July 17, 2016 NPG tours (NYBG) - guest post

July 17, 2016

Native Plant Garden tours, New York Botanical Garden

Guest post by Joel Nevis y Flores

I was scheduled for three tours today so I arrived early and as the first one to explore the rose bay trail I met up with a garter snake. I was looking for mayapple fruit on the plant or on the ground so I didn’t notice my friend until were were quite close then I was quite startled; the snake, too, which darted for the forest. I had only two people on my 11:00a tour, three for 12:30p but eight at 2:30p during the hottest time of day. Temps started at 84F (real feel 88F) and rose to 89F (real feel 94F). Pollens were mercifully low (some ragweed, tree, grass and plantain pollens) but the City had issued a mosquito alert (due to the presence of West Nile virus) as well as an air quality alert. 

Here is what I saw in the NPG:

Amelanchier (Shadbush, Serviceberry) fruit

Asclepias incarnata (Swamp milkweed)

Asclepias syriaca (Common Milkweed) seedpods

Asclepias speciosa (Showy Milkweed)

Asclepias tuberosa (Butterflyweed)

Echinacea purpurea

Euphorbia corollata (Flowering Spurge)

Gaultheria procumbens (Wintergreen, Eastern Teaberry, Checkerberry) fruit and flower

Heliopsis helianthoides (Ox-Eye Sunflower)

Liatris (Gayfleather)

Monarda punctata (Spotted Beebalm)

Myrica pensylvanica (Bayberry) seeds

Phlox

Pycnanthemum muticum (short-toothed mountain mint)

Pycnanthemum tenuifolium (Narrowleaf mountain mint)

Ratibida pinnata (Prairie Coneflower)

Rhexia virginica (Virginia Meadowbeauty)

Scutellaria (Skullcaps)

Silene regia (Royal Catchfly)

Trautvetteria caroliniensis (False Bugbane)

Veronicastrum (Culver's Root)

Amelanchier fruit 
Aquilegia canadensis
Aralia racemosa
Asclepias incarnata
Asclepias syriaca seedpod
Asclepias speciosa
Asclepias tuberosa
Baptisia alba pods
Boltonia asteroides
Callirhoe bushii
Calopogon tuberosus
Campanula americana
Campanula rotundifolia
Chionanthus virginicus fruit (which I read is edible when processed as an olive but reputedly does not taste very good)
Cimicifuga racemosa
Clematis ochroleuca seeds
Coreopsis lanceolata
Dicentra canadensis
Dicentra eximia
Echinacea paradoxa
Echinacea purpurea
Erigeron
Eryngium yuccifolium
Euphorbia corollata
Eutrochium
Gaultheria procumbens
Geranium macrophylla
Halesia
Hamamelis virginiana
Heliopsis helianthoides
Heuchera villosa
Hibiscus moscheutos
Hydrangea quercifolia
Ilex glabra (still green)
Ilex opaca berries (still green)
Juncus effusus seeds
Liatris
Lobelia cardinalis
Lysimachia
Magnolia virginiana
Maianthemum racemosum
Maianthemum stellatum
Mentha canadensis
Monarda fistulosa
Monarda punctata
other monardas
Myrica pensylvanica seeds
Opuntia
Osmunda regalis
Parthenium integrifolium
Penstemon seeds
Phlox paniculata
Podophyllum peltatum
Polygonatum
Pontederia cordata
Pycnanthemum muticum
Pycnanthemum tenuifolium
Ratibida pinnata
Rhexia virginica
Rhododendron maximum
Rhynochospora latifolia
Rosa virginiana
Sabatia kennedyana
Sarracenia x excellens
Sarracenia x mitchelliana
various Sarracenias
Scutellaria
Silene regia
Solidago
Spigelia marilandica
Stylophorum diphyllum
Thalictrum pubescens
Trautvetteria caroliniensis
trillum seed
Veronicastrum
Vicia
Zizia

There were also non-native Convolvulus arvensis (field bindweed) and Daucus carota (wild carrot) in meadow

Convolvulus arvensis (non-native)

Daucus carota (non-native)

Native Plant Garden: June 4, 2015

From my archives:  Native Plant Garden, New York Botanical Garden

Marcia Strean

June 4, 2015

Approaching the NPG, along the edge, pink flower, five petals with opposite entire leaves, about one foot tall, newly opened, are Phlox. (I learned to differentiate at a distance this similar looking flower from Dame’s Rocket because Phlox has five petals, Dame’s Rocket four but with very different leaves.)

What a difference a week makes! NPG gardener Meg says, “It’s a new season.” Much greener look, fewer blooming plants.

Dwarf Beardtongue and numerous species of Beardtongue, Wild Bleeding Heart (plus a white variety), Wild Quinine, Iris, Bluestar, Columbine, very little of Shooting Star, Fleabane, Partridgeberry, Twinleaf, Kentucky Lady’s Slipper,Robin’s Fleabane, Pitcher Plants, Ladies Tresses.

In the Meadow: Wild Bergamot/Beebalm, Bowman’s Root/Indian Physic/Ipecac, Lance-leaved Coreopsis, Spiderwort.

Foxglove (by the steps down to the Education Building), Hairy Chickweed (against the Rocks by the Queen Columbine), Celandine Poppy, Deptford Pink (by the rocks past the Split Rock).

Wild Blue (and Yellow) Indigo (Baptisia alba and B. australis), also called “Shoofly” because of its loose limbs; farmers would break off a stem, and use it to shoo the flies from the horses pulling their carts.

Wild Ginger: (take advantage of pointing out Wild Ginger while the unusual three-petalled, brown flowers are still blooming under the leaves).

Lots of Red Clover, which is not native, but if you are looking for four leaf clovers you are more likely to find them in the Red Clover than the White. 

Phlox

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Native Plant Garden on May 22, 2016

Native Plant Garden, New York Botanical Garden, May 22, 2016

guest post by Joel A. Nevis y Flores

An overcast day with some raindrops as I entered by the Mosholu gate, where the day's events features the ongoing Impressionist exhibition but did not mention my two tours of the native plant garden. No wonder that no one was there at 12:30p for my first tour -- though a native plant enthusiast from Westchester arrived in a few minutes for a really good interaction. I had eight people for the second tour at 2:30p so maybe signs were put up by the main entrance after all. The temperature started off in the high 50s rising to about 71F, with predominant pollens from oak, mulberry and the grasses. 

With the warmer, drier weather in the afternoon, and after visitors had seen the Impressionist exhibit at the Conservatory, a number of people meandered through the Native Plant Garden. A few were alarmed by a garter snake near the white baptisias next to the entrance pavilion. But everyone who noticed was intrigued by the robin's nest in the shadbushes and by the birds bathing by the Elizabeth Knight Britton plaque (robins, bluejays, yellow warblers). And the chipmunks were extremely active that day. 

hungry robin chick in nest

American robin in shadbush, darting from nest to distraction attention

Eastern chipmunk (Tamius striatus)

Here is what was in bloom or of interest that day:

Amelanchier canadensis - Shadbush
Amsonia tabernaemontana - Bluestar
Anemonella thalictroides - Rue anemone
Aquilegia canadensis - Eastern red columbine
Aquilegia chrysantha - Golden columbine
Arisaema triphyllum - Jack in the pulpit

Arisaema triphyllum

Asarum canadense - Wild ginger
Baptisia alba - White false indigo
Baptisia australis - False indigo
Baptisia carolina - Yellow wild indigo, by the native border's dry-stacked stones

Baptisia carolina

Calycanthus floridus - Carolina allspice, sweetshrub

Calycanthus floridus

Camassia scilloides - Eastern camas, wild hyacinth
Carex - sedge (which species is growing in the wetland garden?)
Cerastium arvense - Hairy chickweed
Chionanthus virginicus  - Fringetree
Chrysogonum virginianum - Green and gold
Clematis ochroleuca  - Curlyhead
Cornus sericea - Red osier dogwood
Crataegus viridis -Green hawthorn
Cypripedium parviflorum - Yellow lady's slipper, moccasin flower
Cypripedium parviflorum parviflorum - Lesser lady's slipper orchid
Delphinium tricorne - Larkspur delphinium
Dicentra eximia - Wild bleeding heart
Diphylleia cymosa  - Umbrellaleaf
Erigeron pulchellus -Daisy fleabane

Erigeron pulchellus

Geranium maculatum - Cranesbill geranium
Geum triflorum  - Prairie smoke

Geum triflorum

Gillenia trifoliata -Bowman's root, Indian Physic, American Ipecac

Gillenia trifoliata

Heuchera longiflora - Longflower alumroot

Heuchera longiflora

Houstonia caerulea -Azure bluets
Iris cristata - Dwarf crested iris
Iris hookeri - Beachhead Iris
Kalmia angustifolia - Lambkill
Kalmia latifolia -Mountain laurel
Maianthemum stellatum - Starry false Solomon's seal
Maianthemum racemosum - False Solomon's seal
Mertensia virginiana -Virginia bluebells - one left still
Monarda bradburiana - Eastern beebalm

Monarda bradburiana

mushrooms on the rosebay trail
Orontium aquaticum - Goldenclub
Osmunda regalis  - American Royal fern
Osmundastrum cinnamomeum - Cinnamon fern
Parthenium integrifolium - Wild quinine
Penstemon hirsutus - Hairy beardtongue
Penstemon - some white ones I could not get close to to find out which kinds they are (probably Penstemon digitalis)

Penstemon

Phacelia bipinnatifolia - Purple phacelia, fernleaf phacelia
Phlox divaricata - Blue phlox
Phlox stolonifera - Creeping phlox
Podophyllum peltatum - Mayapple
Polemonium - I never can determine if Jacob's ladder is Polemonium caeruleum or Polemonium reptant
Polemonium caeruleum - Jacob's ladder
Polygonatum biflorum  - Solomon's Seal
Primula meadia -Shootingstars
Prosartes lanuginose - Yellow mandarin, Yellow fairybells
Rhododendon choptank rose
Rhododendron minus minus - Piedmont rhododendron, Carolina rhododendron

Rhododendron minus var. minus

Rhododendron My Mary

Rhododendron 'My Mary'

Rhododendron - a number of hybrids
Sarracenia  - a number of species and hybrids I can never tell apart

Sarracenia

Sarracenia leucophylla  - Crimson pitcherplant, Purple trumpet
Sarracenia leucophylla x oreophila -Hybrid pitcherplant
Sarracenia oreophila - Green pitcherplant

Sarracenia oreophila

Sarracenia x areolata - a naturally occurring hybrid between the Pale Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia alata) and the White-top Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia leucophylla)
Sedum nevii - Nevius stonecrop
Sisyrinchium angustifolium - Narrow-leaf blue-eyed grass
Stylophorum diphyllum - Celandine Poppy
Tiarella cordifolia  - Foamflower
Tradescantia - Spiderwort

Tradescantia

Trillium erecta - Red trillium
Trillium recurvatum - Bloody butcher, Prairie trillium 
Trillium flexipes - Bent trillium
Trillium grandiflorum - White trillium and double white trillium
Trillium luteum -Yellow trillium
Uvularia grandiflora - Bellwort
Vaccinium corymbosum - Highbush blueberry - mostly fruit but a flower or two left
Viola walteri - Walter's violet
Viola blanda -Sweet white violet
Zizia aptera - Golden Alexanders

Also non-natives Taraxacum official (dandelion), Rumex acetosella (red sorrel), Oxalis stricta (yellow wood sorrel)

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Rumex acetosella: sheep's sorrel

A Non-Native in the NYBG Native Plant Garden: Rumex acetosella

Guest post by Joel Nevis y Flores

On the dry ridge at the edge of the Manhattan schist outcrop near the Split Rick erratic is an invasive, noxious non-native, Rumex acetosella (sheep's sorrel, red sorrel, sour weed, field sorrel). Native Plant Garden Curator Michael Hagen tells us that it is a naturalized weed that blows in from the top of Wamsler Rock outside the native plant garden and seeds into all the cracks, especially among the Prickly Pear (Opuntia) which makes it a special challenge to remove.

Native to Eurasia, it sprouts from an aggressive and spreading rhizome and has a long blooming period (May to October). It is generally found on acid, sandy soils in heaths and grasslands, and is often one of the first species to take hold in disturbed areas. Despite containing large amounts of oxalates, the leaves are edible as a salad green, as a curdling agent for cheese and in sheep sorrel wine. The United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service offers a write-up here.

Rumex acetosella (Sheep's sorrel)

Special thanks to Michael Hagen for identifying this non-native for us and sharing his information. 


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