BEN
BOTANICAL ELECTRONIC NEWS
ISSN 1188-603X

No. 438 June 22, 2011 aceska@telus.net Victoria, B.C.
Dr. A. Ceska, P.O.Box 8546, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3S2

$1.25-MILLION GRANT "DREAM COME TRUE" FOR RENOWNED ETHNOBOTANIST

From: The Ring, Mon, 06/13/2011

University of Victoria ethnobotanist Nancy Turner has devoted her academic career to researching the pivotal role plant resources play in Aboriginal cultures and languages. She's won accolades for her work from around the world but a $1.25 million grant from the Quadra Island-based Tula Foundation gives Turner the opportunity to study and conduct research in traditional West Coast Aboriginal territories to strengthen her knowledge even further.

As part of a recent agreement between UVic and the foundation's Hakai Beach Institute, Turner has been named as the inaugural Hakai Chair in Ethnoecology. The five-year, non-endowed chair will support ongoing research in ethnoecology and traditional knowledge. As the inaugural chair, Turner will shift her focus from teaching to research, allowing her to work extensively with Central Coast Aboriginal communities and graduate students until her retirement. The agreement includes development of research, field studies and teaching opportunities for UVic environmental studies graduate students. The institute's 215-acre facility is located on Calvert Island on B.C.'s ecologically rich Central Coast

"This is a dream come true for me. It will allow me the time, resources and flexibility I need to be out on the lands and waters of First Nations' territories with knowledgeable elders and teachers," says Turner, a distinguished professor with UVic's School of Environmental Studies. "The grant allows me to deepen my understanding of the Central Coast and its unique ecology while strengthening my relationship with the Heiltsuk Nation."

Turner is one the most respected and honoured ethnobotanists in the world, specializing in ethnoecological studies with coastal British Columbia Indigenous peoples, particularly on BC's Central Coast. Ethnoecology is the study of how people understand their environment and their relationship to the ecosystems. Turner's research and teaching about the relationship between Indigenous peoples and plants and how that relationship influences the landscapes and habitats of Western Canada helped establish UVic as a national leader in ethnoecology and traditional knowledge studies.

"The generosity of the Tula Foundation honours Nancy Turner's commitment to enhance our knowledge about the deep and significant role that plants play in the culture of Aboriginal peoples," says UVic President David Turpin. "The agreement also ensures that our students have the opportunity to build on that knowledge, and study and conduct research in a truly spectacular setting."

"Nancy has been a champion of Aboriginal knowledge and uses it in culturally appropriate and sensitive ways," says Hilistis band member Pauline Waterfall, a recent recipient of the Order of BC and a member of the Heiltsuk Nation. "I soon learned that I could trust her and openly share with her our traditional knowledge."

The Tula Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to environmental sustainability, public service, research and teaching. The Hakai Beach Institute is a non-profit organization that is fully funded by the Tula Foundation. Further information: http://www.tula.org/

Earlier this year, the Tula Foundation provided UVic with a $2.75-million grant to support the Environmental Law and Sustainability Program in the Faculty of Law.

RARE PLANTS OF THE FRASER VALLEY IN THE LOWLAND ZONE - PART 5

From: Frank Lomer, Honourary Research Associate, UBC Herbarium, Vancouver, B.C. e-mail: lomerlomer@hotmail.com

Excluded Species

The following rare species have been collected in the Fraser Valley over the years, but are not considered to be native here. They may show up as waifs from time to time in sand dredgings from the Fraser River, railroad tracks, cultivated fields, or waste places and, in some cases, even become established from introduced populations originating from outside the province.

Actaea elata (Nutt.) Prantl

Found in the Chilliwack drainage, but not in the Fraser lowlands except on the lower slopes of Mt Cheam above the lowland zone.

Alopecurus carolinianus Walt.

There is an old record from Humphries St., Vancouver in 1912. This was most likely an introduction.

Anemone virginiana L. var. cylindroidea B. Boivin

There is an old collection from 1889 from Agassiz. It is believed to be mislabeled, as its occurrence here seems unlikely.

Apocynum x floribundum Greene

An old record from Cultus Lake is probably referable to A. cannabinum, but the specimen is not easy to determine with certainty.

Eleocharis rostellata (Torr.) Torr.

Reported from Pitt Lake and Vancouver, but no verifiable vouchers found. It would not be expected in the Fraser Valley.

Cardamine parviflora L.

This slender annual has been collected near the Fraser River in Coquitlam in 1991 (UBC: Lomer s.n.). It still occurs at the site today, but because it is unclear whether this population is native or European in origin it has been excluded.

Carex hystericina Muhl. ex Willd.

Collected from dredged sand in Coquitlam.

Carex sychnocephala Carey

Collected from dredged sand in Surrey.

Cyperus erythrorhizos Muhl.

Established as a weed in several cranberry fields from Delta to Harrison. Recently found away from these sites in Burnaby.

Eleocharis rostellata (Torr.) Torr.

Reported from Pitt Lake and Vancouver, but no verifiable vouchers found. It would not be expected in the Fraser Valley.

Epilobium ciliatum ssp. watsonii (Barbey) Hoch & Raven

Occurs in the Fraser delta, but too widespread and unthreatened in BC to be considered a rare plant.

Epilobium leptocarpum Hausskn.

Found by railroad tracks in Coquitlam. It also occurs as native on the North Shore Mountains.

Eragrostis pectinacea (Michx.) Nees var. pectinacea

Rare weed in waste places. Slated for removal from the rare plant list because BC plants are assumed to be introductions.

Glyceria x occidentalis (Piper) J. C. Nels.

Apparently this nothospecies is a hybrid between the native Glyceria leptostachya and the introduced G. fluitans from Europe. Until these hybrids can be separated from the G. fluitans plants that grow in the Fraser Valley it is best to exclude it at this time.

Isoetes nuttallii A. Braun ex Engelm.

Reports from North Vancouver were based on a misidentification. It may occur in seepage sites on the lower mountain slopes north of the Fraser River.

Lindernia dubia (L.) Pennell var. dubia

Rare weed in bare sites in cranberry fields in Delta and Piitt Meadows; presumed to be introduced from eastern North America.

Navarretia intertexta (Benth.) Hook.

Collected as a waif along railroad tracks in White Rock in 1988.

Nicotiana attenuate Torr. ex S. Watson

Collected from dredged sand in Surrey.

Potentilla paradoxa Nutt.

- Collected by railroad tracks and in dredged sand in Greater Vancouver.

Scirpus pallidus (Britt.) Fern.

Collected from dredged sand in Surrey and also from the natural Fraser shoreline nearby where it has spread.

Sphenopholis intermedia (Rydb.) Rydb.

Collected from dredged sand in Surrey.

Symphyotrichum frondosum (Nutt.) G. L. Nesom

Collected from dredged sand in Surrey and garden topsoil in New Westminster.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Adolf Ceska, Jamie Fenneman, Fred Ganders, Rose Klinkenberg, Jenifer Penny, Terry Taylor, and Peter Zika for their helpful comments.

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