“What is the Kentucky state flower? One point for the general name and one point for the common name of the specific species and one point for the full scientific name. There about 30 different species of this type in Kentucky.” (*answer below)

Join with other native plant enthusiasts for a Wildflower Trivia Night on Zoom, organized and presented by the staff of The Arboretum, State Botanical Garden of Kentucky.

As a part of Wildflower Week, The Arboretum will host a wildflower-themed trivia night on Tuesday April 13 at 7:00 p.m. EDT. This “ephemeral” event will take place on Zoom so you can join us from the comfort of your own couch! You and your team will be quizzed on Kentucky native wildflowers, botany, and flower-inspired pop culture. Don’t be intimidated if you are not an expert! All plant lovers, regardless of their knowledge level, are guaranteed to have fun and be challenged.

Pre-registration is required as space is limited! Please call (859) 257-9339 or send an email to Arboretum@uky.edu with your name, email address and phone number. Register with a friend to be on the same team or register by yourself and meet some new friends who also love plants!

*Answer to trivia question: Giant goldenrod (Solidago gigantea)

Besides all of the other great events during Wildflower Week 2021 , we have scheduled a virtual field trip for every day of the Week. Each day the video of the virtual hike for that day will be posted on our website at 8:30AM. The video will be available for viewing from then on. You can see all of the posted videos at our Virtual Field Trips page, so bookmark that page and check in each day.

Sat. 10^th– Ferns of Anglin Falls – Join Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves botanist Rachel Cook on a virtual hike through John B. Stephenson Memorial Forest State Nature Preserve. While this Preserve is known for its beauty, Anglin Falls, it also has a great diversity of ferns with 32 species!

Sun 11^th– Wildflowers of Cove Springs Park

Mon 12^th– Spring Flora of Glades and Barrens at Embry Lay – Join Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves botanist Tony Romano for a tour of spring flowers and flora in a rare glade and barrens habitat complex. We’ll explore plants adapted to thin soils, fires, and grassland openings.

Tues 13^th– Trilliums of Kentucky – Trilliums are an unforgettable genus of spring wildflowers with their three leaves, petals and sepals, habitat preferences, interesting floriferous smells, and pollination and seed dispersal strategies. Join Tara Littlefield and family as they explore Kentucky’s Trillium diversity across Kentucky

Wed 14^th– Wildflowers of Crooked Creek State Nature Preserve

Thur 15^th– Wildflowers of an Heritage Land Conservation Fund site TBD.

Fri 16^th– Neat Flora of Dry Outcrops and Woodlands in the Kentucky River Valley – 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.

Sat 17^th– Early flowering plants of upland seeps, grasslands and woodlands in the Cumberland Plateau – Join Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves staff Tara Littlefield and Forest Service staff David Taylor and Claudia Cotton on a hike to see what is blooming in the upland grasslands, woodlands and seeps of the Cumberland Plateau.

The snow has melted, the days are getting warmer, we’re excited to celebrate the glory of spring and we hope you’ll join us for a virtual Wildflower Week from April 10-17. If you’re as ready as we are to get outside and explore natural areas for our favorite spring bloomers, head over to iNaturalist to join our Wildflower Week 2021 BotanyBlitz! A BotanyBlitz is citizen-science event that focuses on finding and identifying as many plant species as possible in a select area for a specific period of time. This particular Blitz is a state-wide event that will run for the duration of Wildflower Week, and it’s a great outdoor activity and easy to do while social-distancing! All you need to do to participate is log in or sign up for an iNaturalist account (a quick and easy process), navigate to the project page and click the “Join” button near the top right corner, then just upload plant photos you take during the week. If you aren’t sure how to identify everything you see, fear not! KNPS members will be watching the observations roll in, and are more than happy to help identify all the plants you aren’t familiar with. We encourage everyone to post their wildflower observations on iNaturalist for this botanyblitz, we’d love to see what’s blooming in your part of the state.

We also have a number of events already planned throughout the week:

• On Saturday April 10, all are invited to attend the KNPS Spring Meeting & Wildflower Week Kick-Off Zoom meeting. Register here to attend both the Kick-off and Closing meetings!
• Then on Monday April 12, we’re looking forward to watching a virtual hike with Park Naturalist Samantha Evans to Natural Bridge State Resort Park in the Red River Gorge area.
• Tuesday April 13, Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves Botanist Tara Littlefield will take us on a virtual hike of Cumberland Plateau acid seeps of eastern Kentucky, a rare habitat that OKNP is helping to restore. Later that evening, you can test your botanical knowledge by attending a wildflower trivia contest hosted by The Arboretum, State Botanical Garden of Kentucky.
• Make sure to sign up for Wednesday’s live Zoom class on Botanical Drawing, lead by Assistant Director of the UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens Amy Tipton.
• And on Sunday April 17, join us again on Zoom for our Closing Session, and to hear the BotanyBlitz Results!

Additional virtual as well as local events will be added between now and the Kick-Off date, so make sure to bookmark our official Wildflower Week 2021 info page to find out how to register for various events and check for updates.

Mark your calendars now, and we’ll see you on April 10!