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Blue Lettuce Revisited
Two dear friends within several months of each over have discovered what I think is this plant. The individual flowers look a good bit like Chicory, the rest of the plant? Oh what a difference. Blue Lettuce (Lactuca floridana). Blue Lettuce is an annual biennial herb growing from a taproot to a height of four to…
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Asia Dayflower
Asia Dayflower (Commelina communis). The wood’s edges now are dotted with flowers of azure. Two pure blue petals and an additional one, inconspicuous white. A native of Asia. Introduced in the U.S. as an ornamental. With a mind of its own, it has escaped cultivation. Depending on which source one reads it is either weedy…
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Honey Bees
I’ve been surprised to find Honey Bees up here on my mountain as I roam. Whether it is just around my cabin or as I traverse the trails. Honey Bees can travel five miles for food. Generally though a bee will travel about a mile from its hive. Surely there are no managed colonies within…
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Long-Bracted Tickseed Sunflower
All along the roadsides. Rich warm yellow greets the cars and trucks that pass. Long-bracted Tickseed Sunflower (Biden polylepis). It’s native to eastern and central United States and south-central Canada. The leaves of Long-Bracted Tickseed Sunflower are quite distinctive, with sharply toothed margin, opposite and pinnately compound. These flowers bloom from late summer to early fall. Attracting all sorts of…
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Common Buckeye Revisited
I’m looking forward to my Asters blooming. They are a big draw for an incredibly beautiful butterfly. The Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia). It’s when those Asters are blooming that I get to see the Common Buckeye. As an adult and butterfly they have a life of just six to twenty days. During those few days…
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A While Back on 29
Taking a break from nature for just a moment to look back. Route 29 in Charlottesville, just east of the airport. By 2004 when these pictures were taken the only thing left were signs. The motel was on the east side of Route 29. Now at that intersection there is a Walgreens and to the…
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Red Berries of Spicebush
Spicebush (Lindera benzoin). In spring this bush of the eastern woods of North America create a wash of soft yellow with small but plentiful blooms. By autumn the blossoms have turned to brilliant red berries. Much to the delight of many birds, including two of my favorites, the Hermit Thrust, and the Red-eyed Vireo.
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American Beautyberry
American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) is native to the southern United States including Maryland to Florida, west to Texas and Arkansas, also Mexico, Bermuda, the Bahamas and Cuba. The berries are ripe right now in Florida. They attract many species of birds including Cardinals, Mockingbirds, Finches, Woodpeckers and many more. Don’t be fooled though. Pay attention…
