Switchgrass

Switchgrass, or Panicum virgatum, has become increasingly popular in the past ten or fifteen years as an ornamental grass that is native to North America, as opposed to the previously used Miscanthus and Pennisetum species.  It's a terrifically useful plant aesthetically, but it also has scientific merits as well.  The plant has been used for phytoremediation as well as biomass.  

Grasses are amazingly evolved plants -- where most angiosperms have the apical meristem (the part of the plant that signals growth and cell production to the entire organism) located at the terminal leader of the plant, grasses evolved so that the apical meristem is located at the joint where new blades emerge from the sheath.  This is an adaptation in response to the grazing habits of mammals on the plains.  If, for instance, buffalo grazed on grasses and consistently chewed off the apical meristem, the plants would diminish quickly.  When the apical meristem is at a node closer to the ground, growth patterns are not interrupted by nearby herbivores. (Please note: I probably condensed several books' worth of science into a few sentences -- no doubt a better scientist could have explained this more clearly and accurately!)

The photos above are most likely of a cultivar of switchgrass called 'Shenandoah' which is notable for it's red foliage.  The shots above also show the panicle of flowers typically seen in late summer/early fall.  Panicum is a warm season grass, which means the plant grows most during hot, dry summers and has extensive root systems to allow them to survive drought.

The shot above and below is at the Christiana Mall in Delaware.  I think it is a good illustration of how a native prairie grass (though its distribution stretches from Nova Scotia to Mexico) can be used in a very corporate landscape.  I also think it combines beautifully with Hydrangea paniculata.

Panicum is derivative of the Latin word for millet, which is also the root for the word bread in French and Spanish, pain and pan, respectively. 

Stewartia ovata

This was an exciting new find for me at Kenilworth --  Stewartia ovata or mountain camellia.  As you may know, I looooove Stewartia pseudocamellia .  In fact, one of the only downfalls of that plant (to me) is that it is not native.

This species however is native to the southeast US mountains.  And while it's not as elegant as S. pseudocamellia -- the bark is not as lustrous -- I am desperate to plant this on an upcoming project.

You can see the flowers on the ground above and below -- it appears we were just a week away from seeing this at its peak.

The flowers are very similar to S. pseudocamellia, and both species are in the Theaceae family, which does indeed include Camellia itself.

Sadly, the plant seems to be somewhat rare -- a brief google search came up with a few native specialists that provide 1 gallon specimens, so I'll need to keep my eyes peeled for large specimens.

When you reach the edge of Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, there is a long boardwalk that leads you to the Anacostia River.  It's a lovely view with very little to indicate you are within a major city.  The semi-wet soil in which the pink perennial below is growing is a typical habitat for Vernonia noveboracensis or New York Ironweed.

New York ironweed is a native to the northeast and though it's regularly found on the edges of streams, it can also fare well in drought or heavy soils.   It can easily reach heights of 6-8' and works great with other late summer flowers like sunflowers and goldenrod.

Finally, the deep magenta blossoms (like all flowers in the Asteraceae family, the flowers are composites with disc and ray florets), add a powerful pop to an otherwise dull late summer garden.

Amsonia hubrichtii

Recently, I was recommending Amsonia hubrichtii or threadleaf bluestar, for a job site in Bethesda.  While sharing photos of the plant with the client and architect, I added, "Amsonia also is the 2011 'Perennial Plant of the Year' -- it's like the Oscars for plants." And while I was being a little flip, it's true.

I think the masses of Amsonia used here (with occasional pops of bluestem and aster) is a lovely application of the plant.  As wind brushes by the hillside, they all lazily sway in the breeze.  In the spring, when the light blue star shaped flowers appear, it's no doubt lovely, tough I think it must look best in the fall, when the plant turns a honey, straw color.

 

Amsonia is native to North America, from points east of Missouri within the zone range of 4-9. 

Joe Pye Weed

This is one of my favorite North American wildflowers -- Eutrochium purpureum (formerly Eupatorium), commonly known as Joe Pye Weed.  Eutrochium is a tall (6-7') summer flowering perennial, typically with pink flowers as seen below.  Part of the reason that this plant is now Eutrochium and not Eupatorium is because the former has whorled leaves (indeed, trocho is Greek for wheel-like, thus whorled) and the latter has opposite leaves. Both genera remain in the Asteraceae family.

Below, a white flowering variety, less common than the purplish pink flowers.  One way to distinguish E. purpureum from E. maculatum (these plants are often confused) is the presence of pink spots along the entire stem of E. maculatum, as opposed to the clear green or purple stems on E. purpureum.

Joe Pye weed is a pretty terrific common name, too.  It's named for a Native American who was known by colonists as Joe Pye.  As legend goes, he used the roots of this plant to aid a colonist who was ill with typhus.  The plant induced sweating which broke his fever. The plant was also used by Native Americans as an ailment to "breakbone fever" (which is now known as dengue fever), thus another common name of boneset (though boneset is usually considered the common name for Eutrochium perfoliatum, a close relative). 

You need a fair amount of real estate to use this plant, as large as it gets.  But if you have the space, it's a great addition as it provides habitat to bees, butterflies and birds.

Wood Poppy

I absolutely love learning a new plant.  I saw this at a client's property in Maryland last week and was informed it was wood poppy, or Stylophorum diphyllum.  Though not a true Papaver it is indeed in the poppy, or Papaveraceae family.

I'm chagrined because at first glance I thought it was a buttercup, or member of the Ranunculaceae family.  The yellow flowers influenced my snap judgment, which is always a good reminder to look more carefully when inspecting plants in the field.

If I had paid closer attention, I would have noted the poppy-like fuzzy flower buds and the soft hairs on the flower's peduncle -- both typical to poppies and not at all common on buttercups. Also like poppies, when the stem is broken a milky sap exudes from the plant.

Stylophorum is a native wildflower and naturalizes damp woods with ease.  The genus name simply means "having styles" which are the stem(s) that supports the female flower part - the stigma.  Diphyllum refers to the pair of leaves that usually are found at the base of the flower.  The plant is also commonly called celandine poppy.

Mormon Tea, or Ephedra

I saw this small, raggedy shrub all around the edges of the Grand Canyon and it was part of the reason I was compelled to quickly find some decent books detailing the flora of the region.  To me, it closely resembled Cytisus, but as it turns out it was an altogether new genus for me, Ephedra.

The genus name should sound familiar, since when one gets congested it's likely they are buying a product with pseudoephedrine in it.  Of course, if you buy too much pseudoephedrine, you may be flagged as a potential drug dealer, since the drug is often used to make methamphetamine.

The Chinese Ephedra (E. sinica) is perhaps the most notorious; it has the alkaloids pseudoephedrine and ephedrine, both of which have been marketed as 'herbal remedies.'  These products were often abused by athletes as stimulants to enhance performance.  Most notably, Ephedra was linked to the deaths of Baltimore Oriole Steve Bechler and Minnesota Viking Korey Stringer.  Many sports leagues, and ultimately the FDA, have banned the use of Ephedra.   

This native species E. trifurca is less potent than E. sinica, but was still used by southwestern settlers as a tonic, tea, diuretic and decongestant.  It was even used to treat syphilis (though I'm not sure how effective it was).  Mormons, who abstain from caffeinated beverages, often drank the brew made from this plant thus accounting for Ephedra's common name - Mormon tea.

Ephedra is derivative of the ancient Greek work for horse's tail - 'Hippuris.'  I have no idea what trifurca means!

Aronia arbutifolia

It seems a disservice to laud the best native trees for fall color, without highlighting a few shrubs, too. And so today I am sharing a few shots of Aronia arbutifolia (red chokeberry) that I took in Central Park last October. 

 

Aronia is a native shrub in the Rosaceae family and is similar to its relatives in its ovate, serrated leaves and the presence of small berries which somewhat resemble rosehips.  It readily suckers and spreads, and can survive in somewhat marshy areas.  The flowers look like many others in the rose family - they are small, with five white petals and showy stamens.  I've blogged about many rose family plants before, including crabapples, quince, cherrylaurels, cherries, hawthornes, and most notably the dreaded Bradford pear and the wonderful serviceberry.  

Like its relatives, chokeberry has exceptional fall color and its status as a native makes it an excellent alternative to invasive plants like burning bush (Euonymus alatus) or Nandina domestica. The fruit provide food for birds as well, though it isn't edible for them until a few frosts have fermented the fruit's flesh. (A lot of alliteration for a little laugh.)

Aronia derives from 'Aria' - the Greek name for Sorbus which has similar berries. Arbutifolia literally means that the foliage looks like Arbutus. Chokeberry is the common name because the fruit is quite astringent, though it can be rendered into jams, jellies, wines and teas.  It should not be confused with the similarly named chokecherry, which is Prunus virginiana.

Berberis and Mahonia

Here's a shot of the desert scrub outside of Sedona, taken during the jeep tour I mentioned in previous posts.  Exploring the desert plants growing here was a delight -- some were familiar, like the prickly pear and mesquite, some were new, like pinyon pine.  Other plants straddled between the two categories - they were vaguely familiar and in some cases I was able to make a guess at their genus or family.

This scrubby plant below was one such specimen.  The pinnately compound, waxy leaves reminded me immediately of Mahonia and when I returned to the East Coast, my bag a bit heavier due to a load of plant books I had bought, I started researching.

Indeed, the plant is in the same family as Mahonia but is actually Berberis haematocarpa, or red barberry.  Both genera exist in the Berberidaceae family, though the leaf reminded me far more of Mahonia.  One supposes that the structure of the small yellow flowers, which bloom from February until April, are genetically more similar to Berberis and that is why they are grouped as such.

 

After the plant flowers, small purple berries form and are evidently quite tasty.  They are quickly eaten by birds and small mammals but if leftovers exist they are often used to make jellies.  The plant has never been 'domesticated' however, because it is a secondary host for black stem rust, a disease that affects grains. 

Back on the East Coast, in Central Park Zoo, we have the more refined looking Mahonia, possibly M. x media or M. aquifolium.  Commonly called Oregon grapeholly, the plant (the straight species, that is, not the hybrid) was discovered by Louis Lewis* and Clark during their expedition of the Pacific Northwest.  The plant is similar to the red barberry, not only in leaf type but in flower color and fruit as well.  However, the fruit on Oregon grapeholly, as the common name would suggest, are larger and look like concord grapes.
 

It is puzzling why the Arizonan plant is classified as Berberis considering how much more it looks like Mahonia.  Chances are you are familiar with other species of Berberis: B. thunbergii and B. julianae, though I would be hard-pressed to endorse the use of either; the former being invasive and the latter being prohibitively thorny.  

*Oof.  How embarrassing.  

Pinyon Pine

Below you can see a pic of the Grand Canyon, taken from the Bright Angel Trailhead, on the South Rim.  I was so delighted to finally see the Grand Canyon, to me - and many others, of course - it's one of our greatest national treasures.  The far side of the canyon - where the elevation roughly matches the ground I'm standing at when I took this picture - is 18 miles away.  To put that in perspective, Manhattan Island is only 13.4 miles long.  Lanai is 18 miles long exactly.  The Canyon's width is 277 miles, which is more than the length of the entire state of Maryland.  It's compelling to try to comprehend something so vast, particularly when you are standing at the edge of it.  The depth, by the way, tops out at a mile.

Yes, but what about the plants???

 

Above you can see that, despite the rocky, soil-poor subgrade, trees have managed to create footholds in the cliffs.  Perhaps one of the most iconographic in this landscape is the pinyon pine, or Pinus edulis. 

 

Like all pines, the leaves are needles and occur in fascicles.  Pinyon pine has two needles per fascicle.  The needles are short and rigid.  The nuts - pinyon or pine nuts - they're the largest nuts you can gather from any pine. These are different from the Italian pignolis, which are the nuts of Pinus pinea.

 

Pinus edulis is one of the key species in the Pinyon-Juniper Belt - an ecosystem defined by the presence of the pine and Utah Juniper that occupies the region north of the desert but south of the colder canyons to the north.  Annual rainfall is limited to around 20 inches, so plants are adapted to drought.  The photo above shows the scrubby habit of a pinyon pine-dominant forest as seen from Cathedral Rock in Sedona.

  

Edulis literally means edible.  The nuts are in high demand by locals.  At times, people have even raided the nests of woodrats, gathering a yield of as much as 30 pounds. 

Saguaro

I spent this past holiday weekend in Arizona and took hundreds of pics of the beautiful ecosystems there.  Our home base was in Sedona, but we spent time in the Grand Canyon and Phoenix as well.  Phoenix is in the northern limit of the Sonoran desert - known perhaps best for its most famous inhabitant, the Saguaro cactus, Carnegiea gigantea.
 

 

The saguaro is endemic to the Sonoran Desert, which stretches from Phoenix to northern Mexico.  Some occur near the lower Colorado River in California as well.  It's a massively tall tree, reaching heights up to fifty feet.  When you encounter one that tall, you can speculate that it's lived for as long as two hundred years. 

 

The tree's structure is not like a typical woody tree - instead the interior is comprised of wooden rods.  This allows the plant to expand and contract based on the amount of water it is storing.  Roots are shallow and stretch as far as fifty feet away from the trunk - this maximizes the amount of water the plant can capture during the rare rainfall.

 

The saguaro provides habitat to many desert birds, including gila woodpeckers and flickers, as well as desert raptors like elf and screech owls.  In addition to the many bird species found in the Sonoran Desert (350), there are 60 mammals, 20 amphibians, 30 fish and 100 reptiles.  In this little roadside park, I saw dozens of desert cottontails and greater roadrunners.

 

Here a younger saguaro is in the foreground to the right.  Saguaros must reach fourteen to sixteen feet in height (age 75, approximately) before it begins to branch.  

Saguaros are by far, one of the most iconographic American plants.  It's easy to overlook how big they get.  For precisely that reason, here's a shot illustrating its massive size.  For the record, I'm about 5'-3"!!