8th Annual Ohio Botanical Symposium
March 19, 2008

Fawcett Center - 2400 Olentangy River Rd - Columbus, Ohio

Registration begins January 7, 2008 • Registration Form (.pdf)

($15 Registration Fee. Lunch available for additional cost.)

Since then, the symposium has diversified to include a range of topics on Ohio’s native flora. The symposium brings together people who are interested in Ohio’s native plants and natural history to hear speakers on botanical topics.

The upcoming symposium has another slate of interesting speakers and topics. This year’s topics include best plant finds of 2007, xeric limestone prairies, mosses, pollinators, and the Oak Openings region.

Mike Homoya, Indiana state botanist and author of Orchids of Indiana, will give our keynote address. He will discuss the many fascinating orchids that occur in Ohio and adjacent states.

There will be vendors present as well as exhibits from the Division of Natural Areas and Preserves, The Nature Conservancy, Division of Forestry, Flora-Quest, National Wildlife Federation, Northeastern Ohio Native Plant Society, Pike County Farm, Simple Living, Black Swamp Conservancy and others.

We hope you will join us on March 19!

Sponsored by:

Ohio Division of Natural Areas & Preserves

The Nature Conservancy

& OSU Herbarium

Best Finds of 2007

What does a round of golf, a football, a tree-hugger, and a tumble down a waterfall have to do with the best plant finds of 2007? Mr. Schneider will present the annual talk on the results of Ohio botanists and naturalists searching the far corners of the state.

He will talk about the rediscovery of a couple previously presumed extirpated species and a score of endangered and threatened species. In addition to the best finds, he will discuss the upcoming changes to Ohio’s rare plant list.

Vegetation and Flora of Xeric Limestone Prairies

Xeric limestone prairies or cedar barrens are diverse “desert” prairies occurring in the eastern United States including Adams County, Ohio. There are a number of endemic or near endemic plants that reside in these areas.

Dr. Lawless, who has studied these ecosystems in Kentucky and other states, will discuss the ecology, geographical distribution, and plant diversity of these amazing ecosystems.

An Introduction to Moss Identification

For many skilled field botanists who have managed to tackle difficult groups like graminoids and the Asteraceae, mosses still remain largely unknown. This is mainly due to their small size and lack of inclusion in standard regional botany manuals, which limit themselves to the vascular plants. However, once one masters a few simple microscope techniques and acquires just one excellent, inexpensive manual (Howard Crum’s Mosses of the Great Lakes Forest) mosses are readily identified.

Since they are exceedingly beautiful close up, the process can be very satisfying. This moss identification presentation is an armchair bryological field trip with a follow-up virtual lab session. Using species selected to show as much variety as possible, we’ll first examine images of mosses in the field and then see the same species through the microscope in order to grasp moss morphology and the organization of the key.

Several species will be run through the key, and we’ll learn how to recognize 10 of the most common Ohio mosses.

Posters and Displays

This year's botanical symposium will offer a separate room close to the auditorium for floor and tabletop displays and posters.

Non-profit organizations, park districts, federal and state agencies and students are encouraged to submit entries. Six-ft.-long tables are available for displays.

Posters should measure 3 ft. x 4 ft. Poster topics may include invasive species, inventory or monitoring research, rare species, restoration and stewardship, and other botanical topics.

Attendees are encouraged to view displays and posters during mid-session and lunch breaks. For more information, contact Rick Gardner at 614-265-6419 or rick.gardner@dnr.state.oh.us.

Meet Our Symposium Speakers

He began working for the Division of Natural Areas & Preserves in 1992 as a botanist focusing on botanical and ecological studies of the Lake Erie coastal region. In 2002, he received an Associate’s Degree in Computer Programming from Columbus State Community College and the same year became Manager of the Ohio Natural Heritage Program within the division.

As a Ph.D. student, Dr. Lawless conducted research on the flora, vegetation, and biogeography of xeric limestone prairies in eastern North America. His current research focuses on (1) the effects of flood disturbance on riparian plant diversity in cobble bar systems in the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River (Tennessee and Kentucky), and (2) the ecology and biogeography of cobble bar plant species.

Dr. Horn has published numerous articles on these and other subjects during his career. He is also involved in insect conservation. He has been awarded the Distinguished Teaching Award from the North Central Branch of the Entomological Society of America and the Dean’s Award for Teaching from The Ohio State University.

Mr. Howard has served on the Highlands Nature Sanctuary Board until 2006. He has taken copious amount of pictures of the beautiful and incredible diversity found in southern Ohio. In recent years, he has found numerous new rare plant locations.

Mr. Homoya has made many great botanical finds during his career, including finding the second population of the federally endangered Short’s goldenrod. He has published numerous popular and scientific articles on Indiana’s flora. He is the author of Orchids of Indiana, which is one of the best, most comprehensive books on orchids, full of beautiful full-page pictures, interesting facts, drawings, and detailed habitat descriptions.

Mr. Homoya is a member of Ohio’s Rare Plant Advisory Committee and has Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in botany from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale.

He teaches introductory biology courses and is a faculty advisor for the Marion Campus Prairie Nature Center and the Sandusky Plains Biotic Inventory, a biology-oriented community outreach program, which employs OSU students to conduct natural resource inventories of nature preserves in Marion and adjacent counties.

His current work includes an examination of the responses of prairie native and invasive plants to varying levels of critical soil nutrients. He has also studied bryophyte colonization on coarse woody debris, and is currently engaged in an inventory of the bryophytes of Deep Woods Preserve (Hocking County, Ohio).

In addition to formal teaching and research, Dr. Klips maintains an active leisure-time involvement in nature study that includes participating in annual bird censuses, attending Ohio Moss and Lichen Association forays, and photographing all forms of local plant life.

Mr. Jaeger serves on the Board of The Ohio Parks and Recreation Council for the Ohio State Parks and as the Metroparks representative to the Ohio Biological Survey. He received a Bachelor’s Degree in Anthropology from The University of Toledo in 1972 and has done graduate studies in education and local history.

He began working for the Metroparks in 1975 as a Ranger/Park Manager until 1978 and returned in 1985 as a Naturalist/Historic Interpreter after spending time in Cameroon, Africa. He travels several times each year to Honduras where he works on water projects and medical brigades with Shoulder to Shoulder, Inc. of Cincinnati, Ohio.

He was also the Land Stewardship Director for the Wilderness Center, overseeing land management and conservation easements. He has a Master’s Degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Ecology from Oklahoma State University and a Bachelor’s Degree in biology from Ohio Northern University.