Broadleaf Plantain Plantago major. The broad, (2”) cross-hatched 7 veined leaves are up to 10” long, bearing large bare flower spike (396) The flower spike is short (3-4”), the flower head cylindrical (not cone shaped) and the white anthers barely project beyond the profuse bracts that hide the miniscule, green flowers, giving the bloom head a scaly look. Most common along paths, PDU, PL, roadsides (396) no pix 4/10/15-5/20/15; 4/17/16- ; 17 no obs; 4/?/18; 19 no obs; 20 no obs;
Johnny-Jump-Up Violet (Wild Pansy) Viola tricolor. This soft stemmed plant is occasionally perennial, but in most zones is a self-seeding annual. An immigrant from the Mediterranean, this violet ranges in color from solid yellow to dark purple, the most common pattern being painted, purple lip with yellow stripes, the petals split between yellow and lavender. The elongated leaves, which have coarsely toothed margins, alternate along a squared, somewhat trailing stem. The parent stock of commercial pansies, V tricolor produces viable seeds. This wild stock bears 3/8” flowers on long stems, one at a time. An uncommon visitor, this wild pansy escaped cultivation, and no occasionally blooms along forest margins, like Sunset Walk. Not in books. 3/15/19-3/29/19; 20 no obs;
Note; Johnny Jump Up, or Wild Pansy, single 3/8″ blue flowers with white stripes radiating from a yellow center, born in slow succession on long stems
Note; elongated, coarsely toothed leaves alternating along squared, slightly trailing stems
Note; blue, 5 petal flowers born singly in slow succession.
note; buds forming within deep bracts at leaf nodes
Bluet; Rose Bluet Hustonia rosea (Hedyotis rosea). A tiny, early blooming plant common in lawns, or spaces where vegetation suffers winter die back. The entire plant grows no more than 2” high, each stalk bearing a single, upright, cup-shaped flower with four petals ranging from bright blue to pale lavender to white. Each flower appears to have a yellow cross in the middle, where the stamen form. The tiny, rounded leaves, born in opposite pairs along thin stems, are slightly succulent, and lacking petioles, clasp the soft stems. the weakly upright, weakly branching stems loosely grow between stems of dormant grass. New buds emerge from the crown of the plant as it grows. Lawns (Not in Book) 2/12/19 – ; 2/18/20 – 3/22/20;
Note; light blue, four petal flowers born singly on very short stems
Cheat Grass; Bromus tectorum (Drooping Brome); an invasive annual winter grass from Europe and North Africa, with sparse, short blades, jointed stems and drooping panicles of tightly packed seeds, Cheat Grass takes over disturbed or overgrazed range land. Cheat Grass germinates in the Fall or Winter, grows rapidly in the Spring, and dies and sets seed by early summer, creating fire hazards where it covers the ground. It is said to “cheat” by stealing winter moisture, as it has already germinated and grown shallow roots by Spring thaw, and in that it creates the appearance of plentiful, green fodder, only to dry up and turn unpalatable by summer. It is easily crowded out by local plants if range land is managed without overgrazing, and periodically burnt off.
Cheat Grass habit; small clumps of annual, jointed stems rising from a shallow root system that produces short, drooping panicles of densely packed seeds, which mature by Summer.
Note; like Winter Wheat, Cheat Grass germinates in the Fall, grows a shallow, but profuse root system during the Winter, and uses up most of the surface moisture by summer, when it goes to seed.
Note; Cheat Grass creates an illusion of verdant green, which dries up and dies by Summer.
Foxtail Grass; Setaria viridis (Green Foxtail/Bristlegrass); a short to mid-sized annual bunch-grass that produces clumps of thin, jointed stems lined with wide, relatively short blades, producing spikes of very fuzzy looking, dense seed-heads. This species was introduced from Europe, and is closely related to finger millet, as can be guessed from the rounded seeds and the short beard hairs that protect the spikes from birds. It is too short, and lacks the deep roots to compete with native grasses, but readily colonizes disturbed ground or open soil. The seeds are readily consumed by birds, if they can get to them without the beards poking them in the eyes. The wide, soft green blades, and the fluffy seed heads make this grass a fun looking plant.
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Green Foxtail Grass habit; a medium height bunch grass with short, wide, soft green blades that produces fluffy spikes of round seeds that droop.
Note; tight bunches of stems produce a brush of bristly seed heads
Stinkhorn; Mutinus sp; a genus of strange, light orange-pink mushroom which emerges from the ground like a hollow tube, collectively labeled Stinkhorn for thier bad smell. Like most mushrooms, they form as an egg like volva in the ground, which splits open as a hollow tube grows some 3-4” inches in one night. Unlike most other mushrooms, most Stinkhorn do not form a cap, just a head that oozes a sticky, black, foul smelling gunk, some species draping the tip in a thin filament like hood or veil. Fading after a couple days, the tube collapses and disappears. Most often found in gardens, but also along paths and in forest litter.
Stinkhorn habit; a hollow tube, lacking a cap, sometimes with a veil, which has a bad smell and lasts only a couple days.
Note; a thin veil may drape the head
Note; the black ooze on the head, with a foul odor
Note; stalk emerges from a ground level volva
Note; hollow, spongy, pink-orange tube that emerges from shallow vulva in the ground
Mushroom; Boletus Mushroom Boletus sp; this genus of large, heavy bodied mushrooms has no ring or collar around the stem, and is distinct in that the under-surface is not composed of gills, as is true of many other mushrooms but is porous, and sponge-like. The local species has an almost glossy, reddish cap, nearly 3” across, mounted on a thick central stem up to 4” tall. The thick, spongy cap often shows signs of having been nibbled by mice, often a sign that the mushroom is edible. Many Boletus are edible, but mice also nibble some mushrooms which are hallucinogenic, or toxic to people. Imagine a mouse high on shrooms! Reepejeep? Boletus only emerge when the ILC has experienced prolonged rains. They prefer forests which have been stable for long enough to accumulate deep leaf litter.
Boletus Mushroom habit; a large, heavy bodied mushroom with a thick, spongy cap that lacks gills, mounted on a stem that has no ring.
Note; no ring around the stem
Note; the glossy brick-red cap
Note; no gills on the under-surface of the cap
Note; signs of mice nibbling the cap are common, though that does not guarantee they are safe for humans
Common Yarrow (Milfoil) Achillea millefolium. This tall stemmed, somewhat pithy plant with slightly grooved, fuzzy stalks rises from a rosette of compound pinnate, fern-like leaves that are rounded, rather than pointed on the ends. Leaf petioles clasp the stalk, a filamentous sheath wrapping around the entire node. The stalk is divided at conspicuous nodes, stems arranged in an alternating spiral at each node. Pithy stems terminate in a compound umbel of small, white flowers, nestled in a rosette of pinnate, bract like leaflets. Each flower is composed of 5 white petals and 5 stamen tip with white anthers, all centered around a bare yellow disk with a towering, smooth pistol. Each petal is divided in two. Flowers convert to a mass of sticky (Velcro) seed capsules that cling to hair or clothing, but which are much larger than Hedge Parsley. Lawns, PDU, PL (108) 4/20/15-5/20/15; 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 no obs;
Common Yarrow habit; beginning as a rosette of fine, compound pinnate leaves with rounded tips, stem leaves arranged in an alternating spiral around the grooved, hairy stalk, terminating in a compound umbel of small white flowers
Note; compound umbels of small, white flowers and stamen tipped with white anthers, arranged around a bare yellow center
Note; each petal is split in two
Note; fine compound pinnate leaves clasp the grooved stems, a filamentous sheath wrapped around the leaf nodes
Note; dense cluster of stick-tight seed capsules, nestled in a rosette of fine, pinnate leaflets
Woolywhite (Old Plainsman) Hymenopappus artemisiifolius. A pithy stemmed flower over 2” tall, which begins as a rosette of coarse, narrow, compound pinnate leaves in which the pointed end leaflet is longer and more lance-like than side leaflets. Leaves have no stem but do not clasp the stiff stalk. As the smooth stalk grows, the leaves are arranged in an alternating spiral around it, becoming less complex toward the top. The loose inflorescence branches frequently from leaf nodes in a spiral pattern, dividing into sprays of small flower heads. Each head is composed of tiny, white, papery flowers with yellow centers, so tightly clustered they look like one large, complex flower. Pistols and stamen protrude beyond the flowers. PL, PDU (100) 4/17/16-6/15/16; 4/7/17- ; 4/22/18; 4/28/19; 4/11/20
Wooleywhite habit; a rosette of deeply pinnate leaves that produces a tall, pithy stalk with alternate, pinnate leaves, turning into a branching flower spike composed of clusters of small, papery, white flowers
Note; the inflorescence branches readily at leaf axils, each side spike bearing dense heads of tiny, white flowers
Note; narrow, deeply pinnate leaves in which the center lobe much longer than the side lobes, arranged in an alternating spiral around smooth, pithy stems
Note; sprays divide into stems tipped with tight flower head, which look like a complex flower, but which are composed of papery, white flowers with yellow centers
Note; pistol and stamen protrude beyond the ends of the tiny flowers
Pringle’s Woolyleaf Eriophylum pringlei. This miniaturized, fuzzy, grey-green plant of roadsides or heavily mowed areas rarely looks like a succulent and is rarely more than 3” tall. Several stems arise from the same rhizome like root system, rarely branching, but retaining a crowded, compact form. The short, elliptical leaves are densely clustered around the soft stems in a tight spiral, the uppermost leaves surrounding a dense cluster of tiny yellow-white flowers. Seed capsules are tiny pods with 3-4 holes, like salt shakers, from which the miniscule seeds are shaken out when struck by rain drops or disturbed by passing feet. (206 Soccer, roads, path edges, PL.) 4/28/15-5/20/15; 4/15/16; 17 not recrd; 4/22/18; 4/7/19; 20 not recrd;
Pringle’s Wooleyleaf habit; very short, grey-green, fuzzy miniature that tolerates mowing, the alternating spiral of thick leaves supporting a compact head of tiny, yellowish flowers
Note; dense clusters of small, fuzzy, elliptical, grey green leaves which end in terminal bunch of flowers
Note; the thick leaves resemble a succulent
Note; dense bunches of tiny yellow flowers embedded in rosettes of fuzzy leaves
Note; seed capsules are punctuated with 3-4 tiny holes, like salt shakers
Trail Trotter's Flower Guide 