Saturday, October 31, 2009

Asparagus

Asparagus has a distinctive butterscotch color in winter. This big asparagus plant (Asparagus officinalis) is along a roadside in Benton County. Some roadsides in western Benton County and Warren County have substantial populations of asparagus growing wild. Take highway US 52 west of Lafayette and you can find asparagus on the roadside where you encounter the first wind turbine.



Pictures taken October 28, 2009.

Link to asparagus:

Friday, October 30, 2009

At the pedestrian bridge

Wabash River at pedestrian bridge, October 27, 2009.


At the pedestrian bridge, October 27, 2009.

Link to Wabash River levels:

Fifth Street


Fifth Street, looking north, October 27, 2009. The L&N railroad used to run right down the middle of the street until about fifteen years ago.

Link to old 5th St. tracks:

Romig St.


Romig Street, October 27, 2009.

At Triangle Park on 5th St.

At the south end of 5th st. there is a little park. The sign marking it calls it Triangle Park. The railroads used to go by here on both sides, before they were relocated to the riverside about fifteen years ago. Beyond the end of 5th St. what used to be called Stone Alley goes up the hill. It used to be paved with cobblestones but they laid asphalt over it a few years ago. Don't know if it has a name anymore.

Nice painting on this wall.


Yellow sugar maple leaves on this old limestone wall. The old Norfolk & Western tracks ran just above this wall.

These pictures were taken October 27, 2009.

Friday, October 23, 2009

Ginkgo


The most solid yellow of the trees around here this season seem to be the ginkgo trees (Ginkgo biloba).


This ginkgo tree is a female and is showing a lot of seeds this year. Yes the seeds are stinky. They are supposed to be good to eat. Who is brave enough to eat them? You can find this ginkgo behind Lilly Hall on the Purdue Campus. Pictures taken October 22, 2009.

Link to Ginkgo biloba:


Link to Ginkgo biloba:


Link to everything about gingkos:

American cranberrybush

This American cranberrybush is actually a Viburnum, Viburnum opulus var. americanum. It’s native to Indiana. You can find this viburnum at the front entrance to Pfendler Hall on the Purdue Campus. This part of campus has been planted with many native Indiana shrubs. Pictures taken October 22, 2009.


The leaf petioles of American cranberrybush have distinctive glands.

Link to American cranberrybush, Viburnum opulus var. americanum:

Link to American cranberrybush, Viburnum opulus var. americanum:

Link to American cranberrybush, Viburnum opulus var. americanum:

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Wooly worm


This wooly worm (Pyrrharctia isabella) crawls through a soybean field in Tippecanoe County, awaiting the winter. This picture was taken October 19, 2009.

Link to Pyrrharctia isabella:

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Ischnoderma resinosum


This resinous polypore mushroom (Ischnoderma resinosum) is at Stewart Woods, west of Purdue Campus, October 18, 2009. Notice the droplets of fluid typical of this fungus. This kind of mushroom was common in the woods that day.

Link to Ischnoderma resinosum:

Link to Ischnoderma resinosum:

Monday, October 19, 2009

Pluteus cervinus



This Pluteus cervinus mushroom was at Stewart's Woods, which is the woods just north of Hort Park, west of the Purdue campus. Picture taken October 18, 2009.

Link to Pluteus cervinus:

Link to Pluteus cervinus:

Link to Pluteus cervinus:

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Ladybugs at the courthouse


These ladybugs are searching out the warmest crannies of the old limestone surrounding the county courthouse. From the white spots on the head I am going to guess they are Harmonia axyridis. This picture was taken about 10:30 pm the evening of October 16, 2009, on the Main Street side of the courthouse.

Link to Harmonia axyridis:

Link to Harmonia axyridis:

Link to ladybugs:

Flowering dogwood in autumn


The flowering dogwood which dapples the woodlands with white in the springtime shows these red berries and purple leaves in the autumn. This flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) is on the South Street side of the public library. It's not wild, it was planted there when they built the place over fifteen years ago. The landscaping was supposed to use native Indiana trees and plants, and a lot of it is still around. Inside the library on file they have a diagram of the landscaping plan which shows the names of the plants and their location on the library grounds. It is not completely accurate but it shows this dogwood in the place you see here. This picture was taken October 16, 2009.

Link to flowering dogwood:


Link to flowering dogwood:

Link to previous post on flowering dogwood in spring:

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Autumn vines

The old warehouse on Erie Street is covered with vines showing fall color.

On the north side of the building, red virginia creeper vine (Parthenocissus quinquifolia) hangs from old poison ivy branchlets. The poison ivy vines were cut at the ground a few years ago, so there is not any poison ivy still alive, but poison ivy characteristically puts branches like this sticking out a yard or so from the vine, now the dead branches provide support for the Virginia creeper.

Link to Parthenocissus quinquifolia:

Link to Parthenocissus quinquifolia:

Link to Parthenocissus quinquifolia:

Link to previous post on poison ivy:

Virginia creeper grows on the ground too, beside the building.

On the east side of the building the colorful vines are largely another kind of Parthenocissus. This is Parthenocissus tricuspidata, also called Boston ivy. It shows a good lot of berries here.

Link to previous post on Parthenocissus tricuspidata:


The vine on the east side of the building with the yellow and still green leaves is oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus). This must be a male plant because there aren't any of the colorful fruits on it. The way the vines wrap like a python around other supporting stems is typical of the bittersweet vine.

Link to Celastrus orbiculatus:

Virginia creeper is native to North America but it has been planted as an ornamental in Europe many years ago and has spread wild.

Link to Virginia creeper in Europe:

Another link to Virginia creeper in Europe:

Pictures taken October 13, 2009.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Poison ivy in autumn

Poison ivy is a key component of the fall color scene. It puts fall color where the trees don't, climbing over tree trunks, fences, roadsides. If it doesn't have anything to climb on it will grow just tall enough over the bare ground to show us the colorful leaves at a great distance. The poison ivy in the picture above is climbing over a fence somewhere east of Muncie, in Delaware County. The darker purple leaves are of dogwood (Cornus sp.). Picture taken October 11, 2009.


This poison ivy decorates a roadside east of Luray, in Henry County. Picture taken October 11, 2009. Notice the dull white poison ivy berries.

If you can identify only one plant in the woods, poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) is the one to know.

Link to Toxicodendron radicans:

Link to Toxicodendron radicans:

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Fall color report October 10


Different kinds of trees change to fall colors on a slightly different schedule. The tree that probably has the most impact on the Indiana scene is sugar maple (Acer saccharum). As of yesterday October 10, the sugar maples are well on their way to providing great color. This scene is on State Road 9 near Huntington, looking north towards the Wabash valley. The bright colored trees are mostly sugar maple. Picture taken October 10, 2009.

Link to Acer saccharum:

Link to Acer saccharum:

Link to Acer saccharum:

Friday, October 9, 2009

False Turkeytail




This fallen tree laden with False Turkeytail fungus (Stereum ostrea) is at Fall Creek Gorge in Warren County. On one side of the tree is the footpath along the rim of the gorge. On the other side is the gorge, a pretty steep drop. Picture taken October 6, 2009.

Link to Stereum ostrea:

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Liverwort


This is at Fall Creek Gorge in Warren County. The constantly wet sandstone floor of the gorge provides habitat for this liverwort. Is this the Thallus of Marchantia? Picture taken October 6, 2009.

Link to liverwort:

Link to Marchantia:

Link to Thallus of Marchantia:

Pear-shaped puffballs

These pear-shaped puffballs (Morganella pyriformis) are at Fall Creek Gorge in Warren County. A light rain was falling. The occasional raindrop would hit one of these puffballs, and a puff of a brown smoke of spores would appear. I tried to get a picture of the wisp of spore smoke floating in the air, but didn't get any photo timed just right.

Link to Morganella pyriformis:

Link to Morganella pyriformis:


This puffball is part of the group pictured above. You can see the dust of expelled spores off to one side. The three orange red dots on the left are another kind of fungus, the eyelash cup fungus, Scutellinia, which is an ascomycete.

Link to Scutellinia:


Link to Scutellinia:

Link to Scutellinia:

This fungus covered log is on the high trail along the rim of the Fall Creek Gorge. Pictures taken October 6, 2009.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Mapleleaf Viburnum at Fall Creek Gorge


The mapleleaf viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium) shows a fall color like no other. This mapleleaf viburnum is in its native habitat here on the high ground at Fall Creek Gorge in Warren County. Picture taken October 6, 2009.

Link to Viburnum acerifolium:

Link to Viburnum acerifolium:

Link to Viburnum acerifolium:



Fall Creek Gorge, October 6, 2009. Known locally as "the potholes" which you can see in the picture.

Link to Fall Creek Gorge:

Monday, October 5, 2009

Sumac at prairie cemetery, beginning fall color


This is smooth sumac (Rhus glabra) at the Shilo Prairie cemetery along US Highway 52 near Colfax, in Clinton County. Picture taken October 4, 2009.

Link to Rhus glabra:

Link to Rhus glabra:

Link to Rhus glabra:

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Old oak and iron fence


This old oak tree has grown through the iron fence without damage to either. This is the fence that encloses the Tippecanoe Battlefield. This part of the fence is on the Burnett's Creek side of the battlefield. The maintenance of this fence is specifically provided for in Article 15 of the Constitution. Picture taken September 27, 2009.

Link to Battle of Tippecanoe:

Link to Constitution:

Winged sumac


Winged sumac (Rhus copallinum). The picture shows the winged rachis that is not evident in the other species of sumac. This Rhus copallinum is growing along the State Road 26 roadside in front of the Purdue Wildlife Area a few miles west of campus. Like the more common smooth sumac, winged sumac shows beautiful fall color. This one is just starting to show color, the picture was taken Sept. 29, 2009, so it should be redder by now.

Link to Rhus copallinum:

Link to Rhus copallinum:

Link to rachis:


Link to Purdue Wildlife Area:

Link to smooth sumac (Rhus glabra):

Friday, October 2, 2009

Wabash River with Great Blue Heron


A great blue heron (Ardia herodias) stands in the water near the sandbar just downstream from the old Brown Street Bridge abutment. Picture taken October 1, 2009.

Link to great blue heron:

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Burning bush


Burning bush (Euonymus alatus) has invaded the woods at Battleground and is nearly dominant in the forest understory along the north end of the Wabash Heritage trail. This picture shows Euonymus alatus in a woods edge habitat just west of the footbridge over Burnett's Creek, September 27, 2009.

Link to Euonymus alatus:

Link to Euonymus alatus:

Link to Wabash Heritage Trail: