From aceska at telus.net Wed Feb 7 09:52:44 2007 From: aceska at telus.net (Adolf Ceska) Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2007 01:52:44 -0800 Subject: [BEN-L]BEN # 372 Message-ID: <001c01c74a9d$b7e5a570$1c12d8cf@xphome> BBBBB EEEEEE NN N ISSN 1188-603X BB B EE NNN N BBBBB EEEEE NN N N BOTANICAL BB B EE NN NN ELECTRONIC BBBBB EEEEEE NN N NEWS No. 372 February 7, 2007 aceska@telus.net Victoria, B.C. ----------------------------------------------------------- Dr. A. Ceska, P.O.Box 8546, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3S2 ----------------------------------------------------------- BOTANY BC 2007 - OSOYOOS - PRELIMINARY ANNOUNCEMENT Botany BC 2007 will take place from Thursday, May 10th through Sunday May 13th in Osoyoos, B.C. Details will be posted at http://members.shaw.ca/dmeidinger/botanybc/ by the beginning of March. Botany BC participants from 2005 and 2006 are included in the e-mail distribution list and will be notified when program and registration forms are posted. If you have not attended in the last two years, please contact Elizabeth Easton [Elizabeth.Easton@gov.bc.ca] to be included on the e- mail distribution list so that you will also be notified when program and registration information is available on the Botany BC website or check back to the Botany BC website address listed above. BOTANY BC is an annual meeting of botanists and plant enthusiasts of British Columbia and is open to anyone interested in plants regardless. Although BOTANY BC meetings are focused to British Columbia, we welcome all the plant enthusiasts from the neighbouring provinces/states, and from elsewhere in the world. Please pass this notice on to anyone else you think may be interested in this year's Botany BC in the beautiful South Okanagan/Similkameen area. SAVE THE SUKSDORF HOUSE! From: Rhoda M. Love [rglove@uoregon.edu] The century-old W. N. Suksdorf house in Bingen Washington may be in peril. Wilhelm Nikolaus Suksdorf (1850-1932) was a botanical giant who lived a quiet and secluded bachelor life in Bingen Washington, a town on the Columbia River in Klickitat County, which was founded by his family. During Suksdorf's lifetime, the people of Bingen were mostly unaware that Suksdorf was the most prodigious early pioneer collector of plants in the Northwest. On his death 30,000 of his meticulously prepared specimens were sent to Washington State University where they formed the backbone of the college's botanical collections. His total specimens numbered over 150,000. At least 70 species plus the genus Suksdorfia were named for him. Many believe that W. N. Suksdorf was Bingen's most important citizen. Now we hear that his historic home in Bingen may be destroyed. In 1910, Suksdorf's brother Phillip built a small, two- story, 3-room wooden house for the botanist in Bingen. Suksdorf kept his huge herbarium in the upstairs room. Below he lived his bachelor life, even baking his own bread. Many botanists, including myself, Adolf Ceska, and members of the Washington and Oregon Native Plant Societies, make frequent visits to view the old house. (It has wings added on either side now and is painted barn red.) After Suksdorf's death, the house came into private hands. Today, nearly 100 years old, the house has an aged foundation and the present owner may find it necessary to demolish the structure. I and others feel that, with the help of botanists, history buffs, and flower lovers throughout the Northwest, the house might be saved. We hope to convince the City of Bingen to acquire and move the original part of the house to public property where it can be maintained as a museum and lasting memorial to one of the greatest botanists the Northwest has known. WILL BINGEN LOSE HISTORIC HOUSE? From: Jesse Burkhardt [JBurkhardt@Eaglenewspapers.com] originally published in _The Enterprise_, White Salmon, WA [Published to Web, December 26, 2006] The Suksdorf name is legendary in Bingen: It's the name of the family that founded the city of Bingen. One member of the family -- Wilhelm Nikolaus Suksdorf, who lived from 1850-1932 -- was regarded as an expert botanist. The Native Plant Society of Oregon recently referred to him as "a botanical giant," and "the most prodigious early pioneer collector of plants in the Northwest." Suksdorf lived in a two-story, three-room wooden house, at what is now 524 W. Lincoln Street in Bingen. That house may now be threatened: Its foundation is deteriorating, and the house could be torn down. The owner of the house, Bingen resident Jeff Rogers, is currently in Hawaii and could not be reached for comment. The Suksdorf house is now a rental property, and city officials said Rogers eventually plans to raze the old structure and build a new home on the site. A group of botanists and historians is hoping to see that does not happen. Members of the Native Plant Society want to see the house moved to another location and preserved as a museum and a memorial to "one of the greatest botanists the Northwest has known." Mo Miles, owner of Milestone Nursery in Lyle, is among those who supports preserving the house. "Absolutely. I'd always like to preserve history," Miles said. "Suksdorf had a lot of local impact identifying plant species in this area. So many of the plants are named for him. I didn't realize he had such a huge specimen collection." Suksdorf was reported to have as many as 150,000 specimens in his collection, with 70 species, as well as the genus _Suksdorfia_, directly named after Wilhelm Suksdorf. _Suksdorfia_ is defined as a "small genus of rhizomatous herbs," and plants with "orbicular to kidney-shaped somewhat succulent leaves and white or rose or violet flowers in terminal panicles." After he died in 1932, approximately 30,000 of Suksdorf's specimens were taken to Washington State University. Those specimens formed "the backbone of the college's botanical collections," according to the Native Plant Society. "The attitude amongst botanists is that he was far and away the most famous botanist in Washington, and one of the first. His house is like a Mecca," Miles pointed out. Terry Trantow, a member of the Bingen City Council and a board member of the Gorge Heritage Museum in Bingen, said he does not see any immediate threat to the historic house. "Jeff has no current plans to do anything with the house," Trantow said. He added that the topic had been discussed recently by members of the City Council. "We discussed potentially moving it behind the museum," Trantow explained. "The concern was, would there be proper setback on it, and would it get in the way of something else we might want to do there?" WILHELM SUKSDORF'S HERBARIUM WENT TO THE WALLA WALLA PRISON From: Bill Weber [Bill.Weber@colorado.edu] When Marion Ownbey went to Ecuador to hunt for new sources of quinine during WW II he left me in charge of the curatorial work at the Washington State University herbarium in Pullman, Washington. At about that time I distinctly remember accessioning the 75,000th specimen in the WSU herbarium. But my labeling of all the Suksdorf collections resulted in about 40,000 specimens awaiting mounting. Fortunately I was acquainted with Leonard Wing, one of the zoological faculty, who was doing some sort of a primitive data base project, I believe, on some ornithological topic. He told me that he had thousands of cards that had to be done something with, and hit on the idea of arranging for the female inmates of the State Prison at Walla Walla to help him with the task. He also suggested that this might be a way of cutting down on the backlog of herbarium specimens if I could take the time to go down there every week. This, I learned, could be arranged, so every weekend I packed up a pile of specimens, mounting glue and label paste, scissors, red tape, etc., and went down to Walla Walla by car with Leonard, depositing one set and retrieving the previous one, for as many weeks as I had left before being called up in the draft. The ladies assembled in a single work room and mounted the specimens with great care and devotion. They were so happy to have some small connection with living things outside the prison. All the women were life termers, murderers: one was a doctor who had performed abortions, another a lady who had drowned her husband in the bathtub, and I don't remember the crimes committed by the others, but they were all delightful people. At the end of the session every day the scissors and other materials were safely stowed out of reach. I taught them how to mount the plants, and they did not mischievously switch labels, as someone warned me they might do. All were seriously doing a job that they realized had to be perfect. I do not remember how long I did this, but I believe I was called up before the job was finished. Nevertheless, the project was one that I really appreciated being able to work on, and I was very happy to see that I might be making those folks' lives more worth living. ________________________________________________________________ Subscriptions: http://victoria.tc.ca/mailman/listinfo/ben-l Send submissions to aceska@telus.net BEN is archived at http://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/ben/ ________________________________________________________________ From aceska at telus.net Mon Feb 26 19:02:48 2007 From: aceska at telus.net (Adolf Ceska) Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 11:02:48 -0800 Subject: [BEN-L]BEN # 373 Message-ID: <000601c759d8$b53f48e0$1c12d8cf@xphome> This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0007_01C75995.A71F1620 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable =20 BBBBB EEEEEE NN N ISSN 1188-603X BB B EE NNN N =20 BBBBB EEEEE NN N N BOTANICAL BB B EE NN NN ELECTRONIC BBBBB EEEEEE NN N NEWS =20 No. 373 February 26, 2007 =20 aceska@telus.net Victoria, B.C. ----------------------------------------------------------- Dr. A. Ceska, P.O.Box 8546, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3S2 ----------------------------------------------------------- =20 CARPET BURWEED (_SOLIVA SESSILIS_ RUIZ & PAV.) IN CANADA=20 From: Dave Polster [d.polster@telus.net] =20 Carpet burweed, (_Soliva sessilis_ Ruiz & Pav=F3n), was first found in Canada at Ruckle Provincial Park on Saltspring Island, BC in=20 1996 (Polster, in press).=20 =20 It is a winter annual that originally came from South America. =20 It was first noted in California in 1836 and probably arrived=20 with shipments of hides (Ray 1987). It is well adapted to the=20 mild moist winters and dry summers of coastal British Columbia as it flowers and sets seed in the late spring and early summer. It passes the dry summer months as a seed, germinating any time=20 from mid-October to mid-May. =20 =20 A variety of efforts have been made using a range of techniques=20 since it was first found to try and eradicate it. In 2005=20 burweed was found at several other provincial parks as well as=20 at a major City of Victoria park. Early in 2006 the Invasive=20 Plant Council of BC (IPC) decided that carpet burweed would be a=20 good candidate to address at what was believed to be an early=20 stage of establishment. Four levels of government provided=20 funding for a program designed to eventually eradicate this plant=20 in Canada. In addition, two forums were held by the Invasive Plant Council)IPC with all interested parties to garner support for=20 this work. Dr. Adolf and Oluna Ceska were hired to search for=20 the plant in coastal bluff ecosystems and other likely locations on Southern Vancouver Island and the associated Gulf Islands. =20 The Ceskas found that private campgrounds and recreational vehicle parks were significantly infested by burweed and were likely=20 the centres of distribution of this plant rather than Ruckle=20 Provincial Park on Saltspring Island as had been previously=20 thought. An additional search crew (2 people) was hired to visit all of the private campgrounds and recreational vehicle parks on=20 Southern Vancouver Island. Over 175 sites have been searched by=20 the two search teams. Burweed was found at a number of sites in=20 Canada in 2006 (Table 1). =20 =20 In addition to treatment crews from various municipal=20 and provincial parks agencies, a crew (2 people) was hired to=20 treat the private campground sites where burweed was found. =20 Treatments consisted of either hand pulling where population=20 levels were low or burning with propane fired torches ("Tiger"=20 torches). A total of 53 person days have been spent killing=20 burweed by this crew. Additional efforts to control burweed were=20 undertaken by municipal and provincial workers. A Carpet Burweed=20 Response Team was formed to provide direction in dealing with=20 this plant. Plans have been developed by the team for a forum on=20 burweed to be held on February 9th 2007. Four options for=20 dealing with this plant have been developed: 1) do nothing; 2)=20 provide education and awareness; 3) search for and treat burweed=20 in all high priority sites; and 4) search for and treat burweed=20 in all locations. Details of future programs will be developed=20 by the group of interested parties at this forum. It is expected=20 that continued work, at least at the high priority sites will be=20 undertaken in 2007. Work on eradication has already been=20 initiated at some sites for fall and winter germinating plants=20 (Fred Hook, City of Victoria pers. com.). Although ideally this=20 invasive species would be eradicated from Canada, success is not=20 assured. However failure to act now to control this plant will=20 ensure that it becomes well established in suitable locations in=20 Canada. =20 Literature Cited =20 Polster, D. [in press]: _Eradicating (?) a new weed for Canada; Soliva sessilis =20 Ruiz & Pav=F3n_. Submitted to _Topics in Canadian Weed Science_ Watch for it at: http://www.cwss-scm.ca/publications.htm=20 Ray, M.F. 1987. _Soliva (Asteraceae: Anthemideae) in California_.=20 _Madrono_ 34: 228-239. =20 =20 Table 1 Sites where Burweed Was Present in 2006 =20 Site Location Jurisdiction Area of infestation (m2) (approx.) Lat Long Beachcomber RV N48 33 29.3 W123 21 47.9 Private campground 2002 Beacon Hill Park (dog run) N48 24 31.3 W123 22 01.6 City of Victoria park 1001 Beacon Hill Park (Playground) N48 24 51.2 W123 21 45.4 City of Victoria park 2001 Bella Pacifica Campground Tofino N49 07 41.0 W125 53 57.7 Private campground 1502 Big Tent RV and Campground N49 19 07.4 W124 17 09.0 Private campground 1502 Cattle Point (Uplands Park) N48 26 17.4 W123 17 35.9 Muni. Of Oak Bay Park 1001 Cowichan River Provincial Park N48 46 21.7 W123 53 53.6 Provincial Park 101 D=92Arcy Island (GI National Park) N48 34 06.6 W123 16 21.6 National Park 101 French Beach Provincial Park N48 23 34.9 W123 56 42.4 Provincial Park 1001 Island View RV Campground N48 34 37.2 W123 22 06.1 Private campground 6002 Jordan River Campground=20 N48 25 14.8 W124 03 17.1 Forest Company site 1002 KOA Victoria West Campground N48 32 49.4 W123 33 58.1 Private campground 2002 Living Forests RV Site N49 08 02.6 W123 54 53.7 Private campground 6002 Park Canada site Tsawwassen N49 02 07.8 W123 05 29.8 Private campground 101 Rathtrevor Group Site 1 N49 19 00.7 W124 16 13.9 Provincial Park 2001 Rathtrevor Group Site 2 N49 19 01.4 W124 16 13.1 Provincial Park 1501 Rathtrevor Group Site 3 N49 19 01.1 W124 16 10.4 Provincial Park 101 Rathtrevor Walk-in Site 1 N49 19 21.1 W124 16 00.0 Provincial Park 2001 Rathtrevor Walk-in Site 2 N49 19 21.2 W124 16 01.3 Provincial Park 101 Rathtrevor Walk-in Site 3 N49 19 25.9 W124 15 58.1 Provincial Park 101 Rathtrevor Parking Lot 5 N49 18 56.8 W124 15 53.7 Provincial Park 501 Ruckle Provincial Park N48 46 15.7 W123 22 06.1 Provincial Park 50,0001,3 Ruckle Provincial Park (exclosure) N48 46 17.3 W123 22 03.1 Provincial Park 5,0001,3 Smelt Bay Provincial Park (Cortez) N50 01 53.9 W124 59 48.0 Provincial Park 101 Sooke River RV Site N48 23 35.3 W123 42 34.6 Private campground 2002 Sunny Shores Resort & Marina N48 46 21.7 W123 53 53.6 Private campground 4002 Thetis Lake Regional Park N48 27 49.3 W123 28 07.7 Regional Park (CRD) 2001 Thetis Lake RV & Campground N48 27 44.9 W123 28 07.4 Private campground 22,0002 Westwood Lake RV & Campground N49 09 49.4 W123 59 41.5 Private campground 1002 Ucluelet Campground N48 56 49.5 W125 33 29.1 Private campground 1502 =20 Total 81,170 m2 1 Site treated by stakeholder or finder 2 Site treated by ICP Crew 3 Work on burweed reductions at Ruckle Provincial Park has reduced = numbers but not the extent of the infestation so although the infested area is large, the plant density is very low. =20 =20 =20 CARPET BURWEED _SOLIVA SESSILIS_, ASTERACEAE):=20 RARE AND INTRODUCED SPECIES THAT OCCUR WITH IT IN BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA =20 From: Adolf Ceska & Oluna Ceska [aceska@telus.net] =20 Carpet burweed (_Soliva sessilis_ Ruiz & Pav.) is a South=20 American plant that has spread in Australia, New Zealand and In North America. In North America, carpet burweed occurs from California to British Columbia, and in other parts of=20 the U.S. in southeastern states from Virginia to Texas.=20 In Douglas et al. (1998) it is listed from Arizona, but there are no specimens listed in the databases of the main Arizona=20 herbaria. =20 In British Columbia, Carpet burweed was first collected in=20 Ruckle Provincial Park, Saltspring Island, on May 18, 1996 by Frank Lomer, who later reported this find in BEN=20 (Botanical Electronic News) # 163 (Lomer 1997). =20 Carpet burweed stands out from other invasive plants by having a=20 sharp spine on its achenes that penetrates skin on bare feet or on paws of dogs. The presence of carpet burweed in parks,=20 playgrounds and golf courses significantly diminishes the recreational value of those facilities. =20 British Columbia Parks, who administer Ruckle Park, responded to=20 carpet burweed soon after the infestation was detected. Carpet burweed was weeded out by hand in sensitive areas with=20 native plants, and the areas with massive infestation were covered with black plastic tarps. Mulching did not prove=20 effective, merely giving the managers a false impression that carpet burweed problem in Ruckle Park was under control. In=20 addition, the BC Parks budget was reduced and did not allow funds to be spent on carpet burweed control. Within a few years,=20 the seed bank in the mulched areas germinated, and the burweed problem in Ruckle Park erupted again. The history of the=20 carpet burweed infestation in Ruckle Park as well as the history of the various treatments until the year 2004 has been=20 summarized by Stevens et al. (2004 or 2005). =20 In March 2005, Oluna Ceska found carpet burweed at the edge of=20 the Thetis Lake Park parking lot, and almost simultaneously carpet burweed was found in Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park=20 near Parksville, in Skutz Falls Provincial Park, in Beacon Hill (Victoria City Park), at French Beach, and on D'Arcy=20 Island. Consequent discovery of carpet burweed on Cattle Point, Oak Bay, Victoria by Adolf Ceska showed that carpet=20 burweed is more widespread than previously thought.=20 =20 We were hired by the Invasive Plant Council of British Columbia=20 to do field work to assess the actual distribution of carpet=20 burweed on southern Vancouver Island. It was suggested that we=20 should concentrate on parks around Victoria and on the eastern part of Vancouver Island. =20 We were looking for the source of the carpet burweed infestation=20 in Thetis Lake Park, and we realized that there was a far more massive infestation in the private Thetis Lake RV Park=20 adjacent to the public park. We then visited Island View Beach Regional Park. We did not find any carpet burweed in this park,=20 but the adjacent private RV Park was infested with carpet burweed to such a degree that large parts of the original lawn=20 have been overgrown and replaced with a solid "carpet" of carpet burweed. =20 When we realized that RV parks were vulnerable to carpet burweed=20 infestations, we switched our focus from parks and public spaces, and in the time available in our contract, we focused our=20 search in RV parks. We found that about one third of RV parks we visited had carpet burweed in them. Our findings were=20 confirmed by the crew that was hired to continue in the carpet burweed search, who found carpet burweed in many other=20 sites. Results of our search efforts have been incorporated in Dave Polster's article in this issue of BEN. =20 Carpet burweed is an annual plant that behaves in our area as a=20 typical winter-annual. It starts to germinate in fall after the first rains, and its vegetation season lasts until the dry=20 late spring and summer. During this period, carpet burweed germinates, produces greenish flowers, produces "seeds" (those=20 are in fact fruits, achenes or - to be more precise cypselae [sing.: cypsela] in Asteraceae). Casual observations in our area=20 indicate that the plants do not exhibit photoperiodicity; plants can flower soon after their germination and they can=20 produce flower heads throughout the whole vegetation period. This may set it apart from native winter-annuals that display=20 strict photoperiodicity. The ability to flower throughout the whole vegetation season gives carpet burweed a competitive=20 advantage over native winter annuals. In addition, carpet burweed has broad ecological amplitude (especially in term of=20 available moisture) that overlaps with large number of native plants. Carpet burweed thus poses a serious threat to a large=20 number of plant species. =20 Annual species, also called therophytes, form the most=20 significant life-form group of all the life-forms that exist in=20 the Garry-oak ecosystems (see Roemer 1972, page 50). Most of them=20 are, like carpet burweed, the so- called winter-annuals, i.e., they germinate in fall and winter and finish their life-=20 cycle by the end of spring. Quite a few bryophytes have a similar life-cycle, although they cannot be called therophytes- the term is restricted for the vascular plants only. =20 Therophytes (i.e., annual vascular plants) are not only the most=20 significant group among native vascular plants, but they also represent the largest group of vascular plants on southern=20 Vancouver Island listed as rare by the BC Conservation Data Centre. According to the British Columbia Ministry of Environment=20 (2007), there are 21 RED-listed therophytes in Garry oak ecosystems, and about 13 BLUE-listed ones, for the total of 34=20 CDC-listed species. If one adds several annual bryophytes (e.g., _Entosthodon fascicularis_), there are well over 35 annual=20 rare plant species that have similar life cycles and similar ecological requirements as those of the invasive carpet=20 burweed. Land managers and even environmental consultants who are=20 unaware of the importance of therophytes in the floristic=20 composition of the site can come to a wrong conclusion that there are no plant species that would call for the protection of the=20 areas infested with carpet burweed. Nevertheless, we believe that this is an important factor that should be considered when=20 choosing the eradication methods on each particular site. =20 During our survey, we found carpet burweed growing with British Columbia rare plants at the following sites:=20 =20 Cattle Point, Victoria Macoun's meadowfoam (_Limnanthes macounii_)=20 Potential of spreading to other rare plants. =20 Rathtrevor Beach Park, Parksville Howell's montia(_Montia howellii_) Moss _Entosthodon fascicularis_=20 Liverwort _Sphaerocarpos texanus_ =20 Ruckle Farm Provincial Park, Saltspring Island=20 Macoun's meadowfoam (_Limnanthes macounii_) Poverty clover (_Trifolium depauperatum_) Slender woolyheads (_Psilocarphus tenellus_) Nuttall's quillwort (_Isoetes nuttallii_) Howell's montia (_Montia howellii_) =20 Thetis Lake RV Park=20 Lesser woolyheads (_Psilocarphus tenellus_) Liverwort _Sphaerocarpos texanus_ Howell's montia (_Montia howellii_) =20 Carpet burweed threatens native rare plants in the following=20 three ways:=20 =20 1) Direct competition;=20 2) Destruction: rare plants may be destroyed when improper = =20 techniques are used in places where rare plants occur with carpet burweed (e.g., use of herbicides, torch=20 burning, etc.);=20 3) Open places dominated by carpet burweed may be developed =20 or seeded, since the areas appear to be barren if seen outside the vegetation season. =20 During our search for carpet burweed we found other invasive plants that grew in many sites we have investigated. We found numerous populations of burrowing clover (_Trifolium=20 subterraneum_), a species that was first reported in British=20 Columbia by Ceska (1975), and many populations of moss pygmyweed=20 (_Crassula tillaea_), first reported from British Columbia only=20 quite recently by Zika (2002). =20 =20 Yellow wall bedstraw, _Galium murale_ (L.) All., an introduced=20 European species previously known in North America only from=20 California, was found as new to British Columbia and Canada=20 growing in the lawn of the Thetis Lake RV Park. =20 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT =20 Our fieldwork was supported by the Invasive Plant Council of=20 British Columbia. =20 Literature Cited =20 British Columbia Ministry of Environment. 2007. BC Species and =20 Ecosystems Explorer. Web page: http://srmapps.gov.bc.ca/apps/eswp/ Ceska, A. 1975. Additions to the adventive flora of Vancouver Island,=20 British Columbia. Canadian Field Naturalist 89:451-453. Douglas, G.W., G.B. Straley, D.V. Meidinger, & J. Pojar. 1998. _Illustrated Flora of British Columbia. Vol. 1: Gymnosperms and = =20 Dicotyledons (Aceraceae through Asteraceae)_. B.C. Ministry=20 of Environment, Lands and Parks and B.C. Ministry of Forests.=20 Victoria. 436 p. Lomer, S.F. 1997. Six new introduced species in British Columbia. _BEN_ Electronic News) # 163 (April 19, 1997) May 18, 1996=20 http://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/ben/ben163.html=20 Roemer, H.L. 1972. _Forest vegetation and environments on=20 the Saanich Peninsula, Vancouver Island_. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC. xvi+405 p.=20 http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/bib1024.pdf=20 Stevens, V., E. Lofroth, B. Costanzo, & S. Walsh. [2004 or 2005]. _Invasive burweed in Ruckle Provincial Park, British Columbia_.=20 [Poster] Available from: =20 =20 http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/ruckle/burweed_poster.pd= f =20 Zika, P.F. 2002. Crassula tillaea, a small addition to the flora of = British=20 Columbia. _BEN_ # 289, May 26, 2002 http://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/ben/ben289.html=20 _______________________________________________________________ =20 Subscriptions: http://victoria.tc.ca/mailman/listinfo/ben-l Send submissions to aceska@telus.net BEN is archived at http://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/ben/ ________________________________________________________________ =20 ------=_NextPart_000_0007_01C75995.A71F1620 Content-Type: text/html; charset="ISO-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

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BB=A0=A0 = B=A0=A0 EE=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 NN=A0 NN=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 = ELECTRONIC

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No. = 373=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 = =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0Febr= uary 26, 2007

 

aceska@telus.net=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0= =A0=A0=A0 Victoria, B.C.

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=A0Dr. A. = Ceska, P.O.Box 8546, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3S2

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CARPET BURWEED (_SOLIVA SESSILIS_ RUIZ & PAV.) IN = CANADA

From: Dave Polster [d.polster@telus.net]

 

Carpet burweed, (_Soliva sessilis_ Ruiz & Pav=F3n), was = first found

in Canada at Ruckle Provincial Park on Saltspring = Island, BC in

1996 (Polster, in press).

 

It is a winter annual that originally came from = South America.=A0

It was first noted in California in 1836 and = probably arrived

with shipments of hides (Ray 1987). It is well adapted to the =

mild moist winters and dry summers of coastal = British Columbia

as it flowers and sets seed in the late spring and early = summer.

It passes the dry summer months as a seed, germinating any time =

from mid-October to mid-May.=A0

 

A variety of efforts have been made using a range of techniques =

since it was first found to try and eradicate it.=A0 In 2005 =

burweed was found at several other provincial parks as well as =

at a major City of Victoria park.=A0 Early in 2006 = the Invasive

Plant Council of BC (IPC) decided that carpet burweed would be a =

good candidate to address at what was believed to be an early =

stage of establishment.=A0 Four levels of government provided =

funding for a program designed to eventually eradicate this = plant

in Canada.=A0 In addition, two forums were held by = the Invasive Plant

Council)IPC with all interested parties to garner support for =

this work.=A0 Dr. Adolf and Oluna Ceska were hired to search for =

the plant in coastal bluff ecosystems and other likely = locations

on Southern Vancouver Island and the associated = Gulf Islands.=A0

The Ceskas found that private campgrounds and recreational = vehicle

parks were significantly infested by burweed and were likely =

the centres of distribution of this plant rather than = Ruckle

Provincial Park on Saltspring Island as had been previously

thought.=A0 An additional search crew (2 people) was hired to = visit

all of the private campgrounds and recreational vehicle parks on =

Southern Vancouver Island.=A0 Over 175 sites have = been searched by

the two search teams.=A0 Burweed was found at a number of sites = in

Canada in 2006 (Table 1).=A0

 

In addition to treatment crews from various municipal =

and provincial parks agencies, a crew (2 people) was hired to =

treat the private campground sites where burweed was found.=A0 =

Treatments consisted of either hand pulling where population =

levels were low or burning with propane fired torches ("Tiger"

torches).=A0 A total of 53 person days have been spent killing =

burweed by this crew.=A0 Additional efforts to control burweed = were

undertaken by municipal and provincial workers.=A0 A Carpet = Burweed

Response Team was formed to provide direction in dealing with =

this plant.=A0 Plans have been developed by the team for a forum = on

burweed to be held on February 9th 2007.=A0 Four = options for

dealing with this plant have been developed: 1) do nothing; 2) =

provide education and awareness; 3) search for and treat burweed =

in all high priority sites; and 4) search for and treat burweed =

in all locations.=A0 Details of future programs will be = developed

by the group of interested parties at this forum.=A0 It is = expected

that continued work, at least at the high priority sites will be =

undertaken in 2007.=A0 Work on eradication has already been =

initiated at some sites for fall and winter germinating plants =

(Fred Hook, City of Victoria pers. com.).=A0 = Although ideally this

invasive species would be eradicated from Canada, = success is not

assured.=A0 However failure to act now to control this plant = will

ensure that it becomes well established in suitable locations in =

Canada.

 

Literature Cited

 

Polster, D. [in press]: _Eradicating (?) a new weed for = Canada; Soliva sessilis = =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0

=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 = Ruiz & Pav=F3n_. Submitted to _Topics in Canadian Weed Science_

=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 Watch for it at: http://www.cwss-scm.ca/p= ublications.htm

Ray, M.F. 1987. _Soliva (Asteraceae: Anthemideae) in = California_.

=A0=A0=A0=A0 _Madrono_ 34: 228-239.

 

 

Table 1

Sites where Burweed Was Present in 2006

 

Site=

Location

Jurisdictio= n

Area of infestation (m2) (approx.)

Lat<= /font>

Long=

Beachcomber RV

N48 33 = 29.3

W123 = 21 47.9

Private campground

2002

Beacon Hill Park (dog = run)

N48 24 = 31.3

W123 = 22 01.6

City of Victoria park

1001

Beacon Hill Park (Playground)

N48 24 = 51.2

W123 = 21 45.4

City of Victoria park

2001

Bella Pacifica Campground Tofino

N49 07 = 41.0

W125 = 53 57.7

Private campground

1502

Big Tent RV and Campground

N49 19 = 07.4

W124 = 17 09.0

Private campground

1502

Cattle Point (Uplands Park)

N48 26 = 17.4

W123 = 17 35.9

Muni. Of Oak = Bay Park

1001

Cowichan River Provincial Park

N48 46 = 21.7

W123 = 53 53.6

Provincial Park

101

D’Arcy Island (GI = National Park)

N48 34 = 06.6

W123 = 16 21.6

National Park

101

French Beach Provincial Park

N48 23 = 34.9

W123 = 56 42.4

Provincial Park

1001

Island View RV Campground

N48 34 = 37.2

W123 = 22 06.1

Private campground

6002

Jordan River Campground =

N48 25 = 14.8

W124 = 03 17.1

Forest Company site

1002

KOA Victoria West Campground

N48 32 = 49.4

W123 = 33 58.1

Private campground

2002

Living Forests RV Site

N49 08 = 02.6

W123 = 54 53.7

Private campground

6002

Park Canada site Tsawwassen

N49 02 = 07.8

W123 = 05 29.8

Private campground

101

Rathtrevor Group Site 1

N49 19 = 00.7

W124 = 16 13.9

Provincial Park

2001

Rathtrevor Group Site 2

N49 19 = 01.4

W124 = 16 13.1

Provincial Park

1501

Rathtrevor Group Site 3

N49 19 = 01.1

W124 = 16 10.4

Provincial Park

101

Rathtrevor Walk-in Site 1

N49 19 = 21.1

W124 = 16 00.0

Provincial Park

2001

Rathtrevor Walk-in Site 2

N49 19 = 21.2

W124 = 16 01.3

Provincial Park

101

Rathtrevor Walk-in Site 3

N49 19 = 25.9

W124 = 15 58.1

Provincial Park

101

Rathtrevor Parking Lot 5

N49 18 = 56.8

W124 = 15 53.7

Provincial Park

501

Ruckle Provincial Park

N48 46 = 15.7

W123 = 22 06.1

Provincial Park

50,0001,3

Ruckle Provincial Park (exclosure)

N48 46 = 17.3

W123 = 22 03.1

Provincial Park

5,0001,3

Smelt Bay Provincial Park (Cortez)

N50 01 = 53.9

W124 = 59 48.0

Provincial Park

101

Sooke River RV Site

N48 23 = 35.3

W123 = 42 34.6

Private campground

2002

Sunny Shores Resort & Marina

N48 46 = 21.7

W123 = 53 53.6

Private campground

4002

Thetis Lake Regional Park

N48 27 = 49.3

W123 = 28 07.7

Regional Park (CRD)

2001

Thetis Lake RV & Campground

N48 27 = 44.9

W123 = 28 07.4

Private campground

22,0002

Westwood Lake RV & Campground

N49 09 = 49.4

W123 = 59 41.5

Private campground

1002

Ucluelet Campground

N48 56 = 49.5

W125 = 33 29.1

Private campground

1502

 

Total

81,170 m2

1 Site treated by stakeholder or = finder

2 Site treated by ICP Crew

3 Work on = burweed reductions at Ruckle Provincial Park has reduced numbers but not the extent of the infestation so although the infested = area is large, the plant density is very low.

 

 

 

CARPET BURWEED _SOLIVA SESSILIS_, ASTERACEAE): =

=A0=A0=A0 RARE AND INTRODUCED SPECIES THAT OCCUR WITH IT IN = BRITISH

=A0=A0=A0 COLUMBIA, CANADA

 

From: Adolf Ceska & Oluna Ceska = [aceska@telus.net]

 

Carpet burweed (_Soliva sessilis_ Ruiz & Pav.) is a South =

American plant that has spread in Australia, New = Zealand and

In North America. In North America, carpet burweed = occurs

from California to British Columbia, and in other = parts of

the U.S. in southeastern states from Virginia to = Texas.

In Douglas et al. (1998) it is listed from = Arizona, but there

are no specimens listed in the databases of the main = Arizona

herbaria.

 

In British Columbia, Carpet burweed was first = collected in

Ruckle Provincial Park, Saltspring Island, on = May 18, 1996

by Frank Lomer, who later reported this find in BEN =

(Botanical Electronic News) # 163 (Lomer = 1997).

 

Carpet burweed stands out from other invasive plants by having a =

sharp spine on its achenes that penetrates skin on = bare

feet or on paws of dogs. The presence of carpet burweed in = parks,

playgrounds and golf courses significantly diminishes = the

recreational value of those facilities.

 

British Columbia Parks, who administer Ruckle = Park, responded to

carpet burweed soon after the infestation was = detected.

Carpet burweed was weeded out by hand in sensitive areas with =

native plants, and the areas with massive infestation = were

covered with black plastic tarps. Mulching did not prove =

effective, merely giving the managers a false impression = that

carpet burweed problem in Ruckle Park was under = control. In

addition, the BC Parks budget was reduced and did not = allow

funds to be spent on carpet burweed control. Within a few years, =

the seed bank in the mulched areas germinated, and = the

burweed problem in Ruckle Park erupted again. The = history of the

carpet burweed infestation in Ruckle Park as well = as the

history of the various treatments until the year 2004 has been =

summarized by Stevens et al. (2004 or 2005).

 

In March 2005, Oluna Ceska found carpet burweed at the edge of =

the Thetis Lake Park parking lot, and almost simultaneously

carpet burweed was found in Rathtrevor Beach = Provincial Park

near Parksville, in Skutz Falls Provincial Park, = in

Beacon Hill (Victoria City Park), at French = Beach, and on D'Arcy

Island. Consequent discovery of carpet burweed on = Cattle

Point, Oak Bay, Victoria by Adolf Ceska showed = that carpet

burweed is more widespread than previously thought. =

 

We were hired by the Invasive Plant Council of British Columbia =

to do field work to assess the actual distribution of carpet =

burweed on southern Vancouver Island. It was = suggested that we

should concentrate on parks around Victoria and on = the eastern

part of Vancouver Island.

 

We were looking for the source of the carpet burweed infestation =

in Thetis Lake Park, and we realized that there = was a far

more massive infestation in the private Thetis Lake RV Park =

adjacent to the public park. We then visited = Island View Beach

Regional Park. We did not find any carpet = burweed in this park,

but the adjacent private RV Park was infested with = carpet

burweed to such a degree that large parts of the original lawn =

have been overgrown and replaced with a solid "carpet" = of

carpet burweed.

 

When we realized that RV parks were vulnerable to carpet burweed =

infestations, we switched our focus from parks and = public

spaces, and in the time available in our contract, we focused = our

search in RV parks.=A0 We found that about one third of = RV

parks we visited had carpet burweed in them. Our findings were =

confirmed by the crew that was hired to continue in = the

carpet burweed search, who found carpet burweed in many other =

sites. Results of our search efforts have been incorporated = in

Dave Polster's article in this issue of BEN.

 

Carpet burweed is an annual plant that behaves in our area as a =

typical winter-annual. It starts to germinate in fall = after

the first rains, and its vegetation season lasts until the dry =

late spring and summer. During this period, carpet = burweed

germinates, produces greenish flowers, produces = "seeds" (those

are in fact fruits, achenes or - to be more precise = cypselae

[sing.: cypsela] in Asteraceae). Casual observations in our area =

indicate that the plants do not exhibit = photoperiodicity;

plants can flower soon after their germination and they can =

produce flower heads throughout the whole vegetation = period.

This may set it apart from native winter-annuals that display =

strict photoperiodicity.=A0 The ability to flower = throughout

the whole vegetation season gives carpet burweed a competitive =

advantage over native winter annuals. In addition, = carpet

burweed has broad ecological amplitude (especially in term of =

available moisture) that overlaps with large number of = native

plants. Carpet burweed thus poses a serious threat to a large =

number of plant species.

 

Annual species, also called therophytes, form the most =

significant life-form group of all the life-forms that exist in =

the Garry-oak ecosystems (see Roemer 1972, page 50). Most of = them

are, like carpet burweed, the so- called = winter-annuals,

i.e., they germinate in fall and winter and finish their life- =

cycle by the end of spring. Quite a few bryophytes have = a

similar life-cycle, although they cannot be called = therophytes-

the term is restricted for the vascular plants = only.

 

Therophytes (i.e., annual vascular plants) are not only the most =

significant group among native vascular plants, but = they

also represent the largest group of vascular plants on southern =

Vancouver Island listed as rare by the BC = Conservation Data

Centre. According to the British Columbia Ministry of = Environment

(2007), there are 21 RED-listed therophytes in Garry = oak

ecosystems, and about 13 BLUE-listed ones, for the total of 34 =

CDC-listed species. If one adds several annual = bryophytes

(e.g., _Entosthodon fascicularis_), there are well over 35 = annual

rare plant species that have similar life cycles = and

similar ecological requirements as those of the invasive carpet =

burweed. Land managers and even environmental consultants who = are

unaware of the importance of therophytes in the floristic =

composition of the site can come to a wrong conclusion that = there

are no plant species that would call for the protection of the =

areas infested with carpet burweed. Nevertheless, we believe = that

this is an important factor that should be considered when =

choosing the eradication methods on each particular = site.

 

During our survey, we found carpet burweed = growing

with British Columbia rare plants at the following = sites:

 

Cattle Point, Victoria

=A0=A0=A0 Macoun's meadowfoam (_Limnanthes macounii_) =

=A0 =A0=A0Potential of spreading to other rare = plants.

 

Rathtrevor Beach Park, Parksville

=A0=A0=A0 Howell's montia(_Montia howellii_)

=A0=A0=A0 Moss _Entosthodon fascicularis_

=A0=A0=A0 Liverwort _Sphaerocarpos texanus_

 

Ruckle Farm Provincial Park, Saltspring Island =

=A0=A0 =A0Macoun's meadowfoam (_Limnanthes = macounii_)

=A0=A0=A0 Poverty clover (_Trifolium = depauperatum_)

=A0=A0=A0 Slender woolyheads (_Psilocarphus = tenellus_)

=A0=A0=A0 Nuttall's quillwort (_Isoetes = nuttallii_)

=A0=A0=A0 Howell's montia (_Montia howellii_)

 

Thetis Lake RV Park

=A0=A0=A0 Lesser woolyheads (_Psilocarphus = tenellus_)

=A0=A0=A0 Liverwort _Sphaerocarpos texanus_

=A0=A0=A0 Howell's montia (_Montia howellii_)

 

Carpet burweed threatens native rare plants in the following =

three ways:

 

=A0=A0=A0 1) Direct competition;

=A0=A0=A0 2) Destruction: rare plants may be destroyed when improper=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0

=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 techniques are used in places = where rare plants occur

=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 with carpet burweed (e.g., use = of herbicides, torch

=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 burning, etc.); =

=A0=A0=A0 3) Open places dominated by carpet burweed may be = developed=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0

=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 or seeded, since the areas = appear to be barren=A0 if

=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 seen outside the vegetation = season.

 

During our search for carpet burweed we found other = invasive

plants that grew in many sites we have investigated. We = found

numerous populations of burrowing clover (_Trifolium =

subterraneum_), a species that was first reported in British =

Columbia by Ceska (1975), and many populations = of moss pygmyweed

(_Crassula tillaea_), first reported from British = Columbia only

quite recently by Zika (2002).=A0

 

Yellow wall bedstraw, _Galium murale_ (L.) All., an introduced =

European species previously known in North America = only from

California, was found as new to British Columbia = and Canada

growing in the lawn of the Thetis Lake RV = Park.

 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

 

Our fieldwork was supported by the Invasive Plant Council of =

British Columbia.

 

Literature Cited

 

British Columbia Ministry of Environment. 2007. BC Species and = =A0=A0

=A0=A0=A0 Ecosystems Explorer. Web page:

=A0=A0=A0 http://srmapps.gov.bc.ca/apps/eswp/

Ceska, A. 1975. Additions to the adventive flora of = Vancouver Island,

=A0=A0=A0 British Columbia. Canadian Field = Naturalist 89:451-453.

Douglas, G.W., G.B. Straley, D.V. Meidinger, = & J. Pojar. 1998.

=A0=A0=A0 _Illustrated Flora =A0of British = Columbia. Vol. 1: Gymnosperms and =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0

=A0=A0=A0 Dicotyledons (Aceraceae through Asteraceae)_. B.C. = Ministry

=A0=A0=A0 of Environment, Lands and Parks and B.C. Ministry of = Forests.

=A0=A0=A0 Victoria. 436 p.

Lomer, S.F. 1997. Six new introduced species in = British Columbia. _BEN_

=A0=A0 =A0Electronic News) # 163 (April 19, = 1997)

=A0=A0=A0 May 18, 1996

=A0=A0=A0 http://www.ou= .edu/cas/botany-micro/ben/ben163.html

Roemer, H.L. 1972.=A0 _Forest vegetation and environments on =

=A0=A0=A0 the Saanich Peninsula, Vancouver = Island_. Ph.D. Thesis, University

=A0=A0=A0 of Victoria, Victoria, BC. xvi+405 p. =

=A0=A0=A0 http:= //www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/bib1024.pdf

Stevens, V., E. Lofroth, B. Costanzo, & S. Walsh. [2004 or = 2005].

=A0=A0 =A0_Invasive = =A0burweed in Ruckle Provincial Park, British Columbia_.

=A0=A0=A0 [Poster] Available from: =A0=A0

=A0=A0=A0=A0 http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/ruckle/burwee= d_poster.pdf =A0

Zika, P.F. 2002. Crassula tillaea, a small addition to the flora = of British

=A0=A0=A0 Columbia. _BEN_ # 289, May 26, 2002

=A0=A0=A0 http://www.ou= .edu/cas/botany-micro/ben/ben289.html

____________________________= ___________________________________

 

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Send submissions to = aceska@telus.net

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