Plant – Page 12 – Sharon Friends of Conservation

Royal Fern – 5/12/11

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/12/11 Observation Time: 6:45 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary board walk Common Name: Royal Fern Scientific Name: Osmunda regalis Comments: The royal fern belongs to the family Osmundaceae; fossils belonging to this family have been found in rocks of Permian age (230,000,000 years before present), a time when the continents were consolidated into the supercontinent Pangea. More Information: Wikipedia

Rugosa Rose – 6/9/13

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 6/9/13 Observation Time: 4:00 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond area Common Name: Rugosa Rose Scientific Name: Rosa rugosa Comments: In late summer, this beautiful flower, which comes from Asia, will become a reddish ball called a rose hip. Rose hips are used for tisanes, jam, jelly, syrup, soup, beverages, pies, bread, wine, and marmalade. They can also be eaten raw, like a berry, […]

Purple Pitcherplant – 5/29/14

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/29/14 Observation Time: 11:30 a.m. Observation Location: Borderland State Park Common Name: Purple pitcherplant Scientific Name: Sarracenia purpurea Comments: This carnivorous plant captures and digests hapless insects. More Information: Harvard Forest

Purple Loosestrife – 9/12/09

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 9/12/09 Observation Time: 11:20 a.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Common Name: Purple Loosestrife Scientific Name: Lythrum salicaria L. Comments: Sometimes called “purple plague,” purple loosestrife is an invasive species. Neponset River Watershed Association has a program to propagate and disperse galerucella beetles that eat nothing but purple loosestrife. More Information: The Nature Conservancy

Spotted Wintergreen – 6/4/11

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 6/4/11 Observation Time: 3:20 p.m. Observation Location: conservation land near Billings Street Common Name: Spotted Wintergreen Scientific Name: Chimaphila maculata Comments: Also called spotted wintergreen, it is endangered in Illinois and Maine. In New York it is considered “Exploitably Vulnerable.” More Information: Wikipedia

Pink Lady’s Slipper orchid – 5/27/14

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/27/14 Observation Time: 9:05 p.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary Common Name: Pink Lady’s Slipper orchid Scientific Name: Cypripedium acaule Comments: Pink lady’s slippers won’t survive if you try to transplant them, so please don’t dig them up. More Information: Wikipedia

Peony – 5/24/10

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/24/10 Observation Time: 8:25 a.m. Observation Location: 4 Gavins Pond Rd. Common Name: Peony Scientific Name: Paeonia spp. Comments: Long ago, some observant gardener noticed that ants on peony buds always meant the flowers would open soon. And so a bit of folk wisdom was born: Peonies cannot open until ants eat away the seal that keeps the buds closed. But […]

Partridgeberry – 6/26/10

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 6/26/10 Observation Time: 5:15 p.m. Observation Location: Beaver Brook headwaters area Common Name: Partridgeberry Scientific Name: Mitchella repens Comments: Called “noon kie oo nah yeah” in the Mohawk language. More Information: US Forest Service

Dewberry – 5/26/10

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/26/10 Observation Time: 5:25 p.m. Observation Location: edge of woods by Gavins Pond near soccer fields Common Name: Dewberry Scientific Name: Rubus flagellaris Comments: Dewberries are found in the eastern half of North America. Indians prepared a tea using northern dewberry roots to calm stomach irritation. The fruits are large and tasty. They can be eaten raw or used in jams, […]

May Apple – 5/13/14

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/13/14 Observation Time: 8:05 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary Common Name: May apple Scientific Name: Podophyllum peltatum Comments: Check out this well-written blog about May apples: 66 SQUARE FEET (PLUS) blog

Maitake mushroom – 10/1/10

Observer: Constance Keegan Observation Date: 10/1/10 Observation Time: Daytime Observation Location: By a large oak tree in my yard on Moosehill Pkwy Common Name: Maitake mushroom Scientific Name: Grifola frondosa Comments: Also called “hen of the woods,” G. frondosa should not be confused with Laetiporus sulphureus, another edible bracket fungus that is commonly called “chicken of the woods.” Like all polypores, the fungus becomes inedible when older, because […]

Little Floatingheart – 8/3/10

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 8/3/10 Observation Time: 9:45 a.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Common Name: Little Floatingheart Scientific Name: Nymphoides cordata Comments: The little floatinghearts are the smaller, darker, heart-shaped floating pads visible in the photo among the bigger, greener rounder water lilies. The small, five-petalled white flowers are those of little floatingheart. Water lilies have much bigger floating blossoms (see photo taken September […]

Lingzhi Mushroom – 10/17/10

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 10/17/10 Observation Time: 10:00 a.m. Observation Location: 4 Gavins Pond Road Common Name: Lingzhi mushroom Scientific Name: Ganoderma tsugae Comments: This mushroom specimen was growing in the tamarack (larch) grove in my back yard. It is probably growing on a root, as it was growing on the ground right next to a big tamarack tree. Since tamaracks are coniferous, this specimen is presumably Ganoderma […]

Lanceleaf Tickseed – 6/15/13

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 6/15/13 Observation Time: 6:20 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond area Common Name: Lanceleaf Tickseed Scientific Name: Coreopsis lanceolata More Information: Go Botany

Jewelweed – 7/24/10

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 7/24/10 Observation Time: 7:50 a.m. Observation Location: near Gavins Pond outflow pool Common Name: Jewelweed Scientific Name: Impatiens capensis Comments: Jewelweed, which often grows in disturbed areas near poison ivy, is also an antidote for poison ivy. More Information: Altnature.com

Japanese Barberry – 10/7/10

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 10/7/10 Observation Time: 3:15 p.m. Observation Location: end of Lee Road Common Name: Japanese Barberry Scientific Name: Berberis thunbergii Comments: This specimen was a few yards beyond the end of Lee Road near the Atlantic White Cedar Swamp drainage ditch. Japanese barberry is often planted for hedges, and easily spreads to natural areas, as this specimen evidently did. “In recent […]

Indian Pipe – 6/26/10

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 6/26/10 Observation Time: 3:20 p.m. Observation Location: headwaters of Beaver Brook Common Name: Indian Pipe Scientific Name: Monotropa uniflora Comments: Indian pipe, also known as ghost plant (or ghost pipe) or corpse plant, is a herbaceous perennial plant native to temperate regions of European Russia, Asia, North America and northern South America, but with large gaps between areas. It is generally rare in […]

Indian Pipe – 6/14/09

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 6/14/09 Observation Time: 7:30 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Farm, Trustees of Reservations land Common Name: Indian Pipe Scientific Name: Monotropa uniflora Comments: Indian pipe, also known as ghost plant (or ghost pipe) or corpse plant, is a herbaceous perennial plant native to temperate regions of European Russia, Asia, North America and northern South America, but with large gaps between areas. It is […]

American Hornbeam – 6/4/11

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 6/4/11 Observation Time: 4:20 p.m. Observation Location: Conservation land near Billings Street Common Name: American Hornbeam Scientific Name: Carpinus caroliniana Comments: The common English name hornbeam derives from the hardness of the wood (likened to animal horn) and the Old English beam, meaning “tree” (cognate with German Baum). The American hornbeam is also occasionally known as blue-beech, ironwood, or musclewood, the first […]

Honey Mushrooms – 9/26/12

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 9/26/12 Observation Time: 2:05 p.m. Observation Location: Near the train station tennis courts by Beaver Brook Common Name: Honey Mushroom Scientific Name: Armillaria mellea Comments: Honey mushrooms are a plant pathogen and cause Armillaria root rot in many plant species. They appear around the base of trees they have infected. The symptoms of infection appear in the crowns of infected trees as discolored foliage, […]

Highbush Blueberry – 5/30/10

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/30/10 Observation Time: 4:30 p.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary Common Name: Highbush blueberry Scientific Name: Vaccinium corymbosum Comments: The northern highbush blueberry, is a North American species of blueberry which has become a food crop of significant economic importance. It is native to eastern Canada and the eastern and southern United States, from Ontario east to Nova Scotia and […]

Goldenrod – 9/12/09

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 9/12/09 Observation Time: 11:25 a.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Common Name: Goldenrod Scientific Name: Solidago sp. Comments: Goldenrod gets a bad rap as a cause of autumn allergies. The real culprit is ragweed. In fact, goldenrod has medicinal properties. More Information: Great Plains Nature Center

Fly Agaric mushroom – 9/30/10

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 9/30/10 Observation Time: 6:10 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Road Common Name: Fly Agaric mushroom Scientific Name: Amanita muscaria Comments: Mushrooms of the genus Amanita account for most mushroom-related deaths. See: http://www.a1b2c3.com/drugs/var012.htm

Dwarf Ginseng – 5/14/11

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/14/11 Observation Time: 2:10 p.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary Common Name: Dwarf ginseng Scientific Name: Panax trifolius Comments: This diminutive variety of ginseng has no “medicinal” properties. It blooms in spring and dies back in summer. More Information: US Forest Service

Dewberry – 6/28/10

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 6/28/10 Observation Time: 2:00 p.m. Observation Location: 154 Wolomolopoag St. Common Name: Dewberry Scientific Name: Rubrus species Comments: Not sure if this is Rubrus flagellaris, the northern dewberry, or some other Rubrus species such as Rubrus hispidus, the swamp dewberry. More Information: Dewberries and Brambles: University of Massachusetts

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