Rain Rain Go Away

Nothing has changed since my last post. So out into the wet we go....

I decided if I could keep the camera dry, the heck with the rain. Over the weekend I wanted to explore the Hocking Hills area. I know some of the plants I was searching for are not in bloom yet, but at least the Dwarf Iris was plentiful at Ash Cave.

It was very dark out, but I find that adds to the quality of photographs. The Mayapple is now coming into peak bloom.

Remember the Tent Caterpillars from my last post? Well here is a Prunus serotina, Wild Cherry, completely defoliated by them.

Desperate for something to eat, they all moved to the Multi-flora Rose nearby. The last time I saw this happen, there were tons of last instar caterpillars hanging dead on Rose. It's less nutritious, but they'll eat anything halfway edible when their primary host is gone. They are so hungry at this point, they were eating in a pouring rain.

Other than the spots and hairy body, Tent Caterpillars can be recognized by the white stripe down the middle of the back. Let's face it, anything that will attempt to eat Multi-flora Rose can't be all bad.

Solomon's Seal, the smaller species. We have others around here, including the Giant Solomon's Seal which stands 4-5 feet tall.

Rain or shine, it's always nice to find orchids. This is the Showy Orchis, Galearis (Orchis) spectabilis. A small orchid recognized by the pink-purple and white colored petals. While preferring rich moist woods, the Showy can tolerate disturbed forest areas. This one was found in an opening. The shape of the lips make it ideal for pollination by almost exclusively, bumblebees.

Some people mistake this plant for a Smilax Greenbrier. This is Wild Yam, Dioscorea villosa. The leaves originate from a center stalk and branch out in multiple directions. Classified as a herbaceous vine, the roots are not edible like store bought yams. It's had many medicinal uses in the past, and contains the same chemical used in early birth control pills.

Growing along the roadside, many people probably dismiss this as just a dandelion. Cynthia (Krigia biflora) has leaves slightly lobed or toothed, but never divided like a dandelion.  The flower stalk is usually leafless, but any leaves found there will be small, and they clasp the stem. The flowers often have a tinge of orange, making them darker than dandelion. The center stalk may produce more than one flower head, hence the latin name, and the other common name, Two-flowered Cynthia.

Sometimes your eye is drawn to things that at first glance seem commonplace. Don't presume this is just Rosa multiflora, a closer look will find these thorns just a bit different. This is the Climbing or Prairie Rose, Rosa setigera, one of our NATIVE roses. Rather than maintaining a rigid shrub form it will send its upper branches out and they will 'climb' over other plants. To verify the identification, look for leaves in threes. Like all our native roses, they bloom pink, not white.

Growing in open disturbed sites is one of the many colorful Speedwells. This is Thyme-leaved Speedwell. Unfortunately it is a non-native.

Always reliable in the Hocking Hills is one phlox I look forward to seeing. This pink species, with the un-notched petals is Creeping Phlox, Phlox stolonifera.

One of the goals of exploring is the hope of coming across things you haven't seen in a long time, or perhaps never. This is Dwarf Ginseng, Panax trifolius. The cotton-ball flower heads range from white to pink, and have five petals. The divided leaves are whorled and branch out in three directions. The plant is small, and the leaves are easily distinguished from the larger American Ginseng. This was a new species for me. It may not be as showy or exciting as some others, but new is new!

While photographing the dwarf ginseng, this critter hopped into the area. The Wood Frog is an early spring sighting, but I have seen them everywhere this year, more than usual. This brown frog is recognized by the black mask through the eyes.

Just in case you wanted a closer look.

April Showers Bring May Showers

Welcome to our third straight week of unending rain. Oh the mornings have given us a break, but I'm busy with Ornithology students and can't take pictures. Seems either you get out in the rain, or not get out at all.

The Eastern Tent Caterpillar (Malacosoma americana) is busy at work in April and May. Their tents are usually found in the crotch of Wild Cherry trees, but if no rose family trees are available they can be found on less nutritious species like this Beech. A few caterpillars are outside mending the tent, but most stay in a large clump when it rains. This generates body heat on cold days. Long wet springs can result in lower caterpillar populations, as they hate to feed in the rain. The Eastern Tent is considered only a minor pest because most trees will re-leaf after defoliation this early in the season.

Known for its distinct winter buds and edible fruit, the Pawpaw (Asimina triloba), has an interesting flower, but you have to catch it during the short blooming period. The dark maroon flowers are often overlooked. The flower parts are in threes. Three sepals, 3 outer petals, and 3 inner petals.

The flowers are not sweet smelling, but more closely resemble rotting flesh. It's only natural then that flies will be drawn to these plants. Pawpaw is the only northern member of the Custard-Apple family. Most species are tropical. Small-flowered Pawpaw, A. parviflora looks identical and is found in Florida. The other species of pawpaw in the south are all small shrubs with large WHITE flowers.

While Diptera (flies) are the known primary pollinators, I participated in a study of the small-flowered pawpaw with Dr. Norman of Stetson University back in the 80's. We also found four species of beetles associated with the flowers. Two Scarabs, and two Long-horned Beetles which were either petal or pollen feeders.

Other than the dull maroon, a little back lighting from the sun will show a nice red color to the flowers.

This is Morrow's Honeysuckle, Lonicera morrowii. This is one of four exotic invasive bush honeysuckles in our area. I hope to do a post on them all once I have enough photos. In the meantime, Morrow's shows these short blunt leaves very much like Tartarian Honeysuckle. Amur Honeysuckle L. macckii has very long pointed leaves. In Morrow's the leaves and twigs are very hairy, and Tartarian is (supposed) to be all smooth or glabrous. Flowers in these two vary from white to pink or red.

This is a confusing one. I have found one picture nearly identical to this labeled as Bell's or Pretty Honeysuckle, Lonicera x bella. The x means it is a hybrid between Tartarian and Morrow's. All parts of the plant were hairy, and it could be just a color variety of Morrow's. I have yet to find any source that discusses in detail an absolute morphological description of bella and how it differs from the parent plants. I don't believe flower color alone is reliable, so stay tuned.

Beautiful purple flowers and compound leaves are that of Greek Valerian. Sometimes called Jacob's Ladder, the names are interchangeable between two species. I prefer to use Greek Valerian. The important thing is the latin name, Polemonium reptans. The difference between them is often debated, are the stamens protruding past the petals or are they not. Here are pictures of two plants growing side by side. When the petals are not fully open it appears to have long ones sticking way out, not so when the flower is open. This is a comment I often hear when students are keying this out. Problem is, they are looking at the PISTIL instead of the stamens! P. reptans is the only wild species in our area.

Growing on drier hills or along roadsides is the Wood Vetch. Vicia caroliniana. The flowers may often be tipped with blue.

Wood Vetch may be mistaken for things like Canadian Milk Vetch or others, but the tendrils at the end of the plant are distinct. In Newcomb it keys as a vine.

Trying to figure out Dusky Wing Skipper butterflies are not easy. They are very 'skiddish' and hard to approach when on a flower.

After flying off flowers they tend to land on bare ground where they seem to feel more concealed. This is the time to sneak up on them. This is either the Dreamy Dusky Wing or Juvenal's. I believe it is Juvenal's. I have collected series of both, and side by side they are easy to tell apart. Juvenal's has two white spots under the hindwing near the top. Having not collected this one, I can only guess. First of all,  the Juvenal's is much larger than Dreamy, and this was a large one. Plus the brown spot you see in the forewing is gray in Dreamy. I await to see if I'm wrong.

Edit: I just came across what I believe is the Dreamy Dusky Wing, so I added it. Can you see the difference?

Moss Phlox, Phlox subulata. This is our smallest phlox, growing only a couple inches high. They form solid mats along the ground. The very linear leaves are clustered together and appear whorled. They can be pink to purple. Many other colors and varieties are sold in greenhouses.

These clusters of white bell like flowers are from a woody shrub called Bladdernut, Staphylea trifolia.

I believe I posted these once before, but I just found another large batch. The oddly shaped flowers and heavily dissected leaves make Wood Betony one of my favorites. Flowers range from yellow-brown to maroon.

As I mentioned when I started, I feel lucky to get shots of anything with all this rain. The rest of these are quite common, but right now beggars can't be choosers. Here is Wild Strawberry, Flowering Dogwood, Wild Geranium, and Fire Pink.

Spring Hike Time

It has been raining a lot down here lately, and I mean a LOT! It's hard to find a clear sunny day, so when it occurs, one has to get out and hike. I'm curious to see what mid-April is bringing us. Abundant in our forest understory is the small but bright bloom of Spicebush shrubs.

Looking like a pink octopus, the Hazelnut bloom is one of our smallest woody plant flowers. Middle April is already well past the peak time for this species. Most flowers have turned hard and black, but I was able to find a couple magentas still hanging on. The male reproductive parts consist of long hanging catkins which drop the pollen on to this female. She may lack flower petals, but she still has 'style'.

A pollinating wasp prepares to land on this buttercup. The buttercups look very similar to one another. You must examine both the leaves and sepals to be sure. This is the Hispid Buttercup. A similar looking plant, the Swamp Buttercup, Ranunculus septentrionalis, is now considered the same species.

Isn't it funny when you approach a pond that every frog but one jumps in from the edge. Well I found "the one".  Sneaking up on this Green Frog, bending down on your knees, and leaning forward in hopes it doesn't move can be tricky, especially when you're out of shape like myself.

A deep pond is one thing, but even just a water filled ditch is enough for some amphibians to lay eggs. Often people ask how you tell toad eggs from frog eggs. These are toad eggs. They are black and white, and laid in long "strings" rather than round batches.

Red pins stuck in a pin cushion always attracts my attention to the Great or Star Chickweed. These plants have notched flowers in fives. On most species you can see the notch at the bottom of the petals. On this species it really looks like it has ten petals.

Creeping Charlie, Gill-over-the-Ground, Ground Ivy, or throw the bean bag into the buck-toothed clown mouth. Whatever you wish to call it, this plant is a common bloomer right now in most open, sun-filled habitats.

Hepatica flowers can occur in white, light blue, lavender, or my personal favorite, a deep rich purple.

Not as showy as other members of the Gentian family, and often overlooked because it grows only a couple inches tall. This is Pennywort. It can be both white and light purple. Look for it in moist bottomlands right now.

8 ball in the center pocket. Another under-appreciated plant is the Bishop's Cap. While they grow in 8-10 inch spikes or racemes, it's the up close look that exposes their real beauty. The have 5 fringed petals which look like snowflakes. The stamens are double in number.

Because there are so many larger and more showy flowers out right now, the Blue Cohosh is yet another that people may walk right by without seeing the bloom. With the leaves still wrinkled and expanding, the yellow center should attract your attention. The six petaled flower (and sepals) are yellowish-green in the more common species. This maroon or burgundy color is from the recently split species known as giganteum, or the Giant Blue Cohosh. Thanks to a little retracing of comments from Mike, Scott, and Jim for the update on this variation.

Besides wildflowers, I have been in search of woody plant blooms as well. Last week these red "nubs" began to protrude from the buds. This is Redbud, and soon our wood margins will be crowded with brilliant red flowers.

Update: Here's what you can expect to see for the next several weeks on Redbud trees.

I never pay much attention to maples in bloom, but the Red Maple up close is extremely striking!

For some time now I have been on a quest to find Leatherwood, Dirca palustris in bloom. I have never seen it flower. Leatherwood twigs are brown or leather in color, and have a false end bud barely sticking out below the point of the twig. The word palustris indicates swampy areas, but in our region it's hard to find with all the steep slopes we have. There is a population near our campus where the slope forms a ledge or level spot where water gathers.

After finding it in winter condition, I returned a week later to see this brown toupee, or Mo of the Three Stooges sticking out further, but still no bloom. Leatherwood is named after the fact you can bend and twist it into knots and it will not break. Native Americans did use it for rope.

Finally last week I hit it just right. All of the plants were in bloom. Small tubular shaped flowers (usually three), pop out of the bud and hang down.  Check another one off my list.