On Monday, September 19, some enthusiastic and knowledgeable folks savored the wildflowers of the Ames Free Library campus. If you weren’t there, you missed a good time of shared curiosity, experience, discovery, and laughter. You also might have missed the peak of this season’s blossoms. After a very hot and dry summer, the rains and cool weather have finally arrived. The forecast now includes daytime highs below 60℉ and nighttime lows near 40℉. Happy fall! Of course, our glorious native asters will continue to put on a show, but more on that another day.
Now is a good time to focus on plants whose leaves, fruit and seeds become conspicuous in fall. Think sugar maple foliage and acorns, for example. In that spirit, here is a list of attention-getting plants to observe at the library this week.
Common Milkweed
Look for its spiky pods and parachute seeds.
Poison Ivy
Look for its brilliant fall color and its clusters of white fruit.
Woolgrass
Look for the brown, hairy spikelets of this tall bullrush.
Goldenrod
Look for galls, that is abnormal swellings, on goldenrod stems.
A goldenrod gall fly caused this ball-shaped gall to form.
Porcelain Berry
Look for multi-colored fruit on a grape-like vine.
Bull Thistle
Look for downy, wind-dispersed seeds . . . and all those prickles!
Pokeberry
Look for its clusters of black/purple fruit and its magenta stems.
Shagbark Hickory
Look for empty shells left by squirrels and chipmunks.
Oriental Bittersweet
Look for yellow fruit on a vigorous vine.
When these husks split, scarlet “berries” will be revealed.
Virginia Creeper
Look for this vine’s crimson foliage and blue berries.
Reminder: Your nature photo could be the topic of our next "What Is It!" post. Email it to lrubinacci@amesfreelibrary.org