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BEN # 201



                                                   
BBBBB    EEEEEE   NN   N             ISSN 1188-603X
BB   B   EE       NNN  N             
BBBBB    EEEEE    NN N N             BOTANICAL
BB   B   EE       NN  NN             ELECTRONIC
BBBBB    EEEEEE   NN   N             NEWS

No. 201                              September 5, 1998

aceska@victoria.tc.ca                Victoria, B.C.
-----------------------------------------------------------
 Dr. A. Ceska, P.O.Box 8546, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3S2
-----------------------------------------------------------

BOTANY BC 1998
From: Karen Golinski <golinski@uvic.ca>

BOTANY BC 1998 was held in Taylor, near Fort St. John, from July
9-11  with  a  focus  on  grasslands,  riparian communities, and
wetlands along and near the Peace River.

Most participants met in Prince George and traveled together  to
Taylor,  with  stops  at  Pine  Pass  ski area and Bijoux Falls.
Although the rare Senecio serra eluded us, Patrick Williston did
find a snowboard amongst the subalpine vegetation.

The official program opened with an interesting slide  presenta-
tion  on  the  plants of the southeastern corner of the Yukon by
Bruce Bennett, followed by a well-received introduction  to  the
Peace Hills grasslands by Dr. Joan Snyders and Helene Walsh.

A  full  day  was  spent exploring the Peace River by speedboat.
Points of interest included a water-sculpted  lime  tufa  forma-
tion,  wetlands,  grassland  and shrubland slopes high above the
river at Golata Creek, and for some,  the  Clayhurst  Ecological
Reserve  right  at the BC - Alberta border. Botanical highlights
on the grassland slopes included  Penstemon  gracilis,  Erigeron
caespitosus  and  Carex  xerantica.   

Masses  of the introduced Impatiens parviflora were found on the
lime tufa  site.  The  day ended  with  a  BBQ  and frisbee game
at Peace Island Provincial Park.

BOTANY BC '98 concluded with an enjoyable  morning  spent  in  a
very  species-rich black spruce - tamarack wetland just south of
Taylor.

Many thanks to Craig  Delong,  Jennifer  Lucke  and  others  who
organized   this  year's  program  and  generously  helped  with
transportation. Species lists provided  by  Hans  Roemer,  Bruce
Bennett and Helene Walsh were also much appreciated.

BOTANY  BC  1999  will  be  held  in the Gulf Islands during the
flowering season of many of the coastal wildflowers.


THE LICHEN WORKSHOP - CLEARWATER, B.C. - OCTOBER 2 -4, 1998
From: patrickw@unixg.ubc.ca

Join Trevor Goward for a  weekend  exploring  the  lichen  genus
Peltigera  in a setting well known for its lichen richness. This
is Part II of a series of  lichen  workshops  investigating  the
lichen  flora  of  British  Columbia.  Last March, workshop par-
ticipants were able to collect and identify 21 of the 28 species
of Peltigera known to North America. THE LICHEN  WORKSHOP  is  a
great  opportunity  to  improve  and  refine your identification
skills in the company  of  other  lichen  enthusiasts  from  the
region.

WHAT:  THE  LICHEN  WORKSHOP:  Part  II. A weekend exploring the
   genus Peltigera
WHO: Instructed by Trevor Goward (ably assisted by yours  truly,
   P.W.)
WHEN:  8:00  pm  Friday,  October  2,- 2:00pm Sunday, October 4,
   1998.
WHERE: The Wells  Gray  Education  and  Research  Centre,  Upper
   Clearwater  Valley,  British  Columbia, Canada. Approximately
   525km (6 hour drive) NW of Vancouver, BC, in  stunning  Wells
   Gray Provincial Park.
HOW MUCH: Only $50 CDN per person ($37 US ?!)
HOW MANY: Registration is limited to 12 people.
INCLUDES: Instruction, appropriate keys, the use of microscopes,
   and lab and field identification opportunities
DOES  NOT  INCLUDE:  Transportation,  food, and lodgings (though
   information on possible options will be available)
MORE INFORMATION: For more information contact Patrick Williston
   at patrickw@unixg.ubc.ca


ADVANCED COURSE ON MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS OF ECOLOGICAL DATA
From: Jan Leps <Jan.Leps@tix.bf.jcu.cz>

Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic 11 - 16 January 1999

COURSE CONTENTS:  You  will  acquire  substantial  knowledge  of
methods  of  direct  and indirect gradient analysis. You will be
able to correctly interpret the  ordination  diagrams  and  will
have an idea how to choose the correct type of permutation tests
when testing multivariate hypotheses with the Canoco for Windows
4.0  program.  In  addition,  introduction to classification and
modern regression methods (GLM, GAM, regression trees)  will  be
given.

FOR MORE DETAILS: http://regent.bf.jcu.cz/course.htm

CONTACT INFORMATION:
 Dr. Petr Smilauer at E-mail address "petrsm@jcu.cz"

APPLY BEFORE: End of November 1998

[Dr. Petr Smilauer is a co-author of CANOCO program, version 4.0
for Windows. - AC]


NEW BOOK: PROPAGATION OF THE NORTHWEST PLANTS

Rose,  R., C.E.C. Chachulski, & D.L. Haase. 1998. Propagation of
   Pacific Northwest  native  plants.  Oregon  State  University
   Press,  Corvallis, OR. viii + 248 p. ISBN 0-87071-428-7 [soft
   cover] Price: US$21.95

   Order from:
   Oregon State University Press,
   101 Waldo Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331-6407
   Credit card orders by phone: 541-737-3166; fax 541-737-3170
   web site - http://osu.orst.edu/dept/press/osupress.htm
   email: osupress@ccmail.orst.edu

"Increasing awareness of the beneficial role of native plants in
promoting healthy  ecosystems  has  generated  new  interest  in
propagation  techniques. Native plants have been recognized as a
crucial component of land management, and  are  [or  should  be]
widely used in habitat conservation efforts. In addition, native
plants   are   increasingly   desirable   for   landscaping  and
gardening."

Robin Rose is associate professor and the director of the  Nurs-
ery  Technology  Cooperative in the Department of Forest Science
at Oregon State University in Corvallis and the  co-authors  are
both  from the same department. The first part of the book gives
an overview of general propagation techniques. The main part  of
the  book  covers the description, habitat and distribution, and
the specific propagation technics for forbs (29 spp.), grasses &
sedges (21 spp.), shrubs (38 spp.) and trees (27 spp.). The last
part of the book is a short glossary of botanical terms.

The book contains a wealth of information on  specific  propaga-
tion techniques of 115 native plants and is well researched with
an  extensive  bibliography. It is a valuable source of informa-
tion for all gardeners and nursery professionals  interested  in
propagation  and  use of native plants. I was annoyed by several
misspellings of scientific names, e.g., 'Smilacena','Oplopanex'.
They  are  very few, but  they  really  stand up  when  they are
printed in large, bold type.


NEW BOOK: NORTHWEST PENSTEMON

Strickler,  D.  1997.  Northwest  Penstemons:  80   species   of
   Penstemon  native  to  the  Pacific  Northwest. Flower Press,
   Columbia Falls, MT. 191 p. ISBN  1-56044-572-6  [hard  cover]
   Price: US$29.95

   Order from: The Flower Press, 192 Larch Lane, Columbia Falls,
   MT 59912, or
   Falcon, P.O. Box 1718, Helena, MT 59624, or
   call toll-free 1-800-582-2665

This   book   covers  eighty  species  of  Penstemon  native  to
Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana,  southern  British  Columbia
and  southern  Alberta.  For  each  species the author gives its
description, habitat and range and discusses infraspecific  taxa
(varieties).  Author's  own  colour  photographs  accompany  the
description and line drawings  by  Anne  Morley  illustrate  the
habit  and  the  main  identification  characters  (anthers  and
staminodes for most of the species). Maps indicate the distribu-
tion of each  species  and  their  varieties.  The  introduction
explains  the  classification  of  Penstemon  and  provides  the
description of subgenera. Keys to the species and varieties  are
clear  and  reliable.  Penstemon  is quite a difficult genus and
this book is a nice contribution to the  identification  litera-
ture in the Pacific Northwest.

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