Spring 2003 Minnesota Plant Press ~ Minnesota Native Plant Society Newsletter

7/31/2019 Spring 2003 Minnesota Plant Press ~ Minnesota Native Plant Society Newsletter

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Minnesota Plant PressThe Minnesota Native Plant Society Newsletter

Volume 22 Number 3 Spring 2003

Monthly meetingsMinnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge

Visitor Center, 3815 East 80th St.

Bloomington, MN 55425-1600

952-854-5900

6:30 p.m. Building east door opens6:30 p.m. Refreshments,

information, Room A7 9 p.m Program, society business7:30 p.m. Building door is locked

9:30 p.m. Building closes

ProgramsThe MNPS meets the first Thursday in

October, November, December, February,March, April, May and June. Check the

Web site for more program information.

MNPS Web sitehttp://www.stolaf.edu/depts/biology/mnps

e-mail: [email protected]

May 1: Rainwater Gardens, by FredRozumalski; Plant of the Month:Malaxisunifolia (green adders mouth), by OttoGockman.

June 5: Shoreline Landscaping, byPeter MacDonagh; Annual plant sale.

Prepare native plantsnow for June 5 sale

Do you have extra native plants that youcan bring to the MNPS sale? If you digand pot them in May, they will have timeto adjust to their pots and become strongtransplants. Each plant in the sale mustbe potted and labeled. They must be from

your garden or raised from seed. It isillegal to take them from the wild.

Volunteers who help with the sale andthose who bring plants comprise the firsttwo groups in the line to choose plants.For more information or to volunteer, callGerry Drewry at 651-463-8006. The saleis the annual MNPS fundraiser.

Caution! Not everyshrub is buckthornby Karen Schik

Restoration Ecologist, Friends of the Mississippi River

Concerned citizens have done an excellent job in recent years of

getting the word out about buckthorn. It seems that awareness is veryhigh, and there has been a virtual tidal wave of eager volunteersattending dozens of buckthorn removal events throughout the TwinCities area. So what could be wrong with that? Nothing! Its all great,except for one very important thing. In our eagerness to rid ourwoodlands of this invasive shrub, we are often removing some of thevery native shrubs we are trying to protect and nurture.

Janet Larson, a professional native plant landscaper and self-proclaimed buckthorn buster, has observed several buckthorn removalprojects that resulted in a virtual clearcut of the shrub layer. Gonewere the species that most closely resemble buckthorn, like blackcherry, American plum and pagoda dogwood. But also gone were

hawthorn and bitternut hickory, which bear little resemblance tobuckthorn. It became clear to her that we need to get the word out tobe careful. If you are overseeing a removal project, make sure thatyour crew can positively identify buckthorn in all stages. If there isany doubt, a knowledgeable person should flag the site prior to cuttingFlag the native shrubs in a dense buckthorn stand so they are not cut.

The following description may be helpful in distinguishingbuckthorn from other species.

Common buckthorn has ovate-elliptic leaves that are smooth onboth surfaces and have minute teeth on the margins. They vary fromrounded to pointed on the tip, and the leaf surface appears slightly

wavy. The veins curve so they are almost parallel to the leaf marginLeaves are alternate or sub-opposite. Compare the leaves to similarspecies to identify distinctive characters. Plum, for instance, hasstraighter veins and double-toothed margins. Pagoda dogwood hasentire (smooth) leaf margins. The veins also curve like buckthorn, bufollow the leaf margin all the way to the tip. Buckthorn leaves remainon the plant well into the fall, when most other trees and shrubs havedropped their leaves.

Buckthorn bark is gray to brown with prominent, horizontal, lighter-colored lenticels. I recognize the bark also by a very slightly bronzy

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Two wildflower fieldtrips planned for MaySpring Wildflower Weekend

Jason Husveth has organized a weekend wildflower trip to the Whitewater

State Park and Whitewater Wildlife Management Area in southeastMinnesota Friday evening, May 9, through 1 p.m. Sunday, May 11. Forabout four hours on Saturday morning he will lead a hike up a ravine in theWhitewater Wildlife Management Area. Morel and wildflower hikes willbe held from 1 to 3 p.m. Dave Palmquist, park interpreter, will give a talk atthe visitor center on the history of the Whitewater River Valley at 4 p.m. A8 p.m. Saturday there will be a slide presentation at the interpretive centeron morel mushrooms. There may be an evening walk to some goat prairiesor limestone bluffs or a spring amphibian walk. Sunday morning there wilbe another wildflower/morel walk.

Group Camp Site 1 has been reserved MNPS. For additional information

and to register, go the societys Web site, www.stolaf.edu/depts./biology/mnps.

Spring wildflower walkSaturday, May 31, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., botanists and MNPS board

members Jason Husveth and Douglas Mensing will lead a spring wildflowerwalk in the Louisville Swamp portion of the Minnesota Valley NationalWildlife Refuge. They will explore a floodplain forest, maple-basswood

forest, wet meadows and dry prairiesAttendees should bring their ownwildflower guides, hand lensesmagnifying glasses, a sack lunch andwater. The walk is co-sponsored by

the society and the refuge. There isno charge.

The tour will start promptly at 9a.m. at the main Louisville Swamptrailhead, about 4.5 miles south ofShakopee. To register or for moreinformation, contact Jason Husvethat [email protected] orDouglas Mensing a

[email protected]

Art in Bloom is wildWildflowers/Wild Flowers is the

theme of the 20th annual Art inBloom exhibit at the MinneapolisInstitute of Arts April 30 - May 4C. Colston Burrell, a landscapedesigner and former active MNPSmember who moved to theSoutheast, will speak at 9:30 a.mMay 2 on Nature Meets ZonalDenial: a Tale of Two Gardens.

Conferencesand symposiaNative Orchid Conference

A Native Orchid Conference willbe held on the Bruce Peninsula inOntario, Canada, June 14-18. It will

include two days of presentations atMcMaster University in Hamilton,Ontario. The last three days of theconference will include field trips onthe Bruce Peninsula, about 100 milesnorth of Hamilton. The peninsula andFlowerpot Island at its tip arelegendary places for botanizing andbirding. There are 43 species ofnative orchids documented on theBruce, which makes it one of therichest North American native orchid

areas outside of Florida. Informationis at www.OrchidWeb.org

Natural Areas SymposiumA free symposium, Landscaping

and Maintaining your Natural Area,will be held July 9 at Arneson Acres,4709 West 70th St., Edina. It issponsored by the Edina GardenCouncil and League of WomenVoters of Edina. Three of thespeakers are current or incomingMNPS board members Janet

Johnson, Dianne Plunkett Lathamand Douglas Mensing. Otherpresenters are Arlene Savory ofSavorys Gardens, Edina, and BobHuffman, Prairie Restorations,Information is at www.lwvmn.org/LocalLeagues/Edina

Native Plant Summit VIINative Plant Summit VII,

Planning Native Landscapes Urban and Rural, will be Sept. 16 18 at the Best Western DoublewoodInn, Fargo, ND. Information is atwww.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/ngpsrm

Invasive Plants SymposiumAn Invasive Plants Symposium

will be held Sept. 27 at Madison,Wis., during the Natural AreasConference. The symposium is co-hosted by the Invasive PlantsAssociation of Wisconsin.Conference updates will be posted atwww.naturalarea.org

New MNPS boardmembers elected

Shirley Mah Kooyman, DanielMielke and Dianne Plunkett Latham

were elected to the MNPS Board ofDirectors at the March meeting.Their terms are for 2003 - 2005 andwill begin in June. Karen Schik waspreviously appointed for 2003 2005to complete Don Knutsons term.Retiring board members areSecretary Meredith Cornett, EthanPerry and President EstherMcLaughlin. The new board willelect officers at its June meeting.

Shirley Mah Kooyman is adulteducation manager for the MinnesotaLandscape Arboretum. DanMielkes property includes marshesand ponds in McLeod County. He isalso involved in restoring a 29-acreprairie and creating a 25-acrewoodland on his uncles farm.Dianne Plunkett Latham, a memberof the League of Women Voters andthe Edina Garden Club, is leading the

buckthorn battle in Edina.


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Traffic, season of year affect impactsof harvesting in aspen forestsAbstract of a talk by Alaina L.

Berger at the Feb. 6, 2003 meeting.She is community forest ecologist,

Minnesota Department of NaturalResources Metro Region.

We investigated the impacts of

disturbance, as a primary factor

influencing tree regeneration,

diversity and floristic composition of

understory vegetation, in clearcut

sites within aspen-dominated cover

types in northern Minnesota.

We explored disturbance effects forareas with high, intermediate, and

low disturbance levels (i. e.,harvesting traffic), as represented bysoil compaction and overstoryremoval. We also explored the effectsof disturbance timing (summer orwinter harvest) on the vegetation. Wecharacterized understory vegetationwithin sites using five 60-square-meter plots along the disturbancegradient: landings (high disturbance),skid trails (intermediate disturbance),

and areas off the skid trails (lowdisturbance).

Within-site impacts mixedResults indicated that within-site

disturbance patterns created byclearcut harvesting were quiteheterogeneous. Soil properties andregeneration densities varied withlevel and timing of disturbance.Understory species composition andrichness also varied with level of

disturbance. High disturbance levelshad high richness values, in partbecause of a high proportion ofruderal species.

In general, species compositionwithin the high and intermediatelevels of disturbance (landings andskid trails) was similar. Thecomposition of these two levelsdiffered from that of the low

disturbance level plots (off skidtrails), indicating that simple trafficdid not impact vegetation

composition as much as anestablished skid trail. The impacts ofdifferent disturbance levels resultedin the same general pattern,regardless of harvest timing.

However, the sites with greaterspecies richness on low disturbanceplots (winter-harvested sites) wereless altered (maintained greatervariability in composition) than thesites with lower diversity (summer-

harvested sites), which is relevantwhen we consider that the initial andremnant understory vegetation ofharvested sites has a large role in therate of recovery of the plantcommunity.

Spatial layout importantWe hypothesize that the areas with

least disturbance might act toenhance the rate of recovery by

providing a source of interior forestspecies to re-colonize the site. Theresults suggest that it is important tolimit not only the amount and levelof disturbance, but also to considerthe spatial layout, thus maintaininga spatially connected network ofremnant forest patches large enoughto contain interior forest species.

In summary harvesting, evenclearcutting, is a complex

disturbance, and generalizationsabout the response of understoryvegetation to clearcutting have to bemade very carefully. Clearcuttingleads to a complex matrix ofdisturbance levels.

Landings, skid trails vulnerableLandings and skid trails are highly

disturbed, thus understory vegetationon these areas shifts toward invasive,

pioneer species, typically grasses andsedges. Thus, landings and skid trailsmight facilitate establishment of

invasive species that have thepotential to invade undisturbedportions of the sites later.

Areas not in skid trails and landings(most of the site) are less affected andmaintain a more stable vegetationcommunity. In the long term, asstands develop, this stability mightallow for reintroduction of species onskid trails and landings that weredisplaced during harvesting.

Winter harvest sites more stableThe sites selected for winter

harvest have intrinsically higherunderstory vegetation diversity thansites harvested in summer, likelybecause of soil moisture conditionsIn addition, the disturbance relatedto harvesting, as measured by soilcompaction, is less on sites harvestedin winter. Together, these factorsresult in a more stable vegetation

community on sites harvested inwinter.

There are a many questions wecannot address through such aretrospective study. We haveinitiated a second phase of the projectset up as a case study in which thepre-harvest conditions, harvestingoperations, and post-harvesdevelopment are closely monitoredusing GPS to produce a map of

harvesting impacts across the siteThe goal of this phase is to be ableto develop monitoring criteria basedon how pre-harvest site conditionschange over time and specificallycharacterize the extent of the impactbased on these changes.

In summary, the results of thisproject can be used to comparesilvicultural systems as the area


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impacted by harvesting and theamount of residual overstory varies

by harvesting intensity.

Co-authors of this abstract areKlaus J. Puettmann, Forest ScienceDepar tm ent , Oregon Sta teUniversity, Corvallis, Ore.; MelissaAr ik ian, Emmons and Ol iver

Resources, Inc., Lake Elmo, Minn.;George Host, Natural ResourcesResearch Insti tute, University ofMinnesota , Du lu th; and JohnZasada, USDA Forest Service, NorthCentral Forest Research Station,

Grand Rapids, Minn.

tone. The bark becomes flaky as theplant gets older compare it toblack cherry, which also flakes. Theslender gray twigs end in short (1/4-inch) sharp spines, but the plant hasno true thorns. The spines are mosevident in the fall, but may be nearlyabsent in the spring. Hawthorn, incontrast, has very distinct, long (1-to 4-inch) thorns along the sides ofthe branches.

Glossy buckthorn has leavessimilar to those of Europeanbuckthorn, but it has smooth bark andno spurs. The upper leaf surface isshiny; the lower surface can be hairyor smooth, and their margins areentire, not toothed. The fruits are lessnumerous than those of Europeanbuckthorn, but both produce blackberries in the fall.

If you are still unsure of a shrubs

identity, break a twig or nick the barkBoth common and glossy buckthornhave a distinctive yellow inner barkand orange heartwood. Some helpfuphotos are on the internet. Go tohttp://tncweeds.ucdavis.edu/esadocs/franalnu.html

Once again, look before you cutAnd seek help if you or yourbuckthorn co-workers are unsure ofshrub identification.

Buckthorn look-alikesContinued from page 1

Two bills that would forbid use ofstate funds for purchasing andplanting native seeds along highway

rights of way have been introducedin the Minnesota Legislature. Rep.Chris DeLaForest, chief author of thefirst bill, H.F. 902, characterized itas a cost-saving measure. Sen.Julianne Ortman is chief author of thecompanion bill, S.F. 1250, which wasintroduced later.

Rep. DeLaForest tabled the Housebill after a March 26 hearing by theTransportation Finance Committeeand then revised it. At the hearing,

former MNPS Board Member DebAnderson testified about water andecological impacts it would have onher county. Other members alsoattended the hearing.

The original bill stated: A roadauthority may not spend money fromthe trunk highway fund, county state-aid highway fund, or municipal state-aid street fund to purchase nativegrass seeds. Opponents testified

that the prices quoted by proponentswere inaccurate, that federal permitsspecify the (expensive) seeds thatmust be planted in wetlandmitigation areas, and that costs ofwildflower seeds are the problem, notgrass seeds.

The revised bill reads: No stateagency or soil and waterconservation district may require theplanting of native grass seeds ornative wildflowers as a condition for

the issuance of a permit to any localgovernment unit. Paragraph A doesnot apply to grass or wildflowersplanted in replacement wetlandacres.

Although the bill now exemptsmany of the affected wetlands, itwould not require Yellow-Tagcertified (native) seeds in prairierestoration projects along highways.Seeds of cultivars, non-native and

Anti-native seed billsconsidered by Legislature

invasive plants could be planted onPrairie Passage routes and adjacentto Scientific and Natural Areas.

Roy Robison and Dianne PlunketLatham have been monitoringprogress of these bills. When thisissue of the Minnesota Plant Presswas printed, no further hearings hadbeen scheduled. Rep. DeLaForescould let the bill die, withdraw it, orhave it included in the largetransportation finance bill.

Dolly is neededThe MNPS has an excellent

display board, but it is not used asmuch as it could be because it isheavy and bulky. If you have asurplus dolly, or know where MNPScould pick up a secondhand one forlittle or nothing, please contact DougMensing, 952-925-3359, or DiannePlunkett Latham, 952-941-3542.

ID system for Minnesotasedges is available

A Flora ID system for MinnesotaCyperaceae andJuncaceae (sedges)

is now available. This is the firstportion of a comprehensive plantidentification key for all plantsknown to be in the state. BruceBarnes of Flora ID Northwest isworking in conjunction with XIDExpert Systems on the project. Hehas completed keys for northwesternUnited States and British Columbia.

The keys identify native andintroduced species, including all

trees, flowering plants, grasses,grass-like plants and spore-bearingplants known to exist within the area.Information about the project is at:www.xidservices.com/FID

For Minnesota information,contact Janet Elaine Ebaugh,associate director, Katharine OrdwayNatural History Study Area,Macalester College. Send an e-mailto her at [email protected] or

leave a message on 651-455-6204.


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Plant Loreby Thor KommedahlWhat is wild geranium?

Wild geranium is Geraniummaculatum, in the geranium familyand a frequently found species inMinnesota. It is also known as

cranesbill, because geranium is theGreek work for crane used byDioscorides; maculatum, of coursemeans spotted, because of light-green blotches seen on older leaves

Why is it called cranesbill?The shape of the fruit was thought

to resemble the bill of a crane.

What is its relation to geraniumgrown as house plants?

The florists geranium is in thesame family but it is a different

genus, Pelargonium. Pelargoniummeans stork, referring to the fruitshaped like a storks head

What is the plant like?In spring basal leaves emerge as a

rosette from somewhat woodyrhizomes. Lower leaves are long-petioled, and upper leaves areopposite, but all are generally five-parted. A flower stalk appears withfive pink to lavender petals.

Are the flowers unusual?Well, yes, in the way seeds are

dispersed. When fruits are ripe, thefive parts of the fruit split and theseeds, being under tension, are shotout several feet from the mericarpssometimes all at once. If you arethere at the right time, you can touchthem to release the tension and watchseeds being dispersed.

Where does it grow?It grows in several counties deep

on both sides of the MississippiRiver. It tolerates shade in openwoods and blooms from Aprilthrough June.

Did American Indians value it?Yes, roots and rhizomes, rich in

tannins, were dried and ground to apowder that was used as an astringentand styptic. Scully reports that a teamade from cranesbill was probablythe most widely used medium forbirth control.

should know both our own and ourclients inner gardens. The goal is tocreate spaces where harmony flowseasily between the landscape andpeople who visit. This requiresgetting to know your site, feeling itintimately, perhaps through sitting orwalking meditation.

Some designers feel that if we areable to create a space that is set apartfrom normal life it becomes sacred(Peg Streep, Spiritual Gardening.)This space would encourage movingbeyond control we normally exert. Itwould allow visitors to see andrespond to the larger patterns and lifecycles. Spiritual gardens enable usto more clearly see all theinterconnections, not just thebeginning and the end. They engage

all the senses as we help visitorswelcome the complexity of life withpatience and humility. These are notnew concepts. They are becomingmore popular.

Buddhist philosophy teaches theconcept of Heaven on earth ispossible by releasing control andfeeling the beauty in each moment.Feng Shui is an application of thisphilosophy. It is an ancient design

practice that seeks harmony with thedivine. According to MinervaNguyen, a teacher of Feng Shuigarden design, this practiceencourages us to open our hearts,turn to the natural environment, andconnect more deeply with the landbeneath us.

In the 19th century, Frederick LawOlmsted expressed it this way, Theenjoyment of scenery employs themind without fatigue and yet

exercises it; tranquilizes it and yetenlivens it; and thus, through theinfluence of the mind over the body,gives the effect of refreshing rest andreinvigoration of the whole system.

Olmsted created an enduringlegacy of public parks. He designedCentral Park in New York City andtrained designers like TheodoreWirth. The City of Minneapolishired Wirth to develop our park

system over 100 years ago. Duringthis time of uncertainty and change,it is important that we apply theseperspectives to our practice. Wehave the ability to change the earth,and how people relate to it, onegarden at a time, perhaps to create alegacy as enduring as Olmsted or

Wirth.

Buckthorn reducesforest leaf litter

A recent study by DePaulUniversity professor Liam Heneghanand the Lake Forest Open LandsAssociation reveales that buckthornleaf litter has high nitrogen contentand decomposes more rapidly thanthe litter of most of Chicagolands

dominant native species.Buckthorn chokes out healthy plant

communities by blocking sunlight.But thats only part of the story.Although nitrogen is a critical soilnutrient, the excess nitrogen fromdecomposing buckthorn leavescauses a significant increase in therate of decomposition. Heneghanfound that, as buckthorn spreads anddominates a preserve, the rate ofdecomposition of all forest floor

material increases dramatically,adding large amounts of nitrogen tothe soil very quickly and modifyingthe soil composition. He concludedthat this could have serious negativeeffects on the survival of many nativeplants, even after the buckthorn isremoved.

Heneghan found that forest leaflitter virtually disappears each yearin the high nitrogen conditions found

in dense buckthorn thickets. Thedisappearance of the leaf litter maycause local extinctions of severalinvertebrate animal species. Thisloss may have implicationselsewhere in the food chain, affectingthe diversity of mammals and birds,for instance, he said. Heneghanand his research team conductedresearch in Shaw Woods, a preserveof the Lake Forest Open LandsAssociation.


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Spring 2003 Issue

NON-PROFIT ORG.

U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDMinneapolis, MN

Permit No. 2233

Minnesota Native Plant Society

University of Minnesota

220 Biological Sciences Center

St. Paul, MN 55108

Documents

Spring 2003 Minnesota Plant Press ~ Minnesota Native Plant Society Newsletter