Fall 2007 Minnesota Plant Press ~ Minnesota Native Plant Society Newsletter

7/31/2019 Fall 2007 Minnesota Plant Press ~ Minnesota Native Plant Society Newsletter

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Minnesota Plant PressThe Minnesota Native Plant Society Newsletter

Fall 2007Volume 27 Number 1

Monthly meetingsThompson Park Center/Dakota Lodge

Thompson County Park360 Butler Ave. E., West St. Paul, MN 55118

651-552-7559 (kitchen)

6 p.m. Social period7 9 p.m. Program, society business

ProgramsThe MN NPS meets the first Thursday

in October, November, December,February, March, April, May, and June.Check the website for more programinformation.

Nov. 1: Effects of moose browsing onlong-term forest succession on IsleRoyale, by Dr. Peter Jordan, Universityof Minnesota. Annual seed exchangefollowing the program. Package seeds insmall envelopes; label them.

Dec. 6: Program to be announced. Check

our website: www.mnnps.org

In this issuePresidents column...............2Field trips.............................2Conservation committee ......2Plant Lore: Dogbane ............3Welby Smith award..............4

Easements to helpowners protectrock outcropsby Tom Cherveny, West Central Tribune, Willmar, Sept. 27, 2007.

Reprinted with permission.A project near Olivia, initiated by the Renville County Soil and

Water Conservation District, aims to help landowners protect theunique scenery and environments of rock outcrops on their propertyThe project will compensate landowners for protecting the rockoutcrops in a perpetual conservation easement, said Tom Kalahar ofthe [conservation district]. It provides fair compensation forsomething that they would really like to have done, he said.

The new project is attracting interest from landowners in Renvilleand Redwood counties, despite the fact that there has been little doneto advertise it, he said. The Renville County Soil and Water

Conservation District is processing applications from four RenvilleCounty and three Redwood County landowners interested in placingrock outcrops in the easements. Kalahar said they will continue toaccept applications into October. The Legislative CitizensCommission on Minnesota Resources has provided $470,000 foreasements.

The protected lands will still be available to their owners for usessuch as hunting. The conservation district and the DNR will providestaff to remove invasive species such as red cedar and sumac fromthe sites. They will work with the landowners in future years tocontinue to manage the rock outcrops to protect the unique native

plant and animal populations found on them.Kalahar said the project was proposed to serve two goals. First

among them is the desire to protect the rock outcrops for futuregenerations. They hold uniqueplant and animal species foundnowhere else in the state, and theirgeologic features are also ofspecial importance. The exposedgranite bedrock is more than 3.5

Continued on page 3

Do your holiday shopping atTerrace Horticultural Booksby Ken ArndtNeed a hard-to-find gift this holiday

season? Join us Saturday, Dec. 15, between10 a.m. and 3 p.m., on another Societyouting to Terrace Horticultural Books.

Owner Kent Petterson will donate 20percent of all purchases made by MN NPSmembers to the Society. A similar outing

last winter resulted in a very nice donationto the Society. We thank Kent for openingthat day and thank the members whopurchased the books.

Terrace Horticultural Books is located at503 St. Clair Ave., St. Paul 55102. For apreview of their selections and directionson how to get there, go towww.terracehorticulturalbooks.com

MN NPS website: www.mnnps.orgBlog: www.mnnpsblogspot.com


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President: Scott Milburn,[email protected]

Vice President: Shirley MahKooyman, [email protected]

Secretary: Sean Jergens,[email protected]: Ron and Cathy

Huber, [email protected]

Ken Arndt, board member,[email protected]

Peter Dziuk, boa rd member,[email protected]

Linda Huhn,board member andprogram coordinator, 612-374-1435

Daniel Jones,[email protected]

Beth Nixon,[email protected] Schaffenberg,

[email protected]

Listserv Coordinator: CharlesUmbanhowar, [email protected]

Field Trips:[email protected]

Memberships:[email protected]; 651-739-4323

Historian/Archives: Roy

Robison, historian/[email protected]

Technical or membershipinquiries: [email protected]

New member packets: To beannounced

Minnesota Plant Press editor:Gerry Drewry, phone, 651-463-8006; [email protected]

MN NPS Boardof Directors

Presidents Columnby Scott Milburn

A great deal of behind-the-sceneeffort goes into the operation of ourorganization. This happens whenmembers step up and volunteer theirpersonal time for the betterment ofthe Society. For almost 10 years,

Ellen and Chuck Peck have mailedeach issue of the Minnesota PlantPress. They also have been mailingthe new member packets. The Peckshave graciously served the Societyand, after all of these years, will beturning over these duties. On behalfof the Society, I thank the Pecks andlook forward to their continuedparticipation.

Membership participation iscrucial for the success of anyorganization. We are fortunate tohave a diverse group of enthusiasticfolks on the 2007 - 2008 board. Werecently held our second boardmeeting with new members PeterDziuk and Russ Schaffenberg. Peterand Russ bring their experiences andgreat ideas and are very welcomeadditions to the board.

We are now beginning our secondyear meeting at the Dakota Lodge inWest St. Paul. There have been somequestions as to why we are meetingthere rather than at the WildlifeRefuge in Bloomington. Initially, wewere informed that the facility at theRefuge was due for renovating. Thenwe learned the Refuge would nolonger allow groups to hold meetingsthere dueto a cut in their budget fromthe federal government. We arehappy to have a new home for thenext few years and thank those onthe board who help set up for eachmeeting. Attendance numbers have

been great thus far.Another issue is the need to form a

social committee and find a chair forit. The hour before our scheduledmeeting provides an opportunity formembers and friends to mingle. Ifyou can help with this, please contactour vice president, Shirley MahKooyman. In closing, I encourageeveryone to enjoy the Fall colors. Ilook forward to seeing you at ournext monthly meeting.

Conservation groupneeds helpers

The MN NPS ConservationCommittee will launch a web pagesoon. Under the leadership ofCommittee Chair Beth Nixon, theyare seeking members who cancomplete tasks related to developing

the web page. These tasks includecreating a compendium of statelegislation related to native plantconservation and links nationally andlocally to other organizations doingplant conservation.

The committee is also seeking:

Members who want to be notifiedof letter-writing action items;

A member to monitor themonitor for public notices ofupcoming environmental reviews ofstate projects that may be worthy ofletter-writing campaigns; and

Member input on action items forthis year.

Please contact [email protected] if you can contribute alittle of your time.

Two nature centerfield trips planned

by Ken ArndtAre you interested in learning howto identify plants outside of thegrowing season? The MN NPS willlead two field trips this fall that willfocus on this challenging task.

Warner Nature CenterJoin Jason Husveth Saturday, Nov.

10, at Lee and Rose Warner NatureCenter for a morning of plantidentification. Jason, a former MNNPS president and ecologist for

Critical Connections EcologicalServices, will lead participantsthrough several unique plantcommunities on the property, whichis typically closed to the public. Thefield trip will begin at 9 a.m. with abrief winter botany lecture inside thenature center. This will be followedby a hike until about noon.

Maplewood Nature CenterSaturday, Dec. 1, learn winter

botany at Maplewood Nature Center

from Scott Milburn, our current MNNPS pres ident and botanist for

Midwest Natural Resources. Theevent will begin indoors at 9 a.mwith a brief lecture on how to identifyplants outside of the growing seasonThis will be followed by a hike toseveral diverse plant communities inthis fine nature center.

For details and directions, visit ourwebsite (www.mnnps.org) andfollow the link to the field trips pageRegister on-line or at our generalmeetings throughout the year.


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billion years old, and is among theoldest known rock in the world.

No less important, he said theproject is an opportunity to do rightfor landowners. If we truly believein the value of protecting theoutcrops as a society, then we oughtto compensate the landowners nodifferently than when we set asidelands for parks or other conservationpurposes, Kalahar said.

The easements are available forproperty both inside and outside ofthe Wild and Scenic River corridor.Kalahar noted that lines drawn onmaps in the 1970s largely determined

which properties were included in theprotected Wild and Scenic corridoralong the Minnesota River inRedwood and Renville counties.Landowners who happened to haveproperty in side the cor ridordiscovered that hard rock mining wasprohibited on those lands, but thatthey would receive no compensationfor the limitation.

Kalahar said inquiries have comefrom landowners who like the idea

of protecting the outcrops. This helpsmake it economically feasible forthem to do so, he said.

The lands will be assessed this fallto determine the diversity of plantslocated on each. The assessment willbe used to prioritize which lands toenroll. He said there is more landbeing offered than can be funded. Heis hoping to return to the state toobtain funding to continue to enrolllands in future years.

Kalahar said it would beirresponsible to fail to protect theoutcrops. He said that we have lost95 percent of the wetlands and over99 percent of the native prairie in thisarea, and he fears the same will betrue of the rock outcrops if stepsarent taken today.

Rock outcropsContinued from page 1

Plant Loreby Thor KommedahlWhat is dogbane?

Dogbane is Apocynumandrosaemifolium (spreadingdogbane) orA. cannabinum (hempdogbane). It is in the dogbane family.

How did it get these names?In Greek, apo means away and

kuon is dog (cynon in Latin),meaning that these species wereconsidered poisonous to dogs. Itliterally means Away Dog.Androsaemifolium means that theleaves look likeAndrosaemum. Andcannabinum means that its leaveslook like hemp (Cannabis).

Where do these plants grow?

Both are shrub-like perennialsnative to Minnesota, with spreadingdogbane being more frequentlyfound in upland woods, whereashemp dogbane is more in open fields.These species interbreed in nature,and the hybrids are sometimes namedA. medium.

What do the plants look like?Flowers are small bells, pink in

spreading dogbane and white inhemp dogbane, arranged in terminalcymes. Seed pods (follicles) are threeto eight inches long and in pairs.Leaves are egg-shaped and occur inpairs. The stems (one to four feettall) are reddish and contain milkylatex.

Does it have any medicinal uses?Actually it is poisonous. Cymarin

in plants is a cardioactive glycoside,poisonous to ruminants. Yet, the planthas been found to have anti-tumor

activity. The Chickasaw andChoctaw Nations used root juice asa specific treatment for syphilis. Bothdogbanes were listed in theNationalFormulary and in the U.S.Pharmacope ia until 1952 as acardiac medicine. Plant extracts havebeen used as an emetic and diuretic.

Does it have any economic uses?The fibers in the stem are finer andstronger than cotton thread and were

Apocynum androsaemifolium,photo by Scott Milburn

used by Menomini Indians for bowstrings. Stem fibers have been usedin making rope.

Seed harvest at

Morris is a recordby J. B. Bright, trip leader and refugeoperations specialist, MorrisWetland Management District

The weather cooperated SaturdaySept. 22, making for an enjoyabletime on the prairie. Nineteenvolunteers turned out to hand-collectprairie wildflower and grass seed. Inthe process, they learned aboutdistrict management and prairieecology, while getting an up close

experience with native prairie.The site was a tract of remnant

prair ie on the Maki WaterfowProduction Area, located eight milessouth of Hancock in Section 16 ofTara Township, Swift County. Someof the species harvested includedpurple prairie clover, blazingstargolden alexanders, prairie dropseedprairie onion, snakeroot, and Virginiamountain mint.

The fourth annual seed harvest day

was by far the most productive andsuccessful event yet, asapproximately 23 bulk pounds ofseed were collected, with anestimated retail value of $11,000Many thanks are owed to thevolunteers, because this amountequals or exceeds the previous threeyears collections combined. Theseed will be used in nativerestorations on the district this faland next spring.

2007 membership listThe list is enclosed or will be e-

mailed separately to all members.


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Fall 2007

Minnesota Native Plant Society

P.O. Box 20401

Bloomington, MN 55420

by Scott MilburnThose who have visited the University of Minnesota herbarium on the St.

Paul campus and viewed the Minnesota collection of vascular plants haveseen Welby Smiths name continuously appearing. He has contributedgreatly to the collection at the herbarium, and he is truly appreciated bythose who understand his craft. Just by looking at some of the collectionsmade by Welby, the care and appreciation for each collection can be seen.

Welby is a lifetime resident of Minnesota, having grown up on a familyfarm in Wright County. He headed to St. Cloud State University to studybiology, a subject that had always interested him. He completed both hisundergraduate degree (biology) and Masters degree (botany) there andthen went to the University of Minnesota to start his Ph.D. It was there thatWelby met other botanists who inspired him to learn as much as he couldabout plants.

Rather than continue pursuing his Ph.D., he accepted a job with theMinnesota Department of Natural Resources in 1978. He was given thetask of exploring the best places in Minnesota, and he has been exploringever since. In that time, Welby has increased our knowledge aboutMinnesotas flora with much devotion. He is probably best known for hisbookOrchids of Minnesota, which in turn has encouraged many to startexploring. He has also just written Trees and Shrubs of Minnesota, whichis due out in early 2008.

Honorary lifetime membership in our Society is reserved for those whohave provided exemplary service to the plant sciences, for outstanding workin plant conservation, or for 20 years of active membership. Less than 10individuals have been awarded this in our 25-plus-year history, and perhaps

none is more deserving than Welby.Welby is one of the founding

members of the Society and has beenactive, holding almost every positionand leading field trips. With all ofWelbys contributions over the years,the board thought he deserved ourhighest award. It was presented tohim at our 2007 symposium and wasgraciously received.

Welby enjoys botanizing in thenortheast and southeast portions ofMinnesota, but he is content with anynatural remnant. When asked about

his favorite plant, he indicated aninterest in sedges, woody plants, andferns, then said any plant that offersan intellectual challenge. He is agreat source of information and funto listen to. Welby has an ability tocapture the attention of his audiencewhen speaking about plants. Just asothers inspired him, he inspires othersin the subject. The Society is honoredto have such a great member asWelby.

Welby Smith receives member award

Documents

Fall 2007 Minnesota Plant Press ~ Minnesota Native Plant Society Newsletter