No. 119 November 28, 1995

REXFORD F. DAUBENMIRE (1909-1995)

Rexford F. Daubenmire, a widely-recognized expert in plant ecology, died at his home in Mount Plymouth, FL, USA on 26 August 1995. Dr. Daubenmire was born in Coldwater, OH, USA on 12 December 1909. He received a bachelor's degree from Butler University, Indianapolis, IN, USA in 1930; a master's degree from the University of Colorado in 1932; and a doctorate from the University of Minnesota in 1935.

He taught at the University of Idaho for 10 years and then, in 1946, joined the Washington State University faculty. He remained at the university in Pullman for 29 years and became professor emeritus of botany after his retirement.

Dr. Daubenmire's research involved classifying the forest and grassland vegetation of the Pacific Northwest. His classification scheme, once considered radical, emphasized the potential vegetation of an area, rather than what vegetation existed after human intervention. Two of his books, Plants and Environment: A Textbook of Plant Autecology (1947) and Plant Communities: A Textbook of Plant Synecology (1968) served as standard reference texts for university students.

Dr. Daubenmire is survived by his wife and a daughter.-- (Abstracted from The New York Times, 8 September 1995).

HYDRILLA VERTICILLATA IN WASHINGTON STATE

On June 1, 1995, Hydrilla verticillata was discovered in Washington State. Hydrilla is an aggressive non-native aquatic plant which will out-compete native plants if given the opportunity. Where it has become established (in the southern United States as far north as Delaware and west to California) its rapid growth has radically changed aquatic environments. Millions of dollars are spent each year attempting to control its growth. Because this is the first known population of Hydrilla in the Pacific Northwest, aggressive action was taken to attempt its eradication.

The Hydrilla population is located in the 73 acre Pipe/Lucerne lake system in southern King County, approximately 20 miles southeast of Seattle. Identification was confirmed by the presence of distinguishing tubers and through enzyme analysis conducted at the University of California in Davis. The enzyme analysis also indicated that this Hydrilla population is the monoecious variety. The plants were well distributed throughout the lake, but are still in a pioneering stage. After the identification was confirmed, the State Department of Ecology began working closely with personnel from King County Surface Water Management Division to decide on plan of action. The following sequence of events ensued:

• A public meeting was held for community members, attended by more than 100 people. At the same time the media were notified, and several television stations and newspapers reported on the problems.
• The Aquatic Plant Management Society held their annual meeting in Bellevue, Washington in early July. A Hydrilla Task Force was formed from the scientists attending this meeting, all of whom have had experience dealing with Hydrilla in other parts of the country. The Task Force recommended treating the lake with aquatic herbicides and stocking sterile grass carp to eradicate the plant. Quarantining the lakes, screening the outlet, and posting signs about Hydrilla were also encouraged.
• An experienced dive team was hired to map the Hydrilla population and to survey several lakes near Pipe/Lucerne Lake to see if the plant had spread. No other populations of Hydrilla have been found.
• An emergency rule was developed to list Hydrilla as Class A weed in the State Noxious Weed List. This provides the State with more authority to control the plant.
• The lakes were treated with a systemic aquatic herbicide during August and September. The objective was to weaken the plant before they began setting tubers (which happens when day length shorten to less than 13 hours).
• Another public meeting was held in the fall of 1995. At that time, the Hydrilla looked weakened, and what small tubers were produced did not appear viable.

Successful eradication of this plant will be a long term project. Decisions will be made late next spring when the plants begin growth whether to continue with herbicide treatments, stock sterile grass carp, or both.

Jenifer Parsons, Washington State Department of Ecology, Environmental Investigations and Laboratory Services Program, P.O. Box 47710, Olympia, WA 98504-7710; phone: 360-407-6679, FAX: 360-407-6884; e-mail: JENP461@ecy.wa.gov

SYNOPSIS OF THE LICHEN GENUS PELTIGERA IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

Goward, T., B. Goffinet, & O. Vitikanen. 1995.

Synopsis of the genus Peltigera (lichenized Ascomycetes) in British Colum bia, with a key to the North American species. Canadian Journal of Botany 73: 91-111.

28 species with one new species (Peltigera cinnamomea Goward) are treated in the paper.

WWW SITES RELATED TO GARDENING

• The URL for the GardenWeb home page is: http://www.gardenweb.com
• The URL for the Mystery Plant Contest is: http://www.gardenweb.com/contest/
• The URL for the Crossword Puzzle Contest is: http://www.gardenweb.com/puzzle/
• The URL for the Garden Spider's Web is: http://www.gardenweb.com/spdrsweb/
• The URL for the Seed Guild is: http://www.gardenweb.com/seedgd/
• The URL for the Southern Perennials & Herbs is: http://www.gardenweb.com/sph/
• The URL for Sunshine Farm & Gardens is: http://www.gardenweb.com/sunshine/
• The URL for the Cyber-Plantsman is: http://www.gardenweb.com/cyberplt/
• The URL for the GardenWeb Forums is: http://www.gardenweb.com/forums/
• The URL for the Garden Exchange is: http://www.gardenweb.com/forums/exchange/ [- updated 8/29/97]

Rita Heaton of Devon England, holder of the NCCPG Sisyrinchium collection has written a very informative article about her collection and growing Sisyrinchium.

The article can be found at: http://www.gardenweb.com/cyberplt/gengen/sisyrin.html [link outdated 8/21/96]

Submissions, subscriptions, etc.: aceska@freenet.victoria.bc.ca BEN is archived on gopher freenet.victoria.bc.ca. The URL is: gopher://freenet.victoria.bc.ca:70/11/environment/Botany/ben