Vol. 1, No. 4 October 1982

NEXT MEETING

To avoid the Thanksgiving holiday the next meeting is postponed to December 1. The time is 7:30 pm and the place the Security Pacific Bank building in Bishop. The Audubon Society will join us for this informative program.

President's message:

The California Native Plant Society is dedicated to the preservation of the California native flora. We are all familiar with an issue which will become more and more important as time passes. Proposed hydroelectric development would surely have a devastating effect upon the riparian ecology of a portion of each stream utilized. It is important to all of us to favor development of "alternative energy sources" to the greatest extent reasonable and practical. However, it would appear that the amount of power to be realized from small stream hydro-power projects on the easterly side of the Sierra, as compared to the projected needs, is so miniscule as to make the schemes questionable when compared to the objectionable features. We can learn more about his subject at our December meeting. Dr. Dean Taylor, Consulting Plant Ecologist, who has done a study on Ecological Effects of Stream Diversions, will be our guest speaker.

Vince Yoder

DESERT ALERT

The tremendous effort put forth in achieving the California Desert Plan may have been only the beginning. We cannot rest in the assurance that protective measures shown in that plan are secure. Numerous amendments have been considered by the California Desert District Advisory Council, and a significant number of them are now being proposed by BLM management. There are a few good ones in the lot, and these should be recognized. Most'of them, though, would weaken protection of the desert. These should be carefully weighed against any benefits to be derived from the changes. Your input is needed. Send specific information to Bureau of Land Management, California Desert District Office, 1695 Spruce Street, Riverside, CA. 90257.

IN MEMORIUM

Ernest J. Morris 1889 - 1982.

Ernie Morris, a charter member of the Bristlecone Chapter and a much loved member of the Independence community, died September 18 at the age of 93. His cheerful attitude and his zest for living will be sorely missed. He seemed to have the gift of perpetual youth, but a bout with pneumonia proved too much for him. In his mideighties he hiked the Appalachian Trail. At age 89 he knapsacked alone to the summit of White Mt. Peak, 14,242 feet. at he will be remembered most for his many thoughtful services in the town. He was alert and kept well informed on current issues. His legislators will surely miss his frequent, intelligent letters. Ernie's ashes, at his request, were scattered by friends at a favorite Sierran camping place.

Page 2.

OCTOBER FIELD TRIP

A one-day fall field trip around Owens Lake was held Saturday, October 16. Participants were treated to a beautifully clear October day, Owens Valley atr its best. They became well acquainted with the specialized plants which are capable of tolerating the extremely unfavorable conditions of an alkali sink. Since it was mostly a highway trip, the species list was expanded somewhat along the less alkaline roadsides or sandy borders. A short detour was made to a wave-worn rocky projection on an ancient beachline. It took little imagination to picture waves crashing over the rocks on a windy day. Although the trip was almost devoid of blooms, it was an opportunity to focus on a little noticed sector of Owens Valley vegetation. Species noted were:

AMARANTHACEAE: Tidestromia oblongifolia. Honey-sweet.

ASTERACEAE: Ambrosia acanthicarpa. Sand-bur.

 Aster intricatus. Broom aster,

 Chrysothamnus nauseosus ssp. mohavensis. Mojave rabbitbrush.

 Haplopappus racemosus ssp. lomeratus. Wand aster.

 Psathyrotes annua. Turtleback,

CAPPARACEAE: Cleome sparsifolia. Naked cleome.

 Cleomella obtusifolia. Common stinkweed.

CYPERACEAE: Scirpus acutus. Common tule.

 Scirpus americanus. Three-square.

 Scirpus robustus. Alkali bulrush.

CHENOPODIACEAE: Atriplex canescens. Four-wing saltbush.

 Atripex confertifolia. Shadscale.

 Atriplex hymenolytra. Desert holly.

 Atriplex parryi. Parry saltbush.

 Atrpl ex phyllostegia. Arrowscale.

 Atripex polycarpa. Allscale, cattle spinach.

 Atriplex torreyi. Nevada saltbush.

 Bassia hyssopifolia. Bassia.

 NitrophiIa occidentalis. Alkali pink.

 Salsola iberica. Russian thistle, tumbleweed.

 Salsola paulsenii. Barbwire Russian thistle.

 Sarcobatus vermiculatus. Greasewood.

Suaeda torreyana var. torreyana. Inkweed.

FABACEAE: Astragalus lentiginosus var. variabilis. Variable milk-vetch.

 Glycyrrhiza lepidota. Wild licorice.

JUNCACEAE: Juncus balticus. Wiregrass.

OLEACEAE: Fraxinus velutina. Leather-leaved ash.

POACEAE: Distichlis spicata. Saltgrass.

 Sporobolus airoides. Alkali sacaton.

POLYGONACEAE: Chorizanthe rigida. Rosy-thorn.

 Eriogonum deflexum. Skeleton weed.

 Eriogonum inflatum. Desert trumpet.

TAMARICACEAE: Tamarix ramosissima.Salt cedar.

Page 3.

ADDITIONS TO THE FLORA OF THE WHITE MOUNTAINS

Dean Wm. Taylor & Mary DeDecker

The 1973 publication of R.M. Lloyd and R.S. Mitchell's A Flora of the White Mountains, California and Nevada (University of California Press, Berkeley. 202 p.) was a significant contribution to floristic knowledge of the Great Basin region. Their Flora was the extension of an earlier checklist, published in 1966 (Plants of the White Mountains, California and Nevada. University of California, White Mt. Research Station. 60 p.). However, it is obvious to field botanists whom have visited or worked in the White Mts. that the vascular flora is still to this day imperfectly known, almost 10 years after Lloyd & Mitchell's Flora was published! We have compiled a list of additions and corrections to the Flora which we offer below. This list was assembled from numerous field excursions and research projects still in progress, so it must be taken as only an initial addendum. Surely with more intensive botanizing in the White Mts., there will be additional additions in the future.

This list of additions includes 42 species that were not mentioned in the Flora (the appropriate page number is provided for annotating your copy). Range extensions for 2 of these have been previously published. Thus, we list 40 additional range extensions which are published herein for the first time.

The 40 new records from the White Mts. represent 7 new genera for the Flora, and 3 new tribes in the large families Compositae and Graminae. It is of interest that 16 of the new records are in Graminae and Cyperaceae. Indeed, 7 of the newly recorded species are Carex! The 40 species reported herein represent a hefty 5% increase in an already large flora - to 852 species. Fully 25$ of these additions are from species with Cosmopolitan geographic distributions, 30% are species typical of the mountainous Western United States, 20% are from the deserts of the Southwestern United States, 12% were formerly known only from the Sierra Nevada, and 10% are Great Basin in distributional affinity. A good number of the new records come from habitats in relatively remote locations in the White Mountains: meadows and mesic habitats along creeks, or from calcareous rocks along the eastern flank of the range. Several of the new records are introduced species which may be relatively new arrivials to the White Mountains.

Juniperus occidentalis Hooker ssp. australis Vasek Sierra Juniper. Upper Cottonwood Creek, 9000 to 9500 feet. Uncommon at upper edge of Pinyon Woodland. (p. 57)

Anemone drummondii Watson Drummond Anemone. Frequent in small ephemeral colonies, Pinyon Woodland about Black Mt., 8500 feet. (p. 58)

Abronia nana Watson ssp. covillei (Heirmel) Munz Limestone Mountain Verbena. Calcareous slopes along Methuselah Walk, Bristlecone Pine Forest. (p. 61)

Cerastium fontanum Baumgartner ssp. triviale(Link) Jalas (=C. vulgatum Linnaeus) Mouse-ear Chickweed. Meadow along Chiaitovich Creek, 7100 feet. (p. 64)

Page 4.

Lewisia triphylla (Watson) Robinson Three-leaf Lewisia. High clay content soils along road to Barcroft Lab near McAfee Meadow, 10,100 feet. (p. 66)

Chenopodium incanum Heller Above Davis Ranch ruins, 7250 feet. (p. 69)

C. murale Linnaeus Along road to Schulman Grove at Sierra View, 9300 feet. (p. 69)

Dedeckera eurekensis Reveal & J.T. Howell July-Gold. A population of 459 plants was discovered by P. Novak & K. Strohm (Madrono Vol. 28:86) in the lower reaches of the next major canyon north of Poleta Canyon. The population occurs on heavily cemented calcareous gravels at 4700 feet. (p. 71)

Populus fremontii Watson. Fremont Cottonwood. Native in riparian areas throughout the range. There are both native and cultivated populations of this species in the Owens Valley area, but the trees well into the mountains are unquestionably native (p. 82)

Salix orestera C.K. Schneider Sierra Willow. Common in thickets along streams in the northern end of the range, as in head of Cabin Creek at 10,100 feet, and Birch Creek at 11,200 feet. (p. 83)

Capsella bursa-pastoris (Linnaeus) Medicus Shepards Purse. Roadsides and other distrubed areas. (p. 88)

Streptanthus oliganthus Rollins. Mono Jewelflower. Infrequent on steep, eroding hillsides, Pinchot Creek canyon, 7500 feet. (p. 95)

Ledum glandulosum Nuttall ssp. californicum (Kellogg) C.L. Hitchcock Discovered in Milner Canyon by D. Guliani. See waucoba News Vol. 4, Summer 198o for details. (p. 95)

Amelanchier utahensis Koehne ssp. utahensis Utah Serviceberry. Chiaitovich Creek, 7100 feet. (p. 98)

Prunus fasciculata (Torrey) Gray Desert Almond. Limestone or dolomite substrates, often along washes, below 6000 feet. (p. 102)

Lupinus meionanthus Gray Snowbank Lupine. Subalpine snowbanks, head of Poison Creek. (p. l08)

Trifolium dedeckerae J. Gillett DeDecker Clover. Wyman Canyon, 7000 feet. Mistakenly called T. productum in the Flora. (p. 110)

Oenothera caespitosa Nuttall ssp. crinata (Rydberg) Munz Limestone Primrose. Along Methuseulah Walk, Bristlecone Pine Forest.(p. 114)

Datura inoxia P. Miller.
Jimson-weed. Westgard Pass road above 'The Narrows', 7100 feet. (p. 120)

Nama rothrockii Gray Eroding granitic slopes, Cottonwood Creek canyon,.8000 to 9000 feet.
(p. 128)

Phacelia monoensis Halse Mono Phacelia. Was collected by V. Duran in 1932 near Pinchot Creek Canyon. Has not been recollected in the White Mountains since that time, and was not located by DWT in a 1982 search. (p. 130)

Page 5. Cryptantha scoparia A. Nelson Gray Cryptantha. White Mountain road, below lower gate at 7500 feet, and at picnic area, 7600 feet. (p. 135)

Baccharis glutinosa (Ruiz & Pavon) Persoon
Water-wally. Marble Canyon at 6000 feet. (p. 156)

Erigeron tener (Gray) Gray
Rocky cliffs in subalpine forest, Poison Creek near Bristlecone Research Natural Area, 9800 feet. (p. 160)

Artemisia cana Pursh $. bolanderi (Gray) Ward
Silver Sagebrush. Margin of subalkaline meadow over dolomite substrates, confluence Poison and Cottonwood Creeks, 10,100 feet. (p. 164)

Hecastocleis shockleyi Gray
Prickle-bush. Limestone or dolomite, southern end of the range, as in Poleta Canyon at 7000 feet. (p. 173)

Carex aquatilis Wahlenberg
Aquatic Sedge. Along Cabin Creek, 10,100 feet. (p. 176)

C. capitata Linneaus
Boggy, snowmelt fed meadow on south shoulder of Mt. Hogue, 12,100 feet (p. 176)

C. raynoldsii Dewey
Along Cabin Creek at 10,800 feet. (p. 177)

C. pachystachya Chamisso
Along Davis Creek at 7100 feet (p. 177)

C. petasata Dewey
Mesic margin of Lodgepole Pine groves in head of Cabin Creek, 10,900 feet. (p. 177)

C. pseudoscirpoidea Rydberg
Calcareous seep, confluence Poison and Cottonwood Creeks, 10,500 feet (p. 177)

C. scopulorum Holm
Humic Sedge. Meadow along Chiaitovich Creek at 7100 feet. (p. 178)

Eleocharis macrostachya Britton
Meadow along Chiaitovich Creek at 7100 feet. (p. 178)

Poa glauca Vahl
(= P. interior Rydberg) Inland Bluegrass. Meadow along Chiaitovich
 Creek at 7100 feet. (p. 183)

Agrostis exarata Trinius
 Spike Bentgrass. Marble Canyon at 5800 feet. (p. 187)

Alopecurus aequalis Sobolevski
 Shortawn Foxtail. Meadow along Chiaitovich Creek at 7100 feet. (p. 187)

Muhlenbergia andina (Nuttall) Hitchcock
Foxtail Muhly. Along stream at 7500 feet, near Champion Mine. (p. 188)

Oryzopsis kingii (Bolander) Beal subalpine Ricegrass. Infrequent, subalpine and alpine meadow borders.
(p. 188)

Stipa arida M.E. Jones
Limestone Stipa. Calcareous slopes flanking Deep Springs Valley. (p. 189)

Stipa coronata Thurber var. depauperata (M.E. Jones) Hitchcock
Porcupine Grass. Various sites below 8000 feet in the southern portion of the range. (p. 189)

Panicum capillare Linnaeus
Witchgrass. Mesic sites. (p. 190)

WE EXTEND WELCOME to our newest member, Vickie Taton of Mammoth Lakes.

In response to inquiries concerning extra copies or back issues of the BRISTLECONE NEWSLETTER, they will be available as follows:

 To chapter members 50 cents

 To non-members 75 cents

If mailing is necessary, 20c (or whatever the postaga may be) should be added. As announced previously, subscriptions are $2.50 per year.