August 29, 2011 Fen Flowers at Crooked Lake Nature Preserve

You are not alone if you don't anything about fens --- there aren't many of them left within 60 miles of Goshen.  Fens are mineral-rich wetlands, fed by calcareous groundwater seeps.  Fens tend to be alkaline, in contrast to bogs, which tend to be acidic.  Fens and bogs have some plants in common, but each of the two wetlands has unique flora too.

Below are photos of native fen wildflowers now blooming at Crooked Lake Nature Preserve, approximately five miles southeast of Wolf Lake IN. (From US 33 in Wolf Lake, take SR 109 south to CR 500 S, then east to 250W and south to 600S.)

Nature Preserve paring lot, corner of Noble CR 250W & 600S

From the parking lot, take the trail south about 1/4 mile to Crooked Lake; then keep left (east) on the trail along the lake to a boardwalk that crosses the small fen, between a hill and the lake, pictured below.

Fen Thistle and Preying Mantis

The vegetation you see beyond the Fen Thistle, Cirsium muticum , includes sedges and a variety of wildflowers. This thistle is a native species that grows in wetlands; it is a completely different species than the invasive thistles that are common in fields and along roadsides.

Grass of Parnassus

Fen Grass of Parnassus; N. B. the basal leaves

Fen Grass of Parnassus, Parnassia glauca, flowers are on leafless stalks that bolt from a whorl of basal leaves; it is nothing like a grass.  The long,  thin, grass-like leaves throughout the photo are sedges, not Grass-of-Parnassus.  So far I have found P. glauca at only two places in Michiana; both are fens.

Rough-leaved Goldenrod

Ar first glance, the Rough-leaved Goldenrod may look like the any other goldenrod.  But notice the big, broad leaves at the bottom; they feel like sandpaper.  Rough-leaved Goldenrod grows in wetlands throughout Michiana.

Purple False-Foxglove and caterpillar

Purple False-Foxglove, Agalinis pupurea, grows in other wetlands too, not only in fens.

Purple Loosestrife, Lythrum salicaria

Purple Loosestrife is a noxious plant that has invaded many wetlands, including the Crooked Lake Fen.  It was introduced to North America from Eurasia and now crowds out our native wetland plants.  You are most welcome to pull up Purple Loosestrife whenever you see it; it is tenacious, so you will have to pull hard.

August 28, 2011 A Ditch Full of Flowers Along the Pumpkinvine Trail

Bikers who ride The Pumpkinvine Nature Trail between Elkhart County Roads 28 and 33 may want to take time to "smell the flowers" where the trail goes from the fields into the wooded section, shown in the photo below.

Just to the right is a ditch that has a surprising variety of native wildflowers that thrive where the soil is moist most of the time.  There are brambles, as well as wildflowers, in the ditch, so you will need long pants if you explore the area.  Below are photos of what you may see blooming in only a 10 yard long walk in the ditch.

Orange Jewelweed and Great Blue Lobelia

Within a few weeks Jewelweed, AKA Touch-Me-Not, Impatiens capensis, flowers will morph into seed-pods that split open and eject their seeds when you touch them.  Great Blue Lobelia, Lobelia siphilitica, flowers are striking.  Like other Lobelias, their flowers have 3 petals pointing down and 2 pointing up, which you will see better if you click on the  photos to enlarge them.

Great Blue Lobelia

Cardinal Flower

Cardinal Flower, Lobelia cardinalis, is even more showy than Great Blue Lobelia; they both have similar flower structures.

Cardinal Flower and Orange Jewelweed

Boneset and Orange Jewelweed

Boneset, Eupatorium perfoliatum, has opposite leaves that join together, completely surrounding the stem - "perfoliate" is the botanical term for leaves that surround the stem.  You may click on the photo to see the perfoliate leaves more clearly.

All of the native wildflowers pictured above are common throughout northern Indiana and southern Michigan, but because they grow in wetlands, which frequently are not easily accessible, you have to go out your way to see them.  It is worth the effort.

Aug. 14, 2011, Nature Re-Etablished: From Field Back to Wet Prairie

Great Blue Lobelia, Lobelia siphilitica (Double-click on photo)

Driving along Kosciusko CR 600 N, west of Clunette, IN I saw one of my favorite wildflowers, Great Blue Lobelia, growing at the edge of an abandoned, wet field.  I had to stop, don my knee boots, jump the ditch and walk in to see what all was blooming in the field.

Swamp Milkweed (pink) Âsclepias incarnata & Boneset (white)

After seeing Swamp Milkweed, Boneset, Monkeyflower, Blue Vervain, Smartweed, Flat-topped Goldenrod, sedges and rushes I realized I was in an old field that was succeeding back to a  wet prairie plant community.

Swamp Milkweed and Monkeyflower

Monkeyflower, Mimulus alatus

Blue Vervain, Verbena hastata & Bonset, Eupatorium perfoliatum

Pennsylvania Smartweed, Polygonum pensylvanicum

Flat-topped Goldenrod, Euthania graminifolia & Boneset

 After I jumped back across the ditch and was taking off my boots, a good neighbor drove by in his pick-up and kindly asked if I needed help.  I replied that I had been in the old field to admire all the native plants.  He explained that the field hadn't been planted for the past three or four years and said that he hoped the owner would not try to farm the wet, peaty ground again.  I agreed completely.

August Roadside Wildflowers

The roadside flora has changed  completely since my Late May Roadside Flowers post.  Drive south from Goshen on Indiana SR 15 and continue about 1/2 mile south of the US 6 intersection.  The wide strip of land to the east, between SR 5 and the railroad, supports a fine show of native wildflowers.

Three species of the Milkweed Family are in bloom.  The suffix "weed" is unfortunate because they are all native grassland plants with beautiful flowers.  I saw monarch butterflies visiting the flowers of all three species.  The orange Butterfly weed will catch your eye first.

Butterflyweed, Ascplepias tuberosa

Whorled Milkweed, Ascplepias verticillata, from the road

Whorled Milkweed is also visible from the road, but you have to pull over and get out to see the small flowers and thin, whorled leaves.

If you double-click on the photo you can see the individual flowers that have their five petals pointing up and their five sepals pointing down, as illustrated in drawing below, from the USDA Plant Database.

This five up & five down flower structure (lower left diagram in the above illustration) is typical of most milkweed flowers, including the A. tuberosa, A. verticillata, and A. syriaca (Common Milkweed), which is growing close by the other two species.

Common Milkweed, Asclepia syriaca. 

Double-clcik on the above photo to see theflower structure.

Common Milkweed pod

Most of the Common milkweed are past flowering - pods have set on.  Bugs are common on the pods and monarch eggs and caterpillars are on the undersides of some leaves.

Flowering Spurge,  Euphorbia corollata

Flowering Spurge is another native plant growing near the milkweeds.  A milky juice exudes from the stem when a leaf breaks off, as happens for milkweeds too, but Spurges belong to another plant family.  Below are other native plants growing nearby

Flowering Spurge (white), Tall Ironweed (purple),Veronia gigantea

 

 

Great Ragweed (center), Horseweed (both sides)

Most people consider Great Ragweed, Ambrosia trifida, and Horseweed, Conzya canadensis, as noxious weeds, even though both are native species.  Both are as tall as a horse and invade disrupted areas.

Two introduced, i.e., not native, that are common along roadsides now are Bouncing Bet and Crown Vetch. 

Bouncing Bet, Saponaria officinalis

Crown Vetch, Coronilla vaira

The Indiana Department of Transportation plants Crown Vetch as a roadside ground cover, but it escapes to neighboring fields.

Orchids Near You

In my August 11 post, Wildflowers Far Away in Newfoundland, I included pictures of three orchids and noted there are orchids in Indiana too. Michael Homoya describes over 40 species in his book Orchids of Indiana.  But they are hard to find -- most are not showy and some are rare. Often they grow in remote or wet areas that are difficult to access.  In ten years of looking for orchids within  reasonable drive distance, I have only found eight species; I have taken photos of six species.   Below are my photos of Indiana Orchids, in the sequence they bloom.  (Please double click on the photos to enlarge them.)

Showy Orchis, Galearis spectabilis, Orchid Family, early May

Twayblade, Liparis lillifolia, Orchid Family - late May

Puttyroot flowers, Aplectrum hyemale, Orchid Family, late May

Puttyroot leaves, September to May

Puttyroot leaves begin emerging in September and stay green until May, when they die back.  In late May the leafless flower stalk emerges.  I have found Puttyroot in three woods in Elkhart and LaGrange Counties.

Shining Ladies' Tresses, Spiranthes lucida, early June

A botanist first told me of a fen in Whitley County where this orchid grew.  I went immediately and found it.  A week later I was walking in a wetland in Elkhart County and happened upon it.  Neither Homoya's Orchids of Indiana, nor the USDA Plants Data Base report Shining Ladies' Tresses in Elkhart County.

Rattlesnake Orchid, Goodyear pubescens, July & August

 Rattlesnake orchid gets its common name from the prominent white leaf veins that make the leaves look a bit like rattlesnake skin.  The attractive leaves last through the winter.

Nodding Ladies' Tresses, Spiranthes cernua, Sept.

Nodding Ladies Tresses tend to grow in bogs and other wetlands.  I have seen them in a flotting sphagnum bog in Elkhart, County and in a wet prairie in Noble County.

I have seen both Pink Lady's Slipper, Cypripedium acaule and yellow Lady's Slippers, Cypripedium calceolus in Michiana, but I haven't found them scince I started photographing wildflowers.  I will keep on the lookout for them. 

August 13, 2011 Wildflowers Around Baintertown Pond

Baintertown Pond is in the Baintertwon Park section of River Preserve County Park.  Many native wildflowers thrive between the edge of the pond and the grassy path.  The flowers pictured below are in the order we saw them as we walked around the east pond.

Partridge Pea, Chamaecrista fasciulata - Pea Family

Field Thistle, Cirsium discolor - Sunflower or Aster Family

Field Thistle is one of several native thistles that grow around Goshen.  There are also introduced thistles, such as Canada Thistle and Bull Thistle, that invade native plant communities.

Tall Ironweed, Veronia gigantea - Sunflower or Aster Family

Swamp Milkweed, Asclepias incarnata - Milkweed Family

Swamp Loosestrife,  Decodon verticillatus - Loosesrtife Family

Rose-Mallow, Hibiscus moscheutos - Hibiscus Family

Halberd-Leaved Rose-Mallow, Hibiscus laevis -Hibiscus Family

The flowers of both species of Rose-Mallow may be pink or white.  The easiest way to distinguish them is leaf shape.  The Halberd-Leaved Rose-Mallow has leaves that are shaped like an ancient European weapon, the Halberd.

Winged Monkeyflower, Mimulus alatus - Figwort Family

The Figwort Family includes Snapdragons and many local, native plants with irregular flowers.

Blue Vervain, Verbena hastata - Vervain family

Obedient Plant, Physostega virginiana -  Mint Family

Below is a list of other native plants in bloom near the pond:

Prairie Rosinweed,  Silphium integrifolia, Sunflower Family
Gray-Headed Coneflower, Ratibida pinnata, Sunflower Family
Common Fleabane, Erigeon philadelphicus, Sunflower Family
American Indian Hemp,  Apocynum cannibinum - Dogbane Family
Common Evening Primrose, Oneotera biennis, Evening Primrose Family
Horsemint, Monarda punctata, Mint Family
Horse Nettle, Solanum carolinense - Nightshade Family
Pale Indian Plantain, Arnoglossum atriplicifolium - Sunflower Family
Pokeweed, Phytolacca americana - Pokeweed Family
Jerusalem Artichoke, Helianthus tuberosa -Sunflower Family

The following introduced (i.e., not native) plants are in flower near the pond:

Queen Anne's Lace, Daucus carota - Carrot Family
Bouncing Bet, Saponaria officinalis - Pink Family
Common Mullein, Verbascum thapsus - Figwort Family