tamarack in autumn

 

The Tamarack tree Larix laricina is a deciduous tree.  In summer it has lush green needle-like leaves; in autumn the leaves turn golden before they drop.  Next to the pond, it gets along with other swamp and wetland species. 

This tree is also a conifer, making small cones that shed winged seeds in the fall.

arrowhead

 

early purple ivy blooms

These lovely purple flowers are loved by bees. The early blooms help feed insects before a lot of other flowers open. This 'ground ivy' has a long history of medicinal use. It is usually evergreen throughout winter if covered by snow. Part of the mint family of plants, it is also aromatic.  

Some lawn owners know it as a pest, and call it 
creeping charlie, gill-over-the-ground, alehoof, 
tunhoof, catsfoot, field balm, or run-away-robin.
I admire the shape and texture of the leaves, and 
used them in a botanical design project.

leaf galls

This fallen leaf has galls all over it, lumps or complicated structures that look like capsules containing something mysterious.  Galls are made by one of 1500 species of gall producers -- mostly insects and mites.  Some galls form on leaves where insects feed on the plant matter, or lay eggs.  Galls may also develop as a response to infections by fungi, bacteria, or viruses.  Dissecting the gall is the only sure way to tell what caused it. That's a whole different adventure!

leaf veins

I can't resist looking closely at leaves.  Sometimes, I take the interesting ones with me for later study.  This maple tree next to the pond always has some message or lesson for me.  

Today it displayed nice autumn color.  But later I studied the veins that give the maple leaf it's unique shape.  Not only does venation give each leaf it's biomechanical strength to grow and stay on the tree through all kinds of weather all summer long!  Veins also function as transport vessels. 

The leaf is a main component in the plant's hydraulic system to move water and nutrients from the ground throughout the tree. 

The larger veins provide immense leaf structure support, and the various smaller veins provide photosynthetic gas exchange and enable the plant's growth.

arrowhead blooming

 

Among the plants along the shore of the pond, Arrowhead Sagittaria latifolia plants hold their leaves pointing skyward above the water.

This week, we noticed they are blooming with white, 3-petaled flowers held up above the leaves on strong branched stems. 

Each flower is about 1" across.

This variety is specifically Broadleaved Arrowhead; also called 'Duck Potato' since it is a perennial plant that forms food-storing tubers as roots. 

boneset in autumn

Boneset Eupatorium perfoliatum has a stout hairy stem, and the plant's leaves occur along it opposite to one another.  In autumn, the flowers go to seed, and leaves turn a rich red-brown color.

The leaves are described as 'perfoliate' because each joins the opposite leaf around the stem so it appears the stem grows through one large leaf.  All parts of this plant are toxic and bitter. Birds rarely eat the seeds, but are attracted to the flowers for the many insects there.

diving ducks

 

Mergansers stopped on the pond for a rest.  They floated in the early sunlight for a while, then dived under water to search for a meal.  Maybe they found aquatic insects, worms, frogs, or snails.  

Below, the duck on the right is just gathering her body upward to curve down and dive.  Because feathers make ducks buoyant, it takes muscles to dive.  The one on the left is just emerging from a dive, as the water rolls off her head.

planthopper

 

Planthoppers are masters of disguise. A green Acanalonid Planthopper, hiding on a stem, can look like part of the plant -- a seed pod, leaf, bract, or stipule. 

This one is only 3/8 inch long.  It was perched on a stem at the leaf sheath, probably sucking sap from the grass.  Planthoppers, true to their name, can leap many times the length of their bodies.  And they are very agile insects that can move easily forwards, backwards, or sideways. 

ironweed

The tall, stately plants topped by brilliant purple flowers -- blooming now by the pond -- are Common Ironweed Vernonia fasciculata.  Each 5- or 6-foot tall plant has a purple-green stem, dark green toothed leaves along the stem, and clusters of flowers at the top. Clusters are made up of many flower heads, each about 3/4” across. After the flowers open and mature, each becomes a fruit that is composed of a dry seed with a tuft of coppery brown hair. 

This is a host plant for the 'American Painted Lady' butterfly and also has value to native bees.

Ironweed got its common name because of several qualities: tough straight stems like iron rods, fading purple flowers become rusty-tinged, and seeds are colored like rust.

Ironweed is one of about 500 species of perennial plants constituting the genus Vernonia of the family Asteraceae; it's species are distributed throughout the world.

horsetail

Horsetail Equisetum spp. is a living dinosaur among plants; it belongs to a plant family that dates back to 350 million years ago.  On the edge of the pond, a cluster of Horsetail grows in the sun.

This plant is not related to ferns, but reproduces through spores (not seed) like ferns.  At the top of its stems, the cone-like spore-producing structures grow.  The stem also has tiny gray leaves fused vertically onto it in a sheath with a black ring beneath. 

From a distance the plant looks like a group of attractive stems, from 2 to 4 feet tall.  Tiny ridges run vertically along the stems and contain silica.  Those stems feel rough and, in the past, people used this plant for scouring cooking utensils.

chamomile

Daisy-like flowers are scattered here and there around the pond.  Most are the Ox-eye Daisy Leucanthemum vulgare, a common wild flower. 

This flower, German Chamomile Matricaria chamomilla, is another plant grown in some places as a crop. The flowers contain a blue essential oil that is distilled and used in health care and beauty products.

German Chamomile has an upright stem that branches with fine fern-like foliage and multiple flowers that do look like small daisies.

In some places this plant is considered a nuisance weed.  We (and the pollinators) enjoy its presence as a bright spot among green wildflowers, grasses, sedges, and rushes circling the pond.

creatures in the rain barrel

 

Deep in the nearly-empty rain barrel, a Gray Treefrog Hyla versicolor clings with its suction-cup feet.  Tree frogs can climb most surfaces with ease -- even this slick dark wall -- because each pad on each foot allows strong close mucous-enhanced contact. 

Outside the rain barrel, a Northern Walkingstick Diapheromera femorata clings to the outer edge on a surface of the same material.
Walkingsticks are leaf skeletonisers, eating the tissues between the leaf veins, pausing for a while and then walking on to new leaves.

Posing on a green leaf, the Walkingstick shows off its twig disguise and demonstrates how its front legs are attached just behind its eyes.  Usually, these two front appendages are held straight out along the antennae.

autumn harvest

female Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis on birch

The winter "guild" of feeder birds is forming.  The adult birds in the wild wild woods have molted into their new feathers; their offspring juveniles have learned to fly and hunt on their own.  As the leaves change color and insects are less abundant, birds instead harvest the ripe fruits and seeds on shrubs and trees.

Worms? Monsters?

Worms?  Monsters? These are “finger galls”.

Insects or mites feeding on a leaf, or laying eggs on or injecting eggs into part of a plant, cause galls to form. The leaf tissue reacts by increased production of normal plant hormones and localized plant growth.  The outcome is an abnormal plant structure called a gall.  These look like tiny wiggly "fingers" protruding from elm leaves.

Gall formation usually occurs in late spring during the accelerated growth period of new leaves, shoots, and flowers.  This is when insects might be feeding on plant tissue, or emerging in their life cycle to lay eggs.  The gall-making insect develops inside the gall and the gall continues to grow as the organism feeds and matures.  In autumn and winter, some birds feast on the insects they find inside galls, especially on goldenrod.

deciduous conifers

These new cones and needle-like leaves are emerging on our non-native European Larch Larix decidua.  The old cones (at top in the photo) commonly remain on the tree for many years, turning dull grey-black.  From a distance, the new cones look like rosey flowers on the Larch tree.

viburnum

A very few of last year's berries remain on the American cranberry bush as colorful background for the new buds of this year's leaves.  This Viburnum trilobum 'Hahs'  produces high-pectin berries that hold well into winter and provide nourishing food for birds during cold months when insects are scarce.

January - winter buds

Bayberry Myrica pensylvanica

On winter days like these . . .  

cold and windy . . .  

it may look like the trees in the 

wild wild woods are bare, 

but when I take a closer look . . . 

Black Chokeberry Aronia melanocarpa

Viburnum (left), Forsythia (above), Lilac (below)

These deciduous trees and shrubs actually formed buds last summer during their active growing season.  To survive the cold of winter they have gone dormant.

But next spring's burgeoning leaves and flowers are already in place, so the trees won't need to use energy now to grow those complex leaf and flower structures. 

 
 

wildflowers

In the woods today, Solomon's Seal, Rue, Violets, and Trout Lily.  After the very cold wet months of April and May, native wildflowers seem happy to be emerging from the leaf litter. 

 

 

 

dogwood

This fall has been warmer than normal; sunny and mid-50's most days even into November. The Cardinal Dogwood shrubs have mostly turned to their autumn colors and set berries. But a few branches on the sheltered side have sprouted new buds and blossoms. I've heard some lilacs are also trying to bloom, thinking it is Springtime.