| BEN |
| BOTANICAL ELECTRONIC NEWS |
|---|
| ISSN 1188-603X |
| No. 503 April 21, 2016 | aceska@telus.net | Victoria, B.C. |
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Accompanying Plate: http://mpb.ou.edu/ben/503/ben503_karel_klinka.pdf
Professor Emeritus, Ing. Karel Klinka, PhD, RPF passed away on September 15, 2015 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Karel was born on June 18, 1937 in Prague, Czechoslovakia and went on to study forestry at Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague, where he graduated with the degree of Forest Engineer in 1960. He worked at the Institute of Forest Management (ÚHUL) in Karlovy Vary before immigrating to Canada in 1969 where he found employment with the Canadian Cellulose Company in Terrace, B.C. as an assistant surveyor that changed shortly into a position of a Forester.
He continued his studies and earned his PhD at the Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia in 1976 under the mentorship of renowned botanist late Vladimir Josef Krajina. Then he held positions of a Research Pedologist and Senior Research Scientist with BC Ministry of Forests. In 1978, he returned to UBC to join the Faculty of Forestry, where he taught Silviculture and continued the research work of professor Krajina in plant ecology and ecosystem classification. Karel retired in 2002.
His research and teaching were recognized with the 1977 Distinguished Forester Award, and the 1989 BC Science and Engineering Gold Medal Award. In 1993, he received the UBC Teaching Prize.
In a span of twenty years (1982-2001), he supervised no less than 22 graduate students as well as 4 postdoctoral fellows from four different countries. His UBC Faculty colleague, Professor Hammish Kimmins described him as "an outstanding teacher, demanding while supportive and encouraging, much beloved by his undergraduate and graduate students alike", and called him "a giant in the ranks of forest ecologists."
It was said that Dr Klinka's knowledge of plants, their distribution and ecology was indeed encyclopedic as was his ability to recall their Latin names. Likewise, his field trips were, by testimonials of his colleagues, research associates and numerous students, truly legendary. To be known as a Klinka student ("Klinkoid"), was a status of which Karel's students were proud.
Karel Klinka's close research associate at UBC, Michael Feller, Professor Emeritus of Forest Ecology summarized his work in these words: "His scientific work has received accolades from within British Columbia, North America, and the world. His knowledge of plant identification and ecology in BC, combined, was greater than that of anyone else, with possible exception of his mentor Dr. Vladimir Krajina. Karel could tell what every plant, from the tiniest moss or lichen to the largest tree, indicated about the environment in which it grew. He published many papers (Research Gate lists 138 of them) and was sought as a speaker at scientific conferences world-wide."
When dramatic reversal of political situation in Europe after the disintegration of the Soviet Union made travelling to his native land possible, he greatly enjoyed these visits, including those to Slovakia where, incidentally, he had to serve an obligatory army service after his graduation and where he had found and married a love of his life - Irene. Thus he was able to attend several happy re-unions with sister Bozena and her family, and his Prague Forestry Faculty classmates.
It can be stated that Dr. Klinka's most valuable legacy lies in his success of applying and further developing Krajina's seminal ideas of terrestrial ecosystem management and conservation. As it has been widely recognized world wide, neither was its significance lost on the contemporary Czech scientific community. In recognition of persons who represented meritoriously the Czech forestry abroad, the Czech Society of Foresters awarded him in 2012 with a medal "Czech Forestry in the world".
I could not agree more with words of his colleague Dr. Feller who commented on Karel's sense of dry humour, warm heartedness, friendliness and generosity. Indeed, he helped many people (including me, in finding temporary job in BC when I badly needed one) through providing work opportunity and even accommodation and hospitality.
Having grown and lived alongside Karel during our childhood and adolescence, I could not but notice his sharp wit and intelligence but could neither fully evaluate his later scholastic, pedagogical or practitioner's achievements throughout his carrier.
To read and hear about the impact of my brother's activities and behavior on so many people nowadays brings me an incredible sense of honor and pride. I will miss him greatly as will so many others elsewhere. -Jan Klinka, Ph.D.
Ethnobotanist and ethnoecologist Nancy Turner is a long-time champion of Indigenous traditional knowledge and a world expert on traditional plant use. Her book, Ancient Pathways, Ancestral Knowledge: Ethnobotany and Ecological Wisdom of Indigenous Peoples of Northwestern North America, was announced the winner of the 2016 Canada Prize in the Social Sciences by The Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, on Monday, April 11th.
Turner, a professor in UVic's School of Environmental Studies and the Hakai Research Chair in Ethnoecology, is one of the most respected ethnobotanists in the world and specializes in ethnoecological studies with Western Canadian Indigenous peoples-particularly on BC's central coast. Her acclaimed book is a culmination of four decades exploring the human relationship to our natural environment.
From the jury's citation:
"Nancy Turner's Ancient Pathways, Ancestral Knowledge is an astonishing work of scholarship, the culmination of 40 years of collaborative engagement with indigenous communities and natural ecosystems of the Pacific Northwest. Written in a straightforward, jargon-free style, generously interspersed with photographs, illustrations and tables, the resulting work is surprisingly accessible, given the depth and intensity of the scholarship on display. An extraordinary achievement."
"I certainly feel very honoured and humbled by this recognition-the book was one of my most enjoyable writing projects ever," says Turner.
Turner adds, "it allowed me the opportunity to bring together the rich knowledge of so many Indigenous plant experts and researchers, and to show just how much of this knowledge has been shared across cultural, linguistic and geographical boundaries over millennia."
When Turner spoke about her research she said, "I am indebted to these people and want to acknowledge them and the critical importance of their teachings, their language and their relationships to plants and places."
Turner graciously thanks her students and other academic colleagues at the University of Victoria and beyond, the Hakai Institute and Tula Foundation, McGill-Queen's University, the Killam Research Fellowships program and the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences for their interest and support.
The Canada Prizes are awarded annually to the best books by Canadian scholars in the humanities and social sciences that make an exceptional contribution to scholarship, are engagingly written, and enrich the social, cultural and intellectual life of Canada. Winners are selected from books that have received funding from the Awards to Scholarly Publications Program, which is administered by the Federation.
Abstract
Field and herbarium study of Luzula comosa and its allies revealed two
taxa in western North America that were overlooked in recent years but are
distinct and best treated as species. Luzula cascadensis, once considered
a variety of Luzula campestris, is elevated to species rank. It inhabits
montane wetlands from southern Washington to California, east to Idaho and
Montana. It is distinguished from Luzula comosa by its elongate horizontal
rhizomes, usually darker tepals, and wetter habitats. Luzula macrantha is
raised to species rank and separated from Luzula subsessilis by
differences in inflorescence architecture as well as the length of the
tepals, styles, and anthers.
Luzula macrantha is found in dry forest and openings from southern British
Columbia to California. Lectotypes are designated for Luzula comosa var.
laxa and Luzula comosa var.
congesta. Descriptions, distribution maps, synonymy, a key, and
illustrations are provided for members of the group.
Key to the species of Luzula sect. Luzula in western North America
Note: The measurements for Luzula multiflora differ in separate leads in
the key, because by necessity we are including what we believe are different
subspecies or species under the name L.
multiflora. The L. multiflora complex in North America requires further
research before a stable and accurate classification of its members is
established.
1. Plants with horizontal rhizomes, lacking bulbous bases................2
1- Plants cespitose, bases often bulbous, rarely with short vertical
rhizomes..............................................................5
2. Seeds 0.95-1.6 mm long, including aril 0.15-0.45 mm...................3
2- Seeds usually 1.6-2.1 mm long, including aril 0.4-0.8 mm .............4
3. Stem leaves usually < 5 mm wide; seeds (0.95)1.1-1.6 mm long including
aril; tepals pale to dark brown; montane wet meadows and peatlands;
southern Washington south to California, east to western Montana
................................................. L. cascadensis Zika
3- Stem leaves > 5 mm wide; seeds 1.2-1.3 mm long including aril; tepals
dark brown to blackish; maritime habitats in coastal Alaska and
northeastern Asia.................................L. kobayasii Satake
4. Anthers 0.6-0.9 mm; tepals 2.5-3.1 mm; styles 0.3-0.6 mm; low elevation
coastal wet meadows and peatlands; northern Vancouver Island north
to Alaska...................... L. multiflora (Ehrh.) Lej. s.l.
4- Anthers (1)1.5-2 mm; tepals 2.8-4.2 mm; styles 0.5-1.5 mm; low elevation
uplands and disturbed soils.............................................
........................... L. campestris (L.) DC. subsp. campestris
5. Tepals pale, whitish to pale brown or medium brown (L. comosa E. Mey.
with 2 varieties) ................................................... 6
5- Tepals dark brown to blackish.........................................7
6. Inflorescences dense, unbranched; range coastal........................
...................................... L. comosa E. Mey. var. comosa
6- Inflorescences usually umbellate, branched; range coastal and inland
...................................... L. comosa var. laxa Buchenau
7. Inflorescences dense, unbranched .....................................8
7- Inflorescences branched, umbellate ..................................13
8. Habitat low to moderate elevation, non-arctic sites, including coastal
southern Alaska...................................................... 9
8- Habitat alpine and arctic sites .....................................11
9. Stem base not bulbous; stem leaves usually 5-8 mm wide; seeds up to 1.4
mm long, including aril often 0.2-0.3 mm long; coastal Alaska and
northeastern Asia ............................... L. kobayasii Satake
9- Stem base bulbous; stem leaves usually < 6 mm wide; seeds up to 1.85 mm
long, including aril 0.15-0.6 mm long; southwestern British Columbia
south to California ................................................ 10
10. Fertile culms usually lacking a long-peduncled axillary spike from a
lower node; tepals medium brown; seeds 0.6-0.9 mm wide................
.................... unusually dark L. comosa E. Mey. var. comosa
10- Fertile culms often with a long-peduncled axillary spike from a lower
node; tepals dark brown to blackish; seeds 0.7-1.1 mm wide ...........
............................................. L. subsessilis Buchenau
11. Anthers 0.6-1.3 mm; seeds 0.8-1 mm wide, 1.5-1.8 mm long, including aril
0.3-0.5 mm; base bulbous.. ................ L. multiflora (Ehrh.) Lej.
11- Anthers 0.3-0.6 mm; seeds 0.5-0.7 mm wide, 0.9-1.2 mm long, including
aril 0.1-0.25 mm; base not bulbous .................................. 12
12. Leaves 3-4 mm wide; tepals 2.3-2.9 mm; seed arils 0.1-0.25 mm; Sierra
Nevada Range of California and Wallowa Mountains of Oregon .............
................................................. L. orestera Sharsm.
12- Leaves 1.4-3 mm wide; tepals 1.9-2.5 mm; seed arils 0.1-0.15 mm;
northern British Columbia, Alaska, and east across northern Canada ....
............................................. L. groenlandica Böcher
13. Plant base not bulbous; flowers and fruits dense, compact, and
contiguous at spike bases ...........................................14
13- Plant base bulbous; flowers and fruits at base of spikes dense or
somewhat scattered or loosely arranged at spike bases ...............15
14. Stem leaves 4.5-8 mm wide, usually broader than basal leaves; basal
leaves 5-6 mm wide; inflorescence bracts often prominent; rays of umbel
often with secondary terminal branching; pedunculate clusters often
with 2-4 subclusters; coastal southern Alaska, the Aleutian Is.,
Kamchatka, and the northern Kurile Is. ................................
.................................................. L. kobayasii Satake
14- Stem leaves usually 1-5 mm wide, usually narrower than basal leaves;
basal leaves 1.8-6 mm wide; inflorescence bracts not prominent; rays
of umbel rarely with secondary branching; pedunculate clusters usually
simple; widespread, coastal Alaska south to Oregon and east across
North America, Eurasia .................... L. multiflora (Ehrh.) Lej.
15. Anthers (1.1)1.2-2.8(3.1) mm; longer tepals usually 3.6-5.8(6.1) mm;
styles (0.7)0.8-2.3 mm; coastal, foothills and lower mountain slopes,
southwestern British Columbia south to California .....................
......................... L. macrantha (S. Watson) Zika & B.L. Wilson
15- Anthers 0.5-0.9(1.1) mm; longer tepals 2.2-4.2 mm; styles 0.2-0.9(1.1)
mm; coastal lowlands and montane to subalpine meadows, inland to
Alberta, South Dakota, and New Mexico ...............................16
16. Some spikes with slightly loose or scattered distal flowers/fruits;
coastal, foothills, and montane .......................................
.............. unusually dark forms of L. comosa var. laxa Buchenau
16- Spikes dense distally; subalpine meadows ..............................
.......................................... L. multiflora (Ehrh.) Lej.
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