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National Arboretum Washington, DC 5/2/07 Mark Burchick
A female (resident) Canada goose holds tight on her nest as we walk past a small pond fed by spring seeps. You would never guess such natural areas occur just off of New York Avenue and along the Anacostia, within the District of Columbia.
White Trillium - can be highly variable in color, with this particular plant expressing a pink hue.
Large-flowered Trillium - the biggest and most showy of all trilliums.
Toadshade Trillium - has mottled, camo leaves just like trout lily.
Sweet Cicely - the roots and seeds that follow after the flowers smell just like black licorice when crushed.
Creeping Phlox - has basal runners that can create large patches/drifts as it matures within rich woodlands.
Perfoliate Bellwort - has a flower stem that appears to pierce the leaves, hence the name perfoliate.
Star Anise - a wetland shrub of southern states. The flower smells just like fish. As I walked down along the creek I assumed that there must have been a fish kill on the Anacostia, but it turned out to be the anise. The only other fowl smelling and locally native flower that beats this is carrion flower, a thorny greenbriar that I had all over a site near Frederick. The greenbriar smells just like dead, rotting meat and is pollinated by flies.
Yellow Lady Slipper - a gorgeous native orchid that was at absolute peak flower.
The Latin name for this lady slipper means little shoe.
Juliet and I spent the morning with Dr. Thomas Elias, the Director of the National Arboretum, to evaluate wetland/stream mitigation and ecological restoration options within the grounds of the Arboretum. The majority of our time was spent in natural area stream valleys where the public does not go when touring this botanical wonderland.
I also saw yellow trillium, mayapple, chickweed, wild azalea, Solomon seal, wild geranium, golden ragwort, celandine poppy, white and purple violet and the ending of the highly ephemeral Virginia bluebells. Some of these flowering dates (phenology) are a little off of what's typical (maybe because we were in the highly urbanized/disturbed Washington, DC). The next few weeks in the woods are going to be great. It's wildflower madness!
National Arboretum
