Journal archives for October 2020

October 05, 2020

Corydalis

There seem to be two native Corydalis varieties to PA
C. flavula - the more common kind (called pale corydalis commonly on iNaturalist)
It's flowers are about half the size of aurea, and it has a prominent crest. Also is said to prefer wetter habitats.
This article is regarding it's presence in Connecticut
https://www.nativeplanttrust.org/documents/46/Corydalisflavula.pdf

https://ozarkedgewildflowers.com/spring-wildflowers/pale-corydalis-corydalis-flavula/#:~:text=Description%2D%20Corydalis%20flavula%20grows%20to,and%20wave%20in%20the%20breeze.

http://www.kansasnativeplants.com/guide/plant_detail.php?plnt_id=794

C. Aurea - the rarer kind, threatened in PA and of unknown status through most of the US
(called yellow corydalis as its common name on iNaturalist)

https://guides.nynhp.org/golden-corydalis/#:~:text=aurea%2C%20and%20have%20a%20prominent,has%20pink%20to%20purplish%20flowers.

http://ontariowildflowers.com/main/species.php?id=820

A Chicago Journal (https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.1086/325978)
described them thusly:
C. AUREA Willd. Commonlv spreading and with slender pedicels: spur of
corolla barely half the length of the body, somewhat decurved: capsules pendulous or spreading, terete, toruiose when dry: seeds turgid, obtuse at margin,
the shining surface obscurely reticulated under a lens.

C. FLAVULA DC. Flowers conspicuously bracted and slender-pedicelled:
outer petals surpassing the inner; crest very salient, 3 to 4-toothed: capsules
pendulous seeds acutely margined, rugose-reticulated, at least toward the
margins.-C. flavidula Chapman, Fl. ed. 2, 604, a slip of the pen.

Non-Native Corydalis
Three common non-native Corydalis in our area: C. Incisa (invasive), C. solida and C. cava.
All usually have purple flowers or some hue close to that. (solida seems to come in a variety of colors including pink and white).

Corydalis incisa (Incised fumewort) - seems to be a prevalent non-native in PA. If in flower it seems fairly obvious. It has more jagged, toothed leaves than any of the other corydalis, but I am not sure if they can be confounded with anything else (they remind me a lot of parsley, so if confronted with only leaves I'm not sure I would dare identify yet). There seem to be a number of articles about this invasive - it seems to be a big problem in NY
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/plant_pest_info/weeds/downloads/wra/corydalis-incisa.pdf

https://libguides.nybg.org/invasiveplants/corydalis_incisa_display

http://phytoneuron.net/2014Phytoneuron/96PhytoN-Corydalisincisa.pdf

https://libguides.nybg.org/invasiveplants/corydalis_incisa_display

Corydalis solida (Bird-in-a-Bush) is also a possibility, although less widespread. No good websites pop up readily for this species, but it has wider, lobed leaves than incisa. These look like they could be confused with Rock Harlequin or other fumaria species if not in bloom.
http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200009131
https://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?search=Corydalis+solida

C. cava - encountered infrequently, but it can be confused with solida. It will have sepals with no divisions in them ( a sort of pointed, teardrop shape), while solida has divided sepals (like a handprint, kind of).

(5/6/22 edit) I just heard about a hybrid between solida and cava called Corydalis x campylochia. Good discussion on this observation:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/113824229
There is not much information about identification of this hybrid, but it can be seen on this page about corydalis rot. Apparently the bracts show a few weak teeth sometimes in it.
http://www.blumeninschwaben.de/Zweikeimblaettrige/Erdrauchgewaechse/corydalis_rot.htm#7

Corydalis cava, solida and x campylochia are all shown side by side here on the same site.
http://www.blumeninschwaben.de/Zweikeimblaettrige/Erdrauchgewaechse/corydalis_rot.htm

Other reference sites about non-native corydalis:
https://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/CorydalisSpecies
https://frustratedgardener.com/2017/03/21/crazy-for-corydalis/

Posted on October 05, 2020 05:40 PM by aphili8 aphili8 | 1 comment | Leave a comment

October 06, 2020

Citizen science

Two projects regarding invasives have caught my eye.

Imapinvasives send me updates from time to time, although I have yet to make room for their app on my phone and it looks difficult to input data otherwise.

Found this one today and want to keep track of it
https://www.eddmaps.org/

I wish there weren't so many different apps to record information that I put into iNaturalist. I guess in the case of invasives they like negative reports, which is impossible to do in iNaturalist.

Journey North and eButterfly seem like they could use iNaturalist data, though.

Bee monitoring
This NYT article cited a group that was interested in having participants contribute bee data.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/07/science/native-bees-census.html?smid=em-share

The article said you could email someone or sign up on the website but I don't see a sign up on the website. Two entymologists in PA are involved in it, though! They say it is a work in progress so hopefully will be up soon.
http://www.usnativebees.com/

Posted on October 06, 2020 12:27 PM by aphili8 aphili8 | 0 comments | Leave a comment

October 19, 2020

Changed my profile pic!

I hate changing my profile pic. I feel like in some ways it becomes your identity on here - I know I often keep track of others by their pictures. But I really thought I should do so for the following reasons.

  1. The photo I put on here was not mine. When I was setting up my profile when I first got started, I was using a work computer, and the only reasonable picture I had to put on was one that was used for a group challenge on another website. I thought it was taken by a friend, but now I'm not even sure of that, so it seemed that the most responsible thing to do was to switch.
  2. I do love Lady's Slippers, but I don't very closely identify with them - and in fact I'm so ignorant of the orchid family in general that it seemed ridiculous to have a picture that would associate me with them. And I've only really seen blooming Lady's Slippers a handful of times in my life.
  3. I've replaced it with an image of our sprouting ash tree. This is a tree that was brought as a seedling from my parents' and we've watched it grow with amazing symmetry in our backyard. I loved the way the fronds unfurled like a tiny totem pole with outstretched arms... one of my friends said it looked like Groot! I felt like this would make a great profile pic. I actually don't know that much about ash trees, either, and sadly this one has already been marked with the dreaded D - the sign of the emerald ash borer - so I imagine it will not last long. But I love it's presence in my yard for as long as it will be there.
Posted on October 19, 2020 07:59 PM by aphili8 aphili8 | 0 comments | Leave a comment

October 27, 2020

Coarse Fungi identifications

According to this thread:
https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/should-people-be-encouraged-to-be-as-specific-as-possible-when-putting-suggestions-for-observations/16847/11

Use Lecanoromicetes for Lichen (although often Arthoniomycetes comes up too, but Lecanoromicetes seems to capture most).

Use Agaricomycetes for traditional-looking mushrooms

According to the Facebook Slime Mold group:
It seems like most brownish-yellow slime-sicles in my area are Fusicolla merismoides but perhaps better to ID to Phylum (Ascomycete ) Like here
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/47362546#activity_identification_138826456

Posted on October 27, 2020 08:05 PM by aphili8 aphili8 | 0 comments | Leave a comment