June 22, 2010

This tall, narrow, single-stemmed plant with trifoliate compound leaves is now sprouting up like crazy along roadsides and in grassy areas.  It is a form of bush clover (Lespedeza spp.) and, based upon the pointy spike at the end of each leaflet, appears to be the highly invasive silky or Chinese bush clover (L. cuneata, for which see this Illinois description and this Missouri description).  For how this plant looks in the fall after going to seed, see this post from last October, where I misidentified it as Scotch broom, a related trifoliate legume (this did not burst into yellow flower in spring as predicted;  as a matter of fact, the plants have really emerged only in the last month or so).

This tall spindly plant with tiny white flowers can be found north of the W&OD bike path between Isaac Newton Square and the driveway for the Oak Hill Christian School.  It is white sweet clover (Melilotus albus, see this Missouri description), yet another highly invasive trifoliate legume.

At the edge of the parking lot for 1801 Robert Fulton Drive, just south of the picnic area for the W&OD bike path, is this unassuming cluster of yellow eight-rayed flowers with very wiry leaves that are whorled around the stem.  This appears to be thread-leaved tickseed (Coreopsis verticillata), for which see this Floridata record.

In the median between the W&OD bike path and the W&OD gravel path just south of Sunset Hills Road is this small meadow of gently swaying perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne, see this Missouri description and thisOregon State treatise), just developing its inflorescence.

On the north side of the W&OD bike path just west of its intersection with Wiehle Avenue one can find this milkweed (Asclepias spp.).  It has rather narrower leaves than the common milkweed (A. syriaca) found elsewhere, and its inflorescence is at the apex of the plant, rather than hanging from its shoulders.  This appears to be swamp milkweed (A. incarnata, for which see Missouri description and this Illinois description).

The sumac (Rhus spp.) are now in bloom, as here on the north side of the W&OD bike path between Isaac Newton Square and the driveway for the Oak Hill Christian School.  This particular specimen is not the winged or shining sumac (R. copallinum) found more commonly around here (the leaf lacks the characteristic wings; compare this post from last September), but instead is smooth sumac (R. glabra, for which see this Virginia Tech fact sheet).

Further west, on the south side of the W&OD bike path just east of Old Reston Avenue, this sumac is already breaking out into fruit.  I wasn't able to quite get close enough to see what kind of sumac this is.

And finally, a nice illustration of how morning glories come by their name.  This is the same specimen of wild potato vine (Ipomoea pandurata) featured in this post from last week.  But whereas that picture was taken at 10 a.m., while the funnel-shaped flowers were at their peak opening, this picture was taken around 5 p.m. and shows the flowers rolled up against the day's heat.

Morning of June 18, 2010

A bouquet of spiky-headed timothy grass (Phleum pratense) and blue-colored chicory (Cichorium intybus, compare this Missouri description and this Wikipedia article).  According to the Wikipedia article, the chicory, which is often called cornflower by mistake, is related to endive and radicchio.  This grouping is found on the south side of the W&OD bike path opposite from the Fannie Mae Gardens.

A bit further west along the W&OD bike path is this rather common plant with stems festooned with hundreds of small, brown, flat, capsule-shaped seeds.  This appears to be some sort of dockweed (Rumex spp.), possibly curled dock (Rumex crispus, see this Missouri description and this Wikipedia article).

A bit further east on the W&OD bike path, just east of the American Dream Way bridge, is this Queen Anne's lace (Daucus carota, see this Missouri description and this Wikipedia article), with its intricate six-sided symmetries and bipinnate leaves.  This is the wild carrot that is the ancestor of our cultivated carrot.

This pleasant ornamental bush is planted together with junipers on the south side of the W&OD bike path between American Dream Way bridge and the pipeline easement to screen the large electric power substation there.  This is glossy abelia (Abelia x grandiflora, see the Virginia Tech fact sheet, this N.C. State description, and this Wikipedia article), a common horticultural hybrid that is related to honeysuckles.

A miscellany of vines:  trumpet vine (Campsis radicans) flowers on the right, raspberries (Rubus spp.) ripening on the lower left, and on the upper left several flowers of the wild potato vine (Ipomoea pandurata, see this Missouri description, this Illinois description, and this Connecticut description), which is one of the native morning glories, easily identifiable by the wine-colored base at the center of its white flower.  This grouping is on the south side of the W&OD gravel path immediately west of its intersection with the Oak Hill Christian School driveway.

Just a few steps further west, on the north side of the W&OD bike path, is this specimen of common mullein (Verbascum thapsus, see this excellent Wikipedia article and this Missouri description) just starting to bloom.  The leaves are indeed very fuzzy, and also tear very easily.

Finally a decent picture of eastern gamagrass (Tripsacum dactyloides), with both male and female flowers visible on the flowerhead in the middle.  This particular specimen is on the north side of the W&OD bike path between the Oak Hill Christian School driveway and the pipeline easement.

A larger view of this specimen.  The plant appears taller than it is because I was crouching in order to capture the flowerheads against the blue sky;  in all, this grass is about 6 feet tall, so that the flowerheads are right at eye-level for me.

And finally, on the south side of the W&OD bike path just east of Old Reston Avenue one can find this tall shrub with very hairy red stems, compound trifoliate lobed leaves, and red drupes now ripening.  This is wineberry (Rubus phoenicolasius, see this Virginia Tech fact sheet and this Wikipedia article), a relative of raspberries and blackberries.

A closer look at wineberries ripening.  This plant is nonnative and very invasive, and threatens to displace local raspberries.