Native clover conservation in the Bluegrass: an agronomic perspective

Jonathan O.C. Kubesch, University of Tennessee

Clovers are an odd group of plants caught between agriculture and agronomy, especially in the Bluegrass. Agronomists and cattlemen find clovers important for their nitrogen contribution and nutritive value to livestock. Horse owners fear clover for the fungal pathogen behind slobbers. Wildlife managers use them for food plots. Of the roadside clovers, most came to Kentucky with settlers (Ball et al., 2015; Bryson and DeFelice, 2009). Those red and white clovers came with the tall fescue and Kentucky bluegrass. These species play an important role in Kentucky agriculture; however, the horse parks and cattle farms have replaced the natural ecosystems in the state (Noss, 2013; Campbell, 2014; Campbell, 2010).

In addition to these introduced species, Kentucky has three prominent native clovers: annual buffalo clover, running buffalo clover, and Kentucky clover (Vincent, 2001). Although collections of the native clovers have been made across Kentucky, it is really very uncommon to find these populations unless one knows where someone else has previously found it. It is unlikely that the reader will find these species in the local park or native area.

Annual buffalo clover (Trifolium reflexum), is spread throughout most of the eastern United States. The beautiful blooms have led to its potential as a horticultural species (Quesenberry et al., 2003). Of the native clovers, the genetics of the flowering in annual buffalo clover have been the most explored: red, white, and pink flowers (Quesenberry et al., 2003). At one point, it was favored over naturalized white clover in unimproved grazing lands (Killebrew, 1898).

Running buffalo clover (Trifolium stoloniferum) is a perennial species limited to the Ohio River Valley and Missouri. Plants spread on thick runners like strawberries. The species was investigated as a potential forage in the 1990s, and has been the subject of interest for herbivory dynamics in the eastern United States. The thick seed coat requires scarification in order for the seed to germinate (Kubesch, 2018; Sustar, 2017). Hoof action has been proposed as a driver in the ecology of the species, but a general disturbance regime seems necessary for the species to persist in the landscape (Kubesch, 2018). With some sandpaper and a few hours of free time, seed can be scarified. Running buffalo clover grows readily in the greenhouse.

Running buffalo clover in the greenhouse. Photo credit: Jonathan Kubesch
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Favorite Plant-related Podcasts

Shannon Trimboli

Like many of you, I love learning about our native plants, pollinators, wildlife, and local ecology. Often, I satisfy that love of learning through reading, but I can’t always have my nose stuffed in a book. Recently, I started listening to podcasts as another way to satisfy my love of learning.

Podcasts are great because I can listen to them in the car, while I’m doing household chores, while I’m planting seeds for the upcoming nursery season, and so on. Given my interests, my podcast searches naturally centered on those related to native plants, gardening for pollinators and wildlife, and general ecology with an emphasis on Kentucky or nearby areas. My top three favorites are In Defense of Plants, From the Woods Kentucky, and PolliNation.

In Defense of Plants

In Defense of Plants is produced by Matt Candeias, a PhD student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who enjoys sharing his love of all things related to botany and plants. This is, by far, my favorite podcast. Matt invites a wide variety of scientists, botanists, and plant conservationists to the program to discuss their work and their findings in a very down-to-earth manner. It’s like being invited to sit down at a table and geek out about botany, plants in general, and the newest scientific findings. I find the conversations fascinating and always learn something new.

http://www.indefenseofplants.com/podcast/

From the Woods Kentucky

From the Woods Kentucky is produced through the University of Kentucky’s Department of Forestry and Natural Resources. (If you’re in the Lexington area, you can listen to it on the radio.) Co-hosts Renee Williams and Laura Lhotka invite a number of our state’s educators, resource managers, and other experts to discuss Kentucky’s forests and related resources. Topics vary from Kentucky’s rare plants, to horse logging, to resources for managing private lands, to a diverse array of other subjects. I really enjoy the Kentucky focus and the fact that many of the programs have a very applied nature with information that private landowners can use on their own properties. Most of their programs provide information that is relevant across the state; however, they do have a few programs focused on Lexington-based resources and events. I understand why they include those programs, but I tend to skip over them because I don’t live near Lexington.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/from-the-woods-kentucky/id1446908745

PolliNation

PolliNation is produced out of Oregon State University and is part of their OSU Pollinator Health Program. This podcast covers a variety of bee and pollinator habitat related topics, which is something I am very interested in. However, the podcast obviously has a very Pacific Northwest slant. I enjoy listening to it, but not nearly as much as I like the previous two podcasts. I really wish there was a pollinator podcast that focused more on the eastern U.S.

http://blogs.oregonstate.edu/pollinationpodcast/

Although these are my current favorites, I’m sure there are other great ones that I haven’t found yet. I’d be interested in learning about your favorite podcasts too and suggest we continue this discussion on the Kentucky Native Plant Society’s Facebook page. What are your favorite native plant and ecology related podcasts? Why?

Shannon Trimboli is a beekeeper, wildlife biologist, author, and public speaker. She owns Busy Bee Nursery, which specializes in plants (mostly species native to Kentucky) for honey bees, native pollinators, and wildlife conservation. In 2018, her first book, Plants Honey Bees Use in the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys, was published. Shannon also writes a weekly blog called Kentucky Pollinators and Backyard Wildlife, which features profiles of pollinators and wildlife, tips for attracting pollinators and wildlife, highlights of different plants for pollinators and wildlife, and life on the farm and nursery.

Take a Hike! …with KNPS

Due to COVID-19, all KNPS Field Trips for 2020 have been cancelled. We are sorry for the inconvenience.

Our 2020 schedule of day hikes is now available!  We will keep you posted on social media and our web site if there is a change.  See you at Berea College Forest,  Metro Lake,  UK Arboretum, and Pine Creek Barrens!  Registration is needed and forms will be available on the web site (30 days before)  at www. Knps.org.

April 25, 9:30AM – 11:30AM at Berea College Forest

Join David Taylor, Daniel Boone National Forest Botanist for a hike in the Berea College Forest.  Meet at the Indian Fort Parking Area at 9:30AM for a hike in dry and mesic forest. Bring water and snacks/lunch. The view on a clear day is great. Difficulty is moderate.

August 29, 10:00AM – 2:00PM at Metropolis Lake SNP, McCracken County

Snow squarestem (Melanthera nivea)

Jeff Nelson, KNPS Webmaster, will lead a short walk through one of Kentucky’s unique ecosystems, the floodplain woods on the shores of Metropolis Lake. This is one of the few places in Kentucky that has intact stands of bald cypress, water tupelo, and overcup oak. We should also see one of Kentucky’s rare plant species, snow squarestem, in full flower. Difficulty is easy.




October 3, 10AM – 12:00PM at The Arboretum, State Botanical Garden of Kentucky; 500 Alumni Drive, Lexington, KY

Join the UK Arboretum Curator, Emily Ellingson, on a two-mile autumn walk through a representation of the seven regions of Kentucky to learn about the collection, propagation, and maintenance of the state’s most common and rare flora. Difficulty is easy.

October 10, 10:00AM at Pine Creek Barrens

Great Plains lady’s tresses (Spiranthes magnicamporum)

Join KNPS member Alan Abbott on a tour of Nature Conservancy property at Pine Creek Barrens in Shepherdsville.  Only 40 minutes from downtown Louisville, the natural area houses limestone/dolomite glades and barrens, as well as wet, shady bottomlands along Pine Creek. Early October usually brings the flowers of two species rare to Kentucky, the Great Plains Ladiestresses (Spiranthes magnicamporum) and Barrens Silky Aster (Symphyotrichum pratense). Stiff Gentian (Gentianella quinquefolia) frequently emerges in mid-October and we might catch some early flowers.   Time permitting, we will complete the entire two and a half mile trail. Difficulty is easy/moderate.

2020 Wildflower Weekend Schedule of Activities

WILDFLOWER WEEKEND 2020 HAS BEEN CANCELLED.

The schedule of activities for this year’s Wildflower Weekend has been released. Click on this link to see it in PDF format.

KNPS’ 2020 Wildflower Weekend is scheduled for April 3 & 4. Presented each year in partnership with Natural Bridge State Resort Park. This event offers wildflower hikes Friday and Saturday, led by some of the best botanists in the state. These hikes will explore the region’s rich natural history and resources in the state park and the Red River Gorge. Hikes topics include wildflowers, ferns, woody plants, bryophytes, fire ecology, plant identification 101, and more.

Friday evening, there will be a social to meet your fellow native plant enthusiasts. Saturday morning, we will have a book signing for a recently published children’s book, Wake Up, Woods, with author Mike Homoya present for signing. Directly after the booking signing will be a kid’s creek walk. We are also offering an outdoor yoga class Saturday afternoon and Saturday evening, talks will be given in the Woodland Center. See PDF for a full schedule.

Our keynote speaker Saturday evening is Mike Homoya. Mike is a recently retired botanist and plant ecologist who worked for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Natural Heritage Program since 1982. He discovered, inventoried, and assessed natural communities and surveyed for rare species. He shared his knowledge, experience, and enthusiasm about plants by authoring several books, teaching at the collegiate level, and serving as president of professional science associations.

His most recent publication is a children’s book titled Wake Up, Woods. Mike will give a presentation Saturday evening on the rare plants and natural communities along the Ohio River, from Cincinnati to the Mississippi River. You will also hear from three of our student grant recipients who will present on their graduate research projects.

This event is open to the public and kid-friendly. Registration is on-site at the Hemlock Lodge in the lobby. Admission is $10.00 for adults, $3.00 for ages 12-17, free for ages 12 & under. Discounted KNPS memberships will be available.

If you would like to volunteer and help out with the registration desk, please sign-up here: Volunteer Signup Sheets for the 2020 Wildflower Weekend.

Wake Up, Woods: A book review

With illustrations by Gillian Harris, text by Michael Homoya, verses by Shane Gibson

Rubber Ducky Press, Indianapolis, 2019

Reviewed by Katherine Newkirk

Like the forest understory this book explores, Wake Up Woods is richly layered. Though loosely aimed at early elementary kids, the book will entice all ages along its several paths. Each stunningly illustrated two-page spread features understory bloomers along with associated visitors, a four-line verse and a paragraph of botanical information.

Many a preschooler will keep turning pages in search of critters such as the field mouse, six-spotted tiger beetle and marbled orbweaver. Illustrator Gillian Harris brings out the energy and “personalities” of both flora and fauna in exquisite biological detail. More than 50 illustrated species are listed with their common names and Latin binomials in an appendix.

Young readers will enjoy sounding out the rhymes by poet Shane Gibson, while their adults may smile at his humor. Christmas fern, for example: A fiddlehead / No strings attached / Unfurled beauty / Spring’s here at last. I found an occasional rhythm or rhyme challenging and also wondered what will happen when young readers bump into words like sepal, whorl and proboscis. Luckily, a glossary explains 26 specialized terms.

Nature lovers of all ages will enjoy the illustrations, and I predict many will learn new things about relationships among understory species, thanks to botanical text by Mike Homoya. For example, “After bloodroot goes to seed, elaiosomes (food bodies) that are attached to the seeds attract ants, which carry the seeds to their nests underground. Some ants carry them as far as forty feet away from the plant!”

Wake Up, Woods is dedicated to “all children who find delight in the awakening woods,” but I suggest that Wake Up, Woods will delight and inspire nature lovers of all ages. I hope it finds its way into laps and libraries everywhere.

Katherine Newkirk is co-editor of the Indiana Native Plant Society Journal.

Plant Family Identification Workshop

WORKSHOP HAS BEEN CANCELLED

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.

2020 Nature Summit

Kentucky Nature Preserves, in partner with KNPS and other conservation agencies, is throwing  the first annual Nature Summit at Pine Mountain State Resort Park. This event will be April 24th-26th and will be a gathering of naturalists of all ages to celebrate and explore the biodiversity in the Pine Mountain region.

Join us for hikes, presentations, children’s activities, and exclusive night time field trips all led by the experts! Some field trips have limited space and require sign-up with registration. Others occur on park property all day long and do not require sign-up. There is something for everyone, so bring the whole family!

Kentucky Native Plant Society has helped put together the hike at Bad Branch State Nature Preserve on Saturday, April 25th: Join KNP botanist Heidi Braunreiter and Cumberland Falls SRP Naturalist Olivia Immitt, on a hike through Bad Branch SNP. This preserve protects the largest concentrations of rare and uncommon species known to the state! We’ll pass babbling brooks and hemlock groves through a deep ravine on our way to a 60-foot waterfall that crowns the natural beauty of this site. Learn about rare plants, medicinal plants, and the overall forest ecology of the area. This field trip requires sign-up with registration.

Click here to register and see a full schedule of the Kentucky Nature Summit. All participants must register to attend. An email regarding field trip sign-up will be sent to you once you have registered.