May 2016

The Rhexia

Paynes Prairie Chapter of the Native Society

Paynes Prairie Native Plant Society General Meeting

May 10, 2016 Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship 4225 NW 34th Street, Gainesville

Florida Native Plant Society Mission: Promote the preservation, conserva- Our Meeting This Month: tion, and restoration of the native plant communities of Florida. “Carnivorous of Alachua County”

By Larry Schwandes IN THIS ISSUE

There are five kinds of carnivorous plants in the State of Florida.

MEETING THIS MONTH 1 Four of them are in Alachua County. Representative photos of ABOUT OUR SPEAKER 2 those four will be presented. A brief history of carnivorous MAY FIELD TRIP 2 plants and who discovered them will be presented. Tips for

REPORT ON SPRING PLANT SALE 3 growing carnivorous plants will also be offered. UPDATE ON PLANT MOLD 4 CHAPTER CONTACT LIST 4 PLANT ID 5 Beginning with our September 20, 2016 MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION 6 Please Note: meeting, we will be meeting on the third Tuesday of each SPONSORS 7 ACTIVITIES CALENDAR 8 month.

Our Speaker This Month The Little Orange Creek Preserve is a 2900 acre preserve that is a collaborative project with nu- merous partners. The project has been made pos- sible through efforts by the city of Hawthorne, the Larry Schwandes earned a Bachelor of Chemistry Alachua County Forever Program, the Putnam Land from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in Conservancy and Alachua Conservation Trust, the 1965 and a Master of Science in Biology from Delta Florida Communities Trust program (Florida Forev- State College, Cleveland, in 1972. He er), as well as the Conservation Trust for Florida was an Agricultural Chemist for the State of Florida and the US Fish and Wildlife Service. All of the land for 26 years, testing plant tissue and determining acquisition has occurred since 2010 and the project soil characterization. is still actively growing with acquisitions totaling more than 500 acres in each of 2013, 2014, and He enjoys the hobby of growing plants from bulbs, 2015. Alachua Conservation Trust is currently lead- especially daffodils, paperwhites, and amaryllis. ing the land acquisition effort as well as the natural resource and recreation management planning with the hope that the project can be opened to the public with a parking area and hiking, biking, and equestrian trails in the winter of 2016-17.

The central element of conservation focus for this preserve is a large network of connected wetlands that form the headwaters of Little Orange Creek, which is an important contributor within the Ock- lawaha River basin. Many varieties of upland plant community types also exist in the preserve and at May 14 Field Trip least four species of orchids have been found here, including a large population of the giant orchid Little Orange Creek Nature Preserve (Pteroglossaspis ecristata).

This field trip will begin at the Prairie Creek Lodge, Ivor Kincaide, Land Manager of the Alachua Con- southeast of Gainesville at 9 am and will include a servation Trust , will lead us on the May 14 field multi-stop visit to different locations at the Little trip to the Little Orange Creek Nature Preserve. Orange Creek Preserve in Hawthorne, 11 miles east Much of LOCP is basin swamp with cypress, tupelo, of the lodge on State Road 20. The entire trip will and red maple trees. The uplands were historically take no more than 2½ hours with everyone return- sandhill and flatwoods, but were converted to ing to the lodge by 11:30 am. planted pine many years ago. The varied habitats support a wonderful diversity of animals and Meet at the ACT Prairie Creek Lodge by 9 AM, then plants. The 2,900-acre Little Orange Creek Pre- car pool to Hawthorne. For directions to the lodge, serve (LOCP) is located just northeast of the City of please visit: Hawthorne. Although recreational opportunities http://alachuaconservationtrust.org/index.php?/al on the property are very limited, there will eventu- achua_v2/Prairie_Creek_Lodge ally be a network of trails that connect with the ad- jacent City of Hawthorne’s Little Orange Creek Na- ture Park. There also is considerable work ahead to return these lands to a more natural state. 2

Report on the Spring Native Plant Sale

April 22nd and 23rd

Text by Lisa Jelks, Photos by Rob Garren

How lucky were we to dodge the rain for our Friday night sale! Our members showed up en masse to purchase prime natives before the public got their chance. The rain held off just long enough for a great preview sale. On Saturday our volunteers an- swered all manner of questions as we steered these interested plant enthusiasts toward appropriate na- tives for their landscapes.

Wild columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)

Leo Nico's soothing melodies, along with abundant sunshine, made for a wonderful morning. And to top it off, both raffle winners happened to be Paynes Prairie members! Our vendors provided a great selection of diverse plant material. Thank you to all our volunteers for the great assist!

Coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens)

Prescribed burn at Morningside Nature Center 3

UPDATE ON ORANGE MOLD OBSERVED ON JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT

Information and photo provided by Julieta Brambila

During our recent yard tour of Dan White’s proper- ty in Gainesville, several members observed an or- ange colored mold growing on the leaves of Jack- Uromyces fungus on Arisaema triphyllum in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum (L.) Schott). Julieta Brambila, chapter member and entomolo- gist with the USDA, took samples to both the Divi- sion of Plant Industry as well as our most recent PAYNES PRAIRIE CHAPTER CONTACT LIST speaker Dr. Matthew Smith of IFAS for further in- President vestigation. The DPI report identified the pathogen Rob Garren [email protected] as a Uromyces species which is a type of rust which Vice President is a known pathogen for Arisaema. Mark Elliott [email protected] Secretary Ellen Thoms [email protected] Dr. Smith further elaborated on this type of rust Treasurer fungus as “… being very common but usually spe- Goldie Schwartz [email protected] 352-495-3983 cific to a particular host plant species (or some- Chapter Representative Sandi Saurers [email protected] times variety). They are biotrophic plant pathogens Director and the effects of rusts tend to be highly variable. Connie Caldwell [email protected] Some rusts are devastating plant pathogens (just Director Karen Schneider [email protected] Google “coffee rust” and “wheat rust” for two very Director big examples.) However, rusts also show up on all Jill McGuire [email protected] sorts of plants and often only show up at the end Director Michael Bubb [email protected] of the season and do not seem to have a big impact Director on fitness. Part of the reason is probably because Dan White [email protected] they are not typically grown in a big monoculture Field Trip Coordinator Karen Garren [email protected] with many individuals of the same species all Newsletter Editor around them. I suspect that yours is not causing Lois McNamara [email protected] too much damage but sometimes it can also vary Membership Chair Goldie Schwartz [email protected] 352-495-3983 from year to year on the same host.” Plant Rescue Jamie Barichivich [email protected] 352-375-1972 Here is a photo of the in-situ pathogen taken by Plant ID Paul Cohen [email protected] Julieta. Thanks to Julieta as well as Dr. Smith and Chapter Website Maintenance DPI for providing this information. Apparently it is Karen Schneider karenks98@yahoocom not something to worry about insofar as Jack-in- Facebook Page Maintenance Lisa/Howard Jelks [email protected] the-Pulpit is concerned. Chapter Website: www.paynesprairie.fnpschapters.org

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April 2016 Plant ID Workshop

Submitted by Paul Cohen and Robert Garren

Scientific Name Common Name Family Status Chaerophyllum tainturieri HAIRYFRUIT CHERVIL Apiaceae Native Clerodendrum bungei ROSE GLORYBOWER Lamiaceae Not Native Hamamelis virginiana AMERICAN WITCHHAZEL Hamamelidaceae Native Lepidium virginicum VIRGINIA PEPPERWEED Brassicaceae Native floridana FLORIDA PELLITORY Native Phyllostachys aurea GOLDEN BAMBOO Poaceae Not Native Salvia misella SOUTHERN RIVER SAGE; RIVER SAGE Lamiaceae Native Triadica sebifera† POPCORNTREE; CHINESE TALLOWTREE Euphorbiaceae Not Native Trachelospermum jasminoides CONFEDERATE JASMINE Apocynaceae Not Native

† This is the new accepted scientific name for the species formerly known as Sapium sebiferum. The common name Chinese tallowtree derives from its use in the Orient as a source of tallow for candles and soaps. The tallow is obtained from the white waxy coating of the seed. The species is listed as a Category I Invasive by the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council (FLEPPC) and is now present in most Florida counties. It is a very fast growing tree which has invaded many Florida ecosys- tems and is particularly problematic in wetland areas.

According to a USDA-NRCS Plant Guide, the species was actually introduced from China into the in 1776 by Ben Franklin. It has been cultivated in China for at least 14 centuries as a seed crop and ornamental. In the early 1900s, the USDA actually promoted use of the plant in the Gulf Coast states in hopes of developing a local soap industry. My, how our thinking evolves over time! Waxy coating of Chinese tallowtree seed (photo from USDA-NRCS Plant Guide)

We extend gratitude to all who participated. The workshop is intended to be educational and is not a plant ID service. Unless otherwise noted, all nomenclature adapted from Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants available on the web at (http://www.florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/).

It Pays to Join! New and Renewing FNPS members will be given a credit at Notestein’s Nursery equal to the dollar amount of the membership fee. Call Jim at 352-372-2107 to cash in once you’ve joined.

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PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS – THEY HELP FUND OUR CHAPTER ACTIVITIES

Who Among Us Can Grow This Plant?

You could win $100 worth of plants from Notestein’s Nursery if you are the first to propagate Rhexia (our namesake) from seed. You will need to grow several flats of 4 inch pots in time for either our Spring or Fall Na- tive Plant Sale to qualify. Call Jim with questions: 352-372-2107.

To become a sponsor of the FNPS Paynes Prairie Chapter, email your business card size ad in JPG or TIFF format to our Treasurer. Ads run January – November (except for summer months) for $100 or monthly for $12.50.

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Florida Native Plant Society Paynes Prairie Chapter P.O. Box 1004 Archer, FL 32618

To:

Paynes Prairie Chapter: Florida Native Plant Society Activities Calendar for 2016

May

Tuesday May 10 – FNPS General Meeting 7 PM (6:15 for Plant ID) at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Hall. Presentation by Larry Schwandes: Carnivorous Plants of Alachua County

Saturday May 14 – Field Trip to the Little Orange Creek Preserve led by Ivor Kincaide. Meet at the ACT Prairie Creek Lodge at 9 AM to carpool to the site.

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