Last week in the city parks I saw a single fruit and signs of fungus.
In Frick I was surprised to find a pawpaw fruit. I don’t usually see any because the grove of pawpaw trees in Schenley is a clonal clump that rarely produces fruit. This lonely pawpaw will ripen in September.
In Schenley Park tar spot fungus (Rhytisma sp.) is forming on Norway maple leaves as it does every summer. In July the spots are yellowish. By fall they’ll turn black like spots of tar.
American bellflower, Duck Hollow, 13 July 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
This week brought lavender flowers, green fruit and an overabundance of frogs.
I found American bellflower (Campanula americana) blooming along the Duck Hollow trail with some plants reaching six feet tall. My close-up, above, shows how the pistils avoid being fertilized by their own pollen.
American bellflower, Duck Hollow, 13 July 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
Wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) always has a bad hair day. At Schenley Park a long-legged insect stopped by for a sip (top right of flower).
Wild bergamot, Schenley Park, 12 July 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
In July the unripe fruits of white fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus) are green. This fall they’ll turn dark blue.
Fringetree fruits, Schenley Park, 12 July 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
At Panther Hollow Lake and the Westinghouse Memorial pond, pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata) is blooming …
Pickerelweed, Schenley Park, 16 July 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
… and there’s a serious overabundance of bullfrogs. Here are just a few examples.
Young bullfrogs, Schenley Park, Panther Hollow lake, 17 July 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)Young bullfrog with tail, Panther Hollow lake, 17 July 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)Young bullfrog in a wavelet, Panther Hollow lake, 17 July 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)How many bullfrogs can you count? Panther Hollow Lake, 17 July 2020
Herons don’t nest at Schenley Park but may visit for some easy prey. Where’s a great blue heron when you need one?
Aphids on Helianthus, Schenley Park, 9 July 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
12 July 2020
It’s easy to find insects in July.
Aphids in Schenley Park are expanding from plant to plant along the gravel trails, sucking the juice out of Jerusalem artichokes (Helianthus tuberosus).
Eastern bottlebrush grass, Schenley Park, 8 July 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
11 July 2020
This week I found two bottlebrushes in Schenley Park.
Eastern bottlebrush grass (Elymus hystrix) is a native perennial bunchgrass that grows in partial shade, often at the edge of forests. This one was exactly where we should expect it, glowing in the sun by the Bridle Trail.
Meanwhile the bottlebrush buckeyes (Aesculus parviflora) by Panther Hollow Lake showed off in a last hurrah. They were spectacular from a distance on 9 July but up close the lowest flowers on each spike were faded and brown. Their show is about to end.
Bottlebrush buckeyes at their peak, Schenley Park, 9 July 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
Our grocery store bananas come from Central America but that’s not where they really come from. The two seedless species are from Indomalaya, first cultivated in Papua New Guinea in 10,000 to 6500 BC.
Cultivated St. Johnswort at Westinghouse Fountain, Schenley Park, 3 July 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
There was plenty to see this week in Schenley Park even though the weather was hot.
My best visit was on Thursday morning when my friend Andrea convinced me to come out at 7:30a. I’ve been missing a lot by sitting at my computer until 9am. Best Bird: Louisiana waterthrush! Waterthrushes don’t breed in the park but they stop by in transit before and after breeding.
Best flowers this week include the bright yellow flower (above) near the Westinghouse fountain, a cultivated variety of St. Johnswort (Hypericum).
Teasel (Dipsacus), an invasive alien, has not bloomed yet but the flower buds are visible between the spikes.
Teasel flower buds not yet open, Schenley Park, 2 July 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
Spotted joe pye weed, flower buds in leaf axils, Schenley Park, 26 June 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
This week I found buds and bugs in Schenley Park.
Spotted joe pye weed (Eupatorium maculatum), above, has buds in the leaf axils but when it blooms the showy flowers at the top attract all our attention. This year I’ll have to watch for the side flowers as well.
Enchanters nightshade (Circaea canadensis), below, blooms from the bottom up and has plenty of buds yet to open. The lower buds in the photo are on a different branch.
Enchanters nightshade, Schenley Park 21 June 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
Bugs are quite evident now but they are difficult to photograph because they move(!). Below, this silver-spotted skipper (Epargyreus clarus) appeared to be rubbing its abdomen on the bird dropping. Was it ovipositing?
Silver spotted skipper on a bird dropping, Schenley Park (photo by Kate St. John)
Aphids are not plentiful this year — yet — but it’s only a matter of time. There’s only one winged adult in this photo but the juveniles will grow up, sprout wings, and fly to other Helianthus plants to reproduce. It won’t be long before I think there are too many.
Aphids on Helianthus stem (photo by Kate St. John)
And finally, some bugs are never seen but we know they were there … as this leaf attests.
Insect damage on a leaf. No insect visible (photo by Kate St. John)
Plants are getting interesting as the next flower season begins in Pittsburgh.
Last week I found chickory (Cichorium intybus) and thimbleweed (Anemone virginiana) blooming in the city and a variety of flowers north of town.
Thimbleweed, Duck Hollow, 19 June 2020
On 17 June six friends and I gathered at Wolf Creek Narrows to bird watch and botanize.
I was hoping to find ramps (Allium tricoccum) in full bloom but we were too early to see the balls of flowers that become these unusual starburst seed pods. Note that the leaves in the background are a different plant. Ramps don’t have leaves when they bloom.
Ramps not yet in full bloom, Wolf Creek Narrows, 17 June 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
Partridgeberry, Wolf Creek Narrows, 17 June 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
Indian cucumber root, Wolf Creek Narrows, 17 June 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
Meanwhile, as you examine the flowers, keep your eyes open for bugs. I found this one on golden alexanders in Schenley Park. Is he piercing that flower to suck the juice?
Insect on golden alexanders, Schenley Park, 13 June 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
Spittlebug foam, McConnell’s Mill State Park, 12 June 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
There are white foam patches on plant stems now in western Pennsylvania that indicate it’s spittlebug season.
Spittlebugs are nymphal froghoppers that suck the juice out of plants and excrete it as a sticky foam to protect themselves from temperature extremes, dessication and predators.
I’ve never seen a spittlebug but I haven’t looked closely. Fortunately Rod Innes’ 2011 video shows what these insects are up to. Way cool!
There are also some coming attractions outdoors.
Mulberries are bearing fruit in western Pennsylvania, attracting birds and smashing on the sidewalk. Read more about them in this vintage article: Mulberries Underfoot.
Mulberry tree in fruit, Magee Field, 18 June 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
Mulberries smashed underfoot, Magee Field, 18 June 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
Schenley Park’s bottlebrush buckeyes are almost ready to bloom as shown below on 11 June. Stop by the park in early July to see the flowers in full glory at two locations: South side of Panther Hollow Lake (left side of lake as seen from Panther Hollow Bridge) and across West Circuit Road from the Westinghouse Fountain.
Bottlebrush buckeye flower buds, Schenley Park, 11 June 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
When bottlebrush buckeyes bloom they look like this.
Bottlebrush buckeye flowers, Schenley Park, 6 July 2018 (photo by Kate St. John)
Bottlebrush buckeyes, Schenley Park, 9 July 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
Common cinquefoil, 8 June 2020, Schenley Park (photo by Kate St. John)
13 June 2020
In the past week I’ve found flowers and insects in Schenley Park, on Laurel Mountain, and at McConnell’s Mill State Park. Here are the best of the lot.
Ohio spiderwort, Schenley Park, 11 Jun 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)Common wood sorrel, 12 June 2020, McConnell’s Mill State Park (photo by Kate St. John)
At McConnell’s Mill, white baneberry (Actaea pachypoda) bloomed in May and is already forming berries that become dolls eyes in October. I used two photographic techniques on the same plant. The slideshow shows what a difference that makes.
Dolls eyes in portrait mode (photo by Kate St. John)
Dolls eyes in camera mode (photo by Kate St. John)
The mosquitoes are out on Laurel Mountain, especially at dusk, but so are the caterpillars. This oak-eating caterpillar took a chunk out of a leaf but will become a tasty snack for a baby bird if the parents find it.
Caterpillar eating oak leaf near Spruce Flats Bog, 8 June 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
Leaves are also food for tiny gall-making insects as seen on this leaf in Schenley Park.
Galls on a leaf in Schenley Park, 5 June 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
As I said it’s bug season, so be prepared when you visit the woods.
