Category: flora

Gall

q alba leaves
My favorite oak tree has galls on some of the leaves. This the topside
oak leaves
this the underside. Hoping the hive mind can tell me the culprit. Prognosis?

sassafras albidum

sassafras flowers
The aromatic smell of sassafras was described by early European settlers arriving in North America. According to one legend, Christopher Columbus found North America because he could smell the scent of sassafras
Sassafras albidum was a well-used plant by Native Americans in what is now the southeastern United States prior to the European colonization. The Choctaw word for sassafras is “Kvfi.” It was known as “Winauk” in Delaware and Virginia and is called “Pauane” by the Timuca.
Some Native American tribes used the leaves of sassafras to treat wounds by rubbing the leaves directly into a wound, and used different parts of the plant for many medicinal purposes such as treating acne, urinary disorders, and sicknesses that increased body temperature, such as high fevers. They also used the bark as a dye, and as a flavoring.–Wikipedia

Gray Coale and Sassafras Albidum at Swan Point

Platanus occidentalis

Sycamore behind the VFW on River Road, next to the Rivanna. This tree had been encased with bamboo. Recently liberated by?

A sycamore can grow to massive proportions, typically reaching up to 30 to 40 m (98 to 131 ft) high and 1.5 to 2 m (4.9 to 6.6 ft) in diameter when grown in deep soils. The largest of the species have been measured to 53 m (174 ft), and nearly 4 m (13 ft) in diameter.-Wikipedia

tree tubes

When Tilly was 10 weeks old she hung out while I planted 41 tulip trees in tubes.

Two years later all those trees have survived. Some have thrived, others are only slightly larger than when they were planted. Same weather, same soil, same source. What is the variable that accounts for the difference?

Tree tubes are not magic. Maintenance is required.

buttercups

In the interior of the Pacific Northwest of the United States, the buttercup is called “Coyote’s eyes”. In the legend, Coyote was tossing his eyes up in the air and catching them again when Eagle snatched them. Unable to see, Coyote made eyes from the buttercup–Wikipedia