Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Foothills, Flowers and Contraceptives

Note: Before we get started with today’s post, make sure to check out the latest edition of Berry-Go-Round over at Greg Laden’s blog. It’s a great edition, with several excellent links. Plus, if you haven’t checked out Greg’s blog, you should. It’s one of the best evolution and life science blogs out there.

IMG_5268Sunday I took the Trifecta for a hike in the foothills between Emigration and Parleys, parking near the big “H”, and working our way up the series of informal trails behind it to the minor peak at 6,300 feet.

Right now is a wonderful time to hike in the foothills. While all the “serious” Wasatch hikes up at altitude are still snowed under, everything below 8,000 feet is melted out. Of course, the foothills can be hiked all summer, but in another 3-4 weeks they’ll be brown, dry, dusty, shade-less and hot. With our wet Spring they’re green, cool and lovely.

Route Jacks PeakI mentioned last week how late the Scrub Oak’s been leafing out, and our 1,200 foot climb really showed the range of leaf development. The early leaves have a light green color that appears to “soften” up the large clonal thickets carpeting the hillsides.

Oak leaves altitude Even down at the trailhead, the almost full-sized leaves are still soft to the touch; over the coming weeks they’ll darken and toughen up, becoming almost leathery to the touch. The wildflowers are now out in force. Arrowleaf Balsamroot is blooming everywhere of course, IMG_5272 but on the slightly wetter North-facing slopes it’s now joined by the similar-looking (and closely-related) Northern Mules Ear, Wyethia amplexicaulis (pic right). Their flowers are (at least to me) indistinguishable, but you can easily tell them apart by their leaves. Arrowleaf Balsamroots have broad, spade-shaped leaves at the end of a stalk, and the leaves are covered with fine, soft hairs. Mules Ear leaves are ovaloid, clasp the stalk of the flower at the base, and are smooth and hairless, appearing shiny in contrast to the Balsamroots.

Side Note: There’s a closely-related and similar-looking third flower, Cutleaf Balsamroot, that’s blooming up higher now, as low down as upper Emigration canyon, just above the Killyon Canyon turn-off. 2 years ago I did a post describing the relationships of these 3 flowers, and the genetics and possible origins of Cutleaf Balsamroot. Twin B*, BTW, calls all 3 of them cookie flowers, as she claims they all smell like cookies. I can’t quite pick it up, but there is something vaguely “doughy” or “mealy” in their distinctly un-floral scent…

*Twin B has an amazing sense of smell. If you ever meet her I am warning you right now: do not attempt to sneak out a fart within 50 feet of her; she will out you faster than you can say “stinky”.

Crane’s Bill and Carpet Phlox still abound, as well as the diminutive IMG_5295Pale Madwort, Alyssum alyssoides (pic left), which has been out and about for a good month now. Just beyond the cell tower we came across the first Death Camas, Zigadenus paniculatus (pic right), of the year. And along several stretches the Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja sp.) is out in force. Paintbrushes (there are several species, in Utah*, most of which I can’t tell apart) are probably IMG_5286 the easiest flower to ID (at the genus level) in the American West, and they’re interesting in that they’re hemi-parasitic, attaching themselves to the roots of a nearby host-shrub, from which they siphon off water and nutrients. Around here the host is almost always Sagebrush, and if you pay attention you’ll notice that Paintbrush in the foothills almost always occurs in its shadow. The hemi-part means that they’re not entirely parasitic; Paintbrushes perform photosynthesis on their own, as opposed to holo-parasitic plants, (like Dodder) which perform no photosynthesis.

*Out of some ~200 total.

Sagebrush shade Paintbrushes are part of a larger family, Orobanchaceae, the Broomrape family, which includes things like Broomrape, Tooth Wort, Bird’s Beak, Glandweed and whole bunch of other things you never heard of, some ~2,000 species total, all of whom appear to be descended from a common ancestor species that was, presumably, parasitic, in that all 2,000 species are either holo- or hemi-parasitic*.

*One exception- genus Lindbergia, 6 species, all Old World. In botany it seems like whatever the rule, there’s always an exception.

Side Note: Speaking of Sagebrush, now’s a good time to take a closer look; the leaves are full, healthy, and the plants are positively lush compared to their dull winter sheen of just a few weeks ago. IMG_5271 Sagebrush is one of those plants that’s easy to overlook, particularly in Spring when there’s so much else blooming and leafing to catch the eye, but the distinctive gray-green sheen of Sagebrush is at its loveliest right now, and well worth checking out. Part of the reason Sagebrush looks lusher now, BTW, is because it really is leafier. In the Spring, Sagebrush sprouts it’s largest leaves. As the summer progresses, it sprouts additional, smaller leaves. The smaller leaves are generally the ones that are persistent, hanging on through the winter. So even though Sagebrush is leaf-covered year-round, it’s rather leafier in the warmer months.

Bluebell Refresher

There were even a few welcome spots of blue along the hike: Wasatch Beardstongue, Pentemmon cyanthus, down just below the H rock, and up at the peak, IMG_5312 a few clumps of Bluebells. There are about 40 species of Bluebells, 3 of which account for most of the Bluebells you in Northern Utah. These are Sagebrush Bluebells, Mertensia oblongifolia (pic left), which you can ID by the broad, smooth ovaloid leaves. The other foothill Bluebell, Short-styled Bluebell, M. brevistyla, has narrower eaves covered in fine hairs. In about a month, up in the mountain forests, you’ll see Mountain Bluebells, M. ciliata.

IMG_5301 Up around 6,000 feet, we passed a couple of Serviceberry bushes, probably the lowest I’ve ever come across them on an exposed slope. They were in full bloom (pic right), a good 2 or 3 weeks ahead of those up the canyons.

New Flower!

It’s fun to recognize flowers I haven’t seen in a year, but I also made a new ID from this hikeIMG_5322 . Over the past couple of weeks I’ve noticed this guy popping up in open spots here and there, with small, dull yellow flowers, the 5 petals fused into a tube at the base, and narrow, pointy leaves. It’s Western Stoneseed, Lithospermum ruderale (pic left) also known as Western Gromwell. Stoneseeds are so named for their small, hard seeds, and belong to the Borage, or Forget-Me-Not family, Boraginaceae. Probably the most interesting thing about Western Stoneseed is that its leaves were brewed into a tea by several Native American tribes, including the Navajo and Shoshone, for use by women as a contraceptive.

Western Stoneseed I’m often skeptical of native/herbal remedies, but this one seems to have some legs. Tests with mice back in the 1940’s showed about a 50% reduction in both female and male fertility when fed the plant. The plant produces estrogen-like compounds, specifically Pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which disrupt the female estrous cycle, not unlike, that’s right, birth control pills*. But lest you get any ideas, this isn’t your classic “gentle” herbal remedy. Pyrrolizidine alkaloids have some pretty significant hormonal and glandular side effects, including decrease in the weight of sexual organs and pituitary glands. In sufficient amounts they can also cause liver damage or even live cancer.

*To be clear, Birth control pills do not contain Pyrrolizidine alkaloids. The active ingredient in most birth control pills is a combination of estrogen and progestin, a synthetic steroid hormone. Pyrrolizidine alkaloids just happen to have some structural similarities in their chemistry that cause similar estrus-disruption effects.

Extra Detail: A European species, Field Gromwell, Lithspermum arvense, is supposedly still used as an oral contraceptive in parts of Europe. I don’t have details. (So I guess this isn’t really much of an “Extra Detail” section after all…)

Tangent: I hesitated over whether to include the contraceptive info in this post. One the one hand, I always like to include interesting factoids related to the plants I blog about. On the other hand, one of my long-time pet peeves is Half-Assed Contraception, and 50% is definitely half-assed.

I am, in many ways, somewhat of a slacker. I’m inept around the house, and Trifecta Double Belly-Pillowgenerally muster only half-assed performance in many aspects of my day-to-day life, including home maintenance and yard care. I’m terrible with thank you notes and reciprocal invitations. I use duct tape to repair everything from cable-housing to torn car-seats to broken sunglasses*. But I believe that there are certain things in life that should not be done half-assed, of which right at the top of the list is contraception. Seriously, do contraception right, or have a baby, but don’t do it half-assed.

*Which is particularly pathetic in that I buy all of my sunglasses at Maverik for about $7.99. But I really do use duct tape to repair just about everything. Right now our hot tub is busted and we are on a 3 week wait for a repair guy. I keep thinking there must be some way I could fix the thing with duct tape.

Speaking of hot tub repair: Hot tub repair guys are one of a class of repair guys- garage doors, sprinklers, washer/dryers, with whom my relationship as a homeowner always makes me think of what it must be like to be an abused spouse. They promise they’ll show up, and you wait around, but they never do. You call and plead, and they make lame excuses- “Something came up”, they always say. They promise not to miss the next appointment, but of course they do. Eventually they stop returning your calls altogether, like a neglectful spouse/SO who can’t even do you the courtesy of dumping you to your face…

Lest it appear that I am being preachy, know-it-all or throwing stones from my glass veranda, let me own up right here and admit that I in fact am the product of half-assed contraception, specifically the “rhythm method”. I can’t say “method” in rhythm “method” with a straight face, since the “methodology” involved is specifically having unprotected sex and hoping you don’t get pregnant. That’s not really a “method”, so much as it is Blowing It Off. A few years later, the rhythm method produced my little sister, meaning that around the same time human beings were orbiting the moon in spacecraft, our otherwise exceptionally bright and college-educated parents were employing a 10,000 year-old, ~50% effective, “method” of birth control.

The flowers were pretty, but what really caught my eye was what wasn’t blooming: weeds. IMG_5351 Though there were a handful of Musk Thistles here and there alongside the trail, and a stand of Toadflax (pic left) by the trailhead, the hillsides were devoid of the Woad that practically carpets the foothills a couple of miles to the North, and I saw not a single stem of Myrtle Spurge the entire hike, and this in turn got me thinking again about trails and seed-dispersal. Most of my time in the Wasatch foothills is between Emigration and City Creek Canyons, and this area is pretty well trafficked via the Shoreline Trail. The foothills between Emigration and Parley, though regularly hiked, see only a fraction of the traffic, and- probably as a result- the vegetation is far more native*. I think I’ll be doing more of my foothill hiking in this area in the weeks to come.

*The obvious exception is all the Crane’s Bill, but these clearly pre-date any modern-day trail access/traffic issues, and possibly Euromerican settlement of Utah, as we saw in this post.

Side Note: Though I’ve done little hiking on this side of the Emigration-Parleys foothills, I’ve hiked the ridge separating the 2 canyons a couple of times from Little Mountain Pass, picking my way Westward to the high point overlooking the valley at about 7,500 feet. This trail-less peak actually does have a name- Perkins Peak- and though it involves some route-finding through thick, scratchy stands of scrub oak, it’s worth doing both for the perspective and the solitude.

IMG_5282Our hike culminated at a minor peak called Jack’s Peak (pic left), named for a toddler who died 15 years ago of leukemia. His parents released his ashes from the peak, and installed a couple of peak mailboxes, where hikers leave messages and well-wishes. It’s a nice spot, and a touching way to remember a lost child. The air was clear, scoured by recent storms, and hawks soared on updrafts from the valley floor below.

We lay on the grass, snacked, and used the binoculars to pick out everything from the Trifecta’s school to our house, to distant Desert Peak in the Newfoundlands.

BW View from Jacks Peak After a while we packed up and started down. As we did so I thought that if finally feels like Spring.

10 comments:

  1. Orobanchaceae is a very neat family (like all parasitic plant assemblages). The non-parasitic member you mention, Lindbergia, is the sister-group to all the other orobanchaceans so the parasitic species still form a natural group. Also neat is that the hemiparasitic Orobanchaceae used to be included in the family Scrophulariaceae until phylogenetic studies recognised the single origin of parasitism in this group.

    One of the largest Orobanchaceae genera, Euphrasia, is commonly known as 'eyebrights' because they're supposed to cure eye infections. Dunno if that's true, but I do like the sound of the name.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Good post. (Really, I need to come up with something better to say.)

    I'm loving how green the foothills are now. Clarks trail in Corner Canyon is a little bit of Shangrila right now - the Maples have leafed out, grass along the trail, ferns in the gully section, a few flowers here and there - lovely.

    I'll come over and help you fix the hot tub. I'm positive that 2 rolls of duct tape will do the job.

    ReplyDelete
  3. First off, I wanted to point out that the gambel oak seems to be a bit more leafed out south valley. Full foliage on pretty much everything when we hiked corner canyon (roughly the same elevation) on Sunday.

    Second, we had to call a washing machine repairman today. Rachel called this morning and made an appointment for noon. He showed up at noon and fixed it for a few dollars less than the estimate (I had diagnosed the problem but chose to hire it out because the amount of swearing that just doing the repair would require was above what I knew to be Rachel's threshold, and I didn't even want to consider what might come out of my mouth had I actually screwed something up, of which there was a >50% likelihood).

    But not only was he on-time and under-budget, he was way, super helpful above and beyond what we hired him to do. Rachel asked him about a strange noise that has been emanating from our pipes when we have the water on. For the reasons you cite (plus the fact that plumbers are ridiculously expensive), we hadn't called anyone and just suffered through it. But even though he was an appliance guy, he knew it was a flow control valve turned down too low and fixed it for free*. So these flaky repair guys aren't necessarily all flaky or all that bad.

    *Rachel gave him an extra $10 for the 3 minutes of work, which is way, way better than the $75 house call fee plus whatever the labor minimum is for a plumber.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Christopher- Cool. Thanks for the additional info, and specifically for placing Lindbergia for me.

    KKris & SBJ- Yes, I need to get down to Corner Canyon asap. This week so much is happening in so many places- it's frustrating how I can't catch it everywhere I want to.

    SBJ- That is a totally wonderful and inspiring story. Email me the guy's name/info when you get a minute.

    You don't happen to have a hot tub guy, do you?

    ReplyDelete
  5. The beauty of the rhythm method is that it never goes out of style. It was popular in 1964 and it's increasingly popular today!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Lest anyone forget just how hard males compete in the crapshoot that is passing on one's genetic material, there's this article on sexual selection.

    BTW, what does it say about me that most of the science articles I read are the dumbed-down NYT/Economist versions? (Scientists studying my behavior would conclude that I subscribe to NYT/Economist via RSS, prompting a follow-on study as to why I subscribe to these and not Science or Nature, which, if pursued to its conclusion, would lead to a comprehensive analysis of human laziness as practiced by the archetypal lazy human.)

    ReplyDelete
  7. ^^^^Oops, meant to leave this comment on the other post where we were talking about pollination. See what I mean about lazy? Couldn't even be bothered to make sure I clicked on the right post before commenting.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Just say no to destructive spa repairman relationships. Call Derek at Quality Pool 801-474-1089. Once you get past the smoking and the van, he rocks. Really, you don't have to put up with that crap. I know you feel inside that you don't deserve better but you do.
    How is that for topic drift?

    ReplyDelete
  9. I believe in speaking your mind and mostly....having correct facts. Before leaving a negative comment about a person and company that I know very well that does pool and spa repair.....mayb e you should call them first OR at least give all the facts. I know of their side and it sounds like (from your previous posts about fixing with duct tape) you need to take the time to learn about the problem is and what it takes to repair it properly. Just a suggestion.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anon- Hmmm…. scratching my head a bit over your comment. You write that I made "a negative comment about a person and company that I know very well that does pool and spa repair..." Not quite sure how that's possible, since I neither named nor linked to the repair outfit in question. In fact, the only repair company/person mentioned in the entire post was the outfit mentioned - very positively- in the previous comment.

    In any event, you are correct that I know little of hot tub repair. However, following a 20+ year career in sales, I know a great deal about 1) returning phone calls, and 2) showing up. I stand by the post, the tangent, and the footnote.

    ReplyDelete