February 19,
2005 - 9:30 AM, Saturday - Barnes Foundation
“Out and
About” by John Scott
Travel with John Scott during
40 years of nature photography, photographing wildflowers and ferns in the U.S.,
Canada, Germany, Russia and Finland.
For this winter meeting we’ll
meet at the Barnes Foundation (Arboretum) rather than the Horticultural Center.
Bring a lunch.
March 6-13: visit our booth at the
Philadelphia Flower
Show
April 23,
2005: Saturday- 10 AM, Saturday- Shenk’s Ferry Wildflower
Preserve
Coordinator:
Jack Schieber - jaroma@comcast.net
We skipped going to Shenks
last year figuring enough is enough. But that’s not true - a visit to this
Preserve is a wonderful way to welcome Spring. What we see is dependent on
weather and weather in recent years seems particularly erratic but this small
valley is consistently rewarding. We will meet at the Restaurant at 10 AM for
carpooling and also have lunch there afterwards.
May 21, 2005:
Saturday- 10 AM, Saturday- Hudgens’ Garden
coordinator:
Otto Heck (908-996-2598)
We tour the grounds of Jerry
Hudgens where the gardens include over 100 species of ferns, most of which are
labeled. In this warmer area the ferns should be well along in growth and if
their fertile parts are not yet developed it will increase the fun of
identification. The gardens also feature a wealth of native species of trees,
shrubs, and perennials including many thousands of spring wildflowers. Also
included, is a host of exotic species that coexist with the natives in a
naturalistic, woodland setting covering 4.5 acres. Collections include:
rhododendrons, azaleas, trilliums, asarums, ferns, hostas, and much more. The
gardens were named for the thousands of ferns growing naturally on the
property.
Please bring a lunch since we
will picnic at the Hudgens’. We meet at 10 for the tour but plan to spend as
much time as you wish in the afternoon to fully appreciate these extensive
gardens.
DIRECTIONS to garden:
gahudgens
@Comcast.net
June 4, 2005:
Saturday - 10 AM, Saturday - Camp Bernie
coordinator:
Otto Heck (908-996-2598)
Camp Bernie is part of the
fern-rich area of New Jersey and is one of only two places where we have found
the Northern and Southern Beech ferns growing together in the wild. And here we
find also some of the uncommon Grape Ferns (Botrychiums) as well as a variety of
Wood Ferns.
June 28/July 8
Tuesday/Friday, 2005 -“Feast in the East”
Leader: John
Scott (610-682-2809)
Fern Tour of the Central
Piedmont of the United States sponsored by The British Pteridological Society,
UK and The Hardy Fern Foundation, US. Traveling in New Jersey, Delaware,
Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts. We will be traveling by bus,
visiting private and public gardens and wild areas with emphasis on the native
ferns and fern allies of the region. This trip is being lead by DVFWS’s own John
Scott. Members of DVFWS may be accommodated. Check the web site < www.bps2005.org > (please note .org) or
email John at bps2005@aol.com.
Saturday, September 24, 2004- Morris Arboretum with
Dianne Smith
October 22, 2005 - 30th Anniversary Dinner of
DVFWS
RELATED EVENTS
August 21/27,
2005- Eagle Hill Field Seminar, Steuben, Maine
Robbin Moran
of NYCh-AFS
The course covers the
identification, phylogeny, and ecology of ferns and lycophytes. Morning lectures
will review the major families and place these in a phylogenetic context. The
afternoon field trips will emphasize identification and ecology of local genera
and species. The course will visit several habitat types along and near the
eastern Maine coast to see as many species as possible. Herbarium specimens of
northeastern species not found locally will be available for study. Besides
identification, we will discuss the distinctive biology of ferns, such as their
life cycle, hybridization, polyploidy, unusual adaptations (iridescent ferns,
ant ferns, apogamy), biogeography, and uses of ferns by people. We will also
discuss the sweeping changes that have taken place over the past ten years in
understanding the phylogeny of ferns and lycophytes (for instance, why the term
“fern allies” is no longer valid). University credits are available. The cost
for tuition lodging and meals is roughly $800. For more information, write or
call: Humboldt Field Research Institute, PO Box 9, 59 Eagle Hill Road, Steuben,
Maine 04680-0009 207-546-2821; FAX 207-546-3042
< www.eaglehill.us > < office@eaglehill.us
>
Dr. Robbin Moran is Curator of Ferns at The New York Botanical Garden. He has published four books and over 70 scientific papers on ferns. With Alice Tryon, he has written the Ferns and Allied Plants of New England (1997) and with Barbara Joe Hoshizaki, the Fern Grower’s Manual (2001). He has just published (2004) a new book, A Natural History of Ferns (2004), which covers many aspects of fern biology (we’ll have more about this wonderful book in a later issue, ed).