Great Natives of Midwestern Ecotype

September 2009 Edition

© 2009

Great Natives Of Mid-western Ecotype

Wikipedia has become one of the largest online encyclopedias in the universe since its formal inception in 2001. In April of 2009, it hit the 10 million article mark, over 2.5 million of which are in English. It is known as an open-sourced contribution site. This means anyone may add to and edit this free resource.

The Encyclopedia Of Life (EOL) is an unprecedented project to catalog the biodiversity of the earth via a similar open-sourced concept.

"Imagine an electronic page for each species of organism on Earth..." is the quote by Edward O. Wilson on the home page of EOL. Wilson should know what he is talking about. The Harvard University professor is a biolo-gist, researcher, theorist, natural-ist, and author. He is also known for his environmental advocacy.

Just in case you were wondering– that would be approximately 1.8 million pages. One for each described species already known to science.

The project itself is planned to be completed in ten years. While now nearing its second anniversary, it has already ac-complished a lot.

150,000 pages written by ex-perts are already in place. These focused on animals of greatest interest to the public. In addition to that, 1.4 million placeholder pages have already been set up to take information.

Experts and citizen scientists alike have fuelled explosive growth of the interactive encyclo-pedia.

It has over 1.8 million unique visitors from over 200 countries since its unveiling in 2008. It is truly a global project in nature allowing science to utilize infor-mation that has never before been combined in one place. Can you say ultimate field guide?

Volume 12 , Issue 1

THE BIG PICTURE: EOL- Is it Wiki for Wildlife?

September 8 , 2009

Did you know...

• Kudzu can grow up to a foot a day and have roots that weigh over 500lbs?

• Garlic mustard seeds can stay vi-able in the ground for 7 years?

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

Plant Profile 4

Native on the Net 4

Best Books 4

Organization Spotlight 5

Native News 5

Planting with a Purpose 5

Researching Relief Invasives! Fantastic Fauna Focus on the Future

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GNOME NEWS

G N O M E ’ S M I S S I O N

Great Natives Of Mid-western Ecotype (GNOME) is an organization focused on the preservation and expansion of native flo-ral and faunal species. The mission is to provide a net-based forum where mem-

bers can share their pas-sion, plans, ideas, and ques-tions with other people hav-ing a common interest. You can participate in many different ways.

1. Join our facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=45643568296

2. Submit articles, pictures, sto-ries, or plans for publication.

3. Visit or link to the website 4. Pass on the newsletter.

August’s Name that Native was an easy one this month. It re-ceived 80% of the votes. Little bluestem was the only other grass to get selected. When it comes down to it though, this grass is pretty unique and stands apart from other short grasses.

The original range for this plant is almost everywhere in the continental United States. In some areas of the Midwest this species is expanding and is becoming more common.

This plant usually grows to about two feet tall. Individual

blades of this grass are typically about 1/4” across and between 6-8” long. Flower culms/racemes are up to 12” long.

Blooming time is from mid-summer into fall. Flowers are green/red when newly opened, gradually drying and turn-ing tan.

This plant will grow in a vari-ety of soils which includes those containing clay-loam, loess, gravel, and sand. It prefers dry areas with full sun. Once established, it is quite drought resistant.

Faunal associations include leaf hoppers, grasshoppers, and stinkbugs. Some upland game birds as well as song-birds feed on the seeds. Many hoofed mammals will readily feed on this grass.

I use this grass on my ele-vated drainage bed because it thrives in the drier soil. I have it mixed with dropseed and forbs. It really is almost showy this time of year.

This guide is not meant to be the definitive prairie plant identifica-tion reference. The purpose of this guide is to provide information on 114 species of the most common plants associated with what is known as a tallgrass prairie.

It is a great entry level knowledge guide.

Ok– I know that this isn’t techni-cally a book, but it does have an ISBN number!

Prairie in your Pocket by Mark Müller is a great quick reference guide when weight or space is a consideration. Folding down to the size of a business envelope, it will fit almost anywhere when biking, backpacking, hiking, or in the glove compartment of the car. It is laminated and very user-friendly.

General organization is done by flower color. Scientific and common names are given, as well as height and bloom time.

It is one of a series of pocket guides by the author. He has also illustrated several books on Iowa prairie plants and regional content.

Page 4

N A T I V E O N T H E N E T

Bouteloua curtipendula– Sideoats Grama Grass

B E S T B O O K S – P R A I R I E I N Y O U R P O C K E T

Have a lot of knowledge about native plants? Put it to use through the Encyclopedia of Life.

General information about EOL can be found on the Big Picture this month. While the project is immense in scope, it creates an opportunity for enthusiasts to use their spe-cific knowledge and apply it.

The site calls for citizen scien-tists to contribute information. After getting to know several native floral and faunal enthu-siasts, I can’t imagine a better place to give an outlet for their vast knowledge base.

This global project will eventu-ally catalog and describe every species in the world. Check it out and become a contributor!

Sometimes wading through sites looking for good resources on na-tive plants is just too time consum-ing. This section should help!

This month’s featured site is : Encyclopedia Of Life

http://www.eol.org

“See how nature - trees, flowers, grass - grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence...we need silence to be able to touch souls.” ~Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Sideoats Grama is a compact, shorter grass that will add interest to any location.

Volume 12 , Issue 1

This is a handy and compact guide– great for the car!

GNOME News

“The Midwest Renewable En-ergy Association promotes re-newable energy, energy effi-ciency, and sustainable living through education and demon-stration.” Mission statement taken from the MREA home-page.

Want to keep up with news about renewable energy pro-jects in the Midwest? Here is one good place to do that.

The focus of this organization is to promote renewable technolo-gies through education, infor-mation, and action.

www.the-mrea.org

One of their biggest events is their annual Energy Fair. Last June the organization celebrated its 20th Anni-versary of the Fair, drawing over 23,000 people to rural central Wisconsin to learn about what’s hot in renewable energy educa-tion.

One facet that is really nice about this organization is its presence in online com-munities. By becoming a fan of MREA on facebook, you will re-ceive timely updates about “green” information. The articles are a great way to quickly stay on top of what is going on in the renewable energy and sustain-able living arena.

Membership starts at $30 dollars for students and goes up from there. Becoming a member allows you to exclu-sive publications as well as gives you a vote in organiza-tion decisions.

easily. But I can’t tell you how many times I have “planned” something in that way, only to find out that some plant or com-bination of plants were not spaced as they should have been.

Marking flags can be purchased at most home improvement stores. If you can’t find the color of the blooms you are going to be planting, grab some spray paint too. Flags are

No– I’m not talking about call-ing your local utility company to mark your yard-you shouldn’t go that deep anyway!

Using colored flags can really help you visualize how the your new bed will look when it is finished.

Thinking about mature plant size is a basic component when planning a new bed. In theory or on paper, this step comes

quickly painted to represent your flowers.

Place your colored flags accord-ing to your paper plan. Space them according to mature size. This will give you a solid idea of how your plantings will look when the project is completed.

Moving flags around is much easier to do than digging estab-lished plants.

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ORG A N I ZAT I O N SP O T L I G H T: M I D W E S T R E N E WA B L E E N E R G Y A S S O C I A T I O N

P L A N T I N G W I T H A P U R P O S E : F L A G I T F I R S T !

Known as the vine that ate the south, annual costs related to removing this plant are estimated to be close to 500 million dollars a year in the southern US.

New research done by scientists in Iowa and Alabama might provide a useful solution to at least some of the kudzu problem. They have discovered that kudzu root-extract shows promise as a dietary supple-

ment for a high-risk problem in America– the metabolic syn-drome.

This condition can cause obesity, high blood pressure, high choles-terol, and problems with the body using insulin. In tests on rats in a lab, this ex-tract from kudzu reduced all of those symptoms after two months of use.

When life gives you kudzu, make a dietary supplement?

The invasive vine Pueraria lobata was introduced in 1876 from Japan and encouraged as an erosion control plant in the South from the 1930s to the 1950s. It is a prime example of what dam-age introduced species cause in a native environment. It now cov-ers over 2 million Southern acres!

“Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work.”

~Peter Drucker

Renewable energy through education and action

N A T I V E N E W S : E A T I N G T H E V I N E T H A T A T E T H E S O U T H

By placing colored flags with mature plant spacing, you get an idea of the final bed appearance.

The featured invasive in GNOME News in May was the infamous garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata). Few introduced plants can produce the ire and frustration caused by this invasive plant poster child.

Stories of this invasive having detrimental effects on delicate ecosystems abound. Take the recent Chicago Tribune article from September 1, 2009 as an example. This arti-cle was discussing how the overpopulation of deer in the Ferrysburg-owned dunes in Grand Haven, MI are destroying rare native plants on the 115-acre reserve. The article men-tioned how garlic mustard is moving in, stifling tree growth and other native seedlings.

While I give kudos to the Tribune for being aware of the issue, the article fails to mention the 1-2 punch that deer and invasive plants have on na-tive plant populations.

In a perpetuating cycle, deer and plants like garlic mustard can virtually eliminate natives in an area where both are prevalent. Deer avoid eating gar-lic mustard, so browse more palatable plants– often native ones. This creates space for the fer-tile and invasive garlic mustard to grow in. Toxins within garlic mustard damage many types of soil fungi essential for healthy native plant growth, making that area less capable to grow those na-tive plants. In reality this is even more complex, but between deer browsing on natives and crowd-ing and chemical attacks by garlic mustard, the threat to native ecosystems is very real. It is a threat that has prompted new studies on this inva-sive plant and ways to eliminate or at least reduce it across the United States.

One such study is being done at the University of Illinois. The focus of the study is on the glucosinolates that are produced by the garlic mustard. These are the toxins that kill many forms of fungi in the soil around the plant in North America. Many native plants rely on these fungi to supplement things like phosphorus, nitrogen, and water. Garlic mustard is able to function without the assistance of the fungi.

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R E S E A R C H I N G R E L I E F : G A R L I C M U S TA R D R E V I S I T E D

Volume 12 , Issue 1

“How can we protect homeland security unless the government stops the inva-sion of illegal aliens?” (plants/animals of course!) ~Phyllis Schlafly

Richard Lankau, a postdoctoral researcher at the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) at the Univer-sity of Illinois began by posing a rather obvious evolutionary question: “Once garlic mustard has vanquished most of its competitors, why would it

invest as much in maintaining its toxic arsenal?” To find the answer, he looked at a study of historic herbarium records that gave them access to 140 years worth of garlic mustard locations in the east-ern half of the US.

Taking samples from 44 locations, they grew these in a greenhouse and measured the toxins.

Their findings: natural selection is at play in the genetics of garlic mustard colonies over time. They found that populations older than 30 years produced fewer toxins.

This is useful in the overall plan to combat garlic mustard in woodlands, since focus can be put on the newest invaded areas where the most damage is likely to occur.

Other new research done by the Agricultural Re-search Service (ARS) is looking into biological con-trol agents.

Historically, multiple biological agents were re-leased in hopes of one working to eradicate inva-sive species. Sometimes, those released agents also became invasive, feeding on similar native forms of what it was meant to control.

The ARS believes that it has singled out one weevil from Europe that only feeds on garlic mustard and not other plants in the Brassicaceae family (like cabbage, radish, and horseradish). Stringent tests were done in quarantine to determine that this weevil- Ceutorhynchus scrobicollis would not jump to other host plants and become a pest itself. It is currently awaiting release at the University of Min-nesota.

No single study is likely to find the magical weapon in this battle against alien invaders, but every study gets us one step closer to a solution.

A woodland colonized by garlic mustard.

GNOME News

Sometimes a plant or animal can be so common that it is failed to be recognized as invasive. That statement could be used to de-scribe this month’s invasive-

Sturnus vulgaris (Linnaeus).

Known simply as a starling in many areas, the European star-ling came to America in the 1890s. The reason for its introduction? It was part of a plan to intro-duce to the United States every bird spe-cies mentioned by Shakespeare! Really!

The bird is usually about 8.5” long. Beak color is dependant on season, being bright yellow dur-ing breeding season. They usually have irides-cent feathers near their head/neck.

The starling is a voracious omni-vore. It is capable of eating large amounts of grain. It is an aggressive feeder, and will chase other birds from a feed-ing area. Due to their gregari-ous nature, they are often found forming large flocks. These will often be seen in fall or winter and can cause signifi-cant damage to crops.

It is estimated that these birds do hun-dreds of millions of dollars of damage to crops annually.

In addition to crop damage, these birds have a significant af-fect on native wildlife. They are cavity nesters and will outcompete native birds. They also consume food that would otherwise feed native species.

As summer wanes, cooler nights and morning dew are signs that fall is on its way. It is also a time when animals– particularly rodents and spiders– seem to find themselves sharing our living space.

This month’s selection are of the family Lycosidae, commonly called wolf spiders.

There are over 200 species of this spider in North America. They can range in size from 3-35 mm. Usually coloration is from gray to brown tones and banding is often present as well.

Spiders in this family are unique in several ways. Just as in many spiders, they have eight eyes. The arrangement of these eyes on a wolf spider is one characteristic that can help to identify them. Wolf spiders have good eyesight relative to other arach-nids. They have four small eyes nearest their mandibles. Above those, are two large eyes. At the top of the head are two medium sized eyes. These are used to locate potential prey or preda-tors.

These spiders are nomadic. They do not use webs to catch prey. The two main ways of hunting are by running down prey on their evening forays or by

Page 7

F A N T A S T I C F A U N A : T H E W O L F S P I D E R

IN VA S I V E S- E U R O P E A N S TA R L I N G

using the sit-and-wait method. It is because of their hunting style, which is not unlike Canis lupus, that they are called “wolf” spiders.

Another unique characteristic about wolf spiders has to do with young bearing. The wolf spider will carry her egg sac around with her via her spinner-ets. When the young hatch, they will climb onto the mother’s legs and abdomen and ride on her for several hours or days. They scatter when the mother is threatened.

Many people will run into these spiders in their basements and garages in the fall. While they are slightly venomous (as are most spiders), they are not a danger to humans. The are also not aggres-sive. I recommend the catch and release method!

“I have drunk, and seen the spider.” ~William Shakespeare

European Starling Distribution (dark=dense)

Female wolf spider carrying young

Primary Business Address 1753 Wick Way Montgomery, IL 60538

Great Nat ives Of Mid-western Ecotype

fiscal conditions. But a closer look reveals something different.

While unconditionally eliminating field trips, there are no restrictions on things like travelling sports teams.

What will the impacts of budget cuts be for stu-dents currently receiving services, and what is the message we are sending to them?

I feel that is going to be a bit of a rant, so I apolo-gize in advance…

I have recently started my 14th year of teaching. This is my second district, so maybe my sampling is too small to count, but I have noticed that when budgets get tight, it al-ways seems to be the same things that suffer.

It was announced that there would be no field trips al-lowed this year in my district ex-cept those that were scheduled last year before the decision was made. This is the same situation that occurred several years ago in my old district and it may seem reasonable considering current

The Junior High teams have multiple levels of teams that travel. There are the main teams (A). But there are also B and C teams. In all, one team is travelling daily.

In my eyes, it makes no sense to cut things like trips to a local prairie, or to Springfield– our state capitol, while spending money on travelling C teams.

If one looks at the statis-tics, most students are not destined to become pro-fessional athletes.

The field trips that are

planned are curriculum based. They are also the only opportu-nity that many of these students will get to visit these places– especially in an educational setting.

I think it is time to raise the bar.

FO CU S O N T H E FU T U R E

E-mail: GNOME.Native@gmail.com

There’s no place like GNOME!

“The School High Jump”

GNOME

Great Natives of Mid-western Ecotype (GNOME) is an organization focused on the preservation and expansion of native floral and faunal species. The mission is to provide a net-based forum where members can share their passion, plans, ideas, and questions with other people having a common interest in native species.

Check out our site!!!

Join our facebook group!

(http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=45643568296)

This is our primary forum location. The newsletter as well as open discussions are there and also other links to people and groups that focus on natives.

Got an article? Now accepting member submitted news and photos! Once you have something to share, send it to the email listed at left. Monthly news articles will, of course, give credit to the contributor. Everyone welcome!

We’re on the Web! http://gnomenative.webs.com/

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