Olympic Peninsula Chapter Carex circinata Coil

Olympic Peninsula Chapter
Washington Native Plant Society
November-January 2013-2014 Newsletter
To promote the appreciation and conservation of Washington’s native
plants and their habitats through
study, education and
advocacy
Carex circinata
Coil-leaf sedge
Lake Quinault and Upper Pete's
Creek Trail
Wendy McClure organized a multiple day botanical foray in the Lake Quinault area in late
August. The weather was superb, the hiking
company was terrific, and the water of Lake
Quinault was warm enough for the hearty to
go swimming. The highlight for Ann and I
was reaching the top of Colonel Bob peak to
see the rare sedge, Carex circinata. Within the
lower 48 this species is known from only a
single location-- the steep north face of rock
cliffs at the top of Colonel Bob Peak (fcw).
David Douglas
Over 100 folks came out for the presentation by Jack Nisbet on the travels and adventures of
premier northwest naturalist, David Douglas. Jack took us along with Douglas up the Columbia and down to Oregon for an ethno-botanical, cultural and natural history tour of the northwest in the early years of the 19th century. Douglas' surprising ability to form equally positive alliances with Hudson Bay employees as well as many members of native tribes was not
only an amazing tribute to his personality but also provided excellent protection along the
way. Both Douglas' story and Jack's presentation of it were appreciated by all, even with a
packed house. This was a program sponsored by our Olympic Peninsula Chapter of the
Washington Native Plant Society with assistance and co-sponsorship by the Port Townsend
Library and the Adult Learning Program of the Unitarian Fellowship. Financial support was
provided by Humanities Washington.
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Scheduled Events
The Eclectic Botanical World of Forest Shomer: Tuesday, Nov. 12, 7:00 pm.
Natural History Building, Port Townsend Marine Science Center, Fort Worden.
Meander with Forest through his 40-year history of seed collecting and recent travels. Glimpses of the
realm of native northwest seeds; admire the foliage of central Colorado, Hawaii, and the Avatar Grove
on Vancouver Island. Contact [email protected] for more information.
Gibbs Lake and Bog, Thursday November 14, 9:30 am
We will join with members of the Port Townsend Natural History Society for a hike around Gibbs
Lake (3-5 miles) with a side trip to the bog to search for a few remaining wild cranberries. Our hike
will take us through multiple habitat types including mature forests, wetlands and aquatic systems as
we circumambulate the lake. Be prepared for wet weather and wet feet (or wear waterproof boots).
There will be a small amount of bushwhacking to get to the bog. Bring the usual botanical paraphernalia plus food. Meet for carpooling at Shold Business Center NLT 9:00 am or go directly to Gibbs
Lake where we will meet at the first parking lot on the right along the Gibbs Lake Road NLT 9:30 am.
Contact Fred or Ann Weinmann to sign up: 360-379-0986 or [email protected].
David Douglas, A Naturalist at Work: Thursday, November 21, 2013-an event for the
rainy season. We will visit the history of northwest botanical exploration at the Washington State
History Museum in Tacoma where we will see the exhibit of Scottish botanist, David Douglas' life and
work. This exhibit based on Jack Nisbet's book about Douglas connects Douglas's observations from
the early 19th century to the present and future of the Northwest. Meet at the Port Townsend park and
ride at 9 am with a car pool stop at Shold Business center at 9:15. To sign up contact Fred Weinmann:
[email protected] or 360-379-0986. To carpool from the Poulsbo area contact Wendy
McClure at [email protected] or 360-779-3820. The museum is at 1911 Pacific Ave.,
Tacoma. Admission is adults $9.50; seniors $7.00 whether adult or not.
Holiday Potluck, Slide Show, and Winter Twig Extravaganza:
Tuesday, December 3, 5:00 pm. Natural History Building, Port Townsend Marine Science
Center Fort Worden:
Set up and socialize starting at 5:00 pm, dinner at 6:00 pm. Celebrate a successful botanical year with
good food, good company, and a variety of images. Bring a potluck dish, place setting and a twig (if
you want) and become familiar with winter phases of our beloved trees and shrubs. Don’t forget to
bring your favorite photos of plants and events from the past year which can be on either CD or on a
thumb drive. This is also the time when we assess our goals as a group and hold our annual elections.
Any suggestions regarding projects or field tips for 2014 are welcome. Hope to see you there! Remember that puzzles and 2014 calendars will be available for purchase. Contact [email protected] or
[email protected] 360- 379-9810
Fort Worden State Park: Traditional New Year’s Day Teddy Bear Hike; Wednesday,
January 1, 2014, 10:00 am; meet at North Beach park in Port Townsend-it’s deja vu for those who
attended in 2012. This is a sociobotanical walk to celebrate the Wilderness Within and to do a little
botanizing if we please. The hike will be 1-3 miles depending on weather. Feel free to bring your teddy
bear or other favorite stuffed friend. Contact Fred or Ann Weinmann at 360-379-0986 or
[email protected] for further information.
The Lewis and Clark Wildflower Discoveries, Joan Hockaday, Tuesday, January 14,
2014, 7:00 pm. Natural History Building, Port Townsend Marine Science Center, Fort Worden.
Joan Hockaday, garden historian, author, and wildflower guide will discuss the early journeys of the
botanical explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. This presentation and conversation has been
made possible through Humanities Washington Speakers Bureau grant. If you have questions contact
[email protected].
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Botanical Salmagundi
Hitchcock and Cronquist Redux
In 1973 the grand master of northwest botany, C. Leo Hitchcock cooperated with the guru of United States
botany, Arthur Cronquist to condense the five volumes of Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest into a single volume "field manual" titled Flora of the Pacific Northwest. The single volume version published in 1973
included all the species from the five volumes plus those species that were discovered following publication of
the multiple tome version. As many of you know, Hitchcock and Cronquist's "Flora of the Pacific Northwest"
has been the authoritative guide to the region's flora since its publication in 1973. Generations of students,
academic researchers, and field botanists have relied on this work to support their diverse botanical interests.
Hitchcock, as the flora became known, has been carried to the far corners of the Pacific Northwest on thousands of botany hikes, forays and backpacks. You may have the light blue, the beige or the dark blue version
(or perhaps another color if you have had it rebound), but even though there have been multiple printings
(some with error corrections) there has never been a second edition. For example the three copies on my book
shelf are: Copyright 1973 with no printing number given, 1974 second printing with corrections, and 1981
fifth printing --so we all have the first edition.
In August the University of Washington Burke Museum herbarium announced an effort to begin work on a
new edition of Hitchcock. In botanical circles this is momentous. The article announcing this effort by the
Burke Herbarium (aka as WTU in official herbarium language) is reprinted below. The announcement from
the herbarium newsletter by Dick Olmstead, Herbarium Curator and David Giblin, Collections Manager is
reprinted below.
It is within this context that I am pleased to announce that the University of Washington Herbarium (WTU) at
the Burke Museum is officially embarking on an update to the one-volume "Flora of the Pacific Northwest" (FPNW). Only about 50% of the first edition of the FPNW is consistent with contemporary taxonomy
and nomenclature; the revised FPNW will need substantial name changes, new species added to keys, recognition of additional families, new illustrations, and updated distribution information.
For the past year we have been laying the foundation for this project through the development of workflows
for revising treatments, working with the UW Press to resolve copyright issues relating to FPNW, rewriting
the treatments for several families, and creating a project Web site. This work has been supported through
generous initial donations of $40,000 provided by Jim Duemmel, Don Knoke, Carol Nygren, Peg Pearson,
and an anonymous donor.
Collections Manager David Giblin and Informatics Specialist Ben Legler are leading the project, and we will
be drawing upon the expertise of our colleagues throughout the region for input and guidance. As we move
from planning to production, the first order of business is to raise funds to support Ben Legler, so that he can
devote at least 50% of his time to this project. Ben has been supported primarily by NSF grants during the
digitization efforts at WTU; we look forward to his continued involvement with the FPNW project. We hope
to achieve this through a combination of external sources (e.g., foundation grants) and donor support. Tentatively we have a goal of fall 2016 for delivering the final draft of the flora to the publisher so that it would be
available for spring 2017.
We are pleased to report progress on several fronts, including ongoing revisions of Cyperaceae (sedges) and
Juncacaceae (rushes) by Peter Zika, ferns and fern allies by Ed Alverson, Eriogonum, Calochortus, and Dodecatheon by Dr. Jim Reveal, Ophioglossaceae (moonworts), Lycopodiaceae (clubmosses), and Alismataceae
(water plantain) by Ben Legler, and Gentianaceae, Caryophyllaceae, and Saxifragaceae by David Giblin. Ben
has also been generating a checklist of Pacific Northwest plants for the flora, coordinating technical editing
by volunteer Melissa Bowers and pre-treatment editing by volunteers Jim Duemmel, Douglas Houck, and Don
Knoke, and is also overseeing the processing and placement of illustrations into revised treatments.
To learn more about our efforts, please visit the project Web site: http://www.pnwherbaria.org/florapnw.php.
If you want to make a personal, tax-free donation to support the project, you can do so at our Herbarium support page. (http://www.burkemuseum.org/give/division/herbarium) and click the link for "Pacific Northwest
Flora Revision Project." General information about the project can be found at http://www.pnwherbaria.org/
florapnw.php. We look forward to reporting progress each quarter, and we thank everyone who has contributed to the project to date!
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Klahanne Ridge
Group
August, 2013
Mink Lake Group
September, 2013
Huckleberrys a’plenty
Dixie and Sharon
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Eifert Mural Puzzles and 2014 WNPS Calendars are Ready!
The puzzles produced from the Eifert mural mounted at Fort Townsend State Park are ready for
purchase. The cost is $15.00 and all profits go to the Olympic Chapter of the Washington Native Plant
Society. This is the first puzzle produced from one of Larry Eifert’s murals that sports the WNPS logo.
Also the annual WNPS calendars are available for the great price of $10.00. A portion of the profits go
to our chapter as well. Get one for yourself and several for presents. They will be available at the
monthly events as while as at scheduled hikes. You can also contact Ann Weinmann at
[email protected] 360-379-0986 or Sharon Schlentner at [email protected] for
purchase.
Help Needed!
Study weekend 2014 will be hosted by our chapter and held at Naturebridge on Lake Crescent on the
weekend of July 25-27, 2014. This is a big project for our small group, and this is an excellent opportunity to get involved with our chapter. Currently, we are looking for trip leaders and places to go, or
workshops you could present. We are also looking for an artist or someone interested in helping us to
create a tee-shirt design and get some made for our event. If you would like to help with hikes or be
otherwise involved in some way, contact Sharon Schlentner: [email protected]
360-379-9810 , Wendy McClure: [email protected] 360-779-3820 or Dixie Llewellin:
[email protected].
Thank you for the great response to our request for receiving a digital version of the newsletter. For anyone who would like to change to digital
please email Ann Weinmann at [email protected]. Also please
remember to keep both your membership and email up-to-date.
The next newsletter will be for February through-April, 2014. Submit information in
proper format (see above examples) no later than 15 January, 2014. Include details including time, place, and the name and contact information for the coordinator/leader of
the event. Send input to Fred Weinmann at [email protected].
Chapter Apparatus:
Chair: Sharon Schlentner: 360-379-9810; [email protected]
Vice Chair : Dixie Llewellin 360-385-6432; [email protected]
Treasurer: Dan Post 360-554-0417; [email protected]
Secretary: Ann Weinmann 360-379-0986; [email protected]
Newsletter: Fred Weinmann: 360-379-0986; [email protected]
Board members: Wendy McClure, Eve Dixon, and Linda Landkammer
Web site: Dixie Llewellin (go to wnps.org and click on the link to Chapters)
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Olympic Peninsula Chapter
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Please remit by check payable to WNPS and mail to:
Washington Native Plant Society
6310 NE 74th St., Suite 215E, Seattle, WA 98115
Phone: 206-527-3210 or 1-888-288-8022; email: [email protected]
.Olympic Peninsula Chapter, WNPS
c/o Fred Weinmann
242 Cedarview Drive
Port Townsend, WA 98368
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