MENZIESIA - A NEW BOTANICAL PERIODICAL IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

Menziesia is a relatively new botanical journal, a newsletter of the NPSBC Native Plant Society of British Columbia. With its latest issue (Volume 4, Issue 4, Fall 1999), Menziesia reached its maturity. Its editor, Harry Hill, has come up with an interesting set of articles wrapped in a pleasant format. In the past, and in this issue as well, several articles have been reprinted from BEN. In the last issue of Menziesia, James B. Phipps provided a significant update to his hawthorn (Crataegus) key originally published in the issue of BEN dedicated to Dr. Chris Brayshaw ( BEN # 209). His new key and his notes to individual species is a nice summary of several taxonomical papers published in botanical journals by Dr. Phipps and his co-workers. From the original articles, "Development of a Code of Ethics" gives an insight in the work of the Native Plant Society, Malcolm Martin's article "So where are all the rarities" summarizes Malcolm's experience with botanical explorations in the northern Okanagan Valley, and David Williams' column "What's in a name" explains the origin of plant names. Elisabeth Beaubien gives you an overview of the Canada-wide "Plantwatch" phenological program with the instructions on how to join the network. It is great to see a broad variety of topics, many thanks, Harry.

The NPSBC Native Plant Society of British Columbia was established in 1997 "to encourage knowledge, appreciation, responsible use and conservation of British Columbia's native plants and habitats." At this time, NPSBC has about 300 members. The Society sponsors symposia, lectures, slide shows, field trips and various workshops. Last year (1999) there were four workshops (native plant propagation, grass and willow identification and ethnobotany), and many more workshops will be offered this year (2000).

For membership information contact:

Ross Waddell, NPSBC Secretary
2012 William Street
Vancouver, B.C.
Canada V5L 2X6
e-mail: npsbc@hotmail.com

NPSBC members can join an e-mail discussion list NPSBC-L. To subscribe, send "subscribe NPSBC-L" (no apostrophes) to majordomo@victoria.tc.ca .

EPHEMERAL INTRODUCTIONS OF VASCULAR PLANTS AROUND VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA (PART 1)

I have collected the following species in the Vancouver area during the last twelve years. These species cannot be considered part of our flora because they have not persisted, or if they still exist, they have not spread from their original locations. The voucher specimens are deposited in the University of British Columbia herbarium (UBC).

Acnida tamariscina (Nutt.) Wood - Amaranthaceae

Loc.: Railroad tracks west of North Rd. near Brunette River, Burnaby; Nov. 3, 1992; # 92320.
Like Amaranthus, but plants are dioecious (see Sauer, 1955). A single multibranched female plant was found growing in ballast between railroad tracks.

Artemisia scoparia Waldst. & Kit. - Asteraceae

Loc.: Evans Ave. near CN railroads, Vancouver. Nov. 15, 1990; # 90203.
A biennial plant which shows up as casual in various places outside its native range in Europe and Asia. A single plant along the road in an industrial area near railroad tracks. In North America it has been previously reported only from ore piles in Maryland (Reed, 1964).

Bromus diandrus Roth - Poaceae

Loc.: South of Marine Way, Burnaby; May 26, 1992; # 92040.
European annual grass similar to Bromus rigidus, but generally larger and with a spreading panicle, not dense as is usual in B. rigidus. Growing in a rubble pile. Site is now an industrial park. In British Columbia, Pavlick (1995) refers to it as "reported from Victoria."

Carex frankii Kunth - Cyperaceae

Loc.: Railroad tracks west of North Rd. near Brunette River, Burnaby; July 4, 1993; # 93085.
Eastern North American sedge of wet habitats. A single plant grew up in ballast between the railroad tracks.

Centaurea solsitialis L. - Asteraceae

Loc.: Surrey Central Sky Train Station; Apr. 29, 1995; # 95012.
An annual Eurasian weed with yellow flowers and spiny bracts. A single plant was collected from newly planted landscaping in the Surrey Recreation Centre parking lot.

Cicer arietinum - Fabaceae

Loc.: CN Railroads, east of Main St., Vancouver; Oct. 12, 1993; # 93317.
Although just about every commercial grain or seed plant will sprout up from time to time along railroad tracks (sunflower, buckwheat, lentil, soybean, corn, etc.), chickpeas are rare here. Many plants grew in disturbed sandy ground when the old Main St. railroads were being dug up.

Conyza bonariensis (L.) Cronq. - Asteraceae

Loc.: Labatt's Brewery, Columbia St., New Westminster; Aug. 16, 1996; # 96139.
Much like the common Conyza canadensis, but this plant is from South America and is larger and more sturdy looking. A single plant grew in the crack between the street and the sidewalk.

Crepis setosa Haller fil. - Asteraceae

Loc.: Carrall Str. west of Main Str., Vancouver; Aug. 11, 1988; # 88112.
Annual or biennial Eurasian weed with yellowish bristles in the inflorescence. A few plants persisted in waste ground and rubble around the old Expo 86 site for a few years after the fair closed. Site is now a parking lot.

Cycloloma atriplicifolium (Spreng.) Coult. - Chenopodiaceae

Loc.: River Rd., Richmond; July 22, 1995; # 95144.
Annual weed from eastern North America. A single plant grew in a cleared area where top soil had been dumped. Growing with other weeds more common in eastern America, but rare in British Columbia: Eragrostis cilianensis, Helianthus petiolaris, Abutilon theophrasti, Ambrosia artemisiifolia, Solanum rostratum, etc.

Diplotaxis muralis (L.) DC. - Brassicaceae

Loc.: Braid St. and Brunette Ave., New Westminster; Apr. 14, 1992; # 92018.
About 1/2 dozen plants showed up one year by the Greyhound Bus Terminal in New Westminster. Also collected on the shore of Lost Lagoon in Stanley Park where it probably arose from bird seed. Scoggan (1978) lists it from Nanaimo based on a specimen in CAN.

Erechtites hiericiifolia (L.) Raf. ex DC. - Asteraceae

Loc.: Near Westwood Rd. & Kingsway, Port Coquitlam; Sept. 30, 1994; # 94230.
"A widespread American weed, occasionally introduced w. Cascades" (Hitchcock & Cronquist, 1974). A large plant producing ripe seeds was collected in disturbed ground at a railroad switch point in Port Coquitlam. Numerous plants were also found in a railroad switching area about 9 km southwest of this site in Coquitlam, but these developed too late to even flower.

Erysimum repandum L. - Brassicaceae

Loc.: Railroad tracks west of North Rd. near Brunette River, Burnaby; May 20, 1990; # 90021.
"Weedy European species of waste places mostly; desert plains and lower mountains, e. Washington and Oregon, Idaho, and California, scattered e. to Alberta" (Hitchcock & Cronquist 1974). Rollins (1993) reports it from northern California "north to British Columbia." A single plant on railroad ballast.

Euphorbia maculata L. - Euphorbiaceae

Loc.: Eastern tip of Queensborough St., New Westmister; Oct. 3, 1993; # 93298.
An erect annual with a hairy stem. A single plant grew between the railroad tracks. A few more grew there the next season but were killed by herbicide spraying.

Euphorbia serpens HBK. - Euphorbiaceae

Loc.: Surrey Central Sky Train Station; Oct. 29, 1994; # 94244.
Prostrate plants that roots at the stem nodes, native to eastern North America. A few plants grew in newly landscaped grounds around the parking lot at the Surrey Recreation Centre.

Galeopsis speciosa Miller - Lamiaceae

Loc.: Commissioner St., opposite Versatile Cold Storage, Vancouver; Aug. 7, 1993; # 93219.
Annual weed from Europe, like Galeopsis tetrahit but the attractive flowers are larger (up to 3 cm), yellow with a violet lower lip. A small patch around railroad tracks. Not seen since in British Columbia.

Guizotia abyssinica (L. fil.) Cass. - Asteraceae

Loc.: Vegetation dump, east of Stride Ave., Burnaby; Sept. 30, 1994; # 94227.
Annual herb with yellow ray flowers occurs as casual introduction around duck pond and soil dumps. The seed is cultivated for food, oil and soap.It is an occasional constituent of commercial bird seed.

Heterotheca subaxillaris (Lam.) Britt. & Rushby - Asteraceae

Loc.: South of Pattullo Bridge, Surrey; Oct. 19, 1993; # 93322.
A single large plant was found in dry sand in an area used for storing large pipes and fabricated metal parts. Native to eastern US.

Malva verticillata L. - Malvaceae

Loc.: North Road and Lougheed Hwy, Coquitlam; July 2, 1990; # 90073.
Like a large M. parviflora but erect and up to 1 meter tall. A few plants grew for one season in newly cultivated landscaping in front of a Greek restaurant. Another form of this species with crisped leaves is grown as a salad plant.

Nicandra physalodes (L.) Gaertn. - Solanaceae

Loc.: South of Latimer Pond, South Surrey; Oct. 23, 1991; # 91344.
Annual, native to Peru, occasionally planted in gardens and escaping from cultivation.

Ornithopus perpusillus L. - Fabaceae

Loc.: 37th Ave. and Oak St., Vancouver. Aug. 18, 1991; # 91221.
A small European clover-like annual that is established still today in a sandy vacant lot opposite Van Dusen Botanical Gardens. Many hundreds of plants, increasing with disturbance, but lately seems to decline. It was also collected independently at this site by G.B. Straley.

Polypogon viridis (Govan) Breistr. - Poaceae

Loc.: South of Pattullo Bridge, Surrey; Sept. 2, 1991; # 91248.
A single plant was found in a sand landfill that was dredged from the Fraser River. Usually plants in sand dredgings originate from material washed down the Fraser River from sites upstream. This species may occur east of here in the Fraser Valley.

Ranunculus arvensis L. - Ranunculaceae

Loc.: Marine Dr. & Greenall Ave., Burnaby; June 5, 1988; # 88026.
A European annual weed with spiny fruit known from the Pacific Northwest "from e. Washington, Oregon and Idaho" (Hitchcock & Cronquist, 1974) and apparently not yet established in British Columbia. A single plant was found in cultivated ground in a disturbed lot near Chinese market gardens.

Salsola collina Pallas - Chenopodiaceae

Loc.: Railroad tracks west of North Rd. near Brunette River, Burnaby; Oct. 11, 1988; # 88196.
Similar to the common Salsola kali, but the fruit bracts are hardened and swollen. Salsola collina is a Eurasian weed established in central North America, but these plants (20-30) lasted only 2-3 seasons.

Schizonepeta tenuifolia (Bentham) Briq. - Lamiaceae

Loc.: No. 3 Rd. and Cambie St., Richmond; Sept. 19, 1995; # 95189.
Annual aromatic herb native to the Orient and used in Chinese medicine for cold relief, fevers, etc. Numerous plants grew around a dumpster in a Chinese shopping mall. The shop adjacent was Tongyan Chinese Herb & Health Food.

Scrophularia nodosa L. - Scrophulariaceae

Loc.: Musqueam Dr. near Fraser River, Surrey; July 1, 1990; # 90071.
European perennial with tuberous rhizomes. A small patch has persisted along a ditch near the Pattullo Bridge for over 10 years, though I have not seen it lately.

Solanum carolinense L. - Solanaceae

Loc.: Homer Str. and Pacific Blvd., Vancouver; Sept. 2, 1990; # 90141.
A small patch of this spiny, rhizomatous, perennial American weed grew up around a young oak tree planted as a street tree for Expo 86. It was very vigorous and lasted 5 or more years, even pushing up shoots through the pavement. Continuous cutting eventually killed it.

Hitchcock, C.L. & A. Cronquist. 1974.

Flora of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press, Seattle, WA.

Pavlick, L.E. 1995.

Bromus L. of North America. Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria.

Reed, C.F. 1964.

A flora of the chrome and manganese ore piles at Canton, in the Port of Baltimore, Maryland and at Newport News, Virginia, with description of genera and species new to the flora of eastern United States. Phytologia 10: 320-406.

Rollins, R.C. 1993.

The Cruciferae of continental North America: Systematics of mustard family from the Arctic to Panama. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California.

Sauer, J. 1955.

Revision of the dioecious Amaranthus. Madroño 13: 5-46.

Scoggan, H.J. 1978.

The Flora of Canada. Part 3 - Dicotyledonae (Sausuraceae to Violaceae). Publications in botany No. 7(3). National Museum of Natural Sciences, Ottawa, Ontario.

Subscriptions:

Send "subscribe BEN-L" or "unsubscribe BEN-L" (no apostrophes) to majordomo@victoria.tc.ca.
Send submissions to BEN-L@victoria.tc.ca

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