Uploading in hopes of getting an ID. Chapparal headland, LA area. Looks similar to buttonbush, but the leaves are wrong.
Downy Goldenrod is the couple of smaller, wand-shaped inflorescences at the far left.
At 1530' (466 m), Cadillac Mountain is the highest point on the Eastern seaboard north of Brazil. It's a barren, windswept granite dome. In fact, Mount Desert Island derives its name from the French explorers, "desert" in French simply meaning barren. We arrived just in time to watch a spectacular sunset www.flickr.com/photos/anitagould/41729258/ , & I snapped these goldenrods after it was done, so sorry about the ugly flash photography, but this was the only place I saw either of these species. Downy is supposed to be found in "open woods & sandy roadsides, mostly along coast," so maybe later in the season it will be blooming at lower altitude. But Rand's is an alpine specialty. Rand's used to be considered a separate species, but according to plants.usda.gov it has now been lumped with the western Mt. Albert Goldenrod.
Another challenge: asters! (Quibbles, kibbitzes & $0.02 of course welcome.) Many-flowered Aster has white flowers & round-tipped, spreading involucral bracts (see note). Petite but handsome -- the flower was ~.75" (~2 cm) across, the plant (inset) less than 1' hi. Growing roadside near the shore in Acadia National Park.
On a ranger-led hike of Great Head, a granite promontory with panoramic ocean views.
Another challenge: asters! (Quibbles, kibbitzes, and $0.02 of course welcome.) Changed my mind on this one; think it is probably Large-leaved rather than Schreber's. They are similar, but Large-leaved usually has violet or lavender flowers (rarely white), while Screber's is always white. Looked at this on another monitor, and can see a violet tinge, which is probably why I originally called it Large-leaved in the field. You can see how huge the lower leaf is in the inset, best viewed large (sorry, didn't have enough room to make the inset as big as I would have liked). NB: most of the lower leaves were a simple heart-shape, not lobed at the base like this one. Growing at the edge of a parking lot near the shore in Acadia National Park. IIRC the flowers are ~.75" (~2 cm) across. Formerly known as Aster macrophyllus.
Another challenge: asters! (Quibbles, kibbitzes & $0.02 of course welcome.) My book (Newcomb's) says "light blue-violet." this one does at least seem to have a tinge of color. I'm a little more troubled by the discrepancy in habitat, since the book says "dry open woods & clearings", & this one was growing pondside in Acadia National Park. Formerly called Aster undulatus.
I took goldenrod identification as a challenge on our recent trip to Maine & Nova Scotia (quibbles, kibbitzes & $0.02 of course welcome). This one was growing near a pond in Acadia National Park.
Another challenge: asters! (Quibbles, kibbitzes & $0.02 of course welcome.) This attractive species was growing pondside in Acadia National Park, flowers ~.5" (~1.5 cm) across. Formerly called Flat-topped Aster, Aster umbellatus.
Growing on the forest floor in Acadia National Park. A lichen is a symbiosis between a fungus & an alga or a cyanobacterium: the fungi provide support & nutrients from the soil, & the algae or cyanobacteria provide energy via photosynthesis (and may fix nitrogen too).
Cladonia species, I think -- can anyone ID this better?
The only one of these we saw in bloom, & it was growing in a crevice on a windswept, rocky headland overlooking the ocean. I was off trying to photograph it, battling sun & wind, while the ranger was giving her spiel about the history of the locale -- I hope I wasn't too rude! The juxtaposition with the lichen wasn't intentional; that's just where it happened to be nodding when I finally got an sharp shot off. Not sure how I feel about it, but at least it contrasts well.
Credit goes to my boyfriend [now husband!] Rick for the name. I think this is a puffball-type fungus that mimics a pebble -- anyone know more? It's little (~1.5"/4 cm across). There were a couple of others in the general vicinity. EDIT: We have these in our lawn at home too. I think they are Lycoperdon perlatum.
Crustose lichen on pink granite, at the summit of Cadillac Mountain. Can anyone identify these better?
Rand's Goldenrod (a ssp of Albert's) is the large one in front.
At 1530' (466 m), Cadillac Mountain is the highest point on the Eastern seaboard north of Brazil. It's a barren, windswept granite dome. In fact, Mount Desert Island derives its name from the French explorers, "desert" in French simply meaning barren. We arrived just in time to watch a spectacular sunset www.flickr.com/photos/anitagould/41729258/ , & I snapped these goldenrods after it was done, so sorry about the ugly flash photography, but this was the only place I saw either of these species. Downy is supposed to be found in "open woods & sandy roadsides, mostly along coast," so maybe later in the season it will be blooming at lower altitude. But Rand's is an alpine specialty. Rand's used to be considered a separate species, but according to plants.usda.gov it has now been lumped with the western Mt. Albert Goldenrod.
Growing on the forest floor in Acadia National Park. A lichen is a symbiosis between a fungus & an alga or a cyanobacterium: the fungi provide support & nutrients from the soil, & the algae or cyanobacteria provide energy via photosynthesis (and may fix nitrogen too).
Green one tentatively IDed as Cladonia mitis (other one as C. rangiferina, posted separately); ID help needed.
Thank you to Urtica for the ID. Male flowers of Asiatic Bittersweet, an invasive vine. (Male & female flowers are on separate plants.) Couldn't even place the family -- turns out it's the flagship (nominate) member of an oddball family I wasn't familiar with.
Perched on Stinging Nettle (oooh, my favorite! Except maybe Poison Ivy.) But for a more photogenic perch, see here.
For the Life on the Japanese Knotweed study. There was a distinct dearth of life on these relatively young sprouts, as it happens. Come to think of it, I think that's what I found last year 1 or 2 times when I found a patch & went looking. Is that the general pattern -- one of the problems is that nothing eats it (or otherwise interacts)? Anyway, I did find this pair of ants. If anyone can pin down their ID further, I'm sure it would be greatly appreciated.
For the Life on the Japanese Knotweed study. This harvestman has a *huge* legspan (10 cm), because it has an extremely elongated second pair of legs that it was using as feelers. Interesting point: saw this species repeatedly (at least 3x) on Japanese Knotweed, but not elsewhere; saw another harvestman (the kind with the big orange body) on other plants, but not on the knotweed.
Never thought I'd be glad to see Japanese Knotweed, but the other plants abundant on Bull's Island are Stinging Nettle and Poison Ivy -- and I don't care if they are native, they're evil! Although there's Pale Jewelweed too.
For Urtica's Purple Loosestrife pollinator study. It's not gonna win any prizes, but at least the species of pollinator is clearly identifiable.
For Urtica's Purple Loosestrife bug study -- a nonnative insect pest eating an nonnative, invasive plant! Hmm, maybe we should import Japanese Beetles to control the Purple Loosestrife (not!). This was the only 1 that I saw, in a patch a couple of meters sq.
For the Life on the Purple Loosestrife study. ID help welcome!
For Urtica's Purple Loosestrife bug study -- a nonnative insect pest eating an nonnative, invasive plant! Hmm, maybe we should import Japanese Beetles to control the Purple Loosestrife (not!). This was the only 1 that I saw, in a patch a couple of meters sq.
This is a large S Am rodent imported for its fur (that quickly lost any useful fur in the warm climate, but continues to devour the native aquatic vegetation). Still a cool critter.
Ageratum houstonianum, an unassuming little escaped ornamental. Fully spread flowers 7.5 mm (0.3") across.
For Urtica's Purple Loosestrife bug study. There were 2 of these bees working a patch a couple of meters square, & hence I have posted 2 bee photos (although I can't say whether or not they are of the 2 different individuals). Thanks to mizzbee for the ID! That makes it a non-native bee pollinating a non-native plant. And the other pollinator I caught on Purple Loosestrife was a Cabbage White, a non-native butterfly. It'll be interesting to see what the overall results of the Life on the Purple Loosestrife study show.
Not a great shot (I took it so I could ID the thing -- and didn't succeed until I happened to see it here on Flickr!), but we need the species in the WNA pool. Anybody got a better one? Or want to invite that one from the ID thread?
Our Polynesian guide spoke very good English and was very knowledgeable about the ecosystem, but some of his word mappings were interesting. Weeds were called grass (ie, carpets of low plants), and the people who introduced these invasive exotics were called botanists.
Creeping plant with little belly flowers (8 mm across) in waste places (bare patchs of park lawn). Such an unusual color!
