Native Plant Press March 2019 The Native Plant Press
The Newsletter of the Central Puget Sound Chapter of WNPS Volume 20 No. 3 March 2019
March Program: The Flora of Seattle in 1850: Major Species and Landscapes Prior to Urbanization Thursday, March 7, 7:00 pm Mountaineers Program Center
Programs
The Flora of Seattle in 1850: Major Species & Landscapes Prior to Urbanization Ray Larson Mountaineers Program Center, 7700 Sand Point Way NE Thursday, March 7, 7:00pm Ray Larson was born and raised in Seattle. Although he earned bachelor’s degrees in economics and history (with a minor in art), his lifelong interest in gardening led him to employment at the University of Washington’s Center for Urban Horticulture during the summer months while competing his degree. He began working there full time shortly after graduation and eventually earned his Master of Science in Urban Horticulture in 2005. He has worked as Facilities Coordinator at the Elisabeth Miller Botanical Garden and as Head Gardener at Hill- Crest, the UW-owned residence of the university president, overseeing the renovation of the 1.5-acre, 100-year-old garden. He is currently the Curator of the Hyde Herbarium at the UW Botanic Gardens. Ray completed two terms as president of the Northwest Horticultural Society in November 2011. Ray lives and gardens in northeast Seattle with his 9 year-old daughter, Hazel.
Ray will offer a glimpse into the historic flora and landscapes of the Seattle area just before Euro- American settlers arrived. This talk, based on his Master’s thesis, will draw from sources such as herbarium specimens, settlers accounts, survey maps and photographs to discuss the plants and scenery that made up the local landscape before Seattle was changed forever. This research offers the most complete view yet of the historic flora of Seattle area, and is being used both as a tool for local restoration efforts and model for reconstructing historic floras and landscapes from the pre-settlement period in other parts of the United States. Public invited, refreshments, admission is free. Produced by Sharon Baker and Shelley Evans
On Prairies Jon Bakker PLEASE NOTE LOCATION CHANGE, THIS MONTH ONLY Center for Urban Horticulture 3501 NE 41st St., Seattle Thursday, April 4, 7:00pm
The prairies of western Washington are an unexpected surprise in an area renowned for its trees. Dr. Jon Bakker will review their history, importance, and current status, illustrate current restoration practices, and highlight some fascinating elements of their ecology.
Jon Bakker is the David R. M. Scott Associate Professor in the School of Environmental and Forest Sciences at the University of Washington. His research focuses on the restoration and management of terrestrial ecosystems, including prairies, shrublands, and forests. His teaching includes restoration ecology, statistics, and native plant production.
Page 1 of 8 NPP Vol 20, No. 3 March 2019 Native Plant Press March 2019 Native Plant Identification, Westside Programs By Nelson Salisbury, Chapter Botanist and Stewart Wechsler, Botanist Fellow (Offered only at Westside meetings) A free plant identification workshop is offered at 6:00pm before each Westside meeting. While the workshop is oriented primarily toward beginners, anyone who wants to work on improving keying skills or their familiarity with the northwest flora is welcome. Feel free to bring samples of unknown plants for identification. We will have material and tools if you come empty-handed.
The Alpine Flowers of Mt. Rainier Donovan Tracy Bellevue Botanical Garden Tuesday, April 9, 7:00pm
Wild flower enthusiast and photographer, Donovan Tracy will discuss the amazing flowers found at Mount Rainier. The presentation will focus on two areas: the subalpine meadows between 5,000’ – 6,500’ elevation and alpine plants found above 6,500’ in Mount Rainier National Park. Donovan will review the classifications of subalpine meadows and highlight some of their vegetation and community types. Extensive use of photographs will show the distinctions of these types with an emphasis on the contrasts between the Paradise and Sunrise sides of The Mountain. The alpine plant area will emphasis the uniqueness of these plants which endure harsh tundra like conditions. He will mix in some comments on wildflower photography, suggestions for wildflower hikes in the Park, and provide some historical references as well.
Donovan is an amateur photographer with a special interest in wildflower photography. He is a volunteer with the UW Herbarium, and co-author of the wildflower guide, Alpine Flowers of Mount Rainier, with David Giblin, the herbarium’s collection manager. He developed and maintains the website Flowers of Rainier (www.flowersofrainier.com) which features over 230 species and 12 wildflower hikes. Public invited, refreshments, admission is free. Produced by Cheryl Wagner
Plan Ahead: Our May program will be held on SATURDAY, May 4, at 7:00 pm, at the Mountaineers Andy McKinnon will speak on Endophytic Fungi. This program is co-sponsored by the Puget Sound Mycological Society and Mountaineers Naturalist Programs. Crown Jewel Wilderness: Creating North Cascades National Park NEW DATE: October 8, 2019 This program, originally scheduled for February 12, was cancelled because of terrible weather. We are fortunate that the speaker, Lauren Danner, is available this coming October. The program will be at the Bellevue Botanical Garden at 7:00pm. For more information, refer to last month’s Native Plant Press.
Upcoming Programs BBG: Bellevue Botanical Garden on the East side CUH Center for Urban Horticulture 12001 Main St., Bellevue 98005 3501 NE 41st. St., Seattle 98195 MTR: Mountaineers Headquarters on the West SAM Sammamish Library side 825 228th Ave. SE, Sammamish 7700 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle 98115
MTR March 7, 7:00pm “The Flora of Seattle in 1850: Major Species and Landscapes Prior to Urban Development,” Ray Larson CUH Please note location change. This month only we will meet at the Center for Urban Horticulture. April 4, 7:00 pm “On Prairies,” Jon Bakker BBG April 9, 7:00pm “The Alpine Flowers of Mt. Rainier,” Donovan Tracy MTR Please note date change. This month only we will meet on a Saturday. May 4, 7:00 pm “The Role of Endophytic Fungi in the Production of Plant Chemicals,” Andy McKinnon. Co-sponsored by Puget Sound Mycological Society and Mountaineers Naturalist Programs.
Page 2 of 8 NPP Vol 20, No. 3 March 2019 Native Plant Press March 2019 Mountaineers Naturalist Programs The Mountaineers will be co-sponsoring our May 2019 program. They promote our events on their online calendar. This is their upcoming Naturalist Group Lectures. These programs are on Wednesdays at the Mountaineers Seattle Center. For more information go to [email protected] or call 206-521-6000. March 13, 2019 (Wed) 7:00pm – 9:00pm Govinda Rosling “Pigeon Guillemots: a seabird that measures the health of the Salish Sea”. Prepare to be wowed when Govinda Rosling shares her photo rich account of seabirds’ life cycle, behavioral habits, quirks, and antics. You’ll be entertained as she explains the Pigeon Guillemot Research Group’s 15 year study and why it’s important.
Board Member Reports
Message from the Chair Dan Paquette Oh, the weather outside is
Message from the Plant Sale Co-chair: Spring Plant Sale News Yen Flanagin
Mark your calendar! On Saturday April 27th, WNPS-CPS will hold its annual Spring Native Plant Sale and Environmental Fair at Mercerdale Park, Mercer Island.
The proceeds of the Plant Sale benefit CPS and its education programs. If you believe in the mission of WNPS and enjoy attending programs and lecture workshops sponsored by CPS in your community, we encourage you to get involved. There are many ways to do so: donate your time, spread the word, attend the sale event or do all three. This will be my third plant sale and I’m happy to announce that Nancy Bowen-Pope will share the responsibilities of the chair position with me. An expert about growing and gardening with native plants, Nancy has been volunteering for CPS native plant sales long before I knew about WNPS. Our committee is lucky to have her join our team.
But wait! WNPS members get to shop one hour earlier at 9:00 AM for the best selection. Not a member? Please click https://wnps.org/membership or call 206-527-3210 to learn how to become a member. Thank you!
We need volunteers, for before, during and after the sale. Whether working with plants, advising customers or tallying purchases, working on the plant sale is a fun way to spend time with plants and plant people. Please contact Ann Marten at [email protected] for more information and to sign up.
The work for the sale has started already, and you’re invited to join in!
• You don’t need experience. • You don’t need plant knowledge. • You don’t need to do physical tasks.
Please look at the list and see which jobs appeal to you and which might fit your schedule, and we will match you up! Page 3 of 8 NPP Vol 20, No. 3 March 2019 Native Plant Press March 2019
Training is available and refreshments for volunteers are available the day before and the day of the sale.
The Plant Sale committee needs volunteers to:
April 18, 10:00am -2:00pm: “Pricing party” inside at Magnuson Park. Don’t need to stay the whole time. Please contact Ann Stevens at [email protected]
Thursday April 25 & Friday April 26, hours variable:
• Pick up plants from nurseries • Re-pot plants for sale • Label and price potted plants
April 26, various times during the day:
• Transport plants to Mercer Island • Cover tables and arrange plants by species for sale • Continue labeling and pricing • Prepare and serve refreshments for volunteers
April 27, various times before and during the sale:
• Many of same tasks as day before • Offer assistance to customers: either plant knowledge or general information about the sale and the park • Tally sales for customers • Help at cashier table • Prepare and serve refreshments Eastside Branch News By Cheryl Wagner
Julie O’Donald gave a detailed, informative presentation on “Butterflies and Garden Habitat” January 12 at the Sammamish Library. She discussed what 18 species of butterflies are found in the Puget Sound lowlands and which native plants act as hosts for caterpillars and nectar sources for butterflies. Sixty-six folks listened attentively—pretty amazing to have such a turn out on the sunniest, warmest afternoon in January.
Our February historical snow storm cancelled our February 12 meeting at Bellevue Botanical Garden. Too much snow and slush to travel. Good news, our speaker, Lauren Danner, is able to reschedule and will present her program, “Crown Jewel Wilderness: Creating North Cascades National Park”, on Tuesday, October 8, at 7pm.
The creation of the North Cascades National Park is an inspiring story and serves as an excellent example of advocacy for wilderness. In fact, we will learn how the creation of this national park led to the founding of WNPS. Currently, consider conservation advocacy in citizens as needed,iand look forward to any tips from Lauren’s historical research. These are challenging times for the natural world. We have Hope as the Senate has passed a bipartisan biggest public lands measure in a decade which would create more than 1.3 million acres of wilderness out West, add three national park units and expand eight others. Let’s cross our fingers it becomes law.
Other news—Our Sammamish native plant stewards are also involved in the Community Wildlife Habitat program thru the National Federation of Wildlife (NWF) as their mission is to provide habitat through native plants. Recently, the local NWF regional office received a King County Waterworks grant to provide a Habitat Stewards training in Sammamish. It is not limited to Sammamish residents.
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Volunteering Volunteer to Help Kids Plant an Ethnobotanical Garden!” Rob Efird, a Seattle University anthropologist, has been working for years to promote the adoption of native plant gardens in Washington schools. In December of 2016 he shared his vision with us. He was also instrumental in the development of the Vi Hilbert Ethnobotanical Garden at SU. Our chapter has been working with that garden for the last two years.
Rob has invited us to take part in his latest project, the planting of a small ethnobotanical garden at McClure Middle School on Queen Ann in Seattle. This project is being done in partnership with the Duwamish tribe. Rob is inviting 2-3 CPS members to join him on March 18th to guide the kids with planting. Should be fun! If you would like to help with this project, contact Sharon Baker, [email protected] or 206 935 1769. Photo: Rob Efird from Seattle U website.
Volunteer at the Spring Plant Sale Lots of opportunities, please see page 4!
Native Plant Nursery Magnuson Park Nursery First Friday of the month. Please note change from Monday to Friday. Contact Brenda Clifton at (360)348-7865. The Native Plant Nursery is in Magnuson Park, near the WNPS office. The nursery maintains an inventory of plants that are offered for sale at CPS plant sales. Volunteer: The nursery hosts a regular monthly work party on the first Friday of the month from 10:00am to 2:00pm. Additional work parties are scheduled as needed, and are announced on the chapter web page. For more information, contact Brenda Clifton at [email protected] or 360-348-7865.
What is your favorite hiking spot? Ray Izumi and Sandy Bowman, field trip co-chairs, would love to hear about it and help you plan a field trip to share it with other plant lovers. You don’t have to be a plant expert! If you enjoy the outdoors, you can lead a hike! Ray, Sandy and Elizabeth will help you organize it and, if you like, manage signups. Please contact Ray at [email protected] or Sandy at [email protected]
Volunteer at the Bellevue Botanical Garden Join one of work parties at the Native Discovery Garden at the Bellevue Botanical Garden. Work parties are scheduled for the following Fridays from 10:00am till noon:
March 8 March 29 April 5 April 12
Our last workparty did not happen since we were all snowbound at the time. This leaves us with a long list of tasks that need to be accomplished before new plants start going in at the end of the month. There are shrubs to move, Tellima and Tolmeia to reconfigure (and possibly rehome), excess salmonberry to whack, and now, storm damage to tidy after.
We will be getting everything in shape for the Native Discovery Garden Grand Reopening, planned for May 12. The festivities will include a drawing for a copy of the Western Washington Plants for Birds cards produced by CPS in cooperation with the Eastside Audubon Society.
If you ever had any interest in a BBG workparty, now would be an excellent time to show up! Photo credit Bellevue Botanical Garden
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Opportunities on Central Puget Sound Board Serving on a non-profit board provides valuable experience in collaborative decision-making, project management, and non-profit governance. The Board meets once a month (except July and August) in the evening, alternating between Westside and Eastside locations.
The following opportunities are currently available: • Vice Chair – The Vice-Chair exercises the functions of the Chair during the Chair’s absence or disability, and may be assigned other duties by the Board. For example, in the past, the Vice-Chair has overseen the newsletter, program refreshments or the holiday party. • Treasurer – The Treasurer maintains the Chapter’s accounts, deposits incoming funds and issues payments, and creates reports at the request of the Chair for approval by the Board and presentation to the membership. • Program Refreshments Coordinator – This volunteer, not a Board position,g maintains the stock of equipment and supplies, purchases refreshments, arranges them at program meetings and cleans up afterwards. Please note: These descriptions are summaries of the responsibilities involved. Complete descriptions can be found in the Chapter Standing Rules.
If you’d like to know more, please contact Elizabeth Gage at [email protected]
Native Plant Appreciation Week is April 21 through April 27. Join volunteers from chapters all over the state to plan and execute the activities that help “NPAW” take the message of the value and wonder of native plants to the public. The committee meets approximately every two weeks via “zoom,” an online tool that brings people together via their computer screens. There are many ways you can help. For more information, please contact Elizabeth Gage at [email protected]. Watch this URL for developing information: https://www.wnps.org/wnps-annual-events/npaw
Do You Live In (or near) the 98115? We would love to welcome you to the WNPS office in Magnuson Park! Help us out with a variety of office tasks. Join us as we stick and stamp, set up binders or organize archives. Can you commit 4 hours, one day a month? Maybe? For more information or questions, email Elizabeth at [email protected]
Education Opportunities
2019 Washington Botanical Symposium Sponsored by the Washington Native Plant Society Wednesday, March 6 9:00am – 4:00pm; reception to follow 4:00pm – 6:00pm UW Center for Urban Horticulture, 3501 NE 41st St., Seattle Cost: $85, lunch included. Remote attendance: $70 An extensive network of professional, academic, and amateur botanists are actively engaged in the conservation, management, and study of Washington’s diverse flora. Their expertise ranges from how best to manage biodiversity, to understanding climate change impacts on plant communities, to naming and classifying the flora’s rare, common, and invasive elements. Invited speakers and poster presentations will share new insights and discoveries about these topics and more. Participants from throughout Washington and adjacent areas will have the opportunity to exchange ideas with colleagues within and across disciplines. (Conference Announcement PDF) Lunch and reception included with registration. Speakers and program information available at http://bit.ly/wabotanicalsymposium Register at http://www.uwbotanicgardenscatalog.org. Questions? [email protected] or 206-685-8033 Photo by David Giblin
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2019 Ecological Restoration Symposium Wednesday, March 27 9:00am – 4:00pm; reception to follow 4:00pm – 6:00pm UW Center for Urban Horticulture, 3501 NE 41st St., Seattle Cost: $95, lunch included. Remote attendance: $80 Restoration practitioners are challenged by projects in which recovery toward a reference model community is not attainable. In these cases, it becomes advantageous to restore ecosystem function, rather than a historical suite of species. In this symposium, we will look at restoring ecosystems beyond reference conditions − from the theoretical background, practical application, and ethical dimensions that practitioners need to understand in order to restore ecological communities and functions across a complex and ever- changing landscape.. (Conference Announcement PDF) Lunch and reception included with registration. Speakers and program information available at http://bit.ly/restoration-symposium Register at http://www.uwbotanicgardenscatalog.org. Questions? [email protected] or 206-685-8033
About Plants Olsynium douglasii: Early Bloomer of the Shrub Steppe By Janka Hobbs
Here in the Puget Sound Lowlands, March is not known for its beautiful outdoor weather. One of my strategies for combating the resulting cabin fever is to take a road trip to central Washington, to visit the early bloomers there.
One favorite is grass widow or satin flower, Olsynium douglasii. O. douglasii is found in spring-moist sunny spots from southernmost British Columbia to northern California, and from the Olympic peninsula east into Idaho. Eager individual flowers sometimes bloom as early as January in the Columbia Gorge (for instance at Catherine Creek), but they flower a bit later farther North.
There are two subspecies, var. douglasii from the Cascades West, and var. inflatum inland. O. douglasii var. inflatum is listed as rare in BC.
A member of the Iridaceae, O. douglasii was formerly placed in the genus Sisyrinchium. In Flora of North America, the two genera are distinguished by leaf anatomy, but one of the attributes that distinguishes Olsynium among the Sisyrinchium group is that they secrete nectar from the filaments, making them favorites among the bees.
While O. douglasii was probably not found in the Seattle area before European colonization, it does well as a spring wet/summer dormant rock garden plant, so if you can’t visit its native habitat, you might coax a few to bloom in yours.
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WNPS Office 6310 NE 74th St., Suite 215E Seattle WA 98115 206-527-3210
Denise Mahnke, Business Manager [email protected] Elizabeth Gage, Office & Volunteer Coordinator [email protected]
Office hours: Monday – Thursday 9:00am -4:00pm
Central Puget Sound Chapter WNPS Officers & Committee Chairs
Chair Dan Paquette Field Trip co-chairs: Eastside Team Chair 425-486-4927 Sandy Bowman Cheryl Wagner Jdanj.paquette@gmail. 206-522-8965 425-392-0288 com [email protected] [email protected] Ray Izumi Vice-Chair: VACANT 425-880-4720 Plant Sale Co-Chairs [email protected] Yen Flanagin Secretary 425-785-1868 Sharon Baker Programs –Westside yen.flanagin@yahoo 206-935-1769 (h) Shelley Evans .com 206-464-1068 (c) 206-720-0546 Nancy Bowen-Pope [email protected] [email protected] 206-715-3718 Sharon Baker [email protected] Treasurer 206-935-1769 (h) Dan Paquette, interim 206-464-1068 (c) Fundraising: VACANT [email protected] Board Members at Large Stewardship Program Cindy Spurgeon Programs – Eastside Chrys Sacco Bertolotto (Stewardship Grants) Cheryl Wagner 206-588-1247 206-632-6432 425-392-0288 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Grace Stiller Volunteer Coordinator (Salvage Program) Education VACANT 206-795-5783 Franja Bryant gracestiller@comcast. 425-562-0353 Nursery Co-Chairs net franjabryant@hotmail. Carter Case Ted Couillard com 425-361-3334 (Digital Media Coordinator) Botanist [email protected] 206-384-5277 Nelson Salisbury Brenda Clifton [email protected] 206-372-4255 360-348-7865 [email protected] [email protected] Publicity Jan Bird Botanist Fellow Other CPS Contacts (425) 427-5218 Stewart Wechsler [email protected] 206-932-7225 Refreshments -Eastside [email protected] Kathe Low 206-310-3434 Conservation Chair [email protected] Lori Jirak 425-748-4626 [email protected]
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