Swamp Azalea

Here is Rhododendron viscosum, known as Swamp Azalea or Swamp Honeysuckle. After discovering this beauty a few days ago, I returned for some setting sun shots. This is a solitary bush close to the shoreline.

I originally intended to catalog each species according to its native or alien state. (That is, native defined as present when Europeans first settled in North America.) That intent soon went by the wayside, but we can see that the Swamp Azalea is a native species, as illustrated in this excerpt from A Monograph of Azaleas:

"Rhododendron viscosum was apparently first observed by John Banister, an English missionary who sent a drawing of it to Dr. Compton, Bishop of London. Dr. Compton communicated it to Plukenet, who published it in 1691 in his Phytographia. The plant was introduced into England apparently in the first half of the 18th century by John Bartram, who sent seeds or plants to Peter Collinson, but the exact date is not known."






Wilson, Ernest Henry and Rehder, Alfred. A Monograph of Azaleas. Cambridge 1921. 160. Web. Google Book Search. 10 Jul 2009.

Deptford Pink

I have been photographing Dianthus armeria for a couple of weeks--a challenge not only to identify but also to pull off a detailed shot. The bright pink oversaturates with ease, blotting out detail. Deptford Pink is found all around the lake and always in small patches. Below is about as extensively grouped as it gets.



From "an historical account of the towns, villages, and hamlets...":

"The Dianthus Armeria, which abounds in this part of Kent, was called by the old botanifts, who found it in this parifh, the Deptford pink."


Lysons, Daniel. The Environs of London. London, 1811. 468. Web. Google Book Search. 9 July 2009.

Toadflax

Toadflax--don't you just love that name? It sounds so quaint, like something of a fairy tale. And if that name isn't cool enough, Linaria vulgaris also goes by Butter and Eggs.


From A Guide to the Wild Flowers:

"Our very familiarity with these conspicuous and beautiful flowers inclines us to pay little heed to them ; although they find their way into children's hands almost more than any other of our wayside flora. If we had to seek them through some quaking bog with only a vague hope of finding them we should probably prize them in some such way as we do the yellow orchis. But they give us no trouble. They galivant along the roadsides and we may admire them, or pass them by, just as we choose. No doubt the political economist would remind us in this connection that things are only valuable that are limited in supply."


Lounsberry, Alice. A Guide to the Wild Flowers. New York, 1899. 310. Web. Google Book Search. 7 Jul 2009.

An Adobe Surprise

I've been reviewing video editing software, just something to get me started in the $100 range.

I really like Adobe software. Photoshop, Bridge, Adobe Camera Raw, InDesign--all cool products. I recently began using LiveCycle for pdf form design on a work project and I couldn't be more pleased with the results.

That's why I was so surprised while testing out a 30-day trial of Adobe Premiere Elements that the software performed abysmally. It was nearly impossible to run this application for more than a few minutes without it hanging or quitting unrepentantly. I've read that there are folks for whom the software works just fine, but most people have experiences similar to mine.

I have a copy of Sony Vegas Movie Studio 9 Platinum Pro Pack on its way. The trial worked fine here, the feature set is comparable to Premiere Elements, and the reviews are positive.

One other thing, for those interested in software and working with the Canon 5d Mk ii... The movie files right off the camera play with jitters no matter the hosting software. I'm now using Cineform's Neoscene compression software with excellent results. Smooth without frame jumping. Nice stuff, but not without the intermediary compression step between movie file download into Bridge and use by the editing software.

More later as I explore this camera/compressor/editor system.

Oh! And lastly, I thought I'd hang onto the 50d as a backup camera but I've fallen in love with the 5d and there's no going back. Today I sold the 50d to a good home. :-)

Swamp Rose

I found a small wild rose bush on Sunday. Only thing is that evening when I looked to Peterson's for an ID, I discovered that five rose species all looked quite similar and that my pictures couldn't help me. Monday I revisited this little plant, mindful of the identifying characteristics. I sat down next to my friend and spent some time simply looking before using the camera--by then, I already knew that this was indeed the Swamp Rose, Rosa palustris.

Swamp Rose has an affinity for water and this bush grows on a slope just feet from the lake's shore.

Compared with other wild roses, the Swamp Rose will often have more than three leaves to a twig and hook-like thorns. The presence of narrow stipules (sheath-like growths) just before the leaves finalize this id.

Reflections

I've been pondering my blog's format--that is, the usual single new species a day. I've run into times when new material runs scarce and then I fret. And yet, at other times I am perfectly comfortable to present a series or an excursion rather than a dedicated species post.

And occasionally, I ask if this is all really a photo blog. Sometimes the photos are illustrative of the species and the supporting text reflects that, but there are times that I try for an artistic representation and like to supplement with poetry.


So am I between a rock and a hard place?


Not at all. I just have to stay open to the possibilities as I wonder where I'm going.


Thanks, dear reader, for listening. :-)

Vines

Here are a few glimpses at the local vines--Wisteria, Virginia Creeper , and a couple of Poison Ivy. I do cut back some of the wisteria as it will completely overtake a full size oak or maple, essentially killing it off within a few years. I've also had to repeatedly cut back a mischievous wisteria that snakes around the power transformer on the pole across the street. For too many years during the summer, I'd hear a loud explosion as the pole breakers blew and the neighborhood blacked out.

Interspersed below are snippets from Vines and How to Grow Them.


"As I look over some of the fine country places, I cannot but think how neglected are the vines. These estates usually have lovely, rolling lawns, beautiful shrubbery borders, and many other prominent features; but the only point where you will find any vines is on the side of a building or on the pergola, if, perchance, there is one. How it would relieve these long stretches of lawn to see a rock jutting up somewhere, with a vine or two clambering over it; or even the stump of a tree, with some vines planted around it!"


"Why allow these long, almost endless shrubbery borders to have nothing in them but trees and shrubs? Pick out a corner somewhere and turn it into a "rangle-tangle." To make this take two or three dozen ordinary bean poles and put them in the ground about two feet apart. They should not be equidistant, however, nor should the poles be all of the same height. Make the arrangement appear rough, plant some vines at the base of the poles, and in the course of a couple of years you cannot but be pleased with the result."


"Another place where vines can be used to great advantage is in the event of a tree dying in a very conspicuous place. Do not chop it down, but remove some of the soil at the base of the tree, replace it with fresh loam, and plant a few vines. The vines produce a very pretty and interesting effect growing in this manner."



McCollom, William C. Vines and How to Grow Them. New York, 1911. 4-5. Web. Google Book Search. 4 Jul 2009.

Mushrooms and a Movie

Nope, not a new treat at the local cinema! :-)

Perhaps it's been all the rain, I don't know, but in the past few days, mushrooms have been popping up all around the lake. And if that's not enough, they all seem to be different species. Without a few good manuals, I'm at a total loss for identification.













I couple of posts back, mention was made of naming water's surfaces. Although still and perhaps forever to remain unnamed, we can still look and listen. From my favorite spot with my new favorite camera...

Deer

I was on my way home from my second short excursion of the day when I spied these deer way out at the far end of a field. I had no cover as I continued to shoot and advance. Wish I had the big telephoto with me this evening...

Deer Wisdom

I love the way the doe knows how to go
through the tall brambles: She ambles
her hips first to one side,
then another; tosses her nose high
to sniff the trails of air; and
proffers only a passing glance to
the chickadee on his slanted
branch. She knows the way;
she knows the turn of a hoof print
here, to the right of the wild rose brier;
there, past the tip of the raspberry twig;
she knows the sun even before
his fine arced dome appears
on the eastern horizon, and
she goes that way,
into the still of the dew
into the hills of the morning
in through that path between the thorns
that is so hard for us to see.

--Pat Campbell Carlson.

Carlson, Pat Campbell. Web. Google Search. "Deer Poem". 3 Jul 2009.

Milkweed

I've often wondered, as I travel around the lake, if there are a myriad of names for water's many surfaces. White caps and smooth as glass come to mind, but perhaps one must be a sailor to know.

From The Farmer's Assistant:

"MILKWEED (Ascleiiiaa Syriaca.) Under Greens, we have mentioned the young stalks ot this plant, as an article of food. The plant is also called silkweed, on account of the pod it produces, which contains a vegetable silk. This, adhering to the seeds, is calculated to waft them by the winds in every direction.

This plant has been considered as a troublesome weed, in much of the northern parts of this State ; but perhaps the use which may be made of the pods, of the leaves, and of the milk of the plant, may be found much more than sufficient to counterbalance any inconvenience to be suffered from it.

We will first point out the use made of the pods, in France, as communicated by Mr. Genet:

' The silky substance collected from that plant (says he) is used in France, with great advantage, and is cultivated under the name ot houatte or wading. They card it, spin it, and manufacture it into velvets, cloth, and hose, with or without the intermixture of cotton or silk.

' It is also used for wading to stuff quilts and counterpanes; and for that purpose it is far preferable to cotton, being warmer and lighter. To card it by itself, they expose it in bags to the steam of water; but, mixed with silk or cotton, it does not require the intervention of the steam, to be made into rolls and spun. The velvets and other textures made of that vegetable silk, which I have seen in Europe, resembled, if not exceled, the brilliancy ot the silk; and, with proper mordants, had received the most elegant coloring.'

Mr. Genet subsequently adds: ' I have been informed that a French Gentleman, who attends the Dyers' department of the manufactory of Mr. Lynch, at Rome, has discovered that the leaves of the asclepias, and probably of all the apocinums, were an excellent substitute for the woad.'

See Woad.

' Dr. Low, of Albany, has also observed, that the.milky juices of the asclepias were equal, if not superior, in many respects, to the opium extracted from the white poppy.'

Thus it appears that this plant affords food, clothing, medicine, and matter for coloring. Probably its cultivation may yet be found a matter of considerable importance.

We have also seen the pods gathered, as a substitute for feathers, in making beds. We believe they might be most advantageously mixed with feathers, for that purpose."

The Mild-Weed Babies

Dainty milk-weed babies
Wrapped in cradles green,
Rocked by Mother Nature,
Fed by hands unseen.

Brown coats have the darlings,
Slips of milky white,
And wings—but that's a secret,—
They're folded out of sight.

The cradles grow so narrow,
What will the babies do?
They'll only grow the faster
And look up towards the blue.

And now they've found the secret,
They're flying through the air,
They've left the cradles empty,—
Do milk-weed babies care?

- Language Lessons

Nicholson, John. The Farmer's Assistant. Philadelphia, 1820. 232. Web. Google Book Search. 1 Jul 2009.

Wisely, John Benjamin; Griswold, Sarah E. Language Lessons. Chicago, Boston, 1906. Web. Google Book Search. 1 July 2009.

Meadowsweet

The mowers that clear the weeds along the roadside recently did their job well, as they always do. This is the first summer that I was left disappointed. But this isn't a sad tale. After all, I'm sure the runners and dog walkers all welcomed this clearing. That same clearing forced me to look deeper, and there I found a solitary Meadowsweet in beautiful bloom.

From WikiPedia:

"The whole herb possesses a pleasant taste and flavour, the green parts having a similar aromatic character to the flowers, leading to the use of the plant as a strewing herb, strewn on floors to give the rooms a pleasant aroma, and its use to flavour wine, beer and many vinegars. The flowers can be added to stewed fruit and jams, giving them a subtle almond flavor. It has many medicinal properties. The whole plant is a traditional remedy for an acidic stomach and the fresh root is often used in minute quantities in homeopathic preparations. It is effective on its own as a treatment for diarrhoea. The flowers, when made into a tea, are a comfort to flu sufferers. Dried, the flowers make lovely pot pourri.

Active ingredients: compounds of salicylic acid, flavone-glycosides, essential oils and tannins.

In 1897 Felix Hoffmann created a synthetically altered version of salicin, derived from the species, which caused less digestive upset than pure salicylic acid. The new drug, formally Acetylsalicylic acid, was named aspirin by Hoffman's employer Bayer AG after the old botanical name for meadowsweet, Spiraea ulmaria. This gave rise to the hugely important class of drugs known as NonSteroidal AntiInflammatory Drugs, or NSAIDs.

This plant contains the chemicals used to make aspirin, a small section of root, when peeled and crushed smells like Germolene, and when chewed is a good natural remedy for relieving headaches.

A natural black dye can be obtained from the roots by using a copper mordant."

Meadow-Sweet

The meadow-sweet was uplifting
Its plumelets of delicate hue,
The clouds were all dreamily drifting
Above in the blue,
On the day when I broke from my tether,
And fled from square and from street;—
The day we went walking together
In the meadow, Sweet.

The meadow, sweet with its clover
And bright with its buttercups lay;
The swallows kept eddying over,
All flashing and gay ;
I remember a fairylike feather
Sailed down your coming to greet,
The day we went walking together
In the meadow, Sweet.

Ah! the meadow, Sweet! and the singing
Of birds in the boughs overhead!
And your soft little hand to mine clinging,
And the words that you said,
When, bold in the beautiful weather,
I laid my love at your feet,
The day we went walking together
In the meadow, Sweet.

- Frances Wynne

"Filipendula ulmaria." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 24 Jun 2009, 22:20 UTC. 24 Jun 2009 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Filipendula_ulmaria&oldid=298448389>.

Wynne, Frances. Whisper! London, 1890. 9-10. Web. Google Book Search. 1 Jul 2009.

Day Lily

Finally, the rains end. I've had lake shooting sessions two evenings in a row and my photo bank is beginning to gather some substance. The lake was particularly calm last evening.


Here's the Copper Colored Day Lily, Hemerocallis fulva. I have some yellow day lilies, H. flava, in the yard. Last year I noticed the one-day only blossoming--open one morning, withered the next. Truly, this name fits.


From Peter Lawson and his sons:

"Leaves light green, keeled, long, and pointed; apparent petals copper- coloured; root fibrous, perennial; height three to four feet. Native of the Levant; introduced into Britain about the year 1596. This plant was first brought under the notice of agriculturists by the late Mr. J. Ellis, an eminent English gardener. Cattle are extremely fond of the foliage, which is produced in abundance at a very early period of the season; the principal hindrance to its extensive cultivation is its backwardness in producing seed; from which circumstance it can only be propagated by dividing and transplanting the roots."


And from Anton Kerner von Marilaun:

"The Day Lily (Hemerocallis fulva) has ephemeral flowers which open in the morning in summer-time between 6 and 7 o'clock, and close between 8 and 9 in the evening. Its flowers.are protogynous for a very short time. For half an hour before the opening of the flower the mature stigma projects from the tip of the perianth. Simultaneously with the folding back of the perianth, the anthers liberate their adhesive pollen. The style being longer than the stamens, its stigma is not automatically pollinated. For pollination insect visits are necessary. Honey is secreted at the base of the tube of the perianth, which is 2 cm. long. The entrance to this honey is so narrow that only a very delicate proboscis can gain access. Beetles, flies, bees, and other short-tongued insects cannot get it, nor would they be of any use for pollination if they could. The whole flower seems adapted for the visits of some large butterfly with a long, thin proboscis, but curiously enough the flowers of Hemerocallis fulva are never visited by butterflies in Europe. As autogamy is excluded, the flowers remain unpollinated, and are sterile. Neither in gardens, where it is much cultivated, nor in its semi-wild state does the Day Lily ever fruit with us. It is more than probable that Hemerocallis is visited, in Northern Asia and Japan, where it is truly indigenous, by some butterfly absent from Europe"


And here's a little bit about Anton himself:

"Kerner was born in Mautern, Lower Austria on 12 November 1831, and studied Medicine in Vienna followed by an education in Natural History, for which he carried out phytosociologic studies in Central Europe. In 1860 Kerner was appointed professor of Natural History at the University of Innsbruck and in 1878 professor of Systematic Botany at the University of Vienna. He was also appointed as a Curator of the Botanical Garden of the University of Vienna. Kerner died in 1898 in Vienna at the age of 67."

Lawson, Peter and Sons. Synopsis of the Vegetable Plants of Scotland. Edinburgh, 1852. 121. Web. Google Book Search. Jun 30 2009.

Kerner von Marilaun, Anton. The Natural History of Plants. London, 1895. 402. Web. Google Book Search. Jun 30 2009.

"Anton Kerner von Marilaun." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 12 Mar 2009, 14:04 UTC. 30 Jun 2009 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Anton_Kerner_von_Marilaun&oldid=276746467>.