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Fetterbush

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Fetterbush (Eubotrys racemosa)

Pyxie-moss

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Pyxie-moss (Pyxidanthera barbulata)

SHR Chapter Members

Spoonleaf sundew

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Spoonleaf sundew (Drosera intermedia)

Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge

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Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Virginia Beach

Blackwater Ecological Preserve, Isle of Wight County

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Blackwater Ecological Preserve, Isle of Wight County

Silky Camelia

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Silky Camellia (Stewartia malacodendron)

False Cape Natural Area Preserve

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False Cape Natural Area Preserve, Virginia Beach

North Landing River Natural Area Preserve

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North Landing River Natural Area Preserve

Mistflower (Conoclinum coelestinum)

Common Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

News & Updates

• Thursday September 22nd we will have a 6:30 pm meeting at Norfolk Botanical Garden.

Presentation by Patricia O’Connor who is the Landscape Committee Chairman for the Las Gaviotas Homeowners Association. She received a sign from our chapter to inform persons passing through the entrance to her complex which is heavily planted with native trees and shrubs. We will be meeting in the Garden Auditorium at NBG.

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• Check out all our events for more details. Also, check us out on Facebook!

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Enchanting Blue Vervain

By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Chapter Blue Vervain (Verbena hastata) enhances any landscape in which it grows. It is one of my favorite mid to late summer native perennials for any number of reasons. The beautiful purplish blue flowers atop tall stems provide a striking vertical accent contrasting with more typical mounded plants and flower…... Read more

Published on: August 28, 2022

Turk’s-Cap Lily Stuns in Summer

By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Chapter Turk’s-cap Lily (Lilium superbum) is one of our most spectacular wildflowers in eastern North America. Its stunning flowers bloom right now in July and August. Native to wet meadows and rich moist cove forests and bogs from New Hampshire south to Georgia and Alabama, it is found in most…... Read more

Published on: July 20, 2022

The Curious Pawpaw

By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Chapter The Pawpaw, Asimina triloba, is a handsome small tree that is as fascinating as it is curious. Pawpaw is a member of the Custard-Apple Family, the Annonaceae, a large family of tropical and subtropical species. Ranging from Florida and Texas north to New York and Southern Ontario, Pawpaw is…... Read more

Published on: May 29, 2022

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

Published on: 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

Published on: 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

Published on: 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

Published on: 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

Published on: January 1, 2022