Hamden leps

[Andrew Brand]

Anthony and all,

As far as I know, Itea virginicus is not invasive. I too agree we need to be very careful when we recommend plants, and make sure that they are not invasive and will not damage our native flora. 
As far as hardiness, I think Itea should do fine in most of Connecticut except for areas with extremely cold witners. The plants I mentioned in an earlier email were growing at a nursery still in containers and not a stand in the wild. There are several plants on the grounds of the nursery and they are doing well.

Add Striped Hairstreak and Little Glassywing to the list of butterflies found on Itea.

Andy
  
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Anthony Zemba 
  To: CTLeps-l at lists.yale.edu 
  Sent: Monday, June 25, 2001 9:40 AM
  Subject: Re: Hamden leps


  Thanks Andy:
   
  This species is a more southernly ranging member of the gooseberry family (Grossulariaceae), typically found from southern NJ and e. Penn. south to Florida and Louisiana. It is also commonly known as "Virginia Willow" (Gleason and Cronquist, 1991). It appears that you have found it growing well here in CT. It does not appear on the Preliminary Checklist of the Vascular Flora of Connecticut Growing Without Cultivation (Dowhan, 1979).  Is this a landscaped shrub that needs special care to grow here (ie. to survive our winters?).  I would like to find out more about it. It does not appear on the Connecticut list of Non-native Invasive and Potentially Invasive Vascular Plants in Connecticut (Mehrhoff, et. al, 2001), which is my first criteria when recommending new plants.  
   
  Anthony J. Zemba
  Senior Environmental Scientist 
  Maguire Group, Inc.
  One Court Street
  New Britain, CT
  06051
   
  Cited:
  Dowhan, Joseph, J., 1979. Preliminary Checklist of the Vascular Flora of Connecticut. State Geological and Natural History Survey of Connecticut. The Natural Resources Center of the Department of Environmental Protection. Report of Investigations No. 8.   
   
  Gleason, Henry A. and Arthur Cronquist, 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants, 2nd. Ed. New York Bortanical Gardens
   
  Mehrhoff, L. J., K. J. Metzler, and. E.E. Corrigan, 2001. Connecticut list of Non-native Invasive and Potentially Invasive Vascular Plants in Connecticut
  Center for Conservation and Biodiversity, University of Connecticut, Storrs. 
   
   
  ----- Original Message ----- 
    From: Andrew Brand 
    To: CTLeps-l at lists.yale.edu 
    Sent: Friday, June 22, 2001 5:25 PM
    Subject: Hamden leps


    I have another great nectar plant for butterflies--- Itea virginica or Virginia Sweetspire. It is a 4-5' shrub that has white flowers in pendulous clusters. Today at work I had the following 14 species of butterflies on these plants:

    Tiger Swallowtail (2), Banded Hairstreak (5), Hickory Hairstreak (2), Southern Hairstreak (1), Summer Azure (1), Great Spangled Fritillary (2), Eastern Comma (2), American Lady (3), Silver-spotted Skipper (6), Least Skipper (1), Peck's Skipper (1), Tawny-edged Skipper (1), Long Dash (2), Hobomok Skipper (1)

    I highly recommend this plant.

    Andy
      
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