August 11, 2007 - Activity Report: Elmwood Cemetery
Johnny, Sudie, Kathy, Christine, Ellen, and
Wayne in forest between cemetery and Broad River.
We had a short but interesting trip to one of Columbia’s oldest cemeteries Saturday morning, then enjoyed food and refreshments at a local botanist-friendly restaurant in the Columbia Vista. Elmwood cemetery is right downtown and near the riverfront. We observed several yuccas (Yucca filimentosa), and red cedars (Juniperus virginiana) growing in the historic African-American portion of the cemetery. It is said that these evergreen native species were used to mark graves due to their association with eternal life. Yucca, having sharp pointed leaves, may have had an additional purpose, to keep the spirits of the dead from wandering outside of the graveyard. There is also a rather nice patch of undeveloped hardwood forest along the river bluff that contains things like hearts-a-burstin, Southern sugar maple, hop hornbeam, buckthorn, hawthorn, to name a few. Fortunately, we didn’t get to meet the locals who had taken up residence in the seclusion of this urban forest.
May 6, 2006 - Activity Report: Earth Fair Celebration at Saluda Shoals Park, Columbia
John Brubaker at Earth Fair
The Midlands Chapter, with some help from the Lowcountry and the Upstate, put on a very successful presentation at the Earth Fair celebration Saturday May 6, 2006. We handed out brochures, discussed native plants, introduced visitors and other vendors to the SCNPS, sold (and gave away) native plants, sold T-shirts, and had a great time (see photo).
Special thanks should go to John Brubaker for traveling all the way from Charleston and bringing the Lowcountry's display board and brochures, and to Bill Stringer for promoting interest and donating the Upstate's display board. Thanks also to the Midland's Chapter participants: Bert Pitman, Tommie Moody, Wayne Grooms, Ellen Blundy, Sudie Davies, and Ron Chicone.
February 19, 2006 - Field Trip Report: University of South Carolina Campus
PLANTMAN!
The Midlands Chapter had a great botanical tour of the USC campus on Sunday February 19th led by the Curator of the AC Moore Herbarium at USC, Dr. John B. Nelson. Our tour started with Dr. Nelson (who some believe is actually the botanical superhero Plantman) satisfying our desire to see and understand the heart of the field of Taxonomic Botany, "the herbarium". One thing we learned was that when herbarium specimens are viewed together, botanists are able to see patterns in a plant's distribution and morphology. We also learned that the AC Moore Herbarium now houses the historic Henry William Ravenel collection which contains approximately 6,000 specimens, many of them collected by the famous South Carolinian himself back in the mid 1800's. The tour continued to the AC Moore Garden, the Melton Observatory area, and the historic Horseshoe. There was discussion concerning the influence of non-native invasive species found in various locations, especially in the older Moore Garden where we saw some wonderful native trees and many non-native ornamentals in a minimally maintained landscape. The discussion focused not only on the mix of native and non-native plants, but we learned some very interesting USC history. For example Dr. Nelson talked about two South Carolina Botanists, Dr. Andrew Charles Moore (for whom the Herbarium and the Garden are named) and Stephen Elliott (for whom Elliott College on the Horseshoe is named). We are grateful to Dr. Nelson for leading a really cool field trip. He also writes a weekly column called "Mystery Plant" that appears each Thursday in the Columbia Star, and each Sunday in the garden section of The State.
September 24, 2005 - Field Trip Report: Congaree National Park
- by Colette Degarady
The Midlands and Lowcountry chapters joined together for a pleasant day under the canopy of immense trees in the Congaree National Park. Bert lead the group on a 5 mile hike along the boardwalk and beyond explaining interesting facts about the history and ecology of the area. Lobelia cardinalis was sprinkled about the understory in full bloom. Other interesting species seen on the trip included: Spiranthes sp, Botrychium virginianum, Oplismenus setarius and Cayaponia quinqueloba. We took the opportunity to taste a single Paw Paw fruit that was perfectly ripe. It was something of a banana-mango combination. Other critters noticed included an ornery cottonmouth of large size and a tiny ring-neck snake with a brightly colored underbelly. We crossed paths with a group from the Georgia Native Plant Society also enjoying a trip to the magnificent Congaree Swamp. It was a great day to botanize in the woods.
November 23, 2003 - Field Trip Report: Professor Wade T. Batson Nature Walk at Harbison State Forest
Professor Batson
Sunday afternoon just before the Thanksgiving holidays, Professor Wade T. Batson was honored by his students and the USC Alumni Association. Since the city of Columbia is situated on the fall line and in the middle of the state, Dr. Batson‘s famous botany forays were always marked both by the great variety of different plants encountered and by the many personal interactions of all sorts of students with different backgrounds and interests. On any given field trip, one would encounter students planning careers in dentistry, history, medicine, teaching, anthropology, marine science, journalism, art, environmental science, English, and even botany -- all while wading through cypress-tupelo and Atlantic white cedar swamps or across sandhill scrub-oak pocosins, sandy barrens and along wildflower-rich Piedmont cove forests. Since these always ended late on Friday afternoon, many of the students would retire to a local establishment near campus to imbibe additional fruits of botanical knowledge, particularly those dealing with the rarified field of yeast physiology --quite an icebreaker.
Professor Batson and his students
In honor of Dr. Batson’s affection for his students and his positive influence upon conservation in the Palmetto State, Sunday’s festivities began with a walk led by Mark Dutton through the rolling, longleaf pine stands near the new Educational Nature Center at Harbison State Forest. This is one of the more well-known areas to those interested in the state’s natural history, since the forest is situated on the Piedmont Plateau and not the Sandhills or in the Lowcountry, the typical areas where one finds this mightiest of pines, Pinus palustris. Although it was nearly December, we were able to see and identify a number of pine, oak, and grass species: longleaf, shortleaf, loblolly and post, blackjack, water, willow, Southern red and little bluestem, big bluestem, bushy bluestem, Indian grass, respectively. Also noted was our new state wildflower, Solidago altissima and our state flower, Gelsemium sempervirens.
Perhaps the highlight of the afternoon was the reception given in honor of Dr. Batson at the end of the walk. This was a grand time for about 60 or so of Dr. Batson’s students and friends to catch up with him and each other after so many years. But in keeping with Dr. Batson’s well-known and much appreciated economy of style, I will not linger here with too many words. Please note there is a concrete way in which to carry on his life’s work: the study and appreciation of South Carolina’s flora. If you should like to donate to the Batson Herbarium and Field Botany endowments, please contact Drs. John Herr for USC or Richard Porcher for Clemson University for specific details.
"We are always too busy for our children; we never give them the time or interest they deserve. We lavish gifts upon them; but the most precious gift, our personal association, which means so much to them, we give grudgingly." Mark Twain
John M. Herr, Professor Emeritus
Department of Biological Sciences
University of South Carolina
Columbia, S.C. 29208
Phone: (803) 777- 8110
herr@mail.biol.sc.edu
Professor Richard D. Porcher
Biology Department
The Citadel
Charleston, S.C. 29409
Phone: (843) 953-5203
porcherr@citadel.edu
