Monthly Archives: February 2015

What’s Green Now? Mountain Laurel

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Kalmia latifolia; Ericaceae

Not much to look at now, but in this season of gray and brown, I’ll take what I can get.  Mountain laurel is a close relative of the familiar garden plants rhododendron and azalea. In the wild it can get to ten feet in height, with a rambling, open form and a tendency to grow in thickets.  The ones I’ve seen in the mid-Atlantic piedmont tend to be sparsely clad with leaves.

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Here’s what we can look forward to, starting about mid-May:

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Lots of detailed information about mountain laurel.

What’s Green in Winter?

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poison hemlock (Conium maculatum) is just a ground cover now, but will grow fast once the weather warms up; there’s some ground ivy in there, too

 

As a rule, if it’s green in winter it’s alien.  In this area.  Other than needled and broadleaf evergreens, of course.  Walking along the towpath and the Billy Goat trails, I see assorted grasses, garlic mustard, henbit, ground ivy, English ivy, lesser celandine, poison hemlock, perwinkle… but there are native forbs hiding somewhere (I mentioned some in an earlier post).

I’ve been searching for them on recent walks.  Since Flower of the Day is currently dormant, I’ll be posting about these quasi-evergreen plants during the month of February.

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poison hemlock gets big, at least 7 feet; this one isn’t full-grown yet…

 

 

 

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…but the flowers sure are pretty

 

(iPhone pictures from May, 2013)

The Three Views Project

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Please have a look at the Three Views page to see these photos next to last month’s photos.  And check back in a month for the next in the series.  There isn’t much difference now, except for the ice in the river and traces of snow on the ground.  I expect that the April and May pictures will show quite a change!

January 31, 2015 
29 degrees F, clear

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1:24 pm EST  18mm  f/9.0  1/200sec  ISO 200

Billy Goat B trail, east end, looking southeast across a narrow channel toward Vaso Island

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1:54pm EST  28mm  f/9.0  1/400 sec  ISO 200

Billy Goat B, mid-way between trailheads, looking upstream (more or less northwest) with Hermit Island on the left.


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2:25pm EST  18mm  f/8.0  1/200 sec  ISO 100

boat launch ramp near Old Angers Inn, looking downstream and more or less south