PalmettoThe Quarterly Journal of the Florida Native Plant Society

2008 FNPS Conference � Landscape Awards � The Sustainable Conference � Palmetto Awards

Volume 25: Number 3 > Summer 2008

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12 The Palmetto Volume 25:3 Summer 2008

GREEN PALMETTOAWARD

Green Palmetto Awards are givenannually to members who haveprovided outstanding contributionsin the areas of Service, Education,and Science or Technology.

Ron Plakke, Ph.D.Ron Plakke has provided vision,

leadership and guidance in the restorationof roughly 50 acres of land in LakeCounty’s PEAR Park into scrub habitat.He conceived the project, applied forgrants, recruited and trained volunteersand motivated us all with his dedication,kindness and teaching skills. He also putin many hours as a laborer – planting,weeding, and watering.

Another of his concepts, a scrubdemonstration garden, has also becomea reality. One of each type of plant inthe 50 acres of scrub plantings is ondisplay in the demonstration garden.

Ron has taught us about nativeplants, where they thrive, and how tomake them grow and survive in the field.Hundreds of us have learned our Floridascrub-habitat lessons at PEAR Park.

Ron also shares his time on the locallecture circuit, as a speaker at variouscommunity, garden and environmentalclubs. His talks are humorous, informativeand lively.

Cynthia PlockelmanCynthia Plockelman is 4th generation

Floridian. She has loving childhoodmemories of running through the sandpine scrub that surrounded her home.

Cynthia is a Florida Native PlantSociety and Palm Beach Chapter chartermember and has been intimately involvedat the local and state level since theirinception. She has held various Chapteroffices, including President and Vice-President. She is a tireless member whobrings positive energy to each FNPS meet-ing – she is always sure to make newmembers and visitors feel welcome.

Cynthia regularly provides plants fromher yard for monthly native plant teachingsand continually volunteers at local out-reach events, distributing FNPS literatureand sharing her personal experience.

On the FNPS Board of Directors,

Cynthia has held the position ofGovernmental Policy Chair and formany years she was the ChapterRepresentative for the Palm BeachChapter. She was instrumental in thecreation of the environmental actionalert system in which members arenotified by email when environmentalissues arise that need a response.

Cynthia retired after 40 years with theSouth Florida Water Management District,where she held the position of TechnicalReference Librarian. Since her retirement,she has become a regular participant atthe monthly Board meetings of the SouthFlorida Water Management District, PalmBeach County Commission meetings andother environmental and land use meet-ings too numerous to mention. Her loveof the environment and advocacy effortshave been felt and appreciated by all.

Erick SmithErick has served for several years as

the Paynes Prairie Chapter representativewhere he gathered information about statelevel FNPS projects and communicatedthem effectively to the Chapter members.

Erick attends almost every field tripand contributes significant knowledge notonly for his Chapter but also for eventslike “Rally for the River” and other out-reach projects.

He is an involved member thathelped to write the FNPS native plantlandscape ordinance guidelines.

2008PalmettoAwards

Green Palmetto Award Winner Ron Plakke

Photos by Jan Allyn

Summer 2008 Volume 25:3 The Palmetto 13

Erick has positive relationshipswith other environmental organizations,promotes and defends the use of nativeplants to the city commission and publicparks division, and donates time andadvice on proper landscape design.

As an urban forester he shares awealth of knowledge about native treebiology, planting and landscape care. Hebegan the popular plant identificationworkshop that is open before the PaynesPrairie Chapter meetings to anyone whowishes to learn identification techniqueswith plant keys and ID books.

Though the Chapter does not haveregular summer programs, he holdsmonthly workshops to keep membersinterested and to provide continuity.

A note from a new member says:“When I attended the annual conferencelast year, I had just moved to the area anddid not know anyone. Erick was welcom-ing – he introduced me to other membersand I soon felt I was among friends.

Carmel Van HoekCarmel Van Hoek is a native Floridian

and a long time member of the SuncoastChapter who has a passion for identifyingnative plants.

Carmel is a self-taught expert in planttaxonomy. She has challenged herself tobecome an expert on many of the plantgroups that even some professionalbotanists steer clear of, namely grassesand sedges. She realized that these oftenforgotten and overlooked plants are not

only a challenge to learn but are importantcomponents of the natural biodiversityof Florida.

Carmel worked with Steve Orzell, theecologist at Avon Park Air Force Range,where she took on a project to collectvoucher specimens as part of an effort tocatalogue the diverse flora of Avon Park.She spent many weekends searching forplants that needed voucher specimensand documenting plants not previouslyknown to occur.

Over a period of 7 years she collectedat least 1,500 sheets of voucher specimensand documented several hundred plantsnew to the flora of the installation.Without her assistance and dedication,the flora of Avon Park Air Force Rangewould not be one of the largest recordingsin peninsular Florida, with some 1,155vascular plant taxa.

Of particular note is Carmel’s abilityto recognize interesting plants and herself-taught knowledge on the identificationand documentation of the local flora.Her tireless efforts produced significantcontributions to the “Flora of Florida”project at the University of SouthFlorida herbarium.

There are several hundred identified,labeled, and mounted specimens nowdeposited at USF as a permanent recordof Carmel’s dedication while volunteeringat Avon Park. These specimens are ofvalue in documenting the flora of Florida,and they are available for all researchers

and native plant enthusiasts to study.Carmel has been instrumental in

contributing towards the developmentof plant lists for state-owned preservesincluding Big Pine Tract, Chinsegut WEAand Hillsborough State Park. She hasmade several plant finds that wereworthy of scientific publication.

The native plants of Florida are betterunderstood as a result of Carmel’s effortsover many years of dedicated service.

Dr. Walter Taylor notes that, “like agood educator, Carmel readily passes herinformation and knowledge on to othersthereby enriching their lives”.

GREEN PALMETTOCHAPTER AWARD

The Green Palmetto ChapterAward is given to a Chapter thathas made outstanding contributionsto the FNPS mission.

Tarflower ChapterThe Tarflower Chapter has endeavored

to produce outstanding topics for theirmonthly meetings such as “Butterfliesand Their Host Plants” by Marc Minno;“Florida Wildflowers” by TracyMcCommon; “Prescribed Fires” byZach Prusak of the Nature Conservancy;“Always Learning: Getting the Most fromYour Field Trip” by Paul Eisenbrown; and“Asclepias” by Dr. Walter Taylor.

With a good plan for publicity inplace, each Tarflower Chapter meetingdraws nearly one hundred attendees. Awell organized greeting system for visitorsis in place to recruit new members.

Meetings feature a display of 12 to15 plants and a portion of the meetingis dedicated to describing the plants andtheir culture in detail.

Chapter President Catherine Read-Stoccardo helped further communicationamong Tarflower Chapter membersand allowed members’ strengths to bebrought forward, thereby increasingthe Chapter’s effectiveness.Green Palmetto Award Winner Carmel Van Hoek

Green Palmetto Award Winner Erick Smith

Continued on page 14

14 The Palmetto Volume 25:3 Summer 2008

The Tarflower Chapter board hasbeen a very cohesive group of dedicatedindividuals working unselfishly to developnew ideas and implement them. Chaptermembers are dedicated and consistentlyprovide outreach to the community andsupport for each other.

In November 2007, the Chapterassembled a panel of experts on waterusage in Florida and the growing needfor conservation and regulation whilehighlighting the importance of landscapingwith native plants. Nearly 200 peopleattended this outstanding event. Theprogram was recorded by Orange TV andaired repeatedly to the Central Floridaviewing community throughout the year.

To increase public awareness ofnative plants, their ecosystems, andtheir applications, Tarflower Chaptermembers host information booths atmany local public events. Chaptervolunteers also distribute printed nativeplant information, answer questions,and lead hikes through local habitats.

The Tarflower Chapter has a wellorganized plant rescue crew that madenumerous plant saves at locations slatedfor development.

The rescue sites included multipleecosystems from wetlands and pineflatwoods at the Orlando InternationalAirport, to dry upland clayhill and sand-hill from Volusia, Orange and OsceolaCounties. Wetland plants rescued havebeen shared with active restorationprojects at the Central Florida Zoo andLangford Park, and the upland plants willbe used in the restoration of the OaklandNature Preserve and University of CentralFlorida natural lands area.

Numerous endangered plants suchas Nolina brittoniana and Eriogonumlongifolium were given to Bok Sanctuaryfor their Endangered Plant research, whilehundreds of Liatris, Garberia, Calamintha,and Helianthemum corymbosum went intorestoration projects and member’s yards.

The chapter is perfecting a newrescue technique for Asimina, which hasresisted transplantation to date. PlantRescue chairs Jackie Rolly and MargeHolt have been instrumental in the

challenging job of rescuing plants aswell as locating transplant sites.

Through the efforts of the TarflowerChapter, knowledge about native plants,associated habitats and the importanceof conservation has made an impactin the community.

SILVER PALMETTOAWARD

The Silver Palmetto Award is givenby the President to any member(including FNPS Board and ExecutiveCommittee members) who makesa significant contribution tothe functioning of FNPS.

Bob EgolfAs Past President, Bob Egolf has spent

the past two years strongly supportingthe officers of FNPS. As President (2004-2006), he supported strategic planningand helped us initiate an advocacy pro-gram. Bob willingly took on all challengesthat came his way and spent countlesshours doing tasks that were necessary butnot highly visible to most members. Hewas also a very strong advisor and provid-ed support to me during my term asPresident. His contribution to FNPS overthe past four years has been enormous.

Cindy LibertonCindy Liberton has been the chair of

the Communications Committee for moreyears than she wants to count. In thisrole, she has supported and grown ourinternal and external communicationsand has fostered people with all sortsof skills, from artistic to organizational.Cindy also has made herself available tothe officers of FNPS as a tremendouslysupportive resource and has providedongoing advice that has made FNPSstronger as an organization.

Kim ZarilloKim Zarillo was a very strong President

(serving from 2002 to 2004). She contin-uously steered the Society toward itsscientific roots. She encouraged coopera-tion among Society leaders with a tact andgrace that would be hard to surpass. Inthe past two years, she took on mentoringof committee chairs. In particular, Kimmentored the Policy Committee, actingas Co-Chair. The Policy Committee hasgrown to a multi-person group whosemembers are effective at guiding FNPSto have a voice in issues that affect ourmission, while staying strongly tied toour scientific goals.

Each of these people is worthy ofhigh praise and thanks, and each stronglydeserves the Silver Palmetto Award.

– Past President, Shirley DentonSilver Palmetto Award Winner Bob Egolf

Silver Palmetto Award Winner Cindy Liberton

PalmettoThe Quarterly Journal of the Florida Native Plant Society

The purpose of the Florida Native Plant Society is to conserve, preserve, and restore the native plants and native plant communities of Florida.

Official definition of native plant: For most purposes, the phrase Florida native plant refers to those species occurring within the state boundaries prior to European contact, according to the best available scientific and historical documentation. More specifically, it includes those species understood as indigenous, occurring in natural associations in habitats that existed prior to significant human impacts and alterations of the landscape.

The Palmetto (ISSN 0276-4164) Copyright 2014, Florida Native Plant Society, all rights reserved. No part of the contents of this magazine may be reproduced by any means without written consent of the editor. The Palmetto is published four times a year by the Florida Native Plant Society (FNPS) as a benefit to members. The observations and opinions expressed in attributed columns and articles are those of the respective authors and should not be interpreted as representing the official views of the Florida Native Plant Society or the editor, except where otherwise stated.

Editorial Content

We welcome articles on native plant species and related conservation topics, as well as high-quality botanical illustrations and photographs. Contact the editor for guidelines, deadlines and other information. Editor: Marjorie Shropshire, Visual Key Creative, Inc. palmetto@fnps.org ● (772) 285-4286 ● 1876 NW Fork Road, Stuart, FL 34994For more Information:

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