With sunny skies, warmer temperatures, and no snow(!) this weekend, I felt it was a good time to stroll along the Mohawk Hudson Bike-Hike Trail in the City of Cohoes and Town of Colonie to continue my wildflower inventory of ~8-mile segment of that trail system. Kevin Kenny has created an iNaturalist project named Flowers of the Mohawk Hudson Bike-Hike Trail that is aggregating our contributions. He is inventorying a similar distance immediately west of my segment.
Despite last week’s snow and some rather roller-coaster temperatures over the past couple of weeks, many species of wildflowers seem to be progressing largely on schedule. Hope you can find an opportunity to similarly stretch your legs and view the blooming beauties now on display!
Here is a sampling of what I encountered:
Thyme-leaved Speedwell (Veronica serpyllifolia)Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)Common Shadbush (Amelanchier arborea)A closeup view of Common Shadbush (Amelanchier arborea)Common Blue Violet (Viola sororia)Common Whitlow Grass (Draba verna)Round-lobed Hepatica (Hepatica americana)Rue Anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides)Norway Maple (Acer platanoides)Siberian Squill (Scilla siberica) – no doubt a garden escapee!Sweet White Violet (Viola blanda)Dog Violet (Viola labradorica)Small-flowered Crowfoot (Ranunculus abortivus)
This week, I’m featuring American Fly Honeysuckle (Lonicera canadensis) as one of our local wildflowers that begins to bloom at this time.
The genus, Lonicera, is named for Adam Lonicer (1528 – 1586), a German botanist noted for his 1557 revised version of Eucharius Rösslin’s herbal, Kräuter-Buch.
American Fly Honeysuckle is a deciduous shrub that grows from 2-5 feet tall. It is loosely branched, with relatively sparse, flexible, and irregularly placed branches. Main stems have light brown to brownish gray bark while the twigs are green to purplish. Older bark is brown to gray and often peeling in strips.
The leaves of American Fly Honeysuckle are simple, meaning that the leaves have a single, undivided blade and are light green in color. They are 1½ to 3½ inches long, 1-2” wide, and pointed at the tips. The leaves are opposite, emerging from the twig in pairs, directly across from one another. The margins (edges) of the leaves are toothless, but they are fringed with very fine hairs. Leaves are elliptical to egg-shaped, rounded to somewhat heart-shaped at the base, on a short stalk.
American Fly Honeysuckle produces paired flowers that are pale yellow sometimes tinged with purple and have 5 flaring triangular lobes. The fragrant tubular or funnel-shaped flowers, which are ½ to ¾ inch long, tend to hang downward emerging from the leaf axils near the tips of one-year-old branches.
American Fly Honeysuckle’s flowers are followed by fruit in the form of a divergent pair of bright red, oval berries, that are fused only at the base and suspended from the ends of long stalks. They are about ¼ inch long and point in opposite directions; they enclose several seeds.
The fruit of American Fly Honeysuckle is edible, but few are produced on any given plant.
Several North American Indian tribes found a variety of medicinal uses for American Fly Honeysuckle. The Iroquois, for instance, incorporated it as part of complex compound used as a blood purifier and an infusion of the bark as a sedative for children. The Menomini used the bark to treat urinary diseases. The Montagnais and Potawotomi steeped the branches for use as a diuretic.
Wildlife Value:
Halictid bees suck nectar or collect pollen from American Fly Honeysuckle, while other bees (including long-tongued bees, such as Half-black Bumble Bee (Bombus vagans), Maine Blueberry Bee (Osmia atriventris), and Beardtongue Mason (Osmia distincta); and short-tongued bees, such as Macoupin Sweat Bee (Lasioglossum macoupinense), Cherry Miner (Andrena pruni), and Neighborly Miner (Andrena vicina)) and the Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) suck only nectar from its blooms. Bumblebees will often perforate the flower at its base to suck nectar.
I am very disappointed to announce that I must CANCEL this walk for Saturday.
I had not anticipated such a large response (>35 and counting) and the very small parking lot with no nearby parking available makes this a very unsafe traffic hazard along Riverview Road as well as a parking nightmare on this property. I apologize for this late notice and for any inconvenience.
I encourage you to visit this property on your own during the next 2-3 weeks to see these blooming beauties. The best spot to view them is as follows: walk past the gate along gravel driveway toward the pond, then turn left on path into the woods before you get to the pond. Proceed along path to a swale that crosses this path near the far end of the pond. Many Carolina Spring Beauty plants can be viewed on the left; proceed along this path to another driveway. Turn right and follow this path back to the other end of pond, then follow the gravel driveway back up hill to the gate where you entered. All along these driveways be watching for Cut-leaved Toothwort. Enjoy!
This week, I’m featuring Canadian Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense) as one of our local wildflowers that begins to bloom at this time.
PLEASE NOTE: Culturally Significant Plant = Ethnobotanic Uses: Many American Indian nations used the plant to flavor foods as well as for numerous medicinal applications. Read more.
This plant is called ‘Wild Ginger’ because the aromatic rhizomes have a ginger-like fragrance and flavor.
Identification Tips:
This herbaceous perennial plant is 4-12″ tall, consisting of a short stem that branches at ground level into 2 basal leaves with long petioles. The basal leaves are up to 3″ long and 4″ across, heart- to kidney-shaped with a pointed or rounded tip and a deep cleft at the base. The underside of each leaf is densely covered in soft hairs and the upper surface is slightly hairy and shiny. When leaves first emerge they are folded up and flat like a book, but unfurl within a couple days.
From the axil of a pair of leaves, develops a single reddish-brown sweetly fragrant flower on a short stalk. The solitary tubular flower is at ground level, hidden below the leaves. Both the flowering stalk and the petioles of the leaves are covered with white hairs that are long and twisted. The flower is about 1″ across and covered in long white hairs; it has 3 triangular petal-like sepals with elongated tips that curl backward.
Canadian Wild Ginger tends to grow in colonies, spreading vegetatively through its spreading rhizomes.
Folklore:
To aid in the catching of catfish, the Meskwaki people would chew the root of this plant and then add their spittle on the bait. The dried flower is used as a charm.
Culinary and Medicinal Uses:
Fresh or dried roots were used by early Americans as a substitute for Ginger (Zingiber officinale), but the plant is not normally used today for culinary purposes. The plant contains aristolochic acid, a carcinogenic compound. The United States Food and Drug Administration warns that consumption of aristolochic acid-containing products is associated with “permanent kidney damage, sometimes resulting in kidney failure that has required kidney dialysis or kidney transplantation. In addition, some patients have developed certain types of cancers, most often occurring in the urinary tract.”
The Ojibwe used the roots of this plant as an appetizer by putting it in any food as it was being cooked. The Meskwaki and Potawotomi used the root to enhance the flavor of some foods (particularly meat or fish), but also to improve the flavor of otherwise unpalatable food.
The Abnaki used a decoction of the plant in combination with another plant for the treatment of colds. The Ojibwe used the plant for indigestion. The Iroquois used the roots to treat scarlet fever, colds, urinary disorders, and headaches. The Cherokee used the plant for a wide variety of medicinal purposes. The roots were used to treat coughs, colds, heart trouble, and blood medicine. The Meskwaki would place the cooked root into the ear for earache or sore ears. The Menomini used the fresh or dried roots of Canadian Wild Ginger as a mild stomachic. When the patient was weak or had a weak stomach and it might be fatal to eat something he craved, he was fed a part of this root. Whatever he wanted could then be eaten with impunity. The Micmac also used the root as a stomachic and to treat cramps. Native Americans used the plant as a medicinal herb to treat a number of ailments including dysentery, digestive problems, swollen breasts, coughs and colds, typhus, scarlet fever, nerves, sore throats, cramps, heaves, earaches, headaches, convulsions, asthma, tuberculosis, urinary disorders, and venereal disease. In addition, they also used it as a stimulant or appetite enhancer. It was also used as an admixture to strengthen other herbal preparations.
Wildlife Value:
The reddish-brown flowers probably attract flies or beetles as pollinating agents. The flower evolved to attract small pollinating flies that emerge from the ground early in the spring looking for a thawing carcass of an animal that did not survive the winter. By lying next to the ground, the flower is readily found by the emerging flies. The color of the flower is similar to that of decomposing flesh. Whether these flies pollinate the flower or not is in some dispute. Nevertheless, these insects do enter the flower to escape the cold winds of early spring and to feast upon the pollen. Some of the pollen attaches to their bodies and is taken with them when they visit the next flower. However, it seems more likely that Canadian Wild Ginger is a self-pollinator. Whether or not pollination occurs early in its development, later in the life of the flower both inner and outer stamens move into an upright position, thereby moving closer to the stigma. Because the flower is oriented downward, this change in the position of the stamens allows for the pollen to fall onto the stigma, thereby accomplishing self-pollination.
The seeds of Canadian Wild Ginger produce a lipid-rich appendage called an elaiosome, which is a nutritious food source for ants. Ants collect the seeds and carry them back to their nest, where they consume the elaiosome and discard the intact and viable seeds in old galleries or refuse tunnels. These refuse areas tend to be high in organic matter, phosphorus, potassium, and nitrogen, making them ideal for germinating the discarded seeds. The mutually beneficial relationship between this plant and native ants is known as “myrmecochory” or ant farming. The ants benefit from the nutritious food source, while the seeds that are “planted” in ant nests are safe from predation by rodents, avoid competition with parent plants, and have access to the essential nutrients present in the underground nests.
The toxic foliage is not eaten by mammalian herbivores.
This week, I’m featuring Carolina Spring Beauty (Claytonia caroliniana) as one of our local wildflowers that begins to bloom at this time.
The genus name, Claytonia, is named in honor of John Clayton (1686-1773), who botanized Virginia for 51 years.
Identification Tips:
Carolina Spring Beauty is a small herbaceous plant, generally under six inches in height. Its opposite leaves are medium green, about one to three inches long and about 3/4 inch wide, and occur halfway up the stem. The leaves have a prominent central vein and are broadly lance-shaped, tapering to a point at the tip and tapering at the base to an obvious leaf stem. The margins (leaf edges) are smooth.
Carolina Spring Beauty can be distinguished from a closely related plant which also occurs in this area – Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica) – by the shape of the leaves. Spring Beauty has very narrow leaves, in contrast to Carolina Spring Beauty’s much shorter and wider leaves.
The fragrant flowers are borne in a loose cluster (raceme) in the upper part of the stem that elongates to several inches as the plant matures. Individual blooms are delicate and tiny, about half an inch wide, with five pink or white petals. The petals are accented with darker pink veins, giving the flower a candy-striped appearance. The pink stripes serve to guide pollinators to nectar. The flower has five stamens, each with a deep pink tip. Carolina Spring Beauty is one of the earliest spring ephemerals to bloom. The flowers close up at night and on cloudy days. Closed flowers and buds nod down and become erect when the flower opens. One plant has a single cluster of 5 or more flowers, though not all may be open at the same time.
Carolina Spring Beauty
A flower is replaced with fruit that is an egg-shaped capsule containing several seeds.
Culinary and Medicinal Uses:
The underground corms contain starch and are edible, but, due to their small size and difficulty in harvesting them, this plant has not been routinely foraged for food.
The seeds of both species of Spring Beauty produce a lipid-rich appendage called an elaiosome, which is a nutritious food source for ants. Ants collect the seeds and carry them back to their nest, where they consume the elaiosome and discard the intact and viable seeds in old galleries or refuse tunnels. These refuse areas tend to be high in organic matter, phosphorus, potassium, and nitrogen, making them ideal for germinating the discarded Spring Beauty seeds. The mutually beneficial relationship between this plant and native ants is known as “myrmecochory” or ant farming. The ants benefit from the nutritious food source, while the seeds that are “planted” in ant nests are safe from predation by rodents, avoid competition with parent plants, and have access to the essential nutrients present in the underground nests.
A mining bee, more particularly Andrena erigeniae, is a pollen specialist in that it principally collects pollen from the two species of Spring Beauty, Carolina Spring Beauty and Virginia (or Narrow-leaved) Spring Beauty. A female bee forms the collected pollen into balls and places a single ball into an individual underground brood chamber, which she has dug with her jaws and legs, along with a single egg. Each larvae feeds on the food within its own chamber and evolves into an adult by the following spring, then emerges just as Spring Beauties begin to flower once again.
Carolina Spring Beauty is of marginal wildlife value. Only the bulb-like corms serve as wildlife food; they are dug and consumed in spring by Eastern Chipmunk (Tamias striatus) and White-footed Mouse (Peromyscus leucopus).
This week, I’m featuring American Hazelnut (Corylus americana) as one of our local wildflowers that begins to bloom at this time.
The common name of hazelnut is derived from ‘hazel’, the old English name for filbert. The genus, Corylus, is derived from the Greek word ‘korus’, meaning ‘helmet’ and refers to the shape and hardness of the nut shells.
Identification Tips:
American Hazelnut is a thicket-forming native shrub usually multi-stemmed at the base that grows to 4-15’ tall and abundantly branched. The bark is gray and smooth on young branches, becoming more rough on older branches and on each main stem. Young twigs are brown and often covered with reddish brown hairs. Alternate leaves are up to 6″ long and 4½” across; they are oval-ovate and doubly serrated along the margin. The upper surfaces of the leaves are medium green and hairless to mostly hairless, while their lower surfaces have stiff short hairs. Slender leaf stems (petioles) are up to 1/3″ long and usually hairy.
Hazelnuts are among the first plants to flower in spring.
American Hazelnut is monoecious with male (staminate) and female (pistillate) flowers developing on the same shrub. These flowers develop near the tips of second-year branches. Immature male flowers are found on catkins during the fall, which persist through the winter; these catkins are narrowly cylindrical in shape. During early spring, the male catkins become longer (about 2-4″ in length) while drooping from their branches, and their flowers bloom. The female flowers also bloom during early spring. Several female flowers bloom together from a small swollen bud that is surrounded by protective bracts; only the stigma protrude, looking like thin red threads.
Female flower (pink) and male flower (yellow catkin) of American Hazelnut (Corylus americana)
After blooming, the male catkins turn brown and wither away, while fertile female flowers develop into a small cluster of nuts on short branches. Each nut is enclosed by two protective bracts that are initially light green, but later turn brown when the nuts ripen. Usually, the outer surface of these bracts has fine silky hairs. The wide outer margins of these bracts are deeply cleft into ragged lobes; they are appressed together. Each nut is about ½” across, globelike in shape, and slightly compressed; it is tan-colored at its apex and brown below.
American Hazelnut cluster of nuts
During the fall, its deciduous leaves become yellowish green, orange, red, or purple.
Fall colors of American Hazelnut
Folklore:
American Hazelnut symbolizes wisdom and knowledge.
Culinary and Medicinal Uses:
American Hazelnut is usually found on drier sites than the closely related Beaked Hazelnut (Corylus cornuta), but both species will often be found in close proximity to one another. That makes for convenient foraging for their ripened nuts in late August. For helpful tips on foraging for hazelnuts, view my Foraging for Wild Edibles: Hazelnuts.
American Indians used American Hazelnut for a variety of medicinal uses. The Huron used a bark poultice for ulcers and tumors. The Chippewa used the roots of hazelnut and White Oak (Quercus alba) combined with the inner bark of Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana) and the heart of Ironwood (Carpinus caroliniana) for hemorrhages or serious lung conditions. Similarly, the Ojibwa used a bark poultice on cuts.
Wildlife Value:
The American Hazelnut is a host plant to the caterpillar of the LunaMoth (Actias luna).
The nuts are eaten by such birds as Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata), Red-Bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus), Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus), and Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo), and the male catkins and buds are an important source of winter food for Ruffed Grouse and Wild Turkey. Mammals that eat the nuts include the Deer Mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus), Eastern Chipmunk (Tamias striatus), Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis), Red Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris), and White-Footed Mouse (Peromyscus leucopus). Eastern Cottontail Rabbit (Sylvilagus floridanus) and White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) browse on the twigs and leaves. When this shrub grows near water, Beavers (Castor canadensis) use the stems as a source of food and in the construction of their lodges and dams.
Curious By Nature 