Summer 2015 A Publication of the Maryland Native Plant Society Volume 6, Issue 2 Letter from the President A Publication of the Maryland Native Plant Society Dear Members, My first six months as your president have been quite full. As I mentioned in January, one of my goals is to reinvigorate chapters throughout Maryland, and that has already begun. Last fall we held our annual conference in Cecil County and were treated to wonderful presentations and field trips that increased our knowledge of this diverse area. Our Northeast chapter, which includes Cecil County, has recently been revived by Tracy Ripani. She has been putting together programs and field trips with the help and advice of other native plant enthusiasts in the area, www.mdflora.org and displaying at local events with an MNPS table. She is planning a canoe trip at Anita C. P.O. Box 4877 Silver Spring, MD 20914 Light Estuary in August and a trip to serpentine barrens in early October. Many of her contacts hat a wonderful plant! So five. ey are often seen growing on the same have been people who are new to the Society, but MNPS members from other areas have been common that it’s often tree, as in the photo on page 9. So-called Boston taking advantage of these programs too. CONTACTS neglected on our field trip ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata) is actually an Membership & Website e new chair of our Eastern Shore chapter, Lyle Edward Almond, has plans to host more plant lists. In fact, of the 46 Asian species, often used as decorative climber. Karyn Molines, [email protected] programs and field trips. Lyle, who works for the University of Maryland Extension in the area Maryland locations for As the name implies, it has three leaflets. Marilandica Co-editors of woodland stewardship, has helped plan our upcoming annual conference in Salisbury. For which the MNPS website Kirsten Johnson, [email protected] many of us, the conference in Salisbury will be our introduction to a special corner of has plant lists, only 16 include Virginia Wildlife Value. e fruit of Virginia creeper is Carolyn Fulton, [email protected] Maryland—in the heart of the Delmarva Peninsula, just a half hour west of Ocean City and two General Inquiries creeper. But I’ll eat my garden gloves if it’s not a true berry, meaning a fleshy fruit produced [email protected] hours south of Baltimore. We have lined up dynamic and informative speakers, and offer some present at every one of the other 30. from a single pistil. e deep blue berries are terrific field trips with knowledgeable leaders. Please register for the conference if you haven’t eaten by many animals, especially birds, but MNPS CHAPTERS done so already. See details in this issue. Climbing Mechanism. Like other members of they are toxic to humans. Virginia creeper’s Eastern Shore Our field trips are one of our core offerings, and I am delighted that we now have a coordina- Tracy Ripani, [email protected] the Grape Family, Virginia creeper is a “liana” thick foliage provides excellent cover for small Greater Baltimore tor, Liz Jones, who is doing a great job increasing the number and variety of field trips, adding – meaning that it’s a woody vine. It climbs animals, and provides birds with perches, nest- Kirsten Johnson, [email protected] more field trip leaders, and thinking of creative ways to better serve our members. Just recently when it encounters a structure and can also ing places and leaf surfaces to find insects to eat. Montgomery County we held a weekday field trip to the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Edgewater grow a considerable distance along the ground. [email protected] Maryland, as a follow-up to our April program by Katalin Szlavecz on invasive earthworms. If Some lianas, such as poison ivy e larvae of the Virginia North East you have a suggestion concerning our field trips please email fieldtrips@mdflora.org. We are Lyle Edward Almond, [email protected] (Toxicodendron radicans) and creeper sphinx moth (Darapsa Prince George’s/Anne Arundel Counties always looking for new, interesting places to visit. English ivy (Hedera helix), myron, also called hog sphinx) [email protected] I hope to see you in the field, at one of our programs, or at the conference! climb and attach using adhesive feed on Virginia creeper and Southern Maryland ~ Marney adventitious roots. Virginia other members of the Grape Karyn Molines, [email protected] Washington, DC creeper employs different strate- Family. e females lay translu- Mary Pat Rowan, [email protected] gies, having branched tendrils cent yellow-green eggs in twos Western Mountains that coil around twigs and that or threes on the underside of Liz McDowell, [email protected] have small adhesive pads at their host leaves. e larvae are EXECUTIVE OFFICERS MNPS Research Grants - Deadline August 17 tips. Charles Darwin was “hornworms,” so called because Marney Bruce, President, [email protected] fascinated by adhesive mecha- of the pointed tail-like “horn” Kirsten Johnson, Vice President and Past President MNPS offers small grants for research on Maryland native plants and their habitats. e nisms in climbing plants, but at their end. Sphinx moths are Liz Jones, Vice President strangely, Virginia creeper is named for the caterpillars’ habit Ginny Yacovissi, Secretary maximum amount to be awarded this year is $2500, which may be split among two or more Matt Cohen, Treasurer applicants, or awarded to one applicant. one of the few species whose of resting motionless in a adhesive properties have been reared-back, head-up position BOARD OF DIRECTORS Any project that meets the application requirements will be considered, whether the applicant studied since his time. Upon reminiscent of the sphinxes of Ken Bawer touch stimulus, the tendril tips Egyptian mythology. Carole Bergmann is a student, a teacher, an academic, or an independent researcher. Please keep in mind that the Cris Fleming research grants are for empirical, hypothesis-driven research. Projects that only involve native swell and flatten against the Carolyn Fulton planting or educational outreach, while worthy, are not within the scope of these grants. We substrate. Epidermal cells in the Landscape Value. Michael Dirr, Jane Hill understand that proposals from primary or secondary school teachers may not be for grand- tips become papillate, that is, the guru of woody landscape Marc Imlay scale research, but we do want evidence of a concrete experimental design. ere is also an they develop tiny projections, plants, describes Virginia Beth Johnson which are believed to produce a creeper as “excellent for tough Brett McMillan expectation that the results of the work will be published and/or presented in a suitable forum. Karyn Molines polysaccharide adhesive that low-maintenance cover,” noting Christopher Puttock See www.mdflora.org/grants.html for details, an application form and a list of previous grant may become woody and that many apparently Mary Pat Rowan recipients. weather resistant as the tendril ivy-covered walls are in reality Roderick Simmons ages. covered with creeper. Although Tenley Wurglitz ~ Brett McMillan, Chair, Research Grants Committee creeper may leave an adhesive Lou Aronica, Emeritus Joe Metzger, Emeritus Similar Species. Virginia residue on walls, it does not Your membership dues and donations help support projects like these. Contributions creeper is often confused with damage buildings the way poison ivy but they’re easy to English ivy does, by inserting Our Mission from members and friends make a real difference to botanical and ecological research and Promote awareness, appreciation and conservation to all of the Society’s activities. distinguish. Poison ivy has three adventitious roots into cracks. of Maryland’s native plants and their habitats. We leaflets and Virginia creeper has (continued on page 9) pursue our mission through education, research, On the cover: Virginia Creeper in Autumn advocacy, and service activities. Courtesy of photographer and MNPS member Janice Browne. For more of her work, see www.janicebrowne.com. Marilandica Summer 2015 Graphic design of Marilandica is by Marjie Paul, [email protected]. page 1 (Wildflower in Focus continued from page 2) I enjoy having Virginia creeper on a fence in my garden. It needs annual pruning, but is not invasive when compared to English ivy, porcelainberry (Ampelopsis brevipedunculata) or the native trumpet vine (Campsis radicans). ~ Kirsten Johnson References Dirr, M. A. 1998. Manual of Woody Landscape Plants, 5th ed. p. 698. Stipes Publishing LLC, Champaigne, IL. Isnard, S. and W. K. Silk, Moving with Climbing Plants from Charles Darwin’s Time into the 21st Century. American Journal of Botany 96(7): 1205–1221. 2009. Wildflower in Focus: Virginia Creeper Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Linnaeus) Planchon Family Vitaceae “Ubiquitous in an extraordinary range of wet to very dry, forested to open habitats; tolerant of a range of soil types, tolerant of deep flooding, capable of rooting in deep outcrop crevices and boulder-filed interstices that exclude other plants; scarce at the highest elevations.” Flora of Virgina, p 977. (emphasis added) hat a wonderful plant! So five. ey are often seen growing on the same common that it’s often tree, as in the photo on page 9. So-called Boston neglected on our field trip ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata) is actually an plant lists. In fact, of the 46 Asian species, often used as decorative climber. Maryland locations for As the name implies, it has three leaflets. which the MNPS website has plant lists, only 16 include Virginia Wildlife Value. e fruit of Virginia creeper is creeper. But I’ll eat my garden gloves if it’s not a true berry, meaning a fleshy fruit produced present at every one of the other 30.