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No;35 • Winter 2000 L-__~~_~ _____ ,-~~~~~~~~~TheNewsletter~ of the Alberta Native P1antCouncii
In this issue... Alberta's Natural Landscapes-backyardto pipeline AGM 2000 ...... 1 The 13th ANPC Annual General Meeting and Workshop, April 29-30, Calgary Zoo Botany AB ...... 1 President's message ...... 2 Ruth Johnson Call for Nominations ...... 2 .' Little Mountain ...... 3 Be sure to attend this year's ANPC workshop for sa le, guided tours of the naturalised areas at Good, Bad & Ugly ...... 4 Recreating Alberta ~' Natural Landswpes the
The go d in them there hills
Editor: Chris Manderson Botany AB No.2 in Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park Reader: Linda Miller Patsy (oteriJ/
Contributors: Almost as soon as you turn south on Highway plains of sou th-eas tern Alberta. Abou t 160 Lorna Allen 41 from Medicine Hat, the Cypress Hills appear kilometres long and up to 40 km wide, they Elisabeth Beaubien as a da rk green ridge on the skyline. They lure straddle the Alberta-Saskatchewan border east Patsy Coterill with the promise of ve rdure as one surfs the west and are protected as the Cypress Hills Ruth Johnson ro lling plains towards them. Captain John Interprovincial Park. With a vascular flora of Dan Macisaac Palliser's comment from 1859 is oft quoted: well over 700 plants representing both boreal! Michael Phair "These hills are a perfect oasis in the desert we montane and plains elements, and a respectable Liz Saunders have travelled." Mind you, to those of us sprinkling of"rares", the AJ berta side of the coming from the northern half of the province Hills was an obvious choice for our second and fleeing the late. cool, wet spring of 1999, a annual ANPC fiel d outing. The Alberta Native desert would have been its own oasis. An overcast Friday morning,June 11 , thus Plant Council The Hills stand out as a ravine-incised found 20 or more of us crammed into the Park Garneau P.O. 52099, platea u of forests and grassland rising some 800 Edmonton, AB T6G 2T5 metres above the surrounding mixed-grass see Gold, page 72 • Call for nominations Conservation The following elected positions on the Board of the ANPC are open for group looking a two-year term, starting in May 2000:
President • Treasurer for volunteers to Northern Director • Central Director Southern director work in Calgary's Nose Hill Park If you would like to nominate Volunteering fo r the ANPC is an someone (or yo urself). please excellent way to share and contact Ken Sa nderso n at improve your botanical The Nose Hill C onservation C orps IS (403) 604-4415, or by email ..... ~...., skills. Board members loo king for enthusiastic volunteers who at
Michael Phair
On December 1, 1999, the development there have been few confrontations and company Brintnell Joint Ventures Ltd. preservation of histo rical buildings has leveled the trees, vegetation and prairie moved ahead fairly smoothly. g rasslands at Little Mountain natural area In 1995, Council approved a policy to in northeast Edmonton.The question that encourage the conservation and integra needs to be asked is, why;> In one day, a tion of environmentally and significant 40-acre landscape that had never been natural areas into Edmonton 's future ploughed was sc raped bare. An area that urban environment. It is an excellent was home to over 200 species of flower policy, but unfortunately Council did not ing plants, including three that were listed provide the mec hanism and resou rces to as provincially rare, was destroyed, as was enact the policy. the habitat of at least 38 species of birds In order to address this problem, the and many of the wildlife species common City's Conununity Services department to the Edmonton region. (formerly Parks and Recreation) submit Under the provincial Municipal COl!ern ted the Natural Areas Acquisition and ment Act, 10% of any development must Conservation report. It has been endorsed be set aside as municipal reserve for by both the environmental conununity fu ture parks and schools. Why did the and by the Urban Development Institute. developer not attempt to save some of the the voice of the development industry. natural areJ as municipal rese rve? When This report contains a funding strategy to the company submits an area structure aid in the preservation of environmentally plan to Council, it will be required to set significant natural areas. I t close! y resem aside this land. bles the City's heritage building conserva Is what occurred just part of the developers and the community experi tion strategy. The natural areas strategy development process? I don't think so. enced similar ongoing battles and frustra proposes to set aside $750,000 annually to The ea rthmove rs will have to be brought tions in regards to the preservation of assist in preservation and acquisition. in again to perform the normal historical buildings . In 1988, Council Only one-third of this 1110ney will come geotechnical preparation of the site for passed the H erita ge Conservation po li cy subdivision. There were no elevation and committed to placing dollars aside see Mountain, page 6 control stakes in place at Little Mountain each year to achieve thi s end. Since then, when the bulldozers did their work. The machines were observed only sc raping vegetation down to the surface of the soil. The exact ali gnment of 50,h Street, which will bisect the site, has not been determined. The revised Neighbourhood Structure Plan, associated M unicipal Development Plan and Area Structure Plan amendments must still be developed and circulated to C ity departments. So what then panicked the developer into taking such rash action? The sc raping of all vegetation down to sterile clay seems to have had no other purpose than to negate the potential of having any part of the site removed from development. So where do we go now? Is there a way the development industry, citizens and Council can work together so that a tragedy like Little Mountain CJ n be averted in the future)Years ago, Council,
:)S' Iris '. .. The Good, the Bad & the Downright Ugly Casual observations ofplant re-colonisation after the 7995 flood in Lethbridge
Liz Saunders
Over four years have passed since the were rather unexpected. Many of the fewer plants. Another uncommon plant O ldman River rose ove r its banks filling colonizing grasses and forbs are species that did well by the flood is small the floodplain with silty, swift-moving that are more often as sociated with the annual lupine (Lupinus pusil/us). M any water. After the media-tagged "Flood of eroded slopes in our coulees, such as individuals of this species are thriving the Century", much of the ecological golden b ean (Thermopsis r/lOmuifo/ia), 111 the sa nd and g ravel deposits. fOCll S was on the resulting regeneration indian rice grass (Oryzopsis hyNz e/1.oides), As for shrubs, there wa sn't a whole ofcottonwoods. lot of action in the first few yea rs after But what about the flood. In some places there were the other plants? "shrub suckers" establishing from What was the churned up root pieces. This was effect of the flood particularly obvious with rose (Rosa on the other sp.), chokecherry (Pirnls l)irgil1ial1a) , components of a snowberry (SY111 phoricarpos orcidelltalis) cottonwood forest and wolfwillow (E/a eagltus COI11111 u/ata). - the shrubs, Shrub seedlings were few and far grasses and forbs? between, at until 1999. Four years ~lft e r Since the 1995 the flood, shrub seedlings are spro uting flood, I have been up out of the large mounds of woody observing the large debris built by the flowing waters. Up expanses of sand, until 1999 these large piles of logs, bark silt, gravel and and twigs we re mostly barren of woody debris that vegetation, bu t were well used by were left behind by insects, birds and small rodents. After the flooding river. four years , the woody matter has On June 7, 1995 the Oldman River swelled to fill the cottonwood forests with water, It has been inter broken down and composted eno ugh to silt, sand, gravel and woody debris es ting to note create the perfect growing medium for which species shrub seedlings - a veritable shrub colonized fi rs t and whether they prairi e coneflower (Ra/iuida wlullwifera), nurse ry. The most common seedlings persisted or not. As well as casual butte primrose (OC11 ofhera caesp itosa) and are sa skatoon (Ame/altch ier a/l1ifolia) , observations, photographs have been common annllal sunflower (H eiial1fizus choke cherry, rose, snovvberry and taken of several of these si tes each year, azmulls). One of the most spectacular to record the changes in the plant sights was a large gravel bar that was communities. I was expecting many of completely covered in sand lilies the photo points to be quickly ob (Mel1/zelia deca petaia). Wild li corice scured by the rapidly growing (Ciycyrrhiza iepido/a) was another plant cottollwood suckers and seedlings. This that quickly colonized many of the ha s happened in some cases, but not all. gravel bars. At drier si tes, the seedlings died and a The flood also added a new native mixture of native and non-native plant species to the Lethbridge pla nt grasses and forbs quickly took over. checklist: C lammyweed (Po/anisia Some si tes still remain quite devoid of dodecandra) is considered a rare plant in vegetation. From these personal obser Alberta (now ranked S2) and it was not vations, I have classified the recorded in Lethbridge until aft er the recolonizing plants into " the good", 1995 flood . In 1997 we found approxi " the bad" and "the downright ugly". mately 50 plants growing in sand deposits left by the flood . By 1998 the The Good population had grown to over 250 me These are the native plants that have plants. As natu ral succession progresses, shrub nurseries. Tucked between these two logs sprung up in the flood-disturbed areas. the clammyweed plants are being are three chokecherry seedlings and one Some species were predictable, others crowded out and in 1999 there were far saskatoon • Winter 2000 dogwood (Comus stolon!{cra). This is a very quickly grew up thro ugh the fl ood very elegant example of why it is deposits. By the following year (1996) , important to leave all parts of an these areas were once again a ecosystem in place. Had we followed a monoculture of non-native grass, few pu blic requests to remove the leaving no room for native species to debris piles in some of our river va ll ey take advantage of the natural distur parks, we likely would have had a bance. significa nt impact on the future struc ture and composition of our forests. The Downright Ugly These are the hideous weeds that make The Bad a botanist's skin cra w l. In Lethbridge, These are those non-native species some of these are: leafy spurge that are not too terribly nas ty, bu t (Euphorbia esula), Russian knap weed nonetheless are an annoyance. U nfortu (Cenfaurea repelts). spotted knapweed nat ely these species are usually wide (Cenfaurea tHawlosa), and Canada thistle spread and they tend to fIll in areas that (Cirsiul11 at Ilense) , to nam e a few. The would otherwise be inhabited by native bad news is that the 1995 flood helped gravel bars. species. For example, mullein (Ve rbascum all of these species spread and establish fhaps~ls) was not particularly common on many sites where they were absent previously recorded in the river valley in Lethbridge prior to the 1995 flood. prior to the flood. Leafy spurge quickly scentless chamomile (Matricaria pe~{(lrata) and bla ck henbane (Hyoscyamus II/ger). Scentless cham omile has reared its ugly head on a few gra vel fl oodplain areas in Lethbridge since the flood. Only o ne black henbane plant has been found to date in the Lethbridge river valley, however I have noticed numerous plants ap pearing along the Oldman Rive r between Fort Macleod and Lethbridge - something that should be watched closely. We have been pulling both of these species on sight, hoping to nip the problem in the bud, so to speak. Overall, the 1995 flood has presented a ve ry educa tional plant-watching opportunity. In many ways the flo od was highly beneficial, giving the fl oodplain ecosystem a natural boost and promoting the regeneration of cottonwood trees and now shrubs. The interpretive and learning opportunities for naturalists and the pll blic have been However the fl ood seems to have colonized many of the gravel bars. In phenomenal. Unfortunately non-native introduced additi onal plants and some cases the spurge actually moved species are a part of the ecological distributed the species more widely back into areas where bio-control picture these days. and they toO have through the river va ll ey. beetl es had almost eradicated it. The thrived as a result of the fl ood, oft en to Other non-native plant species that only "good" news, if you can ca ll it that, the detriment of the nati ve species . It have quickly colonized disturbed areas is that the various bio-control agents will be interesting to watch how the are wormwood (Artemisia absinthium). that we have in Lethbridge did survive sto ry continues to unfold over time. and ye llow and white sweet clover the fl ood and are still prese nt in good (i\lJclilofus officinalis and Melilotus alba). numbers. At least two new, large and The gravel bar that was fust colonized rapidl y spreading patches of Russ ian by sand lilies is now awash with sweet knapweed became established after the clover. Where introduced grasses such as fl ood as well as numerous small patches awnless brome (Brol11us il1ermis) and of spotted and diffuse knapweed. I I cres ted wheatgrass (A;;ropyrol1 aistatum) . Furthermore, the flood introduced " ." were growing before the flood, they two nas ty weed species that were not .. '
~\'l Iris \, .. Little Mountain, from page 3
from the property tax base. The other two-thirds will come from conU11Unity ·Little Mountain Update partnerships and the sal e of surplus lands. During Edinonto.n City Council budget deliberations in Deceillber, amotion Was passed The Natural Areas Acquisition and to establish the natural areas conservation fund by setting aside $250;OUO. to corne from the Conservation proposal is a vvinning :Sdle ot\urplus Ii1unicip~ reser~e (in cornmerciallindi.lstrialsites wb.ere schooland parks ' . .. strategy. This report will return to sites are not needed). This i s less thinthe.llcw natural areas trategy ,proposed; and I be,lieve Community Services Committee on represents only d very weak corruluIDlentonthe part of City Council to natural areas~ Monday, February 2H, 2000. I urge preservation. (It w,ls envisaged that a further $250,000 would come from genel-al rev-. Edmontonians to attend this meeting and .emies.) .Edmonton natimJ.ist~ need to con1l11l11gcate to. City Couneilin no tH1Gertain terms show your support for the preservation of that tliey consider mbannaturalareas to be worthpreserving ;lJld <1l'C willing to see tax ' . environmentally significant natural areas. dollars (generalrevenl1e) committed .to this end. If yqu \\fo iJldlik.e.to know more
Counting Crocuses Elisabeth Beaubien
It won't be that long before spring begins cover the whole to stir. If you are eager for the first chance plant. This furry to get out and do some botanizing, why little perennial not sign up for Plal'llwalch? Plan/walch is a isn't a crocus-a program of the Devonia n Botanical member of the Garden at the Unive rsity of Alberta that Lily fa mily-it's links students and other observers to track really an spring as it moves north. Observers anemone, in the monito r the flowering of up to eight Buttercup family. species of plants and reports the blooming Like all anemo periods. Observations are collected and nes, it does not maps showing the advance of spring are have true petals. updated weekly on the Pia nlwatch web The blue or site. The flowering data is com pa red with purple-coloured lO-year averages to determine if spring "petals" are was early or late. This information is used ac tuall y modi to determine the best planting times and fied sepals. Anemone parens L. has applications in climatology, forestry The flowers and human health. are about 4 centimetres in diameter, each Distribution: Las t year I did an article on trembling with 5 to 7 sepals, m,\I1 y pistils and bright asp en, one of the earliest plants to flower yellow stamens. The grey-green and Prairie crocus grows in northern latitudes in the sp ring. This year I'll talk about the much-divided leaves don't appear until m ore or less all around the world . It is Prairie crocus, one of the first flowers to the flower fad es. Then a shaggy cluster of common in eastern Russia and Asia, but bloom in the spring. seeds form, each with its own feathery there are wide gaps in its distributio n in The Prairie crocus (Anemone palens) has plume. Europe. It is widespread in North a pale blue or purple flower arising from America, from Canada south to N ew the woody rootstock. Wooly white hairs Mexico. In Canada, it occurs in the • Winter 2000 dat,1 sheet. shedding pollen into the air). What spring 2.When a pra irie crocus site is located, events are occurring in yo ur area? mark off an area approximately 1 metre by 1 metre. You may wish to use Ecology: small rocks o r sticks. Crocus seems to be generall y limited to 3. R ecord the dates when your crocus unbroken prairie. It forms a partnership patch reaches fmt and full bloom, w ith fungi in the so il , exchanging defined as follows: nutrients. These fungi are important for First bloom: when at least 2 to 5 fl owers its success in dry prairie soils. Occasio nal have opened in a crocus patch, reveal fires seem to greatly improve growing ing the yellow stamens. conditions for prairie crocus, by boosting Full bloom: when m ost bl ooms are the supply of nutrients and sunlight when open-not many new buds are left. dry grass cover is rem oved . Two years Some stems are starting to grow after a fire, crocuses bloom in much \ longer; that is, the stems between the greater abundance (see Range manage
Prairie Crocus leaves and fl owers are approximately 3 ment. following) . Anemone patens cm long. Large clumps of prairie crocus in 4.Yo u may fmd that deer o r ground grazed pastures may show that the area is Yu kon and NWT, and from BC east to squirrels eat your fl owers! If so, please over-grazed; that is, it has more cows th,lI1 Manitoba. Its prairie populati on has report this under additional informa the pas ture can support. Anemone palens declined greatly si nce pioneer days, as it tion on your date sheet. grows ve ry well in a grazed hab itat. As the grows in native prairie sod, most of whic h taller-growing and better-tasting grass Life Cycle: has been plo ughed or cultiva ted. and forb species in a pasture are removed, Prairie crocus is a very ea rl y-flowering prairie crocus increases .The deep roots plant, occasionally blooming in Habitat live for many years and are not seriously south-facing meadows and warm parts of Prairie crocus grows on the prairie and in affected by animal hooves. the prairies as early as March . A crOCll S dry open woods, oft en on sandy soil s. It The hairs on the plant make it less fIrst emerges from the ground as a hairy prefers sunny, hot, dry areas, often attractive to livestock. But just in case this flower bud; the fu rry leaves are hard to together with with yarrow (Achillea isn't a stro ng enough defence, it h,ls see at this point. When the purple sepals miliqo/iul11 ) and golden bea n (Therm opsis poisonous properties too! I t contains a open they reveal bright yellow stamens rhol11 vifo/ia) . O ther early fl owering plants poisonous alkaloid, a powerful irritant inside. The flowers open in sunshine and in sirnilar hab itats on the prairies include that can cause inflammati on and blister close aga in in the evening and in cloudy shooting star (Do deca th eol1 pulcheilul11 ) and ing. This can be a problem to domestic weather. moss phlox (Phlox hoodil). In northern sheep when they eat the fl ower. But Canada it more oft en appears on wa rm As the days go by, the flower stem despite the poisonous chemical, fl owers south-facing slopes. In the drier southern beneath the leaves lengthens. After are eaten by deer, elk and ground squ ir prairie, it is mainly found o n north-facing pollination, the stem between flower and rels, perhaps because the crocus is one of slopes. leaves grow longer too, pushing the the first plants to appear in spring. developing seed head lip 10-40 cm above Prairie crocus does well in grazed areas, How to observe the ground. At the same time, the leaves but ploughing is a different m atte r. Prairie C rocus may be a difficult plant to obse rve also fully expand.The flowering period crocus is slow to return even to favour in the first year, as plants can dry up and lasts for abollt 2 weeks. The long, fea thery abl e sites after ploughing, perhaps because disa ppear after blooming, and appear seeds ripen in M ay to July depending on it needs the fungal partners which occur aga in onl y with the first fl owers the latitude and altitude, then the above in unploughed soils. In one case it took following spring. In your first observing ground parts of the plant often dry up 40 years for crocus to return to a small year, you may not be able to locate a and di sa ppear over the summer. The plo ughed section of hilltop in eastern good site until aft er bloom has already feathery seeds and the long m atu re Alberta . started. Do your best to record dates, and flowering stem are special adaptatio ns to America n goldfinches (bright yellow mark yo ur site fo r next year! assist in wind-dispersal of the seeds. and blac k bird s also called wild canaries) 1. R emember to sta y on paths, as crocus visit prairie crocuses in sunmler, and eat buds are easil y damaged by feet. In the Phenology the seeds. Yukon and Northwest Territo ri es, Prairie crocus starts fl owering in central crocus occu rs on dry, fragile slopes Alberta about the third week ofApril, on Human uses/Folklore easil y damaged by hikers. To avoid average. At this time- the mountain Surely the most important use of the walking on the slopes and damaging bluebirds are back searching for nes t holes crocus is to decorate the prairies in this fragile environment, choose plants in trees or boxes, big flo cks of snow geese near the bas e or the top of the hill. are winging north, and aspen poplar is Note the location of your site on your also bl ooming (catkins on male trees are see Crocus, page 14 \t"' Iris - Rare plant communities in Alberta's Grassland Natura Region Lorna Allen
In the Fall 1999 issue oj Iris, I introduced the of sa nd dunes. The rare plant conw1Llni POSSible Plains Rough Fescue . . Alberta Na tural Heritag e InJormalion ti es of the Grassland Natmal Region are Communiti~s of Alberta . Centre:, project to documcnt plant communi often associated with these site types that pJains foughfescue (Festuc(1hallit) ties oj conservation C011Cern. Plaw communities are generally more restricted in occur ...... are defined as a recurring assemblage oj plant rence than the dominant grassland. plains rciughfescue-,-westem .porcu pine species, the species occurri I1g together because grass (FestilcQ hol/ii -Stipa curtjseta) .. . . ~ . they respond siJlli/ari)' to a variet), a/ site Manyberries Badlands plains rough fescue-western porcupine attributes. Plant communities oj co nservation Just southeast of Manyberries. there are grass ~sedges (Festuca hailii-Stipa concern are those that areJOlmd only rarely in spots where the dry mixed grassland ends curtiseta~Carex spp.) Th e prolJince. At! initial listing i, gillen in the suddenly in steeply sloping badlands. The pliiirisroughfescue~greeri need I.e grass Alberta Preliminary Plant CommUtlit)' slopes are primarily composed of crumbly / forbs (Feswai halfii-StipOviridula / Trackiug List. It will bc on the ANHIC dark grey shales of a marine origin (part forbs) website 500n
Riparian communities Let's m ove on to another rare community. Riparian areas are habitats formed under the influence of water. Making up only a small portion of the prairie landscape, it is no surprise that a number of the associ ated plant communities have been included on the list of communities of conservation concern. The Sagebrush/ Needle and thread (Arlemisia cana/ Slipa C(lma la) shrubland is usually found just as small patches on old river terraces and at the base of vall ey slopes. Because ofa restricted distribution, this is a plant community that is globally rare. Sagebrush and needle and thread are prominent. There are a few other species that occur corrullonly in this community, but not usually with significantcover, including pasture sagewort (Arlemisia fr(gida) , blue grama (Boule/oua gracilis) and thread-leaved sedge (Carcx filifolia). A Riparian communities along the Milk River
~i Iris " • Rare Communities, from page 9
References Cited Aiken, S.G. and S.]. Darbyshire. 1990. Fescue grasses of Canada. Agriculture Canada pl1 blication 1844/E. Canadian Government Publishing Centre, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Comer, P ed. 1999. Selected Shrubland and Grassland Conununities of the Northern Great Plains. A Report to the N ebraska National Forest. Biota Consultants. 1999. Preliminary Classification of Plains Rough Fescue (FcslUca hallii) Community Types within the Central Parkland Subregion ofAlberta. Prepared for Alberta Natural Heritage Information Centre. Edmonton,Alberta. 19 pgs. + appendi ces.
Table 1. Creeping Juniper Sparsely Vegetated Shale Community Fescue prairie. Species most commonly growing within the creeping juniper mat Dominant Species yell ow umbrella plant Eriogollu1I/ jla puf// Table 2. Sagebrush / Needle and thread creeping juniper JU f,ipe rus //Ol"i2'011l1l/i$ brool1l\veed CWial"czirr _'ia rvlh mr (Artemisia cana 15tip a camata) shrubland June Grass Koeleria /lIIICm ll//111 june grass Koch'ria 111(10'(/111//(/ (from Comer et al.1999) srno orh blue beard tongue PeIlS(('1/101f Ililidus Dominant Species Common species (found sporadically in low goldenrod Solidago 111i.'_,'our i(,ll sis almost all mats examined) rush-pink 51l'p liallC )11Ic ria runcinara $;lgebrush A,.IclI1iJia rtllJrl common yar row Aclliilca /IIillcfolium golden bean TI/(TtII(JjJ ..::is rIIOIIIIJU;)/ia needle wd rhread Sfip(/ (Olllata plains reed gl';lSS CaulII/(/gros/;s !IIOII/fUIfIISis lichen .I'' ., Winter 2000 Book Review Easy Lawns: Low maintenance native grasses for gardeners everywhere edited by Steve Daniels 1999. Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Inc. chapter onJunegrass as well as the one on accents. Again, if the reader is familiar ~ Iris " Gold, from page 7 office at Elkwater, getting the inside With almost two-thirds of the trees studied.We observed with interest how scoop on the ecology and management having taken root at the time of the last prominent shrubby cinquefoil (Polenlilla problems of the Hills. Keith Bocking, great forest fIre in 188(i, much forest is frulico sa) was amidst the grass (predomi Visitor Services Officer and a 15-year decadent and dying. The challenge here is nantly Festuca halli!), and learned that veteran at the Park, tells us how he had how to rejuvenate it without setting light although this too is a target of manage assumed that the forest ecosystems of to the "keg of dynamite" this dead wood ment, no one is sure whether its abun lodgepole pine and white spruce were the represents. (Under the conditions of dance is natural or due to grazing. Hills'most valuable ecological feature and modern settlement, a major forest fIre is After lunch back at the main Elkwater should be the prime focus of manage simply politically incorrect.) campground, where the fIrst-comers were ment to keep them healthy.Yet "I saw the Given the problems, it was a relief to lucky enough to spot a flock of wild light" Keith says,"when the Alberta hear that since about 1997, a proper turkeys, we were on the road again with Research Council team from Vegreville program of research has begun, ste ered by CliffThesen (Parks Planner) and Les came up here."The ARC scientists dug a group representing both government Weekes (Forestry Agrologist), to visit a soil pits among the trees and shO\ved that and non-government interests from both couple of their favourite orchid spots. black earth so ils characteristic of prairies provinces. Our fIrSt fIeld assignment that These were in wooded ravines in which underlay them, indicating that the forest morning was to visit some of the experi calcareous hillside seeps provided the was encroaching onto the grassland and mental plots that have been se t up on the abundant moisture beloved by orchids. that this in fact was the more endangered platea u south of Elkwater. H ere, the Round-leaved orchid (Orchis rorundi(ofla) ecosystem. Nevertheless, although effe cts of burning, mowing and ca ttle was still only in bud, but the blunt-leaved expanding peripherally, the "old growth grazing on the composition, productivity bog orchid (Plalanrhera ouusara) , incredibly forests" are a legitimate cause for concern. and health of the grasslands is being plentiful, was coming into flower. and we Botanizing in fescue prairie on the northern flanks of the Cypress Hills Winter 2000 also fo und specimens of northern we were grateful to the R eesor ridge twayblade (Listera borealis). It wa s probably hikers who had stayed behind, their too early to find white adder's-mouth, adventure long since fll1ished, to pick us lvlalaxis lI1onophylla, known to occur in up and drive us back to our ve hicles on the Hills, though we looked hard for it. the plateau. These woods, with the familiar £lora of On Sunday, another beautiful day, we the boreal and the m ontane, were also left the hills to drive eas t, through the excellent moss habitat. At the second site, Manyberries area , and then north, to our we simply struck upslope from the road, des tination at the Red Rock Canyon by now in the rain. Jennifer Doubt and Natural Area.As we drove in convoy her assistant Martina Krieger, came up along roads of loose gravel a t speeds fa ster with a rare moss. Aulacolll11ium androgYl1u111 than I would have attempted alone, the (smaller than the ubiquitous A. palu5tre Sweetgrass Hills to the southwest were and a denizen of tree trunks rather than our constant and only landmarks. This we t soil). The site was full of treasures, (a part ofAlberta is so devoid of human clump of striped coralroot, Carallor/iiza habitation that the £:lrm- and acreage striata, right by the fence, for example), so pocked country around Calgary and that I couldn't help but think how much Edmonton looks like downtown Manhat the regular visitor to the park must miss, tan in compariso n! sticking to the beaten paths. For lunch we sa t o n a knoll overlook The next morning, Sa turday, found us ing the canyon, amid dry grass prairie back at the Park Office, our anticipation bright with spring composites and mounting under sunny skies, pondering a colourful milk-vetches. A badland gully of choice of menus. Should we j oin the undistinguished proportions. the canyon's group led by Reg Ernst, and hike up the why the plateau keeps its head when the claim to fame is the huge, round red ridge north ofReesor Lake? Or should surrounding landscap es lose theirs to boulders (technically know n as concre we join C heryl Bradley's group and hike erosion.) At this first stop we encountered tions) that lie al ong its flanks, emerging 7 km or so along Battle Creek dow n to the two rare species that were to be the from the surrounding grey shale as rendezvous with the others at R eesor only ones on the list we found. Biscuit erosion proceeds. Fancifully, one could Lake? This last was billed by Cheryl as root. u>mariUIII cous, in dry gra ssland imagine it to be some giant's bowling botanical terra incognita with no guarantees beyond the stream bank, occurs only in alley. The rocks and crusty shale platea ux as to what we might find, though she Alberta in the Cypress Hills. The yellow are no t conducive to plant life, but there provided us with a wish list of 18 rare blooms of the more widely distributed was more than enough to interest us plants that might lie along the route, and but still infrequent American winter cress, botanically in the grass- and forb-filled illustrations to match. Our first stop was Barbarea orlhocems, shone all along the slopes of the coulee. Here the provincially on the plateau where the narrow stream stream edge. (In retrospect we could rare one-spike oatgrass, Danthol/ia nourished patches of brook grass, count more "rares" because Cheryl ul1ispicara, formed extensive patches and Catabrosa aqualica. M ore striking were the collected a couple of inU11ature sedges could be picked out by scanning the huge boulders of conglomerate rock that were later identified by Dr. Bill C rins vegetation sideways for the fu zz of white lodged in the stream bank. This rock as Carex petasa ra and C. ho()/~cra,.,a. C heryl hairs standing out along the stems. Easil y appeals to even the most geologically went on to find several mo re of the wish winning the es thetics prize was butte chall enged (like me) because it looks and list plants in the course of her fieldwork primrose, OeliotiJera caespitosa, though no so unds like what it is: a bunch of cobbles throughout the summer, which Just goes doubt its se tting against grey shale or mud and pebblestones that have somehow got to prove the limitations of p'lrachming had something to do with its egregious rolled up into a great, hardened muddy into a location for a m ere weekendl) beauty. ball. (Our counterparts would be en Meanwhile. determined to discover, we After an afternoon in the cauldron of countering this same rock along the ridge fanned out like a bunch of detectives the canyon, and a hot drive back to ca mp at Reesor Lake and possibly fll1ding that with mug shots in hand, crossing and re by way of M edicine Hat, the Cypress it is not to be trusted as a climbing rock crossing the (conglomerate-) pebbly Hills did indeed begin to look more like as the pebbles break off easilyl Conglom creek, from the drier, pine-dominated an oasis, their big draw now being erate rock caps the laye rs of sedimentary forests of the south-facing valley slope to abundant moisture in the fo rm of tea and rock that make up the Hills and repre the dark, moist, Calypso-harbouring beer, for those of us spending another se nts the bed of turbulent rivers that spruce fores ts of the north. Among the night ill the Park. £lowed from the south some 40 million definitely not-rare plants was the dande By Monday morning (clea r and years ago. It is porous, which explains the lion, in peak bloom, mute tes timony to beau tiful, of course) most of us had seeps and noticeable slumps on some the pervasiveness ofseasonal cattle already scattered or were scattering. slopes in the Park. But this bed of river grazing in the Park. Tired by late after stones also resists weathering, which is noon, and finally thoroughly warmed up, see Gold,page 14 YIris Gold,frompage 13 However,Joyce Thanks to Keith Bocking, C heryl Brodley and and Reg were Joyce Gould for additional information ond to Rob Staniland for graciously providi ng photographs. stay ing on to explore another ridge top for the rare dwarf ...... fleabane, Erigercll1 Botany Alberta No. 31 radicatus, which, June 16':'18,2000 along with This year's Botan:y Albertaiiejd tripis . biscuit-root, had tache Kootenay Plail1,s, westafRocky been a highly Mountain House. 'R.egistmtion is . . rated find on the stnctlyli.mited and 011 ,1 first..,come-' . Reesor ridge first~ se rved basis. Lo6k"for more trip. Joyce was details in the spring issue ofIri s. Ifyou curious ahout would like to help organise this year's the distribution tield trip, please contact Elisabeth . of dwal{ .. Beaubieil. '. . . fleabane, a mountain-top plant, because the top 100 metres ofland surbce (above about 1370 bloom filled our nostrils through the Crocus, from page 7 metres elevation), or possibly even much open car windows. Just south ofWain more, at Cypress Hills is considered to wright occurred the last memorable event celebration of the arrival ofspring' Early have been fi-ee of ice during the last of the long weekend. We drove past a se ttlers dubbed this native anemone the gla ciation. (The implica tions of this family of badgers basking in the evening "prairie crocus" because it reminded nUIIa/aR for plant life, however, appear to sun outside their den on the wes t-facing them of their earl y crocuses back in have been little studied.) road embankment. When I turned the car Europe. It is also called Pasg ue flower, Before heading home I decided to take rOllnd for a reprise they disa ppeared because in some areas it tends to bloom at a guickjog up to the top ofReesor ridge, efficiently into the huge sandy excavation Easter-time. striking through lush grassland and that was their home, but not before we The poisonous properties of the prairie patches of hawthorn (Crala egus had taken a good look and counted fiv e crocus were used to advantage by Native ra/undifalia, I believe, although it co of them I Smiling broadly, we res umed our peoples. A poultice made from the plant occurs here with the very restricted C. journey: hedonism in animals is always a was used as a counter-irritant, to treat douglasii) to the multi-colored alpine-like great source of pleasure l rheumatism Or other musc ular pains. It flower gardens at the top. Here amid the As I write, plans for Botany AB N o.3 was also used to stop nose-bleeds and gravel and rock, tufted milk-vetch, in 2000 are being hatched. N ext year's draw out infection in cuts and boils. The A s/ragalu s spa/hula/us, locoweed, Ox)' /ropis trip will be to the Kootenay Plai ns. Stay Native people knew it was dangerous if sp., Macoun's cryptanthe, Cryptal1lha tuned and consider joining us next June taken internally. macaul1ii, and rocky-ground sandwort, for another great Alberta venue I According to Native legend the furry Arcl1aria congesla, featured prominently. coat was given to the flower to protect it Taking advice from others, my travel References on chilly spring nights. The Blackfoot ling companion Margaret Nelson and I Cypres.' Hill., III/e'pl'tll'ill(illi Park: Plall/s. 1\)<)3 . word Napi, the old man central in the drove home north on Highway 41 to Al berta 's Watchabl~ Wildlife Checklist Se ries Blackfoot creation story, also referred to Edmonton, Government ofAlbena. view the (to us) unfamiliar landsca pes of the greyish seed heads of prairie crocus the eastern side of the province. By mid Hardy,W.G. (ed .). 1967. Alhm News and notes The Goldenrods of Ontario: Solidago L. Edition of Semple, New Books and Euthamia Nutt. 3rd edition Heard, and Xiang's Asters Johll Semple, G.S. Ringills andJ.]. Zhang i?f Ontario is available NatureScape Alberta-Creating and University ofWaterloo Biology Series from the sa me source. Caring for Wildlife Habitat at Home 39:1-90 Myrna Pearman and Ted Pike ISSN-0317-3348 Published by the Federation ofAlberta The third edition of this popular guide to Meetings Naturalists Ontario goldenrods has several improve Monitoring for Ecosystem Health Price: $24.95 ments ove r earlier editions most notably April 3-5, 2000, R egina . For more information, call (780) 427 the inclusion of colour plates for many First Announcement & Call for Papers 8124 species. Copies can be obtained for Conference organizers invite papers that $15.00 plus $5.00 shipping (Canadian present state-of-the-art approaches to Savanna, barrens and rock outcrop buyers add GST) fi-om the University of monitoring ecosystem health. For communities of North America. Waterloo, Department ofBiology, information visit the conference website R.C.Anderson,j.S. Fralish & J-M. Baskin (eds.) University ofWaterloo, Waterloo, Ontario at ~ Iris '.' News. from page 75 Alberta Native Plant Council Mailing address: · Garneau p.O. 52099; Wellness through the use of horticulture Edmonton,AB T6G 2TS March 2Y-31, 2000, Karsten Discovery Centre in the Calgary Zoo, Calgary ·website: .1999"-2000 Board Recreating Alberta's Natural landscapes-Backyard to Pipeline President - Dan Macisaac ...... (780) 435-7332 [email protected] . ANPC 73th AGM and Workshop · Vice-opresident - Ruth Johnson ...... (403}932-4216 ruthannaj@hotmaiLcom . April 2Y-30 , 2000, Karsten Discovery Secretary - Lorna Allen ...... :, ... (780) 436~8i:132 [email protected] . Centre at the Calgary Zoo, Calgary Treasurer - Mryka Hall-Beyer ...... (7'8b) 284-1621 [email protected] . Northernbirector- Pat Mcisaac ...... (780) 351"2432 [email protected] learning from the past, looking to the · Central Director- Ed Karpuk ...... ,.:.... (403}347-5]23 [email protected]:ca ·Southern Directors future: Steven Deugau ...,...... ;...... {403)934-4249 knoxe [email protected] 4th International Conference on Science l1 Dave Telfer ...... ~ ...... ;.. ~ ...... (403)949-3256' and the Management Protected Areas of Memi:;ership Secretary & FAN Directo.r May 14-19,2000 Elaine Gordon ...... (780) 47Sc2565 dgordon@audg;gov.atJ.ca For more information visit the co nfer Conservation Action - . . . . ' . ence website: < Iandscape.acadiau.ca/ Merritt Turetsky ...... ;...... :...... (780) 492-0047' [email protected] . sampaa/ firstannouncement.htm > Education and Information .' .• .. ' .. .Elisabeth Beaubien ...... :...... :. (780) .438-1462 [email protected] Caring for our land: stewardship and Jim Posey .. :....:...... ,....;....:...... (403) 560c255r jpo@can\Jck:tcim . . conservation in Canada Rare Plants - Jane Lancaster ...,:...... (403)932-2269 [email protected] and Horticulture . A National Millennium Conference · Reclamation H~ather Ge;ling ...... :.~.•. ;....:.. ,.(780) 427-4658 heather.gerling@agdc:gov.ab.ca . June 3-6,2000, University of Gu elph Scott Meers ...... ~ ...... ;.....:...... :...... (403) 934-3355 . [email protected] Guelph, Ontario Webmaster - KenSanderson ...... ~ ...... (403)604-4415 ·· [email protected] .. for more information see the conference • Newsletter Editor . ' ". . website at EcoSummit 2000: integrating the .. ' ...... sciences ' .. . ispublished three times yearby' June 18-22,2000, H alifax Iris a If you have an announcement,article For more information visit the confer the Alberta Native PlantCouncil.The or other item 6f interesttoth~ANPC ' . ence website Contents copyright ©2000 The Alberta .Deadlinesfor upcoming issues: Native PlantCounciL Please contact . the editor forp~rmissi6n toreprint Spring. May .15, 2000 . items fi"om.thisnewsletter. Fall OCt 15,2000 Winter 2001 Jan 15,2001 . printed on recycled paper@ . Winter 2000