Late April 2016

April 30, 2016

A sunny, near 70-degree morning brought another group of nature enthusiasts to Braddock’s Trail, including members of the Greenridge Garden Club. We didn’t have to go far for some springtime entertainment. A quick look near the parking lot started conversation about these four flowers:

Ground Ivy (top left), Winter Cress (top right), Common Buttercup (bottom left), and Persian Speedwell (bottom right).

Ground Ivy is a common sight in most grassy areas, including your own lawn. It stays low, but if unattended, can creep up to some height, especially around walls and trees. The park’s Buttercups are starting to appear, and they’ll take over the parking lot area throughout the month of May. Persian Speedwell, native to Asia, can still be seen in small patches in the same area. Emergency Outdoors lists some recipes using Winter Cress, or “Yellow Rocket,” including a bread spread, salad, and sweet potato patties. If you happen to try one of these, please let us know, but please grow your own Winter Cress!

One of our visitors spotted a lone Waterleaf flower (below). Early in the spring, this plant is easily identifiable by the “water spots” on the leaves. As the season moves on, the spots disappear, and buds appear, complete with unusual hairs.

Waterleaf

The light purple, five-lobed flowers you’ll see throughout the park are Phlox (below). They’ll be available for your viewing for maybe another week in sunlit areas. Phlox is a common addition to gardens across the country and can be purchased readily in most nurseries.

Phlox

Though we didn’t spot any “False” Solomon’s Seal, we did see the “real” thing. Check out the difference in last season’s Mid May update. Great Solomon’s Seal (below) gets its name from patterns and markings on its root system.

 

Great Solomon’s Seal

Horticulturist Joey Williamson features various types of Solomon’s Seal in the YouTube video below, including additional information about the origin of the plant’s nickname.

One of the most abundant plants around the park, and one that seems to have “found its roots” and spread into many areas, is sticky Bedstraw (below). Sporting tiny white flowers, Bedstraw was used by pioneers to stuff mattresses. Encyclopedia Brittanica features some other interesting uses for this plant throughout history.

Bedstraw

Squirrel Corn is on its way out, and by the time this post is published, you may have to wait until next season to see it in person. For now, here’s a photo of its heart-shaped blossom and feathered leaves.

Squirrel Corn

Near the end of our tour, we spotted this guy on the road:

While the snail has your attention, you should know that they are nocturnal creatures, so its not very common to see one in the sunlight like this. Snails can also lift up to ten times their own weight, and are one of the slowest creatures on Earth. Some of them can even live to be 25 years old. Visit Snail-World for more snail reading.

Please join us on Saturday, May 7 for another walk in search of wildflowers, and maybe a few gastropods, too.