The Woods In My Back Yard – Part 1

Arisaema 'triphyllum'

Well, most of the spring wildflowers are finished, but you can still find a few here and there. Especially if you wander around off the beaten path (or paved path, as it were) and momentarily wonder just where the heck you are and where that path went…. I came across a colony of Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense) that still had some flowers tucked underneath their leaves.

In the same area I found a few lone Green Dragons (Arisaema dracontium), a relative of Jack-in-the-Pulpit. It’s funny what you run across when you’re not looking for it. And that includes Wood Nettle, the native cousin of Stinging Nettle, which I learned the hard way really does sting when you brush your skin against the hairy stems. It took me a little while to figure out just what had gotten me, but at least the mild pain subsided after a few minutes and no other harm was done.

Sisyrinchium 'atlanticum'

Two other surprises found me at the start of that off-path adventure…Blue-Eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium) and a few Bluets (Houstonia) in a wet grassy meadow. The meadow gifted me with a tick, too, running up my leg, which I immediately dispatched with a flick of the finger. Okay, it was a tick – a few frantic flicks, ‘cause those little suckers are practically two-dimensional in their flatness and have a study grip!

Smilacina 'racemosa'

The False Solomon’s Seals (Smilacina racemosa, a.k.a. Maianthemum racemosum) were both in and out of bloom, though none had quite set seed yet. The Trout Lilies I was hoping to nab some seed off of have already disappeared, dormant for another year. I also must have missed what few Showy Orchis (Galearis spectabilis) plants bloomed this year, as some had brown, crispy petal remnants.

I did see one good-sized clump that seemed to be setting seed, though, so with luck I’ll be back in time to collect a few. My seed collection for the year did start out well with a good crop of Bloodroot, so I’ll get started on prepping them for a winter chill in the ‘fridge. The sap is reddish in the root of the plant, but yellow in the seed pots; if you get enough on you it will stain skin brown for a day or so.

The seeds have an interesting clear, jelly-like protuberance which is attractive to ants – they cart off the seeds to their nest, eat only the bait, and the seed finds itself planted in an ideal environment. Reading up on this online you learn that many forest wildflowers have at least some ant dispersal of their seed.

Polystichum 'acrostichoides'

Fern colonies dot the woods, though I can only guess at some because trying to distinguish between all the different fronds of the native species can quickly leave you cross-eyed. I know Christmas Fern (Polystichum acrostichoides) since it’s pretty distinctive with simplistic fronds and a dark green, thick substance.

Adiantum 'pedatum'

Others I assume are Lady Fern or their relatives (Athyrium); I even saw the clump of Northern Maidenhair (Adiantum pedatum) I found last year.

A few Rattlesnake Ferns (Botrychium virginianum) show up now and then in the more open spaces amongst the understory. They are curious little ferns, with one leafy frond and one fertile one that supposedly resembles a rattlesnake’s rattle because it’s nothing but spore capsules. Reading about their unusual life history in William Cullina’s Native Ferns, Mosses & Grasses gives you extra appreciation for these little troupers – they are fungal parasites, like many orchids, and take years to even send up their first leaf after germinating.

Sadly, I see too many invasive species in the woods around my neighborhood: Elaeagnus, Multiflora Rose, Honeysuckles and the occasional Japanese Barberry and Burning Bush. Japanese Stiltgrass carpets part of the woodland floor; Oriental Bittersweet rambles through shrubs and up into trees; Canada Thistle colonizes a roadside.

Hopefully we can find a way to curtail their spread and restore habitat to our forests. The difference in the diversity of wildlife is so apparent when you visit woodlands where the flora is less disturbed and the plant communities intact. Something may be better than nothing in suburbia, but I still lament the struggling natives and curse the exotic weeds encroaching on the yard.

The one consolation may be the fun of watching one weed smother another and seeing who wins. A mess of shrubbery next to one of our streets is a pile of Honeysuckle growing over Multiflora Rose growing over Bittersweet growing over Elaeagnus. Now that’s comedy.

An Explorer’s Journal of Native Plants in the Landscape
Great Falls National Park – Part 1 – April 15, 2010
Great Falls National Park – Part 2 – May 1,2010

It’s so exhilarating to see native plants in the wild! So many natives are featured in articles and books, but to see them in situ is to truly appreciate them as living, breathing members of the ecosystem. Today’s weather was perfect for exploring the wilderness, so I headed to one of my favorites, Great Falls National Park.

Wild Columbine Aquilegia canadensis

The Virginia side has a trail along the rocks called the River Trail, and here I have had many unexpected discoveries and delights. Observing where plants are growing in the wild gives you a great sense of what conditions they prefer to grow in, and after a while, you can also predict where you might find more.

This was my first visit to the park since the flood from the snowmelt and rain of this past winter, and you can clearly see how high the water rose…there are clumps of debris still sitting like misshapen bird nests in the shrub branches growing along the top of the rise along the river. Water must have rushed by along the whole gorge, totally covering the places I found so many natives…and they all seem fine! Amazing.

Bird's Foot Violet Viola pedata

Nestled in the crevices between rocks were Wild Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis), Coral Bells (Heuchera americana), Catchfly (Silene), Moss Phlox (Phlox subulata), Bird’s-Foot Violet (Viola pedata), Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia), Pinxsterbloom Azalea (Rhododendron periclymenoides), Eastern Ninebark (Physocarpos opulifolius) and oodles upon oodles of Lowbush Blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium). I don’t think I’ve ever seen more blueberries, and let me tell you, they wedge themselves into the tightest of rock crevices.

My favorite discovery had to be the Bluets (Houstonia caerulea) dotting the gritty soils along the path itself, sometimes growing amidst a patch of moss. Upon seeing my first one, I had a moment of “They do exist!” and then, “Wow, they’re tiny!” The clump of leaves could fit on a half-dollar coin. It’s easy to see how all of these were plants truly must appreciate sharp drainage and tolerate the exposure to sun and wind of cliff-side living…especially when you have to scramble down a few rocks just to take their picture.

Virginia Bluebells Mertensia virginica

In the wooded area further back from the river, Woodland Phlox (Phlox subulata and divaricata) were blooming in a mix of hues from lavender-blue to blue-violet to near-white. Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica) were finishing flowering, but their luscious leaves were easy to spot. The same was true for the Dutchman’s Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria), a relative of Bleeding-heart with fine lacy foliage. I may have even found a couple Twinleaf (Jeffersonia diphylla), but I’ll have to do some homework in plant identification to be sure as they weren’t in flower.

Pawpaw Asimina triloba

I also saw a lone Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense). Various ferns were still unfurling – Christmas (Polystichum acrostichoides), Lady (Athyrium felix-femina) and even a couple Maidenhair (Adiantum pedatum).

I saw the occasional Trillium (Trillium sp.) (another gasp at that) and Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), though other ephemerals like Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica) were everywhere.

Even Pawpaw (Asimina triloba) was plentiful in the woods, with seemingly every tree loaded with those characteristic dark maroon flowers. I spotted a few Zebra Swallowtails flying around laying eggs, as Pawpaw is their sole caterpillar food source.

I’m looking forward to what I’ll find next time!

The Woods In My Back Yard – Part 2

I am fortunate to have some woodland around my neighborhood, and though there are a fair number of invasive plants taking over, there are still some lovely wildflowers to be found. I have walked these paths several times before, so I have learned where to find some of the good stuff.

Claytonia virginica

This is Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica) season. They’re simply everywhere along the paths and in the woods where there is dappled sunlight. Solitary bees and insects called bee flies were out and about pollinating them. Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) is also blooming now. They get their name from reddish sap found in the roots, which contains hemoglobin for transporting oxygen, just like in animal blood. The sap can also irritate the skin.

Everywhere there was water from a creek or moist lowland, Skunk Cabbages were up and leaved-out. They vaguely resemble a large, bright green Hostas, but the flowers are something else! Buried near the stem, they look like some kind of maroon-blotched claw or hooked beak, inside of which the flowers reside.

I’ve read that the flower can actually emit just enough heat in late winter to melt snow so they are exposed to pollinators. I’m not sure how that worked with the several feet they had to contend with this winter. Maybe that’s why I saw a few flowers so late, since they normally would have finished blooming by now.

Arisaema triphyllum

Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) is coming up as well, with their distinctive arrowhead-shaped leaves and hooded flowers. May-Apples (Podophyllum peltatum) are popping up in colonies, their new leaves still like limp umbrellas ready to be snapped open.

Lindera benzoin

Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) shrubs were blooming, their small yellow clusters along the stems dotting the woods. A perennial in the cress family, Cutleaf

Cardamine concatenata

Toothwort (Cardamine concatenata) had their distinctive leaves out and some flowers open. Small colonies of Anemone (Anemonella thalictroides) were flowering amongst tree roots above a stream at the base of a steep bank. Violets – white, purple, yellow – were dotting the ground, especially in mossy patches.

A favorite treasure trove of mine is a colony of Trout Lily (Erythronium americanum); their waxy leaves have reddish mottling, sometimes making them hard to spot amongst the fallen leaves unless you know where to look. A few early plants were in flower, their yellow lily-like blooms hanging down on short stems.

Tipularia discolor

Another treasure is the Cranefly Orchid (Tipularia discolor) which I stumbled upon by blind luck.

They have only one leaf that emerges in fall and lasts all winter and spring, usually a nice purplish-green. The leaf dies off in summer, when the stalk of small flowers emerges. Later that fall, a new leaf emerges and repeats the cycle.

I have only seen a few plants in my travels, all in the same small area. Maybe there are more off the beaten path.