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| Indiana Native Plant
and Wildflower Society
Volume 9 Number 1 • Spring 2002
NEWS
Population and Environment:
Making the Link by Karin M. Krchnak
In 1999, world population reached 6
billion, and if current rates continue,
human population could reach 13
billion by the middle of this century.
Population growth and ever-
increasing consumption rates are
causing severe defor¬
estation, habitat frag¬
mentation, water
scarcity, loss of biodi¬
versity, and pollution,
including emissions
believed to cause cli¬
mate change. The
world is in the midst
of a mass extinction
unlike any since the
extinction of the
dinosaurs 65 million
years ago. Extinction
rates are currently
estimated to be 1 00
to 1 ,000 times greater
than normal; indeed, scientists esti¬
mate that 2/3 of all species may dis¬
appear by the end of this century.
With rapid population growth and
increased consumption in
Industrialized countries, one-third to
one-half of Earth’s land surface has
been transformed, and 50% of the
original forest cover has been
cleared. Half of the world’s wet¬
lands were lost in the 20th century.
No one is certain how many people
the Earth can sustain. There are
many factors that enter into that
equation, including land use prac¬
tices and consumption levels.
However, the planet has finite
resources that need to
be shared by an
unprecedented number
of humans.
While population
growth is a driving
force behind a number
of the world’s prob¬
lems, water quality and
water quantity may be
the most critical.
Water is the most pre¬
cious resource as there
is no more freshwater
on the Earth today
than there was 2,000
years ago. Yet, in the last 70 years,
human population has tripled and
human freshwater consumption has
increased sixfold. Currently,
humans use over half of all avail¬
able freshwater. If consumption per
person remains steady, by 2025 we
could be using 70% of the total
because of population growth alone.
If per capita consumption every¬
where reaches the level of devel¬
oped countries, we could be using
90% of available water each year.
Voluntary promoters in
the Pasguaso community
show how they help
parents measure
their children.
More than 90% of the world’s pop¬
ulation growth is occurring in the
developing world. In these coun¬
tries, the impact of population on
the environment is linked as both
cause and effect to a complex of
other problems such as poverty,
inadequate health care and educa¬
tion, a declining natural resource
base, and a highly degraded envi¬
ronment.
We know that human population
growth will continue in the coming
decades. There is strong evidence,
however, that assistance for
Population continued on page 2
Inside . . .
President’s Message
Botany 101-12
Gymnosperms .
Annual Plant Sale . ,
Multiflorae . .
Short’s Goldenrod . .
Chapter Reports . . .
Challenge Plants
of the Dunes - 5 . .
Plants Not to Plant. .
Letters .
Calendar of Events. .
. 4
. 5
. 6
. 8
. 9
10
13
15
16
Insert: Membership Renewal
Population continued from page 1
women’s and girl’s health, educa¬
tion, and reproductive services
under international family planning
programs helps lower fertility rates
and slow population growth. The
United States made a commitment
at the 1 994 International
Conference on Population and
Development (ICPD) in Cairo to
provide development assistance to
help make family planning univer¬
sally available by 2015. Regrettably,
the U.S. Has consistently fallen far
short of meeting this commitment,
ranking last among industrialized
countries. In addition, the current
Administration may try to zero out
funding for the United Nations
Population Fund (UNFPA) which
provides such critical services as
educational materials for families,
training for clinical and community
health care providers, girls’ educa¬
tion, and supplies such as contra¬
ceptives and sterile birthing kits.
The National Wildlife Federation
supports full and unrestricted inter¬
national family planning assistance
because it is a common sense way
to slow population growth and pro¬
mote healthy families and a healthy
environment. Slowing population
growth would give the ecosystems
that sustain all life a chance to adapt
and replenish themselves.
The World Conference on
Sustainable Development, to be
held in August-September 2002 in
South Africa, will address the com¬
plex issues facing all of us this cen¬
tury. NWF and others will be in
South Africa to urge World leaders
to take concrete steps and develop
action agendas. High-consumption
industrial countries, and high-birth-
rate developing countries, are in this
together. We invite everyone to get
involved so that the healing power
of nature will remain strong for
generations to come.
For more information, please visit
www.nwf.org/population/ or email
krchank@nwf.org.
Karin M. Krchnak is Program
Manager for the Population &
Environment Program with the
National Wildlife Federation. As an
environmental lawyer, Ms. Krchnak
has worked to improve policies and
procedures related to environmental
management and resource conser-
The Newsletter of the
Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society
©Copyright 2002
Published quarterly by the Indiana Native
Plant and Wildflower Society for members.
Material may be reprinted with the
permission of the editor.
We welcome opposing viewpoints.
Articles, letters, drawings should be sent to
Carolyn Harstad, 5952 Lieber Road,
Indianapolis, IN 46228.
www.inpaws.org
The mission of the Indiana Native Plant and
Wildflower Society is to promote the apprecia¬
tion, presen’ation, conservation, utilization and
scientific study of the fora native to Indiana and
to educate the public about the values, beauty,
diversity and environmental importance of
indigenous vegetation.
Newsletter Committee
Editor
Carolyn Harstad (317) 257-9452
pharstad@iupui.edu
Associate Editor
Art Hopkins (812) 372-2862
arthop@earthlink.net
Design/Layout/Production
Anne Wilson (812) 342-6838
wiIson@hsonline.net
Officers 2000-2001
President
Linda Oxenrider (317) 873-5390
goxen@iquest.net
Co Vice President
Roger Hedge (31 7) 232-8062
rhedge@dnr.state.in.us
Co Vice President
Tom Swinford (317) 232-4052
tswinford@dnr.state.in.us
Recording Secretary
Nancy Hill (317)283-8345
nanhill86@earthlink.net
Corresponding Secretary
Mary Kraft (317) 773-5361
mkraft2 @ earthlink.net
Treasurer
Carolyn Q. Bryson (317) 873-4205
quinnell@iquest.net
Committees
Annual Conference
Eleanor Bookwalter
Auction/Plant Sale
Kelly Frank
Demonstration Gardens
Linda Bullard
Education
Dan and Sophia
Anderson
Grants and Awards
Elizabeth Mueller
Historian
Ruth Ann Ingraham
(317) 257-7095
bookedbook@aol.com
(765) 436-2483
kiwison@frontier.net
(317) 710-2708
plantlin@aol.com
(317) 849-3105
danjandl ©cs.com
(317) 769-2412
mickey22@earthlink.net
(317) 253-3863
rai38@aol.com
Invasive Plant Education
Ellen Jacquart (317)951-8818
hankandellen@worldnet.net
Membership
Mary Welch-Keesey (317) 638-4328
marywelchkeesey@cs.com
Native Plant Rescue/
Invasive Plant Removal
Amy Kress (765) 213-3540
Laura Mulligan
Newsletter
Carolyn Harstad
Programs/Field Trips
Roger Hedge
Public Information
Mary Kraft
Speakers Bureau
Colletta Kosiba
Website
Anne Wilson
akress@mcc.mccoak.org
(317) 769-7740
lemfr@aol.com
(317) 257-9452
pharstad@iupui.edu
(317) 232-8062
rhedge@dnr.state.in.us
(317) 773-5361
mkraft2@earthlink.net
(317) 852-5973
K_colletta@hotmail.com
wilson@hsonline.net
Chapters
West Central Chapter
Chris Brewster (765)463-7171
jim.chris.brewster@worldnet.att.net
North West Chapter
Jan Hunter (219) 772-0934
tephrosia@hotmail.com
East Central Chapter
Marcia Johnson
Central Chapter
Betsy Wilson
South Central Chapter
(765) 288-5629
marciaj50@aol.com
(317) 255-3304
geobet@iquest.net
Sherri McConnell (812) 332-4295
shermcconnell@netscape.net
Past Presidents
Carolyn Q. Bryson
Ruth Ann Ingraham
Carolyn Harstad
Jeffrey Maddox
2000-2001
1998-1999
1996-1997
1994-1995
2 • Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News • Spring 2002
President’s Message
In his book Consilience , E. O.
Wilson discusses how the human
brain developed to produce among
other things “language and its
symbol-based product, culture. The
result,” he says, “was the capacity
to take possession of the planet.”
This occurred “to the grief of most
preexisting life forms.” (p.98)
We humans now directly or indi¬
rectly affect the entire planet with
our actions. Although I live in
Zionsville, Indiana, because of the
global economy, the choices I make
affect ecosystems and people in
Brazil (where my coffee was
grown), China (where the blouse I
am wearing was manufactured),
France (where the brie I’m serving
for an appetizer tonight was
processed), France (the source of
the accompanying wine) and
England (where my dinner china
was produced). Industrial toxins
have been found in the breast milk
of women in some of the remotest,
least industrial places on Earth and
in Arctic ice.
Most people are either ignorant of
or chose to ignore the impacts their
actions have on the local and global
environment. However, we who
care for the earth must consider all
of our actions in the context of their
global effect. Knowing that four
thousand plant species are in danger
of extinction in this country alone is
a wake up call. If these plants are
not to be lost to all but memory, we
must develop a land ethic. We all
live by our own moral code, usually
limited to our immediate environ¬
ment: the people and places with
which we come into direct contact.
The challenge is to expand the
application of that moral code to
evaluate the global impact of all our
actions. What did it take to get my
shoes on the shelf of the local
department store? What effect does
my choice of transportation have on
the air quality in my county? What
is happening to the ground water
when I apply fertilizer to my lawn?
Although the prospect of adopting a
land ethic to guide our actions may
on first consideration seem
daunting, we must never underesti¬
mate the power one individual can
have to affect change.
Opportunities are as close as our
own backyards and the highways
that carry us to the market!
In conclusion, as I sat down to write
this message, I began to review the
past accomplishments of INPAWS
and to anticipate what this year can
offer.
by Linda Oxen rider
This of course led to some New
Year’s resolutions. Roger Hedge has
planned some exciting and unique
field trips for us this year and one
goal I have set is for a record turnout
for these events. Let’s strive to visit
many of our unique and common
habitats by attending these field
trips. Encourage a friend to join the
Society in one of our invasive
species removal projects, where not
only will you help protect our native
ecosystems, you'll enjoy camaraderie
and leam about the native species
found throughout the state.
Let’s work to increase membership
and participation in the regional
chapters by a minimum of 20% this
year. This year I hope to expand the
role that committees and the general
membership play in defining the
direction of the Society. And of
course, I cannot forget to mention,
we must increase our volunteer base
(which means you) so check with
your local chapter president to find
areas of need and become involved.
We need a diverse array of talents
so even if you are just beginning
your education in native plants your
many other skills are much needed
to help us grow as an organization.
Our success is dependent on the
efforts of all our members.
vation worldwide. Most recently, as
Country Director, Western Newly
Independent States and Director of
the Environmental Law Program for
the American Bar Association
Central and Eastern European Law
Initiative, Ms. Krchnak worked with
government officials, industry repre¬
sentatives, academics, non-govern¬
mental organizations, and the
public to reach a consensus on cre¬
ating policies that will best manage
health, resources, and environ¬
mental problems facing the former
Soviet Union. In addition, she has
worked as an environmental
attorney for Science Applications
International Corporation and the
Environmental Law Institute, and as
an editor for the East Asian Legal
Studies Program at the University
of Maryland School of Law. Ms.
Krchnak received her A.B. in
Political Science from Duke
University and her J.D. from the
University of Maryland School of
Law. Ms. Krchnak is also Adjunct
Faculty at the University of
Maryland School of Law.
Spring 2002
Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News • 3
Botany 101 - twelfth in a series
Gymnosperms
by Dr. Rebecca Dolan
We’ve spent the last columns
looking at details of anatomy in
flowering plants, that is, plants that
reproduce by making seeds from
fertilized ovules housed in
flowers. This is the most suc¬
cessful group of plants, com¬
prising an estimated
250,000 species.
Flowering plants are
thought to be the
most recently
evolved group
of plants,
coming into
their own at
about the time
the dinosaurs
went extinct.
Their great suc¬
cess is likely due
to a complex
structure that
allows flowering plants to occupy a
wide range of habitats, the protec¬
tion of seeds within flowers and
fruits, and coevolution with pollina¬
tors that vector pollen in a directed
way from plant to plant.
Gymnosperms are plants that are
one step back on the evolutionary
tree. Their name means ‘naked
seeded.’ Seeds are not protected in a
flower, but are borne on highly
modified branches (cones). Pollen is
wind-dispersed. There are an esti¬
mated 800 species of gymnosperms
today.
The most familiar gymnosperms are
conifers (cone-bearers) like pine, fir
and spruce. Most in our area are
evergreen, maintaining their leaves,
or needles, all year long. They are
able to do this because of features
of needles that prevent water loss.
Deciduous trees like oaks and
maples primarily lose their
leaves because they
cannot maintain water
balance in the winter
when the ground
freezes.
Conifer needles, pine,
for example, have a
very thick, waxy cuticle
and stomates sunken
below the surface. They
also have a layer of
waterproof suberin inside,
as roots do, to prevent free
movement of water. The
roundish shape of needles
has a low surface-to-
volume ratio, reducing the
surface area for water loss.
In addition, the round shape
does not catch snow like flat leaf
blades, reducing mechanical
damage. Although needles
last year-round, they do
not last forever.
Depending on the
species, the nee¬
dles drop
after one or
more
years, and
are
replaced
with fresh
ones.
Wood anatomy of
gymnosperms is
different from that of flowering
plants. Pine and other conifers do
not produce many fibers (very
tough support cells) in their wood,
or secondary xylem, and are called
softwood trees. Hardwood trees are
all flowering plants. But, botany
loves exceptions, and balsa wood, a
seemingly classic softwood, comes
from a flowering plant tree of the
tropics.
Now, for more of those much-loved
botanical exceptions: neither all
gymnosperms nor all conifers are
evergreen. Dawn redwood and bald
cypress and larch are examples that
are deciduous, dropping their nee¬
dles every year. And, of course,
some flowering plants are ever¬
green, like rhododendron and holly.
And, guess what, not all gym¬
nosperms have needle-shaped
leaves. In an amazing twist of
botany, ginkgo trees are gym¬
nosperms, even
though they have
flat leaf blades.
In the next issue
we will look at
how to distinguish
the common groups
of conifers and then
tackle intricacies of
gymnosperm repro¬
duction.
Becky Dolan is
Director of the Friesner
Herbarium at Butler
University, and a charter
member of INPAWS.
Illustrations by Jan
Glimn Lacy, IN PAWS
charter member and botanical illus¬
trator, from her book Botany
Illustrated.
Maidenhair Tree
(Ginkgo biloba)
White Spruce
(Picea glauca)
4 • Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News • Spring 2002
Annual Native Plant Sale and Auction
Saturday, May 11, 2002
The great seasonal calendar is flip¬
ping its pages at record speed and
the unusually mild days of January
and February this year make gar¬
deners itch to get outside and start
digging. I understand this urge all
too well, but knowing Indiana’s
propensity for late April and May
frosts I’ve confined my efforts to
opening the back door to take a
fresh look around and contemplate
the changes I can implement to
make my landscape more inviting.
And this of course, is the enduring
appeal of gardening. As the seasons
come and go there is always some¬
thing to anticipate.
Which brings me to the subject at
hand. It is time to mark your calen¬
dars for the much anticipated
INPAWS Annual Native Plant Sale
and Auction!! This year’s sale will
be held on Saturday, May 11, 2002
in Ross Hall at Saint Pius X School.
This is the same location as last
year and as in the past the sale will
begin at 10:00 a.m. and the auction
will follow immediately at 1 1:00.
Kelly Frank will be chairing the
event this year. She can be reached
at 765-436-2483 or by
email :ki wison @ frontiemet.net.
We are anticipating another suc¬
cessful sale but for this to become a
reality we are counting on member¬
ship support. Please start saving
plant containers and box lids for the
event. And of course, we need your
plant donations!! Please remember
to label your plants and to dig and
pot them at least two weeks before
the sale. We would very much
prefer to have all plants delivered to
the school on Friday evening
between 5:00 and 9:00 p.m.
Donations will still be gratefully
accepted Saturday morning from
7:00 to 9:00 a.m. If you are not able
to deliver your plants Friday
evening, transport assistance may
be available.
The school and church are on the
northwest comer of 71st Street and
Santo Drive (4 blocks east of
Keystone). The school is north of
the church.
Enter the school parking lot from
Santo Drive. The address for the
school is 7200 Santo Drive,
Indianapolis, IN.
Watch for more information as the
date of the sale approaches.
Looking forward to seeing you
there!
Linda Oxenrider
An Alien Unmasked
For thousands of years, the
“common reed,” Phragmites aus¬
tralis , was a component of marshes
in both the Old World and the New
World-one component species
among many. However, starting
about 150 years ago in New
England, the reed ran wild,
crowding out the other plant species
with which it had formerly coex¬
isted. Today, in much of that region
and beyond, many marshes have
degenerated into near-monocultures
of P. australis.
Kristen Saltonstall, a graduate stu¬
dent in ecology and evolutionary
biology at Yale, has used molecular
analysis to shed light on the change.
By examining samples from
herbaria and from nature, she has
been able to distinguish the DNA of
the old, native North American
common reed from that of its
Eurasian cousins. The aggressive,
monopolist reeds of modem New
England carry the Eurasian DNA
pattern, not that of the formerly
native North American strain.
“There are simply no native types
left in our area,” says Saltonstall.
Saltonstall and other scientists spec¬
ulate that the “cryptic invasion” of
aggressive reeds began when
European reeds, used as packing
material, were discarded in the
waters of New England seaports.
Strangely enough, in European
marshes, the European reeds have
not become the aggressive problem
that they are in North America.
This article is based on an article
by Bruce Fellman in the November
2001 issue of Yale Alumni maga¬
zine.
Spring 2002
Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News • 5
M U L T
Honeysuckle
Not only are those Asian bush hon¬
eysuckles invasive, they can be
tricky to identify given their ten¬
dency to hybridize. For those inter¬
ested, Kay Yatskievych is offering
help with identification through a
project she’s working on. See her
message below... and thanks, Kay!
Kay writes - I’ve just begun
working on IDnature guides, which
is a multi-entry visual identification
system for the web. As part of a
grant that the group is to receive, I
have agreed to include a minimum
of 50 invasive plant species, with an
emphasis on those in the genus
Lonicera. If anyone has populations
of Lonicera that they are having
trouble identifying and would like
to make a collection for me to look
at, I’d be happy to try to get a name
on them as I’m working through
these problems of identification. I
am in Indiana once a month, usually
spending one day at Friesner
Herbarium at Butler University and
one day at Deam Herbarium at
Indiana University, so I could make
arrangements to pick up specimens
or go to the site and collect one
myself. I’m also going to want to-
photograph more species when they
come into bloom.
Kay Yatskievych
kay. yatskievych @ mobot.org
Tree Planting Party
The Sycamore Land Trust invites
volunteers to help plant trees at
the Touch The Earth preserve just
west of Columbus, on Saturday,
April 13. Volunteers can meet at
8:30 AM at the Monroe County
Library’s Kirkwood entrance; or
at the preserve itself, on Country
Club Road, south of S.R. 46, at
9:30 AM. Bring gloves and
drinking water; SLT will provide
some goodies. For information,
contact Dave Welch,
davwelch@indiana.edu, or Art
Hopkins, arthop@earthlink.net.
SLT’s Annual
Gardening and
Landscaping Show
INPAWS readers are invited to
attend the Sycamore Land Trust's
annual Gardening & Landscaping
Show on March 23, 2002, from 9
AM to 4 PM at the Bloomington
Convention Center. There will be
booths and displays, childrens’
activities, speakers, and more.
There is a special $4/person entry
fee for groups of ten or more who
register by March 10th. A form
for group rates is available at the
website. For information, see
www.sycamorelandtrust.org.
Indiana Kudzu
Eradication Project
The Indiana Department of Natural
Resources, Division of Entomology
and Plant Pathology has started a
project aimed at identifying all
kudzu sites in Indiana, followed by
eradication/control of those sites.
Based on the inventory work of Dr.
Bill Overlease, and information
gathered and passed on by others,
we currently know of approximately
25 sites in 15 counties. Most of
these locations have been identified
in the southern 1/3 of the state, with
one exception near Lake Michigan
in LaPorte County.
In the upcoming months, we intend
on further defining these locations
through the use of GPS mapping.
This will allow us to pinpoint the
sites, and determine how large a
population we are actually dealing
with, so that we can devise a treat¬
ment program to suit the problem.
If you are aware of any sites for
kudzu in the state, please contact
Jason Shorter with this information.
Jason L. Shorter
Southern Region Supervisor
Indiana Department of Natural
Resources
Division of Entomology & Plant
Pathology
402 West Washington Street,
Room W-290
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204-
2739
Phone: (317) 232-4120
Fax: (317) 232-2649
E-mail: jshorter@dnr.state.in.us
http://www.IN.gov/dnr/entomolo
6
Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News • Spring 2002
Speakers Bureau
INPAWS now owns three traveling
slide presentations available to
members for presentations. Each
slide carousel contains about 40
slides and each program has its own
script. Presentations take about 45
minutes.
Ellen Jacquart has created a slide
program on invasive plants.
Colletta Kosiba has put together
two new slide programs-one on
native spring wildflowers and the
other on native summer wild¬
flowers. She includes gardening
uses for each plant, and medicinal
uses and folklore when available.
Colletta reports that we have had
thirteen requests for the three slide
programs: 5 requests for spring
From Rita’s Backyard
located in Fishers, IN
We are currently looking to hire
our staff for the coming season.
We could use part-time help,
either temporary, 6-8 weeks
April through June, or longer,
April through October.
We carry trees, shrubs, peren¬
nials, herbs, and annuals. We
also have a gift shop with deco¬
rative containers, fountains, and
garden accessories.
Contact Rita Beck, Owner
Ritasbackyard@cs.com
12233 E. 116th St, Fishers, IN
317-842-0235
wildflowers, 2 requests for summer
wildflowers and 6 requests for inva¬
sive plants. She says, “It is easy:
show the slide and read the text.”
We hope INPAWS members will
take advantage of these programs to
educate people in their area. The
public library is a good place to
give the program.
Contact Colletta and she will send
you the slide carousels and scripts.
After you have given the program,
return the “kit” to Colletta.
This is another great benefit for
INPAWS members and a way to
educate the public about our mis¬
sion.
Ideas for future slide programs:
1) trees & shrubs,
2) edible plants.
If you have extra slides to share,
please mail them to Colletta.
Please contact
Colletta Kosiba
Speakers Bureau chairman
5430 N 600 E
Brownsburg, IN 46112
317-852-5973
k colletta@hotmail.com
Renew Your
Membership for 2002
Please use only the new
form, which you should find
inserted in this issue of the
newsletter.
For more information please
contact Membership Chairman
Mary Welch-Keesey
317-638-4328
marywelchkeesey@cs.com
If your mailing address
changes, please be sure to
update it by contacting the
membership chairman, or your
chapter president. (INPAWS is
charged 600 for each returned
post card, and more than
$1.00 for each returned
newsletter!)
Also, please contact the mem¬
bership chairman and/or your
Chapter President with your
correct email address, so that
we can keep you updated on
INPAWS activities in a timely
manner.
www.inpaws.org
Visit our website for news and
information about INPAWS and
native plant issues, as well as
links to related organizations con¬
cerned with preserving native
plants and their habitats.
Send us your news, questions,
comments, ideas, suggestions.
Please email Anne Wilson
wilson@hsonline.net
Spring 2002
Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News • 7
One of World’s Rarest Plants Discovered in Indiana
Short’s Goldenrod (Solidago shortii) Turns Up
During Inventory
There are approximately 25 species cautious elation sprinkled with a
of goldenrod native to Indiana, dose of disbelief. But after careful
ranging from the extremely inspection of the plants, and realiza-
common tall goldenrod, to the tion of the fact that the habitat was
Short’s Goldenrod
(Solidago shortii)
very rare stout-ragged
goldenrod. None, how¬
ever, is as rare as one
recently discovered in
southern Indiana.
In a cooperative
project with The
Nature
Conservancy,
ecologists with
the Indiana
Department of
Natural
Resources Division of
Nature Preserves have
been conducting a
botanical and natural
area inventory within the watershed
of the Blue River in Harrison,
Crawford and Washington counties.
In August of 2001 Michael
Homoya, Brian Abrell, and Amy
Akin of the DNR were surveying
areas bordering the Blue River
within Harrison-Crawford State
Forest and encountered a species of
goldenrod that looked strangely
familiar. Familiar because not too
many years earlier, in 1995, Mike
and Brian had seen the goldenrod
by participating in an effort to re¬
establish Short’s goldenrod at the
Falls of the Ohio State Park. The
seven clumps planted at the Falls
died within a year of planting
because of flooding, but the
memory of their appearance
remained with the ecologists.
Their first reaction upon discovery
of the goldenrod at the new site was
similar to that which once occurred
at the Falls, they were satis¬
fied that they had found
one of the rarest plants on
the globe.
Distinguishing
Short’s goldenrod
utilizes features per¬
haps not readily
apparent to those
previously unfa¬
miliar with the
species. It closely
resembles our common tall
goldenrod (Solidago
canadensis var. scabra, =
S. altissima), and smooth
goldenrod (S. gigantea).
Features to look for that
separate Short’s gold¬
enrod from those
include glabrous and
thick (almost fleshy)
bluish-green leaves, and
larger (and fewer) ray
flowers. As well, Short’s
produces a more extensive
root system, an adaptation
that allows it to survive
during extended periods
of drought.
The new Indiana site is
one of only two known
areas on earth to
harbor wild popula¬
tions of the goldenrod.
Short’s goldenrod (Solidago shortii)
is named after its discoverer, Dr.
Charles Short of Louisville. He
found it in 1840 growing on a lime-
Common Tall Goldenrod
(Solidago altissima)
by Michael A. Homoya
stone outcrop in Kentucky known
as Rock Island, located within the
Falls of the Ohio (River) between
Clarksville, IN and Louisville, KY.
It was last collected from Rock
Island in 1 860, although it might
still have been there until the Island
was greatly altered by the construc¬
tion of locks and dams at the Falls
in the early 1 900’s. It was consid¬
ered extinct until the pre-eminent
ecologist E. Lucy Braun found a
population in 1939 in the Blue Lick
Springs area of eastern Kentucky.
The two locations in Kentucky
known to harbor Short’s goldenrod
were connected prior to 1800 by a
buffalo trace, and it has been specu¬
lated that bison transported gold¬
enrod seed from one locality to the
other.
Interestingly, the same buffalo
trace extended into Indiana
and crossed the Blue
River.
Short’s goldenrod is a
federally listed endan¬
gered species, one of
only two plant species
with such status occurring
in Indiana.
Ed. note: this article was
from a news release pro¬
vided by the Department
of Natural Resources.
Mike Homoya, IN PAWS
member, is author of Orchids of
Indiana, published by the Indiana
Academy of Science in 1993, and is
a botanist with the Indiana
Department of Natural Resources-
Division of Nature Preserves.
8
Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News • Spring 2002
INPAWS Chapter Reports
Central Chapter News
Central Chapter officers will be
meeting soon to plan meetings for
this spring, summer and fall. Visits
to local gardens to view spring
wildflowers, an invasive plant
removal day on June 8th at Broad
Ripple Park, a program on water
features in the home garden, one on
repairing soil erosion near streams
and rivers, and a seed and plant
exchange in the fall accompanied
by a pitch-in dinner are all in the
planning stage. Until the fall
meeting, post cards announcing
dates and times will be sent to all
INPAWS members who reside in
the nine central counties. After the
October meeting, post cards will
only go to paid central chapter
members. According to a survey
filled out by attendees at the first
two chapter meetings, bimonthly
meetings on a weekend during the
day at various locations with notices
of meetings sent by email was the
way members wanted the chapter to
be run. Any suggestions or ideas for
future meeting topics or sites should
be sent to Betsy Wilson (317-255-
3304 , geobet@iquest.net) or Kim
Krull (317-849-1084,
ponderkim@aol.com).
Betsy Wilson
South Central Chapter
News
The south central chapter of
INPAWS (SCINPAWS) was voted
into existence on December 6,
2001 . The following people are offi¬
cers for 2002-04: Sherri McConnell,
president; Russell Boulding, trea¬
surer; Lucille Bertuccio, recording
secretary. Cathy Meyer is program
chair, and Ellen Jacquart is invasive
plants chair. The chapter’s first pro¬
gram on spring flowers was pre¬
sented by Jim Eagleman on
February 13 at Brown County State
Park. Ellen Jacquart will present a
talk on invasive plants on April 24.
This program is jointly sponsored
by the SCINPAWS and the
Sassafras Audubon Society, the
local Audubon chapter in the
Bloomington area. The SCINPAWS
will have a table at the Gardening
and Landscaping Show sponsored
by the Sycamore Land Trust and the
Hoosier Times on Saturday, March
23, 2002 in Bloomington. Also in
Bloomington, SCINPAWS will be
at EarthFest at Karst Farm, a
Monroe County park, on May 18.
Please contact Sherri McConnell at
812-332-4295 or
shermcconnell@netscape.net for
information about SCINPAWS or
SCINPAWS activities. Residents of
Bartholomew, Brown, Greene,
Jackson, Lawrence, Monroe,
Morgan and Owen counties are
invited to become members of
SCINPAWS.
Wildflower Foray
The Wildflower Foray is April 26-
28 and features hikes in Brown and
Monroe Counties to count species
in bloom and learn about wild¬
flower identification, photography,
plant uses, birds, and more. The
Saturday evening program at the
T.C. Steele Historic Site will be pre¬
sented by Ross Brittain of the
Bloomington Wild Birds Unlimited
store. He will be talking about cre¬
ating wildlife habitat at home by
using native plants. All of the pro¬
grams are free and open to
everyone. For more information and
a schedule of events, contact T. C.
Steele Historic Site at 812-988-2785
or e-mail
tcsteele@bloomington.in.us
East Central Indiana
Chapter News
Thursday, March 28
7 PM in the Indiana Room at
Minnetrista Cultural Center, Muncie
Betty Luzney will give a slide pre¬
sentation on poisonous plants. Betty
is a past president of Master
Gardeners and the Minnetrista
Horticulture Club.
Saturday, May 5
The Indiana Audubon Society has
asked East Central chapter of
INPAWS to provide a leader for a
nature walk at Mary Gray Bird
Sanctuary in Connersville at 9:30
AM and 1 :30 PM. Dr. Torke has
graciously agreed to lead the walks.
Anyone wishing to drive down with
East Central needs to be at the
Minnetrista Cultural Center in
Muncie no later than 7am on May
5th.
We will car pool down from there. I
need to know by April 15 how
many are planning to travel from
Minnetrista so I can arrange for
lunch. Lunch will be $5.50 but you
are free to pack your own lunch.
Dan Leach Vice President of
Indiana Audubon Society has gra¬
ciously waived the registration fee
for INPAWS attendees. Those
wishing to make their own reserva¬
tions may do so by mail before
April 19 to:
Deanna Barricklow
3499 S. Bird Sanctuary Road
Connersville, IN 47331-8721
Spring 2002
Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News
9
Plant detectives . . .
Challenge Plants of the Dunes - fifth in a series
What’s on Your “Find-in-2002” List?
by Barbara Plampin
“Found once,” “endangered,”
“threatened,” “rare,” “extirpated”.
These are siren calls to plant
detectives. For those so
inclined, here are some
quests for late spring.
It is always exciting to
find an orchid. Any orchid.
A good starting quest, even
in early January, would be
the fairly common
(Downy) Rattlesnake
Plantain (Goodyera
pubescens) because its
white-networked
leaves remain
evergreen.
Found in scat¬
tered counties,
plants frequent
cut-over woods,
sometimes thriving
amid discarded tires.
Return in July to see
the flowers.
Hooker’s Orchid
(Platanthera hookeri)
Illustration by Paul Nelson
John Bacone, Division of Nature
Preserves, “would like to hear
about” the extirpated Hooker’s
Orchid (Habenaria or Platanthera
hookeri).
Confined to the Dunes, Hooker’s
last appeared in 1969 amid Indiana
Dunes State Park’s white pines, but
has not been seen since. Over-col¬
lecting and deer are the suspected
villains. Between late May and
early June, seek the “ice tongs” pro¬
files of yellowish green flowers
above the paired, matte-finish,
ground-hugging orbicular leaves.
Mike Homoya suggests
searching for Hooker’s orchid in
beech-maple forests, as well as
white pine.
Both Bacone and Jan Hunter, of
INPAWS North West Chapter,
want to find the extirpated
boreal, Small Enchanter’s
Nightshade (Circaea alpina),
cousin of the weedy
“Enchanter’s Nightshade”
( Circaea lutetiana
canadensis). The
small version’s
Calyx lobes are less
than 1 .5 mm long,
and fruits lack fur¬
rows. For the record,
roots are-tuberously
thickened rhi¬
zomes.
However, I've observed a lot
with unthickened rhizomes.
June and July searches in La
Porte County's boreal flat-
woods might pay off.
The extirpated Twin Flower
(Linnaea borealis americana or
longifolia) also appears on
Jan’s search-list. Paired pink
flowers resembling old-fash¬
ioned dressing table lamps
nod above delicate,
creeping, slightly woody, evergreen
leaves. The Dunes once had plants,
but a moving dune apparently over¬
whelmed one healthy population,
and the Cowles Bog plants went
missing decades ago. Associates
remain, among them Poison Sumac
(Rhus vernix), Small-forget-me-not
(Myosotis laxa), Tamarack (Larix
laricina), Eastern White Cedar
( Thuja occidentalis), and Cinnamon
Fern (Osmunda cinnamomea).
Another associate, Bunchberry
(Cornus canadensis) has “gone
missing from Indiana.”
Searching here or in La Porte
County’s boreal flatwoods in mid-
June could turn up plants. Confined
historically to Noble, Lake, Porter,
and La Porte Counties, this “boreal”
or “northern” species
flourishes much farther
north, even in Labrador
and Alaska.
Tom Post, Division of
Nature Preserves, sug¬
gests searching
seepy, wooded
Duneland
slopes, and in
a few other
counties in the
northern tier, for
the endangered,
Small Enchanter’s nati\e
Nightshade Highbush
(Circaea alpina)
10
Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News • Spring 2002
Cranberry ( Viburnum
trilobum). Don’t confuse
the May-June
blooming flowers
of the native
species with those
of the exotic
European Highbush
Cranberry (V. Opulus).
The best clue will prob¬
ably be the club-shaped
or columnar glands on
the native’s leaf stalks.
If you do go questing for any of
these challenge plants of the Dunes,
let us know how you come out.
Good luck!
Books: Deam, Flora of Indiana ;
Gleason, New Britton & Brown
Illustrated Flora ; Homoya,
Orchids of Indiana',
Pepoon, Flora of
the Chicago
Region', Swink and
Wilhelm, Plants of
the Chicago Region,
4th edition ;
Yatskievych, Field
Guide to Indiana
Wildflowers.
Barbara Plampin is a member of
IN PAWS, a trustee of the Shirley
Heinze Environmental Fund, and a
member of Save the Dunes Council.
She has a Ph.D. in English litera¬
ture from the University of
Michigan. Botany has been her avo
cation all her life.
Illustration of Platan thera hookeri
by Paul Nelson, from Orchids of
Indiana, written by Michael A.
Homoya, published by the Indiana
Academy of Science/1. U. Press, in
1993. Mr. Nelson is a cousin of Mr.
Homoya. He is retired from the
Missouri Department of Natural
Resources, and now works as afire
ecologist with the Mark Twain
National Forest in Missouri.
Enchanter’s Nightshade
(Circaea lutetiana canadensis)
More Rarities . . .
Was that colony of broadly elliptic¬
leaved, winged-petioled violets seen
last fall along Porter County’s
Calumet Trail really the rare
Primrose-leaved Violet (Viola
primulifolia )1 Come mid-May, I’ll
revisit this marshy site and find out.
Lack of flowers, seeds, and the
occasional, but characteristic sub-
cordate leaf bases prevented certain
identification. Possibly, the plants
are the fairly common Lance-leaved
Violet (V. lanceolata) whose autumn
leaves confusingly broaden and
elongate.
Both species have maddeningly
similar white flowers with brown-
purple-veined
lower petals.
Primrose-leaved
may have slightly
bearded lateral
petals and red-
brown seeds;
Lance-leaved
may have beard¬
less laterals,
brown seeds,
and frequently
red peduncles.
I’ve never seen
Primrose-leaved in
the Dunes; this
species comes to us from
Primrose-leaved Violet
(Viola primulifolia)
the Atlantic and Gulf
coastal plains where
the leaves often have
sub-cordate bases.
Searchers might try
the primary Indiana
location, the
Kankakee Valley.
By the way, Small
Lorget-Me-Not
(Myosotis laxa) and
other rarities along the
Calumet Bike Trail have
had a reprieve from
‘rehabilitation’ because
there isn’t enough money
to re-build the trail.
1 1
Spring 2002
Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News
2001 Growing Season a Success for the Graphic Packaging Corporation
Innovative Erosion Control Project Using Native Plants in Kalamazoo, Ml
A highly eroded portion of property
along the Kalamazoo River owned
by Graphic Packaging Corporation
of Kalamazoo, Michigan was
planted in fall, 2000 with native
prairie grasses and wildflowers, a
unique method for soil stabilization
at industrial properties. The experi¬
ment, funded by a grant through the
Great Lakes Commission and car¬
ried out by Kieser & Associates of
Kalamazoo, Michigan, aims to
demonstrate the feasibility of using
native grass and flower mixes at
industrial sites. Additional benefits
of the project include habitat cre¬
ation for grassland insects, opportu¬
nities for prairie education, and a
colorful attraction along the river
corridor throughout the year. More
information about the project is
available at http://www.kieser-asso-
ciates.com/prairie.
The project site, measuring approxi¬
mately 5 acres in size, was divided
into three plots of approximately
equal size. The southern plot was
planted in the conventional fashion,
adding topsoil and using turf
grasses. The center plot was also
spread with topsoil, but was planted
in native prairie grasses and wild¬
flowers. The northern plot received
no topsoil and was planted with
prairie plants.
The results of the 2001 growing
season support the hypothesis that
native grasses and flowers are
appropriate forms of ground cover
for industrial sites where soil
quality is poor. The native plants
occurring on the northern plot,
without the aid of topsoil, outper¬
formed the plants on the other two
plots, remaining green and flow¬
ering throughout the growing
season. Very few weeds were
observed on this plot, demonstrating
that such non-native plants cannot
tolerate the harsh conditions of poor
soil and lack of moisture existing at
the site.
Alternatively, weeds flourished on
the middle plot, where topsoil had
been applied. A small number of
native prairie seedlings were
observed struggling against the
weeds on this plot only after the
thick tangle of weeds had been
mowed in mid-summer. Both the
weeds of the middle plot and the
turf grasses planted on the southern
plot went dormant partway through
the summer, unable to tolerate the
hot, dry conditions. Photos and
additional information are provided
at the recently updated
http://www.kieser-
associates.com/prairie. The plots
will be monitored for several years
to determine the short and long¬
term effects of such a planting.
Plus, mention that you are a
member of the Indiana Native Plant
and Wildflower Society and receive
a ten percent discount!
The 2002 Natural Resources Training Sessions for Invasive Species
and Wildland Fires
You are invited to explore the latest
best practices, lessons learned and
cutting edge ideas for managing
invasive species and wildland fire
programs, at the 2002 Natural
Resources Training Sessions for
Invasive Species & Wildland Fires,
April 22-25, 2002, at the Sheraton
Denver West Hotel in Denver, CO.
You will emerge from these training
sessions with strategies, tools and
techniques to strengthen your nat¬
ural resources programs and poli¬
cies.
Across the nation, the threat of
invasive species and wildland fire to
our environment and natural
resources is growing. The 2002
Natural Resources Training
Sessions are the only national con¬
ferences that bring together key
“thought leaders.” policymakers,
leading experts, and veteran pro¬
gram managers to discuss both
these critical issues in one setting.
For further information, a complete
agenda, or registration, please con¬
tact James Lewis at 703-519-6270,
or visit www.performanceweb.org.
12
Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News • Spring 2002
The Plants Not to
You’ve decided to remake your
backyard into a beautiful haven for
wildlife. You’ve read all the
brochures from different agencies
and groups dedicated to managing
for wildlife. You’ve called your
local extension office, talked to
your local wildlife biologist. And
you’re utterly confused.
You are hearing that
Korean lespedeza is a
great species to plant
for wildlife habitat.
But you are reading
in an INPAWS
brochure that it is an
invasive plant threat¬
ening natural areas in
Indiana. You’re reading
in a USDA brochure
that Amur honeysuckle
berries are an important
food source for birds. But you’ve
seen what this aggressive shrub
from Asia has done to forest under¬
stories in central Indiana, and you
can’t believe it’s a good thing for
wildlife. What’s going on?
There is clearly a lack of consensus
among resource professionals about
which species pose a threat to nat¬
ural areas in Indiana. Despite
increasing concern about the spread
of invasive plant species across the
state, many of the species listed in
the INPAWS brochure Invasive
Plants in Indiana are still widely
available from nurseries and still
recommended by state and federal
agencies! Ironically, these agency
recommendations of invasive
species are being made at the same
time other state and federal agencies
are spending your tax dollars to
eradicate these same species from
our landscape in order to protect
Plant in Indiana
natural areas. Concern about this
issue led to the formation of the
Invasive Plant Species Assessment
Working Group (IPSAWG). This
group is made up of a diverse array
of partners (see box), including
INPAWS. Our goal is to develop an
objective way to assess the invasive
species currently being recom¬
mended, sold or planted in the
state -to find out which are
the baddest of the
bad-and to develop rec¬
ommendations for each
of these species.
The assessment is in a
draft stage now, based
largely on an. assessment
that was developed in
Florida a few years ago.
The partners in IPSAWG
are working together to
adapt it for Indiana, and then will
choose the invasive species to
review using the tool. Within a few
years, we hope to have the evidence
to show which species are invading
the fastest and causing the greatest
ecological damage. Ultimately, the
goal is that all agencies would have
consistent policies on appropriate
species to use for wildlife habitat,
soil erosion control, landscaping,
etc. And you, the public, will be
much less confused.
Ellen Jacquart is the Director of
Stewardship for the Indiana
Chapter of The Nature
Conservancy, coordinating manage¬
ment of TNC preserves in Indiana,
with a particular focus on invasive
plant control. As chair of the
Invasives Committee for INPAWS
she led the effort to develop the
Invasive Plants of Indiana brochure.
Amur Honeysuckle
(Lonicera maackii)
by Ellen Jacquart
IPSAWG Partners:
• INPAWS
• The Nature Conservancy
• Indiana Nursery and Landscape
Association
• Indiana Chapter of the American
Society of Landscape Architects
• Indiana Forage Council
• Indiana Wildlife Federation
• Indiana State Beekeepers
Association
• Indiana Beekeeper’s Association
• Indiana Department of Natural
Resources:
-Division of Entomology and
Plant Pathology
-Division of Fish and Wildlife
-Division of Soil Conservation
-Division of Reclamation
-Division of Forestry
-Division of Nature Preserves
-Division of State Parks and
Reservoirs
• Hoosier National Forest
• Indiana Academy of Science
• Natural Resources Conservation
Service
• Indiana Department of
Environmental Management
• Indiana Department of
Transportation
• Purdue Cooperative Extension
Service
• Seed Administrator, Office of the
Indiana State Chemist
Spring 2002
Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News
13
Descriptions of INPAWS 2002 Calendar of
See quick reference on back page
Eagle’s Crest Nature Preserve
Saturday, April 20, 1 PM
Division of Nature Preserves
Botanist and author of Orchids of
Indiana, Mike Homoya will lead a
hike through Eagle’s Crest Nature
Preserve at Eagle Creek Park on the
northwest side of Indianapolis. This
little-known preserve features a
very rich, high quality, mesic
upland forest where we will view an
impressive array of spring wild-
flowers and other plants.
Big Walnut Nature Preserve
Saturday, May 18, 10 AM
Tom Swinford, Regional Ecologist
for the Division of Nature Preserves
and Co- Vice President of INPAWS
will guide us through a portion of
this nature preserve that borders the
scenic Big Walnut Creek in west-
central Indiana’s Putnam County.
This will be an ideal time to view
this beautiful site and its variety of
high quality forest communities
including oak uplands, mesic
ravines, and floodplain forest. Other
features of this spectacular nature
preserve include large trees and an
abundance of spring wildflowers.
Tom will point these features out
and also discuss recent management
activities that he is supervising
there.
Hemlock Cliffs and Boone
Creek Barrens Natural Areas
Saturday, June 8, 10:30 AM
Forest Service Botanist Steve Olson
will meet our group to show us
these significant natural areas in
deep southern Indiana. Massive
sandstone cliffs cloaked in eastern
hemlock and a variety of ferns
make Hemlock Cliffs Natural Area
one of the most scenic areas in
southern Indiana. Mountain laurel
and other ericaceous (heath) shrubs
are common along the ridge tops
and a plethora of ferns and other
cliff-dwelling plants occur here as
well. Located in the Shawnee Hills
Natural Region, this rugged
Crawford County natural area will
offer a challenging, but rewarding
hike. Be sure to bring a bag lunch
and enjoy it with our group fol¬
lowing the hike.
Afterwards, we will go to Boone
Creek Barrens in Perry County to
look at a very different and unusual
natural area. Boone Creek consists
of dry upland forests of centuries-
old post oak with small, scattered
barrens openings and many unusual
plants. This is one of only two sites
for the very rare prairie parsley
(Polytaenia nuttallii) in southern
Indiana. In addition to the inter¬
esting plants that Steve will show
us, management activities of the site
will also be discussed.
Leavenworth Barrens Nature
Preserve
Saturday, August 3, 10:30 AM
Division of Nature Preserves
Botanist, Mike Homoya will join us
at this scenic Crawford County site
to learn about limestone barrens.
Located within the Harrison-
Crawford State Forest near the
small Ohio River community of
Leavenworth, this preserve contains
fine examples of dry upland oak-
hickory forest, but the principal fea¬
ture for which the area is protected
and managed is the barrens. These
Events
dry, rather infertile sites are charac¬
terized by scrubby tree growth and
open areas with sun-loving grasses
and wildflowers. Interesting plants
that we hope to see include post and
blackjack oak, Indian grass
(Sorghastrum nutans), little
bluestem (Schizachyrium sco-
parium), prairie dock (Silphium
terebinthinaceum), blazing star
(Liatris spp.), and rattlesnake
master (Eryngium yuccifolium).
Granville Sand Barrens
Saturday, August 31, 2 PM
A hike led by Dr. David Krohne,
Plant Ecologist at Wabash College.
This nature preserve is a recent
acquisition by the Lafayette based
land trust, NICHES. Many of our
members may recall that INPAWS
provided financial support for this
important project. Dr. Krohne will
give us a tour of the dry sand bar¬
rens, a very rare natural community
type along the Wabash River.
Among the more unusual and inter¬
esting plants occurring here are
golden aster ( Chrysopsis cam-
porum) and blue curls (Trichostema
dichotomum).
Lime Lake and Gene Stratton
Porter State Historic Site
Saturday, September 21, 10 AM
We will travel to northeast Indiana’s
beautiful lake country where the
first part of our tour will be to view
one of the state’s highest quality
wetland fens. Located in the
extreme northwest corner of
Steuben County, this important nat¬
ural area is unknown to most, if not
all of our members. It is currently
owned and managed by the
14
Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News • Spring 2002
Division of Nature Preserves, but
has not yet been officially dedi¬
cated. Lee Casebere, Assistant
Director for the Division of Nature
Preserves and a past board member
of INPAWS will lead us through
this fascinating wetland, a site that
is chocked full of rare plants and
unusual physical features. Among
the more unusual plants we may see
are false asphodel (Tofieldia gluti-
nosa), tufted hairgrass
(Deschampsia cespitosa), and
fringed gentian (Gentiana procera).
Following our trip to Lime Lake we
will head south to Gene Stratton
Porter State Historic Site near Rome
City in Noble County. Please pack a
bag lunch as we will eat there and
later be joined by Naturalist Pat
Bolman who will guide us around
the grounds of the former home of
famed Hoosier naturalist and author
Gene Stratton Porter. A special
highlight of this portion of our trip
will be a tour of the exquisite gar¬
dens that are maintained on the
grounds.
All times are Indy (EST) time.
Meeting sites and other
details will be announced.
For more information contact
Programs/Field Trips
Chairman Roger Fledge
(317) 232-8062
rhedge@dnr.state.in.us
Letters
I really enjoyed the article on the
Kankakee mallow especially since I
have been growing it here at home.
I was given seeds from the original
island site by a former curator of
the Purdue Herbaria who personally
collected them. You might mention
in the next newsletter that they are
easily propagated by cuttings. I sug¬
gest using rooting hormone since I
have never tried doing without it.
(Collecting seeds has been
extremely difficult because
Japanese beetles love the flowers.)
Chris Brewster, President
INPAWS Central Chapter
Cooperstown, NY 1 3326
Last fall I received a publications
list for educators and naturalists
from the North Cascades Institute,
Sedro-Woolley, WA. Most were
specific to the state of Washington.
But the following could be useful in
Indiana, even though with a
Northwest slant.
Native Plant Notebook. 1998.412
pp. Technical USFS manual packed
.with information on how to use
local native plants for restoration
and revegetation projects.
Bioengineering and site preparation,
propagation and collections of
species common to the western
Cascades, prototype contract, moni¬
toring and more. Shrink-wrapped, 3
hole punched. $30.00.
Celebrating Wildflowers:
Educator ’s Guide to the
Appreciation and Conservation of
Native Plants. 1996. W. Scherrer, T.
Johannessen. 222 pp. Spiral bound.
Native plant education. Field &
classroom activities. 100+ plant
cards. Interdisciplinary, outstanding.
Grades 4-8. $20.00.
New York Botanical Garden Library
3 51
85
00345 5548
Celebrating Wildflowers Across the
Nation: How to Develop a Regional
Native Plant Education Program.
1999. W. Scherrer. 42pp. A Model
Program in Washington State, How
to Develop a Native Plant
Education Program, How to
Develop a Native Plant Curriculum
Guide, How to Organize and
Conduct Teacher Training
Workshops, Appendices. $10.00.
For more information or to order
you may call 360-856-5700 ext.
209.
Ruth Ann Ingraham
Dear Scott:
On behalf of the Indiana Native
Plant and Wildflower Society
(INPAWS), I am pleased to express
our profuse thanks for your gift of a
half-pound of stratified ginseng
(Panax quinquefolius) seeds.
They arrived in excellent condition,
packed well and included a chilling
bag. Your careful packaging reflects
the devotion to excellence that has
been demonstrated in your commu¬
nications and your web site design.
Some of the seeds will be placed
with a few of our members who
have the necessary knowledge and
site availability necessary for
optimum propagation results.
All plants grown from your donated
seeds will be sold for optimum
return, and the proceeds used to fur¬
ther our Mission Statement avail¬
able for viewing on our website
www.inpaws.org.
With sincere gratitude to friends of
conservation Scott and Sylva,
Rolland Kontak
Spring 2002
Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News
15
INPAWS 2002 Calendar of Events
All times below are Indy (EST) time. Meeting sites and other details will be announced.
For more information contact Programs/Field Trips Chairman Roger Hedge
(317) 232-8062 rhedge@dnr.state.in.us
Eagle’s Crest Nature Preserve
Saturday, April 20, 1 PM
Eagle Creek Park on the north¬
west side of Indianapolis.
Annual Native Plant Auction
and Sale
Saturday, May 11
see details on page 5
Big Walnut Nature Preserve
Saturday, May 18, 10 AM
Big Walnut Creek in west-central
Indiana’s Putnam County.
Hemlock Cliffs and Boone
Creek Barrens Natural Areas
Saturday, June 8, 10:30 AM
southern Indiana.
Leavenworth Barrens Nature
Preserve
Saturday, August 3, 10:30 AM
Harrison-Crawford State Forest
near the small Ohio River com¬
munity of Leavenworth.
Granville Sand Barrens
Saturday, August 31, 2 PM
Wabash River.
Lime Lake and Gene Stratton
Porter State Historic Site
Saturday, September 21, 10 AM
Steuben County
November
Annual Fall Conference
Date to be announced.
Location: one of our Indiana
state parks. Possible overnight
stay at the inn.
Please save this calendar for future reference.
See more detailed descriptions of these trips on page 14
Indiana Native Plant
and Wildflower Society
7740 West 88th Street
Indianapolis, IN 46278-1110
Address Service
Requested
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Non-Profit
Organization
U.S. Postage
PAID
Columbus, IN
Permit No. 296
LUESTER T. MERTZ
LIBRARY
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NEW YORK
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3
f Indiana Native Plant
and Wildflower Society
Volume 9 Number 2 • Summer 2002
NEWS
Raising Native Understory Shrubs from Seed by Bill Cullina
Growing anything from seed
requires some commitment of time
and space, but the rewards are great.
Also it is usually the only way to
obtain native plants from
seed-plants truly indigenous to your
own neighborhood or
comer of the
province. I have
chosen to focus on
a few of these, all
common understory
shrubs in our
forests, but often
difficult to obtain
from commercial
nurseries. I have
limited myself to
five so that I can go
into greater detail about their
wants and idiosyncrasies,
but much of the informa¬
tion can be applied to
other trees, shrubs and
wildflowers you might
wish to grow. While I do propagate
some plants from cuttings, I prefer
seed both because it preserves more
of the genetic diversity inherent in
most wild populations and because
it is frankly easier most of the time.
Hobblebush
Viburnum lantanoides or alnifolium
is a familiar colonial shrub of the
cool damp forests of New England
and eastern Canada. Though in the
wild it is usually a stoloniferous
shrub spreading about in search of
light gaps, in the garden it becomes
a beautifully layered, rounded spec¬
imen producing charming cymes of
creamy white
flowers ringed with
a skirt of large
sterile petals like
the lace cap
hydrangeas. Six
inch oval leaves
ridged like a crin¬
kled potato chip
frame berries that
ripen from green to red
and finally blue-black by
autumn, when the foliage
begins to turn an amazing mix
of burgundy, lime green, and
pink before falling. It is
one of the most recogniz¬
able shrubs in the
northern hardwood
forests, yet few if any nurseries pro¬
duce it. If you have some plants on
your property, it is not difficult to
dig a few rooted suckers and trans¬
plant them, but should you not be
that lucky, seed is the next best
option.
Many viburnums have embryos that
are immature at the time the berries
are ripe, and they need a few
months of additional warm tempera¬
tures (after-ripening) once cleaned
from the pulp to become developed
enough to germinate. Since the
fruits ripen naturally in the fall
when temperatures have cooled too
much to allow sufficient after¬
ripening, they will usually not ger¬
minate until the second spring.
However, if you harvest the seeds
as they just begin to flush red in late
summer, clean and sow them out¬
doors, they will germinate the first
spring. Another thing you must
realize is that a large proportion of
Raising continued on page 2
Inside . . .
President’s Message ... 3
Plant Detectives . 4
Botany 101-13
Name that Conifer . 5
Multiflorae . 6
Small Grants Guidelines. 7
Chapter Reports . 8
Plant Sale Success! .... 9
Reclaiming the Forest. . 10
Landscaping for Wildlife 11
:
Calendar of Events. ... 14
Insert: Membership Renewal
Spicebush
(Lindera benzoin)
Raising continued from page 1
hobblebush seeds are non-viable. I
imagine this is a ruse meant to dis¬
courage chipmunks and squirrels,
who will eat the seeds. A squirrel
will tend to pass on a plant that has
many empty seeds in favor of one
with more full ones. For the propa¬
gator, this means collecting 2-3
times more than you need in order
to get enough good seed.
Fortunately this is usually not a
problem, as hobblebush produces
copious berries.
My procedure is to pick the fruits as
they blush red (mid August in cen¬
tral New England), mash them up a
bit to crack the skins, and drop the
lot into a big bucket filled with
water (if the seeds float too much,
drop an old plate on top of them).
Let the seeds soak for 10 days until
they are a putrefying mass (don’t
leave the bucket in the house!) and
then rinse off the. rotted pulp over a
screen using a garden hose. You
may not be able to get every last bit
off, but the chemical inhibitors in
the pulp should be sufficiently
destroyed. Sow the seed and place it
outdoors where rodents cannot get
at it (I like to screen off a cold
frame with hardware mesh to pre¬
vent their access). By fall, viable
seeds will have sprouted a root, and
these will send up cotyledons and a
set of leaves the following spring.
Young seedlings are best left in the
flat for a year before moving them
on, and they like the kind of cool,
shaded spot you’d find them in nat¬
urally. Alternatively, you can put the
cleaned seed in a plastic bag mixed
with some moist sand or vermiculite
and leave it on the desk for three
months, then store it in the refriger¬
ator until you can sow it directly
into your woods in spring.
Spicebush
Lindera benzoin is a broad-leaved
understory shrub of wooded wet¬
lands throughout the eastern U.S.
and southern Ontario. It has a multi¬
stemmed, wide-spreading habit and
pretty, dull blue-green, oval leaves.
The leaves and especially the bark
have a great, spicy aftershave scent
Raising continued on page 12
The Newsletter of the
Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society
©Copyright 2002
Published quarterly by the Indiana Native
Plant and Wildflower Society for members.
Material may be reprinted with the
permission of the editor.
We welcome opposing viewpoints.
Articles, letters, drawings should be sent to
Carolyn Harstad, 5952 Lieber Road,
Indianapolis, IN 46228.
www.inpaws.org
The mission of the Indiana Native Plant and
Wildflower Society is to promote the apprecia¬
tion, preservation, conservation, utilization and
scientific study of the flora native to Indiana and
to educate the public about the values, beauty,
diversity and environmental importance of
indigenous vegetation.
Newsletter Committee
Editor
Carolyn Harstad (317) 257-9452
pharstad@iupui.edu
Associate Editor
Art Hopkins (812) 372-2862
arthop@earthlink.net
Design/Layout/Production
Anne Wilson (812) 342-6838
wilson@hsonline.net
Officers 2000-2001
President
Linda Oxenrider (317) 873-5390
goxen@iquest.net
Co Vice President
Roger Hedge (317) 232-8062
rhedge@dnr.state.in.us
Co Vice President
TomSwinford (317)232-4052
tswinford@dnr.state.in.us
Recording Secretary
Nancy Hill (317) 283-8345
nanhill86@earthlink.net
Corresponding Secretary
Mary Kraft (317)773-5361
mkraft2@earthlink.net
Treasurer
Carolyn Q. Bryson (317) 873-4205
quinnell@iquest.net
Membership
Mary Welch-Keesey (317) 638-4328
marywelchkeesey@cs.com
Native Plant Rescue/
Invasive Plant Removal
Amy Kress
Laura Mulligan
Newsletter
Carolyn Harstad
Programs/Field Trips
Roger Hedge
Public Information
Mary Kraft
Speakers Bureau
Colletta Kosiba
K.
Website
Anne Wilson
(765) 213-3540
akress@mcc.mccoak.org
(317) 769-7740
lemfr@aol.com
(317) 257-9452
pharstad@iupui.edu
(317) 232-8062
rhedge@dnr.state.in.us
(317) 773-5361
mkraft2@earthlink.net
(317) 852-5973
colletta@hotmail.com
wilson@hsonline.net
Committees
Annual Conference
Eleanor Bookwalter
Auction/Plant Sale
Kelly Frank
Demonstration Gardens
Linda Bullard
Education
Dan and Sophia
Anderson
Grants and Awards
Elizabeth Mueller
Historian
Ruth Ann Ingraham
(317) 257-7095
bookedbook@aol.com
(765) 436-2483
kiwison@frontier.net
(317) 710-2708
plantlin@aol.com
(317) 849-3105
danjandl ©cs.corn
(317) 769-2412
mickey22@earthlink.net
(317) 253-3863
rai38@aol.com
Invasive Plant Education
Ellen Jacquart (317)951-8818
hankandellen@worldnet.net
Chapters
West Central Chapter
Chris Brewster (765) 463-7171
jim.chris.brewster@worldnet.att.net
North West Chapter
Jan Hunter (219) 772-0934
tephrosia@hotmail.com
East Central Chapter
Marcia Johnson
Central Chapter
Betsy Wilson
South Central Chapter
(765) 288-5629
marciaj50@aol.com
(317) 255-3304
geobet@iquest.net
Sherri McConnell (812) 332-4295
shermcconnell@netscape.net
Past Presidents
Carolyn Q. Bryson
Ruth Ann Ingraham
Carolyn Harstad
Jeffrey Maddox
2000-2001
1998-1999
1996-1997
1994-1995
2
Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News
Summer 2002
President’s Message
In 1984, when my father-in-law
retired, my in-laws built a home on
the 1 00-acre family farm and
moved to the country. Although
never a gardener or farmer, my
father-in-law loved the countryside
and would often rise early in the
morning, wash, dress, eat breakfast
and be calmly waiting by the
kitchen window as the first pink
rays of sunlight spilled over the
horizon. There he’d be, perhaps
steamy coffee in hand, perhaps busy
with a chore, but always ready to
watch the day begin. Hours later,
fists rubbing the sleep from our
eyes, the rest of us would stumble
awake.
“The doe and her fawn were at the
salt lick this morning,” he might
say, matter-of-factly. “And I spotted
that pesky woodchuck in the
meadow by the bam again.”
Although I never joined him on his
pre-dawn vigils, I understood the
motivation behind them. There’s
something special about the early
morning.
It’s a magical time when ornate spi¬
derwebs sag with dew, shreds of
mist float among the trees, the
ground is bathed in soft shadows
and the air hangs heavy with sweet
fragrances. The first rays of daylight
are greeted by the cacophony of
bird songs and the blooms and
foliage seem so fresh and new that
it’s like seeing them for the first
time.
At this time of year, as the dog days
of summer descend upon us, birds
and squirrels and worms are up
early, and so are many gardeners.
They all have work to do, and the
prospect of toiling under the midday
sun is disagreeable. Sunrise in a
by Linda Oxenrider
garden is a special time. Besides the
enjoyment of what you can gaze at,
mornings always bring the opti¬
mism of what you can do. This,
after all, could be the day that the
big project you have been planning
finally gets under way or, perhaps
this is the day to tackle that nagging
task that you have been putting off.
Today, at this early morning hour,
you could accomplish anything!
Exploding with vibrant color and
fascinating shapes, the gardens of
summer are beginning to bloom.
Each flower is unfolding and
bursting forth with distinctive
charm. I hope all of your dreams are
in full bloom. However, if you’re
like me, you may wish to relax with
a cup of coffee, rub the sleep from
your eyes, and just look for a while
first.
goxen@iquest.net
INPAWS Annual Conference
Saturday and Sunday, November 2 and 3, 2002
Plan now to attend the INPAWS
Annual Conference! This year the
event will be held at Canyon Inn in
beautiful McCormick’s Creek
State Park, Spencer, Indiana! As in
the past, conference meetings will
be held on Saturday.
However, we hope many of you
will wish to make it a weekend by
staying at the inn on Saturday
evening (Those coming from a dis¬
tance may want to stay Friday as
well). The conference committee is
busy planning exciting events for
Friday evening and Sunday,
including a naturalist-led hike in
the park.
A block of rooms has been reserved
at a cost of $59.00 for a single and
$69.00 for a double. Attendees are
responsible for booking their own
rooms.
Reservations can be made daily
from 8 AM until 10 PM by calling
1-812-829-4881
or toll-free 1-877-9CANYON.
You may also check availability and
make online reservations at
www.placestostay.com.
The inn is being remodeled and is
always popular, so to insure avail¬
ability make those reservations as
soon as possible.
For more information contact
Annual Conference Chairwoman
Eleanor Bookwalter
bookedbook@aol.com
Summer 2002
Indiana Native Plant and Wildf lower Society News
3
Plant detectives . . .
Seeds for Ceramists
Seed of
Seed of
Psilocarya scirpoides
What’s this grass doing
producing eggs, I won¬
dered, as the smooth,
glossy ovals caught
my eye. The minute
seeds fell easily
from their scales
into my palm. My
10X magnifying glass revealed
minuscule, pointed-tipped balloons
above decorated baskets. Enlarged,
what beautiful clay pots those seeds
would make! The picture in
Gleason’s jWw Britton and
Brown Illustrated Flora
(1952) revealed the seeds’
identity: not a grass but Tall
Nut Rush (Scleria triglom-
erata). (All “rushes” in
this article are really
sedge family
(Cyperaceae) members
Sedge (Carex) is just
one genus in this
family. Like lilies, genuine rushes
(Juncaceae) have six perianth parts.
Sedge family perianths are absent or
reduced to bristles.)
Potters seeking inspiration
for shapes, hues, textures,
glazes, and decorations
need only examine more
pictures of sedge family
seeds (achenes).
Botanists, of course want
to see the living plants.
Swink and Wilhelm, Plants of the
Chicago Region, Fourth Edition,
1994, tell us that many of these
plants flourish in the Dunes, give
associates, and indicate habitats,
among them sandy marsh edges and
sand mines dug down to the water
table. Seeds ripen from mid¬
summer to early fall. Some, like
Tall Nut Rush, are relatively
common; others are
state listed.
Besides Nut Rushes,
inspiring seeds occur
especially in
“PERBS,” my
Eleocharis melanocarpa acronym for
Psilocarya
(Bald Rush),
Eleocharis
(Spike Rush),
Rynchospora (Beak
by Barbara Plampin
hallii) seeds are little, top¬
like globes with wrinkled
longitudes.
Enjoy at least 42 more possibili¬
ties. Branch out into other sedge
genera. Maybe you can present
an Indiana “seed pot” to the
Governor’s Mansion.
Flower Stalk and Seed of
Scirpus hallii
Rush, and Bulbostylis (Hair Sedge)
and Scirpus (Bulrush). All Nut
Rush “pots” sit in decorated
bases or collars (hypogynia).
PERBS vessels have “lids”
(tubercles formed from persis¬
tent style bases). Bulrush
containers have neither
bases nor lids, but inter¬
esting bristles surround
most Bulrush and PERBS
seeds.
Seed of
Scleria reticularis
Some more possibilities:
Netted Nut Rush (Scleria
reticularis) has matte
finish white, “sordid”
gray, or, in my experi¬
ence, black seeds
“marked with narrow
ridges enclosing
shallow, irregularly
polygonal pits.”
Black-fruited Spike Rush
(Eleocharis melanocarpa) seeds
are really dark brown.
Somewhat resembling n. 0. .. , 0 , .
. 6 Flower Stalk and Seed of
upside-down pyramids, Rynchospora axillaris
these flat-topped, three¬
angled seeds are completely cov¬
ered with a flattish, lighter brown
lid. Each matte finish vessel bears a
longitudinal fold. State-endangered
Hall’s Tufted Bulrush (Scirpus
Further Tips:
Deam, Flora of Indiana
(1940) shows counties
not found in Swink and Wilhelm.
Fassett, A Manual of Aquatic Plants
(1957) pictures everything but Nut
Rushes and shows many otherwise
puzzling plant parts. A dissecting
microscope is helpful.
NB: About pictures: The old Britton
and Brown (Dover publishing
house) has large pictures of
seeds-not quite as accurate as those
in Fasset and Gleason.
Fasset has been revised
in two volumes,
@$90.00, as Aquatic and
Wetland Plants of
Northeastern North
America, U of Wisconsin
Press, 2001?, ISBN 0-299-
16330-X and ISBN 0-
299-16280-X).
Authors are Crow
and Hellquist.
Barbara Plampin is a
member of INPAWS,
a trustee of the
Shirley Heinze
Environmental Fund,
and a member of
Save the Dunes Council. She has a
Ph.D. in English literature from the
University of Michigan. Botany has
been her avocation all her life.
4
Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News
Summer 2002
Botany 101 - thirteenth in a series
Name That Conifer
by Dr. Rebecca Dolan
There are four major groups of
conifer trees in our region: pine,
spruce, fir and hemlock. From a
distance they may look pretty much
the same, but there are a few fea¬
tures that allow them to be easily
distinguished.
Fir needles are flat and leave a little
depression on the branch when they
fall off. Cones point upwards on the
branch. They are papery, rather
than woody, and fall apart as
seeds are released.
The American hemlocks
are trees, like in the
poem Hiawatha, not like
the poisonous European
herb Socrates drank.
Our hemlock’s needles
are short and borne in
double-ranks along the
branches. Each needle has
a double white line on its
undersurface. The top
branch of a hemlock tree
tends to droop to one side.
Hemlock cones are the cutest
ever, only reaching one inch in
length.
Pine trees bear their needles in
clusters, or fascicles. White pine
has five needles per fascicle, red
pine two. Pine needles are round in
cross-section and you can roll them
through your fingers. Pine cones
hang down from the branches.
Spruce needles are 4-angled. They
are borne singly on little pegs and
leave bumps on the stem when they
fall off. Cones hang down.
Eastern Hemlock
(Tsuga canadensis)
According to Deam’s 1940 flora,
the only conifers native to Indiana
are:
Prostrate juniper (Juniperus com¬
munis)
Eastern red cedar
(Juniperus virginianus)
Northern white cedar
(Thuja occidentalis)
Tamarack or larch
(Larix laricina)
Jack pine (Pinus banksiana)
White pine (Pinus strobus)
Virginia pine ( Pinus
virginiana)
Eastern hemlock (Tsuga
canadensis)
Canada yew (Taxus
candensis)
Southern cypress
(Taxodium distichum)
Hemlock and Canada
yew are plants with
northern affinities. They
are thought to survive in
Indiana only in relictual popu¬
lations on deep north-facing
slopes of creeks where they have
held on since soon after the glaciers
retreated.
Interestingly, with the possible
exception of red cedar, no conifers
are native to Marion County.
Becky Dolan is Director of the
Friesner Herbarium at Butler
University, and a charter member of
IN PAWS.
Summer 2002
Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News • 5
M U
T I
LORA
Coneflower Dig
Flora of Indiana Returns to Print
with Ellen Jacquart,
Director of Stewardship
Saturday, September 7, 2002
10:00 AM to 3:00 PM
(Indianapolis time)
Prairie Border Nature
Preserve, Jasper County
Free Purple
Coneflowers
(Echinacea pur¬
purea) to all
attending!
Ellen will be
leading a
workday at our
restoration plant¬
ings at Prairie Border
to remove purple coneflower and
pale purple coneflower plants.
These species are not native to
this particular area. Bring your
favorite shovel, plastic bags or
pots to put the plants in, gloves,
a lunch and water. You may take
home as many of these plants
as you like!
Directions: From the intersection
of U.S. 421 and SR 10, go west
four miles on SR 10 to Co. Rd.
400E. Go south one-half mile,
and you will see wooded
savanna on your left open up
into a prairie field. Park along
the road.
RSVPs would be appreciated.
Call (317) 951-8818 or e-mail
Ellen Jacquart at
ejacquart@tnc.org
to RSVP or if you have any
questions.
Originally published more than 60
years ago, in 1940, the Flora of
Indiana by Charles C. Deam con¬
tinues to serve as the primary
source of information for anyone
seriously involved in field botany
and species identification. The
Flora has just been brought back
into print by The Blackburn Press,
making it available again to
libraries, scholars, botanists, ecolo¬
gists, landscape architects, horticul¬
turists and gardeners who wish to
own or replace an invaluable refer¬
ence.
In working on the book, Deam
examined over 84,000 specimens;
and from these he prepared keys,
species accounts and range maps
showing species, occurrence by
county in Indiana. These maps
reflect detailed accounts as of 1 940
and remain useful in determining a
species, general range in the state.
The 1,236-page reference is finding
new uses today in natural landscape
restoration and protection.
For more information, we invite
you to point your browser to:
http://www.blackbumpress.com/flo-
raofindiana.html
or
http://www.amazon.com.
The Blackburn Press is a relatively
new publishing company, founded
with the mission of keeping in print
and available for purchase at rea¬
sonable prices book titles that
larger publishers have lost interest
in and have declared to be “out of
print.” It specializes in scientific
and technical books and textbooks
that are classics in their field.
Andrea Herbert
The Blackburn Press
Publishers of classic scientific and
technical books
P.O.Box 287, Caldwell, N.J. 07006
973-228-7077 Fax: 973-228-7276
AHerbert@BlackbumPress.com
Explore the latest additions to our
list at
http://www.BlackbumPress.com
www.inpaws.org
Visit our website for news and
information about INPAWS and
native plant issues, as well as
links to related organizations con¬
cerned with preserving native
plants and their habitats.
Send us your news, questions,
comments, ideas, suggestions.
Please email Anne Wilson
wilson@hsonllne.net
6
Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News
Summer 2002
f Indiana Native Plant
and Wildflower Society
Membership Application / Renewal
Annual dues pertain to the fiscal year January 1 - December 31.
Dues paid after September 1 are applied to the following fiscal year.
STATE:
□ Student . $10
□ Individual/Family . $20
□ Patron . $100
□ Sponsor . $250
□ Corporate . $500
CHAPTERS:
□ Central . $5
Boone, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks,
Johnson, Marion, Morgan, Shelby
□ East Central . $5
Blackford, Delaware, Grant, Henry, Jay,
Madison, Randolph
□ North West . $5
Jasper, Lake, LaPorte, Newton, Porter, Saint
Joseph, Starke
□ South Central . $0
Bartholomew, Brown, Greene, Jackson,
Lawrence, Monroe, Morgan, Owen
□ West Central . $5
Benton, Carroll, Cass, Fountain, Jasper, Montgomery,
Newton, Pulaski, Tippecanoe, Warren, White
Supporter (Additional Donation). . . $ _
Total Enclosed . $ _
All Chapter members must be State members.
Chapter membership is voluntary and members may
join more than one chapter.
For more membership information please contact
Mary Welch-Keesey, Membership Chairman
mwkeesey@cs.com, 317-638-4328
North
Chapter
West Central
Chapter
East Central
Chapter
Central
Chapter
South Central
Chapter
Name
Address
City
State, ZIP
Please complete this form and attach your check payable
to INPAWS or Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society.
Send the form and your check to:
INPAWS c/o Carolyn Q. Bryson
7740 West 88th Street
Indianapolis, IN 46278-1110
All donations above Student, Individual, Family and Chapter
dues are most appreciated and can aid our mission.
Donations are tax-deductible to the extent provided by law.
County
Telephone
Fax
Email
I would like to help with:
□ Annual
Conference
□ Conservation
□ Demonstration
Gardens
□ Education
(Child)
□ Grants and
Awards
□ Historian
□ Invasive Plant
Eradication
□ Membership
□ Native Plant
Rescue
□ Newsletter
□ Plant Auction/
Sale
□ Programs/
Field Trips
□ Public Education
(Adult)
□ Publicity
□ Speakers
Bureau
08/02
Indiana Native Plant
and Wildflower Society
The Mission
of the Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society is to promote the appreciation,
preservation, conservation, utilization, and scientific study of the flora native to
Indiana and to educate the public about the values, beauty, diversity, and environmen¬
tal importance of indigenous vegetation.
In addition to the more well known and popular wildflowers, native plants include
ferns, grasses, mosses, fungi, algae, vines, shrubs and trees, and even plants we often
refer to as “weeds.”
A love of wildflowers,
as well as an appreciation of the importance of their habitats, is what unites members
of the Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society. We number more than 500 and
include amateurs, professionals, naturalists, gardeners, environmentalists, hikers,
botanists, artists, photographers, and others who love the wild and value the beauty of
nature.
Join us and:
• find out why native plants are important and how to use them in your landscape
• learn how to protect habitats for native flora and fauna and how to rescue those
doomed by habitat destruction
• participate in native plant and seed auctions and sales, field trips to spectacular
Indiana sites, slide shows, and other activities
• receive our quarterly newsletter which will keep you informed about native plant
issues and related events around the state
Among its conservation efforts INPAWS has:
• contributed toward the purchase of threatened land
• helped fund a biological control program against invasive non-native plants
• joined with other organizations to print educational materials about non-native
invasive plants and landscaping with native plants
The Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society is a not-for-profit
501(c)(3) organization.
For more information visit our website: www.inpaws.org
Indiana Native Plant and Wildf lower Society (INPAWS)
Small Grants Program Guidelines
INPAWS has a small grants pro¬
gram to support projects that are in
line with the mission of the society.
Toward that end, the Board voted in
1998 to allocate $10,000 from the
general fund to an endowment
account. Interest from this account
will be available for grants. The
Awards Committee anticipates
funding two grants of up to $500
each this year.
We hope that these small grants will
be used in conjunction with other
sources of funding for project
enhancement such as signage and
brochures, special plantings or pur¬
chase of native seed stock.
The mission of INPAWS is to pro¬
mote the appreciation, preservation,
conservation, utilization and scien¬
tific study of the flora native to
Indiana and to educate the public
about the values, beauty, diversity
and environmental importance of
indigenous vegetation.
Applications are requested from
groups or individuals and must be
post-marked by October 1, 2002.
They will be reviewed by the com¬
mittee.
Application Procedures for the INPAWS Small Grants Program
Please submit the following:
1. Cover sheet including
• Name of project
• Amount requested
• Location
• Applicant/contact person
name, address, telephone
• New or existing project
• Category that best describes
the project: research, training,
education, conservation and
habitat, demonstration garden,
etc.
2. Text of proposal
(not to exceed 2 pages)
a) A summary of the project, not
to exceed fifty words
b) A clear, concise description of
the project which includes the
following:
• How does the project further
the INPAWS mission?
• Why is the project needed?
• Specific objectives to be
achieved
• Specific information on how
INPAWS grant funds would be
used
• Who benefits from the project?
How many? How do they
benefit?
• Names of organizations
involved, if any, with a brief
description of each, including
number of members
• Financial resources committed
to the project from other
sources, if any
• Anticipated starting and
completion date of the project
3. Budget sheet showing:
a) Labor, material and program
costs
b) Sources and amounts of funds
already raised, if any
c) Total cost of project
Fifty percent of funds awarded will
be available at the start of the pro¬
ject, 50% upon receipt of a final
report by the Awards Committee. In
addition, successful awardees must
prepare a poster or other presenta¬
tion to share with the membership
at the Annual Conference subse¬
quent to completion of the project.
Mail four copies of the grant
proposal, post-marked by
October 1, 2002, to Dr. Rebecca
Dolan.
Larger Grant Awards
At the discretion of the Board and
membership, larger awards may be
made from time to time from the
assets of the operating budget.
Requests for funds for special pro¬
jects may be made at any time to
the Executive Committee. All
requests must be made in writing
with a clear statement of how the
award would further the mission of
INPAWS and benefit our member¬
ship.
Dr. Rebecca Dolan
Friesner Herbarium
Butler University
4600 Sunset Avenue
Indianapolis, IN 46208
317-940-9413
317-940-9519 fax
rdolan@butler.edu
Summer 2002
Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News • 7
INPAWS Chapter Reports
Central Chapter News
A reminder that information about
the Central Chapter’s upcoming
meetings and events will be sent out
by e-mail. You will be notified
about opportunities, such as plant
rescues, by e-mail as well. If you
are a chapter member and are not
currently receiving our mails, we
may not have your correct, current
address. Those who do not have e-
mail will be notified by phone or
post card, time permitting. If you
want to be notified by phone or if
you change your e-mail address,
please let us know.
Betsy Wilson
317-255-3304
geobet@iquest.net)
Mark Outcalt
317-257-3574
maryhel@earthlink.net
Coming Events
Saturday, August 17,
2 to 4 PM
Holliday Park Nature Center
Sophia and Dan Anderson will pre¬
sent a slide show on cooking with
native plants. Bring native plants
that have multiplied or seeds that
you have collected for our first
annual plant/seed exchange fol¬
lowing the program.
Saturday, September 7,
10 AM to noon
Program and tour of the restoration
of the formal gardens belonging to
the Allison Mansion on the campus
of Marion College. The garden was
designed in 1915 by Jens Jenson
using all native plants. A brief his¬
tory and look at the original design
will be followed by a walk around
the garden. Park in the lot south of
Allison Mansion and meet at the
Colonnades just south of the
Mansion.
Sunday, October 6
annual meeting of the Central
Chapter. Pitch-in dinner, slide show
and election of officers.
Saturday, December 7
pitch-in Christmas party at Betsy
and George Wilson’s.
East Central Indiana
Chapter
Summer Field Trips
Saturday August 17 9:30 AM
Meet at the Fairgrounds across from
Minnetrista Cultural Center in
Muncie. Byron Torke will be taking
us to Summit Lake to see the DNR
prairie plantings as well as
Rogerville Cemetery’s natural
prairie.
If you have any questions e-mail me
or phone
Marcia Johnson
(765) 288-5629
marciaj50@aol.com
South Central Chapter
News
We had a great time at the
Sycamore Land Trust Gardening
and Landscaping Show. Cathy
Meyer, Ellen Jacquart and I tended
the SCINPAWS table in shifts.
We had a tri-fold display of inva¬
sive plants made by Carolyn
Bryson, and brochures on land¬
scaping with native plants and on
invasive plants in Indiana. Many
people picked up these and the
SCINPAWS membership forms.
The display brought many people to
the table with questions about inva-
sives, and laments that purple
loosestrife was on the list. We got a
variety of questions:
• How do I get rid of Japanese
Honeysuckle?
• I’ve got that plant in my yard,
what is it? (From a picture of Bush
Honeysuckle in the invasives
brochure.)
• What plant can I use as ground-
cover to replace the Ivy and Vinca
that is taking over. (Ellen suggested
wild ginger, and showed him the
chapter in Go Native! (by Carolyn
Harstad) on ground cover.)
• What is the difference between an
heirloom plant and a native plant?
(This question was prompted by our
location next to the Wylie House
table where they were selling heir¬
loom plant seeds.)
• Where can I buy native plants?
•Iam starting a project to create a
prairie in Gary; what types of plants
do you suggest? Where do I find
out what kinds of plants are appro¬
priate to my area?
• and many more.
There was a lot of interest in land¬
scaping with native plants, and we
ran out of that brochure. We also
had display copies of Go Native!,
the Field Guide to Indiana
Wildflowers, and Landscaping for
Wildlife. People were particularly
interested in Go Native!, and we
sent quite a few people down to the
Indiana University Press table
where they could purchase the
book.
8
Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News • Summer 2002
Lucille Bertuccio did a presentation
on worm composting on behalf of
SCINPAWS. There were many good
questions during this presentation,
and Lucille made it look easy. Other
SCINPAWS members made presen¬
tations. Russell Boulding talked
about soils of southern Indiana, and
Art Hopkins gave an around- the-
world slide tour of features that
make great garden landscapes great.
Thanks to Cathy and Ellen for
staffing the table, thanks to Ellen
for picking up the tri-fold display
and brochures in Indy and bringing
them to the convention center,
thanks to Carolyn for making the
display, and thanks to Lucille for
making the presentation on worm
composting.
The invasives display now belongs
to the chapter, so if you know of an
event in the area where you think
people would be interested in
learning more about native plants
and SCINPAWS, give me a call or
e-mail. I have the materials at my
house.
Sherri McConnell
(812) 332-4295
shermcconnell@netscape.net
West Central Chapter News
This spring and summer the West
Central Chapter has joined with the
Sycamore Audubon Society and the
Tippecanoe and West Lafayette
Parks Departments to co-sponsor a
nature series called “Wednesdays in
the Wild” which includes walks
through local parks and nature pre¬
serves. For example, on June 26
there was a walk through the prairie
at the Museums at Prophetstown.
We also exhibited displays on land¬
scaping with native wildflowers or
dealing with invasive alien plants
at the opening of Lafayette’s
Columbian Park Zoo (May 18),
Wildcat Creek Environmental Day
(June 8), Father’s Day at the
Museums at Prophetstown (June 16)
and Wabash Riverfest (July 13).
Our next meeting, open to the
public, will be on Monday, August
26, with a slide program by Wabash
College ecology professor David
Krohne. Be on the lookout for more
information or email me.
Chris Brewster
jim. chris. brewster@worldnet.att.
net
Plant Sale Success!
Kelly A. Frank,
Annual Plant Sale Chair
This year’s INPAWS plant sale is
now in the books and I am pleased
to report that it was a huge success
in every way. It netted nearly $7200
in sales, over 200 sales, 15 member¬
ships and many happy plant shop-
pers-all in two and a half hours!!!
None of this would have been pos¬
sible without the contribution of
more than 40 volunteers and 34
plant donors ! ! ! The volunteers
were amazing, each one so dedi¬
cated and fun to work with. And the
plants were impressive as well.
Thanks to all the donors for digging
at least two weeks in advance (the
plants were in beautiful condition),
for labeling all the material, and for
donating so much.
This was my first year as chair of
the event and also my first year
attending an INPAWS plant sale. I
am grateful to Linda Oxenrider for
offering me the opportunity to get
involved with such dedicated plant
lovers and stewards. I also have to
thank Jan Gustaferro, former plant
sale chair, for coaching me through
this year’s sale. I am happy to chair
the event again in 2003 (which will
be at the same great location, St.
Pius X School on the Saturday
before Mother’s Day).
I would be grateful for any com¬
ments about this year’s sale, or sug¬
gestions for next year. Please send
them to me at
kiwisan@fontiemet.net
or 10855 W 650 N,
Thorntown, IN 46071-9093.
Thank you again all who donated,
volunteered, and shopped-see you
at the sale next year!
Summer 2002
Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News
9
Reclaiming the Forest in
Broad Ripple Park in Indianapolis
by Ruth Ann Ingraham
On Saturday morning, June 8, 2002,
twelve of us entered the deep shade
of the old remnant forest in Broad
Ripple Park on the north side of
Indianapolis to join forces with Indy
Parks. Don Miller, Land
Stewardship Coordinator, and
Andrew Mertz, Project Manager of
Land Stewardship, and INPAWS
continued the ongoing
work to elimi¬
nate exotic
invasives
there.
INPAWS
adopted this
forest in
2000, and
hopes to remove
it from the
clutches of killer
invasives and to
return it to a
healthy state with an
abundance of native
spring ephemerals and
young trees. This forest
in a popular urban park
and is small and ulti¬
mately manageable.
Don and Andrew had cut
about an acre of Amur
bush honeysuckle shrubs
before we, the volunteers,
arrived. Indy Parks staff would later
spray the raw stumps with herbi¬
cide. We dragged the cut branches
into small piles within the woods.
(In the past we dragged the
branches out of the forest to be
chipped and used as mulch, a
process that works in the spring and
summer but not in the fall when the
shrubs have ripe berries.) This done,
we pulled Amur honeysuckle
saplings and small shrubs and garlic
mustard which we stuffed into black
plastic bags to be incinerated.
Large areas of the forest floor are
densely packed with creeping
euonymus or winter creeper. This
tenacious invasive is
difficult to eradi¬
cate because of
the waxy
coating on the
foliage. But
Don has found
a herbicide with
a penetrating
surfactant
that he hopes
will work
and had
applied it to
test areas ear¬
lier. Several
patches had
wilted and were
turning brown
following a single
treatment.
Creeping
euonymus has
climbed the tmnks
of several trees
where it will bloom
and produce fruit. This must be
pried loose and pulled down.
The difference in the appearance of
the forest where we have cleared
bush honeysuckle in the past and
what remains to be done is dra¬
matic. Once again you can look into
and through the forest. Before we
began two years ago, the understory
was solid Amur honeysuckle.
White trillium
(Trillium flexipes)
Trilliums, false Solomon’s seal,
wild ginger, and May apples were
seen and we heard a great crested
flycatcher and red-eyed vireos in
the treetops. There is more to be
done and stewardship will never
end. However, with willing volun¬
teers this forest will be a small gem.
Don observes that the herb layer is
starting to regenerate as are the
shrubs and canopy trees such as red
oak.
Afterwards we met under my beech
trees for pizza, provided by Indy
Parks, and fresh strawberries on ice
cream and cake. Then we toured my
garden and that of INPAWS
member and neighbor, Rob Day.
Volunteers were David and Nancy
Martikke, Ron Jackson, Kim Krull,
Diana and Lewis Simpson, Tom
Hulvershom, Charles and Marilyn
Spurgeon, Christy Krieg, Helen
Merrill and myself.
Dogwood
(Cornus florida)
10
Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News • Summer 2002
Birds Serving up their own Dinner
Landscaping for Indiana Wildlife
by Greg Oskay
With all of the various lists of
native Indiana wildflowers, trees
and shrubs that can be planted to
attract wildlife, how do you figure
out which ones will be their
favorites? You might go for a walk
around the neighborhood and see a
flock Cedar Waxwings gorging
themselves on
berries from a
Hawthorn.
Okay, that
may seem a
little too
easy. Or it
may really be
quite difficult,
getting out in all
seasons of the year
to see what the
birds are feasting
on. Then you
have to find a
source for all of
the assorted
plants.
Why not let
the birds help
you out with
the seed gath¬
ering and
planting. They are perfectly content
to help set their own table. Never
seen a thrush in your garden
wielding a shovel and hoe? They
will help out with the dirty work
(please excuse the pun) all the
same.
When the birds chow down on
berries from several species of trees
and shrubs, the pulp nourishes them
but the seed pit passes on through
their digestive system. In fact some
seeds require this acidic digestive
tract treatment in order to sprout. If
the bird makes its deposit on fertile
ground, up comes another plant for
future generations to feed on. It may
not sprout where you want it but
there is no law that says you can’t
transplant it to where it would fit
into your landscape design.
Eastern Red
Cedar, various
Dogwoods,
Elderberry,
Hackberry,
Hawthorn,
Pokeberry,
numerous
Viburnums
and Virginia
Creeper are
just some of
the benefi¬
cial wildlife
plants that
may be brought
into your habitat
by the birds.
Northern
Mockingbird, Gray
Catbird, American
Robin, Hermit
Thrush, Swainson’s
Thrush and Cedar Waxwing are
among the birds that will spread
seeds in this manner and in turn be
attracted by the plants that come up
in our habitats. Red Fox, Opossum,
Raccoon and Chipmunks will also
distribute seeds far and wide
through their droppings.
I wanted to plant Elderberries in our
backyard wildlife habitat. The blos¬
soms are attractive to butterflies and
the berries will attract a variety of
birds. I was unsure how to get an
Elderberry bush since none of the
local nurseries sold them.
Elderberry is quite common in rural
areas but at the time I did not know
anybody from whom I could get a
start. One day Bill Brink was over
for a tour of our habitat. I asked him
about a seedling that I did not rec¬
ognize that had sprouted in the
middle of the wildflower plot. He
identified it as Elderberry. The birds
had planted it for me. Didn’t partic¬
ularly want the Elderberry in the
middle of the wildflowers. It was
transplanted for use as a backdrop
for the wildlife pond where it has
prospered for many years.
Seed-eating birds will invariably
drop some seeds when picking apart
wildflower seed heads. These will
not be scattered as far and wide as
berry pits but will provide crops just
the same in future years.
Not everything that comes up wild
in the backyard habitat will be ben¬
eficial. Birds love the white berries
of Poison Ivy. They will also spread
the seeds of Bush Honeysuckle, one
of our worst woody weeds. The
wind distributes the seeds of many
other plants. Who knows what all
will sprout in your yard? Try to
identify plants that come up volun¬
tarily rather than instinctively
pulling them. Selective weeding
will eliminate the pest species yet
save some of the birds, favorite
wildlife food plants.
Elderberry
(Sambucus canadensis)
• 1 1
Summer 2002
Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News
Raising continued from page 2
that is one of my favorite woodland
smells. This is a dioecious species,
with both male and female plants
producing yellow-green flowers all
along their twigs in earliest spring
before the leaves have emerged to
obscure them. The flowers provide
an early bit of nectar for precocious
bees and flies when little else is in
bloom, and the female plants set
good crops of oily, nutritious berries
(technically drupes) that are
relished by many birds. In
order to beat the birds to a
few fruits, I collect
them in early fall when
they are beginning to
turn from green to
yellow, then orange
and red. The leaves
begin to color a soft,
luminous yellow about
the time the berries
are ripening, which
helps remind me to col¬
lect them. You may have
to search a few shrubs
before you find a good
berry-producing female.
Collect the seeds and
handle them like hob-
blebush. They are
intolerant of drying out, so after
cleaning, either sow them immedi¬
ately or store them in a plastic bag
filled with moist sand/vermiculite.
If sown in fall and over-wintered in
a screened cold frame, the little
seedlings will emerge vigorously in
spring, and will careful watering
and a light dose of liquid fertilizer
every few weeks (Miracle Gro or
equivalent) they will be ready to
move into individual pots or a
seedling bed after a month or so.
This same technique works for most
dogwoods Comus spp. as well as
hollies like Ilex verticillata. Most
hollies and summer-ripening dog¬
woods like pagoda dogwood Cornus
altemifolia and gray dogwood C.
racemosa need a period of warm
after-ripening like hobblebush,
while fall-ripening Comus like
flowering dogwood C. florida, need
only a period of cold stratification
after cleaning like spicebush.
The final berried shrub I’ll cover is
one of my favorites-leatherwood
Dirca palustris. In damp, flood-
plain forests in southern
Quebec, Ontario and
the eastern U.S.,
especially those
with soil enriched
by limestone, it
grows as a rather
scraggly, multi¬
stemmed plant, but
like hobblebush, if
you give it a place in
the garden, it becomes a
truly fine specimen. In such
situations it will form a short
trunk forking quickly into
several limbs supporting a
rounded crown. Its stems
swell and thicken out of
all proportion with their
size, so the shrub takes
on the same brawny
thickened quality that makes bonsai
so appealing. In early spring, about
the time spicebush is flowering,
dangling pale yellow flowers tassel
every stout branch and fade just as
the broadly oval to nearly rounded,
3-5 cm leaves swell large enough to
notice. The foliage is a soft, glau¬
cous green, and looks its best in
dappled shade or morning sun. The
problem with collecting leather-
wood seeds is: a) they ripen in late
spring, when I am madly rushing
around with a thousand things to
do; b) the seeds give little indication
they are ripe other than a subtle
Mountain Laurel
(Kalmia lati folia)
shift from leaf green to yellow
green; and c) they hide up amongst
the leaves so thoroughly that I find
it easier to lie down underneath the
bush and look up into it to find
them. If you miss the seed by a day
or two, it drops off into the leaf
litter and is gone. Since such incon¬
spicuous fruits hardly seem able to
attract the attention of birds, espe¬
cially at this time of year when
most are busy gathering insects to
nourish their young, I imagine they
are dispersed by herculean ants,
floodwaters, or simple gravity.
(Many mature Dirca have a large
crop of seedlings growing under¬
neath them that obviously got no
farther than the point where they
landed.) Since they are not designed
to pass through a digestive system,
you don’t need to clean off the thin
flesh from around the seed, and in
fact this is one of the rare cases
where sowing the uncleaned seed
will give better germination. They
also need a long period of after¬
ripening and then an equally long
winter and slow warm-up in spring
that is easiest to provide by sowing
them outdoors in flats or a prepared
seedbed and waiting until the fol¬
lowing spring for them to germi¬
nate. Seedlings emerge with a few
leaves the first year, but are best left
alone until the following spring.
Witchhazel
Hamamelis virginiana has forsaken
the vagaries of wind, water or
animal dispersal entirely, relying
instead on sheer physics. The
common name comes from its use
as a dowsing rod (also called water-
witching) and its passing resem¬
blance in leaf to the true hazels
Corylus spp. These stems are good
for dowsing because they fork
widely at the tips, with new shoots
12 • Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News
Summer 2002
coming most vigorously from the
ends of last year’s progress. Thus,
they develop a characteristic flat¬
tened and vase-shaped form that
makes them easy to spot in the
woodlands of eastern Canada and
the U.S. Witchhazel laughs in the
face of winter, sending out its small
yellow flowers with their four
ribbon-like petals in fall, just as its
leaves are coloring a striking apricot
yellow, at this time of year, it has
little competition for pollinators
scrambling furiously to stock up for
the winter or at least find the energy
to lay eggs before they die, and
many of the flowers develop two-
chambered woody capsules. These
swell a bit the first fall, then grow
in earnest the following summer so
that by the time the next crop of
flowers is unrolling its petals, they
are ready for launch. As the seeds
mature, the capsules split open,
revealing their cargo in all its shiny
brown beauty. There is a membrane
surrounding each of the four seeds
that begins to dry and constrict on
contact with the air, putting pressure
on the lower side of the seed until it
is forcibly ejected at great velocity,
the seeds can travel up to 10 meters,
hopefully to a spot conducive to
their establishment and growth. To
collect these miniature projectiles,
you must gather them just as the
capsules begin to open in fall and.
drop the lot into a paper bag closed
tightly and left indoors, after a week
or two, the popping will cease, and
you can pick out the pointed oval
seeds. These, too, need a few
months of warm moist conditions to
after-ripen, which at this time of
year is best accomplished by putting
them in a bag of moistened sand or
vermiculite and transferring them to
the refrigerator (not the freezer)
around New Year’s Eve for the
duration of the winter.
Finally, there are a few woodland
shrubs that rely on wind to disperse
their seeds, but these are often so
tiny that they need special condi¬
tions to germinate. The most
familiar of these are many members
of the Rhododendron tribe,
including the sweetly scented rose
azalea (Rhododendron prino-
phyllum, formerly R. roseum). The
rhododendrons and indeed most of
their relatives like Kalmia spp.
(sheep, bog, and mountain laurel)
and Labrador tea (Ledum or now
Rhododendron groenlandicum) are
what I like to call moss germina-
tors. their tiny seeds germinate and
grow best in the mossy carpets that
form on stumps, logs, and boggy
hummocks, they can grow in this
sort of acidic, nutrient-poor envi¬
ronment because the seedlings
quickly become infected by erica-
ceous endomycorrhizae, fungi that
invade their fine roots and aid in the
uptake of nitrogen as well as other
vital nutrients, the ever-moist moss
provides these plants with a clear, m
camp place to establish, and the
fungi provide the rest.
To raise these plants yourself, look
for ripe capsules in fall, about the
time of the first hard frosts. Collect
these and mash them some .to
loosen the seed, then shake them
through a kitchen strainer to sepa¬
rate the winged, rust-colored seed,
you can take the natural approach
and store the seed in a paper
envelop in the refrigerator through
the winter, then shake it into a patch
of damp moss (the femleaf moss,
Thuidium delicatulum, works well
for this), but I have more consistent
results if I germinate the seed
indoors. My usual procedure is to
scatter the seed on a flat of damp¬
ened peat moss and seal the lot in a
self-sealing, plastic bag. I put the
bag under fluorescent lights set for
16 hours on, 8 off, as the seeds ger¬
minate best with light and long
days. If you sow them in winter and
grow them under lights all winter,
you will have nice little seedlings
ready to move outdoors come
spring. Be careful to watch the
bags, and crack them open slightly
should you see signs of mold.
Regardless, it is better to open the
bags to encourage air movement
once the seed has fully sprouted,
dilute liquid fertilizer will speed
things along, but you may have to
water the seedlings with rainwater
or distilled water if your tap water
is hard. (I have to collect and melt
snow because our water is very high
in calcium and magnesium, the
results of this extra effort have been
well worth the trouble.)
Bill Cullina is the Nursery
Manager/Propagator for the New
England Wild Flower Society, 180
Hemenway road, Framingham, MA,
01701-2699, tel. 508-877-7630,
www. newfs.org.
Reprinted from Wildflower,
Spring 2001.
Summer 2002
Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News
13
INPAWS 2002 Calendar of Events
All times below are Indy (EST) time. Meeting sites and other details will be announced.
For more information contact Programs/Field Trips Chairman Roger Hedge
(317) 232-8062 rhedge@dnr.state.in.us
Granville Sand Barrens
Saturday, August 31, 2 PM
A hike led by Dr. David Krohne,
Plant Ecologist at Wabash College.
This nature preserve is a recent
acquisition by the Lafayette based
land trust, NICHES. Many of our
members may recall that INPAWS
provided financial support for this
important project. Dr. Krohne will
give us a tour of the dry sand bar¬
rens, a very rare natural community
type along the Wabash River.
Among the more unusual and inter¬
esting plants occurring here are
golden aster ( Chrysopsis cam-
porum) and blue curls (Trichostema
dichotomum).
Annual Conference
Nov 2-3 (please see page 3)
Lime Lake and Gene Stratton
Porter State Historic Site
Saturday, September 21, 10 AM
We will travel to northeast Indiana’s
beautiful lake country where the
first part of our tour will be to view
one of the state’s highest quality
wetland fens. Located in the
extreme northwest comer of
Steuben County, this important nat¬
ural area is unknown to most, if not
all of our members. It is currently
owned and managed by the
Division of Nature Preserves, but
has not yet been officially dedi¬
cated. Lee Casebere, Assistant
Director for the Division of Nature
Preserves and a past board member
of INPAWS will lead us through
this fascinating wetland, a site that
is chock-full of rare plants and
unusual physical features. Among
the more unusual plants we may see
are false asphodel (Tofieldia gluti-
nosa), tufted hairgrass
(Deschampsia cespitosa), and
fringed gentian (Gentiana procera).
Following our trip to Lime Lake we
will head south to Gene Stratton
Porter State Historic Site near Rome
City in Noble County. Please pack a
bag lunch as we will eat there and
later be joined by Naturalist Pat
Bolman who will guide us around
the grounds of the former home of
famed Hoosier naturalist and author
Gene Stratton Porter. A special
highlight of this portion of our trip
will be a tour of the exquisite gar¬
dens that are maintained on the
grounds.
Indiana Native Plant
and Wildflower Society
7740 West 88th Street
Indianapolis, IN 46278-1110
Address Service Requested
*******#***MIXED ADC 460
■MY botanical GARDEN
the luester t mertz library
BRONX, NY 10458
Non-Profit
Organization
U.S. Postage
PAID
Columbus, IN
Permit No. 296
</V
sm^L
1
f Indiana Native Plan!
and Wildflower Society
Volume 9 Number 3 • Autumn 2002
NEWS
Gardens for the 21st Century
by Janet Marinelli
Used to be, gardeners bragged
about their green thumbs. Today,
brandishing mulching mowers and
compost bins, we consider our¬
selves green to the core. But our
gardens are ecological
wastelands.
Across a continent
of breathtaking bio¬
logical diversity we
have planted the same
20 to 30 plants from
around the worid: a
golf -course-quali tv
lawn, some meticu¬
lously clipped
yews, a rhododen¬
dron or two and
a handful of
specimen
trees ringed by bego¬
nias and other annuals.
that are critical habitat for countless
other creatures.
According to conventional gar¬
dening wisdom, importing plants
from around the globe increases an
area's biological diversity.
Yet biodiversity isn't a
simple matter of
numbers of species.
Free of the checks
and balances that
controlled their
reproduction in
their original lands,
scores of introduced
plants have jumped
the garden gate and
choked out indigenous
vegetation. Conversely,
pampered exotics fail to flourish
beyond the backyard because they
can't forge the kinds of ecological
As wilderness shrinks and backyard
acreage increases, the ecological
impact of home gardeners grows
ever greater. The U.S. Census
Bureau calculates that the nation's
inner suburbs have almost doubled
in the past two decades and 400
square miles are added every year.
It's no wonder that the Missouri-
based Center for Plant Conservation
is concerned about the long-term
survival of 4.279 of America's
23, 000 native plant species-plants
relationships that enable them to
prosper and evolve in their native
habitats.
Home gardens have a potential as
ecological sanctuaries that is just
beginning to be explored. In ever-
increasing numbers, gardeners are
viewing their properties as potential
habitats, not simply collections of
pretty plants. They're restoring
native plant communities, learning
how to put back the pieces so that
nature can heal itself and get on
with evolution.
Northeast gardeners are re-creating
the dense lavers of North America's
deciduous forest. Under towering
canopy trees spared by the bull¬
dozer they’re replacing lawn with
understory species such as the flow¬
ering dogwood, with exquisite wild
azaleas and other native shrubs,
with woodland wildflowers and
ferns. Gardeners in the Midwest are
re-creating native prairie. Arizonans
are designing their gardens with
such distinctive Sonoran Desert
natives as the giant saguaro. the
multi-stemmed ocotillo and the
sculptural prickly pear.
Gardens continued on page 2
Inside . . .
Quadruple Mystery . 3
Botany 101-14
Reproduction
in Gymnosperms . .4
Panel Discussion . 5
Native Plants in
Your Garden? Why?. . . 6
Multiflorae . 8
Chapter Reports . 8
Small Grants Guidelines. 9
Insert: Membership Renewal
Gardens continued from page 1
Typically, these zones of natural
landscape are planted toward the
edges of the property; natives and
well-behaved exotics mingle in
more traditional plantings in the
immediate vicinity of the house.
Without exception, as gardeners
restore native plant communities,
they discover to their delight that
wildlife find their way back and
make themselves at home.
Imagine the possibilities: a new
suburban landscape in which natural
gardens link up to provide living
space for beleaguered wildlife,
forming a network of corridors that
crisscross the continent. Imagine a
new definition of rare and unusual
plants (the kinds sophisticated gar¬
deners covet) based on native
species that require human help to
thrive or even survive. Virtually
everywhere there are species that
have lost so much ground that they
can no longer repopulate former
habitat. Planting them can be a gar¬
dener's great gift to the planet.
For millions of years, birds and
bees have been agents of biodiver¬
sity, scattering pollen an seed across
the land. Now humans must play a
similar role. Biologically, restored
habitat is defective. But as ecolo¬
gists struggle to heal the land,
nature acquires, in author William
Jordan's words, “an alternative
mode of reproduction, one that is
capable, if not of handling it to per¬
fection, at least of making it com¬
patible with the speeded-up pace of
cultural evolution.” He calls this a
radical evolutionary metamorphosis.
Home gardeners are struggling to
make this same evolutionary leap.
Janet Marinelli is an editor at the
Brooklyn Botanic Garden and
author of The Naturally Elegant
Home, published by Little, Brown in
1992, and Stalking the Wild
Amaranth: Gardening in the Age of
Extinction ( Henry Holt, 1998).
For more information about the
book, see
http://209.25. 1 29.28/acb/ showdetl .cf
m?&DID=8&CATID=7&Product_I
D=72&count=3&P
count=5&DETAIL= 1
The Newsletter of the
Indiana Native Plant and Wild flower Society
©Copyright 2002
Published quarterly by the Indiana Native
Plant and Wildflower Society for members.
Material may be reprinted with the
permission of the editor.
We welcome opposing viewpoints.
Articles, letters, drawings should be sent to
Carolyn Harstad, 5952 Lieber Road,
Indianapolis, IN 46228.
www.inpaws.org
The mission of the Indiana Native Plant and
Wildflower Society is to promote the apprecia -
non, preservation, conservation, utilization and
scientific study of the flora native to Indiana and
to educate the public about the values, beauty,
diversity and environmental importance of
indigenous vegetation.
Newsletter Committee
Editor
Carolyn Harstad (317) 257-9452
pharstad@iupui.edu
Associate Editor
Art Hopkins (812) 372-2862
arthop@earthlink.net
Design/Layout/Production
Anne Wilson (812) 342-6838
wilson@hsonline.net
Officers 2002-2003
President
Linda Oxenrider (317)873-5390
goxen@iquest.net
Co Vice President
Roger Hedge (317) 232-8062
rhedge@dnr.state.in.us
Co Vice President
Tom Swinford • (317)232-4052
tswiniord@dnr.state.in.us
Recording Secretary
Nancy Hill (317) 283-8345
nanhill86@earthlink.net
Corresponding Secretary
Mary Kraft (317) 773-5361
mkraft2@earthlink.net
Treasurer
Carolyn Q. Bryson (317) 873-4205
quinnell@iquest.net
Membership
Mary Weich-Keesey (317) 638-4328
maryweichkeesey@cs.com
Native Plant Rescue/
Invasive Plant Removal
Amy Kress (765) 213-3540
Laura Mulligan
Newsletter
Carolyn Harstad
Programs/Fi%ld Trips
Roger Hedge
Public Information
Mary Kraft
Speakers Bureau
Colletta Kosiba
Website
Anne Wilson
akress@mcc.mccoak.org
(317) 769-7740
lemfr@aol.com
(317) 257-9452
pharstad@iupui.edu
(317) 232-8062
rhedge@dnr.state.in.us
(317) 773-5361
mkraft2@earthlink.net
(317) 852-5973
K_colletta@hotmail.com
wilson@hsonline.net
Committees
Annual Conference
Eleanor Bookwalter
Auction/Plant Sale
Kelly Frank
Demonstration Gardens
Linda Builard
Education
Dan and Sophia
Anderson
Grants and Awards
Eiizabeth Mueller
Historian
Ruth Ann Ingraham
(317) 257-7095
bookedbook@aol.com
(765) 436-2483
kiwison@frontler.net
(317) 7 10-2708
plantlin@aol.com
(317) 849-3105
danjandl @cs.com
(317) 769-2412
mickey22@earthlink net
(317) 253-3863
rai38@aol com
nvasive Plant Education
Ellen Jacquart (317)951-8818
hankandellen@worldnet.net
Chapters
West Central Chapter
Chris Brewster (765) 463-7171
jim.chris.brewster@worldnet.att net
North West Chapter
Jan Hunter (219) 7 72-0934
tephrosia@hotmail.com
East Central Chapter
Marcia Johnson
Central Chapter
Betsy Wilson
(765) 288-5629
marciaj50 @aol . com
(317) 255-3304
geobet@iquest.net
South Central Chapter
Sherri McConnell (812) 332-4295
shermcconneil@netscape.net
Past Presidents
Carolyn Q. Bryson
Ruth Ann Ingraham
Carolyn Harstad
Jeffrey Maddox
2000-2001
1998-1999
1996-1997
1994-1995
2 •
Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News • Autumn 2002
Plant detectives . . .
Quadruple Mystery
False (Sand) Heather
(Hudsoma iomentosa)
Dog’s Dinner is a Cinderella! Most
of the year, this twiggy sand-hugger
looks gray and dying, even dead.
Come late May or early June
though. Dog’s Dinner,
which is more
graciously
and com¬
monly des¬
ignated
False (Sand)
Heather
( Hudsoniu
tomentosa),
bursts into dense
mats of tiny, clear
lemon-yellow stars
resting on dark
green leaves.
The setting, dis¬
turbed sand,
adds to the
beholders delight. Associates of this
state-threatened plant include False
White-haired Panic Grass
(Panic um
villosissimum
pseudopubescens ),
and state-threat¬
ened Jointweed
(Polygonella
articulata). Less
common companions
include Eastern Prickly
Pear Cactus ( Opuntia
kumifusa), and Starry
False Solomon's Seal
(Smilacina stellata).
Indiana populations
occur in Lake,
Porter, Kosciusko
and Tippecanoe
Counties. Dunes plants flourish a
mile or more south of the Lake.
Jointweed
(Poiygonella articulata)
False Heather poses several mys¬
teries. First, why “Heather?” when
its dense hairs would seem to place
it in the Rockrose (Cistaceae)
family? Appearance and
growth habit explain.
Another mystery is how it
can survive its harsh envi¬
ronment? Minute, scale-like
leaves lying like roof tiles flat
against stems help conserve
moisture. Dense leaf hairs
resist sharp grains of blowing
sand and desiccating winds.
Can you grow it? Swink and
Wilhelm report the plant’s intro¬
duction into an Illinois nature
preserve, whether permanently
or not, I don't know. I do
know that a friend and I,
although supervised by
Indiana Dunes National
Lakeshore botanists, failed twice to
re-introduce it into a former site
presumably containing the nec¬
essary mycorrhizal fungus.
Perhaps the biggest mystery
though is: how did False
Heather get here? False
Heather is one of approxi¬
mately seventy “CPs” or Atlantic
Coastal Plain disjuncts. plants with
their major populations on or near
the east and south coasts. CPs leapt
over hundreds of miles to home¬
stead along the southern Great
Lakes and occasionally inland as far
as the Nebraska Sand Hills and
even western Canada. Did
CPs travel up the Mississippi
valley or follow the shore of
such now-vanished post¬
glacial waters as the Champlain Sea
which once covered the sites of
by Barbara Plampin
Quebec, Ottawa, and Lake
Champlain? Floyd Swink believed
birds carried the seeds, and some
believe birds plus post-glacial
waterways are the answer.
Starry False Solomon s Seal
(Smilacina stellata)
Some books:
Britton and Brown. An Illustrated
Flora of the Northern United States
and Canada , 1913, 1970;
Greenberg, Natural History of the
Chicago Region , 2002:
Pielou, After the Ice Age: The
Return of Life to Glaciated North
America, 1991;
Swink and Wilhelm. Plants of the
Chicago Region, Fourth Edition,
1994;
Yatskievycn, Field Guide to Indiana
Wildflowers, 2000.
Barbara Plampin is a member of
1NPAWS , a trustee of the Shirley
Heinze Environmental Fund, and a
member of Save the Dunes Council.
She has a Ph.D. in English
literature from the University of
Michigan. Botany has been her
avocation all her life.
Autumn 2002 • Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News * 3
Botany 101 - fourteenth in a series
Reproduction in Gymnosperms
by Dr. Rebecca Dolan
Have you ever seen a
flower on a pine
tree? Remember
that flowers are
composed of
whorls of parts
(sepals, petals,
stamens and
carpels) and that
fertilization
occurs in ovules
found in the
ovaries of the
carpels. You
know that pine
trees and other
conifers bear
their seeds in
cones, not
flowers. How
are cones dif¬
ferent and how
does fertiliza¬
tion occur in
conifers and
other gym¬
nosperms? I’ll
use pine as an
example.
Female Pine Cone
Most pines have
separate male and female cones.
The male cones are usually borne
on lower branches, female on
higher branches, presum¬
ably to lower the chances
of self- fertilization. Male
cones are small and non-
woody. They function to
produce winged pollen
grains that are released
into the air in spring. If
you park your car under a pine
releasing pollen, you will need your
windshield wipers!
Male Cone
Scale
Woody pinecones are female
cones. They are actually mod¬
ified branches. Ovules con¬
taining eggs are produced
on woody cone scales
that have an under¬
lying sterile papery
bract. These
scale/bract units
are spirally
arranged aiong the
axis of each cone.
Female cones take
two years to
mature and pro¬
duce seed. The first
year, the cones are
green and closed. In
the spring, they
open slightly
and a drop of
sticky fluid
* on the outside
of each
scale/bract unit
traps pollen and
pulls it inside
the closed
cone as it
evaporates.
This is pollination.
Fertilization occurs in the
ovules of the still closed
cones. It may take as
long at 15 months
after pollination for it
to occur. During this
time, pollen tubes have
been growing and the
egg has been formed.
Each pollen grain pro¬
duces two sperm, as in flow¬
ering plants. One sperm joins
with the egg during fertilization.
The other disintegrates. Do you
remember what happens to the
second sperm in flowering
plants? Recall it fuses
with the polar nuclei to
form endosperm that
feeds the developing
embryo. Gymnosperms
do not have this double
fertilization, and do not
produce endosperm.
Female Cone
Scale
Mature cones release
seeds in the second fall
following pollination.
A pine seed contains an embryo,
nutritive tissue formed from struc¬
tures inside the ovule without
double fertilization, and a seed
coat. Wings on the seeds help
propel them away from the
tree.
Other gymnosperms
have greater or lesser
variations on this
theme.
Becky Dolan is
Director of the
Friesner
Herbarium at
Butler University,
and a charter
member of INPAWS.
Illustrations by Jan
Glimn Lacy, INPAWS
charter member and
botanical illustrator,
from her book Botany
Illustrated
Male Pine Cone
4 • Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News • Autumn 2002
by Art Hopkins
Panel Discussion on Native and Invasive Plants
Native and Invasive Plants were
discussed at a program on Tuesday,
September 24, at the library in
Columbus, Indiana. Speakers were
Rob McGriff, District Forester with
the Indiana Department of Natural
Resources (IDNR); Cliff Chapman,
Regional Ecologist with the
Department of Natural Resources,
Division of Nature Preserves; Nick
Rush, Columbus City Parks and
Recreation Department, Director of
Park Operations and City Arborist;
and INPAWS member Art Hopkins,
registered Landscape Architect.
The speakers’ varied backgrounds
made for an interesting and infor¬
mative discussion. Rob McGriff
admitted frankly that he has only
recently come to appreciate the
threat that invasive species pose to
Indiana forests. He mentioned
Japanese honeysuckles, tree of
heaven, paulownia, and mimosa
trees invading southern Indiana, and
kudzu among plants that are causing
harm to forest resources in south-
central Indiana.
Cliff Chapman helps manage about
thirty nature preserves and twenty
other high-quality natural areas
scattered through twenty counties of
southeastern Indiana. He discussed
his work restoring plant communi¬
ties. and said that using local geno¬
type is very important in natural
area restoration which may be as
smail as eight square miles.
Indiana's presettlement condition of
frequent fires (whether wild or set
by indigenous peoples) favored
oaks, but with 200 years of fire sup¬
pression. Sugar Maple ( Acer
Sacchorum),2L common native of
Indi na's mesic forests, has invaded
open oak woodlands and is a strong
competitor in the absence of fire,
becoming more common in that
environment. Of course, this inva¬
sion of the Sugar Maple is benign,
even trivial, compared to the threat
posed by many more-aggressive,
exotic species.” Japanese barberry,
which is widely used as an orna¬
mental shrub, has been noted to be
escaping freely and spreading
quickly in other states near Indiana.
Cliff reported he has seen it fre¬
quently in woodlands in southern
Indiana, but was never concerned
until recently. He commented that
invasives often behave themselves
for years, then suddenly start taking
over forest understories at a rapid
pace.
One could speculate that if nothing
is done to control bush honeysuckle
in central Indiana woodlands, it will
be very difficult for trees to repro¬
duce and when the canopy trees die.
or are removed, we may be left with
shrublots" instead of woodlots.
Today's big trees reached a surviv-
able size before Japanese honey¬
suckle species and garlic mustard
became widely established here, but
those and other exotic invaders are
now spreading rapidly, snuffing out
tree saplings and sprouts so effec¬
tively, that 100 years from now.
there may be no forests at all in
central Indiana. Of course this is
only speculation.
However, on a positive note. Cliff
assured listeners that Indiana's
native flora is still diverse and beau¬
tiful and commented. “We are fortu¬
nate to have an array of plant com¬
munities from bald cypress swamps
to tamarack bogs, and tall grass
prairie as well as beech-maple
forest."
Art Hopkins opened the discussion
with some basic tips on landscape
design, recommending that people
“think of designing flowing spaces,
not of collecting objects.” He pre¬
sented a working definition of
“native,” as well as some examples
of the fascinating interdependencies
of native plant and animal commu¬
nities, but warned that native plants
sometimes have very particular
requirements as to soil acidity,
drainage, or exposure to sun or
shade. Even though a particular
species may be native to your
region of Indiana, it may not sur¬
vive on your property.
Unfortunately several wonderful
native plants that were popular
landscaping choices in the past are
no longer practical to use because
of their vulnerability to imported
diseases or insects.
Nick Rush distributed a list of
twenty-eight species of trees and
shrubs which the Columbus Parks
department uses, with detailed
observations of their strengths and
weaknesses in urban street and park
conditions. Nick’s list detailed
which species are native to southern
Indiana, and which are not. Of the
twenty-eight species, ten are
exotics. They are all “good citizen"
exotics, such as Kousa Dogwood,
which have shown no tendency to
spread aggressively across the
land-vet. But as Cliff quietly
reminded us, some of the worst
exotic pests of today, such as multi¬
flora rose and'garlic mustard, lived
as “good citizens" for decades
before they exploded out of control.
The panel discussion was ably orga¬
nized by Judy Cecil and Kay Dunn.
Master Gardener Interns, as a ser¬
vice project for the community.
Autumn 2002 • Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News •
Native Plants in Your Garden? Why?
by Carolyn Harstad
It was the best of times, it was the
worst of times . . .
Many have quoted these words of
Charles Dickens to describe
the last century . . .
words that are also
applicable to our
fragile environment.
Modern man has the
scientific knowledge
and technological capa¬
bility to accomplish
great things. Yet. it is
so easy to compromise
the natural environment
in favor of the almighty
dollar. There are times to
work with and through
environmental organiza¬
tions on issues of national,
hemispheric, and international
importance.
There are also things to do with
your own hands on your own prop¬
erty.
One way to begin is to plant a few
natives in your own garden. Use of
native plants is one of the hottest
topics in current books and maga¬
zines.
Why? Because these low-mainte-
nance plants know how to deal with
weather patterns, how to survive the
feast and famine of moisture, and
now to put down deep roots to
gather the last vestiges of food
hidden in those tiny particles of
soil. You can go on a vacation
during a drought and return home to
find your natives happily blooming
their heads off, while the non-
natives sulk on the ground-or
worse. With natives, there is no
need to poison the earth with expen¬
sive chemicals and fertilizers.
Planting natives can restore lost
ecosystems and create habitats for
furred and feathered friends. Enjoy
myriads of butterflies that
will live and mul¬
tiply on your prop¬
erty. Master the
fascinating lore of
native plants and
impart it to your
family and
friends.
“But I am only one
individual. How can
I make any differ¬
ence?”
A few years ago, I read
an article in Wildflower
that detailed the disap¬
pearance of Celandine Poppy
(Stylophorum diphyllum) in parts of
Canada because of habitat distur¬
bance. This plant germi¬
nates easily and seeds
readily, as any
Midwestern gardener
can attest.
Incorporating it into
private landscapes in
areas where it is at risk
may help prevent
extirpation.
Celandine or
Wood Poppy puts
on a spectacular
spring florai dis¬
play and then
blooms on and off
all summer long,
repeatedly sur¬
prising observers
with yet another glistening golden
gem. The oak-like leaves look hand¬
some as long as they are shaded
from the heat of the afternoon sun.
If the foliage becomes yellowed or
tattered, simply cut the plant to the
ground and it will soon send up
fresh, green leaves.
Royal Catchfly (Silene regia ) is a
threatened species in the Midwest,
primarily due to habitat destruction.
It, too, successfully germinates and
grows in conventional perennial
borders. Hummingbirds delight in
this tall, bright red, upright flower.
Mass plantings of these strikingly
brilliant flowers bring universal
admiration. Give Royal Catchfly the
sunny “location” it needs, and it
will multiply. And just imagine how
thrilled your hummers will be!
Monarch butterflies depend on
milkweed species as their larval
food source. As fencelines and wild
spaces diminish, there are fewer and
fewer milkweed plants. You may
not want to incorporate the species.
Asclepias syriaca. into your
perennial border, but
what about soft pink
Swamp or Marsh
Milkweed (A. incar -
nata) or bright orange
Butterfly Weed (A.
ruberosa) ? Just be sure to
provide well-drained soil
for the latter so the long
carrot- like taproot
doesn't rot. Varieties for
clay soil have been
hybridized and are
j
available, [e.g. Prairie
Nursery, Westfield, WI]
Milkweeds thrive in
j
sunn^ locations.
Swallowtail butterflies
dance and Hit over Joe Pve Weed,
one of their favorite larval food
sources. In addition to the native
species ( Eupatorium purpureum. E.
Butterfly Weed
(Asclepias tuberosa)
5 • Indiana Native Plant and Wi Idf lower Society News • Autumn 2002
maculatum , E. fistulosum) several
handsome cultivars, shorter in
stature and with more intensely col¬
ored flowers, are now available.
‘Gateway’ has large rosy-mauve
flower heads,
‘Atropurpureum’ has
purple flowers, stems and
dark leaves. And who
knows? Someday
someone may find that
Eupatoriums really
are medically valu-
able, as was believed
by the early Indian
medicine man named Jopi
or Joe Pye. Early writings
suggest that “jopi” was a
Native American word
for typhoid fever, and
that *' jopiweed” could
effectively treat or
even cure this dis¬
ease.
A sibling plant.
Boneset (E. perfo -
lialum) was so called
because a tea made from
its leaves helped to still
the terrible shaking of bonebreak
fever (likely malaria), of the early
settlers. Boneset has large flat white
flower clusters and unique perfoli-
ated leaves that collect water for
small insects. Eupatorium species
will nourish either in sun or partial
shade.
We know how important the South
American rainforest is for future
medical discoveries. The same may
be true of North American native
plants.
Echinacea, an herbal remedy
derived from Purple Coneflower, is
sold to boost the immune system.
Yew (Taxus canadensis) provides
Taxol, one of the most powerful
drugs available for treating cancer.
Pawpaw (Asimina triloba), and
Mayapple (Podophyllum
peltatum) are two other
natives with promising
cancer-fighting
abilities.
“Does it really
matter what I plant
on my private prop¬
erty??” You bet it
does! Exotic
Norway Maples are
displacing native
Sugar Maples. The
“big three”
groundcovers —
Myrtle (Vinca
minor). Purple
Wintercreeper (Euonymus
color atus ) and Ivy ( Hedera
spp) have each been found
carpeting woodlands.
Commonly used
Burning Bush
( Euonymus,- alatus ),
Japanese Barberry
( Berberis thunbergii), and
Japanese Spiraea (Spiraea
japonica) have escaped to the wild,
displacing native species and
destroying habitat. These are only a
few examples of problems our land¬
scaping choices have caused for our
fragile environment.
“But I live in the middle of town.
My plants can't escape to the wild
over concrete, lawns and blacktop. "
True. But what of the birds that visit
your property? Do you control their
flight? Or where they deposit the
seeds they collected from your
plants?
As gardeners, we have choices. We
can nurture endangered species in
our landscape as well as in wilder¬
ness areas. We can choose plants
that will benefit butterflies, birds
and wildlife. We can avoid planting
those exotic plants that are known
“escape artists.” Wouldn't you like
to get your hands on the individuals
who brought dandelions and garlic
mustard to the western hemisphere?
Native plants are part of our legacy.
Our descendants deserve the full
range of plant species that have
been available to us. Now is the
time for the “return of the native.”
As Indiana naturalist Gene Stratton-
Porter wrote in 1922, “It is the time
for all of us to get together and in
unison make a test of our strength.
All together. Heave!”
Carolyn Harstad is the author of Go
Native! Gardening With Native
Plants and Wildflowers in the
Lower Midwest. Indiana University
Press. September 1999.
She is co-founder and past president
of the Indiana Native Plant and
Wddf lower Society (INPAWS), and
Editor of the INPAWS newsletter.
Currently she is completing a
second book: Take it Easy! Low
Maintenance Shade Gardening (to
be published by IU Press in 2002).
Jeanette Vling ( 1936-2002) did the
line drawings for Go Native! She
was Art Editor at Worrall
Community Newspapers in Union
County. New Jersey and just before
her death was employed by the
Metropolitan Museum of Art in New
York City.
Reprinted with permission from
Wildflower, North America’s
Magazine of Wild Flora. Summer.
2002.
Autumn 2002 • Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News •
*
M _ U _ L _ T I _ F L O R _ A E
INPAWS Chapter Reports
Central Chapter News
Christmas Party
December 15, 2002 (date change)
from 5 to 8 PM at Betsy and
George Wilson's house, 6345
Brixton Lane (call 255-3304 for
directions)
Bring a smile and food item to
pitch-in and join us for some hol¬
iday camaraderie.
October Chapter meeting news:
After a brief meeting in which the
charter and by-laws for the chapter
were ratified and officers were
elected, slides and delicious food
and good conversation were
enjoyed by those who attended.
The new officers are: Betsy Wilson.
President. Carol Mavity and
Virginia Harmon. co-VP.s and
Dawn Stelts, secretary/ treasurer.
Betsy Wilson
317-255-3304
geobet@iquest.net
Mark Outcalt
317-257-3574
maryhel@earthlink.net
West Central Chapter News
Starting in August and ending in
November we are holding our fail
public education meetings on 4th
Mondays at 7:00 PM at the West
Lafayette Public Library. The
August presentation was by David
Krohne, biology dept, chair of
Wabash College on
“Disturbance-lts Role in Prairie
Ecology. Management and
Restoration.” In September. Don
Bickel, owner of Edge of the Prairie
Nursery, discussed and demon¬
strated how he raised prairie wild-
flowers from seed. The October
meeting will be Purdue botany pro¬
fessor Carole Lembi’s specialty:
wetland invasives. In November,
Mike Homoya, author of Orchids of
Indiana will give a slide lecture on
Wild Orchids of Indiana.
Several members helped the TNC to
remove purple coneflowers from
northern preserves and these were
planted at our highway Adopt-a-
Spot on US 52 ByPass in West
Lafayette. Future plans for the spot
include tree and vetch removal.
We continue to help plan and co¬
sponsor Wednesday s-in-the- Wild
programs with the Sycamore
Audubon Society and the West
Lafayette and Tippecanoe County
Parks Depts. So far, topics include
growing wildflowers indoors from
seed, identifying various members
of the aster family, and fall colors in
woods and prairies.
Chris Brewster
jim. chris. brewster@worldnet.att.
net
For fall fcliace recoils
w j
Call the IDNR’s 24-hour
Fall Foliage Line
(317) 232-4002
Or visit the Indiana Tourism
Leaf Cam. Just log onto the
Internet and point your browser
! to http://www.enjoyindiana.com
and click on the Leaf Cam logo.
New Land Trust for
Southeastern Indiana
A new land trust. Oak Heritage
Conservancy (OHC), has formed in
cooperation with Historic Hoosier
Hills RC&D, and will operate in
southeastern Indiana. In fact, the
OHC hopes to be active as far west
as Washington County.
The Conservancy’s mission is to
preserve, protect and conserve land
and water resources that have spe¬
cial natural, agricultural, scenic or
cultural significance. OHC will
strive to educate the public about
the critical importance of honoring
land, water and local culture. OHC
will help landowners permanently
protect their land through donations,
purchases, and conservation ease¬
ments so that future generations can
enjoy rural landscapes in south¬
eastern Indiana. The Oak Heritage
Conservancy is currently looking
for interested members.
For more, information, write to:
Oak Heritage Conservancy
P.O. Box 335
Hanover, IN 47243
or call (812) 689-6410 ext. 5
or contact
Cliff Chapman at
chappymo@msn.com
or at (812) 522-5707
www.inpaws. org
Visit our website tor news and
information about INPAWS and
native plant issues, as well as
links to related organizations con¬
cerned with preserving native
plants and their habitats
3 • Indiana Native Plant and Wildf lower Society News • Autumn 2002
Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society (INPA WS)
Small Grants Program Guidelines
INPAWS has a small grants pro¬
gram to support projects that are in
line with the mission of the society.
Toward that end, the Board voted in
1998 to allocate $10,000 from the
general fund to an endowment
account. Interest from this account
will be available for grants. The
Awards Committee anticipates
funding two grants of up to $500
each this year.
We hope that these small grants will
be used in conjunction with other
sources of funding for project
enhancement such as signage and
brochures, special plantings or pur¬
chase of native seed stock.
The mission of INPAWS is to pro¬
mote the appreciation, preservation,
conservation, utilization and scien¬
tific study of the flora native to
Indiana and to educate the public
about the values, beauty, diversity
and environmental importance of
indigenous vegetation.
Applications are requested from
groups or individuals and must be
post-marked by December 1, 2002.
They will be reviewed by the com¬
mittee.
Application Procedures for the INPAWS Small Grants Program
Please submit the following:
1. Cover sheet including
• Name of project
» Amount requested
• Location
• Applicant/contact person
name, address, telephone
• New or existing project
* Category that best describes
the project: research, training,
education, conservation and
habitat, demonstration garden,
etc.
2. Text of proposal
(not to exceed 2 pages)
a) A summary of the project, not
to exceed fifty words
b) A clear, concise description of
the project which includes the
following:
» How does the project further
the INPAWS mission?
•Why is the project needed?
• Specific objectives to be
achieved
• Specific information on how
INPAWS grant funds would be
used
•Who benefits from the project?
How many? How do they
benefit?
• Names of organizations
involved, if any, with a brief
description of each, including
number of members
• Financial resources committed
to the project from other
sources, if any
• Anticipated starting and
completion date of the project
3. Budget sheet showing:
a) Labor, material and program
costs
b) Sources and amounts of funds
already raised, if any
c) Total cost of project
Successful awardees must prepare a
poster or other presentation to share
with the membership at the Annual
Conference subsequent to comple¬
tion of the project.
Mail four copies of the grant
proposal, post-marked by
December I, 2002, to Elizabeth
Mueller
Larger Grant Awards
At the discretion of the Board and
membership, larger awards may be
made from time to time from the
assets of the operating budget.
Requests for funds for special pro¬
jects may be made at any time to
the Executive Committee. All
requests must be made in writing
with a dear statement of how the
award would further the mission of
INPAWS and benefit our member¬
ship.
Elizabeth Mueller
-6726dliape4frer.tcr Lrv-ve |4!L -S’
Zionsville, IN
46077-24^4^ ^
317-769-2412
^ DCs
Autumn 2002 • Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News • 9
INPAWS Annual Conference
Saturday and Sunday, November 2 and 3, 2002
Plan now to attend the INPAWS
Annual Conference! This year the
event will be held at Canyon Inn in
beautiful McCormick’s Creek
State Park, Spencer, Indiana! As in
the past, conference meetings will
be held on Saturday.
However, we hope many of you
will wish to make it a weekend by
staying at the inn on Saturday
evening (Those coming from a dis¬
tance may want to stay Friday as
well). The conference committee is
busy planning exciting events for
Friday evening and Sunday,
including a naturalist-led hike in
the park.
A block of rooms has been reserved
at a cost of $59.00 for a single and
$69.00 for a double. Attendees are
responsible for booking their own
rooms.
Reservations can be made daily
from 8 AM until 10 PM by calling
1-812-829-4881
or toll-free 1-877-9CANYON.
You may also check availability and
make online reservations at
www.placestostay.com.
The inn is being remodeled and is
always popular, so to insure avail¬
ability make those reservations as
soon as possible.
For more information contact
Annual Conference Chairwoman
Eleanor Bookwalter
bookedbook@aol .com
Indiana Native Plant
and Wildflower Society
7740 West 88th Street
Indianapolis, IN 46278-1110
Non-Profit
i Organization
U S. Postage I
PAID
Columbus, IN
Permit No. 296
Address Service Requested
1
3
| Indiana Native Plant
and Wildflower Society
Volume 9 Number 4 • Winter 2002
NEWS
Biodiversity Matters
by Carolyn Harstad
“The idea of biodiversity has been
in ecology for a while, but nobody
had an idea of how much it mat-
tered-that it had so many effects,”
said David Tilman, University of
Minnesota ecologist who directs the
Cedar Creek Natural History Area,
now one of the most studied pieces
of ground on Earth.
This nine-
square-mile
research * _ , :
area, deeded
to the University of Minnesota in
1942, is located 30 miles north of
Minneapolis/St. Paul. It includes
forests of spruce and pine, a rare
oak savannah, wetlands, a bog, a
lake and fallow farm fields.
Ongoing experiments produce a
steady stream of papers in promi¬
nent scientific journals, addressing
such issues as the effects of forest
fires, nitrogen pollution, and biolog¬
ical diversity.
Even though Cedar Creek is located
in northern Minnesota, experiments
resulting from studies conducted
there have global implications. We
all tout the value of native plants in
the landscape, but did you know
that broad mixes of natives can
“absorb more carbon dioxide, make
better use of nutrients, are more
resistant to disease and resist
invading species better” than a
single species on its own?
It is well known that too much
phosphorus damages ponds and
lakes. Intensified in part from
burning
fossil
fuel
and the addition of fertilizers, a sim¬
ilar phenomenon can be observed in
air and soil. Nitrogen,, like phos¬
phorus, promotes rapid growth
causing some species to choke out
others.
Peter Reich of the University of
Minnesota began an experiment in
1998 which he entitled BioCon
(biodiversity, carbon dioxide and
nitrogen). By carefully regulating
amounts of nitrogen and carbon
dioxide available in a number of
test plots, Reich is able to simulate
future conditions of our nation’s air
and soil. He reports that “plots with
the most diverse group of plants
absorb more carbon dioxide, which
is harmful to people, than plots with
fewer plants,” and theorizes that
highly diverse ecosystems can
change carbon dioxide into oxygen
more efficiently than those less-
diverse ecosystems typically pro¬
duced by industrial sprawl and pop¬
ulation growth.
In another experiment, researchers
at the site used different combina¬
tions of wild plants planted in a
checkerboard pattern. The experi¬
ment proved that “plots with more
kinds of plants were vastly more
productive and hardier than plots
with smaller combinations.”
Biodiversity continued on page 2
Inside . . .
President’s Message ... 3
Botany 101-15
Plant Hormones . 4
Annual Conference
Report . 6
Multiflorae r . 7
A Duneland Carnivore . . 8
Success Story . 9
Jump into-^ction . 10
New from the DNR .... 11
INPAWS Calendar .... 14
Insert: Membership Renewal
Biodiversity continued from page 1
Yes, biodiversity matters. But as
Laura Huenneke, chairwoman of
the Biology Department at New
Mexico State warns. “We’ve been
shockingly remiss in supplying any
hard experimental data to demon¬
strate the environmental impact."
The careful experimentation of men
like Dave Tilman and his colleagues
provides that necessary hard evi¬
dence. Unfortunately, funding for
ongoing research is tenuous. “It's a
continuing struggle to convince
funding agencies to fund this sort of
work,” said Peter Reich. “We could
have hundreds of these [experi¬
ments] for the cost of one fighter
plane,” he said ruefully.
Protecting the health of our planet is
crucial. If we each take time to pro¬
mote biodiversity, encourage legis¬
lators to support funding for scien¬
tific research, and continue to sound
the alarm, our fragile world will be
the winner.
Cedar Creek is one of 24 research
areas in the Western Hemisphere
from Alaska to Antarctica that com¬
prise the Long Term Ecological
Research Network created by the
National Science Foundation in
1980.
“An Ecological Treasure.” Bethel
(AP),The Free Press, Mankato,
Minnesota, November 20, 2002,
pages 1C, 4 C.
Carolyn Harstad is the author of Go
Native! Gardening With Native
Plants and Wildflowers in the
Lower Midwest, Indiana University
Press , September 1999.
She is co-founder and past pres idem
of the Indiana Native Plant and
Wildflower Society (INPAWS), and
Editor of the INPAWS newsletter.
Currently she is completing a
second book: Take it Easy! Low
Maintenance Shade Gardening (to
be published soon by IU Press.
The Newsletter of the
Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society
©Copyright 2002
Published quarterly by the Indiana Native
Plant and Wildflower Society for members.
Material may be reprinted with the
permission of the editor.
We welcome opposing viewpoints.
Articles, letters, drawings should be sent to
Carolyn Harstad, 5952 Lieber Road,
Indianapolis, IN 46228.
www.inpaws.org
The mission of the Indiana Native Plant and
Wildflower Society is to promote the apprecia¬
tion, preservation, conservation, utilization and
scientific study of the flora native to Indiana and
to educate the public about the values, beauty,
diversity and environmental importance of
indigenous vegetation.
Newsletter Committee
Editor
Carolyn Harstad (317) 257-9452
pharstad@iupui.edu
Associate Editor
Art Hopkins (812) 372-2862
arthop@earthlink.net
Design/Layout/Production
Anne Wilson (812) 342-6838
wilson@hsonline.net
Officers 2002-2003
President
Linda Oxenrider (317)873-5390
goxen@iquest.net
Co Vice President
Roger Hedge (31 7) 232-8062
rhedge@dnr.state.in.us
Co Vice President
TomSwinford (317)232-4052
tswinford @ dnr.state .in. us
Recording Secretary
Nancy Hill (317)283-8345
nanhili86@earthlink.net
Corresponding Secretary
Mary Kraft (317) 773-5361
mkraft2 @ earthlink.net
Treasurer
Carolyn Q. Bryson (317) 873-4205
quinnell@iquest.net
Membership
Dawn Stelts 317-867-2906
dawn ©stelts.com
Native Plant Rescue/
Invasive Plant Removal
Amy Kress
Laura Mulligan
Newsletter
Carolyn Harstad
Programs/Field Trips
Roger Hedge
Public Information
Mary Kraft
Speakers Bureau
Colletta Kosiba
K
Website
Anne Wilson
(765) 213-3540
akress @ mcc.mccoak.org
(317) 769-7740
lemfr@aol.com
(317) 257-9452
pharstad@iupui.edu
(317) 232-8062
rhedge® dnr.state. in. us
(317) 773-5361
mkraft2@earthlink.net
(317) 852-5973
colletta@hotmail.com
wilson@hsonline.net
Committees
Annual Conference
Eleanor Bookwalter
Auction/Plant Sale
Kelly Frank
Demonstration Gardens
Linda Bullard
Education
Dan and Sophia
Anderson
Grants and Awards
Elizabeth Mueller
Historian
Ruth Ann Ingraham
(317) 257-7095
bookedbook@aol.com
(765) 436-2483
kiwison ©frontier. net
(317) 710-2708
plantlin@aol.com
(317) 849-3105
danjandl ©cs.com
(317) 769-2412
mickey22 ©earthlink.net
(317) 253-3863
rai38@aol.com
Invasive Plant Education
Ellen Jacquart (317)951-8818
hankandellen@worldnet.net
Chapters
West Central Chapter
Chris Brewster (765) 463-7171
jim.chris.brewster@worldnet.att.net
North West Chapter V
Jan Hunter (219) 772-0934TA" ,
tephrosia@hotmail.com w yv
East Central Chapter v
Marcia Johnson
Central Chapter
Betsy Wilson
(765) 288-5629
marciaj50@aol.com
(317) 255-3304
geobet@iquest.net
South Central Chapter
Sherri McConnell (812) 332-4295
shermcconnell@netscape.net
Past Presidents
Carolyn Q. Bryson
Ruth Ann Ingraham
Carolyn Harstad
Jeffrey Maddox
2000-2001
1998-1999
1996-1997
1994-1995
2
Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News
Winter 2002
President’s Message
Happy New Year!! As we finish up
the holiday season and begin a New
Year, it’s hard not to get the resolu¬
tion urge. On New Year’s Eve
there’s that sense of renewal and
rebirth that energizes and invigo¬
rates the soul. Although you may
be thinking of New Year’s
Resolutions in personal terms only,
with nine years behind INPAWS,
it’s a good time to reassess our
organizational goals as well.
I recently came across an article by
Dr. Stanwyn Shelter, botanist emer¬
itus of the Smithsonian’s Natural
History Museum that provided
much food for thought along these
lines. In his article entitled Role of
Native Plant Societies in Grassland
Conservation , Dr. Shelter traces the
history of the native plant society
movement in the United States
beginning in 1900 when the New
England Wild Flower Society was
bom out of concern for our native
plants. The Audubon movement
was just getting under way about
this time also and caught on nation¬
ally much more quickly than the
native plant movement which did
not really gain momentum until the
last 25-35 years when many state
societies were established. Today
th3re are numerous native plant
societies under one name or another
in all but a few states. Dr. Shelter
contends that “nothing is more cen¬
tral to their existence than the con¬
servation of the native flora.”
We have witnessed the rampant
development across the country
during the last 40 years or so which
has destroyed or fragmented habitat
at an alarming rate and scale. This
issue along with the growing threat
of invasive alien plants in the nat¬
ural landscape has served to ener¬
gize native plant societies across the
country who have led the way in
providing public information,
guiding local eradication efforts and
rescuing native plants from doomed
habitats.
Important as this focus is however.
Dr. Shelter cautions that it must be
kept in balance. He contends that
the business of our societies should
be to save wild places, not to add to
or promote planted landscapes.
“Civilization is busily turning nat¬
ural landscape into planted land¬
scape at an ever faster pace, and
native plant societies should be
trying to slow down that process,
not fuel it.” Are we contributing to
the demand for planted landscapes?
Should we be focusing more of our
attention on conservation before
even more of our native flora is
lost? The mission of the Indiana
*
Native Plant and Wildflower
Society is to promote the apprecia¬
tion, preservation, conservation, uti¬
lization and scientific study of the
flora of Indiana and to educate the
public about the values, beauty,
diversity and environmental impor¬
tance of indigenous vegetation. As
I contemplate this charge, I believe
we are doing an admirable job
meeting most of these goals, but are
we doing enough to support the
conservation component of our mis¬
sion statement? As a conservation
organization shouldn’t this be our
driving goal, not gardening with
native plants or plant sales or even
piant rescues?
by Linda Oxen rider
Dr Shelter’s refrain is to “save
habitat” and to do so we need to be
aware of what we have and what
we’re losing. In this New Year, I
encourage you all to join a local
chapter and leam about the threats
to our native vegetation. Roger
Hedge has once again scheduled an
outstanding field trip itinerary for
this year. Please note these dates on
your calendar and plan to attend. It
will heighten your appreciation for
the splendor of our flora. And,
above all, become an advocate for
the protection of our remaining
threatened native plants. As we
enter our 10th year as advocates for
native plants and their habitats, your
support is appreciated. Your mem¬
bership and your personal commit¬
ment and actions on behalf of all
our plants, especially our rare,
threatened and endangered species
are needed now more that ever.
Please renew
your IN PAWS
membership now !
Ail 1NPAWS memberships
are on a calendar year
basis from January 1
through December 31.
Please use the member¬
ship form included in this
newsletter and mail your
2003 dues as soon as
possible.
Winter 2002 • Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News » 3
Botany 101 - fifteenth in a series
Plant Hormones
by Dr. Rebecca Dolan
A lot of people are surprised to
leant that, just like animals, plants
have hormones. Hormones are sub¬
stances made in one tissue that have
an action on another tissue.
Hormones influence the size, shape,
and flowering of plants.
Auxins are plant hormones that
have a wide variety of functions
that vary from time to time, species
to species, and tissue to tissue. One
of the most obvious actions
involving auxin is known to every
gardener who trims a plant to make
it bushy. Recall that the perma¬
nently embryonic tissue in -terminal
or apical buds, those at the ends of
twigs, is called apical meristem
(apex referring to the tip). Cells in
the meristem divide and enlarge as
twigs grow in length. Auxins pro¬
duced by cells of the apical
meristem diffuse through twig
tissue to lateral buds. Auxins inhibit
cell division and elongation in lat¬
eral buds, thus providing apical
dominance. Once the apical bud is
removed, say, when you trim a
hedge or pinch back an aster, lateral
buds are released from inhibition
and cells of lateral meristems divide
and grow.
This phenomenon can be demon¬
strated with a classic plant physi¬
ology lab experiment. Control
plants with apical dominance are
allowed to grow as usual.
Experimental treatment plants have
their apical buds, containing apical
meristem cells, removed. One set of
plants gets an application of auxin
(commercially available) mixed
with lanolin dabbed on. Lanolin is a
earner for the auxin. A second set of
plants just gets plain lanolin. The
drawings provided by Jan Giimn-
Lacv from her book Botany
Illustrated demonstrate what hap¬
pens when the plants have been
allowed some time to grow. Can
you explain the results?
In naturally growing plants, apical
dominance is also influenced by a
second hormone, cytokinin, that is
produced in the roots. As plants
grow in length, that is, as the apical
bud grows more distant from the
earliest lateral buds on a twig, those
lateral buds are released from domi¬
nance by the apical bud, and the
plant grows laterally. Cytokinins
trigger this cell division when the
ratio of auxin to cytokinin is
reduced, that is, there is less auxin
with its inhibitory effect, lateral
growth occurs.
Auxins are also involved with leaf
drop in the fall. A special layer of
cells in leaf petioles dies, allowing
leaves to be shed from stems.
This abscission is related to a drop
in auxin production in leaf tissue.
Auxins have two very important
commercial applications. Rootone,
the powder used to promote root
growth in cuttings contains an
auxin. It promotes the growth of
adventitious roots, especially in
woody plants.
The weed killer 2,4-D is an auxin. It
triggers imbalances in cell metabo¬
lism that literally cause plants to
grow themselves to death!
Becky Dolan is Director of the
Friesner Herbarium at Butler
University , and a charter member of
IN PAWS.
Illustrations by Jan Glimn Lacy,
IN PAWS charter member and
botanical illustrator, from her book
Botany Illustrated.
Sunflower ( Helianthus )
has strong apical
dominance
4 •
Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News
Winter 2002
fi:
Rice (Oryza)
has weak apical
dominance
shoot
shoots
shoot
Coieus
has weak apical
dominance
• CONTROL •
• LANOLIN •
• LANOLIN PLUS AUXIN •
terminal bud
terminal bud terminal bud
APICAL DOMINANCE EXPERIMENT RESULTS
Winter 2002
Indiana Native Plant and Wiidflower Society News
5
Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society Ninth Annual Conference
McCormick's Creek State Park - November 2, 2002 by David Gorden
Fall color was at its peak in Owen
County on November 2nd. The
leaves glowed in the morning sun¬
light as nearly 1 00 members and
friends of INPAWS gathered for its
Ninth Annual Conference at the
Canyon Inn in McCormick’s Creek
State Park. “The most beautiful
week of the year!” exclaimed
Marquita Manley, interpretive natu¬
ralist at the park as she opened the
conference. An early-arriving crowd
had already been enjoying coffee,
pastries, and socializing in anticipa¬
tion of Marquita’s presentation as
well as the entire day’s schedule of
diverse speakers.
Dedicated in 1916, McCormick’s
Creek was Indiana’s first state park,
and is today one of its most popular.
As Marquita described the park’s
history and scenic beauty, she also
shared the challenges faced in pro¬
tecting and preserving its natural
habitats while providing the access
and facilities required for the enjoy¬
ment of its many visitors.
Appreciating “the rhythm of nature
and the uplifting beauty found in all
seasons” is a message she preaches
to all who visit the park and espe¬
cially to youngsters, tomorrow’s
protectors of our environment.
Many in attendance had been privi¬
leged, during earlier college days at
Purdue, to learn from Professor
Emeritus Dr. Harrison Flint. To
them and countless others, his book,
Landscape Plants of Eastern North
America is an invaluable resource.
It was thus with great pleasure and
respect that his words were received
as he shared his knowledge and
insights in discussing some of his
favorite native trees and shrubs and
their use in the landscape.
The morning ended with the
Society’s Annual Business Meeting
led by INPAWS President Linda
Oxenrider. Committee Chairs and
Chapter representatives reported on
their activities as the past year was
reviewed and future plans shared.
The afternoon’s slate of speakers
during three concurrent sessions
presented a variety of options for
attendees to choose from.
Creating a backyard wildlife habitat
is something Greg Oskay has done
at his own home, as he described in
his informative presentation. He no
doubt inspired many in attendance
to do the same, using the necessary
ingredients for wildlife attraction he
discussed, including water, food and
shelter. Modestly hoping to attract
30 bird species to his habitat, Greg
has to date observed over 90
species, plus rabbits, amphibians
and other small creatures. Breaking
the mold of the traditional backyard
lawn can by rewarding in many
ways.
Alyssa Solomon described her
daunting task of growing the plants
required to provide much of the
seed needed for The Nature
Conservancy’s 7000 acre Kankakee
Sands Prairie Restoration project in
Newton County. She oversees the
growth of 108 species on a 120-acre
nursery, as well as the management
of the restoration. Over 3000
pounds of seed were harvested last
year, about half of what was needed
to seed 500 acres. With 2000 acres
completed, the restoration and
hence the nursery's importance will
continue for several more years. It
is a challenging and exciting pro¬
ject.
Equally challenging and exciting is
the establishment of native plants in
a different environment-wetlands.
As assistant nursery director for J.F.
New and Associates in Walkerton,
Mark O’Brien is called upon fre¬
quently to assist in such endeavors.
He discussed the plants and effort
necessary for success.
Dr. George Parker, Professor of
Forest Ecology at Purdue University
shared his research on the changing
plant diversity of central hardwood
forests as influenced by different
methods of timber harvesting and
other types of human disturbance.
Analyzing how forest management
affects species dynamics is part of
his effort to promote harvesting
techniques that lead to greater
diversity in the forests.
Michael Homoya, Plant Ecologist
with the Indiana Department of
Natural Resources knows the native
flora of our state like few others and
is a frequent writer and speaker on
botanical matters. His topic of plea¬
sure on this day was the ferns of
Indiana. Though he did not discuss
all 78 of the species calling our
state home, he did describe a
number of the most common,
including fragile, bracken, royal,
Christmas, ostrich, sensitive, and
climbing. Their diversity is sur¬
prising and their subtle beauty and
charm make ferns natural “musts”
for all shade gardens.
6
Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News
Winter 2002
Following the concluding remarks
of the final speakers, the day ended
much as it had begun-with enthusi¬
astic socializing and grazing on the
selection of snacks set out for the
group. For those who were making
a weekend of the conference and
spent the night at the park, Marquita
Manley led a Sunday morning walk.
Enjoy this poetic description from
Janice Gustaferro and Mary Gorrell:
About forty members
decided to stay,
Their evening plans
they did delay,
To indulge in a tasty
substantial buffet,
While comparing notes
on the informative day.
After a leisurely breakfast
on Sunday,
Marquita Manley, the naturalist,
did say,
“A hike to the quarry
starts this way”.
Thirty-four hikers
responded, “Okay!”
Landmarks of the park
she did display,
Aj they traveled along
their nature foray.
At the quarry she recounted
its heyday,
Then they adjourned for
observation and play.
With golden beauty and quiet,
their troubles did allay,
Hoping to return for a wildflower
hike just before May.
Several generous benefactors lent
their financial support to the confer¬
ence. Making the Ninth Annual
Conference possible were the fol¬
lowing sponsors:
• Earth-Source, Inc.
• Indiana Chapter of the
American Society of Landscape
Architects
• J.F. New & Associates
• Spence Restoration Nursery,
Inc.
Special recognition and thanks go to
the conference’s primary sponsor.
National City Bank of Indiana.
Also to be thanked for their efforts
in planning and conducting the
day’s proceedings are Conference
Chair Eleanor D. Bookwalter and
INPAWS President Linda
Oxenrider.
Check your mailing label!
Has your membership lapsed?
Greetings!
My name is Dawn Stelts and I am your new Membership Chair. Check the mailing label on this
newsletter. Next to your address you will find a year printed. That year is the last year through
which your dues have been paid. If the membership date listed is prior to 2003, that means
your dues have lapsed.
To renew and make sure your name will be included in the new member directory, fill out the
enclosed membership form and mail it with your check to Caroiyn Bryson-now!
4
My goal is to be able to mail the new INPAWS Membership Directory by March’.
Help me out-send in your dues today!
Dawn Stelts
dawn@stelts.com
317-867-2906
Winter 2002
Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News • 7
M U L T I F L O R A E
INPAWS Chapter News
Central Chapter
Meetings for 2003
February 13, 2003
7 PM at the Brownsburg Library,
Mike Homoya will present a pro¬
gram on the rare plants of Indiana.
Directions to the library from the
Route 267 and I 74 exit: Exit I 74
and turn right or south on 267. Go
one or two miles to Tilden (there’s a
traffic light there). Turn left or east
on Tilden and drive three blocks
through a residential area to
Jefferson. Turn left on Jefferson.
The library is at 450 South
Jefferson. Hope to see you there.
May 3, 2003
Saturday afternoon, 11AM to 1 PM
A tour of Coletta Kosiba’s garden to
see spring blooms.
Bring a picnic lunch.
July 13, 2003
Sunday afternoon, 2 to 4 PM
Visit Virginia Harmon’s garden to
see summer blooms.
October 5, 2003
Sunday afternoon, 2 to 4 PM
Smock Golf Course Tour to see
native plants used in the rough and
hear how golfers have responded to
the plants and wildlife they have
attracted.
December 13, 2003
Sunday afternoon, 2 to 5 PM
Christmas party at Carol Mavity’s
home.
Further details about Central
Chapter meetings will appear in
future newsletters and be sent to
members by email and, perhaps,
postcard. Please contact
Betsy Wilson
317-255-3304
geobet@iquest.net
West Central Chapter
Report
Mike Homoya, author of Orchids of
Indiana, gave a well-attended and
outstanding slide-lecture on
Indiana’s native orchids at our
November meeting. He has inspired
us to start looking for orchids in
Tippecanoe Co. and surrounding
counties. Most of those attending
were surprised to learn that we have
some orchids since they are not that
obvious.
All of our educational meetings are
open to the general public and
INPAWS has enrolled a number of
new members as a result. The credit
goes to our vice president and pro¬
gram chair, Joan Mohr Samuels.
She has lined up an excellent list of
interesting and informative speakers
for our programs this year.
Chris Brewster
jim.chris.brewster@worldnet.att.
net
East Central Chapter
upcoming meetings
All meetings will be held at 7PM in
the Minnetrista Cultural Center
Muncie, Indiana.
For more information contact
Marcia Johnson at
MarciaJ50@aol.com
Thursday, February 6
Dr. Kem Badger BSU will present
on "Ferns and Their Allies"
Thursday, March 6
Dan and Sophia Anderson will be
presenting “Indiana Native Species
Edibles.” Edible native species
snacks and tea will be provided by
the Andersons. There is no cost for
this meeting but we would welcome
notification of your expected atten¬
dance so the Andersons know how
many to expect.
Thursday, April 3
Larry Campbell will have a slide
presentation of his recent trip to the
Shanghai area.
If you are interested in making a
presentation to our group next
September, October or November,
please contact
Marcia Johnson
Marciaj50@aol.com.
www.ippaws.org
Visit our website for news and
information about INPAWS and
native plant issues, as well as
links to related organizations con¬
cerned with preserving native
plants and their habitats.
8
Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News
Winter 2002
Plant detectives . . .
A Duneland Carnivore
by Barbara Plampin
Nature celebrated July 4, 1976, by
providing a spectacular and, appar¬
ently, never-repeated display: a
broad river or ribbon of tiny, orchid¬
like Purple Bladderwort
(Utricularia purpurea ) which
bisected the waterlilies and other
wetland plants in a certain Porter
County lake. Monet couldn’t have
done better.
Whether aquatic, terrestrial, or
amphibious, Bladderworts
(Lentibulariaceae) fascinate me.
Seven of the ten Indiana species
state-listed Atlantic coastal plain
disjuncts grow in the Dunes.
Bladderworts, with their prominent
lower lips and sometimes smaller
upper lips and spurs or sacs atop
stiff stalks resemble small purple or
yellow orchids. Plants lack roots,
may lie dormant for years, and are
carnivorous. Fresh water crus¬
taceans furnish the main part of
their prey. Bladder designates the
bubble-or bag-like trips growing
amid the leaves; wort is Middle
English for root or plant. Once,
under my microscope, I saw a
minute trap ingesting a minuscule
pink shrimp!
.Assertions that one can hear the
trips operating appear to be incor¬
rect.
When a friend and I lifted a floating
yellow Great Bladderwort (U. vul¬
garis) from still water and listened
intently, we heard-nothing.
The leaves suffice to float the
aquatics and anchor the terrestrials.
To reproduce vegetatively, some
leaves bunch themselves into tight
little winter buds (turions) that may
lie dormant for years until the right
amount of moisture occurs. No one
had ever noted Great Bladderwort
in certain Lakeshore Blue Joint
Grass meadows until the vigorous
rains of 1991. Then we saw new
lakes of sunshine yellow. Look for
Bladderworts also in pannes (intra-
dunal ponds formed where wind
scoops out sand down to the water
table), ponds, roadside ditches, and
bogs).
Purple-white scraps of blossom
characterize the extremely incon¬
spicuous, self-pollinating form of
Hair Bladderwort (U. subulata).
Perhaps this species is the most
challenging because its inch-tall,
zig-zag, moss-fine stalks hide
among much taller plants, including
Rhynchospora species.
A possible accompaniment is the
Toad Bug, a harmless insect which
both looks like and hops like a toad.
Be prepared to crawl about on
hands and knees looking comical.
Books: Deam, Flora of Indiana;
Gleason, New Britton & Brown
Illustrated Flora ; Swink and
Wilhelm, Plants of the Chicago
Region, Fourth Edition ; and
Yatskievych, Field Guide to Indiana
Wildflowers. Agnes Arber’s Water
Plants , a 1972 reprint of her 1920
book (ISBN 3 76820157 0) reports
Central and South American
Bladderworts growing in water col¬
lected by Bromeliads. One species
boasts violet Bowers atop yard-long
stems. J. and P. Pietropaolo’s
Carnivorous Plants of the World
discusses cultivation.
Barbara Plampin is a member of
IN PAWS, a trustee of the Shirley
Heinze Environmental Fund, and a
member of Save the Dunes Council.
She has a Ph.D. in English litera¬
ture from the University of
Michigan. Botany has been her avo¬
cation all her life.
Note from Barbara Plampin:
Alas, some of the pictures
accompanying Seeds for
Ceramists [Volume 9, Number 2,
Summer 2002] were troublesome.
Eleocharis melanocarpa is shown
as E. tricostata see Britton and
Brown, I, 317); Rynchospora
axillaris wasn’t in the article and
doesn’t grow in the Dunes (Ibid.,
344); and Psilocarya scirpoides
is upside-down (Ibid., 347).
Winter 2002 • Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News • 9
Success Story
by Marissa Codey
When human inflicted disasters
occur such as the recent oil spill off
the coast of Spain or the massive
1999 fish kill in the White River, it
can be difficult if not impossible to
imagine that there can be a light at
the end of the seemingly endless
tunnel of ecological damage.
However, for almost every environ¬
mental disaster there is also an envi¬
ronmental success story.
Surprisingly, the fish kill of 1999
caused by the Guide Corporation
seems to be helping create such a
success story. For one, there are
signs that the river is coming back-
fish are slowly returning to habitat
destroyed by the spill. But there is
even more good news! Not only are
aquatic ecosystems slowly recov¬
ering, but some of the funds set
aside from the Guide Settlement are
actually being used to provide per¬
manent protection and restoration of
the River’s watershed. The impor¬
tance of this type of protection
cannot be overstated. As the
National Research Council (1992)
declared in reference to the impor¬
tance of land use to the health of a
river.
Rivers are products of their
drainage basins, and the biological
integrity of stream and river sys¬
tems is dependent to a large extent
on watershed management prac¬
tices... In some cases, restoration of
the predisturbance flood and sedi¬
ment regime will reestablish the
physical characteristics of the river-
ripanan system.
The Central Indiana Land Trust
Incorporated (CILTI), a nonprofit
land conservation organization, is
doing exactly that. When it learned
that Guide Settlement funds could
be used for land acquisition and
restoration along the river, CILTI
decided that acquiring and restoring
farmland in the River’s floodplain
would be beneficial not only to the
health of the river but also to
farmers owning fields with
declining crop yields and frequent
floodwater inundation. This past
summer CILTI was given approval
from the settlement Trustees to use
Guide funds for the purchase and
restoration of 52 acres of land along
the White River in Hamilton
County.
CILTI named this site Burr Oak
Bend, after the Bur Oak Tree (often
spelled Burr Oak in the writings of
Charles Deam and others) and after
the big bend of the White River in
which it is situated. The restoration
plan, scheduled to begin this fall,
will create a 31.5 acre mixed hard¬
wood forest and a 12.5 acre prairie.
Design of both systems will use
analyses of vegetation in sur¬
rounding intact ecosystems to infer
what species likely existed on the
site prior to its conversion into
farmland. Dominant tree species
scheduled to be planted include
Black Walnut, Bur Oak, Green Ash.
and White Oak. The prairie will
consist of a mixture of local grasses
and forbs, and in several years will
offer a beautiful combination of
form and color. The restored forest
and prairie will not only offer visi¬
tors a unique and pleasant visual
experience, but will also provide a
diverse habitat for the numerous ter¬
restrial animals native to the area.
Clearly, a light of renewal is begin¬
ning to shine from the dark days of
the 1999 fish kill. CILTI is excited
about the Burr Oak Bend project,
and is looking forward to using it as
a demonstration of what a suc¬
cessful ecological restoration pro¬
ject can look like. For more infor¬
mation about this project or about
the organization in general, please
contact Marissa Codey at 317-631-
5263 or email mcodey@cilti.org.
CILTI also has a website
(www.cilti.org) that contains a
downloadable membership/contri¬
bution form as well as information
about current volunteer opportuni¬
ties.
Marissa Codey is Executive
Director of Central Indiana Land
Trust Incorporated (CILTI).
10
Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News
t
Winter 2002
Jump into Action!
Help monitor Indiana frog and toad populations
Speculation of a nationwide decline
in frogs and toads has prompted the
Indiana Department of Natural
Resources to ask Hoosiers to leap
into action.
The DNR is looking for volunteers
to participate in the Indiana
Amphibian Monitoring Program.
Volunteers are needed to listen for
frogs and toads from late February
through July, the breeding seasons
of Indiana's amphibians. Surveys
are conducted at night, usually after
rainy days, or on misty nights, when
frogs and toads give their breeding
calls. Information collected by vol¬
unteers will help DNR biologists
better understand the distribution
and abundance of amphibians in
Indiana.
Volunteers must attend a training
workshop in order to participate in
the survey. Registration is not
required to attend a training work¬
shop. Attendees are asked to bring
pen and paper to the workshop.
Participants must be 18 or older.
The Indiana Amphibian Monitoring
Program is part of the North
American Amphibian Monitoring
Program (NAAMP) by the U.S.
Geological Survey. Two survey
methods will be utilized starting this
spring: national routes and sta¬
tionary sites. National routes are
driving routes that take one to two
hours to complete, not including
drive time to the survey area.
Stationary sites are completed at
frog and toad breeding sites.
Surveys are repeated three times
during the breeding season. Internet
access is required to participate in
the program.
This would be great for a school
project, scouting badge, conserva¬
tion club project, or just an indi¬
vidual interest and reason to "Get
Outdoors" in the coming months.
Just a little bit of your time could
go a long way. The data collected
could assist in justifying conserva¬
tion efforts in Indiana-especially
wetlands, which are critically disap¬
pearing.
This program is funded by dona¬
tions to the Endangered Wildlife
Fund on the Indiana state income
tax form. Look for the eagle and
donate all or a portion of your state
tax refund to keep frogs and toads
hopping in Indiana.
Paula Yeager
Executive Director
Indiana Wildlife Federation
Indianapolis residents were trained
January 18. Other statewide training
workshops include:
North Judson
Saturday, Feb. 22 1 1 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Kankakee Fish & Wildlife Area
4320 W. Toto Rd.
574-896-3522
http://www.IN.gov/dnr/fishwiId/pub
lications/kank.htm
West Lafayette
Saturday, Feb. 15 2 - 4 p.m.
Morton Community Center
222 N. Chauncey
765-775-5110
www.mp2-
pwrc.usgs.gov/FrogWatch/
http://www.nwf.org/keepthewil-
dalive/frogwatch-app/index.htm
Information on Indiana's Amphibian
Monitoring Program is available
online at:
http://www.IN.gov/dnr/fishwild/end
angered/naamp/nindex.htm
DNR Division of Fish and Wildlife
Web site:
http://wildlife.IN.gov
Winter 2002 • Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News * 1 1
New from the DNR: Hoosier Wetlands Newsletter
Fell o vi conse rvation ists:
The future of Indiana's wetlands is
one of the most important natural
resources and environmental issues
that the Indiana General Assembly
will debate this year. *
This is the first in a series of e-mail
newsletters focused on Hoosier wet¬
lands. I encourage you to get
informed, stay involved and share
this newsletter with friends, family ,
customers and members of organi¬
zations to which you belong.
The text only version of Volume 1,
Issue I of Hoosier Wetlands is
below.
For a more attractive version of the
newsletter with graphics and
photos, please click on this link:
http://www.in.gov/wetlands/newslett
er/hswetlands/index.html
Also, a wetlands Web site with more
important information is being
developed (www.wetlands.JN .gov)
and should be online soon.
John Goss, DNR Director
Hoosier Wetlands
Helping Hoosiers protect,
preserve and restore natural
resources
Ripple Effect
Welcome to the first edition of
Hoosier Wetlands-a newsletter cre¬
ated to spread the word that 1.)
Indiana’s wetlands are in jeopardy
and 2.) that every Hoosier has a
voice in deciding how-or if-we
protect these rapidly disappearing
areas.
The debut of this publication comes
as our lawmakers prepare to con¬
vene for the 2003 General
Assembly where they will discuss
leeislation that could dramatically
a j
affect the future of our wetlands -
and in some cases decide whether
we even have certain wetlands in
the future.
Why is this happening now? A U.S.
Supreme Court decision in 2001
took away the authority that the fed¬
eral government has exercised for
years to protect wetlands that are
not directly associated with rivers
and lakes.
Some people think this court case is
reason to change existing Indiana
law concerning all wetlands. In
some states, unprotected wetlands
have already been destroyed. In
others, protective legislation has
already been enacted.
Most likely, Indiana legislators will
be dealing with separate and com¬
peting bills-one or more that would
strengthen wetlands protection, and
one or more bills that would
weaken wetland protection. We
need your help to convince law¬
makers that our wetlands need pro¬
tection.
As you know, wetlands are impor¬
tant to a wide variety of wildlife.
For example, wetlands provide
habitat for more than a third of
Indiana’s endangered species,
including the Blanding’s turtle, the
short-eared owl and copperbelly
water snake. They also provide an
essential food and water source for
deer, ducks, and other animals. This
also makes them excellent locations
to view, hunt, trap and photograph
wildlife. Wetlands also are impor¬
tant for people, too. None of us can
live without a supply of safe
drinking water. Wetlands are natural
purifiers and help to recharge
aquifers that supply drinking water.
They also are a natural sponge,
retaining water that could otherwise
flood homes and property.
While some people may think of
wetlands as swamps, bogs, and
breeding ground for mosquitoes that
harbor the West Nile virus, that’s
not really the case. In their most
ecologically balanced state, wet¬
lands actually control mosquitoes.
Dragonflies, damselflies, water
striders, backswimmers and preda¬
cious diving beetles thrive in wet¬
lands, and they consider mosquitoes
a staple of their lunch supply', The
bigger West Nile threat is from
mosquitoes that live in shallow
pools of stagnant water such as
those found in abandoned tires-a
very different but also important
environmental issue.
Governor Frank O’Bannon has
asked the Indiana Department of
Natural Resources, the Department
of Environmental Management and
the Office of the Commissioner of
Agriculture to work with organiza¬
tions to develop a consensus on leg¬
islation to protect wetlands. We’ll
be talking with wildlife lovers,
hunters, environmentalists, conser¬
vationists, farmers, developers and
anglers. By sharing news and
working together, we hope to build
consensus that saves wetlands while
allowing necessary development
and appropriate land use.
• Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News •
12
Winter 2002
We will send you this newsletter
every other week or so and post
other information on a Web site -
www.wetlands.IN.gov - to keep
everyone in the loop about the
ongoing legislation and other
actions concerning Indiana’s wet¬
lands. And we’ll help you make the
contacts you want to make to ensure
every Hoosier understands how
very7 important wetlands are to each
of us. Now. and in the future.
Did you know?
Which Indiana region once sup¬
ported a wetland that stretched from
the Ohio border to the Illinois
border? How large was it; and what
has become of it? Check out the
next edition of Hoosier Wetlands for
the answer.
Why are wetlands important?
Because they:
• Provide habitat for fish and
wildlife;
• Improve water quality;
• Interrupt and filter surface runoff;
• Retain excess nutrients and some
pollutants;
• Reduce sediment that would clog
waterways and affect aquatic life;
• Provide flood protection; and
• Provide shoreline erosion control.
Creature Feature
Tens of thousands of sandhill cranes
migrate from the northern United
States to Gulf Coast waters every
fall and spring, making a stopover
at the shallow wetlands of Jasper-
Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area near
Medaryville, Indiana. Wetlands pro¬
vide food and safe resting areas for
the giant birds, which have wing
spans of about 6 feet, and stand
about 3-4 feet tall. On the wing and
on the ground the sandhill crane
often seems to be a tangle of legs,
neck, beak and wings. Wetlands are
great places to see the birds, and
thousands of tourists each year visit
the Jasper- Pulaski FWA, which has
become a significant eco-tourism
locale throughout the region. To
learn more about the sandhill cranes
in Indiana, visit the DNR Web site.
Wet Facts
In the 1 700s, about 25 percent of
Indiana was swamp, bog or
marsh-what today are called wet¬
lands. These areas filtered and
stored water. They also provided
both food and shelter to water fowl
and other animals.
On the Web
Have you heard? The frogs are
taking over the net! Indiana wet¬
lands resources now have a new
home on the Web at
www.Wetlands.IN.gov [available in
mid January]. You can use this great
new tool to find out information
about wetlands, permiting, current
legislation and even subscribe to
special wetlands e-mails. Check in
often for added features and infor¬
mation. You can also follow links
here in the Hoosier Wetlands to find
out even more about a story online.
Plant Profile
The pitcher plant (Sarracenm pur¬
purea) is a strange-looking denizen
of wetlands in the north half of the
state. Few plants are as fascinating
or mysterious as those that actually
“tum-the-food-chain-tables” by con¬
suming animals! The pitcher plant
is a carnivorous species that has
pitcher-shaped leaves, which it uses
to offer a soupy cauldron to unsus¬
pecting insect prey. A steady diet of
insects provides an important sup¬
plemental food source to the pitcher
plant in one of its favored habitats,
a nutrient-poor sphagnum bog.
Hoosier Wetlands is produced
under a joint effort by IDEM,
DNR, OCA and agency wetlands
protection partners.
For more information about
becoming a subscriber, visit the
Indiana Wetlands Website at
www.wetlands.in.gov
or call us at (800) 451-6027
ext. 2-8596.
All images and information con¬
tained in Hoosier Wetlands may
be reprinted and used without
written consent, if source credit
is provided.
Photos by DNR photographers.
Winter 2002
Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News
13
INPAWS Coming Events
For more info contact Programs/Field Trips Chairman Roger Hedge (317) 232-8062, rhedge@dnr.state.in.us
Saturday, March 8, 2003
11:30 AM to 4 PM
Holliday Park Nature Center
6363 Spring Mill Road
Indianapolis
INPAWS Pitch-In Lunch
and Slidefest
Here’s a cure for cabin fever and
the winter doldrums! Pull together a
few of your favorite slides and a
dish you’d like to share with mem¬
bers and join us for a pitch-in at
Holiday Park. There should be shots
of many of Indiana’s beautiful
spring ephemerals that will whet
our appetites for the approaching
Spring. INPAWS will provide bev¬
erages. You will be responsible for
your own table setting.
Please feel free to bring a guest.
Saturday, April 5, 2003
Mark your calendar for a day
of planting fun
Prairie Creek Barrens
Restoration Day
INPAWS members and friends are
invited to attend a restoration day
activity for one of the rarest com¬
munity types in Indiana-the sand
barrens of southwestern Indiana.
Once covering hundreds of square
miles, the type almost no longer
exists. Only a few roadside rem¬
nants, fencerows, and ditch banks
harbor species that provide clues to
the area’s former character. The
lone exception is located at a nature
preserve in northern Daviess
County. Owned and managed by the
DNR Division of Nature Preserves,
the preserve, known as Prairie
Creek Barrens, is home to a number
of unusual plants and animals,
including many known from
nowhere else in southern Indiana.
Although a small portion of the pre¬
serve has rich species diversity,
most of it was until recently culti¬
vated in row crops.
It is now prime for restoration.
Plants propagated from seeds col¬
lected near the preserve have been
grown into plugs, and are “eager” to
begin their new life in the sandy
upland fields. All that is needed is
your help. Mark your calendar, 5
April 2003, for a day of planting
fun. Please contact Mike Homoya
at (317) 232-0208, or e-mail
mhomoya@dnr.state.in.us for
more information, and to RSVP
by March 21. Additional details
regarding meeting time and location
to be announced at a later date.
Indiana Native Plant
and Wildflower Society
7740 West 88th Street
Indianapolis, IN 46278-1110
Non-Profit
Organization
U.S. Postage
PAID
Columbus, IN
Permit No. 296
Address Service Requesti
E WS
*
Biodiversity Matters
by Carolyn Harstad
“The idea of biodiversity has been
in ecology for a while, but nobody .
had an idea of how much it mat-
tered-that it had so many effects,”
said David Tilman, University of
Minnesota ecologist who directs the
Cedar Creek Natural History Area,
now one of the most studied pieces
of ground on Earth.
This nine-
square-mile
research j
area, deeded
to the University of Minnesota in
1942, is located 30 miles north of
Minneapolis/St. Paul. It includes
forests of spruce and pine, a rare
oak savannah, wetlands, a bog, a
lake and fallow farm fields.
Ongoing experiments produce a
steady stream of papers in promi¬
nent scientific journals, addressing
such issues as the effects of forest
fires, nitrogen pollution, and biolog¬
ical diversity.
Even though Cedar Creek is located
in northern Minnesota, experiments
resulting from studies conducted
there have global implications. We
all tout the value of native plants in
the landscape, but did you know
that broad mixes of natives can
“absorb more carbon dioxide, make
better use of nutrients, are more
resistant to disease and resist
invading species better” than a
single species on its own?
It is well known that too much
phosphoms damages ponds and
lakes. Intensified in part from
burning
fossil
fuel
—.A
and the addition of fertilizers, a sim¬
ilar phenomenon can be observed in
air and soil. Nitrogen, like phos¬
phorus, promotes rapid growth
causing some species to choke out
others.
Peter Reich of the University of
Minnesota began an experiment in
1998 which he entitled BioCon
(biodiversity, carbon dioxide and
nitrogen). By carefully regulating
amounts of nitrogen and carbon
dioxide available in a number of
test plots, Reich is able to simulate
future conditions of our nation’s air
and soil. He reports that “plots with
the most diverse group of plants
absorb more carbon dioxide, which
is harmful to people, than plots with
fewer plants,” and theorizes that
highly diverse ecosystems can
change carbon dioxide into oxygen
more efficiently than those less-
diverse ecosystems typically pro¬
duced by industrial sprawl and pop¬
ulation growth.
In another experiment, researchers
at the site used different combina¬
tions of wild plants planted in a
checkerboard pattern. The experi¬
ment proved that “plots with more
kinds of plants were vastly more
productive and hardier than plots
with smaller combinations.”
Biodiversity continued on page 2
Inside . . .
President’s Message . , 3
Botany 101-15
Plant Hormones ...... 4
Annual Conference
Report . 6
Multiflorae . 7
A Duneland Carnivore . . 8
Success Story . . 9
Jump into Action . 10
New from the DNR .... 11
INPAWS Calendar .... 14
Insert: Membership Renewal
Biodiversity continued from page 1
Yes, biodiversity matters. But as
Laura Huenneke, chairwoman of
the Biology Department at New
Mexico State warns, “We’ve been
shockingly remiss in supplying any
hard experimental data to demon¬
strate the environmental impact.”
The careful experimentation of men
like Dave Tilman and his colleagues
provides that necessary hard evi¬
dence. Unfortunately, funding for
ongoing research is tenuous. “It’s a
continuing struggle to convince
funding agencies to fund this sort of
work,” said Peter Reich. “We could
have hundreds of these [experi¬
ments] for the cost of one fighter
plane,” he said ruefully.
The Newsletter of the
Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society
©Copyright 2002
Published quarterly by the Indiana Native
Plant and Wildflower Society for members.
Material may be reprinted with the
permission of the editor.
We welcome opposing viewpoints.
Articles, letters, drawings should be sent to
Carolyn Harstad, 5952 Lieber Road.
Indianapolis, IN 46228.
www.inpaws.org
The mission of the Indiana Native Plant and
Wildflower Society is to promote the apprecia¬
tion, preservation, conservation, utilization and
scientific study of the flora native to Indiana and
to educate the public about the values, beaut}-,
diversity and environmental importance of
indigenous vegetation.
Newsletter Committee
Editor
Carolyn Harstad (317) 257-9452
pharstad@iupui.edu
Associate Editor
Art Hopkins (812) 372-2862
arthop@earthlink.net
Design/Layout/Production
Anne Wilson (812) 342-6838
wilson@hsonIine.net
Protecting the health of our planet is
crucial. If we each take time to pro¬
mote biodiversity, encourage legis¬
lators to support funding for scien¬
tific research, and continue to sound
the alarm, our fragile world will be
the winner.
Cedar Creek is one of 24 research
areas in the Western Hemisphere
from Alaska to Antarctica that com¬
prise the Long Term Ecological
Research Network created by the
National Science Foundation in
1980.
“An Ecological Treasure." Bethel
(AP),The Free Press, Mankato,
Minnesota, November 20, 2002,
pages 1C, 4 C.
Officers 2002-2003
President
Linda Oxenrider (317)873-5390
goxen@iquest.net
Co Vice President
Roger Hedge (317) 232-8062
rhedge @ dnr.siate.in.us
Co Vice President
Tom Swinford (317)232-4052
tswinford @ dnr.state.in.us
Recording Secretary
Nancy Hill (317)283-8345
nanhill86 @ earthlink.net
Corresponding Secretary
Mary Kraft (317)773-5361
mkraft2 @ earthlink.net
Treasurer
Carolyn Q. Bryson (317) 873-4205
quinnell@iquest.net
Committees
Annual Conference
Eleanor Bookwalter
Auction/Plant Sale
Kelly Frank
Demonstration Gardens
Linda Bullard
Education
Dan and Sophia
Anderson
Grants and Awards
Elizabeth Mueller
Historian
Ruth Ann Ingraham
(317) 257-7095
bookedbook@aol.com
(765) 436-2483
kiwison@frontier.net
(317) 710-2708
plantlin@aol.com
(317) 849-3105
danjandl @cs.com
(317) 769-2412
mickey22@earthlink.net
(317) 253-3863
rai38@aol.com
Invasive Plant Education
Ellen Jacquart (317)951-8818
hankandellen@worldnet.net
Carolyn Harstad is the author of Go
Native! Gardening With Native
Plants and Wildflowers in the
Lower Midwest, Indiana University' j
Press, September 1999.
She is co-founder and past president
of the Indiana Native Plant and
Wildflower Society (INPAWS), and
Editor of the INPAWS newsletter.
Currently she is completing a
second book: Take it Easy! Low-
Maintenance Shade Gardening (to
be published soon by IU Press.
Membership
Dawn Stelts 317-867-2906
dawn@stelts.com
Native Plant Rescue/
Invasive Plant Removal
Amy Kress (765) 213-3540
akress@mcc.mccoak.org
Laura Mulligan
Newsletter
Carolyn Harstad
Programs/Field Trips
Roger Hedge
Public information
Mary Kraft
Speakers Bureau
Colletta Kosiba
Website
Anne Wilson
(317) 769-7740
lemfr@aol.com
(317) 257-9452
pharstad@iupui.edu
(317) 232-8062
rhedge ©dnr.state.in.us
(317) 773-5361
mkraft2@earthlink.net
(317) 852-5973
K_colletta @ hotmail.com
wilson@hsonline.net
Chapters
West Cenffal Chapter
Chris Brewster (765) 463-7171
jim.chris.brewster@worldnet.att.net
North West Chapter
Jan Hunter
(219) 772-(j334 Y ,
tephrosia@hotmail.com v A
o
(765) 288-5629
marciaj50@aol.com
(317) 255-3304
geobet@iquest.net
(812) 332-4295
East Central Chapter
Marcia' Johnson
Central Chapter
Betsy Wilson
South Central Chapter
Sherri McConnell
shermcconnell@netscape.net
Past Presidents
Carolyn Q. Bryson 2000-2001
Ruth Ann Ingraham 1998-1999
Carolyn Harstad 1996-1997
Jeffrey Maddox 1994-1995
2
Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News
Winter 2002
President’s Message
by Linda Oxenrider
Happy New Year!! As we finish up
the holiday season and begin a New
Year, it’s hard not to get the resolu¬
tion urge. On New Year’s Eve
there’s that sense of renewal and
rebirth that energizes and invigo¬
rates the soul. Although you may
be thinking of New Year’s
Resolutions in personal terms only,
with nine years behind INPAWS,
it’s a good time to reassess our
organizational goals as well.
I recently came across an article by
Dr. Stanwyn Shelter, botanist emer¬
itus of the Smithsonian’s Natural
History Museum that provided
much food for thought along these
lines. In his article entitled Role of
Native Plant Societies in Grassland
Conservation , Dr. Shelter traces the
history of the native plant society
movement in the United States
beginning in 1900 when the New
England Wild Flower Society was
bom out of concern for our native
plants. The Audubon movement
was just getting under way about
this time also and caught on nation¬
ally much more quickly than the
native plant movement which did
not reallv gain momentum until the
last 25-35 years when many state
societies were established. Today
there are numerous native plant
societies under one name or another
in all but a few states. Dr. Shelter
contends that “nothing is more cen¬
tral to their existence than the con¬
servation of the native flora.”
We have witnessed the rampant
development across the country
during the last 40 years or so which
has destroyed or fragmented habitat
at an alarming rate and scale. This
issue along with the growing threat
of invasive alien plants in the nat¬
ural landscape has served to ener¬
gize native plant societies across the
country who have led the way in
providing public information,
guiding local eradication efforts and
rescuing native plants from doomed
habitats.
Important as this focus is however,
Dr. Shelter cautions that it must be
kept in balance. He contends that
the business of our societies should
be to save wild places, not to add to
or promote planted landscapes.
“Civilization is busily turning nat¬
ural landscape into planted land¬
scape at an ever faster pace, and
native plant societies should be
trying to slow down that process,
not fuel it.” Are we contributing to
the demand for planted landscapes?
Should we be focusing more of our
attention on conservation before
even more of our native flora is
lost? The mission of the Indiana
Native Plant and Wildflower
Society is to promote the apprecia¬
tion, preservation, conservation, uti¬
lization and scientific study of the
flora of Indiana and to educate the
public about the values, beauty,
diversity and environmental impor¬
tance of indigenous vegetation. As
I contemplate this charge, I believe
we are doing an admirable job
meeting most of these goals, but are
we doing enough to support the
conservation component of our mis¬
sion statement? As a conservation
organization shouldn’t this be our
driving goal, not gardening with
native plants or plant sales or even
plant rescues?
Dr Shelter’s refrain is to “save
habitat” and to do so we need to be
aware of what we have and what
we’re losing. In this New Year, I
encourage you all to join a local
chapter and leam about the threats
to our native vegetation. Roger
Hedge has once again scheduled an
outstanding field trip itinerary for
this year. Please note these dates on
your calendar and plan to attend. It
will heighten your appreciation for
the splendor of our flora. And,
above all, become an advocate for
the protection of our remaining
threatened native plants. As we
enter our 10th year as advocates for
native plants and their habitats, your
support is appreciated. Your mem¬
bership and your personal commit¬
ment and actions on behalf of all
our plants, especially our rare,
threatened and endangered species
are needed now more that ever.
Please renew
your IN PAWS
membership now !
All INPAWS memberships
are on a calendar year
basis from January 1
through December 31.
Please use the member¬
ship form included in this
newsletter and mail your
2003 dues as soon as
possible.
Winter 2002
Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News
3
Botany 101 - fifteenth in a series
Plant Hormones
by Dr. Rebecca Dolan
A lot of people are surprised to
learn that, just like animals, plants
have hormones. Hormones are sub¬
stances made in one tissue that have
an action on another tissue.
Hormones influence the size, shape,
and flowering of plants.
Auxins are plant hormones that
have a wide variety of functions
that vary from time to time, species
to species, and tissue to tissue. One
of the most obvious actions
involving auxin is known to every
gardener who trims a plant to make
it bushy. Recall that the perma¬
nently embryonic tissue in terminal
or apical buds, those at the ends of
twigs, is called apical meristem
(apex referring to the tip). Cells in
the meristem divide and enlarge as
twigs grow in length. Auxins pro¬
duced by cells of the apical
meristem diffuse through twig
tissue to lateral buds. Auxins inhibit
cell division and elongation in lat¬
eral buds, thus providing apical
dominance. Once the apical bud is
removed, say, when you trim a
hedge or pinch back an aster, lateral
buds are released from inhibition
and cells of lateral meristems divide
and grow.
This phenomenon can be demon¬
strated with a classic plant physi¬
ology lab experiment. Control
plants with apical dominance are
allowed to grow as usual.
Experimental treatment plants have
their apical buds, containing apical
meristem cells, removed. One set of
plants gets an application of auxin
(commercially available) mixed
with lanolin dabbed on. Lanolin is a
carrier for the auxin. A second set of
plants just gets plain lanolin. The
drawings provided by Jan Glimn-
Lacy from her book Botany
Illustrated demonstrate what hap¬
pens when the plants have been
allowed some time to grow. Can
you explain the results?
In naturally growing plants, apical
dominance is also influenced by a
second hormone, cytokinin, that is
produced in the roots. As plants
grow in length, that is, as the apical
bud grows more distant from the
earliest lateral buds on a twig, those
lateral buds are released from domi¬
nance by the apical bud, and the
plant grows laterally. Cytokinins
trigger this cell division when the
ratio of auxin to cytokinin is
reduced, that is, there is less auxin
with its inhibitory effect, lateral
growth occurs.
Auxins are also involved with leaf
drop in the fall. A special layer of
cells in leaf petioles dies, allowing
leaves to be shed from stems.
This abscission is related to a drop
in auxin production in leaf tissue.
Auxins have two very important
commercial applications. Rootone,
the powder used to promote root
growth in cuttings contains an
auxin. It promotes the growth of
adventitious roots, especially in
woody plants.
Becky,' Dolan is Director of the
Friesner Herbarium at Butler
University', and a charter member of
INPAWS.'
Illustrations by Jan Glimn Lacy.
INPAWS charter member and
botanical illustrator, from her book
Botany Illustrated.
Sunflower ( Helianthus )
has strong apical
dominance
The weed killer 2,4-D is an auxin. It
triggers imbalances in cell metabo¬
lism that literally cause plants to
grow themselves to death!
4
Indiana Native Plant and Wildf lower Society News
Winter 2002
Rice (Oryza) Coleus
has weak apical has weak apicai
dominance dominance
\
.
CONTROL •
mm
LANOLIN
LANOLIN PLUS AUXIN •
ierminai bud
terminal bud terminal bud
APICAL DOMINANCE EXPERIMENT RESULTS
«
Winter 2002
Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News
5
Indiana Native Riant and Wildflower Society Ninth Annual Conference
McCormick's Creek State Park - November 2, 2002 by David Gorden
Fall color was at its peak in Owen
County on November 2nd. The
leaves glowed in the morning sun¬
light as nearly 100 members and
friends of LNPAWS gathered for its
Ninth Annual Conference at the
Canyon Inn in McCormick’s Creek
State Park. “The most beautiful
week of the year!” exclaimed
Marquita Manley, interpretive natu¬
ralist at the park as she opened the
conference. An early-arriving crowd
had already been enjoying coffee,
pastries, and socializing in anticipa¬
tion of Marquita’s presentation as
well as the entire day’s schedule of
diverse speakers.
Dedicated in 1916, McCormick’s
Creek was Indiana’s first state park,
and is today one of its most popular.
As Marquita described the park’s
history and scenic beauty, she also
shared the challenges faced in pro¬
tecting and preserving its natural
habitats while providing the access
and facilities required for the enjoy¬
ment of its many visitors.
Appreciating “the rhythm of nature
and the uplifting beauty found in all
seasons” is a message she preaches
to all who visit the park and espe¬
cially to youngsters, tomorrow’s
protectors of our environment.
Many in attendance had been privi¬
leged, during earlier college days at
Purdue, to learn from Professor
Emeritus Dr. Harrison Flint. To
them and countless others, his book,
Landscape Plants of Eastern North
America is an invaluable resource.
It was thus with great pleasure and
respect that his words were received
as he shared his knowledge and
insights in discussing some of his
favorite native trees and shrubs and
their use in the landscape.
The morning ended with the
Society’s Annual Business Meeting
led by INPAWS President Linda
Oxenrider. Committee Chairs and
Chapter representatives reported on
their activities as the past year was
reviewed and future plans shared.
The afternoon’s slate of speakers
during three concurrent sessions
presented a variety of options for
attendees to choose from.
Creating a backyard wildlife habitat
is something Greg Oskay has done
at his own home, as he described in
his informative presentation. He no
doubt inspired many in attendance
to do the same, using the necessary
ingredients for wildlife attraction he
discussed, including water, food and
shelter. Modestly hoping to attract
30 bird species to his habitat, Greg
has to date observed over 90
species, plus rabbits, amphibians
and other small creatures. Breaking
the mold of the traditional backyard
lawn can by rewarding in many
ways.
Alyssa Solomon described her
daunting task of growing the plants
required to provide much of the
seed needed for The Nature
Conservancy’s 7000 acre Kankakee
Sands Prairie Restoration project in
Newton County. She oversees the
growth of 108 species on a 120-acre
nursery, as well as the management
of the restoration. Over 3000
pounds of seed were harvested last
year, about half of what was needed
to seed 500 acres. With 2000 acres
completed, the restoration and
hence the nursery's importance will
continue for several more years. It
is a challenging and exciting pro¬
ject.
Equally challenging and exciting is
the establishment of native plants in
a different environment-wetlands.
As assistant nursery director for J.F.
New and Associates in Walkerton.
Mark O’Brien is called upon fre¬
quently to assist in such endeavors.
He discussed the plants and effort
necessary for success.
Dr. George Parker, Professor of
Forest Ecology at Purdue University
shared his research on the changing
plant diversity of central hardwood
forests as influenced by different
methods of timber harvesting and
other types of human disturbance.
Analyzing how forest management
affects species dynamics is part of
his effort to promote harvesting
techniques that lead to greater
diversity in the forests.
Michael Homoya, Plant Ecologist
with the Indiana Department of
Natural Resources knows the native
flora of our state like few others and
is a frequent writer and speaker on
botanical matters. His topic of plea¬
sure on this day was the ferns of
Indiana. Though he did not discuss
all 78 of the species calling our
state home, he did describe a
number of the most common,
including fragile, bracken, royal,
Christmas, ostrich, sensitive, and
climbing. Their diversity is sur¬
prising and their subtle beauty and
charm make ferns natural “musts”
for all shade gardens.
6
Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News
Winter 2002
Following the concluding remarks
of the final speakers, the day ended
much as it had begun-with enthusi¬
astic socializing and grazing on the
selection of snacks set out for the
group. For those who were mgking
a weekend of the conference and
spent the night at the park, Marquita
Manley led a Sunday morning walk.
Enjoy this poetic description from
Janice Gustaferro and Mary’Gorrell:
About forty members
decided to stay,
Their evening plans
they did delay.
To indulge in a tasty
substantial buffet,
While comparing notes
on the informative day.
After a leisurely breakfast
on Sunday,
Marquita Manley, the naturalist,
did say,
“A hike to the quarry
starts this way”,
Thirty-four hikers
responded, “Okay!”
Landmarks of the park
she did display.
As they traveled along
their nature foray.
At the quarry she recounted
its heyday,
Then they adjourned for
observation and play.
With golden beauty and quiet,
their troubles did allay,
Hoping to return for a wildflower
hike just before May.
Several generous benefactors lent
their financial support to the confer¬
ence. Making the Ninth Annual
Conference possible were the fol¬
lowing sponsors:
• Earth-Source, Inc.
• Indiana Chapter of the
American Society of Landscape
Architects
• J.F. New & Associates
• Spence Restoration Nursery,
Inc.
Special recognition and thanks go to
the conference’s primary sponsor,
National City Bank of Indiana.
Also to be thanked for their efforts
in planning and conducting the
day’s proceedings are Conference
Chair Eleanor D. Bookwalter and
INPAWS President Linda
Oxenrider.
Check your mailing label!
Has your membership lapsed?
Greetings!
My name is Dawn Steits and 1 am your new Membership Chair. Check the mailing label on this
newsletter. Next to your address you will find a year printed. That year is the last year through
which your dues have been paid. If the membership date listed is prior to 2003, that means
your dues have lapsed.
To renew and make sure your name will be included in the new member directory, fill out the
enclosed membership form and mail it with your check to Carolyn Bryson-now!
My goal is to be able to mail the new INPAWS Membership Directory by March.
Heip me out-send in your dues today!
Dawn Steits
dawn@steits.com
317-867-2906
Winter 2002
Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News
/
MULTI FLORAE
I N PAWS Chapter
Central Chapter
Meetings for 2003
February 13, 2003
7 PM at the Brownsburg Library,
Mike Homoya will present a pro¬
gram on the rare plants of Indiana.
Directions to the library from the
Route 267 and I 74 exit: Exit I 74
and turn right or south on 267. Go
one or two miles to Tilden (there’s a
traffic light there). Turn left or east
on Tilden and drive three blocks
through a residential area to
Jefferson. Turn left on Jefferson.
The library is at 450 South
Jefferson. Hope to see you there.
May 3, 2G03
Saturday afternoon, 11AM to 1 PM
A tour of Coletta Kosiba’s garden to
see spring blooms.
Bring a picnic lunch.
July 13, 2003
Sunday afternoon, 2 to 4 PM
Visit Virginia Harmon’s garden to
see summer blooms.
October 5, 2003
Sunday afternoon, 2 to 4 PM
Smock Golf Course Tour to see
native plants used in the rough and
hear how golfers have responded to
the plants and wildlife they have
attracted.
December 13, 2003
Sunday afternoon, 2 to 5 PM
Christmas party at Carol Mavity’s
home.
News
Further details about Central
Chapter meetings will appear in
future newsletters and be sent to
members by email and, perhaps,
postcard. Please contact
Betsy Wilson
317-255-3304
geobet@iquest.net
West Central Chapter
Report
Mike Homoya, author of Orchids of
Indiana, gave a well-attended and
outstanding slide-lecture on
Indiana’s native orchids at our
November meeting. He has inspired
us to start looking for orchids in
Tippecanoe Co. and surrounding
counties. Most of those attending
were surprised to learn that we have
some orchids since they are not that
obvious.
All of our educational meetings are
open to the general public and
INPAWS has enrolled a number of
new members as a result. The credit
goes to our vice president and pro¬
gram chair, Joan Mohr Samuels.
She has lined up an excellent list of
interesting and informative speakers
for our programs this year.
Chris Brewster
jim. chris. brewster@worldnet.att.
net
East Central Chapter
upcoming meetings
All meetings will be held at 7PM in
the Minnetrista Cultural Center
Muncie, Indiana.
For more information contact
Marcia Johnson at
MarciaJ50@aol.com
Thursday, February 6
Dr. Kem Badger BSU will present
on "Ferns and Their Allies"
Thursday, March 6
Dan and Sophia Anderson will be
presenting “Indiana Native Species
Edibles.” Edible native species
snacks and tea will be provided by
the Andersons. There is no cost for
this meeting but we would welcome
notification of your expected atten¬
dance so the Andersons know how
many to expect.
Thursday, April 3
Larry Campbell will have a slide
presentation of his recent trip to the
Shanghai area.
If you are interested in making a
presentation to our group next
September, October or November,
please contact
Marcia Johnson
Marciaj50@aol.ccm.
www. inpaws.org
Visit our website for news and
information about INPAWS and
native plant issues, as well as
links to related organizations con¬
cerned with preserving native
plants and their habitats.
8
Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News
Winter 2002
Plant detectives . . .
A Duneland Carnivore
by Barbara Plampin
Nature celebrated July 4, 1976, by
providing a spectacular and, appar¬
ently, never-repeated display: a
broad river or ribbon of tiny, orchid¬
like Purple Bladderwort
(Utricularia purpurea ) which
bisected the waterlilies and other
wetland plants in a certain Porter
County lake. Monet couldn’t have
done better.
Whether aquatic, terrestrial, or
amphibious, Bladderworts
(Lentibulariaceae) fascinate me.
Seven of the ten Indiana species
state-listed Atlantic coastal plain
disjuncts grow in the Dunes.
Bladderworts, with their prominent
lower lips and sometimes smaller
upper lips and spurs or sacs atop
stiff stalks resemble small purple or
yellow orchids. Plants lack roots,
may lie dormant for years, and are
carnivorous. Fresh water crus¬
taceans furnish the main part of
their prey. Bladder designates the
bubble-or bag-like trips growing
amid the leaves; wort is Middle
English for root or plant. Once,
under my microscope, I saw a
minute trap ingesting a minuscule
pink shrimp!
Assertions that one can hear the
trips operating appear to be incor¬
rect.
When a friend and I lifted a floating
yellow Great Bladderwort (U. vul¬
garis) from still water and listened
intently, we heard-nothing.
The leaves suffice to float the
aquatics and anchor the terrestrials.
To reproduce vegetatively, some
leaves bunch themselves into tight
little winter buds (turions) that may
lie dormant for years until the right
amount of moisture occurs. No one
had ever noted Great Bladderwort
in certain Lakeshore Blue Joint
Grass meadows until the vigorous
rains of 1991. Then we saw new
lakes of sunshine yellow. Look for
Bladderworts also in pannes (intra-
dunal ponds formed where wind
scoops out sand down to the water
table), ponds, roadside ditches, and
bogs).
Purple-white scraps of blossom
characterize the extremely incon¬
spicuous, self-pollinating form of
Hair Bladderwort (U. subulata).
Perhaps this species is the most
challenging because its inch-tall,
zig-zag, moss-fine stalks hide
among much taller plants, including
Rhynchospora species.
A possible accompaniment is the
Toad Bug, a harmless insect which
both looks like and hops like a toad.
Be prepared to crawl about on
hands and knees looking comical.
Books: Deam, Flora of Indiana;
Gleason, New Britton & Brown
Illustrated Flora ; Swink and
Wilhelm, Plants of the Chicago
Region, Fourth Edition ; and
Yatskievych, Field Guide to Indiana
Wildflowers . Agnes Arber’s Water
Plants , a 1972 reprint of her 1920
book (ISBN 3 76820157 0) reports
Central and South American
Bladderworts growing in water col¬
lected by Bromeliads. One species
boasts violet flowers atop yard-long
stems. J. and P. Pietropaolo’s
Carnivorous Plants of the World
discusses cultivation.
Barbara Plampin is a member of
IN PAWS, a trustee of the Shirley
Heinze Environmental Fund, and a
member of Save the Dunes Council.
She has a Pli.D. in English litera¬
ture from the University of
Michigan. Botany has been her avo¬
cation all her life.
Note from Barbara Plampin:
Alas, some of the pictures
accompanying Seeds for
Ceramists [Volume 9, Number 2,
Summer 2002] were troublesome.
Eleocharis melanocarpa is shown
as E. tricostata see Britton and
Brown, I, 317); Rynchospora
axillaris wasn’t in the article and
doesn’t grow in the Dunes (Ibid.,
344); and Psilocarya scirpoides
is upside-down (Ibid., 347).
Winter 2002
Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News
9
by Marissa Codey
Success Story
When human inflicted disasters
occur such as the recent oil spill off
the coast of Spain or the massive
1999 fish kill in the White River, it
can be difficult if not impossible to
imagine that there can be a light at
the end of the seemingly endless
tunnel of ecological damage.
However, for almost every environ¬
mental disaster there is also an envi¬
ronmental success story.
Surprisingly, the fish kill of 1999
caused by the Guide Corporation
seems to be helping create such a
success story'. For one, there are
signs that the river is coming back-
fish are slowly returning to habitat
destroyed by the spill. But there is
even more good news’ Not only are
aquatic ecosystems slowly recov¬
ering, but some of the funds set
aside from the Guide Settlement are
actually being used to provide per¬
manent protection and restoration of
the River’s watershed. The impor¬
tance of this type of protection
cannot be overstated. As the
National Research Council (1992)
declared in reference to the impor¬
tance of land use to the health of a
river.
Rivers are products of their
drainage basins, and the biological
integrity of stream and river sys¬
tems is dependent to a large extent
on watershed management prac¬
tices... In some cases, restoration of
the predisturbance flood and sedi¬
ment regime will reestablish the
physical characteristics of the river-
riparian system.
The Central Indiana Land Trust
Incorporated (CILTI), a nonprofit
land conservation organization, is
doing exactly that. When it learned
that Guide Settlement funds could
be used for land acquisition and
restoration along the river, CILTI
decided that acquiring and restoring
farmland in the River’s floodplain
would be beneficial not only to the
health of the river but also to
farmers owning fields with
declining crop yields and frequent
floodwater inundation. This past
summer CILTI was given approval
from the settlement Trustees to use
Guide funds for the purchase and
restoration of 52 acres of land along
the White River in Hamilton
County.
CILTI named this site Burr Oak
Bend, after the Bur Oak Tree (often
spelled Burr Oak in the writings of
Charles Deam and others) and after
the big bend of the White River in
which it is situated. The restoration
plan, scheduled to begin this fall,
will create a 31 .5 acre mixed hard¬
wood forest and a 12.5 acre prairie.
Design of both systems will use
analyses of vegetation in sur¬
rounding intact ecosystems to infer
what species likely existed on the
site prior to its conversion into
farmland. Dominant tree species
scheduled to be planted include
Black Walnut, Bur Oaky Green Ash,
and White Oak. The prairie will
consist of a mixture of local grasses
and forbs, and in several years will
offer a beautiful combination of
form and color. The restored forest
and prairie will not only offer visi¬
tors a unique and pleasant visual
experience, but will also provide a
diverse habitat for the numerous ter¬
restrial animals native to the area.
Clearly, a light of renewal is begin¬
ning to shine from the dark days of
the 1999 fish kill. CILTI is excited
about the Burr Oak Bend project,
and is looking forward to using it as
a demonstration of what a suc¬
cessful ecological restoration pro¬
ject can look like. For more infor¬
mation about this project or about
the organization in general, please
contact Marissa Codey at 317-631-
5263 or email mcodey@cilti.org.
CILTI also has a website
(www.cilti.org) that contains a
downloadable membership/contri¬
bution form as well as information
about current volunteer opportuni¬
ties.
Marissa Codey is Executive
Director of Central Indiana Land
Trust Incorporated (CILTI).
10
Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News
Winter 2002
Jump into Action!
Help monitor Indiana frog and toad populations
Speculation of a nationwide decline
in frogs and toads has prompted the
Indiana Department of Natural
Resources to ask Hoosiers to leap
into action. '
The DNR is looking for volunteers
to participate in the Indiana
Amphibian Monitoring Program.
Volunteers are needed to listen for
frogs and toads from late February
through July, the breeding seasons
of Indiana's amphibians. Surveys
are conducted at night, usually after
rainy days, or on misty nights, when
frogs and toads give their breeding
calls. Information collected by vol¬
unteers will help DNR biologists
better understand the distribution
and abundance of amphibians in
Indiana.
Volunteers must attend a training
workshop in order to participate in
the survey. Registration is not
required to attend a training work¬
shop. Attendees are asked to bring
pen and paper to the workshop.
Participants must be 1 8 or older.
The Indiana Amphibian Monitoring
Program is part of the North
American Amphibian Monitoring
Program (NAAMP) by the U.S.
Geological Survey. Two survey
methods will be utilized starting this
spring: national routes and sta¬
tionary’ sites. National routes are
driving routes that take one to two
hours to complete, not including
drive time to the survey area.
Stationary sites are completed at
frog and toad breeding sites.
Surveys are repeated three times
during the breeding season. Internet
access is required to participate in
the program.
This would be great for a school
project, scouting badge, conserva¬
tion club project, or just an indi¬
vidual interest and reason to "Get
Outdoors" in the coming months.
Just a little bit of your time could
go a long way. The data collected
could assist in justifying conserva¬
tion efforts in Indiana-especially
wetlands, which are critically disap¬
pearing.
This program is funded by dona¬
tions to the Endangered Wildlife
Fund on the Indiana state income
tax form. Look for the eagle and
donate all or a portion of your state
tax refund to keep frogs and toads
hopping in Indiana.
Paula Yeager
Executive Director
Indiana Wildlife Federation
Indianapolis residents were trained
January 18. Other statewide training
workshops include:
North Judson
Saturday, Feb. 22 1 1 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Kankakee Fish & Wildlife Area
4320 W. Toto Rd.
574-896-3522
http://www.IN.gov/dnr/fishwild/pub
lications/kank.htm
West Lafayette
Saturday, Feb. 15 2-4 p.m.
Morton Community Center
222 N. Chauncey
765-775-5110
www.mp2-
pwrc.usgs.gov/FrogWatch/
http://www.nwf.org/keepthewil-
dalive/frogwatch-app/index.htm
Information on Indiana's Amphibian
Monitoring Program is available
online at:
http://www.IN.gov/dnr/fishwild/end
angered/naamp/nindex.htm
DNR Division of Fish and Wildlife
Web site:
http://wildlife.IN.gov
Winter 2002 • Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News
11
New from the DNR: Hoosier Wetlands Newsletter
Fellow conservationists:
The future of Indiana’s wetlands is
one of the most important natural
resources and environmental issues
that the Indiana General Assembly
will debate this year. \
This is the first in a series of e-mail
newsletters focused on Hoosier wet¬
lands. I encourage you to get
informed, stay involved and share
this newsletter with friends, family,
customers and members of organi¬
zations to which you belong.
The text only version of Volume l.
Issue 1 of Hoosier Wetlands is
below.
For a more attractive version of the
newsletter with graphics and
photos, please click on this link:
http://www. in. gov/wetlands/new slett
er/hswetlands/index. html
Also, a wetlands Web site with more
important information is being
developed (www.wetlands.IN.gov)
and should be online soon.
John Goss, DNR Director
Hoosier Wetlands
Helping Hoosiers protect,
preserve and restore natural
resources
Ripple Effect
Welcome to the first edition of
Hoosier Wetlands-a newsletter cre¬
ated to spread the word that 1 .)
Indiana’s wetlands are in jeopardy
and 2.) that every Hoosier has a
voice in deciding how-or if-we
protect these rapidly disappearing
areas.
The debut of this publication comes
as our lawmakers prepare to con¬
vene for the 2003 General
Assembly where they will discuss
legislation that could dramatically
affect the future of our wetlands -
and in some cases decide whether
we even have certain wetlands in
the future.
Why is this happening now? A U.S.
Supreme Court decision in 2001
took away the authority that the fed¬
eral government has exercised for
years to protect wetlands that are *
not directly associated with rivers
and lakes.
Some people think this court case is
reason to change existing Indiana
law concerning all wetlands. In
some states, unprotected wetlands
have already been destroyed. In
others, protective legislation has
already been enacted.
Most likely, Indiana legislators will
be dealing with separate and com¬
peting bills-one or more that would
strengthen wetlands protection, and
one or more bills that would
weaken wetland protection. We
need your help to convince law¬
makers that our wetlands need pro¬
tection.
As you know, wetlands are impor¬
tant to a wide variety of wildlife.
For example, wetlands provide
habitat for more than a third of
Indiana’s endangered species,
including the Blanding’s turtle, the
short-eared owl and copperbelly
water snake. They also provide an
essential food and water source for
deer, ducks, and other animals. This
also makes them excellent locations
to view, hunt, trap and photograph
wildlife. Wetlands also are impor¬
tant for people, too. None of us can
live without a supply of safe
drinking water. Wetlands are natural
purifiers and help to recharge
aquifers that supply drinking water.
They also are a natural sponge,
retaining water that could otherwise
flood homes and property.
While some people may think of
wetlands as swamps, bogs, and
breeding ground for mosquitoes that
harbor the West Nile virus, that’s
not really the case. In their most
ecologically balanced state, wet¬
lands actually control mosquitoes.
Dragonflies, damselflies, water
striders, backswimmers and preda¬
cious diving beetles thrive in wet¬
lands, and. they consider mosquitoes
a staple of their lunch supply The
bigger West Nile threat is from
mosquitoes that live in shallow
pools of stagnant water such as
those found in abandoned tires-a
very different but also important
environmental issue.
Governor Frank O’Bannon has
asked the Indiana Department of
Natural Resources, the Department
of Environmental Management and
the Office of the Commissioner of
Agriculture to work with organiza¬
tions to develop a consensus on leg¬
islation to protect wetlands. We’ll
be talking with wildlife lovers,
hunters, environmentalists, conser¬
vationists, farmers, developers and
anglers. By sharing news and
working together, we hope to build
consensus that saves wetlands while
allowing necessary development
and appropriate land use.
12
Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News
Winter 2002
We will send you this newsletter
every other week or so and post
other information on a Web site -
www.wetlands.IN.gov - to keep
everyone in the loop about the
ongoing legislation and other
actions concerning Indiana’s wet¬
lands. And we’ll help you make the
contacts you want to make to ensure
every Hoosier understands how
very important wetlands are to each
of us. Now, and in the future.
Did you know?
Which Indiana region once sup¬
ported a wetland that stretched from
the Ohio border to the Illinois
border? How large was it, and what
has become of it? Check out the
next edition of Hoosier Wetlands for
the answer.
Why are wetlands important?
Because they:
• Provide habitat for fish and
wildlife;
• Improve water quality;
• Interrupt and filter surface runoff;
• Retain excess nutrients and some
pollutants;
• Reduce sediment that would clog
waterways and affect aquatic life;
» Provide flood protection; and
• Provide shoreline erosion control.
Creature Feature
Tens of thousands of sandhill cranes
migrate from the nonhem United
States to Gulf Coast waters every
fall and spring, making a stopover
at the shallow wetlands of Jasper-
Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area near
Medaryville, Indiana. Wetlands pro¬
vide food and safe resting areas for
the giant birds, which have wing
spans of about 6 feet, and stand
about 3-4 feet tall. On the wing and
on the ground the sandhill crane
often seems to be a tangle of legs,
neck, beak and wings. Wetlands are
great places to see the birds, and
thousands of tourists each year visit
the Jasper-Pulaski FWA, which has
become a significant eco-tourism
locale throughout the region. To
leam more about the sandhill cranes
in Indiana, visit the DNR Web site.
Wet Facts
In the 1700s, about 25 percent of
Indiana was swamp, bog or
marsh-what today are called wet¬
lands. These areas filtered and
stored water. They also provided
both food and shelter to water fowl
and other animals.
On the Web
Have you heard? The frogs are
taking over the net! Indiana wet¬
lands resources now have a new
home on the Web at
www.Wetlands.IN.gov [available in
mid January], You can use this great
new tool to find out information
about wetlands, permiting, current
legislation and even subscribe to
special wetlands e-mails. Check in
often for added features and infor¬
mation. You can also follow links
here in the Hoosier Wetlands to find
out even more about a story online.
Plant Profile
The pitcher plant (Sarracenia pur¬
purea) is a strange-looking denizen
of wetlands in the north half of the
state. Few plants are as fascinating
or mysterious as those that actually
“tum-the-food-chain-tables” by con¬
suming animals! The pitcher plant
is a carnivorous species that has
pitcher-shaped leaves, which it uses
to offer a soupy cauldron to unsus¬
pecting insect prey. A steady diet of
insects provides an important sup¬
plemental food source to the pitcher
plant in one of its favored habitats,
a nutrient-poor sphagnum bog.
Hoosier Wetlands is produced
under a joint effort by IDEM,
DNR, OCA and agency wetlands
protection partners.
For more information about
becoming a subscriber, visit the
Indiana Wetlands Website at
www.wetlands.in.gov
or call us at (800) 451-6027
ext. 2-8596.
All images and information con¬
tained in Hoosier Wetlands may
be reprinted and used without
written consent, if source credit
is provided.
Photos by DNR. photographers.
Winter 2002 » Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society News
13
INPAWS Coming Events
For more info contact Programs/Field Trips Chairman Roger Hedge (317) 232-8062, rhedge@dnr.state.in.us
Saturday, March 8, 2003
11:30 AM to 4 PM
Holliday Park Nature Center
6363 Spring Mill Road
Indianapolis
INPAWS Pitch-In Lunch
and Slidefest
Here’s a cure for cabin fever and
the winter doldrums! Pull together a
few of your favorite slides and a
dish you’d like to share with mem¬
bers and join us for a pitch-in at
Holiday Park. There should be shots
of many of Indiana’s beautiful
spring ephemerals that will whet
our appetites for the approaching
Spring. INPAWS will provide bev¬
erages. You will be responsible for
your own table setting.
Please feel free to bring a guest.
Saturday, April 5, 2003
Mark your calendar for a day
of planting fun
Prairie Creek Barrens
Restoration Day
INPAWS members and friends are
invited to attend a restoration day
activity for one of the rarest com¬
munity types in Indiana-the sand
barrens of southwestern Indiana.
Once covering hundreds of square
miles, the type almost no longer
exists. Only a few roadside rem¬
nants, fencerows, and ditch banks
harbor species that provide clues to
the area’s former character. The
lone exception is located at a nature
preserve in northern Daviess
County. Owned and managed by the
DNR Division of Nature Preserves,
the preserve, known as Prairie
Creek Barrens, is home to a number
of unusual plants and animals,
including many known from
nowhere else in southern Indiana.
Although a small portion of the pre¬
serve has rich species diversity,
most of it was until recently culti¬
vated in row crops.
It is now prime for restoration.
Plants propagated from seeds col¬
lected near the preserve have been
grown into plugs, and are “eager” to
begin their new life in the sandy
upland fields. All that is needed is
your help. Mark your calendar, 5
April 2003, for a day of planting
fun. Please contact Mike Homoya
at (317) 232-0208, or e-mail
mhomoya@dnr.state.in.us for
more information, and to RSVP
by March 21. Additional details
regarding meeting time and location
to be announced at a later date.
Indiana Native Plant
and Wildflower Society
Non-Profit
Organization
U.S. Postage
PAID
Columbus, IN
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