Kentucky Native Plant Society member Alan Abbott will be leading the second KNPS field trip since the start of the pandemic to Pine Creek Barrens Nature Preserve in Shepardsville. Owned by the Nature Conservancy, the 158-acre property was featured in Thomas Barnes’ book, Kentucky’s Last Great Places.
This open woodland with a prairie-like ground cover hosts a diversity of native glade flora. Other natural communities at Pine Creek Barrens include the dry upland woods which surround the glade. On the southwest boundary, scenic Pine Creek flows through a beautiful mesic ravine forest lined with small limestone cliffs.
A number of rare or infrequent plants grow here, and most years, visitors can see Barrens Silky Aster (Symphyotrichum pretense), Great Plains Ladiestresses (Spiranthes magnicamporum), and Stiff Gentian (Gentianella quinquefolia) bloom in October.
At least eight rare and endangered plant species have been identified at the nature preserve, including the globally threatened glade cress (Leavenworthia exigua var. Laciniata), which has adapted to grow in small depressions on the exposed bedrock. This plant is found only in select areas in Bullitt and Jefferson counties.
Several years ago, KNPS adopted the policy of requiring preregistration for all activities (other than Wildflower Weekend) and for giving members the first opportunity to register for those activities. We send out emails to current members for all KNPS activities at least one week before the activity is announced to the general public. Participation in this trip was limited to 15 people and was quickly filled up by members. If you would like to get advance notification of future field trips, become a member of KNPS. If you join now, your membership will not expire until the end of 2022.