Leaders of Today’s Ramble: Don and Linda

Authors of Today’s Report: Linda Chafin, Don Hunter

The photos that appear in this report were taken by Don Hunter unless otherwise credited. Photos may be enlarged by clicking them with a mouse or tapping on your screen. Not all of Don’s photos from today’s ramble made it into the Ramble Report, so be sure to check out his Facebook album at this link.

Nature Ramble Rainy Day Policy: We show up at 9:00 a.m., rain or shine. If it’s raining, we will meet and socialize in the conservatory (bring your own coffee); if there is a break in the rain, we’ll go outside and do a little rambling.

Today’s Emphasis: Rainy day socializing and commiserating indoors, then seeking what we found in a damp but clearing outdoors.

Announcements and other interesting things:
“Plant Resilience and Conservation for a Changing Climate” – a free, virtual symposium offered by the Botanical Society of America, November 14 and 15.

The Georgia Botanical Society’s Holiday Party, is Saturday, December 7, 2024, 10:00 am–2pm, at the Newman Wetlands Center in Clayton County. The party includes a potluck lunch, seed swap, boardwalk stroll through the wetlands, and lots of socializing. Anyone interested in carpooling from Athens, please email Linda at Lchafin@uga.edu.

Don’s Pre-Ramble Observations:
Don set out this morning to confirm his tentative ID of an aster bud on on October 24. Here are the two photos with October 24 on the left and today’s photo on the right.

With its long purple rays and white disk flowers, this is undoubtedly Georgia Aster, one of the rarest plants in Georgia. It is listed as Threatened by the State of Georgia and was a candidate for federal listing under the Endangered Species Act from 1999 until 2014. At that point, a Conservation Agreement was reached by a number of state and federal agencies, conservation groups, and private companies to protect this species throughout its range. It was then removed from the candidate list. Georgia Aster is the logo for the Bot Garden’s Mimsie Lanier Center for Native Plant Studies.

Once gathered in the Conservatory in the Visitor Center, we ate lots of comfort food, commiserated, and waited for the skies to clear. Don remembered a poem by Wendell Berry that I’d read on a similar occasion in 2016 entitled “The Peace of Wild Things” [(c) 2012].

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

As Ramblers wandered outside into the woods beyond the Forest Play area, we were struck by the beauty of the brightening leaves.

Due to overcrowding, there were many abnormal examples of the Gilled Polypore growing among the otherwise normal examples, appearing almost like a coral reef in a shallow sea

Violet-toothed Polypore fungi have colored zones (left) on the upper surface similar to Turkey Tails, but the lower surface is covered with sharp folds of tissue that somewhat resemble teeth (right). In time, the lower surface turns rich shades of purple.

And speaking of shedding…

The Ginkgos in the Children’s Garden plaza are beginning to shed their leaves – a good time to re-read Dale’s 2012 account of Ginkgo leaf fall.
“Autumn has an abundance of dreary, drizzly days when everything is drained of color and the chill penetrates to the bone. On such days it’s difficult not to be depressed and the gray sky just reinforces that absence of cheer. But fortunately there is one joy that overcast skies cannot diminish: the Ginkgo tree. As fall begins, the Ginkgo starts to absorb all the green from its fan-shaped leaves. They become yellow at their base and the border between green and yellow gradually advances to the edge of the fan, as if all the green is being inhaled into the tree itself. Then the tree seems to hold its breath, as if waiting for some sign. When that mysterious signal arrives the tree suddenly exhales and all the lemon-colored leaves cascade to the ground within a few hours. If you’re lucky enough to be standing under a Ginkgo at that very moment you can experience the joy of their soft pelting – summer sunlight and air made palpable – as in their twisting descent they brush against your head and hands, casting your shadow on the earth beneath. Their brilliant yellow defies the drab autumnal sky and, for a moment, you can imagine you see the sun reflected in the pooled leaves beneath the naked branches above.”

SUMMARY OF OBSERVED SPECIES:

Georgia Aster Symphyotrichum georgianum
Rattlesnake Master Eryngium yuccifolium
Red-shouldered Stink Bug Thyanta custator
Southern Two-lined Salamander Eurycea cirrigera
White-topped Pitcherplant hybrid Sarracenia leucophylla X Sarracenia purpurea
Gilled Polypore Trametes betulina
Turkey Tail fungus Trametes versicolor
Crowded Parchment Fungus Stereum complicatum
Violet-toothed Polypore Trichaptum biforme
Common Garter Snake Thamnophis sirtalis
Yellow-spotted Graylet moth caterpillar Hyperstrotia flaviguttata
Trembling Crust fungus Merulius tremellosus (synonym Phlebia tremellosa)
Beech Fagus grandifolia
Sooty Mold an Ascomycete fungus
Turban Cup Lichen Cladonia peziziformis
Sasanqua Camellia Camellia sasanqua
Ginkgo tree Ginkgo biloba

Leader of Today’s Ramble: John Schelhas

Authors of Today’s Report: John Schelhas, Don Hunter

The photos that appear in this report were taken by Don Hunter unless otherwise credited. Photos may be enlarged by clicking them with a mouse or tapping on your screen. Not all of Don’s photos from today’s ramble made it into the Ramble Report, so be sure to check out his Facebook album at this link .

Nature Ramble Rainy Day Policy: We show up at 9:00 a.m., rain or shine. If it’s raining, we will meet and socialize in the conservatory (bring your own coffee); if there is a break in the rain, we’ll go outside and do a little rambling.

Today’s Emphasis: Tree microhabitats

Announcements and other interesting things:
Roger Nielsen announced that the Oconee River Land Trust is hosting a hike and happy hour, with hors d’ oeuvres, beer, and wine, on Saturday, November 2, from 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm. It will happen at Walt Cook’s conservation easement on the Middle Oconee River.

Speaking of microhabitats: Mountain Plants Host Unique Microscopic Communities

“The outstanding scientific discovery of the twentieth century is not television or radio, but rather the complexity of the land organism. Only those who know the most about it can appreciate how little we know about it. The last word in ignorance is the man who says of an animal or plant: “What good is it?” If the land mechanism as a whole is good, then every part is good, whether we understand it or not. If the biota, in the course of aeons, has built something we like but do not understand, then who but a fool would discard seemingly useless parts? To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering.” Aldo Leopold, "Conservation," Round River: From the Journals of Aldo Leopold.

Tree Microhabitats

“Tree microhabitats” is a new term for a category that came out of European forest research. It brings together things we already know, but establishing the category helps group them and understand their importance. Microhabitats refer to small habitats that are on trees (not places on the ground where different trees are found), such as a limb or twig, or perhaps a hollow or decaying knot hole filled with soil or containing water. Maybe it’s a rivulet of sap, dripping from a woodpecker hole or from a fissure caused by a lightning strike, attracting ants, which attract birds. Maybe it’s a leaf, hosting a wasp gall. It might be a tangle of limbs and leaves, providing a safe haven from predators for a variety of small species of insects or other critters. It could be a bird’s nest. The important thing to know is that these microhabitats are all structural things. You don’t really have to know the species of the trees – or the insects or the fungi, etc. that live there – to appreciate the concept and look for tree microhabitats. Just being able to recognize the different microhabitats can get you thinking about all of the connections found within a forest and can help you see some of “the cogs and wheels” of forest ecosystems.

Illustration from Martin et al. 2022. Tree-Related Microhabitats Are Promising Yet Underused Tools for Biodiversity and Nature Conservation: A Systematic Review for International Perspectives. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, Vol. 5: 818474.

European researchers have developed a catalogue of different tree microhabitats that offers an accessible classification system for identifying small and valuable structures for biodiversity. The Catalogue was developed by a group of experts at the European Forest Institute to serve as a field guide. The vast array of existing tree microhabitats (TreMs) is subdivided into a few concise categories of saproxylic (cavities, injuries and wounds, bark, dead wood) and epixylic (deformations, epiphytes, nests) structures that can serve as shelter or home for different flora and fauna.

Left, decayed hole at the base of a hickory tree has an accumulation of soil-like wood at the bottom. Right, a patch of moss on a Beech trunk is an epiphyte that provides cover for small insects.

While there is a lot of forest ecology and silvicultural science behind the categories, the Catalogue can be used simply as a field guide and handy support for determining valuable microhabitats during forest management. In addition to being available in pdf form, there is also an “Integrate+tree microhabitat” phone app for identifying biodiversity-relevant tree microhabitats. The app content has been taken from the publication Catalogue of tree microhabitats – Reference field list and is available in several languages. The I+TreMs catalogue is available as a free app, running on Android and Apple.

Tree microhabitat resources:
Kraus, D., Bütler, R., Krumm, F., Lachat, T., Larrieu, L., Mergner, U., Paillet, Y., Rydkvist, T., Schuck, A., and Winter, S., 2016. Catalogue of tree microhabitats – Reference field list.
Integrate+ Technical Paper. 16p.

Bütler, R.; Lachat, T.; Krumm, F.; Kraus, D.; Larrieu, l. 2020. Field Guide to Tree-related Microhabitats: Descriptions and size limits for their inventory. Birmensdorf, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL. 59 p.

In general, research has shown that the more tree microhabitats you have in a forest, the greater the diversity of organisms in that forest. As you might expect, natural forests have more tree microhabitats in them than plantation forests, which are generally, as a part of their management, kept “cleaned up” by removing deadwood and fungi, keeping fallen limbs picked up, keeping shrubs thinned out, etc. Additionally, old growth forests have many more tree microhabitats than younger forests, as you can see looking at almost any large, old tree or visiting an old growth forest such as the Tulip Trees in the Cooper’s Creek Recreation Area in the Chattahoochee National Forest near Suches, Georgia. Importantly for forest management, you can enhance tree microhabitats in a plantation forest by leaving diverse tree microhabitats, such as deadwood, cavities, and fungi, or by leaving one or more large trees. Having more microhabitats and diversity in a forest in general will increase the resilience of a forest and perhaps even its productivity as trees often grow better in complex natural-like ecosystems rather than in simple ones focused on producing wood fiber.

Today’s Route: We left the Children’s Garden, and, via the entrance road, made our way to the White Trail and headed across the powerline ROW to the turkey-foot intersection of the Blue, Green, and White trails. We stayed within sight of the intersection, checking out various trees for microhabitats.

Today’s Observations:
John led the ramblers to the junction of the Blue, Green, and White Trails just west of the powerline right-of-way. Here he handed out forms for recording different tree microhabitats. As examples of things to look for, John mentioned that he had seen, in a reconnaissance for today’s Ramble, a dead branch up in one of the trees, the loose bark of White Oaks that provides shelter for insects (and even small bats), and Hook Moss providing cover for small insects avoiding predation by woodpeckers and other birds. John sent us out in small groups to check out different trees in the vicinity to find and identify microhabitats. We regrouped after 30 or 40 minutes to see what the different groups found.

Loose plates of White Oak bark (left) and Hook Moss on a Hop Hornbeam (right)
provide shelter for insects.

Don’s Pre- and Post-Ramble Observations:

SUMMARY OF OBSERVED SPECIES

White Oak Quercus alba
American Beech Fagus grandifolia
Northern Red Oak Quercus rubra
Hop Hornbeam Ostrya virginiana
Red Hickory Carya ovalis
Winged Elm Ulmus alata
Hook Moss Leucodon sp.
Little Nest Polypore Trametes conchifer
White Micrathena orbweaver Micrathena mitrata
Shagbark Hickory Carya ovata
Hypoxylon Canker Biscogniauxia atropunctatum
Wall Scalewort Porella platyphylla
American Winter Ant (tentative ID) Prenolepis imparis
Carolina Mantleslug (tentative ID) Philomycus carolinianus
Candy Corn Plant Cuphea micropetala
Aster Symphyotrichum sp.
Eastern Carpenter Bee Xylocopa virginica
Rattlesnake Master Eryngium yuccifolium

Leader of Today’s Ramble: Catherine Chastain, whose background as a children’s librarian and teacher makes her uniquely qualified to lead on Halloween!

Authors of Today’s Report: Linda Chafin, Don Hunter

The photos that appear in this report were taken by Don Hunter unless otherwise credited. Photos may be enlarged by clicking them with a mouse or tapping on your screen. Not all of Don’s photos from today’s ramble made it into the Ramble Report, so be sure to check out his Facebook album at this link.

Nature Ramble Rainy Day Policy: We show up at 9:00 a.m., rain or shine. If it’s raining, we will meet and socialize in the conservatory (bring your own coffee); if there is a break in the rain, we’ll go outside and do a little rambling.

Today’s Emphasis: Creating Halloween monsters

Number of Ramblers today: 21

Announcements and other interesting things:
Kathy Stege announced that from now on she will be using her given name, Kathryn.

Dave Miller shared this interesting youtube video, The Surprising Map of Plants, that summarizes the evolutionary history of plants from algae to the aster family. The author and illustrator explains how plants across the evolutionary spectrum are related to each other and what makes them so successful.

From the Washington Post: A Year in the Life of a Leaf: explore a leaf’s magical transformations across seasons.

Forest fires are shifting north and intensifying – here’s what that means for the planet.

Don’s Pre-Ramble Observations:

The Handsome Meadow Katydid, with its white face, pale blue eyes, turquoise wings, bright green body, and legs brownish-red fading to yellowish-green, is indeed handsome. It lives in moist to wet forests and in brushy thickets near streams and lakes from Florida north to New York, and east to Mississippi. They eat pollen, seeds, and leaves and are eaten by other insects and birds. Females lay their eggs in rows along plant stems, where they overwinter. Small wingless nymphs hatch in the spring, becoming larger during a succession of molts and eventually developing wings. When they mature in mid to late summer, the males attract females with their songs (to hear the song, click here) and the females select a mate based on the strength of the song. The song is created by stridulation: one wing has a “file” that is rubbed against the other wing that has a “mirror” that amplifies the sound.

Show-and-Tell:

I had just returned from a trip to the mountains, bringing with me several White Oak and Northern Red Oak leaves with numerous neatly incised circular holes (photos above). I’d never noticed this in the woods before and thought first of the circular bites taken out of Redbud leaves by leaf-cutting bees, a favorite of Dale’s. But that yielded nothing on the internet, so I googled “oak leaves with round holes,” and right away was taken to several websites about the Oak Shothole Leaf-miner Fly.

The female of this tiny fly feeds in the early spring by inserting her hairlike ovipositor into an oak leaf bud and then lapping up the sap that seeps from the microscopic wound. She may do this several times to the same bud before moving on to another bud. As spring progresses, and the leaf emerges from the wounded bud, the tiny holes expand as the leaf does, turning the tiny wounds into easily visible holes. Where the developing leaf expands evenly in all directions, the wound becomes a round hole; where the leaf grows mostly lengthwise, an oval hole forms. When the leaves are mature, the females return to deposit their eggs inside the leaves. The eggs then hatch, and tiny larvae emerge and eat their winding way inside the leaf, “mining” the nutritious tissue within and leaving trails of dead tissue behind. Oak Shothole Leaf-miner Flies visit several oak species that occur in our area – Black Oak, Northern Red Oak, White Oak, and Post Oak – as well as Chinese Chestnut and some maples. If you take a look at the list of Observed Species at the end of this report, you’ll see that the genus for this fly is Japanagromyza, suggesting that it’s not native to North America, but it is an American species of an otherwise Asian genus.

Today’s Reading: Catherine brought a reading relevant to monster creation, a poem by Shel Silverstein entitled “The Worst.”

When singing songs of scariness,
Of bloodiness and hairyness,
I feel obligated at this moment to remind you
Of the most ferocious beast of all:
Three thousand pounds and nine feet tall –
The Glurpy Slurpy Skakagrall –
Who’s standing right behind you.

At least two ramblers chose to dress appropriately for monster creation!
(Myrna, left, and Gary, right)

Today’s Activities and Observations:
Catherine brought boxes of nature finds: sweet gum balls, grape vine tendrils, okra pods, dried leaves, lichen-encrusted twigs, acorns, and magnolia and chinaberry fruits, as well as googly eyes, hot glue and gun, twine, and felt scraps. Ramblers got busy!

And the results were spectacular!

Monsters by Roger C and Marsha (above)

Don’s Gingko Bee and Halley’s monster

Monsters by Henry and Linda

Dave’s Snake Mummy and Myrna’s Mr. Lichen Face with two small cohorts

Monsters by Jan and Gary

Monsters of unknown parentage

Inspired by the monsters, Ramblers set off for a short ramble through the Lower Shade Garden to the floodplain….

Bigleaf Magnolia leaves (above) and Sasanqua Camellia in flower (below)
in the Lower Shade Garden

From the New York City Park Daily Plant: “The American Sycamore attains the largest girth of any tree native to Eastern North America. In colonial times, families used hollow sycamores as temporary shelter, and a single trunk cavity was known to hold up to 15 men on horseback! The current record holder in Ohio is 15 feet in diameter. The sycamore is very long lived, sometimes reaching 500 years of age. After 200 or 300 years, it becomes hollow. Sycamores grow in rich, alluvial or bottomland soil, usually along river banks and streams. Sycamores prefer well-drained soils, but tolerate periods of waterlogged, anaerobic conditions (lacking oxygen). Urban soils are notoriously compacted with poor aeration, so this natural adaptation allows Sycamores to function well in the urban environments.”

Yellowwood’s golden yellow leaves and Sourwood’s coral-red leaves in the Dunson Garden

The Middle Oconee River continues to be low.

SUMMARY OF OBSERVED SPECIES:

Rattlesnake Master Eryngium yuccifolium
Handsome Meadow Katydid Orchelimum pulchellum
Oak Shothole Leafminer Fly (leaf damage only) Japanagromyza viridula
Carolina Anole Anolis carolinensis
Daddy Longlegs Order Opiliones
Bigleaf Magnolia Magnolia macrophylla
American Witch-hazel Hamamelis virginiana
Sasanqua Camellia Camellia sasanqua
Yellowwood Cladrastis kentukea
Sourwood Oxydendrum arboreum
American Sycamore Platanus occidentalis
Neoscona orbweaver spider Neoscona sp.
Dotted Smartweed Persicaria punctata