Witch Hazel

Hamamelis virginiana is a common shrub or small tree on the forested slopes of the dune country in Indiana. It also occurs away from the dunes region, often on ravine slopes. The leaves are wavy-margined and noticeably asymmetrical. Interestingly, the flowers emerge in autumn, and in a mild year can sometimes be observed well into December. Watch for the occasional pink-flowered forma rubescens.

In a journal entry dated September 21, 1859, Henry David Thoreau wrote, "Heard in the night a snapping sound, and the fall of some small body on the floor from time to time. In the morning I found it was produced by the witch hazelnuts on my desk springing open and casting their seeds quite across my chamber, hard and stony as these nuts were. For several days they are shooting their shining black seeds about my chamber."

In a delightful book entitled "Of Woods and Other Things," the inimitable Emma Pitcher wrote, "Everything else in the woods is going to sleep in the frosts and cold of October and November when witch hazel is in full blossom. We found lingering petals on a Christmas Day stroll."

 In earlier times, a forked branch of witch-hazel was sometimes used as a “divining rod” for “water witching,” which was believed to locate good sites for digging wells.

Photographed on October 31, 2012 in Marshall County, Indiana.

Grass of Parnassus

A few weeks ago Parnassia glauca was flowering at a calcareous fen in northern Indiana. The plants were showing drought stress on a slope that normally is seeping but was completely dry on the surface. Their distinctive basal leaves were missing entirely, as were many of their attractive and intriguing associates. 

Time for a Plant Quiz - Answered

I recently posted the following plant quiz...

 

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It's been a busy year.  I'm behind on publishing blog posts and I'm not really sure where to start catching up, so in the meantime, here's a plant quiz.  Good luck!   

 

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Anonymous and The Phytophactor both correctly identified this as the flower of Proboscidea louisianica, formerly known as Martynia louisianica.  This odd, conspicuous species is considered by some to be a member of the family Pedaliaceae (the sesame family) and by others to be in the family Martyniaceae (the unicorn plant family).

 

I was alerted of the presence of this plant in St. Joseph County, Indiana by a colleague who sent me a couple of photos of an unknown squash-like plant that showed up on the property of a friend of his.  I later found out that the plant was growing at the edge of a tilled vegetable garden.  The landowner, who has lived there many years, has never seen the plant before and did not plant it, at least intentionally.  I have doubts that this is truly a spontaneous occurrence; I wonder if there were seeds of this species accidentally included in the garden vegetable seeds that were installed in the garden.  In Flora of Indiana, Charlie Deam mentions that he once found this species introduced with strawberries that had been seeded in a garden.

In its native range, which seems centered in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Colorado (but that ranges into scattered counties throughout much of the United States), Proboscidea louisianaca grows along streambanks and in waste areas.   I can't imagine seeing this species growing as part of a natural community.  It was apparently once a part of the native flora in Indiana (along the Ohio and Wabash rivers), but it is now considered extirpated from the state.

 

The fruit of Proboscidea louisianica are also quite unique and are the source of the common names Ram's Horn, Unicorn Plant, and Devil's Claw.  This species is sometimes cultivated so that the fruit can be pickled.  As The Phytophactor pointed out, mucilaginous hairs cover Proboscidea louisianica... and all members of the Martyniaceae and Pedaliaceae. 

 

Good call, Anonymous and The Phytophactor!

 

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Note: Since posting the answer to this quiz, Kay Yatskievych has let me know that the correct spelling of the epithet for this species is actually "louisiana," making the correct name of this plant Proboscidea louisiana.  In addition, Kay is aware of records in Indiana from Hendricks, Jefferson, Wells, and now St. Joseph counties in Indiana; one of those records is from a weedy area near a bird feeder, so bird food may be another source of the spread of this species.

Flax-leaved Aster

The scratchy-scabrous leaves of this sand-loving plant have a very unusual feel. Photographed at Ober Savanna Nature Preserve in Starke County, Indiana.

Sky Blue Aster

Aster azureus contributes to the ineffable beauty of September and October days when flat-bottomed clouds line up across the brilliant blue sky. 

 Photographed at Ober Savanna Nature Preserve in Starke County, Indiana.

The lovely and descriptive name Aster azureus (Aster = starry), (azureus = sky-blue) has been dropped and replaced, alas!

Fringed Gentian

Photographed in a wet meadow in northern Indiana. What's not to love about this striking plant?!

Nodding Lady's Tress Orchid

This common orchid is flowering abundantly in wet sandy meadows in northern Indiana. The identification of this one is assumed - I didn't have a field guide in hand and didn't make a collection.

For anyone with an interest in wild orchids, a visit to Peter Grube's Flickr site is a must. In addition to stunning orchid shots he has a lot of other work displayed, and all of it is excellent beyond all measure!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/avocet07/

Soapwort Gentian

The rare and inspiring Gentiana saponaria is occasional in sand prairie remnants in northern Indiana. It is interesting and fun to watch a bumblebee pry the flower open, crawl inside, and disappear for a while.

I will never forget how my good friend Hontz loved gentians, and how we spent so many September and October days looking for them as we hiked along under flat-bottomed clouds in a brilliant blue sky.

Great Blue Lobelia

Lobelia siphilitica is common in wet meadows and sometimes roadside ditches in northern Indiana. Photographed in a wet meadow between the Calumet Bike Trail and South Shore Railroad in Porter County, Indiana. 

Spotted Touch-Me-Not

Impatiens capensis is a common native that can grow densely in wet areas. A member of the Balsaminaceae (Touch-Me-Not Family), it is annual, and is unusual in having fruits that explode when touched (if they're fully ripe). 

The seeds get scattered quite some distance when this happens, and this is always a fun activity for young kids on an outing. It is equally fun for adults!

Impatiens capensis is also known as Jewelweed or Snapweed, but make no mistake, it is native in northern Indiana.

This attractive plant is very popular with hummingbirds and makes a colorful addition to a rain garden or any native plant area that doesn't dry out. This is also true of the closely-related Pale Touch-Me-Not, Impatiens pallida.

Blazing Star

Liatris aspera is just one of those plants that's hard to pass up when carrying camera gear. These were photographed in a dry oak savanna at Liverpool Sandpits Nature Preserve in Lake Station, Indiana.

Partridge Pea

This small, native bean can be frequent in sand prairie remnants. It is unusual in that the pinnate leaves are mildly sensitive, and when touched or jostled the leaflets gradually close. This phenomenon happens very slowly and is difficult to see in action.

The leaf petioles each have a nectar-bearing gland that is visited by a wide variety of insects. Photographed at Liverpool Sandpits Nature Preserve in Lake County, Indiana. Long known as Cassia fasciculata, it is now being called either Cassia chamaecrista or Chamaecrista fasculata.

Woodland Sunflower

This attractive composite is very common in Black Oak savannas that are not too shady from fire suppression. It is colonial by elongate rhizomes and its colonies are sometimes quite dense. Like the cultivated sunflower, it is common to see all flowers in a colony facing the same way. This plant sometimes shows up in other types of woodland. Photographed at the Heinze Land Trust's Coulter Preserve in Porter County, Indiana. (Helianthus = sun flower). 

It is a very good idea to use botanical keys and descriptions when identifying wild sunflowers. The trouble with a close-up photo is that the plant's distinctive features often do not show up in the picture. Here is another shot of the same plant shown above, with the following features visible (from the Gleason & Cronquist description)  -stems glabrous below the inflorescence, often glaucous; leaves all opposite, sessile or rarely on a petiole to 5 mm, scabrous above, narrowly lanceolate to broadly lance-ovate, broadest near the truncate or broadly rounded base, tapering to the slender, acuminate tip, shallowly toothed or subentire, trinerved near the base; heads 1-several at the tips of stiff, cymose branches; disc yellow, involucral bracts lance-acuminate or -attenuate; ciliolate, often with deflexed tips (I don't see that, but "often" doesn't mean "always").  I believe it is Woodland Sunflower, Helianthus divaricatus. 

Button Weed

Also known as "Poor Joe," this little plant in the coffee family (Rubiaceae) can be quite common in dry sandy sites that are open and disturbed. I first noticed it in the mid- 1980's while exploring with Ken Klick and Sandy O'Brien. None of us recognized it, so Ken and Sandy ran it through Swink and Wilhelm's keys to the families and genera. 

They worked together and did this out loud, showing a remarkable understanding of the language of botany and its myriad descriptive terms. They arrived at Diodia teres var. setifera without ever looking at a picture! It was an excellent lesson in the value of botanical keys, the most accurate way to identify an unknown plant. Thanks Ken and Sandy for providing me with the impetus to learn the language of botany all those years ago! Photographed near Knox, Indiana.

The 3 Wings of Tall Coreopsis

A common native in prairie remnants, Coreopsis tripteris often towers above the surrounding vegetation. 

The leaves appear to be compound with three (or more) leaflets, and most authors treat them this way, but they might be just very deeply lobed.

The specific epithet "tripteris" means "three wings" or "three feathers," perhaps an allusion to the venation of the three leaflets, especially noticeable on the underside. The Latin "pteris" is often used in reference to ferns, again meaning "wing" or "feather."

The word "Coreopsis" will always remind me of the lovable Walter Mitty (see "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" by James Thurber).

Post number 500!

Presenting GYBO post number 500! In celebration, here are my top 10 favorite photos. Probably all of them were posted sometime earlier. Thanks to all who visit and comment, and thanks to all who have posted here. Special thanks to Ben and Scott for setting up this group blog.

Interrupted Fern, Porter County, Indiana

Bloodroot, LaPorte County, Indiana

Blue-Eyed Mary, LaPorte County, Indiana

Cleft Phlox, Lake County, Indiana

Bluehearts, Lake County, Indiana

Prairie Brome, Lake County, Indiana

Nieuwland's Blazing Star, Lake County, Indiana

Yellow Lady's Slipper, Lake County, Indiana

Sullivant's Milkweed, Lake County, Indiana

Wild Columbine, Marshall County, Indiana

Winged Monkey Flower

I found Mimulus alatus quite by accident while searching for another plant in LaPorte County, Indiana. It features leaves with petioles, peduncles less than 1.5 cm long, winged stems, and leaves with teeth that are curved on the back. It was growing in rich, mesic forest in shade.

Pale Touch-Me-Not

Impatiens pallida is common in shady forests in Indiana, especially in places with rich soil. Photographed in LaPorte County, Indiana on August 5, 2012.

Jumpin' Seeds!

"Jumpseed" was long known as Tovara virginiana. It is now called Polygonum virginianum or Antenoron virginianum. It is common in forests in Indiana, and when the fruits are dry, if you grasp the stem between thumb and forefinger and slide slowly upward, the seeds will "jump" away from the plant quite some distance. It is also known as Virginia Knotweed or Woodland Knotweed, but don't be fooled by the name - it is native here.

Oh, Harry... You So Handsome!

I made a quick stop today at a preserve in LaPorte County, Indiana and was astounded by the size of the population of Rhexia virginica (Virginia Meadow Beauty, aka Prairie Pitchers, or Handsome Harry) in an artificially excavated sand flat.  I've visited this site fairly regularly over the past several years, and this is the first time I've seen Rhexia virginica spread out through most of the sand flat; usually it is just around the perimeter, and sometimes there are just a few plants.  In years with normal precipitation, the sand flat is a pond, at least through the spring.  Maybe the dry conditions this year have benefited Rhexia virginica at this site.

I'm not sure how this species acquired the name "Harry," but the "Handsome" part sure isn't any mystery.  The unique stamens of Rhexia virginica, with the anther attached to the filament at a knee-like joint, release pollen when the wings of a nearby bee buzz at a particular frequency (a phenomenon known as buzz-pollination).  The leaves of Rhexia virginica are very similar to the leaves of other members of the family Melastomataceae (or Melastomaceae), as they are opposite, decussate, and have three veins running their length.  The leaves also have distinctive pubescence, with hairs that stand perfectly upright on their top surface.  The family Melastomataceae is primarily a tropical family, and even in the tropics where plant richness dwarfs that of the Midwest you can quickly recognize a plant from this family just by looking at the characteristic leaves.

Rhexia virginica grows in wet to moist sand in much of the eastern half of North America, with a stronger distribution along the coastal plain.