh populations are the
most isolated, but they  show  levels  of  variation  which  are
slightly higher than those in the Pacific north-west. This could
be  due  to a number of reasons involving the glacial history of
the areas concerned and the size and viability  of  the  popula-
tions  studied.  The  two  main  Welsh  populations studied were
larger than some of those in the Pacific  north-west  where  the
very  small  populations there may be losing genetic variability
due to inbreeding, lack of gene flow and genetic  drift.  Random
Amplified  Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis of four Welsh popula-
tions produced evidence for clonal growth and consequent genetic
structuring within these populations. This type of growth  could
help  to  maintain  some genetic diversity in larger, more scat-
tered populations which exhibit  occasional  gene  flow  between
relatively  isolated  groups  or  'clones', but in smaller, more
compact  populations,  it  can  result   in   an   increase   in
homozygosity  (one  population  in the Olympic Mountains for ex-
ample covered an area of only two square metres).

One major omission from the research was  the  investigation  of
material  from  the  Queen  Charlotte Islands. Lloydia from this
locality  is  considered  to  constitute  a  subspecies  Lloydia
serotina  subsp.  flava,  due  to  its larger size and different
colouration. This has not been proven however,  and  so  far  my
attempts  to obtain material from these remote Islands have been
unsuccessful.  Genetic  analysis  of  these  populations   would
provide  fascinating  results,  not only to confirm or otherwise
the designation, but also to throw more light onto  the  glacial
history  of  the  area  and  its  effects on speciation and past
movement of vegetation communities. If anyone  is  visiting  the
Islands  this  year  and  is  able  to  collect material for me,
preferably seed, which will survive posting better than  leaves,
then I would be eternally grateful.


STAFF CUTS IN THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA
From: "John V Matthews Jr." <ohana@FREENET.CARLETON.CA>
   originally posted on QUATERNARY@morgan.ucs.mun.ca

Bad news travels fast so many of you probably already know that the
Geological Survey of Canada in its latest blood-letting has discontinued
all paleoecological research (including pollen, wood and macrofossils) and
has surplused everybody working in that realm.  Evidently the GSC is
walking away from an important area of Global Change research, just when
the public is becoming aware of its importance.


WEB PAGE: CANADIAN NATIONAL FORESTRY DATABASE PROGRAM
From: Brian Haddon <bhaddon@AM.NCR.FORESTRY.CA>
   originally posted on FOREST discussion list

The National Forestry Database Program is pleased to announce that
the complete version of the sixth edition of the Compendium of
Canadian Forestry Statistics, 1996 is now available on the World Wide
Web at
http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/cfs/proj/iepb/nfdp/

The Compendium contains national and provincial forestry information
(more than 55 tables, 117 graphs, background information and
terminology).  All data files can be downloaded as ASCII text and can
easily be manipulated using software such as Excel.  The site
provides historical tables as well as detailed tables by ownership
(1990-1995) for the following areas:

 - Forest Inventory: 1991
 - Annual Allowable Cut : Latest period calculated and Summary
       factors in AAC determination
 - Forest Fires
 - Forest Insects
 - Forest Products: Roundwood harvested, Maple products, and
       Christmas trees
 - Silviculture: Harvesting, Clearcut size, Site preparation,
       Planting, Seeding and Stand tending
 - Forest Management Expenditures: Activity, Source of funding
 - Revenues and Economic Profile: Statement of revenues, Tenure
       holders' rights and responsibilities 1995/1996 and
       provincial/territorial economic profile
 - Pest Control Product Use

We encourage you to provide feedback in order to help us develop
a product that will best serve your needs.

 - Fax 613-947-9020
 - Internet e-mail sgaillou@nrn1.nrcan.gc.ca
 - Feedback form
       http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/cfs/proj/iepb/nfdp/feedback.cgi

----------------------------------------------------------------
Submissions, subscriptions, etc.:  aceska@freenet.victoria.bc.ca
BEN is archived on gopher freenet.victoria.bc.ca. URL: gopher:
//gopher.freenet.victoria.bc.ca:70/11/environment/Botany/ben
Also archived at   http://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/ben/
________________________________________________________________

From aceska@cue.bc.ca  Sat Sep 27 05:22:17 1997
Received: from helios.oit.unc.edu (www.gigabit-ethernet.org [152.2.254.82])
	by luna.oit.unc.edu (8.8.6/8.8.6) with ESMTP id FAA26781
	for <london@sunsite.unc.edu>; Sat, 27 Sep 1997 05:22:16 -0400 (EDT)
Received: from cue.bc.ca (aceska@cue.bc.ca [199.60.222.200])
	by helios.oit.unc.edu (8.8.6/8.8.6) with ESMTP id FAA07702
	for <london@sunsite.unc.edu>; Sat, 27 Sep 1997 05:17:39 -0400 (EDT)
Received: (from aceska@localhost) by cue.bc.ca (8.7.5/8.7.3) id AAA14755 for ben; Sat, 27 Sep 1997 00:59:36 -0700
Date: Sat, 27 Sep 1997 00:59:36 -0700
From: Adolf Ceska <aceska@cue.bc.ca>
Message-Id: <199709270759.AAA14755@cue.bc.ca>
To: ben@cue.bc.ca
Subject: BEN # 172
Status: RO
X-Status: 

                                                   
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. 172                              September 27, 1997

aceska@freenet.victoria.bc.ca        Victoria, B.C.
-----------------------------------------------------------
 Dr. A. Ceska, P.O.Box 8546, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3S2
-----------------------------------------------------------

THE ECOLOGY, GENETICS AND CONSERVATION OF LLOYDIA SEROTINA
From:  Barbara  Jones,  Countryside  Council  for Wales, Bangor,
   North Wales, GB <b.jones@ccw.gov.uk>

Lloydia serotina (L.) Rchb. (Liliaceae) is found in a number  of
alpine  and arctic locations throughout the northern hemisphere,
ranging from alpine  tundra  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  the
European  Alps to near coastal situations in Alaska and Siberia.
It is not found in the European arctic however and in Britain it
is a rare and protected species, only occurring on  a  very  few
cliff  faces  in the Snowdonia Mountains of North Wales. Concern
at  the  vulnerable  nature  of  these  peripheral  populations,
together  with  the  fact  that  very little was known about the
species,  prompted  research  into   the   ecology,   population
dynamics, reproductive ecology, habitat and genetic variation of
populations  in  Wales,  the  European  Alps  and North America,
including British Columbia and Washington State.  The  main  aim
was  to  assess the performance of the Welsh populations against
that of the large populations  at  the  centre  of  the  species
range,  however,  interesting results also emerged regarding all
the populations studied, especially those in  peripheral  situa-
tions  such  as  the  Pacific north-west, Wales and the Southern
Rocky Mountains.

The characteristics of the habitat vary  throughout  its  range,
influenced  by  latitude,  climate  and  land use, with the more
'typical' habitat consisting of gently  sloping  alpine  tundra,
exemplified   by  the  localities  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  in
Colorado. Further north however, the preferred  habitat  becomes
more  rocky, with the cliff bound populations in Wales providing
an extreme example. These more northerly populations also tended
to be much smaller than  those  in  the  centre  of  its  range.
Demographic  studies  revealed  that vegetative reproduction ap-
pears to predominate over sexual  reproduction  in  all  popula-
tions,  with +rhizome' type structures issuing from the bulb and
forming daughter plants. The smaller,  more  peripheral  popula-
tions  showed  slightly  lower flowering and seeding levels than
the larger populations studied during a three year  period,  but
sexual reproduction does occur and seed produced is viable.

All populations studied had large percentages of male flowers as
well  as hermaphrodites, raising interesting questions regarding
the possibility of androdioecy in the  species.  Initial  inves-
tigations  into pollen production and viability suggest that the
theoretical requirements for double fertility in male flowers in
androdioecious populations is not met with in  Lloydia,  but  it
may  be  possible  that  males are maintained in a population if
they have an increased vegetative reproductive capability.

A survey of protein polymorphisms in 16  populations,  including
one  from  Vancouver  Island, one from southern British Columbia
and one from the  Olympic  Peninsula,  showed  lower  levels  of
isozyme  variation  in  the  smaller populations, especially the
most northerly and southerly ones in North  America,  suggesting
the  occurrence  of genetic drift. The Welsh populations are the
most isolated, but they  show  levels  of  variation  which  are
slightly higher than those in the Pacific north-west. This could
be  due  to a number of reasons involving the glacial history of
the areas concerned and the size and viability  of  the  popula-
tions  studied.  The  two  main  Welsh  populations studied were
larger than some of those in the Pacific  north-west  where  the
very  small  populations there may be losing genetic variability
due to inbreeding, lack of gene flow and genetic  drift.  Random
Amplified  Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis of four Welsh popula-
tions produced evidence for clonal growth and consequent genetic
structuring within these populations. This type of growth  could
help  to  maintain  some genetic diversity in larger, more scat-
tered populations which exhibit  occasional  gene  flow  between
relatively  isolated  groups  or  'clones', but in smaller, more
compact  populations,  it  can  result   in   an   increase   in
homozygosity  (one  population  in the Olympic Mountains for ex-
ample covered an area of only two square metres).

One major omission from the research was  the  investigation  of
material  from  the  Queen  Charlotte Islands. Lloydia from this
locality  is  considered  to  constitute  a  subspecies  Lloydia
serotina  subsp.  flava,  due  to  its larger size and different
colouration. This has not been proven however,  and  so  far  my
attempts  to obtain material from these remote Islands have been
unsuccessful.  Genetic  analysis  of  these  populations   would
provide  fascinating  results,  not only to confirm or otherwise
the designation, but also to throw more light onto  the  glacial
history  of  the  area  and  its  effects on speciation and past
movement of vegetation communities. If anyone  is  visiting  the
Islands  this  year  and  is  able  to  collect material for me,
preferably seed, which will survive posting better than  leaves,
then I would be eternally grateful.


STAFF CUTS IN THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA
From: "John V Matthews Jr." <ohana@FREENET.CARLETON.CA>
   originally posted on QUATERNARY@morgan.ucs.mun.ca

Bad news travels fast so many of you probably already know that the
Geological Survey of Canada in its latest blood-letting has discontinued
all paleoecological research (including pollen, wood and macrofossils) and
has surplused everybody working in that realm.  Evidently the GSC is
walking away from an important area of Global Change research, just when
the public is becoming aware of its importance.


WEB PAGE: CANADIAN NATIONAL FORESTRY DATABASE PROGRAM
From: Brian Haddon <bhaddon@AM.NCR.FORESTRY.CA>
   originally posted on FOREST discussion list

The National Forestry Database Program is pleased to announce that
the complete version of the sixth edition of the Compendium of
Canadian Forestry Statistics, 1996 is now available on the World Wide
Web at
http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/cfs/proj/iepb/nfdp/

The Compendium contains national and provincial forestry information
(more than 55 tables, 117 graphs, background information and
terminology).  All data files can be downloaded as ASCII text and can
easily be manipulated using software such as Excel.  The site
provides historical tables as well as detailed tables by ownership
(1990-1995) for the following areas:

 - Forest Inventory: 1991
 - Annual Allowable Cut : Latest period calculated and Summary
       factors in AAC determination
 - Forest Fires
 - Forest Insects
 - Forest Products: Roundwood harvested, Maple products, and
       Christmas trees
 - Silviculture: Harvesting, Clearcut size, Site preparation,
       Planting, Seeding and Stand tending
 - Forest Management Expenditures: Activity, Source of funding
 - Revenues and Economic Profile: Statement of revenues, Tenure
       holders' rights and responsibilities 1995/1996 and
       provincial/territorial economic profile
 - Pest Control Product Use

We encourage you to provide feedback in order to help us develop
a product that will best serve your needs.

 - Fax 613-947-9020
 - Internet e-mail sgaillou@nrn1.nrcan.gc.ca
 - Feedback form
       http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/cfs/proj/iepb/nfdp/feedback.cgi

----------------------------------------------------------------
Submissions, subscriptions, etc.:  aceska@freenet.victoria.bc.ca
BEN is archived on gopher freenet.victoria.bc.ca. URL: gopher:
//gopher.freenet.victoria.bc.ca:70/11/environment/Botany/ben
Also archived at   http://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/ben/
________________________________________________________________

From aceska@cue.bc.ca  Sat Mar 21 04:34:55 1998
Received: from cue.bc.ca (aceska@cue.bc.ca [199.60.222.200])
	by luna.oit.unc.edu (8.8.6/8.8.6/rchk1.19) with ESMTP id EAA24315
	for <london@sunsite.unc.edu>; Sat, 21 Mar 1998 04:34:48 -0500 (EST)
Received: (from aceska@localhost) by cue.bc.ca (8.7.5/8.7.3) id AAA15765 for ben; Sat, 21 Mar 1998 00:37:47 -0800
Date: Sat, 21 Mar 1998 00:37:47 -0800
From: Adolf Ceska <aceska@cue.bc.ca>
Message-Id: <199803210837.AAA15765@cue.bc.ca>
To: ben@cue.bc.ca
Subject: BEN # 187
Status: O
X-Status: 

                                                   
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. 187                              March 21, 1998

aceska@victoria.tc.ca                Victoria, B.C.
-----------------------------------------------------------
 Dr. A. Ceska, P.O.Box 8546, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3S2
-----------------------------------------------------------

WORKSHOP ON SYN-TAX 5.1 MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS, ANCHORAGE, ALASKA
From: stephen_talbot@smtp2.irm.r9.fws.gov

Dr.  Janos  Podani, Department of Plant Taxonomy and Ecology, L.
Eotvos University, Budapest,  Hungary  will  conduct  a  special
three-day  multivariate  analysis workshop in Anchorage, Alaska,
29-31 May 1998. The course  "Exploration  of  Multivariate  Data
Structures in Biology: How to Use the SYN-TAX package on the Mac
or  PC"  will  combine  morning lectures with afternoon hands-on
application to teach the basic concepts and advanced features of
the updated SYN-TAX  5.1  computing  package.  Participants  are
encouraged to bring their own data sets.

Topics  covered  will be: (1) Classification. Hierarchical, non-
hierarchical, and fuzzy approaches; (2) Ordination.  Metric  and
non-metric   multidimensional   scaling.   Principal  components
analysis; (3) Evaluation  of  classifications  and  ordinations.
Comparisons,  consensus,  meta-analysis,  and Monte Carlo tests;
(4)  Character  ranking.  Rearrangement  of  distance  and  data
matrices  to  elucidate  diagonal  or  block structures; and (5)
Pattern analysis of species assemblages  using  digitized  field
data. The workshop will be held at Alaska Pacific University and
will be limited to 20 participants.

Complete  information  and registration forms are available from
the organizer (stephen_talbot@fws.gov; Stephen Talbot, U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, 1011 East Tudor  Road,  Anchorage,  Alaska
99503 USA; fax: (907) 786-3976; phone: (907) 786-3381)). Further
information  concerning  the SYN-TAX package may be found on the
Web homepage (http://ramet.elte.hu/~podani).


FACTOR FOUR - ECONOMICAL PRESCRIPTION FOR SUSTAINABLE GROWTH
From: Ingolf.Kuehn@ruhr-uni-bochum.de

Almost 25 years after the Club of Rome published their  probably
most famous report "Limits to growth", E. U. von Weizsaecker, A.
B.  Lovins  & L. H. Lovins published a new report to the Club of
Rome called "Factor Four." The first author is president of  the
Wuppertal  Institute  for  climate and environmental research, a
highly reputed independent foundation in Germany. The two others
are head  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  Institute  in  Colorado  and
proposed  most  of  the  practical  examples,  some of which are
realized in their Institute's building.

As the subtitle implies, the aim of the study is to show that it
is possible to double global wealth by halving resource use. The
book starts with  20  examples  where  energy  productivity,  20
examples  where  material  productivity  and  ten examples where
transport productivity is quadrupled. Among those  examples  are
low  fuel  consuming  cars,  low energy houses, energy efficient
refrigerators, energy  efficient  produced  beef  and  tomatoes,
methods  of  irrigation, use of material efficient components or
others of advanced, but usually already existing technologies.

The way to achieve this is described in the following  chapters:
authentic  prices  (that regard the real cost of a product, i.e.
including environmental costs), start with most  cost  efficient
things  first,  invest in efficiency whenever it is cheaper than
exploitation, create markets  for  conserved  resources,  "green
taxes" with "feebates" for inefficient structures and rebates to
reward  savers.  One  main idea to achieve this is to make saved
resources   ("nega"-resources   like   negawatts,    negalitres,
negakilometres etc.) cheaper than wasted resources.

The  final  chapters  deal with new aspects of what to recognize
under "civilization progress". A novel definition of "wealth" is
presented and ways of restructuring  our  global  economies  are
discussed.

Many  of  the ideas presented are startling and sensible, though
not as comprehensive as the book pretends to be (e.g.  solutions
for the "big" industries are lacking). The authors provide means
to change the economies but remain within free markets. But this
is  also one of the main reasons of critique, as the discussions
in Germany following the release of the book showed,  expressing
that  the current problems could not be solved by the means that
caused them. On the other hand one may argue that only the means
that caused a problem are able to solve  them.  However,  up  to
now,  there  was no other system that remained as major means of
economy (nor were some others given the chance  to  be  proven).
Nevertheless,  it  takes  time, power and the will of the people
who elect their governments to convert not only  the  local  but
time  by  time even the global economies. And especially now, as
the summit in Kyoto showed a few weeks ago, the will  of  acting
for a sustainable future and a climate friendly industry, is not
very strong in European countries and even less in the USA (just
talking  of  the  countries  with  the major resource use). This
leads to another important point: It is feared that the ideas of
this book could be used to  quadruple  the  wealth  of  the  in-
dustrialized  countries  and  neglect  developing countries. Al-
though this contrasts the authors intentions as could be read in
the final chapters.

von Weizsaecker, E. U., A. B. Lovins & L. H. Lovins 1995. Faktor
   vier.   Doppleter   Wohlstand   -    halbierter    Verbrauch.
   Droemer/Knaur, Muenchen.
von  Weizsaecker,  E.,  A.B. Lovins & L. H. Lovins. 1997. Factor
   Four - Halving Resource Use".  ErthScan,  London.  (Published
   for English-speaking countries except for North-America)
Lovins,  A.  B.,  L.  H. Lovins & P. Hawken: Natural Capitalism.
   Hyperion. In press. (Rewritten edition for the North-American
   audience)


FACTOR FOUR - POST SCRIPTUM
From: Adolf Ceska <aceska@victoria.tc.ca>

I first came across "Factor  Four"  in  excerpts  from  a  Czech
newspaper  posted  on  a  web site. This book is a bestseller in
Europe and it has been translated to Czech,  Italian,  Japanese,
Korean,  Spanish  and Swedish. English translation has been well
received in Great Britain and Australia, but  it  has  not  been
distributed  in  North America. I asked Ingolf Kuehn to write me
this short overview of the original "Faktor vier" for BEN.

Meanwhile I dug deeper to find more about the book, and yes, you
can get it in North America. It is  available  directly  through
Rocky  Mtn  Institute  for US$35.00, including shipping. You can
order RMI  publications  by  phoning  (970) 927-3851  or  faxing
(970) 927-3420 your Visa or MasterCard number. Or you can send a
check to RMI, 1739 Snowmass Creek Road - Snowmass, CO 81654.

I greatly recommend you visit the Rocky Mtn Institute's web site
http://www.rmi.org

I  also  got  the following information from the publisher of an
English edition, Earthscan Co., London:

   "Factor Four was first published in  German  and  we  pub-
   lished  a  translated edition (although Amory Lovins wrote
   much of the material so it was straightforward  to  trans-
   late  back).  The  authors kept the sales rights for North
   America because Amory and Hunter Lovins wanted  to  write,
   with  Paul Hawken, an edition which was more orientated to
   North America ... to be called Natural Capitalism."

   "We will  also  be  publishing  that  book  outside  North
   America  but  it is unlikely to be ready before the end of
   this year, if not early  next.  In  the  meantime  we  can
   actually sell copies of Factor Four to you from the UK. If
   you  want a copy we charge 15.99 sterling plus 30% airmail
   postage. Just email or fax your credit card details with a
   delivery address."

Address:  Earthscan  Publications  Ltd.,  120  Pentonville  Rd.,
London,  N1 9JN  -  e-mail: earthinfo@earthscan.co.uk, web site:
//www.earthscan.co.uk

I bought the book (from RMI) few days ago. The book is very well
produced and it is exciting and stimulating reading.


NEW BOOK: PLANTS OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
From: Adolf Ceska <aceska@victoria.tc.ca>

Qian,  H.  & K. Klinka. 1998. Plants of British Columbia:
   Scientific and common names of vascular  plants,  bryophytes,
   and lichens. UBC Press, Vancouver. xiv + 534 p.
   ISBN 0-7748-0652-4 [hard cover] Price: CDN$135.00

   Ordering information:
   UBC Press, University of British Columbia
   6344 Memorial Road, Vancouver, B.C.  Canada  V6T 1Z2
   Phone: 604-822-5959  Fax: 800-668-0821
   E-mail: orders@ubcpress.ubc.ca
   http://www.ubcpress.ubc.ca

BEN readers already know that I don't like hard copies of check-
lists. They are usually obsolete the minute they are printed and
they cannot be updated easily.  Although  I  criticized  Kartesz
(1994)  in  BEN # 73 for being published in a hard copy version,
this book is now my favourite reference. I  use  it  whenever  I
need to find the correct spelling or correct authority of scien-
tific  names of vascular plants. In my discussion of the useful-
ness of Kartesz' list I argued that the list  should  have  been
put  on  a  web  site  and  periodically updated. Since then the
Kartesz list has been made available on the following web site:

http://plants.usda.gov/plants/plntmenu.html

and a new, completely revised version is about to be released as
an  electronic  file  (see  "Digital  floristic  synthesis  ..."
below).

According  to  the  authors, "Plants of British Columbia" should
"provide a complete, up-to-date, and  synonymized  checklist  of
all  known  vascular  plants,  bryophytes,  and lichens found in
British Columbia, Canada." In  my  opinion,  however,  the  book
falls short of this target.

In  the section on vascular plants, the authors followed Kartesz
(1994) even to the point of including many of  the  same  errors
and  mistakes  found in Kartesz. For instance, Carex enanderi is
attributed to Holm (instead  of  Hulten)  both  in  Kartesz  and
Plants   of  British  Columbia,  Isolepis  setaceus  (should  be
setacea) has a wrong gender in both publications. Qian &  Klinka
included  all  synonyms  listed in Kartesz, even those that have
never been applied to the British Columbian plants, and the list
is cluttered with useless names (every synonym is listed in this
book three times). For example, Myriophyllum magdalenense  Fern.
was  described  and  known only from the Magdalen Islands in the
Gulf of St. Lawrence in Quebec, and we do not have  to  take  it
into  account  in  British  Columbia. Myriophyllum verticillatum
var. cheneyi Fassett is known only  from  six  collections  from
eastern  U.S.  Why  list  this  synonym  for  British  Columbia?
Utricularia  biflora  has  been  be  treated  as  a  synonym  of
Utricularia gibba (in Kartesz and Plants of British Columbia) or
as  a  distinct species. Even if it's considered as a form of U.
gibba, we don't have it in British Columbia.

Kartesz' list was compiled  with  help  of  many  experts.  Some
experts  had  little  experience with the flora of western North
America and their taxonomic conclusions are either wrong  or  at
least  questionable. I am not convinced that Vaccinium alaskense
is conspecific with V. ovalifolium. I was surprised to see  that
Qian  and  Klinka  did treat V. alaskense as conspecific with V.
ovalifolium when they accepted  V.  alaskense  in  their  recent
paper  on  forest  vegetation.  There  are several other species
groups (e.g., Poa secunda complex) where it would have been more
useful not to follow Kartesz' taxonomy.

Although Dr. W.B. Schofield helped authors  with  the  bryophyte
list,  their  bryophyte  list  is  based on a rather old version
published in Schofield (1992). The lichen list in the Plants  of
British  Columbia  seems more recent. I traced it to the list of
lichens in Meidinger, D. et al. (1997) where the list of lichens
was based on the unpublished 1996 Catalogue of British  Columbia
by  Goward,  Ahti, Brodo & Miege. However, some species excluded
in Goward et. al. (1994) were included in Qian & Klinka's lichen
list.

In their nomenclature the authors claimed to  follow  the  older
"Berlin  Code" of botanical nomenclature. In fact, they actually
followed the newer  "Tokyo  Code"  especially  in  citations  of
authorities  of  vascular  plants and lichens (in the bryophytes
the authors still used  the  "in"  connector  according  to  the
Berlin Code and earlier codes, cf. BEN # 103 "In is out").

The book is "based on an extensive review of literature." Unfor-
tunately,  the  authors  listed only a few of their sources. The
authors ignored Hickman (1993), which is an  important  landmark
in  taxonomy  of vascular plants of California and which brought
numerous changes to the nomenclature of those plants that extend
from California to British Columbia  (e.g.,  in  Hickman,  Bois-
duvalia  is  treated  within the genus Epilobium - the new names
should have been mentioned at  least  as  synonyms,  if  authors
disagreed with this change).

The  book  is  structured  much  like Kartesz (1994). In part 1,
vascular plants, bryophytes and  lichens  are  first  listed  by
families.  The second part lists all the names again and gives a
valid name to each synonym. Common names are given  when  avail-
able  and  the  list of common names and their scientific equiv-
alents is attached. The authors indicated introduced species.  I
do  not agree with authors in calling Myriophyllum verticillatum
or Melampyrum lineare introduced  species.  Conversely,  species
such  as Campylopus introflexus, Hieracium lachenalii, and Typha
angustifolia should have been listed as introduced but were not.
In defense of the authors, I must say that in spite  of  British
Columbia's  short history, it is often difficult to decide which
species are native and which are introduced. I have  to  confess
that when in doubt I check Hickman (1993).

The Appendix with 1,090 "Excluded names" is the Achilles heel of
the  book. Beside the plants that have been erroneously reported
in British Columbia, there are many names that can be considered
misapplied synonyms (e.g., Eleocharis ovata auct. = E.  obtusa),
and  names  that  have been shunned in recent taxonomical treat-
ments (e.g., Agrostis thurberiana). The  "Excluded  names"  also
contain many species that do actually occur in British Columbia.
Few  examples:  Ammania  concinna (=A. robusta), Carex haydenii,
Carex  torreyana,  Cyperus   erythrorhizos,   Floerkea   proser-
pinacoides,  Fraxinus  latifolia, Heteranthera dubia, Microseris
lindleyi, Scirpus cyperinus, etc. Many of these excluded species
could have been included had the authors visited  the  UBC  her-
barium  and  the herbarium of the Royal British Columbia Museum.
Actually, these are the very places  where  the  authors  should
have spent some time before they started to work on their book.

The  UBC  Press  did their best to produce this publication, al-
though the price is far too high.

Cited references:

Goward, T., B. McCune, & D.  Meidinger.  1994.  The  lichens  of
   British  Columbia:  Illustrated  keys.  Part  1,  Foliose and
   squamulose species. Special Report Series No. 8, B.C.  Minis-
   try of Forests, Victoria, B.C.
Hickman,  J.C.  [ed.]  1993. The Jepson manual: Higher plants of
   California. UC Press, Berkeley.
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A  synonymized  checklist  of  the  vascular
   flora  of  the  United States, Canada and Greenland. - Second
   edition. Volume I: Checklist, 622 p.; Volume  II:  Thesaurus,
   816 p. - Timber Press, Portland, Oregon.
Meidinger,  D.,  H.  Qian,  G.  Britton, T. Lee, & W. MacKenzie.
   1997. British  Columbia  plant  species  codes  and  selected
   attributes.  URL:  ftp.hre.for.gov.bc.ca/pub/provspp  -  file
   BCVEG_EX.
Schofield, W.B. 1992. Some common mosses  of  British  Columbia.
   Second edition. Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria.


DIGITAL FLORISTIC SYNTHESIS OF NORTH AMERICA
From: http://www.ledlie.com/ [abbreviated]

>From the laboratory of the Biota of North America Program of the
North  Carolina  Botanical  Garden,  in  collaboration  with the
Jepson Herbarium of the University of  California  at  Berkeley,
comes  the most comprehensive floristic synthesis ever assembled
for the North American vascular flora. The work builds upon  Dr.
John  T.  Kartesz's  1994 Timber Press publication A Synonymized
Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the  United  States,  Canada,
and Greenland, and it includes a complete revision of all of the
1994 nomenclature of the Synonymized Checklist, and links nearly
500,000  records  of plant distributions, at state or equivalent
levels, to each accepted name.

Four individual digital products are described below, which will
be available on 3.5 inch diskettes, for  use  on  IBM-compatible
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LEXICON.  Product  #  1..  The  nomenclature and taxonomy of the
digital  Lexicon  follow  Dr.  John  Kartesz's  1994,   2-volume
Synonymized  Checklist  and  the PLANTS database of the National
Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), plus revisions.  Specific
summaries  of  common  names, in addition to accepted scientific
names and/or synonymized checklists,  for  any  plant  or  plant
group,  can  be easily displayed and printed. The Lexicon can be
used to transfer scientific names directly to an open  Microsoft
Word  or  WordPerfect  document  by simply clicking on the name.
Price per unit-US$99.00

FLORISTIC ATLAS. Product #2. For each of the  more  than  30,000
accepted  taxa,  the Floristic Atlas displays a state level dis-
tribution map of each,  allowing  the  maps  to  be  printed  in
publication-quality  format  (in  black and white, or color), or
saved as Windows bitmap images, by a simple  mouse-click.  Price
per unit-US$295.00.

BIOLOGICAL ATTRIBUTES. Product # 3. As a third product, a fully-
populated  summary  of  45 biological attributes, which includes
morphological and other specialized data, is also available  for
each  accepted  taxon. These biological attributes are viewed to
be the  most  botanically  useful  or  interesting  to  a  broad
audience, and those considered to have national or international
importance,  regarding rarity, nativity, weediness, insectivory,
habit (tree, shrub, vine, etc.), habitat, trophic levels,  dura-
tion,  medicinal  value, forage and range values, toxicity, etc.
Price per unit-US$195.00

TAXONOMIC TOOLBOX. Product # 4. The fourth product, referred  to
as  the  Taxonomic  Toolbox,  pools data from the previous three
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The price is 16% less than if purchased individually. Price  per
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   One Bean Road, P.O. Box 90, Buckfield, ME 04220
   Phone: 1-800-791-1028  Fax: 1-207-336-2778
   E-mail: ledlie@ledlie.com
   Web page: http://www.ledlie.com/

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Date: Sat, 6 Jun 1998 15:16:53 -0700 (PDT)
From: Adolf Ceska <aceska@victoria.tc.ca>
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No. 195                              June 6, 1998

aceska@victoria.tc.ca                Victoria, B.C.
-----------------------------------------------------------
 Dr. A. Ceska, P.O.Box 8546, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3S2
-----------------------------------------------------------

PLANTS OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST IN WESTERN EUROPE
From: Pierre Binggeli <P.Binggeli@ulst.ac.uk>

The  flora  of  Great Britain is depauperate compared to that of
the nearby continent. The landbridge, which connected England to
the Continent after the last glaciation, was cut off before most
species had reached Northern France. Many British species failed
to reach Ireland as the connection  between  Ireland  and  Great
Britain  disappeared  even  earlier.  The European plant species
richness, and that of woody plants in  particular,  is  in  turn
lower  than  that  found in North America. Although the climatic
zonation of Europe is broadly similar to that of North  America,
the  geographical  position  of  mountain ranges and large water
bodies is markedly different. The Alps and the Mediterranean sea
run East to West and have, during the  Quaternary  period,  hin-
dered  plant  migration  during  the  various  phases of glacial
expansions and contractions.

In Europe plant species have been translocated for thousands  of
years.  However,  species  introductions  have only markedly in-
creased during the 17th century and peaked in the  19th  century
when  the botanical exploration of Asia and the America's was at
its peak. During this period, thousands of species  were  intro-
duced  and today over 3600 alien taxa are thought to be natural-
ized in Europe (Clement & Foster 1994, Ryves et  al.  1996).  Of
course,  only  a small proportion of these taxa have had much of
an impact on the native vegetation and most  species  have  only
been  found  regenerating very locally in highly disturbed urban
or semi-natural areas. However, there are a  number  of  shrubby
species and coniferous trees spreading into semi-natural vegeta-
tion.  These  life-forms  are  not  well  represented in the in-
digenous flora of the British Isles. There  is  only  one  large
conifer (Pinus sylvestris, native to Scotland) and a few shrubby
species  that  usually  form  a  sparse  growth  under  woodland
canopies.

Many of the introduced  shrub  and  coniferous  species  in  the
British  Isles  originated  from  North America, and the Pacific
Northwest in particular. They have been introduced for a variety
of  reasons  including  for  ornament,  shelter  for  game   and
forestry.  These  species  are well suited to the climate of the
British Isles and they are particularly successful on the  west-
ern side of Great Britain and Ireland where rainfall is high and
winters are mild.

Some  North American woody plant species have become invasive in
most parts of Europe; these include Acer negundo (Sachse  1992),
Prunus  serotina (Starfinger 1997), Quercus rubra (Barkman 1988,
Timbal 1994), and  Robinia  pseudoacacia  (Kowarik  1990)  which
occur  now in natural and semi-natural vegetation of continental
Europe. Several Pacific Northwest species are spreading in  more
oceanic  regions  and the main ones are described in more detail
below.

AMELANCHIER SPP. - SASKATOON, SERVICEBERRY
   The taxonomic nature of Amelanchier species in western Europe
   has been much debated. Schroeder (1970, 1972) concluded  that
   three   North   America   species,  Amelanchier  confusa,  A.
   lamarckii and A. spicata, are fully  naturalized  in  western
   Europe,  the  latter  two  species  being commonly found from
   England to Sweden. Amelanchier alnifolia, which  was  planted
   in  19th  century  parks,  is  no  longer  cultivated, but is
   naturalized in a couple of localities.

GAULTHERIA SHALLON - SALAL
   This shrub is only known to be invasive in north-east England
   (Swan 1993), although it  is  found  in  many  parts  of  the
   British  Isles.  Currently,  it  is  a pest at only one site,
   where it forms monotypic stands and spreads  into  heathland.
   This species, recognized as weedy in North America (Fraser et
   al.  1993),  exhibits  similar  characteristics in NE England
   where it readily regenerate in areas cleared of  other  woody
   invaders such as Rhododendron ponticum (a native of SE Europe
   and  probably  the worst invader in the British Isles). It is
   as yet unclear how much of a threat Gaultheria shallon is  in
   the British Isles.

RUBUS SPECTABILIS - SALMONBERRY
   Salmonberry  was  brought to the British Isles in 1827 and it
   said that it was introduced to Scotland as pheasant food.  It
   has  also  been planted as an ornamental or as a hedge plant.
   The shrub is widespread and weedy in the Orkneys  (Bremner  &
   Bullard  1990) but its spread into other parts of the British
   Isles has been slow  and  largely  unrecognized.  Our  recent
   investigations in Northern Ireland (Paterson & Binggeli 1995)
   showed that R. spectabilis produces large impenetrable thick-
   ets  in  a  wide variety of vegetation types. It must be con-
   sidered as a potential pest in forestry  plantations  in  the
   north-west of Ireland.

PICEA SITCHENSIS - SITKA SPRUCE
   At  the  start  of  the  20th  century little of the original
   forest cover of the British Isles remained and  an  extensive
   afforestation  program  was initiated. At first, several con-
   ifer species were planted in monotypic stands,  but  in  more
   recent  decades  most  of the planting has been Sitka spruce.
   Early Sitka spruce plantations have already been  felled  and
   extensive  natural  regeneration  has been observed with see-
   dling densities as high as 300,000 per ha (McNeill & Thompson
   1982, Clarke 1992, Ow et  al.  1996).  This  regeneration  is
   generally  not welcomed by foresters as it is very uneven and
   increases the cost of silvicultural operations (Nelson 1991).

SYMPHORICARPOS ALBUS - SNOWBERRY
   Symphoricarpos albus var. laevigatus is widely naturalized in
   western Europe. In the British Isles, the species was  intro-
   duced  in 1817 first as an horticultural plant, but was later
   grown as a component of game coverts. It  has  been  recorded
   from a wide variety of soil and vegetation types, but it does
   not  spread  rapidly  since local birds do not eat the fruits
   (Bremner & Bullard 1990, Gilbert 1995). The  recent  publica-
   tion  of  an  ecological  account  in  the Journal of Ecology
   reflects  the  importance  of  Symphoricarpos  albus  in  the
   British and Irish landscapes.

TSUGA HETEROPHYLLA - WESTERN HEMLOCK
   This  tree  has  been  planted  in  many parts of the British
   Isles, but it is not an important timber  tree.  However,  it
   has  regenerated  in  many  places  and can spread into semi-
   natural vegetation (Baker 1990).

Conclusion

A combination of the factors outlined  above  (i.e.  depauperate
flora,  absence  of  some  life-forms,  and  great similarity in
climatic  conditions)  largely  explain  the  successful  estab-
lishment  of  Pacific Northwest plants in western Europe and the
British Isles in particular.

References

Baker, R.M. 1990. Observations on the  natural  regeneration  of
   western  hemlock  (Tsuga  heterophylla)  in south east Wales.
   Quart. J. For. 84: 94-98.
Barkman, J.J. 1988. Some reflections on plant  architecture  and
   its ecological implications - A personal view demonstrated on
   two species of Quercus. Pp. 1-7 in Werger, M.J.A., P.J.M. van
   der  Art,  H.J.  During, & J.F.A. Verboeven (Eds.) Plant form
   and vegetation structure. SPD Acad. Publ., The Hague.
Bremner, A.H. & E.R. Bullard. 1990. Trees and shrubs in  Orkney.
   Privately published, St Ola, Orkney.
Clarke,  G.C.  1992.  The natural regeneration of spruce. Scott.
   For. 46: 107-129.
Clement, E.J. & M.C. Foster. 1994. Alien plants of  the  British
   Isles:  a provisional catalogue of vascular plants (excluding
   grasses). Botanical Society of the British Isles, London.
Fraser, L., R. Turkington, & C.P. Chanway. 1993. The biology  of
   Canadian  weeds.  102.  Gaultheria shallon Pursh. Can. J. Pl.
   Sci. 73: 1233-1247.
Gilbert, O.L. 1995.  Biological  Flora  of  the  British  Isles.
   Symphoricarpos albus (L.) S.F. Blake (S. rivularis Suksd., S.
   racemosus Michaux). J. Ecol. 83: 159-166.
Kowarik,  I.  1990.  Zur  Einfurung  und Ausbreitung der Robinie
   (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) in Brandenburg und  zur  Geholzsuk-
   zession  ruderalen  Robiniebestande  in  Berlin. Verh. Berlin
   Bot. Ver. 8: 33-67.
Nelson, D.G. 1991. Management of Sitka spruce natural  regenera-
   tion. For. Commn Res. Inf. Note 204: 1-5.
Ow,  F.  von,  P. Joyce, & M. Keane. 1996. Factors affecting the
   establishment of natural regeneration of Sitka spruce  (Picea
   sitchensis [Bong.] Carr.) in Ireland. Ir. For. 53: 2-18.
Paterson, J.P.H. & P. Binggeli. 1995. Status and distribution of
   Rubus spectabilis Pursh. In British Ecological Society Winter
   Meeting - Programme and Abstracts, p. 71.
Ryves,  T.B.,  E.J. Clement, & M.C. Foster. 1996.  Alien grasses
   of the British Isles. Botanical Society of the British Isles,
   London.
Sachse, U. 1992. Invasion patterns of  boxelder  on  sites  with
   different  levels  of  disturbance. Verh. Ges. Okol. 21: 103-
   111.
Schroeder, F.-G. 1970. Exotic Amelanchier species naturalised in
   Europe and their occurrence in  Great  Britain.  Watsonia  8:
   155-162.
Schroeder,   F.-G.  1972.  Amelanchier-Arten  als  Neophyten  in
   Europa. Abh. Naturwiss. Verein Bremen 37: 287-419.
Starfinger, U. 1997. Introduction and  naturalization  of  black
   cherry  (Prunus  serotina)  in Central Europe. Pp. 161-171 in
   Brock, J.H., M. Wade, P. Pysek, & D. Green, D.  (Eds.)  Plant
   invasions:  studies  from  North America and Europe. Backhuys
   Publishers, Leiden.
Swan,  G.A.  1993.  Flora  of  Northumberland.  Natural  History
   Society of Northumbria, Newcastle.
Timbal,  J., A. Kremer, N. Le Goff, & G. Nepveu. (Eds.) 1994. Le
   chene rouge d'Amerique. INRA, Paris.


RE: EXPLOSIVE POLLINATION - CORNUS OR CHAMEAPERICLYMENUM ?
From: Dr Weber <weberw@spot.colorado.edu>

Three cheers and one cheer more (as they do it in Sweden) to  my
old  friend  Ted  Mosquin  for  his brilliant elucidation of the
pollination of Chamaepericlymenum canadense! It is, as he  says,
more  evidence to support the generic recognition of this little
genus. I have been using this name in my various Colorado floras
ever since Askell Love and Josef Holub convinced me  as  to  the
justified separation of Cornus, Chamaepericlymenum, and Swida. I
am  gratified that some of the usually very conservative authors
from the United States are beginning  to  catch  on:  Pentaphyl-
loides  (Rosaceae) is finally given the blessings of the authors
of  Intermountain  Flora;  Noccaea  (Brassicaceae)  is   nearing
universal support over its former inclusion in Thlaspi; Boechera
out  of  Arabis. Who knows, perhaps they will eventually come to
their senses and recognize Pulsatilla as distinct from  Anemone!
And, horror of horrors, perhaps someone else will support me and
Eurasian  authors  on  Sabina  vs  Juniperus, and break down the
wastebasket genus Prunus  into  its  other  generic  components,
Padus, Cerasus, Amygdalus, and Laurocerasus; Rubus into Rubacer,
Cylactis,  and  Oreobatus;  Potentilla  into not only Pentaphyl-
loides, but Argentina, Comarum, Drymocallis; Geum  into  Acomas-
tylis and Erythrocoma; and Ranunculus into Ceratocephala, Haler-
pestes, Hecatonia, and Cyrtorhyncha.


NEW BOOK: PLANTS OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS
From: Adolf Ceska <aceska@victoria.tc.ca>

Kershaw, Linda, Andy MacKinnon, & Jim Pojar. 1998. Plants of the
   Rocky  Mountains. Lone Pine Publishing, Edmonton. 384 p. ISBN
   1-55105-088-9 [soft cover] Price: US$19.95 CND$26.95
   Lone Pine Publishing website:
   http://www.lonepinepublishing.com

This book is the newest  addition  to  the  plant  field  guides
published  by  the Lone Pine Publishing. See BEN #31, #75, #114,
#132, #137, & Taxon 45:159-161 for reviews of other volumes pub-
lished in this popular series. The book covers over 1200 species
and  is fully illustrated with colour photographs and line draw-
ings.

Dr. W.A. Weber sent me the following comments:

   I have the book, and it is really a remarkable one. I wish
   I had had the luxury of having a number of people involved
   in designing, editing, etc.  on  my  books.  There  is  an
   absolutely  extraordinary amount of interesting reading in
   it. Of course, when you do  as  massive  color  production
   like  this is, there will be a number of pictures that are
   too dark to  be  of  any use, and  the  pictures sometimes
   are too small to get any detail. The book also  is  mostly
   for  the  Canadian  Rocky  Mts., and not of very great use
   down here. I understand very well the pressure to make the
   title more inclusive than the contents, as I learned  when
   my  little  book  of  1952,  Plants  of the Colorado Front
   Range, had to be changed to Rocky Mountain Flora  although
   there was little expansion of the text.

   I  think  the authors go overboard telling people never to
   pick a flower even to examine it; people don't  drive  out
   and  bring  home carloads of wild flowers these days; that
   might have been true 50 years ago. Here around Boulder the
   problem is that we have so many deer and elk  around  that
   they  do  much more damage, even to people's gardens, than
   any number of human pickers.

   I also am getting more and more frustrated by these people
   who have to invent "common names"  for  every  species  of
   everything.  They  certainly are no more "meaningful" than
   the scientific names, but for some reason  they  are  com-
   forting  to those who need to put some kind of a name on a
   plant, just as nobody is happy with a mountain that has no
   name.

I have to say that  the  authors  treated  scientific  names  of
plants  much  worse  than  the  common names. There are numerous
mistakes in the gender of Latin names: Comarum palustris, Nuphar
lutea  (feminine)  &  Nuphar  polysepalum  (neuter),  Triglochin
maritima  (feminine)  & Triglochin palustre (neuter). Ranunculus
aquatilus? I have been soliciting a short  course  of  botanical
Latin  and  I  hope  that  BEN will be able to devote one or two
issues to that topic in the near future.

This  book is an excellent  edition  to the botanical literature
that deals with the Rocky Mountains.


NEW BOOK: CALIFORNIA'S WILD GARDENS: A LIVING LEGACY
From: Adolf Ceska <aceska@victoria.tc.ca>

Faber, P.M. [Ed.] 1997.  California's  wild  gardens:  A  living
   legacy. California Native Plant Society, Sacramento.   236 p.
   ISBN 0-943460-34-4 [soft cover] & 0-943460-35-2 [hard  cover]
   Cost: US$29.95 [soft cover]
   Ordering information: California Native Plant Society, 
   1722 J  Street, Suite 17, Sacramento, CA 95814

This  book  is  a  result of co-operation of three agencies, the
California Native Plant Society, the  California  Department  of
Fish and Game and the California Academy of Sciences:

   "Within this book you will be introduced to the beauty and
   variety  of  California's  native  plants in their natural
   settings. California's Wild  Gardens  allows  us  to  view
   California  as  a  series of ecological regions ... Within
   these regions are smaller  localized  areas,  where  local
   conditions  have  bestowed  a  special ensemble of rare or
   endemic plants. These highlights of California's botanical
   world are the focus of this book -- a compendium  of  some
   of  the best and most floristically important sites in our
   state."

About 100 botanists and plant ecologists worked  on  this  book.
The  book  gives  descriptions  of  about  a  hundred  important
localities grouped in ten ecological regions. Each  locality  is
illustrated  with a general habitat picture and with a selection
of colour photographs of the most important rare plants  growing
on  that  particular  locality.  All pictures are of the highest
quality. The first time I  saw  a  photograph  of  the  recently
discovered  Shasta  snow-wreath, Neviusia cliftonii. I was sorry
to see a picture of  Utricularia  macrorhiza  identified  as  U.
gibba and I hope  that  the authors did  not use my Madrono 1973 
key to the genus Utricularia.

This is a beautiful book, highly recommended!


ROYAL BRITISH COLUMBIA MUSEUM - CURATORIAL PROGRAMMING POSITION

Term position reports to the Manager of Natural History.  Duties
include  research  and collection projects; field collections in
the Columbia Basin  focussing  on  the  non-grassland  habitats;
extensive travel within southern B.C. may be required.

Qualifications  -  Minimum  of  B.Sc.;  postgraduate training in
Botany preferred; demonstrated knowledge  and  considerable  ex-
perience  in  angiosperm identification; demonstrated experience
in field collecting.

Closing date June 17,  1998.  For  complete  information  please
contact Ms. Terry L. Johnson, Phone: 250-387-2263, Fax: 250-953-
4336. Competition no.: RB98:1218

----------------------------------------------------------------
Submissions, subscriptions, etc.:  aceska@victoria.tc.ca
BEN is archived at   http://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/ben/
________________________________________________________________

From london@sunsite.unc.edu Wed Dec 30 02:39:42 1998 -0500
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Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 23:01:05 -0800 (PST)
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No. 211                              December 29, 1998

aceska@victoria.tc.ca                Victoria, B.C.
-----------------------------------------------------------
 Dr. A. Ceska, P.O.Box 8546, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3S2
-----------------------------------------------------------

BOTANY EVENTS IN VICTORIA, JANUARY 1999

Tuesday,  January  19:  Botany  Night  - Karen Golinski: "Beer &
   Sauna: Peatbogs of the Czech Republic and Finland." Swan Lake
   Nature House, 7:30 p.m.
   Karen will show slides from several bogs she visited in  fall
   1998   and   will  discuss  similarities/differences  between
   European and Pacific Northwest wetland vegetation.

Thursday, January 21: Native Plant Study  Group  meeting,  UVIC,
   1996 Classroom Bldg. Room C 112, 7:00 p.m.


OLD GROWTH FORESTS IN BRITISH COLUMBIA
From: Andy MacKinnon <Andy.Mackinnon@gems1.gov.bc.ca>

The  latest issue of Natural Areas Journal (Volume 18, Number 4:
October 1998)  contains  three  articles  on  B.C.'s  old-growth
forests. Here are the Abstracts from those articles:

1.  Ralph  Wells,  Sari  Saunders,  and Ken Lertzman. 1998. Old-
   growth definitions  for  the  forests  of  British  Columbia,
   Canada. Nat. Areas J. 18(4): 279-292.

Increased  scarcity  of  old  forests of natural origin, and im-
proved understanding of the ways in which they are  ecologically
distinct,  have  led  to a need for standardized definitions for
old-growth forests in British Columbia, Canada.  Useful  defini-
tions  of  old  growth  that  are  simple  and concise have been
elusive because  the  old-growth  stage  of  forest  development
occurs  as  a  part  of  a  continuum  of development and varies
greatly over ecological gradients at several scales.  Therefore,
we  propose the development of ecologically based definitions in
three broad categories: conceptual, quantitative,  and  working.
We  suggest  that old growth be defined conceptually as a forest
in which processes  of  gap  dynamics  predominate.  We  further
propose  that  definitions  of old growth should incorporate the
distinct structural and compositional characteristics that arise
from these development processes, because direct measures of gap
dynamics are elusive and because structural  attributes  perform
important  ecological  roles.  Indices  of forest structure that
capture the inherent variability of  structural  characteristics
of  old-growth  stands show promise for quantifying the qualita-
tive  features  contained  in  conceptual  definitions;  minimum
thresholds  and  demographic  measures  also  have merit. In the
interim, working definitions based on minimum age and height for
different forest types have allowed the completion of  province-
wide inventories from existing databases. Future research should
be  directed  toward  determining the structural characteristics
and variability of the different late-successional forest  types
in British Columbia so that conceptual definitions can be tested
and  type-specific  ecological definitions can be developed. The
paucity of basic information on  characteristics  of  old-growth
forests limits the ability of managers to determine the area and
location  of specific types of old-growth forest, and to develop
appropriate management goals and methods.

2. Dan Kneeshaw and Phil Burton. 1998. Assessment of  functional
   old-growth status: a case study in the Sub-Boreal Spruce Zone
   of British Columbia, Canada. Nat. Areas J. 18(4): 293-308.

We present a practical approach for the assessment of old-growth
status  that is consistent with stand development theory, namely
that a true old-growth stage is  achieved  when  internal  stand
regeneration  processes  have  led  to  the  replacement  of in-
dividuals recruited immediately after the last  stand-initiating
disturbance.  Age  and  basal area of all individual trees and a
number of stand structural  attributes  were  evaluated  for  14
stands,  ranging  in  age  from  124 to 343 years since the last
stand-replacing  wildfire,  in  the  Sub-Boreal  Spruce  biogeo-
climatic  zone  of  north-central  British Columbia. Stands were
ranked on a stand development continuum  of  "mature"  to  "old-
growth"  using  age-class  distributions,  principal  components
analysis of easily measured  stand  attributes,  and  ratios  of
replacement  cohort basal area to initial cohort basal area. The
latter - the ratio of the basal area  of  individuals  recruited
under  the  canopy  to  the  basal area of individuals recruited
immediately following disturbance - is most consistent with  the
conceptual definition of old growth and can serve as a quantita-
tive  measure of old-growth status. A cohort basal area ratio of
0.045 to 0.235 denotes the beginning  of  functional  old-growth
status  in these forests, that is, transitional old-growth sensu
Oliver (1981, Oliver and Larsen 1990). Thresholds are identified
for five easily measured stand attributes that separate  clearly
mature  from  clearly  old-growth  stands. An old-growth scoring
system is presented, based on the ratio of  observed  levels  of
those  attributes  to the identified thresholds, multiplied by a
weighting factor derived from the correlation of each  attribute
with  the  cohort  basal  area ratio, which is more difficult to
measure. When summed over all  five  attributes,  an  old-growth
score  >  1.0  denotes stands in this forest type that are func-
tionally old growth.

3. Andy MacKinnon  and  Terje  Vold.  1998.  Old-growth  forests
   inventory  for British Columbia, Canada. Nat. Areas J. 18(4):
   309-318.

We analyzed more than  7 000  1:20 000  forest  cover  maps  for
British Columbia to determine the amount of old-growth forest in
the  Canadian  province.  For  this  exercise,  'old growth' was
defined as: forests on the coast >250 years old; and forests  in
the  interior  >140  years  old  for most tree species, and >120
years old for lodgepole pine and deciduous species.  Using  this
definition,   British   Columbia  is  37.1%  'nonforest',  36.1%
'younger forest',  and  26.8%  'old  growth'.  These  data  were
analyzed  by broad ecological (biogeoclimatic) zones. Old-growth
forests cover more than 40% of the land base on the coast and at
subalpine elevations in interior B.C., and less than 1%  of  the
land  base  in  the  coastal  rainshadow forests of southeastern
Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. Approximately 7.7% of the
province's landbase is covered  with  forests  >250  years  old.
Almost 13% of B.C.'s remaining old growth is in protected areas.
In  the future, area of old-growth forest will decrease over the
province's timber harvesting land base;  this  decrease  may  be
somewhat  offset  by increases (due to fire suppression) outside
of the timber harvesting land base.

For those who just can't get  enough  information  about  B.C.'s
old-growth  forests,  the  proceedings of the February 1998 Vic-
toria workshop "Structure, Processes and  Diversity  in  Succes-
sional  Forests  of  Coastal British Columbia" make up a Special
Issue of the journal Northwest Science, published in late Novem-
ber 1998. This workshop reports on research findings documenting
differences between  old-growth  and  second-growth  forests  in
coastal B.C.

The  papers from this issue of Northwest Science are also avail-
able at the workshop web site:
http://www.pfc.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/workshops/toc-sfrw.htm


BOOK REVIEW: ECOLOGY OF NORTH AMERICA
From: Adolf Ceska <aceska@victoria.tc.ca>

Bolen, E. G. 1998. Ecology  of  North  America.  Illustrated  by
   Tamara R. Sayre. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. New York. xv + 448 p. 
   ISBN 0-471-13156-3 [hardcover] Price: US $79.95
   
   Ordering information:
   In the USA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.  605  Third  avenue,  New
   York, N.Y. 10158-0012 web page: http://catalog.wiley.com
   In  Canada: John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd. 22 Worcester Road,
   Etobicoke, Ont. M9W 1L1 Phone: 416-236-4433,  1-800-567-4797,
   Fax: 416-236-8743, 1-800-565-6802

The  book  describes  ecology  of the main biomes encountered in
North America (tundra, boreal forest, eastern deciduous  forest,
grasslands,  deserts,  chapparal,  montane forest, and temperate
rain forest). An introductory chapter explains the main ecologi-
cal terms and principles and the final  chapter  covers  special
environments (e.g, caves, Grand Canyon, Niagara Escarpment) that
don't  fit  into  the  major  biomes.  The  author is a wildlife
biologist and the main focus of the book is on the  relationship
between plants communities and animals. A general description of
the ecology of vegetation formation is accompanied by the "High-
lights" - a collection of interesting interactions, conservation
problems,  or  historical  vignettes  related  to the particular
vegetation. Each chapter has a copious bibliography, useful  for
further study.

The  book  is meant as a college textbook and it is written in a
clear style and is richly illustrated. It is a  valuable  source
of  information  and  nice  link  between  plant communities and
animal community ecology. On the other hand, the  importance  of
the  climate as a determining factor in the vegetation structure
and composition is not stressed enough. I would  have  liked  to
see  Walter  &  Lieth's climatic diagrams to illustrate climates
dealt with in this book. I was annoyed that the author uses only
the common names in the text until I found a list of common  vs.
scientific names of all the mentioned organisms in the Appendix.
I  agree with the publishers who regard Ecology of North America
to be "an ideal first text for students  interested  in  natural
resources,  environmental science, and biology, and a useful and
attractive addition to  the  library  of  anyone  interested  in
attempting to understand and protect the natural environment."

Other recent books from the same author:

Baldassarre,  G.A.  &  E.G.  Bolen.  1994. Waterfowl ecology and
   management. John Wiley & Sons, New York. xvii + 609  p.  ISBN
   0-471-59770-8 [hardcover]
   Web site: see above

Bolen,  E.G.  &  William  Robinson.  1999.  Wildlife Ecology and
   Management. Prentice Hall Engineering,  Upper  Saddle  River,
   N.J. 605 p. ISBN 0-13-840422-4 [hardcover]
   web site: http://www.prenhall.com/
   
   
BOOK REVIEW: INTERMOUNTAIN SEDGES (CAREX - CYPERACEAE)
From: Adolf Ceska <aceska@victoria.tc.ca>

Hurd,  E.G.,  Shaw,  N.L.,  Mastrogiuseppe,  J. Smithman, L.C. &
   Goodrich, S. 1998. Field guide to Intermountain sedges.  Gen.
   Tech.  Rep. RMRS-GTR-10. US Department of Agriculture, Forest
   Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. Ogden, UT.  282  p.
   [ring binding] Cost: free [!]

   Available from:
   Publication  Distribution,  Rocky  Mountain Research Station,
   324 25th Street, Odgen, UT 84401  phone:  801-625-5437,  fax:
   801-625-5129 (attn: Publications)
   e-mail: pubs/rmrsm_ogden@fs.fed.us
   web site: http://www.xmission.com/~rmrs

This  pocket field guide contains descriptions and illustrations
of 114 species  of  Carex  from  the  Intermountain  area.  Each
species is described on one page and illustrated on the opposite
page. Descriptions contain synonymy, and morphological,  habitat
and  distribution  information. Illustrations combine line draw-
ings with colour macrophotographs. The line drawings are  mostly
taken  from  the  "Vascular  plants of the Pacific Northwest" or
from the "Intermountain Flora" (with additional line drawings by
E.G. Hurd). The colour photographs show details of the inflores-
cence  and  a  set  of  scales,  perigynia  and   achenes.   The
photographs  were taken by the senior author and they are excel-
lent. The book has an  extensive  terminology  section  that  is
fully  illustrated.  It  also  has  dichotomous  keys to all 114
species, plus a few more uncommon species that are  not  treated
in  the  description  section.  Tables in the appendix give dis-
criminant characters for identification  of  species  in  eleven
groups of similar species. These tables contain both the species
treated  in  the  special part and the uncommon species that are
not covered by the guide.

This is an excellent guide, useful not only for  the  Intermoun-
tain  area  (Nevada,  Utah,  and  parts  of  Oregon,  Idaho  and
Wyoming), but also for the neighbouring regions that  have  many
species  in  common  with  this area. Its format is an excellent
example for similar field  guides  and  I  especially  like  the
superb   combination   of   line  drawings  with  colour  macro-
photographs. The guide is printed on heavy,  glossy  paper.  The
cover, however, is a low grade paper, almost a blotter. I had it
laminated  immediately when I received my copy and you should do
the same.


NEW BOOK: PLANTS IN MEDITERRANEAN CLIMATES OF THE WORLD
From: Adolf Ceska <aceska@victoria.tc.ca>

Dallman, P.R. 1998. Plant  life  in  the  world's  mediterranean
   climates: California, Chile, South Africa, Australia, and the
   Mediterranean  Basin.  With  a  preface  by  Robert  Ornduff.
   California Native Plant Society &  University  of  California
   Press,   Berkeley,  CA.  xii  +  257  p.  ISBN  0-520-20809-9
   [softcover] Price: US$29.95
   
   Ordering information:
   California Native Plant Society, 1722  J  Street,  Suite  17,
   Sacramento, CA 95814
   Web site: http://www.calpoly.edu/~dchippin/pubs.html

The book covers the following topics: Definition of the mediter-
ranean  climate,  plant  and climate origins, plant adaptations,
plant communities, and vegetation of California, Central  Chile,
Western  Cape-South  Africa,  Australia,  and  the Mediterranean
Basin; planning  a  trip  (to  visit  areas  with  mediterranean
climates  &  plants).  The bibliography contains over 240 refer-
ences.

Dr. Robert Ornduff wrote in the Preface: "In this  engaging  and
beautifully  illustrated  book, Peter Dallman describes the five
regions  of  the  world  with  a  mediterranean  climate  (their
climates  are  not  so similar as I once believed [R. Ornduff]),
the diverse  adaptations  that  enable  plants  to  survive  the
prolonged  summer  droughts  typical of these regions, the plant
communities found there, and human influences that  have  shaped
the  physical  and  botanical  landscapes.  For  each region, he
describes and illustrates significant features of  the  terrain,
environmental  influences,  and vegetation types. As a traveler,
Dallman has first-hand knowledge of these places, is  well-read,
and  has  distilled a myriad of facts into a highly readable and
engaging synthesis for those interested in  the  rich  array  of
plants  that  grow  in these regions. Chapter 10 presents useful
suggestions for those planning a trip to any  of  these  regions
and recommends books that will enhance their visits."


EDITORIAL - GREETINGS 1999

I  would like to thank all the authors who submitted their notes
and articles to BEN in 1998. BEN would not be  able  to  survive
without your articles. I would like to thank especially to those
of  you  from  whom I solicited contributions: it is always dif-
ficult to write on command. My thanks  go  to  the  readers  for
their patience, to all BEN subscribers for remaining faithful to
BEN,  and  to all those, who know how and when to use the delete
button. I have to thank the Victoria Freenet Association and the
(mysterious to me) "cue.bc.ca" for  the  simple  mailing  system
they  created  for  me  that  enables me to mail BEN without any
glitches. Quite a few people in my vicinity know English  better
than  I do, and I would like to thank them for their ghost writ-
ing and editing  of what I write.  Last but  not least, I  would
like to thank Dr. Scott Russell for converting BEN issues to the
web pages.

                    HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL !

Adolf Ceska

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BBBBB    EEEEEE   NN   N             ISSN 1188-603X
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BBBBB    EEEEE    NN N N             BOTANICAL
BB   B   EE       NN  NN             ELECTRONIC
BBBBB    EEEEEE   NN   N             NEWS

No. 212                              January 13, 1999

aceska@victoria.tc.ca                Victoria, B.C.
-----------------------------------------------------------
 Dr. A. Ceska, P.O.Box 8546, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3S2
-----------------------------------------------------------

            CHESTER PETER (CHESS) LYONS (1915-1998)

[Chess  Lyons  died  in Hawaii on December 20, 1998 of complica-
tions from ruptured gall bladder. The following biography is  an
abbreviated  chapter  from  the  book  on  "Plant Hunters of the
Pacific Northwest" which is being edited and prepared for publi-
cation by Arthur R.  Kruckeberg.  The  author  of  Chess  Lyons'
biography is Steve Cannings. Additional information was provided
by Bill Merilees, Nanaimo, B.C. Many thanks for their permission
to post these excerpts on BEN. - AC]

Chester  P.  Lyons  is probably best known for his popular field
guides on the plants of British Columbia and  Washington  State.
These  books  have  appeared  in several editions since 1952 and
have been used by a wide range of  outdoor  people  as  well  as
students and professionals.

"Chess"  was born in 1915 near Regina, Saskatchewan and moved in
1919 to Penticton in the Okanagan  Valley  of  British  Columbia
where  his  parents  began  fruit farming. He attended Penticton
schools and despite his inclination to skip out  of  school  and
pursue  his  "studies" in the great outdoors, he managed to com-
plete high school without difficulty.

Chess was a  high-spirited  teenager,  very  fond  of  practical
jokes.  Above  all  he  was an all around outdoorsman and a keen
observer of natural history. He took every opportunity  to  hike
and  camp-out  in the hills of the local mountains. On one occa-
sion, Chess was called into the high school principal's office -
which was not too unusual - but  when  he  saw  the  local  game
warden,  he  became  a little apprehensive. It turned out that a
hunter had been lost in the snow-covered hills east of town  and
Chess was needed to help track him down. After an all-day search
Chess returned to report no track crossing the height-of-land. A
few  weeks  later  the missing man was located in California. He
had hopped a freight train and made his  way  south  across  the
U.S. border.

Following  high  school graduation, Chess entered the University
of British Columbia in Vancouver where  he  studied  Forest  En-
gineering, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1938.
Soon  after graduating from UBC, Chess joined the Forest Service
where he was engaged in surveying, reforestation  and  engineer-
ing. His home base was Victoria where he had resided since 1940.

In  those  days, Provincial Parks came under the jurisdiction of
the Forest Service and Chess soon managed  to  transfer  to  the
Park  Branch  where  he carried out exploration and planning for
new parks. These included Manning, Tweedsmuir,  Wells  Grey  and
Bowron  Lake  Parks.  Near the latter park he also worked on the
restoration of the famous old gold rush town of Barkerville  and
was responsible for the acquisition of many artifacts that bring
such realism to this popular heritage site.

To  pursue his many projects in nature interpretation Chess took
early retirement from the government service.  His  book  "Trees
shrubs  and  flowers  to  know  in British Columbia" (and the US
version  for  the  Washington  State)  became   a   "bible"   to
"naturalists,  Boy Scouts and grandmothers." It has been through
countless editions since it first appeared in 1952, and is still
in print.  His  skills  as  a  plant  illustrator  were  clearly
demonstrated in this book. A completely new and greatly expanded
edition  appeared  in  1995. His other "Milestone" books (Fraser
Canyon, Vancouver Island and Ogopogo Land) introduced  thousands
of  visitors  to  the local and natural history of these popular
areas.

As a film lecturer  on  the  National  Audubon  Society  lecture
circuit  and  the  World  Around  US  travel  series, Chess took
British  Columbia  to  large  audiences  in  hundreds  of  North
American cities. He was also the main contributor to the popular
CBC  series "Klahani - the Great Outdoors." His films brought to
public attention previously unknown areas  and  activities,  in-
cluding hiking the West Coast Trail, the possibility of canoeing
a  circuit  on  the  Bowron Lakes and kayaking around the Broken
Islands in Barkley Sound.

Friends of Chess Lyons will gather on April  11,  1999  2:00  to
4:00  p.m.  at  Freeman-King  Park,  Victoria,  to remember him.
Please feel free to attend.

Authors:

   Steve Cannings, S-9, C-1, R.R. # 3, Penticton, B.C.,
      Canada V2A 7K8
   W.M. Merilees, 3205 Granite Park, Nanaimo, B.C.,
      Canada V9T 3C8


BOTANY BC + BOT WA 1999 - MARK YOUR CALENDARS

Botanists  and  plant  enthusiasts  from  British  Columbia  and
Washington  State will meet at a joint BOTANY BC + BotWA meeting
at Cedar Beach Resort on Saltspring Island. The activities  will
start  on  Thursday April 29 (late afternoon) and end on Sunday,
May 2, 1999. We will explore the Gulf Islands' rich spring flora
with local experts by day and have interesting  talks  and  tom-
foolery  by night. Look for details and registration forms in an
upcoming issue of BEN, and mark those days!


ST HELENA BOXWOOD - NOT EXTINCT AFTER ALL!
From: Press release, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
       http://www.rbge.org.uk/news/boxwood.htm

Unseen for over 100 years, the unique St Helena Boxwood, Mellis-
sia begoniifolia (Roxb.) Hook.f. (Solanaceae), has  been  redis-
covered by local hiker Stedson Stroud, and taken for identifica-
tion  to  St  Helena's Conservation Officer, Dr. Rebecca Cairns-
Wicks.

According to Dr. Quentin Cronk  (RBGE),  British  island  of  St
Helena  has  the  world's most threatened flora with over 40% of
its plants listed in the "IUCN Red List of  Threatened  Plants,"
including the  St Helena boxwood  (Mellissia begoniifolia) which 
is listed as extinct. 

The 862-page "IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants"  is  the first
world list of threatened plants. You can find it at:

   http://www.wcmc.org.uk/species/plants/plant_redlist.html

Just one living St Helena Boxwood was  found  amongst  six  dead
bushes on a sea-facing slope 100 m above sea level. The plant is
suffering  from  an  attack of mealy bugs and moth larvae and is
unlikely to survive. It is indeed fortuitous that the plant  was
rediscovered  just  in  time while it was in flower and seeding,
giving the chance for propagation material to be collected.

"So, now we wait in hope that the seeds germinate and  the  cut-
tings  root  as  this  is  the  only known plant, which could be
easily lost to drought or pests. If this happens and propagation
is unsuccessful then we will be calling St  Helena  boxwood  ex-
tinct  -  this  time forever," says Dr. Rebecca Cairns-Wicks, St
Helena Project Manager.


RE: OLD-GROWTH FORESTS (BEN # 211)
From: Townsley_John_J/r6pnw_okanogan@fs.fed.us

I found the estimates of "old growth" to  be  very  interesting.
Recent  work  in Eastern Washington suggests that the percentage
of the landscape that was  pre-settlement  in  an  "old  growth"
structure  was  perhaps quite different. Ann Camp who did inten-
sively sampled the 76,000 acre Swak  watershed  of  the  central
eastern Cascade Mountains, found that only a small percentage of
the  landscape  was  in  a  late successional condition prior to
settlement (Camp, A.E. 1995. Predicting  late-successional  fire
refugia  from  physiography  and topography. Ph.D. Dissertation.
University of Washington, Seattle, Washington). Dick  Schellhaas
(in  press)  of  the  Wenatchee  Forestry Sciences Lab has found
following intensive sampling of two  watersheds  located  within
the   Yakima  and  Entiat  River  Drainages  that  typical  pre-
settlement fire return periods were on the  order  of  6  to  10
years.  In  highly  dissected  terrain  he  found no statistical
difference  between  the  return  period  for  north  and  south
aspects. He also found that since the onset of fire suppression,
fire return periods have increased in length by a factor of ten.

In  Eastern  Washington  we  have  relatively few lodgepole pine
stands that survive past 120 years (the age  used  by  MacKinnon
and  Vold  to  define  lodgepole  pine  old  growth). In fact we
believe that prior to settlement, fire from the low lands  often
came  up the drainages and reset the biological clock with great
regularity.

It would be very interesting for MacKinnon and Vold  to  discuss
the  underlying  ecological reasons for such high percentages of
'old growth' forest  in  B.C.  landscapes.  Is  it  because  the
climatic  conditions  seldom  favor  stand replacing fire? Is it
because there are few stand replacing events caused by  epidemic
insect  or  disease? How do the topographical characteristics of
B.C. landscapes differ from  the  landscapes  found  in  Eastern
Washington  where  research  has  found  disturbance  a frequent
visitor? Is it because they sampled existing vegetation, and not
pre-settlement  vegetation,  and  therefore  have   masked   the
profound influences of pre-settlement disturbance regimes?


INDEX TO AMERICAN BOTANICAL LITERATURE ON LINE
From: "Barbara M. Thiers" <bthiers@NYBG.ORG>, originally posted
          on TAXACOM <taxacom@cmsa.berkeley.edu>

The New York Botanical Garden web site now includes a searchable
version of entries in the Index to American Botanical Literature
at: 
    http://www.nybg.org/bsci/iabl.html

The  Index to American Botanical Literature has provided a serv-
ice to the American botanical  community  for  over  a  century,
published initially in the Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club
and  subsequently  in  Brittonia.  The  Index  is  compiled from
resources of The LuEsther T.  Mertz  Library  of  The  New  York
Botanical  Garden  and  contains  entries  dealing  with various
aspects of extant and fossil American plants and fungi,  includ-
ing  systematics  (traditional  and  molecular)  and floristics,
morphology, and ecology, as well as economic botany and  general
botany (publications dealing with botanists, herbaria, etc.).

The  searchable database includes all those entries published in
the Index since 1996, and  thus  includes  botanical  literature
appearing  since late 1995. The database is updated on a regular
basis. Retroactive indexing of previously published  entries  is
envisioned.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Submissions, subscriptions, etc.:  aceska@victoria.tc.ca
BEN is archived at   http://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/ben/
________________________________________________________________

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Date: Tue, 19 Jan 1999 01:15:54 -0800 (PST)
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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. 213                              January 19, 1999

aceska@victoria.tc.ca                Victoria, B.C.
-----------------------------------------------------------
 Dr. A. Ceska, P.O.Box 8546, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3S2
-----------------------------------------------------------

ALASKA RARE PLANT FORUM - ANCHORAGE, APRIL 8 AND 9, 1999
From: Stensvold_Mary/r10_chatham@fs.fed.us

The  Alaska  Rare  Plant  Forum  will hold its annual meeting on
April 8 and 9 in Anchorage at the office of the Chugach National
Forest in the Calais II Building at 3301 'C' Street, Suite  300.
Anyone  interested in rare plants of northern regions is invited
to attend or to give a presentation.

We are also soliciting speakers and agenda items.  Agenda  items
could  include the results of your 1998 field work, descriptions
of your field trips, proposals for 1999 field work and presenta-
tions describing your ongoing botanical work. If you would  like
to  give a presentation, please send your name, a brief descrip-
tion of your presentation  and  the  presentation's  approximate
length.  We  also would appreciate hearing about any topics that
you would like to see added to  the  agenda.  Please  send  this
information to:

   Mary Stensvold,
   U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Alaska Region
   204 Siginaka Way
   Sitka, Alaska  99835
   telephone:  (907) 747-6671
   e-mail:  mstensvold/r10_chatham@fs.fed.us

   or

   John Delapp
   U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Chugach National Forest
   3301 'C' Street, Suite 300
   Anchorage, Alaska  99503
   telephone:  (907) 271-2500
   e-mail: jdelapp/r10_chugach@fs.fed.us

We  will  send  out an agenda in mid-March. Please contact us if
you need any additional information, you wish to give a  presen-
tation,  or if you have ideas for agenda items. Exciting botani-
cal work is taking place in our part of the world,  so  we  look
forward to a particularly interesting meeting of the Alaska Rare
Plant Forum.


POSITION OPEN: PLANT TAXONOMY - UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN

The  University  of  Saskatchewan  invites  applications  for  a
faculty position in plant taxonomy/biodiversity at the level  of
Assistant Professor, commencing July 1, 1999.

This  is  a  tenure-track position in the Department of Biology,
with a joint appointment in the Department of Plant Sciences.

Requirements include  a  Ph.D.,  preferably  with  teaching  ex-
perience.  The  successful  applicant  will  be  responsible for
teaching courses such as introductory  plant  taxonomy  and  for
curatorship of the W.P. Fraser Herbarium.

In  accordance  with Canadian immigration requirements, priority
will be given to Canadian citizens and permanent residents.  The
University  of  Saskatchewan  is  committed to the principles of
Employment Equity and welcomes applications from  all  qualified
candidates.

Send  curriculum vitae and the names, addresses and telephone or
fax numbers of at least three referees to:

   Chair, Selection Committee
   Department of Biology
   University of Saskatchewan
   112 Science Place
   Saskatoon, SK S7N 5E2
   Canada
   Telephone: 306-966-4400
   Fax: 306-966-4461


The closing date for applications is February 15, 1999.

This position as advertised is subject to budgetary approval.


MOSS RHYTIDIADELPHUS TRIQUETRUS INTRODUCED TO NEW ZEALAND
From: Melanie Newfield <MNewfield@doc.govt.nz>

Recently a species of moss called Rhytidiadelphus triquetrus was
reported for the first time in New Zealand. It was found in  the
township  of  St Arnaud, next to the Nelson Lakes National Park,
which is about 1 hours drive south of Nelson,  at  the  northern
end of  the  Southern  Alps.  I am informed by Dr. Allan Fife of
Landcare Research  that  Rhytidiadelphus  triquetrus  occurs  in
boreal  forests  in  the  northern  hemisphere  where  it  is "a
widespread and ecologically important component  of  the  ground
cover."

Dr. Fife has expressed the concern that this species is a poten-
tially serious invader of  undisturbed  native  forest  such  as
beech  and  manuka scrub. Although New Zealand material is prob-
ably exclusively male (it is a dioecious moss), he  has  pointed
out that the related R. squarrosus, also exclusively male in New
Zealand,  has spread throughout Westland, Southland and parts of
Otago in the last 25 years. However, unlike R. triquetrus,  this
species  has  not  shown  the  ability  to  invade intact native
forest.

In the past the invasive potential of non-vascular plant species
has largely been overlooked.  However  there  is  an  increasing
acknowledgement of the threat posed by marine algae, and concern
has  been  raised  over  invasive  mosses  overseas. For several
reasons  I am particularly  concerned about mosses when compared 
to many other weeds:

 1. The identification of mosses is a very specialised area, and
    invasions are likely to go  undetected  unless  by  a  lucky
    chance  they happen to occur where an experienced bryologist
    happens to be (as in the present case).
 2. Mosses and similar plants tend to have very  effective  dis-
    persal, both vegetative and sexual.
 3. Very little is known about moss control, (except in lawns).

I  plan to look at this further to find out how far the moss has
spread and whether it will be controllable, or need to  be  con-
trolled.  My feeling on this is that if it is eradicable then it
should be eradicated, as this has the appearance  of  a  problem
that could become intractable very rapidly.

I  would  be interested to know if anybody has any experience at
all with invasive mosses, or has heard anything about management
of exotic moss species. I would be interested to know  any  con-
trol  techniques which have been used for mosses (whether or not
they have worked).

Any ideas or comments would be much appreciated.

   Melanie Newfield
   Department of Conservation
   Nelson/Marlborough Conservancy


BOREAL FOREST CLASSIFICATION BY PEINADO ET AL. (1998) - REVIEW
From: Toby Spribille <Spribille_Toby/r1_kootenai@fs.fed.us>

This work is the first comprehensive, syntaxonomic  overview  of
North  American  boreal forest vegetation, a massive undertaking
by any standard. The authors compiled a total of  2084  releves,
of  which they themselves gathered 204, assembling the remainder
from published raw data from Alaska to Labrador. All of the  new
releves  are presented in releve tables, and the entire data set
is summarized in synoptic tables, to arrive at 37  associations,
10  alliances  and  4  orders,  an example of the utility of the
Braun-Blanquet approach in creating overviews  of  large  areas.
The  authors take this one step further by comparing their North
American releves  with  3273  releves  obtained  from  European,
Japanese  and  Korean literature, to form the most comprehensive
floristic overview of circumpolar boreal forest vegetation  ever
undertaken.  They  conclude  that the circumpolar boreal forests
have so much in common, they must  be  summarized  in  the  same
class  as  described  for  the  coniferous  forests of the Alps,
Vaccinio-Piceetea Br.-Bl. 1939.

Central to the survey is  the  construction  of  a  hierarchical
comparison  of forest vegetation based on floristics. Those with
only distant  familiarity  with  Braun-Blanquet  methods,  might
recall  that  construction  of  the  hierarchies is a process of
systematic and iterative comparison of sample plots (releves) to
identify floristic patterns -- not unlike the  methods  used  to
distill  plant  species  from morphological patterns. The second
step is the construction of a hierarchy based on similarities of
the communities to each other. An association is delimited  from
a series of closely similar vegetation samples; similar associa-
tions  are grouped into alliances, and likewise they into orders
and classes. Since vegetation ecologists very early began evolv-
ing widely diverging views of what  constitutes  an  association
and  how  hierarchies  are  constructed,  a group of far-sighted
vegetation scientists from  over  a  dozen  countries  formed  a
commission to draft a rigid set of classificatory rules to avoid
chaos  in  the  system,  most recently revised by Barkman et al.
(1986).

Peinado and his colleagues are to be commended for  adhering  to
this  code  throughout  their  work. They have taken many of the
long, nomenclaturally invalid association names such  as  Ptilio
(crista-castrensis)   -   Gymnocarpio  (dryopteridis)  -  Abieto
(lasiocarpae) - Piceetum glaucae and shortened them  in  accord-
ance  with  the  code to more manageable binomials. They combine
closely related communities into  consolidated  association  and
propose  synonymies.  They  designate type releves for their as-
sociations and type associations for their alliances and orders,
so that if they should ever need to be split, the splitter  will
know  which  half of the association maintains the original name
-- an important small  step  almost  always  overlooked  in  our
regional vegetation studies.

In  their  descriptions  of  the  syntaxa  (vegetation  types of
various rank), Peinado and his colleagues do  not  leave  out  a
general  overview  of  the  causal environment, providing useful
tables of soils and climatic characteristics associated with  he
individual  associations.  Notwithstanding,  it is apparent that
the central objective of their work is the systematic comparison
of vegetation types -- syntaxonomy in the strict sense.

While there are certainly technicalities of the  classification,
such as the inclusion of peripheral Pacific Northwest syntaxa in
a  classification  meant  for  the boreal forest, which could be
criticized, I think it is important to draw  attention  to  this
work  as  a  milestone  in  the development of phytosociology in
North America. My sharpest criticism of  the  authors  is  their
near-failure  to  engage the many vegetation ecologists who work
in  the  region  of  their  study,   who   are   the   potential
beneficiaries  of their classification, the users on the ground,
the link between  the  abstract  and  the  concrete.  Vegetation
classification  is not an end in itself, but a tool to interpret
the landscape, to  make  responsible  conservation  and  natural
resource  management  decisions.  Peinado and his colleagues are
encouraged to bridge this gap,  both  through  presenting  their
classification in the light of forest management considerations,
and  explaining  how  their  classification  differs  from those
available to vegetation ecologists in the region today. If  they
do not, their survey of boreal forest vegetation, as well as the
promised  forthcoming  surveys of western North American vegeta-
tion, may join the ranks of the numerous other phytosociological
classifications which failed to make  themselves  useful,  which
sit today shelved in the company of other esoteric dissertations
on the dusty bookshelves of our university libraries.

References:

Barkman,   J.J.,  J.  Moravec  &  S.  Rauschert  1986.  Code  of
   phytosociological nomenclature. 2nd  edition.  Vegetatio  67:
   145-195.
Peinado,  M.,  J.L.  Aguirre,  &  M. de la Cruz. 1998.  A phyto-
   sociological  survey of the boreal forest (Vaccinio-Piceetea)
   in North America. Plant Ecology 137: 151-202.


NORTH AMERICAN BOREAL CONIFEROUS FOREST - SYNOPSIS
From: Adolf Ceska <aceska@victoria.tc.ca>

This  is  a  synopsis of the classification of boreal coniferous
forests  published  by  Peinado  et  al.  (1998)  -   see   Toby
Spribille's  review above. Peinado et al. recognized the follow-
ing orders (ending -etalia), alliances (-ion), and  associations
(-etum)  in  boreal  North  America. These forests belong to the
class (-etea)  Vaccinio-Piceetea described from Europe by Braun-
Blanquet et al.

Arctostaphylo rubrae-Piceetalia glaucae Peinado et al.
   Shepherdio canadensis-Piceion glaucae Peinado et al.
      Hypno procerrimi-Piceetum glaucae Hoefs et al.
      Pulsatillo patentis-Pinetum latifoliae Peinado et al.
      Betulo kenaicae-Piceetum glaucae Peinado et al.
      Piceo glaucae-Betuletum neoalaskanae Peinado et al.
      Roso sayi-Populetum tremuloidis Peinado et al.
      Betulo nanae-Piceetum glaucae Peinado et al.
      Rhododendro lapponici-Piceetum glaucae Peinado et al.
      Loiseleurio procumbentis-Betuletum neoalaskanae Peinado et
         al.
   Ledo decumbentis-Piceion marianae Peinado et al.
      Piceetum glauco-marianae Peinado et al.
      Larici laricinae-Piceetum marianae Peinado et al.
      Rubo chamaemori-Piceetum marianae Peinado et al.
      Boschniakio rossicae-Alnetum crispae Peinado et al.

Alnetalia tenuifoliae Wali & Kraj.
   Alnion tenuifoliae Wali & Kraj.
      Salici arbusculoidis-Alnetum tenuifoliae Peinado et al.
      Urtico gracilis-Alnetum tenuifoliae Wali & Kraj.

Gaultherio procumbentis-Piceetalia glaucae (Br.-Bl. et al.)
         Peinado et al.
   Gaultherio procumbentis-Piceion glaucae Peinado et al.
      Abietetum balsameae Damman
      Kalmio polifoliae-Abietetum balsameae Peinado et al.
      Alno crispae-Piceetum glaucae Peinado et al.
   Viburno cassinoidis-Piceion marianae Peinado et al.
      Kalmio angustifoliaea-Piceetum marianae Damman
      Kalmio polifoliae-Piceetum marianae Peinado et al.
      Sphagno-Piceetum marianae Grandtner
   Alnion rugosae Damman
      Alno rugosae-Piceetum marianae Damman
      Alnetum rugosae Damman
      Kalmio polifoliae-Alnetum rugosae Peinado et al.
      Vaccinio angustifoliae-Thujetum occidentalis Peinado
         et al.
   Pinion divaricatae Lavoie
      Camptonio peregrinae-Pinetum divaricatae Lavoie
      Ledo groenlandici-Pinetum divaricatae Lavoie
      Carici pensylvanicae-Pinetum divaricatae Lavoie
      Gaylussacio baccatae-Pinetum divaricataea Lavoie
   Asteri acuminati-Piceion rubentis Peinado et al.
      Piceo rubentis-Abietetum balsameae Jurdant
      Thujo occidentalis-Abietetum balsameae Jurdant ex Blouin &
         Grandtner

Piceetalia glauco-marianae Wali & Krajina
   Gymnocarpio dryopteridis-Abietion lasiocarpae Wali & Krajina
         emend. Peinado et al.
      Gymnocarpio dryopteridis-Abietetum lasiocarpae Wali &
         Krajina emend. Peinado et al.
      Arctostaphylo uva-ursi-Pinetum latifoliae Wali & Krajina
      Vaccinio membranacei-Piceetum glaucae x engelmannii Wali &
         Krajina
      Abieti bifoliae-Piceetum engelmannii Peinado et al.
      Vaccinio vitis-idaeae-Abietetum balsameae x bifoliae
         Peinado et al.
      Trientalido latifoliae-Piceetum glaucae Peinado et al.
   Piceion marianae Wali & Krajina
      Corno canadensis-Piceetum marianae Wali & Krajina emend.
         Peinado et al.

References:

Blouin,  J.L.  &  M.M. Grandtner. 1971. Etude ecologique et car-
   tographie de la vegetation du comte de Riviere-du-Loup.  Ser.
   Rech.: Dir. Gen. Planif. Min. ter. For. Quebec. 370 p.
Braun-Blanquet,  J.,  J. Sissingh, & J. Vlieger. 1939. Prodromus
   der Pflanzengesellschaften. 6. Klasse der  Vaccinio-Piceetea.
   Comm. SIGMA, Montpellier.
Damman,  A.W.H.  1964. Some forest types of central Newfoundland
   and their relation  to  environmental  factors.  Forest  Sci.
   Monograph 8: 1-62.
Grandtner,  M.M.  1960. La foret de Beasusejour, comte de Levis,
   Quebec. Contr. Fonds Rech. for. Univ. Laval No. 7: 1-62.
Hoefs, M.,  I. McTaggart-Cowan,  &  V.J. Krajina.  1976.  Phyto-
   sociological analysis and synthesis of Sheep Mountain, south-
   west Yukon Territory, Canada.  Syesis 8 (Suppl. 1): 125-228.
Jurdant,  M. 1969. Ecological classification of forest lands, an
   integrated vegetation-soil-landform approach.  Ph.D.  Thesis,
   Cornell Univ. Ithaca, NY. 414 p.
Lavoie, V. 1968. La phytosociologie et  l'amenagement des bleue-
   tieres. Naturaliste can. 95: 397-412.
Peinado,  M.,  J.L.  Aguirre,  &  M. de la Cruz. 1998.  A phyto-
   sociological  survey of the boreal forest (Vaccinio-Piceetea)
   in North America. Plant Ecology 137: 151-202.
Wali,   M.K.   &   V.J.  Krajina.  1973.  Vegetation-environment
   relationships of some sub-boreal spruce  zone  ecosystems  in
   British Columbia. Vegetatio 26: 237-281.
----------------------------------------------------------------
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BEN is archived at   http://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/ben/
________________________________________________________________

From london@metalab.unc.edu Sun Feb 14 01:55:48 1999 -0500
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Date: Sat, 13 Feb 1999 22:22:32 -0800 (PST)
From: Adolf Ceska <aceska@victoria.tc.ca>
X-Sender: aceska@vtn1
To: ben@cue.bc.ca
Subject: BEN # 214 - BOTANY BC + BotWA MEETING 1999
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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. 214                              February 13, 1999

aceska@freenet.victoria.bc.ca        Victoria, B.C.
-----------------------------------------------------------
 Dr. A. Ceska, P.O.Box 8546, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3S2
-----------------------------------------------------------

JOINT MEETING BOTANY BC + BOTANY WA - APRIL 29 TO MAY 2, 1999
From: Andy MacKinnon <andy.mackinnon@gems1.gov.bc.ca>

This  year's  BOTANY  BC  takes place from Thursday, April 29 to
Sunday, May 2 in the southern Gulf Islands. This  year  for  the
first  time  we  are  hosting  a joint session with our southern
neighbor, BOTANY WASHINGTON (BotWA). Gulf Islands  and  the  ad-
jacent  San  Juan  Islands are part of the same archipelago, and
are botanically and historically related  in  fascinating  ways.
Our  dates  are  early  this  year to catch some of the islands'
early blooming coastal species. We have booked the entire  Cedar
Beach  Resort  on  St.  Mary  Lake  on  Salt Spring Island. This
beautiful lakefront resort  comes  complete  with  beach  house,
fireplaces, sauna and boats! Children are welcome!

Join us as we explore the Gulf Islands' rich spring flora with a
group  of expert botanists by day (including a boat trip through
the Gulf Islands to Saturna Island),  followed  by  BOTANY  BC's
always  entertaining and interesting talks, workshops, music and
general debauchery by night.

Our speakers include:

*  Dr.  Art  Kruckeberg,  Professor  Emeritus,   University   of
   Washington,   plant  ecologist  and  geobotanist,  author  of
   numerous  botanical  publications  including  Gardening  with
   Native Plants
*  Dr.  Linda  Ann Vorobik - botanist and botanical illustrator;
   illustrator for the new Jepson's Manual of California Flora
* Dr. Fred Ganders, Professor of Botany and Curator of  the  UBC
   Herbarium,.  Has worked on flower and pollination biology and
   genetics of  B.C's.  native  plants,  co-authored  Wildflower
   Genetics
* Harvey Janszen, Saturna island resident and botanist, has done
   extensive research on Gulf Islands flora
*  Dr.  Adolf  Ceska,  Community  Ecologist,  Conservation  Data
   Centre, BC Ministry of Environment
* Jenifer Penny, Conservation Data Centre, Botany Section

Agenda

Thursday,  April 29 6:30-9:00 BYOB and Cheese Social. (Soft goat
   cheeses, blue cheese, camembert and more will be supplied  by
   Salt Spring's renowned Weston Lake Farms).
   * Welcoming Remarks
   * Briony Penn, Introduction to Salt Spring Island
   * Harvey Janszen, Salt Spring Flora
   * Jenifer Penny, Rare Plants of the Gulf Islands
Friday, April 20
   * 8:00  Breakfast at Cedar Beach
   * 9:00-5:00  Field Trip on Salt Spring, bagged lunch
   * 6:00  Dinner at Cedar Beach
   * 7:00  Dr. Fred Ganders, UBC, Ecological Genetics
              of Plants in the Gulf Islands
   * 7:30  Dr. Linda Vorobik  Sketching without Fear:
              Recording of Visual Data
   * 8:30  Harvey Janszen, Flora of the Gulf Islands
Saturday, May 1
   * 8:00  Breakfast at Cedar Beach
   * 9:00-5:00  Boat Trip to Saturna Island, bagged lunch
   * 6:00  Dinner at Cedar Beach
   * 7:00 Dr. Adolf Ceska, Island Geography:  Local Names
              and Forgotten Heroes of the Pig War
   * 7:30  Dr. Art Kruckeberg, Edaphic Islands
Sunday, May 2
   * 8:00  Breakfast at Cedar Beach
   * Last Words and Checkout
   * Field Trip to Vancouver island via Vesuvius Bay Ferry
     from Salt Spring Island to Crofton on Vancouver Island
     to visit Mt. Tzuhalem
Registration fee

   The  registration  fee  for this year's Botany BC is $45, and
   covers  the  cost  of  guest  speakers,  local  cheeses   for
   Thursday's  Social,  and  a  boat  trip  to Saturna Island on
   Saturday.

Accommodations

   Cedar Beach offers the following accommodation options:

   Nine 1-bedroom cabins, sleep up  to  4  (queen-sized  bed  in
   bedroom  plus 2 twins and a sofabed in main room). $100/night
   for the cabin, or $25/night/person.

   Eight 2-bedroom cabins, sleep up to 7 (queen-sized bed,  plus
   a  2nd  bedroom with bunkbeds and a hideabed). $120/night for
   the cabin, or $15/night/person.

   Camping is available for $10 per night, which includes access
   to all resort facilities.

What to bring

   Don't forget to bring clothing to keep you warm  and  dry,  a
   swimsuit  (for  beautiful St. Mary Lake), musical instruments
   for evening singalongs, between-meal beverages, etc.

Meals

   Meals will be provided at Cedar  Beach  Resort  by  INTERLUDE
   (Interesting   Edibles   Rendered   Lovingly  Under  Demented
   Environments), a Salt Spring Island catering company  with  a
   reputation  for preparing beautiful meals using good quality,
   local and where possible organic ingredients. "Everything  is
   served with a sense of humour", they promise.

   Breakfasts  are  buffet-style:  granola,  yogurt, fresh-baked
   breakfasty things, great condiments (local honey,  blackberry
   jam,  etc.),  breakfast  souffle (an egg concoction), coffee,
   tea, juice.

   Lunches are  bagged:  sandwiches  and/or  wraps  (tortillas),
   fruit, baked goodies, some kind of drink.

   Dinners  are: (Friday), something along the lines of lasagna,
   fresh bread, mixed locally-grown organic green salad, coffee,
   teas, great dessert; (Saturday), cashew carrot loaf,  chicken
   phyllo,  green  bean  caesar  salad,  coffee, teas, wonderful
   dessert.

For more information about Botany B.C./Botany  Washington  1999,
   please contact:

   Andy MacKinnon
   (250-) 387-6536
   andy.mackinnon@gems1.gov.bc.ca

   Jan Kirkby
   (250-) 387-0732
   jkirkby@FWHDEPT.ENV.GOV.BC.CA


                ALL PRICES ARE IN CANADIAN $$$ !

 
            -------------- cut here ---------------


                  BOTANY BC REGISTRATION FORM


Name:

Address:

Phone:

Fax:

Email:


Please indicate below which accommodations you prefer:

_ I want to book a 1-bedroom cabin ($100/night) for ___ night(s)

_ I want to book a 2-bedroom cabin ($120/night) for ___ night(s)

_ I want to book a bed in a 1-bedroom cabin ($25/night)
          for ___ night(s)
(organizers will ensure that cabins are all-male or all-female).
Preferred cabin-mate(s): ____________________

__ I want to book a bed in a 2-bedroom cabin ($15/night)
          for __ night(s)
(organizers will ensure that cabins are all-male or all-female).
Preferred cabin-mate(s): ____________________

__ I want to camp ($10/night) for ___ night(s)

ACCOMMODATION FEE ENCLOSED:  $ _____

MEALS: Please check the meals you want:

ALL MEALS            ___     $78.00
or
Breakfast April 30   ___      $9.50
Bag Lunch April 30   ___      $7.50
Dinner April 30      ___     $18.00

Breakfast May 1      ___      $9.50
Bag Lunch May 1      ___      $7.50
Dinner May 1         ___     $18.00

Breakfast May 2      ___      $8.00

MEAL FEE ENCLOSED  $________

REGISTRATION FEE ENCLOSED    $ 45.00

TOTAL FEES ENCLOSED   $_______

Please make checks payable to BOTANY BC and
    mail with registration form to :

Botany B.C. 1999, c/o Elizabeth Easton
B.C. Ministry of Forests, Research Branch
3rd Floor, 712 Yates Street,
Victoria, B.C. V8L 1W4 CANADA

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Date: Sat, 13 Feb 1999 22:22:32 -0800 (PST)
From: Adolf Ceska <aceska@victoria.tc.ca>
X-Sender: aceska@vtn1
To: ben@cue.bc.ca
Subject: BEN # 214 - BOTANY BC + BotWA MEETING 1999
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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. 214                              February 13, 1999

aceska@freenet.victoria.bc.ca        Victoria, B.C.
-----------------------------------------------------------
 Dr. A. Ceska, P.O.Box 8546, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3S2
-----------------------------------------------------------

JOINT MEETING BOTANY BC + BOTANY WA - APRIL 29 TO MAY 2, 1999
From: Andy MacKinnon <andy.mackinnon@gems1.gov.bc.ca>

This  year's  BOTANY  BC  takes place from Thursday, April 29 to
Sunday, May 2 in the southern Gulf Islands. This  year  for  the
first  time  we  are  hosting  a joint session with our southern
neighbor, BOTANY WASHINGTON (BotWA). Gulf Islands  and  the  ad-
jacent  San  Juan  Islands are part of the same archipelago, and
are botanically and historically related  in  fascinating  ways.
Our  dates  are  early  this  year to catch some of the islands'
early blooming coastal species. We have booked the entire  Cedar
Beach  Resort  on  St.  Mary  Lake  on  Salt Spring Island. This
beautiful lakefront resort  comes  complete  with  beach  house,
fireplaces, sauna and boats! Children are welcome!

Join us as we explore the Gulf Islands' rich spring flora with a
group  of expert botanists by day (including a boat trip through
the Gulf Islands to Saturna Island),  followed  by  BOTANY  BC's
always  entertaining and interesting talks, workshops, music and
general debauchery by night.

Our speakers include:

*  Dr.  Art  Kruckeberg,  Professor  Emeritus,   University   of
   Washington,   plant  ecologist  and  geobotanist,  author  of
   numerous  botanical  publications  including  Gardening  with
   Native Plants
*  Dr.  Linda  Ann Vorobik - botanist and botanical illustrator;
   illustrator for the new Jepson's Manual of California Flora
* Dr. Fred Ganders, Professor of Botany and Curator of  the  UBC
   Herbarium,.  Has worked on flower and pollination biology and
   genetics of  B.C's.  native  plants,  co-authored  Wildflower
   Genetics
* Harvey Janszen, Saturna island resident and botanist, has done
   extensive research on Gulf Islands flora
*  Dr.  Adolf  Ceska,  Community  Ecologist,  Conservation  Data
   Centre, BC Ministry of Environment
* Jenifer Penny, Conservation Data Centre, Botany Section

Agenda

Thursday,  April 29 6:30-9:00 BYOB and Cheese Social. (Soft goat
   cheeses, blue cheese, camembert and more will be supplied  by
   Salt Spring's renowned Weston Lake Farms).
   * Welcoming Remarks
   * Briony Penn, Introduction to Salt Spring Island
   * Harvey Janszen, Salt Spring Flora
   * Jenifer Penny, Rare Plants of the Gulf Islands
Friday, April 20
   * 8:00  Breakfast at Cedar Beach
   * 9:00-5:00  Field Trip on Salt Spring, bagged lunch
   * 6:00  Dinner at Cedar Beach
   * 7:00  Dr. Fred Ganders, UBC, Ecological Genetics
              of Plants in the Gulf Islands
   * 7:30  Dr. Linda Vorobik  Sketching without Fear:
              Recording of Visual Data
   * 8:30  Harvey Janszen, Flora of the Gulf Islands
Saturday, May 1
   * 8:00  Breakfast at Cedar Beach
   * 9:00-5:00  Boat Trip to Saturna Island, bagged lunch
   * 6:00  Dinner at Cedar Beach
   * 7:00 Dr. Adolf Ceska, Island Geography:  Local Names
              and Forgotten Heroes of the Pig War
   * 7:30  Dr. Art Kruckeberg, Edaphic Islands
Sunday, May 2
   * 8:00  Breakfast at Cedar Beach
   * Last Words and Checkout
   * Field Trip to Vancouver island via Vesuvius Bay Ferry
     from Salt Spring Island to Crofton on Vancouver Island
     to visit Mt. Tzuhalem
Registration fee

   The  registration  fee  for this year's Botany BC is $45, and
   covers  the  cost  of  guest  speakers,  local  cheeses   for
   Thursday's  Social,  and  a  boat  trip  to Saturna Island on
   Saturday.

Accommodations

   Cedar Beach offers the following accommodation options:

   Nine 1-bedroom cabins, sleep up  to  4  (queen-sized  bed  in
   bedroom  plus 2 twins and a sofabed in main room). $100/night
   for the cabin, or $25/night/person.

   Eight 2-bedroom cabins, sleep up to 7 (queen-sized bed,  plus
   a  2nd  bedroom with bunkbeds and a hideabed). $120/night for
   the cabin, or $15/night/person.

   Camping is available for $10 per night, which includes access
   to all resort facilities.

What to bring

   Don't forget to bring clothing to keep you warm  and  dry,  a
   swimsuit  (for  beautiful St. Mary Lake), musical instruments
   for evening singalongs, between-meal beverages, etc.

Meals

   Meals will be provided at Cedar  Beach  Resort  by  INTERLUDE
   (Interesting   Edibles   Rendered   Lovingly  Under  Demented
   Environments), a Salt Spring Island catering company  with  a
   reputation  for preparing beautiful meals using good quality,
   local and where possible organic ingredients. "Everything  is
   served with a sense of humour", they promise.

   Breakfasts  are  buffet-style:  granola,  yogurt, fresh-baked
   breakfasty things, great condiments (local honey,  blackberry
   jam,  etc.),  breakfast  souffle (an egg concoction), coffee,
   tea, juice.

   Lunches are  bagged:  sandwiches  and/or  wraps  (tortillas),
   fruit, baked goodies, some kind of drink.

   Dinners  are: (Friday), something along the lines of lasagna,
   fresh bread, mixed locally-grown organic green salad, coffee,
   teas, great dessert; (Saturday), cashew carrot loaf,  chicken
   phyllo,  green  bean  caesar  salad,  coffee, teas, wonderful
   dessert.

For more information about Botany B.C./Botany  Washington  1999,
   please contact:

   Andy MacKinnon
   (250-) 387-6536
   andy.mackinnon@gems1.gov.bc.ca

   Jan Kirkby
   (250-) 387-0732
   jkirkby@FWHDEPT.ENV.GOV.BC.CA


                ALL PRICES ARE IN CANADIAN $$$ !

 
            -------------- cut here ---------------


                  BOTANY BC REGISTRATION FORM


Name:

Address:

Phone:

Fax:

Email:


Please indicate below which accommodations you prefer:

_ I want to book a 1-bedroom cabin ($100/night) for ___ night(s)

_ I want to book a 2-bedroom cabin ($120/night) for ___ night(s)

_ I want to book a bed in a 1-bedroom cabin ($25/night)
          for ___ night(s)
(organizers will ensure that cabins are all-male or all-female).
Preferred cabin-mate(s): ____________________

__ I want to book a bed in a 2-bedroom cabin ($15/night)
          for __ night(s)
(organizers will ensure that cabins are all-male or all-female).
Preferred cabin-mate(s): ____________________

__ I want to camp ($10/night) for ___ night(s)

ACCOMMODATION FEE ENCLOSED:  $ _____

MEALS: Please check the meals you want:

ALL MEALS            ___     $78.00
or
Breakfast April 30   ___      $9.50
Bag Lunch April 30   ___      $7.50
Dinner April 30      ___     $18.00

Breakfast May 1      ___      $9.50
Bag Lunch May 1      ___      $7.50
Dinner May 1         ___     $18.00

Breakfast May 2      ___      $8.00

MEAL FEE ENCLOSED  $________

REGISTRATION FEE ENCLOSED    $ 45.00

TOTAL FEES ENCLOSED   $_______

Please make checks payable to BOTANY BC and
    mail with registration form to :

Botany B.C. 1999, c/o Elizabeth Easton
B.C. Ministry of Forests, Research Branch
3rd Floor, 712 Yates Street,
Victoria, B.C. V8L 1W4 CANADA

----------------------------------------------------------------
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________________________________________________________________

From london@metalab.unc.edu Sun Feb 21 22:12:10 1999 -0500
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Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 18:48:40 -0800 (PST)
From: Adolf Ceska <aceska@victoria.tc.ca>
X-Sender: aceska@vtn1
To: ben-l@victoria.tc.ca
Subject: BEN # 215
Message-ID: <Pine.GSO.3.95.iB1.0.990221184439.3699A-100000@vtn1>
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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. 215                              February 21, 1999

aceska@freenet.victoria.bc.ca        Victoria, B.C.
-----------------------------------------------------------
 Dr. A. Ceska, P.O.Box 8546, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3S2
-----------------------------------------------------------

INTERNATIONAL GARRY OAK MEADOW SYMPOSIUM AND COMMUNITY EVENT
       MAY 5-9, 1999 UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA

This  Symposium  is  organized  by  the  School of Environmental
Studies and Restoration of Natural Systems  Program,  University
of  Victoria,  in Partnership with The Pacific Wildlife Research
Centre of The Canadian Wildlife Service and The Garry Oak Meadow
Preservation Society.

The Garry Oak Meadow constitutes a major  distinctive  ecosystem
complex  in  North  America.  Today  these  ecosystems are under
serious threat from urban growth, land management practices  and
invasion  by  exotic  species. The threats to these biologically
diverse ecosystems are particularly acute in the  only  area  of
Garry Oak Meadow in Canada, on southern Vancouver Island and the
Gulf  Islands. Interest and concern about this special ecosystem
complex in Canada and adjacent United States has grown  dramati-
cally.  We  invite  you  to join us in a Symposium and Community
event to learn about and celebrate our Garry Oak Meadow  ecosys-
tems.

We  will  be addressing issues concerning biology, ecology, eth-
nobotany, management, restoration, conservation, protection  and
education  of Garry Oak Meadow ecosystems. In celebration, there
will be art exhibits, music, festivals, story  telling,  dancing
and  children's activities and much, much more focusing on Garry
Oak ecosystems.

We will have special speakers  representing  of  the  Garry  Oak
ecosystems  from  California  to British Columbia and from other
Oak ecosystems too. If you are interested in  participating,  or
for  further information, please contact UVic Conference Manage-
ment or consult our WEB page:

   http://www.uvcs.uvic.ca/conf/garryoak/

You are welcome to present a Poster (to be mounted on a 4' x  4'
board)  on any topic related to Garry Oak ecosystems, please see
the following WEB site for details:
   
   http://www.uvcs.uvic.ca/conf/garryoak/postform.htm

For more information contact:

Pat  McGuire,  Conference  Management,  Division  of  Continuing
Studies, University of Victoria, P.O. Box 3030. STN CSC,
Victoria, BC, Canada V8W 3N6
Phone: 250-721-8746; FAX: 250-721-8774, E-mail: pmcguire@uvic.ca


SEX-RELATED SEED-PREDATION IN SIDALCEA HENDERSONII (MALVACEAE)
From: Melanie Marshall <melaniem@io.com> &
      Fred Ganders <ganders@unixg.ubc.ca>

Henderson's  checker-mallow,  Sidalcea  hendersonii  Wats. (Mal-
vaceae) is a perennial herb inhabiting low elevation wet meadows
and tidal marshes from southwestern British Columbia to  Oregon.
In  British Columbia, Sidalcea hendersonii is listed as "blue" -
vulnerable (Douglas et al. 1998). This designation is  used  for
indigenous species of special concern because of characteristics
that make the species particularly sensitive to human activities
and  natural  events.  Several factors contribute to the plant's
rarity including human encroachment into wetland habitats,  dis-
placement by aggressive invasive species such as Lythrum salica-
ria, and insect seed predation.

Sidalcea  hendersonii  is gynodioecious. This is a mating system
whereby  populations consist of separate  coexisting  hermaphro-
ditic individuals and female individuals.  Hermaphroditic Sidal-
cea hendersonii flowers  contain  both  functional  anthers  and
ovaries,  are  self-compatible  but  protandrous. Female flowers
have functional ovaries but nonfunctional stamens. In  gynodioe-
cious  species,  female plants would seem to have a reproductive
disadvantage relative to hermaphrodites since they do  not  con-
tribute genes through pollen (Lewis, 1941). Females must produce
significantly  more seeds than hermaphrodites for male sterility
mutations to be maintained in gynodioecious  populations  (Char-
lesworth and Ganders, 1979).

We  investigated the genetic and ecological factors contributing
to the maintenance of females in British  Columbian  populations
of  Sidalcea  hendersonii  - see Marshall 1998. Crossing experi-
ments indicated that male sterility is controlled by a  dominant
nuclear  allele.  High  frequencies  of  female  plants  in  the
majority  of  populations  surveyed,  in  combination  with  the
nuclear  determination of sex, elevates the theoretical require-
ments for female fitness  in  this  species.  Females  did  have
higher  fitness,  producing  more  surviving offspring than her-
maphrodite plants in an  experimental  population.  However,  no
inherent  fitness advantages were evident in natural populations
where females and hermaphrodites did not differ in  viable  seed
production.

Two  species  of  Curculionid  beetles  (weevils),  Macrorhoptus
sidalcea Sleeper and Anthonomus melancholicus Dietz,  parasitize
the  flowers  of  Sidalcea  hendersonii in British Columbia. An-
thonomus melancholicus is restricted to populations of  Sidalcea
hendersonii  located on Vancouver Island, where the frequency of
females was unusually high. In populations where  female  plants
were  abundant, weevil larvae destroyed significantly more seeds
from hermaphrodite plants, substantially reducing  hermaphrodite
seed  production  overall. The extent and mode of seed predation
was dependent upon which  weevil  species  was  present  in  the
population.  In  populations  where  Macrorhoptus  sidalcea  was
present, the seed was only partially consumed. While M. sidalcea
larvae feed on the interior of the seed, creating small  tunnels
in  the  seed  coat,  Anthonomus  melancholicus larvae appear to
consume the entire fruit. Sex-related predation was evident only
in  populations  where  Anthonomus  melancholicus  occurred  (on
Vancouver  Island)  and was correlated with the more destructive
feeding pattern of this weevil.

The basis for discrimination between flower types was not inves-
tigated, but adult A. melancholicus weevils are likely attracted
to hermaphrodite  flowers  because  hermaphrodite  flowers  also
contain  pollen,  a  known  food  source. Extensive predation of
hermaphrodite seed could  provide  the  necessary  advantage  to
females  of  Sidalcea  hendersonii. To our knowledge, this study
provides the first evidence that sex-related  predation  may  be
responsible  for  high female frequencies in natural populations
of a gynodioecious species.

References

Charlesworth,  D.  and  F.  R.  Ganders.  1979.  The  population
   genetics of gynodioecy with cytoplasmic-genic male-sterility.
   Heredity 43(2): 213-218.
Douglas,  G.W.,  G.B  Straley, & D. Meidinger. 1998. Rare native
   vascular plants of British Columbia.  B.C.  Ministry  of  En-
   vironment, Lands & Parks, Victoria, B.C. 423 p.
Lewis,  D.  1941.  Male sterility in natural populations of her-
   maphrodite plants. New Phytol. 40: 56-63.
Marshall, M. 1998. The maintenance  of  gynodioecy  in  Sidalcea
   hendersonii.  M.Sc.  Thesis, Department of Botany, University
   of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C. ix+100 p.

Authors: Melanie Marshall (1) and Fred R. Ganders,
   Botany Department, University of British Columbia, Vancouver,
   B.C. Canada V6T 1Z4
   (1)Current address:  Zilker  Botanical  Garden,  2220  Barton
   Springs Rd., Austin, TX 78746 USA


BEN HAS MOVED AGAIN - NOW IT IS SERVED BY MAJORDOMO
From: Adolf Ceska <aceska@victoria.tc.ca>

BEN  has  moved  again. We are now being served by the majordomo
mailing system run by the  Victoria  Free-Net  Association.  The
distribution  of  BEN is now handled as a "moderated" discussion
list BEN-L and there won't be any change in the format  of  this
newsletter.  There  are  many advantages that this system should
bring, especially to me. Subscribing and unsubscribing  will  be
handled  automatically,  and  you can freely hit a return button
when you want to contact me. To subscribe (or unsubscribe), send

  subscribe BEN-L (or unsubscribe BEN-L)
to 
  Majordomo@victoria.tc.ca

To send a message to me, as a BEN editor, or to submit  material
for posting on BEN, you can use the list address:

   BEN-L@victoria.tc.ca

Many thanks to the cue.bc.ca system and to the Victoria Free-Net
Association for providing us with this service.

----------------------------------------------------------------
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Send submissions to BEN-L@victoria.tc.ca
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________________________________________________________________


From london@metalab.unc.edu Thu Mar 11 02:04:40 1999 -0500
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Date: Wed, 10 Mar 1999 22:43:30 -0800 (PST)
From: Adolf Ceska <aceska@victoria.tc.ca>
X-Sender: aceska@vtn1
To: ben-l@victoria.tc.ca
Subject: BEN # 216
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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. 216                              March 10, 1999

aceska@freenet.victoria.bc.ca        Victoria, B.C.
-----------------------------------------------------------
 Dr. A. Ceska, P.O.Box 8546, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3S2
-----------------------------------------------------------

LAST CALL FOR BOTANY BC & BOTWA 1999 REGISTRATIONS [BEN # 214]

The  Cedar  Beach  Resort  is almost full with new registrations
still arriving. If you are interested in attending this  gather-
ing of British Columbia and Washington State botanists, and have
not registered yet, please give a call to Elizabeth Easton (250-
953-3488)   or   send   an  e-mail  message  to  Andy  MacKinnon
(Andy.MacKinnon@gems1.gov.bc.ca). We may have to look for  addi-
tional accommodation possibilities. - AC


EXPLOSIVE SECONDARY POLLEN PRESENTATION IN FAMILY MARANTACEAE
From: Helen Kennedy c/o <GANDERS@UNIXG.ubc.ca>

[In  BEN # 194 Dr. Ted Mosquin described "explosive pollination"
in flowers of bunchberry, Cornus canadensis. Shortly after BEN #
194 was posted, I got  a  note  from  Dr.  Helen  Kennedy  about
similar  explosive pollen distribution in some members of Maran-
taceae. Helen described it in the following paragraphs.  I  also
learned  that,  unlike  Amaranthaceae,  Marantaceae  are spelled
without "h" - Maranta  (arrowroot)  was  named  for  Bartolommeo
Maranti, Venetian botanist who lived around 1559. - AC]

Marantaceae  are  found in the lowland tropical forests of Asia,
Africa and the Americas. There  are  31  genera  and  about  520
species.  The  majority of the species, 80%, are in the American
tropics while 9% are African and 11% Asian. They are  understory
herbs  found  in  semi-deciduous  to  rainforest or cloud forest
habitats, ranging from sea-level to 1500 m, rarely  to  2000  m.
Marantaceae  are  readily  distinguished  from  all  other plant
families by 2 distinctive vegetative characters: 1) the  sigmoid
(S-shaped)  lateral  veins and the numerous parallel cross veins
of the leaf blade and 2) the presence of a region of specialized
cells just below the blade, termed the pulvinus, which  controls
the  movement  of  the leaves. The floral structure is also dis-
tinctive and is unique for  the  family.  Given  just  a  single
flower,  from any species in the world, one can immediately tell
it is Marantaceae. The style and cucullate staminode immediately
distinguish Marantaceae from all other families.

The style is a curved elastic spring  and  the  stigma  is  cup-
shaped.  The  style  is  held  under  tension  by  the cucullate
staminode which has a trigger. The flowers are borne in a  brac-
teate  inflorescence and are usually paired, each bract subtend-
ing a single to cymose series of paired flowers, the two flowers
of the pair being mirror images of each  other.  The  flower  is
irregular,  with  an  inferior ovary, the 3 petals fused basally
into a corolla tube, a single fertile stamen  with  a  1-locular
anther,  (2)3-4 staminodes with an elastic spring style and cup-
shaped stigma. There are 2 inner,  specialized  staminodes,  the
fleshy,  callose  staminode  and the hooded, cucullate staminode
which encloses the terminal portion of the style and stigma  and
(0)1-2  petaloid  outer  staminodes.  Like the Zingiberaceae and
Cannaceae, there is a single fertile stamen and the  showy  por-
tion  of  the  flower  consists  of  the highly modified sterile
staminodes.

The pollination mechanism  of  the  Marantaceae  is  termed  ex-
plosive,  secondary pollen presentation (Faegri and Van der Pijl
1966). Secondary pollen presentation is another floral character
which is shared with the sister group, Cannaceae,  but  in  Can-
naceae  it  is  not explosive. The style in Marantaceae is under
tension, and springs forward suddenly when released  during  the
pollinator's visit.

The  pollen  is  shed during the evening prior to anthesis while
the flower is still in bud, usually between 5:00 and 9:00 pm for
species whose  flowers  open  in  the  morning.  The  pollen  is
deposited  in a shallow depression on the back of the style just
behind the stigma. It is the upward growth of  the  style  which
forces  the  pollen  grains from the anther, and onto the stylar
depression ("stamp" of Andersson 1981). During the early morning
hours the stigma becomes receptive. At  anthesis  the  style  is
under  tension held in place by the cucullate (hooded) staminode
which is also under tension pulling in the  opposite  direction,
thus  maintaining  the  style  in a static equilibrium. When the
pollinator inserts its head into the flower  in  search  of  the
nectar,  it depresses the appendage, or "trigger", on the cucul-
late staminode thus releasing the style  which  springs  forward
bringing  the  stigma  in  contact  with the pollen (from a pre-
viously visited flower) on the pollinator's body and in the same
motion depositing its own  pollen  in  the  same  spot.  Lindley
(1819,  1826) was one of the first to describe the nature of the
floral parts, the pollen transfer and movement of the style. The
function of the spring style and  the  importance  of  the  pol-
linator  displacing the trigger in the pollination mechanism was
hypothesized by  Hildebrand  (1870a).  Delpino  (1869)  actually
observed  bees ("ape comune") visiting Thalia dealbata Fraser in
Florence, Italy.  The  mechanism,  especially  in  Calathea  and
related genera is quite precise with the pollen placement in the
narrow  proboscidial  fossa  beneath the bee's head. This is one
area where the bee is unable to groom or remove the pollen. When
the bee's proboscis is retracted after visitation  the  base  of
the proboscis covers the pollen, thus protecting it and prevent-
ing desiccation.

Each  flower has but a single chance to be pollinated, and, once
tripped the stylar  movement  is  irreversible.  The  difference
between  an  unvisited,  that is, untripped flower and a tripped
one is readily noticeable. Thus,  a  population  can  be  easily
surveyed  for  the  number  of  pollinated  versus  unpollinated
flowers (whether tripped or non-tripped) with just the use of  a
hand-lens.  Because  of  the  specialized floral morphology, the
pollen and the stigma are spatially separated prior to  tripping
(or  pollination)  and,  as  the stylar movement is irreversible
after tripping, its  position  prevents  any  pollen  from  sub-
sequently  entering  the  stigma  (in nature). This aspect is of
great advantage for crossing or selfing individuals in the field
or greenhouse as there is thus neither the  need  to  emasculate
the  flowers  prior  to  pollination nor to bag them afterwards.
There are a few exceptions  to  this  which  will  be  discussed
later.

Marantaceae  floral  structure  initially evolved in response to
bee pollination and the vast majority are still bee  pollinated.
Differences  in the number, shape and sizes of the floral parts,
such as length of corolla tube and shape  of  stigma  which  are
used  to distinguish the various genera are often adaptations to
different pollinators. The shift  to  the  more  precise  pollen
placement,  the  protection  of  the  pollen  by  the  cucullate
staminode and the distinctive morphological change in the flower
following pollination are  innovations  which  may  explain  the
greater  species richness or "success" of the Marantaceae versus
its sister group, the Cannaceae. A flower  differing  in  aspect
following  pollination,  whether  in  morphology or color, would
contribute to greater foraging efficiency by the bee pollinators
and presumably higher seed set for the plant. In several species
of Calathea, there is a distinct color change in addition to the
morphological change following pollination.  The  back  (abaxial
side)  of  the  style changes from an initial white or yellow to
dark brown or nearly black giving  a  clear  indication  to  the
pollinator  that  the  flower has already been visited. This was
first reported by  Hildebrand  (1870b)  for  C.  zebrina  (Sims)
Lindl.  and  is  characteristic  of  species  in  the  "Calathea
capitata group" (Kennedy 1988).

The Neotropical species are adapted primarily to pollination  by
the  long-tongued  Euglossine  bees  (Ducke 1901, Dressler 1968,
Kennedy 1974,  1978a),  while  Old  World  species  are  adapted
primarily  to  pollination  by  the  shorter-tongued  bees. This
adaptation is reflected in the difference of  the  average  tube
length  for  the Neotropical species versus those from the Asian
and African continents. The average tube  length  is  17.  6  mm
(N=81)  for the Neotropical species while only 4.6 mm (N=81) for
the Asian and African species.

In spite of the elaborate pollination mechanism in  Marantaceae,
there  has been a shift to varying degrees of autogamy (selfing)
in at least 44 species (ca. 8% of the  family).  With  increased
field  studies  and  the  introduction of species into Botanical
Gardens outside their natural ranges, more occurrences will come
to light. Early reports of spontaneous  seed  set  occurring  in
plants  growing  in  temperate  greenhouses or botanical gardens
gave a clear indication of  the  presence  of  autogamy  in  the
family.

The  actual  mechanism of autogamy was the same for all cases so
far examined, and occurs  during  the  pollen  transfer  process
within  the  bud. Thus, the pollen grains are already present in
the stigma well before anthesis. In most species,  the  orienta-
tion  of  the  stylar  tip is such that pollen is prevented from
entering the stigma (Fig. 3). A slight change in the orientation
of the tip of the style and stigma during  this  transfer  phase
can  result  in a few grains entering the stigmatic cavity while
the majority of the pollen grains are deposited, as normally the
case, just behind the stigma in the stylar  depression  (Kennedy
1978b).  When  the  stigma  later  becomes  receptive, early the
following morning, the pollen in the stigma  can  germinate  and
thus result in fertilization and seed set.

References:

Delpino,  F.  1869.  Breve  cenno  sulle  relazioni biologiche e
   genealogiche delle Marantaceae. Nuovo Giorn.  Bot.  Ital.  1,
   93-306.
Dressler, R. L. 1968. Pollination by Euglossine beees. Evolution
   22, 202-210.
Ducke, A.  1901.  Beobachtungen ber Bltenbesuch, Erscheinungs-
   zeit etc. der bei  Par   vorkommenden Bienen. Zeitschr. Syst. 
   Hym. Dipt. 1, 25-32; 49-51; 60-63.
Faegri,  K. & L. van der Pijl. 1966. 'The Principals of Pollina-
   tion Ecology' (Pergamon Press: London)
Gris, A. 1859. Observations sur la  fleur  des  Marantes.  Ann.
   Sci. Nat. IV. 12, 193-219.
Hildebrand,  F.  1870a.  Botanische Notizen aus einem Briefe von
   Fritz Mller. (Itajahy, den 7. dezember 1869.)  Bot.  Zeitung
   28, 273-275.
Hildebrand,  F.  1870b.  F. Delpino's weitere Beobachtungen ber
   die Dichogamie im  Planzenreich mit Zustzen und Illustratio-
   nen. Bot. Zeitung 28, 617-625.
Kennedy,  H.  1974.  Pollination and systematics of the "closed-
   flowered" species of Calathea  (Marantaceae).  Ph.D.  Thesis,
   University of California, Davis. 301 p.
Kennedy,  H.  1978a. Systematics and pollination of the "closed-
   flowered"  species  of  Calathea  (Marantaceae).   Univ.   of
   California Publ. Bot. 71: 1-90, 20 plates.
Kennedy,  H.  1978b.  Marantaceae.  Taxonomy  -- Classification.
   Marantaceae Newsletter 1, 3-9. (An informal xeroxed  newslet-
   ter circulated by the Lyon Arboretum, Hawaii, USA)
Kennedy,  H.  et  al.  1988.  Marantaceae. In Harling, G. and L.
   Andersson [eds.] Flora of Ecuador. 32, 13-191.
Lindley, J. 1819. Maranta zebrina. Bot. Reg. 5, t. 385.
Lindley, J. 1826. Calathea violacea Bot. Reg. 12,  t.  962  text
   sub t. 961.


RARE NATIVE VASCULAR PLANTS OF BRITISH COLUMBIA - ANNOUNCEMENT

Douglas, G.W., G.B. Straley, and D. Meidinger. 1998. Rare native
   vascular  plants  of British Columbia. B.C. Conservation Data
   Centre, Ministry of Environment, Lands & Parks, Victoria, BC.
   v + 423 p. ISBN 0-7726-33307-X Cost: CND$39.95

   Ordering information:
   Crown Publications Inc.,  521  Fort  Street,  Victoria,  B.C.
   Canada V8W 1E7, Phone: (250) 386-4636, Fax: (250) 386-0221

This  manual includes a summary of the status of rare and endan-
gered native vascular plant taxa  in  the  province  of  British
Columbia. Over 600 plants are dealt with in this volume with the
main  body of the book arranged alphabetically by genus/species.
It contains the synonyms,  common  name,  habitat  requirements,
world  distribution,  provincial  distribution map, line drawing
and conservation ranking for each rare plant taxon.


ILLUSTRATED FLORA OF BRITISH COLUMBIA - ANNOUNCEMENT

Douglas, G.W., G.B. Straley, D. Meidinger and  J.  Pojar.  1998.
   Illustrated  flora  of  British Columbia. Vol. 1. Gymnosperms
   and Dicotyledons (Aceraceae through Asteraceae). Ministry  of
   Environment,  Lands  and Parks, and Ministry of Forests, Vic-
   toria, BC. 436 p. ISBN 0-7726-3685-0 (set) [soft cover] Cost:
   CND$30.00

Douglas, G.W., G.B. Straley, D. Meidinger and  J.  Pojar.  1998.
   Illustrated  flora  of British Columbia. Vol. 2. Dicotyledons
   (Balsaminaceae through Cucurbitaceae). Ministry  of  Environ-
   ment, Lands and Parks, and Ministry of Forests, Victoria, BC.
   v  +  401  p.  ISBN  0-7726-3685-0  (set)  [soft cover] Cost:
   CND$30.00

   Ordering information:
   Crown Publications Inc.,  521  Fort  Street,  Victoria,  B.C.
   Canada V8W 1E7, Phone: (250) 386-4636, Fax: (250) 386-0221

The first two volumes, of an eight volume series on the vascular
plant  flora of BC, have now been printed. These volumes include
the  Gymnosperms  and  Dicotyledons  (Aceraceae  to  Asteraceae)
[Volume  1]  and the Dicotyledons (Balsaminaceae to Cuscutaceae)
[Volume 2]. The treatment includes keys to genera  and  species,
habitat/range  annotations, technical descriptions and illustra-
tions for each taxon.


VEGETATION IN EASTERN NORTH AMERICA - BOOK REVIEW
From: Spribille_Toby/r1_kootenai@fs.fed.us

Miyawaki, A., K. Iwatsuki & M.M. Grandtner (eds.) 1994.  Vegeta-
   tion in eastern North America: vegetation system and dynamics
   under  human  activity in the eastern North American cultural
   region in comparison with Japan. ix + 515  p.  University  of
   Tokyo Press. ISBN 0-86008-494-9 [hard cover] Price: US$250.00

This  book  is a compendium of papers resulting from the Eastern
North American Vegetation Survey (ENAVS), a  three-year  program
to  survey  the  flora  and  vegetation  from Quebec to Florida,
funded by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Science  and  Cul-
ture.  The  field  work, by a team of Japanese vegetation scien-
tists with assistance from  Canadian  and  American  colleagues,
included  sampling  of  about 1,300 releves, involving travel of
over 20,000 km in the space of a total of fourteen weeks.

The text is divided into  five  sections  (natural  environment,
comparison  of  floras, vegetation system and dynamics, ecology,
and conservation and rehabilitation) which  in  turn  contain  a
total of seventeen papers by participants from Japan, the United
States  and Canada. It is as much a work on phytogeography as it
is on vegetation science. An underlying  theme  in  all  of  the
papers  is  a comparison of Japan and eastern North America from
the floristic, syntaxonomic and ecological perspectives.

The book is not only a compendium of existing information on the
respective vegetation and floras, but also provides  some  valu-
able  first-time  descriptions for eastern North America. A full
48 phytosociological tables  (both  releve  and  constancy)  are
included   for   alpine   meadows,  boreal  coniferous  forests,
deciduous  and  evergreen  broad-leaved  forests  and   mangrove
vegetation. The floristic and ecological summarization is accom-
panied  by  many  black-and-white  photographs  and a section of
beautiful colour plates. All in all,  the  book  is  a  valuable
addition  to  the knowledge of eastern North American vegetation
and will doubtless be an indispensable reference on the topic of
eastern North American-east Asian phytogeography  far  into  the
future. One could only wish the book was more affordable.

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