Question: When does an oak leaf not look like an oak leaf?
Answer: When it is a Shingle Oak Leaf!
We’ve been taught there are two groups of oaks: white oaks whose leaves have rounded lobes on them and red oaks with sharp pointed and toothed leaves. Shingle Oak, or Quercus imbricaria, is a type of native red oak that has no points or teeth on its leaves – just nice smooth edges. Occasionally they may be found growing on moist hillsides or in bottom lands. I spied one walking on Canfield Island last week. I did not know what it was. The tree caught my eye because of its shiny, dark green leaves that looked sort of like rhododendron leaves only smaller and not leathery. I found a small bunch of leaves that had fallen, or been chewed off the tree, lying beneath it. They were smooth-edged, ranging in size from four to six inches long and were lightly furred underneath by very short, tannish hairs. I had to use my magnifier to determine that. Of course, it was all of the acorns growing on and lying beneath it that really clued me in…IT’S A SPECIES OF OAK!
This Shingle Oak could grow to 100 feet in height.
Shingle Oaks are more frequently found west of here in the Ohio and Mississippi River Valley regions. They are commonly used as ornamentals, and this one may well have been planted here. What a treat to find and identify it!
Twig of Shingle Oak leaves
Shingle Oaks flower in May when their leaves are about half-grown. Their acorns will then be ripe about eighteen months later. The species name imbricaria is Latin for “like a shingle” which could indicate its use as a source of hand-split shingles or shakes. Or, maybe, because of the caps on the small brown acorns that have wedge-shaped, pointed scales overlapping to resemble a shingled roof.
Acorns are about 1/2 inch in length
How many native animals and insects need native oak trees for food or habitat? Of 435 species of oaks worldwide, 91 are found in the United States AND support more caterpillar species than any other genus of plants in all of North America – not to mention all the animals that eat acorns. Read more about them in Doug Tallamy’s book, “The Nature of Oaks: The Rich Ecology of Our Most Essential Native Trees.”
Well, I’ve done it again – sneaked out of the Plant Kingdom and into the Kingdom of the Fungi!
Sulphur polypores on a dead tree
And for a very good reason, too, just look at this fantastic group of Laetiporus sulphureus. Just call it Chicken of the Woods, Sulphur Shelf or Sulphur Polypore. It was a very colorful find on an extremely brownish and crunchy- dry hike to the top of Skyline Drive. And who wouldn’t want to hang out on the side of a dead tree overlooking this view, hmm? All of those overlapping, bright orange, fan-shaped caps range from smooth and suede-like to finely wrinkled with sulphur yellow margins and pores, not gills, underneath. Those pores, tiny little holes, dispense white spores, creating another generation of wood recyclers. The living, dead or decaying wood they grow on provides them with the nutrients to live and reproduce. The bright coloration will fade as these organisms age. The fresh flesh, thick and soft, will become tougher, not decaying like the mushrooms in your yard would.
The view!
Sulphur Polypores grow fruit bodies from spring to autumn. They range across the North American continent, east of the Rockies , providing good eats for beetles and deer.
Northern Wild Senna is a member of the Fabaceae family, well-known as the legume or pea or bean family and having about 20,000 species in many countries. This particular species, Senna hebecarpa, is a perennial plant native to northeastern United States from the Great Lakes to Georgia. I found it growing in a field of goldenrods. Taller than I am, it was a real stand out in all that yellowness because of its height. It has yellow flowers, too. Its leaves are pinnately compound – smooth-edged leaflets arranged in pairs, up to ten opposite each other on a single stem, kind of like the barbs of a bird’s feather are arranged on a quill.
Northern Wild Senna plants in the field
This plant’s blooming period begins in late summer, and its yellow petals are beginning to turn white now as they age. Very visible in each flower are five black anthers containing pollen and one curled pistil with long, white hairy edges waiting to pull in the pollen grains. The pistil will slowly develop into a flat, brownish seed pod having up to eighteen segments, each containing one seed. A mature pod is curled and amazingly hairy.
Closer look at some developing seed pods
Something else that sets this plant apart from many is that its flowers do not contain nectaries, the glands that produce nectar! The bees that visit, come for its nutritious pollen because it is higher in protein according to a study done at Penn State in 2016. So where’s the nectar? It is in small, club-shaped glands found singly on leaf stems near their point of attachment to the main plant stem. The nectar there seems to attract parasitic wasps, lady beetles and ants which may in turn protect the plant from other types of insects determined to eat its foliage.
Yellow petals turning white, black anthers, above the red dot is a nectary
Northern Wild Senna plants have a tendency to spread by horizontal rhizomes under the soil and create colonies. They like partial to full sun and loamy, moist soil near streams and water catchment areas. They can also live in sandy and rocky places, too, once they get a foothold. The plants have a vertical growing habit, but may get top heavy as the seed pods develop and flop over sideways.
White-tail deer and other herbivores don’t seem to care for the rather toxic and cathartic (purgative) foliage. Senna plants, like this one, and their near relatives, have been used by native populations in many countries for millennia as laxatives, worm remedies, and as poultices for healing sores.
NPC’s members have always understood that when we work to conserve a property through a partnered acquisition we should be ready to help ensure people recreating and using the property can do so safely. This means helping with infrastructure needs in areas where we’ve added land to the state system.
This time, staff realized what was needed through their own bad luck. A flat tire while bike riding on the Pine Creek Rail Trail has led to a new bike repair station and tire pump on the Trail. Out of air and 8 miles from the car, there was plenty of time to think about what would be helpful and partners that could help.
NPC worked with the Pine Creek Preservation Association and the Tiadaghton State Forest staff to get the unit and get it installed. (Thank you maintenance crew!!!!)
The idea is to help bicyclists who may be having bike problems and are trying to get back to their car (see first paragraph above). This unit is installed at the comfort station at Bonnell Flats so the Bureau of Forestry staff can keep an eye on things.
Jersey Shore Borough has installed a similar unit in the Borough at the trailhead. There are also three units in the Tioga County stretch thanks to the Wellsboro Rotary.
While we hope you never need it, we’re glad we could partner with other groups, so they’re there!
The second week of August the stream partnership worked on a project on Halfmoon Creek in Centre County.
The Centre County Conservation District is working with the landowner on some management changes.
Once completed this project will have new cattle exclusion fencing and a stream crossing to protect the newly stabilized streambank from erosion.
The District is using funding partially from Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). When DEP’s watershed manager was reviewing the project on site with the District, he asked if the landowner had been approached about log and rock structures to stabilize the eroding streambanks.
The project has a lot of partners and a lot of moving parts. In early July we all met on site to review everyone’s timeline and discuss how to coordinate and what needed to shift around.
One thing led to another and the stream partnership worked on the streambanks while the fencing crew worked on the new pasture fencing and getting the livestock out of the stream.
Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission oversaw construction and were in the stream building the structures. Sara helped out for one of the days they were working.
In these photos you can see the difference before and after log vanes and log framed deflectors were installed. In this before photo, notice the height of the streambank. You can also see the cutbank, or the dirt, with the grass on top.
In this after photo the left side of the photos is graded and ready for seeing and mulching. The right side still needs some backfill and graded. Now during higher flows, the water will be able to rise up and flow out of the stream channel instead of washing away soil and eroding into a deeper canyon.
Chesapeake Conservancy is also involved in getting various Best Management Practices installed that will reduce the amount of sediment and nutrients entering the stream.
ClearWater Conservancy is using grant funding they have to plant a riparian buffer in the areas the livestock will no longer have access to the stream. By installing the log and rock structures first we’ve stabilized the streambanks with trees adding to that stabilization as their roots grown and help hold the soil.
David relocated a northern green frog upstream before structures were constructed where it was found.
The War Department condemned the town of Alvira in Union County, PA in 1942 in order to establish a munitions manufacturing facility. Known locally as “the Ordnance,” the site used water drawn out of the West Branch Susquehanna River below Montgomery to manufacture munitions for the war effort during World War II.
This sign on State Game Lands 252 provides a snapshot of the property’s history.
Eighty years later, the Northcentral Pennsylvania Conservancy worked with the Pennsylvania Game Commission, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and Union County Conservation District to stop the erosion created by establishing the Ordnance.
Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission staff and Union County Conservation District staff work together to secure a log with rebar.
After the residents of Alvira were gone, the structures in the community were torn down and burned with the exception of a stone church. The Pennsylvania Ordnance Works was established and production got underway.
During the process of establishing the Pennsylvania Ordnance Works, a perimeter road was built. Presumably for security and to allow the property boundaries to be patrolled and secured.
That road was built in a straight line. Spring Creek which flows through the southern side of the Ordnance does not flow in a straight line. It bends and turns and twists back.
The straight road cut off an oxbow, or u-shaped bend, in Spring Creek from the flowing stream channel. By looking at aerial photos from the 1930s and today you can see the large wetland that developed where the oxbow was.
During a spring site visit the Canada Geese were using the wetland formed by cutting off the stream’s oxbow.
Streams are stubborn. If they want to bend and wiggle, they will flow and cut and erode their way into the bend and wiggle they want.
That’s what happened here. Over time, the now channelized Spring Creek was eroding the streambanks as it was trying to get some of its bend back.
In the late 2010s the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC), Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), and Union County Conservation District (UCCD) looked at the site and developed a design to help stabilize the streambanks and improve access to the stream.
This stretch of Spring Creek is on State Game Lands 252. After World War II the property taken for the Ordnance was divided up. Just over 3,000 acres was used to established State Game Lands 252 in 1964.
Since State Game Lands are open for public recreation and this stretch of Spring Creek is stocked there is a lot of fishing activity on the property. The activity was pretty concentrated in a couple of spots because it was difficult to get to the stream. The perimeter road, now used as a management road by the Game Commission, creates a steep side that isn’t easy to get up and down.
Sadie is standing at the top of the bank. You can see how steep the streambank is and how difficult it would be for someone to get down to the stream to fish.
With a design in hand the group waited until funding could be found to support the project. That funding was found in late 2021. The plan was dusted off and updated. Streams can change a lot year to year and this stream had over 5 years to change.
Austen is in the stream using his feet and the staff (in his hand) to determine what material is on the stream bottom. Jason is on top of the bank providing perspective on the height of the eroded streambanks.
The site was added to the schedule for the 2022 construction season and additional grant funding was secured through Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful’s Healing the Planet Grant Program with support from The GIANT Company.
The first two weeks of August were set aside for the project. The team wanted the water levels down and August is typically dryer with lower water levels. There are some deep holes in the stream and we didn’t want those to be problematic for construction. Another reason to wait until August – there’s less activity on this area of the State Game Lands. The crew saw a trail runner a few times and a couple of horseback riders, but we weren’t interfering with their recreation.
Before we got on site, the Game Commission’s crew brushed out the area to make it easier to work and to help set the stage for a tree planting. They set some of the trees so they could be used in the structures and built brush piles with some (we not only create fish habitat, but we also caused rabbit habit to be created).
The team started upstream and worked downstream installing the log and rock structures.
It really didn’t take long for fish to move in. The first couple of days the team wasn’t seeing much, by the end of the project the group was seeing more fish overall and a greater variety of fish species.
The contractor did a great job with the bank full benches. These areas allow the stream to spread out in high water, slowing down the water’s speed and reducing the erosion. They also create areas where people can stand and fish. The group worked to ensure the bank leading to the bank full bench was sloped in a way to make it easier to walk down and get to the stream’s edge.
Along water’s edge you can see woody material sticking out from a habitat structure. The bank was graded with more slope to allow water space to spread out and slow down. There was enough rain to get the winter oats to sprout!!
Things will be given a year or two to settle in and then more trees and shrubs will be planted. These plants will help shade the stream to keep summer temperatures cooler, and the roots of the plants will provide additional stabilization.
Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission Executive Director Tim Schaeffer stopped by on the last day of construction. It was a great opportunity to highlight the teamwork needed to get projects on the ground.
During the tour, Tim got to see completed structures and structures that still needed back filled and graded. Here the group is at one of the structures that still needs back filled.
If you use State Game Lands 252 stop by and let us know what you think of the project.
A rather unusual-looking plant got my attention recently, and I found out it has an unusual name as well. Three-seed Mercury sports three green seeds (yellow as they mature) in the middle of spiked bracts that have five to nine triangle-shaped pointy ends sticking out on all sides of them. These points must have resembled wing feathers thrust out because someone, somewhere named the plant after the Roman Messenger god Mercury who had wings attached to the sides of his shoes to hasten his travels! This native plant has the scientific name of Acalypha rhomboidea and is a member of the Spurge Family, Euphorbiaceae. A lot of the spurges are known for their milky sap. Three-seed Mercury stands out again as different for having clear sap.
Whole view of Three-seed Mercury plant with fifteen side stems.
The stem of this plant is erect and can grow upwards from six inches to two feet, depending on conditions. It prefers disturbed areas and can tolerate clay and gravelly soils. That means, you can probably find some on roadsides, wooded slopes, field and garden edges and along railroad tracks. A straight taproot extends down from the woody-looking stem bottom which is wiry and difficult to break by hand. I checked out the lower stem and underground features as I weeded them. Being annuals, they were plentiful and growing near each other. Stem shapes are more rounded on the lower portions of the plants, but become more square towards their tops. An important identifying characteristic is the lines of hairs that curve inward on the stems, leaves and bracts. I needed a flashlight and a magnifier to detect their presence. I counted as many as five individual bracts of different sizes extending out of the plant stem above the individual leaf axils. Tiny groups of flowers on a single stem are attached to those bracts that will then hold the developing seeds. Once mature, those seeds fall off easily onto the ground. The birds love them, especially mourning doves. I had difficulty getting photos of the seeds nestled on the bracts. As I pawed through the foliage looking for mature seeds, I managed to dislodge most of them.
Side view of one stem. Notice the leaves and flower bracts compacted more toward the top.
The shape of the plant depends on its age. Newer plants are a single stem with the leaves and bracts crowding the upper parts of the stem. As they mature, they bush out with many side stems growing from the main one and lots of alternating leaves and bracts. The leaves seem to stand out from the stem because their petioles are long, about half the length of the leaf. There is another species of Mercury growing in PA – Virginia Three-seed Mercury, Acalypha virginica. This plant has bracts with nine to fifteen hairy triangle points extending from them instead of just five to nine. I’d love to find one of those to see if the seeds fall off as easily when they mature, being surrounded by so many more points.
Look for six bunches of blossoms and two bracts containing three seeds each.
I was surprised recently by a large amount of insects sitting on the leaves of some Great Lobelia plants. Maybe “amazed” would be a better word for it. There were a lot of them. I needed to identify them and learn why they were gathering there. Here’s what I learned – they are our native Eastern Boxelder Bugs. Considered “true” bugs because adults have piercing, sucking mouth parts and a characteristic triangle shape between the tops of their leather-like wings. The younger bugs with them are nymphs with bright red bodies, black antennae and legs. You can find them easily in the photo because they are the ones with small slate gray or black patches on their backs. These are their wing buds. When the nymphs emerged from eggs, they were only 1.3 mm in length. (There are 25.4 mm in an inch.) So tiny! Because they are invertebrates, or animals without backbones, they are held together, supported, protected by an exoskeleton made of chitin. It is stiff and hard. When the nymphs begin to grow, they must shed and replace that rigid exoskeleton with a new larger one in order to get bigger and attain adulthood with sexual organs and wings. They need to molt five different times, becoming darker red as they mature. The red V on the back of an adult is created by its folded wing edges. The other, larger red marks on their bodies may serve as a warning to predators that they are distasteful because they contain a pungent, bad-tasting compound. Preying mantis and spiders eat them anyway. Few birds will eat them. They sun together in large groups on warm surfaces. All of that red in one place probably serves to keep hungry predators from munching on them.
Masses of Boxelder Bugs
Boxelder Bugs feed almost entirely on the developing seeds of boxelder, maple, and ash trees. They will suck juices from the leaves, but prefer the seeds. They do not sting or transmit diseases and are not classified as a pest. They can be found east of the Rockies in woods and gardens. There is a similar species that lives west of the Rockies. In autumn, swarms of females can be seen looking for thick piles of plant debris in which to overwinter. They emerge in spring to lay eggs which are hidden in bark crevices, under leaves in safe areas.
Look for the nymphs with small wing buds mixed in with adults
Sometimes Boxelder Bugs are confused with the Eastern Milkweed Bugs that are reddish-orange and black in color. They are true bugs, too. Get yourself a bug book and check them out!
A volunteer plant grew near my woodshed – unexpected, but not unappreciated! It appeared over a month ago. I had to wait for it to grow bigger before introducing it to you and getting the photos that would capture its unique physique! Our native White Vervain (Verbena urticifolia) is a member of the Verbena Family, along with about 3,000 other species, mostly from warmer climates. Teak is one of them, prized for its beautiful and durable wood. I have always admired White Vervain and was happy to find it growing nearby. These annual or perennial plants usually choose moist fields, meadows, thickets or waste ground. Well, nothing much grows there except pennyroyal, and there is a downspout nearby. I guess that works in its favor.
Young White Vervain plant. My husband held a rug behind it as contrast in order to show its short flower spikes at its top.
White Vervain plants are compact at their start. When their small, tight, flower spikes appear, the magic begins! Their very slender flower stems begin to stretch out in all directions. The buds on them move further and further apart from each other until they look like little bugs sitting on thin branches. The really tiny white flowers open willy-nilly, here and there, as they mature. I pulled off one of the pollinated flowers and rubbed it gently between my fingers to tease out the four nutlets inside that will create the next generation of plants there. The flower stalks definitely stand out as an identifying characteristic of White Vervain. But, the rest of the plant needs to be checked out, too. It can grow from two to five feet tall, has a hairy, square stem, and stiff, opposite leaves that are doubly-serrated and look like the blades on a steak knife. If you want to look for this plant, it should be flowering from July to September in Pennsylvania. Its close relative, Blue Vervain, can be found inhabiting similar habitats, but has stiff pencil-like spikes of small, blue flowers that appear in a “more organized” fashion resembling a candelabra!
Large plant with expanded flower spikes reaching out in all directions.
Medicinally, Vervains are astringent, or drying, and have been used for millennia crushed up and applied externally to wounds, poison ivy sores and other skin complaints.
Purple-flowering Raspberry’s scientific name is Rubus odoratus. Its genus name is from Latin for “bramble”, defined as a prickly, scrambling shrub or vine of the Rose Family. But, its arching and sprawling branches have reddish-brown hairs that are sticky to touch instead of prickly to touch! This perennial plant is native to eastern North America. Its gorgeous rose-purple flowers that are about two inches wide made it a desired target of plant gathers from England in the 1770’s. It was taken there as an ornamental and has since naturalized as many plants from there have done here!
Purple-flowering Raspberry with five-pointed leaves
The leaves of this shrub resemble maple leaves with a heart-shaped base and three or five triangle lobes. The whole plant can reach to six feet tall. On a ledge or a shaded cliff where they seem to prefer growing, it is hard to get a true measure of their height. Their five-petaled flowers, pollinated by bees and insects, then create a large, flat berry made up of many little druplets. They bloom from May to August and set fruit from July to September depending on local conditions. I have found many adjectives describing the characteristics of these red berries: dry, tart, acid, bland, seedy, fuzzy to touch and on the tongue! Well, songbirds and game birds will eat them. Small mammals, too. The seeds are great for sowing in order to return native plants to an area and the roots work well at stabilizing banks. Many members of the Rubus genus, eighteen grow PA, have been used medicinally because their leaves are highly astringent and helped treat dysentery and diarrhea as well as skin ailments like sores and boils.
Check out the hairy flower buds and the white, unripened fruit.
