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BEN # 210
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BBBBB EEEEE NN N N BOTANICAL
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No. 210 December 8, 1998
aceska@victoria.tc.ca Victoria, B.C.
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Dr. A. Ceska, P.O.Box 8546, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3S2
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DR. ROBERT TOWNLEY OGILVIE (1930-1998)
Bob Ogilvie died on Sunday, November 29, 1998, after a short
relapse of leukemia.
Bob Ogilvie was born on June 27, 1930 in Briercrest, Sas-
katchewan. He received B.A. degree in 1953 and M.A. degree in
1955 from the University of British Columbia for his studies of
soil properties of ponderosa pine plant communities, directed by
Prof. Vladimir Krajina. In 1960 he received his Ph.D. degree
from Washington University in Pullman for his work on "Ecology
of spruce forests on the east slope of the Rocky Mountains in
Alberta" directed by Prof. Rexford Daubenmire.
Bob worked for the Forest Research Branch (Alberta District) of
the Canada Department of Forestry in Calgary from 1958-63. Bob's
main interests were in site classification and ecology of the
forests (particularly spruce and pine) of the Rocky Mountains of
Alberta from Jasper National Park south to the International
Border. During his tenure he collected hundreds of plant
specimens and these are deposited in the herbarium of the North-
ern Forestry Centre (CAFB) in Edmonton. Bob produced the first
checklist of the vascular plants in the Forest Research Her-
barium (CAFB) in 1963. His work with the forest service resulted
in a number of publications and file reports.
His interest in mountain forests and alpine vegetation carried
on at the University of Calgary where he became Associate
Professor in 1963. He supervised several graduate students and
participated in a multidisciplinary study of grizzly bear
habitats directed by Dr. Stephen Herrero.
Bob's parents had a summer cottage near Bowser on Vancouver
Island and Bob and his family spent many summer holidays on
Vancouver Island. Bob welcomed the opportunity to move to Van-
couver Island, and in September 1977 he accepted a position of
Botany Curator in the British Columbia Provincial Museum in
Victoria. He was Head of the Botany Division until its dissolu-
tion in 1986. When the British Columbia Provincial Museum became
the Royal British Columbia Museum, Bob Ogilvie remained in the
Natural History Division as botany curator till his retirement
in July 1995. After his retirement Bob Ogilvie became a frequent
visitor of the University of Victoria herbarium, where he worked
on his old collections and wrote botanical papers.
His main botanical interests were alpine flora and vegetation,
seashore vegetation, and flora and phytogeography of British
Columbia. In the British Columbia Provincial Museum he was an
important force behind the publication of Museum Handbooks and
Occasional Papers, and he was an associate editor of the Museum
journal Syesis until the journal's untimely death in 1985. The
Native Plant Garden around the Museum was Bob's great love. The
Garden, established in 1968, was in its prime when Bob came to
the Museum. He soon organized daily Native Plant Garden tours
where visitors learned about British Columbia plants. The tours
were led by a marvelous group of volunteers that Bob and the
staff of the Botany Division gathered together. Later, when the
Museum support of the Native Plant Garden dwindled to a low ebb,
he participated in watering the garden over one or two summers,
and organized a Native Plant Garden support group. This group
has gradually evolved into the active and vibrant Native Plant
Study Group of the Victoria Horticultural Society. The Native
Plant Study Group gained tremendously from Bob's help and his
efforts towards popularization of botany. It was at the October
1998 meeting of this Group where I last met Bob.
Bob was active in numerous conservation organizations, local
(Friends of Beacon Hill Park), regional (Garry Oak Meadow
Preservation Society), provincial (The Land Conservancy and the
now abolished British Columbia Ecological Reserves Committee)
and national (The Nature Conservancy of Canada, Canadian Parks
and Wilderness Society). He was a long-time member of the
Canadian Botanical Association where he served in the Conserva-
tion Committee. Bob's opinion was always respected as highly
professional, one that reflected his rich field experience and
solid botanical knowledge. With Bob's passing, we have lost the
voice of a strong advocate for the protection of natural areas
in British Columbia and Canada.
Bob spoke French and had a good knowledge of German. He had a
tremendous overview of world literature in botany, ecology and
all other sciences (such as geology and climatology) that are
required for understanding vegetation ecology. I know from my
discussions with him that the holistic approach to landscapes
and vegetation was one thing he admired most about Professor
Krajina, Bob's teacher at the University of British Columbia.
Bob had a deep interest in history, art, culture and politics,
liked classical music, and was an avid reader. His favourite
author was Thomas Mann.
Bob was unable to cope with modern trends of government and
scientific institutions where professionals are being replaced
by administrators who have little or no knowledge of the field
they manage. He was incapacitated when he had to deal with
unprofessional decisions, and was horrified when he had to fill
in and sign forms. He despised intrigues and hated empty
phrases. He was a proud Scot and except for broom, he liked
everything Scotch (whisky - single malt and in moderation,
oatcakes, haggis, porridge, Robert Burns, etc.) and he bought me
my first spurtle. As a good Scot he was stubborn and refused to
deviate from his principles. He built a strong shell around his
private life and not too many people were aware of his personal
problems. Even to his closest friends, he presented his losing
fight with leukemia as a "bad flu."
Bob was a great supporter of BEN and he contributed to BEN with
quite a few articles and notes. When we worked together, he was
a blind editor of BEN and read most BEN issues before I posted
them. He helped me with editing the content, and corrected most
of what I wrote.
I am personally indebted to Bob for hiring me to the B.C.
Provincial Museum in 1981, the institution where we both
remained, for better or worse, till 1995. We made numerous
collecting trips together, got stranded on a bare granitic
mountain for several days, and were forgotten on a small island
close to the Alaska border. Our collaboration resulted in a
single, rather insignificant floristic paper, but on our joint
trips we collected something between 15,000 and 20,000 specimens
of vascular plants. These specimens are still being processed in
the Herbarium of the Royal British Columbia Museum.
With Bob Ogilvie we all will miss a good friend, colleague,
teacher and scientist. He will be fondly remembered by all of us
whom he touched with his kindness, humour, help and knowledge.
If you live in the Victoria area, you are invited to attend a
visitation at Hayward's Thomson and Irving Funeral Home (1625
Quadra at Balmoral) on Wednesday, Dec. 9 between 10 a.m. and 12
noon.
Donations in Bob's memory may be made to the Habitat Acquisition
Trust (250-995-2428) or the Vancouver Island Cancer Centre (250-
370-8939).
Adolf Ceska
DR. R.T. OGILVIE - BOTANICAL BIBLIOGRPAHY
From: Adolf Ceska <aceska@victoria.tc.ca>
Ogilvie, R.T. 1953. Soil acidity (pH) in Pinus ponderosa forest
communities in British Columbia. B.A. & Sc. Thesis. Dept.
Biol. and Bot., University of British Columbia, Vancouver. 28
p. [ms.]
Ogilvie, R.T. 1955. Soil texture of Pinus ponderosa plant com-
munities in British Columbia. M.A. Thesis. Dept. Biol. and
Bot., University of British Columbia, Vancouver. 47 p. [ms.]
Ogilvie, R.T. 1961. Ecology of spruce forests on the east slopes
of the Rocky Mountains in Alberta. Ph.D. Thesis, Washington
State University, Pullman. x+189 p. [ms.]
Ogilvie, R.T. 1961. Spruce habitat types in the eastern slopes
of the Rocky Mountains, Alberta. Can. Dept. For., For. Res.
Branch, Calgary, AB.
Ogilvie, R.T. 1962. Ecology of spruce forests on the east slope
of the Rocky Mountains in Alberta. Dissertation Abstracts
23(2):410.
Ogilvie, R.T. 1962. Notes on plant distribution in the Rocky
Mountains of Alberta. Can. J. Bot. 40:1091-1094.
Ogilvie, R.T. 1963. Check list of vascular plants in the Forest
Research Branch herbarium, Calgary. 28 p.
Ogilvie, R.T. 1963. Ecology of the forests in the Rocky Moun-
tains of Alberta. Can. Dept. For., For. Res. Branch, Calgary,
AB. Report 63-A-12. 57 p.
Ogilvie, R.T. 1963. Some additions to the Flora of Alberta. Can.
Dept. For., For. Res. Branch, Calgary, AB. 5p.
Bird, C.D., and Ogilvie, R.T. 1964. New bryophytes for Alberta.
Bryologist 67: 360-363.
Ogilvie, R.T. [1965?] Ecology of vegetation in Banff National
Park. Dept. of Biol., Univ. of Calgary. 21 p.
Ogilvie, R.T. 1966. Subalpine forest ecology - Forest habitat
types of Banff National Park. Canad. Inst. For., 58th Annual
Meeting, Oct. 3-6, 1966. Banff, AB. 15 p.
Beder, K. & R.T. Ogilvie. 1967. Additions to the lichen flora of
Alberta. Bryologist 70: 363-364.
Ogilvie, R.T. & B. Baptie. 1967. A permafrost profile in the
Rocky Mountains of Alberta. Canad. J. Earth Sci. 4: 744-745.
Ogilvie, R.T. and E. von Rudloff. 1968. Chemosystematic studies
in the genus Picea (Pinaceae). IV. The introgression of white
and Engelmann spruce as found along the Bow River. Can. J.
Bot. 46: 901-908.
Kirby, C.L. & R.T. Ogilvie. 1969. The forests of Marmot Creek
Watershed Research Basin. 37 p.
Ogilvie, R.T. 1969. The mountain forest and alpine zones in
Alberta. Pp. 25-44 in: Nelson, J.G. & M.J. Chambers [eds.]
Vegetation, soils and wildlife. Methuen, Toronto.
Kirby, C.L. and R.T. Ogilvie. 1969. The forests of Marmot Creek
watershed and research basin. Dept. of Fisheries and
Forestry. Can. For. Serv. Publ. No. 1259.
Hills, L.V. & R.T. Ogilvie. 1970. Picea banksii n.sp. Beaufort
Formation (Tertiary), northwestern Banks Island, Arctic
Canada. Canad. J. Bot. 48: 457-464.
Ogilvie, R.T. 1971. Ecology and taxonomy of alpine, subalpine
and foothills vegetation of Alberta. CBA/ABC + AIBS Annual
Meeting 1971. Itinerary & Field trip June 18-20, 1971. 13 p.
Ogilvie, R.T. 1972. Speciation in the North American spruces and
its relation to white spruce. Pp. 1-7 in: McMinn, R.G. [ed.]
White spruce - The ecology of a northern resource. Can For.
Serv. Information Rep. NOX-X-40
Ogilvie, R.T. 1976. The alpine and subalpine in the Rocky Moun-
tains of Alberta. Pp. 33-48 in: Proceedings of the Workshop
on Alpine and Sub-Alpine environments / convened by Luttmerd-
ing, H.A. & J.A. Sheilds [sic.] Resource Analysis Branch,
Ministry of the Environment, Victoria, B.C.
Ogilvie, R.T. 1976. Vegetation mapping methodology: Mapping of
alpine and subalpine vegetation in the Rocky Mountains of
Alberta. Pp. 97-103 in: Proceedings of the Workshop on Alpine
and Sub-Alpine environments / convened by Luttmerding, H.A. &
J.A. Sheilds [sic.] Resource Analysis Branch, Ministry of the
Environment, Victoria, B.C.
Ogilvie, R.T. 1979. The native plant display gardens. Friends of
the Provincial Museum Newsletter 7.
Ogilvie, R.T. 1979. Botanical Beach trip - shore vegetation. The
Victoria Naturalist 36: 32.
van Barneveld, J.W. et al. [incl. R.T. Ogilvie] 1980. An il-
lustrated key to common grass genera of the Festucoideae
(Fescue subfamily) of British Columbia. Province of British
Columbia, Terrestrial Studies Branch, Victoria, B.C. 18 p.
[reprinted in 1987]
van Barneveld, J.W. et al. [incl. R.T. Ogilvie] 1980. An il-
lustrated key to gymnosperms of British Columbia. Province of
British Columbia, Terrestrial Studies Branch, Victoria, B.C.
32 p. [reprinted in 1987]
Rafiq, M., G.F. Harcombe, R.T. Ogilvie. 1982. An illustrated key
to dicotyledon families of British Columbia. (Illustrated by
G.F. Harcombe) Province of British Columbia, Terrestrial
Studies Branch, Victoria, B.C. 127 p.
Rafiq, M., G.F. Harcombe, R.T. Ogilvie. 1982. An illustrated key
to monocotyledon families of British Columbia. (Illustrated
by G.F. Harcombe) Province of British Columbia, Terrestrial
Studies Branch, Victoria, B.C. 25 p.
Ogilvie, R.T. 1983. Interior gummweed on Little Saanich Moun-
tain. The Victoria Naturalist 39: 52.
[Correction: Some specimens from this locality have been
identified as Grindellia hirsutula var. hirsutula by Dr.
Meredith A. Lane. - AC]
Roemer, H.L. & R.T. Ogilvie. 1983. Additions to the flora of the
Queen Charlotte Islands on limestone. Canad. J. Bot. 61:
2577-2580.
Turner, N.J., J. Thomas, B.F. Carlson, & R.T. Ogilvie. 1983.
Ethnobotany of the Nitinaht Indians of Vancouver Island.
British Columbia Provincial Museum Occasional Paper No. 24.
165 p.
Ogilvie, R.T., & A. Ceska. 1984. Alpine plants of
phytogeographic interest on northwestern Vancouver Island.
Can. J. Bot. 62: 2356-2362.
Ogilvie, R.T. & A. Ceska. 1984. Alpine plant collecting in the
Flathead Mountains. Discovery (Victoria, B.C.) 12(1).
Ogilvie, R.T., R.J. Hebda & H.L. Roemer. 1984. The phytogeog-
raphy of Oxalis oregana in British Columbia. Canad. J. Bot.
62: 1561-1563.
Ogilvie, R.T. & H.L. Roemer. 1984. The rare plants of the Queen
Charlotte Islands. B.C. Naturalist 22(2): 17-18.
Ogilvie, R.T. 1985. Botanical collections in museums. Pp. 13-22
in: Miller, E.H. [ed.] Museum collections: their roles and
future in biological research. B.C. Prov. Mus. Occ. Paper No.
25.
Ogilvie, R.T. 1986. Book review: "The rare vascular plants of
British Columbia," by G.B. Straley, R.L. Taylor & G.W. Doug-
las. Discovery (Victoria, B.C.) 15(3): 2-3.
Ogilvie, R.T. 1987. Native Plant Gardens at the B.C. Provincial
Museum. Garden Notes (Victoria Horticultural Society) October
1987: 42-43.
Ogilvie, R.T. & K. Cowen. 1987. Wildflowers in the Museum gar-
dens. Discovery (Victoria, B.C.) 15(3): 1-2.
Ogilvie, R.T. 1988. The rare vascular plants of Island View
Beach Park. The Victoria Naturalist 44(4): 7.
Ogilvie, R.T. 1989. Distribution and ecology of whitebark pine
in western Canada. Pp. 54-60 in: Proceedings - Symposium on
whitebark pine ecosystems: Ecology and management of a high-
mountain resource.
Ogilvie, R.T. 1989. Disjunct vascular plants of northwestern
Vancouver Island in relation to Queen Charlotte Islands'
endemism and Pacific Coast refugia. Pp. 127-130 in: Scudder,
G.G.E. & N. Gessler [eds.] The outer shores. Queen Charlotte
Islands Museum Press, Skidegate, B.C.
Ogilvie, R.T. 1994. Rare and endemic vascular plants of Gwaii
Haanas (South Moresby) Park, Queen Charlotte Islands, British
Columbia. Canadian Forest Service & B.C. Ministry of Forests,
Victoria, B.C. vi+25 p.
Majak W., W.J. Keller, Z. Duan, D. Munro, R.A. Smith, A.M.
Davis, & R.T. Ogilvie. 1994. Alkaloid distribution in two
species of Lupinus in Central British Columbia.
Phytochemistry 36: 883-885.
Majak, W., & R.T. Ogilvie. 1994. A review of known and suspected
stock-poisoning plants of the Yukon Territory. Pp. 29-35 in:
Smith, S. [ed.] Proc. 1st circumpolar agric. conf.,
Whitehorse, YT. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Centre for
Land and Biological Resources Research, Ottawa.
Ogilvie, R.T. 1998. Vascular Plants. In Smith, I.M. & G.G.E.
Scudder [eds.] Assessment of species diversity in the Montane
Cordillera Ecozone. Burlington: Ecological Monitoring and
Assessment Network, 1998.
Web site - URL: http://www.cciw.ca/test/98_montane/
List of articles & notes posted by R.T. Ogilvie on BEN:
Vaccinium in British Columbia - BEN # 9 (Sept. 5, 1991)
Bog cranberry - BEN # 9 (Sept. 5, 1991)
Currants, gooseberries, and other oxymorons - BEN # 17 (Oct. 31,
1991)
Satin flower: a name change - BEN # 19 (Dec. 21, 1991)
Jan Looman 1919-1991 - BEN # 22 (Jan. 12, 1992)
Harold St. John 1892-1991 - BEN # 25 (Feb. 2, 1992)
Wheatgrass, grama-grass, and the Rocky Mountain barrier [BEN
#36] - BEN # 47 (Dec. 20, 1992)
What turns on marsh-gas? - BEN # 60 (July 26, 1993)
Book review: Intermountain Flora Volume 5 - Asterales - BEN # 78
(Sept. 2, 1994)
Botanist mayor of Montreal - BEN # 85 (Dec. 15, 1994)
The sorrows of old Goethe - BEN # 98 (Apr. 7, 1995)
A century of BEN - BEN # 100 (Apr. 29, 1995)
Acknowledgement. I would like to thank Dr. J. Derek Johnson for
providing me with a list of Bob Ogilvie's publications from
Alberta.
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