ONPS News & Events
Exciting news, the 2021 Volume of the Oklahoma Native Plant Record is now available. Order your 2021 volume TODAY. Click here for details.
Watch archived videos, meetings and presentations, including Doug Tallamy's talk, by clicking here.
Upcoming Events and Activities
October 6-8 for the ONPS Annual Meeting at Sequoyah State Park. Registration information available now in the Fall Gaillardia (went out in August). Reservations for special rate rooms at the Lodge or Park Cabins must be made by September 6th. Click here for more information and online registration.
Upcoming field trips and gatherings
Sept. 7 - Central Chapter meeting, 6:30 socializing and 7pm program at OCU Dawdon-Loeffler Building. Program by Grace Payne (they/them), herbarium research assistant and current biology graduate student at UCO will present their research on land-based education and invasive plant treatments in urban Oklahoma.
Sept. 11 - NE Chapter meeting, 6:30 socializing and 7pm program at the Tulsa Garden Center, Tulsa. Program by Gus Barksdale. His presentation will be on "Rare Plants of Oklahoma and Their Habitats".
Sept. 30 - Oklahoma Native Plant Network is presenting a fall native plant festival on September 30, 9 am. – 4 p.m., at the Oklahoma County OSU Extension Center, 2500 NE 63rd Street.
This free festival will be devoted to all things native plants with plant vendors, design and maintenance services, books and presentations on why and how to garden with native plants.
Benjamin Vogt, author of Prairie Up, will be the keynote speaker. Many native plant growers will be in attendance including Wild Things Nursery, Prairie Wind Nursery, Midwest Propagation and Native Plants OKC. for more information, contact: Susan Chambers at 405-640-0791 or tinroof1000@gmail.com.
Oct. 5 - Central Chapter meeting, 6:30 socializing and 7pm program at OCU Dawdon-Loeffler Building. Program by Dr. Chad King a dendrochronologist that has studied Oklahoma trees and tree rings for the past decade. He will present his lab's decade of work across Oklahoma and will highlight several interesting findings regarding trees, their growth, and ages.
October 6-8 - ONPS Annual Meeting at Sequoyah State Park. Registration information available now in the Fall Gaillardia (went out in August) or link above. Reservations for special rate rooms at the Lodge or Park Cabins must be made by September 6th.
Nov. 2 - Central Chapter meeting, 6:30 socializing and 7pm program at OCU Dawdon-Loeffler Building. Program on Oklahoma natural areas registry: Working with private landowners to conserve biodiversity, a presentation by Dr. Priscilla Crawford, a conservation biologist at the Oklahoma Biological Survey.
Dec. 4 - NE Chapter meeting, 6:30 socializing and 7pm program at the Tulsa Garden Center, Tulsa. Program by Brian Fuller of the US Fish and Wildlife Department. He will tell us about the Partners for Fish and Wildlife program, in which biologists consult with landowners to help them conserve and improve wildlife habitat.
About ONPS
Oklahoma’s amazingly diverse flora has long been of interest to state residents. In 1987, individuals from throughout the state founded the Oklahoma Native Plant Society with the purpose to encourage the study, protection, propagation, appreciation, and use of the state’s native plants. The society’s varied activities (field trips, lectures, workshops, displays, inventories, and roadside plantings) promote an awareness and understanding of some of the state’s most valued treasures.
Botanically, Oklahoma is a remarkable state! Located at the juncture of several physiographic provinces, it is indeed an ecological crossroad. Within its borders are found ~175 families, ~870 genera, and approximately 2,600 species of vascular plants—flowering plants, conifers, ferns, horsetails, and clubmosses. This flora is a complex assemblage of plants representative of different phytogeographic regions. Species characteristic of the eastern deciduous forest and central grasslands are the most common; however, species from the Rocky Mountains, the Chihuahuan and Sonoran Deserts, the Gulf Coastal Plain, and the Ozark Mountains also occur in the state. Fourteen different vegetation types are traditionally recognized. This tremendous diversity of plant species and communities reflects the considerable variation in the state’s climatic, physiographic, geological, and edaphic features. A plethora of different habitats for plants are present. More information about the flora of our great state can be found at the Flora of Oklahoma Project page.
The photos seen below were submitted by our members on our Facebook page. Click on the Facebook icon at the bottom of the page to see many more photos and to submit your own. Our Facebook page is a closed group, so you'll have to ask to participate in commenting.
ONPS Officers:
President: Patrick Bell
Vice President: Shalini Chitturi
Secretary: Debbie Drinko
Treasurer: Mary Korthase
Past-President: Bill Farris
Historian: Fran Stallings
Directors at Large: Jim Elder, Constance Murray (2023), Dennis Martin, Janet Thomas (2024), Nancy Truelove and Kathy Kuhns-Marino (2025)
NEW Resource Is Here!!
"Lichen Field Guide for Oklahoma and Surrounding States" is available now. Released in June 2021. This is a companion book to "Lichen Study Guide for Oklahoma and Surrounding States". You can contact Sheila Strawn at sastrawn@hotmail.com for lichen workshops, presentations, or field trips. Sheila is the author. Sarah Hearn is the illustrator. It sells for $30. Both guides can be purchased through the Botanical Research Institute of Texas at shop.brit.org
Central Chapter Meetings (Oklahoma City area)
Typically the 1st Thursday of every month at Oklahoma City University (OCU) campus. Doors open at 6:30pm for socializing and seed swap (if you’ve got ‘em); presentations begin at 7:00pm.
NE Chapter Meetings (Tulsa and NE Oklahoma area)
1st Monday in December, March, May, and 2nd Monday in September. 6:30pm Social and 7:00pm Meeting at the Tulsa Garden Center, Ballroom, 2435 S Peoria Ave, Tulsa
Fabulous Wildflower Fridays
Join the Northeast Chapter for Fabulous Wildflower Fridays, every third Friday of each month at 5:30pm at Panera Bread at 41st Street and Hudson Avenue.
Mycology Chapter (NE to Central Oklahoma area)
Watch for impromptu field trips when the weather is just right.