For many years, beautiful wood carvings of native plants have been specially made by Bob Van Hoff as a fundraiser during KPNS Wildflower Weekend. Bob says he has been carving since he was about 11 years old and got serious about carving, mostly fish and birds, in 1970. He’s made carvings of over 299 species of birds! Some of his larger fish works, like musky and gar, were made for visitor centers.
Bob Van Hoff’s carving of a flowering pink lady-slipper orchid (Cypripedium acaule) at three stages of inflorescence development. Won at WW2023 by Mary Alice and Chris Bidwell, long time members of KNPS.
Bob worked as a biologist and ranger for the Army Corps of Engineers and assisted with state plant conservation efforts. He worked to establish populations of Eggert’s sunflower (Helianthus eggertii), once a threatened plant listed at both the state and federal levels, around Nolin Lake. He notes that one transplant in his yard has become about 2,000 stems over the last 20 years, a project Tom Barnes (renowned UK plant biologist who inspired conservation projects all over Kentucky) encouraged. He also worked with Tom to establish prairie at Barren River Lake and Salamone Lake in Indiana.
We thank Bob for creating this wood carving for KNPS and look forward to seeing what he creates for Wildflower Weekend this year!
Date of trip: July 29, 2023 Start time: 10AM EDT Location: Fleming WMA, Fleming Co., KY Difficulty of hike: Difficult, approximately 2 miles and 2 hours. Given the heat and terrain this could be a challenging hike.
Explore a part of Kentucky’s wilderness with KNPS!
Join us at Fleming Wildlife Management Area on July 29th at 10AM for a two-hour hike. The WMA has an oak-hickory forest mixed with flatwoods and small wetland openings, which means we might spot orchids and wetland plants.
Alan Abbott, hike leader.
We’ll meet in the main parking lot shortly before 10AM. Look for the hide leader, Alan Abbott. The hike begins at 10AM. It’s two miles and should last two to three hours.
Consider bringing bug spray, and we suggest wearing tall boots. Given the heat and terrain this could be a challenging hike.
This is a joint event between KNPS and the Kentucky chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers (KYBHA), another group focused on conserving and exploring Kentucky’s natural landscape. Registration for this hike is required. Members and friends of KNPS can use the form at the bottom of this article to register. Members and friends of of KYBHA can RSVP on their Event page, KYBHA Plant ID Walk.
All WMAs are owned and maintained by the Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources and open most of the year to the public. In a coming issue, you’ll learn more about these WMAs and how you can visit to enjoy Kentucky’s flora and fauna.
Register for this field trip
KNPS members and friends can register for this hike using the form below. Because this is a joint field trip, we are limiting signups to 5 people.
By Deborah White, Kentucky Native Plant Society Board
Winter is a good time to focus on trees, and The Arboretum, State Botanical Garden of Kentucky, in Lexington is a wonderful place to make a start in improving your identification skills.
Not only have they purposefully planted many of the trees growing across all the natural regions of Kentucky, a project beginning in 1991, but the Arboretum Explorer mobile platform also has a mapped location and identifies the species. So, you can walk up to a tree in the Arboretum, come up with an identification, and check your guess right there.
Janet James photographed the native trees and shrubs at the Arboretum (her project for the Master Naturalist program)–that’s 200 species. She photographed tree bark, leaves, buds, flowers, fruits, and form (and in different seasons) to assist in learning.
Robert Paratley, UK Herbarium Curator and professor, has already used these photos to help teach his dendrology class. “I am always trying to pass along good resources, especially visual images, to help my students learn tree identification,” he says. “Janet James’ images in Arboretum Explorer comprise an excellent portfolio to help them. Her photos are accurate, visually clear, and highlight key identification characters.”
So, if you have been meaning to learn trees by their bark, buds and beyond, try this wonderful tool. And then start over when the trees leaf out!
Deborah White has been a botanist for the Kentucky Office of Nature Preserves and Florida state plant conservation programs.
By Deborah White, Kentucky Native Plant Society Board
By the end of winter, we are looking for any hope of spring, any bright color in the landscape we can find. When you see a pretty yellow flower in late winter, check to see if it is lesser celandine (Ficariaverna) before you get excited.
Description
Ficaria verna: Common License
The leaves of this invasive plant emerge in winter, and they cover the ground quickly, outcompeting many native plants. This pest plant has a single yellow flower at the end of a stem. It is closely related to buttercups (its former name is Ranunculusficaria, and sometimes it is called fig buttercup) and, like buttercups, the flower has many stamens. There are seven to thirteen flower petals. The leaves are medium to dark green, generally heart-shaped and not lobed with wavy edges that have smooth or rounded teeth. Also, the small bulbils at the base of the plant will help identify it (see also the control section as these bulbils allow this weed to spread).
Habitat
Lesser celandine grows in riparian areas like stream banks and adjacent flat moist areas, shady woods and even lawns. Lesser celandine is found in the eastern United States, west from Texas and Missouri, as well as Washington and Oregon on the west coast.
Lesser celandine covered these shaded woods at UK Arboretum in 2019. Photo by Emily Ellingson.
How it Got Here
Lesser celandine is native to Europe, Asia and Africa. Introduced to the United States for horticultural use as a border plant, this weedy invasive is, unfortunately, still being sold. It easily escapes from gardens to nearby forests. The fingerlike bulbils and fruit can be spread by flooding, or any movement from one habitat to another, even mowing.
Lesser celandine in the United State; blue states show its presence. Map by NRCS.
Ecological Impacts
Lesser celandine can quickly form a blanket across the ground in natural areas. It crowds out native plants and depresses their reproduction. Like other invasive weeds, the elements that control these plants in their native range, whether fungus, animals or other biological controls, are absent, leaving this plant free to increase, unchallenged.
How to Control
Small infestations may be removed by pulling the plants by hand, but all plant parts must be removed to be effective. The roots and bulbils easily fall from the plants and then establish new plants!
It is also possible that covering the plants with black plastic to solarize, or heat up the soil can help kill the vegetative structures and root systems of the plants. This would be appropriate where lesser celandine is abundant.
Studies show spraying with herbicide is effective, especially if applied before other plants have emerged. Glyphosate has been used to control lesser celandine but be aware that it is not appropriate for use near aquatic habitats. A 2.5% solution may be applied when it is at least 50 degrees Fahrenheit–being extra careful to spray only lesser celandine because the herbicide will affect any plant it contacts. It may take two or even three applications and future monitoring to eliminate the plants. You will be helping our natural flora by battling this yellow invader!
References
Aulakh, Dr. Jatinder S. Lesser Celandine (Ficaria verna Huds.) Identification and Management. Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station.
At the end of winter we are looking for any hope of spring, any bright color in the landscape we can find. When you see a pretty yellow flower in late winter, check whether it is lesser celandine (Ficariaverna) before you get excited.
Deborah has been a botanist for the Kentucky Office of Nature Preserves and Florida state plant conservation programs.
