{"id":488,"date":"2020-09-28T08:22:52","date_gmt":"2020-09-28T12:22:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vnps.org\/southhamptonroads\/?page_id=488"},"modified":"2022-10-26T14:17:58","modified_gmt":"2022-10-26T18:17:58","slug":"newsbox","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/vnps.org\/southhamptonroads\/newsbox\/","title":{"rendered":"Seedbox – News"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

February 2002: “<\/strong>Virginia Coastal Plain Native Plants for Pollinators”, by Nicole Knudson<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

Nicole Knudson<\/em> is the owner and operator of Lady Fern’s Native Plants<\/a> on North Colley Avenue in Norfolk. She holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and has been a university and community college student many times since earning her degree.\u00a0 Nicole is a long-time Hampton Roads native with 15 years of experience in horticulture and as a Master Gardener.\u00a0 She worked for DCR-Natural Heritage assisting the Field Botanist to inventory rare native plants across Virginia.\u00a0 Several of her photos of natives are featured on the Flora of Virginia app and the Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora.\u00a0 In 2019, Nicole obtained property on the Eastern Shore in Machipongo to grow and propagate native plants and in 2020 began sales at her retail garden center, Lady Fern on Colley Avenue in Norfolk.<\/p>\r\n

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January 2022: History of Virginia Native Plant Society<\/strong> by Steve Stasulis, former VNPS South Hampton Roads Past President.<\/p>\r\n

Virginia Native Plant Society was established in 1982 by Mary Painter who owned a nursery in Hume, VA.\u00a0 Patterned after the California Native Plant Society, Conservation Places Originally named ??? is became the Virginia Native Plant Society in 1989 with the motto, “Conserving wildflower and wild places.”\u00a0 Amateurs and professionals alike were welcome.\u00a0 Present day office is located in Boyce, VA at the Commonwealth Arboretum.\u00a0 Only one paid \u00bd time office manager handles state membership, correspondence, bookkeeping, quarterly bulletin, publications, workshops, annual meetings, field trips and insurance; Ms. Karen York.<\/p>\r\n

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Steve Stasulis, former VNPS-SHRC president, spoke about the Virginia Native Plant Society history.<\/p>\r\n

Today there are 11 chapters (Blue Ridge, Jefferson, John Clayton, New River, Prince William, South Hampton Roads, Upper James River, Northern Neck, Pocahontas, Piedmont, Potomac) across the state with over 2000 members.\u00a0 Membership donation is split 65% to the state organization and 35% to chapters.\u00a0 Pre-Covid, there were annual meetings in September (except for Hampton Roads, we moved the meeting to non-hurricane season), with host duties rotated to each chapter around the state and educational field trips to other places (Texas, Canada, Kansas, Illinois, etc).\u00a0 The Society is supported by membership fees, donations, Spring Workshop fees.\u00a0 Spring Workshop is an annual meeting that was held at the University of Richmond, but now in Charlottesville for use of larger facilities.\u00a0 Usually, four speakers will instruct on a theme\/topic for the workshop.<\/p>\r\n

At the state level, there are Special Chair Offices: Botany, Conservation, Education, Fund Raising, Horticulture, Membership, Publications, Registry (where landowners commit to leaving undeveloped areas in their borders).\u00a0These are the members of the board who decide upon the “Wildflower of the Year”.\u00a0Horticulture has been pressing for nurseries in Virginia to shop selling non-native invasive plants.<\/p>\r\n

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The South Hampton Roads Chapter includes Chesapeake, Isle of Wight, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Virginia Beach<\/p>\r\n

The South Hampton Roads (SHR) Chapter includes Chesapeake, Isle of Wight, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Virginia Beach.\u00a0 Meetings usually take place at Norfolk Botanical Garden on the 4th<\/sup> Thursday evening of the month.\u00a0 Cash flow inbound comes from 35% of membership dues, donations, plant sale profits.\u00a0 Expenses: mailings, speakers, plant purchases, splits with internal vendors, printing costs, Zoom costs, internet fees, software, VNPS-SHR signs, donations to other organizations ($1600 donated in 2021 to several organizations including Elizabeth River Project, Lynnhaven River NOW and Chesapeake Bay Foundation).\u00a0 Plant sale is quite affordable, as 1-gallon plants are still priced around $7 and plugs $3, which has been the same for about the last 15 years.<\/em><\/p>\r\n

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November 2021: “The Ecology of the Oak Mistletoe,\u00a0 Phoradendron leucarpum,<\/em> in Eastern Virginia & North Carolina”<\/strong> by Nicholas P. Flanders, PhD<\/p>\r\n

On Thursday, November 18th at the\u00a0Norfolk Botanical Garden,we had invited for our monthly speaker, Nick P. Flanders began birding in high school in Newport News, VA, during which time members of the Hampton Roads Bird Club and Cape Henry Audubon Society introduced him to many beautiful and biodiverse areas in Hampton Roads and beyond.<\/p>\r\n

Nick’s natural history interests broadened while pursuing undergraduate studies at Old Dominion University and taking field botany courses with Dr. Lytton Musselman. He completed his BS at Old Dominion University and holds an MS in Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology from North Carolina State University.<\/p>\r\n

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He is presently a PhD candidate at Old Dominion University where he has been researching the role of birds in the biology of the Eastern mistletoe (Phoradendron leucarpum<\/em>). In 2017 he received the award for best graduate student presentation in ecology at the annual meeting of the Botanical Society of America for his work on mistletoe.<\/p>\r\n

Nick is a Board Member of Cape Henry Audubon Society.\u00a0 He is a co-compiler along with Elisa Flanders in the annual Christmas Bird Counts: this year for the December 31, 2021 Little Creek CBC.<\/p>\r\n

Nick has also worked extensively at the Blackwater Preserve in Isle of Wight Co., VA and is co-author on a paper in press on spatial and morphological relationships of Longleaf pine at the Preserve.”\u00a0 He presented his research work titled: The Ecology of the Oak Mistletoe, Phoradendron leucarpum,<\/em> in Eastern Virginia & North Carolina.<\/p>\r\n

Nick gave an introduction on what got him interested in wildlife and ecology.\u00a0 Mistletoe parasitizes via its root system.\u00a0 It is described as an obligate aerial hemiparasite in the plant Order Santalales, a functional group like the mangroves.\u00a0 P. leucarpum <\/em>parasitizes varieties of angiosperm tree species that are primarily deciduous. It’s an evergreen shrub that is dioecious and seed dispersal occurs via birds.\u00a0 (In the northern part of North America, there is a species of mistletoe that parasitizes pines, but it uses explosive seed dispersal.)<\/p>\r\n

Mistletoe has many interactions with birds worldwide.\u00a0 The obligate aerial hemiparasites evolved independently several times as demonstrated by genetics studies.\u00a0 The tropical types often have showy flowers.\u00a0\u00a0 In New South Wales in Australia large scale mistletoe removal resulted in 20.9% drop in bird variety richness.\u00a0 In the southwest of North America, the Phainopepla bird Phainopepla nitens<\/em> has a mutualism type relationship with mistletoe depending on it for food while the mistletoe depends on Phainopepla for seed dispersal.\u00a0 In the northwest United States, the Western Bluebird depends on mistletoe for its breeding success.\u00a0 In general, mistletoe depends on bird species for seed dispersal.\u00a0 The mistletoe distribution of Puerto Rico matches bird dispersal patterns.<\/p>\r\n

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Mistletoe fruits are an important food source for wintering avian frugivores, particularly, the Cedar Waxwing Bombycilla cedrorum<\/em> and the Eastern Bluebird Sialia sialis<\/em>.\u00a0 It is also the sole host for the Great Purple Hairstreak Atlides halesus butterfly.<\/em><\/p>\r\n

Dispersal and relationships are studied in this dissertation in the eastern Virginia and North Carolina areas.<\/p>\r\n

The first hypothesis was to determine: habitats with more available host trees leading to a higher mistletoe occurrence rate.\u00a0 Is the dispersal due to forestry practices or natural competition?\u00a0 What is the dispersal in forested wetland vs forested uplands?<\/p>\r\n

The second hypothesis was dispersal limitations due to avian frugivore habitat selections.\u00a0 Cedar Waxwings are important for generating and maintaining fruiting shrubs and trees.<\/p>\r\n

There are 8 species of Smilax<\/em> (Greenbriar) in this area: 3 preferring wetlands, 4 generalists and 1 upland.\u00a0 Other species providing fruit in winter are Eastern Red Cedar Juniperus virginiana, <\/em>American Holly Ilex opaca<\/em> and the non-native Japanese Honeysuckle Lonicera japonica<\/em>.<\/p>\r\n

The next hypothesis dealt with light availability, better light being more available in swamps.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Also, does flooding make trees more susceptible to mistletoe infestation?<\/p>\r\n

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To investigate, 25-meter radius plots randomly distributed were set up during 5 winters [2015-16 through 2019-20].\u00a0 There were 599 infested trees of 30 host species, including 1 liana and 1 shrub.\u00a0 The tree with the most infested branches was a Swamp Black Gum Nyassa biflora<\/em>.<\/p>\r\n

Besides the aforementioned birds, the American Robin Turdus migratorius<\/em> is also a mistletoe frugivore.\u00a0 Trap cameras revealed other mistletoe fruit eaters such as raccoon Procyon lotor<\/em>, Eastern gray squirrel <\/em>Sciurus carolinensis<\/em>, White Tailed deer Odocoileus virginianus<\/em>, Rattus rattus<\/em>? Gray Catbird Dumetella carolinensis<\/em>, Muskrat Ondatra zibethicus zibethicus<\/em>, and Black Bear Ursus americanus americanus<\/em>.<\/p>\r\n

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Habitat quality ie. light availability turned out to be the determining factor in mistletoe distribution.\u00a0 This was from comparing 4 groups (stationed at AREC): no covering, translucent covering, shade cloth covering and black covering.<\/p>\r\n

\u00a0Genetics determined that the mistletoe on Nyassa<\/em> was different from all the other distributions–a topic for further research.<\/p>\r\n

Keep an eye out for birds feeding on mistletoe this winter!<\/p>\r\n

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October 2021 Virginia Native Plant Society – South Hampton Roads Chapter Meeting<\/p>\r\n

“Westminster Canterbury on Chesapeake Bay – Native Plant Landscapes”<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

by\u00a0Janet Pawlukiewicz.<\/p>\r\n

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Janet Pawluckiewicz during her presenation at the Norfolk Botanical Garden.<\/p><\/div>\r\n

Janet Pawlukiewicz has a B.A. in Biology from Long Island University and a Masters in Public Administration from\u00a0 George Washington University.\u00a0 She and her husband Michael are currently residents of Westminster-Canterbury on Chesapeake Bay where she is Chair of the Landscape Committee.<\/p>\r\n

During her career, she worked at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, the US Environmental Protection Agency Water Program and the Trust for Public Land.<\/p>\r\n

Since retirement, Janet has been active in environmental programs.\u00a0 She is a member of the Board of Lynnhaven River Now.\u00a0 Pre-COVID, she volunteered for the Whale and Dolphin Discovery tours at the Virginia Aquarium.\u00a0 She recently retired from serving as First Vice-President of the Virginia Native Plant Society and, before that, she was the editor and project lead in the publication of a book entitled Native Plants of Northern Neck<\/i>.<\/p>\r\n

Janet enjoys knitting, kayaking, walking and singing with Christ & St.Luke’s Choir in Norfolk.<\/p>\r\n

The whole purpose of the landscaping changes at Westminster-Canterbury is to create and enhance wildlife habitats. Below is transcript from her presentation. (Thanks Janet)<\/p>\r\n

Over the past three years, along with more familiar ornamental plants, we have converted approximately 2.5 acres, about 1\/3 of our landscaped area, to predominantly native gardens.<\/p>\r\n

What’s driving this initiative?<\/p>\r\n

The primary goal of this transformation has been to create wildlife habitat while beautifying the campus.\u00a0As you know native (or indigenous) plants are well adapted to the environment.\u00a0 So, they generally require less fertilization, pesticides or watering than non-native plants and withstand the harsh conditions we have here-wind, salt spray, sandy soils and occasional droughts.\u00a0 Those are pretty good reasons.<\/p>\r\n

But more importantly, there are very disturbing trends that drive us.\u00a0 A staggering number of birds and insects have died off in the last 40 years.<\/p>\r\n