Deadwood tree stems scattered above treeline on tephra-covered slopes of Whitewing Mtn (3051 m) and San Joaquin Ridge (3122 m) show evidence of being killed in an eruption from adjacent Glass Creek Vent, Inyo Craters. Using tree-ring methods, we dated deadwood to AD 815–1350 and infer from death dates that the eruption occurred in late summer AD 1350. Based on wood anatomy, we identified deadwood species as Pinus albicaulis, P. monticola, P. lambertiana, P. contorta, P. jeffreyi, and Tsuga mertensiana. Only P. albicaulis grows at these elevations currently; P. lambertiana is not locally native. Using contemporary distributions of the species, we modeled paleoclimate during the time of sympatry to be significantly warmer (+3.2°C annual minimum temperature) and slightly drier (−24 mm annual precipitation) than present, resembling values projected for California in the next 70–100 yr.

This book is dedicated to Elbert Luther Little, Jr. (1907-present) for his significant and voluminous contributions to the nomenclature and geographic distributions of both softwood and hardwood trees of

No abstract

Haptanthus is known from only a single collection despite several attempts to recollect it. Because of its unique inflorescence and flowers, and the specimen's lack of fruit, the original authors were unable to assign it to an existing family. After 12 years Nelson described it as the type of a new family, Haptanthaceae. The original authors mainly described and illustrated the gross morphology, pistil anatomy, and pollen of Haptanthus. In attempting to assign it to a family, eight familial placements were considered and reasons were given for their rejection. In the present paper additional characters of the leaf, stem, and pistil, mainly anatomical, are described and illustrated. Most of the wood characters are archaic (primitive).Haptanthus has a suite of characters indicating that it is probably wind-pollinated. Consideration of all the characters studied to date, and examination of additional literature and herbarium specimens of several families, enable us to suggest Flacourtiaceae and Euphorbiaceae as the closest relatives of Haptanthaceae. Recently, Flacourtiaceae has been suggested by another author. Key characters of the three families are compared in a table.