Environmental Study of my backyard

[freeztar]

In the spirit of Turtle's thread...
Here's some "Southern" species for you to eye:

From top to bottom:

[freeztar]

The first one is a Prunus spp.
The second is a sea of Impatiens capensis...

I also have a vid with a bird call and the bird is still hanging around chirping...I'll get that to Youtube post haste!

[Cedars]

Heres a flower I need help ID'ing:

http://www.geocities.com/mn_cedars/idPlan/marF3.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/mn_cedars/idPlan/marFQ.jpg

They are around 4 inches tall (the leaves). Growing in a moderately shaded area of decidious forest area (I didnt see any around the conifers). The soils are wet, heavy with organics for the first inch or two then sandy or loamy. These are growing all over the bottom of a moraine area.

The picture I attempted of the inside of the flower turned out blurry enough to cause pain when viewing.
*warning, click at your own risk*
http://www.geocities.com/mn_cedars/idPlan/marBad.jpg.

The outside maroon wraps a bit inside, then a strip of white, then goes deep maroon again, kinda star shaped and it has very fine, yellow, fuzzy, pollen tipped spikes that reach almost 1/2 way to the outside of the flower (hope that makes sense). Any clues? Wild guesses?

Sheesh... Apparently GeoFreebie only allows 4mb data transfer an hour so it might get locked up once in a while....

[freeztar]

Nice Find Cedars!!!!

That's Asarum canadense (wild ginger).
Asarum canadense - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
PLANTS Profile for Asarum canadense (Canadian wildginger) | USDA PLANTS

To confirm this you can crush a root, or perhaps even the leaves (bottoms), and smell for ginger.

I've never had the fortune of finding this plant in the wild. In Georgia, it is notorious for people "hunting" it and completely wiping it out in areas (which is ironic if you read the wiki article).

I actually need help identifying a bird call, but I haven't found a way to extract the audio out of my .avi file from my camera. The .avi file is about 11MB so if you have a highspeed connection, then perhaps you could return the favor?

[Cedars]

Originally Posted by freeztar

Nice Find Cedars!!!!

That's Asarum canadense (wild ginger).
Asarum canadense - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
PLANTS Profile for Asarum canadense (Canadian wildginger) | USDA PLANTS

To confirm this you can crush a root, or perhaps even the leaves (bottoms), and smell for ginger.

I've never had the fortune of finding this plant in the wild. In Georgia, it is notorious for people "hunting" it and completely wiping it out in areas (which is ironic if you read the wiki article).

I actually need help identifying a bird call, but I haven't found a way to extract the audio out of my .avi file from my camera. The .avi file is about 11MB so if you have a highspeed connection, then perhaps you could return the favor?

WooHoo!! Wild Ginger is a good hit!

I have a bunch more pics for you to review as I get time to shrink and post them. I just got back from the meadows and got a bunch of prairie plants ID'd with help from the visitor center, but some were too hard for them to see in the digital camera screen.

Saw My First Crex Meadows Timber Wolf Today! I've seen tracks and poo's alot but today I saw one laying out in a field enjoying the sunshine. Then he got up and walked back into the woods. Huge Wolf! I took a pic but I have to wait to see just how much of him you can see.

For the avi file. You could try just using windows recorder, play the avi and see if the recorder only pics up the sound part. If not, you could run the avi and use a mic to record it via another program (doesnt winamp have record features?). Maybe running it and windows recorder via a mic would separate it out.

I can try to ID your bird, but sounds are not a strong point. I can ID some, I can narrow some down to a type and there is the chance that a bird in your area is completely foreign to me. But I am sure willing to give it a shot.

[Cedars]

OK heres a new one. Someone told me they are hops, but when I looked them up, I dont think so.

These are a brush, size comparison would be smaller than a well established lilac, but they practice controlled burns here. The area they grow is very wet, a sedge marsh and these grow on anything more than a foot above the water.

This is a picture of sprouted leaves and what might be the bud:
http://www.geocities.com/mn_cedars/i...hopsSprout.jpg

Heres a picture of the trunk. The approx width is 2 - 2.5 inches on the thickest one:
http://www.geocities.com/mn_cedars/idPlan/hopsTrunk.jpg

Heres a picture of last years buds. When fresh and growing , they look like a green pine cone, tightly shut (but rounder and not pointy) with some little edges of leaf that curl back just a bit, from what I would guess is the opening for each cones ummm... seed spacer flap thingies.
http://www.geocities.com/mn_cedars/idPlan/hopsCone.jpg

Thanks for any help!

[freeztar]

I can say for sure, that is not hops.
In the spirit of science, I will guide you this time rather than flat out answer.

This species is in the Betulaceae family and is an obligate (OBL) wetland species. It's also listed as Endangered in Illinois apparently.

This is a good species to know as once you identify one, you can easily identify others of the species. There seem to be five species in your area of the genus to which I refer.

This may help you also as it has a big list of most of the plants found in the US with wetland indicator status.
1996 National List of Vascular Plant Species that Occur in Wetlands page

[Cedars]

Originally Posted by freeztar

I can say for sure, that is not hops.
In the spirit of science, I will guide you this time rather than flat out answer.

This species is in the Betulaceae family and is an obligate (OBL) wetland species. It's also listed as Endangered in Illinois apparently.

This is a good species to know as once you identify one, you can easily identify others of the species. There seem to be five species in your area of the genus to which I refer.

This may help you also as it has a big list of most of the plants found in the US with wetland indicator status.
1996 National List of Vascular Plant Species that Occur in Wetlands page

Pointing Is Good! Plants are a weak spot for me. I think I got it. Speckled Alder. Good Page here:
Speckled Alder, Alnus incana

Interesting quote:
"The presence of nitrogen-fixing, symbiotic bacteria in its root nodules makes speckled alder valuable for soil conditioning."

Sounds like an excellent conditioning plant for wetter lowlands hit hard with fertilizer runoff. Or around golf courses

[freeztar]

But I should point out that this is Alnus incana spp. rugosa.
Alnus incana does not have the warty bark and is mostly found in uplands.

Originally Posted by Cedars

Interesting quote:
"The presence of nitrogen-fixing, symbiotic bacteria in its root nodules makes speckled alder valuable for soil conditioning."

Sounds like an excellent conditioning plant for wetter lowlands hit hard with fertilizer runoff. Or around golf courses

I agree that the nitrogen fixing ability would aid in fertilizer runoff uptake, but I don't know if it would be accepted well at golf courses. As you pointed out, it is more of a shrubby tree which can form thickets (not good for golf).

[Cedars]

Originally Posted by freeztar

But I should point out that this is Alnus incana spp. rugosa.
Alnus incana does not have the warty bark and is mostly found in uplands.



I agree that the nitrogen fixing ability would aid in fertilizer runoff uptake, but I don't know if it would be accepted well at golf courses. As you pointed out, it is more of a shrubby tree which can form thickets (not good for golf).

Ack! Good catch! I was looking at rugosa as the ID but this is what happens when I look stuff up late in my day! I miss details. Thanks for pointing that out. I believe both types are found on the meadows.

As far as golfing, I think those folks need more challenges in the game. Maybe it would make them nostelgic for the days when it was only sand traps they had to beware of.