My Bit of Heaven - by Kristl Walek

[annew]

Heavenly!

[Paul T]

Love the fossils Kristl, amongst all your other wonderful pictures.  Great Stuff!! 

[Kristl Walek]

This will be my last post for a while-as I am soon heading off to southern Ontario to visit my daugher and then on to Michigan to see my mother. I will also be trying to find moments to be in the wild and see plants that may not be native here.

Todays trip out had to be without much picture taking, as it involved the hauling of heavy, multiple bags of Hickory seed (Carya sp.).

Carya ovata (Shagbark Hickory) has absolutely tremendous bark, which I forgot to photograph. If you don't know it, I post a picture here from Duke University showing you the distinctively shaggy bark, from which it gets its common name. It is wonderful coming upon specimens of the right maturity in the wild, exhibiting this beautiful loose-pleated bark.

Of the two Hickories in our area, this is the edible one, with decent size fruits, long used as a staple by native people.

Several species of insects influence seed production by causing aborting or premature dropping of fruits or by reducing the germinative capacity of mature nuts. In good seed years about half of the total seed crop is sound. This was the first good production year in a long time. Unfortunately, one cannot always tell which seeds have insect or other damage while the shell is on the nut, so it entails dragging home heavy, heavy loads, waiting for them to open, and then discarding the empties, or obviously infested or diseased ones. Some years I brought the volume home only to have all the fruits go into the compost.

The fruits are laid out on trays and placed in a warm spot to split and then to determine which are sound.

Carya cordiformis (Bitternut Hickory) has the smaller (inedible) fruits- although loved by squirrels, who are usually helpful in bringing them down from the trees. They were so active today, that I was literally being pelted by Hickory nuts, as they came flying down from the sky....

[Kristl Walek]

Dichanthelium latifolium (Deer-Tongue Grass) is an interesting and worthwhile grass for the woodland. Wide foliage, with a bamboo-like effect on a smallish plant (60cm). The fascinating part for me is that the first set of seeds it produces after initial flowering at the top of the plant normally produce sterile seeds--but those that come later on lower, side branches are the fertile ones that one must wait for.

This is Polypodium virginianum, a small fern often found covering large cliffs and rocks in the wild.

Lastly, Aster umbellatum which Bernard has already shown you in the "Flowers and Foliage Now" section-and his pictures are much better than mine.

This is a great aster not so much because of it's individual small white flowers, produced much earlier than most native asters--but for it's wonderful form--with large umbels of blooms on a lovely, upright plant.

[Kristl Walek]

Lastly, I am wondering if there is anyone lurking here from southern Ontario who could direct me to an easily accessible spot (from Hwy. 401) to see Cornus florida or Quercus prinoides or any other woody Carolinian species. I am also wanting to see large colonies of Jeffersonia diphylla --- I know about the Salmon River site, but would like to find another spot (again easily gotten to from the 401).

Thank You.

[Maggi Young]

Kristl, good luck with your travels and hope you have a good time visiting your family. Take care, see you here soon, I trust! 

[Paul T]

Kristl,

This topic is such a joy to read.  All these plants so many of us have never seen before, or in numbers that are almost unbelievable!    The idea of large colonies of Jeffersonia diphylla is pretty impressive too, although I'd love to see large colonies of J. dubia too!!!  I have a few plants of both, grown from seed, and only flowered the latter as yet.... but what a treat.  The idea of large colonies of either would be fantastic!! 

Thanks for giving us a wonderful view into a part of the world I at least am unfortunately never likely to see. 

[Kristl Walek]

thanks for giving us a wonderful view into a part of the world I at least am unfortunately never likely to see.  

And why not, Paul? All the world is just a plane trip away, you know...

Thanks, Maggi. The "mother" part of the trip will be a very difficult, emotional one as she has been very ill for too long; but my darling daughter and the plants will be the solace and the joy.

[Paul T]

Kristl,

Yes, but unfortunately they aren't free.    I must admit that Canada is very high on my list of countries I'd love to visit.  If I was given one trip I would be tossing up between it and the UK (I realise that isn't a country per se, but you know what I mean I hope).... The UK would probably win out as it would be a chance to catch up with a number of different friends, and also look into the roots of where some of my family came from..... I just love all the pics I have seen of so much real "wild" country in Canada, so lacking throughout most of the world now. 

[Brian Ellis]

This will be my last post for a while-as I am soon heading off to southern Ontario to visit my daugher and then on to Michigan to see my mother

Well Kristl you, and your postings, will be sorely missed, have a good trip and we look forward to your return.

[Kristl Walek]

Hello Friends,

I am back home after a marathon 1,800 km road trip in my little Toyota to
visit family and to see plants in the wild.

There is much seed work to catch up on here, but I thought I would first
share some of my adventures with you.

I apologize ahead of time for the poor quality of the pictures. Although the past week
was the first time all summer with a good amount of sun, it seems I brought my
wet weather karma with me, as it rained each time I was out with the plants,
resulting in shoot-fast-and-scurry mentality.

My time in Michigan near the Ontario border was brief, but I did have a 3
hour opportunity to head to some local woods to see what I could find.

Along the edges of these woods, tall drifts of yellow turned out to be
Verbesina alternifolia, which is rare in southern Ontario, only 30
minutes away. Phytolacca americana with ripe fruit grew in the same areas
along the woodland margins with Canada Moonseed (Menispermum canadense)
twining its way up into the trees.

Arisaema triphyllum were at various stages of ripeness in the woods---and I
found a few old specimens with very large leaves and sizeable, well-coloured
stems.

Podophyllum peltatum was mostly in a state of decay---with no more "apples"
to be found.

But Aralia racemosa was in pristine ripening berry condition.

[ranunculus]

I too tried to submit a picture Kristl (just as a test for you), but it would not post.
Sorry Fred ... I can hear the swearing from here!

edit by maggi : Kristl has now been successful in posting her photos! 

[Kristl Walek]

It was my first time seeing all of the following species in the wild:

Campsis radicans at the edges of the woods.

And Cercis canadensis. The first picture is actually of a sea of well-established seedlings under the mother of all mother-cercis. I could barely believe my eyes when I saw the thousands of seed pods hanging from this clone-what a sight it must have been at flowering time!!!!

Maclura pomifera I have shown you once before on this forum with it's huge seed balls well formed.

[Kristl Walek]

When I left Michigan I had already determined to spend the day in Windsor, the southernmost city in Ontario and to visit the Ojibway Prairie Complex (865 acres of prairie, woodland and savanna). It is a globally significant protected area containing over 4,000 species of plants and animals, including 115 provincially rare species of flora, some of which occur nowhere else in Canada.

My primary interest was to wander around in the 45 acre Tall Grass Prairie, and in fact I was the only wanderer there that day, down below plants that mostly reached way above my head. In the picture entitled "Prairie Path" you will see the narrow path made through the (wet) vegetation, just wide enough for a body.

I walked for many hours in this huge and complex eco-system--of which I only show you a very few impressions. It really was a wonderful experience (including the getting lost for a good 2 hours)!!!!

[Kristl Walek]

Andropogon gerardii (Big Blue Stem) was the most commonly seen tall grass species in Ojibway Prairie. It is a very fine, ornamental species at home in most gardens.

Pretty Cirsium discolor dotted the landscape, along with the tall Coreopsis tripteris.

Cornus drummondii was the most common small woody species in the prairie.