Trees of Greenbelt: Emphasis on bark (updated).

Lately, my husband Owen has been interested in identifying trees around Greenbelt after they've lost their leaves. He has learned a lot about the bark of some of the most common local trees.

Here is the poster he made, after carefully tracing and drawing images of bark. (The images of bark of the two pine trees and the maple are photographs, and the others are pencil drawings.) I think that it's beautiful! But we'd both be interested in any suggestions or corrections that you might have. Share them in the comments below.

Update: Owen has edited the poster, after thinking about one person's comment that the Virginia Pine bark looked more like Pitch Pine. He went back to the woods to take more photographs of Virginia Pine and Pitch Pine specimens, and he decided that he agreed with the commenter. The new version of the poster includes both species.

Here is a link to Google Drive, where you may view and download the full resolution file (about 28 MB).

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2B0e8nvmDLqQ0MxN3JXbXpYWGM/view?usp=sharing

If you would rather email me directly for the full resolution file, or a smaller file with fewer pixels, you are welcome to contact me at demosgen@gmail.com.


Owen has recently updated his earlier tree identification poster (emphasizing leaves) to include a more correct and complete discussion of pine needles. You can find that poster here.

Leaves of Greenbelt poster (updated).

My husband, Owen, has recently developed an interest in tree identification. He collected fall leaves in the Greenbelt North Woods, scanned them, printed out the images, and then traced the outlines and veins on tracing paper.

We did our best to identify the leaves, but if you have any corrections or suggestions, please let us know in the comments below. (Update 1: This version is edited to include the correct botanical name of the Chestnut Oak and some clarification on the Sugar Maple leaf. Update 2: This version has an updated discussion of pine needles, and the longer pine needles have now been identified Pitch Pine needles, instead of Loblolly Pine.)

If you're interested in receiving the full resolution version (5 MB) via email, let me know in the comments section.

Late spring at Buddy Attick Park.

In an earlier post, I attempted to identify the blooming plants I found in late April at Buddy Attick Park in Greenbelt, Maryland. This time, I have posted photographs taken one month later, on the last day of May.

I have tried to identify the plants correctly, but I'm not a botanist or a horticulturist. If you have other ideas about identification, please share them with me. The Plant Identification facebook group has been helpful in identifying several of these. 

The water lilies are in bloom near the peninsula. This one is Nuphar lutea, commonly called Yellow Pond Lily, Yellow Water Lily, Spatterdock, or Brandy Bottle. Every year, I wait for the blossoms to open wide, but they always seem to be partly closed.

Nuphar lutea (Yellow Pond Lily)

                          
I particularly like the White Water Lily or Fragrant Water Lily,  Nymphaea odorata.

Nymphaea odorata (White Water Lily or Fragrant Water Lily)

 Here you can see both the Yellow Pond Lily and the White Water Lily plants covering much of the water between the peninsula and the southern bank.

 
I often hear frogs at the lake, but rarely see them, so this was a fun surprise. My guess is that it is an American Bullfrog, Lithobates catesbeianus. It looked about 6 inches long.

The Sweet Bay Magnolias, Magnolia virginiana, are blooming on the peninsula.

Magnolia virginiana (Sweetbay Magnolia)

 

So are the blackberry brambles. Later, they will produce edible, sour berries. There are many blackberry species, all of the Rubus genus. I don't know the species of this one.

Rubus sp. (Blackberry)

Wineberries (Rubus phoenicolasius) are also in the park. You can see the distinctive hairy looking buds and stems. These berries will be similar to raspberries, but shinier and slightly sticky with a mild, tart flavor.

Rubus phoenicolasius (Wineberry)

Tulip Trees (Liriodendron tulipifera), also known as Yellow Poplars or Tulip Poplars, are abundant in the park. They are tall trees with fantastic orange and chartreuse-colored blossoms. You've probably seen the petals scattered along the path. Later in the year, the dried seeds will twirl in the wind. Here is a picture of a blossom. (Naturally, it is one that fell to the ground. Tulip Poplars have weak branches, and pieces of them are always falling off.)

Liriodendron tulipifera (Tulip Tree, Tulip Poplar, Yellow Poplar) blossom and leaves.

This wonderful shrub is Euonymus americanus. It has several common names, including American Strawberry Bush, Bursting Heart, and Hearts-A-Burstin', and . . . Hearts-Bustin-With-Love. I am not making this up. Go to the wikipedia article, look at the picture of the seeds, and you'll see why several of its common names have a bursting heart theme. The bright red seed pod comes later though. Now, we have these delicate, rather odd looking blossoms.

Euonymus americanus (American Strawberry Bush or Hearts-A-Bustin')

I am in love with Blue-eyed Grass, Sisrynchium angustifoluium. The blossoms are small, not much more than 1 cm in diameter, and the leaves blend in with the surrounding grass. This wildflower is not a true grass, but a member of the iris family.

Sisyrinchium angustifolium (Blue-eyed Grass)

 It's easy to walk by without noticing that they're there.

Sisyrinchium angustifolium (Blue-eyed Grass)

Speaking of the iris family, these Yellow Flags (Iris pseudacorus) growing at the edge of the water are in full bloom. They are not native, but an old-world import. Some sources say that they can be invasive, but these do not appear to be taking over.

Iris pseudacorus (Yellow Flag)

A close-up of Iris pseudacorus.

I hadn't planned on taking pictures of clover, but I was drawn in by this healthy Red Clover (Trifolium pratense) growing at the western edge of the lake at the dam. Of course, it's more of a dark pink than a true red.

Trifolium pratense (Red Clover)

And if you look closely, you can find this tiny yellow member of the same genus. It looks to me like Hop Trefoil or Low Hop Clover (Trifolium campestre). 

 

Trifolium campestre (Hop Trefoil or Low Hop Clover)

Vetches are in the same family as clovers; both are in the legume and pea family Fabaceae. This one is Narrow-leaved Vetch, Vicia angustifolia. The photo is a close-up and blossoms are quite small.

Vicia angustifolia (Narrow-leaved Vetch)

In the summer, these Marsh Mallows (Althea officinalis) growing at the edge of the water will produce large pink or white blossoms. The old stems and seed pods from last year give you an idea of how tall the plants will grow. According to the wikipedia article, the root has been used for medicinal purposes since antiquity. And here is what I almost can't believe: The flavor extract from the root of the plant was traditionally used in a confection which eventually evolved into today's marshmallows.

Althaea officinalis (Marsh Mallow), not yet in bloom.

Althaea officinalis, old stems from last season with new growth.

The Mountain Laurels, Kalmia latifolia, are in full bloom. The photos do not do them justice, and I recommend that you visit them in person.

Kalmia latifolia (Mountain Laurel)

Near the spot at the end of the dam where the water from the lake trickles into a small creek, I was delighted to find this Catalpa tree in bloom. Later, it will develop ridiculously long seed pods.

Catalpa sp.

Catalpa sp., buds

Blooming plants at Buddy Attick Park.

Late April is a lovely time of year to see blooming things at Buddy Attick Park in Greenbelt, Maryland. I wanted to document the blossoms I've seen, along with a few non-blooming plants or soon-to-be-blooming plants. All of the photographs in this post were taken at Buddy Attick park in the last few days. (I am not a horticulturist or a botanist, so you are welcome to comment on or correct my attempt at plant identification.)

Growing near the East entrance are these beautiful Virginia Bluebells, or Mertensia virginica. There aren't very many of them, perhaps because they are competing with non-native invasive plants in the area. They were originally planted here by Greenbelt Public Works.

Mertensia virginica  (Virginia Bluebells) 

Nearby, I found a few Wild Geraniums, also called Crane's Bill. There are hundreds of species in the Geranium family, so I'm hesitant to make a definitive statement about the Latin name, but this one seems to be Geranium maculatum.

Geranium maculatum (Wild Geranium, Crane's Bill)

Growing close to little bridge near the East entrance, the Mayapples (Podophyllum peltatum) are plentiful. The flowers aren't quite open yet, but if you look carefully at the photo below, you can see a round bud hiding under the foliage. It will open into a nice white blossom.

Podophyllum peltatum (Mayapple)

If I were a small elf, I would want to take shelter under the umbrella-like foliage.

Also near the small bridge by the East entrance is this wonderful tree. It has dainty white bell-shaped blossoms.

My best guess is that this is one of the Silverbells, a small genus of several species. I'd say that this is the Carolina Silverbell, but I'm not sure. If you know, tell me in the comments.

A Carolina Silverbell?

Another tree that is in bloom now is Cercis canadensis or Eastern Redbud. I've always thought that these trees have a funny, charming shape, with their sort of stringy looking branches.

 Here's a close-up of the blossoms. Redbud leaves are heart-shaped. Of course, they're tiny at this time of year, while the trees are still covered in blooms, but they'll get bigger as the season progresses.

Cercis canadensis (Eastern Redbud)

On the peninsula are several Sweet Bay Magnolias. They are not in bloom yet, but when the blossoms open in a few weeks, you'll want to stop by just to smell them. They are extremely fragrant, with a scent that is lemony and sweet and spicy all at once.

I'm getting a bit giddy thinking about the fragrance. I hope that I don't lose my sense of smell anytime soon.

Magnolia Virginiana (Sweetbay Magnolia)

The Flowering Dogwoods are in bloom now, and they appear to be near their peak. Except that they're not really in bloom! Technically what we think of as the flower petals are bracts. The true blossoms are those little greenish things in the middle. In this photo, you can see that those are not open yet.

Cornus florida (Flowering Dogwood)

These wild azaleas just coming into bloom are Rhododendron periclymenoids, sometimes called Pinxter Flowers. 

Rhododendron periclymenoids (Pinxter Flower)

Buds on a Rhododendron periclymenoides.

The mountain laurel is not blooming yet, but it will probably start blooming in a few weeks. They are plentiful near marker nine on the trail. When they're in bloom, they have clusters of wonderful pentagonal blossoms, pinkish white in color. Here's the wikipedia article, with a photo of the blooms.

Kalmia latifolia (Mountain Laurel)

The Iris pseudocorus, or Yellow Flag, will also bloom later in the spring. It loves very wet conditions, so it grows at the edges of the lake. This is not a native plant, and it's considered invasive in some areas. At our lake, it doesn't seem to be a problem, at least to my untrained eye.

Iris pseudacorus (Yellow flag)

But the park definitely has a problem with some invasive plants, like the ones below:

Vinca minor (Periwinkle) 

Alliaria petiolata (Garlic Mustard)

A large group of Ranunculus ficaria (Lesser Celandine)

The invasive Lesser Celandine, shown here, is easily confused with Marsh Marigold, a non-invasive native. An easy way to tell them apart is that the Marsh Marigold has five petals, compared with Lesser Celandine's eight.

A Japanese Honeysuckle vine (Lonicera japonica) taking advantage of a tree.

                                        

Hedera Helix (English Ivy) is an enemy of the park.

And, of course, Poison Ivy is a native plant, but it makes the woods a land mine for super-sensitive people like my husband. In this photo, the new leaves are shiny and reddish. They'll look greener and less shiny later in the season.

Toxicodendron radicans (Poison Ivy)

This tiny blue flower grows in patches as a delightful weed. It's commonly called Bird's Eye Speedwell, and I am almost confident that its Latin name is Veronica persica. The Speedwells can be confusing because they have so many common names, and more than one species share the common name of Bird's Eye Speedwell.

Veronica persica (Bird's Eye Speedwell)

You likely have Ground-ivy (Glechoma hederacea) somewhere in your backyard. It's everywhere. The scalloped leaves have a yummy spicy scent, and its blossoms are so tiny that it was hard to get a good shot with my camera. Here's a link to the wikipedia article if you want to see a better close-up.

Glechoma hederacea (Ground-ivy), shown here with English Ivy.

And I used to confuse Purple Deadnettle, shown below, with Ground-ivy, though they're clearly different. (Ground-ivy also resembles Bugleweed, of the genus Ajuga.)

Lamium purpureum (Purple deadnettle)

 Here are two species of the Buttercup family:

Ranunculus acris (Common Buttercup)

Ranunculus abortivus (Kidneyleaf Buttercup, Small-flowered Buttercup) 

I'm guessing that this is Daisy Fleabane (Erigeron annuus), though I can't be entirely sure it's not Philadelphia Fleabane.

  Erigeron annuus (Daisy Fleabane)?

This almost looks like a photograph of trees in fall color, but it was taken yesterday. Brightly colored seeds give some trees a red or orange glow.

Here is a close-up of seeds on a Red Maple tree. If you look carefully, you can see the last little bits of the red flowers that were in full bloom a few weeks ago. The Red Maple, Acer rubrum, seems to be the best represented species of maple in the woods around here.

Acer rubrum (Red Maple) seeds.

Here are some Skunk Cabbages, Symplocarpus foetidus, which thrive in wet places. The Skunk Cabbage flowers are also finished now. The blossoms are odd looking things, spotted brown and purple, and they come up from the ground before the foliage appears. You can see a photo of a Skunk Cabbage blossom in the link here.

Symplocarpus foetidus (Skunk Cabbage)

This thornless shrub is Jetbead or Rhodotypos scandens. (In the original post, I was unable to identify it, but a friend posted it on the Plant Identification facebook group.) It is non-native, and it can be invasive. 

Rhodotypos scandens (Jetbead)

This tree, growing on the path that leads to the peninsula, is still unidentified. It looks like a Cherry Tree to me, but I'm not sure. If it is a Cherry, I don't know which species it would be.

A Cherry Tree?

The bark of the mystery tree.