Interesting Weeds

This spring it seemed every user of iNaturalist, had photos of Henbit Deadnettle except for me. I was beginning to feel a bit left out. That is until today. Walking across the practice field adjacent to the lower Cowling Arboretum I saw patches of what seemed tall, pinkish-looking Creeping Charlie. A closer look showed it to be Henbit Deadnettle. Perhaps the grass seed used on the field contained its seed? This plant is not widespread in Minnesota, with records from the metro counties around Minneapolis and Saint Paul.

Shepherd's Purse is another distinctive plant. And a global success, as it seems to have spread to every part of the earth. It's easily recognized by the cluster of small white flowers, the deeply toothed leaves of the basal rosette, and the purse-shaped seed pods from which the plant gets its common name. A member of the cress family (also known as the cabbage or mustard family), it is eaten in some parts of the world, used as an herbal, and used by science as a model organism.

One of the great things about plants? They stay put. They don't run off or fly away. If it can't be identified, it can be revisited at a later date. If it's a tree, it can be visited many years in a row. Early in April, I photographed an unusual bud on a small tree but couldn't figure out what kind of tree it was, until today. Walking near the tree today, I remembered to have a look the tree once more. The leaf shape and the flower clusters made it possible to identify it this time: Nannyberry (Viburnum lentago), a native shrub.

Posted on May 10, 2017 04:06 AM by scottking