North America’s wild geranium (Geranium maculatum) is also called cranesbill but you have to examine a seed pod to find out how it got the name.
Shown above is a wild geranium flower with some aging seed pods in the background. Here’s a closeup.
Notice that the seed pods look like a crane’s bill. (Click here to see a crane with its bill up like this.)
Ta da!
(photos by Kate St. John)
This is a stellar year for Valeriana pauciflora at Raccoon Creek Wildflower Reserve in Beaver County, PA. Its common name is “Large-flowered Valerian” but its scientific name means “Few-flowered.” Confusing!
To find this 1.5-3-foot tall wildflower, walk the Jennings Trail between the two Beaver Trail intersections (along the cliff) or visit the spot where Jennings meets Meadow Trail and the creek. Click here for a map.
Read more about its confusing name in this Throw Back Thursday article: What-Flowered Valerian?
Visit the Wildflower Reserve soon to see it.
(photo by Dianne Machesney)
10 May 2016
The smell of this plant reminds me of warblers.
Cypress spurge (Euphorbia cyparissias) is a 4″-31″ tall perennial with narrow leaves and green-yellow flowers that bloom from March to September. It was introduced to the U.S. as an ornamental in the 1860s and often planted in cemeteries where it earned the nickname “graveyard weed.” Its introduction was a terrible idea for a number of reasons:
Cypress spurge thrives in sandy soil so it’s no surprise that it grows at Presque Isle State Park, crowding out native lupine and puccoon. During warbler migration its scent is on the wind. I don’t like the smell but I’ve had so many great birding experiences at Presque Isle in May that my brain automatically thinks of warblers when I smell it.
Fortunately the sick-sweet scent brings back happy memories for me. For those who mourn a loved one in the presence of “graveyard weed” the smell probably makes them sad.
Is there a smell that reminds you of birding?
(photo from Wikimedia Commons. Click on the image to see the original)
This weekend is a good time to take a wildflower walk in western Pennsylvania. When you do, you’ll find dwarf larkspur blooming.
I just learned on The Allegheny Front that its scientific name, Delphinium tricorne, comes from the word “dolphin.”
Click here to learn how it got this name and other cool facts on an audio wildflower walk on The Allegheny Front.
(photo by Kate St. John)
Oh my! It’s May!
Last month I listed outings for the last week of April and included May 1. Here’s a big list for the month of May.
Everyone is welcome to participate in these outings. Click on the links for directions, meeting places, what to bring, and phone numbers for the leaders.
| 2016: Date/Time | Focus | Location | Leader & Link to more info |
| Sun. May 1, 8:00am All Day! | Birds & Flowers | Enlow Fork Extravaganza, Washington/Greene Counties | Wheeling Creek Watershed Conservancy / BotSocWPA / Ralph Bell Bird Club |
| Wed. May 4, 8:00am | Birds | Linbrook Woodlands, Allegheny County | Karyn Delaney & Bob Van Newkirk, 3RBC |
| Fri. May 6, 7:30am | Birds | Sewickley Park, Allegheny County | Sheree Daugherty, 3RBC / Fern Hollow Nature Center |
| Sat. May 7, 10:00am | Flowers | Raccoon Creek Wildflower Reserve, Beaver County | Dianne Machesney, BotSocWPA |
| Sat. May 14, 7:30am | Birds | Barking Slopes, Allegheny County | Todd Hooe, 3RBC Outing is limited to 12 people. See 3RBC link to reserve. |
| Sat. May 14, 10:00am – 3:00pm | Flowers | Mountain Maryland Native Plant Festival, New Germany State Park, Garrett County, MD | see BotSocWPA website for info |
| Sat. May 14, 1:00pm | Flowers | Oil Creek State Park, Venango County | Robert Coxe, BotSocWPA |
| Sun. May 15, time to be announced | Flowers | Pittsburgh Botanic Garden, Allegheny County | BotSocWPA |
| Sun. May 15, 8:00am | Birds | Barking Slopes, Allegheny County | Todd Hooe, 3RBC Outing is limited to 12 people. See 3RBC link to reserve. |
| Sat. May 21, 8:00am | Birds | Harrison Hills, Allegheny County | Jim Valimont, 3RBC |
| Sat. May 21, 8:00am | Birds | Presque Isle State Park, Erie County | Bob Van Newkirk, 3RBC |
| Sat. May 21, 10:00am | Flowers | Moraine State Park, Butler County | see BotSocWPA website |
| Sun. May 22, 8:00am | Birds | Frick Park, Pittsburgh | Aidan Place, 3RBC |
| Sun. May 22, 8:30am | Birds & Flowers | Schenley Park, Pittsburgh | Kate St. John, Outside My Window |
Don’t miss May’s excitement.
Let’s get outdoors!
(photo of golden ragwort by Kate St. John)
Wildflowers are blooming throughout the Pittsburgh area. This week I traveled southeast and west to record their progress.
At Raccoon Creek Wildflower Reserve on April 17 the earliest flower — skunk cabbage — had disappeared among the plant’s large leaves. Toad trillium (Trillium sessile), wild blue phlox (Phlox divaricata) and early saxifrage (Micranthes virginiensis) were open. White large-flowered trillium was not. I found an interesting sedge but I don’t know its name.
Braddock’s Trail Park in Westmoreland County has a south-facing slope so it’s flowers were much further along than Raccoon, even though I visited a day later. Small-flower crowfoot (Ranunculus micranthus), Canada violets (Viola canadensis) and rue anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides) were in full bloom while blue-eyed Mary (Collinsia verna) carpeted the forest floor. Trillium were already at their peak. Dwarf larkspur (Delphinium tricorne) had just begun.
They were so beautiful that I made a slideshow of the flowers. (Unfortunately the sun was so bright that it washed out the details of white flowers … I tried anyway.)
Look for wildflowers this weekend before the trees leaf out. Go north to see early flowers. Go south to see late blooms.
When the woods are in shade the flower party will be over.
(photos by Kate St. John)
Flowers are blooming everywhere and trees will soon leaf out. Don’t miss your chance to get outdoors while the weather’s fine.
Join me for a bird and nature walk in Schenley Park this Sunday, April 24, 8:30am – 10:30am. Meet at the Schenley Park Visitors Center. Click here for information and updates.
Or join one of these many outings — April 23 through May 1.
Everyone is welcome to participate. Click on the links for directions, meeting places, what to bring, and phone numbers for the leaders.
| 2016: Date/Time | Focus | Location | Leader & Link to more info |
| Sat. Apr 23, 9:30am | Birds & Potluck lunch | Raccoon Creek State Park, Beaver County | Ryan Tomazin, 3RBC / Brooks Bird Club |
| Sat. Apr 23, 10:00am | Flowers | Boyce-Mayview, Upper St. Clair, Allegheny County | Judy Stark, BotSocWPA |
| Sat. Apr 23, 2:00pm | Flowers | Brady’s Run Park, Beaver County | Peggy Gorrell & Loree Speedy, BotSocWPA |
| Sun. Apr 24, 7:30am | Birds | Buffalo Creek IBA-80, Washington County | Larry Helgerman, 3RBC |
| Sun. Apr 24, 8:30am | Birds & Flowers | Schenley Park, Pittsburgh | Kate St. John, Outside My Window |
| Sun. Apr 24, 8:30am | Birds | Frick Park, Pittsburgh | Jack & Sue Solomon, 3RBC |
| Fri. Apr 29, 7:30am | Birds | Sewickley Park, Allegheny County | Bob Van Newkirk, 3RBC / Fern Hollow Nature Center |
| Sat. Apr 30, 10:00am | Flowers | Powdermill Nature Reserve, Westmoreland County | Martha Oliver, BotSocWPA |
| Sun. May 1, 8:00am All Day! | Birds & Flowers | Enlow Fork Extravaganza, Washington/Greene Counties | Wheeling Creek Watershed Conservancy / BotSocWPA / Ralph Bell Bird Club |
Don’t miss April flowers. Let’s get outdoors!
p.s. The flower shown above is a member of the Pink family called star chickweed or great chickweed (Stellaria pubera). It looks unremarkable until you get close. 🙂
(photo by Kate St. John)
It’s cold this morning — and snowy for some of you — but when the weather improves you’ll find …
Blue-eyed Mary (Collinsia verna) usually blooms in southwestern Pennsylvania from mid April to early May but we found it at Cedar Creek Park on Wednesday April 6.
This annual drops its seeds in summer, germinates seedlings in the fall, and overwinters to bloom in the spring. It spreads by reseeding so you usually find it in patches — that look more green than blue from a distance.
Collinsia verna grows in woodlands with light to dappled shade and moist to mesic rich loamy soil. Though the plant can be locally abundant, its habitat can be hard to find. Blue-eyed Mary is endangered in New York and Tennessee.
Here are three places in southwestern Pennsylvania to see Blue-eyed Mary this month:
(photos by Donna Foyle)
30 March 2016
Spring is coming in fits and starts but mostly it’s coming too soon in southwestern Pennsylvania.
On Easter Day, 27 March 2016, I took a walk at Cedar Creek Park in Westmoreland County and found native plants blooming two to three weeks ahead of schedule. No wonder! It was 75 degrees F.
At top, bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) was already blooming. Some had gone to seed.
Spring beauties were everywhere. This Carolina spring beauty (Claytonia caroliniana) is identifiable by its wide leaves.
The steep hillside known for snow trillium (Trillium nivale) …
… was also hosting sharp-lobed hepatica (Hepatica nobilis var. acuta), some of which were past their prime.
Get outdoors as soon as you can. Spring could pass you by.
p.s. The Botanical Society of Western Pennsylvania is already alert to this early growing season. They moved their snow trillium outing from April 2 to March 20.
(photos by Kate St. John)
Spring is early, as expected, so I wasn’t surprised to find leaves unfurling in Schenley Park last week. Here are a few highlights from my walks in the past nine days.
Above, coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara) began blooming on March 7 and was still flowering when I passed by on March 24.
Below, Yellow buckeyes (Aesculus flava) are one of the first trees to leaf out in Schenley Park. These leaves picked up fluff from other trees whose flower parts had blown away, perhaps a wind dispersal strategy. The buckeye makes flowers that attract bees.
Purple deadnettle (Lamium purpureum) began blooming March 10 and will continue for many weeks. Its flower has a spotted lip that says, “Land here, little insect.”
The weather’s been mild so get outdoors soon. Don’t miss our early Spring.
Happy Easter!
(photos by Kate St. John)
