Amanita muscaria var. formosa It is October, and along with yellow leaves and orange pumpkins, there are large, yellowish-orange mushrooms coming up in my yard in Blacksburg! I found four or five of these mushrooms, growing under a group of hemlock trees, and a whole bunch more on my neighbor’s property, coming up under pines. As…
Tag: Montgomery County
Ravenel’s Stinkhorn
Phallus ravenelii I know this is kind of gross, but I believe in equal opportunity. So– I found this gray-capped stinkhorn growing in the mulch in my neighbor’s yard in early October. There were a lot of them growing in the same area, with many lying on the ground “deliquescing” while others were still emerging…
Gem-studded Puffballs
Lycoperdon perlatum This information is taken directly from Wikipedia: “This mushroom, popularly known as the common puffball, warted puffball, gem-studded puffball, or the devil’s snuff-box, is a species of puffball fungus in the family Agaricaceae. A widespread species with a cosmopolitan distribution, it is a medium-sized puffball with a round fruit body tapering to a wide stalk. It is off-white with a top covered in…
Golden Aster
Chrysopsis mariana Blooming in late summer, this showy, golden yellow aster grows in barren areas. These were photographed growing along a steep roadside embankment on Brush Mountain in Southwest Virginia. The leaves are alternate, simple, entire to ever-so-lightly toothed, hairy, with a strong mid-rib. The leaves are larger at the bottom of the plant, growing smaller…
Honey Mushrooms
Armillaria Honeys! Here’s another new mushroom for me! There are two honey mushroom species pictured in this gallery—both are parasitic on hardwood trees. Armillaria mellea has a distinct ring, or annulus on the stipe and a partial veil when new; the gills are attached; the color is typically honey yellow. Armillaria tabescens is ringless; the…
Bradleys
Lactarius volemus The genus name of this mushroom refers to the “milky” latex that quickly flows when the flesh of the mushroom is cut or broken. Locally known in Southwest Virginia as swamps or bradleys, Lactarius volemus is an edible mushroom species. The top of the cap is burnt orange and smooth when young; the rim is…
Slender Gerardia
Agalinis tenuifolia (Gerardia tenuifolia) Slender Gerardia is a native annual that grows to about 2 feet in height. Note the slender, linear leaves and overall dark color (green to purple) of the foliage. The leaves are opposite and entire. The flowers, borne on long pedicels, are light to dark pink with purple spots inside. They…
Turtlehead
Chelone Fishmouth, snakemouth, turtlehead… The common names of this flower come from the 2-lipped shape, which calls to mind an animal’s gaping mouth. The pink, red or white flowers are borne on a spike at the top of the plant. The leaves are opposite, ovate to lanceolate, and have lightly toothed margins. Turtlehead enjoys life…
Sneezeweed
Helenium autumnale I really like this species epithet: autumnale! It reminds me of what is happening right now, ever so subtly, in the great outdoors: There are little signs of autumn coming–the black gums dropping bright red leaves on the forest floor… the preying mantis growing large and more conspicuous on the prowl… the late…
Pinesap
Montropa hypopithys Popping up from below the forest leaf litter–look at this: is it a plant? A kind of fungus? If you are familiar with Indian Pipe, you might guess that these two organisms are related, and you’d be right. Pinesap, like Indian Pipe, is a non-photosynthetic flowering plant that gets its energy from organic matter…
Stiff Gentian
Gentianella quinquefolia Just when I thought that the growing season had advanced to the point where no new flowers would come my way, surprise–here comes Stiff Gentian! Members of the Gentian family offer great late-season color, especially in the realm of blues, purples, and violets. Stiff gentian differs in a few significant ways from the other gentian species found…
Ornate-stalked Bolete
Boletus ornatipes or Retiboletus ornatipes I love the color of this mushroom! It is mustard yellow! And note the ornate, netted pattern on the stipe (a reticulate stem)! The ornate-stalked bolete is mycorrhizal on hardwoods, and in fact we found all of these mushrooms in a mixed-oak forest at Pandapas Pond, in Montgomery County, VA…
A Mushroom Foray: August 2012
Pandapas Pond Foray Below is a collection of photos from a mushroom walk that I took with the NRV Mushroom Club. What a diversity!
Teasel
Dipsacus As summer takes a curtain call, new blooming flowers are harder to come by. But in drying fields and along fencerows and roadsides, the tall, spiny remnants of teasel delight the eye. Earlier in the summer, teasel produces inconspicuous white, pink or purple flowers on an oval cone of spines. The visually interesting flower…
Ground Cherry or Chinese Lantern
Physalis virginiana The genus Physalis includes many species in the nightshade family (Solanaceae). There are about 25+ species in North America. Of these, many are called ground cherries. The fruit of all these species is similar to a small tomato, but it is enclosed in a husk, like a tomatilla. The papery covering over the…
Great Blue Lobelia
Lobelia siphilitica It is a late summer treat to see great blue lobelia in full bloom, often alongside the fabulously red cardinal flower. Sometimes called “blue cardinal flower”, great blue lobelia resembles red cardinal flower, (Lobelia cardinalis), in stature, habitat, and structure. Both of these plants are tall wetland species with colorful flowers borne on terminal racemes. Their…
White Snakeroot
Ageratina altissima (Eupatorium rugosum) White Snakeroot is a poisonous plant that is native to North America. The plants are tall and can grow 3-4 ft. in height. Snakeroot’s white flowers are born at the top of the plant in loose clusters that might remind you of boneset or a white ageratum. The substantial leaves of…
Yellow Crownbeard
Verbesina occidentalis This native perennial of moist and sunny places begins blooming in late summer and has a confusing look-alike called wingstem, Verbesina alternifolia, which blooms at about the same time. They often occur together in the same area.. So let’s compare them: Crownbeard and Wingstem are relatively tall plants with winged stems. Each is…
Wingstem
Verbesina alternifolia The common name of this plant, of course, comes from the distinctive stem, which has vertical ridges that are sometimes described as “wings”. (See the photos below.) The stem is usually unbranched, and the fast-growing plant can eventually reach great heights– up to 8 or 10 feet. Wingstem is sometimes called yellow ironweed…
Ironweed
Veronia This very tall, late-summer flower is ubiquitous in our part of VIrginia. The small, deep purple flowers begin to bloom in fields and along roadsides in August. The spectacular show of color continues through fall. Ironweed is a perennial wildflower, and a member of the Aster family. The leaves of the plant are elliptic to…
Jimsonweed
Datura stamonium Jimsonweed is also called purple thorn apple. One look at the purple stems and prickly fruit of this plant will tell you why. You’ll find it flowering in August and September, but your timing will have to be right. Generally, Jimsonweed flowers open at night and last only one day. Sometimes you can catch…
Wild Basil
Clinopodium vulgare or Satureja vulgaris Wild basil is a hairy mint with pointed oval leaves and clusters of pink to purple flowers. The clusters are stacked on an erect, 4-sided stem that is distinctly wooly. Morning dew will delight your eye as it glistens on the dried clusters long after the flowers fade. See the gallery…
Yellow Fringed Orchid
Platanthera ciliaris This magnificent, bright yellow-orange orchid blooms in July and August in our area. It can be found in open woods, in either dry or wet places, although most of the photos below were taken in boggy places. As you can see, these exotic flowers are borne in a dense cluster at the top…
Cardinal Flower
Lobelia cardinalis It’s showtime—and this late-summer bloomer is as showy a flower as they come! Cardinal flower, a native perennial, produces bright red flowers on tall, unbranched stems. The flowers are produced on a raceme, which opens from the bottom first. Each individual flower is bright red and tubular, with 5 deep lobes that are…
Sundrops and Evening Primrose
Oenothera fruticosa They call me Mellow Yellow… Evening Primroses and Sundrops are very similar in appearance. They both have lance-shaped leaves and an upright growth habit. They both bear large (~2-inch) yellow flowers, each with four petals and a large x-shaped stigma at the center. The flowers of Evening Primrose are mostly closed during the…
Hoary Mountain Mint
Pycnanthemum incanum Here’s another native mint from the Lamiaceae family. Like all the mints, this plant has 4-angled or square stems , opposite, elliptical leaves, and a pronounced mint fragrance. Hoary mountain mint has white leaves at the top of the plant where the flowers arise. The white to purple flowers are 2-lipped, with the…
Late July Mushrooms
Here are a few unusual mushrooms from a recent walk in the Gateway Trail and Pandapas areas around Blacksburg, Virginia.
American Wintergreen or Eastern Teaberry
Gaultheria procumbens Pictured here is a little wildflower that has been sitting out in the cold all winter, holding fast to its tiny red berries. As the plant’s common name implies, the round to elliptical, shiny leaves of American winterberry stay green all winter. The cherry-red fruit persists as well. Wintergreen is technically a low-growing shrub,…
Blue Vervain
Verbena hastata No need to bend over to see this tall beauty! Blue vervain grows 2 to 5 feet tall! I found these plants growing on the banks of Pandapas Pond in June and July in Montgomery County, Virginia. The 5-petaled, violet-blue flowers of blue vervain are borne on unique branching spikes. The flowers on…
Knapweed
Centaurea Imagine a genus with 500+ species in it… Then imagine how intimidating it is to name a flower in this group to species! So in the interest of avoiding an error, I’ll stop at the genus level on this one. The folks at Wikipedia report that all the members of the genus Centaurea share…
Bittersweet Nightshade
Solanum dulcamara You might recognize the flower of this plant because it resembles lots of plants that you are already familiar with: tomato, eggplant, potatoes, ground cherry, jimsonweed, and horse nettle to name a few. These plants are all in the same family, Solanaceae, which is also known as the nightshade family. There are more…
Canada Lily
Lilium canadense It’s showtime! Here’s an exotic-looking Virginia native that is a member of the lily family (Liliaceae). Canada Lily grows in moist woods and along wood margins. Reaching 2-5 feet tall, the erect plant has an unbranched stem with whorls of 3-8 elongated leaves; the leaf edges are smooth (not toothed). The nodding flowers…
Black Trumpets
Craterellus cornucopioides Although I’ve heard of edible black trumpet mushrooms before, I was not expecting to find them today. I practically fell over them on my way to pick up a few chanterelles! Once I got a good look at them, I started to find them at just about every spot where I also found…
July 4th Mushroom Walk
Here are a few of the interesting fungi I found growing at Pandapas Pond on July 4th. I know a few of these, but some of them are unidentified. If you know what they are, will you drop me a line? Thanks! Click on any image in the gallery for a larger view.
Chicory
Cichorium intybus Chicory, blue sailors, wild succory, coffeeweed, or cornflower…whatever you want to call it–how can you not LOVE the bright blue flowers of this tough little wildflower? In a summer field, chicory stands out because of its tall, rigid stems that almost appear woody. Here and there along the stem appear aster-like flowers in…
Heal-All or Self-Heal
Prunella vulgaris As the name would suggest, heal-all has been used to treat all kinds of maladies in the past. Traditionally, the shape of a plant was often used to discern its medicinal uses, and so the shape of this flower, with its open mouth exposing the throat, led to it being used as a…
Bee Balm and Wild Bergamot
Monarda There are many species of Monarda, but all have the following things in common: the plants have square stems; the leaves are simple, serrated, opposite, and have petioles; there is a distinct smell of mint when the leaves are crushed; the large flowers arise from a whorl, and sometimes the whorls are stacked up…
Queen Anne’s Lace
Daucus carota Here she is in all her loveliness– Queen Anne’s Lace, named after Queen Anne of England, who was an expert lacemaker! This umbrella-shaped flower is made up of many tiny white flowers; together they form the “lacy” pattern characteristic of the wildflower’s inflorescence. Below the umbel of flowers is a spray of finely…
Common Milkweed
Asclepias syriaca Milkweed is an interesting plant on a variety of levels. Most of us already know that monarch butterfly larvae feed exclusively on milkweed leaves, which renders the caterpillars and butterflies toxic to predators. And most of us know that the plant’s name is derived from the fact that it produces a milky-white, sticky…
Field Chamomile
Anthemis I found this beautiful, small daisy growing in a shale outcropping at Pandapas Pond yesterday. Unlike other daisy-like flowers blooming at this time, this plant was relatively low-growing with small (1-inch) but robust flowers. The unique leaves were finely divided and almost lacy. The entire plant had a rather sprawling growth habit and appeared…
VIRGINIA WILDFLOWERS 