November-December 2008 Sego Lily Newsletter, Utah Native Plant Society

8/9/2019 November-December 2008 Sego Lily Newsletter, Utah Native Plant Society

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Sego Lily November 2008 31 (6)

November 2008 Volume 31 Number 6Special 30th Anniversary Issue

In this issue:

UNPS News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Chapter News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Bulletin Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3The Origin of the Utah Native Plant

Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4UNPS History: The Last 15 Years . . . . . . . 6Excerpt: Bearclaw Poppy Bulletin . . . . . . 7

Thirty Years of theSego Lily . . . . . . . . . . . 8Selected Titles from theSego LilyArchives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Excerpt: Naturally Native: Bear-berry,Kinnikinnick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Excerpt: Native Bees: the Other NativePlant Enthusiasts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Excerpt: Gardening with Utah Natives: ABeginners Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Copyright 2008 Utah Native Plant Society. All Rights Reserved.

Sego Lily (Calochortus nuttallii)is the state flower of Utah and has

been the mascot of the Utah NativePlant Society since 1982. KayeThorne rendered this illustration forthe Utahs Colorful Natives coloringbook produced in 1981 by UNPS. Thedrawing was later used for the SegoLilymasthead (above). Kaye Thornewas the first editor of the Utah Na-tive Plant Society Newsletter (1978-1980) and was active in Utah bot-any for decades. She passed away in

April 2004.


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Utah Native Plant Society

Officers

Co-Presidents: Bill Gray (Salt Lake Co)and Bill King (Salt Lake Co)Treasurer: Charlene Homan (Salt Lake

Co)Secretary: Mindy Wheeler (Summit

Co)Board Chair: Larry Meyer (Salt Lake

Co)

UNPS Board: Walter Fertig (Kane Co),Robert Fitts (Utah Co), Susan Fitts(Utah Co), Marie Griffiths (Salt LakeCo), Ty Harrison (Salt Lake Co), CelesteKennard (Utah Co), Kipp Lee (Salt LakeCo), Margaret Malm (Washington Co),

Therese Meyer (Salt Lake Co), JeffMitchell (Utah Co), Leila Shultz (CacheCo), Maria Ulloa (Sevier Co), Dave Wal-lace (Cache Co), Maggie Wolf (Salt LakeCo), Loreen Woolstenhulme (Utah Co).

CommitteesCommunications: Larry MeyerConservation: Bill King and Tony

Frates

Education: Ty HarrisonHorticulture: Maggie WolfInvasive Weeds: Susan (Garvin) FittsRare Plants: Walter Fertig

Chapters and Chapter PresidentsCache: Steve RippleEscalante (Garfield Co): Allysia AngusFremont (Richfield area): Ron Parsons

Manzanita (Kane Co): Walter FertigMountain (Summit Co): MindyWheeler

Price (Carbon Co): Mike HubbardSalt Lake: Kipp LeeSouthern (Washington Co): Margaret

MalmUtah Valley (Utah Co): Celeste Ken-

nard

Website: For late-breaking news, theUNPS store, the Sego Lily archives,Chapter events, links to other websites(including sources of native plants andthe digital Utah Rare Plant Field

Guide), and more, go to unps.org.Many thanks to Xmission forsponsoring our website.

For more information on UNPS:Contact Bill King (582-0432) or SusanFitts (356-5108), or write to UNPS, POBox 520041, Salt Lake City, UT, 84152-0041 or email [email protected]

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

tive talk on the early years ofUNPS at the annual Utah Rare

Plant Conference and was pre-sented with the Societys Lifetime

Achievement Award for his out-standing work (see May issue of

Sego Lily or http://www. unps.org/PAGES/news#atwood).

In recent years we have cycledamong the three population cen-ters of Utah Valley, Salt Lake, andCache Valley, and it is the SaltLake Chapters turn to host the2008 meeting. This being our30th anniversary, we hope that as

many people as possible will makea special effort to attend: we willdo our best to arrange home stayaccommodations for anyone trav-eling from out of the area.

Our venue is the SugarhouseGarden Center, 1602 East 2100South, Salt Lake City which hasgood meeting rooms and a largekitchen for heating and preparingfood. Arrive any time from 5:30PM to socialize and help get thingsset up. We expect to start eating

Sego Lily Editor: Walter Fertig([email protected]). The deadline forthe January 2009Sego Lily is 15 De-cember 2008.

Copyright 2008 Utah Native PlantSociety. All Rights Reserved

TheSego Lily is a publication of the

Utah Native Plant Society, a 501(c)(3)not-for-profit organization dedicatedto conserving and promoting steward-ship of our native plants. Use of con-tent material is encouraged but re-quires permission (except where ex-empted by statute) and must be cor-rectly credited and cited. Articles,photographs and illustrations submit-ted to us remain the property of thesubmitting individuals or organiza-tions. Submit permission requests [email protected]. We encourage read-ers to submit articles for potentialpublication. By submitting an article,

an implicit license is granted to printthe article in the newsletter or otherUNPS publications for reprint withoutpermission (in print and electronicmedia). When submitting an article,please indicate whether it has beenpreviously published or submitted forconsideration to other publications.

UNPS News

UNPS Annual Members Meet-ing, Friday, November 7,2008: Each year UNPS holds anannual members meeting whichhas traditionally included threemain elements: a New World Pot-luck lunch or supper featuringfoods native to the Americas(classics include turkey, potatoes,tomatoes, yams, blueberries); afeatured speaker who has some-thing important to say about na-

tive plants and UNPS; a brief busi-ness meeting at which the mem-bers elect a Board of Directors forthe following year.

Our speaker for this special oc-casion will be Dr. Duane Atwood.Duane was one of the foundingmembers of UNPS and its firstPresident. Over the years he hasmade many contributions to ourunderstanding of Utahs plantsand worked on their behalf. Ear-lier this year he gave a retrospec-

between 6:15 and 6:30.To reach Sugarhouse Park from

north or south, take the eastboundI-80 exit from I-15, and exit againat 1300 East (about 2 miles). Pro-ceed north by Sugarhouse Park,turn right on 2100 South. TheGarden Center is located in theextreme northeast corner of thepark with its own parking lot (notaccessible from Sugarhouse Park).For more details or questions,please email or call Bill Gray([email protected], 801-532-3486). -Dave Wallace

Chapter News

Escalante (Garfield Co.): TheEscalante Chapter has been busythrough the summer and fall tend-ing Escalantes Main Street land-scaping and having a Native Planttable at the annual Escalante Can-

yons Art Festival. The Octobermeeting featured a lively presenta-tion from Theresa Overfield dis-


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cussing a wide array of options torecycle using ones garden. OurNovember meeting is scheduledfor November 11 (speaker TBA).The annual Holiday meeting isscheduled for December 9 and will

be hosted by Allysia Angus.-Allysia Angus

Fremont (Richfield Area):This has been a busy summer forthe Fremont Chapter. We havefocused on establishing a nativeplant garden at Sam Stowe Camp-ground in the Fremont IndianState Park. The garden site isspectacular with red cliffs, pockedand sculpted into a myriad ofimaginative shapes, including sev-eral small arches. Along the wallsto the west of the garden are In-dian petroglyphs. To introduce

the public to this new facilitywe organized "Celebrate the Wild"on October 4. We had guidedtours of the garden, children'scrafts and activities, native plantsale, presentations on using cat-tails for food and utility, land-scaping and design, and do'sand don'ts of seed collecting. Weoffered door prizes donated bylocal businesses and prepared de-licious food to sell. Despite thecold weather and rain during theday, we had a few visitors and

were able to share our vision forxeriscaping. Susan Meyer pro-

vided many beautiful planttags. During one of the breaks inthe rain, Maria Ulloa guided mem-

bers and visitors on a short hikeup Sam Stowe Canyon to observethe many native varieties thatgrace the canyon along thecreek. Particularly interesting wasthe rare, robustAngelica wheeleri.The garden at Sam Stowe, al-though just started this Spring, is

thriving--especially the severalvarieties ofPenstemon. We haveapplied for Heritage GardenStatus. We invite UNPS membersacross the State to stop by for a

visit. Any visitors must check in atthe Park Headquarters before go-ing to the Campground area.

Janet Nielson

Manzanita (Kane Co.): On No-vember 3, Dennis Bramble of the

March 16-20, 2009: SouthwestRare Plant Conference, SaltLake City, UT. The Utah NativePlant Society will be hosting thenext Southwest Rare Plant Confer-ence (which will incorporate theannual Utah Rare Plant TaskForce Conference). The event enti-tled Changing Landscapes in the

Southwestwill be held in SaltLake City, Utah on the Universityof Utah campus from March 16through 20, 2009. Topics will in-clude rare plant biology and bio-geography (in the Southwest re-gion as well as Utah), plant com-munity and ecological restoration,climate change issues and others.Format will include posters, oralpresentations, and special topic

breakout sessions.Dr. Noel Holmgren of the New

York Botanical Garden and co-author of the Intermountain Florawill be the conference keynotespeaker. His topic will be PlantGeography of the IntermountainRegion and Connections with theSouthwest.

UNPS is currently solicitingabstracts for oral or poster presen-tations for the conference. Tosubmit an abstract, register, orlearn more about the conference,go to the unps.org and follow thelinks.

Please consider attending theconference, submitting an ab-stract, or passing word along tofriends, students, and colleagues.

Winter Botany Walk. The In-termountain Herbarium is pleasedto announce a winter botany walkalong the Logan River in beautifulLogan Canyon to look at woodyplants and vines in their winterglory and discuss their identifyingfeatures without leaves. The event

will be on Saturday November 8 at10:00 AM. Meet at the parking lotfor the Stokes Nature Center inLogan Canyon. We will begin our

walk there prior to crossing thehighway to the river trail. In caseof severe inclement weather please

watch for change of day/time atthe herbarium's website (http://herbarium.usu.edu/). -Michael

Piep

University of Utah will be speakingto our chapter on his research onunusual symbiotic relationships

between plants and insects insouthern Utah. The meeting will

be held at 7PM in the conferenceroom of the Grand Staircase-Escalante Visitor Center in historicdowntown Kanab. In December,

our meeting will be a reprise ofbotanical movie night, with a dou-ble feature of an educational videoand a campy sci-fi flick. - W. Fer-tig

Southern (Washington Co):Rick Heflebower of Utah StateUniversity Extension, will discusstree care as it relates to planting,pruning, mulching, etc. at our No-

vember 3rd meeting at Spring-dales Community Center. -Bar-

bara FarnsworthUtah County: The chapter isplanning a meeting on January 16,6:30 pm. The meeting will be heldat the Monte L. Bean Museum, inone of their meeting rooms. Wehope to have a talk by Ron Kass,

who recently took a trip to MountKilimanjaro. He says the talk willcenter on the effects of climatechange. We will also have electionof officers.

Celeste Kennard is retiring as

president, so we will need to electa new president and vice presidentand find folks willing to help witharranging programs and with pub-licity. Please contact Celeste [email protected] [email protected] (SusanGarvin Fitts) if you have ideas forprograms, would be willing to help

with publicity or preside over ourchapter, or would like to help leada field trip or help in any other

way. Susan Fitts

Bulletin Board

Lifetime Member Update: MarySohn and Kay Senzee who in-creased our lifetime membershiproster to 32 in October 2008thank you! Over 25 of our lifetimememberships have occurred in thepast six years and they have been asource of much appreciated sup-port.Tony Frates


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The Origin of the Utah Native Plant SocietyBy Dick Hildreth

As the plane from San Jose, Cali-fornia, settled down over the GreatSalt Lake, my head was filled withmany questions, but most of all theuncertainty of this whole trip. It

began early in 1977 with a phone callfrom Dr. John M. Tucker, my formermajor professor and director of the

Arboretum at the University of Cali-fornia, Davis. (John passed awayJuly 5, 2008 at the age of 92.) Heapologized for calling so late in theprocess, but he urged me to go checkout a new position as director of theState Arboretum of Utah, at the Uni-

versity of Utah. He had recom-mended me for the position withouttelling me and now the selection

committee was down to three candi-dates. It turns out that Dr. Walter P.Cottam, emeritus from the BiologyDepartment, was a long-time friend

who shared a mutual interest withDr. Tucker in the genus Quercus, theoaks. In 1962 the Arboretum at UCDavis established a 20 acre plotdedicated to an oak collection andnamed for the founder of the cam-pus, Peter J. Shields. As superinten-dent of cultivations in the Arbore-tum I was responsible for propagat-ing and planting the collection. In2007 the grove was included in theNorth American Plant CollectionsConsortium for international teach-ing and research. In 1964 Dr. Cot-tam brought some seedlings of hisnew artificial hybrids between Quer-cus macrocarpa and Q. gambelii,

which are still growing in ShieldsGrove.

The first question of course wasabout the new position at the Uni-

versity of Utah. Meeting me at theairport was someone I had never

met. Mike Alder was a member ofthe State Arboretum Advisory Board(Cottam was chairman) and a mem-

ber of the interview committee. Hewas a tall, intense young man whohad recently started a new company:NPI (Native Plants Incorporated).From the airport we drove to hisresearch and production facilities,including a house as office/lab (allrented). He showed me his first suc-cessful crop 10,000 very healthyseedlings ofMahonia

repens. There was no local marketinterested, so I suggested that he

name his own price and ship themall to California, where they soldimmediately. Mike became a goodfriend and colleague. Because ofmy interest and past experience

with oaks and managing the Arbo-retum at UC Davis I made itthrough the interview process atthe University of Utah and spent a

very happy and productive twenty-two years there, including the re-alization of a dream the found-ing of Red Butte Garden and Arbo-

retum. NPI was the only sourcefor Utah native plants for land-scape use for some years.

Question two was whether ornot there was a native plant dis-play garden. The answer: notreally, although NPI had some re-search demonstration plots at thenew location for the nursery inSandy and some plantings at localschools. In later years, thanks tothe efforts of Dr. Susan Meyer andmany UNPS volunteers, successful

Above: Mahonia repens by KayeThorne from a January 1982 issue

of the Sego Lily.

seed germination workshops wereconducted in various locations alongthe Wasatch Front. The plants pro-duced were incorporated into nu-merous collaborative demonstrationgardens with schools, communities,and agencies. Next to the ongoing

work with Utahs rare and endan-gered plant species, this horticul-tural endeavor has generated con-

siderable interest in our nativeplants and brought many new mem-bers into our fold.

The third question in my mindwas whether there was an active na-tive plant society. The answer wasno, but people were generally inter-ested. I had just helped start theSanta Clara Valley Chapter of theCalifornia Native Plant Society in1976 and the organizational booklet

we produced was a good model tofollow. There was a large local


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vited to the opening exploratorymeeting. Botanists from UU, BYU,USU, the forest service, BLM,natural history museums, naturecenters, landscape architects, cityparks people and students wereincluded. As the keynote speaker Iinvited Lt. Governor David S. Mon-son (Governor Matheson was notavailable).

As the hour drew near for themeeting to start, we all had the jit-

ters wondering if anyone wouldshow up. If not there were a lot ofrefreshments to consume. Little bylittle the seats filled and groupscongregated in discussion. Thefinal tally was 125! My memory ofdetails is dim now, but the pro-gram proceeded something likethis: I made the initial welcomeand explained why we were gath-ered. Following introductions, theLt. Gov. made a presentation

welcoming us and encouraging theformation of the UNPS.

Dr. Stan Welsh outlined what aUNPS should encompass (this talk

was expanded and published in alater issue of theSego Lily, the

journal of the UNPS). Dr. DuaneAtwood was appointed/elected asthe first president and a number of

others as the first board of direc-tors. I dont know if a copy of theprogram still exists, or the text ofany presentations. There may be alist of attendees in some membersfiles. All in all the meeting was asuccess and the UNPS waslaunched.

It has been particularly gratify-ing to me to see the growth in thesociety, the participation, pro-grams, research and education,and rare and endangered species

work. Of course none of it wouldbe possible without the dedicationof many volunteers. Life membersrepresent a serious commitment.So many people have stepped in

when help was needed. Now withnine chapters statewide even morepeople will become aware of the

beauty of our native plants, par-ticipate in workshops, and learnabout propagation, planting, andlandscape use of natives. Others

will be interested in using art andphoto skills to capture a scene or a

close-up of a specific flower; somemay be interested in using certainnatives in cooking, as medicine, orfor perfume. Volunteers are al-

ways needed to help eradicate nox-ious weeds from crowding out ournatives. Whatever your interest,come join us and share your joy ofnative plants.

I look forward to joining mem-bers and guests as we celebrate the30th anniversary of the Utah Na-tive Plant Society on Nov. 7, 2008,

at the Sugar House Park gardencenter in Salt Lake City. This isthe traditional new world pot-luck feast for our Annual Mem-

bers Meeting. Dr. Duane Atwood,the first UNPS president and re-cent recipient of a Lifetime

Achievement Award from the soci-ety, will be the keynote speaker.Hopefully Duane can fill in thegaps in my memory of our firstmeeting in 1978!

group called the Utah Nature StudySociety started by Dr. Stanley Mu-laik and his wife Dottie. I was con-cerned that a new native plant group

would duplicate or compete withthem. The Mulaiks assured me thegoals were quite different and they

would welcome a new native plantsociety.

Now we (a 2-person staff at theState Arboretum and I) set out toorganize the UTAH NATIVE PLANT

SOCIETY. The first reality check forme was that I was the new kid on theblock and besides: what did I knowabout Utah native plants? So Imade a trip to Provo and BYU to askDr. Stanley L. Welsh if he would co-found the UNPS with me. The nextstep was to plan an organizationalmeeting at the University of Utah inSeptember of 1978. An auditorium

with 300 seats was reserved. Peo-ple from around the state were in-

Above: Dick Hildreth (right) receiving the UNPS Lifetime AchievementAward from UNPS President Bill King, March 3, 2005 at Red Butte Gar-den. Photo by Tony Frates.


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By Bill King, UNPS co-President

A dozen members of the UNPSBoard met on the Utah State Univer-sity campus in Logan for a 5 hourretreat on August 2nd of this year.

We reviewed UNPSs mission state-

ment, goals, thirty year history, andour hopes for the future. Thanks goout to Dave Wallace and Leila Shultzfor making the arrangements. I amsure that everyone in attendancelearned something about our historythat they didnt know before. Myown involvement with UNPS onlygoes back about half way (15 years),

when Dick Hildreth recruited me.In this article I would like to share

with you some of the high pointsand low points of the last 15 years.

UNPS has always been centeredin Northern Utah with most earlyboard meetings being held in SaltLake. In recent years the board hasfelt it important to move boardmeetings and the Annual Meetingaround, holding meetings in Logan,Provo, Ogden, Park City as well asSalt Lake. The board also tries tohave one meeting in Southern Utahevery year. The latest innovation ishaving board members participate

by telephone conference call.The UNPS charter allowed for

chapters from the very start. Thenumber of chapters has waxed and

waned over the years, the Logan andProvo chapters being the strongest.Recently, several new chapters insouthern Utah have shown amazingenthusiasm. Until the last several

years, the Salt Lake Chapter wasessentially an arm of the state board,

which was too busy with other mat-ters. Kip Lee and Bill Gray havegiven the Salt Lake Chapter inde-pendence, new emphasis, and great

programs.From the very beginning of

UNPS, priority was given to savingUtahs rare plants. The BearclawPoppy,Arctomecon humilis, waslisted as Endangered on November6, 1979. In March of 1983, TonyFrates and others launched a cam-paign to save the Bearclaw Poppy.However, the rapid growth of St.George (one of the fastest growingcities in the US in the last 15 years)

UNPS History, the Last 15 Years

has overwhelmed our best effortsand without question the BearclawPoppy is closer to extinction todaythan when we began our efforts.

From 1979 until 1988, UNPSsponsored rare plant meetings of

botanists, agency personnel andother informed citizens. Thisfunction was taken over by the USFish and Wildlife Service for atime, but then fell apart. UNPS, incooperation with Red Butte Gar-den, reactivated these annualmeetings in the late 1990s. Theseget-togethers of 30 to 50 of thestates most knowledgeable plant

Above: Dwarf Bearclaw Poppy(Arctomecon humilis), probablyUtahs most highly threatened na-tive plant species, is known only

from gypsiferous soils in the imme-diate vicinity of St. George in SWUtah. Illustration by Kaye Thorne,originally from the Utahs ColorfulNatives coloring book, printed byUNPS in 1981.

enthusiasts have become a greatsource of information and commu-nication about rare plants.


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In an effort to encourage the useof native plants and save water inour gardens, Susan Meyer andSusan Garvin developed the UtahHeritage Garden Program. The firstdemonstration garden was built at

Wasatch Elementary School inProvo in 1998. At its peak, some 15gardens were set up all over the

state. While a number of the gar-dens have petered out for lack ofstrong local sponsorship, these gar-dens helped set off a native garden-ing revolution that continues today.One problem encountered was nothaving a good supply of Utah nativeplants available to the public. Na-tive plant propagation workshops

were held all over the state. Subse-quently Susan Meyer and othershelped start the Intermountain Na-tive Plant Growers Association to

ensure an adequate supply.I remember well the night that Ireceived a call from one Tony Frates,not quite 10 years ago, saying thathe used to be on the board and ac-tive in UNPS and that he would nowlike to donate some 6-8 hours a

week. Wow, I thought, this is won-derful; little did I know how won-derful. Since that night, Tony has

worked tirelessly developing a greatUNPS web site for us, keeping itfresh and much more. For years,UNPS members had talked about

updating the blue rare plant book*.Tony not only spearheaded the pro-

ject, but put it on the web. Tony hasalso been instrumental in buildingalliances with other organizationssuch as the Center for Native Eco-system and The Nature Conser-

vancy.Non-native weeds present a big

challenge to our local flora. Weedwarriors Susan Garvin and ThereseMeyer have worked diligently to in-crease awareness and action to stop

the invasion of the likes of YellowStar-thistle and Donkey Spurge.One of the most controversial acts

of the Clinton Administration was todesignate the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in1996. A team of botanists and biolo-gists was brought in by the BLM tosurvey the new monument and as-sess range conditions. Among them

*a.k.a. The hard copy version of theUtah Rare Plant Field Guide.

them were Walt Fertig and his wifeLaura. After the massive survey

was completed, the Fertigs re-mained in Kanab, much to our

benefit. Several years ago, Walttook over as the editor of ournewsletter, theSego Lily. He hasrevamped, enlarged, and improvedits content.

Perhaps the lowest point in thelast 15 years was when the boardrealized that our original charter,

which was incorporated December

19, 1978, was allowed to expire onDecember 31, 1996. UNPS wasreincorporated September 13,1999, thanks largely to the effortsof Therese and Larry Meyer.

There have been many othermembers that have helped out inthe last 15 years that I have failedto write about. But it is fair to say

that UNPS would not continue topersist and grow if it were not forthe contributions of all of its won-derful members. Thanks to all.

Above: Dwarf Bearclaw Poppy photo by W. Fertig. This Endangered planthas received significant attention from UNPS since the 1980s. UNPS pro-duced an educational pamphlet and film strip for school children, funded

research on population demographics and life history by BYU graduatestudent Deanna Nelson, and helped promote and fund efforts by The Na-ture Conservancy to preserve habitat at White Dome outside St. George.

Excerpt: Bearclaw Poppy Bulletin

By David Wallace, June 1987

Several people have questioned the wisdom of attracting attention toArc-tomecon humilis. We do not do this for our other endangered plants andthey fear that it may actually precipitate destructive acts. This is a good timeto explain the UNPS policy on this issue:

Arctomecon humilis, the Bearclaw Poppy, is an example of a plant wellalong the path to extinction. This is not due to natural circumstances. It ismans activities that are doing the damage. Off-road vehicles are grinding itinto oblivion in some locations, but the real threat is from development.Freeway construction, the state roadshed and the expansion of Bloomingtonhave destroyed far more plants than motorcyclists have.

This plant will escape extinction only if the local people want it to besaved, but this cant happen until they learn about it. Problems of motorcy-cles and incidental vandalism will be resolved when the people learn to

value the poppy and its continued existence.Utah Native Plant Society activities are directed toward this goal, which

means promoting news coverage, distributing brochures, developing schooleducation programs, and encouraging involvement by local residents.


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By Walter Fertig

Starting a new non-profit or pub-lic interest organization typicallyfollows a five-step process: identify-ing a need, convening a core groupof organizers, formulating by-laws,attracting members or participantsto an inaugural event, and ulti-

mately sending everyone a newslet-ter. Elsewhere in this issue, DickHildreth has summarized the firstfour steps of the process as they ap-plied to the founding of the UtahNative Plant Society in 1978. Mytask is to elaborate on the fifth stepand chronicle the history of the Soci-etys flagship publication, theSego

Lily, from its inception to the cur-rent day. This presents somethingof a challenge as, unlike Dick Hil-dreth, I was not present to witnessthe early events firsthand.* Fortu-nately, my work has been greatlyassisted through the efforts of BillGray and other UNPS packrats whohave preserved a nearly completearchive of past newsletters (nowconveniently scanned and preservedon cd-rom).

So the following is a rough chro-nology of significant events from thepast three decades, interspersed

with excerpts and illustrationsgleaned from the archives:

1978-1981 Utah Native PlantSociety Newsletter

Volume 1 Number 1 of the UtahNative Plant Society Newsletterappeared in November 1978. Edited

by Kaye Thorne, the initial issue in-cluded a brief summary of the Soci-etys first meeting, a list of board

*truth be told, I was a high school fresh-man in Granby, Connecticut in the fall of1978.

Top: First masthead of the UtahNative Plant Society Newsletter in1978. The four-merous flowerwith only four obvious stamensand notched petals presents achallenge for identification. Mostlikely, it is just a generic flowerand not meant to represent anactual Utah plant species.

members, some announcements ofupcoming events, a one-page syn-opsis of two Utah endemics justlisted as Threatened or Endan-gered under the US EndangeredSpecies Act (Astragalus perianusandPhacelia argillacea), and amembership flyer. In all, the issueconsisted of three pages of typedand handwritten copy. It remains,to this day, the shortest issue everproduced.

The masthead of the first twoissues featured a mystery flower

with four petals and four stamens(perhaps representing Camissoniaexilis, a rare Colorado Plateau en-demic orDraba verna, an uncom-mon weed). In March 1979, editorThorne announced a contest toselect a proper logo for the news-letter and provided line drawingsof the four finalists: MaguiresPrimrose (Primula maguirei),Cave Primrose (Primula specui-

cola), Utah Penstemon(Penstemon utahensis), and DwarfBearclaw Poppy (Arctomecon hu-milis). Surprisingly, Sego lily(Calochortus nuttallii) was notamong the finalists chosen at aUNPS membership meeting! UtahPenstemon was selected the win-ner, and an illustration done in thestyle of a woodcut from a Medievalherbal graced the cover of the Sep-tember 1979 issue. Two other ver-sions ofPenstemon utahensis

appeared on the masthead untilThornes original drawing becamethe official logo in October 1980.

The March 1979 issue featuredthe text of Dr. Stanley Welshs ad-dress to the first meeting of UNPS inSeptember 1978. Welsh provided anhistorical overview of Utah botanyand discussed some potential goals

and objectives for the fledgling soci-ety. Reasons for the existence ofsuch a society wrote Welsh mustrevolve around its capacity to pro-

vide information, to serve as asounding board, to provide reason,and to stimulate and encourage theformulation of knowledge. We canprovide an arena for interaction

where private, public, federal andinstitutional professionals and inter-ested informed amateurs, can meetto arrive at understanding. Welshalso recommended that UNPS en-

courage further botanical explora-tion of the state, promote educationon perpetuation of native plant spe-cies and communities in nature andunder cultivation, compile lists andlife history data on rare and endan-gered plant species, and work withthe legislature to protect endangeredplants on state lands. We are inter-ested in preservation and under-standing Welsh concluded notmerely for the sake of those objec-tives, but to allow for a fuller appre-

ciation of life and of living things asappurtenances to that fitful feverwhich marks the existence of each ofus.

Over the next few years UNPSbegan moving in the direction rec-ommended by Welsh. New chapters

were established in Salt Lake City inAugust 1979, Northern Utah (CacheCounty) in March 1980, and CedarCity in April 1980 (the latter grouplasted only a few months). Individ-ual chapters sponsored meetings

Thirty Years of theSego Lily


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Top, above and below: Three earlymastheads from 1979-1980 featur-

ing UNPSs first official mascot, theUtah Penstemon (Penstemon uta-hensis). The artists were not attrib-uted.

Selected Titles from the SegoLily Archives

1978Astragalus perianus andPhacelia ar-

gillacea

1979Goals and Objectives of the Utah Native

Plant SocietySunflowers

1980Utah Threatened and Endangered

PlantsUS Forest Service Research NaturalArea Program

Native Pharmacopoeia of the EasternGreat Basin

Vegetation of the Henry Mountains

1981On a Utah Herbarium IndexRecommendations for Rare Plant Des-

ignationMormon Lilies (by John Muir)Wildflower Photography Chapter 1Mountain Lover (Paxistima)Utah Rare Plants 1976 to 1982Wildflower Photography The 2nd Most

Important Piece of EquipmentLandscaping NaturallyNaturally Native Curlleaf Mountain

MahoganyNo Threatened or Endangered Plants in

the Henry Mountain Coal Study Area?Noteworthy 1981 Utah Plant CollectionsNaturally Native Bearberry, Kinni-

kinnick

Wildflower Photography Getting theSubject to Cooperate & Coping withthe Elements

1982Naturally Native Creeping Oregon

GrapeWildflower Photography Getting

StartedReport on Utah Rare/Threatened/

Endangered Plant ConferenceDiscovering the Utah Natives - Ephraim

CanyonNaturally Native Sulphur FlowerWildflower Watch

From the Mulch PileWildflower Photography Human Vi-

sion vs Camera VisionEarly Spring Flowers of the Uinta BasinNaturally Native Fringed SageDiscovering the Utah Natives Green

Canyon, Cache ValleyDiscovering the Utah Natives Kai-

parowits Plateau Smokey MountainDiscovering the Utah Natives Deep

Creek MountainsDiscovering the Utah Natives South

Slope of the Uinta Mountains

and local events, including guestlectures, nature hikes, and seed col-

lecting forays. UNPS sponsored itsfirst statewide field trip with anearly spring 1980 expedition to theCoral Pink Sand Dunes north ofKanab. Beginning in January 1980,the Rare Plant Committee of UNPSpublished its first list of 143 criti-cally endangered, endangered,threatened, and sensitive plants ofUtah. By March of 1980, member-ship in the Society had grown to 72members, all of whom were keptinformed of UNPS activities throughthe newsletter.

In the early years, the Utah Na-tive Plant Society Newsletterap-peared on an irregular and infre-quent schedule. Just a single issue

was published in 1978, followed bytwo in 1979, and four in 1980. Find-ing sufficient content to fill an issue

was a common problem that wouldcontinue to plague future editors for

years. Articles pertaining to endan-gered species dominated the earlyissues, several of which were pulledfrom the newsletters of other native

plant societies. Original articles byUNPS stalwarts and family also ap-peared, including a description ofUS Forest Service Research Natural

Areas by UNPS President DuaneAtwood, Native pharmacopeia ofthe eastern Great Basin by JanetHugie Smith (Kaye Thornes sister),and Vegetation of the Henry Moun-tains by Elizabeth Neese.


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Selected Titles from the SegoLily Archives (contd)

Naturally Native Rose pussytoesWildflower Photography Get Ready,

Get Set GoDiscovering the Utah Natives North

Slope of the Uinta MountainsWildflower Photography Getting the

BluesNaturally Native Autumn in Utah

1983Landscaping with NativesWildflower Photography with Elec-

tronic FlashThe Utah Flora ProjectStalking the Wild MushroomDesigning Your Landscaping

1984Utah Endangered Species StudiesLandscaping with ColorReport of the Annual T/E MeetingMarsh Marigolds Light Utahs Alpine

MeadowsLandscape DesignNuclear Waste Dump for Utah?

1985Wildflower WatchdogsSeeds for ThoughtAnnual Utah T/E Plant WorkshopRare Rewards for Rare NativesWhen Utahs Cacti Bloom: A Lone

MammillariaUtah Natives from SeedThe Hedgehogs are Blooming, the

Hedgehogs are Blooming

Bearclaws and Motorcycles a First-hand LookThe New Arboretum at Red ButteAutumn Leaf WatchNative Plant Landscaping and the

Central Utah ProjectBlooming HighwaysPropagation from Wild Seed

1986Wasatch WildflowersWinter BotanyUNPS Fifth Annual Threatened and

Endangered Plants MeetingUtah Cactus

Bearclaw Poppy RevisitedFloristic Regions of UtahReally? Orchids in Utah?Field Trip Report Albion Basin

1987Grasses They Deserve More RespectPussytoes, Prairie Smoke and Other

Successful GroundcoversBearclaw Poppy BulletinA Foragers NoteWhen is a Plant a Native?

Above: Kaye Thornes image ofUtah penstemon was the newslet-ters official masthead from October1980-June 1982, including a 5 issue

period in which it appeared withthe new title Sego Lily.

newsletter contest to remedy thissituation. Helen Shields of Salt LakeCity provided the winning name toclaim first prize (a free membershipand a wildflower calendar). Shieldsnominated the Sego Lily becausenot only is the sego lily one of themost beautiful of flowers, but ourstate flower, and becoming a rareand endangered plant particularlyaround Salt Lake City.* Ironically,the first five issues of the newSego

Lily continued to sport the old UtahPenstemon logo. Kaye Thornes

stylized version ofCalochortusserved as the new logo starting withthe June/July 1982 issue.

Barbara Halliday became thethird editor of the newsletter in 1982and assumed the ambitious task ofproducing 10 issues. Her work wasmade easier by the continued contri-

butions of regular columnists(Naturally Native, Wildflower Pho-tography, and The Mulch Pile) andother ongoing features (annual revi-sions of the UNPS state rare plant

list, chapter updates, and field tripreports). Several new series werealso introduced, includingWildflower Watch describing what

was in bloom at various locationsacross the state, Discovering UtahNatives (continued on page 12)

*In truth, Calochortus nuttalliiwas andstill is common throughout much ofUtah, though it has diminished in theSalt Lake Valley as a consequence ofgrowth and development.

In 1981 Neese took over thereins of editorship and produced 6issues. The problem of generatingoriginal articles remained, necessi-tating the publication of excerptsfrom other sources (such as anarticle on the MX missile systemfrom theSalt Lake Tribune and

Mormon lilies from John MuirsbookSteep Trails). This situationwas alleviated, however, when thestate board organized several

working committees with diligentchairs willing to write for thenewsletter. Stan Welsh and theRare Plant Committee contributeda revised list of endangered plantsof the state for the February issue.The Photography CommitteesPam Poulson began an informativeseries on wildflower photography

in October. Dick Hildreth and theHorticulture Committee contrib-uted several articles on Utah na-tive plants and their cultivation inthe Naturally Native series(accompanied by wonderful linedrawings by Kaye Thorne). In De-cember, Tony Frates made his firstappearance in the newsletter withan article challenging the BLMsrosy assessment of proposed coalleasing in the Henry Mountains.Tonys writings would evolve into amonthly column called The

Mulch Pile which alerted readersduring the 1980s about environ-mental issues affecting Utah nativeplants.

1982-1986 Birth of theSegoLily

For its first four years of exis-tence, UNPSs flagship publication

was simply the Utah Native PlantSociety Newsletter. In late 1981,the society sponsored a name the


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1988Penstemon x jonesiiin Zion National

ParkSpring in Zion National ParkIntegrated Conservation Strategies for

Endangered PlantsEndangered Plant Conservation: Man-

aging for Diversity

1989Plant, Once Thought Extinct, FoundAlive and Well in Utah

Winter TwigsIn Memorium Dr. Walter CottamCottam Hybrid Oak GroveLong Awaited Atlas off the PressUtah Heritage Program EstablishedSnow FlowersNo Hunting, No Milpa: A Report from

BelizeIn Search of Big TreesWhat is This Thing Called Weed?Our Versatile WeedsTesting for GerminationHave You Seen This Violet?Dwarf Bearclaw Poppy Research Up-

dateBur Buttercup A Weedy ImmigrantSensitive Plants Need Sensitive PeoplePreserve Flowers with MicrowaveInvaders at Home on the RangeCalypso PollinationBeetle Kill in the Lodgepole PineAlien Plants Drain Western WatersRepelling Green Invaders: NoxiousWeeds in Utah

Invading Weeds of Utah 1986 SurveyUpdateRapid Evolution in Western ShrubsAspen: More Than Meets the EyeDyers Woad From Cultivated to

CursedLending a Hand to the Autumn Butter-

cupLandscape Planning for WildlifeAliens:Halogeton glomeratus

1990A Look at 20th Century Grazing Prac-

ticesReturn of the Natives (Or, Off the Cow!)

Ridge Plant Proposed for EndangeredSpecies ListBotanical Latin NamesCrownvetch: A Possible Problem Weed

in UtahConsider the Lilies of the FieldXeriscaping: An Alternative to Thirsty

LandscapesThe Wiliest Wildflower in the WestTurning Insects Against WeedsA Vanishing Life ZoneMicrobiotic Crusts: Their Role in Past

and Present Ecosystems

By Dick Hildreth, December 1981

The genusArctostaphylos, commonly called Manzanita (Spanish for littleapple), has its center of speciation in California, with some 65 taxa. Growthforms include mat-like ground covers, shrubs, and trees to 30 ft or so. Allspecies are evergreen with bell-shaped flower clusters followed by red to

reddish brown fruit with a bony pit (drupe).The flora of Utah includes most commonly the shrubby Greenleaf Manza-nita (A. patula), also Bear-berry(A. uva-ursi), at higher elevations andA.

pringleiandA. pungens in southern Utah. Natural hybrids between speciesmay occur.

Propagation by seed is difficult at best. Seed passing through the alimen-tary tracts of birds or mammals will be observed to germinate readily byspring in the piles of scats. In the nursery germination may be induced byinitially soaking the seed in concentrated sulfuric acid for prolonged periodsup to 24 hours followed by thorough rinsing. Caution: this is an extremelydangerous propagation technique, best left to the professional. Subsequentstorage in moist cold (32F) conditions may hasten the process.

An easier method is to root stem cuttings, thus insuring that the desirablegenetic characteristics will be conserved in the vegetatively cloned offspring.

To make cuttings, pinch or cut off the terminal growth 3 -6 long, preferablyafter the initial spring flush of growth. Rooting at other times of the year iscertainly possible although the percentage rooting and time to root may belonger. Treatment with a powdered rooting hormone will be beneficial.Roots will form in six weeks or so, especially if held in a humid atmosphere,like an enclosed plastic bag or mist system.

Excerpt: Naturally Native: Bear-berry, Kinnikinnick

Above:Arctostaphylos patula by Kaye Thorne, from December 1981 issue ofthe Utah Native Plant Society Newsletter.


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highlighting interesting botanicalareas to explore, and reviews of re-cent books relevant to wildflowersand Utah botany. Beginning inJune, theSego Lily changed its for-mat from standard 8 1/2 x 11 todigest size (7 x 8 ). All told, theissues from 1982 contained 120pages of content, setting a record

that remains to this day.Such productivity was probablyunsustainable, and UNPS scaled

back production of theSego Lily to9 issues (averaging 8-12 pages)starting in 1983. The new year also

brought a change to the editorshipof the newsletter, with Jennifer Har-rington assuming the post. Deb Cal-lister introduced a new series ongarden design and landscaping withnative plants. Glen Halliday revivedthe wildflower photography seriesand Tony Frates kept readers up-

dated on environmental issues,ranging from grazing issues in Capi-tol Reef to new coal mining propos-als and a statewide plant productspermit bill. Stalking the WildMushrooms by Barbara Hallidayappeared in the September issue,touching off a long period of my-cologically-oriented articles and ac-tivities. Field trip announcementsremained a staple of the newsletter,

with numerous outings in 1983 de-voted to exploring lesser known cor-

ners of the state to uncover new dis-tribution records for the Utah FloraProject (described by ElizabethNeese in the July issue).

The basic format of theSego Lilyremained largely unchanged overthe next three years, despite the an-nual replacement of newsletter edi-tors. Kathryn Mutz became the fiftheditor in seven years in February1984, followed by Pam Poulson in1985 and Karen Milne in 1986.Membership in UNPS continued to

grow, rising from 129 in 1983 to165 three years later. Salt LakeCity and Cache Valley were theonly active chapters, though a newgroup in Utah Valley was beingdiscussed. The newsletter contin-ued to publicize chapter activitiesand report on field trips, publishannual revisions to the rare plantlist, and print book reviews, meet-ing summaries, wildflower watch,horticultural notes, committee re-ports, and the mulch pile. But

with few exceptions, original fea-ture articles were not beingprinted, or were being reprisedfrom other sources.

1987-1988 A New MastheadBy the late 1980s, a shakeup of

theSego Lily was overdue. TheJanuary 1987 issue had dwindledto only 4 pages, half of which con-

sisted of a calendar of events andthe mailer (Mary Barkworth savedthe issue from complete ignominy

with an illustrated article on whygrasses deserve more respect).Lisa McClanahan became the edi-tor in March 1987 and revampedthe layout, returning to an 8 x11 format and introducing themodernSego Lily masthead (stillin use) featuring two images ofCalochortus nuttalliiderived fromKaye Thornes illustration for the

1981 UNPS coloring bookUtahsColorful Natives. McClanahanalso changed the internal look ofthe newsletter, introducing a newtype face, numerous black and

white illustrations, and a two-column format. Alas, the dilemmaof acquiring sufficient content tofill nine issues* persisted, though

*Our archives contain only 3 issues for1988 (March/April, June, and Au-gust). Is anyone aware of additionalissues?

Above: the firstSego Lilymastheadfeaturing an actual Sego Lily ap-peared in June 1982 and featuredan arabesque interpretation of ourstate flower by Kaye Thorne.

UNPS President Dave Wallace con-tributed a monthly column summa-rizing UNPS business and chapterleaders pitched in with field tripsummaries. Feature articles oftencame from other sources, such asthe Denver Botanic Garden and the

Natural Areas Journal.

1989-1994 Stability, Matura-tion, and Mushrooms

January 1989 brought anotherchange to theSego Lily, as Janet

Williams became the newslettersninth editor in 12 years. Williamscontinued the formatting changes

implemented by her predecessorand the longstanding tradition ofhighlighting chapter news andevents, but greatly increased thenumber and diversity of articles andthe size of each issue (most averag-ing 12-14 pages). New columns wereintroduced, including the seriesAliens on exotic plant issues, andSensitive Plants Need SensitivePeople by Dave Gardner, whichcovered some of the same fertileground as the old mulch pile. A

number of articles were gleanedfrom other native plant newslettersor publications (particularlyUtah

Science), but many were also pro-duced by a new generation of UNPSmembers, including Ben Franklin,

Andy Boyack, and Dave Okelberry.For the first time, theSego Lily in-cluded articles derived from re-search funded in part throughgrants made by UNPS (with moneyraised from membership dues,


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1991Mountain Lover One of my Favorite

Native PlantsShrub Dieback in the Great BasinTree Death as an Ecological ProcessStarting Wildflowers in the Windowsill

in the WinterPropagation from Wild SeedDeseret MilkvetchUtahs Wilderness: A Vehicle for Plant

ConservationNative Bees: The Other Native Plant

EnthusiastsGrassy Natives for Turf & GardenJohn Charles FremontBig Tooth or Canyon Maple (Acer gran-

didentatum)Why Plant Natives?Propagation and Use ofCastilleja

linariaefoliaMeet the Utah Bulblet FernCommon Utah WillowsProposed Claron Botanical AreaPinyon Penstemon

1992Tony Grove 1991General Cultural Suggestions for Grow-

ing Native PerennialsPedicularis Pollination EcologySurvey of Grand Gulch Primitive Area

forErigeron kachinensisUtah Native Plant Society Rare Plant

MeetingPhacelia argillacea (Clay Phacelia)UNPS Saddened by Death of Prominent

Botanist Arthur CronquistEncouraging Landscapes that Thrive onLess Water

A Basic Compost PileA Tribute to the Amateur in BotanyMont E. Lewis Botanical Area (ScadValley)

Iris pariensis May be FoundGrazing and Fire Management for Na-

tive Perennial Grass Restoration inCalifornia Grasslands

Ephedra viridis CovilleOf Rivets and TortoisesTownsendia aprica Recovery PlanWildflower Seeding Techniques

Getting a Handle on Pronouncing Sci-entific NamesLearn the Gender of Your GeneraThe Age of Ecological RestorationChristmas Plant Lore

1993Spiranthes diluvialisPurple Loosestrife Invasive Exotic?Easter DaisyThe New Range War Native vs Intro-

duced SpeciesKachina Daisy

contributions, and wildflower postersales).

Fortunately for UNPS, Janet Wil-liams broke with tradition and re-mained on the job for a secondstraight year asSego Lily editor in1990. Starting that year the news-letter changed to its current bi-monthly format, providing somerelief for editors previously charged

with producing 9-10 issues per year.Pam Poulson, UNPS board chair-

man used theSego Lily to tackle thecontroversial subject of livestockgrazing with a series of articles thatran throughout the year. Other arti-cles covered an array of botanicaland horticultural topics, including

biological soil crusts (by Dr. Dirtherself, Jayne Belnap), knapweed,Bearclaw poppies, orchids, the floraof Tony Grove, color morphs ofScarlet Gilia, and xeriscaping.

In 1991, Janet Williams yielded toeditorial burnout and relinquishedthe reins of theSego Lily to Jo Stol-

hand (though Williams would returnfor stints as co-editor in 1992 and1994). Stolhand remained on the

job for five years and edited 31 is-sues of the newsletter to set a recordthat stands to this day. The editorial

baton was passed to Larry andTherese Meyer in March 1996 andthis dynamic duo continued as edi-tors until early 2001, in the processcranking out 28 issues (the secondhighest number in UNPS history).

Over the course of the 1990s, the

Sego Lily evolved from being merelyan in-house organ for disseminatingUNPS business (analogous to aChurch bake sale newsletter) intomore of a botanical magazine. Cer-tainly ink was still devoted to an-nouncements of society and chapterevents and field trips, as well as ac-tivities of interest from Red ButteGarden, the Utah Museum of Natu-ral History, and other like-mindedorganizations. But continuing in thetradition started under Janet Will-

Above: the modern Sego Lilymasthead first appeared in March1987 and is based on an illustra-tion by Kaye Thorne (with letter-ing by editor Lisa McClanahan).

iams, Stolhand and the Meyersdevoted the bulk of each issue of

Sego Lily to exploring a diversearray of botanical topics. Garden-ing with native plants remained a

focus with articles such as startingseeds in the windowsill, propagat-ing Indian paintbrush, and the

work of the Lone Peak State Nurs-ery. Stories on ecology and naturalhistory became prevalent, as thenewsletter increasingly focused on

botanical education. A large num-ber of these articles were preparedexclusively for theSego Lily bylocal writers and experts, includingBill Wagner, Cathy Jean, VinceTepedino, Susan Geer, LeilaShultz, Ben Franklin, Robert Fitts,

Marv Poulson, Mike Alder, StanWelsh, Kimball Harper, WaynePadgett, Dick Hildreth, Nick VanPelt, Lori Armstrong, Lauren All-phin Woolstenhulme, Dave Whit-tekiend, Larry England, Jim Van-derhorst, Alyce Hreha, Ty Harri-son, Brent Palmer, Doug Stone,Joel Tuhy, Duane Atwood, RichardShaw, Alan Huber, Sedonia Sipes,John Spence, and many more.

During this period UNPS con-tinued to advocate for plant con-

servation in Utah, though with alittle less zeal than in the previousdecade. TheSego Lily printed re-sults from annual rare plant meet-ings held in cooperation with theUS Forest Service and the states-Natural Heritage Program. UNPS-funded original scientific research

was published, including studieson the distribution and life historyof Kachina Daisy (Erigeron ka-chinensis), Clay phacelia (Phaceliaargillacea), (contd on page 15)


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Excerpt: Native Bees: the OtherNative Plant Enthusiasts

By Vince Tepedino and Susan Geer, March/April 1991

Eccentric humans roaming the hinterlands in scruffy hiking boots, hand-lenses and plant presses at the ready, are not alone in their enthusiasm fornative plants. Other enthusiasts are about, bootless but winged, noisily in-

vestigating flowers with organic hand-lenses and other sensory equip-ment. In place of plant presses they carry built-in pollen baskets and

nectar buckets into which they pack their booty. These other enthusiastsare our native bees, and they were active in the flower trade long before mencould point to flowers and give them name. Indeed, if native plant societiesare composed of beings that foster plant abundance and diversity, thencharter membership belongs to bees.

The six-legged soul mates of UNPSers are members of the Hymenoptera,the large insect order which also includes wasps and ants. The bees are3000+ species strong nationwide, with more than 800 species in Utahalone. Native species range in size from 2-3 mm to about 20 mm, and incolor from drab brown or black, through red, yellow, and orange, to brightmetallic blue and green. Some are slight in shape while the robust dimen-sions of others bring burly football player William Refrigerator Perry tomind.

Despite their wide range in aspect, several attributes render them imme-diately recognizable: a Dolly Parton-like wasp waist (albeit without exag-gerated anterioventral prominence); four wings, two more than flies, whichalso visit flowers with great frequency; a sting (most noticeable if you at-tempt to pat them on the back or butt); and general hairiness if bees werethe size of beavers they would be prized for their fur. They are most easilyconfused with the stinging wasps, their close but much less hairy and fre-quently less friendly relatives. Indeed [bees] are commonly (and errone-ously) blamed for the sting more freely given by wasps. But unlike theirmore pugnacious relatives, these strict vegetarians are uninterested in mealsof flesh and do not sting offensively.

Bees are enthusiasts of flowers for compelling reasons: over the last 100million or so years, their very existence has come to depend almost exclu-sively upon the nourishment offered by pollen and nectar. Not unexpectedly

then, they are admirably attuned, morphologically, physiologically and be-haviorally to manipulating flowers. But the bees that rapidly expanded intothese new niches eons ago have not remained exploiters. Instead, they have

become winged appendages of flowering plants. Indeed, it was really theplants that started the whole business, probably because attracting insects

was an effective way of trading gametes with another member of the species(i.e. reproducing sexually). After all, plants cant just retract their roots and

boogie down to the nearest gathering place for some radical socializing. Toget their genes next to some fresh (not to mention cute) genetic material,they need a go-between, a matchmaker. If flowering plants are the organic

worlds Miles Standishes, then bees are the flowering plants John Aldens.Remember that, the next time you want to swat one.


Wanted PostersArthur H. HolmgrenDrug Plant PoachingUNPS Mushroom Hunt on Boulder

MountainEffects of Ungulate Grazing on Cas-

tilleja aquariensisHow Plants Get Their Names and Why

Names ChangeThis Wreath is for the BirdsRecipes from the 1993 Mushroom Hunt

1994Key to the Common Lichens at the

Mouth of Big Cottonwood CanyonRare Plants in the UintasExploring for Utahs Big TreesUpdate of Conservation Programs at

Red Butte Gardens and ArboretumRestoring Diversity: Strategies for Rare

Plant ReintroductionsEndangered Species UpdateEek! Its Asteraceae-phobiaFrank Smiths Violet: A Newly De-

scribed Species from Logan CanyonGermination Unlocks Secrets from Dec-

ades PastGolden Spike National Historic Site:

Floristic Biodiversity SurveyThe Nature Conservancys Focus on the

Colorado Plateau

1995Ever GreenCronquists Woody Aster RediscoveredIdaho Penstemon

Lytle Preserve, Biological OasisTwo Species of Utahs Hanging GardensColorado Plateau Hanging Garden En-

demicsNearly Noteworthy CollectionsWhere Have all the Arizona Willows

Gone?Plants and Animals in High Places: TheAlpine Ecosystem of Utah

Unique Plant Communities of the UintaMountains

Moonworts: Oddities of the UnderworldUinta Mountains WetlandsEcology and Conservation of a Great

Basin Endemic Species: Giant Four-

wing SaltbushStop the Russian-Olive Invasion

1996Latex in Plant DefenseNavajo Sedge (Carex specuicola)Milkweeds in Utah: The Incest Taboo,Where They Live, And How to EatThem

The Threatened SpeciesAsclepiaswelshii

Notes on the Reproductive Ecology ofJones Cycladenia


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Aquarius paintbrush (Castillejaaquariensis), and Jones Cycladenia(Cycladenia humilis var.jonesii). In1993, UNPS began printing WantedPosters and offering a $100 cashreward for information leading tothe rediscovery of several missingrare plant species. The postershelped spark interest in searching

for the elusive Paria Iris (Iris pa-riensis), known only from the typecollection in 1976 near the PariaRiver in southern Utah. While thesesurveys proved unsuccessful, a

wanted poster for the Yellow La-dies-slipper (Cypripedium calceo-lus) did result in the discovery of anextant population.

For several years in the early tomid 1990s UNPS was gripped withmushroom fever. Several mush-room field trips were led by local

experts, including Dave Okelberry,Kent and Vera McKnight (authors ofthePeterson Field Guide to Mush-rooms), Al Tait, Brent Palmer, andothers to various mycological hot-


Plant Resins, Inside and OutAstragalus montiiRare Plants and Petroglyphs in Dino-

saur National Monument and NWColorado

Faith in the Mustards: BrassicaceaeIdentification Made Easy

Uinta Basins Reed-MustardsSelected Native Utah CactiSan Rafael Footcactus,Pediocactus

despainiiDicentra uniflora, Steershead

1997Toxic Plants: Native and Introduced

Hazards to HorsesStatus of Knowledge ofAstragalus

holmgreniorum and A. eremeticusvar. ampullarioides

The Rediscovery of Yellow LadyslipperPartial for PenstemonsRecent Work on the Arizona WillowOrigins of a Shade Garden: A Shady

PastNative Plant Sources and Seed Suppli-

ersUtah An Historic, Scenic, and Floris-

tic Wonderland

1998The Genus Castilleja in UtahWinkler Footcactus (Pediocactus win-

klerii) Receives Endowment fromNational Park Service

Why Use Botanical Names? WontCommon Ones Do?

The Utah Heritage Garden- An IdeaWhose Time Has Come?An Eye-Catching PoppyA New Rare Species ofDraba at the

Winter Olympics SiteGardening With Natives Four

OClocks (Mirabilis spp.)

1999Four-Winged SaltbushThe Endangered Species Act and

Plants: Cutting Through the Confu-sion

A Look atLinum and LinenWhy Bother? Or, the Importance of

Knowing Which Sedge it isThe Complex Web of Life UnderGround

A Rule of Thumb for Botanists: The 1 in20 Rule

Heritage Garden Program Picking UpMomentum

Red Canyon, Utah: Geology and PlantsOur Unique Flora:Pediocactus sileriNative Grasses for a Luscious LawnStirring the Gene Pool: Will Data on

Trees Lead to Forest of Understanding?

spots around the state. Specieslists for trips to Boulder Mountain,Ephraim Canyon, and Mount Nebo

were printed in theSego Lily, aswell as some favorite mushroomrecipes! The popularity of themushroom hunts (the largest at-tracted nearly 200 participants)eventually led to the formation of

the Mushroom Society of Utah (achapter of the North AmericanMycological Association) in July1994. For better or worse, theMushroom Society and UNPS

went their separate ways the fol-lowing year, thus effectively end-ing the mushroom era of UNPSand theSego Lily.

1995-2000 Renewed Interestin Native Plant Gardening

The velvet divorce of the vascu-

lar plant and fungus enthusiastscoincided with a period in the mid1990s when UNPS chapter activi-ties and events became ever lessfrequent. For the first time in the

Above: This original rendering of the mushroom Leccinum insigne by VeraMcKnight accompanied a 1992 Sego Lilyarticle and species list on themushrooms of Boulder Mountain, Utah.


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2000Discovering Relatives in the Flowering

Plant Family TreeWhat Causes Species Extinctions?Loss of Traditional Knowledge of PlantsRock Canyon Ecological Restoration

Project: Progress UpdateMolecular Phylogeny Made Ridicu-

lously SimpleNow We Are Ten: Utah Heritage Gar-

den UpdateNative Plant: Medicine and PoisonWacky Weed Warriors on the WarpathThe Botanical Parts of the Patterson

BundleArabidopsis thaliana: First Plant Ge-

nome Deciphered

2001Interagency Botany Project Benefits

Several Rare Plant Species in SouthCentral Utah

The Sego Lily in its 20th Year: A LookBack

Passport Please: A Global Strategy toCurb Invasive Species

Ten Great Native Shrubs for Landscap-ing

Gardening with Utah Natives: A Begin-ners Guide

Rare Indeed!Ten Great Utah Native Perennials for

LandscapingShearing and Growth of Five Inter-

mountain Native Shrub SpeciesYellow Starthistle: Destructive Weed is

Encroaching on the Beehive StatePlant Profile: Desert Four OClocks(Mirabilis multiflora)

States Native Plants are Thriving inHeritage Gardens

Going Native in Joseph, UtahEndangered Status for Holmgren and

Shivwits Milkvetch2002Plant Profile: Rock SandwortGroping Towards a Native Plant Aes-

theticInteragency Botany Project Continues

to Benefit Federal Agencies and Rare

Plant SpeciesFungi Can Whack Invasive WeedsGods Take on LawnsBiocontrol Beetles Set Free to Tackle

SaltcedarSego Lily and Cactus Refuge Popula-

tionsCreating a Sense of PlaceThe Utah Heritage Gardens Come ofAge!

Plant Profile: GlobemallowUDOT Seeks to Reduce Impacts to the

Clay Phacelia

Above: One of several Wantedposters printed in the Sego Lilyinthe mid 1990s to encourage (andreward) searches for possibly ex-tirpated plant species.

history of theSego Lily the calen-dar section was absent on severaloccasions as there were no eventsscheduled by UNPS or its twochapters in Salt Lake City and

Cache Valley. Larry and ThereseMeyer kept theSego Lily afloat

with interesting articles but in-creasingly had to turn to outsidesources for content as the numberof original contributions by UNPSmembers dwindled. Withoutmuch in the way of chapter andsociety activities to report, the av-erage number of pages per issue

began to decline.Susan Meyer of the USFS Shrub

Research Lab helped reinvigorate

UNPS in the late 1990s. Alongwith Phil Allen and Janett Warner,Susan organized the Utah NativePlant Forum at Utah Valley StateCollege in February 1997. Thismeeting attracted a large turnoutof people from government, acade-mia, industry, and the private sec-tor with a common interest in na-tive plant propagation, landscap-ing, and revegetation. Several act-ion items emerged out of the meet-ing, including developing a website

and booklet to promote gardeningwith native plants and developingindustry standards for native seedcollectors to protect ecosystemsfrom degradation*. Local UNPSparticipants left the meeting in-spired and immediately formed thelong-postponed Utah Valley Chap-ter.

In 1998, Susan Meyer helpedjump start the UNPS HorticultureCommittee and proposed the idea of

creating a Utah Heritage Gardenas a demonstration project to intro-duce Utahns to native plants withhorticultural appeal. The first gar-den was created on the grounds of

Wasatch Elementary School inProvo as one of the first projects ofthe new Utah Valley Chapter. The

*Regulars of professional conferencesmay be surprised to know just howmany of the actions proposed at thismeeting came to fruition over the next

few years. The call for a native plantwebsite helped lead to the creation ofUNPSs own webstite (UNPS.org),launched in early 2000. The profes-sional growers at the conference formeda non-profit group, Intermountain Na-tive Plant Growers Association (INGPA)in 2003 to help achieve some industrystandards. This group, along with UNPS,helped launch the Utahs Choice pro-gram in 2003 to promote native plantsand produced the informational bookletUtah at Home, Landscaping with Na-tive Plants in 2004.


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success of this garden spawned in-terest from other communities andin 1999 Meyer and colleagues werehelping plan and break ground foradditional heritage gardens atThanksgiving Point, Rock Canyontrailhead (Provo), the grounds of theUniversity of Utah, and Ensign Ele-mentary School in Salt Lake City.

Perhaps the biggest boost toUNPS, however, came from the ini-tiation of propagation workshops,again spearheaded by the indefati-gable Susan Meyer. The first work-shops were held in Provo and SaltLake City in February 1989 and at-tracted over 60 participants. In ad-dition to getting seed and instruc-tion on planting 12 different native

wildflowers, the workshop attendeeswere lured into helping with manyof the new heritage garden projects.

Most also joined UNPS and theirlocal chapter, swelling the member-ship roles. In the coming years ad-ditional propagation workshopshelped create interest in UNPS welloutside the Wasatch Front area.From 1999-2001 new chapterspopped up in Price (CarbonCounty), Park City (Mountain Chap-ter/Summit County), St. George(Southern Chapter/WashingtonCounty), Vernal (Uinta Chapter),and Moab (Canyonlands Chapter).

The growth of UNPS was re-

flected in the pages of theSego Lily.More activities and chapters directlycorrelated into more news to be re-ported in the newsletter. Phil Allen,Susan Meyer, and others kept read-ers informed on the progress ofHeritage Gardens and other relatedprojects. Articles of a horticulturalnature became more commonplace,such as Robert Johnsons Partialfor Penstemons, and David Joy-ners The Genus Castilleja inUtah (with instructions on cultiva-

tion). Other articles focused on tra-ditional subjects of interest toUNPS, such as endangered plants,

weeds, and special areas of the state.The editors still needed to supple-ment issues with outside materialfrom time to time, but by the newmillennium UNPS writers wereagain contributing a significantamount of original content to thenewsletter.


2003Summary of the Interagency Rare Plant

Inventory Project, 1999-2002Utahs Choice- Native Plants for Inter-

mountain LandscapesAdopt a Waterbody Program Huge Suc-

cess for Malad RiverNative Seed Programs a Success at SkiAreas

Noxious and Invasive Weed Survey ...of the Inland Sea Shorebird Reserve

The Effects of Fire on Rare Plants

2004Drought Tolerant GrassesUtahs Choice Dreams do Become

RealityAlert! Rock Canyon in DangerWashington County Prepares: South

Block PlanningBiologists Move to Protect Mojave Rare

Plant HabitatATVs Man Versus MicrobeBotanists Hope to Find Vanishing

PlantsSeed Facility Changing LandscapeBotanical Adventures in Lick WashGoodrich on BadlandsUtahs Sagebrush Die-off is Wrecking

Havoc on Desert LifeDont Kill Native Plants With Too Much

Kindness

2005The Defeat of Initiative 1JVWCDs Demo Gardens: A Place to

Cultivate Your ImaginationSave the Flow Conserving Rain WaterWhats in a Name BesseyaThe Phragmitization of the Great Salt

LakeUNPS Honors Dick HildrethHabitat for Critically Endangered

Plants in Southern UtahFernbush: A Native Shrub for Utah

LandscapesUtah Declares War on TamariskNative Plants Flourish BeautifullyBees Under Siege: Mites Munch on

Utah InsectsEndangered Utah Flower Gets its Very

Own LawsuitExperiences with the San Rafael Cactus:Pediocactus despainii

2006Wasatch Fitweed Joins Rare Plant

GuideThe Common Pincushion Cactus

Coryphantha viviparaThe Claret Cup Cactus Echinocereus

triglochidiatusCatalyze Your Wildflower MemoriesPediocactus simpsonii

2001-2006 Paula and PaulaAfter five years on the job, Larry

and Therese Meyer retired asnewsletter editors in March 2001.Paula Mohadjer stepped in to fillthe void, assisted by co-editorsMindy Wheeler in 2001-2002 and

Allisun Korth in 2003. Mohadjerand Wheeler gave theSego Lily its

first makeover in over a decadestarting with the July/August 2001issue. In addition to new fonts, theeditors introduced new gray-scaleheaders, experimented with layout(using 1, 2, or 3 columns), and lib-erally added clip art and illustra-tions. Color appeared for the firsttime in the newsletter, though foreconomic reasons it was restrictedto the digital version ofSego Lilyavailable via email or password onthe UNPS website. In keeping

with the changing demographics ofUNPS membership, theSego Lilyincreasingly focused on nativeplant horticulture with a variety ofarticles on gardening techniquesand profiles of species well suitedfor cultivation (many provided bySusan Meyer and Bitsy Schultz).Much more space in the newsletter

was devoted to chapter news andevents, reflecting the welcomespike in chapter activities since themid 1990s. Plant conservationstories were still featured as well

(such as articles on rare plants ofcentral Utah by Debi Clark andrefuge cactus populations by JeffMitchell), but such articles wereincreasingly uncommon.

In the fall of 2003, PaulaLonghurst was hired on a part-time basis by the UNPS board tomanage many of the societys dayto day affairs and to edit theSego

Lily. Paula #2 retained the lookand feel of the newsletter devel-oped under Paula #1 and her co-

editors. Over the next three yearstheSego Lily remained a source ofinformation on chapter activities*and horticulture, but increasinglyemphasized conservation issues,especially relating to developmentin the St. George area and its im-

*Several new chapters were also bornduring this period including Esca-lante (Garfield County) and Manzanita(Kane County) in 2004 and Fremont(Richfield area) in 2007.


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Warning to Native Plants in Foothills(Myrtle Spurge)

Sweet Scent of Native Cactus to be Ana-lyzed

The Conservation Genetics of the PariaBreadroot (Pediomelum pariense), aRare Utah Endemic

The Sand Cholla Opuntia pulchellaNatural Landscaping Benefits Our

CommunityNoteworthy Discoveries: Cypripedium

montanum in Summit County and aNew Umbel in Barnies Garden

The Badlands at Factory ButteUtah Plant Families: The Mistletoes

(Viscaceae)

2007Utah Plant Families: The Mallow Fam-

ily (Malvaceae)Some Common Globemallows of Utah

and How to Recognize ThemNo Listing for Two Rare Utah PlantsRare Utah Cactus Turns Up at Salt Lake

Chapter MeetingUtah State University and Utah Botani-

cal Center Work to Boost Native PlantSeed Supplies

Veg Mappers Find New Plants forUtah National Parks

Seed Dormancy and Native PlantPropagation

A New Version of the Utah Rare PlantGuide

Conservation Groups Respond toUSFWS Reversal on Listing Grahams

PenstemonNew and Improved Utah Plant AtlasNow On-Line

Flora and Vegetation of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

Utahs Noxious Weed Law Reflects OldWest Attitude

Utah Plant Families: The DogwoodFamily (Cornaceae)

Plant Life of Cedar Breaks NationalMonument

Whats in a Name?LinnaeaCarnivorous Plant Turns VegetarianWhat is Troubling our Oaks?TNC Acquires First Portion of White

Dome PreserveThe Limits of Restoration in an Age ofWeeds

How on Earth Did They Get There?Statistical Summary of the Exotic Flora

of UtahIntroduced and Naturalized Plants of

UtahExploitation of Utah Cacti Began EarlyUSFWS Decision Keeps ESA Protection

for Three Uinta Basin SclerocactiNoteworthy Discoveries: Sulfur Cinque-

foil in Utah

Excerpt: Gardening With Utah Natives:A Beginners Guide

By Susan E. Meyer and Bitsy Shultz, May/June 2001

Zero-Scaping? Not! Xeriscape is probably the most misunderstood gar-

den word in Utah. People hear it as zero-scape, and immediately concludetwo things. First, they think the zero-scape is going to LOOK like zero,gravel and a couple of scraggly cactus nothing could be further from thetruth. But perhaps even worse, they conclude that the zero-scape is going toREQUIRE zeroplant it and walk away. Alas, this idea is equally erroneous.It is true that a xeriscape, a landscape that includes drought-tolerant plantsand where plants are grouped according to their water requirements, re-quires less material inputless water, fertilizer, pesticide, lawn mower fuel,and annual bedding plant investmentthan a traditional high water-usehome landscape. But the old saying that the best fertilizer is the gardenersshadow is as true for native gardens as for any other. Native garden mainte-nance is not zero maintenance.

The first maintenance task for the native plant gardener is to water ap-

propriately the first season after planting. Even plants that are droughthardy need to be watered until their roots grow into the soil. How often? Itdependsbut for late spring and summer plantings, watering once a weekfor the first month, once every two weeks for the second month, and thenonce a month until cool weather arrives, should be more than adequate.

When you water, water deeply to encourage deep root growth. For filling inan established garden, it is best to plant in very early spring, so that theplants have naturally moist soil for rooting in. This obviates the problem oftoo-frequent watering for already established plants. Most natives are verycold-hardy and can be planted out as early as peas are planted. Fall plantingis another option for filling in or establishing new gardensbut be sure tomulch well for the first winter to avoid frost-heaving if you plant later thanthe end of September.

The biggest maintenance job in a native garden is undoubtedly weeding.Most natives do not compete well against weeds, especially perennial weedsand must be given a leg up through hand-weeding, especially the first year.This job gradually tapers off. Depending on what natives were planted, theythemselves may need to be restrained to keep them from taking over thisincludes clipping or stripping seeds before they shatter as well as pulling out

volunteers in the wrong places (the hard part).Clipping off spent flower stalks and lightly pruning shrubs and trees may

also be necessary to keep the garden looking its best. And although most ofthe flowers and grasses are perennial and can live many years, they are notimmortal, and replanting is an on-going process each year. Sometimes oneof those mis-located volunteers can be gently moved with a shovel to take itsdeceased mothers place.


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Was a Fossil Tree Just a HumungousFungus?

Utah Plant Families: The Duckweeds(Lemnaceae)

2008Prickly Pears as Food PlantsBotanic Verses: Invaders and InvadeesRare Moonwort Off Candidate ListRock Canyon RestorationWhats in a Name? Fendler, Fendlera,

andFendlerellaBotanical Arts and Crafts: How to Make

a Cocklebur PoodleVolunteers Across the Nation to Track

Climate Clues in Spring FlowersUtahs Oldest Inhabitants (Bristlecone

Pines)Medicinal Qualities of Utah Prickly

Pears (Opuntia species)Botanic Verses: Roses are Red?Noteworthy Discoveries: New Species of

Camissonia andErigeron in UtahUtah Plant Families: The Caper FamilyCapitol Reef National Park and its FloraUNPS Honors Duane AtwoodInteragency Rare Plant Conservation in

South-Central UtahUinta Basin Rare Plant Forum UpdateFinding Gaps in the Protected Area Net-work in the Utah Portion of the Colo-rado Plateau

Update on White Dome Nature Pre-serve

Andrew Lafayette Siler, Cabinet Maker,Lawyer, Teacher, and Collector

Googling the EarthWhat Native Plants Can I Grow in MyYard?

Salt Lake Chapter Trek to the BeaverDam Mountains

Growing Sego LiliesRichard Joshua Shaw (1923-2008)Ten Things You Always Wanted to

Know About Sagebrush (But WereAfraid to Ask)

A New Sagebrush for Utah?Whats in a Name: Rafinesque and Rafi-

nesquiaSpeciation and Soils: What Can theWild Buckwheats Tell Us?

Noteworthy Discoveries: NewPotentillain Utah and NevadaHorseshoe Milkvetch Hides Out in

ColoradoWill Plants Run Your Car?Elizabeth Neese (1934-2008)Further Weakening of the Endangered

Species ActNoteworthy Discoveries fromA UtahFlora, Fourth Edition (2008)

Special 30th Anniversary Issue

pacts on a suite of rare Mohaveendemic plants. Several UNPSmembers contributed original arti-cles and photos to the newsletter,most notably Jeff Mitchell andDorde Woodruff on native cactiand Tony Frates, Susan Garvin,and Bill Gray on conservation mat-ters. A large number of feature

stories, however, were obtained(with permission) from theSalt

Lake Tribune,Deseret News, andnative plant society newslettersfrom other states. While some ofthese were quite good (such as aseries of profiles of native species

by UNPSs own Maggie Wolf fromher Tribune column), others weremore suspect. As happened fre-quently over the history of the

Sego Lily, it became increasinglydifficult to get original material.

2006-2008 The Present Dayand Beyond

In November 2006, I volun-teered to become the latest editorof the newsletter. Prior to takingover theSego Lily, I had edited the

Wyoming Native Plant Societysnewsletter (Castilleja) from 1993-2001. Since arriving in southernUtah in 2001 I had missed the funof pulling a native plant newslettertogether from scratch. TheSego

Lily presented some different chal-

lenges than those I faced in Wyo-ming (for starters, the Castillejaonly came out four times a yearand averaged just 8 pages per is-sue) and I was hindered a little byliving in Kanab, far from the Wa-satch Front epicenter of UNPS.

Fortunately, my job as editorhas been made significantly easierthanks to the help of many con-tributors. My wife, Laura, and BillGray serve as an editorial board,proofing each issue for typos, fac-

tual errors, and poor grammar.Tony Frates helps get the issueposted on-line and sent to emailsubscribers and Steve Budelier andassociates at Canyonlands Adver-tising in Moab print the hard cop-ies. While I write a fair share ofeach copy, a number of UNPSmembers help enormously by con-tributing well-researched originalarticles as well as drawings andphotos. Foremost among thesecontributors are Doug Reynolds,

Bill Gray, Dorde Woodruff, BillKing, Tony Frates, Therese Meyer,and Maggie Wolf, though manyothers have helped as well.

TheSego Lily has changed agreat deal in 30 years and will un-doubtedly continue to evolve in thefuture. My goal is to have thenewsletter continue to promote

society and chapter events but alsoserve as a central repository forUtah news and research that per-tains to native plants. I also wantto produce a magazine-like publi-cation with original content that

will inform and entertain. Ideally,I want to have a mix of articles thatcapture the full array of interestsheld by UNPS members. This

would include stories on plant con-servation, horticulture, naturalhistory, new discoveries, notable

individuals, and interesting areasto botanize in the state. Thank-fully in a state like Utah with itstremendous diversity of plant lifeand variety of environments, thereshould never be a shortage of ma-terial.

Sitting on my messy desk is theentire 30 year set of theSego Lily(over 180 issues give or take a cou-ple that may be missing). The pilestands over a foot tall, weighs closeto 20 pounds, and contains over1800 pages. In reading through

the issues, Im struck by how farour native plant society and itsnewsletter have come from theirmodest origins 30 years ago. I amalso pleased with how well UNPSand theSego Lily have succeededin meeting the goals outlined byStan Welsh in his opening remarksat the societys first meeting. Wehave helped bring together a di-

verse community of professionaland amateur plant enthusiasts.

We have promoted education on

the value and perpetuation of na-tive plants and native ecosystems.We have helped fill in gaps in ourknowledge of the state flora and inthe distribution and life history ofour rarest species. But most im-portantly, UNPS and theSego Lilyhave helped bring about, in

Welshs eloquent words, a fullerappreciation of life and of livingthings as appurtenances to thatfitful fever which marks the exis-tence of each of us.


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PO Box 520041

Salt Lake City, UT 84152-0041

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Join or renew on-line at unps.org

Want to see theSego Lily in color? Or read late breaking UNPS news and find links to otherbotanical websites? Or buy wildflower posters, cds, and other neat stuff at the UNPS store? Go

to unps.org!

November-December 2008 Sego Lily Newsletter, Utah Native Plant Society

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Transcript of November-December 2008 Sego Lily Newsletter, Utah Native Plant Society