-July-August 2011 Vol. 26, No. 4

Petal PusherJuly-August 2011 Page 1

NEWSLETTER OF THEMISSOURINATIVE PLANT SOCIETY

Fall trip heads to Sedalia area in SeptemberThe fall meeting and field trips are planned for Sept. 9-11.The fall meetings of the MONPS are planned to be at the MDC

Sedalia office at 2000 S. Limit Ave. (this is Route 65 South) at theintersection with W. 20 Street, which is one of the east entranceroads to the State Fairgrounds. It is just south of the intersectionof W. 20 Street and Highway 50 (Broadway). If you get to theintersection with Rt. B or the bridge over Flat Creek on Highway65, you just missed it.

The Friday and Saturday night meetings are planned to beginat 7 p.m., with the doors opened at 6:30 p.m. Lodging

The main hotel will be the Super 8 on 3402 W. Broadway(Highway 50 east of Route 65) (660-827-5890). As of June 14,they had plenty of rooms.

An alternative is the Comfort Inn at 3600 W. Broadway near theSuper 8 (660-829-5050).

A comfortable alternative in Lincoln (about 26 miles south ofSedalia) is the Bunkhouse Lodge at 23339 Highway 65 (660-547-3020). Paul McKenzie sayd he has stayed here before and it isvery comfortable and relatively close to area prairies.Field Trips

The Saturday field trips will be to Paint Brush Prairie in themorning and to Hi Lonesome Prairie in the afternoon.

Paint Brush Prairie is about 10 miles south of Sedalia onHighway 65, then east on Manila Road about a quarter of a mileto the second parking lot that is on the right (south side of road).We will meet at the Super 8 parking lot at 8 a.m. and then at theManila Road parking lot at about 8:30 a.m. Most folks will eatlunch in the field at Paint Brush but folks may eat lunch in Sedaliaif they want.

We will meet at Hi Lonesome Prairie at about 1:30 p.m. at thearea parking lot. It is about 1 mile west of Cole Camp off ofHighway 52 (east of Route 65 about 2 .25 miles) and north onKlink Avenue (also Benton County Road 221 NE) about a halfmile. The parking lot is on the right (east) side of Klink Avenue. Ifyou get to Hi Lonesome Road (also Benton County Road 950NE), you missed the parking lot.

The Sunday field trip will be to Big Buffalo Creek ConservationArea on the Benton/Morgan county line for a change in pace tosee Big Buffalo Creek Fen Natural Area that includes the fen,springs and adjacent forest.

It is south of Cole Camp about 13 miles on Route B, then easton Route WW to the end of hard top and then north on BigBuffalo Road about 1.25 miles Anyone interested will meet at theSuper 8 parking lot at 8 a.m. or about 9 a.m. on the area.

Janet Haworth has agreed to be editorof the Petal Pusher beginning with thenext issue.

Send chapter reports and articles forthe next Petal Pusher to her. The dead-line is Aug. 1. Her e-mail address ishaworth_janet@yahoo.com.

The following is a brief introductionfrom her.

I was born in California among the pop-pies, lupine, buttercup, Indian paintbrush,and shooting stars, all of which I loved topick. I remember trying to transplant

shooting stars as a very young girl,unsuccessfully; I was maybe 7 or 8 yearsold. My grandparents had unusual plantson the property, tamarisk tree (an inva-sive), and torch lilies (an exotic), as wellas a few roses, and acres of fruit trees.There was a creek running along theproperty, across which were golden hill-sides full of the above wild flowers. Thecreek and hills were where I spent muchof my outdoor play.

My husband, Carl and I are in process offighting the invasives on our property here

in Springfield — ailanthus tree, bush honey-suckle, Bermuda grass and a very aggres-sive split-leaf elderberry that does not fruit(though I was assured it would). We putnative plants in as we find time and money,though also enjoy our shade garden withsome exotics blended in with the natives.

I am a graduate of Missouri StateUniversity (bachelor of science degree ineducation, master of science degree ineducation administration) and retired thisyear from Springfield Public Schools as anearly childhood special education teacher.

New editor takes over the Petal Pusher

Petal Pusher July-August 2011Page 2

Hawthorn ChapterMonday, July 11, 7 p.m. — Regular

Meeting at the Unitarian Church, 2615Shepard Blvd. Program not yet decided.Thursday, July 21, 11:30 a.m. —

Lunch with Native Plant enthusiasts,Uprise Bakery, 10 Hitt St., just south ofBroadway.Saturday, July 23, 8 a.m. — Mark

Belwood Prairie restoration near MarshallJunction. Meet at the MDC ResearchCenter for carpools to leave at 8 am.Bring camera, water, snack, sunhat andany other personal comforts. We can talkabout habitat reconstruction and chal-lenges. Lunch at Glenn’s (Cajun)Restaurant at the Fredrick Hotel inBoonville.Thursday, Aug. 18, 11:30 a.m. —

Lunch with native plant enthusiasts, UpriseBakery, 10 Hitt St., just south of Broadway.Saturday, Aug. 20 — Coakley Hollow

and Ozark Cavern Natural Area (CamdenCounty). Watch for details.

Kansas City Chapter Nothing scheduled in July or August.

Osage Plains ChapterJuly 9 – Annual pot luck, wildflower tour

and July meeting at Dale Jennings. 5:30p.m. Bring a dish to share. For more infor-mation contact Emily Horner.July field trip – TBA, await an email

from our field trip coordinators who are onthe lookout for a good location to see theblooms.August – no business meeting, field trip

TBA.

Ozarks Chapter Tuesday, July 19, 6:30 p.m. —

Chapter meeting at the MDC OzarkRegional Office. We will have an informalplant identification evening. Bring plantsand/or photos of plants that you would liketo identify.Tuesday, Aug. 16, 6:30 p.m. —

Chapter meeting at the MDC OzarkRegional Office. We will have anotherinformal plant identification evening. Bring

plants and/or photos of plants that youwould like to identify. Regular programs willresume in September.

Perennis ChapterConsult the website for upcoming field

trips: www.semonps.org

St. Louis ChapterJuly 27, 7:30 p.m. — James Locklear

will be discussing some of the results ofhis book “Phlox: A Natural History andGardener’s Guide.” A description is avail-able at timberpress.com/books/phlox/lock-lear/9780881929348. The program isscheduled at Powder Valley Nature Center,11715 Cragwold Road, Kirkwood, Mo.Aug. 24, 7:30 p.m. — Danelle Haake,

restoration ecologist with the LitzsingerRoad Ecology Center, will be speaking onsome of the restoration and preservationwork underway at the LREC. Additionaltopics may include some of her restorationwork with the River Des Peres WatershedCoalition. The program is scheduled atPowder Valley Nature Center, 11715Cragwold Road, Kirkwood, Mo.Sept. 28, 7:30 p.m. — Allison Vaughn,

natural resource steward with the MissouriDepartment of Natural Resources, willshare the trials and triumphs of Ozarkglade and forest management. The pro-gram is scheduled at Powder ValleyNature Center.Oct. 26, 7:30 p.m. — Our annual show-

and-tell session, where members sharetheir best photographs of the year’s botanytrips. The program is scheduled at PowderValley Nature Center.

Southwest Missouri ChapterJuly 26, 6 p.m. — Monthly chapter

meeting. Topic TBD.Aug. 23, 6 p.m. — Monthly chapter

meeting. Topic TBD.

Calendar of Events Dues Are DueBy Ann EarleyMembership Chairwoman

Please check the top line of yourmailing label. If it shows the

date 20110630, your dues are nowpayable.

To renew, please look for the renew-al envelope in this issue of the PetalPusher. Please remember to completeyour contact information and your soci-ety and chapter dues preferences.

If you have questions about yourmembership status, please contactme (see back page for contact infor-mation).

We value our members and urgeyou to renew today!

New members� Luke & Mikki Foster, West Plains� Theresa Cline, Edwards� Tina Heusler, Steelville�Ray Nabors, Portageville� Sam H. Crowe III, Caruthersville� Frank Rose, Hayti� JoAnn Atwill, Kennett� Brenda Lawrence, Steele�Robert M. Lee, Chesterfield�Warren Taylor, New Bloomfield� Jason Allen, Columbia, Ill.

Juglans The word Juglans is Latin, from jovis

(Jupiter) and glans (an acorn), or “nuts ofJupiter.” According to Roman legend, dur-ing the ‘golden age’, mortals lived uponacorns, while the gods dined upon thesuperior walnuts.

The Greeks were credited with cultivat-ing and improving the size and quality ofthe Persian native species now known as“English walnut”, and the Romans soonintroduced walnut trees throughout most ofEurope. Pliny documented the introductionof the Walnut into Italy from Persia. Whenit was introduced from Italy to Germany, itbecame known as “Wallnus” (foreign orwealthy) in German. It was later anglicizedto the common name “walnut.”

Petal PusherJuly-August 2011 Page 3

Awards recognize efforts of fourAt the past state board meeting in June,

the Missouri Native Plant Societyannounced four awards recipients for theprevious year.

MONPS has presented these awardssince 1986. It is a simple way to thank indi-viduals for outstanding accomplishments toincrease the knowledge about nativeplants in Missouri; working to ensure theprotection of Missouri’s native plantsthrough outreach, education, research; andcountless field work hours.

James William “Bill” Summers, JulianA. Steyermark Award

Bill was presented with the SteyermarkAward for his vast knowledge of the nativeflora and many new plant discoveries inMissouri.

He wrote the book “Missouri Orchids,”which was first published by the MissouriDepartment of Conservation in 1981, witha revised edition published in 1987 and athird edition in 1996.

Among other things, he has collectednearly 11,000 vascular plant specimensfrom Missouri and also has a number ofscientific papers that were published inMissouriensis and other botanical journalsdocumenting his finds.Rick Swopes, Plant Stewardship

AwardRick received the Plant Stewarship

Award for his work on native prairie preser-vation. It is very hard to summarize all thework he has done to help preserve thisdisappearing ecosystem.

He has been the resourcetechnician/Osage Plains native seed har-vesting crew leader for the past nine years.His knowledge of plant identification maybe surpassed by his ability to identify aplant by its seed.

In addition to this demanding job, hegladly offers impromptu prairie tourgroups to young kids, conservation pro-fessionals, college wildlife students, andeven a wandering visitor from anotherstate.

The time spent working within theprairies also has allowed Rick to trackexisting populations and locate new popu-lations of species of concern in Missouriand provide this information to the MissouriNatural Heritage Database.

Alan Brant, Art Christ ResearchAward

Alan was presented with the ChristResearch Award for his valuable work ofsearching and finding Missouri’s state list-ed plants for the past 26 years.

His finds include state records for Melicamutica, (two-flower melic grass), andAneura maxima (a thalloid liverwort). Hehas found innumerable new locationsfor state listed plants in his sur-veys, mostly for U.S.Forest Service and theMissouri Department ofConservation.

Alan, along with RoyGereau, made their bigfind: Boltonia decurrensin an area of St CharlesCounty that would beinundated by the newLock and Dam No. 26.This didn’t stop the build-ing of the dam, but led to arescue operation that resultedin Boltonia now being spread over alarge area. Alan has added about 7,000Missouri specimens to the MissouriBotanic Garden herbarium.

Barbara Van Vleck, Erna EisendrathMemorial Education Award

Presented to Barbara for her exceptionalcontribution in promoting the appreciationof Missouri native plants through outreachand education.

Barbara puts a great deal of her ownresources and time into promoting the appre-ciation of Missouri native plants, wildlife,healthy streams and conservation. Her

devotion to nature and sharing ofknowledge nurtures acommitment for ourwild lands and wildlifein the lives of others for

generations to come. After retiring, Barb

chose to pursue her pas-sion and share it with oth-

ers. She volunteers withthe Missouri Prairie

Foundation, Kansas CityWildlands, Kemper Outdoor

Education Center and MissouriStream Team, among many oth-

ers oriented to the protection of ournatural resources.

Photos by John OliverBill Summers accepts the Julian A. Steyermark Award from George Yatskievych, presi-dent of the Missouri Native Plant Society, at the June 11 state board meeting.

Boltonia decurrens

Petal Pusher July-August 2011Page 4

C H A P T E R R E P O R T S

Hawthorn ChapterSubmitted by John White, chapter representative

The Hawthorn Chapter regular meeting was March 21. Ourguest speaker was Mark Belwood with a presentation on the his-tory of North American prairie and restoration methods, using hisefforts as examples. We have a trip scheduled for July 23 to tourthe restoration plots on Marks farm.

Our booth at the Bradford Farm Plant Sale on April 9, broughtin $795. Then at the Earth Day Fair, in Columbia, we made $671selling plants and books. All the plants for our booth at BradfordFarm, except four dogwoods, were furnished by Becky Ericksonas well as most of the plants on Earth Day. Good weather broughtout people interested in native plant gardening and needing plantsand planting information. As a result, these sales topped all ourprevious records.

On April 23, Mike Leahy, Missouri Department of Conservationnatural areas coordinator, led seven of us on a field trip toGraham Cave State Park, Montgomery County. Afterward, two ofus went on to Danville Conservation Area. At Danville we found alarge area with Indian paintbrush. along the bluff base near theroad, three of which were white. I had never seen white paint-brush although Julian Steyermark, in his “Flora of Missouri,” indi-cated Castilleja coccinea could have red, orange, yellow or whitebracts surrounding the flowers.

At the chapter meeting May 9, Lea Langdon, one of our mem-bers, presented a program on edible wild plants. We learnedwhere to find certain edible plants as well as how to harvest andeat them. Lea provided several raw plant parts and one prepareddish, a frittata with chickweed, stinging nettle and wild onion, plusa mixed green salad, for us to sample. All were surprisingly tasty,including the black locust flowers.

Several members participated in a hike on May 14 at ParisFork, in Callaway County, a U.S. Forest Service area betweenAshland and Fulton. This is an area of deep woods, shadedglades and a creek bottom. We found golden seal, yellow lady’sslipper, adam and eve orchid, wild comfrey and leatherwood,among others, all enlightening on a cloudy, rather dreary day.

Nine people made the trip to Clifty Creek on Sunday, May 22.This area in Maries County includes Clifty Creek ConservationArea (256 acres) and Clifty Creek Natural Area (230 acres). Thearea contains oak-hickory forest, mixed bottomland forest, lime-stone glades and cliffs, and sandstone glades. Clifty and LittleClifty creeks run through the areas with a natural bridge carvedthrough Gasconade dolomite by a tributary of Clifty Creek.

A very scenic, moderately difficult, 2.5-mile loop hiking trail, withtwo creek crossings, leads through both areas. Changes in eleva-tion exceed 200 feet, and there is great diversity along the trail.

Among the many plants seen were yellow ladies slipper, puttyroot, yellow honeysuckle, cliffbrake, spleenwort, climbing milk-weed, golden seal and bladdernut. Some of the critters observedwere a beautiful copperhead relaxing in the middle of the trailthat didn’t want to move and was taken away from the trail (oneperson failed see it and fortunately stepped over it), two male boxturtles, a lizard, honey bees nesting in a den tree and one oven-bird.

This is an excellent hiking area.

Kansas City Chapter Submitted by Daniel Rice, chapter representative

The Kansas City Chapter had its final meeting of the spring onMay 3.

Our intended speaker had to reschedule, so we were able toconduct all the chapter business in an unhurried fashion. We dis-cussed the printing of T-shirts for the Botanical meeting in St.Louis this July, Sue Hollis being in charge of that. We also dis-cussed the upcoming field trip and plant sale.

On Saturday, May 14, five members ventured out on a cold,blustery day to visit the farm of Doug Keever. The farm has arestored prairie where paintbrush, prairie ragwort, prairie phlox,dewberry and prairie wild hyacinth were in bloom. Other plantsseen, but not yet in flower, were purple coneflower, pale purpleconeflower, prairie clover and blazing star.

The farm also has several wooded hollows, where the rare (inMissouri) long-bract frog orchid (Coeloglossum viride) andGaleares spectablis orchids were in bloom, along with lousewort,columbine, woodland phlox, mayapple and Delphinium tricorne.Ferns seen were sensitive fern, fragile fern, horsetail, grape fern,spleenwort and marginal wood fern. It was quite a day’s worth ofexploring!

Saturday, May 21, was our annual plant sale in Kansas City.Members donate extras from their gardens and we then offerthem for sale to the public in Kansas City. Last year the weatherdidn’t cooperate; this year it did. By the end of the day we hadraised a total of $505 for the Hudson fund. Not bad for donatedplants!

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, Sept. 6, at the DiscoveryCenter. We will be meeting at 7 p.m. The topic will be aboutpressing plants specimens. If you have any questions, please feelfree to contact me, either by telephone or e-mail.

Osage Plains ChapterSubmitted by Emily Horner, chapter president

Our annual first rite of spring, the field trip to Carl Peterman’sproperty in Henry Co., was a success once again. April kindlygave a beautiful, warm day for the excursion. We walked the pathto Honey Creek (and back up!) and were especially pleased tofind a couple of the last bloodroot blooms and the beginning of thebluebell blooms. Numerous dogtooth violets (Trout Lily), trilliums,and spring beauties carpeted the dry-mesic/mesic woodland. Aftera short break from plant finding to allow the Horner boys to throwrocks in Honey Creek we made our way back among ferns, bell-worts and Kentucky coffee trees. While not ones to ignore wildlifewhile out, we managed to find a very friendly gray tree frog restingon a fallen log. It was a great way to welcome spring.

As you might have gathered by now, there are some fans ofmilkweeds in our chapter. Everyone knows of Mead’s milkweedin our chapter after my obsessing for the last several years.Now we welcome Casey Burks, who has a fondness for allthings milkweed, with a special fascination for Asclepias quadri-folia. During our April meeting, our chapter’s entomologist pre-

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sented on the many different Asclepias species she has foundand photographed in Missouri. She detailed as well the veryimportant role milkweeds play in the life cycle of monarch but-terflies.

Casey has planted hundreds of seeds and transplanted manymilkweeds around her property in Henry County to develop hermonarch butterfly and larvae way station. She even brought ussome of her newly emerged seedlings so we could plant some aswell. After her presentation we held elections and filled every posi-tion! Thanks to those who volunteered —it will be a great yearahead.

In May, we had the pleasure to visit her property, monarch gar-dens and woodland to see the coveted A. quadrifolia in full bloom.It wasn’t the best of days, as it rained. But when didn’t it rain inMay – we were used to it. It was awesome to see that there werealready monarch caterpillars within her garden of milkweeds andnectar plants.

The monarch butterflies are lucky to have Casey. She and herhusband graciously provided lunch while we held our May meet-ing, which was somewhat solemn as we were updated on thecancer treatments of two of our brave members, and the husbandof a third. Many prayers go out to them.Ozarks ChapterSubmitted by Susan Farrington, chapter representative

Our April meeting was a combined meeting with the WestPlains Master Naturalists chapter. Susan Farrington gave a pres-entation on the natural communities of Missouri, and focusedespecially on wetland natural communities. The evening got espe-cially exciting when severe storms forced us to move to an interiorroom, but we were able to continue the program as the hailpounded the roof above us!

Our May meeting was a field trip to tour the Mountain ViewRotary Park Nature Park and Outdoor Classroom. This park is stillbeing developed and showcases natural habitats and plantsnative to the Howell County area. Jack and Marty Toll have beenworking hard to bring this project on board, and their efforts arepaying off!

Perennis ChapterSubmitted by Allison Vaughn, chapter representative

Big Oak Tree State Park, located outside of East Prairie, haslong been one of the Perennis Chapter’s favorite haunts. Theopen woodlands and bottomland hardwood forests of the desig-nated Big Oak Tree Natural Area represent the last remainingtract of uncut intact forest in the Southeast Missouri Lowlands.Though damaged by many years of altered hydrology, the park’snative flora remained among the richest in the region with assem-blages of giant cane, Clematis crispa and a suite of plants com-monly associated with the Gulf Coastal Plain region.

In early May, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dynamited theBird’s Point levee roughly a half mile from Big Oak Tree StatePark, flooding 300,000 acres of farmland and the park. Aerial pho-tos revealed sediment laden waters nearly covering the canopy.

The damage caused by the force of floodwaters remainsunknown, and the impacts of standing water for weeks on endand the resulting sediment load to the park’s fragile flora may bedetrimental. At the time of this writing, the park remains floodedand closed to the public.

St. Louis Chapter Submitted by Pat Harris, chapter representative

The scheduled speaker for the St. Louis Chapter meeting onApril 27 had to cancel at the last moment.

On very short notice, James C. Trager, biologist-naturalist atShaw Nature Reserve, Gray Summit, Mo., rose to the occasionand offered to present a program on his observations regardingrestoration of various natural communities in Missouri. Trager hasbeen a key figure in the design and implementation of the continu-ing restoration at the 2,500 acre Shaw Nature Reserve for thepast 20 years.

A general overview of the history, distribution and often misun-derstood landscape condition of oak savanna woodland in NorthAmerica was presented. The essential role of fire in maintainingthe vegetative structure which, when intact, is also a strong deter-rent to the invasion of exotic species, was discussed in somelength. While much historical information and data about fire, itsfrequency and intensity, has recently been compiled, the best fireregime, at any particular site, to replicate the historical history ofthis natural phenomenon is still controversial and requires furtherstudy.

Turning to reflections on the prescribed fire regime work doneat Shaw Nature Reserve as an example, Trager observed howthe pre-settlement distribution of Juniperus virginiana (red cedar)was originally restricted to bluffs and edges versus the presentubiquitous invasion across the midwest due to fire suppression.Also how Quercus shumardii var. schneckii (Schneck’s oak) andQuercus muehlenbergii (chinkapin oaks) have tended to be foundat the lower edges of glades whereas Quercus stellata (post oak)is on the ridges above glades.

The glades at Shaw are on dolomite substrate but glades canoccur on any rock type. He presented a few images of animal lifeon glades such as the tarantula, six-lined race-runner and theplains stripped scorpion.

The prairies and prairie marsh maintained at Shaw NatureReserve are all reconstructed after great efforts over the years bymany dedicated people who have an interest in preserving ele-ments of our natural history.

Many thanks to Dr. Trager for filling in.Our speaker for May, was Nick Krekeler, project manager for

DJM Ecological Services. He concentrated on work done for hismaster’s degree. He evaluated several treatments to establishoak reproduction in an existing bottomland, in particular aQuercus palustris (pin oak) forest at Duck Creek ConservationArea and Mingo National Wildlife Refuge.

He gave a short history of bottomland forest in the Southeastregion of the United States about the transition from the largest

Petal PusherJuly-August 2011 Page 5

C H A P T E R R E P O R T SFrom the previous page

Continued page 7

Petal Pusher July-August 2011Page 6

Savannah blazing starBy Susan Farrington

While working as a botanist for theMissouri Ozark Forest Ecosystem Project,one of the things I enjoyed most was find-ing rare species in our study plots. Themost diverse plots are those located ondolomite glades, which might feature over100 species in a half acre! Also verydiverse are the rich dolomite woodlandsfound below such glades, which might fea-ture up to 80 species in a half acre. Thesewoodlands feature sun-loving species atthe edge of the glade and more shade-tol-erant and moisture-loving species lower onthe slope.

One species that we found in a richdolomite woodland is savanna blazing star(Liatris scariosa var. nieuwlandii).

This is an especially beautiful species ofblazing star, featuring very large shaggyball-shaped flowers in September. It is list-ed as state imperiled in Missouri and isconsidered uncommon or rare throughoutits range in the Midwest and NortheasternUnited States.

When we found it in one of our MOFEPplots, we saw only the basal leaves, sinceit blooms after our sampling season. Andalthough it is more shade tolerant than allthe other Liatris species in Missouri, thiswoodland was becoming much too heavilyovergrown from the long absence of fire.We did, however, find one or two strug-gling flower stems, so I returned inSeptember to see it in bloom and confirmthat our vegetative identification of thespecies was correct.

To identify this species in bloom, notethat the bracts at the base of the flowersare not swollen, as they are for rough blaz-ing star (Liatris aspera). Another very closelook-alike is southern blazing star (Liatrissquarrulosa), which has fewer florets perhead (11-28) than does savanna blazingstar (28-80 florets per head). When count-ing these florets, use the largest flowerhead, which appears at the top of the inflo-rescence and is the first to bloom. Thepeduncles (flower stalks) at the base ofeach flower head tend to be longer forsavanna blazing star, but I have occasion-ally seen some overlap in this character onsouthern blazing star, so I prefer to countflorets (even if it does make me cross-eyed!)

Vegetatively, this species has muchwider and often more ovate leaves thaneither of the other two species, 2-5 cmacross compared to 1-2 cm for the othertwo narrower-leaved species.

In my neck of the woods in ShannonCounty, I generally see the three speciesin different habitats, with rough blazing starusually on open dolomite glades, southernblazing star preferring dry chert woodlandsand savanna blazing star preferring some-what more mesic dolomite woodlands. Inother areas of the state and country,savanna blazing star is found in prairies. I

am guessing thatat a minimum itneeds a deeperand somewhatmoister soil, whichis available indolomite wood-lands and prairies,but not in dry chertwoodlands ordolomite glades.

Accompanyingour exciting find inthat study plot wasa very beautifuland not very com-mon native grasscalled silver plumegrass (Erianthusalopecuroides). Idon’t see this grassoften, but oneplace to see it bythe thousands is atthe recentlyrestoredCoppermineHollow Glade onAngelineConservation Areain ShannonCounty, just northof Eminence. It istruly spectacular inmid to lateSeptember. In ourlittle plot, however,it was struggling tofind sunshine andshowed no sign ofgetting ready tobloom.

To help thesetwo unusual species, botany crew mem-bers Chad Doolen and Dustin Cramerhauled chainsaws down a steep hill to theplot, and we set about thinning the youngwoody trees and shrubs that were invad-ing the woodland and glade in theabsence of fire.

Because this plot is part of a long-termexperiment that does not include a firetreatment at this time, we will not be ableto burn here. But forest management prac-tices such as our thinning are part of the

Photos by Susan FarringtonSavanna blazing star is a very showy species to grow in yourgarden, growing in half sun to full sun. Migrating monarchs andmany other species of butterflies flock to the blossoms.

see LIATRIS, next page

Petal PusherJuly-August 2011 Page 7

contiguous forest thru the exploitation period leading up to today’scondition where Duck Creek and Mingo are the only remainingrepresentative landscapes in Missouri.

He included a brief political history on how the state of Missouricame to have a “bootheel” as part of its boundaries.

Nick also gave a summary of native orchid and other plant tis-sue culture work along with a few examples of these placed intovarious native habitat reconstructions and restorations in easternMissouri. Some of his successes were: Aplectrum hyemale (puttyroot); Cypripedium calceolus var. parviflorum (small yellow lady’sslipper) and C. calceolus var. pubescens (large yellow lady’s slip-per); Platanthera peramoena (purple fringeless orchid);Calopogon tuberosus (grass pink); and several varieties ofSpiranthes (ladies’ tresses).

Southwest Missouri ChapterSubmitted by Brian Edmond, chapter representative

Dr Ioana Popescu, associate professor of biology at DruryUniversity, presented an overview of culture and botany in hernative country of Romania. During her presentation, we learnedof the Romanians love of cut flowers for every occasion. She alsotalked about botanical surveys in the country’s park system andsaw some habitats and wildflower species adapted to a dry, karstregion, much like the Ozarks.

May’s meeting consisted of a brief period weeding thenative wetland at the Botanical Center. Also, Rhonda Rimer,Natural History Biologist with the Missouri Department ofConservation, gave a great talk about Virginia sneezeweed. Asit turns out, the plant should really be renamed MissouriSneezeweed since we appear to have more populations of thespecies than Viriginia.

Our chapter will be searching for Virginia sneezeweed inGreene and surrounding counties beginning this July. An identifi-cation guide will be distributed to the e-mail list and our Facebookpage along with likely habitat to find the plant.

The area’s elevation and the presence of numerous sinkholeand artificial ponds presents a high probability of extending therange of the Virginia sneezeweed into several areas of southwestMissouri.

The woodland garden at the Springfield Botanical Center isunder construction. The area has been cleared of underbrushand automatic pop-up sprinklers are being installed. With soilenhancement and the placement of walking stones and mulch,we will soon be ready to proceed with the transplants provided bySue Hollis of Kansas City.

The rain garden planting at the botanical center has made asuccessful transition into the spring. The excessive rainfall overthe past month has resulted in optimal growing conditions for thegarden.

C H A P T E R R E P O R T S

From page 5study. We hope that by giving these species some additional light,they and the whole natural community will benefit, and we willtrack their progress.

Susan Farrington is the Ozark Region natural history biologistfor the Missouri Department of Conservation.

The bracts at the base of the flowers of Liatris scariosa var.nieuwlandii are not swollen, as they are for rough blazing star(Liatris aspera).

LIATRIS, from the previous page

The basal leaves of Liatris scariosa var. nieuwlandii.

Petal Pusher July-August 2011Page 8

By Emily Horner

It was a cool day, in comparison to theweek that proceeded. The Osage PlainsChapter members congregated in theparking lot of the Valley View Church out-side Lowry City to join the owners andstewards of a beautifully diverse dry-mesicsandstone prairie for a morning walkamong the flowers.

Last year we were blessed with grasspink orchid and a county record for cancerroot. Hoping to relocate the orchid, we hadour eyes set for the last remaining blooms.Alas, we only were deceived by phlox andsensitive briar from afar. The pale purpleconeflowers delighted, as did the leadplantand goat’s rue.

This prairie has been kept from plowingby the very shallow soil and the steward-ship of the Conrad and Neuenschwanderfamilies. Primarily hayed each year, thispast year portions were burned, restedand hayed, which allowed for usbotanists/prairie ecologists to look at howdifferent the prairie was based on manage-ment. And it was different. Burning led toblooms, resting led to grass and hayingwas in between.

We had reached the furthest west pointof our outing and were headed back to thechurch parking lot to complete the wonder-ful morning with lunch. Still on the lookoutfor new plants to list, we had slowed ourenthusiasm a bit. However, the nativeplanters of the Osage Plains chapter, likemany others, never do give up wanting tolearn, especially wildflowers. So when Dr.Bernie Henehan asked for us to turn backand look at one last flower, we did.

I knew what it was immediately evenfrom 15 feet away. I had seen this plant inmy sleep the last eight years while doingsurveys every spring. I had always thoughtit should be here on this impeccableprairie. And it was. Asclepias meadii

(Mead’s milkweed). I screamed. So loud Imade others wonder if we had been snakebit. Bernie was so calm about it all. I justkept screaming.

This was the second prairie in eightyears where a new population of Mead’smilkweed was discovered on a prairie inMissouri. All others were relocating knownsites. For those who may not be familiarwith Mead’s milkweed, it is endangered inMissouri, threatened federally and reallyonly known from prairies and igneousglades in Missouri and Kansas.

It was blooming, but about done. When Itouched the plant flowers fell to theground, not pollinated. We took photos, fin-ished being in awe and started towardsthe church again. We were about there

when Bernie looked down and said, “Hereis another one.”

He was so calm and matter of fact.Here I was the Mead’s milkweed recoveryleader for Missouri for six years — neversaw one the entire two hours of looking forit. And here was Bernie, a doctor who real-ly likes plants, out to learn and enjoy theday, discovering a needle in a haystack. Itwas awesome.

Thanks, Bernie, for making our day andbeing diligent in your native plant search-ing and for joining our chapter last year!!!

In total we found two plants, six stems.Each plant had a flowering stem. Howmany more are out there? Maybe nextyear we can discover the answer… or atleast find more.

Dr. Bernie Henehan at a new location of Mead’s milkweed.

Doctorfinds a needle in haystack

Petal PusherJuly-August 2011 Page 9

Fire shaped Missouri’s natural communitiesBy Allison Vaughn

Naturally occurring and anthropogenicwildfires helped to shape Missouri’sdiverse prairie, savanna, woodland, gladeand wetland natural communities for thou-sands of years.

It is widely accepted that followingEuropean settlement, large, landscape-scale fires seldom occurred to the degreein which they did previously. The suppres-sion of wildfires coupled with devastatingopen-range overgrazing and poor agricul-ture resulted in the rapid degradation ofwide swaths of Missouri’s ecosystems.

For the past 30 years, Missouri landmanaging agencies continue to restorenatural communities by implementing pre-scribed fire and cutting undesirable woodyvegetation across distinctive ecologicallandscape types.

In 1983, after witnessing the positiveeffects of prescribed fire in a small patch ofwoodlands at Cuivre River State Park,then-chief of the Natural History Program(division of Missouri State Parks) PaulNelson lit the first match on a 40-acre tractof woodlands at Ha Ha Tonka State Park,thus ushering in the institutionalization ofprescribed fire in Missouri’s woodlands.Even before the 1980s, private landownersthroughout the Niangua Basin burned theirlands each spring, often following EasterSunday services. The diverse open wood-lands in the region, woodlands managedwith fire continuously for the past 5,000years, served as testament to the impor-tance of sustaining an ancient naturalprocess on a landscape level.

Today, land managing agencies acrossMissouri prescribe burn about 60,000acres each year, a small fraction of thestate’s total land cover.

Taking a cue from private landownersand the frequent occurrences of wildfiresin Missouri, prescribed fire events in the1980s were often conducted in the spring.Wildfires continue to burn the landscapemost every spring, but some land manag-ing agencies recognize the importance ofdiversity in fire regimes that mimic naturalpatterns. Alternating seasons (spring, sum-mer, fall, winter), fire return intervals, andburning under varying weather parametersare integral to emulating natural distur-bance processes.

The diversity of the park’s heteroge-

neous matrix of dry chert woodlands inter-spersed with dolomite glades and closedwoodlands with their rich floral and faunalpopulations remains integral to the suc-cess of the fire program. About 43% of thepark is in fire rotation, with fire return inter-vals stretching from one year to six. Parkstaff conduct burns alternating betweendormant and growing seasons, and vary-ing fire intensities derived from landform,weather and seasonal parameters. Thewoodland flora at Ha Ha Tonka remainssome among the richest in Missouri.

In the 1990s, Becky Erickson, then aUniversity of Missouri Master’s candidate,conducted a three-year study on smallmammals at Ha Ha Tonka State Park. Inshort, she discovered that animal abun-dance and diversity correlated positivelywith decreased shrubby cover andincreased herbaceous cover. In areas ofthe park that are not managed with fire,animal abundance and diversity was lower.Small mammal species richness was high-est in the Turkey Pen Hollow burn unit(site of the first fire event in 1983) becauseit was the most vegetatively heteroge-neous region in the park. Patchy, dense

cover and areas of exposed rocky soilderived from the diversity in the fireregimes favored Eastern wood rats andwhite-footed mice. Seasonal and annualshifts also occurred during her study, withshort-tailed shrews occurring more fre-quently in areas with dense leaf litter, whilechipmunks depended on exposed, rockysoil for building tunnels. The study foundthat the availability of insects and seedsderived from a diverse ground flora andfire regime supported thriving populationsof small mammals.

Upon glancing at the woodlands at HaHa Tonka, it may seem that the understoryis dominated by native warm seasongrasses. However, based on many yearsof vegetation data collection, forbs accountfor over 60% of the total cover with asmany as 300 species occurring within drychert woodland alone. The park representsa historic landscape in the Niangua Basin,one managed with fire, with ancient land-forms that dictate how fire moves acrossthe landscape. Just as fire influences thevegetation at Ha Ha Tonka, the vegetationimpacts how fire behaves in this remnantof an Ozark past.

Photo by Allison VaughnControlled burns help Missouri land management agencies restore natural communitiesby eliminating undesirable woody vegetation.

Petal Pusher July-August 2011Page 10

President George Yatskievych (GY) calledthe meeting to order at 7:15 p.m. A quorumwas present. One change and one additionto the agenda were made. John Oliver (JO)volunteered to serve as the recorder.Treasurer’s Report — Bob Siemer

reported that our finances are in goodshape. The Hudson Fund is responsible forthe majority of the increase shown. Bob willput another $1,500 in a CD designated forthe Hudson Fund.

PUBLICATIONS & MEDIAPetal Pusher— Chuck Robinson who

has done such a great job with the newslet-ter, needs to step down. GY asked thechapter representatives to check with theirmembers to see if anyone was willing toassume the position. Distribution Chairman — Bill Knight

was not present. GY mentioned it was thepost office that had delayed the delivery ofthe last Petal Pusher issue to some.Publicity Chairman — No report.MONPS Website — GY mentioned

there were some problems with updatingthe website. He will contact David Winnand encourage him to try to update morefrequently.Missouriensis — GY has started to put

together the 30th anniversary issue. Hementioned Doug Ladd’s symposium manu-script is the only thing needed to completethe issue and it is half done. Once the 30thanniversary issue is published, the next willfollow quickly. Both will be published afterJuly 1 this year.

COMMITTEES & TASK FORCESMembership — Ann Earley reported that

we have 20 new members since the lastmeeting for a total of 314. She also statedthat the chapter representatives havereceived their updated rosters and they willreceive their checks after this meeting.Hudson Award — GY said five of the

six applications for the award this yearwere top quality. The $1,000 Award wasgiven to Steve Kroiss from WashingtonUniversity. Another project presented by anundergraduate at College of the Ozarkswhich requested only travel expenses total-ing $400 was funded from operating funds

after an e-mail vote by the board.Archives — Jack Harris has finished

organizing the early organic materials andcontinues to work on projects and pro-grams.Elections — The nominating commit-

tee’s job is finished and the ballot is out.Jack and Pat Harris will be compiling thevotes. The only contested race is that forvice president. GY thanked SusanFarrington for her service. The results willbe announced at the annual meeting.Awards Committee — Nadia Navarette-

Tindall sent a report stating there were fournominations for the four awards. All receivedwere accepted. Nadia will order the plaques.

SOCIETY BUSINESSPoster — GY attended a meeting in

Columbia with MODOT focusing on printinga poster of roadside wildflowers — bothnative and non-native with an emphasis onnative. Similar posters have been done inother states. MODOT will pay for the print-ing. A committee will be responsible fordeciding which species to use, solicitingpictures from members as well as lookingthrough the MONPS slides held by SteveTimme, and writing the text. GY felt it wouldbe nice to have this work done by the endof the year. GY will send an e-mail to Steveabout access to the archive of photo-graphs. Chapter representatives wereasked to encourage their members to vol-unteer for the poster committee.Summary of Recent E-Business — A

request from Teaming With Wildlife wasreceived asking that MONPS be listed asan organization requesting that funding forstate wildlife grants not be dropped fromthe federal budget. There were no objec-tions so GY wrote that it was OK to use ourname. A request from Amy Hamilton wasreceived concerning the Pollinator HabitatSpecs. The current rules state that all mate-rials be from Missouri. The Dept of Ag hassuggested that out of state materials couldbe used 50/50. Amy requested we object tothe proposed rule change. There was noconsensus so GY did not send a letter. Asmentioned in the Awards committee reporta $400 research project was okayed to befunded from operating funds.MONPS Tote Sacks — Another 48

sacks which will sell for $12 have beenordered in order to have some available forsale at MONPS booths.New T-shirts — Paul Nelson has agreed

to draw the design for a new T-shirt. He willincorporate orchids from different naturalcommunities in different colors. MONPSwill have all property rights with Paul retain-ing the original artwork. Doug Miller will bethe graphic designer for the project. He andAllison Vaughn will put together a list ofquestions for various printers to determinethe cost of six-color T-shirts, thickness oflines in the design, turn-around time, etc.Bids will be solicited from the Kansas Cityarea by Sue Hollis, the Columbia area byDoug and the St. Louis area by GY. Wewould like to have the T-shirts by July 1st inorder to have them for sale at the Botany2011 Conference.Botany 2011 Conference — The con-

ference is scheduled for July 10-13 at theChase Park Plaza in St Louis. Sue Holliswill staff the booth for the conference butneeds one or two people to help. Chapterrepresentatives are requested to ask theirmembers if anyone is available and let GYknow. Sue would like to have a variety ofitems to sell — the new T-shirt, totes andseveral other T-shirts. A discussion onwhich T-shirts to reprint in order to have avariety to sell was held. Bob Siemermotioned with Dan Rice seconding thatthree of the four presented be reprinted.The motion passed. Sue also requestedeach chapter to send all T-shirts currentlyon hand to her for sale at the conference.Patch-Burn Grazing — JO gave an

overview of patch-burn grazing in Missouriand a report on the March 29 meeting andthe April 26 workshop. MONPS Statewide Locality Database —

Brian Edmond presented a prototype. Hisgoals are to digitize and summarize the dataavailable and have a site that the public canuse. He will need volunteers to enter “paper”data and a system manager(s) to overseeusage based on the sensitivity of the informa-tion. Brian stated his next step is to get allpossible species from Missouri entered in thedatabase and then create a live database forthose who are interested to enter data andtry to pull out reports as a test phase. GYthanked Brian for all his work to date.

Quarterly Board Meeting April 30 in Joplin, Mo,

ues to work on projects and programs.

Petal PusherJuly-August 2011 Page 11

INFORMATION ON JOINING THE MISSOURI NATIVE PLANT SOCIETYSOCIETY DUES

(Chapter dues additional)Student dues . . . . . . . . . . .$5Regular . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$10Contributing . . . . . . . . . . .$20Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$200

(Circle all above that apply)$______ Contribution for student research award (Hudson Fund)

�All contributions are tax deductible �

Make checks payable to Missouri Native Plant SocietyMail to: Missouri Native Plant Society

P.O. Box 440353St. Louis, MO 63144-4353

Name: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Street: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _City, state: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _9-digit ZIP: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Phone: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _E-mail: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

CHAPTER DUESColumbia . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$6Kansas City . . . . . . . . . . . .$5Osage Plains . . . . . . . . . . .$5Ozarks Native Plant . . . . . .$5Perennis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5St. Louis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5Southwest Missouri . . . . . .$5

By Barbara Fairchild

If you are looking for a plant that beginsblooming in July heat, take a look at roseturtlehead (Chelone obliqua). One gardenwriter calls it the “pillar” of her garden. Itssolid presence actslike a social glue, shewrites. Many admirerose turtlehead for its,stiffly erect, semi-glossy, dark-greenfoliage that addsstructure to a land-scape all seasonlong. Its appealincreases in mid- tolate July, when flow-ers appear in clusters on spike-like stalks.These snapdragon-like flowers range incolor from light pink to deep rose. A closerelative, white turtlehead (Chelone glabra)has white flowers.

For some, the two lips of the flower con-jure up a vision of a turtlehead, giving it thecommon name of rose turtlehead. Othercommon names include shell flower, bal-mony, snake head and turtlebloom. Thescientific name Chelone (which, by theway, rhymes with baloney) is Greek for tur-tle. In Greek mythology, Chelone, a femalenature spirit, insulted the gods either bynot attending or by making fun of the mar-riage of Zeus and Hera. The insulted godspunished her by turning her into a turtle.

As do some turtle species, rose turtle-head prefers moist to wet soil and full sunto part shade. In Missouri it typically is

found in wet to moist floodplain forests,soggy meadows and partially shadedseeps and springs. In cultivated land-scapes, turtlehead does best in rich,organic soil that receives some moisturewhen temperatures are high. It thrives in

composted leaf mulch—especially if in full sunareas. The plant makesa good addition towoodland gardens, boggardens and the banksof pond and water gar-dens.

When mature, roseturtlehead can reachheights of four feet, buttypically is somewhat

shorter. To ensure shorter heights, pinchback the ends of stem in spring. This isespecially true for plants growing in fullshade, where plants tend to grow tallerand may need support unless pinchedback.

The plant spreads slowly by rhizomesand provides nectar for bumblebees andhummingbirds. It also serves as a host forthe Baltimore checkerspot. While the lar-vae of this butterfly thrive on the leaves,deer avoid its bitter foliage. NativeAmericans used portions of turtlehead toimprove appetite, ease fevers and treatworms and sores. Tea made from the flow-ers was used as a laxative and some ref-erences point to use for jaundice and birthcontrol.

If you decide to use rose turtlehead inyour landscape, be aware that plants sold

as Chelone obliqua in mass market nurs-eries may be hybrids rather than open-pol-linated species. This is especially true fornamed varieties. To find the species nativeto Missouri, go to www.grownative.org andclick on Buyer’s Guide.

Barbara Fairchild is the communica-tions specialist for Grow Native.

Rose Turtlehead

Rose turtlehead, Chelone obliqua, is astiffly erect, clump-forming Missouri nativeperennial that typically grows 2-3 feet tall in moist woods, swampy areas and alongstreams.

Missouri Native Plant Society Officers and Board Members

The Petal Pusher is printed on recycled paper

Vol. 26, No. 4July-August 2011

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:• September field trip details• MONPS honors four• Savannah blazing star

Missouri Native Plant SocietyP.O. Box 440353St. Louis, MO 63144-4353ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Non–Profit OrganizationU.S. Postage

PAIDSt. Louis, MO

Permit No. 1720

July-August 2011Page 12

PRESIDENTPaul McKenzie 2311 Grandview CircleColumbia, MO 65203573-445–3019paul_mckenzie@fws.govVICE PRESIDENTJohn Oliver4861 Gatesbury Dr.St. Louis, MO 63128314-487–5924joliver02@earthlink.netSECRETARYAnn Schuette 303 Spring Church Rd. Troy, MO 63379 636-528-6544 basch@centurytel.net TREASURERBob Siemer74 Conway Cove DriveChesterfield, MO 63017636-537–2466aee623@prodigy.netIMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENTGeorge YatskievychMissouri Botanical GardenPO Box 299St. Louis, MO 63166314-577–9522 (w)george.yatskievych@mobot.org

BOARD MEMBERSAllison Vaughn (’11-’14)311 Ridgeway Columbia, MO 65203573-703-6448)allisonjv@yahoo.comRobin Kennedy (’11-’14)University of Missouri HerbariumColumbia, MO 65211-3170573-882–6519kennedyr@missouri.eduBruce Schuette (‘10-’13)678 St. Route 147Troy, MO 63379636-528–7247 (w)basch@centurytel.netSherry Leis (‘09–’12) 533 S. Forest Ct. Springfield, MO 65806 417-836-8919prairienut1@gmail.comTed Bolich (’09 - '12) 1201 S. 7th St.Clinton, MO 64735660-890-4983

MISSOURIENSIS CO–EDITORSGeorge YatskievychDoug LaddThe Nature Conservancy2800 S. Brentwood Blvd.St. Louis, MO 63144314-968–1105 (w)PETAL PUSHER EDITORChuck Robinson

DISTRIBUTION MANAGERBill Knight 7175 Old Lemay Ferry RoadBarnhart, MO 63012314-856-5167knight-bill@sbcglobal.net EDITORIAL COMMITTEEElizabeth HooperJay RaveillTim SmithARCHIVESJack Harris9708 Green Park Rd.St. Louis, MO 63123314-368-0655jahar@mac.comENVIRONMENT AND EDUCATIONJohn Oliver

MEMBERSHIPAnn Earley1425 Bobolink Pl.St. Louis, MO 63144-1128314-963–0103aee623@prodigy.netPUBLICITYKevin Bley4 Zinzer Ct.Grantwood Village, MO 63123314-729-0335bley435@yahoo.comWEBMASTERDavid Winn7302 Rosewood Dr.Prairie Village, KS 66208913-432-4220David@SouthForkPrairie.com

CHAPTER REPRESENTATIVES

HAWTHORNJohn White5100 Sandstone Dr,Columbia, MO 65202573-886-8698rstywhit@yahoo.comKANSAS CITYDaniel Rice815 W. 31st St.Independence, MO 64055816-461-0206Drice95875@aol.comOSAGE PLAINSCasey Burks,

914 SE Highway ZZDeepwater, MO 64740515-291-1550mobugwoman@gmail.comOZARKS Susan FarringtonMDC Ozark Regional Office 551 Joe Jones Blvd.West Plains, MO 65775417-255–9561 Ext. 307 (w)Susan.Farrington@mdc.mo.govPERENNISAllison VaughnAlso a board memberSOUTHWEST MISSOURIBrian Edmond8878 N FR 75Walnut Grove, MO 65770417-742-9438brianedmond@missouristate.eduST. LOUISPat Harris9708 Green Park Rd.St. Louis, MO 63123314-503-8558paharris@mac.com