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Previous Speakers
(Yes, we've had many speakers since 2002...in fact we have one at each of our monthly meetings...they just haven't been added to this page yet.)
August 12, 2002
Kitty Van Sickle gave our first lesson on botany, the evolution of plants. She explained the different divisions,
fern, moss and liverworts, algae, naked seeds, and flowering plants, and then the monocots and dicots. Mike and
Effie Smith presented a program on Carnivorous Plants and Wildflowers of the Florida Panhandle. They made 5 trips
and had many beautiful photos taken by Effie to show. Mike explained the areas they visited to find the plants
and explained how the pitcher plants grow. They had pictures of wildflowers and also some of the birds at St. Mark's
NWR where they always stop. Kathryn Allison talked about Mimosa strigillosa, our plant of the month. She planted
6 of them early this year in a dry area in her yard. They now fill an area of approximately 22 feet X 24 feet.
They grow well in sand & sun. She showed a picture of it in her yard.
July 8, 2002
Pat and Ray Ashton of the Ashton Biodiversity Research & Preservation Institute, Inc., a non-profit organization,
gave a presentation. Ray, a Herpatologist and Ecologist, spoke first about their project, the Gopher Tortoise Conservation
Initiative. The program helps residents assist in protecting tortoises in their communities as properties are being
developed. The tortoise can live 80 to 100 years or more and they eat 350 different plant species. Pat, a Botanist
and Biologist, discussed in detail the plants they eat. In addition to Gopher apple they eat many fruits, berries,
and love plants in the aster & pea or bean family. They did a slide presentation along with the talk. They
will be publishing 2 books in the near future. There was a question and answer period after the talk. Gary Maidhof
spoke about Chickasaw Plum, our plant of the month. He brought one for tonight's raffle. Joan Lippman spoke about
Ligustrum Sinense, the category 1 unplant of the month. Sid Taylor said there are some growing at Mc Kethan Lake.
Power point pictures of the plant photos e-mailed this month were shown. Purple Cone Flower, Scarlet Hibiscus,
and Ground Cherry were the plants.
June 10, 2002
Marilyn Dietz gave a presentation on landscape design of new and older homes using native plants from Citrus County.
She did a power point program on Utilizing Native Plants in Your Landscape. Her program was on different habitats,
native plants, and several pictures of before and after landscapes. She had an assortment of her books for members
to see and also brought seeds of many different native plants to pass out. Chris Small talked about Sweet bay magnolia,
the plant of the month and a butterfly host plant. Joan Lippman did the unplant of the month, Camphor tree. It
is depleting wetlands and the last remaining virgin forests in the Ocklawaha area of north Florida. St.John's Water
Mgmt and the EPPC are looking into the cost of removing them. In some areas they outnumber our native trees.
May 13, 2002
Kristin Wood, the biologist from the Chinsegut Nature Center in Brooksville presented "Incredble Edibles",
a program on how to gather and prepare wild edible plants from Citrus County for eating. See Sid Taylor's bibliography of edible native plants.
April 8, 2002 (Our first birthday!)
Seth Blitch gave a talk on sandhill habitat and did a power point program of the pictures he took at Two Mile Prairie
on Sunday. Following that, he and Wendell Vaught did another power point presentation of pictures taken Saturday
on the walk. Mary Armstrong talked about the Climbing aster, the plant of the month.Joan Lippman talked about Nandina
Domestica, the Cat. 1 unplant of the month.
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