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PLANTS FIRST RECORDED OCCURRENCE OF CREEPING MAHONIA (BERBERIS REPENS Lindley) IN SASKATCHEWAN ALAN DODD, Rangeland Conservation Service Ltd. #502, 2903 Kingsview Boulevard SE Airdrie, Alberta T4A 0C4 Introduction 16 km west of the Centre Block. The The first recorded population of creeping West Block covers approximately 13,880 mahonia (Berberis repens Lindley) was hectares (34,300 acres) of land, and is observed in Saskatchewan. A single located approximately 40 km southwest population was observed in Cypress Hills of the town of Maple Creek in Townships Inter-provincial Park (CHIP) - West Block 7 and 8, Ranges 28 and 29 W3M. in August 2011. The species was originally observed in 2002 at the same location but The primary ecological factor the discovery went unrecognized. This differentiating the Cypress Upland from new population represents a significant other ecoregions is elevation.1 Highest extension of the known range of the elevations in the Hills are near Elkwater, species, as the closest known populations Alberta and lowest near Eastend, are in southwestern Alberta and central Saskatchewan. Elevation ranges from Montana. The discovery of creeping approximately 1,463 m (4,810 feet) to mahonia is a significant addition to the 1,000 m (3,300 feet) between these two unique flora of the Cypress Hills. locations. Background Elevation has dramatic effects on vegetation in the Cypress Upland. Cypress Hills There are two main habitat types in The Cypress Hills are centred on lat. 49 the ecoregion: grassland and forest. 30’ N, long. 110 W on the Canadian Great Mixed grassland occurs at elevations Plains, approximately 70 km north of the between 775 m (2,550 feet) and 1,000 United States border. They extend for m (3,300 feet) on the north slope and approximately 130 km along an east-west between 850 m (2,800 feet) or 950 m axis through southwestern Saskatchewan (3,100 feet) (depending on location) and southeastern Alberta. North-south, and 1,050 m (3,450 feet) on the south the Hills are typically only about 15 km slope.1 Grassland at higher elevations wide, although they do reach a width of is dominated by rough fescue (Festuca 25 km in places. In total, the Cypress Hills campestris and F. hallii). The reference cover nearly 2600 km2 of land. community on the Loam ecosite (Dark Brown and Black Chernozemic soils) in CHIP is divided into three blocks: the Cypress Upland is described as rough Elkwater in Alberta and the West and fescue (average cover = 30%).2 Centre blocks in Saskatchewan. The West Block is located adjacent to the Forests are more prevalent in the Elkwater Block on the opposite side of the west part of the Cypress Hills. Forest provincial boundary and approximately in the Cypress Hills occurs primarily on 212 Blue Jay north aspects as well as in some of the Creeping Mahonia valleys on the plateau. In the West Block, Creeping mahonia is a member of the lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) and aspen Berberidaceae family. It is an evergreen (Populus tremuloides) are the dominant shrub 2 cm to 20 cm (60 cm) tall.12 Its tree species, with lesser amounts of white leaves are (3-) 5 to 7 foliolate with thin, spruce (Picea glauca) and balsam poplar flexible, usually dull and somewhat (Populus balsamifera). Lodgepole pine glaucous leaflets which have numerous reaches its greatest extent in the West spine-tipped teeth. The inflorescence is Block, and occurs at elevations between densely racemose with 25 to 50 flowers 1,280 m (4,200 ft) to 1,465 m (4,800 ft).3 that produce blue berries. The species Aspen forest is typically found at lower flowers from April to June. elevations immediately below lodgepole pine forests in the West Block, as well as The habitat of creeping mahonia in mixed stands with white spruce. White is described as mountain woods,13 spruce is generally found in cool, moist forests from foothills to lower montane habitats associated with springs as well elevations,14 open forest, shrub, and as along Battle Creek.3 grassland,12 and dry rocky slopes and open forests in the steppe and montane The forests of the Cypress Hills were zones.15 originally described as boreal forest outliers4 and boreal-cordilleran transition Creeping mahonia has not been forests.5 Other authors emphasized the previously recorded in Saskatchewan Cordilleran influence.3,6 The Cypress (Enns pers. comm.).16 Nature Serve Hills are included in the Rocky Mountain lists creeping mahonia as growing in Natural Region in Alberta7,8,9,10 and British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario the Cypress Upland Ecoregion in in Canada.17 In Alberta, it occurs in the Saskatchewan, which is described as an southwest part of the province from outlier of the montane vegetation zone.11 Waterton Lakes National Park in the south Creeping Mahonia Alan Dodd 70 (3) September 2012 213 to the Crowsnest Pass in the north.13 count. Creeping mahonia occurred in two In British Columbia, it is described as of the ten quadrats along the transect. common in the southeast and rare in The forest community was described as the central and south-central parts of the Healthy according to the Saskatchewan province.15 In the United States, creeping Range Health protocol.19 mahonia is found in 19 states, including the bordering states of Washington, Plant species occurring in the same Idaho, Montana, and North Dakota.17 The quadrat as creeping mahonia included closest known populations to the Cypress smooth wild rye (Elymus glaucus), white- Hills are in the foothills of southwestern grained mountain rice grass (Oryzopsis Alberta and in central Montana,13,18 both asperifolia), wild white geranium of which are approximately 300 km from (Geranium richardsonii), snakeroot the observed Saskatchewan population. (Sanicula marilandica), buckbrush (Symphoricarpos occidentalis), wild Creeping mahonia is considered strawberry (Fragaria virginiana), veiny Secure (S5), Vulnerable (S3), and Exotic meadow rue (Thalictrum venulosum), in British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario, western Canada violet (Viola canadensis), respectively.17 Creeping mahonia is not Lindley’s aster (Aster ciliolatus), common ranked or under review (SNR/SU) in pink wintergreen (Pyrola asparifolia), Washington and Idaho. It is listed as cream-colored vetchling (Lathyrus Secure in Montana and Imperiled (S2) in ochroleucus), and spreading sweet North Dakota. cicely (Osmorhiza depauperata). Smooth wild rye and wild white geranium are also Findings considered rare in Saskatchewan.20 Creeping mahonia was first discovered in CHIP - West Block in 2002 by RCS No flowers or berries were present on staff during a range inventory of the the creeping mahonia plants observed. park, in which a number of transects However, the characteristic leaves were established in forest and grassland make this species readily identifiable. communities throughout the block. Nevertheless, a specimen was collected However, the significance of the discovery and taken to the University of Calgary was not realized at the time. The species herbarium where its identification was was observed along only one of fourteen confirmed by the assistant curator (Smith forest transects established in 2002. The pers. comm.). transect was located in a white spruce - aspen mixedwood forest community in Interestingly, a leaf specimen collected the southeast part of the West Block. of creeping mahonia by the author seemed to have more teeth than mentioned in the During a range re-assessment of the literature. The Flora of North America West Block in 2011, creeping mahonia describes creeping mahonia leaflets as was observed along the same transect, having 15 to 24 teeth.12 However, The but as in 2002, at none of the others. Flora of the Pacific Northwest describes Approximately 30 plants were observed creeping mahonia as having 15 to 43 along the transect in 2011, although teeth.14 Teeth number is not mentioned a detailed, systematic count was not in the Flora of Alberta.13 The specimen conducted due to time constraints. A collected in CHIP had between 38 and park closure due to fire hazard prevented 48 teeth. a second visit to the park later in the season to conduct a detailed population 214 Blue Jay Discission isolated from these other two populations A number of botanical studies and due to the long distance and lack of inventories have been conducted in montane habitat, and is thus an outlier. the Cypress Hills.3,6,21 A number of The occurrence of creeping mahonia in range inventories and assessments the Cypress Hills further supports the that included a vegetation inventory description of the flora as having a distinct component have also been completed Cordilleran influence. Genetic work is in the Centre, West, and Elkwater blocks needed to determine if there are any of CHIP.22,23,24,25 The fact that creeping differences to other populations. mahonia had not been observed prior to 2002 suggests that the species may Creeping mahonia is sometimes be quite rare in the Cypress Hills. White planted as an ornamental in xeriscape spruce - aspen mixedwood forest is gardens. And, as previously discussed, it also limited in extent in the West Block. is found in Ontario as an exotic species. Assuming creeping mahonia favours Thus, there exists the possibility that this plant community type in the Cypress creeping mahonia was introduced into Hills, then this adds to the potential CHIP in recent years. However, this rarity of the species at this location. event seems unlikely as the creeping Moreover, the size of the creeping mahonia population observed in the park mahonia population observed was was located in a fairly remote area, away apparently quite small. All these factors from any known trails. Most visitors to the suggest that future management planning park follow existing roads and trails, none in the park take into consideration any of which passed through the community activity that could potentially impact the creeping mahonia was observed within.

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