Book Review: The World of Clovers

By John M. Gillett and Norman L. Taylor, Michael Collins (Editor)

Reviewed by Jonathan O.C. Kubesch, University of Tennessee—Knoxville

Author’s Note: True clovers (Trifolium spp.) are the focus of this article. All scientific names abbreviate Trifolium to T.

The World of Clovers, by John M. Gillett and Norman L. Taylor (2001), is a fantastic primer on the global diversity of the genus Trifolium. Conceived in concert with a world seed collecting effort, Gillett and Taylor work to describe the many known species of this familiar genus. The global distribution of the genus is discussed and the book highlights origins for these species. Native clover species form intriguing distributions. This book covers details in morphological diversity beyond the traditional field guide using photographs. Notes cover the trivial and surprisingly nuanced characteristics of each species. In the 20 years following publication, some new information has developed about these species in the genus Trifolium. However, the book is a strong introduction for the botanist to explore a wider world of clovers.

This book is especially relevant to Kentucky botanists. Norman L. Taylor sought to collect every known species of clover and seed bank them in Lexington, KY. This work led to a framing of the genus (~230 species) with ever-expanding global coverage. Clovers are native to North and South America, Africa, Europe, and the Near East. Surprisingly, clovers are not native to Australia! The Great Plains and Coastal Plain have few native clovers, but the woodland-grassland mosaic of the Southeastern United States supports a handful of native species, such as the running buffalo (T. stoloniferum), Carolina (T. carolinianum), and running glade clovers (T. calcaricum) in addition to the introduced Eurasian species, such as red (T. pratense) and white clovers (T. repens).

The World of Clovers appeals across disciplines and levels. Gillett and Taylor seek to make the diagnostic information as accessible as possible, using common language to avoid a technical glossary. The description and photograph accompanying each species’ seed suits the conservation mission. The black-and-white images on the pages are complemented by an enclosed CD. Moving beyond the traditional field guide or agronomic factsheet, the book gives reproductive biology information. This reproduction section of each species entry suits efforts to propagate plants in cultivation or to encourage success in the wild. The number of cross-pollinated species draws additional attention to the plight of pollinators.

Clovers have served primarily as forages for wildlife and livestock. However, the horticultural benefits of these species also come to mind. The authors mention Kura clover and buffalo clover as two prominent candidates for their ornamental beauty. Of buffalo clover, as an extension of Norman Taylor’s personal fondness, Clovers says, “Many consider this species the most beautiful of the clovers….” In addition to the technical details, these small comments offer some humanity to the often impersonal business of plant sciences. New finds in the taxonomy of the clovers have led to the identification of a new species, Kentucky clover (T. kentuckiense), which is closely related to buffalo clover (T. reflexum)(Chapel and Vincent, 2013).

In 20 years of scientific and economic advancement the world of clovers has changed. Taylor passed in 2010, and his collection was split between Washington State and Georgia USDA seedbanks. Similarly, the use of clovers in agricultural settings has expanded to develop living mulch and perennial ground cover systems. Clovers will hopefully reduce the use of synthetic inputs in agricultural to the benefit of adjacent natural ecosystems.

Dr. Michael Vincent’s 2001 summary of Kentucky’s Trifolium, complements the World of Clovers in further detail on the 11 (now 12 due to the subsequent discovery of T. kentuckiense) species seen in Kentucky (Vincent, 2001). Clovers are part of the historical herbivory and current cropping of the state. This book is a limited description at the species level which the ecologist may apply in conjunction with similar guides on the KY flora.

The World of Clovers is useful to professional and citizen scientists because it encompasses the diversity of the genus. This book goes beyond the traditional field guide, but also comes in an accessible form for the everyday user. Clovers exist under cultivation as well as in Kentucky’s natural areas. The genus Trifolium has grown in a small degree in the time since publication, but the book offers wider coverage that serves both the hiker and horticulturalist.

Acknowledgements

Norman Taylor deserves special mention to his dedication in preserving the native clovers of Kentucky. This article is part of the ongoing efforts of the Kentucky Clover Recovery Team. Will Overbeck provided helpful suggestions and strong editorial contributions. Special thanks to David Barker, Daniel Boone, and Ken Quesenberry for recommending this book. Thanks to Sarah Grace Holland, for her supporting my native clover research.

References

Chapel, K. J., & Vincent, M. A. (2013). Trifolium kentuckiense (Fabaceae, Papilionoideae), a new species from Franklin and Woodford counties, Kentucky. Phytoneuron 2013-63: 1–6.Chapel and Vincent 2013.

Gillett, J. M., & Taylor, N. L. (2001). The World of Clovers. Ames, IA: Iowa State University Press.

Vincent, M.A. (2001). The genus Trifolium (Fabaceae) in Kentucky. J. Ky. Acad. Sci. 62(1):1-17.

Jonathan Omar Cole Kubesch is a graduate student pursuing a master’s degree in crop science at the University of Tennessee. He studied evolution and ecology—as well as agronomy—at the Ohio State University. He works on forages, grasslands, and prairies with a particular passion for native clovers.

Rediscover hedgerows

By Alicia Bosela, Owner of Ironweed Native Plant Nursery

Hedgerows—strips of mixed plants and shrubs—are a wonderful under-utilized and under-appreciated habitat. They have been called linear nature preserves in the sense that they can be highly diverse (combining meadow and forest plants), they support a wide array of wildlife, and they provide ecosystem functions that sustain the health of our air, land, and water.

Hedrerow 2 -- Mindy Rose — Photo by Mindy Rose.

Cecropia Betty Hall — This Cecropia moth cocoon would be well protected in a hedgerow.
Photo by Betty Hall.

Their benefits to wildlife span the spectrum. The woody species alone might read like a veritable critter buffet: hazelnut, wild plum, persimmon, red mulberry, wild crabapple, and elderberry. Other food for wildlife includes both early nectar—blooming redbud, viburnum, dogwood, hawthorn, and black cherry—and late season nectar—asters, sunflowers, and goldenrods. Hedgerows provide shelter for wildlife, a nesting place for birds and create corridors that allow safe passage for scores of species from salamanders to rabbits. The leaf litter is a virtual nursery for developing stages of lightning bugs and other beneficial insects. Many Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) roll up in leaves to overwinter in the litter, snug as a bug!

When we think of attracting wildlife like hummingbirds and butterflies to our yard, our first thought might be of a continuously flowering native pollinator garden. While pollinator gardens are highly recommended and needed, we have learned from the monarch that a dearth of larval host plants might be a weak link in the chain of our pollinator’s lifecycle. In general, woody plants host the caterpillar stage of more Lepidoptera than herbaceous plants. More woody host plants mean more caterpillar food and more caterpillars to feed native birds and their young.

From a management perspective, it is important that invasive exotics like autumn olive, Bradford pear, wintercreeper, bush honeysuckle, and privet be removed in favor of native plants. A study by Dr. Tallamy, a University of Delaware entomologist and ecological gardening advocate concludes, “…in terms of the everyday needs of the animals that eat caterpillars, we found 96 percent less food available in the invaded (non-native hedgerow) habitats!”

…native hedgerows are certainly a habitat worth rediscovering…

There are physical benefits of hedgerows as well. They catch and store water, act as windbreaks, and protect against erosion. In residential areas, they are great privacy fences, sound buffers, and can prevent snow drifts. A final benefit of native plant hedgerows is that they really ‘pay it forward’ when birds disperse seed from native plants instead of spreading seed from invasive exotics. Though under-utilized, native hedgerows are certainly a habitat worth rediscovering.

Hedgerow 1 Mindy ose — Hedgerows provide habitat and they’re beautiful–it’s a Win! Win!
Photo by Mindy Rose.

References: Nature’s Best Hope by D. Tallamy (2019).

Alicia Bosela owns Ironweed Native Plant Nursery in Columbia Kentucky, a certified woman-owned business. Before opening her own nursery, she was the Assistant Director of Clay Hill Memorial Forest Environmental Education Center. You can contact her at www.ironweednursery.com.

From the Lady Slipper Archives: Sweet Fern

The Lady Slipper newsletter of the Kentucky Native Plant Society has been published since the Society’s founding in 1986. This is one of a series of reprints from past issues. This article, about sweet fern (Comptonia peregrina), first appeared in Vol. 26, No 1, Spring 2011. 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. 35, 2020.

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.

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.

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

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 exchange).

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 inOhio, 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, sweet fern 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 species 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 asplenifolia Linnaeus) with Description of new species. Transactions of the American Entomological Society (1890-). Vol. 74, No. 3, 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. Review of Paleobotany and Palynology. Vol. 163, p. 52-63.
Medley, Max and Eugene Wofford. 1980. Thuja occidentalis L. and other noteworthy collections from the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River in McCreary County, Kentucky. Castanea. Vol. 45, No. 3, pp. 213-215.
Natureserve Explorer, 2010.
https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.134920/Comptonia_peregrina
Wilkins, Gary, Delcourt, Paul, Delcourt, Hazel, Harrison, Frederick, and Turner, Manson. 1991. Paleoecology of central Kentucky sicne the last glacial maximum. Quaternary Research. Vol. 36, Issue 2.
Virginia Tech Woody Database
http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=869
Zomlefer, W. 1994. Guide to Flowering Plant Families. University of NC Press, Chapel Hill.

3 Ways to Turn Christmas Trees into Wildlife Habitat

By Shannon Trimbolli, owner of Busy Bee Nursery and Consulting

This is the time of year when Christmas trees seem to be everywhere. After the Christmas season, many of those trees are hauled out to the curb to be hauled to the landfill. However, did you know that if you have a live tree that you can use it to create wildlife or fish habitat when you get ready to take it down instead of sending it to the landfill?

To use your Christmas tree for wildlife or fish habitat, first remove all decorations, lights, hooks, tinsel, etc.–basically everything that didn’t naturally grow on the tree. After your tree is undecorated, you have a few different options.

Carolina wrens are one of the many songbirds that will use brush piles. Not only will they take shelter within the brush pile, but they will also hunt for insects and other arthropods living there. Photo credit: Richard Smith, cc-by 2.0

1) Create a brush pile on your property

Brush piles provide songbirds, lizards, snakes, and rabbits and other small mammals with places to hide, hunt, and live. To start a new brush pile, move the undecorated tree to an appropriate place on your property. You don’t want to build a brush pile next to the house or the garage or shed because it could attract critters that we don’t want in our homes. If you live in town or a subdivision, you’ll also want to make sure there aren’t any ordinances against having brush piles on your property.

Once you have found the right spot for your brush pile, you can just lay the tree on its side, maybe throw some other sticks and limbs you pick up around your yard on top of the tree and call it good. This creates a small, natural brush pile similar to what would happen when a tree falls naturally. You can also make a much larger and more permanent brush pile by gathering your neighbors’ discarded trees, cutting off the branches, building a tick-tack-toe type grid with the trunks, then piling the branches and any other limbs you find on top of the trunks. If neither of these designs works for you, then you can do an internet search on “how to create a brush pile for wildlife,” and you’ll come up with several other designs for building brush piles. No matter what design you choose, you can keep adding to your brush pile every year and even grow vines over it during the spring and summer.

2) Create a fish attractor in your pond

If you have a pond on your property, you can use your discarded Christmas tree to create fish habitat. The branches will provide places for smaller fish to hide from larger fish. Small invertebrates living in the water will also take up residence along the branches. The simplest way to create fish habitat with your Christmas tree, is to secure the tree to something heavy like a cinder block and plop it into your pond in an area that is deep enough that the tree will be submerged. (When you secure the tree to whatever you are using as a weight, you can lay the tree on its side; the tree doesn’t have to stand up underwater.) Larger, fish attractors can be built by securing several trees to the same weight or by building a lean-to type frame out of untreated lumber and then securing multiple trees to the frame.

Christmas trees can be used to create fish habitat in ponds and lakes. Many state and federal agencies collect trees to use for fish habitat in public lakes. Photo credit: Sue Sapp / U.S. Air Force, public domain

3) Give your tree to someone else to create a brush pile or fish attractor

If you don’t have a place for a brush pile or fish attractor on your property, you can give your tree to someone else who can use it for those purposes. In Kentucky, the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources has several drop off locations all across the state, where they will accept Christmas trees to use for creating fish habitat. If you aren’t in Kentucky, call or email your state’s Fish and Wildlife Department and ask them if they have a program to accept Christmas trees for wildlife or fisheries habitat. If they don’t have such a program, then ask if they know of another agency or organization who might be able to use your tree.

Whether or not your state has a program to reuse discarded Christmas trees, please don’t just dump your tree on public property (on land or in a lake). Let the land managers decide where to put the fish attractors and brush piles because they know what all of the land uses are in the area and are tasked with balancing wildlife and natural resource needs with visitor use and safety issues.

Shannon Trimboli enjoys helping people connect with nature in their yards and communities. She owns Busy Bee Nursery and Consulting, which specializes in plants for pollinators and wildlife. She also hosts Backyard Ecology where she provides a free weekly blog and podcast focused on igniting our curiosity and natural wonder, exploring our yards and communities, and improving our local pollinator and wildlife habitat. Learn more at www.backyardecology.net.

Native spotlight: Asclepias

By Susan Harkins

Thank you to Connie May, Jonathan Kubesch, and Nick Koenig for sharing their technical expertise on milkweed.

The monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus is now a candidate species for the Endangered Species Act. Habitat loss and pesticide use along their migratory routes are responsible for the decline of the monarch, but you can help by providing habitat in your own yard. You’ll need two things: nectar for the adults and milkweed (Asclepias) foliage for their caterpillars. By planting both milkweed and other native wildflowers, my yard turns into a five-star resort for not only monarchs, but other butterflies and moths, beneficial insects, and birds.

Plant a patch of native wildflowers to attract adult butterflies and milkweed for their offspring. The monarch caterpillars eat only Asclepias. Kentucky Asclepias species that easily make the move to home gardens are:

Asclepias incarnata	Swamp Milkweed
Asclepias tuberoses	Butterfly Weed
Asclepias verticillata	Whorled Milkweed
Asclepias viridis	Green Milkweed
Asclepias syriaca	Common Milkweed

By planting both milkweed and other native wildflowers, my yard turns into a five-star resort for not only monarchs, but other butterflies and moths, beneficial insects, and birds.Despite its common name, swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) will grow in most yards, though it will only reproduce reliably in wet spots. Be prepared to reseed or replant every few years to keep it going. Its deep-rose blooms are more spray-like than clusters and makes a stunning border for a larger area. It won’t spread to other areas, but it will fill in an area nicely.

Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberoses) has the most spectacular color—bright orange. It’s a bit bushy, grows 2 to 3 feet, and likes a sunny spot. It looks lovely planted with rue. Butterfly weed is the most dependable for returning in the same spot each year, but it doesn’t spread quickly. The leaves are thin, and I find few eggs or caterpillars on them, but the adult butterflies and other beneficial insects feed on the blooms. Butterfly weed blooms persist longer into the late summer than other milkweeds. Plant a few for a bright pop of color or create a spectacular border. Once they’re established, they’re very dependable.

Plant whorled milkweed (Asclepias verticillata) for fragrant blooms and interesting green foliage. It’s easy to establish from seedlings and like butterfly weed, whorled milkweed grows 2 to 3.

Of the five species reviewed, green milkweed (Asclepias. viridis) has proven the hardest for me to establish in a garden setting. It grows wild in every direction at my friend’s farm, so I keep trying. I encourage you to do so too because it’s so worth it! Its showy blooms are similar to common, but green, and the plants are shorter.

This article is about species that will work well in your home gardens. I don’t recommend that you plant common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) in your yard. I include it to be comprehensive, but it’s beautiful in a big field far enough away that it doesn’t breech your landscaped yard.

In bloom, common milkweed is gorgeous and fragrant. Plant enough to cut some of those showy dusty-rose clustering blooms to bring inside because the scent is seductive. It prefers a sunny, well-drained spot and can reach seven feet. It spreads aggressively and dislikes intensive management. To be happy, plant it and plan to leave it be, keeping in mind that the caterpillars will completely defoliate it—another reason not to put it in your yard.

There are other species native to Kentucky, but these listed have proven most successful for me. I encourage you to explore the other species and experiment! The more you know about milkweed, the more successful your efforts will be. Common, swamp, and butterfly are readily found in nurseries in the spring. Seeds for all can be purchased online and at nurseries.

Continue reading →

Conserving the Monarch Butterfly in Kentucky

By Michaela Rogers, Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources

The iconic monarch butterfly, well known for its striking orange-enveloped wings contrasted by black venation, has become an insect of high intrigue across North America. The marathon-length migration the butterfly makes to Mexico to overwinter in the alpine oyamel fir forests inspires wonder and fascination. The biological mechanisms and evolutionary relevance of this journey have become the subject of scientific research, while first sighting of the adults, eggs and caterpillars each year draws excitement from community scientists who participate in observation recording.

Recently, the monarch butterfly has garnered even greater attention. News broke on December 15, 2020 that the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) had come to a decision on the federal listing status of the monarch butterfly. The Service had been petitioned in 2014 to list the monarch as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. Following comprehensive review of the current and future population status of the monarch butterfly, USFWS announced that listing the monarch as threatened or endangered is warranted, but precluded while higher priority listing actions are addressed.

This action results in the monarch becoming a candidate species under the Endangered Species Act. As a candidate species, the status of the monarch butterfly will now be reviewed yearly by USFWS scientists until a listing decision can be made. The monarch will likely stay in the national spotlight for years to come, during which time data collection will continue to assess the population and habitat created or improved for the butterfly.

The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources views the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision as an indication of the vulnerable status of the species and as affirmation in the need for continued conservation work for the monarch. Conservation of the species will require efforts throughout the monarch’s range. Here in the state, we are moving forward with work on monarch preservation. Kentucky not only supports the iconic migration of the monarch, but serves as breeding habitat within the butterfly’s range.

Kentucky embarked on creation of the Kentucky Monarch Conservation Plan in 2016 following a targeted national effort surrounding concerns of population-level decline. During this time, garden clubs, native plant groups, and other organizations were already making headway for monarchs in the state. Published in 2018, this plan guides current priorities for monarch conservation, and will continue to do so through potential future changes in the listing status of the butterfly. Kentucky is also a member state in the Mid-America Monarch Conservation Plan, allowing for collaboration with other states across the monarch’s midwestern range to increase habitat. Of primary concern is increasing the number of milkweed stems in the region, which provide the sole food source of monarch caterpillars.

Currently, stakeholders of the Monarch Plan are working to increase habitat, which includes both milkweed and native flowering plants (a source of nectar resources for adult butterflies) on the landscape. There are now 827 Monarch Waystations officially registered in Kentucky, and thousands of acres of habitat have been improved or added for the benefit of monarchs and other pollinators through the enhancement of private, public, and right-of-way land. A variety of educational events and outreach initiatives have been aimed at raising awareness for the monarch in the state, with several hundred monarchs tagged over the course of fall tagging events, over a thousand seed packets distributed, and presentations given in classrooms, during workshops, at club and professional meetings, and most recently, in virtual settings.

Conserving the monarch butterfly has been called an “all hands on deck” approach, with participation from the transportation and agricultural sectors, public agencies, non-government organizations, private businesses, and urban, suburban and rural environments all being important in support of such a widespread species.

Planting milkweed is one of the most important things you can do to help the monarch. If you don’t have a garden, you can aid instead by participating in community science initiatives that track monarchs along their migration route (visit monarchjointventure.org and journeynorth.org to learn about opportunities). Follow us on Facebook at “Kentucky Monarchs” as we share information and links related to monarch butterflies in Kentucky, and remember that no effort is too small to help conserve monarchs!

Michaela Rogers is an Environmental Scientist with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. She serves as the Monarch and Pollinator Coordinator for the agency and manages implementation of the Kentucky Monarch Conservation Plan.

President’s Message

Signs of spring first come in the darkest days of winter

Hello fellow plant enthusiasts! I hope everyone is doing OK in this New Year. While I have no profound words to offer to anyone about the state of our state, our country, our world, I can offer a mechanism of coping. I have often used the natural world as my escape and every time it pulls me out of whatever anxiety has taken hold. I’m sure many of you do this as well. I am beyond lucky and grateful to live and work in the natural areas of Kentucky through my profession of plant conservation and also my private life as a landowner. I enjoy daily walks to observe the passing of time as told by nature. Even in the darkest days of winter, there are signs of spring that show us a future of flowers.

2020 Recap

Despite the challenges of this past year and having to cancel many of our annual planned events/field trips/workshops/meetings, KNPS still accomplished the publication of our monthly online newsletter-the Lady Slipper. Let’s all give a big thanks to Susan Harkins and Nick Koenig for organizing this effort and all the authors of the great articles submitted from our friends, partners and colleagues about all things native plants. Many of us still had a big year of plant observations as seen through our Kentucky Botanist’s big Year 2020 on iNaturalist. In next month’s newsletter, the winners of most observed plants will be announced!

We joined Zoom and organized our first online fall meeting and Kentucky’s Botanical Symposium which was attended by over 120 engaged native plant enthusiasts. What a success! In case you missed it, recorded versions of the symposium talks will be available on our website, www.knps.org by the end of the month. Many of the talks highlighted current projects led by the plant conservation section at the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves (OKNP), Projects included the monitoring of rare plants and communities on Kentucky’s state nature preserves, the statewide grassland and pollinator habitat monitoring program, rare plant propagation projects, and recent interesting botanical discoveries. If anyone would like to get more involved in any of these efforts please reach out and join our emerging plant conservation alliance which focuses on conserving rare plants by increasing efforts through partnership.

The Kentucky Botanical Symposium, virtually.

A new year and planning

January has always been the month of planning for me. A time of resolutions, of planning projects and dreaming of which natural areas I will explore or what target plants I’ll be searching for in the coming field season. For KNPS, our board will be continuing with our strategic planning process this winter/spring through zoom meetings. We have decided to continue with postponing in person meetings at least through the first half of 2021 due to Covid restrictions but are planning some virtual events for our members and friends, more to come soon. But there are still many ways to contribute to our efforts and find opportunities to learn about native plants and get out in nature.

Opportunities

As always, reach out it you would like to get more involved in any of our committees, contribute to the newsletter, apply for one of our grants, would like to volunteer or partner with us on any of our ongoing projects or have any questions in general. And a special request to our partners who are organizing events involving native plants in 2021, please submit them to us so we can add them to our online native plant events/activities calendar.

For the Love of Kentucky’s Plants,

Tara Littlefield