What to See This Week

Winter is a great time to slow down and notice the little things you are less likely to notice in the busyness of spring and summer. Scalewort is a tiny plant hiding in plain sight. A type of liverwort, scalewort is a non-vascular plant and absorbs water directly into their tissues. They can be found on many tree trunks but usually appear much darker and often blend into the bark. There is a lot of contrast on the trunk of the Bloodleaf Japanese maples along the Parkwoods Trail near The Stumpery as pictured here.

While in search of liverwort, keep an eye out for lichen, too! Pictured here is a variety of lichen species occupying a twig in Holly Hill. There are three main categories of lichen based on their growth. Lichens that grow as a flat crust on a surface and are unable to be easily removed are crustose lichens. For the most part, crustose lichens must be identified through microscopic features. The dark, squiggly lines are areas where two separate lichens meet and are competing for space. 

Next up is one of the most commonly encountered species of lichen, mealy rosette lichen. Mealy rosette lichen is an example of a foliose lichen, a species with an upper and lower surface and can be peeled off their substrate. Mealy rosette lichen is often a great example of apothecia, the small cups that are present on some species of lichen. These little cups can be a great identification feature as they come in different sizes, colors, and quantities. 

The final species of lichen this week is a type of fruticose lichen, lichens that have more of a bushy or three-dimensional growth form. Pictured here is turban cup lichen which is characterized by brown fruiting bodies at the top of green stalks. This species of lichen can be found on nearly every stump in The Stumpery.

So many plants can be identified by their winter seed pods. Velvetleaf, even after leaves and flowers have died back, is very recognizable with the intricate pods. 

Amongst the tangled vines in The Stumpery, this passionfruit was left hanging. Generally, the ripe passionfruit falls off the vine when ready. Purple passionflower is an Ohio native and one of the most unique flowers that can be seen in our area so be sure to visit again in August to see them in bloom!

Throughout the winter, expect to see mushrooms pop up any time the temperature gets above freezing like over this next week. Pictured here is some very faded deadly galerina that likely grew just before the weather got very cold. Along with deadly galerina, you can expect to run into mushrooms like wood ear, amber jelly roll, witch’s butter, and velvet foot during the winter.

Although the bird seed does a great job drawing in hungry critters in the Bird Watching Garden, the importance of the heated fountain can’t be overstated. Birds (and squirrels) need water and when temperatures drop below freezing it can be hard to come by.