Boston Flora

Tag: New England Botanical Society

  • Sunday, September 13, 9:30 am – 12:30 pm – The Dead Botanists Society (Rain Date September 21)

    For New England Botanical Society’s 130th anniversary, we’ll be celebrating with the ‘Dead Botanists Society’ of Mount Auburn Cemetery. The cemetery, established in 1831, is a National Historic Landmark and considered the first “garden cemetery” in the United States. The collection features more than 2,500 taxa (in over 20,000 plantings) throughout 175-acres. It is also the final resting place for several notable botanists in NEBS’s history. The event begins at 9:30 am on September 13 (rain date September 21).

    Jim Gorman of Mount Auburn Visitor Services will provide a list of plants in flower and talk about the cemetery and eminent botanists prior to the founding of New England Botanical Club in 1896. This includes Asa Gray and the garden named in his honor that was recently renovated and Jacob Bigelow, the architect of the cemetery. Samantha Richardson, Mount Auburn Manager of Horticulture Records, will provide a customized tour map and describe the Flora of Mount Auburn online plant records database of trees, shrubs, and ground covers. Nancy Eyster-Smith, NEBS Corresponding Secretary, will provide biographical highlights of members of the “Dead Botanists Society,” at the burial sites. This includes founding members of NEBC who served as President, Vice President, Treasurer, Corresponding Secretary, Curators of herbaria, and Editor-in-Chief of Rhodora, as well as the well-known Merritt Lyndon Fernald. Additional highlights of the tour will include trees recorded as Massachusetts or New England champions for their species and the Franklin Tree (Franklinia alatamaha), now extinct in the wild, named in honor of Benjamin Franklin.

    Location: Mount Auburn Cemetery. Meet at the Story Chapel, 580 Mt Auburn St, Cambridge, MA, for an introduction before we head out on the tour. The walk is about 1 mile. Bring water and wear comfortable shoes. Picnicking is not permitted on the cemetery grounds.

    FREE and open to members and nonmembers. For more information visit https://rhodora.org/meetings/

  • Sunday, May 31, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Budding Botanists: Floodplain Botany of the Sudbury River

    On May 31 from 10 – 12, enjoy the wonderful vistas of the meandering Sudbury River at Weir Hill, Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge with Neela de Zoysa and the New England Botanical Society. The habitat is lush and diverse, with floodplain trees, swamps of buttonbush and red maple, ferns, graminoids and other herbaceous species. We will take a close look at these riverine plants and learn to identify some typical denizens. The location has great observation platforms, and boardwalks for examining plants. This field trip will be geared towards beginners, but all are welcome to join. Bring a hand lens if you own one or a magnifying glass and a packed lunch to enjoy after the field trip.


    Terrain: Terrain is mainly flat and easy on Red Maple Trail; gentle climb on Weir Hill Trail; we can take it slowly
    Capacity: 20 participants
    Register at https://rhodora.org/event/budding-botanists-floodplain-botany-of-the-sudbury-river-great-meadows-national-wildlife-refuge-sudbury-massachusetts/

  • Saturday, June 6, 10:30 am – 4:30 pm – Early Season Grasses

    The grass family (Poaceae) is one of the largest families of flowering plants and generally the most diverse family in any local or regional flora. In this June 6 Native Plant Trust workshop at Garden in the Woods we’ll learn to identify the genera and common species of early-season grasses in New England that are dominant features of meadows and wetlands. This course is ideal for field botanists as well as gardeners interested in native meadow restoration and planting. The instructor is Dr. Lisa Standley, Botanist and Curator of Vascular Plants, New England Botanical Society. $150. Register at https://www.nativeplanttrust.org/events/early-season-grasses/

  • Saturday, September 6, 10:00 am – 3:00 pm – Rattlesnake Mountain Walk

    The New England Botanical Society is leading a walk on September 6 to Rattlesnake Mountain in Rumney, New Hampshire. The leader is Scott Bailey, retired US Forest Service ecologist. Rattlesnake Mountain is part of the White Mountain National Forest. There are cliffs of multiple lithologies, talus, and rich northern woodlands. The site is likely the northernmost station for white oak in the Merrimack watershed and contains good diversity of ferns, including Dryopteris fragrans. The trip will cover a moderate distance. Some areas may be challenging with steep and rocky sections. Register HERE. Free.

  • Sunday, August 17, 9:00 am – 12:00 noon – Surry Mountain Sunday Stroll

    Join New England Botanical Society and Monadnock Bird and Nature Club on August 17 from 9 – noon as we explore a diverse array of upland and floodplain natural communities, then take a dip at Surry Mountain Lake. The walk will be led by Nate Marchessault, ecologist, and Karro Frost, Massachusetts Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program Conservation Planning Biologist. We’ll begin along a riparian area rich with musclewood, and the rest of the trip will be through upland areas of varying levels of enrichment, from hemlock forest to rich forests with abundant basswood and hickory. The trip will be an out-and-back with a slight amount of elevation increase and a maximum of three miles of walking, with optional off-trail excursions. Terrain is easy to moderate.

    This is a free event and is open to members and non-members. Register at this LINK

    Monadnock Bird and NATURE Club

  • Friday, March 7, 7:00 pm Eastern – Forests, Fish, and a Botanist’s Excursion Into Riverine & New Ocean Habitat Restoration, Online

    Don Hudson’s interest in mountain plants and ecology in the early 1970s led to a career in environmental and conservation education at the Chewonki Foundation in Maine. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service invited Don and his colleagues in 1992 to assist with a landscape-scale project to promote greater public awareness of and appreciation for the watershed of the Gulf of Maine. Three decades later, Don continues to work on projects that restore connectivity between mountain and forest ecosystems and ecosystems of the near ocean.

    This Zoom presentation on March 7 at 7 pm Eastern is presented by the New England Botanical Society. Non-members may register for the meeting access link here.

  • Friday, February 7, 7:00 pm Eastern – Two Tales of Floristic Change in Southern New England: Orchids and Northern Species, Live and Online

    Floras change over time in response to numerous variables, including land use changes, species introductions, climate change, and other factors. This New England Botanical Society talk at 7 pm on February 7 will examine and attempt to explain changes in frequencies of two groups of plants in southern New England: orchids and northern species (i.e., those near the southern end of their range). It will include a discussion of different data sources and their limitations and the challenges of dealing with potentially confounding factors. Speaker Dr. Robert Bertin is Professor Emeritus of Biology at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester. The talk will be live and on Zoom.

    Non-members may register for the meeting access link here.

  • Friday, January 10, 5:30 pm – 25th Triumphant Togetherness: Tantalizing Taxonomy, Tempting Treats, & Thrilling Treasures

    The New England Botanical Society is having a membership event on January 10 at the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife’s Cronin Building, 1 Rabbit Hill Road in Westborough, Room 108, Southeast Conference Room. There will be a members potluck, raffle, and show & tell starting at 5:30 pm. For information on joining, visit https://www.rhodora.org/membership/join.html

  • Saturday, August 17, 9:00 am – 1:00 pm – Stacy Mountain Preserve Field Trip

    The New England Botanical Society will sponsor a field trip to Stacy Mountain Preserve in Gill on August 17. The Leader is Peter Grima, co-author of Flora of Franklin County, Massachusetts. The Nature Conservancy’s Stacy Mountain is a botanical hotspot that continues to turn up new records of rare and interesting plants. In a relatively short distance, we will explore rich vernal pools, cliffs of sedimentary bedrock, and a dry power line riddled with legumes and interesting grasses. Hickory-hop hornbeam woodlands and a rich, cold swamp are also nearby. The terrain is difficult, and the event is limited to twelve participants. Register here so Peter may be in touch with you about this trip.

  • Friday, April 5, 7:00 pm Eastern – Unlocking the Grasses, Sedges, and Rushes: Fresh Approaches to Identifying These Challenging Plants, Live and Online

    Join the New England Botanical Society on Friday, April 5 for its monthly meeting. Ted Elliman, MA botany/ecology instructor, retired, Native Plant Trust, and Lauren Brown, Connecticut author, VP Connecticut Botanical Society, will speak on Unlocking the Grasses, Sedges, and Rushes: Fresh Approaches to Identifying These Challenging Plants. Non-members may register for the meeting access link here.