It had been raining and was still cloudy and gray. Not a
good day for a walk and I wasn’t optimistic. But my spirits were lifted
immediately when I reached the trail at lake level. I’d been watching the
Pipsissewa (Chimaphila maculata) flower buds for weeks and now…
the flowers had opened. The day was suddenly starting to
look up.
I negotiated the roots on the trail and found a…
New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus americanus) plant in bloom.
A small insect landed on my arm. Turns out, thanks to Bug Guide, it was a Diamondback Spittlebug (Lepyronia quadrangularis).
I’d seen plenty of evidence of spittlebugs but I’d never seen a spittlebug until then.
Littleleaf Sensitive Briar (Mimosa microphylla) plants were
beginning to set flower buds at ground level.
Flowering Spurge (Euphorbia corollata) plants were still
blooming.
The Strawberry Bush (Euonymus americanus) seed capsules were
still little more than about one-quarter inch in diameter.
Another insect, much larger than the spittlebug, was
hovering around at ground level and landing occasionally. It looks like a
wasp-hornet but it was a harmless Yellowjacket Hover Fly (Milesia
virginiensis). (Don’t assume that similar insects are always hover flies; I saw
a Yellowjacket behaving in the same manner a few days earlier).
As I headed over to check on the asclepias plants, I brushed
against some small plants at the edge of the trail and noticed that one was
blooming – a loosestrife.
The flowers…
opened but the anthers hadn’t started to release pollen. This is the Lanceleaf Loosestrife (Lysimachia lanceolata).
The Redring Milkweed (Asclepias variegata) plants had
finished blooming. Although the flowers had dried up, some were still attached
to the plant stalk with healthy green pedicels. If an asclepias flower is
fertilized the stalk will remain attached to the stem and would swell to
support a developing seed follicle. Sadly, these flowers had fallen before my
next walk; these plants would not be developing seedpods this year.
I detoured from the main trail out to the bench in the open
a little further north.
The Helmet Flowers (Scutellaria integrifolia) plants were
still blooming and were already…
starting
to develop seeds. Technically, the fruits of this plant are ‘schizocarps of mericarps’ in which fruits develop from a compound ovary where
the carpels
break apart into
separate single-seeded, achene-like, fruit units called mericarps. I’m going to
have to look at these more closely.
I moved on towards the first bridge, checking the…
Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum biflorum) plants on the way. The
berries are still developing.
Beyond the first bridge, the Deerberry (Vaccinium staminium)
bushes are still full of berries. It’s intersting that nothing has eaten these
berries; maybe they aren’t ripe yet. I did read that these berries are very
tart when ripe so they are probably not high on the menu while other food
sources are abundant.
The Eastern Sweetshrub (Calycanthus floridus) fruit – a
pseudocarp – is noticably larger than it was a week earlier.
The developing capsules on the witch hazel are a highlight
of this walk.
The capsules were still developing nicely. Previously, many
of the unfertilized flower stalks from last year were still attached to the
stem, indicating how profusely this plant had bloomed. Now, however, most of
these stalks had fallen. In their absence, it would be impossible to appreciate
how many flowers had been on this bush.
The second remaining Eastern Sweetshrub bush fruit, at the
top of the cliff, was still healthy and gaining in size.
Just over the bridge into the Fishing Area, and to the
left,…
flower buds were developing on a Button Bush (Cephalanthus occidentalis.
One of the Elliott’s Blueberry (Vaccinium elliottii) plants
that had many berries now had only one or two. These must be tasty.
The Silky Dogwood (Cornus amomum) was in full bloom. These
are dainty flowers.
I made my way around the shore to look for more flowers on the Green
Arrow Arum (Peltandra virginica) plants.
A plant in bloom in the open on the edge of the lake.
A close view of a flower spike. The small flowers develop at
the…
the top of the yellow scale-like structures. I’ve still to
find a spike with flowers.
I walked along the shore towards the ‘Rock Garden’ and
made a wonderful discovery.
(To be continued…)
Related posts:
- Redring Milkweed (Asclepias variegata)
- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, May 18th, 2015 (Part 2)
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- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 22nd April, 2015 (Part 2)
- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 22nd April, 2015 (Part 1)
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- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 10th April, 2015 (Part 2)
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- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 4th April, 2015 (Part 2)
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