September 2009 - On Top of the World Communities Info

10 The World News® September 2009NativePlant GroupRon BromanThe male Monarch hovers near theKnock-out Rose. If butterflies think, Iwonder what he’s planning. Newly arrivedto our garden of weedin’, he’s not alone.Some force, not much understood, hasplaced them here. It’s migration time.I watch through binoculars as he lightsand begins feeding, not on the exotic rosebut on the native Narrowleaf Ironweed.Nearby the female floats, then off theywhirl in a narrow vortex, perhaps to someclose rendezvous.So far, this tale is incomplete. You knowthat in the cycle of butterflies, two typesof plants are required:food foradult and foodfor the larvae( c a t e r p i l l a r ) .Monarch familycaterpillarsfeed on plantsin the Milkweed(Asclepias) family.I’ve alreadywritten abouttwo species ofAsclepias nativeto our area:A. tuberosa andA. humistrata.A third, LongleafMilkweed,A. longifolia,is native to thesoutheasternU.S., including Florida, although ratherrare.Longleaf Milkweed has few stems and,unlike other milkweeds, its three to seveninch leaves are as narrow as blades ofgrass. Its umbel of small white blossomsprovides that “milkweed look.” Later,the characteristic pod forms, containingOn Top of the WorldNEWS9850 SW 84th Court, Suite 300Ocala, FL 34481those seeds with “the little parachute.”It’s a milkweed all right.Longleaf Milkweed occurs in “seasonallyflooded flatwoods and likely is adaptableto many typical home landscapesettings.” Guess what! This milkweed isblooming now along our On Top of theWorld Longleaf Pine Trail, and the habitatis a high and dry sand hill. Could it bethat it is not longifolia?It’s time to check with my mentor,Robert Riedeman, who has that specialbook, the Guide to the Vascular Plants ofFlorida, second edition, (2003) by Wunderlinand Hansen.Look at this close-up picture of thewhite inflorescence, the spent umbel withthe newly forming seedpods and the narrowleaves. The blooms are half the sizeof a dime, but part of the clue is there, thelength of the internal flower parts. Anotherclue is that the leaves as they connectto the stem are neither opposite each othernor alternately placed but are whirledaround the stem. There is only one milkweedthat meets these attributes; Asclepiasverticillata or Whirled Milkweed.Our two Monarchs are back “cruising”the garden.If our Gopher Tortoises and the othercritters allow A. verticillata to mature,next season mama Monarch’s Floridaprogeny may find the leaves of theWhirled Milkweed’s progeny a suitablesource of food.I just wonder if that’s what papa Monarchis contemplating.Summer is just about to usher in anew season forour Native PlantGroup. Oct. 14,Guda and DaveTaylor of TaylorGardens Nurserybegin withthe extremelypopular NativePlant raffle.They’re sure tohave some winningspeciesand informationespeciallyfor you.Our programsare thesecond WednesdayOctober,November andfrom Januarythrough May, at1:45 p.m. in the Arbor Conference Center,Suite H. In addition to learning about nativeplants, you are provided informationon how to become more “in the know”about conservation issues in MarionCounty and beyond. Come join us as togetherwe grow native.Photo by Ron BromanWhirled Milkweed (Asclepias verticillata)on the Longleaf Pine Trail.Submit Articles by E-mail tootownews@otowfl.comAll you great folks who enjoyed thesecond Art of Bonsai Exhibition in Marchat the Education Building will have anotheropportunity to not only view Bonsaiavailable for purchase, but also to lookover a few books that will be available aswell as tools, lovely pots of all sizes andalso get some first-hand information thatwill help you see if this art is somethingyou think youwould enjoy!This BonsaiAuction isa yearly eventthat helps theMarion BonsaiSociety furtherthe educationand interest ofmany people,including highschool studentsas we didrecently withWestport HighSchool. If youattended theBonsai Auctionrecent showhere at On Topof the World,the class displayedwhatthe horticulturestudentshad accomplished since their classes, instructedby Don McLean and David van-Buskirk, who are members of the society.After they were judged, Tom Brantleyand the students retired to the classroomwith their Bonsai trees for a critique ofOrchid ClubLinda RoseSeptember 2009 marks the fourth yearfor On Top of the World Orchid Club! Inan effort to keep things fresh, we willhave members participate more in themeetings this year, and have some newideas and plans in place.Our September meeting will be allabout American Orchid Society’s shows,how plants are judged, what training isinvolved in becoming a judge, and techniquesused displaying these beautifulorchids. Hildegard will brief us on this asshe has worked shows.We have a trip planned to the GainesvilleAmerican Orchid Society’s show,which will be held at Kanapaha Gardensthe weekend of Oct. 10 and 11. For thoseof you who have never attended one ofthese shows, this will give you a greaterappreciation to what a show entails. Wewill discuss detailed plans on time of departure,etc. at this meeting, so pleaseplan on attending if you’re going to thisBy Ma r i on-Al ic e Bu r k ePhoto by Ray Cecheach tree from Tom, who answered theirquestions. The plan of reaching out to theyounger generation’s interest in this particularfield of horticulture was the ideaof Mary Roberts, an On Top of the Worldresident, and what a great idea it was!The auction is fun as well as informative.This year it will be held at Live OakHall on Saturday, Sept. 12. It will be openat 9 a.m., givingeveryonetime to look atitems availablefor sale, whichwill start at 9:30a.m. The room isat the rear of theEducation Building,between theYalaha Delightsand Mr. B’s BigScoop Emporium.How convenientcan thatbe?While you’rethere, don’tforget to checkout the BonsaiForest of JapaneseBoxwoodon display atthe rear of thebuilding.If you have any questions about thisexciting auction, don’t hesitate to call meat 854-1896. If I’m not home, just leave amessage, your name and telephone numberand I’ll get right back to you.You don’t want to miss this!show.As many of you are aware, the OcalaAmerican Orchid Society met its demiselast year; with that unfortunate event,several members of that group who areresidents here are now attending our orchidclub meetings. One of these individuals,Tim Wright was the past presidentof the Ocala American Orchid Society andwill be a great asset to our club, as wellas the other individuals who have joinedfrom that club.Tim has graciously offered to monitora panel discussion for our October meetingpertaining to any and all questions youmay have about orchids, including any exoticorchids you may be having problemswith. Tim is a walking Wikipedia when itcomes to orchids, not to mention manyother plants! He requested you bring inany orchids you may be concerned about,along with questions pertaining to them.Some suggestions: discuss wateringand fertilizing techniques, which pots arebest for which plants, advantages and disadvantagesgrowing orchids in a screenedversus an enclosed lanai, best exposuresfor certain species or ways to display acollection; photos would be an asset forthis topic. If you manage to stump the expert,Pete Pecoraro has offered to do anyresearch necessary.November will be a departure from ourregular meetings and we will save that foranother article. We will not meet in Decemberas our meetings are too close tothe holidays, but will resume in January2010.Orchid Club meets the third Thursdayof each month; Sept. 17 will be our nextmeeting date at the Arbor ConferenceCenter, Suite C at 1:30 p.m. Hope to seeyou then! Please note that we will only beusing one of the suites this year.352-873-4817www.DigitalCommunicationMedia.com