Local Color: Wildflowers on the University of Maryland Campus. Part 1.

I took a walking tour of the northeastern part of campus looking for some wildflowers. I picked up quite a few chiggers. Still, I was  pleasantly surprised by the plant diversity, although some of the most surprising were limited to a few square feet of ground. A few things other than flowers caught my attention.  First, the woods in the flood plain between the Paint Branch River and Paint Branch Drive are loaded with plastic water bottles and other junk. I mean LOADED. Second, the natural, untended or marginally tended areas on campus are being devoured by porcelainberry, an invasive East Asian vine in the grape family (Vitaceae), that covers any structure or woody plant that will support it. The surface area covered by this plant is alarming. Finally, there are virtually no ferns in these moist forests. I found this odd given that the conditions seem very suitable. I saw one Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides) on a stream bank...period. Something's wrong. Are contaminants in the runoff from roads and parking causing this? All of this is somewhat embarrassing given that the University of Maryland identifies itself as an Arboretum and Botanical Garden and is presumably filled to the gills with environmentalists, including a college devoted to natural resources.

Porcelainberry, a nightmare

The process of reclaiming and maintaining natural areas around campus would seem to offer opportunities for lots of research and proof-of-concept projects aimed at maintaining biodiversity in urbanized environments. The knowledge gained would likely be valuable to communities throughout Maryland and beyond.... Well, back to reality.

Map

Technology Drive Retention Pond

Ludwigia peploides. Floating Primrose-Willow or Creeping Water Primrose. Family Onagraceae (Evening Primrose Family). Native, perennial, aquatic to semiaquatic. A widespread and potentially troublesome plant that can clog waterways and create other aquatic havoc. Most of the retention pods surface is covered by this plant.

Verbena urticifolia. White Vervain. Family Verbenaceae (Vervain Family). Native, annual, biennial or short-lived perennial. Can get up to 3 feet high, leaves are similar to those of nettles (thus urticifolia, compare to false nettle below). Crowned with elongate inflorescences with ridiculously small white flowers. See a plant in profile in front of the deer in the picture above.

Left: Dianthus armeria. Deptford Pink. Family Caryophyllaceae (Pink Family). Non-native (Europe), annual or biennial. Small showy flowers clustering on long (about a foot), thin stalks. Common in meadows, pastures, hedgerows, etc. "Pinks" are named for the notches at the edges of their petals (as in pinking shears), not their color. Deptford is a city in England where these flowers were once common. Coincidentally, I started listing to Heart of Darkness on LibriVox recently and Deptford was mentioned early on. I know, who cares? 
Right: Eupatorium serotinum. Late-blooming Thoroughwort or Late-blooming Boneset. Family Asteraceae (Aster Family). Native, perennial and not blooming yet. Tall, widespread plant that occupies a variety of habitats. The genus Eupatorium contains many of the white composites that lack ray flowers (the marginal flowers in composites that carry the big petals) that one sees in the fall, including bonesets and thoroughworts. Sometimes hard to tell apart.

Left: Mikania scandens. Climbing hempvine or climbing hemp weed. Family Asteraceae (Aster Family). Native, vine. An unusual growth form for a member of the daisy, aster, ironweed family. Look for it growing on milkweed near the pond outlet.  Right: Asclepias syriaca. Common milkweed. Family Asclepiadaceae (Milkweed Family). Native, perennial. It's past the flowering season for this population, but the pods have nice color in the forms of milkweed bugs and leaves with yellow aphids tended by ants. Left: Erigeron strigosus. Prairie Fleabane or Prairie Fleabane Daisy. Family Asteraceae (Aster Family). Native, annual to biennial. A common component of many disturbed habitats. It blooms from spring to fall and thus differs from asters, which tend to start blooming late in the season. Right: Hibiscus moscheutos. Rose Mallow, Crimson-eyed Rosemallow, etc. Family Malvaceae (Mallow Family). Native, perennial in marshes, swamps, etc. Its petals range from white to deep rose with dark pink to maroon center. There are several easy-to-spot plants at the pond.

Not shown Bull Thistle, Cattail, Porcelainberry, Horsenettle, Pokeweed

Beech Woodlot

This small woodlot is not exactly colorful but it has some interesting things. There are several large and unmarred American Beeches (Fagas grandifolia) that are quite impressive. Part of the understory includes a small stand of pawpaws (Asimina triloba: Annonaceae), a small tree that is fairly common in Maryland and is particularly abundant along the Potomac River and C&O Canal. Its fruit is fairly large (up to 6 inches long), somewhat oval or kidney shaped and contains a soft yellow pulp that tastes of banana with hints of other tropical flavors. The family is primarily tropical. There was no fruit on these trees; pollination failure is common due to the weak carrion-like odor of the plant that attracts relatively few insects, flies mostly. Reproduction occurs primarily though suckers sprouting from roots. The leaves and other tissue are avoided by deer and most herbivorous insects due to the presence of acetogenins, which are neurotoxic. However, one insect, the larva of the zebra swallowtail (Eurytides marcellus: Papilionidae), can feed on the leaves and retain the acetogenins as a defense agains predators. Recent work suggests that these chemicals may be useful as pesticides or anti-cancer drugs.

Zebra swallowtail butterfly on sunflower at McKee Beshers Wildlife Management Area. Photo courtesy of the lovely and talented Janet Easly

 Pedestrian Bridge

Left: Lobelia cardinalis. Cardinal Flower. Family Campanulaceae (Bell Flower Family). Native, perennial. Look for them on the upstream side of the bridge where a very small stream meets the larger stream. The largest cluster is on the bank of the small stream; there is another, smaller cluster on the right bank of the larger stream about 4 or 5 meters from the bridge. It is one of the few red flowers in Maryland.
Right: Mimulus alatus. Sharp-winged Monkeyflower. Family Phrymaceae (Lopseed Family). Native, perennial. Look for them opposite from the cardinal flowers on the small stream.
How to distinguish Maryland's two monkeyflower species: The flower of M. alatus attaches to the stem by a very short stalk; the flower of M. repens (Allegheny monkeyflower) attaches to the stem by a long stalk. See post Triumph of the Natives? (Aug. 5, 2017) for a picture of M. repens.

Left: Solanum carolinense. Horsenettle. Family Solanaceae (Nightshade Family). Native to southeastern US from VA and KY south, but introduced throughout much of eastern North America, perennial. Large cluster left of the bridge entrance nearest the parking lot. Pernicious weed of pastures and similar areas, poisonous to livestock in large quantities, produces poisonous tomato-like berries in the fall. What's the deal with poisonous berries? Seems counter productive to the whole idea of a berry. Apparently, skunks and turkeys will eat the berries, but most things avoid them.
Right: Boehmeria cylindrica. Small-spike False Nettle. Family Urticaceae (Nettle Family). Native, perennial. Looks like a stinging nettle but doesn't sting. (The sting in stinging nettles is caused by the injection of histamines, neurotransmitters and acids by tiny needle-like hairs.) The plant is wind pollinated so the flowers are small, lackluster green things.