THE TURK’S Volume 1 1 , Number 4 The Newsletter Of The Delaware Native Plant Society In This Issue Page 1 Natural Quotes New Members ■ DNPS Vision Page 2 Thoughts From The Edge... Gardening With Native Plants cont. Event Highlight Resources and Reviews Page 3 Feature Article Resources and Reviews Natural Quotes “Adversity draws men together and produces beauty and harmony in life's relationships, just as the cold of winter produces ice-flowers on the window-panes, which vanish with the warmth.” Soren Kierkegaard Page 4 Gardening With Native Plants Resources and Reviews Page 5 Website Highlight Resources and Reviews Page 6 Out Of The Wild & Into The Kitchen Page 7 Upcoming Events A Brisk, Refreshing Welcome To Our Newest Members October through December How Can I Get Involved? The Delaware Native Plant Society is open to everyone ranging from the novice gardener to the professional botanist. One of the primary goals of the society is to involve as many individuals as possible. The DNPS is working on some significant projects at this time. We have completed four refor- estation projects in the Prime Hook area, at Black- bird Creek in New Castle County and Cedar Creek in Sussex County where we have installed tree tubes around newly sprouted seedlings, and are perform- ing annual management of the sites. Help is also needed at our native plant nursery at the St. Jones Reserve with the monitoring and watering of plants along with many other nursery activities. For more information, visit our website at www.delawarenativeplants. org. Our very informa- tive, up-to-date website has all the contact information for the Society, along with a section on native plants, volunteering, and links to other environmental and plant related organizations. Barbara Busch Amy Dill Patrick Kelly (Anne Arundel Parks) Bert & Penny Long Jason & April Miller Marie Schwalbauch Carl Swanson The DNPS Vision T he purpose of the Delaware N ative Plant Society (DNPS) is to participate in and encourage the preservation, conservation, restoration, and propagation of Delaware’s native plants and plant communities. The Society provides information to government officials, business people, educators, and the general public on the protection, management, and restoration of native plant ecosystems. The DNPS encourages the use of native plants in the landscape by homeowners, businesses, and local and state governments through an on-going distribution of information and knowledge by various means that includes periodic publications, symposia, conferences, workshops, field trips, and a growing statewide membership organized by the DNPS. The Turk’s Cap, Volume 1 1 , Number 4 Page Thoughts From The Edge Of The Garden Website update Our website is just humming along and being as informative as can be. We are going to be doing some modifying and tweaking to it with the folks at Delaware.net (our website hosting and design firm) in the month of January. There are a few aspects of it that we want to change, such as removing the blog and add- ing a section on our Big Oak Park Adopt- A- Wetland site. Our original intention for the site was to be a repository for all the information that anyone would want to know about the Society, and being educational as well. It is well on its way to being just that, and with these changes it will be even better. Our site is at www.delawarenativeplants.org. See page 5 for more info. Event Highlight 2008 Annual native plant sale results Our 8th annual native plant sale was again a huge success thanks to everyone involved. We experi- enced a very mild, sunny day, and it was quite a contrast to the weather of past years. We had our 3rd best sale in history in terms of money, and our best ever in terms of available species. We did $1742.00 in pure plant sales, which yielded a “profit” for us of just under $950.00 (we bulked up our inventory with purchased plants this year a little more than in past years). Our annual plant sale is our only true fund raising event of the year and every little bit helps! We’d also like to thank everyone who came out and helped to label, price, haul plants, or brought food. You are all essential and greatly appreciated! C Here’s the results: # of \ Year 2006 2007 2008 Species available 69 70 90 Plants available 1046 1000 1235 Plants sold 976 393 603 Customers 72 72 70 Booklets sold 4 11 6 Checklists sold 2 0 0 Calendars sold na 6 1 Gardening With Native Plants Continued from page 4 LORE Native Americans squeezed the ripe fruits then dried and stored them for winter cooking. Women drank a concoction made from the root for menstrual pain and the thorns were used for needles and awls. Hawthorns in general are edible, but not particularly desirable. They may be used to make apple jelly or steeped to make tea. Because of its size, the immensely tough wood has no commercial value. However it is prized by craftsmen for its use in tool handles and other small items. Bob Edelen, DNPS Member USD A Plants Database Resources & Reviews Woody Plants in Winter Authored by Earl Lemley Core and Nelle P. Ammons. Now a classic text on the criteria for identifying trees and shrubs in winter as reliably as in other seasons of the year. Based on years of teaching, the authors present keys to recognize dormant woody plants by their buds and branches. The information details representative plants from habitats in the northeastern US and southeastern Canada. Illustrated with over 300 line drawings. The Turk’s Cap, Volume 1 1 , Number 4 Page Resources & Reviews A Guide to Wildflowers in Winter : Herbaceous Plants of Northeastern North America Authored by Carol Levine, and Dick Rauh. This guide is intended to help both amateur naturalists and serious field botanists to identify non-woody plants - herbaceous weeds and wildflowers - as they are found in winter in the northeastern United States and eastern Canada. Feature Article Mistletoe Along with the Christmas holly, laurel, rosemary, yews, boxwood bushes and, of course, the Christmas tree, mistletoe is an evergreen displayed during the Christmas season, and it has a very interesting story. Mistletoe ( Phoradendron leucarpum ) is an obligate stem hemiparasite. It cannot complete its life cycle without a host. The seeds are coated with a sticky material called viscin thruster (containing both cellulosic strands and mucopolysaccharides), which hardens and attaches the seed firmly to its future host of parasites. When one of the sticky berries comes into contact with the bark of a tree, typically with the help of a bird, and typically only on a stem or branch, it sends forth a modified thread-like root (haustorium), flattened at the extremity like the pro- boscis of a fly. This finally pierces the bark and roots itself firmly into the xylem, phloem, or both. The root ultimately becomes woody and thick and can often deform the branch it is growing in, but it will rarely kill the host. If the host dies, the Mistletoe dies. Hemiparasites may just obtain water and miner- al nutrients from the host plant, as many, such as Mistletoe, are photosynthetic. Many obtain at least part of their organic nutrients from the host as well. The word mistletoe is of uncertain etymolo- gy; it may be derived from the Anglo-Saxon words mist or mistel , for dung and tan or tang for twig or branch. Misteltan is the Old English version of mis- tletoe, but Old English mistel was also used for basil. One of the beliefs in the early centuries was that mistletoe grew from birds. People used to believe that, rather than just passing through birds in the form of seeds, the mistletoe plant was an inherent result of birds, particularly the mistel (or missel) thrush, landing in the branches of trees. Mistletoe is an evergreen shrub that has pointy, green, leathery leaves, with 2-10 waxy ber- ries that are either red or white and grow in clusters. The plant's flowers can be a wide variety of colors, from bright red to yellow to green. Some species have small insect-pollinated flowers, while others have large, showy, bird-pollinated flowers. There are myriad myths in ancient cultures about mistletoe, dating back to the eighth century and has been written about in numerous stories and fables. But in modern times, it is most well-known as a Christmas decoration which is traditionally to be hung in the arch of a doorway. According to a custom of Christmas cheer, any male and female that meet under a hanging of mistletoe are obliged to kiss. The origin of the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe is vague. However, the tradition may have stemmed from either the Viking association of the plant with Frigga (the goddess of love), or from the ancient belief that mistletoe was related to fertili- ty. Another explanation for the tradition is that it is derived from the festival of Saturnalia, a popular mid-December celebration in ancient Rome. Yet another explanation is that it was the plant of peace in Scandinavian antiquity. If enemies met by chance beneath it in a forest, they laid down their arms and maintained a truce until the next day. This ancient Scandinavian custom led to the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe. Mistletoe is also said to be a sexual symbol, because of the consistency and color of the berry juice as well as the belief that it is an aphrodisiac, the “soul” of the oak from which it grows. The correct mistletoe etiquette is for the man to remove one berry when he kisses a woman. When all the berries are gone, there's no more kissing per- mitted underneath that plant, but this bit of etiquette seems to have been lost in the joy of all that kissing. i The Turk’s Cap, Volume 1 1 , Number 4 Page Gardening With Native Plants COCKSPUR HAWTHORN (CRATAEGUS CRUS-GALLl) NATURAL HISTORY It's Sunday, December 21 st , the first day of winter and one of my very favorite days of the year. Beginning today, the days will be getting longer and nights shorter with the promise of a spring to come and the flowers, gardening, return of summer migrating birds and all else that makes spring such a special time of year. But, hold on just a minute, there’s still a harsh winter ahead and for the hardy birds and wildlife that choose to stay in Delaware and endure the winter months times will sure- ly get tougher. The bounty of fall with its nutritious and readily available seeds, berries, fat insects and abundant cover is but a memory, and local birds will have to subsist by foraging far and wide for what food and cover that remains. Fortunately, there remain a number of native trees and scrubs that maintain their fruit and provide cover into the late fall and early winter months. Among these are included the hawthorns, small trees with dense foliage for cover, sharp spines for protection and an abundance of bright red fruits for sustenance. Ones such haw- thorn is Crataegus crus-galli , or the Cockspur Hawthorn. The Cockspur Hawthorn is one of only two of the eight native Delaware hawthorns that are found in both the piedmont and coastal plain. It is widely distributed along fencerows, hillsides, thickets, old fields and both lowland and upland openings, throughout the eastern United States and Canada from Quebec south to North Carolina and west to Kansas. As you might guess from both its botanical and common names the thorns of the Cockspur Hawthorn are particularly formidable - crus , resembling a leg, galli, chicken; resembling a chicken leg, a reference to the thorns which may bring to mind the spur on a chicken's leg, hence Cockspur Hawthorn. The numerous thorns range in length from 1 .5 to 3 inches and occur all over the tree from trunk to branches to limbs. These thorns are actually abor- tive branches that develop from short shoots that sprout leaves. The shoots lose their leaves and become hardened woody thorns. But the thorns are not the only noteworthy characteristic of this valuable and highly propagated tree. The Cockspur Hawthorn is an excellent four-season accent ornamental tree! It is a small tree with dense well rounded branching, maturing at 15 feet tall by 20 feet wide and potentially reaching a height of 35 ft. under ideal conditions. In spring, white 2" wide inflores- cences blanket the tree. These dense clusters of somewhat mal- odorous flowers are a magnet to bees, butterflies, and other insects that are attracted by the nectar. The white hawthorn blossom is the Missouri State Flower. Flowering is followed by development of clusters of pendulous 0.5" round fruits that are produced in masses and provide excellent color making this a very attractive ornamental tree in early winter. These fruits provide a much needed meal for fox sparrows, cedar waxwings, wood ducks, wild turkeys, robins, bluebirds, thrushes, mocking- birds, thrashers, and other wintering birds and small mammals. The dense branching pattern and thicket forming habit of this hawthorn make it a particularly desirable nest and shelter tree for numerous species of birds. The Cockspur Hawthorn is also a larval host for Striped Hairstreak, Banded Hairstreak, Soapber- ry Hairstreak, Kings Hairstreak, and Gray Hairstreak butter- flies. Fall color is often a showy multicolored array of red, purple, orange, and yellow waxy leaves. The branches are arranged in a pleasing layered habit that combined with the large thorns create a picturesque winter silhouette. WHERE TO GROW Common and widespread, the Cockspur Hawthorn has been planted ornamentally and as a hedge since colonial times. It has an attractive, wide spreading plant habit, glossy dark green foliage, showy flowers and attractive fruit providing a distinct horizontal accent in the landscape. Its horizontal spreading growth habit and bold texture is very distinctive and architec- turally useful in the landscape, especially in winter. It may be planted as a focal point, specimen, deciduous screen, tall barrier hedge, seasonal accent, entranceway, group planting, and is excellent planted in a thicket as a winter wildlife shelter. The Cockspur Hawthorn grows well in full to partial sun and prefers a moist, well-drained soil. It is very urban tolerant, including adaptability to poor soils, various soil PHs, compacted soils, drought, heat, and winter salt spray. The Cockspur Hawthorn is not without some liabilities: The hawthorns are members of the rose family and as such pests and diseases may be a problem. Plants are susceptible to cedar hawthorn rust (rust stage where eastern red cedars are present in the area), and fire blight. Other potential diseases include fungal leaf spots, powdery mildew, cankers, apple scab, leaf blight and twig blight. Numerous thorns pose significant risks for young children and also make culture/pruning more difficult. If you are concerned about these potential problems, a cultivated thornless variety that is more disease resistant is available. PROPAGATION AND CARE Propagation of Crataegus crus-galli is not the easiest, but is possible from seed. This species has one of the thickest of seed coatings and requires an acid treatment for germination. A 2 to 3 hour or longer acid treatment followed by a variable warm and 3 to 4 month cold period has been proven successful. Seed may be sown in the fall without acid treatment but germination will be sparse and will require 2 to 3 years. Continued on page 2 Resources & Reviews Winter guide to woody plants of wetlands and their borders: Northeastern United States Authored by Ralph W. Tiner. This book is 91 pages long and published by the Institute for Wetland & Environmental Education & Research; Rev edition (2000). The Turk’s Cap, Volume 1 1 , Number 4 Page Resources & Reviews Wildflowers and Winter Weeds Authored by Lauren Brown. This book will be a joy to those wood-walkers and strollers who have been puz- zled by the skeletal remains of herbaceous plants that they see in winter. The home page of our website for those who have not seen it yet. blood root Sanguinaria canadensis DELAWARE Native Plant Society Events Nursery Publications O^k’ Volunteer Officers Oy Links Membership Plant Talk Blog fire pink Site ns virginica vO Welcome Welcome to the Delaware Native Plant Society. We are an entirely volunteer-baaed I organization and are now in our 10th year of operations. The Society was created on IB March 1&9B and to celebrate our 10th year, we have this brand new, shiny website. Plus, we plan on having some great field trips this year and a 1 0 year celebration at our annual meeting. We encourage you to browse around the site, join the Society, attend some meetings, and then get involved m one of only a handful of organizations in the Mid-Atlantic region that is dedicated to improving the natural habitats of Delav are. and your own backyard, through the use of native plants. Announcements View Bi-monthly meeting on Jan 20th at our Results of ourSth annual native plant sale Our Sth annual native plant sale was a a. .. read men Delaware Native Plant Society P.O. Box 369 Dover, DE 19903 Home i About i Contact On January 7th, Eric Zuelke had a meeting with the folks at Delaware.net and we have purchased a new feature for our website. It’s called Content Management Services and is produced by a company called Team-Logic. The product is a web-based tool that will allow our Webmaster (Eric) to update the website using website editing widgets, wizards, and modules. This method is much, much easier than our current method which is ftp access through Dreamweaver (website creation software). We also purchased an email product called Email-Logic produced by the same company. This will allow us to send out html-based emails with our logo in it, it will also allow us to organize the membership list by anniversary date. So, in the future be on the look out for much fancier emails from us, and when your renewal time comes up, a custom email will be sent to you with the renewal form attached as an Adobe Acrobat PDF file. We are asking that everyone update their email with us so we can have the most recent one for you. If you need to update that information, please write to Eric at ezuelke@juno.com. The Turk’s Cap, Volume 1 1 , Number 4 Out Of The Wild & Into The Kitchen Page At the suggestion of Quentin Schlieder (our part-time Events Coordinator), here are some great recipes using garlic mustard (. Alliaria petiolata). These came from cooks who submitted recipes to the website of the Mid- Atlantic Exotic Pest Plant Council (http://www.ma-eppc.org/index.html). Garlic mustard is a scourge in Delaware, especially in New Castle County, and the best time to pull the entire plant up is definitely before it seeds out, but an even better time is just before it flowers. APPETIZERS Garlic Mustard Ricotta Dip Submitted by Lucy McLean, Garlic Mustard Cook’s Challenge 2001 l A cup chopped garlic mustard 3 A cup non-fat ricotta cheese l A cup non-fat mayonnaise McCormick’s steak seasoning White wine Worcester sauce Salt Fresh ground pepper Mix all ingredients together. Adjust seasonings to taste. Serve with French bread, crackers, chips or fresh cut vegetables for dipping. Garlic Mustard Salsa Submitted by Cam MacLachlan 2 cups finely chopped tomatoes 1 cup finely chopped green pepper Vi cup finely chopped onion 1 to 2 jalapenos seeded and minced 1 small green chili, seeded and minced 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 tablespoon minced garlic mustard or to taste Salt to taste (optional) Combine ingredients in a bowl, cover, and chill. For more intense flavor, chop garlic mustard ahead of time and let stand for several hours or overnight. Stuffed Garlic Mustard Leaves Submitted by Alex Streat, The Garlic Mustard Cook’s Challenge 2001 20 medium garlic mustard leaves, washed and dried on paper towels 5 wooden spoonfuls of cooked sausage 4 wooden spoonfuls of cooked rice 2 Tbsp chopped garlic mustard leaves 1 Tbsp lemon juice Mix rice and sausage and stir well. Add chopped leaves and lemon and toss. Put a teaspoon of this mix on a medium leaf of garlic mustard. Hold leaf together with a toothpick. Serve on a plate. The Turk’s Cap, Volume 1 1 , Number 4 Page Upcoming Events Saturday, 17 January 2009 — Delaware chapter of the Sierra Club Environmental Summit. From — ■ 8:30 AM to Noon at Wilmington University in Dover, DE. Directions at http://www.wilmu.edu/ ~ DOVER/DIRECTIONS. AS PX, AND MORE INFORMATION AT POLITICS@DELAWARE.SIERRACLUB.ORG. — nw m p ■J'.w Tuesday, 20 January 200 — Delaware Native Plant Society Bi-Monthly Meeting. This meeting will ' be at our Sussex County meeting location. See below for location details, and on our website. ~ Tuesday, 27 January 200 — Maryland Native Plant Society Monthly Meeting. This meeting’s topic - _ will be Winter Fruits, Berries, Seeds, and Pods. Starting at 7:30 PM. Native trees, shrubs, and FORBS PROVIDE AN ABUNDANCE OF FRUITS, BERRIES, AND SEEDS THAT SUPPORT A WIDE VARIETY OF WILDLIFE ~ THROUGHOUT THE WINTER MONTHS. BOTANY COMMITTEE MEMBERS WILL GIVE A PRESENTATION ON THE ~ ~ WEALTH OF NATIVE PLANTS THROUGHOUT THE STATE THAT PRODUCE FRUITS, BERRIES, AND SEEDS THAT LAST — „ INTO WINTER. MORE INFORMATION ON THE WEB AT http://WWW.MDFLORA.ORG. _ Saturday, 14 February 2009 — Delaware Native Plant Society field trip to Middle Run Natural “ Area and the Judge Morris portion of White Clay Creek State Park. We will be doing a 5 -mile — - ’ LOOP THROUGH THESE BEAUTIFUL FORESTS. WE MEET AT THE PARKING AREA AT MIDDLE RUN AT 10 AM. BRING — - „ LUNCH AND WATER, DRESS WARM AND WEAR STURDY BOOTS. WE WILL BE HIKING THROUGH EARLY TO MID- SUCCESSIONAL HABITATS, AS WELL AS MATURE WOODLANDS. BE PREPARED FOR HILLS AND SLOPES. PLEASE REGISTER WITH BILL McAVOY AT WlLLIAM.MCAVOY@STATE.DE.US PRIOR TO FEB. 14, NO SIZE LIMIT. — Thursday, 19 February 2009 — Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve presents its 9th Annual Fand — Ethics Symposium: Creative Approaches for Ecological Fandscaping from 8 AM to 4 PM. The Symposium will be held at the Sheraton Bucks County Hotel in Fanghorne, Pennsylvania. Registration deadline is 9 Feb 2009. For more information call 215. 862.2924 , or on the web at http:// “ WWW.BHWP.ORG. “ _ Tuesday, 24 February 2009— Maryland Native Plant Society Monthly Meeting. This meeting’s _____ topic will be Winter evergreens. Starting at 7:30 PM. Join members of the Botany Committee for a PRESENTATION ON NATIVE EVERGREEN PLANTS FOUND THROUGHOUT MARYLAND, INCLUDING PINES AND OTHER “ GYMNOSPERMS, HOLLIES, BAYBERRIES, AND OTHER SHRUBS, GROUNDCOVERS AND CLUBMOSSES, AND NUMEROUS — _ others. Some historical evergreens will also be included. More information on the web at http:// _ WWW.MDFLORA.ORG. ' ’ Winter and Spring 2009 — Continuing education at Mt. Cuba Center. This non-profit organization — HAS A FANTASTIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT. THEY OFFER DOZENS OF CLASSES AND SYMPOSIA THROUGHOUT THE _ YEAR. FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL 302.239.4244, OR ON THE WEB AT HTTP ://WWW.MTCUB ACENTER.ORG. „ DNPS Bi-monthly meetings for 2009 — are currently scheduled for 20 January, 17 March, 19 May, r “ 21 July, 15 September, 1 November (not a meeting, but the annual plant sale) and 17 November. All — MEETINGS ARE ON THE THIRD TUESDAY OF EVERY OTHER MONTH AT 7 PM, UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED. THE — _ MEETING WILL BE HELD IN 3 LOCATIONS AROUND THE STATE. THE KENT COUNTY LOCATION IS AT THE ST. JONES _ Reserve, the New Castle County location is at the New Castle County Conservation 'District office at 2430 Old County Rd., Newark, DE, 19702, and the Sussex County location is at ~ ' the Redden State Forest Education Center at 1 8074 Redden Forest Dr., Georgetown, DE, 19947. See our website for maps and directions to each meeting location. See out website _ _ (WWW.DELAWARENATIVEPLANTS.ORG) FOR MORE DETAILS, AND FOR DETAILS ON UPCOMING FIELD TRIPS. The Turk’s Cap, Volume 1 1 , Number 4 Page Membership Application g L ». ». ». ». _ , Member Information Delaware native Plant Society Name: Business Name or Organization: Address: City and Zip Code: Telephone (home/work): E-mail address: " Full-time Student $10.00 " Individual $15.00 " Family or Household $18.00 " Contributing $50.00 " Business $100.00 " Lifetime $500.00 " Donations are also welcome $_ Membership benefits include: * The DNPS quarterly newsletter, The Turk’s Cap * Native plant gardening and landscaping information * Speakers, field trips, native plant nursery and sales Total Amount Enclosed: $ Make check payable to: DE Native Plant Society P.O. Box 369, Dover, DE 19903 Delaware Native Plant Society P.O. Box 369 Dover, Delaware 19903 Complimentary Copy