On a cold, but sunny Saturday in late February, eighteen members of KNPS met at the Bernheim Arboretum Visitor’s Center to begin the process of developing a long range strategic plan for the Society. It was a great mix of members with decades of membership in KNPS, brand new members, professional botanists, and amateur naturalists.
Strategic planning is simply the process of defining the long term direction (or strategy) of the Kentucky Native Plant Society, and then making decisions on allocating resources to pursue this strategy. The strategic planning process begins with an organization’s mission statement. A mission statement simply defines the purpose of the organization answering the question, “why does KNPS exist?”
“The mission of the Kentucky Native Plant Society is to promote education, preservation, and protection of Kentucky’s native plants and ecological systems.”
After discussing the mission of KNPS, the members broke into small groups to brainstorm the Society’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as opportunities and challenges to the Society from outside events and forces. This was a great process and resulted in a good understanding of both the internal and external environments that the Society functions within.
The group ended the morning session with a review of the Society’s long term goals. These are:
To serve as the KY native plant education resource
To promote appreciation of the biodiversity of native plant ecosystems
To encourage the appropriate use of native plants
To support native plant research
To support efforts to identify and protect endangered, threatened, and rare native plant species
In the afternoon the group used a process called structured brainstorming to develop a list of initiatives and actions that should be taken to create the desired future for the Society. In developing the initiatives, the group focused on the mission and goals and considered how the initiatives could move the Society in the direction set by those elements. A list of over 60 possible initiatives were generated. The group narrowed that list down to 10 (list below).
Unfortunately, shortly after the session, COVID-19 changed everything and additional work on narrowing down the list to the top 3 strategic initiatives was put on hold. Fortunately, that gives you, the members and friends of the Kentucky Native Plant Society, the opportunity to participate in the process. Review the initiatives below and then go to this online form and let us know what initiatives the Society should concentrate on over the next 3-5 years.
Potential Initiatives for KNPS to Undertake
Education and Outreach
Continue/re-do the native plant stewardship program with a required practical element
Presence at more conservation (“green”) related events
Bring back the botanical symposium and have it be a real collaboration of botanical professionals
Governance/Leadership/Organizational Structure
Volunteer Coordinator or Volunteer committee
Restructuring board to create more positions to share the workload – make sure everyone knows what their jobs are
Communications Director for press releases, etc./someone needs to work with sister organizations
Preservation, Conservation, and Restoration
Shortage of plants used in restoration projects…some states have set up prisons to produce plants. We could work with government agencies to set up plants. Coordinate with Master Gardeners
K12 Education/Children Involvement
Partner with local parks/schools for kids mini garden… children’s gardens
Creating a board position that is K-12 outreach coordinator, teaching and outreach (schools, scouts, etc.)
In any list of the top five invasive plant threats to Kentucky’s native plant communities, bush honeysuckle would appear in all of them. There are three species of bush honeysuckle commonly found in Kentucky: Amur (Lonicera maackii), Morrow’s (L. morrowii), and Tartarian (L. tatarica). Another two, Standish’s (L. standishii) and Fragrant (L. fragrantissima), are less common. All are members of the Caprifoliaceae (Honeysuckle) family. All of them are similar in appearance and effect. Because of the similarities and because it is the most widespread of the bush honeysuckles, the rest of this article will concentrate on Amur honeysuckle. There are slight differences in appearance between Amur honeysuckle and the other bush honeysuckles, but in general they are similar enough to easily recognize.
Description
Most of us have seen invasive Lonicera while hiking or even around town. They’re everywhere. Knowing how to identify them is the first step to removing them.
Appearance
Lonicera maackii is a woody perennial shrub that, at maturity, is typically 6’-20’ tall, but occasionally taller. The shrubs are upright and deciduous. Although deciduous, in Kentucky the bush honeysuckles retain their leaves longer in the fall than native shrubs and leaf out earlier in the spring. The pith of mature stems is hollow and white or tan.
Leaves
Leaves are opposite, ovate with a tapered tip, lightly pubescent, and up to 3½ in. long.
Flowers
Flowers are paired, tubular, white to pinkish, fading to yellow, less than 1 in. long, borne from leaf axils, five petals, upper 4 fused.
Fruits
Fruit
Fruits are red to orange-red berries produced in late summer and persist through the winter. This shrub can bear fruit when it is as young as 3 to 5 years old.
Habitat
Amur
honeysuckle is one of the most common and invasive bush honeysuckles
found in Kentucky. It occurs in most states in the eastern U.S.
except for Minnesota, Maine and Florida and has been reported to be
invasive in many. It is adaptable to a range of conditions from sun
to deep shade and wet to dry. It occurs in disturbed habitats
including forest edges, forest interiors, floodplains, old fields,
pastures, and roadsides. Disturbance increases the likelihood of
invasion. Amur honeysuckle grows especially well on calcareous soils.
It spreads by fruits that are abundant and highly attractive to birds that consume them and defecate the seeds in new locations. Vegetative sprouting aids in the local spread and persistence. It does not generally root sprout.
Where Found in KY
The
bush honeysuckles are found across Kentucky, in any just about any
suitable habitat.
How it Got Here
NE
China, Japan, Korea, and Russian Far East
Amur honeysuckle was imported as an ornamental into New York in 1898 through the New York Botanical Garden. It has been widely planted for wildlife cover and soil erosion control but long ago escaped from plantings and began reproducing on its own and spreading into natural areas. It was originally planted in the U.S. as an ornamental shrub, but it quickly escaped gardens and naturalized throughout much of the eastern U.S. to the Great Plains into a variety of sites including roadsides and railroads, woodland borders, some forests, fields, unused or disturbed lands and yard edges. Once spread into the wild, it can form dense, shrubby, understory colonies that eliminate native woody and herbaceous plants. Amur honeysuckle flowers late April to June, and the white and yellowish flowers produce red berries in the fall that may contain more than 1 million seeds on mature (25-year-old), 20-foot tall plants. The seeds are consumed and spread by some species of songbirds generally after other more nutritious native foods are gone. As with many invasive species, bush honeysuckle can grow and thrive over a wide range of habitats. In Kentucky, all shrub honeysuckles are exotic and invasive.
Ecological
Impacts
Amur honeysuckle impedes reforestation of cut or disturbed areas and prevents reestablishment of native plants. It leaves out earlier than most natives and form dense thickets too shady for most native species. Additionally, researchers in the Midwest found increased nest predation of robins using Amur honeysuckle as a result of plant structure, which facilitates access to nests by predators such as snakes. While the carbohydrate-rich fruits of exotic honeysuckles provide some nutrition for birds and rodents in winter, they do not compare to the lipid-rich fruits of native species that provide greater energy to sustain migrating birds. Few insects feed on the plant, but birds and mammals spread the fruits. It may have allelopathic effects on neighboring plant species.
How to Control
There are several methods for controlling–removing–invasive bush honeysuckle. They all take tenacity and a bit of effort.
Manual/Mechanical
Young plants can be pulled by hand. Larger plants either can be pulled using a weed lever-type tool or cutting repeatedly for a few years.
Grazing
Goats are particularly fond of this this plant and will rapidly consume young plants and any they can climb into. Cutting larger plants and allowing goats to eat the sprouts can be effective, but could take several years depending on what root reserves the plants have.
Fire
Fire will kill seedlings. Larger plants may be top killed, but mostly likely will sprout from the base. The sprouts must be treated as well.
Biological Control
No biological controls are currently available for this plant. However, the honeysuckle leaf blight fungus (Insolibasidium deformans) has been found in both northern and central Kentucky. It has been observed severely injuring and killing open grown populations of Amur honeysuckle.
Herbicides
Appropriate herbicides, when applied correctly, are known to effectively control bush honeysuckle through cut stem, foliar, and bark applications. Contact your local Extension Office, or Natural Resources Conservation Service office or Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife private lands biologist for recommendations concerning herbicide choice, application rate and application method that best suit your conditions and needs.
Native Alternatives
Lonicera simpervirens
Whether you were raised in Kentucky or you’re an implant, you’ve probably enjoyed the luscious fragrance of honeysuckle as the sun begins to set. It isn’t quite jasmine; not quite gardenia; it’s unique, powerful, and intoxicating. It’s easy to understand why homeowners planted the invasive Loniceras. Where alternatives are concerned, there’s good and bad news. The good news is that we have native Lonicera. The bad news is, they are pollinated by bees and hummingbirds, so the scent is weak. In comparison, the invasive is pollinated by moths—hence the strong evening scent. What the natives lack in fragrance, they make up for in color (to attract the bees and hummingbirds).
Across North America, there are over a dozen native Lonicera species. In Kentucky, we have one to consider: Lonicera sempervirens L., trumpet or coral honeysuckle. It prefers moist soil and full sun, but tolerates shade, although, in the shade, it will produce blooms for a shorter period of time.
Lonicera simpervirens
Lonicera sempervirens is one of the longest-blooming natives available to us here in Kentucky. It’s brilliant red trumpet-shaped flowers spring into life as early as late March and persist into fall, even early winter. Its leaves often persist throughout the cold, giving a bit of winter interest. The base is woody and gnarly (interesting to look at) but the vigorous upper vines are gentle and easily coiffed if necessary. You can train it to look like a bush if you prefer.
Unfortunately, Lonicera sempervirens won’t gift you with a glorious fragrance. If that’s what you’re after, consider Wisteria frutescens (L.) Poir., Kentucky wisteria. Similar to Lonicera, you’ll get the most blooms in full sun, but it will tolerate shade. It’ll grow in the same type of moist soil as well. It’s purple blooms are larger and showier, and it’ll grow a bit larger than Lonicera, but the native species isn’t as harmful to structures as the invasive Wisteria floribunda and Wisteria sinensis. Wisteria is stronger and woodier than Lonicera so it will require a stronger support, such as a strong arbor. (Resist growing it along a fence or up the side of your house because it’s difficult to remove.) It’s also more assertive than the native Lonicera, so it might require a bit more care to keep it under control.
There are several other species of Lonicera listed as native to Kentucky by the USDA plants database, but they’re rare or endangered. It’s unlikely you will find one in a reputable nursery.
Anyone who is interested in native plants will soon come across the term “invasive.” Invasive species and habitat loss are the main causes of biodiversity loss and destruction of native plant species worldwide. Although most of us have a general sense of what is meant when a species is deemed invasive, there is also a lot of confusion as to what an invasive plant is, what it does, and what should be done about it.
Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii)
With this introduction, we are beginning a series of articles about invasive plants. In this first article we will define what is meant by an “invasive plant.” We will discuss why they are bad for our native ecosystems and discuss, in general, how they can be controlled. We will also point you towards online resources about invasive plants. In each subsequent article we will concentrate on a single type of invasive plant, giving information on how to identify the plant, where it came from, how it got here, the specific damage it does, how best to control it, and some native alternatives to plant when it has been removed.
Every year, at Wildflower Weekend, we offer people a $5 discount on renewals or new memberships. This year, because of the cancellation of the Wildflower Weekend, the Board has decided to make the $5 discount available to everyone through the month of April.
Education about Kentucky’s native plants is one of the Society’s primary missions. The Society fulfills this mission through a variety of learning opportunities. Each year, knowledgeable leaders take members on field trips conducted in all parts of the state. You will see special plants and visit unique and interesting natural areas. The Society also periodically conducts workshops and symposiums on native plant studies and native plant identification. Workshops are narrowly focused, with a single instructor. Symposiums generally cover a broad range of topics with multiple presenters. Members are given the opportunity to register for these events before they are opened to the general public.
Member dues also provide funding for the student research grants that the Society awards each year to students researching native plants in Kentucky.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and in line
with the advice of health officials to minimize exposure by limiting
gatherings, KNPS has decided to cancel our annual Wildflower Weekend
event at Natural Bridge State Resort Park that was
to be held April 3rd & 4th. Please note that
this step was not taken lightly. The Kentucky Native Plant Society board
made this decision out of a desire to protect the health and welfare of
our members and the community.
As an alternative to this cancelled event, we encourage our members to join
iNaturalist
if you haven’t already. It is a smartphone app and online platform for
recording observations of plants or any kind of organism you see
outdoors, and connects you to a
community of over 750,000 naturalists worldwide. Many of your fellow
native plant enthusiasts here in Kentucky have already been posting
spring ephemerals in bloom this year. Join our project
Kentucky Botanists Big Year 2020 to see all the plants observed in Kentucky in 2020. We will award prizes at the end of the year to the people
with the most observations, most observed species, and most identifications.
Not great at identifying plants? No worries! One of
the best benefits of iNaturalist for a ‘budding botanist’ is the aid of
identifying what you see in the field by suggesting species based on
photographs already posted, as well as connecting
you with experts who you can identify the organisms for you.
By interacting with your fellow native plant
enthusiasts through iNaturalist, you can maintain social distancing,
while still being able to get outdoors, clear your head, and enjoy the
beauties our Kentucky flora has to offer you! We will
be posting highlights of your exciting iNaturalist observations on our
Facebook and
Instagram pages as a way to stay connected with our members during this time of social isolation.
If you have questions about iNaturalist, check out their
instructional page or reach out to us!
Plant Family Identification Motifs: patterns for simplifying the complexity
Instructor: Dr. Richard Abbott*
When: Saturday, March 21, 2020 Time: 9am-4pm Eastern Time Where: Bernheim Arboretum & Forest, meet at the Garden Pavilion Cost: $25 /$10 for students Bring your own lunch, and wear hiking shoes
Using minimal basic vocabulary, approximately 30 plant families, and half a dozen artificial motifs, we will focus on plant identification patterns. Learning Kentucky plants within a global framework not only empowers confidence in knowing what you know, but enables identifying more than 130,000 plants to family globally and provides a solid foundation for incorporating other family patterns. Essentially, this workshop is an introduction to a way of thinking about how to organize botanical knowledge in a practical, applied way.
*About the Instructor
Dr. J. Richard Abbott, Assistant Professor of Biology, is the current Curator of the University of Arkansas Monticello Herbarium. At UAM, he teaches General Botany, Regional Flora, and Plants in Our World and conducts floristic, systematic, and taxonomic research, especially with the milkwort family (Polygalaceae). He received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Biology and German from Berea College in Kentucky and both M.S. degree and Ph.D. in Botany from the University of Florida in Gainesville. His primary passion is teaching plant identification, using the local flora to understand global patterns. To that end, he is currently working to establish a living teaching collection on the UAM campus, with the ultimate goal of cultivating as many families and genera as possible.
Workshops are opened to KNPS members for registration 2 weeks before they are opened to the general public. This session has been filled by KNPS members. If you are interested in this workshop you can sign up on the waiting list below. If an opening occurs the first person on the waiting list will be contacted If there is significant interest in the workshop we will try to schedule another session as soon as possible and the people on the waiting list will be the first contacted about the new session.
As we begin a new year and a new decade, anticipating the year ahead, it can be fun and informative to look back and reflect on the Society’s activities in 2019. Beginning in early April and ending in November, with events and activities across the Commonwealth, KNPS had another great year spreading the message of the value, importance, and beauty of the native plants and ecosystems of Kentucky. We hope you enjoy these images and descriptions of the Society’s 2019 activities and that you will be able to join us in the field in 2020.
Wildflower Weekend, April 12 & 13
Wildflower Weekend participants exploring the native plants along the Rock Bridge Trail at Natural Bridge State Resort Park
On Friday, April 12, and Saturday, April 13, over 100 lovers of Kentucky’s native plants joined with some of the best botanists in the state to explore Natural Bridge State Park and the Red River Gorge in search of spring wildflowers. Besides wildflower hikes on Friday and Saturday, there was a Friday night social where folks had the opportunity to meet other KNPS members. Saturday evening had educational talks, a book-signing (by Dan and Judy Dourson, Wildflowers and Ferns of Red River Gorge and the Greater Red River Basin), live music by the Forest Fiddleheads, and a panel discussion on recreational uses and impacts of the Red River Gorge. Wildflower Weekend in 2020 will be on April 3 & 4 at Natural Bridge SRP. Hope to see you there.
Field Trips
Dwarf sundew (Drosera brevifolia)
As part of its educational mission, each year KNPS organizes field trips to explore Kentucky’s natural areas. Trip leaders are knowledgeable about the area being explored and the native plants and plant communities that are found in that area. In 2019, there were several field trips, at natural areas across the Commonwealth.
The Field Trip season began at the Hazeldell Meadow Nature Preserve in Pulaski County on April 5, in search of Kentucky’s rarest carnivorous plant, the dwarf sundew (Drosera brevifolia).
Botanist Tara Littlefield, one of the field trip leaders at Hazeldell Nature preserve, discussed rare plants and the rare wet meadow community along with current conservation activities such as management, research and volunteer opportunities. Dr. Jim Krupa discussed the long term monitoring and research of the rare dwarf sundew (Drosera brevifolia).
Old growth oak at Griffith Wood WMA
On May 11, Dr. Julian Campbell led the trip to Griffith Woods WMA, in Harrison County, to explore this iconic bluegrass woodland with old growth oaks and hickories, cane thickets, and remnant mesic herbaceous flowers, such as bear grass and running buffalo clover. Julian has been studying bluegrass woodland vegetation for over 40 years and is the authority on past and present plants and communities in the region. Go to http://bluegrasswoodland.com/Griffith_Woods.html for information on Griffith Woods compiled by Julian.
On a rainy June 22, Laura Baird, assistant preserve manager and naturalist, at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, in Mercer County, led several KNPS members on a hike to view the prairie restoration, as well as the adjacent forests, at Shakertown. Although a bit damp, the participants enjoyed many prairie flowers, trees and shrubs, and woodland flowers.
Field trip leader, Devin Rodgers, discussing one of the native prairie species found along The Trace in the LBL.
On July 6, Devin Rodgers, botanist at Kentucky Nature Preserves, led the group of KNPS members to several botanically important sites at LBL from prairies to wetlands. Devin has worked extensively at LBL conducting floristic surveys, rare species surveys and habitat characterizations. The participants learned about ongoing efforts to protect rare species and communities at botanical sites at LBL and how to help by assisting with monitoring, management, and restoration projects.
Sedge Identification and Diversity Workshop, May 21 & 22, 2019
Workshop instructor, Rob Naczi, points out the characteristics of a species of Carex.
Many of the grass-like plants one may encounter in our natural areas in Kentucky are not actually grasses. Although similar, they are members of an entirely different family of plants, the sedge family (Cyperaceae). With close to 150 species in the Carex genus found in Kentucky, the diversity of sedges is astounding and they can tell us a lot about the natural communities upon which they are found.
On May 21 & 22, Rob Naczi, curator of the New York Botanical garden and North America’s Carex expert, taught 17 KNPS members about sedge diversity and how to identify this notoriously difficult group. The workshop combined classroom instruction with work in the field over two days. Due to the success of this event, more workshops are in the works.
Invasive Plant Cleanup Days
Volunteers removing invasive bush honeysuckle (Lonicera spp.)
In November, several KNPS members volunteered to remove invasive plant species in Fayette and Franklin Counties with partners from Kentucky Nature Preserves. On Nov. 2, members joined Heidi Braunreiter, with Kentucky Nature Preserves, to help pull winter-creeper (Euonymus fortunei) from populations of running buffalo clover populations at Ashland, The Henry Clay Estate in Lexington. Running buffalo clover (Trifolium stoloniferum) is a federally-endangered plant that requires periodic disturbance and a partially shaded canopy.
Federally-endangered plant running buffalo clover
On several weekends in November, KNPS worked with Kentucky Nature Preserves to organize several work days at state nature preserves and natural areas in Franklin County. Volunteer activities involved manually removing invasive shrubs, such as bush honeysuckle and privet. Members who assisted in invasive species management at these sites had a direct impact on rare plant recovery as the sites are designated as critical habitat for federally listed plants.
The Nature Conservancy’s Mantle Rock Nature Preserve, in Livingston Co., is a fascinating part of Kentucky. The centerpiece of the Preserve is a 30-foot high natural sandstone bridge spanning 188 feet (the longest sandstone arch east of the Mississippi) embellished by bluffs, shelters, honeycomb formations, fluorite deposits and a rock-lined stream. The nature preserve also contains extraordinary biological diversity, with spectacular springtime wildflowers and an upland forest interspersed with the best example of rare and fragile sandstone glades in all of Kentucky. Kentucky’s only known occurrence of June grass thrives here along with other glade species such as prickly pear cactus, rush foil, hairy lipfern, little bluestem, pinweed and poverty grass. Scattered deep soil pockets are dominated by gnarled and stunted post oak, blackjack oak, farkleberry and red cedar.
On a hot and humid July 13, the Kentucky Native Plant Society conducted a detailed floristic inventory of the sandstone glades, barrens, woodlands and mesic forests at this botanically fascinating site. Several of the region’s preeminent botanists spent much of the day locating, identifying, and documenting over 200 native plant species. The data collected will be used by The Nature Conservancy as they develop long range management plans for this site.
Fall Membership Meeting, Oct. 12
KNPS members browse the native seed and plant exchange table.
For this year’s fall membership meeting, KNPS partnered with West Sixth Brewing to have a Native Plant Day at the West Sixth Farm in Frankfort, KY. Native plant enthusiasts, young and old, heard a review of KNPS 2019 activities and plans for 2020. A new and exiting activity that was enjoyed by everyone was KNPS’s very first native plant and seed exchange. West 6th Farm is one of the few locations in the world where Braun’s rock cress (Arabis perstellata) is found. At the end of the day some members took a hike to view this species led by Heather Housman of the Woods and Waters Land Trust.
Student Research Grants
Since 2012 the Kentucky Native Plant Society has been awarding annual grants to undergraduate and graduate students that are researching native plants and plant communities in Kentucky. Since 2012 we have awarded over $6,000 in grants. In 2019, the Society awarded three, $500 grants. The recipients and their projects were:
Bailey King Canopy gaps and light availability in running buffalo clover (Trifolium stoloniferum) patches
Jonathan Kubesch Forage approaches to native clover conservation
Jordan Winkenbach Restoration of native woodland flora in response to mastication and prescribed burning in an upland hardwood forest
