Kick-off BotanyBlitz 2022 with an inaturalist Tutorial Hike!

Have you ever struggled to identify plants seen on hikes, or wished for an expert’s opinion on identifying a wildflower? The iNaturalist platform and mobile app is a great tool for connecting nature enthusiasts and sharing knowledge, and is a social network used by both amateur naturalists and professional biologists around the world. The app uses AI technology to offer identification suggestions based on your photos, and other users can help determine if that ID is correct. Observations made on iNaturalist not only help you learn more about the natural world around you, they can be useful to ecological research, conservation efforts, and natural resource management.

To educate the public about iNaturalist and to promote the KNPS Wildflower Week BotanyBlitz iNaturalist Project (April 2nd-April 9th), several tutorial hikes will be led by experienced iNaturalist users across the state. These hikes will be geared towards beginner iNaturalist users and will teach you how to make observations and navigate the app. Please make sure to download the iNaturalist app to your mobile phone and create an iNaturalist user account before attending the hike!

Friday, April 1st:

These hikes have their own separate registration. Follow the link or email the address at the end of the hike description to register.

4:00 PM EDT Taylor Fork Ecological Station, Richmond KY: Easy walk on grass trails. Kickoff the iNaturalist tutorial hikes and KNPS BotanyBlitz with Eastern Kentucky University Division of Natural Areas staff on a spring walk through this wildlife management area. Meet and Park at the Taylor Fork Ecological Station parking area (1 Hancock Taylor Ln, Richmond, KY 40475).

3:00 PM EDT Raven Run Nature Sanctuary, Lexington KY: 1 miles, easy to moderate walk. Join staff of Raven Run and Floracliff nature sanctuaries for this hands-on demonstration using iNaturalist in the field at Raven Run. In addition to exploring the basics of iNaturalist, there will be information on the City Nature challenge. Park at the Raven Run parking lot and meet at the Raven Run Visitor’s center (3885 Raven Run Wy, Lexington, KY 40515).

Saturday, April 2nd:

10:00 AM EDT Ashland-The Henry Clay Estate, Lexington KY: 0.5 miles, easy walk. Join Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves Botanist, Heidi Braunreiter, on a walk through the mulched pathways of the Henry Clay Estate. Park in the Estate parking lot and meet at the Gingko Tree Café (120 Sycamore Rd, Lexington, KY 40502). For those interested, stick around after the walk to help pull wintercreeper surrounding the rare Running Buffalo Clover populations.

10:00 AM CDT Cedar Sink Trail, Mammoth Cave National Park, Park City KY: 2 miles, easy walk, out and back trail. Learn with Mammoth Cave naturalists Steve Kistler, Janet Kistler, and Carol Friedman on this trail with a wide variety of spring wildflowers and impressive rock formations. Park and meet at the Cedar Sink Trail Parking Lot (Park Boundary Rd, Brownsville, KY 42210).

10:00 AM EDT Eagle Scout Trail, Nancy KY: 2.8 miles, moderate walk, out and back trail. Walk with Tyler Adams, amateur naturalist, through a gently sloping trail along Lake Cumberland. Park and meet at the Eagle Scout Trailhead parking area (Cr-1493N, Nancy, KY 42544).

10:00 AM CDT Greenway Trail-Disc Golf Course, Stuart Nelson Park, Paducah KY: 0.5 miles easy walk. Join Kentucky Native Plant Society board member Jeff Nelson and OKNP volunteer Bob Dunlap on an easy hike around a beautiful park in heart of Paducah. Park in the parking lot and meet at the west end of the park, where the Greenway Trail enters the Disc Golf Course (175 Stuart Nelson Park Rd Paducah KY 42001).

8:00 AM CDT Hematite Lake Trail, Land Between the Lakes (LBL) National Recreation Area, Eddyville KY: 2.5 miles, easy walk, loop trail. Walk with Murray State graduate student Gage Barnes along the banks of Hematite Lake and see a mix of woodland and aquatic loving plant species. Meet and park at the Hematite Lake Trailhead (Forest Service Rd 176 Eddyville, KY 42038).

10:00 AM EDT Pine Creek Barrens Nature Preserve, Shepherdsville KY: 1.5 miles, easy loop trail. Join Kentucky Native Plant society member Alan Abbott on a spring barrens walk through the preserve, just a short drive from Louisville, KY. Meet and park in the Pine Creek Barrens parking area (1264 Pine Creek Trail, Shepherdsville, KY 40165).

10:00 AM EDT Sky Bridge Loop Trail, Red River Gorge, Pine Ridge KY: 1.3 miles, easy walk, loop trail. Take a walk with naturalist Barbara Graham on this forested arch trail where filmy fern is a star attraction and learn about fire-dependent ridge top plants. Park and meet at the Skybridge Parking area (end of Sky Bridge Rd, Pine Ridge, KY 41360).

10:00 AM EDT St. Anne Woods and Wetlands, Melbourne KY: 0.7 miles, easy walk, loop trail. Join Northern Kentucky University professor, Dr. Maggie Whitson, and Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves botanists Vanessa Voelker and Kendall McDonald, on this walk through the wetlands and floodplain of the Ohio River. Trails may be muddy, so choose footwear accordingly. Park and meet at the St. Anne Convent visitor parking lot (off Mary Ingles Hwy, Melbourne, KY 41059).

2:00 PM EDT Lilley Cornett Woods Appalachian Ecological Research Center, Hallie KY: Easy walk. Learn with Eastern Kentucky University Division of Natural Areas staff on a spring walk through one of Kentucky’s old growth forests as a part of LCW’s Wildflower Weekend. Meet and Park at the Lilley Cornett Woods Visitor Center (91 Lilley Cornett Branch, Hallie, Kentucky 4182).

10:00 AM & 1:00 PM EDT Red Maple and White Oak Trails, Louisville Nature Center, Louisville KY: Learn all about iNaturalist with Louisville Nature Center staff in this natural area without ever leaving the city. There will be 2 walks, limited to 10 participants per walk. Meet and park at the Louisville Nature center (3745 Illinois Ave, 40212). The walks will cost $15 for non-members of the Louisville Nature Center.

Wildflower Weekend 2022 – Registration Has Closed

The schedule is set and registration is now open for our first, in-person Wildflower Weekend since 2019. Wildflower Weekend, April 8th-10th, at Natural Bridge State Resort Park, will be a hybrid of in-person and online activities. Throughout the week prior to Wildflower Weekend, we will be hosting an online, week-long BotanyBlitz on iNaturalist from April 2nd-9th. To kick off the BotanyBlitz week there will be several iNaturalist Tutorial Hikes around the state on April 1st & 2nd.

It will be great to return to our roots at Natural Bridge State Resort Park with an in-person Wildflower Weekend. However, with COVID-19 still a concern and to reduce the crowds of people in the lobby of the Hemlock Lodge, registration for the weekend and the walks will be done online.

KNPS will still have staffed tables in the lobby of the Hemlock Lodge where you can meet old and new native plant friends, see the items that will be raffled off on Saturday night, purchase raffle tickets, and purchase some other native plant related items.

This event is open to the public and kid-friendly. Pre-registration is required for the event and the pre-registration form can be found on our website: Wildflower Weekend 2022 Registration. Admission is $10 for adults, $3 for ages 13-17, and free for ages 12 & under. All walks will meet at the entrance to the Hemlock lodge at Natural Bridge State Resort Park. State parks require masks when indoors.

Schedule of Events

**^{Click here to download the full schedule in PDF format.}**

Friday, April 8^th – Afternoon Walks

1:00 PM Wildflower & Ecology Walk, Rock Bridge Loop Trail: 1.25 mile loop, moderately difficult walk. Join KY Nature Preserves botanists Heidi Braunreiter & Tony Romano on a trail that descends into a deep ravine with towering old-growth hemlock trees and a dense rhododendron understory. Scenic views of Creation Falls and Rock Bridge.

1:00 PM Woody Plants Walk, Boardwalk: easy, accessible walk. Join U.S. Forest Service botanist David Taylor and EKU graduate Ted Brancheau around the Hemlock Lodge and Woodland Center to learn about trees and shrubs.

2:30 PM Wildflower Walk, Original Trail:1-2 miles, moderately difficult walk.Walk with state park naturalist Samantha Evans and KY Nature Preserves botanist Rachel Cook to see what is blooming along the Original Trail, which leads up to the Natural Bridge Arch.

2:30 PM Lichen Walk, Rush Ridge Trail: 1-2 miles, easy walk. Join KY Nature Preserves lichenologist Kendall McDonald and botanist Devin Rodgers to learn about the anatomy, ecology, and reproduction of lichens along this flat ridgetop in the Red River Gorge. If you have a hands lens (aka jewelers loup) or magnifying lens handy, bring along for better viewing of these small organisms.

Friday, April 8^th – Members & Friends Campfire Social

7:30pm Members & Friends Social, Natural Bridge SRP Group Campsite
Join us around the fire pit to gather with fellow wildflower enthusiasts. Meet the KNPS board members & officers. Bring your own camp chairs. No alcohol allowed per state park. S’mores fixings will be provided!

Saturday, April 9^th – Morning Walks

8:30 AM Bryophyte Walk, Boardwalk: easy, accessible walk. Walk with U.S. Forest Service botanist David Taylor around the Hemlock Lodge to learn about these interesting seedless plants including mosses, liverworts, and hornworts that have considerable diversity in form and ecology.

8:30 AM Wildflowers & Salamanders Walk, Suspension Bridge Trail: 1-2 miles, easy to moderately difficult walk. Join KY Nature Preserves ecologist Martina Hines, UK-LFUCG Arboretum curator Jess Slade, and botanist Steele McFadden to learn about wildflowers along this botanically diverse trail. Also, take a stop at the creek to look for salamanders!

9:00 AM Natural History Walk, Rock Bridge Trail: 1.25 mile loop, moderately difficult walk. Walk with David Kuehner, senior biologist James Kiser from Stantec Consulting, and KY Nature Preserves botanist Vanessa Voelker to learn about wildflowers, ferns, herps, and mosses on a trail that descends into a deep ravine with towering old-growth hemlock trees and a dense rhododendron understory. Scenic views of Creation Falls and Rock Bridge.

10:00 AM Naturalist Walk with a Focus on Wildflowers, The Wilds Trail: 1-2 miles, easy to moderately difficult walk. Join authors Dan & Judy Dourson on a walk through Punkin Hollow to look at all things nature. For a great plant guide of the area, check out their book “Wildflowers and Ferns of Red River Gorge and the Greater Red River Basin.”

10:00 AM Search for Sweet Pinesap, Gray’s Arch Trail: 1-2 miles, easy to moderately difficult walk.Join KY Nature Preserves Botanist Tara Littlefield and her daughter Estella on a search for the rare and elusive sweet pinesap, aka pygmy pipes (Monotropsis odorata). Wildflowers, shrubs, trees, and general ecology will also be discussed.

Saturday, April 9^th – Afternoon Walks

1:00 PM ¡Despierta, Bosque! Un paseo primavera de polinizadores; 1-2 millas, caminata fácil a moderadamente difícil. Venga al bosque para una caminata bilingüe en español y ingles para aprender sobre las flores de la primavera y sus polinizadores, durante el tiempo del año cuando el bosque esta despertando del invierno. Las familias y la gente de todas las edades están bienvenidos. La Dra. Valerie Peters, quien estudia las polinizadores de KY y en Costa Rica, seria encargada de dirigir la caminata en español. La Dra. Jennifer Koslow, una ecóloga que estudia plantas en KY, estaría co-líder de la caminata, en Spanglish.

Wake up, Woods! A spring pollinator walk, Rock Garden Trail; 1-2 miles, easy to moderately difficult walk. Come take a bilingual (Spanish and English) walk in the woods to learn about spring wildflowers and their pollinators as the forest wakes up from its winter slumber. Families and people of all ages welcome. Dr. Valerie Peters, who studies pollinators in Kentucky and Costa Rica, will lead the walk in Spanish, while Dr. Jennifer Koslow, a plant ecologist who works in Kentucky, will assist in Spanglish.

1:30 PM Wildflower Walk, Whittleton Branch Trail: 1-2 miles, easy walk. Join U.S. Forest Service botanist David Taylor, KY Nature Preserves botanist Rachel Cook, and David Kuehner along this botanically diverse trail north of Whittleton Campground to see a dazzling display of spring ephemerals!

2:00 PM Natural History Walk, Rock Garden Trail: 1-2 miles, easy to moderately difficult walk. Walk with retired Indiana heritage botanist Mike Homoya, senior biologist James Kiser from Stantec Consulting, and KY Nature Preserves botanist Heidi Braunreiter to learn about wildflowers, ferns, herps, and mosses on the forested slope above the Hemlock Lodge.

2:30 PM Plant Identification 101 & Intro to iNaturalist Workshop, Woodland Center & Boardwalk: easy, accessible. Join University of Cambridge graduate student Nick Koenig to learn how to use the smartphone app iNaturalist to identify unknown plants, as well as how to identify plants using a key. Please bring a copy of Plant Life of Kentucky (if possible) and have iNaturalist downloaded onto your phone prior to this workshop. However, neither are mandatory to join, teaming up on a key and/or phone is encouraged!

Saturday Evening Talks at the Woodland Center

Masks are required indoors per state park guidelines. Chairs will be spaced out as a Covid-19 precaution. Books by author Mike Homoya will be available for purchase during this event.

6:00 Welcome/Introductions, Tara Littlefield & Heidi Braunreiter

6:15 Membership Business Meeting, Jeff Nelson

6:30 Announcement of 2022 KNPS Grant Recipients, David Taylor

6:45 iNaturalist BotanyBlitz Results, Rachel Cook

6:55 Lilley Cornett Woods Revisited: A Half-Century of Overstory Change in an Old Growth Forest, Ted Brancheau, former EKU graduate student.

7:15 An Exploration into the Funky Fern World, Nick Koenig, graduate student at The University of Cambridge. The naming of fern species is a complicated process that has interesting histories. Nick will explore the ways in which taxonomists have gone about naming fern species, ongoing research investigating triplets of ferns, and how hybridization has led to interesting morphological relationships.

7:35 Rare Plants and Natural Communities along the Ohio River, from Cincinnati to the Mississippi River, Mike Homoya 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.

8:35 Raffle Drawing

9:00 PM Nighttime Salamander Walk to Natural Bridge Cave. Join Senior Biologist James Kiser from Stantec Consulting to search for salamanders at the Natural Bridge Cave. Bring a headlamp or flashlight

From the Lady Slipper Archives: Sweet fern—A rare Kentucky shrub with an interesting history

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 a rare shrub native to Kentucky, sweet fern (Comptonia peregrina), first appeared in the spring of 2011, Vol. 26, No. 1. 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.

Sweet fern—A rare Kentucky shrub with an interesting history

By Tara Littlefield, Botanist, Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission

The wax myrtle or bayberry family (Myricaceae) is known for its odor. These plants have resinous dots on their leaves, making their leaves aromatic. Plants in this family have a wide distribution, including Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America, missing only from Australasia. Myricaceae members are mostly shrubs to small trees and often grow in xeric or swampy acidic soils. More familiar members of the wax myrtle family include many in the Genus Myrica (sweet gale, wax myrtle), some of which are used as ornamentals and are economically important. In addition, the wax coating on the fruit of several species of Myrica, has been used traditionally to make candles.

*Comptonia peregrina* – KSNPC file photo

So what does this interesting family have in common with Kentucky’s flora? We are lucky to have just one species in the wax myrtle family, Sweet fern (Comptonia peregrina). In addition, it is also a monotypic genus restricted to eastern North America. This means that the genus Comptonia has only one species (C. peregrina) worldwide, and just happens to be found here in KY! Of course the common name sweet fern is misleading. This woody shrub is certainly not a fern. However, the leaves have a similar shape to pinnules of a fern frond (leaf). But having sweet in the common name is no mistake. If you crush the leaves throughout the growing season, a lovely smell is emitted as the essential oils volatilize into the air.

Sweet fern is a clonal shrub that grows up to one meter high and spreads through rhizomes.The leaves are alternate and simple, linear and coarsely irregularly toothed, dark green above and a bit paler below. It is monoecious (meaning male and female flowers on different plants). The female flowers are not showy—short rounded catkins [dense cluster of apetalous flowers, usually associated with oaks, birches and willows] with reddish bracts. The male flowers are elongated yellow-green catkins clustered at the branch tips, the pollen being adapted to wind dispersal. The fruit is a round,bur-like cluster of ovoid nutlets that turn brown when mature in late summer. The bark is reddish and highly lenticeled (small corky pores or narrow lines on the bark that allow for gas ex-change).

Female flowers (short round catkins with reddish bracts) and male flowers (elongated catkins clustered at the branch tips) www.nativehaunts.comphenology.html

While very common in the northern part of its range (northeastern United States and Canada), sweet fern is state listed endangered in Kentucky, along with being state listed as rare in Ohio, Tennessee, South Carolina, West Virginia, Georgia, and North Carolina. The populations of sweet fern in the southern part of its range are isolated and disjunct from the common habitats up north.There seems to be a close association of these remnant populations with the Appalachian Mountains, which suggests that the populations in the southern ranges remained in protected “refugia” during periods of great plant migrations, such as during glaciations.

Sweet fern is typically found in openings in coniferous forests with well drained dry, acidic sandy or gravely soils with periodic disturbances. In the north, it can be found in pine-oak barrens or jack pine and spruce forests that are maintained by fire, creating openings and decreasing competition. It has also been noted to colonize road banks and even highly disturbed soils such as mined areas. Contrary to these open coniferous habitats with periodic fire, the remnant populations of sweet fern in Kentucky and Tennessee are found on sandstone cobble bars, which are maintained by annual floods. Despite being found on habitats that are maintained by different disturbance regimes, these two communities share a few things in common—they are both dry, acidic, sandy and nutrient poor. Disturbances are a natural occurring impact in these communities that removes shrubs and saplings, thus decreasing competition so that sweet fern can thrive.

Sweet fern has adapted to these specialized habitats. It is a fires adapted species; it will resprout after a fire and increase its clonal sprouts through underground rhizomes. It is also a xerophyte, a plant adapted to dry conditions. And since it is adapted to living in nutrient poor, acidic soils, it has evolved with the bacteria Frankia that fixes nitrogen, somewhat like the more famous nitrogen fixing legumes who have partnered with the bacteria Rhizobium. Did you know that there are over 160 species of nonleguminous plants that fix nitrogen? It is also the host of the sweet fern blister rust (Cronartium comptoniae) which reduces the growth of pines, particularly Jack pine. What interesting relationships this shrub has with bacteria and fungi! In addition, sweet fern is the food plant to larvae of many species of Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies). These include the Io moth (Automeris io),and several Coleophora case-bearers (some of which are found exclusively on sweet fern).

But perhaps the most fascinating facts about the rare shrub sweet fern is what it can tell us about the evolution of plants, the history of the earth, and the paleovegetational past of Kentucky. Geologically speaking, sweetfern is an old plant. In Kentucky, it was most likely more common some 20,000 years ago during the last glaciation, as Kentucky used to look like Canada. Analysis of pollen in sediment cores taken from natural ponds in Kentucky confirms this, spruce and jack pine was common in the uplands in the bluegrass. Sometimes it is difficult to think of plants migrating north and south in order to adapt to a changing climate. But what is even more mind blowing is that the genus Comptonia is perhaps millions of years old. Numerous fossils of dozens of extinct specie of Comptonia have been found all across the Northern hemisphere, and the earliest of the fossils have been dated back to the Cretaceous period (the age of the Dinosaurs) over 65 million years ago. The first flowering plants(angiosperms) evolved only 135 million years ago, so Comptonia is one of the oldest living plants in the world—a true living fossil!

So when April comes around, and all of the spring wildflowers are emerging, think of sweet fern tucked deep into the gorges of Big South Fork and Rockcastle, its catkins releasing pollen in the wind, using the nitrogen fixed from its bacterial friends, withstanding the massive floods of two of Kentucky’s last wild rivers. And if you use your imagination, you may be able to see dinosaurs and tree ferns in the distance.

Berry, Edward W. 1906. Living and Fossil Species of Comptonia. The American Naturalist. Vol. 40, No. 475, pp. 485-524.

Darlington, Emlen. 1948. Notes on some North American Lepidoptera reared on Sweet Fern (Compontia as-plenifolia Linnaeus) with Description of new species. Transactions of the American Entomological Society (1890-). Vol. 74, No. 3-4, pp. 173-185.

Liag, X., Wilde, V., Ferguon, D., Kvacek, Z, Ablaev, A., Wang, Y., and Li, C. 2010. Comptonia naumannii(Myricaceae) from the early Miocene of Weichang, China, and the paleobiogeographical implication of the genus. Re-view of Paleobotany and Palynology. Vol. 163, p. 52-63.

Medley, Max and Eugene Wofford. 1980. Thuja occidentalis L. and other noteworthy collections from the BigSouth Fork of the Cumberland River in McCreary County, Kentucky. Castanea. Vol. 45, No. 3, pp. 213-215.

Natureserve Explorer, 2010.http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/NatureServe?searchSciOrCommonName=comptonia&x=7&y=7

Wilkins, Gary, Delcourt, Paul, Delcourt, Hazel, Harrison, Frederick, and Turner, Manson. 1991. Paleoecologyof central Kentucky sicne the last glacial maximum. Quaternary Research. Vol. 36, Issue 2.

Virginia Tech Woody Database http://www.dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus2/factsheet.cfm?ID=869

Zomlefer, W. 1994. Guide to Flowering Plant Families. University of NC Press, Chapel Hill.

The Life of a Snag

By Joyce Fry

It’s spring now, but neither the oak (Quercus sp.) nor the white ash tree (Fraxinus americana) in our backyard are sprouting new growth; nor will they. Those trees are dead and are now called snags. Most people cut down dead trees, feeling that they have outlived their usefulness. I take issue with that! Let me explain.

When we first bought our house in the rural northern Franklin County, KY area, the oak was already a snag. Being avid birders, we noticed that its dead branches and trunk frequently hosted several interesting birds well within view of our picture window. We determined that the oak snag was far enough away from our house that it should not pose a hazard, so we elected not to cut it down. Instead, after many years of coaxing, we succeeded in training a trumpet creeper (Campsis radicans) to climb up its trunk nearly to its crown, about 40 feet.

trumpet creeper (Campsis radicans) — Trumpet creeper Photo credit: Leslie Saunders via Unsplash.

Trumpet creeper, also known as Trumpet vine, is native to Kentucky. It sports lovely orange, red-orange to red tubular flowers from May through August. Ruby-throated hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris) (Kentucky’s most common hummingbird species) visit the tubular flowers to feast on its nectar, and in the process, they cross-pollinate its flowers. A pretty good deal for a plant whose seeds, sap and leaves are toxic. This plant is also known as the “cow itch vine,” because contact with its leaves can cause contact dermatitis, apparently not to hummingbirds, though.

Many insects feed on this plant, including planthoppers, mealy bugs, scale and white flies, all in the order, Hemiptera, and produce “honeydew,” their sweet excrement on which ants feed. Insectivorous birds, and insect predator species are attracted to this microecosystem.

Another phenomenon we observed with Trumpet creeper was the delightful spectacle of Baltimore orioles (Icterus galbula) and summer tanagers (Piranga rubra) slicing open the flower tubes to consume the nectar. We enjoyed the kaleidoscope of orange, red and yellow of the birds and flowers all glowing in the sunshine.

We’ve experienced the excitement of seeing numerous birds alight on the branches of the oak snag, including great-horned owl (Bubo virginianus), bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), loggerhead shrike (Lanius ludovicianus), and turkey vulture (Cathartes aura). More commonly, though, American goldfinch (Spinus tristis), tufted titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor), Carolina chickadee (Poecile carolinensis), Northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) and every Kentucky resident or migratory woodpecker species common to Kentucky use its branches in anticipation of their turn at the feeders below.

Although we don’t know what caused the oak tree’s death and rebirth as a snag, we watched in sadness as our very large and beautiful ash tree fell victim to the non-native emerald ash borer (EAB) (Agrilus planipennis). Much of its once gray, rough diamond-shaped bark peeled off in huge chunks in the aftermath of the beetle’s larvae having fed on the tree’s phloem, killing the tree in the process. Phloem are the structures that transport sugars and protein from the leaves where they are produced, to the rest of the tree. It’s mostly bare, skeleton-like trunk bears numerous s-shaped scars from tunnels produced by the beetle larvae.

Prior to this infestation, the ash featured lavishly green compound leaves during the growing season, which turned a lovely reddish-purple in the fall. The fruit of the female white ash are seeds housed in a flat oar-shaped case, called a samara. Samarae are often referred to as “helicopter keys,” because when they fall from the tree, they swirl like a helicopter. Wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo), bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus), Northern cardinal, squirrel (family Sciuridae) and mice (Mus spp,) feed on the seeds of the ash tree.

Although the EAB infestations have killed scores of Kentucky’s ash trees (it has been estimated that up to 10% of our forests were made up of ash tree species), remarkably, there is at least one silver-lining, i.e., they have left snags in their wake, offering animal accommodations, and harboring insects behind the still-clinging bark and crevices for insectivores. The populations of woodpecker species, white-breasted nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis), Carolina chickadee and tufted titmouse, and all cavity-nesting birds, have soared in our area.

“Speaking” of nest cavities, our ash snag possesses one that appears to be highly coveted. Over the span of several weeks one year, we observed a red-headed woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus), and several red-bellied woodpeckers inspecting it. One red-bellied woodpecker (M. carolinus) we watched began renovating the cavity by throwing nesting material into it. He stopped renovation periodically to drum on the trunk near the hole, most likely to attract a female. Much to our surprise, a seemingly indignant flying squirrel (Glaucomys Volans) suddenly exited the hole, discarding the added nesting material and chasing the woodpecker around the trunk until she scared him off.

Although it may not be wise to leave every snag on your property, especially in an urban or suburban setting, think twice before having one removed. Even in death, trees can be an asset, as well as the source of much entertainment.

President’s Message

by Jeff Nelson, KNPS President, 2022-2024

Past president, Tara Littlefield, leading the “**Search for Sweet Pinesap**” near Gray’s Arch in the Red River Gorge during Wildflower Weekend 2022. Spoiler alert, the search for this rare, KY native was successful!

The Kentucky Native Plant Society has had a busy and exciting few weeks recently. From April 8th through the 10th, over 100 native plant enthusiasts came together to enjoy KNPS’ first, in-person, Wildflower Weekend since 2019. Although temperatures were cool and skies were damp at Natural Bridge SRP, spirits were high as folks dressed for the weather and enjoyed 14 different native plant walks led by an incredible group of expert botanists. Saturday night, a large group of KNPS members and friends met in the Woodland Center for presentations by Ted Brancheau, Nick Koenig, and the keynote speaker, Mike Homoya. We are working on articles for May’s Lady Slipper all about Wildflower Weekend 2022, but for now, you can read about the events on the Wildflower Weekend page.

Leading up to Wildflower Weekend 2022, from April 2 through April 8, KNPS organized a week-long BotanyBlitz project on iNaturalist. This was our second year for this event and the KNPS Wildflower Week 2022 Botany Blitz exceeded all expectations, with over 4,600 observations of 539 different plant species across Kentucky. Look for Vanessa Voelker’s article about the 2022 BotanyBlitz in next month’s Lady Slipper.

To educate the public about iNaturalist and to promote the KNPS Wildflower Week’s BotanyBlitz iNaturalist Project, on Saturday, April 2, eleven tutorial hikes, led by experienced iNaturalist users, were held in parks and natural areas across the state. These hikes were geared towards beginning iNaturalist users and taught them how to make observations and navigate the app. Look for Rachel Cook’s article about the tutorial hikes in next month’s Lady Slipper. Until the article comes out in May, you can see the list of these hikes in this article from last month, Kick-off BotanyBlitz 2022 with an iNaturalist Tutorial Hike!

Our successful Wildflower Weekend 2022 and the other Wildflower Week activities would not have been possible without the hard work of so many folks. KNPS Vice President Heidi Brauneiter and her WW2022 committee put in many hours making Wildflower Weekend happen so well. Vanessa Voelker and Rachel Cook organized BotanyBlitz and the iNaturalist Tutorial hikes and were instrumental in getting so many folks participating this year. Thanks go to those 200 folks on iNaturalist that helped identify the many observations made during BotanyBlitz. We also have to thank the amazing botanists and naturalists who led the walks and hikes and answered our questions, as well as KNPS board members and volunteers who staffed the registration tables. Finally to our partners at Natural Bridge SRP, thank you for hosting the KNPS Wildflower Weekend for the 30th time. All of these folks came together to produce a fun and educational experience with Kentucky’s most beautiful native plants. Thank you.

Prior to the presentations on Saturday night, there was a short KNPS membership meeting where the results of the online election for our KNPS officers were announced. Officers for 2022-2024 are; President, Jeff Nelson, Vice-President, Heidi Braunreiter, Secretary, Kelly Watson, Treasurer, Steele McFadden, and Directors Wes Cunningham, Jen Koslow, Jess Slade, and David Taylor. I am honored and excited to be elected president of the Kentucky Native Plant Society and look forward to working closely with the other board members and the KNPS membership to continue to advance the KNPS mission; “to promote education, preservation, and protection of native plants and natural communities.“

*Liz Neihoff & Jeff Nelson at Metropolis Lake SNP, McCracken Co.*

A little bit about me. I was born in San Francisco, California, and grew up in Sunnyvale, California. I received a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of California at Santa Barbara. My wife Liz, our son Aaron, and I moved from California to McCracken Co., Kentucky (Liz’s home), in 1987. After building a house on our 10 acres, we have spent the last 30+ years restoring the property from farmland to a native woodland. We have been members of the Kentucky Native Plant Society since the early 1990s and I have been on the Board of KNPS since 2017. Since 2019, Liz and I have shared responsibilities as Nature Preserve Monitors at Metropolis Lake SNP in McCracken Co. As lifelong amateur naturalists, we love exploring Kentucky and learning about the rich diversity of the Commonwealth’s many ecosystems.

I cannot end this message without a big, personal thank you to Tara Littlefield. Tara recruited me to serve on the Board in 2017. Her love of, and commitment to, the native plants and ecosystems of Kentucky has served as an inspiration to me and everyone who knows her. Tara’s service to the Kentucky Native Plant Society is long-standing, serving in many roles, most recently as President for the past five years. Although leaving the office of President, Tara remains on the Board as the Immediate Past President and as the Chair of the Plant Conservation Committee so we will continue to have the benefit of her skills and botanical knowledge. Thank you, Tara.

Beginning my two-year term as President of KNPS, I am confident that the Society will grow and continue to be a leader in promoting education about, appreciation for, and conservation of our native flora. If you have any thoughts about what KNPS can and should be doing going forward, or if you just have a question about our native plants, email me at jeff.53chevy@gmail.com .

Thank you — Jeff Nelson

Trilliums of North America-new publication highlights the conservation status of our most iconic spring flowering genus

Snow Trillium (*Trillum nivale*) @Littlefield

Check out this new publication about Trilliums of North America! The report, “The Conservation Status of Trillium in North America,” presents the analysis of 53 plant taxa using two different methodologies. Authors found that habitat loss, overpopulation of white-tailed deer, and habitat disturbance caused by feral pigs are the primary threats to North American Trillium. Every trillium that occurs in North America is included in this publication.

The Conservation Status of Trillium in North Am…

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/359830951_The_Conservation_Status_of_Trillium_in_North_America

**Trillium reaches its peak diversity in the southern Appalachians. BONAP**

^{Authors of the new Trillium publication. IUCN_Natureserve North American Trillium assessment team 2019-2021. KNPS board member Tara Littlefield is one of the coauthors. From L to R: Robert Raguso, Leah Oliver, Anna Walker, Clayton Meridith, Amy Highland, Tara Littlefield, Wes Knapp, Anne Frances, LL Gaddy, Danna Leaman, Aaron Floden, Kjirsten Wayman, Ed Schilling and Alfred Schotz.}

Other important links highlighting this publication can be found below:

https://www.natureserve.org/publications/conservation-status-trillium-north-america

https://www.cabq.gov/artsculture/biopark/news/iconic-wildflowers-in-peril#:~:text=The%20report%2C%20%E2%80%9CThe%20Conservation%20Status%20of%20Trillium%20in,are%20the%20primary%20threats%20to%20North%20American%20Trillium.

Check out this video of Trilliums of Kentucky!

What Is A Glade?

by Alan Abbott

**^{Kentucky Gladecress (Leavenworthia exigua var. laciniata)}**

One of the defining characteristics of the Bluegrass and Pennyroyal Plateau regions is the presence of small, rocky glades. Broadly speaking, a glade is any clearing in a forest. But in our part of the country, it tends to refer to areas with a shallow soil and a limestone bedrock, usually on south- or west-facing slopes. Without trees shading everything out, a rich layer of grasses and forbs emerges. As islands of grassland within larger forested areas, they tend to have high rates of endemism, or plants found only within one, relatively small area. Some plants can be found only in a few counties (like Kentucky gladecress, Leavenworthia exigua var. laciniata) or a narrow region, like the Interior Low Plateau, which runs from northern Alabama, through central Tennessee and Kentucky and into south-central Indiana.

Their isolation means that glades separated by only a few miles can have surprisingly different plant communities. In Harrison County, Indiana, which has similar shallow soils and limestone bedrock as Kentucky’s Bluegrass Region, one glade may have hundreds of Echinacea and a similar one walking distance away won’t have any.

There are a number of opportunities to see limestone glades in the greater Louisville area this year. As part of the Botany Blitz, KNPS members met at Pine Creek Barrens in Shepardsville to see Kentucky gladecress, as well as the more common spring ephemerals in the woods that surrounded the grasslands.

In Indiana, the Nature Conservancy had a Glade Appreciation Day on May 7^th in Harrison County. Information for many of the glades of the area can be found here: Harrison County Glades | The Nature Conservancy

KNPS will be providing a tour of some Harrison County glades in July, when the wildflower show should be near its peak. More information to follow. The glades are about 45 minutes northwest of Louisville.

We’ll also be offering another tour of Pine Creek Barrens in September to see the Asters and Blazing Stars.