Bryophyte Walk Report

Mosses and Liverworts report from the Muhlenberg Botanic Club walk at Steinman Run and Trout Run Preserves of the Lancaster County Conservancy on June 7th, 2008 right :Steinman Run

Six Muhlenberg Botanical Club members came and we saw 15 species of outstanding mosses and five outstanding liverworts. It was a very satisfying outing for those who came out on a hot day and enjoyed the slow walk down into the cooler valley. The rain a day or two before had the bryophytes in fine condition.

Here are a few pictures of mosses and liverworts that I took that day. More pictures and descriptions are on the plant list page for the bryophyte walk.

above: Dicranium sp.

International Field Guides Database

Today on the Taxacom Email-List I learned about an online Database of Field Guides by Diane Schmitt of the University Library of the University of Illinois. This database has 5410 listings of field guides to all kinds of natural things from Orchids, Wildflowers and other plants to reptiles to astronomical objects and even Aboriginal Rock Engravings and French Cheeses. She is always adding more to this project she has been working on for many years. The focus is on books you can carry in the field rather easily. (It does not include "Floras" and other comprehensive works which only people as obsessive as me carry in the field :-) There are many books in languages besides English too.

I found the best way to get information out of it is by using the search feature. To find things again you can save the titles you find interesting in your own "Book bag" for your future referenc or to hand out a wish list to friend and family for the next gift giving occasion.

There is an announcement of the Database's availability and contents at the University of Illinois web site

Amerian Bells - Clematis section Viornae

Our Friend Carol Lim has published a great web site about the North Amercan Species of Clematis in Section Viornae. Often called "Leather Flowers" or "Americal Bells" many species are of very restricted range so few people see these beautiful flowers in the wild although hybrids using the red genes from C.texensis are common in cultivation.

We have several plants of, what I am pretty sure is, C. addisonii in our garden. I took these pictures in our graden the last week of May and the first week of June 2007.

I think everyone should try to grow these plants when seed is available or nurseries sell plants. Carol has links to some nurseries on her web site.

__________________________________
Update: Link to Larger version of my Pictures of Clematis addisonii.

Neversink Mountain Walk - part 1

Reading, PA from Neversink Mountain









For several years when Jan an I went looking for native plants we either went to places we are familiar with in our area like Nolde Forest Env. Ed. Center, Shenk's Ferry and Pennsylvania State Game Lands #52 on the Berks/Lancaster County line south of Maple Grove or we went to the NJ Pine barrens. In recent years we have been going on field trips with the Muhlenberg Botanic Society to learn more about native plants in our area and we have had a great time. iin the last fw months we have learned that he Mengel Natural History Society of Berks County where we live has field trips to some very interesting locations which we have wanted to see for a long time but didn't know exactly where to go for the "good" plants or where the public access is to the areas.

After meeting Karl Gardener last year when he volunteered to help collect and wildflower seed at the Union Twp. meadow, I arranged a trip with Karl to the Berks County Conservancy property on Neversink Mountain in Reading. This mainly quartzite hill is on the southern side of Reading, PA.

we went on a Sunday in mid-September and had a great time. We found many interesting and uncommon plants and butterflies and enjoyed the wonderful views.

A view of the Pagoda on Mt. Penn above Reading, PA.














A trail lined with Schizachyrium scoparium (Little blue-stem grass).















Solidgo biclor, Silverrod




















Silene stellata , (Starry campion) was still blooming in a clearing in the woods.















We found this large patch of Polypodium virginianum, (Common Polypody fern, Rock-cap fern) growing on soil at the of a tree.




















Lycopodium hickeyi W.H. Wagner, Beitel & Moran
(Pennsylvania clubmoss or Hickey's Clubmoss) with strobili (sporophytes) present.
(This pecies hs been called Lycopodium obscurum L. var. isophyllum Hickey and in the recent Peterson Field Guide to the Ferns this is called Dendrolycopodium hickey.)




















Diphasiastrum tristachyum (Blue ground cedar) was nearby. This was formerly called Lycopodium tristachyum. This species is most common in the Poconos and in the central mountains of PA.



















American Copper butterfly on a black-berry leaf.















A Gray hairstreak on Solidago nemoralis (Gray-stemmed goldenrod)














A female Red-spotted purple butterfly landing on a black cherry leaf,














backing down the leaf until the tip of her abdomen reaches the end of the leaf.




















If there is no egg there already she will lay an egg and she did!





























A nice composition of blueberry (Vaccinium sp.), Hay-scented fern (Dennstaedtia punctiloba) and quartzite talus along the trail.
















A view to the south of Neversink Mountain over the valley of the Schyylkill River after it has turned east as it flows to Delaware Bay.


end part 1

A beginning for a Native Plant Meadow in Union Twp., Berks County

Last year I began to work with Linda Ingram of the Union Township Recreation Board on the possibility of putting in native plants for wildlife on some of the property which the township owns near Birdsboro. (in the former desilting basin new where the new township building will be located ) So with the help of my wife Jan and a number of volunteers I began a program of native meadow/prairie plant seed collection (with permission) from a a number of public and private meadow areas. We were especially interested in seed sources of plants native to the mid-Atlantic area from nearby areas.

With an area which has been growing corn and soybeans for many years, we planned to start with an approx. 1/4 acre site we would be a demonstration area and seed increase plot. We planted the seed in one morning in late march, with the help of volunteers from the Union Township Rec. Board, Master Gardeners and a few other interested people. We mixed the relatively well purified seed of many different native wildflowers and grasses with damp builders sand in buckets and then the volunteers walked through the muddy ex cornfield to sow the seeds. Germination went well and many of the natives are growing and some are blooming. We did have a volunteer morning in June to pull ragweed, but we haven't done any other significant controlling of annual grasses or perennial. Maybe we should cut the annual foxtail, barnyard and panic grasses before they go to seed yet this month.

After we pulled the ragweed people helped plant about 150 native perennials th we had grown in 2 in. pots in the corner areas where we didn't plant seed because we weren't sure of how large an area we could plant at this time.

The accompanying pictures were taken from March 2007 through august 2007 at the meadow. All of the flower pictures of of plants which are blooming from the seed we sowed in March 2007. I will report on "weeds" and good volunteers in my next meadow reoprt




















































Bouteloua curtipendula, Side-oats grama grass, is a rare grass in PA where it is fould mainly on Serpentine Barrens and Limestone barrens.



















Helianthus giganteus, Tall sunflower



















Eupatorium coelistinum, Wild ageratum, Blue-mist Flower



















Cirsium discolor, Field Thistle (a good native thistle!)















Helenium autumnale, Sneezeweed



















Boltonia asteroides, this has no good common name as I disike names like "Aster-like Boltonia"















Verbena hastata, Blue Vervain


















Andropogon girardii, Big Blue Stem





















Sorgastrum nutans, Indian Grass



















Monarda fistulosa, Lavender Beebalm seedling



















Coreopsis tripteris, Tall coreopsis














Rudbeckia sp., Brown-eyed Susan















Ruellia humlis, Wild petunia, A plant native to dry areas in the Central Appalachians, but which can spread vigorously in gardens, so I thought I would put in some seed even though it will be likely crowded out by taller plants over time.















Pluchea odorata, Marsh fleabane, is a plant which is no longer found naturally in PA, it used to be found along the lower Delaware River. Now it only shows up in nurseries where salt-marsh hay is used as a mulch. Whichc is where my seed came from. Since we had such a big wet spot i thought this annual might be a good temporary filler!



















Soligago nemoralis, Gray-stemmed goldenrod is one of my favorite goldenrods.



















Heliopsis helianthoides, Ox-eye















Mimulus ringens, Allegheny monkey flower, another nice native wetland plant



































Vernonia noveborascensis, New-york ironweed

A very cute little native Goldenrod

A very cute little native goldenrod is found along the lower Susquehanna river growing in crevices in the schist bedrock. It is now called Solidago simplex ssp. randii v. racemosa (USDA Plants Link). The name is almost longer than these plants are tall. I would expect that would be bigger when not growing in a tiny crack in a rock but I do want to try growing it in a trough or rock garden.

This species is on the PA endangered species list as this is the only place it is found. It is on the list under the name:

Solidago spathulata DC. var. racemosa (Greene) Gleason Sticky Goldenrod
status: Endangered

Variety racemosa grows from Tennessee to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia and it is considered threatened or endangered in many states. Other varieties of Solidago simplex ssp. randii grow as far west as Lake superior.













Sticky Goldenrod grows on the flood scoured bedrock where competition is reduced along with many relict prairie species like Big-blue-stem, little blue-stem, Indian grass and Veronicastrum virginicum.

This habitat is called (from Maryland's DNR):

ANDROPOGON GERARDII - (SORGHASTRUM NUTANS)
TEMPORARILY FLOODED HERBACEOUS ALLIANCE
(Big Bluestem - (Yellow Indiangrass) Temporarily Flooded Herbaceous Alliance)

"Concept: This alliance includes scoured riverbank 'prairies' in northeastern and southeastern United States, which may be called 'riverside prairies,' 'linear prairies,' 'rivershore grasslands,' or 'scoured riverine bluff prairie.' In addition to the nominal species, examples may also contain Schizachyrium scoparium, Chasmanthium latifolium, and/or Panicum virgatum, any of which could be locally dominant. These grasslands may be associated with dry cobble riverbanks and lakeshores, as well as flood-scoured, acidic or calcareous bedrock exposures associated with major rivers. This includes riverine gravel/cobble bar 'prairies' along the upper Cumberland River in Kentucky and Tennessee; scour areas along high gradient sections of major rivers, such as in gorges in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and possibly farther west; and scoured limestone bluffs along the Duck River in Tennessee's Central Basin."

I took these pictures on friday when I took my Sister and Brother-in-law from Texas to see the unusual habitat where this wonderful little plant grows.

I have showed pictures of Solidago simplex ssp. randii v. racemosa in habitat to Rock Gardening friends from the Rocky Mountain area and they are struck by the similarity to Solidago multiradiata growing above the tree-limit in the central rockies.

Viola conspersa (Dog Violet)

Viola conspersa (Dog Violet) and related "Stemmed" blue violas from Eastern North America

Our friend Kim Blaxland who is especially interested in Viola species e-mailed me today to ask me about Viola conspersa plants that we have seen. It seems there is some question whether this is just an upright form of another species and should be lumped with Viola labradorica*/V. adunca v. minor.

Viola conspersa is a relatively upright plant with light blue flowers and leaves scattered up the stem. While the other species have their stems prostrate on the ground.

She asked especially about what kind of rocks and what the soil pH would be. I think I usually have seen V. conspersa on soil derived from diabase (an intrusive igneous rock which usually give rise to circumneutral soils) here in Berks County, PA

The pictures of Viola conspersa here are mine. The first two are from PA State Gamelands #52 (north of Churchtown, Lancaster Co. and south of Maple Grove in Berks Co.) They are growing among and in crevices of diabase boulders along Black Creek. (Kim just e-mailed me and said of the first picture "Lovely photo of V. conspersa! Shows the spurs well, also the purple leaves persistent from the previous year compared with the color of the new spring leaves ."
The last three pictures are from Middle Creek WMA and are in the wet meadow on sandstone derived soils that I though were acid.

If anyone can tell us about locations for Viola conspersa and what kind of soil they are growing in and the parent rock the soil derived from that information would be appreciated.

Kim wrote:

Harvey Ballard, violet expert from Athens Ohio, who wrote the Violaceae treatment in the Flora of Pennsylvania has said that Viola labradorica and Viola adunca v. minor are conspecific and that they merge into Viola conspersa . By Viola labradorica I do not mean the purple-leafed violet of cultivation that is actually Viola riviniana purpurea. I mean the real Viola labradorica as it occurs in Newfoundland, Labrador, Greenland, and high mountains on the Gaspe Peninsula and northern Maine.

I am studying these three species in the NE to try to justify continuing to recognize Viola conspersa as a distinct species.

The stems of V. conspersa do lie down horizontally after flowering, and in autumn the plant will produce new short upright stems in the center from the rhizome.

The two differences I have worked out between V. conspersa and V. adunca v. minor are:
1. Stipules of former are wide lanceolate with very feathered margins, latter narrow lanceolate and either entire or few short teeth/divisions on margin.
2. Rhizome horizontal for former cf. vertical for latter.

V. conspersa does not grow at Shenk's Ferry does it? I've never seen it there. It would be very interesting to test the soil pH at some of these places. Maybe I need to buy a pH meter.

It was interesting writing the descriptions for you, comparing V. appalachiensis with the other three species made me realize that the only differences between them is that V. appalachiensis has rounder leaves, horizontal stems and finer longer peduncles.

The three species, V. adunca minor, V. labradorica and V. conspersa all have vertical stems, its just that those of V. labradorica are much shorter.

Viola adunca v. minor and Viola labradorica both occur on limestone. Viola labradorica reaches a maximum height of only three inches. I saw it growing in shallow depressions in the flat coastal limestone peninsulas at the NW tip of Newfoundland, sheltering for protection from the severe winds. Under these extreme weather conditions it is not surprising that it is so small. Viola adunca v. minor grows taller, to 5-6 inches, in light woods, for example on the Bruce Peninsula, NW of Toronto in Canada. All the morphological characters of these two species are the same except for the overall size. Several stems and a few basal leaves arise vertically from the top of the rhizome. Cauline leaves are evenly distributed up the stems. Leaves are reniform to cordate, stipules entire or with only a few teeth, flowers pale mauve on peduncles from the axils of the leaves on the stem. Fine hairs are on the inside of the lateral petals. The head of the style is bent into a hook with fine hairs on the side near the stigmatic opening. The spur at the back of the lowest petal is tapered, 4-5 mm long. Viola conspersa is usually about the same height as Viola adunca v. minor, flowers are of a similar color but usually slightly larger. The leaves have slightly more cordate bases, and the stipules have more feathered margins, but there do not seem to be enough obvious major differences in morphology to separate these species. However, I have only seen Viola conspersa growing on diabase and sandstone.

Another interesting stemmed violet is Viola appalachiensis that occurs on the Allegheny plateau in western Pennsylvania, also growing in alkaline soils. It grows as a mat forming ground cover because the stems creep horizontally on the ground surface, though usually not rooting from the nodes. The leaves are small and round to reniform. Light mauve flowers are borne from the leaf axils but well above the leaves on tall delicately thin peduncles. The petal spur is tapered and about as long as the three species mentioned above

Two additional notes: 1) V. conspersa x V. striata hybrids thrive where soil has been limed (Dick Lighty pers. comm.) and a note about Diabase soils from NC.
2) Soils derived from the diabase rock (Iredell on uplands and Wilkes sandy loam at the base of the slopes) are quite different from typical Piedmont soils that are acidic or sour soils with a low pH. Soils derived from diabase rocks are basic, or sweet, with a high pH. Sweet soil is ideal for certain kinds of plants typically found in other regions of the United States, particularly in the prairies of the Midwest.

*by the way, as Kim mentions the Viola labradorica wth purplish leaves in cultivation is invariably NOT correctly named. It always turns out to be a selection of Viola riviniana, a European species.

Some Grass Flowers at the Muhlenberg Meadow

Some interesting grass flowers seen on the Muhlenberg Botanic Club walk to the Muhlenberg Meadow at Lancaster County Central Park

Today five of us braved the very light rain to stroll through the Muhlenberg Meadow. Tim Draude talked about the planting he and other club volunteers did about 10 years ago to crate the meadow and the volunteer work that is done to keep out trees, shrubs and invasive weeds. Many flowers were in bloom, you can see the list of plants at the meadow here.

I particularly enjoyed looking closely at grasses in bloom which I think are intricately beautiful. Here are pictures of the flowers of two of our large native grasses at the meadow. Tripsacum dactyloides (Eastern Gamma Grass) is related to corn, Zea mays, and has separate male flowers above the female flowers as corn does. In this case yellow stamens and fuzzy purple pistils.

I took some pictures of Sorgastrum nutans (Indian Grass) in bloom with its noticeable yellow stamens and didn't realize the female parts of the flowers were visible until I got home and downloaded the pictures to the computer. The visibility of the cute little fuzzy-white pistils was a pleasant surprise.

Everyone who gets a chance should visit this lovely meadow with an amazing number of plant species native to Lancaster County. I plan on posting some more pictures from the Muhlenberg Meadow later this week. You can see some other people’s pictures of the meadow here.

A Blue Lettuce Day

A Blue Lettuce Day Aug 17, 2007

(Lactuca floridana that is!) plus two other new plants!

(Pictured above, from top to bottom, Pellaea glabella, Asplenium trichomanes, Ludwigia hexapetala*, Lactuca floridana a 7 foot tall plant and a close-up of the flower)

Yesterday Tim Draude and Joan King came up from Lancaster to the Reading area in Berks County to look at ferns and wildflowers with me. I wanted to show them the nice, easily accessible, cliff/wall ferns at Gring's Mill County Park and Gibraltar Aqueduct, including Pellaea glabella ssp. glabella, Pellaea atropurpurea, Asplenium platyneuron, Asplenium trichomanes, Woodsia obtusa and get confirmation of the id. of Cystopteris tennuis. All the ferns were in fine shape and easy to study.

In addition I was hoping that with their sharp eyes and knowledge of native plants they would spot interesting plants with which I was unfamiliar. Not only did we find three very nice species of native wildflowers that I didn't know, They were three that neither Tim nor Joan had ever seen! They had been looking for two of the species for a while though.

At Gring's Mill in a soft muddy area next just upstream from the mill in a wet area (no standing water now after the relatively dry weather we have had but we had to be a little care of the soft mud) next to a large patch of Iris pseudacorus and mixed in with a Sagittaria species was a large patch (over 50' in diameter) of a bright yellow five-petaled flower on soft-hairy, two foot stems that none of us were familiar with. After looking in a field guide we decided it was probably Ludwigia peploides but when we keyed it out in “Gleason and Cronquist” we determined later that with upright, fuzzy stems it was Ludwigia uruguayensis (Water primrose) now subsumed into Ludwigia hexapetala.

It will be interesting to see if that is the name it stays under when the 2nd edition of “the Plants of Pennsylvania” comes out, which I hope will be very soon. This is probably introduced from the southeastern states, but is native to eastern North America as well as south America all the way to Argentina. Both species have records in the “Atlas of the Flora of PA” in the Reading area. This beautiful and impressive plant, Water-primrose, looks like it might be invasive but there aren't many stations for it in the atlas and we only saw it in the one large patch, there we no stragglers in the nearby wet spots.

*I know it only has 5 petals, either the botanist who named it couldn't count, or it has sometimes has six petals or the type specimen was so bad the petals couldn't be counted properly.

The second new plant we found was along a country road in the red Triassic sandstone area south of Birdsboro. Tim said: “That looked like a blue lettuce.” as were driving and I turned the car around and we went back to lookI was indeed a wonderful tall blue flowered lettuce, Lactuca floridana, which none of us had ever seen. The plants (at least a dozen of them in bloom) were about 7 or 8 feet tall with clear blue flowers and with each black seed attachetd to bright white pappus (the "parachute"). The flowers look like small chicory flowers and they were almost as dark blue The inflorescene is rather large and the flowers are spread out so it is not a really conspicuous plant, but it is the nicest wild lettuce species I have seen. There were many first year plants around of this biennial species so the population seems to be reproducing well, but it is near a driveway where it would only take two minutes with a weed-eater to eliminate the population.

Then we went to the Birdsboro Reservoir and had a pleasant walk though the wood and up to the lake discussing/puzzling over several Desmodium species (tick-trefoils) and Helianthus decapetalus/H. tuberosus (Thin-leaved sunflower/Jerusalem artichoke hybrid possibilities. At the lake we spotted a small group of three foot tall, white flowered, Eupatorium species which looked very stiff, with wide round toothed leaves. They appeared to be different from species we were familiar with. It is similar to E. sessilifolium but keyed out to be Eupatorium godfreyanum in “Gleason and Cronquist” which is one of the putative parents of this species of hybrid origin. This is not a showy plant but it is not quite OBIO. (of botanical interest only!)

This is a plant which Tim had been looking for on the islands below Holtwood Dam in the Susquehanna River where it has been reported in the past but it is not shown in the “Atlas of the Flora of PA." Since this plant is not officially present in Pennsylvania (but is found in NJ and MD) We will have to do a little more research but it looks promising!

------Update-8/19/07------Pictures Added 8/21/07
After some m,ore checking and comparison and keying we have concluded that it is Eupatorium pilosum, which has been found in this part of Berks County according to the "Atlas of PA Flora".
This is still a new plant for me!

My current favorite tall meadow/prairie plant!

Arnoglossum cacalifolium (syn. Cacalia atriplicifolia)





Arnoglossum cacalifolium (syn. Cacalia atriplicifolia), called Pale Indian Plantain, is a great native plant. (most books still list it as Cacalia atriplicifolia) In PA it is reported from the southern 5/6ths of the state, but I have never seen it in it's native condition. It is planted at the Muhlenberg Meadow in Lancaster county Central Park and that is where I first saw it.

We acquired several bare root plants at the Muhlenberg Botanic Club plant exchange two years ago. They grew some last summer but they were rather a disappointment at about 4 feet tall and one broke halfway and fell over. This year they have really settled in and they are stupendous.

The plants are rigid and 7 to 8 feet tall with a dramatic combination of purple stem, nice scalloped leaves that are blue-green above and glaucous below, and dramatic funnel-shaped inflorescences of many small cream-colored tubular flowers.


These are wonderful, eyecatching tall narrow plants that I can only describe as statuesque. This effect is mainly due to the the leaves are held stiffly pointing upward and the elegant candelabra structure of the inflorescence.

It fits right in with the many tall plants we have in or meadow style front yard. (I think it is the 3rd tallest plant after Arundo donax at 13 to 15', and Miscanthus x giganteus a 10' Miscanthus.) The article " UPWARD BOUND, Plants that grow tall and slender suit small spaces to a T" written by Scott Calhoun in the Aug/Sept 2007 issue of Horticulture Magazine. (sorry this isn't one they have published a "lite" version online) is a nice, well written and illustrated summary of tall herbaceous plants. We grow many of the plants he discusses there in our meadow.

Cacalia atriplicifolia (as I still think of it, a name that really rolls off the tongue!) must be very uncommon or rare because mature plants are rather conspicuous and would think I would have seen them even if they are shorter in dry roadside habitats.

Vascular Flora of PA: Annotated Checklist and Atlas

A hardback book I keep by my chair in the living room and use all of the time is:

The Vascular Flora of Pennsylvania: Annotated Checklist and Atlas

By Ann Fowler Rhoads, William MacKinley Klein

Is available online thanks to GOOGLE Book Search. It is a large image that loads page by page as you scroll. You probably need a high speed internet connection to use this well.
If you type "Vascular Flora Pennsylvania + a plant name" in the GOOGLE Book Search field it will take you to the page with that plant's range map on it.
(note: you have to scroll down to page "vii" before you see much.)

I think the book is easier to use but I use the online version occasionally when I am away from home.

Asclepias (Milkweed) Views- Part #2

Asclepias viridis (Green Milkweed) A small plant with small green flowers whose petals are pressed tight to the central column and with the horns hidden (or not present, I'm not sure which. I have never dissected a flower of this uncommon species). . Found in dry, sunny habitats like Serpentine Barrens.

Asclepias verticillata (Whorled milkweed) an inconspicuous plant with whorls of threadlike leaves and tiny white flowers in small umbels. The flowers have spreading hoods and projecting horns. Also found in dry, sunny habitats like Serpentine and Limestone Barrens.

Asclepias incarnata (Swamp milkweed) In full bloom right now, this common species lovely pink flowers and it is often seen in damp meadows and roadside ditches. The two-toned pink flowers are not as large as common milkweed but each plants has a lot of flowers.