Wednesday, July 14, 2010

July 2010, week 2

Welcome to week three of "Name That Native", the native plant identification blog from the Blomquist Garden of Native Plants at the Sarah P. Duke Gardens. This week's focus will be on native vines. Enjoy!

1) Campsis radicans TRUMPET CREEPER Bignoniaceae- Trumpet Creeper Family
Common native vine, climbing or trailing habit. Pinnately compound leaves w/ 7-15 leaflets, leaflets ovate and coarsely serrate, 1-3 inches long. Flower corolla an orange-red funnel 2-3 inches long. Fruit a gray-brown capsule 6-7 inches long. Younger vines with smooth bark, older vines reaching 5 inches in diameter or more, covered in coarse, light brown bark. Blooms in June and July in woods, wood edges and disturbed sites.

2) Bignonia capreolata CROSS VINE Bignoniaceae- Trumpet Creeper Family
Common woody vine, climbing or trailing habit. Leaves pinnately compound. Climbs using tendrils. Glabrous leaflets often semi-evergreen, 3-6 inches long, lanceolate, often with slightly cordate base. Flowers in axillary clusters, corolla reddish-orange tube, often yellow within. Fruit a flattened capsule to 6 inches or more. Blooms april-May in mixed woodlands.

3) Hibiscus moscheutos ROSE MALLOW Malvaceae- Mallow Family
Tall native perennial to 6 feet. Resident of swampy meadows and ditches. Leaves ovate-lanceolate to 8 inches long, unlobed or with two lateral lobes. Pubescent above and below. Flowers in leaf axils on upper stem. Petals usually white, sometimes pink with reddish patch at base. Fruit a pubescent capsule to 1.5 inches. Blooms June-August.

4) Vitis rotundifolia MUSCADINE Vitaceae- Grape Family
Common native vine of woods and wood edges. Conspicuously flaky bark on older stems. Climbs using tendrils. Continuous pith. Leaves ovate to slightly cordate, usually glabrous, coarsely serrate. Flowers May-June. Fruit a purple-black berry seen in mid-late summer.

5) Pycnanthemum tenuifolium NARROW-LEAVED MOUNTAIN MINT Lamiaceae- Mint
Family
Aromatic native perennial to three feet. Leaves thin, linear, highly aromatic when rubbed or crushed. Blooms a group of flat corymbs. Individual corollas whitish-pink. Seeds black. Blooms June-August in open areas, meadows, pastures, road edges.

6) Justicia americana AMERICAN WATER-WILLOW Acanthaceae- Acanthus Family
Native perennial of stream and riverbottoms. Narrow, linear leaves to 10 inches. Plants to 3 feet. Commonly found growing in standing or moving water. Purple-white flowers often found in pairs fused back-to-back. Blooms June-October.

7) Silphium compositum ROSINWEED Asteraceae- Aster Family
Tall native perennial to 10 feet or more. Basal leaves large, alternate, unlobed or palmately lobed, glabrous or pubescent. Cauline leaves often absent or much reduced. Paniculate flowerheads numerous, held at end of largely leafless stem. Blooms May-September along wood edges, old fields and roadways.

8) Asclepias verticillata WHORLED MILKWEED Asclepidaceae- Milkweed Family
Native perennial of dry woods, roadsides and meadows. Stems to 30 inches. Leaves narrow, linear, whorled around stem, 1-2 inches long. Greenish-white flowers in umbels on upper stem- often tinged with pink-purple coloration. Blooms June-September.

9) Ruellia carolinensis CAROLINA WILD PETUNIA Acanthaceae- Acanthus Family
Common native perennial to 1.5 feet. Leaves ovate to elliptic, pubescent to 4 inches long. Flowers form from glomerules in middle and upper leaf axils. Violet corolla trumpet-shaped. Blooms May to September in dry fields and woods.

10) Rudbeckia triloba BROWNEYED SUSAN Asteraceae- Aster Family
Native perennial to 3 feet. One to many stems per crown. Ovate leaves, lower stem leaves usually 3-lobed, inspiring the specific epithet. Upper leaves usually unlobed, often sessile. Leaves 3-5 inches long by 1-3 inches wide. Stem and leaves pubescent or glabrous. Ray flowers golden yellow, disc flowers black-purple. Blooms July-October in woodlands, pastures, wood edges and roadsides.




Wednesday, July 7, 2010

July 2010, Week 1

July 2010, Week 1

This is the second installment of "Name that Native", an ongoing plant identification exercise from the Blomquist Garden of Native Plants at the Sarah P. Duke Gardens. Follow along and enjoy the experience of getting to know our plant neighbors!

11) Verbesina occidentalis, YELLOW CROWNBEARD Asteraceae- Aster Family
Common native perennial of roadsides and field edges to 5 feet. Opposite, serrate lanceolate to ovate leaves arranged along stems with four pronounced "wings" of tissue running between the leaf axils and creating an "x" in cross section. Small yellow flowerheads in corymbs seen August to October.

12) Parthenocissus quinquefolia VIRGINIA CREEPER Vitaceae- Grape family
Clinging native vine. Palmately compound leaves with usually five leaflets, occasionally 3-7. Climbs using tendrils with adhesive disks to cling to bark, etc. Yellow-green flowers in panicles of cymes seen May to July. Fruit a dark blue drupe. Found in woods and wood edges.

13) Parthenium integrifolium WILD QUININE Asteraceae- Aster family
Native perennial to three feet. Found in woods, wood edges and roadsides. One to three stems per crown with basal and cauline lanceolate serrate leaves. Leaves often glabrous. Numerous flowerheads in corymbs of small, white flowers of both ray and disk variety, disk flowers perfect but sterile.

14) Eurybia divaricata WHITE WOOD ASTER Asteraceae- Aster family
Native perennial of woodlands and wood edges to two or three feet. Cordate, lanceolate serrate leaves, usually glabrous. Numerous blooms from August to October with white ray flowers and yellow disks. Forms large colonies. Reasonably tolerant of dry soil.

15)Thelypteris noveboracensis NEW YORK FERN Thelypteridaceae- Marsh fern family
Native fern of moist places. Forms large colonies of fronds to one foot. Fronds a light green, often widest in the middle of the fronds length. Common in piedmont along stream bottoms among Carex spp.

16) Callicarpa americana BEAUTYBERRY Verbenaceae- Verbena family
Lanky native deciduous shrub to twelve feet. Opposite, ovate-lanceolate leaves, pubescent beneath. Small pink-purple blooms in cymes found in leaf axils in June and July. Deep purple-magenta drupes in late summer. Found in moist woods in the coastal plain, occasionally piedmont.

17) Elephantopus tomentosus DEVIL'S GRANDMOTHER Asteraceae- Aster Family
Native perennial of dry woodlands and wood edges to two feet. Leaves basal, oblanceolate, densely pubescent. Violet blooms from July to September, each with small, pubescent bracts subtending.

18) Chasmanthium latifolium INDIAN WOODOATS Poaceae- Grass family
Native perennial grass to four feet. Common along river and stream bottoms in open woods. Colonizing grass that spreads eagerly by both rhizome and seed. Good choice for pond edges/streambanks for erosion mitigation. Noted by it's pendulous flat spikelets made up of numerous seeds.

19) Rudbeckia laciniata CUTLEAF CONEFLOWER Asteraceae- Aster Family
Native perennial to five feet. Polymorphic leaves with youngest being closest to entire and oldest being almost pinnately compound, usually glabrous. Disk flowers a raised globe. Yellow rays often reflexed. Blooms July-October. Often found in moist soil along stream banks.

20) Lindera benzoin SPICEBUSH Lauraceae- Laurel family
Native, deciduous small tree/shrub to twelve feet. Leaves strongly aromatic opposite, often glabrous, acuminate, ciliate margins. Small, yellow dioecious flowers born on the glabrous stems in March and April prior to leaf emergence. Fruit is red drupe seen in August and September. Host plant for larval stage of Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly.