Every year, at Wildflower Weekend, we offer people a $5 discount on renewals or new memberships. This year, because of the cancellation of the Wildflower Weekend, the Board has decided to make the $5 discount available to everyone through the month of April.
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. You will see special plants and visit unique and interesting natural areas. 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. Members are given the opportunity to register for these events before they are opened to the general public.
Member dues also provide funding for the student research grants that the Society awards each year to students researching native plants in Kentucky.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and in line
with the advice of health officials to minimize exposure by limiting
gatherings, KNPS has decided to cancel our annual Wildflower Weekend
event at Natural Bridge State Resort Park that was
to be held April 3rd & 4th. Please note that
this step was not taken lightly. The Kentucky Native Plant Society board
made this decision out of a desire to protect the health and welfare of
our members and the community.
As an alternative to this cancelled event, we encourage our members to join
iNaturalist
if you haven’t already. It is a smartphone app and online platform for
recording observations of plants or any kind of organism you see
outdoors, and connects you to a
community of over 750,000 naturalists worldwide. Many of your fellow
native plant enthusiasts here in Kentucky have already been posting
spring ephemerals in bloom this year. Join our project
Kentucky Botanists Big Year 2020 to see all the plants observed in Kentucky in 2020. We will award prizes at the end of the year to the people
with the most observations, most observed species, and most identifications.
Not great at identifying plants? No worries! One of
the best benefits of iNaturalist for a ‘budding botanist’ is the aid of
identifying what you see in the field by suggesting species based on
photographs already posted, as well as connecting
you with experts who you can identify the organisms for you.
By interacting with your fellow native plant
enthusiasts through iNaturalist, you can maintain social distancing,
while still being able to get outdoors, clear your head, and enjoy the
beauties our Kentucky flora has to offer you! We will
be posting highlights of your exciting iNaturalist observations on our
Facebook and
Instagram pages as a way to stay connected with our members during this time of social isolation.
If you have questions about iNaturalist, check out their
instructional page or reach out to us!
Plant Family Identification Motifs: patterns for simplifying the complexity
Instructor: Dr. Richard Abbott*
When: Saturday, March 21, 2020 Time: 9am-4pm Eastern Time Where: Bernheim Arboretum & Forest, meet at the Garden Pavilion Cost: $25 /$10 for students Bring your own lunch, and wear hiking shoes
Using minimal basic vocabulary, approximately 30 plant families, and half a dozen artificial motifs, we will focus on plant identification patterns. Learning Kentucky plants within a global framework not only empowers confidence in knowing what you know, but enables identifying more than 130,000 plants to family globally and provides a solid foundation for incorporating other family patterns. Essentially, this workshop is an introduction to a way of thinking about how to organize botanical knowledge in a practical, applied way.
*About the Instructor
Dr. J. Richard Abbott, Assistant Professor of Biology, is the current Curator of the University of Arkansas Monticello Herbarium. At UAM, he teaches General Botany, Regional Flora, and Plants in Our World and conducts floristic, systematic, and taxonomic research, especially with the milkwort family (Polygalaceae). He received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Biology and German from Berea College in Kentucky and both M.S. degree and Ph.D. in Botany from the University of Florida in Gainesville. His primary passion is teaching plant identification, using the local flora to understand global patterns. To that end, he is currently working to establish a living teaching collection on the UAM campus, with the ultimate goal of cultivating as many families and genera as possible.
Workshops are opened to KNPS members for registration 2 weeks before they are opened to the general public. This session has been filled by KNPS members. If you are interested in this workshop you can sign up on the waiting list below. If an opening occurs the first person on the waiting list will be contacted If there is significant interest in the workshop we will try to schedule another session as soon as possible and the people on the waiting list will be the first contacted about the new session.
As we begin a new year and a new decade, anticipating the year ahead, it can be fun and informative to look back and reflect on the Society’s activities in 2019. Beginning in early April and ending in November, with events and activities across the Commonwealth, KNPS had another great year spreading the message of the value, importance, and beauty of the native plants and ecosystems of Kentucky. We hope you enjoy these images and descriptions of the Society’s 2019 activities and that you will be able to join us in the field in 2020.
Wildflower Weekend, April 12 & 13
Wildflower Weekend participants exploring the native plants along the Rock Bridge Trail at Natural Bridge State Resort Park
On Friday, April 12, and Saturday, April 13, over 100 lovers of Kentucky’s native plants joined with some of the best botanists in the state to explore Natural Bridge State Park and the Red River Gorge in search of spring wildflowers. Besides wildflower hikes on Friday and Saturday, there was a Friday night social where folks had the opportunity to meet other KNPS members. Saturday evening had educational talks, a book-signing (by Dan and Judy Dourson, Wildflowers and Ferns of Red River Gorge and the Greater Red River Basin), live music by the Forest Fiddleheads, and a panel discussion on recreational uses and impacts of the Red River Gorge. Wildflower Weekend in 2020 will be on April 3 & 4 at Natural Bridge SRP. Hope to see you there.
Field Trips
Dwarf sundew (Drosera brevifolia)
As part of its educational mission, each year KNPS organizes field trips to explore Kentucky’s natural areas. Trip leaders are knowledgeable about the area being explored and the native plants and plant communities that are found in that area. In 2019, there were several field trips, at natural areas across the Commonwealth.
The Field Trip season began at the Hazeldell Meadow Nature Preserve in Pulaski County on April 5, in search of Kentucky’s rarest carnivorous plant, the dwarf sundew (Drosera brevifolia).
Botanist Tara Littlefield, one of the field trip leaders at Hazeldell Nature preserve, discussed rare plants and the rare wet meadow community along with current conservation activities such as management, research and volunteer opportunities. Dr. Jim Krupa discussed the long term monitoring and research of the rare dwarf sundew (Drosera brevifolia).
Old growth oak at Griffith Wood WMA
On May 11, Dr. Julian Campbell led the trip to Griffith Woods WMA, in Harrison County, to explore this iconic bluegrass woodland with old growth oaks and hickories, cane thickets, and remnant mesic herbaceous flowers, such as bear grass and running buffalo clover. Julian has been studying bluegrass woodland vegetation for over 40 years and is the authority on past and present plants and communities in the region. Go to http://bluegrasswoodland.com/Griffith_Woods.html for information on Griffith Woods compiled by Julian.
On a rainy June 22, Laura Baird, assistant preserve manager and naturalist, at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, in Mercer County, led several KNPS members on a hike to view the prairie restoration, as well as the adjacent forests, at Shakertown. Although a bit damp, the participants enjoyed many prairie flowers, trees and shrubs, and woodland flowers.
Field trip leader, Devin Rodgers, discussing one of the native prairie species found along The Trace in the LBL.
On July 6, Devin Rodgers, botanist at Kentucky Nature Preserves, led the group of KNPS members to several botanically important sites at LBL from prairies to wetlands. Devin has worked extensively at LBL conducting floristic surveys, rare species surveys and habitat characterizations. The participants learned about ongoing efforts to protect rare species and communities at botanical sites at LBL and how to help by assisting with monitoring, management, and restoration projects.
Sedge Identification and Diversity Workshop, May 21 & 22, 2019
Workshop instructor, Rob Naczi, points out the characteristics of a species of Carex.
Many of the grass-like plants one may encounter in our natural areas in Kentucky are not actually grasses. Although similar, they are members of an entirely different family of plants, the sedge family (Cyperaceae). With close to 150 species in the Carex genus found in Kentucky, the diversity of sedges is astounding and they can tell us a lot about the natural communities upon which they are found.
On May 21 & 22, Rob Naczi, curator of the New York Botanical garden and North America’s Carex expert, taught 17 KNPS members about sedge diversity and how to identify this notoriously difficult group. The workshop combined classroom instruction with work in the field over two days. Due to the success of this event, more workshops are in the works.
Invasive Plant Cleanup Days
Volunteers removing invasive bush honeysuckle (Lonicera spp.)
In November, several KNPS members volunteered to remove invasive plant species in Fayette and Franklin Counties with partners from Kentucky Nature Preserves. On Nov. 2, members joined Heidi Braunreiter, with Kentucky Nature Preserves, to help pull winter-creeper (Euonymus fortunei) from populations of running buffalo clover populations at Ashland, The Henry Clay Estate in Lexington. Running buffalo clover (Trifolium stoloniferum) is a federally-endangered plant that requires periodic disturbance and a partially shaded canopy.
Federally-endangered plant running buffalo clover
On several weekends in November, KNPS worked with Kentucky Nature Preserves to organize several work days at state nature preserves and natural areas in Franklin County. Volunteer activities involved manually removing invasive shrubs, such as bush honeysuckle and privet. Members who assisted in invasive species management at these sites had a direct impact on rare plant recovery as the sites are designated as critical habitat for federally listed plants.
The Nature Conservancy’s Mantle Rock Nature Preserve, in Livingston Co., is a fascinating part of Kentucky. The centerpiece of the Preserve is a 30-foot high natural sandstone bridge spanning 188 feet (the longest sandstone arch east of the Mississippi) embellished by bluffs, shelters, honeycomb formations, fluorite deposits and a rock-lined stream. The nature preserve also contains extraordinary biological diversity, with spectacular springtime wildflowers and an upland forest interspersed with the best example of rare and fragile sandstone glades in all of Kentucky. Kentucky’s only known occurrence of June grass thrives here along with other glade species such as prickly pear cactus, rush foil, hairy lipfern, little bluestem, pinweed and poverty grass. Scattered deep soil pockets are dominated by gnarled and stunted post oak, blackjack oak, farkleberry and red cedar.
On a hot and humid July 13, the Kentucky Native Plant Society conducted a detailed floristic inventory of the sandstone glades, barrens, woodlands and mesic forests at this botanically fascinating site. Several of the region’s preeminent botanists spent much of the day locating, identifying, and documenting over 200 native plant species. The data collected will be used by The Nature Conservancy as they develop long range management plans for this site.
Fall Membership Meeting, Oct. 12
KNPS members browse the native seed and plant exchange table.
For this year’s fall membership meeting, KNPS partnered with West Sixth Brewing to have a Native Plant Day at the West Sixth Farm in Frankfort, KY. Native plant enthusiasts, young and old, heard a review of KNPS 2019 activities and plans for 2020. A new and exiting activity that was enjoyed by everyone was KNPS’s very first native plant and seed exchange. West 6th Farm is one of the few locations in the world where Braun’s rock cress (Arabis perstellata) is found. At the end of the day some members took a hike to view this species led by Heather Housman of the Woods and Waters Land Trust.
Student Research Grants
Since 2012 the Kentucky Native Plant Society has been awarding annual grants to undergraduate and graduate students that are researching native plants and plant communities in Kentucky. Since 2012 we have awarded over $6,000 in grants. In 2019, the Society awarded three, $500 grants. The recipients and their projects were:
Bailey King Canopy gaps and light availability in running buffalo clover (Trifolium stoloniferum) patches
Jonathan Kubesch Forage approaches to native clover conservation
Jordan Winkenbach Restoration of native woodland flora in response to mastication and prescribed burning in an upland hardwood forest
With the passing of summer 2019, we are noticing stress on plants flowering or fruiting, dropping of leaves early from drought and heat, but still cooler mornings signaling the start of fall. The lush spring and summer have turned to a drought stricken landscape. But still the asters, goldenrods and ironweeds have bloomed magnificently. I can only hope for some fall colors, but with the record heat and drought for September I’m not holding my breath. My usually late summer/early fall ladies’ tresses orchid studies have been somewhat disappointing this year. Last year at this time we saw an abundance of ladies’ tresses, but this year they have declined possibly due to the drought conditions.
My colleagues and I have been lucky to
have botanized in some spectacular natural areas this season,
studying the riparian vegetation on the Green River, surveying
remnant grasslands in the big barrens and southern Cumberland
plateau, studying bogs and seeps in in the mountains of eastern
Kentucky, and conducting forest biodiversity assessments across the
state. And I know many of our KNPS members have also been seeking
out their own botanical refuges to see familiar (plant) faces and
places, and venturing out across the state to meet some new ones. It
never gets old studying our native plants. There are so many
interesting botanical areas in Kentucky that need further
exploration, conservation and management. We still have a tremendous
amount of underexplored and overlooked botanical diversity in the
state.
Recently we have seen promising results in some of our restoration projects where our unique natural communities and rare plants are returning from the brink of extirpation. This gives us hope. But that does not mean that there are not troubles presently in our plant communities, and major threats on the horizon. Many of the best botanical sites in Kentucky were lost before we even knew they existed. The continuing work of groups like KNPS, Kentucky Nature Preserves, USFWS, land trusts, and others are critical to document and protect plant communities and intact forests before more sites are permanently lost.
Significant reports are emerging weekly
predicting rapid climate changes, with oceans warming, melting
glaciers, ice sheets, and permafrost contributing to sea level rise
of possibly one meter by centuries end, flooding coastal areas and
impacting coastal vegetation in enormous ways. Forests are being
burned and cleared in the Amazon, Indonesia, and the Congo with
excessive pesticide and fertilizer likely to occur on agricultural
lands that will follow. Temperatures rise, storms increase in
strength, and precipitation becomes unstable with wetter winters and
hotter summer droughts. The Louisville area is projected a 7-12
degree f. increase by the end of the century. The changes in our
plant communities will be substantial. If these predictions are true,
the children today will see a much different natural landscape in
Kentucky 2080. Species extinction is also expected to rise, with
recent studies predicting as many as 1 million species lost globally
by centuries end? Our challenges are great, but that does not mean
that we cannot be better stewards of our botanical diversity. KNPS
must continue our mission to study and conserve our flora, act
locally, think globally, and work diligently to further the existence
of Kentucky’s native plants in the present and for centuries to
come.
I’m proud of events that KNPS
coordinated this year so far. From our annual spring wildflower
weekend at Natural Bridge, to our popular sedge workshop, and the
many hikes both formal and informal that further our deep connections
with plants. We want to send a big THANK YOU to all the teachers and
instructors who help us provide these programs to Kentuckians from
all walks of life. We also have many people to THANK for leading
hikes to Land between the Lakes, Hazeldell Meadow, Shakertown, and
beyond. We organized an event to create the first updated botanical
inventory in nearly 30 years of Mantle Rock in Livingston County, a
unique property known more for its tragic history than the
spectacularly rare sandstone glades and rock outcroppings protected
on this site. As usual, there is never enough time to visit all the
sites, so some have slipped through the cracks and will have to wait
unit next year.
The KNPS board has been busy planning our fall meeting at the West Sixth Farm in Frankfort on October 12. We are holding our first native seed exchange and preparing for that has been exciting! In addition, we will have a membership meeting and hike around the farm to view any late summer flowers and to learn how to find the federally threatened Braun’s rockcress in a dormant state. I hope to see many native plant enthusiasts there.
We are partnering with Kentucky Nature
Preserves this fall on several stewardship workdays, with bush
honeysuckle removal on state nature preserves and natural areas to
protect critical habitat for several globally rare plants in Franklin
County. So please, if you have some free time in November and
December, join us on those days and help us recover and conserve the
federally listed Braun’s rockcress and globe bladderpod. Stay
tuned for announcements of location and time.
And as always, if you would like to
volunteer to help with any of our programs, please contact us! Check
out the announcement for our native plant stewardship certification
coordinator position with KNPS for 2020. Fingers crossed we will
still get rain and some fall colors at least in our interior forests.
Happy fall!
KNPS is organizing several work days at state nature preserves and natural areas in Franklin County on November 8 and 15, and December 6. Volunteer activities involve manually removing invasive shrubs, such as bush honeysuckle and privet. Assisting in invasive species management at these sites will have a direct impact on rare plant recovery as the sites are designated as critical habitat for federally listed plants.
Once you are registered, you will receive instructions via email a week prior to the workday(s) you signed up for with directions to the site. Workdays are from 10:00am – 3:00pm and volunteers should bring lunch, water, steady boots, gloves, and loppers if you have them. Also, please arrive on time to sites as we may be hiking in to where the field work will be conducted. If you have any questions about the workdays, email jessica.slade@ky.gov.
Please join us by registering and help us restore these rare plants and communities, and build up the local botanical community along the way!
