Plant – Page 7 – Sharon Friends of Conservation

Pink Lady’s Slipper Orchid – 5/31/20

Observer: Josh Simons Observation Date: 5/31/20 Observation Time: 10:30 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill area Common Name: Pink Lady’s Slipper orchid Scientific Name: Cypripedium acaule Comments: Pink lady’s slippers probably won’t survive if you try to transplant them, so please don’t dig them up. More Information: Wikipedia

Oyster Mushroom – 5/30/20

Observer: Lonnie Friedman Observation Date: 5/30/20 Observation Time: 5:00 pm Observation Location: near Gavins Pond Common Name: Oyster Mushroom Scientific Name: Pleurotus ostreatus Comments: This oyster mushroom was growing on a log. I believe it to be edible, but I did not dare test that hypothesis! More Information: Wikipedia Here’s the first photo taken 5/30/20: To confirm the identification, I returned the following afternoon and took these […]

Indian Cucumber Root – 5/30/20

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/30/20 Observation Time: 4:45 p.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Farm (TTOR) Common Name: Indian Cucumber Root Scientific Name: Medeola virginiana Comments: Indian cucumber-root is a common perennial of the forest understory in New England. As the name suggests, the edible root tastes somewhat like cucumber. More Information: Go Botany

Golden Ragwort – 5/30/20

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/30/20 Observation Time: 3:50 p.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Farm Common Name: Golden Ragwort Scientific Name: Senecio aureus (also known as Packera aurea) Comments: Golden Ragwort is a biannual plant with yellow-orange flowers. It grows to a height of 2 feet and belongs to Asteraceae family (i.e. asters). More Information: New Moon Nursery

Blue-eyed Grass – 5/30/20

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/30/20 Observation Time: 3:05 p.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Farm (TTOR) Common Name: Blue-eyed grass Scientific Name: Sisyrinchium angustifolium Comments: Blue-eyed grass grows in fields, meadows and the edges of wetlands. This clump was growing along the dirt road under the high-tension lines. Except in spring when its small, blue flowers make it conspicuous, this plant is hard to pick out among […]

Mouse-ear Chickweed – 5/30/20

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/30/20 Observation Time: 2:00 p.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Farm (TTOR) Common Name: Mouse-ear chickweed Scientific Name: Cerastium fontanum Comments: Mouse-ear chickweed is a herb. Herbs are broad-leaved, herbaceous (non-woody) plants. Herbaceous plants are also known as forbs or wildflowers. More Information: Kansas Native Plants

Canada Mayflower – 5/27/20

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/27/20 Observation Time: 5:15 p.m. Observation Location: Beaver Brook near tennis courts Common Name: Canada Mayflower Scientific Name: Maianthemum canadense Comments: This common plant carpets the forest floor in many parts of Sharon. More Information: Wikipedia I took this photo at the same place on June 2:

Pink Lady’s Slipper – 5/27/20

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/27/20 Observation Time: 5:10 p.m. Observation Location: in the woods near the footbridge over Beaver Brook Common Name: Pink Lady’s Slipper orchid Scientific Name: Cypripedium acaule Comments: Pink lady’s slippers probably won’t survive if you try to transplant them, so please don’t dig them up. More Information: Wikipedia

Starflower – 5/27/20

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/27/20 Observation Time: 5:10 p.m. Observation Location: near footbridge over Beaver Brook Common Name: Starflower Scientific Name: Lysimachia borealis Comments: Formerly known as Trientalis borealis, it has been shuffled around to new species name Lysimachia borealis (same genus as the yellow Loosestrifes) and moved to the Myrsinaceae (Myrsine) family. This member of the primrose family likes moist woods. It blooms in […]

Yellow Birch Tree – 5/19/20

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/20/20 Observation Time: 10:20 a.m. Observation Location: near Gavins Pond Common Name: Yellow Birch Tree Scientific Name: Betula alleghaniensis Comments: A large and important lumber species of birch native to North-eastern North America. It has shaggy bark. More Information: Wikipedia

Bird’s Foot Violet – 5/19/20

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/19/20 Observation Time: 9:20 a.m. Observation Location: near Gavins Pond Common Name: Bird’s Foot Violet Scientific Name: Viola pedata Comments: Bird-foot violets are perennials with five-petaled flowers that bloom from March to June. The flowers are typically blue, but can range from white to purple. They spread by sending out rhizomes. The fan-shaped leaves have three lobes which are said to resemble a […]

Reindeer Lichen – 5/18/20

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/18/20 Observation Time: 10:20 a.m. Observation Location: under high tension lines across the street from the Gavins Pond soccer fields Common Name: Reindeer lichen Scientific Name: Cladonia rangiferina Comments: Reindeer lichen is a light-colored, fruticose lichen belonging to the family Cladoniaceae. It grows in both hot and cold climates in well-drained, open environments. As the common names suggest, reindeer lichen is an important food for […]

Lance-leaved Violet – 5/18/20

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/18/20 Observation Time: 10:50 a.m. Observation Location: under high tension lines across the street from the Gavins Pond soccer fields Common Name: Lance-leaved Violet Scientific Name: Viola lanceolata Comments: One of only a few white-flowered stemless violets, lance-leaved violet inhabits sandy or peaty shorelines and marshes as well as more disturbed sites. The narrow lance-shaped leaves are distinctive. More Information: Go […]

Blue Ground-cedar – 5/18/20

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/18/20 Observation Time: 9:30 a.m. Observation Location: sandy high ground under high tension lines across the street from the Gavins Pond soccer fields Common Name: Blue Ground-cedar Scientific Name: Diphasiastrum tristachyum Comments: Diphasiastrum tristachyum, commonly known as blue clubmoss, blue ground-cedar, ground pine, deep-rooted running-pine or ground cedar, is a North American and Eurasian species of perennial clubmoss. In North […]

Sarsaparilla – 5/17/20

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/17/20 Observation Time: 10:10 a.m. Observation Location: woods near Gavins Pond Common Name: Sarsaparilla Scientific Name: Aralia nudicaulis Comments: On a whim, I decided to photograph a random plant along the trail in the woods. A friend helped me identify it, and it turned out to have a story! Wild sarsaparilla is a 1-2 foot tall shrub common to the forest understories […]

Ground Ivy – 5/15/20

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/15/20 Observation Time: 9:40 a.m. Observation Location: near Pond Street rotary by Lake Massapoag Common Name: Ground Ivy (a.k.a. “Gill-over-the-ground”) Scientific Name: Glechoma hederacea Comments: Commonly known as ground-ivy, gill-over-the-ground, creeping charlie, alehoof, tunhoof, catsfoot, field balm, and run-away-robin, it has numerous medicinal uses, and is used as a salad green in many countries. European settlers carried it around the world, and it has […]

Pink Earth Lichen – 5/11/20

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/11/20 Observation Time: 9:40 a.m. Observation Location: near Gavins Pond Common Name: Pink earth lichen Scientific Name: Dibaeis baeomyces Comments: This lichen is found throughout eastern North America, from Alabama and Georgia in the south to the Arctic Circle in the north. While rare there, it does occur in both Alaska and the Northwest Territories. It prefers to grow directly on unstable soils such as […]

Wood Anemone – 5/6/20

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/6/20 Observation Time: 9:40 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Farm (TTOR) Common Name: Wood Anemone Scientific Name: Anemone quinquefolia Comments: Also called wood windflower, wood anemone is one of the earliest blooming flowers in the rich, moist forests of New England. Look for showy white flowers poking above the dissected leaves, only 3 inches (7 cm) tall. These offer food to pollinators […]

Crabapple Tree – 5/3/20

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/3/20 Observation Time: 9:30 a.m. Observation Location: near Gavins Pond Common Name: Crabapple tree Scientific Name: Malus spp. Comments: Crabapple trees have lovely pink and white blossoms in spring. The apples they produce are tiny. More Information: Crabapple tree indentification

Old Man’s Beard Lichen – 4/16/20

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 4/16/20 Observation Time: 1:45 p.m. Observation Location: conservation land at Lakeview & Morse Common Name: Old Man’s Beard lichen Scientific Name: Usnea strigosa Comments: Also called bushy beard, this epiphytic (i.e. growing on trees) lichen is a composite organism that emerges from algae or cyanobacteria living among the filaments of the fungi in a symbiotic (mutually beneficial) relationship. The fungi benefit […]

Sugar Maple – 2/25/20

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 2/25/20 Observation Time: 5:30 pm Observation Location: Moose Hill, Billings Loop Common Name: Sugar Maple Tree Scientific Name: Acer saccharum Comments: The two huge sugar maples near the barn on the Billings Loop are called George and Martha because they began life at around the same time as George Washington and his wife Martha. The Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary […]

White Wood Aster – 10/6/19

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 10/6/19 Observation Time: 2:00 p.m. Observation Location: Near Beaver Brook Common Name: White Wood Aster Scientific Name: Eurybia divaricata Comments: Eurybia divaricata is native to Eastern U.S. and typically grows in the wild in dry open woods. It grows in loose clumps with dark, sprawling, sometimes zigzag stems up to 2.5′ tall. Distinctive leaves are heart-shaped, stalked and coarsely toothed. Small […]

Yellow Patches Mushroom – 7/13/19

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 7/13/19 Observation Time: 11:30 a.m. Observation Location: near footbridge over Beaver Brook Common Name: Yellow Patches Mushroom Scientific Name: Amanita flavoconia Comments: Amanita flavoconia, commonly known as yellow patches, yellow wart, orange Amanita, or yellow-dust Amanita, is a species of mushroom in the family Amanitaceae. It has an orangish-yellow cap with yellowish-orange patches or warts, a yellowish-orange annulus, and a white to […]

Mock Orange – 6/23/19

Observer: Rita Corey Observation Date: 6/23/19 Observation Time: 3:45 p.m. Observation Location: 282 Mountain Street Common Name: Mock Orange Scientific Name: Philadelphus coronarius Comments: Mock orange shrubs have flowers that are rich with nectar and attract butterflies. They are native to Southeast Europe and Italy. More Information: the spruce

Downy Rattlesnake Plantain Orchid – 6/23/19

Observer: Rita Corey Observation Date: 6/23/19 Observation Time: 2:15 p.m. Observation Location: Rattlesnake Hill Common Name: Downy Rattlesnake Plantain Orchid Scientific Name: Goodyera pubescens Comments: Please don’t dig up wildflowers. More Information: USDA Plant Fact Sheet

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