Spring Ephemerals: Catch ’em While You Can

April 7, 2014

April is perhaps the very best month in Virginia to catch a sight of these extraordinary flowers that grace the landscape for such a brief time. To be ephemeral is to be short-lived, fleeting, brief. Bluebells, merrybells, Dutchman’s breeches, squirrel corn, trilliums, lady slipper orchids, bloodroot, hepatica, trout lily, twinleaf and toothwort; even their names…

The Flora of Virginia Project Gets Noticed!

April 1, 2014

The Flora of Virginia Project continues its upward trajectory with recent coverage by both press and radio of the opening of its truly grand exhibition in the Library of Virginia in March. Members of the Virginia Native Plant Society can take justifiable pride in the fact that we generously helped to fund first the book,…

New Book: Wildflowers and Grasses of Virginia’s Coastal Plain

March 7, 2014

Here is a new book you will want to have as Virginia’s spring bursts forth and you are out in the field with “need to know” questions! Specifically designed to be easy to use,  flowers are grouped  by color and quickly located with color-coordinated tabs at the top of each page. Grasses have their own…

DCR Natural Heritage Budget Not Approved

February 28, 2014

I am very sorry to report that despite a good effort on the part of the VNPS leadership and many of its members who wrote to their Delegates and Senators, the budget amendment to add $900,000 and seven full time staff for DCR’s Natural Heritage Program failed. There was no explicit vote, just an absence…

Get the Flora of Virginia into an Exhibition

December 1, 2013

Let’s get the Flora of Virginia into an exhibition at the Library of Virginia! The Flora, a result of many years of fundraising and research, published a this time last year, has already become an invaluable resource for botanists at every level of interest. An amazing exhibit is planned for an extended time, from March…