Olympic Peninsula Chapter Washington Native Plant Society February-April 2018 Newsletter To promote the appreciation and conservation of Washington’s native plants and their habitats through study, education and advocacy PROGRAM Tuesday February 20, 2018. David Peter, Ecologist, US Forest Service PNW Research Station, Olympia. Prairies of the Olympic Peninsula: A mapping presentation. Port Townsend Community Center in Up- town Port Townsend at 620 Tyler St. Social time at 6:30 pm; program begins at 7:00. Where did Pacific Northwest Prairies come from and where have they all gone? What are they doing in this land of tall timber? And, what is a “prairie” anyway? I will talk about these and other imponderables to build deeper understanding of these unique cultural artifacts. Northwest prairies hold a special place in the landscape, biodiversity and history of the Pacific Northwest, yet only a narrow slice of the public is aware of their existence. To increase awareness and to facili- tate prairie conservation, they must be mapped and described. It is to this end that Stan Graham and I have undertaken this project. In this talk I will present our work to date—our current map, and descriptions of some of the prairies. We think you will be surprised at just how diverse these places are in terms of geography and vegetation. How to map, and how to define these features, as it turns out, is not a simple endeavor. Even knowing where to draw a line defining the edge of a prairie is an interesting exercise. Prairies didn’t just end where the forest started—they often faded, through savannas and woodlands, into forests, creating a myriad of interesting habitats that are now quite rare. Moreover, prairies can be very wet, or they can be very dry, or wet in some seasons and dry in others. The key to understanding how all this can be so, is to understand the needs of those who maintained them over millennia, and possibly created them in the first place—the First Peoples of the Pacific Northwest. Most Olympic prairies are now gone or seriously compro- mised from afforestation, urbanization or agricultural development. To map and describe these prairies, we rely heavily on historical records, and seek out rem- nant vegetation where possible. We hope to provide you with an evening that you will find interesting and stimulating. And, should you find it so, and should you be so inclined, we have room for you to help us gather the data needed to complete this project.David Peter, and Stan Graham, retired ONP fire Manage- ment officer. David Peter and Stan Graham at Kah Tai Prairie Port Townsend PROGRAM Tuesday March 20. Terri Knoke. “Lomatium: No Wonder We’re Confused!” . Port Townsend Com- munity Center in Uptown Port Townsend at 620 Tyler St. Social time at 6:30 pm; program begins at 7:00. Terry Terry Knoke Terri Knoke, a Botanical Illustrator from Walla Walla County, will be pre- senting a talk on the genus Lomatium -- the biscuit root or desert parsley -- one of the most diverse group of native plants in Washington.This talk will help us under- stand why Lomatiums are so difficult to learn as a genus. Using the results of a recent genetic study, Terri will demonstrate why this is so, using photo compari- sons of closely related species and revealing some of the “surprises” found by the study. Terri will talk about how new species are found, including the story of her late un- cle, the botanical hero Don Knoke, who discovered a new species, Lomatium knokei. She will demonstrate how Loma- tium is distributed across our State. The focus on the Olympic Peninsula Lomatiums promises to reveal a great fish story about the relationship between the PNW Native Americans and Lomatium dissectum. 1 PROGRAM Tuesday April 17. Kathy Darrow, Botanist. Wild, Tame and Feral: Botanizing on the Urban Fringe of the Sonoran Desert, Phoenix, AZ. Port Townsend Community Cen- ter in Uptown Port Townsend 620 Tyler St. Social time at 6:30 pm; program begins at 7:00. From Asclepius to Zizyphus, tiny forget-me-nots to giant saguaros, there are always new and surprising plants to find in one of North America’s most biodiverse ecosystems, the Sonoran Desert.Botanist and wildflower photographer Kathy Darrow will present a slide show featuring the fascinating and incredibly rich flora of the Phoenix metro area, where she spent 10 years surveying vegetation in City parks and preserves and two seasons monitoring vegetation for Central Arizona Long Term Ecological Research Project with Arizona State University. Kathy Darrow 623-533-0171 Arizona Poppy (Kallstromeia grandiflora) _Kathy Darrow EVENTS: Hikes and Activities Dosewallips State Park. Thursday, February 22 2018. Meet at restrooms in main camping area west side of highway 101 NLT 10:00 am. We will walk several miles of forested trails above the campground always fattening our plant list for these trails. Time permitting we will cross Highway 101 for a walk through the salt marsh. Bring lunch, all weather cloth- ing and your plant books. Contact Ann Weinmann at 360-379-0986 or [email protected] Dosewallips State Park _Ann Weinmann Kah Tai Prairie Preserve; Weeding and Welcome to Spring Work Party. March 9, 2018 10:00-12:00. Meet at the parking lot within the Port Townsend Golf Course by the Kah Tai Prairie Preserve sign. Join us for this spring prairie cleanup event. Goals this year will be to repair the perimeter fence, weed invasive species, and enjoy the early blooms. We will be rewarded by the camas sprouts, spring gold Lomatium utriculatum, grass –widows Olysynium douglasii, and old man’s whiskers Geum triflorum. The fabric that holds the prairie all together is the grass, Festuca romeri. Bring gloves and small weeding tools. Contact Dixie Llewellin if you want a Kah Tai Preserve plant list sent to you electronically or have any questions [email protected]. or 360 385-6432. Gibbs Lake. Saturday March 17th 9:30 am by Varn Brooks. Winter mosses and ferns will probably be the highlights on this easy 3 mile loop around the lake; although, we occasionally have great “ice flowers” popping up this time of year. We can stage a car or two at the half way point for anyone who wants to avoid the second half of the trip which is a little steep in places. Meet at the Jeffer- son Transit Lot at Four Corners at 9:30AM to car pool, or join us at 10:00AM in the parking area at Gibbs Lake County Park. May postpone a day, or cancel if the weather is really bad. Contact Varn at [email protected] for questions or signup. Gibbs Lake Ice flower _Varn Brooks Washington Native Plant Appreciation Week is April 22-28. Often it coincides with wonderful lowland botanizing. Several opportunities for this become available at this time. Here are some upcoming chapter events. Contact the trip leaders for more information. Naval Magazine Indian Island Early April. Arrangements are being made for a guided field trip on the Naval Mag- azine in early April. More than 2100 acres of the 2700 acre island are almost untouched forest land providing great nat- ural habitat for native plants and animals. The date will be announced as soon as possible but you may sign up any time. Contact [email protected] 360-779-3820 2 Theler Wetlands and Oak Patch Natural Area Preserve. Thursday April 19, 2018 . Meet at Theler Wetlands parking lot 10:00 AM just south of Belfair on Hwy. 3.The Theler Wetlands, at the end of Hood Canal, is part of the Hood Canal Wetlands Project which removed man-made earthen dikes and restored the natural processes to the Hood Canal tide flats and the Union River estu- ary. It provides saltwater and freshwater habitat and is a great place for birding along almost 3 miles of flat trails and board- walk. The Oak Patch Natural Area Preserve is located in Tahuya State Forest just north of Belfair. This DNR property protects a remnant of Garry Oak habitat on rocky, glacial till and supports a wide variety of native plants. No trail. Be prepared for wet ground and brush. Contact [email protected]. 360-779-3820. Tamanowas Rock and Anderson Lake State Park; Friday April 27. 9:30 am with Fred and Ann Weinmann. We will hike to Tamanowas Rock via the Tamanowas Rock Sanctuary; then ascend the cliff to the bald overlooking the Rock; then walk the trails of Anderson Lake eventually reaching Anderson Lake State Park where a carriage will be waiting to return us via road to our start- ing point. This walk will take us 3 miles or so with a short steep scramble required to reach the Park from the rock. Plants of ma- ture forests, balds, and wetland habitats will be featured. Meet NLT 9:30 at the small Tamanowas Sanctuary parking area along Anderson Lake Road (ALR). Directions: From the intersection of Rte 19 and Anderson Lake Road proceed 0.5 miles W along ALR; from Rte 20 proceed 2.1 miles E on ALR: Parking is on N side of ALR For information and signup contact Fred Weinmann at 360-379-0986 or [email protected] Kul Kah Han Garden. Updates 1-15-18 Linda Landkammer Our Plant Study Group will begin this year on April 11 at 12:30 at the garden. It will happen every 2nd Wed until October. We will spend 1 hour and 15 minutes reviewing a short list of native species and their attributes in order to explore : - Which ecosystem/plant community the plant will be placed in the garden.