September 19, 2012

One hour twenty five minutes. 95 exposures. 36 keepers.

The main purpose was checking on Artemisia tridentata, big sagebrush … and, of course, exercise and bright light therapy.

It was hot. The air has been coughing-foul with the smoke of wildfires for weeks.

I decided the sagebrush was unchanged, I wouldn’t photograph it … then changed my mind.

I looked closely and still I saw no change but photographed it anyway.

In the computer it looks like some buds might be showing yellow but that might be the yellow light of the foul air. I’ll get back out and check on it in a couple of days.

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So what to do in order to salvage exercise from the outing?

I drove to the fireplug on Euclid. I decided to photograph the fruit of the shrubs.

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Plowing through the tall dry grass of the seep from south pond to get to the Crataegus monogyna, English hawthorn on the south side of tall pine grove was not a nice experience wearing shorts.

The foliage to the right and above the English hawthorn is the huge Crataegus douglasii, black hawthorn growing in the center of the grove. The smaller foliage on the right is also huge. It’s a domestic rose. It wraps around tall pine grove on the east side.

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The photographed patch of Symphoricarpos albus, snowberry is on the west side of tall pine grove.

There are patches of snowberries at the foot of many taller shrubs. Ken says that is because the birds roost in the trees and tall shrubs and plant snowberries with their morning poop.

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Out in the open, a little apart from tall pine grove and to the northwest is the only Physocarpus malvaceus, mallow ninebark in the park.

It seems strange that there is only one plant in the area. Perhaps it was brought in by the people that brought in the plants in import-corner.

There’s a nice article in Wikipedia on the mallow ninebark. These are extracts from the article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physocarpus_malvaceus

“This shrub is a pioneer species that increases after disturbance and decreases as the overstory grows back and shades it out. It grows rapidly after events such as wildfire, sprouting up from its rhizomes. It is considered a "fire-resistant" plant. It survives fire and resprouts, becoming more common on burned sites than unburned.” … “This plant is known to hamper regeneration of forest habitat after disturbance such as fire or logging. It outcompetes new conifer seedlings. It is controlled with herbicide spray in some regions.”

The article strongly suggests there would be more plants if there was a fire in the park.

I saw only one plant in the area we walked in Downriver State Park. And that area was burned in 1991. That plant too, was in the open.

The article says: “The fruit is a follicle roughly one centimeter long.”

The Wikipedia article on follicles is not helpful. It doesn’t help me.

I attempted to photograph seeds but I couldn’t see seeds for sure in the litter I made of the husks.

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I expected the fruits on Ribes aureum, golden currant to be dry, but they seemed to be hollow. Perhaps insects have harvested their ‘meat’.

I think I photographed a seed of golden currant.

I took a specimen from an Epilobium brachycarpum, autumn willow herb with both a blossom and seeds.

The seeds must have burst from the open hypanthium in the second autumn willow herb photo. Noticed the closed, banana-shaped hypanthium at the top of the photo.

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The berries of Crataegus douglasii, black hawthorn were withered. The seed or seeds nearly filled the withered skin. I tried to expose the seed with my thumbnail but was less than successful.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crataegus_douglasii

Wikipedia says the black hawthorn is also called ‘Douglas’ thornapple’.

“The fruits were a good food source for Native American peoples such as the Cheyenne and Nlaka'pamux.”
Wikipedia doesn’t mention black hawthorn seeds. Neither does Burke. The fruit is a pome.
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I spent a little time with the dry heads of a Grindelia hirsutula, curly-cup gumweed. I failed, again, to identify seeds after crumbling the husks.

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There were no fruits at all on the Sambucus cerulea … well, damn. Burke doesn’t have
Sambucus cerulea. They have Sambucus nigra, Blue elderberry. And Burke is supposed to be my authority for plant names.

USDA has Sambucus nigra L. cerulea … etc … blue elderberry. Whatever.

I suppose the birds have harvested the fruits.

I see that the blue elderberry is a member of the honeysuckle family.

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The last two photos are of ‘mounds’ that hold shrubs, the first and second mound north of the main trail and west of north pond.

I quit photography before getting to the shrubs on second mound. I’d had all the fun I could stand.

Artemisia tridentata, big sagebrush

Notice faint yellow os sume buds



Crataegus monogyna, English hawthorn
The foliage to the right and above the English hawthorn is the huge Crataegus douglasii, black hawthorn growing in the center of the grove. The smaller foliage on the right is also huge. It’s a domestic rose.



The white tendrils will have been from Vicia villosa, winter vetch climbing the shrub



Ribes aureum, golden currant

Epilobium brachycarpum, autumn willow herb

The seeds have burst from the open hypanthium
at the bottom of the image
notice closed hypanthhium above

Crataegus douglasii, black hawthorn

Grindelia hirsutula, curly-cup gumweed

Sambucus nigra, blue elderberry

The 1st shrub mound north of the main trail and west of north pond
Black hawthorn on the left, snowberry low in the center, blue elderberry on the right

The second or center mound, north of the main trail and west of north pond.
I need to get identifications next time. Ribes aureum on the right.