December 2007 Vol. V No. 4

Directors & Officers

Ruth Loper, Director

Lynn Sherrod, Director

Clyde McKinney, President

Phone 903-967-3998

franclyde@peoplescom.net

Liz Soutendijk, VP Programs

Elizabeth Parks, Sec/Treasurer

Ron Loper, VP Field Trips

Marjorie Sherrod, VP Membership

Herb Jarrell, Newsletter Editor

Joint Meeting—Tyler Audubon and Tyler Native Plant Society

Annual Christmas Party

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

6:00 PM Bradford Lodge, Camp Tyler

Bring a vegetable, salad, dessert or main dish

(A ham will be provided by Audubon)

Prizes for the best dish in each category!

The program for December will be our annual Christmas Party with the Tyler Chapter of the Audubon Society. Audubon is the host this year. This joint dinner will be held on Tuesday, December 11^th from 6 to 9 PM in the Bradford Lodge at Camp Tyler. Members should bring their favorite dish to share with others and prepare to be judged for best food in several categories. Each person attending should also bring $1.00 to pay the “camp usage fee” that Camp Tyler charges to cover insurance for our use of the building.

Directions to Camp Tyler—choose the metropolis closest to you to access Camp Tyler:

· FROM BASCOM via FM 848 (FM 848 is 3.0-3.2 miles east southeast of Loop 323 by way of Hwy 64 or Spur 248): Take FM 848 (Bascom Rd.) or Spur 248 (University Drive) into Bascom to the 4-way stop where FM 848 and Spur 248 intersect. Go south on FM 848 (towards Whitehouse). About 4 miles south of Spur 248 look for the Camp Tyler sign on the left about ½ mile past North West Rd. and just before reaching the Gilley Creek bridge; turn left onto CR 2127 (McElroy Rd). Camp Tyler is about ½ mile up CR 2127 and on the left. Bear to the left into Camp Tyler on Camp Tyler Rd. This road ends at the Bradford Lodge building where we will have our dinner and get-together. Please park so that you will not impede others using the road.

· FROM WHITEHOUSE via FM 848 (Whitehouse is 6.1-6.2 miles southeast of Loop 323): Take FM 346 or Hwy 110 into Whitehouse to the Main Street stoplight where FM 346 and Hwy 110 intersect. Go east on E. Main St. (FM 346) towards the Lake Tyler dam until you get to the first stoplight after crossing or leaving Hwy 110.  Turn left (north) on FM 848 (Bascom Rd.). About 2½ miles north of FM 346 look for the Camp Tyler sign on the right just past the Gilley Creek bridge and turn right onto CR 2127 (McElroy Rd). Camp Tyler is about ½ mile up CR 2127 and on the left. Bear to the left into Camp Tyler on Camp Tyler Rd. This road ends at the Bradford Lodge building where we will have our dinner and get-together. Please park so that you will not impede others using the road.

FROM THE PRESIDENT

Oh Juniperus virginiana, oh Juniperus virginiana, of all the trees most lovely
Oh Juniperus virginiana, oh Juniperus virginiana, of all the trees most lovely
Each year you bring to me delight, and meaning in the Christmas night
Oh Juniperus virginiana, oh Juniperus virginiana, of all the trees most lovely

Oh Juniperus virginiana, oh Juniperus virginiana, with faithful leaves unchanging
Oh Juniperus virginiana, oh Juniperus virginiana, with faithful leaves unchanging
Your boughs are green in summer’s glow, and do not fade in winter’s snow
Oh Juniperus virginiana, oh Juniperus virginiana, with faithful leaves unchanging

Each year you bring to me delight, and meaning in the Christmas night
Oh Juniperus virginiana, oh Juniperus virginiana, why are you here?

[Editor’s reassurance: the above rendition has NOT infringed on ANYone’s copyright privileges!]

Some of you will go into the woods this season to harvest your Christmas tree. For many, it will be the eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana). But, why is it here? Why is it everywhere?

The Texas Forest Service lists it as a Texas Non-Native Invasive Plant Species. We know it did not exist in the prairies because it cannot withstand fire. If you cut off or burn the trunk, it will die. If its leaves are burned, they will not return, and the tree will die. The Illustrated Flora of East Texas states, “This is a problematic invader of native prairies under conditions of fire suppression.” Nevertheless, I can find no hard evidence that the J. virginiana did not exist somewhere in East Texas before man altered the land. For sure, it did not exist where fire was common. Now, it is usually the first tree to invade unmowed or unburnt fields. That is why we see it everywhere.

What of the bad reputation they have as water hogs? I have heard that it is not the roots that are the culprit; it’s the leaves. They capture the rain and keep it from the ground. On the other hand, I have heard that it’s the roots that out-compete other plants for moisture. Because it is evergreen, it uses more water than deciduous trees in the winter. We know when it moves into an area the native plants are in trouble. Part of that is because it shades plants that once grew in the open; part may be because it reduces the water available to the natives. This subject needs to be researched. Nobody I’ve run into seems to really know the answer.

What of the horrible reputation it has as an allergy causer? From Wikipedia: “The pollen of Eastern Juniper is a known allergen, although not as potent as that of the related Juniperus ashei (Ashe Juniper or Mountain Cedar) which sheds pollen a month earlier. People allergic to one are usually allergic to both. Eastern Juniper sheds pollen as early as late winter and through early spring. Consequently, what begins as an allergy to Ashe Juniper in the winter, may extend into spring since the pollination of the Eastern Juniper follows after that of the Ashe Juniper.” Males produce the pollen and the females produce small berries, which are poisonous.

Then there’s the thing about being a host for cedar apple rust which affects apple trees and native hawthorns.

What’s to like about this tree? It invades, it out-competes, it causes allergies, it ruins apple crops. So what’s good about the J. virginiana? It is an important food source for many forms of wildlife. And it makes a pretty good Christmas tree if you don’t eat the poison parts.

Note: Because of time constraints, this article was short on research. I would like to know more about this tree because it seems to be the most controversial tree around. If you have information, please share it with me. I think I have set the record for the longest title for an article in the newsletter—ever. Happy holidays!

Clyde McKinney

NEW MEMBERS

Welcome our new members to the Tyler Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas!

Rick & Jerisu Black Elk—Palestine, TX Kenneth & Sherry Bitz—LaRue, TX

It’s great to have you with us! If you haven’t come to one of our meetings or our field trips you are missing out! Also, if you have recently joined our chapter and you’re not listed above, please forgive our oversight and let us know.

Marjorie Sherrod

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND EVENTS

2007 Stephen F. Austin Arboretum Les Reeves Lecture Series

December 20—Dave Creech, SFA Mast Arboretum Director, Nacogdoches, TX—“Mexico, China and baseball—ain’t life grand?—dcreech@sfasu.edu

[The SFA Arboretum Les Reeves Lecture Series is normally held the third Thursday of each month from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm in room 110 of the Stephen F. Austin University Agriculture Building on Wilson drive (between the Art building and the intramural fields). It is FREE and open to everyone! Refreshments are served before the talk and a rare plants raffle is held afterwards. For more information see http://arboretum.sfasu.edu]

Contributions to the Newsletter

The newsletter is normally printed monthly, September through May. Members are encouraged to submit articles for publication in the newsletter. Contributions will be considered on the basis of interest, suitability, and available space. Grammar and spelling corrections will be made at the discretion of the editor. Email your articles and announcements to the editor.

If you have never attended one of our meetings, and you are interested in learning more about native plants and their habitats, we invite you to give us a visit. Our meetings are held at the Fairwood United Methodist Church in Tyler on the first Monday of each month, September through May. Fairwood United Methodist Church is located just off 5th Street (Highway 64) at 1712 Old Omen Road, east of Loop 323.

A Special Tribute to Camp Tyler’s very own Herpetologist Dr. Neil Ford

Please note: if you want to forward this newsletter to someone via snail-mail, simply fold it in half so that the blank back side of this page is available for addresses and postage, and staple or tape the two sides and the bottom together.