Late morning of June 4, 2010

The eastern redbuds (Cercis canadensis) have now leafed out and developed their characteristic pod-fruit.

Another view of this specimen, located at the Fannie Mae Gardens overlook on the W&OD bike trail just east of Old Reston Avenue.  For a look at this same specimen at the height of its bloom almost two months ago, see this post.

An easy-to-miss cluster of small pink flowers on the south side of the W&OD bike trail opposite the Fannie Mae Gardens.  These plants have the five-petaled flowers, characteristic bud shape, and lanceolate leaves of Deptford Pink (Dianthus armeria, for which see this Illinois description and this Missouri description).

A much more noticeable pink flower at the moment is crown vetch (Coronilla varia), which is now in full bloom and can dominate entire meadows, as here on the south side of the W&OD bike path just west of the American Dream Way bridge.

A closer look at this patch, showing the sheer abundance of flowers, as well as the pinnately compound leaves that are characteristic of the Fabaceae family.

The common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca, compare this Missouri description) is getting ready to bloom, as here on the south side of the W&OD bike path near the Fannie Mae Gardens.

There is another plant with broadly elliptical leaves that are opposite and have a prominent midrib - this is Indian hemp, a form of dogbane (Apocynum cannabinum, compare this Missouri description), and it is now in full white bloom.

This particular specimen grows in a meadow full of dogbane plants on the south side of the W&OD bike path where it crosses the pipeline easement.  The other prominent plant in this meadow is a grass with a single-spiked head;  this is timothy grass (Phleum pratense, for which see this Missouri description).

Another patch of blooming dogbane can be found at the southeastern corner of the intersection of the W&OD bike path with Wiehle Avenue.  For how this particular patch looked last October, with ripe seed pods, see this post; and for how it looked this past March, with some dessicated pods still remaining, see this post.  In the foreground of the current image, one can still see a couple of pod remnants.

Early Afternoon of May 7, 2010

On the west side of the W&OD bike path, just south of its intersection with Sunset Hills Road, is this tall white-flowering shrub.  On closer inspection, though, the flowers turn out to have four rather than five petals, and the leaves are simple rather than compound, so this is neither a blackberry nor a rose.

Instead, it is a form of mockorange (Philadelphus spp.).  Given the prominent yellow anthers in the flowers, the lack of serration on the leaves, and the shape of the dried four-valved seed capsules visible in this image, this may very well be sweet mockorange (P. coronarius, see this Virginia Tech data sheet and this Connecticut disquisition).

In the median between the W&OD bike path and the W&OD gravel path, immediately south of their intersection with Sunset Hills Road, is this inconspicuous plant with small four-petaled flowers.  It is difficult to see in this image, but the leaves are sessile or even clasping.  This appears to be a member of the mustard family (Brassica spp.), of which only two species are listed by the Digital Atlas of Virginia Flora as occurring in Fairfax County, and since of those two B. nigra has petiolate leaves, it appears that, by process of elimination, this is a turnip (B. rapa, see this Vanderbilt description).  The spiny-appearing upward-pointing projections below the flowers, incidentally, are not leaves or bracts, but rather siliques, which are the characteristic fruits of the mustard family.

Hidden on the east side of the W&OD gravel path north of its intersection with Sunset Hills Road is this inconspicuous plant with blue six-petaled flowers.  The leaves look all the world like grass leaves, which is reflected in the plant's name blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium spp., see this Wikipedia article), but this is not actually a grass, but rather a relative of the irises and lilies.

On the north side of the W&OD gravel path just east of its intersection with Michael Faraday Drive is a whole row of fleabanes (Erigeron spp.) getting ready to bloom.  Given that the ray flowers are white rather than pink, this could be either E. annuus (see Missouri description) or E. strigosus (see Missouri description).

This small ground-covering plant with its characteristic pinnately compound leaves with around 20 leaflets is ubiquitous along the W&OD path.  This particular specimen on the north side of the bike path just west of its intersection with Isaac Newton Square has now started blooming.  This is crown vetch (Coronilla varia, see the Missouri description), which is a member of the Fabaceae or Pea family, just like the black locust that has similarly-shaped leaves.