The Kelsey Chapter serves native plant enthusiasts in the greater Helena and Great Falls areas, and regions associated with the Rocky Mountain Front and central and north central Montana.
The Chapter President is Mark Majerus; Chapter Vice-President is Kadie Gullickson
Contact Chapter Secretary Jane Fournier, for questions regarding the Chapter.
Are you interested in Native Plant Landscaping in our area? Click here
Programs and Activities:
Identification and Appreciation of Montana Native Grasses, Presented by: Mark Majerus – January 12, 2022 via Zoom – 7:00pm.
Grasses are among the largest, most wide-spread, and economically important plant families world-wide. Yet, for many of us, grasses may be just an indecipherable ground cover growing around or in place of more charismatic plant species. Our Kelsey Chapter President, Mark Majerus, is here to help raise the curtain on some of this mystery. Mark has spent his entire career working with grasses and has authored a book entitled Forage and Reclamation Grasses of the Northern Great Plains and Rocky Mountains. In this presentation, Mark will discuss the morphological characteristics that are used to distinguish among different grass groups (Tribes) and define individual species. Mark will examine about 50 of the most important native grass species and point out characteristics that are unique to individual species. Other topics Mark will address include the importance of each species for disturbed lands restoration, forage (wildlife and livestock), wildlife habitat, and plant community sustainability.
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Reports on Recent Activities:
Kelseya uniflora 2017 Field Trip – Trout Creek Canyon Trip Report For several years, we had hoped to conduct a field trip to see the Kelseya uniflora in full bloom, but the uncertainty of spring weather has foiled our attempts. At one point, we succeeded. Six Kelsey Chapter members journeyed out to see the spring bloom in as mild spring snowstorm. Our species list, according to the Lesica rule (only blooming plants counted) was 1, Kelseya uniflora.
These three pictures show the plants in bud or just beginning to bloom on April 6, 2017.
Here are pictures from our trip on April 9, 2017:
Chapter Projects
The Flora of Mount Helena
The Flora of Mount Helena permanent specimen collection is housed in the Montana section at the Lewis and Clark Library in Helena. The collection is arranged alphabetically by scientific name. Nomenclature follows Dorn 1984. An index is provided that allows cross-referencing by common name and common family name. Click here for a pdf file of the species list.
The Flora of Mount Helena collection is a joint project of the Kelsey Chapter of the Montana Native Plant Society and the Lewis and Clark Library. The Kelsey Chapter formally donated the specimen collection to the Lewis and Clark Library in 1999.
For more information about the collection or to make suggestions, contact the Montana Native Plant Society, Kelsey Chapter at [email protected]
