NOTE: This is an archived NPSO Bulletin.
Some information may be out of date, and
some links may not be functional.

Bulletin of the

Native Plant Society of Oregon

Dedicated to the enjoyment, conservation, and study
of Oregon's native vegetation

ISSN 0884-599

Chapter News

Blue Mountain

Meeting: No meeting in September.

Cheahmill

Sept. 4, Sat.	Work Party: Planting trees, shrubs, and perennials at the McMinnville Public Library, W. 2nd and Adams St. Meet at the library at 9 A.M. Contact Mary Bryant, or Ruth Crawford ( policy), for information.
Sept. 18, Sat.	Work Party: More plantings at the McMinnville Public Library, W. 2nd and Adams St. Meet at the library at 9 A.M. Call as above. Watch for announcements about the garden dedication in October.
Sept. 23, Thurs.	Meeting: 7 P.M. (business), 7:30 PM (program) McMinnville Public Library, Carnegie Room, 225 NW Adams. Join us for the first anniversary celebration of NPSO's newest chapter. Enjoy cake and a slide/lecture presentation on "Conservation and Research of Oregon's Endangered Species" by Tom Kaye, botanist with the Oregon Department of Agriculture's Plant Conservation Biology Program and Ph.D. candidate in botany at Oregon State University

Corvallis

Sept. 13, Mon.

Meeting: Planning for the upcoming October meeting of the whole NPSO; other topics TBA. 7:30 P.M., Avery House, Avery Park, Corvallis. Call Steve Northway, ( policy), for information.

Sept. 18, Sat.

Field Trip: To Echo Basin (3 miles east of Tombstone Summit). About 3 miles round-trip through old growth to small wetland at base of Echo Mt. Possibility of late orchids, gentians. ALTERNATIVE, if there is interest, and if at least two cars: shuttle from Tombstone Prairie via Cone Peak trail to Echo Mt., descending to Echo Basin and Echo Basin trailhead. This would be approximately six miles, about 1.5 miles off-trail. Meet at: OSU parking lot SW of the Beanery, 26th and Monroe, Corvallis, at 9 A.M. For information: call Loren Russell, ( policy), for information.

Emerald (20^th Anniversary Year)

	Our Chapter's transition to new officers took place in July, and we'd like to request help from the membership for some key tasks. If you are interested in helping with Field Trips, Media Contact/Publicity, Booth/Special Events, and/or Hospitality/Refreshments, please contact Marcia Cutler at ( policy), for information.
Sept. 27, Mon.	Meeting: 7:30 p.m. Rm. 110, Science Bldg., LCC main campus. 20th anniversary celebration! Join us for an evening of local botanical history, as Charlene Simpson presents a slide show chronicling 20 years of the Emerald Chapter people, places, and of course, many wondrous photos of local wildflowers. Cake and ice cream will follow! A special invitation is extended to Charter members and all former chapter officers. Directions: Due to construction around the LCC Science building, where our meetings are held , you will have to follow a new access route. Please allow a few minutes extra time to get to our meeting room. Park in the middle of the South Parking Lot of LCC's main campus (off of 30th Ave.), and walk down stairs toward the Forum Bldg., along construction fencing. Follow pathway and turn right (north-east) toward main entrance to Science Bldg.
Oct. 25, Mon.	Meeting: 7:30 p.m. Room 110, Science Building, LCC main campus. A great talk/slide show will occur, see October bulletin for details.
Nov. 22, Mon.	Meeting: Nov. 22, Mon. Meeting: 7:30 p.m. Room 110, Science Building, LCC main campus. Another great talk/slide show will occur, see Oct. bulletin for details.

High Desert

Sept. 28, Tues.	Meeting: Potluck at Stu Garrett's house, at 6:30. Call Stu with questions ( policy), for information.
Oct. 26, Tues.	Meeting: members slide show at 7:30 at the Central Oregon Environmental Center, 16 NW Kansas, Bend. Each member should bring 12 favorite, recent slides to share.

Klamath Basin

	Meeting: 1st meeting of the year will be either on Sept. 14 or Oct. 12 (2nd Tues. of the month) at 7 P.M. in Owens Hall on the OIT campus in Klamath Falls. Chapter members will be notified of the 1st meeting date and the room number later by e-mail or postal mail. For information or questions, contact David Lebo, ( policy), for information.
	Field Trips: Mushroom field trip planned for either late Sept. or early Oct. More details to be announced later. Please contact David Lebo at ( policy), for information.

Mid-Columbia

Sept. 1, Wed.	Meeting: 7:30 P.M. Discovery Center Theatre, The Dalles. Rhoda Love will share her research on "The Long, Happy Life of Louis F. Henderson," a remarkable plant collector in the Northwest who lived quite a while in the Hood River area.
Oct. 6, Wed.	Meeting: 7:30 P.M. Discovery Center Theatre, The Dalles. Heather Laub, a member of our chapter and a botanist with the Hood River Ranger District, spent last winter in Australia. She will tell us about her travels and her interesting work in a plant nursery there.

North Coast

For information on the North Coast Chapter, call Christine Stanley, ( policy), for information.

Portland

Sept. 14, Tues.

Meeting: Warm Springs Forest Manager, Bodie Shaw, will talk about the Warm Springs Sustainability Project. One goal of the project is to provide information on which to base improved huckleberry management strategies on the Warm Spring Indian Reservation and ceded, usual and accostomed lands. The room will be open at 6:30 P.M. for socializing and the meeting will take place at 7 P.M. in the Fireside Room at the First United Methodist Church, 1838 SW Jefferson St., in Portland.

Siskiyou

Sept. 16, Thurs.

Meeting: It's time for the annual potluck. Please bring slides and a dish to share with the group. We'll meet at Glenwood Park (NOTE* NEW LOCATION) at 6 P.M. for dinner. The park is within walking distance of the SOU Science Building, Room 171, where the meeting and slide show will begin at 7:30. Bring a folding chair, if you have one. For more information, call Susan E. Nyoka, ( policy), for information.

South Coast

For information on the South Coast Chapter, call Bruce Rittenhouse at ( policy), for information.

Umpqua Valley

Sept. 10, Thurs.

Meeting: Organizational meeting to discuss winter schedule. County Court House, Room 310 at 7:00. Call Richard Sommer ( policy), for information.

Willamette Valley

Sept. 20, Mon.

Meeting: 7 P.M. Room 225, United Methodist Church, 600 State St NE, Salem. Program will be membersí slides, "What I Saw This Summer." If you have slides to be included, please contact the Hallidays (prior to the meeting.

William Cusick

Meeting: No meeting in September.

IMPORTANT NOTE TO FIELD TRIP PARTICIPANTS

Field trips take place rain or shine, so proper dress and footwear are essential. Trips may be strenuous and/or hazardous. Participation is at your own risk. Please contact the trip leader or chapter representative about difficulty, distance, and terrain to be expected on field trips. Bring water and lunch. All NPSO field trips are open to the public at no charge (other than contribution to carpool driver) and newcomers and visitors are always welcome.

NOTICE TO FIELD TRIP CHAIRS AND LEADERS

The Forest Service and other agencies have set policies limiting group size in many wilderness areas to 12. The reason is to limit human impacts on these fragile areas. Each group using wilderness areas should be no larger than 12.

Looking Forward

By Bruce Newhouse, President, NPSO

Hello, NPSO Friends and Flora Lovers!

I am happy, delighted and proud to be your state President this year. Rhoda Love, your new Secretary, and I, took the oath at the annual meeting with our hands on Hitchcock and Cronquist's "Flora of the Pacific Northwest" and on Peck's "Manual of the Higher Plants of Oregon." Rhoda said she thought that it might have been a marriage ceremony, but my partner Peg assures me that it was not. Anyway, just to confuse the situation a little more, Mike McKeagís hand was there, too, as your returning Vice President.

Mike has very, very kindly offered to TEMPORARILY act as treasurer, too, pending one of our members (is it you??) stepping forward and offering your services. Particularly, if you have any professional experience with financial matters, or think you could learn, please let us know. Our immediate past Treasurer, Jean France, did an ever-so-elegant job getting our ducks in a row. Now we just need some Oregon plant lover to maintain the ducks (and, of course, the duckweed). Think about it.

Speaking of immediate pasts, I want to extend a heartfelt "thank you" to Mike Fahey for his tenure as President. I always had great respect for his gentlemanly manner, well-reasoned opinions, and graciousness in directing the NPSO show. You inspired me, Mike -- thank you! And Mike McKeag, who backed him up, filled in when Mike F. had to resign, and now, filling in as Treasurer -- wow, what dedication! (Does this guy like native plants or what?) And speaking of gentlemen, there's John Robotham, who really pulled the weight for the last few years as Bulletin editor. John's flawless editing and personal touch of including literary quotes added a richness to the Bulletin that will be remembered for a long time. Thanks, John, I'll miss you.

I could go on with thank-yous and such: Mike and Jerry Igo, Jan and Dave Dobak, Rhoda Love, Dave Wagner, Charlene Simpson, Lisa Croft and Bruce Rittenhouse (past presidents), Veva Stansell, Tom Kaye and Keli Kuykendall, Esther McEvoy, Shane Latimer, Sue Allen, Stu Garrett, Dan Luoma, Steve Jessup, Kareen Sturgeon and (your name here). You all are my inspiration, and my hope that we can protect what remains of native Oregon -- in spite of the amazing anti-environmental momentum of today's politics.

Oregon Flora Project Challenge

By Jerry Igo

The Mid-Columbia Chapter gave $10 per member to the Oregon Flora Project last year. This year we have pledged to do the same. We challenge all other chapters to give $10 per member over and above any individual donations. This would realize nearly ten thousand dollars per year and hasten the completion of this worthwhile project.

Current Volunteer Opportunities

Mount Pisgah Arboretum Seeks Volunteers

The Arboretum's Education Program is looking for enthusiastic and concerned volunteers to work as nature guides, leading local elementary school children on Fall Ecology tours. Natural history training and educational materials are provided. Volunteers are required to lead a minimum of one morning tour per week (Sept. 27-Nov. 12). Orientation begins Tuesday, September 14. For information or an application, call the Arboretum Education Office in Eugene at (541) 747-1504.

Nature Conservancy Work Parties

Sept. 4-5, Sycan Marsh Preserve (northeast of Klamath Falls). Removing old fences. Contact Molly Dougherty at ( policy), for information.

Sept. 11, Willow Creek Preserve (West Eugene Wetlands). Removing non-native species. Contact Ed Alverson ( policy), for information.

Sept. 11-12, Dunstan Homestead Preserve (near John Day). Repairing historic structures. Contact Molly Dougherty ( policy), for information.

Sept. 18-19, Juniper Hills Preserve (on the Crooked River). Removing non-native species and thinning juniper stands. Contact Molly Dougherty at ( policy), for information.

Sept. 25, Cascade Head Preserve (near Lincoln City). Removing Queen Anne's Lace. Please contact Debbie Pickering or Molly Dougherty ( policy), for information.

New Edition of Plants of the Oregon Coastal Dunes

Oregon State University Press has published an updated edition of Plants of the Oregon Coastal Dunes by Alfred M. Wiedemann, La Rea J. Dennis, and Frank H. Smith (128 pages, paperback)

Oregon's Rare Wildflower Poster depicts Punchbowl Falls and three of the Columbia River Gorge's endemic wildflowers. Text on the back describes the natural history of the Gorge and the mission of the NPSO. Available from Stu Garrett( policy), for information. Individuals may order posters at $12 each, plus $3 per order for shipping. Posters are mailed in tubes. Chapter treasurers may contact Stu for wholesale prices to chapters.

NPSO's Original Wildflower Poster depicts 13 Oregon wildflowers in a striking artist's rendition. Soon to be a collector's item. Available from Stephanie Schulz, $5 each, plus $3 per order for shipping. Posters are mailed in tubes.

"Charles A. Geyer, Pioneer Botanist of Upper Oregon," by Thomas R. Cox: A Review

By Rhoda Love, Emerald Chapter

Most Bulletin Readers know of the Plant Hunters project being coordinated by Professor Emeritus Arthur Kruckeberg of the University of Washington and myself. We are happily serving as co-editors of what will be a book of biographies of Northwest botanical explorers and plant collectors from earliest times to the present. Art and I have received many very fine
essays from our numerous dedicated authors and a few of these, with our blessings, have been finding their way into print even before the book is finished. The outstanding essay on Geyer in the journal Idaho Yesterdays reviewed here is one of the best to appear so far.

Thomas R. Cox, the author, is a retired history professor who grew up in Oregon and received his undergraduate degree in biology from OSU. He now lives in McCammon, Idaho. Tom has written both a fascinating and a carefully researched essay on the German collector Charles A. Geyer who spent the years 1843 and 1844 exploring Idaho and Washington -- then
considered parts of "Upper Oregon." Geyer collected nearly 10,000 plant specimens representing some 600 species in his two years in the Northwest, and England's William Jackson Hooker named thirteen species in his honor. One of those, illustrated in the article, is Physaria geyeri, a cespitose mustard from the upper Spokane River.

Born in Dresden, Germany, in 1809, Geyer was trained in botany as a youth, and traveled to America in the 1830s heading for St. Louis which he knew was the stepping- off place for exploration of the upper Missouri River and the poorly-surveyed western part of the continent. Upon arrival, he attached himself to several expeditions and gained experience in wilderness travel. In 1843 he found a patron in the famous Dr. George Engelmann (of the Engelmann spruce) who financed a collecting trip into the northwest with the understanding that Geyer's plant specimens would come back to Engelmann in St. Louis.

Traveling as part of a large and well-supplied party, Geyer started west along the Oregon Trail in 1843 -- the same year as the first major migration of pioneers in covered wagons. Leaving the large party as he neared what is now Idaho, Geyer traveled with smaller groups, staying at Indian villages and missions as he explored much of what is now Idaho and Washington state. As he traveled and collected, Geyer kept a detailed journal of his observations. He was particularly interested in Indian uses of plants and his ethnobotanical notes are especially useful. Fortunately for us, this narrative of Geyer's travels was published by William Hooker along with the names of the plants discovered by the explorer.

Geyer's collections never made it back to St. Louis, and I will leave it to the reader of this fascinating article to discover why. However, both his collections and his writings were well publicized by Hooker and have provided Dr. Cox with the raw material for a most intriguing account. In addition, it is clear that Cox himself has traveled to most of the locations mentioned in Geyer's narrative and has thus been able to correct some long-standing mistakes in earlier accounts of the Geyer sojourn. Geyer returned to Germany after his adventure in the American west and there he died, a relatively young man in his early 40s, perhaps worn out by his strenuous explorations of a raw new land.

I heartily recommend this very well-researched, and well-illustrated essay for anyone who, like me, has an interest in early botanical exploration of the Northwest. Readers may purchase copies of the Spring, 1999 issue of Idaho Yesterdays, Volume 43, number 1, by sending $3.75 to Susan Karaba, Membership Secretary, Idaho Historical Society ( policy), for information.

Berry Garden Events

These are two of the upcoming events at The Berry Botanic Garden, 11505 SW Summerville Ave., Portland, Oregon 97219, 503-636-4112.

Tues., Sept. 21, 10 A.M. to Noon. The Endangered (and Extinct) Plants of Portland.
You might be surprised to learn that at least eight kinds of plants living in the Portland metropolitan area are either endangered or extinct. Linda R. McMahan, Executive Director and Botanist, discusses the connection between the lifestyles of these plants and why our human lifestyles imperil them. $5 Limit: 20

Sun., Sept. 26, 10 A.M. to 4 P.M. Fall Plant Sale. Berry Garden plant sales are known for their selection of the unusual and hard to find. Browse over 15 nursery vendorsí selections for natives, fine trees and shrubs, perennials, and alpines in a pleasant and relaxed environment!
Cedar Hills Recreation Center, Beaverton
Free admission and parking.

[Notice t o Contributors]
[Notice to Field Tri p Participants]
[Notice to Field Trip Chairs, Leaders]
[Membership]
[NPSO Officers]

NPSO Webmaster: Judy Castle, webmaste r@NPSOregon.org

© Copyright 1999 Native Plant Society of Oregon, All Rights Reserved

Last Modified October, 1999