Sempervirens : the quarterly of the Virginia Native Plant Society

Sempervirens

Summer 2020

he word “Unprecedented” has

to be a contender for some
dictionary’s “Word of 2020.” We are
hearing this word everywhere—press
briefings, news, webinars, conference
calls, and conversations—to describe
how COVID-19 is impacting our
once-normal activities and behaviors
in personal and work life. Likewise,
routines in how we think and plan,
how and where we work, and how we
interact at Natural Heritage, continue
to be challenged. Our charge is to
stay focused on protecting Virginia’s
biodiversity, in accordance with
Governor Northam’s Executive
Order 55, and to learn the lessons
these unusual times are offering. Our
hope is for there to be net positive
on the other side of COVID for
Virginia’s natural heritage resources.

We have learned much already.

First, the talents and passion of staff
at Virginia Natural Heritage are
proven every day. We are teleworking
and adjusting all fieldwork and travel
logistics to assure social distancing.
Indeed, field season is upon us, green
is reappearing,
animals have
emerged, wings
are in the air, and
we are steadfast ¢
to stay on pace.
Field observation
refines data and
our data are the
engine that moves
us toward doing
the conservation
that is our mission.

Do not use parks or
trails if you are '
exhibiting symptoms. i |

The Quarterly of the Virginia Native Plant Society

Pandemic means adaptability, creativity

From Your
Natural Heritage
Program
By Jason Bulluck

Natural Heritage staff have shown
such impressive creativity, agility,
and expertise, to ensure that we
stay productive, safely. This group
of scientists, data specialists, land
protection specialists, Natural
Areas stewards and supporting
administrative staff are the best, and
exactly what we need right now.
Secondly, we are learning
moreover about the carrying capacity,
and in some cases the vulnerability,
of Virginia’s Natural Area Preserves.
We take any opportunities we can
through press and other outreach, to
reiterate the purpose of the Natural
Area Preserves: to conserve Virginia’s
biodiversity through protection and
stewardship of the best examples of
rare plants and animals, and unique
natural communities. Providing
public access via parking areas, trails

: PHYSICAL DISTANCING IN PUBLIC PARKS AND TRAILS

Be prepared for limited
access to public restrooms
or water fountains.

other trail users of your
presence and a5 you pass.

Share the trail and warn 4

Observe CDC’s minimum

and water access is secondary to our
mission, though we work hard for it,
realizing the benefits to our citizens
and program. We select very carefully
which preserves have facilities for
public access. We steer that access

to less vulnerable areas. We keep
parking lots to small sizes that match
a preserve’s carrying capacity. We
work to keep public access to levels
that our staff can manage in terms of
facility upkeep and natural resource
management.

With two to four stewardship
staff per region, and in some regions
the help of Volunteer Stewardship
Committees, our plates were more
than full with resource and public
access management prior to COVID.
But, since mid-March, public access
alone has dominated staff time. We
have seen the impacts of heavier foot
traffic on trails; damages to over full
parking areas; portable toilets that
can’t be accessed for service; and, in
the worst cases, intentional vandalism
of vegetation and rock features,
signage, and even theft of equipment.
Without enough
staff to control the
levels of visitation,
F many preserves
have surpassed their
capacity, and this
is exacerbated as

recommended physical distancing of

6’ from other persons at all times.

other public lands

in their vicinity

are closed due to

safety and social
(See Pandemic
Learning, page 9)

A; you can tell, this is our COVID-19
Pandemic issue. To comply with
our commonwealth’s guidelines,

we canceled all our spring activities
including our annual workshop. With
much of our membership in the older,
at-risk population, we want everyone
to stay safe. Many of us are using the
time at home to appreciate the nature
in our own backyards, but it is sad
that Shenandoah National Park and
popular natural area preserves had to
close during the height of the spring
wildflower season.

As we have publicized previously,
our annual meeting is scheduled for
the last weekend in September in
Abingdon. Because we do not know
what the situation with the pandemic
will be at that time, we have paused
our planning. We hope to decide at
our June board meeting whether we
will proceed with the regular annual
meeting format in September or
consider alternatives.

From the President, Nancy Vehrs

Ponderings on pandemics and more

Our social media presence
continues to grow and we hope
that you follow us. We now have a
following on Instagram of more than
one thousand after just a few months.
Our Facebook page has more than
18,000 followers and we strive to
create a post a day. Our Facebook
group, created by Potowmack
Chapter member Marty Nielsen
many years ago, now includes more
than 6,700 members and is growing
rapidly. Members post photos,
provide native plant identifications,
and offer native plant gardening and
invasive plant removal advice. With
so much action on the page, we set
up rules and appointed moderators
to keep everyone on the native plant
track. I owe a debt of gratitude to our
moderator team that includes Susan
Gitlin, Judy Dority, Garrie Rouse,
and Steve Young. Thank you all!

Another person I need to thank
is our web administrator Mark
Murphy. He initiated and recently
completed posting an archive on

Sempervirens, Summer 2020

our website of all the Society’s
newsletters from 1982 to the present.
Wow! Thank you, Mark.

NEWSBETTER

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VECE-FRESISENT- Linda Heshan RESCUE; Cole Burrell EDUCATION: 21 Btudholee
SECRETARY: Darna Kreita LADSCAFE L: Ed Ballard FURLICATICHE: Herma Teredl lice
TREASURER; Tomes ect LARDGCAFE Tl: Fun Rowing TARGET: Mary Faincer

USFS, ADPISORS

TED BRADLEY. Caorge Mason Universicy
PETER HAZ220, TEDA/EE Raciowal Arboretum
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Society newsletter, Vol. 1, issue 2, 1982

Nature offers solace during pandemic

ie the news media keeps
reminding us, it is a strange
time in which we live today with the
COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
“Social Distancing” is the new
normal and wearing a mask to the
grocery store is now de rigueur.
Many of us in the Society take solace
in nature. I invited members of our
board of directors to share how they
are coping with the “stay at home”
recommendation.

Catie Cyrus is working from home
and considers herself extremely lucky
to have a naturally wooded backyard
with an outbuilding (old workshop)
to use as an office. “I keep the door

open when the temperatures are
okay so I can hear the birds calling.
My coworkers comment on the bird
sounds during conference calls. I have
been in this house for three years and
am noticing more native species in the
yard this year than any year before.
I’m not sure if it’s just because I’m
home more, or as I like to imagine, the
woods are naturally regenerating now
that they have an owner who doesn’t
pull the ‘weeds’.
Ruth Douglas says: “I’ve been almost

9 99

exclusively practicing self-isolation
EXCEPT when I’m outside on the
beautiful wildflower trail along the
Rivanna River near my subdivision (Key

West, NOT in Florida). A good friend is
shopping for me, which is wonderful.
Outside, I am incredibly fortunate
to have a wonderful wildflower-lined
trail along the Rivanna River in my
subdivision. I have given a field trip
there in early April for the Rivanna
Master Naturalists training class since
our chapter began in 2006, but this
year, the class is via Zoom, and we had
to cancel the field trips. But, some of
my subdivision neighbors have come
to enjoy the labels too, so I set it up
for them. We use red surveyor flags to
mark the location of each plant, put
a number on each, and create a key to
(See Solace, next page)

Sempervirens, Summer 2020

Solace

(Continued from page 2))

the numbers with the common names
of the plants, which are in a realtor’s
info box at the start of the trail. The
only fly in the ointment is the invasives
that are getting more numerous all the
time, mainly Oriental Bittersweet and
Japanese Honeysuckle. I do what I can
but can’t invite the Master Naturalists
to help because it’s private property. I
am “patrolling” the trail almost daily,
working on slowing the invasives down.

So, in summary, I keep busy with
nature-related activities mainly and
they keep me sane (or as close to being
sane as I can get these days). I feel I’m
living in a bubble, though, because (so
far) I don’t have close friends or family
with coronavirus and the disruption to
my life has not been anywhere near so
severe as is true for many others. But
it’s certainly a very stressful time, and
I have become so easily distracted, lots
more than usual. I hope it’s temporary.”

Mary Lee Epps has a farm and is
taking frequent woodland walks. “This
has been a great year for morels. Wake
and I would starve to death if finding
them were up to us, but [daughter]
Mary Jane has managed several
brief visits and she has found two or
three pounds’ worth. (My personal
maximum was five and that was after
I gave up looking and was climbing a
steep slope on the way home, which
both slowed me down and forced me
to watch the ground closely.)” Mary
Lee thought the season was over then
reported “In two hours, I found none.
She found a pile!” They also found
Showy Orchis in bloom.

Jan Smith said, “Like a broken
record this thought keeps going
around and around in my mind: ‘Iam
so lucky to be retired with a pension
and living in Rockbridge County
during this time of COVID! I guess
it is true that it is better to be lucky

than good.” She went on to report
that because all Master Gardener
activities were cancelled, this is the
spring that she is working on her own
property. “Sixty-seven acres provides
me with lots of opportunities—from
managing invasives to planting new
shrubs. And our Upper James River
Chapter has received many thanks
from community members for our
self-guided plant walks. In lieu of

our guided Saturday morning plant
walks, we thought social distancing
would be better maintained by a
flagged walk. Our first attempt was
the busy Chessie Trail [in Lexington].
We flagged about 20 plants, listed
their names, whether native or not,
and any fun facts we could find about
the plant. This list was emailed out

to our chapter members and other
interested people. It was a fun thing for
families to do—the kids liked finding
the flags and the adults learned a bit
about plants. After COVID, we will
keep the self-guided walks as well as
doing the Saturday guided walks. Iam
not delusional; I know the walks were
popular because there was little else.
But perhaps with the flexibility of the
self-guided walks, more people will be
able to grab a few minutes to enjoy the
beauty of our wildflowers.”

Nancy Sorrells is following the
rules and getting outside during the
pandemic. “I am using this ‘gift of
time’ to be out gardening. We have a
whole new solar installation that needs
to be landscaped and I am enjoying
getting plants in the ground.”

Nancy also explained that she
and a friend committed to exploring
a Virginia natural area every week
(per Gov. Ralph Northam’s orders
to get outside, breathe fresh air, and
exercise). So far they have explored
McCormick’s Farm, the Virginia Blue
Ridge Railway Trail, Natural Bridge
State Park, the Chessie Trail, Natural

Mary Jane Epps shows off her morel bounty.

Chimneys and the G. Richard
Thompson Wildlife Management
Area. “We have enjoyed nature’s
spring like perhaps never before.
And, we have followed proper social
distancing rules.”

Personally, I miss my weekly bird
(and botanical) walks at Huntley
Meadows Park; the park’s trails are
open, but its parking lots are closed.
To continue the camaraderie of the
birding group, I host a weekly Zoom
meeting that substitutes for the aprés-
walk at the local Denny’s. We have had
as many as 30 on the call. My 62nd
birthday occurred in March, and I
was disappointed that I was unable to
celebrate with my planned purchase
of the “geezer pass,” the senior
pass that allows lifetime entry to all
federal parks and national recreation
lands. It has been challenging, but
I still managed to visit some of my
favorite places for spring wildflowers.
Following a nonexistent winter, we
have been gifted with a long spring.
Our native plants are oblivious to
our health issues and perhaps some
natural areas have relished the reduced
human presence. +

—Nancy Vehrs, Society President

4

Sempervirens, Summer 2020

Checking in with Conservation Chair Alex Fisher

n 2020, Society President Nancy

Vehrs launched a new initiative
for Sempervirens. In an ongoing
series of interview features, she goes
behind the scenes to introduce us to
those volunteers whose hard work
and enthusiasm make VNPS such a
success. In this chat, Nancy checks in
with Conservation Chair Alex Fisher
to find out what makes him tick.

Nancy: The VNPS is so fortunate
to have you as our Conservation Chair,
Alex. Can you tell us a little about
your childhood and how you became
interested in plants and nature?

Alex: I grew up in Midlothian, a
suburban town outside of Richmond.
There I had the luxury of growing up
in a neighborhood where many of the
riparian areas had large intact forested
buffers connecting to undeveloped
land in several directions. As a child
this allowed me to wander through
the forest traversing waterways
enabling endless exploration of
nature’s wonders. It was hard not to
be interested in joining nature’s grace
when there was always something to
learn or find anew. These experiences
and my mother’s willingness to have
me spend most of my days outside
must have seeded my interest in nature
early in my childhood. My specific
interest in plants grew during my
college years spent in Wilmington,
N.C., where I gained the foundational
understanding of much of life’s
reliance on the Plantae Kingdom
and spent ample time exploring the
threatened and biodiverse long leaf
pine ecosystem.

Nancy: You received your degree
from the University of North Carolina
at Wilmington. Tell me more about
that experience.

Alex: After I decided I wanted to
study environmental science in college,
I did a college tour and ended it shortly
after visiting UNC Wilmington. It was

immediately appealing to me because
it has a pedestrian friendly campus,
the university exists in a coastal

town with access to two different
waterfronts (Cape Fear River to the
west, Atlantic Ocean to the east),

and is a very different environment
than what I was used to in Virginia.
Favorite classes: Natural Resource
Policy-opened my eyes up to the U.S.
history of natural resource policy

and how our environment has and

is regulated; tropic ecology—studied
an entirely different habitat and
complex relationships associated

and participated in a field study in
Belize collecting avian population
data in the highly biodiverse region of
the Maya Mountains. Additionally,

I studied abroad at James Cook
University in Townsville, Australia, in
the dry tropics region of Queensland.
There I gained new perspectives on
natural resource management, social-
ecological systems, and evolutionary
history. It was inspiring to see regional
natural resource agencies integrating
traditional knowledge into their
conservation and restoration planning.
All the independent travel throughout
Queensland that I embarked on

was bestowed with inspirational
natural landscapes wildly foreign yet
refreshing. Most importantly, after
my extended time living abroad in
Australia, I returned home with a
renewed appreciation for the Piedmont
of Virginia and all the organisms that
make this region unique.

Nancy: What was your career path
once you graduated with a degree in
environmental studies?

Alex: Shortly after graduating
from college I decided to ride my
bicycle across the country with a close
friend. We rode from North Carolina
south to Florida and then west to San
Diego, California, finishing our ride
in Burbank, California. Although it

placed a hold on my career search,
I gained a lot of life experience
from it. After this I began work at
American Conservation Experience,
as an AmeriCorps member and later
as a crew leader. I was based out
of Flagstaff, Arizona, and spent my
workdays throughout the Southwest,
including the Lower Rio Grande Valley
of Texas building and repairing trails,
clearing vegetation, performing habitat
restoration, building rock structures,
and numerous other conservation
and forest management related tasks.
Doing that work meant spending
three-quarters of a year camping
in the outdoors in many different
habitats. Spending so many days in the
outdoors up close to nature, I became
entrenched in learning to identify
plants and animals more vigorously. I
next began work with Virginia Forestry
and Wildlife Group in Charlottesville
and was tasked with providing
various ecological restoration, wildlife,
and forest management services
throughout central and western
Virginia. This mostly included invasive
species removal and subsequent
native plantings. I am thankful for
those tireless days removing acres of
invasive plants, as it taught me the
real damage invasive species have on
our native ecosystems and the power
of collective action in successfully
reducing the negative impacts caused
by them. In following my non-linear
career path, I moved on to working
for a development engineering firm
in Richmond providing professional
wetland and soil consulting services.
Following this I began working for The
Nature Conservancy Virginia, based
out of our downtown Richmond
office. Here I work as a wetland
restoration ecologist, monitoring
stream and wetland restoration
projects throughout the state.

Nancy: We know your wife Ashton

Sempervirens, Summer 2020

Alex Fisher with daughter Paige.

is Program Director at the Blue Ridge
Partnership for Regional Invasive
Species Management (PRISM). Did
you meet over invasive plants?

Alex: Ashton and I did not meet
over invasive plants. We met at a
concert venue in Richmond just after
I finished cycling across the country.
She embarked with me on the journey
to Arizona working as AmeriCorps
members at American Conservation
Experience. She excelled quickly as a
crew leader, specialized in chainsaw
work removing invasive species and
felling hazard trees. We shared many
of the same fun and challenging
experiences associated with working
very long days followed with primitive
living quarters. Following our
experience out west Ashton began
work with the Blue Ridge Partnership
for Regional Invasive Species
Management on her own accord while
I was working with Virginia Forestry
and Wildlife Group. Invasive species
are a known threat in our household,
but we encourage others to get
involved in the fight with us!

Nancy: You and Ashton welcomed
your baby daughter Paige into the
world this past summer. How has
she changed your life?

Alex: Yes, Paige was born in

August at our home in Bon Air, Va.
Daily life has certainly changed for
us. Having her has created challenges
for Ashton and me in managing
our time and balancing all of our
responsibilities. These challenges are
a part of the journey with a growing
child as Paige has become the most
important part of our lives. Her
growth and experience in this world
are wonderful to witness. She has
opened my eyes to so much of life
that, as adults, we tend to take for
granted or forget the brilliance of.
Nancy: Tell us a little about your
work for the VNPS, especially during
this session of the General Assembly.
Alex: In this position lam
constantly doing my best to stay up
to date on the latest and preexisting
conservation issues throughout the
state. I also strive to stay informed
about existing or proposed natural
resource and environmental policies
at the local, state, and federal level
that influence the conservation of
our Virginia native plants, plant
communities, and ecosystems. The
goal is to share this information with
partner organizations, members
of this society, and the general
public to spread awareness of these
issues and policies that may then
catalyze action for engagement
in the public policy process or on
ground conservation activities.
Additionally, in collaboration with
other board members, | draft position
letters on such policies offering
a voice to our cause. During this
past Regular Session of the Virginia
General Assembly, which formally
adjourned March 7, 2020, I crafted a
budget amendment to the governor’s
proposed budget for additional funds
to be appropriated to the Department
of Conservation and Recreation’s
Division of Natural Heritage. I
spent much of January walking the
General Assembly building, gathering

support from various legislators for
this amendment. Unfortunately, our
budget amendment did not make it
through important money committees.
The Division of Natural Heritage

is an important partner to VNPS. It
shares a similar mission by focusing
on conserving Virginia’s biodiversity
through inventory, protection, and
stewardship. An increase in funding
for its work is critical to maintaining
quality services while managing
increased public access to enjoy some
of the state’s best examples of our rich
natural history.

Nancy: As a member of the
millennial generation, are you hopeful
for the future of our environment?

Alex: There are many days where
I am not hopeful for the future of
humankind on this Earth. There
are many good reasons to doubt
our species’ ability to have a more
harmonious relationship with nature.
However, | am hopeful too, that the
sliver of ourselves so innately bound
to nature will help humanity move
forward and progress away from our
destructive relationship with nature.
Like never before, there are people
experiencing the negative impacts
of climate change and habitat
destruction around them. These
realities can no longer be ignored,
and communities around the world
are taking action to protect the
environment as it provides people
with everything they need to survive.
Humans have everything to lose if we
do not stand up for it, so lam hopeful
that we will.

Nancy: Thank you, Alex. We are
indeed fortunate to have you on our
team and wish you much success as
you pursue your graduate certificate
in ecological restoration at the
University of Florida while working
full time, engaging in a full family life,
and serving the VNPS.*

6

Autecology of Wild Geranium

Article and photo by W. John Hayden, Botany Chair

his article explores the autecology

of Wild Geranium, Geranium
maculatum, the 2020 VNPS
Wildflower of the Year. Autecology
encompasses all aspects of how
an individual species is adapted to
and interacts with both its physical
environment and other species found
in that same environment. Autecology
stands in contrast with synecology,
which focuses on interactions among
groups of organisms at larger scales
of organization examining, e.g., how
communities or whole ecosystems
function. The information that follows
is derived largely from a publication
based on the PhD dissertation of
Sister M. Celine Martin (1965),
supplemented with information from
Willson et al (1979).

Let’s examine a year in the
autecology of Wild Geranium,
starting in the spring. After winter
dormancy, the first sign of life is
emergence of long-petioled leaves
from the rhizome. Most of these
first-to-develop leaves arise from
the apical meristem (terminal bud)
of the rhizome, but some may also
grow from the rhizome’s lateral
buds. At this time, there is no above-
ground stem; consequently, these
first-formed leaves constitute a brief
rosette stage of growth. Timing of
basal rosette emergence varies, of
course, with latitude and altitude.
About two weeks after the rosette is
fully formed, flowering stems begin to
emerge, initially visible as mere buds
at ground level. Soon, these buds grow
upwards, forming the aerial stem and
supporting one pair of cauline (stem)
leaves before terminating in a sparsely
branched, cyme-derived, flower cluster.
Compared to rosette leaves, cauline
leaves have much shorter petioles and
smaller leaf blades.

Flowering (Figure 1) lasts for 10-14

days. “Anthesis” is the technical term
for a flower that is open with stamens
and/or stigmas developmentally ready
for pollination. Typical bisexual
flowers of Wild Geranium possess
10 stamens, arranged in two whorls;
stamens of the inner whorl are taller
than those of the outer whorl. The
inner stamens begin to shed pollen
within an hour or so of petal opening;
the outer whorl of stamens shed their
pollen a day or two later.

The style terminates in five
stigma branches. Initially, stigmas are
not ready to receive pollen; in this
early phase, stigmas are fully erect
and clustered tightly together, thus
rendering their pollen-receptive surfaces
inaccessible to pollen. Once the styles
separate by recurving outwards,
pollination becomes possible.
According to observations made
by Martin (1965), timing of stigma
receptivity varies among the different
Wild Geranium plants she sampled:
“Of 48 plants, 16.6% had stigmas
open at the first pollen shedding,
18.7% at the second pollen shedding,
35.4% one day later, 8.5% two days
later, and 20.8% more than two days
later.” These data reveal a complicated,
and perhaps, therefore, flexible model
for a balance between self- and cross-
pollination in Wild Geranium flowers.
Clearly, there is a large component of
protandry: Martin’s data show that
much pollen can be shed before stigmas
are receptive and many stigmas do not
become receptive until most pollen in
the same flower is likely to have been
removed by pollinators. However, the
data also show sufficient overlap in the
timing of pollen release and stigma
receptivity that self-pollination is
certainly possible.

Martin (1965) conducted more
than one hundred controlled
pollinations to test the efficacy of

Sempervirens, Summer 2020

Figure 1. Geranium maculatum, Wild Geranium, flower
at anthesis; in this flower, note that inner stamens
are shedding pollen while outer stamens remain
closed and the stigmas are closely appressed and not
yet receptive to pollen.

self versus cross pollination in Wild
Geranium. First, as a necessary control,
she removed all anthers from one
group of flowers before those anthers
had opened and she then covered these
emasculated flowers with bags to
prevent insect visitation; these plants
produced no fruits and no seeds, thus
eliminating the possibility of asexual
parthenogenesis which, if present,
would have complicated interpretation
of this experiment. To test for self-
pollination, Martin removed already
open flowers from test plants and

she then covered these plants so that
remaining flower buds could open in
the absence of insect visitors; of the
flowers thus treated, 12.5% produced
fruits, showing that self-pollination is
possible, but not particularly common.
Cross-pollination was measured by
removing unopened anthers from
newly opened flowers, followed by hand
application of pollen from different
plants to receptive stage stigmas of
these emasculated flowers; 24% of
flowers thus treated produced fruit. In
other words, cross pollination appears
to be roughly twice as successful as
self-pollination in Wild Geranium.
From similar observations, Willson et
al. (1979) conclude that while Geranium
maculatum flowers are self-compatible,
insect visitors make a significant
contribution to successful pollination
and ultimate formation of fruits and
seeds. An interesting but unexplained

(See Autecology, next page)

Sempervirens, Summer 2020

¢ Autecology

(Continued from previous page)
result from both studies is that a fairly
large proportion of flowers fail to
produce any seed at all. Petals drop
shortly after pollination and no insect
visitors were recorded by Willson et al.
(1979) for apetalous flowers.

Wild geranium flowers conform to
what is described as the “open bow] or
dish” pollination syndrome. All floral
structures essential for the pollination
process, i.e., nectaries at the base of
petals, anthers bearing pollen, and
pollen-receptive stigmas, are fully
exposed at one time or another during
anthesis and are, therefore, readily
accessible to floral visitors. It should
not be surprising, therefore, that many
different insects have been docu-
mented to visit flowers of Geranium
maculatum. Martin (1965) recorded 28
categories of insect visitors collected
from flowers of Wild Geranium.

Some of the insects she recorded were
identified to species, but others were
identified just to the taxonomic level of
family, so the actual number of species
visiting Wild Geranium is certainly
much greater than 28. Like last year’s
WOY (Ceanothus americanus), Wild
Geranium appears to have a relatively
unspecialized pollination syndrome.
Willson et al. (1979) note that small
flies and small bees are able to reach
Wild Geranium nectaries at the base
of petals without contacting anthers
or stigmas; while these small insects
might, on occasion, transfer pollen

to stigmas, they are most likely not
very effective pollinators. Perhaps the
small insects that remove nectar but
accomplish little to no pollen transfer
are a factor in the low seed set noted
(above) for Wild Geranium flowers.
Bumblebees, on the other hand, seem
to be the right size to get the job

done. When bumblebees visit Wild
Geranium, they initially clamber about
for a while accumulating pollen on

their ventral surfaces, then they straddle
the stigmas while reaching for nectar
at the base of the ovary and, from this
position, any pollen on their ventral
surfaces is easily transferred to stigmas.
Of course, that pollen could be from
the same flower, or from flowers of any
other previously visited Wild Geranium.
There exists a specialized bee, the
Geranium Miner (Andrena geranii),
that once seemed to provide an
interesting counterpoint to the broadly
unspecialized pollination biology of
Wild Geranium. Species of Andrena
are solitary ground-nesting bees, the
characteristic from which the common
name, Miner Bee, is derived. Adult bees
emerge coincident with the flowering
time of their host plants, from which
they collect both nectar and pollen.
Pollen is stored as larval food in
burrows dug into soil. Some Andrena
species are referred to as polylectic,
meaning they visit flowers of multiple
different plant species. For many years
the Geranium Miner Bee was thought
to be monolectic, i.e., completely
dependent on flowers of Wild
Geranium. However, natural history
observations reveal that Andrena
geranii bees also visit flowers of
Anemone, Campanula, Hydrophyllum,
Rosa, Rubus, Viola, and Zizia (Discover
Life 2020). Clearly, Geranium Miners
are at least oligolectic (few hosts), if not
outright polylactic (many hosts).
Successful pollination leads to fruit
and seed development. Fruits mature
about three weeks after pollination, and
seed ejection (via active outward flinging
of individual carpel segments) takes
place over the course of one to three
days. Seeds can travel up to 900 cm (30
feet) from their maternal parent plants.
Once fruits have matured and seeds
have been dispersed, the business of
Wild Geranium is preparation for next
year’s flowering season. New buds
for the next season’s aerial stems and
flowers form during late summer and
fall, but only if the plants experience

e

favorable conditions of moisture, light,
and temperature to support enough
photosynthesis by rosette leaves to
generate the resources needed for next
year’s reproductive output.

Martin (1965) dissected several
samples of fresh seed and found about
90% to contain healthy (firm, green,
intact) embryos. Fresh seeds, however,
are dormant, in part because of the
physical barrier to water absorption
provided by the hard seed coat, but also
because of the embryo’s initial, inherent,
physiological quiescence. By simple
experimental observations of seeds
treated in petri dishes, Martin showed
that cold stratification was necessary
for breaking of seed dormancy. Under
natural conditions, prolonged exposure
to soil moisture and low temperatures
during winter serve to rehydrate the seed
and break embryo dormancy. Seedlings
naturally germinate in the spring.

And that completes a year in the
autecology of Geranium maculatum.
This brief summary represents a
distillation of more than 50 pages of
published information from, as noted
above, Martin (1965) and Willson et
al. (1979). One point I wish to make
in closing is that it takes a tremendous
amount of careful work and keen
observation to wrest this sort of insight
about how just one species functions in
its natural environment. I certainly do
not wish to take anything away from the
important work documented by the two
sources consulted for this article. But as
we shall see in the next Sempervirens,
there is, alas, one gaping hole in the
story of Wild Geranium autecology as

related above. Stay tuned... %
WORKS CITED

Discover Life. 2020. Andrena geranii Robertson,
1891. https://www.discoverlife.org/20/q?-
search=Andrena+geranii (accessed 8 April 2020).

Martin, M. C. 1965. An ecological life history of
Geranium maculatum. The American Mid-
land Naturalist 73: 111-149.

Willson, M. E, L. T: Miller, and B. J. Rathcke.
1979. Floral display in Phlox and Geranium:
adaptive aspects. Evolution 33: 52-63.

8 Sempervirens, Summer 2020

School! habitat thrives despite empty classrooms

he wah * - - ’ ’ " —— 7 Dd

Jamestown Lilies (Zephyranthes atamasa).

Say has come to Williamsburg
and especially to the native
plants in the Schoolyard Habitat
at Stonehouse Elementary School.

Entrance to the Stonehouse Habitat Gas with sence (Shadbush) (Arelonene:
arborea) in the foreground.

Unfortunately, no one can enjoy the _ the beds are thriving. These photos —_and improve the garden and have

native plants this spring because were captured on a short walk
James City County schools are closed in mid-April by garden caretaker
for the remainder of the school year
due to the COVID-19 virus.

In spite of the stay-at-home

added several pathways, all in

cooperation with school staff, a few
Susan Voigt. parents, and two boys working on
Jan Newton, parent and former _—_ Eagle Scout projects.
VNPS member, helped create

the garden 15 years ago in a bare

The chapter occasionally
orders, native plants (and weeds) in provides plant walks for the public
at the garden and, following one
of those walks, the Williamsburg
Council of Garden Clubs

recognized Susan Voigt, the school

courtyard close to the kindergarten
and first grade classrooms. It was
certified as a National Wildlife
Federation Schoolyard Habitat.
After Jan moved from Virginia,
members of the John Clayton
Chapter have continued to maintain

garden caretaker, with their Arbor
Day Individual Award.
—Susan Voigt, John Clayton Chapter

info@vnps.org. Nancy Vehrs,
President; Nancy Sorrells, Edi-
tor; Karen York, Office Manager.
Original material in Sempervirens

Pinxterbloom Azalea (Rhododedron
periclymenoides), top, and Winterberries
(Ilex verticillata)

mental Farm, 400 Blandy Farm Lane,

Unit 2, Boyce, Va. 22620, 540-837-1600,

ie may be reprinted if credit is given to
Phy the Virginia Native Plant Society, to
big vl RGI N iA NATIV E Sempervirens, and to the author of
mM P L A NT SOCI ETY the material, if named. Readers are
' ay ; be és 3 ‘
aes he Sempervirens (ISSN 1085-9632) is the ae a a
| ee ete, and queries for consideration.
eee. ie Oat quarterly newsletter of the Virginia 3
Tre ee fa ee | ve Pl : ae E-mail items to Nancy Sorrells at
reas Met" of 7. 2 Native Plant Society, Blandy Experi-

lotswife@comcast.net.

Next submission deadline:
July 15, 2020

Sempervirens, Summer 2020

Preserved newsletters tell Society’s story

Did you know the VNPS was
originally named the Virginia
Wildflower Preservation Society
(VWPS) and was founded in 1982?
Recent efforts to obtain and publish
newsletters from the early years of
the Society have revealed a fascinating
story of the dedication and
perseverance of our founding leaders
and volunteers.

The VWPS was incorporated in
Virginia in July of 1982 and published
its first 10-page Newsletter in 1982.
Founding board members included
President Mary Painter, Vice-President
Linda McMahan, Secretary Dorna
Kreitz, and Treasurer Tommee Kerr.
Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris)
was chosen as the floral symbol. The
Charter Membership Roster included

Pandemic learning

(Continued from page 1)

distancing concerns with COVID-19
and overcrowding.

Buffalo Mountain, The Channels,
as well as VOF-owned Bull Run
Mountains Natural Area Preserves
have been closed. We are watching the
visitor numbers and impacts closely at
other preserves such as The Pinnacle,
Crow’s Nest, Poor Mountain, Hughlett
Point, and Savage Neck Dunes. We
have learned that not only does beyond-
capacity visitation require more staff
presence, but that closed preserves
require the same if not greater levels
of presence as well, to prevent trespass
and unsavory activities. With challenges
of social distancing, our staff are
unprecedentedly working as parking
lot attendants for open preserves and
serving as oversight and patrols for
closed preserves. This has required us to
request assistance from volunteers, local
law enforcement, and partner agency
staff, all of whom are also stretched
thin. We are greatly appreciative for the

106 Associate, Patron, and Family
members.

Early Newsletter editions included
announcements and articles about
planned plant rescues, volunteer
guidelines, “eradicating moles,”
membership profiles, committee
activities, and the Society’s first
Annual Meeting at the National
Wildlife Federation in Vienna
in October 1982. Several active
committees reported meetings with
county supervisors, starting a native
plant propagation program, planning
conservation projects for children,
and walks and presentations.

In 1983, the Newsletter became
the Bulletin. Thanks to VNPS
members Nancy Sorrells and Nicky
Staunton, who provided paper

copies of many issues, we now have
a complete archive of all issues
from 1982 until the Bulletin became
Sempervirens in 2015. Potowmack
chapter members Roberta Day and Pat
Salamone also provided archive issues
of the Potowmack News.In 1988, the
VWPS membership voted to change
its name from the Virginia Wildflower
Preservation Society to the Virginia
Native Plant Society to encompass the
conservation of native plants other
than just those commonly considered
as “wildflowers.”

To browse the Bulletin and
Sempervirens archives visit vnps.org.

Be sure to also check our blog post
on The First 10 Year of VNPS: How
We Began.

—Mark Murphy, Website Manager

assistance we have been receiving.

COVID-19 has brought bigger
crowds from farther away and thus
newcomers to the preserves, pointing
to another lesson that COVID is
underscoring already: the critical need
for strong messaging to the public,
stronger partnership, volunteer support,
and continued need for funding to
support the program and the preserves
system. When we have passed the
COVID curve, we may well see a new
normal of visitor numbers. It will be
ever important to effectively interpret
and communicate to the public the
primary purpose of preserves, how they
are unique from other public lands and
why they should be treated with special,
leave-no-trace respect.

The opportunity to educate a larger
audience may be a silver lining not only
for preserves but all public lands. We
can hope that the clear need for more
public lands will drive a movement
to invest in the strategic expansion
of public lands for natural resources
conservation and management, and

to benefit those communities most

in need of outdoor recreation. This
will require funding, both for those
lands and for the jobs of stewards and
resource managers needed on them.
More conserved lands, more public
access, and more jobs—there is a win-
win-win.

Lastly, we are reminded of how
important our family of supporters
and partners are, and the VNPS
is a long-standing leader. Without
the outreach, funding support, and
shared efforts to communicate the
values and needs of Virginia’s natural
heritage to the public and elected
officials, I am certain we would not
be as resilient as we, and your natural
area preserves, have been up to now.

I believe that this support will help
to insure that when this challenging
time is behind us, this support

will be moreover important and
valuable as we move forward, maybe
even to achieve conservation, in an
unprecedented way. %

10

Sempervirens, Summer 2020

Strange times: Botanizing during the ‘plague’

Article and photos by Gary Coté, New River Chapter

CG S"s of Emergency declared

in San Diego because of the
Coronavirus.” My husband David
got that snatch of news from his
radio. More followed. Schools closed,
bars closed, restaurants limited to
half capacity. We were in San Diego
County, California, when we got that
news, although nowhere near a bar
or restaurant. We were huddled ina
tent, waiting out the rain, in a deserted
campground on the Los Coyotes
Indian Reservation, on the slopes of the
highest peak in the county, Hot Springs
Mountain (6,533 ft.). We hadn’t seen
anyone since the tribal policeman who
had signed us in the day before.

We were on a trip back to San
Diego to revisit old friends and former
haunts, the first trip back together
since moving east in 1986. Although
David, who had grown up there, had
been back many times, I had not. So
when my retirement from Radford
University was approaching, we started
making plans and arrangements. An
Amtrak trans-continental train would
take us through the desert southwest
where we would stop to visit a retired

Radford colleague in northern Arizona.

Onward from there we would camp

in the familiar mountains and deserts
of San Diego County, then visit family
and friends in the city. Then north to
visit a friend in the Bay Area, stopping
to botanize in San Luis Obispo County,
and finally we would head home ona

trans-continental train over the Rockies.

Dates were carefully chosen to fit
everyone’s schedules, coincide with the
spring blooming of coast and desert,
and take advantage of Amtrak deals.
But our timing turned out to
be somewhat unfortunate. We left
Virginia amid reports of a new virus
sickening people in China, and then in
Washington State, and we wondered

if perhaps this was not
the best time to travel.
Despite our worries,

the westward train ride
was restful and scenic.
With our Arizona
friend we visited Native
American petroglyphs,
Montezuma Well and
the Montezuma Castle
National Monuments,
and, of course, the
Grand Canyon. The interest was
primarily archaeological at most of
those places, while the Canyon, that
vast chasm where, little by little, the
Colorado River and the rains have
carved and tumbled eons of rocks,
and the river has borne it all away

to the Gulf of California, upstaged
everything else. However, we stuck
our faces into the bark of Ponderosa
Pine (Pinus ponderosa) to inhale the
rich vanilla aroma, and marveled at
the gnarled forms of Pinyon Pines
(Pinus edulis) and the Utah Junipers
(Juniperus osteosperma) with their
orange clumps of parasitic Mistletoe
(Phoradendron juniperinum). We
also enjoyed seeing cacti once again,
admiring great branching clumps of
Prickly Pear (Opuntia phaeacantha).
Although it was early March, brilliant
yellow blooms covered Golden
Currant bushes (Ribes aureum), and
the purple pea-like flowers of the
early-blooming Torrey Milkvetch
(Astragalus torreyana) decorated the
sand. We finished our Arizona stay
with dinner in a bustling restaurant
in Flagstaff before boarding a train
to California.

In California we rented a car

and headed to Los Coyotes Indian
Reservation, one of our favorite places
in San Diego County. We pitched our
tent in a grove of Canyon Live Oak

Flower of Apricot Mallow (Sphaerdieed ambigua), common flowering
shrub of the California Desert.

(Quercus chrysolepis) and cooked
dinner. West of us, although we didn’t
know it, clouds were lifting gallons
upon gallons of the Pacific Ocean

up into the mountains, preparing

to dump it on us in a torrential
downpour, and to carry the remnants
eastward to flood the desert.

Because of the rain, we spent much
of our stay at Los Coyotes in the tent,
reading, talking and munching trail
mix. We had no cell phone signal
there, but the radio promised more
rain and delivered occasional grim
bulletins about Coronavirus spreading
on the West Coast and social
restrictions being mandated.

As more rain was coming, we
packed up the next day and moved to
Blair Valley Primitive Campground
in the Anza-Borrego Desert State
Park, which amounted to a couple
of bathrooms at the edge of a broad,
high valley containing a dry lake bed,
now carpeted with the pink flowers
of naturalized Red-stemmed Filaree
(Erodium cicutarium), naturalized in
Virginia as well, although uncommon.
Navigating around the huge puddles
left by the previous day’s storm, we
headed well away from the enormous
RV’s and found a pleasant site to
pitch our tent at the base of a cliff,
among tumbled boulders and bushy
mounds of Desert Sunflowers

Sempervirens, Summer 2020

(Bahiopsis parishii). Gander Cholla
(Cylindropuntia ganderi) lifted
spiny arms around our campsite,
and Desert Barrel Cacti (Ferocactus
cylindraceus) were just opening their
first blooms here and there between
boulders. The area by our tent was
made cheerful by the yellow blooms
of Bristly Fiddleneck (Amsinckia
tessellata), tiny white Popcorn
Flowers (Cryptantha sp.), and even
tinier Yellow Whispering Bells
(Emmenanthe penduliflora). A pair
of Common Ravens was nesting on
the clifftop above us, winging in with

unidentifiable morsels for their chicks.

While in the Blair Valley area, we
hiked a few miles to Yaquitepec, the
high-desert homestead of Marshal
and Tanya South. In the early 20th
century they had performed an
“experiment in primitive living” on
waterless Ghost Mountain (3,200 ft.).
Around the ruins of their homestead
we saw the same plants they would
have seen in a similar season, Gander
Cholla, Agave (Agave deserti), a riot
of blooming desert sunflowers, and,
hiding between the rocks, Fishhook
Cacti (Mammillaria dioica), with
their candy-striped flowers. On our
hikes there and back we encountered
Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens) just
beginning to open flame-red flowers

per

trigger germination.

My favorite desert annual, Desert Monkeyflower (Mimulus
bigelovii), a common plant of desert washes. It grows,
blooms, and sets seed very quickly when spring rains

11

at the tips of their long
stalks. A few agave
plants had already
decided this was their
year to bloom and die
and were sending up
flower stalks; many
more had bloomed
last year and their
dead stalks still stood
sentinel. Bees were

swarming the Desert

Sea Dahlia (Leptosyne maritima), formerly in the more familiar genus
Apricot Bushes (Prunus Coreopsis. The leaves, visible in the background, are intricately dissected

into linear segments. It frequently blooms alongside coast sunflower,
which has simpler leaves and a brown disk.

fremontii) with their
white cherry-flower
blossoms. Lavender flowers of Thistle At the end of our stay we said
Sage (Salvia carducea), golden flowers — good-bye to the ravens, returned the
of Blazing Stars (Mentzelia sp.), and
blue-violet flowers of Wild Heliotrope
(Phacelia distans) dotted the ground
beneath the shrubs.

We also drove down to the lower

car, and took commuter rail to our
hotel in the Old Town neighborhood
of San Diego. With our return to
civilization we gained a cell phone
signal and access to newspapers;
desert to see what might be in bloom the warnings we had gleaned from
there. Chuparosa (Justicia californica) the radio became starker. The
with flaming red flowers, Creosote Bush hostel in San Luis Obispo, where we
(Larrea tridentata) with yellow blooms, _ had reservations, had called to say
Desert Wishbone Bush (Mirabilis

laevis) with delicate white flowers, and

they were closed, and a newspaper
announced that the Bay Area, where
Desert Lavender (Condea emoryi) our friend lived, was under stay-at-
covered with pale purple blooms were home orders. Amtrak proved flexible
common shrubs. We were delighted to
find an Apricot Mallow (Sphaeralcea

ambigua) with its showy orange, tulip-

and we revised our itinerary to
backtrack through Arizona and New
Mexico at the end of our planned
shaped blooms. week in San Diego, We then went
looking for a restaurant that had not
already reached the mandated half

capacity, but found only restaurants

We got down on hands
“» and knees ina desert wash,
where, just days earlier a flash
flood had likely rampaged. I that were actually closed or open
found my favorite desert flower, but nearly empty, The next day, all
Desert Monkeyflower (Mimulus restaurants were ordered closed except
bigelovii), outsized pink blooms _ for take-out or delivery. Our hotel
on plants slightly taller than was near Old Town Historic Park,
the flowers were long. We normally teeming with tourists, but
also found Gold Poppies
(Eschscholtzia parishii), and the

gorgeous bells of Brown-eyed

now a ghost town, historic buildings,
theaters, and shops closed.

In San Diego, we visited coastal
bluffs and the beach. The bluffs were
dominated by the yellow sunflower-
like blooms of two shrubs, Sea Dahlia

(See Pandemic botanizing, page 12)

4|*

Evening Primrose (Chylismia
claviformis) with their pure
white petals, dark red centers,
and brilliant yellow stamens.

12

Pandemic botanizing

(Continued from page 11)

(Leptosyne maritima) and Coast
Sunflower (Encelia californica). On
the beach, the naturalized Hottentot
Fig (Carpobrotus edulis), sported
thick succulent leaves and large yellow
and purple blooms, as it usually does
in every season. It originated in South
Africa, but now invades beaches all
over the world.

The trip back had an eerie
feeling. San Diego’s historic Santa Fe
depot, built for the 1915 Pan-Pacific
Exposition, was nearly deserted. The
trains, sleeper and coach cars alike, had
few people. Chicago was empty at rush
hour on a Tuesday, traffic sparse and
only a handful of people out, many
taking pictures of the emptiness. On
the train out of Washington, we saw
the cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin
in their glory, but no one was on the
sidewalks, and traffic was sparse. In

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Lynchburg, the station
platform is normally
brightly lit by headlights,
and a wave of people
spreads out from the
train, but this time the
platform was dark and
three people got off.
Within a few weeks |

of our return, almost — Amaijor tourist site, San Diego’s Old Town Historical Park. Note the
unusual lack of tourists during the pandemic.

every place we had
visited had closed, the Grand Canyon,
national monuments, Los Coyotes
Reservation, Anza-Borrego Desert
State Park, museums, restaurants,
campgrounds, beaches, even scenic
overlooks. Had we left a few weeks
earlier, we might have been back
before the pandemic. Had we planned
for a few weeks later, we would not
have gone. Despite our unfortunate
timing, we still saw incredible scenery,
fascinating archaeology, and beautiful

Sempervirens, Summer 2020

southwestern plants, a reminder that
even in difficult times, the natural

world abides. +

Gary Coté is a long-time member of
VNPS, and a founding member of the
New River Chapter. He majored in biology
at MIT, received his PhD at the University
of California in San Diego, and taught for
20 years at Radford University, where he is
now professor emeritus. He lives in Radford
with his husband, David Darnell, a former
president of the New River Chapter, and
their cat, Kismet, who shows no interest in
native plants except to eat grass.

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