News from Nature

News From Nature-December 2010

Greetings! Fall has come and gone, winter is here, and where did summer go?!
It was a great season for the plants. Although too much humidity and warmth spawned a profusion of fungal diseases on the maples that lessened the fall color for the year. ‘Frog eye leaf spot’ was the main culprit here at the park and it caused most of the acer rubrum (red maple) to drop their leaves way ahead of schedule in an attempt to rid themselves of the fungus.
Wild cherry and hickory, as well as walnut, were hit hard by ‘fall webworm’, Hyphantria cunea. Not a tent caterpillar! (Those were around in the spring.) This type of moth emerges from its cocoon the end of may and early June, and laying their eggs that hatch late summer and give rise to the caterpillars that form their ‘webs’ at the ends of branches. The ‘webs’ are a defense against their main predators, the wasps and hornets.
It was interesting that the low population of the yellow jackets and hornets coincided with the high population of webworms this year.
The trees will be fine and even though most of their leaves were eaten, the timing of the defoliation is such that the tree had most of its energy stored in the roots by the time the webworms ate the leaves.
Speaking of fungus (above) the past two years of high moisture during the summer have caused a proliferation of weird and beautiful mushrooms and toadstools that I’ve seen around the park during my work day. Many of the broken tree tops and branches that were downed in 2008, have hit the decomposing stage in full steam and the damp conditions have brought the “flowering parts” of the funguses to the surface. See the photos along sidebar.
Looking like a toadstool or mushroom, there is one unusual plant that grows on the grounds of Bluebird.
Its name is Indian pipe, Monotropa uniform, and is a rare type of plant that’s not directly dependant on light to survive. (heterotrophic)
It is fueled by a fungus that is in turn fueled by the tree. It is related to the blueberry! The ones growing here at Bluebird are white, and rise up out of the ground, in a clump about 6 inches tall, and look like white pipes. (See pic) Only woods that have tons of humus on top of the soil have this plant, and in the areas I’ve seen it here, the trees are some of the biggest in the park. Truly a unique plant that resembles a type of fungus!
Speaking of things low to the ground at the park, check out the baby deer pic! first one I’ve seen (in real life) and WOW, was it way smaller than I thought they were. With those stilt like legs all tucked under it, the body of this baby was only the size of a full grown rabbit. Thanks to a park patron that saw this little one and showed me where it was hidden, we can all see the photo!!
Everyone stay warm and hope to see you soon!
BBFPM, Chad