iNatting on Roosevelt Island -- lots of introduced species and invasive species!

Six days after my last visit, I went to Roosevelt island again. In my neighborhood before I left, I saw Sibthorp's Pennywort introduced from Southeast Asia, and the pretty Thyme-leaved Speedwell, which is introduced from Europe, and which today was all in flower.

Then on Roosevelt island I had to get off the Red Bus a bit further south than I had planned to, and as a result, I happened to notice examples of the Broad-leaved Helleborine, an invasive orchid species from Europe and Asia, in two different places: a flower bed in "Manhattan Park", and also in a wild patch by the roadside a bit further north than that.

In the Community Garden I was happy that I got to photograph lots of Miquel's Mazus, native to Japan and China, an invasive plant that I saw on my last visit here, but which I had not photographed until now.

I need to tell the community gardeners that they have the Red Lily Leaf Beetle, native to parts of Europe and Asia. It is an invasive pest that the gardeners should try to control as best as they can, as it absolutely devours all species of Lilium, and unfortunately the beetleis spreading like crazy in our part of the northeast.

I also took more images of the Bukhara fleeceflower, an introduction from Asia. In one of the small ponds in the community garden was the Water Foreget-me-not, which is an introduction from Europe.

The Barley Powdery Mildew fungus was a new-to-me species.

I got to see the Tuxedo cat again in the exact same place that it was in last Sunday. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/163041093
If I see it a third time I may try to give it a kitty treat and also try to pet it. It looks friendly.

On this visit however, we did not see the Groundhog or the Fowlers Toad.

Posted on May 27, 2023 10:41 PM by susanhewitt