Flower of the Day: Partridgeberry. Again.

Posted on May 31, 2015 by elizabeth

Mitchella repens
Rubiaceae

I’ve written about partridgeberry before, I know. But it’s such a neat little plant, I can’t resist posting about it. And it’s in full bloom now.

It’s a trailing vine that can grow many feet long but rarely more than an inch tall.

(<—pinkie finger shot to give sense of scale)

Amusing fact: you’ll find it in the Peterson Field Guide “Trees and Shrubs”, I suppose because it’s woody (barely) and evergreen.

Partridgeberry ranges from Quebec to Florida and west to Texas, and is threatened in Iowa. No other species of Mitchella grow in North America. It likes moist, acidic soils and can often be found trailing along rocks.

The plants produce pairs of blossoms; if both are pollinated, the ovaries will fuse to produce a single oval, red berry with two dimples.

Other common names include squawberry, running box, twinberry, and pigeon plum.

(You know how people squeal over puppies and kittens? I could almost squeal over partridgeberry. I mean really, isn’t it just precious?)

Random Picture, Redux

Posted on May 30, 2015 by elizabeth

Remember the picture of Venus’ looking glass from last week? Here it is again, opened up.

Triodanis perfoliata
Campanulaceae

Variations on a Theme: Virginia Waterleaf and Broad-Leaved Waterleaf

Posted on May 29, 2015 by elizabeth

aka eastern waterleaf; Hydrophyllum virginianum
and aka maple-leaved waterleaf; Hydrophyllum canadense
Hydrophyllaceae
(some authorities place in Boraginaceae)

So you might be wondering, which species is pictured above? I know the answer, but only because I took the picture. The flowers of both species are almost identical. The big difference is in the leaves.

Virginia waterleaf typically has three to seven deeply cut lobes…

…while the other resembles a maple leaf, with much shallower lobes.

Virginia waterleaf starts blooming in the Potomac Gorge around mid-May; broad-leaved starts about two weeks later.

Of the nine species of Hydrophyllum found across most of the US and Canada, these are the only two in the Maryland Piedmont.

Look closely at the leaves at the bottom of the picture – see the bluish splotches? That’s why they’re called “waterleaf”. Only the young leaves display this characteristic.

Virginia waterleaf ranges from the Great Plains east to the coast, except the extreme south and the Maritime Provinces. It’s a plant of special concern in Connecticut and Kentucky, and is threatened in New Hampshire and Tennessee.

Maple-leaved waterleaf has a similar range, but doesn’t extend as far west. It’s endangered in Massachusetts and New Jersey, and threatened in Vermont.

Both species are plants of deep woods, liking lots of shade and moist-to-dry, high organic content soils. And both species’ flower color ranges from white to pink to lavender. At bloom time, they are about the same height (around a foot), though I’ve noticed that Virginia waterleaf grows much taller than that once it’s done flowering.

Flowers of the Day: Lyre-Leaved Sage and Hairy Beardtongue

Posted on May 28, 2015 by elizabeth

I wrote about both of these plants last year, so I won’t go into details in this post. They bloom at about the same time and grow to about the same height, but they don’t enjoy the same conditions (moist and rich soils and some shade for the sage; drier soils and sunlight for the beardtongue). At first glance, from eye level, you might mistake one for the other.

But I do have better pictures this year. Enjoy.

Salvia lyrata
Lamiaceae

(See how happy it is in the deep shade? I was lucky to get a shaft of light on it.)

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Penstemon hirsutis
Scrophulariaceae

(full sun on a rocky ledge)

Tree of the Day: Black Locust

Posted on May 27, 2015 by elizabeth

Robinia pseudoacaia
Fabaceae

Originally a tree of the central Appalachians*, black locust has become naturalized through most of the US**. It isn’t grown commercially here, but is useful. The wood burns hot, and the flowers provide wonderful nectar for bees. Indeed, this is the “acacia” of Europe, from which we get acacia honey.

The tree also provides good wildlife cover, as well as cavities for nesting birds. There were several in the yard of my old house; when storm-damaged (they are susceptible), I left the snags standing so I could watch pileated woodpeckers feed on them.

Oddly, it’s considered “invasive, not banned” in Connecticut, and is prohibited in Massachusetts.

As you can see, it flowers profusely, with long, crowded racemes of fragrant blossoms.

Considering that it grows quickly up to 80 feet tall, suckers, and is prone to storm damage, it probably isn’t worth seeking out for your landscape. But if you have one already, enjoy it. And if you’ve never had acacia honey, make an effort to get some – it’s light golden, delicately flavored, and with a high fructose content, it’s slow to crystallize. It never lasts long enough in my house to crystallize, anyway.

*USDA Forest Service

**USDA Plants

Elizabeth's Wildflower Blog

hunting in the Maryland piedmont (mostly)

Monthly Archives: May 2015