Greening your yard with native species is good for the environment— and the critters. TheJoys ofGrowing NativeShrubs andVines Story and Photos By Susan Dees

ant to attract butterflies and pillars generally don’t injure the The native red honeysuckle ( Lonicera other wildlife to your garden (unless it is very small). There are plen - sempervirens ) produces clusters of with beautiful and easy to ty of predators to eat the caterpillars, brilliant, scarlet-colored blossoms in the maintain ? Read on. such as many songbird species which I have grown native Illi - rely heavily on caterpillars for nestling spring and fall. nois and and food. If you grow mostly non-native studied them for several plants, then there will be few caterpil - your neighborhood and thus enhance dWecades. Because these species are lars in your yard, and consequently few biodiversity. A diverse plant communi - native, they are already adapted to Illi - nesting songbirds. Essentially, your yard ty, such as a woodland or neighbor - nois’ climate, requiring little care will be biologically sterile. At the very hood that contains many species, ulti - beyond the initial planting and estab - least, by planting lishment watering. Some of these plant native species you species are the sole foodplant for cater - enable many more pillars of certain butterfly species. species to live in Therefore, if you plant them, it is quite possible that you may attract those spe - Mature spicebush cific butterflies to your yard. Our native insects, including cater - swallowtail caterpil- pillars, can’t or won’t eat the foliage of lars feed on their most of the non-native plants that many namesake plant of us grow. One would think that is a and have false good thing, but actually hungry cater - eyespots which are used in defense. 20 / Outdoor Illinois April 2009 years, creating a colony radiating out from the center parent . Buttonbush ( Cephalanthus occiden - talis ) are eaten by promethea moth larvae, as well as spicebush swal - lowtail caterpillars. The interesting, white, ball-like are such com - pelling nectar sources that one may eas - ily approach the tiger swallowtails or hummingbird clearwing moths as they feed from them. This grows best in sun but will take a little shade. If watered, it will grow to 15 feet tall and wide. Buttonbush swamps provide habitat for the Illinois-endangered bird- voiced tree frog, but the bush will grow just fine in average soil. Wafer ash or hop tree ( Ptelea trifoli - ata ) provides food via their leaves for the giant swallowtail caterpillar, which sits boldly atop the leaves, unafraid of The golden-yellow cast of fall pawpaw grows to perhaps 15 feet tall and wide. being eaten by a bird since its tan and Small, yellow flowers appear in the (Asimina triloba ) leaves color the under - brown markings resemble a bird drop - spring and the plant does best in a story of shady, moist-soil habitats. ping. The only other foodplant this somewhat moist environment. caterpillar eats in Illinois is the prickly Leaves of the pawpaw ( Asimina ash ( Zanthoxylum americanum ). Both mately makes a difference toward slow - ) provide food for the zebra swal - triloba species are not true ashes and thus are ing extinction rates. lowtail and pawpaw sphinx moth cater - not at risk for the emerald ash borer The first species of interest is the pillars, which eat nothing else in Illinois; beetle that is slowly making its destruc - hazelnut bush ( ), hence they occur only where pawpaws Corylus americana tive way south throughout Illinois. which needs full sun and average soil. grow. Pawpaw fruits ripen in September Wafer ash seeds are a flat, wafer-shaped It will grow to 10-15 feet tall in about as in Illinois and have a rich, sweet, cus - disc, persisting on the shrub into the many years and is clump-forming. It has tardy taste for the humans and wildlife visual interest each of the four seasons lucky enough to find one. A small under - Promethea moth larvae, which feed on in the landscape and indeed, landscape story tree, the pawpaw provides beauti - architects often incorporate this plant ful, golden fall color in shady, moist soil spicebush and buttonbush, have a colonial into their designs. It produces delicious habitats (it will do fine in average soil). habit and display different color schemes nuts and beautiful yellow, orange and Pawpaws become clonal after a few in each growth stage. red foliage in the fall. Harvest the nuts when the outer husk (botanically called bracts) is half green and half brown, if you can beat the squirrels to them. It bears catkins all winter and into the spring. In the summer, spiny oakworm caterpillars eat its leaves (or oak leaves) and provides food for bird nestlings. I never have any squirrel problems with my yard hazelnuts, but my neighbors and I have several species of large oaks and walnuts that provide ample nuts. The spicebush ( Lindera benzoin ) has beautiful, yellow leaves and attrac - tive red fruits in the fall for birds. Its leaves provide food for spicebush swal - lowtail and promethea moth caterpil - lars. An understory, and thus shade-lov - ing, plant, the multi-stemmed bush April 2009 Outdoor Illinois / 21 Not a true ash, and therefore not susceptible to the emerald ash borer, the wafer ash (Ptelea trifoliata ) tree produces wafer-shaped fruits that persist into winter.

is scattered throughout Illinois. The col - orful caterpillar of the variegated fritil - lary butterfly feeds on passion leaves. These vines sucker vigorously, but can easily be controlled via mowing as needed. They grow to the top of my TV tower annually, dying back to the ground each winter. They are very late to sprout each year and in some years may not emerge from the ground until June or July. They require sun and aver - winter. Its delicate, fragrant, white blos - The red honeysuckle vine ( Lonicera age soil. soms provide nectar for . This sempervirens ) provides stunning clus - Growing native plants is immensely species grows in average soil in sun or ters of scarlet blossoms spring and fall, satisfying and fascinating, and you shade, but blooms best in sun. It will semi-evergreen leaves, and is not inva - never know what new moth or butter - grow to 20 feet tall with up to 4-inch sive like its non-native cousin the Japan - fly may turn up next because of what diameter trunks. ese honeysuckle. Grow this vine in a you planted. Prairie willow ( Salix humilis ) is a prominent spot in your yard as the Plant a few and experiment with sun-loving shrub that grows best in flowers are so beautiful. Although the your yard. moist ground but does fine in average flowers are not fragrant, hummingbirds garden soil. It has delightful miniature don’t seem to notice as they sip nectar catkins similar to the commercial pussy freely. Hummingbird sphinx larvae willow and grows to only 3 to 9 feet feast upon the leaves. Web sites tall. Resembling bird droppings with Illinois has two native species of pas - ational Audubon Society Healthy their cream, brown and green col - sion flower vines, incarnata NYard Pledge (tips on how to man - oration, viceroy butterfly (mimic of the and Passiflora lutea . The unusual and age your back yard to help birds and monarch) caterpillars feed in plain sight beautiful flowers are pollinated by bees. other wildlife) http://audubonathome. without fear of becoming bird food. The first species, with larger white and org/pledge Illinois Native Plant Society (useful Pipevine or Dutchman’s pipe ( Aris - blue flowers, is found in deep southern links, invasive plant information and tolochia tomentosa ) has attractive, heart- Illinois but will grow as far north as Illinois sources of native plants) http:// shaped leaves and unusual burgundy and Hannibal, Missouri. The second species, www.ill-inps.org yellow flowers resembling a meer - with much smaller, pale-yellow flowers, schaum pipe. Found in drier areas of Illi - nois twining up into the treetops or ram - bling across the ground, pipevines grow equally well in sun or deep shade. It suckers freely, which may be controlled via mowing. Its leaves provide food for the larva of the breath-taking pipevine swallowtail. The only other foodplant eaten in Illinois by the pipevine swallow - tail caterpillar is Virginia snakeroot ( Aris - tolochia serpenteria ).

Feeding on the distinctive heart-shaped leaves of the pipevine ( Aristolochia tomentos ) is the pipevine swallowtail caterpillar.

22 / Outdoor Illinois April 2009