Become Part of BotanyBlitz 2022!

BotanyBlitz on iNaturalist – April 2nd – 9th

In 20 days, naturalists and botanizers across the Commonwealth of Kentucky will be participating in BotanyBlitz 2022, held in conjunction with Wildflower Weekend 2022. This is the second year we’ll be holding our week-long BotanyBlitz, which is an effort to document as many plant species as possible within Kentucky between April 2-9. As it was last year, the BotanyBlitz will be hosted on the community science website, iNaturalist, and participants will be using the iNaturalist mobile app and website to upload photos of budding and blooming plants they observe in local parks, state parks, wildlife sanctuaries, and nature preserves.

A BotanyBlitz is community-science event that focuses on finding and identifying as many plant species We encourage anyone interested to sign up for an iNaturalist account if you’re not already a user, and join the BotanyBlitz project (just click “Join” in the top right corner of the project page), and download the mobile app for iPhone or Android. But of course, you don’t need to wait till the BotanyBlitz to start making observations on iNaturalist, and wildflowers across Kentucky are already starting to show their stuff. Let’s take a look at how the wildflower situation is shaping up thus far.

In Kentucky on iNaturalist, the first three blooming native wildflowers this year were Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica) and Purple Cress (Cardamine douglassii)!

In first place, a startlingly early Spring Beauty was spotted by @gage_barnes at the Hancock Biological Station the afternoon of New Year’s Eve, December 31. Although this observation technically occurred in 2021, we’re counting it as a 2022 sighting since it was made a mere 9 hours prior to the new year.

A New Year’s Eve Spring Beauty, perfectly happy to show up early to the party, observed by @gage_barnes

In second place, another Spring Beauty was again spotted at the Hancock Biological Station, this time on January 31 by @fhincks.

Another Spring Beauty in the chilly days of late January, observed by @fhinks

And in third place, the first Purple Cress observation of the year appeared a mere two weeks later on February 15 at Floracliff Nature Sanctuary in Lexington, observed by @ky2c2t.

Purple Cress finally making an appearance, observed by @ky2c2t

As the days continue to warm up, we’re seeing more obervations of both Spring Beauty and Purple Cress, as well as the aptly named Harbinger of Spring (Erigenia bulbosa), a hint of Snow Trillium (Trillium nivale), Hepaticas (Hepatica acutiloba and H. americana), Bluets (Houstonia pusilla and H. caerulea), and Virginia Saxifrage (Micranthes virginiensis), as well as a variety non-native (but still cute!) annual weeds. It’s just a matter of time before the rest of Kentucky’s spring wildflowers start to erupt out of the soil, so keep those observations coming and join us April 2-9 for a week of intensive wildflower-spotting!

Wildflower Weekend 2022

2022 Wildflower Weekend & BotanyBlitz

For over 30 years the Kentucky Native Plant Society, in partnership with Natural Bridge State Resort Park, has held a Wildflower Weekend at the park, offering wildflower hikes, as well as evening presentations. In 2020, due to COVID-19, we were forced to cancel Wildflower Weekend for the first time ever. Last year, with the pandemic still disrupting in-person activities, we all participated in a virtual Wildflower Week.

This year we are incredibly excited to be going back to an in-person Wildflower Weekend, April 8th-10th at Natural Bridge State Resort Park. This year’s Wildflower Week will be a hybrid of in-person and online activities. The week prior to Wildflower Weekend, we will be hosting an online, week-long BotanyBlitz on iNaturalist from April 2nd-9th.

Wildflower Weekend 2022 at Natural Bridge SRP

KNPS’ 2022 Wildflower Weekend is scheduled for April 8, 9, & 10. The weekend will offer wildflower hikes Friday and Saturday, led by some of the best botanists in the state. These hikes will explore the region’s rich natural history and resources in the state park and the Red River Gorge. Friday evening there will be a campfire social gathering at the group campsite near the Middle Fork Campground to meet your fellow native plant enthusiasts. Our Saturday night the keynote speaker will be Mike Homoya, former Indiana State Botanist/Plant Ecologist and author of numerous excellent botanical field guides. His presentation is titled, “Rare Plant and Natural Communities along the Ohio River, from Cincinnati to the Mississippi River.”

We are still in the process of lining up folks for the wildflower hikes. We are also looking for folks to help the hike leaders so that we can allow for more people on each hike. If you are interested in leading or helping on a hike, please send us an email at WildflowerWeekend2022@knps.org.

This event is open to the public and kid-friendly. Admission is $10 for adults, $3 for ages 13-17, and free for ages 12 & under.

As COVID-19 will still be a concern, we will be making every effort to minimize potential exposure for everyone:

  • Pre-registration: attendees will be able pre-register for the event as well as the guided hikes. This will better help us make arrangements for social distancing, as well as reduce crowding at hikes. Pre-registration will be opened online several weeks before Wildflower Weekend. Members of KNPS will be allowed to register before the registration is opened to the general public.
  • Meet-up locations for hikes: each hike will have a separate designated meeting point outside of the lodge, and we ask that everyone head straight to those outdoor locations rather than congregating together in the lodge lobby.
  • Social distancing: as much as possible, we will keep our group interactions outdoors. However for the Saturday evening presentations in the Woodland Center, we will reduce the number of chairs and spread them out so folks can easily socially distance.
  • Masks: in all cases, we will abide by the public health rules of our host, Natural Bridge SRP. To that end, we request that folks wear masks when indoors.

We appreciate your help in keeping this event as safe as it can be!

BotanyBlitz 2022 on iNaturalist

Leading up to Wildflower Weekend will be our week long BotanyBlitz, which will run from Saturday, April 2, through Saturday, April 9, and be hosted on the iNaturalist website. A BotanyBlitz is a community-science event that focuses on finding and identifying as many plant species as possible within a designated location and time period. At the end of the week, the observations of all participants will be tallied and awards given for Most Species Observed and Most Observations.

Beginning on Saturday, April 2, we are encouraging everyone to visit parks and natural areas throughout the Commonwealth, to find and photograph native plants (with an emphasis on those in bloom), and upload them to our BotanyBlitz project. Expert botanists and people with a keen identifying eye will be watching the observations roll in and can help with ID tips and tricks, so if you love wildflowers but aren’t always sure how to identify them, this project is definitely for you!

If you are interested in participating in this community science project but are unfamiliar with iNaturalist, we can help. On Saturday, April 2, at the beginning of the KNPS Wildflower Week BotanyBlitz, several iNaturalist tutorial hikes will be held at parks across Kentucky. These hikes will be lead by local botanizers who are also experienced iNaturalist users, who will demonstrate the basics of the app. Groups will then set out on an easy nature walk to practice uploading iNat observations, troubleshoot questions when possible, and of course, admire the wildflowers. We will open registration for these walks in early March. Members of KNPS will be allowed to register before the registration is opened to the general public. In the meantime, make sure to download the iNaturalist app and create a user account!

We have set up a page for Wildflower Weekend 2022 & BotanyBlitz 2022 where we will post the most current information about the events over the next several weeks. Be sure to visit the page and bookmark it!

If you have any questions about Wildflower Weekend or the BotanyBlitz, send us an email at WildflowerWeekend2022@knps.org Hope to see you in April.

iNaturalist Tutorial Hikes

Kick-off BotanyBlitz with an iNaturalist Tutorial Hike!

Have you ever struggled to identify plants outdoors or ever wanted a second opinion? The phone app iNaturalist is a great tool for all levels of plant and nature enthusiasts! It is an online social network for amateur naturalists and professional biologists around the world. Posts of plant photos, also known as observations, made on iNaturalist are not only informative for you, but for many professional biologists who use this app to track plant and animal species. The app will suggest plant identifications based on your photos and other users can help determine if that ID is correct.

As a lead-up to KNPS’s Wildflower Weekend and the 2022 BotanyBlitz, there will be kickoff tutorials at Taylor Fork Natural Area and Raven Run Nature Sanctuary on April 1st, followed by a number of iNaturalist tutorial hikes held across the state on Saturday, April 2nd. These tutorial hikes will led by experienced iNaturalist users. The hikes will be geared towards beginner iNaturalist users and will teach you how to make observations and navigate the app. You will need to have the app iNaturalist downloaded to your phone and an account created beforehand in order to participate and learn. Hikes will vary in length from 0.5 mile to 3 miles.

We will be asking folks to register for the hikes so hike leaders will know how many participants to expect. As we are still in the process of setting up the hikes, registration will open in early March and will be announced in the March Lady Slipper.

Hike LocationHike Leader(s)
APRIL 1ST
Taylor Fork Ecological Area, Richmond KYEKU Division of Natural Areas
Raven Run Nature Sanctuary, Lexington KYStaff of Raven Run and Floracliff nature sanctuaries
APRIL 2ND
Ashland-The Henry Clay Estate, Lexington KYHeidi Braunreiter
Cedar Sink Trail, Mammoth Cave National Park, Park City KYSteve Kistler, Janet Kistler, and Carol Friedman
Eagle Scout Trail, Nancy KYTyler Adams
Greenway Trail, Stuart Nelson Park, Paducah KYJeff Nelson & Bob Dunlap
Hematite Lake Trail, Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, Eddyville KYGage Barnes
Lilley Cornet Woods Appalachian Ecological Research Station, Hallie KYEKU Division of Natural Areas
Pine Creek Barrens, Shepherdsville KYAlan Abbott
Red Maple and White Oak Trails at the Louisville Nature Center, Louisville KYLouisville Nature Center Staff
Sky Bridge Loop Trail, Red River Gorge, Pine Ridge KYBarbara Graham
St. Anne Woods and Wetlands, Melbourne KYDr. Maggie Whitson, Kendall McDonald, and Vanessa Voelker

lf you are already an experienced iNaturalist user and are interested in leading a tutorial hike in your area, please contact: WildflowerWeekend2022@knps.org.

2021 KNPS Botanical Symposium Videos

“Coming Together to Discuss Current Botany Projects: Conservation and Collaboration in Kentucky and Beyond”

On Wednesday, December 8, KNPS held our second virtual Botanical Symposium. Close to 90 folks were able to attend online to hear and see several presentations about our native plants and plant communities. We know that there are many who would have liked to participate, but were not able to do so. Here are videos of all of the presentations.

Download a list of presenter contacts and links discussed in the presentations as a PDF.

Kentucky Native Plant Society and Office of Nature Preserves Updates: Current projects and opportunities.

Length 39:55

Plants of Concern: Monitoring Rare Plants of Southern Illinois
Chris Benda, Botanist and past president of Illinois Native Plant Society

Length: 24:36

Reversing Declines in Grassland Biodiversity
Brittney Viers, Quail Forever/NRCS Tennessee

Length: 32:55

Wetland Monitoring in Kentucky
Brittany White, Wetland Biologist, Division of Water

Length: 25:03

Update on the Tennessee-Kentucky Plant Atlas Project
Dr. Joey Shaw, University of Tennessee

Length: 27:16

Thank You to Our Members!

2019 KNPS Membership Meeting and Seed & Plant Swap

Members are the lifeblood of all volunteer organizations and the Kentucky Native Plant Society is no exception. The Society depends on our members to accomplish our mission of “promoting education, preservation, and protection of native plants and natural communities in the Commonwealth“. Your dues and participation in KNPS’s activities are essential to this mission. We sincerely thank you for your support.

We currently have 471 members of KNPS. In 2021, we had 150 new members join the Society and 85 members renewed their membership. We also have 165 Life Members, 5 of whom became members in 2021.

KNPS Life Members Who Joined in 2021

  • Elizabeth Baldwin
  • Alan Chewning
  • Talitha Hunt
  • Pep Peppiatt
  • Michael Tain

There are many benefits of being a member of the Kentucky Native Plant Society. Education about Kentucky’s native plants is one of the Society’s primary missions. The Society fulfills this mission through a variety of learning opportunities. Each year, knowledgeable leaders take members on field trips conducted in all parts of the state. Members see special plants and visit unique and interesting natural areas. Field trips are typically limited to 10-20 participants and members are given the opportunity to sign up for these trips before they are opened to the general public. The Society also periodically conducts workshops and symposiums on native plant studies and native plant identification. Workshops are narrowly focused, with a single instructor. Symposiums generally cover a broad range of topics with multiple presenters. Again members are given the opportunity to register for these events before they are opened to the general public.

The preservation and conservation of Kentucky’s native plants and plant communities is another part of the Society’s mission. Through activities ranging from the propagation and restoration of rare native species through the organized removal of invasive species, KNPS members help to preserve and protect our native ecosystems.

We have two membership meetings a year that include programs with special speakers, presentations, and hikes. The spring Wildflower Weekend is generally at Natural Bridge State Resort Park and the Fall Membership Meeting is held at various sites around Kentucky.

In 2020 and 2021 most of our in-person activities were cancelled or curtailed due to the pandemic. The KNPS Board is working to make 2022 one of our most exciting and productive years yet. Planning is already taking place for an in-person, Wildflower Weekend on April 8, 9, & 10 at Natural Bridge SRP as well as field trips, workshops, and conservation projects. Watch the Lady Slipper for announcements of these activities.

If you have any questions about membership or if you would like to comment, or help out with KNPS activities, just shoot us an email at KYPlants@knps.org

Become a KNPS Member or Renew Your Membership

Frost Flowers: Neither flowers nor frost!

by Jeff Nelson, KNPS Board Member

Get ready and be observant on these cold mornings. We are now entering the time of year when we will begin seeing one of Nature’s loveliest and most evanescent phenomenons in our region; Frost Flowers.

What are Frost Flowers?

Frost flowers are thin ribbons of ice that form on the stems of a few species of native plants. Water from the roots is drawn up the stems (either as part of the plant’s natural transportation system or through capillary action) and expands as it freezes, breaking the stem walls and creating a flow of ice. As the ice forms, more water freezes, forcing out ribbons of thin ice . Other names for these structures are “ice flowers”, “ice ribbons”, “ice fringes”, “ice filaments”, and “rabbit ice”.

Conditions Needed for Frost Flowers to Form

Frost flowers form only when certain very specific conditions all come together:

  • Air temperatures must be below freezing (usually below 30°).
  • There should be little to no wind.
  • Ground temperatures must still be above freezing.
  • There must be some degree of soil moisture.
  • They only form on particular species of plants.

If conditions are right, the same plants can produce multiple frost flowers in a season, starting as early as November and producing frost flowers as late as early February. Usually the first frost flowers of the year will extend quite a ways up the stem, without extending out very far, as the entire stem splits. By the end of the season, when the stems are completely shredded, the frost flowers come out from the very base of the plant.

What Plants Produce Frost Flowers?

Worldwide, there are roughly 30 species of plants that produce frost flowers. In our region there are three native species that typically produce frost flowers. The two most common are white crownbeard, a.k.a. frostweed (Verbesina virginica) and common dittany (Cunila origanoides). A third species, that is mainly in wet areas, is marsh fleabane (Pluchea camphorata). I have heard that frost flowers sometimes appear on species of sage (Salvia) but I have never seen that and don’t know for sure what species of sage may produce frost flowers.

Frostweed (Verbesina virginica)
Perennial herb, 3-7 ft. tall with winged stems. Leaves are alternate, broadly lanceolate, 4-8 in. long, with winged petioles. Flowers August – October
Dittany (Cunila origanoides)
Semi-woody perennial, 12-18 in. tall with a strong odor. Leaves are opposite, oval, 1-1 1/2 in. long. Flowers August – October
Marsh Fleabane (Pluchea camphorata)
Short lived perennial, 2-5 ft. tall with a camphor like odor. Leaves are alternate, broadly lanceolate, 3-10 in. long. Flowers August – September

Grow Your Own Frost Flowers

Although it is always exciting to find frost flowers in the “wild” another option for folks is to plant one of the natives that produce this phenomena in the yard. My frostweed patch came from a single plant that volunteered in the front yard about 6 years ago. It has reseeded itself and now many others have sprouted from the seeds of the original. On cold mornings I can now just look out the front window and see the frost flowers.