November 8, 2013 - Boston Flora

Saturday, November 9, 9:30 am – 4:00 pm – Gem, Mineral, Rock and Fossil Show

November 8, 2013 by Boston Flora

Saturday, November 9 is the 17th annual Pioneer Valley Institute Gem, Mineral, Rock and Fossil Show and Sale at Greenfield Community College’s new Dining Commons in the Main Building. (If you haven’t been to GCC, don’t worry. You won’t get lost! Also, the newly reconstructed Core area with the Dining Commons is just beautiful.) The show opens at 9:30 and runs to 4 pm. ADMISSION IS FREE!

Besides geological specimens from around the world, come and see jewelry, beads, cabochons, and many other “gems” from the earth. Talented local artisans have crafted many items. The Jurassic Roadshow showcases specimens from the Connecticut Valley. Talk to the expert collectors. Bring in your specimens for identification. On display: an amazingly preserved baby dinoprint. You can also take a tour of the GCC Rock Park at the rear of the Main Building.

At 1:00 Historian Bob Herbert will present a program on ROSWELL FIELD, the owner of the famous Barton Cove dinosaur footprint quarry where so many Amherst College Hitchcock specimens were collected. This man, now mostly forgotten, was an important layman-scientist who met and corresponded with many world-famous scientists. You can see the whole Bob Herbert journal article here: http://www.gillmass.org/pdfs/2013-Robert-Herbert-Roswell-Field.pdf .

Avoid Decorating with Invasive Plants

November 8, 2013 by Boston Flora

The Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife has sent us the following reminder:

During the holiday season, many people use plant material gathered from their yard to decorate their houses or businesses. The Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (DFW) and the Department of Agricultural Resources (DAR) encourage people to avoid using exotic, invasive plants such as Oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus) and Multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora) in holiday decorations. Though these plants are attractive, it is best not to use them. Birds eat fruits from wreaths and garlands and the digested, but still-viable seeds, sprout where deposited. Exotic, invasive plants create severe environmental damage, invading open fields, forests, wetlands, meadows, and backyards, and crowding out native plants. Bittersweet can grow over and even kill mature trees. These invasive plants are extremely difficult to control: when cut off, the remaining plant segment in the ground will re-sprout. It is illegal to import or sell Oriental bittersweet and Multiflora rose in any form (e.g. plants, cuttings, or wreaths) in Massachusetts.

Home and business property gardeners, garden club members, nursery staff, landscapers and conservationists can learn more about invasive plants from DFWâ€™s â€œA Guide to Invasive Plants.â€ The guide includes invasive plant descriptions, photographs, the plantâ€™s regulatory status, key identification characteristics, habitats where the plant is likely to be found, type of threat the plant poses to native species and their habitats, its current distribution, and place of origin. Similar plant species are also briefly described to aid in plant identification.

To purchase a guide, stop in the Field Headquarters office in West Boylston (note new address) during business hours or send a request to â€œInvasive Plant Guide,â€ DFW Field HQ, NHESP, 100 Hartwell Street, Suite 230, West Boylston, MA, 01583, and include a check for $5 (per copy) payable to: Comm. of Mass.–NHESP. Sorry, but DFW does not accept credit cards. Learn more about invasive plants from DFW’s Natural Heritage webpage at:

http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dfw/natural-heritage/land-protection-and-management/invasive-species/invasive-plants.html. Find this and other NHESP publications at: http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dfw/natural-heritage/publications-forms/publications/.