The photos in this post, except where
noted, came from Don's Facebook album (here's the link).
Today's post was written by Dale Hoyt.
25 Ramblers today
Today's reading: Don read from an article about the Japanese practice
of “tree bathing.”
Today's Route:
Through the Shade Garden to the White Trail and across the road to the power
line RoW, then turning south, down the RoW, crossing the road and going a short
way before running out of time and heading back to the Visitor Center and Cafe
Botanica for refreshments and conversation.
White Trail, between road and Power line RoW:
 |
| Hophornbeam fruits are abundant this year |
Hophornbeam fruits
are abundant this year, at least on the trees in this section of the White
trail. It is the fruit that gives this understory tree its common name: they
resemble the fruits of the Hop vine that give the bite to beer. (Hops were
originally used to preserve beer, that is, extend its shelf life.) If you tease
apart one of the fruits you'll see that it's made of a cluster of small, papery
sacs, each with a single small seed attached to a central stalk. It is thought
that these paper bags allow the seeds to float downstream and colonize new
areas. But Hophornbeam is a very abundant subcanopy tree in areas well away
from water, so the seeds must also be dispersed by other means.
Looking back over previous Ramble
Reports I noticed that Hophornbeam seems to flower (and therefore produce
fruit) heavily every other year. We commented on the absence of fruit in 2016,
2014 and 2012.
 |
| American beech fruit contains 1-3 three-sided nuts |
An American beech is located near the
Hophornbeams and currently sports a few spiny fruits.
 | |
| Red shouldered hawk |
Red shouldered hawks were harassing (or
being harassed) by a pair of crows.
 | |
| Post oak leaf |
Also in the same area are two Post oaks,
whose leaves have lobes arranged to resemble a Maltese cross.
 | |
| Green ash |
A young Green ash is an example of a
tree with opposite, compound leaves.
 | |
| Young Water oak variation in leaf lobing |
 | ||
| Another young Water oak with variable leaf shape |
Sue pointed out several sapling Water
oaks that display leaves that are quite different than leaves seen on mature
trees. Some leaves on these immature trees are long and thin, like a willow,
others have three prominent lobes at the end, others only two. As the tree
matures the leaves widen out toward the end, with just the suggestion of lobes.
This variation makes it hard to recognize sapling oaks, prompting one of our Ramblers to suggest that "Oaks are like men, never trust a
young one."
Most oaks typically grow in dry situations like ridge tops or
slopes with southern exposures, but Water oaks can grow in wetter situations, e.g., streamsides. This tolerance of moisture is probably the origin of their common name. Water oak grows more rapidly than many other oak
species which is probably why it is frequently planted as a street or shade
tree. Sylvics
of North America states that it grows two feet/year for the first 25 years.
 | |
| Hawthorn with developing fruit |
Sue also found a small Hawthorn with
developing fruits. If you thought the fruit looked like a tiny apple you were right,
Hawthorns, like apples, belong to the Rose family (Rosaceae). The fruits of
hawthorns are called "haws," and are usually tart to the point of
inedibility. There are exceptions, however. One type of hawthorn, the Mayhaw,
produces fruit with a delicate flavor and jelly made from it is a southern specialty; it commands a premium price. Look for it at roadside fruit stands. I think I once found it for sale at one of the stands between Madison and Athens. Hawthorns are notoriously difficult to
identify, so we are just calling this one Crataegus
sp.
 | |
| Ohio spiderwort |
 | |
| Wild petunia |
Other flowering plants seen in this part of
the White trail are Ohio spiderworts and Wild petunias. The spiderworts are
left over from the time when this part of the garden was planted with numerous
horticultural varieties of garden flowers. Both species are native, but only
the Wild petunia got here on its own.
Power line Right of Way:
 | |
| Ellie stalking grasshoppers |
By the time we reached the RoW the sun had
been out long enough to warm up the insects and we started to see them flying
away from our disturbing presence. Our two young Ramblers, Ronnie and his
sister Ellie, helped with spotting and catching a variety of grasshoppers and
katydids.
 |
| Yellow crownbeard; note the wings on the stem and the opposite leaves. |
This time of year is intermission as far
as wild flowers are concerned. The colorful spring ephemerals
are making seeds and the fall perennials are still in the process of vegetative
growth. It's relatively easy to identify some of these perennial plants, like
the wingstems, genus Verbesina, even
though they don't have any flowers yet. All the members of the genus have flat ridges
of plant tissue that run the length of the stem, making it easy to identify
them. One of the three wingstems in our area has opposite leaves, so if you see
a wingstem with opposite leaves you know it is V. occidentalis, Yellow crownbeard. (The other two species have
alternate leaves and one has yellow flowers while the other has white flowers.
Next week we'll see how to distinguish these two even without flowers.)
 |
| Carolina grasshopper. Short antennae on the left; mottled brown color that is perfect camouflage; large hind legs adapted for jumping. |
 | |
| The long, straplike forewing of the Carolina grasshopper. |
 | |
| Carolina grasshopper. The hind wing is held expanded as it would be when flying. |
The Carolina grasshopper is difficult to
spot when it is simply standing still on bare soil. It's body is brown with a
few darker areas and, if it's motionless, it just blends in with its background
so perfectly that it is almost impossible to notice. But when it is disturbed
it leaps into the air, propelled by its enormous, powerful hind legs and then flies
away, displaying beautiful black and yellow wings. After flying 10-15 yards it suddenly
folds its wings and lands, disappearing from sight again. It's a clever trick.
The eye follows the prominently colored wings and continues to look for them in
the direction of flight, even after the insect has dropped out of sight.
Many kinds of insects have two pairs of
wings. In grasshoppers the first pair of wings are straight and strap-like; the
second pair are shaped like a fan. It is the second pair that supply the power
for flying; the first pair cover the hind wings and contribute to camouflage of
the grasshopper when it is on the ground.
A little bit about Insect classification. Insects are divided into smaller groups
called "Orders" that share a common set of features, the structure of
the wings being an important feature that differs between Orders. Grasshoppers are members
of the Order Orthoptera (pronounced "or-THOP-ter-ah"), which means
"straight wing" and refers to the shape of first pair of wings. (The
prefix ortho- means straight and the
suffix –ptera means wing.) The names
of many Insect Orders end in –ptera and
the prefix refers to the different ways the wings are modified. For example,
butterflies and moths are in the Order Lepidoptera (pronounced "lep-eh-DOP-ter-ah."
Lepido- means scale and refers to the colored scales that cover the wings of
moths and butterflies like shingles cover a roof.
Within the level of Order insects are grouped
into Families. For example, Grasshoppers are in the family Acrididae
(pronounced "a-CRID-uh-dee," and Katydids are in the family
Tettigoniidae (pronounced "tet-uh-go-NIGH-uh-dee.") Sometimes it's
easier to just use the common names, but these order and family names are universal, whereas the common names for the groups differ depending on the language being spoken. In Spanish the name for butterfly is mariposa; in German it is Schmetterling. But no matter what country you're in Lepidoptera would be recognized as referring to butterflies and moths.
 |
| Female Katydid. Note the very thin, long antennae on the right and the scimitar-shaped ovipositor at the end of the abdomen on the left. |
 | |
| Hind wing of the female Katydid; it's about the same size and shape as the Carolina grasshopper's but is almost completely transparent. |
Grasshoppers have short antennae, no
longer than the head is high; Katydids have long, whip-like antennae, much
longer than their body. Grasshoppers lay their eggs in soil, while Katydids
have a well-developed ovipositor (an egg layer) that slits open stems and
deposits eggs into the slit. The eggs are protected from predators while inside
the stem and, when they hatch, the tiny katydids emerge and climb up into the
leaves and begin to chew them up.
 | |
| Cottonwood leaves |
There were light breezes keeping us cool
this morning and also stirring the leaves of an Eastern cottonwood. The petiole
of the leaf is flattened and flexible so when a breeze hits the leaf blade the
leaf "trembles" in the wind. The sight of the leaves dancing
in a zephyr is fascinating, almost like watching the waves come onto the beach.
A relative of the cottonwood, Trembling aspen, is named and noted for the same
characteristic fluttering.
 |
| Trumpet vine |
A Trumpet vine is in bloom. The scarlet
blossoms are favored by hummingbirds. There is another vine, past blooming and
now setting fruit, climbing the tree next door – poison ivy. The fruits are
devoured by birds without problems and that accounts for the wide occurrence of
the vine.
We finally located some of the Butterfly
milkweed in the area where it is being protected. The plants are still in early
growth, no flower buds in evidence.
SUMMARY OF OBSERVED SPECIES:
American hophornbeam
|
Ostrya
virginiana
|
American
beech
|
Fagus
grandifolia
|
Post oak
|
Quercus
stellata
|
Green ash
|
Fraxinus
pennsylvanica
|
Water oak
|
Quercus
nigra
|
Spadefoot toad
|
Scaphiopus holbrookii
|
Red
shouldered hawk
|
Buteo
lineatus
|
American
crow
|
Corvus
brachyrhynchos
|
Hawthorn
|
Crataegus
sp.
|
Smooth
(Ohio) spiderwort
|
Tradescantia
ohioensis
|
Wild
petunia
|
Ruellia
caroliniensis
|
Carolina
grasshopper
|
Dissosteira
carolina
|
Yellow
crownbeard
|
Verbesina
occidentalis
|
Eastern
cottonwood
|
Populus
deltoides
|
Meadow
grasshopper
|
Orchelimum
sp.
|
Trumpet
vine
|
Campsis
radicans
|
Poison
ivy
|
Toxicodendron
radicans
|
Heal-all
|
Prunella
vulgaris
|
Butterfly
weed
|
Asclepias
tuberosa
|
Ox-eye
daisy
|
Leucanthemum
vulgare
|
Rough
daisy fleabane
|
Erigeron
strigosus
|
Spotted
cat's ear
|
Hypochaeris
maculata
|
White
avens
|
Geum canadensis
|
Katydid
|
Family Tettigoniidae
|
