No. 130 March 19, 1996

BOTANICAL EVENTS IN VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA

March 19 (tonight): Botany Night of the Victoria Natural History Society.

Matt Fairbarns will talk on plants of SE Australia. Swan Lake Nature House, 7:30 p.m.

March 21: Native Plants Study Group of the Victoria Horticultural Society.

Dr. Nancy Turner will give a talk on Ethnobotany of the Pacific Coast. University of Victoria, Clearihue Building A 215, 7:00 pm.

March 22: UVIC Biology Seminar.

Dr. Ken Marr will talk on "Natural history of the Hawaiian Islands and recent systematic studies of Hawaiian plants." Cunningham Building Room 146, 3:00 p.m.

INAUGURAL MEETING: NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

The inaugural meeting of the Native Plant Society of British Columbia took place in Abbotsford on March 15, 1995. About fifty people interested in native plants met and discussed the mission statement and goals of the Society. A steering committee was selected and its members should come back to the broad forum with more definite picture of the organization. As many of you will remember, the efforts of establishing the Native Plant Society of British Columbia are not new, but this is first really constructive step in this direction. Please contact me, if you are interested in this organization. - Adolf Ceska (aceska@freenet.victoria.bc.ca)

REPLY: TWO CULTURES - SCIENTISTS AND PLANT CULTIVATION

When we have propagated rare species for use in our research here at Oregon State we've had excellent results -- contrary to the implication in your message, we do know something about the literature and techniques relating to native plant cultivation. The fact of the matter is we've never tried to propagate Kalmiopsis as part of our studies, as you stated. If we did, we would indeed use cuttings (yes, we have heard of the practice!), since the plants grow out of cliffs or bedrock and transplanting is not feasible -- perhaps you didn't know this? I'm also very aware of the horticultural literature available re: Kalmiopsis (again, contrary to your assertion), and would make use of it if it were actually pertinent to our work. However, as all of our reproductive studies were accomplished in the field, this is irrelevant. Out of curiosity, I've quizzed those in my lab who've worked on this project (none are students, by the way), and no one remembers speaking with you (or even knowing who you are). I guess you must be getting your information second-hand -- try checking with the source the next time you use someone else's research to illustrate a point.

Robert J. Meinke, Assistant Professor and Program Leader (Plant Conservation Biology), Department of Botany & Plant Pathology Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331-2902 Phone: (541)737-2317

[When I posted Loren Russell's article on BEN, I knew that his accusations about the mass destruction of rare Oregon endemic was very serious. I should have checked what had really happened, but I did not. The two cultures do exist, but there are important bridges between them - I can name a number of professional botanists who are avid gardeners and usually a great asset to their garden-only oriented counterparts. - Adolf Ceska]

FOUR NEW SPECIES OF ARABIS (BRASSICACEAE) DESCRIBED FROM CANADA

Mulligan, G.A. 1995.

Synopsis of the genus Arabis (Brassicaceae) in Canada, Alaska and Greenland. Rhodora 97: 109-163.

This taxonomic treatment of Arabis recognizes 30 species. A comprehensive key is provided for these species and 8 varieties. Four new species are described: A. boivinii, A. calderi, A. codyi, and A. murrayi. In addition, many other taxa are recorded for the first time for this area. Cytological studies available for 45 North American and Greenland species of Arabis are summarized and discussed.

[In BEN # 108, July 31, 1995, George Douglas reported three of the Mulligan's newly described species of Arabis as new for British Columbia.]

BRYOPHYTES ON THE WEB - I

We have just posted a WebSite called Bryophytes at the address
http://www.science.siu.edu/bryophytes/

This will accommodate the data of an on-going monograph of the Fossombroniineae, but will also have some general information about bryophytes. We will add text and photos to the page at regular intervals. It is still in its "infancy," but it is a start.

BRYOPHYTES ON THE WEB - II

I have been adding all sites I've come across to a list at:
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/collections/otherbot.html

This is primarily for on-line collections (and is not restricted to bryophytes), but the list also includes some keys, floras, checklists, and image collections. I have been hoping to create a more comprehensive page specifically for bryophytes, and would appreciate any sites that people send to me. I haven't found many bryophyte-related sites out there.

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. Also archived at http://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/ben/