Hawthorn Chapter Sunday, May 4:  Trip to Whitmire Wildflower Garden at Shaw Nature Reserve (a division of Missouri Botanical Gardens) in Gray’s Summit, Mo.  Depart Columbia from the MDC parking lot on College Avenue at 8 a.m.  We will eat lunch at a local restaurant after our walk. **Please note the change of location for this hike as previously reported in the March-April Petal Pusher. Monday, May 12:  Regular meeting at 7 p.m. at the Unitarian Church, 2615 Shepard Blvd. Becky Erickson will give a program about the natural history of fire on the continent, the cumulative research of response to seasonal fires, and a brief explanation on how to burn a small area. Thursday, May 15:  Lunch with Native Plant Enthusiasts! 11:30 a.m. at Felini’s, 700 E. Broadway.  Saturday, May 17:  Hike to Auxvasse Glade in Callaway County The access to this spectacular area is through private property.  John George, MDC regional naturalist, will be our guide. Saturday, May 24: Visit to Audubon’s Wild Haven.  Columbia Audubon has been working to restore and enhance their wild area for several years.  Habitats include a glade, pond, open woodland, and butterfly garden. Saturday, June 7:  Forum Trail Side Nature Expo.  9 a.m.-noon. At the Forum Nature Area (MKT Trail parking lot).  Please plan to help with our booth. Thursday, June 19:  Lunch with Native Plant Enthusiasts! 11:30 a.m. at Felini’s, 700 E. Broadway.  Thursday, June 26:  Quail and Native Plant Field Day — Bradford Farm.  Please plan to help with our booth. For more information contact Paula at (573) 474-4225. Kansas City Chapter Saturday, May 10: Field trip to Nease prairie near Hamilton Missouri- Meet at: northwest corner of Wal-Mart parking lot, located at junction of Highway 152 and Interstate 35 at 8:30 a.m. Sack lunch is suggested. Karen and Joe Nease are sponsors for this trip. Their phone number is (913) 422-7686. Thursday, May 15:  Chapter meeting at the Discovery Center, 4750 Troost, Kansas City, Mo. Saturday, May 13: Southfork Prairie to search for state listed Mead’s milkweed. sack lunch. Meet at K-Mart at 9 a.m. at the northeast corner of parking lot across from the old Bannister Mall location. David and Kathy Winn are sponsors for this field trip Saturday, June 14: Field trip to Paintbrush Prairie near Sedalia to view wildflowers in bloom. Paintbrush Prairie is known for its high level of diversity in native species and of course, for the beautiful Indian  paintbrush (Castilleja coccinea) that grows there. Join us for this spring excursion to a truly unique and visually stunning Missouri prairie. Meet at northwest corner of Wal-Mart parking lot at Highway 50 and Blue Ridge Boulevard at 9 a.m. Bring a sack lunch or plan to stop to eat in Sedalia. Osage Plains Chapter Field Trips (meet at the Clinton Library parking lot.): Saturday, April 26: Field trip to Deepwater Wildlife Area Saturday, May 31: Field trip to 25-Mile Prairie Saturday, June 14:  Field trip to Mohr property Meetings (at the Missouri Department of Conservation offices in Clinton): Monday, April 21: Missouri Tree Identification with Jacob McMain, MDC assistant resource forester Monday, May 19: Greater Prairie Chickens in Missouri — translocation and recovery update with Brent Jamison, MDC grassland biologist. Monday, June 16 :Topic to be announced Ozarks Chapter Chapter meetings are scheduled at 6:30 p.m. at the MDC Ozark Regional Office, 551 Joe Jones Blvd., West Plains. For more information, contact Susan Farrington at (417) 255-9561 x 307. Sunday May 18: Field trip in the afternoon somewhere in Shannon or Oregon counties. For more info, contact Susan Farrington at work or home: (573) 226-3004. Tuesday, May 20: Chapter meeting.Chris Williams (former chief naturalist, for Ohio State Parks) will present “In a Naturalist’s Footsteps.” Her program will compare and contrast the plant communities of Ohio (Appalachian), northern Minnesota (Canadian shield boreal fringe) and the Missouri Ozarks. Geology will be included, as well as folklore. Tuesday, June 17:Chapter meeting. MDC Forester Bryan Gragg will present a program on tree identification, including taking us outside to look at the trees in the woods behind the MDC office. Other Field Trips: Bill Summers and/or Susan Farrington will likely be leading a few serendipitous field trips (as the spirit and wildflowers move them!). If you are interested, be sure our secretary Betty Queen (ozarksnps@yahoo.com) has your e-mail address, and we will keep you informed of our plans. Perennis Chapter A May field trip is being planned to the Holly Ridge Conservation Area and Morris State Park. The focus will be on ferns and mosses. St. Louis Chapter Wednesday, April 23 — Meeting. Program by Valerie Vartanian: "Choosing the Right Plant."  7:30 p.m. at the  Powder Valley Nature Center, 11715 Cragwold Drive, Kirkwood, Mo. Valerie is the horticulture and landscape profession’s liaison for the Nature Conservancy's Invasive Species Initiative.  She will talk about invasive exotics that originate from horticulture and her program to make voluntary changes in the industry toward less aggressive garden plants. Friday, Satuday, May 9-10 — Shaw Nature Reserve Spring Plant Sale.  The chapter will staff a booth.  Sale starts at 4p.m. Friday and continues at 9 a.m. on Saturday. Saturday, May 17 — Field Trip to Razor Hollow Natural Area in Daniel Boone Conservation Area, Warren County. Leader Nels Holmberg. Meet at 9:30 a.m. From I-70, take Exit 183 (Jonesburg), go south on Highway Y through downtown Jonesburg; then right on Tower Road (at Oak Grove Baptist Church), past the Conservation Area sign for about a half mile and park on the roadside. Wednesday, May 28 — Program by Curator David Bogler: "Poisonous Plants of the Missouri Botanical Garden."  7:30 p.m. at the  Powder Valley Nature Center, 11715 Cragwold Drive, Kirkwood, Mo Friday, Saturday, May 30-31 —Forest Park Bioblitz. MONPS will participate.  Saturday, June 7 — Field trip to the Al Foster Trail to see prickly pear and other sand-loving species. Leader: Mary Smidt.  Meet at 9 a.m. at the trailhead in Glencoe on the east side of Highway 109, just north of the Meramec River. Wednesday, June 25 — Twilight Walk. Meet at 6 p.m. at Emmenegger Park, which is reached by driving to Powder Valley, continuing west on Cragwold Drove and turning left at the T-intersection to the parking area at the end of the road.

 

2008 Field Trips and MoNPS State Board Meetings Mark your calendar and make plans to join the Missouri Native Plant Society for these field trips in 2008. Details will follow. Everyone is welcome to the board meetings, too. Summer field trip: June 20-22 - Northwest Missouri We’ll add to a plant list for Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge started last fall. There are many other loess hill places to see in the area including Little Tarkio Prairie, where we should see the west- ern prairie fringed orchid in flower. We will probably stay in Mound City. The society’s annual meeting will be Saturday evening. Fall field trip: Sept. 12-14 - LaBarque Creek Watershed This Missouri Department of Conservation conservation opportunity area is a unique moist sandstone canyon area offering opportunities to see ferns, bryophytes and state-list- ed club mosses. This area is on the outskirts of St. Louis. Where we stay depends on our meeting site for Friday and Saturday evenings. Winter board meeting: Dec. 6 - Dunn-Palmer Herbarium, Columbia, Mo. ============================ Tentative plans also have been made for 2009, where we may travel to southeast Missouri in the spring to visit and explore with members of the new Perennis Chapter in that area. Tentative plans have also been made for a reciprocal field trip with the members of the Arkansas NPS to see Mead’s milkweed in our southwestern Missouri prairies in late May. In addition, 2009 will be the 30th anniversary of the Missouri Native Plant Society, and we'll do something special to commemorate the occasion.