Today’s Ramble was lead
by Linda Chafin.
Here’s the link to Don’s Facebook album for today’s Ramble.
(All the photos in this post are compliments of Don.)
Today’s post was written
by Dale Hoyt and Don Hunter.
Twenty-five Ramblers met
today.
Announcements:
Don will be leading a Georgia Botanical Society trip at the Coweeta Lab,
in Otto, NC, on Sunday, May 29th. Meet at the Lab at 9:30AM.
Emily reminded us that there will be a talk about mushrooms next
Thursday, June 2, at 8:00 p.m., at the Sandy Creek Nature Center.
Today’s reading: We were graced with another of Bob Ambrose’s
poetic creations:
In Days of White Clover
Mid-spring
comes to small town South
when
Chinaberry bursts in purplish
hues
beside abandoned homesteads.
Honeysuckle
scents the soft air
and
wisteria drapes weary trees
with a
heavy lavender shroud.
Weeks
break in fragrant waves.
Fields
that featured buttercup
streak
yellow ragwort now.
Time
keeps the spring flowers
from
blooming all at once.
Time
keeps our ghosts apart.
These
are the days of white clover
when
raucous bands of dandelion
stalk
the slopes of suburban lawns.
This
is the time the tanager returns
flitting
red through high branches
amidst
a hundred shades of green.
This
is the season of tender leaves
when
cool winds sift the canopy
with a
soothing woodland sigh.
The
world teems with calls
and
song, lilts and chortles,
wheets
and teeters, chucks,
clucks,
caws and cheers. Now
is the
time of new life. Why
should
I keep from singing?
Today’s route: From the Arbor we took the mulched path to the
White trail which we followed down to the Orange spur trail. Turning left on
the Orange spur trail we followed it to the Orange trail at the river; turning
left, we walked along the river to the Purple trail and returned on it to the
Heritage garden.
Arbor to Mulched trail:
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| Redbud fruits |
The Redbud
cultivar growing near the Arbor now has fruits. If you recall from a month ago
this tree had clusters of flowers growing directly from its trunk and branches,
a condition called cauliflory. Now the resemblance of these fruits to those of
beans and peas is obvious. Who would have thought that a tree could be a
legume? Well, it turns out that many plants in the legume or bean family
(Fabaceae) are trees: Mesquite, Acacias and even our introduced Mimosa.
Wax myrtle hedge: The leaves of this shrub are very aromatic which indicates they
contain volatile chemical compounds as a defense against herbivorous insects. Many evergreen shrubs have strong aromatic
smell for this same reason. The fruits of Wax myrtle are small and covered with
a waxy coating which was extracted in colonial times to make nicely scented
candles. The same fruits are valuable food for migratory birds. Wax is a type
of lipid and is very energy rich, which makes it wonderful for maintaining your
weight if you are a bird flying long distances. Wax myrtle is dioecious,
meaning that each shrub will have flowers of one sex only. If you want to plant
this shrub to attract birds you will need to make certain that you have female
plants (to produce the fruits) along with a few male plants to supply the
pollen to make the fruits, otherwise you’ll find your efforts to attract birds
fruitless.
Mulched trail & White Trail:
A sapling Pignut
hickory is growing at the foot of a young Sourwood tree. Hickories have
compound leaves and the number of leaflets is sometimes helpful in separating
the different species. Pignut typically has 5 leaflets, but examination of
several leaves showed some with 7 leaflets, illustrating the problem with just
using one leaf to make an identification. Trees often vary in the number of
leaflets and typical should not be taken to mean “always;” it usually
means “most frequently” or “averaging.” Pignut hickory
leaves are smooth (glabrous), but this specimen had hairs or bristles along the
veins on the undersurface. Hickories are known to hybridize and this individual
might be such.
Some of crushed the
leaves of the Sourwood that the hickory was growing near and chewed on
them a little. Most agreed that they were sour indeed. Someone handy with
Google reported that the sourness was due to the presence of Oxalic acid, the
same substance that makes Wood sorrel taste so sour.
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|
| White oak bark |
A White oak has
distinctive light gray bark that is thrown up into shingle-like patterns. On
its upper reaches, that is. As the tree ages the bark at the base becomes dark
and ridged and looks very different than the bark on the upper, younger part of
the trunk. We looked in vain for white oak leaves on the ground to demonstrate
the difference in shape between White and Red oak leaves. There were plenty of
Red oak leaves with their bristle tips but we never found any of the
bristle-less White oak leaves. This may be because the White oak does not have
as much tannin in its tissues as the Red oak does. Tannin inhibits the decay
process, just as it inhibits the digestion of leaves when it is present. It is
likely that all the White oak leaves that fell last year decayed over the
winter while the Red oak will take a little longer to recycle.
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|
| Hophornbeam bark with sap wells |
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|
| Hophornbeam leaf with doubly serrate margin |
We looked for fruit on a Hophornbeam
tree, but didn’t see any. Last year was a “mast” year – the hornbeams
produced a lot of fruits, but they normally wait a year or two before fruiting
again. Here in the Botanical Garden many of our Hophornbeams are used by
Sapsucker woodpeckers who excavate tiny holes in the trunk. The eat the sap and
any insects attracted to the sap that oozes from the opening. The
“hornbeam” part of the name comes from the use of the wood to yoke a
pair of oxen to a wagon by tying a pole across the horns of the animals. The
“hop” in the name comes from the resemblance of the fruit to that of
the hop vine. The bark is also very characteristic: it has a shredded
appearance and looks as though a cat might have scratched it while sharpening
its claws. The leaves have what is called a doubly serrate edge. The leaf edge
is not smooth; it is saw toothed and each of the larger teeth has a smaller
tooth projecting from it.
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|
| Spiral growth pattern |
One of the other Hophornbeams
we saw had a pronounced spiral pattern in the bark, possibly reflecting the
growth of the wood grain below the bark. In some trees this grain curves
clockwise from the ground up and in others it twists counter-clockwise. The
significance of the twisting is unknown and most of the explanations remain
untested and fanciful. At one time there was a claim that the twist in tree
grain in the Southern hemisphere was opposite that in the Northern hemisphere.
(There is also a long-standing urban legend that water runs out of the sink in
the opposite directions in the two hemispheres.) There is a practical
consequence to the twist in the wood grain, however. When you buy a 2X4 in long
dimensions it is hard to find a piece that does not twist.
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|
| Red maple leaf; not toothed margin |
A Red maple presented
an opportunity to look at how the leaves are arranged on their twigs or
branches. In maples the leaves always arise in pairs opposite one another. In
Oaks and Hickories the leaves alternate along the branch. Dan Williams, who
taught a tree identification course that many of our ramblers attended used a
mnemonic to remember which of the common trees in the Garden had opposite
leaves: ”Mad Dogs And Buckeyed Cats named Paul.” The first letter of each capitalized
word stands for: Maple, Dogwood, Ash, Buckeye, Catalpa and Paulownia. Linda
also pointed out that the Red Maple leaves, in addition to being opposite, have
toothed lobes and, usually, a red petiole (the stem that attaches the leaf to
the twig). They have something red all the time: red flowers in the spring, red
petioles after the leaves emerge, and red leaves in the fall.
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|
| Dog vomit slime mold |
One of the prizes of the
day was discovered by Ronnie, the youngest of our ramblers and one of the
sharpest eyed. He had a cluster of decaying leaves with a brilliant yellow blob
on the top. This is a type of “plasmodial” slime mold. Slime molds
are a group of organisms that once were thought to be fungi and are now thought
to be related to single-celled organisms. The one like Ronnie found starts life
as an amoeba-like organism crawling about decaying leaves and eating the
bacteria it encounters. If and when it encounters another of its kind, but of a
different mating type (sex), they fuse together and continue eating bacteria.
As they grow their nuclei divide, but the cell they are in just increases in
size and continues to crawl about the leaf litter until it gets very large
(sometimes even larger than the one Ronnie found). They then crawl to the
surface and begin to produce spores that will hatch into amoebae, completing
the life cycle. Ronnie’s slime mold has a disgusting name for such a beautiful
organism: the Dog vomit slime mold. It got this name from the odor it
emits in a confined space. In fresh air it can barely be smelled, but put it in
a bag and later open it and you see how appropriate the name is.
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|
| Old man’s beard lichen |
Ronnie also found a sprig
of Old man’s beard lichen. This lichen is normally found growing far up
in trees, but often is found on the ground after a storm breaks off twigs or
branches on which it has been growing.
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|
| Winged elm bark |
Next we found a large Winged
elm and looked at its distinctive bark. Bark patterns are hard to describe,
but Winged elm bark seems to made of puzzle pieces that are neatly fitted
together.
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| Sweetgum leaves |
The Sweetgum tree
has uniquely star-shaped leaves. One of the showy silk moths, the large,
apple-green colored Luna moth caterpillar feeds on Sweetgum, as well as
numerous other tree species. The genus name of the tree, Liquidambar, means “flowing gum”
Blueberries of various
types are not uncommon in the garden’s natural areas. We found one of the
earliest flowering ones, the Mayberry or Juneberry, but could
only find one partially eaten berry. The fruit is smaller than you find on
highbush blueberries.
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| Yaupon holly leaves |
A native plant that can
be confused with the invasive Chinese privet is Yaupon holly.
Privet leaves are opposite and smooth edged; Yaupon leaves are alternate and
toothed. Native Americans made a tea with the dried leaves. The leaves contain
lots of caffeine, which, when consumed in massive quantities acts as an emetic.
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| Northern red oak bark showing “ski trails” |
Another tree with an
easily recognized bark pattern is Northern Red Oak. Its bark is dark and
ridged. The ridges become lighter as you look toward the top of the tree. Dan
Williams suggested that an easy way to remember this is that up North you can
ski in the winter and these ridges with their whitish tops resemble ski tracks,
hence, Northern red oak. Like all the red oaks the Northern red oak leaves have
bristle tips on the points of each leaf lobe.
American beech is a tree with smooth gray bark, often with
initials carved in it. The shade leaves are very thin and papery in texture.
The tree we looked at had yellow spots on its leaves that may caused by leaf
miners (insects that feed on the leaf tissue between the upper and lower
epidermis).
Bedstraw is a common plant that is also know as “Cleavers” because of
the bristles on the stems that will adhere (cleave) to clothing. But there are
non-sticky bedstraws and we found one. Its leaves were in whorls of four and
very narrow. Some bore fruits consisting of twin spheres.
An American toad
was discovered hopping the duff. Two weeks ago we saw several of these but
today’s toad is larger. They grow fast!
Jack-in-the-pulpit usually has only three leaves but we found
several plants with five. None had pulpits, however.
We also found a plant
called Sanicle (or sometimes Black snake root). The exact species
can only be determined by closer examination in the lab, so we just left it as Sanicle sp.
Orange Spur trail to Orange trail:
We encountered a large
patch of Microstegium (Japanese
stilt grass) and Linda encouraged us to pull as much as we could, which we
did.
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|
| Wolf spider with egg sac attached to spinnerettes |
Perhaps as a result of
our disturbance of the Microstegium we spotted a Wolf spider with an egg sac.
The sac is carried by the mother attached to her spinnerets until the eggs
inside are hatching. She then assists the baby spiders by tearing open the sac
with her fangs. The young spiders climb on her abdomen and she carries them
around until they are old enough to climb off and begin foraging on their own.
We saw several Daddy
long-legs today and they prompted a number of questions, for example: “Are
they spiders?” or “Are they poisonous?” Daddy-long-legs are also
called Harvestmen (mostly in Britain) and are a type of arachnid. (see the
following for the common kinds of arachnids and how they are related to other kinds
of arthropods.
Arthropods are animals with external skeletons, segmented bodies and jointed legs (which
is what “arthro-” and “–pod” means). The arthropods are
divided into a number of different kinds, some of which most people have never
heard of. But the major kinds are common enough to be well known. How they are
all related to one another is currently in a state of flux, but the major
groups are recognizable without knowing their precise relationship. Here is a
guide to the major kinds of Arthropods:
Arachnids – 4 pairs of legs (mostly). There are four major types of Arachnids:
Ticks and mites – 2
primary body parts: head (with mouth parts) and abdomen
Daddy-long-legs
(Harvestmen) – 2 body parts (cephalothorax, abdomen) that are broadly joined
together to look like a single body. No venom glands or fangs, no silk glands;
long, spindly, fragile legs.
Scorpions – 4 pairs of walking
legs, a pair of claws “pinchers”, tail with venomous sting.
Spiders – 2 body parts
(cephalothorax, abdomen) joined by narrow connection; venom glands, fangs and silk
glands.
Insects – 3 pairs of legs; 3
body parts (head, thorax, abdomen); thorax with legs and usually 2 pairs of
wings.
Crustaceans – Almost defy easy definition.
Examples: Crabs, lobsters, shrimp, pillbugs (rolly-pollies), barnacles, etc. Mostly
marine or aquatic.. Each body segment can bear a pair of jointed appendages
that are variously modified into antennae, claws, walking legs, swimmerettes,
and other structures.
Myriapods – head and multiple body segments
Millipedes – 2 pairs of legs per body segment
Centipedes – 1 pair of legs per body segment
We found another Carolina
milkvine with its large, heart-shaped leaves and maroon flowers growing
near the microstegium patch.
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| White avens |
White avens is now in bloom. This plant begins life as a rosette of simple leaves.
As it grows the subsequent leaves become compound and then gradually change
back to simple leaves near the inflorescence.
We saw our first booming Wingstem
this morning.
Several young Crossvines
are climbing up some trees, affording us a good look at the two opposite leaves,
each with two elongated, pointed leaflets and a twining tendril.
A nearby ancient Poison
ivy vine clearly demonstrates how it climbs into trees – the entire stem is
thick with hairy tendrils.
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| Silverbell with striped bark |
A group of young Silverbells
show off their typical striped bark.
Nearby a large Arrowwood
shrub is past flowering, but young fruit is beginning to develop.
Commonly seen in this
area is a fern – Ebony spleenwort – with its characteristic black stipe.
Painted buckeye, the only native buckeye in this part of the
piedmont is easily identified by its palmately compound leaves.
Ground ivy, or Gill-over-the-ground, is an English import originally brought to
this country for use in beer making. Like hops, it was used to extend the shelf
life of beer, but no longer is used for that purpose.
Witches brooms are often seen in Hophornbeams. They are tightly
clustered growths of twigs and leaves that develop on the limbs of the tree.
They are caused by some pathogen and are not restricted to Hophornbeam but can
also be found on pines. They don’t seem to affect the general health of the
tree.
A Box elder with many
young shoots emerging from low on the trunk is near the river. Normally growth like this does not occur low
on a tree trunk. Its presence indicate possible injury to the top of the tree.
Orange trail to Purple trail:
A nice stand of Fowl
manna grass was seen on the trail at the river. Water fowl are fond of foraging on the seeds
of this grass.
Sweet Autumn Clematis, an invasive species from Asia, is distinguished
from Virgin’s Bower, our native species, by the leaves. The invasive species
has leaves with untoothed margins. The
native species has leaves with toothed margins.
Water pepper plants have a papery sheath (ochrea) that encloses the base of the leaf
stalk and the adjacent stem. This and
related species are now in genus Persicaria,
having been moved from Polygonum.
We found what I initially
thought was a leaf-footed bug on the Water pepper, but, after looking at Don’s
photo, I now think that it is in the genus Acanthocephala,
a type of Assasin bug. There is no common name.
The ripe berries of Elderberry,
a native shrub, can be used to make elderberry wine. We saw it in full bloom today with it’s
beautiful, flat umbel-like panicles of light green and white flowers.
Hispid/hairy buttercup grabbed our attention with it’s bright and
shiny yellow flowers.
Curly dock has produced fruits that are three-sided with three wings.
We stopped at two trees
that are fairly similar looking. Both
have opposite compound leaves: Green ash, with leaflets that are not
heavily toothed, and Box elder, whose leaflets have big teeth. Both trees have similar bark and it can be
hard to tell them apart in winter. Green ash usually has 5 leaflets and Box
elder usually has 3, but is very variable. Some Box elders consistently have 5 leaflets
and others have mixture of 3 and 5 leaflets.
Carolina horse nettle is still blooming on the trail next to the
river. Not too far down the trail we saw
the other, Deadly nightshade.
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| Mating lady beetles |
Twelve-spotted lady beetles were seen mating.
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| Caterpillar of the White-marked tussock moth |
We found an exotic
looking White-marked tussock moth caterpillar. Some people are irritated
by contact with the various bristles and tufts of hair on this otherwise
inoffensive caterpillar. It’s probably wise to not disturb them.
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| Sue with Princess tree leaf |
A discouraging discovery
was a “sapling” of Princess tree, another invasive species
from Asia. Sue posed beside it so we could see how large the leaf is and then
promptly snapped the tree off at ground level.
Other species seen can be
found in the Summary of observed species.
SUMMARY
OF OBSERVED SPECIES:
|
Common Name |
Scientific Name |
|
Parking lot |
|
|
Eastern |
Cercis |
|
Wax |
Morella |
|
Mulched path – White trail |
|
|
Pignut |
Carya |
|
Sourwood |
Oxydendrum |
|
White oak |
Quercus |
|
Hophornbeam |
Ostrya |
|
Red maple |
Acer |
|
Dog vomit |
Fuligo |
|
Old man’s |
Usnea |
|
Winged |
Ulmus |
|
Mayberry/Juneberry |
Vaccinium |
|
Sweetgum |
Liquidambar |
|
Yaupon |
Ilex |
|
Privet |
Ligustrum |
|
Northern |
Quercus |
|
American |
Fagus |
|
Galium |
Galium |
|
American |
Bufo (Anaxyrus) americanus |
|
Autumn |
Elaeagnus |
|
Jack in |
Arisaema triphyllum |
|
Black |
Sanicula |
|
Orange spur trail |
|
|
White |
Geum |
|
Carolina |
Matelea carolinensis |
|
Wingstem |
Verbesina |
|
Wolf |
Family |
|
Japanese |
Microstegium |
|
Crossvine |
Bignonia |
|
Poison |
Toxicodendron |
|
Silverbells |
Halesia |
|
Arrowwood |
Viburnum |
|
Ebony |
Asplenium |
|
Painted |
Aesculus |
|
Gill-over-the-ground/ground |
Glechoma |
|
Box elder |
Acer |
|
Orange trail |
|
|
Fowl |
Glyceria |
|
Invasive |
Clematis |
|
(Mild) |
Persicaria |
|
Assassin |
Acanthocephala |
|
Elderberry |
Sambucus |
|
Hispid/hairy |
Ranunculus |
|
Annual |
Lolium |
|
Curly |
Rumex |
|
Green ash |
Fraxinus |
|
Carolina |
Solanum |
|
Deadly |
Atropa |
|
Twelve-spotted |
Coleomegilla maculata |
|
Cat |
Smilax glauca |
|
White-marked (caterpillar) |
Orgyia |
|
St. |
Hypericum |
|
Great |
Oxalis |
|
Jewelweed |
Impatiens |
|
Sensitve |
Onoclea |
|
Common |
Oxalis |
|
Princess |
Paulownia tomentosa |
|
Musclewood |
Carpinus |
|
Summer |
Houstonia |