Amazing jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) in Betty Struckhoff’s yard
Active member Betty Struckhoff will be a speaker for the Grow Native! Living Landscapes Workshop: Native Plants Get Us Back to Our Roots. Her talk will be, “Enliven Landscapes by providing food and shelter with beautiful natives”.
Betty received platinum status from St. Louis Audubon Society’s Bring Conservation Home program. She wrote, “Opportunities wasted and opportunities seized” about that experience.
Speaker bio: Betty Struckhoff is a native Missourian and an active member of Wild Ones Natural Landscapers. She has helped create native landscapes in local parks, private gardens, and other public spaces. A Master Gardener since 1999, she is a winner of the St Louis Post Dispatch “Best Native Garden” contest. Betty volunteers with the Master Gardeners Speakers’ Bureau, St. Louis County Parks, and St. Louis Audubon’s Bring Conservation Home program. She is currently serving on the Master Gardeners Advisory Committee.
Map Data ©2016 Google
Other topics and speakers for the workshop are:
- An introduction to the need for and principles of gardening for wildlife with native plants – Mitch Leachman, Executive Director of the St. Louis Audubon Society
- Making a difference: accommodating the life cycle of the monarch butterfly – Bill Ruppert, owner and manager of the St. Louis office of National Nursery Products
- Funding for habitat plays a key role in supporting pollinator populations – Julie Norris, a Missouri Department of Conservation Private Lands Conservationist
Topic: Living Landscapes Workshop: Native Pants Get Us Back to Our Roots
When: Saturday, May 14, 2016 from 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Where: Arcadia Academy, Arcadia, MO
Cost: Grow Native!/Missouri Prairie Foundation members $18, non-members $22, student $15
Registration: Deadline is May 4, 2016 For more information and to register
Volunteer Request: Dawn Weber and Marcia Myers are looking for a volunteer to write a brief blog post about and take a couple of photographs at this event. If you are attending this program and are interested, please email Dawn or Marcia at stlwildones@stlwildones.org.
What does Jack-in-the-pulpit do for nature?
Hi. Jack-in-the-pulpit is a showy native plant. Here’s a link about it, http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=j400
I found that there is 1 native insect that uses Jack-in-the-Pulpit as a host plant, the Pink-Legged Tiger Moth, which appears to be in our area historically but I am not sure that there are recent sightings.
Illinoiswildflowers.info has good info on associations
http://illinoiswildflowers.info/woodland/plants/jackpulpit.htm
“Faunal Associations: The flowers are pollinated by fungus gnats (Sciaridae & Mycetophilidae) and the larvae of parasitic thrips. In particular, the oligolectic thrips Heterothrips arisaemae and probably Ctenothrips bridwelli are attracted to the flowers of Jack-in-the-Pulpit. The foliage and corms (especially the latter) contain crystals of calcium oxalate, which can cause a burning sensation in the mouth and irritation of the gastrointestinal tract. As a result, mammalian herbivores rarely eat this plant. However, some upland gamebirds feed on the foliage occasionally, including Meleagris gallopavo (Wild Turkey). The red berries are eaten by some woodland birds, including Hylocichla mustelina (Wood Thrush) and the Wild Turkey.”
Another note about the event in Arcadia – Our own St. Louis Chapter members, Linda and Bill Bennett, are the initiators of the workshop. They now live in Arcadia. Their immediate goal was to inform and enthuse residents in the area about native plant gardening. Grow Native offered to organize the event this first year. The Bennetts’ longer-range goal is to begin a local Wild Ones chapter. Another spin-off by outstanding members of our St. Louis chapter!
Kudos Linda and Bill, for your current efforts and future plans!