The Lady Slipper newsletter of the Kentucky Native Plant Society has been published since the Society’s founding in 1986. We occasionally feature an article from a past issue. This one, about the parasitic plants known as “mistletoes”, which first appeared in the winter of 2004, Vol. 19, No. 4, seemed appropriate for the season. If you would like to see other past issues, visit the Lady Slipper Archives, where all issues from Vol. 1, No. 1, February 1986 to Vol. 34, No. 1, Winter/Spring 2019 (after which we moved to this blog format) can be found.
The Mistletoes
by David Taylor, US Forest Service
“Mistletoe on Locust, Stephensport, Kentucky” (Breckinridge Co.)—a glass lantern slide from American Environmental Photographs, 1891–1936, [#AEP-KYS9], Department of Special Collections, University of Chicago Library.
As autumn fades into winter, dark green clumps perched in trees along roads and fencerows, stand out once again. Some trees, especially black cherry, now exhibit gnarled or stub branches, the telltale sign of a current or past infestation, even if the plant is unseen. Birds may be seen plucking white berries from the clumps, and occasionally a person may be seen scouting trees from which to gather some at a later date. The object of attention?— mistletoe.
In Kentucky and neighboring states, we think of the thick-leaved, usually dark green plant we see growing in hardwood trees in towns and along country roads. This is only one of many species of plants known as mistletoe. Before returning to the mistletoe familiar to us, we will take a survey of the mistletoes.
Mistletoe Families
The plants commonly known as mistletoes belong to one of two families, the Loranthaceae and the Viscaceae. Two other less familiar families of ‘mistletoes’ are the Eremolepidaceae and the Misodendraceae. All have in common a hemiparasitic relationship with a host plant, almost always a woody plant. Hemiparasites derive water, minerals, and occasionally food (sugars) from the host plant, but are photosynthetic and produce at least part of their own food. The lesser known families are briefly mentioned first.
On Saturday, October 28, 2023, KNPS members and friends came together for a day of botanical education and exploration at John James Audubon SP, in Henderson, KY. The forests and wetlands around Audubon State Park was the home of the famed naturalist, ornithologist, and painter, John James Audubon, 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.
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.
Date of trip:Nov. 4, 2023Sorry, this field trip is now filled Start time:9:30 a.m. EDT Location: Berea Woods, Madison County, KY Difficulty of hike: Moderate, 2-4 miles depending on time, weather and participant desires. We will hike and observe plants for about 3-4 hours
Join David Taylor, US Forest Service Botanist and KNPS board member, in exploring Berea Woods on Saturday, Nov 4. This beautiful forest is changing this time of year, but there are always interesting trees and forbs to find.
The hike will see an elevation change of 600′ feet and hike from 2-4 miles depending on time, weather, and participant desires. We will cross areas of Devonian shale, Mississippian limestone and Pennsylvanian sandstone/conglomerate. Forest types will include mesic oak, mixed mesophytic, and xeric oak-pine. We will look at herbaceous and woody plants. There will be a couple of nice overlooks if one is inclined to take landscape photography.
The hike overall is moderate, with a long easy stretch and a couple of shorter harder stretches.
This field trip may be cancelled in the event of inclement weather.
Registration is Required
Please fill out the form below to register for this field trip. This trip will be limited to 12 participants.
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. Addition to the list are welcome; please send suggestions to ron.jones@eku.edu.
Events omitted from previous lists:
Dr. Beal when he was at NC State, from NC State University Libraries
1980—Dr. Ernest O. Beal passed away in August 1980. (from his obituary): Dr. Beal was born on March 7, 1928 in Lancaster, Illinois. He received a BS from Northcentral College in Naperville, Illinois, before going on to attain his MS and PhD from the University of Iowa. He taught from 1954 to 1968 at North Carolina State University, where he received a distinguished teaching award from the Association of Southeastern Biologists in 1966. From 1965 to 1968 he served as Director of a National Science Foundation Academic Year Institute in Raleigh, North Carolina. From 1968 until his retirement in 1978, Dr. Beal was the head of the Biology Department at Western Kentucky University. Dr. Beal also led a full life outside of academia. He was an author of two books and numerous publications, a member of the First Christian Church in Bowling Green, husband, and father to three children. Most notably he was coauthor with John Thieret of Aquatic and Wetland Plants of Kentucky; Beal initiated the book and invited Thieret to join the project in 1977. After Beal’s death, Thieret completed the book with Beal as first author; it was published in 1986 by the Kentucky Nature Preserves Commission. Upon his death, the Ernest O. Beal Biology Scholarship Fund was established to honor the memory of Dr. Beal: Department Head, lover of Biology, author, and scholar. Through this fund his legacy lives on, helping other students cultivate a love for biology.
1986–KSNPC (Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission) signed a limited Cooperative Agreement on Plants with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on January 8, 1986 to work cooperatively on rare and federally listed plants in Kentucky. Since then, KSNPC (currently OKNP) has led the states rare plant program that focuses on surveying, monitoring, managing and recovering federally listed and globally rare plants in Kentucky. The Rare plant program has been managed since 1986 by three successive botanists–Marc Evans, Deborah White and Tara Littlefield. Currently (2023) this program focuses on the recovery of around a dozen federally listed species and an additional 30 globally rare plants. This program also oversees the Kentucky’s Rare Plant List, which is updated every 4 years in accordance with the Kentucky Rare Plant Recognition Act of 1994.
1992-2012-Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Salato Center began a native plant propagation program led by Mary Carol Cooper. This program focused on propagating native forbs and grasses that were important pollinator plants and was instrumental in native plant and pollinator education for Kentucky.
1994-KSNPC creates the Natural Areas Inventory Program, led by Marc Evans, which focused on surveying and inventorying the remaining remnant natural areas that have a concentration of rare species and high quality natural communities in the state. The majority of Kentucky’s state nature preserves have been discovered through this program. Several ecologists/botanists have worked on this program since its inception including Tom Bloom, Martina Hines, Brian Yahn, Deborah White, Tara Littlefield and several other KSNPC biologists.
2005-Delisting of the federally endangered Eggerts Sunflower (Helianthus eggerti). This species was removed from the Federal endangered species list due to additional populations discovered during status surveys and inventories as well protection efforts and management of several populations in Kentucky.
2007–2012—NSF Grant for Herbarium improvement at Murray State University (MUR).
Murray State University Herbarium received a five-year grant of about $167K from the National Science Foundation. The goals of the grant were to improve the existing database, to make the data accessible over the Internet, and to acquire new herbarium cabinets to enlarge and improve storage facilities of the herbarium, under the direction of Dr. Dayle Saar. The herbarium contains an important collection of Kentucky flora, especially from the less studied western region of the state. .
2007—Dave Luzader becomes webmaster of KNPS website. Dave made great improvements in the KNPS website, and it became a focal point for announcements and organizing the activities of the KNPS.
2007— Major floristic study published on Hancock Biological Station: The Vascular Flora of the Hancock Biological Station, Murray State University, Calloway County, Kentucky, in J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas 1: 609–630, by Ralph L. Thompson.
Hancock Biological Station (HBS), a 37.5-hectare tract of upland Oak-Hickory Forest adjacent to Kentucky Lake in the Jackson Purchase of western Kentucky, is the biological field station of Murray State University, Murray, Kentucky. A total of 573 taxa have been documented from ten habitats. HBS is a member of the Organization of Biological Field Stations, a consortium of 220 biological field stations in North America. HBS was founded in 1966 and since 1972, it has served as a year-round facility for aquatic and terrestrial biology research and service programs, and it has presented students with opportunities for field classes, independent research, and faculty-directed undergraduate and graduate research.
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.
John James Audubon State Park Wetlands, video via Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves.
We are still in the planning process, but the basic outline is set. There will be a meeting in the morning, from 10am to noon, with talks and updates from KNPS. After lunch there will be walks to look at some of the plants and plant communities that occur at the state park and wildlife management area. All of the talks and walks will be finalized by next month’s Lady Slipper
Morning session: 10am CDT, in the Audubon Theater in the John James Audubon Museum and Nature Center at John James Audubon SP in Henderson, KY
10am – Welcome and KNPS Updates – KNPS Board
10:45am – One or more talks on plants native to the area and the special plant communities they are part of.
12noon – Lunch on your own. There are no food facilities in the park, so we are recommending that people bring lunch and we can all picnic on the lawns and other park facilities.
1pm – 4:00pm – Afternoon Walks – We are still finalizing our walk schedules, but as of right now, the plan is to have two sets of two walks that folks can choose from. Walks will be led by experts who know the plants and birds in and around the park.
1pm – 2:15pm – 1) A walk through the old growth forest or 2) a birds and botany walk in the Audubon Wetlands
2:30pm – 3:45pm – 1) A walk through the old growth forest or 2) a carpool/caravan to Sloughs WMA for a walk in the wetlands.
The forest along the bluffs of the Ohio River is mature, almost old growth in nature with some trees more than 200 years old. 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.
Summer storm clouds over Sloughs WMA
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.
Please Let Us Know if You Are Going to Join Us
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 the registration form HERE. Thanks, hope to see you there!
Date of trip: Sept. 13, 2023 Start time: 5PM EDT Location: Pine Creek Barrens Nature Preserve, Bullitt County, KY Difficulty of hike: Moderate, approximately 2 miles and 2 hours.
Alan Abbott, hike leader.
Join Kentucky Native Plant Society member Alan Abbott for a sunset tour of Pine Creek Barrens. We’ll be discussing some of the different plant communities of the Louisville area and looking for a number of late-season flowers in bloom, such as Clasping Aster (Symphyotrichum patens), Rough Blazing Star (Liatris aspera) and Obedient Plant (Physostegia virginiana).
The hike starts at 5pm and it should take about 2 hours to complete the 2 mile trail. Meet at the main parking area. There is usually a porta-potty there. Make sure to bring plenty of water and tick protection.
This is a joint event with the Fairdale Seed Library.
Register for this field trip
Because this is a joint field trip, we limited signups to 5 people. The trip is now filled. If you have any questions, email us at KYPlants@knps.org.
