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 this year, start
here to make your plans!
Enjoy the beauty of the fall prairie wildflowers in this
video from Mike Blair of Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks!
For more videos from this series, see the
KDWP website.
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.
August 18 @ 8-10am: Chase County Tallgrass Prairie Walk
A walk on the tallgrass prairie in the heart of the Flint Hills at the
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve will be
held once a month from May to October. We will meet at the Bottomland
Trailhead which is about 2 miles south of the headquarters. Take the dirt
road at the cemetery on the east side of hwy 177 about 2 miles south of
the Preserve HQ buildings. This will be a leisurely informal walk to enjoy
the wonders of the prairie and identify native flora. Glenn Fell will be
the official "guide" but everyone's knowledge will be called upon for an
informal and fun experience. This is a KNPS Emporia Region event. Please
RSVP Glenn if you plan to attend.
Contact: Glenn Fell 620-794-8478
August
18 @ 9am-11: Wild Edible Plant Walk
Discover some of nature�s natural bounty during this event at the
Chaplin Nature Center. Participants will hike
along the trails and identify some of the more common edible and poisonous
plants. Call the Nature Center at(620)442-4133 to make reservations.
Contact: Shawn Silliman 620-442-4133
August 18:Volunteers are needed for
prairie maintenance and preservation projects. TheGrassland Heritage
Foundation
Groundhogs meet on the third Saturday of every month except December. Wear
appropriate clothing. No special skills or tools needed.
For details, please contact Frank Norman, Kansas Native Plant
Society Board Member
fjnorman@sunflower.com or (785) 887-6775
(home) or (785) 691-9748 (cell).
August 29 @ 12:15-1pm:
Kansas Wildflowers Presentation at Botanica,
801 N. Amidon in Wichita
Join the Lunchtime Lecture series for a wildflower photo show of Kansas
native plants. We will appreciate the beauty of the flowers and also learn
interesting facts about the plants and how to recognize plant families. A
catered lunch is available or bring your own.
Contact: Krista Dahlinger 316-258-6341
September 8 @ 10am-noon: Tuttle Creek Lake
Fall Wildflower Walk Tuttle Creek Lake Visitor�s Center � 5020
Tuttle Creek Blvd � Manhattan
Plan to be a part of the fall wildflower walk at Tuttle Creek Lake, led by
KNPS guides. This is an opportunity to see and learn about the fall
flowers of the Flint Hills such as: boneset, tall thistle; curly cup
gumweed, liatris (gayfeather); several different species of sunflowers and
also goldenrods and native asters. Each participant will receive a free
copy of A Pocket Guide to Kansas Flint Hills Wildflowers and Grasses to
use during the hike and then take home. So we will know how many to expect
for the outing, please pre-register with UFM
Community Learning Center 785(539-8763) or
info@tryufm.org.
There is no registration fee.
Contact: Paul Weidhaas 785-539-8511
September 15 @ 8-10am:
Chase County Tallgrass Prairie Walk at the
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. A
walk on the tallgrass prairie in the heart of the Flint Hills at the
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve will be held once a month from May to
October. We will meet at the Bottomland Trailhead which is about 2 miles
south of the headquarters. Take the dirt road at
the cemetery on the east side of hwy 177 about 2 miles south of the
Preserve HQ buildings. This will be a leisurely informal walk to enjoy the
wonders of the prairie and identify native flora. Glenn Fell will be the
official "guide" but everyone's knowledge will be called upon for an
informal and fun experience. This is a KNPS Emporia Region event. Please
RSVP Glenn if you plan to attend.
Contact: Glenn Fell 620 794 8478
September 15:Volunteers are needed for
prairie maintenance and preservation projects. TheGrassland Heritage
Foundation
Groundhogs meet on the third Saturday of every month except December. Wear
appropriate clothing. No special skills or tools needed.
For details, please contact Frank Norman, Kansas Native Plant
Society Board Member
fjnorman@sunflower.com or (785) 887-6775
(home) or (785) 691-9748 (cell).
September 21 to 23:
34th Annual Wildflower Weekend at
Southwestern College in Winfield.
This is the annual meeting of the Kansas Native Plant Society. This year's
Wildflower Weekend will be held in and around Winfield Kansas, in the
southern Flint Hills. See the KNPS website for more details.
http://www.kansasnativeplantsociety.org/aww_2012.php
October 20:Volunteers are needed for
prairie maintenance and preservation projects. TheGrassland Heritage
Foundation
Groundhogs meet on the third Saturday of every month except December. Wear
appropriate clothing. No special skills or tools needed.
For details, please contact Frank Norman, Kansas Native Plant
Society Board Member
fjnorman@sunflower.com or (785) 887-6775
(home) or (785) 691-9748 (cell).
If 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.
The KNPS has developed several regional groups within the state.
Here are their Facebook pages:
Re-publication of site content in any form other than for personal use
requires written permission. If you are a Kansas resident, please
assist with this and other wildlife viewing and conservation programs
by contributing to the Chickadee Checkoff on your state tax form.
