New England Botanical Society

Check out the latest issue of Rhodora! In it, Berg et al. study the phenological advancement of the wildflower genus Triodanis, Holmes et al. document the floristic composition and soils of three grassy forest openings in Ohio, Fučíková et al. conduct a historical comparison of desmids in New England ponds (pictured), and Garrett Crow writes in memory of aquatic botanist Charles Thomas Philbrick (1953–2023). Read all of issue 1001 at https://bioone.org/journals/rhodora/current

We are thrilled to announce our 2024 award recipients! Find out more about their incredible work on our Awards page at https://www.rhodora.org/

A few spots are remaining on our upcoming 'Away' meeting! Join in for an enriching, all-day immersive experience at the Polly Hill Arboretum in West Tisbury, Martha's Vineyard, on Saturday, June 15, 2024. For more information, and to access the registration link, please visit our website at www.rhodora.org.

Exciting news from Vermont!

Spring ephemeral plant believed locally extinct in Vermont since 1916 rediscovered | Vermont Business Magazine Submitted by katie on Thu, 05/30/2024 - 09:15 VermontBiz Botanists with the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department have rediscovered a population of false mermaid-weed (Floerkea proserpinacoides)—not seen in Vermont since 1916 and believed to be locally extinct—along a stream in Addison County. .....

The New England Botanical Society is hiring a Coordinator of Operations and Membership to support its mission of connecting, inspiring, and mentoring a vibrant community who are passionate about the flora of New England. The Coordinator will support NEBS's day-to-day operations including regular communication with members, outward-facing communication with social media and the website, and maintenance of Membership records, among other tasks––24 hours per week and remote. The NEBS President and Executive Committee will supervise the Coordinator and coordinate tasks and responsibilities. Applications will be reviewed as they arrive and will be accepted until the position is filled. Send inquiries and applications to [email protected].

Upcoming NEBS monthly meeting - Friday, April 5th at 7PM in person at Harvard University and over Zoom. Grasses, sedges, and rushes sometimes seem to present an impenetrable wall to identification. GRASSES, SEDGES, RUSHES: AN IDENTIFICATION GUIDE, published in 2020 by the Yale University Press, helps users to surmount this barrier by introducing these plants with everyday vocabulary and using readily observable characteristics for identification. The co-authors, Lauren Brown and Ted Elliman, will discuss the creation and the concept of the book and discuss in detail the book’s identification process of some common grasses, sedges, and rushes that you are likely to encounter in the upcoming field season. This meeting is free to attend, register here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdHXh_HWIHToYg5euywYZwuo_9KlJx4WgDiZudRdN8ydjZryQ/viewform

Join us TONIGHT, March 1st at 7PM for a presentation by Dr. John Daigle entitled "Building a Community of Interest and Response to an Invasive Species Threatening Maine's Ash Trees and Wabanaki Cultural Lifeways". The lecture will be held in person at Harvard University and live-streamed over Zoom. Not a member of NEBS? Not a problem! Sign up at https://www.rhodora.org/

Join us on Friday, March 1st at 7PM for a presentation by Dr. John Daigle entitled "Building a Community of Interest and Response to an Invasive Species Threatening Maine's Ash Trees and Wabanaki Cultural Lifeways". The lecture will be held in person at Harvard University and live-streamed over Zoom. Not a member of NEBS? Not a problem! Sign up at https://www.rhodora.org/

Join in for tonight's meeting! Over zoom and free to attend. Checkout this post for details.

Join us this Friday, December 1 at 7pm ET for a free lecture and book sale/signing by botanical illustrator Bobbi Angell, "Darwin and the Art of Botany." Attend with an option to purchase a book and have it signed in person at Harvard University, or watch it live-streamed over Zoom. Not a member of NEBS? Not a problem! Sign up at https://www.rhodora.org/

Join us this Friday, November 3 at 7pm ET for a free lecture by Dr. Lena Struwe of Chrysler Herbarium at Rutgers University, "From Vasculums to iPhones: The History of Field Research Tools and the Stories Herbarium Specimens Tell Us." The lecture will be held in person at Harvard University and live-streamed over Zoom. Not a member of NEBS? Not a problem! Sign up at https://www.rhodora.org/

Join us Friday, October 6 at 7pm ET for a free lecture about an endangered ecosystem by Dr. Elizabeth Kellogg entitled: "Grasses of the Prairies." The lecture will be held in person at Harvard University and live-streamed over Zoom. Not a member of NEBS? Not a problem! Sign up at https://www.rhodora.org/

Pterospora andromedea, or pine-drops, a plant not recorded before in Massachusetts was observed this week in the Berkshires! Read more here:

New plant observation excites conservation community MassWildlife botanists have confirmed the first record of the “pine-drops” plant in Massachusetts. The specialized plant is only found in a few patches in the Northeast region.

Great NEBS field trip to Mt. Washington and the Alpine Garden, White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire led by Dan Sperduto, Forest Botanist, White Mountain National Forest. July 7, 2023.

Sign up to take a walk with an expert botanist this Saturday July 15 at 10am, in Cumberland, RI at the Cumberland Land Trust High Rock-Scott Brook Preserves. The sites are unusually rich, offering an opportunity to see a number of uncommon plant species for the area. https://www.rhodora.org/meetings/fieldtrips.html

Join us in person this Friday, June 23 at Wellesley College for multiple events! Come for a 3:30 plant collecting workshop with Dr. Lisa Standley or a 6:30 lecture and tour of the College's new Global Flora Conservatory with Dr. Kristina Niovi Jones. Members and nonmembers must register. Space is limited: https://www.rhodora.org/

Enjoy a guided walk this Friday, June 2 from 10-noon to learn about the lush, diverse plant life at Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge at Weir Hill in Sudbury, MA. Register to attend here: t.ly/rB5b

Vermont is well known in New England for its calcium-rich bedrock which supports a wide diversity of herbaceous understory plant species. Join in this Saturday to explore the diversity of one such site, an abandoned marble quarry in southern Vermont! Register to attend here: https://forms.gle/rimzrd6CwU5bxxg78

NEBS Field Trips are now open for registration! Are you interested in exploring botanically interesting places with other plant-minded people? Checkout our line-up of field trips for the 2023 field season! For more information and to register, visit our website at https://www.rhodora.org/meetings/fieldtrips.html

Join us in person this coming Saturday, May 6 at Native Plant Trust's Garden In the Woods for a presentation by Dr. Kirsten Coe titled, "Sphagnum Moss-Associated Nitrogen Fixation in New England Peatlands." Start time, non-member sign-up form, and more information about Dr. Coe's talk are available on our website at www.rhodora.org

Join in on Saturday, April 1st at 7PM for a presentation by Dr. Jessica Stephens of Westfield State University entitled 'Complex Interactions in Sarracenia: Implications for Plant and Ecosystem Health'. The meeting will be held both in-person, at Smith College, and over zoom. The sign-up form and more information about Dr. Stephen's talk are available on our website at www.Rhodora.org

Join in on Saturday, March 4th at 7PM for a presentation by Dr. Chandra Jack entitled 'Microbial Influences on Plant Functional Traits in Natural and Agricultural Systems'. Dr. Jack's lab is based in Clark University and studies plant-microbe interactions and their effects on plant health. The in-person meeting will be at Harvard University and streamed over Zoom. The sign-up form and more information about Dr. Jack's talk are available on our website at www.Rhodora.org

Looking for something to do during this weekends cold spell? Dreaming of warmer weather and the spring ephemerals it brings? Join in on Saturday, February 4th at 7 PM for a free talk about Trillium by Amy Highland of the Mt. Cuba Center. Amy is the Director of Collections and the Conservation Lead of the Mt. Cuba Center and she will be sharing her journey with Trillium conservation in the Eastern U.S. The talk will occur over Zoom and is FREE to the public. The sign-up form and more information about Amy's talk are available on our website at www.Rhodora.org

Join in on Saturday, February 4th at 7 PM for a free talk by Amy Highland on the Trillium of Mt. Cuba Center. Amy is the Director of Collections and the Conservation Lead of the Mt. Cuba Center and she will be sharing her journey with Trillium conservation in the Eastern U.S. The talk will occur over Zoom and is FREE to the public. The sign-up form and more information about Amy's talk are available on our website at www.Rhodora.org.

Botanical research funding opportunities! The New England Botanical Society research funding applications are open through February 1st! NEBS Offers three awards each year - In 2022 these provided nearly $20,000 in support of research on the flora of New England. The awards include the Les Mehrhoff Botanical Research Award, open to anyone, including amateurs and those who are unaffiliated with research institutions; the Graduate Student Research Award; and the Junior Faculty Award, open to early career academic faculty. Additional details, including past abstracts and final reports, can be found on our website www.Rhodora.org under the ‘Awards tab’.

Photo:
2022 Mehrhoff Award Winner Neela de Zoysa observing the vine of a Passiflora species at the Mount Cuba Center , photo by Liza Green

The Native Plant Trust Plant Conservation Volunteer Program applications are open! This is an exceptional opportunity for those with some botanical knowledge to assist in plant conservation by participating in rare plant surveys and habitat management efforts. Additionally, the program provides volunteers the chance to learn from and engage with professional botanists, take free courses through the Native Plant Trust, and participate in field trips. The application and more information about the program can be found at https://www.nativeplanttrust.org/conservation/plant-conservation-volunteer-program/.

Just a few days away! Join us this Saturday, December 3rd, at 7PM ET for a FREE talk by Heather McCargo, entitled 'Wild Seed Project: Grassroots Seed Propagation of New England Plants." Heather is the Founder and former Executive Director of the Wild Seed Project and recent recipient of the Native Plant Trust 2022 Regional Impact Award. The meeting will be held both in-person in Cambridge, Mass., and over Zoom. Registration link and more information about our meetings available on our homepage at Rhodora.org. We hope to see you there!

Join us for our upcoming meeting on Saturday December 3rd at 7PM ET for a talk by Heather McCargo, entitled 'Wild Seed Project: Grassroots Seed Propagation of New England Plants." Heather is the Founder and former Executive Director of the Wild Seed Project , and recent recipient of the Native Plant Trust 2022 Regional Impact Award. The meeting will be held both in-person in Cambridge, Mass., and over Zoom, and is FREE for both Members and the public. Non-members must register to attend. Registration link and more information about our meetings available on our homepage at Rhodora.org. We hope to see you there!

Imagine finding an alpine plant in a state where it hadn't been seen in over 100 years...that's what happened when Liam Ebner happened upon a population of purple crowberry (Empetrum atropurpureum) in Vermont this fall! Fittingly, Liam was in the area to attend the 2022 Northeastern Alpine Stewardship Gathering hosted by the The Green Mountain Club and The Waterman Fund. Read more about Liam's find and purple crowberry in the link below.