On looking at the vegetation lining the W&OD bike path (as here, just west of Wiehle Avenue), one can't help but notice large blotches of deep red spread among the green.
On closer inspection, these blotches turn out to be large clusters of blackish berries born on purple stalks. Despite their similar color, these are not pokeweed (which are low-crouching shrubs rather than small trees, as these), but rather the fruit of Devil's walking stick (
Aralia spinosa). See the
Virginia Tech fact sheet.
The reason for its name is evident from this image - don't try touching this trunk!
Another very prickly plant is the Mile-a-minute vine (
Persicaria perfoliata), already described in
this post. Here it can be seen aggressively covering shrubs and even trees on the north side of the W&OD bike path west of Wiehle Avenue.
As compared to two weeks ago, most of this vine's fruit have now ripened to their characteristic blue color.
Not all the plants along the W&OD bike path are so forbidding. There are, for example, also some nice clumps of goldenrods (
Solidago spp.), as here on the south side of the path just east of Old Reston Avenue. According to the
Digital Atlas of Virginia Flora, there are 17 species of goldenrods growing in the wild in Fairfax County, and I have not even begun to study the distinctions among the specimens found here in Reston.
This might possibly be rough-stemmed goldenrod (
S. rugosa) - see
this Connecticut Botanical Society page - or early goldenrod (
S. juncea) - see
this page from same site. Obviously I need to spend more time paying close attention to these plants.
Another plant displaying some color now is the honeysuckle (
Lonicera spp.), which is now bearing juicy red fruit about the same size as the autumn olive. This particular specimen is located near the clump of goldenrods shown in the previous two pictures. The honeysuckle has opposite leaves, while the autumn olive has alternating leaves; moreover, the honeysuckle's red fruit lacks the silvery speckles found on the fruit of the autumn olive.
This is either Amur honeysuckle (
L. maackii) - see
Virginia Tech data sheet - or Morrow's honeysuckle (
L. morrowii) - see
Virginia Tech data sheet. Both of these bush honeysuckles are highly invasive imports from Asia and are now on
Reston's list of "8 forbidden species" that may not be planted.
Further east along the W&OD bike path, on the south side just east of Wiehle Avenue, is another clump of plants now conspicuously in fruit. The fruit consists of pairs of very long, very thin pods or follicles.
This is dogbane (
Apocynum spp.); see this
comparable image. There are two species growing in the wild in Fairfax County, spreading dogbane (
A. androsaemfolium) and Indian hemp (
A. cannabinum); however, I don't believe I will be able to distinguish them until they flower next summer, as the first blooms pink and the second blooms white.
