SCV Newsletter Fall/Winter 2016/17

SCV Newsletter/blog,11-28-2016

Coral Mushroom, (Ramaria aurea), seen along the trail

President's Message:

I has been some time that we have communicated with our membership. The fault is entirely mine. I won't bother you with my excuses. To our great surprise we are still getting the occasional contribution and we are grateful for that. Much of what you will read below is copied or adapted from other material.

Your Shoal Creek Volunteers President by Default Henry Eilers

I have the privilege of writing the occasional column for our Central Chapter of the Illinois Native Plant Society. Many of these are based on local experiences and so is this first item.

Jelly Babies Mushroom, (Leotia lubrica)

Plant Profiles; Connections: Savanna Blazing-star and Book Report

            In the natural world everything is connected to everything else. I was reminded of  this often cited statement and its variations again as a news release arrived. It announced the description of a fungus species new to science. It has the specific epithet 'shoalensis' for it was discovered at the Shoal Creek Conservation area. [See full article elsewhere].

            That brought back a flood of memories. It was in the mid 1970's, if my recollection is right, that I had come across a Blazing-star species that was very different and distinctive and new to me on  a steep slope near the recently constructed new city reservoir, Lake Yaeger. Some of the plants were nearly 6' tall while in full flower with the uppermost heads nearly the size of some thistles. Pretty impressive. With meager taxonomic resources available to me at that time I turned to the state botanist John Schwegman for assistance. After some research it was determined to be Liatris ligulistylis, a species considered quite rare. That later became L. scariosa nieuwlandii and of course still just as rare. It is insightful to read the extensive species treatment in the new 'Steyermark's Flora of Missouri'. It makes one realize the complexity that goes into species concepts across their often wide range.  Years later, as I reviewed Liatris aspera herbarium sheets at the Illinois State Museum I came across numerous specimens that had been mislabeled for they were clearly the former. Some of us have been fortunate to see this always impressive plant several times on recent field trips at the Horn Prairie Grove Nature Preserve in adjacent Fayette County. It remains uncommon both in Missouri and Illinois as its savanna habitat continues to shrink.            

            And that brings me now to the main subject for these PP notes, a book just recently published by the SIU Press, by John E. Schwegman; The Natural Heritage of Illinois. Essays on its Lands, Water, Flora and Fauna. 2016.

Savanna Blazing-star [Liatris scariosa].

             Most of  the essays were news releases from the early 1990's, a few of which I vaguely remember from our local news papers; 2 of these pertained to the Shoal Creek Conservation Area. I had known John long before that [See also above]. At his urging we made a pitch to our city council for  protection as a state natural area. Neither the mayor nor the council were in favor at the time as there had been maps and proposals for that lakeside area that involved major recreational and resort developments. Full protection was offered in 1989, but under city control. I think it involved 3 attempts. It had been a 'local control' issue all along. In retrospect that has turned out to be a real blessing as results on the ground go. Our volunteer organization, the Shoal Creek Volunteers,  Inc. has had unstinting support as we implemented burn management, invasives control and canopy reduction in restoring barrens and flat-woods communities.

            Speaking again about connections, without John there would not have been a Shoal Creek Conservation Area and most likely not the discovery of the new fungus species mentioned above.

            Back to the book. It is not only by far the best publication on this subject that is available here in Illinois. John had been the state's botanist until his retirement and as such added greatly to the knowledge of our state's natural communities.  For 'just' being press releases he communicated the wonders of our natural world in remarkably fine prose and well crafted detail. Where else can one read about observing mussels gone fishing or talking [communicating] with wolf spiders? Such a book deserves wide distribution in our state, which is often considered a bit challenged on the subject of nature appreciation and protection. It should be in every school and public library. This year we are celebrating the 100 year anniversary of our National Parks. What a great time to remind ourselves that even in this land of corn and beans we have a lot of natural diversity and our lives can still be enriched by wondrous new discoveries.

             As an aside, I had borrowed the book, twice, from our always very accommodating Carnegie Library. To my considerable surprise a copy arrived in the mail. I eventually found out that it was a gift from one of our board members. How gratifying. I believe this book is available in Springfield book stores and of course from on-line purveyors. You will enjoy it even without the local connection.

Last month's column also had a local connection. I will retain the heading but shorten it. The full text can be found on the website of the Illinois Native Plant Society.

Plant Profiles; Monarda bradburiana and Plant Preservation

Monarda bradburiana; May

            Our esteemed INPS editor, Alana, recently forwarded a request, seeking seed for Monarda bradburiana. Eastern Bee-balm is not exactly an evocative common name and we will therefore stick with the botanical one. Of course, as we all know too well that does not always work as smoothly as we might like either.

Monarda bradb; May bloom

 You will on occasion see it listed as M. russelliana. Not too bad really as the 'names confusion' is often far more extensive.

            Jeff  Carstens, from the USDA-ARS Plant Introduction Station at Ames, Iowa was looking for its seed for their seed germplasm banking program. You can find out more at: http://www.ars-grin.gov/npgs/index.html. It was an easy request to fill as even at the late date a lot of seed remained on the plants. This Bee-balm is still abundant in the barrens and open woodland communities at the Shoal Creek Conservation Area. Its numbers

Monarda bradburiana fall color

are currently in decline and will continue so over the years unless we can get back on schedule  with regular prescribed burns. It is just one of a whole suite of southern till-plain woodland flowers that responds spectacularly to a fire regime that they evolved with over many millenia.  A nice plant will form a compact mound, less than 2' tall. The delicate pink flowers, covered with purple dots are abundant in late spring. Under favorable conditions the glossy foliage assumes pleasing fall colors. The species no doubt occurs in every county in southern Illinois were the woods remain open and free of invasive species.

            Ken Schaal and I participated in 2013 in a similar program by the Chicago Botanic Garden. It is affiliated with the BLM's SOS [Seeds of Success] seed banking program and Kew Garden's Millennium Seed Banking Programme. We collected well over 100 species. In addition to a 2 page data sheet it also involved a series of photographs and herbarium sheets.  As I recall it was quite a  challenging project. You can find out more at this website: http://www.sciencecollections.org/content/dixon-national-tallgrass-prairie-seed-bank.We have used the stipends in managing the Route 66 Prairie north of town.

            Both Chicago Botanic Garden and down our way Missouri Botanic Garden are involved with another critical preservation program, the Center for Plant Conservation. In addition to the ex situ programs above this one involves in situ work and species restoration. The emphasis is on highly endangered species. For over 20 years we have been able to provide a home for the very rare Heart-leaf Plantain  from this program in one of our valleys. Plantains tend to be major weeds, but certainly not this one. At over 2 feet across it would be a heck of a weed! Even at that impressive size it is an unassuming plant, though not to deer and perhaps other herbivores. We monitor it every year.

            That brings us full circle as in the end all preservation is local. This may have been a bit of a boring presentation. Never mind as long as it encourages you the dear reader, to do YOUR PART to preserve our natural heritage in your neck of the woods.

            Of course that admonition in that last paragraph goes for all of us as well. Above all, we urgently need to spread that message to a younger generation.

40 Oaks Project

Blackjack oak in flat-woods ,
60-70 ft. exceptionally tall

40 Oaks project Blackjack Oak

            The University of Illinois Plant Clinic is celebrating 40 years of service. Earlier this year they

had sent out sent out invitations for proposals featuring some special oak tree and recording observations about it during this calendar year. They also suggested community participation. We submitted a Blackjack Oak at the Shoal Creek Nature Preserve and were accepted. Two high school students, Garrett Werner and Julia Brandtner assisted in the monthly observations. We look forward to the final report and will share the results with our readers.

Henry and his group from the All class  Reunion

Litchfield High school All-Class Reunion

            A small but inquisitive group toured the nature trail and it was well reported by our newspapers. One pair of sharp eyes spotted a mushroom that I had not seen before. Turns out, Coral Mushroom, (Ramiria aurea) is not that rare. It even occurs in Europe and listed in my German reference book as edible. Nature is infinitely varied and fascinating. You can learn something new all the time. Shown with Henry from left to right are Beth Christ, Terre Haute, IN; Edie Phillips, Cody, WY; Jane Hanafin, Memphis, TN; Candi Brown, Litchfield, IL; Sherry Boehme, New Bern, NC. 

SCCA Sign and Flower Bed

            Several board members worked on reducing the size of the sign planting and re-mulching it. Its maintenance will need to continue and we are looking for some more volunteers. Much of the lettering of the top board of the sign had flaked off and was in need of repainting. It was taken down and Bill Borklund repainted it. It really stands out now!

There is a new fungus among us!

Mushroom details show X. shoalensis

            I have copied the item below from an e-mail that I received. Dr. Andrew N. Miller is Mycologist and Director of the Herbarium at the Illinois Natural History Survey, University of Illinois. See his brief bio below. We bask in the glow of his considerable fame.     What little we still know of the natural world around us. This is so much more exciting than the 'virtual reality' of our technology that increasingly surrounds and envelops us.

New Species to Science Discovered at Shoal Creek Conservation Area  (Yes, it’s a fungus!)

            A new species to science discovered at the Shoal Creek Conservation Area (SCCA) was recently published in the international journal of fungal systematics, Sydowia.  The fungus, Xylomelasma shoalensis A.N. Mill., Y. Marín & Stchigel (Figure 1), was named after the place where it was collected and is the only known record of this species.

Xylomelasma is a genus of decomposers introduced in 2006 to accommodate two new taxa isolated from rotten wood, X. novae-zelandiae and X. sordida.  Recently, another new species isolated from the same type of substrate, X. moderata, has been described.  Xylomelasma shoalensis can easily be distinguished from the other species in the genus by the shape and size of its spores.

            Andrew Miller started his mycological career by conducting a mushroom inventory of the Shoal Creek Conservation Area in the summer of 1992.  He served as Treasurer for the Shoal Creek Volunteers during the organization’s first three years.  After completing his Ph.D. at The Field Museum in December 2003 on the systematics of very tiny black fungi on wood (pyrenomycetes), he wanted his first official herbarium specimens to be special so he headed to SCCA in April 2004 to collect whatever he could find (three specimens with collection numbers ANM 1, ANM 2 and ANM 3).  These were tentatively identified, preserved and accessioned into the Illinois Natural History Survey herbarium where they remained unexamined for 10 years until a visiting doctoral student from Spain was given them to study.  Yasmina Marín examined ANM 1 and determined that it was a new species so it was described, illustrated and submitted for publication.  The full citation for this publication is: 

Hernández-Restrepo, et al.  2016.  Fungal Systematics and Evolution: FUSE 2.  Sydowia 68: 193–230.  DOI 10.12905/0380.sydowia68-2016-0193 (http://www.sydowia.at/syd68/T22-Hernandez.htm)

Ginseng Study

American Ginseng

Pounding leaf DNA into the test strip

            A few months ago two people from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources contacted us looking for information on possible wild Ginseng growing in Montgomery county.  We knew of at least two locations where Ginseng had been seen. One was located near the end of Westlake Trail and while Henry showed them the spots, Bill Borklund took pictures. We found about a dozen small Ginseng plants, some with red berries still on them. One of the researchers took leaves and ground them to a pulp in a mortar and pestle. The ground up leaf was them transferred to a sterile paper tab which

was indexed for later DNA testing. Someday we hope to know the origin of Montgomery counties wild Ginseng.

SCCA Steward Report

            We continue to monitor, record and photograph as needed. We received additional herbicide from the Nature Conservancy and the Volunteer Stewardship Network. It will come in handy in the control of invasives. Honeysuckle and other woody invasive species are showing up in large numbers. We may always have to deal with that. Fire management would really help. We met

with our fire chief and as in the past can count on the support of our fire department. A lot of planning is required, beginning with firebreak work, smoke management and so much more. Foremost are always safety concerns. So far, as in past years, the weather conditions have not been conducive to burns. We will try and be proactive on short notice. Please
volunteer to man the fire lines, as so many of you have done in the past.

           

At the Route 66 Prairie we contracted for a spring burn and separately for the continued control of Teasel. With the great growing season there was also spectacular flowering. We are hopeful that we can some day have the necessary infrastructure of parking, paths and signage to make it accessible to the general public. We had one of our great supporters mow a loop through part of it this summer, but it was still

difficult walking. I was asked to take part in a survey of
'Singing Insects'. In a rather short period we came up with over 10 species of grasshoppers and katydids. There are also crickets out there and even the rare Prairie Cicada; all of these being musical insects! We had quite an abundance of a few butterfly species late in the season. I saw a fair amount of Monarchs and took quite a few photos. On closer examination most of these turned out to Viceroys, a Monarch mimic.

 This tiny 10 acre patch may well be one of the best remaining examples of a Southern Illinois Till-plain prairie and as such needs to be put on the map, as they say. We have all sorts of ideas, but have to deal with funding and ownership issues. Your help or suggestions are truly appreciated. 

The Board of Directors of Shoalcreekvolunteers wishes you a very happy new year. If you are a  Sustaining Member please remember that we need your money but not that much of it. Please make an annual contribution of $10 by sending your check to our trasurer, Jim Stapleton at 364 Westlake Trail, Litchfield, IL 62056.

All photos without attribution were taken at the Rt. 66 Prairie. 

Shoal Creek Volunteers Winter 2016

Fall color in the Central Barrens complex

 From the Shoal Creek Volunteers board meeting:

It met on  January 18, 2016. New on the board is Andy Furman. Welcome!

A report on our SCV website, which has been inactive, indicated that it is still ‘owned’. We want to do a major revision once it is vacated and tie it to our blogs.

We will be calling a workday later this winter to improve appearances of the sign bed. No one has come forth to help manage it and we therefore plan to reduce its size greatly. We will retain several short statured plant species and eliminate all others. Volunteers are welcome to salvage the many fine

prairie wildflower species that will otherwise be discarded. Please call Henry at 324-3410 if interested!

Much needed prescribed fires are still planned. Windows of opportunities for safe burns are always limited and we will have a call for volunteers on the usual short notice.

It was decided that we should have a guided wildflower walk for the public this spring. This will be after our spring board meeting and finalized at that time.

Late sun at Rocky Hollow

Steward’s Report

Seed was collected throughout the summer and fall at numerous locations specifically for our barrens restoration project. We completed additional canopy reduction, mostly of Black Oak trees. Many of these have health issues to begin with. Another one of them toppled and revealed that the tree was only held up by a trunk consisting of a thin outer shell. Certain flatwoods areas were also thinned. That should benefit large populations of Prairie Blazing-stars here, as well as other wildflowers. We will need to track all treated sites and evaluate them as the dead and dying trees start dropping. Trees girdled here 2 and 3 years ago are already starting to disintegrate. The ground vegetation has benefited greatly meanwhile. Its recovery would be much

Pin Oaks in North Old-field

advanced by a good fire before spring. Here is hoping.

Removal of Multiflora Rose, Autumn Olive and Honeysuckle is a continuing effort and another 1,000 or so plants were removed.

Recent high water on the lake

The recent record setting rainfall and resulting high water had a profound effect on the low flood plain areas below the dam. In the woods near the creek and especially along hillsides were areas of considerable scouring and elsewhere huge debris drifts had piled up. Water had been apparently 4-5’ high on average, based on stranded debris up in the branches. It may also have washed away seed of site specific species that had been scattered in the Rocky

Hollow and other ravines just a few weeks prior.

Water, water everywhere

Water beginning to recede

Wind and water shaped drift deposit

International Oak Society

Walking up the steep
 ravine from the
dock to the barrens

FOLLY boat shuttle

In September we hosted a bus load of members of the International Oak Society, hailing from many countries. They came here to see the preserve and naturally we wanted to show them the best section for Oaks of various varieties. That would be the central barrens section which happens to be the most difficult to access of the entire preserve. Access from the east is not possible because it is bounded by a farm which we can’t cross. The south and north sides are OK but require a 20 to 30 minute hike. On the east side is Lake Lou Yaeger. We spent several days looking for the best way to get these people from the bus into the preserve. Then we found a nice path that followed a gully down to a small cove on the lake. It was an easy walk but how to take the visitors from the bus to the cove. We called for help from a group called FOLLY which stands for friends of Lake Lou Yaeger. They were able to provide a floating dock which we anchored in the cove and five pontoon boats to ferry the visitors across the lake. We all realized how beautiful the preserve is when accessed from the lake. The Oak Society members were very, very happy with their visit to the Shoal Creek Preserve.

Group of Oak Society visitors listen to Henry  (in the very center)

The visitors explored samples of barrens and flatwoods, all rich in oak species. There may have been acorns on the ground when they arrived but not when they left. Pockets were full. The lunch break afterwards stretched well beyond the allotted time, clearly a sigh that they all had a good time. Many were profuse with their praise. We really appreciate the help from FOLLY. 

Without them access would have been less spectacular and much more strenuous.

Descending from the barrens to the dock

On the hike to the flatwoods

Exploring the Pin Oak grove in the flatwoods

Winter Woodland Walks

Cup fungi in woody debris

I checked on a patch of Spinulose Wood-fern and counted some 30 plants, indicating a very slow increase in numbers over a period of more than 20 years. I expected to find more, but here too the hot and very dry summer of 2012 had taken its toll. This low evergreen species is quite common throughout much of its range; it is even found abundantly in England and the continent there. Why is it so rare here? The natural world is full of unknowns.  

Narrow crowned Pin Oak

Trees really stand out this time of the year. I took notice of a Pin Oak in the increasingly brushy north old-field area. This tree was noticeably narrower crowned than others nearby. What will it look like many decades from now? Meandering through the hills and hollers toward the lake one notices a lot of picturesque old White Oak trees. ‘Picturesque’ often stands for crooked, misshapen. These trees most likely were not harvested for that reason over 50 years ago when the lake was built. Meanwhile they would make many a good saw log, though perhaps of low grade! Many more White Oak are very slender trees. Where they are abundant they might be referred to as ‘dog hair’ stands. These have been thinning out slowly on the preserve for several biologic reasons. I decided to measure one by the stick method. With a trunk about 12” in diameter it was between 70 and 80’ tall. With a ramrod straight and uniform trunk and no branches for 2/3 of the way up it should yield a most valuable log some 100 years hence. Well, let’s hope that money will not be the measure of all things! To the best of my knowledge the last 2 acre patch of Pin Oaks in a neighboring county, with trunks 6’ in diameter was pushed out in the early 1950’s to make room for a few more rows of corn. Even larger trees, as much as 10’ across, existed previously in that area. No such forest remains today, anywhere. What a loss, though mourned by few.

Raft of Canada Geese, note the single swan

At the edge of the timber and old-field I came across a small patch of White Gentian, now just pale tan foliage. It has held its own here. Elsewhere on the preserve it has declined greatly in numbers. That decline in populations and numbers goes back many decades and is also true for several other species. We are making educated guesses as to the reasons, but they are still just guesses. Near the Gentian some vegetation was

covered with small black globs. These were clusters of seed capsules, remnants of Dodder. It is a parasitic plant during the growing season, with no chlorophyll and no roots. .Its host plant here is the abundant and very invasive Lespedeza sericea. We can only hope that it might some day aid in control of this pernicious weed. Who says that such a walk in the winter has no interest?

Ice patterns

Also fascinating is the land itself. Scouring water from the recent deluges had exposed rock bottomed waterways and piled up large drifts of leaves and twigs in some places. Those will in time form their own little habitats, hiding places for rarely encountered reptiles and amphibians. Speaking of leaf piles: upland areas by the acre look a bit as if some haphazard ploughing had taken place. Piled up leaves form irregular patterns with bare, exposed soil in between. Flocks of turkeys have been at work here, looking for seeds or insects. It must be slim pickings as they rely much on acorns, which are notable this season for their complete absence.  Such mast failure event can spell hard times for wildlife. The press has been reporting that out east the black bears have been showing up in towns as there no acorn there either.

Ice patterns

With the lake waters being drawn down long drifts of sand, shaped by prevailing winds and currents are now visible. Elsewhere sand and various sized pebbles have been deposited in distinctive drift lines. Remaining ice, crystallized in many ways is a study in diversity as well.  

Sustaining Members Please Contribute

We hope that you enjoyed the Shoal Creek Volunteers blog. Pleae remember, we need your money but not very much of it. Please make an annual contribution of $10 by sending your check to our treasurer, Jim Stapleton at 364 Westlake Trail, Litchfield, Illinois, 62056.http://shoalcreekvolunteers.blogspot.com