Annual Meeting-  Luke Cannon’s walk at DuPont State Forest

Luke Cannon advocates getting to know a plant more than just by sight, but by using multiple senses.  He showed us a Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis), displaying the difficulty birds and insects have to reach the sweet pollen spur, a favorite of hummingbirds as well as long-tongued butterflies like the Spicebush Swallowtail and Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. Bees gain access to the sweet pollen spur of the jewelweed through the rear of the cone-shaped, sac-like sepal. We observed a Calostoma ravenelii,  a puff ball, emit spores when squeezed and what spores need when they land to propagate. Luke also found a lovely seed pod of a Pink Lady’s Slipper (Cypripedium acaule); this time he discuss additional insights regarding propagation of this species. It was a mini-class in nature’s beauty, diversity, reciprocity, along with careful observation using multiple senses.