Volunteer Days - Invasive Shrubs

I spent some time Saturday and Sunday doing more volunteer time with the DNR. ON Saturday we gathered burn piles of invasive shrubs that had already been cut by the DNR. They do this to maintain the prairie and the native plant life in that environment. It poured on us the whole time, but we kept at it for a couple of hours until the lightning began to strike. There were about 30 volunteers and we accomplished quite a bit in a short time, despite the weather.

On Sunday the rain was gone - just 90 degree weather, sunny skies, and heavy steamy air. We hiked through the woods cutting down invasive Common Buckthorn, Glossy Buckthorn, and Autumn Olive. Each shrub we could find was cut and herbacide was applied to the stump to prevent it from growing again. We also found and removed a few small patches of an invasive species of Parsley.

(Photo by Bill Brandon)

The day was also a great opportunity to learn MANY of the native plants!



Maindenhair Fern
(Adiantum pedatum)
I think this is
Tickseed-Sunflower
(Bidens coronatus),
but it is possibly
Western Sunflower
(Helianthus occidentalis)

White Baneberry
(Actaea pachypoda),
also called Doll's Eyes
TOXIC





Red Baneberry
(Actaea rubra)
Also TOXIC











I'm going to be tagging along on some individual projects for the DNR as well. I'm going to be learning Photo Monitoring, Insect Monitoring, and hopefully Seed Collecting. I get together with one of the current Photo Monitoring volunteers at the end of the month to see how it's done. I'm very much looking forward to it!

A Weekend of Woods and Wildflowers

I went for a hike this weekend at a nearby state park.
So many flowers in bloom!I haven't identified these two yet: I have found one of my new favorite wildflowers!
It's a Deptford Pink (Dianthus armeria). It's not native, but is naturalized. So delicate and vibrant! (See below)Mother nature is the best gardener! :)

Monotropa uniflora - Indian Pipe

What a cool find! While on a mountain biking ride in the woods, I came across this "fungus flower". I thought it was so interesting. It is a Monotropa uniflora, also known as Indian Pipe or Ghost Plant.

I was even more excited when I learned that it is a relatively rare occurrence. It is an herbaceous perennial, recently grouped in the same family as azaleas and rhododendrons. There's a short article about it on Wikipedia. What a wonderful little flower!

Calypso bulbosa

One of my favorite finds when I go out west. This was my second encounter with the beautiful Calypso bulbosa (Calypso orchid). I simply love these guys! I am always thrilled to see this relatively rare flower scattering the trails in the Rocky Mountains. What a wonderful flower!
I saw these at the Michigan Orchid Show a couple years ago. I would love to try to grow a few. They make me smile. I've heard they can be a bit tricky indoors, though not impossible. Maybe I'll give it a shot.


Another orchid I encountered on the trail in the Rockies is the Spotted Coralroot - Corallorhiza maculata. Not extremely showy, but that's usually my favorite type of flower - one that is the unobvious beauty; nature's intricate little gems.
One final note - I saw this in the same area as the other two flowers. Does anyone know what this is? Perhaps a coralroot emerging? I know there are yellow ones, but I didn't see any other yellows in bloom anywhere around.
(Click photo to enlarge)

Ferns

Just had a little fun taking pictures of the ferns on a quick trip up North to Glennie, Michigan.

I also found this while traipsing through the woods. It reminded me of a small orchid, but I learned that it is not. I had looked it up at one point and found what it was, but I forgot and will have to look it up again.