Evening of April 12, 2010

We have had a wonderfully warm spring that has really driven forward our burgeoning vegetation.  Unfortunately, due to my job as a tax accountant, I have not had much time recently to record the dramatic changes taking place, until this evening.

A grove of eastern redbuds (Cercis canadensis, see the Virginia Tech data sheet) at the Fannie Mae Gardens overlook on the W&OD trail just east of Old Reston Avenue.

A closer look at the small but prolific flowers of this small tree, which dominates the understory of native forests around this time of the year.

Just to the west of the redbud grove is this beautiful Japanese maple (Acer palmatum, see the Virginia Tech data sheet) with its deep purple leaves.

The leaves have a very distinctive 7-lobed shape, and are also smaller than those of most other maples encountered around here, giving the Japanese maple a touch of delicacy.

Like other maples, this Japanese maple has recently finished flowering, and its samaras (winged seeds) are beginning to grow at the ends of those descending stalks.

Meanwhile, the red maple (Acer rubrum) samaras have ripened nicely and turned green, as in this example from along Sycamore Valley Drive.  Compare this load of ripe samaras with the still red samaras shown in this posting.

Also to be seen along Sycamore Valley Drive (in the Sycamores apartment complex) is this absolutely gorgeous azalea (Rhododendron spp.).

Stunning beauty, even if the result of human breeding rather than a natural species.

Meanwhile, the pignut hickory (Carya glabra) in Charter Oak Court, which has already been featured in this and in this post, is now also in bloom.

A closer look at the tiny male flowers arrayed in their drooping catkins.

Alexander Bell Dr, early evening of April 2, 2010

In the big parking lot at the end of Alexander Bell Drive (just east of the W&OD trail north of its intersection with Sunrise Valley Drive) is this row of purple-leaf plums (Prunus cerasifera, see the Virginia Tech fact sheet), which are widely planted as ornamentals in Reston.

A closer look at the blossoms of the purple-leaf plum;  this is from one of the two specimens that flank the entrance to the parking lot of the Access National Bank headquarters at 1800 Robert Fulton Drive.  Note the pink petals and the distinctive purple stamens in their midst.

Another widely planted ornamental in Reston is the Bradford pear, a variety of the callery pear (Pyrus calleryana, see the Virginia Tech fact sheet).

This pear has proven to be quite invasive and now frequently goes feral, as here in a thicket between the Alexander Bell Drive parking lot and the W&OD trail.  As a result, it has earned a place on Reston's list of eight forbidden species.

Still, one has to admit that the pear flowers are beautiful in their showiness (as well as quite fragrant).

A closer look shows both whitish fringing stamens as well as purple stamens (?) closer to the center;  these give a speckled appearance to the blossoms that serve to distinguish them from the Yoshino cherries that are also blooming now.

A look at the underside of the blossoms also shows that the calyx is green rather than pink or red, yet another way to distinguish them from various cherry species.

All across Reston one also sees large trees like this in burgundy or orange-brown, as if colored for the fall.  These are red maples (Acer rubrum).

A closer inspection shows that the red color is imparted by the samaras (winged seeds shaped like propellers).

Each red maple tree now bears thousands upon thousands of these seeds, making them among the first plants to complete their reproductive cycle in the spring in Reston - recall that they were blooming only a couple of weeks ago, as shown in this posting (which, incidentally, shows only male flowers - at that time I did not realize that red maples generally bear male and female flowers on separate trees).

Isaac Newton Square, evening of April 2, 2010

At the eastern end of Isaac Newton Square is this glorious row of Yoshino cherries (Prunus x yedoensis) that are now at their peak bloom (no need to go to the Tidal Basin in Washington!).

Ah, what a beautiful display!

This image clearly shows some of the defining characteristics of the cherry blossom - its five-fold symmetry, the single yellow pistil at the center, the light-colored stamens surrounding it, and the somewhat thickened calyx supporting the flower.

Along the south side of the Reston Association headquarters (and mirrored along its north side), right in the center of Isaac Newton Square, is this magnificent double row of saucer magnolias (Magnolia x soulangiana), which is in spectacular bloom this year.

What a wonderful sea of magnolia blossoms (somewhat pinker than the standard variety of saucer magnolia encountered in Reston)!

And yes, as shown in this shot (with colors somewhat bleached by the flash), it is a double row of magnolias - so you can entirely surround yourself with their beauty!

Right around the corner, along the western side of the Reston Association headquarters (you can see some magnolia blossoms at the very right edge of the image), is this sugar maple (Acer saccharum) in full softly-green bloom.

Especially against the backdrop of the magnolia blossoms one can clearly make out the long green drooping stalks that bear the sugar maple flowers.  Compare this Vanderbilt site for more on the sugar maple and its flowers.

Early Evening of March 16, 2010

This red maple (Acer rubrum) in Charter Oak Court (backlit here by the setting sun) is now in riotous bloom.

Compare this post to see what this branch looked like a week and a half ago.

The stamens are now very prominent.

What a profusion of flowers!

Bravo, Mother Nature!

Morning of March 7, 2010

After a long winter, Nature in Reston is finally reawakening.

A red maple (Acer rubrum) with buds ready to flower, highlighted against an evergreen holly (Ilex spp.).  This maple is located in Charter Oak Court.

Close-up of some of the buds.

Ghostly remnants of the structures holding the samaras, or fruit, of a tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) in Charter Oak Court.  For what this structure looked like last fall, see this post.

Fresh buds and old dried-out fruit on an American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) on the east side of Old Reston Ave. just north of its intersection with American Dream Way.  For a view from last fall, see this post.

New buds can also be seen on this winged burningbush (Euonymus alatus) on the northern side of the W&OD bike path just east of its intersection with Old Reston Avenue (also featured in this post).  With the leaves gone, one can also clearly see the protruding stripes of cork that give this species its name "winged".

Dried husks that once held fruit persisting on a crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica) on the north side of the W&OD bike path east of Old Reston Ave.  For what these structures looked like last fall, when they still contained fruit, see this post.

Morning of October 5, 2009

Along the W&OD bike path underneath the Dulles Toll Road one can find lots of this plant, a member of the teasel family (Dipsacus spp.).  There are two closely related species of teasel that occur in Fairfax County, common teasel (D. fullonum) and cut-leave teasel (D. laciniatus).  Common teasel has bracts (the spines at the base of the seedhead) that curve upward, while cut-leave teasel has bracts that stick straight out;  common teasel also has leaves that are basically entire, while cut-leave teasel has lobed leaves.  Most distinctive, though, is that common teasel blooms pink to lavender, while cut-leave teasel blooms white - seems I missed the season to see this, though.  Compare this page from Illinois and this one from Missouri.  The seedheads from common teasel, incidentally, used to be used widely in "fulling" wool cloth, that is, napping or scratching it to raise a felt.

A look at some of the lower leaves on this teasel plant.  The leaves are large and perfoliate, that is, entirely surrounding the stem, forming a cup in which rainwater may collect.  These leaves do look more entire rather than lobed to me, so I think we may in fact be dealing with common teasel here.

A scenery shot, taken in the parking lot of 1801 Robert Fulton Drive, to show the progress of fall coloration in the red maples (Acer rubrum) there.

One of several ornamental fruit trees that flank the entrance to the parking lot of 1801 Robert Fulton Drive.

These trees are now heavily in fruit.  When you pierce the fruit with a fingernail, they don't pop open like a cherry, but rather have a firm texture like an apple;  thus, I believe this is a crabapple (Malus spp.).  See this Wikipedia article and this Michigan State fact sheet.

Afternoon of September 27, 2009

The following pictures were taken near the eastern end of the hedgerow on the northern side of the Charter Oak apartment complex that separates the complex from the Hidden Creek Country Club golf course to the north.

Most of the trees in this hedgerow are tulip trees, also known as yellow poplars or tulip poplars (Liriodendron tulipifera).  They are instantly recognizable by their unique large four-lobed leaves.  Compare the Virginia Tech fact sheet.  The bud-like structure in the center of this picture is the fruit of this tree, consisting of numerous samaras that will apparently float off in the next month or so.

In the understory there is this isolated occurrence of tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima).  Compare the Virginia Tech fact sheet.  This is a highly invasive weed species;  see this National Park Service fact sheet for details.

The large brown structures are the remnants of its seed pods;  from their size and number you can tell that this tree is a prolific seed producer, which is what makes it such a success as a weed.

Tree of heaven has large pinnately compound leaves, much like walnuts and sumacs.  The way you can tell a tree of heaven leaf is that each leaflet is smooth-edged except for a distinct notch near the base on both sides of the leaflet.  Walnuts and sumacs, by contrast, have serrate (finely toothed) leaflets.

Just beginning to bloom at ground level is this small-flowered white-rayed aster (Symphyotrichum spp.).  There are a large number of asters, which are apparently difficult to distinguish.  Cross-referencing the small-flowered white-rayed asters listed in Newcomb's Wildflower Guide to those listed as growing wild in Fairfax County in the Digital Atlas of Virginia Flora, it appears this could be either calico aster (Symphyotrichum lateriflorum - see this description from the Connecticut Botanical Society) or frost aster (Symphyotrichum pilosum - see this description from the Connecticut Botanical Society).

The hedgerow also features several black walnuts (Juglans nigra), which are now magnificently in fruit;  the green husks, which contain the walnut, are about 2-3 inches across.  Compare the Virginia Tech fact sheet.  Note that this is black walnut, and not butternut (J. cinerea), as the fruit are round rather than lemon-shaped.  Black walnut is found not infrequently in the wild woods of Reston.

 

Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia), with its distinctive five-part palmately compound leaf, is the dominant vine in this hedgerow.  Here it can be seen as both ground cover as well as climbing the trunk of a tulip tree.  This is the view from my living room window.

The dominant maple in both the hedgerow and the landscaped portions of the Charter Oak apartment complex is the red maple (Acer rubrum).  But the hedgerow also contains this sugar maple (Acer saccharum), with the leave shape familiar to us from the Canadian flag.  Compare the Virginia Tech fact sheet.

Toward the very eastern end of the hedgerow is yet another species of maple, the silver maple (Acer saccharinum), whose large leaf is deeply dissected.  Compare the Virginia Tech fact sheet.  The only other silver maple I have noticed so far in Reston is in the Charter Oak Townhomes complex.  In this image (which was taken pointing straight up), also note the pinnately compound leaves of a black walnut higher up in the canopy.