Date of trip: 10/12/2021 Start time: 5:30PM Eastern Time Location: Pine Creek Barrens Nature Preserve Difficulty of hike: Moderate – hike should last 1.5 to 2 hours so we can be finished before dark.
Great Plains Ladies Tresses (Spiranthes magnicamporum)
Join Kentucky Native Plant Society member Alan Abbott on an informal, evening walk to see populations of Great Plains ladies tresses at Pine Creek Barrens Nature Preserve in Shepardsville. Owned by the Nature Conservancy, the 158-acre property was featured in Thomas Barnes’ book, Kentucky’s Last Great Places.
Within this open woodland, large prairie-like openings host a diversity of flora native to grasslands and glades. Other natural communities at Pine Creek Barrens include the dry upland woods which surround the glade. On the southwest boundary, scenic Pine Creek flows through a beautiful mesic ravine forest lined with small limestone cliffs.
In addition to the Great Plains Ladies tresses (Spiranthes magnicamporum) that we will be viewing, a number of other rare or infrequent plants grow here, and most years, visitors can also see Barrens Silky Aster (Symphyotrichum pratense) and Stiff Gentian (Gentianella quinquefolia) bloom in October.
At least eight rare and endangered plant species have been identified at the nature preserve, including the globally threatened glade cress (Leavenworthia exigua var. Laciniata), which has adapted to grow in small depressions on the exposed bedrock. This plant is found only in select areas in Bullitt and Jefferson counties.
This trip was limited to 11 participants. It is now filled. Sorry.
Kentucky Native Plant Society member Alan Abbott will be leading the second KNPS field trip since the start of the pandemic to Pine Creek Barrens Nature Preserve in Shepardsville. Owned by the Nature Conservancy, the 158-acre property was featured in Thomas Barnes’ book, Kentucky’s Last Great Places.
Pine Creek
This open woodland with a prairie-like ground cover hosts a diversity of native glade flora. Other natural communities at Pine Creek Barrens include the dry upland woods which surround the glade. On the southwest boundary, scenic Pine Creek flows through a beautiful mesic ravine forest lined with small limestone cliffs.
Barrens Silky Aster (Symphyotrichum pretense)
A number of rare or infrequent plants grow here, and most years, visitors can see Barrens Silky Aster (Symphyotrichum pretense), Great Plains Ladiestresses (Spiranthes magnicamporum), and Stiff Gentian (Gentianella quinquefolia) bloom in October.
At least eight rare and endangered plant species have been identified at the nature preserve, including the globally threatened glade cress (Leavenworthia exigua var. Laciniata), which has adapted to grow in small depressions on the exposed bedrock. This plant is found only in select areas in Bullitt and Jefferson counties.
Several years ago, KNPS adopted the policy of requiring preregistration for all activities (other than Wildflower Weekend) and for giving members the first opportunity to register for those activities. We send out emails to current members for all KNPS activities at least one week before the activity is announced to the general public. Participation in this trip was limited to 15 people and was quickly filled up by members. If you would like to get advance notification of future field trips, become a member of KNPS. If you join now, your membership will not expire until the end of 2022.
On Saturday, July 31, 2021, for the first time since July of 2019, KNPS members were able to get out into the field as a group and explore our Commonwealth’s botanical diversity. Traveling to the Ballard Wildlife Management Area in Ballard Co., nine of us spent an enjoyable morning visiting a variety of wetland ecosystems that many Kentuckians never see.
Ballard Wildlife Management Area is 8,000 acres located in the Ohio River bottomlands ecoregion in far western Kentucky. The WMA is mostly wetland with 39% of the acreage in wetland, 28% forest, 27% open land, and 6% open water. Much of the wetland is comprised of rare, cypress (tupelo) swamps and sloughs that many Kentuckians have not had the opportunity to experience. The Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves lists cypress (tupelo) swamp as a state endangered ecosystem. The forested parts of the WMA are mostly bottomland hardwood forest, another ecosystem that is somewhat uncommon in Kentucky.
Pale Indian plantain (Arnoglossum atriplicifolium)
The nine participants headed out in a three-vehicle caravan to visit several spots around the WMA. We were led by longtime WMA employees, Gerald Burnett and Richard Campbell. At each stop we got out and walked and found many native plants. At our first stop we spotted several nice stands of an uncommon native, pale Indian plantain (Arnoglossum atriplicifolium). We also saw several species of St. John’s wort (Hypericum spp.), downy skullcap (Scuttelaria incana), meadow beauty (Rhexia spp.), starry campion (Silene stellata), and several species of aquatic and semi-aquatic plants, including American bur-reed (Sparganium americanum), arrow arum (Peltandra virginica), and broadleaf arrowhead (Sagittaria latifolia). Lots of buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) and both species of native Hibiscus, halberd-leaf rosemallow (H. laevis) and swamp rosemallow (H. moscheutos), were in abundance along the shores of the area’s lakes and sloughs.
Oneflower false fiddleleaf (Hydrolea uniflora)
At the second stop we explored both a wetland community and a bottomland forest. We saw several natives, a couple that are rare in Kentucky. In the wetland, we saw a nice patch of oneflower false fiddleleaf (Hydrolea uniflora) in full bloom. This genus, Hydrolea, has two species in Kentucky, this one and ovate false fiddleleaf (Hydrolea ovata). Both species are only found in a couple of counties in far western Kentucky, and were believed to be extirpated until 2006 when both were observed again. Read the post “From the Lady Slipper Archives: Hydroleas (the genus False Fiddleleaf) in Kentucky – Lost and Found” to learn more about these beautiful and rare species.
Snow squarestem (Melanthera nivea)
We also encountered several stands of snow squarestem (Melanthera nivea) just beginning to flower. This is another species that is rare in Kentucky, reported only from four counties along the Ohio and Mississippi rivers; McCracken, Ballard, Carlisle, and Hickman.
Other species that were found in bloom in these habitats included sharpwing monkey flower (Mimulus alatus), butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa), swamp milkweed (A. incarnata), aquatic milkweed (A. perennis), hairy mountian mint (Pycnanthemum verticillatum var. pilosum), cup plant (Silphium perfoliatum), cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis), creeping burhead (Echinodorus cordifolius), and water parsnip (Sium suave).
Most of us are familiar with the non-native Asiatic dayflower (C. communis), that grows in gardens and along roadsides. However, many are not aware that Kentucky has three native dayflowers. We saw all three species of Kentucky’s native dayflowers in bloom during the field trip; white-mouth dayflower (C. erecta), Virginia dayflower (C. virginiana), and climbing dayflower (C. diffusa).
White-mouth dayflower (Commelina erecta)
Virginia dayflower (Commelina virginica)
Climbing dayflower (Commelina diffusa)
All Three of Kentucky’s Native Dayflowers
The day was a great start to getting back to in-person field trips. This exploration of an area of Kentucky that many people are unfamiliar with was a great example of the value of KNPS field trips for learning about our native plant communities.
Date of trip: 07/31/2021 Start time: 9:00 am to 12:00 pm Central Time Location: Ballard County Difficulty of hike: Easy – We will caravan/car pool on the gravel roads in the wildlife management area, stopping to view a variety of native plants and habitats. At a couple of the stops we will walk distances of under a 1/2 mile.
It’s been well over a year since KNPS has been able to have field trips exploring the diverse botany of Kentucky. We are excited to get back into the field with our first field trip since the start of the pandemic. Join KNPS Board Member, Jeff Nelson, Ballard WMA employee, Gerald Burnett, and KNPS member, Bob Dunlap, as as we explore the native plant ecosystems in the wetlands and river bottoms of the Ballard WMA in Ballard Co.
Ballard Wildlife Management Area is 8,000 acres located in the Ohio River bottomlands ecoregion in far western Kentucky. The WMA is mostly wetland with 39% of the acreage in wetland, 28% forest, 27% open land, and 6% open water. Much of the wetland is comprised of rare, cypress-tupelo swamps and sloughs which many Kentuckians have not had the opportunity to experience. The Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves lists cypress-tupelo swamp as a state endangered ecosystem.
We will caravan (carpooling as much as possible) around the WMA, stopping to examine the botany of Ballard’s diverse ecosystems. We should see several uncommon, wetland plant species, some in flower. Although we will not be hiking any distance, we will be taking walks of less than 1/2 mile at a couple of stops, all on the road or trails. We will walk into areas off the road to get a better view many of the plants. There is likely to be some muddy spots where we will be walking, so be prepared. At the end of July, it will be hot and humid and there will mosquitos and ticks, so bring plenty of water and insect repellent.
Directions: We will meet at the WMA Office at 864 Wildlife Lodge Rd, La Center, KY 42056.
Map Coordinates for the Office are: 37.18393861563692, -89.02681588465485
Join Dan and Judy Dourson’s grandchildren for a virtual wildflower walk in the Red River Basin. You will see many of the common wildflowers seen in early spring in the bottom lands, as well as flowers found on the ridge tops with some surprise organisms!
Cedar, ash, oaks, and honeysuckle aren’t the only things inhabiting the dry, rocky, steep habitats above the Kentucky River. Join Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves botanist Devin Rodgers for a tour of some of the neat flora adapted to these sunny, erodible, rugged, beautiful places.
