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