January 17, 2016 Program at INPAWS North Chapter Meeting

On Sunday, January 17, 2016 at 2:00 EST at ETHOS Science Center in Elkhart, Indiana, I will be presenting "Dumb Luck: The Stories Behind the Collections" at the Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society (INPAWS) North Chapter monthly meeting. The presentation will highlight 25 of my recent plant finds from northern Indiana and southwest Michigan, including new county and state records, and the events and odd happenings that led to me being in the right place at the right time. The public is invited to attend this meeting and program.



Mimulus alatus in Berrien County, Michigan

Carex decomposita in Allen County, Indiana

Lonicera canadensis in LaPorte County, Indiana

Wolffiella gladiata in St. Joseph County, Indiana

A "Three New Sedge" Day!

It's not everyday that I get to see a sedge (Carex) species that I haven't seen before.  Imagine my surprise and excitement, then, at having the opportunity to see three sedge species I'd never seen in a single day... just one state away in Michigan!  Well, I guess the Upper Peninsula technically counts as Michigan, even though it feels a bit more like Alaska.

 

Carex media

On 11 July 2014, I was in the Upper Peninsula to prepare for a field trip I was leading at the annual Michigan Botanical Club Foray.  Prior to our trip, Brad Slaughter contacted Janet Marr about getting access to an island just off of the mainland, and Janet made contact with the landowner and was able to get permission for us to borrow canoes to access the island.  During our free time, Erin Victory, Brad, Janet, and I paddled out to the island with hopes of seeing Intermediate Sedge (Carex media) and Ross' Sedge (Carex rossii).  Janet had recently been to the island and was able to take us directly to a clump of Intermediate Sedge. 

Carex media; note the fresh spikelet.

Intermediate Sedge has a circumboreal distribution, and although it is widespread in Canada, it is only known from eight states (and that includes Alaska).  In Michigan, it is only known from Keweenaw County, where it is found on Isle Royale and on the north shore of the peninsula. As such, it is considered threatened in Michigan. This handsome sedge grows in thin soils of forest openings and on rocky shores.

Carex media along the shore of the island.

As we continued our hike across the small island, our next target was Ross' Sedge, and it wasn't long before we started locating populations of this rarity as well. Ross' Sedge is in section Acrocystis, meaning that it shares characteristics with Pennsylvania Sedge (Carex pensylvanica), Whitetinge Sedge (Carex albicans), and Parasol Sedge (Carex umbellata).

Carex rossii

Similar to Intermediate Sedge, Ross' Sedge is state threatened and known in Michigan only from Keweenaw County. This is one of several western disjunct species that occurs in the Upper Peninsula; it is much more widespread in the western United States and most of Canada.

Spike of Carex rossii.  Note the leaf-like lowest pistillate bract of the non-basal spike.

Ross' Sedge occurs in sandy and rocky soils in a range of habitats such as coniferous woodlands and prairies; in Michigan, it grows on rocky bluffs and slopes.

Carex rossii

The third new sedge of my trip, Back's Sedge (Carex backii), was found at Brockway Mountain after receiving a tip from Tony Reznicek.  To find this unique sedge, I drove in persistent rain to the approximate location of the plant, located it from the car, and hopped out for some very quick photographs.

Carex backii

Back's Sedge is morphologically similar to James' Sedge (Carex jamesii), putting it in section Phyllostachyae.  If the somewhat hidden spikelets were overlooked, it may look like a vegetative sedge in section Laxiflorae.

Carex backii.  Note the wide bracts that conceal the spikes.

Back's Sedge has a mostly northern distribution in the United States and is also known from Canada. In Michigan, it is found throughout much of the western Upper Peninsula, as well as in a handful of mostly northern Lower Peninsula counties. It grows in dry rocky and sandy ground, either in the open or in shade

Adirondack Foray, Part I

For the past couple of years, Bruce Behan has been trying to get me to join him on a trip to upstate New York to check out the flora in his old stomping grounds just south of the Canadian border.  Luckily, our timing finally worked out this year and I was able to join Bruce three days of botanizing in the Adirondacks in early June.  Our trip started on an interesting note, with a slow leak in the front passenger side tire of the rental car, caused by a screw, as it turns out, before we had even left South Bend.  After getting the tire patched, we were four hours behind schedule, but the next 13 hours of our trip to Blue Mountain Lake were smooth sailing until we were just 25 miles from our cabin and the car started shaking.  Upon stopping, we found that the same tire had gone flat.  No cell phone service, no light, it began to drizzle, and we were changing a tire at just before midnight.  The next morning we were able to find a service station in Tupper Lake, New York that found that we'd run over a nail that punctured the tire just inches from the spot that was patched less than 24 hours previously.  This second tire patching led to another half-day delay, but by the time the tire was patched things were looking up, as the steady rain had slowed to a sprinkle and we were on our way to Silver Lake Bog.

Silver Lake Bog

At the 98-acre Silver Lake Bog Preserve managed by The Nature Conservancy, we were able to take in Beech-Hemlock Mesic Forest, Northern White Cedar Swamp, Pine Bluff overlooking Silver Lake, and the namesake of the preserve, Black Spruce-Tamarack Bog.  The mesic forest had an understory heavily dominated by ferns and boreal herbaceous species, whereas Sphagnum mosses and species with an affinity to wet, low pH conditions covered the bog.  A few of the plants we saw included Striped Maple (Acer pensylvanicum), Mountain Maple (Acer spicatum), Small Pussytoes (Antennaria howellii ssp. petaloidea), Paper Birch (Betula papyrifera), Drooping Woodland Sedge (Carex arctata), Fibrousroot Sedge (Carex communis), Nodding Sedge (Carex gynandra), Boreal Bog Sedge (Carex magellanica ssp. irrigua), Bluebead (Clintonia borealis), Yellow Coralroot (Corallorhiza trifida), Moccasin Flower (Cypripedium acaule), Intermediate Woodfern (Dryopteris intermedia), Creeping Snowberry (Gaultheria hispidula), Western Oakfern (Gymnocarpium dryopteris), Catberry (Ilex mucronata), Tamarack (Larix laricina), Stiff Clubmoss (Lycopodium annotinum), Tree Groundpine (Lycopodium dendroideum), Pennsylvania Clubmoss (Lycopodium hickeyi), Threeleaf False Lily of the Valley (Maianthemum trifolium), Black Spruce (Picea mariana), Oldpasture Bluegrass (Poa saltuensis), Bog Labrador Tea (Rhododendron groenlandicum), Dwarf Red Blackberry (Rubus pubescens), White Goldenrod (Solidago bicolor), New York Fern (Thelypteris noveboracensis), Heartleaf Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia), Red Trillium (Trillium erectum), and Painted Trillium (Trillium undulatum). We also noted Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina), Veery (Catharus fuscescens), Nashville Warbler (Oreothlypis ruficapilla), Northern Parula (Setophaga americana), Black-throated Blue Warbler (Setophaga caerulescens), Black-throated Green Warbler (Setophaga virens), Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla), Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea), and White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis), nearly all by song as our eyes were on the vegetation.

Equisetum sylvaticum

Woodland Horsetail (Equisetum sylvaticum) was common in the Northern White Cedar Swamp understory.  This member of the prehistoric genus Equisetum is one of those plants that just gives you the feel of a boreal community.  Although not showy in the sense of flowering plants, an understory full of the branched branches radiating in whorls around the stems gives a lacy appearance that is beautiful and intriguing in its own right.  Woodland Horsetail grows in moist soils in open woods, shrubby areas, and meadows.  It has a circumpolar distribution; in North America it can be found throughout Canada and into the northern parts of the United States (but particularly in the northern Great Lakes and New England states).

Linnaea borealis

Also in the Northern White Cedar Swamp and along the boardwalk through the bog we encountered Twinflower (Linnaea borealis), a dwarf shrub with paired pink trumpet-shaped flowers.  This is another species that is more common to the north and that reaches its southern limits in the northern United States with the exception of higher elevation areas in the western part of the country, where the altitide provides a climate similar to that in Canada and the northwoods and allows its distribution to push further south.  Also circumpolar in distribution, this species is found in forests and boggy swamps, and it is no wonder after seeing the cute groundcover why Carl Linnaeus named this as his favorite plant species.

Spring Pond Bog

The following morning we travelled to Franklin County, New York and visited what was expected to be the highlight of the trip, Spring Pond Bog, another Nature Conservancy Property.  We started our hike in Mixed Mesic Forest and walked along an Esker before entering the enormous 500-acre Patterned Peatland.  Some of the more characteristic plants that we saw at this preserve include Striped Maple, Red Maple (Acer rubrum), Bog Rosemary (Andromeda polifolia var. glaucophylla), Northern Shorthusk (Brachyelytrum aristosum), Fibrousroot Sedge, Coastal Sedge (Carex exilis), Nerveless Woodland Sedge (Carex leptonervia), Boreal Bog Sedge, Threeseeded Sedge (Carex trisperma), Leatherleaf (Chamaedaphne calyculata), Threeleaf Goldthread (Coptis trifolia), Bunchberry Dogwood (Cornus canadensis), Intermediate Woodfern, New York Fern, Tussock Cottongrass (Eriophorum vaginatum var. spissum), Harlequin Blueglag (Iris versicolor), Sheep Laurel (Kalmia angustifolia), Bog Laurel (Kalmia polifolia), Tamarack, Threeleaf False Lily of the Valley, Black Spruce, Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus), Bog Labrador Tea, Starflower (Trientalis borealis), Painted Trillium, and two varieties of Lowbush Blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium var. angustifolium and V. angustifolium var. nigrum). Birds of interest included a cooperative Spruce Grouse (Falcipennis canadensis), Winter Wren (Troglodytes hiemalis), Alder Flycatcher (Empidonax alnorum), Nashville Warbler, Northern Parula, Palm Warbler (Setophaga palmarum), Ovenbird, and Blackburnian Warbler (Setophaga fusca).  As you will see below, we were not disappointed, as Spring Pond Bog produced what turned out to arguably be the highlight of the trip.

Sarracenia purpurea ssp. purpurea

Another of the characteristic species within the Patterned Peatland community was the carnivorous plant Purple Pitcherplant (Sarracenia purpurea ssp. purpurea).  Purple Pitcherplant is a regular part of plant communities such as bogs, fens, peatlands, and swamps, and I don't think I've ever seen it at a site and not taken a photo of it.  Try as I might, I was soon on hands and knees with my camera out to shoot this charismatic species.  Purple Pitcherplant is known from much of Canada and the eastern half of the United States.

Vaccinium oxycoccos

If you aren't familiar with the plant in the photograph above, you may be surprised to find that the fruit that develops when the flower matures is quite tasty and tart and known as Small Cranberry (Vaccinium oxycoccos).  This small and easily overlooked plant was common nestled amongst the Sphagnum mosses in the Patterned Peatland at Spring Pond Bog.  It is often mistaken for the similar Large Cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon), which is the cranberry that is cultivated for commercial use.  Small Cranberry has smaller fruits, leaves that are strongly rolled down along the margins (revolute) and thickly white underneath, and a tiny pair of reddish bracts that are usually attached below the middle of the flower stalk.  Large Cranberry, on the other hand, has larger fruits, leaves that are slightly rolled down along the margins and pale beneath, and a pair of small green bracts above the middle of the flower stalks.  In addition, flowers of Small Cranberry appear to be at the tips of the plants , whereas those of Large Cranberry are on stalks from the middle of the plant .  Small Cranberry grows in bogs, fens, muskegs, and in tundra.  It has a mostly circumboreal distribution, except that it is not known from the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.  Its range extends south into the northern parts of the United States, continuing to southern extents at high elevations along the Cascades and the Appalachians.

Carex oligosperma

If asked to name a sedge that occurs in bogs, my first response would be Fewseed Sedge (Carex oligosperma), so we were not surprised to find that this species was common in boggy areas at Spring Pond Bog.  Fewseed Sedge spreads by underground stems known as rhizomes, allowing it to form mats of vegetation.  This method of vegetative reproduction means that the plant puts most of its energy into its underground growth, so it doesn't flower and produce fruit as often as species that don't spread by rhizomes.  Since it often doesn't have flowers or fruit, it is easily overlooked.  In addition to bogs, Fewseed Sedge can be found in poor fens, marshes, and in openings in swamps through much of Canada, around the Great Lakes, and in the New England States; there is also a disjunct population in North Carolina.

Carex pauciflora

A less common sedge with a similar geographical range to that of Fewseed Sedge and that grows in similar plant communities is Fewflower Sedge (Carex pauciflora).  Finding this plant was the highlight of the trip for about an hour, until as you will see below its status was usurped.  Fewflower Sedge is often a small-stature sedge that is easily overlooked.  The mature perigynia are easily dislodged, and they can stick in animal fur or botanist socks, allowing them to be spread by a means not normally used by sedges.

Platanthera blephariglottis var. blephariglottis

As we were botanizing the Patterned Peatland we began seeing orchid leaves that we suspected belonged to White Fringed Orchid (Platanthera blephariglottis var. blephariglottis), but since this is generally a summer bloomer we didn't expect to see it in flower.  Because of the warm spring, however, we were able to find a few plants on 5 June on which a couple of flowers had opened, and sure enough it was White Fringed Orchid.  This beautiful orchid (don't judge it on my photo!) is known from the New England states and several adjacent Canadian provinces south and west to Virginia, Ohio, and Michigan; there is also a disjunct population recorded in central Illinois.  It grows in bogs and peaty meadows, as well as in pine savannas.

Okay, you've waited patiently, so now the trip highlight.  While gingerly walking through Sphagnum and sedges, I was lucky enough to glance down at the right time and to somehow distinguish the greenish-red lips of blooming Southern Twayblade (Listera australis) from the greenish-red sphagnum that was so abundant in the Patterned Peatland at Spring Pond Bog.  Bruce probably thought I'd been shot with how fast I dropped to the ground to see this 20 cm tall gem.  Upon getting down to its level, we were able to find several more individuals forming a small population. 

Listera australis

You may be thinking... "I thought Scott and Bruce were in New York and were seeing species with boreal distributions... what is this 'Southern' Twayblade all about?"  As its common name suggests, Southern Twayblade is mostly a species of the southern United States, found from Texas and Oklahoma to Florida (with a disjunct plant, one plant, found in Missouri recently by one Justin Thomas).  The scattered distribution of the species then continues north along the Atlantic coast, with a few county records as far north in the United States as Vermont; it is also known from a few Canadian provinces.  Southern Twayblade grows in bogs, marshes, and moist forests and can easily be overlooked.  In fact, the best that we've been able to tell, our observation of this small population represents a first record for Franklin County.  In addition, the species is considered endangered in New York, adding to the excitement of finding it.

Listera australis flower close-up, showing the long lip

The similar Heartleaf Twayblade (Listera cordata) is much more widespread and is found in similar habitats.  The lip on the flowers of Heartleaf Twayblade is smaller than that of Southern Twayblade, and the flowers overall are larger than those of Southern Twayblade.  We spent probably an hour photographing Southern Twayblade and taking measurements to justify our identification, as well as taking notes on the population so that we could report it to the appropriate individuals.

Stay tuned for Adirondack Foray, Part II, which will cover the end of our second day as well as our third day of botanizing in the Empire State.

What's That Sedge?

That's a question I hear fairly often, at least from the somewhat more botanically advanced people who join me in the field. To most, the leafy monocot in the photograph below probably looks like any other "grass," but in fact, it is a sedge, a member of the family Cyperaceae, an evolutionarily advanced family of plants that does not waste energy creating showy petals to attract pollinators. The genus Carex is a member of this family characterized by having perigynia (modified bracts around the flowers and fruits) that completely enclose the flowers except for a pore at the tip from which the style protrudes, and that usually has leaves along the stems (not just at the base of the plant). There are approximately 150 Carex here in the Chicago Region, but the one below is one of the easiest to identify.


You can tell that the sedge above is rhizomatous, meaning that it spreads by horizontal underground stems, leading to the presence of a large colony (as opposed to being cespitose, or clump forming). The coarse leaves are also long and arching, and they are green to yellow-green in color. Some sedges have pubescent leaves and/or sheaths, but this one does not. Many people would consider this one of the lake sedges.


Because this plant spreads so readily by underground stems, it often does not need to produce seed, and therefore does not flower. If you are lucky enough to find the flowers, shown above, you will notice that the perigynia are more than 5 mm long and pubescent, and that the female and male flowers are in separate elongated spikes. In the photograph above, the female, or pistillate, flowers are the yellowish structures, whereas the male, or staminate, flowers are the pinkish-brown structures at the top of the photo.


If these characteristics weren't enough, or if you couldn't find flowers, all you would need to do to correctly identify this sedge would be to check out the ventral sides of the leaf sheaths. As shown above, there is a dark red-purple v- or y-shaped area at the top of the inner band of the sheath. All of these characters point to this sedge as being Hairy-fruited Lake Sedge, Carex trichocarpa. Hairy-fruited Lake Sedge can be found in calcareous meadows, wet prairies, and marshes throughout much of the northern half of the eastern United States, as well as in the adjacent Canadian provinces.

Only The Coolest Sedge In The World

You could say I'm a bit of a sedgeaholic. I've seen a lot of sedges in my time. I've gone out of my way to see certain sedges on more than one occasion, in fact. I've even pushed the limits of Lindsay's patience by staying out too late looking at sedges. It's a disease, I tell you... a downward spiral.

There is an amazing amount of morphological diversity in this graminoid family (Cyperaceae), and particularly in the multi-sectioned genus Carex, which has been divided into approximately 2000 species worldwide and almost 500 species in North America. Until this summer, Waterfall's Sedge (Carex latebracteata), a Ouachita endemic with inflated bracts that conceal the spikes, was my hands-down favorite. Others high on my list include: Golden Sedge (Carex aurea), a crowd-pleaser with tiny, orange, pumpkin-like perigynia; Ravenfoot Sedge (Carex crus-corvi), a spiky-inflorescenced gem with long-beaked perigynia that look like little golf tees; Northern Long Sedge (Carex folliculata), a charmer with inflated, gradually tapering perigynia in unique-looking spikelets; False Hop Sedge (Carex lupuliformis), an elusive yet distinct character with diamond-shaped achenes that have quite knobby angles; Painted Sedge (Carex picta), a gorgeous dioecious species with showy scales that make it a strong candidate for native landscaping; and Little Green Sedge (Carex viridula), one of the only sedges with a common name nearly as adorable as the inflorescence itself.


However, upon seeing the graceful beaut pictured above and below in Douglas County, Wisconsin this August, I could only fall to my knees and gaze appreciatively at the long awned chocolate-brown scales that much exceed the suborbicular perigynia, assembled into a pistillate spikelet somewhat reminiscent of a rattlesnake rattle. This is Boreal Bog Sedge (Carex magellanica ssp. irrigua, formerly known as Carex paupercula).


Boreal Bog Sedge, a member of Carex section Limosae, is often found with Sphagnum moss in bogs, fens, and marshes of Greenland, Canada, New England, the northern tier of Great Lakes States, a few western states, and Eurasia. The specific epithet magellanica is a reference to the Strait of Magellan, a narrow strip of water near the southern tip of South America. So how did this northern species come to be named for a southern hemisphere passageway? Carex magellanica is a bipolar disjunct species, meaning that it is found at both extremes of the globe - the northern polar regions and the southern polar regions - but not in between. Plants in the cool temperate areas of South America are known as Carex magellanica ssp. magellanica. This unique global distribution, in combination with the elegance of its inflorescence, clearly makes Carex magellanica the coolest sedge in the world.

Sedgin'

This afternoon I wound up in an interesting seep/forested fen while doing some sedgin' at Potato Creek State Park in North Liberty, Indiana.


I realized that I don't take enough sedge photos, so I decided to photograph the inflorescences of three of the more interesting sedges I saw today.


The sedge above may look superficially like the common Awlfruit Sedge (Carex stipata), but in fact, this is actually Smoothsheath Sedge (Carex laevivaginata). The best way to tell these two species apart is by looking at the sheath. As the Latin and common names imply, the sheaths of Smoothsheath Sedge are... you guessed it... smooth (ain't botany easy?!?!); those of Awlfruit Sedge are cross-puckered. In addition, the sheaths of Smoothsheath Sedge possess thickened ridges at the summits, whereas those of Awlfruit Sedge lack this feature.


With gracefully dangling spikelets and terminal spikelets that are pistillate at the apex, Drooping Sedge (Carex prasina, above) is one of my favorites. This species could potentially be confused with the sedge in my previous post, Purple-sheathed Graceful Sedge (Carex gracillima), but the perigynia of Drooping Sedge are beaked, whereas those of Purple-sheathed Graceful Sedge are not. Drooping Sedge also lacks the red-purple pigmentation on the basal sheaths that Purple-sheathed Graceful Sedge possesses. The foliage of Drooping Sedge is a soft blue-gray-green, adding to its charm.


My best find of the day is shown above. This is Eastern Rough Sedge (Carex scabrata), State Endangered, and only known from a few locations in Indiana. The perigynia of this species are short pubescent, but the leaves lack hairs. There aren't really any species around here with which it can be confused. American Woollyfruit Sedge (Carex lasiocarpa var. americana) and Woolly Sedge (Carex pellita) both also have the combination of pubescent perigynia and glabrous leaves, but the leaves of Eastern Rough Sedge are more than 5 mm wide, whereas those of the woollyfruit sedges are narrower.

Those who say that sedges are not attractive are just plain wrong.

Surprise After Surprise

Last September, I sampled transects through our 11-acre property so that I can track changes to the plant community over time. During my sampling, I came across several populations of Purple Twayblade (Liparis liliifolia), the second orchid species documented on our property. Because this is a spring/summer-flowering orchid, I made a note on my calendar to get back out in mid-May to the spot where I initially discovered it. As you will see below, I was not disappointed.


Purple Twayblade grows in a range of ecological conditions, ranging from dry woods to pine plantations to shrubby fields to savannas to mesic forests. It is even often found in fields that were recently cropped; however, it doesn't hang around long in these recovering fields. There seems to be a period of time when Purple Twayblade thrives, between the initial colonization of a field after cultivation and the heavy shade and thick leaf litter created by forest trees thirty to forty years later. In the heart of its range, Purple Twayblade currently seems to be increasing in abundance, possibly as a result of ever increasing anthropogenic disturbances.


I've read several accounts that note that the flowers of Purple Twayblade are not showy, or that they are inconspicuous. I wholeheartedly disagree. Until this year, I'd never paid close attention to its flowers... but have a look at the two close-ups below. Those are some of the craziest looking flowers around.


You can see the three sepals, three petals, and reproductive column in the photos above and below. The sepals are the ~1/2 inch long whitish structures. The petals are the pale purple structures. The two lateral petals are filiform; the third petal is the broad, circular or heart-shaped lip. The reproductive column is just above the lip. In some of the photos above and in the photo below, you can also see the shiny, waxy leaves for which the genus is named; Liparis is from the Greek word for "fatty" or "greasy."


When we bought our property in spring of 2007, I was pretty convinced that the land was a mundane pasture of Hungarian Brome (Bromis inermis), Tall Goldenrod (Solidago altissima), Kentucky Bluegrass (Poa pratensis), and Tall Fescue (Schedonorus phoenix). Purple Twayblade was one of the surprises on our property (but maybe it shouldn't have been, given the history of our property and the ecology of the species). Ragged Fringed Orchid (Platanthera lacera) was another. Swamp Rose (Rosa palustris), Golden Ragwort (Packera aurea), and Humped Bladderwort (Utricularia gibba) were also nice surprises. Recently, I've also found Inflated Narrow-leaf Sedge (Carex grisea), Redbud (Cercis canadensis), Sweet Crab Apple (Malus coronaria), and American Plum (Prunus americana) on our land. And today, while heading out to photograph Purple Twayblade, I found a couple of clumps of the dainty Purple-sheathed Graceful Sedge (Carex gracillima), shown below.


Our property plant list is up to 182 species, and it seems like I see a new plant every week. Our bird list stands at 107 species. There's no telling what surprise we will encounter next.

Thinking Back (And Ahead) To Warmer Temperatures

Boy, was it cold here yesterday; my car thermometer read 6 degrees Farenheit Saturday morning! The only way for me to get through cold snaps like this in the middle of winter is to look back at photographs I took the previous summer, when the landscape was green and the days were long.


On 11 July 2009, Tony Troche and I spent a couple of hours botanizing at Round Lake Nature Preserve in Starke County, Indiana. Our best botanizing at the preserve came in a rich calcareous wet prairie adjacent to the lake and marsh communities.


Shrubby Cinquefoil (Dasiphora fruticosa), an excellent indicator of calcareous soils, was abundant. Walking was cumbersome in places because of the low shrubby habit of this species and trying to avoid Poison Sumac (Toxicodendron radicans).


Winged Loosestrife (Lythrum alatum), the plant known by Dioscorides as "lytron" (and hence the origin of the genus name Lythrum), was a common forb throughout the wet prairie. This is another species characteristic of wet areas with pH of 7 or greater.


Sedges were common at this location, with one of the more abundante being Dioecious Sedge (Carex sterilis).


An interesting sedge that I have only seen at a handful of locations was White Beaksedge (Rhynchospora alba), a species of acidic and alkaline soils. The white spikelets make this species unique among our beaksedges.


One of our biggest highlights, though, was the highly charismatic Tuberous Grasspink (Calopogon tuberosus). The flowers of most orchid species, including all of them around here except for grasspink, twist when the flower is opening so that the lip is at the bottom, a process known as resupination. In Tuberous Grasspink, the lip is above the rest of the flower.


"No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn." -Hal Borland

An Undeniably Showy Sedge

"Sedges have Edges." That's the saying that all budding botanists learn in their first college botany course to help them remember how to differentiate a sedge from a grass or a rush. This saying is referring to the fact that the culms, or stems, of most (but not all) sedge species are triangular in cross-section. While there are several better ways to distinguish between the monocot families, this is apparently the character that academics thought would be easiest to teach, as the others often require use of a handlens and some patience. For example... Grass (Poaceae) flowers are modified into glumes subtending lemmas and paleas, within which the pistil and stamens are located. Rush (Juncaceae) flowers are comprised of tepals (petals and sepals) surrounding the stamens and pistil, with the structure one expects of a typical flower. Sedge (Cyperaceae) flowers are modified into scales subtending pistils, stamens, or both, sometimes with a corolla modified into bristles. When the ovary of a sedge flower matures to fruit, it is called an achene. In Carex, the largest genus within the Cyperaceae, the flower and later the achene are surrounded by a papery sac, called a perigynium, which is thought to be a highly modified bract.

Bristlystalked Sedge (Carex leptalea)

Unfortunately, the general public doesn't see sedges as anything more than "grass." The perigynia are often brown or green and small, and most often go unnoticed by the untrained eye. The most conspicuous portion of the plant is often the long, narrow, grass-like leaves. Personally, I disagree with the general public, and think that most sedges are quite intriguing and beautiful, once you get to know them.

Northeastern Sedge (Carex cryptolepis)

Yellowfruit Sedge (Carex annectens v. xanthocarpa)

While some will argue that most sedges are not showy, there is one sedge in North America that truly stands out from the rest. Instead of having brown or green perigynia, Golden Sedge (Carex aurea) has round, fleshy, orange perigynia (when mature) that look like tiny pumpkins! It is unknown why the perigynia of this species have evolved to this form, but some speculate that this may assist the plant in being dispersed by birds.

Golden Sedge (Carex aurea)

Golden Sedge can be found growing in wet, alkaline soils throughout most of the continent, with the exception of the southeastern United States and extreme northern Canada.

Who could think that this unique little plant is not attractive?

Loblolly Marsh Bioblitz

This past Friday and Saturday, I attended my third bioblitz of the year, this time at Loblolly Marsh in Jay County, Indiana. As recently as 1997, Loblolly (apparently named for the "stinking river" that once ran through the site) was agricultural field. Thanks to the tireless work of many, and especially Ken Brunswick, subsurface drainage tiles have been removed and what was once wetland is now wetland again. There is also tallgrass prairie in the restored areas, and trees have been planted in select locations to restore forest.

Much of our 24-hour biological inventory took place within these restored communities, but a portion of the inventory occurred in a natural oak-hickory woodland. Our botanical inventory yielded approximately 360 vascular plant species. Some of these were planted or seeded, but the majority were either in the natural woodland or were restored from the existing seed bank after a more natural hydrologic regime was restored.

I was so busy writing down plants and looking for new ones that I didn't have time to take many photos. Those that I did take were mostly of plants along the road.

This is Troublesome Sedge, Carex molesta. I find it often this member of the Sedge family (Cyperaceae) in ditches, along roads, and in former agricultural fields that are naturally revegetating. Although somewhat weedy, this native sedge really is a beautiful plant. It can be found throughout much of eastern North America, in the Great Plains, and in California.

This was a new one for me in Indiana. Pinkladies (or Showy Evening Primrose), Oenothera speciosa, is not native in Indiana, but has persisted along the road at Loblolly Marsh for many years. These flowers are a good three inches across, making a colony of them nothing short of showy. I usually think that plants with flowers this large are too flashy; however, this one doesn't fit in this category, as I find it quite attractive. Pinkladies is a member of the Evening Primrose family (Onagraceae).

Limestone Wild Petunia, Ruellia strepens, is a common plant in northeast Indiana, but it is only known from two historic collections at a single location in northcentral/northwest Indiana. Range-wide, it is know from Nebraska south to Texas and east to the East Coast. I have only ever seen this member of the Acanthus family (Acanthaceae) growing in calcareous soils or in shallow soil over limestone (such as on glades).

The highlight for me in the woods was American Columbo, Frasera caroliniensis, a member of the Gentian family (Gentianaceae). I've only seen this species a couple of times before, and it was not flowering either of those times. American Columbo forms a large, distinctive basal rosette of leaves, making it easily identifiable prior to bolting to a height of up to 8 feet tall. And those flowers are something else, too. Now that's an attractive flower! To see a famous photo of the plant in its full glory, click here.

We had a wonderful time at the bioblitz, and there was a good public turnout as well. While one goal for a bioblitz is to obtain a biological inventory for a site, another goal is public involvement and education. Students and families come to the bioblitz to join the inventory teams, find out how scientists work, and learn about the diversity of life that can be found in a single 24-hour period right in their backyards. It's great to see kids get involved and get excited about nature, and it gives me hope that there may be a next generation of naturalists on the horizon.