Gale's Pond Botany

There is a lot of quality plant material around Gale's Pond. Every one of these specimens is native. Although I didn't see any brand-new-to-me plants, I've added to my knowledge base. First, the plants I see fairly often but are still nice.

This is white turtlehead, Chelone Glabra. Fairly common wetland plant.

Here's another we are more used to seeing in the spring. This is the seed head for Jack-in-the-Pulpit, Arisaema triphyllum. Don't be confused by the fern leaves behind it.

Next up is Purple-leaved Willow Herb, Epilobium coloratum. What I hadn't previously realized about this is that it's in the same genus as Fireweed. Fireweed gets a bunch of curly split seed pods at the end of the season, and so does this plant. I'll have to watch for those. I think that's the more interesting time frame for the plant rather than these tiny flowers because of the interesting texture.

Now we get to things that are more interesting to me because I am less familiar with them. Next is Horsebalm, Collinsonia canadensis. I first saw this plant right here at Gale's Pond in August of 2019, but the flower wasn't in full bloom, so I never shared it.

Here it is this week, going to seed.

Here it is in 2019, with the flowers just opening. The thing is, I saw it somewhere else, perhaps later in 2019, because I remembered the name to tell someone. No clue where or who, and my photo sorting has not reached that year even if I took a picture. Yesterday, I could only remember that it had "horse" in the name.

Here's another plant that I've seen elsewhere, but I have no idea if I have other pictures of it, and I couldn't remember anything about it, except I could tell from looking that it is some kind of nettle. It's Wood Nettle or Canada Nettle, Laportea canadensis. Yes, the kind of nettle that has little stinging hairs if you touch it.

You could easily see the stinging hairs on these stems. But the most interesting thing is the flowers. They are little palmate clusters of greenish-white blunt petals. I believe these are the female flowers. The male flowers are separate but will grow on the same plant.

I don't think I'll forget this one again, although I may not recognize the male flowers if I see them alone.

Finally, we get into some semi-informed speculation. I THINK this is Marsh Fern Thelypteris palustris. That is based on where it was growing, the shape of the pinnules, and the shape and placement of the ruptured spore cases. Well, that's part of how you'd identify any fern, but it's late in the season, and I should have had a fern book with me to really ID this. Anyway, it's a nice picture.

I got myself back on track today. Laundry, editing, other computer projects, and I wrote 585 words in Vacation from DMS. Current total is at 40,418. I guess there's hope I might finish the book. Now I'm going to go make a gallon of yogurt before I crash.

See Gale's Pond