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Elisabeth C. Miller Library

Keyword: Endangered plants

Las Vegas bearpoppy

Many years ago when I was in training on a military base in Nevada, our commander ordered us to spray herbicide over a large area that was covered in beautiful wildflowers. They had bluish leaves and yellow poppy-like blooms. I wish I’d had the wherewithal to refuse the order, but disobeying would have been problematic. I’m curious what the name of the plant is, and what its current status might be.

 

 

photo credit Stan Shebs, CC BY-SA 3.0 Photo: Stan Shebs, CC BY-SA 3.0

The plant you are describing is the Las Vegas bearpoppy, Arctomecon californica. Despite the species name, it is not native to California, but instead to the southern Nevada and the eastern Mojave Desert, where it has largely disappeared. The common name, bearpoppy, describes its fuzzy bear-paw shaped leaves.

Its current status is ‘critically endangered.’ In 2019, the Center for Biological Diversity petitioned for Endangered Species Act protection for the wildflower. By 2020, the Center reported that “Las Vegas bearpoppy, in southern Nevada, is experiencing a dramatic, ongoing loss of habitat due to urban sprawl and mining.”

You can learn more about the flower (including its relationship with pollinators, especially the Mojave poppy bee) in the full text of the petition to list it as endangered.

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Hawaiian sandalwood

I was browsing a 1965 book on the plants of Hawai’i and found an old magazine clipping inside about the vanishing of sandalwood from the islands. It described native Hawaiians cutting sandalwood trees to fill pits in the earth dug deep as the hold of a ship. Is it true that sandalwood has disappeared from Hawai’i?

 

When the first people arrived in Hawai’i by canoe, Sandalwood (Santalum freycinetianum and other species, or ‘iliahi, the Hawaiian name for the tree) grew abundantly. They found medicinal and other practical uses for the tree, including using the pulverized wood to scent bark cloth used for clothing and bedding.

With the late 18th century arrival of explorers like American sea captain John Kendrick and Captain James Cook of England came the exploitation of the islands’ natural resources. The intensification of trade in sandalwood altered the Hawaiian way of life. Recognizing that there was value in this trade, King Kamehameha I was unwittingly complicit in altering “the production-for-use economy into a production-for-profit economy.” He sent his subordinates to order common people to collect sandalwood in the hills and, as the article you found describes, they cut trees in a volume large enough to fill a ship. The measuring pits even had a local name: lua na moku ‘iliahi . As a consequence of years of unpaid hard labor, people began to rip out young trees in the hopes that their children might escape enslavement to the sandalwood trade. By 1840, trade dwindled.

From an eyewitness account:

“On one occasion we saw nearly two thousand persons, laden with fagots of sandalwood, coming down from the mountains to deposit their burthens in the royal store houses, and then depart to their homes–wearied with their unpaid labors, yet unmurmuring in their bondage. In fact, the condition of the common people is that of slaves; they hold nothing which may not be taken from them by the strong hand of arbitrary power, whether exercised by the sovereign or a petty chief.” -April 18, 1822

Source:

James Montgomery, ed., Journal of Voyages and Travels by the Rev. Daniel Tyerman and George Bennet, Esq. 2 Vols. (London: F. Westley & A.H. Davis, 1881) I:415.

There have been attempts over the decades to restore the population of sandalwood, but most efforts failed until the 1990s, when Mark Hanson collected seeds  of native sandalwood and other native tree species, and began the Hawaiian Reforestation Program. His efforts are ongoing. The trees remain vulnerable (due to land-clearing to raise cattle, and harvesting for use in essential oils and incense), and are listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List.

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Rare Plants: The Story of 40 of the World’s Most Unusual and Endangered Plants

I first glanced through “Rare Plants’ by Ed Ikin for the beautiful plant images: artwork and herbarium specimens from the vast collections of Kew Gardens dating back to the 1700s.  These alone would make this book worthwhile, but there is much more.  The heart of this book is a collection of essays on 40 plants from around the world that are rare or unknown in the wild.  What’s surprising is that many are very familiar to gardeners in the Pacific Northwest.

An example is the Monkey Puzzle Tree (Araucaria araucana) with its distinctive and frequently seen profile on the Seattle landscape.  Native to the slopes of Andes Mountains in Chile and Argentina, it is endangered because of its heavy use for timber, slow regeneration because of fires (often deliberately set), and competition from exotics (including eucalyptus) and agriculture.

One traditional way to preserve rare plant is through seed banks, but that is not an option for the Monkey Puzzle – the seeds do not survive the desiccation and chilling typical for these facilities.  The author recommends instead growing the tree in suitable climates as a preservation technique, and recommends planting groves to emulate the natural associations of these dioecious plants.  Image such a grove in the Chilean Garden at Pacific Connections!

These stories are an engaging way to study conservation and threatened plants, and the choice to illustrate using historic documents is very effective.  Ikin, the deputy director of Kew’s wild botanic garden at Wakehurst, also raises some difficult questions, especially for plant collectors in the UK and in North America.

For example, African violets (Streptocarpus ionanthus) is a mainstay of the multi-million dollar houseplant industry, but has become exceedingly rare in its native Kenya and Tanzania.  The author asks, should these countries receive some of the profit from the selling of these plants?  Aloe vera, a plant well-known by many non-gardeners for its presumed healing qualities, is unknown in the wild.  However, DNA studies are gradually solving the mystery location of its origin, somewhere on the Arabian Peninsula.  When that is pinpointed, should that original host country (or countries) be compensated for this plant valued around the world?

Ikin is always eager to share positive outcomes, too.  “Lebanon is pioneering a new approach new land management – a balance between preserving biodiversity and provisioning human need – and the results are promising.“  This is good news for the endangered, Lebanese endemic Iris sofarana, the Sofar Iris with its striking blend of marbled greys and bronze with purple highlights.  Also hopeful are new cultivation techniques in Ukraine that are slowing the wild harvest of increasingly rare Galanthus nivalis (known ironically as the “common snowdrop”) to allow for its natural recovery and to ensure income to its the host country.

Co-winner of the 2021 Annual Literature Award from the Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries

 

Excerpted from the Summer 2021 issue of the Arboretum Bulletin

Sumac in za’atar

What species or variety of sumac is used in the spice mix called za’atar? I googled it after reading about it in a Lebanese cookbook written by Mary Laird, but the recipes all just say “sumac berries with salt spray left on them!” Are there different versions of the spice mix in Israel and Arab countries?

 

There are many variations of za’atar–Syrian, Lebanese, Israeli, Palestinian, etc. I’m going to go off on a bit of a tangent from your question about sumac, because the identity of the main ingredient of za’atar is a bit complicated.

One primary difference, these days, between Israeli, Palestinian, or Jordanian za’atar, and za’atar made anywhere without plant protection laws is that the picking of Origanum syriacum (the main ingredient of za’atar) is prohibited in Israel, the West Bank, and Jordan because it is an endangered plant, and there’s a hefty fine if you’re caught harvesting it in the wild. (Sources: Gil Marks, Olive Trees and Honey 2005, and “A political ecology of za’atar” by Brian Boyd in Environment and Society, 2016).

The word za’atar means ‘hyssop,’ as in the common name for Origanum syriacum, rather than Hyssopus officinalis, which would be too bitter to eat. (Marks says that the plant mentioned in the Hebrew Bible–the Torah–is ezov, which is hyssop, but again, those bible writers weren’t necessarily botanists, so they are believed to have meant O. syriacum.) For more discussion of biblical botanical confusion, see Old Dominion University’s page on bible plants.

Gil Marks’s recipe for za’atar is as follows:
1/4 c. brown sesame seeds
1 c. Syrian oregano (aka white or Lebanese oregano) or alternatively [if you’re not a lawbreaker]: 2/3 c. dried thyme and 1/3 c. dried wild or sweet marjoram
2-4 T ground sumac or 1 T lemon zest
1/2 tsp table salt or 1 tsp kosher salt (optional)

My handwritten recipe which is probably from Claudia Roden’s Book of Middle Eastern Food, 1968, says:
1 cup dried thyme
1 cup sumac
1/4 cup cooked, dried unsalted chickpeas finely pulverized
3 T. toasted sesame seeds
1 T. marjoram
2 T. salt
Bear in mind that Roden is from an Egyptian Jewish family.

There are probably countless regional variations. The za’atar we used to get in a twist of paper from the bread vendors in Jerusalem’s Old City seemed to have very little sumac–it was mostly something like oregano, thyme, sesame seeds, and salt.

And now, back to sumac! Here’s a link to an article on sumac in HaAretz by Daniel Rogov (a cookbook author and food writer). He doesn’t say which species of sumac is the edible one, but most powdered sumac is from Rhus coriaria.

Excerpt:
“Now before we get too far into this, let us make it clear that edible sumac is not to be confused with Rhus glabra which many people know by its common name ‘poison sumac,’ which causes severe itching and skin reactions when touched. Those who have lived in North America are probably familiar with this annoying plant which is a cousin of Rhus toxicodendron (poison ivy).

“In preparing edible sumac, the hairy coating is first removed from the berries, which are then ground to powder-like consistency and used by many in the same way that lemon juice and vinegar are used in the West. The spice is probably at its most popular when making mixtures of za’atar…”

Here is additional information about sumac from Gernot Katzer’s Spice Pages.

For another discussion of za’atar and its ingredients, see the Food-Condiments section of this site from a Society for Creative Anachronism member–it gives you an idea of the diverging opinions about the constituent ingredients.

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invasiveness status of butterfly weed

Is butterfly weed invasive in the Northwest?

First, I have a plant name question for you: did you mean the shrub Buddleia davidii which is also called butterfly bush, or the herbaceous perennial Asclepias tuberosa, the plant most often referred to by the common names butterfly weed or butterfly milkweed?

In King County, Buddleia davidii is a Class B noxious weed, which means that its control is recommended but not required by law. Many gardeners grow this shrub as well as other less aggressive species. If you absolutely cannot live without this plant in your garden, you can go a long way toward preventing its spread by keeping the blooms deadheaded as soon as they fade (before they set seed).

Asclepias tuberosa can seed itself around, but it is classified as an endangered plant in New Hampshire, a threatened plant in Vermont, exploitably vulnerable in New York, of special concern in Rhode Island, and possibly extirpated in Maine. It attracts butterflies and hummingbirds. Here is more information so you can determine which plant you have in your garden:
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
USDA Plants Database

The Quiet Extinction: Stories of North America’s Rare and Threatened Plants

[The Quiet Extinction] cover

The Quiet Extinction: Stories of North America’s Rare and Threatened Plants profiles plants native to the United States and Canada which are in danger of extinction. The causes vary, but humans are the main culprit, especially by driving climate change and loss of habitat.

While the topic is grim, author Kara Rogers has a knack for telling compelling stories, while still presenting good science. She wisely concentrates on a handful of species to drive her narrative, explaining that these are bellwethers of a much greater problem.

Some of these have special interest for Pacific Northwest readers. White bark pines (Pinus albicaulis) are a key species in the ecology of the Olympic and Cascade Mountains. They are facing a double whammy from white pine blister rust and outbreaks of mountain pine beetles. Hikers at high altitudes may recognize the problem, “but the real tragedy is that few people are aware that the region’s iconic tree and beautiful plants are disappearing and that they are doing so rapidly.”

As with many of these plants, their interaction with animals, including pollinators and herbivores, and with naturally occurring phenomena such as fire, are important parts of the story. This is an excellent book for anyone interested in the interconnections within North American ecosystems, as well as those fighting to reverse the plight of endangered plants.

Published in the July 2018 Leaflet for Scholars, Volume 5, Issue 7.

Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species database

The species database allows you to gather information about species CITES qualifies as endangered. You can combine country of origin with phylum, class, order, family, genus, species, or common name. Choose a listed plant for detailed information, such as its habitat distribution and legal status, to name a few.