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2023 September Email to CPC Members
Our Chapter is celebrating its 10th anniversary! The year 2023 marks our 10th year as a chapter. To celebrate, we are having special t-shirts printed for our members, using our pine lily logo. We will be selling them below cost at $15 each, adding $2 for extra X sizes. You can pick them up at our fall meeting, set for Nov. 4th. Or, you can have them shipped for $7; $10 for two shirts.
Shirts are available in two colors, sand or light blue. They are a 50/50 blend and have a round neckline. The order form is available here. Orders must be placed by Oct. 6th. Join in promoting our mission and achievements by wearing this shirt!
Announcing the Election on Nov. 4, 2023 At our annual meeting, the Coastal Plain Chapter will be voting on board members and a new slate of officers. If you want to be more involved in chapter leadership, don’t hesitate to submit your name or the name of a fellow Coastal Plain Chapter member, if they consent. To submit a nomination for a board member or officer, please email maryalice.applegate@gnps.org, by Sept. 30. Mary Alice will relay your nomination to the Governance Committee.
At the annual meeting, if there is either a vacancy in the slate or an alternative candidate wishes to be nominated from the floor, the nominee may be put forth. The slate will be elected by a simple majority of the members present. The candidate receiving the highest votes is elected. In case of a tie, the chapter board casts the deciding vote.
Plant Sales in Darien and Albany Two native plant sales are scheduled for Sept. 23. One will be in Darien, Ga., at the Coastal Wildscapes fall plant sale. The other will be in Albany, Ga., as part of the Water, Wings, and Wildlife Festival at the Flint Riverquarium. In addition, CPC Education Chair Heather Brasell will present an informative talk on native plants during the festival in Albany.
Check the chapter's plant inventory list and pre-order your favorites to be sure you get get the quantity you need. Pre-orders require a minimum purchase of $30. For questions, contact Amy Heidt and Paul Sumner at cpcgnps@gmail.com.
BOTSOC Field Trip in McIntosh County, Oct. 7 Our chapter is invited to explore the 10-acre private property in McIntosh County that includes Florabundance Gardens Native Plant Nursery, owned by CPC member Deborah Sheppard. The Oct. 7 trip, starting at 10 am, will provide a look at perennial meadow gardens at the marsh edge, undisturbed wetland forests, three ponds and open fields. Participants can tour the nursery and shop if desired. Registration is required by contacting Deborah Sheppard at Florabundancegardens@gmail.com or 912-217-4892.
Fall Meeting, Nov. 4, 2023 The Coastal Plain Chapter annual meeting is set for Nov. 4 at Altama Plantation Wildlife Management Area, near Brunswick. You can look forward to seeing “postcards” from the region, as we briefly highlight project successes, including GNPS -approved restoration projects and a GNPS Habitat Certification. Educational sessions will be presented by Emory Professor Dr. Jaap de Roode, whose research focuses on monarch butterflies and their protozoan parasites. DNR Wildlife Biologist Eamonn Leonard will speak about the Altamaha River conservation corridor habitat restoration project. Following the indoor sessions, Eamonn Leonard will lead us on a short field trip to see the native ground cover seed production nursery at Altama Plantation WMA.
A seed swap table will be set up at the fall meeting. Start saving your seeds as they mature and bring them to the meeting. Be sure to label your seed-filled envelopes with the name of the plant (common and scientific name) and the date collected. If you’ve never saved seeds, here is a “how-to” link from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
Sedges Workshop and Field Trip—Aug. 19-20, 2023 Report and photos (above) by Heather Brasell A small but dedicated group braved the August heat in South Ga. for two full days of enrichment in sedges. The event was led by Dr. Richard Carter, herbarium curator at Valdosta State University, who specializes in sedges. He wrote An Introduction to the Sedges of Georgia for Tipularia in 2005. Both workshop and field trip were held at Gaskins Forest Education Center in Alapaha GA. Participants from Georgia Botanical Society and the Coastal Plain Chapter of Georgia Native Plant Society came from faraway places, including Alabama, Florida, and South Carolina, as well as all over Georgia and some stayed in field-house cabins on the property.
The first day was all workshop, with the morning spent in going over characteristics of the main groups of sedges and learning the terminology used in identification keys. Then the afternoon was devoted to keying out several sedge species and looking at specimens of others. Richard had brought abundant material to explore. Identifying sedges relies heavily on characteristics of the reproductive material – especially achenes. Some of these features can be seen in the field with a hand lens, but a dissecting microscope is useful and sometimes essential. Richard had brought microscopes and dissecting tools for each person.
The second day was spent in the field seeking shade while we examined sedges as we visited a variety of habitats – lawn, ephemeral pond, edge of permanent pond, wetland restoration site, cypress swamp and savannah, and two slope seeps. We found 33 species of sedges in 8 genera – 1 Bulbostylis, 3 Carex, 8 Cyperus, 4 Eleocharis, 2 Fuerina, 10 Rhynchospora, 1 Scirpus, and 4 Scleria. The list included two Scleria species that were previously state listed – S. georgiana (slenderfruit nutrush) and S. baldwinii (Baldwin’s nutrush). Using a hand lens in the field was an excellent follow-up opportunity to practice what we had learned in the workshop the previous day, and to see sedges in their natural habitats. Dr. Carter collected several voucher specimens for his herbarium.
State Botanical Garden Classes The SBG in Athens offers classes toward a certificate in Native Plants and the Plants and Pollinators Specialization. For further information, email Cora Keber ckeber@uga.edu or call 706-542-6156. Sept. 9: Fall Wildflowers of the Georgia Piedmont, Athens Sept. 15: Fungal Ecology & Diversity, Athens Sept. 23: Monarchs & Beyond: Pollinator Stewardship, Athens
CPC Board Meetings: The next Meeting is Sept. 20, 2023, at 7:00 pm via Zoom. Board meetings are open to all CPC members. Contact Mary Alice Applegate (maryalice.applegate@gnps.org) to request a link. Minutes of meetings are available upon request.
CPC Board of Directors
Mary Alice Applegate, President
Jimmy Lindsey, Vice President
Katie Antczak, Secretary
Elizabeth King, Treasurer
Heather Brasell, Past President and CPC Education Committee Chair
Paul Sumner, CPC Membership Chair
Amy Heidt, CPC Propagation Chair
Gail Farley, Representative, East Coast
Mary Beth Cary, Representative, West Georgia
The Coastal Plain Chapter of the Georgia Native Plant Society focuses on native plant species and ecosystem issues in the Coastal Plain region of Georgia.
