Al and Betty Schneider are accustomed to finding plants they have never seen before. Each time they walk among the flora and fauna of Southwest Colorado they look for the rare and uncommon. Twice, however, plants discovered by the Schneiders have not only been new to them but to botany as a whole.
Two years ago, Al Schneider made national news with the discovery of Gutierrezia elegans, a rare member of the sunflower family found only in Lone Mesa State Park. Last month, the Schneiders were able to publish the description of another plant discovery, Packera mancosana, also a type of sunflower found at Lone Mesa.
The plant discovery was made three years ago, in June 2008, while the Schneiders, amateur biologists, were exploring an area of Mancos shale in the park.
My wife had wandered around and was standing around a plant, and she said, Weve got something here I dont think we know, Schneider said.
The couple worked to find the identity of the mystery plant by using a key guide to wildflowers of the Western Slope. The identification process, called keying out, guides plant lovers through a series of questions to the plants name.
(The key) will ask you if the plant is tall or short or if it is a blue or pink flower or yellow or white, Schneider said. We attempted to key it out, and it didnt fit anything very well.
The flower in question was short with bright yellow flowers. A few of the plants characteristics were familiar.
We knew it was a sunflower; it generally fit into that family, Schneider said. We thought it was a genus within the family called Packera, but it didnt fit anything very well.
The Schneiders contacted a number of experts in the area, seeking information on the mysterious plant. After multiple conversations, it was confirmed that a new species had been discovered. It also appeared the plant was a relatively rare species, with only about 400 plants identified in the Lone Mesa region.
After confirmation, the Schneiders worked to name the new plant, giving it the species name mancosana, in homage to the shale in which the plant grows. Scientific names for plants, typically in Latin, identify the family, genus and species. The new plant, therefore, became Packera mancosana a member of the Asteraceae, sunflower, family.
Work then began on a formal description of the plant, partially in Latin, which was submitted for peer review. The Schneiders worked with Loraine Yeatts, an adjunct researcher at the Kathryn Kalmbach Herbarium at the Denver Botanic Gardens, to complete the description.
Samples of the plant were then sent to herbariums across the country. Herbariums are collections of preserved plant specimens, either whole plants or plant parts.
We printed out hard copies of the description and sent specimens of the plant to eight different herbariums around the United States, Schneider said. The main reason you do this is if anybody is studying these plants, they can request that the plant be sent to them to compare with the plant they have.
Packera mancosana is the third rare plant discovered in the state park. Along with Schneiders other discovery, Gutierrezia elegans, botanists have also recognized Physaria puvinata, described and named by Steve OKane and James Reveal in 2006. Schneider said the reason behind the prevalence of new and rare plants in the area is somewhat of a mystery.
We really dont have the answer to why we are finding these plants, he said. Generally, the answer is if you want unusual plants you go to unusual locations. The habitat we are dealing with, the Mancos shale, is unique and there is something about the solids and the rocks and the soils of the shale that favors the development of unusual and even unknown rare species.
The Schneiders, who have spent a number of years cataloging plants at Lone Mesa State Park, have worked with a geologist recently to look for comparable areas of shale.
It is just a unique habitat that isnt anywhere else, Schneider said.
The Schneiders keep an online catalogue of Southwest Colorado plants and wildflowers at www.swcoloradowildflowers.com. Data and pictures of the newest discovery are available on the site.
Reach Kimberly Benedict at kimberlyb@cortezjournal.com.