NPG May 15, 2016

New York Botanical Garden's Native Plant Garden - May 15, 2016

Guest post by Joel Nevis y Flores

A cool day in the upper 50's F, cloudy with passing sprinkles. I had twelve people on my 12:30p tour and 8 people on my 2:30p tour. Here is what we saw in bloom:

Acorus calamus Sweet flag
Amsonia tabernaemontana Bluestar

Amsonia tabernaemontana

Anemonella thalictroides, formerly Thalictrum thalictroides Rue Anemone

Anemonella thalictroides

Aquilegia canadensis Eastern columbine by the entrance and elsewhere throughout the NPG
Aquilegia chrysantha Golden columbine in the Glade

Aquilegia chrysantha

Asarum canadense Wild Ginger

Asarum canadense

Baptisia alba White wild indigo by the entrance and lower basin of the water feature
Camassia scilloides Atlantic camas, wild hyacinth

Carex muskingumensis Palm sedge
Carex pensylvanica Oak sedge in the woodland garden
Cerastium arvense villosissimum Hairy field chickweed grows in serpentine soils that are high in nickel and chromium but low in nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, and otherwise toxic for other plants; look for these on the rocks near the educational pavilion

Cerastium arvense villosissimum

Chionanthus virginicus Fringetree by the education pavilion
Chrysogonum virginianum Green and gold on the unpaved rosebay trail
Clematis ochroleuca Curlyheads
Cornus florida Flowering dogwood
Cornus sericea Red osier dogwood
Crataegus viridis Green hawthorn by the school group entrance
Cypripedium parviflorum Yellow lady's slipper
Cypripedium parviflorum parviflorum Lesser yellow lady's slipper
Delphinium tricorne Dwarf larkspur
Dicentra eximia Wild Bleeding heart
Diphylleia cymosa Umbrella leaf in the Glade
Erigeron Daisy fleabane

Erigeron

Geranium maculatum Cranesbill geranium
Geum triflorum Prairie smoke by the Split Rock
Gymnocarpium dryopteris Oak Fern
Half High Blueberry
Houstonia caerulea Azure bluets
Iris cristata Dwarf crested iris in the Glade
Iris hookeri Beach-head iris - I am not sure of this identification but these are growing in the water of the wetland garden
Leucothoe axillaris Doghobble, Fetterbush
Maianthemum racemosum False Solomon's Seal
Maianthemum stellatum Starry false Solomon's Seal
Mertensia virginica Virginia bluebells had only a few flowers left
Orontium aquaticum Golden club in the wetland garden
Osmundastrum cinnamomeum Cinnamon fern
Parthenium integrifolium Wild Quinine near the Split Rock
Penstemon hirsutus Hairy beardtongue by and on the exposed Manhattan schist
Phacelia bipinnatifolia Fernleaf phacelia, purple phacelia in the Glade
Phlox divaricata Blue phlox
Plantago lanceolata English plantain, narrowleaf plantain
Podophyllum peltatum Mayapple shows a few flowers still but the fruits are now growing
Polemonium caeruleum Jacob's ladder
Polemonium reptans  Creeping Jacob's ladder
Polygonatum biflorum Solomon's Seal
Primula meadia Shooting stars in white and pink
Prunus maritima Beach plum by the stream connecting to the Rock Garden
Rhododendron canescens Pinxter Azalea
Rhododendron minus minus Piedmont rhododendron, Carolina rhododendron
Sarracenia flava Yellow pitcher plant
Sarracenia purpurea Purple pitcher plant, northern pitcher plant
Sedum nevii Nevius Stonecrop
Sisirynchium angustifolium Narrowleaf blue-eyed grass shows are few blossoms in the Glade but not blooming up by the Rock Garden yet
Stylophorum diphyllum Celandine poppy had maybe two flowers left; its seed pods are becoming prominent

Stylophorum diphyllum

Tiarella cordifolia  Foamflower

Tiarella cordifolia

Toxicodendron radicans Poison ivy as you enter the woodland garden
Tradescantia Spiderwort in the meadow

Tradescantia Spiderwort

Trillium flexipes Bent trillium
Trillium erecta Stinking Benjamin
Trillium grandiflorum White trillium; lots of the double white trillium are in bloom
Trillium luteum Yellow trillium
Trillium recurvatum Bloody butcher, prairie trillium

Trillium recurvatum

Uvularia grandiflora Bellwort
Vaccinium angustifolium Lowbush blueberry
Vaccinium corymbosum Northern highbush blueberry
Viola blanda Sweet white violet - not sure of the species but I like the nectar lines for the bees

Viola blanda

Viola walteri Walter’s violet, Appalachian violet
Zizia aptera Heartleaf golden alexanders

The NYBG gardeners will be busy with these non-natives:

Chelidonium majus Greater celandine is an invasive lookalike for Stylophorum diphyllum Celandine poppy until the seeds form
Convallaria majalis Lily of the valley
Oxalis acetosella Wood sorrel, white oxalis
Oxalis stricta Yellow woodsorrel
Rumex acetosella Sheep's sorrel, red sorrel see last post
Taraxacum officinale Dandelion

Here is one I could not identify. It was in the woodland on the rose bay path near a patch of mayapples.

By the way, I see comments are not appearing on this blog and I have not been able to make them appear through troubleshooting but I will continue to try.


next post

first post in blog

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. 


next post

first post in blog

NYBG Native Plant Garden May 15, 2016

NPG Sunday, May 15, 2016

An extra trip to the Native Plant Garden to trail knowledgeable Joel on his 12:30 tour.  “What a difference a day makes...”  Three days after my tour on a lovely day, today was cold, 52 degrees, cloudy, very windy and damp with a few drizzles. Many people come on weekends and it is early in the Impressionist show; special shows bring in visitors.

Joel Nevis y Flores

Several today asked why they can’t learn online at home what tours are scheduled for what areas so they can plan ahead. We need to take action on this good idea.

No need to repeat the whole list of blooming plants from May 12th, but changes from that list could be helpful:

No more Globeflowers Troilus laxus to be seen. 

Four missing from May 12 list and still there today: 

 Scorpion Weed Phacelia [Flower color similar to Wild Geranium and Jacob’s Ladder, leaves similar to Wild Geranium but the flowers profuse and shapes different.]

 Golden Club Orontium seen in the highest area of the water feature which I may have missed earlier, an old favorite reminding me of a pencil, visible in the Old NPG looking off the wooden bridge over the creek.

 Green’nGold Chrisogonum is up the steps and along the earth path where I did not go on Thursday.

 Curlyhead Clematis ochraleuca was there but not on the list.

 Camas Camassia scilloides  Lavender bloom by water’s edge easy for me to mistake for Larkspur.

 Cornus sericea Red Osier Dogwood shrub with stripes in the leaves and a cluster of white flowers is seen in at least three different places.

Newly blooming :

Fringe Tree Chionanthus virginicus down the steps by the Education Building.

Wild Quinine Parthenium integrifolium to the right of the Split Rock

Ready to bloom :

Lance-leaved Coreopsis Coreopsis lanceolata

Mountain Laurel Kalmia latifolia

Unwanted plants waiting to be weeded: Garlic Mustard, Greater Celandine, Dandelions

Wild Hyacinth, Camassia scilloides

Wild Quinine Parthenium integrifolium

Scorpion Weed Phacelia

Green ’n Gold Chrisogonum virginianum

Curlyhead Clematis ochraleuca

Golden Club Orontium aquaticum

Red Osier Dogwood Cornus sericea 

Non-native, invasive plant:

Greater Celandine Chelidonium majus

next post

first post in blog

NPG May 12, 2016

New York Botanical Garden's Native Plant Garden - May 12, 2016

A beautiful, sunny day, temperature rising to reach 70 degrees. Many visitors wandering early through the Native Plant Garden, opportunity for brief conversations with 8 people, and finally 5 for a full tour. The listing today is based on plants as you turn to the right on the Gravel-Lok as you enter the NPG and follow around the meadow. Third week in a row that 50 or more (54 today) blooming plants are listed.

Wild Geranium

Golden Alexanders

Dogwood

Wild Bleeding Heart

Fairywand Chamaelirium luteum [as you begin the approach to the NPG entrance] 
      This was misidentified and is not corrected as Camassia scilloides Atlantic camas, wild hyacinth

Phlox

Blueberry

Wild indigo

Bluestar 

Shooting Star

Columbine

Foamflower 

Plume Solomon’s Seal

Yellow Trillium

Yellow Lady Slipper

Mayapple

Bluets

Azalea

Rhododendron 

Bellwort

[Keep an eye out passing Inkberry Ilex glabra for the 1/4” waxy flower worth using your magnifying glass]

White Trillium [turns pink with age; wish I did]
Wild Ginger

Jacob’s Ladder
Robin's Fleabane

Larkspur

White Trillium [double petals on cultivar stand out]

Celandine Poppy

Rue Anemone

Sedum

Red Trillium

Starry Solomon’s Seal

Azalea, Pinxter [in front of the Franklin tree]

Cinnamon Fern

Virginia Bluebells

Pitcher Plants, Yellow Trumpets and Red

Iris

Graves Beach Plum

Globeflower

Red Osier Dogwood Cornus sericea

Common Fleabane

Spiderwort

Prairie Smoke

Dwarf Beardtongue

Blue-eyed Grass

Green Hawthorne

Yellow Mandarin Prosartes

Black Chokeberry Aronia

Silverbell Halesia

Dwarf Crested Iris Iris cristata

Doghobble

Hairy Chickweed

American Umbrella
Viola walteri

Yellow Mandarin, Prosartes

Prairie Smoke, Geum triflorum

Atlantic camas, wild hyacinth Camassia scilloides

next post

first post in blog

NYBG NPG May 5, 2016

NPG MAY 5, 2016   Today felt cold, cloudy, 50 degrees. Six visitors on the tour. Blooming today:

At the top of the steps, in front of the rhododendron, a white bell-like flower whose name I used to know. [Clematis ochroleuca]
Alabama Croton - Croton alabamensis [on right metal descending path]
Alexanders, Golden Zizia aurea
Azaleas: Pinxter, Flame Azalea etc. Rhododendron
Beetleweed Galax urceolata
Bellwort Uvularia perfoliata
Black Chokeberry Aronia melancarpa
Blueberry Vaccinium augustifolium
Bluestar Amsonia tabemaemontana
Bluets Houstonia longifolia

Celandine Poppy Stylophorum dyphyllum

Chickweed, Hairy Cerastium arvense

Chokeberry, Black Aronia melanocarpa

Columbine Aquilegia canadense
     [looks like 5 doves; flower turns up when full of seeds which are disbursed by the wind]

Doghobble, Coastal  Leucothoe axillaris

Dogwood Cornus florida

Dwarf Crested Iris Iris cristata

Foamflower Tiarella cordifolia [the seedhead looks like a tiara]

Globeflower Troilus laxus  [look down where the boardwalk turns left]

Graves Beach Plum Prunus maritima  [past the meadow, on your right]
Green Hawthorne [budding]

Jacobs Ladder Polemonium van-bruntiae

Jacob’s Ladder, variegated Polemonium reptans

Lady Slipper, Yellow Cypripedium calceolus

Larkspur Delphinium tricorne

Leatherleaf Chamaedaphne calyculata

Mayapple Podophyllum peltatum [all poisonous parts except the ripe apple “beloved of pigs, raccoons and small boys” (Asa Gray)]

Phlox Phlox stolonifera

Plume/False Solomon’s Seal Smilacina racemosa
     [called false because it did not have the medical properties of  Polygonatum biflorum]

Prairie Smoke Geum triflorum

Rhododendron

Robin’s Fleabane erigeron pulchellus

Rue Anemone Anemonella thalictroides, Thalictrum thalictroides

Scylla 

Shooting Star Primula meadia

Silverbell Halesia tetraptera

Solomon’s Seal Polygonatum biflorum

Starry False Solomon’s Seal Maianthemum stellatum

Stonecrop Sedum ternatum

Trillium, Red Trillium erectum

Trillium, White Trillium grandiflorum

Trillium, Yellow Trillium luteum

Turkey Corn Dicentra eximia  [Hey, we call it Wild Bleeding Heart]

Viola walteri

Violet, Birdfoot Viola pedata

Virginia Bluebells Mertensia virginica

Wild Geranium Geranium maculatum
     [don’t be fooled by similar flower, very different leaves on Jacob’s Ladder]

Wild Ginger Asarum arvense [a top favorite, spread the leaves to see the amazing flower]

Wild Indigo Baptisia alba
     [also called Shoofly because farmers used the flexible stem to chase flies from the horse.]

Yellow Mandarin/Fairybells Prosartes lanuginose

Croton alabamensis Alabama Croton

Globeflower Troilus laxus

Halesia tetraptera Silverbell

next post

first post in blog

You can post comments on the blog.

NPG April 28, 2016

NPG April 28, 2016       Marcia Strean

These are the plants blooming today, 50 degrees, cool for the date. Accompanied by three docents, three times around, we identified all the following.

Joel is trying to help me set up a blog for this weekly report on Native Plants at NYBG, but I’m slow, and couldn’t even get this list in alphabetical order.

Bear with me. Photos are good but I can’t get them to show yet.

Alabama Croton
Anemonella
Aronia with Ostrich Fern intertwined
Azalea Pinxter
Bellwort Uvularia perfoliata
Birdfoot Violet Viola pedata [violet in meadow not usual violet leaf]
Blueberries Vaccinium
Bluestar
Bluets Houstonia
Celandine Poppy
Cheeses/Mallow Malva neglecta
Chickweed, Hairy Cerastium arvense
Chokeberry   Aronia melancarpa
Columbine Aquilegia canadensis
Dogwood Cornus florida
Dwarf Crested Iris Iris cristata
False rue anemone
Fleabane/Robin’s
Foamflower Tiarella cordifolia
Globe Flower Troilus laxus
Golden alexanders Zizia
Green’n Gold Chrisogonum
Jacobs Ladder
Larkspur Delphinium
Leatherleaf
Phlox
Pitcher Plants, Yellow
Plume Solomon’s Seal
Prairie Smoke Geum triflorum
Prunus Maritima [shrub with white flowers, no leaves] Beach Plum
Scorpion Weed Phacelia [not Jacob’s Ladder]
Scylla
Shooting star
Silverbell Halesia tetraptera
Solomon’s Seal
Starry Solomon’s Seal
Stonecrop Sedum
Trillium yellow, red, white
Trout Lily
Varigated Jacobs Ladder
Violets
Violets Viola walteri
Virginia bluebells Mertensia
Wild bleeding heart Dicentra eximia
Wild geranium/Cranesbill Geranium maculatum
Wild ginger
Wild Indigo Baptisia alba [budding]
Yellow Lady Slipper
Yellow Mandarin Prosartes maculata  [notice veined leaves]

Prosartes maculata (Yellow Mandarin)

Cipripedium parviflorum (Yellow Lady Slipper Orchid)

Croton alabamensis (Alabama Croton)

Aquilegia canadensis (Columbine)

Cornus florida (Dogwood)

Dicentra eximia (Wild Bleeding Heart)

Mertensia virginica (Virginia Bluebells)

Prunus maritima (Grave's Beach Plum)

Phacelia bipinnatifolia (Scorpion Weed)

next post

previous post

Welcome

Welcome to Marcia's Native Plants. I am a docent at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx and have been volunteering there for 17 years. I lead tours of their Native Plant Garden, usually on Thursdays, and share the research I have done about the plants in that garden. I also converted my yard at home into a native plant sanctuary many years ago. And I enjoy hiking and inventorying the flora of the Catskills and areas around New Jersey.

Here I am all decked out in my NYBG docent gear highlighting the meadow of the Native Plant Garden