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======== Next in our series ======
"Native Plants for Moths"
Wednesday June 16, 2021 at 7PM
Rachel Mackow
Wild Ridge Plants
More information and registration: Click Here
Let's explore native plants from a moth's view.
We'll cover native host plants for moths – including familiar species like the Luna and Io moth. Find out what native blossom feed daytime-flying moths like the Hummingbird Clearwing. The larval (caterpillar) stage of many of our showy moth species rely on familiar, easy to grow wildflowers, trees, and shrubs. We'll also talk about distinguishing features between butterflies and moths. And, how to use caterpillars to help you identify native plants!
All of our webinar recording are listed on our
All About Natives Page .
The recording of the last webinar - "The Diverse Forests of New Jersey: Ecology, Threats, and Restoration" by Sara Webb is now available
Celebrating Plant of the Year
Category: 'Native perennials for your backyard habitat'
Wreath Goldenrod Solidago caesia
All goldenrods have their virtues, but for many gardeners wreath goldenrod takes the gold.
Solidago caesia is an herbaceous perennial, from the important family Asteraceae, that is one of New Jersey's most useful and beautiful native plants. Read more about this special plant: Wreath Goldenrod
Team with a community of plant enthusiasts, whether you are a botanist, hobbyist, or gardener
Explore with Us!
See our
Events Across the State
Attend a lecture, plant sale, or go on a hike with fellow enthusiats!
UpComing Events at NPSNJ
All events are open to the public.
Most of the events are webinars so location is not an issue.
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"The Nature of Oaks", Thursday, May 6, 2021, 2 p.m. Eastern,
Doug Tallamy
Information & Registration $15 for non members of Garden Conservancy
In his latest book, The Nature of Oaks (Timber Press, March 2021), Doug Tallamy pays homage to a giant of the plant kingdom: the mighty oak tree. Oaks sustain a crucial and complex web of wildlife above ground, but are just as impressive underground, producing enormous root systems that make them champions of carbon sequestration, soil stabilization, and watershed management.
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Legislation: What is happening to our native places?
April 30, 2021 Pipeline in the Pinelands Status. read
April 30, 2021 NJ Sparta Mountain Status. Read
May 2, 2021 NJ Legislation threatens New Jersey public forests. Those spring ephemerals that welcome us each year may be disappearing acres at a time. Read
In Maryland, House Bill 322 was just passed that prohibits HOAs from preventing owners from planting native plants and creating wildlife habitat. Read
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"Webinar: Rain Garden Primer – A Good Option for Your Landscape?", Wed, June 2 @ 12:00 Noon - FREE - ELA
REGISTER
Are you wondering what a rain garden is and whether a rain garden can help your landscape? Join us for a primer on these beautiful and functional gardens that create a more sustainable landscape!
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Celebrating Plant of the Year
Category: Special & Rare Plants of NJ
Pine Barren Gentian - Gentiana autumnalis
Pine barren gentian contrasts with the expected colors of fall, blooming from September to early November in New Jersey. The blue flowers aid insects in finding nectar sources when foliage turns golden, red and orange. Read more about this special plant: Pine Barren Gentian
In recognition of plant of the year, we have a specially designed Pine Barren Gentian mug:
NEED GIFTS?
Design available now on several products.
Questions: SHOP@npsnj.org
Young Forests and Mature Forests
Both young forest and mature forest habitats are important.
When we think of a forest habitat, more than the trees have to be considered. These habitats includes the trees, the shrub layer, the ground layer of plants – including herbaceous plants, ferns, mosses, lichens, fungi, the soil layer of bacteria, viruses, nutrients and the moisture in the ground and in the air.
There is currently in NJ a movement to increase young forests by destroying mature forests. Young forests take about 10 years to be established while it takes more than 100 years to establish a mature forest.
So the question is – Why destroy something that takes 100 plus years to create for something that takes only 10 years to create? The controversy is not the value of young forests but the implementation.
A movement to preserve our mature forests has emerged with the concept of 'Proforestration'. Let our forests grow. It not only preserves the fragile ecosystem that takes 100 plus years to develop but it is the best way to maximize carbon sequestration for climate change. This is the most good for the most number of plants & animals including people for the most time!
Our earliest recorded sighting of a spring beauty was March 24!
Look closely at a spring beauty flower. Can you identify the male or female phases? Did you know research was done on color variations of the flowers? Do you know what goes on underground after the plant dies off in early summer?
Virginia Spring Beauty:
Claytonia virginica
Read more about spring beauty
The "New Jersey Endangered and Threatened Plant Protection Act," was re-introduced in 2020 as NJ Bill # A985, (2019 as NJ BILL 5201). It has many plant protective points but also some very controversial parts.
This bill would prohibit certain actions relative to endangered and threatened plant species, and would direct the Commissioner of Environmental Protection to establish programs for protection of endangered and threatened plant species.
Many listed plants are commercially available since they are not globally rare. Consequently, the following section is controversial:
The bill would prohibit without a permit the transport, export, and import of endangered/threatened plants and the selling or the offering to sell a listed plant species.
To become more informed: NJ Threathened & Endangered Plant Bill
Southern Twadeblade: Listera australis
If it weren't for the pair of little green leaves near the bottom you wouldn't have known they were there.
It was ranked S2 (Imperiled in state usually 6 to 20 occurrences) in the 2010 list of NJ endangered and threathened plants. However, in the 2016 list, it is no longer listed. Presumably folks with "eagle eyes" found more populations.
Read more about them: Read More
They bloom spring and was just added our spring collection Spring Photo Gallery.
This is a scholarly article documenting the regional changes to forest understories since the mid-twentieth century by Jay F. Kelly Ph.D., Raritan Valley Community College
He looks at changes in species and size of woody plants and the impact of deer on them. Other factors are studied also, however, deer is the overwhelming factor. He compares old data, current data and data from deer exclosures.
From the abstract: "Because deer strongly reduce tree recruitment, shift species composition, and reduce understory cover across large spatial scales, they represent a significant concern for forest managers and an issue that should be effectively addressed."
Average deer population in NJ in 1998 was 38 deer per sq. mi. Update: in 2019, the average count was 120-140 deer per sq. mi. in many areas*. When deer population is higher than 10 deer per sq. mi. then deer impact becomes evident. The highest regional densities of 75 per sq. mi. occurred in northern-central New Jersey
We see the deer impact where ever the land is not covered with buildings, asphalt or grass!
* Ryck Suydam, president of the New Jersey Farm Bureau, April 2019
Please read: Effects of overabundant deer and other factors in northern New Jersey
Read more articles on NJ Native plants: All About Natives
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Find out everything there is to know about the native flora of New Jersey, learn from the experts on native plants, get the latest on interesting activities near you, or join one of the many opportunities to participate in the growing national native plant movement — right here in the Garden State.
The Native Plant Society of New Jersey is a statewide non-profit organization dedicated to the appreciation, protection, and study of the native flora of New Jersey. Founded in 1985, we have hundreds of members across the state, and are organized into county and regional chapters. Our members include gardeners, horticulturists, naturalists, landscape designers, students, and native plant enthusiasts from all walks of life.
We conduct regular lectures and presentations with featured speakers on topics ranging from introduction to native plants, gardening with natives, identification and appreciation of the beautiful flora and ecosystems of New Jersey, ecological landscaping, and much more. Our annual meeting is a must-attend event for anyone involved in the native plant movement in New Jersey. We organize nature walks and garden tours, dispense advice on design and maintenance of native gardens and landscapes, and have helped establish native plant gardens around the state.
