NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS N e w s P · Leaders: Gailon Hardin, Dawn Hancock 2nd Sat.: August 10 last Wed.: August 28 * Workdays were missed due to weather so weeding will be every Wed

Aug 1, 2019 program will be “Native gardens of our members”

PS O T

NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS

N e w sNative Plant Society of Texas,

North Central Chapter Newsletter

Vol 31, Number 8, August 2019

Visit us atncnpsot.org &

www.txnativeplants.org

Chapter of the Year (2016/17)

Meeting in August Native gardens of our members

Normal Meeting Times: 6:00 Social, 6:30 Business

7:00 Program

Redbud HallDeborah Beggs Moncrief

Garden CenterFort Worth Botanic Garden

Purple Coneflower — Echinacea sp.

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This year our presenters will be Karen Harden, Kim Conrow and Vicki Kygar who will take us on fun and informative

photo tours of their native gardens in various seasons.

http://ncnpsot.org

http://www.txnativeplants.org

Flower of the Month, False Dragonhead by Josephine Keeney ........................................ p. 3fDemonstration Gardens by Josephine Keeney ,,,,,,.......................,,,,,,,,, p. 5ffActivities & Volunteering for July 2019 by Martha Mullens ....................................... p. 8ffMembership by Donna Honkomp ............................ p. 10Purple Coneflower, NICE! Plant of the Season by Dr. Becca Dickstein ..................................... p. 11Answer to last month’s puzzle and a new puzzle ...... p. 12“August Calendar” Page by Troy Mullens ................. p. 13Butterfly Magnets by Erika Choffel ........................... p. 14fNPSOT Symposium Grant ......................................... p. 16Ft. Worth Nature Center & Refuge awarded grant ... p. 16Officer Nominations by Eric Johnson ....................... p. 16Standing Rules Revisions by Martha Mullens ......... p. 16Volunteers needed for Home & Garden Show By Vanessa Wojtas ........................................... p. 17Hospitality Report by Corinna Benson .................... p. 17Wild Poinsettia by Martha Mullens .......................... p. 18fPlant Communication by Martha Mullens .............. p. 20fNative Host Plants for Texas Butterflies By Martha Mullens .......................................... p. 22fParting Shots, News & Views by the Editors (Take Note: Important news here !) ............... p. 24ffNC Texas Pollinator Garden Plants ........................... p. 28Worth repeating ....... Half-Earth Pledge by E.O. Wilson ................. p. 29Join NPSOT, Mission Statement, May Program ....... p. 30

Index Chapter Leaders

President — Karen Harden [email protected] President — Kim ConrowVice President & Programs — Ray ConrowRecording Secretary — Debbie StilsonTreasurer — Vanessa WojtasHospitality Chair — Corinna BensonMembership Chair — Donna HonkompEvents Chair — Chairperson neededNICE! Coordinator — Rozanna FrancisPlant Sales Coordinators - Gailon Hardin, Sandy Fountain & Josephine Keeney Education/Outreach Chair — Bill Freiheit Webmaster — Frank KeeneyField Trips — Eric JohnsonSpeaker’s Bureau — Theresa ThomasDonations/Grants Chair — Laura PennParliamentarian — Martha MullensFacebook Manager — Sandra FountainNewsletter Editor — Troy Mullens [email protected] Newsletter Editor — Martha MullensSouthwest Subcourthouse Garden Leaders Gailon Hardin & Dawn HancockNative Plant Gardens at the Southwest Regional Library Leaders — Theresa Thomas & Char McMorrowMolly Hollar Wildscape Garden Leader — Ann KnudsenFielder House Garden Leaders — Josephine Keeney & Jane OsterhuisPublicity Chair — Vicki GleasonNLCP Classes Coordinator — Merita Knapp ©

2017

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sNews Flash********************

Watch your native plants.With the hot weather,

They may need a little extra water.

(Especially young ones)

mailto:[email protected]


August 2019 NPSOT News North Central Texas Chapter Page 3

More Photos on Page 4

False Dragonhead — Flower of the Month for AugustStory & Photographs by Josephine Keeney

False Dragonhead, Physostegia digitalisLamiaceae (Mint Family)

This lovely strong plant is one of the obedient plant group. The leaves which are oval shaped distinguish it from other obedient plants which have leaves that are long and pointed. The pink flowers are large and the flower spikes are very large with many side-blooming shoots that sometimes bloom at the leaf nodes, all along the stem.

The flowers attract butterflies and hummingbirds and even little lizards perhaps looking for a meal.

It can reach 3-6 feet in height and presents a very impressive display during the hot days of summer, when other plants are taking a break.

This perennial grows best in part shade and likes plenty of water during hot spells since its natural habitat is moist areas or close to water.


Continued from Page 3

False Dragonhead — Flower of the Month for August

Photos by Josephine Keeney

Do you see the anolelooking for a meal ?


Demonstration Gardens by Josephine Keeney

Fielder House - Garden Tour and Presentation

Fielder HouseGarden Tour Photos

(cont. Next page)

Our Garden Tour and Presentation were a great success! 53 brave people showed up in spite of the heat and a few people had to stand because the room couldn’t hold that many chairs.It is very rewarding to see people wanting to learn about Texas Native Plants for Pollinators, so it looks like our work is well received, and we haven’t labored in vain.

The full house

Kim Conrow and Charley AmosHester Schwarzer our Greeter


Fielder HouseGarden Tour

Photos

People checking out plants. More checking of plants

The Garden Gate The happy butterflies Josephine Keeney and Corinna Benson



OS Gray Natural Area


Jane Oosterhuis and Josephine Keeney with zexmenia, horsemint, flame acanthus and

sunflowers.


BRIT Registration Required. Sat., Aug. 3 10 AM-3 PM Compost Master Class ($75 members/$85 non-members)Sat., Aug. 3 10 AM-12 PM Water Efficient Lawns & Landscape Care ($20 members/$25 nonmembers)There will be numerous classes available in September.

Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge fwnaturecenter.org. ($5 Fee Non-members, Members Free:)Weekends: 9-11:00 AM Nature Hikes August 3, 4, 10, 11, 17, 18, 24, 25, 31Wednesdays: 9-11:00 AM Walk with Naturalist August 7, 14, 21, 28 Sun., Aug. 4 1:30-3:00 PM Snakes Sat., Aug. 17 1:30-3:00 PM Edible PlantsSat., Aug. 24 10:30-11:30 AM Tenacious Texan (prickly pear)Sun., Aug. 25 1:30-3:00 PM Invading Organisms Sat., Aug. 31 1:30-2:30 PM Women of Wildlife

Native Prairies Association of Texas Fort Worth Chapter Northwest Campus TCC, Fort Worth Room WACB 1123Mon., August 12. No meetupWed., Aug. 21 Benbrook Lake-Environmentally Sensitive Area Designation

Cross Timbers Master Naturalist FWBGMon., Aug.19 7PM Grapevine’s Sea Turtle Rescue Hospital Krista Huebner

Tarrant County Master Gardener AssociationThurs., Aug. 1 10 AM Mike Tinius, Tinius Floral House Plants 101, 102 and 103Sat., Aug. 3 9:30-11:30 AM NRH Fall Gardening Seminar, NRH LibraryThurs., Aug. 15 7-8 PM Native & Drought Tolerant Landscape, Grapevine BG

North Central Chapter of Native Plant Society of TexasThurs., August 1 6:30 PM 3 members will discuss their native gardens . Board Meeting: August 27 6:30 PM FWBG No field trips will be scheduled until weather is cooler. See page 24 for potential fall field trips.

Volunteer Opportunities Cont. on Page 9

August 2019 Activities - by Martha Mullens

http://fwnaturecenter.org


Volunteer* at our Demonstration Gardens

Fielder House Butterfly Garden 1616 W Abram St, Arlington Leaders: Josephine Keeney, Jane Osterhuis, Charlie Amos 2nd & 4th Mondays 9-12 August 12, 26

Molly Hollar Wildscape Veterans Park, Arlington Leader: Ann Knudsen (Josephine Keeney)1st Sat: August 3 (most Saturdays) Every Wed.: August 7, 14, 21, 28 9 AM-noon

Knapp Heritage Park Pollinator Garden 201 West Front Street, ArlingtonFirst Monday: August 5 9 AM-noon (contact Josephine Keeney)

River Legacy Park 701 NW Green Oaks Blvd., Arlington Volunteer Manager: Sherrie Ripple3rd Monday: August 19 9 AM-noon (contact Josephine Keeney)Opportunities on website: riverlegacy.org or call 817-860-6752 ext. 109 or [email protected] 817-459-5474

OS Gray Natural Area2nd Saturday: August 10 9 AM-noon (contact Josephine Keeney) Native Plant Gardens at SW Regional Library at Hulen 8 AM-noon, 4001Library Ln, Fort Worth Leaders: Theresa Thomas, Char McMorrow2nd & 4th Thursdays: August 8, 22

SW Tarrant Co. Sub Courthouse* 8:00AM-12:00 PM 6551 Granbury Rd, Fort Worth Leaders: Gailon Hardin, Dawn Hancock 2nd Sat.: August 10 last Wed.: August 28 * Workdays were missed due to weather so weeding will be every Wed. and Sat. at 8 AM

Volunteer at the Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge 9601 Fossil Ridge Rd, Fort Worth 76135Volunteer Coordinator: Laura Veloz fwnc.org 817-392-7410Volunteer Positions: Docent, Outdoor Conservationist (Natural Guard). Restoration Greenhouse,Visitor Center Host, Special Events, Animal Care

Volunteer at White Settlement Monarch Waystation Leaders: Sandy Fountain, Merita Knapp 3rd Sat. August 17

Volunteer for Native Prairies Associationfortworthnpat.wordpress.com

Continued from Page 8August 2019 Volunteer* Opportunities - by Martha Mullens

Volunteer Needs Cont. on Page 10

http://riverlegacy.org


http://fwnc.org


Continued from Page 9July 2019 Volunteer* Opportunities - by Martha Mullens

Volunteer at BRIT 1700 University Dr, Fort Worth 76107Director of Volunteers: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Maintain native plants, invasive plant control, maintain healthy habitats:Pollinator Pathways Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays 9 AM-noonSouth Woods Tuesdays 9 AM-noonTinsley Rock Springs Fridays 9:30 AM-noon

* Note: Master Naturalists and Master Gardeners can get volunteer hours for work performed.

Membership by Donna Honkomp

Membership has added a Comments, Sugges-tions, and Question Box at our table. Please feel free to submit your inquiry. For a personal re-sponse, please add your contact information and we will reply back to you. Any other information will be provided in our upcoming newsletter. If you are unable to attend a meeting, you can also send any Comments, Suggestions, and Questions to [email protected]

Please continue to help us spread the word about native plants and invite your friends, cowork-ers & family members to join the North Central Chapter-NPSOT.

To join go to www.txnativeplants.org, then click on “About”, and then click on “How to Join”.

"We are looking for the next Membership Coor-dinator for the North Central Chapter-NPSOT. If you are interested, please send your contact information to [email protected] and we will reply back to you."

The current North Central Chapter membership on July 14th, 2019 is 204 members.









Plant of the Season, Sponsored by the North Central Chapter, Native Plant Society of Texas NICE Plant Partners (Natives Improve and Conserve Environments) – Summer 2019

Purple Coneflower, Echinacea purpurea: Part-shade to sun perennial

Description: Purple Coneflower is an herbaceous perennial in the sunflower family. It grows about 1-2 feet wide and 2-4 feet tall in bloom. Its dark green, hairy-rough, alternate or opposite leaves are up to 6” long and 3” wide, and are smaller at the top of the stems. Purple Coneflower is drought, heat and poor soil tolerant. Purple Coneflower’s common and genus names reflect its flower characteristics. Echinacea comes from the Greek echinos, meaning spiny or prickly, while purpurea refers to the petal color of wild Purple Coneflower. Coneflower describes the flower’s center shape.

Flowers and Seeds: Purple Coneflower blooms in late May and intermittently through the end of summer in North Texas. Its daisy-like flowers are held high on top of its stems. The showy flowers span 2.5-5 inches across. Each flower has 10-20 pink to lavender ray florets surrounding a central yellowish- to reddish-brown cone of numerous disk florets. The cone may be flattened and is prickly. The ray petals lean downward with age. Numerous cultivars of Purple Coneflower are now available in nurseries, in different heights, petal colors ranging from white to deep orange to deep red and with different colored flower cones.

Planting sites: Purple Coneflower thrives in part shade to sun and a range of soil types.

Watering Instructions: During long dry spells, Purple Coneflower may appreciate supplemental water if planted in full sun. Like many other native Texas plants, it needs good drainage.

Comments: Purple Coneflower is great in border, meadow, prairie, cutting and native plant gardens, as well as woodland gardens in part-sun. The plants will grow in size each year and may be divided every 4-5 years by digging up the clump, lifting it out of the ground and breaking it apart by hand. This is important for propagating the cultivars, because they will not breed true from seed. Purple Coneflower may also be propagated by cuttings

and will self-seed, if the spent flowers are not removed. Purple Coneflower attracts butterflies as well as native bees and its seed in the dried flowerheads feeds fall and winter birds. The cut flowers are long-lasting in bouquets. Various parts of Purple Coneflower are used as herbal medicine, but please don’t count on NICE for medical advice! Consider using Purple Coneflower instead of exotic Gerbera Daisy (Gerbera jamesonii) or African Daisies (Osteospermum) species. Companion plants for Purple Coneflower include Mealy Blue Sage (Salvia farinacea), Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) and Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium).

Look for NICE Plant of the Season signs and information sheets on your next visit to a participating North Texas nursery. Thank you for using native plants in your landscapes.

www.media.txnativeplants.org Written by Becca Dickstein

North Central Chapter, Native Plant Society of Texas Meetings on the 1st Thursdays Feb thru Jun, Aug thru Dec @ Ft. Worth Botanic Gardens, Deborah Beggs Moncrief Garden Center, Redbud Room, 6:30 p.m.

Photo courtesy of Marilyn Blanton

NICE! Plant of the Season Reported by Rozanna Francis

txnativeplants.org

http://txnativeplants.org


Answer to Last Month’s Puzzle and A New Puzzle by Troy Mullens © 2019

Answer to Last Month's Puzzle:

Bitterweed !!!Golden dome center, 3-lobed petals.

Threadlike leaves, but not Green-thread.

I grew up on a small farm in East Texas. We had milk-cows and my Dad hated this plant.

It made the milk bitter. (Well named)The fields and pastures are covered with this

plant in late June and July.

New Puzzle:

Can you name these very early Spring bloomers?

A small tree &A fragrant bush



Butterfly Magnets - by Erik Choffel

A fellow gardener donated 4 Gregg's Mistflowers, Conoclinium (eupatorium) greggii plants to a garden I was asked to install at a non-profit in Irving. I had never seen them, and must admit, in March, I was not impressed. They looked stringy, overgrown, and some were bending to the ground, and flowerless. The fel-low gardener, a professional landscaper, assured me they would be a good addition. Since the “garden” was at that time, weeds and grasses right up to the brick building, and only recently tilled, I thought I’d try them out.

Photos by Erika Choffel, taken at The Main Place1 garden, Irving.

New transplant appears wilted and not worth any at-tention above, but in just a few months, blossoms into quite a spectacle.

While most who garden with native plants know this plant very well, we have just recently met, and I am once again surprised at the beauty and function of the native plants. These just needed a year to acclimate and show me their capabilities.

In the past year, they have bloomed profusely, have gone nearly dormant, and have been thinned out suc-cessfully to fill in more of the growing area of the gar-den. The clients who receive service at The Main Place are comforted at the sight, before they even get to the door. From April to November, they see light lavender blue flowers loaded with butterflies, especially in Sep-tember during the monarch migration. 2 They also “attract bees, bordered patch butterflies, common buckeyes, dark blue tigers (from Asia), hairstreaks, red admirals, skippers, sulphur butterflies, queens, and more….” 3

Also called Blue Mist Flower or Texas Ageratum, this plant in the Aster family is a Texas Native that is especially attractive to the Queen Monarch during Fall migration to Mexico. Other common names are Palmleaf Thoroughwort, Palm-leaf Mistflower, Palm-leaf Thoroughwort, Purple Palmleaf Mistflower, Purple Palmleaf Eupatorium. The leaves have deep divisions, with a similar look to ferns. 4 They grow slightly taller than wide, at a maxi-mum height of about 3 feet, and width of about 2 feet. They spread by rhizomes and seeds. Propagation is easy: just pull or dig out a section and put into the soil. You can also take a cutting in the Summer or Fall or collect seeds in the Fall to plant after the last frost, but I prefer the least labor intensive method. And here’s the best part…pest and disease problems? None!

Gregg's Mistflower is a perennial herb, “with pal-mate leaves deeply divided into three lobes which are again pinnately dissected. Small, purplish-blue flowers cluster together to form puffy, 2 inch, cush-ion-like flower heads.”5 It is a larval host for the Raw-son’s Metalmark butterfly (Calephelis rawsoni). It can withstand temperatures down to 0o Fahrenheit, but recovers quickly pruning or die back.

Continued on Page 15


Butterfly Magnets - by Erik Choffel

They prefer full sun and do well in drought con-ditions. With all the rain we had this Spring, these Gregg's Mistflowers are showing brown leaves at the bottom ½ of each stem, with prolific green leaves and flowers at the tip. They spread well (sometimes too well if over-watered), so if you want to limit their reach, plant them in a partitioned area or in a pot, but then you can’t ignore its minimal water needs, once it’s established.

1 The Main Place, Irving, http://www.themainpla-ceirving.org provides new clothing and personal items for homeless teens and individuals or families who are in need.

2 https://www.monarchwatch.org/read/faq2.htm

3 https://monarchbutterflygarden.net/butter-fly-plants/conoclinium-greggii/

4 https://dcmga.com/north-texas-gardening/peren-nials/master-gardener-favorites/greggs-mist-flower/

5 https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=COGR10 This site also has an explanation of the name. In the 1840’s, Josiah Gregg travelled through Texas, and corresponded with botanist, George Engleman, for whom the Englemann Daisy is named (Engelmannia peristenia).

Other Sources:http://www.txsmartscape.com/plant-search/plant-details.php?id=835

To read more about the monarch migration, try this one. https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/10/monarch-butterfly-migration/


http://www.themainplaceirving.org

http://www.themainplaceirving.org

https://www.monarchwatch.org/read/faq2.htm

https://monarchbutterflygarden.net/butterfly-plants/conoclinium-greggii/

https://monarchbutterflygarden.net/butterfly-plants/conoclinium-greggii/

https://dcmga.com/north-texas-gardening/perennials/master-gardener-favorites/greggs-mist-flower/

https://dcmga.com/north-texas-gardening/perennials/master-gardener-favorites/greggs-mist-flower/

https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=COGR10

https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=COGR10

http://www.txsmartscape.com/plant-search/plant-details.php?id=835

http://www.txsmartscape.com/plant-search/plant-details.php?id=835

https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/10/monarch-butterfly-migration/

https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/10/monarch-butterfly-migration/


NPSOT Symposium Grant by NCC NPSOT Board

Two Lucky Members Will Receive Grants to Attend the State NPSOT SymposiumDonna Honkomp Membership Chair

Would you like to attend the state NPSOT symposium in League City, TX October 3-6, 2019, but you think you can’t afford it? Well, our chapter may be able to help. We are offering grants of $250 each to 2 lucky applicants who meet the conditions and turn in their applications by the deadline of August 25, midnight to [email protected].

The requirements of the entrants will then be reviewed by the Board on August 27, and the lucky winner will be notified ASAP by telephone and/or email and announced at the September 5 general meeting.

The conditions for eligibility are: being a current member of NPSOT, having a desire to attend the state symposium, having attended some of the general meetings this year, and having volunteered this year to work at events or worked in one of the demonstration gardens or volunteered in any other capacity, such as bringing snacks or door prize items, or helped with the plant sale in any way. If you are interested, submit by midnight August 25 your full name, your current phone number and email address along with a list of all of your volunteer activities this year (to the best of your memory) to :[email protected].

Don’t worry if you have only volunteered a few hours, everyone who is interested will be considered. Members of the Board are not eligible to enter.

Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge Awarded Grant

Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge has received a $13,000 grant from REI, after having won a customer poll conducted by the local retail outlet. The money is to be used for pedestrian bridges, and also to help pay for a summer intern. This announcement is taken from the City of Fort Worth news site.

Officer Nominations by Eric Johnson

Officer Elections are coming up. The nominating committee would like your recommendations for the positions of President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. Please give this due consideration. Nominees will be announced at the September meeting and a vote will be taken in November.

Standing Rules Revisions by Martha Mullens

Revisions of Standing Rules for North Central Chapter of NPSOTAll members please review the revisions of the standing rules of NCC NPSOT that were emailed to you so that you can vote on them at the general meeting on Thursday, August 1.




Volunteers Needed for Home & Garden Show, Aug 16-18requested by Vanessa Wojtas

I'm looking for volunteers willing to do a 2-hour shift at the Fort Worth Home and Garden show. Parking fees will be reimbursed to volunteers, the same as last year. Times are be-low; please reply if you are free.

Also, I'm looking for someone to volunteer as the main contact for the weekend. Primarily this person will schedule to get the materials from me, setup and take down the materials, and then meet with me to return the events materials.

Thursday August 15Last year there was a Thursday night setup window, but I have not heard details yet.

Friday August 161:30 setup2-4pm4-6pm

Saturday August 1710am-12pm12-2pm2-4pm4-6pm

Sunday August 1811am-1pm1-3pm3-5pmTake down/clean-up

As always, feel free to write or call if you have any questions, concerns, etc.

Regards,Vanessa Wojtas972-273-0766

June Hospitality Report by Corinna Benson

For the July board meeting we had Karen Harden and Debbie Stilson bringing snacks for Hospitality. For the August general meeting we will have: Karen Harden, Tracie Middleton and Vicki Brady bringing snacks.Editors note: Corinna does a great job. Be sure and tell her so after the meetings. She signed up for another year. Hooray !


Wild Poinsettiaby Martha Mullens

A Christmas Flower in SummerWild Poinsettia Euphorbia cyathophora

by Martha Mullens Did you know that Texas can claim a native poinsettia? In most cases the bracts that are red in the commercial variety are white in the Texas one, but it is a poinsettia all the same. Native ones with red bracts are not as com-mon, but do occur. You don’t hear much about the wild poinsettia, and in fact it is not found in most field guides. Eason’s book lists two species, but one grows further south than in the North Central region. Probably this plant is not listed because the flowers are not very impressive like most wildflowers that we rec-ognize. The flowers are very small and en-closed in a cup. After fertilization the female flower extends a capsule of seeds which can be spread by the wind. As small as are the seeds, they are widespread in my yard.

Because the flowers are inconspicuous, you may not want wild poinsettia for your garden. However, it is just about the most drought tol-erant plant that I know. I used to pull them up from my garden and yard where they ap-peared every year. Now I leave them because they stay green all summer into the fall when most everything else turns brown or dies back. They will survive the hot summer with no supplemental watering and will even grow in the cracks in the sidewalk. I wouldn’t recom-mend replacing your prettier wildflowers or the ones that attract butterflies with the wild poinsettia, but if you have a bare spot where you can’t seem to grow other plants, this one

will flourish there. It thrives in shade or sun and any type of soil, and rarely gets over 18 inches tall. It has an attractive growth pattern of branched stems that remind me of cande-labra. I have never observed any butterflies on the plant, but it is visited by a lot of small in-sects, such as native flies and beetles.

Wild poinsettia is a member of the family Eu-phorbiaceae (Spurge). In this family there are about 8000 species in 313 genera worldwide, mostly in tropical and sub-tropical regions. A number of species contain toxic alkaloids, and

it is only one of 4 families that contain plants with stinging hairs. This family contains mem-bers who are useful medicinally as purgatives (castor bean) and some from which tapioca is obtained and others produce latex. But also it has those that should be avoided, specifically in our area, bull nettle and nose burn.



Wild Poinsettiaby Martha Mullens

In between the two extremes are the ones with attractive flowers and/or leaves, snow-on -the-prairie, snow-on-the-mountain, crotons, and queen’s delight. Actually, most have small flowers, but the over-all plant is pleasing to the eye and most attract insects with their pollen and nectar. However, all produce a milky sap which can be irritating to the skin. Although considered poisonous as forage to cattle and deer, quail, dove, and some songbirds readily eat the seeds of most plants in this family.

Wild poinsettia has many common names, in-cluding fire-on-the-mountain and fire plant, both of which would refer to the ones with the red bracts. None of the ones in my yard have ever had anything but white bracts. I like red, but these are attractive enough.

In North Central Texas, there are 15 genera of Euphorbia: 3-seeded mercury or copper leaf (7 species), creeping spurge (16 species), Tex-as bull nettle (1 species), croton (8 species), wild mercury (3 species), spurge (11 species), lepitopus (1 species), leaf-flower (5 species), reverchonia (1 species), castor bean (1 species naturalized), Chinese tallow tree (nonnative) (1 species), queen’s delight (2 species), and noseburn (4 species). More than you thought at 61 species.

Unless you have a prairie remnant, you proba-bly won’t use any of these in your garden. You might be surprised (I was) that snow-on-the-mountain, Euphorbia marginata, is actually cultivated and used by the floral trade in bou-quets. Most of the euphorbias are not sought after for gardens. Yet, what would a field be

late in the summer without its snow-on-the-prairie, Euphorbia bicolor, or snow-on-the-mountain? I always look forward to seeing them. A field of them is a welcome sight. They grow well in disturbed soil of any type. How-ever, with so much land being covered with concrete in our area, about the only place you find them now is in a fence row.

People ask how do you tell them apart? The most apparent difference is that snow-on-the-mountain has broader bracts and leaves. The leaves of snow-on-the-prairie are very long and thin. If you can’t get close enough to see the leaves or you are driving down the highway and can’t stop to examine the plants, focus on a group of plants. The snow-on-the-prairie in a group seems denser to me while the snow-on-the-mountain seems more sparse with in-dividual plants more spindly.

See page 25 in "Parting Shots" for photos of Snow on the Mountain and

Snow on the Prairie.

This family deserves to be studied in more de-tail. The best sources are Wildflowers of Texas by Geyata Ajilvsgi, Range Plants of North Central Texas, and, Shinner’s and Mahler’s Flora of North Central Texas. Michael Eason’s Wildflowers of Texas shows 5 plants from Eu-phorbia: 2 wild poinsettias, but no snow-on-the-mountain or snow-on-the-prairie. Online check out the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center plant database.



Plant Communicationby Martha Mullens

Only recently have botanists become aware that plants can communicate with each other through the fungi (mycorrhizal mycelium) on their root systems. The person who discovered this is a woman biologist, Suzanne Simard*, a professor of forest ecology at the University of British Colum-bia, Canada. A book, The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate** by Peter Wohlleben, is based on her research.

Simard’s research has been done with trees, but other plants have been studied also, including tomatoes and cotton. Communication is accom-plished with an exchange of sugars produced by the plants and nutrients absorbed from the soil by the fungi which are much more efficient at bring-ing in nitrogen. With herbaceous plants this com-munication is limited to plants of the same spe-cies, but with trees it is not. There are about 100 species of fungi that grow on the roots of trees. Any one tree may have 20 or 30. These fungi net-works stretch out underneath the forest floor in a complicated pattern. Some webs reach to a tree close by and some to trees at great distances.

What information is communicated? Environ-mental conditions, such as drought, and flooding are passed on, but, most importantly, is the threat of attack from herbivores. How the trees respond to these threats is astonishing. Leaves are dropped in drought, roots shrink up in flooding, chemical deterrents are produced when insects and other animals attack. They even absorb more carbon dioxide when too much is in the atmosphere. Mother trees nurture their seedlings by sending excess carbon dioxide, especially if the seedlings are in the shade where they can’t perform photo-

synthesis as effectively. Trees haven’t developed a defense against clear cutting of forests, but if the hub (mother) trees survive they can help devel-opment of young plants more rapidly to replace the ones being chopped down by humans. How-ever, if the hub trees are cut down, the forest can’t re-establish itself. Lumber companies who are looking to the future of having healthy forests are taking these things into consideration, as well as, leaving ‘trash trees’, and not just planting a mono-culture of pines, cedars, or firs. A monoculture is more susceptible to disease and insect attacks.

Other plants have defenses inherent in their structure, such as thorns, spines, stinging ‘hairs’ and bad taste, or even poisons to deter predators. Some plants have gone beyond these protections and developed defensive methods. What is inter-esting is that when a tomato plant is under attack by aphids, it notifies other plants and they pro-duce chemical inhibitors. When a cotton plant is attacked by caterpillars, it sends messages to its fellow cotton plants and they release chemicals into the air which attract parasitic wasps which lay eggs on the caterpillars which later consume them, thus cutting down on the number of adults which would produce more caterpillars.

Plants are under constant stress and attack. It is most amazing and intriguing that they have de-veloped such intricate ways of defending them-selves. Scientists have only begun to uncover the secrets about how plants ‘talk’ to each other. The world is full of amazing things yet to be discov-ered.


Did you know that plants can communicate?A female botanist discovered that they can.

Edited excerpt from online article: Brain Pickings by Martha Mullens


Plant Communicationby Martha Mullens


**If you are interested in The Hidden Life of Trees book, it is available on Amazon and eBay for less than $20.

Note: check out the two very short videos: The Se-cret Language of Trees, and The Amazing Ways Plants Defend Themselves produced by Simard’s students (TedEd) referred to in the original arti-cle. Also, if you are interested in the video, How Trees Talk to Each Other by Suzanne Simard on YouTube, that really explains it all in detail.

https://youtu.be/V4m9SefyRjg

*Suzanne Simard, PhD, RPF, is Professor of Forest Ecology, Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia, Canada. At UBC, she has a vibrant re-search program, a teaching program focused on forest ecology and complexity science, and she is a strong contributor to the forestry profession in Canada. Her research is motivated by her desire for protecting our fundamental right to a clean and healthy environment. She contributes to this goal by conducting scientific research on the syn-ergies and complexities of our natural world and the development of sustainable land steward-ship practices that both conserve and protect the environment.

Her research is centered on understanding the vital relationships between plants, microbes, soils, carbon, nutrients and water that underlie the adaptability, resilience and recovery of eco-systems. She works primarily in forests, but also grasslands, wetlands, tundra and alpine ecosys-tems. She is particularly known for her work on belowground networks that connect the creatures of the forest, and how these are fundamental to the complex adaptive nature of ecosystems. She strives to communicate this research so that it is understandable and usable to all people. To that end, she is dedicated to empowering people with science-based knowledge and tools to manage and heal the land from human impacts including climate change.

“There’ s nothing wrong with having a tree as a friend”.

Bob Ross (TV art instructor for Joy of Painting on PBS for over 10 years). He always put at least one tree in every painting.



Native Host Plants for Texas Butterfliesby Martha Mullens

This book is so crammed with information and beautiful photographs that it almost takes my breath away. I should have expected nothing less from Ro Wauer. Troy and I met him at a Butterfly Festival in Mission, Texas, a few years ago. After spending several days with him looking for butterflies, his ex-pertise really impressed me. One day, Troy and I and 3 other people were searching for butterflies in this small garden of blooming shrubs and flowers. We could see butterflies flitting around, but together we had only identified about 10 species. Ro and his wife came up, and he pointed out about 60 in less than an hour. No joke. I was too excited to be intimidated. He is not that kind of person anyway. He is very un-assuming, but you soon learn that he is an expert.

I hadn’t realized that he knew so much about plants, but if you are going to be a successful butterfly hunt-er, you need to know where to look. Therefore, you need some knowledge of the plants that the adults feed on. If you are truly interested in the butterflies, then you will be concerned with their life history which then leads to an understanding of what plants are hosts to the larvae. Thus this book. Ro likes to share his knowledge. He has written 22 books and more than 170 nature articles for magazines and journals, mostly concentrating on birds and butter-flies. Since he was in the National Park Service 32 years, being stationed in different parts of the USA, he has gained and shared knowledge from each area. However, he got to Texas as fast as possible and settled here to study and write about Texas birds, butterflies, and plants.

Jim and Lynne Weber are master naturalists and native gardening enthusiasts who live in the Austin area. They maintain a native habitat garden certified by the National Wildlife Federation and have a web-site/blog entitled Central Texas Gardener. Check out the archives for episodes, such as Native Grounders for Shade and Sun, Beneficial Insects, Plant Propa-

gation, Small Gardens, Pollinator-Friendly Plants in Deer Country, and many more intriguing subjects.

The expertise of the authors is awesome, but this is supposed to be a book review. The authors call it a field guide, but I would say that it is more of a refer-ence to be consulted about which plants you would want to put in your garden to attract butterflies to lay eggs. Texas boasts over 5800 species of plants divided into more than 220 families. Although not all of the families contain plants utilized by Texas butterflies as larval host plants, more than 40 families do. Some families provide hosts for only one or two butterfly species, several are more popular. The most suitable families are Poaceae, the grasses (over 100 species), Fabaceae, the peas or legumes (about 60), Ulmaceae, the elms and hackberries (over 20), and Malvaceae, the mallows (about 20).

Native Host Plants for Texas ButterfliesBook Review by Martha Mullens



Native Host Plants for Texas Butterfliesby Martha Mullens


Sustaining about 10 species each are the Asterace-ae, the sunflowers, Passifloraceae, the passionflow-ers, Euphorbiaceae, the spurges, and Fagaceae, the beeches and oaks. The authors show examples of each of these families and the butterflies who rely on them. More than 140 butterfly species are illustrated.

There are 201 pages of illustrated plants divided into 4 sections: wildflowers, trees, shrubs, and vines. 2 pages of the grasses and sedges are listed with their respective butterflies but with only one photo of a grass skipper. Each plant is illustrated with 3 photos, usually of the flower, leaves and seeds, plus a Texas map of ecoregion with dots representing the occur-rences of these plants. On the opposing page is the description of the plant: leaves, flowers, fruits, habi-tat, plus other common names and remarks. Also on this page are the photos of the adult butterflies and larvae that use this plant as a host. Because this text covers the whole of Texas, there are plants and but-terflies that are not found here, but many are, such ground plum which supports the clouded sulphur and orange sulphur.

The authors begin with a page of acknowledgments to those people who have contributed information. Our own Sam Kieschnick is credited there, as is Geyata Ajilvsgi. Next there are 2 pages on How to Use This Book. 5 pages are dedicated to Introduc-tion, including a map of the 10 ecoregion of Texas. Then 10 pages contain discussions of each ecoregion with a representative photo of the topography of each. There are 80 pages of wildflowers, 48 pages of trees, 56 pages of shrubs, 26 pages of vines, and 2 pages of grasses and sedges. There is a glossary of botanical terms, 2 pages of references, including websites, a native plant index and a butterfly index. It is a beautiful book which I would recommend to the gardener who is interested in attracting butterflies.

I know that there is some information on the Rec-ommended Plant List that our organization hands out and is on our website.

Also, Josephine Keeney always puts some informa-tion about butterflies in her articles for the news-letter, as well as in the brochures for the plant sales. These are great resources. But if you want a more extensive list try this book. Some examples of plants and butterflies that are native to our area that are illustrated in this book are: two-leaf senna-sleepy orange and cloudless sulphur, Texas bluebonnet-gray hairstreak, ground plum-clouded sulphur, frog-fruit-phaon crescent, clammyweed-checkered white, bur oak-banded hairstreak, cottonwood-mourning cloak, sugar hackberry-hackberry emperor and taw-ny emperor, cedar elm-question mark and eastern comma, false indigo bush-silver-spotted skipper, turk’s cap-turk’s cap skipper, cenizo-checkerspot, Christmas mistletoe-great purple hairstreak, passion vine (sp.)-gulf and variegated fritillary, big bluestem grass supports 7 species of skipper, and little blue-stem supports 9 species of skipper.

If you are interested in the life cycle of butterflies, I hope that this synopsis will intrigue you and you will check out this wonderful book. You can find it at amazon and eBay for about $20. Also, look up the biography of the authors. You will be astonished, especially with the achievements of Ro Wauer.


Parting Shots - Last Minute News & Views of the Editors by Troy & Martha Mullens

Two field trips have been proposed for fall 2019. Clear Creek Park is near Denton, TX. It has several good trails for walking, and it includes the junction of Clear Creek with the Elm Fork of the Trinity River. There is also a pond. The second field trip under consideration is a visit to Oliver Nature Park in Mansfield. We visited this park in the spring, and it was spectacular, but we only saw half of the 80 acre park. Suzette Rogers, who belongs to NCC NPSOT, and lives in the area, met us there and helped to identify the plants we found. If you have any interest in either of these field trips, please let me know at the next NPSOT meet-ing in Fort Worth. Also, if there is a particular date you might prefer, go ahead and mention this and we will try to comply.

Fall Field TripsBy Eric Johnson


“Trees are the foundation of forests,but a forest is much more than what you see.”

Link to YouTube TED TalkOn Tree roots

Martha Hugs a Big Tree in the Forest



Parting Shots Page 2 - Last Minute News & Views by the Editors by Troy & Martha Mullens

Fees for Fort Worth Botanic GardenJust a reminder that as of July 19, 2019, there will be a fee to enter Fort Worth Botanic Gardens. This fee does not apply to attendance at meetings, such as NCC NPSOT or Master Naturalist’s. The regular admission is $12 for persons age 16 and older, $10 for seniors 65 and older. $6 for children 6-15. No charge for children 5 and under. $1 for adult SNAP/SIC recipients and no charge for their kids under age 15. Yearly memberships are $50 for individuals and $80 for families. There are many programs that offer free admission under certain circumstances, such as active military are free between Memorial and Labor Day, and local students may enter free from 3-6 PM if they are Fort Worth residents.

The money collected in fees will be used for repairs, especially to the conservatory which was closed in 2016. Restoration will allow the return of such programs as Butterflies in the Garden in late February 2020.

Other planned maintenance and repairs will include upgrading of greenhouse service, renovation The Gardens restaurant and restoration of its adjacent fragrance garden with increased color plants. Also planned, is a new, open-air electric tram service to transport patrons throughout the gardens.

Fort Worth will now join most of the nation’s largest cities in charging admission to its botanical gardens and conservatory.

Ray Conrow adds:The Botanic Gardens now charges for admission during normal operating hours. However, admission will not be charged for our general meetings. The Gardens will close for regular public events at 6:00 and a security guard will be stationed at the main (clock) entrance off University. The north entrance off Trail Drive will be locked. Tell the guard you are there to attend the NPSOT meeting. Park where you usually do and enjoy!

Snow on the Mountain and Snow on the Prairie by Troy & Martha Mullens

Snow on the mountain Snow on the Prairie



Don't forget: We are in need of the following positions for the new year (2020)

VP of Programs (officer position), NICE Chair, Event Chair, Field Trips Chair, and Membership Chair.

Sign up now, assist with these positions, and be learning the ropes. They are not difficult. You can always get help. The new positions will start next January. Come to a board meeting and see what these positions are about. Ask questions. Sign up. Your chapter needs you.

I have an update on making insect repel-lent from American beautyberry. I have discovered that if you pick fresh young leaves first thing in the spring, the insect repelling properties are very weak. It is best to wait until leaves are large and fully mature to harvest them for making repel-lent.

Original article:April 2019 issue, NCC NPSOT News, p. 39

http://www.txnativeplants.org/wp-con-t e n t / u p l o a d s / 2 0 1 9 / 0 4 / N e w s l e t -ter-2019-April.pdf

Update to making Insect Repellent

from American BeautyberryBy Karan Rawlins

Corinna Benson and Sandy Fountain at Discovery Gardens after a butterfly gardening workshop.

Photo by Kim Conrow

We need a coordinator for the 2020 spring plant sale ! If you are interested contact, Josephine Keeney.

http://www.txnativeplants.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Newsletter-2019-April.pdf





2019 Date Name Title of Presentation

February 7 Suzanne TuttleFort Worth Nature Center (Retired)

Winter Deciduous Woody Plant Identification

March 7 Denis BenjaminBRIT

Ethnomycology: Mushrooms and Human Culture

April 4 Megan Davis McConnell Monarch Stewardship in Parker County

May 2 Cameron Barlow, Montana WilliamsBRIT

The Pollinator Pathway Project

June 6 Michael EasonNPSOT Big Bend Chapter

Flora of the Chihuahuan Desert

August 1 Karen HardenKim ConrowVicki Kygar

Native Gardens of our Members

September 5 Michelle VillafrancaFort Worth Nature Center

Native Neighborhoods: Helping Pollinators across Fort Worth

October 10DATE CHANGED—Second Thursday this month

Show and Tell and Trade! Native Plant Exchange

Bring a Texas Native Plant to exchange for another. FUN!!!

November 7 Kevin Sloan—UTA,Landscape Architect

“Rewilding” for Environmental Design

December 5 Holiday Social Pot Luck Dinner, Awards and Introduction of New Officers. FUN!!!

Updated Programs


This is meant to be a starter list only and by no means is inclusive of all the wonderful native plants that can be in a pollinator garden. Ask your local NPSOT Chapter (npsot.org) or native nursery’s staff for advice on other choices for your pollinator garden.

Small Trees: Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis), Goldenball Leadtree (Leucaena retusa), Eve’s Necklace (Styphnolobium affine), Yaupon Holly (Ilex vomitoria), American Smoke Tree (Cotinus obovatus)

Bushes/shrubs: Texas Lantana (Lantana urticoides), Turkscap (Malvaviscus drummondii), Autumn sage (Salvia greggii), Cenizo (Leucophyllum frutescens), Flame acanthus (Anisacanthus quadrifidus),

Rock Rose (Pavonia lasiopetala), Kidneywood (Eysenhardtia texana)

Milkweeds: larval host plants for Monarch and Queen butterflies. Butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa), Antelope horns (Asclepias asperula), Zizotes (Asclepias oenotheroides), Green Milkweed (Asclepias viridis)

Others: Mealy Blue Sage (Salvia farinacea), Gregg’s Mistflower (Conoclinium greggii), Winecup (Callirhoe involuncrata), Four-nerve daisy (Tetranuris scaposa), Zexmenia (Wedelia hispida), Gayfeathers (Liatris spp.), Goldenrod (Solidago spp.), Maximillian sunflower (Helianthus maximiliani), Fall blooming asters (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium), Purple coneflower (Echinacea spp.), Pitcher sage (Salvia azurea) , Scarlet sage (S. coccinea), Frostweed (Verbesina virginica), White mistflower (Ageratina havanensis), Gaillardia (Gaillardia spp.), Little Bluestem grass (Schizachyrium scoparium), Sideoats grama grass (Bouteloua curtipendula), Blue Muhly grass (Muhlenbergia lindheimeri), Inland Sea Oats (Chasmanthium latifolium)

NPSOT mission: Promoting research, conservation and utilization of native plants and plant habitats of Texas through education, outreach and example. (npsot.org)

For information on plant bloom times, sizes, water needs and more go to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center’s native plant data base. wildflower.org

The following sources have more information on pollinators.

Xerces - protecting invertebrates and their habitats. https://xerces.org Audubon - protects birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow. http://www.audubon.org NABA - North American Butterfly Association http://www.naba.org Monarch Joint Venture - Partnering to conserve the monarch butterfly migration. https://monarchjointventure.org

All photos copyright: K. Conrow 2017

Short List of Plants for a

North Central Texas Pollinator Garden


The Half-Earth Pledge - by E. O. Wilson Reported by Troy Mullens

Take the Half-Earth Pledge!“We ourselves are part of the living world and the only species with the intelligence and thereby the moral responsibility to serve as its caring steward.” —E.O. Wilson

Species are the foundation of a healthy planet. Today, species are going extinct at an alarming rate. Introduced by acclaimed biologist and naturalist E.O. Wilson, Half-Earth offers a solution to the global species extinction crisis: conserve half the Earth’s lands and seas for nature, and ensure the long-term health of our shared planet.Each action, each conservation project, each species saved is an achievement on the path to this grand goal.

The Pledge: As a global citizen, I pledge to do what I can to support the Half-Earth Project:

• Take action to support species conservation; start by exploring the Half-Earth Map conservation priorities areas, as well as information about my home and other areas of interest to me. • Share information about the Half-Earth Project with my network; ask friends and family to join me by signing the Half-Earth Pledge; share my pledge with my social media followers. • Participate in local conservation events; attend a Bioblitz or join a nature group in my area; use the iNaturalist app and upload species observations on my travels in nature. • Support policies that protect the Earth’s lands and oceans; keep up-to-date on local policies; contact your representatives and share your thoughts and opinions on policies, because each policy action plays a role in reaching the grand, achievable Half-Earth goal.

Together, we can protect half the Earth for biodiversity to ensure that species and people have the space they need to thrive together, today and for future generations.


September 5 ProgramNative Neighborhoods:

Helping Pollinators Across Ft. Worth

By Michelle Villafranca

Visit us on the Webat

www.txnativeplants.org

The purpose of the Native Plant Society of Texas is topromote the conservation, research, and utilization of the

native plants and plant habitats of Texas througheducation, outreach, and example.

Join the Native Plant Society of Texas!

Become a member of the Native Plant Society of Texas. Membership is open to any individual, family, or organization. Membership is renewable annually and extends for a year from the date we receive your original payment. Note new prices effective April 1, 2019. If you wish to join, please indicate your category of membership, then clip and mail this application with the appropriate remittance to:

Native Plant Society of TexasPO Box 3017, Fredericksburg, TX 78624

___ Student $35 ___ Family (2 or more) $60___ Senior (65+) $35 ___ Patron $100___ Limited Income $35 ___ Benefactor $250___ Individual $45 ___ Supporting $500___ Lifetime $1200 ___ Additional Chapter(s) $6Name: ________________________________________________________Address: ______________________________________________________City, State, Zip: _________________________________________________County: ______________________________________________________Phone: _______________________________________________________Chapter Affiliation: _____North Central Chapter_____________________E-mail: _______________________________________________________ Go to https://npsot.org/wp/join-renew/ for an on-line sign-up form or for additional information. A printable form is also available there.

The North Central TexasNPSOT News

is a monthly publication ofthe North Central Chapterof the Native Plant Societyof Texas.

For changes of address orinformation about contribut-ing to the newsletter, pleasecontact the newsletter editor.The deadline for submittingarticles for inclusion in thenewsletter is the 15th of everypreceding month.

Troy Mullens, [email protected]

Newsletter Requirements1. All submissions due by the 15th of the preceding month. Exceptions are at the discretion of the Editor.2. Articles (text) should preferably be in plain text form. (No pdf ’s). Any special formatting requirements should be noted.3. Photographs & charts should be sent separately as large as possible. Location within the article should be noted. Please include a caption with each photograph and note any individual names of people.


https://npsot.org/wp/join-renew/


Documents

NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS N e w s P · Leaders: Gailon Hardin, Dawn Hancock 2nd Sat.: August 10 last Wed.: August 28 * Workdays were missed due to weather so weeding will be every Wed