January 2013Volume 7, Issue 1

The purpose of the Florida Native Plant

Society is to promote the preservation,

conservation, and restoration of the native

plants and native plant communities of

Florida.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS:President:

Jenny Welch..............mwelch@cfl.rr.com

1st Vice President:

Mark Johnson

.......mjohnson@ecotonelanddesign.com

Secretary:

Sandy Webb....... slwebbzeit@gmail.com

Treasurer:

Kaity Storer .....................email pending

Chapter Rep:

..............................................Apply now

Membership:

Susan Parent ..... sparent20@yahoo.com

Publicity/Newsletter:

Loret ..................PineLilyFNPS@aol.com

January ProgramOur speaker this month will be ReedNoss presenting on Forgotten

Grasslands of the South.

Reed is Provost’s DistinguishedResearch Professor at the Universityof Central Florida and President ofthe Florida Institute for ConservationScience. He has served as Editor-in-Chief of Conservation Biology andPresident of the Society forConservation Biology. He currentlyconducts research on vulnerability ofspecies and ecosystems to sea-levelrise; climate adaptation strategies;road ecology; and changes inecological processes and speciesassemblages along urban-rural-wildland gradients. His latest book,Forgotten Grasslands of the South,was published by Island Press in2012.

ReappointmentPine Lily Chapter President, Jenny

Welch has been re-appointed to the

Osceola County Land Conservation

Advisory Board by Osceola County

Commissioners to a 2-year term.

Congratulations and thanks for being

an advocate for our natural lands.

2013 ConferenceThe Florida Native Plant Society

annual conference will be held at the

University of North Florida,

Jacksonville, Florida, May 16-19,

2013. The Research Track of the

Conference will include presented

papers on Friday, May 17 and

Saturday, May 18. The poster session

will be on Saturday May 18.

Researchers are invited to submit

abstracts on research related to native

plants and plant communities of

Florida including preservation,

conservation, and restoration.

Presentations are planned to be 20

minutes in total length (15 min.

presentation, 5 min. questions).

Abstracts of not more than 200

words should be submitted as a MS

Word file by email to Paul A.

Schmalzer paul.a.schmalzer@nasa.gov

by February 1, 2013. Include title,

affiliation, and address. Indicate

whether you will be presenting a

paper or poster.

Deadline for submitting an abstract:

February 1, 2013.

Meeting is ThursdayJanuary 17th 6:30p.m.

First United Methodist Church101 W. Dakin Avenue, Kissimmee

“If you really think the environment is less important than the economy, tryholding your breath while you count your money.”

—Guy R. McPherson, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, University of Arizona

Ask a friend or a neighborto join and help preserve

more natural areas

The Lily Pad

Visit us on the Web:http://www.pinelily.fnpschapters.org/

Friday, January 18th, 2013Plant a native tree and encourage yourneighbors to plant a native tree as well.

January 2013

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Supporting wildlife beyondyour garden gateby Ginny Stibolt

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published at

http://nativeplantwildlifegarden.com.Reprinted with

permission.

On this blog most of us focus on our own properties withideas and success stories of how our mostly nativelandscapes have attracted wildlife. But anyone who isconcerned about the environment can also become anadvocate for Mother Nature.

It’s a pleasant experience to write for people like myselfwho also believe that creating more wildlife-friendly habitatis a good idea, but isn’t one of our goals to reach out towider audiences who might not have thought that theirlandscaping decisions are important?

I live in Florida, a swing state, where the din of electionadvertisements and flood of tree-killing political mailers wasnerve-racking to say the least. But now that the elections areover, I decided that it was time to talk to my localrepresentatives. I knew my new Florida state senator frommy work as board member for the special taxing district tosupport our lakes–he was our lawyer. So I called. Icongratulated him on his win and quickly expressed myopinion that preserving Florida’s natural ecosystem is notanti-business and offered to be his go-to person forenvironmental issues. He agreed with many of my points.The next week I received an invitation from his assistant tospeak before the Clay County Delegation (all Republicans)on December 12th. The delegation consists of all thesenators and representatives that represent the county in theFlorida legislature. Thanks to weirdly drawn districts, thereare several.

So now it was time to prepare my three-minute presentationand my handout with information on with links for furtherinformation. I’ll print copies of the handout on green paperso they will stand out. (See below to for a copy of myprepared talk and my handout.) I’m including my owninformation here to provide you with a starting point fordealing with your local representatives or the workers underthem. Your situation, local issues, your stories, and yourpassions will be different.

Rule of Ps

When talking with politicians and with the people who workfor government agencies, I follow the rule of Ps.*

1) Be Prepared. Have your materials and handouts ahead oftime. Your time may be severely limited, so this preparationcan make the difference between making your point or not.

2) Be Polite and respectful, even if you disagree with apolicy. Getting angry or antagonistic means that you maynot be welcome to come back in the future.

3) Deliver Praise for policies, laws, or actions that are stepsin the right direction.

4) Be Punctual. If you’ve set up a time to meet someone,make it easy by meeting at his or her office (or otherdesignated place) and be early for the meeting. Things canbe a whirlwind of activity in government or agency offices,so don’t be a hindrance to their operations.

5) Be Persistent. If your contact initially rejects your ideasbut puts a date out there when you can come back, don’t letit slide call back and be there. Or try talking to a differentperson with a slightly different responsibility.

6) Be Patient. Changing government policies can be acumbersome process, so it may be a long time beforeanything happens even if your ideas are accepted.

Reaching Decision Makers

No matter how you feel about government and whether itshould be larger or smaller, the governments (local, state andnational) and their agencies are the deciders about the fate ofhuge tracts of land. Developers and big industry have paidlobbyists working for them at all levels of government.Sometimes they even participate in developing regulationsthat apply to their own business interests. It may not be fair,but it’s the reality. While there are a few eco-activistorganizations with money to lobby on behalf of MotherNature, your voice as an individual taxpayer and constituentmay be more effective. You don’t have anything to gainpersonally, so your sincerity may ring a little truer.

The actions we take in our yards to benefit wildlife areimportant, especially if we can convince others to makechanges as well. But the government footprint on MotherNature is huge in comparison. Let your voice of reason withlogical green solutions be heard out there in the vastgovernment wastelands.

Go beyond your garden gate: maybe a politician orbureaucrat will be listening.

* The rule of Ps is a loose translation of ideas I learned frommy friend and fellow FNPS member, Eleanor Dietrich, whenshe made a presentation at a Florida Wildflower symposiuma couple of years ago.

Ginny Stibolt, is a member of the FNPS Ixia Chapter in

Jacksonville and is one of the primary FNPS bloggers. She's

written a book, Sustainable Gardening for Florida published

by University Press of Florida. Ginny will be the April 2013

Speaker to Pine Lily and is the Publicity Chair for the May

2013 Conference.

A copy of Ginny’s Speaking Notes and her Handout for a

Delegation are attached to the back of this Lily Pad issue.

The Lily Pad

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Species Spotlight Indian Pipe (Monotropa uniflora)

Photo © 2012 Jenny Welch

Indian Pipe, also known as "CorpsePlant," is one of the easiest plants torecognize. Unlike most plants, IndianPipe doesn't have chlorophyll, the stuffthat makes plants green. Indian Pipe isa waxy, whitish color. It turns blackwhen it gets old.

Indian Pipe grows only four to teninches tall. It has flowers that droopand tiny, scale-like leaves. When theylook at it, most people think IndianPipe is a fungus.

It grows in shady woods with rich soiland decaying plant matter. This plant isoften found near dead stumps.

Indian Pipe has two specialrelationships; one with a tree, and onewith a fungus. Actually, it's onerelationship, where Indian Pipe takesnutrients from both the tree and thefungus at the same time.

Here's how it works: Since Indian Pipehas no chlorophyl, it can't make its ownfood like most plants. Therefore, it hasto "borrow" nutrients, either fromdecaying plant matter, or from anotherorganism. The way it does this is byhaving its roots tap into the mycelia(root-like threads) of a fungus. TheIndian Pipe can then take nutrientsdirectly from the fungus.

Meanwhile, the fungus itself hasanother relationship going on with atree. The fungus's mycelia also tap intothe tree's roots. Many fungi and treeshave this type of relationship -- it'scalled a "mycorrhizal relationship."The fungus gives nutrients to the treeand the tree gives nutrients to thefungus. Both organisms help eachother out.

Indian Pipe, however, does not giveanything back to the fungus or thetree. It takes nutrients from the fungusthat the fungus had gotten for itself,and it also takes nutrients that thefungus had received from the tree.Since the fungus then has to take morenutrients from the tree, this makesIndian Pipe a parasite of both thefungus and the tree.

Indian Pipe doesn't become a parasiteof every fungus and tree, only certainspecies. We don't know all the speciesyet, but we do know they use Russulamushrooms and Lactarius mushrooms.Some trees that have mycorrhizalreltionships with these mushrooms,and are used by Indian Pipe, includeAmerican Beech and pines.

Indian Pipe is a food source for smallbumble bees, which visit flowers fornectar. The bees help the plant bypollinating it. Later, the plant growstiny seeds.

Even though Indian Pipe is a beautifulplant, don't bother picking it (Youshouldn't pick wildflowersanyway!!!!). It wilts and turns blackvery quickly.

See more photos on page 4.

This month’s species spotlight was

contributed by Jenny Welch

UpcomingFebruary–Mike Wacht,

Subject: Sunrail Public Involvement

March–tba

Subject: tba

April–Ginny Stibolt

Subject: Organic Gardening Methods

and Ecosystem Gardening

Native Plant Show“All the plants, all the professionals,all in one place”Thursday & Friday, April 4-5, 2013Exhibition Building,Osceola Heritage Park, Kissimmee

EXHIBITS ONLY fee: $10 (early bird)includes entry both days.$25 after March 1.

PLANT EXHIBITS

CONTINUING EDUCATIONSEMINARS (fees apply)

DEMONSTRATION LANDSCAPES

LANDSCAPE DESIGNCOMPETITION (Feb 1, 2013Submittal Deadline)

Putting Wildflower Research to Work:Mini Symposium (fees apply)

Details:http://www.floridanativenurseries.org/

Volunteers Needed – Contact Jenny Welch

Harmony Dark Sky Festival ......................... Feb. 2, 4:00pNew Beginnings School................................. Wednesdays

FANN Plant Sale .................................... April 4th and 5thHighlands Elementary Wildflower Garden help............tba

November followup

During the November MeetingPresentation by Heron Elliott onPonds, Loret made reference to acreature known as “jelly blob”, butcouldn’t recall the scientific name.Attached at the end of this issue of theLily Pad is an excerpt from an articleshe wrote for beautifulwildlifegarden.com.

It is an invertebrate known called abryozoan.

January 2013

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Florida Native Plant Society Membership ApplicationMembership in the Florida Native Plant Society enables you to receive theirwonderful quarterly magazine The Palmetto. Joining the FNPS also entitles Check pertinent category:you to membership privileges in the Pine Lily Chapter of the FNPS and a

subscription to their monthly newsletter The Lily Pad. □ Individual $35 □ Not-for-profit

□ Full time student $15 organization $50

□ Library subscription $15 □ Business or

□ Family or household $50 corporate $125

Name _____________________________________________________ □ Contributing $75 □ Donor $250

□ Supporting $100 □ Life $1000Business name or organization _________________________________

Make check payable to: FNPSAddress ___________________________________________________ Detach and mail to:

Pine Lily Chapter ofCity, State and Zip ___________________________________________ Florida Native Plant Society

P.O. Box 278Home phone ____________________ Work phone _________________ Melbourne, FL 32902-0278

The Florida Native Plant Society is registered as a 501(C)3 non-profit organization.

Photos taken at a Woods Walk hosted by Osceola Extension Services at Lake Lizzie. Eleanor Foerste was the guide.

All photos © 2012 Jenny Welch

The Florida Native Plant Society 33rd Annual Conference "Celebrating La Florida; the Land of Flowers,"

May 16-19, 2013 University of North Florida in Jacksonville

organized by the FNPS Ixia Chapter.

Excerpt from Article by Loret at www.beautifulwildlifegarden.com The Lily Pad

Reprinted with permission

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January 2013

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Excerpt from Article by Loret at www.beautifulwildlifegarden.com The Lily Pad

Reprinted with permission

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More details on this invertebrate available at: http://fishing.about.com/od/fishfacts/a/jelly_blobs.htm