Great Natives of Midwestern Ecotype

December 2009 Edition

© 2009

Cover Photo: Wild Trumpeter Swans (Cygnus buccinators) on

Lily Lake.

Amana, Iowa– November 29, 2009

Great Natives Of Mid-western Ecotype

Imagine what future archeolo-gists might dig up thousands of years from now… plastic bottles, individually wrapped up bags of dog poop, and Styrofoam. What a great image of modern culture.

But thanks to Ecovative Design, a company devoted to imple-menting green initiatives into mainstream culture, there might be one less thing to worry about in our eternal landfills.

The key to this truly environ-mental packaging substance lies in the raw materials used to cre-ate it– agricultural waste materi-als and mushroom root fibers.

A reusable mold is created, just as in the creation of the usual synthetic foams like expanded polystyrene (Styrofoam). This mold is then packed with agricul-tural waste products that typi-cally have no other use. Some examples of these materials include buckwheat hulls, rice hulls, or cotton burs. Ecovative Design also focuses on regionally available waste products, so they keep manufacturing local–

further reducing costs such as transportation.

After the mold is packed with these ag. by-products, they are sprayed with special mushroom root cells. Put into the dark (again saving energy), it takes only seven days for the mush-rooms to digest the hulls or burs forming miles of tiny white fibers. They literally grow the packaging instead of make it.

Volume 15 , Issue 1

THE BIG PICTURE: EcoCradle™– Protecting Packages and the Planet

December 4 , 2009

Did you know...

• In 1993 the Iowa Department of Natu-ral Resources devel-oped a plan to re-store trumpeter swans back to the state?

• Prior to 1999, the last time trumpeter swans bred in Iowa was in 1883?

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

Plant Profile 4

Native on the Net 4

Best Books 4

Organization Spotlight 5

Native News 5

Planting with a Purpose 5

Canary in the River Invasives! Fantastic Fauna Focus on the Future

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GNOME NEWS

G N O M E ’ S M I S S I O N

Great Natives Of Mid-western Ecotype (GNOME) is an organization focused on the preservation and expansion of native flo-ral and faunal species. The mission is to provide a net-based forum where mem-

bers can share their pas-sion, plans, ideas, and ques-tions with other people hav-ing a common interest. You can participate in many different ways.

1. Join our facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=45643568296

2. Submit articles, pictures, sto-ries, or plans for publication.

3. Visit or link to the website 4. Pass on the newsletter.

The product is then baked, which stops any growth and forms the finished 100% biode-gradable product. It can be tossed (it will anaerobically bio-degrade in landfills) or used at home in compost or as mulch without worry.

It was created to be environmen-tally and socially responsible, yet still be competitive at consumer pricing. All this and it uses 10x less energy to make!

The selected plant last month was the Silphium laciniatum, also known as the Compass Plant. It got its common name from pioneers because of its tendency to align its leaves in a north/south direction. While this is often true, it is not a reli-able directional indicator.

The original range of this mag-nificent plant was mainly be-tween the Rocky and Appala-chian mountain ranges.

The Compass Plant prefers average soil, but is drought tolerant once established due to its large tap root, which can

grow to depths of 15 feet or more. It reaches heights between 6-12 feet. It has very large lobed leaves and blooms for about a month in mid summer. Flowers are yellow.

Faunal associations include many different insects. Long tongued bees are the typical pollinators. This includes bumblebees.

Some uncommon insects are specialist feeders on this plant. The prairie cicada (Okanagana balli) feeds on the large taproot. The Sil-phium Beetles (Rynchites species) also feed from it.

There are many amazing things that I love about this plant. Individual plants are very long lived– sometimes over 100 years. It produces a resinous sap when bloom-ing. This was often chewed like gum by Native Americans and pioneers alike. It is a striking plant that can be used as a feature plant in smaller spaces, or en masse in larger areas. No prairie planting is complete without it!

There is a great balance that will appeal to people with little knowledge as well as those with a solid background in native woody plants.

Another reason I really like this book is that it discusses propagation of the plants. Many reference books like this simply talk about the plant characteris-tics. That is generally ok, but it is often difficult to find

Native Trees, Shrubs, and Vines: A Guide to Using, Grow-ing, and Propagating North American Woody Plants by William Cullina is a great book on the woody plants of temper-ate North America.

There are many reasons I love this book. The first of which is that it can be read for informa-tion, or simply for enjoyment. You might not believe this, but I think that once you pick it up, you will get sucked into just reading it for fun!

natives and knowing how to get your own going rather than depending on the nursery trade is a definite plus

that this book provides!

Since it is only available in hardcover, it is more expensive than other books I have high-lighted. I have found that is readily available at libraries, but would make a nice coffee table book as well if you

are willing to invest in it!

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N A T I V E O N T H E N E T

Silphium laciniatum– Compass Plant

B E S T B O O K S – N A T I V E T R E E S , S H R U B S , A N D V I N E S

It would only make sense that the North American Native Plant Society (NANPS) would have a great database on the plants to which they are de-voted.

I really like this database be-cause it has four different major category combinations to use to search for plants.

There are Plant Types, Habitat, Light Condition, and Soil Type in the major categories. Each category has a drop down menu to select more specific selection of what you are look-ing to identify or thinking about adding to a particular spot in your landscape.

It is a very comprehensive source. Check it out!

Sometimes wading through sites looking for good resources on native organisms is just too time consum-ing. This section should help!

This month’s featured site is : NANPS– Plant Database

http://www.nanps.org/plantlist.aspx

Conscience is a man's compass. ~Vincent Van Gogh

This lovely bloom was taken at a height of 9 feet with a zoom lens!

Volume 15 , Issue 1

A great place to find native treasures for your yard!

GNOME News

Here is the goal of the NANPS- “Through education and infor-mation we aim to inspire an appreciation of North America's native plants -- aiding the resto-ration of healthy ecosystems across the continent.

Taken from their “About” page on their website-

http://www.nanps.org/

This organization was started in 1984 as the Canadian Wild-flower Society. Since that time they have expanded to include hundreds of members through-out North America and hence changed their name.

Based in Canada, it is evi-dent from their webpage that the focus on native plant use is on their region.

This being said, there are many resources and ideas to be gleaned that are equally applicable to most Midwestern states from this organization.

On the site you can find planting tips, information about setting up plant rescues (including forms), and seed sources and exchange informa-tion.

They also have several publi-cations available to order or download.

Membership is $20 and in-cludes their quarterly publica-tion and other benefits.

dependant on the amount of food that can be provided to feed them. When supplies are plentiful, the number of viable young are also increased.

To ensure that your property is helping provide for these ani-mals, think about your spe-cies to plant number ratio.

Pollinators are in a general state of decline across the globe. Colony collapse disorder, pesticide use, and habitat loss are all factors in this decline.

Luckily, there are some things that can help the ever-important pollinators of the insect variety. This strategy is designed with them in mind.

Pollinators are the model of efficiency. Their broods are

If providing for bees and other pollinators is your goal, it is more important to have fewer species and more plants of those spe-cies. This provides more food for

bees than if you have a greater di-versity and fewer plants in bloom. Obviously, plant selection is very important in this case. I will revisit this as spring approaches.

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ORG A N I ZAT I O N SP O T L I G H T: N O R T H A M E R I C A N N A T I V E P L A N T S O C I E T Y

P L A N T I N G W I T H A P U R P O S E : P O L L I N A T O R P L A N N I N G – P A R T I

dried bracts of this rare woodland plant act to camouflage the plant from herbaceous predators.

Their findings suggest that these cryptic vegetative bracts conceal more conspicuously colored floral and stem tissues and significantly reduce floral herbivory, leading to higher fruit set, a component of plant reproductive fitness.

This species is known as a para-sitic plant. It relies exclusively on mycorrhizal fungus, that as-sociates with its roots. This means that since it no longer relies on photosynthesis (think green) to produce its energy, it can adapt a broader range of coloration. This species is generally found in the Southeastern US in mature, rich woodlands.

Camouflage has long been an efficient survival strategy docu-mented in the animal world. But have you ever heard of a plant using it?

Monotropsis odorata, com-monly known as Sweet Pinesap, is one such plant. In a recent study Matthew Klooster and colleagues from Harvard stud-ied empirically whether the

“Bee to the

blossom, moth

to the flame;

Each to his

passion; what's

in a name?” ~Helen Hunt Jackson

A logical choice for native plant info with a great database!

N A T I V E N E W S : R A R E N A T I V E P L A N T U S E S C A M O U F L A G E

A strategy for pollinators

Water quality has long been a concern for the Ameri-can conscience. I can remember seeing the “Crying Indian” ad from Keep America Beautiful (which debuted on Earth Day in 1971) as a child. The mes-sage was clear– people pollute and only people can stop pollution. It is one thing to be concerned about pollutants in our fresh water supply. It is quite an-other to find out that across the US, male fish swimming in that water are becoming female– or more accurately- “intersex”. Are we next? A recently published study, covering almost a decade of research conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey, gives us the first nationwide count of intersex fish in American rivers. Their findings? Overall– 44 percent of the largemouth and smallmouth bass dissected turned out to me intersex. In some areas of the nine major river basins tested (including the Columbia, Colorado, and Mississippi), 91 percent of the males were intersex. “Intersex” male fish have male organs, but those organs produce immature female eggs. This renders the fish sterile. This phenomenon raises serious questions about pollution levels in our water supply. It is surely a serious concern for certain fish popula-tions. But a scarier implication for me is “What is this water doing to us?” The federal government began regulating environ-mental toxins with the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976. One major flaw of this act, however, is that it only provides a weak system for regulating and testing chemicals. It also grandfathered in any previ-ously produced chemicals as permissible– approxi-mately 60,000 of them. At this point, there are over 85,000 industrial chemicals now registered with the federal government. Most are completely unstudied. One of the major factors in the feminizing fish fiasco could be our standard wastewater treatment plants. While traditional plants “treat” water to kill things like bacteria and other living organisms, they do little to filter out chemicals. Most plants flush “cleaned” water back into rivers or streams. This water often contains endocrine-disruptive com-pounds (EDCs). These can come from sources like pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and hormones.

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F E M I N I Z I N G F I S H - T H E C A N A RY I N T H E R I V E R

Volume 15 , Issue 1

“All men are equal before fish.” ~Herbert Hoover

Even very small traces of EDCs can trigger powerful shifts in the environment. In one study, scientists added parts-per-trillion amounts of the synthetic estrogen commonly used in birth control pills (which is consistent with amounts added to rivers by treat-

ment plants) to a closed lake. The resulting sex changes collapsed the entire fish population. Another contributing factor is agricultural run-off from livestock op-erations. Synthetic hormones are often given to livestock to speed up meat growth. This washes from ani-mal waste and feed into waterways as well. In response to the con-cern about what indus-

trial chemical are doing to humans, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) began con-ducting a national census in 2001 called the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Later this year their report called National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals will provide incite on the prevalence of 228 of the most common environmental toxins. In September, the EPA identified nine hormones as possible contaminants in the water. While this is a first and a step in the right direction, many are not comforted by this. This includes Mae Wu of the National Resources Defense Council. She says “A trace level of one chemical [might not be so bad], but a whole soup of them? Hundreds or thousands of different chemicals all at trace levels-we have no idea what that does to humans.” We do know what it does to fish and this should raise some red flags. While much research needs to be done before legally setting regulations on source chemicals, we all can take steps in reducing EDCs entering our environment. Many cosmetic and cleaning products contain these chemicals. Look yours up on www.ewg.com, where over 50,000 products are rated on a 0(safe)-10(hazardous)scale. Replace your higher rated products with lower ones. You can also reduce your amount of liquid consump-tion from plastic containers. Coffee makers (plastic flame retardants) and plastic bottles (bisphenol-a-aka BPA) leach into your drinks and get passed into the water via flushing as well as staying in your body. The idea of drinking water that can turn male fish female should spur us into action.

A USGS lab worker dissects a bass

GNOME News

One may guess the origins of Carpodacus mexicanus– the common house finch. Translated as “fruit biter of Mexico, this is another example of an animal that has expanded its range due to humans– to the point of be-coming invasive.

They were first “introduced” via the exotic pet industry about a half century ago. Because of their song and the bright coloration of the males, they were illegally captured and sold in the Eastern US. When the US Fish and Wildlife agents finally moved to stop this trade, dealers released those on hand to avoid arrest. This was believed to have happened at Jones Beach, Long Island, NY. One estimate holds that the total population of these birds topped the one billion mark.

There have been several nega-tive impacts from the spread of these birds. One is the reduc-tion of other native finches like goldfinches and purple finches. House finches are highly gre-garious and often form large flocks. These compete with native birds at food sources.

Another more insidious impact has been the spread of the disease Mycoplasma gallisepticum– which affects breathing and creates a swollen, crusty eyes. In 1994, this disease was first found in song birds and has spread rapidly via its primary carrier– house finches.

Ensign wasps belong to a group of insects called Evaniidae, or evaniid wasps. There are eleven species known to live in the United States. Though they are small and often go unnoticed, they are one of the most interesting insects I have ever seen– or heard of for that matter.

This family of insects are cockroach specialists (they are already moving up in popularity with you, right?). They are parasitic and lay their eggs in live roaches. Here is how they do it.

The wasp slips her stinger through the roach's exoskeleton and directly into its brain. She appar-ently use sensors along the sides of the stinger to guide it through the brain, a bit like a surgeon snaking his way to an appendix with a laparo-scope. She continues to probe the roach's brain until she reaches one particular spot that appears to control the escape reflex. She injects a second venom that influences these neurons in such a way that the escape reflex disappears.

From the outside, the effect is surreal. The wasp does not paralyze the cockroach. In fact, the roach

Page 7

F A N T A S T I C F A U N A : T H E E N S I G N W A S P

IN VA S I V E S- H O U S E F I N C H

is able to lift up its front legs again and walk. But now it cannot move of its own accord. The wasp takes hold of one of the roach's antennae and leads it as one would walk a dog on a leash.

The zombie roach crawls where its master leads, which turns out to be the wasp's burrow. The roach creeps obediently into the burrow and sits there quietly, while the wasp plugs up the burrow with pebbles. Now the wasp turns to the roach once more and lays an egg on its underside. The roach does not resist. The egg hatches, and the larva chews a hole in the side of the roach. In it goes.

The larva grows inside the roach, devouring the organs of its host, for about eight days. It is then ready to weave itself a cocoon--which it makes within the roach as well. After four more weeks, the wasp grows to an adult. It breaks out of its cocoon and out of the roach as well. Now that is fantastic!!!!

“Anger is as a stone cast into a wasp's nest.” ~Pope Paul VI

This is one beneficial insect!

Red= Population Density

Primary Business Address 1753 Wick Way Montgomery, IL 60538

Great Nat ives Of Mid-western Ecotype

Here are some research-based facts from the International Jour-nal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity-

• 37% of children spend less than 30 minutes a day play-ing outdoors after school

• 43% of children spend more than 2 hours per day after school in screen-related ac-tivities.

So, how can nature compete with screen-related activities?

“Dad, can I get a bigger TV in my room?” asked my 8 year old son. “Why?” was my response. “Because Grant has a 60” one in his room and it is really fun to play games on.” he replied.

I was stunned. In the first place, the only reason my son has a TV in his room is that is where the cable jack happened to be. His room is maybe 12’x12’. The TV is a color 12” that weighs about as much as a car, as many old TVs do.

We are not what I would call a “TV” family. Our family TV is somewhat of a joke in the neighborhood. It too is “old” and only 27”. It is not the central focus of our family life.

After my son’s question, I began to wonder how the natural world can compete with 60” televisions, game systems, multi-function phones, and all of the other instant entertainment that is all too acces-sible to our youngest generation members.

The potential answers scared me.

The bottom line for me is ex-perience. Simply giving young people experience in the out-doors will allow them to con-nect with nature, while minimiz-ing screen time.

I saw this with students at Lorado Taft when I chaperoned a 5th grade field trip. Many kids had never even seen a real woodland. When given a chance– they entertained themselves in a lot of create ways– minus a screen.

This is a parental control issue. Adults have the power to turn off and get out.

One can also pique a child’s interest with cool facts (like some from the Fantastic Fauna section). Nature is so bizarre that not even the best screen writers can compete with it. If you don’t know any facts, google them. There are mil-lions out there.

You learn what you live...

F O C U S O N T H E F U T U R E

E-mail: GNOME.Native@gmail.com

There’s no place like GNOME!

GNOME

Great Natives of Mid-western Ecotype (GNOME) is an organization focused on the preservation and expansion of native floral and faunal species. The mission is to provide a net-based forum where members can share their passion, plans, ideas, and questions with other people having a common interest in native species.

Check out our site!!!

Join our facebook group!

(http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=45643568296)

This is our primary forum location. The newsletter as well as open discussions are there and also other links to people and groups that focus on natives.

Got an article? Now accepting member submitted news and photos! Once you have something to share, send it to the email listed at left. Monthly news articles will, of course, give credit to the contributor. Everyone welcome!

We’re on the Web! http://gnomenative.webs.com/

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