Sun shines through beech leaves in a hemlock-hardwood climax forest near  Big Pond, PA, on July 3rd. (Climax forests are the peak of plant succession  for a given climate and location.)  When I first became interested in botany, ca 1970,* American Beech (Fagus grandifolia) was a widespread and distinctive tree of mature and old-growth beech-maple and hemlock-hardwood climax forests on soils with a moderate to ample moisture content. They were generally lacking from drought-tolerant oak-hickory forests that dominated the higher, well-drained plateaus of Western New York. B ..read more

  Trees Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) descend on Northern Bayberry bushes  (Morella pensylvanica) to feast on the gray, waxy berries during fall migration. They grew in the post-glacial sand deposits around Junius Ponds, NY. My first recorded encounter with Tree Swallows was August 2nd, 1969, but I didn't pay them special attention until a migrating flock descended on the bayberry bushes around Junius Ponds* on October 12th, 1976. It turns out this behavior is rather famous and was (temporarily?) "immortalized" on an interpretive sign along Assateague Island National Seashore ..read more

Water Avens (Geum rivale), nodding flowers at Zurich Bog, Wayne County, NY, May 30th (© Dave Spier) Water Avens (Geum rivale), a.k.a. Purple Avens, is another native member of the Rose family (Rosaceae) in the Great Lakes states and the Northeast as well as the Rocky Mountains, much of Canada and the temperate regions of Eurasia. It prefers wetlands with full or partial sun including slow-draining bogs, fens, pond edges, deciduous swamps, stream or river sides and wet meadows. It can hybridize with its close relative, Geum urbanum, as well as two other Geum species. The half-inch, initially ..read more

  Indian Cucumber-root (Medeola virginiana), in the Lily family, is an eastern species, growing primarily up through the Appalachians, the mountains of New York and New England, and north into Canada.  This one was found at Cranberry Lake, in the northern NY Adirondacks, on October 8th (from my archives). It's a forest wildflower with edible rhizomes that resemble the taste and odor of cucumbers. The Iroquois also used it medicinally. Sometimes mice eat the seeds and berries.  [Canon digital Rebel, EF 18-200mm zoom at 50mm, 1/125 sec., f/11, ISO 200, electronic flash, Center-w ..read more

 Virginia-creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia), a.k.a. woodbine, can turn bright red in late summer and early fall. It's a climbing or sprawling woody vine sometimes found in association with Poison Ivy. The distinguishing factor is the number of leaflets. Creeper normally has five, while Poison Ivy has three. ("Leaves of three, leave it be; Leaves of five, let it thrive.") Creeper's scientific name is Greek meaning "five-leaved virgin-ivy." The alternate name, woodbine, can also refer to several honeysuckles, other creepers, and Virginia clematis. The creeper's dark-blue berries are s ..read more

Bright-red foliage makes the sumac an October standout. The long, feather-compound leaves have 11 or more toothed leaflets and resemble walnut leaves. The sumacs in my backyard have 13 pairs of opposite leaflets plus one at the tip. Sometimes you can find green, yellow, orange and red leaves all on the same small tree. The common species is the Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina), named for its resemblance to fuzzy deer antlers before the velvet shreds. As the leaves fall away, the dense spikes of bright red fruits on female trees add a much needed dab of color to an increasingly drab New York lan ..read more

Red Maple (Acer rubrum), a.k.a. one of two Swamp Maples or soft maples, is probably the most abundant native tree in the eastern U.S. The species can adapt to a wide range of site conditions from bottomland swamp forests to upland mountain slopes. It does well in young forests where it can get some sun, but shade-tolerant species crowd it out of mature and old-growth forests. This particular Red Maple was growing beside the Moss Lake loop trail between Old Forge and Inlet in New York's Adirondack Mountains. Trail access is from Big Moose Rd. NW of Eagle Bay. (Sept. 25th ..read more

Yellow Birch (Betula alleghaniensis), a.k.a. Swamp Birch, is native to northeastern North America and it's the largest North American species of birch. Its scientific name means "Birch of the Alleghenies," referring to the dissected plateau along the west side of the Appalachian's Ridge-and-Valley province. It can reach an age of 300+ years in Adirondack old-growth forests while one in Allegany County, NY, measured 439 years old in growth rings.  The bark on young trees is smooth and some shade of brass, bronze or light copper with horizontal lenticels which are pores for exchange of ga ..read more

The Pileated Woodpecker -- © Dave Spier It’s our largest woodpecker and almost as long as a crow. A white patch on top of each black wing and white underwing linings make it a flashy flier. The body and tail are also black. If you can see the red crest, you know it’s a Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus, which translates to "crested tree-cleaver"). Closer inspection of this shy species, usually requiring binoculars, will reveal a white stripe extending from the top beak almost to the back of the head and then down the neck to the shoulder. The throat is white and there is a small whi ..read more

Canon XTi with EF 100mm macro lens + macro-twin-flash; exp. 1/125 sec., f/16, at ISO 100 Virgin's Bower © Dave Spier In the world of plants, there's a vine commonly known as "Old Man's Beard." (Well, that would apply to me, too, but I'm otherwise not green.) It's also called Virgin's Bower and botanists know it as Clematis virginiana, a member of the Anemoneae tribe in the Buttercup Family (Ranunculaceae). The descriptive name refers to the fruit clusters that have seeds ending in long filaments. Other folk names include Devil's Darning Needles and Devil's Hair. The genus name, Clem ..read more