Wildflower Tours
Main Events Page Birding Kansas Wildflower Tours Canoeing Kansas

Penstemon grandiflorus
Shell-leaf Penstemon
Photo by Jim Mason

From mayapples in a woodland glade in Douglas County to Indian blanket along the roadsides of Meade County, Kansas offers an endless list of worthy destinations for botanizing throughout the growing season.  The Natural Kansas website lists over 100 of these destinations.  If you are looking for new places to go in 2009, start here to make your plans!

Events Calendar for 2009
July  August
September  October November

Kansas Wildflower Links

 

 

Winter is a good time to get out the field guides and page through them to refamiliarize yourself with the wide variety of flora available in Kansas.  Re-reading the text entries will often yield surprising flashes of insight based on the experiences you had since you last read them.

Of course, one can never have enough field guides!  Don't limit your bookshelf to the "Kansas-only" books.  Often you will find species from Kansas in the field guides from neighboring states and other species that are not be listed in Kansas books that are also found here.  Every author brings a different suite of experiences to what they write, and different books may have different features of a species illustrated as well, so these too can provide you with valuable knowledge.  You can find a list of books on Kansas wildflowers and other natural history topics here.

Want a real identification challenge?  Try finding your favorite species in winter!  See if you can use the seed pods and vegetative structures to recognize a species.  This is a great way to broaden your familiarity with a plant.  There was a 1984 book useful for this purpose called "Pods: Wildflowers and Weeds in Their Final Beauty" written by Jane Emberton that is currently out of print (and really deserves a second edition), but you may be able to locate a used copy online or through your local bookstore.

Think Spring!

2009 Wildflower Programs and Outings

JULY

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July 2: Prairie Seed Harvesting at the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in Strong City, Kansas. Help staff harvest prairie seeds from 9am - noon. The seeds will be used to restore bottomland prairie areas at the preserve.
Contact: tapr_interpretation@nps.gov or (620) 273–8494

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July 7: Explore Kansas prairies with Brad Guhr, Education Coordinator of the Dyck Arboretum.
Come along to gather seed, observing wildlife and identify prairie plants on high quality native prairie remnants.  Leave the Dyck Arboretum (south side of Hesston) at 4:00 PM and return by twilight.  Fee: $5, children under 13 are free.  Call 620-327-8127 to reserve a spot.  Directions can be given to late arrivers.  Bring a sandwich and enjoy the sun setting over the prairie!

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July 11: Kansas Native Plant Society Summer Board Meeting and Outing outside Canton, KS. The Board meeting will be held at Maxwell Wildlife Refuge Tour Center following the outing. We have been invited to tour "Buffalo Hill", a 160-acre private prairie bordering Maxwell from 10am-noon. Non-Board Members may want to bring their own lunch to eat prior to the Board Meeting.
For questions, contact KNPS Board Member Susan Reimer susanr@mpks.net or (620) 245-9055.

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July 18: Volunteers are needed for prairie maintenance and preservation projects. The Grassland Heritage Foundation Groundhogs meet on the third Saturday of every month except December.  Wear appropriate clothing. No special skills or tools needed.
Contact Frank Norman, Kansas Native Plant Society Board Member fjnorman@sunflower.com or (785) 887-6775 (home) or (785) 691-9748 (cell)

AUGUST

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August 4: Explore Kansas prairies with Brad Guhr, Education Coordinator of the Dyck Arboretum.
Come along to gather seed, observing wildlife and identify prairie plants on high quality native prairie remnants.  Leave the Dyck Arboretum (south side of Hesston) at 4:00 PM and return by twilight.  Fee: $5, children under 13 are free.  Call 620-327-8127 to reserve a spot.  Directions can be given to late arrivers.  Bring a sandwich and enjoy the sun setting over the prairie!

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August 15: Volunteers are needed for prairie maintenance and preservation projects. The Grassland Heritage Foundation Groundhogs meet on the third Saturday of every month except December.  Wear appropriate clothing. No special skills or tools needed.
Contact Frank Norman, Kansas Native Plant Society Board Member fjnorman@sunflower.com or (785) 887-6775 (home) or (785) 691-9748 (cell)

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August 18: Explore Kansas prairies with Brad Guhr, Education Coordinator of the Dyck Arboretum.
Come along to gather seed, observing wildlife and identify prairie plants on high quality native prairie remnants.  Leave the Dyck Arboretum (south side of Hesston) at 4:00 PM and return by twilight.  Fee: $5, children under 13 are free.  Call 620-327-8127 to reserve a spot.  Directions can be given to late arrivers.  Bring a sandwich and enjoy the sun setting over the prairie!

SEPTEMBER

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September 3: Prairie Seed Harvesting at the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in Strong City, Kansas. Help staff harvest prairie seeds from 9am - noon. The seeds will be used to restore bottomland prairie areas at the preserve.
Contact: tapr_interpretation@nps.gov or (620) 273–8494

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September 5: Fall Wildflower Tour at Maxwell Wildlife Refuge, McPherson County, KS. Board the tram for a tour of the prairie with wildflowers and buffalo, 10am. There is also a self guided walking tour with flowers flagged. The Refuge is located 6 miles north of Canton, KS.
Contact: (620) 628-4455

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September 12-13: 3rd Annual Wildflower Weekend at the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in Chase County, KS. Bring the family; the weekend will be educational and enjoyable for all ages, 10am-4pm. Members of the Kansas Native Plant Society will be on hand to lead wildflower hikes.
website: www.nps.gov/tapr email: tapr_interpretation@nps.gov phone: (620) 273­8494

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September 18-20: Kansas Native Plant Society’s Annual Wildflower Weekend 2009 dates are set! Come enjoy native plants in Kansas with us! The weekend is filled with outings, programs, a silent auction, photo contest, dinner, and socializing. Location to be announced soon!
Contact KNPS for more information:  email@KSNPS.org or (785) 864-3453

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September 19: Volunteers are needed for prairie maintenance and preservation projects. The Grassland Heritage Foundation Groundhogs meet on the third Saturday of every month except December. Wear appropriate clothing. No special skills or tools needed.
Contact: Frank Norman, Kansas Native Plant Society Board Member fjnorman@sunflower.com or (785) 887-6775 (home) or (785) 691-9748 (cell)

OCTOBER

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October 1: Prairie Seed Harvesting at the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in Strong City, Kansas. Help staff harvest prairie seeds from 9am - noon. The seeds will be used to restore bottomland prairie areas at the preserve.
Contact: tapr_interpretation@nps.gov or (620) 273–8494

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October 17: Volunteers are needed for prairie maintenance and preservation projects. The Grassland Heritage Foundation Groundhogs meet on the third Saturday of every month except December. Wear appropriate clothing. No special skills or tools needed.
Contact: Frank Norman, Kansas Native Plant Society Board Member fjnorman@sunflower.com or (785) 887-6775 (home) or (785) 691-9748 (cell)

NOVEMBER

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November 21: Volunteers are needed for prairie maintenance and preservation projects. The Grassland Heritage Foundation Groundhogs meet on the third Saturday of every month except December.  Wear appropriate clothing. No special skills or tools needed.
Contact: Frank Norman, Kansas Native Plant Society Board Member fjnorman@sunflower.com or (785) 887-6775 (home) or (785) 691-9748 (cell)

For a look online at what Kansas has to offer throughout the year, visit these web sites:

Southwest Kansas Wildflowers - featuring the photos of Fred Meyer Jr.
Wildflowers and Grasses of Kansas - by Mike Haddock

bulletIf you are not already a member, consider joining the Kansas Native Plant Society.   The mission of the Kansas Native Plant Society is to encourage awareness and appreciation of the native plants of Kansas in their habitats and in our landscapes by promoting education, stewardship, and scientific knowledge.
bulletThe Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Website has a lot of information on North American wildflowers.
bulletThe Grassland Heritage Foundation seeks to preserve native prairie lands in northeast Kansas.
bulletUse the USDA PLANTS database to get information on any plant in North America.
bulletJeff Hansen has a website on wildflower propagation at KansasNativePlants.com

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Questions or comments about Natural Kansas may be directed to Jim Mason