Box-Elder is the only maple with compound leaves in Eastern North America. The leaves are pinnately compound and the margins of the leaflets may have a few large, unevenly distributed teeth. The winter twigs are glaucus with a purplish hue. It is a short lived, shrubby tree. The two halves of the winged fruit join at a sharp angle to form a V shape. There is a Box-Elder tree at the lower entrance to the wildflower display portion of the Green Trail at Rice Creek. You can also find Box-Elder at the edge of the mown field by the pond outlet channel.
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with opposite leaves
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Norway Maple is an introduction from Europe. It is commonly used as a street and lawn tree in cities and suburbs. It grows fast and has a compact form. However, it is short lived and subject to wind damage. There are a number of red leaved ornamental varieties. Norway Maple reproduces readily from seed and has invaded forests in the Oswego area. A specimen tree grows in the lawn adjacent to the parking lot at Rice Creek and some large trees grow at the edges of the woods. Colonies of Norway Maple established in the second growth forest tend to have very little herbaceous undergrowth. The leaves of Norway Maple are very similar to those of sugar maple but are slightly more rectangular in overall outline. The petiole of Norway Maple exudes a milky sap when it is broken from the branch. In late summer and early autumn, Norway Maple leaves often show the round, black lesions of the Ascomycete fungus Rhytisma acerinum (Tar Spot of Maple). Silver Maple and Red Maple may also be infected by the fungus, but Sugar Maple rarely is. The two halves of the fruit of Norway Maple are aligned in a straight line. The fruit of Sugar Maple is U shaped, and smaller than that of Norway Maple.
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Red Maple is a native tree of swamps and bogs. It also occurs in mixed upland forests on poorly drained soils. The terminal lobe of the Red Maple leaf forms a broad triangle and the margins of the leaf are finely toothed. Red Maple and Silver Maple both have red twigs in winter and produce clusters of small, bright red flowers in early spring before the leaves unfold. In Red Maples the flowers, though small, have evident petals. These are lacking in the flowers of Silver Maple. Look for Red Maples at Rice Creek along the margins of the wetland on the lower path through the wildflower area of the Green Trail and in poorly drained woods northeast of the upper sections of the power line right of way.
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Silver Maple occurs naturally in swamps where shallow water stands for much of the early part of the growing season and sometimes for the entire year. Though mostly restricted to swamps in the wild, it does well as an ornamental of yards and streets. It is a large, fast growing tree with a spreading crown. However, it is relatively short lived and large old street trees are subject to storm damage. Like Red Maple, it has red twigs in winter and produces clusters of small, bright red flowers in early spring. In contrast to Red Maple, the flowers of Silver Maple are without petals. The leaves are characterized by deep sinuses between the major lobes. The fruit is considerably larger than that of Red Maple and the two halves join in a broad V. Two Silver Maples are planted at the edge of the lawn by the pond north of the pavilion at Rice Creek. A few wild specimens have been found elsewhere in poorly drained woods.
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with opposite leaves
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Sugar Maple is the dominant tree of hardwood forests in Central New York. It is a large, slow growing, long lived tree. In the past it was a favorite lawn and roadside tree, but it is very susceptable to damage from road salt and soil compaction, and many well established roadside specimens have died over the past few decades. The lobes of the leaf bear a few large teeth but lack the finer teeth that characterize Red Maple and Silver Maple. Leaf shape is similar to that of Norway Maple, but more orbicular in total outline. Winter twigs and buds are brown. Flowers are pale green and produced after the tree leaves out in the spring. The two halves of the fruit join to form an open U.
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with opposite leaves
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A coarse annual weed of tropical American origin with a dense terminal cluster of tiny greenish flowers interspersed with rigid, sharp-pointed bracts. Smaller clusters of flowers may occur at the base of the upper leaves. This is a very common weed of vegetable gardens and recently disturbed soils. It sometimes grows on bare soil beneath the bird feeders at Rice Creek.
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Staghorn Sumac is an early succession species. If allowed to grow unhindered, the root system spreads symmetrically sprouting new shoots at its margins. The result is a dome shaped clone with the oldest, tallest stems in the center and shorter, younger ones at the edges. Well established Staghorn Sumac clones can be found at the north end of the mown field along Rice Creek below the pond and where the red trail crosses the hedgerow at the south end of the mown field at the top of the hill. Dead or dying clones persist in the young woods south of the northern section of the blue trail where it runs east and west along the old farm lane and along the upper parts of the green trail. Staghorn Sumac is polygamo-dioecious, some clones with perfect (bisexual) flowers and some with unisexual flowers, which explains why only certain clones produce clusters of red fruits. This is NOT poison sumac, which is a plant of swamps and fens in our region.
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with compound alternate leaves
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Poison Ivy is abundant at Rice Creek. It is one of two woody vine-like plants (lianas) (the other being Virginia Creeper) that may be seen attaching to tree trunks and other vertical supports by means of roots or root-like tendrils growing from the stem. In Poison Ivy these are thin, reddish brown roots that may completely cover the surface of older stems. The compound leaves of Poison Ivy have three leaflets with entire or irregularly toothed margins. Plants of T. radicans rarely flower on the ground. When the vines grow up tree trunks, they produce gracefully sweeping elongate branches that bear abundant flowers and fruit. The small white fruits persist into the winter and are eaten by some birds. All parts of the plant, at any season of the year, can cause dermatitis in sensitive people.
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with compound alternate leaves
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This Eurasian plant is used as a ground cover or foundation planting. It is particularly suited to moist, partially shaded situations. Most cultivated forms have variegated leaves with white margins. It spreads by means of subterranian rhizomes and is difficult to eradicate once it is established. Variegated Bishop's Weed grows around the base of some of the trees in the lawn at Rice Creek. A colony of the green leaved form grows along Brownell Road at the edge of the Wildflower Area.
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Flowers
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This annual herbof European origin reproduces easily from its own seed in a cultivated garden. The finely divided foliage, tiny yellow florwers, and odor are characteristic. The leaves are used as flavoring in a wide variety of dishes. The seeds are stronger flavored and used in making dill pickles as well as seasoning with sauerkraut and other foods. It is grown in the herb garden at Rice Creek.
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Angelica can be distinguished from many members of the parsley family by its globose as opposed to flat topped inflorescence. A. archangelica is native to Europe and Asia. A native species (A. atropurpurea) related to our herb garden plant grows in some open wetlands in Central New York and reaches an impressive height of over two meters. Angelica has been grown from time to time in the herb garden.
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Chervil is an annual garden herb used as a delicate seasoning or garnish. It originates from western Asia. Its lacy leaves are lightly anise flavored. It is grown most years in the Rice Creek herb garden.
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The water-hemlocks, Cicuta bulbifera and C. maculata are reputed to be the most violently poisonous plants of the United States. They are wetland plants, often growing in shallow water. C. bulbifera reproduces mostly by small bulbs produced in the axils of the finely divided leaves.
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Coriander is an annual garden herb from Southern Europe. It is grown most years in the herb garden at Rice Creek. Its fresh leaves are sometimes called Cilantro or Chinese Parsley. The dry seeds are used whole or ground in pickling blends and to flavor a variety of dishes. The white flowers are produced in abundance in mid summer.
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This native of Europe is probably the most wide spread and widely recognized species of the celery family in North America. If in doubt, recognize it by its bristly seeds clustered in the closed ball of the mature inflorescence. The cultivated carrot is a race of this species.
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Fennel is an anise flavored garden herb from Southern Europe. The foliage is soft and feathery. The variety in the herb garden at Rice Creek has dark colored foliage. Fresh leaves and dried seed are used as flavoring. Some varieties are grown for the close packed, expanded leaf bases which are eaten raw or cooked.
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Lovage is a perennial, European garden herb that adds a strong, celery like flavor to salads, soups, and stews. It is a robust plant growing from three to seven feet tall.
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Sweet Cicely is a European herb with anise-scented, fern-like leaves. The tiny white flowers are followed by rather large, elongate fruits that split into one-seeded segments. The seeds, roots, and leaves are all used in cooking.
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Parsley comes from Central and Northern Europe. This is the curled leaved parsley commonly used as a flavoring or garnish. It is a biennial, producing usable foliage during its first season of growth and developing flowering shoots early in the second season.
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Parsley comes from Central and Northern Europe. This broad leaved variety is used as a seasoning in cooked dishes. It has a somewhat stronger flavor than the curly leaved variety.
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This is a wetland plant with distinctive singly pinnate leaves. Young, submerged leaves are divided into numerous narrow segments. Look for this plant in the marshes and swamps on the west side and upstream of the pond.
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The stems of Spreading Dogbane are spreading and often do not continue a single main axis into the upper, branched part of the plant. The flowers are nodding, open, and pink tinged with the tips of the petals spreading or reflexed. Leaves are petiolate and often drooping. A tuft of hairs is attached to each seed. Dogbane can be found along the bike trail (Orange Trail) near its juncture with the Blue Trail and on the Red Trail at the top of the hill where it turns to go around Hilton Pond..
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The stems of Indian Hemp (Hemp Dogbane) are erect with a well defined main axis. The flowers are erect, white or greenish white, with the tips of the petals erect or slightly divergent. Leaves are nearly sessile and erect. A tuft of hairs is attached to each seed. Indian Hemp grows in the clearing on the branch off the Green Trail heading towards Fallbrook Farm.
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Periwinkle is a creeping ground cover that persists at abandoned house sites and establishes itself as an escape along roadsides and in open woods. It has glossy, dark green opposite leaves and blue flowers 2 or 3 cm across. A colony of periwinkle grows on the north bank of Brownell Road just west of point where the Green Trail emerges from the wildflower area.
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Winterberry is a deciduous wetland shrub sometimes grown as an ornamental. Two specimens are incorporated into the landscape planting along the wooden fence on the east side of the building at Rice Creek. These horticultural specimens have a leaf shape that is longer and narrower than most wild material in our area. The native form grows along the edge of the point of land directly across Rice Pond from the main building at the Field Station. Female plants are easy to pick out from the the mass of gray shrubbery in winter swamps because of their persistent, bright red fruits.
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with simple alternate leaves
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Ginseng is a plant of rich, mature hardwood forests. Local populations have been decimated by over collecting. Specimens were planted in the wild flower area at Rice Creek but have not been seen there since 2004. Flowering is in the late spring with the red fruits ripening in early fall.
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Swamp Milkweed grows in open marshes and wet meadows. The flowers are pink to reddish in color. Leaves are opposite, relatively narrow and tapering towards the tip. The sap is milky. The plant is glabrous or only sparsely hairy. Swamp Milkweed grows in wet areas where the blue trail emerges onto the south side of the middle field at Rice Creek and along the margins of the flooded wetland beyond the south end of the board walk on the Green Trail as well as other wet meadows and marshes.
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This is the robust Milkweed of fields and roadsides. The leaves are opposite, broad and softly hairy on the under surface. Flowers are light purple to greenish. The sap is milky. The plant spreads by deeply buried rhizomes. Look for it in parts of the mown fields at Rice Creek.
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This is a Milkweed that does not have milky sap. It is a plant of well drained sandy soils. It has narrow leaves that are alternate on the main stems but may be opposite on the upper branches. The flowers are a distinctive bright orange. It is an attractive ornamental in the garden along the entry walk at Rice Creek, with clusters of stems developing from a deep tap root. Once planted it rarely survives transplanting. It does not grow naturally at Rice Creek.
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Pale Swallow-Wort was unrecognized in our flora until the 1980's, specimens previously being identified as the much less common Black Swallow-Wort. Species of this genus are native to temperate Eurasia. In the 1980's and 90's, Pale Swallow-Wort began to spread aggressively along roadsides and in second growth woodlands. Once established the dense foliage and closely crowded vines overwhelm all other herbaceous vegetation. Recognize it by its dark green, opposite leaves, viney growth form, peculiar flowers, and fruits that look like pairs of miniature Milkweed pods. Three colonies of Pale Swallow-Wort were found along the Orange Trail at Rice Creek in 2003. All were treated with herbicide and monitoring for reoccurrence or new invasions continues.
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Fernleaf Yarrow is an Oriental plant with finely divided leaves and small, yellow-rayed heads densely packed into flat topped clusters. The flowering stalks are often used in dried floral arrangements. It is grown in the bed along the privacy fence behind the staff parking area at Rice Creek.
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The Common Yarrow is characterized by its small, white-rayed flower heads clustered into a flat-topped inflorescence and its very finely divided leaves. Look for it along trails in the open fields at Rice Creek. A vigorous colony can usually be found in the strip of lawn behind the staff parking area, though most of the plants here will be mown. Pink and red-rayed forms are cultivated and occassionally escape. Achillea millefolium is a complex species consisting of many polyploid races with an overall distribution that is circumboreal.
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This Eurasian species has simple, nearly entire, alternate leaves. A cultivated form in which white petaled ray flowers comprise most of the head has been grown in the garden along the entrance walk to the building at Rice Creek. A colony of escapees can be seen in mid to late summer at roadside southeast of the junction of Thompson Road and Route 104.
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This is a woodland plant which flowers in late summer and autumn. The leaves are opposite, ovate in shape, and long stalked. The flowers are white in numerous small discoid (disk flowers only) heads in a large, flat topped or rounded inflorescence. White Snakeroot was the long unrecognized cause of a sometimes fatal disease that troubled early settlers, more in the midwest than in the east. Cattle on woodland pasture lacking better fodder would graze on White Snakeroot and concentrate a poison from the plant in their milk. Calves or humans that drank quantities of the milk would become ill, sometimes fatally, from what was known as "milk fever". One story has it that Abraham Lincoln's mother died of this disease.
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This annual weed sometimes shows up along the edge of the pavement in the parking area at Rice Creek. It can also be found at the edges of the gravel parking area at the Field Station entrance. It has pinnatifid leaves that are opposite on the lower stems and alternate on the upper branches. The tiny flowers are produced in inconspicuous unisexual heads. This species is the source of most of the allergenic pollen produced in late summer in our area.
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The pussytoes are characterized by their small, soft flower heads reminiscent of a soft bursh or the densely furred toes of a kitten. Antennaria neglecta is a small plant with leaves less than 1.5 cm. wide. The plant spreads by means of horizontal stems (stolons) growing along the surface of the ground. The specimen illustrated was collected at Rice Creek in 1970.
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The pussytoes are characterized by their small, soft flower heads reminiscent of a soft bursh or the densely furred toes of a kitten. Antennaria plantaginifolia is distinguished from similar species by the relatively large size of its basal leaves. The underside of the leaves is densely covered with silvery white hairs. A colony of Plantain-Pussytoes grows along the edge of the Red Trail as it begins to drop down the hill south of Hilton Pond.
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This is a small, annual daisy with leaves divided into narrow segments. It is of European origin and is widespread as a weed of roadsides and other dry, disturbed sites. It was collected at Rice Creek in 1970 but has not been seen in recent years.
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A small, white flowered European daisy with feathery foliage and a spreading growth habit. The dried flowers are used for Chamomile tea. It has at times been grown in the herb garden at Rice Creek.
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A Eurasian member of the Thistle Tribe of the Aster Family, Burdock grows sparingly along trails at Rice Creek. It is a biennial, producing broad basal leaves in its first season. In the second season it puts up a flowering shoot with globose, bur-like flowering heads. The involucral bracts of the flowering head are tipped with velcro-like hooks that catch in fur or clothing to provide transport for the mature head, the seeds of which are shaken out as the bearer walks.
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Southernwood is a small aromatic European shrub with numerous, alternate, finely divided leaves. The numerous, small (2.5 - 3 mm) discoid, flowering heads are suspended from the stem on short stalks. Southernwood has traditionally been used as a moth repellant. A specimen has been grown in the herb garden at Rice Creek.
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Wormwood is a perennial herb introduced from Europe as a cultivated plant and often escaped. The leaves are covered with silvery hairs and twice or thrice pinnately compound. It has numerous small discoid heads which dangle from the branches of the inflorescence. It is a bitter herb traditionally used as a tonic and anthelmintic (medicine for intestinal round worms). It supplies the active ingredient of Absinthe. It grows in the herb garden at Rice Creek.
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This plant, native from Colorado south into Mexico, is grown as an ornamental for its distinctive, white-wooly foliage. It is grown in the herb garden and sometimes in the flower beds at Rice Creek.
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Also known as French Tarragon, this narrow leaved European perennial rarely opens its flowers and does not set seed. It is reproduced from cuttings or root divisions. It has a anise flavor and is a major seasoning in French cooking. It grows in the herb garden at Rice Creek
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This introduction from Eurasia spreads agressively by rhizomes in vacant lots, roadsides and similar habitats. Once established it is difficult to eradicate as any small bit of rhizome left in the ground will grow to be a new plant. A plant appeared on fill used in a culvert repair along the Rice Creek entry road in 2004. Soon after in came into flower the plant was photographed then pulled. A specimen was taken for the herbarium.
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This species of Bidens has opposite, simple, sessile leaves that are often connate at the base (bases of the two members of an opposite pair of leaves fused around the stem). Ray flowers have yellow petals. Rays may be missing from the heads, but are usually present and showy. The fruits have four (usually) sharp, barbed awns at their summit which catch in clothing or the fur of passing animals. Look for this species along the the pond shore and at the edges of the marsh off the south end of the board walks on the Green Trail.
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This is the smallest of our Beggar-Ticks. It has opposite, trifoliate leaves and discoid (no ray flowers), yellow flowered heads that are usually well under a centimeter in diameter. The fruits have two short, sharp, barbed awns at their summit which catch in clothing or the fur of passing animals. A colony of this species grows on the bank of the stream at the outlet of Rice Pond.
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This Bidens is distinguished by its opposite, pinnately compound leaves and relatively large (1 cm broad) discoid (lacking ray flowers) heads. The disk flowers are yellowish orange. The fruits have two sharp, barbed awns at their summit which catch in clothing or the fur of passing animals. This species can be found along the entrance road to Rice Creek and in open areas around the margins of the pond and the marsh upstream from the boardwalk on the Green Trail.
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This species has opposite, simple or three parted, usually petiolate, serrate margined leaves. The yellow flowered discoid heads are subtended by leafy bracts. The fruits have three or four sharp, barbed awns at their summit which catch in clothing or the fur of passing animals. Look for this species in open areas around the margins of the pond and the marsh upstream from the boardwalk on the Green Trail.
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The showy bright gold to orange rayed flower heads of this species from Southern Europe make it a favored garden plant. It is somewhat frost hardy and will continue flowering into the fall when other garden annuals or herbaceous perennials have faded. It is usually grown as an annual but may occasionally overwinter in a sheltered location. The "petals" (ray flowers) can be added to various foods to provide a safron color. The leaves may be added to salads. Pot Marigold is often grown in the herb garden at Rice Creek.
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A tall, perennial, violet flowered bachelor's button. C. jacea is a native of Europe and behaves as an aggressive weed in fields and along roadsides. It is a member of the thistle tribe of the Aster family. The flowering heads are discoid, but the marginal series of flowers is noticeably enlarged. It is found in abundance in parts the mown fields and along the edges of open sections of trails at Rice Creek.
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This is a clump forming, perennial, deep blue flowered bachelor's button. The flowering heads are discoid, but the marginal series of flowers is noticeably enlarged. It is a native of Europe, planted in the flower garden along the building entrance walk at Rice Creek.
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Chicory has light blue ligulate flower heads that open in the morning and close by midday at least on sunny days. It is a perennial, native to Europe, and established at roadsides and waste places across North America. White and pink flowered forms are occasionally found. It is sometimes included in the herb garden plantings at Rice Creek. It grows around the gravel parking lot at the entrance to Rice Creek Field Station.
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This is a perennial prickly thistle with numerous, relatively small (1 - 2 cm high) flower heads bearing closely packed pinkish purple (occasionally white) flowers. It is a native of Eurasia. Extensive colonies of this plant are formed from its widely spreading rhizomes and it can be a serious agricultural pest. Look for it at Rice Creek where the power lines cross the entrance road.
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Bull Thistle is a Eurasian biennial with very prickly leaves. The spiny leaf bases extend as decurrent wings down the stem. The purple heads are relatively large (2.5 - 4 cm high) with well developed spines on the tips of the involucral bracts (bracts surrounding the flowers). Individuals occur sporadically along trails, in the fields and the edges of the power line right of way.
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This is a weedy annual with alternate, simple leaves and many small flowering heads in a long, open inflorescence. The flowering head is only 3 - 4 mm tall. White or pinkish ray flowers are present but not easily seen as they scarcely project out from the involucre surrounding the flowers. Horseweed appears from time to time along the edge of the entry road or in other places where soil has been recently disturbed.
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Tickseeds have showy flower heads with yellow, pink or white rays sometimes marked with reddish-brown. Many species and varieties are grown as garden flowers. Look for them in the flower beds along the building entrance.
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Plains-Tickseed is a native of the southern and central Great Plains and is widely cultivated for its attractive flower heads. It is occasionally grown in the flower beds along the building entrance at Rice Creek
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This native of the Southwestern United States and Mexico is a popular flower bed annual. In some areas, it escapes from cultivation and may become a wide spread, colorful, but weedy plant. Cultivated materials range from dark pink to white. It is often grown in the flower beds at Rice Creek.
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This popular garden perennial is native to the prairies of Eastern and Central North America. The genus gets its name from the spiny nature of the central cone of the flower head. Purple Coneflower grows in the flower gardens at Rice Creek.
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This is an annual of dry woods and recently disturbed places. A colony was discovered in 2006 near the edge of an area of dead saplings with a dense undergrowth of Carex annectens and Epilobium parviflorum adjacent to the Orange Trail in the northern section of the Field Station properties.
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E. annuus and E. strigosus are very similar. Both are annual or biennial daisies with several modest sized flowering heads (18 - 24 mm across) bearing numerous fine white or occasionally pinkish or bluish ray flowers. They are closely related to Asters but begin flowering earlier in the season and differ, in our species, in having the involucral bracts all of the same length instead of overlapping with tips showing at various levels. E. annuus tends to be taller (on average), to have more ample foliage, and to have long, spreading hairs on the stem. E. strigosus tends to have sparser foliage and to have shorter and mostly appressed hairs along the middle part of the stem. Fleabane Daisies are plants of open, disturbed habitats. E. annuus is common along trails and roadsides at Rice Creek.
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This is a biennial or short-lived perennial daisy with flowering heads a bit larger than those of E. annuus or E. Strigosus. Each flower head has well over 100 ray flowers which range in color from deep pink to white. The base of the stem leaves extends to clasp around the stem. Common fleabane grows in the fields and along the trails and roadsides at Rice Creek.
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E. annuus and E. strigosus are very similar. Both are annual or biennial daisies with several modest sized flowering heads (18 - 24 mm across) bearing numerous fine white or occasionally pinkish or bluish ray flowers. They are closely related to Asters but begin flowering earlier in the season and differ, in our species, in having the involucral bracts all of the same length instead of overlapping with tips showing at various levels. E. annuus tends to be taller (on average), to have more ample foliage, and to have long, spreading hairs on the stem. E. strigosus tends to have sparser foliage and to have shorter and mostly appressed hairs along the middle part of the stem. Fleabane Daisies are plants of open, disturbed habitats. E. strigosus has been collected at Rice Creek but not seen in recent years.
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Boneset is a robust perennial of wet habitats easily recognized by its pecular perfoliate leaves. The leaves are actually opposite and the two members of each opposite pair are completely joined around the stem. The flowers are white in numerous small discoid (disk flowers only) heads arranged in a large, flat topped inflorescence. Boneset grows in many of the same habitats as Joe-Pye-Weed at Rice Creek and, like Joe-Pye-Weed, it flowers in late summer and autumn.
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Although Asters are generally thought of as plants of open habitats, this is a woodland species. It features white-rayed flower heads in a branching, more or less flat topped inflorescence and broad, serrate margined leaves with cordate bases. It grows naturally in the old growth hardwood forest at the farthest reach of the Red Trail and is well established at the southern end of the wildflower area where the trails come together before exiting the area to Brownell Road.
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This is a colonial woodland Aster that produces numerous low, non-flowering stems with broad, cordate, serrate margined leaves and occasional taller flowering stems. The ray flowers are white, often tinged light blue or violet. There is a colony of this Aster on the west side of the Orange Trail (Bicycle Trail) towards its north end.
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Euthamia is a segregate of the goldenrod genus Solidago, and is included in Solidago in some manuals and wildflower guides. E. graminifolia is a fall flowering perennial of open fields. Its small flowering heads each bear a few yellow disk and ray flowers and are concentrated into a branched, flat topped inflorescence. The leaves are alternate, narrow (3 - 12 mm wide), and triple nerved (with three prominent longitudinal nerves, one the midvein).
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Spotted Joe-Pye-Weed is a robust perennial herb of open wet meadows, ditches, and shallow marshes. Leaves are fairly large (over 2 cm wide) and arranged on the stem in whorls of 3 to 7 per node. The inflorescence is a large, dense, flat topped cluster of small flower heads each with roughly 10 - 20 purple to pale lavender disk flowers and no ray flowers. It flowers in late summer and autumn. It grows abundantly in the wet meadow habitat where the Blue Trail enters the south edge of the middle field as well as other open, wet habitats at Rice Creek.
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Jerusalem Artichoke is a perennial, late season sunflower with edible, tuberous rhizomes. Except for the annual sunflowers that sometimes escape from gardens and bird feeders, this is the only species of Helianthus commonly found in the Oswego area. It's natural range is described as including the eastern U. S. and Canada and west across the Great Plains. It is cultivated for the edible tubers. In our area it occurs commonly along roadsides, suggesting that the tubers may be distributed in the process of road construction. It grows near the lilac bush in front of the building at Rice Creek. It was also planted in the wildflower display area but seems to have died out there, perhaps for lack of sun.
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This is a small annual or biennial European plant now established as a weed of disturbed habitats. The small flowering heads are overtopped by the leaves attached just below them. The specimen illustrated was collected at Rice Creek in 1970
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Cat's Ear has medium sized ligulate heads of yellow flowers. The flowering heads are on thin, wiry, usually non-hairy stalks which are often branched. Leaves are hairy, toothed or pinnately lobed, in a dense basal rosette. The mature fruits are tipped by a long, thin beak. This Eurasian species is a common weed of drier lawns. It flowers in late summer and fall.
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This is a tall (6-20 dm) annual or biennial with milky sap and pinnately lobed or merely toothed leaves. The toothed or shallowly lobed leaves are hairless or hairy only on the underside of the main veins. The numerous, small, ligulate flower heads are born in a terminal, branched inflorescence. The flowers are usually light blue tending toward white. Flowering is mid to late summer. The fruits are thin-edged, several-nerved on each face, and essentially beakless. The hairs on the mature fruits are brownish. Look for this plant along the entrance road and along the trails is moist, shady areas.
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This is a tall annual or biennial plant with milky sap and leaves that may vary from being simply toothed to deeply lobed. The flower heads are small and numerous with yellow ligulate flowers. The fruits are black, very flat, and with a median nerve on each face and a slender beak. This lettuce occurs along the entrance road and at the edge of the pines next to the entrance ramp to the garage.
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Nipplewort is an upright, branched, annual, weedy plant introduced from Eurasia. It has numerous, small, yellow flowered ligulate heads. The leaves are thin, ovate in outline, and coarsely toothed. Look for Nipplewort along the entrance road and occasionally along the Green Trail in the wildflower area.
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This popular ornamental daisy looks very much like an outsized copy of the wild Ox-Eye Daisy. The species is said to be native to the Pyrenees Mountains of Spain and France. It is usually included in the flower beds along the building entryway at Rice creek.
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This is the classic white daisy of fields and roadsides. The moderately large, radiate flowering heads have a border of 15 to 35 white ray flowers surrounding a 1-2 cm wide disk of tightly packed yellow disk flowers. Leaves are coarsely toothed to pinnately lobed. This European plant is common in fields, roadsides, and open areas of disturbed soils. It is scattered through the open fields at Rice Creek.
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This popular garden perennial is native to the prairies from New York west. It has a cluster of narrow basal leaves with the flower heads densly packed on a slender spike. It is planted in the flower beds along the entrance walk to the building at Rice Creek.
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This is a small annual weed with highly dissected leaves and numerous discoid flowering heads made up entirely of greenish yellow disk flowers on a conical receptacle. Crushed foliage has a pineapple odor. It is a native of the western mountains. In Eastern North America it behaves as an introduced weed growing along roadsides and in cracks in city sidewalks. At Rice Creek it may sometimes be found at the edge of the pavement in the parking area.
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This is a twining herbaceous vine with opposite, simple, cordate leaves. The white to pinkish flowers are in tiny, 4-flowered, discoid heads clustered in dense, long stalked inflorescences. In our area it is usually found climbing on shrubs near the banks of streams. Look for it in the marsh along the board walk on the green trail and continuing south towards Fallbrook Farm.
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This is a tall, branched, late summer and fall flowering plant with large, ligulate flowering heads. Foliage is coarse and usually hairy. The lower leaves are often deciduous by flowering time, leaving only the smaller, sparse upper leaves. This is a Eurasian plant which grows as a biennial or short-lived perennial weed on disturbed ground and less fertile open fields. Look for it along the entrance road at Rice Creek.
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The Hawkweeds (Pilosella) have medium small ligulate flowering heads. The orange-red flowered P. aurantiacum is the only one of our species that is not yellow flowered. The flowering heads of this species are born in compact clusters on pubescent stems that grow from a basal rosette of leaves. The plant spreads by horizontally growing stems; rhizomes creeping at or beneath the surface and stolons arching from the basal rosette and rooting at their tips. It is a European plant now common in sunny fields and lawns. It flowers in mid to late summer.
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The Hawkweeds (Pilosella) have medium small ligulate flowering heads. Like most species in the genus, P. caespitosum has yellow flowers. The flowering heads of this species are born in compact clusters on pubescent stems that grow from a basal rosette of leaves. The plant spreads by horizontally growing stems; rhizomes creeping at or beneath the surface and stolons arching from the basal rosette and rooting at their tips. It is a European plant now common in sunny fields and lawns. It flowers in mid to late summer.
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The Hawkweeds (Pilosella) have medium small ligulate flowering heads. Like most species in the genus, P. piloselloides has yellow flowers. The flowering heads of this species are born in loose clusters on hairless or sparsely hairy stems that grow from a basal rosette of leaves. The plant spreads by horizontally growing stems; rhizomes creeping at or beneath the surface and stolons arching from the basal rosette and rooting at their tips. It is a European plant now common in sunny fields and lawns. It flowers in mid to late summer.
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This is a tall woodland perennial with nodding flower heads containing 5-6 pale yellow, ligulate flowers. The alternate leaves are thin and mostly hairless. Those of the mid and lower stem are long stalked with roughly triangular to arrowhead shaped blades, the larger ones deeply lobed to nearly compound. Younger, non-flowering plants may be represented by a single leaf born at ground level. Rattlesnake root is common in the wildflower area of the green trail and in other wooded areas at Rice Creek.
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A vigorous colony of this plant grows with Symphyotrichum pilosum and Solidago nemoralis on dry, sandy soil in an opening along route 104 at the northern end of the Field Station properties. It resembles the more common Black-Eyed Susan but has broader leaves and has short, blunt style appendages and a pappus in the form of a low crown at the summit of the fruits. These plants could well represent an escape from cultivation. The species is also grown as a perennial in the flower beds at Rice Creek.
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This common summer flowering plant of old fields and roadsides has large, showy, radiate flower heads with yellow rays and dark purple or brown disk flowers on a conical receptacle. The species is distinguished by lack of a pappus (a crown, hairs, or scales and the summit of the fruit) and its elongate, narrow pointed style appendages. It grows as a biennial or short lived perennial. It can be found scattered through drier sections of the mown fields at Rice Creek. It is thought that the native variety hirta has been largely extirpated from New York State and that the material now common in our fields is the midwestern var. pulcherrima.
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The Three-Lobed Coneflower closely resembles the Black-Eyed Susan. The heads are slightly smaller and often more numerous. There are usually more leaves on the flowering stem and the larger ones are prominently three-lobed. It tends to favor slightly shaded spots as opposed to the generally open habitats of the Black-Eyed Susan. A small number of Three-Lobed Coneflowers can be found at the margins of a dry open area of the Rice Creek property bordering State Route 104.
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This native of Southern Europe is planted in the herb garden at Rice Creek. It is cultivated for its fragrance and for decorative uses and it can be used as an insect repellent.
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This is one of the two most common late flowering old field goldenrods at Rice Creek (S. rugosa being the other). Identify it by the fact that the basal leaves have withered away by flowering time, the upper stems are hairy, the stem leaves are "triple nerved" (a prominent lateral nerve running nearly the length of the leaf on each side of the midrib), and the branches of the inflorescence are usually arching with the flower heads all arranged on the upper side of the branch. S. altissima is part of the widespread and complicated S. canadensis complex consisting of numerous related polyploid races. This is the species that often develops round stem galls in response to infestation by a parasitic wasp.
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This is a woodland goldenrod with clusters of small, yellow flower heads born in the axils of the stem leaves. The stem is usually glaucous (covered with a light bluish waxy coating). It is common in woodlands at Rice Creek.
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Early Goldenrod flowers in mid to late summer. Its stems and foliage are usually glabrous (without hairs). The persistent basal leaves taper to a long petiole (leaf stalk). Leaves of the upper stem are long and slender. It prefers dry, well drained soils. A specimen labeled as coming from a field at Rice Creek is in the Field Station herbarium. It has not been seen at the Field Station in recent years.
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Gray Goldenrod flowers in mid to late summer. Its stems and foliage are densely covered with small, spreading hairs. The basal leaves are persistent, the stem leaves are progressively smaller towards the inflorescence. A colony of this species grows with Symphyotrichum pilosum and Rudbeckia fulgida in a dry, open area where Rice Creek property borders on State Route 104.
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This is one of the two common late flowering old field goldenrods at Rice Creek (S. altissima being the other). The basal leaves are withered away by flowering time, the stems in most varieties are evidently hairy, the stem leaves are noticably net veined (not "triple veined") and toothed, and the branches of the inflorescence are usually arching with flower heads arranged along the upper side (except in shade grown individuals with a smaller inflorescence). S. rugosa can withstand more shade than S. altissima. In addition to growing in the open fields at Rice Creek it also grows in dense stands along some of the trails in second growth woods. This species seems to be the most common host of the parasitic flowering plant Orobanche uniflora at Rice Creek.
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This is a coarse, leafy stemed, glabrous annual with dandelion-like, yellow flowered, ligulate heads. The leaves are soft-spiny on the margins with rounded basal lobes which clasp around the stem. It is an introduction from Europe and grows on exposed gravely soils. Look for it in late summer and fall along the entrance road at Rice Creek.
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This is the only species in the genus Stokesia. It is native to the southeastern United States and is widely grown as an ornamental garden plant.
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This is an Aster of forest margins and woodland clearings. The lower leaves have ovate blades; heart-shaped at the base, pointed at the tip, and are born on elongate leaf-stalks. The flower heads are arranged in an elongate, branched inflorescence. The ray flowers are blue to purple or occasionally white. At Rice Creek this species is found on the hill seperating the outlet channel from the earthen dam of the pond.
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Symphyotrichum pilosum is a plant of open places with dry sandy and gravely soils. It has numerous small, white flowered heads which are often aligned on the upper side of the spreading branches. The involucral bracts are rolled into a cylinder towards their tips and may be spine-tipped. This species grows with Rudbeckia fulgida and Solidago nemoralis in a dry, sandy opening in the northern part of the Field Station properties along Route 104.
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This is the larger of our common narrow-leaved, white flowered Asters. The corollas of the disk flowers have proportionately shorter recurved lobes than in the previous species. The underside of the leaf is without hairs on the midrib. Look for it along the trails in mown fields and more open areas in the young second growth forest.
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This is the smaller of our common narrow-leaved, white flowered Asters. The disk flowers may be yellow or deep purple. The corollas of the disk flowers are goblet-shaped and have proportionately longer recurved lobes than in the previous species. The underside of the leaf is hairy along the midrib. Look for it along trails and in fields.
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This is a large, colorful Aster of open fields. Its numerous narrow rays are usually a deep violet color. Occassional individuals may have red, pink, or white rays. The herbage of the inflorescence has numerous sticky, glandular hairs and the base of the leaf is extended into lobes that clasp the stem. It is scattered through the middle field and other open areas at Rice Creek. A dark pink form is planted in the garden along the entrance walk to the building. This is a showy plant in cultivation, though vigorous individuals may need support to keep the stems from falling over.
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This is a large, colorful Aster of wet meadows, roadside ditches, and swamps. The rays are large and light blue or occassionally rose or white. The herbage of the inflorescence is usually hairy but not glandular. The leaves are narrow, with basal lobes clasping the stem. At Rice Creek it grows in the lower field along the pond outlet stream and along the Orange Trail at the edge of the Norway Spruce plantation.
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This garden annual was once thought to have come from Africa but it is actually native to Mexico. It is sometimes called "Tall Marigold" or "Aztec Marigold". Oil glands on the leaves and the bracts under the flower heads provide a strong odor that effectively repels many insect pests and grazing animals. Although the original wild plant had daisy-like flower heads with a central disk of small petaled flowers and a marginal ring of long petaled flowers, most cultivated varieties have "doubled" heads with all flowers having enlarged, colorful petals. African and the shorter French (T. patula) Marigolds are often planted to fill in gaps in the perennials in the garden beds in front of the building at Rice Creek.
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This is a West Asian plant grown for the sweet odor of its foliage. At one time it was used as a substitute for hops in brewing beer. It is sometimes grown in the herb garden at Rice Creek.
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This attractive plant from Southwestern Asia is popular for cut flowers. It comes in a variety of colors ranging from white, pink, or lilac to dark red. It has been grown in the flower beds along the entrance walk to the building at Rice Creek
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A small, white rayed daisy with numerous heads in a branched inflorescence. Leaves are alternate and pinnatifid with the segments incised or even pinnately divided into rounded lobes. Feverfew is a native of Europe and is planted in the herb garden and in the flower bed along the entrance walk at Rice Creek. It was used in traditional European medicine
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Tansy is a traditional European medicinal herb introduced into North America as a garden plant and commonly spread from cultivation. The leaves are pinnately divided with the divisions again pinnately lobed. The foliage is strongly aromatic. The numerous yellow flowering heads are discoid and clustered into a large more or less flat-topped inflorescence. The foliage contains a medically active substance used to treat intestinal worms and other afflictions. An overdose can be fatal. Tansy grows in abundance on disturbed soils near the lake shore in the city of Oswego. Look for it in the Herb Garden at Rice Creek.
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This is the Common Dandelion of lawns, fields, and roadsides. It is native to Europe but is now widespread at temperate latitudes. It has large, yellow flowered, ligulate flower heads born on a leafless stalk arising from a basal rosette of pinnately lobed leaves. It flowers throughout the growing season (even during periods of mild weather in mid winter) with heaviest flowering in early spring. This "species" is apomictic producing fertile seeds by an asexual process. Pollination may be a necessary stimulus to embryo development but there is no fertilization.
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This is a tall biennial with showy, yellow, ligulate flower heads. The tufts of long, finely divided bristles attached to the fruits give the mature head the appearance of a large, fuzzy ball. The bases of the narrow, almost grass-like leaves clasp around the stem. This European plant occurs sporadically in the mown fields at Rice Creek.
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Colt's Foot is a colonial plant that spreads by underground rhizomes. Flowering shoots appear in very early spring with showy terminal flower heads about the size, shape, and color of a Dandelion. Close inspection reveals that these heads are not ligulate, but composed of numerous narrow petaled ray flowers surrounding a central disk of yellow disk flowers. Leaves of the flowering shoots are reduced to small scales. About the time the seeds mature, other branches of the rhizome produce the characteristic leaves that last through the growing season. Colt's Foot is a Eurasian plant that prefers moist gravelly soils. Look for it along the entrance road at Rice Creek.
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This unusual plant was collected at Rice Creek in 1970 but has not been seen on the properties in recent years. The photographs shown here were taken along the bank of the Oswego River between Oswego and Fulton in 2008. The flowering heads are small and unisexual. The terminal cluster of staminate (male) heads is quite small, with many small flowers surrounded by a rudimentary involucre. The pistillate (female) heads consist of two flowers completely enclosed by a conspicuous 2-chambered bur, the involucre, beset with hooked prickles. The styles of the pistillate flowers project from the two hooked beaks of the involucre. Cocklebur is probably native to the Americas. It is now a cosmopolitan weed of river banks, lake and sea shores, floodplains and other frequently disturbed places.
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This Mexican annual is a popular mid-summer garden plant. It has large, colorful flower heads with a daisy-like structure. The original species had purple or lilac ray flowers and yellow disk flowers. Cultivated strains come in a variety of colors. Zinnias are often planted to fill in spaces between perennial plants in the flower beds in front of the building at Rice Creek.
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Spotted Jewelweed is common on moist soils in the second growth woods and swamps along Rice Creek and Rice Pond. Its orange flowers open in late summer and the fruits ripen in the fall. Mature fruits split open explosively at the slightest touch throwing the seeds some distance. Juice pressed from the stem and leaves is a traditional remedy for the itching of Poison Ivy dermatitis. A yellow flowered species, I. pallida, also occurs in our area but has not been recorded at Rice Creek.
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This is the Impatiens commonly grown in our area as an annual and used as a bedding plant and in pots and hanging baskets. It comes in a wide variety of flower colors. The red and white flowered form pictured was grown in the flower beds at Rice Creek in the summer of 2008. It is a perennial in its native habitat and has become a weed of shady areas in parts of the tropics.
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Japanese Barberry is grown as an ornamental shrub and occasionally escapes to grow wild. It is so invasive in open woodlands in some parts of the state that consideration is being given to banning it from the commercial market. Until the summer of 2005, a specimen of the red-leaved cultivated variety grew in front of the building at Rice Creek. Normal green leaved individuals have been seen in the second growth woods at the field station. Efforts are being made to eradicate it from the Field Station properties.
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A few plants of the European Barberry have been found in open woods along the northern sections of the orange trail at Rice Creek. It differs from Japanese Barberry in having larger, finely toothed leaves and usually three branched spines. Although apparently not as aggressive an invader as the Japanese Barberry, we have removed this species wherever we have found it.
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Blue Cohosh is one of the earliest native woodland plants to flower in the spring. The peculiar purplish flowers and early foliage are unique. Leaves and stems fade to lighter blue-green as they expand. The seed with its peculiar blue, fleshy covering expands to rupture the fruit and remain attached to leafless stems in late summer and early fall. Blue Cohosh is abundant in the old growth woodlot at Rice Creek. Specimen plantings persist and should eventually spread in the wildflower demonstration area.
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This distinctive plant can form large colonies on moist soil in open woodlands. The leaves look like glossy green umbrellas with tattered edges. The waxy white flowers are born in the cleft of the two branched stem. Single stalked leaves also arise from an underground fleshy stem. The flesh of the fruit is edible when fully ripe, but the seeds and foliage of the plant are poisonous. A colony of May-Apple grows in the wildflower display area near the entrance road and in the woods uphill from the wildflower area. (NOTE: The butterfly hiding in the flower illustrated is not part of the flower.)
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Speckled Alder is common along the banks of Rice Creek, Rice Pond, and in the upstream beaver meadow. The pistillate and staminate catkins are formed late in the growing season and remain unexpanded over the winter. It is one of the first native plants to flower in the spring. The pistillate catkins mature into a woody, cone-like structure containing the small, one-seeded fruits. Alders have root nodules inhabited by nitrogen fixing bacteria.
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Yellow Birch is a tree of the mature forest in our region. Young to medium aged trees are distinguished by smooth, peeling, bronze colored bark. The loose curls of bark contain a flammable oil making them useful as an emergency tinder even when wet. The bark of mature trees shows a pattern of large, thick scales, but this is rarely seen in the cut-over forests of our area. Twigs of Yellow Birch and its close relative Sweet Birch (B. lenta) have a wintergreen flavor and odor. A few individuals grow in the old growth woodlot and on the point of land across the pond from the building at Rice Creek. A sapling has established itself on an old stump in the bird feeder area east of the building.
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European White Birch can easily be mistaken for our native Gray Birch (Betula populifolia), but the bark of the European species is more creamy white and the tips of the leaves are not quite so long and drawn out. A few small trees grow in an area of dry soil where the Rice Creek properties border on State Route 104.
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Hornbeam is a small, sometimes shrubby tree of the forest understory. It has a distinctive fluted trunk with smooth, gray bark. For winter identification notice that the buds are somewhat angled in cross section. A few specimens grow in the old hedgerow along the stonewall that extends from the Blue Trail to the pond near its outlet.
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Hop Hornbeam is a small to medium sized tree of the forest understory. For winter identification, notice the fine striations on the surface of the bud scales. The fruit clusters resemble those of the Hop vine used in brewing beer. The wood of this tree is extremely hard and tough. It was the favored material for making the wooden parts of the harness used in horse drawn wagons and carts. A few individuals grow in the old-growth woodlot and on the hillside north of the orange trail at Rice Creek.
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Trumpet Creeper is a liana with showy orange flowers. It is native to the southeastern United States and grown as an ornamental north to our area. It is particularly attractive to humming birds. It needs a protected site to survive in Oswego, but it can become invasive when escaped from cultivation further south. Specimens were originally included in the landscape planting along the board fence on the east side of the building at Rice Creek but have been removed as surounding shrubs and trees have grown into the space.
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This coarsly hairy annual herb is native to Europe and North Africa. The bright blue flowers with black anthers are distinctive. The flowers and young leaves can be added to salads. It is grown in the herb garden at Rice Creek.
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This is a small flowered, native North American version of the common flower garden Forget-Me-Not. Look for it in wet ground at the edges of Rice Creek both upstream and downstream from the pond.
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This is a tiny, blue flowered, annual, European lawn weed. A healthy colony of this plant is established around the bird feeders on the east side of the building at Rice Creek. It flowers in May and June.
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This is the common garden Forget-Me-Not from Europe. Flowers are usually blue, but occassional pink flowered individuals occur. It grows in the flower garden along the entrance walk to the building and has been planted at the entrance to the wildflower area east of the lawn at Rice Creek and in beds at the field station entrance on Thompson Road. It has also established itself at points along the pond shore in the wildflower area and upstream from the boardwalk on the green trail.
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Comfrey is a coarsely hairy plant with large basal leaves. It is a traditional medicinal herb but is now known to be harmful if used in quantity over a long period of time. It occasionally escapes from cultivation and can be very difficult to eradicate once the deep root systems are established. It is of Eurasian origin. A plant grows in the herb garden at Rice Creek.
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Garlic Mustard is a very invasive European weed of shady habitats, which makes it a particular threat in second growth forests. It produces small, white flowers in May and June and matures large quantities of seed in long thin capsules. Seed seems to be spread easily along trails and from there into the woods wherever there is bare or sparsely vegetated soil. Garlic Mustard appeared in quantity along roadsides near the field station in 2002 and a number of colonies were found along the trails. Flowering individuals are pulled annually in an attempt to prevent spread of this plant on the field station grounds.
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This low growing garden perennial is native from the Mediterranean east to Iran. A number of horticultural varieties exist.
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Horseradish is a long-lived perennial with a large, fleshy root which is harvested and ground fresh to make horseradish sauce. Once established it is difficult to eradicate as any piece of root broken off when the plant is dug is capable of regenerating a new plant. Horseradish is native to Southeastern Europe and Western Asia. It occasionaly escapes from cultivation but rarely spreads far. Horseradish is planted in the herb garden at Rice Creek.
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Winter Cress is usually the first yellow flowered member of the mustard family to flower in the spring. It is an introduction from Europe. It usually grows as a biennial, with seed germinating in summer or fall and the plants maturing the following spring. It only germinates on the surface of bare soil. The seeds are long lived and will persist in the soil for years germinating when some disturbance occurs. In early spring the flower buds make an excellent wild broccoli if boiled in several changes of water to eliminate the bitter tase of the fresh plant. In Europe and early colonial America it was one of the traditional spring greens eaten to counteract incipient scurvy resulting from a long winter without fresh vegetables. Look for it at the edges of trails and in bare spots in the lawn in the bird feeder area behind the building at Rice Creek.
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This is another common weed of European origin. It favors disturbed ground fully exposed to the sun. Look for it at the edges of the parking lot and along trails in open areas.
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This is a large, yellow flowered mustard with smooth margined, stalkless, clasping leaves on the upper parts of the stem. The lower leaves are stalked and lobed. A colony has become established at the lower end of the power line right of way.
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Shepherd's Purse gets its name from its small, heart shaped seed capsules. It is a European plant commonly found on disturbed soil in sunny areas. Look for it in the sparse lawn under the bird feeders behind the building at Rice Creek.
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A modest sized (20 to 40 cm) plant of wet habitats. Leaves are all simple, the lower ones stalked and those higher on the stem sessile. Flowers with four relatively large (10 - 15 mm), white petals. Spring Cress is usually abundant in late spring on the flood plain near the shorter boardwalk on the green trail and can sometimes be found in the lower areas near the pond along the wildflower display section of the Green Trail.
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A woodland spring flower with four relatively large (10 - 20 mm), white to pale lavendar petals. Leaves of the stem in a whorl of three. Each leaf basically three-parted with each part further subdivided into linear segments. Cut-Leaf Toothwort is common in the old growth wooodlot. It also occurs in the wildflower display area and other wooded sites.
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A woodland spring flower with four relatively large (10 - 20 mm), white to dull purplish petals. Stem bearing two leaves, each of which is divided into three broad leaflets. Two-Leaved Toothwort can be found in the old growth woodlot and the wildflower display area at Rice Creek.
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This Old World annual has recently spread into the Oswego area. It is a small plant of lawns and gardens. When the fruit is ripe, even the slightest disturbance will cause it to open explosively spreading the seeds in the vicinity of the parent plant. Thus dense colonies are built up in a short time. It was first noticed in the lawn by the bird feeders at Rice Creek in the spring of 2007.
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This white flowered cress has small flowers (petals 1.5 to 4 mm) and pinnately divided leaves. The plant illustrated was seen on the Red Trail near Hilton Pond.
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A white flowered cress with large flowers (petals 6 to 13 mm) and pinnately divided leaves. The plants illustrated were seen on the Blue Trail between the Middle Field and the Old Growth Woodlot.
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This tall, colorful perennial garden plant of Eurasian origin is widely escaped along roads, trails, and in moist, open woods. Most populations have a mixture of white, pink, and purple flowered individuals. It is often confused with Phlox but can be distinguished by its four, rather than five, petaled flowers and its typical mustard-type, long, narrow seed capsule. It occurs at various places along trails at Rice Creek and is particularly abundant along the abandoned section of Brownell Road.
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This is an evergreen perennial from Southern Europe. It is a popular, low growing garden ornamental.
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This yellow flowered member of the Mustard family was the source of a blue dye widely used in Europe during the middle ages. It is planted in the herb garden at Rice Creek.
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Peppergrass is a small, introduced, annual plant of disturbed soils in sunny, often dry sites. The white petals of the tiny flowers are only 2 to 2.5 mm long. Its round, flat seed capsules are about 6 mm in diameter. In this species, the undivided leaves appear to wrap themselves around the stem. Peppergrass gets its name from its peppery taste. Look for it in the vicinity of the building at Rice Creek.
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This purple flowered European plant is best known for its silver-dollar sized seed capsules of which the silvery central partition (septum) remains after the outer covering and the seeds have fallen off. In our area it usually grows as a biennial. A self seeding colony persists near the doors of the garage at Rice Creek.
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This Eurasian perennial grows naturally in quiet water throughout most of temperate North America. It is occasionally cultivated as a salad green. It can grow as a partially submerged aquatic or rooted in the sediment in or at the edge of shallow water. It occurs in shallow waters of Rice Creek between the Field Station and Fallbrook Farm and sometimes washes down to form colonies around brush and logs in the pond.
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This European annual is a relative of the cultivated Radish (Raphanus sativa, with white to light purple flowers). Like many of its other relatives, it has yellow flowers. The herbage is sparsley covered with stiff hairs. Ripe fruits characteristically have a lower, one-seeded segment separated by a ridge or line from the upper many-seed segment. The specimen illusrated was collected from the lawn at Rice Creek in 1970.
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This yellow flowered annual or biennial of circumboreal distribution is scattered through the marsh in the beaver flow south of the longer boardwalk on the Green Trail. The seed capsules are held on stalks that project directly out from the stem of the flower cluster.
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This yellow flowered mustard is native to Europe. It is an annual weed of fields, gardens, roadsides and other open areas. It was collected in 1970 in an open field along Rice Creek. It begins blooming in early June but may continue through the summer.
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This shrub, native to Tibet and Central China, is commonly recommended for cultivation as a "butterfly plant". The wild flower color is lilac with an orange throat to the flower tube. Cultivated strains are white, pink, or purple. It is an invasive weed in some parts of the United States. The specimen illustrated is planted on the west side of the building at Rice Creek.
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Marsh Bellflower is a small, delicate white to blue (usually white in our region) flowered plant that clambers over other vegetation in marshes and fens. It has been seen along the edges of the marsh in the area above the beaver dam on the Green Trail at Rice Creek.
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This is an ornamental species from Eurasia that is planted in the flower garden along the entrance walk to the building at Rice Creek.
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This is a cultivated species from Europe that sometimes escapes and establishes populations along the edges of roads and lawns. It is an attractive garden flower but spreads aggressively and must be contained if anything else is to survive in the garden. Rover Bellflower is planted in the flower bed along the entrance walk at Rice Creek.
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Cardinal Flower is one of the premier wild flowers on streambanks and in open wooded swamps in the Oswego area. Its bright red flowers are almost florescent. It flowers in mid-summer along the banks of Rice Creek. It is a short-lived perennial that is sometimes available for sale as a garden plant.
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This little Lobelia behaves rather like an introduced weed but is thought to be native to Eastern North America. Look for it along the Green Trail in the wildflower area and on the lower sections of the Blue Trail.
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This large blue flowered Lobelia occurs naturally on stream banks and shady wet areas in central New York but has not been seen growing in the wild at Rice Creek. Cultivated plants persist in the entry way garden at the Field Station.
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The variety found at Rice Creek is H. lupulus var. lupulus, the European, cultivated hops which is an escape in our region. It is a herbaceous, perennial, twining vine with moderately large, three lobed, opposite leaves. A single plant was discovered in 2007 along an old stone wall in the second growth forest between the Red Trail and the northern loop of the Orange Trail.
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This native honeysuckle is a small shrub of woodland habitats. Its pendant, pale yellow flowers are born in pairs but unlike the introduced honeysuckles at Rice Creek, the ovaries of the two paired flowers are not joined. Also, the free lobes of the corolla in this species are no more than half as long as the corolla tube. L. canadensis is not common at Rice Creek, but can be found in the woods along the northeastern section of the Orange Trail. All species of Lonicera growing at Rice Creek have red fruits.
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Amur Honeysuckle is planted at the entrance to the Green Trail at the southeast corner of the lawn by the building at Rice Creek. It has spread only slowly and locally from the area where it was originally planted. It is a large shrub growing to 5 meters. The flowers are yellowish with corolla lobes distinctly longer than the short tube. All species of Lonicera growing at Rice Creek have red fruits.
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This is the most common Lonicera at Rice Creek. It is a native of Japan and was planted as a wildlife plant in the 1960's. It has aggressively invaded fields and second growth woods. Along with L. tartarica, it is now considered an undesirable exotic species. The leaves of this species are hairy on the underside. It has paired yellowish flowers with the free lobes of the corolla as long or longer than the tubular part. The ovaries of the two paired flowers are partially joined. It is a moderatly tall shrub growing to 3 meters. All species of Lonicera growing at Rice Creek have red fruits though occasional individuals of this species may have light orange fruits.
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Like L. morrowii, this species was planted as a wildlife plant in the 1960's and is now considered an undesirable exotic. It is a Eurasian plant differing from L. morrowii in having pink flowers and glabrous (hairless) leaves. Otherwise the two are much alike. Like all other species of Lonicera found at Rice Creek it has paired red fruits.
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The general appearance, leaves, and bark of the Red and Black Elderberries are quite similar. They are moderately large shrubs growing to 3 meters tall. The surface of the older stems is marked by large, warty lenticels. The young woody stems of S. nigra have a large, white pith. The inflorescence branches at its base and the flowers are borne in a flat or convex cluster. The small fruits are dark purple. This is the edible Elderberry used for making pies, jams and wine. It occurs in a variety of shaded, moist sites at Rice Creek.
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The general appearance, leaves, and bark of the Red and Black Elderberries are quite similar. They are moderately large shrubs growing to 3 meters tall. The surface of the older stems is marked by large, warty lenticels. The young woody stems of S. racemosa have a large, salmon colored pith. The inflorescence has a central main axis and is pyramidal in shape. The ripe berries are red. A Red Elderberry bush is established along the Red Trail in the section east of the old growth woodlot and one other has been noticed in the old woodlot.
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Snowberry is a landscape shrub at Rice Creek with two specimens in the planting along the privacy fence east of the building. It is a native North American plant. A variety of this species grows wild on the limestone barrens (Alvar) north of Oswego in Jefferson County.
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This is a small, low growing forest shrub with maple-like leaves and flat-topped clusters of small white flowers. It is scattered through the forests at Rice Creek but seems to avoid the low-lying green ash forest.
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Arrowwood is an abundant native shrub of moist old fields, second growth woods, and swamps. It is unfortunatly particularly susceptable to attack by the recently introduced Viburnum Leaf Beetle (Pyrrhalta viburni) and many of these Viburnums at Rice Creek have died due to repeated complete defoliation. Look for V. dentatum along the edge of the pond and stream and as scattered shrubs left in the mown fields at Rice Creek.
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Nanny-Berry is a moderate sized shrub of woodland margins, hedgerows, and swamps. It is distinguished from the closely related Withe-Rod (V. nudum var. cassinoides) by the fact that its inflorescence is branched from the very base instead of having a central stalk from which branches arise. Both of these species have prominent midveins in their finely toothed or entire leaves. In Nanny-Berry the leaf stalk is often wing-margined. Specimens of V. lentago are planted along the privacy fence east of the building at Rice Creek and the species also occurs naturally on the Field Station grounds.
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This shrub's abundance of bright red fruits is the basis for the name Cranberry-Bush. Native North American and European varieties exist. The European variety (also known as Guelder Rose), escaped or planted on purpose, is the most common in our area and the only form known from Rice Creek. A large specimen grows at the base of the utility pole by the Field Station building and occasional individuals can be found in second growth woods and shrublands on the grounds.
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This handsome Viburnum is an oriental plant escaped from cultivation here. Two specimens have been seen at Rice Creek growing in the woods along the entrance road. It is abundant in the shrubby second growth along the inlet stream to Glimmerglass Lagoon on the SUNY Oswego main campus and should be monitored as a potential invasive at Rice Creek.The large marginal flowers of the inflorescence are sterile. A cultivated form with all flowers sterile is called the Japanese Snowball.
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The Mouse-Ear Chickweeds (Cerastium) are distinguished from the Chickweeds (Stellaria) by having 5 rather that 3 styles and having generally pubescent rather than glabrous foliage. C. fontanum is a short-lived Eurasian perennial with deeply notched petals that are about as long as the sepals. It is a common lawn and garden weed and can be found along some of the trails at Rice Creek.
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The Mouse-Ear Chickweeds (Cerastium) are distinguished from the Chickweeds (Stellaria) by having 5 rather that 3 styles and having generally pubescent rather than glabrous foliage. C. semidecandrum is a Eurasian annual with small leaves and shallowly notched flower petals that are shorter than the sepals. It is a lawn weed at Rice Creek.
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This showy flowered Chickweed from Europe is in the landscape garden along the entrance walk to the building at Rice Creek.
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This is an atractive, though small flowered, pink introduced from Europe and quite at home in open fields in the Oswego area. Picture it as a miniature carnation.
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This is an old-fashioned garden plant of Eurasian origin with dense clusters of flowers born at the summit of a tall, stout stem. The flowers may be whitish, marked with patterns of pink or red, or pure red. It occasionally escapes and persists in the vicinity of old dwellings. It is grown in the entry way garden at Rice Creek.
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These and related garden pinks are planted in the herb garden and the entry way garden at Rice Creek The species is native to parts of the United States and Canada. There are many varieties in cultivation.
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This tiny plant is considered by some to be an introduction from Eruope and by others to be a native plant of circumboreal distribution. It is common as a weed in pavement cracks and moist shaded gardens. It also occurs in rocky places in more natural surroundings. The four sepals are spreading and remain in place as the fruit develops. Petals are tiny or even missing in some cases. The plants shown grew between the paving stones in the entrance walk to the building at Rice Creek.
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This European introduction is common along roadsides in the Oswego area and is planted in the Herb Garden at Rice Creek. The knobby stems, white to light rose colored petals, and tubular calyx are distinctive. The foliage and flowers contain saponins and will form a lather if crushed in water. Soapwort was raised in home gardens and used for washing fine fabrics in colonial times. It is also mentioned in medicinal literature of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.
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This crimson flowered garden perennial with foliage densly covered with grayish pubescence is a European native. It occasionally escapes to grow wild. It is planted in the entry way garden at Rice Creek.
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The White Campion and the Bladder Campion, both common roadside and meadow weeds from Europe, resemble each other in having white, lobed petals and an expanded (inflated) calyx. White Campion has broader petals and a greenish, more herbaceous calyx. Both species can be found at the edge of the lawn near the herb garden at Rice Creek.
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The Bladder Campion and the White Campion, both common roadside and meadow weeds from Europe, resemble each other in having white, lobed petals and an expanded (inflated) calyx. Bladder Campion has narrower petals and a tan to light green, more membranous calyx. Both species can be found at the edge of the lawn near the herb garden at Rice Creek.
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The Chickweeds (Stellaria) are distinguished from the Mouse-Ear Chickweeds (Cerastium) by having 3 rather that 5 styles and having glabrous rather than generally pubescent foliage. S. graminea is a weak stemmed plant with narrow, lance-shaped leaves and showy, though small, flowers. It is common in the mown fields and along the edge of the lawn by the pond at Rice Creek. It is native to Europe.
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The Chickweeds (Stellaria) are distinguished from the Mouse-Ear Chickweeds (Cerastium) by having 3 rather that 5 styles and having glabrous rather than generally pubescent foliage. S. media is a trailing plant with ovate leaves. Its sepals are usually sparsely covered with long hairs and are longer that the small, white petals. It is a common lawn and garden weed and grows in the lawn at Rice Creek. It is of European origin.
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The native Bittersweet (C. scandens) and the introduced East Asian Bittersweet (C. orbiculatus) both grow wild in the Oswego area. They are difficult to tell apart except when in flower or fruit. Both are alternate leaved lianas that twine around other plant stems and may reach high into the forest canopy. C. scandens bears its flowers and fruits in elongate clusters at the tip of the stem, in C. orbiculatus the flower clusters are smaller and positioned lateralle along the stem. A specimen of the native Bittersweet occurs at the corner in the entrance road at Rice Creek.
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This is a common ornamental shrub known for its brilliant red autumn foliage. The twigs have characteristic longitudinal corky ridges. Specimens can be found along the privacy fence west of the building at Rice Creek. At least one individual grows wild in the Scots Pine plantation along the bike trail (Orange Trail) and others have been found in second growth woods north of the red trail. This plant spreads aggressively by sprouting from the roots and can replace native vegetation. Wild growing plants are being eliminated as they are found.
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A single specimen of this introduced ornamental has been seen in the second growth shrubby forest enclosed by the loop of the Blue Trail at Rice Creek. In recent years it seems to be spreading by root sprouts and it should be monitored as a potential invasive species. It is a shrub or small tree identified by its pink fruit opening to expose the seeds with their conspicuous orange, fleshy covering.
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Coontail is one of the aquatic plants that fills the pond at Rice Creek during the summer months. It is easily recognized by the whorls of forked leaves that give the stem the bushy, ringed appearance which is the basis for the common name "Coontail". Flowers and fruits are rarely seen and most reproduction probably results from fragmentation of the adult plant.
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Lamb's Quarters is one of the first annual "weeds" to grow on newly cultivated or disturbed ground. Its long lived seeds germinate only when exposed to sunlight on the surface of the soil. Its foliage has a characteristic blue-green color and mealy feel. The flowers are small and inconspicuous. The young foliage is quite edible either raw or cooked.
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This is a native, small flowered St. John's-Wort occasionally found on exposed pond and stream banks and on hummocks in open marshes. The yellow petals are only 2.5 to 3 mm long. Other similar species are distinguished by shape and size of the mature seed capsule and shape of the leaves. This plant grows on the open eastern bank of the stream at the outlet of the pond at Rice Creek.
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H. perforatum is the more common of two large, yellow flowered St. John's-Worts found in the Oswego area. It is an introduction from Europe and in recent years has gained some notoriety as a herbal remedy for depression. If eaten in quantity (not likely due to it's flavor) it can cause a photosensitive dermatitis. It occurs occasionally along trails and in the mown fields at Rice Creek.
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Hedge-Bindweed is distinguished from Field-Bindweed by its larger, usually pink tinged flowers which are subtended by two leafy bracts. The leaf shape of the two species also differs. Hedge-Bindweed usually grows in the open or in light shade and climbs over shrubs and taller herbaceous vegetation. This species is native to both Europe and North America.
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Field-Bindweed has white flowers that are smaller than those of Hedge-Bindweed and lack the two leafy bracts below the flower. The leaf shape of the two species also differs. Field-Bindweed often grows in the open and will form mats of foliage on the ground. It occurs at Rice Creek where the Blue Trail meets the south edge of the lower field. C. arvensis is of European origin.
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This shrub or small tree of second growth forests and shady stream banks is our only Dogwood with alternate leaves. Its horizontal tiers of branches give it an unusual and characteristic appearance from which the name "Pagoda Dogwood" is derived.
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This is a common shrubby dogwood of old fields and swamps characterized by purplish red branches with a brown pith and velvety pubescence towards their tip. Its ripe fruits are light blue.
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This small forest understory tree is at the northern edge of its natural distribution in protected sites in Oswego County. A landscape specimen has been planted near the end of the entrance walk at Rice Creek.
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This is a shrubby dogwood of old fields and swamps. It often forms thickets. The bark of the twigs is tan to gray-brown; the flower clusters are more elongate than in our other shrubby dogwoods. Fruits are white or occassionally light blue. A colony of Gray Dogwood can be found on the hill between the outlet stream and the dam that impounds Rice Pond.
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This is an Asian dogwood cultivated for its similarity to and greater hardiness than our Flowering Dogwood. The white bracts of the flower cluster are pointed in contrast to the rounded, notched bracts of Flowering Dogwood, and the flowers appear in late spring / early summer after the leaves have develooped. Two specimens are planted near the pavilion and the herb garden at Rice Creek.
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This is a common shrubby dogwood of old fields and swamps characterized by smooth bright red branches with a white pith. Though both will grow in swamps, Red Osier tends to prefer wetter soils in old fields than Silky Dogwood. Red Osier's ripe fruits are white.
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The most distinctive feature of Ditch-Stonecrop is its terminal, branched inflorescence with small, greenish flowers aligned on the upper side of the branches and its angularly 5 (-7) lobed seed capsules. A colony grows at the western edge of the marshy wetland south of the long boardwalk of the Green Trail.
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This pale flowered Sedum relative is native further south and only rarely occurs in the wild in New York. It is planted in the garden along the entrance walk at Rice Creek.
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This fleshy leaved European plant is well established as a garden escape in our area. It grows along the south edge of the entrance road at Rice Creek.
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A number of species or horticultural forms of Sedum are planted in the gardens along the entrance walk at Rice Creek.
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This is a small, creeping, Eurasian Sedum with yellow flowers. It is commonly grown as a ground cover in landscape beds and rock gardens and sometimes escapes and persists in well drained sandy or rocky soils.. It is planted in the garden along the entrance walk at Rice Creek.
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This mat-forming, white flowered Eurasian Sedum is planted in the garden along the entrance walk at Rice Creek.
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This is an annual, herbaceous vine that scrambles over the shrubbery in low second growth forests and shrubby swamps at Rice Creek. The elongate clusters of white, staminate flowers are conspicuous in late summer. The spiny, pendant fruits mature in late fall, drop the two large seeds, and disintegrate leaving only the lacy vascular tissues hanging from the withered stems through the winter.
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A golden yellow, twining, parasitic vine with dense clusters of white flowers. It grows on a number of hosts and is prominent on Impatiens along the shorter board walk on the green trail. The plant loses all connection with the soil soon after it establishes contact with its host.
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This East Asian shrub was planted as a wildlife food and cover plant early in the history of Rice Creek. Though weedy in some places it has not proved as aggressive at Rice Creek as some other species such as Lonicera morrowii. However, it should be monitored as a potential invasive. The fruits, twigs, and under surface of the leaves of Autumn Olive are covered with small, pale tan scales.
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A single specimen of this large-leaved, evergreen Rhododendron is planted near the Lilac bush in front of the building at Rice Creek.
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This plant was previously classified as the only species in the family Monotropaceae but has recently been grouped with other members of the Heath Family. The stem, scale-like leaves, and single nodding, terminal flower of this unique plant are all pale white in color. With no green tissue, it is not photosynthetic. It is dependent on its association with soil fungi to gain sustenance from decaying organic materials in the rich woodland soils it inhabits. As the fruit matures it becomes upright and the plant dries to dark brown or nearly black. Indian Pipe can be seen in season near the south end of the trails through the wildflower display area at Rice Creek. The photograph shown was not taken at Rice Creek.
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The clusters of minute flowers of this plant are born at the base of the leaf stalk and are surrounded by leafy, lobed bracts. It is most reliably found in mid summer at the edge of the pavement of the segment of the entrance road that turns off Brownell Road towards the Field Station building. In 2008 it occurred in abundance on recently graded soil of the parking lot at the entrance to the Field Station.
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This is a prostrate plant with milky sap that often forms circular mats on bare spots in lawns and gardens or rooted in the cracks of pavement. Look for it in the pavement at the west entrance of the Field Station or in the mown lawn under the bird feeders on the south side of the building.
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This delicate, annual, twining, herbaceous vine flowers in late summer and produces small, flat, 3-seeded, pea-like seed pods. In addition to the normal flowers, small flowers lacking petals are produced on fine branches arising at the base of the stem. These flowers develop into small, 1-seeded pods that may be buried in the ground like Peanuts. Hog-Peanut is frequent along low, wet parts of the Blue Trail and in other similar sites.
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Groundnut is a herbaceous perennial vine with edible underground tubers. It grows in or near shrubby or wooded swamps. The densely crowded, brownish-purple flowers are coiled so tight as to appear contorted. Groundnut grows on the flood plain of the stream near the smaller boardwalk of the Green Trail.
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This perennial of the Herb Garden at Rice Creek is native from southern New York south and west to Georgia and Texas.
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This lovely spring-flowering, small tree is native from southern New York south and west, but can be grown in sheltered locations in the Oswego area. A specimen is planted at Rice Creek in the traffic circle in front of the building.
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This is the perennial "sweet pea" common along roadsides throughout our region. It is a native of southern Europe that has escaped from cultivation. It is an attractive plant but difficult to eradicate once it is established. It occurs along Thompson Road at the entrance to the Field Station and occasionally elsewhere on the property.
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This is a European plant cultived for livestock food and commonly established in fields and lawns in temperate areas around the world. Its showy clusters of yellow flowers are produced from early summer until autumn.
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This blue flowered Lupine is native to parts of the Western United States. It is commonly grown as a garden plant elsewhere. A specimen grew near the Lilac in the garden in front of the building at Rice Creek, and it is likely to be planted again. When not in flower, it can be recognized by its characteristic palmately compound leaves.
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Black Medick resembles a very small flowered yellow clover. It is a Eurasian species that has become a common weed of lawns and waste places. Look for it in the mown lawn and the fields at Rice Creek.
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Alfalfa has a three parted clover-like leaf. It is a larger plant than our local clovers, and the blue flowers are in slightly more open clusters. It escapes from cultivation and has been found occasionally in the mown fields at Rice Creek. It is native to the Caspian area but widely cultivated as a forage crop.
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The Sweet-Clovers are tall plants with clover-like three parted leaves and small flowers born on elongated spike-like clusters. Melilotus alba has white flowers; three other yellow flowered species may also be found in the Oswego region. All are European plants that have become widely established as weeds of roadsides, dry fields, and similar habitats. White Sweet-Clover can be found along the entrance road at Rice Creek.
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The Sweet-Clovers are tall plants with clover-like three parted leaves and small flowers born on elongated spike-like clusters. This is the most common of the yellow flowered species in our range, with hairless seed pods and short flower stalks that are bent downward. The specimen illustrated was collected at Rice Creek in 1970.
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This is a shrub with bristly stems that grow up from underground rhizomes. The flowers are large and showy. It is native from Virginia and Kentucky south to Georga and Alabama. In our area it grows as an escape from cultivation. A colony is established near the hedgerow and Sumac stand where the Red Trail crosses from the top of the middle field to the south end of the upper field.
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Black Locust is a medium sized tree featuring paired spines that develop at the base of the leaf stalk. It is native from Pennsylvania and southern Indiana south to Georgia and Alabama. Its wood is hard and rot resistent. It was planted on many early farms to supply wood for fence posts. It persists as groves in developing second growth woods. Black Locust is common along the Green Trail south and east of the boardwalks.
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This is one of three yellow-flowered European or Eurasian Clovers found in the Oswego region. In this species, the terminal leaflet and the two lateral leaflets have very short stalks (if any) and the stipules are about as long as the main leaf stalk. This species occurs in the upper parts of the middle field, especially along the Red Trail.
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This white and pink flowered clover is native to Eurasia and has escaped from cultivation to become common in temperate North America. It is not common at Rice Creek but can usually be seen during its flowering season on the Blue Trail between the Willow Grove and the lower field.
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The common Red Clover is the major clover grown for livestock feed and grows as an escape from cultivation throughout most of North America. At Rice Creek it can be found in each of the three mown fields. It is native to Europe
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This prostrate, creeping, white flowered, European plant is widely established as a weed of lawns, fields, and roadsides in North America. It forms extensive mats in some of the mown lawns at Rice Creek.
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Vetches have compound leaves in which the terminal leaflets are represented by tendrils. Our species are mostly blue to purple flowered, though lighter flowered individuals are occasionally seen. All are of European or Eurasian origin. In Vicia sativa the flowers are usually in pairs closely attached to the stem and the lobes, or teeth, of the calyx are all of approximately the same size and shape.
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Vetches have compound leaves in which the terminal leaflets are represented by tendrils. Our species are mostly blue to purple flowered, though lighter flowered individuals are occasionally seen. All are of European or Eurasian origin. In Vicia sepium the flowers are in clusters of 2 to 6 closely attached to the stem and the two upper lobes, or teeth, of the calyx are much shorter than the lower three.
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Vetches have compound leaves in which the terminal leaflets are represented by tendrils. All of our species are of European or Eurasian origin. This species has small, light purple to white flowers born singly or in clusters of two to four on a stalk one to three centimeters long. The pod is small and flat, usually with only four seeds.
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Vetches have compound leaves in which the terminal leaflets are represented by tendrils. Our species are mostly blue to purple flowered, though lighter flowered individuals are occasionally seen. All are of European or Eurasian origin. In Vicia villosa the flowers, 10 - 40 in a group, are aligned in a row along one side of an elongate stalk. The base of the calyx is swollen on the upper side causing the whole flower to bend forward. Plants with long, spreading hairs in the flower cluster are Hairy Vetch (V. villosa ssp. villosa) while those with short appressed or incurved hairs in the flower cluster are Wooly-Pod Vetch (V. villosa ssp. varia).
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This is an ornamental liana native to Japan. It requires a sheltered spot to survive the winters in our area. It is planted in the corner between the wall of the building and the board privacy fence on the east side of the building at Rice Creek.
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The American Chestnut was once a common tree with oaks and hickories in forests on well drained acid soils in the eastern United States. It has been nearly exterminated by the Chestnut Blight fungus (Cryphonectria parasitica) which was introduced from Europe. In the wild, root systems persist and send up sprouts which occasionally last long enough to produce seed, but eventually succumb to the fungus that remains resident in the root system. Attempts to find or produce a blight resistant strain of American Chestnut continue. A young tree grown from seed was planted in the lawn east of the building at Rice Creek and persisted for many years before dying of the blight. A fungus infected branch was removed from the tree in the summer of 2002 and by 2006 a number of lesions had appeared on the main trunk. Two other trees were planted in the woods nearby. These still persist. Other European and Asian species of Castanea are resistant to the blight fungus and are sometimes grown for nut production.
Chestnut leaves resemble those of American Beech but have larger teeth along the margin. The prickly bur of the Chestnut fruit is distinctive.
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American Beech is easily recognized by the shape, veination, and tooth pattern of the leaves and the smooth, gray bark of the trunk and limbs. In winter, the long, narrow, pointed buds are distinctive. Beech is an important constituent of the mature deciduous forest of eastern North America. In good seed years it produces an abundant crop of edible nuts relished by wildlife and humans alike. It is abundant in the old growth woodlot at Rice Creek where many young stems sprouting from established root systems contribute to the understory of the forest. American Beech is threatened by Beech Bark Disease, which occurs when a fungus, usually Nectria coccinea, infects trees with bark damaged by the Beech Scale insect, Cryptococcus fagisuga. There is concern that this disease may eventually eliminate Beech as a significant component of the eastern forest.
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Swamp White Oak is native to Central New York but does not grow naturally at Rice Creek. A donated specimen is planted in the lawn northwest of the building and near the pond. In the group of species known as the White Oaks, the lobes or teeth of the leaves are at least somewhat rounded and specifically do not bear a bristle at the tip. The winter twigs of oaks have a number of lateral buds closely clustered around the terminal bud.
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A few young Northern Red Oak grow in the second growth forests on upland sites at Rice Creek and a number of seedlings have been discovered in recent years. The adult leaves of Red Oak are deeply lobed but leaves of seedlings or sprouts may be merely toothed. In either case, the lobes or teeth are bristle tipped. The winter twigs of oaks have a number of lateral buds closely clustered around the terminal bud. A cut across a twig will reveal a star-shaped central pith. Red Oaks can grow to a large size. A magnificant specimen grows near the mouth of the stream draining Glimmerglass Lagoon on the Oswego campus.
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A white flowered, early spring, ephemeral, woodland wildflower with rounded petals. The common name comes from the small, yellow, pea-shaped bulblets formed on the rhizome. This species occurs with D. cucullaria near the south end of the hedgerow that extends north between the middle and upper mown fields at the Field Station. A small colony is also found in the old growth hardwood woodlot. Both species were planted in the wildflower display area neither have not perisisted.
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A white flowered, early spring, ephemeral, woodland wildflower with spurred petals. The common name comes from the shape of the flower. Numerous, small, tear-shaped, pink or white bulblets are formed on the rhizome. This species was collected near the south end of the hedgerow that extends north between the middle and upper mown fields in 1970, and persists there today along with D. canadensis. Both species were planted in the wildflower display area but have not perisisted there.
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This summer flowering plant of fields and meadows has been introduced from Europe and Western Asia. It has opposite leaves and distinctively rose-purple flowers. Within the flower cluster, each branching point (node) bears a pair of miniature leaves (bracts), a central flower, and two lateral branches bearing the next level of the cluster.
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A deminutive plant with round, palmately cleft leaves and tiny blue flowers, this European native grows in the lawn at the main building at Rice Creek.
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A common plant of woodlands and shady roadsides. The leaves are palmately 3 - 5 cleft with each division pinnately lobed or cleft. Flowers are pink or redish purple. It is widespread in Eurasia and widely naturalized in North America.
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This plant with strong scented, Geranium-like foliage is planted in the herb garden and renewed from cuttings annually. It is not winter hardy in the Oswego area. Most species of Pelargonium, including this one and the commonly cultivated P. zonale, are originally from South Africa.
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The gooseberries and currants are mostly low-growing shrubs. Gooseberries bear their flowers and fruits individually or in clusters of two to four. Most gooseberries have spiny stems. This species also has prickles on the fruit. Prickly Gooseberry is widely distributed in the forest and hedgerows at Rice Creek.
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The currants and gooseberries are mostly low-growing shrubs. Currants bear their flowers and fruits in elongate clusters. Most currants have non-spiny stems. The fruit of Swamp Currant is smooth surfaced. This plant is scattered through the woods at Rice Creek, usually in areas of moist soil.
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This submerged aquatic plant is quite abundant in the pond at Rice Creek. It is a European species that can be a very aggressive weed in shallow ponds and lakes. Recognize the water milfoils by their pinnately divided leaves. This species has the stem thicker in its upper portions than in the lower, however, it is often difficult to distinguish from other common species unless flowering or fruiting material is available. The small bracts subtending the flowers are toothed or shallowly lobed and project only slightly beyond the fruits.
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This native species has been collected from the pond at Rice Creek, but is now much less abundant than the Eurasian Water Milfoil. In M. verticillatum the stems are not thickened in the upper sections and the bracts subtending the flowers are obviously cleft or deeply toothed and project out well beyond the length of the fruits.
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This ornamental shrub grows naturally in the Southeastern United States. It can be distinguished from other cultivated Hydrangias by its 3-7 lobed leaves. A specimen is planted along the board fence behind the staff parking area at Rice Creek.
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This is a perennial, woodland herb that flowers in late spring. It has palmately lobed leaves that are orbicular in outline. The white to pinkish flowers are born in clusters beneath the leaves. H. canadense has been transplanted into the wild flower area at Rice Creek. Look for it near the small bridge that crosses the roadside ditch along the abandoned section of Brownell Road.
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This is a perennial herb of woodlands and hedgerows. It tends to prefer wetter soils than the Canada Waterleaf. In this species the leaves are more elongate and are deeply pinnately divided. The white to lavender flowers are born in clusters beneath the leaves. It grows naturally in the old growth woodlot and in the woods near the northeast corner of the Orange Trail.
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This is the only species of hickory so far found at Rice Creek. Others, especially Shagbark Hickory, grow in the area and may yet be found at the Field Station. In most of the hickories the terminal leaflets of the pinnately compound leaves are larger than the basal leaflets. The husk surrounding the hickory nut has definite lines along which it splits open at maturity. Bitternut Hickory is unique among the hickories of the Northeastern United States in having distinctly yellow, pubescent buds. The nuts of this species are too bitter for humans to enjoy but are collected and eaten by various small mammals.
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Both of our species of walnut have long, pinnately compound leaves, fruits with a fleshy husk that does not split open at maturity, and thick twigs with a pecular chambered pith. In the Butternut or White Walnut, the pith is a dark chocolate-brown, the fruit is oblong to ovoid, and there is often a dense pad of short hairs along the upper edge of the leaf scar. The ridges on the shell of the nut are sharp. There are only a few Butternuts scattered in the woods and hedgerows at Rice Creek. One somewhat damaged specimen grows in the hedgerow at the highest point along the eastern stretch of the Green Trail.
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Both of our species of walnut have long, pinnately compound leaves, fruits with a fleshy husk that does not split open at maturity, and thick twigs with a pecular chambered pith. In the Black Walnut, the pith is tan to light brown, the fruit is nearly spherical, and the upper edge of the leaf scar is without hairs. The ridges on the shell of the nut are not as sharp as in the Butternut. Black Walnuts are scarce at Rice Creek. There are a few in the woods near the western junction of the Orange Trail and the Blue Trail.
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This European plant is sometimes used as a ground cover and escapes into lawns. The creeping stems form a dense mat that outcompetes lawn grasses. Look for it in the lawn near the staff parking area at Rice Creek.
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This is a somewhat weedy plant of fields and woodlands, commonly found along footpaths and other moderately disturbed, semi-shady habitats. Its dense, nearly spherical clusters of pinkish flowers in the upper part of the stem are characteristic. Some references list it as a native in our area but others list it as an introduction from Europe. Despite its common name, it is neither aromatic nor flavorful.
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This is a common and persistent perennial weed of lawns, gardens, moist fields and woodlands. It is a European native which is now widespread in eastern North America.
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This is a shrub-like, semi-evergreen plant from Europe and temperate Asia. It was used in traditional medicine. Its flavor is quite strong but it was traditionally used to flavor fatty fish or gamey meat dishes. It is grown in the herb garden at Rice Creek.
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This European plant is used as a ground cover in shady situations. It was grown in the flower beds in front of the building at Rice Creek and has escaped behind the shop building and along the red trail, where it will be monitored as a possible invasive. It is listed as a noxious weed in western Washington and British Columbia.
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This is an annual weed of fields, gardens, and other disturbed habitats. It has been introduced into our region from Europe.
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This shrubby mint from the western Meditteranian region is grown primarily for the fragrant oil produced in its flowers. The oil is used in perfumes and dried flowers are popular for scented pillows and sachets. At one time, Lavender had limited use as a medicinal herb. Lavender is grown in the herb garden at Rice Creek.
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This native of Asia was once cultivated as a home remedy. It is now widespread as an occasional weed in our region. It is a perennial plant that grows in partial shade along roads, trails, and in other distrubed places. Its deeply palmately lobed opposite leaves and coarse, square stems are characteristic. The specimen illustrated was found near the upper corner of the gravel parking area by the entrance gate at Rice Creek.
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In Lycopus, the small white flowers are in dense clusters at the base of the leaves on the upper part of the stem. Critical identification of some species is based on the conformation of the terminal surface of the group of four nutlets formed from each flower. In L. americanus, the major leaves are usually deeply divided into coarse teeth or pinnate lobes. Some of our plants may be hybrids with the introduced L. europaeus. L. americanus is a common plant of moist to wet soils in partially shady situations along the entrance road and the edges of the pond and marsh.
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In Lycopus, the small white flowers are in dense clusters at the base of the leaves on the upper part of the stem. Critical identification of some species is based on the conformation of the terminal surface of the group of four nutlets formed from each flower. L. europaeus is very similar to L. americanus and hybridizes with it. The specimen illustrated was collected in 1994 and appears to have the slightly longer leaf hairs of L. europaeus.
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In Lycopus, the small white flowers are in dense clusters at the base of the leaves on the upper part of the stem. Critical identification of some species is based on the conformation of the terminal surface of the group of four nutlets formed from each flower. In L. uniflorus, the leaves are toothed but not deeply divided. The calyx and corolla are 5-lobed and the inner angle of each fruit segment is shorter than the outer angles giving the group of four fruit segments and concave top. A small colony of this species has been seen in the overgrown hedgerow near the east side of the upper end of the outlet channel of the pond.
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In Lycopus, the small white flowers are in dense clusters at the base of the leaves on the upper part of the stem. Critical identification of some species is based on the conformation of the terminal surface of the group of four nutlets formed from each flower. In L. virginicus, the leaves are toothed but not deeply divided. The calyx and corolla are 4-lobed and the inner angle of each fruit segment is as long as the outer angles giving the group of four fruit segments a flat top. A population of this species occurs along the Orange Trail in the northern section of the Rice Creek properties.
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This Eurasian perennial herb is used as a flavoring for candy and cough drops. A syrup or tea was also used traditionally to treat colds and related ailments. Horehound is often grown in the herb garden at Rice Creek.
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The shape, margins, and venetion of the leaves combined with their distinct lemon scent are reliable characteristics for identification of this plant. The pale yellow to white or pinkish flowers are born in clusters at the base of the leaf stalk. Lemon balm is native to western Asia. It survives nicely as a garden escape in our area. There are specimens in the herb garden and along the edges of the woods nearby.
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This is our only native mint (i.e., genus Mentha). The species is circumboreal, it grows naturally around the world in north temperate latitudes. The flowers are born in clusters at the base of the stalks of ordinary leaves. The foliage has a strong but not particularly pleasing odor. At Rice Creek it can be found occasionally along the banks of the creek and in the marsh upstream from the pond.
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Peppermint is a cultivated, sterile hybrid between spearmint and the European Water-Mint (M. aquatica). Though it does not produce seed, it reproduces effectively by stolons, elongate horizontal stems that grow at or below the surface of the ground, and can easily establish a new plant if broken pieces are transported to a suitable site. At one time peppermint was a significant crop especially along the route of the Erie Canal. It does well in wet, streamside pastures and can be found in low wet areas of the field along the outlet stream of the pond at Rice Creek. It is also represented in the herb garden. Peppermint, spearmint, and applemint bear their flowers in terminal clusters in which any leaves are much smaller than the regular leaves on the stem. Peppermint is distinguished by the distinct stalks of the leaves as well as by the characteristic odor of its foliage.
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Pennyroyal, like the native Field-Mint, bears its flowers in clusters at the base of the leaf stalks. Its leaves are smaller than those of Field-Mint and close inspection will reveal that the teeth of the calyx are distinctly unequal and the interior of the calyx is hairy at the base of the teeth. Pennyroyal is a European plant that only rarely escapes from cultivation in our area. You may find it in the herb garden at Rice Creek.
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Spearmint, like Peppermint, readily escapes from cultivation reproducing both by seeds and by branching and fragmentation of the short horizontally growing stems or "rhizomes". Spearmint's flowers are born in a long, slender terminal spike. It's leaves are essentially without stalks, a feature useful for distinguishing it from Peppermint. Spearmint is planted in the herb garden at Rice Creek. It is an introduction from Europe.
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Applemint resembles Spearmint in having slender terminal flowering spikes and stalkless leaves.The leaves are less pointed, with more rounded marginal teeth, and densley hairy at least on the under surface. It is also an introduction from Europe and is planted in the herb garden at Rice Creek.
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Oswego Tea is the signature flower of Oswego and of the herb garden at Rice Creek. It bears dense terminal clusters of bright red, two-lipped flowers. At Rice Creek it occurs only in the herb garden and the landscape garden along the entryway to the building. In the wild, look for it in moist areas on the shaded floodplains of rivers and streams.
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1) (bed 5)
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A number of hybrids and special selections involving M. didyma and other species such as M. fistulosa (Wild Bergamot) are available on the horticultural market. Some plants of this sort are grown in the entrance garden and in the herb garden at Rice Creek.
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Catnip is a perennial, weedy plant that grows on disturbed soils. It is a native of Eurasia. The foliage is densly covered with fine hairs. The leaves are roughly triangular and coarsely toothed. The flowers are dull white with pink or purple dots. Catnip has a characteristic scent which is apparently intoxicating to cats. Look for catnip in the herb garden at Rice Creek.
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Basil is cultivated as an annual herb in our region. It has smooth, shiny green leaves and white flowers born in terminal clusters. Basil is used as a flavoring for sauces, stews, and salads. It is a favorite in tomato sauces and other tomato preparations. Most summers you will find some basil growing in the herb garden at Rice Creek. Basil is native to tropical Asia and Africa.
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Margoram is a strong scented culiniary herb from Europe. It has small, downy, grey-green leaves and inconspicuous pinkish-white flowers. It is grown as an annual in our area as it is not winter hardy. It is grown some years in the Herb Garden.
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This is the common or wild Oregano frequently grown for use as a fresh or dried herb. It is a perennial, originally from Eurasia. It has oval leaves which are usually smooth on the margins. The flowers are small, purple-red to pale pink, and born in terminal clusters where a small leafy bract is asociated with each flower. Basil grows in the herb garden at Rice Creek.
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Selfheal is a perennial with bluish to purple or occasionaly pink or white flowers born in terminal clusters with two sets of three flowers at each node, each set subtended by a leafy bract. Most plants of roadsides, fields, pastures, woods roads and forest trails in our area are the presumably native variety lanceolata, distinguished by relatively narrow (less than half as wide as they are long) leaf blades with a tapering base. The European ssp. vulgaris is commonly introduced and can adopt a vigorous creeping habit that makes it very effective as a lawn weed. It has leaves nearly half as broad as long with abruptly rounded bases and usually sports smaller flowers than the native material. The two forms can hybridize and many intermediate individuals may be found. Look for P. vulgaris ssp. lanceolata along the trails at Rice Creek. P. vulgaris ssp.vulgaris can be found growing in the lawn in front of the main building.
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This is a narrow leaved plant with numerous, dense flower heads aggregated into a densly branched terminal cluster. The flowers are purplish to white with purple spots on the lower lip. The leaves are narrower than in the next species. Slender Mountain Mint is not common at Rice Creek. In 2003 a few plants were seen along the orange trail just uphill of its eastern separation from the red trail.
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This species has wider leaves than the previous one. The dense flower heads are aggregated into a branched terminal cluster. The flowers are purplish to white with purple spots on the lower lip. The leaves in this species have small, stiff hairs on the margins and the small bracts just below the flowers as well as the outer surface of the calyx are more densely hairy than in the previous species. Virginia Mountain Mint has been seen in the upper part of the middle field at Rice Creek and in the power line right of way near a short distance north of the entrance road.
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Rosemary is a low shrub with highly aromatic, leathery, needle like foliage. It is a favorite herb for seasoning lamb. The foliage is evergreen, but the plant usually does not survive in our area if left outside over the winter. It originates from the Mediterranean region. Most years you will find a Rosemary plant in the herb garden at Rice Creek.
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This is the culinary Sage commonly used to flavor stuffings, sausages, meats, cheese, and vinegars. Like many culinary herbs of the mint family it grows wild in the Mediterranean region. It is a low growing, perennial shrub. The leaves are spear-shaped, greyish green, usually hairy, and with a distinctive pebbly surface. It has attractive blue flowers. Sage is a component of the herb garden at Rice Creek.
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This is a selection of S. officinalis with variagated leaves having blotches of green, red and white. It grows in the Herb Garden.
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This is a small, blue flowered, annual plant. Its native range extends from the midwest to the Rocky Mountains. A single plant was found growing under the bird feeders at Rice Creek in the summer of 2003.
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This is an annual Mediterranean herb used for flavoring bean dishes, stuffings, sauces, and meat. The leaves are narrow and often turned under along the edges. It has small, pink-purple to white flowers in the terminal portion of the stems. It is often grown in the herb garden at Rice Creek.
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This perrenial herb from Europe and North Africa is similar to Summer Savory but has a stronger flavor. The flowers are white to purplish. It also can be found in the herb garden.
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The Skullcaps can be recognized by the prominent appendage situated on the upper lip of the calyx. S. galericulata has narrowly ovate leaves with little if any leaf stalk. The blue flowers are 1 - 2 cm long and solitary at the base of slightly reduced foliage leaves. It grows in wet, marshy places. Look for it at the edges of the shrubbery along the pond behind the pavilion at Rice Creek.
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The Skullcaps can be recognized by the prominent appendage situated on the upper lip of the calyx. S. lateriflora has ovate leaves born on stalks from 0.5 - 2.5 cm long. Its small (5 - 8 mm) blue flowers are loosely arranged on branches that spring from the stem at the base of foliage leaves. It grows in a wet area along the orange trail a bit north of where the trail crosses the entrance road to Rice Creek.
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This Mediterranean plant is distinguished by its coating of soft, whitish, densely matted hairs. The plant grows as a mat on the ground with taller individual flowering stems. The pink or purple flowers are produced in clusters that ring the stem in its terminal portions. Lamb's Ear grows in the herb garden at Rice Creek.
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Germander is a low, spreading, often shrubby plant from Europe and the near east. It was used in traditional European medicine being favored in the treatment of gout. It is included in the collection in the herb garden at Rice Creek.
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This small leaved, creeping Thyme from Northern Europe comes in many varieties. The species is called Wild Thyme or Mother of Thyme. Lemon Thyme itself is T. serpyllum var. vulgaris. It is included in the herb garden at Rice Creek.
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This is the culinary Thyme of the Mediterranian region. It has a number of uses in traditional European medicine, some due to its antiseptic properties. Look for Garden Thyme in the herb garden at Rice Creek.
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Spicebush can be recognized by the characteristic aromatic odor given off by bruised leaves or twigs. It is a medium sized shrub of moist to wet rich woods. The leaf blades are smooth margined and often widest more towards the tip than the base. The largest leaves are towards the tips of the twigs, giving the entire foliage of the plant a distinctive appearance. The tiny, bright yellow flowers are produced in dense clusters before the leaves open in the spring. In late summer and fall the female plants bear bright red, fleshy fruits about the size of a peanut. Look for Spicebush along the trail in the lower part of the wildflower area at Rice Creek Field Station. It also occurs in other moist places in the forests at Rice Creek.
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This is perhaps the most common and widespread Bladderwort in our area. It is a submersed, free floating aquatic. The leaves are finely divided into thin, linear segments. The older bladders are usually black in color. The flowering branch extends above water level and bears 6-20 yellow flowers somewhat resembling those of the Snapdragon. The species has a worldwide distribution in north temperate and boreal latitudes.
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This is a small, weak stemmed, annual plant that grows in dense colonies in moist to wet woods and shallow swamps. The leaves are compound or deeply divided into 3 - 7 linear to ellliptic segments. The flowers have three tiny (1-2 mm) white petals and three slightly larger green sepals. The flowers are automatically self pollinating. The sepals and the flower stalk continue to grow as the fruit matures. Floerkea is native across the northern United States and southern Canada wherever appropriate habitats occur. At Rice Creek it can be found in the swamp at the shorter boardwalk on the green trail and in wet woods along the lower parts of the blue trail. Colonies of this plant are conspicuous in early spring when the light green stems and foliage stand out against the brown tones of the past year's litter and and the darker greens of mosses.
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This widespread wetland plant is a European native that has aggressively established itself in roadside ditches, streambanks, and shallow marshes. Despite its colorful flowers of late summer and early autumn, it is the focus of control efforts because it often displaces native wetland plants that are an important source of food and nesting materials for native birds and mammals. The species is trimorphic in flower structure. Three types of flowers, with styles and stamens of three different lengths, occur, but all the flowers on any individual plant are the same. Each type of flower has stamens of two lengths. Thus the flowers of a given individual plant can have short styles with mid-length and long stamens, mid-length styles with short and long stamens, or long styles with short and mid-length stamens. In general, successful pollination occurs only when pollen from the anthers of a particular length stamen are deposited on a style of the same length. This arrangement prevents self pollination of the plants in most populations of this species. Purple Loosestrife grows along the edges of the pond at Rice Creek and in the marsh above the beaver dam on the Green Trail. A control program was initiated in 2004 by introduction of leaf eating beatles of the genus Gallerucella.
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This forest tree is native to the Oswego area but does not occur naturally on the Rice Creek properties. Two specimens are planted in the lawn near the building. It usually becomes established in open fields but it is long lived and can grow to massive size. The leaf shape is unique as are the large, tulip-shaped flowers.
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This tall plant (one to two meters) with large, showy pink flowers grows naturally in cattail marshes and other open wetlands in the bays and marshes along the south shore of Lake Ontario. A few plants have been introduced into the wetlands along the margin of Rice Pond. The seed germinates well if stratified and the plants thrive in ordinary garden or lawn soil if given sufficient light. It is a perennial and will live for many years.
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Malva alcea and M. moschata are very similar. The leaves of Vervain Mallow are more finely divided than those of Musk Mallow. In M. alcea the bracts immediately beneath the calyx of the flower are wider and densely covered by stellate branched hairs while in M. moschata the bracts are narrower and sparsely adorned with unbranched surface hairs. The flowers of both species are usually pale pinkish purple but some individuals have white flowers. Both are European in origin and have escaped from cultivation in our area. Vervain Mallow grows in the flower beds along the entrance walk at Rice Creek.
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Malva moschata and M. alcea are very similar. The leaves of Musk Mallow are not as finely divided than those of Vervain Mallow. In M. moschata the bracts immediately beneath the calyx of the flower are narrower and sparsely adorned with unbranched surface hairs while in M. alcea the bracts are wider and densely covered by stellate branched hairs. The flowers of both species are usually pale pinkish purple but some individuals have white flowers. Both are European in origin and have escaped from cultivation in our area. Musk Mallow can be found growing naturally in the open field between Rice Creek Field Station and Fallbrook Farm..
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This Eurasian plant is a common weed in lawns and around building foundations and other waste places. Its white flowers are sometimes tinged with pink or purple. It grows in the lawn around the main building at Rice Creek.
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This Eurasian plant is commonly cultivated and occasionaly persists after escaping into the wild. Some large plants occupy the woods across Thompson Road from the Field Station entrance and one individual grows in the shade of the Box-Elder and the Honeysuckles at the lower end of the north entrance trail to the wildflower display area. The leaves of F. suspensa may be either simple or compound (trifoliate). The pith of the stems in this species is hollow except at the nodes (point of leaf attachment).
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White Ash and Green Ash are early successional species that establish themselves readily in open fields. They are large, moderately long lived trees. The bark, leaf shape, and overall appearance of the tree are very similar in the two species. White ash prefers drier soils and may persist in upland mixed hardwood forests. Identify it by the pappilose under surface of the leaves, the relative size of the seed cavity and the wing of the fruit, and, in winter, by the relatively short, broad terminal buds and the lateral buds snuggled in a notch in the upper margin of the leaf scar. The surface of the twigs is smooth.
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Green Ash and White Ash are early successional species that establish themselves readily in open fields. They are large, moderately long lived trees. The bark, leaf shape, and overall appearance of the tree are very similar in the two species. Green ash prefers damp soils and may form nearly single species second growth forests on flood plains of streams. Identify it by the smooth under surface of the leaves, the relative size of the seed cavity and the wing of the fruit, and, in winter, by the relatively longer, narrower terminal buds and the lateral buds positioned on the straight upper margin of the leaf scar. The surface of the twigs is smooth in some individuals (Green Ash) and densely hairy in others (Red Ash)..
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Various species of Privit are cultivated, most commonly as hedges. They occasionally escape and become establish in the wild. Border Privit, a Japanese species, occurs in a few places in the second growth forest along the green trail. It's foliage may seem similar to that of the introduced bush honeysuckles but the white flowers are distinctive. An attempt is being made to eliminate Privit from the second growth forests at Rice Creek.
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Lilac is a commonly cultivated ornamental shrub from Eastern Europe that may persist in the wild after all other traces of settlement are gone. It also may establish itself in hedge rows or at the edge of woods. A specimen grows at the northeast corner of the building at Rice Creek and an apparently wild volunteer occurs along the power line right of way.
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This is a common thicket and woodland plant with small, white, 2-petaled flowers. The short hypanthium falls with the sepals and petals. The small, bristly fruits will be found on socks and trousers after a late summer or autumn walk in the woods.
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This native but somewhat weedy plant with small pink to white flowers is very similar to the American Willow-Herb (E. ciliatum). E. coloratum has the tips of the sepals projecting as tiny teeth from the tip of the flower bud, as contrasted to the smooth bud tips of E. ciliatum. The cluster of hairs on the seed is brown in E. coloratum and white in E. ciliatum. Look for either of these species along the entrance road, in moist fields or in second growth woods at Rice Creek.
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E. hirsutum and E. parviflorum are rather large plants with redish-purple, notched petals and stigmas divided into four branches. Both are introductions from Europe. E. hirsutum is the larger of the two with petals 10 to 15 mm in length and leaves that tend to clasp the stem. Look for either of these in the ditch along the entrance road at Rice Creek as well as other open areas in second growth woods.
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E. parviflorum and E. hirsutum are rather large plants with redish-purple, notched petals and stigmas divided into four branches. Both are introductions from Europe. E. parviflorum is the smaller of the two with petals 4 to 9 mm in length and leaves that do not clasp the stem. Look for either of these in the ditch along the entrance road at Rice Creek as well as other open areas in second growth woods.
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This is a semi-aquatic, creeping, opposite leaved plant growing on mud or in shallow water. The inconspicuous flowers are held tight against the stem at the base of the upper leaves and lack petals altogether. The walls of the seed capsule have alternating thick and thin panels. Ludwigia can be found along Rice Creek below the pond.
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Oenothera biennis has large, yellow flowers and grows as a biennial on disturbed soils. It is part of a cytogenetically complex group that is difficult to organize in the traditional taxonomic system. In O. biennis the projecting tips of the sepals are truely terminal and are closely pressed together at the tip of the bud before the flower opens. Look for this species along the entrance road and other places where the soil has been disturbed in recent years.
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This is a large flowered (petals 1.5 - 3 cm) Oenothera with a stiffly erect inflorescence. It is native to parts of the Eastern United States. It grows in the flower beds along the entrance walk at Rice Creek.
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Beds
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The flowers of Oenothera perennis are smaller than those of the preceding species and the ovary and fruit are four angled rather than round. The nodding tip of the inflorescence straightens as each flower opens. The specimens illustrated were found at Rice Creek along the edge of the orange or bike trail north of its junction with the blue trail.
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This unique plant with inconspicuous flowers and tiny, scale-leaves is a parasite on the roots of beech trees. The flowers on the lower part of the stem are small, pistillate (female), and produce fertile seed. The upper flowers are larger, more colorful, and functionally staminate (male) even though they have non-functional pistils. Beech Droops are common in the old growth woodlot at Rice Creek and wherever else beech trees are found.
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This plant is a root parasite favoring the Rough Leaved Goldenrod (Solidago rugosa) as its host plant at Rice Creek. It is common in the middle and upper fields and is occasionally found along trails and in the young second growth woods.
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This low, spreading weed of lawns and gardens is widely distributed in the tropics. It spreads by stolons, elongate stems growing horizontally along the surface of the soil and taking root to form new plants.
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Though weedy, this species is thought to be native to North America. It is more upright and taller than O. corniculata and spreads slowly by means of short rhizomes. It grows along trails and shaded roadsides at Rice Creek.
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This is an introduced Eurasian annual to biennial weed of moist, shaded habitats. The yellow-orange sap that exudes from a broken stem or leaf is distinctive.
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This is the common perennial garden poppy from the Mediterranean and the Middle East. A few specimens are in the garden along the entrance to the building at Rice Creek.
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One of our earliest spring wildflowers, Bloodroot gets its name from the red sap that appears when the large, fleshy rhizome is cut or broken. It is distributed widely in woodlands throughout eastern North America. It was brought into the wildflower display area some years ago and has proliferated. It does well in a partially shaded garden with rich soil.
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This is a large, perennial herb of fields, fencerows and damp woods. Its large, smooth leaves and bright purple fruits are distinctive. Although the young shoots are used as an edible green in some parts of the country, the fruits and the large, fleshy root are poisonous. A few plants grow along the edge of the woods behind the garage at Rice Creek.
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This is the most distinctive of our Plantains, with narrow leaves and a short, ovoid flowering spike born on a long, naked stalk. The species is native to Eurasia but is now a cosmopolitan weed. It is common in the lawns and the open fields at Rice Creek.
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Our two broad leaved Plantains are very similar and best separated by the position of the line of dehiscence that encircles the seed capsule. In P. major this line is near the middle of the capsule while in P. rugelii it is well below the middle. Also, the little bracts at the base of the seed capsule are broadly ovate in P. major and narrowly lance-shaped in P. rugelii. P. major is native to Eurasia and perhaps to parts North America. Look for these plants in the lawn, along the roadside, and along the trails at Rice Creek.
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Our two broad leaved Plantains are very similar and best separated by the position of the line of dehiscence that encircles the seed capsule. In P. rugelii this line is well below the middle of the capsule while in P. major it is near the middle. Also, the little bracts at the base of the seed capsule are narrowly lance-shaped in P. rugelii and broadly ovate in P. major. P. rugelii is apparently native to North America. Look for these plants in the lawn, along the roadside, and along the trails at Rice Creek.
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This hybrid between our native P. occidentalis (Sycamore) and P. orientalis is planted as a street tree in cities around the world. A specimen is planted at the east edge of the bird feeder area behind the building at Rice Creek. It grows to be a large, spreading tree with distinctive bark that sheds in large plates exposing pale yellow-green inner layers. The inner bark of the native Sycamore is pale greenish-gray to white. Also, the native Sycamore has only a single spherical flower cluster per stalk while the London Plane may have two or three clusters.
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with simple alternate leaves
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This low growing groundcover is native on sandy or gravelly soils or rock ledges from southern New York south in the mountains to North Carolina and Tennessee. Red, pink, and white flowered forms are available on the market. It is planted in the flower beds along the entrance walk at Rice Creek.
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Beds
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This is an annual trailing or twining vine with heart-shaped leaves. It is a weedy European introduction. At Rice Creek it has been seen in the lawn under the bird feeders and in gravel soil along the entrance road.
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A small colony of this distinctive native annual grows on a marshy point of land just upstream from the shorter boardwalk on the Green Trail. Its four-angled stems bear reflexed (backward or downward pointing) prickles which help to hold the weak stems up by catching on other vegetation. The leaves have two broad, basal lobes . The pink to white flowers are born in short clusters at the tips of the stem and its branches.
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A European annual common in wet soils. The flowers are greenish white and are dotted with small glands visible with low power (10x) magnification. The ocrea is smooth on the surface or sparsely covered with closely appressed (lying tight against the surface) hairs. It is rimmed with short hairs. The ones in the middle and upper part of the stem are distended by clusters of enclosed cleistogamous flowers (flowers that never open but still form fruits). The ocreolae are smooth, with short-ciliate oblique rims. Adjacent ocreolae within the flower cluster are so close to each other that they overlap. The flower clusters are slender and arching or nodding at their summit. This is one of the many species of Persicaria found in shallow water of Rice Pond and adjacent marshes.
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A native perennial common on wet soils. The flowers are white, greenish, or pink, without glands. The ocrea is covered with straight, appressed hairs and is also rimmed with hairs. The ocreolae are separated by a short length of visible stem or just barely overlapping and usually have a fringe of short hairs. The flowering spikes are erect and slender. Another of the many species of Persicaria found in the shallow waters of Rice Pond and adjacent marshes.
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An annual native to both North America and Europe. The margin of the ocrea is smooth or jagged but without a fringe of hairs. The flower clusters are nodding. The flowers are pink, white, or greenish. The nerves of the back surface of the outer "petals" are forked into two recurved branches, a distinctive character visible at low (10x) magnification. This is another species of wet soils along the edges of Rice Pond and in the adjacent marshes.
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An annual weed introduced from Europe. The leaves often have a characteristic dark, central blotch. The ocreae are membranous, covered with short, fine hairs, and fringed with short hairs. The flower clusters are dense and straight. The flowers are pink or rose colored. Look for it along the entrance road, the edges of the lawn near the building, and around the parking area at the entrance of Rice Creek.
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This is a native, annual species of fields and waste places, usually on relatively moist, rich soil. The ocrea becomes jagged or frayed at the margin but lacks a fringe of hairs. The flowers are white or rose colored. The flower clusters are erect, cylindric, and blunt. At Rice Creek it occurs in roadside ditches, along the edge of the pond, and occasionally in the drier portions of marshes.
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A native annual or occasionally perennial plant of marshes and shallow water. The surface of the ochrea is smooth or with appressed hairs, its margin is fringed with long hairs. The flower clusters are erect or arched, usually with adjacent ocreole separated so that there is visible stem showing between at least the lower groups of flowers. The flowers are greenish white and covered with glandular dots visible under low magnification. This species forms large colonies in the shallow water at the edges of Rice Pond and in the adjacent marshes.
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This distinctive native annual forms large colonies in the marshes upstream from Rice Pond. Its four-angled stems are weak and form a dense mat held together by the reflexed (backward or downward pointing) prickles born on the angles of the stem and the underside of the leaf midrib. The arrow-head shaped leaves have two basal lobes that extend around the stem. The pink to white or green flowers are born in short dense clusters at the tips of the stem and its branches.
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This erect woodland perennial is so distinct from our other species of Persicaria that it is sometimes placed in a separate genus (Tovara). The leaves are stalked, large (up to 15 cm.), and broad. The ocreae are hairy and provided with a long marginal fringe. The greenish-white to slightly pinkish flowers are mostly well separated on the slender, terminal flower spike. The styles remain as a stiff, hooked, springy tip on the ripened fruit. Jumpseed is common in the moist woods at Rice Creek.
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This European native is an abundant, widespread weed. It is one of the most common plants found growing in cracks or joints in concrete sidewalks and parking areas in many towns and citys. Plants were observed at the edge of the entrance parking area at Rice Creek in the summer of 2007.
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This Eurasian perennial with slender, creeping roots forms colonies on disturbed soils. It is a dioecious species, with separate male and female individuals. The small plants are rarely more than ten to twelve inches tall. The leaves are usually three lobed, with an elongate terminal lobe and smaller, divergent lateral lobes. The flower spike may take up the entire upper half of the stem. It has been seen in parts of the lawn and on the powerline right of way at Rice Creek.
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This European perennial weed is best recognized by the irregularly wavy edges of the leaves and the large, branched flower clusters. The three dark brown "valves" enclosing the ripe fruit are smooth margined. Each bears an enlarged, fleshy "grain" at its base. The grain on one valve is usually larger than that of the other two. Curly Dock can be found occasionally along trails and the margins of the lawn at Rice Creek.
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Another European perennial weed. The leaves of Bitter Dock are flat. The flower cluster is branched from its base. The three "valves" enclosing the ripe fruit have elongate spine-like teeth on their margins. The midrib of one of the three valves bears an enlarged, fleshy "grain" at its base. Bitter Dock occurs occasionally along the trails at Rice Creek.
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This is an ephemeral spring woodland wildflower that grows from an underground corm (a short, vertical, thickened undergound stem functioning as a food storage organ). It has an opposite pair of leaves on the stem below the flower cluster. The leaves in C. caroliniana are relatively broad (3-8 times longer than wide) and have a distinct leaf stalk (petiole). The closely related and very similar C. virginica has narrower leaves (at least 8 times as long as broad) attached to the stem without narrowing to an obvious leaf stalk. The only currently known plants of C. caroliniana at Rice Creek grow at the edge on the trail at the south end of the wildflower display area, where they may have been planted.
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This annual garden plant is native to Brazil and other parts of South America. It is low and spreading, with succulent, linear leaves which are round in cross section. The flowers have particularly bright petals and come in a variety of colors. The pictures are of plants in the flower beds in 2008.
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Beds
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This is a world-wide weed of cultivated land and other disturbed habitats. The foliage is edible and the plant is cultivated for food in some parts of the world. It characteristically forms a mat of freely branched, glossy, green to purplish-red, succulent stems with succulent, flat, spatulate leaves. The flowers are small and yellow.
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Our wild species of Lysimachia have yellow flowers. L. ciliata is an erect plant with broad, opposite leaves with a rounded base and ciliate leaf stalk (petiole). The flowers are born singly on relatively long stalks on the upper stem at the points of leaf attachment. Close examination of the flowers will reveal the existence of small sterile stamens (staminodes) alternating with each of the five fertile stamens. Fringed Loosestrife grows on the flood plain of Rice Creek below the pond.
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Our wild species of Lysimachia have yellow flowers. L. nummularia is a vine-like, prostrate plant with nearly round, opposite leaves. The yellow flowers are relatively large, occur singly, and have dark red dots on the petals. Moneywort is a native of Europe which has escaped from cultivation in North America. It is a common trailside weed at Rice Creek.
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This garden perennial usually bears its leaves in whorls of 3 or 4. Clusters of showy flowers are attached to the stem at the base of each of the upper leaves. It is a native of Eurasia.
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Beds
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An erect plant with leaves in whorls of four.The yellow flowers are born on long stalks growing from the stem at the point of leaf attachment. The herbarium specimen illustrated was collected at Rice Creek in 1970. This plant has not been seen at Rice Creek in recent years.
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This erect plant of swamps and wet soil bears its flowers in a showy, elongate, terminal cluster. The leaves are opposite and rather narrow. Elongate bulbs may develop from the base of the upper leaves late in the season. L. terrestris can be found in the open marsh upstream from the pond at Rice Creek.
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The European Primula veris is sometimes grown in the flower beds at Rice Creek. It bears its flowers early in the season on leafless stems arising from a basal cluster of broad leaves.
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This small flowered, perennial, streamside plant occurs from tropical American as far north as New Brunswick and British Columbia. It was found on the muddy stream bank upstream from the pond at Rice Creek.
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Also known as Doll's Eyes, A. pachypoda is best characterized by its white fruits born on stout, red stalks (pedicels). Some individuals have pinkish fruits. The thick fruiting stalks are already distinct from the slender ones of A. rubra at the time of flowering. White Baneberry is relatively common in older woods on medium to well drained soils at Rice Creek.
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A. rubra is characterized by red fruits born on slender stalks. A white fruited form occurs in some populations but has not been seen at Rice Creek. Red Baneberry is not common at Rice Creek. It was planted in the wildflower display area and has been found growing in the woods not far off Thompson Road.
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Anemones have a single whorl of floral appendages which by convention and the nature of their development are called sepals even though they are usually petaloid (colored, broad and showy). Anemone acutiloba, often put in the genus Hepatica, is an early spring woodland wildflower differentiated from Anemone americana (Hepatica americana) by the more pointed shape of its leaflets. Its flowers have between 5 and 12 petal-like, blue, pink, or white sepals separated by a short stalk from a whorl of three sepal-like bracts. It was planted near the east end of the trail through the wildflower display area and seems to be spreading slowly.
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Anemones have a single whorl of floral appendages which by convention and the nature of their development are called sepals even though they are usually petaloid (colored, broad and showy). This white flowered is common along some of the trails and in low lying, moist, partially shaded areas along the creek.
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Anemones have a single whorl of floral appendages which by convention and the nature of their development are called sepals even though they are usually petaloid (colored, broad and showy). A. hupehensis is a popular garden plant which can be found in the flower beds at Rice Creek.
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Beds
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The native, red flowered Columbine was planted near the west entrance of the wildflower display area and persisted for many years as a single plant. It prefers moist but well drained sites and is common on the edge of wooded bluffs along the shore of Lake Ontario or on shaded rocky cliffs at the lake shore or further inland. It has not been seen in recent years at Rice Creek.
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Various species and hyprids of Columbine are commonly used as garden ornamentals. All have spurred petals; many have nodding flowers but some are upright.
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Beds
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Marsh Marigold or Cowslip is common in wooded swamps and localized wet depressions in the forest. Its round, bright green leaves and buttercup-like flowers can be seen from a distance in the early spring woods. The young leaves before flowering time are a tasty, traditional spring potherb, but they must be boiled in several changes of water (which must then be discarded) to remove soluble, bitter, poisonous substances before eating. Marsh Marigold has been planted and appears to be extending its colonies in some of the shallow drainage streams that cross the wildflower display area at Rice Creek.
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Our native Clematis is an herbaceous climbing vine with opposite, three parted, compound leaves. The vine is held up by the leaf stalks, which act like tendrils, wraping around the stems and branches of other plants. The small white flowers are arranged in dense clusters. The species is "polygamo-dioecious", with mostly separate male and female flowers on individual male or female plants but with a few "perfect" flowers containing both stamens and pistils. After flowering, the cluster of pistils from a female flower develops into a loose sphere of small, one-seeded fruits each with a long plume grown from the hairy style. These fruit clusters persist into the winter giving the appearance of loose balls of cotton on the dead upper portions of the vine.
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This distinctive creeping perennial with evergreen trifoliate leaves is common in the northern forests and bogs of the Adirondacks and New England and occasionally found in our area. The flowers have white, petal-like sepals arranged below a whorl of thick tipped structures that produce nectar in their hollow summit. The 3 - 7 separate pistils are born on short, thin, elongate bases above the many stamens. The specimen illustrated was collected at Rice Creek in 1970. This plant has not been seen at the Field Station in recent years.
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Originally from Siberia and China, this species, highly modified in cultivation, forms the basis for our common garden Peonies. It is included in the garden along the building entrance walk at Rice Creek..
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Beds
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This spring flowering woodland buttercup is distinguished by its small petaled flowers and undivided basal leaves. It is common along some of the trails and in forests at the Field Station.
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This introduced European species is our common buttercup of fields and pastures. Look for it in any of the open fields and in openings along the trails at Rice Creek.
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This European species spreads by small bulbs and tubers to form dense patches of ground cover. It is the earliest flowering buttercup in our flora. It is an invasive species that is increasingly abundant along trails at Rice Creek, to the extent that control efforts have been initiated.
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This large flowered native buttercup is common in open swamps and wetlands. It is abundant in the area just upstream from the shorter boardwalk on the Green Trail. It is distinguished, among other features, by long, prostrate, rooting stolons. Variety nitidus is a polyploid form distinguished from var. cericetorum by the fact that the sepals bend back at a point a bit above their base rather than at the base.
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This buttercup is distinguished by its small petaled flowers and deeply three-parted basal leaves. Some references list it as native to the Eastern United States, some list it as introduced. It now occurs wordwide in the north-temperate latitudes. A specimen from 1970 is in the herbarium at Rice Creek. Living plants were found in the roadside ditch along the abandoned section of Brownell Road just beyond the turn to the Field Station buildings in the spring of 2002 and 2003. Another plant was found on the western shore of Rice Pond in 2009.
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As the common name implies, this is a tall plant reaching three to nine feet in height. The flowers are usually unisexual, bearing stamens or pistils but not both. Petals are absent and the rudimentary sepals which form the cover of the flower bud fall soon after the flower opens. The filaments (stalks) of the stamens are broad, flat and white in color, giving the ample clusters of staminate flowers a white, fluffy appearance. This is a plant of wet meadows, marshes, and rich woods. It is common along the Green Trail in the wildflower display area at Rice Creek.
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The Smooth Buckthorn, also known as Glossy Buckthorn or European Alder-Buckthorn, is an agressive Eurasian species of particular concern in some types of wetlands. The buds are characteristically naked (without covering scales), fuzzy, and dark brown. It is moderately common but not abundant and not, as yet, perceived as a problem invader at Rice Creek.
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with simple alternate leaves
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This Eurasian shrub is an aggressive invader of abandoned fields and, once established, persists in developing second growth forests. The leaves are opposite or almost so on some branches and alternate on others. Many of the branches end in a sharp thorn. The black fruits, as the scientific name suggests, are purgative. European or Common Buckthorn is common in the fields and some of the second growth forests at Rice Creek and is especially abundant in the shrub vegetation east of the Upper Field.
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with simple alternate leaves
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with opposite leaves
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This is a common woodland perennial distinguished by its large compound leaves, small yellow flowers, and especially by the hooked spiny hairs around the base of the flower and mature fruit. Look for it in mid to late summer in moist forests at Rice Creek.
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This perennial herb with simple, shallowly lobed, rounded leaves is a native of Europe and Asia and occasionally escapes from cultivation in the Northeastern United States. The small flowers lack petals and are arranged in small clusters. Lady's Mantle is planted in the herb garden at Rice Creek.
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Garden
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This and A. laevis are tall shrubs or small trees reaching as much as 15 m (50 ft.) in height. They flower early in the season, often being the first trees or shrubs to be noticed in the spring. The Amelanchiers are difficult to tell apart when they are not in flower. Compared to A. laevis, this species has slightly shorter petals and slightly shorter flower stalks. The ovary of the flowers is smooth or occasionally slightly hairy. The leaves are less than half-grown at flowering time, hairy on the underside (this pubescence is lost as the leaves mature), and green with only the faintest suggestion of coppery red. The fruits of A. arborea are dark red-purple and tend to be dry and relatively tasteless. The plant illustrated grows on the bank of Rice Pond just west of the old bridge on Brownell Road.
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with simple alternate leaves
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with simple alternate leaves
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This and A. arborea are tall shrubs or small trees reaching as much as 15 m (50 ft.) in height. They flower early in the season, often being the first trees or shrubs to be noticed in the spring. The Amelanchiers are difficult to tell apart when they are not in flower. Compared to A. arborea, this species has slightly longer petals and slightly longer flower stalks. The ovary of the flowers is smooth. The leaves are half-grown at flowering time, hairless, and have a prominent coppery-red hue. The fruits of A. laevis are dark purple-red or black and sweet and juicy. The plant illustrated grows in the second growth forest along the east side of the entrance road about half way between the turn off Brownell Road and the building parking area.
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with simple alternate leaves
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This is a shrubby plant that usually flowers slightly later than A. arborea and A. laevis. The flower clusters tend to be more upright. The densly hairy ovaries are distinctive among the Amelanchiers in our area. The specimen illustrated grows along the green trail between the south end of the long boardwalk and the turn off to Falbrook Farm.
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with simple alternate leaves
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Two specimens of this Japanese ornamental shrub, one white flowered and one orange flowered, grow in the landscape bed along the board fence on the east side of the main building at Rice Creek.
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with simple alternate leaves
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Though many of our native hawthorns are difficult to identify to species, this Eurasian escape from cultivation is easily distinguished by the shape of its leaves and its relatively short, unbranched thorns. It is common in parts of the second growth forest at Rice Creek, particularly in the wildflower display area.
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with simple alternate leaves
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The taxonomy of our native Hawthorns is beset with tremendous uncertainty due to rampant hybridization, apomixis (production of seeds by non-sexual means), and polyploidy within the genus. The long, branched thorns are featured on most of our native species. The specimen illustrated grows at the edge of a clearing on the trail leading from Rice Creek's green trail towards Fallbrook Farm. In some manuals it would key to C. pedicellata.
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with simple alternate leaves
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This Hawthorn occurs as scattered individuals in the second growth forest at Rice Creek. The long, branched thorns are featured on many of our native species. Leaf shape and texture are reliable features for identification among the plants at Rice Creek but similar species may be found in other areas.
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with simple alternate leaves
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Strawberries are easily identified by their distinctive three parted leaves and white petaled flowers and their tendency to spread by elongate runners or "stolons". However, our two native species are difficult to tell apart except when in fruit. F. vesca, which prefers shady habitats, bears its "seeds" (technically hard coated one-seeded fruits) above the smooth surface of the "berry" (technically the swollen, soft, sweet tip of the flower branch). This species occurs along the trails in the wildflower display area and in front of the boat rack behind the garage. The fruits are excellent for eating out of hand. This is often the "wild strawberry" offered by nurseries and garden catalogs.
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Strawberries are easily identified by their distinctive three parted leaves and white petaled flowers and their tendency to spread by elongate runners or "stolons". However, our two native species are difficult to tell apart except when in fruit. F. virginiana, which prefers open, sunny habitats, bears its "seeds" (technically hard coated one-seeded fruits) in depressions on the surface of the "berry" (technically the swollen, soft, sweet tip of the flower branch). This species occurs in the mown fields at Rice Creek. The fruits are excellent for eating out of hand. F. virginiana is one of the ancestors of the hybrid cultivated strawberry.
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This common woodland plant occurs along many of the trails at Rice Creek. Recognize it by its compound leaves, white flowers, and cluster of dry, one-seed fruits each tipped by the hooked, bristle-like remains of the pistil's style. These distinctive fruits will be among the collection you bring home on your trouser legs at the end of an autumn walk in the woods.
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This Asian plant, an escape from cultivation, grows along the Blue Trail near its eastern junction with the Orange Trail. It is distinguished from the more common "wild" apple by its hairless flower stalks and leaves.
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with simple alternate leaves
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The cultivated apple probably originated in Europe and Western Asia. It persists in old orchards and is frequently established from seed in hedgerows and second growth forests. These volunteers will gradually die out as the forest canopy grows above them restricting their access to light. The apple is distinguished by its wooly-hairy twigs, flower stalks, and young leaves. Wild trees vary in the color and tartness of their fruits.
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with simple alternate leaves
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Two specimens of this cultivated ornamental from Japan grow at the edge of the pavement near the staff parking area at Rice Creek and a few small volunteers have been seen along Brownell Road near the old bridge. The twigs and young leaves are hairy and the fruits quite small (6-8 mm in diameter). The 3 (sometimes 5) lobed leaves of the more elongate shoots are distinctive.
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with simple alternate leaves
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This introduction from Europe occasionally appears as a lawn weed particularly in the bird feeder area behind the main building at Rice Creek. The underside of the leaves is covered by dense, silvery hairs. The flowers are small, with the yellow petals no longer than the sepals beneath them.
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This somewhat weedy annual or short-lived perennial plant occurs in a wide variety of habitats in Europe, Northern Asia, and North America. The stems and foliage are coarsely hairy and the petals of the small yellow flowers are no longer than the sepals and bracts just beneath them. It is not common at Rice Creek, but a specimen was once collected from the power line right-of-way.
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This is the most common Potentilla in our area. It is a European native, introduced and now widespread in old fields, along roadsides, and in similar disturbed habitats. The yellow flowers are showy, with petals approaching a centimeter in length.
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This native plant has long, thin stems that arch over and take root where they touch the ground. In this way it can spread to form large colonies. It can be found in the open area near the west end of the lower trail in the wildflower display area. A large colony grows in the shrubby woods along the orange trail in the northern part of the Field Station properties.
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The sweet cherry, Prunus avium, a Eurasian species, was once a major orchard crop on the Lake Ontario plain stretching west from Oswego. It has spread from cultivation and persists along hedgerows, roadsides, and in second growth forests. It grows readily from seed but does not reproduce well in dense, old growth forests. As with other escaped orchard trees, the fruit of the wild sweet cherries varies in sweetness from one individual to the next. Birds favor the fruit and are instrumental in spreading the seed. Sweet cherry pits are a staple in the diet of chipmunks in some areas at Rice Creek.
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Pin cherry is called fire cherry in some areas in reference to its ability to colonize areas after forest or brush fires. It is a small tree, bearing small red cherries in clusters similar to those of the cultivated Sweet and Sour Cherries. A few individuals grow along the red trail where it approaches Hilton Pond from the south.
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Black cherry is a large tree of older second growth forests. It supplies the cherry lumber used in fine furniture, cabinets, and floors. The fruits are born in elongate clusters similar to those of choke cherry. Black cherry's fruits are dark in color and mildly astringent. They are sometimes used for jellies and preserves as well as for making wine. The bark of the tree is dark and flakey, sometimes described as resembling burnt potato chips. Black cherry saplings and trees are common in second growth forest at Rice Creek.
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Choke cherry is a common shrub or small tree of hedgerows, roadsides and forest margins in Central New York. The fruits are born in elongate clusters like those of black cherry, but, as the name suggests, they are highly astringent as well as being lighter in color than those of black cherry. Nevertheless, with sufficient sugar they make a fine jelly or jam. Choke cherry is scattered along the trails at Rice Creek in areas of open, young second growth forest.
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The cultivated pear occasionally escapes and persists in the wild. The trees are somewhat similar to volunteer wild apples but with narrower, more upright crowns and more prominantly checkered bark. The leaves are hairless on both the upper and lower surfaces while apple leaves are hairy on the under surface. One feature used to distinguish the genus Pyrus from the genus Malus is the presence of hard, thick-walled "stone cells" in the flesh of pear fruits. A pear tree can be seen at the edge of the woods behind the boat storage rack behind the garage at Rice Creek.
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This European wild rose has escaped from cultivation and is occasionally found in old fields in this area. A large specimen has been left undisturbed in the lower field at Rice Creek and smaller individuals have been seen in the middle field. It has large, showy pink flowers which are followed by relatively large, red, ellipsoid fruits. The linear to spreading unlobed stipules at the base of the leaf stalks distinguish this species from multiflora rose even when flowers and fruits are not available.
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This East Asian wild rose has become one of the most difficult invasive exotic species in old fields and second growth forests in the Oswego region. It forms dense thickets of long, arching stems armed with sharp, recurved prickles. The relatively small, white to pink flowers are arranged in large, showy clusters. The clusters of small, red, spherical fruits mature in late summer and fall. To confirm identification of plants without flowers or fruits, look for the narrow pointed tip and slender lateral lobes on the stipules on the basal portion of the leaf stalk. Multiflora Rose is common at Rice Creek Field Station.
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This native wild rose is common in open shrubby swamps in the Oswego area. The pink flower is roughly the size of the flower of Dog Rose. The fruits are somewhat smaller and spherical. The base of the leaf stalk bears narrow, unlobed stipules. The thorns are weaker than those of dog rose and multiflora rose but still strong and sharp enough to give an unpleasant scratch. A rather large specimen grows at the shore of Rice Pond nearly across from the main Field Station building.
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This is the common, native wild blackberry. In the blackberries, as contrasted with the raspberries, there is an internal core due to the fact that the floral receptacle comes off with the cluster of minute fruits that make up the "berry". The "canes" (stems) are heavily armed with stout prickles. The leaves are tri-foliate or palmately compound. Most of the blackberries and raspberrys bear fruits on stems that are two years old. The ripe fruits of this species are black, elongate, and somewhat less fleshy than those of the similar Himalaya Blackberry. Wild Blackberries are moderately common in the middle field and along the blue and red trails north of the middle field at Rice Creek.
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This European blackberry is similar to the native blackberry but larger in nearly every respect; the stems are thicker and taller, and the thorns heavier. The leaves are tri-foliate or palmately compound. Most of the blackberries and raspberrys bear fruits on stems that are two years old. The berries of this species are larger but proportionately shorter than those of the native Wild Blackberry. The individual fruits, the small subunits of the blackberry, are larger and juicier than those of the native species. Like the native Wild Blackberry, the Himalaya Blackberry is found in the middle field and along the red and blue trails north of the middle field. It is also abundant on the north facing slope north of the orange trail.
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The dewberries are essentially prostrate, creeping blackberries. The stems of this species are armed with small, stout, curved prickles and walking through the tangle of a dense colony in shorts and sneakers can be painful. The berries are quite edible but are not abundantly produced in our area. A healthy colony of this species grows along the southwest side of the entrance drive at Rice Creek after it diverges from Brownell Road.
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The dewberries are essentially prostrate, creeping blackberries. The stems of this species have slender, weak, only slightly curved prickles. The swamp dewberry occurs in wet sites in the old growth forest at Rice Creek.
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Most of the blackberries and raspberrys bear fruits on stems that are two years old. In the raspberries the cluster of small fruits that makes up the "berry" comes off free from the floral receptacle. The stems of the Red Raspberry bear slender based prickles and glandular hairs. The leaves are tri-foliate or pinnately compound. Red Raspberries are commonly found at the edges of fields and second growth woods at Rice Creek.
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In the raspberries the cluster of small fruits that makes up the "berry" comes off free from the floral receptacle. Most of the blackberries and raspberrys bear fruits on stems that are two years old. The stems of the Black Raspberry are often coated with a light blue, waxy film during the first year. These first year stems often arch over and root at the tip. The fruits are usually a dark blue-black when ripe but ripen yellow on some plants.
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The stems of this small shrub are devoid of prickles and bristles. This is the only member of the of the genus Rubus in our flora with simple, lobed leaves. The flowers are large and colorful. The shallowly curved berries are rather dry and insipid to the taste. It is common along the entrance road at Rice Creek.
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This Eurasian perennial is occasionally grown as a salad green and is sometimes included in the herb garden at Rice Creek. The pinnately compound leaves and small flowers borne in dense heads are characteristic. It is said to be established as a weed of roadsides and waste places in some parts of the northeast but is not common locally
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This is a small tree with pinnately compound leaves, showy clusters of white flowers and, later in the season, orange-red fruits. It differs from the two native northeastern species of Sorbus in having the twigs, lower leaf surfaces, and winter buds covered with soft, whitish hairs. European Mountain-Ash was planted for wildlife food at Rice Creek in the 1960s. It persists at the edges of second growth forests but has not spread invasively as have European Buckthorn, the bush Honeysuckles, and Multiflora Rose.
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This woody shrub occurs in some abundance at the edge of the wetland south of the longer boardwalk on the Green Trail at Rice Creek. This usually white flowered species is one of two native wild Spiraeas to be found in our area. The other (S. tomentosa) usually has pink flowers and has thicker leaves covered on the under surface with a mat of dense hairs.
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Woodruff, with its whorled leaves and small, white flowers, resembles a very robust Galium. It is differentiated from the Bedstraws by the fact that the tubular basal portion of the corolla is longer than the four lobes that branch from the end of this tube. Woodruff is grown in the herb garden at Rice Creek. It grows naturally in Europe, Asia, and North Africa.
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This shrub grows in open swamps sometimes forming nearly pure stands in moderately deep water. Its leaves grow in pairs or in whorls of three. The spherical head of small white flowers is characteristic. It is somewhat common in shallow water along the northeast shore of Rice Pond.
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The Bedstraws are low growing, often weak stemmed plants with small white flowers and whorled leaves, sometimes posing a challenge as far as species identification. G. aparine is a common annual with weak, floppy stems held in a tangle by the strong, backward pointed, hook-like hairs lying in rows along the angles of the stem. The leaves, which are usually borne in whorls of 8, have backward pointed hairs along the edges and usually on the midrib beneath.. The flowers are greenish white and the two parted fruits are usually hairy or occasonially smooth. This species occurs sporadically in fields and at the edge of second growth woods at Rice Creek.
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The Bedstraws are low growing, often weak stemmed plants with small white flowers and whorled leaves, sometimes posing a challenge as far as species identification. G. asprellum is a weak stemmed perennial with leaves in whorls of 6 on the main stem and 4's or 5's on branches. The ridges of the stem are covered with stiff, backward pointing hairs that serve to hold the plants in an upright tangle. The leaves are acute or drawn out at the tip and bear backward pointing hairs on the margins and on the lower side of the midrib. The flowers are small and white and the two parted fruits are smooth surfaced. This is a plant of moist woods and thickets. The specimen illustrated was collected at Rice Creek in 1970.
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The Bedstraws are low growing, often weak stemmed plants with small white flowers and whorled leaves, sometimes posing a challenge as far as species identification. G. mollugo is an introduced Eurasian plant with weedy tendencies. The stems are weak but more or less erect and generally without hairs. The leaves have forward pointing hairs along the margin and usually occur in whorls of 6 or 8. The flower cluster contains many branches and is rather showy. The small fruits have a smooth surface. This species is common in the mown fields at Rice Creek especially in some parts of the lower field where it comprises most of the visible vegetation towards the end of summer.
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The Bedstraws are low growing, often weak stemmed plants with small white flowers and whorled leaves, sometimes posing a challenge as far as species identification. G. obtusum is a small plant with blunt or broadly pointed leaves in whorls of 4. The stems are smooth except for clusters of short hairs just beneath the leaves. The white flowers have four petal lobes and the small fruits have a smooth surface. This species is scattered through the ground cover in swamps and other wet places.
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The Bedstraws are low growing, often weak stemmed plants with small white flowers and whorled leaves, sometimes posing a challenge as far as species identification. G. tinctorium and the very similar species G. trifidum are the two species of Galium in our flora with three instead of four petal lobes. These are small plants with blunt tiped leaves in whorls of 4 to 6. The stems usually have small, backwoard pointed, hook-like hairs on the angles. The small fruits are smooth on the surface. This is a species of swamps and other wet places.
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The Bedstraws are low growing, often weak stemmed plants with small white flowers and whorled leaves, sometimes posing a challenge as far as species identification. G. triflorum is a weak stemmed perennial with stiff, hooked, downward pointing hairs on the angles of the stem. The long-pointed leaves are mostly in whorls of six. Small hairs on the edge of the leaf point toward the tip and hook-like hairs on the underside of the leaf midrib point towards the leaf base. The four lobed flowers are greenish-white and the hairs covering the surface of the small fruits have an expanded base. This is a plant of moist woodlands.
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This European species is planted in the Herb Garden at Rice Creek. It has stiff, upright stems narrow leaves in whorls of 8 to 12 and is the only yellow flowered Galium in our flora.
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This is a creeping plant with opposite leaves and white flowers borne in pairs on a single stalk. The two paired flowers are fused at the base and form a single, red, somewhat dry, fleshy fruit. Partridge-Berry is common in the forest of northern New York but is not common in the immediate Oswego area. A small patch of Partridge-Berry has been planted near the southern end of the wildflower display area at Rice Creek. This species also occurs under the large old sugar maple on the point across Rice Pond from the main building at Rice Creek.
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This European perennial is planted in the herb garden at Rice Creek. Its small, blue green, divided leaves and strong odor are characteristic.
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Eastern Cottonwood is one of our largest native trees. It is a fast growing tree of moist to wet soils. Like other poplars, aspens, and willows, it has small seeds with little stored food that must be deposited on nearly bare, moist, sunlit soil if the seedlings are to survive. As in most of our other species of Populus, the leaf stalks of Eastern Cottonwood are flattened laterally. P. deltoides is distinguished from our two aspens by its more triangular leaf shape and by the size and shape of the teeth on the leaf margins. Cottonwood usually has two to five small glandular growths at the point where the leaf stalk joins the leaf blade. This is the most reliable feature differentiating the Eastern Cottonwood from the very similar European Black Poplar. Cottonwood occurs as isolated individuals or in small groves in wet spots in the second growth forest at Rice Creek. A number of cottonwood trees grow along the north and east side of the entrance road at the Field Station.
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The European Black Poplar is a large tree very similar in most respects to our native Eastern Cottonwood. The leaves are only slightly different in shape from those of Eastern Cottonwood but they lack the small glands at the summit of the leaf stalk characterstic of the Cottonwood. Black Poplars are sometimes planted as ornamental trees and occasionally escape or persist in the developing second growth forest. A grove of Black Poplars occurs just east of the Orange Trail slightly south of the turn in the northeastern portion of the Rice Creek properties. The cultivated Lombardy Poplar is form of this species.
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Quaking aspen is a common pioneer on bare, moist soil. It is a fast growing, short lived tree that develops into many-stemmed colonies by sprouting from the root system. It will not persist in the shade of other trees and is therefore not a component of older forests in our area. Aspen bark remains smooth until the trunk of the tree is quite large. In the eastern United States, the smooth, young bark of Quaking Aspen is grayish-green. In the Rocky Mountains it is a pure, chalky white. The leaves are usually round, with fine marginal teeth and born on flattened leaf stalks. Quaking Aspen can be found in a few scattered spots in the second growth forest at Rice Creek. The very similar Bigtooth Aspen (P. grandidentata) with coarser marginal teeth on the leaves and young bark with a yellowish cast, occurs in the area but has not been found at Rice Creek.
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This European species can grow to a large tree with greenish to yellowish twigs that easily break off and take root in wet soil or shallow water. The leaves are long and narrow with gland-tipped teeth on the margins. The twigs, leaf stalks and young leaves, especially the underside of the leaves, are silvery-silky. Look for White Willow among the trees along Rice Creek near the Brownell Road bridge. It also grows as sprouts in the lower, wet section of the middle field.
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This is a shrub or multi-stemmed tree with smooth yellowish to reddish-brown, often drooping twigs. The leaves have long, slender tips and are finely toothed on the margins. The leaf stalks are often twisted and may bear glands at their summit. Look for Peach-leaved Willow along the shores of Rice Creek.
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This willow is a shrub to small tree with slender, spreading, brownish, hairy to nearly smooth twigs. The leaves are relatively broad, with pointed tips and smooth to wavy margins. They are gray-hairy on both sides and show a prominent net-like pattern of veins on the under side. Beaked Willow has been seen in a broad drainage in the second growth forest between the orange trail and the green trail south of the entrance road at Rice Creek. Material illustrated was collected in the moist, gravelly open area where Rice Creek properties border on Route 104.
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Pussy Willow is a common shrub in open swamps and wet abandoned fields. It has stout, reddish to dark brown twigs that are hairy when young but later become smooth. The leaves are relatively broad, dark green on top and lighter on the under surface. They are smooth at maturity but often bear reddish hairs when young. The flower clusters or catkins appear in early spring long before the leaves appear. Pussy Willows grow along the shores of Rice Pond and Rice Creek.
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This is a shrubby willow with reddish-brown to dark brown twigs, buds, and leaf stalks that are hairy when young. The long, narrow, finely toothed leaves are reddish or purplish and hairy when young; green above, bluish below and smooth when mature. It occurs occassionally along the margins of Rice Pond and as sprouts in the lower, wet section of the middle field and near the eastern border of the upper field. It is a complex species with a transcontinental distribution in North America.
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This large tree of European origin has escaped from cultivation and is commonly found in open, wet flood plains in our area. The twigs are stout, ascending or spreading, greenish to dark red, smooth or slightly hairy, and very brittle at the base. They are easily broken off and readily take root in wet soil. The leaves are long, narrow, and coarsly toothed. The leaf stalks bear prominent glands near the base of the leaf. Large Crack Willows grow near the old bridge on the abandoned section of Brownell Road.
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This large Asian willow is one of the basic species used in the development of hybrid ornamental willows. One of its distinguishing characteristics is the production of adventitious roots from the trunk. These can be seen as small roots starting in the crevices of the bark in the lower trunk. A row of these willows and their hybrids planted in the area where the blue trail leaves the spruce plantation behing the herb garden formed the "Willow Grove". Like many other large tree willows these trees are very susceptible to wind and ice damage. Many of the trees planted at Rice Creek were lost in an ice storm in April of 2004.
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This native willow grows to be a large tree, often with multiple leaning trunks. The leaves are narrow, very finely toothed, often falcate (sickle shaped) and drooping. The leaf veins curve towards the tip of the leaf and join at their tips forming a continuous marginal vein. The stipules at the base of the leaf stalk are relatively large, but fall off as the leaf ages. Look for black willow at the shore of Rice Pond near the dam.
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This is a shrubby willow with slender, yellow to dark brown twigs. The leaves are narrow, gradually tapering to the tip or with nearly parallel sides, with smooth or very finely toothed margins. They are densely silky when first opening but smooth surfaced when mature. Stipules are minute or absent. Look for this willow along the shore of Rice Pond.
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This slender stemmed, shrubby willow from Europe was cultivated in our area as basket making material. It can now be found occasionally growing wild. The branches are upright, slender and straight, greenish yellow or sometimes purplish in color. The most distinctive feature is in the leaf arrangement. All other willows have alternate leaves, that is only a single leaf attached at a particular level on the stem. Basket willow has at least some leaves born in pairs, one opposite the other at nearly the same level on the stem. Basket willow has been found along Rice Creek below the pond and in the marsh near the northwest corner of the pond.
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Lizard's-Tail is a herbaceous
plant of swamps and shady
marshes. It has elongate
heart shaped leaves and long, white flowered spikes
with drooping tips. A specimen in the herbarium attests to its presence at Rice
Creek in the early years. A small population was discovered near the inland
edge of the marsh on the west side of Rice Pond in 2009.
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This species originates from Japan. Astilbe is characterized by its highly branched, dense inflorescence of small white or pink flowers and large compound leaves. It is a favorite for shady flower beds. Look for it in the beds along the entrance to the building at Rice Creek.
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This is a small, creeping plant that forms mats on wet soil or in shallow water. Its inconspicuous greenish flowers are among the first to open in the spring often blooming in April. It can be found along Rice Creek downstream from the pond.
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Coral Bells takes its name from its small red bell-like flowers born on slender branched stems that project well above the ground-level canopy of leaves. It is a native of Arizona and Mexico. Look for it in the beds along the entrance to the building at Rice Creek.
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The delicate white petaled flowers born in a dense cluster on delicate stems rising above a leafy base provide the basis for the common name of this plant. It is a native spring flower of rich woodlands. It has been transplanted into the wildflower display area at Rice Creek where a colony can be seen not far from the lower entrance from the lawn.
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This small annual weed of roadsides, waste places, and gardens is a native of Europe. The flowers resemble tiny blue snap dragons with a yellow area on the swelling at the mouth of the flower tube known as the "palate". Look for it around the gravel parking area at the entrance gate at Rice Creek.
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This is a late flall flowering plant of marshes, swamps, and wet meadows. The white flowers are two lipped with the lips closely appressed so that a pollinating insect must force the flower open to gain access to the nectar and pollen within. Look for it along the edge of the lawn at the margins of the pond and in wet shady areas along the pond and the flood plain of Rice Creek.
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This European bienniial is grown in traditional gardens and occasionally persists near the sites of old dwellings in our area. Its large, open tubular purple or white flowers bear dark purple spots on the inner surface. It is planted from time to time in the herb garden and in the flower beds along the entrance walk at Rice Creek.
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This small, pale yellow flowered annual can be found on exposed mud flats at the shore of the pond or along the streams at Rice Creek. It occasionally occurs in muddy areas in the trails. It is a delicate, somewhat succulent plant with narrow opposite leaves.
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This European native is wide spread and common in old fields and along roadsides in our area. The upright stem has numerous, very narrow slightly bluish leaves. The flowers are yellow with an orange "palate". Linaria is common in the open fields at Rice Creek and between Rice Creek and Fallbrook Farm.
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This small, annual plant with violet to white flowers is native to the eastern United States and adjacent Canada and is also found in the Pacific states. It grows on sandy or muddy shorelines. It can be found occasionally along the shore of Rice Pond and was abundant on exposed mud the summer after the beaver dam above the pond washed out in a winter flood.
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This short-lived perennial plant of muddy shores and swamps is the only common Mimulus in our area. It is closely related to another blue flowered Monkeyflower, M. alatus, from which it is distinguished by having stalkless leaves and flower stalks longer than the calyx of the flower. Other Monkeyflowers that may be found growing wild in our area have yellow flowers. M. ringens can be found along the edges of Rice Creek in the marsh above the pond.
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This is a short-lived perennial of moist open woods and prairies in the Eastern United States ranging as far west as Texas and South Dakota. At Rice Creek it occurs occasionally along the upland trails.
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Moth Mullein is a Eurasian biennial plant commonly occuring as a weed of roadsides and other disturbed sites in our area. There are both yellow flowered and white flowered forms. The dense purple hairs of the stamens are distinctive. Look for it along the edges of the gravel parking area at the Field Station entrance and along the entrance road.
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This European native is now common throughout North America. It is a biennial, producing a distinctive clump of large, velvety leaves during its first year followed by a tall stalk with a dense terminal spike of yellow flowers in the second summer. The dead flower stalks often persist through the winter. It prefers disturbed sites with poor soil. It has traditional medicinal uses and is grown most years in the herb garden at Rice Creek. Look for it also at the edges of the gravel parking area at the Field Station entrance and along the entrance road.
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This Eurasian annual plant is a common weed of lawns and fields. It has very small, short stalked, bluish flowers which are born in the axils of the upper leaves. It can be found in the lawn under the bird feeders at Rice Creek.
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This blue-flowered, perennial speedwell from Europe is common in patches along some of the trails at Rice Creek as well as in the Field Station lawn. The colorful flowers are born on evident stalks.
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This perennial with creeping stems is native to Europe but is now common in dry fields and upland woods in our area. The small, light blue flowers are born in spike-like clusters that arise as branches from the main stem. It is fairly common in drier second growth woods and conifer plantations at Rice Creek.
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This colorful, blue flowered annual from southwest Asia occurs in dense colonies in damp or shady lawns at Rice Creek. The flowers are born on relatively long stalks in the terminal portion of the stem.
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This narrow leaved speedwell with bluish flowers grows as a native plant in swamps and bogs throughout the northern part of the temperate zone in North America, Europe, and Asia. It can be found in the marsh upstream from Rice Pond.
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This is a common, perennial weed of fields, gardens, and lawns in our area. A native variety occurs further north but our material is of European origin. The small, pale flowers are marked with a pattern of blue lines. They are clustered towards the tips of the stems. Look for it as a lawn weed at Rice Creek.
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This plant is a relative of the Chinese-lantern plant and the tomatillo. In all species of this genus, the tubular part of the flower's calyx enlarges after the flowering period is over to form a bladder-like covering for the tomato-like fruit. The flower itself has the typical form and structure for the Nightshade Family, with united petals and elongate anthers pressed closely around the style. As in most species of Physalis, the petals are yellowish, each usually with a large dark spot towards the base. Look for this plant along the lower branch of the blue trail through the lower mown field adjacent to Rice Creek.
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This plant is native to the southeastern United States and has spread as a weed of fields and orchards north into our area. The leaves are spiny along the main veins, the flower is pale violet to white. The fruits are yellow when ripe, and quite poisonous. You may find Horse-Nettle along the extension of the orange trail into the hay field between Rice Creek and Fallbrook Farm.
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This is a perennial, herbaceous vine with rank smelling foliage that prefers shaded sites in moist woods and wooded swamps. Though actually an introduction from Eurasia it can be found in remote swamp woods as well as in young lowland woods throughout our area. Its blue flowers with conspicuous yellow anthers and bright red fruits are distinctive. Some authors indicate that the fruit is poisonous while others record it as edible. At Rice Creek you will most often see it in low lying second growth woods on moist soil
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Opinions vary on the proper classification of this widespread, weedy, annual plant. Some authorities consider it a broadly circumscribed species with separate varieties native to North America and Europe. Others consider the North American material to be a species on its own (S. ptycanthum) distinct from the European S. nigrum. It has relatively small white or bluish flowers and berry-like fruits which are black when mature. The fruits are said to be poisonous, at least when young. Black Nightshade was collected in 1997 when it was found growing on recently disturbed soil at the lower end of the power line right of way. It might be expected to reoccur as a roadside or garden weed.
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Basswood is a native tree of the mixed hardwood forest of our region. It's rounded leaves are characteristically asymetrical at the base. The fragrant pale yellowish flowers are born in clusters branching from the underside of a leaf-like bract. Honey bees make an especially prized honey from their sweet nectar. The wood is soft and easily carved; the Native Americans of the Northeast favored it as a material for carving ceremonial masks. The inner bark contains bundles of long fibers useful for making rope. Some basswood trees grow along the green trail where it emerges from the wildflower display area onto the abandoned section of Brownell Road.
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Being extremely sensitive to freezing, this well known garden flower from South America is grown as an annual in our climate. Its reddish to orange to yellow flowers make a colorful, spicy addition to a fresh garden salad. It is grown for display most years in the Herb Garden at Rice Creek.
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Prior to the introduction of the Dutch elm disease fungus from Europe, the American Elm was a characteristic member of lowland and swamp forests in Eastern North America growing to massive size with a crown projecting well above the canopy of the surrounding forest. Local Native Americans used slabs of elm bark as roofing material for their dwellings and made dug out canoes from the large, straight trunks. Early farmers favored elm boards for the sides of livestock stalls because of the wood's great strength and resistance to splitting. The broadly spreading crown held high above the ground made elm a favorite park and street tree up into the 1950's. The Dutch elm disease, caused by a fungus carried from tree to tree by bark beetles, has decimated American Elm. The adult beetles, flying above the forest canopy, easily find the projecting crowns of mature elms and tunnel into the bark excavating galleries in which they lay their eggs and, coincidentally, deposite the spores of the fungus. The fungus plugs up the pores in the outer layers of wood and the tree dies within a year or two. Trees growing in the open in fields and parks or along city streets are especially vulnerable. Fortunately, young elms reach reproductive maturity before gaining the stature of mature trees projecting above the forest canopy, so the American Elm as a species persists in second growth lowland forests and swamp woods, including those of Rice Creek. However, unless a strain resistant to the Dutch elm disease fungus can be found or developed, the American Elm will never again be the massive signature tree of Eastern North America's swamp forests.
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with simple alternate leaves
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Slippery Elm takes its name from the mucilaginous inner bark that figures in folk remedies for colds and sore throats. It has more roughly hairy leaves than American Elm but is most reliably differentiated by characteristics of the fruit. A leaf bearing specimen in the Rice Creek herbarium is identified as Slippery Elm but no trees have been documented at the Field Station in recent years.
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with simple alternate leaves
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This is a perennial herbaceous plant of swamps and wet woods. The leaves are opposite each other on the stem, coarsly toothed, and with a prominent pattern of veins. The greenish flowers are tiny and arranged in dense clusters along an elongate stalk arising from the stem just above the base of a leaf. Bog-Hemp is common in shady, wet places along the shores of Rice Creek and Rice Pond.
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Flowers
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Wood Nettle is a waist high herbaceous plant that grows in colonies in rich, damp woods. The small, greenish male flowers are in branched clusters attached at the base of leaves in the mid section of the stem. The female flowers are in large, spreading, branched clusters at the top of the stem. Like its close relative the Nettle, the Wood Nettle bears stinging hairs on its leaves, leaf stalks, and stems. These are long pointed, brittle, single celled hairs in which the cell sap contains formic acid. The walls of the cell are high in silicon, almost like glass. When the plant is brushed against, the hairs break, the sharp broken edges scratch the skin and formic acid flows into the minute open wound causing an intense stinging sensation. Fortunately, the pain is short lived, but it is nevertheless a great stimulus to the victim to recognize the plant and avoid contact with it in the future. A colony of Wood Nettle grows in the swamp woods along the shorter board walk on the green trail.
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Flowers
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The Clearweeds are small herbaceous plants of swamps and wet woods with tiny, greenish flowers born in dense clusters in the leaf axils. Their name refers to the nearly translucent tissue of their stems. Our two species are difficult to distinguish. P. fontana tends to be the larger of the two and its tiny flattened, pointed fruits are nearly black, with paler margins, when mature. This species occurs in wet ground along the blue and green trails at Rice Creek.
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Flowers
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The Clearweeds are small herbaceous plants of swamps and wet woods with tiny, greenish flowers born in dense clusters in the leaf axils. Their name refers to the nearly translucent tissue of their stems. Our two species are difficult to distinguish. P. pumila tends to be a smaller plant and the tiny flattened, pointed fruits are green to yellowish, often with slightly raised purplish spots. This species is common as a ground cover beneath taller herbs in the swamps and along the wet trails at Rice Creek.
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Flowers
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The common nettle is a rank, opposite leaved, colonial plant of rich wetlands and other moist soils rich in nitrogen. The minute greenish flowers are born in dense clusters in the axils of the leaves. The material found at Rice Creek Field Station seems to be primarily the native U. dioica ssp.gracilils, with ovate to lance-oblong leaves with stinging hairs confined to the lower surface. These long pointed, brittle, hairs are formed of a single cell in which the cell sap contains formic acid. The walls of the cell are high in silicon, almost like glass. When the plant is brushed against, the hairs break, the sharp broken edges scratch the skin and formic acid flows into the minute open wound causing an intense stinging sensation. Fortunately, the pain is short lived, but it is nevertheless a great stimulus to the victim to recognize the plant and avoid contact with it in the future. Nettles are abundant in the wetland along the two wooden walkways on the green trail.
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Flowers
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Valerian is a Eurasian plant cultivated in traditional herb gardens. It has been used as a perfume, a sedative and a treatment for anxiety. It is also grown for its sweet scented flowers. Look for Valerian in the herb garden at Rice Creek.
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Garden
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Blue Vervain is characterized by terminal clusters of compact, blue to purple flowered spikes. The leaves may have one or two lobes at the base of the blade. It is a plant of wet meadows, fields, and swamps. Look for it in open fields, along trails, in open areas along the edge of Rice Pond and in the wetland upstream from the pond.
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Flowers
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White Vervain is characterized by slender, elongate, white flowered spikes. Look for it in moist soils along the trails at Rice creek.
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Flowers
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This is a weedy, European annual violet with small, pale yellow flowers. It has been occasionally found in the lawn near the bird feeders behind the main building at Rice Creek.
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This is a relatively large, native, stemmed violet of moist woodland habitats with uniquely colored flowers that are white on the front and purplish on the back. It was planted and is spreading in the wild flower demonstration area along the green trail adjacent to the main building at Rice creek.
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Flowers
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This is a native, stemless blue violet of bogs, marshes, and other wet places in sun or shade. The flowers are born on long, slender stalks rising above the leaves. The lateral petals bear a dense cluster of short, blunt hairs. The various species of stemless blue violets sometimes hybridize and intermediates between V. cucullata and V. sororia may be found. Of these two, V. sororia seems to be more common at Rice creek.
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Flowers
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The species Viola laboradorica has recently been expanded in scope to include both V. conspersa and V. adunca var. minor. This is a small, native, stemmed violet of meadows and woodlands. The flowers are light blue-violet with a short spur and a patch of small hairs or "beard" on the lateral petals. It is abundant along the western portion of the upper trail in the wildflower demonstration area and along the spur of the orange trail leading uphill from the red trail at the workshop.
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Flowers
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This European "stemless" species is a common "weed" of lawns in the Oswego area where it spreads vigorously by means of slender, elongate, horizontal stems ("stolons"). It is the first violet to bloom in the spring and is often past before the flowers of the native stemless blue violets open. It can be positively identified by the slender, hooked tip of the style (compare the photo of the white flowered sweet violet with that of the dissected flowers of V. cucullata and V. sororia). Blue and white flowered forms of the Sweet Violet are common but grey-blue or dull red forms also occur. As the name implies, Sweet Violet is very fragrant. It is common in the lawn near the main building at Rice Creek and along the trail entering the wildflower display area. It is sometimes included in the plantings in the herb garden.
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This is a small, white flowered, stemless violet, in appearance very similar to its close relative, V. blanda. The flowers of V. pallens have flat, spreading petals giving the flower a flat-faced pansey-like shape. It's fruits are green in color. In V. blanda, the lateral petals are forward pointing and the upper petals are bent back and slightly twisted so the flower has a narrower appearance. The fruits of this species are purplish. Look for V. pallens in mid spring along the trails in the wildflower area.
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This is our only non-weedy yellow-flowered, stemmed violet. It is common along the trail entering the wildflower display area and in the old growth woodlot at Rice Creek.
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Flowers
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This is a blue-flowered, stemmed violet of woodland habitats. It is characterized by the flower's unusually long spur. In contrast to V. laboradorica, with which it has been known to hybridize, the lateral petals of the flowers of V. rostrata are not bearded. The Long-Spurred Violet can be found along the spur of the orange trail leading uphill from the red trail at the workshop.
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Flowers
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This is a common native, stemless blue violet of moist places and disturbed sites. It is easily cultivated and sometimes spreads to lawns. The flowers are broader than those of V. cucullata and the beard of the lateral petals consists of longer, slender hairs. The flowers are seldom elevated much above the leaves. White-flowered forms are common in weedy populations, as in the lawn in front of the building at Rice Creek. The normal blue-flowered form is found along trails and in the woods at Rice creek.
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Like Poison Ivy, this liana is attached to the trunks of trees by means of roots or root-like tendrils produced along the stem. In P. quinquefolia, the root-like tendrils are many branched with each branch terminating in an adhesive disk. A related species not yet found at Rice Creek tends to lack these adhesive disks. The leaves of Virginia Creeper have (usually) five blade segments all attached together at the tip of the leaf stalk (palmately compound). The margins of the terminal half of each leaf segment are uniformly and sharply toothed. Like Poison Ivy, Virginia Creeper will grow horizontally along the ground until it contacts a vertical support.
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with compound alternate leaves
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Our common wild grape begins life as a plant of open, sunlit fields. As the field gradually develops into shrubland and forest, the grape plant's survival is dependent on its capacity to keep its leaves in full sunlight, which it does by employing its strong tendrils to cling to the growing shrubs and trees. Eventually the grape is a sizable liana hanging from the forest canopy. Although the grape is not a direct parasite on its woody support, it competes effectively for the available light thus weakening its "host" relative to unencumbered neighbors. Eventually the burden of the weighty grape vine is too much for the weakened support to bear and wind or heavy snow brings the entire structure down. The wild grape may persist for many years in second growth woods or along river banks and other natural openings, but it is absent from the old growth forest. Our wild grapes are a favorite late summer food for native wildlife but usually too astringent for human taste. However, the occasional plant will produce fruit sweet enough to make a taste trial of any fully ripe grapes worthwhile.
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with simple alternate leaves
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