June 16th Column as it appeared in the Advocate
Gesundheit! (Or in English, “Bless you”!) I have been hearing a lot of that lately! You see, I have a few springtime allergies. And even if you don’t have any allergies, you can’t miss the yucky yellow stuff all over your car, your driveway and even your screens. The pollen is especially heavy this year, and you can blame our weird spring. An unusually cold and wet March has paved the way for lots of pollen. Things that should have bloomed weeks ago are just blooming now. Add that to the stuff that should be blooming now and you have very high pollen counts. The pines are just winding down (one of the main culprits for the very yellow pollen), the Hickories are out full and the Oaks are bringing up the rear. Add to that all the grasses that are starting to flower and you have a recipe for pollen soup that can make some people very miserable indeed! I took a walk a week ago Monday, the morning after the torrential rains we had, and every puddle down the Pond was ringed in yellow! But the sun was shining and it was very windy, so the pollen count popped right back up.
If you have walked down the Pond recently you might have noticed something very sweet smelling in the air. That would be the Multiflora Rose. Very pretty small, cluster forming white roses that can grow up to fifteen feet. They are everywhere! That’s because they are an ALIEN INVASIVE PLANT!!! It was introduced from East Asia (Japan, Korea, etc.) in 1866 as a rootstock for ornamental roses. In the 1930’s it was used as erosion control and living fences for livestock. Now we know better and it is classified as either a noxious weed, prohibited invasive species or even banned in 13 states including MA. It’s like locking the barn door after the horse is gone. It grows in the sun, in the shade, on uplands and in wet soil. There are currently no biological controls for it so you are only left with mechanical (pulling and digging) or chemical. And because they produce seed so prolifically, and the seed can stay viable in the soil for many years, whatever method is used needs to be continued for many years. It uses small trees and other shrubs for ‘scaffolding’ and will eventually destroy them. Not too dissimilar to Asiatic Bittersweet, that invasive vine that we also have at Horn Pond.
We all enjoy wildflowers. It is a shame, however, how many of these are alien (non-native) plants. Some are definitely more invasive than others. But in the end, they all will have a detrimental effect on the environment eventually.
But right now, one of our native plants is coming into bloom out on the water; the Yellow Pond Lily or Bullhead Lily is found in abundance out on the Lagoon and in many small ponds out back. Unlike the pretty white Fragrant Water Lily, (which is also a native I might add, and can be found in abundance in Wedge Pond in Winchester and Walker Pond off of Montvale Ave by the railroad tracks) the petals are larger and stay in a cup shape. The starchy rootstocks of this plant were used by the Native Americans and boiled or roasted like a vegetable or ground into flour. Both the flowers and leaves (pads) are used extensively by wildlife. Fish (especially bass & sunfish) hide under the lily pads, insects like Dragonflies land on the pads and the flowers, Muskrats eat the rootstocks, waterfowl eat the seeds and frogs, salamanders and aquatic insects attach their eggs to the stems and leaves. This plant perfectly illustrates just how important “native” plants are to the environment.
Another yellow flower you might see only the water’s edge, is the Yellow Water Iris. This plant is not native, but if you walk out back, you might catch a glimpse of the native Blue Flag Iris. Another native that is blooming now or should be very soon is Common Milkweed. Look closely at the flower clusters. Each little flower starts as a ball and then opens up with the first five petals recurving downward and five facing upward. They really are fascinating to examine. Next time you walk, take a small hand lens with you and take a REAL good look at this interesting flower.
Still lots of baby waterfowl around; Canada Geese, Mallard Ducks. Haven’t seen the swans this week (last week for you). The song bird babies are fledging so watch out for low flying birds!!!
Watch for the Full Strawberry Moon on the 20th this month. And speaking of strawberries, check out a “pick your own” farm for some delicious local fruit. So much better than store-bought!
If you have walked down the Pond recently you might have noticed something very sweet smelling in the air. That would be the Multiflora Rose. Very pretty small, cluster forming white roses that can grow up to fifteen feet. They are everywhere! That’s because they are an ALIEN INVASIVE PLANT!!! It was introduced from East Asia (Japan, Korea, etc.) in 1866 as a rootstock for ornamental roses. In the 1930’s it was used as erosion control and living fences for livestock. Now we know better and it is classified as either a noxious weed, prohibited invasive species or even banned in 13 states including MA. It’s like locking the barn door after the horse is gone. It grows in the sun, in the shade, on uplands and in wet soil. There are currently no biological controls for it so you are only left with mechanical (pulling and digging) or chemical. And because they produce seed so prolifically, and the seed can stay viable in the soil for many years, whatever method is used needs to be continued for many years. It uses small trees and other shrubs for ‘scaffolding’ and will eventually destroy them. Not too dissimilar to Asiatic Bittersweet, that invasive vine that we also have at Horn Pond.
We all enjoy wildflowers. It is a shame, however, how many of these are alien (non-native) plants. Some are definitely more invasive than others. But in the end, they all will have a detrimental effect on the environment eventually.
But right now, one of our native plants is coming into bloom out on the water; the Yellow Pond Lily or Bullhead Lily is found in abundance out on the Lagoon and in many small ponds out back. Unlike the pretty white Fragrant Water Lily, (which is also a native I might add, and can be found in abundance in Wedge Pond in Winchester and Walker Pond off of Montvale Ave by the railroad tracks) the petals are larger and stay in a cup shape. The starchy rootstocks of this plant were used by the Native Americans and boiled or roasted like a vegetable or ground into flour. Both the flowers and leaves (pads) are used extensively by wildlife. Fish (especially bass & sunfish) hide under the lily pads, insects like Dragonflies land on the pads and the flowers, Muskrats eat the rootstocks, waterfowl eat the seeds and frogs, salamanders and aquatic insects attach their eggs to the stems and leaves. This plant perfectly illustrates just how important “native” plants are to the environment.
Another yellow flower you might see only the water’s edge, is the Yellow Water Iris. This plant is not native, but if you walk out back, you might catch a glimpse of the native Blue Flag Iris. Another native that is blooming now or should be very soon is Common Milkweed. Look closely at the flower clusters. Each little flower starts as a ball and then opens up with the first five petals recurving downward and five facing upward. They really are fascinating to examine. Next time you walk, take a small hand lens with you and take a REAL good look at this interesting flower.
Still lots of baby waterfowl around; Canada Geese, Mallard Ducks. Haven’t seen the swans this week (last week for you). The song bird babies are fledging so watch out for low flying birds!!!
Watch for the Full Strawberry Moon on the 20th this month. And speaking of strawberries, check out a “pick your own” farm for some delicious local fruit. So much better than store-bought!