deeringnaturalhistory

TALL WILD LETTUCE

My daily (ok, frequent) walk leads along a diet road at the edge of forested land. Late last year I noticed large rosettes of deeply lobbed leaves. The leaves looked like dandelion, the tips of the lobes being acute — pointed, but these were much larger than dandelion leaves, more than a foot long and correspondingly broader. I did not know what they were. Winter ended and I began to see tall-stalked plants with the same oddly shaped leaves. As the season progressed, the stalks, elongated, ultimately reaching one or two meters in height. Flowers formed from elongated, openly branched clusters at the tip of the stalk and from the axils (where the leave departs from the stem) of the upper leaves. I realized that there were two, different but closely similar species of plants. When the species flowered, the first early in July and the much more common second a month later, I could confirm the two tall plants to be species of wild lettuce.

These were not cute or pretty wildflowers – – one might call them ‘weeds!’

L:actuca canadensis

Canada lettuce is a native of North America, widespread in Eastern N. America – Nova Scotia to British Columbia, south to Georgia and Colorado. It grows in part to full shade, usually in disturbed sites in thickets, woodland borders and clearings, and moist open places in a wade range of soils.

Lactuca canadensis is biennial, which means that each plant lives for two years. Seeds germinate in late summer to fall, producing a rosette of leaves and i the second year long stalks arise from the leaves. Flowers and, ultimately the seeds form at the tip. That plant then dies. The genus name Lactuca implies a milky exudate that flows from the stem when the plant is wounded. In Canada lettuce the latex is light brown or white. The sticky sap can cause a skin rash in some people. The sap contains ‘lactucarium’, which is used in medicine for its anodyne, antispasmodic, digestive, diuretic, hypnotic, narcotic and sedative properties. The sap s sometimes collected commercially.

The plant should be used with caution, and never without the supervision of a skilled practitioner.

Small dandelion-like yellow flowers, each about 1/4 inch in diameter, occur in a narrow panicle up to 2″ long at the apex of the plant. The flowers are replaced by dark brown seeds – – achenes – – with tufts of white hair, which are attached together by thread-like beaks. Various bees pollinate Canada lettuce.

Lactuca biennis

2022 was the first year that I have seen this wild lettuce on my road — and it is difficult to overlook a seven-foot tall flower stalk! But this year several plants of this species are spread for a distance of about 50 meters along the shaded road.

Lactuca biennis, tall blue lettuce or wood lettuce, is native to North America. It is widespread across much of the United States and Canada, ranging from Alaska and Yukon south as far as California, New Mexico, and Georgia. The biennial plant is very similar to that of L. canadensis, and the two can be found growing together in disturbed sites, forest edges, meadows and fields. However, leaves of L. biennis are longer and broader and it’s little daisy-like flowers are blue. The plants can reach two meters in height. Various species of bumble bee have been recorded as pollinators of tall blue lettuce.

Like dandelion, leaves of L. biennis can be eaten in salads when young, but become bitter with age. Various medicinal uses have been attributed to tall blue lettuce including treatment of pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and heart trouble.

HUMMINGBIRD CLEARWING MOTH

Patty had two dreams. One was to acquire and protect as much land asd she could afford. The second was to develop a garden full of flowers for as much of the year as flowers are possible here in New England.

It did not take her any time to persuade me to share her dreams.

Patty found 85 acres of forested land in southern New Hampshire in one of those supermarket real estate advertising magazines. The land had been recently, respectfully, logged, and a pretty brook ran through the oak/hemlock woods for nearly the entire 2200 ft length of the lot.

Deering, Hedgehog Mountain, is where we decided to call home, and where we built our timberpeg home (another of Patty’s dreams).

And Patty started gardening.

Now, a bit over 10 years later, her dream of a glorious garden is being realized. A progression of flowers, early spring to late autumn has responded to near constant care: weeding, watering, thinning, dividing, moving about, and so on.

The collateral effects of the garden include apart from, of course, the pure beauty, a refugium from an otherwise pretty crappy world, a whole bunch of pollinating insects and ruby throated hummingbirds. Butterflies, bees of all sorts, and the hummingbirds dip and zoom around the flowers finding pollen and nectar among the echinacea, lavender, bee balm, Joe Pye weed … and incidental St John’s Worts and evening primrose and lupins … the list just goes on! Caterpillars such as those of the glorious monarch butterfly find a good home here in all the milkweed that we leave untouched.

*Pollinator’s delight in Patty’s ggarden!*

Among the most interesting of the insect visitors to garden has been the Hummingbird Clearwing moth, Hemaris thysbe.

The Hummingbird Clearwing, a sphinx, or hawkmoth, is action on warm, sunny summer days. It is maybe a quarter the size (wingspan 1.5 – 2 “) of a ruby throated hummingbird, but its super rapidly beating wings give the same humming sound as the bird while it dashes from flower to flower, never alighting for more than the briefest of moments. Like the hummingbird, the clearwing hawkmoth can hover over prospective nectar sources. I have read that wings of the clearwing beat at 85 beats per second, while those of the hummingbird barely chug along at a mere 50 bps. Of course, its ability to hover enables to clearwing to suck nectar from flowers through it long proboscis — a superb example of coevolution. Hovering also makes sense for this heavy insect because delicate flowers do not provide feeding ledges for their pollinators — a serious revolutionary oversight! Moreover, remaining airborne gives the insect a head start should it need to escape a hungry predator. Males have a flared tail, again like the hummingbird, and their long straw-like proboscis unfurls to reach the nectar deep within flowers.

Hummingbird clearwing moth drawing nectar from monarda flowers

Our garden has a wide range of lowers and flower colors, but we have only seen the clearwing on this red monarda. It apparently doesn’t even visit the closely nearby purple monarda. It is known to show preference for red and purple flowers.

Four species of hummingbird moths occur in North America. Hemaris thysbe is most abundant in eastern North America, but it ranges widely in North America.

Caterpillars of the clearwing hawkmoth feed on cherry trees, European cranberry bush, hawthorns, honeysuckle, and snowberry. The insect overwinters in the soil as brown, hard-shelled pupae. In the late spring, it emerges as an adult moth.

These fascinating insects have been well=studied and a lot of information about them is available on-line. Much of the information given in this post comes from three web sites https://todayshomeowner.com/hummingbird-moths-in-the-garden/ , https://www.jungledragon.com/specie/4250/hummingbird_clearwing.html, and https://www.seacoastonline.com/story/lifestyle/2007/08/15/sue-s-nature-news-hummingbird/52821096007/.

Thanks to my friend and extraordinary naturalist Mike Thomas for identifying the hummingbird clearwing and many other insects.

LESSER SEEN LILIES

Here in Deering we don’t have a lot of what might be called ‘streets’ in most towns. Our streets are more country roads, bordered by rock walls, forests and , sometimes, pastures with horses, mostly.

The ‘streets’ are often bordered by rock walls and forests with and areas. Lovely, romantic even. At this time of year, high summer, orange day lilies – Hemerocallis fulva – conspicuously flower in the dark, wet areas. I always think of day lilies as a flock orange perroquets flying out from a tall tropical tree.

ORANGE DAY LILY FROM GONATIVE.ORG. The orange flowers suggesting tropical birds.

The orange day lily was intrduced to the USA from Europe via Asia n the 17th Century and now there are innumerable beautiful varieties of day olilies in our gardens.

This post is not about day lilies, beautiful as they undeniably are.

This post is about sdome liliesd that are not so common, memers f the genus Lilium. Lilium and Hemerocallis are clled lilies, but they belong to different families — Liliaceae and Hemerocallidaceae respectively — because of differences in their floral anatomy. Basicall, the flower of a day lily is a tube while the conspicuous ‘petals’ (tepals, botanically) of ‘true’ lilies remain distinct.

I have seen two species of Lilium in Deering: Canada lily and Turk’s cap lily.

Canada lily, Lilium canadense

Canada lily, or meadow lily, Lilium cvanadense, is a native of eastern North American. Its native range extends from Nova Scotia into Georgia, but it is most common in New England, the Appalachian mountains and the Canadian maritimes. It occurs in meadows; low thickets; wet woods. In
Deering I have seen this gorgeous flower only once, along a small brook in the SE corner of the McAlister conservation easement, just behind the McAlister fire station.

A destructive parasite of lilies, the lily leaf beetle. This red beetle is native to Eurasia but was introduced to eastern North America on shipments from Europe during the Forties. It has spread westward from Ne England in the past thirty years, feeding on foliage of introduced and native lilies.

A second, most spectacular lily found in Deering is the Turk’s cap Lilium lancifolium, the lance-leaved tiger lily.

Lance-leaved tiger lily is a Turk’s cap — so named because of the form of the flower with it sdtrtongly rcurved petals — botanically, tepals. It was introduced from China and has been widely cultivated in the USA.
Escaping from cultivation it has become naturalized in wetter rather than dried places. It is not considered a threat to other native lilies. However, the Native Plant Trust, Go Botany, has not yet recorded it for our Hillsborough county. I have seen it at two location s in Deering. First growing from a roadside bank on Clement Hill Road, near its interaction with the southern end of Norths Road.
The second time I saw it was along my own driveway o Hedgehog Mountain. A pleasant surprised indeed!

In the axils of upper leaves are 1 to 3 small purplish black bulbets, that can emit roots while still on the plant. Plants can be propagated from these bulbils. The main stem is unbranched, purple to nearly black, covered in fine cob-webby white hairs.

SHINLEAF AND PIPSISSEWA

Members of the genera Pyrola (shinleaf) and Chimaphila (pipsissewa, prince’s pine) are small, evergreen plants that are found in Deering’s woodlands. They belong to a small group of genera, some of which lack chlorophyll. These genera, which additionally include locally common Indian pipe (Monotropa) along with sweet-pinesap (Monotropopsis) and pine-drops (Pterospora), have historically been classified in their own family, the Pyrolaceae, but are now considered to belong to the blueberry/heath family, the Ericaceae, subfamily Monotropoideae.

Members of the Monotropoideae are mycoheterotrophs. That is, they fully or partially obtain organic carbon from mycorrhizal fungi. Their seeds, ‘dust seeds,’ are exceptionally small and have undifferentiated embryos. Dust seeds occur in diverse families of flowering plants, perhaps most notably in orchids. The dust seeds in Monotropoideae require the presence of fungi, either direct contact with a fungus or the presence of a diffusible substance therefrom, to germinate (symbiotic germination). After germination ‘seedlings’ remain subterranean for several years, fully dependent on fungi for supply of carbon. Some mycohetrotrophs, including species of Pyrola and Chimaphila, develop the ability to photosynthesize as they develop and apparently no longer depend upon fungi to provide organic carbon. Others, such as the pure white Indian pipe (Monotropa uniflora), never develop the ability to phytosynthesize, and actually parasitize mycorrhizal fungi that associate with tree roots, thereby obtaining carbon indirectly from the phytosynthesis of the tree. Interestingly, in initial stages of growth the range of fungi associated with the developing seedlings is relatively large, the fully mycoheterophic species such as Indian pipe narrowing to more specific fungal associates as their seedlings develop. However among those early fungal associates, only those present at plant maturity stimulate germination.

Monotropa uniflora, Indian pipe, lacks chlorophyll.

Shinleaf (Pyrola)

The name ‘shinleaf’ refers to the use of their leaves in reducing pain resulting from bruises and wounds. The relief possibly provided by the salicylic acid (asprin) contained in the leaves.

The leaves of Pyrola species tend to be dark green and persist through the winter. The plants are never more than a six or eight inches high. Flowers are produced along a stalk, called a raceme and are white or pink. Five species of Pyrola are found in New England and all are natives. I have found two species in Deering: P. americana and P. elliptica.

Pyrola americana (American shinleaf, American wintergreen) and P elliptica (elliptic leaved shinleaf) both have white flowers and flower from June to August. These species are difficult to separate. Leaf blades of P. americana are ideally rounded, but can be elliptical as in P. elliptica. The chief differences are in the sizes of the calyx and the number and location of stipules.

Pyrola americana is also known as P. rotundifolia. It is found in woods, thickets and bogs in eastern North America and adjacent Canada, south to North Carolina and Kentucky, and Wisconsin. In Deering, I have found it at Hunter’s Pond and along Smith Brook trail in the Audubon Sanctuary.

Pyrola americana is sometimes called ‘American wintergreen,’ but it is not related to wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens), also a member of the heath family.

The calyx teeth of P. americana are short relative to the petals, and the stipule clasps the base of the peduncle that supports each flower.

Pyrola elliptica is more common than P. americana, and has a wider distribution in North America, extending across the northern tier of states and provinces to Idaho and British Columbia. I have found it once in Deering, on Hedgehog Mountain Road.

The teeth of the calyx are short relative to the length of the petals, and one, unclasped stipule is found at the flower base.

Pipsissewa, prince’s pine (Chimaphila)

The Chimaphila plants you see arise from underground stems (rhizomes). The erect branches bear leaves all winter. The genus name is from the Greek cheima (“winter”) and philein (“to love”). I have heard two sources from Native American languages for the name ‘pipsissewa’: ‘forest flower,’ and ‘to break into small pieces’, referring to stones in the urinary tract. Two species of Chimaphila occur in New England and both are found in Deering.

Chimaphila umbellata is circumboreal in North America and northern Europe. It is found in well-drained woods in almost all of continental North America, including Alaska, except for Texas and several states in the far south, and Canadian Northwest Territories and Nunavut. In Deering have found Pipsissewa on Hedgehog Mountain road and Smith Brook Trail in the Audubon Sanctuary.

Pipsissewa is used in homeopathic medicine, and leaves are reported to flavor rootbeer, make a tea and flavor candy. Native North Americans used Pipsissewa root for a wide variety of ailments. Over harvesting the roots has endangered populations in some areas.

The plant spreads by seed and by extension of the root system and is said to be a good ground cover.

Pipsissewa, spotted wintergreen, striped wintergreen (Chimaphila maculata) is characterized by its variegated leaves that have a pale green stripe in the middle. The characteristic leaves make this plant easy to identify even when there are no flowers. Chimaphila maculata is native to native to eastern North America and occurs in all eastern states, west to Illinois, and in Quebec and Ontario. It favors partial sun to medium shade, dry-mesic conditions, and an acidic soil containing some rocky material or sand. It seems to be far less common than C. umbellata. Chimaphila maculata is considered to be endangered in Maine and Illinois. It has not been reported to occur in Hillsborough county before now. I have found it once on Hedgehog Mountain road.

Stripped wintergreen flowers from late spring into early summer.

Leaves of C. maculata are toxic to sheep and are avoided by deer. There is a long list of medicinal applications for stripped wintergreen, also known as ‘rheumatism root.’ However, there might be a reason to be cautious when considering collecting this plant for its medicinal value for one of its names is ‘wild arsenic,’ and handing the plant is reported to cause skin irritation and an allergic reaction in some.

LAURELS IN DEERING

Two species of laurel occur in Deering, Kalmia angustifolia (sheep-laurel) and K. latifolia (mountain laurel).

Laurels are members of the plant family Ericaceae, along with blueberries, cranberries, rhododendron, azalea, trailing arbutus, Indian pipe, and many other plants that are common in our part of the world. The genus Kalmia was named by Linnaeus, in the 18th Century, in honor of one of his students, Peter Kalm, a Swedish-Finish botanist and naturalist who traveled and collected plants in the Americas during the 18th century.

Mountain laurel is a native North American evergreen, perennial shrub. It is common in acidic soils of the Appalachian Mountains, plateaus, piedmont, and coastal plains from southeast Maine to the Louisiana delta and north through Indiana and eastern Ohio to southern Quebec. It is found in the understory of conifer and hardwood forests, where it can form virtually impenetrable thickets, but it also forms dense cover on ‘balds’ at 4000 ft in the Appalachian Mountains. Typically the plant is a shrub, reaching 6 feet or so in height, but occasional ‘trees’ can reach 50 ft in height in the valleys of the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mountains of the southern Appalachians. and can form dense thickets.

The species is fairly common in south central New Hampshire, often forming dense thickets in shaded forests. Here in Deering it is not difficult to find plants of mountain laurel, but Deering’s mountain laurel plants are mostly low growing with woody stems and form a more or less densely ground cover on the deeply shaded forest floor. I have never seen these plants to flower. In my wandering in Deering I have seen flowering mountain laurel at only one site, on a town-owned lot not far from where Manselville Brook enters the Contoocook River. At this site there are not more than a half dozen upright woody shrubs, about 6 feet tall. They flower in the middle of June.

The chief pollinators of mountain laurel are bumble bees and other bees. The sPtamens, which carry pollen, adhere to the petals under tension. When a bee enters the flower, the tension is released and the pollen is shot onto the furry bee. The pollen can be shot for as much as a foot, fertilizing other flowers. If the flower is not visited by a bee, the stamens can release pollen and self fertilize their flower.

Members of the Ericaceae have fungi – – mycorrhizae — associated with their root hairs. The morphology of the mycorrhizal association, and the fungi that associate with roots of members of the Ericaceae are different from tree mycorrhizae. Tree mycorrhizae tend to be mushrooms while the fungi that associate with roots of the Ericaceae are taxonomically distinct. The nature of the ericoid mycorrhizal association is the least understood of all of the mycorrhizal associations.

Green parts of the plant, flowers, twigs, and pollen are all toxic, including food products made from them. Although mountain laurel pollen does not affect bees, the honey made from the pollen may induce neurotoxic and gastrointestinal symptoms in humans eating more than a modest amount. Symptoms of toxicity begin to appear about 6 hours following ingestion. Humans, their pets and livestock are all affected. Sheep and goats will readily graze on mountain laurel, and horses will eat the plant if there is nothing else to eat. Even ruffed grouse that feed on the leaves are sometimes killed.

Mountain laurel is unrelated to the true laurels (Lauraceae), which are used in cooking. Please do not substitute a leaf of a Kalmia species (mountain laurel, bog laurel, sheep laurel) for a bay leaf (Laurus nobilis) in your cooking!

Mountain laurel is the official state flower of Connecticut and Pennsylvania.

Sheep laurel, Kalmia angustifolia, is a perennial shrub that can get to be 3 feet tall and up to 6 feet wide. It has ridiculously showy, pink flowers in clusters formed below the branch tips so that leaves usually form further along the stem, above the flowers. Flowering is from late spring into summer. Leaves are held in whorls of two or three and are 1.5- 2.5 inches long. The plant forms a tap root that can be 3 ft deep, and a dense network of roots. Sheep laurel is colonial and can form dense stands.

Sheep laurel is native to northeastern North America. It is found from Newfoundland and Labrador west through Ontario and occasionally as far south as Georgia. It is common in the eastern Great Lakes region, the St. Lawrence region, northern New England, and the Maritime provinces.

There are two varieties of K. angustifolia. The variety carolina occurs in Virginia, the Carolinas, Tennessee and Georgia.

Sheep laurel is adapted to a wide range of habitats. bogs, swamps, other wetlands, and alpine summits in the Adirondack region of upstate New York. Here in Deering I have seen sheep laurel along water’s edge at Black Fox Pond, in the Audubon Preserve, and in Deering Lake.

Like mountain laurel, sheep laurel foliage is toxic. On the other hand, it provides winter forage and cover for wild grouse and other birds.

Rock-harlequin: Capnoides sempervirens

Rock-harlequin is a very pretty and unusual native wildflower. A wonderful addition to Deering’s flora.

Capnoides (Corydalis) sempevirens, Rock-harlequin or pale corydalis, is a delicate, lacy, 1-2 ft biennial with compound leaves that are divided into many lobes. The bicolored, tubular flowers are very pretty and morpologically unusual for Deering’s flora.

In the plant’s first summer the only foliage is a basal rosette, but in its second year the plant sends up many branched stems, each tipped with bunches of pink and yellow, flowers. The flowers are sac-like, tubular, pink and yellow and they occur in clusters at ends of branched stems bearing intricately divided leaves. The flowers give way to long, narrow seed pods. Seeds are spread by ants.

Rock-harlequin flowers from early summer through to early fall. It grows in rock crevices, talus, forest clearings, open woods, and on burned or otherwise disturbed areas in shallow, often dry soil. In burned zones it occurs within five years of a fire. In Deering I have found this pretty flower in two locations: the northern end of the Hedgehog Mountain Trail at the overlook, and on Little Hedgehog Mountain overlook, which is a short north leading trail from Hedgehog Mountain Road near the Landing. Both of these sites are exposed and rocky.

Rock-harlequin is native to North America, occurring widely in Eastern USA as far south as Tennessee and Georgia and as far west as Minnesota and Iowa, and it is found in Alaska and all Canadian provinces.

Capnoides sempervirens is a member of the poppy family (as might be guessed by the deeply dissected leaves). Additional species of Capnoides occur in Eastern North America. The Iroquois used a decoction prepared from plants of Corydalis sempervirens medicinally to alleviate piles. Some Corydalis species contain toxic alkaloids.

LOTUS CORNICULATUS: BIRD’S-FOOT-TREFOIL

A lot of plants having yellow flowers bloom late in June in what some would call their lawn. We don’t do anything to encourage a grassy expanse of lawn, so what we get is probably anathema to most home owners.

Well, one price they pay for that lush green-ness is that they don’t get to see much of a variety of wildflowers. Woe betide the not-grass that appears in the ‘well-manicured’ lawn.

OK, sermon ended.

Currently four species of hawkweed, at least two species of cinquefoil and a small St John’s wort are blooming in great profusion around town. All have yellow flowers. But, so do goldenrod, evening primroses and larger St. John’s wort, whose plants are up but not yet flowering. We have passed from the spring, when white and green flowers were effective in attracting wild bees and other insect pollinators maybe more by odor than plant color? But, now we are full on bee time and yellow is the dominant flower color of the day.

Scouting around our ‘garden’ a few days ago I noticed scattered plants of bird’s-foot-trefoil . I had not previously seen this species in Deering. It’s common enough. Certainly I have overlooked it.

Bird’s-foot-trefoil , Lotus corniculatus, is a member of the pea family. It’s low, sprawling herbaceous plants have 3 clover like leaflets (actually 5, with 2 opposite leaflets at the base of the ‘trefoil’ or triple leaflets. This is the only legume with 5 leaflets). The plants can stand up to 2 ft tall and flowering branches terminate in a head, or floret, of pea-like yellow flowers. The fruit is a pod about one inch long. One brown to purple seed pod is produced per flower situated at right angles to the flower stalk and thus the 5-6 splayed pods resemble a bird’s foot.

Bird’s-foot-trefoil is a perennial, native to Eurasia but now widely distributed in North America after having been introduced around 1900. It is a “long-day “plant, requiring sixteen hours of sunlight to flower, just right now for the end of June. In some parts of North America and Australia the plant is considered a bothersome invasive while elsewhere it is planted for erosion control, because of its deep tap root, and as a forage legume on poor soil because of its nodulated roots that fix nitrogen. Several cultivars are available for agricultural use.

Flowers of bird’s-foot-trefoil flowers occur in florets of 4-8. Each floret is bisexual, thus can self pollinate although the plant has a self-incompatibility mechanism that prevents self-seeding. Most pollination is effected between plants by insects. Pollen in the plant matures before the flower opens. Filaments push the loose pollen forward into the closed tip of the united lower petals (keel), and pollination occurs when an insect’s weight on the keel forces a ribbon-like mass of pollen from the keel opening, some of it adhering to the insect’s underside. Further pressure as the insect seeks the nectaries causes the female stigma to slide into the same contact area, where it’s stickiness may pick up pollen from another plant that got stuck onto the insect. Like some other legumes, the bird’s-foot-trefoil produces highly nutritious pollen.

Honey bees and, especially, bumble bees are the principle pollinators of bird’s- foot-trefoil. Some bees became highly specialized on these plants; in fact, the decline of several bumble bee species has been linked to the reduced availability of clover, bird’s-foot-trefoil and other legumes. In Scotland, three of the scarcest bee species are believed to be completely dependent on bird’s-foot-trefoil’s pollen; the pine-wood mason bee, the mountain mason bee (Osmia inermis) and the wall mason bee (Osmia parietina).

But more importantly for the aspect of ecosystem services, the bird’s-foot-trefoil is a larval food plant for several butterflies and moths and a valuable nectar source for many other insects.

Bird’s-foot-trefoil can be confused with another yellow-flowered herb, butter-and-eggs, Linaria vulgaris Butter-and-eggs, or common toadflax, occupies much the same habitat as bird’s-foot-trefoil but flowers much later in the season. Butter-and-eggs can be problematic because through its vigorous growth it can out-compete other pasture natives and form dense mats that prevent the establishment of desired species. The plant is mildly toxic to livestock.

(In writing this post I relied heavily on The Book of Field and Roadside. Open-Country Weeds, Trees, and Wildflowers of Eastern North America by John Eastman. 2003. Stackpole books. It is one of three similar books by the same author. I am not sure that they are still in print. I found mine on E Bay).

TULIP POPLAR IN BLOOM!

When we took up residence at our new home on Hedgehog Mountain we planted three Tulip Poplar trees. We got them from Arbor Day Foundation as not very hopeful bare root sticks. Over the ten years we’ve been here, two have survived. One is not much more than 3 ft tall while the other is pushing 30 feet.

Late last year we found old flowers seeds on the big tree, but we had not seen flowering. Moreover, I had never seen flowers son the two really big trees in Appleton Cemetery.

Tulip poplar, Liriodendron tulipiera, is native to the mid Atlantic region and Appalachian Mountains. In its native range, trees can reach 150 or more feet in height, with long, straight, unbranched trunks and a spreading crown. I have seen magnificent trees in Maryland, not far from Washington DC, and in North Carolina. The species does not occur naturally this far north. These trees are beautiful. The few trees that I know for Deering are planted, the largest in the Appleton Cemetery sometime late in the 19th Century and in memory of some now unknown soul.

Although I had never seen the Appleton trees to flower, I have seen tulip poplar seedlings in Deering. One in Appleton Cemetery, next to the road and one deep inside the Titcomb Conservation Easement on Clement Hill Road — not so far from Appleton Cemetery. I am assuming the Appleton trees provided the seed. Maybe one day, with a warming climate, there will be magnificent specimens of tulip poplar in our forest?

The Appleton trees are currently in full bloom. It is a bit difficult to see the flowers in the trees as you travel at the legal speed of 35 mph on Deering Center Rd, but if you know to look at the trees, the flowers are visible from the road.

Tulip poplar is related to Magnolia, and their flowers are similar. But while the flowers of Magnolia are, basically, white or pink, the flowers of tulip poplar are orange and green. The flowers bear a superficial resemblance to a tulip. The flowers are quite beautiful and well worth a visit.

Here are some pictures.

NARROW-LEAVED BLUE-EYED GRASS

When I retired eleven years ago I decided that our new home would not have a lawn that required care. No verdant landscape rolling toward the horizon for me!

Here in Deering, on Hedgehog Mountain, what passes for soil is sand and is definitely on the acidic side. Just as well I didn’t want a lawn to mow because where we live, our little piece of heaven, is not a good bet for a grassy lawn anyway.

What we do have, though is a meadow of sorts. Not a lot of grass, but lots of flowering plants come up through the season. Pollinators love it.

One of the niftier North American native plants that flowers this time of year is narrow-leaved blue-eyed grass, Sisyrinchium angustifolium. Our plants stand maybe ten inches tall and have narrow, grass-like leaves. Pretty deep blue, star-like flowers having six points arise in succession at the tips of the branches. Usually about three flower buds occur at the end of a stem, but buds open in succession — not at the same time — and remain open for a day or less, never at night. Thus the time window for pollination is rather small, but this is made up for by the continuing succession of flowers from May through midsummer. Without the flowers it would be difficult to recognize the plant as anything other than a grass, but Sisyrinchium is a genus of the Iris family.

On-line pictures of blue-eyed grass show the plants growing in dense clusters. Not so here. Blue-eyed grass prefers moist habitats, where it can be seen to be quite exuberant. Maybe it’s our nasty soil, but for us the plants are abundant, but are typically scattered. They are perennial from a rhizome, and reproduce by seed. The fibrous rhizomes store food. The capsule contains three seeds.

The profuse blooms of Narrow-leaved Blue-eyed grass attract a variety of pollinators including sweat bees, bumble bees, bee flies, and syrphid flies as well as spring butterflies such as the lovely blue Azures. Their seeds provide food for songbirds. Native Americans cooked and ate the spring greens and used the plant medicinally “to regulate” the bowels and treat diarrhea, and made a plant tea to treat stomach aches, but it seems far too lovely to eat!

The plant can be propagated and can make a nice addition to your garden, for those who make a distinction between ‘garden’ and ‘not garden.’

EARLY SPRING PLANTS THAT HAVE YELLOW FLOWERS

COLTS FOOT: TUSSILAGO FARFARA

The first, conspicuous wildflower in Deering is colts foot, Tussilgo farfara. Its brilliant yellow, daisy-like flowers appear soon after snow has gone in wet ditches, roadsides and generally open or shaded, disturbed areas. What you see early in spring is leafless stalks arising from the ground, each topped by a single flower. After flowering the head becomes all fluffy and white, dandelion-like, with windborne seed. Leaves of this species only appear later, after flowering and if you were not in the know (as some of my friends have been), you would not realize that these big green leaves belong to coltsfoot.

Coltsfoot is an European native but it has a very wide boreal distribution. It is most common in disturbed wet areas, such as drainage ditches. The plant has many medicinal uses. However, it contains several toxins and may cause serious harm, including liver damage and cancer.

CYPRESS SPURGE: EUPHORBIA CYPARISSIAS

Cypress spurge forms large colonies in disturbed areas, lawns and meadows, visible now for their yellow green flowers in mass. Cypress spurge is a native of Europe that is widespread in North America. It was introduced into the USA late in the 19th Century as an ornamental but is considered to be an aggressive invasive that is difficult to eradicate.

YELLOW ROCKET: BARBARAEA VULGARIS

I have seen yellow rocket in a few places in Deering this year. The plants stand singly or in groups of a few, up to 18″ tall in full sun. With their racemes of bright yellow flowers you can’t miss them now.

Yellow rocket has been introduced into North America multiple times. The species is native to Eurasia. It is considered to be a noxious weed in some states but not invasive. It is a member of the brassica family, so think of cabbage and cresses. Young leaves are said to be edible but older leaves bitter. The flower stalk that we see this year arose from a rosette of leaves that were here last year. The flowers are pollinated by bees and flies.

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