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Please note our May meeting location!! See below.
MAY 2015
UpcomingEvents
± Approximate
Times
_________________________________
Saturday, May 2, 9am - 1pm
Water “n” Wildlife Workday • Keowee
Toxaway SP (Potluck picnic & guest speakers!)
Projects abound for volunteers: Carolina
Fence, planting native plants, removing exotics, trail maintenance, and more! Contact
Cathy Reas Foster at [email protected]
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Saturday, May 9, 10am - 3pm±
Field Trip to see Rocky Shoals Spider Lilies and to Stevens Creek HP
Carpools meet at 8am • Group limit 15
Leader: Dr. Judy Gordon, Professor
Emerita, Biology, Augusta Regents Univ.
Dr. Judy Gordon has studied the protected Rocky
Shoal Spider Lily (Hymenocallis coronaria) over
many years. She will lead us to the population of
lilies on Stevens Creek near Plum Branch, SC.
After lunch on the old mill porch at the site,
we’ll drive to Stevens Creek HP and hike the
trail. Bring water, lunch, and snacks. Carpools
will form at 8am at Home Depot at 1339 S.
Pleasantburg Dr. (near Augusta Rd.) and at
Hardees off Hwy 123 at Hwy 178 exit to Liberty.
To reserve space, email Judy Seeley at [email protected]. Indicate if you will carpool
and at which site, and give a cell phone number
for last minute information.
_________________________________
Tuesday, May 19, 7pm, Greenville
Speaker: Tim Lee
“Trillium of the Carolinas”
NOTE: This meeting is at the Buck Mickel
Center Auditorium directly across
Pleasantburg Drive from our usual Greenville
meeting place. (See article on this page.)
_________________________________
Saturday, May 23, 10am - Noon
Propagation Workshop ($10 materials fee)
Location: Miller Putnam’s greenhouse, 180
Lakewood Drive, Greenville
Instructor: Ryan Merck with assistance from
Joe Townsend and Betsy George
Have you ever wanted to know how to propagate plants from seeds, divisions, and woody
cuttings? Ryan will give hands-on instruction
on propagation techniques. Bring a lunch/
drink for a social time after the workshop. E-mail [email protected] to reserve
a spot. Please include your cell phone number.
Trillium
www.scnps.org
(continued on page 2)
2)
of the Carolinas
Spring is a wonderful time of year! It brings pleasant temperatures, blue
skies, warm rains, and – perhaps best of all – spring wildflowers. Many of
our prettiest species bloom in the spring. Of course all of our native flowering plants are special, particularly because we get to see them for only a
short time each year. But a few are especially exciting to find in the wild,
and at the May meeting we will learn more about one genus that is always
a thrill to see in the woods.
In May, Tim Lee, Interpretive Ranger/Naturalist for the Mountain
Bridge Wilderness Area, will present the program “Trillium of The
Carolinas.” Trilliums are of special interest not only because of their
delicate beauty and their brief bloom time but also because of their growth
patterns. A trillium plant may take seven years or longer to develop from
seed to blossom and can then bloom for more than 75 years! While the
trillium flower you find today may not have been open yesterday, it certainly didn’t just pop up overnight.
As you might expect of a plant that can take seven years or more from
seed to flower, trillium has an interesting natural history. It is pollinated
primarily by bees and dispersed by native ants and yellow jackets, which
eat the fat found around the seed. Ants generally disperse seeds a small
distance resulting in concentrated populations, while yellow jackets can
disperse seeds up to 20 meters from the parent plant. Large populations
may have also escaped heavy browsing by deer and wild hogs, and, of
course, the loss of habitat.
Tim will describe the general characteristics of the trillium, illustrating the interesting anatomy and general characteristics of this genus. He
also plans to bring us up to date on current debate over trillium’s botanical classification. We will see photos of the 15 trillium species found in
South Carolina and learn a bit about the natural history of each, with an
emphasis on those found in the mountains and Piedmont.
Finally, Tim will tell us about the “mystery” trillium – a plant found
only at Jones Gap State Park. This particular trillium has a flower like
that of a well-known species but also has important structural differences
and a different bloom time. Its classification is currently a subject of botanical debate — stay tuned!
(continued on page 2)
Tim Lee
SC State Park Interpretive Ranger/Naturalist • Mountain Bridge Wilderness
Tuesday, May 19, 7:00 pm
_________________________________
Saturday, June 20, 9:30am - 4pm±
Field Trip: Whitewater Falls to Sloan
Bridge on the Foothills Trail
(See Page
NEWSLETTER OF THE UPSTATE CHAPTER OF THE SC NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY
_________________________________
Tuesday, June 16, 7pm, Hatcher Garden
(Spartanburg) • Come at 6pm for a tour!
Speaker: Dan Whitten
“Edible and Medicinal Plants”
U
THANK YO !!
S
R
VOLUNTEE
F
Buck Mickel Center Auditorium: Greenville Tec
(Directly across Pleasantburg from our usual Greenville meeting place!)
216 (not 225) South Pleasantburg Dr, Greenville
SCNPS: Working to preserve, protect & restore native plant communities in South Carolina
Attn: Plant Sale Volunteers
THANK YOU!
(all 500 of you... well, it seemed like that many!)
Our spring plant sale was over the
top!! And it could not have happened without
a wonderful group of NPS volunteers. Since
last January, the plant sale committee put in
countless hours to make sure everything was
planned and ready for April 18. The committee included Rita Lance and Judy Seeley,
co-chairs, Miller Putnam, Diane Coiner, Betsy
George, Bill Stringer, Dan Whitten, Steve and
Cheryl Holding, Katie and Bob Healy, Susan
Lochridge, Bill Sharpton, and Rick Huffman.
Others helping preparation were: Karen
Burnett, Elyse Langholtz, Jessica Harwood,
and Melissa McIntyre, plant preparation; Janie
Marlow, Janice Weakland, and Johnathan
Johnston, flyer and publicity; and Lisa Lord,
plant photo cards.
South Carolina
Native Plant Society
PO Box 491
Norris, SC 29667
Upstate Chapter
Address Service Requested.
UpcomingEvents
Leader: Dan Whitten
(continued from
page 1)
Meet at 9:30 at the gravel parking area
where the Foothills Trail crosses NC 281. (A
shuttle will be arranged.) This one-way hike
of 4.7 miles climbs 600 feet over Grassy Knob
and Round Mtn.
The feature is a chance to see and photograph the rare Ash-leaf Golden-banner,
Thermopsis fraxinifolia. Also featured are the
views of Lakes Jocassee and Keowee from
3000 feet! Contact D. Whitten at sdwhit10@
aol.com to register.
_________________________________
During sale week, more volunteers joined
the crew. Those folks included Jeff Beacham,
Georgia Connon, Lowrie Glasgow, Jan Jackson,
Donna Landau, Denise and David Frick, Jerry
Lambert, Robert Cullen, Steve Marlow, Dave
Wilder, Joyce Snyder, Kevin McIntyre, Ted and
Bette Thern, Sandy Lipe, Jean Wilder, Jim Corey,
Kitty Putnam, Caroline Erdrich, Mary Walter, Pat
Joyner, Janson Paul Joines, Sam and Eva Pratt,
Axel Acevado, Mary Margaret Dragoun, Sharon
Stringer, Sherry Yarnell, Frank Holleman, Jan
Haldeman, John Goodman, Mary Nettles, Hillary
Thompson, Wes Burnett, and Denise DuPon.
The new plant sale location at Conestee
Park brought challenges but worked out very well.
Rita and I could not be more pleased to be part of
such a great team of dedicated volunteers. The
sale never would have been possible without all
of you.
— Rita Lance and Judy Seeley, Plant Sale Co-Chairs
PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER
Non-profit
Organization
U.S. Postage
PAID
CLEMSON, SC
29631
PERMIT NO. 7
Saturday, July 18, 9:30am - 4:30±
Paddle/Hike Cascade Lake and DuPont Forest waterfall trails
Leader: Dan Whitten
Meet at fishing access parking just north
of Wildcat Wayside at the intersection of SC
11 and US 276 by S. Saluda River at 9:30 to
carpool to Cascade Lake Campground.
Flatwater paddling around Cascade Lake
and to Hooker Falls. Hike to Triple and High
Falls then back to boats. Then down Little
River back to put-in. Sit-on-top kayaks and
stand-up paddleboards available for $10/person or bring your own boat.
Contact Dan Whitten to register at
[email protected]. Limit of 12 for kayak
rentals and 6 for paddleboard rentals. Small
additional fee for campground access.
Trillium — Tim Lee
(continued from page 1)
A native South Carolinian, Tim Lee
has studied and taught as a naturalist and
biologist throughout the Southeast for
more than 25 years. For the past 15 years
he has been the Interpretive Ranger/
Naturalist for South Carolina State Park
Service’s Mountain Bridge Wilderness
Area where he conducts research and
provides educational
programs for children
and adults.
Tim is the
South Carolina
Park Services
coordinator with
the South Carolina
Master Naturalist Program and is an
Educational Leadership Partner for the
South Carolina Aquarium. In addition,
Tim is a member of the National
Association of Interpreters and the
Environmental Education Association of
South Carolina.
— Amy Fendley
A Meadow Restoration
in honor of DNR bear-ologist Skip Still
continues at the SC Department of
Natural Resources in Clemson.
Native prairie grasses and forbs such
as bushy bluestem and blazing star were
planted on this work day in mid-March.
Special thanks to our NPS volunteers, SC
DNR and Skip Still, Master Gardeners,
Master Naturalists, Clemson Wildlife
Society, and Clemson Students for
Environmental Action.