The Oaks in My Yard

As I continue to stay home most of the time (still a pandemic here!), I get a chance to appreciate more what is in my own yard. This week I’m focusing on the many oaks in my yard (a mostly wooded 2-acre tract among many others of similar size). Our part of Cherokee County is just inside the Southern Inner Piedmont ecoregion, a few short miles south of the Blue Ridge ecoregion. The area is rich in a diverse collection of native trees.

Fall color of Quercus alba

Flaky bark of young Quecus alba

The first oak that I noticed and the most prevalent is white oak (Quercus alba). A large canopy tree, it has beautiful leaves and fall color and abundant plump acorns for wildlife. Its flaky bark is noticeable even as a young tree. The deep burgundy-colored leaves are a late season treat.

There are no large water oaks (Quercus nigra) in my neighborhood, but there are plenty of young trees. Perhaps the big ones were removed when homes were built over 30 years ago. The trees are quite noticeable this time of year as they hold their green-yellow leaves longer than almost any other deciduous tree. The leaf shape can be quite variable, and I am never quite sure if very young saplings are water oaks or Southern red oaks.

Water oak (Quercus nigra) leaves

Southern red oak (Quercus falcata)

Southern red oak (Quercus falcata) is abundant in the neighborhood, and the turkey-foot shaped leaves and tiny acorns can be found everywhere. I have a hard time not calling it turkey oak (a common name used for a different species) based on those leaves. The thick leaves with a felt-like underside are mostly a rich brown in the fall but occasionally offer hints of red.

Quercus marilandica leaves catch the sun over the driveway

Blackjack oak (Quercus marilandica) is fairly abundant, mostly as young trees but I did find a large mature one in the back yard recently. I am not sure that I’ve found any acorns for it, however. Fall color can be so-so except for the ones near the driveway which are reddish. Wind-pollinated oaks can hybridize, of course, and in some cases I wonder if a little white oak got into these.

Scarlet oak near my mailbox

Scarlet oak leaves and acorns

Scarlet oak (Quercus coccinea) is a favorite one and the neighbor across the street has a gorgeous one (perfect for my viewing too). Glossy red leaves are about at their peak right now so a trip to the mailbox gives me a nice look every day. Acorns are good-sized; a quick check at the apex reveals the faint concentric rings that distinguish them so quickly as scarlet oak.

Quercus rubra with great color

The bark of the same tree

I knew that Northern red oak (Quercus rubra) was in the neighborhood but was never quite sure if I had one. I noticed a bright tree in the woods this week and it turned out to be that very species. The color is fantastic this year and it is still holding most all of its leaves.

Over the last 17 years I have watched a young oak sapling close to the driveway grow taller and thicker. I thought for some years that it might be a Northern red oak. A friend suggested that could be Shumard oak (Quercus shumardii). It has not produced any acorns yet and probably won’t for a while. Of course it could be a hybrid (the standard line for those we can’t figure out …). Fall color is so-so, a bit red-orange-brown.

My maybe Quercus shumardii

I have not identified Black oak (Quercus velutina) or Post oak (Quercus stellata) in my yard but both are easily found in the neighborhood, identified by fallen leaves and acorns on my walks. One more oak within the larger vicinity of my area is Chestnut oak (Quercus montana). I visit a favorite spot each year to pick up some the very large acorns for kids to see. The acorns sprout so quickly that if I'm late, most of them are already attached to the ground.

So I have potentially 7 species in the yard, 9 in the neighborhood, and 10 in the greater area (this doesn’t count all the species planted in shopping areas, read some of my earlier blogs about those). I feel fortunate indeed to live in such a diverse place. A wonderful reference about oaks can be found here as a downloadable PDF field guide. Get out there and see what's in your area!

In Memory of a Tree

The Zeta Storm came roaring through our area with 60-mph winds just before Halloween, downing trees all over the area. Our property suffered no damage but we lost power, internet, and landlines. As we got out over the next few days, I was dismayed to see so many oaks down.

A toppled large scarlet oak (Quercus coccinea) outside the neighborhood was a distressing discovery. I had admired it for all the years we’ve been here; it was always a gorgeous color in the fall and a big provider of acorn mast for the critters. This year’s acorns were scattered all over the road as well as still affixed to many of the upper branches. I gathered a big bagful.

The fallen tree in 2019

Acorns will carry the legacy

Not far from this one, two other scarlet oaks were down. One had just survived the construction of a new house and I celebrated last year that it would live to bring beauty for years to come. Another lay across the road, a fence and other trees that were smashed in the downing of it.

Fallen scarlet oak (Quercus coccinea)

Despite the sadness, I know that other plants will get a chance to thrive in the sunny void these trees left behind. Nature creates and nature destroys … and then creates again. I’ll take that bagful of acorns and help to create many more trees to honor the ones lost that day. Trees to remember a tree.

Fall Foliage Delights Again

Pinks, oranges, and yellows make for a pleasing view

The Zeta storm came through with fierce winds at the end of October and many people predicted a diminished fall foliage season because so many leaves were ripped off the trees. Turns out, they were a little too pessimistic: slowly but surely, color began to appear.

Sourwood shines bright

Since I am staying home most of the time, this report is mostly based on the trees in my area. The first color to appear was on the sourwood trees (Oxydendrum arboreum). Their long leaves slowly turned a variety of pinks and soft oranges, deepening to vibrant purples as the days continued. Hands down, the sourwood trees have been the stars of Fall 2020, putting on a show for 2-3 weeks, even holding on after a rain.

While the sourwoods were still there, red maples (Acer rubrum) burst into color. In their usual variety of yellow to pink-red, I sometimes had to get closer to figure out if what I was seeing was a sourwood or maple in my mini forest. As the golden yellow of the hickories (Carya sp.) started, the woodland glowed like a botanical fruit cocktail of color. For two days, I could hardly bear to stay inside, and my camera seemed unable to capture the magic.

View from the front

As I write this now (Nov 14), the maples are gone, the sourwoods persist, and the American beeches (Fagus grandifolia) are changing to their buttery colors. Hints of the deep colors of native oaks are just emerging, a prelude to phase 2 of North Georgia’s fall show. 

While the number of leaves this year was reduced because of the storm, those who got to stay did their best to put on a good show and it was beautiful! Be sure to watch as the oaks finish this one out.

Like to have more color? Read through some of my earlier blogs on fall foliage.

A neighbor's black gum (Nyssa sylvatica) is always red

How to Rake Leaves

I was out raking my leaves this week and, while listening to leaf-blower noise from neighboring properties, it occurred to me that perhaps people need a primer on how to do what we did for many years growing up. 

I hope this small reminder will help encourage more folks to set aside their leaf-blower in favor of some good exercise and a more environmentally-friendly way of dealing with our fallen leaves.

And yes, in a few weeks, I'll get to do it again (just as those with leaf-blowers will). It's a great way to work off some of that Halloween candy.

Here are my tips:

1.      Own a rake. I like the flexible metal ones and, when properly stored, they last for years.

2.      Dress comfortably and in layers so that you can be more comfortable as you warm up with the exercise.

3.     Wear lightweight gloves to avoid blisters and unexpected icky things when you pick up the leaves. Long sleeves and yard shoes help too.

4.      Reduce your lawn so that you don’t have so much to do each year.

5.      As much as possible, rake your leaves into your non-lawn areas so that you don’t have any work associated with bagging them. It’s like sweeping!

6.      Get a buddy to help you out.

I personally think that #4 (reduce the lawn) is a very important one. Let’s plan to do that more in time for next year’s leaf season.

My raking buddy

Still plenty left to fall!

Beechdrops

These spindly bits of brown “twigs” might catch your eye this time of year in moist woods with American beech (Fagus grandifolia). In some areas, they can be abundant around the roots of these trees. Often what is most noticeable are the taller stems from the previous year of this very modest plant called beechdrops (Epifagus virginiana). Tucked among them, almost protected, you might see the pale but soft stems of the new flowers emerging. 

Cleistogamous flowers

Last year's flowers

Beechdrops is an obligate parasitic plant that requires its host, specifically the roots of the American beech tree, to complete its life cycle. The genus name of the plant, Epifagus, is from the Greek “epi” which means ‘on’ or ‘upon’ and the word Fagus which refers to the beech tree. It is an herbaceous plant—meaning it has no woody parts—that grows up to 18 inches tall and lacks chlorophyll. Most of the ones I find are about 12 inches tall by the time they finish up and turn brown.

Group of Epifagus virginiana around a beech tree

The small flowers are alternately arranged on the stem and have attractive purple stripes if you get down close enough to look at them. According to my research, the flowers on the lower part of the stem are cleistogamous (self-fertile); these flowers are small and more round. The flowers on the upper part of the stem are chasmogamous, more tubular in shape, and about 8 mm long. It is unclear what pollinators are associated with this plant but one research source suggested that ants may be involved.

New and old flowers

This plant is a member of the broom-rape family (Orobanchaceae). This family contains other similarly unusual plants like Conopholis americana (parasitic on oaks and beech) and Orobanche uniflora (parasitic on saxifrage, sedum, sunflowers, and goldenrod), both of which are found in Georgia. [Monotropa, known as Indian pipe and which also lacks chlorophyll, is not in that family.]

So if you're out exploring and you come across these modest plants, take a moment to appreciate them for their uniqueness. They are but one part of the very complex ecosystem in which we live.

Those Tiny White Asters

The roadside is full of asters now, a bajillion tiny white flowers transforming insignificant green stems into a feast for bees and butterflies at the end of the season. While most people are content to know that these are asters in the Symphyotrichum genus, a few people like to know which species. I worked through the identification of the four most common ones in my area several years ago.

When it comes to explaining these, I want to borrow some text from Linda Chafin’s Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia, who likens them to the botanists’ version of confusing fall warblers:

“No single trait distinguishes any particular species but taking several traits into consideration can usually lead to a sure identification.” See page 120-121 of this very excellent book for more.

Another good resource is the Guide to Vascular Plants of Tennessee (page 449). In general, this resource has the most complete keys for asters and goldenrod (Solidago) that I’ve found so far, although a species or two may be missing for Georgia. The challenging thing about using keys is that the author of the key focuses on a defining characteristic that may not be as apparent to the rest of us (or at least not without dissecting the flower or using a better lens). And be prepared to look up words like ‘phyllary’ which is the green bract underneath the flowerhead; it’s a key concept (literally) in aster identification.

I am a huge fan of roadside native vegetation and am more than happy to stop for a few photos and cuttings to figure out what I’m seeing. When it comes to the roadside white asters, two species seem to be the most abundant and they are known as the “oldfield” white asters. One has noticeably fine hairs on the stem and is called the hairy oldfield white aster or frost aster (Symphyotrichum pilosum) while the other has less noticeable hairs and is called the smooth oldfield aster or small white aster (S. racemosum).

The very floriferous Symphyotrichum racemosum

Symphyotrichum racemosum is my most abundant aster, taking over one bed almost entirely. The spindly limbs permit the sun to reach through to the spring and summer perennials, allowing it to play fairly well with other plants. Come October, those spindly limbs are transformed into arching stems of small white flowers. Not enough resources talk about how the flowers are largely arranged on one side of the stem but this one does; that is something I always look for when identifying this species. Phyllaries are appressed as you can see in the picture below.

Symphyotrichum racemosum bracts

Symphyotrichum pilosum bracts

Symphyotrichum pilosum is distinctive among these four if you can get a look at the phyllaries. These small green structures are not appressed in this species, noticeably reflexed away from the flowerhead. There are visible fine hairs along the stems, sometimes giving it a frosted appearance. This species can vary in size depending on the growing conditions available, reaching up to 4 feet tall and wide when favorable. I love to see it popping up in untended fields; look for it now.

The 'frosted' stems of Symphyotrichum pilosum

Symphyotrichum dumosum is often called long-stalk aster, a name that points to a trait that can be useful in identifying it (the flowers are held away from the stem, on long stalks). With its appressed phyllaries, it most resembles S. racemosum, but the flowers are larger in size and generally there are fewer of them. Long, thin leaves are also useful when identifying it as they can still be present at flowering time.

Symphyotrichum dumosum

Symphyotrichum dumosum bracts

Symphyotrichum dumosum leaves

Symphyotrichum lateriflorum is named for having flowers along one side (lateriflorum), but, as you may recall, there is another species that has that arrangement: S. racemosum. As mentioned in the earlier reference, S. lateriflorum differs from S. racemosum by having wider stem leaves (I think they are darker green too). In addition, the flowers are generally smaller, and the fresh disk flowers are not bright yellow (more straw-colored) and they age to purple compared to a redder color on S. racemosum. S. lateriflorum has the very charming common name of calico aster.

Calico aster, Symphyotrichum lateriflorum

Symphyotrichum lateriflorum bracts

I hope this helps demystify some of the more common species. Here are a few more resources that you might use:

The full set of North American asters at the Astereae lab site (University of Waterloo)

The comparison of phyllary bracts among American asters at NameThatPlant.net

The SERNEC portal for finding and viewing scanned herbarium species. SERNEC is the SouthEast Regional Network of Expertise and Collections

The Weeds Have It

What do they have? They have what bugs crave! This becomes apparent anytime you get to visit a place where the “weeds” are allowed to flourish. I’m not talking about nasty and non-native weeds like kudzu, privet, and many others. I’m talking about native plants that have been classified by humans as weeds. This past week found me admiring them (and their happy insect friends) along the roads and paths on Jekyll Island.

Gulf fritillary on Bidens alba

Two plants are blooming in abundance now in Coastal Georgia in wild areas: Bidens alba (most commonly known as shepherd's needles, beggarticks, Spanish needles or butterfly needles) and Heterotheca subaxillaris (camphorweed or goldenaster). Several other plants could be found (spotted beebalm, Monarda punctata; spurred butterfly pea, Centrosema virginianum; goldenrods like Solidago sempervirens) but these two really were the dominant roadside/path plants.

“Butterfly needles” seems an apt common name for Bidens alba which was hands-down the favorite of butterflies like the Gulf fritillary, the long-tail skipper (and several other skippers), and more. Last year I saw a Monarch butterfly on it. This rambunctious annual seems to have a limitless capacity for blooming as long as the butterflies need flowers. The needle-like seeds form on old blooms alongside active flowers.

Gulf fritillary on Bidens alba

Long-tail skipper on Bidens alba

The goldenaster (such a nicer name than camphorweed for Heterotheca subaxillaris) was less visited but clearly was being pollinated by something as many flowers were going to seed (sometimes time of day matters for observing insects). This one was especially pretty in mowed edges where it was blooming at much lower heights than on the edges of the sand dunes.

Buckeye on goldenaster

Skipper on goldenaster

In a world where man has developed so much land—paving it over with concrete, asphalt, and lawn—the insects really depend on what’s left of the native plants they need. So when you’re thinking about what to keep and what to 'weed out' in your yard, give the weeds a little consideration and make sure you understand who might benefit from your keeping it.

Goldenaster, Heterotheca subaxillaris