PA Plantings

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 c osponsored 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.

  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 wil...

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.

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...

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 ...

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!

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  part icipating 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