Claytonia
Newsletter of the John Clayton Chapter of the Virginia Native Plant
Society
Volume 22, Number 3 May / June 2006
From the President:
From the Home Page of the Virginia
Native Plant Society: “The Society's
programs emphasize public education, protection of endangered species, habitat
preservation, and encouragement of appropriate landscape use of native plants.”
Notice that “education” is the
first item in this list – instructing homeowners about using native plants is
our first priority. Recently John
Clayton Chapter has been heavily involved in educating the public about native
plants – we have given 3 talks on native plants to local groups, with more
scheduled, and Mary Hyde Berg has led several excellent field trips, attended
not only by JCC members but folks from the surrounding area who learned of the
field trips thanks to the efforts of our aggressive publicity chair Jan
Newton. Have you seen all the pictures
of JCC members and activities in local newspapers? And Jan has created and posted a flyer
advertising our field trips – many thanks, Jan!
Mary Hyde is cultivating two
knowledgeable botanists -- Charlie Vannater, working in wetlands delineation,
and Bharati Lakshmi, an expert in mold identification. Both are eager to learn the tidewater plants
– Mary Hyde is providing hours of instruction on her property, that in addition
to two Sunday field trips plus two more for stray attendees who showed up on
Saturday, after the cancellations– she has hosted field trips every weekend in
April, beginning March 22. Thanks, Mary,
for generously sharing your knowledge with us and the public
Donna Ware did a “Walk and Talk” at
the Williamsburg Botanical Garden recently.
We are fortunate that Donna, a university botanist with a vast knowledge
base, agreed to be our Vice President, and is so visible in the Williamsburg
community.
In the next month, Mary Turnbull
will be receiving your entries into the “New Logo” contest. And May 18 is our annual picnic at New
Quarter Park. Hope to see you
there! Helen Hamilton
Plant Sale
Plant pricing will
be at the CW nursery on Quarter Path Rd., Williamsburg,
May 5, 11 AM -2PM. Bring your plants. We need anyone with a truck and a tarp who
can help us carry plants from there to the museum. We could still use more volunteers to help at
the sale Saturday May 13, noon to 4 PM and Sunday, May 14, 11 AM-4PM. Thanks to all who have signed up to help,
I’ll be calling with reminders. Also
thanks to all who showed up at the Long’s pot parties and potted more than 200
plants. Denise Greene 804/642-0923
Plant Sale hours: Saturday May 6th, 9am-3pm, Sunday May 7th, noon-3pm
Saturday,
May 13th 9 am-3pm, Sunday
May 14, noon-3pm
Virginia Living Museum, 524 J. Clyde Morris Blvd.(Route 17), Newport News
Picnic May 18, New Quarter Park
Please
bring your family and friends to our annual picnic at New
Quarter Park.
Bring a dish to share and meat to grill—Sid Sterling will have the grills fired
up. JCC will furnish drinks, plates etc., candelabra and flowers. Call Ada Lou Turner to register at 757/220-0929.
We’ll have a plant walk starting at 5pm
in the rich woods and ravines of the park, then another after supper to watch
the sunset. From the Colonial
Parkway: take the Queens Lake exit; make a quick right turn onto Hubbard
Lane, then a quick turn onto Lakeshead Drive(we’ll have a sign)
.Follow it to the end where you’ll find the parking lot and picnic shelter.
This meeting is an important social event and field trip all in one—hope to see
you all there!
Field Trips May and June, 2006
May 18, 5pm
Sumptuous slopes of New Quarter
Park, walk precedes the picnic at 6 pm.
Details page 1.
May 20, 10am Field trip, Greenhaven registry site,
Norge Donna Ware will lead a trip to our
registry site. We will be looking for
dwarf ginseng and other species in incredibly rich slopes and swamps. The terrain is somewhat challenging. Call Donna at 757/565-0657 to register and
get directions.
May 24, 10am, Rain
date May 25 Field trip, Hickory
Hollow Natural Area, Lancaster County, We will be looking for the extremely rare
Kentucky Lady’s-slipper. Steep
trail. Car pool will leave Gloucester
at 8:30am contact Mary Berg 804/693-3568 to register and get directions. Rain date
May 25
May 27, 10am Summerfield wild area Mary promises wonderful
woods and water blooms. Expect 7 things
you’ve never seen. Also expect slightly
wet feet. Call Mary 804/693-3568 to
register and get directions.
June 3, 2pm
Repeat of Hickory Hollow trip May 24.
June 10, 10am
Field trip, William and Mary Wildflower Refuge.
A stroll in the William and Mary Wildflower Refuge will concentrate on
“second chance” plants. These plants
rescued from development sites and now growing in the refuge include several
species of orchids. Call Carolyn Will
after 6 pm 757/565-0306 to register
and get directions. Rain date June 11, 2pm
June 17, 10am
Bassett Hall woods, Colonial Williamsburg Rare and lovely Stewartia. Easy
walking. Call Wesley Greene 804/642-0306
to register and get directions
June 24, 10am John Clayton Office site, Piankatank
River Easy walking, diverse habitats.
Call Sandy Pait
804/725-1721 or spait@wildblue,net
Botany/Field
Trip chairman Mary Hyde Berg continues to amaze us with her field trip
offerings. Don’t miss these wonderful
opportunities!
Red, White, and Blue Garden
We have
another opportunity for education and outreach!
Our own Denise Greene has designed a lovely garden to be installed at York
River State Park. All plants are native,
there is a woodland area, a bog garden, a wildflower meadow, and a gravel path
under an arbor—all in a space no more than 300 feet square. The area is just outside the visitor center,
near the picnic tables, and overlooks the river.
York
River is the first state park in Virginia
to install red, white and blue native plantings – it will be a prototype for
all Virginia state parks. The initiative is driven by the America’s
Anniversary Garden developed by Virginia Tech. JCC member Charlene Talcott (now working at York River
State Park) initially suggested the installation of red, white and blue natives
at the Jamestown 4-H site. From that
suggestion, VNPS was contacted to provide a list of such plants.
The list
was initially developed by Denise, modified by other John Clayton members, and
published in the America’s
Anniversary Garden
brochure, along with a PowerPoint program.
Denise has recently revisited the list and made some adjustments to
allow for continual blooms across the seasons.
The new list and her design will be published in a revised brochure,
which should be available in mid-May.
The site is highly visible to
visitors on their way to kayaking and hiking, eating lunch, strolling and
playing outside the Visitor Center. The purpose of this garden is to focus on the
possibilities of home gardening with red, white and blue natives. Therefore, it would be desirable for John
Clayton Chapter to furnish inexpensive plant tags inside the garden.
Plans are to install the garden on
Wednesday, May 10 from 10 am until 2 pm.
All we need are 5 willing people to dig and plant. If you can help, please call Helen Hamilton 757 564 4494.
Gardening
for Butterflies: March 16th Meeting
By Jan Newton
The March 16th chapter meeting had a wonderful
turnout of over 50 people. Denise Greene showed us how to create a butterfly
garden from the point of view of the caterpillar, the butterfly and the
designer. Her Power Point presentation
was exceptional with its beautiful photos of native plants along with the
caterpillars and butterflies that they attract. She explained the necessity of
not only growing nectar plants for the butterflies, but of also growing host
plants for the caterpillars. A mother
butterfly searches for specific plants on which to deposit her eggs. These plants then serve as food for the
growing caterpillars (baby butterflies!).
Shallow sources of water, such as plant saucers and mud puddles, are
important for providing drinking water.
Butterflies also enjoy basking in the sun on rocks. This helps them warm their wings for
flight. Some of the native species that
Denise recommended for butterfly gardening were butterfly weed (Asclepias
tuberosa), purple cone flower (Echinacea pupurea),
cup plant (Silphium perfoliatum), New York ironweed (Vernonia noveboracenareasis),
Joe-Pye weed (Eupatorium fistulosum), swamp milkweed (Asclepias
incarnata), common milkweed (Asclepia syriaca), whorled milkweed (Asclepias
verticillata), spicebush (Lindera benzoin), New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus
americanus), buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis),
and many, many others. We are very
grateful to Denise for giving such a delightful and informative presentation
about gardening for butterflies. Thank
you to Betsy Guckeyson for the delicious refreshments we enjoyed as we arrived
at the meeting.
Nature Camp Scholarships Awarded
Treasurer Hayes Williams
announced two Gloucester students
have been given scholarships to Nature Camp.
Cody Adams and Victoria Respess each received $700 for their
tuition. Our chapter contributed $500
each, and the Holly Society donated $200 each.
We are pleased to be able to work with the Holly Society to further the
educational goals of our chapter.
William and Mary Herbarium
Martha Case, Director, and Holly
Grubbs, Curator of the herbarium thanked us for our recent gift of volumes 19,
20, and 21 of Flora of North America.
“Flora of North America is a valuable and frequently consulted part of
the herbarium’s library. We are
sincerely grateful for your generous gift of these volumes. Your monetary support is a generous addition
to the continual time and specimens donated to the herbarium by John Clayton
VNPS members.”
Melissa’s Meadow
JCC members
helped to establish a native plant meadow at William and Mary in 1994. It is especially lovely in May-- do stop by
to admire the bountiful Penstemon,
Baptisia, Columbine, and other spring lovelies. There is also full occupancy at the purple
martin condo given by our long-time member Martha Armstrong. Williamsburg/James City County Master gardeners
are loyal friends of the meadow, and have presented a number of educational
programs there. Seeds from the meadow have been dispersed throughout the
community. Several school habitats have benefited. York
River State Park,
and the new Williamsburg Botanical
Garden have all received seeds collected in the
meadow. Melissa’s meadow has also become
a destination in the internet game called “geocaching”. The meadow is on South Henry
Street, adjacent to the McCormack/Nagelsen indoor
tennis center parking lot. Afternoon is
the best time to find a parking place nearby, or very early morning, while the
martins are chortling, and before the tennis players arrive.
Tripetala site, Gloucester 3-27-06
After a
wild search through the Gloucester
countryside looking for Leroy’s trailer, barking dogs welcomed 14 native plant
enthusiasts ready to search for spring ephemerals. We joined leader and site owner Mary Berg to
admire the first species—the pink buds of
highbush blueberry, Vaccinium corymbosum. The site is a ridge leading more than 30 feet
in elevation down a calcareous ravine to a seep area with a slow moving stream,
which is a part of the Haynes Pond watershed. Mary’s neighbor, Kathleen
Farrell, explained that the land is a part of the Yorktown formation formed
from fossil shells, many of which are still visible.
Cutleaf
toothwort, Dentaria laciniata, began
to appear as we proceed down the slope.
We stopped to study the huge dried leaves of Magnolia tripetela, the disjunct
species for which Mary has named the site.
The tiny woodland violet, Viola affinis,
peeked through the leaf cover. It is
distinguished by tall narrow petals at the top, looking like ears
Spicebush, Lindera benzoin our VNPS wildflower of the year, was locally abundant, with its yellow blossoms already attracting
butterflies. It is an important host
plant for the aptly named spicebush swallowtail caterpillar. Although this is a moist area, it will also
grow in dryer locales, and female plants
bear a handsome red fruit in the fall. Scratching the stems releases a spicy
resinous scent, characteristic of this family, which includes the larger
sassafras tree, Sassafras albidum, also on this site. “Threechopt” trees were evident,
triple-blazed to note old property boundaries, and often mentioned in survey
records.
Senecio aureus, or golden ragwort is in
bud, its bright yellow composite flowers will soon be floating above the
woodland floor. Hepatica americana, liverleaf (or liverwort in some old
books), is a small low plant with liver
shaped and colored leaves, and a delicate pink flower. The liver description and scientific name Hepatica harks back to the “doctrine of
signatures”, a medical practice which uses plants similar to human parts to
treat illnesses of that organ. Lichens
and mosses were abundant, as well as the tiny shiny leaves of the primitive
liverwort. This name takes you down a tricky path of taxonomy. Although the common name liverwort is also
used for the genus Hepatica, it is a
completely different flowering plant. We are including scientific nomenclature
in our plant lists to help make these distinctions
Running cedar, Lycopodium digitatum, grows on the upper slopes. Is has been seriously threatened by
collection for Christmas decorations, we
know that none of our members would ever
buy a wreath made of running cedar
This 14 acre tract is
indeed a rich habitat, and we are most grateful to our member Mary Hyde Berg
for preserving this treasure, and sharing it with us. Cynthia Long
Native Plant Walk: Summerfield
By Jan Newton
On March 29 and April 2
Mary Hyde Berg lead walks around her homestead
property, Summerfield, in Gloucester County.
The terrain consisted of wetlands, marsh, slopes, ravines, open forest
and meadows. I attended the March 29th
walk and kept a log of the many native plants that were spotted during the
tour. Chapter president, Helen Hamilton,
graciously typed the complete list using both common and Latin names. If anyone would like to study the list,
please contact Helen. Since the complete
list of natives spotted is extremely long, I have mostly listed plants that
were blooming, but have mentioned others I thought were of interest (at least
from the viewpoint of a beginning novice of the native plant world!)
The tour began in Mary’s naturalized front yard
where daffodils and flowering quince were in gorgeous bloom. Of the natives that were blooming we saw the
purple blossoms of the common blue violet (Viola papilionacea), dainty
yellow buttercups (Ranunculus bulbosus), and the red and yellow flowers
of wild columbine (Aquilegia canadensis). We
entered the wooded area where we were amongst tall loblolly pine (Pinus
taeda), Virginia pine (Pinus virginiana), eastern red cedar (Juniperus
virginiana), Virginia magnolia (Magnolia virginiana),
American holly (Ilex
opaca), black gum (Nyssa sylvatica), and water oak (Quercus
nigra). Growing underfoot we saw the
little red berries of partridge berry (Mitchella repens), the purple
blossoms of Le Conte violet (Viola affinis) as well as some white and
lavender trailing arbutus (Epigaea repens). Spicebush was sporting its yellow flower
clusters and the mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) was budding up for a
later show. It was fun to see the brown
seedpods of Indian pipe (Monotropa uniflora), and also the new growth of
various ferns, such as cinnamon fern (Osmunda cinnamomea), ebony
spleenwort fern (Asplenium platyneuron), and Christmas ferns (Polystichum
acrostichoides). Cat tails (Typha
sp.) were busy spreading their fluff of seeds, as well. A bonus to the trip was seeing Mary’s goats
in the meadow, as well as a few faraway butterflies that we were unable to identify.
After the walk and a picnic lunch on the front porch of Mary’s wonderful,
old farmhouse, several folks ventured over to the nearby Tripetala site, which
has been described in the article above.
Spring beauty (Claytonia virginica) with its white and pale lavender
flowers was also spotted. As both of
Mary’s sites are extremely rich in native species, I would welcome return walks
at different times of the year in order to experience various species at
different stages of growth and bloom.
Thank you Mary for a fun-filled and long day! You deserve a rest!
Ed. Note: We plan to keep a plant list of all the sites we
explore this year, which will be available for study. Seasonal highlights will be published in Claytonia.
Scientific and common names will remind us of the many nuances of plant
classification. and that we are an educational organization. It will also give
you a way to wow your friends and innocent bystanders with your erudition.
New Quarter Park, April 15, 2006
Flowering dogwood and viburnum
greeted 20 enthusiastic plant hunters on a sparkling spring morning washed
clean overnight by a gentle rain. After
a brief introduction to the park by interpreter Sara Lewis, we started down the
ravine pathway to the dock on Queens Creek below. The habitat was a varied one of upland
forest, calcareous ravines, and tidal wetlands.
We discussed the aliens which are gaining a foothold in many of the
disturbed areas. Dog fennel and Japanese
stilt grass are the major “invaliens” along with the ubiquitous Japanese
honeysuckle. Native wild comfrey, Cynoglossum virginianum was locallyabundant, just beginning to bloom. Aquilegia Canadensis, wild columbine was
also flowering. Viburnum prunifolium,
black haw viburnum was a conspicuous tree in several areas. Much of the habitat is still filled with
fossil shells of the Yorktown formation. Sara proudly displayed two species of
the scallop Chesapecten, including
our official state fossil species, jeffersonii.
Mary Berg
and her botanist friend Charlie Vannatter led us on a treasure hunt, finding foliage of long beech fern, showy
orchid, grape fern, hairy hawkweed, bellwort, hepatica, Solomon’s-seal,
heuchera, dwarf crested iris, and blue-eyed grass. Zebra swallowtail butterflies led us to the
blooming paw paws, (Asimina triloba),
on the banks of the creek.
Sara asked
us to make recommendations to the park staff for the preservation of plants and
habitat as we continue to make seasonal explorations of the park. The park is
taking an important step to conserve native plants by limiting mowing of open
spaces to playing fields. This will
conserve fuel, labor, and give some of
the sunny spaces a chance to recover the historic native plants.
Ada Lou Turner brought party favors for all—a
bushel of freshly dug Helianthus
tuberosus, Jerusalem
artichokes. She recommended slicing them raw for salads. Jan Newton reminded us
to dig them after a frost in the fall for the best flavor.
Claytonia: Newsletter of the
John Clayton Chapter of the Virginia Native Plant Society is published six
times per year. Articles, events, artwork & other information are
welcome. Deadline is the 15th
day of the month prior to publication.
Send items to Cynthia Long, Editor, 105 Bowstring Drive, Williamsburg, VA 23185 or cynthialongw@aol.com Word documents preferred. Please advise if
you would like to receive Claytonia by e-mail instead of U.S. Mail.
July
deadline is June 15, 2006
Aliens in My Garden
By Patricia Gray
Did
anyone notice when I crawled under my chair during the January meeting after
the list of invasive species was read? I wondered if I should I turn in
my membership card immediately or wait until the native plant police arrived
for a garden inspection. It is impossible to hide the English ivy even
under two years of unraked leaves, and it marches to and from every direction,
including my neighbors’ yards. Given the
diameter of the vines growing up some of the trees, this ivy was certainly
planted by some of the first English settlers in Williamsburg. Perhaps I could become a demonstration site
for the folly of invasive aliens.
If I plead that I am a victim of
established nature, will there be tolerance and forgiveness? When I moved into my newly constructed house
last April, I was firmly committed to becoming a more environmentally sensitive
gardener by creating a native plant habitat. But I was also
confronted with an interesting selection of plants and trees already
living happily on the property which had previously been part of the
garden of the house next door. I had begged the builder and his
typically eager tree guy to save every tree and shrub and quickly redesigned
the driveway when an enormous red oak was threatened. In saving those
trees I also saved that unrelenting understory of English ivy. Now it is my albatross to battle with wit and
determination, and I have a five-year plan to eliminate or reduce the
enemy. It is tempting to think about
agent orange, but I will pull out every stem by hand.
Meanwhile
I am being careful to not introduce any new invasive monsters and thinking
about removing other potential problems such as common daylilies and periwinkle
if they are in areas where they cannot be controlled. On the positive side, my emerging native
plant garden is growing in size and diversity, and it gives me hope that I can
begin to re-establish an ecosystem which is more friendly to the plants and
animals of this region. But a purist I
am not. Following the moderation in all
things philosophy, my ultimate goal is to keep a balance between the non-invasive
exotic species that I treasure and the native species that I value.
More
information on alien plant invaders can be found at http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/. This National Park Service site also
includes an invasive plants list for the Mid Atlantic region. www.vnps.org also has a list specific for Virginia
Calling All Artists
John
Clayton Chapter could use a new logo – can you draw, or copy a picture? Please include a representation of Claytonia virginica, the year of our
founding, 1984, and the words “John Clayton Chapter”, in some design that can
be reproduced on letterheads, patches, T-shirts, whatever.
Submit
your ideas by June 15. Send your
submissions to our secretary Mary Turnbull by June 15. Mary’s mail address: 109 Woodmere Drive,
Williamsburg, VA 23185;
email: turnbull7@gmail.com. The board will consider all entries and
announce the winner in the July newsletter.
Membership
Report
New
members in the last two months include Camilla Buchanan, Williamsburg;
Gloria Diggs and Patricia Buck of Newport News;
Bharati Lakshmi, Hampton; Zachary Loesch, Gloucester Point; Margaret McDowell, Yorktown;
and recycled member Bob McCartney Aiken, SC. Thanks to the loyal members who
have renewed. We have 120 paid memberships, many of these represent 2 people
when it is a family membership. Thanks
to Shirley Devan whose Excel skills keep us straight. Cynthia Long
John Clayton Officers
President: Helen Hamilton, 952 Wood Duck Commons, Williamsburg, VA 23188, 757/564-4494, helen44@earthlink.net.
Vice-President: Donna Ware, 14 Buford Road, Williamsburg, 23188, 757/565-0657, dmeware@verizon.net
Secretary: Mary Turnbull, 109 Woodmere Drive,
Williamsburg, 23185, 757/229-4046, turnbull7@gmail.com
Treasurer: Hayes Williams, P.O. Box 95, White Marsh,
23183, 804/693-4417 joycewms@inna.net
COMMITTEE CHAIRS:
Conservation: Ellen Bombalski, 5403-F Lane Place Drive,
Williamsburg, VA 23188
757/258-3921 elb25@cornell.edu
Field Trips: Mary Hyde Berg, 4832 Clay Bank Road, Gloucester, VA 23061, 804/693-3568(before 8:30 pm)
Historians: Pat and Teresa Baldwin, 430 Yale Dr.,
Hampton, VA 23666 757/ 838-2064
Hospitality:
Betsy and Jim Guckeyson, 9790 Burkes Pond Road ,North, VA 23128-9020, (804) 694-5493 telehog@aol.com
Membership/Newsletter:
Cynthia Long, 105 Bowstring Drive, Williamsburg, VA 23185, 757/259-9559, cynthialongw@aol.com
Plant Sale: Denise Greene, 7029 Bray Road, Hayes, VA 23072,
804/642-0923, sassafrasfarm@verizon.net
Publicity: Jan Newton, 110 Barn Elm Road, Williamsburg, VA 23188,
757/566-3646 jnewton110@cox.net
VNPS Board:
Phillip Merritt, 407 Mill Neck
Road, Williamsburg, VA 23185, 757/259-0386, phillipmerritt@hotmail.com
Demystifying VNPS Membership
Statewide VNPS has approximately 2000 members spread among
thirteen chapters. Our chapter has
approximately 100 current members. Our
membership applications and checks are sent to the state organization, designating
John Clayton Chapter. If you do not
designate John Clayton, you will not be on our mailing list for Claytonia and other events. The state maintains a record of that
membership and also forwards all the membership allocation information to our
chapter’s membership chairman, Cynthia Long.
We maintain a member mailing list, also e-mail, telephone numbers, and
special interests. The state retains 60% of the dues, which are used for state
operating expenses such as publishing the Bulletin
(state newsletter), events, other publications, the VNPS website which we use,
and administrative expenses. The
remaining 40% is sent to Hayes Williams, our chapter treasurer, for our
operations. Although we will continue to
maintain our 22 year address at the Yorktown post office, we encourage you to
send your membership dues to the state office.
Our computerized data has enabled us to eliminate the doubling of effort
in membership records, and greatly simplifies the record keeping. This change will be reflected in our
brochures, and noted in the Claytonia
membership forms. We are members of both
the state and local chapter. Do take
advantage of the programs offered by both.
Visit www.vnps.org for more
information or write VNPS, Blandy Experimental Farm,4
Blandy Farm Lane, Unit 2, Boyce,
VA 22620.
( This information was adapted from an article by Phil Stokes in the Jefferson
chapter newsletter.)
Membership form: See the address label for your expiration date
Yes, I want to join/renew
(circle one) my membership in the John Clayton Chapter/VNPS
Name---------------------------------------------Address--------------------------------------------------------City-----------------
-------------------------State------Zip---------
Phone H( )------------------------W(
)--------------------------e-mail----------------------------------------------------------
Membership Dues
