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Long Island 
Botanical Society 


Vol. 25 No. 3 


The Quarterly Newsletter 


Summer 2015 


Report on LIBS’ Participation in Historic Research Conference 

By Margaret Conover and Sue Avery 
Long Island Botanical Society Members 


We recently had the 
opportunity to attend the 
New England Botanical 
Club’s 120th Anniversary 
Research Conference as official 
representatives of the Long 
Island Botanical Society, and we 
wanted to share our experience 
with LIBS members. 

The conference, held from 
June 5-7, 2015 on the 
Smith College Campus in 
Northampton, Massachusetts, 
was attended by about 155 
botanists representing many of 
the 31 invited botanical organizations. The weekend included 
a networking reception, 21 talks and 16 posters on original 
botanical research, a selection of field trips, and a roundtable 
discussion on ensuring the future of botanical organizations. 
A more complete description of the conference can be found 
on the New England Botanical Club website: http://www. 
rhodora.org/ conference20 15 / . 

We arrived early Friday afternoon in order to visit the 
herbarium and greenhouses of the University of Massachusetts 
in nearby Amherst. Margaret was happy to verify that after 
35 years, many of the plants she collected in Australia and 
Malaysia have survived in cultivation there, although none of 
her botany professors persist. 

At the Friday evening reception, held in the Smith College 
Greenhouses, we met up with Joanne Schlegel of the Niagara 
Frontier Botanical Society. Some LIBS members will 
remember Joanne from LIBS’ anniversary field trip to Florida 
in 2011, and will be happy to learn that she will also join 
our anniversary field trip next year. Following the reception 
and houseplant give-away, we enjoyed a dining adventure with 
some new Canadian friends from the North American Native 
Plant Society (www.nanps.org) . 


On Saturday there was a 
packed program of talks on a 
wide range of topics covering 
regional floras, vascular plant 
and fungal ecology, plant 
adaptations to stress and 
climate change, herbarium 
collections and paleobotany. 
Abstracts and videos of oral 
presentations are available on 
the conference website http:// 
tinyurl.com/ o47vb4g . Jesse 
Bellemare (Smith College) 
spoke on the naturalization 
of Magnolia tripetala in the 
context of climate change, 
including fieldwork conducted on Long Island. Emily Marsh 
(a student at Lyndon State College, VT) spoke on the impact 
of invasive honeysuckle removal on black-legged tick density 
in an exurban residential setting. LIBS member Richard Stalter 
presented results of his and Eric Lamont’s survey of the vascular 
plant diversity of the Monomoy Islands, Massachusetts. 
Barbara Thiers (NYBG) spoke about the digitization of 
the New York Botanical Garden Herbarium. David Werier 
(LIBS member) raised our awareness and knowledge about a 
highly invasive grass Brachypodium sylvaticum. James Mickley 
(UConn — formerly Stony Brook) presented a poster on flower 
development in Phlox species. C. John Burk (Smith College) 
reported on a study comparing marsh floras from the River Elbe 
with those of the Connecticut River along the freshwater-to 
-saltwater gradient. Perhaps the most extraordinary presentation 
was on the first North American record of a particular species 
of Laboulbeniales, an ectoparasitic fungus on the American 
cockroach, by Danny Haelewaters (Harvard). 

LIBS was among several botanical societies that exhibited 
at the poster session. We also distributed back issues of the 
newsletter, which was well received. Our poster (Fig. 1) 
highlights LIBS’ history and accomplishments, and although 

( Continued on page 19) 




Page 18 


Long Island Botanical Society Vol. 25 No. 3 


Long Island 
Botanical Society 

Founded: 1986 • Incorporated: 1989 

The Long Island Botanical Society is dedicated 
to the promotion of field botany and a 
greater understanding of the plants that 
grow wild on Long Island, New York. 

Visit the Society’s Web site 

www.libotanical.org 

Executive Board 

President 

Eric Lamont 631-722-5542 
elamont@optonline. net 
Vice President 

Andrew Greller agreller2@optonline.net 
Treasurer 

Carol Johnston 

j ohnfj ohnston2 @optonline. net 
Recording Secretary 

Barbara Conolly bconolly@optonline.net 
Corresponding Secretary 
Rich Kellyvze2dxmil@verizon.net 

Committee Chairpersons 

Flora 

Eric Lamont elamont@optonline.net 
Andrew Greller agreller2@optonline.net 
Field Trips 

Allan Lindberg ajlindberg@optonline.net 
Programs 

Rich Kelly vze2dxmil@verizon.net 
Membership 

Lois Lindberg lalindberg3@optonline.net 
Conservation 

Bill Titus btitus@optonline.net 
John Turner redknot2@verizon.net 
Education 

MaryLaura Lamont 
woodpink59@gmail.com 

Hospitality 

Kathleen Gaffney kg73@cornell.edu 
Dorothy Titus btitus@optonline.net 
Newsletter Editor 

Margaret Conover 
margaret. conover@gmail. com 

with special thanks to 
Skip & Jane Blanchard 
Webmaster 

Donald House libsweb@yahoo.com 


Society News 

LIBS Volunteers Needed: Save The Orchids. Since 1996, LIBS has been 
partnering with Quogue Wildlife Refuge and other groups to manage 
populations of white- fringed orchid ( Platanthera blephariglottis) , rose 
pogonia {Pogonia ophioglossoides ), and associated marsh species including 
carnivorous plants. This year, LIBS will host two trips to the refuge. The 
first trip will occur when the white-fringed orchid blooms (end of July or 
early Aug 2015). The second trip will occur sometime after the first frost, 
perhaps in December, and will involve work clearing woody vegetation from 
the marsh. If you are interested in volunteering to help save the orchids 
please contact Eric Lamont (elamont@optonline.net) . 

Sold Out. In 2010, LIBS and the Torrey Botanical Society published “ Tidal 
Marshes of Long Island, New York ” edited by LIBS member John Potente. 
The last copy (of 550 originally printed) was officially sold in May 2015. 
Both societies are pleased with all aspects of this collaboration. 


LIBS Speakers’ Registry 

A registry of LIBS members willing to present a talk or lead a field 
trip for garden clubs, libraries, and other groups is posted on our 
website at http://www.libotanical.ora/speakers.html 

Members who wish to participate should contact 
Donald House at libsweb@vahoo.com . 


Eric Lamont reports on the condition of the last known colony of Platanthera 
ciliaris (yellow fringed orchid) in New York State. The population, along 
Barnes Hole Road in East Hampton Township, is down to about a half 
dozen individuals with one flowering in 2014. 

Invasive Species Awareness Week is July 12-18 - Steve Young, Coordinator 
of Long Island Invasive Species Management Area (LIISMA) urges us to 
consider volunteer opportunities posted at http://www.liisma.org 

Chuck O’Neill reports that in the past two years, the invasive species 
management structure envisioned by the New York State Invasive Species 
Task Force in 2005 has been fully realized. More information may be found 
at http://www.nyis.info/ 

John Turner reports on progress toward permanent protection of Plum 
Island. Congressman Zeldin has followed in Tim Bishop’s footsteps and has 
introduced federal legislation to stop the sale of Plum Island to a private 
bidder. There is more information about this at the Preserve Plum Island 
Coalition’s website http://preserveplumisland.org/ 

SAVE THE DATE: 

• Long Island Native Plant Initiative (LINPI) will host its 3rd Native Plant 
Symposium on October 24, 2015 at Farmingdale University. 

• The New York Botanical Garden will host the Lower Hudson Partnership 
for Regional Invasive Species Management’s “Invasive Species Summit: 
Challenges, Strategies, and Perspectives” on November 6, 2015 

(Society News continued on page 23) 




Long Island Botanical Society Vol. 25 No. 3 


Page 19 


( Report on LIBS’ Research continued from cover) 

we created it especially for this conference, we will certainly 
exhibit it at various Long Island events. The content of the 
poster is printed here, in abridged form, on pages 21 and 
22 and can be reprinted and distributed as a membership 
recruitment flyer. 

Plant societies from throughout the Northeast were represented 
at the Sunday morning roundtable, which was held at Smith 
Colleges MacLeish Field Station. Fourteen participants 
represented these ten organizations: Botanical Society of 
America, Connecticut Botanical Society, Finger Lakes Native 
Plant Society, Long Island Botanical Society, New England 
Botanical Club, New England Wildflower Society, New York 
Flora Association, Southern Appalachian Botanical Society, 
Torrey Botanical Society, and the Vermont Botanical and 
Bird Club. The main focus of discussion was on networking 
and collaboration to ensure the survival of plant societies and 
how they can play a role in nurturing young plant scientists. 
We learned that we share many of the same challenges and 
opportunities and agreed that we would try to meet together 
again, perhaps at the 2016 Northeast Natural History 
Conference. 



Figure 2. A large, quite 
striking example of a shelf 
mushroom ( Ganoderma 
sp?) admired by Danny 
Haelewaters who is the 
mycologist who reported on 
the cockroach ectoparasite. 



The botanical foray that followed (Fig. 2) took us on a trail 
through the 240-acre property attached to the field station. 
We saw a striking example of black birch succession following 
eastern hemlock dieback, and Michelle Jackson (a student at 
Smith) showed us her field study work, which was the subject 
of her talk on the decline of the hemlock- associated liverwort, 
Bazzania trilobata. 


North 


On 17 June 2015, a meeting of 
the North Fork Preserve (NFP) 
Suffolk County Park Advisory 
Committee was convened. 
The meeting was held at the 
Riverhead office of Suffolk 
County Fegislator A1 Krupski. 
Kevin Jennings, biologist for NYS 
Department of Environmental 
Conservation (DEC), and Eric 
Lamont, president of LIBS, 
were the invited speakers and 
they presented a map showing 
the recently (2013 and 2014) 
mapped freshwater wetlands in 
the park. 

North Fork Preserve County 
Park is located in the hamlet 
of Northville in the Township 
of Riverhead. Over the past 
two years, DEC has funded the 
mapping of extensive wetlands 
at NFP, and additional wetlands 
in the nearby vicinity (on the 
Mattituck USGS Quadrangle 


Fork Preserve County Park Threatened 
with Excessive Development 

Eric Lamont, LIBS President 



Figure 1. “Paddleboat Pond” at North Fork Preserve County Park. 
Suffolk County plans to develop this pond for active recreational use 
including paddle boats. The extensive blanket of lush green plants 
covering much of the pond bottom is a native bur-reed ( Sparganium 
sp.). A 2014 LIBS field trip to the pond revealed it was bone dry on 
October 18 th and vegetated with a rich diversity of sedges, rushes, and 
flowering herbs including wool-grass ( Scirpuscyperinus ), dense stands 
of spike-rush ( Eleocharis spp.), several species of Carex, Canada rush 
(Juncus canadensis), soft rush ( Juncus effusus), bur-reed, and water- 
primrose ( Ludwigia palustris), among other species. Approximate size 
of the pond is 4.5 acres. [Photo by E. Lamont, June 20, 2015.] 


Map) also will be mapped if 
identified. Kevin explained that 
the vast majority of wetlands 
at NFP had not been mapped 
when the DEC last inventoried 
the area in 1993, but the 
regulatory process is now “in 
progress” for these wetlands. 

Eric spoke of Long Swamp 
which flows through more than 
20 acres of the southernmost 
portion of NFP, and explained 
it has been locally known 
by that name for more than 
a century. Eric referred to 
accounts of Long Swamp from 
Roy Latham’s unpublished 
journal. The headwaters of 
Long Swamp lie just to the 
east of NFP on the north side 
of Sound Avenue. Water flows 
from east to west and increases 
in volume as more and more 
water enters the swamp from 
streams flowing down from the 


( Continued on next page ) 


Page 20 


Long Island Botanical Society Vol. 25 No. 3 


(North Fork Preserve continued from page 19) 

Harbor Hill Moraine. Currently, Long Swamp is not officially 
regulated by the DEC and Kevin reminded the committee 
that the process takes time. Eric also presented the results 
of the 2013 study of NFP’s rare ecological communities by 
ecologist Greg Edinger of NY Natural Heritage Program (see 
LIBS Newsletter (2014), vol. 24, p. 10). 

Nick Gibbons, Environmental Analyst for Suffolk County 
Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation, stated 
that because the NFP wetlands are not currently regulated by 
the DEC the County is proceeding with plans to develop Long 
Swamp into parking areas, picnic areas, and activity fields, and 
other wetlands will be developed into playgrounds, basketball 
and tennis courts, and an interactive spray park. One large 
pond in the southeastern portion of the park (Fig. 1) will be 
developed for paddle boats and another to the southwest will 
have a fishing platform constructed on its shoreline. 


12 months and other years they are dry for 12 months. Some 
years the ponds are full in the spring and dry in summer; 
other years they are dry in spring and full in summer. Many 
ecologists now use the term “intermittent pond” rather than 
“vernal pond” when classifying this ecosystem. Historically, 
Long Swamp has periodically overflowed and flooded 
surrounding land and roadways (Fig. 2). 

Representatives from several other environmental groups 
attended the meeting, including Eastern Long Island 
Audubon Society, Group for the East End, and North Fork 
Environmental Council. John Turner, co-chair of the LIBS 
Conservation Committee, suggested to the NFP Advisory 
Committee that the County first conduct a comprehensive 
biological/ecological inventory, along the lines of what is now 
occurring at Plum Island, prior to any decisions regarding the 
various elements of an active park. Mary Laura Lamont, chair 
of the LIBS Education Committee, asked if the County could 
legally fill in Long Swamp and other freshwater wetlands. Nick 

Gibbons replied “yes” 
because the wetlands 
are not currently 
regulated by the DEC. 
Byron Young, president 
of Eastern Long Island 
Audubon Society, asked 
how long it would take 
the County to start 
implementing these 
development plans and 
the reply was four to 
five years. 


Suffolk County 
officials appear unaware 
that these ponds 
(“Paddleboat Pond” in 
particular) periodically 
dry up and the mucky 
substrate becomes 
blanketed with a 
dense cover of native 
vegetation (Fig. 1). 
Some years the ponds 
are filled with water for 



Figure 2. Northville’s Long Swamp went on a rampage in January, 1979, flooding the 
road near Vernon Wells’ house. After a similar flood in March, 1912, the Riverhead News 
reported, “It has been many years since the swamp has had such an outing.” [Image 
and caption provided by Richard Wines, from an exhibit at Hallockville Museum Farm], 




ELAINE JACOBSON 

While re-reading 
the Summer 2011 
Newsletter which 
featured the LIBS 
25th Anniversary 
Trip to Florida 
(March 30-April 8, 
2011), I was struck 
by how much Elaine 
Jacobson added to the enjoyment of our trip. Elaine, my friend 
and neighbor in Sanibel Island, Florida was the “Energizer 
Bunny” who saw to it that every detail was attended to and 
everybody was happy. A peak moment of the trip was when 
Elaine discovered the long-sought rare mint, Ashe’s calamint, 
(Calamintha ashei) all by herself behind the Holiday Inn at 
Sebring. She was so thrilled that she burst into tears! We later 
learned that it was her birthday as well! Not long ago she told 
me that the LIBS trip was the highlight of her life. 


Elaine and I met on a “Weeds N Seeds” walk a good many 
years ago. She dove headfirst into botany - what people 
couldn’t tell her, she researched on the web and learned from 
her microscope. She led nature walks, kept lists, did inventories 
and ran the eight Audubon lectures every year on Sanibel. 
These were enthusiastically attended by as many as 300 people 
every Thursday night in January and February and the speakers 
were preceded by delightful slide shows put together by her 
husband Jake. 

Last February 17th she was suddenly diagnosed with cancer of 
the lung, brain and liver. Despite her illness throughout this 
winter, she put together the Audubon program for next year. 
In late April, she and Jake were able to drive up to their home 
in New Hampshire. After a valiant struggle against enormous 
odds, Elaine died in a hospital in Peterborough, N.H. last 
Friday July 10th. 

B arbor a/ H. ConoUy 




Page 21 


Long Island Botanical Society Vol. 25 No. 3 



LONG ISLAND BOTANICAL SOCIETY 

Dedicated to the promotion of field botany and a greater understanding 
of the plants that grow wild on Long Island, New York 


Long Island, New York is an island 118 miles long and 23 
miles wide at its greatest width. With a land area of 1,401 
square miles, it is larger than the state of Rhode Island. 



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Long Island is one of the most densely populated regions 
in the United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, 
the total population of all four counties of Long Island was 
7,568,304. Western Long Island includes two boroughs of 
New York City. The two eastern counties of Long Island 
are home to over 2.8 million residents; population density 
averages over 2,000 residents per square mile. If it were a 
U.S. state, Long Island would rank 13th in population and 
first in population density. 

Today, nearly two-thirds of Long Island’s land surface is 
covered with buildings, pavement or other man-made 
structures. It is virtually guaranteed that Long Island will not 
meet its goal to preserve 10% of the Island’s land mass as 
open space and farmland by 2016. 


PfME 



Meetings 

LIBS holds monthly evening meetings eight times a year, 
alternating between locations in the two eastern Long Island 
counties. Invited speakers have presented programs on a 
variety of natural history topics such as “Novel Ecosystems” by 
Marilyn Jordan, “An Ecologist Visits New Caledonia” by 
Andy Greller, “Bat Pollination Studies in Costa Rica” by 
Maria Brown, “Long Island Lichens: From Distant Past To 
Uncertain Future” by James Lendemer, “Tropical American 
Botany Overview” by Eric Morgan, “The Urban Oasis: 
Queens Botanical Garden” by Shari Romar, and “Interesting 
Plants from Around the World” by Mike Feder. An annual 
barbecue is held each year in June. Attendance at meetings has 
remained strong over the years. 


WEBSITE: LIBS’ website, www.libotanicaI.org 
includes notices of programs, field trips, and frequently 
updated information about society activities. Back 
issues of the newsletter are archived and available to all. 



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Long Island is formed largely of two spines of 
glacial moraine, with a large, sandy outwash plain 
beyond. These moraines consist of gravel and loose 
rock left behind during the two most recent pulses 
of Wisconsin glaciation. Long Island ecosystems 
include beaches, salt marshes, oak forests and 
pine barrens as well as remnants of two globally 
rare ecosystems: a prairie grassland known as the 
Hempstead Plains and an area of dwarf pitch pines 
within the pine barrens known locally as the Dwarf 
Pine Plains. 

Map of Long Island Ecosystems 
(John Cryan) 




Page 22 


Long Island Botanical Society Vol. 25 No. 3 


Publications 

Tidal Marshes of Long Island, New York 

In cooperation with the Torrey Botanical Society, LIBS 
published Memoirs of the Torrey Botanical Society Volume 
26: Tidal Marshes of Long Island, New York. This publication 
presents the most current research on the tidal marshes of 
Long Island, New York, by the region’s leading scientists and 
environmental law experts 

Atlas of the Vascular Plants of Long Island, New York 

The society’s soon-to-be-published Atlas of the Vascular Plants 
of Long Island, New York, presently under review, consists of 
distribution maps for vascular plant species occurring on Long 
Island, including native and naturalized non-native species. 



Sample illustration of the Atlas. 


Conservation 

The Long Island Botanical Society is not an environmental 
activist organization, but many times over the years it has 
partnered with other groups and taken a position advocating 
for the conservation and preservation of specific properties of 
botanical interest. For example, 

• Raised awareness of the rare maritime American beech 
sandhills, threatened with development (1999). 

• Supported the permanent protection of the Edgewood-Oak 
Brush Plains State Preserve and currently working to increase it 
by 50 acres (2008 and ongoing). 

• Supported grant request and provided volunteers for 
eradication of hardy kiwi from Coffin Woods Preserve (2013). 

• Helped DEC to document a rare ecological community at 
North Fork Preserve, Riverhead (2013). 

• Pursuing a conservation easement to preserve a 13-acre Islip 
industrial site where Pyxidanthera barbulata and several other 
rare species are found (ongoing). 

• Working with Suffolk County to preserve sensitive parcels 
around Hauppauge Springs (onging). 

Newsletter 

The Long Island Botanical Society Newsletter has been 
published for the last 25 years and features articles written by 
society members and others, a list of recent plant sightings, lists 
of upcoming programs and field trips, and announcements of 
society activities. Back issues of the newsletter are archived at 
www.libotanical.org . 


Field Trips 




2011 : Field trip to Muttontown Preserve South. 


LIBS has offered nearly 250 field trips to regional botanical 
hotspots during the past 30 years. Records of these have been 
compiled into a database, accessible from our website. 

LIBS has a tradition of going on a week-long field trip to an 
exotic, flowery region every five years. Past trips have included 
adventures in Costa Rica, the Great Smoky Mountains, 
Newfoundland, and Florida. 

Membership 

The Long Island Botanical Society currently has 209 members, 
which represents a 10% increase in membership over the last 
decade. About 2/3 of members live in the two eastern Long 
Island counties. 


Upstate n™ 130ttier 

Vo, Ml A stales, ri 

Suffolk county, 

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City, 38 



Geographic Distribution of Members of the Long Island 
Botanical Society (n=209), May, 2015. 


Join LIBS today! 

Annual Membership is $20 payable to: 

Long Island Botanical Society 

Mail your dues to: 

Carol Johnston, LIBS Treasurer 
347 Duck Pond Road 
Locust Valley NY 11560 


Long Island Botanical Society Vol. 25 No. 3 


Page 23 


Field Trips 


AUGUST 1, 2015 (SATURDAY) 10:00 AM 

North Fork sites: Moores Woods, Paul Stoutenburgh Preserve, 
and a cobble beach, Suffolk County, NY 
Trip leader: Eric Lamont 
Email: elamont@optonline.net 

Moores Woods in Greenport features an interesting swamp 
forest with intermittent ponds as well as the only known 
population of crane-fly orchid ( Tipularia discolor) in NY. 
The nearby Paul Stoutenburgh Preserve (formerly known as 
the Arshamomaque Pond Preserve) features a population of 
swamp cottonwood {Populus heterophylld), showy wildflowers, 
and an extensive cattail marsh. If time permits we will visit 
a cobble beach just east of East Marion to see horned poppy 
0 Glaucium flavuni) and other beach plants. 

Directions: At Mattituck, on the North Fork, take the North 
Road (route 48) east to Greenport. Turn right (south) onto 
Moores Lane and continue Vi mile to a ball field on the right. 
Turn right onto the dirt road and park at entrance to forest. 

Bring water, lunch, and insect and tick repellent. Bathroom 
facilities are available at the nearby 7-11 on route 25. 

AUGUST 15, 2015 (SATURDAY) 10:00 AM 

Persicaria Walk, Alley Pond Park, Queens, NY 
Trip leader: Andrew Greller 

Email: agreller2@optonline.net Phone 516-364-9377 

The New York Flora Association is interested in understanding 
the extent of diversity in the genus Persicaria in the state. LIBS 
agreed to lead NYFA in a one day search for Persicaria species 
in Alley Pond Park, Queens, where many Polygonaceae have 
been noted over the years. 

Directions: Meet at the North end of Alley Athletic 

Playground parking lot, off Winchester Boulevard, just north 
of Union Turnpike. This is the southeastern corner of Alley 
Pond Park. Winchester Blvd. can be reached by taking the 
Union Turnpike exit of the Cross Island Parkway westbound 
and travelling for a quarter mile; or on Grand Central Parkway, 
coming from the west, take the Union Tpke. exit, continue 
east on the service road, then go right on Union Tpke. for 1/4 
mile to Winchester Blvd. then turn left to the parking lot. 

Bring lunch and liquid; water resistant footwear is 
recommended but not required. Camera and hand lens 
recommended. Insect repellant and sun screen advised. Ticks 
are not usually a problem in Queens parks. 


SEPTEMBER 13, 2015 (SUNDAY) 10:00 AM 

Note! This is a Sunday trip! 

Flora Neglecta, Queens, NY 
Trip leader: Michael Feder 
Email: mdfeder2001@yahoo.com 

We will be making a variety of stops off of Cross Bay and 
Woodhaven Blvds. in Queens to observe overlooked weeds. 
Our Flora neglecta will include some tiny plants growing in 
sidewalk cracks, graminoids, genera that contain similar 
looking species for which we will make comparisons (i.e. 
Digitaria, Galinsoga and Oxalis) and a few local weeds not 
often encountered. We will also make a quick stop at a 
greenhouse to look at some unusual weeds, some of which 
are not known from our area. (Co-listed with the Torrey 
Botanical Society) 

Directions: Please contact the trip leader to register and for 
meeting place directions. 

♦+♦ ♦+♦ 

(Society News continued from page 18) 


The New York Botanical Garden Announces 
Native Plants Summit: 

CURRENT STATUS, CONSERVATION, AND 
OUTLOOK FOR PLANTS OF THE NORTHEAST 
Friday, September 18, 2015; 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Ross Hall 

The northeastern U.S. hosts a rich diversity of native 
plants, many of which play essential roles for humans 
and the environment. Alarmingly, a significant number 
of these species are experiencing a precipitous decline. 
Many natives are imperiled as a result (New York State 
considers one-quarter of its native plant species to be 
of conservation concern). Despite these figures, no 
comprehensive or integrated program exists to study 
trends in the status of native plants across the region. 
Through a series of compelling presentations, followed by 
a panel discussion, this summit will address our dearth 
of knowledge by bringing together experts and interested 
members of the public to present and discuss the state of 
the areas plant species, plot the best course forward, and 
highlight ways in which everyone can make a difference 
for native plants in the Northeast. NOTE: LIBS member 
David Werier is one of seven invited speakers. 

Information and registration at www. nybg.org/ adulted 





Long Island Botanical Society 
PO Box 507 
Aquebogue, NY 11931 


Page 24 


Long Island Botanical Society Vol. 25 No. 3 


Upcoming Programs 


September 8, 2015* Tuesday, 7:30 PM 

Daniel Atha: “Smartweeds of New York: Taxonomy 
and Identification.” With twenty species in the 
northeastern United States, the genus Persicaria ranks 
among the top twenty-five largest genera of flowering 
plants, just behind sunflowers and hawthorns. Many 
are native wetland species and are an important 
food source for waterfowl. Others such as the East 
Asian mile-a-minute vine can inflict great ecological 
and economic harm. Daniel is a research associate 
at The New York Botanical Garden and has done 
extensive field work throughout the United States 
and abroad. He co-authored the Persicaria treatment 
for the Intermountain Flora and is currently writing 
the Polygonaceae treatment for the revision of the 
Gleason and Cronquist Manual. 

Location: Bill Paterson Nature Center, 
Muttontown Preserve, East Norwich 


October 13, 2015* Tuesday, 7:30 PM 

Emily Rollinson: “Biodiversity and Biological In- 
vasions in Stream-side Plant Communities.” Stream- 
side (or riparian) plant communities are often quite 
diverse, but atthe same time, may be highly susceptible 
to invasive species. This talk will describe ongoing 
research in small tributaries of the Hudson River in 
upstate NY, investigating the factors that underlie 
both diversity and species invasions in riparian plant 
communities. Emily is a Ph.D. candidate in the 
Department of Ecology and Evolution at Stony Brook 
University. Her research focuses on plant community 
ecology, ecological disturbances, and biological 
invasions. 

Location: Earth and Space Science Building, 
Gil Hanson Room (Room 123), 
Stony Brook University, Stony Brook 


* Refreshments and informal talk begin at 7:30 p.m. 
Formal meeting starts at 8:00 p.m. 

Directions to Muttontown or Stony Brook: 516-354-6506