More Ferns

I know I talked about ferns yesterday, but I guess I’m feeling a little ferny this week because I’m going to talk about them again. If you object, please voice your concerns now. Now meaning the now as I type, not the now as you’re reading this. I’ve mentioned before that I really like ferns and I especially like ferns, such as this Ebony Spleenwort, Asplenium platyneuron, when they grow out of little cracks and holes on a rock cliff face.

Yes, I realize this fern isn’t growing out of a rock cliff. I just said I liked it when ferns grow that way. The problem is that Blue Jay Barrens doesn’t have any suitable rock cliffs, but if you look closely at this fern, you’ll see that it is behaving in the same manner as its cliff dwelling relatives.

All it takes is a little moisture and a bit of satisfactory rooting medium and a fern can begin to grow just about anywhere. The growing plant adds to its soil base as leaves and roots decompose. Bits of organic matter are trapped by the roots and stems and further improve the growing conditions. The fern is like a homesteader proving a piece of ground. In time a secure and prosperous home is established.

So you might consider the base of this tree to represent the cliffs of Blue Jay Barrens. Or you might decide I just don’t have a fern grasp on reality.

Although not as exciting as finding a new fern, I found a second population of a fern uncommon to Blue Jay Barrens. Here’s my new little patch of terra ferna with a really nice spread of Maidenhair Fern, Adiantum pedatum. There’s even a slab of limestone sticking out of the hillside to improve the aesthetics.

The only other population I have is growing right along the property line fence. That’s not the safest location for a plant to be growing. Maidenhair Ferns always look so fragile and I’ve always worried that something might happen to that property line population. I’m glad to know that this fern is more secure than I imagined.

Number 523

I keep lists of the plants and animals found at Blue Jay Barrens. Like most lists of this type, there was a period when species were added at a fairly rapid rate. Soon it became harder to find new additions to the list. I just added the Broad Beech Fern, Thelypteris hexagonoptera, as number 523 to my list of plants.

I was once asked how I could spend 24 years studying a property and still be finding new plants. Even though plants are pretty well anchored to the ground and can’t flee at your approach, finding them is still a matter of being in the right place at the right time. I’ve found several plants that I haven’t identified because I haven’t seen them at the time of year they display the key character I need to examine. This fern wasn’t a problem, because it showed everything I needed to see in order to make a positive ID.

This winged section of stem between the two lowest pairs of leaflets separates the Broad Beech Fern from the similar Long Beech Fern. If this is such an easy plant to identify, why haven’t I seen it before? Because, I’ve never walked at this particular spot before. These ferns are in a small cluster just a few feet across and are partially hidden by a bunch of shrubs and saplings. Assuming that a ten foot wide swath is about all I could adequately scan while walking, I would have to walk 88 miles along a rigid grid pattern to be able to say I had looked everything over once.

You should never depend on just one character when making an identification. The first thing I noticed when I found this plant was downward pointing orientation of the lowest set of leaflets. That’s an indicator of the Long Beech Fern. So why am I calling it a Broad Beech Fern?

Let’s look at some more characteristics. Subleaflets have lobed margins. That’s Broad Beech. Little hairs along the leaf margin. Long Beech again. So what do we do? Sometimes you just have to put it in your questions to ponder later pile.

Remember that individual plants within a population may exhibit some natural variation. Also remember to read the part of the description that tells you what type of growing conditions that species requires. The Long Beech Fern is to be found on wet cliff faces or steep ravines near streams. The Broad Beech Fern grows on the well drained hillsides found at Blue Jay Barrens. If I were to see a population of the Long Beech Fern, I expect I would find that the similarity between species was less than my imagination led me to believe.

Stumps and Tops

At Blue Jay Barrens, you will occasionally come across an Eastern Red Cedar stump and about nine feet away will be an old cedar top. This pairing is here compliments of someone who was trying to get every dollar they could out of the property before selling. Most of these trees were cut about 25 years ago.

The distance from the stump to the stub of the tree top represents the approximate length of the log that was taken from the tree. Most sawmills that buy cedar logs require the log to be at least 8 feet 3 inches long.

These cedar tops retain their leaves for about two years after being cut. Plants covered by the tree top are severely weakened from the lack of sunlight and may die before conditions improve.

It may take ten years for the bark to completely disappear. Some trees lose their bark in little ragged bits and others drop long strips from the trunk.

Eventually, sunlight returns to the area beneath the tree top and plants begin to grow. This top has been here so long the vegetation has returned to its original composition.

I think the tops have an interesting bleached bones appearance. They also add another bit of diversity to the barrens. Eastern Red Cedar is a very decay resistant wood, so this will be a common sight for many years.

A Little Autumn Walk

The change in weather over the weekend really messed up my sinuses, but a blend of OTC sinus medications got me functioning at near normal capacity. I heeded the manufacturers warning and refrained from operating any motor vehicles and I didn’t believe my camera was really heavy equipment, but my walk turned into more of a wander, as in “I wander why I’m not falling down?” The deer and the prairie have taken on matching colors. The meds had me doing a pretty good willow blowing in the breeze imitation, so the deer took me to be a natural part of the landscape.

During the autumn color change, a view like this gives you a good idea of the way masses of trees merge to form the forest canopy. Subtle differences in the way each tree colors, allows you to see the various trees as unique individuals.

Even though there can be a broad range of color differences within a single species, viewing the various colors displayed can give you a good idea of the diversity of species within the stand.

Most of the yellows and oranges in the woods were from the Sugar Maples. I took a leaf shot like this every time I found myself lying on my back in the woods. I got a lot of leaf shots.

The bright green leaves are primarily those of the oaks. This knowledge makes the view of the forest canopy more meaningful. It’s not a perfect system, but it quickly and easily gives you some important information about the forest.

Most of the falling leaves were from the Sugar Maples. Here they’re covering one of the walking trails I mowed not long ago. Just as I planned.

The creek is also being hidden beneath a layer of leaves.

Leaves are the primary vehicle delivering energy to the woodland stream ecosystem. A natural tributary stream is very nutrient poor. Stream organisms feed on the leaves and take the nutrients into the aquatic food chain. An entire year’s cycle of growth is dependent upon the influx of leaves during this time of year.

This old guy wasn’t slowed down by the cool weather. It won’t be long before he digs himself in to wait out the winter.

First Heavy Frost

Sunday’s weather was quite a change from what we had Saturday. Bright blue sky, abundant sunlight and a heavy frost indicated the start of what I like to think October days ought to be. This is the view from the step outside the back door.

We’ve had a couple of light frosts this year, but this is the first time temperatures have dipped below freezing. Freezing temperatures combined with yesterday’s high humidity caused a heavy ice load to form on the plants. The frost extends a long way down the Indian Grass stalks.

The weight of the ice caused the seed heads to bow. Those ice crystals are large enough to be snow.

The laws of photography require you to take a certain minimum number of shots of certain subjects. I can’t remember if frosty plants is on the list just above or just below dewy cobwebs. In order to be compliant with all applicable statutes, I offer a few shots of frosty leaves. Here is a goldenrod decorated with ice crystal pseudo hairs.

Compound leaves have an advantage over other leaves because of their leaf margin to surface area ratio. The frilly margins of this Agrimony leaf effectively maximize the available ice crystal production area.

The uniform margin of the Winged Sumac leaf offers less edge for ice. The leaf surface proves to be just as effective at spawning the rod shaped ice crystals.

Let’s not forget that simple can also be beautiful as demonstrated by this Sassafras leaf with its shiny crystalline border.

The frost rapidly retreated before the rising sun. This freeze is going to trigger some major changes in the Blue Jay Barrens landscape.

More Seed Collection

Yesterday was one of those damp, cloudy days, but I needed to get out and collect some seed. I went out with bucket and bags and managed to have a good collecting day, despite the fact that the ten percent chance of rain sprinkled on me about every 30 minutes. Shown above is Blazing Star, Liatris scariosa. I guess it was a poor pollination year for this plant, because only about ten percent of what I collected was good seed.

Prairie Dock produced a lot of seed. It’s unusual for the finches to leave me enough to collect. The ray flowers of the Prairie Dock are the only part of the composite head to produce seeds. The seeds are the broad, flat objects arranged around the outside of the central disk.

Pale Indian Plantain, Cacalia atriplicifolia has some nice large seeds. This is an interesting plant that’s easy to grow from seed. Given minimal care, this plant can exceed six feet in height. The blooms are highly favored by wasps and attract a variety of species.

Tall Boneset produces huge masses of seeds. You don’t have to visit many plants to collect several thousand seeds.

I collect the entire Monarda seed head, let it dry completely and then shred it to release the tiny seeds.

The pods of the Wild Senna must be completely dried and then crushed to release the seed. I use a strainer to separate out the seed. A lot of seed is left in unbroken bits of the pod, so I save the debris and scatter it back out into the field.

False Gromwell has one of the neatest seeds around. These look like little jewels rolling around in the bottom of the collecting bucket. Seed characteristics are often used to identify species or varieties of plants. These seeds display a basal collar and surface pitting that distinguish the plant as Onosmodium molle var. hispidissimum.

Don’t assume that a green pod indicates unripe seeds. The tiny seeds of this Rose Pink are already spilling from the slight split in this pod. By the time the pod turns brown, most of the seeds will be gone.

Common Dropseed

If you like short growing grasses, this Common Dropseed, Sporobolus vaginiflorus, could become your favorite. A jumbo sized plant would reach 12 inches, including the seed stalk and the Blue Jay Barrens specimens rarely exceed six inches.

Common Dropseed is a summer annual that must produce a crop of seed if there are going to be plants the next year. Most of the seed is produced in the enlarged areas along the stem. These swollen areas are leaf sheaths enclosing the flowers. As the dead plant dries, the sheaths will unfurl to release the mature seed.

Annual plants such as the Common Dropseed are colonizers of bare or disturbed areas. This grass survives dry, low fertility conditions and is regularly encountered in the barrens. Its presence helps shield the soil against erosion and increases the organic matter in the soil. This stability and increased fertility creates a suitable environment for other plants to grow and become established.

Over time, the size of the bare areas decreases and perennial plants begin to dominate. Eventually the Common Dropseed can no longer compete and disappears from the site. Fortunately, Blue Jay Barrens is in no danger of running out of places for this grass to grow and it will remain an integral part of the barrens ecosystem.