By Charles Paxton. Photos by Kim & Charles Paxton
I think we all appreciate the importance of plants as primary producers in our food web, we simply wouldn’t survive without them. Sadly plants are disappearing faster than science can keep up with documenting and protecting them according to an article in The Times (Kew’s 300-year-old archive goes digital to sow seeds of AI breakthroughs). The grim reality that 40% of the world’s plants could be threatened with extinction is countered by determined efforts to use the latest technology in their stewardship. See ‘Every box has been opened’: London botanic gardens digitizes 7 million specimens in Nature and Kew Garden’s State of The World’s Plants and Fungi for the latest info about how data sharing is a crucial tool in conservation efforts (06/16/26). There’s lots to unwrap there, but it’s safe to say botanical hotspots like The Kisatchie National Forest are truly precious reserves of Biodiversity!
Another Key weapon in our fight for plant conservation is education! Eight Louisiana Master Naturalists Northeast, and 1 each from CENLA and Northwest gathered in Georgetown for our 2026 LMNNE Plants Workshop!
This was our fourth Plants workshop with Dr. Charles Allen, former ULM university professor, esteemed botanical conservationist and author of multiple books, the Caroline Dormon Outstanding Louisiana Naturalist of the Year 2018!
During Rendezvous 2024, I greatly enjoyed his Edible Plants Workshop at Black Bayou Lake NWR. He supplied the native bamboo for the cane break section of the arboretum there. He is an extremely knowledgeable and witty educator capable of educating and entertaining in a wonderful, tireless flow.
“Why is this called a Dogwood?” “It’s because of the bark.” No, but seriously, this was another fantastic workshop. Henceforth we can tell at a glance between an Ash and a Hickory! I’ve always wanted to be sure of that. We drove into the Kisatchie southeast of Georgetown and parked at various points of interest where Dr. Allen sent us off to gather plants and bring them back to him for identification and discussion of their distinguishing characteristics and intriguing factoids. We explored mixed hardwood and conifer woodland with some mesic tracts, then Shortleaf pinewoods with their far airier ambience and rich understory. We encountered a diverse population of grasses, forbs, vines, shrubs and trees. At one point we saw a large WWII era bunker. The Kisatchie served as army training ground and thus assisted in the liberation of Europe and the Far East!
We learned through these many examples about the importance of noting the opposite or alternate pattern of branches and leaves, the character of their leaf shapes and edges, the quality of their bark, and their flowers. Amongst many other things we learned how to make tea from Yaupon leaves! The samples collected were carefully bagged for use in our classroom phase of the workshop.
We are very grateful to the community of Dry Prong for provision of their excellent Dry Prong Community Center for our classroom portion of the workshop. Our drive to Dry Prong took us through lovely vistas of Shortleaf and endangered Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) forest in the rolling hills. Here Dr. Allen and his daughter, Dawn, laid out all the specimens on tables and then matched them to Dr. Allen’s latest ‘Plants Species List’. Dawn’s husband runs Almost Eden online and mail order plant store.
To our bag of specimens collected on the day, Dr. Allen and Dawn added a treasure trove of specimens collected from their own property, the wonderful Allen Acres B&B, itself an important botanical and entomological hotspot. The Allens manage their private nature reserve for biodiversity, check them out if you’re looking for a highly rated ecotour stay, local tours to the Kisatchie including Pitcher Plant bogs, and top quality botanical books and courses!
Species encountered
Check out our impressive Workshop Plants List! We saw the following in the field and at Dry Prong Village Community Center!
Woody
0.5 Abilia chinensis Chinese abilia
11 Aralia spinosa DEVIL’S WALKINGSTICK FAC
21 Callicarpa americana AMERICAN BEAUTYBERRY FACU
22 Campsis radicans TRUMPET CREEPER FAC
29 Cephalanthus occidentalis BUTTONBUSH OBL
34 Cornus florida FLOWERING DOGWOOD FACU
39 Diospyros virginiana PERSIMMON FAC
35 Crataegus crus-galli/marshallii/spathulata HAWTHORN FAC
39 Diospyros virginiana PERSIMMON FAC
41 Fagus grandifolia AMERICAN BEECH FACU
46 Fraxinus pennsylvanica GREEN ASH FACW
49 Hamamelis virginiana WITCHHAZEL FACU
61 Ilex vomitoria YAUPON FAC
69 Liquidambar styraciflua SWEETGUM FAC
73 Magnolia grandiflora SOUTHERN MAGNOLIA
74 Magnolia virginiana WHITE BAY (VIRGINIA SWEET BAY) FACW
77 Morus alba/rubra WHITE/RED MULBERRY FACU
78 Myrica (Morella) cerifera/ WAXMYRTLE (BAYBERRY) FAC
84 Parthenocissus quinquefolia VIRGINIA CREEPER FACU
87 Pinus echinata SHORTLEAF PINE
89 Pinus palustris/taeda LONGLEAF/LOBLOLLY PINE FAC
101 Quercus nigra WATER OAK FAC
102 Quercus alba/falcata/hemispherica/virginiana WHITE/SOUTHERN RED/UPLAND WILLOW/LIVE OAK FACU
109 Rhus copallinum WINGED SUMAC UPL
119 Smilax bona-nox SAW GREENBRIER & Smilax glauca SAWBRIER & Smilax rotundifolia COMMON GREENRIER FAC
122 Smilax smallii UPLAND BAMBOO VINE FACU
129 Toxicodendron pubescens POISON OAK FACU
136 Vaccinium elliottii SUMMER HUCKLEBERRY FACW
137 Vaccinium stamineum DEER BERRY, SQUAW BERRY
140 Viburnum dentatum ARROWWOOD FAC
142 Vitis rotundifolia MUSCADINE FAC
Forbs
152 Agalinis spp PURPLE FALSE FOXGLOVE
155 Alophia drummondii PINEWOODS LILY FACU
159 Ambrosia artemisifolia COMMON RAGWEED FACU
171 Asclepias tuberosa MILKWEED
Vitis (genus) MULTIPLE
Baptisia
185 Buchnera americana BLUEHEARTS FAC
187 Callirhoe papaver WINECUP
195 Cassia (Chamaecrista) fasciculata PARTRIDGE PEA FACU
197 Centrosema virginiana BUTTERFLY PEA
200 Chamaesyce nutans SPOTTED SANDMAT/EYEBANE FACU
216 Coreopsis pubescens/tinctoria/tripteris TICKSEED FAC
228.5 Daucus pusillus AMERICAN WILD CARROT
228.75 Delphinium caroliniana
232 Diodia virginiana VIRGINIA BUTTONWEED FACW
233 Dioscorea villosa WILD YAM FACW
242 Elephantopus carolinianus ELEPHANT’S FOOT FACU
246 Erigeron strigosus DAISY FLEABANE FAC
253 Eupatorium capillifoium DOGFENNEL/YANKEEWEED FAC
256 Eupatorium perfoliatum BONESET FACW
257 Eupatorium rotundifolium LATEFLOWERING THOROUGHWORT FAC
258 Euphorbia corollata FLOWERING SPURGE
265 Gaillardia pulchella FIREWHEEL UPL
280 Helenium amarum BITTERWEED FACU
282 Helenium flexuosum PURPLE SNEEZEWEED FACW
285 Helianthus Hirsutus/mollis/HAIRY/ASHY SUNFLOWER
Houstonia
322 Lepidium virginicum PEPPERGRASS UPL
323 Lespedeza cuneata LESPEDEZA FACU
Liatris
334 Linum striatum YELLOW FLAX FACW
346 Matelea gonocarpus CLIMBING MILKWEED VINE
356 Mimosa nuttallii SENSITIVE BRIAR
360 Mitchella repens PARTRIDGE BERRY FACU
364 “Monarda fistulosa BEEBALM/HORSEMINT FACU”
382 Passiflora incarnata PURPLE MAYPOP (PASSION VINE)
389 Phlox paniculata FALL PHLOX FACW
399 Pityopsis graminifolia GRASSLEAVED GOLDENASTER/SILK GRASS UPL
411 Polygala mariana CANDY ROOT FACW
420 Prunella vulgaris HEAL ALL FAC
426 Pycnanthemum albescens/muticum WHITELEAF/CLUSTER MOUNTAIN MINT FAC
427 Pycnanthemum tenuifolium SLENDER MOUNTAIN MINT FACW
Ranunculus
432 Rhexia alifanus/lutea/mariana/petiolata/virginica MEADOW BEAUTY FACW
433 Rhynchosia latifolia PRAIRIE SNOUTBEAN
435 Rudbeckia grandiflora/hirta ROUGH CONEFLOWER/BLACKEYED SUSAN FACU
437 Ruellia carolinensis WILD PETUNIA FACU
442 Sabatia brachiata ROSE GENTIAN FAC
446 Salvia azurea BLUE SAGE/ Salvia lyrata LYRELEAF SAGE FACU
448 Sanicula canadensis BLACK SNAKEROOT FACU
452 Scutellaria elliptica/parvula TRACTORSEAT/SKULLCAP FACU
461.5 Silphium asteriscus STARRY ROSINWEED
464 Solanum carolinense HORSE NETTLE FACU
465 Solidago caesia/altissima (canadensis)/odora COMMON GOLDENROD/SWEET GOLDENROD FACU
466 Solidago rugosa WRINKLELEAF GOLDENROD FAC
474 Spiranthes spp. LADY TRESSES
480 Strophostyles umbellata PINK FUZZYBEAN FAC
484 Styllingia sylvatica QUEEN”S ROOT
485 Stylosanthes biflora PENCIL FLOWER
487 Tephrosia virginiana/onobrychoides GOAT’S RUE/MULTIBLOOM HOARYPEA
511 Verbena braziliensis BRAZILIAN VERVAIN /Verbena halei TEXAS VERVAIN
515 Vernonia texana IRONWEED FACU
Dichanthelium
619 Carex cherokeensis CARIC SEDGE FACW
I enjoyed this workshop even though I’ve studied with Dr. Allen five times because each time I learn something new and am reminded of what he has taught, and more knowledge sticks in my head to serve me in the field and my own attempts to educate. You bet we’re going to relay some of this knowledge in our forthcoming Basic Field Skills Workshop (Save the date July 18).
A massive THANK YOU to our participants, Dr. Allen, his daughter Dawn, the good people of Dry Prong and the Forestry Service for making this event a great success.
Want to learn more?
Check out LMNGBR Nature Notes ~ Louisiana Native Plants on the LMNA Channel.
Check out Larry Allain’s “Guide to the Plants of Louisiana“, an online searchable database containing descriptions, distribution maps, and over 5,000 photographs of 1,755 plant species!
State of the World’s Plants & Fungi Symposium
Join international experts at State of The World’s Plants & Fungi Symposium to explore the digitization of herbarium and fungarium collections, including its applications and implications. https://www.kew.org/science/engage/get-involved/conferences/sotwpf-symposium#kla-join-online
Want to help?
Things that we can do:
- Join the iNaturalist community. Add images and details of your plant observations to iNaturalist’s growing data-base. This data can be used to inform scientific research with far-reaching implications.
- Plant natives in your yards / patio pots / window boxes etc. There are multiple sources of responsibly harvested seeds and cultivated plants that work very well in home landscaping projects, locally we have Grown By Grace Native Plants and Sammy’s Plant World too. Remember that even in the absence of wildlife corridors a mosaic of multiple wildlife garden patches helps support a variety of wildlife very effectively.
- Watch our Volunteer Opportunities Page and media releases for opportunities to participate in local Phenological projects, restoration projects, outreach activities and more.
- Avoid pesticides and broadscale herbicides in your yard.
- Delay mowing to allow flowers time to host insects. Alternatively, mow paths and leave islands of longer grass and flowers.