Trillies, Lilies, and the Rest of the Bunch

I've been so busy this spring that I haven't had much time to get out and botanize. This past Tuesday evening, I visited property of friends of ours just northeast of Potato Creek State Park in St. Joseph County, Indiana. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough daylight for me to take photos at that time. Today, Lindsay, Bootypants, and I went back to this mesic upland forest to snap some shots.

Trillium recurvatum.

Trillium grandiflorum.

Erythronium americanum. Very few individuals of this species still had flowers; most had dropped petals and were developing fruit.

Arisaema triphyllum.

Asarum canadense. I'd never noticed the white portion of the inside of the calyx.

Claytonia virginica.

Dicentra cucullaria.

Enemion biternatum.

Phlox divaricata. The best I can tell, this is ssp. divaricata, with notched petals. Unfortunately, the references I've seen say that the unnotched variety/subspecies sometimes has notched petals, and vice versa.

Phlox divaricata ssp. laphamii. Notice the unnotched petals. The two varieties apparently overlap near the Indiana-Illinois state line, with ssp. divaricata more eastern and ssp. laphamii more western.

Viola pubescens.

Many other species were blooming, but I missed seeing the earliest species (Sanguinaria canadensis, Erigenia bulbosa, etc.) in Indiana this year.

Additional photos can be found at Through Handlens and Binoculars by clicking here.

Dutchman's Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria) and Nursery Web Spider

The elongated spurs of our beloved Dutchman’s Breeches sometimes carry a pinkish tinge, as shown below. Fernald mentioned a forma “purpuritincta” with “calyx deep purple and the corolla pink, deep orange at the flexure.” This doesn’t seem to be that form, but it’s worth watching for, even though formae don’t usually carry a lot of taxonomic significance. Imagine you’re a little bee buzzing in for a landing on the upper flower… Everything seems OK, right?...

The second picture shows the same plant from a different angle, where a small Nursery Web Spider waits for its prey. Interestingly, I did not see the spider when taking the photos. If I was a bee, Shelob would be having me for dinner.

More photos of Dutchman’s Breeches, for those who, like me, can never grow tired of seeing and photographing this curious little plant!

The question is not what you look at, but what you see. Henry David Thoreau Journal, 1851.

ID This - A Correct Quiz Answer

I recently posted the following photo as a plant quiz...


Some of the guesses included Boehmeria cylindrica, Urtica dioica (or maybe Laportea canadensis), and Pilea pumila. None of these were correct, but what do they all have in common? They are all in the family Urticaceae. When I first saw this plant, I was convinced it was in the family Urticaceae, but nothing fit. As I was about to give up until I could see a more mature specimen, I thought... man, those leaves look like mulberry. Then it hit me that there was an herbaceous, non-native mulberry that I had never seen. I looked up Fatoua villosa, Mulberry Weed, and sure enough, it was a perfect fit. Interestingly, this species was once known as Urtica villosa.


This is Fatoua villosa, Mulberry Weed, or Hairy Crabweed (Moraceae). It was introduced in the United States from east Asia as recently as the 1960s. First found in Louisiana, it has rapidly spread throughout the southeastern United States, pushing north into Indiana and Ohio; it has also been recorded in California and Washington. Much of its spread has been attributed to the horticultural trade, where it persists as a weed in greenhouses.


In many of the northern locations for this plant, it has been found more commonly inside greenhouses. Only very recently (1991 in Ohio) has this species been observed outside of greenhouses in the northern extent of its range.


Mulberry weed is an annual that continuously produces an abundance of seeds from the time it is a very small plant until it reaches a maximum height of up to 80 cm. When mature, the seeds are "explosively expelled," according to Flora of North America.


Watch for this weed around greenhouses, in waste areas, and in disturbed sites as it continues its northward expansion.

Congratulations, Justin and Susan, for correctly identifying the plant in this plant quiz.

Plant Quiz

Location - Southeastway Park, Indianapolis, IN, mesic woodland.
Growing with dog-tooth violets, harbinger-of-spring, spring beauties, and bloodroot in a Beech/Maple woods.

The land of flowers 2

I am working at getting a handle on the plants I am seeing at work. Sometimes, the desire, effort, or time is lacking while I am working, but putting the photos online helps me get better at paying attention.
Hypoxis juncea - Yellow stargrass
In the dry prairie at Myakka River State Park.

Lyonia lucida
In the dry prairie with blueberries at Myakka River State Park.

Nuttallanthus (formerly Linaria)- probably floridanus or canadensis.
This flower was growing profusely throughout cattle pastures and along roadsides.

Sisyrinchium - Blue-eyed Grass from Sarasota County, FL. Feel free to ID, I'll try to key later. I tried for several days to get the camera focus on these guys.

Salvia lyrata - Lyreleaf Sage
I did not see many individuals of this flower blooming yet.

Hypericum from Manatee County, FL. Feel free to take a shot at ID. Sorry for the incomplete ID.

Emilia fosbergii - Florida Tasselflower
This 'weed' was growing very commonly in sandy margins of ag fields in Manatee County.

Fumaria officinalis - drug fumitory
Growing very weedy in a disturbed site in Hillsborough County. I thought it was a Corydalis at first.

Northern Indiana Update

Upon returning home to northern Indiana from sunny and green Florida, I was hopeful that spring had arrived in my absence. Not the case, but at least there's no snow! I haven't been out botanizing, but the only plant in bloom on our property is Acer saccharinum (Silver Maple).

Some flowers of Acer saccharinum are perfect, but others are fully pistillate (like those above) or fully staminate (like some of those shown below).

The land of flowers

It is fun to see things blooming again. I am sure there will be more pictures as I get a chance to process things.
Bidens alba - Romerillo

Lindernia grandiflora - Savannah False Pimpernel

Asimina incana - Pawpaw
It is very cool to find out that there are other pawpaws out there in the world.

Vaccinium myrsinites - Shiny Blueberry

Gelsemium sempervirens - Evening Trumpetflower
This native is so prolific that it seems like an invasive. The flowers are gorgeous.

Houstonia procumbens - Roundleaf Bluet
Blooming at Hillsborough River State Park

JT Reporting from Southern Missouri

Spring Peepers are going gang-busters. Last weekend I saw Thlaspi perfoliata in bloom and yesterday Lamium amplexicaule. The Phoebes that insist on nesting on my porch are back and staking their claims. More warm weather on the way!

A Green River Drainage Endemic

I recently posted about Aquilegia barnebyi, a species endemic to the Green River Drainage in Utah and Colorado, on Through Handlens and Binoculars.


Click here to find out more about this species and the unique lake around which we saw it growing.

My First Flower of 2010

After over a month of freezing temperatures, snow, ice and drab depressing skiery, a glimmer of spring has graced the stage of the new year. Don't get too excited, it's only Veronica polita.

With frostbitten leaves, the tiny blue blooms of this spring harbinger made quick work of a sunny day last weekend in Springfield, Missouri.

I'm sure others have seen it already this year, but it is easily overloooked so I decided to post it. In other news, I heard a solitary Spring Peeper yesterday and Timberdoodles have been working my field for over a week. Man are my feet getting itchy.

As some of us know, the "Get Your Botany On" blog was born from an annual competition centered around the discovery of the first flowering species from each family. The fire of that game has since fizzled but the spirit of that game should live on. I propose that we post updates of what is flowering in our respective areas this spring. No photos necessary, just quick informal notes for those interested in the floral progression across the geographical range of our contributors.

ChloroFilms

Vic Riemenschneider recently sent me an email with a link to ChloroFilms. Check it out...

http://www.chlorofilms.org/index.php

This link contains a collection of plant videos stored on YouTube. From their webpage, their objective is "to promote the creation of fresh, attention-getting and informative video content about plant life and to make the best of these videos easy to find from a single website."

Be sure to watch some of the carnivorous plant videos. Astonishing plants doing astonishing things.

Numerous Plant Quizzes - Annotated Photo

I recently posted the following photograph from Round Lake in Starke County, Indiana as a plant quiz and asked for identification of as many species as possible.


I've labeled the plants that I was able to ID from the photo and my memory of the site. You'll probably need to click on the photo to expand it to see the answers and the plants they are denoting. The key to the answers is below...

A – Solidago graminifolia v. nuttallii (Euthamia graminifolia)
B – Scirpus pungens (Schoenoplectus pungens)
C – Pycnanthemum virginianum
D – Eupatorium maculatum (Eupatoriadelphus maculatus)
E – Potentilla fruticosa (Dasiphora fruticosa)
F – Lysimachia quadriflora
G – Dryopteris thelypteris v. pubescens (Thelypteris palustris v. pubescens)
H – Rosa palustris?
I – Juncus dudleyi
J – Calamagrostis canadensis?
K – Eupatorium perfoliatum
L – Aster novae-angliae
M – Solidago riddellii (Oligoneuron riddellii)
N – Carex sterilis
O – Typha sp.

I don't see Onoclea sensibilis, Carex brunnescens (maybe this was guessed for Carex sterilis?), or Rudbeckia hirta (maybe this was guessed for the yellow composite in the background, which I think may be a Helianthus?), which were all suggested.

Pretty sharp group we have here! There were very few plants that I was able to identify from the photo and my memory of the site that were not identified by the group. Thanks for all of your comments.

Castilleja Diversity

I recently added a new post on Through Handlens and Binoculars about several species of Castilleja that we encountered on our trip to Colorado last July.


Click here to check it out!

January Botany + Plant Quiz

Of course, working on tree bud and bark identification this time of year is fun and all, but it still makes me want a little green. So I decided to see what was green and herbaceous at my local (Central Indiana) woods. Here is a selection of eight that I found. Some of these plants I am pretty sure of, some I think I know, and some I have no clue and would appreciate any help. (Although time should tell.)

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Name That Plant - An Answer

I recently posted the following photograph as a plant quiz...

Here is the uncropped image of this plant...


This is Solidago uliginosa (Bog Goldenrod), growing amongst Equisetum arvense, Aster umbellatus, Calamagrostis canadensis, Rubus pubescens, Polygonum sagittatum, and others. Justin suggested the possibility of Solidago speciosa, which as he noted grows in drier conditions. Solidago uliginosa has thicker textured leaves that have a longer length to width ratio than those of S. speciosa. The lower leaves of S. uliginosa are somewhat clasping the stem, but this character isn't obvious in the quiz photo.


Solidago uliginosa is a polymorphic species of eastern North America, where it grows in bogs, marshes, and wet woods (Semple & Cook 2006). These photographs were taken on August 18, 2009 in Superior, Wisconsin. Plants of this species that we saw in Wisconsin look somewhat different from those that I typically see in Indiana. In fact, the first time I saw it, I had to ask our local expert which Solidago it was. Individuals of this species that I see in northern Indiana have fewer stem leaves and inflorescences that are less dense.


Solidago is from the Latin solido, meaning “to make whole or heal,” a reference to the medicinal qualities of the genus; the specific epithet uliginosa means “of marshes (Wisplants 2010).



Semple, J.C. & R.E. Cook. 2006. Solidago. In: Flora of North America Editorial Committee, eds. 1993+. Flora of North America North of Mexico. 15+ vols. New York and Oxford. Vol. 20.

Wisplants (http://wisplants.uwsp.edu/scripts/detail.asp?SpCode=SOLULI), accessed 25 January 2010.