All Aroid Lovers!
The International Aroid Society MidAmerica chapter meeting at the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens is less than 4 weeks away! We hope that you plan on joining us and maybe even bring a friend or two. Please RSVP so that we can prepare for the correct number of attendees. You do not need to join or be a member of the IAS to attend!
All of the details can be found below, and also at the website: http://aroid.org/midamerica
If you live anywhere in the Dallas/Fort Worth region or are from the Houston area you need to attend, if for no other reason than to talk and listen to Dr. Nancy Greig about their recent blooming of Amorphophallus titanum!
If you study aroids at all you know Dr. Croat's name since he is the top name in aroid study in the United States! Christopher Rogers has worked closely with aroids for many years and is a professor at the University of Kansas as well and an entomologist and published crustacean expert.
What? 3rd meeting of the MidAmerica chapter of the IAS
When? Saturday, October 30 from 8:30 am to 5 pm
Where? Fort Worth Botanic Gardens, Fort Worth, Texas (http://www.fwbg.org/)
Who?
Anyone interested in Aroids. Please bring friends and family! You do not have to be a member of the IAS to attend!!
How much? FREE! Lunches will be available at minimal charge. The tropical conservatory charges $1 admission.
What to bring? Friends, a camera and enthusiasm! Also, please bring small plants/cuttings for the plant swap. However, if you don't have anything available to trade, DO NOT WORRY! Come anyway and we'll send you home with some!
RSVP to: Zach DuFran (zach@zachandchristie.com)
Let me (Zach) know how many will be attending and if you would like to purchase a lunch or not. Lunches will consist of sandwiches, chips, cookies, and soft drinks.
What will we do?
The morning session will be spent hearing several speakers talk as well as present A/V presentations about their collections and experiences with growing Aroids. After breaking for lunch we will have a plant and cuttings trade, followed by a couple of talks before we spend the afternoon touring the botanical gardens, including the tropical conservatory.
You won’t want to miss this meeting!
Meeting agenda
Morning session
8:30 History of the IAS – Dr. Thomas B. Croat, Missouri Botanical Garden
9:00 State of the IAS – Steve Lucas
9:30 Houston Titan Arum Event – Dr. Nancy Greig, Houston Museum of Natural History
10:00 Aroid Anatomy Lesson – Steve Lucas, www.ExoticRainforest.com
10:45 Identifying Your Plants –Christopher Rogers, University of Kansas
11:30 lunch break
Afternoon session
12:15 Plant Swap
12:30 The use of CATE’s LUCID website to identify Anthurium and Philodendron species
– Dr. Thomas B. Croat, Missouri Botanical Garden
1:15 Cultivating Aroids outdoors in a temperate environment – Steve Marak
2:00 Tour and enjoy the gardens, including the Conservatory
Plant Swap details
The plant swap is a great opportunity to get your hands on some new Aroids. Dr. Croat will be bringing some plants from the Missouri Botanical Gardens. Steve Lucas will bring plants from the Exotic Rainforest collection and we encourage all meeting attendees to bring some cuttings or plants that they are willing to share with others. If you are bringing cuttings, it is best to bring the cuttings with a moist paper towel wrapped around the stem and placed inside a zipper bag labeled with the plant’s name.
LUCID demonstration
LUCID is a computer application to aid identification of plants by their attributes. Dr. Croat will be demonstrating how to use this special tool. If you own a laptop and would like to bring it to the meeting so that you can follow along, we will have wireless internet access available. LUCID is amazingly easy to use and if you can count the veins on a leaf and do a bit of analytical study of the specimen you will at least come close to an ID using LUCID.
Transportation and lodging
Some members are planning on driving to Fort Worth together and sharing hotel rooms or other accommodations. If you would like help finding others to share expenses, just let us know!
For more information, including lodging recommendations and venue directions, visit the chapter
website at http://aroid.org/midamerica.
Donations will be accepted, to offset the facility rental.
If you have questions, please contact Zach DuFran at zach@zachandchristie.com or (405) 517-1112.
All of us look forward to seeing you there!
This message was edited Oct 5, 2010 11:02 PM
Fort Worth meeting, MidAmerica IAS Chapter. Oct. 30, 2010
I plan on attending. I live in Irving so it is not a far drive for me.
We'll be glad to see you there. Be sure and confirm with Zach at the address above.
Steve
Unfortunately I cannot go. I will be In South Carolina for a meeting. Hope you guys have fun.
Next time Brian! I'm holding you to it!
Steve