PA Plantings

November 17 Muhlenberg Botanic Club Meeting: David McNaughton : " From Wastelands to Wetlands: The Strange and Dark Arts of Wetland Restoration"

2011-11-16T19:10:00.001-05:00

When wetlands are disturbed, mitigation and restoration projects initiate and are meant to result in the protection and expansion of wetland habitat across the United States. These habitats are ecological hotspots significant for their pollution abatement (nature’s filters), fecundity (amphibian, fish, and other taxonomic breeding grounds), and beauty (the Everglades, the Pantanal, and Monet’s water lilies). The presentation will explore how organizations, firms, and individuals restore and rehabilitate these
ecological habitats and construct new habitat with examples from Fort Indiantown Gap and past commercial projects in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, and New Jersey. We will discuss typical native plantings, design strategies, and function, and compare intensive and natural re-vegetation methods.

Dave received his B.S. in Environmental Studies from George Washington University (DC) in 2000. He
worked summers at a small wetlands consulting and restoration firm as a field and nursery assistant, and later as a wetland scientist and crew leader. Since 2004 Dave has worked at Fort Indiantown Gap for the Wildlife Office, where he is currently the Assistant Wildlife Program Manager. His fields of study include botany, herpetology, management and restoration ecology, military ecology, and rare species conservation (Allegheny woodrat, regal fritillary butterfly, striped gentian, etc.). He is the current Vice President of the National Military Fish and Wildlife Association, a national group of military lands managers and conservationists.

7:00pm at the North Museum in Lancaster PA

Muhlenberg Botanic Fall 2011 Newsletter

2011-10-18T21:55:00.003-04:00

The newsletter is available in pdf format.

The September Muhlenberg Newsletter is on line

2011-09-11T10:48:00.000-04:00

The September Edition of the Muhlenberg Bulletin is online now. It is in both PDF and MSWord formats.

Saturday Field Trip to Lock 12 on the Susquehanna River is Cancelled Due to Flooding

2011-09-08T09:17:00.001-04:00

Hi Muhlenberg Members and Friends,
Due to the High Water and serious flooding we are cancelling the field trip on Saturday September 10, 2011. The plants we are interested in are underwater and the riverbank will not be a safe place to hike with the rocks being very wet. We will try to visit the area next year.

Muhlenberg Botanic Club Members Night and Plant Exchange

2011-09-08T09:13:00.000-04:00

September 15, 2011 7:00pm
Officer Elections, Members' Night and Plant Exchange

Bring pictures, slides, or a digital show to share; we will have a laptop and digital projector setup. (Also a traditional projector can be brought if someone wants to share film slides please tell mike so he can bring it!)
For the plant exchange, please bring well-potted plants you think other members might like to adopt. We focus on native plants, but others are perfectly fine, too. Members who don't have plants to share are welcome—actually encouraged—to take plants home. We always have a lot to share with everybody! We must continue to KEEP THE MEETING ROOM CLEAN, SO PLEASE BRING PLANTS IN FAIRLY CLEAN POTS AND MAKE SURE THERE ARE NO INSECTS ON THEM. If you spill dirt/plants, etc., YOU are responsible for cleaning up the mess. We want to leave the Kinsey room as clean as or cleaner than we found it so we can continue these exchanges. Thank you.

The full Newsletter will be online Soon.

Muhlenberg August field trip Change! Aug 6th trip now to the Muhlenberg meadow instead of Laurel Hill St.Pk.

2011-07-26T20:42:00.003-04:00

We have received a report on the Purple Fringeless Orchids at Laurel Hill State Park and it looks like they will be done blooming before our scheduled trip. So on August 6th we are going to have a walk to the Muhlenberg Meadow in Lancaster Central Park instead. We will be meeting by the Meadow sign along Golf Rd. at 10 am. This will be a joint walk with the Lancaster Entomological and Butterfly Club.

Muhlenberg Meadow, Lancaster County central Park

10 am to (approx.) 12 noon

A walk for meadow flowers and butterflies (co-sponsored but the Lancaster Butterfly and Entomological Club)

Co-Leaders: Fred Habegger and Mike Slater

Started in 1991, this restoration project spearheaded by Tim Draude and the Muhlenberg Botanical Society has expanded to five acres.. In the last year some major work at removing invasive plants by our recording Secretary John Ambler with some help from other Muhlenberg volunteers.
Come and view the wide array of field flowers and what techniques worked and didn’t work in turning a cornfield into a dazzling native ecosystem.

From Lancaster, go south on Rte. 222/272 for about 0.5 miles past the point where the north and south lanes rejoin. Turn left onto Golf Rd. and go about 0.6 miles to the intersection with Exhibit Farm Rd The parking area is a few hundred feet past Exhibit Farm Rd. The sign for the meadow is up against the tree line and not easily visible from the road. Park on the grass in front of the sign.

BOSOC, Still time to register

2011-04-26T09:15:00.000-04:00

There is still time to register for the BOSOC Meeting in Ithaca. (Deadline May 10, 2011)

This is the annual Joint Field Meeting of the Botanical Society of America - Northeastern Section, Torrey Botanical Society, and Philadelphia Botanical Club. This year it is cosponsored by the Finger Lakes Native Plant Society and the New York Flora Association. The meeting will be held June 19-23, 2011 (Sunday-Thursday) at Ithaca College, Ithaca, New York with many botanical field trips. See the link for the details.

Muhlenberg botanic Club Spring 2011 Field Trips

2011-03-13T17:53:00.002-04:00

2011 FIELD TRIPS

All trips will be led by Joan King; if you intend to participate in any of the trips outside of Lancaster Co., please let her know (717-284-5239 or jsking@lycos.com).

Saturday, April 23: Little Cove, Franklin County

This is a rich limestone woodland where we should see Trillium cuneatum, Jeffersonia diphylla, Delphinium tricorne, and Dodecatheon amythestinum, among others.

Walk rating: moderate; an all day trip.

Meet at North Museum at 7:00 a.m.; we will carpool from there. Bring a bag lunch.

Saturday, May 14: Benton Hollow, Lancaster Co. PA

This is a rich river glen with trillium, mertensia, trout-lily, and violets.

Walk rating: moderate. Prepare for wet feet since we hop across a small stream.

Meet at the site at 10:00 a.m. Bring a bag lunch to take on the trail.

Directions: Take PA Rt. 272 from Lancaster through the Buck intersection with PA Rt. 372. Continue south on Rt. 272 for about three miles to Chestnut Level Road, where you will see the Valley View Restaurant. Turn right on Chestnut Level. Turn left at River Road and then take the first right, Slate Hill Road. Follow Slate Hill to Harmony Ridge Drive, where you turn right. Continue on Harmony Ridge Road where it intersects with Furniss Road. Turn left on Bald Eagle Road, which leads down a hill. The Ferncliff Preserve is at the bottom of the hill on the right at the sign.

Saturday, June 25: Webb's Mill Bog, Bill Smith's bog garden, Rare Find Nursery, Ocean Co., NJ

Joint all-day trip with Delaware Valley Chapter of North American Rock Garden Society.

Meet at the North Museum at 7:00 a.m. for carpooling. Bring a bag lunch; prepare for wet feet.

Webb's Mill Bog: A boardwalk and trail lead to a Pine Barrens bog that supports a variety of plants, including rare curly grass ferns, sundews, and pitcher plants. The area is part of a cedar swamp that had been cleared and is regenerating. Beaver occasionally flood the area, so prepare for wet feet! The bog is located in the northern part of a 27,298-acre wildlife management area.

Directions:

From Philadelphia: Go east from Cherry Hill on NJ Rt. 70 for about 20 miles after NJ 73 branches off. Turn right on NJ Rt. 72 (going southeast). Go about 14 miles to the intersection with county Rt. 539. Turn left (north) and go 6.2 miles. Park by the bridge that crosses Webb's Mill Branch (about 6 miles south of Whiting). The boardwalk is visible from this point.

Or an alternate from the west: Take the PA turnpike east then, near Norristown, I-276 east, I-95 north, I-195 east; Garden State Parkway south; county Rt. 530 west (exit near Toms River) through Whiting; left (south) on state Rt. 539 about 7 miles to the bridge that crosses Webb's Mill Branch.

The boardwalk is on the opposite side of the road from the "Greenwood Wildlife Management Area" sign, a few yards toward State Rt. 72. Look carefully amid the vegetation at the roadside for the steps leading down into the swamp area.

Bill Smith's garden (about 25 miles north of the bog):

Bill is an employee of Rare Find Nursery and has built himself two large free-floating bog gardens. We will see his garden in the afternoon.

Information about the nursery:

RareFindNursery.com; 957 Patterson Road; Jackson, NJ 08527; 732-833-0613

support@rarefindnursery.com

From March 15 thru November 31, it is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 pm. Open by appointment other days. Call 732-833-0613.

Directions to the nursery from I-195 in NJ: take Exit 16-B (the exit for Great Adventure and Jackson Outlet Mall), and turn right at the end of the ramp, which will put you on Rt. 537 East. Stay on Rt. 537 for less than one mile. Bear right onto Wright-Debow Rd., and continue for 1.3 miles. Immediately after the bridge over I-195, make a sharp right onto Patterson Rd. You will see the nursery on your left. Follow Patterson Rd. to the nursery entrance at green iron gates.

DO NOT USE MAPQUEST (or other online directions) AS THEIR DIRECTIONS ARE WRONG AT THE VERY END!

Saturday, July 9: Rock Springs Serpentine Barrens, Fulton Township

This 176-acre preserve is home to serpentine aster, prairie dropseed, and other species adapted to the harsh soil. Walk rating: moderate. Bring a bag lunch to eat on the walk.

Meet at the preserve at 10:00 a.m.

Directions: Take PA Rt. 272 south from Lancaster City through the intersection with 372 (the Buck). Continue on 272 to Wakefield to the point where 272 and 222 diverge. Do NOT follow 272, which makes a sharp turn to the left, but go straight on Rt. 222 for approximately 4.5 miles. Turn right onto Mason-Dixon Road and go approximately .6 mile. Park in the small gravel lot on the right side of the road. The trailhead is by the Nature Conservancy sign.

Saturday, August 6: Laurel Hill State Park, Somerset Co. PA

Since we have not seen this site in many years, we have no idea what we will find; we hope to see Platanthera peramoena and purple fringless orchis.

Walk rating: moderate, prepare for wet feet. Bring a bag lunch.

Meet at the North Museum at 7 a.m. or at Laurel Hill Visitor Center at 10:30 a.m.

Directions: From I-76, Exit 110 (Somerset), drive west on PA 31 from Somerset for eight miles; turn left onto Trent Road and follow the directional signs to Laurel Hill State Park. The park may also be reached from I-76, Exit 91 (Donegal) by turning left (east) on PA 31 and traveling 14 miles. Follow the directional signs to the right turn onto Trent Road, and, from there, to the park.

Saturday, September 10: Lock 12, York Co. PA

One of our favorite sites to explore, this is a unique scour zone community with plants from the north and south. Also growing there are coastal plain species and prairie remnants. We should see asters, goldenrods, and purple gerardia, and many other species.

Walk rating: difficult (climbing over rocks). Bring a lunch to take along on the hike.

Meet at10:00 a.m. at Lock 12.

Directions:

From Lancaster: Take PA Rt. 272 south to the Buck, then turn right (west) onto Rt. 372. Follow 372 for about 7 miles. After you cross the Norman Wood Bridge, take the first right turn, McCalls Ferry Rd. The entrance to the parking lot is immediately on your right. Meet in the lower lot.

From York: Take Rt. 74 south. Turn left onto Rt. 372 and go about two miles. Turn left onto McCalls Ferry Rd. just before crossing the Susquehanna River. The entrance to the parking lot is immediately on your right. Meet in the lower lot.

Muhlenberg Botanic Newsletter is up

2011-02-08T22:27:00.001-05:00

The February 2011 Newsletter is up on line. Including the meeting schedule and field trips.

Photo: Coreopsis tripteris in the Muhlenberg Meadow at Lancaster County Central Park by Mike Slater

Muhlenberg botanic Club Spring 2011 Meeting Schedule

2011-02-01T09:43:00.001-05:00

All meetings are now held from 7:00 to 9:00pm on the 3rd Thursday of the month at the North Museum on the F & M Campus.

If there is a prediction of bad weather meetings will be canceled 48 hours in advance per our agreement with the North Museum as our meeting location host. Please check this web site or call one of the club officers if you have a question about whether or not a meeting is canceled.

February 17, 2011 Meeting - 7:00 pm
Dr. Tatyana Livshultz, Assistant Curator of Botany, Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences
"Evolution of Pollination Mechanisms in the Milkweed Family (Apocynaceae)" and also information on her current research project on comparing historical and present pollination frequency of Common Milkweed flowers.

Dr. Livshultz received a Ph.D. Cornell University 2003. Now at the Academy her focus is on the Apocynaceae, the milkweed and dogbane family, a group of ca. 4000 species of flowering plants. The milkweed flower is among the most complex, comparable only to that of the orchid in the modification of its form and the precision of its pollination mechanism. Flowers of dogbanes are simpler, although there are also species with flowers of intermediate complexity. I'm using methods including evolutionary tree reconstruction and comparative development to understand how the complex milkweed flower evolved from the simpler flower of a dogbane-like ancestor.

March 17, 2011 Meeting - 7:00 pm

Link Davis "Wildflowers of Southeastern Pennsylvania"

Link Davis is a lifelong resident of Montgomery County, PA. He received a BS in Biology form Millersville
University in 1969 and an MA in Physical Science from West Chester University in 1979. He taught Physical Science and Chemistry in the Norristown Area School District for thirty years. After retiring he drove a school bus for seven years and volunteered at Habitat for Humanity and his local SPCA. Insects and wildflowers have long peeked his curiosity. He presents lessons on insects and shares his collection with schools to enhance what their curricula cannot provide. His interest in wildflowers began about twenty years ago when he started attending botany walks sponsored by the Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy. Only in the last five years has he dedicated himself to seriously imaging the wildflowers of Southeastern Pennsylvania.

April 21, 2011 Meeting - 7:00 pm

Dr. James Thorne, "Disappearance of Grassland and Forest Interior Habitats in SE PA and Their Restoration"

Dr. Thorne does conservation planning, implementation, and research for the Natural Lands Trust. He spends most of his time coordinating a public-private partnership effort known as the Hopewell Big Woods Project. Before joining the Natural Lands Trust in 2001, Dr. Thorne worked for eight years for the PA chapter of The Nature Conservancy and for 10 years for the University of PA.

May 19, 2011 Meeting - 7:00 pm

Member's Night and Member's Plant Exchange

Bring a show and tell item, a few digital pictures (on a thumb drive or slides to share (if you are bringing old style 35mm slides please advise mike Slater in advance) enough to take about 10 minutes of the meeting. If possible please let Mike Slater know in advance if you are bringing something to share

For the plant exchange please bring some well potted plants that you think other members might like to adopt. We focus on native plants but some others are perfectly fine too. Members who don't have any plants to share are welcome to take home plants too. We always have a lot to share with everybody! We have to continue to KEEP THE MEETING ROOM CLEAN, SO PLEASE TRY TO BRING PLANTS IN FAIRLY CLEAN POTS AND MAKE SURE THERE ARE NO INSECTS ON THEM. We want to leave the Kinsey room as clean or cleaner than we found it. Thanks you

How to tell the native Phragmites from the Invasive Introduced Form

2010-09-15T15:13:00.003-04:00

Over at the Blog "Through Handlens and Binoculars" Scott Namestnik has a good post about how to separate the native form of Common Reed Phragmites australis ssp americanus from the invasive European P. a. ssp australis. There is also a link to an excellent power point presentation of "A Phragmites Field Guide: Distinguishing Native and Exotic Forms of Common Reed (Phragmites australis) in the United States". by Jil Swearingen and Kristin Saltonstall.
_____
updated Sept. 28th to fix the links.

Muhlenberg Botanic Society September 2010 Newsletter

2010-09-14T07:34:00.002-04:00

The September Newsletter PDF file is online now.

The first Meeting is This Thursday September 16th, 2010 at 7:00 pm. We will hold our members night and fall plants exchange please see the newsletter for important information

Also note that we will now be starting our meetings

1/2 hour earlier than we used to.

The meetings will start

at 7 PM.

Updated Summer Field trip list for the Muhlenberg Botanic Club (new trip added)

2010-07-07T09:47:00.001-04:00

July 10 Saturday

Trip to Millersburg north of Harrisburg to see Platanthera peramoena, purple fringeless orchid. Prepare for wet walking.

Also, nearby we hope to see Platanthera ciliaris, yellow fringed orchid in bloom.

Easy walking. Bring your bag lunch; we will eat at the cars. There are no bathroom facilities at these sites.

Meet at 10:00 AM at

Hardee's

100 1st Street, Millersburg, PA 17061

(717) 692-3151

We will carpool from there.

Leaders: Joan King Ph: 717-284-5239, jsking1@lycos.com

Tim Draude Ph: 717-393-7233

Contact a leader about carpooling from Lancaster.

July 24 Saturday

Valmont Industrial Park

Walk rating: easy, prepare for wet feet. You can take your lunch along or go back to the cars and eat; the site isn't far from where we park. Call or email me for carpooling: jsking1@lycos.com or 717-284-5239. There are no bathroom facilities here.

This site has Platanthera ciliaris (yellow fringed orchis), P. blephariglottis (white fringed orchis) and a hybrid between the two. There is also walking fern and we might see Gentiana linarias in bud. It's in a power cut, prepare for sun and wet feet.

From the Lancaster area. take. Rt 22 North to Reading.

Rt 61 North to Frackville, I-81 North to Exit 145 at SR 93.

Go right off ramp (east) to Deer Run Road, right onto Deer Run Road, follow to Jaycee Drive, take left onto Jaycee Drive, follow to HT powerline crossing, park in gravel lot on right at abandoned industrial facility.

Follow the powerline easment to SE, across from Parking area about 100 yards to bog.

July 31 Saturday

Muhlenberg Meadow, Lancaster County central Park

10 am to (approx.) 12 noon

A walk for meadow flowers and butterflies (co-sponsored but the Lancaster Butterfly and Entomological Club)

Co-Leaders: Fred Habegger and Mike Slater

Started in 1991, this restoration project spearheaded by Tim Draude and the Muhlenberg
Botanical Society has expanded to five acres. Come and view the wide array of field flowers and what techniques worked and didn’t work in turning a cornfield into a dazzling native ecosystem.
From Lancaster, go south on Rte. 222/272 for about 0.5 miles past the point where the north and south lanes rejoin. Turn left onto Golf Rd. and go about 0.6 miles to the intersection with Exhibit Farm Rd The parking area is a few hundred feet past Exhibit Farm Rd. The sign for the meadow is up against the tree line and not easily visible from the road. Park on the grass in front of the sign.

Sunday, Aug. 15

Tentative trip to Big Hollow Prairie in Centre County with the Pa. Native Plant Society. This is a limestone barrens.

Walk rating: moderate. Bring your own bag lunch, we will eat at the cars. There are no bathroom facilities.

The prairie in Big Hollow is one of only 10 small patches of prairie remaining in Pennsylvania. It is one of the largest, with a total of perhaps 1/3 acre of prairie plants remaining.

Contact Joan King to carpool. 717-284-5239 or jsking1@lycos.com

Leave Lancaster about 8:00 AM.

Aug 21, Saturday 10:00 AM

Farmingdale Trail

Walk rating: easy

Noel Dorwart Park and Nature Area Township Park

East Hempfield Township

Lancaster, Pa.

Access from Good Drive, across from Park Lawn Ct.

From the intersection of Rte. 741 & Rte. 23, go east on Rte.23 0.4 miles. Turn left onto Good Drive. Go 0.2 miles, turn right into parking lot. The park sits back from the road.

GPS Coordinates N 40 03.256, W 76 21.196

We will do a 'before' look at these 70 acres of land that was once a city dump reworked into a multiuse park. There are woods, a wildflower meadow and trails along wetlands and the Little Conestoga Creek.

The area is currently heavily covered with invasive plants. A five-year plan has been developed to restore native vegetation and improve wildlife habitat.

There are no bathroom facilities at this park.

Saturday, Sept. 25 10:AM

Muhlenberg Meadow

Goldenrods and asters.

From Lancaster, go south on Rte. 222/272 for about 0.5 miles past the point where the north and south lanes rejoin. Turn left onto Golf Rd. and go about 0.6 miles to

Muhlenberg Botanic Society Late Spring and Summer 2010 Field Trips

2010-05-17T14:31:00.005-04:00

Joint field trip with the PA Native Plant society
May 22-23
A Weekend Trip: Fisherman’s Paradise (Stackhouse School), south of Bellefonte, PA
Centre County. Meet at 10:00 AM Saturday
This is a joint field trip with the PA Native Plant Society
Things to bring: PA state road map, DeLorme Gazeteer, “Plants of Pennsylvania” manual, hand lens, repellants, sun block, water, adequate footwear. The sites are basically upland: no major wetlands, but it may be possible to get wet feet. Walk rating: moderate. Leader: Dr. Larry Klotz.
Saturday, May 22. In the morning we will explore the base of the cliffs along Spring Creek, then eat lunch at Stackhouse Center. In the afternoon, we will go to Big Hollow Prairies, State College. Individual participants should make overnight arrangements in State College or vicinity. Directions from Harrisburg:
Go W on Rt. 322; then N on I-99 (= Rt. 220/Rt. 26), toward Bellefonte, to Exit 73; go N on Rt. 150 (Benner Pike) ca. 0.5 mi toward Bellefonte; turn W (left) on Paradise Rd.; go ca. 1 mi. then turn W (left) on Spring Creek Rd.; go ca. 0.25 mi to Fisherman’s Paradise (Stackhouse School).

Sunday, May 23. In the morning we will meet at the Colerain Picnic Area in Rothrock State Forest, between Franklinville and Spruce Creek (village), Huntingdon County, and explore Spruce Creek, Eden Hill Rd.: Little Juniata State Forest Natural Area, then return to Colerain Picnic area for lunch. The morning's agenda will likely be determined on site, based on what is in bloom.
Directions from Rt. 322 at Boalsburg, E of State College:
Go sw on Rt. 45 ca. 21 mi. to Colerain, then left into the Colerain Picnic Area, where we will have
lunch. In the afternoon we will go to one or more of the following:
T430, north side of Raystown Branch, just below Raystown Dam breast; SGL 112: Mill Creek
Hollow Rd.; and/or Rothrock S.F., Rocky Ridge N.A.: Frew Rd., Martin Gap Rd.

Saturday, June 5:
Unionville Barrens, Chester County, PA
Meet at 1:00 PM (note this is a time change from earlier announcements of a morning starting time!.)
This will be a joint field trip with the Philadelphia Botanical Club. One of Pennsylvania's highest quality serpentine barrens, the Unionville Barrens finally received long-sought protection in 2008 from Natural Lands Trust as part of the nearly 1,100-acre ChesLen Preserve. The grasslands and blackjack oak/post oak woodlands are remnants of a landscape managed for centuries by American Indians using fire. With fire exclusion, the species-rich serpentine grasslands have shrunk from nearly 60 acres in 1937 to less than 9 acres today. That loss in area has led to species extirpation: 16 state-listed species occur there now, but 4 more seen historically are gone. The NLT plans to restore and maintain at least 40 acres of oak savanna. A 2005 report, "Protecting the Unionville Barrens" describes the site's history, flora and ecology (available at
www.continentalconservation.us under Publications). Appendix A is a survey by Janet Ebert listing 174 vascular plant species. We will see the globally rare serpentine aster (Symphyotrichum depauperatum) and many species in flower or fruit, likely including Carex bicknellii, C. richardsonii, Deschampsia cespitosa, Dichanthelium oligosanthes, D. villosissimum, Helianthemum bicknellii, Packera anonyma, Phemeranthus teretifolius, Quercus nigra and Scleria pauciflora.

Meet at 1 pm. ( Note this is a change in time) at the end of Oak School Road. Wear footgear suitable for wet walking. For directions type in "Oak School Rd., Kennett Square, PA" at maps.yahoo.com or maps.google.com, or see the directions below.

Leader: Roger Latham (rel@continentalconservation.us; office: 610-565-3405;
or cell phone--only on the morning of the field trip--4-8-4 6-8-2----9-6-4-8).
Directions:
From Lancaster area: from U.S. 30 at Gap, turn right on PA. 10; go 2.1 mi.; turn left on PA 372; go 1.3 mi.; bear right on Strasburg Rd.; go 2.5 mi.; turn right on PA 82; go 8.0 mi.; turn left on PA 842; go 1.9 mi.; turn left on Glen Hall Rd.; go 0.6 mi.; turn left on Oak School Rd.; go 0.2 mi.

From Philadelphia area: take U.S. 322 (from U.S. 1 or I-95); U.S. 202 (from I-76) just south of West Chester; turn west on PA 926; go 2.8 mi.; turn right on Creek Rd.; go 1.4 mi.; bear left on S. Creek Rd; go 1.1 mi.; bear left on PA 842; go 3.7 mi.; turn right on Glen Hall Rd.; go 0.6 mi.; turn left on Oak School Rd.; go 0.2 mi.

From northern suburbs or Pa. Turnpike Downingtown Exit #312: go south on Pa. 100 just south of
U.S. 30; bear right on Pottstown Pike; go 3.8 mi. (it becomes North High Street); turn right on W. Chestnut St. (U.S. 322 Business Rt. W.); go 5 blocks; turn left on N. Brandywine St.; go 1 block; turn right on W. Gay St. & go 1 block; turn left on Everhart Ave.; go 2 blocks; turn right on PA 842; go 6.8 mi.; turn right on Glen Hall Rd.; go 0.6 mi.; turn left on Oak School Rd.; go 0.2 mi.

From south: from U.S. 1 near Kennett Square, go north on PA 82 for 3.1 mi.; turn right on PA 842; go 1.9 mi.; turn left on Glen Hall Rd.; go 0.6 mi.; turn left on Oak School Rd.; go 0.2 mi.

Saturday, July 24:
Valmont Industrial Park Power Cut and Wetland
We will probably leave Lancaster around 7:30 AM.
Call or email for carpooling: Call or email me for carpooling:
jsking1@lycos.com or 717-284-5239. There are no bathroom facilities here.
This site has Platanthera ciliaris (yellow fringed orchis), P. blephariglottis (white fringed orchis),
and a hybrid between the two. There is also walking fern, and we might see Gentiana linarias in
bud. It's in a power cut, so prepare for sun and wet feet. Walk rating: easy. You can take your
lunch along on the trail or go back to the cars and eat (the site isn't far from where we park). Call/
email me for carpooling: jsking1@lycos.com or 717-284-5239.
There are no bathroom facilities.

From the Lancaster area: take. Rt. 22 north to Reading, then Rt. 61 north to Frackville; I-81 north
to Exit 145 at SR 93. Go right off ramp (east) to Deer Run Road, right onto Deer Run Road to
Jaycee Drive; take a left onto Jaycee Drive, follow to HT powerline crossing. Park in the gravel lot
on right at abandoned industrial facility. Follow the powerline easment to SE, across from parking
area about 100 yards to bog.

Saturday, August 21:
Farmingdale Trail (Noel Dorwart Park and Nature Area Township Park)
East Hempfield Township, Lancaster, PA
Meet at 10:00 AM Leader: Joan King: jsking1@lycos.com or 717-284-5239.
NOTE: There are no bathroom facilities here.
We will do a 'before" look at these 70 acres of land that was once a city dump, but has been
reworked into a multiuse park. There are woods, a wildflower meadow and trails along wetlands
and the Little Conestoga Creek. The area is currently heavily covered with invasive plants. A fiveyear
plan has been developed to restore native vegetation and improve wildlife habitat. There are
no bathroom facilities at this park. Walk rating: easy.
Directions: From the intersection of Rt. 741 (Rohrerstown Rd.) and Rt. 23 (Marietta Pike), go east
on Rt. 23 for 0.4 miles. Turn left onto Good Drive. Go 0.2 miles; just north of the railroad track,
turn right into parking lot (on east side, across from Park Lawn Ct.). The park sits back from the
road. GPS Coordinates N 40 03.256, W 76 21.196.

Muhlenberg Botanic Club Newsletter, May 2010

2010-05-17T14:28:00.000-04:00

The May 2010 newsletter of the Muhlenberg Botanic Society is on line now.
Note: that the field trips times have been added or corrected from the snail mailed version!

Sharing Botanical Field Trips

2010-01-24T16:34:00.008-05:00

A new web site is now available which lists the botanically oriented field trips of a number of organizations in the Mid-Atlantic States. Botanical Field Trips is a great way to plan a weekend of botanizing in an area you are not familiar with. So take a look and plann your weekends and vacations!

The groups participating are:

Connecticut Botanical Society, CT
Delaware Native Plant Societ y, DE
Delaware Valley Fern and Wildflower Society, NJ & PA
Maryland Native Plant Society, MD
Muhlenberg Botanical Society, Lancaster, PA
Pennsylvania Native Plant Society, State College, PA
Philadelphia Botanical Club, Philadelphia, PA
Western Pennsylvania Botanical Society, Western PA

UPDATE: as of Feb 3, 2010 two more groups are participating.

the Torrey Botanical Society, New York City area

and the Virginia Native Plant Society, Virginia

Muhlenberg Botanical Society Meetings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Spring 2010

2010-01-24T15:04:00.006-05:00

Meetings are held from 7:30 to 9:00 on the third Thursday of the month in the Fred Kinsey Room, North Museum (College and Buchanan Aves.). The Museum will be open at 7:00 p.m. Enter through the back door in the parking lot; knock loudly or ring the bell if the door is locked. Meetings will start propmtly at 7:30pm so please try to arrive before 730 to avoid disturbing the meeting while it is in progress. Meetings are open to the public, so feel free to invite guests! For cancellation information in case of snow or ice, contact President Mike Slater or Vice-President
Joan King. Any decision to cancel a meeting will be made 24 hours in advance so we can notify North Museum.

February 18: Members' Night Slide Sharing and show and tell.
This is a change from our normal course of meetings, but we won't have to be concerned about having a speaker cancel in the event of adverse weather. Many of you take digital pictures of plants and their flowers, and we want as many people as possible to bring photos to share, even if only a few. If you have technical questions about how to show the images or what format to bring them in, contact Mike Slater. He would appreciate hearing from you in advance so the meeting can be organized efficiently from an audio-visual perspective. If enough people don’t come forward, he will start twisting arms, so be prepared! If you have botanically related items you want to bring for "show and tell" or some exciting new information to discuss, please bring that.

March 18: Frank Plucinsky, "Tired of Winter? Think Spring!"
Dr. Plucinsky, an excellent photographer, is a retired physician with a life long interest in the natural sciences, photography, and fly fishing. He writes, "as winter lingers, our thoughts turn to the grandeur of spring. Take this photographic journey and experience the progress of favorite spring wildflowers from emerging shoots to fragile blossoms and fascinating fruits. Sweeping landscape shots contrast with macro photography close-ups that reveal intimate details of flowers that are difficult to see with the naked eye.".

April 15: Dr. Larry Klotz and Tim Draude, "Wild Flowers of the Cumberland Plateau"
Well known to our members, Dr. Larry Klotz is a recently retired Professor of Botany at Shippensburg University, and Tim Draude is the past President of the Muhlenberg Society. They will share stories and pictures of their trip to the Cumberland Plateau area of Tennessee last spring. The mixed mesophytic forests and the banks of the rivers that flow through the plateau are some of the richest wild flower areas of Eastern North America.

May 20: Dr. Roger Earl Latham, "All Grasslands and Meadows Aren’t Created Equal: Historical
Ecology as a Key to Successful Restoration and Reclamation"
Dr. Latham, who presented a program for us last year, is an ecologist and conservation biologist with Continental Conservation, Rose Valley, Pennsylvania. Studies of fossils and archaeological remains have painted a provocative picture of the evolution of grasslands over the past several million years in central and western North America, but comparatively little scientific inquiry on native grasslands has focused on the northeastern United States, where forests and wetlands attract far more attention. Dr. Latham has analyzed historical records, herbarium specimens, and indicator species and conducted fieldwork throughout Pennsylvania to identify trends in the extent and distribution of native grasslands and meadows before and after European settlement. Besides their prehistory and history, he will touch on the environmental conditions, ecological processes, and disturbance regimes that shape the species composition of a dozen long-lived native grassland/meadow types found in the state and elsewhere in the Northeast. The talk concludes with information on how lessons from historical ecology are pertinent to the creation or re-creation of native grasslands. Roger Latham has worked as a research ecologist, conservation biologist, and environmental planner for over 35 years. Since earning his Ph.D. in biology at the University of Pennsylvania, he has served as Pennsylvania Director of Science and Stewardship for The Nature Conservancy; post-doctoral researcher in biogeochemistry and fire ecology in the University of Pennsylvania’s Department of Geology; and Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology at Swarthmore College. Since 2000 he has been a full-time consultant, conducting applied research and planning for the National Park Service, The Nature Conservancy, Natural Lands Trust, Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, DCNR, and other organizations involved in wildland restoration and management.

Muhlenberg Field trips Spring 2010

2010-01-24T14:56:00.003-05:00

Saturday, April 17: Reed Run, Lancaster, County, PA, 10:00 a.m.
Reed Run, in Martic Township, is a 148.7-acre nature preserve comprised of former cropland, early successional forested areas and mature forested areas. The majority of the preserve is forested, with three fields totaling about 40 acres that were in agricultural production at the time of the Conservancy's acquisition. There are two creeks that flow through the property: Reed Run parallels the inside of southern border of the preserve and Brubaker Run originates at the edge of the central field. Both creeks flow directly into the Susquehanna. Much of the forest that lies outside of the creek ravines is overrun with invasive plants, primarily ailanthus. The topography of the preserve includes 375' change in elevation from lowest to highest points (315' to 690' above sea level).

Directions:
From Lancaster City, take PA Rt. 324 South (New Danville Pk.). It turns left at New Danville and joins Rt. 741 for a short distance. Where Rt. 741 turns left at a stop light, continue straight ahead and follow Rt. 324 over the Pequea Creek and through Marticville. At Pennsy Rd., turn right, continuing on Rt. 324 through a tunnel (use caution!). In less than a mile, turn left on River Rd., following it past Bridge Valley Rd. At Houserock Rd., angle off to the right. Follow it for .9 of a mile to a stop sign; turn left on Westview and quickly right again onto Houserock Road. Look to the left for the Conservancy sign on the grassy hillside. The parking area is on Houserock Road.

Leader: Joan King. Trail rating: moderate. Bring a bag lunch; the hike should take about 3 hours.

The Joint Field Trip of the Muhlenberg and the PA Native Plant Society is set for Saturday and Sunday, May 22 and 23.

Saturday, June 5: Unionville Barrens, Chester County, PA
This will be a joint field trip with the Philadelphia Botanical Club. One of Pennsylvania's highest-quality serpentine barrens, the Unionville Barrens finally received long-sought protection in 2008 from Natural Lands Trust as part of the nearly 1,100-acre ChesLen Preserve. The grasslands and blackjack oak/post oak woodlands are remnants of a landscape managed for centuries by American Indians using fire. With fire exclusion, the species-rich serpentine grasslands have shrunk from nearly 60 acres in 1937 to less than 9 acres today. That loss in area has led to species extirpation: 16 state-listed species occur there now, but 4 more seen historically are gone. The NLT plans to restore and maintain at least 40 acres of oak savanna. A 2005 report, "Protecting the Unionville Barrens" describes the site's history, flora and ecology (available at www.continentalconservation.us under Publications). Appendix A is a survey by Janet Ebert listing 174 vascular plant species. We will see the globally rare serpentine aster
(Symphyotrichum depauperatum) and many species in flower or fruit, likely including Carex bicknellii, C. richardsonii, Deschampsia cespitosa, Dichanthelium oligosanthes, D. villosissimum, Helianthemum bicknellii, Packera anonyma, Phemeranthus teretifolius, Quercus nigra and Scleria pauciflora.

Meet at 10 a.m. at the end of Oak School Road. Wear footgear suitable for wet walking.

For directions:
type in "Oak School Rd., Kennett Square, PA" at maps.yahoo.com or maps.google.com, or see the
directions below. Leader: Roger Latham (office: 610-565-3405, rel-AT-continentalconservation.us ; cell phone to call only on the morning of the field trip: 484-682-9648).

Directions:
From Lancaster area: from U.S. 30 at Gap, turn right on PA. 10 & go 2.1 mi.; turn left on PA 372 & go 1.3 mi.; bear right on Strasburg Rd. & go 2.5 mi.; turn right on PA 82 & go 8.0 mi.; turn left on PA 842 & go 1.9 mi.; turn left on Glen Hall Rd. & go 0.6 mi.; turn left on Oak School Rd. & go 0.2 mi.
From Philadelphia area: take U.S. 322 (from U.S. 1 or I-95) & U.S. 202 (from I-76) just south of West Chester; turn west on PA 926 & go 2.8 mi.; turn right on Creek Rd. & go 1.4 mi.; bear left on S. Creek Rd. & go 1.1 mi.; bear left on PA 842 & go 3.7 mi.; turn right on Glen Hall Rd. & go 0.6 mi.; turn left on Oak School Rd. & go 0.2 mi.

From northern suburbs or Pa. Turnpike, Downingtown Exit #312: go south on Pa. 100 just south of U.S. 30; bear right on Pottstown Pike & go 3.8 mi. (it becomes North High Street); turn right on W. Chestnut St. (U.S. 322 Business Rt. W.) & go 5 blocks; turn left on N. Brandywine St. & go 1 block; turn right on W. Gay St. & go 1 block; turn left on Everhart Ave. & go 2 blocks; turn right on PA 842 & go 6.8 mi.; turn right on Glen Hall Rd. & go 0.6 mi.; turn left on Oak School Rd. & go 0.2 mi.

From south: from U.S. 1 near Kennett Square, go north on PA 82 for 3.1 mi.; turn right on PA 842 & go 1.9 mi.; turn left on Glen Hall Rd. & go 0.6 mi.; turn left on Oak School Rd. & go 0.2 mi.

Muhlenberg Bulletin, January 2010

2010-01-24T14:44:00.002-05:00

The January 2010 "Muhlenberg Bulletin" the newsletter of the Muhlenberg Botanical Society is now available in PDF format.

A Jigsaw Puzzle for after Thanksgiving dinner..........

2009-11-27T22:06:00.005-05:00

Recording Precipitation and sharing the data

2009-10-15T17:52:00.004-04:00

We have been rocording the daily precipitation every day since May of 1992 in a precision rain gauge. Just in the last two months I have begun to participate in a nationwide online reporting scheme called CoCoRaHS short for Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network.

It is easy to report your rain gauge reading ( to the nearest 0.01 inch) each morning and then go look at the other data in the area. or across the USA.

Our yard is Station Number : PA-BR-16 and our Station Name is : Mohnton 2.8 SSW we are in Berks County, PA

The Daily Precipitation Report fo Pennsylvania is usually interesting or you may find the map more informative. You can do searching by date, calander period, County or individual locations.

The Program is coordinated by PSU's State Climatologist under a program called Frost.

Muhlenberg Bulletin and upcoming Meetings and field trips.

2009-09-13T18:56:00.010-04:00

The Muhlenberg Bulletin for September 2009 has been published.

The PDF file is here.

Note:
The Next Meeting is Thursday September 17 at 7:30pm. and the field trip to the Pocono till Barrens has been changed to Sunday September 20.

September 17 Meeting : Members' Night and Plant Exchange
Bring pictures, slides, or a digital show to share; we will have a laptop and digital projector set, as well as the traditional projector. The highlight will be the plants members bring—ones for which they need to find new homes (don't hesitate to take plants even if you don't bring any!).

September 20 Field Trip, Sunday Pocono Till Barrens
Joint field trip with the Philadelphia Botanical Club and Muhlenberg Botanical Society.
The Pocono till barrens, together with adjoining wetlands, forests and ridgetop barrens, hosts 125 species on the state’s endangered, threatened and rare list, 12 of which are imperiled globally. More than 8 square miles of native heathlands scattered along 30 miles of the Pocono Plateau’s southern rim are remnants of a landscape managed for centuries by American Indians using fire. We will explore a dwarf-shrub savanna dominated by lowbush blueberry, sheep-laurel, scrub oak and rhodora, with scattered pitch pine, witherod, black chokeberry, gray birch, red spruce and four juneberry species. Among many likely plant sightings are
Amianthium muscaetoxicum, Calamagrostis cinnoides, Carex polymorpha, Cornus canadensis, Dalibarda repens, Gentiana linearis, Glyceria obtusa, Lycopodium hickeyi, Piptatherum racemosum, Platanthera blephariglottis and Solidago puberula. We will examine results of barrens restoration and management through the use of prescribed burning by The Nature Conservancy. Those who choose to accompany the trip leader on an optional 2-mile hike will also see northern hardwoods forest, conifer swamp, several types of shrub swamp, and Long Pond, an undammed glacial lake.

If you wish to do some background reading on the Pocono glacial till barrens, the flora and ecology of this unique ecosystem are described in several articles, including Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club (1996) vol. 123, pp. 330-349, and Forest Ecology and Management (2003) vol. 185, pp. 21-39.

Meet at 10 a.m. at the Hauser Nature Center (The Nature Conservancy’s Pocono Mountains office) in the village of Long Pond, Monroe County. From there we will carpool 4 miles to the trailhead. Pack your lunch and wear shoes suitable for wet walking.

Directions: Leave I-80 at exit 284 (7 miles east of the interchange with the turnpike, I-476).
Take Pa. 115 south 3.1 miles and turn left onto Long Pond Road (at Pocono Raceway sign).
Drive 2.7 miles to the Hauser Nature Center, on the left just past the firehouse and post office.

I have been taking pictures of butterflies

2009-08-14T21:18:00.011-04:00

In the last several years I have gotten quite interested in Skippers and Butterflies. I am especially intrigued with their very close evolutionary relationships with the plants that females recognize and caterpillars will eat.

The butterfly on the top is a Horace's Skipper, in the middle is a Spicebush Swallowtail and on the bottom is a Common Woodnymph. The rest of my pictures are here.

Muhlenberg Botanical Society Summer Field Trips

2009-07-08T08:43:00.009-04:00

Update: The September Pocono Till Barrens trip date is being changed. See Below.

Muhlenberg Meadow, July 11 Saturday 12:00 noon
Started in 1991, this restoration project spearheaded by Tim Draude and the Muhlenberg
Botanical Society has expanded to five acres. Come and view the wide array of field flowers and what techniques worked and didn’t work in turning a cornfield into a dazzling native ecosystem.
From Lancaster, go south on Rte. 222/272 for about 0.5 miles past the point where the north and south lanes rejoin. Turn left onto Golf Rd. and go about 0.6 miles to the intersection with Exhibit Farm Rd The parking area is a few hundred feet past Exhibit Farm Rd. The sign for the meadow is up against the tree line and not easily visible from the road. Park on the grass in front of the sign. Leader: Joan King

Fulshaw Craeg Preserve, Montgomery County,
Sunday, July 26, meet at the North Museum at 7:30 AM
Joint field trip, Philadelphia Botanical Club and Muhlenberg Botanical Society.
A limestone meadow and woods. Including Dirca palustri(leatherwood), Lilium canadense(Canada lily), Plox maculata (wild sweet William), Solidago speciosa (showy goldenrod) & Chamaeliriumluteum (devil's bit). We will meet at the North Museum at 7:30 AM to carpool to this preserve as parking is limited. We will gather at a Gulf gas station for further consolidation.
Prepare for wet walking. There is a stream crossing using rocks. From Lancaster:
Rte. 23 East
Rte. 100 North
Rte. 73 East
Rte. 29 North
Rte. 63 East
I think the best meeting place is a Gulf station on highway 63 near where we turn off onto highway 563 (Ridge Road). The address is 2073 Sumneytown Pike in Woxall. Basically, it's 0.1 mile east (or, more precisely, southeast) of the 63/563 intersection. It's on the left if you're westbound on 63.

To continue to the preserve:
From Rte. 63 go 2 miles; turn left onto Rte. 563 North Turn left at stop sign to stay on Rte. 563 North/Ridge Rd.
Go 1.3 mile and turn left onto King Rd. Go 0.7 mi and park near red metal gate. Two
parking spaces in front of gate and 4-5 more along the side of the road.

To go directly to the preserve: type 124 King Rd. Green Lane, PA, 18054-2332 into Google maps. From Ridge Rd. turn left onto King Rd. (portions unpaved.) go 0.7 miles and park near red metal gate on the left. There are two parking spaces in front of gate and 4-5 more along the side of the road. . The address given is the closest address to the preserve. Please do not park at 124 King Rd. You will see the Preserve sign just past 124.

Trail rating: moderate; bring your own bag lunch to carry on the trail.
Leaders: Joan King Ph: 717-284-5239 jsking1@lycos.com
& Janet Novak, Philadelphia Botany Club

Michaux State Forest, Adams County, August 29 Saturday
A wetland walk, prepare for wet feet.
Walk rating: easy; bring your own bag lunch.
We will lunch at the cars
Meeting place: TBA
Meeting time: TBA
Leader: John Kunsman, botanist with the Pa. Natural Diversity Inventory

Pocono Till Barrens, September 20, 2009 This trip is bein rescheduled due to a conflict with a NASCAR Race at the Nearby Pocono Raceway!
Joint fieldtrip, Philadelphia Botanical Club and Muhlenberg Botanical Society
The ecology of the Pocono Till Barren's was wonderfully described to us by Dr. Roger Latham in a talk last fall. Now Dr. Latham will show us the the Pocono till barrens, together with adjoining wetlands, forests and ridgetop barrens. The area hosts 125 species on the state’s endangered, threatened and rare list, 12 of which are imperiled globally. More than 8 square miles of native heathlands scattered along 30 miles of the Pocono Plateau’s southern rim are remnants of a landscape managed for centuries by American Indians using fire. We will explore a dwarf-shrub savanna dominated by lowbush blueberry, sheep-laurel, scrub oak and rhodora, with scattered pitch pine, witherod, black chokeberry, gray birch, red spruce and four juneberry species. Among many likely plant sightings are Amianthium muscaetoxicum, Calamagrostis cinnoides, Carex polymorpha, Cornus canadensis, Dalibarda repens, Gentiana linearis, Glyceria obtusa, Lycopodium hickeyi, Piptatherum racemosum, Platanthera blephariglottis and Solidago puberula. We will examine results of barrens restoration and management by The Nature Conservancy using prescribed burning. Those who choose to accompany the trip leader on an optional 2-mile hike will also see northern hardwoods forest, conifer swamp, several types of shrub swamp, and Long Pond, an undammed glacial lake.

Meet at 10 a.m. at the Hauser Nature Center (The Nature Conservancy’s Pocono
Mountains office) in the village of Long Pond, Monroe County.
From there we will carpool 4 miles to the trailhead. Pack your lunch. Wear shoes suitable for wet walking.

Directions:
Leave I-80 at exit 284 (7 miles east of the interchange with the turnpike, I-476).
Take Pa. 115 south 3.1 miles and turn left onto Long Pond Road (at Pocono Raceway
sign).
Drive 2.7 miles to the Hauser Nature Center, on the left just past the firehouse and post
office.
If you wish to do some background reading on the Pocono glacial till barrens, the flora
and ecology of this unique ecosystem are described in several articles, including Bulletin
of the Torrey Botanical Club (1996) vol. 123, pp. 330-349, and Forest Ecology and
Management (2003) vol. 185, pp. 21-39.

also a Possible trip on the next day (Sunday September 27) to Tannersville Bog.
This unique bog ecosystem is the southernmost low elevation boreal bog in the United
States.
Trail rating: Moderate; bring your own bag lunch.
Leaders: Dr. Roger Latham & Dr. Ann Rhoads
Roger Latham (office: 610-565-3405, rel@continentalconservation.us; cell phone to call
only on the morning of the fieldtrip: 484-682-9648)

Muhlenberg Botanic Society Upcoming Field Trips - Spring 2009

2009-04-05T10:56:00.020-04:00

The following is the Field trip schedule through June 2009

(Including a trip I am Co-Leading for the Mengel Natural History Club at State Game Lands 52 north of Churchtown, Lancaster Co.)

List of trips. See below for more deatail and directions.

Saturday, April 18: Trout Run Nature Preserve 10:00 AM
Sunday, April 19, 2009 1:00 PM FIELD TRIP the Mengel Natural History Club State Game Lands #52
Saturday, May 9: Walnut Run 10:00 AM
Saturday, June 13: Goat Hill 10:00 AM

Details of the 2009 SPRING FIELD TRIPS:
For those whose obligations do not allow them to participate for the entire day in the case of all-day field trips, you are welcome to join us for just the morning half (or the afternoon half, if that can be arranged). For all-day trips, bring a bag lunch.

Saturday, April 18: Trout Run Nature Preserve 10:00 AM
Located in Martic Township, Trout Run is a 123-acre nature preserve comprised of mature forested areas and the Trout Run stream corridor.

From Lancaster City, take PA Route 272 (Willow Street Pike) south through Willow Street to Smithville. Just past Frey's Evergreen Plantation on the left and before the large stone arch railroad bridge over the highway, turn right on Pennsy Road. Follow Pennsy for approximately one mile, then turn left on Kreider Road. At the stop sign, proceed straight and cross over a bridge spanning the old low-grade rail line. At the next intersection, bear right on Rawlinsville Road; continue for approximately one mile, then turn right at the fork onto Stump Road. Follow Stump Road for approximately 1 ¼ miles. The well-marked parking lot is on the left (south) side. The trailhead starts further down Stump Road on the right. It is an old road next to the large Steinman Run Nature Preserve sign. Trail rating: moderate.
Trip leader: Joan King: Jsking1@lycos.com or 717-284-5239

Sunday, April 19, 2009 1:00 PM FIELD TRIP by the Mengel Natural History Club
"Spring Ephemeral Wildflowers" -- State Game Lands 52
Among the Diabase boulders at the headwaters of Black Creek are many beautiful spring woodland wild flowers. The public is welcome.
(Note: the walking is somewhat rough and some hopping among the small boulders will be needed. Also tick spray is highly reccomended.)

Directions. From Lancaster take Rte 222 North past the PA Turnpike to the Adamstown/Knauers exit. (Follow the signs to Maple Grove Park Drag Strip) Go east on PA 568 to through Knauers (straight at the traffic light) one more mile to Alleghenyville. Bear right at the Church on Alleghenyville Road. Follow Alleghenyville rod as it winds by the creek and as the road starts uphill go straight and stay on Alleghenyville Road (don't bear left on Kramer Road or right on Schlouch Rd. corrections and additions in bold)). Go about 2 miles and turn right on Maple Grove Rd. Follow Maple grove Road straight past Maple Grove Park (There are 2 stops signs) and on up over the hill stay left on Maple Grove Road at the top of the hill, past Yellow Hill Road and on down the other side (The road name becomes Edwards Road as you cross back into Lancatesr County but there are no signs up on the hill. . Park in the large gravel parking lot at the bottom on the left. If you cross Black Creek and the PA turnpike you have gone to far.

or

You can also come east on PA Rte 23 to Churchtown and go north from there on Hammertown Road and then bear left on Edwards road and follow it until just after you cross the turnpike and the parking lot will be on the left.

Leaders: Ryan Woolwine & Mike Slater (610) 775-3757 mslater@voicenet.com

Saturday, May 9: Walnut Run 10:00 AM
This is a mixed hardwood forest on diabase soil; we should see yellow ladyslippers,
violets, etc.
From Lancaster, go north on Rt. 501. At Rt. 322 turn left, and go about 5 miles. Park on
the right side of the road at an unmarked gated dirt road. If you see the Game
Commission's gravel parking lot on the left side of the road, you've gone too far. Trail
rating: moderate.
Trip leader: Joan King: Jsking1@lycos.com or 717-284-5239

Saturday, June 13: Goat Hill 10:00 AM
Among the rare plants found at Goat Hill are the long-hairy barrens chickweed, the
serpentine aster, prairie dropseed, and round-leaved fameflower. Goat Hill also hosts a
diverse fern community, including marginal shield, hay scented, Christmas, interrupted,
and maidenhair. In addition, a wide variety of southern plants reach their northernmost
extremes here.
From Lancaster, go south on Rt. 272 to Wakefield. At Wakefield turn left, continuing on Rt. 272. Go about 3.5 miles to Little Britain. At the stop sign, turn right onto Little Britain Rd., go 0.4 mile, then turn left onto Sleepy Hollow Rd. Go about 4 miles, cross the Octoraro Creek, and continue for about 1 mile. Bear right at the Y intersection, and go about 1 mile. Park on the right at the Goat Hill Natural Area sign. Trail rating: moderate.
Leader: Tim Draude

Interactive key to the Cyperaceae of North America.

2009-04-02T19:45:00.007-04:00

A new online/interactive Key to the Cyperaceae of North America is now available and announced today on Taxacom by Timothy M. Jones a Ph.D. Student at LSU . I will have to start learning these better and not wait until retirement. I do like the interactive glossary for the Cyperaceae!

Timothy Jones announced:

"Interactive identification keys to Xyris, Cyperus, Kyllinga, Rhynchospora, Scleria, and Carex are now available on the Louisiana State University Herbarium website. The keys are free to use and written in Lucid 3. 4. Additionally, a demonstration of a new interactive glossary to the Cyperaceae written with Cooliris is available, as well as a demo interactive/zoom-able phylogenetic trees and data on the Cyperaceae. This is presented using Deepzoom(of project Seadragon). All are at http://www.herbarium.lsu.edu/keys/"

This is a beautiful Carex species I took pictures of last June in a sphagnum bog in Quebec. I should try keying it out (or just send the pictures to a botanist I know:-)

The Native Plant Network

2009-02-22T18:43:00.006-05:00

I just learned about The Native Plant Network

including the Native Plant Journal
The Journal has some good articles. Iin my quick scan of the issue with the Trillium grandiflorum on the cover I found the articles on Trillium propagation were by two people I know, Bill Cullina and Stephanie Solt. The Articles are available electronically(for 2006 and earlier only) so I expect to finad a lot of good reading!

and the
Native plant propagation Database
The protocols are based on large scale harvesting and cleaning but I expect to find a lot of useable information here as well.

The January 2009 Muhlenberg Botanic Society Bulletin

2009-01-27T19:21:00.008-05:00

The January 2009 Muhlenberg Botanic Society Bulletin is now available in PDF format here.

Muhlenberg Botanic Society Newsletter, September 2008

2008-09-08T15:20:00.008-04:00

The September 2008 Edition of the Newsletter is now Available.

PDF Version is here

Muhlenberg Botanic Society July and August Field Trips

2008-07-16T14:03:00.001-04:00

Saturday, July 19: Middle Creek

Meet at 10:00 am at the visitor’s center at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Center.

Trip leader: Fred Habegger (717-859-2521 or suissefred@yahoo.com).

Saturday, August 16: Brunner Island

This is a combined trip with Mason-Dixon Chapter of NARGS. Meet at 10:00 a.m. at the boat launch off Wago Road (just south of York Haven, York Co.). The river’s edge in a very disturbed habitat; this will be an easy walk. Trip leader: Joan King (717-284-5239 or jsking1@lycos.com).

Muhlenberg Botanical Society Newsletter, May 2008

2008-07-16T13:58:00.002-04:00

Muhlenberg Botanical Society
May Newsletter

Better uploaded late than never!

Bryophyte Walk Report

2008-06-19T15:35:00.012-04:00

Mosses and Liverworts report from the Muhlenberg Botanic Club walk at Steinman Run and Trout Run Preserves of the Lancaster County Conservancy on June 7th, 2008 right :Steinman Run

Six Muhlenberg Botanical Club members came and we saw 15 species of outstanding mosses and five outstanding liverworts. It was a very satisfying outing for those who came out on a hot day and enjoyed the slow walk down into the cooler valley. The rain a day or two before had the bryophytes in fine condition.

Here are a few pictures of mosses and liverworts that I took that day. More pictures and descriptions are on the plant list page for the bryophyte walk.

above: Dicranium sp.

Bryophyte Walk at Steinman Preserve/Trout Run Preserve Saturday June 7, 2008. Meet at the preserve at 10 am (Or at the North Museum at 9:30 am)

2008-06-03T10:08:00.010-04:00

Dr. Susan Munch, Tim Draude and I did some scouting for mosses and liverworts a few weeks ago and we found a nice variety of easily accessible species at along Steinman Run and Trout Run in Southern Lancaster Co..

Photo of Mnium species by Mike Slater

We all agreed this would be an excellent place for interested Muhlenberg members and guests to learn about mosses and liverworts on a Bryophyte Walk. Therefore Dr. Susan Munch, who gave us an excellent presentation on mosses and liverworts based on her book "Outsatnding Mosses and Liverworts of Pennsylvania", will take us down the valley at Stienman Run Preserve and Trout Run Preserve, which are owned by the Lancaster County Conservancy, on Saturday June 7, 2008.

We will meet ether at the North Museum at F&M University at 9:30am and car pool from there OR at the Steinman Run Preserve Parking lot on Stump Road at 10am. Directions to the Steinman Run Preserve parking are below. The walking is easy and we will be going slowly looking for bryophytes (mosses and liverworts.) in this nice little valley. In case anyone is late late we will be going downstream (on the opposite side of the road from from the parking area). The trail starts as an old road blocked by a cable. We will take the trail down along Steinman to the confluence with Trout Run and maybe follow the trail down along trout run if we have time. We will be coming back up the same trail.

Susan Munch's book "Outstanding Mosses and Liverworts of Pennsylvania" will be helpful, if you own a copy bring it along otherwise Susan will have a few loaner copies available as well as new copies to sell.

I hope to see many of yout on Saturday.

_______________________________________________________________________

Directions from Lancaster to the Steinman Run Preserve Parking Area:

(Note that my directions are different from the ones on the Lancaster Conservancy's web site. Both will get you there but mine are shorter.)

From Lancaster city go south on Rte. 272 across the Conestoga River proceed about 7 miles .

Turn RIGHT on Pennsy Road . (WEST) This is just before the highway goes through the tunnel under the Railroad.

Go miles 1.0 mile.

Turn LEFT on Kreider Rd. (If you miss this turn make the next left on Rawlinsville Road.)

Go 0.1 mile (1/10 mile) to intersection with Rawlinsville Rd and go straight (South) on Rawlinsville Rd.)

Go 0.85 miles on Rawlinsville Road to where Rawlinsville Road turns RIGHT. Stay on Rawlinsville Road. (DO NOT go Straight on Clearfield Road.)

Go 0.5 miles on Rawlinsville Road to the junction with Sigman Road. and go another 100 feet and bear right on Stump Road. Proceed 0.8 miles to the dirt parking lot on the left BEFORE you cross the creek. The Steinman Preserve parking lot entrance is somewhat obscure so go slowly!

Mike Slater

Muhlenberg Botanic Club Field trips for the rest of Spring 2008

2008-04-23T11:44:00.004-04:00

Sunday, April 27:

Nolde Forest Environmental Education Center (Meet at 10 am at the Sawmill parking lot. see directions below)

and State Game Lands 52 after lunch.

At Nolde Forest EEC we will see a stream side woodland with spring ephemerals and an upland forest. Easy walking trails, but some hills.

After lunch for those who wish to will travel to State Game Lands #52, about 5 miles away on the Berks Co./Lancaster Co. line (between Maple Grove and Churchtown). We will explore in the woods along Black Creek, where there are interesting plants among the diabase boulders and outcrops.

Directions from Lancaster to Nolde Forest. (Travel time from Lancaster ca. 40 min.):
Take US 222 north, past the PA Turnpike for 2 miles to the NEW Adamstown-Knauers exit.
Turn Right onto Rte 568 east, go 2 miles. At the traffic light, turn left on Rt. 625 north. Go approximately 4.25 miles (past Hickory Rd and Freemansville Rd and 2/3 mile past the main
Nolde Entrance). Turn left into the Sawmill parking lot entrance; if you come to Church Rd.
on the left you have gone too far.

At SGL# 52 there is no trail along the creek, so some boulder hopping is necessary. We will park in the big parking area along Edwards Rd. just north of the bridge over the PA Turnpike. Moderate walk, bring your own bag lunch. Trip leader: Mike Slater (610-775-3757 or mslater@voicenet.com).

Sunday, May 4: Natural Landscape Nursery

We will visit Jim Plyler's nursery from 10:00 am til ? (354 North Jennersville Road, West Grove, PA 19390; 610-869-3788). This is a combined trip with Mason-Dixon Chapter NARGS; bring your own bag lunch. Meet at North Museum at 9:00 am to car pool or at the nursery at 10:00 am.

Saturday, May 10: Maria Cattell's Garden & Safe Harbor

Meet at 486 Walnut Hill Rd. Millersville, Pa, at 9:00 am; bring your own bag lunch. After lunch we'll visit Safe Harbor for spring woodland flowers and a look at the river’s edge. Easy walk. Trip leader: Joan King (717-284-5239 or jsking1@lycos.com).

June, 7: Mosses and Liverworts in the Susquehanna Glens

Location to be announced.

Leader: Dr. Susan Munch, Albright College. Bring along your copy of Outstanding Mosses of Pennsylvania by Dr. Munch if you purchased one last year (or you can borrow one for the day or buy one from her).

Meet 9:30 at the North Museum or call/e-mail to find out the location (the starting point will depend on our scouting trips this spring); trip starts at 10 am. Bring a hand lens and reading glasses if necessary. Bring your own bag lunch.

Coordinator: Mike Slater; Home phone: 610 775-3757; Cell: 610 698-4031;

e-mail:mslater@voicenet.com).

Complete field trip list 2008

Muhlenberg Botanical Socitety April 2008 Field Trips

2008-04-15T08:23:00.006-04:00

Complete 2008 Field Trip List

Saturday, April 19: Benton Hollow and Haines Station
Meet at Musser Grocery Store on Rt. 272 at the Buck, south side of parking lot at 9:00 am. We’ll go Benton Hollow first. Bring your own bag lunch; we’ll return to the cars to eat. In the afternoon we'll visit Haines Station to see the pink Trillium grandiflorum. Each walk is 1 ½ mile round trip, easy to moderate. Trip leader: Joan King (717-284-5239 or jsking1@lycos.com).

Sunday, April 27: Nolde Forest Environmental Education Center and State Game Lands 52. Meet at 10 am at Nolde Forest EEC's Sawmill Parking Lot.
At Nolde Forestwe will see a stream side woodland with spring ephemerals and an upland forest. Easy walking trails, but some hills. After lunch those who wish to will travel to State Game Lands #52, about 5 miles away on the Berks Co./Lancaster Co. line (between Maple Grove and Churchtown). We will explore in the woods along Black Creek, where there are interesting plants among the diabase boulders and outcrops.

Directions from Lancaster to Nolde Forest. (Travel time from Lancaster ca. 40 min.):
Take US 222 north, past the PA Turnpike for 2 miles to the NEW Adamstown-Knauers exit.
Turn Right onto Rte 568 east, go 2 miles. At the traffic light, turn left on Rt. 625 north. Go approximately 4.25 miles (past Hickory Rd and Freemansville Rd and 2/3 mile past the main
Nolde Entrance). Turn left into the Sawmill parking lot entrance; if you come to Church Rd.
on the left you have gone too far.

At SGL#52 there is no trail along the creek, so some boulder hopping is necessary. We will park in the big parking area along Edwards Rd. just north of the bridge over the PA Turnpike. Moderate walk, bring your own bag lunch. Trip leader: Mike Slater (610-775-3757 or mslater@voicenet.com).

Complete 2008 Field Trip List

Rex's Saxifrages

2008-04-03T12:58:00.004-04:00

On Vancouver Island we visited our good friend Rex Murfitt and saw his garden and alpine houses. The porophyllum (Kabschia and Engleria) saxifrages in both the garden and the alpine houses were at their peak. While the encrusted sax species has the most wonderful leaf forms, arrangements and white lime encrustations. More pictures are here.

Above: Saxifraga burseriana

Below: Saxifraga belunensis Irmsch

Some big old trees in BC

2008-03-25T09:35:00.014-04:00

We had a great vacation in British Columbia a few weeks ago when we were in Vancouver, BC for the Western Winter Study Weekend hosted by the Alpine Garden Club of BC then visiting friends and xploreing on Vancouver Island!

One of our stops was MacMillan Provincial Park and the Cathedral Grove. along BC Route 4 between Parksville and Port Alberni on our way to Tofino on Clayoquot Sound (usually pronounced /ˈklekwɑt/ or /ˈklækwɑt/) and Pacific Rim National Park. More about that in my next post about Vancouver Island.

Here are some pictures I took of some of the ancient trees in 3 or 4 shots and stitched together as vertical panoramas with HP Photosmart.

International Field Guides Database

2008-02-07T19:40:00.000-05:00

Today on the Taxacom Email-List I learned about an online Database of Field Guides by Diane Schmitt of the University Library of the University of Illinois. This database has 5410 listings of field guides to all kinds of natural things from Orchids, Wildflowers and other plants to reptiles to astronomical objects and even Aboriginal Rock Engravings and French Cheeses. She is always adding more to this project she has been working on for many years. The focus is on books you can carry in the field rather easily. (It does not include "Floras" and other comprehensive works which only people as obsessive as me carry in the field :-) There are many books in languages besides English too.

I found the best way to get information out of it is by using the search feature. To find things again you can save the titles you find interesting in your own "Book bag" for your future referenc or to hand out a wish list to friend and family for the next gift giving occasion.

There is an announcement of the Database's availability and contents at the University of Illinois web site

Muhlenberg Bulletin January 2008

2008-01-13T20:13:00.000-05:00

The latest

Muhlenberg Bulletin
of the

MUHLENBERG BOTANICAL SOCIETY

Volume 27 Number 2 1/7 / 2008

is now available with Field trip and Meeting information for 2008

The last post of 2007

2007-12-27T14:01:00.000-05:00

The ice storms and dreary weather have gotten me down so I just want to do one more post this year to keep my spirits up and try to think about spring.

I do like cacti with ice on them. but I prefer them with flowers!

Eventually spring will come, I can hardly wait!

Happy New Year

The new flower of the week in the greenhouse is
Lachenalia viridiflora

Erythronium americanum red anthered form in the wild in Lancaster Co. PA

Narcissus rupicola in our garden last spring. It is good to know it is near the cacti just waiting for a little bit of warm waether.

Entertainment: Jigsaw puzzles at Jigzone

2007-12-09T20:14:00.000-05:00

Jigzone does nice digital jigsaw puzzles. You can even have your own pictures "jig sawn". Here is one of mine. Click and drag on the pieces to move them. They will "snap into place" when you let go of them if the are close enough to the correct position. Pieces are in the correct orientation.

Castilleja sp. (C. integrifolia?) taken in Wasatch Mountains of Utah, July 2006 at the NARGS Annual Meeting.

The gallery of my puzzles on Jigzone is here:
My Puzzles Jigsaw Puzzle Gallery - JigZone.com

Listening to Birds

2007-12-02T12:51:00.001-05:00

I just came across a web site that I would like to share with people. It is the Listening to Birds
an anthropological approach to bird sounds web site. As soon as I found it I just had to tell my sister about it and put in my contribution about R-b nuts!

I love hearing many bird songs and call but the one that always brings a smile to my face is the little anh-anh-anh sound that Red-breasted Nuthatches make as they chat among themselves as they energetically search for food along the branches and trunks of trees.

I like this call so much because this subtle yet cheerful sound inspires me during the cold months that they spend in our area and also the fact that they don't come here every year so they are an irregular delightful surprise when the do come and spend the winter.

The Dianthus is Dead, Long live the Dianthus

2007-11-19T12:40:00.000-05:00

We had a wonderful large Dianthus erinaceus in our dry sand bed for about 15 years that was one of the first things that visiting rock gardeners noticed. As it grew over the years it expanded out on the top of the wall and it smothered other plants like Gypsophila aretioides but we loved it anyway. This big spiny cushion bloomed well every year but never set seed (The anthers did not appear to produce viable pollen) and I could never get cuttings to root so we knew it was only a matter of time before we would lose it. Most years it would get some dead brown patches that I would pluck out and it would heal up easily over the summer, but this year the dead patches grew steadily larger and the plant was dead within tw0 to three weeks. So our favorite Dianthus was gone, but this year a plant given to us by a friend came into bloom and replace our dianthus void. Growing nearby his spectacular young Dianthus myrtinervis ssp. caespitosus was spectacular.
I can only hoped it will live as long as our old D. erinaceus did.

Update :
I think we got our D. erinaceus from Siskiyou Rare Plant Nursery but they don't list it now but they do list Dianthus myrtinervis ssp. caespitosus.

Invasive Species Weblog

2007-11-07T08:46:00.000-05:00

I just learned about The Invasive Species Weblog at the 2007 Weblog Awards (Voting going on through Nov. 8th.) in the Best Science Blog category It is full of great information and links about invasive plants and animals.

My Winter Enertainment Begins!

2007-11-05T16:05:00.000-05:00

Now that we have had our first frosts, the outdoor blooming season is seriously slowing down, but, in our little greenhouse where our winter blooming Mediterranean climate bulbs live, things are just getting started. Some South African bulbs flower first for us. With Mediterranean and Californians coming later.

The first "Winter rainstorm" came on September 21st when I began watering for the growing season and now the first flowers are starting. We keep it set so the temperature stays just above freezing at night in the winter and we let everything go dry and dormant so we don't have to do any watering in the summer when we are busy outside!

Oxalis purpurea 'Ken Aslet' (S. Africa) -A gift from our friend Lee Raden. An early Octbober picture first followed bb one February picture so you can see how it just goes on blooming for months.

Polyxena sp. 'Silver Hill 11157' (S. Africa) -From Silverhill seeds.

Massonia depressa (S. Africa) -According to the The Color Encyclopedia of Cape Bulbs (a very dangerous book for anyon who lies unusual plants) this is pollinated by Gerbils! It is in bud right now, with fowers in January and February. I find the large leaves which lie flat on the ground to be very exotic and intriguing.

Lachenalia pusilla -Last year is the first time it bloomed. In bud now this should be open in a few weeks. The inflorescence will be bigger this year.
This was also grown from Silverhill Seed.

Muhlenberg Botanic Society - November Meeting

2007-11-01T18:42:00.000-04:00

November 15: Fred Habegger: "Meadow Wanderings."

A longtime Muhlenberg member, Fred will talk about his meanderings through the meadows of Lancaster Co. and show slides of the plants and animals found there (including butterflies!).

As John Wolf says: "Don't miss it, Fred is a fabulous photographer".

These pictures are two that Fred Shared with us at the September meeting. I especially like the "Crocodile".

Board members please note there will be a short Board Meeting at 6:45 pm.
(Everyone is welcome, we will be discussing next years programs and field
trips.)

Amerian Bells - Clematis section Viornae

2007-10-08T14:28:00.000-04:00

Our Friend Carol Lim has published a great web site about the North Amercan Species of Clematis in Section Viornae. Often called "Leather Flowers" or "Americal Bells" many species are of very restricted range so few people see these beautiful flowers in the wild although hybrids using the red genes from C.texensis are common in cultivation.

We have several plants of, what I am pretty sure is, C. addisonii in our garden. I took these pictures in our graden the last week of May and the first week of June 2007.

I think everyone should try to grow these plants when seed is available or nurseries sell plants. Carol has links to some nurseries on her web site.

__________________________________
Update: Link to Larger version of my Pictures of Clematis addisonii.

Neversink Mountain Walk - part 1

2007-10-03T11:41:00.002-04:00

Reading, PA from Neversink Mountain

For several years when Jan an I went looking for native plants we either went to places we are familiar with in our area like Nolde Forest Env. Ed. Center, Shenk's Ferry and Pennsylvania State Game Lands #52 on the Berks/Lancaster County line south of Maple Grove or we went to the NJ Pine barrens. In recent years we have been going on field trips with the Muhlenberg Botanic Society to learn more about native plants in our area and we have had a great time. iin the last fw months we have learned that he Mengel Natural History Society of Berks County where we live has field trips to some very interesting locations which we have wanted to see for a long time but didn't know exactly where to go for the "good" plants or where the public access is to the areas.

After meeting Karl Gardener last year when he volunteered to help collect and wildflower seed at the Union Twp. meadow, I arranged a trip with Karl to the Berks County Conservancy property on Neversink Mountain in Reading. This mainly quartzite hill is on the southern side of Reading, PA.

we went on a Sunday in mid-September and had a great time. We found many interesting and uncommon plants and butterflies and enjoyed the wonderful views.

A view of the Pagoda on Mt. Penn above Reading, PA.

A trail lined with Schizachyrium scoparium (Little blue-stem grass).

Solidgo biclor, Silverrod

Silene stellata , (Starry campion) was still blooming in a clearing in the woods.

We found this large patch of Polypodium virginianum, (Common Polypody fern, Rock-cap fern) growing on soil at the of a tree.

Lycopodium hickeyi W.H. Wagner, Beitel & Moran
(Pennsylvania clubmoss or Hickey's Clubmoss) with strobili (sporophytes) present.
(This species has been called Lycopodium obscurum L. var. isophyllum Hickey and in the recent Peterson Field Guide to the Ferns this is called Dendrolycopodium hickey.)

Diphasiastrum tristachyum (Blue ground cedar) was nearby. This was formerly called Lycopodium tristachyum. This species is most common in the Poconos and in the central mountains of PA.

American Copper butterfly on a black-berry leaf.

A Gray hairstreak on Solidago nemoralis (Gray-stemmed goldenrod)

A female Red-spotted purple butterfly landing on a black cherry leaf,

backing down the leaf until the tip of her abdomen reaches the end of the leaf.

If there is no egg there already she will lay an egg and she did!

A nice composition of blueberry (Vaccinium sp.), Hay-scented fern (Dennstaedtia punctiloba) and quartzite talus along the trail.

A view to the south of Neversink Mountain over the valley of the Schyylkill River after it has turned east as it flows to Delaware Bay.

end part 1

Most Elegant Plant Contest - Group 2

2007-09-24T12:59:00.000-04:00

Calopogon tuberosus was the winner of the 1st Group!

Here is the 2nd group:
(The voting box is to the left)

Iris koreana

Opuntia cv. (red flowered), A red flowered prickly-pear

Argemone sp., Prickly Poppy

Spigelia marylandica, green and red flowered form. Indian Pink

Lilium longiflorum, Easter Lily

Muhlenberg Botanic Club, New Web Pages

2007-09-10T17:23:00.000-04:00

I have just published The New Muhlenberg Botanic Club web pages migrating most of the old Web site to the new one except for the pre 2006 Muhlenberg Meadow Pictures.

A beginning for a Native Plant Meadow in Union Twp., Berks County

2007-09-10T15:30:00.000-04:00

Last year I began to work with Linda Ingram of the Union Township Recreation Board on the possibility of putting in native plants for wildlife on some of the property which the township owns near Birdsboro. (in the former desilting basin new where the new township building will be located ) So with the help of my wife Jan and a number of volunteers I began a program of native meadow/prairie plant seed collection (with permission) from a a number of public and private meadow areas. We were especially interested in seed sources of plants native to the mid-Atlantic area from nearby areas.

With an area which has been growing corn and soybeans for many years, we planned to start with an approx. 1/4 acre site we would be a demonstration area and seed increase plot. We planted the seed in one morning in late march, with the help of volunteers from the Union Township Rec. Board, Master Gardeners and a few other interested people. We mixed the relatively well purified seed of many different native wildflowers and grasses with damp builders sand in buckets and then the volunteers walked through the muddy ex cornfield to sow the seeds. Germination went well and many of the natives are growing and some are blooming. We did have a volunteer morning in June to pull ragweed, but we haven't done any other significant controlling of annual grasses or perennial. Maybe we should cut the annual foxtail, barnyard and panic grasses before they go to seed yet this month.

After we pulled the ragweed people helped plant about 150 native perennials th we had grown in 2 in. pots in the corner areas where we didn't plant seed because we weren't sure of how large an area we could plant at this time.

The accompanying pictures were taken from March 2007 through august 2007 at the meadow. All of the flower pictures of of plants which are blooming from the seed we sowed in March 2007. I will report on "weeds" and good volunteers in my next meadow reoprt

Bouteloua curtipendula, Side-oats grama grass, is a rare grass in PA where it is fould mainly on Serpentine Barrens and Limestone barrens.

Helianthus giganteus, Tall sunflower

Eupatorium coelistinum, Wild ageratum, Blue-mist Flower

Cirsium discolor, Field Thistle (a good native thistle!)

Helenium autumnale, Sneezeweed

Boltonia asteroides, this has no good common name as I disike names like "Aster-like Boltonia"

Verbena hastata, Blue Vervain

Andropogon girardii, Big Blue Stem

Sorgastrum nutans, Indian Grass

Monarda fistulosa, Lavender Beebalm seedling

Coreopsis tripteris, Tall coreopsis

Rudbeckia sp., Brown-eyed Susan

Ruellia humlis, Wild petunia, A plant native to dry areas in the Central Appalachians, but which can spread vigorously in gardens, so I thought I would put in some seed even though it will be likely crowded out by taller plants over time.

Pluchea odorata, Marsh fleabane, is a plant which is no longer found naturally in PA, it used to be found along the lower Delaware River. Now it only shows up in nurseries where salt-marsh hay is used as a mulch. Whichc is where my seed came from. Since we had such a big wet spot i thought this annual might be a good temporary filler!

Soligago nemoralis, Gray-stemmed goldenrod is one of my favorite goldenrods.

Heliopsis helianthoides, Ox-eye

Mimulus ringens, Allegheny monkey flower, another nice native wetland plant

Vernonia noveborascensis, New-york ironweed

Muhlenberg Botanic Club Newsletter 8/27/07

2007-09-04T16:11:00.000-04:00

Muhlenberg Bulletin

Volume 27 8 /27 / 2007 Number 1

MUHLENBERG BOTANICAL SOCIETY

c/o The North Museum; 400 College Ave.; Lancaster, Pa. 17603

President: Mike Slater (6100775-3757)

Vice Pres: Joan King (717-284-5239)

Secretary and Newsletter Editor: Ruthann Richards (717-872-7574)

Treasurer: John Wolff (717-569-6955) Kathy Tyson

Board Members: Cathy Cholmeley-Jones, Matt Dilley, Tim Draude and Ray Uhlig

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

As a start to my tenure as President, I am taking over the e-mail and website duties that John Wolff has done so ably for so long. I have put the Muhlenberg Botanical Society Falmouth/Conoy Park Trip's plant list and some notes from last Sunday's Lancaster Meadow walk on my Blog http://paplantings.blogspot.com/, where I also put some pictures from the trips.

Even if a Muhlenberg posting isn't the latest posting you see on the Blog (short for Web Log), you can find Muhlenberg items via the link in the "Labels List" on the left-hand side. The "Blog Archives Postings List" link also has recent postings listed by title. I put on labels when a posting goes up; they are key words designed to help find posts by subject.

I will also be posting other information in the future like the meetings and trip schedules. Input by members is welcome, especially plant information and pictures (please don't e-mail me pictures bigger than 75K or so, as we are still on dial up!). You are welcome to add comments to postings via the link at the bottom. I would be happy to talk to anyone interested in starting his/her own Blog; it is easy and free.

Mike Slater

CALENDAR OF EVENTS:

MEETINGS are held at 7:30 on the third Thursday of the month in the Fred Kinsey Room, North Museum (College and Buchanan Aves.). Enter through the back door in the parking lot; knock loudly or ring the bell if the door is locked. Meetings are open to the public, so feel free to invite guests!

September 20: Annual Fall Plant Exchange: Bring plants and other plant-related materials to exchange, as well as slides to show. John Wolff has informed us that we now have a digital projector at our disposal for anyone who has digital pictures to show (native resolution: 1024 x 768).

October 18: Mike Slater, "Mountain Wildflowers of Utah." Mike, our new president, will show slides of alpine and sub-alpine wildflowers, ferns and beautiful mountain scenery in the Wasatch Mountains and the Uinta Mountains of Northern Utah. He and Jan spent time there in July, 1996, and July, 2006. He will also include slides of plants, flowers and rock formations in Southern Utah, where they visited Red Canyon, Zion National Park, and Bryce Canyon. (This talk was originally scheduled for last February, but cancelled due to inclement weather.)

November 15: Fred Habegger: "Meadow Wanderings." Fred will talk about his meanderings through the meadows of Lancaster Co. and show slides of the plants and animals found there (including butterflies!).

FIELD TRIPS:

September 22, Saturday: Nottingham County Park, 150 Park Road, Nottingham, PA 19362 (610-932-2589); 10:00 a.m.

This 651-acre park sits atop an out-cropping of serpentine stone greater than one square mile, making it one of the largest serpentine barrens on the East Coast. The trip consists of a long walk in and out, so be prepared to carry your lunch to eat on the trail.

Directions:The park is located 4 miles south of Oxford off Rt. 1 bypass in southwestern Chester Co. Go into the park entrance, turn right, and meet at pavilion 6. Trail rating: moderate in difficulty. Leader: Tim Draude (717-393-7233).

October 7, Sunday: State Game Lands 156 and Penryn; 10:00 a.m.

We will examine this poor soil plant community, which will hopefully include fringed gentians. After lunch we will walk in the Penryn powercut, looking for asters and goldenrods. Trail rating for the power cut: moderate, about 1 mile in length.

Directions: At the intersection of Rts. 501 and 322, turn left (west) onto 322 and travel approximately 3 miles; meet at the parking lot on the left along Rt. 322. Be aware that the lower entrance to the lot is blocked off. Leader: TBA

MEMBERSHIP DUES are now payable. They are $10.00 per household. New members who paid within the last 6 months need not pay again until September, 2008. If you would like to be contacted by e-mail for occasional spontaneous work days, plant “rescues,” or similar events, please include your e-mail address. At the bottom of the form, please include comments or suggestions for field trips, meetings, or topics you might like to see added to the newsletters.

Bring this form to the September meeting or mail it with your dues to

John Wolff

2640 Breezewood Dr.

Lancaster, PA 17601-4804

Name:

Address:

City: State: Zip:

Phone: E-mail address:

Suggestions for speakers, meeting topics, trip destinations, etc.:

Most elegant flowers!

2007-08-29T15:45:00.000-04:00

"And now for something completely different"

Since Blogger.com makes doing little voluntary polls incredibly easy, just for fun I am starting a little contest for the most elegant flower. I plan on posting 5 pictures at a time in each draw. After five contests I will will put the winners up against each other. I may continue the contest further if there is any interest. Suggestions for future contestants are welcome.

I would like this to be a subjective judgment by each voter of the intrinsic elegance of each species or variety, not necessarily a judgment of beauty (which in my opinion is not necessarily the same as elegance) nor a judgment of my photos. The selections are all mine for now with a mix of wild and garden flowers. Everyone is welcome to participate.

~ The voting list is on the left side of the blog~

1-Zephranthes grandiflora

2-Heteranthera dubia

3-Calopogon tuberosus

4-Iris sibirca 'Gulls Wing'

5-Arisaema heterophyllum

I will keep the voting open for a week or so. Check backfor the 2nd draw soon.

Weevil eats Mile-a-minute vines!

2007-08-27T13:45:00.000-04:00

There is an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer yesterday about the biological control program for Mile-a-minute vine (Polygonum perfoliatum)

A minute Weevil Rhinoncomimus latipes has been extensively tested to be sure it will only eat the mile-a-minute plants (I hope it is well enough tested!) and has been released in this area.

The Philadelphia Inquirer said:

"At last count, more than 66,000 weevils have been released at 61 sites in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and West Virginia."
...................

"A week and a half ago, Judy Hough-Goldstein, of the University of Delaware, stood before a group of experts at an invasive-plants conference at the University of Pennsylvania, providing an update on R. latipes. The prognosis was good.
"A lot of plant mortality this year," she said. "Go, weevils!"
Either way, not even the most optimistic think the weevil will expunge mile-a-minute from the landscape. The idea is to restore balance.
"It's kind of like an arms race," Dionigi said.
Best-case scenario: The weevils will knock back mile-a-minute and then, with few host plants, decline themselves. Then the weed will gain ground, but soon the remaining weevils will proliferate. And so on."

Further extensive reading which includes :

Releases of R. latipes in Maryland
USDA Aphis - environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact have been prepared by the Animal
and Plant Health Inspection Service relative to issuing a permit for
the environmental release of the nonindigenous weevil Rhinoncomimus
latipes Korotyaev (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), a potential biological
control agent of mile-a-minute weed (Polyganum perfoliatum).
Invasive.org Information about Mile-a-minute and other potential biological controls

Muhlenberg Botanic Club upcoming Meetings

2007-08-26T12:55:00.000-04:00

September 20, Thursday 7:30 p.m. at the North Museum on the campus of F&M College in Lancaster:
This is our annual fall plant exchange and slide show. We now have a digital projector at our disposal for anyone who has digital pictures to show. Native resolution: 1024 x 768. There will be a brief board meeting before the regular meeting.

Anyone who who like to announce in advance what plants the can bring/expect to bring please e-mail me and I will share it by e-mail with the membership. I will post the list of what we expect to bring very soon.

October 18, 2007 Mountain Wildflowers of UTAH, Mike Slater
Muhlenberg Botanical Club 7:30 pm at the North Museum on the Campus of F&M University.

Muhlenberg Botanic Club upcoming Field Trips

2007-08-26T12:53:00.000-04:00

September 22, Saturday: Nottingham County Park 10:00 a.m.
150 Park Road, Nottingham, PA 19362 (610-932-2589). Located 4 miles south of Oxford off Route 1 Bypass in southwestern Chester County, this 651-acre park sits atop an outcropping of serpentine stone greater than one square mile in size, making it one of the largest serpentine barrens on the East Coast. Go into the park entrance, turn right, and meet at pavilion 6. This trip consists of a long walk in and out, so be prepared to carry your lunch with you to eat on the trail. Trail rating: moderate. Leader: Tim Draude (717-393-7233)

October 7, Sunday: 10:00 a.m.State Game Lands 156 and Penryn
We will examine this poor soil plant community, which will hopefully include fringed gentians. After lunch we will walk in the Penryn power cut, looking for asters and goldenrods. Trail rating for the power cut: moderate, about 1 mile in length.
At the intersection of Rtes. 501 and 322, turn left (west) onto 322 and travel approximately 3 miles; meet at the parking lot on the left along Rt. 322. Be aware that the lower entrance to the lot has been blocked off. Leader: TBA

A very cute little native Goldenrod

2007-08-26T11:47:00.000-04:00

A very cute little native goldenrod is found along the lower Susquehanna river growing in crevices in the schist bedrock. It is now called Solidago simplex ssp. randii v. racemosa (USDA Plants Link). The name is almost longer than these plants are tall. I would expect that would be bigger when not growing in a tiny crack in a rock but I do want to try growing it in a trough or rock garden.

This species is on the PA endangered species list as this is the only place it is found. It is on the list under the name:

Solidago spathulata DC. var. racemosa (Greene) Gleason Sticky Goldenrod
status: Endangered

Variety racemosa grows from Tennessee to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia and it is considered threatened or endangered in many states. Other varieties of Solidago simplex ssp. randii grow as far west as Lake superior.

Sticky Goldenrod grows on the flood scoured bedrock where competition is reduced along with many relict prairie species like Big-blue-stem, little blue-stem, Indian grass and Veronicastrum virginicum.

This habitat is called (from Maryland's DNR):

ANDROPOGON GERARDII - (SORGHASTRUM NUTANS)
TEMPORARILY FLOODED HERBACEOUS ALLIANCE
(Big Bluestem - (Yellow Indiangrass) Temporarily Flooded Herbaceous Alliance)

"Concept: This alliance includes scoured riverbank 'prairies' in northeastern and southeastern United States, which may be called 'riverside prairies,' 'linear prairies,' 'rivershore grasslands,' or 'scoured riverine bluff prairie.' In addition to the nominal species, examples may also contain Schizachyrium scoparium, Chasmanthium latifolium, and/or Panicum virgatum, any of which could be locally dominant. These grasslands may be associated with dry cobble riverbanks and lakeshores, as well as flood-scoured, acidic or calcareous bedrock exposures associated with major rivers. This includes riverine gravel/cobble bar 'prairies' along the upper Cumberland River in Kentucky and Tennessee; scour areas along high gradient sections of major rivers, such as in gorges in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and possibly farther west; and scoured limestone bluffs along the Duck River in Tennessee's Central Basin."

I took these pictures on friday when I took my Sister and Brother-in-law from Texas to see the unusual habitat where this wonderful little plant grows.

I have showed pictures of Solidago simplex ssp. randii v. racemosa in habitat to Rock Gardening friends from the Rocky Mountain area and they are struck by the similarity to Solidago multiradiata growing above the tree-limit in the central rockies.

Our yearly visit to Chanticleer Gardens

2007-08-22T20:49:00.000-04:00

Today Jan and I went to pay our yearly visit to Chanticleer Garden with Dick and Ann Rosenberg for company. As always we had an enjoyable time seeing new plants, admiring the garden plantings and wonderful plant combinations and seeing friends who work there whom we know through the Rock Garden Society. We were warmly greeted at the entrance by Laura Aiken and we chatted briefly with Yvonne England and Joe Henderson.

There was a very light drizzle when we arrived but it stopped as we got out of the car. The fine drops elegantly decorated many of the flowers and leaves.

Pictures in sort of in the order shown (The pictures are fighting it out and don't want to go where I want them to in this post tonight! I will continue the fight tomorrow. )(I'm winning, I think)(I WON!):

1) A Chanticleer (a Rooster)

2) Looking into the Teacup Garden

3) The Teacup Garden

4) Monarda punctata

5) Hydrangea serrata 'Preziosa'

6) Rhododendron prunifolium

7) Russelia equisetiformis

8) Liatris squarrosa

9) Cuphea sp.

10 ) Selaginella braunii (Which has been hardy for them for 5 years)

11) an Anigozanthos sp. (Kangaroo Paw) flower

12) Sporobolis heterolepis (Prairie Dropseed) near the Ruin Garden.

13) Pseudogynoxis chinopodioides (a climbing composite) on a large Agave sp. in the Tea Cup Garden.

14) Tweedia caerulea, 3 pictures Flower leeaf and seedpod showing it is in the Milkweed Family, Asclepidae. In the Tea Cup Garden.

15) Cotinus sp. (Smoke Tree)

16) A very large flowered Aristolochia sp.

17) a red-veined Swiss
Chard Leaf

Viola conspersa (Dog Violet)

2007-08-21T10:48:00.000-04:00

Viola conspersa (Dog Violet) and related "Stemmed" blue violas from Eastern North America

Our friend Kim Blaxland who is especially interested in Viola species e-mailed me today to ask me about Viola conspersa plants that we have seen. It seems there is some question whether this is just an upright form of another species and should be lumped with Viola labradorica*/V. adunca v. minor.

Viola conspersa is a relatively upright plant with light blue flowers and leaves scattered up the stem. While the other species have their stems prostrate on the ground.

She asked especially about what kind of rocks and what the soil pH would be. I think I usually have seen V. conspersa on soil derived from diabase (an intrusive igneous rock which usually give rise to circumneutral soils) here in Berks County, PA

The pictures of Viola conspersa here are mine. The first two are from PA State Gamelands #52 (north of Churchtown, Lancaster Co. and south of Maple Grove in Berks Co.) They are growing among and in crevices of diabase boulders along Black Creek. (Kim just e-mailed me and said of the first picture "Lovely photo of V. conspersa! Shows the spurs well, also the purple leaves persistent from the previous year compared with the color of the new spring leaves ."
The last three pictures are from Middle Creek WMA and are in the wet meadow on sandstone derived soils that I though were acid.

If anyone can tell us about locations for Viola conspersa and what kind of soil they are growing in and the parent rock the soil derived from that information would be appreciated.

Kim wrote:

Harvey Ballard, violet expert from Athens Ohio, who wrote the Violaceae treatment in the Flora of Pennsylvania has said that Viola labradorica and Viola adunca v. minor are conspecific and that they merge into Viola conspersa . By Viola labradorica I do not mean the purple-leafed violet of cultivation that is actually Viola riviniana purpurea. I mean the real Viola labradorica as it occurs in Newfoundland, Labrador, Greenland, and high mountains on the Gaspe Peninsula and northern Maine.

I am studying these three species in the NE to try to justify continuing to recognize Viola conspersa as a distinct species.
The stems of V. conspersa do lie down horizontally after flowering, and in autumn the plant will produce new short upright stems in the center from the rhizome.
The two differences I have worked out between V. conspersa and V. adunca v. minor are:
1. Stipules of former are wide lanceolate with very feathered margins, latter narrow lanceolate and either entire or few short teeth/divisions on margin.
2. Rhizome horizontal for former cf. vertical for latter.

V. conspersa does not grow at Shenk's Ferry does it? I've never seen it there. It would be very interesting to test the soil pH at some of these places. Maybe I need to buy a pH meter.
It was interesting writing the descriptions for you, comparing V. appalachiensis with the other three species made me realize that the only differences between them is that V. appalachiensis has rounder leaves, horizontal stems and finer longer peduncles.

The three species, V. adunca minor, V. labradorica and V. conspersa all have vertical stems, its just that those of V. labradorica are much shorter.

Viola adunca v. minor and Viola labradorica both occur on limestone. Viola labradorica reaches a maximum height of only three inches. I saw it growing in shallow depressions in the flat coastal limestone peninsulas at the NW tip of Newfoundland, sheltering for protection from the severe winds. Under these extreme weather conditions it is not surprising that it is so small. Viola adunca v. minor grows taller, to 5-6 inches, in light woods, for example on the Bruce Peninsula, NW of Toronto in Canada. All the morphological characters of these two species are the same except for the overall size. Several stems and a few basal leaves arise vertically from the top of the rhizome. Cauline leaves are evenly distributed up the stems. Leaves are reniform to cordate, stipules entire or with only a few teeth, flowers pale mauve on peduncles from the axils of the leaves on the stem. Fine hairs are on the inside of the lateral petals. The head of the style is bent into a hook with fine hairs on the side near the stigmatic opening. The spur at the back of the lowest petal is tapered, 4-5 mm long. Viola conspersa is usually about the same height as Viola adunca v. minor, flowers are of a similar color but usually slightly larger. The leaves have slightly more cordate bases, and the stipules have more feathered margins, but there do not seem to be enough obvious major differences in morphology to separate these species. However, I have only seen Viola conspersa growing on diabase and sandstone.

Another interesting stemmed violet is Viola appalachiensis that occurs on the Allegheny plateau in western Pennsylvania, also growing in alkaline soils. It grows as a mat forming ground cover because the stems creep horizontally on the ground surface, though usually not rooting from the nodes. The leaves are small and round to reniform. Light mauve flowers are borne from the leaf axils but well above the leaves on tall delicately thin peduncles. The petal spur is tapered and about as long as the three species mentioned above

Two additional notes: 1) V. conspersa x V. striata hybrids thrive where soil has been limed (Dick Lighty pers. comm.) and a note about Diabase soils from NC.
2) Soils derived from the diabase rock (Iredell on uplands and Wilkes sandy loam at the base of the slopes) are quite different from typical Piedmont soils that are acidic or sour soils with a low pH. Soils derived from diabase rocks are basic, or sweet, with a high pH. Sweet soil is ideal for certain kinds of plants typically found in other regions of the United States, particularly in the prairies of the Midwest.

*by the way, as Kim mentions the Viola labradorica wth purplish leaves in cultivation is invariably NOT correctly named. It always turns out to be a selection of Viola riviniana, a European species.

Some Grass Flowers at the Muhlenberg Meadow

2007-08-19T21:54:00.000-04:00

Some interesting grass flowers seen on the Muhlenberg Botanic Club walk to the Muhlenberg Meadow at Lancaster County Central Park

Today five of us braved the very light rain to stroll through the Muhlenberg Meadow. Tim Draude talked about the planting he and other club volunteers did about 10 years ago to crate the meadow and the volunteer work that is done to keep out trees, shrubs and invasive weeds. Many flowers were in bloom, you can see the list of plants at the meadow here.

I particularly enjoyed looking closely at grasses in bloom which I think are intricately beautiful. Here are pictures of the flowers of two of our large native grasses at the meadow. Tripsacum dactyloides (Eastern Gamma Grass) is related to corn, Zea mays, and has separate male flowers above the female flowers as corn does. In this case yellow stamens and fuzzy purple pistils.

I took some pictures of Sorgastrum nutans (Indian Grass) in bloom with its noticeable yellow stamens and didn't realize the female parts of the flowers were visible until I got home and downloaded the pictures to the computer. The visibility of the cute little fuzzy-white pistils was a pleasant surprise.

Everyone who gets a chance should visit this lovely meadow with an amazing number of plant species native to Lancaster County. I plan on posting some more pictures from the Muhlenberg Meadow later this week. You can see some other people’s pictures of the meadow here.

A Blue Lettuce Day

2007-08-18T13:01:00.000-04:00

A Blue Lettuce Day Aug 17, 2007

(Lactuca floridana that is!) plus two other new plants!

(Pictured above, from top to bottom, Pellaea glabella, Asplenium trichomanes, Ludwigia hexapetala*, Lactuca floridana a 7 foot tall plant and a close-up of the flower)

Yesterday Tim Draude and Joan King came up from Lancaster to the Reading area in Berks County to look at ferns and wildflowers with me. I wanted to show them the nice, easily accessible, cliff/wall ferns at Gring's Mill County Park and Gibraltar Aqueduct, including Pellaea glabella ssp. glabella, Pellaea atropurpurea, Asplenium platyneuron, Asplenium trichomanes, Woodsia obtusa and get confirmation of the id. of Cystopteris tennuis. All the ferns were in fine shape and easy to study.

In addition I was hoping that with their sharp eyes and knowledge of native plants they would spot interesting plants with which I was unfamiliar. Not only did we find three very nice species of native wildflowers that I didn't know, They were three that neither Tim nor Joan had ever seen! They had been looking for two of the species for a while though.

At Gring's Mill in a soft muddy area next just upstream from the mill in a wet area (no standing water now after the relatively dry weather we have had but we had to be a little care of the soft mud) next to a large patch of Iris pseudacorus and mixed in with a Sagittaria species was a large patch (over 50' in diameter) of a bright yellow five-petaled flower on soft-hairy, two foot stems that none of us were familiar with. After looking in a field guide we decided it was probably Ludwigia peploides but when we keyed it out in “Gleason and Cronquist” we determined later that with upright, fuzzy stems it was Ludwigia uruguayensis (Water primrose) now subsumed into Ludwigia hexapetala.

It will be interesting to see if that is the name it stays under when the 2nd edition of “the Plants of Pennsylvania” comes out, which I hope will be very soon. This is probably introduced from the southeastern states, but is native to eastern North America as well as south America all the way to Argentina. Both species have records in the “Atlas of the Flora of PA” in the Reading area. This beautiful and impressive plant, Water-primrose, looks like it might be invasive but there aren't many stations for it in the atlas and we only saw it in the one large patch, there we no stragglers in the nearby wet spots.

*I know it only has 5 petals, either the botanist who named it couldn't count, or it has sometimes has six petals or the type specimen was so bad the petals couldn't be counted properly.

The second new plant we found was along a country road in the red Triassic sandstone area south of Birdsboro. Tim said: “That looked like a blue lettuce.” as were driving and I turned the car around and we went back to lookI was indeed a wonderful tall blue flowered lettuce, Lactuca floridana, which none of us had ever seen. The plants (at least a dozen of them in bloom) were about 7 or 8 feet tall with clear blue flowers and with each black seed attachetd to bright white pappus (the "parachute"). The flowers look like small chicory flowers and they were almost as dark blue The inflorescene is rather large and the flowers are spread out so it is not a really conspicuous plant, but it is the nicest wild lettuce species I have seen. There were many first year plants around of this biennial species so the population seems to be reproducing well, but it is near a driveway where it would only take two minutes with a weed-eater to eliminate the population.

Then we went to the Birdsboro Reservoir and had a pleasant walk though the wood and up to the lake discussing/puzzling over several Desmodium species (tick-trefoils) and Helianthus decapetalus/H. tuberosus (Thin-leaved sunflower/Jerusalem artichoke hybrid possibilities. At the lake we spotted a small group of three foot tall, white flowered, Eupatorium species which looked very stiff, with wide round toothed leaves. They appeared to be different from species we were familiar with. It is similar to E. sessilifolium but keyed out to be Eupatorium godfreyanum in “Gleason and Cronquist” which is one of the putative parents of this species of hybrid origin. This is not a showy plant but it is not quite OBIO. (of botanical interest only!)

This is a plant which Tim had been looking for on the islands below Holtwood Dam in the Susquehanna River where it has been reported in the past but it is not shown in the “Atlas of the Flora of PA." Since this plant is not officially present in Pennsylvania (but is found in NJ and MD) We will have to do a little more research but it looks promising!

------Update-8/19/07------Pictures Added 8/21/07
After some m,ore checking and comparison and keying we have concluded that it is Eupatorium pilosum, which has been found in this part of Berks County according to the "Atlas of PA Flora".
This is still a new plant for me!

Muhlenberg Botanic Club Field Trip to Conoy Park/Falmouth Boat Launch

2007-08-12T22:17:00.000-04:00

Muhlenberg Botanic Club Field Trip

August 11, 2007

Leader: Fred Habegger plus 12 members of the club.

Falmouth Boat Ramp – Conoy Canal Park 10am -12 noon (After a brownbag lunch several of us went down river to Vinegar Ferry, see below for addition plants)

Weather was nice and sunny, the humidity had dropped from earlier in the week and we had a pleasant day.

We walked trail through the woods upriver to second power cut (Large Corten Steel Pylons) then bushwhacked out to the river. Where we explored the diabase bedrock where it has been scoured and carved by the Susquehanna river. Many beautiful potholes are there where swirling flood water has ground in circular holes in the hard and smooth diabase with the aid of pebbles spinning inside them. Many interesting plants were seen. In the woods, power cuts and in the riverbed among the rocks. All done with dry feet!

Plants in BOLD are pictured

Acer negundo, Boxelder (fr)

Acer saccharinum, Silver Maple

Ailanthus altissima, *Tree-of-heaven, (fr)

Alopecurus sp, *Foxtail grass

Amaranthus sp, Pigweed (fl)

Ambrosia artemisiifolia, Common Ragweed (fl)

Ambrosia trifida, Giant Ragweed (fl)

Amorpha fruticosa, False-indigo (fr)

Andropogon girardii, Big blue-stem (fl)

Apios americana, Ground-nut, Wild-bean (fl)

Apocynum cannabianum, Indian hemp (fr)

Arctium minus, *Common Burdock (fl & fr)

Artemisia annua, *Annual wormwood

Artemisia vulgaris, *Mugwort

Asclepias incarnata, Swamp milkweed (fl)

Asclepias syriaca, Common Milkweed

Asimina triloba, Pawpaw

Avens sp,

Cannabis sativa, *Marijuana (one small plant growing out in the rocks)

Carya ovata, Shagbark Hickory

Celtis occidentalis, Hackberry

Cercis canadensis, Redbud

Cersium arvense, *Canada thstle (fr)

Chamacyce maculata, Spotted Spurge (fl)

Chamacyce nutans, Eye-bane (fl)

Chamaechrista fasciculata, Partridge-pea (fl)

Clematis species

Commelina communis, dayflower (fl)

Cyperus esculenta, Yellow nutsedge (fl)

Datura stramonium, *Jimsonweed (fl & fr)

Daucus carota, *Queen Anne's Lace

Desmodium canadense, Showy tick-trefoil (fl)

Dioscorea villosa, Wild Yam (fr)

Elymus hystrix, Bottlebrush grass (fr)

Erichtites hieraciifolia, fierweed, Pilewort (fl)

Erigeron philadelphicus, Common Fleabane (fl)

Eupatorium fistulosum, Joe-pye-weed (fl)

Eupatorium perfoliatum, Boneset (fl)

Eupatorium serotinum (fl)

Euphorbia corollata, Flowering spurge (fl)

Fraxinus sp., Ash Species

Helianthus divaricatus, Thin-leaved Sunflower (fl)

Helianthus tuberosus, Jerusalem Artichoke (fl)

Hibiscus laevis (H. millitaris), Halberd-leaved mallow (fl)

Humulus japonicus,*Japanese Hops (fl)

Ipomoea pandurata, Wild Sweet Potato (fl)

Justicia americana, Water willow (fr)

Ligustrum sp, *Privet

Lindera benzoin, Spicebush (fr)

Lonicera japonica, * Japanese honeysuckle

Lythrum salicaria, *Purple loostrife (fl)

Melilotus officionalis, *Yellow sweet-clover (fl)

Menispermum canadense , Moonseed

Microstegium vimineum, *Japanese stilt grass

Mimulus ringens, Allegheny monkey-flower

Mollugo verticillata, Carpetweed (fl)

Monarda fistulosa, Wild Bergamot (fr)

Oenothrea biennis, Evening-primrose (fl)

Panicum virgatum, Switch grass (fr)

Phyla laceolata (Lippia lanceolata ) ,Fogfruit (fl)

Physocarpus opulifolius, Ninebark (fr)

Plantanus x acerifolia, *London Plane

Polygonum cuspidatum, *Japanese knotweed

Polygonum perfoliatum, *Mile-a-minute weed (fr)

Polygonum sp, Smartweed (fl)

Quercus bicolor, Swamp White Oak

Robinia pseudoacacia, Black Locust

Rosa multiflora, *Multiflora rose (fr)

Rubus phoenicolasius, *Wineberry

Rudbeckia laciniata, Green-headed Coneflower (fl)

Schrophularia marilandica, Eastern figwort, Carpenter's Square (fl)

Sicyos angulata, Bur cucumber (fl)

Silene alba (Lychnis alba), *White campion (fl)

Solanum nigrum, Black nightshade (fl-fr)

Solidago gigantea, Tall goldenrod (fl)

Staphylea trifolia, Baldderpod (fr)

Taraxacum officionale, *Dandelion (fl)

Toxicodendron radicans, Poison ivy (fr)

Ulmus rubra, Slippery Elm

Verbena hastata, Blue vervain (fl)

Verbena urticifolia, White vervain (fl)

Verbesina alternifolia, Wingsem (fl)

Vitus sp., Grape (fr)

Xanthium strumarium, Cocklebur, (fr)

River Front Park – Vinegar Ferry RD. 1pm-3pm

Fred Habagger, Tim Draude, Mike and Jan Slater

Additional plants seen/identified:

Apocynum canabianum v. hypericifolium, prostrate Indian hemp (fr)

Cynanchum laeve (Ampelamus albidus), Smooth swallow-wort (fl)

Elymus canadense (fr)

Elymus villosa (fr)

Elymus virginicus (fr)

Heteranthera dubia (Zosterella dubia), Water Star Grass (fl)

Polygonatum biflorum var coomutatum (P. canaliculatum), Giant Solomon's-seal (fr)

Polygonum lapathifolium, (fl)

Polygonum pennsylvanicum, (fl)

Salix sp, a shrubby willow

Urtica sp, Nettle (fl) with a Quesionmark Caterpillar feeding on it.

*Introduced from outside eastern North America

(fl) seen in flower

(fr) seen in fruit

My current favorite tall meadow/prairie plant!

2007-08-09T13:59:00.000-04:00

Arnoglossum cacalifolium (syn. Cacalia atriplicifolia)

Arnoglossum cacalifolium (syn. Cacalia atriplicifolia), called Pale Indian Plantain, is a great native plant. (most books still list it as Cacalia atriplicifolia) In PA it is reported from the southern 5/6ths of the state, but I have never seen it in it's native condition. It is planted at the Muhlenberg Meadow in Lancaster county Central Park and that is where I first saw it.

We acquired several bare root plants at the Muhlenberg Botanic Club plant exchange two years ago. They grew some last summer but they were rather a disappointment at about 4 feet tall and one broke halfway and fell over. This year they have really settled in and they are stupendous.

The plants are rigid and 7 to 8 feet tall with a dramatic combination of purple stem, nice scalloped leaves that are blue-green above and glaucous below, and dramatic funnel-shaped inflorescences of many small cream-colored tubular flowers.

These are wonderful, eyecatching tall narrow plants that I can only describe as statuesque. This effect is mainly due to the the leaves are held stiffly pointing upward and the elegant candelabra structure of the inflorescence.

It fits right in with the many tall plants we have in or meadow style front yard. (I think it is the 3rd tallest plant after Arundo donax at 13 to 15', and Miscanthus x giganteus a 10' Miscanthus.) The article " UPWARD BOUND, Plants that grow tall and slender suit small spaces to a T" written by Scott Calhoun in the Aug/Sept 2007 issue of Horticulture Magazine. (sorry this isn't one they have published a "lite" version online) is a nice, well written and illustrated summary of tall herbaceous plants. We grow many of the plants he discusses there in our meadow.

Cacalia atriplicifolia (as I still think of it, a name that really rolls off the tongue!) must be very uncommon or rare because mature plants are rather conspicuous and would think I would have seen them even if they are shorter in dry roadside habitats.

Vascular Flora of PA: Annotated Checklist and Atlas

2007-08-09T13:50:00.000-04:00

A hardback book I keep by my chair in the living room and use all of the time is:

The Vascular Flora of Pennsylvania: Annotated Checklist and Atlas

By Ann Fowler Rhoads, William MacKinley Klein

Is available online thanks to GOOGLE Book Search. It is a large image that loads page by page as you scroll. You probably need a high speed internet connection to use this well.
If you type "Vascular Flora Pennsylvania + a plant name" in the GOOGLE Book Search field it will take you to the page with that plant's range map on it.
(note: you have to scroll down to page "vii" before you see much.)

I think the book is easier to use but I use the online version occasionally when I am away from home.

My Favorite Small Plant, Cute and Easy to Grow

2007-08-09T09:31:00.000-04:00

Erigeron scopulinus, from the mountains of Arizona, does very well for us here in southeastern PA. I particularly like to grow it in trough where is thrives, doesn't get buried by larger plants and is easy to see and admire.

A solution for the depth of field problem with macrophotography

2007-08-09T09:16:00.001-04:00

I saw this mentioned on Taxacom last week. I definitely want to try this on some flower photographs!

HeliconFocus is a program that creates one completely focused image from several partially focused images by combining the focused areas.
The program is designed for macrophotography, microphotography and hyperfocal landscape photography to cope with the shallow depth-of-field problem.

Helicon Focus also aligns images as objects often change their size and position from shot to shot. This function is especially important for macrophotography.

It looks good. I haven't tried it yet but it is available free for a 30 day trail as shareware. They also make a picture editing program called Heliconfilter that looks interesting and useful. If anyone is already familiar with either program or tries it out please let me know how you like them. Also if you know of any competing software I would be interested in learning about that too.

On-Line Floras, plant names and more

2007-08-06T10:58:00.000-04:00

This is just a beginning list of links I use fairly often. I will also be adding these to the link lists on the side of this page.

eFloras.org
includes (among others):

Flora of North America on-line (in progress but the ferns, Penstemons and Trilliums are published)
Flora of China

Plant name links:

Cultivated:

RHS Plantfinder (The online search feature is halfway down the page in the gray box)

Wild:

IPNI (List all published names even if they are not currently accepted)
BONAP 1998 (Biota of North America Project) list online (TAMU)
Bonap 1999 only available on CD ($495 US) From NCSU (order form)

note I haven't felt the need to buy this!)

BONAP 2000-2007 nomenclature updates online

Plant Name and Phytogeography links:

USDA Plants (Names, State and County location maps, Links to pictures and descriptions_

Asclepias (Milkweed) Views- Part #2

2007-08-05T12:48:00.001-04:00

Asclepias viridis (Green Milkweed) A small plant with small green flowers whose petals are pressed tight to the central column and with the horns hidden (or not present, I'm not sure which. I have never dissected a flower of this uncommon species). . Found in dry, sunny habitats like Serpentine Barrens.

Asclepias verticillata (Whorled milkweed) an inconspicuous plant with whorls of threadlike leaves and tiny white flowers in small umbels. The flowers have spreading hoods and projecting horns. Also found in dry, sunny habitats like Serpentine and Limestone Barrens.

Asclepias incarnata (Swamp milkweed) In full bloom right now, this common species lovely pink flowers and it is often seen in damp meadows and roadside ditches. The two-toned pink flowers are not as large as common milkweed but each plants has a lot of flowers.

Asclepias exaltata (Poke milkweed) White flowers in loose, drooping umbels with prominent projecting horns. There are relatively few flowers in each umbel but the flower stalks are very long. This species is an early bloomer (June here in PA and WV) which grows in sunny openings in deciduous forests.

Asclepias (Milkweed) Views - part #1

2007-08-04T21:52:00.000-04:00

I like the members of the genus Asclepias (the Milkweeds) very much. They have numerous things going for them from my point of view: Their flowers are beautiful and fascinating, they are the food source for Monarch Butterfly caterpillars and they and many butterflies and other insects find them to be a major source of nectar, many milkweeds are showy in flower and easy to grow, releasing the seeds to the wind is fun, and finally they are distinctive and fairly easy to identify to species!

The following are some pictures I have taken here in Pennsylvania and also in West Virginia of seven species of milkweed. I have several more to find someday and several I know locations for I have to get there when they are in bloom. I find the distinctive shapes and sizes of the petals/Hoods (nectar cups) and the Horns, which in many species stick out of the Hoods on the flowers, very intriguing.

The first two grow in similar habitats, like old fields and roadsides, often side by side. They are done blooming for this year but can still be easily by their seed pods. A. syriaca ihas warty pods and A. purpurascens has smooth pods.

Asclepias syriaca (Common Milkweed) Flower umbels held below the leaves, washed out pinkish-purple flowers, the hoods smaller than A. purpurascens and warty green seed pods

Asclepias purpurascens (Purple Milkweed) Flower umbels held above the leaves and the large rich purple-red flowers have hoods longer than in common milkweed and smooth green seed pods. This species is much less common in our area than A. syriaca. I understand there are exactly two patches (a single clone in each) of this species in New England! I have only found it a few places here in SE PA.

Comparison of Asclepias purpurascens and A. syriaca flowers

Asclepias tuberosa (Butterfly weed, Orange milkweed) This common and long blooming favorite of butterflies is in full bloom right now and will go on for a month or more. This species is commonly has bright orange flowers but yellow-orange individuals are not too rare. We have red-striped plants here in our garden that we have raised from seed of a plant that had a red stripe on the outside of each petal/hood. One of our 3rd generation plants we has pure red flowers! Check it out!

Part #2 of the post will follow soon with Aa. exaltata, incarnata, viridis and verticillata.

I am always interested in seeing new species of milkweed!

In the Begining

2007-08-01T18:16:00.000-04:00

This Blog will be mainly about plants in Pennsylvania both in the wild and in gardens. I am starting the Blog off right with one of my favorite spring ephemeral wildflowers.

We live in Berks County, PA where we garden with both native and foreign plants. My wife Jan and I are active members of the North American Rock Garden Society and the Muhlenberg Botanic Club of Lancaster, PA.

This picture of Erythronium americanum was taken at the Lancaster County Conservancy's Fern Cliff Preserve.