Sightings – Plants
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 9/9/12
Observation Time: 2:50 p.m.
Observation Location: Sandy Ridge Circle
Common Name: Pigskin Poison Puffball
Scientific Name: Scleroderma citrinum
Comments: Also known as “common earthball,” this yellow-white spherical fungus has no stem. It eventually bursts open to release spores.
More Information: Common Earthball
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 5/11/20
Observation Time: 9:40 a.m.
Observation Location: near Gavins Pond
Common Name: Pink earth lichen
Scientific Name: Dibaeis baeomyces
Comments: This lichen is found throughout eastern North America, from Alabama and Georgia in the south to the Arctic Circle in the north. While rare there, it does occur in both Alaska and the Northwest Territories. It prefers to grow directly on unstable soils such as loose sand or dry clay, and in full sun. It also prefers acid soils to neutral or alkaline. On disturbed ground, a preferred habitat type, it is able to spread quickly for a lichen.
More Information: Wikipedia
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 9/12/09
Observation Time: 11:00 a.m.
Observation Location: near Gavins Pond
Common Name: Pink Earth lichen
Scientific Name: Dibaeis baeomyces
More Information: Lichens of North America
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 5/27/20
Observation Time: 5:10 p.m.
Observation Location: in the woods near the footbridge over Beaver Brook
Common Name: Pink Lady’s Slipper orchid
Scientific Name: Cypripedium acaule
Comments: Pink lady’s slippers probably won’t survive if you try to transplant them, so please don’t dig them up.
More Information: Wikipedia
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 5/22/18
Observation Time: 9:30 a.m.
Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary
Common Name: Pink Lady’s Slipper orchid
Scientific Name: Cypripedium acaule
Comments: Pink lady’s slippers probably won’t survive if you try to transplant them, so please don’t dig them up.
More Information: Wikipedia
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 5/27/14
Observation Time: 9:05 p.m.
Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary
Common Name: Pink Lady’s Slipper orchid
Scientific Name: Cypripedium acaule
Comments: Pink lady’s slippers won’t survive if you try to transplant them, so please don’t dig them up.
More Information: Wikipedia
Observer: Josh Simons
Observation Date: 5/31/20
Observation Time: 10:30 a.m.
Observation Location: Moose Hill area
Common Name: Pink Lady’s Slipper orchid
Scientific Name: Cypripedium acaule
Comments: Pink lady’s slippers probably won’t survive if you try to transplant them, so please don’t dig them up.
More Information: Wikipedia
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 6/13/20
Observation Time: 5:55 p.m.
Observation Location: Moose Hill Wildlife Sanctuary
Common Name: Platterful Mushroom
Scientific Name: Megacollybia rodmani
Comments: Platterful mushrooms appear after May and June rains. It had rained heavily two days earlier. This one was growing on a rotting log beside the trail.
More Information: Mushroomexpert.com
Top view:
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 5/23/18
Observation Time: 9:35 a.m.
Observation Location: Moose Hill Farm (TTOR)
Common Name: Poison Ivy
Scientific Name: Toxicodendron radicans
Comments: Everyone should learn to identify poison ivy and avoid contact with its glossy, notched leaves. As both its common name and its scientific name suggest, the triplicate leaves of this plant can cause an intensely itchy rash that lasts for weeks. Jewelweed, which often grows near poison ivy, is also an antidote for poison ivy.
Poison ivy is often seen in disturbed areas along roads and paths, but it can also climb up trees as a thick vine. When ripe, the white fruits are a favorite food of many migrant and game birds, as well as white-tailed deer. The seeds are adapted for sprouting after digestion softens the seed coat.
More Information: Go Botany
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 6/24/10
Observation Time: 3:40 p.m.
Observation Location: Beaver Brook near tennis courts
Common Name: Princess pine
Scientific Name: Dendrolycopodium obscurum
Comments: Despite its name and pine-like appearance, princess pine is not related to pine trees. It’s actually a type of clubmoss, an ancient group of plants that had its heyday long before there were pines, dinosaurs, or flowering plants. Also known as “ground cedar,” it is also called “fan clubmoss” because of its fan-like branches. It grows from a creeping stem at the soil surface.
More Information: Westborough Land Trust
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 9/20/15
Observation Time: 4:20 p.m.
Observation Location: Lake Massapoag (near boat ramp)
Common Name: Puffball mushroom
Scientific Name: Genus: Calvatia, Bovista and others
Comments: There are many kinds of puffballs. Some are edible and some are poisonous.
More Information: eattheplanet.org
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 6/13/20
Observation Time: 5:15 p.m.
Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary
Common Name: Purple Foxglove
Scientific Name: Digitalis purpurea
Comments: Purple foxglove, Digitalis purpurea, is a biennial or short-lived herbaceous perennial from western Europe in the plantain family. It is sometimes called common foxglove, fairy gloves, fairy bells, or lady’s glove. Purple foxglove is naturally quite variable in size and flower color.
As its scientific name suggests, foxglove was the source of chemicals in the drug digitalis.
More Information: University of Wisconsin
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 9/12/09
Observation Time: 11:20 a.m.
Observation Location: Gavins Pond
Common Name: Purple Loosestrife
Scientific Name: Lythrum salicaria L.
Comments: Sometimes called “purple plague,” purple loosestrife is an invasive species. Neponset River Watershed Association has a program to propagate and disperse galerucella beetles that eat nothing but purple loosestrife.
More Information: The Nature Conservancy
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 5/29/14
Observation Time: 11:30 a.m.
Observation Location: Borderland State Park
Common Name: Purple pitcherplant
Scientific Name: Sarracenia purpurea
Comments: This carnivorous plant captures and digests hapless insects.
More Information: Harvard Forest
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 4/13/13
Observation Time: 5:50 p.m.
Observation Location: near Gavins Pond
Common Name: Pussy Willow
Scientific Name: Salix discolor
Comments: The fuzzy nubs that appear on pussy willows in early spring are actually flowers just before they fully bloom. The species most commonly called pussy willow in the Northeast, Salix discolor, is a small, shrubby species of willow that can be found dotting wetlands and moist woods throughout much of North America.
More Information: Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 7/22/15
Observation Time: 5:20 p.m.
Observation Location: Gavins Pond area
Common Name: Queen Anne’s Lace
Scientific Name: Daucus carota
Comments: Daucus carota, whose common names include wild carrot, bird’s nest, bishop’s lace, and Queen Anne’s lace (North America), is a white, flowering plant in the family Apiaceae, native to temperate regions of Europe and southwest Asia, and naturalized to North America and Australia.
Domesticated carrots are cultivars of a subspecies, Daucus carota subsp. sativus.
More Information: Wikipedia
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 5/23/18
Observation Time: 8:10 a.m.
Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary
Common Name: Rattlesnake Root
Scientific Name: Prenanthes sp.
Comments: Roots look like the rattle of a rattlesnake.
More Information: Youtube
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 6/9/20
Observation Time: 4:05 p.m.
Observation Location: trail near Brook Road
Common Name: Three-leaved Rattlesnake Root
Scientific Name: Nabalus trifoliolatus
Comments: Three-leaved rattlesnake-root is found throughout New England. It has a trumpet-shaped white flower that blooms in late summer.
More Information: GoBotany
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 6/9/19
Observation Time: 4:05 p.m.
Observation Location: trail near Brook Road
Common Name: Three-leaved Rattlesnake Root
Scientific Name: Nabalus trifoliolatus
Comments: The leaves of this species of rattlesnake root look quite different from the arrowhead-shaped leaves of other kinds of rattlesnake root.
More Information: GoBotany
Observer: Lonnie Friedman
Observation Date: 7/11/20
Observation Time: 3:20 p.m.
Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary
Common Name: Red Chanterelle Mushroom
Scientific Name: Cantharellus cinnabarinus
Comments: Red chanterelles are fungi native to eastern North America. They are members of the genus Cantharellus along with other chanterelles. They are named after their red color, which is imparted by the carotenoid canthaxanthin. They are edible, fruiting in association with hardwood trees in the summer and fall.
It looks like something was chewing on the red chanterelles in these photos. It is a bad idea to ingest wild mushrooms unless you are absolutely certain you know what your are eating, because many mushrooms are poisonous.
More Information: iNaturalist
Observer: Kurt Buermann
Observation Date: 7/30/2017
Observation Time: N/A
Observation Location: Rattlesnake Hill, Sharon
Common Name: Red Chanterelle mushroom (a.k.a. Cinnabar Chanterelle mushroom)
Scientific Name: Cantharellus cinnabarinus
Comments: Sought after edible mushroom with slight peppery taste and slight apricot aroma.
DON’T EAT WILD MUSHROOMS UNLESS YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY SURE THEY ARE NOT POISONOUS!
More Information: The Mushroom Forager
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 5/31/20
Observation Time: 4:40 p.m.
Observation Location: Moose Hill Farm (TTOR)
Common Name: Red clover
Scientific Name: Trifolium pratense
Comments: Clover is widely grown as a fodder crop, valued for its nitrogen fixation, which increases soil fertility. For these reasons, it is used as a green manure crop.
This specimen had not yet produced its reddish flowers, but the two-tone pattern on its leaves is characteristic of red clover.
More Information: Wikipedia
I took this photo near the same location on 6/2/20:
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 6/4/10
Observation Time: 12:10 p.m.
Observation Location: Gavins Pond Road soccer field parking lot
Common Name: Red clover
Scientific Name: Trifolium pratense
Comments: It is widely grown as a fodder crop, valued for its nitrogen fixation, which increases soil fertility. For these reasons, it is used as a green manure crop.
More Information: Wikipedia
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 7/7/18
Observation Time: 12:50 p.m.
Observation Location: Moose Hill Farm (TTOR)
Common Name: Reed Canary Grass
Scientific Name: Phalaris arundinacea
Comments: Reed canary grass has become invasive or problematic in New England and across North America, and the invasive plants may be the Eurasian genotype.
More Information: GoBotany
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 5/18/20
Observation Time: 10:20 a.m.
Observation Location: under high tension lines across the street from the Gavins Pond soccer fields
Common Name: Reindeer lichen
Scientific Name: Cladonia rangiferina
Comments: Reindeer lichen is a light-colored, fruticose lichen belonging to the family Cladoniaceae. It grows in both hot and cold climates in well-drained, open environments. As the common names suggest, reindeer lichen is an important food for reindeer (caribou) and has economic importance as a result. Reindeer lichen, like many lichens, is slow growing (3–11 mm per year) and may take decades to return once overgrazed, burned, trampled, or otherwise consumed.
More Information: Wilipedia
Observer: Josh Simons
Observation Date: 9/17/20
Observation Time: 3:00 p.m.
Observation Location: Moose Hill area
Common Name: Ringless Honey Mushroom
Scientific Name: Armillaria tabescens
Comments: These ringless mushrooms extended almost all the way around the tree.
WARNING: This is NOT a beginner’s mushroom. Never eat any wild plant unless you are 100% sure that you have identified an edible species.
More Information: The Foraged Foodie
Observer: Kathy Farrell
Observation Date: 10/30/2018
Observation Time: N/A
Observation Location: Mountain Street
Common Name: Rock Tripe lichen
Scientific Name: Umbilicaria mammulata
Comments: This lichen is edible (after boiling several times). It is considered to be “starvation food.” There are stories of George Washington’s troops eating it when they had nothing else. I found it in a rocky cliff area.
More Information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STxqLRmK03c and https://www.adirondackalmanack.com/2010/04/ruminations-on-rock-tripe.html
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 4/16/19
Observation Time: 12:55 p.m.
Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary
Common Name: Rock-shield Lichen
Scientific Name: Xanthoparmelia sp.
Comments: A lichen is a composite organism that emerges from algae or cyanobacteria living among the filaments of the fungi in a symbiotic (mutually beneficial) relationship. The fungi benefit from the carbohydrates produced by the algae or cyanobacteria via photosynthesis. The algae or cyanobacteria benefit by being protected from the environment by the filaments of the fungi, which also gather moisture and nutrients from the environment, and (usually) provide an anchor to it.
More Information: Project Noah and Wikipedia
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 6/14/20
Observation Time: 4:30 p.m.
Observation Location: Moose Hill Farm (TTOR)
Common Name: Rough-fruited Cinquefoil
Scientific Name: Potentilla recta
Comments: Also known as sulphur cinquefoil, this wildflower is native to Europe and Asia. Introduced and naturalized in North America. Found along roads and in disturbed sites. Thrives in full sun and tolerates dry conditions. Flowers from June to August. Blossoms have five heart-shaped petals.
More Information: MinnesotaSeasons.com
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 6/20/11
Observation Time: 3:25 p.m.
Observation Location: Gavins Pond
Common Name: Rough-fruited cinquefoil
Scientific Name: Potentilla recta
Comments: Native to Europe and Asia. Introduced and naturalized in North America. Found along roads and in disturbed sites. Thrives in full sun and tolerates dry conditions. Flowers from June to August.
More Information: MinnesotaSeasons.com
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 7/13/15
Observation Time: 4:10 p.m.
Observation Location: Gavins Pond
Common Name: Rough-fruited cinquefoil
Scientific Name: Potentilla recta
Comments: Also known as sulphur cinquefoil, this wildflower is native to Europe and Asia. Introduced and naturalized in North America. Found along roads and in disturbed sites. Thrives in full sun and tolerates dry conditions. Flowers from June to August. Blossoms have five heart-shaped petals.
More Information: MinnesotaSeasons.com
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 6/9/19
Observation time: 2:50 p.m.
Observation Location: along trail near Brook Road
Common Name: Roundleaf Greenbriar
Scientific Name: Smilax rotundifolia
Comments: Greenbriar vines, often found near wetlands, have glossy, rounded leaves and large, sharp thorns. The tips of the vines are edible.
More information: Marblehead Conservancy
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 5/12/11
Observation Time: 6:45 a.m.
Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary board walk
Common Name: Royal Fern
Scientific Name: Osmunda regalis
Comments: The royal fern belongs to the family Osmundaceae; fossils belonging to this family have been found in rocks of Permian age (230,000,000 years before present), a time when the continents were consolidated into the supercontinent Pangea.
More Information: Wikipedia
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 6/13/20
Observation Time: 5:50 p.m.
Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary
Common Name: Royal Fern
Scientific Name: Osmunda regalis
Comments: The royal fern belongs to the family Osmundaceae; fossils belonging to this family have been found in rocks of Permian age (230,000,000 years before present), a time when the continents were consolidated into the supercontinent Pangea.
More Information: Wikipedia
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 6/9/13
Observation Time: 4:00 p.m.
Observation Location: Gavins Pond area
Common Name: Rugosa Rose
Scientific Name: Rosa rugosa
Comments: In late summer, this beautiful flower, which comes from Asia, will become a reddish ball called a rose hip. Rose hips are used for tisanes, jam, jelly, syrup, soup, beverages, pies, bread, wine, and marmalade. They can also be eaten raw, like a berry, if care is used to avoid the hairs inside the fruit.
More Information: Wikipedia
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 9/9/12
Observation Time: 3:10 p.m.
Observation Location: Sandy Ridge Circle
Common Name: Russula mushroom
Scientific Name: Russula spp.
Comments: I don’t know which species of Russula this specimen happens to be.
More Information: Wikipedia
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 5/17/20
Observation Time: 10:10 a.m.
Observation Location: woods near Gavins Pond
Common Name: Sarsaparilla
Scientific Name: Aralia nudicaulis
Comments: On a whim, I decided to photograph a random plant along the trail in the woods. A friend helped me identify it, and it turned out to have a story!
Wild sarsaparilla is a 1-2 foot tall shrub common to the forest understories of southern New England. It produces tiny white flowers in spherical clusters beneath the compound leaves, which ripen into blue-black berries in mid-summer. The rhizome of wild sarsaparilla has a sweet, aromatic taste, and sometimes has substituted for sassafras in the making of home-made root beer.
More Information: Go Botany
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 6/26/10
Observation Time: 3:25 p.m.
Observation Location: headwaters of Beaver Brook
Common Name: Sassafras
Scientific Name: Sassafras albidum
Comments: Sassafras albidum is a medium-sized deciduous tree growing to 15–20 m (49–66 ft) tall, with a canopy up to 12 m (39 ft) wide, with a trunk up to 60 cm (24 in) in diameter, and a crown with many slender sympodial branches. The bark on trunk of mature trees is thick, dark red-brown, and deeply furrowed.
More Information: Wikipedia
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 5/23/18
Observation Time: 7:25 a.m.
Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary (Billings loop)
Common Name: Sensitive Fern
Scientific Name: Onoclea sensibilis
Comments: The susceptibility to frost of the sterile fronds gives sensitive fern its name. It spreads rapidly and can form large colonies. The spores are not released until the spring following the season in which the fertile fronds are produced.
More Information: Go Botany
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 6/21/20
Observation Time: 4:30 p.m.
Observation Location: Along Gavins Pond Road
Common Name: Sheep’s bit
Scientific Name: Jasione montana
Comments: Sheep’s bit is an annual or biennial, native to Europe and Russia and introduced to North America’s east and west coasts. It was introduced through being grown as a garden ornamental, and is spreading westward from sandy sites in southern New England.
More Information: Go Botany
Observer: Rita Corey and Larry Myatt
Observation Date: 7/9/20
Observation Time: 9:18 a.m.
Observation Location: Mountain Street, near entrance to Rattlesnake Hill
Common Name: Shinleaf (a.k.a. White Wintergreen)
Scientific Name: Pyrola elliptica
Comments: Its common name, shinleaf, comes from the medicinal use of the plant, which produces a drug similar to aspirin. This drug has been reported to have analgesic properties and was used on bruised shins and other wounds. A plaster made from the leaves was called a shin plaster.
More Information: NC State Extension
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 6/4/20
Observation Time: 11:30 a.m.
Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary
Common Name: Siberian Iris
Scientific Name: Iris siberica
Comments: These gaudy flowers bloom in early June.
More Information: Commonweeder.com
Blue flag irises were growing nearby.
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 5/1/18
Observation Time: 10:30 a.m.
Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary
Common Name: Siberian Squill
Scientific Name: Scilla Siberica
Comments: Siberian Squill was brought to this country as an ornamental and is still sold for that purpose, but it has also escaped into the wild and become invasive. It readily spreads itself and is difficult to get rid of, as broken roots often resprout. It is very hardy and cold tolerant, and is left untouched by critters from voles to deer.
More Information: Minnesota Wildflowers
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 6/29/11
Observation Time: 11:30 a.m.
Observation Location: Gavins Pond Road near soccer field parking lot
Common Name: Silver Cinquefoil
Scientific Name: Potentilla argentea
Comments: Curiously, one of the yellow blossoms in the photo has six petals.
More Information: Minnesota Wild Flowers
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 4/16/19
Observation Time: 1:50 p.m.
Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary
Common Name: Skunk Cabbage
Scientific Name: Symplocarpus foetidus
Comments: Skunk cabbages are among the first plants to emerge in early spring. They can maintain an internal temperature significantly warmer than the surrounding air – as much as 15-35 degrees warmer – by consuming carbohydrates stored in their fleshy rhizomes. The warmth they generate helps in attracting cold-blooded, early-emerging pollinating insects in early spring when temperatures are typically quite chilly.
More Information: National Park Service
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 6/24/10
Observation Time: 3:40 p.m.
Observation Location: Beaver Brook near tennis courts
Common Name: Skunk cabbage
Scientific Name: Symplocarpus foetidus
Comments: Tearing a leaf produces a pungent but not harmful odor, the source of the plant’s common name; it is also foul smelling when it blooms. The plant is not poisonous to the touch. The foul odor attracts pollinators, such as scavenging flies, stoneflies, and bees. The odor in the leaves may also serve to discourage large animals from disturbing or damaging this plant which grows in soft wetland soils.
Eastern skunk cabbage is notable for its ability to generate temperatures of up to 15–35 °C (27–63 °F) above air temperature by cyanide resistant cellular respiration in order to melt its way through frozen ground, placing it among a small group of thermogenic plants. Even though it flowers while there is still snow and ice on the ground, it is successfully pollinated by early insects that also emerge at this time. Carrion-feeding insects that are attracted by the scent may be doubly encouraged to enter the spathe because it is warmer than the surrounding air, fueling pollination.
Eastern skunk cabbage has contractile roots which contract after growing into the earth. This pulls the stem of the plant deeper into the mud, so that the plant in effect grows downward, not upward. Each year, the plant grows deeper into the earth, so that older plants are practically impossible to dig up. They reproduce by hard, pea-sized seeds which fall in the mud and are carried away by animals or by floods.
More Information: Wikipedia
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 9/4/20
Observation Time: 2:10 p.m.
Observation Location: Moose Hill Farm (TTOR)
Common Name: Slender Bush-Clover
Scientific Name: Lespedeza virginica
Comments: Slender bush-clover is a member of the pea family. Like other bush-clovers, slender bush-clover is preferentially browsed by mammalian herbivores such as deer and rabbits, as well as quail and other ground birds.
Slender bush-clover is often found in man-made or disturbed habitats. This patch was observed along a dirt road underneath power lines that are periodically cleared so maintenance crews can access the power lines.
More Information: Illinois Wildflowers and Go Botany
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 7/11/20
Observation Time: 3:10 p.m.
Observation Location: somewhere in Sharon. Please do not dig up wildflowers!
Common Name: Small Green Wood Orchid
Scientific Name: Platanthera clavellata
Comments: Platanthera is a large genus – about 200 species – in the large Orchidaceae (Orchid) Family. Over 30 of the Platanthera species are found in North America.
Platanthera clavellata is protected in at least four states due to its rarity in those jurisdictions. Please do not dig up wildflowers! They have a role to play in the ecosystem, and they typically do not survive transplantation.
More Information: Name That Plant
Platanthera clavellata usually has only one large leaf, located on the lower half of the stem, but may occasionally have two.
The flowers of Platanthera clavellata are pale green, greenish white, yellowish white, or dull white.
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 6/21/20
Observation Time: 4:35 p.m.
Observation Location: Corner of Gavins Pond Rd. and Col. Gridley Rd.
Common Name: Small-leaved Linden Tree
Scientific Name: Tilia cordata
Comments: Tilia cordata, commonly called small-leaved linden or little-leaf linden, is native to Europe. It has been widely planted in the U.S. as an ornamental shade tree because of its (a) attractive foliage, (b) dense, low-branched, pyramidal to ovate form and (c) tolerance for urban conditions. Ornamental features include fragrant pale yellow flowers in late spring.
The edges of the leaf blades have small teeth. This specimen is about 25 feet tall.
More Information: Missouri Botanical Garden
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 6/13/20
Observation Time: 5:00 p.m.
Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary
Common Name: Southern Arrowwood
Scientific Name: Viburnum dentatum
Comments: Native Americans reportedly used the straight stems of this species for arrow shafts, hence the common name. The scientific name “dentatum” refers to the toothed edges of its leaves.
More Information: Missouri Botanical Garden
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 6/27/10
Observation Time: 8:15 p.m.
Observation Location: Gavins Pond Road-soccer parking area
Common Name: Spotted knapweed
Scientific Name: Centaurea maculosa
Comments: Knapweed is a pioneer species found in recently disturbed sites or openings. Once it has been established at a disturbed site, it continues to spread into the surrounding habitat. This species outcompetes natives through at least three methods:
- A tap root that sucks up water faster than the root systems of its neighbors,
- Quick spread through high seed production, and
- Low palatability, meaning it is less likely to be chosen as food by herbivores. It is also suspected to be allelopathic, releasing a toxin from its roots that stunts the growth of nearby plants of other species.
More Information: Wikipedia
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 7/12/20
Observation Time: 7:00 p.m.
Observation Location: along Gavins Pond Road
Common Name: Spotted Knapweed
Scientific Name: Centaurea maculosa
Comments: Spotted knapweed is not native to North America (it came from Europe). It is poisonous to other plants, creating barren areas where only knapweed grows. It can be a skin irritant.
More Information: namethatplant.net
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 7/22/15
Observation Time: 4:40 p.m.
Observation Location: Gavins Pond area
Common Name: Spotted Knapweed
Scientific Name: Centaurea maculosa
Comments: Spotted knapweed is poisonous to other plants, creating barren areas where only knapweed grows. It is a threat to pastures and dry ecosystems including prairies and dunes. Can be a skin irritant.
More Information: Michigan Invasive Species
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 6/25/15
Observation Time: 2:25 p.m.
Observation Location: Town-owned conservation land at Morse and Lakeview Streets
Common Name: Spotted St. John’s Wort
Scientific Name: Hypericum punctatum
Comments: Spotted St. John’s-wort can be most easily distinguished from the other St. John’s-worts by the dark dots and streaks on the upper surface of the yellow petals. In the other species these markings are absent or confined to near the petal margins.
More Information: Go Botany and Wikipedia
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 6/4/11
Observation Time: 3:20 p.m.
Observation Location: conservation land near Billings Street
Common Name: Spotted Wintergreen
Scientific Name: Chimaphila maculata
Comments: Also called spotted wintergreen, it is endangered in Illinois and Maine. In New York it is considered “Exploitably Vulnerable.”
More Information: Wikipedia
Observer: Rita Corey
Observation Date: 8/13/20
Observation Time: 1:55 p.m.
Observation Location: Mountain St.
Common Name: Spotted Wintergreen
Scientific Name: Chimaphila maculata
Comments: Spotted wintergreen is a highly recognizable understory species having variegated leaves with pale green veins. It is endangered in Maine.
More Information: Go Botany
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 6/13/20
Observation Time: 6:15 p.m.
Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary
Common Name: Spreading Dogbane
Scientific Name: Apocynum androsaemifolium
Comments: Spreading dogbane is a showy member of the dogbane family (Apocynaceae) that is found in nearly all of the 50 states except some in the southeast. The common name, dogbane, and the genus name, “Apocynum,” meaning “away from dog,” are testaments to the toxic nature of this plant, not only to dogs, but to humans, livestock, and other mammals as well. The plant is poisonous due to the cardiac glycosides it contains.
Spreading dogbane is common in North America, and is widespread across most of the United States and Canada, and in Alaska, California, and northeast Mexico.
More Information: U.S. Forest Service
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 7/11/15
Observation Time: 3:15 p.m.
Observation Location: near Gavins Pond
Common Name: Spreading Dogbane
Scientific Name: Apocynum androsaemifolium
Comments: Spreading dogbane is common in North America, and is widespread across most of the United States and Canada, and in Alaska, California, and northeast Mexico. The plant is poisonous, due to the cardiac glycosides it contains.
Note the ants feeding on the nectar in the blossoms in the close-up photo below.
More Information: Wikipedia
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 5/7/19
Observation Time: 7:00 a.m.
Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary
Common Name: Spring Beauty
Scientific Name: Claytonia virginica
Comments: Its scientific name honors Colonial Virginia botanist John Clayton (1694–1773). Please do not dig up any wildflowers you may find in Sharon. Leave them for everyone to enjoy!
More Information: Wikipedia
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 7/25/10
Observation Time: 11:10 a.m.
Observation Location: Gavins Pond Road
Common Name: Staghorn Sumac
Scientific Name: Rhus typhina
Comments: Staghorn sumac grows in gardens, lawns, the edges of forests, and wasteland. It can grow under a wide array of conditions, but is most often found in dry and poor soil on which other plants cannot survive. Some landscapers remove all but the top branches to create a “crown” effect in order to resemble a small palm tree.
More Information: Wikipedia
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 5/31/20
Observation Time: 5:00 p.m.
Observation Location: Trustees of Reservations’ Moose Hill Farm
Common Name: Star of Bethlehem
Scientific Name: Ornithogalum umbellatum
Comments: The Star of Bethlehem is a genus (Ornithogalum) of perennial plants native to southern Europe belonging to the family Hyacinthaceae. Growing from a bulb, it has grass-like basal leaves and a slender stalk, up to 30 cm tall, bearing clusters of star-shaped white flowers striped with green.
More Information: Illinois Wildflowers
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 6/2/11
Observation Time: 1:05 p.m.
Observation Location: Gavins Pond Road near soccer field parking lot
Common Name: Star of Bethlehem
Scientific Name: Ornithogalum umbellatum
Comments: The Star of Bethlehem is a genus (Ornithogalum) of perennial plants native to southern Europe belonging to the family Hyacinthaceae. Growing from a bulb, it has grass-like basal leaves and a slender stalk, up to 30 cm tall, bearing clusters of star-shaped white flowers striped with green.
More Information: Illinois Wildflowers
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 5/14/11
Observation Time: 2:05 p.m.
Observation Location: Town conservation land near Beaver Brook
Common Name: Starflower
Scientific Name: Trientalis borealis
Comments: This member of the primrose family likes moist woods. It blooms in May. Please do not dig up native wildflowers. They typically do not survive transplantation.
More Information: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 5/19/19
Observation Time: 2:35 p.m.
Observation Location: Billings Loop Botanical Trail
Common Name: Starflower
Scientific Name: Lysimachia borealis
Comments: Formerly known as Trientalis borealis, it has been shuffled around to new species name Lysimachia borealis (same genus as the yellow Loosestrifes) and moved to the Myrsinaceae (Myrsine) family. This member of the primrose family likes moist woods. It blooms in May. Please do not dig up native wildflowers. They typically do not survive transplantation.
More Information: Minnesota Wildflowers
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 5/22/18
Observation Time: 9:35 a.m.
Observation Location: Town conservation land near Beaver Brook
Common Name: Starflower
Scientific Name: Trientalis borealis
Comments: This member of the primrose family likes moist woods. It blooms in May. Please do not dig up native wildflowers. They typically do not survive transplantation.
More Information: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 5/27/20
Observation Time: 5:10 p.m.
Observation Location: near footbridge over Beaver Brook
Common Name: Starflower
Scientific Name: Lysimachia borealis
Comments: Formerly known as Trientalis borealis, it has been shuffled around to new species name Lysimachia borealis (same genus as the yellow Loosestrifes) and moved to the Myrsinaceae (Myrsine) family. This member of the primrose family likes moist woods. It blooms in May.
Please do not dig up native wildflowers. They typically do not survive transplantation.
More Information: Minnesota Wildflowers
Observer: Deborah Radovsky
Observation Date: 5/11/17
Observation Time: early morning
Observation Location: Moose Hill, Billings Loop
Common Name: Sugar Maple Tree
Scientific Name: Acer saccharum
Comments: The two huge sugar maples near the barn on the Billings Loop are called George and Martha because they began life at around the same time as George Washington and his wife Martha. The Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary taps many of the sugar maples on its 2,000-acre property in late winter and makes maple syrup.
More Information: Arbor Day Foundation
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 9/22/13
Observation Time: 2:20 p.m.
Observation Location: King Phillip’s Rock area
Common Name: Sulphur Shelf Mushroom
Scientific Name: Laetiporus sulphureus
Comments: Sulphur shelf mushrooms are reportedly edible, but never eat a mushroom you find in the woods unless you are absolutely sure it is not poisonous. More pictures of sulphur shelf mushrooms can be seen at: http://hicksroad.com/html/stumpfun.htm.
More Information: Wikipedia
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 7/12/20
Observation Time: 7:15 p.m.
Observation Location: along Gavins Pond Road
Common Name: Summer Grape
Scientific Name: Vitis aestivalis
Comments: Vitis aestivalis, the summer grape, or pigeon grape, is a species of grape native to eastern North America from southern Ontario east to Maine, west to Oklahoma, and south to Florida and Texas. It is a vigorous vine, growing to 10 m or more high in trees.
Unlike most other species in genus Vitis, V. aestivalis does not propagate well through dormant cuttings. This has been a limiting factor for its use in commercial viticulture despite the species’ promising oenological characteristics.
More Information: Wikipedia
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 6/24/10
Observation Time: 3:25 p.m.
Observation Location: Beaver Brook near tennis courts
Common Name: Swamp azalea
Scientific Name: Rhododendron viscosum
Comments: This typical wetland shrub is sometimes called the Clammy Azalea because of its very sticky corolla. The species name means sticky in Latin. The flowers appear after the leaves.
More Information: University of Texas
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 9/22/11
Observation Time: 3:25 p.m.
Observation Location: field near Gavins Pond
Common Name: Sweet Everlasting or Rabbit Tobacco
Scientific Name: Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium
Comments: This wildflower is a member of a group of daisy-family herbs called cudweeds. Heads never open wider than this.
More Information: Wildflowers of the Southeastern US
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 7/31/10
Observation Time: 10:40 a.m.
Observation Location: Beaver Brook near tennis courts
Common Name: Sweet Pepperbush (Summersweet)
Scientific Name: Clethra alnifolia
Comments: Very fragrant.
More Information: Virginia Native Plant Society
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 5/23/10
Observation Time: 3:00 p.m.
Observation Location: near Gavins Pond
Common Name: Sweetfern
Scientific Name: Comptonia peregrina
Comments: Sweetfern leaves are very aromatic. Edible fruit ripens in July and August. Sweetfern partners with actinomycete fungus that live in its root nodules to fix atmospheric nitrogen, so it can flourish in infertile soil. The soil in the area near Gavins Pond is relatively infertile because fill for the nearby Highway I-95 was taken from this area. It appears on some maps as “Sand Pits.”
The common name, sweetfern, is confusing, as it is not a fern. It is a deciduous shrub, growing to a maximum of five feet tall.
More Information: Wikipedia
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 7/7/18
Observation Time: 3:10 p.m.
Observation Location: Moose Hill Farm (TTOR)
Common Name: Tall Meadow Rue
Scientific Name:Thalictrum pubescens
Comments: Meadow rue flowers have no petals; the conspicuous part of the flower is the white filaments of the stamens.
More Information: Connecticut Botanical Society
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 5/13/19
Observation Time: 11:10 a.m.
Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary
Common Name: Turkey-tail Fungus
Scientific Name: Trametes versicolor
Comments: This could also be false turkey-tail lichen. I neglected to inspect the underside to see if it had pores.
More Information: Edible Wild Food
