28 Jul
What is a native plant?
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What is the value of planting natives in your garden?
NE Native Columbine Correct! Wrong!
Do native animals need native plants?
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What is an invasive plant?
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Are native plants and wildflowers the same thing?
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This plant is called New England Aster. Is it really native to New England?
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New England is famous for producing authentic Maple Syrup products, tapped from the Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum). Is this tree a New England native?
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This New England native provides a fruit that is enjoyed by many people, as well as wildlife like bears, moose, scarlet tanagers, thrushes, cedar waxwings, and catbirds. This plant needs our region's naturally acidic soil, and relies heavily on pollinators. When the number of pollinators declines, so do the number of these plants. What plant is it?
Art by 1949 Caldecott Winner Robert McCloskey Correct! Wrong!
This New England native hosts more than 130 species of butterfly and moth, not to mention providing food and shelter for numerous birds and animals. What plant is it?
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One legend states that a Native American man in Salem, Massachusetts successfully used this plant to cure people (including colonists) of typhus fever, making his name famous. Another legend states that this plant got its name from a phonetic translation of jopi or jopai, the Native American word for the plant. What native New England plant is it?
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This plant is prized by gardeners because of its midwinter, densely packed, bright-red berries. In winter, those berries are a very important food resource for many species of bird, among them the American Robin, which will do not migrate. Also, Native Americans used the plant for medicine, and called it Fever Bush. What plant is it?
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Oaks are native to New England, and their acorns play an important role in our forest ecology. Mature Oak trees shed varying numbers of acorns annually. Every four to ten years, certain oak populations will synchronize to produce almost no acorns at all, only to rain them down excessively the following year, known as a "mast" year. The year preceding the mast year is thought to starve mammal populations of acorn supplies, thereby increasing the rate at which they are eaten and dispersed (versus stored or ignored) the following year (Mother Nature's way of creating value by supply and demand). This is necessary for the survival of the Oaks, as only one in 10,000 acorns results in an eventual tree. Which wild animals depend on acorns for food, and cause acorn dispersal?
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Clethra alnifolia, commonly called Summersweet, is a deciduous shrub that is native to swampy woodlands, wet marshes, stream banks, and seashores - it drink copiously. What region is it native to?
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'Shenandoah' Switchgrass creates a beautiful vertical accent in a garden, and it's blue-tone leaves slowly incorporate shades of burgundy, then bright red, in the fall. Deep red flower plumes appear in summer, forming a reddish cloud above the foliage. Is it a New England native?
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Monarch caterpillars eat these plants exclusively, and female Monarch butterflies only lay their eggs on this plant. For many decades, gardeners plucked these out, believing them to be pesky weeds, but we now understand how critical a role this native New England plant plays in supporting Monarch populations. What is it?
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Is Queen Anne's Lace, also known as Wild Carrot, a New England native?
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Is Black-eyed Susan, also known as Rudbeckia, a New England native?
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Is Yarrow, also known as Achillea, a New England native?
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Is a Ladyslipper wildflower a New England native?
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How Much Do You Know About Native New England Plants?
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Shaye Robbins
/ 09 Jul 2020Three questions! What is the plant in the second picture? Also; I got the answer wrong for the question that included “the salem man or Joapi” which I thought was Joe Pye Weed (what is the answer?) AND i got the one wrong “used exclusively by Monarchs…” Which I thought was common milkweed. What is the answer?
rgnursery
/ 09 Jul 2020Hi there! That is a Columbine. And that is native to New England. And oh my gosh! Thank you for finding that and telling me. My setting for the back end of the quiz to say it was right or wrong was not marked. I’ve fixed that now. So the correct answers were Joe Pye Weed and Common Milkweed – you had it right! Thank you so much for alerting me to this.