A Brief Guide to Collecting, Processing, and Germinating Native Seeds 

By Jonathan O.C. Kubesch1,2, Dillon P. Golding1,3, Frank P. Reith1,2, Joseph D. House4, Ezra Staengl1,5, and Jenna E. Beville1 

  1. Virginia Tech School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Blacksburg, VA 
  2. Country Home Farms, Pembroke, VA 
  3. Hoot Owl Hollow Farm, Woodlawn, VA 
  4. Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 
  5. Virginia Tech College of Natural Resources and Environment, Blacksburg, VA 

Embarking on the journey of collecting, processing, and germinating native seeds can be both educational and rewarding. Whether your goal is to create a native backyard, cultivate ornamental natives, restore a natural plant community, or contribute to the conservation of indigenous plants, this guide will walk you through the essential steps and direct you to resources that improve the experience and the establishment of your native plants.  

Challenges exist for many native plants, such as small wild populations, limited seed production, and even a lack of knowledge on how to handle collected seeds (Center for Plant Conservation [CPC], 2019). This guide walks through a seed collecting example to help guide your seed collecting project.  

Setting Your Goal 

Before you delve into the world of native seed collection, it’s crucial to define your purpose. Are you looking to establish a thriving native garden in your backyard, cultivate a visually appealing ornamental native, restore an ecosystem, or contribute to the conservation of local plant species? Understanding your goal will shape your approach and guide your efforts. 

For informal or backyard gardening, many native plants are commercially available, and can be purchased rather than collected from the wild. These species are typically grown in greenhouses with ideal conditions unlike natural stands.  

Collecting threatened or endangered plants without rigorous permission or planning is not condoned by the Kentucky Native Plant Society (KNPS), the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves, or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  

Another option would be working with private landowners to procure seed. Be sure to coordinate with the landowner far in advance of your intended seed collection, not only to obtain permission, but also so that they do not use the land for another purpose and disrupt the seed production. Landowners might be more keen to set this land, or a section of their land, aside for your seed collection if you offer to share some of the collected seed with them. Plant conservation projects can be extremely rewarding and benefit greatly from citizen scientists and landowners. The KNPS actually offers several student and public research grants that support plant conservation and propagation for Kentucky plants.  

For the farmer or land manager, your goals will be considerably different. Whether you want to be more environmentally friendly with your operation or wish to reap the benefits that come with adding natives to your landscape, species selections and subsequent collections should be tailored to function.  

First and foremost, a farm is a business and has to be treated as such.  Luckily, some native plants can improve the profitability of your farm. Converting a property entirely into natives may be a lofty goal, especially given limited seed availability. Consider transforming a smaller section of your land into natives and try it out. See how you, your livestock, and the wildlife enjoy it and then decide what is best for your operation.  

There are many natives that are beautiful and agriculturally productive, but, the bulk of research has coalesced around the big four: switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), big bluestem (Andropogon gerardi), little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), and indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans). The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service considers these four grasses valuable for both livestock feed and ecosystem services and are what the authors recommend for the skeptical farm owner to try.  

There are guides which tell which of these four species to plant in different environments. You could greatly increase the forage value of the stand by also planting clover (Trifolium spp; preferably but not necessarily native) alongside the native grasses. Clovers enhance the nutritive value and provide nutrients through nitrogen fixation.  

Continue reading A Brief Guide to Collecting, Processing, and Germinating Native Seeds  →

Kentucky Invasive Plant Council’s 2023 Annual Conference

By: Heidi Braunreiter, KNPS Director

The Kentucky Invasive Plant Council (KY-IPC) hosted their annual conference on November 2, 2023 at Kentucky State University’s Research and Demonstration Farm in Frankfort, KY. This was the first time KY-IPC hosted an in-person conference since the event started virtually in 2021, with over 150 people in attendance. The conference was a great opportunity for land management professionals, private landowners, natural area volunteers/stewards, researchers, and nonprofits from across Kentucky to get together to discuss the latest news and emerging threats here in the state and to earn continuing education units (CEU’s) for their pesticide license.


2023 KY-IPC Conference at KSU’s Research & Demonstration Farm in Frankfort, KY

This year’s conference was split into indoor presentations and outdoor demonstrations. Some of the topics discussed included managing invasives when installing native grasslands, biological controls of invasive plants (garlic mustard aphid and honeysuckle leaf blight), invasive species to watch for (spotted lanternfly, Japanese chaff flower, amur cork tree, and overlooked invasive plants along fire breaks), and a case study of aerial spraying of bush honeysuckle at Clay WMA. Demonstrations included using drones for invasive plant monitoring and management, research plots of invasive plant management at KSU Farm, and invasive plant management with goats.

Another highlight of the annual event was to recognize people and places that are doing great work towards invasive species eradication in the state. KY-IPC solicited nominations for three categories to recognize a professional land manager, a nonprofessional individual, and a natural area or organization.

Ryan Fortenberry, OKNP Cumberland Plateau Land Manager

The 2023 KY-IPC award recognizing a professional land management practitioner in invasive species management went to Ryan Fortenberry, the Cumberland Plateau Land Manager for Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves (OKNP). Ryan is an excellent steward of the nature preserves under his watch. He is charged with protecting many sensitive sites with high quality natural communities and rare species, which he maintains through his vigilance of looking for and eradicating invasive species before they become a problem. He also has multiple sites where the invasives were already a problem, and he has worked to eradicate those populations through his hard work and dedication.

Terri Koontz, Kentucky natural areas steward and volunteer

The 2023 KY-IPC award recognizing a nonprofessional individual went to Terri Koontz, a volunteer at several natural areas in Kentucky. When she learns of a new emerging invasive plant, she is not satisfied simply to know it exists; she goes out of her way to learn all she can about it, including why it is in invasive, how to correctly identify it, and what she can do to manage it. Terri recently learned to recognize Japanese chaff flower and took it upon herself to remove a large population behind the Gladie Visitor Center at the Red River Gorge. By sharing her passion, knowledge, and willingness to get down on the ground and work with friends and other volunteers, Terri stewards Kentucky natural areas wherever she goes.

Jimmy Woods, KDFWR Wildlife Biologist, accepting award on behalf of Clay WMA

The 2023 KY-IPC award recognizing a natural area or organization dedicated to invasive species eradication went to Kentucky Division of Fish and Wildlife Resources’s (KDFWR) Clay Wildlife Management Area. Clay WMA is one of the most intensively managed areas for wildlife habitat in Kentucky through invasive species eradication and prescribed fire. The current land manager, Jimmy Woods, wrote a three-year management plan to treat the entire WMA for bush honeysuckle, which included a 2022 aerial herbicide spraying of large tracts of the forest in collaboration with UK researchers to evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment. Clay WMA has also hosted several educational field days for various groups to view and learn about large-scale management operations of invasive species.

The final highlight of KY-IPC’s 2023 annual conference was the announcement of this year’s winner of funding for a natural area boot brush station, which was awarded to Kentucky Natural Land Trust for their Blanton West Preserve near Blanton Forest State Nature Preserve in Harlan County. A boot brush station will help fight the spread of invasive species and signage will educate the public about invasive species.

To learn more and stay in tune with KY-IPC’s news and events, follow them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KYIPC/

Native Spotlight on Splitbeard Bluestem (Andropogon ternarius) in the Bluegrass State 

By Jonathan O.C. Kubesch1,2 

  1. Virginia Tech School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Blacksburg, VA 
  2. Country Home Farms, Pembroke, VA 

In the acidic, drier soils of the Bluegrass State and the Upper South, splitbeard bluestem (Andropogon ternarius) graces our landscapes with its elegant presence. This botanical marvel stands at comparable heights to little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), reaching heights of 3 to 6 feet, its feathery seed heads resembling delicate beards that lend an air of elegance to the verdant tapestry of Kentucky’s native flora. This member of the primary bluestem genus is most distinctive at the end of the growing season, generally September to November in Kentucky. Splitbeard bluestem captivates with its slender stems swaying gracefully in the breeze. Its ethereal silvery seed heads add a visual symphony to the landscape, creating a picturesque image in the minds of those who encounter it (Figures 1). 

Figure 1. Splitbeard bluestem growing in a working cow-calf grazing system in Carroll County, Virginia. Photo credit: talented, yet unnamed research assistant. September 29, 2023.  

Splitbeard and little bluestems can be differentiated from one another quite easily at the end of the season. Little bluestem florets curl up and down the stalk without branching. Splitbeard bluestem seed heads are especially feathery, branching, and generally convey a pinker hue than little bluestem (Figure 2).  

Figure 2. Little bluestem (left hand) and splitbeard bluestem (right hand). Both bluestems growing in a working cow-calf grazing system in Carroll County, Virginia. Photo credit: talented, yet unnamed research assistant. September 29, 2023.  

Splitbeard bluestem is well documented in the Upper South: particularly in Kentucky and Tennessee. Herbarium specimens catch the species in the Cumberland and Allegheny Plateaus, the Highland Rim, the Ridge and Valley, and the Blue Ridge Mountains. Venturing into Kentucky’s diverse ecosystems, splitbeard bluestem thrives in various habitats, from sunny prairies to open woodlands. Ecotones — transitions between habitats or sun regimess — seem to be a key area to find this native grass (Figure 3). This resilient native weaves its story across acidic, well-drained soils.Splitbeard bluestem consists of a group of native grasses adapted to fire and herbivory in the landscape. Embarking on a journey through ecological history, splitbeard bluestem emerges as stalwart, surviving regular fires, elk (Cervus canadensis), and bison (Bison bison). Codeveloping with the region’s fauna, it has weathered the ages, adapting to the rhythms of fire and contributing to the rich tapestry of native ecosystems. 

Figure 3. Splitbeard bluestem growing along an ecotone between open pasture and pine woodland in a working cow-calf grazing system in Carroll County, Virginia. Photo credit: talented, yet unnamed research assistant. September 29, 2023.  

Continue reading Native Spotlight on Splitbeard Bluestem (Andropogon ternarius) in the Bluegrass State  →

Botanical Timeline for Kentucky, 2015 to 2022 

By Ron Jones, Foundation Professor Emeritus, Eastern Kentucky University with assistance from Tara Littlefield 

This botanical timeline is a continuation of the series that appeared in The Lady-Slipper in five installments from 2005 to 2008:  

The goal is to highlight major events in the history of Kentucky botany, including new discoveries, important publications, changes in agricultural developments, major changes or upgrades of herbaria, developments or changes for the Kentucky Native Plant Society, and the retirements or deaths of people that made major contributions to Kentucky botany. Much more has happened and will continue to happen; follow-up lists and updates are encouraged. 

2015—Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States Working Draft of 21 May 2015  

Alan S. Weakley University of North Carolina Herbarium (NCU) North Carolina Botanical Garden University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Area covered is indicated in map below. See update below for 2022. 

2015—Guide to the Vascular Plants of Tennessee, by the Tennessee Flora Committee (editors: E.W. Chester, B.E. Wofford, J. Shaw, D. Estes, and D.H. Webb) 

University of Tennessee Press. 813 pages. (from UT Press): The product of twenty-five years of planning, research, and writing, Guide to the Vascular Plants of Tennessee is the most comprehensive, detailed, and up-to-date resource of its kind for the flora of the Volunteer State, home to nearly 2,900 documented taxa. A team of editors, authors, and contributors not only provide keys for identifying the major groups, families, genera, species, and lesser taxa known to be native or naturalized within the state—with supporting information about distribution, frequency of occurrence, conservation status, and more—but they also offer a plethora of descriptive information about the state’s physical environment and vegetation, along with a summary of its rich botanical history, dating back to the earliest Native American inhabitants. Other features of the book include a comprehensive glossary of botanical terms and an array of line drawings that illustrate the identifying characteristics of vascular plants, from leaf shape and surface features to floral morphology and fruit types. Finally, the book’s extensive keys are indexed by families, scientific names, and common names.  

The result is a user-friendly work that researchers, students, environmentalists, foresters, conservationists, and anyone interested in Tennessee botany and the surrounding states will value for years to come. 

2015—Herbarium at Centre College in Danville transferred to EKU  

A collection of a few hundred vascular plant specimens remaining at the Centre College Herbarium was transferred to EKY. Heidi Braunreiter facilitated this transfer, as she was working on her MS thesis on the flora of Boyle County at the time. The collection had formerly been curated by Susan Studlar and focused on nonvascular plants. When Susan Studlar accepted a position at West Virginia University, she took her collection of over 2,000 (mostly) Kentucky mosses and hepatics with her, leaving only a small collection of vascular plants at the college. 

2015—White-haired goldenrod (Solidago albopilosa), one of Kentucky’s three endemic plants, is delisted by USFWS in September 2015. The discovery of new populations and stable long-term trends documented by KSNPC botanists Deb White, Nick Drozda, and Tara Littlefield led to the realization that many of the populations were stable and that the goals of the White-Haired Goldenrod Recovery Plan were met. 

2015—George P. Johnson passes away in December 

This is a photo of George Johnson

George Johnson received his undergraduate and master’s degrees at Western Kentucky University and published a flora on the vascular plants of Barren County. He received his Ph.D. from North Carolina State University, working on the chinkapin chestnuts. He taught at Lindsey Wilson College for four years, before accepting a position at Arkansas Tech University in 1990. In 2015, he was promoted to full professor and honored for 25 years of service. Throughout his career, George remained active in botanical collecting, herbarium work, mentoring students, and publishing articles, and was co-editor of the 2014 volume on the Atlas of the Vascular Plants of Arkansas. He was particularly interested in working to preserve and enhance the herbaria in Arkansas and in developing a digital database of the collections and was a key figure in working with other southeastern U.S. curators to build a database of all SEUS collections, which culminated in the SERNEC website. George was held in very high regard by his friends and associates; for more on his life and career, see the 2016 obituary (from which this entry was copied) written by his student and colleague Travis Marsico: J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas 10(1):295–298.  

Continue reading Botanical Timeline for Kentucky, 2015 to 2022  →

Pollinator grant program update

Tichenor Middle School in Erlanger got a late start on their pollinator garden, but the students put forth a spectacular effort. The garden will be fabulous this spring!

This photos show students at Tichenor planting its new pollinator garden.

Steven McNabb, a teacher at Tichenor, is the adult sponsored for the project. WildOnes Cincinnati are providing educational support for the next two years to help ensure the garden’s success. The school received a $500 grant from Kentucky Native Plant Society, and Ironweed Native Plant Nursery in Waddy supplied the native plants.

The school is hoping to plant even more plants this spring if they can secure more funding.

Recovering America’s Wildlife Act Plant Conservationist Virtual Rally!

Calling all plant lovers!

We need everyone interested in plant conservation to rally together for the passage of the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act. With historic levels of funding and support from both sides of the aisle, this bipartisan bill is critical to protecting our nation’s plant life. This rally will feature leaders in plant conservation and give you an opportunity to take action to encourage your Members of Congress to vote YES on this historic bill. Bring your passion and excitement, because we need YOU to push Recovering America’s Wildlife Act over the finish line!

Special guest speakers from Atlanta and California Botanical Gardens, SE Plant Conservation Alliance, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, NatureServe, Center for Plant Conservation, Garden Club of America, Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves, & National Wildlife Federation will share the latest information and why we need your help!

The rally will occur November 13th, 2023 from 2-3pm EST. This is a virtual rally hosted on Zoom. Be sure to register here: Meeting Registration – Zoom

KNPS Fall Meeting, Oct 28, John James Audubon State Park and State Nature Preserve

When: Saturday, Oct. 28, 10:00 a.m. – 4:15 p.m. CDT
Where: John James Audubon SP, Henderson, KY

Mark your calendars and plan to meet up with other KNPS members and friends as we head to western Kentucky for the Society’s 2023 Fall Meeting, on Oct 28th, at John James Audubon State Park, in Henderson. We will learn about and explore the old growth forests and wetland plant and animal communities in and around John James Audubon State Park and the nearby Sloughs Wildlife Management Area.

Audubon State Park was the home of the famed naturalist, ornithologist, and painter and the park museum features the largest collection of original Audubon art in the world in addition to personal artifacts about his life.  The surrounding forest along the bluffs of the Ohio River is mature, almost old growth in nature with some trees more than 200 years old.  Approximately half of the property has been dedicated as a State Nature Preserve.  At least 61 species of trees and more than 200 wildflowers have been documented from the site.  The north facing, mesic forests are dominated by American Beech, sugar maple, and American basswood whereas the more south facing slopes are dominated by sugar maple, various oaks, and tulip tree. At least 169 bird species have been observed in the park.  

The 650-acre Audubon Wetlands was added to the park by the Kentucky Heritage Land Conservation Fund in 2016.  The highlight is a bald eagle nest and heron rookery, as well as habitat for waterfowl and amphibians.  The Friends of Audubon, a local nonprofit, has installed a wheelchair accessible boardwalk through the wetlands with plans to install more. 

Sloughs WMA consists of a diverse mix of seasonally flooded grain crops and natural “moist soil” vegetation, natural marsh, seasonally flooded bottomland forest, and natural depressions or “sloughs,” that contain flooded stands of bald cypress lined with buttonbush thickets.

Schedule of Events

Morning Session, 10 a.m. – 12 noon CDT

We will meet in the Audubon Theater which is located in the John James Audubon Museum and Nature Center. The session will begin with an update from KNPS leadership on the Society’s activities in 2023 and plans for 2024. After the update, we will have two talks about the flora and fauna of the JJA wetlands and old growth forest.

10 a.m. – 11 a.m. – Welcome and KNPS Updates

11:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. – Lea’s Bog Lichen – Kendall McDonald
Lea’s Bog lichen is a unique bottomland lichen that utilizes habitats often considered less than suitable for lichen colonization; the bark of trees along major rivers, oxbow lakes, and backwater sloughs that are frequently inundated by surges of river floodwaters. In 2017, a new population of the lichen was found at the JJA wetlands, making the state park an important conservation site for this species. Kendall McDonald, Botanist and Lichenologist at Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves, will give a presentation on the rare Lea’s Bog lichen and the unique natural communities on which it relies.

11:30 a.m. – 12:00 noon – Pollinators and Forests – Katie Cody
Our native pollinators are vital to the success of our native plants. With pollinators on the decline worldwide, it is more important than ever to understand their life history traits and how they interact with the landscape. Although we typically think of pollinators in open grasslands and prairies, recent research is shedding light on how the forest can be a valuable part of their life cycle as well. Katie Cody, Invertebrate Biologist at Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves, will give an overview of how pollinators are utilizing the forest and some common forest associates you can find in Kentucky.

Lunch, 12 noon – 1:00 p.m. CDT

12:00 noon – 1:00 p.m. – Lunch is on your own. There is no food available in the Park, though there are several restaurants outside the park boundaries. We have reserved a picnic shelter in the park for lunch so we hope that folks will bring their lunch and join the group at the shelter for a picnic lunch and fellowship with their fellow native plant enthusiasts. The shelter that we have reserved is the Sycamore Shelter, located at 37.880556, -87.556993, within walking distance of the main state park building. The picnic shelter area provides parking, covered and non-covered picnic tables, and a playground.

Walks, 1:00 p.m. – 4:15 p.m. CDT

After lunch we will have 3 walks to explore the native plants and plant communities in and around the Park. The first listed walk is at Sloughs WMA, which is about a 25 minute drive from John James Audubon. Because of the travel time, participants should plan on participating in just the Sloughs walk or the two walks at JJA.

Sloughs WMA – Park and Pop-in Botanical Tour – 1.5 hrs – Less than 0.25 miles (easy)
1 p.m. – 3 p.m. CDT

Join Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves botanist Vanessa Voelker on a roadside botanical tour of the wetland communities and flora of Sloughs Wildlife Management Area.

Sloughs WMA consists of a diverse mix of marsh, seasonally flooded bottomland forest, and natural depressions or “sloughs,” that contain flooded stands of bald cypress lined with buttonbush thickets. The hike will consist of “park and pop-ins” to enjoy the charming fall wetland flora. While this hike has minimal walking within the wetlands, we are advising participants to bring footwear appropriate for potential muddy and wet conditions.

Parking at Sloughs WMA is limited, so participants are encouraged to carpool the short distance from the state park to the WMA.

JJA Wetlands – Birding and Botany on the Boardwalk – 1.5 hrs – 1.5 miles (easy, ADA accessible)
1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Get into birding and botany with Nour Salam, Frankfort Audubon Society President, at the John James Audubon State Park wetlands. A rocked pathway from the parking lot leads through floodplain forest to a 750-ft. boardwalk over the cypress swamp, immersing visitors into prime habitat for spotting a variety of wetland flora and fauna. Continue from the boardwalk into more forested area along the earthen path of Island Loop Trail. Flat, easy terrain of this 1.5-mile round-trip wetland walk is ADA accessible. Participants are advised to bring their own binoculars to aid in viewing wetland flora and the charismatic late fall migrant and winter resident birds of the wetland.

JJA State Park Forest – Old Growth Coastal Plain Loess Bluff Forest – 1.5 hrs – approx. 1 mile (easy-moderate)
2:45 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.

Join JJA Park Naturalist Lisa Hoffman to learn about woody plant ID in an Old Growth Coastal Plain Loess Bluff Forest within the state park. Recorded by Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves botanists in the early 2000s, this old growth mesic forest occurs in ravines and ridges on the slopes above the Ohio River Floodplain. The soil is deep loess which supports a diverse flora and trees up to 4 foot in diameter. Participants are encouraged to wear appropriate footwear for forested hiking and potential muddy conditions.

Register for the Fall Meeting

This event is open to KNPS members and friends alike. There is no cost for the event, but in order to plan effectively, we are requesting that folks pre-register for this event. If you are likely to attend, please fill out this form. Thanks, hope to see you there!