Balloon Plant, Culver's Root, Canadian Horseweed

Here briefly are another few plants seen in the area, but not specifically located in the neighborhood.  Plants to be on the lookout regarding. (From meet up, Whats That Plant?)

Balloon plant (Gomphocarpus physocarpus) is an African relative of milkweed, which is probably only going to be in gardens.  It is a perennial in zone 8-10 but needs to be started indoors in colder areas.  The unusual inflated spherical fruit gives the many common names, bishop's balls, monkey balls, balloon milkweed.  It will support the monarch butterfly.  Leaves are sharply lanceolate, flowers small in the leave axils. It likes full sun.

Culver's root(Veronicastrum virginicum) is in the snapdragon family. A round smooth central stem may be 4-5 feet high.  There are spikes of white flowers on branches like a candelabra.  Groups of five leaves whorl around the stem similar to Joe Pye Weed. It is said to be widely distributed but not very common.

Canadian horse weed  native to most of North America.   Leaves are 2-10 cm, lanceolate with coarsely toothed margins on sparsely hairy stems.   The leaves grow up the stem in an alternate spiral. In some areas it is considered a noxious weed and is problematic due to resistance to glyphosphate.  It is preferred in making hand drills for starting fires.  There are some similar other Coryza relatives, similar characteristics.

Mulberry Weed, Another Fireweed, Panicled Aster

These three plants are from recent session of "Whats That Plant" at the Natural History Society.  They  have not been on the neighborhood list but are almost certainly here, just overlooked.  You can follow Whats That Plant on Meetup. The photos are from the internet since not yet locally noted, and for the same reason the description is brief.

Mulberry weed or hairy crabweed (Fatoua villosa) is a relatively new invasive proving hard to control.  The leaves are alternately arranged, triangular with serrated margins.  Both leaves and stems are lightly hairy.  Flowers are green to purple and at the leave axils.  Plants can get to four feet high.  The seeds are said to jump as much as four feet.  It is found in shaded disturbed areas but may also show up in nursery containers.  It is native to eastern china.

The panicked aster (Symphotricum lanceolatum) is another daisy-like plant very likely to be in the neighborhood.  The stems are between 1 and 3 feet, green to reddish, occasionally grooved, sometimes with a line of fine white hairs.  The leaves are narrow lanceolate, smooth margins, up t o5 inches long but smaller near the top of the plant.  Foliage may become purple in the fall.  The flowers are 1/2-3/4 inches with white ray florets surrounding the yellow disc florets.  It is most common in low areas with occasionally standing water.  Look for a reticulated network of veins on the leaves.

We see the eastern version of fireweed, Erechtites, frequently but less of the great willow herb, Chamaenerion angustifolium.   (aka epilobium).   The reddish stems grow to 8 feet in height. The leaves are spirally arranges, lanceolate, entire and pinnately veined.   There is a continuous marginal vein.  Fireweed implies a pioneer species colonizing open  disturbed areas. The flowers are pink to purple about one inch on a terminal raceme.   In war torn areas it is known as the bomb plant, since it colonizes craters.

So this is a BOLO, be on the lookout, notice for these plants, may extend the search into Lake Roland.

Indian Pink -Spigelia marilandica

Not noticed before, on the south side of Rolandvue near the top of the hill is this unusual flower. It is native to the southeast, and the latin suggests a relationship  to our state.  It could be natural but it is also available in native plant nurseries.

The photos show the opposite leaves with no stem or petiole. The red and yellow flower is supposed to bloom in the late spring, but here it is in October. It is a perennial in the Loganiaceae family.  Most in this group are more tropical.  That it is listed as rare, and more common along stream beds may indicate that this was a generous gardener helping the native plants along.

Cottonwood (Populous deltoides)

The cottonwood tree has a place in literature, particularly in the Westerns, and in ecology being water dependent and water demanding.  The trees are nearby if not directly in the neighborhood.

You will notice these trees at Lake Roland every June with the cottony snow on the ground.  The trees are tall and not giving up their leaves or branches for close examination.  There is a small group of cottonwoods at the church parking lot, north side of Church Lane in Cockeysville.  This is the leaf in the photo.  In July there were neither catkins or the snowy seeds.  Cottonwood is dioecious so these trees out York road may be male and have only the reddish catkins in late spring.

The petioles are long and flattened, allowing the leaf to fluttered in the slightest breeze ,a characteristic of the group.  The leaves, consistent with the name are triangular with a flat base.  There are a couple of small glands at the junction of the leaf and its stem.

typical triangular eastern cottonwood leaf

Addendum:  Someone raised the question of leaf scars.  They are said to be large and triangular  on a stour yellow-grey twig.   See the last photo.

transillumination of the cottonwood veins

leaf scar on cottonwood twig, somewhat triangular

Hickory Challenge : Which Species?

The hickory is just slightly outside the neighborhood, at L'Hirondelle , corner of the driveway leading into the old Rugby field.  There are a couple of reasons to add the hickory.  First there are probably some hickories closer along Towson run, just hard to get close.  Second, it is an important tree historically and the local forest were known as hickory forests  along with the oaks, beech, and maples.  With the diverse mix of neighborhood trees there should be more hickories.

The divided nut, the alternate leaves, pinnate with an odd leaflet at the end is consistent with hickory. It is just not clear to me which variety.  There are more than five relatively narrow leaflets.  But the leaflet margin is serrated.  It doesn't seem to fit the common groups.  There could be hybridization or it could be a simple category overlooked.  The twig I have is too small to see the star shaped pith but the pith seems solid.

A final reason for showing the hickory relates to the hundred year old pecan tree on Maple Ave.  It produces copious quantities of nuts and would tend not to be self-fertilizing .  If there are no other pecans in the area, it might be possible for the local hickories to pollenate the pecan.  Producing one of the Hican hybrids in the nuts.

Shown is a small branch with three leaves and a transillumination to show the leaf margin.  Extra credit if you can explain the slightly orange vertical background artifact.  It is an interaction between the fluorescent lightbox and the cellphone camera.  It orients with the light box.

Update: So there has already been an inquiry about the terminal buds.  This is shown in the last photo and yes in seems to have a sulfurous yellow quality.  I naturalist first suggestion was pecan, which was interesting.  The terminal bud helps with that.

Alternate,oddly pinnate leaves with 9 leaflets and divided  small fruit.

Margin is serrated not entire,veins end in point. Stripes are  camera artifact.

terminal bud from the mystery hickory.

Wavyleaf Basketgrass (Oplismenus undulatifolius)--Something to Watch

On the Friday morning walk at Lake Roland Ed pointed out the clumps of wavy leaf basket grass.  This is an Asian invasive first found in Maryland, some say first at Lake Roland.  There are long roots or stolons spreading for many feet just under ground. This was on the green trail,on higher ground.  I have not seen it on the east side of the lake but is almost inevitably present.

It should be flowering shortly, so spreads by the sticky awns or by the growing stolons.  The seeds stick to humans and animals.  The family is Poaceae with relatives found as lawn weeds.  The pictures show a single plant and a transillumination of a leaf.  The long parallel veins may have something to do with the undulations.  The stiff center vein remains flat.  I will try to add a picture of a large colony, easy to spot.

Wavyleaf basketgrass showing the undulations in the leaves, an Asian invasive nearby

transillumination of the leaf showing the long parallel veins possibly related to  waves

Bottlebrush Buckeye (Aesculus parviflora)

Overlooked on the list of plants along Wagner is the  bottlebrush buckeye near the first curve at the top of the hill, north side.  The overall view is typical widespread with height up to 12 feet.  It spreads by suckering, shoots growing from the base.  The leaves are typical of other buckeyes around the neighborhood, opposite, palmately compound, 5-7 leaflets.  It is a garden plant but is native to the USA, from a small area in Alabama.

The name comes from the erect panicles of flowers, which are now past their prime and beginning to mature into the horse chestnut fruit.  A picture of the flowers from the internet is added showing the peak in late June, early July.  Perhaps it was considered too much ornamental in the first map.  It can be considered a relative of the horse chestnuts that played a role in the origin of modern Israel, similar nuts.  And it is an illustration of the opposite leaf Madcap Horse (chestnut) mnemonic.

The opposite leaves, as in MADCAP Horse mnemonic 

older flower panicle

Palmately compound leaves like other buckeyes

peak flowering from the internet