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Home , Datura, Datura wrightii, Mahonia fremontii

Sego Lily January 2009 32 (1)

January 2009 Volume 32 Number 1

In this issue:

Datura and Hawkmoths: An Intoxicating Relationship . . . . 1 Chapter News ...... 2 Bulletin Board ...... 3 UNPS Annual Members Meeting ...... 4 USFWS gives Gierisch’s Globemallow Candidate Status. 5 Botanica: When Biocontrol Goes Bad ...... 7 Families: the Sumac Family (Anacardiaceae) . . . . . 8 Botanical Volunteers Needed . . . 10 Noteworthy Discoveries Berberis () fremontii . 11 Northern Utah’s Hybrid Oaks . 11 Above: “Intoxicated” hawkmoth, tentatively identified as Sphinx perelegans, on bloom of wrightii. Photo by D.N. Reynolds. Datura and Hawkmoths: An Intoxicating Relationship

By Douglas N. Reynolds

Datura wrightii is the only member of its native to Utah where it naturally occurs in many of our southern counties. For three years I have been raising a plant, bought at a nursery, outside my cabin west of Cedar City in Iron County, a little above and beyond its natural range. Finally, as the summer of 2008 arrived, the plant took off, grow- ing four feet across with more than 50 developing buds. A few feet away in my garden from a large Desert Four O’clock, Mirabilis multiflora, I looked forward to having a major hawkmoth attraction as summer evenings ap- proached. One morning after the plant had begun to bloom, I noticed a motionless hawkmoth embedded deep within a Da- tura corolla, hours after it would usually have flown away. I thought he must have died and fished him out of the flower to take a look. I was surprised when he moved a little bit and I lay him on the edge of the bloom, took a photo, and was glad to see that he had left a few hours later. That afternoon I sent the photo to a botanist friend in Seattle. Knowing about the hallucinogenic effects of Datura on humans, I made a joke about my “stoned” hawkmoth. I was surprised when my friend responded with a few inter- net links which indicated that I was not the first to suspect an effect of Datura nectar on hawkmoth behavior. The basic story reported by a number of websites on the internet is that the become “Jimsonweed Junkies”, addicted to hallucinogenic alkaloids such as , , and in the [continued on page 6]

Copyright 2008 Utah Native Plant Society. All Rights Reserved. Utah Native Plant Society

Education: Ty Harrison Sego Lily Editor: Walter Fertig Horticulture: Maggie Wolf ([email protected]). The deadline for Invasive : Susan Fitts the March 2009 Sego Lily is 15 Febru- Rare : Walter Fertig ary 2009. Scholarship: Bill Gray Copyright 2008 Utah Native Plant Chapters and Chapter Presidents Society. All Rights Reserved Cache: Steve Ripple Officers Escalante (Garfield Co): Allysia Angus The Sego Lily is a publication of the President: Bill King (Salt Lake Co) Fremont (Richfield area): Ron Parsons Utah Native Plant Society, a 501(c)(3) Vice President: Walter Fertig (Kane Co) Manzanita (Kane Co): Walter Fertig not-for-profit organization dedicated Treasurer: Charlene Homan (Salt Lake Mountain (Summit Co): Mindy to conserving and promoting steward- Co) Wheeler ship of our native plants. Use of con- Secretary: Mindy Wheeler (Summit Price (Carbon Co): Mike Hubbard tent material is encouraged but re- Co) Salt Lake: Kipp Lee quires permission (except where ex- Board Chair: Dave Wallace (Cache Co) Southern (Washington Co): Margaret empted by statute) and must be cor- Malm rectly credited and cited. Articles, UNPS Board: Robert Fitts (Utah Co), Utah Valley (Utah Co): Celeste Ken- photographs and illustrations submit- Susan Fitts (Utah Co), Bill Gray (Salt nard ted to us remain the property of the Lake Co), Marie Griffiths (Salt Lake Co), submitting individuals or organiza- Ty Harrison (Salt Lake Co), Celeste Website: For late-breaking news, the tions. Submit permission requests to Kennard (Utah Co), Kipp Lee (Salt Lake UNPS store, the Sego Lily archives, [email protected]. We encourage read- Co), Margaret Malm (Washington Co), Chapter events, links to other websites ers to submit articles for potential Larry Meyer (Salt Lake Co), Therese (including sources of native plants and publication. By submitting an article, Meyer (Salt Lake Co), Jeff Mitchell the digital Utah Rare Plant Field an implicit license is granted to print (Utah Co), Leila Shultz (Cache Co), Guide), and more, go to unps.org. the article in the newsletter or other Maggie Wolf (Salt Lake Co), Loreen Many thanks to Xmission for UNPS publications for reprint without Woolstenhulme (Utah Co). sponsoring our website. permission (in print and electronic media). When submitting an article, Committees For more information on UNPS: please indicate whether it has been Communications: Larry Meyer Contact Bill King (582-0432) or Susan previously published or submitted for Conservation: Bill King and Tony Fitts (356-5108), or write to UNPS, PO consideration to other publications. Frates Box 520041, Salt Lake City, UT, 84152 -0041 or email [email protected] ______

each photo with educational and processed specimens. In Febru- Chapter News engaging information contributed ary, we are planning our second by Chapter members. Each month annual propagation workshop at Fremont (Richfield Area): At features a different theme, such as the Best Friends Greenhouse. Bill the end of this productive year for Penstemons, Native , Polli- Gray has also volunteered to give the Fremont Chapter, we look back nators, etc. We are still accepting his SW Australia slideshow at at plantings, lectures, fund raising, additional sponsors, if anyone is some point this winter or spring and public awareness events. We interested in participating, Please (see details below). By April we are especially pleased at the xeric contact janett@wildlandnursery. hope to be back outside with a plantings we established on the com to order. The calendar will fieldtrip to the Mohave Desert Sevier County Administration be available the first week in Janu- near Mesquite, NV.—W. Fertig Building grounds at the request of ary for approximately $10.00. It's our Sevier County Commission- a lovely gift for yourself or a Salt Lake: On Friday, January 16 ers. We also are pleased with the friend. Contact me at at 7PM at the Sugarhouse Garden progress of the garden at Sam [email protected] to place an Center we are having a joint meet- Stowe Campground in Fremont order. - Janet Nielson ing with the Wasatch Rock Garden State Park. We spent many hours Society. Bill Gray will present through the summer planting, rak- Manzanita (Kane Co.): We are “Southwest Australia: a Botanical ing and weeding. In late October currently planning our spring Wonderland”. The state of West- we planted wildflower seeds we events. In January (date to be an- ern Australia has about 9000 spe- had gathered. We welcome you all nounced) we will hold our first cies of plants, with a large propor- to visit the site--just check in a “herbarium night” event. Trained tion of them found nowhere else Park Headquarters before going to glue monkeys will provide hands- on earth. They are especially con- the Campground area. on instruction in the proper centrated in the SW corner, which Our latest project is a Celebrate mounting of herbarium specimens is similar in size and climate to the Wild Calendar for 2009, fea- and we will help the Grand Stair- southern . The diversity turing exquisite photos by chapter case-Escalante NM herbarium get and level of endemism there is so members. Sidebars accompany caught up on its backlog of un- high that botanists honor it as the 2 Sego Lily January 2009 32 (1)

Southwest Australia Botanical Steve Caicco, USFWS Province. Come and be intro- state office: Vulnerability of the duced to some of these truly won- Rarest Plants in the Great Basin of derful plants and learn something Nevada to Climate Change of the challenges they face in com- petition with man in all his short- Mark Miller, USGS: Post fire sightedness. — Bill Gray monitoring of the Milford Flat Fire

Southern (Washington Co.): Renee Van Buren, Utah Valley Rick Heflebower, county horticul- University: Genetics of Astragalus ture extension agent, will lead a ampullarioides pruning workshop on Satur- day, January 10 at 10:30 AM at 50 Amy Croft, Utah State University: Bridge Street in Rockville. The Predictive Models for Rare Plant workshop is free and open to the Habitat public.—Barbara Farnsworth. Crystal Krause, Northern University: Spatial Patterns of En- Bulletin Board demic Plant Species of the Colo- rado Plateau Life member update: Patricia McQueary of St. George became Debra Crisp & Barbara Phillips, Coconino, Kaibab, and Prescott our 33rd lifetime member in De- Above: Kaiparowits milkvetch cember 2008. Thank you Patricia! (Astragalus malacoides) by Kaye National Forests: Arizona cliff- - Tony Frates Thorne. rose, an Arizona Endemic.

5th Southwest Rare On Thursday, March 20, there Plant Conference— will be a breakout session for Utah Rob Gillies, Utah Climate Center: botanists and others to review the March 16-20, 2009. The Climate Change and its Potential state list of G1-G2/T1-T2 and Utah Native Plant Society is Effects on the Southwestern USA other rare plant taxa coordinated pleased to be sponsoring the 5th by Ben Franklin and Walter Fer- Southwest Regional Rare Plant Carol Spurrier, BLM Washington tig. This session will be a first cut Conference focusing on “Changing DC office: National Landscape at developing a new UNPS state Landscapes in the Southwest” at Conservation System Lands and rare plant list. the University of Utah the week of their Importance to Preservation A field trip to Stansbury Island March 16-20, 2009. Deadline for of Rare Plants in the West is scheduled for Friday, March 21 submitting abstracts for oral pres- for those wishing to see some early entations or posters has been ex- John Spence, Glen Canyon NRA: spring flora, northern Utah style. tended to January 8, 2009, but the G1-G2 Plants of the American Early registration for the con- agenda is filling up quickly. As of Southwest: A Looming Crisis ference ends 13 February 2009 late November, the following and costs $150. After this date, John Anderson, BLM Arizona speakers have committed to com- late registration is $200. Partici- State Office: East Meets West: ing: pants can also sign up for individ- Rare Desert Alliums in Arizona ual days. Discounts are available Noel Holmgren, curator emeritus and California for full time students. of the New York Botanical Garden: For more information on the Biogeography of the Intermoun- Mitch Power, University of Utah: Paleoecology and Ecosystem Man- conference, lodging, transporta- tain Region tion, or to register or submit an agement: A Long-term Perspective abstract, go to the conference link Bob Sivinski, New Rare on Plant Communities in the through the UNPS website Plant Program: Southwestern Cie- Southwest USA (www.unps.org) or contact Mindy negas: Rare Habitats for Endan- Wheeler (wheelermindy gered Wetland Plants Doug Ramsey, Utah State Univer- sity: GAP Analysis and its Uses for @yahoo.com). Susan Meyer, USFS Lab: Rare Plant Preservation The Role of Bank Studies in Elucidating the Population Biol- Walter Fertig & Doug Reynolds, ogy of Rare Plants Moenave Botanical Consulting: Cedar Breaks National Monument: A Mini-Hotspot of Endemism

3 Utah Native Plant Society UNPS Annual Members Meeting, November 7th 2008

Almost 50 people attended the Thirtieth Anniversary Celebration and annual members meeting held at the Sugarhouse Garden Center. We had the traditional " Potluck" dinner centered around turkey, potatoes, yams, cranberries, tomatoes and other goodies. Dorde Woodruff made one of her re- nowned cactus dishes which was greatly relished. Ann Kelsey pro- vided table decorations from the local foothills, along with questions about their identities. While members were polishing their plates Bill Gray introduced some of the special guests who had been able to come. Dick Hildreth, one of the driving forces behind the creation of UNPS was here, and sub- sequently spoke about the earliest days of the organization. One of the original board members was the late Arthur Holmgren: we were de- lighted to have with us life members Noel and Patricia Holmgren who have almost completed the monu- mental Intermountain Flora during their tenure at the New York Botani- cal Garden. Other attendees in- cluded Dave Gardner, creator of the wonderful UNPS Wildflower Post- Above: UNPS’ version of the “Tony Award” - the lifetime achievement award—is ers, and Jo Stolhand who filled presented to Tony Frates (left) by UNPS President Bill King at the 2008 annual many roles during her long active meeting. Photo by Dave Wallace. leadership role. Duane Atwood, the first president of UNPS, was scheduled to be the became our third President in of candidates for the 2009 Board of main speaker, but unfortunately had 1982 (that must be the youngest Directors. No nominations were to cancel because of illness in his ever!) and has worked tirelessly on proposed from the floor, and the family. By luck Tony Frates had a behalf of rare and threatened following received unanimous ap- copy on his laptop of the presenta- plants. Earlier this year the Board proval: Walter Fertig (Manzanita), tion that Duane had given at the of Directors voted to present him Robert and Susan Fitts (Utah Val- most recent Utah Rare Plant Confer- with our highest honor, a UNPS ley), Bill Gray (Salt Lake), Marie ence, and was able to recreate it for Lifetime Achievement award. Pre- Griffiths (Salt Lake), Ty Harrison us. A great addition to the talk was vious recipients have been Dick (Salt Lake), Charlene Homan (Salt Tony's account of the rediscovery of Hildreth, Susan Meyer and Duane Lake), Celeste Kennard (Utah Val- Beckwith's Violet (Viola beckwithii) Atwood. In making the presenta- ley), Bill King (Salt Lake), Kipp Lee in the natural area of Red Butte Gar- tion Bill King recounted their first (Salt Lake), Margaret Malm den by Faye Rutishauser, one of phone conversation when Tony, (Southern), Larry and Therese RBG's staff members. The last per- who had taken a 'leave of absence' Meyer (Salt Lake), Jeff Mitchell son to report seeing this beautiful for a few years, offered to volun- (Utah Valley), Leila Shultz (Cache), plant in Salt Lake County was Wal- teer some time to UNPS: out of Dave Wallace (Cache), Mindy ter Cottam in the 1950s. We are in- this came our vastly improved Wheeler (Mountain), Maggie Wolf spired to redouble our efforts to find website which he has nurtured (Salt Lake), and Loreen Woolsten- other occurrences next Spring. ever since. Bill went on to relate hulme (Utah Valley). Tony's rescue of the occasion was some of the more recent history. The new board will meet later to only the latest of innumerable things Larry Meyer conducted a short elect officers for the coming year. - he has done for the Society, span- business meeting at which mem- Bill Gray ning almost our entire history. He bers were asked to vote on a slate 4 Sego Lily January 2009 32 (1) USFWS Gives Gierisch’s Globemallow Candidate Status

On 11 December 2008, Utah’s roster of plant species being consid- ered for potential listing under the Endangered Species Act increased by one when the US Fish and Wild- life Service afforded official Candi- date status to Gierisch’s globemal- low (Sphaeralcea gierischii). This tall, orange-flowered perennial herb in the mallow family (Malvaceae) is known from less than 60 acres of habitat along the Utah-Arizona bor- der in Washington and Mohave counties where it is restricted to semi-barren outcrops of gypsum- rich soils derived from the Harris- burg Member of the Kaibab Forma- tion. Two small populations are found south of St. George and half a dozen sites occur in northern Ari- zona, including one at the edge of an active gypsum mine. Other popula- tions are being impacted by urban sprawl, competition from exotic an- nual weeds, and off-highway vehicle recreation. Gierisch’s globemallow was de- scribed as a new species by Duane Atwood and Stan Welsh in 2002. S. gierischii resembles Rusby’s globe- mallow (S. rusbyi) and Moore’s globemallow (S. moorei) in having nearly glabrous and deeply cleft but can be distinguished by its larger and glabrous calyx. The species name commemorates Ralph Gierisch, a long-time BLM Above: Gierisch’s globemallow (Sphaeralcea gierischii) from the digital version of botanist (now deceased) who first the Utah Rare Plant Field Guide (www.utahrareplants.org). Illusration by Shan- collected the species in 1978 and non Workman. made numerous other important plant discoveries in the Colorado Plateau and Arizona Strip. verse actions from pushing the eare), Aquarius paintbrush Each year the US Fish and Wild- species towards listing under the (Castilleja aquariensis), Rabbit Val- life Service revises its list of candi- Endangered Species Act. ley gilia (Gilia [Aliciella] caespi- date species. Although not formally Currently the only other Utah tosa), and Graham’s beardtongue listed as Threatened or Endangered plant on the Candidate list is the (Penstemon grahamii). Utah cur- (and thus not legally protected), White River beardtongue rently has 24 plant species on the candidates are species that the Ser- (Penstemon scariosus var. albiflu- Endangered Species List, although vice recognizes as qualifying for list- vis) of the Uintah Basin which has Maguire’s daisy (Erigeron ing in the future as funding and pri- been in candidate limbo for over maguirei) has been recently pro- orities permit. Usually candidate 20 years. Since 2006, five other posed for de-listing. species are managed as if they were plant species have been dropped The US Fish and Wildlife Service already listed by other federal land from the proposed or candidate is seeking additional information on management agencies (either for- lists: Horseshoe milkvetch the distribution, abundance, life his- mally as Sensitive species or infor- (Astragalus esquisolensis), Slen- tory, and threats to Gierisch’s globe- mally by policy) to prevent any ad- der moonwort (Botrychium lin- mallow. - Walter Fertig

5 Utah Native Plant Society

Datura and Hawkmoths: An Intoxicating Relationship [continued from page 1] nectar. They cite observations that the moths arrive before the flowers open, and, instead of hovering to obtain the nectar as they usually do, they dive into the corolla, beat their wings and become covered with pol- len. The authors imply that the alka- loids in the nectar addict the moths, and suggest that this is an adapta- tion by the plant to increase pollina- tion. The reasoning is that if the moths come to Datura blossoms preferentially over those of other species because of the addictive compounds and spend more time in them, more frequent and effective pollination may occur. All this speculation seems to come from a single scientific article For centuries and on every conti- Above: growing at published in 1983 by noted botanists nent except Antarctica, people 6000 ft. elevation in central Iron Verne and Karen Grant. They ob- have used various species of Da- County. Photo by D.N. Reynolds. served hawkmoths of the species tura for prophetic trances, initia-

Manduca quinquemaculata to act tion ceremonies, , and (if they’re actually even there). Per- “intoxicated” after visiting Datura induction of stupors in wives and haps the presence of the compounds blooms. The moths were seen to slaves before being buried alive in the nectar actually has a negative move erratically and awkwardly, with their dead husbands. My fa- effect on pollination; the missing their targets, and falling to vorite is the use by women in the “intoxication” and loss of control the ground. Perhaps my hawkmoth East Indies who fed Datura leaves may actually decrease the pollina- was just sleeping it off when I found to beetles and then sprinkled their tion effectiveness if the moths don’t him that morning. Other reports on feces on food to unfaithful travel to as many flowers or if they the internet state that humming- lovers. Lest any of these uses pique waste time sleeping off the effects birds act strangely, fluffing their the curiosity of readers, be aware rather than transferring pollen. In feathers and remaining motionless that there are many reports of tox- any case the story is the kind I liked for several hours after feeding on icity from Datura ingestion . The to use to impress my Introductory Datura blossoms. concentration of the active com- Botany students that plants are While the story of a plant using pounds varies widely between more sophisticated than they might to addict its pollinators is in- plant parts and from the condi- think and that, even without brains, triguing, my scientific skepticism tions under which the plant grew, plants can manipulate animals as leads to a few questions that need and there is no way to know be- much as animals take advantage of answers before accepting the entire forehand what kind of a dose, mild plants. account. First, I can find no report or toxic, one may receive. Inges- that the hallucinogenic alkaloids, tion of various Datura parts is References: known from other parts of the plant, known to cause convulsions, blind- ness, respiratory depression, and Bonde, Kirsten. The genus Datura: actually occur in Datura nectar. I From research subject to powerful hallu- did find an account that several death. cinogen. Ethnobotanical leaflets. compounds with “potential Nevertheless, the story of Da- www.leda lycaeum.org/?ID=16212. properties” have been found in the tura and hawkmoths is intriguing Grant, V. and K.A. Grant. 1983. Be- nectar of an orchid, Epipactis helle- and, if true, it represents another havior of Hawkmoths on flowers of Da- borine, in . The authors of way for plants to manipulate their tura meteloides. Botanical Gazette 144 this study also propose that , pollinators besides just providing a (2): 280-284. produced from fermentation of the food reward. But we shouldn’t Jakubskai, A., D. Przado, M. Stein- nectar by wild yeast, might also af- automatically extrapolate human inger, J. Aniol-Kwiatkowska, and M. effects of the drugs to insects or Kadej. 2005. Why do pollinators become fect insect behavior. Second, I don’t “sluggish”? Nectar chemical constituents impute a selective advantage to the know enough about physiology of from Epipactis helleborine (L.) Crantz insects to know how alkaloids might plant without more evidence. Per- (Orchidaceae). Applied Ecology and affect them or if they can become haps the narcotic compounds Research 3(2): 29-38. addicted. There certainly are well- evolved to protect vegetative parts Wayne’s Word. 1998. The Deadly documented effects of Datura sec- of the plant from herbivory and Datura and Jimsonweed Junkie . ondary compounds on humans. some just ended up in the nectar Http://Waynesword. palomar.edu/

6 Sego Lily January 2009 32 (1) Botanica

When Biocontrol Goes Bad: Introduced Flies Increase Impact of Invasive Plants

Biocontrol agents, such as insects, are often released outside of their native ranges to control invasive plants. But scientists in Montana have found that through com- plex community interactions among deer mice, native plants and seeds, the presence of an introduced fly may exacerbate the effects of the invasive plant it was meant to control. These results are published in the Septem- ber 2008 issue of the journal Ecological Applications published by the Ecological Society of America. Spotted knapweed (Centaurea maculosa), a flower- ing plant native to Eurasia, was first discovered in the in the late 1800s. This broad-leaved plant has an advantage over native plants because its natural enemies, including insects such as European gallflies, do not naturally exist in North America. Thought to have hitched a ride with hauls of alfalfa, knapweed is Above: Spotted knapweed (Centaurea maculosa) by W. Fer- now widespread in western North America and has be- tig. come a serious problem in the U.S. across Washington, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana and in Canada across At Pearson's grassland study site, spotted knapweed Alberta and British Columbia. makes up more than half of the plant ground cover. The As early as 1971, U.S. scientists began releasing gall- abundance of knapweed leads to lots of gallfly larvae, flies in an effort to reduce populations of the invasive which serve as a food subsidy for the mice. Pearson and . Like all biocontrol agents, the gallflies were se- his coauthor, Ragan Callaway of the University of Mon- lected because of their specificity to their host plant, tana, found that this extra nourishment bolsters mouse leaving little risk of direct harm to other plants. population size, increasing the numbers of hungry mice Adult flies lay their eggs in the weed's flowers, and feeding on their original source of food: the seeds of after the larvae hatch they induce the plant to grow tis- native plants. As mouse consumption of native plant sue around the insect, encasing it and isolating it from seeds increases, fewer native plants survive past the the rest of the plant. seed stage. "The woody galls wall off the fly larvae from within Pearson says that this exacerbation of the invasive the flower head," says Dean Pearson, lead author on the species' impact has a lot to do with the effectiveness of study and a research ecologist with the U.S.D.A. Forest the fly at controlling the knapweed. Service's Rocky Mountain Research station. "The larvae "If the biocontrol agent is really effective, then it will then overwinter in the seed heads for about nine eventually eat itself out of house and home, and the months. When the plant devotes all that extra energy to community interactions become less of an issue," Pear- producing these galls, it has less energy to produce son says. He points out that even if the fly decimates 80 seeds." percent of the knapweed population, the 20 percent of Scientists and managers expected that this seed defi- seeds that are left to germinate are often enough to out- ciency would lead to limited knapweed population compete native plants. growth. An unanticipated side effect, however, involves The authors make the case that although biocontrol the flies' furry neighbors. At the foot of the Sapphire agents are carefully selected for specificity to their host Mountains in western Montana, omnivorous deer mice, plants, these restrictions do not prevent them from whose diet usually consists of native seeds and insects, drastically altering the community food web, which can have also begun to prey on the introduced gallflies. have far-reaching repercussions. Pearson hopes that a "These mice are generalists and very effective at ex- better understanding of food web ecology will lead to ploiting a new resource," says Pearson. "They can tell more effective tools for invasion control. which seed heads have the most larvae inside them, and "Everything's interconnected," says Pearson. "We that makes them very efficient." Pearson says that an need to understand the ecology. If we can understand average mouse can process 1200 larvae in one night. "A these complexities, we can attempt to minimize the side super mouse could go through a whole lot more than effects and maximize the effectiveness of our tools." - that," he adds. Christine Buckley and Nadine Lymn

7 Utah Native Plant Society

Utah Plant Families: The Sumac Family (Anacardiaceae)

By Walter Fertig

Every family has its black sheep, and for the Anacardiaceae that dis- tinction clearly belongs to poison ivy and its close relatives in the genus Toxicodendron. As young children we learn “leaves of three, let it be” to remind us to avoid the shiny green foliage of poison ivy and its itchy consequences (though technically the “leaves of three” are actually three leaflets of a single, compound ). Poison ivy’s toxicity comes from the chemical compound urush- iol which can cause painful swell- ing, itching, blisters, and a rash in infected people. Urushiol (or C21H32O2 for those who enjoy a good chemical formula) is found in all parts of the plant but is especially abundant where sap is present. Touching or merely brushing against poison ivy (or coming into contact with contaminated clothing or pet fur) is sufficient for a reac- tion. Some of the worst cases of poi- create lesions and new points of Above: Western poison ivy son ivy come from inhalation of infection. (Toxicodendron rydbergii) is a low- smoke from burned Toxicodendron Interestingly, relatively few ani- growing shrub rather than a vine, like plants. mals are susceptible to poison ivy its relative T. radicans from the eastern Some people are less susceptible and many game species, rodents, US and Canada. The three leaflets com- to poison ivy infection than others, livestock and birds consume the prising a single leaf are wavy margined though few are truly immune. His- foliage and without ill effect. to irregularly toothed, veiny, and often torical records suggest that Native Chemical compounds are a shiny and turn bright red in the fall. Fruits are whitish berries and are rel- Americans purposefully ingested hallmark of the Anacardiaceae and fresh springtime leaves of poison ivy ished by wildlife. Illustration by W. occur commonly in foliage, stems, Fertig. to develop immunity. More recent and fruits in a system of resin clinical trials show very limited suc- ducts. The family is also defined cess with self hyposensitization. by a set of technical floral and as a source of resins, edible fruits, or Despite some anecdotal reports to features. Most members of the are grown as ornamentals. Mango the contrary, there is little inherent family have small, greenish-white (Mangifera indica), native to South- difference in susceptibility to poison flowers consisting of five fused east Asia, has been cultivated for ivy between or among human races. , five separate petals, and 5- 4000 years as a source of fleshy, Numerous folk remedies have 10 stamens inserted on a fleshy edible fruits. Unlike most members been proposed for curing poison ivy, nectar disk or torus. The ovary is of the family, Mango has simple ranging from extracts of gumweed superior and consists of 1-5 fused rather than pinnately compound or (Grindelia spp.), to Epsom salts and carpels. Fruits are usually a one- three-parted leaves. Cashews lead acetate (not recommended seeded drupe with a fleshy coating (Anacardium occidentale) are na- these days for the risk from lead poi- surrounding a hardened seed tive to the New World tropics but soning). Greasy ointments applied (much like a peach). are now widely cultivated in . to infected skin is an especially bad The Anacardiaceae is mostly a The cashew “nut” is actually an ap- cure as these are more likely to tropical family of and , pendage formed at the tip of the spread infection than cure it. Pre- though a small number of species pear-like fleshy fruit. Another popu- vention remains the best remedy. are native to temperate and desert lar “nut” in the family is the pista- Thorough washing of skin and cloth- regions of North America and chio (Pistacia vera and related spe- ing in several changes of water Eurasia. Experts recognize 60-77 cies), which has been excavated works well, though individuals genera worldwide, of which just from archaeological sites dating should take care to avoid any hard two are native to Utah. Several back 6760 years. Technically, the scrubbing of infected skin that may genera are economically important 8 Sego Lily January 2009 32 (1) edible nut is actually the seed and The genus name Toxicodendron food because of all the likely side- the shell is the hardened endocarp has an interesting etymology of its effects from its toxicity. of the fruit. Three pistachio species own. Translated from Latin, Poison ivy sufferers may be even are grown in the St. George area, toxico-dendron means toxic wood. more dismayed by recent research with the Atlas pistachio (P. atlan- In Greek, however, toxico means by Dr. Jacqueline Mohan and col- tica) occasionally escaping. “bow”. Early bow hunters fre- leagues from Duke University who The largest genus in the Anacar- quently dispatched their prey by investigated the potential effects of diaceae native to Utah is Rhus—the using poison on their arrows, and enhanced levels of CO2 (predicted by sumacs. The malodorous Skunk- so the term toxic bow is an accu- climate change models) on the bush or Squawbush (Rhus aro- rate description of their hunting growth of the eastern species, T. matica or R. trilobata) is our most method. radicans. These researchers found ubiquitous species, This species Poison ivy has a rich ethno- that poison ivy grows faster under comes in two forms distinguished by botanical history as a source of increased CO2 and produces signifi- leaf and habitat features. The typi- food, , and dyes by Native cantly more unsaturated urushiol— cal form (var. trilobata) has leaves American and pioneer settlers. the form of the toxic compound that divided into three wedge-shaped Recently, some of these uses were is most virulent to people. The team leaflets and frequently occurs in wet put to the test by Dr. David concluded that poison ivy will be habitats or canyons. Variety simpli- Senchina of Iowa State University. more widespread, more aggressive, cifolia with simple (undivided) Senchina found that poison ivy and more toxic in the projected leaves occurs on rimrock ledges and makes an effective textile dye warmer world of the near future! slopes in the Colorado Plateau re- (though it bleeds in washing). gion of the state. Both varieties pro- Laboratory tests show that chemi- References duce small clusters of yellowish- cals from poison ivy have anti- Mohan, J.E. et al. 2006. Biomass and brown flowers in early spring (often inflammatory and anti-oxidant toxicity responses of poison ivy (Toxico- before the leaves mature) which are activity and may show promise for dendron radicans) to elevated atmos- pheric CO . Proceedings of the National later replaced by reddish-orange treating rheumatism or sciatica. 2 Academy of Sciences 103:9086-9089. round fruits covered with sticky Senchina found little evidence that Senchina, D.S. 2006. of hairs. The little drupes have a pleas- Rhus tox, a homeopathic prepara- poison ivy, poison oak, and relatives ant lemon-like flavor and make a tion used for a variety of ailments, (Toxicodendron spp., Anacardiaceae) in nice snack along the trail for hu- had any effects beyond being a America: veracity of historical accounts. mans an animals alike. Native mild placebo. He found even less Rhodora 108:203-227. Americans also used the young, pli- evidence that poison ivy was able stems to construct durable widely used as a source of human Below: Smooth sumac (Rhus glabra) by woven baskets. W. Fertig. Smooth sumac (R. glabra) differs from Skunkbush in having a denser and more elongate and longer, pinnately compound leaves. It is less abundant in Utah where it occurs mostly in canyons, stream- sides, or mountain shrub communi- ties. Both sumacs can be propa- gated from seed or cuttings and are adaptable in a variety of soils. Skunkbush seeds require cold treat- ment to break dormancy and so are best planted in the Fall. In the past taxonomists have in- cluded poison ivy in the genus Rhus. Though clearly related, the poison ivies (Toxicodendron) can be distin- guished by their non-glandular white fruits. Utah has a single mem- ber of the genus, T. rydbergii named for Per Axel Rydberg of the New York Botanical Garden who discov- ered many western plants nearly a century ago. Rydberg was well- respected by his colleagues and so it seems unlikely that being com- memorated by a poison ivy was meant as a slur! 9 Utah Native Plant Society Botanical Volunteers Needed meadow of Fishlake NF. And the good news is that now Season has joined the Trust as our Utah Volun- teer Coordinator! Your field visit and plant identifi- cation will help the Trust demon- strate the nature of reference areas and the need to use these sites to restore diversity, beauty, and habitat conditions throughout these forests. For more information about the Ref- erence Areas Project, see http:// www.grandcanyontrust.org/ programs/forests/utah/ reference_areas.php on the Grand Canyon Trust website (www.grandcanyontrust.org). By February we will have the complete list of sites posted on the Trust’s vol- unteer site. Please contact Mary O’Brien (Utah Forest Project Manager for the Trust) at [email protected] with your phone number or email, and Season or Mary will soon con- tact you to ask which of the refer- ence sites you choose to botanize, and when. Your choice, our grati- tude to UNPS.—Mary O’Brien

UNPS volunteers are needed in Above: Past UNPS President Bill the summer of 2009 for research Gray examining some native flora projects in Utah’s three Colorado or searching for his missing car Plateau national forests: the Dixie, keys on a 2008 Grand Canyon Fishlake, and Manti-La Sal. For two Trust project. Right: Nodding on- years now, Grand Canyon Trust has ion (Allium cernuum). Photos by been poking around on these for- Dave Gardner. ests, looking for “gold standard” ref- erence examples of seven habitats that too often are over-used: ripar- ian, meadow, spring, aspen, ponder- osa pine, and sagebrush communi- forests in these habitat types. ties, and beaver complexes. During Summer 2009, we will be We’ve located over a dozen sites extraordinarily grateful if pairs of that due to one circumstance or an- UNPS volunteers would choose one other (and usually because they are or two of these sites, and spend 1-2 not heavily grazed by livestock) are days identifying and listing the plant in much better shape than most species on their “adopted” site. places elsewhere on the forests. We Trust staff will assist with logistics, are in productive conversations with meals, and field tasks (e.g., helping the three forests’ supervisors about photograph the plants). Bill Gray committing to maintain these sites’ and Dave Gardner can attest to the good condition. Until now, the for- good meals of intern Season Martin ests’ managers have not been using when Bill and Dave launched UNPS reference sites to understand im- help on this project in 2008 at an pacts or guide restoration on their interesting potholes spring-fed 10 Sego Lily January 2009 32 (1) Noteworthy Discoveries New County Record for Berberis (Mahonia) fremontii

While walking through a future homesite in our neighborhood, we found a single, large specimen of Berberis fremontii that appears to be a new record for Iron County. The shrub was over 6 feet tall, grow- ing along a shallow wash in undis- turbed Pinyon-Juniper woodland with a Sagebrush understory. The location is Section 32, T 36 S, R14 W, just a few hundred yards north of the Dixie National Forest boundary in south central Iron Co. at an eleva- tion of about 5700 feet. According to the 2008 edition of A Utah Flora, the species is previ- ously known in Utah only from Em- ery, Garfield, Grand, Kane, San Juan, and Washington counties. It was first collected by John C. Fre- mont along the Virgin River in southern Utah during his second expedition in 1844. pauciloba) are often best recog- Above: Fremont’s barberry from Iron A local hunter has told us that he nized in late fall when they are still County, Utah. Photo by D.N. Reynolds. has seen more plants a few miles in leaf but Gambel’s oaks have al- north of this location in the foothills ready shed their annual foliage. sprouts, even though one of their of the Antelope Range and we have The origin of the hybrid oaks in parents is no longer found in the begun making trips to look for them. northern Utah is something of a immediate area. Hybrids are quite The new homeowner appreciates puzzle, as the two parent species common in southern Utah where the significance of this shrub; it has do not naturally co-occur north of the two parent species co-occur. been protected during construction Washington, Kane, and San Juan This November, UNPS stalwarts and will be a major attraction on the counties. Walter Cottam and his Tony Frates and Bill Gray visited approach to the new home.— students at the University of Utah several of the hybrid oak popula- Douglas Reynolds and Mike Hol- studied this problem for many tions in the Wasatch and Oquirrh gerson years and helped identify several mountains outside of Salt Lake City hybrid oak colonies in the greater with Leroy Wullstein, a retired biol- Salt Lake area. In a 1959 paper, ogy professor from the University of Northern Utah’s Hybrid Oaks Cottam suggested that Turbinella Utah. Despite the late date the hy- brids were still in full leaf and thus oak expanded its range northward readily identifiable. Bill Gray even Gambel’s oak (Quercus gambelii) to the shores of Lake Bonneville located one of the clones by doing a is a common component of shrub during a dry period of the Middle GoogleEarth search on his home communities in the foothills of the Holocene (5000-8000 years ago) computer (the aerial photo on the Wasatch Range and other moun- where it came into contact with website was apparently made in the tains of northern Utah. This species Gambel’s oak. Hybrids occurred fall when the oak still had its is easily recognized by its deeply between the two parents and were leaves!). You can read more about divided deciduous leaves with able to persist as vegetative clones, the mystery of the hybrid oaks and smooth, rounded lobes. Occasion- much as Gambel’s oak does today see photos from Bill and Tony’s ex- ally, specimens can be found with in many populations. The range of cellent oak adventure on the UNPS atypical leaves having much shal- Turbinella oak has since con- website at www.unps.org/ lower lobes with sharp tips. These tracted as summer precipitation hybridoak/hybridoak.html and links individuals may be of hybrid origin has decline in northern Utah and cited therein. - Walter Fertig between Gambel’s oak and Tur- the climate has become character- binella live oak (Q. turbinella), an ized by earlier fall or later spring Do you have a noteworthy discovery to evergreen shrub with spiny, shal- frosts. The hybrid oaks may have persisted for several thousand share? Attain fleeting botanical fame lowly lobed or toothed and holly-like by submitting it to the Sego Lily! years to the present day as root leaves. Hybrids (called Quercus x 11 Utah Native Plant Society

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__ New Member Name ______Renewal Street ______Gift Membership City ______State ______Zip ______Membership Category Email ______Student $9.00 __ Senior $12.00 Chapter ______Individual $15.00 __ Household $25.00 __ Please send a complimentary copy of the Sego Lily __ Sustaining $40.00 to the above individual. __ Supporting Organization $55.00 __ Corporate $500.00 Please enclose a check, payable to Utah Native Plant __ Lifetime $250.00 Society and send to:

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