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Rose-pinks, Sabatia angularis, a member of the Gentian family, are found in nearly all counties of Virginia. According to the Digital Atlas of Virginia Flora, its habitat is "dry, open forests, woodlands, and barrens; more numerous in old fields, clearings, dry to wet meadows, and other disturbed habitats. Tolerates a wide range of soil chemistries but often most abundant in base-rich soils. Frequent throughout." This specimen was found blooming near the side of a road in Western Prince William County.

Have you been seeing this on your walks lately? Found In diverse wetland habitats, including floodplain forests, as well as low mesic forests and various disturbed sites, it is common throughout Virginia. It is a native plant; known as False Nettle, (Boehmeria cylindrica). It’s called False because it lacks the stinging hairs of most members of the Nettle (Urticaceae) family. Generally from 2-3 feet high, with some branching. Flowers are wind pollinated, but leaves are fed on by a variety of butterfly caterpillars, including the Comma,(Polygonia comma), Question Mark, (Polygonia interrogationis ), Red Admiral, (Vanessa atalanta). You may see spindle-shaped galls from the fly larvae on the stems.

And just what kind of orchids may be blooming now, you ask? Well, Southern Slender Ladies'-tresses, (Spiranthes lacera var. gracilis), is a native orchid that has a wide distribution throughout Virginia. Commonly found in moist to dry fields, clearings, roadsides, and occasionally in mown lawns. It produces 2-4 basal leaves which usually wither before or at the time of flowering in summer or fall. It bears an inflorescence of up to 40 small white flowers arranged in a tight spiral. Distinguish it from other species of Spiranthes by the distinctive green spot on its labellum - the central petal at the base of an orchid flower.

Have you registered for our annual meeting yet? Some field trips are beginning to fill up. September 27-29 in Front Royal!

Our field trip to Jeremy's Run still has space and is described as follows: Enjoy the special beauty of Shenandoah National park with an active woodland hike. The trail starts at Skyline Drive and crisscrosses Jeremy’s Run, a tributary of the Shenandoah River, multiple times. The trail provides a particularly lovely setting and a nice selection of forest flora. This is an easy hike with only moderate elevation change, but hiking poles are advised for fording the creek on stepping stones. (Photo by Karen Hendershot)

For more information, and to register, see https://vnps.org/annual-meeting-2019-welcome/ .

"What are those beautiful berries?" some people ask. It may exhibit some lovely colored berries, but this vine is evil in our environment! Porcelain-berry (Ampelopsis brevipedunculata) is an Asian species that was brought to North America in 1870 for use as an ornamental vine. It rapidly escaped cultivation into natural areas. According to the Blue Ridge Partnership for Invasive Species Management (PRISM), "[T]his escape artist operates by growing faster than almost anything else around it, except for kudzu, and perhaps Japanese honeysuckle, with which it likes to pal around. Porcelain-berry may grow 15 to 20 feet in a single growing season. It runs right over and shades out most desirable plants while competing with them for moisture and nutrients. It has a deep taproot and also sends out shallow roots far and wide. These spreading roots sprout suckers that then create a massive thicket."

Porcelain-berry prefers full to part sun in moist soil and can be found primarily in edge habitats and disturbed areas. For more information about this invasive vine and ways to combat it, check out this fact sheet from the Blue Ridge PRISM: http://blueridgeprism.org/wpcontent/uploads/2017/06/Porcelain-berry-Factsheet-5-27-17-VDOF-w-Box-FINAL.pdf.

Often maligned for its DISobedience, lovely Obedient Plant, Physostegia virginiana, attracts many pollinators, including the state insect tiger swallowtail shown here. Called obedient because its individual flowers remain in place when bent, it can be disobedient in its tendency to spread rapidly in rich, moist garden soil. If you garden, keep this flower in check with benign neglect.

This member of the mint family is also known as False Dragonhead because of its snapdragon-like flowers. According to the Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora, "two varieties [of Physostegia virginiana] are present in Virginia: var. praemorsa (Shinners) Cantino, clump-forming with short rhizomes and bracts usually present below the lowest flowers; and var. virginiana, colonial from long rhizomes and without floral bracts. Virginia herbarium specimens have generally not been sorted out as to variety, and individual distribution maps will not be available until a systematic study of herbarium material is completed. Some naturally occurring plants in Virginia may be intermediate between the vars., and escaped cultivars may represent inter-varietal hybrids.

Var. virginiana inhabits stream banks, seeps, riverside prairies and outcrops, disturbed alluvial soils, damp clearings, and ditches. It is Infrequent throughout but most frequent in the western part of the state. Var. praemorsa is known from dry, rocky woodlands and barrens over limestone and dolomite in the sw. mountains (Ridge and Valley province), where it is infrequent and local; its status is poorly known and it could occur elsewhere. In addition, this species is frequently cultivated, and a few of the records from weedier habitats (especially in the eastern part of the state) may represent escapes."

Former VNPS president Nicky Staunton reports that her chinquapin tree (Castanea pumila) is enjoying a good harvest right now. It is also known as the Allegheny chinquapin or dwarf chestnut.

According to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, a chinquapin is a "Tree or large, thicket-forming shrub to 30 ft. Single- or multi-trunked with horizontal lower branches, ascending in upper crown. Glossy, dark green, toothed leaves turn yellowish or purple in fall. Flower is a long, pencil-like, pale yellow spike and the fruit is a nut enclosed in a prickly, bur-like husk.

Captain John Smith published the first record of this nut in 1612: They [Native Americans] have a small fruit growing on little trees, husked like a Chestnut, but the fruit most like a very small acorne. This they call Checkinquamins, which they esteem a great daintie."