Natural Valentines, Day 3

 

Rosa palustris, or swamp rose (palustris is a common specific epithet given to plants that live in swamps) is a beautiful plant throughout the year. In February, its fruits, also called hips, really stand out. Wickedly rich in vitamin C, I once picked a few of these ripe fruits and brought them into the office. I tore off a bit of flesh and popped it into my mouth. Sure enough, I got an intense tangy flavor, but also a mouthful of prickly seeds! Ouch!

At our office complex here in Columbus, we are fortunate to have a few swamp rose tangles surrounding the environmental education wetland area. They are quite spectacular in early summer when covered with pink blossoms. Swamp rose is found in wet meadows, thickets, swamps, and other wetlands throughout Ohio. If you are botanizing here and see a rose in a wet area, you can bet that what you are seeing is Rosa palustris, another one of our natural plant valentines.

And be sure to check back tomorrow for the final plant in our Valentine's Day series!

Natural Plant Valentines, Day 2

Cornus sericea or red osier dogwood has bright red twigs that really stand out in the winter. This shrub grows at the environmental education area at work. Silky dogwood, Cornus amomum can also have red twigs. Unlike flowering dogwood, these two native cornus species are shrubs rather than trees. The two can be distinguished in winter by taking a knife and cutting into the center of a young branch called the pith. Last night I thought I may have jumped the gun by calling this red osier dogwood. But thanks to my co-worker's trusty pocket knife, today we were able to peel back the bark and cut down into the pith. Sure enough, it was white in color, meaning that we did in fact have red osier dogwood! Silky dogwood has a tawny colored pith. Again, I am speculating this was planted, but look for red-osier dogwood in high quality wetlands in northern Ohio, especially north of I-71. Happy winter botanizing!

Tomorrow's valentine: Swamp rose, Rosa palustris.

Celebrating the Holiday- Naturally

 

Are you sick of the gray, sunless days of winter? Me too. I thought I would start a series of posts where I'll be searching for color. And since it is February, why not start with red?

Here you see the fruits, or in more specific botanical terms, the pomes, of a hawthorn tree. Hawthorns are shrubs and scrubby trees with a nasty reputation for being terribly hard to identify. In fact, there really is no agreement as to just how many hawthorn species even exist. M.L. Fernald sums up the situation in Gray's 8th manual of botany by simply stating the genus is "of great taxonomic difficulty". I'm guessing that the tree pictured here was planted at our environmental education facility on the campus of ODNR. This specimen really adds a nice touch of color to a gray day. The fruits seem to be dwindling as the winter proceeds. Although I have not seen birds eat its fruits, this tree is a favorite perch of our year round population of mockingbirds.

So look for hawthorn fruits on your winter ramblings, they can really brighten up the day.

And be sure to check back for tomorrow's valentine colored plant, the red-osier dogwood.

Tom