This is a good time to scope out where you’ll be foraging for ripened berries beginning in August. Also a good time to research and find some fun recipes to enjoy your harvest.
Please join me for my Foraging for Wild Edibles: Blackberries online presentation on August 9 beginning at 7pm. For logon details, please see the Events page.
Happy trails!
This week, I’m featuring Nannyberry (Viburnum lentago) as one of our local wildflowers that begins to bloom at this time.
Nanny goats apparently feed on the ripe berries (reportedly more so than billy goats), hence the common name.
Identification Tips:
One of the larger viburnums, often growing up to 20 feet tall, Nannyberry is most often a multi-stemmed shrub with slender, erect-arching branches that appear as a somewhat open crown at maturity. Bark of the trunk or older lower branches is rough, somewhat scaly, and reddish gray to gray. Smaller branches and twigs are gray, light brown, or light purple; they are smooth with scattered lenticels (air pores). Young shoots are light green and smooth. Pairs of opposite deciduous leaves occur along the young shoots and twigs. Each is 2-4″ long and 1-2″ across, ovate in shape and serrated along its margins. The leaf bases are rounded to broadly wedge-shaped, while the leaf tips taper abruptly, becoming long and slender. The upper leaf surface is smooth and yellowish green, medium green, or dark green, while the lower leaf surface is pale green and smooth to sparsely hairy. The stems (petioles) of the leaves are ½–¾” long, light green (sometimes tinted red or yellow), narrowly or irregularly winged, and smooth to hairy. When hairs are present, they are rust-colored or brown.
Dome-shaped clusters of flowers about 2-5″ across occur at the tips of young shoots. Each fragrant flower is about ¼” across with 5 white oval-shaped spreading lobes.
Afterwards, the flowers are replaced by fleshy fruits (drupes) that become mature in late summer or autumn. At this time, the stems of the flower clusters turn red. Mature drupes are 3/8” long, ovoid in shape, and dark blue-violet. Each drupe contains a single hard seed that is flattened-ovoid in shape and dark-colored.
The deciduous leaves of Nannyberry become orange, maroon, or dark red during autumn.
Weather-resistant fruit clusters, distinctive terminal leaf buds, and opposite branching all combine to aid in this shrub’s winter identification.
Culinary and Medicinal Uses:
The fruit of Nannyberry is pulpy, sweet, and pleasant tasting (similar to a date), but with a thick skin and a single large seed. Of the fruit, Henry David Thoreau once wrote, “The Viburnum lentago fruit is quite sweet and reminds me of dates in their somewhat mealy pulp. It has large, flat black seeds, somewhat like watermelon seeds but no so long.”
For helpful tips on how to identify and forage for this wild edible, please view my compilation of information. For some recipe suggestions, please view my prior post.
The bark and leaves were used by American Indians in the preparation of herbal medicines. An infusion of the bark was used an antispasmodic. An infusion of the leaves has been used in the treatment of measles and painful urination (dysuria).
Wildlife Value:
The nectar and pollen of the flowers attract honeybees, short-tongued Andrenid bees, Halictid bees, mining bees, Syrphid flies, dance flies (Empis spp.), Muscid flies, and miscellaneous beetles. Nannyberry is a host plant for Spring Azure butterfly (Celastrina ladon).
The fruits of Nannyberry are eaten by many birds, including the American Robin (Turdus migratorius), Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum), Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis), Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis), Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus), Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus), Purple Finch (Haemorhous purpureus), Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus), and Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus).
A variety of mammals also use the twigs, leaves or fruit of viburnums as sources of food. They include Beaver (Castor canadensis), Eastern Chipmunk (Tamias striatus), Eastern Cottontail Rabbit (Sylvilagus floridanus), Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis), Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes), White-footed Mouse (Peromyscus leucopus), and White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus).
Where Found Locally:
…now would be a good time to visit Fox Preserve, located in the Town of Colonie, or Vischer Ferry Nature and Historic Preserve, located in the Town of Clifton Park. At this time, both destinations feature Dame’s Rocket (Hesperis matronalis) in bloom with their very fragrant four-petaled flowers in white –
or pink –
If you visit Fox Preserve, you’ll want to slowly walk along the Orange Trail as these blooming beauties will often frame both sides of this walking path along portions of its route.
If you visit Vischer Ferry Nature and Historic Preserve, you’ll want to park at the main parking lot at the intersection of Riverview Road and Van Vranken Road. Walk over the Whipple Bridge and continue straight on the crushed stone path (which is part of the Community Connector Trail) until this path makes a 90-degree turn to the left, then continue straight once again, now on the Forts Ferry Loop Trail (which is a dirt path with white trail markers). Stay on this trail, which makes a rectangular loop, ending about 100 feet or so from the spot where you began this trail. Turn left and return to the parking lot along the Community Connector Trail (crushed stone surface).
Whichever destination you choose, breathe deeply and enjoy the wonderful floral fragrance.
Happy trails!
Today is Endangered Species Day. Every year on the third Friday in May, people around the world participate in Endangered Species Day by celebrating, learning about, and taking action to protect threatened and endangered species.
Why are species at risk? While there are a number of causes, the principal reason contributing to the decrease in species diversity and especially the rapid decline of some individual species is habitat loss.
To get a quick visual perspective of this, which has occurred during our lifetime, view 5 Human Activities You Can See from Space.
Given the ongoing global pandemic, organizers are suggesting alternative ways that you can celebrate Endangered Species Day.
A few days ago, I posted about the ‘Pollinator Party’ activity of Endangered Species Day. The following photos are native species in bloom that provide food to pollinators – the real focus of today’s ‘party.’ Each of these are considered exploitably vulnerable.
American Bittersweet (AKA Climbing Bittersweet) (Calustrus scandens)
Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)
Canada Lily (Lilium canadense)
Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis)
Common Winterberry (Ilex verticillata)
Early Azalea (Rhododendron prinophyllum)
Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida)
Great Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica)
Painted Trillium (Trillium undulatum)
Pink Lady’s-slipper (Cypripedium acaule)
Pipsissewa (Chimaphila umbellata)
Fruit of Red Baneberry (Actaea rubra)
Sheep Laurel (Kalmia angustifolia)
Striped Wintergreen (Chimaphila maculata)
Turtlehead (Chelone glabra)
Wake Robin (purple form) (Trillium erectum)
Wake Robin (white form) (Trillium erectum)
Wake Robin (yellow/green form) (Trillium erectum)
Fruit of White Baneberry (Actaea pachypoda)
While each is at risk, there remains reasonable optimism that none of them will become threatened or endangered, provided we each do our part to help ensure their continuing existence.
How?
Source: https://www.endangered.org/assets/uploads/2013/07/plantbookmarks.pdf
No phenomenon in nature illustrates more vividly the principle that conservation measures must be directed at ecosystems, not just individual species. If the last pollinator species adapted to a plant is erased by pesticides, or habitat disturbance, the plant will soon follow. And as these and other populations decline or disappear, the consequences spread through the remainder of the food net, weakening other interspecific relationships.
The evidence is overwhelming that wild pollinators are declining…. Their ranks are being thinned not just by habitat reduction and other familiar agents of impoverishment, but also by the disruption of the delicate “biofabric” of interactions that bind ecosystems together. Humanity, for its own sake, must attend to the forgotten pollinators and their countless dependent plant species.
-E. O. Wilson, in the foreword to The Forgotten Pollinators (1996)
As part of and in honor of Endangered Species Day, the organizers of that event are encouraging everyone to get outside on that day and identify pollinators and native plants as part of their Pollinator Party on Saturday, May 22nd, 2021.
To participate, you’ll need to download the iNaturalist app on a phone or tablet (Google Play or App Store – Apple), join the Pollinator Party project on iNaturalist, and then go visit a local natural area, park or trail to start identifying species.
Follow this step-by-step guide to participate.
Step 1: Create an iNaturalist account
Step 2: Download the App
Step 3: Join the Pollinator Party Project
Step 4: Get ready to get outside, observe species, and have fun!
View a video to learn more about how to use iNaturalist.
Read more about pollinators.
View the New York Wildflower Habitat Establishment Guide to learn more about providing pollinator-friendly habitat in your backyard. Read about when to harvest native wildflower seeds later this year to help establish your backyard pollinator habitat.
If you choose to participate, have fun!
This week, I’m featuring American Bladdernut (Staphylea trifolia) as one of our local wildflowers that begins to bloom at this time.
In botany, there is a scale called the “Coefficient of Conservatism.” The scale represents how tolerant a plant is to human disturbances and how representative it is to a pre-settlement natural community of plants. If a plant species is tolerant of human disturbance and not very choosy about its habitat, the plant has a lower number on this 10-point scale. Species least tolerant of human disturbance and with an affinity for high-quality native habitats are placed in category “10.” American Bladdernut is typically found in high quality natural communities such as floodplains and moist woodlands; its Coefficient of Conservatism rates a 7 out of 10. Coefficients of conservatism (“C” values) are increasingly being used to prioritize natural areas for conservation as well as for the monitoring of outcomes of habitat restoration projects.
Identification Tips:
American Bladdernut is a shrub about 6-12′ tall, branching irregularly and somewhat sparingly (especially in shaded areas). The trunk and/or larger branches have bark that is mostly grey and slightly rough-textured, while smaller branches have bark that is smooth with longitudinal streaks of black and light grey. Young twigs tend to be smooth and reddish brown.
The opposite leaves are trifoliate with a petiole about 1-5″ long. Individual leaflets are up to 2½” long and 1″ across; they are ovate in shape and finely serrated along their margins. Each leaflet has a rounded to wedge-shaped bottom and tapers to a tip that is short and slender. The upper surface of each leaflet is medium to dark green and hairless, while the lower surface is light green and pubescent. The terminal leaflet has a stalk up to 1″ long, while the 2 lateral leaflets barely have a stalk. The foliage remains green late into autumn eventually turning a pale yellow.
Drooping clusters of odorless flowers develop from the axils of the compound leaves. Each flower is about 1/3″ long, 1/4″ across, and bell-shaped with 5 petals. Initially, both the sepals and petals are white; shortly later the sepals become light green or dull pink. The slender flower stalks (pedicels) are a little longer than the flowers.
American Bladdernut
Each fertile flower is replaced by highly distinctive, papery, 3- pointed, inflated, bladder-like (thus the common name) seed capsules each 3″ long and 2″ across. Immature capsules are green during the summer, but they become light brown during the fall.
Photo credit: (c) 2006 Peter M. Dziuk, https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/shrub/bladdernut
At this time, the seeds (one per cell) are shiny, brown, smooth, and about ¼” across. The seeds can be heard rattling inside their capsule in the autumn wind. Their showy seed capsules add interest to the autumn landscape and are often used in dried flower arrangements. Also, the seed capsules often persist through the winter, offering an easy clue aiding the winter identification of this plant.
Photo credit: Rick Meader, http://www.annarbor.com/home-garden/american-bladdernut-pods-are-a-native-flotation-device/
When flowering or especially fruiting, American Bladdernut is not easily mistaken for any other shrub.
Culinary and Medicinal Uses:
Seeds can be eaten raw or cooked. One such reported culinary use of the seed is to use them in making chocolate-chip cookies as a replacement for walnuts. Also, a sweet edible oil can be obtained from the seed and used in cooking.
An infusion of the powdered bark has been used as a wash for sore faces. A compound infusion made with the plant was used to treat rheumatism.
Some American Indians, including the Meskwaki, considered the seeds to be sacred and were used in rattles for medicine dances.
Wildlife Value:
The flowers attract honeybees, long-tongued bumblebees (like Bombus fervidus and Bombus vagans), Halictid bees, short-tongued Andrenid bees, Syrphid flies, dance flies (Empis spp.), Bald-faced hornets (Dolichovespula maculata), Cuckoo bees (Nomada sp.), and the Giant Bee Fly (Bombylius major). Most of these insects suck nectar from the flowers, although the Syrphid flies feed on the pollen and some of the bees collect pollen for their larvae. Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterflies (Papilio glaucus) are also often found nectaring on the blooms. American Bladdernut is a host plant for Bladdernut Plant Bug (Lopidea staphyleae).
The hard seeds are a favorite food of the White-footed Mouse (Peromyscus leucopus).
Where Found Locally:
This week, I’m featuring Yellow Clintonia (Clintonia borealis) as one of our local wildflowers that begins to bloom at this time.
The plant was named in honor of the former governor of New York, DeWitt Clinton (1769-1828). The beautiful fruits that each plant bears are noted for their extraordinary true-blue color, which is why this plant has another common name, Blue-bead Lily. The species name, ‘borealis,’ means “of the north,” which alludes to the fact that the species tends to thrive in the boreal forests of eastern Canada and northeastern United States.
Identification Tips:
Yellow Clintonia grows from six to 15 inches tall. Each plant is anchored by a basal clump of three to five thick, shiny, bright green oval leaves with smooth edges. The glossy leaves can reach 12 inches in length, but are more commonly six to eight inches long, with a prominent central vein. When cut or crushed, the leaf imparts a distinct cucumber aroma.
A leafless stem rises from those basal leaves and is topped by a cluster of 3-6 yellowish-green, drooping, bell-like flowers. Each flower is about 3/4″ wide, with petal-like sepals.
Close-up of bloom
A single berry eventually replaces each flower. Berries transition from green to white, and ultimately to a deep porcelain blue. The berries are about a quarter inch wide, yet, because of their striking color, they stand out in sharp contrast to the greens and browns of the surrounding forest floor.
Photo credit: (c) 2002 Peter M. Dziuk, https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/flower/bluebead
Yellow Clintonia plants are often found growing together in colonies.
Folklore:
Hunters in North Quebec were said to have rubbed their traps with the roots of this plant because bears are attracted to its odor. According to a Mi’kmaq tale, when a grass snake eats a poisonous toad, it slithers in rapid circles around a shoot of the Blue-bead Lily to transfer the poison to the plant.
Culinary and Medicinal Uses:
The young leaves may be chopped and added to salads, but only if harvested before they fully unfurl in the spring. They reportedly have a slightly sweetish cucumber flavor. However, the fruit is mildly toxic.
Yellow Clintonia has limited use as a medicinal plant. The roots and leaves are reported to possess antifungal properties. Some American Indians made some use of this plant in the treatment of skin problems. For instance, the Algonquin applied a poultice of fresh leaves to open wounds, infections, and ulcers and the Chippewa used a poultice of fresh leaves for burns. Additionally, the Iroquois used a decoction of the plant as a heart medication.
Wildlife Value:
The most common pollinators of Yellow Clintonia are Bumblebees (Bombus ternarius and B. vagans). These flowers are also visited by Canadian Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio canadensis), Syrphid flies, and Lasioglossum sweat bees.
Eastern Chipmunks (Tamias striatus) relish the ripened berries.
Dense colonies of these plants provide excellent habitat for the Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla), a migratory warbler that nests on the ground.
Where Found Locally:
View a brief video about this year’s theme: Sing, Fly, Soar – Like a Bird!
This day celebrates and brings attention to one of the most important and spectacular events in the Americas – bird migration. Read more about the history of this event, which began in 1993 as International Migratory Bird Day and was created by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center.
Organizers are suggesting that you document your migratory bird observations and then submit them so that they may be added to the worldwide compilation. Or, you could host a plastic cleanup and then submit your cleanup data so that they can track how many pounds of trash have been gathered globally to protect birds.
Read more and view online progress reports of birds’ migration paths, including hummingbirds along the East Coast.
Birds were flying from continent to continent long before we were. They reached the coldest place on Earth, Antarctica, long before we did. They can survive in the hottest of deserts. Some can remain on the wing for years at a time. They can girdle the globe. Now, we have taken over the earth and the sea and the sky, but with skill and care and knowledge, we can ensure that there is still a place on Earth for birds in all their beauty and variety — if we want to… And surely, we should.
– Sir David Attenborough, The Life of Birds
A couple of other migratory birds not shown in the poster above –
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) along East Towpath – Vischer Ferry Nature and Historic Preserve
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) pair in nest in marsh along Ballston Creek at Ballston Creek Preserve
The first Morels I came across this season occurred this morning while visiting a preserve in the Town of Clifton Park. And, with the forecast for more rain followed by warmer days early next week, I suspect they’ll be popping up in many places!
So, if you’d like to sample this delicacy, you’d better stretch your legs and forage in a woods near you soon. Good luck!
If you’d like to try a cream of mushroom soup recipe (or some of the other recipes listed), please view a prior posting of mine regarding Morel mushrooms.
Happy foraging!
Through the end of June, I invite you to visit either the 41-acre property along the Mohawk River that is owned by the Town of Clifton Park or the Woodcock Preserve, which is also located in the Town of Clifton Park. Or, perhaps visit both! A self-guided wildflower hike at each location awaits your exploration. Be sure to return to each destination for multiple visits as each hike will continue to reveal more wildflowers before the end of June.
How does it work?
First, download a self-guided hike packet for your intended destination from the Seasonal Wildflowers – Late Spring (May through late June) page of this blog onto your mobile device.
Go to your destination. Open the self-guided hike packet on your mobile device, scroll to page 2 and view the designated route on the trail map or follow the description of the route below the map.
Along the designated route, you will find pink flagging ribbon tied on plants; each flag has a number on it. Drawing from your own knowledge or the info you learned regarding 82 species from my “Spring Season Wildflowers, Part 2: late May – mid-June” online presentation on May 5, name the mystery plant before you. Lastly, scroll to page 3 of the self-guided hike packet and press the number that matches the one on the pink flag to reveal what it is.
Repeat for each numbered pink flag you discover along your way.
For example:
Upon a closer look, you see a numbered flag on the left –
And another numbered flag on the right –
Scrolling to the index of the self-guided hike packet, you then press 144 to confirm what you’ve identified this plant to be. Then press Return to Index (upper right corner of each plant page) to go back to the index and then press 162 to confirm what you’ve identified the other plant to be.
What is each?
All will be revealed when you take a self-guided wildflower hike! And, be sure to return again and again to see the identity of other plants as they are added to each hike.
Have fun and happy trails!
Curious By Nature 