Monday, August 22, 2011

Phenology: 8/22/11

On this cool and sunny day I'm seeing the same flowers I've been mentioning all summer--vetch and clover, Queen Anne's Lace and chicory, Queen of the Meadow and boneset, and there are still a few daisies. And trumpet flowers. And staghorn sumac, an interesting plant. But what surprised me on the way to the computer center today was the honeysuckle.

Like many spring and early summer flowers, honeysuckle was affected by the early thaws and late freezes we had this year; roadsides, hedges, and fences didn't smell as sweet this year as they normally do. Apparently some of the flower buds have decided it's late spring or early summer now, so they can now bloom.
Perhaps unfortunately, because it's an introduced species, all the honeysuckle was Lonicera japonica. There's a good picture and long informative article here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lonicera_japonica
The honeysuckle that's native to Virginia is a northern species (Lonicera canadensis), found only at higher altitudes. Picture and discussion here:
http://www.borealforest.org/shrubs/shrub24.htm

No comments:

Post a Comment