Jody Callahan | Daily Memphian

The man who calls himself Habitat Harry had a stark warning for those attending the Native Plant Palooza at the Lichterman Nature Center on Saturday, Aug. 22.

“The more native plants we lose, the more pollinators we lose,” said Harry Babb, who had reams of data on his table at the palooza to try to get across this message.

That warning and the threat it implies — fewer plants leads to fewer pollinators leads to fewer crops leads to food shortages — was one of the reasons Lichterman officials wanted to stage the palooza this weekend, which focused almost exclusively on plants native to the Memphis and Mid-South area.

“Everything starts at the trophic level, which is plants. And the things that eat those plants are the things that feed other animals all the way up the food chain,” said Jessie Munson, who calls herself the “Plant Lady,” although her official title at Lichterman is plant activities coordinator. “If you have non-native plants and no insects that are eating those plants, you’re not supporting any sort of wildlife at all.”

To help out a little bit, Lichterman officials were selling native plants harvested from the park with the hope that the folks who bought the plants will nurture them, adding to the local population.

Katie Lund was doing her part. She spent $90 on plants, enough to fill a red wagon the Lichterman provided to help transport them to her car. She bought all those plants with one goal: caterpillars and their future identities as butterflies.

“We recently raised some caterpillars into butterflies,” Lund said. “They had a little mesh enclosure, and we released them. We just had a lot of fun doing it, and so now my goal is to have some native plants that will attract the pollinators so that we can find some of our own caterpillars and raise them.”

Mushroom lover Ben Winborn had a table set up at the palooza, offering books and advice to anyone who enjoys foraging for mushrooms. But like Habitat Harry, Winborn also came with a warning Saturday: Stay far, far away from one particular plant native to the area, the mushroom species called amanitas.

“Even though I would consider myself an expert, I don’t eat amanitas, even the edible ones, because if you’re wrong, you’re dead wrong,” Winborn said Saturday. “There are old mushroom hunters and bold mushroom hunters. There are no old, bold mushroom hunters.”

Such dire warnings weren’t the only focus Saturday at the 65-acre park in Southeast Memphis. It was also about fun, including a display of five different caterpillar species slowly munching on their favorite leaves. Kids stood in awe at the little critters before wandering off to color or do crafts while their parents explored tables offering other information about native plants.

Holly Lissner came with her husband and two young boys, and they weren’t necessarily there for the native plants. Like many families with young children, they enjoy finding a fun activity to do as a group on a Saturday.

And it didn’t hurt that the palooza was free.

“We will do that oftentimes as a family, just find a trail or a park. Engaging in nature is one of our favorite family activities, but (here) … you can buy these plants, you can see this stuff.”

Lissner said as her 8-year-old son Charlie was entranced by the caterpillars. “We just need stimulation sometimes.”