Archivos de diario de noviembre 2020

22 de noviembre de 2020

Vitaceae in New Jersey

I am not an expert; this is what I've learned so far:

In Vitaceae in New Jersey we have Parthenocissus (quinquefolia, inserta, tricuspidata), Ampelopsis (only glandulosa), and Vitis (aestivalis, labrusca, riparia, vulpina, and those planted in vineyards, which I ignore).

P. tricuspidata is the only one with some leaves three parted. If all leaves are whole, then it's got smaller leaves and leathery and it grows by tendrils tipped in disks. It's also only here where planted, I've seen it spread away from the planting but never show up where there has never a reason to plant it there. But remember if seeing a winter vine on a building with disks it is possibly this (and not necessarily P. quinquefoila)

P. quinquefolia and P. inserta are tough to separate and often can't be in NJ. If disk-tipped tendrils are present it is P. quinquefolia, but their absence does not make it P. inserta. P inserta generally has shinier leaves with longer petiolules, but that is not enough to rule out P. quinquefolia. If the flowers or fruit are present, P. inserta always has dichotomous branching and P. quinquefolia always has a strong central stem (if zig-zagging) to the inflorescence.

P. quinquefolia is far more likely to climb tree trunks than P. inserta. P. inserta generally cannot climb a flat wall at all. P. inserta is much more common in chain-link fences.

Ampelopsis and the Vitis species are tough. Old Ampelopsis vines do not shred. Shredding bark is always Vitis. V. riparia does not have big "knuckles" at the attachment points of the tendrils. The other three grapes do.

Be aware that very old Parthenocissus vines look like Toxicodendron vines (or Hedera vines) but with fewer, lighter, less branched rootlets (but still far more of them than I would expect, given a young vine to compare to).

A. glandulosa has downy/somewhat hairy leaf stems and the newest part of twigs. A. glandulosa is never white or red below. A. glandulosa does not have teeth that are concave on the edges, as V. riparia does. A glandulosa does have big knuckles at all joints, unlike V. riparia (but similar to the vastly less common V. vulpina).

The fruit is key for separating Ampelopsis from Vitis, Ampelopsis flowers and fruit are in umbels, they never have a central stem. Vitis blooms earlier, has flower clusters visible generally from the moment of leaf unfurling, and those clusters always have a central stem (if zig-zagging).

Grape leaves that are reddish or rusty-hairy below are always V. labrusca.

Grape leaves that are white below are V. aestivalis if you can see the texture of the leaf veins below, and V. labrusca if the white wooliness conceals the texture of the underside leaf veins. V. aestivalis is much more common in my experience.

If the grape is green below look at the teeth. V. riparia has concave edges to the leaf teeth, making them "sharper" looking. V. vulpina does not. V. riparia is vastly more common (or I'm mis-IDing a lot of V. vulpina, but I've heard V. riparia described as "abundant").

I have been told that Ampelopsis tendrils fork dichotomously (both halves the same length) and Vitis tendrils do not (one side longer, and more in a straight line with the tendril stem). I can't see it myself.

Ampelopsis will climb kudzu-like over everything and smother it; Vitis does not (it tends to dangle below, and use trees far more than shrubs).

Publicado el noviembre 22, 2020 02:19 TARDE por srall srall | 2 comentarios | Deja un comentario

Ilex sp. in New Jersey

I am not an expert. This is what I have learned so far:

In New Jersey there are two common hollies growing wild: American holly (I. opaca) and common winterberry (I.verticillata). There are two other wild hollies: smooth winterberry (I. laevigata) and inkberry (I. glabra), an escaped holly: Japanese holly (I. crenata), and garden, hybrid hollies (Ilex sp.)

Hollies with classic, prickly leaves are either American or hybrid. Generally non-American garden hollies do not escape, but they persist for a long time and so can appear to be wild. American holly will have more than two prickles on each side of the leaf and the leaves will not be particularly twisted.

Japanese Holly is mostly a planted shrub but does sometimes escape and also persists in now-wild locations. It is more likely to be confused with box (Buxus sp.) than with any other holly, but it always has alternate leaves (box is opposite) and tiny teeth on the outer half of the leaf (box is entire). The leaves are tiny and evergreen, as in box.

Inkberry is mostly found in very dry soil of the Pine Barrens and ridgetops. It is also often planted in landscaping. It has more elongated, evergreen leaves usually with only a few slight teeth at the tip, and black fruit. The leaves are always at least three times as long as wide.

Winterberries are difficult to separate. Common is vastly more common in NJ than smooth, which may be confined to the coastal plain. Both have large deciduous leaves with fine teeth all along the edge and red fruit.

Common winterberry has: branches roughly all the same length. Twigs sometimes hairy. Leaves mostly less than twice as long as wide. Leaves mostly widest above the middle. Leaves sometimes hairy below or even above. Leaves rugose (quilted looking). Leaves with most veins below very prominent. Leaves generally with sharp teeth. Fruit usually clustered in a way that looks whorled around stem. Fruit generally under 7mm. Fruit with stems clearly shorter than the width of the fruit.

Smooth winterberry has: some branches much longer and some much shorter than others. Twigs never hairy. Leaves mostly two to three times as long as wide. Leaves usualy widest at the middle. Leaves not quilted (rugose). Teeth sometimes appressed and sometimes rounded. Leaves usually smooth or with some hair on the veins below. Leaves with only a few veins prominent on the underside. Fruit generally singly in the leaf axils. Fruit generally over 7mm. Fruit stems generally about equal to the width of the fruit.

Publicado el noviembre 22, 2020 02:20 TARDE por srall srall | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

New Jersey "Asters"

I am not an expert, this is what I've learned so far:

This guide is NOT for the Pine Barrens or "down the shore"; there are many species there that are left out here.
Also, make sure you are not dealing with planted "asters", there are tons more of those as well.

In central and northern NJ there are six genera with "aster" like flowers:
-Symphyotrichum (the American asters)
-Erigeron (the fleabanes)
-Eurybia (the wood asters)
-Doellingera (the flat-topped asters)
-Oclemena (whorled wood aster)
-Ionactis (flax-leaved aster)

Fleabanes (Erigeron sp.) are the only of the "aster-like" flowers that bloom before August. They have over 50 white or purple rays that are narrower than asters', almost hair-like. They have yellow disc flowers where it is essentially impossible to see individual flowers, they look like a yellow "button". Some will still be raggedly blooming in fall. They have very long, narrow, mostly leafless stems.
-Philadelphia fleabane (E. philadelphicus): clasping leaves
-Annual fleabane (E. annuus): stems with hair that sticks straight out
-Daisy fleabane (E. strigosus): stems with appressed hair
-Robin's plantain (E. pulchellus): usually basal leaves, longer rays, usually purple, less common
(note that horseweed (E. canadensis) is also in this genus but looks nothing like an aster)

Flat-topped aster (Doellingera umbellata) is not common in NJ. As its name implies, its flowers are in very flat clusters at the top of a very straight plant. It can have several separate clusters or only the one. The rays are white and there are 7-14 (so, not many) rays per flowerhead. The leaves are very uniform, long oval, tapered at both ends, about 2 inches (or a bit less) long. The stems are zig-zag-y and usually reddish-brown.
-Cornel-leaved whitetop (D. infirma) is also recorded from northern NJ but is very rare. It has taller flowerheads (the green bracts below are taller)

Whorled wood aster (Oclemena acuminata) has large, oval (or long oval) leaves that look whorled if you look down on the flower from above, and very few flowers with long skinny white rays. It is not common and mostly found in north Jersey woods.

Wood asters: (Eurybia sp.) have heart-shaped leaves always present on the lower part of the plant and rays generally over 1/2 inch long. They can be white (common) or purplish (rare). The leaves never have winged stems, they are always corsely toothed. The flowers never have more than 20 rays. The flowers are in losely flat-topped clusters (but the leaves are totally different from flat-topped aster) Note that two American asters (Symphyotrichum sp.) also have heart-shaped leaves always present (S. cordifolium and S. lowrieanum), but both have purplish rays under 1/2 inch.
-White wood aster (E. divericata): common. 5-10 white rays. 5-15 teeth on each side of leaf. V-shaped leaf notches. No glandular hairs on leaves.
-Large-leaved wood aster (E. macrophyla): not common. 8-20 purple-tinged rays. Glandular hairs all over leaves.
-Schreiber's wood aster (E. schreiberi): uncommon (but should be present): 6-12 white rays. 15-30 teeth on each side of leaf. Squared off leaf notches. No glandular hairs on leaves. The phyllary (green part below flowerhead) is very tall and narrow.

Another aster-like species is Ionactis linarifolia, like a smallish purple aster with short straight grass-like leaves and no branching.

American Asters (Symphyotrichum sp. ) are the toughest ones.

First off, the easy one:
-New England Aster (S. novae-angliae): Big flowerheads. Over 50 rays. Usually dark purple, can be white or pink. Stem very hairy, leaves clearly clasp the stem. Generally any non-planted large aster with over 50 rays in northern NJ is this species.

Note that there are several rarer species of aster with large flowerheads (1 inch across, roughly) and purple flowers that I am not covering in this guide. None have over 50 rays.

The ones with heart-shaped leaves always present:
-Common blue aster (S. cordifolium): unwinged leaf stalk, heart shaped lower leaves, under 20 short, purple-ish rays.
-Lowrie's aster (S. lowrieanum): winged leaf stalk, heart-shaped lower leaves, under 20 short, purple-ish rays.

If you find one like these but with large-ish, non-linear, leaves present and no heart shaped leaves at the base of the plant, leaves have teeth, flowers small, few white rays it is probably Calico aster (S. lateriflorum)

Finally, the beastly ones. All often drop their main leaves, all have small white flowers, all at least sometimes have small linear leaves by the flowers. For all of these see my separate entry just on small white asters.
-Panicled (or common white) aster (S. lanceolatum)
-Calico aster (S. lateriflorum)
-Frost (or hairy white oldfield) aster (S. pilosum)
-Small white aster (S. racemosum)
-Heath aster (S. ericoides) should be west of here but may be present

And a very uncommon, but possibly present species that looks like these but with small blue/purple flowers is probably bushy aster (Symphyotrichum dumosum).

Publicado el noviembre 22, 2020 02:27 TARDE por srall srall | 2 comentarios | Deja un comentario

Small, white "asters" of New Jersey

I am not an expert, this is what I've learned so far:

Here is my working guide to white asters (Symphyotrichum sp.)(without heart-shaped leaves) in central and Northern New Jersey. Note that all of these can have purple flowers as well, though uncommonly.

The phyllary bracts are extremely important (the green bits below the "flower")
-Heath aster is the only one with pointy, all-green, divergent bracts
-Calico aster is the only one with very wide-spread, even curved-back disc flowers
-Frost aster is the only one with sort of urn-shaped phyllaries and the only one with green, needle-shaped, spreading bracts that curve away from the stem
-Small white and panicled asters both have green striped bracts (calico has green-tipped, spotted looking bracts). Panicled should not have most bracts spreading.

The number of rays and the size of the rays are important. Heath and calico have smaller flowers with few rays. Small white has small flowers with many rays.

The overall shape of the flower cluster is important. Is it widely branching (branches at 90 degree angles)? (if not, then not heath or small white). Is it one-sided? (if not, then not small white).

Leaves are generally unimportant, but only calico and panicled can have leaves that are not linear.

Publicado el noviembre 22, 2020 03:04 TARDE por srall srall | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

Rosa sp. in New Jersey

I am not an expert, this is what I've learned so far:

When looking at roses, first rule out brambles (Rubus sp.). If it has fluted stems, it's not a rose. If it has leaflet arranged palmately (all attached at the same point) it's not a rose. If it only has three leaflets with no leaves with more it's not a rose. If its fruit is a cluster of little bumps as in raspberries and blackberries it's not a rose.

You also need to rule out roses that are planted on purpose. They are generally hybrids and can't be IDed beyond species. Any rose with more than 5 petals on the flower is probably a hybrid rose.

The most common rose in NJ is multiflora (R. multiflora). It has stipules (at the base of the leaf stem) that are stringy. It has clusters of lots of fruit that are about pea sized (always clearly smaller than a marble). It has stout, curved thorns but never has prickles among those thorns. It often had deformed leaves caused by Rose Rosette Disease Virus

The other common NJ roses (in order) are: rugosa/seaside rose (R. rugosa), swamp rose (R. palustris), Carolina rose (R. carolina), dog rose (R. canina), and Virginia rose (R. virginina)

Twigs & thorns:
-If it has big, fat, curved thorns it's either multiflora or dog.
-if it has tons of prickles it's either rugosa or Carolina (some prickles, very curved thorns is swamp)
-if it has pairs of curved thorns it's either swamp or Virginia
-if it has pairs of straight thorns it's either Carolina or Virginia

Fruit:
-if the fruit is always smaller than a marble it's multiflora
-if the fruit is clearly longer than wide (football shaped) it's dog.
-rugosa hips are larger than swamp/Carolina/Virginia, but it's hard to estimate.
-if the fruit has hairs (generally with glands on the tips) it's swamp, Carolina, or Virginia
-but if it's smooth it can be any of them.

Leaves:
-if the leaves are very wrinkled, almost folded or quilted along the veins it's rugosa
-swamp rose has much finer teeth than any of the other roses.

Stipules:
-if the stipules are stringy it's multiflora
-if the stipules are extremely narrow it's probably swamp but might be Virginia.
-if the stipules are very broad it's rugosa (check texture), Carolina, or dog.

Sepals:
-if the sepals are lobed it's dog.

Flowers:
-if there are more than three flowers in a cluster it's multiflora (small) or rugosa, dog or Virginia (large)
-if there is one or two flowers in every cluster it's swamp or Carolina

Note that all the roses here can be pink or white. Multiflora is usually white, rugosa is usually very dark pink or white but can be pale as all the other species.

Location:
-if it is not "down the shore" it's not rugosa (unless it was planted)
-if it's not by water, it's not swamp.

Species descriptions:

Multiflora rose: stringy stipules; tiny fruit in huge clusters; big, hooked thorns; leaves with large teeth; sepals not lobed; small, usually white flowers with roughly a dozen in a cluster.

Rugosa rose: down the shore; very wrinkled, quilted looking leaves; extremely prickly and thorny stems; huge fruit often wider than tall; very wide stipules; average saw teeth; sepals not lobed; Large, usually dark pink or white flowers in clusters of 3-4.

Swamp rose: by water, very curved, stout thorns in pairs at nodes, sometimes some prickles; very narrow stipules; very fine teeth; round fruit hairy at first; sepals not lobed; usually large, light pink flowers.

Carolina rose: straight, thin thorns in pairs at nodes, usually with lots of prickles as well; wide stipules; leaves with average saw-teeth, no more than 2 flowers in a cluster; flowers large and usually pale pink; sepals not lobed; fruit round and often hairy.

Dog rose: Fruit longer than wide; sepals pinnately lobed; thorns large and hooked, scattered (not paired); fruit never hairy; stipules wide; flowers often in clusters of 4 or more; leaves with average saw teeth; flowers large and usually pale pink.

Virginia rose: stipules narrow; thorns fairly straight, paired at nodes; generally no prickles; generally three or more flowers in a cluster; leaves with average saw teeth, fruit round, often hairy; sepals not lobed; flowers large and generally pale pink.

Publicado el noviembre 22, 2020 03:17 TARDE por srall srall | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

Water-Horehounds in New Jersey

I am not an expert; this is what I've learned so far:

In New Jersey there are four main species: American (L. americanus), sweet (L. virginicus), European (L. europaeus), and northern (L. uniflorus).

American and European have leaves with lobes, rather than just teeth, especially the lower leaves of the plants. They also have sepals (calyx lobes) with long points, that extend well beyond the fruit.

American is generally mostly or entirely smooth on the stems and upper surfaces of the leaves. European always has hairy stems and generally hairy on the upper surface of leaves.

American flowers have petals twice as long as the green sepals. European has petals only a little longer than the sepals.

European will grow in waste places away from water, American (and sweet and northern) needs to be near water.

Sweet and northern have leaves with teeth and no lobes. Often the leaves are purple. Their sepals are triangular with no long points. They do not extend much beyond the top of the fruit.

Sweet has leaves that narrow abruptly to a long, winged stem. Northern leaves taper gradually.

Sweet teeth are smaller and there are more of them on a leaf than in northern.

Sweet fruit (and American and European) are indented at the top. Northern are rounded on top.

Sweet is hairy on the stems and somewhat hairy on leaves. Northern is mostly smooth.

There is one more Lycopus sp., only in southern NJ (barrens and Cape May): clasping water-horehound, L. amplectans. It has leaves that are very sessile, somewhat clasping the stem, and has few teeth along the edges of the leaves. Otherwise they are similar to sweet and northern.

Publicado el noviembre 22, 2020 03:22 TARDE por srall srall | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

Bidens sp. in New Jersey

I am not an expert. This is what I've learned so far:

Bidens are fall wildflowers, some are restricted to wet areas, some are not.

There are two species that are simple to separate from the others:

-Spanish Needles (B. bipartita) has leaves twice compound.
-Beck's Water Marigold (B. beckii) is very rare, grows actually in water, and has underwater leaves that are hairlike and whorled.

That leaves four groups of species, separated by have rays / lack rays and simple leaves / once divide leaves.

Ray flowers present, and once divided leaves: Tickseed-Sunflowers:

-Tickseed-Sunflower (B. aristosa) 8-12 somewhat curled large green bracts below flower
-Marsh Tickseed-sunflower (B. trichosperma) 8-12 flat, broad green bracts below flower; long, skinny fruit
-Long-Bracted Tickseed Sunflower (B. polylepsis) 12-20 curled, long green bracts below flower
-White Beggarticks (B. alba): white rays (rare if present at all in NJ)

Ray flowers present, undivided leaves: Bur-Marigolds:

-Bur-Marigold (B. laevis): large rays, just like the tickseed sunflowers but note undivided leaves
-Nodding Bur-Marigold (B. cernua): short rays (1 in?) sometimes none, plant short (8 in?) on edge of water, always nodding. Sessile leaves.

No ray flowers, divided leaves: Beggarticks:

-Devil's beggarticks (B. frondosa): 5-10 large green bracts below flowerhead (extremely common)
-Tall Beggarticks (B. vulgata): 3-5 large green bracts below flowerhead
-Swamp Beggarticks (B. dicoidea): 10-20 large green bracts below flowerhead

No ray flowers, undivided leaves: Beggarticks (and Bur-Marigold)

-Beggarticks (B. connata): long, unwinged stem on leaf.
-Three-Pronged Beggarticks (B. tripartita): short, winged stem on leaf
-Nodding Bur-Marigold (B. cernua) when it lacks rays looks like these. Leaves have no stem.

Publicado el noviembre 22, 2020 03:25 TARDE por srall srall | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

Carya sp. in New Jersey

Hickories have alternate, compound leaves with 5 to 11 leaflets (usually 5 or 7). The end leaflet is usually largest. Their fruit are nuts in a husk with four seams. They have large end buds and side buds that stick nearly straight out from the stem.

Except where planted, there are only four hickory species in NJ, which makes ID easier.

With three exceptions, they are easiest to ID from the nuts (with husks).

Exceptions:

  • Any hickory (or tree in NJ) with bright yellow, elongated buds is bitternut (C. cordiformis).
  • Any hickory with shaggy bark is shagbark (C. ovata) (but be aware that shellbark can sometimes be seen planted in NJ and also has shaggy bark)
    -Any hickory with fuzzy leaf stems (or leaf rachis) or fuzzy twigs is mockernut (C. tomentosa)

Nuts come with thin husks (under 1 mm thick), medium husks (1-5 mm thick) and thick husks (5 + mm thick).
-Thick husks are shagbark
-Medium husks are mockernut
-Thin husks with very obvious wings are bitternut
-Thin husks with a "pig snout" shape to the stem end are pignut.

Leaflets:
-Butternut tends to have more leaflets (7-11) that are often narrow.
-Shagbark rarely has more than 5.
-Pignut usually has 5
-Mockernut usually has 7

but all those can vary.

note butternut end leaflet is usually sessile, other species usually have a stem on the end leaflet.

Of the planted hickories, there is mostly shellbark (like a shagbark on steroids: thicker husks, peeling bark) and pecan (massively more leaflets, and those leaflets are curved back toward the stem end of the plant, thin shelled, elongated fruit).

Publicado el noviembre 22, 2020 03:32 TARDE por srall srall | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

Plants with Vaguely Oval (or Triangluar), Entire Leaves in Ponds, in New Jersey

I am not an expert. This is what I've learned so far:

Roughly from larger to smaller:

-Arrow arum, Peltandra virginica, has triangular leaves with main veins along the middle to each point of the triangle.
-Broad leaved arrowhead (Sagittaria latifolia) has curving parallel veins in three bunches, aiming toward each point but without a much larger central vein (as in arrow arum)
-Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata) has veins almost not visible and lower lobes much smaller than in either of the above. It also nearly always has flowers all summer.
-Water-plantain (Alisma sp.) has leaves nearly oval, or with slight bottom lobes, one central vein and fine veins mostly straight from central. A. subcordatum has smaller flowers and fruit than A. triviale but generally you will not be able to separate the two in the field. A. subcordatum is more common here.
-Skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) generally grows in mud rather than water and has much larger leaves, in clusters, with heart-shaped bases and secondary veins curving to follow the shape of the leaf.
-Spatterdock (Nuphar advena) also holds its large leaves above the water as in those above, they are larger in spatterdock and somewhat rounder, with the veins at nearly a 90-degree angle to the midvein of the leaf, over nearly the whole surface.
-A "spatterdock" with leaves all floating and the bottom lobes (at the notch) overlapping one another is variegated pond-lily (Nuphar variegata).
-American lotus (Nelumbo lutea) is rare but present in the area, has the largest leaves of all, holds them out of the water. They are entirely round (no notch) with the stem right in the center as an umbrella. Pale yellow flowers. Same thing with pink flowers is the planted sacred lotus (Nelumbo lucifera).

All of which have larger leaves than the following:

-Fragrant white waterlily (Nymphaea odorata) has floating basically round leaves with a notch, much like "Pac-man".
-Wild Calla (Calla palustris) has round leaves with a notch and a definite point, about 4 inches across, held above the water, with not very obvious veins that diverge from the midvein and curve to follow the edge of the leaf, a lot like a small and rounder pickerelweed.
-Common Water-hyacinth (Pontederia crassipes) has kidney shaped leaves with veins very curved and following the edges of the leaves, held out of the water, with a huge, swollen node in the leaf stem right at water level. This is not that.
-Kidney leaved mud-plantain (Heteranthera reniformis) has kidney shaped leaves somewhat above water level, only up to 3 inches across (if that) with wide stems but no swollen nodes. The leaves are often wider than long and the notch between the basal lobes is fairly wide and U-shaped.
-Little floatingheart (Nymphoides cordata) has 2-inch, heartshaped leaves, usually with a pointed tip and a fairly wide v-shaped notch. The not very prominent veins seem to spread in every direction from the point where the stem is attached.
-European frogbit (Hydrocharis morsus-ranae) is usually not found in NJ, has round, heart-shaped leaves, with a very narrow notch, about 2-inces and floating..
-American frogbit (Limnobium spongia) is also not usually found in NJ, and has pointed heart-shaped, floating leaves about 2 inches wide and generally longer than wide, with a narrow notch.

-Water shield (Brasenia schreberi) has floating, oval leaves about 2-3 inches long with the stem attached to the center.
-Water fringe (Nympoides peltata) is also not generally in NJ. It has floating, oval leaves about 2-3 inches with a closed notch and pointed tip, and small yellow flowers.

-Pondweeds (Potamogeton sp.) can also have floating oval leaves about 5 inches long by 1 inch wide.

-Southern floating hearts (Nymphoides aquatica) Are well south of New Jersey andhave 2-inch floating heart shaped leaves.

Other water plants:

-Water chestnut (Trapa natans) has diamond shaped leaves with ruffly teeth on two sides and they grow in very round clusters floating in the water. roughly 2 inches across.
-Water pennywort (Hydrocotile sp.) has 1 to 2 inch round leaves either with a notch or with stem in center of leaf, and with very definitely crenate lobes all around it (maybe 8 lobes per leaf).
-Water lettuce (Pistia stratiotes) has wedge shaped leaves in clusters like a green flower, each leaf with veins parallel and straight and all from bottom to tip of leaf.

Publicado el noviembre 22, 2020 04:16 TARDE por srall srall | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

Tick-Trefoils in New Jersey

I am not an expert; this is what I've learned so far:

Tick trefoils are pink flowers in loose clusters in mid to late summer with three parted leaves and fruit that are chains of flat semi-circles which are clingy.

In New Jersey there are two genera of tick trefoils: Hylodesmum and Desmodium.

Hylodesmum is easy to separate. The three parted leaves are in a whorl at the base of the plant. In naked flowered tick trefoil (H. nudiflorum) the flowers are on a separate stem from the leaves, in pointed leaved tick trefoil (H. glutinosum) the flower stalk arises from the center of the whorl of leaves. The leaves are also more long-pointed.

Desmodium is more complicated. The important points are leaflet shape and size, hairyness, length of stem on leaves, and number and shape of fruit (loments) in the chain.

Tall plants (more than 10 inches), Narrow leaves, 1 inch stem:

Probably the most common species is panicled tick trefoil, (D. paniculatum), the leaflets are very narrow, about three inches long by half an inch wide (though that can vary). They have stems about one inch long, they are not particularly hairy (though the leaf underside has appressed hairs). Their veins are not very obviously netted. There are 2-6 fruits in a chain.

Tall plants, sessile leaves, more than 20 flowers in a cluster which tapers at the end:

Showy tick trefoil (D. canadense) is similar to panicled, but with leaves not so linear, with extremely short stems, and massively more flowers. The tapered tip to the flower cluster is distinctive. They have 2-5 fairly round fruits in a chain.

The following species I'm not as familiar with:

Tall plants, leaves not narrow, leaf stems about 1 inch, leaflets very pointed at tip.

Toothed tick trefoil, D. cuspidatum is not very common in NJ but present, has triangular fruit, and stipules at the base of the leaf stalk that don't fall off. It's most distinctive feature is the long tips on the leaflets.

Tall plants, the fruit semicircular, long stems on leaves, the leaflet stems all the same length, not hairy

Maryland tick trefoil, (D. marilandicum) is pretty smooth all over. the fruit are semicircular rather than rounded and there are about 2-3 in a chain.

Tall plants, leaves not narrow, not extremely hairy, leaf underside has hooked hairs

Hoary tick trefoil, (D. canescens) has larger leaflets and broader. The stem is about an inch. The stipules at the base of the leaflets are oval and tend to stay all season. The fruit are triangular and 4-6 in a chain.

Tall plants, leaves not narrow, stem quite hairy, triangle fruit

Perplexed tick trefoil (D. perplexum) has long, straight hairs all over all the stems and leaf stems but otherwise looks like other tick trefoils. Fruits are triangular. Stipules at base of leaves tend to fall off. leaflet tips often pointed but not extremely so.

Tall plants, leaves not huge, leaflets very oval, end leaflet much larger with longer stalk than side ones

Stiff tick trefoil (D. obtusum) has oval leaflets which are thick and dark green. The side leaflets are sessile, the whole leaf does not have a long stem. The end leaflet is nearly twice as big as the side ones and tends to bend over backward or be off at a different angle than the rest of the leaf on a very distinct stem of at least a cm. Fruit are semicircles with 2 or 3 in a chain.

Tall plants, leaflets under 1.5 inches.

Little leaf tick trefoil (D. ciliare) has leaflets all about the same size, the side ones sessile, the end with a bit of a stem, leaflets thick and often folded along the center vein. whole leaf is generally under 2 inches long. Fruit semi-circular, 2-3 in a chain.

Trailing plants, round leaflets

Roundleaf tick trefoil (D. rotundifolium) trails along the ground and looks most like a clover of all the tick trefoils. It has round leaflets about an inch or a bit more long, the side ones sessile and sometimes almost heart shaped at the base, the end one on a bit of a stem and slightly larger.

When looking at tick trefoils also rule out bush clovers (clustered flowers), sweet clovers (smaller, narrow leaves, flowers not pink), and hog peanut (vine).

Publicado el noviembre 22, 2020 04:18 TARDE por srall srall | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario