The Alaska Native Plant Society offers a wide range of opportunities for anyone interested in protecting and preserving their native fauna. Their website states that the society was founded in 1982 by a local group of amateur and professional botanists in Anchorage, Alaska. The society has grown in membership and developed programs for schoolchildren and adults--spreading the word on the importance of native species. It has two chapters, one is located in Anchorage the other in Fairbanks. Check out their Facebook page where you can find up-to-date information, images and links to their various activities.
The Alaska Native Plant Society publishes the Borealis every other month from October to May for members only.
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Nancy Heise
A field of wild purple iris, Iris setosa, in bloom on Raspberry Island, Alaska. This hardy iris is considered a wetland plant but can be found in sandy soils too.
Robert Stratham Williams (1859 -1945) was a native of Minnesota and an enthusiastic naturalist from an early age. He traveled to the Yukon during the gold rush in 1898 and spent most of his time collecting botanical specimens and while there became one of the first botanists to reside in the area. From 1899 to 1932 he was employed at the New York Botanical Garden and was sent on many expeditions throughout the world. He became the American authority on exotic mosses through his collecting, managing of specimens, describing of new species and drawing meticulous illustrations.