What to See This Week

The summer weather is bringing about more blooms at The Arboretum this week. Pictured here is a silky camellia (Stewartia malacodendron) photographed by Director of Capital Projects & Planning, Perry Mathewes! These shrubs, or small trees, grow native in the southeastern United States. They are favored for their large, purple-centered flowers but an interesting fact is that they are a relative of the plant that tea (black, green, white, and more!) is made of.

In the Pollinator Garden, expect to see pollinators hard at work! Pictured here is a leatherwing beetle. Although beetles aren’t usually the first type of insect you think of when you think of pollinators, leatherwing beetles do provide some pollination services as well as pest control by feeding on less beneficial insects. This leatherwing was found on a wild quinine.

Blanket flower is a breathtaking wildflower with a variety of cultivars readily available in nurseries usually in shades of red, orange, and yellow. Look for a few varieties currently blooming in the Pollinator Garden. While they are not native to Ohio, they are near native and still provide many benefits to pollinators.

Purple coneflower is an amazing native wildflower with tons of wildlife value! It is a tough plant that is highly adaptable. Outside of the garden beds you can spot purple coneflower in prairie habitat around The Arboretum. They serve as a caterpillar host plant, a favorite of pollinators, and the seeds feed birds in the fall and winter. It is also a medicinal plant used in supplements and teas supporting immune health.

Orange jewelweed, also known as spotted touch-me-not, is a ubiquitous plant in the natural areas at The Arboretum. Some of the plants have just begun blooming and they are easy to identify with their distinctive orange, hanging, tubular flowers. Jewelweed is an annual but self-seeds readily, as evidenced by the large patches seen in woodland areas and wetland edges alike. These plants are famous for their ability to prevent poison ivy when the sap is quickly rubbed on an area that has been exposed. Jewelweed sap contains saponins, compounds that act as a natural soap, that help wash away oil from poison ivy!

This gray tree frog was found hiding on the Visitors Center Deck during the bustle of camp pick up! It blended in nearly perfectly to the wood of the deck. Gray tree frogs have the amazing ability to change color from gray to green so if it were sitting on a leaf we may expect to see an entirely green frog.