Before the walk today Emily and I saw a rather
bedraggled fox on the powerline cut.
We had a very large group today, 23 people.
Jack read a poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge,
"This Lime-tree Bower, My Prison." http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173248
We started down the walk to the Dunson garden and
stopped by a Bottle-Brush Buckeye to refresh our memory of leaf structure and terminology.
These leaves were palmately compound and they were arranged opposite on the
twig. (Later we would see alternate, pinnately compound leaves when we found
some hickory saplings.)
Next stop was to examine Witch Hazel Conical Galls.
Earlier Emily and I saw a squirrel helping itself to a nibble of one of the
galls. The tree was well-infested -- almost every leaf bore one or more of the
conical structures. They are produced by aphids, which can be seen if you cut a
gall open and examine the hollow interior with a hand lens. Some of the inhabitants
have wings and are capable of flying out to seek out an alternate host plant, a
Birch. The Birch is infested by the aphids in late summer and autumn. They lay
their eggs on the Birch and die. The eggs overwinter, and the new generation of
aphids fly off to find the Witch Hazel in the spring.
At the beginning of the Dunson garden we found
Solomon's Plume (Smilacina racemosa)
in flower. Further along the path we found two hickory saplings near on another.
These enabled us to see what alternate leaved, pinnately compound leaves look
like. One of the small hickories had a stout, fuzzy petiole and 9 leaflets on
each leaf. This is Mockernut hickory (Carya
tomentosa); the other had thin, smooth petiole and only 7 leaflets on each
leaf -- a not-Mockernut hickory (probably Carya
glabra, Pignut Hickory).
Our big surprise: we found Ashe Magnolia (Magnolia ashei) in bloom. Some
authorities consider this to be a variety of Big-leaf Magnolia (Magnolia macrophylla). Several people
sniffed the huge blossoms with their floppy, elongated petals, each with a
reddish purple blotch on the bottom.
Along the way we examined several ferns: New York
Fern (Thelypteris novaboracensis),
Netted Chain Fern(Woodwardia areolata),
Southern Grape Fern (Botrychium
biternatum ) and Marginal Wood Fern (Dryopteris
marginalis). There were also many fresh leaves of Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense) covering the ground.
The Goldenseal () was no longer in
bloom, but many plants had developing fruits. We were also surprised to see a
Waterleaf (Hydrophyllum canadense)
with its maple-like leaves and
nearly-gone-by flowers. Next to the Birdfoot violets was a flowering
specimen of Fringed Campion (Silene
polypetala), a very rare plant that is endangered where ever it is found.
At the bottom of the Dunson garden we noticed that
the Yucca (Yucca filamentosa) had
finally sent up its flowering stalks, but the buds are still tightly closed.
Last year at this time the Yucca were all flowering. These might flower within
the next two weeks.
The wooden fence below the Dunson garden and next to
the road always has some surprises. Today the blackberries were in bloom and
there were a few that had almost ripened. We also found Virgin's Bower (Clematis virginiana) and Smooth Sumac (Rhus glabra), although they will bloom
much later in the summer. Blooming today were a few plants of Heliotrope (Heliotropium europaeum) with their
curled inflorescence bearing light purple flowers.
Our next stop was through the fence via the powerline
path. The recent rains that produced the immense chorus of Eastern Spadefoot
toads left temporary pools to the right of the path. Earlier Emily and I dipped
out mosquito larvae and pupae to show to everyone. Many people have seen
mosquito "wrigglers," but few have seen their pupal stage. (Insects
can be divided into two types: those with what is called incomplete
metamorphosis and those with complete metamorphosis. Like butterflies and
moths, mosquitoes have complete metamorphosis -- their life cycle includes an
egg, a larval stage, a pupa and, finally, an adult. In butterflies and moths
the larva is called a caterpillar, the pupa a chrysalis or cocoon. With
mosquitoes the larval stage is the wriggler and the pupal stage is, well, the
pupa. The wriggler is a longish organism that hangs from the surface of the
water and, if disturbed, twitches back and forth. The pupa also hangs from the
surface but looks like a small, rounded lump. When it is disturbed it detaches from
the surface and darts around until it tires. Then it floats back to the
surface. The adult mosquito will emerge from the pupa in a few days.
Due to the overcast there were few flowers open on
the path to the river. We managed to find a patch of Venus Looking Glass (Triodanis perfoliata), with pretty
purple flowers, 1 per stem. At the end of the bridge on the White trail we saw
the white flowers of Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron
radicans) open in small inflorescences.
Then it was back to Donderos' via the Orange spur
trail where we relaxed with our favorite beverages.
Dale
