Wildflower Week Botany Blitz Winners and Highlights

By Vanessa Voelker

We had another awesome week of wildflower appreciation during KNPS’s 3rd annual Botany Blitz! The Botany Blitz is a wildflower-focused bioblitz where participants try to document as many plant species as possible during the week before Wildflower Weekend. This year’s Blitz ran from April 8 through April 15. As in previous years, the Botany Blitz was hosted on the iNaturalist platform, which makes it easy for participants to document, share, and identify their observations through iNaturalist’s website and mobile app. We also hosted a series of “First Day Hikes” across the state again this year: on Saturday April 8, several local naturalists and experienced iNaturalist users lead guided hikes in preserves, parks, and other natural areas across the Commonwealth. Many thanks to the hike leaders for helping us kick off the Blitz!

And without further ado, this year’s winners of the Botany Blitz are:

  • For the categories of both Most Species and Most Observations, @spenner swept first place with 276 species and 420 observations.
  • For the category of Most Identifications, @tgregory74 took the top spot with 733 ID’s.

Congrats to both for excellence in botanizing! A few more Botany Blitz stats as of the writing of this article (these numbers may change over time):

If you’re not an iNaturalist user or have never participated in a blitz before, here are a few words from folks in the Botany Blitz leaderboards for Observing and Identifying, regarding what they enjoy about the platform and events like the Botany Blitz:

@spenner: “I had the good fortune this year of already having a family hiking trip planned to McCreary County during the Botany Blitz. I definitely tested the patience of my family with my constant stopping to take pictures, but what an incredible place to look for wildflowers! One highlight of many was seeing and learning more about the different violets. My yard, of course, has loads of the Common Blue Violets (Viola sororia), and I see quite a few Cream Violets (V. striata) at a couple of nearby locations. But that’s largely it at my usual haunts. So to see ten species of violets in bloom in two days in McCreary was a delight. I doubt that I can pick a favourite, but I was impressed by how many nooks and crannies on rock walls would have a tiny lovely Sweet White Violet (Viola blanda) growing in them.”

@tgregory74: “Whether I’m ID’ing other people’s observations, or learning how to ID new plants, iNaturalist has been a great outlet for me to botanize even when I’m not able to go out into the field. As someone fairly new to iNaturalist, I thought the KNPS 2023 Botany Blitz was a fun way to work through some genera I’ve had confusion with (looking at you Viola…), and learn about plants I don’t typically see in my area (inner Bluegrass). The Wildflower Weekend hikes were a blast and I saw a lot of cool plants that I had never seen before, but by far my highlight of the week was getting introduced to some populations of Bird’s foot violet (Viola pedata) in the wild and realizing how charismatic and beautiful that species is. My runner up species would probably be the Long-spurred violet (Viola rostrata). I know it’s seemingly everywhere once you get into sandstone-based substrates, but we don’t have that species in the inner Bluegrass so it’s a delight every time I find one.”

@ktuttlewheeler: “Wildflower Week is something I look forward to every year. I’m always on the lookout for cool plants but this is a great opportunity to really devote some time to it. Going to Cumberland Falls let me check out plants in part of the state I haven’t spent much time in, and it was really exciting to see some plants I hadn’t seen before like native azaleas (Rhododendron sp.) in bloom, Eastern teaberry (Gaultheria procumbens), and a bunch of different ferns.”

@coleperry: “I live in the OH-KY-IN tri-state, so the Blitz gave me a reason to try some new parks & locations in my home state of KY. I also love the opportunity to review my familiar, local trails: taking stock of everything I can differentiate. I’ll enjoy doing this yearly! I was also pleased to spot Azure bluets (Houstonia caerulea) & Smooth rockcress (Borodinia laevigata) for the 1st time. Plus I worked on several species differentiations that have been tripping me up :)”

@captbillp: “I have derived much pleasure in communicating with experts and citizen scientists on iNaturalist; with the mutual benefit of learning and discovering more about the natural world. As an older member of society I would encourage young people to embrace this beautiful planet, and work hard to maintain the good in it.”

@m_whitson: “Between many rainy days and the hectic end of the semester, April can be a frustrating month, because the wildflowers call, but I can’t always get outside. Identifying Kentucky Botany Blitz observations lets me enjoy what’s blooming around the state without having to stray far from my computer. I particularly enjoy seeing observations of Long-spurred violet (Viola rostrata), because it isn’t a common species in my area and the long spurs are adorable. I’d love to see what pollinates it!”

And finally, here are a few photos from the Botany Blitz to admire, thanks to all the participants for making this another great week of botanizing!

Pinxter Flower (Rhododendron periclymenoides) photographed by @riparian_paparrazi (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/154852074)

Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica) also featuring Stella, Henry, and their hiking cat Benson, photographed by @tararoselittlefield (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/154219048)

Fire Pink (Silene virginica) photographed by @dakotaross (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/155043091)

Blue Eyed Mary (Collinsia verna) photographed by @spenner (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/155089708)

Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum pedatum) photographed by @reupurtbones (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/155113211)

Pink Lady’s Slipper (Cypripedium acaule) @ktuttlewheeler (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/155172883)

Red Buckeye (Aesculus pavia) photographed by @sbrockway (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/154720935)

Replacing invasives with natives is a work of love

By Emilie Grace Yochim

In the spring of 2019, I decided to add gardens and chickens to my yard to supplement my homeschooling curriculum. Fortunately, I came across a native nursery set up at my local farmer’s market. After listening to what they had to say, I decided to give natives a try. I began with a native pollinator patch.

During that summer, I saw the native plants thrive and attract many pollinators. The perennials I had purchased from big box stores sat untouched. They looked pathetic compared to the natives. I dug them up and replaced them with more natives.

I saw such a difference after creating habitat, that I was hooked. As the years went by, I added more natives: flowers, grasses, vines, shrubs and trees. I removed some invasives and replaced them with natives and non-invasive annuals for more color.

I started helping the nursery with their social media and learning as much as I could about natives. My passion and excitement for educating others about natives led me to create my own Facebook group to learn, share seeds, and create a community.

A previously empty landscape has been transformed into raised beds for a kitchen garden and includes noninvasive annuals for a spot of early color. The area includes small native trees and shrubs such as dogwood, sumac, ninebark, and redbud.

A huge empty patch is slowly being filled with native pollinator beds, a berry patch, a vegetable garden, fruit trees, and lots of native trees and shrubs, including edibles such as American hazelnut, pawpaw, persimmon, and elderberry. Note the growth in the trees in the back. It filled in quickly.

I removed invasive shrubs such as burning bush and installed a Monarch Waystation and a NWF Certified Wildlife Habitat with native host and nectar plants.

More empty space filled with noninvasive zinnias, a plethora of native host and nectar plants, and native grasses. Each summer, my yard is full of butterflies, bees, hummingbirds, birds, and other beneficial pollinators.

A journey of replacing invasive nonnatives and barren land with native flowers, shrubs, and trees. My yard is now full of life and habitat!

Picture of Emilie Grace Yochim

Emilie Grace Yochim is a homeschooling mom to two teens and has been married to Philip for 20 years. Since 2019, Emilie has developed a slight obsession with pollinators, poof heads (bantam Satin and Silkie chickens), and native plants.

She enjoys educating others about planting natives and identifying pollinators by sharing pictures and information about the native plants, chickens, and wildlife in her yard. She also enjoys making terrible memes and puns that she finds hilarious.

How to Take a Walk in the Woods

By Robert Dunlap

“Kids, come back! I have something to show you!”

I was seven years old when my aunt and uncle took my sister and me bird watching in the woods of wild, wonderful West Virginia. While vacationing with them at a very nice state park, they decided to give my parents a break from us for the morning. To them, we were “city kids,” having lived all our lives in a house that was built in an old farm field along with 150 identical units about 20 miles from downtown Philadelphia. I have construction photos of the property from 1950 and there isn’t a tree to be seen anywhere.

On the other hand, my uncle had lived his whole life in the Mountain State and was an avid hunter, fisherman and nature lover. My mother said that her brother would never live anywhere else in the world other than West Virginia. Years later, I finally understood the spell the mountains had placed on him and why he could never leave.

My sister and I were doing what kids our ages would normally do, running ahead of our caretakers by a good 20 or 30 yards at least. I don’t know exactly what we were looking at or listening to. Maybe we were “watching for birds” because we were on a “bird watching” trip, right?

“Kids, come back! I have something to show you!”

After repeating himself a few times (maybe several times), we finally turned around and trudged back down the trail, reluctantly retracing our steps. When he came into view we could see him bending down looking at something on the ground in the middle of the trail.

Eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina). The reddish eye indicates that this is a male.

“It’s a box turtle and you guys ran right past it. I’m glad you didn’t step on it. Have you ever seen one of these before?”

The answer to his question was a resounding no, because we were city kids and box turtles usually don’t hang around in old farm fields surrounded by 150 houses. He went on to explain to us, very gently as I remember, that there are a lot of things to see in the woods, but you have to slow down and take your time, or you might miss some of the amazing things that are out there.

There was a character named Ferris Bueller in a movie several years back about this one day he took off from school. He went joy riding in a sports car, took in a Major League Baseball game and sang on a float in a parade. At one point in the movie, he turns and speaks directly into the camera.

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

If Ferris and my uncle had ever met, I feel like they would have gotten along just fine.

So that’s what it’s all about. Go slow, take your time, and look all around…. rocket science, huh?

Of course, there are plenty of folks who go into the woods and completely ignore this advice. The current world record for completing the Appalachian Trail in the shortest time is held by the Belgian ultrarunner Karel Sabbe who traversed the 2,173-mile trail in 41 days, 7 hours and 39 minutes, which means he averaged 53 miles per day! He accomplished this feat, which is equivalent to running 20 miles more than a marathon every day for 41 days straight, during July and August of 2018. Can you imagine how many box turtles he missed on this trip?

Actually, I don’t begrudge Mr. Sabbe too much because he accomplished a truly amazing feat of athleticism, and he did something no one else in the world has done. And maybe he turned around in Maine and leisurely retraced his steps back to Georgia at a 5-6 mile per day pace so he could see everything that he missed. No, probably not…

I have a few other rules/guidelines I follow every time I head to the woods. Obviously, I always take precautions against biting insects and the burning rays of the sun. I have an old smartphone and the GPS app I use to navigate to avoid getting lost drains the battery quickly, so I take a couple of power sticks along. I carry a roll of orange flagging tape to mark the locations of interesting plants so I can find them again. I wonder what the occasional deer or squirrel hunter thinks when they see my orange flags tied to random tree branches out in the middle of nowhere?

The most valuable implement to take into the woods, however, is the hiking stick. I use a wooden one that was hand-crafted (paw-crafted?) for me by a beaver. While it is useful for maintaining one’s balance climbing over downed trees or scampering up and down creek banks, I find it indispensable for removing spider webs. While bushwhacking through the woods, I wave my stick around in circles or just swing it up and down in front of me. Alternatively, If you are trapsing through the woods with another person or group, always hang back in second or third place, never lead. This will ensure that the other person gets a face full of spider web, not you.

I recently discovered another reason to use a hiking stick. A few weeks ago, I was crossing a field on my way back to my vehicle after an enjoyable walk in the woods. The field had been subjected to a controlled burn a few months earlier and I was concentrating on the wide variety of plants that were popping up all over the place. Suddenly, I heard a clunk as my stick hit something solid, which was unusual for western Kentucky (we don’t have many rocks here). I looked down and sure enough, my stick had landed on top of a box turtle who had sealed itself up tight in its shell. As I was taught when I was seven years old, I picked it up and checked the shell for damage (there was none) and waited for a while, hoping it would decide to check me out also. Unfortunately, it declined to make an appearance, so I returned it to the ground and continued across the field.

And as I made my way back to my car, all I thought about was my uncle and all the other things he taught me besides how to take a walk in the woods.

Robert Dunlap is an amateur naturalist living near Paducah who owns every Peterson Field Guide that has ever published.

FloraQuest: Northern Tier App Released

Alan Weakley and the Southeastern Flora Team are thrilled to announce the release of FloraQuest: Northern Tier, a new plant identification and discovery app covering more than 5,800 wildflowers, trees, shrubs, grasses, and other vascular plants occurring in the northern part of The Flora of the Southeastern United States (FSUS). 

With FloraQuest: Northern Tier, you can customize the northern tier flora by state and physiographic province.

With easy-to-use graphic keys, advanced dichotomous keys, habitat descriptions, range maps, and 20,000 diagnostic photographs, FloraQuest: Northern Tier is the perfect companion for your botanical explorations. FloraQuest: Northern Tier doesn’t need an internet connection to run, so you can take it with you wherever you go in the field.

You can use FloraQuest to learn about and identify all plants occurring within the 12-state “northern tier” portion of the FSUS. The app allows you to filter the state and physiographic region in which you are botanizing, seeing only relevant results close to you. Do you struggle to remember complicated botanical terms? We’ve got you covered: click on a word you don’t know, and the definition will pop up in the app without you having to leave the page! 

This app covers Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Washington (D.C.), Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and parts of New York, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. In the coming years, our Flora team will be releasing additional apps for the remaining regions of the Southeastern Flora. Next up is North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. 

  • Begin the graphic key with a choice of which plant group you are in, with multiple images for each group
  • Answer further quick questions in the Graphic Key to find the plant you’ve encountered. Here, 14 plants matched.
  • Browse plants based on search or graphic key results
  • Species photos
  • Species distribution, phenology, habitat, comments, synonymy, and more
  • Species range maps with legend
  • More options
  • Configure which states or regions within states to show
  • The range of FloraQuest: Northern Tier

FloraQuest: Northern Tier is available for both iOS and Android devices for $19.99.  

We remain committed to traditional floras and making flora data accessible: you can access the FSUS web app or download the latest PDF of the Flora of the Southeastern United States for free (donations optional) at ncbg.unc.edu/research/unc-herbarium/floras/. 

Could Native Clovers have High Nutritional Value for Beef Cattle in the Upper South? A new research project at Virginia Tech

Makayla Bryant1, Jonathan Omar Cole Kubesch1,2

  • Virginia Tech School of Plant and Environmental Sciences; Blacksburg, VA
  • Country Home Farms; Pembroke, VA

Eastern North America’s tall fescue grasslands produce a plethora of beef stockers, replacement heifers, and cow-calf pairs. These pastures replaced a variety of native woodlands and grasslands in the past 70 years. While tall fescue is a useful forage for much of the year, most tall fescue acreage consists of toxic endophyte Kentucky 31 tall fescue. This endophyte reduces animal performance in terms of average daily gain, reduced reproductive success, and decreased milk production. A lot of this tall fescue acreage cannot be easily converted to alternate forages, such as novel endophyte tall fescue or warm-season forages, in part due to soil conservation as well as economic constraints.

Producers might be able to reduce or eliminate toxic endophyte effects in cattle by overseeding this tall fescue with clovers. Clovers (Trifolium spp) are commonly overseeded into tall fescue stands. Red (T. pratense) and white (T. repens) clovers are currently recommended in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia for pasture clover. There are native alternatives to red and white clover.

A suite of native clovers are present in the United States. Kentucky historically had at least three native species from the Mississippi River to the Appalachian Plateau. These species were present in native grasslands and woodlands throughout the region at the time of European settlement. Native clovers declined with land use change, overgrazing, and fire suppression, but they are still present in modest populations. Native clovers serve a similar nutritional role to wildlife as red and white clovers serve for livestock. Conservation crop science has led to some study as to whether native clovers are agronomically competitive with red and white clover.

Cattle nutrition can justify native clover conservation in pastures

Clovers provide crude protein to cattle in cool-season grasslands. This additional crude protein comes with no additional nitrogen (N) fertilization. Native clovers often serve as the protein concentrate for native ungulates such as bison and deer, as well as monogastric species such as turkeys. Secondary metabolites, such as isoflavones, can dilute or interfere with the alkaloids found in tall fescue pastures. Screening native clover species for traditional metrics of nutritive value can make subsequent analysis for secondary metabolites more effective. Ultimately, this project would provide publishable data regarding the nutritional value of native clovers in comparison to red and white clover under common conditions. This data would guide existing research at Virginia Tech, including Bee-friendly Beef (NIFA-funded). Native clovers are a prime candidate for native plants in livestock production. Including native plants in working grasslands could provide production and conservation opportunities, especially if native clovers offer improved animal nutrition over introduced species.

Native clovers can support cattle and co-exist with non-native grasses

Native clovers are an important protein source in the western rangelands. Species nutritional value has been reported for several of the species native to California, Wyoming, and Oregon range (Bentley & Green, 1954; Cooper, 1957; Cooper and Hunter, 1959; Hamilton, 1961; Hamilton & Gilbert, 1971). These western clovers establish in stands and grow similarly to their nonnative equivalents (Lulow, 2008). Clovers from the eastern United States have only recently been investigated for their agronomic potential. Native clovers have similar agronomic performance relative to traditional red and white clovers.

This is a picture of native clover seedlings in the greenhouse.
Image: Jonathan Kubesch

1990s research suggests that native and nonnative clovers cannot be easily crossed, but native species such as Carolina (T. carolinianum) and peanut (T. polymorphum) clovers in addition to the buffalo clovers have improved pest resistance relative to red and white clovers (Taylor et al., 1994; Quesenberry et al., 1997). Running buffalo clover (T. stoloniferum) is competitive in orchardgrass stands subject to hay and forage clipping schedules (Barker and Sparks, 2013). Running buffalo clover also appears to persist in regularly grazed pastures (e.g. Taylor Fork Ecological Area, Eastern Kentucky University; Good Enough Farm, Peru, Indiana). Buffalo clover (T. reflexum) has a similar seed weight and comparable establishment as red and white clovers (Sanne et al., 2023; Kubesch et al., 2023). This work is lacking in reporting the nutritional value of these native clovers.

Continue reading Could Native Clovers have High Nutritional Value for Beef Cattle in the Upper South? A new research project at Virginia Tech →

April 2023 is Officially “Native Plant Month” in Kentucky

Click on the image to view and download the PDF of the proclamation.

Governor Andy Beshear has proclaimed April 2023 as “Native Plant Month in Kentucky.” In his proclamation the Governor said:

“Now, therefore, I, Andy Beshear, Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, do hereby proclaim April, 2023, as Native Plant Month in Kentucky and encourage Kentucky citizens to observe this occasion by removing non-native invasive plants in our yards and communities, planting native trees, shrubs, and flowers, and educating our citizens about the many benefits of native plants.“

In the fall of 2022, The Garden Club of America launched an initiative to request proclamations from all 50 Governors to make April 2023 Native Plant Month in every state! As of April 4, 2023, 42 of the 50 states have issued such a proclamation. You can see all of the state proclamations here: Native Plant Laws and Proclamations by State.

In addition to the state proclamations, The Garden Club of America, beginning in 2021 has worked with Senators Rob Portman (R-OH retired), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), and Mike Braun (R-IN) to introduce and pass resolutions in the US Senate to declare April as National Native Plant Month. Resolutions were passed in 2021 and 2022. Senators Hirono and Braun introduced the resolution for 2023 in March and the expectation is that the Senate will pass the proclamation as soon as it returns from the Easter recess. You can read the press release from Senator Hirono’s office here: Hirono, Braun Introduce Resolution Designating April 2023 as National Native Plant Month.

There are over 150 organizations in 49 states supporting the Senate resolution, including the Kentucky Native Plant Society. In our supporting email, the Society said “The Kentucky Native Plant Society is in full support of the Senate resolution to designate the month of April as National Native Plant Month! Native plants are essential to both the well-being of our natural ecosystems and the public enjoyment of these native ecosystems. This resolution is in full alignment with our organizational purpose to promote conservation of native plants and natural plant communities and to promote public education in botanical science.”

This photo shows Kentucky native plants at Ironweed Native Plant Nursery.

Ironweed Native Plant Nursery moves to Waddy Kentucky

“Where can I buy native plants?”

That’s the question I hear most often at native plant events. People want to know where they can purchase Kentucky native plants.

If you’re in central Kentucky, you have a nursery nearby that’s dedicated to native plants: Ironweed Native Plant Nursery. Every plant is a Kentucky native.

Owner Alicia Bosela started Ironweed Native Plant Nursery in Columbia, Kentucky about eight years ago. Last fall, Alicia bought property in Waddy Kentucky and moved her nursery there in February of this year. In the last two months, Alicia has made many new connections with educators and growers in the area. Alicia says “The momentum for native plants is growing!”

This photo shows an area of shade-loving plants under shade clothe.
Alicia’s still moving in. She’s currently in the process of expanding an area for native plants that prefer shade by hanging shade cloth.

Fortunately for us, Ironweed is fully stocked with native plants ready for new homes. You’ll find an amazing selection of flowers, grasses, trees, and shrubs, all native to Kentucky.

Ironweed Native Plant Nursery is open for business by appointment. The nursery’s number is (270) 250-3587 and the email address is info@ironweednursery.com. The physical location is 400 Waddy Road, Waddy, KY 40076, which is easy to find. The entrance is on the east side of the road and clearly marked. You can also order online by pointing your browser to https://www.ironweednursery.com/. You can follow the nursery on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Ironweednursery/.

This photo shows a couple visiting the nursery to purchase native plants.
A couple of happy customers, Kris and Charlie Goggin visit Ironweed.

To learn more about native plant nurseries across the state of Kentucky, visit our Native Plant Suppliers & Service Providers page. If you’d like KNPS to visit your native nursery, contact us at ladyslipper@knps.org. If you’d like to add your native nursery to our list, please fill out the form at https://www.knps.org/native-plant-supplier-form/.