Welcome to the Blue Ridge Wildflower Society!
Heading Layer

Welcome to the Blue Ridge Wildflower Society!

Eupatorium at Bull Run

Eupatorium at Bull Run

Eupatorium at Bull Run

Photo by Brigitte Hartke

Photo by Brigitte Hartke

Photo by Brigitte Hartke

Skunk Cabbage
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Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus)

Eupatorium at Bull Run

Eupatorium at Bull Run

Eupatorium at Bull Run

Photo by Brigitte Hartke

Photo by Brigitte Hartke

Photo by Brigitte Hartke

Welcome to the Blue Ridge Wildflower Society!
Heading Layer

Welcome to the Blue Ridge Wildflower Society!

Eupatorium at Bull Run

Eupatorium at Bull Run

Eupatorium at Bull Run

Photo by Brigitte Hartke

Photo by Brigitte Hartke

Photo by Brigitte Hartke

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News & Updates

• Change of meeting location: The BRWS meeting on Monday, April 25, 2022 will now be held at Virginia Western Community College in the Nature Center, located on WInding Way Road, Roanoke. Use the parking area you would use for the Community Arboretum. View more info and directions. 4/8/2022

• Spring is Coming! The Spring, 2022 BRWS Newsletter is hot off the presses. Learn some ways plants endure winter and check out our chapter's schedule of upcoming events. 2/7/2022

• The BRWS 2022 Spring Plant Sale will be held on Saturday, May 28 from 9am to noon at the Roanoke Council of Garden Clubs. View more information. 2/7/2022

• Hello Fall! Read the Fall, 2021 BRWS Newsletter to see our schedule of upcoming events, a special message from President Jessica Fleming, and details about Pirate Bush, found only in our region. 9/26/2021

• Goodbye Winter! The Spring, 2021 edition of the BRWS Newsletter is now available. Read a message from our president, plan for many upcoming chapter events, and learn about American beautyberry. 2/13/2021

• See the list of newly elected BRWS Officers and Board Members. 11/4/2020

• Check out our chapter's Fall 2020 Newsletter: online election for new officers, our summer plant sale success, and suggestions for wildflower walks on your own! 8/30/2020

• The Blue Ridge Wildflower Society Spring, 2020 Newsletter has just been published! Read about upcoming Field Trips and programs, Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) , and Radford's white basswood.

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The Spicebush Swallowtail Butterfly, Its Host Plants, and the New Threat They Face
By Mary Lee Epps A new non-native fungus and the beetle that carries it may soon severely impact sassafras, spicebush, and most other members of the Laurel family in the United States. Sadly, since these are the main host plants of the spicebush swallowtail butterfly, which is now common throughout most of the Eastern U.S.,…... Read more
April 29, 2022
Magical Mexican Dogwoods: What Should We Call Them?
By W. John Hayden, Botany Chair Who knew? Cornus florida, the 2018 VNPS Wildflower of the Year and State Tree of Virginia, has a cousin living in the mountains of eastern Mexico! Mexican Dogwoods have been found in the states of Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, and Veracruz. They are, manifestly, close relatives of the familiar Flowering…... Read more
March 29, 2022
Partridge-berry Is Bright All Year
By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Chapter Partridge-berry (Mitchella repens) is a handsome evergreen vine that creeps along the ground reaching only 2” high. Its long trailing stems can reach 12” long but it develops roots at nodes along the stem wherever it touches the ground, creating large dense colonies. Widespread across eastern North America, it…... Read more
February 17, 2022
Native and Invasive Plant Legislation in the 2022 General Assembly
The Virginia General Assembly convened January 12, 2022 and three bills were introduced in the House of Delegates that deal with native and invasive plants. The first step is to assign the bills to committees, then to subcommittees. Bills must pass the committee to be referred to the House for a full vote. View the Virginia…... Read more
January 17, 2022
Wildflower of the Year 2022 Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)
Buttonbush is a shrub or small tree commonly attaining heights up to about 6 m, occasionally twice that size. Leaves are opposite or whorled, elliptic to ovate, 2-8 cm wide, and 6-15 cm long; margins are entire and apices are acute or cuspidate, i.e., with an abrupt, short, tooth-like point. Triangular stipules, 2-3 mm long,…... Read more
January 1, 2022
Baldcypress: Towering Virginia Icon
By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Chapter Baldcypress, Taxodium distichum, our November Plant of the Month, is an unforgettable sight all year. But in late fall when its soft foliage turns vibrant shades of copper-orange, it lights up the entire landscape. These trees are called “bald” because, unlike most other conifers, they are deciduous and lose…... Read more
November 21, 2021
My Journey With the Flora of Virginia
By Marion Lobstein My interest in plants goes back to my childhood exploring and earning Girl Scout nature badges. As an undergraduate at Western Carolina University in the 1960s, I took my first plant identification class and really got hooked. Later, At UNC-Chapel Hill, I had the opportunity to take a plant taxonomy class with…... Read more
September 16, 2021
Narrow-leaf Mountain Mint: Pollinator Magnet
By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Chapter All of the species of Mountain-mints are virtual pollinator and butterfly magnets! They are always “humming” with butterflies and pollinators and their handsome foliage and long-lasting flowers make them summer garden stars. Of the twelve species in Virginia, Narrow-leaf Mountain-Mint (Pycnanthemum tenuifolium) is certainly one of the most attractive…... Read more
September 1, 2021