Browsed by
Month: October 2016

Witches’ Brooms and Mushroom Eating Slugs

Witches’ Brooms and Mushroom Eating Slugs

It was fitting that during my visit to the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve at Laudholm in Maine, on the weekend just before Halloween, that one of my new discoveries was a phenomenon called witches’ brooms. With many of the leaves blown down by the storm we had the day before, these clustered growths were easy to see, and were apparent on several highbush blueberry and honeysuckle shrubs. The “witches’ brooms” are abnormal growths on the branches of the shrubs,…

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Beechdrops (Epifagus virginiana)

Beechdrops (Epifagus virginiana)

While hiking in the Blue Hills this afternoon, I found a plant I’d never noticed before. In fact, in one section of the forest, where beech trees were the dominant canopy cover, there were many of these 4 to 8 inch high plants. These small plants branched only at the base, had somewhat spongy or succulent stems, and were tan with purple streaks. Almost all of the flowers were still unopened (in fact, I didn’t notice any open flowers until…

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Earthstar (Scleroderma polyrhizum?)

Earthstar (Scleroderma polyrhizum?)

The last couple weeks I’ve noticed a series of puffball-like mushrooms with a star-shaped opened outer casing in a sandy area just up gradient from a salt marsh near my house in Bourne. I’m still not 100% sure on the identification, but I think I may have finally identified its genus, Schleroderma, with a potential for it to be Scleroderma polyrhizum. Examples of the mushrooms I found.  The bottom picture shows the underside. Scleroderma polyrhizum, commonly called earthstars or earthballs,…

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Cranberries: History and Picking

Cranberries: History and Picking

Thousands of years ago, the receding glaciers left a series of kettle hole ponds filled with sand, clay and other debris across South Shore of Massachusetts, Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, creating the perfect habitat for cranberries.   Wampanoag’s took advantage of these wild plants, harvesting wild cranberries, long before the first European settlers ever arrived. When the English arrived, they were unsurprised to find the cranberry growing here, as they were already familiar with European varieties of cranberries. They…

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Sargassum

Sargassum

It was such a beautiful day today (70 degrees and sunny in the middle of October?!), I couldn’t help but take the opportunity to stop by Old Silver Beach in Falmouth after work. The most notable thing on the beach was the seaweed that had washed up. Piles of Sargassum had accumulated in the wrack line and at the waters edge. The algae could quickly be identified as belonging to the genus Sargassum based on a handful of unique characteristics:…

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Mushroom Walk

Mushroom Walk

This afternoon I got to explore the Coonamessett Reservation in Falmouth with a knowledgeable mushroom hunter. Although I love foraging for wild edibles, normally I’m fairly wary when it comes to mushrooms, since many species can have some nasty effects ranging from gastro-intestinal distress to death. So it was exciting to have an expert to point out which were edible, which weren’t, and fun facts about them both. (Disclaimer: If you have any doubts whatsoever about your identification of a…

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American Holly (Ilex opaca)

American Holly (Ilex opaca)

The berries on the American Holly in my backyard are starting to turn red. The berries actually begin to develop with a green color in September, develop into a bright red by November, and tend to stay on the tree through the winter. As seen in the photo, they’re still on the orange-side, but these berry-laden holly branches so commonly used as Christmas decorations, are a sure sign that summer is over and winter is on it’s way. Interestingly though,…

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