Garden List 2014 Update: July 4

Before we get to the updated Garden List, there's something I've forgotten to do for almost a week: update my blog colours. I must admit, I'm a little sad to see the pink go. But since the summer reminds me of green and lush vegetation, my blog colours should remind me of green and lush vegetation! But a little pink thrown in to keep things exciting :) Happy summer!

While I'm on the "happy trail", happy belated Canada Day to my Canadian readers, and happy 4th of July to my American readers!

I had a goal for my Garden List to make it to 110 collections before July 1st. I made my goal with 113 collections! I'm impressed with just how many species you can find in a landscaped garden if you look hard enough. If it wasn't for my garden list, I never would have known that half of these species were even here. Yay "weeds"! :)

The legend:
- Plants in bold text are new to this iteration of the Garden List (numbered from the bottom up so new plants will always be at the top)
- Plants in green text are species native to northeastern North America (specifically, southwestern Ontario)
- Plants with an asterisk (*) beside their name are invasive in this area (again, specifically southwestern Ontario)
- Any plants that I've already blogged about have links included

Jen's Garden List 2014:
98. Nipplewort (Lapsana communis)*
97. Gray chickweed (Cerastium brachypetalum)
96. Field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis)*
95. Lady's-thumb (Polygonum persicaria)*
94. Japanese spirea #2 (Spiraea japonica 'Norman'): read all about spireas HERE.
93. Bittersweet nightshade (Solanum dulcamara)*
92. Helleborine (Epipactis helleborine)*
91. Daylily (Hemerocallis sp. 'Bertie Ferris'): read all about daylilies and the umpteen different cultivars available starting HERE (at the bottom of the page, press "older posts" to read previous blog posts on the same topic).
90. Japanese spirea #1 (Spiraea japonica 'Golden Princess')
89. Sugar maple (Acer saccharum): read all about sugar maple trees HERE and HERE.
88. Rough avens (Geum virginianum)
87. Wormseed or Treacle mustard (Erysimum cheiranthoides)
86. Maiden pink (Dianthus deltoides)
85. Broadleaf, greater or common plantain (Plantago major)
84. Black grass (Juncus gerardii)*
83. Candlestick fungus (Xylaria hypoxylon; a fungus)
82. Muller's pouchwort (Calypogeia muelleriana)
81. Indian feather moss (Timmia megapolitana)
80. Wood clitocybe (Pseudoarmillariella ectypoides or formerly called Clitocybe ectypoides; a fungus)
79. Yellow-cracked pholiota (Pholiota granulosa; a fungus)
78. Another fungus without a common name... (Stropharia thrausta; a fungus)
77. Red sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum); not collected for the same reason as tomatoes.
76. Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum); not collected because I like eating tomatoes, not squishing tomatoes between newspaper sheets!
75. At least four different cultivars of garden roses (Rosa sp.; many are unknown cultivars): you can read all about roses HERE and HERE.
74. Yellow daylily (Hemerocallis flava)
73. Meadow cranesbill (Geranium pratense)
72. Woolly thyme (Thymus pseudolanuginosus, also known as Thymus praecox subsp. brittanicus)
71. Dog-strangling vine (Vincetoxicum rossicum)*
70. White clover (Trifolium repens)*
69. Red pine (Pinus resinosa dwarf variety): read all about red pines HERE.
68. Glossy buckthorn (Rhamnus frangula)*
67. Flowering dogwood, Kousa dogwood (Cornus kousa): read all about the flowering dogwood HERE.
66. Climbing hydrangea (Hydrangea petiolaris): read all about the climbing hydrangea HERE.
65. Yellow flag iris (Iris pseudacorus)*: read all about the yellow flag iris HERE.
64. Japanese iris, blood iris (Iris sanguinea): read all about the blood iris HERE.
63. Siberian iris (Iris sibirica)
62. Common garden peony, Chinese peony (Paeonia lactiflora hybrid of unknown parentage): read all about peonies HERE.
61. Weak arctic sedge (Carex supina)
60. Least hop clover (Trifolium dubium)*
59. Garden weigela, wine and roses weigela, old fashioned weigela, or any number of other common names used for this species (Weigela florida 'Alexandra'): read all about the "catnip shrub" HERE.
58. Little gem cotoneaster (Cotoneaster adpressus)
57. Purple creeping woodsorrel (Oxalis corniculata var. atropurpurea)*
56. Littleleaf lilac (Syringa pubescens subsp. microphylla, formerly Syringa microphylla)*: read all about the littleleaf lilac HERE.
55. Common or Philadelphia fleabane (Erigeron philadelphicus)*
54. Red osier dogwood (Cornus sericea): read all about the red osier dogwood HERE.
53. Blue dogbane (Amsonia tabernaemontana): read all about dogbane HERE.
52. Hemlock waxcap (Hygrocybe/Hygrophorus sp.; a fungus without a published name [yet] that I discovered in my back yard growing under, you guessed it, hemlock trees)
51. Spring psathyrella (Psathyrella pseudovernalis; a fungus)
50. A fungus without a common name... (Hygrophorus camarophyllus; a fungus)
49. Rough bluegrass (Poa trivialis)
48. Canada bluegrass (Poa compressa)
47. Alpine pogonatum moss (Pogonatum alpinum)
46. Contorted hairy cap moss (Pogonatum contortum)
45. Cluster crumblecap (Psathyrella hydrophila; a fungus)
44. Annual blue grass (Poa annua)*
43. Mouse-ear chickweed (Cerastium vulgatum)*
42. Thyme-leaved speedwell (Veronica serpyllifolia)
41. Lily-of-the-valley (Convallaria majalis)*: read all about lily-of-the-valley HERE and HERE.
40. Great Solomon's-seal (Polygonatum biflorum or sometimes called Polygonatum commutatum or even Polygonatum giganteum): read all about great Solomon's-seal HERE.
39. Bugle (Ajuga reptans)*
38. Red oak (Quercus rubra): read all about the red oak HERE.
37. Common or umbrella liverwort (Marchantia polymorpha)*: read all about the umbrella liverwort HERE.
36. Sweet woodruff or sweetscented bedstraw (Galium odoratum)*: read all about sweet woodruff, aka master of the woods, HERE.
35. Woodland Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema atrorubens or sometimes called Arisaema triphyllum): read all about Jack-in-the-pulpits HERE.
34. Freckled violet (Viola sororia 'Freckles')*
33. Purple plum (Prunus cerasifera 'Thundercloud')
32. Fivestamen chickweed (Cerastium semidecandrum)*
31. Terrestrial water-starwort (Callitriche terrestris)
30. Yellow alyssum (Aurinia saxatilis or its other name Alyssum saxatilae)
29. Yellow rocket or winter cress (Barbarea vulgaris)*
28. Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata)*: read all about garlic mustard HERE.
27. Lungwort (Pulmonaria officinalis): read all about lungworts HERE.
26. Common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)*: read all about dandelions HERE and HERE.
25. Fortune's spindle (Euonymus fortunei)*
24. Violet lesser periwinkle (Vinca minor 'La Grave')*
23. Northern blue violet (Viola septentrionalis)
22. Creeping woodsorrel (Oxalis corniculata)*
21. Bleeding hearts (Lamprocapnos spectabilis): read all about bleeding hearts HERE.
20. Field pansy (Viola kitaibeliana)
19. Moss phlox (Phlox subulata): red all about moss phlox HERE and HERE.
18. Mountain rock cress (Arabis alpina subsp. caucasica)*
17. Norway spruce (Picea abies)*: read all about the Norway spruce HERE and HERE.
16. Tulips, at least 2 different unknown cultivars (Tulipa sp.): read all about tulips HERE.
15. Hyacinths, at least 3 different unknown cultivars (Hyacinthus orientalis): read all about hyacinths HERE.
14. Daffodils, 2 different unknown cultivars (Narcissus sp.): read all about daffodils HERE in my blog post about plants of the Chinese New Year.
13. Judas ear (Auricula americana; a fungus)
12. Common violet (Viola papiliomacea or sometimes called Viola sororia)*
11. English violet (Viola odorata)*
10. Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara)*
9. Eastern white-cedar (Thuja occidentalis): read all about the Eastern white-cedar HERE.
8. Corn speedwell (Veronica arvensis)*
7. Wild strawberry (Fragaria virginiana)
6. Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis): read all about the Eastern hemlock HERE.
5. Siberian or wood squill (Scilla siberica)*
4. Variegated lesser or dwarf periwinkle (Vinca minor 'Argenteovariegata')*
3. Purple lesser or dwarf periwinkle (Vinca minor 'Atropurpurea')*
2. Bigleaf periwinkle, greater periwinkle (Vinca major)*
1. Hoary/hairy bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta)*

More pictures of the umbrella liverwort in "full bloom" because...aren't they just the cutest?! It looks like an entire forest, just on a really small scale. Like it was part of the movie set for "Honey I Shrunk The Kids"

The maple of Black Friday

Species name: Acer nigrum

Common name: black maple

Location: Western University campus

What better way to celebrate the phenomenon that is Black Friday with a...black maple! You bet I've been holding off on this blog for weeks! For those of you not from the United States or Canada and who are unfamiliar with this "Black Friday thing," here's a brief run-down. Traditionally in Canada the day after Christmas is called Boxing Day. Truly, I have no idea what the history of Boxing Day is, but now it has morphed into the National Day of Shopping. Crazy people (like me) get up at 6 am in order to make it to the mall as soon as it opens, and every store has some kind of crazy sale. Boxing Day is one of my favourite days of the year since I love shopping, but I absolutely refuse to pay full-price for an item. Not to be outdone, the United States has Black Friday. Since Christmas isn't actually that big of a deal in the US (trust me, I'm surprised, too), Thanksgiving is their biggest national holiday (aside from possibly Independence Day in some areas), and it weirdly occurs on a Thursday. In order to "bridge the gap" between Thanksgiving and the weekend, the phenomenon known as Black Friday has evolved. That is the day that Americans get up ridiculously early and go shopping. And let me tell you: Black Friday deals in some stores are ridiculous. While I've never been to the States on a Black Friday (and never intend to go; the day is notorious for people getting trampled to death in order to get to the good deals first), I've heard some great stories of people scoring big-screen TVs for $32, or a brand new iPhone 5C for $49 with no contract. That's crazy! I have no idea whether Boxing Day or Black Friday came first, but I like to think Boxing Day did. Because I'm Canadian, and all good things are Canadian before Americans steal our ideas. Like basketball. And hockey.

Back to plants! The black maple is actually a "species" under furious debate amongst botanists, and the crowd is currently split about its species status. There are some botanists (that I like to think are in the majority, but I'm honestly not sure) that say the black maple is a good species and deserves its own Latin name. There's another group, however, that is absolutely convinced that it's merely a subspecies of the sugar maple, and should actually be called Acer saccharum subsp. nigrum. Unfortunately, should this prove to be the case, the black maple would lose all designation as a species and no longer be protected by any kind of Species At Risk legislation across all of North America, where it has its native range. To me, this would be tragic since I happen to really like black maples. But I do see where "the other side" is coming from: black maples and sugar maples readily hybridize with each other, their wood can be used for the exact same purposes in the lumber trade because they have the same grain qualities and the same chemical makeup (the same amount of lignin and cellulose, with the same type of ring structure), they can both be used to produce maple syrup (although, black maples much less so than sugar maples), and they have very similar maple key characteristics. The most notable difference is the shape of the leaves; the black maple leaf is much more rounded at the bottom than the sugar maple (which is nearly flat), the black maple leaf has only three main lobes with no minor lobes (the sugar maple leaf has three main lobes and two much smaller lobes at the base near the petiole), and the leaves of the black maple "droop" like they're always slightly dehydrated (while sugar maple leaves are flat and not droopy at all). In fact, the slightly floppy quality to the leaves is the reason why most black maples are accidentally massacred on residential properties. Because they always look like they're drought-stressed and need water, people who don't know that's what black maples look like normally drown them to death. The poor trees! And I will admit, until a few months ago I would have been in the "drowning the tree" boat. I always thought this poor tree needed some water (and since it is in the middle of an island in a huge parking lot, not getting much water is a very real possibility) and so likely would have drowned it, too, had I not been told differently. Now we all know. :)

So what are black maples good for, aside from maple syrup? Well, a lot if you ask the Ojibwa people. Not only did they boil the sap of the black maple to concentrate the sugars to use as a sweetener in cooking, but they also boiled the bark and drank the resulting liquid to treat diarrhea and to act as a diuretic. Neither of these uses have been evaluated in clinical trials. The branches of this tree can also be very straight, and so made good wood for arrows and were the preferred source for "arrow wood". The wood of the black maple is also easily carved, especially when young, and so was sometimes carved into elaborate shapes for ornamental pieces and for kitchen items like spoons and bowls.

If you went out to brave the crowds today, hopefully you managed to pick up something you liked and got a great deal!

RERUN: Canada's National Tree

Since today is Canada Day, I figured I should either do a post that has to do with this great country, or at the very least re-post the blog I did last year on this day. Last year's blog it is! A new blog post continuing the "Sandra's Garden" theme will be coming shortly. To keep you tied over until then, enjoy this post from Canada Day last year about the differences between sugar maples (our National tree) and Norway maples (an invasive species). Happy Dominion Day!

Species names: Acer saccharum, Acer platanoides

Common names: Sugar maple, Norway maple

Location: Ontario

Since one of these trees is native and the other is not, and there's a reason why one would be featured more prominently over the other on a wonderful day such as today, I put up the photo for a native species.

Since today is Canada Day, I figured I should probably feature our national tree, the one proudly flown every day on our flag, the sugar maple (a species that I didn't quite do justice to in this blog post). Unfortunately, the Norway maple has become almost as common as the sugar maple in Canada (if not more common in some areas) because it is, for some obscure reason, planted in preference over our native species. Perhaps it's because it doesn't succumb to the native sugar maple pests that we have, but it was also the reason why we have periodic outbreaks of the Asian longhorned beetle, its primary pest, which is decimating forests across the country. The other downside of the Norway maple is that it produces phytochemicals from its roots that deter understory growth (including grass, if you choose to plant one in your front yard), and when fully mature it can inhibit the growth of native species of trees and shrubs in a forest to such an extent that you sometimes find "Norway maple oases" where nothing else exists.

So how can you tell the difference between a native sugar maple and an invasive, non-native Norway maple? The key is in the leaves. First, if you've got a purple maple tree in your front yard you've got a Norway maple. Sugar maples have never been bred to have purple leaves, so that's a great place to start to be able to stay away from the Norway maple. Second, take a look at the lobes of the leaf, specifically the top lobe. Does it have deep groves running almost halfway down the leaf, separating the top lobe from the ones on each side of it? Or is the lobe very shallowly separated from the rest of the leaf? Shallow lobes are Norway maple leaves, deep lobes are sugar maple leaves. If you look at the second picture (sugar maple on the left, Norway maple on the right), you can also see that when you compare them side-by-side the number of teeth along the leaf's edge also differs quite a bit; the Norway maple has quite a few more teeth along each lobe where the sugar maple doesn't. Third, take a look at where the petiole (or the "leaf stalk") branches off into the main veins of the leaf. Are these veins approximately the same colour as the tissue of the leaf, or is there a drastic difference in colour? As in the third picture, veins roughly the same colour as the leaf is seen in the sugar maple, drastically different leaf main vein colouring is characteristic of the Norway maple. The last and most easy method for telling the two species apart is by breaking a leaf off the stem and looking to see what happens. Is there a white milky latex that oozes out of the petiole? Or is the base of the petiole dry? The Norway maple is the one producing latex, the sugar maple doesn't (and that latex can be irritating to the skin, so be careful!).

Now you know how to tell the two trees apart. And not to leave out my American friends, the sugar maple is also the state tree of New York, West Virginia, Vermont and Wisconsin. All four of those states have impeccable taste in trees! :)

Happy Canada Day!

Canada's National Tree

Species names: Acer saccharum, Acer platanoides

Common names: Sugar maple, Norway maple

Location: Ontario

Since one of these trees is native and the other is not, and there's a reason why one would be featured more prominently over the other on a wonderful day such as today, I put up the photo for a native species.

Since today is Canada Day, I figured I should probably feature our national tree, the one proudly flown every day on our flag, the sugar maple (a species that I didn't quite do justice to in this blog post). Unfortunately, the Norway maple has become almost as common as the sugar maple in Canada (if not more common in some areas) because it is, for some obscure reason, planted in preference over our native species. Perhaps it's because it doesn't succumb to the native sugar maple pests that we have, but it was also the reason why we have periodic outbreaks of the Asian longhorned beetle, its primary pest, which is decimating forests across the country. The other downside of the Norway maple is that it produces phytochemicals from its roots that deter understory growth (including grass, if you choose to plant one in your front yard), and when fully mature it can inhibit the growth of native species of trees and shrubs in a forest to such an extent that you sometimes find "Norway maple oases" where nothing else exists.

So how can you tell the difference between a native sugar maple and an invasive, non-native Norway maple? The key is in the leaves. First, if you've got a purple maple tree in your front yard you've got a Norway maple. Sugar maples have never been bred to have purple leaves, so that's a great place to start to be able to stay away from the Norway maple. Second, take a look at the lobes of the leaf, specifically the top lobe. Does it have deep groves running almost halfway down the leaf, separating the top lobe from the ones on each side of it? Or is the lobe very shallowly separated from the rest of the leaf? Shallow lobes are Norway maple leaves, deep lobes are sugar maple leaves. If you look at the second picture (sugar maple on the left, Norway maple on the right), you can also see that when you compare them side-by-side the number of teeth along the leaf's edge also differs quite a bit; the Norway maple has quite a few more teeth along each lobe where the sugar maple doesn't. Third, take a look at where the petiole (or the "leaf stalk") branches off into the main veins of the leaf. Are these veins approximately the same colour as the tissue of the leaf, or is there a drastic difference in colour? As in the third picture, veins roughly the same colour as the leaf is seen in the sugar maple, drastically different leaf main vein colouring is characteristic of the Norway maple. The last and most easy method for telling the two species apart is by breaking a leaf off the stem and looking to see what happens. Is there a white milky latex that oozes out of the petiole? Or is the base of the petiole dry? The Norway maple is the one producing latex, the sugar maple doesn't (and that latex can be irritating to the skin, so be careful!).

Now you know how to tell the two trees apart. And not to leave out my American friends, the sugar maple is also the state tree of New York, West Virginia, Vermont and Wisconsin. All four of those states have impeccable taste in trees! :)

Happy Canada Day!

Sticks, sticks, sticks

Species name: Acer saccharum

Common name: Sugar maple

Location: Ontario

So this isn't your typical thoughts when it comes to a maple tree. And this probably isn't the kind of image you want to see when promised that spring is "right around the corner" (aren't we promised that every year at the end of March?!). But it's a fact of life that trees lose their leaves in the fall, overwinter as a bunch of upright sticks, then grow new leaves in the spring. But do all trees do that?

Unfortunately, nothing in Biology ever has a rule for which there are no exceptions. We can say that all trees lose their leaves then regrow them at some point in their life cycle, but that would be just plain false. An important concept to introduce is the difference between evergreen and deciduous trees. Evergreen trees are exactly what they sound like: always green. They never lose their green parts, and they're always biologically "active", even when it seems like all that they're doing is sitting there. In elementary school you learn that conifers are evergreens, and everything else loses their leaves. In reality, this is false. MOST conifers in Canada are evergreens, but there are some clear exceptions like Dawn Redwoods and Larch (and a few others, but those are extremely uncommon in Canada). Deciduous trees are those that lose their leaves in the fall to regrow them in the spring, and are often thought of as being the leafy plants. This is also not entirely true, since there are many tropical leafy trees that are considered evergreens since they never lose their leaves.

Another misconception is that the way the seasons work in Canada is the way they work everywhere. In reality, almost every country in the world has "seasons". Even tropical countries right on the equator that have no clear distinction between spring, summer, fall and winter still have a wet and dry season. In fact, we have the same thing in Canada: winter would be considered our "dry" season since the only form of precipitation (snow) is biologically unavailable to plants. The soil is also too cold to allow for water absorption, so the trees go dormant. Same thing in the tropics: during the dry season, many deciduous trees will lose their leaves and enter dormancy to regrow them during the wet season. There are some plants in the tropics that take this to an extreme, and any time there's a period of drought (anywhere from 7 to 14 days without rain, and it doesn't matter what time of year it is) the tree will shed its leaves and regrow them all after the next rain. A neat example of nutrient cycling in the tropics; nutrient recycling in temperate countries could never happen this quickly, and so if a tree shed its leaves any time it didn't get water for a prolonged period it would never be able to grow them back fast enough and would die.