n monps joins arkansas friends in springfield · · 2015-11-297313). bring your own picnic lunch....

May-June 2009 Vol. 24, No. 3

Petal PusherMay-June 2009

NEWSLETTER OF THE MISSOURI NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY

The end of May brings another joint meeting of the MissouriNative Plant Society with the Arkansas Native Plant Society fora study of prairie flora and a hunt for Mead’s milkweed.

Meetings are planned to take place at the SpringfieldConservation Nature Center in southeast Springfield, Mo.

Look inside on page 4 for an article by Sherry Leis onMead’s milkweed. Also of note for this field trip will be a silentauction that is intended to raise money to bolster the HudsonFund. Read about that on page 3.

Tentative scheduleFriday, May 29 7 p.m. — Emily Horner will give a 45-minute program onMead’s milkweed at the Springfield Conservation NatureCenter auditorium. The auditorium will be open at 6 p.m. forthose arriving earlier.

Saturday, May 308 a.m. — Leave for field trips to prairies from the parking lot ofthe Super 8 Motel (3034 S. Moulder Ave., which is on the southside of Battlefield Road in southeast Springfield — (417) 889-7313). Bring your own picnic lunch.5 p.m. — Silent auction open at Springfield ConservationNature Center multipurpose room.7 p.m. — Societies’ board meetings at SpringfieldConservation Nature Center multipurpose room.9 p.m. — Must be out of Springfield Conservation NatureCenter facility.

Sunday, May 318 a.m. — Leave for field trip from parking lot of the Super 8Motel (see above)Noon or earlier — Field trip concludes for drive home.

For questions about schedule or arrangements, contact RexHill at (314) 849-1464 or [email protected].

Motel options

Super 8 Motel (South side of Battlefield Road betweenHwy. 65 and Glenstone Ave.)(417) 889-7313Double or single room: $55.69 per night plus taxes

Baymont Inn and Suites3776 S. Glenstone Ave.(417) 889-8188Double or single room: $80.10 per night plus taxes

Clarion Inn3333 S. Glenstone Ave.(417) 883-6550Double rooms: $89.95 per night plus taxes

MONPS joinsArkansas friendsin Springfield

Petal Pusher May-June 2009

Calendar of EventsHawthorn Chapter May 11: Regular Meeting at 7 p.m. at the Unitarian Church, 2615Shepard Blvd. Mike Currier will speak on Missouri Natural Areasand the plants found in them.Thursday, May 21: Lunch with Native Plant Enthusiasts. 11:30a.m. at the Uprise Bakery at 10 Hitt St.Sunday, May 24: Walk at the Marshall Diggs Conservation Area.Meet at 8 a.m. at the MDC Research Center.June 7: Dedication for Marge McDermott's Memorial inRocheport Pocket Park at First and Central, next to Katy Trail.Dedication will take place at 1 p.m. followed by refreshments atJean Graebner's home.June 18: Bobwhite quail/native plant field day at Bradford farm.Please plan to help with our booth. We will sell both plants andbooks. Thursday, June 25: Lunch with Native Plant Enthusiasts. 11:30a.m. at the Uprise Bakery at 10 Hitt St.Saturday, June 27: Prairie Walk in Pettis County. Meet at 8 a.m.at MDC Research Center, ColumbiaFor more information, contact Paula Peters (573) 474-4225

Kansas City ChapterMay 1-3: Spring plant sale at Powell Gardens.

May 16: Field trip to private prairie near King City, Mo., owned byMONPS member Larry Mayer. Meet at 9 a.m. at northwest corner ofWal-Mart parking lot, located at junction of Highway 152 andInterstate 35. Lance Jessee is the sponsor for this field trip and canbe contacted at (816) 444-4933.

Saturday, June 6: Annual Mead’s Milkweed survey at South ForkPrairie. Those who wish to caravan to South Fork, plan on meet-ing at K-Mart in the northeast corner of the parking lot acrossfrom old Bannister Mall location, at 9 a.m. Sack lunch and waterare suggested. Following the Mead’s survey at South Fork, mem-bers will move on to Tickwood Ranch to tour the prairie restora-tion project of Dave Alburty and Carol Pranulis. Tickwood is justminutes from South Fork. David and Kathy Winn are sponsors forthis trip, and can e-mail directions to you, if you wish to drive outon your own. Call (913) 432-4220 or (913) 486-4220 for details.

Saturday, June 13: Field trip with members of Missouri NativePlant Society and the team of herpetologist Mindy Walker ofRockhurst College, at Kill Creek Prairie. Dr. Walker is a herpetolo-gist who has been involved in the study and preservation of tim-ber rattlesnake populations in the Kansas City area. Members willhelp document numbers of Mead’s milkweed, and enjoy the manyother native plants at Kill Creek. Contact David and Kathy Winnfor details of this trip. (913) 432-4220 or (913) 486-4220.

Osage Plains Chapter

April 20: Ferns — Emily Horner. NEW TIME 6:30 p.m.Conservation Department

May 16: Field trip TBA (We always meet at the library parking lotat 9 a.m.)

May 18: Mead’s milkweed —Josh Cromer — 6:30 a.m.Conservation Department

June 13: Field trip — prairie

June 15: Native Gardening and Native Plant Sale - Josh JonesWild Goose Gardens

July 11: Meeting and field tour at Dale Jennings Bring a covereddish and a story to share

Ozarks Chapter Sunday, May 3: 1 p.m. Field trip to enjoy the blooming of thenative azaleas in Oregon County. Led by Rose Scarlet and EllenKauffman. Contact Ellen Kauffman for more details: (417) 764-3640 or [email protected], May 19: Evening field trip in lieu of chapter meeting. Meetin the parking lot of the MDC Regional Office in West Plains. Formore information, contact Susan Farrington (417) 255-9561 x 307.Tuesday, June 16: Evening field trip in lieu of chapter meeting. Meetin the parking lot of the MDC Regional Office in West Plains. Formore information, contact Susan Farrington (417) 255-9561 x 307.

Perennis Chapter

No dates submitted

St. Louis ChapterWednesday, May 27: Chapter meeting at 7:30 p.m. at PowderValley Nature Center, 11715 Cragwold Dr., Kirkwood (off GeyerRd., between Watson and Big Bend Rds.). Program by Rex Hillon prairies. This talk is a synopsis of the class he and NelsHolmberg are giving on prairies, sponsored by MONPS, at theMeramec Community College in May.

Wednesday, June 24: We have an annual evening walk at oneof the local parks. This year we are going to take the “Trail Amongthe Trees” walk at Rockwoods Reservation at 6 p.m. To get there,take Interstate 44 to the Eureka Hwy. 109 exit, drive north and thepark is on the left. We meet in front of the Visitor’s Center.

MayAmerican Wetlands MonthNational Wildflower Week

— 4-9International Day for

Biological Diversity — 22

JuneGreat Outdoors Month Perennial Gardening

Month

National Rose Month

World Environment Day —5

National Trails Day — 6

Nature Photography Day— 15

Summer Solstice — 21

Other calendar datesMONPS member Sylvia Forbes has compiled a list of cal-

endar dates celebrating nature-related causes.


Silent auction planned for field tripBy Kathy ThieleImmediate past president and auction chairwoman

It’s time to root through your books, yourworks of art and perhaps your plants.

It’s time for a silent auction. The proceeds from items donated by

Missouri members will benefit the HudsonFund, which provides scholarships forthose deserving people who do researchthat benefits our native plants.

Our friends from the Arkansas NativePlant Society will also have items for auc-tion, and their proceeds will be used for anequally beneficial purpose by their organi-zation.

For those of you who have never beeninvolved in a silent auction, it works likethis – people make donations of items

which are left on display for people to viewand bid on by writing their name and theirbid on a sheet by the item. At the end ofthe auction period, the highest bidder wins(and pays for) the auction item.

The auction is scheduled for the week-end of May 29-31, which is our MONPSstate field trip in Springfield, Mo. Folks canview auction items on Friday evening andeven begin bidding on them starting at 6p.m., before (and after) the presentationfrom our guest speaker. Then on Saturdayevening, the doors open at 5 p.m., andpeople can continue bidding until after theannual meeting.

Cash and personal checks will beaccepted but not credit cards.

WE NEED DONATIONS! For this auction to be successful we

need lots of donated items but they must

have something to do with the nativeplant theme of our societies. Some exam-ples might include (but are not limited to)used books, new books, artwork, wood-working items, crafts using native plants,live plants, gift certificates to native plantnurseries, perhaps even certificates forguided trips to areas with rare nativeplants.

If you have items to donate, it would behelpful if you would contact me in advanceof the meeting (contact info on the lastpage). However, we will not turn down anydonations that show up unannounced. Ifyou can’t make it to the meeting, sendyour donated item with someone from yourregion. Use your imagination, bring yourmoney, and let’s have some fun for a goodcause!

Dues renewal time nearsBy Ann EarleyMembership chairwoman

Membership renewals for the July 2009-June 2010 year aredue.

Please check the top line of your mailing label. If it showsthe date 20090630,your dues are now payable.

To renew, please look for the renewal envelope in this issueof the Petal Pusher. Please remember to complete your con-tact information and your society and chapter dues prefer-ences.

If you have questions about your membership status, pleasecontact me (see back page for contact information).

We value our members and urge you to renew today!

Eric Feltz, St. LouisTed Bolich, ClintonSharon Warnaca, ClintonCynthia Walker, SikestonJennifer Gruhn, St. LouisKen O’Dell, Paola, Kan.John Petzing, Monticello,

Ill.

Sibylla Brown, Leon,Iowa

Susan Treadway,Gladwyne, Pa.

Carolyn Navarre,Mountain View

Evie Harris, MarylandHeights

Susan Appel, Leawood,Kan.

Lindsay & ScottNamestnik, North Liberty,Ind.

Mary Millman, Berkeley,Calif.

New members

Phlox pilosaCommon in dry to mesic

prairies and open oaksavannas, Phlox pilosaoften grows in rocky orsandy areas. Its hairy stemsearn it the common name ofdowny phlox. It also isknown as prairie phlox.

It grows 3 feet tall. Itsleaves are widely spacedand have no petioles. Theleaves taper to pointed tipsand are up to 4 inches longand 0.75 inches wide.

It blooms inmidspring tomidsummer, withsome blooming lin-gering into fall.Flowers bloom in clus-ters at the tops of thestems. Each flower is three-quarters of an inch wide withfive pink petal-like lobes at theend of a narrow tube about a half inch long.

The details of its flowers are identical to P. divaricata, but P.divaricata is smooth-stemmed. P. divaricata is found in openwoods, wet streamsides and bottomlands.

Sources: “Tallgrass Prairie Wildflowers” by Doug Ladd and“Missouri Wildflowers” by Edgar Denison.

Britton & BrownIllustrated Flora


Unlocking the secrets of Mead’s milkweed recovery

By Sherry Leis

Our spring meeting will focus on the search for Mead’s milk-weed (Asclepias meadii).

This milkweed once ranged throughout the tallgrass prairieregion, but it is now restricted to isolated populations in a fewstates. As a result Mead’s milkweed is listed as threatenedrange wide and endangered in Missouri.

It can be found in the Glaciated Plains, Springfield Plateau,Osage Plains, and St. Francois Mountains regions of Missouri.Although plants in these regions fall under the same speciesname, they have some morphological differences. The mostnotable are the St. Francois Mountain plants. Occurring onigneous glades, they are more robust in that they are muchtaller and flower more prolifically. The plants in the otherregions tend to be on prairies and can be very difficult to find,especially if they are not in bloom.

Mead’s milkweed is a long-lived perennial plant reproducingfrom rhizomes or seeds. It has a single green nodding inflores-cence and is often confused with green milkweed or dog bane(Figure 1). Mead’s has 3-7 pairs of opposite leaves and asmooth hairless stem, unlike green milkweed, which has ahairy stem (Figure 2). A small percentage of plants tend toflower in a given year and even fewer actually produce fruit(Figure 3).

Numbers of Mead’s milkweed plants fluctuate annually but ingeneral have been on the decline for some time. The Mead’sMilkweed Recovery Team, led by Emily Horner, has beeninvolved in annual censuses of known populations and restora-tion efforts. Restoration efforts have included attempts to cross-pollinate plants by hand as well as collection of seed used togrow and transplant seedlings (Figure 4). Wild hog eradicationalso became a necessity when the animals were found rootingaround near the Mead’s milkweed populations within the St.Francois Mountains.

Another point of focus is learning more about the source ofthe decline. The decline of Mead’s is somewhat of a mystery tograssland ecologists in Missouri. Speculation ranges from lossof habitat and pollinators to changes in disturbance patternslike grazing, fire and haying of the prairies. Throw in the compli-cating factor of ever-changing weather patterns and the watersonly get more muddied. You can really start to pull out your hairwhen you find out that Mead’s populations in Kansas seem tobe relatively stable.

The best way to learn more about this plant would be to con-duct some experiments, but unfortunately the small populationsare precious and must be handled thoughtfully. That’s one rea-son for augmenting the populations with seedlings.

Another reason for augmenting the current populations is toenhance genetic diversity within local populations. When popu-lations of sexually reproducing plants become small and isolat-ed, genetic material becomes less diverse, and the chances forPhoto by Emily Horner

Figure 2. Mead's Milkweed in bloom (Profitt Mountain in the St.Francois Mountains). Continued next page


successful reproduction more limited. Perhaps one day, we’ll have enough plants to not only better

sustain populations, but also with which to conduct some trials. In lieu of traditional experiments, Missouri prairie ecologists

are taking an adaptiveapproach to learn more aboutMead’s. They are buildingdata sets of Mead’s popula-tions over time to cross refer-ence with weather and knownmanagement actions.Comparisons will be madewithin and between popula-tions to better understandtrends and triggers.

The recovery team hasalso piggy-backed Mead’sresearch onto a study of theeffects of patch burn grazingon Niawathe Prairie. (Patchburn grazing draws on thesynergy of fire and grazing tomanage prairies, but that’sanother story).

Plans are being developedwith St. Louis University toconduct a three-year pollina-tion study.

Historically, Missouri farm-ers have annually hayedprairies. Haying could elimi-nate a plant’s ability to repro-duce for the year unless thecutting occurred after seedmaturity. Many years of hay-ing could have stimulatedvegetative stem production,but depleted nutrition storesand prevented flowering.Prescribed fire occurring inlate summer or fall may stim-ulate flower production for thenext year, but the effect ofspring fires may differ.

Finally, the effect of grazingis uncertain and under study.Mead’s doesn’t appear to beas toxic as other milkweeds,but it seems to be avoided bycattle for the most part. Emilyand the recovery team hopethat understanding the effect of these variations in manage-ment through the multifaceted approach described above willunlock the secrets of Mead’s milkweed recovery.

More information including conservation areas that areknown to have Mead’s can be found at:http://mdc.mo.gov/nathis/plantpage/flora/meads/.

Photo by Emily HornerFigure 4. Larry Rizzo transplanting Mead's seedlings raised byPowell Gardens.

Photo by Emily HornerFigure 3. A Mead's milkweedpod on Profitt Mountain in theSt. Francois Mountains.

From the previous page

Figure 1. Mead's Milkweed in bloom.


Hawthorn ChapterSubmitted by Nadia Navarrete-Tindall, chapter representative

With excerpts from the MONPS-Hawthorn Chapter January-February newsletters submitted by various members.

The Hawthorn Chapter has a new president. Vanessa Melton, who was elected vice-president in January

has assumed the role of president after past-recent presidentNancy Langworthy resigned because of personal reasons.While, Jean Graebner and Paula Peters remain secretary andtreasurer, respectively, our chapter is now looking for a volunteerto fill the vice-presidency position.

During the regular meeting in March, Jean Graebner reportedon the development of the pocket park at Rocheport. Sheinformed that a tulip tree was planted in memory of memberMarge McDermott and a picnic table and a pink-to-rose granitestone will be engraved and placed near the tree. The site is locat-ed near the Katy Trail and is surrounded by native vegetation.

Member Glenn Picket informed members present about a pro-posal to offer modest grants to Columbia Public Schools teach-ers for educational projects. The proposal was approved whichconsist in offering $250 for grants for the 2009-10 fiscal years.Glenn and other grant committee members would evaluate andapprove one or two proposals up to the $250 amount budgeted.

Lincoln University has an opening for a regional educator —horticulture/native plants (Saline County) . More information is athttp://www.lincolnu.edu/pages/110.asp?PositionID=396.

Kansas City Chapter Submitted by Daniel Rice, chapter representative

The Kansas City Chapter held its March 19 meeting at theWinstead’s restaurant on the Country Club Plaza. We are havingscheduling problems with the Discovery Center, but are hopefuleverything will be worked out in time for our May meeting.

One topic covered was our participation in the Kansas CityFlower Lawn and Garden/Home Show the 26th to the 29th ofMarch. All shifts are taken, which is great! We also discussedour April 11 field trip to Isley Park Woods in Excelsior Springs,Mo. This is a great north slope woodland with lots of springephemerals, including bloodroot.

Another topic of discussion was our participation in two EarthDay events. We will have a display table and lots of informationto hand out at the Sprint Earth Day Festival on April 17th. Thenon April 18th, we will be selling plants from Missouri WildflowerNursery at the Lakeside Nature Center’s Earth DayCelebration.

We also discussed our May 16 field trip to the restored pri-vate prairie of Larry Maher near King City, Mo. This will be anall day field trip. Hopefully, we will be able to see Mr. Maher’sstand of yellow Indian paintbrush, which he has been painstak-ingly trying to increase over the last 30 years.

The meeting adjourned at 9 p.m., with everyone excitedabout the upcoming events and field trips we will be a part of. Ifyou have any questions or would like to know more about ourfuture events, please feel free to e-mail me [email protected].

Osage Plains ChapterSubmitted by Marlene T. Miller, chapter representative

First I need to make a correction to our last report. We didnot have meetings in December and January not January andFebruary as I wrote. FYI: That’s what happens when you getolder :).

This will be my last report for Osage Plains. We put our farmup for sale today. We will be moving to Georgia when it sells tobe near our son. I will have a whole new set of plants to learnand I am barely getting started with the ones in Missouri. Myson assures that regardless of its red color, the red Georgiaclay will grow anything so ...

Our first field trip is Saturday, April 4, so I don’t have a reporton it since it hasn’t happened as of the time this report must bein to our editor. If the sun will cooperate the next few days tobring out a few more things, it should be a nice one as it will beat the Peterman property. This is always a trip that we all lookforward to doing since it has such a wide variety of springplants.

Our first meeting for the year was Feb. 16 with 14 membersand friends present. Our second meeting was March 16 with 21members and friends present. The topics were very differentand both were interesting and informative.

In February Dorothy and Jim Harlan spoke on hazelnut treesor Corylus americana. We were given several handouts thatincluded identifying characteristics and how to grow. There wasa synopsis of the Arbor Day Foundation’s research on hazelnuttrees. They have been encouraging the planting of hazelnuttrees not only as ornamentals and nuts for personal use butalso as a tree farm type operation. Even the shells are mar-ketable as mulch.

After the presentation we discussed meetings and field trips.Our current president will be on a hiatus again in August andSeptember (maternity leave) and will need help with her dutiesif she is still our president at that time. We have an opportunityto save some native plants from gardens at WakontaHeadquarters. They are in gardens that they do not plan tocontinue to maintain.

In March our speaker was Ted Bolich. The topic for theevening was prehistoric petroglyphs and the wondrous archeol-ogy of The Petrified Forrest and the desert southwest. He hada lot of information that was new to most of the participantsincluding a handout on terminology. He presented informationon chronological periods, dating, rock varnish, types of figuresand interpretation.

If you ever get out into the area of the Petrified Forrest andPainted Desert in Arizona, don’t just plan a quick drive through.You need to spend a couple days at least hiking back into thearea of the petroglyphs and other rock art. His pass-around pic-tures, display and slides (Emily helped with those) were terrific.There are even a few that appear to be representations of plants.

As he kept reminding us, however, interpretation is in theeye of the beholder. During the meeting we firmed up field tripsand meetings, had a brief over view of Community SupportedAgriculture programs, and made plans for the Wakonta plant

C H A P T E R R E P O R T S

Continued next page


dig. April to mid May. Elections will be in April. We changed ourmeeting times from 7 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

If you live near Clinton, please come join us. See our fieldtrip and meeting list elsewhere in this Petal Pusher or call meat (660) 694-3581.

Ozarks ChapterSubmitted by Susan Farrington, chapter representative

At our February meeting, Alicia Mullarkey, MissouriDepartment of Conservation plant ecologist graduate intern,gave a great presentation about her work evaluating the ecolo-gy and population status of tall larkspur (Delphinium exaltatum).

Tall larkspur is a rare plant that is only known from twocounties in Missouri (Shannon and Howell), and is globallyrare as well as locally rare. Alicia found that of the 13 knownpopulations in Missouri, five are declining, six are maintainingand two are increasing in population. However, two of thepopulations that are maintaining their numbers have exhibiteda major decline in the percentage of plants that are blooming.

The largest known population (650 plants) has declined to228 plants, and the percentage of reproductive plants hasplunged from approximately 80% to 5%. This decrease inblooming plants overall reflects the increasing canopy cover inmost of the sites. Tall larkspur appears to be a dry-mesic wood-land species, preferring partial openings in the canopy.Historically, fire and/or beavers maintained these open condi-

tions, and management by fire and/or thinning is recommendedto improve the habitat for this plant. The good news for theplant is that three new populations were discovered in 2008,one of which is in a prescribed burn unit and is doing very well.Alicia recently accepted a position as prairie preserve managerfor the University of Nebraska in Omaha. We wish her the bestof luck in her new job!

At our March meeting, Chris Crabtree, natural resourcesteward with Department of Natural Resources State Parks,gave an awesome presentation about mushroom identification.His photographs were amazing, and he inspired us all to learnmuch more about mushrooms. As great as morels are, thereare so many more worth learning about! Thank you, Chris, fortaking the time out of your busy schedule to enlighten us!

We are looking forward to what promises to be a wonderfulpresentation by Theo Witsell at our April meeting (we’ll reporton that next time). From May to July, we decided that we’d pre-fer to be outside looking at wildflowers while the days are long,rather than sitting inside watching programs, so we’ll be hold-ing evening field trips instead of our regular chapter meetings.

Perennis ChapterSubmitted by Allison Vaughn, chapter representative

On Feb. 21, Perennis members met in Ste. Genevieve tolearn about viticulture in Missouri. We visited three wineries inthe area: Ste. Genevieve, Charleville, and Crown Valley.

Kelly Tindall led the tour and discussed how the common



Photos by Alicia MullarkeyTall larkspur (Delphinium exaltatum) is found in two Missouricounties, Shannon and Howell.

Continued next page


Take a hike and findsome prairie irisBy Susan FarringtonPlant community ecologist

Keep your eye out in early to mid May for prairie iris(Nemastylis geminiflora). It is rare in our state, typicallyfound on rocky glades, prairies or open woodlands, growingon calcarerous substrates (dolomite or limestone).

The blue flowers are very showy and are about the sizeof a silver dollar, with a white ring in the center and yellowstamens. It’s a tough one to catch, though, because eachblossom lasts only for part of a day, opening in mid-morningand closing by mid to late afternoon. Since the plant usuallyhas several blossoms, a given plant can flower for severaldays each year, and a population should have one or moreflowers visible over a period of about 10 days.

In Shannon County (south central Missouri) in 2008, thisblooming period was approximately May 5 to May 15. Sotake a Mother’s Day hike, and try to find it!

The plant may be more widespread than we realize, butis seldom recorded because of its very short blooming peri-od. It is known from the following counties so far: Cass,Franklin, Iron, McDonald, Shannon, St. Francis, St.Genevieve, Taney, Vernon and Washington. If you find itelsewhere, you’ve got a county record!

If you have landowner permission, and the populationsize allows, collect a specimen to submit to the MissouriFlora Project. If not, take some clear photographs and notethe location, how many plants are present (blooming andvegetative), the habitat and associated species.

The Missouri Department of Conservation tracks thespecies, so let me know if you find it (contact information onback), and I’ll help you submit a heritage record and/or aspecimen to the Missouri Flora project.

Look-alike species: celestial lily (Nemastylis nuttallii) is abit more common, especially in the southwestern corner ofthe state. Unlike prairie iris, its flowers open in the late after-noon and close during the night. Also, note that commonblue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium spp.) is closely related andalso has beautiful iris-like flowers. However, the flowers aremuch smaller (no larger than your fingernail).

Nemastylis geminiflora

native woodland species, Vitis aestivalis, was crossed to cre-ate the state’s well-known Norton/Cynthiana grape.

Along the tour, members listened to vintners discuss grape-growing techniques, wine-making skills, suitable Missouri soilsand various barrel materials used in our grape-growingregions. Several wines offered to members were aged inMissouri white oak barrels, offering a distinctive tasteunmatched in French oak barrels or stainless steel. Membershad a rollicking good time, staying in Ste. Genevieve from 11a.m., when the wineries opened, to almost 7 p.m., just as theywere closing for the night.

In March, following a massive ice storm that caused exten-sive damage to trees in southeast Missouri, President KentFothergill arranged a trail clean up day at Morris State Park. Acrew of volunteers spent the day clearing the trails in time forspring wildflower season. Wildflowers arrived early onCrowley’s Ridge, with reports of Claytonia virginica springingup in February, just in time for another round of sleet andsnow.

St. Louis Chapter Submitted by Martha Hill, chapter representative

On Feb. 25, with about 50 people in attendance, SteveBuback, the nature reserve foreman at Forest Park in St.Louis, gave a winter tree identification program, with a field tripthe following Saturday.

Since I was not in town in February, George Yatskievych,our chapter president, kindly sent me his notes, saying that 15people braved the frigid and breezy weather to attend thiswalk with Steve, held at the Forest 44 Conservation Area, for ahands-on demonstration in identifying trees in winter.

For a change of pace, on March 25, George Yatskievychgave a program on “Philosophy and Practice of PreparingPressed Plant Specimens.” The title was a tongue twister,though the talk was tantalizing. Anyone who has attended oneof his talks already knows that he is a very good speaker, anddid not disappoint us with this one, either. He brought in sever-al herbarium specimens and we got to see a couple of home-made plant presses that both he and Rex Hill brought in fordemonstration.

At the March meeting we voted for officers for 2009-10. Thefollowing people will begin their term in July 2009:

Steve Buback — PresidentJohn Oliver — Vice presidentJane Walker — SecretaryMary Smidt — TreasurerPat Harris — Chapter representativeAs a reminder, our April meeting will be on the 22nd, with a

talk by George Van Brunt, who is a retired science teacher, on“The Ins and Outs of Pollen Morphology, Mostly the Outs.” I’veheard an early version of this talk and look forward to learningmore. He has some interesting photos of pollen grains and isable to discuss this subject in common, easily understoodterms.




Arkansas reports new Missouri genusAnother new genus has been added

to the list of plants growing in Missouri. In the recent spring/summer 2009

issue of Claytonia, the newsletter of theArkansas Native Plant Society (Vol. 29-1), Linda Ellis reports finding large quan-tities of an unusual wildflower during adrive from northwestern Arkansas intoadjacent Missouri. She notes that thelarge, showy, mystery plants formeddense populations and that the flowerswere attracting diverse and abundantbutterflies.

Eventually, Arkansas state botanist,

Theo Witsell was able to identify theplants as Scabiosa atropurpurea (pin-cushion flower), an Old World member ofthe teasel family, Dipsacaceae, that iscommonly cultivated as an ornamental ingardens.

This tall annual has lots of flowers in adense, more or less globose head sub-tended by an involucre of bracts. It mighteasily be mistaken for a member of thesunflower family (Asteraceae). The corol-las are white or pale lavender-tinged andcontrast nicely with the purple stamens.

Unlike the familiar teasels, Scabiosa is

not spiny. Despite its beauty and apparent use-

fulness as a nectar plant, Linda cau-tioned that because of its rank growththe species has the potential to becomean invasive exotic in open habitats in theOzarks.

Interested readers should visit theArkansas Native Plant Society’s Website (www.anps.org) and navigate to theClaytonia page, where Linda’s originalarticle was published. It includes a beau-tiful set of drawings of the plant and itsstructural details.

KCWildlands dives into restorationBy Daniel RiceKansas City chapter representative

KCWildlands has had a busy late win-ter/early spring, especially on the restora-tion side.

Our seed team has put down all theremaining seed at Jerry Smith Park,Blue River Glades, Rocky Point Gladesin Missouri and Ernie Miller Park inKansas.

This is seed gathered during 2008 atthese sites. Part of the gathered seed

was used for seedling propagation, withthe remainder being sown directly on thesites.

Spring burn season has started, with agood burn at Rocky Point Glades in lateFebruary. After the burn, two deer enclo-sures were installed to monitor the dam-age done by the deer at this site. Theeast side of Jerry Smith Park was burnedin March. Again, it was a good burn. TheMissouri Department of Conservationalso held a burn training course inFebruary. Several KCWildlands volun-

teers attended the class, getting morevolunteers certified to participate in ourprescribed burns.

May 2 is the date set for our annualseedling planting. Seedlings grown for usby several volunteers will be transplantedto restoration sites in Ernie Miller Park,Jerry Smith Park and Rocky PointGlades.

For more information aboutKCWildlands, visit the Web site atwww.kcwildlands.org.

Chicago bans 14 invasive speciesThe Windy City in mid-April took an

aggressive stance against invasive plantspecies by adding 14 invasive species toits list of restricted flora and fauna estab-lished in Chicago’s Invasive SpeciesRegulations of May 2007.

The new ordinance orders the ChicagoDepartment of Environment to prosecutesellers and hobbyists who import, sell orpossess oriental bittersweet, Japanesehops, privet and princess trees and otherplants.

Businesses caught selling invasivespecies in Chicago face a fine ofbetween $1000 and $5000, while a pri-vate grower can be charged between$100 and $500.

“Invasive species cause great harm toour environment,” Kay Havens, directorof plant science and conservation at the

Chicago Botanic Garden, told a gradu-ate journalism student reporter for theMedill School’s Medill Report. “Andwhen they have been demonstrated todo so in our region, regulation becomesnecessary.”

The newly banned 14 species:

Akebia quinata, chocolate vine

Ampelopsis brevipendiculata, ele-gans porcelain berry vine

Anthriscus sylvestris, wild chervil

Celastrus orbiculatus, oriental bitter-sweet

Humulus japonica, Japanese hops

Leymus arenarius, lyme grass

Ligustrum spp, privet

Miscanthus sacchariflorus, amur sil-

ver grass

Paulownia tomentosa, princess tree

Phellodendron amurense, amur cork-

tree

Phellodendron japonica, Japanese

corktree

Polygonum cuspidatum, Japanese

knotweed

Quercus acutissima, sawtooth oak

Ranunculus ficaria, lesser celandine


A favorite early spring bloomerBy Retha MeierSt. Louis Chapter

One of my favorite spring flowers is thesmall bluet, Hedyotis crassifolia (alsoknown as Houstonia minima). These tiny,delicate, and colorful angiosperms form acarpet of flowers March through April infields in central and southern Missouri.Other states, from Virginia to Illinois andfrom Iowa all the way down to Florida andparts of Texas enjoy small bluets.

Hedyotis crassifolia is native to theUnited States and belong to theRubiaceae, or Madder, family. Gardenia,Coffea (coffee) and Cinchona (quinine) areall important members of this family.

“Hedyotis” is a Greek word and means“sweet ear,” whereas “crassifolia” is a Latinword and means “thick leaf.” The applica-tion of the term “sweet ear” to the genusHedyotis is a mystery. The genus name“Houstonia” originated because the flowerwas originally named in honor of an earlyEnglish botanist, Dr. William Houston. Thisplant is a perfect example of how commonnames can cause confusion.

Approximately 25 names exist for thesame bluet, including star-violet, tiny bluet,low bluet, southern bluet, innocence, angeleyes, Quaker ladies and violet bluet. Thecommon name “bluet” is a name givenbecause of the blue flowers.

As many of the common names sug-gest, the small bluet is miniature in size. Atiny flower with four petals is positioned atthe terminal end of a stalk that ranges inlength from 1-10 centimeters. Flowersappear blue but can vary from creamywhite to purple to deep violet. The centerof the tube appears a vivid yellow.Pollination and fertilization result in asmall capsule holding a few to severalspherical, dark seeds. Leaves are tiny,measuring only about a single centimeterin length and are basal. A few leaves canbe found growing in an opposite patternalong the stem. Who are the pollinators?I’m not sure. From the literature, pollina-tors for the genus Hedyotis appears to beflies, bees, butterflies and possibly eventhrips.

Two forms (morphs) of flowers exist —flowers with long styles and short stamens(pins) and those with short styles and longstamens (thrums). Distylous species have

this clever arrangement that ensurescross-pollination. Charles Darwindescribed distylous species in his bookwritten in 1877, “The Different Forms ofFlowers on Plants of the Same Species.”

In 1999, Beliveau and Wyatt hand-polli-nated long-styled and short-styled morphsof Houstonia serpyllifolia and H. longifolia.They found that the intermorph crosseshad a significantly higher percentage offruit-set and seed-set per capsule thanintramorph crosses. From their results,

they concluded that these two speciesexpress heteromorphic genetic incompati-bility.

Robert Frost also observed bluets asnoted in his poem “The Vantage Point “ —”My breathing shakes the bluet like abreeze, I smell the earth, I smell the bruisedplant, I look into the crater of the ant.”

We could all take a lesson from RobertFrost and get close enough to the bluetsto smell the flowers as well as the earth.(But then could we get back up?)

Retha Meier

Hedyotis crassifolia (Syn. Houstonia minima)

Flowering period: March-April

Size: Grows to 3 inches tall, formingmats.

Leaves: basal only, to 3/8 of an inchlong.

Flowers: Flowers always point sky-ward. On slender stems. Each flowerhas a small green calyx with four point-ed lobes and tubular corolla with fourwhite to bluish-purple lobes and a dark-

er, reddish center. There are four shortstamens in the tube.

Habitat: fields, pastures, glades, flood-plains, bluffs in central and southernMissouri. Common in open, sandy soilsof prairies, pastures, hay meadows andold fields.

Source: “Missouri Wildflowers” by EdgarDenison and “Tallgrass PrairieWildflowers” by Doug Ladd.


INFORMATION ON JOINING THE MISSOURI NATIVE PLANT SOCIETYSOCIETY DUES

(Chapter dues additional)Student dues . . . . . . . . . . .$5Regular . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$10Contributing . . . . . . . . . . .$20Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$200

CHAPTER DUESColumbia . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$6Kansas City . . . . . . . . . . . .$5Osage Plains . . . . . . . . . . .$5Ozarks Native Plant . . . . . .$5Perennis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5St. Louis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5

(Circle all above that apply)$______ Contribution for student research award (Hudson Fund)

All contributions are tax deductible

Make checks payable to Missouri Native Plant SocietyMail to: Missouri Native Plant Society

P.O. Box 20073St. Louis, MO 63144-0073

Name: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Street: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _City, state: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _9-digit ZIP: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Phone: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _E-mail: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

The quarterly board meeting of theMissouri Native Plant Society took placeDec. 6 at the Dunn-Palmer Herbarium inColumbia, Mo.

The minutes submitted by AnnSchuette, MONPS secretary

Treasurer's Report — Bob Siemer report-ed that our finances were in good shape.

PUBLICATIONS AND MEDIAPetal Pusher — Chuck Robinson reportedthat he is always looking for articles.

Distribution Chairman — Bill Knightnoted he will be mailing the Missouriensisthis week. John Oliver complimented Billon reducing costs.

Publicity Chairman — Kevin Bley wasnot in attendance, but President Hillencouraged everyone to keep Kevin post-ed on Blazing Star awards.

MONPS Web site — President Rex Hilltalked with Dave Winn and told him every-thing looks great.

Missouriensis — As Bill Knight noted thelatest volume is ready to be distributed.George Yatskievych said the printing jobwas bid out this time, but ended up goingto the past printer. The next volume willbe No. 30. George Yatskievych is waitingto see if there is anything to be done inconjunction with the 30th anniversary. Heneeds submissions.

COMMITTEES AND TASK FORCESMembership — Ann Earley reported thatwe have 10 new members since theSeptember meeting for a total of 347, withone new life member. Seventy membershave not renewed and will be taken off thenext Petal Pusher mailing. Rosters weresent to the chapter representatives.

Hudson Award — George Yatskievychsaid the announcement of the 2009 awardhad been sent to the universities. PresidentHill asked the committee to come back witha recommendation for the 2010 award as towhether the prize should be increased from$500. In the past we have used donationsand revenue from teaching payments tofund the award and have not used the prin-cipal or interest on the CDs. Bob Seimerwill write an article for the Petal Pusherabout the Hudson Fund requesting dona-tions to grow the principal.

Archives — Jack Harris brought a photoof the organizational meeting and askedthose present to see if they knew any ofthe "unknowns". He will e-mail a copy toanyone who would like one.

Awards Committee — Jack Harris wouldlike to retire. If anyone would agree to takeon the committee chairmanship, please letPresident Hill know. An announcement willbe in the March-April Petal Pusher.President Hill agreed to talk to SteveBuback about the position.

Nominating Committee — President Hillthanked Sherry Leis for doing such a goodjob.

SOCIETY BUSINESSSpring Meeting — The spring meeting isscheduled for the Sikeston area April 17-19. Possible field trips discussed includedMorris State Park, Big Oak Tree StatePark, Crowley's Ridge and sand prairies.Allison Vaughn will research possiblemeeting locations.

Summer Meeting — The annual meetingwill be held in the Springfield area May 29-31. It will be a joint meeting with theArkansas Native Plant Society. Roomshave been reserved at the SpringfieldDepartment of Conservation NatureCenter for the Friday and Saturday meet-

ings. Sherry Leis will contact Emily Hornerabout speaking Friday evening and Rexwill contact the Arkansas Native PlantSociety about a silent auction on Saturdayalong with our board and annual meetings.Field trips will center around Mead's milk-weed in particular and prairies in general.

Fall Meeting — The fall meeting is sched-uled for the Fulton area Sept. 25-27. Wewill be celebrating our 30th anniversary.Larry Morrison is the chairman of theevent. Paul McKenzie offered to contactRobert Mohlenbrock to see if he would bewilling to speak at the banquet. We willhopefully have something for past presi-dents who attend.

December meeting — The Decembermeeting is scheduled for Dec. 5, at 10a.m. at the Dunn-Palmer Herbarium inColumbia.

Letter to John Hoskins, MissouriDepartment of Conservation — A letterto John Hoskins recommending a quickfilling of the botanist position vacated byTim Smith was discussed. GeorgeYatskievych had a draft to which PresidentHill will make a few corrections and addi-tions discussed at the meeting. SherryLeis will forward an addition to the lettermentioning the state botanist's role in train-ing of plant collectors and the potentialcost of contracting out such work if theposition is left vacant. Chuck Robinson willadd the information to the Petal Pusher.

Item from Susan Farrington — Susan par-ticipated in a roadside vegetation manage-ment meeting for the Current River areawith MODOT. Several organizations wereencouraging native plants and a scenicbyway in the area. MODOT is trying to con-trol spotted knapweed with weevils. TheNative Plant Society was asked to supportmore restricted spraying on the corridors.

Quarterly board meeting

Missouri Native Plant Society Officers and Board Members

The Petal Pusher is printed on recycled paper

Vol. 24, No. 3May-June 2009

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:• Mead’s milkweed• Tiny bluets

Missouri Native Plant SocietyP.O. Box 20073St. Louis, MO 63144–0073

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Non–Profit OrganizationU.S. Postage

PAIDSt. Louis, MO

Permit No. 1720

May-June 2009

PPRREESSIIDDEENNTTRex Hill4 Grantwood LaneSt. Louis, MO 63123(314) 849–1464 [email protected]

VVIICCEE PPRREESSIIDDEENNTTTim Smith1704 W. MainJefferson City, MO 65109(573) 635–[email protected]

SSEECCRREETTAARRYYAnn Schuette 303 Spring Church Rd. Troy, MO 63379 (636) 528-6544 [email protected]

TTRREEAASSUURREERRBob Siemer74 Conway Cove DriveChesterfield, MO 63017(636) 537–[email protected]

IIMMMMEEDDIIAATTEE PPAASSTT PPRREESSIIDDEENNTTKathy Thiele4 Rodelle WoodsWeldon Spring, MO 63304(636) 300–[email protected]

BBOOAARRDD MMEEMMBBEERRSSAllison Vaughn ('08-'11)311 Ridgeway

Columbia, MO 65203(573) 703-6448)[email protected]

Paul McKenzie (‘06–’09)2311 Grandview CircleColumbia, MO 65203(573) 445–[email protected]

Robin Kennedy ('08-'11)University of Missouri HerbariumColumbia, MO 65211-3170(573) 882–[email protected]

John Oliver (‘07–’10)4861 Gatesbury Dr.St. Louis, MO 63128(314) 487–[email protected]

Bruce Schuette (‘07–’10)678 St. Rt. 147Troy, MO 63379(636) 528–7247 (w)[email protected]

Sherry Leis (‘06–’09) 533 S. Forest Ct. Springfield, MO 65806 (417) [email protected]

MMIISSSSOOUURRIIEENNSSIISS CCOO––EEDDIITTOORRSSGeorge YatskievychMO Botanical GardenPO Box 299St. Louis, MO 63166(314) 577–9522 (w)[email protected]

Doug LaddThe Nature Conservancy2800 S. Brentwood Blvd.St. Louis, MO 63144(314) 968–1105 (w)

PPEETTAALL PPUUSSHHEERR EEDDIITTOORRChuck Robinson6911 NW Blair Rd.Parkville, MO 64152(816) [email protected]

DDIISSTTRRIIBBUUTTIIOONN MMAANNAAGGEERRBill Knight 5101 Dresden Ave..St. Louis, MO 63116(314) 832–[email protected]

EEDDIITTOORRIIAALL CCOOMMMMIITTTTEEEEDavid CastanerPaul RedfearnTim SmithStephen L. Timme

AARRCCHHIIVVEESSJack [email protected] Green Park Rd.St. Louis, MO 63123(314) 368-0655

EENNVVIIRROONNMMEENNTT AANNDD EEDDUUCCAATTIIOONNJohn Oliver, board member

MMEEMMBBEERRSSHHIIPPAnn Early1425 Bobolink Pl.St. Louis, MO 63144-1128(314) 963–[email protected]

PPUUBBLLIICCIITTYYKevin Bley4 Zinzer Ct.Grantwood Village, MO 63123(314) [email protected]

WWEEBBMMAASSTTEERRDavid Winn7302 Rosewood Dr.Prairie Village, KS 66208(913) [email protected]

CCHHAAPPTTEERR RREEPPRREESSEENNTTAATTIIVVEESSHHAAWWTTHHOORRNNNadia Navarrete-Tindall2116 Grant LanceColumbia, MO 65203 [email protected]

KKAANNSSAASS CCIITTYYDaniel Rice815 W. 31st St.Independence, MO 64055(816) [email protected]

OOSSAAGGEE PPLLAAIINNSSMarlene Miller949 NE Highway CCalhoun, MO 65323(660) 694–[email protected]

OOZZAARRKKSS NNAATTIIVVEE PPLLAANNTTSusan FarringtonMDC Ozark Regional Office 551 Joe Jones Blvd.West Plains, MO 65775(417) 255–9561 Ext. 307 (w)[email protected]

PPEERREENNNNIISSAllison Vaughn311 Ridgeway Columbia, MO 65203(573) [email protected]

SSTT.. LLOOUUIISSMartha Hill4 Grantwood LaneSt. Louis, MO 63123(314) 849–1464 [email protected]

www.MissouriNativePlantSociety.org

n monps joins arkansas friends in springfield · · 2015-11-297313). bring your own picnic lunch....

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