SPRING 2015 Vol. 32, No. 1 V% v Society The Harbinger Newsletter of the Illinois Native Plant Society “ ... dedicated to the preservation, conservation, and study of native plants and vegetation in Illinois. ” Hey, it’s spring and we can all go outdoors again where we will find Geum triflorum, which is one of the most beautiful spring plants. The two photos were provided by Chris Benda and the Prairie Moon Nursery. Also in this issue is a complete agenda and registration forms for the 2015 Annual Gathering (June 5-7 in Westville). Linda Curtis contributes an epic article on the Star Sedges and there’s tons of news from all over the state. See you at the Annual Gathering! Victor M. Cassidy, Editor In This Issue •INPS 2015 Annual Gathering ' •President’s message •Carex Corner: The Star Sedges •INPS Chapter News •Announcements •New and Returning Members •Central Chapter Native Plant Sale Governing Board President Chris Benda Past President Janine Catchpole President-Elect Paul Marcum Secretary Rachel Goad Treasurer Vicki Crosley Erigenia Editor Andy West Harbinger Editor Victor M. Cassidy Membership Connie Cunningham Webmaster Cassi Saari At-Large Board Tracy Evans Jean Sellar Jason Zylka Message from the President With the long awaited onset of spring, it is with great anticipation that I write these words. While plants are still mostly brown where I live in Palatine, I was able to photograph a nice clump of Bloodroot flowers on a recent trip to my other home near Carbondale. I’m sure you are all anxious to get outside and botanize, spend time in the garden, or enjoy your favorite natural area. What better way to enjoy the outdoors than with the Illinois Native Plant Society! Please see the information in this newsletter regarding the next state annual meeting, which we are now referring to as the “Annual Gathering.” The Forest Glen chapter will host this year’s event on June 5-7 at Forest Glen Preserve near Westville, Illinois. The INPS governing board is building on the productive strategic planning session facilitated by Dr. Brian Anderson just over one year ago. We produced a Biennial Report recently for the years 2013-2014 and while the financials are tight, we are looking to expand our reach in the state by reinstituting our grants program and creating more publications, in addition to carrying on all the other important work we do. In order to meet these objectives, we are considering a small increase in our membership dues, and this will be presented to the general membership at the Annual Gathering in June. Please think of the INPS when you talk with other residents in Illinois and beyond. Share this newsletter with them and direct them to our website, where online membership is now available. You will find several changes to our website too. The INPS is also pleased to offer native plants for sale. The southern chapter just partnered with Green Earth Inc. to hold a native plant sale at the 3 rd Illinois Indigenous Plants Symposium, and the central chapter is gearing up for their annual native plant sale later in April. Please see our website for more information on all of our chapters’ events: www.ill-inps.org . Additionally, we welcome two new chapters to the INPS ! The Grand Prairie chapter is located in the Bloomington/Normal area with Illinois State University Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Ecology Dr. Roger Anderson as President. The Kankakee Torrent chapter is located in the Kankakee/Bourbonnais area with Restoration Biologist Trevor Edmondson as their chapter President. Since beginning my role as INPS President, I must focus on other aspects of the oragization and I am very happy to announce that Victor Cassidy is now Editor of The Harbinger. Victor is a lover of the outdoors and has years of experience as a writer and editor. Lastly, I hope everyone is finding benefit in the listserv. This is a way to ask questions, share observations, or advertise events. Also, if you are on Facebook, check out the group Illinois Botany, which serves a similar function as the listserv. See you at the Annual Gathering! -INPS President Christopher David Benda 2 INPS CHAPTER NEWS NORTHEAST CHAPTER - Chicago Andy Olnas (President) 847-840-2634 northeast.inps@gmail.com QUAD CITIES CHAPTER - Rock Island Bo Dziadyk (President) 309-794-3436 bohdandziadvk@augustana.edu IRENE CULL CHAPTER - Peoria Mary Hartley (President) 309-995-3356 havwool@winco.net GRAND PRAIRIE CHAPTER - Bloomington/Normal Roger Anderson (President) rcander@illinoisstate.edu FOREST GLEN CHAPTER - Danville Connie Cunningham (President) 217-516-1792 connieicunningham@gmail.com KANKAKEE TORRENT CHAPTER- Bourbonnais Trevor Edmondson (President) trevoredmondson@gmail.com CENTRAL CHAPTER - Springfield Annette Chinuge (President) 217-483-5893 annette@avrosvstems.com SOUTHERN CHAPTER - Carbondale Chris Benda (President) 217-417-4145 southernillinoisplants@gmail.com Northeast Chapter (Chicago) In January, the Northeast Chapter met at the Chicago Botanical Garden where we toured the herbarium, green roof, and seed bank. Later that month, we helped educate and recruit new members into INPS at the biennial Wild Things conference. February’s meeting took us to the Morton Arboretum where we viewed the Plant Hunters exhibit and walked the grounds in search of Skunk Cabbage. Also at the February meeting, a new slate of officers was elected: Andy Olnas as President; Jason Zylka as Treasurer, and Christina Pierce as Secretary. In months to come, we will start a regular monthly newsletter and expand our social media outreach. Our next field trip will be to Trout Park Nature Preserver on Saturday, April 11. Many more field trips are in the works, so be sure to check our INPS chapter page and Facebook group often, www.facebook.com/illinoisnativeplantsocietvnortheastchapter . Quad Cities Chapter (Rock Island) First, congratulations to Tim Chambers on being elected as new secretary of the Q.C. chapter and thanks for his willingness to serve! For too long we have been short an officer or two and this will help out. Alec Schorg is transferring the secretary’s materials to Tim, and Alex will remain the chapter treasurer. This should better balance the officer’s jobs for future efforts. Our next meeting is set up and reserved for May 20 (7:00 p.m. at Singing Bird Lodge) when area meteorologist Roy Wolf will discuss climate change influences on natural ecosystems. We are promoting the Citizens to Preserve Black Hawk Park “Stroll through Spring” day on Saturday, Aril 25. Talented bird and plant people will lead small groups through Black Hawk State Historic Site to see spring flowers and birds. Irene Cull Chapter (Peoria) No current news to report. Forest Glen Chapter (Danville) The Forest Glen chapter is gearing up for the 2015 Annual Gathering! Look for more information on the following pages and register by visiting our website, www.ill-inps.org/index.php/events/annual-gathering . Central Chapter (Springfield) The Central chapter is hard at work planning our Annual Native Plant Sale, to be held on April 25 th . We had had a couple great programs this year, including an enlightening Introduction to Botanical Latin presentation by Dr.Steven Hill. View our past programs on our website at www.ill-inps.org/index.php/central-videos . Also check out the link to articles by Henry Eilers. In May on the 14 th we welcome INPS President Chris Benda who will speak about Natural Areas in Illinois. Saturday, May 2 nd , INPS members are invited to visit Ken Schaal’s prairie restoration. Starting with an introduction at his home (13197 E 13th Rd, Hillsboro, Illinois) at 9:30 AM, Ken plans to lead a tour through the area to see what’s blooming mid-spring on the prairie. 3 Southern Chapter (Carbondale) The Southern Chapter has a full schedule of programming for 2015! We sponsored the 3 rd Illinois Indigenous Plants Symposium and had our first-ever Native Plant Sale in March. In April we will welcome Dr. Kurt Neubig, the new Professor of Plant Biology at Southern Illinois University. He will talk about his research using DNA barcoding as better identification tools for floristic studies. Also in April, Chris Evans will be instructing a Wildflower Photography for Beginners workshop at Giant City State Park. In May, Chris Benda and Chris Evans will talk about their new publication Guide to Summer Wildflower Hikes in Southern Illinois. Also in May, Chris Benda will conduct a basic plant identification workshop at Giant City State Park. In June, we will host Kay Rippelmeyer, who will talk about her new book, The Civilian Conservation Corps in Southern Illinois. For more information, visit www.il-inps.org/index.php.southern-chapter Kankakee Torrent (Bourbonnais) Trevor Edmundson is President of this new chapter. At its first meeting, our newly- formed chapter had 24 people in attendance. Floyd Catchpole spoke about the Kankakee Torrent and there was great coverage in the Kankakee Herald. This month, Keith Nowakowski will speak about Native Plants in the Home Landscape at the next meeting on April 6 th . On April 7, 1:00 p.m., we host Wet and Wild Landscaping with Native Plants, by Michelle Pearion and Janine Catchpole at the Kankakee County Soil and Water Conservation District and on April 25, 1:00 p.m. there will be a Native Plant Walk at Camp Shaw Waw Nas See, led by Michelle Pearion, Resource Conservationist, Kankakee County Soil and Water Conservation District and INPS member. May 4, Janine Catchpole will speak about The Monarch Butterfly as a Gateway to Science in the Classroom and at Home and on June 6, Trevor Edmundson will present on Langham Island and the Kankakee Mallow (Iliamna remota). On May 8/9, there will be a Bio Blitz at Camp Shaw Waw Nas See. We are seeking more volunteers to help out or to provide programming. Contact Christine Cline at natureladv23@concast.net . We also have many workdays at Langham Island planned for the future, as well as a lecture by John Schwegman about the Kankakee Mallow on June 19/20. Follow us on Facebook for more details, www.facebook.com/kankakeetorrent . Welcome and Welcome Back (!) to New and Returning INPS Members At Large Stephanie Brown Bill Carter Central Dennis Campbell Thomas Clay Steve Dunbar Rebecca Fischer Debbie Fluegel George Lahr Gary Struebing Anthony Tate Janice Turner Forest Glen Elizabeth Bach Georgia Caraway Karen and Patrick Kane Julie and George Nieset Lynn Riley Grand Prairie M. Rebecca Anderson Ashley Hembrough Margaret Holowell Eric Jome Jim Simeone Northeast Jason Anagnostopoulos Julie Arvia Leslie Borns Tom Cicero Dave Coulter Marni Curtis Karen Glennemeier Sue Gorr Mark Kluge Stephen Linneman Daniel Lopez Lisa Mertz Barbara Mikulicz Laura Nowak Julia Olsen Will Overbeck Pizzo Native Plant Nursery Red Buffalo Nursery Barbara Rose Michael and Carol Sather Joy Schochet Jonathan Green Janice Sommer Pamela Wirtz Kankakee Torrent Kathryn Gorman Danni Hemphill Mary Lou Jordan Steve Lucero Dave Osborne Quad Cities Anne Remington Southern Susan Barry Jen Behnken Andrew Bleich David Bork Nicholas Flowers Kathryn Jenkel Cathy Jennings Chris Johnston Gail Kloepping Scott Martin Yvonne Martin Kurt Neubig Eric and Ann Stahlherber Illinois Native Plant Society 2015 Annual Gathering June 5-7, 2015 Forest Glen Preserve, Vermilion County 20301 E 900 North Rd, Westville, IL 61883 Location Join the Forest Glen Chapter of the Illinois Native Plant Society for a wonderful weekend in east-central Illinois! The 2015 Annual INPS Gathering will be centered out of the Gannett Center, Forest Glen Preserve, Vermilion County. The Preserve is located about 7 miles east of Westville, IL off County Highway 5. Link to the Preserve’s website: http://www.vccd.org/giforestglen.html Forest Glen Preserve is an 1800 acre site that is rated number three botanically in Illinois and consists of beech-maple and oak-hickory forest types. There are four registered Illinois Nature Preserves within the park ( Russell Duffin Woods, 200 acres; Forest Glen Seep, 1 1 acres; Howard's Hollow Seep, 30 acres), and Doris L. Westfall Prairie (40 acres). There is also a twenty-two acre savanna restoration area. Tent and RV camping are available on site, including shower facilities. Go to the VCCD website for more information or call their office at: (217) 662-2142. Hotels are available in nearby Danville, IL. Home: http ://w ww.vccd.org/ Fees: http ://w ww.vccd.org/fees.html COMING SOON: Registration will also be available online at http://www.ill-inps.org/ The Agenda Friday Evening, June 5 - Gannett Center, Forest Glen Preserve 6:00-8:00 pm Registration packets and Social hour Pick up your registration packets; enjoy a snack and socialize while listening to music provided by local musicians. Bring your own beverages. 5 Saturday, June 6 7:00 - 8:00 am 7:00 - 8:30 am 8:30 am 1:00 pm 4:00 pm 6:00 - 6:30 pm 6:30 - 7:30 pm. 7:30 - 8:30 pm 8:30 pm Gannett Center Pancake/Sausage Breakfast Pick up your registration packets if you didn’t Friday evening. Check in for your field trips and pick up your box lunch. Field trips depart. Afternoon Field trip departs INPS State Governing Board Meeting - all are welcome that wish to attend General INPS Membership Meeting Banquet - served buffet style with meat and vegetarian options. Speaker - Gary Wilford, Forest Glen Preserve Naturalist Topic: Biodiversity in Illinois: Living on the Edge Relax around the campfire Saturday Field Trips/Workshop - All day 1. Prairie Rarities and INHS/U of I Herbarium Tour |~2 Vz to 3 hour driving loop! - Trip led by Paul Marcum (1NHS, INPS) to see one of Illinois’ few endemics, the state endangered Sangamon phlox (Phlox pilosa ssp. sangamonensis). Sangamon phlox is limited to a narrow 25 mile corridor along the Sangamon River valley in Piatt and Champaign Counties. In addition, there will be a short stop along the way to tour the recently combined INHS/U of I herbaria as well as a potential side trip to visit Lodge Park, location of one of Illinois’ best spring wildflower displays. Trip limited to 8 people. 2. Nature Preserves of Kennukuk County Park [-30 minute drive l - Trip led by Dave Ketzner (INHS) and Rick Larimore (INHS, retired). Hike to Windfall Prairie (hill prairie) Nature Preserve, and Horseshoe Bottoms Nature Preserve. Level to steeply sloping terrain. Moderate difficulty. Trip limited to 15 people. 3. Middle Fork River National Scenic River Canoe Trip — f~30 minute drive l - Trip led by Chris Benda (INPS President) Experience a guided float down Illinois’ only designated National Scenic River while learning about the natural history of the landscape. Stops will include Windfall Prairie Nature Preserve to observe prairie, seep, and woodland plant species. One way float trip including drop-off and pick-up. Extra canoe rental charge applies. Trip limited to 15 people. 4. Fern Identification Workshop and Field Trip to Rocky Branch Nature Preserve \ 1 hour + 15 min drivel (Eric Ulaszek ) — The first hour or so will be a classroom session, focusing on aspects of fern structure and biology that are helpful for fern identification and understanding the ecology of ferns and fern allies. Afterwards (mid-morning), we will carpool (approximately 1 hour, 1 5 minutes) to Rocky Branch Nature Preserve, a bedrock ravine not far from the Wabash River, where we can see diverse habitats with ferns and their associates, including many mosses and liverworts. This site is a dedicated Illinois Nature Preserve; we will not collect any specimens. Although the site has some developed access, there are steep slopes and rocky stream beds to traverse. Yes, we will eat lunch in the field. Trip limited to 15 people. Saturday Field Trips/Workshop - Half day Morning Hike 5. Russell Puffin Woods and Doris Westfall Prairie Nature Preserve rLocall - Trip led by Connie Cunningham (INHS, INPS) to two local Illinois Nature Preserves, Russell Duffin Woods is a beech- maple/oak-hickory forest with rich floral diversity on steep ravines, portions of the trail run along the Vermilion River. Doris Westfall Prairie is one of two prairie restorations in Illinois that have qualified for Nature Preserve status. Easy to difficult terrain, mostly on trails. Trip limited to 15 people. Afternoon Hike 6. Willow Creek Trail \ 2 hour hike, Locall - Trip led by Gary Wilford, (FG Preserve Education Specialist) along the Willow Creek trail that incorporates a variety of habitats including the Howard’s Hollow Seep Nature Preserve. Easy to moderate terrain, mostly on trails. Trip limited to 15 people. 6 Sunday, June 7 - Gannett Center 7:30 - 8:30 am Continental Breakfast and Check in for your field trips 8:30 am All field trips depart - all trips are morning only 9:00 am Shiitake Mushroom talk and demonstration (Gannett Center) SUNDAY Field Trips 7. Phases of Restoration: Middle Fork Forest Preserve , Champaign County Forest Preserve District T35 minute drivel Trip led by Mike Daab (CCFPD) and Katie Smith (CCFPD ) - A guided tour of restoration efforts including planted prairies with an adjacent wetland and river corridor woodlands. Discussion will include planting techniques, seed source and management. Bonus stop will include Patton Woods, an outstanding dry mesic woodland under a frequent fire regime. These sites have no established trails through the sites, somewhat rugged hiking. 8. Orchid Hill Natural Heritage Landmark f —30 minute drivel - Trip led by Bob Szafoni (IDNR). Enjoy the rare chance to explore this Illinois natural area that is usually closed to the public (owned by Dynegy Corp). Home to seven different orchid species, Orchid Hill’s unique blend of eastern forest and Illinois prairie make this site a must see. Flat uplands with some steep ravines. No trails at the site, moderate difficulty. Trip limited to 12 people. 9. Tour of Central Illinois’ Best Prairie |~1 hour drivel - Trip led by James Ellis (INHS, GPF) and Paul Marcum (INHS, INPS). Visit three of central Illinois’ highest quality prairie remnants: Loda Cemetery Prairie NP, Prospect NP, and Pellsville cemetery prairie. Some of the best remaining examples of our once common prairie heritage. Easy terrain. Trip limited to 15 people. 10. Nature Preserves of Forest Glen Preserve, Vermilion County - Hike to some of the Illinois Nature Preserves located in the Forest Glen Preserve: Howard’s Hollow Seep, Doris Westfall Prairie, and if time allows, Russell Duffin Woods. Easy to moderate (Russell Duffin, moderate to difficult terrain), mostly on trails. Trip limited to 15 people. SUNDAY Talk and Demonstration 11. Growing Shiitake Mushrooms: VCCD Shiitake Mushroom Research Project. Jeremy Parish will give a presentation and demonstration of the processes used by Vermilion County Conservation District (VCCD) for growing and harvesting shiitake mushrooms. VCCD has been growing shiitake mushrooms since 1986. 7 Illinois Native Plant Society Forest Glen Chapter 2015 Annual Gathering & June 5-7 & Forest Glen Preserve ® Westville, IL Registration Deadline is May 25. Please fill out this form and return with payment. For Online Registration go to our website at: http://www.ill-inps.org/index.php/events/annual-gathering Name(s) Email: Phone: Address: City: State: Zip: Registration Fees include Friday social, field trips, box lunch, breakfasts, and banquet. Registration Type Rate/Person # ATTENDEES Sum INPS Member $60 Non-Member* $75 Student* $50 Optional Canoe rental (trip 4) Free if you bring your own $10 Optional T-shirt (check website for design ) $15 *Includes 2015 membership Total Enclosed Sangamon Phlox T-shirt Order Design to be determined Please circle size S M L XL XXL A Vegetarian option is available for Box lunch and Banquet. Check here for Vegetarian If you have any dietary restrictions or special needs, please indicate here We cannot guarantee that we can accommodate but we will do our best. Saturday Field Trip/ Workshop Options jST Choice 2 nd Choice 3 rd Choice 1 - Prairie Rarities 2 - Kennekuk County Park Nat Preserves 3 - Middle Fork Canoe Trip 4 - Fern Identification 5 - Russell Duffin / Doris Westfall* [AM] 6 - Willow Creek hike* [PM] * Half- day field trips (sign up for one or both as 1 st , 2 nd , or 3 rd choice) Sunday Field Trip/Workshop Options jST Choice 2 nd Choice 3 rd Choice 7 - Phases of Restoration 8 - Orchid Hill 9 - Central Illinois Prairies 10 - Forest Glen Nature Preserves 1 1- Shiitake Mushroom Demo Please make checks out to Illinois Native Plant Society and mail to INPS C/0 Connie Cunningham 1816 S. Oak Champaign, IL 61821 8 Carex Corner: The Star Sedges By Linda W. Curtis (Lindaeus) Walk the woodlands and you’ll likely see Carex rosea, Rose Star Sedge. Walk the wetland swamps and you may see C. radiata, Radiant Star Sedge. If you are wading the marshes, look for C. interior, Inland Star Sedge, but in bogs, look for C. echinata, Prickly Star Sedge. In fens and along the Lake Michigan coast you’ll find, C. sterilis , Fen Star Sedge. There is always a big HOWEVER, however. C. rosea (Figure 1) and C. radiata have similar culms with spaced starry spikes. These Star Sedge leafy clumps may grow in the same woods, but C. rosea grows higher, usually elevated on a hummocks or high ground nearer Quercus macrocarpa, Bur Oak, while C. radiata grows in a wet depressions between hummocks, often near Q. bicolor , Swamp White Oak. Figure As long as they grow where you expect them, fine. But sometimes they don’t. In general, C. rosea has thicker wiry culms near 2-3 mm thick while C. radiata s culms seems more like a stiff string about a millimeter thick. As for leaf width differences, C. rosea's widest leaves are 2 -3 mm while C. radiata has slightly narrower leaves less than 2 mm. Centimeter rulers are always in a lab, but in the field, you use what’s available. A nickel is 3 mm on its edge, and a dime is 2 mm. Roosevelt’s nose on a dime is 5 mm long. The best clues are in spring before the sacs are mature. Both have lanceoloid sacs, half flat, with two red stigmas but C. rosea s are often coiled and are shorter than their sac beak. Conversely, the wimpy stigmas of C. radiata are longer than the sac’s beak. Both of their sacs have smooth-backs but the inner faces have a textured base that is wrinkly on C. rosea (Figure 2) and groovy on C. radiata (Figure 3). Overall, C. radiata has larger sacs 3-4 mm long while C. rosea s are slightly smaller, only 2-3 mm, an eye-roller. Figure 3 Figure 2 9 Both Rose and Radiant Star Sedges have stamens in scales at the tips of their starry spikes. That’s quite different from the next two Star Sedges that have stamens at the base of the uppermost spike. C. interior (Figure 4) and C. echinata (Figure 5) have a cone-shaped base on their uppermost starry spike. The stamens emerged from the beneath the scales in spring, before the sacs were fully formed. Once the pollen was shed, the stamens wither away, and only a few filaments may remain. Figure 4 Figure 6 A seed head of C. sterilis (Figure 6) may have a separate male spike but more often has culms with variable seed heads with either all male spikes of only stamens on separate plants (hence: sterilis) or all female spikes of sacs only. Even more confusing, random sacs and stamens are sometimes present. There’s hope for identification to species by inspecting the shapes of mature sacs. C. interior ’s sacs are stout with a hunch in the shoulder below the short beak, (Figures 7 and 8) while C. sterilis has deltoid sacs that are heavy in the base, (Figures 9 and 10). C. echinata’s sacs are usually longer and svelt (Figures 11 and 12). With magnification, the sac’s beak length can be a clue as C. echinata s beaks are about a third to half as long as the body, while the beaks on C. interior ’s sacs are about a quarter to one third of the sac length. 10 I recently discovered C. echinata growing on a hummock on the floating mat around the center pond at Volo Bog State Park in Lake County, Illinois. Not far away was C. interior . Uh, oh. The mark of a professional is to know when to call in the expert. I sent culms with seed heads to Dr. Anton Reznicek, a caricologist at University of Michigan- Ann Arbor who confirmed it was C. echinata. Even though confirmed, and now vouchered as a specimen, most of the seed sacs (perigynia) were near 3 mm long in the overlapping size range of C. interior. It’s possible the two species had bred back in previous years and introgressed. Swink and Wilhelm mention such introgression in Plants of the Chicago Region (4 th ed. 1994). Their chosen common name for C. echinata was Large-fruited Star Sedge because the perigynia are usually a whopping 3-4.5 mm long while C. interior Is perigynia are only 2-3 mm long (Hipp 2008). Proportions matter, and C. echinata’s sacs are 1.8-3. 6 times as long as wide while C. interior ’s are 1-2 times l:w. So, if the sacs are more than 2x l:w, regardless of length, the specimen is most likely C. echinata. Not only is a good search image worth a thousand words, it also shortens the time spent pondering a key. The best Star Sedge for planting in a home garden is C. rosea as it thrives in part shade with other early woodland plants. More gardeners try woodland gardening that includes red trilliums, Jack-in-the-pulpits, Solomon’s Seal, among others. I can see it now. Ahhh. ~ Lindaeus www.curtistothethird.com Linda Curtis's humorous pseudonym Lindaeus, offers empathy for Linnaeus who first grouped the new worlds Carices. Lindaeus says, “The range of two similar species sac sizes will be the overlap size on any species you try to identify in the field." Linda Curtis is author of Woodland Carex of the Upper Midwest She can be reached at lcurtisbotanist@ameritech.net . ii ANNOUNCEMENTS Plants of Concern 2015 Plants of Concern Training Workshops are scheduled for Saturday, April 11 at Ryerson Woods, Riverwoods, Lake County and Sunday, April 26 at Shannon Bayou Center, Aroma Park, Kankakee County. Registration is required. Visit www.plantsofconcern.org for details. Spring Plant Monitoring at Openlands is scheduled for Tuesday, April 28; Wednesday, May 13; and Thursday, May 28. The terrain at Openlands is variable — and may not be for everyone. For details, contact abraum@ chicagobotanic . or g . Intense Botany Training The Institute of Botanical Training (IBT) will offer four professional plant identification workshops, each three to four days long, that will take place almost entirely in the field. Cost is $700 per workshop. Register online at www.botanytraining.com . Dates are: May 18-22 Ozarks Flora Rolla, MO. June 1-3 Grasses, Sedges, and Rushes St. Louis, MO June 29-July 2 Wetland Flora Des Moines, IA July 13-16 Wetland Flora Indianapolis, IN Two BioBlitzes INPS presents BioBlitz 2015 at Camp Shaw-waw-nas-see, Kankakee, IL from May 8 at 3 p.m. to May 9 at 3 p.m. Contact Cristine Cline (naturelady23 @comcast.net) to volunteer or donate money or supplies. The Wetlands Initiative presents Dixon Waterfowl Refuge BioBlitz 2015 from Saturday, June 13 to Sunday June 14, noon to noon. The 3,000-acre Sue & Wes Dixon Waterfowl Refuge at Hennepin and Hopper Lakes has ben under restoration since 2001 and contains an extremely rate seep wetland habitat which is a designated Illijnois Nature Preserve. For details, contact Vera Leopold vleopold@wetlands-initiative.org . Illinois River Watch The Illinois River Watch Network ( w w w. n grrec . org/Ri verwatch ) will have 11 training workshops, including both field and lab work, so citizen scientists can monitor Illinois streams. Registration is $50 for most workshops. Visit their website for more information. Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie There will be lectures, tours, and volunteer workdays throughout the summer at the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, Wilmington, IL. For details and to register, contact midewin rsvp@fs.fed.us or call 815-423-6370. The coordinator for volunteer activities is Allison Cisneros ( acisneros@fs.fed.us ). •Saturday, April 4 10 a.m. to Noon Cemetery Tour •Saturday, April 11 9:30 a.m. to Noon Geology of Midewin (Lecture and car caravan.) •Thursdays Year Round from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Restoration Volunteer Workdays. USDA Cooperative Emerald Ash Borer Project EAB County Detections Ueusnbei 31, 2014 CHECK FOR WEBSITE UPDATES TO PREVIEW SELECTIONl A diverse selection of native trees, shrubs, grasses, and perennials - many rare and of local provenance! ^CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED* 13 More details can be found at ill-inps.org/index.php/central-plant-sale or call 217-243-6055 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 2015 Spring Harbinger - April 2015 You can renew/join by filling out the form below or online at our website, www.ill-inps.orq/member 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! Mr./Mrs./Ms./M iss/Dr. PI New member □ Renewal ^ n Address Change only ““ □ n Street □ City State Zip — □ Phone Number Membership Year n Email if YOU need to receive newsletters b\ postal mail" □ □ □ □ □ □ Society □check here PLEASE MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO. ILLINOIS NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY Forest Glen Preserve 20301 E 900 North Road Westville, IL 61883 Membership Categories Student $1 3.00 Individual $20.00 Family (new category) $30.00 Institutional (nonvoting). $20.00 Supporting $30.00 Patron $55.00 Life $300.00 Chapter Affiliation Central (Springfield) Forest Glen (Westville) Northeast (Chicago) Southern (Carbondale) Quad City (Rock Island) Irene Cull (Peoria) Cm lil GO GREEN! If you are receiving a black and while 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@ginail.com to be added to our email distribution list. Please “like” us on facebook at www.facebook.com/illinoisplants .