Our Weird NJ Plants conference was another success, with hundreds of members attending. If you missed it, view the whole thing at https://npsnj.org/event/fall-conference-2025/ or directly on our Youtube channel. I made a flub in my introduction to Kate’s talk. I said day lilies (Hemerocallis) are native and aquatic. They are neither. I meant American white water lillies (Nymphaea odorata), which are very lovely in my tiny forest pond. American white water lily (Nymphaea odorata) in my forest pond.
American white water lily (Nymphaea odorata) in my forest pond.
You may have noticed we have a governor-elect now. As a 501(c)(3), NPSNJ doesn’t endorse candidates, but we can advocate for native plant policies regardless of party affiliation. Mikie Sherrill promoted native plants in legislation as a congressional representative so we have high hopes for an improved situation in Trenton. If native plant advocacy matters to you, consider reaching out to her transition team here to encourage her to continue this work as governor.
We also have a great new benefit! Members will get a 10% discount on regional events in the Mid-Atlantic with New Directions in the American Landscape, starting with their 37th Annual Symposium at Kean University in Union, NJ (January 15-16 with virtual options available). The discount code will be in the member portal once you log into the website. Please do not share it! Larry Weaner, NDAL’s founder, will be speaking at NPSNJ’s 2026 Annual Meeting on March 7.
A new round of classes for members is starting up. All classes are on Zoom and are $160 with a max of 30 people so the students can engage more closely with the instructors. Everything but $10 goes to pay the instructors so you can get top quality classes.
March: Dr. Drew Lanhem in March teaching Cultural Ornithology and Conservation. Registration opens Dec. 15.
If you’re a PK-12 teacher or know one, Wild Seed Project is offering free native seed packets to public school educators through their Seeds for Teachers program. Each classroom receives bulk seeds for four easy-to-sow, pollinator-friendly species, perfect for hands-on environmental projects. The deadline to request seeds is very soon November 14th. Click here
Each of these letters has a theme and, in this letter, I want to address a question I hear often: What can I do to help the Society?You’re probably already helping more than you realize. Every time you choose native plants for your garden, share knowledge with a neighbor, or attend one of our programs, you’re advancing our mission. But for those looking to do more, let me share some concrete ways you can support NPSNJ’s work.
Volunteer Opportunities
We have openings for people who want to shape NPSNJ’s future. Our Corresponding Secretary position is perfect for someone interested in strategic communications—you’d help build partnerships with organizations like other native plant and conservation societies both in New Jersey and beyond, coordinate speaker invitations, draft press releases, and maintain media relationships. You’d be at the heart of how we connect with the broader native plant community. Plus, it is an executive committee position, and that is the heart of our state effort. It is a bit of work, but it’s a lot of fun, with a great team.
We’re also looking for a leader for our Highland Park Chapter in Middlesex County, and our Delaware Bayshore Chapter is seeking people to join their steering committee.
Financial Support
With Giving Tuesday on December 2nd, this is an ideal time to consider supporting our mission. As an all-volunteer organization, there are no staff salaries or administrative overhead. Unlike some organizations, we don’t send out junk mail asking folks to join. Our membership system is now electronic and free of paper for everyone except those who expressly opt out. If you need to renew your membership, now is the perfect time. We keep our membership fees lower than almost anybody else out there, but if you can afford to upgrade your membership, we would greatly appreciate it and it will go to good causes. And yes, your membership is fully tax deductible. Many employers will match your contribution (we are on Benevity if your workplace uses that).
Your contributions fund speaker honoraria for our Wednesday webinars, support our fall conference and spring meeting, support chapters, keep the web site running, help us with the grants we give out, enable us to print our publications, and help us keep most programming free.
Consider these two options:
Our Annual Fund supports core NPSNJ operations throughout the year.
Our Mini Grants and Conservation Science Fund provides crucial funding for local projects—school gardens, community plantings, and initiatives that often seed larger efforts benefiting entire communities.
You can donate to NPSNJ at our donations page and direct your funds either way, based on your preference.
Estate planning through bequests of any size helps secure our educational mission for future generations. A generous bequest from Bruce Wands funded our mini grant program this year.
Contact for more information on any of these.
Beyond Financial Support
Perhaps you’re not in a position to give financially right now—that’s completely understood. Help comes in many other forms. Share our Wednesday webinar announcements with friends who might be interested. Volunteer with your local chapter. Offer to help with simple tasks. Post about what we do on social media.
Most importantly, keep learning and sharing what you know. Native plant advocacy happens one conversation at a time, one garden at a time, one neighbor at a time.As we head into the Thanksgiving season, I’m grateful for this community of over 1,600 members who understand that protecting New Jersey’s native flora requires both individual action and collective effort. Whether you volunteer, contribute financially, or simply share what you’re learning with your neighbors—your participation matters. That’s how movements grow. Kazys Varnelis, Ph.D.President, NPSNJ
These days, it seems that when people make mistakes they just double down. Whatever your political position, I think we can all agree our government is full of politicians doing that. But in striving to make the native plant world a better community, we should do the opposite. Mistakes are something we can learn from.
In my last e-mail to you, I made a couple of gaffes and a few of you pointed them out, but rather than merely adding an errata section to this letter, I thought it would be interesting to spend a little time thinking about mistakes in the native plant world.
But, first, a reminder that we have our Weird NJ Plants conference at 8:50 in the morning of November 1, the day after Halloween—free to everyone via Zoom. The speakers and I created a slideshow full of creepy images, and our webmaster Marissa Bauman made a spooky logo.
Dead Man’s Fingers (Xylaria polymorpha), is a fungus that feeds on decaying hardwood stumps and roots, forming clusters of erect, black, finger-like fruiting bodies up to 8 cm tall, often emerging in temperate woodlands during spring and autumn. Photo courtesy, Jason Hafstad on iNaturalist.
Dead Man’s Fingers (Xylaria polymorpha), is a fungus that feeds on decaying hardwood stumps and roots, forming clusters of erect, black, finger-like fruiting bodies up to 8 cm tall, often emerging in temperate woodlands during spring and autumn. Photo courtesy, Jason Hafstad on iNaturalist.
Go take a look at the site and please share it with at least one other person, especially young folks like college and high school kids as well as people who have never thought about native plants. Let’s get them into a lifetime of fascination with the botanical world. If you have shared it with every last person you know in New Jersey, great, but we are delighted to have people from outside the state attend. Most of these plants live throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic so let them know too.
Two more quick announcements: our Fall Newsletter came out last week and it focused on Weird NJ Plants. I also discussed the fall conference in the 25th episode of the Wildstory podcast, which features poet Holli Carrell, naturalist Mary Ann Borge, and another episode of Ask Randi.
Now for the last letter. I started with a typo: Trillium erectum not Trillium erechtum for the red trillium (or wake robin, purple trillium, or stinking Benjamin). Ouch. But that’s nowhere near as egregious as the caption in which I stated that American pokeweed (Phytolacca americana) is an annual. Of course it’s not! Pokeweed is a robust perennial with a large taproot. I knew this, but somehow the wrong neuron misfired when I wrote the caption, just like in my talk for NPSNJ last year when—inexplicably—I kept saying Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) when I meant Scarlet Beebalm (Monarda didyma). I know these things well!
But here’s the thing about mistakes: we’re all going to make them. What follows is my longest letter to date. Feel free to skip it, but I found this deep dive into native plant mistakes fascinating and I hope you do too.
Looking back at my own relationship with the land, I realize I’ve made mistakes. The worst was back in the early 1980s when my father and I decided to turn a meadow on our property in the Berkshires into a lawn. It was full of goldenrod (Solidago spp.) and sensitive fern (Onoclea sensibilis), but also invasives like Queen Anne’s lace (Daucus carota… and yes, it’s the wild version of the root vegetable) and mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris). Still, it was a lovely place, full of buzzing insects. We had no idea what we were doing. What were we thinking, destroying a thriving community?
At least my father and I had better sense another time. Foresters came by our house to explain that we could make money by having them log the wooded hill behind our house. We weren’t wealthy and more money was an appealing idea, so we visited one of their “managed” forests. They talked about the benefits of young forests for wildlife, but we both agreed it looked like hell. We ran. We never allowed foresters on our land and a good thing, too. At least part of that property contains old growth forest, something nobody knew until decades later. It’s still there, although it has been seriously hurt in recent years, not by logging but by Emerald Ash Borer and Hemlock Woolly Adelgid—themselves the product of serious mistakes in global trade. The borer arrived in wooden crates and pallets while the adelgid came through ornamental hemlock trees from Japan.
Unfortunately, I think a lot of us have stories like that. Well, we can’t change the past, but what we do now matters. Moreover, the history of botany and horticulture is full of mistakes, big and small. Common names for plants are full of them. Early colonists made countless naming errors because they tried to fit unfamiliar American plants into familiar European categories. They called our native juniper, Juniperus virginiana, “red cedar” even though it’s not a true cedar at all. Carl Linnaeus, the father of botanical taxonomy, made plenty of mistakes too. For one, he originally classified Twinleaf, now Jeffersonia diphylla, in the genus Podophyllum thinking it was a kind of Mayapple. It was only decades later that it would be understood as a distinct genus, although in fairness both are in the family Berberidaceae (as is the very different Japanese barberry, poster child of invasive ornamentals Berberis thunbergii).
Those are small mistakes, but there were plenty of big ones, sadly. In the 1930s and 1940s, the U.S. Soil Conservation Service actively promoted multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora) as a “living fence” for livestock and a solution for erosion control. State highway departments put it in medians as crash barriers. It seemed like the perfect plant—wildlife could eat its rose hips, thorny thickets would confine cattle, and it would stabilize streambanks. By the 1960s, alarm bells were ringing. Multiflora rose had escaped those farm hedges and was forming impenetrable thickets in pastures and woodlands, crowding out native plants. The same USDA that once promoted multiflora rose was now warning farmers to root it out. Decades of expensive eradication efforts followed—all because of a well-intentioned misjudgment.
The pattern repeated with autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata), Norway maple (Acer platanoides), and Bradford pear (Pyrus calleryana). Each time, experts thought they had the perfect solution: a hardy plant for reclamation, a replacement for elms lost to Dutch elm disease, a sterile ornamental that wouldn’t spread. Each time, they were wrong. These mistakes now cost us millions of dollars annually in invasive plant control.
A monoculture stand of Phragmitis australis in Cape May that has outcompeted any other flora.
But other mistakes get more complicated. Take the common reed (Phragmites australis), which now frequently chokes our wetlands. Until recently, I had thought that Phragmites was merely another invasive species. Well, that’s another mistake. Phragmites has been in North America for tens of thousands of years and Native Americans historically used it for arrows, mats, and ceremonial objects. Nonetheless, it was a relatively minor component of marshes, not the dense monoculture we commonly encounter today.
Researchers puzzled over how this native plant could suddenly become so aggressive. Perhaps it was responding to altered conditions in the landscape. In 2002, molecular ecologist Kristin Saltonstall compared DNA from century-old herbarium specimens with modern reeds and discovered a surprising explanation (you can read her paper here). The invasive Phragmites overwhelming the Northeast today is genetically distinct—a Eurasian strain introduced to North America in the late 18th or early 19th century. Genetic evidence clearly shows that this Eurasian strain (known as haplotype M) displaced native North American strains along the Atlantic coast and spread rapidly throughout the continent, facilitated by human activities such as transport and marsh disturbances.
Simultaneously, entomologist Lisa Tewksbury, et al. found that while over 170 herbivore species feed on Phragmites in its native European range, only five native North American herbivores attack it here (unfortunately, that paper is gated, but you can read a detailed guide she wrote over at NOAA). Botanists had long mistaken the invasive Eurasian strain for the native one, a phenomenon Saltonstall labeled a “cryptic invasion,” hidden by mistaken identity. Saltonstall discovered that native Phragmites have been almost completely displaced by the invaders, and remnant populations only exist in isolated pockets (in 2007, there were a few left on the Cohansey River in Cumberland County).
Another example is the hart’s-tongue fern, Asplenium scolopendrium, a fern common in Europe but rare in North America. Our native variety, A. scolopendrium var. americanum, survives mainly in New York, Michigan, and Ontario, with small, isolated colonies in places as unexpected as limestone caves in Alabama and Tennessee and even in a lava-tube cave in New Mexico. NatureServe Explorer notes an introduced population in New Jersey, the result of ex-situ conservation plantings begun in the 1930s, and I was thrilled when, a while back, I found some at a local garden center. Unfortunately, genetic studies show that plantings such as those in New Jersey—and any plants offered for sale—derive from European stock, genetically distinct from the American lineage. In some of New York’s native populations, European DNA appears along the margins of some sites, the result of well-intentioned restoration efforts that inadvertently blurred the line between native and introduced forms (See Heo, 2022 or this excellent podcast episode of the Field Guides with hart’s tongue fern expert, NYS conservation biologist Michael Serviss).
A few years back, when I still bought cultivars, I fell victim to this confusion. I purchased a pretty plant labeled “Lance Corporal” Virginia Jumpseed (supposedly Persicaria virginiana) from a garden center. It said native, so of course it was native—right? Plus, it had such pretty red flowers, unlike the more common one with its white flowers. Well, this plant spread all over my yard and acted wildly aggressive, nothing like the well-behaved native. It turns out that whoever labeled that plant should have labeled it Persicaria virginiana var. filiformis, to indicate this was an Asian variety (these days it seems to be considered not just a variety, but its own species, Persicaria filiformis … read more at the Maryland Invasive Species Council). There is absolutely no evidence that this cultivar, apparently developed from a chance seedling at Rowden Gardens, an exotic plant nursery in Devon, England, is native to the US. But it was good marketing, right? I’m still pulling up this plant years later.
As I ponder these examples: native plants mistaken for invasives, invasive strains mistaken for natives, European genetics contaminating American populations—I find myself questioning the use of cultivars altogether. These have been the subject of much debate lately, and we are assured that some cultivars are harmless, that they won’t spread or hybridize with native populations. But do we really know this? How long will they remain harmless? Haven’t we heard such assurances before? The history of botany is littered with confident predictions that proved disastrously wrong. Each time, we’re told this is different, that we understand the risks now. Each time, it turns out we don’t. Perhaps the only honest answer is that we’re running yet another uncontrolled experiment—this time in our own gardens. I’ve decided to tread carefully with cultivars and avoid them when I can. There’s always a better straight-species native around if I hunt a little.
Mistakes are how we learn, but only if we’re willing to admit we made them. My pokeweed error was embarrassing but harmless. Introducing multiflora rose, misidentifying an invasive reed as native for a century, contaminating native hart’s-tongue populations with European genetics in the name of conservation—these mistakes have consequences that can’t be undone. Yet at each step, someone was confident they knew what they were doing. The pattern repeats: we intervene, we assure ourselves we understand the risks, and decades later we discover we were wrong. The introduced strain outcompetes the native. The “harmless” cultivar escapes. The restoration project inadvertently destroys what it meant to save. Perhaps the real lesson isn’t just that we make mistakes, but that we consistently overestimate how much we understand and underestimate how much damage our interventions can cause.
As we head into late fall and our native plants begin their seasonal retreat, I find myself thinking about how these mistakes should guide us forward. Yes, we need humility about what we don’t know. Yes, we should question confident assurances about “harmless” cultivars or “improved” varieties. But the answer isn’t to retreat from the landscape—it’s to engage more thoughtfully. Plant more natives, but true natives. Create more habitat, but with local ecotypes. Do more restoration, but with species we actually understand. And with winter approaching, read more—dive into the scientific literature, explore botanical history, learn the fascinating stories behind our native plants. Don’t think that learning about plants has to be a chore. On the contrary, it can be an absolute delight! And yes, pokeweed is absolutely, definitely a perennial.
Please use the straight species seeds native to NJ: see the native plant lists on our website.
Seed Donations:
Clean seeds (remove stems and leaves and fruit cases. Please be careful in cleaning milkweed seeds to free them from the fluff).
Bag and labeled with scientific and common names.
At least one packet of seeds needs to be submitted to participate. However, please be generous and send in several species of seeds if you can so we can have a robust exchange which is the whole idea. (a ¼ teaspoon or 20 seeds will make a single seed pkg.; 2 ½ teaspoons or 200 seeds or more total is enough for 10 people). You need not prepare individual seed packages; we are planning to do that Nov 13th 10-2 PM and 1-3 PM.
Mail seeds labelled with scientific and common names to me, Dr. Hubert Ling from now until Nov. 7th. Please use UPS or USPS first class mail and email me a list of the seeds you are sending so a final list of what is available can be made. Also, please email your phone number so we can facilitate pick-ups. Mail seeds to: H. Ling, 1030 Rector Rd. Bridgewater, NJ 08807. Email: Dr. Hubert Ling at
Please consider being a pick-up location. All you need is a spot in your driveway, yard, or porch and email participants in your county when the seeds will be available. We anticipate that you might have a total of 3-10 packages of seeds which can be placed in a plastic zip-lock bag with a rock on top of it. You need not be home for a pickup. If you are a pickup center for your county, you need not travel to get your seeds since I will mail them to you along with the seeds for your neighbors. I did not hear about any problems with this system last year! Please let me know by email if you can be a county coordinator for seed pick-up.
Seed sorting and packaging will be done Nov. 13. Please consider volunteering for this project. Email me if you are free Sat.11/13/25 10 AM-12 Noon or/and 1-3+ PM. Volunteers have special seed selection privileges.
Seed Orders:
A final list of available species will be sent out to all participants on Nov. 9th by 11:00 PM.
Your choices will be filled, while supplies last. To protect our volunteers, you will be limited to 20 seed packs.
A preliminary list of seed available now is included here below the flower pictures so you can start planning. Hopefully the final list will have over 130 species.
All seed orders must be in by noon Nov 12th.
Seed Pickup:
Seeds will be picked up Nov. 22-24 (to be determined by the designated site hosts)
Seeds can be picked up at designated locations around the state.
If you volunteer to be a pick-up site, we can ensure that every county will have a pick-up site. Email me for details. I will make an updated list of all pick-up sites ASAP and email this to all participants.
When I meet members I haven’t met before, I like finding out how they got started in the movement. Many people read a book by Doug Tallamy, others found out about native plants while becoming master gardeners, others got hooked at an NPSNJ event, or on a wildflower trail somewhere. For me, it was picking up Rick Darke’s American Woodland Garden, which reminded me of my teen years living next to an old-growth Hemlock forest in Stockbridge, Massachusetts where red trilliums (Trillium erectum) bloomed in a sea of ferns and skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus). This place was a formative part of my life and I thought that maybe I could create a similar feeling on my 1/2 acre of hillside here on First Mountain in Montclair, even if in miniature.
It wasn’t that long ago that I started that journey and, even if now I can tell the difference between a Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum spp.) and Solomon’s Plume (Maianthemum racemosum), also known as False Solomon’s Seal or between an Ostrich Fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) and a Marginal Wood Fern (Dryopteris marginalis), I still have so much to learn. Working with native plants is a constant journey of learning. Regardless of your skill level, the Native Plant Society of New Jersey is here to help.
In my garden today, one of our most beautiful plants, the beautiful American Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana), a volunteer to my garden. It gets a bum rap for being toxic. Sure, it’s toxic, but so are plenty of other plants such as the common ornamental English Yew (Taxus baccata), Daffodils (Narcissus spp), and Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis). Meanwhile, it is a host plant for the Giant Leopard Moth (Hypercompe scribonia) and is a major food resource for over 30 species of birds. Mammals love it too. Among the many words of praise Thoreau lavished on the Pokeweed in Autumnal Tints: “We love to see any redness in the vegetation of the temperate zone. It is the color of colors. This plant speaks to our blood.”
In this letter, I’d like to highlight two resources we offer you at the State level to help you learn: Wednesday Webinars and State Programs.
Back in 2020, the pandemic year, when face-to-face meetings were impossible, NPSNJ started a Wednesday Webinar series over Zoom. This proved so successful that we have continued it ever since with more than 18,000 live attendees since the first webinar. Every third Wednesday of September, October, November, as well as January, February, March, April, May, and June, our Webinar team, led by Recording Secretary Bobbie Herbs and Corresponding Secretary Michael Jacob (both also co-leaders of the Southwest Chapter) hosts another talk, free for everyone, member and nonmember alike.
We strive for a mix of introductory talks and more advanced talks and, when the speaker agrees, we upload the content to the NPSNJ Youtube channel and list the talk on our the webinar recording page on our site. Counting presentations at the annual meeting and fall conference, which roughly double the number of talks every year, we have over sixty videos to watch! And people do watch these videos. One ninety-minute lecture, Designing and Planting with Native Plants: Creating a Native Plant Garden by current VP of Chapters Elaine Silverstein has had over 16,000 views. I am so proud of the community that has built this incredible resource: not just the webinar team but also the speakers and the viewers who tune in every month and keep it going through their enthusiastic participation and questions.
This fall, we are resuming the Wednesday Webinar series with three talks, “All About Asters” by Mary Anne Borge (9/17), “Plant Invasions, Root Traits and Ecosystem Functioning” by Dr. Matt McCrary of Rice University, and “Four Years in the Life of Pollinator Garden” by Lucy Hooper from our Southwest Chapter. And, as I mentioned in my last letter, we are also hosting the Fall Conference on November 1, “Weird NJ Plants!”
Sometimes, though, we need more in-depth knowledge on a topic than one lecture can deliver. With that in mind, starting in 2024, the Society introduced a series of classes and workshops, some online and some in-person, with the best instructors we can find. These are only open to members and we do have to charge for these. We realize this can be tough for some folks, but it is essential that such subject matter experts be paid for their time. It’s only fair and many of these speakers have already done talks for NPSNJ’s webinars so you can get a good idea of what they will talk about in advance. NPSNJ keeps only $10 from every ticket to pay the 3% credit card processing fees as well as to defray the cost of administrative expenses such as accounting software, our Zoom subscription, and the Web site that makes all this possible.
Ken Chaya leading a class for NPSNJ in April, 2025
This fall we have a in-person Fall Birding experience with Ken Chaya in New York’s Central Park, a course on Controlling Invasive Species by FoHVOS Invasive Species Strike Team leader Mike van Clef, and Nurturing Sensory Wildscapes, a course on creating resilient gardens with Nancy Lawson. In January, you can learn about Native Meadows, Sunny Glades, and other Habitats with Jared Rosenbaum. The first three classes are open for registration right now, so get your tickets! Classes have a tendency to sell out as the date approaches.
Finally, Jared also is leading a hike at Musconetcong Gorge next month. Although that free event is fully booked, it’s worth noting that this hike inaugurates a new relationship between us and the Torrey Botanical Society, the oldest botanical society in the Americas, which has a special focus on plants in the greater vicinity of New York City, including the Northern part of our state. For now, we are going to have some hikes in common, but we are excited about this collaboration in the future. Torrey has trained botanists and a fabulous archive of material, including over 100 years of trip reports of plants in our area. Not just individuals, but also organizations, can learn from each other.
One last thing, we’ve heard that the Invasive Species Management Act (A4137) is making its way to the Assembly for committee hearings and a vote. There’s still a way to go before this very important bill becomes a reality. Do contact your State Representatives (you can use The League of Conservation Voters site to find out who they are) and let them know this is urgent.
See you in the garden,
Kazys Varnelis, Ph.D.
Weird NJ is a trademark of Weird NJ LLC and is used by permission.
Between travel and the utility company sending a tree service over last week that utterly changed the shade conditions in my backyard, I am a bit behind on this letter. So as I write this, the mid-August heat wave has broken. It feels positively chilly on the deck overlooking my garden and, with some Tulip Tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) leaves already on the ground—yes, stress from heat and drought, but this has become the new normal at my house for a while now—it feels like fall is on its way. The berries are just starting on the American Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana), a wonderfully contradictory plant that’s both toxic and edible—birds love those magenta berries that are quite poisonous to us. My Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea) is at peak with its papery, literally everlasting flowers that dry naturally while keeping their form. And like many of you, we are eating ripe tomatoes (non-native of course! but hard to deny as the official State Vegetable) from our raised bed planter. Thinking about fall means thinking about our upcoming Fall Conference, which will be held, as always, via Zoom on the first Saturday of November (November 1, 2024), free to all, members and non-members alike.
The withered flower spikes of Conopholis americana (American cancer-root, also known as Bear Corn), a plant that lacks chlorophyll but survives by being parasitic on oak roots.
There are many things to love about New Jersey—the Pine Barrens, the Shore, the Highlands, the Meadowlands, and all our diverse ecosystems in between—but one thing to love about it is that the state is deeply weird. Indeed, our state is so weird that there is a magazine and book series called Weird N.J. This year, I was thinking about how the native plant movement tends to highlight the same species of plants on plant lists: Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium purpureum), Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia spp.), Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis), and the usual suspects. If you are reading this, you are familiar with these plants. But there are over 2,100 native plant species in New Jersey. What about these other plants, what about the weird plants? This year, we thought, we should turn our attention to the stranger plants in our state, so with the kind permission of Weird N.J., our fall conference is Weird N.J. Plants!
The ghostly Indian Pipe (Monotropa uniflora) emerges from the forest floor like a botanical apparition. This chlorophyll-free plant parasitizes mycorrhizal fungi, which in turn are connected to tree roots, making it a parasite of a mutualist—one of nature’s strangest feeding strategies.
Our distinguished speakers will include New Jersey native Dr. Kadeem Gilbert, Assistant Professor at Michigan State University’s W.K. Kellogg Biological Station and Department of Plant Biology, who will present on carnivorous and parasitic plants. Dr. Gilbert is a leading expert on pitcher plants and their complex ecological relationships. Dr. Kate Lepis, Botanist for the Native Plant Society of New Jersey, will dive into the mysterious world of aquatic plants. Kate also is the Horticulturist at Deep Cut Gardens in the Monmouth County Park System and was previously Adjunct Professor at Monmouth University. Jason Hafstad, Trustee of the New Jersey Mycological Association and Preserve Manager/Ecologist for the New Jersey Natural Lands Trust, will explore fungi (okay, not plants, but too weird and wonderful to leave out!). Jason oversees nearly 30,000 acres of New Jersey’s nature preserves and has documented thousands of our state’s macro-fungi species. Dr. Jeffrey Benca, Research Associate at UC Berkeley’s Museum of Paleontology, will transport us back in time to explore ancient plants. Dr. Benca specializes in paleobotany and the cultivation of early-diverging plant lineages, particularly lycopods—some of Earth’s most primitive vascular plants. We will send out our official announcement soon, probably early next month.
Appreciating native plants doesn’t always mean we can plant all of them. There are endangered plants we should never collect or plant. Without water, aquatic plants aren’t possible (though making a pond is easier than you think—I have, and it’s not that hard!). Our native fungi are difficult to deliberately cultivate, but adding decaying matter to your soil like arborist wood chips and broken sticks, twigs, and branches is a great way to create conditions for mycorrhizal networks that will help them flourish. Most ancient plants are extremely difficult to cultivate, even for PhDs—leave that Princess Pine (Lycopodium obscurum) where it’s growing, don’t even try. And parasitic and carnivorous plants often have very specific and challenging growing conditions.
But there ARE weird native plants you can grow! And going beyond the usual plant list isn’t just fun, it’s a great way to rebuild diversity. While keystone species are crucial, diverse plantings create resilient ecosystems that support specialized pollinators, provide food throughout the seasons, resist disease and pest outbreaks, and offer habitat niches for different wildlife. With over 2,100 native plant species in New Jersey, we have so many options beyond the ones we’re familiar with.
Your specialized local 100% native plant nurseries may require a further drive, but they either sell via mail order or are located in beautiful parts of the state, so make a day of it (https://npsnj.org/native-plants/where-to-buy-natives/). While you can’t buy lycopods, you can find Scouring Rush (Equisetum hyemale var. affine) at Toadshade Wildflower Farm—an evergreen horsetail related to some of the earliest land plants. I’ve also bought Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus)—a plant that uses thermogenesis to melt snow in late winter—from Toadshade for my pond. With its beautful, sticking spaths, that plant is the epitome of strange. Our native Prickly Pear Cactus (Opuntia humifusa)—yes, a cactus in New Jersey—is available at native plant nurseries such as Wild Ridge Plants (Wild Ridge Co-Owner Jared Rosenbaum made a video about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ibgVvjT8lI), Gino’s Nursery, and sometimes Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve (the latter two are in Pennsylvania, but a stone’s throw from New Jersey). Pawpaw (Asimina triloba), our only native tropical fruit with its bizarre flowers and custardy fruit, is also available at many native-only nurseries.
The two plants I mentioned at the outset, Pokeweed and Pearly Everlasting, are definitely weird and can be hard to find at nurseries, but Toadshade carries Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana) seed and Wild Ridge frequently has Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea) in stock.
For carnivorous plants, both Toadshade and Bowman’s Hill carry Purple Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia purpurea), and Toadshade also offers Roundleaf Sundew (Drosera rotundifolia) seed. Wild Ridge carries many other oddities such as Gray’s Sedge (Carex grayi) with its spiky mace-like seed heads (it can be found at many other native-only nurseries too), and Chocolate Root (Geum rivale) with its nodding burgundy flowers. Wild Ridge has also carried semi-parasitic Canadian Wood Betony (Pedicularis canadensis) in the past. I have found the scary looking, highly-toxic Doll’s Eyes (Actaea pachypoda) at Gino’s before. And for the truly adventurous, Toadshade even sells Eastern Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) seed—it supports specialist insects including the Poison Ivy Aphid (Carolinaia caricis) and the beautiful Eyed Paectes moth (Paectes oculatrix).
Don’t forget that spring is prime time for weird plants at native nurseries—that’s when you’ll find Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) with its sex-changing ways, Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum) with its single hidden flower, or Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense) with its ground-level flowers pollinated by beetles.
Earth First Gardens even has a moon garden plant list on their website (https://earthfirstnatives.com/Native_Plant_Info.html), featuring night-blooming Evening Primrose (Oenothera biennis) and ghostly white Adam’s Needle (Yucca filamentosa).
The weird is out there—you just need to know where to look.
So this fall, I challenge you: instead of reaching for that Purple Coneflower (pretty, but to be honest, not really native to most of New Jersey), consider a Skunk Cabbage for your perenially wet spot, or a Prickly Pear for that sunny, dry corner. Join us November 1st to learn more, and let’s celebrate the full spectrum of New Jersey’s incredible plant diversity together.
https://npsnj.org/event/fall-conference-2025/One last thing: we thought Weird NJ Plants would be a great way to get young people and folks who don’t think about native plants involved. The Fall Conference is free. Will you help spread the word? Send them a link to the event page and spread the word as the date nears. It’s easy to remember as it is the day after Halloween, which is fitting.
Our Rosebay rhododendrons (Rhododendron maximum) are a little past bloom now as the woodland garden here on Montclair’s First Mountain has settled into the deep green of the summer. Yesterday, I noticed our Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis) is fruiting. The fireflies light up our evenings and although their numbers are greater on our property since we started planting native, I worry about their future. Firefly populations are dropping both in our state and nationwide. Some species are in danger. After the unseasonably warm heat wave last week, many of the spring plants that would normally stick around a little longer have started calling it a day. Unseasonably warm is now the norm. Climate change is uneven, and so far, New Jersey has been one of the states most impacted by climate change, doubling the average temperature rise of the 48 continental states. Ours is an environment under stress.
Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis), photograph by Kazys Varnelis, 2025
Gings on in Washington don’t help matters. The 2026 Federal Budget promises major cuts to science. To take but one example, the United States Geological Survey Bee Lab, run by Sam Droege, who gave a fabulous talk about native bees at our 2023 annual meeting, is slated to close to focus USGS attention on identifying new sources of energy and minerals to extract. Even as, at the last minute, Utah Senator Mike Lee responded to pressure from constituents who love to hunt and fish in the wild and pulled his amendment to sell between 2.2 and 3.3 million acres of federally owned land to the highest bidder, there are hundreds of cuts like Sam’s bee lab. It’s a fraught time.
But there is good news, too. On June 3, Governor Phil Murphy announced that New Jersey has become the first state in the continental United States (and only the second after Alaska) to meet the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People’s of protecting 30% of land and water use by 2030. Much of that protection has come through the Green Acres Program, established in 1961, which funds land acquisition, including important conservation sites like the 10,000-acre Waywanda State Park in Sussex and Passaic County and the 1,400-acre Holly Farm, a key part of the Menantico Ponds Wildlife Management Area in Cumberland County. Small sites benefit too, such as 71 acres recently preserved in Frenchtown, Hunterdon County.
Still, Green Acres funds are sometimes used for doing things that don’t help our environment, such as building sports fields with artificial turf, clearing mature woods to build a restaurant, or building pickleball and volleyball courts together with parking. These are all programs meant to get people outdoors and thereby improve their lives, but there is no reason they can’t be done better. As such proposals are generated locally, we need to reach out in our own communities and get people to think about nature just a little bit more. And that often means overcoming divisions.
When I became a founding co-chair of the Advocacy Committee at NPSNJ four years ago, I sought bipartisan solutions. The environment should matter to everyone, regardless of political affiliation or background. I grew up in the rural northeast, where communities paused for deer hunting season. As a parent, I spent time around campfires in upstate New York with fellow scout parents. In doing so, I learned that appreciating and protecting nature can cross all class and political divides. In a time of increasing polarization, such common ground becomes especially important. Not everyone understands what native plants are: most people can’t tell the difference between an oak and a maple, let alone a native Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) and a Norway maple (Acer platanoides) and there was a time when each of us didn’t either, whether it was age 3 or age 73. Plant blindness crosses class and political divides as well. But we can learn.
Everyone has to start somewhere. Even as we reach out to our elected representatives in local, state and federal governments, we also need to engage with friends and neighbors one-on-one. While one neighbor still douses his yard with remarkable amounts of herbicides and pesticides, another took some of my excess Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata) for her water feature and enjoys the ferns spreading naturally from my property to hers. Every interaction matters, and every new advocate counts. The Society now counts over 1,600 members. Imagine if all of us could convince three people of the merits of native plants.
My point is this: I urge all of you to think of those three (or more) people in your life who might be receptive to learning about native plants. Perhaps it’s the neighbor who admired your garden, a family member looking to redesign their yard, or a colleague interested in sustainability. Share with them your plants and your knowledge—why native species matter, how they support local wildlife, and how simple changes can make profound differences. I’d like to close with gratitude for this community. In challenging times, it’s heartening to see so many people committed to protecting our local ecosystems. Whether you’ve been with us for decades or just joined this year, your dedication makes a difference. The fireflies in my garden—and I hope yours too—are a testament to that.
Happy Fourth! And see you in the garden,
Kazys
Volunteers from the Essex County Chapter of NPSNJ and Essex County Master Gardeners clearing invasive plants in the newly restored Meadow at Eagle Rock Reservation West Orange, NJ. This is a large project, and I had to crop almost all of it out so you could (sort of) see the volunteers. Unfortunately, you can’t see the massive numbers of dragonflies hovering about. It was spectacular!
For most Americans, summer doesn’t begin with the solstice, but rather with Memorial Day weekend, while for meteorologists, summer begins on June 1. Either way, it seems early summer is upon us: our delicate spring flowers—Spring beauties (Claytonia virginica), Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), and Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica) and countless others—have finished blooming. Some ephemerals have already retreated underground, hidden until next spring, while other early spring bloomers will persist into midsummer, gathering energy for next year’s bloom.
Our attention now turns to Mountain laurels (Kalmia latifolia) and Rosebay rhododendrons (Rhododendron maximum), just beginning to bloom, as well as to the diverse geometries of leaves: the shield-like leaves of Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia), the wide umbrellas of Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum), the lacy spears of Ostrich Fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris), and the glossy, kidney-shaped leaves of Wild ginger (Asarum canadense). We are blessed to live in a place with such magnificent flora!
May Apple (Podophyllum peltatum) and other plants, May 2025
The Native Plant Society of New Jersey had an active spring, hosting over eighty-five events statewide and online. Our State Programs Committee recently led an expedition to Manitoga, the Russel Wright Design Center in Garrison, New York, where the staff provided a remarkable tour of this midcentury modernist home set within a former quarry, the scarred landscape restored using native plants. I’ve written an essay about Manitoga on The Florilegium, my gardening blog for those who want to know more about its history. NPSNJ will have many exciting and informative events ahead, including our online fall conference on Saturday, November 1, Weird NJ Plants* (yes, we have the kind permission of Weird NJ to use their name!) which will cover the strangest plants in our state as well as a new round of classes this fall and winter; Mike Van Clef, Jared Rosenbaum, and Nancy Lawson are all confirmed to be teaching and registration will be open for members in August.
Manitoga, May 2025
I also wanted to share some promising news regarding beech leaf disease treatment. Generally, we avoid pesticides, but the disease is expected to kill infected trees within seven years and losing another keystone species like the American Beech (Fagus grandifolia) would be devastating to all the creatures that depend on it. Last year, over 80% of my beech leaves showed the characteristic dark banding of the infection. Fungicidal spray treatments greatly reduced the infection rate, and this year infections only affect 10-15% of our beech leaves. An even more effective method—trunk injection—is available now, offering protection for two to three years. Timing is critical. Jean Epiphan, Agriculture & Natural Resources Agent for Morris County, recommends performing injections this month (June), ideally early in the morning when the trees most effectively absorb treatments through their xylem (the tissue transporting water and nutrients upward).
Three bills supporting our mission are at a critical stage in the New Jersey Legislature. Legislators have emphasized to us that your calls and emails truly influence their votes.
Here’s how you can help right now:
Wildlife Corridors (S3618/A4926) Creates safe passages for wildlife, protecting our native habitats from fragmentation. Passed Senate unanimously; awaiting Assembly vote. Bill details here.
Action: Contact your Assembly Members and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin. Dark Sky (S1610/A2196) Reduces harmful light pollution, benefiting native plants, pollinators, and insects. Passed Assembly unanimously; now before Senate Budget Committee. Bill details here.
Action: Contact your State Senator. Invasive Species (S1029/A4137) Prohibits the sale and spread of invasive plants and establishes a statewide management council. Passed Senate unanimously; awaiting Assembly committee review. Bill details here.
Action: Contact your Assembly Members and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin. Take action today:
📞 Speaker Coughlin: 732-855-7441 📬 Find your legislators’ contact information here. Thank you for your vital support. Together, we can protect New Jersey’s native plant communities and the wildlife that depends on them.
Kazys Varnelis, Ph.D. President, the Native Plant Society of New Jersey
*Weird NJ is a registered trademark of Weird New Jersey, LLC, and is used by permission.
Our Native Plant Month Bioblitz, held throughout April (Native Plant Month) 2025, was a tremendous success, with 30 observers recording 2,052 observations of 404 native species across New Jersey. Thanks also to the 143 identifiers who provided expert confirmations, enhancing the accuracy and value of this important ecological data.
April’s observations were dominated by spring ephemerals, such as Yellow Trout-lily, Common Blue Violet, Virginia Spring-beauty, and Bloodroot, highlighting the beauty and ecological significance of these fleeting spring blooms.
Bioblitzes play a critical role in conservation efforts by documenting species distributions, tracking plant populations, and informing ecological management practices. By participating, community members actively contribute to scientific knowledge and environmental stewardship.
You can continue to use iNaturalist throughout the year to record and identify native plants. Every observation helps build a richer, more comprehensive understanding of New Jersey’s botanical diversity and supports ongoing conservation initiatives.
Thank you to all who participated and helped celebrate and protect New Jersey’s native plant heritage!
Join the 2025 NPSNJ BioBlitz: Celebrate Native Plant Month in New Jersey!
This April, the Native Plant Society of New Jersey (NPSNJ) invites you to participate in our annual BioBlitz. Together, we’ll document the diverse plant life across the state.
What is a BioBlitz?
A BioBlitz is a collaborative effort to record as many species as possible within a specific area and time frame. Our focus is on New Jersey’s native and non-native plants throughout April 2025.
Familiarize yourself with the platform by exploring its features.
Join the Project:
Search for “Native Plant Month 2025 – NJ” on iNaturalist or go to this link.
Join the project to contribute your observations.
Document Plants:
Throughout April, photograph plants in your area—parks, backyards, or any natural setting.
Upload your observations to iNaturalist and add them to the project.
Why Participate?
Your contributions help scientists and conservationists understand plant distribution and biodiversity in New Jersey. It’s a chance to connect with nature and support conservation efforts.
Friendly Competition
Compete with your family, friends, and other NPSNJ members to see who can get the most observations, and the most observations of unique species.
Resources:
iNaturalist Tutorial: Learn how to make observations using the iNaturalist mobile app.
What is a BioBlitz?: Discover what a BioBlitz entails and how you can contribute in this video from the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History.
Safety Tips:
Be cautious of ticks and other wildlife.
If documenting endangered species or private locations, use the “obscure” feature to protect their exact locations.
Chrysler Herbarium Spring 2025 Personal Bioblitz
As NPSNJ members, you are also welcome to join the Spring 2025 Rutgers Personal Bioblitz which runs from March 1 to May 15. Whereas NPSNJ’s April Bioblitz is only for New Jersey, the Rutgers Personal Bioblitz cover the whole world. See here for more information.
Let’s make both BioBlitzs (BioBlitzen?) a success by capturing the rich plant life of New Jersey. Happy observing!
