New Things under the Sun (of July 2016) (cont.)
Here are more singularities from July 2016.
New to the Buffers:
1.) In July 2016, a new species of milkweed appeared where I had removed Crown Vetch from the Creek Buffer, just west of the bridge: It is Green Milkweed, Asclepias viridiflora. The two individuals pictured here show how variable the leaves can be--one has leaves shaped like potato chips and the other has lance-shaped leaves. What the two sets of leaves have in common is wavy edges.
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| Green Milkweed Asclepias viridiflora. Native perennial. Volunteer. Creek Buffer July 2016 |
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| Green Milkweed. Volunteer. Road Field Buffer. July 2016 |
The potato-chip individual was close to the bridge, the lance-leaf one far away, bearing out what Michael Haddock says about this species: It tends to appear as single individuals, not as patches.
2.) On July 28, 2016, I found a Monarch caterpillar on the buffer!
Last July, we had gorgeous stands of Common Milkweed. Monarch butterflies are supposedly in trouble because their caterpillars eat milkweed and there isn't enough milkweed. So I was glad about our abundance of milkweed, and I searched the milkweeds hopefully, looking for signs of munching--but in vain.
No munchers! (In 2015, I wouldn't find Monarch caterpillars until the Swamp Milkweed bloomed in August.)
Last July, we had gorgeous stands of Common Milkweed. Monarch butterflies are supposedly in trouble because their caterpillars eat milkweed and there isn't enough milkweed. So I was glad about our abundance of milkweed, and I searched the milkweeds hopefully, looking for signs of munching--but in vain.
No munchers! (In 2015, I wouldn't find Monarch caterpillars until the Swamp Milkweed bloomed in August.)
This July was similar. We were surrounded by tall, healthy Common Milkweeds, with thick, luscious leaves--but where were the caterpillars? Not on the Common Milkweeds!
But there was one exception. On one Common Milkweed in the Plum Buffer next to the driveway I found one Monarch caterpillar. From a distance I could see hopeful signs--holes in the upper leaves and frass on the leaves below. When I looked closely, sure enough, there on a milkweed leaf was Mr. Pillar, munching away.
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| Monarch caterpillar (Danaus plexippus) Plum Buffer, along driveway, July 2016 The head faces downward. The other photo shows the rear facing upward. |
The front end of this caterpillar resembles the back end.
Here the head is facing downward, while the rear, with its fake "antennae" and "eyes," faces upward.
3.) This year I recognized it! Maple-leaf Goosefoot was in a new location on the buffer.
Last July, I spent the longest time trying to figure out the identity of Chenopodium simplex, Maple-leaf Goosefoot, all because the books I consulted called the flowers green, while they looked white to me!
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| Maple-leaf Goosefoot Chenopodium simplex, native annual. Volunteer in the Creek Buffer July 2016 |
Last year, this native annual grew on the northeast end of the Creek Buffer; this year it volunteered on the south end, just east of the bridge.
In July 2016, I knew it right away and could simply appreciate its lovely structure.
4.) Cup Plant bloomed on the Creek Buffer!
Cup Plants (Silphium perfoliatum) have been volunteering around the Guest House for a number of years. Germinating easily from seed, these native perennials have been claiming more and more territory every year.
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| Cup Plant, Guest House, July 2015. Native perennial, volunteer. The red dots are aphids. |
In July 2015, Cup Plants by the Guest House hosted tiny red aphids.
This year, Cup Plant crossed the creek!
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| Cup Plant Creek Buffer July 28, 2016 |
On July 28, 2016, I found this single Cup Plant blooming on the southeast end of the Creek Buffer, in a spot that just a few months earlier had hosted a monoculture of Crown Vetch.
If my experience with this species at the Guest House is any indication, it won't stay single for long!
Its preferred habitat is low, moist areas, so it should be even happier here than in the rocky, hilly area by the Guest House.
Its species name--perfoliatum--refers to the way the stem goes through the "cup" made by the leaf bases, united at the stem.
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| Here the "cup" of Cup Plant holds water from a recent rain. Creek Buffer, July 28, 2016 |
How encouraging it is to find Cup Plant volunteering where the Crown Vetch was! We can push aggressive non-native species back, but without the help of native perennials, coming in to hold the ground, the fight against invasives would be difficult if not impossible.
5.) At the north end of our property, Green Ash trees have been volunteering, effectively extending the gallery forest from the Creek Buffer into the Field Buffer. One effect of a wider tree-span is a wider perching area for cicadas.
The cicadas have always been loudest in the trees along the creek.
On July 23, 2016, I found this cicada calling from an ash tree. In this clip, the Creek Buffer cicadas can be heard from the beginning, while this individual gets settled in the tree. Once he's settled, we can hear him adding to the din!
6.) Another native perennial new to the Creek Buffer is the moisture-loving Maryland Figwort, Scrophularia marilandica. It too is a new resident of what used to be Crown Vetch territory.
It is a very pretty plant!
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| Maryland Figwort, a moisture and shade-loving plant, blooms in the Creek Buffer on July 28, 2016. |
Here it is on July 28, 2016, blooming among the trees and Giant Ragweed of the Creek Buffer. Its blossoms appear as tiny red berries against the green.
It also came in where Crown Vetch was, just a few months ago.
It appeared this year in the Toe of the Creek Field as well--so more on this species in the next post.
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