N North Central Texas

P NewsNative Plant Society of Texas, North Central Chapter Newsletter Volume 22, Number 5, June 2010 S The President’s Corner Dawn Hancock Greetings, Members of the North Central Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas. My son, being the practical boy I raised, called to ask me O what I wanted for Mother’s Day. I did not have to think long. I had in mind a book (with me, it is always a book, a plant or a gardening tool) I had heard mentioned by several folks I respect as stewards of Texas native plants. The book is Bring- ing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native T Plants by Douglas Tallamy. (See the review in the April issue.) After reading the book, gardeners should look at their gardens from a new perspective: “Does my garden sustain a native Chapter Leaders ecosystem?” I believe we have been trained by the horticul- Dawn Hancock - President tural industry — and even some organic gardeners who mean [email protected] well — that a garden should be a pristine haven of beauty. Sandra Johnson - Vice president Douglas Tallamy thinks differently. To him, gardens should be [email protected] places of activity where the sun’s energy, converted by plants Gailon Hardin - Treasurer to sugars, should be transferred to food webs. Dr. Tallamy [email protected] believes this is vital because whole ecosystems are being Rozanna Francis - Secretary erased due to urban sprawl and industrial farms. If ecosys- [email protected] tems are to survive at all, they will be in the home gardens. Gailon Hardin - NICE! Coordinator Another important point of the book is that the ecosystem the [email protected] garden models should be that of the ecoregion the garden is Frank Keeney - Webmaster in, not that of a foreign ecoregion. Unfortunately, homeowners [email protected] today are faced with exotic plants, those from other ecoregions Gailon Hardin - Southwest of the world, when shopping for plants to fill their gardens. Subcourthouse Garden Leader These beautiful plants usually have no function in our native [email protected] landscapes because no insect herbivore recognizes the plant Evaline Woodrey - Hulen Regional Library Garden Leader continued on page 2 [email protected] Molly Hollar - Molly Hollar Wildscape Garden Leader June meeeting [email protected] Thursday, June 3, 7:00 pm Fort Worth Botanic Gardens, Deborah Beggs Moncrief The purpose of the Native Plant Society Garden Center, Orchid Room of Texas is to promote the conservation, research and utilization of the native plants and plant habitats of Texas, Program: James Russell, Legislative Intern: Advocacy and the through education, outreach and Texas Legislature example. James is an intern in Representative Lon Burnam’s district Visit us at office. He initiates projects and handles constituent cases. ncnpsot.org and James is going to show us how to navigate the legislative txnativeplants.org process in order to advance the mission of NPSOT. 2 NPSOT News June 2010

Plant of the Month Josephine Keeney

Coralbean, Cherokee bean, Erythrina herbacea, Fabaceae

The leaves drop in the fall, and the woody branches die to the ground. During the dormant period the enormous plant root gathers energy for next year’s big display. In the spring, the flower spikes emerge before the leaves and produce a most amazing display of bright coral red flowers that can be seen This beautiful deciduous tree or from far away. The seeds are shrub grows from South Texas all bright red and very ornamental the way to North Central Texas but also very toxic. where it becomes a small shrub This is a most unusual but because of our colder climate. very slow growing plant, and if you It can live in full sun or part are patient you will be rewarded shade, prefers medium moisture with beauty every spring. and is not picky about soil.

Find more native plant information at www.texasstar.org, a forum for Texas gardeners dedicated to the cultivation and propagation of Texas native plants.

Native Plant Workdays Southwest Subcourthouse on Granbury Road in Fort Worth 2nd Saturday and last Wednesday of each month beginning at 9:00 am. Gailon Hardin in charge

Hulen Street Regional Library in Fort Worth 3rd Wednesday of each month beginning at 9:00 am. Evaline Woodrey in charge

Molly Hollar Wildscape at Veteran’s Park in Arlington Wednesdays and the first Saturday of each month beginning at 8:00 am (summer hours) Tuesdays at the greenhouse in Randoll Mill Park in Arlington beginning at 9:00 am

The President’s Corner continued from page 1 as food for either itself or its young. fellow gardeners. Plant Texas ing upon where you are. Expect and The food chain ends with the plant. natives in your gardens, and the enjoy insects that feed on your The insect herbivores and their closer the native is to North Cen- plants, knowing that they are predators are eliminated. tral Texas the better. Use plants passing on energy to birds and We members of the Native that model an ecosystem, includ- butterflies. Your garden will still be Plant Society of Texas respond to ing host plants for insects and beautiful, and you will have done Dr. Tallamy’s message, and we structural plants to mimic either your bit to keep North Central should do all we can to educate our prairie or our forests, depend- Texas ecosystems intact. June 2010 NPSOT News 3

Butterfly of the Month Joann Karges

The Royal Family: Monarch and Queen

The Monarch butterfly is Above, left to right: Monarch, Queen, spotted head and thorax, the white probably the best known member Soldier. Below center: Antelope horn speckles of the forewings. They of the royal family world-wide milkweed, Green milkweed. Below also use the same kinds of milk- because of its unique migration left: Monarch larva. Below right: weed as larval host plants, espe- phenomenon. Danaus plexippus is Queen larva. cially antelope horns (Asclepias just one of the sub-family of brush- asperula) and green milkweed footed butterflies, Danaiinae, (Asclepias viridis) in this area. named for one Danaus, of Egypt, The larvae are quite different. king of Argos, Greece. He had 50 While the Monarch caterpillars daughters all but one of whom are basically white with narrow (Hypermnestra) murdered their black and yellow horizontal husbands on their wedding night stripes, the Queen has much because the marriages had been more black and much less yellow. coerced. Nice story, isn’t it? But The significant difference, how- this brings us to that royal family ever, is in the filaments—two of butterflies. pairs, head and tail, on the Mon- Given less hype than the arch, and a third, post-thorax pair Monarch is the Queen (Danaus on the Queen. gilippus), one of our most common The Queen shows some ten- butterflies from June until frost. dency to migration, at least flock- (There is another in south Texas, ing together for southward flights the Soldier (Danaus eresimus) — in the fall but not like the Mon- less royal maybe.) The Queen is arch. It is not known to congregate slightly smaller than the Monarch; in a particular place for over- the orange of the wings is darker, wintering. and the veins on the upperside of Like the Monarch, the Queens nectar on mist flower, tithonia, the wings are not as pronounced. zinnias, etc. and are known to Otherwise the two share some of pollinate the milkweeds they use the same characteristics, the as host plants. 4 NPSOT News June 2010

Minutes of the Board Meeting May 6, 2010

Executive Board Meeting interaction with the state organi- New Business Called to order by Dawn Hancock zation, membership participation Gailon expressed her concerns at 5:52 p.m. in activities that involve other relating to the current condition chapters, and our chapter spon- and upkeep issues of the demon- Persons in Attendance: Dawn sored activities. Some of this is stration garden at the Southwest Hancock, Gailon Hardin, Sandy discussed in the monthly meet- Sub-Courthouse. One of the Johnson, Sandy Balch, and ings, but the newsletter is our facilities staff complained that the Rozanna Francis only means of communicating garden was not “pristine” due to with members who are unable to the dead clippings being left as attend meetings. Gathering of mulch. Over half of the past work material, timely submission for days have been missed due to bad the newsletter, etc. need to im- weather and there have been prove. Also discussed, going to an fewer volunteers. Gailon asked for every-two-month publication more volunteers to put in some schedule. needed hours on this garden. Adjourned at 6:22 pm. Dawn announced that the executive committee would be General Membership Meeting reviewing the chapter By-Laws to The meeting was called to order by address the need for changing or Dawn Hancock at 6:40 pm. New restating our by-laws. She called members and guests were recog- for any volunteers who might have nized. expertise in this doing this or would be willing to join in discuss- Subjects Discussed: ing possible needed changes.

By-Law Changes and Announcements Appointment of Nominating None Committee Term limitations as set out in the Program by-laws would eliminate the The program was presented by possibility of Gailon being nomi- the Chief Grounds Supervisor for nated and elected to a third suc- Tierra Verde Golf Course, Mark cessive term. The last survey of Claburn, on the use of native membership skills did not turn up plants and other ecological a member with the qualifications environmental management to fill this position. A reading of technology. the by-laws also prompted the Reports The program was followed by need to clarify the language and There were no corrections to the the “I Want to Know” question and further discuss any changes that Minutes of the April 2010 meet- answer period. might be necessary. Since any ing, and they were accepted as Motion to adjourn was made by recommended changes to the by- published in the link to the April Frank Keeney. The meeting was laws require 30 days notice to the Events email to members. adjourned at 7:45 pm. membership, this process would Gailon Hardin reported a bank need to be completed for the July, account balance of $7,801.47 as of 2010 newsletter and adopted prior April 30, 2010. Plant sales at to the Nominating Committee Prairie Fest had yielded income of beginning their work. $1,100. A motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report as presented Chapter Newsletter was made and seconded and Dawn brought up the importance passed unanimously. of the newsletter in keeping the membership informed. The news- Old Business letter discusses the officers’ None June 2010 NPSOT News 5

On the Trail of the Elusive Dalea reverchonii Dawn Hancock

On the Saturdays in May, I have been having fun pretending to be an ecologist. I, along with notable folks, have sought after and found a rare endemic of North Central Texas based on accounts recorded in Rare Plants of Texas by Jackie M. Poole, William R. Carr, Dana M. Price, and Jason R. Singhurst. The plant is commonly known as Comanche Peak prairie clover. Its scientific name is Dalea reverchonii, a dalea named for the famed Texas botanist, Julien Reverchon, who collected it from “the rocky top of Comanche Peak” in 1882. One of our party, Dr. Bob O’Keenon from BRIT (Botanical Research Institute of Texas), relocated the plant in Conference at the Ladybird Wild- joining him could do so. 2003 at Comanche Peak but flower Center. One of the goals of You may recall receiving found only 11 plants; others the conference was to form alli- emails from me inviting members have been found, but only in ances of plant people throughout of North Central Chapter to the Hood, Parker, and Wise Coun- the state to find rare, endangered, formation meeting of the North ties. or threatened native plants. The Texas Native Plant Alliance. At So how did I find myself in state was divided into areas for that meeting we agreed to try to the company of real ecologists? manageability one of which is find other unrecorded sites of I, along with several other North Central Texas. Dr. Allan Dalea reverchonii, but we needed to members of the North Central Nelson of Tarleton State Univer- see the plant we hoped to find. Chapter, attended the 2009 sity volunteered to head this Enter Dr. Bob. Texas Plant Conservation group, and anyone interested in Dr. Nelson, Dr. Bob O’Keenon, Sam Kieschnick, Herbarium Collections Assistant at BRIT, Becca Swadek, a graduate student at TCU, Becky Nelson, and I met at a site in Weatherford known to be inhabited by Dalea reverchonii. As it turns out, this plant loves the prairie “barrens and glades” and seems to be found only on the geological formation known as Walnut Clay. As you walk across this peculiar land type you begin to think “Good grief, can anything grow here?” and then, there it is. If you go to the Rare Plants of Texas you will encounter the botanical description of the plant. Here is how I describe it. The plant grows low to the ground, but

continued on page 6 6 NPSOT News June 2010

On the Trail... continued from page 5 its stems curve upward at the tips. plants. But I was right, and there ecologists can name nearly every It is a dull green color overall. The they were, a whole bunch of them. plant in the study area. These leaves are small, oval-shaped along Dr. Nelson and Sam Kieschnick plants are not your horticultural the stem of the plant, and there thought this would be a great site types used in the home garden. are plenty of them. The flower is at to do a study of the plant. Brother These are small, almost insignifi- the tip of the plant. It is one of Dave was agreeable, and the next cant plants. To appreciate their those flowers that bloom in a Saturday Dr. Nelson, Sam, Becky beauty — and they are beautiful — cluster at the tip, but the blooms Nelson, and I met to start ecologi- you must bring them up to your open from the bottom of the cluster cal studies on Dalea reverchonii. eye or even use a hand lens to while the blooms at the tip are still We were joined by Sara Harsley of magnify the parts. So the pretend closed. The open flower is only Texas Commission on Environ- ecologist made herself useful by about 1/8 of an inch and is purple mental Quality. tagging and counting all the Dalea with orangy-gold stamens and Folks, ecological studies are reverchonii that could be found or anthers, but the whole cluster can physically hard, usually dirty, but by pulling random numbers from be about an inch and a half long. A ultimately fun work. I will give you the number bag. We repeated this spectacular specimen can mea- a brief description of what the scheme the next Saturday at sure nearly a foot and a half across. study entailed. First, walk the site another site on private land. As we walked the site, I thought and tag every Dalea reverchonii Here was my payoff: I got to to myself, “Gee, this sure looks with a surveyor’s flag. (We had 500 spend all of two Saturdays, both of like Brother Dave’s place.” flags, but it turned out 500 were which were cool and beautiful, Brother Dave is my brother who not enough.) Second, lay out the finding flowers amongst other lives north of Weatherford, and area you wish to study. (We chose beautiful flowers, looking at later in the day I relayed this the really barren barrens and a myriad butterflies and bees, information to Dr. Nelson and Dr. heavier vegetated area.) Randomly breathing fresh air with my feet O’Keenon. It was decided to go to choose sites within the study area on dirt, and enjoying the good Brother Dave’s place to check it and take quantitative data at company of like-minded folks. out. As I led us down the path to those sites. If you attend the 2010 Texas the same type of land form, it Now here is where the real Plant Conservation Conference, occured to me that I was going to ecologists and the pretend ecolo- look for the poster on Dalea look pretty stupid if we found no gist (me) are separated. Real reverchonii. Scenes from the Native Plant Sale

The spring Botanical Society plant sale was a big hit in April, and your NPSOT chapter was there in force, spreading the word and selling native plants. As always, thanks to all the volunteers who made the sale a success. June 2010 NPSOT News 7

Next Meeting Thursday, June 3 7:00 pm Fort Worth Botanic Gardens

James Russell: Advocacy and the Texas Legislature

Visit us on the Web at www.txnativeplants.org

Join the Native Plant Society of Texas! Become a member of the Native Plant Society of Texas. Membership is open to any The North Central Texas individual, family, or organization. Membership is renewable annually and extends for a year from the date we receive your original payment. If you wish to join, NPSOT News please indicate your category of membership, then clip and mail this application with the appropriate remittance to: is a monthly publication of Native Plant Society of Texas the North Central Chapter of PO Box 3017, Fredricksburg, TX 78624 the Native Plant Society of 830-997-9272 Texas.

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