Chicago Managed Native Garden Registry Town HallTuesday, March 2nd, 2021 at 7PMRSVP (Zoom) Join a virtual “town hall” on the proposed Managed Native Garden Registry Ordinance for the City of Chicago on Tuesday, March 2nd at 7PM. Representatives from the offices of co-sponsoring aldermen and the Department of Planning and Development will be present to…
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Find the most plant species in Illinois in 2020 and rejoice in your victory! And the winner is… Abel Kinser (@abelkinser) with 978 species! As of 16 January 2021, @abelkinser had 1,301 Research Grade observations of 978 species for 2020. Congrats! 2020 Illinois Botanists Big Year Stats 5,930 observers75,280 Research Grade observations of plants – 33% by people who…
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-Terri Treacy It takes 2 or 3 generations of monarch butterflies to migrate from the mountains of Michoacán, Mexico, to the prairies of Illinois in the spring months. By late summer, a ‘super generation’ emerges, equipped to travel an estimated 2,500 miles back to Mexico for overwintering. Unfortunately, over the past 20 years, the eastern…
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Minutes ILLINOIS NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY November 9, 2020, 6:00pm | Conference call Governing Board Meeting Attending: (13) Susanne Masi, Jean Sellar, Paul Marcum, Joe Armstrong, Floyd Catchpole, cassi saari, Emily Dangremond, Trish Quintenz, Courtney Cartney, Gretel Kiefer, Chris Benda, Anna Braum, Angela Kerber Meeting Begins: 6:03pm Review and approve the Minutes from the October governing…
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Students, citizen scientists, conservation groups and institutions are alerted to consider applying for an INPS Research Grant for up to $2500 to fund one-year projects. Also, INPS is also excited to continue its new second grant for 2021: the Survey Grant. This grant is for up to $5000.

Scutellaria — or skullcap — species can be found in a variety of habitats in northeastern Illinois. These perennials belong to the mint family (note their opposite leaves); more than 470 species of skullcaps can be found worldwide, mainly in temperate regions. The genus name comes from the Latin scutella, meaning “square-shaped salver or tray;…
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Somewhere in a lake near you, in a shallow bay, grows a floating plant with pouchlike sacs on its leaflets. The sacs each have a “spring- loaded” trap door that can open and shut in a fraction of a second. The “triggers” are hairs, known as “trichomes” in plants, around the mouth of the sac.…
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Glossary text by Gerould Wilhelm & Laura RerichaGlossary illustrations by Kathleen Marie Garness An excellent new illustrated botanical glossary was recently published by the Conservation Research Institute and Indiana Academy of Science. It is a freely available companion to the Flora of the Chicago Region (2017), written by Gerould Wilhelm and Laura Rericha. This new…
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Ageratina altissima, or white snakeroot, is the only species of its genus found in the Chicagoland region, but it is widespread, even weedy. (The more than 300 species in the genus Ageratina mainly occur in the warmer regions of the Americas and West Indies.) White snakeroot is an herbaceous perennial around 1.5-3’ tall with opposite,…
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When visiting prairie fens, oak savannas, and woodlands this time of year, you may encounter flowering Maianthemum stellatum (previously Smilacina stellata); its common names include star-flowered lily-of-the-valley and starry false Solomon’s seal. Its name derives from its showy, white flowers, which are replaced by striped green berries that ripen into a deep red later in…
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