i

Sempervirens Winter 2017 The Quarterly of the Virginia Native Society

hemisphere. Of the seven species in Virginia found in north of Bizarre ambassadors of the plant world Mexico, five are found in Virginia and West Virginia, making those states the Article and photographs by Zachary Bradford coralroot diversity hot spot of eastern irginia’s native orchids are by their fully photosynthetic symbiot- North America, with species to be Vunparalleled emissaries of our ic partners. found blooming from April through flora, with beautiful and structurally Because they no longer need to October. What follows is a brief intriguing species like Pink Lady’s-­ compete for light, parasitic , introduction to the five species (one slipper (Cypripedium acaule) being including the mycoheterotrophic of them with two varieties) found in among the most recognizable plants coralroots, tend to be small in stature, Virginia, presented by flowering time. in the state. In addition to those well- drab, and have highly reduced leaves. known, showy species, Virginia is As such, coralroots are all quite home to numerous small and incon- similar in appearance, with various SPRING CORALROOT spicuous orchids that few people aspects of structure, along For those in the western half of notice or are even aware of—the with habitat and bloom time, being the state, Spring Coralroot is the coralroots, of genus Corallorhiza. the best diagnostic characteristics. first orchid of the year, often starting Though drab in color and less than a Corallorhiza is a primarily New to bloom in early April. Due to its foot tall, the coralroots are among the World genus, with all 11 to 15 species reddish-brown coloration, Spring most alluring members of Virginia’s found in North and Central America. Coralroot is easily overlooked among diverse guild of native orchids. What A single species, Early Coralroot fallen leaves. Close inspection of they lack in showiness they make up (), the most a single flower reveals a white lip for with their elusiveness, fragility, widespread species in the genus, is speckled with vivid purple, extending and truly bizarre way of life. Instead found across the entire northern downward from the rest of the loosely of photosynthesizing to generate carbon compounds, coralroots hijack the mutualistic relationship between ectomycorrhizal fungi and nearby photosynthetic plants, essentially stealing carbon compounds from fungi that were originally generated

2017 Wildflower of the Year brochure inside!

Actaea racemosa Common Black Cohosh Spring Coralroot Early Coralroot 2 Sempervirens, Winter 2017 clasped petals and . This species is that the seep is decidedly ordinary; prefers rich woods over limestone or there are many more in the area that dolomite in the western Piedmont but might support this species. can also be found in similar sites in the mountains. Curiously, a disjunct population grows in a calcareous VAR. OCCIDENTALIS ravine in Surry County, an indication WESTERN SPOTTED CORALROOT that this diminutive species should be In the late 1960s, renowned hunted in similar ravines that inter- avocational botanist Charles “Mo” sect the Yorktown Formation shell Stevens found Virginia’s only popu- marl in and around Williamsburg. lation of Western Spotted Coralroot growing beside Eastern Hemlocks CORALLORHIZA TRIFIDA (Tsuga canadensis) near braided EARLY CORALROOT stream headwaters in the southern Unlike the rest of our coralroots, district of Shenandoah National plants of Early Coralroot are a vivid Park. Plants in this population were yellow-green. The slightly three-lobed yellow, as opposed to the normal lip is spotless white, while the rest reddish brown, and so were incor- of the petals and sepals are the same rectly treated as Early Coralroot for Spotted Coralroot yellow-green as the stem. Despite the many years until critical examina- CORALLORHIZA MACULATA presence of , recent exper- tion by Corallorhiza expert John VAR. MACULATA iments indicate that it does little, if Freudenstein of Ohio State University. SPOTTED CORALROOT any, photosynthesizing. Early Coral- Western Spotted Coralroot appears Spotted Coralroot is a widespread root is a circumboreal species, found to be closely affiliated with hemlocks but infrequently encountered resident in the northern hemisphere around here in the eastern portion of its of Virginia’s mountains. Compared the globe. In the eastern United range, and all evidence suggests that with other Corallorhiza species, States, Early Coralroot is a primarily Virginia’s only known population Spotted Coralroot can show consid- northern species that ventures farther has been lost as the hemlock woolly erable variation in stem and flower south along the Appalachians and has adelgid has ravaged the hemlocks in color, from brick red to butterscotch long been known from the Allegheny Shenandoah National Park. I resur- yellow. Each white lip is three-lobed Highlands of West Virginia. It is the veyed the area in 2016 and found a and spotted with purple, and the large newest addition to Virginia’s orchid botanical war zone: dense tangles of central lobe has straight sides. It pre- flora, first documented in 2015 when fallen hemlocks nearly enveloped by fers mature, somewhat acidic woods, an astute landowner in the central huge wood nettle (Laportea canaden- usually with a strong hemlock or oak Blue Ridge Mountains realized sis) taking advantage of the increased component. Unlike Western Spotted she had something interesting on light. Those dead hemlocks still Coralroot, it seems able to persist in her property and brought it to the standing had sloughed off their bark areas impacted by the hemlock woolly attention of her botanically inclined into huge piles around their bases, adelgid. Despite the loss of the mature friends. True to its common name, the very places that Western Spotted hemlocks two decades ago, keen Early Coralroot blooms at around Coralroot favored before the hemlock eyes can still find Spotted Coralroot the same time as Spring Coralroot, in woolly adelgid arrived. This taxon growing along the Limberlost Trail in early to mid-April. The lone Virginia should be sought in areas where our Shenandoah National Park. Spotted population occupies slightly raised native hemlocks persist, and it can Coralroot blooms toward the end of microsites, like hummocks and rot- be distinguished from the nominate July, almost two months later than ting deadfall, within a forested seep- variety by its late May to early June Western Spotted Coralroot. age area along a stream at around flowering and by the rounded margin 2,700 feet in elevation, considerably of the central lobe of the lip. Rumor CORALLORHIZA BENTLEYI lower than the nearest populations in has it that Western Spotted Coralroot BENTLEY’S CORALROOT West Virginia. What is most fasci- may persist in the Cranberry Glades Eastern North America has been nating and promising about this site area of West Virginia. botanized extensively, and the Orchi- Sempervirens, Winter 2016 3

ing just a hint of the underside of the purple-spotted white lip. Unlike our other cleistogamous coralroot, Bent- ley’s Coralroot, Autumn Coralroot lacks the thin bit of tissue that sepa- rates the pollinia from the stigmatic surface, so 100-percent fruit set is frequent even in plants with fully closed . Lucky orchid hunters occasionally come across open-flow- ered plants that nicely illustrate the close evolutionary relationship between Autumn Coralroot and the April-blooming Spring Coralroot; the two are nearly identical save the five-month difference in bloom time! Given the widespread nature of Autumn Coralroot, the habitat de- Bentley’s Coralroot Autumn Coralroot scription must be necessarily vague: daceae is a highly studied family, mak- sister species to the southern Mexico mesic to dry woods with a strong ing the recent discovery of Bentley’s endemic Corallorhiza involuta, to oak component. The first place I saw Coralroot all the more astonishing. which it is extremely similar in both Autumn Coralroot is still my favor- Bentley’s Coralroot was first appearance and genetics. Bentley’s ite place to observe it: the margins discovered by naturalist and Pulaski Coralroot seems to favor sites close of Multi-Use Trail 3 at James City County resident Stanley Bentley in to disturbance; nearly all document- County’s Freedom Park. 1996 as he walked an abandoned ed populations are known from old railroad grade in Monroe County, railroad beds or directly adjacent to BENTLEY’S BOOK West Virginia. Since then, several road cuts. Such proximity to road- Those interested in pursuing our more small populations have been ways makes this already rare species native coralroots should buy a copy found in Virginia and West Virginia susceptible to the vagaries of road of Stanley Bentley’s Native Orchids along the border between the two maintenance activities like herbicide of the Southern Appalachian Moun- states, but it remains one of the rarest spraying and vegetation clearing. tains, which offers an unparalleled orchids in the . Bentley’s and much more detailed assessment Coralroot is autogamous; the pollinia of all of the coralroots mentioned germinate in place, and the pollen VAR. ODONTORHIZA here, along with other Appalachian tubes grow down to the stigmatic AUTUMN CORALROOT orchids, and includes a detailed surface, so it always self-pollinates. Serving as a temporal bookend to account of his discovery of Bentley’s Many plants bear cleistogamous its sister species, Spring Coralroot, Coralroot. flowers, while others present only the Autumn Coralroot is one of Virgin­ lower lip. Curiously, the flowers of ia’s last native orchids to bloom in Zach Bradford is the Chesapeake Bentley’s Coralroot can be tan with the fall, often flowering through Bay Region Steward for the Virginia red or yellow lips, or entirely yellow. October. Autumn Coralroot is one of Natural Heritage Program, a divi- All color forms can be found in a our most widespread orchid species, sion of the Virginia Department single population, but the red form document­ed for nearly every county of Conservation and Recreation. appears to dominate. Compared with in Vir­ginia, but in my experience it A native-plant enthusiast since our other native coralroots, Bentley’s is almost always an orchid that finds the third grade, he spends most Coralroot is more robust, with stout- you, not the other way around. Its of his free time during the warm er stems and thicker flower parts. drab green-and-brown coloration months searching for and photo- Adding to the list of phytogeographic hides it well, and most Virginia graphing Virginia’s orchids with his mysteries, Bentley’s Coralroot is a specimens are cleistogamous, offer- wife, Jean. 4 Sempervirens, Winter 2017

From the President Winter Travels: Opening Cuban Doors

s we tend to hibernate within home of renowned Cuban ornithol- walking, biking, or riding in crowded Athe comfort of our warm homes ogist Orlando H. Garrido, author buses or horse-drawn carts are the in winter, some may dream about of Birds of Cuba, who displayed normal modes of transportation. visiting tropical climates. In Novem- mounted specimens of most of the Stray animals—dogs, cats, chickens, ber Harry and I had the opportunity 27 endemic species of birds of Cuba, and livestock—appear everywhere. to travel to the almost mystical land including the colorful Cuban Trogon, Our group discovered that Turkey of Cuba on a two-week Vultures, Cattle Egrets, and birding trip. From our Palm Warblers were the 4:30 a.m. rendezvous with most common birds. our small group at Miami National parks are a International Airport, we treasure in Cuba, and they knew that this would be no are vast and unspoiled. But ordinary vacation. We flew not all endemic species are on a charter that included found in pristine parks; many Cuban-Americans we observed the endemic visiting Cuban relatives they and uncommon Fernan- had left behind during the dino’s Flicker in the trees revolution in 1959. And they surrounding a small, took gifts to them! The air- Cuban Firebush (Rubiaceae: Hamelia dilapidated family farm. A port has a bustling shrink- patens, by Nancy Vehrs) and Bee Cuban Pygmy Owl spent Hummingbird (Rick Flaherty) wrap business for that the night in a tree near the excess baggage—little things like a set the national bird. It was hard to imag- office of our resort hotel at María la of four automobile tires, televisions, ine that we would see most of these Gorda, at the far southwestern edge and other appliances! Needless to say, exotic birds in the field during our trip. of the island. While our first glimpse we were grateful that weight limits are We stayed in government-owned of the endemic Bee Hummingbird, enforced on such flights. hotels and in casas particulares, bed- the world’s smallest bird, was in a Once in Havana, after customs and-breakfasts run by entrepreneurial natural area, we had close encounters and money exchanges to convertible Cubans and sanctioned by the Cuban with it in the small backyard of a pesos (called cucs, short for Cuban government. We ate our best meals at family with a large Firebush (Hame- convertibles), we went into the private restaurants, another avenue lia patens). This treelike has parking lot to meet our bus. There for Cuban entrepreneurship. We continuous blooms of red tubular we caught our first views of the received heaping servings that belied flowers, and its berries are popular vintage cars of Havana and our bus, a the food shortages of the ordinary with the hummingbird and a number modern, Chinese-made, 24-passenger citizens. Unfortunately, tourists of other bird species. The residents model used just for tourists. Our receive the best-quality foods and are also had put up hummingbird feeders, group of 17 included 14 U.S. birders driving up prices. We saw few grocery but these were all but ignored by the of varied skills, a cultural guide from stores on our route, and some towns birds. We must strive to teach people the Cuban tourist bureau, a Cuban had no stores at all. the desirability of native plants over birding expert, and our bus driver. Cuba is a very poor country with artificial food sources. The back of the bus was filled with innovative and resourceful people. Habitat was key to finding many large water bottles for our use during Besides the vintage American cars of the endemic birds. Our local bird the entirety of the trip. in Havana that serve as taxis, few guides understood that, but they were Our first stop was the Havana citizens own cars. Hitchhiking, not plant experts. I had to settle for Sempervirens, Winter 2017 5

CUBA OUTDOORS: Traveling by horse-drawn vehicle (above). Clockwise from below: a Caribbean Passionflower Passiflora( cuprea) and nonnative Giant Milkweed (Calotropis procera) and Fringed Rosemallow ( schizopetalus). (Photographs by Nancy Vehrs) tinue to value and preserve its natural front boulevard called the Malecón. areas as economic prospects change. The Nacional is famous as the gather- Though it is not particularly ing spot for American Mafia figures in botanical, we found the Cuban urban the 1940s and ’50s when the mobsters areas we visit- operated in ed interesting, Cuba with im- colorful, and punity. The sec- hopeful. We ond Godfather were fortunate movie featured to spend the that history. The equivalent of a hotel is open day and a half in and operating Havana. There as vigorously as we explored the it did 70 years 10 to 20 blocks ago and remains of Old Havana (La Habana Vieja) an elegant vestige of Havana’s storied with its graceful pastel but crumbling past. buildings. Much of this section dates We were particularly taken with to the 17th and 18th centuries. Every- the Cuban people. We learned that where we walked, we were confronted the Cuban life expectancy is the with magnificent façades, balconies, same as that of the United States. and doorways. And everywhere, there Health care is free and is considered seeking out and photographing flow- was music! Street musicians, radi- very good. There appeared to be ers without identifying them. While os, and ensembles in open bars and little obesity, tobacco use, or alcohol not as floriferous as Costa Rica, in my restaurants playing Afro-Cuban jazz, consumption. Perhaps this is because opinion, Cuba did have some lovely salsa, rumba, flamenco, and many there is a shortage of food and no blooms and some spectacular trees. other styles. The contrast between the money to spend on the vices of a This island country, with a length music and the bright, happy people, society. But it seemed that everywhere comparable to the distance from D.C. and the obvious poverty was striking. we went there were laughter, happy to Chicago, is caught in a time warp. We explored the famous Hotel children, and beautiful and vast na- We can only hope that its leaders con- Nacional de Cuba on the city’s water- tional parklands. —Nancy Vehrs 6 Sempervirens, Winter 2017

the Flora of Virginia, “The Nature of This Spring, Explore the Botanical the Virginia Flora” and “Learning the Virginia Flora: 50 Sites for Productive Delights of Southwest Virginia Field Botany,” as well as all the habitat and distribution information used in taxon descriptions. Fleming is a long-time member and a past president of the Virginia Botanical Associates, the nonprofit organization that has been devoted to mapping the distribution of vascular plants in Virginia for more than 35 years and administers the Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora (http://www. vaplantatlas.org/). The price of the trip will be $850 for double occupancy (Call the VNPS office for single occupancy cost.) Included will be seven nights’ accommodations, six lunches, and a Russell Fork Gorge at Breaks Interstate Park, on the Kentucky line. (Photograph by Gary $300 donation shared between VNPS P. Fleming) and the Virginia Botanical Associates. his year on the Virginia Native that an addition to The Cedars Sign up now! A $200 deposit will TPlant Society’s spring trip we will Natural Area Preserve was the reserve a space for you on this trip. visit special botanical and ecological focus of our 2015 state fundraising More details will be available soon. areas in far Southwest Virginia, campaign. Make your check payable to VNPS where the Cumberland Mountains Gary has conducted field studies and send it to 400 Blandy Farm Lane and southern Ridge and Valley of the natural communities and flora #2, Boyce, VA 22620, or call 540-837- provinces intersect the state. The of Virginia for more than 35 years. He 1600 (mornings) to sign up using a trip will take place the week of April wrote two introductory chapters of credit card. —Sally Anderson 23–30, and our field leader will be Gary Fleming, vegetation ecologist with the Virginia Natural Heritage Program. Many of you know Gary and the expertise he will bring to the sites we visit. The six days of tours will encom- pass Breaks Interstate Park on the north and Cumberland Gap National Historical Park on the south, both on the Kentucky line. In between, sites will include The Cedars and sever- al important areas of the Jefferson National Forest in the Cumberlands. Although the hikes will be slow- paced, participants should be able to navigate short stretches of steep and Dwarf Larkspur ( tricorne), above, and rare Glade Spurge (Euphorbia rocky trails and hike up to four miles purpurea) were seen by Southwest a day. Virginia explorers last year. (Photographs VNPS members might remember by Nancy Vehrs) Sempervirens, Winter 2017 7 Zoologists find 6 newbees for Virginia Heritage Program Abuzz with Discovery­ ne of the most exciting endeav- This region has benefited from strate- Oors here at the Virginia Natural From Your gic land conservation and stewardship Heritage Program is expanding our Natural Heritage by the Natural Heritage Program and comprehension of Virginia’s biodi- Program its partners. Our 1,066-acre Chub versity. There is so much that we still By Jason Bulluck Sandhill­ Natural Area Preserve in Sus- don’t know. As a result, with modest sex County yielded many interesting effort, Natural Heritage biologists have tried to be strategic in picking bees including several rarely captured have frequently uncovered a species groups of organisms for which to sur- species and two new state records, new to science or one that has never vey. And over the past few years, we Lasioglossum floridanum and L. been seen in Virginia. realized that there was so little known raleighensis. Many of you are familiar with about pollinators (a group in serious The future of our native plants is some of our plant discoveries, for decline) that we needed to devote inextricably tied to the conservation example the new-to-science Piedmont some of our time to learning about of our native pollinators, and there Fameflower,Phemeranthus piedmon- them, particularly our bee fauna. Our is so much to learn. We are working tanus, discovered by Chris Ludwig field zoologist, Ellison Orcutt, is our to secure funds to further understand and Alan Weakley, named by Stewart budding expert, and we have found our bees and other pollinators in Ware, and now protected at the Bald funding for him to put in considerable 2017 and beyond. We would love for Knob and Grassy Hill natural area time on this group. our future days to be filled with more preserves. As you might guess, we During the 2016 field season, our new species finds as we slowly gather have discovered more new animals bee-sampling effort was scattered a robust database about Virginia’s than new plants. These come from a across the state and produced more amazing plants and animals. wide range of groups including am- than 2,500 specimens. With the help phipods, ant lions, bats, bees, beetles, of Sam Droege, a bee expert with the Jason Bulluck is director of the butterflies, caddis flies, centipedes, U.S. Geological Survey’s Bee Invento- Virginia Natural Heritage Program, clam shrimps, damselflies, dragon- ry and Monitoring Lab in Beltsville, a division of the Department of flies, fish flies, frogs, froghoppers, Md., it was determined that six bee Conservation and Recreation. Learn isopods, millipedes, moths, mussels, species that we had collected had more about Virginia’s Natural Area robber flies, scorpion flies, snakes, never been encountered in Virginia. Preserves at www.dcr.virginia.gov/ spiders, sponge flies, stone flies, and Sampling in western Virginia natural-heritage true bugs. produced­­ a state record from Au- Over our 30 years of existence we gusta County (Pseudopanurgus solida­ginus), another from Grayson County (Lasioglos­sum perpuncta­ tum), and two from Pulaski­ County (Melis­so­­ Sempervirens (ISSN 1085-9632) is the quar­ des tepan­eca, pictured at ter­ly newsletter of the Virginia Native Plant Society, Blandy Experimental Farm, 400 Blandy left, and Pseudo­panurgus Farm Lane, Unit 2, Boyce, Va. 22620, 540-837- labrosiformis). 1600, [email protected]. Nancy Vehrs, President; Nancy Sorrells, Editor; Karen York, Office Heavy emphasis was Manager. Original material in Sempervirens placed on collecting bees may be reprinted if credit is given to the Virginia from the sandhills of the Native Plant Society, to Sempervirens, and to the author of the material, if named. Readers are in- southeastern Coastal vited to send letters, news items, and queries for Plain, which have good consideration. E-mail items to Nancy Sorrells at Melissodes tepaneca, a new bee to the Virginia fauna, [email protected]. collected last year in Pulaski County. (Photograph © bee diversity but have Next submission deadline: March 15, 2017 Sam Droege, USGS) been poorly sampled. 8 Sempervirens, Winter 2017 Sepals and Petals and —Oh, My! Or, a brief discourse on putative homologies of perianth elements of Common Black Cohosh By W. John Hayden, Botany Chair

encountered some contradictory became larger and pigmented; these Iinformation while preparing to write modifications mark a shift away from the 2017 Wildflower of the Year bro- a direct role in reproduction to the chure: some sources describe flowers equally important supporting role of of Actaea racemosa, Common Black enhancing pollinator attraction. Flow- Figure 1 (left), petal/staminode (right front), and of Actaea Cohosh, as having petals, while others ers believed to have produced petals racemosa. Illustration by Sheila Hayden. say petals are absent. How can that be? via sterilization of stamens are said to How could there be such uncertainty possess andropetals. This model in- could be valid; some plants may have about this common plant, one known volves a somewhat round-about path: andropetals while others may have to science since before the time of Lin- leaflike organs bearing anthers and bracteopetals. naeus? After a little research, I decided pollen first became stamens, and then Multiple tools are available for to describe Black Cohosh flowers as some stamens became petals of this addressing which model of petal origin having a series of organs interpretable sort. An alternative model suggests applies for a given species. From the either as staminodes (nonfunctional that petals originated more directly realm of morphology, an andropetal stamens) or as petals located be- from a leaflike ancestral condition originates as a slender bump (resem- tween its sepals and stamens (Figure simply by loss of chloro­phyll and bling the first visible stages of a stamen 1). Frankly, I waffled on the petal enhancement of other pigments; such primordium), and at maturity it has issue, and this article explores why. petals are termed bracteopetals. For a narrow base and a single vascular Petals are the floral organs situated any species, either the andropetal or trace, just like a stamen. In contrast, between sepals and stamens, usually the bracteopetal model could be cor- a bracteopetal originates on the floral distinctively pigmented, and function- rect, but not both. For flowering plants meristem as an arclike bulge, retains ing to attract potential pollinators. as a whole, however, both models a relatively wide base at maturity, and At some fundamental level, all floral organs are interpreted to be modified leaves attached to the end () of the flower-bearing stem (pedicel)— an idea first articulated by the German poet Goethe (1790). But the diversity of flowering plants is profound, and there are lots of variations in floral organography. Certain flowers chal- lenge simplistic interpretation, and the structural details of petals and petallike organs have led botanists to ponder whether the petals of all flow- ers are fundamentally the same. Comparative morphologists have developed two models for the origin Figure 2 minimus; 3a. Helleborus foetidus, flower, longitudinal section;3b. of petals. One model posits that petals Helleborus foetidus, petal; 4a. Xanthorhiza simplicissima flower, top view;4b. Xanthorhiza represent stamens that lost the capac- simplicissima, petal; 5. Aquilegia vulgaris, flower, longitudinal section. Images from H. ity to form anthers and pollen as they Baillon. 1867–1869. Histoire des plantes, vol. 1. Hachette, Paris. Sempervirens, Winter 2017 9

derived from stamens. That is, petals that look like petals in Buttercups are in are andropetals fundamentally similar to the oddly and thus fundamentally different shaped organs illustrated in Figures from bracteopetals of core (i.e., most) 2–5 and to the odd organs located . Further, when present, petals between sepals and stamens in flowers in the Buttercup Family often bear of Actaea (Figure 1). nectar-secreting glands; classical-era My decision to waffle about the German morphologists called these petal/staminode organ of Actaea unusual nectar-bearing petals Hönig- race­mosa emerged from within the blatter (honey-leaves) (Figures 2-5). framework of issues outlined above. These nectary-bearing petals can be Including both interpretations for Figure 6 Anemone nemorosa, flower downright odd: in Mouse­tail (Myo- this organ in the Wildflower of the longitudinal section. 7. Caltha palustris, surus, Figure 2), they are extremely Year brochure provided an opening flower, longitudinal section. Images from narrow, flexed structures with a for this article and the opportunity to H. Baillon. 1867–1869. Histoire des plantes, nectary located at the point of flexure; interpret floral morphology ofActaea vol. 1. Hachette, Paris. in Hellebores (Helleborus, Figures 3a, in the context of Ranunculaceae in has three (or more) vascular traces. 3b), they are tubular; in Yellowroot particular and eudicots at large. There In these features, bracteopetals are (Xanthorhiza,­ Figure 4), they are is not much that is petallike about the essentially like differently pigmented stubby and bilobed; and in Columbine petal/staminodes of Actaea racemosa versions of sepals. Further, determina- (Aquilegia,­­ Figure 5), nectary-bearing (Figure 1). To interpret these organs as tion of which genes are active during petals form distinctive elongate spurs. staminodes emphasizes their similar- initiation and early development of In Buttercups (), nectary- ities with stamens: small size, narrow floral organ primordia can help resolve bearing petals look like ordinary pet- filamentlike base, and a bilobed apex the question. Finally, phylogenetic per- als that just happen to have a glandu- that suggests a pair of anther sacs. On spective provides insight to petal organ lar region toward their base. the other hand, though they would identity by mapping morphological Other familiar plants in the But­ter­ be decidedly odd in any plant fami- characteristics on well-resolved evolu- cup Family possess just a single peri- ly other than Ranunculaceae, these tionary trees. For a long time, based anth whorl that is brightly pigmented; organs are not particularly unusual for only on morphological evidence, many further, these floral organs have rela- the nectary-bearing andropetals of the botanists subscribed to the andrope- tively wide bases and three vascular Buttercup Family. So, good reader, take tal model for all eudicots (traditional traces, but not the vestige of a nectary. your pick, call them petals, andrope- dicots minus basal angiosperms).­ But If we apply the criteria articulated tals, Hönigblatteren, or staminodes, this paradigm of petal origin has been above, these members of the Butter- but whatever you call them, know overturned by de Craene (2007, 2008), cup Family have sepals that have taken that the choice is a complicated one. whose analyses support the bracteope- on the pollinator-attraction function Who would have imagined that these tal model for core (i.e., most) eudicots. of petals. Examples include Anemone graceful forest herbs stood at the crux And this is where the story returns (Anemone, Figure 6), Marsh Marigold of such basic, yet complicated, issues to Actaea. Black Cohosh is classified (Caltha palustris, Figure 7), and Clem- of plant morphology? All petals are in Ranunculaceae, the Buttercup atis (Clematis). The showy sepals in not the same! v Family, which, along with Poppies, flowers of these members of Ranun- Barberries, and several other families, culaceae are commonly referred to as WORKS CITED constitutes the basal eudicots, distinct petaloid sepals, but they also fit well De Craene, L.P.R. 2007. Are petals sterile from most (or core) eudicots now the distinguishing features of bracteo- stamens or bracts? The origin and modeled to possess bracteopetals. So petals. The point is that, regardless of evolution of petals in the core eudicots. Annals of Botany 100: 621–630. what’s the story with petals in Ranun- what morphological terms we choose De Craene, L.P.R. 2008. Homology and culaceae—and in Actaea? Morphol- to apply, the things that look like evolution of petals in the core eudicots. ogy, development, developmental petals in flowers of Anemone, Marsh Systematic Botany 33: 301–325. genetics, and phylogenetic perspective Marigold, and Clematis are not the Goethe, J.W. 1790. Versuch die Meta- support the idea that petals, when same as the things that look like morphose der Pflanzen zu erklären. present in Ranunculaceae, were petals in Buttercups—and the things Ettinger, Gotha. 10 Sempervirens, Winter 2017 A New Children’s Book Points Up the Link Between Milkweeds and Monarchs hen two teachers team one she would like to illus- Wup, well, you had better trate. Betty chose the milk- watch out! Former elementary weed and Monarch project school teacher Lisa Connors because of her botanical illus- has taken her first step into tration expertise and her love the publishing world with an of Monarchs and milkweeds. illustrated children’s book, In addition to Betty’s illustra- Milkweed Matters: A Close tions, the book includes sever- Look at the Life Cycles Within al of Lisa’s own illustrations a Food Chain. A number of and photographs. The book the illustrations, including the also includes a glossary, with stunning cover image, are the words like chrysalis, meta- creations of award-winning morphose, and migrate to botanical artist and former help students understand the middle school teacher Betty scientific language to which Gatewood. they are being introduced. The oversize color paper- Lisa admits that her first back takes children through chosen any food chain and portrayed foray into the publishing life cycles in a fashion not unlike the life cycles involved, but I wanted world was successful because of that in the kid’s song about the “old to use a species familiar to children help from several others including a lady who swallowed a fly.” Some so that there was less new material to brother-in-law, who is a graphic de- will remember the poor lady who grasp. So I chose the milkweed–Mon- signer, and her husband, who helped swallowed the fly and then had arch connection.” with the layout software. to swallow a spider to eat the fly From writing to self-publishing “I know very little about design,” and then had to swallow a bird to took Lisa about three years, off and she said, “so I based a lot of my eat the spider and onward. In this on. The milkweed idea was one of layout ideas on what I liked in other case, Lisa chooses to make the several stories Lisa had written. When picture books.” milkweed–Monarch connection she decided to move forward with With Milkweed Matters behind the centerpiece of the food-chain producing a book, she presented the them, Betty and Lisa are off on other circle, rather than a fly. The food stories to Betty and asked her which projects. Look for Lisa’s first tradi­tion­ chain also includes the sun, a ally published book, Oliver’s mouse, an owl, and a beetle. Otter Phase, coming soon from “I got the idea because Arbordale Publishing. Betty is when I taught fourth grade, constantly producing illustra- students learned life cycles and tions for note cards, calendars, food chains, but not necessarily and other publica­tions, even together, and I don’t think they occasionally for Sempervirens. readily grasped how the two Thirty-four of her watercolors are connected and how each just went on display at the Art species is potentially connected Box in Crozet. to another,” Lisa explained. “I In addition to paperback, wanted to find a way to show Milkweed Matters is available that, and that is how this book on Amazon for the Kindle or idea came about. I could have A Monarch caterpillar feeds on a milkweed leaf. Kindle app. —Nancy Sorrells Sempervirens, Winter 2017 11

Primitive Va. Plants Take the Stage Ferns & Mosses is spiral bound, measures 7 × 9 inch- es, and is 78 pages long. The cost is $15 plus $4 for tax, in Hamilton’s Latest Field Guide shipping, and handling. Please send your orders to Helen osses and ferns are some of the first plants that really Hamilton, P.O. Box 314, Lightfoot, Va. 23090-9998. And Mintrigue us. There’s something special, different about please take note: the book was sponsored by the John them. Something secluded, secret, odd and old. And Helen Clayton and the Northern Neck chapters of the VNPS. Hamilton’s new field guide,Ferns & Mosses of Virginia’s —Bland Crowder Coastal Plain, is a welcome door onto that world. On the heels of the well-received Wildflowers & Prototype of Flora Mobile App Grasses of Virginia’s Coastal Plain, by Hamilton and Gus Hall, the new book coincides with growing interest Will Soon Be Ready for Testing in “primitive” plants among he Flora of Virginia Mobile App was expected out this professional and avocational Tspring, but there will be a delay because of the volume botanists alike. of work that it has entailed. But what will come about “Although without showy this spring is the testing of prototypes, first an Android flowers and pollinating bees version, then an iOS version. and butterflies, ferns and The Mobile App will run on smart phones and tablets mosses have important roles and will include all the 3,164 species covered in the Flora. in the ecosystem,” she writes The prototype, though, will include fewer than 200 plants. in the introduction. “With the Testing will seek to find flaws in the programming and to descriptions and habitat infor- get testers’ commentary, what they like, what they don’t. mation provided here, amateur Essentially, the Mobile App allows you to browse a list naturalists as well as families of plants or to identify a plant you have found. Because out for a walk should be able to we have so many plants in Virginia, you may wind up with identify what they see along woodland paths.” a short list of possibilities, which you will then browse to These species are “not usually included in field guides close in on your ID. Tapping on a species name takes you to for the interested gardener and nature enthusiast,” Hamil- a species screen, which presents, say, a flower image, a hab- ton writes about these plants that are considered ancestral itat image, and a botanical illustration (including all 1,400 to “familiar land plants, those that enclose their seeds in from the print Flora). A tab takes you to the description fruits,” which renders them capable of reproducing in directly out of the Flora, as well as new information—on drier habitats. The earlier forms, like those covered in this rareness, invasiveness, whether book, have a clear link to moist environments. the plant is deemed native, or “These are plants of swamps, wet forests, rocky out- its value in wetlands. crops, along streams, and woodland edges,” reads the We will also create an back cover. The guide covers most of the ferns of Virginia’s “office” version, which will Coastal Plain. The mosses and liverworts treated are those bring in even more data and species that are “relatively easy to identify.” The book also allow connectivity with your covers Running-cedar and Tree-clubmoss, “relatives of ex- spreadsheet and word-pro- tinct giant trees,” as well as spikemosses and quillworts. cessing programs, especially Each species description begins with a color photo- valuable to consultants and graph, usually by Hamilton or another member of the evaluators of ecological value John Clayton Chapter of the Virginia Native Plant Society. of lands. This Office App is The plants are ordered by family and labeled with scientif- also our present fund-raising ic and common names. Each is described, as is its habitat, focus, and we have had an underwhelming response to our with an eye to the plant’s use in a garden or landscape. A winter appeal. So please do give to support our App work. comments section places the species in a broader milieu, See our site, floraofvirginia.org, for more information. the number of species in the genus, the etymology of If you would like to test-drive the Mobile App proto- the scientific name, interesting background on common type, write me at [email protected], and I will get names. Especially valuable are the field ID notes. in touch with details. —Bland Crowder 12 Sempervirens, Winter 2017 ARMAND THIEBLOTARMAND On the Trail of the and Bernice Thieblot since 1991. Reservations for free guided tours Planning for the gardens began in for individuals and families, as well Native Plant Quarry 2014, with a focus on native plants and as for events for organizations,­ may ven if your April calendar is filling communities, as well as the soapstone be made online at QuarryGarden- Eup fast, you’ll want to keep your industry. The trails and a classroom [email protected]. From early April ear to the rail about the opening of will be joined by areas dedicated to through November “we’ll be offering the Quarry Gardens at Schuyler—and plant research and propagation. free guided tours to small groups on do what it takes to fit a visit in. The gardens were designed on Fridays through Sundays,” Bernice The gardens are a 40-acre natural ecosystem-modeling principles, tak- Thieblot said. Other days they will area featuring two miles of trails ing advantage of the unique charac- make available for organizations­ like around the water-filled, abandoned teristics of 14 ecozones and 7 conser- VNPS chapters. soapstone quarries in Nelson County. vation areas. A demonstration garden Check online around March 1 The quarries, active from the ’50s illustrates how native plant communi- for a revamped website, with details into the ’70s, have been owned by ties can fit into more formal settings, on the opening and a reservation

Jefferson Chapter members Armand a concern with many gardeners. calendar. —Bland Crowder

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