Category Archives: Plants & Fungi

plants & fungi

Last Week’s Flowers And Trees

Phenology, Plants & Fungi
Nodding Trillium, Barking Slopes, 22 April 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

26 April 2020

April 19-25 was another good week for beautiful flowers and new leaves in southwestern Pennsylvania. Check the captions on my photos for species, date and location. Thanks to John English for the white violet from Frick Park.

BONUS! There’s mystery plant to identify at the end. Yes, it’s probably an alien.

Twin Jack-in-the-pulpits at Barking Slopes, 22 April 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
Large-flowered trillium, Barking Slopes, 22 April 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
Ground ivy or Gill-over-the-ground (an alien) at Duck Hollow, 19 April 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
Star chickweed, Barking Slopes, 22 April 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

In Frick Park yesterday, John English found white violets.

White violet, Frick Park, 25 April 2020 (photo by John English)

Mystery plant shown below. … By the way, thank you for your suggestions regarding the iNaturalist app. I don’t use it to identify things because I get sucked into email/messaging when I use my cellphone outdoors. There’s a side benefit, though. You have a puzzle to solve.

Question: Can you tell me what plant this is? I photographed these new leaves at Boyce-Mayview Park because I love their wrinkled texture. They remind me of an invasive ornamental shrub called Jetbead which is currently blooming in Schenley Park but this shrub has no flowers. Please leave a comment with your answer.

ANSWER! This is Viburnum plicatum otherwise known as Snowball bush. It’s from Japan. Thank you, Dianne Machesney.

Snowball bush, Boyce-Mayview Park, 20 April 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

(photos by Kate St. John & John English)

This Week’s Flowers And Trees

Phenology, Plants & Fungi
Redbud blooming in Schenley Park, 16 April 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

18 April 2020:

On my solitary walks during the COVID-19 shutdown I find more and more beauty as Spring comes to Pittsburgh. Here are a few of the flowers and trees that bloomed this week. See the captions for species, location and date.

Coltsfoot at Barking Slopes, Easter Sunday, 12 April 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
Spring Beauty at Barking Slopes, 12 April 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
Large-flowered bellwort, Barking Slopes, 12 April 2020 (photo by Kate St. John edited on Pixel using “color pop”)
Large-flowered trillium, Barking Slopes, 12 April 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
A tiny leaf opens on bottlebrush buckeye, Schenley Park, 16 April 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
Virginia bluebells at Schenley Park, 16 April 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

Frost damage: Yellow buckeyes are some of the earliest trees to leaf out but they pay a price if the temperature falls below freezing as it did this week. The early leaves are wilted on this yellow buckeye in Schenley Park.

And finally, a mystery flower in a waste place in Schenley Park. I think it’s an alien. Can you tell me what it is? (Newcomb’s: 4 petals with alternate, toothed leaves). ANSWER: Thanks to Dianne Machesney. This is Field Pennycress and yes it’s an alien.

Field Pennycress is an alien, Schenley Park, 16 April 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

(photos by Kate St. John)

Blooming This Week

Phenology, Plants & Fungi
Violets blooming after the rain, Schenley Park, 7 Apr 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

11 April 2020:

During the COVID-19 shutdown my daily treat is to go outdoors, watch birds, and take photos of flowers. Here’s a bit of beauty to brighten your Saturday.

Above, blue violets in the grass in Schenley Park. Below, a selection of photos from Raccoon Creek Wildflower Reserve.

  • Bluets, Raccoon WFR, 8 April 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

(photos by Kate St. John)

How Early Is Spring In Your Neighborhood?

Phenology, Plants & Fungi
Bloodroot blooming at Duck Hollow, 4 April 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

7 April 2020

If you live in the southern or eastern U.S., spring leaf out has come 10 to 20 days early this year. The anomalies are evident in dark red on yesterday’s National Phenology Network map (USANPN).

Spring is at least 10 days early in Pittsburgh. I’ve noticed yellow buckeye trees (Aesculus flava) on the south-facing slopes are in full leaf, …

Yellow buckeye in full leaf, Schenley Park, 4 April 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

… choke cherries and crabapples are in full bloom, …

… and the willows glow with pale green leaves in Schenley Park.

Pale green willow trees in Schenley Park, 5 April 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

Interestingly, a few places in the Midwest and south central Great Plains have a slightly delayed spring (blue on the map). It all depends on where you live.

Spring Leaf Index as of 6 Apr 2020 (animation from USA National Phenology Network)

How early is spring in your neighborhood?

(photos by Kate St. John, maps from USA National Phenology Network)

A Few Spring Pictures From Duck Hollow

Phenology, Plants & Fungi
Lesser celandine in bloom (an invasive), Duck Hollow, 3 Apr 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

Here are a few bright photos taken at Duck Hollow yesterday, 3 April 2020, some by John English, some by myself. Yes, we were there at the same time. Yes, we stayed 6 feet apart!

Above, lesser celandine (Ficaria verna) blankets the Monongahela shore with bright yellow flowers. They are beautiful but very invasive. Note this photo from Fox Chapel.

Ducks! a pair of buffleheads snoozing, 3 April 2020 (photo by John English)
Hairy bittercress is getting tall (photo by John English)

These “true bugs” called boxelder bugs (Boisea trivittata) were abundant near the railroad tracks. They are especially fond of mating on the rails.

Boxelder bug at Duck Hollow, 3 April 2020 (photo by John English)

Trees are in bloom all around Pittsburgh.

Flowering tree in the Duck Hollow neighborhood, 3 April 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

Today promises to be another fine day. Remember: Don’t travel far (Stay At Home) and maintain physical distance outdoors (6 feet+).

(photos by John English and Kate St. John)

Signs of Spring: Flowers & Leaves

Phenology, Plants & Fungi, Schenley Park
Purple deadnettle in Schenley Park, 1 April 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

2 April 2020

Spring keeps coming to Pittsburgh in fits and starts. In the last week we’ve gone from +22 F degrees above normal (29 March) to -3 F degrees below normal (31 March) and yet the flowers and leaves keep coming.

To illustrate I took two photos of the same sedge in Schenley Park. The buds on 27 March burst open two days later in 77 degree heat.

Sedge buds, Schenley Park, 27 March 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
Sedge blooming, Schenley Park, 29 March 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

Leaves are starting to pop, too. Yellow buckeyes (Aesculus flava) have their first leaves …

… and these reddish, toothed, compound leaves are opening on shrubs along West Circuit Road in Schenley Park. It’s a cultivated alien I can’t identify.

Compound leaf of cultivated shrub in Schenley Park, 31 Mar 2020 (not sure what it is; photo by Kate St. John)

There are also flowers in the trees: Northern magnolia, crabapple buds, blooming (invasive) Callery pear, and flowering cherry.

Northern magnolia, Schenley Park, 27 Mar 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
Crabapple buds, Schenley Park, 31 Mar 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
Callery pear in bloom, Pittsburgh, 31 Mar 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
Flowering cherry, Pittsburgh, 1 Apr 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

I am so grateful that Schenley Park is still open.

Please keep physical distance in the parks or our parks will close as have those in other parts of Pennsylvania!

(photos by Kate St. John)

Signs of Spring, 18-23 March

Phenology, Plants & Fungi, Schenley Park
Crocuses blooming in my Pittsburgh neighborhood, 21 March 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

25 March 2020:

Around the world, more and more of us are under Stay At Home orders to stop the spread of COVID-19. Yesterday Governor Wolf announced that eight PA counties — 45% of Pennsylvanians — must Stay At Home through 6 April. Fortunately residents are permitted to “engage in outdoor activity, such as walking, hiking or running if they maintain social distancing” — i.e. stay at least 6 feet apart.

So I’ve been going outdoors alone … especially when the weather is drizzly, cold or gray because no one else is out there. I’ve seen lots of birds including red-winged blackbirds, hundreds of American robins, eastern phoebes, a brown-headed cowbird, a golden-crowned kinglet and a merlin(!) in Schenley Park.

I’ve also photographed some signs of spring, 18-24 March 2020. Flowers are blooming in Greenfield’s neighborhood gardens, above and below.

Daffodils in my neighborhood, 21 March 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

The earliest trees are beginning to leaf out including the bottlebrush buckeyes (Aesculus parviflora) in Schenley Park.

Bud on a yellow buckeye, Schenley Park, 23 March 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
New leaves on a bottlebrush buckeye, Schenley Park, 23 March 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

Cornelian cherry trees (Cornus mas) are in bloom at Schenley. Photos of the whole tree and a blossom closeup.

Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas) tree in bloom, 23 March 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas) in bloom, 22 March 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

Yet the rest of the forest is still quite brown. The smaller American beech trees (Fagus grandifolia) stand out with dry pale leaves. Photo from afar and a close-up.

A small American beech stands out with its papery dry leaves. Raccoon Creek State Park, 18 March 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
Papery leaves of a American beech, Raccoon Creek State Park, 18 March 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

Getting outdoors is not cancelled.

Stay safe.

(photos by Kate St. John)

Signs of Spring This Week

Phenology, Plants & Fungi
Daffodil blooming at Raccoon Creek State Park, 18 March 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

20 March 2020

Spring is coming ready or not. Take a breather from COVID-19 news with some signs of spring. My friends and I have gone outdoors alone, then emailed updates and photos when we get home. Here’s what we’ve found.

Yesterday Donna Foyle found snow trillium and scarlet cup mushrooms at Cedar Creek Park in Westmoreland County.

Snow trillium, Cedar Creek Park, 19 March 2020 (photo by Donna Foyle)
Scarlet cup mushrooms, Cedar Creek Park, 19 March 2020 (photo by Donna Foyle)

I’ve been to Schenley Park, Raccoon Creek, and Moraine State Parks where I’ve seen daffodils, coltsfoot, alder catkins, red maple flowers, and spring beauties. See the captions for descriptions, locations, and dates.

Coltsfoot blooming in Schenley Park, 8 March 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
Alder catkins, Schenley Park, 11 March 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
Red maple blooming in Greenfield, 14 March 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
Spring beauty at Racoon Creek State Park, 18 March 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

And finally, an audio treat. Wood frogs and spring peepers were calling at Moraine State Park on Sunday afternoon 15 March 2020.

Getting outdoors is not cancelled!

Just maintain a safe distance from each other (6 feet) and wear muck boots. It’s mud season.

(photos & video by Donna Foyle and Kate St. John)

Does Spring Still Move 13 Miles A Day?

Climate Change, Phenology, Plants & Fungi
Crocuses blooming in Germany, early March (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

There’s a rule of thumb from the last century that says “Spring moves north 13 miles a day.” On average this means that if crocuses began blooming in Morgantown, West Virginia a week ago they ought to start blooming in Butler, PA today.

However this year’s spring is so early and so hot that I’m wondering if the rule is still true. The animated map below shows spring leaf out moving north from 1 January through 10 March 2020. Some days spring leaps many miles.

Spring Leaf Index as of 10 Mar 2020 (animation from USA National Phenology Network)

According to the USA National Phenology Network, spring is many weeks ahead of schedule, particularly in the eastern US. It’s “three to four weeks earlier than a long-term average (1981-2010) in some locations. Washington, DC and New York City are 24 days early, Nantucket is 30 days early.” Wow!

Leaf out in Pittsburgh began in early February, tulip leaves emerged in late February and I saw the first crocus bloom last week.

So what do you think? Is spring moving faster than it used to? Or just sooner?

Follow the signs of spring at the USA National Phenology Network and Journey North. Here are some cool maps that track what’s going on:

(photo from Wikimedia Commons; map from USA National Phenology Network; click on the captions to see the originals)