Grass-pink (Calopogon)

Grass Pink -- © Dave Spier

Grass-pink (Calopogon tuberosus) has a misleading name due to its single, grass-like leaf that arises near the base and partially sheathes the stem. It's actually a native eastern orchid with an upside-down flower. The yellow-crested lip (called the Labellum) is uppermost. The University of Wisconsin provides an interesting description of how this works to achieve pollination. "The brush of hairs on the lip apparently serves as a "pseudopollen" lure, attracting naive, recently emerged bumblebees. The bees, expecting a reward of nectar and/or pollen, land on the hairs. At this point, the hinged labellum swings down under the weight of the bee and positions the bee on the column, where pollen can be placed on its back. If the bee already carries a load of pollen, it will contact the stigma and thus pollinate the plant. (Thien & Marcks, 1972)"

Calopogon is found in wet, acidic bogs, peat meadows and swamps from Minnesota to Newfoundland and south to the Gulf coast. (There's a range map on the USDA Plants Database, under Calopogon tuberosus.) It does occur locally, but since New York lists it as "exploitably vulnerable," I'll leave it at that.
 

The genera name is a contraction of the Greek "kalos" and "pogon" meaning "beautiful beard." The specific name is Latin for "tuberous," referring to the tuberous corm growing in the substrate (typically Sphagnum moss). Most older field guides list this species as Calopogon pulchellus, now considered a synonym for this species.

Michael Kudish, in his book Adirondack Upland Flora (1992), gives the flowering date as beginning July 1 with median date July 13 (subject to global warming and annual climate fluctuation) within a 30-mile radius of Paul Smiths.

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Goldthread

© Dave Spier

Threeleaf Goldthread (Coptis trifolia, synonym Coptis groenlandica) is a small woodland wildflower of cool bogs, swamps, and mixed coniferous-hardwood forests in the north. Its distribution includes Alaska, most of Canada, Greenland and the Northeast U.S. The descriptor "threeleaf" is somewhat misleading because each evergreen blade is deeply three-lobed, or compound in effect. The common name "goldthread" refers to the long, underground rhizome that is bright golden yellow. Another common name for this species is "yellow root."

Each flower has five to seven white sepals that can be mistaken for petals. The actual petals are yellow-tipped, club-like and smaller than the numerous male stamens. Three long, green, bulb-tipped, female pistils alternate with the petals. Goldthread is a member of the Ranunculaceae or Buttercup (Crowfoot) family which is characterized by numerous stamens forming a button or bushy cluster in the center of the regular [radially symetrical] flower.
   

Goldthread is an evergreen herb, an adaptation allowing it to take advantage of additional sunlight in early spring and late fall whenever temperatures are above freezing an when any deciduous trees are leafless. That's not much help where it grows under coniferous canopies, though.

Additional information can be found on pages 108-109 in the book Adirondack Upland Flora by Michael Kudish. The median flowering date in the Adirondacks is/was May 20 (subject to change in response to global warming). The plant can be found at a wide range of elevations and often near bogs or other cool, moist habitats with acidic soil.

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Narrowleaf? Gentian

Narrow-leaved Gentian on Whiteface - © Dave Spier

Gentian on Whiteface -- © Dave Spier

For some reason, gentians have always fascinated me.  Maybe it's because I usually come across one of the closed or bottle-type gentians and wonder how it gets pollinated.  Such is the case with a tentatively-identified Narrow-leaved Gentian (Gentiana linearis), a.k.a. Narrowleaf Gentian, beside the Memorial Highway on Whiteface (Mountain) above Wilmington.  It has showy violet-blue flowers, but the tips of the five lobes ("petals") bend in at the top and meet. [ I found one source claiming it has four petals, but it's my personal policy to not disturb native wild flowers and I didn't think to count the lobes at the time. Fringed gentians have four obvious petals, so that's likely where the confusion lies.] Soapwort Gentian (Gentiana saponaria), generally a more southerly species,* is another possible ID, but its flowers tend to be slightly open at the top and fringed between the lobes.

  

I imagine insects force their way in to reach the gentian's nectary glands. Apparently this perennial is of special benefit to bumble bees, and I assume they're the ones strong enough to part the tips.  Sorry, I didn't stay around long enough to find out.

On G. linearis, the lance-shaped leaves are opposite on a single stalk, and the sepals (modified leaves) at the base of the flowers are a similar shape. By comparison, the leaves of Soapwort Gentian are slightly wider with a broader point at the tip.

Narrow-leaved Gentian is found from Manitoba to Maine and south in the mountains to Tennessee. The USDA Plants Database map for New York shows its range spread around the Adirondacks plus one county in the Catskills, indicating it's a higher-elevation species. *Several similar species of the blue closed/bottle gentians have more southerly ranges. Red species of gentians are dominant in the Andes where they are more dependent on pollination by birds.

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References

Newcomb's Wildflower Guide, by Lawrence Newcomb and Gordon Morrison (© 1977), published by Little, Brown & Co. -- see page 252
USDA Plants Database at http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=GELI3
Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center at http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=GELI3

Jewelweeds

First off, they're not weeds.  They're attractive native wildflowers.  Second, and this is unfortunate, they are not jewels.  The name comes from water's inability to wet the leaves, so after a rain or morning dew, beads of water rest on the surface and scatter light like diamonds.  The plant's alternate name, touch-me-not, refers to the small seed pods that spring open and eject its seeds if you touch them when plump and ripe.

There are two species based on color. The orange species, a.k.a. Spotted Touch-me-not (Impatiens capensis) is speckled with reddish-brown and its long tail spur curls underneath the back end of the irregular blossom. It prefers wet ground and I've found it in places like the soggy edges of Middle Pond near Saranac Inn.  Ruby-throated Hummingbirds love this plant.

The dangling, one-inch flowers [roughly the length and width] of the yellow version, also called Pale Touch-me-not (Impatiens pallida) have a tail-spur that points down.  It's mostly found in limestone regions with alkaline soils and prefers damp locations like wooded flood plains and shady ravines with a steady supply of moisture.  I'd look for it in the marble (metamorphosed limestone) belts of St. Lawrence County and the limestone bands on the edge of the Adirondacks.

Impatiens are succulents with translucent green stems.  The crushed leaves and stem juice (particularly from the Orange Jewelweed) are folk remedies for poison ivy rash, insect bites, nettles, minor burns and cuts.

Young shoots in spring and the stems and leaves in summer can be eaten as cooked greens.  Boil in two changes of water and discard the water.

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Cardinal-flower

Cardinal-flower beside the Moose River in the Nelson Lake vicinity, August, 2010

Cardinal-flower -- © Dave Spier

This native perennial grows wild along streambanks and in swamps and other wet places up and down the eastern half of the U.S., northeast into Canada and south to Columbia. I've found it in places like Copper Rock Falls on the Grass River (St. Lawrence County) and beside the Moose River (Herkimer County). The plant can reach two or three feet in height, making it a nice addition to any garden if you want it closer to home.

The Cardinal-flower (Lobelia cardinalis) gets its name from the bright-red blossoms hugging the upper stem. (Although sometimes called a spike, it is technically a raceme because of short flower stalks called pedicels.) Look closely at an individual corolla [flower] and you’ll notice three wide lobes forming a lower lip while two narrow lobes extend to the sides like arms. The male and female parts, also scarlet colored, form a narrow projection emerging like a crane above the petals. The base of the flower is a tube that seems perfectly made for hummingbird beaks.

Leaves are lance-shaped, long-pointed and serrated or toothed on the edges and they alternate on a single, main stalk.

Cardinal-flower contains alkaloids and should be considered toxic, as are other members of the genus Lobelia. In spite of this, Native Americans used root and leaf teas for various ailments.

Cardinal-flower and its relative, the blue-violet Great Lobelia (another moist-ground species) belong to the Lobelia subfamily of the Bluebell family.

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Pickerelweed

Pickerelweed -- © Dave Spier

In the world of emergent, aquatic plants, Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata) is similar in size and habitat to the Arrowheads and Arrow Arum, but instead of having arrowhead-shaped leaves with pointed lobes, it has leaves more like an upside-down heart. These are held erect above the water by stiff stems. The leaf veins are linear (non-feathery and non-branching) and generally follow the outline shape of the leaf. In the spring, young curled leaves can be collected and added to salads or boiled for 10 minutes and eaten like a cooked green.

Pickerelweed (named for the pickerel fish which frequents the same habitats and sometimes hides under the plants in some locations) is common along sunny, shallow margins of rivers, streams and ponds in much of the eastern half of North America. Even though the plant can reach a height of three feet or more, some of that is underwater. A thick pad of fibrous roots anchors the colonies in the mud. Pickerelweed is intolerant of shade so you’re unlikely to find it in wooded swamps.

The showy blue to blue-violet flowers are arranged in distinctive clusters called spikes at the top of thick, fleshy stalks. Use binoculars to look at the individual flowers if you don’t want to get your feet wet (and don’t have waders or a canoe/kayak at the moment). Each blossom is 2 lipped, and each lip has three lobes for a total of six "petals." Most wildflowers have golden anthers that produce yellow pollen, but the Pickerelweed has dark blue anthers. Instead, a double yellow spot on the top-center "petal" serves as a guide for bees and insects to reach the nectar. Pickerelweed is popular for water gardening because of the attractive blue-violet flowers.

Seeds produced by cross-fertilization are sometimes eaten by Black Ducks and Wood Ducks. Muskrats may also eat a few seeds as well as some of the foliage, and deer feed on the plant. The nutritious, starchy seeds can be eaten like nuts or added to granola, but they are small. It takes roughly 5000 seeds to weigh a pound. They can also be roasted and ground into flour.

The perennial Pickerelweed is a monocot, meaning that each seed produces a new sprout with one (mono) seed leaf, just like cattails, lilies and irises (all plants with parallel-veined leaves). Another similarity with lilies is the trumpet-shaped flowers with six fused petals.

The shed nymph cases of dragonflies and mayflies may sometimes be found clinging to the plant stems. The previous occupants, after spending their youth underwater, climbed into the air, split the shells and emerged to spend the remainder of their lives above water.

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Bunchberry

Bunchberry -- © Dave Spier

Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis, subgenus Chamaepericlymenum) is essentially a miniature Flowering Dogwood, hence its nickname, Dwarf Dogwood or Dwarf Cornel.

What look like white petals are actually bud scales or bracts. They surround a dense cluster of tiny flowers, each with its own set of four yellow petals that nearly require a magnifying glass. What's unusual is the speed with which each flower opens. The highly-elastic petals snap back to release spring-loaded stamens which then catapult the pollen into the air. The plant generally blossoms in June, but sometimes later.

The flowers and later the fruits are held on a stem above a whorl of generally six strongly-veined leaves (two large plus four smaller ones growing from the axils). The leaf veins converge again toward the pointed tips in typical dogwood fashion. Unlike its woody relatives, the herbaceous Bunchberry dies back to its roots and rhizomes at the end of the growing season.

Bunchberry prospers in acidic soils over an extremely wide elevation range from low swamps through moist, intermediate forests to high alpine zones on Mt. Marcy. It has a wide geographic range across Alaska, all of Canada, the northern states and down through the Rockies, but it doesn't stop there. Bunchberry is also found in the montane and boreal zones of China, Russia and Japan

Look for its clusters of bright scarlet-red "berries" (actually drupes) from mid-August through September. They are edible, but considered tasteless. Eat them raw or cook like a pudding or make the fruits into jelly. Birds (grouse, veery, vireos, etc.) also eat the fruits and deer browse the perennial plants that often grow in clonal colonies.

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Pink Lady’s-slipper

Of all the native orchids in the Northeast, I've encountered the Pink Lady’s-slipper or Moccasin Flower (Cypripedium acaule) more often than other species.  In addition to bog edges, it can survive in drier pine woods. Acidic soil seems to be the common denominator.

The bottom petal, inflated into a hollow pouch, is longitudinally cleft almost the entire length, providing access to larger insects like bumblebees in search of nectar, although smaller bees in the family Andrenidae are the major pollinators.  Charles Darwin observed that once inside, the smooth, “slippery” pouch interior and incurved edges of the main opening force the bees to leave by a smaller opening where they first brush against the (female) stigma which dislodges any pollen and then the bees pass the (male) anthers where they pick up new pollen that could be carried to the next lady’s-slipper.  After successful pollination the blossoms quickly discard their beauty as the top (dorsal) sepal drops down to seal the opening.

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Painted Trilliums

 

© Dave Spier

My first encounter with a Painted Trillium (Trillium undulatum) was Memorial Day weekend, 1971, on a canoe trip up the Oswegatchie River from Inlet to High Falls. I have since found this species in Finger Lakes bogs which harbor a number of Adirondack-like plants. Its natural range is Canada south to Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and it continues south in the Appalachians as far as Georgia.

Crimson veining marks the base of each wavy, white petal in contrast to the surrounding three green sepals and three leaves making the Painted Trillium a spectacular woodland wildflower. It tolerates shade and is generally found on well-drained, but moist, acidic soils. Cool, deep humus is ideal. Memorial Day is actually getting late to find it still blooming; the peak is earlier in the month, but higher elevations will delay its blooming. The one in the photo was growing in Zurich Bog, along with Yellow Lady's-slippers, on May 15. The Painted tends to bloom after the Red Trillium found in late April and the Large-flowered (White) Trillium that blooms earlier in May, but these impressions span many years and I'm sure weather influences the relative timing.

I think of the word "trillium" as a contraction of tri-lilium, meaning a member of the Lily Family with all parts in three's or multiples of three. Three leaves, three sepals, three petals, three-parted (female) stigma and six (male) stamens...

Corrections, questions and suggestions are always welcome at northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com or connect through my Facebook page and photo page. There is a separate community-type page for The Northeast Naturalist. Other nature and geology topics can be found on the parallel blogs Northeast Naturalist and Heading Out.