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Board Minutes – 11/9/2020

Minutes ILLINOIS NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY November 9, 2020, 6:00pm | Conference call Governing Board Meeting Attending: (13) Susanne Masi, Jean Sellar, Paul Marcum, Joe Armstrong, Floyd Catchpole, cassi saari, Emily Dangremond, Trish Quintenz, Courtney Cartney, Gretel Kiefer, Chris Benda, Anna Braum, Angela Kerber Meeting Begins: 6:03pm Review and approve the Minutes from the October governing…
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Plant Profiles: Spicebush (Lindera benzoin)

-Henry “Weeds” Eilers One of our chapter members in October suggested that I do a plant profile column for the INPS newsletter on this native shrub. It had been only a week ago that I was privileged to accompany Nathan Aaron, a skilled botanist who is working in the Meramec Hills section of the Missouri…
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Illinois Native Plant Society Grant Program Applications Are Now Open

Students, citizen scientists, conservation groups and institutions are alerted to consider applying for an INPS Research Grant for up to $2500 to fund one-year projects. Also, INPS is also excited to continue its new second grant for 2021: the Survey Grant. This grant is for up to $5000.

The Scutellaria (Skullcaps) of Northeast Illinois

Scutellaria — or skullcap — species can be found in a variety of habitats in northeastern Illinois. These perennials belong to the mint family (note their opposite leaves); more than 470 species of skullcaps can be found worldwide, mainly in temperate regions. The genus name comes from the Latin scutella, meaning “square-shaped salver or tray;…
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Plants with Stomachs

Somewhere in a lake near you, in a shallow bay, grows a floating plant with pouchlike sacs on its leaflets. The sacs each have a “spring- loaded” trap door that can open and shut in a fraction of a second. The “triggers” are hairs, known as “trichomes” in plants, around the mouth of the sac.…
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New Illustrated Botanical Glossary for the Flora of the Chicago Region

Glossary text by Gerould Wilhelm & Laura RerichaGlossary illustrations by Kathleen Marie Garness An excellent new illustrated botanical glossary was recently published by the Conservation Research Institute and Indiana Academy of Science. It is a freely available companion to the Flora of the Chicago Region (2017), written by Gerould Wilhelm and Laura Rericha. This new…
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White snakeroot (Ageratina altissima)

Ageratina altissima, or white snakeroot, is the only species of its genus found in the Chicagoland region, but it is widespread, even weedy. (The more than 300 species in the genus Ageratina mainly occur in the warmer regions of the Americas and West Indies.) White snakeroot is an herbaceous perennial around 1.5-3’ tall with opposite,…
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Our Native Lilies-of-the-valley

When visiting prairie fens, oak savannas, and woodlands this time of year, you may encounter flowering Maianthemum stellatum (previously Smilacina stellata); its common names include star-flowered lily-of-the-valley and starry false Solomon’s seal. Its name derives from its showy, white flowers, which are replaced by striped green berries that ripen into a deep red later in…
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2020 Research Grant Awards Announced

The Illinois Native Plant Society offers sincere congratulations to the awardees of the 2020 Research Grant Program…

Other INPS Grant News

The INPS Board of Directors at their February meeting approved the increase of award amounts for the 2021 grant cycle. Competitive Research Grant awards will be available both the Research Grant and the Survey Grant. This increase is made possible by generous donations to the grant fund, proceeds from the 2019 Annual Gathering, and contributions…
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