Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
YUKON CONSERVATION DATA CENTRE RARE PLANT INFORMATION SHEETS INTRODUCTION Yukon is home to more than 1200 species of plants, many (around 54) of which are found nowhere else in Canada. A better understanding of species distribution, abundance, threats and trends is necessary to sustainably manage the pressures on the territory’s natural resources. The Yukon Conservation Data Centre (CDC) aims to increase general awareness of rare plants and to help professionals and amateurs to identify rare species. HOW ARE PLANTS ASSESSED? The Yukon CDC assigns a conservation rank to all wild species known to exist in Yukon, in accordance with NatureServe methodology (visit NatureServe’s website for more information on Natural Heritage Methodology). Yukon CDC also compiles Tracking Lists for groups of wild species using these ranks, as well as current available information. Tracked species are those that are of global conservation concern by NatureServe, and/or are of specific conservation concern in Yukon as identified by the Yukon CDC, and/or are federally listed under the federal Species At Risk Act. Detailed location and status data are accumulated and maintained, and known populations are monitored as resources permit. Tracked species’ statuses are reviewed as information becomes available, and ranks may be up‐ or down‐graded based on new information. The Yukon CDC continually reviews species for tracking, and formally twice per year following COSEWIC assessment periods. HOW TO USE THESE SHEETS These sheets are organized alphabetically by scientific name. Individual sheets, groups of species, or the entire set may be printed for field or office use. Sheets include basic information on taxonomy, conservation status, habitat, range, and distinguishing features, and photos and drawings where available to aid field identification. A glossary of selected terms can be found at the end of these pages. Because sheets will be updated as information becomes available, you should check the Yukon CDC website for new versions. Please contact the Yukon CDC if you want us to compile habitat‐ or region‐ specific lists, or for other data requests. WHAT TO DO IF YOU FIND A RARE PLANT If you encounter one of the tracked species or something you suspect may be one of these species while working or travelling on the land, please contact the Yukon CDC with your information. Vascular Plant Field Form (available on the website) will help you record information such as: location (mark a GPS waypoint if possible), date and time, observer name, population size (count or estimate the number of individuals if possible) and, area of extent (e.g. did you find them all over the mountainside on only at one site) Take photographs, if you can, of the habitat, substrate, and the plant (flowering or fruiting parts, leaves, and stems). Submitted photo(s) can use used to verify or add information. With your permission, the Yukon CDC could also add photos to that plant’s ID sheet. Voucher specimens (collected plant material) are critical in rare plant work. But rare plant populations can often be very small, making voucher collection questionable. The surveyor must weigh the pros and cons of taking specimens. Full vouchers (entire plants) should only be taken if the population is large enough to withstand the loss of an individual. Consider the “1 in 20 rule”; only take one plant if there are 20 others. While good quality photos are usually sufficient for identification, there really is no substitute for a specimen for verifying identification. Most plants can be identified without taking the whole plant. CONSERVATION RANKS The NatureServe Global and Yukon (i.e. “sub‐national”) rank for each species is listed in the upper left section of the sheet. NatureServe ranks are determined at the territorial level by the Yukon CDC and at the Global level by NatureServe using a standard method, and are regularly reviewed. In many cases, where the species is not found outside of Yukon, the Global Rank will also be calculated by the Yukon CDC. Ranks are calculated based on several factors: Rarity (range extent, population size); Trends (in population size or range); and Threats. NatureServe ranks are calculated and maintained by CDCs in each region and are then compiled by NatureServe to calculate National and Global ranks for species. This information is used by species experts, in part, to determine COSEWIC and General Status of Wild Species conservation status in Canada. From NatureServe Explorer: The conservation status of a species or ecosystem is designated by a number from 1 to 5, preceded by a letter reflecting the appropriate geographic scale of the assessment (G = Global), N = National, and S = Subnational). The numbers have the following meaning: X = presumed extinct or extirpated 1 = critically imperiled H = possibly extinct or extirpated 2 = imperiled NR = status has not yet been assessed 3 = vulnerable 4 = apparently secure U = unrankable with present information 5 = secure For example, G1 would indicate that a species is critically imperiled across its entire range (i.e., globally). In this sense the species as a whole is regarded as being at very high risk of extinction. A rank of S3 would indicate the species is vulnerable and at moderate risk within a particular state or province, even though it may be more secure elsewhere. In some cases, a “range rank” (e.g. G2G3) is designated if there is not enough information to specify a rank. “T” in a rank indicates sub‐ or infra‐species. HOW TO CONTACT THE YUKON CONSERVATION DATA CENTRE For more information on these or other species of conservation concern, to report a sighting or submit data, or to request data for plants or animals of conservation concern contact: Mailing Address: Phone: 867‐667‐5331 Environment Yukon Toll‐free: 1‐800‐661‐0408 local 5331 Government of Yukon Fax: 867‐393‐6405 Box 2703 (V‐5N) Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada Y1A 2C6 Physical Address: Email: [email protected] Environment Yukon Website: www.env.gov.ca/cdc 10 Burns Road Whitehorse, Yukon arte_laci Yukon Rare Plant Information Sheet • May, 2012 Siberian Wormwood Artemisia laciniata Composite Family (Asteraceae) Synonyms: A. laciniatiformis; A. macrobotrys, A. tanacetifolia Habitat: Grassy flats, riverbanks, and open wooded slopes with Calamagrostis purpurascens, Artemisia frigida and Populus tremuloides DISTRIBUTION Yukon: Central Yukon; known only from the Yukon River from Carmacks to Ballarat Creek where locally common North America: Yukon and Alaska to Eurasia World: Amphiberingian B. Bennett © NRC Research Press Distinguishing features: Blades of leaves 2-3 times pinnately divided; leaves glandular dotted; leaf segments spreading; those of the lower leaves obtuse. Corollas usually reddish. Vegetative plants may be confused with Tanacetum bipinnatum. B. Bennett Global rank: Possibly secure (G4) Yukon rank: Vulnerable (S3) B. Bennett !!!! ! !! !! ! ! ! For more information, contact the Yukon Conservation Data Centre at 867-667-3684 or [email protected]. botr_alas Yukon Rare Plant Information Sheet • May, 2012 Alaska Moonwort Botrychium alaskense Adder’s Tongue Family (Ophioglossaceae) Habitat: Gravel DISTRIBUTION Yukon: Central and southwestern Yukon North America: Yukon and Alaska World: Western North America Global rank: Apparently Secure (G4) Yukon rank: Imperilled to Vulnerable (S2S3) Distinguishing features: This species can be separated from similar pinnate-pinnatifid species as follow (from Farrar, 2006*) 1a. Upper pinna bases obtuse (angle > 90°) pinna apices rounded; sporophore stalk equal to trophophore length; sporophore pinnately branched...............................B. pinnatum 1b. Upper pinna bases acute (angle < 90°); pinna apices angular; sporophore stalk shorter than trophophore length; sporophore divided into three main branches ..............go to 2 2a. Trophophore outline triangular (equilateral) with basal pinnae nearly as large as the central rachis and pinnae; pinna pairs 3-4; pinnae narrowly ovate to oblong..................................................................B. lanceolatum G. Brunner 2b. Trophophore outline narrowly triangular to broadly ovate; basal pinnae not disproportionately enlarged; pinna pairs 5-6; pinnae ovate to elliptic..................B. alaskense ! ! ! G. Brunner ! ! For more information, contact the Yukon Conservation Data Centre at 867-667-3684 or [email protected]. botr_line Yukon Rare Plant Information Sheet • May, 2012 Narrow-leaved Moonwort Botrychium lineare Adder’s Tongue Family (Ophioglossaceae) Habitat: Dry gravel benches DISTRIBUTION Yukon: Southwestern Yukon; known only from Kluane Lake and near Minto North America: Scattered throughout unglaciated areas in Alaska, Yukon, Quebec and the southern United States World: North America B. Bennett Distinguishing features: Botrychium alaskense has the narrowest pinna span of all moonworts, only broadening where they divide. At maturity, its sporophore stalk is twice the length of the trophophore. B. Bennett Global rank: Possibly Critically Imperilled (G2?) Yukon rank: Critically Imperilled (S1) B. Bennett For more information, contact the Yukon Conservation Data Centre at 867-667-3684 or [email protected]. coll_parv Yukon Rare Plant Information Sheet • May, 2012 Scamman’s Springbeauty Claytonia scammaniana Purslane Family (Portulacaceae) Synonyms: C. arctica; C. porsildii; Montia scammaniana Habitat: Alpine tundra, talus and scree slopes on serpentine rivers DISTRIBUTION Yukon: Western Yukon north of 61°N North America: Yukon and Alaska to Russia World: Endemic to Yukon and Alaska B. Bennett © NRC Research Press B. Bennett - YG Global rank: Vulnerable to Apparently Secure (G3G4) Yukon rank: Vulnerable (S3) ! ! ! ! ! !! !! ! B. Bennett -YG ! For more information, contact the Yukon Conservation Data Centre at 867-667-3684 or [email protected]. cori_ocho Yukon Rare Plant Information Sheet • May, 2012 Pale Comandra Comandra umbellata ssp. pallida Sandalwood Family (Santalaceae) Synonyms: C. pallida Habitat: Prairie grassland and dry open coniferous woodland DISTRIBUTION Global rank: Secure (G5T5) Yukon rank: Imperilled to Vulnerable (S2S3) A. Ceska Illustration by J.R. Janish courtesy of the University of Washington Press Distinguishing features: A very distinctive species with only one close relative (Geocaulon lividum) from which it can be separated by having terminal cymes or panicles; fruit dry and nutlike. B. Bennett Yukon: Southwestern and west-central Yukon; known only from Kluane and Aishihik lakes and Five Finger Rapids (Yukon River) North America: Disjunct to Yukon, not known in British Columbia. Found from Alberta to Manitoba, southwestern United States World: North America S. Cannings For more information, contact the Yukon Conservation Data Centre at 867-667-3684 or [email protected]. Yukon Rare Plant Information Sheet • May, 2012 Dawson Wallflower Erysimum angustatum Mustard Family (Brassicaceae) Habitat: Steep, dry, south-facing rubble slopes; rocky outcrops on steep, open-wooded slopes; dry grasslands Distribution: Illustration courtesy of NRC Press Distinguishing features: Erysimum angustatum is separated from other Erysimum species by its small stature (≤ Malpighiaceous hairs 30 cm), bright yellow colour, large petals (≥ 12mm), and by being densely covered in malpighiaceous hairs (hairs attached to a surface by their centres). B. Bennett Global rank: Imperilled (G2) Yukon rank: Imperilled (S2) Species at Risk Act rank: Not At Risk Illustration M.G. Harris Yukon: Central and southwest Yukon North America: Alaska and Yukon World: Endemic to Yukon and Alaska !! ! ! ! ! ! B. Bennett ! ! !! For more information, contact the Yukon Conservation Data Centre at 867-667-3684 or [email protected]. Yukon Rare Plant Information Sheet • May, 2012 Prairie-smoke Geum triflorum Rose Family (Rosaceae) Habitat: Dry prairie and grassland; grassy flats in openings in dry forest; dry gravel and sandy soils Distribution: Yukon: Southeast and south-central Yukon; known only from the Takhini Valley, Beaver River and near Minto North America: Western and central North America World: North America B. Bennett Illustration by J.R. Janish courtesy of the University of Washington Press Distinguishing features: Geum triflorum is separated from other Geum species by flower colour (straw to pale purple) and habitat (grasslands). B. Bennett Global rank: Secure (G5) Yukon rank: Critically Imperilled (S1) ! B. Bennett ! ! For more information, contact the Yukon Conservation Data Centre at 867-667-3684 or [email protected]. mala_palu Yukon Rare Plant Information Sheet • May, 2012 Bristle-like Quillwort Isoetes echinospora Quillwort Family (Isoetaceae) Synonyms: I. muricata var. braunii Habitat: Silty lake or pond margins; often submerged DISTRIBUTION Yukon: Southern Yukon south of 62°N North America: Throughout Canada and Alaska, and western and northeastern United States World: North America J. Line - YG © NRC Research Press J. Pojar Global rank: Secure (G5) Yukon rank: Critically Imperilled (S1) J. Line - YG For more information, contact the Yukon Conservation Data Centre at 867-667-3684 or [email protected]. suae_calc Yukon Rare Plant Information Sheet • May, 2012 Yukon Goldenweed Nestotus macleanii Composite Family (Asteraceae) Synonyms: Haplopappus macleanii; Stenotus borealis; Stenotus macleanii Habitat: Calcareous, dry stony and shaley slopes DISTRIBUTION Yukon: South-central Yukon North America: Yukon World: Endemic to central Yukon !!!!!! !! ! !!! B. Bennett © Province of British Columbia Distinguishing features: Densely caespitose to matted perennial from a multiheaded caudex; stems woody; leaves linear, acute, rigid, keeled, 0.5-1.0 cm long, ciliate, forming whorls, mostly all basal. Flowers golden yellow, pappus tawny. B. Bennett Global rank: Vulnerable (G3) Yukon rank: Vulnerable (S3) ! ! !! S. Cannings ! For more information, contact the Yukon Conservation Data Centre at 867-667-3684 or [email protected]. poly_lonc Yukon Rare Plant Information Sheet • May, 2012 Yukon Woodroot Podistera yukonensis Parsley Family (Apiaceae) Habitat: Talus slopes and cliff crevices DISTRIBUTION Yukon: West-central Yukon North America: Yukon and Alaska World: Endemic to Yukon and Alaska Global rank: Imperilled (G2) Yukon rank: Imperilled (S2) Species at Risk Act rank: Under review B. Bennett B. Bennett !! ! ! ! B. Bennett ! ! Illustration L. Mennell - YG © NRC Research Press Distinguishing features: Differing from Podistera macounii by having a many-headed caudex. Leaflets entire or with basal ones pinnate or deeply cleft. For more information, contact the Yukon Conservation Data Centre at 867-667-3684 or [email protected]. Yukon Rare Plant Information Sheet • May, 2012 Spiral Ditchgrass, Widgeon-grass Ruppia cirrhosa Ditch-Grass Family (Ruppiaceae) Synonyms: Ruppia spiralis; Ruppia maritima var. occidentalis; Ruppia maritima var. spiralis; Ruppia occidentalis; Ruppia cirrhosa ssp. occidentalis Habitat: Shallow, alkaline waters; marshes, ponds, sloughs Distribution: Yukon: Central Yukon; known only from Needlerock Creek North America: Western and central Canada, sporadically in United States World: Circumpolar Global rank: Secure (G5) Yukon rank: Critically Imperilled (S1) © Province of British Columbia Distinguishing features: Ruppia cirrhosa is a submerged, freely branched aquatic bearing alternate linear leaves. It is separated from Ruppia spiralis by having a peduncle with more than 5 coils, longer than 30 mm in fruit. B. Bennett ! For more information, contact the Yukon Conservation Data Centre at 867-667-3684 or [email protected]. Yukon Rare Plant Information Sheet • May, 2012 Mount Sheldon R agwort Senecio sheldonensis Composite Family (Asteraceae) Habitat: Turfy places in subalpine meadows. Wet to moist meadows and forest openings in montane to alpine zones Distribution: Yukon: South and central Yukon North America: Yukon, Northwest Territories, British Columbia World: Endemic to mountains in NW Canada. B. Bennett Illustration L. Mennell - YG Distinguishing features: A tall Senecio of alpine meadows, it is separated from S. triangularis by its smaller stature (30-60cm tall), broadly lanceolate leaves (not triangular-hastate) and margins that are shallowly sinuate or wavy denticulate (not denticulate). B. Bennett Global rank: Imperilled to Vulnerable (G2G3) Yukon rank: Imperilled to Vulnerable (S2S3) ! ! !! ! ! ! ! ! ! B. Bennett ! ! For more information, contact the Yukon Conservation Data Centre at 867-667-3684 or [email protected]. stel_dicr Yukon Rare Plant Information Sheet • May, 2012 Williams’ Catchfly Silene williamsii Pink Family (Caryophyllaceae) Synonyms: S. menziesii ssp. williamsii; S. menziesii var. williamsii Habitat: Heaths, disturbed ground, river gravel and bluffs, roadsides DISTRIBUTION Yukon: West-central Yukon North America: Yukon and Alaska World: Endemic to Yukon and Alaska Global rank: Apparently Secure (G5T4) Yukon rank: Imperilled to Vulnerable (S2S3) ! ! ! !! !! ! ! B. Bennett ! Alaska Natural Heritage Program Illustration L. Mennell - YG F. Baldwin Distinguishing features: Similar to S. menziesii but has narrower leaves, longer calyx (12 mm vs 5-7 mm) and reddish brown seeds. For more information, contact the Yukon Conservation Data Centre at 867-667-3684 or [email protected]. SELECTED GLOSSARY ABAXIAL On the side of a structure turned away from the main axis. ACAULESCENT Stemless. ACUMINATE Tapering to a narrow tip or concave point, the sides generally concavely narrowing, "long‐ pointed”. ADAXIAL On the side of a structure, turned toward the main axis. APEX Tip, point or end. AWN A slender bristlelike appendage, usually at the apex of a structure. AXIL The angle between a structure and the axis to which it is attached (e.g., the angle between a leaf and the stem). AXILLARY Used in reference to structures attached in the axil or juncture of stem and leaf stalks. BASAL At, or forming, the base. BEAK A long, slender projection on a broader structure such as a fruit or seed. BIDENTATE With two teeth, "2‐cleft". BIFURCATE Divided into two forks or branches. BIPINNATIFID Twice branched. CAESPITOSE Growing in dense, low‐lying clumps, "tufted". CALLUS A hard or firm thickening of a structure. In grasses, the thick, hardened basal portion of the lemma. CALYX A collective name referring to the sepals, the outer whorl of the perianth. CAUDEX The woody, thickened and persistent basal portion of an herbaceous perennial that gives rise to leaves and flowering stems each year, i.e. “stem‐base”. CAULINE Of, or pertaining to, the stem, i.e. "stem leaves". CIRCUMSCISSILE A capsule that dehisces transversely in a circular line, like the opening of a lid. CONNATE Union or attachment of like parts (e.g., petals), "fused". CORM A thickened, underground stem with papery leaves; a storage organ. CRENATE Toothed with rounded, broad teeth, "round‐toothed". CULM The flowering stem of grasses, sedges and rushes. CYME An inflorescence in which all floral axes terminate in a single flower with the terminal flower, at the apex of the inflorescence, blooming first. DEFLEXED Bent downward or backward. DENTICULATE Finely dentate or serrate (with sharp, spreading teeth). DIOECIOUS Male and female reproductive structures borne on different plants. DISARTICULATE The separation of structures at maturity. FARINOSE Covered with a white mealy substance. FILIFORM "Threadlike", slender and cylindrical. FLORET A small flower, particularly one (1) in a floral cluster; pertains also to the flower of a grass spikelet which includes the lemma, palea and reproductive structures. GLABROUS “Smooth”, without hairs or glands. GLAND A spot or structure that produces a sticky or greasy substance. GLANDULAR Having glands. GLUMES The two small bracts located at the base of a grass spikelet; they do not subtend flowers. (subtend: to be positioned directly or closely beneath something.) GLUTINOUS Covered with a sticky, glue‐like resin. HASTATE Shaped like the head of an arrow with the basal lobes flaring outward, "arrowhead‐shaped”. HISPID Bearing long, rigid and very sharp bristles or "bristle‐like" hairs. HISPIDULOUS Slightly hispid. INCISED Cut sharply, deeply and irregularly, as in leaf margins. INDUSIUM (PL. INDUSIA) A scale‐like outgrowth that covers and protects the cluster of sporangia located on the underside of a fern frond. INFLORESCENCE The flowering cluster, categorized by the arrangement of flowers on the floral axis. INTERCOSTAL Between ribs or veins. INVOLUCRE A rosette of bracts subtending an inflorescence or head. INVOLUTE Margins longitudinally in‐rolled, on the upper side, toward the center. LANCEOLATE "Lance‐shaped"; longer than broad, widening above the base and tapering to the apex. LEMMA The outermost of the two bracts that subtend the grass floret (See palea). LIGULATE With a ligule. LIGULE Flattened part of the ray corolla in the Asteraceae family; in many grasses and some sedges and rushes, a membranous or hair‐like appendage on the inner side of the leaf at the junction of the leaf blade and the sheath. MALPHIGIACEOUS Hairs attached to a surface by their centers. OBOVATE The reverse of ovate; attached at the narrow end, "egg‐shaped". OBTUSE Blunt, rounded. OVATE Shaped like an egg, attached at the broader end, "egg‐shaped". Term applied to plane surfaces. PALEA The innermost of the 2 bracts that subtend the floret in grasses (see lemma). PANICLE A branching inflorescence on which younger flowers are borne at the apex. PAPPUS The modified outer perianth series crowning the ovary and achene in the Asteraceae; usually plumose, bristle‐like, or of scales. PEDICEL The "stalk" of a single flower in an inflorescence, or of a spikelet in grasses. PEDUNCLE The single supporting stalk of a flower or inflorescence. PERIANTH A collective term for the calyx and corolla. PERIGYNIUM A "pouched" bract surrounding the pistil or achene in Carex species; a modified, tubular bract. PETIOLES Leaf stalk. PHYLLARY One of the bracts below the flowerhead in the species of the Asteraceae family. PINNATE Compound leaf with the leaflets on both sides of an elongated axis. PINNATIFID Pinnately lobed. PISTILLATE Flowers possessing pistils, but no functional stamens (i.e., a female flower). PUBESCENT "Hairy". PULVINATE Cushion‐ or mat‐like. RACHIS The main stalk of an inflorescence or compound leaf, the "axis of inflorescence". RETRORSE Directed backward or downward. (Retroverse.) SCAPE A leafless flower stalk growing directly from the ground. SCAPOSE Bearing a scape. SCARIOUS Having chaffy, membranous, brown or "wax‐papery" edges. SERRATE "Sharp‐toothed"; like a saw edge. SESSILE Without a stalk, "unstalked". SILIQUE A long slender fruit of the Brassicaceae family which splits open along the edges leaving seed attached to a central partition. SINUATE A pronouncedly waved leaf margin, "wavy". SORUS (PL. SORI) A cluster of spore producing structures (sporangia) on the underside of a fern frond. SPATULATE Broad and rounded at the tips; narrowing to the base, "spoon‐shaped". SPIKELET A small spike; in grasses, the primary inflorescence composed of two glumes and one or more florets. SPOROPHORE A leaf bearing reproductive structures; generally used in reference to the spore‐bearing leaves or ferns. STAMINATE Describing a male flower that contains one or more stamens but no functional pistils. STELLATE "Star‐shaped"; having many rays radiating out from a common center. STIPULE An appendage that maybe present on each side of the base of a leaf or petiole at its insertion point on the stem. STOLONIFEROUS Having a stolon: an elongate, creeping, above‐ground horizontal stem that roots at the nodes. STYLE A generally elongated stalk connecting the ovary and the stigma through which the pollen tube grows. SUBGLOBOSE Somewhat or slightly spherical. SUBTEND To be positioned directly or closely beneath something. TOMENTUM A covering composed of short, thickly matted, woolly hairs. TROPHOPHORE A vegetative leaf or frond, one that does not have reproductive structures attached. TUBERCLE A small, rounded swelling. TURION A small, scaly bud‐like offset on an underground stem. VELUTINUS (VELUTINOUS) Having a velvety texture. VERTICILLATE Having whorls. VILLOUS With long and soft, un‐matted, hairs, "long‐hairy". VISCOUS (VISCID) Glutinous, greasy, or sticky. References E‐flora BC, 2011, E‐Flora BC Glossary of Botanical Terms. In: Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2010. E‐Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [15 June 2011] Botany.com, 2010, Plant & Flower Dictionary. In: Botany.com: Plant Encyclopedia to Identify Plants, Flowers, Trees & More. [http://www.botany.com/index.16.htm]. Demand Media. [15 June 2011] Charters, Michael, 2011, California Plant Names: Latin and Greek Meanings and Derivations [http://www.calflora.net/botanicalnames/botanicalterms.html]. [15 June 2011]