2000 Utah Native Plant Society Annual Compliations

8/9/2019 2000 Utah Native Plant Society Annual Compliations

1/46

*fetter of he Utah festive Plan: SocleVOL. 23 No. 1

Tuesday, January 186:OOPM

Tuesday, January 256-9PMWednesday, January 266:30PM, :00 rogramSaturday Feb. 12and 19Tuesday,Feb.226-9PMTuesday March 216-9PM

CALENDAR OF EVENTSBoard of DirectorsMeeting, USFS Shrub Laboratory, 1325 East820 North, h v oWorkshop: Working with Asteraceae, Dr. Susan Meyer, U of UTalmadge Bldg.*Mountain Chapter meeting. Park City Library.1255Park Avenue.Room 209. Balancing the Art and Scienceof Revegetation., MindyWheeler. Contact Abby Moore (435) 649-8859,[email protected] informationNative Plant Propagation Workshops. Morning in Provo on the 19thand afternoon in Salt Lake on the l!Yh.*Workshop: ThePoaceae,DrKimball Harper,U of U TalmadgeBldg.*Workshop: Introduction to the genus Carex. Shere1 Goodrich. U ofU TdmadgeBide.*

* Please look nside formore information on registration. Feel free to post this notice*Discovering Relatives in the Flowering Plant Family Tree

by Barry A. PaievitzCharles Darwin's frustration with the evolutionary origin of flowering plants-he called it "anabominablemystery"--stood for more than a century,ashypotheses,like flowers, bloomed and faded. Botanists evenargued over whether ancestorsof the 250,000flowering plants, or angiosperms, were tender herbs orwoody, ike shrubs.Now they may be writing the final chapters of Darwin's whodunit,not with thetraditional phrases of fossils and plant anatomy, ut with the letters and words of gene sequences.Botanistshave been particularly eager to learn more about the lowest branches of the angiospermevolutionary tree--theplants that, having diverged first, are closest to the group'sprogenitors. But 'asrecently as the beginning of this year, people were viewing this as a difficult problem that might beintractable,"saysDouglas Soltis of the School of Biological Sciencesat Washington State University inPullman.Now, withinthe space of a few months, several labs using different approaches have shownthe same thing."Adds Jeffrey Palmer of the department of biology, Indiana University in Bloomington,'It took so ong to get this far and now, boom, we're here."


2/46

The.Sego iC Newsletter of the Utah Native Plant SocietySowhy the sudden progress? What made thedifference?Botanists traditionally relied on fossils together withplant anatomy and physiology to infer evolutionaryhistory. For example, they used to think magnoliaswere primitive based on flower structure. But thevalue of structural information is limited by thenumber of charactersyou can define--perhaps a fewscore-so plant biologists turned to comparativegene sequences for more definitive data. A genecontains thousands of characters in the form ofnucleotides.At first botanists used single genes, including thechloroplast-based rbcL and a nuclear gene encodingthe 18sRNA of cytoplasmic ribosomes (18srDNA), to construct evolutionary trees. Researchersrealized, however, that in constructing such trees, orphylogenies, more sequences ranslate into evengreater resolution and confidence, so they pooleddata from multiple genes.With so much data,"supportfor the first branches becomesextraordinarily high," says Soltis, who with wifePamela Soltis advocated combining sequences twoyears ago. "There'ssimply more statistical power inthe results,"adds Richard Olmstead of thedepartment of botany, University of Washington inSeattle.Olmstead stressesanother important ingredient forsuccess: a federally funded consortium called theGreen Plant Phylogeny Research CoordinationGroup.The group's members reported their resultsat last summer's nternational Botanical Congress nSt. Louis. "There's been a lot of sharing of data,sources, and materials,"notes Olmstead, adding,T h e grant helped stimulatethings. I t fosteredcollegiality and cooperation in a way that is too rarein science today." That doesn'tmean there's nocompetition--the teams are racing to get their workinto print.PhytochromeI l l a h t e s the ProblemFirst to the finish line, barely, were Sarah Mathewsand postdoctoralmentor Michael Donoghue ofHarvard University's department of organismic andevolutionary biology. The duo sequenced tw o genesfor phytochrome,a protein plants use to changetheir growth and development in response to light.'Phytochrome is encoded by a family of genes, woofwhich, PHYA and PHYC, robably arose bygene duplication with th e first angiosperms.BycomparingPHYA andPHY equences in various

plants, Matbews and Donoghue constructedphylogenies for each gene, the most parsimoniousor frugal of which turned out to be remarkablysimilar. Mathews and Donoghue then pooled datafrom both genes to produce a consensus tree.The results were striking--a single species, the NewCaledonian shrub Amborella, turned out to be sisteto all other angiosperms. n other words,Am borellats ancestors diverged very early from allcurrent flowering plants. Next to diverge were thewater lilies, then an Australian vine calledAustrobaileya, followed by more familiar speciessuch as magnolia,pepper, and grasses.It's not thatAmborella was a surprise--botanists hadtheir suspicions, especiallyfrom he Soltises' earlieworki--"but there was n o clear signal ...the datawere equivocal," says Mathews. Now we know tha"Amborella is the most primitive flowering plantwith PHYA and PHYC."But Claude d eh p h i l i s , associate professor in thedepartment of biology, Pennsylvania StateUniversity, is circumspect: "It depends on at whatpoint the phytochrome gene duplication reallyoccurred." His own data on mitochondria1 genesturned up the same three lower branches, but don'tdistinguish which came irst. Still, dePamphilis isupbeat; "It'sa very important result, and a novel aninformativeway to find the rootof the tree."More Gene Sequences, More SupportClose on he Harvard team'sfootsteps were theSoltises,who participated in two studies comparingnuclear, chloroptast, and mitochondria1 genes in alarge sample of plants. With Mark Chase of theRoyal Botanic Gardens at Kew , nited Kingdom,they surveyed more than 550 angiosperms for twochloroplast genes (including rbcL) and 18s rDNA-nearly 5,000nucleotides per speciesall told.' Asecond analysis led by Yin-long Qiu of the Institutof Systematic Botany, University ofZurich, usedfewer speciesbut concentratedon the lowerbranches of the tree, adding two mitochondria1genes to increase r e s~ lu t ion .~n the resulting trees,Amborella once again branched first, followed bywater lilies. Austrobaileya came next, in a groupthat also included IIlicium and Schisandra, shrubs,and woody vines from East Asia and thesoutheastern United States.In a study soon to appear in Current Biology,Palmer, together with ChristopherParkinson and


3/46

The Sego LiCy Newsletter of the Utah Native Plant SocietyKeith Adams, reached the same conclusion aboutthe tree's lower branches by combining sequencesfrom three mitochondria1 genes, rbcL, and 18SrDNA.5Still, Palmer defers to Olmstead for thedefinitive answernhhas the most nucleotides andthe most resolution."Olmstead's laboratoryexamined nearly 15,000 nucleotides in 17 slowlyevolving chloroplast genes, including rbcLconcentrating on 40-50 pecies in lower branches ofthe tree. The resultswere the same--Ambodla isthe first branch. OImstead hopes to publish in thenear future.Obviously, the strategy of combining multiplesequences paid off in remarkable agreement--atleast fornow.Questions RemainNot everything is settled, of course. One of thebiggest problems is the monocots, a large group thatincludes grains such asrice and maize. In the

Mathew s/Donoghue scheme, monocots clus~er itheudicots such as columbine, but in the Soltises'treethey're more related to the magnolias. "Monocotplacement is one of the next big challenges,"opinesPalmer. The solution is probably more sequencesfrom more species.Another big challenge is the seed plants, the nexttaxonomic level down the plant kingdomencompassing angiosperms and gymnosperms,including cycads and conifers like pine.Gymnosperm ancestry is contentious-that's why theSoltises, Palmer, nd dePamphilis expanded theirefforts to include more plants, and publications arealready in the works. Qiu'steam provided the irstpublished hint that surprises are in store-theGnetales, which include a strange Namibian desertplant called Welwitschia and were once hought tobe angiosperm allies, now seem to fdi withconifers.

Endjcoto } Pollen with three apenoresburales (bay laurel)Magnotiales

lllicium,Trimnia. Auslrobailcya(StarAnise)Nymphacalcs (Water Lilies)

S v f the relationshipsamong major plant groups determinedby molecularmethods. This isa consc iousfrom the papers refcrcnd. adapted by LMcycr from a figure by Padk i c k , Nature402.356-9.25November 1999.Note that dicotyledonsare not a discrete groupwithinangiofperms.Also note that the bwakbetween angiocpemisand gymno~penirasearlier than in ino~tphylogcnie


4/46

Newsletter of the Utah Native Plant SocietyNew InfemncesPhylogenetk trees are not an end in themselves--biologists use them to make u f i e r predictions.h g n g t the growth habit of plants on the lowerbranches of their tree, Mathews and Donoghuethink the first angiosperms y ave been woody.That's because Amborella and Austrobaileya arewoody shn~bsnd vines. What's more, wide water-conducting conduits called vessels dominateangiospem wood. SinceA m b o m b lacks vessels,dePampk1is thinks the new trees can illuminate "atwhat p i n t the genetic basis for the formation ofvessels appeared."The lower branches of the tree are not spwies rich( A mbo reb is alone n its own family), so floweringplants may not have diversified right away,according to Mathews and Donoghue. Palmer andcoworkers aren't so sure--Arnborella andA~istmbaileyamay be swvivors of once richfamilies that are mostly extinct. DePmphilisagrees: "They 're likely to be only a small portion ofwhat was around at th e time."Angiosperms quickly dominated the plant kingdombecause of their yin-yang relationship with animalpdlinators, especially insects, which promotes crosspollination and genetic diversity--at least, that'sbeen the party line? But Mathew s and h n o g h u ewonder if their rapid diversification came after aswitch to an herblike habit, which is probably wh athappened to the water lilies. 'We can now test ifthere's a cause and effect relationship betweenherbiness and angiosperm diversity,' hopesMathews. Palmer i s still cautious: "Therehave beena lo t of transitions [betweenwoody and herbaceousforms], and multiple in both directions, so we haveto be careful IPalmer's group sees another use fo r more accuratetrees--interpreting the fossil record. Many of theearliest identifiable angiosperm fossils seem t o bemagnoliids and date to 120-130 million years ago.Since the magnolias are higher up on the newphylogenetic trees, the first angiospermsclosest toAmborella and water lilies must have appearedearlier. Palemtologists are sure to be out hunting, ifnot now hen soon.Reprinted with permission from The Scientist,Volume 13 ,#24, 11-12 , Decemkr 6,1999Barry A. Palevitz( p d e v i ~ @ b m y . d o g w o d . u g a . e d u )s aconhibuting editor forThe Scientist.

1. D.E. Soitis et d., Angiospermphylogenyinferred from 18s ribosomal DNA sequences,'Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden,W. 491997-2. S. Mathews andMJ. onoghue, Themot ofangiosperm phylogeny infmed from duplicatephytochmne genes,n Science,286947-50. ct. 21999.3 . P.S. oltis et d., Angiospermphylogenyinferred from multiple genes as a tool forcomparativebiology," N ature, 4W402-4, Nov. 251999.4. Y.-L iu etd., Evidence of the earliestangiospermsfrom mitachandrial, plastid andnuclear genomesy" ature, 402:4#-7, Nov. 25,1999.5. C.L. Parkinson et a1 ' u1tigene analysesidentify the threeearliest lineages of extantflowering plmts.' Current Biology, in press, 19996. P.R. Crane et al., 'The ofigin and earlydiversscation of angiospems,"Nature,3742731995.

Two Reports from Utah scientistsBy Theme MeyerTwo ecent items in the journal, Science, bothwritten by scientistsfrom U tah, suggest importantconservation implications for our native plants.WhatCausesSpecies Extinctions?The first, in the November 5, 1999 issue ( v d . 286no.5442),by Gary E.Belovsky, et. al. at Utah StaUniversity, titled: "Experimental Studies ofExtinction Dynamics" describes a series ofexperiments onduct4 over four years in whichbrine shrimpwere grown in the laboratory undervarious conditionsof resource ( f d ) vailabilityand ppulat ion numbers.Although they used brinshrimp, studies such as this provide useful modelsthat can be appl id to other organisms andecosystems. Belovsky discovered that extinctionwas most highly related to the resource availabilitand wide fluctuation n resource availability andovercrowding caused the most rapid extinction.Small initial population size was not as importantbecause even lo w numbersof individuals quicklyreproduad to fdl the available environment.Competition between members of the populationcaused nonlimm fluctuations in the population siz


5/46

Newsletter of the Utah Native Plant Societyand this was a major contributor to extinction,padcularly during sudden reductions in resources.Belovsky extend4 the findings to conservationplanning: LLconsewationistseed to presepe areasthat either provide a s p i e s with as large a[resource supply] as possible or enhance an area's[resource supply] by management actions.Overcrowding may be an underappreciated transientextinction threat as habitats are destroyed and asindividuals populating destroyed areasmigrate intoremaining habitat fragments and increasepopulation densities there."Lass ofTmditiodKnowledge ofP h t sThe swond article, an essay by Paul A. Cox,recently of Brigham Young University, currentlyDirector of the National Tropical Botanical Gardenin Hawaii and Florida, canbe found in the Jan.7,2000 issue of Science (v 0 1 .m no.5450)-Tided"Will Tribal Knowledge Survive the Millennium?"Cox examined the acceleratinglossof plant speciesaround the world, and the loss of traditional herbalknowledgeas eldersamong he indigenous groupsdie. He cited the Gosiute tribe of western Utah andeastern Nevada as an exampleof this loss: fluentspeakers of the language number fewer than 20, andamong hose few residesmostof the plant-basedherbal h o w l ed g e of the region. Many of thesepeople are elders who experienced an extraordinarychildhood as hunter-gatherers in the Great Basin.Farfrom feeling dephved, they recall a rich Iifetracking the seasonsof the diverse plants of the highdeserts. Rmts, tubers and insects of many speciesprovided a "moveab1e feast."Unfortunately, mostof the younger generation of Gosiutes seem toprefer watching television to listening to storiesabout th e old way of We. In another example, Coxdescribedan herbal healer in Western Samoa whoshowed himhow tomake a teaof the stem wood ofthemmwk tree to treat hepatitis. When the plant,Homuhthus nutans, was tested in h e aboratory atthe US. ationd Cancer Institute, it was found tocontain a compound called prostratin, thatwasactive against a very different virus, the humanimmunodeficiency v i m type 1. Although this drughas not yet been clinically tested or developed by adrug company, it holds pmmise as a treatment forAIDS. in oneof the first f o r d legal recognitionsof indigenous ntelleztud property rights, the U.S.government ha s guaranteed that, should the drugcome to market, haIf of all incomewill be returnedto the people of Samoa. Soon after Dr. Coxcollected tbe plant, H.mtm , oggers began toclear the forest where it grows. The people of the

healer's village were being forced 10 sell the foreto pay fo r a new school. Dr. Cox helped organizeinternational fundraiser that enabled the villagerspay for the school while preserving the forest. Maother forests have not been rescued from the sawand bulldozer, and according to the InternationalUnion for the Conservation of Nature, currently12.5% of all known plant species are threatenedwith immediate extinction.Cox cited Hawaii 'ssituation in which onehalf of the indigenous florthreatened with immediate extinction,89 of whichave fewer than 20 individuals remaining. Shoulwe be alarmed by these facts,considering that in1W,pharmacologist in the U.S. had identifiedover 119plant-derived s u b s ~ c e sha t are usedglobally as drugs? And that many more prescriptdrugs sold in the US. re derived from ormodelafter natudly wcurring plant compounds,including reserpine,digitalis, and vincrktine? Colauded recent advances in technology that enableto evaluate potential uses of plant c omp o~ ~ n d ssmedicines,but more importantly, e urgedincreased respect for the value of indigenous plaknowledge, and inc rea sd advocacy for plantconservation.

FJYE RECENT BOOKS ON PENSTEMONBy Bill King, SaltM e City.Pensternon have traditionally been used i

the perennial garden and smallerones in the rockgarden but increasing interest in the use of nativeplants, especially those with low waterrequirements, has in recent years rekindledenthusiasm of gardeners for the genus Penstemowith its beautiful flowers. As a consequence f ivebooks on penstemon have been published in th ethree years, these books are the subject of thisreview. Each of these books has informa tion thatmight be of value ta those growing plants as welthose who need to identify penstemon in the fieldgarden.The genus Penstemon is the largest genuflowering plants restrictedto Norfh America witsome 272 pecies and about 3% native varieties.Penstemons grow in 49 of ou r 3l states, th eexception being Hawaii. Utah has more speciesopenstemon than any other state with some 69 knspecies (Welsh "A Utah Floram1993) nd isconsidered by many to be near the center of theirewlogkal evolution. Almost everywhere you goUtah,with the exception of the salt flats, you wilfind two or three or more species of penstemonwithin a f ive mile radius which have adapted to t


6/46

Newsletter of the Utah Native Plant Societylocal environment. Nearly 20of the Utahpenstemon are endemic and grow only within theUtah state borders. Some of these are quite rare andare on some ensitive species lists but none of theUtah ones is f e d e d l y listed as threatened orendangered.k t ear we were asked to help identifysome penstemom that had been planted from seedat the arboretum but the names had been lost.Webegged off, knowing that with somany spe.cies itwould be almost impossible unless we got lucky.But now with the help of a new book ust published( 1 by Robin andKenneth Ludewick entitledKey to the Genus Penstemon (see end of article fordetails) the task wouid be far less diificult. The keyis really two keys, a descriptivekey with manydetailswritten by Robin and a quick key written byKenneth using one iners. The keys are easy to useprovided you have an older flower, a ten power lensand a metric der . Simple instructions on how touse thekey and a glossary make the key useab1e byanyone with a little practice.The genus is primarilybroken down on the basis of differences in flowerparts, especially the anthers. But m y dditionaldetails are given including size, ed shape andgeographical location. The Lcdewickscharacterizethemselves as amateur botanists but each has spentmore than 30 years studying penstemon. This is nottheir first work on penstemon but rather thecuimination of a series of publications they have putout in connection with the American PenstemonSociety.This concise paperback book, which issmall enough to put in the back pack, containsonlya few line drawings but will be veq useful toanyonewing to identify species in the field or inthe garden. t will be especially useful in areaswhere a good current local flora isdt available, likein Nevada.While the Lodewick's book contains littleinfomation on growing penstemon in the garden,anew book ust published (1999) by Robert Nold,Penstemom, covers almost every detail ofgardeningwith penstemon including cultivation,planting, transplanting, propagation, diseases andeven a chapter on hybrids. The book also has muchinformation on the nomenclature of penstemon anddivision of the genus into subgenusand section,thismay be of interest to botanists. Nold gardens inM e w o o d , Colorado and has grown over 200penstemon species and has formed an opinion as tothe g d e n worthiness of mostof hem. The hearl ofthe book s descriptions of each peastemon species.Much of this information comes from his owngardening experience, but Noid has gone farbeyondthat, he has made a scholarly review of the

penstemon literature including the writings ofPennell, Keck, Straw, Crosswhite,N.Holmgren,and others. Nold gives the height, geographicdistribution, habitat, leaf and flower structure,varieties, relationship to otherpenstemon, bloomintime and even in some casesmedicinal uses foreach species. He also has a chapter on closelyr e k e d genera such as CheIone and NothochelomWith so many penstemon species there aremany similarities between species and as aconsequence not all the names and rdationshipsbetween species, subspeciesor varieties have beensorted out yet, even by the pmfessionds,but onoverW% f the names there is general agreementNold makes a few changes here and there in hisbook demoting some species to varieties andelevating some to species. These might be astimulus for further discussion. Regarding Utahspecies, he tends to follow Elizabeth Needs1Wpenstemon section of the Utah Flora and ignoreStan Welsh's 1993 revision of Neesetswork.ThusNold does not accept P e m t e m n compactus as aspecies but rather it'sPemtemn ~ h u sar.compactus. Some of the descriptionsfor Utahpnstemon could be belles,For example, NoId hasthe height of P. m p h y l l m at a b u t 10 incheswhen in fact it sometimes grows knee high in theWasatch front canyons. Someof the geogmphicdistributionscould bemore discerning. N d d listsP.sepahlus as found in essentidly the same placas P. tufyphyllusnwhen the only p l a a that P.sepddus distribution overlapsalong theWasatchfront is in American Fork Canyon,P. epaLzilusgrowing from there south and P.p@phyllusgrowing to the north.One of the problems N d d discusses in manplaces in the h k s the reputation of penstemonabeing short ived and blooming to death during thefirst few years in the garden. Nold notes differencin life span between penstemon species.He advisenot to be overly kind topenstemon rememberingwhere they grow in the wild. Too much organicmatter, or for thatmatter too much water afterblooming, an cause their premature death-Noldalso advises not letting them go to seed as a meanto prolong life. The hook is nicely laid out, and adozen of themostbeautiful penstemon paintings,his wife Cindy Nelson-Nold, gmce the pages. Inaddition42 color photographic plates selected froamong the best we ncluded. Nold's wonderful drysense of humor spicesup the reading. The book haa g a d ndex, suggested further radings and a grebibliography. It is an ideal resource to select newpenstemon species for your garden.Abut the o dthing that Nold does nothave in his book is a key


7/46

Newsletter of the Utah Native Plant Societyfor the genus,but the M e w i c k book should make anice companion although there are dight differencesin nomenciature.

The Gardener's Guide to growingPenstemom by David Way and Peter James 19981dso contains a wealth of information on penstemonin the garden, albeit, from an English gardener'spoint of view- Way is a trained hor t icuhr is t andJames does genetic research on plants. The bookcontains chapters on cultivation, propagation, pests,diseases and disorders. lt also has an excellentchapter on the history of botanical discoveryof thegenus p s t e m m But the coreof this b m k is themany wonderful hybrid penstemon that have beendeveloped in th e last 1 9 ears in Europe. You willfind many clear photos and descriptions of suchhybrids as P.'Hidcote Pink'and P.'Sour Grapes'which you will either be intrigued by or repelled by,depending on your point of view.Thebook has a chapter that sumeys speciespenstemon but is not as comprehensive as Nold's. Italso has many appendices in the back which may beof use to you, They include a species checklist, a listof pensteinon by color, a list of speciesby habitat, alist of nurseries, gardens and related organizations.But the most useful appendix is a flow chart ofpenstemon relationships showing how the genus isbroken down into subgenus, section and subwtion.The b k as a g o d index but is clear1y designedfor gardeners only, as it does not containmyreferences or bibliography.Penstemom: The BeaufijdBeardtongues ofNew Mexico is the title of a short b o k written byJean Heflin in 1997. It is an updatedversion to anearlier field guide to New Mexicopenstemon thatshewrote with E m lz. Although only XI pages,it is very comprehensive. There are 74 great colorplates of the41 New Mexico species by herhusband Bill Heflin. Close-ups s well as habitatshots give you a good idea of how and where theygrow. Line drawings by DeWitt 1ve.y of almostevery species are also included and add to thepicture.This book could be used as a field guide inNew Mexico and will also be of use in adjacentstates: fourteenof the spexies grow in Utah.Foreach species in the book abut a page is devoted tonomenclature (including scientific references andtype locations), geographic distributionand habitatas well as height, growth habit and the structure offlowers and eaves. The status of m e species isdiscussed.At the end of the book a page is given ongrowing penstemms in the garden. The book isindexed by both h t i n and common names andreferenas for further reading are given.

A regional view of penstemon is presentedby Dee StnckIer in his I 9 9 7 book entitledNorthwesr Pensfemons.This book primad y coverspenstemon in the states of Washington, Oregon,Idaho and Montana, ut will be useful in adjacentstates and provinces. Ofhe 80 species discussed,19 grow in Utah. Dr. Strickler is a wood scientistwith a keen interest in wildflowers andphotography, this is his fifth book on westernflowers. He raveled 60.000miles over foursummers o find and photograph all of thepenstemms of the Nofihwest. The book has a keyfor Northwest species, but most of he h k sdevoted to describing the 80 species in a systematicfashion. He includes pensternon relativeNofhochelonenemrosa among he 80.For eachspecies he discusses the n a m e derivation, stems,leaves, inflorescence, calyx, corolla, stamens,staminode, blooming time, habitat and range.Hiswords are supplemented with at least one photo ofeach species,a h e rawing by Anne Morley and adistribution map which are all very helpful. Manyof the photos are close-ups which give great detailof the flower parts but little idea of the overall planor habita~Botanical words are defined in a wordglossary and an llustrated glossary. The book isindexed an d seiected referencesare given. Whilethis book contains no nfomationon gardening twill be of great value to those studying N orthwestpenstemon.The five books reviewed here are ike thepenstemons they discuss, each has ts own littleniche and each is useful in it s own way. Theauthors,dl c ~ ~ m e dpenstemaniacsWan dconnected o theAmerican Penstemon Society areto be congratulated,for together these booksrepresent a great step foward in bringing usefulinfomation on penstemons to the public.Partsofthe books may also be of interest to pmfessionals~While descriptions and keys are given for dl thespecies,there are still some 100 native species(many of which am from Utah) or which photosare not presented. What would be nice, for somefuture book, is a coIorencyclopedia of the entiregenus.Reprinted from the January 2MlO newsletter of theWestern Rock Garden Society, with permission.Heflin, Jean. 1997, Penstemons The BeautifulBeardtongues ofNew MexicoAlbuquerque,New Mexico: Jackrabbit Press,8.75 by 7.25inches,3) ages, $20.00.


8/46

UNPS SEGO LILYc/o Jo StolhmdUtah Native Plant SocietyP.O.Box 520041Salt h k e City,UT 841Return Service Requested

M e w i c k , Robin and Kemeth. 1999. Key to theGenus Penstemon and i ts related Genera in theTribe Cheloneae (Scrophuhriaceae) SelfPublished,2526 Uni-9 W., wne ,OregonW4#: 8.37 y 5.5 inches*136 pages,about $10.00,Nold, Rober!. 1999.Penstemons Podand, O ~ g o n :Timber Press,9.25by 6.25 inches,2!% pages,$29.95Stickler,Dee. 997.Norhwest P m s t e m n s .Cdumbia Falls, Montana:T h e Flower Press,9.2s by 6.25 inches, 191pages, $29.95.Way, David and James,Peter. 1%. The GardenersGuide to Growing PensternonsPortland,Oregon: Timber Press, 9.75 by 7.25 inches, 160pages, $29.95.American Penstemon Society,C/O Ann Baden,1569 South Holland Court,Lakewood,Colorado80232,$10.00per year.

For more information about the Utah Native PlantSociety please fee1 free to call:Bill King 582-0432Jo Stolhand 52 1-m9Susan Gan i n(UtahVailey Chapter) 37-5717Larry and Therese Meyer 272-3275

Nm-ProfitOrgUS. ostageI PAID1 Salt Lake City, Utah: PERMIT NO. 27

MembershipApplicationNew M m k r Renewal 0 i t ~

If Gift, Fmm:Check M e m h m h pCategoryDesiredStudent S6.Wfl Senior $ 1 00 n d w i d d $ l L Wa Household $ZO.@Q$35.00$m.m$2W.W and up$2mm

Pleaseenclosea check,payable to Utah Native P h tk k t y , and send it to:M e m h s h pUtahNative Plant *letyP.O.Box 520041Salt Lake City, Utah 841524MlIf youprefer not to cut thisout of your Sega Lily. feel freecopy the memhship iom or simply write the theinformation down and send 11with payment and category orrnemknhip.


9/46

VOL.23No. 2

Saturday, April 16, 9-3

Wednesday, April 19fi, 5 pmSaturday,April 29&,8:30am

Friday, May Wh, 6-9m

Saturday,May 13&, 10-3Saturday,May 20&, 8:30-3Tuesday, May 23t46 pm

CALENDAR OF EVENTSSego LolySalvage;Help dig, take somehome.Santaquin offramp, east aide frontage road nearTrueValue hardware storeWeeding Party, Rock Canyon Heritage Garden, RovoPlanting Party and Field trip, Price Heritage Gardenand SanRafael Swell. Help plant the biggest HeritageGardenyet! The garden ison 3 r d So. 1/2block fromCarbon (the second Price exit). Call Celeste Kennard(377-5918) for carpool info, eaving Provoat 8:30.UtahValley Chapter Meeting andelection,Mont L.BeanMuseum, BYU. ProgramonHeritage Gardens bySusanMeyer and UVSC wetlands restorationby RenevanBurenWeed identification workshop with Steve Dewey.Details soon.Rock Canyon Nature Day; Celebrate WildflowersBoard ofDirectors, R o w , ShrubLab, 736N. 00 East

Rock Canyon EcologicalRestorationProject: Progress UpdatePhil Allen, President Utah Valley Chapter

As theUtah County Chapter of he Utah Native Plant Societynears completion of Year Oneonthis project, we here summarize our progress to date associated with this activity.Rock Canyon is a heavily usedareaon he urban-national forest interface in the WasatchMountains immediately east ofProvo, Utah. It consistsofa relatively wide, level canyon-mouth areasome tea acres inextent, as well as a steep, narrow canyon and associatedwatershedto the east.Historically, the canyon has been usedfor many human activities, including livestock grazing)waterharvesting,andmining. In recent years, its principal usershave been hikers, mountain bikers, andclimbers. Provo City useswater from the watershed and has reservoir and chlorinationfacilities inthecanyon. Until recently, access to the narrow partof the canyon was largely unrestricted, resulting inseriousdegradationof plant communities in the canyon-moutharea. The construction of a formaltrailhead approximatelyone half-mile west of thebeginningofthe narrow stretch has virtually


10/46

The Sego f E~y Newsletter of the Utah Native Rant Societyeliminated further impacts from motorizedvehicular traffic. It has alsomade the canyon moreattractive for hikers, resulting in increased use.The decision to target Rock Canyon orecological restoration cameabout due to severalindependent activities that converged early in 1999:

1) The Rock Canyon Preservation Alliance,a grassroots organization ofcommunity activists,had preserved the canyon from development. Thisincluded raisingover $1 -5 million to purchase landand establish park facilities (restrooms, pavilion,signs). While the group felt a strong desire that thearea be managed as a natural park they lacked theexpertise to bring this about.2)The U.S.Forest Service Shrub SciencesLaboratory,a research facili , ncreasinglyrecognized the importanceo?utreachandtechnology transfer activities. This has been oneimpetus in supporting personnel involvement(primarily SusanMeyer and SusanGarvin, activeUNPS members) in the Heritage GardenProgram,the Native PlantPropagationWorkshops, and theUtah Native Plant Forum held in 1997.3) Managers inProvoCity Parksobservedthe successfulHeritageGarden at WasatchElementary inProvo (established spring 1998)andactively solicitedthe Native Plant Societytoestablish a Heritage Garden at Rock CanyonTrailheadPark. We planted the first phase of thisgardenin spring 1999.4) We have studied seed germinationofnative plants for 16 years, and published the resultsin a wide variety of scientificjournals. However,we became increasingly concerned that the public islargely ignorant of the continuing decline in nativeplant habitat along the Wasatch Front and elsewherein the Intermountain Region. We realized thatwewere in a position to make use of the knowledgewehad generatedtoactively involve the citizens oftheWasatch Front in ecological restoration ofthe wildlands virtually in their back yard.We plan to applythe principlesof ecologicalrestorationto replacethe degraded, weedy vegetation of the canyonmonth with high diversity native plant communitiesthat resemble pre-settlement vegetation in the areaas closely aspossible. We are carryingout thisresearch and demonstration projectwith theobjective of developing a model for restoration offoothill shrub-steppe andmountain-brush plantcommunities. This project includesa researchcomponent that involves testing different restorationmethodologies. It also provides an area wherethepracticality and effectivenessof ecologicalrestorationcanbe evaluated and demonstrated

Our approach to this restorationproject isintensive. We are using container transplantsproduced from locally collected ecotypesas theprincipal method of introducing new plants,supplemented by direct seeding, specially forspecies not easily greenhousepropagated. Becausethewoody overstory in the mountain brush segmenof the habitat is largely intact, we are concentratinon herbaceous understory species. In the sagebrussteppe segment of the habitat, both shrubs andunderstory species are being planted.

We are currently engagedin the first phaseof the planting, in a one-acre area behind theexistingHeritageGarden. We areusing localcitizenvolunteers to plant about 8,000 transplantsbelonging to ten species native to the canyon. Ourfirst planting day, Saturday, March 4, involved 160volunteers and received excellent coverage by thelocalpress. A follow-up planting was heldSaturday, March 11. We are encouraged by thesuccess of this first effort, and are planning toproduce approximately ten housand additionaltransplants to be planted in the mouth ofRockCanyon this coming fall.Even though our restorationproject is onlyin its initial stages,we are already being approacheby citizens who would like to see thiskind ofactivity inother canyonmouths along the WasatchFront. We are hoping to integrate our effortswith

efforts of those working on the establishment of thBonneville ShorelineTrail.We would like todevelop a protocol for controllingweeds andrestoringnativeplant mmmunitiesall dong thetrail, which will stretch from Brigham City on henorth to Santaquinon he south, andwhichwillintersect with canyonmouths all along the WasatcFront If you are interestedinparticipating in anexpansion of hese restorationefforts, please contausat [email protected] PhylogenyMade Ridiculously SimplOrHow and Why PlantsareNamed Based on DNASequencesBy Lany MeyerSinceLineaus andDarwin, there has been an efforto categorize all life accordingto natural patterns.Anyone can tell astersare more closelyrelated toeach other than to otherplants, and the same holds


11/46

The Segoil Newsletter of the Utah Native Plant Societytrue for peas, erns, and mushrooms- hose are theeasy distinctions.As species diverged from eachother, those with the most traits in common arethose that evolutionarily separated most recently.This relationship is recognized in nomenclature andin the phylogenetic trees demonstratingthe timecourse of evolution.Unfortunately, it is not always easy to determine therelative importance ofdifferent traits. In specieswhich are obviously closely related, is leaf width orpresence of serrations indicative of amore diverserelationship?Often the new discovery of anintermediate will suggest an evolutionary pathwayand lead to recategorization and renaming of afamiliarplant. It would seem that this could be analmost never-ending process (orargument)- untilorganization based on DNA sequencewasdeveloped.DNA was proven to be the stuff of heredity by thesimple experiment of changing a trait in anorganism using DNA alone. The first75years ofthe twentieth century was filled with discoveriesdemonstrating the importance of the sequence ofDNA, the method of its replication and ts structure.About 25 years ago, several different techniquescame together which allowed the direct sequencingof large sectionsof DNA.Over the last 5 years thishas been automated and has become routine.Thesetechniques, ummarized below, along with theability of computers to process the data derivedfrom these studies,allow the creation ofunambiguous phylogenetic trees.From a practicalpoint of view, this should finally end the annoyingreorganizationand renaming of plants. One amelearned will be enough.The ToolsofDNA Research

All the experimental methods take advantage of twtypes of handy tools. First, enzyme systems from awide variety of organismshave been identified,purified and nowmass-produced.Individually,these are enzymeswhich might copy DNA, clip ita specific spot,hook t back together, or allow it tospin. They are used by the organisms(mostlybacteria) for basic life functions or defense.Wehave isolated them and sell them, just asyou canbuy cane sugar,cornstarchor meat tenderizer.(Meat tenderizer is an enzyme hat breaks downproteins and isderived from papayas; tenderizing iobviously not its original purpose). In a similar wawe have co-opted enzymes a bacteriauses to defenagainst viruses, a restriction enzyme, nd sell it tocutDNA n a sequence specc way.The second tool is theuniquephysical structureofDNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid). It is a very longmolecule made of two strands,stuck together likeVelcro.Each strand is made of4 typesof bases,abbreviatedA, T, nd G.Pieces of these arecopied to RNA and in most cases the information iused to make an amino add sequence,aprotein.Each amino acid unitof a protein is specifiedbythree bases ofDNA. his may seem like a limitedlanguage, but can (anddoes)contain all theinformation necessary for life. Thinkof the numbeof possibilities ofjust a stringof 10bases - hereare 4'' sequence possibilities, or roughly 1 millionThe Velcro effect is caused by eachmoleculesticking o the opposite(orcomplimentary)strandagain ina sequence specificmanner.A binds to T,and G o C only. Given a single strand and the righconditions, an enzyme, polymerase, will build thcomplimentary strand for you and this happensevery time a cell divides.To get started the enzymneeds a bit ofmatching DNA, called a primer.Primers are shortpieces (usually 10 or sobases) ofsingle stranded DNA made to match a specific


12/46

TKe Sego Lily Newsletter of the Utah Native Plant Societysequence. This can bind and determine exactlywhere the polymerase starts copying.These long strands ofDNA can be melted apart byheat, then they find each other and stick backtogether when cooled.Each sequencewill only stickto its exact pair, finding the onematch in millionsspecif~cally iven the right conditions. Despitesequence differences,the strands can be handled

like big chemicals. One very useful trick is toposh them through a gel with an electric current(electrophoresis).This can separate chopped upDNA based on size exactly and with amazingresolution.A molecule with 198baseswill move aittle faster than one with 199every time. A mixofNA molecules from 100 to 800bases can be

exactly by electrophoresis, orpieces withbasescan be separated from those with 2100,in a crude mix such as ground up leaves,

with somebacterialenzyme, ike meaton a chuck roasL Even aftersuch

moleculeswill stickback ogetherd a previously isolated hit (aprobe) can be useddentify a givengene in a crude mix of chopped

ow DNA Sequencing Works:the tools discussed above an ndividual bit of

A canbe copied amillions of imes andwith a few days lab w o r k First, DNA is

from a plant using fairly routineIn practice, a dozen ormore can beatonce n acoupleof days. The tissue

need to be fresh. DNA that's good enoughcan usually beextracted even from old herbariumspecimens.For the next step, tjust takes one

with the intact sequence of the bit to be

The whole DNA isn't be sequenced at once,justone bit, usually 200-800bases in length.First thatbit is copiedmany times. Primers, (short bits ofDNA with sequences thatmatch the plants sequencand which are purchasedjust like any otherchemical)are added, along with nucleotides and anenzyme that copiesDNA a polymerase that needsprimer to start). The primers are chosen so they arecomplimentary tosequences200-800bases apartonopposite (complimentary) strands.Thepolymeraseis isolated from bacteria that grow in hot springsand is stable to boiling temperatures. Next the mixis boiled to melt the twoDNA trands apart, thencooled.The hort bits ofDNA primers) bind theirsequence aster than he original opposite strand(they are big and slow and eachhas a fast tittleprimer binding to it, getting in the way). Theenzymes go towork, one on each strand, startingwith the primer andnmingdown making twodouble strandedcopies of DNA foreach one hatwas there before. But this happens only to thesequencebetween he two primers (youdo have toknow something about the sequencetoget that partrightbut there are a lot of tricks - 'm trying tosummarize). Now themixis again heatedandcooled, and it's repeated,giving four copies,thenagain. This may sound tedious, and it was initially,but there are machines,thennocyclers,whichroutinely run 24to96 amples simultaneously withcycle times of 30 o 180 seconds.After 20 cyclesyou would have 1,000,000 copiesforeach one inthe initial mix,another10cycles and youhaveabillion.This is the process called the polymerasechain reaction or PCR.Next thejob is to sequencethe fragment just mass-produced. Again enzymes from bacteria are used,along with some handy chemicals and physicalproperties.Four separatereactionsare run,eachwith a slugof the piece made by PCR, a polymeras


13/46

'Ike Sego M y Newsletter of the Utah Native Plant Society(the enzyme that copies the DNA) and nucleotides,but each has a little bit of a poison that ends hereaction at a specific nucleotide (A , G, andT).

enough is added to cause the strand to stopabout 1 in 100 times. After incubating the soup for a

w minutes there is a mix of reaction products.Some are short, but in each reaction the short chainsend only in the nucleotidefor which the poison wasadded. By separatingthese using electrophoresisthesequence can be directly read off the gel. Inpractice, this is now automated and machines canrun a few dozen samples simultaneously,get 500 to0 bases of sequencefor each,continue to reload

and automatically run all night, and electronicallysend the sequence out Thismass scale sequencings what is making the genome project (sequencing

whole set of human chromosomes) ossible.DNA Sequence isanAccurateGaugeof

and Relationships.it's a guess as towhether flower structureor

structure should be more important inspecies relatedness in each case,DNA

s universal. Using sequences rom many plants (orny organism) the steps taken to get from one

to a closely related sequence can beanalyzed, The likelihood of each type

(DNA sequence change) is known. Usingseriesof sequences rom a variety of species, a

tree can be made with the fewest numbersf mutations, the most parsimonious, to explain the

differences. This can be compared to other- t is alwayspossible that a sequenceone way, then went back.But theactual

of these different possibilities canbeestimated since the probability of amutation

be measured*In general, there isenoughthat one tree, leading to a phylogeneticand family and genusname, can be

establishedwith a known likelihood of manymillions to one ormore over all otherpossibilities.One need not guess the relative importance ofa traisuch as petal length, number, or plant height. Eachof these is an expression of a gene or genes in thatplant, and the gene n turo is a long DNA sequenceOne mutation (a single base change) mightinactivate a gene entirely resulting in a majorchange in the appearance of a plant. Othermutations, such as those between genes or in thethird codon position, are silent; the changemakesno difference to the plant Consequently DNA s thmost accurategaugeofmutation accumulation, andthus evolutionarydistance and elapsed time sincedivergence of species.Using different primers, several different sequencesof DN A can be amplified and sequenced.This canaid in conformation,but can provide differentinformation as well. Not all DNA s equal from thestandpointof mutations.CytoplasmicDNA such achloroplast and mitochondrialDNA s)mutatesmore rapidly and is usually maternally inherited(seeSego l i l y 11/99). Some chromosomalDNAcodes forsequences not transcribed andmutatesrelatively quicklyas well. In contrast, DNA codingfor importantcellular components collectsmutations more slowly (it actuallymutates at thesame rate, mutationsare simply selected against).For example, there is only a single aminoadddifference between the cytochrome C of apea andhorse,a highly conserved gene. Finally mutationsthe third nucleotide of a codon (representing oneamino acid) are much more common than those inthe first two positions, since a change in the thirdnucleotideusually doesn't result in a change in theamino acid.These differences can be used to buildkind of clock into the system. Chloroplast genes cahighlight difference between closely related specie


14/46

Newsletter of the Utah Native Plant Societyor even different populations of one species.Mutations in coding sequencescan give largestructure to relationshipsbetween families (as seenin Sego Lily 1100)-A further trick is that pollen(and sperm) usually contains no cytoplasmicDNA,so chloroplasts can be used to study maternalinheritance.T he same is true ofhumans, wherepopulation migration has been studied using therapidly mutating butmaternally inheritedmitochondrial genome.Othermethods based onDNA sequenceare also inuse, most with abbreviations or acronyms such asRFLPs, RAPIDSand VNTRs.These are based onsimilar technology, and use the ability ofan enzymetocut DNA in a sequence specific fragment todetect a single mutation.Thesewere developedbefore the ability tomass-sequenceDNA. heyhave the advantage that they directly detectmutations,but cannot always tell what the mutationis.Moreover, ust as with electrophoresisof planttissue to detect isozymes, a common early methodused tohelp in phylogenetic organization, mostmutations which occur will not be detected by sucha system.As sequencing technology becomeswidely available, these methods will become lessfrequently used.We will see increasing use ofDNA based methodsso get usedto it Several recent pieces n the Segolily have used these techniques,and I hope futurearticleswill as well. Understandingthe rational andmethods of DNA based analysis m a y helpunderstand the results.Finally the good news forthose who just want to earn plant names, thisshould represent the last cycle of change.

The Dark Side of the SonSkin Cancer Is on the Rise,and Gardeners Are at Risk

Sun Safety GuideAlthough we gardenershave no control over anyhereditarypredispositionto skin cancer that we mayhave, we certainly can decrease our risk by taking avariety of protective measures. Following is acommon-senseguide to sun safety for gardenerseverywhere.Limityour exposureto diesmi.Garden before10a.m. or after3 p.m. when the solar radiation isless intense,or confine your mid-day chores to theshady areas of your yard.Wear protective, tightly woven clothing withhigh collars and long sleevesand legs. Surprisinglyordmaiy clothingoffers very little protection fromthe sun;a T-shirt,for example,has an SPF sunprotection factor) of 6 to 9, which drops to3 if theshirt gets we!A safer choice isa long-sleeved shinmade of a daric. tightly woven fabric; if you can seelight coming through the fabric, then harmful UVrays can get through, too.

Some companiesnow offerclothing with high SPFprotection built into the fabric. For example, SunPrecautions, Inc., of Everett, Washington, makesthe Solumbra line of clothing with SPF ratings of 3or more (see "Resources"box). The company'smail-order catalog includes hats, gloves, shirts,jackets, pants, and skirts foradults, and a line ofcolorful clothing for toddlers and children.Thepatented lightweight fabric used in the Solumbraline protects againstboth typesof damagingultraviolet radiation, W A andUVB, nd receivedthe American Academy ofDermatology'sfirstannual Golden TriangleAward.

Wear ahat with awide rim that completelyshades your face and the back of your neck.Wear UV-bloc* sun glasses. Chronic sunexposure is directly related to a large proportion ofthe more than one million cataractsremoved yearlyin the United States, according to the Skin CancerFoundation Journal.Before going out into thegarden,apply awater-resistantsunscreen and lipbalm with aminimum SPFof 15.Apply them 20minutes befor


15/46

The Sego Lify Newsletter of the Utah Native Plant Societyheading outsideso that they have time to sink intoour skin. Reapply regularly and liberally.

ntil recently,most sunscreens offered little or noagainstUVA radiation, which like UVBbeen strongly linked to skin cancer. Look forthat contain WA-filtering ingredients liketanium dioxide , avobenzone also called Parsol1789), and oxybenzone. Also check orZ-Cote, areformulation of zinc oxide (a highlyW A block), which is that attractivewhitelifeguards often put on their schnozzles.Checkyour medicine*Some medicationssensitivity to the sun. Ifyou are taking suchmedication, you should be extra vigilant aboutexposure to the sun.Examine yourself regularly for signs of skin

Basal cell carcinomas oftenbegin as smallornodules,with a rolled border andin the center.They can be shiny and tautr scarlike, and pearly or translucent red, pink, orSquamous cell carcinomas often appear asirregularly edged scaly patches on areas of thealready showing signs ofdamage, such as themouth, and ears.They may bleed and growMelanomas often startinor neara mole ordark spoton the skin. They are brown, tan, orusually have an uneven border, and are oftenthan common moles. Don't hesitate to seedermatologist aboutany questionablebump onskin.

Be sure to protectyour children. Sun damagecan lead to skin canceroften occurs at an earlyChildren are especially as risk because they aremore than adults.e gardeners must come to termswith the fact thate same sun hat makesour gardens bloom can beto our health. Choosing our gardeningwisely, wearing protective clothing, anda sun block should become as habitual as

our teeth. ResourcesCancer Foundation,Suite 1403,245FifthNew Y rk,NY 10016; (800)SKIN490.

organization provides nformationonprevention, early Detection, and treatment ofcancer. Send a stamped, self-addressed

AmericanAcademyofDermatology,P.O. Box4014, Schaumburg,IL 60168,847)330-0230(www .add.org).This organization of doctors who specialize indiagnosing and treating skin problems provides freebookletson skin cancerand can refer you odermatologists in your area.Sun Precautions,2815Wetmore Avenue, Everett,WA 98201; 800)882-7860Makers of a line of protective clothing with SFFsof30 nd higher. Call for their &page catalog.From BrooklynBotanic Garden, 1000WashingtonAve., Brooklyn, NY 11225, (718)623-7200.WithPermission.


16/46

ReturnServiceRequested

UNPS SEGO LILYc/o Jo StolhandUtah Native Plant SocietyP,O..Box520041SaltLake City, UT 84152-0041

UNPS isOnLineThe UNPS web site is up and rumiing!We haveregisteredthe domain UNPS.org and ourweb siteis at www.uflps.org.Owe-mailaddress [email protected] have big plans for ourweb pages, but limited time.We will continue toupdate and expand as we can. We will try to keep acurrent list of planned activities and meetings.We hank X-Mission for substantial support ofourwehservice.They have.donatednotjust to us, butto many Utah non-profits. Their home page iswww xrnission.com.Thanks!

For more information about the Utah Native PlantSociety pleasefeelfreetoddl:Bill KingJo StolhandSusan Garvin(Utah Valley Chapter)Lany and ThereseMeyer

1 Non-Profitfig. 1U.S. PostagePAID

SaltLakeCity,UtahPERMIT No.327

MembershipApplication0 ewMember 1"')Renewal 0 iftName

If Gift, From:Check MembershipCaiegofy DesiredStudent0 enior0 ndividual $12.000 Household $20.00$35.00E;@mim $50.00$250.00 and upD Lifetime $250.000 lease send a complimentary copy of the Sego Ltty tothea b v e d i vkhaLPleaseenclose a check,payable toUtah Native PlantSociety, and send it to:MembeistupUtah Native Plant SocietyP.0.Box520041SaltLake City, Utah 84152-0041Ifyou prefernot tocut thisoutofyour Sego Lily, feel froccopy the membershipfonn or simply write the theinformationdown nd send it with paymentandcategoryomembership.


17/46

VOL. 23No.3CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Friday, July 28, 8:00am

Tuesday, Aug 1,6:00pm

Dr.Harperwill lead awalk to ollow up on his Poaceaeworkshop.Meetat the southeast corner of the Wid-building (Biology) on theBYU campus to carpool to afield trip to the HighUintas.You do not need tohavegone to the workshop to enjoy thehike.Bringwater,lunch, sunscreenand sensible shoes.UNPS Board ofDirectors Meeting,Therese and LarryMeyer'sHouse 2931TolcateLane,HoUaday, 272-3276.

For up-to-date activity informationcheck ourweb site:WWW.UNPS.ORG

TWO UTAH PLANTS PROPOSED FOR FEDERAL PROTECTIONIn response to a 6-2-99 petition from the Center forBiologicalDiversity and the SouthernUtah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA), the U.S. Fish&Wildlife Service (on4- 12-00) proposed tolist Holmgren's mikvetch (Astragulushohgreniorum Barneby) and the Shivwit's milkvetch(Astragulusampullarioides Welsh) as federally endangered species.Both species occur nearSt. George, UT nd neighboring Mohave County, AZ. They are threatened by the rapiddevelopment around St. George,cattle grazing, and off-road vehicles.Holmgren's milkvetch occurs in just threeareas within a7-0mile radius o the south, westand northeastof St George. The majorityof its range is within Washington County,UT, utit also occurs in Mohave County,AZ.Only 5,000 individual plants remain. Shivwitsmilkvetchoccurs in just 5 sites in Washington County, west and northeastof St C*a ye. nd

It*on and near the Shivwits IndianReservation.Thereareonly about 2.00" ind'vidu J pleft.


18/46

Tf i e Sego SiCy Newsletter of the Utah Native Plant SocietyThe Center's endangered speciesprotectionprogram has created a web ofprotected speciesandecosystemsacross he West- 119 species have beenlisted, and 4 have beenproposed for threatened orendangered status; over2,000miles of rivers and730,000acresof and have been designated ascritical habitat; and over55million acres of landand 800miles of river have been proposed ascriticalhabitat Another37 pecies and criticalhabitatdesignations are in litigation, under courtorder, or awaiting petition findings.From the CentetforBiological DiversityEd.Note -For the official listing see:Federal Register April 12,2000 (Volume65,Number7 ) Page 19728- 9734From the Federal Register OnlineviaGPO Accesswaistaccess.gpo.gov

Endangered andThreatened Wildlife andPlants;Final Rule toListAstragalusheret icus

(Deseret milk-vetch)asThreatenedAGENCY: fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.ACTION. Final rule.SUMMARY:We, he U.S. fish and WildlifeService (Service),determine the plant species,Astragalus desereticus (Deseret milk-vetch), to be athreatened species under the authorityof heEndangered Species Act of 1973,as amended (Act).Astragalus desereticus, considered extinctuntil itsrediscovery in 1981,exists inone small populationin Utah County, Utah.Threats to the plant includeresidential development,highway widening,livestock grazing and trampling, and other impacts

to its limited habitat. This plant receivesnoprotection under State or local laws or regulations,This rule implements Federal protection providedby theAct for this plant.EFFECTIVEDATE:November 19,1999.DEPARTMENTOF THE NTERIORFish andWildlife Service50 CFRPart 17RIN 1018-AE57

ChapterNewsMountain Chapterplans to go on one walk permonth during the summer. The next hike isplannedtentatively forSaturday, June 17.ContactAbbyMoore for dates and locations: email:[email protected] , elephone: (435) 649-8859.Mountain Chapter has aHeritageGarden inplanning. Maria Barnt (Paiks and Rec., Park CityGarden Club) spoke recently at a chaptermeetingon he subjectof Heritage Gardens. Organizers arecurrently mapping the area and working outdetailswith Park City.Utah Valley Chaptercontinueswith the HeritageGarden projects around the state. There are nowfive gardens, and possibly two others tobe plantedthis summer. Organizers have announced a relativemoratorium onnew gardens,not for lack of need orinterest,but because they are cumently stretchedtoothinly to keep up with expansion. Other chaptersinterested in theHeritageGarden conceptarecertainly welcome to implement them (see notebelow). No ormal activities are planned for awhileas organizers are busy with summerresearch work.Also from Utah Valley Chapter member BitsyShultz has drawn a seriesof native plant images forstudentsto coloras a fun and informativeaid in a


19/46

Newsletter of the Utah Native Plant SocietyGarden, on a nature hike, or in the

The book s not yet in production, butitsy hopes it will answer a need, particular1y with

in environmental curriculum. UtahPhil Alien (Pres.)(80 )-378-242

mail: Phil [email protected] .Chapter:A new Heritage Garden was

Price, that incorporated fivee plant community ecological types: Grasses,

Garden, Penstemon Garden, Mountainand Sagebrush Flat. Mike Hubbard, PricePresident, organized the project.Design

implementation was helped by technicalfrom the experiencedmembers of theValley Chapter. Price chapter members and

planted the garden. Price City provided theand financial support for drip irrigation. Plants

of them, many donated) were produced by aof people and organizations: UNPS

USDA Forest Service Shrub Lab inPoint Production

The Center for Greenhouses, WasatchSchool in Provo(home o the firstGarden), and the City ofPrice.UNPS will

with signage and interpretive pamphlets.President: Mike Hubbard: (435) 637-4834)

h u b b ar d @ castlenetcorn -UtahChapter:Janett Warner is gathering

persons toform a chapter focused inUtah: the towns and burgs in the vicinity of

Escalate, Koosharem, Hanksville, etc.Janett Warner: (435) 527-1234,Wildland550North Hwy .89, Joseph, UT 84739,

janettw @hubwest.comChapter: UNPS members n the St . George

interested in forming a chapter: please contact:Brent Gebring, PO Box 790157 Virgin, Utah

84779 (435)435-7085,To orm a chapter, ten ormore interested membersmust sign a letterindicating intent (seenote below regarding formingnew chapters).Salt Lake Chapter All are welcome o go on awalk lead by Dr. Harper to go with his Poaceaeworkshop: Friday, July 28,8:00AM . Meet at thesouth east comer of theWidtsoe building (Biology)on the BYU campus for a field trip to the HighUintas-Mindy Wheeler organized a fantastic series ofnative plant identification workshops for the chapterthat have comeoff very well thus far. They coveredAsteraceae (Dr. usan Meyer), Poaceae(Dr.Kimball Harper), Carex (Sherel Goodrich),andWeeds (Dr. teve.Dewey). There is still onepossibleworkshop in planning Astragalus.Thankyou to all the speakers and to Mindy for orgaaizifigthe workshops. Also in the planning stages: a guestspeaker from theUniversityofUtah Biologydepartment, Dr. Denis Bramble, on his family'sexperiences over the past ten years restoring nativevegetation on their mountain rangeland ~JI southernUtah.Details to be announced.Cache Chapter: No news from this chapter;thereis a need for someone up north to organize someactivities for the chapter.UNPS general news:

The Grants in Aid Committee and the UNPS Boardof Directors have decided to fund several projectsbenefitingnative plants. Among these are:1) A study attempting to identify the plantscontained in a 400-y ear-old Native American herbalbundlediscoveredat an archaeological site insouthern Utah. Merry Harrison, a trained, clinicalherbalist and owner of MillcreekHerbs, is


20/46

Newsletter of the Utah Native Plant Societythe study and will report to ourat the conclusion of her work: $1000.

A study of nvasive plant species' interactionsnative speciesonAntelope Island. University

fUtah student, Angie Battazzo, has been workingthe State and Park personnelon the island fora year mapping vegetation: our grant targets a

question of competition.$500initially,more pending need.

Signage orHeritage Garden at WasatchHem.inProvo: $300.

Funding for printing proceedings of the ThirdRareand Endangered Plant

Sept 25-29,Flagstaff AZ: $500.Matchingfunds to aBureau ofReclamation costgrant for the Rock Canyon Heritage Garden

nd revegetationproject:$500.Gardens Plans:

Utah Valley Chapter produced awonderfulGarden at Wasatch Elementary and the

plans and protocols are available.The Pricenew garden's plans and protocols are alsoContact the Chapters: Utah Valley: [email protected])423-2603,Price:

Hubbard: (435) 637-4834) email:or stateoffice:T h e m

(801) 272-3275 mail: [email protected] for

New ChapterFormationor more members in a region may sign a letter

intent to form a chapter. The central$200basic perchapterperplus, if more than 10members paiddues by

1, $2.00 per member per year returnedtofor mailings, etc.

BIODIVERSITY:US. as More SpeciesThanPreviously Thought

The United States ishome to more than200,000 plant and animalapecies, twice a smany as previously thought, according to astudy to be released today by the NatureConservancy. The report'sfindingis an"unexpectedpiece of good news,"expertssaid. But the report also notes that about onethird of the species living in the UnitedStates are imperiled to some degree. Thefive-yearanalysis,compiledusing 25 years ofdata collectedby the Nature Conservancy'sNatural Heritage Network, found that thecountry ishome to about 10percent of theknown speciesonEarth. TheUnited Statesranks at or near the top amongnations n itsvariety of mammals, freshwater fishes,salamanders,snailsandcrayfishes.Thestudy also found that theUnited Statescontains 21 of the world's 28 different typesofecologicalregions -- a greatervariety thanany other country. The Nature Conservancyisalso expected to announce that it isu n d e r t a u a five-year,$1 billionprogramto protect US. wilderness.The study is the most complete inventory ofAmerica's plants and animals o date. Moret h an 200,000native plants and animals-double the previous estimate- eredocumented.The study also reveals theUnited States is one of the most ecologicallydiverse countriesin the world. I tishome t o10percent ofall species found onEarth.Every year, ome30 previously unknownspecies of flowering plants are found in thecountry,accordingto the study.That's title good news.The bad news isincludedin other key findings in the study:As much as a third of the nation's speciesare at risk an d at least 500 species areextinct or missing.This ringed-mapturtle, a


21/46

The Sego L i l y Newsletter of the Utah Native Plant Societyrare freshwater species, is at risk due todegraded and polluted rivers, streams andlakes.The single biggest threat to speciessurvival is habitat loss. Nearly 60percent ofAmerica's landscapeis already severelyaltered.Despite these trends, there is time to protectthe country's natural heritage,the studynotes.Scientists are buoyed by the fact thatthe United States has a greater diversity ofmajor ecosystems, from prairies to tundras toforests to deserts, than any other country inthe world."Thegood news isAmericans enjoy anincredibly rich natural heritage, from rarefish survivingin desert oases, to the world'stallest trees- alifornia's coastal redwoods- o Hawaii's honeycreepers,colorfulbirdswhose evolutionary story rivals that of thefamousDarwin's inches,"noted Bruce Stein,lead author of the report. "Thebad news isthat Americans nsk losing much of thewealth if current trends continue."Thebristlecone pine is one of the world's oldestliving trees; some growthdatesback nearly5,000 years.TheUnited States is second onlyto China in diversity of conifersandrelatedplants.The study indicatesbiodiversity"hotspots"- reas where unique species are in danger.They nclude the San FranciscoBay area,Southern California (including DeathValley),the southernAppalachianMountains and theFlorida Panhandle. Thereport is the result of 25 years of research bythe conservancy's Natural Heritage network,a program in al l 50 United States.TheNatural Heritage program maintains adatabase that containsscientific nformationabout species across the country.From TheNature Conservancy

LIVESTOCK A MAJOR CAUSE OFWEEDINVASIONS

TheOregon NaturalDesertAssociationhasreleased a new report demonstratingthatcattle and sheep grazing is one of the majorcauses of rapidly exploding populations ofintroduced weedy species throughoutgrasslands, hrublands, and woodlandswestof the Rocky Mountains.The report,"LivestockGrazing and Weed Invasions intheAridWest", was written by ONDA staffecologistand grasslandexpert Joy Belsky,Ph.D.,and Jon Gelbard, a graduate studentat the University of Californiaat Davis.The spreadofnunindigenousplant species,also referredto as alien, introduced,andexoticweeds, throughout arid and semi-aridregions of the West is one of the greatestthreats facing the region's native species andecosystems. Weeds outcompete nativespecies, reduce biodiversity, increase irefrequency, increase soil erosion, and degradewildlife habitat. Long-erm monitoringsuggests that these weed-dominatedplantcommunities may never recover,Importantalien weed speciesin the West arecheatgrass,medusahead,yellow starthistle,and eafy spurge. With continued grazing,these weeds form monocultures that arebiological deserts.A copy of the report is available atwww.onda.orgor 503-228-9720.

Meeting NoticeThird SouthwesternRare and Endangered Plant

Conference at Northern Arizona University,FlagstaffArizona, September 25-28,2000.

Sponsoredby The Arboretum atFlagstaff and U.S.Fish and Wddlife Service.


22/46

UNPS SEGO LILYc/o Jo StolhandUtah Native Plant SocietyP.O.Box520041Salt Lake City,U'T 4152-0041Return Service Requested

Non-Profit Org.1 ~ . S . ~ o s t a g ePAIDSalt Lake City, Utah1 PERMIT No.327

Correction:The Sego Lily volume numberwas inadvertantlyand ncorrectly advanced in SeptembedOctober1999.TheVolumes labeled Vol. 235 nd 236from 1999 should have been labled 225 and 226.Similarly the issuesfrom 2000which have beenlabeled24:1and 24:2 shouldhave been 231 and2 3 2 respectively. This issue is correctly numberedas 2M.I regret any confusion and appreciate thecarefulreading of hose that notifiedme.

For more information about the UtahNative PlantSociety please feel free tocall:Bill King 582-0432Jo Stohand 521-0069SusanG d n(Utah Valley Chapter) 377-5717Lany and Therese Meyer 272-3275Or check our website:www .unDs.orgOr write to [email protected]

MembershipAppUcation0 ewMember 0 Renewal 0 iftName

If Gift,From:Check MembershipCategoryDesiredt l Student $6.000 enior $10.000 ndividual $12.00Household $20.00$35.00$50-00$250.00and up0 ifetime $250-00U Please send a complimentary copy of the%go Lily tothe above individual.Pleaseenclose acheck,payable toUtah Native Plant9 nd send it to:embershipUtah Native PlantSocietyP.O.Box 520041SaltLateCity, Utah 84152-0041If youprefer not to cut thisout of yourSego M y , eel free tocopy themembership fonn or simply write the dieinformationdown and send itwith payment and categoryofmembership,


23/46

N . h f the Uhh Native P l an t SodVOL. 3 No. 4

Saturday, September 16,9:00am.

CALENDAR OF EVENTSHike to the Big Tree; See the largestWhite Fir (Abies concolor)in North America, and appreciate why the state tree should bethe Utah White Fir, and not that other tree; Moderate 3-hourround trip starts at the LoaferCanyon SummerHome Areaeast of Salem. Wear hiking boots, and bringwater andsnacks/lunch Call Susan Meyer (377-5717) for details.

Friday,August 25th, 14p.m Watenvise and Wonderful: TreeUtah, Red Butte Garden, theand Utah Department of Natural Resources and the Utah NativeSaturday,August 26th,10 Plant Society would like to invite you to a free presentation:a.m.- 12p.m "Waterwiseand Wonderful: A Slide-Illustrated Introduction toXeriscape"with J im Knopf. A secondpresentationwill be heldSaturday, in the classroom atRed Butte Garden,300WakaraWay. See page7 or more informationUEA Weekend Three-day field trip to Toroweap Overlook on he GrandCanyon. (Yes ,it is Arizona, but we're broad-minded);Comesee a place that still feels pristine, and learn a lotof plantecology along the way. Look for detailson he website ina fewweeks, or call Phil Alien (378-242 1) formore information

Now W e Are Ten:Utah Heritage Garden UpdateBy Susan MeyerHorticultureChair, UtahNative Plant Society

Inthis roillenialyearwe have seen a doubling in he size of the Utah HeritageGarden Program, withtheplanting of fivenew gardensvaryingin size from a few lanter boxes to over 6,000 quare feet Weplanted our first garden outside the Wasatch Front area, an$ btained a $15,000 grant from the Bureau ofReclamation to help with signage and interpretive material.We hosted our second series ofNative PlantPropagationWorkshops in February 2000, ttendedby over s i x t y enthusiastic native plant gardeners.And we posted information about the Utah Heritage GardenProgram aswell as instructional materialsand plant photos from the propagation workshops on he new UNPS website.We plan to augment theseweb materialssoon, so keep an eye on the Heritage Garden pages of the website (www.unps.org).


24/46

Newsletter of the Utah Native Plant SocietyThe flagshipgarden of the program is atWasatch Elementary School, 1080 North900 EastinProvo. This 2700-square-footgarden was plantedin June 1998 and is getting better every year. Thirdgrade teacher DamnJohnson s taking good care ofthe garden as well as teaching generationsof thirdgraders to grow and value native plants. He has

obtained grantfunding rom several sources toexpandthe program to involve more teachersathisschool, as well as offeringworkshops for otherteachers throughout the state on growing natives inthe classroom.D m lsobuiltgarden benches,beautiful wooden signs, and a rustic box for gardenmaps. For more informationabout the garden,contact him at 371-2234.At the request of Wasatch Elementaryteachers, garden designer Bitsy Schultz spent thisspin preparing coloring book pages for many ofthe p&n s in he garden.Thesepageswill soonbeposted to the UNPS website where they can bedownloaded and used by teachers and anyoneelsewith an interest. We are also considering publishinga hardcopy version.Inspired by our success atWasatch, weplantedfour new Heritage Gardens in 1999.Marcene Younker at the UniversityofUtahGrounds Department persuaded her bosses to let herplant a Heritage Garden inone of the circlebedsonthe Mallway. This 1000-square-footgarden slocatedjust north ofthe new GymnasticsGymnasium at the east-end of campus. The gardenrecently received its new signage, including a lovelyetched stonesign featuring the Utah LadyfingerMilfcvetch logo. This garden s professionallymaintainedand always looks good. For moreinformation call Marcene at 58 1 3078 or e her at:[email protected] also installed a mini-gardenat theAnimal Park at ThanksgivingPoint inLehi in 1999.The objective was to provide the Environmental Edstaff there with a small piece of native environmentto use in instructing the thousandsof schoolchildrenwho take part annually. This garden consists of 300uare feet around a flagpole in the middle ofauegrass lawn, andconsequently featuresmainlywater-loving species. It has signage and aninterpretive pamphlet. For more infomation aboutthis garden, call TP Environmental EducationDirector CarolynBayliss at 768-4940.Our third garden project in 1999 was at theRock Canyon Trailhead Park in Provo, at the eastend of2300 North, east of the LDS temple. Thegarden is located ust north of the trailhead parkinglot and features some fine landscape rock placed byourpartners at Pro w City Parks andRec as well as

dozens ofplant species native to the Wasateh Front.It currently occupies about 1500 square feet but isscheduled to grow considerably in comingyears.For more information call Phil Alien at 378-242 1.The native shrub planting atEnsignElementary School, 12th Avenue and L Street inSaltLake, has been in place since he school wasbuilt over twenty years ago. It was donated byNative Plants Incorporated to help the schoolstabilize the quany hill to the north of the building.It now boastshandsome, pecimen-sized curlleafmountain mahogany, clifflose,and squawbush,among many others. Last year, hill guardian AnnKelsey, whose childrenattended Ensign, gottogether with us to talk about supplementing theshrub plantings with more of a native understory.We waited patiently for rain last fall so we could doour planting-and it never rained. Finally inNovember we planted anyway,and used water froma kind across-the-streetneighbor to give the plants agood start. We hadmore of a weed problem than wereckoned on, o at present this garden is stillnascent. We plan to plant again this fall. The EnsignHeritage Garden is in much need of additional'GardenintAngels" o help with planting andmaintenance. The garden is on a hill with greatpublic visibility from both a path system and theschool parking lot, and we are hoping to getmorepeople involved in this very satisfying activity.Formore nformation,contactAnn Kelsey at 58 1-6520or [email protected]. du.In July 1999, the Center for Water EfficientLandscaping atUSU in Logan sponsored a NativePlant Horticulture Symposium, where I gave apresentation on he Heritage Garden Program. Oneof the many fruitful contacts made at this meetingwas withLyie Bauer, who works for the ParksDepartment in Price.He was interested inaxeriscape native plant garden, so we hooked him upwith the Price ChapterofUNPS, nd after muchfrenzied garden designing,plant-growing and siteprep, onApril 29 the Price Heritage Garden wasplanted. Several Utah Valley Chapter memberswere on hand to help, as well as the Price Chapterandpeo le from he community. We got the 6500-^quare- oot garden planted in a few hours. Lyle hasbeen watering faithfully but appropriatelysparinglyand members ofthe Price Chapter have beenholding once-a-weekweeding parties.The gardenlooks great,and nextspring, t is going to blow theminds of the local citizenry. It is locatedjust offCarbon Avenue (second Price Exit). Turn eft at theexit and proceed about four blocks, past an oldschool, and turn right on 3rd South. The garden isinthe middle of the first block on the right hand side,


25/46

The Sego Lihj Newsletter of the Utah Native Plant Societybehind the old school.We plan a big openhouse forthe one-year anniversary,and will have signageandinterpretive materials in place, so put it onyourcalendar early!For more information about (hisgarden, contactMike Hubbard at 435-637-4834 [email protected] early May perhaps the smallestof theUtah Heritage Gardens was planted in a series ofplanter boxes inthe Atriumat Jackson ElementaiySchool in Salt Lake. This garden featuresmostlyplants that can tolerate some shade, but we arebeing somewhat experimental.Students at theschool helped plant the garden as a break in thestandardizedtesting period. The school is located at750 West 200North, a couple of blocks north of thefamedRed Iguana restaurant For more informationcontact Sharon Kottler-Deckerat 533-027 1.We also planted a small Heritage Garden atthe LaytonHeritageMuseum in Layton in May2000. This 800-square-foot garden will be used inconjunction with educational programs at themuseum, ocated at 403 Wasatoh Drive inLayton.Contact Bill Sanders,Museum Director, at 546-8579 for more information. Bill reports that he hasalready bad many positive commentson hegarden.GardenNumberNine was planted inmid-June atthe Benson GristMill Historic Site, a countypark north of Tooele,with the help ofPaulaMohadjer and friends from Red Butte Garden. This1000-square-foot planting represents(heGist phaseof he garden and couldblossom into a full-scalerestoration. The millsite is on a stream (ofcourse)that could greatlybenefitfrom the attentions ofnative plant lovers.To get to this garden, take theTooeleofframp from 1-80 and turn west onto theGrantsville Highway. The 150-y ear-oldMill isjusta few hundred yards west of hejunction on heright hand (north) side. We are especially interestedin gettingsomeTooeleCounty "Gardenin'Angels"to help with the maintenanceof h i s garden.Formore information,contact callMuseumDirectorMarilyn Shieldsat 435-882-7137.The tenth Utah Heritage Garden was plantedin July-Augustby members of theMountainChapter at the city park inPark City This garden isa part of the city'sxeriscape demonstration area.Plants for the garden were grown mostly by chaptermembers, several of whom took part in ourpropagationworkshops last February. This y e s600-squarefootplanting represents the first phaseof a 1800-square-foot Heritage Garden. ContactAbby Moore (435-649-8859;[email protected]) for more information.We are exhilarated with the successof heHeritage Garden Program and would like to see it

continue to grow. In this second phase of expansionwe would like to play more ofan advisory rolerather than being so directly involved with thehands-on aspects.We would like to organize ourmembers to continue to growplants for the programas well as to help with gardens in theircommunities.UNPS will be able to he1 prospectivegardenmanagers obtain plants, and wdfhelp withsite plans, species selection,and signage andinterpretivematerial.But we will no longerbe ableto be directly involved with planting andmaintenanceof new gardens. The program hasoutgrown our ability to be personally involvedwithevery garden.We would like to thank-the followingpeopleand organizationsfor plants andgrowing facilities:Janett Warner and Wildland Nursery(www.wildlandnursery.com), rentCollettand theThanksgiving PointProduction Greenhouses,theUSFS Shrub SciencesLaboratoly in Provo, RogerKjelgrenand the Center for Water EfficientLandscaping atUSU, and Mr. Johnson's ThirdGrade Class, Wasatch Elementaiy School.We are preparing a guidebook forprospectiveHeritage Garden managers,to be postedon heUNPS website and also available inhardcopyonrequest We welcome ideas for newHeritageGardens, as well as offers tohelp with existinggardens and any feedback that you have to give.Contact me at423-2603 or at [email protected].

Shamans vs. SyntheticsEthnobotany vies to prove itsworth in drugdiscoveryBy Steve BunkIn his new book,Medicine Quest,=ethnobotanistMark J.Plotkin describes aplant that forest dwellersin Suriname,onthe northerncoast of SouthAmerica, callnekoe.They crush its stems and sprinklethem on streams to stun fish.The localMaroons, who are descendants of 17thcentury slaves of the Dutch, laim that tapir

eat nekae and defecatein streams, then feedon fish that riae to the surface,Plotkin,SmitheonianInstitutionresearchassociateand president of the nonprofitAmazonConservationTeaminArlington, Va.,foundno corroboration of this observation fromh e ~ d i a n s ,ho have inhabited the junglefar longer than Maroons,Although he leavesopen the question ofwhether humanslearned of the plant's effecton fish from


26/46

Newsletter of (he Utah Native Plant Societytapirs, the story exemplifiesthe detectiveaspects of his d i n g .Once a largely taxonomic exercise,ethnobotany- he study of plant use bylocal populations- asbecome amultifaceted discipline that includesa role inthe discovery anddevelopmentofdrugsbased onplant material.Ethnobotany'eemphasis onpeople also makes it aconservator of traditional knowledge andculture,wellspringsof scientific informationthat haveless-immediateeconomicvalue. Itschallenge is to secure a funding nicheagainst the competitionof syntheticmethodsof drug discovery,particularlythose hatemploy combinatorial chemistry andgenetics.Of 119 drugs still extractedfromhigherplants, about 7 4 percent werediscoveredby chemistswho were attemptingto dentify substancesresponsible for theplants' medical uses in humans.2Moreover,there are at least 250,000 species ofhigherplants, and hose 119drugs come from fewerthan 90 pecies. Add to this the virtuallyuntapped resources of marine flora andfauna, terrestrial animals, andimcroorganismson and and sea, and youhave mmeasurablepotential fornewmedications.Evenm,Viiginia P o l y k c ~ cnstituteand State University chemistry professorDavid G.Kingstoncomments, "Ithink it'sfair to say competitionforthe dollar iemoreseverenow than itwas five or 10 ears ago."Kingstonisprincipal investigatorofa long-mmhg medical plant research project inSuriname. Initial fundingfrom 1993-98wasextendedto 2003,under a programsponsoredby the National Institutes ofHealth, the National Science Foundation,andtheUS. gency for InternationalDevelopment.Multiple Gods

Those agencieshave sponsored similarprojectsin a half-dozen ountries,and thereare other cases of such research, nvolvingvarious groupsworldwide.Protectinghiodiverseregions,creating sustainableeconomicdevelopment, t r d emn e 'echnology, and sharing profits wit sourcecountriesall may be objectives of thesearrangements.One example is an agreementbetween privately ownedMedichemResearchof Lemont,Ill.,and the Malaysian

state ofSarawak to developanti-AIDSdrugsfrom Calanolides, compoundsofthemumarin class found in two speciesofCalophyllum trees.The oint ventureincludes a 50-50 stake in all intellectualproperties that may arise,plus provisionbyMedichem of technical expertise,researchfacilities,and training opportunitiestoSarawak scientists3ton says ofthe S h a m e work,'A few%f compoundsare still beingevaluatedby [project partner] Bristol-MyersSquibb, but at this point, my hunchis thatnoneof themwill go into reduction asadrug.On he plus side ...f think it's aneconomicalway for them to get newextracts."Thenhe adds, "Theproblem is, it'seconomical for BMS onlybecause we've gotgovernment funding for the collection work."Two ypes of collectionare being doneEthnobotanicalmethods of interviewingtraditional healers or shamansare employedunder the auspicesof ConservationInternational(CI),a nongovernmentalagency based inWashington,D.C. ubliclytraded Shaman Pharmaceutids, SanFrancisco,which sendsbotanists andphysicians into the field, hasperfected thistechniqueinrecentyears.Themoreconventional method isbiopmspectmg,the"random"collectionof specieswith nobasisfor plant selection, which scientistsfrom theMissouriBotanical GardenofSt. LouisconductinSuriname.Kingston's team hasfound littledifference in the percentage of bioactivecorn und "hits"in plants gatheredby eithermethod, but he adds, "Alot depends on whayou're looking for."For instance, amongmorthan 3,000plant extracts tested during thereject,VirginiaTech wreened a doanKnown to be locally need for treatingmalaria.They yie ded abioactivehitrate of70percent.

Few Hits"Oneof the problems is that discoveryratesare so low, it's tough o make statisticacorn arisonsbetweenethnobotamcalmet&,dsversus random,high-throughputmy,"otes James S. Miller, curatorand hea of ap lied researchatMissouriBotanicalGar& ."TheTaxolsandvincristinesare the Holy Grails, andthey'renotlikely to be found often."


27/46

Newsletterof the Utah Native Plant SocietyTaxol (paditaxel, Bristol-MyersSquibb), which treats breast and ovariancancer,w a s isolated from yew trees (Taxusbrevifolici)growinginWashington. Theleaves of another yew species (T.accata)have been usedinAsiatic Indian medicinefor "cancer" reatment 4 Vincristine

(Oncovin,Eli Lilly and Co.)was solatedfrom the Madagascar! rosy periwinkle(Cantharanthus oseus),alongwith anotheralkaloid,vinblastine (Velban, Eli Id ly andCo.). Several cultures used the plant fordiabetes,but the tw o drugs now fight varioustumors."Bioprospectinghasput a value onstudying the forest and a value ontraditional knowledge that wasn't there,''says LisaM. arnolare,CI's director oftheGuianas Regional Program, hich.ncludesSuriname.Yet her businessdealings withpharmaceuticalcompaniesleave heruncertain whether most ofthem favornatural product researchor syntheticmethodsindrug development. "Inournegotiations, we always getmixedmessages."In the case of the Suriname jointventure, she and colleagues negotiated foryears,particularlybetween he corporateandprivate sectors, o establish trustingrelationships.Last April, CI announceda$15 million endowment h m mveral donorsto plan and manage protected areasequalingalmost 15percent of Suriname,whichretainsmore than 90 percent of its originalforests.Looking FarAheadSuriname and other countrieshaverealized in recent years that sharing incomewith their overseas partners from plantcollectionand subsequent drug developmentis a long-termgoal.In the meantime,ecotourism will be an important part of thisnew management plan.Kim Wright, vice president ofinfectiousdisease chemistry at Briatol-MyersSquibb's PharmaceuticalResearch Institutein Wallingford, Corn.,terms heSurinameproject "interesting" ut acknowledges, "Ithasn't led to anything thatwewould call adevelopmentalcandidate."Nevertheless, thecompany'snaturalproduct-basedsuccesswith Taxol and subsequentpromising leadshave encouragedcontinuedinclusion of plant

materials in its screens, particularly forcancer and infectious disease treatments.'Isit cost effective?"Wright ponders."The industry is split- t'shard to say,maybe 50-60- s to whether naturalproductsresearch s worth doing."Butbecause of the potential to developsemifiyntheticdrugs based on compoundsfound in nature, he believes "naturalproducts could have somethingof a rebirth."The value of plant research to drugdiscovery indeed seems to lie primarily in itsability to uncover novel and complexchemical structureswith bioactivity that canserve as scaffolds for building drugssynthetically.Plotkin declares, "LookatTaxol: t has nine chirals in the structure.There sn't a chemist alive who would dreamthat up."

David J. Newman is a biologicalchemistin the natural products branch ofthe National Canc

Documents

2000 Utah Native Plant Society Annual Compliations