Indian Cucumber-root (Medeola virginiana)

 

Indian Cucumber-root (Medeola virginiana), in the Lily family, is an eastern species, growing primarily up through the Appalachians, the mountains of New York and New England, and north into Canada.  This one was found at Cranberry Lake, in the northern NY Adirondacks, on October 8th (from my archives). It's a forest wildflower with edible rhizomes that resemble the taste and odor of cucumbers. The Iroquois also used it medicinally. Sometimes mice eat the seeds and berries. 

[Canon digital Rebel, EF 18-200mm zoom at 50mm, 1/125 sec., f/11, ISO 200, electronic flash, Center-weighted Average metering.] Ref. # D075319

Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina)

Bright-red foliage makes the sumac an October standout. The long, feather-compound leaves have 11 or more toothed leaflets and resemble walnut leaves. The sumacs in my backyard have 13 pairs of opposite leaflets plus one at the tip. Sometimes you can find green, yellow, orange and red leaves all on the same small tree.

The common species is the Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina), named for its resemblance to fuzzy deer antlers before the velvet shreds. As the leaves fall away, the dense spikes of bright red fruits on female trees add a much needed dab of color to an increasingly drab New York landscape. The hairy seeds are acidic (specifically malic acid) and this helps them last into the winter as other fruits disappear. Because the dry sumac berries are thin fleshed, birds may ignore them until other foods become scarce. On the other hand, the acidity allows you to make pseudo-lemonade from the fruit clusters. Be sure to strain out all of the seeds.

Sumac is naturally introduced into old fields via seeds dropped by birds. Once started, a sumac begins spreading by underground runners, but it is a short-lived shrub or small tree and the center of the developing sumac grove soon dies.  By then other shrubs and trees are beginning to colonize the abandoned land and sumac has a hard time growing in any shade. Sumacs seldom exceed 15 feet in height so they fade away as other trees take over. The dead sumac “skeletons” resemble mule deer antlers.

Native Americans found many medicinal uses for sumac.  Leaf tea was used to treat asthma and diarrhea or gargled for sore throats.  A drink made from the bark could stimulate milk production in new mothers.  The roots provided remedies for dysentery and bleeding.  Berries were turned into cough syrup or made into tea for lung ailments, and Indians were the first to make sumac “lemonade.”

Virginia-creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia)

 Virginia-creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia), a.k.a. woodbine, can turn bright red in late summer and early fall. It's a climbing or sprawling woody vine sometimes found in association with Poison Ivy. The distinguishing factor is the number of leaflets. Creeper normally has five, while Poison Ivy has three. ("Leaves of three, leave it be; Leaves of five, let it thrive.") Creeper's scientific name is Greek meaning "five-leaved virgin-ivy." The alternate name, woodbine, can also refer to several honeysuckles, other creepers, and Virginia clematis.

The creeper's dark-blue berries are similar to wild grapes, a group of plants often growing in the same habitats (woodland edges and floodplains). Note the creeper's heavy, red fruit stems and compound leaves. This is an important distinction because the creeper's berries are considered poisonous due to a concentration of oxalic acid. Grapes, which are in the same family, Vitaceae, have single leaves with pointed lobes and dangling clusters of edible fruits.

The photo above was taken at the Montezuma Audubon Center in Savannah, Wayne County, New York, on Sept. 20 at 6 pm (from my archives). Canon XTi, EF 100mm f/2.8 macro, 1/30 sec., f/11, ISO 200

Yellow Birch (Betula alleghaniensis)

Yellow Birch (Betula alleghaniensis), a.k.a. Swamp Birch, is native to northeastern North America and it's the largest North American species of birch. Its scientific name means "Birch of the Alleghenies," referring to the dissected plateau along the west side of the Appalachian's Ridge-and-Valley province. It can reach an age of 300+ years in Adirondack old-growth forests while one in Allegany County, NY, measured 439 years old in growth rings. 

The bark on young trees is smooth and some shade of brass, bronze or light copper with horizontal lenticels which are pores for exchange of gases with the atmosphere. As it grows, the bark begins peeling and curling in horizontal strips. (The one above was growing in Old Forge, NY, Oct. 8th, from my archives.) As the trunk matures, the bark darkens and cracks into ever-larger flakes, although thin branches may still have yellowish-brown, shreddy bark.

Yellow Birch seeds cannot penetrate leaf litter, so they germinate on mossy logs, decaying stumps and cracks in boulders. When it begins on wood, the birch is left standing on stilted roots after the base rots away. On boulders, its roots snake across the surface and down the sides to reach soil. (The one below [detail above] was growing in the Adirondacks beside the Moss Lake loop trail, accessed from Big Moose Rd., NW of Eagle Bay, New York, Sept. 25th, from my archives)

Red Maple (Acer rubrum)

Red Maple (Acer rubrum), a.k.a. one of two Swamp Maples or soft maples, is probably the most abundant native tree in the eastern U.S. The species can adapt to a wide range of site conditions from bottomland swamp forests to upland mountain slopes. It does well in young forests where it can get some sun, but shade-tolerant species crowd it out of mature and old-growth forests. This particular Red Maple was growing beside the Moss Lake loop trail between Old Forge and Inlet in New York's Adirondack Mountains. Trail access is from Big Moose Rd. NW of Eagle Bay. (Sept. 25th)