GNPS Newsletter

In honor of Georgia Grows Native for Birds month, clockwise from top left: ruby-throated hummingbird (Gena Flanigen), American redstart (Romin Dawson), cedar waxwing (Kevin Gaston), American goldfinch (Becky Cover), and northern cardinal (Gena Flanigen). Click a photo or the credited photographer to see more of their work.

In This Issue ...

Join or Start a Local GNPS Chapter in Your Area

Are you taking full advantage of your GNPS membership? If you are not a member of a local chapter, you may be missing out on activities, workshops and the like. Each GNPS chapter emails their members regularly to let them know about upcoming events, opportunities to volunteer, and share news about GNPS and the chapter. If you’d like to connect to like minded native plant loving people, please join a chapter today!

If you are not a member of a local chapter, or if you would like to change your chapter affiliation, Click here to update your membership account and see a map of our chapters. You must be logged in to GNPS.org to update your chapter affiliation.

What if there is no GNPS Chapter close to me?

GNPS would love to help you start a chapter in your area. We have resources available to make the process as painless as possible. Starting a chapter is a great way to bring together other members and non-members who also are without a chapter nearby. Learn more about starting a chapter here and here. Please contact membership@gnps.org if you have questions or need more information about starting a chapter.

Subshrub: Georgia savory (Clinopodium georgianum)

Georgia savory (Clinopodium georgianum).

We all know what shrubs are and what perennials are, but there is a lesser known category called subshrub and this month’s spotlight features one of them. Georgia savory (also known as Georgia calamint and Georgia basil) is a small woody plant that is found in both the Coastal Plain and the Piedmont. I have grown it for years in part-shade conditions where it has thrived as a small, evergreen plant. While it can get up to two feet tall, mine seems to stay at 18 inches.

It has had some name changes over the years. When I was browsing the SERNEC website, I found a voucher from renowned botanist J. K. Small; it was dated September 1894 and he had collected it on Little Stone Mountain (apparently an early name for Panola Mountain). On the voucher, two old names were referenced: Calamintha caroliniana and Satureja caroliniana. Linda Chafin notes in her Wildflowers of Georgia field guide that it has also been Calamintha georgiana. She describes the habit as "dry woodlands, sandhills, and clearings in the Piedmont and Coastal Plain." Collections in the Piedmont include rock outcrops like Panola Mountain and Arabia Mountain.

Left: Georgia savory (Clinopodium georgianum). Right: Scarlet calamint (Clinopodium coccineum).

As a member of the mint family (Lamiaceae), it has predictably aromatic foliage and that may be a key reason why the deer don’t browse it in my yard. In September, small pink flowers open along upright stems. Bees love the flowers and I also found a photo by Georgia botanist Jim Allison of a spicebush swallowtail butterfly on it.

Several other species of Clinopodium may be found in Georgia, all of them in the Coastal Plain:

There is also one non-native species, slender wild basil (Clinopodium gracile), which is quite small and can be a weed in lawns and waste areas. That one may be found statewide (several of my neighbors have it in the North Metro Atlanta area). It blooms in the spring, is only 3-5 inches tall, and spreads by stolons.

Left: Distribution map of Georgia savory (Clinopodium georgianum). Center: Non-native slender wild basil (Clinopodium gracile). Right: Distribution of scarlet calamint (Clinopodium coccineum).

Chapter News

Fringed Campion Chapter

The Fringed Campion Chapter will hold a brief general meeting followed by a workshop on Thursday September 29th, 6 pm, at Mercer University, Stetson Hall, Room 158. Dr. Heather Bowman Cutway will lead this workshop on Landscaping with Native Plants. All members and friends are welcome to attend.

North Georgia Mountains Chapter

Our next meeting on Saturday, September 10th at 10:00 a.m. will be held at Young Harris College (as usual). It will include a presentation on the popular topic of pollinators by Becky Griffin. She is affiliated with UGA and coordinates the Great Georgia Pollinator Census that hopefully many of you contributed data to!

Coastal Plain Chapter

Native plants propagated by the Coastal Plain Chapter will be for sale at four South Georgia events this fall. Remember, you can always buy online and arrange for pickup with a minimum order of $25.00. Here is the link to see the plant inventory, and for information about online purchases.

Intown Atlanta Chapter

Save the Date: Sunday, September 18 at 1:00pm, Zonolite Park for the Intown Atlanta GNPS chapter Annual Meeting and Plant Share & Swap.

Program details still to come but the meeting will be an opportunity to meet fellow members, share your thoughts about chapter events and goals, and bring a plant to share or swap with members. Attendees will be able to exchange up to 10 plants! Stay tuned to the chapter page on the GNPS website or our Facebook page for more details in the next couple weeks.

West Georgia Chapter

The West Georgia Chapter (WGC) will hold the fall native plant sale on Saturday, September 17th from 9 a.m. to noon. The sale will be held at the Carroll County Agriculture Center at 900 Newnan Road in Carrollton. Plants will be offered by the WGC as well as three local nurseries and bog plants propagated by Robert Barr. For more information, email Westgeorgiachaptergnps@gmail.com.