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 ...
We had a beautiful male Rufous Hummingbird show up at our house last Wed. afternoon, July 29, 2020. He spent his time guarding our nectar feeders and keeping away all of the local and migrant ruby-throats. According to Scott Weidensaul this was the earliest "Fall" record for this species in PA. Several close friends got a chance to see him and we were hoping more people would get a chance spread out over time, but he was only here He was here through Friday evening. On July 31 he left after being banded. We invited Sandy Lockerman and her husband to come and try to trap him and band him because I think that it is a good thing to try to understand the changing migration patterns of hummingbirds from western North America like this species. I hope that he may be re-trapped sometime and contribute to our knowledge base about these wonderful creatures. Sandy tells me that hummingbirds usually stay after banding, but this one took off and hasn't been back, Mike Slater
Schedule of walks for summer 2014 by the Muhlenberg Botanic Society Muhlenberg Botanical Society walk list, summer 2014 July 12 Muhlenberg Meadow located in the Lancaster County Central Park. Lancaster, Pa. Starting at 1 PM . Combined walk with the Sierra Club. N 40.00.769 W 76.17.098 Started in 1991, this restoration project spearheaded by Tim Draude and the Muhlenberg Botanical Society has expanded to five acres. Come and view the wide array of field flowers and what techniques worked and didn’t work in turning a cornfield into a dazzling native ecosystem. From Lancaster, go south on Rte. 222/272 for about 0.5 miles past the point where the north and south lanes rejoin. Turn left onto Golf Rd. and go about 0.6 miles to the intersection with Exhibit Farm Rd The parki...
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