Kentucky Native Plant Society Sandbox

Category: The Lady Slipper

The Lady Slipper newsletter

  • Wildflower Weekend 2025 Logo Design Contest, We Have A Winner!

    For a second year, in the spirit of bringing together creative expression and love for nature, the KNPS Board sponsored a Wildflower Weekend 2025 Logo Design Contest. This was an open design contest to come up with a logo for Wildflower Weekend 2025 (April 11-13 at Carter Caves SRP). The logo will be used on t-shirts, hoodies, and coffee cups, as well as on all publicity about the event. The submitted designs will be presented to the KNPS membership for voting and the winner will be awarded $200 and be recognized on the KNPS website.

    Wildflower Weekend 2025 will be held at Carter Caves SRP in Carter County. The county is a hot spot of Viola diversity in Kentucky, with 13 species of Viola found in the county. One species of violet was selected to be the species around which the logo design would focus, the three-parted yellow violet (Viola tripartita). It is native to Eastern North America, being primarily found in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. The species is rare throughout its range, especially so in Kentucky where it has only been reported from Carter County.

    We put out a call to artists and graphic designers who were members of the Kentucky Native Plant Society in early December. The submitted designs were then presented to the KNPS membership for voting during the month of January. The membership of KNPS responded, with 130 members casting a vote. The beautiful logo featured above came out on top as the winning entry. The design, featuring the three-parted yellow violet, two other species of violet found in Carter county, and a background of Carter Caves, was submitted by Cheryll Frank of Scott Co., KY.

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  • Wildflower Weekend 2025 – Merchandise

    For a second year, in the spirit of bringing together creative expression and love for nature, the KNPS Board sponsored a Wildflower Weekend 2025 Logo Design Contest. This was an open design contest to come up with a logo for Wildflower Weekend 2025 (April 11-13 at Carter Caves SRP).

    Wildflower Weekend 2025 will be held at Carter Caves SRP in Carter County. The county is a hot spot of Viola diversity in Kentucky, with 13 species of Viola found in the county. One species of violet was selected to be the species around which the logo design would focus, the three-parted yellow violet (Viola tripartita). It is native to Eastern North America, being primarily found in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. The species is rare throughout its range, especially so in Kentucky where it has only been reported from Carter County.

    We put out a call to artists and graphic designers who were members of the Kentucky Native Plant Society in early December. The submitted designs were then presented to the KNPS membership for voting during the month of January. The membership of KNPS responded, with 130 members casting a vote. The beautiful logo featured above came out on top as the winning entry. The design, featuring the three-parted yellow violet, two other species of violet found in Carter county and a background of Carter Caves, was submitted by Cheryll Frank of Scott Co., KY.

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  • Botany Blitz 2025 & Kick Off Hikes – Call for Hike Leaders

    Leading up to Wildflower Weekend 2025, at Carter Caves SRP, KNPS will be holding our 5th annual Botany Blitz 2025, which will run from Saturday, April 5th, through Sunday, April 13th. The spring Botany Blitz is a group effort to document as many plant species as possible within Kentucky during the week preceding Wildflower Weekend, and will again be hosted on the community science platform iNaturalist. Participants can use the iNaturalist mobile app in the field (or use the website if your preferred camera is not a smartphone!) to document their observations of Kentucky’s flora.

    As in previous years, Botany Blitz 2025 will commence with a series of Kick Off Hikes held Saturday, April 5th and Sunday, April 6th, in parks and natural areas across the Commonwealth. These easygoing wildflower walks are led by local botanizers and naturalists who are familiar with the native flora that hikers will encounter. As the Kick Off Hikes are meant to start the Botany Blitz, we are hoping that folks who plan to participate will sign up for an iNaturalist account (if they don’t already have one) and join the Botany Blitz 2025 project, although you do not need to be an iNaturalist user to enjoy these hikes.

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  • From the Lady Slipper Archives: What’s in a Name?

    The Lady Slipper newsletter, and now blog, of the Kentucky Native Plant Society has been published since the Society’s founding in 1986. We occasionally feature an article from a past issue. In this series of articles, that ran from late 1994 to early 1995, President Landon McKinney takes a look at the origins of some common and scientific plant names. These articles ran in three parts in Vol. 9, No. 4, Vol. 10, No. 1, and Vol. 10, No. 2. If you would like to see these and other past issues, visit the Lady Slipper Archives, where all issues from Vol. 1, February 1986 to Vol. 39, 2024, can be found.

    What’s in a Name?

    by Landon McKinney

    Part 1
    V9N4-1994-Nov
    I am sure that each of us has wondered from time to time just where a particular common name for a plant came from. The origin of many common names are rather apparent, such as cardinal flower (red colored), Queen Anne’s lace (lacy cluster of flowers), or perhaps buffalo clover (favored by buffalo as forage).

    This, the first in a series of articles, will explore some common names that are not quite as obvious. Let’s start with alfalfa. No, this plant was not named after that lovable character from the “Little Rascals”. The name was actually derived from Arabic meaning “best fodder”. The plant was introduced from Arabia to Spain, England, and eventually the United States.

    How about pipsissewa? The origin here is from the Cree Indians and means “juice breaks stone in bladder into small pieces”. Needless to say, the Cree believed this plant to aid in the treatment of gall or kidney stones. Now there’s smartweed. Assuming the obvious, I tried eating this stuff but it just didn’t seem to work. Actually, the name refers to the fact that the plant burns (smarts) the tongue when tasted.

    Some common names reflect the generic name such as portulaca. This name comes from the Latin word for “little gate” which refers to the lid of the seed capsule which opens like a gate.

    I always wondered about ironweed, which merely refers to the hardiness and stiffness of the stem. Goldenseal, which has long been valued for its medicinal properties, has a name that actually stems from the use of this plant as a source of dye. We have curly dock and bitter dock and numerous other docks. Dock refers to the long thick taproot which resembles the solid portion of an animal’s tail. If used as a verb, the word dock commonly refers to the removal of said tail from sheep or certain breeds of dogs.

    In closing, let me leave you with a few questions to ponder. Does the royal catchfly catch flies? Does the trout lily in some way resemble a fish and who is Joe Pye, anyway?

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  • Save the Date! KNPS Wildflower Weekend 2025 – April 11-13, 2025

    We have exciting news for all of our members and friends! KNPS is happy to announce this year’s Wildflower Weekend has been scheduled for April 11th -13th, 2025, at Carter Caves State Resort Park in Carter County! Beginning in 2023, the KNPS Board decided that we would alternate Wildflower Weekend between the longtime host site, Natural Bridge SRP, in even numbered years, and then a different state park in odd numbered years. This year, our annual Wildflower Weekend will be held at Carter Caves SRP.

    The event will include guided hikes through beautiful natural areas throughout the weekend, a Friday Evening Friends & Members Social, and Saturday evening presentations.

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  • Calling all Kentucky research students! KNPS will have a Student Poster Session at Wildflower Weekend 2025!

    KNPS is happy to announce that we will be hosting our first student poster session at Wildflower Weekend 2025! Wildflower Weekend is a 35+ year tradition that focuses on providing high quality botanical and biodiversity educational and fellowship experiences to professionals, naturalists, and nature lovers of all ages. Wildflower Weekend will be held at Carter Caves State Resort Park in Grayson, KY from April 11th-12th, 2025.

    We are looking for undergraduate, graduate and PhD students at Kentucky colleges and universities doing research in botany, biology, and other related fields in the spring of 2025!

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  • Call to Action: KNPS Now Accepting Applications for 2025 Native Plant Pollinator Garden Grant

    Volunteers planting the pollinator garden.
    Volunteers planting the pollinator garden at EKU’s Science for Sustainable Living Initiative

    The Kentucky Native Plant Society (KNPS) is thrilled to open applications for its 2025 Native Plant Pollinator Garden Grant. Grants of $500 will be awarded to several applicants to promote biodiversity and environmental education.

    Our mission is to encourage people to establish pollinator gardens. They don’t have to be huge or even aesthetically beautiful for our purposes. They simply need to exist where humans can see them, commune with them, and learn about them.

    The grant’s objective

    The grant aims to foster the establishment of native plant pollinator gardens, emphasizing not only the ecological benefits but also the educational enrichment they provide. Through these gardens, KNPS seeks to nurture a deeper understanding and appreciation of native plant species and their crucial role in pollination.

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