SPRING 2014 Vol. 31, No. 1 Society The Harbinger Newsletter of the Illinois Native Plant Society “ ...dedicated to the preservation, conservation, and study of native plants and vegetation in Illinois. ” Only the hard core winter lovers are lamenting the end of this long, cold, and snowy winter season. Most are ready to see it end and get outside to start botanizing! Warm days are in the forecast for the southern region and although the northern part of the state is still in a deep freeze, skunk cabbage has already been seen flowering, and perhaps the heavy snowpack will contribute to a lush growing season ahead. This is a photo of the waterfall at Rocky Bluff, in the Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge. "Christopher David Benda, Editor In this issue; •President’s message •Chapter reports •INPS in the news •Upcoming events •INPS annual meeting •Plants of Concern workshops •Featured plant articles •Hydraulic fracking in Illinois •50 th Wilderness Ann. •Conservation Awards •NPR news •SIU Forestry news •Endangered Species Protection Board •Invasive Species Awareness Month in May •Nativars article •Alt. to Callery Pear •IDOT Teasel poster Welcome New Illinois Native Plant Society Members! Polly Danforth - Central Sandy Babka - Northeast Genevieve Nano - Northeast Jennifer Williamson - Central Catherine DeFotis - Northeast Andy Olnas - Northeast Boehm's Garden Center - Central Erin Faulkner - Northeast Kim Roman - Northeast Valeria Sivicek - Forest Glen Stephanie Frischie - Northeast Dale Shriver - Northeast Greg Spyreas - Forest Glen Kenneth Johnson - Northeast Charles and Cathy Gibson - Quad Cities Robert Stanton - Forest Glen John Legge - Northeast Jeff Nelson and Liz Neihoff - Southern Jake Hartter - Irene Cull Christopher McElroy - Northeast Rene Potter - Southern GO GREEN! If you are receiving a black and white newsletter by postal mail, please help us lower our costs by signing up for an electronic copy in color. Please send your email address to illinoisplants@gmail.com to be added to our email distribution list. Please “like” us on facebook at vww. fac ebook. com/ illinoisplants . Governing Board President: Janine Catchpole President-Elect: Chris Benda Past President: Connie Cunningham Secretary: Rachel Goad Treasurer. Vicki Crosley Erigenia Editor: Andy West Harbinger Editor: Chris Benda Membership: Connie Cunningham Webmaster: Cassi Sarri At-Large Board Bohdan Dziadyk Tracy Evans R .J. Fehl Ron Kiser Paul Marcum Jason Zylka We are currently accepting submissions for the next issue of Erigenia, the journal of the Illinois Native Plant Society. We are also asking for more reviewers. If you are interested, please email editor Andy West at erigenia.editor@gmail.com . Message from the President Well it has certainly been a long winter. I know spring comes sooner to members of the southern chapter, but for us in the northern part of the state, we wait. While we still expect night time lows below zero, hearing that the skunk cabbage is blooming in this area provides succor beyond the calendar moving to March. In January, the Governing Board of the INPS held a retreat to discuss and examine what the INPS needs to accomplish over the next few years. We were assisted is this project by Dr. Brian Anderson, of the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS), in our strategic planning. The retreat was a success, and the board has a lot of work to do. Among our priorities is to reach out to our members and other groups concerned with the natural vegetation of Illinois. The creation of the listserv is one way we can quickly reach out to all members. Look for information about managing your subscription on page 4. Our facebook page fwww.facebook.com/illinoisplants ) adds another outreach platform, and our new webmaster, Cassi Saari, will be adding features to the web site. We seek to grow our membership by getting more students and university faculty involved with INPS. Getting our research grant program rebuilt will help that process. Raquel Garcia, formerly with the Grand Victoria Foundation, has agreed to chair the grants committee. Please consider stepping up to be part of that effort. INPS also seeks to be more active in providing non-partisan information to environmental organizations. In support of this, Floyd Catchpole has become the INPS representative to the Illinois Invasive Plant Species Council (IIPSC), where an effort is being made to update the listings of species under the Exotic Weed Act, Illinois Noxious Weed Law and Illinois Seed Law, and Jason Zylka has volunteered to be our delegate to the Illinois Environmental Council (IEC). Do you know of organizations that we should be involved in to further our mission? We welcome your input. We simply need to communicate better with members, as well as reaching out to those in search of information about Illinois native plants. And that audience is growing. I have been attending conferences connected to the green industries, such as specialty crops, landscaping, and farmers markets. Their customers desire native plants, and growers want to learn more about them. We seek to work with these growers learn about the importance of using native plants with local provenance. We are trying to get native plant growers working together to build market share for local quality products. So members, with your great knowledge base, we need to hear your ideas about making more information about native plants available to an interested and growing audience. With such a wide talent base among our members, almost anyone can create a project that can help INPS get the message out. -INPS President Janine Catchpole INPS CHAPTER NEWS NORTHEAST CHAPTER - Chicago Diana Krug (President) 312 - 504-6473 northeast.inps@gmail.com QUAD CITIES CHAPTER - Rock Island Bo Dziadyk (President) 309 - 794-3436 qc inps.home.mchsi.com IRENE CULL CHAPTER - Peoria Mary Hartley (President) 309 - 995-3356 haywool@winco.net FOREST GLEN CHAPTER - Danville Connie Cunningham (President) 217 - 516-1792 connieicunningham@ gmail.com CENTRAL CHAPTER - Springfield Annette Chinuge (President) 217 - 483-5893 annette@avrosystems.com SOUTHERN CHAPTER - Carbondale Chris Benda (President) 217 - 417-4145 southernillinoisplants@gmail.com For more information about events, please contact your chapter representative above. Northeast Chapter (Chicago) The northeast chapter is busily planning a suite of field trips for the 2014 season, and the first will be held on April 26 at noon at Grainger Woods. Steward Kathy Garness will lead a tour of the early spring flora in these rich woods. Please RSVP to field trip coordinator Andy Olnas (andy.olnas@gmail.com) in advance. If the outing exceeds 15 people, they will split up and groups will visit one of the many other wooded Lake County Forest Preserves in the area. The northeast chapter will also be hosting the Annual Meeting this August, which features a focus on Kankakee Sands region. For more information, email northeast.inps@gmail.com . and find the northeast chapter on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/IllinoisNativePlantSocietvNortheastChapter . Quad Cities Chapter (Rock Island) No current news to report. Irene Cull Chapter (Peoria) No current news to report. Forest Glen Chapter (Danville) Chapter President Connie Cunningham reports that plans are underway for a mushroom identification workshop, date and time to be announced. Please stay tuned for more programming in future newsletters, or contact Connie at her email listed above. Central Chapter (Springfield) Chapter President Annette Chinuge reports that although their January meeting was cancelled due to the horrendous weather, the February meeting made up for it all with a delightful presentation about bat conservation and wildlife problems by the very entertaining and enlightening Ron Scheller. The March 13th meeting continues with the notable Bill McClain presenting the flora of Scotland and Ireland. Please feel free to join us if you are in the Springfield area. April 26 th is the Central Chapter's big Plant Sale! This year's sale will again be held from 9am to 2pm at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, Commodities Pavilion in Springfield. Further info and plant species lists will be on our INPS website sometime in March. Additional news is that the central chapter voted to fund the cost of development of the INPS website to allow people to join or renew their membership on line. This process will be of benefit to both the State organization and the chapters as memberships are a key part of fund raising for the organization. Several field trips and excursions are in the plans in anticipation of warm days and spring weather. Please see the Central Chapter’s section of our website for more information about their events at http://www.ill-inps.org/index.php/central-chapter . Southern Chapter (Carbondale) Chapter President Chris Benda reports that the southern chapter hosted a couple of excellent programs so far this year. Southern Illinois University doctoral student Jason Willand presented titled “Ecological Restoration in the 21 st Century” during their January meeting. Board members Chris Evans and Chris Benda presented a program about a “Guide to Spring Wildflower Hikes in Southern Illinois” at their February meeting and handed out the guidebooks. They are also available at state parks and visitor centers in southern Illinois. On March 21-23, they sponsor the second “Indigenous Plant Symposium” at John A. Logan College in Carbondale. Chris Evans will instruct a “Wildflower Photography for Beginners” course on April 25/26 and May 2/3. The course is full, but you can still signup on the waiting list by emailing southernillinoisplants @ gmail . com . The southern chapter has much more programming scheduled for 2014, and you can follow them by getting on there mailing list by emailing southernillinoisplants @ gmail. com . Follow them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/southernillinoisplants . Other Illinois Native Plant Society News The Illinois Native Plant Society has created a new listserve to aid in the communication of our chapters, members and others interested in our native vegetation and natural communities across the state. This is a medium open to INPS members and non-members that wish to share interests and activities related to the native flora of Illinois. To post to this list, send your message to » llinoisplants@ill-inps.org . General information about the mailing list is at http://ill-inps.orq/mailman/listinfo/illinoisplants ill-inps.orq . If you ever want to unsubscribe or change your options (e.g, switch to or from digest mode, change your password, etc.), visit your subscription page. You can also make such adjustments via email by sending a message to illinoisplants-request@ill-inps.org with the word ' help' in the subject or body (don't include the quotes), and you will get back a message with instructions. Thank you for your support of the Illinois Native Plant Society! *You must know your password to change your options (including changing the password, itself) or to unsubscribe without confirmation . It was emailed to you on February 3, 2014. Guide to area wildflower trails available Springtime offers nature lovers an opportunity to view beautiful displays of wildflower s in Southern Illinois. These gems can literally carpet forest floors in color, bursting forth as the spring sun warms the soil. Through a grant from the Illinois Wildlife Preservation Fund, the Southern Chapter of the Illinois Native Plant Society has produced a guide to help people find the best locations to view spring wildflower s. This booklet highlights the seven best wildflower viewing hikes on public lands in Southern Illinois. The guide, co-written by INPS Southern Chapter President Chris Benda and Vice President Chris Evans, includes a written description of each trail and a list of notable spring wildflowers found at each site, along with trail distances, difficulty ratings, directions and maps. Read more at: http://www.dailyamericannews.eom/article/20140120/News/140129831#i xzz2usfNFHnm Guide to Spring Wildflower Hikes in Southern Illinois 7 i[ i Saturday, March 22, 2014 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ohn A. Logan College VS ? affordable W"" :: u j qreenftSzor :t variety of native trees Ov er 40 species of native perennials, ferns, and shrubs roni a local grower Vito Pass Kffep r/BHONDALE BEMITI-UL Iffl c|!i *? ** u i ml 5 jf| i![f 1 5 lit if ! 1! ° 5 O T3 CD £ -a CD cx) a 82 ® -» 3 -Vl CO N3 5' ■» 3 30 X ID ® o B IQ ~ C/> W £ ® s s ?f'f -n -Q H B 3 9 3 C§ & l< W =1 H w 00 V CDJ i J ! 3 ? o |3s f l« i®| » a Z w O n CD Q. i- 3 3 > S’ i- 2, O 00 CQ C fl) CO =3 ® Q co Q_ w CD 03 CQ | Q 13 CL C C/3 Bi. 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< c/» -i <* s CP a o’ 3 CD 3 Q Q 3 _ Q Q- — . 3 < Q_ CP 0*5 " 00 00 “D O 2| (Q F 1 ~ CO 2. Q Q. 3 ' CD ?= Q CN K> N» O K> 3 o 3 > < CP 3 C CP m c 3 > CP r% -t O o ” Q ^ 9 § ro Nl s 2 §. - % _ Q 3 Q. n = o “ II o ^ II ^ CP u =:cq ° 2 \ fi- V) t >5 N 5 a. ■o OX OS i ILLINOIS NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY ANNUAL MEETING KANKAKEE SANDS | AUGUST 1-3, 2014 This weekend event will be an in-depth look at the flora and natural history of the Kankakee Sands region. Friday: INPS members can meet for a social hour to reconnect with old friends and make new ones before listening to an engaging speaker talk about the unique geologic history of the Kankakee Region. Saturday: All day or half day field trips to a diverse selection of beautiful natural areas will be offered. After the field trips, we'll have feature a documentary about the region, a speaker, a banquet, silent auction, and a late night bonfire on the limestone banks of Rock Creek . Sunday: A half day field trip to another of Kankakee's natural gems. ! Location: CampShaw-Waw-Nas-See, Manteno, IL 1 hour south of Chicago; cabins or tent camping available. More details and registration will be available online soon! Find us on Facebook and at WWW.lllHnPS.org Kankaket Mallow - , (lliamnattmotu) V f Plants of Concern Welcome Rare Plant Enthusiasts! Please join us for one of our 2014 Plants of Concern Training Workshops CHICAGO BOTA N I C GARDEN Saturday, April 5 Sunday, April 13 Sunday, April 27 Volo Bog Visitor Center Volo Bog State Natural Area, Illinois DNR Ingleside (near Volo), Lake County, IL Sand Ridge Nature Center Forest Preserve District of Cook County South Holland, Cook County, IL Brewster Creek Lodge Forest Preserve District of Kane County St. Charles, Kane County, IL Workshops are held from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. This workshop will give you an opportunity to learn monitoring skills or to refresh your skills for the new season. New volunteers are required to attend one workshop. We ask any monitors who have never been to a workshop to attend. Registration is required. A confirmation will be sent after registration and directions will follow shortly before workshop date. Visit www.plantsofconcem.org to register on-line after February 1, or please contact: Rachel Goad, Manager of POC: rgoad@chicagobotanic.org : (847-835-6927). PICTURES FROM THE 2014 INPS BOARD RETREAT AT CAMP SHAW The governing board of the Illinois Native Plant Society met for a retreat last January at Chaw Shaw in Manteno, IL (site of the upcoming annual meeting) in an effort to expand, enhance, and redefine the goals of the society. It was a very productive weekend, facilitated by Dr. Brian Anderson (top left), and proceeding to the right is Paul Marcum, Rachel Goad, Tracy Evans, Andy West, and Vicki Crosley. From the bottom left is Chris Benda, Connie Cunningham, Eric Ulaszek, Janine Catchpole, Annette Chunge, and Bohdan Dziadyk. S* 1 * 0 a ? Z Z » 1 l If 5 2. 3 £ c * §• * ** o 8 t Z 3 S a- 3 <* ?g 1 i i; is 5 * > a 3 3 * 2 3* as sr IV 5 ? Zt $ c VX> £ KJ V» O 8 3 ft SfflfJ 2- * li 51 s 0. c « g * | a »• I i s:i 5 5 ■ i * 3 3 Oj s 3 a 3 a; if 3 3 3 = s* 2 W» 2 <* ~ at d ' d a » ff ? if Q 3- G a Z ® |l| 1 i« it 3 ||| f i * 3 ?T? igfi « !• S a 5 Iff O Q. Q. I 9 Q. 5 3 {!H ii: ? 3 £ ~ i# * O - Z, 2 2 o •y |JJ o 2 n 3 a * c. n o H _ z oc w B o Plant of the issue - Skunk Cabbage ( Symplocarpus foetidus) The earliest spring wildflower to emerge from dormancy is skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus). In fact, this species flowers so early, it could be considered a winter wildflower! Skunk cabbage flowers have the ability to heat up the surrounding snow, which promotes melting so it can poke its fragrant flowers up through the ground. Skunk cabbage has unusual flowers, like all members of the Arum family (Araceae). They consist of a spathe, an outer sheath which surrounds the inflorescence, and a spadix, a fleshy stem on which tiny flowers are produced. Plants that produce flowers at the surface of the ground, instead of on a stalk (called a peduncle), share two important characteristics. They are brown in color and stink like decaying organic matter. This is to attract pollinators, typically flies, but lures in beetles and ants as well. Pollinators are also attracted to the flowers because of the heat they produce which leads to another interesting evolutionary strategy. Why flower so early? On the one hand, there are not many pollinators available in the early spring because it is too cold for them to be active or present. However, the few insects that are active and present are looking for food and warmth. The skunk cabbage receives virtually exclusive attention because it flowers when nothing else is available. “Symplocarpus” is Greek for “connected fruits” and “foetidus” translates from Latin to “malodorous” meaning “smelling very unpleasant.” From this, the term “fetid” derives. Pink praying mantis disguises itself as a flower Native to the Malaysian rainforest, this orchid mantis does such a good job of mimicking local flora that it inspired Alfred Russell Wallace to propose that some animals mimic plants in order to lure in the pollinators they hope to eat. Watch the video here: http:/ /boin gboing.net/ 2013/12/ 10/pink-preving- mantis-disguises.html Some plants may not adapt quickly to future climate change Using the largest dated evolutionary tree of flowering plants ever assembled, a new study suggests how plants developed traits to withstand low temperatures, with implications that human-induced climate change may pose a bigger threat than initially thought to plants and global agriculture. Read article here: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/12/131222160027.htm Integrated Roadside Vegetation Management in Iowa - "It is declared to be in the general public welfare of Iowa and a highway purpose for the vegetation of Iowa's roadsides to be preserved, planted, and maintained to be safe, visually interesting, ecologically integrated, and useful for many purposes.” http://www.uni.edu/~irvm/ NEWf Featured Blog: Strategies for Stewards: from woods to prairies Eco-restoration in tallgrass savanna, prairie, woods, and wetlands - inviting input from all - especially people participating in this newborn discipline of ecosystem healing. You can read the blog here, http://woodsandprairie.blogspot.com/ Hydraulic Fracturing in Illinois At two public hearings on proposed regulation, residents of Chicago and southern Illinois showed they stand united against fracking in the Land of Lincoln. The crowd in Chicago got rowdy when a Department of Natural Resources (DNR) hearing officer told a packed room they shouldn't speak out for a fracking ban because that "train has left the station." In southern Illinois, residents showed fierce determination to protect their communities and promised ongoing resistance. Read more at: http:/ / www.huffmgtonpost.com/ will-revnolds/illinois-united-against-f b 4385804.html LLINOIS DtPARTMf NT OF NATURAL RF<;miRrF<; A team of employees and other partners have been busy planning and preparing for the 50th Wilderness Anniversary Celebrations in southern Illinois. An attractive and informative webpage is now available on our public website, please visit the Wilderness Celebrations Page and pass it along to friends, family, and partners, etc. to help us spread the word. http:/ / www.fs.usda.gov/ detail/ shawnee/home/?cid=stelprd3791349 A lot of work went into making the programs and events possible, so help support these efforts by joining in on the celebration and passing the info, along. 2014 Conservation Awards Dinner Recently, the 2014 Habitat Project Conservation Leadership Awards Dinner presented by Audubon Chicago Region was held at the Brookfield Zoo. Several INPS members were honored including Charlotte Adelman, Marianne Hahn, and Susanne Masi. Many others were presented an award as well. A great variety of groups and individuals are restoring the spirit and health of human ecological communities in Chicago Wilderness. W w- Aj W ' i m ■ ■ R, Sy 11 sir i 5# |wrf M | ill Charlotte Adelman Marianne Hahn Susanne Masi Cornstalks Everywhere But Nothing Else. Not Even A Bee That cube was put there by David Liittschwager, a portrait photographer, who spent a few years traveling the world, dropping one-cubic-foot metal frames into gardens, streams, parks, forests, oceans, and then photographing whatever, or whoever came through. Beetles, crickets, fish, spiders, worms, birds — anything big enough to be seen by the naked eye he tried to capture and photograph. Here's what he found after 24 hours in his Cape Town cube: There were 30 different plants in that one square foot of grass, and roughly 70 different insects. And the coolest part, said a researcher to the Guardian in Britain, "If we picked the cube up and walked 10 feet, we could get as much as 50 percent difference in plant species we encountered. If we moved it uphill, we might find none of the species." Populations changed drastically only a few feet away — and that's not counting the fungi, microbes, and the itsy-bitsies that Liittschwager and his team couldn't see. http://www.npr.org/bloqs/krulwich/2012/ll/29/166156242/cornstalks- everywhere-but-nothinq-else-not-even-a-bee n p r news An Old Tree Doesn't Get Taller, But Bulks Up Like A Bodybuilder Like other animals and many living things, we humans grow when we're young and then stop growing once we mature. But trees, it turns out, are an exception to this general rule. In fact, scientists have discovered that trees grow faster the older they get. Once trees reach a certain height, they do stop getting taller. So many foresters figured that tree growth — and girth — also slowed with age. "What we found was the exact opposite," says Nate Stephenson , a forest ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, based in California's Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks. "Tree growth rate increases continuously as trees get bigger and bigger," Stephenson says. http://www.npr.org/2Q14/01/16/2624798Q7/old-trees-grow-faster-with-every-year Trees are Tutors in SIU Forestry Class SIU unhSt Hlinois Forestry students in a tree identification course have a surprising cauonoak ^ new tutor at Southern Illinois University Carbondale — the trees themselves. Jon Schoonover, associate professor of forestry, and a team of graduate students are putting QR codes on trees, and near shrubs and vines, in Thompson Woods and around Campus Lake. The QR codes, when scanned by a smartphone with a code scanning application, link to a dedicated website that tells the user about the tree, shrub or vine. The program is the only one like it in the state, and one of very few at colleges and universities nationwide. "The website gives the common name of the tree, the Latin botanical name, and identifying information such as leaf shape, twigs and buds, bark, and fruit," Schoonover said. "It's important for students to get out and see the tree where it is, to touch the bark and smell and feel the tree. You can't get that from a website or a textbook." Read more at: http://news.siu.edu/2013/10/102913amhl3081.html Invasive Species Corner Please look at the following resources for the latest in Invasive Species news. BUY IT WMSI l\ Illinois Illinois Invasive Species Awareness Month is a statewide effort held each May to educate and inform citizens of Illinois about the threat of invasive species. The theme of 2014 Awareness Month is "Invasive Species Affect Everyone". If you live in Illinois, work in Illinois, recreate in Illinois, or simply breathe in Illinois, invasive species affect you! Local events, presentations, workdays, and field tours are needed across the state to help make Awareness Month a success. Please consider planning an Invasive Species Related event in 2014 in Illinois. Past ISAM events have included volunteer workdays, garlic mustard pulls, landowner field tours, interpretative hikes, presentations, discussion forums, kids programs, and informational displays. However, don't limit yourself - be creative and think of new types of events to host! For 2014 we are setting an ambitious goal of having over 100 events across the state as part of Awareness Month. Invasive Species Awareness Month in Illinois is May, but if you have events in late April or early June, please send those in as well so that we can include them on our calendar of events (http://www.invasive.org/illinois/Calendar.html). Be sure to check out the ISAM website at http://www.invasive.org/illinois/ (It is being updated for 2014 right now!) To have your events listed as part of Awareness Month and included on the ISAM calendar and website, please contact Chris Evans, ISAM coordinator at EmaiT.chris.evans@illinois.gov, Fax: 618-439- 7376, or Mail: 11731 State Hwy 37, Benton, IL 62812. 2014 - Illinois Invasive Species Awareness ^onrt Illinois fniify*r Species Jpwsfve Affect Every**] CinpMi MmMM 2014 Call for Events Illinois Invasive Species Awareness Month is a statewide effort held each May to educate and inform dt liens of IBnofc about the threat of invasive species. The theme of 2014 Awareness Month is Invasive Species Affect Everyone'. If you live in llinois. work in Illinois, recreate in llinois, or Just simply breathe n lino is. invasive species affect you! local events, presentations, workdays, and field tours are needed across the state to help make Awareness Month a success. Please consider planners an Invasive Speces Related event in 2014 in Illinois . To have your events listed as part of Awareness Month and included on the ISAM calendar and website, please contact Oms Evans. ISAM coordnator at - Emal: chr Ivevans^llinors jov. Fax 618-439-7376, or Mail: 11731 State Hwy 37, Benton. H. 62812. Include the following information about your event Event Title, Date, and Time Event Location and Driving Directions Description of Event and Contact Any Other Relevant Information A Word About Nativars by Floyd Catchpole What should the responsible homeowner plant in their garden? Certainly not known invasive species, but what about native cultivars (nativars) produced by hybridizing, genetically manipulating or selecting plants from native populations? The Wild Ones (http://www.wildones.org/) have declared that they can only recommend ‘straight natives’, defined as plants grown from wild, locally collected seed that is gathered in a manner to represent the natural population. The Wild Ones have decided that nativars are too different from straight native plants to meet their goal of preserving biodiversity through the preservation, restoration and establishment of native plant communities. Why does it matter? Because the more native species you have in your yard, the more you contribute to reducing the massive wave of extinctions that is sweeping over Illinois. And, genetically diverse populations of local native plants resulting from millennia of natural selection are best adapted to your area, because they have coevolved with the local soils, climate and biota. So where do nativars fit into this picture, and what are the differences within the nativar category? The different techniques and goals involved in producing nativars lead to differences in ecological functions, vigor, and the amount of genetic diversity between individuals of each nativar. Low genetic diversity in a population reduces the ability to respond to environmental changes and is thought to be a major cause of extinctions when they only occur in tiny habitat remnants, as is so common in much of Illinois. Open pollinated, ornamental nativars, such as Rudbeckia fulgida var. sullivantii Goldsturm is grown from plants found in a German garden from seed collected in the USA and delivered to the botanical garden of Graz University. While grown from seed, the original starts were collected with an eye to ornamental features, not to represent the full range of a wild population. So, even if you knew the provenance (wild origin of the seed) and lived nearby, three Goldsturm would be expected to have somewhat less genetic diversity than three straight natives. Simple clonal nativar selections are plucked from the wild when someone notices an attractive plant and puts it into vegetative propagation. Rudbeckia subtomentosa ‘Henry Eilers’ is a quilled petal form, from a start Henry collected in a now-degraded wet prairie swale. The unusual flower shape and good garden habits has made it a popular nativar in the horticultural trade. Interestingly, this may be the last plant surviving from this population. It has a full complement of the genetics of one plant (with an odd mutation) from Montgomery County, Illinois. However, clonal plants are virtually genetically identical and three Henry Eilers’ planted in your garden will have the genetic diversity of one plant. Hybrid nativars are the result of crossing two native species. It is very important that both parents are native. If one parent is non-native, it has overseas genetics, and all the concerns associated with non-native plants that have evolved significantly different anti-herbivory mechanisms and associations with microorganisms and animals. Some hybrids are naturally occurring. A most spectacular, natural hybrid is the cross between Great Blue Lobelia ( Lobelia siphilitica) and Cardinal Flower (L. cardinalis). Provenance is often a problem with hybrids, for you may have parent material from geographically distant areas and suppliers often are unaware of the origin of each parent. Also, hybrid features may result in features that pollinators are not well adapted to. Little direct genetic manipulation of native ornamental species has occurred to date. However, geneticists have begun adding genes to create new flower colors and alter characteristics of plants, such as resistance to disease and herbivory. These changes could have profound effects on the ability of genetically modified organisms (GMO’s) to function normally in the environment and they could spread their novel genetic material to other plants of the same species. This raises the potential for GMO’s to cause significant environmental impacts. The Wild Ones have decided that all non-native species and nativars are inappropriate in the landscape. These are complex issues and I encourage everyone to read the Wild Ones position paper on nativars (http://www.wildones.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Nativars-Statement.pdf ). I feel that the use of straight natives from local ecotypes similar to the planting location is ecologically best. I agree with Doug Tallamy who says that, at best, non-native plants are like placing photosynthetic statues in your yard. At worst, non-natives are like cluster bombs, being scattered across the landscape and exploding into ecosystems, destroying habitat for hundreds of species. As for nativars, they range from ecologically risky, such as nativars that are planted far from their origin, genetically modified or hybridized, to functionally subpar, such as open pollinated and simple clonal selections. Still, the decision whether to use them in your landscape is a personal decision. In a perfect world every natural division would have local nurseries, selling a broad selection of straight natives from local ecotypes. If we provide the demand, it will happen. I hope this helps you make your plant buying decisions thoughtfully. I encourage you to seek out local nurseries that carry native plants and encourage others local nurseries to do so. And ask about the provenance of the plants. If it can’t be provided, encourage the nursery to find out and make it part of their records. Floyd Catchpole has an AD in horticulture form The Ohio State University, a BS in botany from Eastern Illinois University and a MS in Biology from Kansas State University. He worked for 10 years in the horticultural trade before changing careers. He now works as the Land Management Program Coordinator at the Forest Preserve District of Will County and is a member of the Illinois Native Plant Society. The Illinois Invasive Species Awareness Month blog is continuing to host guest articles that tell die story of some of die great invasive species work underway in Illinois. Here is die latest guest article entry: http://ininoisisam.blo.gspot.eom/2014/01/.mest-article-soudiem-illinois .litml Written by Jennifer Belinken, Urban & Community Forester with the SIUC Community Forestry Outr each Progr am, diis ar ticle describes the different aspects of that program, including the work they do with invasive species. Plant This, Not That: New Jersey Natives Edition, Black Cherry. Prunus serotina , . vs Bradford Pear BY PAT SUTTON u/'UI'L ESI Wildlife GnknS Black Cherry, Prunus serotina , is a widespread native tree found throughout the East, from Quebec south to Florida, west to North Dakota and Arizona. Everything about Black Cherry ranks it as one of THE most important native trees for wildlife: (1) more birds feed on the fruits of this native tree than any other, (2) more butterflies and moths lay their eggs on this tree than any other tree, excepting the oaks, and (3) add to this mix its ornamental flower show in the spring, http:/ / nativeplantwildlifegarden.com/black-cheffy/ Winter freeze aids forest preserves 1 fight against invasive species Frozen ground lets workers take heavy equipment to more remote areas The bitter cold that has enveloped the Chicago area might not be everyone's favorite, but it's perfect weather for those who continue the fight against a host of invasive plants during the winter months. "This kind of freeze we're getting right now is what we dream about during the summer," said Chip O'Leary, the resource ecologist for the Cook County Forest Preserve District. "A lot of that work we do ... requires frozen conditions so we can get heavy equipment out without damaging the soil “ http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-12-26/news/ct-invasive-species-winter- met-20131226 1 invasive-species-invasive-plants-forest-preserves (Chicago tribune FOREST PRESERVES of Cook County Beauty is the Beast - Watch this four minute video about a true story of a small forest in upstate New York and how burning bush has escaped cultivation. httos ://www. voutube.com/watch ?v=puJIpQHHCZA IDOT has recently produced an excellent poster on teasel control. Let's help them locate infestations by either approximate mile marker, estimating to the l/10th mile or with GPS coordinates. Identify which highway and which side of the roadway and follow this link to send an email, http://www.dot. il.qov/Email/Email.asp?from=l ILLINOIS NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY Forest Glen Preserve 20301 E. 900 North Rood Westville, IL 61883 illinoisplants @ gmail.com www.ill-inps.org Dodecatheon frenchii French's Shooting Star 2014 Spring Harbinger - March 2014 Please become a member and support this local non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation, conservation, and study of the native plants and vegetation of Illinois!!! Join us! MrTMnJMiTM tsi/Dr.. Street City Phone Number Km ail n New member n Renewal n Ailtlrrss C‘h.ui|e «»nl\ State Membership Year Membership Categories □ Student .$13.00 □ Individual .$20.00 Q Famil) ik» catcp>r) i (30.00 Institutional lottetonnf i. $20.00 □ Support in r $30.00 2ip Q Patron .$55.00 □ Life $300.00 □< talhe* .1 *•„/«, receive new.le.ier.be »-!• Chapter Affiliation PLEASE MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO ILLINOIS NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY Forest den Preserve 20301 E 900 North Road Westville, IL 61883 □ c cntral (Springfield ) □ F ore it ( ilen t West vi lie) □ N orthej lit ( Chicago) □ S outlier n (Carbnnda le) □ Q and C ity (Rock Isl and □ Ir ene Ci all (Peoria) Unsure if your membership dues are up to date? Email inos . membership@Qmail . com or call Connie Cunningham at 217-516-1792