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What's Blooming in the Park?
20 July 2008
I walked the Park Sunday afternoon, hot but lovely weather. My
notes record 70 species in bloom, beating last week's record by 10!
(There were probably more since I did not visit some areas I visited last
week, and may also have just not noticed some of the weeds still blooming.)
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Still blooming:
26 Aliens: Chicory,
dame's rocket,
curled dock,
oxeye daisy,
bittersweet nightshade,
viper's bugloss,
red clover, low hop clover,
crown vetch,
creeping bellflower, nodding
thistle, bee balm,
white sweet clover,
heal-all, teasel,
cleavers,
everlasting pea,
Canada thistle,
Queen-Anne’s-lace,
common mullein,
spotted knapweed,
common St. Johnswort,
dandelion,
common chickweed, yellow
bedstraw,
and English plantain.
30 Natives: Annual fleabane,
daisy fleabane,
leatherflower,
pale jewelweed,
spotted jewelweed, black cohosh
(practically finished, though),
shrubby St. Johnswort, long-leaved
houstonia, greater coreopsis,
flowering
spurge, wild bergamot,
whorled
rosinweed, tall larkspur,
white wood aster,
woodland sunflower, white avens,
pokeweed,
hemp dogbane,
pointed-leaved tick trefoil,
oxeye, cup plant,
cardinal flower,
pale Indian plantain, fringed
loosestrife, tall bellflower,
wild potato vine, thin-leaved coneflower,
black-eyed Susan,
yarrow and
butterflyweed.
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Newly seen:
5 Aliens: Quickweed, common plantain, rabbit-foot
clover, rough-fruited cinquefoil and
what appears to be a butterfly bush (how did that get in the
Park?)
9 Natives:
Monkeyflower,
swamp milkweed,
cattail,
American germander, trumpet creeper,
agrimony, horse nettle, wild basil
and Carpenter’s square.
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Not seen, but probably still blooming:
Aliens: Autumn dandelion and
common oxalis.
Natives: Lopseed, enchanter's nightshade and small-flowered leafcup.
13 July 2008
I spent 3 hours walking in the Park in the heat of Saturday and a much
shorter time walking through on Sunday morning before the storms. My
notes record 60 species in bloom, a record for this year! The
enchanter's nightshade and small-flowered leafcup, along with the lopseed
first seen last week, are new records for the park. Three newly
discovered native species in 8 days!
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Still blooming:
20 Aliens: Dame's rocket,
curled dock,
oxeye daisy,
bittersweet nightshade,
viper's bugloss,
white clover,
red clover, low hop clover,
crown vetch,
creeping bellflower,
nodding thistle, garlic mustard
, bee balm,
white sweet clover,
heal-all, teasel,
cleavers, autumn dandelion,
everlasting pea, and
Canada thistle.
21 Natives: Annual fleabane,
daisy fleabane,
thimbleweed,
leatherflower,
pale jewelweed,
Ohio spiderwort, black cohosh,
shrubby St. Johnswort, long-leaved
houstonia, greater coreopsis,
flowering
spurge, wild bergamot,
whorled
rosinweed, tall larkspur,
lopseed, white wood aster, white avens,
pokeweed,
wild hydrangea,
hemp dogbane,and
pointed-leaved tick trefoil.
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Newly seen:
6 Aliens:
Queen-Anne’s-lace,
common mullein,
spotted knapweed,
common St. Johnswort,
common oxalis,
and
English plantain.
12 Natives:
Oxeye, cup plant,
cardinal flower,
pale Indian plantain, fringed
loosestrife, tall bellflower,
enchanter's nightshade, wild potato vine,
thin-leaved coneflower,
black-eyed Susan,
small-flowered leafcup, and butterflyweed.
Also cinquefoil, but not sure of species.
6 July 2008
I spent several hours in the afternoon searching for New Jersey tea.
I found one plant, but it had finished blooming. I also noted another
46 species in
bloom. Some 15 of these are natives that I saw blooming for the first
time this year. A lot can change when you go away for even a little
while!
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16 aliens still blooming:
Dame's rocket,
Japanese honeysuckle, curled dock,
orange daylily,
oxeye daisy,
bittersweet nightshade,
viper's bugloss,
white clover,
red clover, low hop clover,
crown vetch,
chicory,
creeping bellflower,
dandelion, and nodding thistle.
In addition, the horribly invasive
garlic mustard is blooming
again, throwing out a few blossoms while most of the plants are dying
back.
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6 aliens newly blooming:
Bee balm,
white sweet clover,
heal-all,
teasel, everlasting pea, and
Canada thistle. (The
everlasting pea, I think, has been blooming awhile, and I just forgot to
note it.)
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9 natives still blooming:
Black cohosh,
annual fleabane,
daisy fleabane,
thimbleweed,
leatherflower,
pale jewelweed,
spotted jewelweed, Ohio
spiderwort, and
green-and-gold (still blooming!).
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15 newly blooming natives: Shrubby St. Johnswort, Long-leaved
houstonia, greater coreopsis,
flowering
spurge, wild bergamot,
whorled
rosinweed, tall larkspur,
lopseed, white wood aster,
woodland sunflower,
white avens,
American basswood,
pokeweed,
wild hydrangea, and
pointed-leaved tick trefoil.
The lopseed is a new discovery for the Park, not reported previously.
29 June 2008
I have been out of town so there has been no posting here for a while.
Today I missed visiting the Park on account of the weather, but yesterday,
on a run through part of the Park, I noticed that
thimbleweed,
leatherflower,
dame's rocket, curled dock,
oxeye daisy,
viper's bugloss and
chicory were still blooming. In
addition, yellow bedstraw is now blooming on the edge of the Park, above the
tunnel. I have not seen this beautiful, but alien species in the Park
before.
15 June 2008
I made a quick walkthrough of the Park on my way elsewhere this morning,
and a more leisurely tour in the afternoon. I noted 33 species in
bloom.
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15 aliens still blooming:
Dame's rocket,
Japanese honeysuckle, curled dock,
orange daylily, wineberry,
privet, asparagus, oxeye daisy,
bittersweet nightshade,
viper's bugloss,
creeping buttercup,
poison hemlock,
white clover,
red clover and
crown vetch.
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4 aliens newly blooming:
Chicory,
creeping bellflower,
tree-of-heaven, and nodding thistle.
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8 natives still blooming:
Black cohosh,
alumroot,
annual fleabane,
thimbleweed,
leatherflower,
wild petunia, waxy meadow rue and
Carolina rose.
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6 newly blooming natives:
Pale jewelweed, smooth blackhaw,
daisy fleabane,
hemp dogbane,
hoptree, and Ohio spiderwort.
12 June 2008
On my way to the first lecture of the summer at the Outdoor Classroom, I
noticed a few species now in bloom that were not blooming Sunday (the 8th):
the native wild petunia and three aliens, oxeye daisy, orange daylily and
viper's bugloss.
8 June 2008
I was out of town for the end of May and so could not update the
Blooming list. Sunday, despite the heat, I spent several hours in the Park.
Spring and fall tend to be peak flowering times in this part of the world.
It is thus not surprising that the number of species blooming is dropping
from its spring high as we now begin summer. Only 36 species were seen
in bloom this visit, and many of them were alien weeds that bloom much of
the summer.
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6 aliens still blooming:
Dame's rocket,
watercress,
yellow Iris,
garlic mustard,
common chickweed and
white clover.
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13 aliens newly blooming:
Poison hemlock, privet,
Japanese
honeysuckle, curled dock,
wineberry, asparagus,
bittersweet nightshade, autumn dandelion,
multiflora rose,
yarrow, low hop clover,
red clover and
crown vetch.
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9 natives still blooming:
Alumroot,
common fleabane,
smooth phlox,
tulip poplar,
Solomon's seal,
Canada violet,
blackberry,
blue-eyed grass and
green-and-gold.
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7 newly blooming natives:
black cohosh,
thimbleweed,
leatherflower,
waxy meadow rue,
Carolina rose,
staghorn sumac and
annual fleabane.
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Also spotted was cinquefoil, but I didn't see any
close-up enough to identify.
17 May 2008
I spent a very enjoyable morning exploring the Park, which was in fine
form. Some 53 species were seen in bloom!
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11 aliens still blooming:
Creeping buttercup, garlic mustard,
Morrow honeysuckle,
common winter cress,
Dame's rocket,
gill-over-the-ground,
purple dead
nettle, dandelion,
Persian speedwell,
narrow-leaved vetch, and mock strawberry.
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7 aliens newly blooming:
Yellow Iris,
Watercress,
honesty,
garden
columbine, princess tree,
white clover, Oriental
bittersweet and
big-flowered rhododendron.
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18 natives still blooming:
Black locust,
tulip poplar,
prairie ragwort,
Canada columbine,
yellow pimpernel,
hoary puccoon,
rue anemone (still blooming!!),
pussytoes,
green-and-gold,
common fleabane,
smooth phlox,
aniseroot,
Jack-in-the-pulpit,
wild geranium,
cleavers,
dwarf larkspur (only a very few
still blooming),
hooked crowfoot, and
Canada violet.
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18 newly blooming natives:
Alternate-leaved dogwood,
carrion flower,
American barberry,
four-leaved milkweed,
lyre-leaved sage, fringe tree,
Solomon's seal,
false Solomon's-seal,
yellow stargrass,
Robin's plantain,
blue-eyed grass,
black cherry,
green violet,
wild stonecrop,
alumroot,
blackberry,
wild yam,
and
golden ragwort.
11 May 2008
I did not get a chance to visit the Park this week. Likely the
species blooming were much the same as last week, although the earlier
bloomers, coltsfoot, spring beauty, wild ginger, redbud and trillium may
have dropped out. In addition, passing the Park, I noticed that
black locusts are in full bloom.
Tulip poplars are blooming outside the
Park, and are probably blooming inside as well.
1 and 4 May 2008
With my grading done, I played hooky and spent a couple of hours
hiking the Park on Thursday, May 1st. I also took a shorter walk
through on Sunday, May 4th. The following 48
species were noted in bloom:
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12 aliens still blooming:
Dandelion,
common winter cress, garlic mustard,
mock strawberry,
common chickweed,
gill-over-the-ground,
Persian speedwell,
purple dead
nettle, coltsfoot,
creeping buttercup,
lily of
the valley and
Morrow honeysuckle.
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2 aliens newly blooming:
Dame's rocket and
narrow-leaved
vetch.
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24 natives still blooming:
Jack-in-the-pulpit,
wild geranium,
aniseroot,
yelllow pimpernel,
green-and-gold,
Carolina vetch,
small-flowered crowfoot,
spring beauty,
common blue violet,
Canada violet,
star chickweed,
rue anemone,
smooth rockcress,
blue cohosh,
cleavers,
dwarf larkspur, large-flowered trillium,
fairy bells,
hoary puccoon,
heart-leaved Alexanders,
Mayapple,
wild ginger,
redbud and
flowering
dogwood.
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10 newly blooming natives:
Sweet buckeye, hooked crowfoot,
smooth phlox,
perfoliate bellwort, wood
anemone, three-lobed violet,
prairie ragwort,
Canada columbine,
common fleabane, and
ironwood.
27 April 2008
I took a relatively short walk through the Park today before the rains
came in. Bloodroot, Dutchman's breeches, hepatica and trout lilies
appear to be done for the year. Otherwise most of the things in bloom
last week were still blooming this week. In addition, the following 11
species were newly seen in bloom:
19 April 2008
I took a walk through yesterday, and
led a walk for Treefest. The bittercress, spicebush, daffodils, and
most of the bloodroot are finished for the year, but some 42 species were
seen in bloom.
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10 alien weeds continue blooming: dandelion,
common winter cress,
common chickweed,
gill-over-the-ground,
purple dead
nettle, coltsfoot,
Persian speedwell,
thyme-leaved speedwell, creeping buttercup and
periwinkle.
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6 aliens have begun to bloom:
mock strawberry,
Japanese quince, yellow iris,
apple
Morrow honeysuckle,
and the
horribly invasive garlic mustard.
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10 natives continue blooming
small-flowered crowfoot,
spring beauty,
common blue violet,
toothwort,
Dutchman's breeches,
star chickweed,
redbud,
sharp-lobed hepatica,
rue anemone,
and the last few
bloodroots.
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And 15 new natives have begun to bloom:
Canada violet,
smooth rockcress,
large-flowered bellwort, blue cohosh,
dwarf larkspur,
large-flowered trillium,
fairy bells,
yellow trout lily,
early meadow rue,
hispid buttercup,
pussytoes,
hoary puccoon,
heart-leaved Alexanders,
Mayapple, and
wild ginger.
This week might be the flowering peak for Wildwood.
(We'll see, next week.)
13 April 2008
Unfortunately, I was not able to walk through the Park this weekend -- a
combination of grading, a cold, and the weather. However, passing by,
I could not miss the fact that the redbuds
have begun to bloom.
6 April 2008
A long walk through the Park found essentially the same things blooming
as last week. I did not see any round-lobed hepatica, but the
sharp-lobed species is still blooming. The highlight this week is the
big patches of Dutchman's breeches along the west side trails.
Three additional alien weeds noticed in bloom:
common chickweed,
common wintercress, and the
alien tree white poplar.
Preview of common attractions,
redbud, blue cohosh,
yellow trout lily, and
dwarf larkspur, all natives, are in
bud and will soon be blooming.
29 March 2008
Despite the threat of rain about 25
people turned out for a Virginia Native Plant Society walk through the park
this morning. Twenty-two species were found in bloom.
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6 alien weeds that were also blooming last week:
hairy
bittercress, Persian speedwell,
thyme-leaved speedwell,
purple dead
nettle, coltsfoot, and
daffodils.
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4 newly blooming alien weeds:
gill-over-the-ground,
dandelion,
creeping buttercup and
periwinkle.
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4 natives that were also blooming last week:
spring beauty, round-lobed hepatica,
spicebush, and
bloodroot.
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And 8 natives newly blooming this week:
toothwort,
Dutchman's breeches,
small-flowered crowfoot,
star chickweed,
sharp-lobed hepatica,
rue anemone,
common blue violet and
American hazelnut.
The American hazelnut has not been reported in the Park
before; however it was in plain view, so it apparently had been merely
overlooked until now.
23 March 2008
Ten species now in bloom. The seven seen last week (see below)
plus three new native species:
round-lobed hepatica,
spicebush, and
bloodroot.
Toothwort and
Dutchman's breeches were in bud
and will be starting to bloom soon.
16 March 2008
I noticed seven species in bloom on an afternoon stroll, one native and
six exotic weeds. The native was
spring beauty. The weeds: hairy
bittercress, Persian speedwell,
thyme-leaved speedwell, purple dead
nettle, coltsfoot, and
daffodils. If anyone has seen
anything else, I'd be happy to hear from you.
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