Category Archives: Phenology

Seen This Week: Color and First Snow

November 19, 2022Phenology, Plants & Fungi, Schenley Park, Weather & SkyKate St. John

Burning bush leaf and fruit, 15 Nov 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

19 November 2022

On Tuesday morning, 15 November, I found beautiful fruits on my walk in the neighborhood: Red berries on invasive burning bush (Euonymus alatus), purple berries on native American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana), and dusty blue fruit on invasive English ivy (Hedera helix).

American beautyberry, 15 Nov 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

English ivy berries, 15 Nov 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

It began to snow so I hurried home and was glad I was indoors when it came down fast. It looks peaceful in slow motion at the end of this video.

The snow stuck to the grass, parked cars, and the Pitt peregrine nest …

Snow on the Pitt peregrine nest, 15 November 2022, 2:15pm

… then melted overnight as the temperature rose and low clouds moved in.

Low clouds at 8pm, 15 Nov 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

By Friday most leaves were gone and the only green shrubs in Schenley Park were invasive plants: Bush honeysuckle in this view …

Scene in Schenley Park, 18 Nov 2022. The green shrubs are invasive honeysuckle (photo by Kate St. John)

… and bamboo near the railroad tracks.

Scene in Schenley Park, 18 Nov 2022. The green shrubs are invasive bamboo (photo by Kate St. John)

Tonight the temperature will drop to 19 degrees for a very cold start to the new week. Brrrrr!

(photos and video by Kate St. John)

Colors This Month

November 12, 2022Phenology, Plants & FungiKate St. John

Morning glory blooming in Bloomfield, 8 Nov 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

12 November 2022

Believe it or not, flowers bloomed this week in Pittsburgh. I found morning glories in Bloomfield and hawkweed at Moraine State Park.

Hawkweed blooming at Moraine State Park, 9 Nov 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

The leaves were still beautiful on 2 November but warm weather could not bring back their vibrant colors.

Viburnum leaves turn red, 2 Nov 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

Bright yellow leaves on devils walking stick, 2 Nov 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

Next week will be dull brown after frost zaps all the colors.

Hard freeze tomorrow (forecast from National Weather Service as of 12 Nov, 5:30am)

(photos by Kate St. John, forecast from the National Weather Service)

Most of the Trees Are Bare

November 10, 2022Phenology, TreesKate St. John

10 November 2022

In Pittsburgh the wind blew all day last Saturday with gusts as high at 35 mph. By Sunday morning, 6 November, most of the trees were bare.

I confirmed this at my favorite “leaf gauge” hillside in Schenley Park, above, after hiking at Hays Woods where bare trees sheltered the still-green leaves of invasive honeysuckle.

Most of the trees are bare inside Hays Woods, 6 Nov 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

Deciduous conifers are finally showing their own fall colors. Larches are yellow, dawn redwoods (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) are orange.

Deciduous needles on a dawn redwood, 7 Nov 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

The needles were dropping fast from this one in front of Phipps Conservatory.

Dawn redwood at Phipps, 7 Nov 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

Meanwhile half of the ginkgos (Ginkgo biloba) along Schenley Drive still had leaves.

Ginkgos along Schenley Drive, 7 Nov 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

Last year they weren’t bare until 20 November, below, but I predict they will be earlier this year.

Ginkgo trees lost their leaves later in 2021. This is 20 Nov (photo by Kate St. John)

Even if I couldn’t see them I can hear a clue that most of the trees are bare. The sound of leaf blowers fills my neighborhood. Maybe yours, too.

Sound of a leaf blower, Pittsburgh, 8 Nov 2022 (recorded by Kate St. John)

(photos and audio by Kate St. John)

Seen This Week: A Visit to Hays Woods

September 10, 2022Phenology, Plants & FungiKate St. John

Biennial gaura, Hays Woods, 7 Sep 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

10 September 2022

Hays Woods showed off its flowers and insects during our visit to Nick Liadis’ birding banding project on Wednesday.

Biennial gaura (Gaura biennis) and honeysuckle vine were both blooming in pink. Interestingly, gaura flowers bloom white and fade to pink, while this non-native honeysuckle starts pink and fades to white and then yellow.

Don’t be fooled by the camera’s perspective. Gaura flowers are very small compared to honeysuckle.

Non-native honeysuckle vine, Hays Woods, 7 Sep 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

A Virginian tiger moth (Spilosoma virginica or yellow woolly bear) hung out on mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris), a very common and invasive plant at Hays Woods.

Virginian tiger moth, Hays Woods, 7 Sep 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

Another invasive, Japanese knotweed (Reynoutria japonica), blooms profusely at Hays Woods. Many insect pollinators love the flowers.

Japanese knotweed in bloom, 3 Sep 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

(photos by Kate St. John)

Late August Colors

September 3, 2022Phenology, Plants & FungiKate St. John

Squash blooming at the maintenance heap in Frick Park, 27 August 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

3 September 2022

Late August colors came in orange, yellow, purple, gray and green in Frick Park and Moraine State Park.

Above, squash(*) blooms on a fence in Frick.

Yellow daisies without petals are actually tansy (Tanacetum vulgare), native to Eurasia.

Tansy blooming at Frick Park, 25 August 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

The deep purple of New York ironweed (Vernonia noveboracensis) is never true to color in my cellphone photos. Instead it looks redder than expected because the Pixel 5 Photo app apparently overcompensates for the camera’s blue bias. All cameras have problems with purple, described in this vintage article: Not Truly Blue.

Ironweed blooming at Moraine State Park, 26 August 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

This velvety bright orange mushroom in Frick deserved a photo on 25 August. Jim Chapman re-found it the next day and identified it as northern cinnabar polypore (Trametes cinnabarina, a.k.a. Pycnoporus cinnabarinus). By then it was already darker orange than this.

Cinnabar polypore, Frick Park, 25 August 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

Insects specialize on their own host plants. False sunflowers have red aphids. Wingstem (Verbesina alternifolia) has gray ones.

Wingstem with gray aphids, Frick Park, 25 August 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

And everywhere in late August there is green.

(*) Did you know that zucchini, pumpkin, summer squash and pattypan squash are all cultivars of Curcubita pepo? The plant pictured at top seems to be producing pattypan squash.

(photos by Kate St. John)

Flowers and Seeds

August 6, 2022Deer, Phenology, Plants & Fungi, Schenley ParkKate St. John

Wingstem from bud to seed, Schenley Park, 3 August 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

6 August 2022

By early August many flowers have already produced seeds. Wingstem (Verbesina alternifolia) above displays every step in the process: buds, new flowers, fading flowers and seed packets.

The three-flanged seed pods of American wild yamroot (Dioscorea villosa) are as distinctive as its pleated leaves.

American wild yamroot leaves and seeds, Jennings 29 July 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

Greater celandine (Chelidonium majus) now has both seed pods and flowers (seeds in shadow at left). This alien plant is easy to find in Schenley Park because it is toxic to deer.

Greater celandine with seeds in the background, Schenley Park, 3 August 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

Yellow jewelweed (Impatiens pallida) is much harder to find because it is ravaged by the large deer herd.

Yellow jewelweed. no seed in the picture, Schenley Park, 30 July 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

If this flower evades the deer it will turn into a seed pod that bursts explosively when ripe.

Seed pod on yellow jewelweed, Schenley Park, August 2019 (photo by Kate St. John)

(photos by Kate St. John)

Wrapping Up July

July 30, 2022Phenology, Plants & Fungi, Weather & SkyKate St. John

St. John’s wort on the South Side, 17 July 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

30 July 2022

Wrapping up July …

St. John’s wort’s yellow flowers always attract my attention because the plant shares my name. Find out what’s in the name in this vintage article from 2012.

St. John’s Plant

This month I learned that chicory flowers (Cichorium sp) last only one day. On a foggy morning I found this one, barely open and doomed to wilt by afternoon. Learn more at #bioPGH Blog: Chicory, Dickory, Dock – The Flowers are on the Clock.

Chicory opening on a cloudy morning, Schenley Park, 22 July 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

We had several spectacular sunrises in July, especially this on the 17th.

Dawn on 17 July 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

Soon we’ll say good morning to August.

(photos by Kate St. John)

Seen This Week and Last

July 16, 2022Phenology, Plants & Fungi, Weather & SkyKate St. John

Deptford pink, Butler County, 10 July 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

16 July 2022

Flowers are blooming, fruits are ripening and the sky has been spectacular. Here are just a few things seen outdoors this week and last.

Deptford pink’s (Dianthus armeria) small flower, at top, is worth a closer look. Native to Europe it does well in North America but is disappearing from the UK.
Enchanter’s nightshade (Circaea canadensis) was in bloom last week in Schenley Park, shown below.

Enchanter’s nightshade in bloom, Schenley Park (photo by Kate St. John)

Spotted wintergreen (Chimaphila maculata) is blooming in Butler County. This plant goes by several names including “striped wintergreen.” Here’s why it is not pipsissewa.

Spotted wintergreen, Butler County, PA, 10 July 2022

Wineberry fruits (Rubus phoenicolasius) are ripening in Frick Park. This shrub was introduced from Asia as breeding stock for Rubus cultivars in 1890 but it grows so vigorously that it’s now invasive in Pennsylvania. Unlike native raspberries, wineberries are sticky to the touch. They taste well enough when you eat them in the woods but are boring on cereal. I tried.

Wineberry, Frick Park, 14 July 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

Bottlebrush buckeye flowers were at their peak last week in Schenley Park. This closeup shows the feathery stamens.

Bottlebrush buckeye, closeup of flower, 8 July 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

And finally, we’ve had some spectacular sunrises in the past two weeks. A deep blue sunrise on Wed 6 July (below) and a fiery orange one on the 8th. Click here to see the fiery sunrise.

Sunrise in Pittsburgh, July 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

(photos by Kate St. John)

By The 4th Of July

July 4, 2022Books & Events, PhenologyKate St. John

Cornfield in early July in Ontario (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

4 July 2022

Some Rules of Thumb for Nature are timed “by the 4th of July.” Here are three. Can you think of more?

Corn is knee high by the 4th of July. Or at least it should be. This year in Minnesota there was worry that it might not come true. KARE 11 in Minneapolis reports:

Native rhododendrons bloom by 4th of July in the Laurel Highlands. Cultivated rhododendrons bloom in May because they’ve been bred to do so.

Rhododendron blooming, Fern Cliff, Ohiopyle, 1 July 2015 (photo by Kate St. John)

Most songbirds stop singing around the 4th of July. Others will follow this month.

Baltimore oriole (photo by Steve Gosser)

Birds sing to attract mates and maintain their nesting territories. Those that migrate to Central and South America are on such a tight schedule that they finish nesting and stop singing by early to mid July. Song sparrows, robins, and cardinals are still singing because they have new nests this month.

When is the last time you heard a Baltimore oriole sing? For that matter, when did you last see one? He won’t leave until September but he is far more discreet than he was in May.

(photos from Wikimedia Commons, Kate St. John and Steve Gosser)

Catnip, Fleabane, Mullein and More

July 2, 2022Phenology, Plants & FungiKate St. John

Catnip in bloom, Duck Hollow, 28 June 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

2 July 2022

Seen this week at Duck Hollow, listed in photo order:

Catnip (Nepeta cataria) is in bloom (at top). No cats were present but plenty of dogs walked by. The Duck Hollow trail is popular with dog-walking services.
Common mullein (Verbascum thapsus) is 5-6 feet tall now with a spike of yellow flowers.
Moth mullein (Verbascum blattaria) is a much more delicate plant than common mullein.
Daisy fleabane (Erigeron annuus) cast petal-shadows on its disks as it opened in the morning sun.
Leaf miners are active now, making squiggles inside the leaves. (I don’t know the identity of the leaves pictured below.)
Teasel (Dipsacus sp.) hasn’t bloomed yet but it is getting close.