WHAT'S HAPPENING SEPTEMBER?

There are a few changes here in early September.  There were a scattering of funnel spiders on the yews near the front entrance.  You can see the horizontal web easily when highlighted with dew.  The spiders are usually shy but this one posed briefly for a picture.




On the south side English ivy is going to seed.  




And also on the south fence is the Japanese autumn clematis, or more poetic "virgins's bower".  Comments heard about this are: non-native, invasive in some areas, displacing the native clematis.  










In the over-grown flower bed west of the parking lot is a cardinal flower.  How did he get here?  A random act of kindness by human or animal?




The ragweed which was one small plant early August is now producing a fine crop.




There are still a few bindweed flowers, this one to the west side.




The porcelain berry is maturing, growing everywhere.  If the question is " Daddy what's that vine?" it is probably porcelain berry.




Along the fence on north side of the building are stands of jewelweed.  Comments are about drops of water beading up causing the jewels.  Also that jewelweed poultice can help against poison ivy.  Finally that the little seeds when ripe will jump when touched giving the other name: Touch Me Not.









There is a clump of white flowers on the same north fence.  I thought identification was an interesting challenge for my novice stage, YMMV.  First a story about boneset one possibility.  Boneset leaves join together on the stem so naturally you would use boneset potions to join bone fractures.  Never known it to fail. These leaves do not clasp the stem.  A story about white snakeroot, another option: it is poisonous, causes milk sickness affecting anyone drinking cow's milk if the cow fed on snakeroot.  It may have killed Abraham Lincoln's mother. Check the size of the flowering, is it bigger than the plant?  Do the leaves have turned up margins?  Are the leaves longish and narrow or short and oval?  Are there many flower heads per stalk.  Not absolutely sure even yet but I think the Y milk is safe to drink.  There are many types of boneset such as late boneset.

And, further confusion white snakeroot was previously classified as a boneset.  Apparently DNA studies make them distinct.





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What's Happening Last Week July

Image
Since last week there is a ragweed plant growing up at the edge of a rough garden near the playing field, incase anyone wants to point out ragweed.  The purple flower nearby is one of the thistles.  The leaves of one of the maples have a yellow pattern interspersed with green.  The author of "How Plants Work" says this may be an indication of abnormal minerals in the soil.  Or another suggestion is too much phosphate around the roots.  Every leaf has a story. There is a hearty little mulberry tree trying to grow up through the pavement .  At the far northeast corner we missed a unusual tree which is mentioned here, probably a paper bark maple.  It is not a native but in an overgrown area (poison ivy) so not in the recent plantings at the time of building the Y. One ragweed plant so far, not a hazard, just an example Something going on with this maple, possible chlorosis indicating abnormal minerals or too much phosphate in soil? One of the thistles in ...
Read more

What's Happening in November

Image
 Though there is a lot of activity within the trees this month, preparing for the winter, outside  there is the color change and the leaf fall.  What to be mindful of?  Some trees, tulips and elms have already lost most of their leaves in the first week of November.  Here are some variations on color, some suggesting the identification of  the tree.  Color is  "overdetermined", humidity, temperature, light, many factors. maples, bright yellow to red Large maple, possible silver maple, below is red oak, dull red but holding most of its leaves So driving in western Maryland (Rocky Gap)  you might expect the dull red trees on the far hill to be oaks.  The remaining yellow-green to be maples.  At the Y we are dealing with a small sample however. There have been recent online comments about Ginkgo trees shedding their leaves all at once causing a golden carpet beneath. Below is from Roland Park but there may be Ginkgo trees closer. Hills...
Read more