Tom Schweich  

Area Of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC). An area within public lands where special management attention is required to protect and prevent irreparable damage to important historic, cultural or scenic values, fish and wildlife resources, or other natural systems or processes, or to protect life and safety from natural hazards. (FLPMA, Section 103(a)).

achene. N. (Botany) a dry one-seeded indehiscent fruit with the seed distinct from the fruit wall. It may be smooth, as in the buttercup, or feathery, as in clematis. Also called: achenium. [C19: from New Latin achaenium that which does not yawn or open, from a-1 + Greek khainein to yawn]

achenium. See achene.

allotetraploid. Having four sets of chromosomes derived from different species. Most of the North American species of Elymus are allotetraploids.

alluvial fan. A gently sloping (ten degrees or less) fan shaped deposit of sediments formed where an intermittent stream undergoes an abrupt reduction in slope. Coarsest materials are found near the apex of the fan (nearest the mountain or hill front) whereas the finest materials occur farthest from the mountain front.

alluvium. Material, including sand, clay, gravel, and mud, deposited in river beds, lakes, alluvial fans, valleys, and elsewhere by modern streams.

amphibolite. A crystalloblastic rock consisting mainly of amphibole and plagioclase with little or no quartz. As the content of quartz increases, the rock grades into hornblende-plagioclase gneiss.

amphibolite facies. The set of metamorphic mineral assemblages in which basic rocks are represented by hornblende + plagioclase, the latter being oligoclase-andesine or a more calcic variety, The facies is typical of regional metamorphism under moderate to high pressures and temperatures.

amplexicaul. Clasping the stem, usually as the bases of leaves.

anemophilous Pollinated by wind. See also: entomophilous.

Animal Unit Month (AUM). A unit of measure of the impact of a grazing animals on range land. An AUM is equivalent to the amount of forage required by a 1,000 pound cow for 1 month (BLM, 1980, p. 68). A calf might give an AUM value, sheep another, etc..

Boness and Zoback (2006) present shear velocity anisotropy data from local earthquake sources as an independent tool to analyze the state of stress close to active faults on a regional scale.

anthophore n. Botany. a form of floral stalk, produced by the elongation of the internode between the calyx and the corolla, and bearing the corolla, stamens, and pistil.

An anthophore is a floral structure in certain vascular plants that functions as an elongated internode between the calyx (sepals) and the corolla (petals). It raises the flower above the rest of the plant, potentially aiding in pollination by making the flower more accessible to pollinators.

Anthophores are characteristic of some plants in the Caryophyllaceae family (e.g., Dianthus species). Their main functions include:

• Elevating the flower to improve visibility and accessibility to pollinators
• Separating reproductive structures to reduce interference between floral organs
• Potentially aiding seed dispersal by increasing the distance from the parent plant

anthropology. the science that deals with the origins, physical and cultural development, racial characteristics and social customs and beliefs of mankind.

anticline. A configuration of folded, stratified rocks in which the rocks dip or incline in two directions away from the crest, like the two halves of a pitched roof. The reverse of a "syncline".

archaea. Any of a group of microorganisms that resemble bacteria but are different from them in certain aspects of their chemical structure, such as the composition of their cell walls. Archaea usually live in extreme, often very hot or salty environments, such as hot mineral springs or deep-sea hydrothermal vents, but some are also found in animal digestive systems. The archaea are considered a separate kingdom in some classifications, but a division of the prokaryotes (Monera) in others. Some scientists believe that archaea were the earliest forms of cellular life. Also called archaebacterium.

arid. Zero to ten inches precipitation per year. Potential for evaporation exceeds annual precipitation.

ash. 1. Inorganic residue remaining after ignition of combustible substances, quantitatively determined by definite prescribed methods. 2. Volcanic dust and particles less than 4 mm. in diameter.

ash, volcanic. Uncemented pyroclastic material consisting of fragments mostly under 4 mm. in diameter. Without a qualifying adjective, the term should be applied only to essential ejecta.

ash fall. 1. A rain of airborne volcanic ash falling from an eruption cloud. Characteristic of vulcanian eruptions. 2. A deposit of volcanic ash resulting from such a fall and lying on the ground surface. (AGI)

ash flow. 1. An avalanche of volcanic ash, generally a highly heated mixture of volcanic gases and ash, traveling down the flanks of a volcano or along the surface of the ground and produced by the explosive disintegration of viscous lava in a volcanic crater or by the explosive emission of gas charged ash from a fissure or group of fissures. Ash flows of the type described at Mount Pelee are considered to represent the feeblest type of the nuee ardente. The solid materials contained in a typical ash flow are generally unsorted and ordinarily include volcanic dust, pumice, scoria, and blocks in addition to ash. 2. A deposit of volcanic ash and other debris resulting from such a flow and lying on the ground surface. Syn: ignimbrite. (AGI)

ash flow tuff. A tuff resulting from an ash flow.

Aso lava. A type of indurated pyroclastic deposit produced during the explosive eruptions that formed the Aso Caldera of Kyushu, Japan. Chiefly a lavalike tuff consisting of lenses or spindles of black and gray obsidian lying in a tuffaceous matrix that displays a streaky, varicolored banding or eutaxitic structure. Possibly erupted as extremely hot, gas rich dust and ash carrying large clots of molten, vesiculated volcanic glass. Similar to deposits variously described as welded tuff, welded pumice, ignimbrite, and tuff-lava. (AGI)

asper. Rough to the touch because of prickles, uneven, harsh, rugged; foliis asperioribus, with leaves more prickly.

asperate. adjective, archaic somewhat rough or harsh to the touch.

aulacogen. A long lived deeply subsiding trough, at times fault bounded, that extends at high angles from a geosyncline far into an adjacent foreland platform.

auricle. A structure resembling an ear or an earlobe. In botany, and particularly grasses thereof, an auricle in a small lobe at the juncture of the leaf sheath and leaf blade.

autecology n. Study of the requirements, tolerances, and responses of a single organism (Oosting 1956:12). The ecology of a species or of individual organisms in relation to the environment (Webster).

avalanche, volcanic. Avalanche usually refers to a large mass of ice and snow, sometimes accompanied by other material, moving rapidly down a mountain slope. A volcanic avalanche is a general term relating to movement of large masses of volcanic material, ususally tephra, moving rapidly down a mountain slope without regard for temperature and gas content.

axiolite, axiolitic. No definition in AGI, 1962. Defined in Ross and Smith, 1961.

bajada. 1. The slope or continuous apron comprised of merged alluvial fans. 2. A series of merged alluvial fans along the base of a mountain range.

batholith 1. Originally defined in 1895 as a stock-shaped or shieldshaped mass of igneous rock intruded as the fusion of older formations. On removal of its rock cover and on continued denudation, this mass holds its diameter or grows broader to unknown depths. 2. A body of intrusive rock, with the general characteristics of stocks, but of much larger size than is generally attributed to stocks or bosses.

beak. In botany “beak” usually refers to an extension from the top of an achene that elevates the pappus. Sometimes also called a “rostrum.” In Agoseris the length of the beak is a character that distinguishes between A. glauca with a short beak, and A. parviflora with a long beak.

bench. A strip of relatively level earth or rock, raised and narrow. A small terrace or comparatively level platform breaking the continuity of a declivity (AGI).

block. An angular fragment over 256 mm. in diameter showing little or no modification in form due to transportation; similar in size to a boulder. (AGI, 1962).

blueschist. At high pressure and low temperature, albite feldspar breaks down and forms the pyroxene jadeite and amphiboles like glaucophane and aegerine. The amphiboles are bluish, hence the term "blueschist."

High pressures (5 to over 8 kb) and low to moderate temperatures of 250° to 600° C (480° to 1,100° F) form blueschist facies. Blueschist facies is typical of subduction-zone metamorphism as tectonic plates fold over one another.

bolson. In arid regions, a basin filled with alluvium and intermittent lakes and having no surface water outlet.

Bryozoa. Phylum of tiny colonial animals equipped with a circle or loop or tentacles surrounding the mouth that build calcareous structures of many kinds, mostly marine. Ordovician to Recent. The phylum of invertebrate animals which are popularly called "moss animals". (Called Polyzoa by some zoologists.)

calathid. The flower head of an asteraceous plant.

callus. The hardened, sometimes sharp base of the floret of certain grasses.

calyculus. Plural: calyculi. A group of bracts simulating a calyx as in a carnation or hibiscus

Relevant to the keying of some Packera in that P. streptanthifolia is described as having conspicuous calyculi. However, looking at vouchers of the taxon, I don't see it.

Sometimes illustrated with the calyculi of Taraxacum.

The small bracts at the base of the involucre of Thelesperma are called calyculi.

capture. See stream capture.

carbonate bank. A submarine plateau composed of limestone, much like the present-day Bahamas.

carbonate mineral. Mineral formed by the combination of the complex ion (CO3)2- with a positive ion. Common example: CaCO3, calcium carbonate, the primary constituent of limestone.

carina. A carina, in anatomy,, is a structure whose shape resembles the keel of a boat

carnose. 1 : like or relating to flesh : fleshy. 2 : of a fleshy consistence —used of succulent parts of plants.

Nuttall (1818) says this about Senecio integerrimis, “ … Lower leaves thickish and somewhat carnose … ”.

See also Salvia carnosa Douglas ex Greene (=Salvia dorrii var. incana (Benth.) Strachan)

carphophore n. Botany. (in a flower) and elongated axis that raises the stem of the pistil above the stamens.

California Desert Conservation Area (CDCA). The 25 million acre CDCA contains over 12 million acres of public lands administered by the BLM. The boundaries are formed by the Nevada border and Colorado River on the east. The United States / Mexico boundary forms the southern boundary. Western boundaries are mostly desert areas on the east sides of the Peninsular Ranges, the Transverse Ranges, the Tehachapi Mountains and the Sierra Nevada.

• Having the texture of stiff writing paper or parchment (Harrington, 1954).
• (Papery): having the consistence of writing paper, and quite opaque; as most leaves (Stearn, 2004).
• With the texture of stiff writing paper, like parchment used to make charts (Shaw, 2008, Ackerfield 2015).
• Papery (Weber & Wittmann, 2012).

Neither this term nor hyaline are used in the Jepson Manual (Baldwin, et al., 2012).

cinder cone. A type of volcano which is built exclusively or in large part of pyroclastic ejecta dominated by cinders (particles 0.01 to 1 inch in diameter). Seldom exceeds 1,500 feet in height. Slopes up to 30 or 40 degrees.

cinereous. Ash-colored; grayish due to a covering of short hairs (Harris & Harris, 2001). Cinereous is a colour, meaning ashy grey in appearance, either consisting of or resembling ashes, or a grey colour tinged with coppery brown. It is derived from the Latin cinereus, from cinis (ashes) (Wikipedia).

cismontane. Situated on this side of the mountains.

Cismontane California is west of the Cascades--Sierra and Transverse--Peninsular crests.

A mixed breeding system is also fairly common.

conglomerate. 2. Geology a coarse-grained sedimentary rock composed of rounded fragments (> 2 mm) within a matrix of finer grained material. "the sediments vary from coarse conglomerate to fine silt and clay"

Pebbly conglomerate on Dakota Ridge.	Basal conglomerate.	Interbedded fluvial deposits.

connate. Anatomy. firmly united; fused. Botany congenitally joined, as leaves and "connate petals."

connivent. (biology) Arched inward so that the points meet; brought close together or in close contact; converging. Example: the connivent petals of a flower, wings of an insect, or folds of membrane in the human system, etc.

See also: corymbiform

costate. having ribs: such as. a : having one or more longitudinal ribs or nerves a costate leaf.

Antonym: ecostate

craton. A relatively immobile part of the earth, generally of large size.

crinoid. an echinoderm of the class Crinoidea, having a cup-shaped body to which are attached branched, radiating arms, comprising the sea lilies, feather stars, and various fossil forms.

crisped refers to the margin or rdge of a leaf. Curled or wavy (Welsh, Stanley L., et al. 1987).

crystalline. The orderly arrangement of atoms in a crystal. Rock which is made up of crystals. Examples: igneous and metamorphic rocks.

crystallization. The process of forming crystals by cooling a molten substance.

cytology. the branch of biology concerned with the structure and function of plant and animal cells.

• Extending down the stem below the insertion, as with leaves or stipules.
• Having a wing-like or ridge-like extension beyond the actual or apparent point of attachment. Said especially of a leaf base that seems to continue down its stem.

demulcent. A demulcent is a mucilaginous or oleaginous preparation that forms a soothing protective film over a mucous membrane, relieving minor pain and inflammation of the membrane. However, they generally help for less than 30 minutes. Demulcents are sometimes referred to as mucoprotective agents.

desert pavement. A residual deposit produced by continued removal of clay and dust by wind which leaves a surface covered with close packed pebbles. 2) Such as desert pavement. Desert crust. When loose material containing pebbles or larger stones is exposed to wind action the finer dust and sand are blown away and the pebbles gradually accumulate on the surface, forming a sort of mosaic which protects the finer material underneath from attack. This is the desert pavement. Synonym: pebble mosaic (AGI). See discussion in Chapter XI -- Geomorphology.

diamictite. A sedimentary rock consisting of poorly sorted, noncalcareous, terrigenous sedimentary rock (e.g., pebbly mudstone) containing a wide range of particle sizes. It has been suggested that the diamictites of the Pahrump Group are suggestive of glacier ice-rafted material.

dioecious. Male and female (or staminate and pistillate) plants separate. Said of a taxon in which individual plants produce either kind of unisexual fertile reproductive structures, but not both. See also: monoecious. Examples: Salix laevigata, Carex douglasii is said to be generally dioecious.

disjunct. Disjoined and distinct from one another. Often used with a small population of a plant is found at long distance from the bulk of the population.

divaricate. adjective Botany. (of a branch) coming off the stem at almost a right angle.

diversity

dolabriform. Having the shape of the head of an ax or cleaver. Perhaps in the case of Astragalus, it would be better described as the head of a pick. Not used by the Jepson manual, instead asking whether the hairs are “branched” vs. “simple.”

dune. A low hill, or bank, of drifted sand (AGI).

duriusculus (Latin). Adjective. duriusculus (feminine duriuscula, neuter duriusculum). Somewhat hard, rough or harsh.

eclogites (Coleman and others, 1965) are essentially bimineralic rocks comprised of almandine-pyrope garnet and jadeite-diopside pyroxene but with a bulk chemical composition essentially the same as that of basalt. Their relatively high density (3.4 to 3.5 g/cm³) suggests formation under high pressure and probably dry conditions (Best, 1982).

eclogite. A granular rock composed essentially of garnet (almandine-pyrope) and sodic pyroxene (omphacite). Rutile, kyanite, and quartz are typically present. (AGI, 1984)

eclogite facies. The set of metamorphic mineral assemblages (facies) in which basic rocks are represented by omphacitic pyroxene and almandine-pyrope garnet. Phase-equilibrium work has shown that these high-density mineral associations indicate a high pressure of crystallization.

ecostate. adjective. botany. (of a leaf) having neither ribs nor nerves.

Antonym: costate

edaphic adj. Of or relating to soil, esp. as it affects living organisms (Webster). Pertaining to, or influenced by, soil conditions (Munz 1965).

endemic adj. 1. Prevalent in or peculiar to a particular locality or people. 2. Ecol. Native or limited to a certain region (Webster).

ensiform. Lance- or sword-shaped with the widest point toward the base. Synonyms: gladiate, lanceolate.

The leaves of Juncus ensifolius are flattened with one edge facing the culm. Having one edge facing the culm does not seem to be part of the definition of ensiform.

entemophily. n. The state of relying upon insects for pollination.

entomophilous adj. Pollinated by insects.

ephemeral pool. A pool of water which contains water only during the wet seasons. Drys up completely at some time during the seasons.

ethnography. a branch of anthropology dealing with the scientific description of individual cultures.

eucaryote. An organism with cells characteristic of all life forms except primitive microorganisms such as bacteria; i.e. an organism with `good' or membrane-bound nuclei in its cells.

eutaxite, eutaxitic. Applied to a structure of certain volcanic rocks with a streaked or blotched appearance due to the alternation of bands or elongated lenses of different color, composition or texture; the bands, etc., having been originally ejected as individual portions of magma which were drawn out together in a viscous state and formed a heterogeneous mass by welding. The term is most appropriately used in describing the structure of a majority of welded tuffs. (AGI)

extinction. noun. in biology, the dying out or extermination of a species. Extinction occurs when species are diminished because of environmental forces (habitat fragmentation, global change, natural disaster, overexploitation of species for human use) or because of evolutionary changes in their members (genetic inbreeding, poor reproduction, decline in population numbers).

“Extinction isn't just the winking out of the last individual in a species. It's the relentless bleeding away of within-species diversity, viability, geographic range, and ecological significance, leading to that last, sad death.” — Barbara Ertter, 17 January 2025

fan. An accumulation of debris brought down by a stream descending through a steep ravine and debouching in the plain beneath, where the detrital material spreads out in the shape of a fan, forming a section of a vary low cone (AGI).

fastigiate.

1. (botany) Erect and parallel

   The branches of this species are fastigiate.

2. (botany, horticulture) Having closely-bunched erect parallel branches

   This is a fastigiate variety.

Nuttall (1840) described his Erigeron divaricatum (=Erigeron divergens Torr. & A. Gray) as the branchlets being “… fastigiate …”

fault. A surface of rock rupture along which there has been differential movement. A fracture in rock in which the two blocks on either side have moved in respect to each other.

fault block mountains. A mountain bounded by one or more faults. When two faults bound a mountain they may be responsible for the movements which have uplifted the block which was eroded to form a mountain.

floccose. Covered with or consisting of woolly tufts.

flosculi. Plural of flosculus meaning little flower, floweret, or presumably also floret.

fold. A bend, flexure, or wrinkle in rock produced when the rock was in a plastic state.

fossil. any remains, impression, or trace of an animal or plant of a former geological age, as a skeleton, footprint, etc.

fulvous. Reddish yellow; tawny.

functional diversity.

Functional diversity is a component of biodiversity that concerns what organisms do, rather than, for example, their taxonomic identity (Petchey, et al., 2009)

You: (6 September 2024)

A recent paper concludes that "… iNaturalist data exhibit more bias and capture less taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional diversity than digitized herbarium specimens …" What is meant by "functional diversity?"

ChatGPT:

Functional diversity refers to the range of different biological functions or traits within a community or ecosystem. It encompasses the variety of ways in which organisms interact with their environment and contribute to ecological processes. This concept can include various aspects such as:

1. Trait Variation: The differences in characteristics among species, such as their morphology, physiology, and behavior. For example, how different species capture nutrients, reproduce, or evade predators.
2. Ecosystem Roles: The various roles that species play within ecosystems, such as producers, consumers, or decomposers. For instance, some plants may be better at supporting pollinators while others may be more efficient at carbon sequestration.
3. Resilience and Functionality: The ability of an ecosystem to maintain functionality and resilience despite environmental changes or disturbances, due in part to the diversity of functions performed by different species.

In summary, functional diversity highlights how different species contribute to the processes that sustain ecosystems, and it helps in understanding ecological stability and responses to environmental changes.

The functional groups used in this study incorporate aspects of life history and growth form, as with Polley et al., 2005, but also include aspects of ecophysiology and taxonomy. The following native functional groups were recognized:

• sedges,
• C3 grasses,
• C4 grasses,
• perennial forbs,
• annual/biennial forbs,
• annual legumes,
• perennial nitrogen fixers,
• hemi-parasites, and
• woody plants.

• woody plants,
• forbs, and
• grasses.

M. Lavin (2023), Functional Groups.

garrigue

Overgrazing and exploitation of the maquis shrub community reduces it to an open vegetation of low, small shrubs (eg species of Satureja, Euphorbia and Thymus and including most of those of the maquis), many bulbs and annual species. This community, garrigue, is a mass of flowers in the spring, but they soon go over to become parched and dusty, with the annuals and above-ground parts of the bulbous plants dead and crisp.
--Joan Head, Editor, The Lavender Bag

gibbous. adj. swollen or enlarged on one side.

(of the moon) having the observable illuminated part greater than a semicircle and less than a circle.

• convex or protuberant.
  “gibbous eyes”

Gilia. From scientific Latin Gilia, genus name from the name of Filippo Luigi Gilii, Italian priest and scientist + -a. The “G” is pronounced like the “j” in jar.

glade. A "glade" is a small, open grassy area usually found within a forest, essentially a clearing among trees, while a "meadow" is a larger open field of grass, typically located in a more open area with fewer trees, making the key difference that a glade is a clearing within a forest whereas a meadow is a more expansive open grassland.

granite. A coarse-grained igneous rock dominated bt light-colored minerals with minor amounts of dark-colored minerals. Quartz and feldspar dominate. Makes up about 95% of all intrusive igneous rocks found on the continents.

granulite. 1. A metamorphic rock consisting of even-sized, interlocking mineral grains. 2. A coarse granular metamorphic rock of the granulite facies.

granulite facies. The metamorphic facies in which basic rocks are represented by diopside + hypersthene + plagioclase. It is typical of deep-seated regional dynamothermal metamorphism, at temperatures in excess of 650°C.

greenschist. A schistose metamorphic rock whose green color is due to the presence of chlorite, epidote, or actinolite.

greenschist facies. The metamorphic facies in which basic rocks are represented by albite + epidote + chlorite + actinolite. It includes the common products of low-grade regional metamorphism, and is believed to correspond to temperatures in the range 300°-500°C.

gynecandrous. Having staminate and pistillate flowers in the same spike or spikelet, the latter above the former.

homoplasy. Homoplasy, in biology and phylogenetics, is when a trait has been gained or lost independently in separate lineages over the course of evolution. This is different from homology, which is the similarity of traits can be parsimoniously explained by common ancestry.

hornfels A fine-grained rock composed of a mosaic of equidimensional grains without preferred orientation and typically formed by contact metamorphism. Porphyroblasts or relict phemochrists may be present in the characteristically granoblastic matrix.

hornfels facies. A loosely defined term used to denote the physical conditions involved, or the set of mineral assemblages produced, by thermal (contact) metamorphism at relatively shallow depths in the earth's crust (AGI).

• Thin in texture and transparent or translucent (Harrington, 1954, Shaw, 2008, Ackerfield, 2015).
• Transparent or translucent (Weber & Wittmann, 2012).
• Colorless or white, often ± transparent, thin, veinless (Wingate, 2017).

Neither this term nor chartaceous are used in the Jepson Manual (Baldwin, et al., 2012).

igneous rock. An aggregate on interlocking silicate formed by the cooling and solidification of a natural silicate melt.

ignimbrite. 1. A silicic volcanic rock forming thick, massive, compact, lavalike sheets that cover a wide area in the central part of North Island, New Zealand. The rock is chiefly a fine grained rhyolitic tuff formed mainly of glass particles (shards) in which crystals of feldspar, quartz, and occasionally hypersthene or hornblende are embedded. The glass particles are firmly "welded" and bend around the crystals, and evidently were of a viscous nature when they were deposited. The deposits are believed to have been produced by the eruption of dense clouds of incandescent volcanic glass in a semimolten or viscous state from groups of fissures. Syn: welded tuff. 2. The deposit of a fiery cloud or pyroclastic flow, extensive and generally thick with well developed prismatic jointing.

indurated. Rendered hard; confined in geological use to masses hardened by heat, baked, etc., as distinguished from hard or compact in natural structure. In modern usage the term is applied to rocks hardened not only by heat, but also by pressure and cementation.

inselberg. A lone, resistant, steep sided hill or mountain, formerly part of a larger mountain range, that is surrounded by alluvial fan or playa deposits.

intrusive rock. A rock that solidified from a mass of once molton material that invaded the earth's crust but did not reach the surface.

iteroparous (Latin "again" "birth") Refers to plants that have repeated periods of reproduction. See also: polycarpic.
Antonym: semelparous, monocarpic.

The Kranz syndrome is a group of related anatomical, cytological and physiological characters reported one way or another in about 10 families of angiospermous plants. The syndrome centres around the CO2 fixation aspect of photosynthesis, including synthesis of C4-dicarboxylic acids as the initial products of CO2 assimilation, utilization of most of the available CO2 producing a high 13C/12C ratio, having maximum efficiency at high temperatures, and all related to a sheath around the bundles in the leaf. All present evidence indicates that detection of any one of the aspects of the syndrome denotes the whole syndrome. The syndrome is uncommon among plants including angiosperms and is therefore considered to be the evolved or derived condition (Brown & Smith, 1972).

lacustrine. 1. Produced by or belonging to lakes. 2. Of, or pertaining to, or formed or growing in, or inhabiting, lakes.

lahar. 1. Landslide or mudflow of pyroclastic material on the flank of a volcano. 2. Deposit produced by such a landslide. May be wet or dry, hot or cold.

lapilli. Essential, accessory, and accidental volcanic ejecta ranging mostly from 4 mm. to 32 mm. in diameter.

Liesegang weathering in the Silurian Hills.

Liesegang Weathering. 1. Secondary, nested rings or bands caused by rhythmic precepitation within a fluid saturated rock (AGI, 1983). 2. A small-scale, more or less concentric, chemical reaction effect, seen as discrete, but largely contiguous, structures throughout a part of a rock body. Each structure shows, on an exposed surface, ring-shaped bands of concentric colour. The effect is probably caused by rhythmic precipitation in a gel (a jelly-like colloidal solution), perhaps a kind of weathering process........… (Wyatt, 1992).

lithification. The process by which unconsolidated rock-forming materials are converted into a consolidated or coherent state, i.e., turned into a rock.

maquis

If fires in the evergreen forest are too frequent to allow natural regeneration of the trees, or man removes them for timber, then degraded vegetation of low shrubs (2 – 4m high) occurs. This is called maquis and is usually dominated by Cistus spp., Pistacia lentiscus, Rosmarinus officinalis, Juniperus spp., lavenders, Arbutus and other ericaceous plants.Joan Head Editor, The Lavender Bag

mast year. A year in which an iteroparous woody perennial reproduces heavily, followed by one or more years of little or no reproduction. Mast years are common in temperate trees and serve to increase the chances of seeds escaping granivores. Mast years may be unpredictable when the reproductive cycle responds to external rather than physiological changes. Alternatively, irregular reproduction may be caused by severe resource depletion during the mast year. The period of time necessary to replace the energy reserves is often unpredictable because it varies with environmental conditions. Predictable mast years are found in conifers where the reproductive process takes a predictable time to complete (Barbour, et al., 1987)

meadow. A meadow is an open habitat or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non-woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character.

• Membranaceus (Membranaceous): thin and semitransparent, like a fine membrane; as the leaves of Mosses (Stearn, 2004).
• Thin, dry or moist, pliable, often more or less translucent or variously colored, sometimes green (e.g., Elymus cinereus ligule.) (see scarious) (Baldwin, et al., 2012).

mesa. A table land; a flat topped mountain or other elevation bounded on at least one side by a steep cliff; a plateau terminating on one or more sides in a steep cliff (AGI).

metamorphic rock. "Changed-form rock", any rock that has been changed in texture or composition by heat, pressure, or chemically active fluids after its original formation. Conditions of formation usually found miles below the earth's surface, thousands of atmospheres of pressure, cloe to the melting point.

mihi “as described by me” used by Rudolphi.

mineral. A naturally occurring solid element or compound. It is inorganic, has a definite composition, or ranges within definite limits. It has an orderly internal atomic structure and may express this in the form of visible crystals.

monocline

• A fold in layered rock that creates a slight bend.
• Double flexure connecting strata at one level with same strata at another level.
• single upward band or fold.

strong>monoecious. Male and female (or staminate and pistillate) unisexual structures (flowers) on the same plant. Said of a taxon having only unisexual fertile reproductive structures. See also: dioecious. Example: Alnus rhombifolia.

morphology. The shape of the earth's surface. The study of the shape of any surface, whether a planetary body, a fossil bone, or a mathematical abstract such as a toroid (donut).

mudflow, volcanic. See "lahar".

nom. cons. nomen conservandum is a scientific name that has specific nomenclatural protection. That is, the name is retained, even though it violates one or more rules which would otherwise prevent it from being legitimate. Buchloe Engelm. Is a conserved name.

nuee ardente. See ash flow.

nunatak. A nunatak is an isolated knob or peak of bedrock that projects prominently above the surface of a glacier and is surrounded by glacier ice. The word is derived from the Eskimo for "lonely peak."

nuntank. Nodding or drooping, used by Nuttall (1918) in his description of Erigeron pumilum.

Coll. No. 348, Chaenactis carphoclinia var. carphoclinia	Coll. No. 902, Madia glomerata	Disc flowers of Coll. No. 1109, Balsamorhiza sagittata

palea. In botany, has two separate meanings. It may be used as an alternate term for one of the receptacular bracts found in the family Asteraceae. Otherwise, it refers to one of the bract-like organs in the spikelet of the grass family, Poaceae.

• Asteraceae
• Known collectively as "chaff", the paleas, when present, each subtend one of the florets that cover the upper surface of the receptacle.
• Poaceae
• The palea is the uppermost of the two chaff-like bracts that enclose the grass floret (the other being the lemma). It is often cleft at the tip, implying that it may be a double structure derived from the union of two separate organs. This has led to suggestions that it may be what remains of the grass sepals (outer perianth whorl): specifically the two adaxial members of the three membered whorl typical of monocots. The third member may be absent or it may be represented by the lemma, according to different botanical interpretations.

paronychia

1. 1. paronychia — Infection in the tissues adjacent to a nail on a finger or toe. Similar to a whitlow.

   palynology. The study of pollen and other spores and their dispersal, and applications thereof.

paronychia (par-o-nik'i-a) [Gr. para, near + onyx, nail]

1. Infection in the tissues adjacent to a nail on a finger or toe.
2. Genus name of a low-growing annual or perennial herb or woody plant; whitlowwort, nailwort.
   • Whitlowwort, any of various low-growing tufted plants of the genus Paronychia having tiny greenish flowers and usually whorled leaves; widespread throughout warm regions of both Old and New Worlds; formerly thought to cure whitlows (suppurative infections around a fingernail).

patina. A thin, light colored, outer layer produced by wind action and weathering.

Pediment in Sheephole Pass

pediment. A sloping rock surface forming a ramp up to the front of a mountain range in an arid region. It may be covered by thin alluvium.

pediplain. A widely extending, dominantly gentle sloping or rolling surface which is rock cut and alluviated.

pelean eruption. Designating or pertaining to a type of volcanic eruption characterized by explosions of extreme violence and the formation of nuees ardentes, or ash flows. The lavas involved in this type of eruption are generally extremely silicic and viscous.

phenology n. Study of periodic biological phenomena, as breeding, flowering, and migration, esp. as related to climate (Webster).

phylogeny n. The evolutionary history of a group or lineage; the description and explanation of the temporal sequence of morphological, ecological and biogeographical changes of a taxon; phylogenesis. 2. The origin and evolution of higher taxa; the explanation of phylogenesis.

pinnae.A primary division of a pinnate leaf, esp. of a fern.

plain. A region of general uniform slope, comparatively level, of considerable extent, and not broken by marked elevations and depressions; it may be an extensive valley floor or a plateau summit. Any extent of level or nearly level land (AGI).

playa. 1. The flat floor of a bolson in an arid region. It is underlain by silts, clays, and complex associations of different salts. 2. The shallow central basin of a desert plain, in which water gathers after a rain and is evaporated (AGI).

playa lake. An intermittent lake which occupies the flat floor of a bolson.

pollinium. n. A pollinium (plural pollinia) is a coherent mass of pollen grains in a plant that are the product of only one anther, but are transferred, during pollination, as a single unit.

polycarpic. Refers to plants that have repeated periods of reproduction. Synonym: iteroparous. Antonym: monocarpic.

porrect. adj. Biology. Extended forward and outward: porrect mandibles or the porrect keel in Oxytropis.

prehnite-pumpellyite. The characteristic assemblages of this facies are developed only from fine-grained unstable starting materials such as glassy volcanic rocks, pyroclastics and greywackes. Diagnostic minerals may also occur in veins cutting largely unrecrystallized rocks.

procaryote. A unicellular organism having cells lacking membrane-bound nuclei; bacteria are the prime example but also included are blue-green algae and actinomycetes and mycoplasma.

pumice. An excessively cellular glassy lava, generally of the composition of rhyolite.

pyroclastic. A general term applied to detrital volcanic material that have been explosively or aerially ejected from a volcanic vent. Also a general term for the class of rocks made up of these materials.

pyroclastic rock. Fragmental rock blown out by volcanic explosion and deposited from the air. Rocks formed from bombs, blocks, cinders, ash, tuff, and pumice.

receptaculum. Latin. Anatomy. A receptacle. Plural receptacula)

refugia. As used in ecology, refers to small areas, or even microclimates, where a species can survive when it could not do so in the surrounding area.

relict n. An organism or species of an earlier era surviving in an environment which has changed considerably (Webster). A localized plant left over from an earlier geological period (Munz 1965).

replum. The framework of some pods, as the cress, which remains after the valves drop off.

rock. An aggregate of minerals of different types which may be in varying proportions. Contrast with "mineral".

Mt. Tom, 12 miles west of Bishop, Inyuo County, California

roof pendant. Older rocks projecting down from the roof into a batholith. On a map the roof pendant is completely surrounded by the rocks of the batholith

rostrum. In botany this is a term borrowed from zoology for the beak of a weavil, or the snout of a dolphin. It refers to an extension off the top of an achene to elevate the pappus. I usually use the seed of Tragopogon dubius to illustrate a beak

salina. A saline playa, that is mostly underlain by complex associations of different salts.

Sand tufa at Navy Beach.

sand tufa. Sand tufa is formed when fresh water springs percolate through the sandy lake bed of an alkaline lake. Contact with the alkaline salts cause calcium carbonate in the fresh water to precipitate in the sand. If the lake level drops, the uncemented sand can be eroded away, either by water or wind, leaving the sand tufa behind.

sarment. A prostrate filiform stem or runner, as of the strawberry.

♄ (Astronomic symbol for Saturn).

In Aiton (1789), used to indicate that a plant is shrubby.

In Lamarck (1791), used to indicate a woody plant, i.e., a tree or shrub (Stearn, 2004).

Abbreviations used by Aiton (1789)

• Scariosus (Scarious): having a thin, dry, shriveled appearance (Stearn, 2004).
• Thin, dry, and membranous; not green (Shaw, 2008).
• Thin, dry, pliable, translucent or variously colored but not green (e.g., Carex incurviformis pistillate flower bract). (see membranous) (Baldwin, et al., 2012).
• Thin, dry, scale-like, not green (Weber & Wittmann, 2012).
• Thin, dry, membranous, and translucent (Ackerfield, 2015).
• Thin, membranous (Wingate, 2017).

See also: hyaline, membranous, and chartaceous.

scoria. Volcanic slag. Pyroclastic ejecta, usually of basic composition, characterized by marked vesicularity, dark color, heaviness, and a texture that is partly glassy and partly crystalline. Fragments of scoria between 4 mm. and 32 mm. are essentially equivalent to volcanic cinders.

secund Borne or directed to one side of the axis (Harrington and Durrell, 1957). Arranged on one side only; unilateral (Welsh, Stanley L., et al. 1987).

sediment. The loose fragments of minerals and rocks which are transported by the wind, rivers, and glaciers as well as currents in lakes and the ocean.

Deformed sediments near Mill Creek

seismite. Sedimentary beds disturbed by seismic shaking.

shagreennoun: shagreen

1. sharkskin used as a decorative material or, for its natural rough surface of pointed scales, as an abrasive.
2. a kind of untanned leather with a rough granulated surface.

shale. a laminated sediment in which the constituent particles are predominantly of the clay grade.

silicle. A short silique usually having a length less than three times its width. [Latin silicula, diminutive of siliqua, seed pod.]

silique. A dry, dehiscent, elongated fruit, characteristic of the mustard family, having two valves that fall away leaving a central partition. [French, from Old French, from Latin siliqua, seed pod.]

spathe. A spathe is a large sheathing bract, or a pair of bracts, enclosing the flower cluster of certain plants, especially the spadix of arums and palms. They are also found in the Iris, and a determining character in some Sisyrinchium.

sphacelate. undergo necrosis; "the tissue around the wound necrosed" gangrene, necrose, mortify. rot, waste - become physically weaker;

Nuttall (1818) says this about the involucre of Senecio integerrimis, “ … scales sphacelate at the point …”

spheroidal weathering. A form of chemical weathering in which concentric shells of decayed rock (ranging in size from 2 cm to 2 m) are successively loosened and separated from a block of rock by water penetrating the bounding joints of other fractures and atttacking the block from all sides. It is similar to the larger-scale exfoliation produced usually by mechanical weathering. Syn: onion-skin weathering; concentric weathering; spherical weathering (AGI, 1983) Different from Liesegang Rings.

The involucre of Grindelia squarrosa is squarrose. Also the involucre of various knapweeds, Centaurea sp.

stratification. The structure produced by the deposition of sediments in layers or beds. May be found in pyroclastic and sedimentary rocks.

stream capture. The diversion of the upper part of a stream by the headward growth of another stream. Also called beheading, piracy, and stream robbery.

subdigitate. Apparently in the botanical world, most often applied to an inflorescence, to describe an inflorescence with branches that arise from almost the same point on the main axis, similar to the fingers of a hand.

Ackerfield (2015, p. 764, couplet 7b) uses subdigitate to describe the lobing of leaves of Potentilla subviscosa, P. hippiana × P. pulcherrima, P. saximontana, and P. subjuga, as follows:

7b. Leaves subdigitate (with 3-5 terminal leaflets sharing a common basal point and a pair of lower leaflets separated by a short rachis) … 13

20a. Leaves strongly bicolored, green above or tomentose above, densely white-tomentose beneath, often with a cluster of 5 digitate leaflets at end of rachis. P. pulcherrima × P. hippiana. Very common, the two species often growing together in disturbed ground and producing intermediate apomictic clones, mostly resembling P. hippiana.

Distinction:

• Subpalmate emphasizes the overall hand-like (palmate) spread but with less complete division.
• Subdigitate emphasizes individual finger-like projections that are not entirely separated.

In practice, the terms are closely related, and their use may overlap, with context or slight differences in lobe separation being the deciding factor.

Coll. No. 2840, Potentilla hippiana × pulcherrima	Coll. No. 3278, Potentilla hippiana × pulcherrima.	Basal leaf of Coll. No. 3278, Potentilla hippiana × pulcherrima.

subpalmate adj. Almost or imperfectly palmate.

See also: subdigitate.

. DeCandolle (1857) used this symbol to indicate a suffruticose plant.

Original Text	Automated Translation	My Interpretation
Suffrutex, nempe planta lignosa cujus altitudo ad summum bipedalis.	Suffruticose, that is to say a plant with a woody and the height thereof to the other end by that biped.	Suffruticose, that is to say having a woody base that persists but herbaceous branches that die after flowering.

supergene. Applied to ores or ore minerals that have been formed by generally descending water. Ores or minerals formed by downward enrichment.

synanthérée. (French) A plant whose stamens are characterized by anthers fused into a single body and form a tube crossed by the style.

syncline. A configuration of folded, stratified rock in which the rocks dip downward from opposite directions to come together in a trough. The reverse of an "anticline".

synecology n. study of groups of organisms, often in a natural setting (Oosting 1956:12). The study of the environmental interrelationships among communities of organisms (Webster).

syntopical. Adjective. (not comparable) Referring to a type of analysis in which different works are compared and contrasted. After finishing his syntopical reading of the leaders' speeches, he wrote an essay comparing the language used by Reagan, Carter, Gorbachev, and Qaddafi.

See: Gray, 1878, Syntopical Flora of North America, or Tadevosyan, T.L. 2002. On the syntopical distribution of the flora in the ecosystem of "Goravan Sands". Flora, Vegetation and Plant Resources of Armenia 14,: 96-99. Warren H. Wagner and Alan R. Smith also use the term in the introduction to Chapter 12 Pteridophytes of North America, in FNANM.

Some authors occasionally use one or the other of these infraspecific categories to accommodate different cytological forms, such as diploid and tetraploid populations that differ hardly or not at all morphologically. These "subspecies" or "varieties" may coexist syntopically without successful interbreeding (e.g. Asplenium trichomanes subsp. Trichomanes, 2n=72, and subsp. Quadrivalens, 2n = 144).

tafoni. Cavernous weathering features which have arch-shaped entrances, convex walls, overhanging upper margins, and fairly smooth, gently sloping floors.

talus. A collection of fallen disintegrated material which has formed a slope at the foot of a steeper declivity. Synonym: scree (AGI).

taxonomy n. The theory and practice of describing, naming and classifying organism; systematics; biosystematics, genomy.

Compare to phylogeny.

tephra. A collective term for all clastic volcanic materials which during an eruption are ejected from a crater or from some other type of vent and transported through the air; includes volcanic dust, ash, cinders, lapilli, scoria, pumice, bombs, and blocks. Syn: volcanic ejecta. (AGI)

terete. Adjective: Cylindrical or slightly tapering, and without substantial furrows or ridges.

The prickles of Rosa woodsii var. ultramontana are described as being terete.

ternate Adjective: Arranged in threes, especially (of a compound leaf) having three leaflets.

terrace. Benches and terraces are relatively flat, horizontal, or gently inclined surfaces, sometimes long and narrow, which are bounded by a steeper ascending slope on one side and by a steeper descending slope on the opposite side. Both forms, when typically developed, are step like in character (AGI). Benches are smaller than terraces. An example of a terrace can be found in lower Opal Wash, while benches are found on the west side of Wild Horse Canyon, north of the Ceremonial Site.

testa. A tough, hard, outer coat, the testa protects the seed from fungi, bacteria and insects. It has to be split open by the radicle before germination can proceed. For esample, used by Nuttall (1841) in describing the seed (achenium) of Psilochenia occidentalis.

topographic. Of or pertaining to the forms found at the earth's surface. The configuration of the earth's surface as it forms valleys, ridges, peaks, etc.

tuff. A rock formed of compacted volcanic fragments, generally smaller than 4 mm. in diameter.

turion. An overwintering structure that is scaley or often thick and fleshy that detaches, and then geminates or starts growth in the spring.

turtleback. Large smoothly curved topographic surface underlain by folded metamorphic rocks in the Death Valley region; resembles a structural nose with amplitude up to several thousand feet.

turtleback fault. Low angle fault which has brought Cenozoic sedimentary and volcanic rocks into contact with metamorphics at a turtleback surface; interpreted as a folded overthrust or as a plane along which normal faulting or extensive landsliding has occurred.

Vertical Angle Bench Mark (VABM). A marked point of known elevation, established through survey of vertical angles (????).

ventricose adj. Swelling out in the middle or onone side.

Used by Nuttall (1818) to describe the calyx of Cirsium undulatum.

vestiture

1. Clothing.
2. That which covers a surface, as hairs, scales, etc.
3. covering; the type of hairiness, scaliness or other covering commonly found on the external parts of plants. cf. indumentum
4. Trichome cover, a combination of trichome type, length, strength, shape, density, and color. (surface)

“ … the three species can be readily distinguished by vestiture of proximal petioles and stems (FNANM, Potentilla Sect. Rivales)”

vexillum. noun: vexillum; plural noun: vexilla 1. a Roman military standard or banner. 2. (botany) the standard of a papilionaceous flower, now simply called the banner. Used by Nuttall (1818) when describing Glycyrrhiza lepidota and Thermopsis rhombifolia.

virgate. (from the Latin virgatus, "rod-like") most often refers to plants with wand-shaped erect branches or stems.

volcanic ash. See "ash, volcanic".

volcano. Landform developed by the accumulation of cooled molten rock products near a central vent of opening.

v. s.. vidi siccam I have seen it in the dried state.

v. s. in Herb. Lewis — I have seen it in the Lewis Herbarium (Pursh, 1814)

v. v. vidi vivam. I have seen it in a living state. Refers to the plant rather than the botanist, plantam, plant, is here understood.

waif n. In botany, a "waif" is an unusual species found in the wild that is alien and either a) is unsuccessful at reproduction without human intervention, or b) only persists a few generations and disappears. Such a plant never gets "naturalized" in the wild.

wash. A watercourse, usually dry, with a loose surface of sand, gravel, boulders, etc..

watercourse. A natural channel for water.

weather. The state of the atmosphere at a given time and place, described by specification of variables such as terperature, moisture, wind velocity and barometric pressure.

welded tuff. A tuff which has been indurated by the combined action of heat retained by the particles and the enveloping hot gases.

whitlow. (hwit'lo) [ME. whitflawe, white flow]. A whitlow is a painful and highly contagious infection on the fingers caused by the herpes simplex virus. It is also known as herpetic whitlow.

yardang. Irregular ridges, commonly alternating with round-bottomed troughs, formed by eolian erosion.

zeolite. A generic term for a large group of hydrous aluminosilicates that are analogous in composition to the feldspars; have a ratio of (Al + Si) to nonhydrous oxygen of 1:2; and are characterized by their easy and reversible loss of water of hydration and by their ready fusion and swelling when strongly heated. Zeolites have long been known to occur as well-formed crystals in cavities in basalt. Of more significance is their occurrence as authigenic minerals, especially in beds of tuff.

zygomorphic. (of a flower) Having only one plane of symmetry, as in a pea or snapdragon; bilaterally symmetrical.

Literature Cited