From kathy at fred.net Tue Sep 1 07:26:26 2020 From: kathy at fred.net (KATHY BILTON) Date: Tue, 1 Sep 2020 08:26:26 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [BSW] Reminder: Zoom this evening, Tuesday, September 1 Message-ID: Several members of the society will be presenting 5 to 10 minute talks on a variety of topics this evening starting at 7pm. One presentation has been added since the previous email. Robin Everly will again be the host for our Zoom. She has offered to do a practice session with anyone who needs it. Just let her know. The Botanical Society of Washington is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting, at 7pm on Tuesday, September 1. You are welcome to sign on 15 minutes before the meeting to just hang out. Scheduled presenters: Melanie Schori - some pictures from her recent trip to New Hampshire Rob Soreng - a bit on South Africa and Lesotho 2020 research Randy Duran - initial observations on growing gingers and gloriosas in Old Town Robin Everly - Greenbelt ? some history and significant trees Kathy Bilton - Spring wildflowers of the pandemic Nelson DeBarros - Rare Plants and County Records; highlights from field work in Fairfax County Marion Lobstein - Some highlights from several natural areas in Florida (Tip for powerpoint presenters: You can often advance from slide to slide by hitting the spacebar.) Join Zoom Meeting: https://smithsonian.zoom.us/j/8687584555?pwd=WllwQ1ZCMEhkZWZvem1jQURDeHh3UT09 Meeting ID: 868 758 4555 Passcode: 945124 One tap mobile +13017158592,,8687584555#,,,,,,0#,,945124# US (Germantown) +16468769923,,8687584555#,,,,,,0#,,945124# US (New York) Zoom help page: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/206175806 Dial by your location +1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown) +1 646 876 9923 US (New York) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) Meeting ID: 868 758 4555 Passcode: 945124 Find your local number: https://smithsonian.zoom.us/u/aetP5KdRDM From kathy at fred.net Tue Sep 1 09:36:46 2020 From: kathy at fred.net (KATHY BILTON) Date: Tue, 1 Sep 2020 10:36:46 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [BSW] Presentation updates + Botanical Art Thursday night (VNPS) Message-ID: Another presentation has been added. Edd Barrows will be speaking about Hemerocallis (Asphodelaceae): Flower Forms: Species and Cultivars Randy Duran has reported that he will be limiting his topic to growing gingers. (Originally it was going to be on both gingers and Gloriosas.) He says you can see Gloriosas growing in Swifts Alley in Old Town now and for the next few days. http://botsoc.org/gloriosa-swifts-alley.jpg _____________________________________________________________________ All are invited to this Thursday's (September 3) VNPS program of Botanical Art with Elena Maza Borkland. For more information: https://vnps.org/princewilliamwildflowersociety/events/pwws-annual-meeting-program-via-zoom/ From kathy at fred.net Wed Sep 2 11:32:31 2020 From: kathy at fred.net (KATHY BILTON) Date: Wed, 2 Sep 2020 12:32:31 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [BSW] Next meeting - Tuesday, October 6 + Misc. Message-ID: Our next meeting will be on the first Tuesday of October. It was voted upon at last night's meeting to have the November meeting take place on Monday the 2nd as our normal Tuesday collides with the national election. Topics for those months have not yet been confirmed. We had a very enjoyable Zoom last night with quite an array of presentations. The last was by Edd Barrows who diverged from his initial proposed topic to a tale of what apparently is illegal tree cutting in the right of way in his Bethesda neighborhood. I got an email right afterwards letting me know of an error in my ID of a plant. It's a plant I know well but had inadvertantly said the Star Chickweed was Stellaria media - which is the weedy little spring plant - rather than S. pubera which is the nice native. I was very thankful to have been alerted to what I had done. _________________________________________________ The coronavirus reminds us of our deep-rooted need for medicinal plants https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/home/medicinal-plants-book/2020/09/01/79993d58-e93b-11ea-970a-64c73a1c2392_story.html (Includes pic of Gloriosa Lily which Randy Duran had initially intended to talk about last night, in addition to gingers.) Stealing information from host plants: How the parasitic dodder plant flowers https://phys.org/news/2020-08-host-parasitic-dodder.html Scientists shed new light on pollen tube growth in plants https://phys.org/news/2020-09-scientists-pollen-tube-growth.html From kathy at fred.net Wed Sep 9 09:45:11 2020 From: kathy at fred.net (KATHY BILTON) Date: Wed, 9 Sep 2020 10:45:11 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [BSW] Public online meeting today at 4pm regarding MAGLEV project Message-ID: Jane Hill sent word of a meeting this afternoon at 4PM regarding the river and stream impacts of the proposed MAGLEV project. (Link for Google meet is below.) From:?Droege, Sam All You might want to attend this public meeting.? ?Its for the Patuxent River Commission, it puts me and the refuge manager (Jennifer Greiner) up against the VP of the MAGLEV corporation, talking about river / stream impacts.? We did this once before.? The VP went first and basically did nothing more give their standard MAGLEV powerpoint and tagged on that they would make sure they followed all the rules about runoff etc.? I came after and told everyone what would be lost and that there was no way these losses could be justified or mitigated and went into all the reasons these areas are special for the people of the area.? They were caught off guard and had no real come backs other than the pat on the head that "I had a lot of passion".? This time should be different, with MAGLEV likely geared up for a more focused presentation and local politicians and the commission in attendance and also ready with more questions.....it might be your only chance to see the corporation in action and how they are responding to the concerns of federal properties.? You can also post questions in the "chat" feature if things come up that you want more answers to. Feel free to spread around to others who may be interested...again, I specifically asked if the meeting was open from the organizers, they affirmed this was the case and that the zoom features below were the correct ones. sam ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Jason Dubow -MDP- Date: Thu, Sep 3, 2020 at 1:00 PM Subject: agenda: 9/9 Patuxent River Commission mtg To: Jason Dubow -MDP- Dear Patuxent River Commissioners, Our next meeting is virtual using Google Meet and will be from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on September 9. 1. The agenda is attached. 2. To participate, use the URL at: https://meet.google.com/dnd-opuf-tbc or call in at: 617-675-4444? PIN: ?285 461 069 1397# If you are calling in, you will need to use *6 on your phone to mute and unmute. 3. We will send out the draft August meeting minutes early next week. 4. Current vacancies are watermen and federal facility. 5. For reference, also attached are the Commission's by-laws. 6. Recent news of interest: PFAS article in Bay Journal Howard County purchase of Savage remainder property 7. Lastly, below is guidance to: (a) reduce background noise; (b) facilitate meeting participation overall. To reduce background noise: Use headphones or earbuds rather than using the phone speaker or computer speakers (to significantly cut down on feedback). Mute your phone or microphone when you are not speaking. Please do not put your phone on speaker, especially when you are about to speak. Google Hangouts Meet has a chat function on the right side that you can use to make a statement without having to unmute and speak. Chair?s guidance to facilitate meeting participation: The Chair provided the following guidance for participating in the 8/12 Patuxent River Commission meeting: Planning support staff will prompt the Chair/Vice Chair when it is time to start the meeting. The meeting will continue per usual with calling of the roll/representation/opening comments, voting on previous minutes. The Commissioners/attendees will need to state their name prior to making a comment, asking a question, or making a motion, this is imperative for the record ? the Chair/Vice Chair will recognize the speaker; motions can only be made/seconded/voted on by Commissioners. Respect our speakers and hold questions until the end of their presentation. The Planning support staff will be responsible for keeping the Chair/Vice Chair/meeting on schedule. If an issue requires a letter, either the consensus will be that the Chair/Vice Chair can send a general letter, or a more specific letter will be drafted and sent to the Commissioners for their concurrence/comments using email voting buttons - turnaround will be five work days. If an issue needs to be voted on, the Chair/Vice Chair will entertain a motion for a vote. As this is a virtual meeting, the Planning support staff will call each Commissioner?s name and the response will be yes, no or abstain. The Chair/Vice Chair will close the meeting. -Jason From kathy at fred.net Wed Sep 9 21:50:53 2020 From: kathy at fred.net (KATHY BILTON) Date: Wed, 9 Sep 2020 22:50:53 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [BSW] Some excellent features this week on misapplied stream construction projects Message-ID: >From Rod Simmons: I know the membership of these groups would be interested in all of this.? It's a rare thing to have topics like misapplied stream?construction projects so well?written and covered in?magazines?like Alexandria Living!? Need to show our support.? Thanks! On Wed, Sep 9, 2020 at 9:33 PM Rod Simmons wrote: Some excellent features this week on misapplied stream?construction projects, see "When 'restoration' meets destruction" in the September 10, 2020 issue of the Alexandria Times, pp. 26 & 28 at https://alextimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/09_10_2020-Alex_Times_WEB.pdf Also, a number of excellent features on mindless deforestation and tree clearing - see "Obituary for a pin oak (Quercus palustris)"', p. 26; "The death of a tree", p. 27; "Eulogy for the Witness Oak", p. 25; and "Seminary Road Housing Project", page 10 in same edition as above. And a good feature by Beth Lawton in?Alexandria Living Magazine: "Alexandria's 'Natural Channel Restoration' Projects Draw Criticism" at https://bit.ly/2Rc3HUg. Also, Georgetown University Biology Professor?Edd Barrows'?addition to the Wikipedia Stream Restoration page: "The NCD [natural channel design] method has been misapplied to small-order, interior-forested, upper-headwater streams and wetlands in the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Region where this method needlessly destroyed parts of natural forest ecosystems.[38] "? From Edd: "Wikipedia is the World?s Encyclopedia, so I returned to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stream_restoration.? I think it gives a good overview, but, of course, I should read more.? I edited the article and added the?reference 38... All Humans involved with stream restoration and interested others should read and digest the easily accessible Wiki article to see the BIG picture and gain perspective.? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stream_restoration.? Evidently, many companies involved in the lucrative, stream-restoration business are not fully ?seeing the light.?? Amazon.com currently has 6 newish books related to the topic.? Deadlines will likely stop me from ordering and reading them; they likely have some valuable information experts should digest."?? From kathy at fred.net Wed Sep 9 22:03:18 2020 From: kathy at fred.net (KATHY BILTON) Date: Wed, 9 Sep 2020 23:03:18 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [BSW] Forget the Roses, Give the White House a Native Plant Garden Message-ID: Forget the Roses, Give the White House a Native Plant Garden https://www.audubon.org/news/forget-roses-give-white-house-native-plant-garden From kathy at fred.net Mon Sep 14 09:33:03 2020 From: kathy at fred.net (KATHY BILTON) Date: Mon, 14 Sep 2020 10:33:03 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [BSW] WEBINAR: ONLINE AUTHOR TALK: "Finding Solace at Theodore Roosevelt Island" with Melanie Choukas-Bradley (Sept. 18, noon ET) - Free pre-registration required by 5pm Sept. 17 Message-ID: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Mon, 14 Sep 2020 14:13:37 +0000 From: "De Angelis, Patricia" To: PCA Listserve Subject: [PCA] WEBINAR: ONLINE AUTHOR TALK: "Finding Solace at Theodore Roosevelt Island" with Melanie Choukas-Bradley (Sept. 18, noon ET) - Free pre-registration required by 5pm Sept. 17 What will you learn? Join Melanie as she shares from her latest book and gives you a natural history tour of D.C.?s very own island in the Potomac River, Theodore Roosevelt Island -- an 88.5?acre oasis and memorial to our foremost conservationist president. Melanie will take you on a tour of the island?s trees, wildflowers, birds, and trails through the seasons, sharing the fascinating history of the island. She?ll also share views of the island from her kayak. Speaker: Melanie Choukas-Bradley, Author of Finding Solace at Theodore Roosevelt Island, City of Trees, A Year in Rock Creek Park, The Joy of Forest Bathing, and Resilience?Connecting with Nature in a Time of Crisis Please note: Registration closes at 5 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on Thursday, September 17, 2020. Participants will be emailed the link to access the lecture at 5:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, September 17, 2020.?This program will be recorded. DATE: Friday, September 18 TIME: 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. ET LOCATION: online FREE: Pre-registration required More info and to register: https://usbg.doubleknot.com/event/2729195 This webinar hosted by the US Botanic Garden https://www.usbg.gov/ From kathy at fred.net Mon Sep 21 10:00:51 2020 From: kathy at fred.net (KATHY BILTON) Date: Mon, 21 Sep 2020 11:00:51 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [BSW] Vascular Plant Extinction article Message-ID: Via the PCA list: From: Knapp, Wesley [mailto:Wesley.Knapp at ncdcr.gov] Sent: Friday, September 18, 2020 7:28 AM Subject: Extinct Plants Hey all, A quick note to say our Conservation Biology paper entitled ?Vascular plant extinction in the continental United States and Canada? has just become Open Access, which means it is freely available to anyone who?d like to read it. https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/cobi.13621 If you can, please share widely, We From kathy at fred.net Sun Sep 27 19:01:34 2020 From: kathy at fred.net (KATHY BILTON) Date: Sun, 27 Sep 2020 20:01:34 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [BSW] New genus of Australian daisies Message-ID: Via Emanuela. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Sat, 26 Sep 2020 19:22:12 +0000 From: Emanuela Appetiti To: Kathy Bilton Subject: New genus of Australian daisies An interesting article on a new genus of Australian daisies. >From the article: ?We recently discovered a new genus of Australian daisies, which we?ve named Scapisenecio. And we did so on the computer screen, during what was meant to be a routine analysis to test a biocontrol agent against a noxious weed originally from South Africa.? http://theconversation.com/we-accidentally-found-a-whole-new-genus-of-australian-daisies-youve-probably-seen-them-on-your-bushwalks-139754 Have a nice weekend, Emanuela? From kathy at fred.net Sun Sep 27 22:32:37 2020 From: kathy at fred.net (KATHY BILTON) Date: Sun, 27 Sep 2020 23:32:37 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [BSW] Tuesday 9/29 - Flora and Fauna of Patuxent Refuge and Beltsville Agricultural Center: The Looming Threat From a MAGLEV/Federal Plan Message-ID: Sam Droege will be speaking to MNPS via Zoom about the threat to the flora and fauna of Patuxent Refuge and Beltsville. Here is the page where you can register: https://mdflora.org/event-3998111 It is this Tuesday, the 29th (though it says the 27th on the page.) Speaker: Sam Droege Patuxent Wildlife Research Center (PWRC) and Beltsville Agriculture Research Center (BARC) lands constitute some of the most ecologically important in the mid-Atlantic and one of the most studied landscapes in the world. Siting of the high-speed superconducting magnetic levitation (SCMAGLEV) train threatens the destruction of 200 acres of those public properties for the creation of an industrial repair facility and storage yard. Sam Droege will focus on the rare plant communities and associated insects which are threatened by this industrial use of public lands. Our speaker, wildlife biologist Sam Droege, has spent the last 40 years at Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, monitoring amphibian, insect, bird and other populations. His group maintains high resolution macro photographs at https://www.flickr.com/photos/usgsbiml/ The program will be presented online through Zoom, in webinar format. You will not be able to share your own audio or video with other participants, but you will be able to submit questions in writing during the program. Registration is required. After you register, you will receive a registration confirmation email with a link to the Zoom program. The program is free and open to the public. From kathy at fred.net Sun Sep 27 23:41:13 2020 From: kathy at fred.net (KATHY BILTON) Date: Mon, 28 Sep 2020 00:41:13 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [BSW] Tuesday, October 29 - Flora and Fauna of Patuxent Refuge and Beltsville Agricultural Center: The Looming Threat From a MAGLEV/Federal Plan Message-ID: There has been some confusion about the date for this event. I have just learned that this will be taking place on Tuesday, October 27, not this coming Tuesday. See the MNPS events page for this and several other upcoming events. https://mdflora.org/events Sam Droege will be speaking to MNPS via Zoom about the threat to the flora and fauna of Patuxent Refuge and Beltsville. Here is the page where you can register: https://mdflora.org/event-3998111 It will take place on Tuesday, October 29th. Speaker: Sam Droege Patuxent Wildlife Research Center (PWRC) and Beltsville Agriculture Research Center (BARC) lands constitute some of the most ecologically important in the mid-Atlantic and one of the most studied landscapes in the world. Siting of the high-speed superconducting magnetic levitation (SCMAGLEV) train threatens the destruction of 200 acres of those public properties for the creation of an industrial repair facility and storage yard. Sam Droege will focus on the rare plant communities and associated insects which are threatened by this industrial use of public lands. Our speaker, wildlife biologist Sam Droege, has spent the last 40 years at Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, monitoring amphibian, insect, bird and other populations. His group maintains high resolution macro photographs at https://www.flickr.com/photos/usgsbiml/ The program will be presented online through Zoom, in webinar format. You will not be able to share your own audio or video with other participants, but you will be able to submit questions in writing during the program. Registration is required. After you register, you will receive a registration confirmation email with a link to the Zoom program. The program is free and open to the public.