Snapshot Week 7: Feb 15-21

Maple florettes


Wooden "blooms" of the Tulip Poplar



Japanese Magnolia


I expect these next weeks (since I am posting this late and already know the future;) will be filled with the stuff of Maples and Japanese Magnolias. Drive down any Arkansas Highway, and you are likely to see a red mist scattered trough the woods. These would be the petal-less blooms of Maples. Beyond that, the Capitol is flashing her yearly big pink. Maybe this year we will make it though the blooming season without attendant snow or ice.

Snapshot Week 6: 2/8-2/14 First Spring

Japanese Magnolia. 2/12 -2/13. They were not open the morn of the 13th but were by 11AM that same day.

Henbit 2/13

White Clover 2/13

Bradford Pear 2/13

I'm afraid I may not be able to keep track this next week. The place looks like it is about to explode.

Snapshot week 5: 2/1 - 2/7 First Spring

Following a week of ice, the first week of February was marked by undulating temperatures, reaching into the 60's

Snapshot Week 4: 1/25 -1/31

I'm a little late posting, but in the last week of January, northern Arkansas got cobbered by one of our works ice-storms in recorded history. Other links to other's work forthcoming.

Snapshot Week 3: 1/18/2009 - 1/24/09

White Oak sunrise:

Major Theme: Strobing skies. Last week was given to temperatures ranging from bitter to the 60's. If you still see leaves on a tree, it is most likely a White Oak (or a member of the White Oak family) And if not that, It's probably a Pin Oak.

Massive Southern Red Oaks and Willow Oaks have been leafless for a month.

Pin Oak, still dressed as if for fall.

Snapshot Week 2: 1/11/09 - 1/17/09

Before

After

I have a hard time believing that we ever had this kind of color in January to begin with, however, this last week temps dipped from the 60s to the teens. Much of the country is in a cold snap, and not even the Pansies can take it. (I can tell you this much Pansies sure aren't pansies when it comes to braving the cold!)

Sanpshot 1/1/09 - 1/10/09 (Week1*)

I've called this a week, but I am throwing in a few extra days to make the calendar week start from here on out on Sunday.

Mostly overcast, with a startle-blue day or two.

Temps hovering just under freezing to 60f.

Two days of ice on branches, following freezing rain (Little Rock) Jan 5/6

White Oak, remain brown, with a healthy body of leaves still on the trees.

Japanesee Magnolia buds build silently. (they seem to be to big to call "buds"

Mountain Maple pre-floral buds swell not long after leaf launch.

Ps. Look for weekly sanpshots as a new feature.

Winter Break

Between Christmas travel and winter months, it may some months till you see anything new here. Untill then, I will work to clean up the place and add detail to those posts that lack information.

Ghost Plant: Monotropa Uniflora

Monotropa uniflora pictures, courtesy Mike Hall of Conway, AR

(Mike discovered this oddity on a recent hike. If you discover any AR botanical oddities that you would like to post to this site, please let me know.)

Monotropa uniflora, also known as the Ghost Plant, Indian Pipe, or Corpse Plant is a herbaceous perennial plant, formerly classified in the family Monotropaceae, but now included within the Ericaceae. It is native to temperate regions of Asia, North America and northern South America, but with large gaps between areas.[1] It is generally scarce or rare in occurrence.
Unlike most plants, it is white and does not contain chlorophyll. Instead of generating energy from sunlight, it is parasitic, more specifically a myco-heterotroph. Its hosts are certain fungi that are mycorrhizal with trees, meaning it ultimately gets its energy from photosynthetic trees. Since it is not dependent on sunlight to grow, it can grow in very dark environments as in the understory of dense forest. The complex relationship that allows this plant to grow also makes propagation difficult. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monotropa_uniflora

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This month's fungus is not a fungus at all, but is often brought in to forays and by students thinking it must be a fungus because it's white and doesn't have any chlorophyll. But it's really a flowering plant-- in the blueberry family! This is one of about 3000 species of non-photosynthetic (i.e. heterotrophic) flowering plants. http://botit.botany.wisc.edu/toms_fungi/oct2002.html

For another picture see:

http://www.missouriplants.com/Whitealt/Monotropa_uniflora_page.html

Buttonball

Cephalanthus occidentalis

http://www.duke.edu/~cwcook/trees/ceoc2.html

http://www.missouriplants.com/Whiteopp/Cephalanthus_occidentalis_page.html

Images

Bottle Brush

Bottle Brush,

Photo by Jeri Simmons of Horseshoe Bend, AR
Info to be added.

Umbrella Magnolia

Image by Allison Finn.

I will be adding information later, but his image of a flower I have never seen, comes to us from the Upper Buffalo Wilderness Area near Ponca AR, courtesy of Allison Finn. The interior "cone" of the Umbrella Magnolia appears to have common characteristics with the very present Southern Magnolia, but a much thinner and more symmetrical petal outcrop.