Volume 21, Number 9 June 2016
the
Phlox Phlyer
Columbia Basin Chapter, Washington Native Plant Society
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P.O. Box 221, Richland, WA 99352
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www.cbwnps.org
Botany Washington 2016 - Spring in the Olympic Lowland Forests of Jefferson County
Gretchen Graber participated in this year’s Botany Washington, May 13-15. Photos are from a field trip to Ebey’s Landing, from left to right: Joe Arnett leading the hike to the bluff at Ebey’s Landing, group shot, Opuntia fragilis.
ELECTION OF OFFICERS We will vote on the following slate of officers at our June meeting Co-Presidents - Janelle Downs/Mickie Chamness Vice-President – Rik Smith Secretary – Marilyn Lemar Treasurer – Cheryl Smith Committee chairs will be announced at June meeting.
MEETINGS/WORKSHOPS Wednesday, June 1, 2016, 6:00 p.m. Joint Meeting for the Tri-Cities and Walla Walla members at the McNary Environmental Education Center at the Mid-Columbia River National Wildlife Refuge Complex. Bring a dish to share, we will provide plates, silverware, drinks and cups. We will have elections and a slide show of plants seen on the spring wildflower walks. Directions: The Education Center is located off Highway 12 near Burbank. From Tri-Cities take Hwy I-182 East/Hwy 12 East to Burbank; take the WA 124 exit toward Burbank /Waitsburg; at round-about, turn right toward Ice Harbor Dr.; continue straight through next round-about, onto Ice Harbor Dr.; after 1 mi, turn right onto S Lake Dr.; Education Center is approx. 1 mi on the right. From Walla Walla, take Highway 12 toward the Tri-Cities; take WA 124 exit; turn right onto Ice Harbor Dr.; after 1 mi, turn right onto S Lake Dr.; Education Center is approx. 1 mi on the right. http://www.fws.gov/mcnary/driving.html Friday through Sunday, June 17-19, 2016. WNPS Study Weekend at Leavenworth. Hosted by Central and Wenatchee Chapters. Registration is now open: http://www.wnps.org/study_weekend/home.html Wednesday through Friday, June 22 – 24, 2016. Know Your Grasses: The Identification & Appreciation of Grasses. Clay Antieau, instructors. Hitchcock Hall, University of Washington. Registration and course information at: http://www.wnps.org/workshops/grass-workshop.html
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Saturday, June 25, 2016, 9:00 a.m. to12:00 p.m. Pollinator Appreciation Week Program at the WSU Tri-Cities Wine Science Center Native Plant and Pollinator teaching garden. Join Heritage Gardens, Lower Columbia Basin Audubon and the Columbia Basin Native Plant Society for a FREE program of garden tours, informational displays and activities. There will be activities for all ages. Tour the new two acre native plant and pollinator education garden. Activities include: Catch and Release a Pollinator Insect, Art station, Sustainable landscaping techniques, Information on native bees, and Garden tours. The garden is still young - come by to watch it grow! See examples of native plants that can be used in your home landscape to attract pollinators. Park along the bike path or ride your bike out to see us. Garden Tours every hour between 9:30am and 11:30am. Bring a lunch to eat at our new picnic tables. The garden is below the WSU Wine Science Center at 359 University Drive, Richland, WA 99354. To help with this event please contact Gretchen Graber (gretchen.graber@gmail.com ). Wednesday, July 8, 2016 6:00 to 9:00 pm. Access and Wilderness. Senior Center at the Park 720 Sprague St., Walla Walla. Hosted by Umatilla National Forest. More information is available at http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd491835.pdf
The Phlox Phlyer is the newsletter of the Columbia Basin Chapter, Tri-Cities and Walla Walla, Washington Native Plant Society. Chapter Officers Co-Presidents — Mickie Chamness, mickiec@charter.net & Janelle Downs, sagejld@aol.com Vice-President — Rik Smith,
rsmith@columbiabasin.edu Secretary — Marilyn Lemar, dwlemar@hotmail.com Treasurer — Cheryl Smith
cyankee@charter.net
WILDFLOWER HIKES Chapter Committees Saturday, June 18. 8a.m. Meet at Harper Joy Parking Lot. Whitman College for car pooling. Annual Blue Mountain Audubon trek to Blue Mountains Tollgate area for wildflowers (and butterflies and birds). WNPS members Jeff Fredson and Cheryl Baker lead by beginning at Jeff's Weston Mountain place for Phantom Orchids and baby bluebirds. 106 species of wildflowers were identified between Summit Road, Target Meadows and Bald Mountain last year. All day trip. Bring food, water, binoculars, field guides, sticks and a friend or two. If you have questions contact Jeff 541.215.0532 or Cheryl at wallagirl14@gmail.com For other summer time hikes in the Blue Mountains check out Places to Visit ( http://www.cbwnps.org/places-to-visit-1/ )
Program Chair — Kim Hamblin-Hart,
kimhamblinhart@gmail.com Field Trips — Ernie Crediford, ernest_crediford@live.com Restoration/Salvage — Bill Mast, bmast1@live.com Heritage Garden Program — Donna Lucas, donna_lucas@hotmail.com Education — Open
Also check out field trips other WA Native Plant chapters at: http://www.wnps.org/chapter_info/chapter_trips.html
Newsletter Editor — Mary Ann Simmons, msimmons_1@charter.net
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES: Pollinator Appreciation Week Program on June 25, 2016 from 9:00 am to noon at the WSU Wine Center Garden. Gretchen Graber could use volunteers to help with activities: catch and release pollinators, art station, garden tours. Also, she could use donations for supplies (crayons, markers, paper, tape). Please contact her at: gretchen.graber@gmail.com MONARCHS AND MILKWEED
Publicity — Mickie Chamness, mickiec@charter.net Books — Carmen Wooten, canoecarmen@yahoo.com Web Site Editor — Mary Ann Simmons msimmons_1@charter.net
Walla Walla Subchapter
A new generation of brightly colored adult Monarchs is beginning to emerge in California and Oregon, and we should begin to sight Monarchs in Oregon and Washington over the next month. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is asking for your help to identify and locate important habitats for Monarchs. Monarchs rely on milkweeds as a host plant and for breeding habitat. WDFW is especially interested in this plant because of its importance in the life-cycle of the monarch butterfly, and would like to map milkweed locations. You can help WDFW in this mission by reporting when and where you find patches of millkweed (5 or more plants) when you’re out in the field or on a botanical ramble. There are three types of native milkweed in Washington: Asclepias cryptoceras spp. Davisii (Davis’ milkweed), Asclepias fascicularis (narrow leaved milkweed), and Asclepias 2
Darcy Dauble, Walla Walla, dadauble@gmail.com
This issue reproduced by
THE DIGITAL IMAGE Richland Washington 509-375-6001
speciousa (showy milkweed). The Xerces society has a nice guide to Washington’s native milkweeds—you can find it at http://www.xerces.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/WA-milkweed-guide_XercesSoc1.pdf If you know of existing patches of these milkweeds, you can report either a coordinate location (preferred) or a map location (a rough estimate of location within a drainage) and a brief description of the size of the patch or estimated number of plants by contacting : Ella Rowan, Assistant District Wildlife Biologist, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, 1550 Alder St. NW, Ephrata, WA 98823 / (509) 754-4624 x232/ (509) 237-9441 cell / Ella.Rowan@dfw.wa.gov PHOTOGRAPHS NEEDED FOR NATIVE PLANT ID CARDS – Late Spring / Early Summer Here are some late spring / early summer characteristics we need for the 10 plants. It’s not too late to start photographing. We’d like to get more photos of birds, insects, or other animals using ALL of these plants for shelter, food, or perches. (The March newsletter lists the early season characteristics). golden currant Ribes aureum turpentine wavewing Cymopterus terebinthinus long-leaf phlox Phlox longifolia Carey’s balsamrootBalsamorhiza careyana Munro's globemallowSphaeralcea munroana Indian ricegrass Achnatherum hymenoides snow buckwheat Eriogonum niveum bluebunch wheatgrass Pseudoroegneria spicata big sagebrush Artemisia tridentata grey rabbitbrush Ericameria nauseosa
Berries Wavy margins on seeds Seed heads and the little “star” after the seed drops Seed head, leaf shape Orange flowers; pie-shaped seed heads, leaf shape Flowers, fuzzy little seeds Robust plant in spring Plant in bloom; seed head; entire plant; plant in shrub-steppe habitat 2 sets of leaves: the smaller long-lived leaves and the bigger leaves that will drop in summer Robust plant in spring
COLUMBIA BASIN PHOTO CONTEST The 1st category is biotic crust: you could take close-ups of lichens, mosses, mushrooms, club mosses etc. or step back and take a photo of a mini-landscape of the textures and colors that occur together. The 2 nd category is wildlife (birds, animals, insects) and native plants. Contact Mickie Chamness at mickiec@charter.net if you have any questions. Entries are due by November 6, and a 2017 WNPS calendar will be awarded to the winner in each category
WALLA WALLA NEWS Native Plant Demonstration Garden at Blue Mountain Humane Society is in full bloom. The showiest plants in the front beds are penstemons, gaillardia, columbine and flax. Betsy, Nancy and Sue are there a couple of mornings a week right now - weeding, watering and transplanting. Stop by if you want to help and learn more about out natives!
NEWSLETTER This is the last newsletter until fall. We will have an educational booth at Tumbleweed over Labor Day. Also, this year we are planning a plant sale in late October – the perfect planting time for our natives. So now is the time to start planning your native plant garden, contact the Heritage Garden Program (http://www.bentoncd.org/Heritage.aspx ) for a design consultation.
INVASIVE PLANT WATCH Flowering rush was found near Boardman along the Columbia River in Oregon. If you see this plant, contact the US Fish and Wildlife Service at: (509) 546-8322. For more information see: http://www.oregon.gov/oda/shared/Documents/Publications/Weeds/FloweringrushProfile.pdf http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/wa/newsroom/factsheets/?cid=nrcs144p2_036509
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Columbia Basin Chapter Washington Native Plant Society P.O. Box 221 Richland, Washington 99352
To receive the newsletter electronically – email msimmons_1@charter.net 4