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 2 – May 1, 2010
Great Falls National Park – Part 1 – April 15, 2010

I explored the MD side of Great Falls this time (okay, so technically the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park), and hiked the 1.7-mile first section of the Billy Goat Trail.

Billy Goat Trail

The trail’s description wasn’t kidding when it mentioned there would be a lot of scrambling over rocks – sometimes I had to put the camera away and hold on with both hands. I was surprised at the different plants I found here versus the VA side along much of the same stretch of river. Maybe it is simply due to the different sun exposures each side gets.

Chionanthus virginicus

Fringetrees (Chionanthus virginicus) were in bloom everywhere, growing mostly in rock crevices and easy to spot with their fragrant white flower clusters.

Eubotrys racemosa

Similarly abundant was Coastal Fetterbush (Eubotrys racemosa), whose flowers looked a lot like Leucothoe to me…upon researching this, I find that it is indeed a re-naming of Swamp Dog-hobble, Leucothoe racemosa. Despite having “swamp” in its common name, this was mainly growing in rock crevices out in the open – but then again, I realize, most plants growing near the river have little else to choose from, and maybe less competition than in their other haunts.

There were two Viburnums that were easy to identify, Hobblebush (V. lantanoides) and Mapleleaf (V. acerifolium); the Hobblebush, which looks a lot like the non-native Doublefile Viburnum, happened to be at the woods’ edge right in front of my parking spot; the Mapleleaf was growing – you guessed it – in a rock crevice, though in the woods this time. I found another surprise in a rock crevice in the woods: Smooth Hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens), which is the parent species for varieties such as ‘Annabelle.’

I have read that some wild forms do have the sterile flowers like ‘Annabelle,’ though most are petal-less and fertile-flowered; these plants were still budded, but I’m curious as to which they would be. The hydrangeas and Mapleleaf Viburnum were found along Berma Road, a bicycling path above the towpath and further from the river.

Amelanchier

There were a couple of shrubs that I could only partially identify: some type of Serviceberry (Amelanchier) was starting to bear fruit, still a rosy-red; some type of deciduous holly, though probably not winterberry, was flowering on some low sandy banks of the river. Also in sandy or rocky places, but higher above the river, was some type of St. Johnswort (Hypericum).

In one spot where the trail was low enough to forge a stream, a few Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia) were budded about 7’ high or so. In another spot, where I didn’t even see a colony, a few seedlings were germinating in a bed of moss under Deerberry (Vaccinium stamineum). A blueberry cousin, its flowers are shaped more like bells than barrels, and it gets its name from the apparent fact that while deer eat the fruits, people find them unpalatable.

Salvia lyrata

The flowers were prolific and certainly showy, so I wonder why they aren’t cultivated…maybe because they probably don’t handle heavy clay soils well. Well, okay, neither do many of the other plants we grow, come to think of it. Two other perennials were found in the sandy, moist soil by the shaded stream: a clump of Blue-Eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium angustifolium) and what I think I have identified as Lyre-leaf Sage (Salvia lyrata). All of the other individuals of this sage were in seemingly drier soils with a bit more sun.

In a place I would have least expected it, a water lily-like native named Yellow Spatterdock (Nuphar advena) was ready to flower nestled in a rock pool of rainwater. Another small pool held a colony of duckweed and a green frog. A couple of those wet areas harbored a few of the Leucothoe and even buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis).

As for more perennials, I ran across a couple Prickly-pears (Opuntia humifusa) and Purple Woodsorrel (Oxalis violacea) with neat purple-banded leaves. Tucked away under a rocky overhang was the occasional Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum).

Tradescantia virginiana

Colonies of Spiderwort (Tradescantia) were blooming in amongst rocks in the sun. On sunny slopes next to the towpath I saw Golden Alexanders (Zizea aurea), which is a host plant for the Black Swallowtail.

Antennaria plantaginifolia

In the shade amongst fallen pine needles were a few colonies of Plantain-leaved Pusseytoes (Antennaria plantaginifolia); it’s one of the host plants for the Painted Lady butterfly.

Hierachium venosum

Scattered here and there along the trail was Rattlesnake Weed (Hierachium venosum); I wondered how it got that name…according to the National Audubon Society’s Field Guide to Eastern Wildflowers, apparently it occurs most commonly in areas where rattlesnakes are found. Well, that’s comforting…but the leaves do have an interesting reddish pattern of veins.

I did see a few plants here that were more common on the other side of the river: Bluets, Wild Ginger, Heuchera, Woodland Phlox, Eastern Ninebark and what I think is Carolina Moonseed (Menispermum canadense), a vine with unusual leaves and which is toxic if eaten.

I saw a few “critters” in my travels as well. A few Gray Treefrogs were calling high in the trees…fortunately for me, “high” in some of the trees was not too much over my head, since they were growing amongst the rocks. Broad-headed Skinks and Eastern Fence Lizards were running about, chasing insects and each other around on the rocks near the woods. Another pool of rainwater high up in the rocks held a hundred or so tadpoles…I wonder suppose they’ll mature before the pool dries up? Life on the edge, indeed.

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!