General

Wildflowers of Sylvan Solace (#66 – #85)

By July 6, 2021 No Comments

This is part six of a photo series documenting my attempt to identify and catalogue all of the wildflowers to be found at Sylvan Solace Preserve during 2021. I’m doing this survey as part of our year long celebration of Sylvan Solace Preserve’s 25th Anniversary. I’m keeping up with the survey part but not so much with sharing. Fortunately many of the species shared in this installment have long blooming periods and can still be found.

Six non-native species were added to the list with this installment, bringing the total of introduced species to eighteen. This represents 21.2% of our total of eighty-five species documented in the series to date. Non-native species have been marked with an asterisk (*) below.

You can catch up on the series by clicking on the links below:

Part I

Part II

Part III

Part IV

Part V

#66 Nannyberry (Viburnum lentago) – photographed 20 May 2021

This native shrub is able to tolerate a variety of habitat types from wet to dry. I found it growing along the bank of the river.

#67 Yellow Wood-sorrel (Oxalis stricta) – photographed 25 May 2021

This species is one of my favorite wild edibles. The leaves and flowers have a nice “lemony” taste. Often confused with clover but the yellow flowers are distinctive.

#68 Field Hawkweed (Hieracium caespitosum)* – photographed 25 May 2021

This is a common”weed” of lawns, roadsides, old fields, and other disturbed areas.

#69 Black Medick (Medicago lupulina)* – photographed 25 May 2021

Another weedy species of lawns, roadsides, and fields. Another clover lookalike with yellow flowers.

#70 White Campion (Silene latifolia)* – photographed 25 May 2021

White Campion flowers are primarily pollinated by long-tongued moths.

#71 Wild Black Cherry (Prunus serotina) – photographed 25 May 2021

Not the best photograph, but when the flowers are 15+ feet up in a tree and you don’t have a ladder.

#72 Dotted Hawthorn (Crataegus punctata) – photographed 25 May 2021

This is one of the easiest hawthorn species to identify based on the shape of its leaves and its deeply impressed veins.

#73 Wild Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) – photographed 25 May 2021

This was a great year for Wild Columbine. It seemed to be everywhere at Sylvan Solace – along all the trails and on the riverbank.

#74 Hairy Sweet Cicely (Osmorhiza claytonii) – photographed 25 May 2021

Definitely in my top five native plant names.

#75 Blue Flag Iris (Iris versicolor) – photographed 25 May 2021

We have two native Iris species – they can be very hard to differentiate. I ID’d these based on a couple of features the height of the cauline (stem) leaves – shorter than the flowers – and the color at the base plants – purple. The other species, I. virginica would have longer cauline leaves and brown at the base of the plant.

#76 Canada Anemone (Anemone canadensis) – photographed 25 May 2021

Of the four native Anemone species that can be found in our part of Michigan, I managed to find three of them at Sylvan Solace. A. quinquefolia was at #27 and A. virginiana is yet to come at #115.

#77 Orange-fruit Horse-gentian (Triosteum aurantiacum) – photographed 25 May 2021

Like the columbine, this was another plant that I noticed more than ever before. Unlike the columbine, Horse-gentian has inconspicuous flowers tucked into a whorl at the leaf axils.

#78 Black Raspberry (Rubus occidentalis) – photographed 25 May 2021

This is the first of several Rubus species to be documented at Sylvan Solace. Also present are Northern Dewberry (R. flagellaris) and Common Blackberry (R. allegheniensis). They’ll come later in the list.

#79 White Clover (Trifolium repens)* – Photographed 02 June 2021

After several clover look-alikes, here is a real clover at long last. Like so many Eurasian imports it is most commonly found in lawns, roadsides, fields, and other disturbed spaces.

#80 Maple-leaf Viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium)- photographed 02 June 2021

I love it when the scientific name says exactly the same thing as the common name. acerifolium = “maple-leaf”

#81 Commone Fleabane (Erigeron philadelphicus) – photographed 02 June 2021

Although not evident from this photograph, this species was identified, in part, by how the cauline (stem) leaves clasp the stem.

#82 Riverbank Grape (Vitus riparia) – photographed 02 June 2021

Once again the Latin binomial makes sense – riparia means “pertaining to riverbanks.

#83 Common Black Snakeroot (Sanicula odorata) – photographed 02 June 2021

This is the problem with common names – there are four Sanicula species in Michigan and they are all known as Black Snakeroot. Fortunately, they are fairly easy to identify.

#84 Hairy Vetch (Vicia villosa)* – photographed 03 June 2021

This member of the legume family (Fabaceae), climbs and sprawls on vegetation in almost every dry open area at Sylvan Solace.

#85 Orange Hawkweed (Hieracium aurantiacum)* – photographed 04 June 2021

There are fifteen Hieracium species in Michigan. Many of them can be hard to identify, but not this one! It’s the only orange flowered species in the bunch.

I’ve been quite surprised by the diversity to be found on this single property. This week I found my 150th species of the year; this was my original goal for the entire project. (I’m WAY behind on posting my finds!) At this point, I am fairly confident that with continued diligence I should hit 200 species before the end of the growing season.