NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS N e w s P€¦ · However, such women as Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717)...

April 4, 2019 Program

“Monarch Stewardship in Parker County”by Megan Davis McConnell

PS O T

NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS

N e w sNative Plant Society of Texas,

North Central Chapter Newsletter

Vol 31, Number 4, April 2019

Visit us atncnpsot.org &

www.txnativeplants.org

Chapter of the Year (2016/17)

April Meeting

Program by Megan Davis McConnell Normal Meeting Times:

6:00 Social, 6:30 Business7:00 Program

Lecture HallDeborah Beggs Moncrief

Garden CenterFort Worth Botanic Garden

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Program details on Page 33

http://ncnpsot.org

http://www.txnativeplants.org

President’s Corner by Karen Harden ......................... p. 3fCrazy Plant Ladies through the ages by Martha Mullens .......................................... p. 5ffFlower of the Month, Bluebonnet by Josephine Keeney ........................................ p. 8fActivities & Volunteering for February 2019 by Martha Mullens ....................................... p. 10ffMullein by Martha Mullens ....................................... p. 13ffStork's bill by Troy Mullens ....................................... p. 16Membership by Donna Honkomp ............................ p. 172019 - Area Native Plant Sales .................................. p. 17Bluebonnet, NICE! Plant of the Season by Dr. Becca Dickstein ..................................... p. 18Answer to last month’s puzzle and a new puzzle ...... p. 19“April Calendar” Page by Troy Mullens .................... p. 20Feb. Meeting Minutes by Debbie Stilson .................. p. 21fPrairie Notes 147 by Don Young ............................... p. 23Chisholm Trail Community Park By Donna Honkomp ....................................... p. 24March Program by Ray Conrow ............................... p. 25Hospitality Report by Corinna Benson .................... p. 25Demonstration Gardens by Gailon Hardin w/ Josephine Kinney ........ p. 26April Program Summary & Bio ................................. p. 33American Women Botanists: by Martha Mullens .......................................... p. 34fMary Motz Wills by Martha Mullens ....................... p. 36fField Trips by Eric Johnson ........................................ p. 36Ohio Spiderwort by Suzette Rogers .......................... p. 37fAmerican Beautyberry by Karan Rawlins ................ p. 39fParting Shots by the Editors ....................................... p. 41fNC Texas Pollinator Garden Plants ........................... p. 44Join NPSOT, Mission Statement, May Program ....... p. 45

Index Chapter Leaders

President — Karen Harden [email protected] President — Kim ConrowVice President & Programs — Ray ConrowRecording Secretary — Debbie StilsonTreasurer — Vanessa WojtasHospitality Chair — Corinna BensonMembership Chair — Donna HonkompEvents Chair — Chairperson neededNICE! Coordinator — Rozanna FrancisPlant Sales Coordinators - Gailon Hardin, Sandy Fountain & Josephine Keeney Education Chair — Bill Freiheit Webmaster — Frank KeeneyField Trips — Eric JohnsonSpeaker’s Bureau — Theresa ThomasOutreach Chair — Laura PennParliamentarian — Martha MullensFacebook Manager — Sandra FountainNewsletter Editor — Troy Mullens [email protected] Newsletter Editor — Martha MullensSouthwest Subcourthouse Garden Leaders Gailon Hardin & Dawn HancockNative Plant Gardens at the Southwest Regional Library Leaders — Theresa Thomas & Char McMorrowMolly Hollar Wildscape Garden Leader — Ann KnudsenFielder House Garden Leaders — Josephine Keeney & Jane OsterhuisPublicity Chair — Vicki GleasonNLCP Classes Coordinator — Merita Knapp ©

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Membership price increases April 1.

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April 2019 NPSOT News North Central Texas Chapter

The President’s Corner - April 2019 - by Karen Harden

Presidents Corner Continued on Page 4

Gardens are not made by singing “Oh, how beau-tiful” and sitting in the shade. Rudyard Kipling

Sometimes, it seems, life gets in the way of life. On one side, life, this past month has been cra-zy with work, family, friends, spring break, and chapter business. On the other, my nature life, which is to spend time in my little pocket prairie, seems to have been put on the back burner. Al-though I enjoyed every minute of life, well, most of it, I find I myself yearning to get back to nature to restore my soul. I need a good dose of it. I had plans for this winter to begin creating native plant gardens my yard. But, alas, I am behind the curve ball again this year. So, it is my little plot of land that I will enjoy with it’s bluebonnets, mallows, paintbrushes, prairie verbena, and antelope milk-weeds for my spring viewing pleasure. I’ll even share a few pictures with you.

I cannot offer much advice for your gardens, ex-cept that if you are planning to create native gar-dens, know your plant needs, i.e. soil preference, light requirements, water needs. If you buy seeds, be sure to read the mixture. Just like food prod-ucts, the first listing is the most prevalent. Buying seeds from “box” stores, the first seed in the pack-et may be African daisies. Folks, we live in Texas. We do not need African daisies in our landscapes. Also, be aware of fillers such as rice hulls. Don’t

waste your money buying rice hulls. There are a few native seed companies that offer true Texas native seeds. Google Texas native seed compa-nies to see what is out there. If you are interested in live plants, there are many plant sales com-ing up. Check out our website for a listing of area sales. Our Chapter’s plant sale is May 4 at the River Legacy Park Elm Grove Pavilion in Ar-lington. Come early! We have grown into a very popular plant sale. There is usually a line waiting when we open at 10:00 a.m. Many volunteers will be on hand to help you with your selections. We even have wagons to help haul your bounty to your vehicle.Another event that is happening April 26-29 is the 3rd annual iNaturalist City Nature Challenge. During a 4-day bioblitz, competing cities and their citizens snap pictures of plants and wildlife, and even evidence of Wildlife. Then they upload their pictures to the iNaturalist App. It is a fun way to get out, observe nature and compete with other cities while helping scientists, experts, and other naturalists across the globe. For more in-formation visit iNaturalist.org. From here you can download the app from the AppStore or Google Play. Once you have the app, start shar-ing your observations.

More Photos on Page 4

http://iNaturalist.org


The President’s Corner - April 2019 - by Karen HardenContinued from Page 3

Jewel beetle

Bluebonnets

Paint brush

Carolina phlox


This is not a book review, but rather a review of an article from a blog on-line. I will only write a shortened version about two of them. It will be worth your time to read all of it. The text will edu-cate you, the artwork is spectacular, and the pho-tos interesting. The article is about seven women who have shaped the study of botany because of their enthusiastic love for plants and nature. Don’t feel bad if you haven’t heard of most of them. I didn't know about four of them. Three are not Ameri-can and none are Texan, but their stories are fascinating and inspiring.

Until perhaps the 20th cen-tury women were excluded from the scientific studies of plants. It was acceptable for women to collect, record, and draw natural objects, but this was deemed a hob-by. The painting of plants or animals was qualified as art, no matter how accurate and detailed the drawing.

However, such women as Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717) opened the door to the studies of the natural world by women. Because Merian was born in Prague and lived most of her life in Am-sterdam, you probably have never heard of her.

During her lifetime, she was a respected artist of plants and insects. At first, she copied some drawings of flowers from other famous artists of her time because the primary reason for her artwork was to serve as patterns for embroidery

Continued on Page 6

Crazy Plant Ladies Through the Ages - by Martha Mullens

Women Naturalists, Botanists, & HorticulturistsWho Made History

by Stephanie Rosesince that was an accepted pastime for women. Later she began more careful studies of living subjects, especially insects.

Her precise drawings of carefully detailed insects look more like the work of a naturalist than an amateur artist. Starting in 1675 she published the first volume of what would become a three-vol-ume series of beautiful botanical illustrations

called Neues Blumenbuch (The New Book of Flowers). Each volume contained 12 plates which she hand col-ored on vellum using water-colors and gouache because women were not allowed to paint in oil.

Marian shifted her focus from the plants with in-sects on them, to the insects themselves. In her time, in-sects were considered in-consequential and not wor-thy of scientific inquiry. There were many common misconceptions about the

metamorphosis of insects. Her painstaking stud-ies shed new insight into their life cycles. Over her lifetime, she collected and observed the life cycles of 186 different insect species.

In 1679, she published The Caterpillars’ Mar-velous Transformation and Strange Floral Food, which was a detailed study of the metamorphosis of butterflies. She was the first person to careful-ly observe the eating behavior of caterpillars and discovered which food plants were necessary for

Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717)


Continued from Page 5Crazy Plant Ladies Through the Ages - by Martha Mullens

which species of butterfly. Her work went on to influence many male scientists, including Carl Linnaeus (responsible for the binary system of naming plants and animals by genus and species) and Charles Darwin.

There are many more entries about this fascinat-ing woman that you can look up on Google. Many of her paintings can be seen in the Wikipedia ar-ticle about her. You can also purchase reprints of her books and paintings on-line and at amazon.com. If you are concerned about how authentic the drawings look, do some re-search before buying because some of these reprints are not true to the original colors as she published them. There are also books about her life and art available at amazon.com and on eBay.

Another female botanist that is virtually unknown to Amer-icans is Anna Children Atkins (1799-1871) who was born in England. Her claim to fame is that she is the first person to publish a book illustrated with photographic images. She may also be the first woman to create a photograph.

Because her mother died soon after she was born, she became close to her father from whom she re-ceived an unusual scientific education. Her father translated and published in 1823 Lamarck’s Gen-era of Shells, and Anna made detailed engravings to illustrate it.

In 1825, she married John P. Atkins. Because she had no children, she pursued her hobby of col-lecting and preserving plants. She later used these

to produce photograms. A photogram is a photo-graphic image made by placing an object directly on photosensitive paper and exposing it to light. No camera is involved. I used to do this as a child myself. It is as much fun watching it develop as a Polaroid photo.

Anna’s father and husband were friends with Wil-liam Talbot who introduced her to photography (photograms and calotype). A calotype uses pa-per coated with silver iodide (similar to photo-graphic film). By 1841 she gained access to an ac-

tual camera.

In 1842, another friend of her father and husband, Sir John Herschel invented the cyano-type photographic process. Atkins applied the process to seaweed and produced pho-tograms. She published these in the first volume of Photo-graphs of British Algae: Cya-notype Impressions in 1843. This is considered the first book illustrated with photo-graphs. Two more volumes followed before 1853, making total of 411 plates in the three books.

She produced at least three presentation albums of cyanotype photograms on ferns, and flowering plants between 1853 and 1861. She also published several other books of mysteries, on fashion and a non-fiction biography of her father.

Another outstanding achievement for a woman of her time, she was elected to the London Botan-ical Society in 1839.

Continued on Page 7

Merian - Metamorphosis

http://amazon.com

http://amazon.com


Continued from Page 6Crazy Plant Ladies Through the Ages - by Martha Mullens

Look her up on Google and see her interesting cyanotypes of plants. Publications of hers that have survived are mostly in museums, and those for sale go for thousands of dollars. Individual prints can be purchased for $10-$100 online. Most less expensive ones use a black background instead of the original blue.

Other female plant ladies discussed on the blog are: Emily Dickinson, which I profiled in the Feb-ruary 2019 newsletter as a Constant Gardener and sometimes Poet, Max’diwiac (the Buffalo Bird Woman from North Dakota), Elizabeth Britton (who with her husband established the New York Botanical Garden), Beatrix Potter (author of chil-dren’s stories and collector and illustrator of plant life and mushrooms), and Marjory Stoneman Douglas (who worked tirelessly to preserve the Florida Everglades throughout her 108 years of life, publishing her most famous book, The Ever-glades: River of Grass which initiated its preser-vation as a national park).

Find biographies of these “Crazy Plant Ladies” on the blog: "garden therapy". They are fascinat-ing and inspiring. For further study use Google to look up more information on each of these. If you are really interested, there are books avail-able about these ladies that can be purchased at amazon.com or on eBay.

Anna Atkins - algae cyanotype

Elizabeth Gertrude Knight Britton Co-founded the New York Botanic Garden

http://amazon.com


Texas Bluebonnet, Lupinus texensisFabaceae (Pea Family)

Mothers with their children, as well as glamour girls, engaged couples and brides come to have their picture taken surrounded by a blanket of blooms. These classic Texas photographs bring beautiful memories to last a lifetime.

People who have never seen a bluebonnet are astounded at it's beauty, and artists compete to capture the beauty of a field full of bluebonnets surrounded by mighty oaks. It's fame is well deserved, for in April and into May, it blankets fields and roadways in gorgeous shades of blue. The Sandyland Bluebonnet, Lupinus subcarnosus became the Texas State Flower in 1901, and in 1971 the State Legislature made all other bluebonnets the State Flower.

More Photographs on Page 9

Texas Bluebonnet — Flower of the Month for AprilStory & Photographs by Josephine Keeney

This beautiful annual herb of the Fabaceae family is the most recognized Texas native wild-flower. J. K.

Four additional species were included in 1971: Texas Bluebonnet, Lupinus texensis Big Bend Bluebonnet, Lupinus havardi ( Endemic to Texas) Dune Bluebonnet, Lupinus plattensis Bajada Bluebonnet, Lupinus concinnus

The following are also Texas Bluebonnets:

Orcutt's Lupine, Lupinus concinnus ssp. orcuttii Sundial Lupine, Lupinus perennis ssp. gracilis


Continued from Page 8

Flower of the Month for April - BluebonnetPhotographs by Josephine Keeney


BRIT Registration Required. Fees: $20 members, $25 non-members: Saturdays: 1-4 PMApril 6 Wildflower Hand EmbroideryApril 13 Wildflowers in FabricMay 4 Bees: Producers and Pollinators ———————————— Free Seminars: First Tuesday of month. 12-1 PMApril 2 Lip Ferns: Genome DynamicsApril 9 Lichens: Symbioses Wanting Your Attention————————————Sat., May 4 10 AM-12 PM Hypertufa (making porous pot for plants) held at FWBG $40 members/$45 for non-members

Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge fwnaturecenter.org.$5 Fee Non-members, Members Free: Weekends: 10 AM-Noon Nature Hikes April 6, 7, 13, 14, 20, 21, 27, 28Wednesdays: 10 AM-Noon Walk with Naturalist April 3, 10, 17, 24Sat., April 6 1:30-3 PM Emerging Insects Sat., April 13 1:30-2:30 PM Bird adaptations Sun., April 14 1:30-2:30 PM All about Owls Sat., April 20 1:30-3:00 PM Legends of Spring Wildflowers Sun., April 28 1:30-3 PM Nature Scavenger Hunt ______________Sun., April 7, 14, 28 May 5 In the Field with Reptiles/Amphibians $75/ $50 members

Native Prairies Association of Texas Fort Worth Chapter Northwest Campus TCC, Fort Worth Room WACB 1123Mon., April 8 6:30 PM Chisholm Trail: Ft Worth’s Prairie History Doug Harman

Field Trips:Sat., April 20 Hike Penitentiary Hollow (Lake Mineral Wells SP) with Jeff Quayle

Tarrant County Master Gardener AssociationThurs., April 4 10 AM Monthly Meeting

Southwest Nature Preserve 5201 Bowman Springs Rd, ArlingtonTues., May 21 7 PM Prairie Restorations and Pollinator Gardens

North Central Chapter of Native Plant Society of Texas General Meeting April 4 "Monarch Stewardship in Parker County” by Megan Davis McConnellBoard Meeting April 23 6:30 PM FWBGField Trips See page 36

Volunteer Opportunities Cont. on Page 11

April 2019 Activities - by Martha Mullens

http://fwnaturecenter.org


Volunteer* at our Demonstration Gardens

Fielder House Butterfly Garden 1616 W Abram St, Arlington Leaders: Josephine Keeney, Jane Osterhuis, Charlie Amos 2nd & 4th Mondays 9-12 April 8, 22

Molly Hollar Wildscape Veterans Park, Arlington Leader: Ann Knudsen (Josephine Keeney)1st Sat: April 6 Every Wed.: 3, 10, 17, 24 9 AM-noon

Knapp Heritage Park Pollinator Garden 201 West Front Street, ArlingtonFirst Monday: April 1 9 AM-noon (contact Josephine Keeney)

River Legacy Park 701 NW Green Oaks Blvd., Arlington Volunteer Manager: Sherrie Ripple3rd Monday: April 15 9 AM-noon (contact Josephine Keeney)Opportunities on website: riverlegacy.org or call 817-860-6752 ext. 109 or [email protected] 817-459-5474

OS Gray Natural Area2nd Saturday: April 13 9 AM-noon (contact Josephine Keeney) Native Plant Gardens at SW Regional Library at Hulen 8 AM-noon 4001 Library Lane, Fort Worth Leaders: Theresa Thomas, Char McMorrow2nd & 4th Thursdays: April 11, 18

SW Tarrant Co. Sub Courthouse Native Plant Gardens 11:00AM-2:00 PM 6551 Granbury Rd, Fort Worth Leaders: Gailon Hardin, Dawn Hancock 2nd Sat.: April 13 last Wed.: April 24

Volunteer at the Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge 9601 Fossil Ridge Rd, Fort Worth 76135Volunteer Coordinator: Laura Veloz fwnc.org 817-392-7410Volunteer Positions: Docent, Outdoor Conservationist (Natural Guard). Restoration Greenhouse,Visitor Center Host, Special Events, Animal Care

Volunteer at White Settlement Monarch WaystationLeaders: Sandy Fountain, Merita Knapp 3rd Sat. April 20

Volunteer for Native Prairies AssociationSat., April 13 Riesel Prairie 10 AM-3 PM see website for details, lunch is provided fortworthnpat.wordpress.com

Continued from Page 10April 2019 Volunteer* Opportunities - by Martha Mullens

Volunteer Needs Cont. on Page 12

http://riverlegacy.org


http://fwnc.org

http://fortworthnpat.wordpress.com


Continued from Page 11April 2019 Volunteer* Opportunities - by Martha Mullens

Volunteer at BRIT 1700 University Dr, Fort Worth 76107Director of Volunteers: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Current BRIT Volunteer Needs:

April 13, 14 Japanese Spring Festival various shiftsPlease sign up online http://www.brit.org/grow-volunteer-calendar by clicking on the date you are avail-able or email Julie at [email protected].

Chisolm Trail Community Park

Sun., April 28 2-5 PM Need volunteers to man the NCCNPSOT table

Volunteer for NCC NPSOT

Sat., April 6 10Am-2PM Earth Day@River Legacy ParkSat.,& Sun., April 13-14 8AM-5PM Flowercade@Fort Worth Botanic GardenWed., April 17 10:30AM-1PM Celebrating People & Planet@UTA, Arlington

April 26-29 iNaturalist City Challenge (TPWD, Audubon, Master Naturalists, NPSOT)

* Note: Master Naturalists and Master Gardeners can get volunteer hours for work performed.

Also blooming nowTexas Yellow Star

Linheimera texana© 2019 Troy Mullens





http://www.brit.org/grow-volunteer-calendar



Mullein by Martha Mullens

Continued on Page 14

Medicinal Benefits of Common Mullein Verbascum thapsus

This plant does not have showy flowers and would probably be classified by most people as a bothersome weed, especially by farmers. It is not aggressive, but it does host insect vectors of crop diseases. It is too large for the average flower garden because it stands 4-6 feet tall (mostly the flower spike) with a basal leaf spread up to 1 ½ feet across. However, the leaves can form a mulch which repels slugs. So why am I spend-ing time discussing an alien plant? Well it possesses several interesting properties which make it useful to humans and hummingbirds.

Before I delve into the medicinal properties of mullein and how hummingbirds use it, I feel I must defend its “nativeness” because I can hear the purists out there asking why I would spend my time on a “non-native” plant. It is not indigenous to North America, but was introduced by settlers from Europe and Asia possibly 200 or more years ago and has become widespread across Texas. I don’t want to debate what “native” means. Laura Penn did an excellent job of discuss-ing the meaning of native plant in the January 2019 issue of our newsletter. I simply want to put forth a different point of view. Obviously, any mullein plant that we see today did not just arrive from overseas. Its ancestors of many generations ago came here to live. If we put that in terms of humans, most of us did not just arrive from another country to take up residence here in Texas. Our ancestors came here. Yet if we were born in Texas, we consider ourselves “native” Texans. So if the mullein plant we see today was “born” here, is it a “native Texan”? Just think about it.

Until I did research for this article, I thought it was native because I have seen it in pastures, along road-sides, and in vacant lots all my life, as well as the cot-ton fields of my childhood farm. This brings up an-other reason for discussing this plant: education.

For people that are just beginning to learn which plants are native, they also need to learn which are not.

Common mullein (Verbascum thapsus) is also called flannel leaf, Jupiter’s staff, velvet dock, lamb’s ear, wild tobacco, Aaron’s rod, Jacob’s staff, blanket weed, candlewick, feltwort, mullein-dock, shepherd’s club, torchwort, lungwort and some 40 others. It has been referred to as cowboy’s toilet paper. Interestingly, the seeds have been known to germinate after 100 years or longer. It has no fodder value for deer, game or


song birds, but hummingbirds collect the tiny hairs from the leaves to line their nests. How cool is that?

Through the centuries many human cultures have used its parts for diverse reasons. The Romans dipped the stalks in suet to form large candles carried in pro-cessions. The ancient Greeks soaked the leaves in oil for use as lamp wicks. The Spaniards sprinkled the powdered seeds and roots on the water to catch fish. The dried leaves and flowers have been use as a sub-stitute for tobacco. Other non-medicinal uses include a homemade cosmetic called “Quaker rouge”. When the leaves are rubbed on the cheeks, it creates derma-titis and a red glow. Caution would therefore be ad-vised to us it as toilet paper.

So why was the plant brought to our continent by our ancestors? Other plants could be used as candles and substitutes for tobacco. It was because of its medicinal value. Colonists brought the plants here sometime in the 17th century, but mullein leaves have been used since Hippocrates to treat colds, congestion, coughs, and bronchial and lung disorders. Smoked in pipes its hot vapors were inhaled for throat irritation. The leaves were soaked in hot vinegar and water to form a poultice applied to external irritations. In Mexico the dried leaves were smoked to teat asthma. Notice that the leaves have been used to treat various respiratory ailments. Supposedly it was also used to treat leprosy.

This is why I want to share the lore of the plant with you because it directly concerns me. Troy and I at-tended a Master Naturalist meeting in January of this year. The topic was “Edible Weeds and Medicinal Herbs” by Stephonie Roberts.

The presentation was especially interesting to me be-cause she mentioned that mullein has been used to treat respiratory ailments. I talked to her about it and went home and started a google search on the benefits of mullein. My interest was piqued by the fact that I had been having shortness of breath for a couple of months and was just diagnosed with a herniated di-



aphragm that is restricting the capacity of my lungs. The doctor had prescribed an inhaler that is used by COPD sufferers for temporary relief until I can have surgery to correct it. After checking out numerous products containing mullein and rejecting many which contained substances that I am allergic to, such as eucalyptus and cinnamon, I found one that was pure dried mullein leaves. I ordered it because it had a lot of good reviews. It provides just about as much re-lief as my inhaler, and I feel better about using a more natural remedy. It does taste like a weed, but with the addition of a little honey and lemon, it is ok. I am not a doctor, and I don’t make any claims other than my own experience.

I feel that I would be remiss if I did not mention its relative, moth mullein, Verbascum blattaia. It also is a large plant up to 6 feet tall with a huge tap root. Moth mullein is also an introduced plant from Europe which was brought here for an entirely different rea-son. The flowers are beautiful and it makes an excel-lent plant for the late-evening garden because it opens at night and attracts moths. It allegedly drives away cockroaches, but I haven’t tried that. Otherwise, it is an obnoxious weed in the sense that it is aggressive and has no food value for deer or livestock. I could find no evidence of importance to birds.

Both species bloom from Spring to Autumn and re-quire a lot of room to grow so they are not recom-mended for gardens even though they are drought resistant. Other members of the family are the love-ly foxgloves, Indian paintbrushes, and penstemons which are delightful additions to any wildflower gar-den.





Sources:Ajilvsgi, Geyata, Wildflowers of Texas, Shearer Pub., Fredericksburg, TX, 2003Curry, Mary, North Central Texas Wildflowers, self-published, Decatur, TX, 2015Eastman, John, The Book of Field and Roadside, Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA, 2003Eastman, John, Wildflowers of the Eastern United States, Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA, 2014Linex, Ricky, Range Plants of N. Central Texas, NRCS, Weatherford, TX, 2015Shinner and Mahler’s, Illustrated Flora of North Cen-tral Texas, BRIT and Austin College, 1999

Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each. Henry David Thoreau


Stork's bill - Erodium texanumby Troy Mullens

New E. texanum bud

Erodium texanum 2nd day

Texas Storkbill Erodium texanum

Erodium texanum leaf

New buds open at night and close during the day. The petals are very fragile and after a night in the wind they usually are pretty beat up. Do not confuse this with E. cicutarium (red-stem filaree), which is a smaller and more compact flower. Get out your field guides and study the differences.


Membership by Donna Honkomp

To join the North Central Chapter NPSOT click on the link, www.txnativeplants.org; then click on “About”, then click on “How to Join”.

MENTOR PROGRAM

Do you like to meet new people? Do you enjoy discussions with like-minded individuals? We need your help welcoming and orienting new members and visitors at our monthly meetings.

The North Central Chapter is organizing a “Men-tor Program” and needs your help. If you are a member of the NCC-NPSOT and able to show up 30 minutes (or so) before each NCC-NPSOT General Meeting to mentor our newly joined members and visitors once they show up to our meetings, we would appreciate your assistance.

We need your help to answer any questions the participant may have regarding the chapter infor-mation, introduce them to other members at the meeting, explain what takes place at our meetings, what programs they could get involved in and

exchange phone numbers in case the individual has further questions once they leave for the eve-ning. If you can be available at the general meet-ings to take such an individual under your wing, please let Donna or Chris know (at the member-ship table) when you arrive at the meeting that you are available to act as a mentor that evening.

It can be difficult to join a new group when you do not know anyone, even when you have com-mon interests. We do not want to leave anyone out and for that reason we need volunteers to step up and reach out to our new guests.

Our current membership as of March 15, 2019 is 224 members.

THANK YOU to everyone for your participation, volunteer and involvement in our chapter. We ap-preciate you helping to spread the word about native plants. It takes a village and we could not do it with-out all of your help.



Texas Bluebonnet, Lupinus texensis: State Flower of Texas

Description: Texas Bluebonnet, Lupinus texensis, is a low-growing Texas icon. It is one of five Bluebonnets recognized as the Texas State Flower; the other four are L. subcarnosus, L. havardii, L. concinnus and L. plattensis. The five lupine species grow in different areas of Texas, with L. texensis predominating in Central and North Texas. In spring, blooming L. texensis is a common sight along roadsides and fields and is increasingly cultivated in sunny front yards. It is the easiest of the species to cultivate, usually growing up to 18 inches tall and equally wide, with flowers held higher. It has oblong palmate light-green compound leaves, usually with five leaflets. Healthy plants have a tap root and as legumes, bluebonnets are capable of forming symbiotic nitrogen-fixing root nodules with soil bacteria called rhizobia, allowing them to enrich the soil with nitrogen.

Flowers and Seeds: Bluebonnets usually bloom from early March to mid-April or later depending on spring temperatures. The flowers are held on a 7-12 inch stalk, with deep bright blue flowers at the bottom to white on the top. All-white, pink and maroon cultivars are available. After the flowers fade, seeds form. Because it is an annual, the flat 1/8 inch seeds must fully mature in the pod and fall to the ground to assure a display next year without re-planting.

Planting sites: Texas Bluebonnets should be planted in full sun, at least 8-10 hours a day. They prefer well-drained soils and are drought tolerant.

Watering Instructions: Texas Bluebonnet seed may be watered after planting. The plant is drought tolerant and will survive during long dry spells. It will rot if over-watered.

Comments: In Texas, flowering bluebonnets let us know spring has arrived. Texas Bluebonnet is a winter-hardy annual and may be transplanted into a sunny location, ideally in fall. To establish bluebonnets from seed, start in summer or early fall. Scarify the seed by rubbing with sandpaper, then rake or press the seeds into the soil, barely cover them with soil and water once. If available, rhizobial inoculant should be applied to establish the nitrogen-fixing root nodules that help bluebonnets grow. Frequently, rhizobia are already in the soil. Bluebonnets are beautiful in large drifts or grown in well-drained containers. They are frequently inter-planted with summer- or fall-flowering plants that emerge as the bluebonnets are setting seed and senescing. These include zexmenia (Wedelia texana), mealy blue sage (Salvia farinacea), and lantana (Lantana urticoides). Bluebonnets provide nectar for bees and are the larval host for the hairstreak and elfin butterflies. Use caution because bluebonnets, especially the seed, can be toxic if ingested.

Look for the NICE! Plant of the Season signs and information sheets on your next visit to a participating North Texas nursery. Thank you for using native plants in your landscapes.

www.txnativeplants.org Written by Dr. Becca Dickstein

Texas Bluebonnet, Photo courtesy of Marilyn Blanton

NICE! Plant of the Season Reported by Rozanna Francis


Answer to Last Month’s Puzzle and A New Puzzle by Troy Mullens © 2019

Answer to Last Months' Puzzle

Scarlet PimpernelAnagallis arvensis

"swashbuckling movie"

The vote is 'not in' on whether the blue one is a separate species

or a sub-species or a form.

New PuzzleAn easy one this month.

Name this flower

Note this flower isbilaterally symmetrical.(What does that mean)

How many other bilaterally symmetrical flowers

do you know> Name 5.Think before you Google.

There may be some others in this newsletter.


General Meeting Minutes - by Debbie Stilson

Minutes of the Regular MeetingNative Plant Society – North Central Chapter

March 7, 2019Fort Worth Botanical Garden, BRIT, Commons Room

President Karen Harden called the meeting to order at 6:31 PM. She said we are a 501c3 organization and read the mission statement. She said the blue board had information and to see Vanessa for raffle tickets. Donna Honkomp welcomed the guests.

Secretary: Minutes were approved from the Febru-ary 7 meeting.

Treasurer’s Report: Vanessa Wojtas reports the following: Income: $417, Spent: $1,812, Net Profit: -$1,395; Bank balance on 03/07/19: $10,543.79

Vice President: Ray Conrow said Carol Clark would share "News from the Front" in regard to monarch science at the April meeting. He introduced Mon-tana Williams, the associate director of volunteers at GROW, the joint effort between the Fort Worth Bo-tanic Gardens and BRIT. Montana encouraged people to sign up in advance if they would like to volunteer for the big workday for the Pollinator Pathway on Tuesday April 2. You can do so at the link Ray shared in an email http://brit.org/grow-volunteer-application and then click on Get Involved -> Volunteering -> the calendar -> April 2 -> General Gardening. Please email any questions to Montana at [email protected]. Tools will be provided, but bring your own gloves and dress for the weather. The May meeting will have Montana Williams and Cameron Barlow from Fort Worth Botanic Garden showing off the pollinator Pathway.

Internal Finance Review Report: Laura Penn is chair of this committee that also included Rozanna Francis and Melissa Inman. They met on January 26. This was not an audit committee or a finance com-mittee or a standing committee. Their job was to re-view financial records and confirm the North Central Chapter Bank Balance on 12/31/18. They found some shortcomings and so came up with a list of eight recommendations,

Plant Sale: Josephine Keeney and Gailon Hardin said the plant sale would be on Saturday, May 4th at River Legacy. Plants need to be potted by March 23, 6 weeks before the sale, so that they can have decent roots. They passed around lists to volunteer to grow plants and to help at the sale. Josephine gave away Big Gulp cups as quart containers, but they do need holes drilled in the bottom. She has plenty, so ask her if you need some. Potting soil mixture directions and flyers for the sale were available.

Demonstration Gardens: Gailon Hardin thanked the leaders who provided pictures of the chilly garden volunteers from February. Several volunteers belong to other organizations such as Master Gardener, Mas-ter Naturalist and Arlington Conservation Council as well as NPSOT. Gardens shown were Fielder House, Knapp, Molly Hollar, River Legacy, Southwest Re-gional Library, and Southwest Sub-Courthouse.

Hospitality: Corinna Benson thanked Josephine, Sandra, Dawn, Rozanna, Jeanette and whoever else brought snacks. She also passed around the snack sign-up sheet for the rest of the year.

Newsletter: Troy Mullens tinkered with the newslet-ter and it now has a 2-column format and wildflower colors in the headers, but which flowers? And watch out for the Parting Shots at the end.

Membership: Donna Honkomp reports that cur-rently our chapter has 223 members. There is a mem-bership challenge that goes through the end of March. Houston is first and Williamson County second. Dues will go up by $10 on April 1. Even if you already re-newed this year, you can do so again before the rate increase and it will be good for the next year.



General Meeting Minutes - by Debbie Stilson

NICE: Rozanna Francis says that Cynthia Crump has volunteered to be a goodwill ambassador and is already proving to be a natural talking to people in the NICE nurseries. Rozanna found a Texas bluebon-net, the current plant of the season, at Queen Bee’s Garden. She introduced Anna Hurst, owner of Eco-Blossom Online Nursery. Anna told us that she spe-cializes in landscaping for wildlife habitats. She enjoys making available plants that are not widely or easily found. The website is ecoblossom.com, and they can also be found on Facebook and Instagram. You can search for native plants by criteria such as sun, shade, wet, or dry. Delivery is free in the Fort Worth area on orders over $75. NPSOT members will get a 5% dis-count. When you check out, 5% of pretax sales go to a charity of your choice listed on the website. Landscap-ing services are available. Gailon Harden is the rep-resentative at our other new NICE nursery: Idlewild Botanical, located at the old Redenta’s in Arlington.

Outreach: Laura Penn talked of the upcoming work-day at Stella Rowan Prairie to help with soil retention in the riparian area. Privet aid (bundles of already cut privet) will be put out and American Germander will be planted. Also, two more volunteers are needed to help with the UTA landscaping contest.

Publicity: Vicki Gleason will post in the newsletter how to submit to Cheers and Jeers to the Fort Worth Star Telegram about our various activities.

Events: We still need a chair. Sign-up sheets were passed out for the next two events at the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens: Bats in the Garden is next weekend and the Plant Sale is the last weekend of March.

Strategic Plan: Kim Conrow showed NPSOT contest winning photos as a backdrop to the 5 year 2019-2024 goals and objectives. She will put info in newsletter how we can submit ideas to the state.

Announcements: Coming soon: information on the iNaturalist challenge in April 26-29. The Spring Sym-posium will be in Austin at LBJ Wildlife Center on March 23. Hester Schwarzer would like someone to take her place at that. Check out the native plants sales on p. 17 of the March 2019 newsletter. Karan Rawlin’s recipe to turn American Beautyberry into mosquito repellent is on our website. Ann Knudsen very much needs volunteers on the mornings of Friday March 22 and 29 for the Molly Hollar Walk on the Wild Side.

Meeting adjourned at 7:15 P.M.

Program by Dr. Denis Benjamin: Ethnomycology.


Some great "blooming now" photos - by Kim Conrow

Easter Daisy (Townsendia exscapa) Ground Plum (Astragalus crassicarpus)

http://ecoblossom.com


Tandy Hills Prairie Notes 147 - by Don Young

The Sensuous Prairie

Great photos in this issue.

Prairie Notes are monthly photo/journal observations from Tandy Hills Natural Area by Founder/Director, Don Young. They include field reports, flora and fau-na sightings, and more, mixed with a scoop of dry hu-mor and a bit of philosophy. They are available free to all who get on the FOTHNA email list:

http://www.tandyhills.org/subscribe

Click on the link below to see the full issue of Prairie Notes 147https://www.tandyhills.org/notes

Purple Paintbrush is back

Ground Plum (Astragalus crassicarpus)

Trout Lily walk with Sam Kieschnick was a success

http://www.tandyhills.org/subscribe


Chisholm Trail Community Park - by Donna Honkomp

We are looking for several people who can be available to represent the North Central Chapter – NPSOT as outreach at our 2ndAnnual event at the Chisholm Trail Community Park.

This free community event takes place on Sunday, April 28th, 2019 from 2-5pm (individual’s would need to be there by 1:30pm) at 4936 McPherson Blvd., Fort Worth, TX 76123, on the Fort Worth Prairie.

If we have several individuals/volunteers to man the table each hour, then they would have time to partake in the event during the day. We had a fantastic turn out last year and expect the same for this year 2019. I will take the first respondents in order.

If you are available at this date and time, please contact [email protected]

Chisholm TrailCommunity Park

Get to Know

Free Community EventSunday, April 28

2 - 5 p.m.

Speak to a Naturalist and DiscoverWooded HabitatThe Fort Worth Prairie

Citizen SciencePond Habitat Monarchs/Pollinators

A hands on learning opportunity for all ages.

Get To Know Your Natural Surroundings

iNaturalist App

Learn the natural and human historyof the Chisholm Trail Community Park.4936 McPherson Blvd, Fort Worth, TX 76123

Spring Nature Hikes at Chisholm Trail Community Park

Join a naturalist for an easy walk along paved trails to learn about the human history and diverse wildlife of this

precious Fort Worth Prairie remnant.

Scheduled for 9:00-10:30AM on the following days: Tues March 12th Sat March 16th Sat March 30th

Sat April 13th Sat May 11th **Meet your hike leader at 9:00AM inside the community center lobby.**

Nature education programs at Chisholm Trail Community Park are

supported by the following organizations:

• Texas Master Naturalists • Native Prairie Association of Texas • Native Plant Society of Texas • Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge

http://www.uwinst.uzh.ch/homepages/perception.pdf



Ethnomycology: Mushrooms and Human Culture Presented by Denis Benjamin, March 7 reported by Ray Conrow

Our featured speaker for March was Dr. Denis Benjamin, an avid mycologist who gave a pro-gram entitled “Ethnomycology: Mushrooms and Human Culture”. Where better to start than with eating! Eastern Europeans crave them, Norsemen are okay with them, the British…not so much. The ancient Ro-mans loved their mushrooms and knew their varieties well. Thus Agrippina, wishing to hasten the ascent of her son Nero, presented the Emperor Claudius (her husband) a meal of delectable Amanita caesarea mingled with deadly Amanita phalloides. Then, as now, non-experts are advised to avoid consuming the genus Amanita entirely, although the hallucinogenic fly agaric, A. muscaria, has long been sought out, even predating vodka in Russia! The “magic” or “sacred” mushroom, Psilocybe sp., likewise has its devo-tees and is a key to spiritual enlightenment in several traditional cultures. Besides food and pharmacolo-gy, mushrooms have served in many roles, from dye production to fire-starting to heavy metal scavenging and filtration of pathogenic bacteria. And then there is the recently introduced mushroom death suit, for those who truly wish to “give back” to Nature when the time comes! All in all, an entertaining and enlightening presentation from a true mycophile!

March Hospitality Report by Corinna Benson

This month for hospitality I would like to thank Josephine Keeney, Dawn Hancock, Sandra De Nijs, Rozan-na Francis, Jeanette Berkley and Debbie Stilson, and whoever else brought snacks. For the Board meeting this month I would like to thank my Uncle Ray Conrow, Eric Johnson and Rozanna Francis. Please stay for the draw-ing and refreshments after the meeting. Corinna Benson.

Editors note: Corinna is starting her second year as being the Hospitality chair. She does a great job. Be sure and tell her so after the meetings.

L to R: Kim Conrow, Vivien and Denis Benjamin.

The colorful mushroom print is from an original watercolor by

Dr. Benjamin.


Demonstration Gardens by Gailon Hardin w/ Dawn Hancock

Southwest Tarrant Co. Sub CourthousePale Purple Coneflower

Echinaceapallida

Brenda Townsend, Debbie Stilson

Dawn Hancock

Gailon Hardin

Lissa Prater

Scouts Dominique and Hayden, Janet Shull

Jim Prentice Otto Witt

Demonstration Gardens continued on next page


Demonstration Gardens by Gailon Hardin w/ Josephine Keeney

Knapp Heritage Garden

River Legacy - February

Jane Oosterhuis, Larry Norris,Phyl Baloga Kate Dansbury, Josephine Keeney, Jane Oosterhuis

Anne Aldefer, Jane Oosterhuis, Phyl Baloga, Kate Dansbury,

Josephine Keeney, Dick Schoeck Dick Schoeck Josephine Keeney,

Phyl Baloga, Kate Dansbury, Ellen Ravkind, Josephine Keeney,

Jane Oosterhuis, Dick Schoeck



River Legacy - March

Work is progressing well and many plants were added to the front garden.

We planted: Autumn Sage, Texas Lantana, Flame Acan-thus, Yellow Bells, Red Yucca, and Pink Skullcap.

In the wildflower bed by the pond we planted: Golden Groundsel, Brazos Penstemon and Pink Evening Prim-rose.

Many more plants will be planted in April.

Charley Amos MN- NPSOTJane Oosterhuis MN- ACCAnne Alderfer MNEllen Ravkind MNPhyl Baloga MNKay Dansby MNWayne Halliburton ACCDick Schoech MN-NPSOT -ACCJosephine Keeney MN-NPSOT ACC

Dick Schoech, Josephine Keeney.

Charley Amos, Anne Alderfer, Ellen Ravkind

Jane Oosterhuis, Phyl Baloga, Kay Dansby, Wayne Halliburton,

Anne Alderfer, Ellen Ravking.



Work continues: weeding, mulching and adding compost to the beds.

We also set out the plant name labels.

Fielder House - March

Volunteers for March

Charley Amos MN- NPSOTMorgan Chivers NPSOTPhyl Baloga MNKay Dansby MNJane Oosterhuis MNJosephine Keeney MN-NPSOT- ACC

Charley Amos loading mulch

Josephine Keeney, Jane Oosterhuis and Kay Dansby

Morgan Chivers planting

Phyl Baloga weedingDemonstration Gardens continued on next page


Southwest Regional Library

Molly Hollar Wildscape

Additional Molly Hollar Photos continued on next page

Laurin McLaurin Leland Thomas Sheila Franklin & Theresa Thomas

JoAnn Kolanko ACC Joe Martinez Rosalee Rogers


Molly Hollar Wildscape

Ann Kundsen

Carol Marcott

Jane Oosterhuis

Additional Molly Hollar Photos continued on next page


Molly Hollar Wildscape, Spring 2019 WOW

Ann Knudsen — Volunteers in the photos: Bev Crawford, Josephine Keeney, Hester Schwarzer, Dawn Hancock and Carol Marcotte


April 4 Program Summary & BioMonarch Stewardship in Parker County.

By Megan Davis McConnell

Megan will speak on identifying monarch butterflies in your garden, creating supportive habitat and restoring prairie, monitoring and reporting your data to Monarch Lab in Minnesota, and rearing wild caterpillars for release.

Brief Biography

As a young girl, I stood as still as a statue with my arms outstretched in hopes that the butter-flies would land on me. It was a bright autumn day and hundreds of monarchs had stalled out on our family land on the edge of Eagle Mountain Lake. The migration was on and the place was covered in fluttering orange and black! I have not seen such a spectacle since, although I am always on the lookout for the miraculous occurrence which we later learned was quite a rare event in these parts.

Now I manage our acreage in Parker County with special efforts to support, observe and count the monarch butterfly. I teach school children about the fragility and beauty of the species. And, I have organized our neighborhood to also support the migration by adopting “no mow “ practices on the rural roadsides and in pastures in the spring and autumn.


MARY MOTZ WILLSFourth in Series on Women Botanists*

Women Botanists Cont. on Page 35

American Women Botanists* - by Martha Mullens

Texas Women BotanistsFourth in a Series*by Martha Mullens

Mary Motz Wills, (1875–1961), wildflower artist, was born in1875, in Wytheville, Virginia, but her family soon moved to Waco, Texas, where Mary and her younger sister, Elsie, grew up. Mary influ-enced Elsie's artistic development, as Elsie herself became a well-known miniaturist. Mary acquired her art education at the Art Students League in New York. She also attended the Pennsylvania School of Industrial Arts and art schools in Bos-ton and Philadelphia.

Following her formal art education she married Col. Will Dunbar Wills of the United States Army. While with him on his tours of South and Central America, Mary first began to paint watercolors of exotic wildflowers. While stationed in Pana-ma, her husband brought wildflowers home to his ailing young wife so that she could paint them while recuperating. Several years later, following her husband's death in Maryland, Wills moved to Georgia and then to Abilene, Texas, where she lived for the rest of her life.

Mary began painting detailed depictions of native wildflowers shortly after moving to Texas. An ac-credited botanist, Ellen Dorothy Schulz Quillin*, was first to acknowledge the significance of Wills's work. In 1935 Quillin arranged an exhibition of Wills's paintings at the Witte Museum with the annual flower show. In 1943 there was an exhibi-tion of the wildflowers of the Big Bend. In 1955 there was another showing of her work. In addi-tion to these exhibitions, her floral portraits were

shown at the Montgomery Museum in Georgia; the Texas Centennial Exposition in Dallas,Texas; the Mint Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina; and the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

Forty-seven years after she first discovered the enjoyment of painting flowers, she became a rec-ognized artist and authority on wildflowers, both in Georgia and Texas. During those years, she produced over 2000 paintings of Texas wildflow-ers.

Mary Motz Wills Roadside Flowers of Texas Third printing 1969.

Gift of Jimmy & Twalla Mullens 1970,to Troy & Martha Mullens


Continued from Page 34American Women Botanists* - by Martha Mullens

Her paintings reflect her knowledge, as well as, her skill. She was proficient in both oil and wa-tercolor paintings and at present her originals sell for $1000-$2000 each.

The Witte Museum in San Antonio has a large collection of her work, as does the Texas Memo-rial Museum in Austin. Her paintings are also prominently included in the book, Art for Histo-ry’s Sake: The Texas Collection of the Witte Museum.

She is best remembered for her watercolor paint-ings published in Roadside Flowers of Texas** (text by Howard S. Irvin) in 1961 shortly before her death. The wildflower paintings are especially significant because many are endangered species, and some of them have completely disappeared from the Texas landscape.

The book Roadside Flowers of Texas contains 257 of her water colors. It is available from eBay or amazon.com for $4-$14 depending on condition and whether you want the original 1961 edition or the 1981 reprint and whether you want a hard-cover or paperback.

*See article on Ellen Schulz Quillin in the March 2019 issue of NCNPSOT newsletter entitled Women Botanists. ** See book review in August 2018 newsletter page 12.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Cecilia Steinfeldt, Art for His-tory's Sake: The Texas Collection of the Witte Mu-seum, Austin,Texas, 1993).

Puccoon from Mary Motz Wills bookC

heck

ed a

s see

n A

pril

197

1, T

roy

& M

arth

a M

ulle

ns

According to Ellen Schulz Quillin

Mary Motz Wills’ paintings give us a view of the puccoon in color in Roadside Flowers of Texas (1961):”

Fringed puccoon Lithospermum incisum ©2018 Troy Mullens


Field Trips by Eric Johnson

We have 5 field trips planned for the spring of 2019. I hope everyone can find something here of interest. On Saturday, April 13, 2019, we will visit the Clear Creek Natural Heritage Center, in Denton, TX. The address is 3310 Collins Road. There is a main building, the Education Center, with bathrooms and run-ning water where we will meet up at 10:00 am. The park is 2900 acres total, too much to walk every trail, but I expect we can walk to the confluence of Clear Creek and the Elm Fork of the Trinity River. On Saturday, April 27, we will meet at Oliver Park, in Mansfield, TX. The address is 1650 Matlock Road, Mansfield. The 80 acre park borders Walnut Creek, with 2 miles of crushed granite trails. Meet up is at 10:00 am, near the parking lot and restrooms. This park is very scenic and highly recommended by our members who have been there before. On Saturday, May 11, Laura Penn will lead a tour of Stella Rowan Prairie, located near the Tarrant County Resource Connection, 2300 Circle Drive, Fort Worth. This 125 acre prairie will be full of flowers at this time of year. Meet up is at 10:00 am, but the exact location is yet to be determined, and will be sent out by email before the event. On Sunday, May 19, we will tour two demonstration gardens that are maintained jointly by NPSOT and the Master Gardeners Association. Meet up is 1pm at the SW SubCourtHouse, 6551 Granbury Road, in Fort Worth. This garden should be in full flower at this time of year. Next we will drive to the SW Region-al Library, located on Hulen Street at Briarhaven Road, also in Fort Worth. Note that the library is open Sunday afternoons, so there will be bathrooms and water fountain at this location. On Saturday, May 25, will be our final spring field trip, here in Fort Worth, at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden, 1700 University Drive. We will walk south, through the garden, and focus on the Native Plant Garden. Meet up is at 10:00 am, at the main entrance. This is a recent installation, and well worth a visit. We generally avoid field trips during the peak summer heat, and then we will often have one or two trips in the fall. These have not yet been planned, so feel free to make suggestions and comments.

Eric Johnson.


Ohio Spiderwort - Tradescantia ohiensisby Suzette Rogers

One of the best plants with flowers to use in teaching about nature is Ohio spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis). Why is it called spiderwort? My research produced several theories. One source stated that the grass-like leaves are suggestive of a crouching spider. Geyata Ajilvsgi in Wildflowers of Texas stated that spiderwort was believed to cure the bite of the phalangium spider, which is actually harmless. Native Americans used it for the bite of a tarantula. That medicinal use is the reason "wort" is part of its common name. Wort is from the Old English "wyrt" meaning a root or herb which is applied to indicate a medici-nal application, such as for spider bites. Another source stated that when the stalk of this plant is broken, the sap that emerges forms filaments resembling a spider's web. This is the source of the common name, "cow slobber." Tradescantia is in honor of John Tradescant, gardener to Charles I in England, who started plants from seeds sent from America. Spiderwort is still cultivated in English gardens. Spiderworts are found in man-made or disturbed habitats, meadows, and fields. They are a food source for white-tailed deer, cottontail rabbits, box turtles, and livestock. Pollinators are long-tongued bees, especially Bumble-bees. This plant is rarely bothered by insect pests. The flowers open in the morning and shrivel to a fluid jelly in the heat of the day. Spiderwort is drought tolerant. The leaves and stems are edible fresh or cooked.

Elmer W. Oliver Nature Park, Mansfield, TX

A common color of Ohio spiderwort - (Tradescantia ohiensis) is a beautiful purple.

A pollinator (syrphid fly) at work

A rare color of Ohio spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis) is white. I photographed this one in south Texas on Spur 10 north of Rosenburg

A Scudders Bush Katydid nymph on a spiderwort

Continued on Next Page


Ohio Spiderwort - Tradescantia ohiensisby Suzette Rogers

Buds of Ohio spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis) Common name for this species is Bluejacket.

Sam Kieschnick teaches about Spiderwort to a group of homeschoolers.

It is believed that the grass-like leaves of Ohio spiderwort are suggestive of a crouching spider.

I photographed this pink spiderwort in Kosse, TX.

Ohio spiderwort makes a nice plant for a landscape.

This photo is my favorite of spiderwort. We have also seen a pink Ohio spiderwort.


American Beautyberry - Callicarpa americanaby Karan Rawlins

You can get a full description and list of requirements for this beautiful and useful native shrub at Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower website URL: https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=CAAM2. It is also attractive to wildlife, both for the nectar and the fruit.

A disclaimer first: Although I have used this plant extract as a topical application successfully for several years will no ill effects and I have not heard of anyone being allergic to American beautyberry or the extracts from it, it is possible that someone out there will turn out to be. So as with anything else you try for the first time, test a small area to be sure you are not allergic to it beforehand.

In this article we will talk about the insect repelling properties of American beautyberry and how to easily ex-tract the essence to create your own all natural insect repellent. The active ingredients are oil or alcohol soluble.

1) Collect enough leaves to half fill your crockpot. Then clean the leaves (no chopping); shake off excess water; place them in a crock pot; add (a) 4 Cups solid coconut oil for a solid result or (b) just cover leaves with frac-tionated coconut oil for a liquid final product; and turn crockpot on to Warm (Not low). Let it steep for a few hours; remove the leaves and strain the liquid through a coffee filter to remove any remaining leaf bits. You will have a beautiful emerald green result. a) The solid coconut oil I use to make insect repelling candles or wax melts. I have used soy wax melts very successfully. The candles will be a beautiful pale green. *Or you can add bees wax and whip or blend it to make a creamy topical application. *Or add beeswax, allow it to melt in the crockpot, stir until well blended, and then turn off the heat. It will cool to a salve consistency. b) The fractionated coconut oil version gives you a topical application, to which I add some ethyl alcohol to help preserve it longer. I pour some of this mixture into a small spray bottle (fill to about one third of bottle capacity) and top up with purified water. This is easy to carry with you in case you need to reapply after swimming or heavy exercise. The beautyberry in fractionated coconut oil turns out to be a beautiful emerald green because of the chlorophyll.

2) The last method I have used is to clean the leaves and stuff them into a quart canning jar. Top up the jar with ethyl alcohol and put the lid on it. Within a couple of days it will change color and you can remove the leaves. This can be green or a greenish brown color. You will probably want to strain this before use to remove any solid leaf particles.

Additional ideas:>I generally add fill a quart jar about ¾ full of the liquid fractionated coconut oil beautyberry extract and finish filling the jar with the ethyl alcohol based extract. I feel this gives me the best range of oils and preserves it lon-ger. >If you are making a huge batch of the liquid topical application, you can store it in the freezer to preserve it longer. >I have heard of people chopping and boiling the leaves and they says that works well. I feel that using lower temperatures retains more of the essential oils in the final product. >Articles on American beautyberry: https://agresearchmag.ars.usda.gov/2006/feb/mosquito

Continued on Next Page

https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=CAAM2

https://agresearchmag.ars.usda.gov/2006/feb/mosquito


American Beautyberry - Callicarpa americanaby Karan Rawlins

Karan Rawlins bio

I am a member of the Georgia Native Plant Society and on the board of the Coastal Plain Chapter. I am also on the board of the Georgia Botanical Society. I began learning about native plants from Suzanne Tuttle when I worked at the Fort Worth Nature Center and Wildlife Refuge. A Georgia native, I lived in Texas for 20 years and loved my time there. I still have a grandson and other family there and visit when I can.

Beautyberry Beautyberry blooms Unripe fruit

Candle experiment Candles Coconut oil

Solid coconut oil Topical application Wax melts


Parting Shots - Last Minute News & Views of the Editors by Troy & Martha Mullens

Super Worm MoonWondering why I would be discussing the moon? Well, this one, March 20, 2019, relates to earthworms. It is “super” because it is closest to the Earth. It is called “worm” moon because typically this is when the first earthworms are seen after the cold winter. Usually the super worm moon appears on the last day of winter, but be-cause the spring equinox this year is at 4:58 PM CDT, it will be the first super moon of spring and the last one for 2019. We consider earthworms a friend of the compost pile and the garden, but did you know that most earthworms that we are familiar with are not native. Of the 180 species found in the US, 60 are invasive, brought over from the Old World. The one in our gardens, the night crawl-er, is not native to the US. Yet, how could we do without it if we are to have a healthy garden? Martha Mullens

A downloadable guideWeed or wildflower

https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_PLANTMATERIALS/publications/mop-mcpu6313.pdf

http://tinyurl.com/y6ywptc8

The western Monarch population is on the Brink of collapse and the eastern one is in decline.According to the Environmental Defense Fund the 2018-19 winter count for the western population of monarchs was down to 28,000 (some counts by other groups put it as low as 20,000). This is serious because the estimated number to in-sure there isn’t a complete collapse is 30,000. Reasons for the decline are climate change, hurricanes, and loss of both host plants for caterpillars and nectar plants for adults. Much of the plant loss is due to herbicides.While western populations of Monarchs have decreased about 86% in the last year, the eastern population has decreased about 15% and has shown a steady decline of 90% in the last two decades. The principal reasons for the decline are loss of milkweed for a host plant and loss of native flowers for nectar. Loss of plants is due to climate change and use of herbicides.All of you concerned gardeners keep planting those native plants for nectar and those milkweeds to serve as hosts. Al-though the vast majority of monarchs who migrate through our area go to Mexico, some may indeed fly to California. Martha Mullens

Texas Blue Star blooming now

https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_PLANTMATERIALS/publications/mopmcpu6313.pdf



http://tinyurl.com/y6ywptc8


Parting Shots Page 2 - Last Minute Views & News by the Editors by Troy & Martha Mullens

2019 Date Name Title of Presentation

February 7 Suzanne TuttleFort Worth Nature Center (Retired)

Winter Deciduous Woody Plant Identification

March 7 Denis BenjaminBRIT

Ethnomycology: Mushrooms and Human Culture

April 4 Megan Davis McConnell Monarch Stewardship in Parker County

May 2 Cameron Barlow, Montana WilliamsBRIT

The Pollinator Pathway Project

June 6 Michael EasonNPSOT Big Bend Chapter

TBA

August 1 Karen HardenKim Conrow and…“Lucky #3”

Native Gardens of our Members

September 5 Michelle VillafrancaFort Worth Nature Center

Native Neighborhoods: Helping Pollinators across Fort Worth

October 3 Show and Tell and Trade! Native Plant Exchange

Bring a Texas Native Plant to exchange for another. FUN!!!

November 7 Kevin Sloan—UTA,Landscape Architect

“Rewilding” for Environmental Design

December 5 Holiday Social Pot Luck Dinner, Awards and Introduction of New Officers. FUN!!!

Updated Programs


Parting Shots Page 3 - Last Minute Views & News by the Editors by Troy & Martha Mullens

Main Topics Monarch anatomy, biology, life cycle and migration. Monarch threats: parasites, disease, land use, and pesticides, among others. Milkweed ecology, nectar plants, and monarch waystations. Outreach tools and materials, agencies and conservation groups involved in

monarch conservation activities. Citizen Science, communication skills, interpretation, and role play. How to recruit and structure a successful workshop/presentation

Registration is required Space is limited Registration fee:

$65.00/person that includes: Access to digital materials to create your own presentations

Printed materials Box Lunch Refreshments

In partnership with the Greater Dallas Monarch Partnership , and:

Main purpose of this Workshop: As part of the National Wildlife Federation’s Monarch Stewards certification program, NWF is partnering with members of the Texas Discovery Gardens and the Greater Dallas Monarch Partnership to provide the Monarch Stewards’ first level of training, the Monarch Conservation Workshop “Train the Trainer”. This workshop is a one day course on monarch biology, ecology, and conservation. You will learn the basics of monarch habitat creation and conservation and you will leave the course with the knowledge and confidence to engage diverse groups to take action on behalf of the monarch butterfly.

For more details about the workshop and to register, please follow the link: MONARCH WORKSHOP, “TRAIN THE TRAINER’”

Or go to : http://bit.ly/2EQW5Aa

DALLAS, TX

Texas Discovery Gardens 3601 MLK Blvd. Fair Park Gate 6 Dallas, TX 75210

April 12, 2019

You and I don’t know whether our vision is clear in relation to our time or not—No matter what failure or success we may have—we will not know—But we can keep our integrity—according to our own sense of balance with the world. Georgia O’Keeffe


This is meant to be a starter list only and by no means is inclusive of all the wonderful native plants that can be in a pollinator garden. Ask your local NPSOT Chapter (npsot.org) or native nursery’s staff for advice on other choices for your pollinator garden.

Small Trees: Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis), Goldenball Leadtree (Leucaena retusa), Eve’s Necklace (Styphnolobium affine), Yaupon Holly (Ilex vomitoria), American Smoke Tree (Cotinus obovatus)

Bushes/shrubs: Texas Lantana (Lantana urticoides), Turkscap (Malvaviscus drummondii), Autumn sage (Salvia greggii), Cenizo (Leucophyllum frutescens), Flame acanthus (Anisacanthus quadrifidus),

Rock Rose (Pavonia lasiopetala), Kidneywood (Eysenhardtia texana)

Milkweeds: larval host plants for Monarch and Queen butterflies. Butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa), Antelope horns (Asclepias asperula), Zizotes (Asclepias oenotheroides), Green Milkweed (Asclepias viridis)

Others: Mealy Blue Sage (Salvia farinacea), Gregg’s Mistflower (Conoclinium greggii), Winecup (Callirhoe involuncrata), Four-nerve daisy (Tetranuris scaposa), Zexmenia (Wedelia hispida), Gayfeathers (Liatris spp.), Goldenrod (Solidago spp.), Maximillian sunflower (Helianthus maximiliani), Fall blooming asters (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium), Purple coneflower (Echinacea spp.), Pitcher sage (Salvia azurea) , Scarlet sage (S. coccinea), Frostweed (Verbesina virginica), White mistflower (Ageratina havanensis), Gaillardia (Gaillardia spp.), Little Bluestem grass (Schizachyrium scoparium), Sideoats grama grass (Bouteloua curtipendula), Blue Muhly grass (Muhlenbergia lindheimeri), Inland Sea Oats (Chasmanthium latifolium)

NPSOT mission: Promoting research, conservation and utilization of native plants and plant habitats of Texas through education, outreach and example. (npsot.org)

For information on plant bloom times, sizes, water needs and more go to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center’s native plant data base. wildflower.org

The following sources have more information on pollinators.

Xerces - protecting invertebrates and their habitats. https://xerces.org Audubon - protects birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow. http://www.audubon.org NABA - North American Butterfly Association http://www.naba.org Monarch Joint Venture - Partnering to conserve the monarch butterfly migration. https://monarchjointventure.org

All photos copyright: K. Conrow 2017

Short List of Plants for a

North Central Texas Pollinator Garden


May Program,Montana Williams,

Cameron Barlow"Pollinator Pathway Project

Visit us on the Webat

www.txnativeplants.org

The purpose of the Native Plant Society of Texas is topromote the conservation, research, and utilization of the

native plants and plant habitats of Texas througheducation, outreach, and example.

Join the Native Plant Society of Texas!

Become a member of the Native Plant Society of Texas. Membership is open to any individual, family, or organization. Membership is renewable annually and extends for a year from the date we receive your original payment. Note new prices effective April 1, 2019. If you wish to join, please indicate your category of membership, then clip and mail this application with the appropriate remittance to:

Native Plant Society of TexasPO Box 3017, Fredericksburg, TX 78624

___ Student $35 ___ Family (2 or more) $60___ Senior (65+) $35 ___ Patron $100___ Limited Income $35 ___ Benefactor $250___ Individual $45 ___ Supporting $500___ Lifetime $1200 ___ Additional Chapter(s) $6Name: ________________________________________________________Address: ______________________________________________________City, State, Zip: _________________________________________________County: ______________________________________________________Phone: _______________________________________________________Chapter Affiliation: _____North Central Chapter_____________________E-mail: _______________________________________________________ Go to https://npsot.org/wp/join-renew/ for an on-line sign-up form or for additional information. A printable form is also available there.

The North Central TexasNPSOT News

is a monthly publication ofthe North Central Chapterof the Native Plant Societyof Texas.

For changes of address orinformation about contribut-ing to the newsletter, pleasecontact the newsletter editor.The deadline for submittingarticles for inclusion in thenewsletter is the 15th of everypreceding month.

Troy Mullens, [email protected]

Newsletter Requirements1. All submissions due by the 15th of the preceding month. Exceptions are at the discretion of the Editor.2. Articles (text) should preferably be in plain text form. (No pdf ’s). Any special formatting requirements should be noted.3. Photographs & charts should be sent separately as large as possible. Location within the article should be noted. Please include a caption with each photograph and note any individual names of people.


https://npsot.org/wp/join-renew/


NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS N e w s P€¦ · However, such women as Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717)...

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