Darlingtonia, Summer 2000

Darlingtonia, Summer 2000
selections from the printed edition

Waking Up to Weed Woes, by Andrea Pickart

A Vegetative Key to Ribes Species of Humboldt County , by Jennifer Kalt

Vegetation on the Way to the South Fork of the Trinity, by John Sawyer

Fireweed, by Rosemary Bauman

The Rare and Uncommon Plants of Humboldt County, by Clare Golec

Waking Up To Weed Woes, by Andrea Pickart

Our chapter is spearheading the upcoming "Invasive Weed Awareness Week" on August 20-27. The Board of Supervisors will be issuing a proclamation, sponsored by John Woolley, that includes the following pertinent facts:

- Invasive weeds are plants that have been introduced into an environment in which they did not evolve and have no natural enemies to limit their reproduction and spread;

- Invasive weeds affect both agricultural and natural systems, where they produce a significant change in terms of composition, structure, or ecosystem function;

- Problems caused by invasive weeds have increased dramatically in recent decades, posing a serious threat to production of food and fiber for humans, such that the total economic impact on the U.S. economy exceeds $13 billion per year;

- Weeds invading natural areas are the second most important threat to biodiversity;

- Human induced biological invasions are occurring on a global scale and are beginning to blur the regional distinctiveness of the earth's biota, which developed over the past 180 million years; and

- Preventing the spread of invasive weeds in the United States is a monumental task that depends on public awareness, support, and participation.

The week of events is a truly collaborative effort, with planning and participation by CNPS, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, Friends of the Dunes, HSU Natural History Museum, U.S. Forest Service, City of Arcata, Humboldt County Public Works Dept., Redwood National Park, U.C. Cooperative Extension, Manila Community Services District, and AmeriCorps. All of these entities spend scarce resources on battling invasive plants.

There will be lots of informative and fun activities throughout the week. Before the week even begins, we will have a promotional booth at the Humboldt County Fair. This booth will emphasize the weed problems encountered by ranchers, many of whom visit the fair. The Sunday kick-off event will be held at the Arcata Marsh Interpretive Center from 10 am to 2 pm, and will feature interactive booths, a field trip to view invasive species at the Arcata Marsh, videos, displays, and a kid's event. Work parties are scheduled throughout the week, some during the day and some in the evening, at various locations including Clam Beach, Freshwater Spit, Arcata Marsh and Forest, Manila Dunes, and Manila Community Park. Then, on Saturday, we will wrap up the week's event with another activity day at the HSU Natural History Museum. This day will appeal to both adults and kids, with the return of the popular "Alien Invaders" skit, a slide show geared to adults, informational booths, a display highlighting the weeks workdays, and hopefully, an ivy bash on the museum grounds.

We are still looking for help with the week. If you'd like to get involved please call Andrea at 822-6378 or email andrea_pickart@fws.gov.

pampas grass

TOP Ed. note: The following article supersedes the version that appeared in the mailed issue.

A Vegetative Key To Ribes Species Of Humboldt County, by Jennifer Kalt

The genus Ribes includes over 120 species worldwide. Thirty species are native to California, making it the third most diverse group of flowering shrubs in the state. Ribes tend to flower early in the spring, shortly after snowmelt at high elevations. Although they bloom profusely, the flowering period can be fairly brief (as little as 3 weeks in extreme cases). The early, profuse crops of flowers make Ribes nectar and pollen important food sources for pollinators, which include bumblebees, solitary bees, syrphid flies, hoverflies, hummingbirds, butterflies, and moths.

But the early, short flowering period makes identification of Ribes species difficult, since most keys use floral traits almost exclusively. Most of us are still sitting by our woodstoves while the Ribes are blooming, and then by the time we want to identify them, the flowers are long gone. If you can't get out in the field early enough, try this vegetative key to Ribes of Humboldt County.

See the Jepson Manual for additional information. Thanks to Michael Mesler and John Sawyer for their helpful comments, which improved this key tremendously. Please send your comments to JenKalt@cs.com. I must point out that the gooseberries occasionally hybridize, especially R. lobbii and R. roezlii. If both of these species are present, especially in a heavily disturbed habitat, hybrids are probably present, too.

How do you know it's a Ribes?

* Alternate, palmately lobed leaves;

* Fruit a true berry (fleshy, indehiscent, and many-seeded);

* Ovary inferior (wilted flowers are often visible on the distal ends of the fruits);

* Generally glandular and thus often have fragrant foliage;

* Many species (about half) have spines at the nodes.

A Vegetative Key to Ribes species of Humboldt County

1. Prickles and/or spines present ("gooseberries") ........... 2

1' Prickles and spines absent ("currants") ................... 7

2. Leaves glabrous or with very short, non-glandular hairs
	...................................................... 3

2' Leaves with glandular hairs................................ 5

3. Leaves with short hairs, upper surface shiny 12-25 mm;
	nodal spines 1-3; forests and forest openings,
	150-2300 m .............. _R. roezlii var. cruentum_

3' Leaves glabrous ........................................... 4

4. Stem arched or creeping; leaves 20-60 mm; nodal spines 0-3; 
	coastal bluffs, streamsides, forest edges,
	< 650 m ................. _R. divaricatum var.pubiflorum_

4' Stem erect; leaves 25-35 mm; nodal spines 3; mesic forest 
	understory, 1200-2100 m . _R. marshallii_*

5. Dense internodal prickles (often absent on older stems); 
	fruits with prickles; forest openings < 300 m
	......................... _R. menziesii_

5' Internodes lacking prickles ............................... 6

6. Stem erect; glandular hairs on internodes and fruits 
	(fruits lacking prickles); forest openings 700-2000 m
	......................... _R. lobbii_

6' Stem trailing, rooting at nodes; internodes with glandular 
	hairs; fruits with prickles and hairs; forest openings, 
	meadows 1000-2600 m ..... _R. binominatum_

7. Stems spreading or decumbent; leaves and internodes with 
	long glandular hairs; leaves 5-10 cm, upper surface 
	dark green; forest openings < 300 m
	......................... _R. laxiflorum_**

7' Stems erect; no long glandular hairs ...................... 8

8. Leaves deeply 5-7 lobed, upper surface shiny, lower surface 
	with sessile yellow glands; infl. erect; streamsides 
	< 1400 m ................ _R. bracteosum_

8' Leaf undersides aprsely hairy to white tomentose; infl. pendent; 
	forest openings 2200 m .. _R. sanguineum_
	(see Mesler and Sawyer for key to varieties)

*  CNPS List 4; endangered in Oregon
** List 4 in 5th edition of CNPS Inventory

TOP FIELD TRIP REVIEW Vegetation on the Way to the South Fork of the Trinity, by John Sawyer A dozen CNPSers met with thoughts of sun and plants for a day of seeing some of northern California’s vegetation types. The day started out in fog that soon covered the cars at Lord Ellis Summit. A stop to view stands of Oregon white oak (Quercus garryana), Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), and grasses along State Route 299 gave the group an introduction to the California Native Plant Society’s vegetation classification. One that describes the state’s major types of grasslands, shrublands, forests, and woodlands based on species presence and dominance. As we enjoyed the view, those assembled got a taste of the special way that vegetation ecologists view the world, along with of their special jargon. With that done, the group was off over the hill to the east fork of Willow Creek. We were welcomed by a shrub of miner’s dogwood (Cornus sessile) in full bloom, along with California toothwort (Cardamine californica), snow queen (Synthyris reniformis), whitlow-grass (Draba verna), wood saxifrage (Saxifraga mertensiana), and other early spring herbs. But what of the vegetation? All assembled in a grove of leafless trees growing along the creek. All judged the area to be a homogeneous stand that was dominated by red alder (Alnus rubra), but also having some bigleaf maple (Acer macrocarpa) and Douglas-fir trees in the canopy. Out came the handy manual, and the stand was keyed to Red alder series. The slopes of this creek are covered with old growth stands of Douglas-fir - tanoak forest. On to the south fork of the Trinity River south of Salyer. Here we had lunch in an Oregon white oak woodland along with wedgeleaf ceanothus (Ceanothus cuneatus), blue dicks (Dichelostemma capitatum), baby blue-eyes (Nemophila menziesii), canyon nemophila (Nemophila heterophylla), fawn-lily (Erythronium californica), shooting star (Dodecatheon hendersonii), and pink plectritis (Plectritis congesta). As we continued the woodland changed into a Douglas- fir - tanoak forest, then into a tanoak forest and finally into Douglas-fir - canyon live forest before the group turned around. The complete trip to the Hell’s Half Acre will have to wait to next spring. On the way back to the cars was a time for us to work on fern ID. We found bracken (Pteridium aquilinum), fragile fern (Cystopteris fragilis), goldback fern (Pentagramma triangularis), narrowleaf sword fern (Polystichum imbricans), polypody (Polypodium californica), western chain fern (Woodwardia fimbriata), and wood fern (Dryopteris expansa).
TOP Fireweed, by Rosemary Bauman Fireweed. The very name invokes fall forest fires, mountains ablaze in fiery fury. Actually, that’s not too far from the truth, as fireweed is an early recolonizer after the blaze. Known scientifically as Epilobium angustifolium, fireweed’s showy four-petaled pink flowers grace our roads and disturbed mountainsides in midsummer. Lanceolate leaves start young with purple tinges, turning to green as the plant matures. A member of the Evening Primrose family, its seed are borne on feathery parachutes. Fireweed also spreads with tenacious perennial stems. The young plant is an excellent potherb, suitable for salads. The whole plant has been used by native people to bathe invalids, and an infusion from the root is useful for sore throats. The root may be steeped to tea, and treats coughing as well as hemorrhoids. It’s astringent, antiseptic qualities make it useful for application of minor cuts and abrasions, and the flowers have been rubbed into animal hides to repel water. The seed wool can be used to fill out wool for carding. Currently, fireweed is used and taken to treat candidiasis, and in other countries for beer and ale making. This plant is not endangered, and due to its aggressive colonizing habits into disturbed habitats, is ensured a long existence.	fireweed
TOP The Rare And Uncommon Plants Of Humboldt County, by Clare Golec There are approximately 6,300 native flowering plants, gymnosperms, ferns and fern allies in California, more than the entire northeastern United States and adjacent Canada (an area ten times larger than California). This gives California the largest state flora in the nation (in species, the state of Texas has more genera and families). The degree of endemism (plants restricted by locality or habitat) within the California Floristic Province is over 30% and most of the endemics are rare or uncommon plants. The California Native Plant Society's (CNPS), Inventory of Rare and Endangered Vascular Plants of California was first published in 1974 and has been updated periodically since then, the last being 1994. The current 2000 edition represents a comprehensive inventory of the rare, endangered, threatened plants and uncommon vascular plants of California. The CNPS inventory is recognized by many agencies, such as California Department of Fish and Game. The CNPS inventory is a summarization of material contributed and reviewed by professional and amateur botanist throughout the state of California. The CNPS inventory serves to assemble, evaluate, update and distribute this information. The July 2000 version of the inventory is now only available by electronic format but will be available in print soon (the electronic format is updated more frequently then the published inventory). The vascular plants within the CNPS inventory are categorized into one of five lists, these are the following: "List 1A", plants presumed extinct in California, "List 1B", plants rare, threatened or endangered in California and elsewhere, "List 2", plants rare, threatened or endangered in California but more common elsewhere, "List 3", plants about which we need more information, a review list and "List 4", plants of limited distribution (uncommon), a watch list. There are a total of 142 listed plants for Humboldt County, 0 List 1A, 35 List 1B, 32 List 2, 4 List 3 and 62 List 4, for more detail on each species one may refer to the CNPS inventory. Any information on these species is requested and appreciated by the California Native Plant Society. The following list represents all of the current CNPS listed plants for Humboldt County (July 6, 2000) Cnps Listed Plants Of Humboldt County CNPS 1B: 1. Abronia umbellata ssp. breviflora pink sand-verbena 2. Arctostaphylos canescens ssp. sonomensis Sonoma manzanita 3. Astragalus agnicidus Humboldt milk-vetch 4. Astragalus pycnostachyus var. pycnostachyus coastal marsh milk-vetch 5. Bensoniella oregona bensoniella 6. Calamagrostis bolanderi Bolander's reed grass 7. Carex saliniformis deceiving sedge 8. Castilleja ambigua ssp. humboldtiensis Humboldt Bay owl's-clover 9. Castilleja mendocinensis Mendocino coast Indian paintbrush 10. Clarkia amoena ssp. whitneyi Whitney's farewell-to-spring 11. Collinsia corymbosa round-headed chinese houses 12. Cordylanthus maritimus ssp. palustris Point Reyes bird's-beak 13. Epilobium oreganum Oregon fireweed 14. Erigeron supplex supple daisy 15. Erysimum menziesii ssp. eurekense Humboldt Bay wallflower 16. Erythronium howellii Howell's fawn lily 17. Gilia capitata ssp. pacifica Pacific gilia 18. Gilia millefoliata dark-eyed gilia 19. Hesperolinon adenophyllum glandular western flax 20. Lathyrus biflorus two-flowered pea 21. Layia carnosa beach layia 22. Lewisia cotyledon var. heckneri Heckner's lewisia 23. Lilium occidentale western lily 24. Lupinus constancei The Lassics lupine 25. Lupinus elmeri South Fork Mtn. lupine 26. Monardella villosa ssp. globosa robust monardella 27. Oenothera wolfii Wolf's evening-primrose 28. Rorippa columbiae Columbia yellow cress 29. Sidalcea malachroides maple-leaved checkerbloom 30. Sidalcea malviflora ssp. patula Siskiyou checkerbloom 31. Sidalcea oregana ssp. eximia coast checkerbloom 32. Silene marmorensis Marble Mountain campion 33. Thermopsis robusta robust false lupine 34. Thlaspi californicum Kneeland Prairie pennycress 35. Tracyina rostrata beaked tracyina CNPS 2: 1. Astragalus umbraticus Bald Mountain milk-vetch 2. Boschniakia hookeri small groundcone 3. Calamagrostis crassiglumis Thurber's reed grass 4. Carex arcta northern clustered sedge 5. Carex leptalea flaccid sedge 6. Carex lyngbyei Lyngbye's sedge 7. Carex praticola meadow sedge 8. Carex viridula var. viridula green sedge 9. Castilleja affinis ssp. litoralis Oregon coast Indian paintbrush 10. Calamagrostis bolanderi Bolander's reed grass 11. Empetrum nigrum ssp. hermaphroditum black crowberry 12. Erythronium revolutum coast fawn lily 13. Glyceria grandis American manna grass 14. Hesperevax sparsiflora var. brevifolia short-leaved evax 15. Juncus supiniformis hair- leaved rush 16. Lathyrus japonicus sand pea 17. Lathyrus palustris marsh pea 18. Lycopodiella inundata bog club-moss 19. Lycopodium clavatum running-pine 20. Microseris borealis northern microseris 21. Mitella caulescens leafy-stemmed mitrewort 22. Monotropa uniflora Indian-pipe 23. Montia howellii Howell's montia 24. Puccinellia pumila dwarf alkali grass 25. Romanzoffia tracyi Tracy's romanzoffia 26. Sanguisorba officinalis great burnet 27. Scirpus subterminalis water bulrush 28. Sedum divergens Cascade stonecrop 29. Senecio bolanderi var. bolanderi seacoast ragwort 30. Spergularia canadensis var. occidentalis western sand-spurrey 31. Viburnum ellipticum oval-leaved viburnum 32. Viola palustris marsh violet CNPS 3: 1. Carex inops ssp. inops long-stoloned sedge 2. Erigeron biolettii streamside daisy 3. Lewisia cotyledon var. howellii Howell's lewisia 4. Tiarella trifoliata var. trifoliata trifoliate laceflower CNPS 4: 1. Allium hoffmanii Beegum onion 2. Allium siskiyouense Siskiyou onion 3. Angelica lucida sea-watch 4. Antennaria suffrutescens evergreen everlasting 5. Arabis rigidissima var. Rigidissima Trinity Mountains rock cress 6. Arctostaphylos hispidula Howell's manzanita 7. Arnica cernua serpentine arnica 8. Arnica spathulata Klamath arnica 9. Astragalus rattanii var. rattanii Rattan's milk-vetch 10. Calamagrostis foliosa leafy reed grass 11. Carex buxbaumii Buxbaum's sedge 12. Carex geyeri Geyer's sedge 13. Clarkia gracilis ssp. tracyi Tracy's clarkia 14. Collomia tracyi Tracy's collomia 15. Cypripedium californicum California lady's-slipper 16. Cypripedium fasciculatum clustered lady's-slipper 17. Cypripedium montanum mountain lady's-slipper 18. Dicentra formosa ssp. oregana Oregon bleeding heart 19. Draba howellii Howell's draba 20. Eleocharis parvula small spikerush 21. Epilobium septentrionale Humboldt County fuchsia 22. Erigeron decumbens var. robustior robust daisy 23. Erigeron petrophilus var. viscidulus Klamath daisy 24. Eriogonum umbellatum var. bahiiforme bay buckwheat 25. Erythronium citrinum var. citrinum lemon-colored fawn lily 26. Fritillaria purdyi Purdy's fritillaria 27. Gentiana plurisetosa Klamath gentian 28. Gilia sinistra ssp. pinnatisecta pinnate-leaved gilia 29. Glehnia littoralis ssp. leiocarpa American glehnia 30. Hemizonia congesta ssp. tracyi Tracy's tarplant 31. Horkelia sericata Howell's horkelia 32. Iliamna latibracteata California globe mallow 33. Iris tenax ssp. Klamathensis Orleans iris 34. Lathyrus glandulosus sticky pea 35. Lilium bolanderi Bolander's lily 36. Lilium kelloggii Kellogg's lily 37. Lilium pardalinum ssp. vollmeri Vollmer's lily 38. Lilium rubescens redwood lily 39. Lilium washingtonianum ssp. purpurascens purple-flowered Washington lily 40. Linanthus acicularis bristly linanthus 41. Linanthus latisectus broad-lobed linanthus 42. Listera cordata art-leaved twayblade 43. Lomatium tracyi Tracy's lomatium 44. Lotus yollabolliensis Yolla Bolly Mtns. bird's-foot trefoil 45. Lupinus lapidicola Mt. Eddy lupine 46. Lupinus tracyi Tracy's lupine 47. Lycopus uniflorus northern bugleweed 48. Melica spectabilis purple onion grass 49. Moneses uniflora woodnymph 50. Orthocarpus cuspidatus ssp. cuspidatus Siskiyou Mountains orthocarpus 51. Oxalis suksdorfii Suksdorf's wood-sorrel 52. Piperia candida white-flowered rein orchid 53. Piperia michaelii Michael's rein orchid 54. pityopus californicus California pinefoot 55. Latanthera stricta slender bog-orchid 56. Pleuropogon refractus nodding semaphore grass 57. Ribes laxiflorum trailing black currant 58. Ribes marshallii Marshall's gooseberry 59. Ribes roezlii var. amictum hoary gooseberry 60. Sanicula tracyi Tracy's sanicle 61. Sanicula peckiana Peck's sanicle 62. Sedum laxum ssp. Flavidum pale yellow stonecrop 63. Sedum laxum ssp. heckneri Heckner's stonecrop 64. Senecio macounii Siskiyou Mountains ragwort 65. Stellaria littoralis beach starwort 66. Stellaria obtusa obtuse starwort 67. Tauschia glauca glaucous tauschia 68. Thermopsis gracilis var. gracilis slender false lupine 69. Trifolium howellii Howell's clover 70. Veratrum insolitum Siskiyou false-hellebore 71. Wyethia longicaulis Humboldt County wyethia
TOP HOME North Coast Chapter CNPS 8-19-2000

Waking Up To Weed Woes, by Andrea Pickart

A Vegetative Key To Ribes Species Of Humboldt County, by Jennifer Kalt

FIELD TRIP REVIEW Vegetation on the Way to the South Fork of the Trinity, by John Sawyer

Fireweed, by Rosemary Bauman

The Rare And Uncommon Plants Of Humboldt County, by Clare Golec

FIELD TRIP REVIEW
Vegetation on the Way to the South Fork of the Trinity, by John Sawyer