BEN # 243

[Adolf Ceska]

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No. 243                              March 14, 2000

aceska at victoria.tc.ca                Victoria, B.C.
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 Dr. A. Ceska, P.O.Box 8546, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3S2
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NOTES  ON  THE  GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION AND TAXONOMY OF _LUPINUS
   SULPHUREUS_ SSP. _KINCAIDII_ (FABACEAE): WATCH FOR IT IN YOUR
   NEIGHBORHOOD ...
From: Tom Kaye <kayet at ava.bcc.orst.edu>

_Lupinus sulphureus_ ssp. _kincaidii_ was recently listed by the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as  a  threatened  species.  This
rare  lupine  is  a  host  plant  of the Fender's blue butterfly
(_Icaricia icarioides fenderi_), an endangered  Willamette  Val-
ley,  Oregon, endemic. Most published descriptions of the lupine
indicate its geographic  range  includes  only  western  Oregon,
although  populations  have been found in recent years in south-
western Washington. In Rare Vascular Plants of British  Columbia
(Douglas,  Straley,  and Meidinger 1998), however, this taxon is
included and cited from southern Vancouver  Island.  This  is  a
considerable   range   extension,  and  prompted  me  to  borrow
specimens with this name from the herbarium at the Royal British
Columbia Museum (V). I had expected them to be misnamed, but  to
my  surprise,  they  appeared  to  be  correctly identified. The
museum sent five specimens (listed below), all of which had been
annotated by such _Lupinus_ luminaries as  C.P. Smith  and David
Dunn.  I  found  no reason to disagree with these earlier deter-
minations. _Lupinus sulphureus_  ssp.  _kincaidii_  does  indeed
appear to be native to Vancouver Island.

All  of  the  specimens  that  I  reviewed were collected in the
1920's from the Oak Bay area near Victoria.  One  has  the  word
"Introduced"  penciled  on to it in C.P. Smith's handwriting. If
Smith felt the taxon was adventive, that might  explain  why  he
did  not mention it from British Columbia in his publications on
the genus. In The Lupines of  Canada  and  Alaska,  Dunn  (1966)
includes  this  taxon and states that it is probably introduced,
but concedes that it could be  relictual  to  Vancouver  Island.
This  latter  notion  seems  most  likely,  since this lupine is
neither showy nor weedy and thus unlikely to be  easily  spread.
Also,  other  plant  species  have  disjunctions  from Oregon to
Vancouver Island, so it is not that strange to see  this  lupine
show that pattern, as well. It seems prudent from a conservation
perspective  to  consider  the Vancouver Island material native,
and the species should still be looked for in the Victoria area.
In addition, we should keep our eyes open  for  it  in  adjacent
regions  such  as  the NE Olympic Peninsula and the Gulf and San
Juan Islands.

Since the distribution of Fender's  blue  butterfly  is  closely
tied  to  the lupine, I also inspected the specimens closely for
eggs of the butterfly (which are laid on the undersides  of  the
leaves).  I  saw  no  eggs,  but  some leaves showed evidence of
herbivory by insects, a calling card of some  butterfly  larvae.
This  insect  herbivory  is  pretty  inconclusive,  however, and
although the lupine was present on Vancouver Island as  late  as
the 1920's, the presence of the butterfly is uncertain and seems
unlikely. In fact, other blues occur in this region and may have
utilized this lupine as a food plant near Victoria.

The  nomenclature of this lupine also deserves a comment. It was
originally described as _Lupinus oreganus_ by Heller,  and  this
name  still  has some merit. This lupine clearly falls naturally
within what C.P. Smith called the  _Calcaratus_  complex,  which
include  _L.  sulphureus._ Phillips (1955) reduced _L. oreganus_
to a subspecies of _L. sulphureus,_ but he did  so  without  ex-
planation.  Clearly,  though,  he  took a broad view of _Lupinus
sulphureus_ because he recognized five subspecies. Even so, what
Phillips called _L. sulphureus_ is a  very  diverse  group,  and
_Lupinus  sulphureus_  ssp. _kincaidii_ stands out as geographi-
cally isolated and morphologically distinct. It  has  a  charac-
teristic kink or ruffle in the banner, which, combined with long
leaf  petioles and glabrous upper leaf-surfaces makes it easy to
identify. The geographic isolation of the  taxon,  its  ease  of
identification,  and lack of obvious intermediates between other
subspecies argue in my mind for  specific  rank.  I  am  not  an
authority  on  perennial lupines, however, and I am cautioned by
Smith's (1946) sage words that when it comes to the _Calcarati,_
"if you are looking for trouble, you will find it here." I bring
up this taxonomic subject to fuel conversation and debate and to
hear what others may think.

I thank George Douglas and Ed Alverson for prodding me  to  look
into the report of this lupine from Vancouver Island and provid-
ing  feedback  on some of the ideas offered here. Thanks also to
Ken Chambers for his insights  into  the  nomenclature  of  this
group.

Records  of  _Lupinus  sulphureus_ ssp. _kincaidii_ on Vancouver
   Island: Specimens from Royal British Columbia Museum Victoria
   (V)
   
   British Columbia: Victoria, June 5, 1929,  Mrs.  Priestly  (V
   accession no. 8704); grassy flat, Victoria, May 1925, Rev. R.
   Connell (V accession no. 7634); Oak Bay, V.I., June 30, 1929,
   W.B. Anderson (V accession no. 8696); Oak Bay, V.I., July 11,
   1927, Rev R. Connell (V accession no. 8208); grassy flat, Oak
   Bay  Flat,  Victoria, June 16 (19?), 1924, Rev. R. Connell (V
   accession no. 7453).

Literature cited

Dunn, D.B. and J.M. Gillett. 1966. _The Lupines  of  Canada  and
   Alaska._  Canada  Department  of Agriculture Monograph No. 2.
   Queen's Printer, Ottawa.
Douglas, G.W., G.B. Straley, and  D.V.  Meidinger.  1998.  _Rare
   Vascular  Plants  of  British Columbia._ BC Environment, Vic-
   toria, British Columbia.
Phillips, L.L. 1955. A revision  of  the  perennial  species  of
   _Lupinus_  of  North America exclusive of southwestern United
   States and Mexico. _Research Studies of the State College  of
   Washington_ 23:161-201.
Smith,  C.P.  1946.  _Species  Lupinorum._  _Lupinus_  in  North
   America Basic taxonomy. _Signature 32,_ paper 54:545-551.


WASHINGTON RARE PLANT CONSERVATION PROGRAM CONFERENCE
From: "K. Dlouhy" <kdlouhy at u.washington.edu>

The Washington Rare Plant Conservation Program is  organizing  a
two-day conference to discuss issues related specifically to the
conservation   and   management   of  rare  plants-vascular  and
nonvascular-and rare ecosystems in Washington. The conference is
schedule for April 17-18, 2000 and will be held at  the  Univer-
sity  of  Washington's Center for Urban Horticulture in Seattle,
WA.

This is the first-ever meeting focused  entirely  on  Washington
rare species and ecosystems and will bring together researchers,
managers,  and  other individuals with a variety of interests in
this area. The goal of this conference is simple: to share ideas
and strategies for the conservation of our rare, native flora.

April 17 (9:00 - 16:35): A Focus on Rare Species
   Plant   Conservation   in   the   Pacific   Northwest   (A.R.
   Kruckeberg),  _Castilleja  levisecta_  (J.B.  Wentworth  + J.
   Gamon &  al.),  _Rorripa  columbiae_  (E.  Habegger  &  al.),
   _Ranunculus reconditus_ (D.L. Wilderman), _Silene seelyi_ (D.
   Malkin),  _Lesquerella tuplashensis_ & _Eriogonum codium_ (K.
   Beck & al.), _Polemomonium pectinatum_ (C. Gilbert),  _Howel-
   lia  aquatica_  (J. Gamon), pteridophytes (E. Alverson), rare
   mosses (J.A.S. Harpel), rare lichens (K. A. Glew), importance
   of herbarium specimens (S. Gage), computer plant keys  (Bruce
   S. Barnes).

April 18 (9:00 - 16:30): A Focus on Ecosystems and Management
   Traditional  plant  management  (N.  Turner),  flora  of Lake
   Isabel (C. Antieau), cattle grazing & E WA vernal  pools  (W.
   Brown),  cattle  grazing  &  _Sisyrinchium sarmentosum_ (A.N.
   Raven), oak woodlands, dry prairies &  balds  (C.  Chappell),
   burning  and  _Castilleja  levisecta_ (P.W. Dunwiddie & al.),
   rare plants & major  highways  in  central  WA  (W.S.  Null),
   reintroducing  _Lilium  occidentale_  (E.O.  Guerrant,  Jr.),
   techniques for reintroductions in western prairies (T. Kaye &
   K. Kuyendall), fire & rare plants in  Wenatchee  Mtns.  (R.J.
   Harrod  & D.E. Knecht), status of rare plant protection in WA
   (J. Gamon), panel discussion.

Registration Fee
   Includes  all  conference  presentations,  lunches,   breaks,
   parking, and conference materials.
   Before April 1, 2000 (regular/student): US$70.00/US$55.00 for
   1  day,  US$110.00/US$90.00  for  2 days After April 1, 2000:
   US$80.00/65.00 for 1 day,  US$130.00/100  for  2  days  (Make
   check payable to the University of Washington.)

Mail or Fax to: 
   Jean Robins, Washington Rare Plant Conservation Program 
   Center for Urban Horticulture, University  of Washington
   Box   354115,  3501 NE  41st Street, Seattle, WA 98195 
   Phone: 206.685.2590 Fax: 206.685.2692
For more information see http://depts.washington.edu/rareplnt !


THE AUTHOR OF THE DRIFTWOOD VALLEY BOOK DIED [BEN # 235]
From: Jennifer Bidlake-Schroeder <jbidlake at axys.net>

A  while  ago  you  posted  information  about  my  grandmother,
Theodora  Gray (published as Theodora Stanwell Fletcher) and her
book Driftwood Valley:

Stanwell-Fletcher, Theodora C. 1999. Driftwood Valley:  a  woman
   naturalist  in  the  northern wilderness. Northwest Reprints.
   Oregon State University Press, Corvallis, OR. 352 p. ISBN  0-
   87071-524-0 [softcover] Price: US$17.95.

I  thought  it  might  be appropriate to let people know that my
grandmother has since passed on. She was of  good  health  until
the  spring  of 1998 when she fell ill. She slowly recovered but
never to her original health. This Christmas, with family visit-
ing, she again fell ill. She finally passed on in  mid  January.
She  was  found  in her bed with her bird book and binoculars at
her side. She had just turned 94.

Since her passing our family has received many  wonderful  cards
and  letters  from  people  who  knew my grandmother or read her
books (there were three). She touched many  people's  lives  and
she will be missed.


A MONUMENTAL DUAL SYNONYMIZED CHECKLIST AND CHROMOSOME LIST
From: Rudi Schmid <schmid at socrates.berkeley.edu>, condensed from
   the detailed review in _Taxon_ 48: 876-878 (Nov. 1999).

Haeupler,   Henning   (ed.).   _Die  Farn-  und  Bluetenpflanzen
   Deutschlands._ Vol. 1. Wisskirchen, Rolf & Haeupler,  Henning
   (with  a  chromosome  atlas  by Focke Albers and contribs. by
   Klaus Adolphi  et  39  al.).  _Standardliste  der  Farn-  und
   Bluetenpflanzen   Deutschlands._   Ed.   by   Bundesamt  fuer
   Naturschutz. 1998. Verlag Eugen Ulmer, Wollgrasweg 41,  70599
   Stuttgart,  Germany (http://www.balogh.com/ulmer/ulmer.html).
   765 pp., unill., 303x234 mm, ISBN  3-8001-  3360-1  (HB),  DM
   148.00.

Massive in size, weight, and Teutonic thoroughness, but surpris-
ingly  inexpensive,  indeed a bargain (about US$72.75 at current
exchange rates) in view of its completeness and excellence, this
synonymized checklist of the vascular plants of Germany  is  the
first  detailed  one  for  this  country  in  60 years (since R.
Mansfeld, _Ber. Deutsch. Bot. Ges._ 58a: 1-323, 1940).  The  31-
page  textual  front  matter  has  a comprehensive introduction,
which includes a 3-page bibliography and a 4-page glossary.  The
introduction should be digested to use effectively this rich and
complex work. There then follows a 516-page alphabetical listing
of  taxa  from  _Abies_ through _Zostera noltii._ This gives ac-
cepted names in bold type plus synonyms indented in normal type,
in all some 4200 species and infraspecific taxa in  777  genera,
with  synonyms  about  15,000  names  total. Coverage involves 3
families, 8 genera, and 12 species (plus infraspecific taxa)  of
gymnosperms, despite the titular "Bluetenpflanzen."

Specifically,  the  work accepts 2674/2705 "normal" species, 936
apomictic ones, and 109/114 nothospecies (hybrid species), for a
total of 3719/3755 species, plus 369/374 assorted  infraspecific
taxa, for a grand total of 4088/4129 taxa The numbers divided by
a  slash  reflect  a  broad  or  conservative versus a narrow or
liberal  species   concept   of   _Oenothera_   (pp.   330-340).
_Oenothera_  I  by lumper W. Dietrich has 7 species, including 2
nothospecies, but no infraspecific taxa, whereas _Oenothera_  II
by   splitter   K.   Rostanski   has  46  species,  including  7
nothospecies and 9 varieties. The 1-page English  summary  lists
12  new combinations and typifications, whereas page 17 lists 70
important name changes  (all  of  these  names  were  previously
published).

Synonymy  is  referenced  and  extensive (basionyms first, other
synonyms chronological), for instance, 35 names for _Cystopteris
fragilis_ or 15 for _Calamintha nepeta._ Throughout the work and
appearing in red  type  are  synonyms  cross-referenced  to  the
accepted  names.  Notes on systematics, nomenclature, as well as
biology of genera and species also appear in red type and  often
are  extensive,  for example, four pages for _Ranunculus,_ three
for _Polypodium,_ or two on _Taraxacum._ These red-type comments
alone make this  compilation  very  significant,  including  for
taxonomists working far beyond Germany.

Following the invaluable 516-page alphabetical list of taxa is a
64- page chapter consisting of five parts:

 1. R. Wisskirchen's systematic list from the divisional through
    the  family level consisting of classification systems some-
    what modified  from  Cronquist  (1981,  1988)  for  the  an-
    giosperms, Ehrendorfer (1991, _Strasburger,_ ed. 33) for the
    gymnosperms,  and Derrick et al. (_Sommerfeltia_ 6: i-xx, 1-
    94, 1987) for the pteridophytes;
 2. F. Alber's  general  remarks  about  chromosome  numbers  of
    German taxa;
 3. W.  Bennert's  comments  on  special problems in determining
    chromosome numbers of pteridophytes;
 4. a 4-page index to families and genera treated in part "5";
 5. F. Albers's 55-page  list  of  chromosome  numbers  of  taxa
    arranged  taxonomically  and  representing chromosome counts
    published since 1950 for central European populations.
    All taxa are listed, even those without chromosome data,  as
    five  columns  for  species  of _Taraxacum;_ including these
    shows the lacunae in our  knowledge.  Importantly,  Albers's
    list  of  chromosome  numbers  contains many new unpublished
    counts (indicated  by  an  *),  for  instance,  20  for  the
    pteridophytes alone.

Ending  this  monster work are (a) a 28-page bibliography to the
alphabetical list of taxa and to the list of chromosome numbers,
and (b) a 121-page index listing, sans  page  numbers,  accepted
names  and synonyms cross-referenced to the former. [The section
on chromosome numbers and the  index  have  separate  parts  for
_Oenothera_  I and II (see above).] Alas, the valuable introduc-
tion is not indexed.

This fine work is remarkably free of typos and other slips.  The
book  is  very  user friendly, once one understands what the red
type, shading, boxes, bolding, etc., signify. Due  to  the  com-
pleteness and excellence of this work, it would be a pity if its
being  in  German  would restrict its use (and sales!) to mainly
central Europe. This dual synonymized checklist- chromosome list
for Germany should be incredibly  valuable  to  systematists  in
many  other  lands.  Kudos  to all involved for a tremendous ac-
complishment.

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