During a walk along the East Branch of the AuSable River, I found a yellow composite. At a glance, I thought it was Cynthia (Krigia biflora) because of the simple branches of the plant. However, the flowers were pure yellow and not the orange or yellow-orange of Cynthia. I dissected a flower head, finding only fertile ray flowers and no disk flowers. Each flower had a feather-like pappus. The leaves were mainly basal, and coarsely toothed, with stiff hairs on the upper surface.
Cat’s-ear flowersBasal rosettes
I consulted the Field Manual of Michigan Flora by Voss and Reznicek and discovered my plant was Cat’s-ear (Hypochaeris radicata). Imported from Europe, this lawn weed now grows throughout the state. The phyllaries (scales surrounding the heads) had spine-like projections on the midveins. This helps distinguish this species from similar plants.
I enjoy seeing new plant species, or at least ones I have not identified before. Composites are a fascinating group of diverse appearance. I need to make a careful study of them.
Michigan has two species of Elderberries. Both are native. Elderberries are shrubs with opposite, compound leaves that have more than five leaflets. Bladdernut (Staphylea trifolia) is our only other opposite-leaved shrub with compound leaves; it has three finely-toothed leaflets.
Common Elderberry flowersCommon Elderberry fruitCommon Elderberry twig with pith
Common Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) flowers in early summer and the fruits ripen in the fall. Flower clusters are flat. The mature fruit is almost black. The twig is covered with white lenticels, the pith of second year twigs is white, and it has small winter buds about twice as long as wide. Normally some of the leaves will have more than seven leaflets. This is the species to make jelly (and wine) from.
Red-berried Elder flowers – L Fruit – RRed-berried Elder twig with pith
Red Elderberry or Red-berried Elder (S. racemosa) flowers in spring and the fruits ripen in the summer. Flower clusters are elongated. The mature fruit is red. The twig is covered with orange lenticels, the pith of second year twigs is dark brown, and it has large, globular winter buds. Normally the leaves will have seven or fewer leaflets.
Both of our Elderberries are common shrubs and should become familiar to anyone who studies nature in Michigan.
Eleven species of Moonworts (Botrychium) have been recorded from Michigan. They are small ferns and the distinctions between the species are subtle. This post shows specimens of each species. The specimens with a black background were collected by my wife and I and the identifications were verified by Dr. Warren (Herb) Wagner. Herb used different names for some of the taxa, but the identifications remain the same. I used these study collections for years and photographed them before I give them to the University of Michigan Herbarium. The specimens with the white backgrounds are collections from the Herbarium. I hope that these will help botanists studying this fascinating group.
Daniel Palmer’s Michigan Ferns & Lycophytes should be consulted by anyone interested in this genus. His charts are fantastic and help explain the characteristics of the species. I cannot improve on his species descriptions. Dr Donald Farrar from the Ada Hayden Herbarium has information on Moonworts including species found outside of Michigan. My earlier post gives more information about Moonwort habitats.
Helpful terms for identification
I seldom use common names for Moonworts. I had to look them up for this blog. In the field we refer to them by their specific names or shortened specific names. For example, “I found Matricary, Simplex, and Campestre.”
Lance-leaved Moonwort
Lance-leaved Moonwort (Botrychium angustisegmentum) has a triangular, deep green, sessile, trophophore (sterile segment). The teeth on its segments are pointed.
Daisy-leaved Moonwort (B. matricariifolium) is a highly variable species and probably still needs to be split into additional species. When I first met Herb in 1975 he shared with me his goal of learning the limits of this species. Its trophophore is always stalked, has blunt teeth, and the basal pinnae are not normally larger than the next pair.
Michigan MoonwortMichigan Moonwort
Michigan Moonwort (B. michiganense) resembles Daisy-leaved Moonwort except the basal pinnae on the trophophore are elongated. See Palmer’s book for further distinctions.
Dune MoonwortDune Moonwort
Dune Moonwort (B. campestre) is our earliest Moonwort. I have found it limp on the ground, its spores shed, while other species are still developing. It is greenish-yellow and the pinna (divisions of the trophophore) have teeth at their tips.
Least Moonwort
In Least Moonwort (B. simplex) the trophophore and sporophore split off near the base of the plant. The trophophore is the least divided of the Moonworts.
New World MoonwortNew World Moonwort
New World Moonwort (B. neolunaria) has crescent shaped pinnae nearly straight across its base and that almost overlap each other.
Mingan MoonwortMingan MoonwortMingan Moonwort
Mingan Moonwort (B. minganense) has pinna that angle about 120 degrees at their base and are well spaced. We found some large specimens with divided pinna in the eastern Upper Peninsula that we originally thought were a new species.
Pale Moonwort
Pale Moonwort (B. pallidum) is distinct in the field with its blue-green color. It is seldom taller than 5 cm [2 inches] and normally has fewer than 5 pinna pairs. The base of the pinna is angled at about 90 degrees.
Spatulate MoonwortSpatulate Moonwort
Spatulate Moonwort (B. spathulatum) has pinna that are cupped and not flat. Carelessly pressed specimens often have folded pinna. Normally the pinna have rounded teeth.
Little Goblin
The Little Goblin (B. mormo) is a dense woodland species. It grows in leaf litter and sometimes the plants develop under the leaves. I have found plants by carefully lifting the leaf litter. They are the most succulent of the Moonworts. The first-time I saw the Little Goblin, Bob Preston and I crawled the Sable Falls trail, on our hands and knees, in the pouring rain, looking through the leaf litter. It took us several hours to cover the half-mile trail. We found the plants on the way out.
Shade-loving Moonwort
Shade-loving Moonwort (B. tenebrosum) is similar to the Little Goblin. Shade-loving Moonwort is an open forest species often growing at the edge of a wetland. The trophophore and sporophore split at least half-way up the plant.
I hope this post is helpful to fellow “Botrychiators.” When I first learned Michigan Moonworts there were five highly variable species. I learned the others gradually as we split them off. The group is challenging both to find and then to identify. Good luck and happy botrychiating.
At an event distributing white oak saplings for the bicentennial of Oakland County I was asked, “Are the large Tamaracks in Oakview Cemetery native?” Oakview is a century-old cemetery in Royal Oak. The back of the property was undeveloped woods when I was a boy. Tamaracks were harvested in Royal Oak township for the ship building industry in the late 1800s, but I did not know of any Tamaracks remaining in the city. Notes from the 1817 land survey seem to indicate that the cemetery land was always dry, but a swampy area was just to the southeast. Geological maps show a sandy beach ridge running across the property.
European Larch trees L Eastern Tamarack Oakview Cemetary R
I followed the directions and found the trees quickly by driving the center road to the west. Once I saw the shape of the trees, I knew they were European Larch (Larix decidua). This is also called European Tamarack. It is similar to our native Eastern Tamarack (Larix laricina). See my blog post.
European Larch L Eastern Tamarack REuropean Larch
Just like our native Tamarack, European Larch needles turn a bright yellow in the fall before they are shed for the winter. European Larch has bigger cones with 35-50 scales that have short hairs. Our native tamarack has less than 20 scales and they are hairless. European Larch needles normally are longer than 2.5 cm [1 inch]. They are shorter on our native Eastern Tamarack. The twigs on the European Larch are yellowish. Our Native Tamarack has brownish twigs that turn gray with age.
European Larch cones and needlesEastern Tamarack cones and needles
I walked around the cemetery looking at other trees. It has some large Black Oaks and nice White Pines. Just below the crest of the beach ridge I found an Eastern Tamarack with a trunk 2-feet in diameter. I think it was planted on the ridge because Eastern Tamarack does not grow on dry sandy sites.
It was interesting to walk the cemetery, looking at old trees. There are not too many sites where you can compare the two Tamarack species.
My wandering is reduced now that I am socially distancing for the good of humanity or as I prefer to think of it “exiled for the sake of the realm.” However, nature still surrounds me. I spotted a Cecropia Moth (Hyalophora cecropia) cocoon in a neighbor’s Red Maple. I left it in place. Cecropia cocoons are tapered on both ends and spun along a twig. Leaves are frequently incorporated into the cocoon, giving it better camouflage. The cocoon encloses the moth’s pupa.
Newly emerged female Cecropia L Mating pair R
Cecropias emerge in southern Michigan at the end of May or the beginning of June. The adult moths do not eat. They live no more than two weeks. Females usually die shortly after laying their eggs. Cecropia Moths are one of Michigan’s largest moths having a wingspan of 10 to 15 cm [4 to 6 inches].
3rd Instar larva4th Instar larva5th Instar larva
The larvae develop through five instars. In Cecropia larvae the markings of the instar changes during the instar’s development and not just at the molting. “Hyalophora cecropia: A Life Cycle Photo Journal” webpage shows the development of a larva (See link below). The larvae feed on a wide assortment of plants including: Box-elder, Red Maple, Wild Cherry, Basswood, Elm, Willow, Apple, and Poplar. A friend once gave me four larvae that I reared on Lilac.
Starting to spin the cocoon
When I was growing up, I would find a dozen or more Cecropia cocoons each winter. They are harder to find now, so it is nice to know that a few are still around.
I am “social distancing” myself because of the COVID-19 virus. My nature observations are limited to my neighborhood, reminding me that I am surrounded by nature.
Dissected owl pellet
I found an owl pellet in my front “lawn.” I see or hear a Great Horned Owl in my yard a few times a year. Eastern Screech-owls nest here. The pellet I found was about 2-inches long, too small to be from a Great Horned Owl. Owls swallow their prey whole and regurgitate undigested feathers, bones, fur, and the hard parts of insects. Dissecting pellets reveals part of the diet of an owl. It does not show soft-bodied animals such as worms or soft-shelled insects. Eastern Screech-owls eat small birds, small mammals, worms, insects, frogs and even crawfish. My pellet contained feathers and the upper mandible of a bird. From the shape of the mandible I believe it was from a House Sparrow. It is difficult to determine the feather color after they have been in an owl’s stomach.
Eastern Screech-owls live in suburbia and nest in a tree
cavity in my yard just outside of Detroit. We once found a family of young owls
lined up along a branch over our deck. I think they look undignified when they
come at twilight to our birdbath. I often hear them calling in the early
evening or just after dark. They do not “hoot” as a stereotypical owl does, but
they have a soft, trilling, whinny call. The link at the bottom of the page
will take you to Bird-sounds.net and you can listen to their call. If you learn
their distinctive call, you might hear it in your own yard.
Learn their call and listen for them. They are nesting now,
and when they are on territory, they are more vocal.
Recently (February 29th) I visited
Shiawassee Park in Farmington, Michigan to search for the Black-bellied
Whistling Duck. This duck normally occurs in Texas, Louisiana, and Arizona, but
one individual has hung around southeastern Michigan since last August. This is
the eighth Michigan record. Normally I don’t chase after other people’s bird
sightings, but it was the first sunny day in weeks, and I wanted to get out of
the house.
The Upper Rouge River flows through the park. Water
quality along this stretch of river is good. One sign of the water quality is
the Redside Dace (Clinostomus elongatus), a state endangered minnow,
occurs here. Speckled Alders (Alnus incana), several a foot in diameter,
grow along this winding river. A Tufted Titmouse called “Peter, Peter, Peter”
from the opposite bank. Spring is coming.
Mallard drake
I sauntered along the river, enjoying the sunshine and
my quiet time alone. I continued watching the stream and found
only Mallards. Mallards are pretty
ducks with their green heads set off from their brown breasts by a narrow band
of white. If they were rarer, people would stop ignoring them.
Black-bellied Whistling Duck confronting Mallard
I found the Black-bellied Whistling Duck with a group
of Mallards. It was standing on a submerged log. I could see its pink legs
under the water. Other field marks of this distinctive duck are a pinkish-red
bill, a gray cheek patch, white eye ring, and a black belly. They are nocturnal
feeders and this one had her/his bill tucked under their wing sleeping. A
Mallard got too close and suddenly the Whistling Duck woke up, snapping its
bill. It didn’t call. I wanted to hear its whistle.
This short walk renewed my spirit. I hope the signs of spring I observed were real. I’m ready for a rebirth.
Squirrel middens are interesting, but they are often
overlooked by casual observers. The word midden means “refuse heap” and is a
term that naturalists borrowed from archeology. Originally the term was
“kitchen midden” referring to places that humans discarded bones, seeds, food
scraps and even broken pottery.
Gray Squirrel midden
Recently, I noticed a pile of Norway Spruce (Picea abies) cone “cobs” and scales. An
Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus
carolinensis) perched on a branch stub about 30 feet off the ground. She
sat with her back to the trunk and dropped cone “cobs” and scales forming a
large pile. She must feel safe here and returned frequently to eat. The midden
comprised several hundred “cobs” and thousands of cone scales making a pile on
the ground 10 inches deep and three feet in diameter. I poked through the pile
and I discovered no missed seeds. This is the largest Gray Squirrel midden I
have ever found. The cones were collected off the ground or cut out of the
tree. Gray Squirrels spread their food hoarding over a wide area because they
bury nuts individually. This results in smaller middens.
Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) middens are typically larger than Gray Squirrel middens. Red Squirrels store their winter food in caches in hollow spaces in trees or, unfortunately, in buildings. Their middens can accumulate in a local area all winter and sometimes are the refuse from several squirrels. The largest one in my field notes was 5 feet in diameter and three feet deep. It was several layers deep and appeared to have accumulated over at least three winters.
Now is a good time to look for squirrels forming middens. If you are lucky, you might find a squirrel feeding and adding to a midden. They are fun to watch.
I spent most of my field time in southern Michigan this year
searching for invasive plants to photograph for a new talk. Part of the fun of
putting together any talk is the hunt for material. This invasive plant talk is
no exception. It is fun to get into areas that I normally don’t visit and see
different plants and animals.
My invasive plant odyssey continued with a trip to Lake Erie
Metropark to look for Flowering-rush (Butomus
umbellatus). Lake Erie Metropark is a 1600-acre park with three miles of
Lake Erie shoreline. My brother sent me photos of Flowering-rush from one of
the picnic areas along the shore so I knew the plant was there. I first checked
a drying pond hoping to find Flowering-rush. I found Flowering-rush plants that
had finished flowering. However, the pond area was interesting.
Water Star-grass
One of the first plants I saw in the mud was Water Star-grass (Heteranthera dubia). It normally grows submerged in water but here in a dried-up section of the pond the terrestrial form was flowering. Its flowers have 6 yellow tepals and last a single day. Plants have narrow grass-like leaves and are limp against the soil. It is not a grass but a member of the Pickerel-weed family (Pontederiaceae).
False PimpernelFalse Pimpernel
In the same drying pond I found False Pimpernel (Lindernia dubia). It is an annual that
appears to have long-lived seeds in the seedbank. It put on a nice display with
its pretty blue flowers resembling snapdragons.
Water-purslane
Also in the pond area was Water-purslane (Ludwigia palustris). Water-purslane has
tiny petaless flowers and looks the same whether flowering or not flowering.
The combination of red stems, long stalked leaves, prostrate growth, and
growing in a habitat with receding water identifies this plant.
Spotted Sandpiper
A Spotted Sandpiper flew into the center of the drying pond.
I enjoyed watching its bobbing dance, never staying still. Probing the mud with its long bill and eating
food unseen by me.
Flowering-rush
I finally found my quarry, an acre of blooming Flowering-rush.
It had choked other species out to form a solid mass. It was first found in Michigan
in 1930 not too far from here. Its range has expanded during the last 30 years
and it is now found in the Lower Peninsula north to the Straits of Mackinac. It
is mistaken for a wild onion by many people because it has a six-parted flower
and narrow onion-like leaves. The pink flowers are 10mm [3/8 of an inch] across
and rather showy. It is native to Africa
and Eurasia.
Flowering-rush habitat
Hunting invasive plants is an interesting excuse to run around southern Michigan. Tracking down invasive species is harder than I thought it would be. On more than one occasion the plant was removed before I could get its photo. Hopefully I will have a talk on identifying invasive plants ready to present before this year is over.
Balsam Fir (Abies
balsamea) is a common northern Michigan tree that I seldom see with cones. However,
two small Balsam Firs in our “yard” at The Cabin fruited this year. They are
approximately 15 feet tall. Part of my problem finding cones is that they form
in the upper branches and I do not climb trees. Another problem is the nature
of Fir cones. Their scales are deciduous so complete cones do not fall to the
ground but break into pieces. Small winged seeds disperse
on the wind. This leaves a woody axis resembling a bare branch sticking
straight up at a right angle to the branch.
Balsam Fir Cones L Cone scales RCone scales with seeds L Winged seeds R.
While out walking the next day I found the distinctive scales on the trail. I was in a dense grove of a dozen trees but could not spot the fertile Fir. Now that I recognize the scales I hope to spot more fertile trees. Barnes and Wagner in Michigan Trees state “the woody cone axis persistent on uppermost branches in winter.” Maybe I will find more fertile trees this winter. In an earlier blog post I talked about how to identify Balsam Fir, and to distinguish it from Hemlock and Spruces.
