Rolandvue,4th Week of November: Oregon Grape Mahonia aquifolium? Club Mosses

 We have been watching for an excuse to mention the Oregon-grape, a favorite since it is a long way from home and only scattered in the neighborhood.  The specimen along north side of Rolandvue was probably planted in distant past, the one near the beech end of Wagner may be from seed.  Fellow walkers have suggested it is just a variation of holly.  The name aquifolium does mean holly-like leaves. The first photo shows the bright yellow color just under the bark, said to be typical for Oregon-grape indicative of one of the chemicals produced, berberine .(One reference notes that the bark can be harvested from the same plant for thirty years without damage).

So the Mahonia identification seems fairly certain even though we have not seen the spring flowers or the purple fruit.  There is a fruiting structure growing the last week or two.  The internet does not show this structure very definitively.  There is a variation , Mahonia japonica which produces a winter flower with something like this appearance.  Someone may have this in their garden and the birds have spread the two specimens.  There should be fragrant yellow flowers followed by blue berries.

The berries, though tart can be made into wine or jelly.  Extracts of the roots or the bark are used for medicinal purposes, particularly for GI complaints.  The leaves show signs of stress, nibbles, for a non-native it follows the thought that every leaf tells a tale.  The last photo is a close-up of one element of the inflorescence, now arching but tending toward pendant.  It is more like the japonica.

 The last two photos were taken down by the lake on one of the Friday walks.  No one knew the  seasonal timing of the plant so can not say it tells much about the calendar.  They were about four inches high and looked like miniature xmas trees. The club mosses once were a dominant species as large trees but now are "of minor ecological and economic importance."  There are enthusiasts who grow them for decoration.  They can be added to wreaths.  One species makes a powder which flashes, used in early photography. They are easily missed, prefer moisture and warmth so may be gone in a few days.
The specific identification is difficult but I like the sound of "Selaginella". Another name is resurrection plant, having the ability to roll into a brown ball when dry, returning to a green state with moisture.

possible club mosses,four inches tall

club moss seen near lake Roland,? selaginella

Rolandvue,3rd Week November: Death or Dormancy, Porcelain Berry Vines




The luxuriant vines of a few weeks ago have become dormant. At this stage the vines would be difficult to identify but we know this area was covered with porcelain berry, a relative of the common grape.  By extension from the grape vine literature the vine though appearing dead is still physiologically active. The residual nutrients from the leaves had to be transported down to the roots.  The roots will remain active until the spring.  This may be the best time to harvest some roots at the point of maximum energy storage, though there are no references to using porcelain berry roots.  Were we trying to grow these plants this would be a time for continued added nutrients and watering.

Dormancy is a winter survival behavior, there is less water in the tissues, more protein, and cell membrane changes preparing for frost.  There is some respiration going on but no photosynthesis. There are stored carbohydrates for the first month of spring and the early budding.  The vascular system is "plugged" to help prevent freezing. But some bud cells are present ready for the warmer weather.  Budding can be forced artificially but probably not of interest for these invasive cousins of the grape.

Rolandvue 2nd Week Nov: Wild Onions or Field Garlic

This familiar green grass-like clump is not a great calendar marker, it will be with us for the rest of the winter, but becomes most visible here in the early weeks of November.  It has been hiding underground during the heat of the summer and appears as the tree leaves fall and more sunlight reaches the ground.

I have always called this wild onion, remembering the smell from childhood.  But wild garlic is more common with a slightly different smell and hollow stems.  The latin can be helpful wild onion: Allium vineale, wild garlic: Allium canadense.  All parts of both plants are edible so making the distinction is a matter of taste.

The taste and smell is important to rule out a toxic relative, the star off Bethlehem.  Also in the lily family it has dangerous glycosides.  The leaves are flat and there is no onion or garlic smell.  The star of Bethlehem has been seen in some of the parks and probably is in the neighborhood but will be easier to spot when it flowers in the spring.

If the ground is wet the bulbs can be pulled up in a clump but this group was collected with a trowel.  Generally just pulling will get only the greens which can be eaten like chives. The bulbs can be cleaned and used as seasoning, or put through a garlic press.  This may keep away scurvy but a hard way to get calories.

clump of wild garlic, greens,bulbs and roots

hollow stems of wild garlic

close up of the bulbs,still brown outer layer

Rolandvue,1st Week November:Fall Colors,Anthrocyanins

It is hard to put a date on the changing leaf colors, it does seem more obvious this week and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources agrees that this is the peak for the upper Chesapeake Bay area. It seems maybe a little early with a lot of green and little change in the red burning bush.

Every fall we hear the story about the leaf chemistry.  During spring and summer the chlorophyll absorbs light in the high energy blue end of the spectrum as well as some light in the longer wavelength red spectrum while reflecting the middle mostly green light.  As the days get shorter and the temperature cooler the chlorophyll is recycled, leaving the remaining colorful chemicals dominant, reflecting light in the yellow orange and red.  The carotinoids produce the brighter yellows, the anthrocyanins darker reds.

Red oak off of Rolandvue

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These are the same class of chemicals as some of the vitamins your mother told you about.  They can protect the leaves from oxidation,infection and from sun damage,  just as vitamins can protect your cells.  There is not much literature about getting the nutrients directly from the changing tree leaves.  There are tea formulas, which would extract some of the beneficial chemicals.  The green Linden leaves are suggested as a lettuce substitute and seem well-tolerated.  The colorful vitamins are there but hidden by the chlorophyll. The problem in the fall with concentrated anthrocyanins may be the bitterness.  Many of the "good for you " chemicals are bitter and would be concentrated in the red leaves.

There is also the longstanding chemical warfare between plants and animals.  The plants produce toxins like oxalates and tannins to ward off snackers.  The solid cellulose cell wall also makes absorption of the internal chemicals difficult. Maybe a really fine blending with a Vitamix would release the nutrients.

There is a suggestion that global warming will affect the fall colors, with perhaps dryer weather making the palette more drab.  This will be hard to quantitate with color being so subjective. Compare these photos next November.  The vine is Virginia creeper to be mentioned again next week.  If you see these colors you are somewhere near the first week in November.

Rolandvue,4th Week of October: Falling Pine,Cedar,Cunninghamia Leaflets

In the category of "what's that in the road? A head?".  This week is was road debris from all the evergreens or conifers in the neighborhood.  The photos show the tall white pine up Cloverlea and the pine straw on the road beneath.  All the conifers were shedding but the last picture is the Cunninghamia boughs on Rolandvue.

The immediate cause of dropping leaves was the wind last week, but it must be part of the natural process.  Conifers are both evergreen and everbivalent, constantly dropping their needles at all times of the year.  It seems heavier during this transition into winter.  The pine needles show the usual five parts typical of the white pine(white five letters,five needles).  The pine needles last about two years on the tree, bristle cone pine needles in the west can last decades.  Pine straw may help the tree compete with other trees by making the soil more acid.

Evergreens make an economic calculation, less energy to replace the leaves in the spring but some energy to protect the needles from freezing in the winter.  The needles become dehydrated and trade starch for sugar, acting as anti-freeze.  This protects the pine needles down to -5 degrees centigrade. Shedding leaves reduces the need for water during the winter, evergreen make special adaptations to preserve water and continue to bring water to the branches during frosts.  Evergreens can manage some photosynthesis on the occasional warm winter days.  Evergreens can lose branches due to snow loading.  Trade offs.

This tall white pine shows asymmetrical growth to the southeast or "flagging".  We wondered if this was growing toward the sunnier south, but it can also be due to effects of the prevailing northwest winds.  Either way the tree is somewhat a compass.

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Rolandvue, 3rd Week October: Osage Oranges and Holly Berries

We thought that the Osage orange might not appear this year, like the mulberry and the gingko nut.  But with patience it is on the trees and beginning to fall in some numbers.  We have already mentioned the tree, its thorns and use as a early version of barbed wire. Still left unsolved is the mystery of who ate these fruits, probably in one gulp. Candidates are among the megafauna that became extinct as humans spread across North America.  The giant ground sloth is one possibility.   It is in the mulberry family so might have had the same weather or periodic production sensitivity.  Possibly the yield is slightly reduced.

It is native to the Red River valley in Texas, where the local indians profited by the popularity of Osage wood for bow making.  It is resistant to rot and burns efficiently, with high heat yield.
The trees are on the west side of Wagner going up the hill and the north side of Cloverlea near the lane.  The fruit is not toxic but said to be tough and tasteless. Squirrels will sometimes eat the seeds.

(I had a habit of saying sage orange, as in possum but the indian tribe for which it is named is Oh Sage in English so it is not a silent O?)

Just a photo of holly berries to show the seasonal timing.  Technically the red fruit is a drupe or stone fruit rather than a berry.  It is mildly toxic to humans but eaten by birds and small mammals.  This leads to spreading of the trees or bushes sometimes to an invasive extent. The holly is often evergreen, although overlooked when listing the evergreen trees. It has the characteristic shiny leafs with spiny edges.  The picture is from the north side of Rolandvue.  Not sure of the variety, there are the local favorite Nellie Stevens in the area.  That variety tends to be in hedges and have showier fruit, but it is early season.

Osage orange fruit, candy for the giant sloth?

Holly berries beginning,unknown variety

Rolandvue,2nd Week October: Horse Chestnuts

   One sign of fall is the squirrels gathering and burying nuts (according to a note intended for middle schoolers).  This is true in the neighborhood, squirrels particularly like to bury the chestnuts in planters on the porch which will be moved in for the winter.  We will watch for new chestnut shoots.  The kids know it is not the squirrel activity which is primary but the falling nuts, and even that can be traced further back for its actual causal relationship to the season.

Most animals seem to leave the horse chestnuts alone.  They are falling in similar profusion, and are larger with a smooth rather than spiny capsule.  But depending on the species they contain toxic amounts of tannin or other poisonous compounds such as aescin and saponins.  We left horse chestnut as generic last year but when considering uses it might be helpful to be more specific.  Aesculus hippocastanum bears the greek for horse chestnut and has the horseshoe shaped leaf scars with "seven nails" after the palmate leaves fall.  It has a fruit with spikes, not the smooth husk.

The large trees at the top of Cloverlea and by extension the many smaller buckeyes in the area may be Aesculus flava or the yellow buckeye.  The nut has the smooth capsule typical of our neighborhood.  It is native to the Ohio valley and the Appalachian mountains. The nuts  are toxic to eat but can be treated to leach out the poisons.  The buckeye leaves are falling as well, a little earlier than the oaks, slightly after the lindens. The leaves,at least this year are mostly a dull yellow.

With a little imagination the nuts, with their white basal scar and dark color look like the eye of a deer, thus the common name.  There are medical uses, treatment for venous disease, for extracts of nuts depending on the species.  Conkers, another name for the nuts were used in an English game and as a war time source of chemicals in England.

The first photo shows the fine teeth at the leaf margin, a distinction from Ohio buckeye. The second photo shows the flaking bark on an older buckeye.  The night shadows highlight the plates.  This starts as smooth patterns on the younger trees.