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SPRING 2005, VOLUME 6, ISSUE 2

NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN NATIVE SOCIETY

Native Plant to Know

Butternut (Juglans cinerea)

by Keri Pidgen RANTON G The butternut tree or white walnut (Juglans RIGITTE cinerea) was listed as endangered in Canada in B 2003 by COSEWIC (Committee on the Status of Endangered Widllife in Canada). This

means that the extinction or extirpation ILLUSTRATION BY (extinction in a given geographic area) of this is considered imminent. Butternut is a mid-sized tree, rarely exceed- ing heights of 30 metres (100 feet), with a rela- tively short lifespan of up to 75 years. This eastern tree species grows rapidly in its pre- ferred habitats: well-drained slopes and ripari- an areas. Butternut can also be found as a component of hardwood forests, fencerows and in rocky areas (particularly of limestone origin). Butternut is a hard mast tree meaning that it produces edible nuts, in this case a quantity of sweet, nutritious, oil-rich nuts every two to three years. The nuts, which are high in omega-3 fatty acids, are prized by humans, squirrels and chipmunks, nuthatches, chickadees and other birds. The soft coarse-grained wood works, stains, and finishes well. This wood is highly prized for carving. It is used less often for cabinetwork and furniture. The husk also provides a tan- coloured dye that was used in the American Civil War for dyeing Confederate uniforms.

Continued on page 12 The Blazing Star is... NANPS Native Plant Sale

The Blazing Star is published quarterly Saturday May 14, 2005, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. only, please.You can bring them by the (April,August, November, February) by Parc Downsview Park evening before or early on the sale day. Please the North American Native Plant Society Carl Hall Road, , ON make sure your pots are accurately labeled (NANPS). Contact [email protected] for Did you know that NANPS members can with the species/common name.And please editorial deadlines and for advertising advance-order – up to April 30th? Visit let us know that they’re coming by leaving a rates. The views expressed herein are those www.nanps.org for a list of available species, voicemail message at 416-631-4438 or send an of the authors and not necessarily those of place your order on-line and mail in a cheque. e-mail to [email protected]. Thank you! NANPS. Your selection will be boxed and waiting for you If you're able to volunteer at the sale or The North American Native Plant Society on the day of the sale (Saturday, May 14th).You during setup the evening before, please send a is dedicated to the study, conservation, should still plan to arrive early and browse the note to [email protected] or leave a cultivation and restoration of North aisles for species that arrived unexpectedly or in message on NANPS voicemail: 416-631-4438. America’s native flora. quantities too limited to offer ahead of time. Please remember to confirm your attendance Please consider donating your excess as a volunteer. Spring 2005 native to the sale. Note: native species Volume 6, Issue 2 Crieff Bog Tour Editor: Irene Fedun Production: Bea Paterson Members Only rare orchid species.We will also visit the near- Saturday, July 9, 2005 by spring-fed sedge meadow and quarry.As © North American Native Plant Society NANPS, in conjunction with the an added bonus we may spot a number of rare Images © the photographers and illustra- Waterloo/Wellington Wildflower Society, birds that have been seen in the area! tors, text © the authors.All rights reserved. invites you to join us on a trip to Crieff bog on This trip is exclusively for NANPS and Saturday, July 9th. If you've been on our other WWWS members. Seating will be limited. North American Native Plant Society, trips you will find this a new and different Tickets are on sale now.Write excur- formerly Canadian Wildflower Society, habitat to explore. This guided tour to a cedar [email protected] to get ticket information is a registered charitable society, no. bog features many fascinating plants such as (please put Crieff Bog Tour in the subject line) 130720824. Donations to the society star , pitcher plant, Labrador tea, huck- and watch our website www.nanps.org for are tax-creditable in Canada. leberry, -twisted stalk, cranberry, and 13 agenda details.Voicemail: 416-631-4438

NANPS Membership: CAN$15/YEAR WITH- IN CANADA, US$15 YEAR OUTSIDE CANADA New Board Member

NANPS welcomes Vijay Chander to our board Metro Toronto Zoo.Vijay is young and ener- Please make cheques and money orders of directors. Vijay has a degree in Forestry getic, and has ideas about revamping NANPS payable to North American Native Plant and a work history involving plantings to website and fundraising strategies. He is very Society and mail to P.O. Box 84, Station D, encourage the Karner Blue Butterfly at the welcome indeed! Etobicoke, M9A 4X1. Telephone: (416) 631-4438. E-mail: [email protected]: www.nanps.org. Booth Volunteers Needed

Board of Directors: NANPS members who live north of Highway June 11th and 12th. It’s a free outdoor event Honourary President: James A. French #7 are needed to help staff a booth at the at Fairy Lake Park. Please contact Darcie President: Grif Cunningham Newmarket Windfall Ecology Festival 2005 on McKelvey at [email protected]. Vice-President: Feng Gao Treasurer: Darcie McKelvey A Letter from your President Secretary: Martin Field Vijay Chander As I write this I have been home less than 24 tains and volcanoes,and very high plateaus.Trees Miriam Henriques hours after a two-week trip with my spouse are not common,and members of the cactus Howard Meadd through and .We visited the family are,of course,present,but not dominant. Susan Slottow Grand Canyon and travelled across a big chunk Carnegiea gigantea,the giant cactus, Cornelius Sommer of Arizona.What was most interesting from up to 12 metres (40 feet) tall,is featured in Ruth Zaugg NANPS perspective was the native vegetation movies and travel books.To see them in their that prevailed - outside all the towns and cities - native habitat is a wonderful experience.And in the untouched,uncultivated,uninhabited they are native plants - though not in my own landscapes we travelled across.Most of Arizona is northern neighbourhood.But it does snow on empty of significant human settlement,unin- them a few times in a century! habitable.Nature prevails.The composition of Next time you go to Las Vegas,rent a car and nature depends on rainfall,elevation,geology take off - any way will do - and see a wonderful and botanical history.Much of Arizona is near landscape of native plants. desert or desert,or small and medium moun- Grif Cunningham

2NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY SPRING 2005 Doubles in the Wild

by Anna Leggatt into . Often the carpels (the female parts tepals, instead of three. However, I suspect of the flower consisting of , style and they were infected with organ- Where would our gardens be without dou- ) turn into petals as well. isms as I had seen green streaked in ble flowers? Imagine a garden without lush Sanguinaria canadensis forma multiplex, that area. (Mycoplasma organisms are micro- Clematis, blousey Paeonia, rainbow-coloured the double bloodroot, is one of my favourite scopic in size; they are the smallest known Dahlia and purple, pink, blue and white fall- flowers. The almost grey-white petals appear free-living life forms. They can cause bizarre blooming Aster. Some of you may shudder, from inside a furled crenulated leaf. The flower patterns with green streaks and distor- preferring the simplicity and grace of single flowers last for a week or more, unlike the deli- tion in . They are spread by leafhop- blooms.After all, these are as Nature intended cate single that is only there for a couple of pers.Affected plants should be removed and and what we find in the wild, aren’t they? days. The double lasts because it has not been leafhoppers controlled with a non-toxic Double flowers are rare in the wild. pollinated. Pollination is impossible because insecticide.) However, they do occur and many of our there are no carpels. In a single plant the petals I have heard of several types of this wildflowers have developed extra petals, drop after pollination. Their work is done - just north of Stouffville, Ontario, and I have producing showy plants. These appear to be they have attracted an insect so there is no seen pictures of some in a woodlot near Owen spontaneous mutations. Some, or all, of the need to waste resources maintaining petals. Sound. There are at least 12 separate plants have become petaloid meaning they The original S. canadensis forma multiplex there. Doubles found in the wild fall into two have a structure that looks like petals. In many was found in the wild near Dayton, in main types: one looks very like a miniature double flowers, the stamens have developed 1916. Most of the bloodroots in cultivation are , the other still shows the three-fold direct clonal descen- arrangement of petals with rows one on top dants of a plant sent of the other, becoming progressively smaller. to Montreal Botanic I once had a plant of the latter: it was never Garden. (See strong and it dwindled, eventually dying. Cuttings from a Double trilliums are reported frequently Rock Garden by in the wild, while double bloodroots are very, H. Lincoln and very rare. The reverse is true in cultivation Laura Louise Foster, due to the ease of bloodroot propagation. Atlantic Monthly Anemonella thalictroides, the rue anemone, Press, 1990.) Others is a delicate small plant, often overlooked in have appeared and our woodlands. It can be white to dirty white are listed in Europe. through to pink.Apparently some pinks are There are also pink quite bright. The single pink plant in my forms, both double garden is a pale shade. Several doubles, either and single, in North with different colour or different sizes, America. have been found in the wild.Again, as there The plants often are no stamens, these flowers persist for a long die inexplicably time. However, sometimes an occasional petal every few years. or carpel persists so seeds are possible. Perhaps the soil is ‘Betty Blake’is a delicate green rue exhausted. It’s possi- anemone, a little smaller than some of the ble that this happens normal wild forms. I visited Betty (for whom in the wild too and the mutation is named) at her home in we do not notice several years ago. She had found since there are so several different forms in her woods.‘Betty many plants. Divid- Blake’ was the best. There were semi-doubles ing and replanting as well. These are fertile and may have multi- prevents it from petaloid offspring. Several double pink forms EGGATT L happening in the have been discovered.‘Oscar Schoaff’ NNA

A garden. (‘Schoaff’s Double Pink’) is one of the best. I keep looking It was originally found in . Oscar for Trillium grandi- Schoaff had a pink border of these plants, all florum‘Flore Pleno’ of which were offspring of the original collec- as I walk in the tion and are more vigorous than the common HOTOGRAPH COURTESY P spring woods. I once . They make an excellent garden plant as Double bloodroot found an unripe individual blooms will last several weeks. berry with six fading Continued on page 4

NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY SPRING 2005 3 Liverworts

Continued from page 3 by Joan Crowe them. The leaves never have midribs. The capsules are ephemeral and much simpler I have found several Hepatica triloba Liverworts are the poor relations of mosses. than moss capsules, opening into four valves plants with multiple petals as well as stamens Their common name arose because the lobed and discharging their spores quickly. and carpels. These were pleasant but not thallus* in a few larger species was considered The only mosses that might be mistaken spectacular. to mimic the shape of the human liver, and for liverworts are the Fissidens. These are Caltha palustris (marsh marigold) has "wort" is an old English word for plant. In prostrate and do have two-ranked leaves but, double forms as does Aster novae-angliae mediaeval times a belief was formulated even under low magnification, it can be seen (New England aster). I have seen asters with known as the Doctrine of Signatures. For that the leaves have midribs and the cells are extra petals in meadows. However, many some centuries it was believed that a plant narrow and dense. Some of the Mniums have doubles in cultivation are, I believe, from reminiscent of the shape of a body organ large cells that give them the translucent look careful selection in the garden. would contain a cure for diseases associated of liverworts but the leaves have midribs and with it. Thus taking an extract of liverwort the plants are larger and more erect. would cure your hepatitis. It probably worked Generally speaking, liverworts are not so as well as most things! However, thalloid resistant to desiccation as mosses, but there liverworts only make up about one-tenth of are some exceptions. The tiny, dark Frullanias the liverwort flora; the remainder are "leafy", grow in patches on tree trunks, often at eye more moss-like and generally much smaller. level, where there is a very intermittent supply Liverworts (Hepaticae) are Bryophytes of water, but they have developed lobes on the along with the mosses, as they have the same underside of the leaves that are like little jugs life cycle and a similar means of reproduction. that catch and retain minute quantities of However, they differ in a number of ways. The water. Lower down the trunk, bright green leafy liverworts tend to be flatter, with two patches of Radula complanata are common, ranks of leaves. If there is a third rank it is also with a simpler water-catching leaf hidden beneath the stem and usually those underlobe. underleaves are much smaller.All liverworts Liverwort leaves may be two, three or are prostrate, like pleurocarpous mosses, but four-lobed. Occasionally the leaves may have they are generally much more translucent minute teeth, or more commonly, they may than mosses, because the cells are bigger and be fringed. In the latter category, the fuzziest

EGGATT isodiametric so more light passes through one of all is the whitish-green Trichocolea L tomentella. It may be found growing with NNA A Sphagnum in swampy cedar forests.Another extremely common fringed species is Ptilidium pulcherrimum found on tree trunks and rotting logs. Less common is its reddish, HOTOGRAPH COURTESY

P more robust cousin Ptilidium ciliare. Of the bilobed species, probably the pale Trillium grandiflorum (double) whitish-green Lophocolea heterophylla is the most ubiquitous, especially on rotting logs. In southern Ontario, the robust three-lobed I encourage you to keep your eyes open species Bazzania trilobata makes large patches for unusual forms when looking at flowers in on the forest floor. It always reminds me of a the wild. Rescue any that are threatened by mass of brownish-green caterpillars because, development, making sure you obtain all the when dry, the leaves and shoots curl under. proper approvals first. Never dig plants from When moistened and viewed with a hand lens, the wild unless they are under threat. (When it can be seen that the leaves have three teeth collecting seeds of wild plants, take no more and the underleaves are quite large. ROWE

than 10%.) That said, the Sanguinaria C In the north, moist decorticated rotting logs

canadensis forma multiplex grew far better OAN are a good place to find a variety of liverworts. J in a garden and would probably have been More commonly, in southern Ontario you will lost if not dug from the wild. come across such a log that appears to be cov- ered in red velvet. This is Nowellia curvifolia LLUSTRATION BY Anna Leggatt writes and lectures on horticulture, I with a strangely cupped bilobed leaf. conservation and natural history. She has a B.Sc. The only species of liverwort to which most in Botany. Anna is a Nature Interpreter at the people are exposed in high school or first-year Kortright Centre for Conservation in Leafy liverwort Woodbridge, Ontario. * Thallus – a life-like structure without distinct roots or stems

4NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY SPRING 2005 university biology is Marchantia polymorpha. What they do for the plant is not clear. They tify without a microscope (with magnification It is actually not very common, although may slow dehydration and they may act as a at least up to x40). Like mosses, our species are it crops up occasionally in damp spots in deterrent to insects.You will often find tiny mostly circumpolar or circumboreal, so it is gardens and often in recently burned-over mites and beetles sheltering in liverworts but possible to use European books for identifica- forest areas. This is a comparatively large you never see one chewed by insects or snails, tion purposes. thallose species (7-15 millimetres wide, 4-6 unlike higher plants. Both mosses and liverworts have a lot in centimetres long) with broad leaf-like lobes. Although liverworts have the same power common biochemically with the green algae Of the thallose species, the cone-headed of rehydration as mosses, in most cases they and undoubtedly share a common ancestry. liverwort (Conocephalum conicum) is by far are less resistant to prolonged dehydration. The bryophytes must have been among the the most common. It may be found on moist However, a few of the thallose liverworts such first plants to move out of the water and estab- rocks or soils that are basic, never on acid as Mannia species, are adapted to very arid lish themselves on land, but how or when substrates. It has lobes more than one conditions and they may be found growing in remains a mystery. Unlike ferns, they do not centimetre (about a half inch) wide and forms crevices in the alvars on the Bruce Peninsula fossilize well.Although there are traces at least large patches. It can be seen with a hand lens or on rocky mesas in Thunder Bay, Ontario. as far back as the Devonian era, they undoubt- that the surface is covered with distinct pores. They are even found in the Australian desert! edly evolved long before that. Like mosses, they do their bit to retain atmospheric mois- ture, slow erosion, store carbon dioxide and re-oxygenate the atmosphere and should be valued accordingly.

Joan Crowe is co-author with Linda M. Ley of The Liverworts and Hornworts of Ontario, available from the Claude Garton Herbarium at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Magnolias at Plant Sale

This year NANPS plant sale will have a few cucumber (Magnolia acuminata) ROWE C trees grown from seed taken from NANPS OAN J own Shining Tree Woods preserve.Although Toronto is a bit north of its natural range, we couldn't resist offering a few of these magnifi- cent seedlings. Most will be planted back in the

HOTOGRAPH COURTESY preserve to help expand the number of these P rare trees in the wild.You can help by choosing Cone-headed liverwort growing with mosses to donate $20 to plant a Cucumber Magnolia in Shining Tree Woods. Donors will receive a Canadian tax donation receipt, a pewter Marchantia also has this feature, but the pores At the other end of the scale most liverworts NANPS logo lapel pin, and they will be are not so prominent. tend not to be found in very wet places, thanked (unless anonymity is requested) in a The cone-headed liverwort is generally yel- although the tiny future issue of the Blazing Star. lowish-green but in the dolostone-dominated thallose Riccias areas of the Niagara Peninsula it may be prefer moist bluish-green. The sporangia (the receptacles habitats such as in which spores are formed) are borne in a lake edges and cone-shaped structure like a small mushroom, Ricciocarpous most likely to be found in early spring. The natans, also thal- most interesting feature of Conocephalum is lose, is actually that it has an attractive scent when you crush a aquatic. piece. That will always distinguish it from Liverworts, Marchantia. like mosses, have Many liverworts produce aromatic oils and few common tiny clumps of oil droplets can be seen in the names and they cells of fresh specimens under the microscope. are hard to iden-

NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY SPRING 2005 5 A Tale of Three Orchids

by Hal Horwitz rare native plants, animals and natural private land and it took some time to gain communities, their chief botanist showed me the approval of landowners to search their Orchids are one of the largest plant families. some satellite images of . They were property.Another limiting factor was the The most recent estimates vary from 18,000 to colour infrared photographs taken from location; the sites were all about 400 miles 20,000 species worldwide.Although popularly space in winter, when the trees are bare; this (over 600 kilometres) from the Natural thought of as tropical, they are found growing specialized view gave scientists new ways to Heritage offices and not close to any large on every continent except Antarctica. The evaluate land cover. Infrared images show soil town. Nearly a year later, after multiple visits Flora of (2002) recognizes 208 as red, ponds as black and exposed rock as in different seasons, an orchid new to Virginia, species on this continent. blue. Since the underlying rock formations in Spiranthes magnicamporum, (great plains This is the tale of three Virginia orchids – this part of the state are limestone, the blue ladies’tresses), a Midwestern species, was three species recently found in our state for splotches among the predominant red on the found growing on three of those "splotches on the first time.Virginia now boasts 58 orchid species among its flora. The manner in which each of these "new" orchids was found is instructive for us wildflower enthusiasts as we educate ourselves and, if we’re lucky, make our modest contribution to the complex field of botany. Some years ago, I was sitting in a classroom at the College of William and Mary listening to a Master’s student report on his study of the flora of a section of Rappahannock River drainage in Lancaster County. The county, which is in an area of Virginia known as the Northern Neck, is on the coastal plain and borders both the Rappahannock River and Chesapeake Bay. The student’s thesis had taken two years and involved choosing a well- defined area and going back season after sea- son, recording every species found. Most of the species noted were routine, known to grow in the study area. However, I nearly came out of my seat when slides of Cypripedium kentuckiense flashed on the screen. This largest and most wonderful of the lady’s slippers in North America had never been found east of before this discovery.An incredible colony of more than 400 plants had been located over 500 miles (800 kilometres) from its closest neighbour. It is the only known population of the southern lady’s slipper ORWITZ

(a.k.a. ivory lady’s slipper) on the coastal H AL

plain. The plant grows up to 38 inches (97 H centimetres) and the flower lip can measure 2 1/2 inches (6.5 centimetres). The lip colour varies from nearly white to ivory to pale lemo- ny yellow as contrasted with the golden yellow HOTOGRAPH COURTESY of similar species. The lip opening is formed P by margins that neither fold inward nor out- Cypripedium kentuckiense ward. The lip is not slipper-shaped either, but more like a rounded oval. Cypripedium kentuckiense became the 56th orchid for the map looked promising and begged further the map." This find was quite a shock, since state of Virginia. investigation. Perhaps these represented the nearest known population was over 300 A year later while I was visiting the VA limestone barrens and harboured botanical miles (500 kilometres) away. Division of Natural Heritage, the state agency communities unusual to Virginia. The infrared images allowed a trained responsible for maintaining an inventory of All the promising-looking areas were on observer to discover limestone barrens

6NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY SPRING 2005 eventually found to contain multiple elements of Midwestern prairie plant life. High-tech science had located Virginia’s 57th native orchid. Now let me tell you about Stan Bentley, an amateur plant hunter from the western part of Virginia who loves native orchids. He has used up every spare minute of the past quarter century walking the byways and trails of western Virginia and the adjacent state of .A few years ago, he ran across a little plant unknown to him in West Virginia, not a mile from the Virginia state line.What he saw was a stand of plants that looked for all the world like young, stout stems of Corallorhiza maculata var. maculata, (spotted coral-root), an orchid flowering in the mountains of Virginia and West Virginia from mid to late July. The two observations that eventually led him to examine the plants in much greater detail were: the flowers never seemed to open and the stems were thicker than those of spotted coral-root. It was obvious that this was a species he had neither seen before nor read about. He called Dr. John Freudenstein, the recognized authority of the genus Corallorhiza, who visited the site and confirmed the uniqueness of this orchid. According to Dr. Freudenstein, this orchid is similar to a Mexican species of coral-root, but quite unlike anything north of the Mexico- border. In December 1999, the plant was officially described in a ORWITZ botanical journal as one new to science, H AL Corallorhiza bentleyi. H In the intervening years, Bentley’s coral- root has been located in several places in mountainous southwestern Virginia, adjacent HOTOGRAPH COURTESY

to the original West Virginia site. In some P locations the flowers never open fully and the Corallorhiza bentleyi lip is dark red, while in others the lip is yellow and open.All discoveries of Bentley’s coral- root to date have been in might have overlooked a rare plant or perhaps outbursts. His reaction was a wonderful Appalachian forest on somewhat disturbed it did not bloom the year you searched. In expression of joy and a blessing that someone sites. Stan Bentley "contributed" orchid addition, do not assume that all botanical could maintain such enthusiasm and species #58 for Virginia. exploration is complete. There is still much to freshness of outlook throughout their life. I find these three stories interesting because discover. Imagine the thrill of finding a plant I invite you to join the hunt, maintain your of the lessons they teach: there are still lots of never described before! persistence and enthusiasm. Delights await. botanical discoveries to make if you are per- When I was first getting involved in photo- sistent, if you use all the tools at your disposal, graphing wildflowers, one of my early men- Hal Horwitz began photographing people, places and if you stay inquisitive. Just because some- tors, an elderly man, would literally jump up and things -- above and below water -- over 40 thing looks familiar from a distance, does not and exclaim to the searched-for plant, "Wow, years ago. Two decades ago he became fascinat- guarantee that it is. Investigate anyway; it just you’re the most beautiful flower I’ve ever ed with wildflowers and has photographed little might be something different.You may have seen." At the time I thought it a little silly, but else since. Hal has developed a special interest in been down that road previously, but you as time progressed I came to appreciate his the orchids native to North America.

NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY SPRING 2005 7 New & Noted

Farming with the Wild: Enhancing Biodiversity ecological services of benefit to farmers when In the world of forests, herbaceous plants are on Farms and Ranches farmers view and manage their land as often neglected in favour of the impressive, By Daniel Imhoff functioning pieces of a natural system.Along predominating trees. To remedy this situation, San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 2003 with pollination, benefits include biological Frank Gilliam and Mark Roberts have $29.95 US, paperback pest control (through efforts to create habitat provided a compilation of the current 182 pages for beneficial insects), weed suppression knowledge of the complex and diverse ISBN 1-57805-092-8 (through the reintroduction of fire, for layer in eastern North example), and flood prevention (through American forests. This work will be useful As advocates for wilderness protection, we’re the restoration of healthy riparian areas). to anyone interested in forest ecology, but is used to dichotomies: natural areas versus All of these efforts and more provide payback primarily aimed at the scientific community. cities, natural areas versus agricultural areas, not only for the farmer, but for the broader Although many scientists study herbaceous the wild versus the tame. Such oppositional ecosystem as well.While the book doesn't plants, as the numerous contributors demon- thinking, though, quickly runs up against put a pricetag on such benefits, its economic strate, this book is one of the few to integrate some basic realities: we need to live message is clear: the current, dominant multiple facets in forest ecology. The varying somewhere and we need to eat. agricultural model of production is not perspectives provided by the authors gives a Farming With the Wild ditches the sustainable (not economically, not environ- clear understanding of the dynamic nature dichotomous paradigm, shifting from mentally), and the farmers profiled here are of herbs, while exploring related subjects opposition to partnership, asking how offering a sustainable alternative that such as nutrient cycling, invasive species and farming practices can make peace with the improves the land's capacity to renew itself conservation. Chapters are enveloped by four land. It is based on the premise that "Our (an excellent definition of ecosystem health). broad themes: the environment of the herb relationship with food was once, and arguably While agricultural lands are traditionally layer, population dynamics, community should always remain, one of our deepest thought of as places where the wild is tamed, dynamics across space and time, and the role connections with the biotic community…" this book makes a resoundingly sensible and of disturbance. The book includes countless Some of the main questions at the heart of this hopeful argument that farms can be places research articles (over 1,000 references), but visionary book are: what is the role of wildness where the wild actually enhances harvest, in the reader is not overwhelmed by details. in productive farming and how can farming the broadest possible sense of that word–not Rather, a sense of the "big picture" predomi- practices actually help restore interconnected just as crop but as reward. nates, leading, arguably, to the best part of the book: the last chapter. Here, we not only have healthy ecosystems? Review by Lorraine Johnson Based on years of research and travel that a synthesis of the main ideas from each theme, took him through 21 states and two countries, but there is also a useful section outlining author Daniel Imhoff chronicles dozens of topics that require further research. These include the contribution of herbs to carbon inspirational stories of farmers and ranchers The Herbaceous Layer in Forests of production, the effects of herbs on tree who are restoring wild habitats on the lands Eastern North America composition and how non-native plants they cultivate. For example, the reader is Edited by Frank S. Gilliam invade natural ecosystems. introduced to farmers in the Santa Cruz River and Mark R. Roberts region who are creating habitat to encourage : Oxford University Press, 2003 Review by Barbara V. Ramovs pollinators, insects that are crucial to fruit 408 pages production. Many other stories detail the ISBN 0-19-514088-5

Calendar of Events

May 14, 2005 June 16-18, 2005 June 17-19, 2005 NORTH AMERICAN NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY MID-ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS BIODIVERSITY WETLAND RESTORATION WORKSHOP ANNUAL WILDFLOWER SALE CONFERENCE: MAKING THE CONNECTION Jepson Herbarium Parc Downsview Park IN YOUR COMMUNITY Berkeley, CA Carl Hall Road, Toronto, ON University of Pittsburgh For more info phone (510) 643-7008 For more information e-mail Johnstown, PA or e-mail [email protected]. [email protected] or leave a voicemail mes- Submit proposals to: sage at (416) 631-4438. [email protected]. July 9-12, 2005 FOURTH ANNUAL NATIVE ORCHID June 5-10, 2005 June 17-19, 2005 CONFERENCE 26TH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL WETLANDS NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY ANNUAL Winnipeg, MEETING MEETING: BADLANDS II Website: Coastal Plain Wetlands: Ecological, Landscape Antelope, MT http://groups.yahoo.com/group/native- and Regulatory Transformations Visit www.umt/edu/mnps/ for details. orchidconference/ Charleston, Phone: Lorne Heshka, (204) 663-6850. Hosted by the Society of Wetland Scientists: http://www.sws.org/charleston2005.

8NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY SPRING 2005 Native plants: Not necessarily environmentally and economically beneficial?

by Pat Woodward only yield local appropriateness. Moreover, species for a spot." A corollary observation is and even more important for debates about sharply relevant to ecologists: "the proof that "The use of native plants not only protects our superiority of native plants, natural selection current incumbency as ‘native’ does not imply natural heritage and provides wildlife habitat, is only a ‘better than’principle, not an superiority against potential competitors but can also reduce fertilizer, pesticide, and optimizing device." exists in abundance among hundreds of irrigation demands and their associated costs We can all think of a few instances of native imported interlopers that have displaced because native plants are suited to the local plants that grow where most others cannot natives throughout the world." environment and climate." survive and thus are close to optimally fitted To wrap it up, Gould states, "In summary, of Right? for specific difficult environments — arctic my entire argument from evolutionary theory, Wrong! willows, desert cacti, water-bound tule — but, ‘native’plants cannot be deemed biologically Evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould far more frequent in our experience are those best in any justifiable way." took particular exception to the assumptions species that have evolved to adequately adapt Well, lots of luck to you, Mr. Clinton, and to underlying this quotation (which he attri- to common environments — white spruce, all of us who care about restoration, regenera- buted to Bill Clinton) in his last collection of dandelions, burr-reeds. For them, many tion and the like. essays, I Have Landed. Published in 2002, close habitations are acceptable and in many areas REBUTTALS, ANYONE? to the time of his death, this parting shot from they jostle with thousands of adequately Before you sharpen your points, you should Gould once again draws an unsentimental adapted others; all are fitted, and the evolu- know that Gould does allow some merit to bead on fuzzy thinkers who extend evolution- tionary question of "best fitted" seems beside intrinsic native superiority; if he cannot ary theory to justify their own world views the point.You may have noted, as does Gould, defend it through evolutionary theory, he has- and predilections. that among these environmentally tolerant tens to support it on ethical and aesthetic So where is the error? Native plants are suit- plants are those often considered to be weeds. grounds. "I do understand the appeal of the ed to their local environment and climate. Getting back to Mr. Clinton, we have to admit ethical argument that we should leave nature Yes,but. Gould precisely defines the limit of that a huge population of non-native plants alone and preserve as much as we can of the evolutionary theory’s support for Mr.Clinton, may be equally suited to a particular local life that existed and developed before our very and, by extension, for us members of NPSBC environment. recent geological appearance. Like all evolu- (Native Plant Society of ) in NATIVE PLANTS NOT NECESSARILY tionary biologists, I treasure nature’s boun- our enthusiasms. He contests our point of GEOGRAPHICALLY APPROPRIATE teous diversity of species." Gould winds a wily view through two analyses: a functional argu- The second argument advanced by Gould dis- argument and you will enjoy following it in ment based on adaptation; and a geographic patches the unjustifiable assumption that this, his last word on native plants. argument based on appropriate place. native plants are maximally appropriate for Because we can no longer rest secure in the their geographic location. He points out that Pat Woodward is co-owner of Pacific Rim Native notion that native plants must be "right and "Organisms do not necessarily, or even gener- Plant Nursery in Chilliwack, British Columbia and best because God made each creature to dwell ally, inhabit the geographic area best suited to a member of the British Columbia Native Plant in its proper place," Gould says, "any claim for their attributes. Since organisms (and their Society. She can be reached at [email protected]. preferring native plants must rest upon some areas of habitation) originate as products of This article was reprinted with permission from construction of evolutionary theory — a diffi- history laced with chaos, contingency, and Menziesia, the BCNPS newsletter. cult proposition to defend (as I shall argue) genuine randomness, current patterns [of because evolution has been so widely miscon- plant distribution] (although obviously work- strued, and, when properly understood, so able) will rarely express anything close to an difficult to utilize for the defense of intrinsic optimum, or even ‘best possible on this earth native superiority." now’..." After descri- NATIVE PLANTS NOT "OPTIMALLY" ADAPTED bing Darwin’s Looking first at the adaptation of plants to be research into "the "best fitted" for their ecological niches, and mechanisms whereby even "truly beautiful," Gould points out that organisms achieve these characteristics, while they are appreciated fortuitous transport by horticulturists, are accidental benefits. as species spread to Gould’s reasoning is based on "a clear and regions beyond their careful distinction between the historical initial point of origin," origin and [the] current utility of organic Gould goes on, features" of plants. The actual series of events "Natives, in short, are and conditions that took place as local envi- the species that hap- ronments changed is all that has directed evo- pened to find their way By appointment lutionary natural selection. In summary, (or evolve in situ), not Gould says, "The ‘struggle for existence’ can the best conceivable

NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY SPRING 2005 9 ’s Coastal Terrace Prairie

by Mike Wood of fog incursion. The rich loamy soils of these many of the native species that comprise our marine terraces are ideal for the cultivation of interior grasslands, annuals are a less impor- California, known for its remarkable diversity Brussels sprouts. tant part of the community structure. Coastal of plant and animal life, is equally remarkable Unlike so many of California’s plant com- terrace prairie is distributed from Santa Cruz for its diversity of distinct and not-so-distinct munities, which are subject to a prolonged County to and its range closely plant communities. There is a direct correla- summer drought period (as many as eight matches that of northern coastal scrub, with tion between California’s biologic diversity consecutive rain-free months), the coastal which it is generally associated. and its geologic diversity. The tremendously habitats receive substantial summer moisture The dominant species vary from north to varied micro-climates, topography, soil types in the form of fog drip. This is especially true south and with distance from the ocean. and organisms and their interactions over from Point Conception in Santa Barbara Coastal terrace prairie is also commonly time have produced a wealth of plant life. County northward to the Oregon border. referred to as Festuca-Danthonia grassland, A discussion of California’s plant commu- Those of you who have visited San Francisco for the two most common genera. On the San nities and the science (or art) of community in June or July expecting warm sunny days are Francisco Peninsula and Marin Headlands classification is well beyond the scope of this article. Suffice it to say, just as taxonomists can be categorized as "lumpers" or "splitters", so too can ecologists when it comes to classifying plant communities.With ecologists, however, the category to which plant communities belong usually has more to do with the scale at which they are working than presumed evolu- tionary relationships. Many habitat classifica- tion schemes have been proposed. The number of distinct habitats, plant communi- ties or plant associations in California described by ecologists ranges from as few as 15 to an unbelievable 2,073. A dictionary definition of prairie is: an extensive area of flat or rolling grassland; espe- cially, the plain of central North America. In the United States, grasslands currently cover an estimated 310 million acres or 125 million hectares (over 16 percent of the total land area), more than any other single vegetation type. The California prairie, also known as the foothill-valley grassland, covers approximate- OOD

ly 5.35 million acres (2.16 million hectares), W IKE

with another 3.87 million acres (1.56 million M hectares) found beneath an oak over-storey, occupying over nine percent of the total land area of the state. Coastal terrace prairie repre- sents a tiny fraction of that total. HOTOGRAPH COURTESY Views of the Pacific Ocean aside, coastal P California coast in bloom terrace prairie would look quite familiar to mid-westerners. This dense, tall grassland community is dominated by both sod- and tussock-forming native perennial grasses. well aware of the effects of that famous fog across the Golden Gate, characteristic native However, coastal terrace prairie is much more that creeps in on little cat feet.We just call it grass species include California oatgrass patchy in occurrence and variable in species our natural air conditioning. Mark Twain (Danthonia californica), red fescue (Festuca composition, reflecting differences in slope wrote, "the coldest winter I ever spent was rubra), fescue (Festuca idahoensis), aspect, soil texture, geology and moisture summer in San Francisco". It is exactly this California brome (Bromus carinatus), coastal availability. This vegetation community unique climate that sustains the prairie grass- tufted hairgrass (Deschampsia cespitosa ssp. occurs on sandy loam soils of uplifted marine lands of the central and northern California holciformis), blue wildrye (Elymus glaucus var. terraces and slopes near the coast. It is restrict- coast. glaucus and E. g.var.jepsonii), big squirreltail ed to cooler, more mesic sites within the zone Although coastal terrace prairie includes (Elymus multisetus), Torrey melic

10 NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY SPRING 2005 (Melica torreyana), purple needlegrass (Nas- regime, erosion, land development, and inva- Creek, California. His work involves endangered sella pulchra), foothill needlegrass (Nassella sive exotic species all have resulted in the loss species, wetlands and habitat restoration. He is lepida), and one-sided bluegrass (Poa of native grassland habitats throughout the co-chair of the Rare Plant Committee of the secunda). Pacific reedgrass (Calamagrostis state.Along the coast, the expansion of plant- Yerba Buena Chapter of the California Native nutkaensis), a magnificent native that typically ed groves of eucalyptus, Monterey pine (Pinus Plant Society. occurs in habitats that are seasonally or per- radiata) and Monterey cypress (Cupressus manently saturated with shallow freshwater, is macrocarpa), and the spread of pampas grass also a component of this ecosystem. It’s valu- (Cortaderia selloana) and Cape ivy (Delairia able for controlling soil erosion and is capable odorata) have overrun many areas of coastal Members’ Comments of persisting even with the encroachment of terrace prairie and coastal scrub habitat. eucalyptus and invasive grasses. Although native to the Monterey Peninsula, I noticed in the winter 2005 issue of the Wildflowers are also present in the coastal about 80 miles (130 kilometres) to the south, Blazing Star that Jim French’s comments on terrace prairie and frequently occur in profu- Monterey pine and cypress are not indigenous wood poppy included the sentence: "I find it sion. Characteristic species include common to the San Francisco Peninsula. The first Euro- interesting that this plant should be so pean settlers in San Francisco uncommon in the wild since it reseeds itself found the treeless, wind-swept quite reasonably in my woodland gardens." coastal hills quite unbearable. To Well, it does so in my gardens as well, but I "remedy" the situation, in the mid- have noticed only seems to occur dle of the 19th Century they began when there is deep and constant snow cover. a program of tree planting of Actually, last spring (2004) saw a bumper crop unprecedented proportions. of new seedlings, which I have distributed to The very fog drip that sustains several friends nearby. Other years, I find very the prairie contributes to its few, if any seedlings. So, perhaps the lack of demise as the non-indigenous adequate snow cover in several recent years is trees become established. They the culprit. Especially since constant snow so efficiently sweep the moisture cover is more likely to occur in a mature forest, from the marine air that they cre- itself an increasingly rare sight in Carolinian ate favourable conditions for the Canada. invasive understorey species, effec- tively eliminating the native flora. OOD - Matt Hurst, Burlington, Ontario W Perhaps surprisingly, it’s not IKE

M just the exotic interlopers that threaten coastal terrace prairie. Native Plant Book Updated With the removal of livestock grazing and fire suppression,

HOTOGRAPH COURTESY native shrub species such as coyote Lorraine Johnson’s much-loved and often- P brush (Baccharis pilularis), poison referenced book 100 Easy-to-Grow Native Coastal terrace prairie oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum), Plants for Canadian Gardens has been updated. toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia) Most of the original plant entries remain the and California blackberry (Rubus same as does the propagation section, but the California aster (Symphyotrichum chilense), ursinu) also invade native coastal grasslands, nursery listings have been updated. Any native seaside daisy (Erigeron glaucus), goldfields and their spread represents almost as great a plant lover – gardener or not – who does not (Lasthenia californica), the daisy-like annual threat as that posed by invasive non-natives. possess a copy of this book should seriously coast layia (Layia platyglossa ssp. platyglossa), Dramatic, yet soothing, the coastal grass- consider a trip to the local bookstore. lupines (Lupinus spp.), California poppy lands are a sheer joy (), farewell-to-spring to drive past and (Clarkia rubicunda), California buttercup even more enjoy- (Ranunculus californicus), beach strawberry able to explore on Carolinian Plants for Sale (Fragaria chiloensis),Wright’s Indian paint- foot. Spring or win- We specialize in Carolinian tree and brush (Castilleja wightii), California blue- ter, you’d be hard shrub seedlings, and wildflower seeds. eyed grass (Sisyrinchium bellum), the deep pressed to find a purple-flowered harvest brodiaea (Brodiaea more spectacular Choose from Pawpaw, Tuliptree, Redbud, Hoptree, elegans ssp. elegans), and blue dicks (Diche- place to botanize Cucumbertree, Chinquapin Oak, Compass-plant, lostemma capitatum), among many others. than California’s Blazing-star, Pale Purple Coneflower, Like all of California’s native grasslands, Pacific coast. Swamp Rose-mallow, Sawtooth Sunflower coastal terrace prairie has been subjected to a Mike Wood is an and more! long history of human-caused disturbance. ecological consultant Intensive livestock grazing, changes in fire based in Walnut www.carolinianplants.com or (519) 678-3866.

NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY SPRING 2005 11 Continued from page 1 canker and frequent the trees. Third…grow them. The nuts can be col- Upon hearing about the butternut’s plight, lected in the early fall, although one must be A fungal disease known as butternut canker one might ask what can be done? prompt, as squirrels can strip a tree rather (Sirococcus clavigignenti-juglandacearum) is First…protect them. If you know the loca- quickly. Before winter storage or planting, the reported to have already eliminated butternut tion of a butternut, try to preserve it. Prune off husks should be removed.A relatively easy from North and South Carolina.Although way of doing this is to allow the husk to rot this tree species is still relatively common and then use a pressure washer to remove the throughout much of its range in eastern pulp.A word of caution: a pair of gloves is North America, it has been estimated that up essential when handling the husks, as they to 90 percent of all individuals have contract- contain a substance that can dye clothing and ed the disease. skin. It is a good idea to rasp the hard shell, as Butternut canker was first reported in 1967 this will improve germination. The nuts can in , yet was not described until the be pushed into the ground in fall, or stored in year 1979. The origin of this fungus is as yet moist, cool conditions for the winter (1-4

RANTON unknown, however there have been a few the- degrees Celsius or 34-39 degrees Fahrenheit) G ories put forth to explain its sudden appear- and then planted in the spring. Be sure to

RIGITTE ance. transplant them early as they quickly grow an B The most commonly thought and most extensive taproot. It is important to carefully accepted possibility is that the fungus was protect the seeds and young plants from introduced from Asia. There are a number of rodents. Tree cages, netting or chicken wire ILLUSTRATION BY facts that support this theory, such as the low should be used. I have lost many seedlings to of the species of fungus, the determined squirrels and chipmunks. lack of resistant butternut, and the sudden Although the prognosis looks grim, we may appearance of the canker in the latter half of be able to save the butternut with concerted the 20th century.Also, the closely related efforts by tree lovers, conservationists and Asian walnut (Juglans ailantifolia) is suscepti- branches that have the butternut canker. Each government. I encourage all of us to do our ble to this pathogen. However, it is capable of individual is important to the continued exis- part. survival in spite of infection. tence of this species, for its production of nuts Another theory is that this disease is in fact and its genetic diversity. Keri Pidgen is a biologist currently living in Sault indigenous to North America and has recently Second…spread the word. Tell people Ste. Marie, Ontario. She co-founded the native experienced a population expansion, possibly about the butternut. Most people have never plant nursery, Grow Wild! Based in Claremont due to differences in climate or any number of heard of this beautiful tree. The more people (www.grow-wild.com). Contact them at (705) environmental and biological factors.A third who know, the greater the chances of protec- 738-5496. possibility is the recent evolution of this tion for this species species of fungus. Symptoms of the disease include dying branches and stems. Initially, cankers develop on branches in the lower crown. Spores devel- JOIN NANPS oping on these dying branches are spread by rainwater to tree stems. The resulting stem Your donations and membership dollars help NANPS to study, conserve, cultivate and restore cankers typically develop 1-3 years after the North America's native flora. Members receive our quarterly newsletter, the Blazing Star, and are initially infected branches die. Trees are killed eligible for NANPS-sponsored excursions and the Seed Exchange. NANPS is a registered charita- by the formation of these cankers on the main ble organization (no. 130720824) founded in 1984. Donations to the Society are tax-creditable stem, which impede nutrient flow. Large trees in Canada. Tax receipts will be issued for donations of $15 or more. can withstand a number of cankers, although ___ $15 / 1 calendar year (Jan.–Dec.) eventually cankers will form around the entire stem and effectively girdle the tree. Immature ___ $30 / 2 years trees are much more susceptible and often ___ $45 / 3 years ( ___ send me a free NANPS pewter pin as a bonus for my 3-year membership) perish in one season. ___ $250 Sustaining Membership (includes a Canadian tax credit for $100 Although rainwater can move the disease and a 10-year membership) around an individual tree, there are other NAME: ______means by which the spores are transferred from one individual to another. The nut husks ADDRESS: ______of butternut can be infected with butternut ______canker and there is the possibility for seedling PHONE: ______infection upon germination. There are also a FAX: ______number of insect vectors that can transmit the EMAIL: ______disease amongst trees, such as the butternut curculio and other species that have been Please make cheque payable to the NANPS and mail to Box 84, Station D, found to carry the sticky spores of butternut Etobicoke, Ontario M9A 4X1. For info, call (416) 631-4438; e-mail [email protected].

12 NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY SPRING 2005