Category: Plant

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 […]

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 […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 7/11/15 Observation Time: 3:15 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond area Common Name: Blue Toadflax Scientific Name: Nuttallanthus canadensis Comments: Flowers from April to September. More Information: Conn. Botanical Society

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 6/27/15 Observation Time: 3:30 p.m. Observation Location: my back yard (Gavins Pond Road) Common Name: Deptford Pink Scientific Name: Dianthus armeria Comments: Deptford Pink is an introduced species from Europe. More Information: Maryland Biodiversity Project

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 6/27/15 Observation Time: 2:45 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Road near soccer fields Common Name: Chicory Scientific Name: Cichorium intybus Comments: A perennial herb with blue, lavender, or occasionally white flowers, chicory grows as a wild plant on roadsides in its native Europe, and in North America and Australia, where it has become naturalized. Common chicory is also known as […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 6/27/15 Observation Time: 2:45 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond area Common Name: Milkweed flower Scientific Name: Asclepias syriaca Comments: Many species of butterflies including monarchs depend on milkweed as a food source for their caterpillars. The advent of genetically modified “Roundup-ready” corn and soybeans has facilitated large-scale application of herbicides, reducing the availability of milkweed to migrating monarchs. Hence, the monarch […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 6/26/15 Observation Time: 1:40 p.m. Observation Location: meadow near Morse and Lakeview Streets Common Name: Yellow Hawkweed Scientific Name: Hieracium caespitosum Comments: Yellow hawkweed is native to Europe and was introduced as an ornamental into New York in 1879. It is now a destructive weed of pastureland. It can colonize a wide range of habitats with sandy or gravelly soils. More Information: Go Botany

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: Palmate Hop Clover Scientific Name: Trifolium aureum Comments: Palmate hop clover is an exotic species that is widespread in New England. The common name derives from the fact that as the flower heads age, the florets fold down and become brown, resembling dried […]

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 […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 6/12/15 Observation Time: 4:30 p.m. Observation Location: conservation land at Lakeview & Morse Streets Common Name: Cypress Spurge Scientific Name: Euphorbia cyparissias Comments: Cypress spurge is an invasive perennial plant from Eurasia. Its extensive underground root system spreads by means of lateral root buds.  It proliferates into large clonal colonies. Baltimore checkerspot butterflies feed on cypress spurge flowers. More Information: Vermont Invasives […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/27/14 Observation Time: 6:50 p.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary Common Name: Wisteria Scientific Name: Wisteria spp. Comments: Wisteria is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae (Leguminosae), that includes ten species of woody climbing vines that are native to China, Korea, and Japan and as an introduced species to the Eastern United States. More […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 6/14/09 Observation Time: 11:30 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Farm, Trustees of Reservations land Common Name: Whorled Loosestrife Scientific Name: Lysimachia quadrifolia More Information: Wild Flowers of Sleepy Hollow Lake 3 Whorls: 4 Whorls: 5 Whorls:

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 9/9/12 Observation Time: 3:15 p.m. Observation Location: Sandy Ridge Circle Common Name: White Baneberry, or Doll’s Eyes Scientific Name: Actaea pachypoda Comments: Both the berries and the entire plant are considered poisonous to humans. The berries contain cardiogenic toxins which can have an immediate sedative effect on human cardiac muscle tissue, and are the most poisonous part of the plant. Ingestion […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 8/24/09 Observation Time: 12:30 p.m. Observation Location: Margin of wetland behind Hunter’s Ridge Common Name: White Baneberry (a.k.a. “Doll’s Eyes”) Scientific Name: Actaea pachypoda Comments: Needs continuously damp soil. Seeds, which are highly toxic, were once used as eyes for rag dolls. More Information: Dave’s Garden

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 7/13/13 Observation Time: 11:30 a.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Common Name: Water Shield Scientific Name: Brasenia schreberi Comments: Leaf floats like a water lily, but the stem is attached in middle. More Information: USDA Forest Service

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 9/12/09 Observation Time: 11:30 a.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond (near the dam) Common Name: Water Lily Scientific Name: Nymphaea odorata Comments: It usually flowers only from early morning until noon. The black specks in the first photo might be black aphids. More Information: The University of Texas at Austin

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 6/6/11 Observation Time: 1:15 p.m. Observation Location: bank of Beaver Brook (near tennis courts) Common Name: Water Forget-Me-Not Scientific Name: Myosotis scorpioides Comments: Water forget-me-nots are usually found in damp or wet habitats, such as bogs, ponds, streams, ditches, fen and rivers. While it favors wet ground, it can survive submerged in water, and often can form floating rafts. More Information: […]

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: 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: 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