Around the meetinghouse: May

Jean Larson - May 25, 2009

In the middle of May, the rains returned. The grass is greening up and growing fast, ready for mowing. The retention ponds have held water overnight. The Virginia sweetspire (Itea virginica) that lives at the south end of the front retention basin is blooming. The nearby royal fern (Osmunda regalis) is taking inundation in its stride. At the north end, the sedge has finally bloomed and been identified as the native Carex comosa. (I was worried it might be another exotic invasive.) A new redbud has been planted to remember Marylynn Hall near the bird bath. I bought some Fakahatchee grass (Tripsacum dactyloides) to plant on the slope of the back retention basin near the driveway. We currently have four plants in with more to come in August. This grass has long roots to hold the soil in place and has done well in on the side of the ditch near Shir Shalom, where it is periodically washed with flowing water carrying leaves and branches (and air potatoes and trash) from the upper watershed onto our property. We fluff the debris out of that grass out now and again, and do not need to think about thinning or dividing or pruning it back, since nature does it for us. Bill transplanted to this area some of the witch grass (Dichanthelium species) upstream of the old meeting for worship in nature area and I put in two more river oats downstream. They are showing the effects of the downpours we have had, but based on how well the other river oats have done, we are expecting them all to settle in even if it takes a year or so for them to be secure in their new locations. In preparation for summer mowing, I am working to simplify the boundary between mow and no-mow zones. On the west edge of the back retention basin, the wire fencing that discourages the armadillos from uprooting some native ferns has been joined with the one protecting a wild olive (Osmanthus americanus), a coral bean (Erythrina herbaccea), and two swamp hibiscus also known as scarlet rosemallow (Hibiscus coccineus) that were planted last year and may not be big enough to bloom until next year. It has been extended to include the sweet bay magnolia (Magnolia virginiana), whose vicinity includes the partridge pea plants (Chamacrista fasculata) bought at the native plant sale that are very happy to be in the ground, some softhair cone flower (Rudbeckia mollis), and a yellow top (Flaveria linearis). On the northside of the back retention pond I sprinkled some wildflower seeds that have been in my refrigerator too long, and I am now looking to see if they will come up. Bill noticed a plant growing in profusion in the back retention basin and asked if it were Mexican petunia, an exotic invasive. I said no, but when it finally bloomed with a small clover-like flower, I looked for it, and discovered it was alligator weed, which is on the state of Florida list of noxious weeds. It is somewhat similar to the native Ludwigia (primerosewillow) which is growing in the same basin.

When I walk from the back retention basin into the woods, I often go under the hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana) which has been blooming so nicely this month. I go back to the creek near where the ditch runs into it to see if the water is running (it is today), and then head along the floodway, passing the marsh dogwood (Cornus foemina) that has finally finished blooming.

Then I enjoy the open space where we used to meet for worship and continue through the cut in the tree that came down after Hurricane Fay came through. The trunk is rotting nicely, now in chunks that slough one way and another in the floods that pass through. After the roots are reached I am nearly at the grandfather oak at the edge of the pond. In one section near the pond, the common yellow stargrass (Hypoxis curtissii) carpets the path, blooming only during the day. After a walk in the woods it is nice to notice the pea flowers appearing in the children's vegetable garden and to come inside for a drink of water and a quick look out the back window where the seven sisters roses donated by Bart are blooming so prettily.

January 2009: Around the Meetinghouse

by Jean Larson

Early January is the time Bart recommended we plant chives, so I put a clump into our special herb pot by the door to the social room earlier this month. It is surviving, but looks a bit pounded by a goodly rain we had last week.

Yesterday, I went to the bird bath with the idea of changing the water to keep it clean. I noticed the surface looked strange and when I gingerly reached out to test it, I discovered a pancake of ice floating on the top. Well, it is winter, but as I walk around the property I keep seeing signs of burgeoning life. The tropical salvia near the bike rack by the big stump keeps on blooming. Some of the plants have red flowers and others white. Mona gathered beautyberry branches loaded with purple berries from the front retention pond and combined them with ferns and white salvia to dress up the tables for the tea following the memorial service for Marylynn Hall. A bud from the rose bush behind the meetinghouse is now visible through the kitchen window while sitting in the social room. Other flowers are scattered here and there: the tickseed (Coreopsis) is budding and has a few flowers along the front of the meetinghouse; the dune sun flower (Helianthus debilis) is still putting out flowers near the driveway; a lone sneezeweed is (Helenium ssp) is popping up in the grass south of our driveway where I had planted several specimens a couple years back. The bedstraw or stickywilly (Galium aparine) has flowers in many places, but you have to look closely since they are quite small. Another cool season plant is the Virginia pepperweed (Lepidium virginicum). The Wikipedia entry on this member of the mustard family says that young leaves can be boiled for ten minutes or added directly to salads and the young seedpods can be used as a substitute for black pepper.

 This month, Bill has been working to remove three exotic invasive plants that may not be so familiar to you. One is Japanese climbing fern (Lygodium japonicum), a lacy tree climbing fern.

Yesterday I showed Bill a specimen we estimated had climbed ten feet up a tree near the pond, and Bill dug out the roots he could find and helped me bag the whole plant. The spores are carried by the wind, so it can appear anywhere. They remain viable for seven years. I showed the plant to Walter who commented on its attractive appearance. Many of the exotic invasives were brought to Florida because they are attractive as landscape plants when they are kept in check, but reproduce so successfully that they displace the native vegetation that supports a web of insects, birds and animals. Another invasive is Coral ardisia (Ardisia crenata) whose bright red berries are lovely to see at this time of year. A study at the university came up with a 90% germination rate under good conditions, showing the potential for this invader to spread rapidly. Its fleshy roots help it survive a variety of conditions. A third invasive plant Bill is working on at this time of year is Taro (Colocasia esculenta), a wild version of a food plant that crowds out wetland plants and makes the wetlands less friendly to the frogs and other creatures that live there. Recently Bill pointed out an unusual plant with a trio of

 leaves on one of our walks together around the property. I thought it was so good looking that it surely was an escaped houseplant. When I showed it to Karen Arrington, she said she had seen a native trillium at the John Mahon Park south of Newberry Road between NW 43rd Street and NW 38th Street. A quick check of the Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants revealed that Spotted wakerobin (Trillium maculatum) is the native trillium in our part of Florida. Wunderlin lists all the native trilliums as rare, so I think of this one as a local treasure.

some bad, some good

Here are the first new air potatoes I've seen this year.

On a brighter note, the pods on the coral bean are ripe and splitting.

A Mushroom (and our future air potatoes)

We came across this mushroom while digging air potatoes along our north boundary. I don't know what it is; I couldn't find a picture in the books which seemed to match it, and that's what I'm reduced to for identifying mushrooms.

The air potatoes weren't actually on our lot — the ditch they were in belongs to some huge lots to the north of us, along 8th avenue. I don't know if the people there even know that that their land doesn't stop at the fence, but goes clear across the ditch. Anyhow, vines growing there will drop tubers which will float all over our land, so we thought it would be worth our while.

Following that thought, we explored north of 8th Avenue to see where the tubers were coming from to replenish our crop. It turns out that the drainage ditch, which runs up between NW 39th Drive and 40th Terrace, is a real mess. The ditch itself is full of them, and some of the back yards aren't much better. Maybe I should go up along there with the billhook a time or two, and at least cut the vines? Or could the air potato roundup go back in there? It'd be rather rough going.

Along the Royal Park Creek, around 42nd Terrace and 41st Drive, things are a bit better. Back of the buildings it looks pretty clear, as if someone is maintaining it; but where it crosses the streets there are huge vines, as if no one is taking responsibility.

Eating (sort of) wild plums

The first two plums from our Chickasaw Plum (Prunus angustifolia ), planted last March by an Iranian couple, Nasim Yousefi and Jafar Edrisi, who are bicycling around the world, planting a "greenbelt" of trees in support of Peace and Environmental Conservation. They are now in Washington State, soon to leave the US for Japan (but perhaps not by bicycle on this leg). Delicious. We're hoping that next year there will be more of them.

Not air potatoes — really

Any local would instantly recognize these as air potatoes — but they're not. I'm hoping that they are the native Florida Yam (Dioscorea Floridana) but there is a related species, Wild Yam or 4-leaf yam (D. Villosa) which is native north of here but is reported in Alachua county. I'm not sure how to tell them apart, but I can tell them from air potatoes — I think) — because the petioles (the leaf stems) don't clasp the stem. Also it has rhizomes underground, rather than tubers, but that would require digging them up.

The real proof, of course comes in the fall when they don't have aerial tubers. The problem with this is that if they do get aerial tubers, then it means I should have dug them up before that. Fortunately these are right along the path, just south of the worship in nature area, so if I'm wrong we'll be sure to notice them before they fall.

Not the that there is any shortage of air potatoes. I put up the yellow flag to the right last year to mark some Florida yams, but the thing growing up it is definitely an air potato. As proved by the tuber, now in the trash. Still, there are fewer than last year, and, we hope, more than next year.

Passion Flower

One benefit of taking care of this largely natural area instead of gardening at home is that we can plant something like this Purple Passion Flower (Passiflora incarnata) and not worry about trying to keep it in bounds. It is supposed to be a butterfly host plant, and sure enough, last year it was host to Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae) caterpillars who ate everything except parts of the stem and then, as far as we could tell, starved to death. Today I noticed two hatches of caterpillars which we think are Zebra Longwings (Heliconius charithonia). I picked off all but one of each hatch, trying to avoid last years fate—of course it may also be that one of those I picked off had been  the only one not destined to end up as bird food.

on Memorials

This afternoon Jean and I attended the burial of Marylynn Hall, who will be much missed.

The ceremony at the gravesite brought to mind Flushing meetinghouse  in the Queens borough of New York City, where I was introduced to Quakerism during the seven years I was at the Rockefeller University in the 1970s. This building was built in 1694 and (except when it was occupied by the British during the Revolutionary War) has been continuously  used as a meetinghouse ever since.  Of course it, like any other house of worship, had its graveyard on the grounds and that graveyard is still there.   It has been a long time since the last internment, but it is not unused - it is still the meetinghouse yard, and children still play there.

Having an operating graveyard behind a meetinghouse is no longer possible, and this is a loss. Even in Flushing, where the gravestones are the only connection between those buried there and the present worshipers, their presence lends a depth to the experience which for me is captured in the phrase which begins the traditional wedding promise:

In the presence of God and these our friends…

We have been discussing what to do about memorials around the new meetinghouse. It has already been minuted that ashes may be buried, in an biodegradable container, anywhere in the unbuildable portion of the lot. That is the easy part (though there may be some question about what is the "unbuildable part" — If building entails a building permit, then I believe that the unbuildable part is that part on which nothing is built). We still need to decide what sort of memorials we will have, and where they will go.  I would hope that they are put someplace where we will, in the normal course of activity, without planning or even expecting it, see them and be reminded. And I hope that they will be outside, where I will associate them with life.

Swamp Dogwood

Jean noticed this flowering tree, which neither of us were familiar with. Phil Buskirk suggested it might be Dogwood, and in fact it seems to be a Swamp Dogwood, Cornus foemina.    It's quite different from Flowering Dogwood, Cornus Florida, that one sees used for landscaping.   This specimen  is west of the worship in nature area, maybe 45 feet back of the bench.

Taro

One benefit of the dry weather we've been having -- I've been able to walk into what we like to think of as our pond and pull out a good deal of the Taro there.   

At one point I had despaired of doing anything about Taro: herbicides roll off it, and digging it just left me muddy, sweaty, and frustrated.     I tried cooking it, in the hopes that it would be  desirable enough to attract help digging it, but after being boiling beyond reason it still numbed my mouth.

Finally have I discovered that if the conditions are right you can pull it, and the tuber will (most of the time) come with it.     The conditions are decidedly not right in places I've gone after it before, but now there's no water in the pond, so I can walk there, and the soil is still damp, so the Taro will come out.   This trash day I have two buckets of Taro tubers in the trash. 

Found along the path

The largest Green Dragon plant I know is right along the path leading back to the creek, about 40 feet west of the mulch pile on the left side of the path.   Earlier I posted a picture of the flower of a different plant; here are the developing berries.    They turn bright red when ripe.

This plant is easy to find if you want to look for it.   At the left is a picture of its location, a few feet left of a log by the path.   The plant whose flower I posted a picture of earlier is harder; it's a ways west of the meeting for worship in nature area.

After spending so much time pulling and spraying Japanese Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), a FEPC category I exotic invasive, it's good to come across the native Coral Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) growing naturally. I recently noticed a strand of this one right in the path, growing up a dried stem not much thicker than it was. Unfortunately the support (like so many of the green plants around here in the current drought) has dried out and fallen; however the honeysuckle seems to be going strong. It's about fifteen feet east of the Green Dragon, also on (and in) the left side of the path. I'm not expecting much in the way of flowers on this one, since it doesn't get much sun there. Here is a picture of the one we bought at the Native Plant Sale last spring and planted by the fence in the children's yard. This year we bought two more and planted one on each side of this.

the season's first Air Potatoes

I found the first air potato sprouts today - a couple in my compost pile and a couple near the south boundary of the meeting property. Is this a sign of summer?

It has been nice, not seeing them.

Indian Pink and Blue Flag Iris

This Indian Pink (Spigelia marilandica) was planted in our front retention pond by Karen. According to the Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants it's not been reported in Alachua County. It's been reported in a few panhandle counties, and is common fairly north, but its status as a native here may be a little shaky. However it certainly looks nice.

It's just up the bank from the Blue Flag Iris (Iris virginica). We planted the first few last year, and have put in several more this year. Last year we had one bloom; this year we're on our fourth and we have two more coming. I'm looking forward to having them grow in more densely so that we'll have multiple blooms to look all through the blooming season, rather than having them come one at time. 

Hmmm. I see that the Florida Atlas doesn't have this in Alachua county either, though it is shown along both coasts. And they don't use our common name for it either: they prefer Virginia Iris.    And they use Woodland Pink for the Spigelia marilandica.

Green Dragon Flowering

Today when I went to the meetinghouse to water the new long leaf pine I walked back to the creek and was glad to see that the Green Dragon (Arisaema dracontium) has returned everywhere that we saw it last year.    This is a relative of the Jack in the Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) but as you can see its spadix is rather more stretched out than "Jack" is.

I had been somewhat anxious since they all disappeared last fall shortly after I sprayed herbicide on Air Potatoes. I had hoped that it coincidence, that it happened to be the time for the Green Dragon to be done for the year, and this seems to be the case. All of the plants I saw had flowers. We only discovered them last fall, so we don't know if they flowered last year, but we don't remember having seen any berries. It may be that they appreciated the wetter spring this year.