Late afternoon of April 20, 2010 (continued)

As a ground cover on the sun-receiving north side of the W&OD bike path one now frequently encounters this five-petaled white flower, which is associated with serrated three-lobed or trifoliate compound leaves.  I believe this is dewberry (Rubus flagellaris, see this Virginia Tech fact sheet and this Missouri description).

This plant forms long trailing or flat-lying vines which, as I verified by hand, have curved prickles along them.

Also bursting forth into flower all along the W&OD bike path now is the Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii, see the Virginia Tech fact sheet), as seen here east of Michael Faraday Drive.  For a view of the prolific berries of this plant in the fall, see this earlier post.

This is a bush honeysuckle rather than a vine honeysuckle, so it is not Japanese honeysuckle (L. japonica), and the petals are not evenly spaced around the flower, so this is not Morrow's honeysuckle (L. morrowii).  Instead, four of the petals are fused into an upper lobe, which is characteristic of the Amur honeysuckle.

Another invasive species blooming profusely right now is the winged burningbush (Euonymus alatus), which has rather small, inconspicuous yellowish-green four-petaled flowers.  It is far more noticeable in the fall, when its leaves turn a bright burning red, as seen in this post from last fall.

On this particular specimen, which is a feral plant on the north side of the W&OD bike path east of Michael Faraday Drive, the wings of cork that give this species its name are also very noticeable, far more so than on the ornamental specimen in this post.  As this very informative Ohio State article points out, the wings that are very distinctive in the wild-type have been largely bred out of the "compacta" cultivar that is most commonly used for ornamental plantings.

Meanwhile, poison ivy is not yet in bloom, although the developing flower buds can be clearly seen in this image from east of Michael Faraday Drive.

Finally, in the southwestern corner of the intersection of the W&OD bike path with Michael Faraday Drive is this hydrangea  plant in full snowball bloom.  The leaves are lobed, and thus it appears to be some form of oak-leaved hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia), but the leaves are much smaller, and the flowers are blooming much earlier than those on the ornamental specimens near Plaza America featured in this post from last fall.  There are many cultivars of hydrangea bred by humans, and thus the specific identification is beyond my means right now.

Added by edit April 25, 2010:  Oh, how embarassing!  This is not a hydrangea at all, but rather a snowball bush cultivar of the European cranberrybush viburnum (Viburnum opulus var. opulus, see the Virginia Tech fact sheet and this Missouri gardening site).

October 1, 2009

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.