Restoring The Landscape With Native Plants: December 2010

Native Plant of the Week: Wild Bergamot ~ Monarda fistulosa

Wild Bergamot ~ Monarda fistulosa
Other Common Name: Wild Beebalm

Wild bergamot is a great native perennial plant that thrives in full to part sun. The light pink tubular flowers are arranged in clusters at the top of the stem. The fragrant gray-green leaves are opposite on the square stems.

This native flowers from late June to early August in Minnesota. The flowers are nectared upon by many types of insects, especially those with long 'tongues', as well as hummingbirds.

Day flying moths will nectar on Wild Bergamot. This photo shows the Hummingbird Clearwing Moth (Hemaris thysbe) nectaring. I have also seen the Snowberry Clearwing Moth on the Wild Bergamot.

Read an earlier post here on these moths.

Many types of butterflies like Wild Bergamot, we will often have several Monarch Butterflies on our Bergamot. Skippers and swallowtails also like to nectar on this native.

Wild bergamot is a larval host for one of our local moths, the Hermit Sphinx moth (Lintneria eremitus). The Hermit Sphinx moth caterpillars feed at night and will hide during the day near the base of the foodplant. (Moths & Caterpillars of the North Woods)

Also look for several types of bees on the Wild Bergamot.

Wild Bergamot was used extensively by Native Americans for many purposes. One of the most well known is the use of the leaves as a tea.

Other enthobotanic uses included culinary and medicinal uses. Read more about these on the USDA Plants Database Fact Sheet.

In the late fall the seed will be sought out by chickadees and sparrows. The dried round seedheads are an attractive feature in the garden alongside prairie grasses that are turning their golden hues in the fall.

Wild Bergamot is native to most of North America except California, Florida and the Atlantic provinces. The similar east coast native Monarda didyma has been cultivated by the horticultural industry as an ornamental. The other common Monarda species in our area is Monarda fistulosa (Spotted Beebalm). Read an earlier post about this plant.

Name That Native Plant - Quiz 8

Do you know what native plant this is?

Post your reply.

That's Invasive? Winged Burning Bush ~ Euonymus alatus

Winged Burning Bush ~ Euonymus alatus

Native to: Asia

Best Method of Removal: Cut and treat woody stems with glyphosate, hand pull seedlings

Interim Measures: Cut back after flowering to prevent seed formation

Native Alternatives: Serviceberries (Amelanchier species), Black Chokeberry, Downy Arrowwood Viburnum, Nannyberry Viburnum, Winterberry

Winged Burning Bush is a very common landscape shrub, valued for its bright red fall color. Its wings or corky ridges on the stems are also one of its distinguishing features.

I just started to notice Winged Burning Bush in woodlands in Minnesota last year. Working in a local park flagging native plants, I came across several seedlings.

This year I have found several seedlings and mature plants in local parks in Carver and Hennepin county.

Several seedlings were pulled out of my own yard this fall too. Many of my neighbors have this shrub in their landscape.

Like many other invasive shrubs, the seedlings hold their leaves longer than native species, so it is easy to spot these intruders in the late fall.

James H. Miller, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org

Winged Burning Bush flowers in the spring, the flowers are small, four petaled and light yellow. The resulting red fruit is attractive to birds who help to distribute this plant into natural and disturbed areas. "Once established, it can form dense thickets that displace native vegetation." (Invasive Plant Atlas)

I took this photo this fall. It's of a fairly mature Winged Burning Bush growing in the deciduous understory of a Carver County park.

Around this shrub were about a dozen seedlings ranging from 4-18 inches in height.

Leslie J. Mehrhoff, University of Connecticut, Bugwood.org

This image was taken of an infestation in northeastern United States where this shrub has been become an acute problem.

Link to Interactive Map

The EDDMapS map shows only reported cases. If you see Winged Burning Bush in your area, notify your local county or State DNR.

More Info:
Forest Service Fact Sheet
Pennsylvania DNR
Wisconsin DNR

Native Plant of the Week: Bottlebrush Grass ~ Elymus hystrix (Hystrix patula)

Bottlebrush Grass ~ Elymus hystrix (Hystrix patula)

Bottlebrush grass is aptly named for its long floral spikes that resemble a bottle brush. This grass is one of the most shade tolerant tall native grasses. It can be found growing in woodland understories as well as along the edges of woodlands or savannas in partial shade on upland sites.

The lemmas at the base of the pairs of spikelets are white to gray-green in color which helps make the spikes stand out in shady locations.

The leaf blades of this grass are a nice blue-gray in color about an half inch in width. Bottlebrush grass grows from 30 to 60 inches in height, depending on the type of soil. It is a fairly upright grass in habit, the lower blades can be floppy but the flower stalks are sturdy and stay erect into the fall.

The leaf blades can be heavily browsed upon by deer, rabbits and even dogs. My dog seeks out this grass in our yard over any other grass or sedge. I will sometimes place some chicken wire around the base until the grass starts to flower in late June/early July. I would guess that it is also used as a livestock forage.

Northern Pearly Eye Butterfly
Enodia antedon

According to the Illinois Wildflowers website the caterpillars of the Northern Pearly Eye butterfly (Enodia anthedon) feed on this grass. Also two types of moths, Cosmiotes illectella and Leucania pseudargyria.

You will most often see the Northern Pearly Eye in shaded habitats perched on tree trunks and fluttering through the understory fairly low to the ground. The caterpillar is light green with two reddish horns on its head and rear.

Bottlebrush grass is native to the United States from South Dakota south to Kansas and eastwards.

There are a couple of defined varieties, E. hystrix var. hystrix and E. hystrix var. bigeloviana. The latter has pubescent lemmas. (Illinois Wildflowers)

Bottlebrush grass can be found for sale at many native plant nurseries. Seed and plugs are availble from Prairie Moon Nursery, 3 inch pots from Natural Shore Technologies, and 1 gallon pots from Outback Nursery.

Name That Native Plant - Quiz 7

Do you know what native plant this is?

Post your reply.

More photo clues will be posted later.

The red fruit are oily and have a strong orange/citrus odor.

Sharp triangular thorns.

Answer: Prickly Ash ~ Zanthoxylum americanum

Compound leaves. Bright yellow to orange fall color.

This is a small tree/large shrub that is an early successional species, occuring in edges of woodlands and fields, and old pastures.

It can reach heights of about 20 feet, but more often 12 feet in our area. You will find this tree in suckering colonies.

White Lined Sphinx Moth and Native Foodplants

Image © John Davis

White Lined Sphinx Moth ~ Hyles lineata
I have only seen the White Lined Sphinx moth once in Minnesota. It is a very beautiful Sphinx moth with pink striped hind wings and distinguishing white stripes down the forewings and thorax.

Habitat & Lifecycle

This moth does not overwinter in its northern range (in Minnesota), adults actually migrate north from the south. In Minnesota, there's only one generation per year. (Moths & Caterpillars of the North Woods)

Image © Patrick Dockens

Most often found in fields, deserts and rangelands. (Caterpillars of Eastern North America)

White Lined Sphinx moths occasionally nectar in the afternoon, but more often you will see them at dusk and into the night. (Moths & Caterpillars of the North Woods)

The caterpillar is brightly colored in black, yellow and green, with this combination of colors in varying degrees.

MAJOR NATIVE FOODPLANTS FOR THE WHITE LINED SPHINX MOTH
This moth is less of a specialist than the other moths I have already highlighted. But in its northern range (Minnesota) caterpillars favor Oenothera species, specifically Evening Primrose. (Moths & Caterpillars of the North Woods)

Common Evening Primrose ~ Oenothera biennis
Common Evening Primrose is found in medium to dry soils in full to part sun. This plant was photographed on a short grass remnant where it grew to about 15 inches in height. In richer soils, Evening Primrose can get much taller.

The large four petaled yellow flowers emerge in mid to late July in Minnesota and can continue flowering into early September. This plant can behave as both a biennial and perennial.

Other Oenothera species in the upper Midwest are O. oakesiana, O. villosa, O. parviflora, O. perennis, O. rhombipetala and O. pilosella.
Seeds for some of these species are available from Prairie Moon Nursery.

Native Plant of the Week: Pennsylvania Sedge ~ Carex pensylvanica

Pennsylvania Sedge ~ Carex pensylvanica

Other Common Names: Penn Sedge, Yellow Sedge, Early Sedge

Pennsylvania Sedge is quite common in our woodlands in central Minnesota. Like many sedges, to the untrained eye they are mistaken for a type of grass. Penn Sedge flowers early - mid to late April in central Minnesota. It is a clump forming sedge that spreads by rhizomes.

This sedge is about 4-8 inches in height with narrow blades that fall over later in the summer. The base of the blade is reddish in color.

Penn Sedge habitat includes mesic to dry woodlands in deep shade as well as upland habitats in nearly full sun. We have some thriving underneath our large white pine in the yard. This photo shows it growing in a shaded woodland along with yellow violets, virginia waterleaf and star-flowered false solomon's seal.

In this photo, a large clump is growing under mature red maples. This clump enlarged quite quickly in this park after the European Buckthorn was cut.

Wildlife Value: "(Penn Sedge) provides cover for migratory waterfowl and sandhill cranes. Ducks use (this sedge) for nesting material and some cover. It also provides nesting habitat, cover, and dancing grounds for sharptail grouse and prairie chickens." (US Forest Service Database)

You can find the seed for sale but it is very difficult to propagate Penn Sedge from seed. Your best bet is to buy small plugs to get some established. It's a nice native sedge for dry soils and/or areas under trees where you are having a hard time getting anything else established.
NOTE: It can spread quickly in disturbed soils without competition from other plants.

Name That Native Plant - Quiz 6

Do you know what native plant this is?

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White Striped Black Moth and Native Foodplants

Image © Jason Dombroskie

White Striped Black Moth ~ Trichodezia albovitatta
This tiny (1 inch wide) black and white moth is also a day flying moth. I have only seen this moth a couple of times, the most recent was in our yard this summer in late June.

Habitat & Lifecycle: Mesic to wet woodlands and forest edges where foodplants grow. (BugGuide.net) Two generations per year, pupa overwinters and moth emerges in early May. "This moth has very sensitive 'bat detectors' (ears) suggesting that it has become day flying relatively recently." (Moths & Caterpillars of the North Woods, J. Sogaard)

Image © Charley Eiseman

The light green caterpillar has a distinctive black stripe across the face and down the thorax. (BugGuide.net)

MAJOR NATIVE FOODPLANTS FOR THE WHITE STRIPED BLACK MOTH

The three major foodplants for this moth are Impatiens, Thalictrum and Epilobium species.

Impatiens species

Impatiens pallida ~ Yellow Jewelweed (Touch Me Not)

This is a common annual native along wetland margins and riparian edges. These two Impatiens species like wet soils in a variety of exposures from full sun to shade.

The Yellow Jewelweed flowers later in the summer starting in July. A large stand of Jewelweed is a great place to watch for multiple hummingbirds nectaring, and also buzzing each other protecting territories.

Impatiens capensis ~ Spotted Jewelweed (Touch Me Not)

The Spotted Jewelweed flowers earlier in the summer starting in June. Jewelweeds produce seed pods that when touched will break open and shoot their seeds a large distance.

For this reason, once you have Jewelweed in your yard, it will almost always reseed and return the following season. It can be aggressive in moist soils but it is easy to pull out with its shallow roots so you can maintain a desired hostplant patch.

Thalictrum species

Thalictrum dioicum ~ Early Meadow Rue

This woodland native is common in mesic to dry shade. It flowers early (late April, early May in Minnesota) from stalks anywhere from 1 to 2 feet tall. The dangling male stamens flutter in the wind giving the flower a unique appearance.

The leaf margins are soft and wavy and a nice feature when it's not in flower.

Thalictrum dasycarpum ~ Tall Meadow Rue

This native is common in wet to mesic habitats along wetlands and in ditches in full to part sun. It flowers later than the Early Meadow Rue, June through early July in Minnesota.

As the common name suggests, it is very tall reaching 3 to 5 feet in height.

Epilobium species

Epilobium angustifolium ~ Fireweed (Great Willow Herb)

I most often see this native growing in moist ditches along roadsides in full to partial sun. It is one of the first plants to establish after a burn thus its common name.

The 4 parted medium pink flowers open from the bottom upwards on the raceme. It flowers from late June through August.

Fireweed can reach heights anywhere from 2 to 6 feet. It can spread aggressively through its rhizomes.

Native Plant of the Week: American Basswood ~ Tilia americana

American Basswood ~ Tilia americana

It's hard to miss the large bright red buds of American Basswood this time of year while walking in the woods. This native tree is fairly common in our area in central Minnesota. At the local park, it is one of the dominant trees along a wooded ridge on both the east and especially the west slopes. It grows in the understory of oaks and elms and is fairly shade tolerant.

In this same park there a few American Basswood trees that are close to 4 feet in diameter which is pretty large for their mature size.

Most often you will see 1-2 foot diameter trunks, arranged in a cluster with a main trunk and several suckering leaders around the base.

The younger Basswood bark is smooth and light gray, as the tree matures the bark becomes narrowly furrowed. Basswood trees can reach over 100 feet tall in good habitats. These habitats include low lying areas in "alluvial soil in river corridors, especially on slightly elevated portions of floodplains that are just beyond the reach of repeated or long-duration spring flooding and sedimentation." (Trees & Shrubs of Minnesota)

American Basswood have large heart-shaped leaves, with serrated edges. The leaves can get as wide as 5 inches. They have been referred to as 'lumberjack toilet paper' for their convenient size.

This photo shows a young Basswood seedling growing in my yard. Note the interestingly shaped first leaves.

Basswood flowers are extremely fragrant and attract many insects. The five petaled yellowy-white flowers open in our area in early July and hang downwards in a cluster (cyme) from a flat bract.

Basswood flowers in midsummer instead of in the spring like other canopy trees in Minnesota, relying on being pollinated by insects rather than wind. (Trees & Shrubs of Minnesota)

Image Source: USDA Database

North Dakota tree handbook.

The fruit is a round drupe and is "eaten by birds and small mammals". "The wood decays easily and produces many cavities (especially in trees past 120 years of age) which are used by cavity-nesting animals (wood ducks, pileated woodpeckers, other birds, and small mammals)". (USDA Plants Database Plantguide)

In the book The Forager's Harvest, the author Samuel Thayer writes that young unfurling Basswood leaves make one of the best salad greens.

American Basswood is native to eastern North America, from Saskatchewan south to Texas and eastwards. There are three subspecies, americana, caroliniana and heterophylla.
For distribution maps of these subspecies, see the USDA Plants Database website.

Name That Native Plant - Quiz 5

Do you know what native plant this is?

Post your reply.

Northern Shrikes

Northern Shrike ~ Lanius excubitor
The first time I saw a northern shrike was in an open grassy area in Carver County perched in a tree.

This bird has a distinctive black mask and white patches on the underside and top of its wings. These white patches are very noticeable when the bird is in flight. Northern Shrikes are just smaller than a blue jay in size.

We saw a few Northern Shrikes this November while walking in the local park. Just this weekend, we saw a shrike carrying off a smaller bird with a downy woodpecker flying after it in our yard.

Northern Shrikes migrate south from the arctic to Minnesota and other northern States for the winter. Shrikes are predators, catching mice and other rodents. They will impale their prey on sharp twigs or thorns on trees. I found the partially eaten remains on this ash tree last week.

"They are predatory songbirds with strong, hooked bills they use to kill and dismember prey (insects or small vertebrates, including birds, small mammals and reptiles)." (Sibley Guide to Birds)

They also have a distinctive song so keep your eyes and ears open this winter!
Here's a link to an audio recording of their song: Cornell Bird Sounds Library
Also a link to a video: Cornell Video

Native Plant of the Week: Blue Beech ~ Carpinus caroliniana

Blue Beech ~ Carpinus caroliniana subsp. virginiana

Other Common Names: Musclewood

This medium sized understory tree is a great native for a shaded, mesic to dry place in the landscape. I have seen this tree growing in upland slopes in deep shade (under mature hemlocks) in Ontario, and in field edges and understories in north central Wisconsin along with White Oak.

The smooth gray bark is one of the most distinguishing features of this tree, with a sinewy surface resembling a muscled arm. It is almost always a multistemmed tree, and if you purchase a single stemmed species it will most likely sucker new stems around the base.

The leaves of Blue Beech look very similar to Ironwood with coarsely serrated edges. This tree has separate male and female flowers (catkins) that emerge in early May. The resulting fruit (nutlet) begins to form in late May, and is surrounded by bracts. These bract clusters hang downwards and are another attractive feature of this tree.

Blue beech can reach heights of 30 feet, but most often you will see it under 20 feet in the wild in our area. "(M)ost blue beech in a mature forest originate as root suckers, not as seedlings. These suckers sprout from long horizontal roots that spread just beneath the surface." (Trees and Shrubs of Minnesota)

Another attractive feature of this tree is its fall color. It turns from green to yellow to a brilliant orange in late October.

The leaves do not drop in the fall and will cling to the branches through part of the winter much like Ironwood (Ostrya virginiana).

We planted a Blue Beech in our yard in 2007 which we purchased from Outback Nursery. It is in the lowest part of our yard growing in the shade of mature black cherries and oaks.

Minnesota is on the western edge of this tree's range. It is native to eastern North America from Ontario and Minnesota south to Arkansas and eastwards. The southern subspecies is C. caroliniana subsp. caroliniana.