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Wingstem (Verbesina
alternifolia)
is a native wildflower that has leaf tissue winging the stem, and hence its
common name. This tall perennial occurs both in the piedmont and coastal plain,
usually in alluvial floodplains, flowering from August through October.
This
plant is not to be confused with the more common and showy Bidens that
are also in bloom now. We also saw the purple elephant's foot (Elephantopus
tomentosus) in bloom today. |
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The gray
treefrog (Hyla versicolor)
is a native and common solitary frog of forest trees. They have a hearty,
resonating trill that I have attached as a WAV file. |
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The nocturnal 2-inch frog has large toe pads
and feeds on moths, crickets, flies and other insects. We have observed this
frog attached to our glass windows at night opportunistically feeding on insects
attracted to the light. |
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Paulonia
(also known as princess or empress tree, P. tomentosa)
has inordinately huge leaves when a sapling, competing for sunlight. Introduced
from Asia in the 1840’s as an ornamental, this tree has the highest board-foot
value in the United States (exceeding black walnut), exported to Japan for
making wedding chests and other specialty items. The only other leaf that even
comes close to this size would
be the umbrella magnolia. |
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Leslie looks like that gila monster thingy from
Jurassic Park. |
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This young tree was being strangled by
Asiatic
bittersweet
(the kudzu of the north)
and eventually won-out killing the invader vine. The bark and bole deformation
is a result of that battle. |
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In each forest stand type we determined the
dominant overstory tree, in this case being tulip poplar. We then assessed what
represented
the mean average overstory diameter (11-inches) and then performed
a
boring of a representative poplar to determine the precise age of
the stand,
since the time of the last, most influencing perturbation. |
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After counting the annual rings of the core
(from the bark edge to
the center, where the rings were then oriented in the
other direction),
the forest was determined to be 18-years old, since released
from agriculture. |
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Pawpaw (Asimina
triloba)
is a native small tree that can form dense clonal colonies in the understory of
moist, rich deciduous forests.
It is frequently found in floodplain forests
along streams and rivers. Pawpaw’s relatively large leaves make it conspicuous
in the summer and autumn woods. Its dark red-purple flowers are followed by
edible fruits that look something like small lumpy bananas and ripen in late
September or early October. |
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The seeds are too big to be dispersed by small
mammals and it has been suggested that larger ice-age mammals, such as
mastodons, that became extinct about 13,000 years ago, may have been the
original dispersal agent. Pawpaw is currently being cultivated and hybridized
to become a commercial fruit crop. |
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Leslie, having never tasted
pawpaw before said it tasted like a combination of breadfruit, banana and
mango, then with Kevin and Mark agreeing with an aftertaste of a tropical
lifesaver candy. Pawpaw grows from southern Pennsylvania through to Georgia
and Louisiana.
It is the hardiest species within the tropical custard-apple
family.
Chemicals extracted from the
twigs and seeds have recently been shown to have promising anticancer and
pesticidal properties.
The leaves and twigs have a petroleum-like odor when
bruised.
Deer do not eat pawpaw foliage, but raccoons and box turtles
and
other wildlife (Leslie) eagerly consume the pulp of the fruit.
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The Wilds of Prince Frederick
