NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND P.O. BOX 2346, CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. ClA 8C1

MEETINGS are held of the ﬁrst Tuesday of the month (except July, August, and September) at 7:30 pm. at the Farm Centre, 420 University Avenue, Charlottetown. Members and non-members are welcome. Please bring your coffee cup so that we will contribute as little as possible to the waste stream.

Membership is open to anyone interested in the natural history of Prince Edward Island. Membership is available at any meeting or by contacting the Treasurer at PO. Box 2346, Charlottetown ClA 8C1 (phone 569-1209).

Annual membership is $16 and renewals are due in January. Membership expiry dates are shown in the top right hand comer of the mailing label.

The Society is directed by a volunteer Executive elected from its members.

2005 Executive: President ............................... ..Dwaine Oakley, Crossroads 569-1815 oakleym@eastlink.ca Vice-President .... ..Dan Kennedy, Vernon River 651-2926 dankennedy@islandtelecom.com Past President .................................. ..David Seeler, West Royalty 566-4505 seeler@upei.ca Secretary ............................................. ..Fiep deBie, Stratford 569-1413 dﬁep@hotmail.com Treasurer ................................ ..Rosemary Curley, Stratford 569-1209 frcurley@gov.pe.ca Director - Program ........................................ ..Bonnie McOrmond, Charlottetown 628-6994 Director - Publicity ....................... ..Sharon Clark, Charlottetown 626-3566 sclark@upei.ca

NEWSLETTERS are normally published quarterly on recycled paper. Articles, notes, reports, drawings, bird sightings, plant records, etc. are welcomed from members and non-members. If you have seen anything unusual,

please share it with us. It is important to have your observations recorded so that others may learn from them. All contributions should be sent to:

Dan McAskill, Newsletter Editor, NHSPEI Charlottetown RR # 5, Donagh, P.E.I. ClA 7J8 E-mail: nhspei@isn.net

The next deadline for articles, sightings, or other newsletter information is Jun. 30, 2005

Illustrations/Pictures: The Society extends a special thanks to the late Hal Hinds, for their illustrations in this issue.

The Natural History Society gratefully acknowledges support from the Department of Education and Human Resources which enables distribution of newsletters to schools and libraries desiring it. The Natural History Society is an afﬁliate of the Nature Canada and has representation on the board of the Island Nature Trust. The Society is a registered, non-proﬁt organization (Part 2, Companies Act). Tax receipts are issued for donations to the Society and these funds are used to further the work of the Society.

Reprinting: Editors of other newsletters and teachers wishing to copy classroom materials are welcome to reprint articles from the Island Naturalist (except when copyrighted). Due acknowledgment must be provided to the Island Naturalist, the author and illustrator. Web page: The Society’s web page is located at www.isn.net/~nhspei

Cover Illustration:

This month’s cover depicts the Japanese knotweed (Fallopiajaponica) or ﬂeece-ﬂower. This plant is found around some old homesteads, waste areas, and some ditches. It is an invasive plant that is spreading in some areas of the Island, especially the northeast. See the article on page 8.