Rising Up: Along the Roadside

Sunflower - Helianthus annuus

Rising Up: Along the Roadside

August 7-9, 2017

During an unseasonably cool stretch in early August, I took advantage of the lack of stifling heat and humidity more common to a southwestern Indiana summer to resume my walks up and down our country road. If I turn left off the end of the driveway, I head along the long stretch of road leading to a country church and old cemetery, with very little shade along the way and greater acreage of cropland. Though there is some interest along this route, it mainly has much less diversity than the other route.

If I turn right off the end of the driveway, I start off on a little shorter route that includes plenty of woodland edges. At the end of the route, along the left (southeast) side, there is a former crop field that someone planted all in trees a couple of years ago (from what I can see it is mainly oaks, some walnuts, a few other kinds of trees, and a few evergreens at the front edge.) Above the roadside ditch, between that field and the strip nearer the road that gets mowed, they (I presume the same people) always plant wildflowers all along that stretch, while some other wild plants flourish in this untouched area.

Black-eyed Susans - Rudbeckia hirta

Some orange Coreopsis among Queen Anne's Lace

Purple Coneflower - Echinacea purpurea

Yellow Coneflower (?) - Ratibida pinnata

Blanketflower/Gaillardia, among Queen Anne's Lace

The lovely seed head of Queen Anne's Lace - Daucus carota - not a native plant, but long naturalized. This was not intentionally planted.

These are all great pollinator plants, but if I find out who plants them I will suggest they include various Milkweed species for the Monarch butterflies.

These folks are doing something wonderful in their corner of the world.

In other words, when I turn right I walk a route that is much more diverse and interesting.

For contrast, here is how the roadside looks opposite the tree farm.

 Large trees used to line the field edge at the top of the slope, but the farmer removed them some years ago. Now it is only cropland above. The slope below is occasionally mowed and harbors mainly grass and non-native plants, some of them invasive (such as patches of Japanese Honeysuckle.) 

Plus, I really miss the shade.

Variations of sun and shade, and diversity of plant life, lead to a greater variety of insects, birds and other wildlife.

And, on an August morning, plants grow and climb higher, and all of that wildlife seems to rise up from the vegetation, into the warming air as the sun rises higher above the horizon.

Along my driveway, Red Clover was full of butterflies and bees, sweeping into the air as I passed, as if the breeze created by my movement had caught their thin wings and lifted them away.

Painted Lady - Vanessa cardui. A non-resident here, it has migrated from the deserts of Mexico!

A male Pearl Cresent - Phyciodes tharos tharos - in the morpheus (summer) stage. This is a very common species here.

As I reached the end of our driveway I heard, to my left, a rustling, then a great flapping sound as a gust of air created by huge wings lifted a large bird up from the trees. It soared over and beyond the trees, flapping its great, dark wings a few times, before I could determine what it was. My best guess was a large hawk.

Turning right, on the first leg of the journey I walked through a tunnel of corn, which had grown so quickly, stretching its long, glistening green leaves and browning tassels toward the sky.

Some small birds were darting around from one group of tassels to another, but flew off quickly before I could be near them.

Challenge - find the little bird!

Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica) dotted the utility lines overhead like a row of music notes, then rose up, one or two at a time, to fly off upon my approach. They should feel safe so far up there, but they always fly off just before I reach the road below them.

No trees grace this section of road. It is all our corn/soybean field and that of our neighbors' across the road. Some plants come up among the grasses along the roadside. Some are native plants, but increasingly they are non-native species.

For many years, the man who had built the home across the road from us (in the 1940's) had a fence around the cropland and burned the area between the fence and the road. This was done alongside some larger acreages of farmland in the area, also. When I first saw this, I was concerned about all of the smoke – why were these farmers creating this pollution? But, I came to understand this practice better over time and now am disappointed to see this “old” method go by the wayside in favor of mowing only. It is no different from a prairie fire (whether naturally occurring or intentionally set.) Some time after a burn, I would find all sorts of interesting plants on my neighbor's roadside, including three species of Milkweed. On the sweet-smelling Milkweed blossoms I watched a variety of insect species gathering nectar, or lying in wait to catch other insects. Needless to say, the plants were frequented by butterflies, including Monarchs, and caterpillars appeared soon after. Of course, birds were attracted to this smorgasbord, where they found plenty to feed their nestlings and themselves. This stretch of roadside was a very busy place.

Later on, our dear neighbor became too ill to burn roadsides or do any other work, and then he passed away. We miss him terribly, as well as his late wife. And with them went a certain way of life, or, let's say, certain life-ways. One of those was fencerow burning, as well as the fences themselves. His fence gradually deteriorated, fell apart, and was dismantled. No one burned the fencerow anymore (I noticed that this ceased at the other farms in the area, also.) Plant and insect life started to decrease in number as well as variety. The only control of the roadside was mowing. Mostly non-native grasses took over. Some other plants still come up among them, but over the years the balance has shifted more to non-native (some invasive) species, which are always ready to take over when native plants are not encouraged. Milkweeds are long gone. I hardly ever even see the Wild Petunias.

And it doesn't help that herbicides sprayed on the crop field sometimes overreach.

There is still enough plant life along this part of the road in summer, though, for some animal life to flourish, and as I walked along, it seemed that everything was rising up before me. Butterflies, from the large Swallowtails (Tiger, Black and Spicebush) to the smallest darted, fluttered and floated. Bright yellow Sulphurs especially caught my eye as they flitted across the road, catching the sunlight (their yellow is the same special shade as the flowers of the Hairy Puccoon, which I see at the Indiana Dunes.)

Silver-spotted Skipper - Epargyreus clarus clarus. Its larvae feed on species in the bean family.

Spicebush Swallowtail (possibly female) - Papilio troilus troilus - which has lost its "tails." Its larvae favor Tulip Poplar, Sassafras and Spicebush leaves. 

Grasshoppers suddenly buzzed up from the vegetation and landed in the road, taking off again too quickly for my photographic reflex.

Bees moved frequently among the very small flowers of Queen Anne's Lace and the even tinier flowers of English Plantain. Various wasps, beetles and other insects darted about. I could hear crickets calling from deep within the roadside vegetation, but they would remain low and unseen.

Tiny beetle

Tiny wasp

Around the first bend in the road, there was still the crop field on the left, but on the right was the edge of another property – an unassuming house tucked into a small, wooded acreage. It was pleasant to come to this shaded side, lined with trees and shrubs., and they created more interest, too. However, though the original homeowners took good care of the wooded sections of their property, including the edge, the second and third (current) owners did not. In the interim, invasive plants took over the edge, taking advantage of sunlight, neglect and many upright surfaces for climbing. It is not the only neglected stretch of roadside that has become choked with plants such as the dense Asian Bush Honeysuckle and the vining Oriental Bittersweet. Diversity has been declining here over the last several years, as these plants have been out-competing others. I did not see much wildlife rising up from this area.

However, I did see something darting across the road and landing on an old vine at the sunny edge between trees and crop field: a dragonfly.

Female Common Whitetail dragonfly - Plathemis lydia - the most common dragonfly species in our area (the male has the distinctive, bright white abdomen)

There was also a colony of Fall Webworm caterpillars, moving around inside the webbed casing they had built around them, chewing on the Mulberry leaves they had also included in their home. As they grew larger, they would increase the size of their abode to include more leaves.

Fall Webworm Moth larvae - Hyphantria cunea

Despite their number and the unsightly appearance, Fall Webworm larvae do not do significant damage to trees and shrubs. Egg masses are laid on the undersurfaces of leaves, and the larvae hatch in seven days, then mature in six weeks. They overwinter as pupae in cocoons that are concealed below in leaf litter, cracks, crevices or soil. The adult moth that emerges has a furry white body and beautiful, diaphanous white, fringed wings (that may have black or brown spots in southerly areas.)

On this August day it was not just animals rising up, but also plant life. Vines had climbed beyond the shade below to reach the sunlight above, or outside the edge of a shady area. Some would take full advantage of their situations.

Trees covered in Virginia Creeper vines - Parthenocissus quinquefolia. Even native vines can get out of hand when we create too many sunny edges for them.

Trumpet Creeper blooms just opening - Campsis radicans. This is only one of two species we have here in the Bignoniaceae family, the other being the Catalpa tree. All other species are tropical (I think we can agree that the blooms of Trumpet Creeper look tropical, anyway!) These are especially attractive to our Red-Throated Hummingbirds.

Trumpet Creeper seed pods from the previous year

Ivy-Leaved Morning Glory - Ipomoea hederacea. This plant flourishes in disturbed areas (here at the edge of a corn field) and is native to tropical parts of the Americas. It is pollinated by long-tongued bees, such as Bumblebees, and some moth caterpillars feed on its leaves.

Small White Morning Glory - Ipomoea lacunosa - also flourishes in disturbed habitats. It is pollinated by long-tongued bees and is eaten by some moth caterpillars and Tortoise beetles.

Some non-vining plants had been growing and stretching up as high as they could to either capture dappled sunlight, find more available pollinators, or to be able to drop their seeds further into the wind or make their fruit more attractive and accessible to birds.

The beautiful, native Tall Bellflower - Campanulustrum americanum - which graces the damp, shadier places along the road in August. 

Mare's Tail (a.k.a. Horseweed) - Conyza canadensis (a.k.a. Erigeron canadensis)- blooming below a cornfield. Although a native plant, this is considered an agricultural pest, especially in soybean fields. This very successful plant is wind-pollinated and has continuous germination. It can take full advantage of the disturbance and proliferation of agriculture, which has created conditions in which this species can flourish beyond normal.

Again, Queen Anne's Lace - Daucus carota - a non-native, naturalized plant that flourishes in the open, sunny situations of roadsides, field edges and meadow. This is the same Latin name given to the domestic carrot, and the root of this plant is edible, though much more fibrous.

Near the front edge of the "tree farm" field there were patches of Ironweed (genus Veronica) blooming. This native plant could have occurred here naturally or been planted. Its frilly purple blooms attract butterflies, but it does have bitter foliage.

Ironweed in bud - more flowers on the way!

Popping up in all sorts of sunny spots (including all over our gardens) is the American Pokeweed - Phytolacca americana. The plant stems, as well as the stalk of the blooming part, turn red when the berries turn very dark purple. The red may be a signal to birds that the berries are ready. Every part is poisonous to us humans except for the new, small plant shoots in spring. The plants get rather tall.

Blooming and budding Pokeweed

The grand Elderberry - Sambucus canadensis - in fruit. Among other medicinal uses for the berries (and flowers,) Elderberry is great for the immune system. Later, when Ragweed would be blooming, I would wish that I had been consuming Elderberry.

Tall Blue Lettuce - Lactuca biennis or L. floriduna - is probably the tallest native plant in our area. Like all lettuces, it has a milky sap in the stem and veins. This particular plant is known to be useful for pain and heart trouble.

Top of plant, in bud

Some blooming Tall Blue Lettuce plants between wooded area and farm field

Tall Blue Lettuce blooms

This Sycamore tree sapling - Plantanus occidentalis - has taken hold in the ditch between the corn field and the road. Sycamores have the largest leaves of all native trees in Indiana, and they are especially large when the tree is but a sapling. 

Other plants growing in consistently sunlit spots did not have to grow quite so tall.

Orange Jewelweed - Impatiens capensis. It likes wet locations and is pollinated by Bumblebees and Hummingbirds, among others. The sap in its succulent stems is great for treating the itch of Poison Ivy and Stinging Nettle rash. Look at that cute face.

Mystery Roadside Plant-of-the-Day #1

Mystery Roadside Plant-of-the-Day #2

I just had not gotten around to looking these up and figuring them out yet, but the time will come.

False Nettle just going to seed - Boehmeria cylindrica. Like other nettles, they are wind-pollinated. Unlike other nettles, they are not covered in stinging hairs.

Clearweed - Pilea pumila - related to other nettles. Also not covered in stinging hairs, it is named for its very clear, shiny leaves.

Blue Mistflower - Conoclinium coelestinum - were barely beginning to bloom. There will be many more, and with larger inflorescences, as the season progresses. I have even seen them growing and blooming in frequently mowed areas along the road.

White Snakeroot - Ageratina altissima - started blooming some time ago, but there were still some pretty stragglers in early August.

I love seeing the flowers of the Fleabanes (genus Erigeron) dotting the roadside. One of the common ones is Daisy Fleabane - E. strigosus.

Lady's Thumb Smartweed - Persicaria maculosa. Ah, you probably see this and think, "Oh, that awful weed I'm always pulling out of everywhere!" Yes, I have this problem, too, especially in our gardens. But, keep in mind that this is a very valuable plant - its nectar and leaves are important to many insect species (and, you have to admit it's kind of pretty.) So, let some grow. Also, I just found out that its leaves can be used to treat poison ivy rash. Mind you, I learned that from reading - I have not had to learn that from experience.

Virginia Knotweed (a.k.a. Jumpseed) - Pericaria virginiana. Look closely - a long, very thin stalk arises from the bunch of dark green leaves, and there are itty-bitty white flowers all up and down the stalk.

Smooth Ground Cherry - Physalis subglabrata. It might remind you of the Husk-cherry or even the Tomatillo, which are related. This species has edible fruit within that husk. BUT - one must be very sure of the right plant. There are very similar species that are poisonous or hallucinogenic.

Some other plants were just starting to stretch out, destined to be tall later on. Unfortunately, some predominant ones were non-native invasive plants. If not controlled, their seed will scatter far and wide, and also be transported by birds and other animals.

Beefsteak Plant (genus Perilla.) I'm sure you've been seeing this one all over - and it gets much taller. It's native to Asia and they really know how to use this one over there (leaves, flower buds, blossoms, etc.) but it started appearing some years ago in North America and has advanced greatly in number. As long as it's here and we aren't concerned about saving them, go ahead and eat all you want! I kind of like the taste of the leaves, though I didn't at first.

Ask anyone who deals with invasive plants and they will tell you to eat all of the Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata) that you can (it especially makes good pesto,) but whatever you aren't eating - please get rid of it!! I've been struggling with this one in my woodland, trying to keep it from doing what it will do unchecked - completely take over the whole woodland, and in a very short time. The plants in these photos are at my next neighbors' place, and I'm not sure they realize what they have, but I will educate them. They sweep from the roadside into the wooded area. I keep them pulled up along the roadside. I think these are first-year, which means that, if not tended to, next year they will all shoot up flowering stalks that will produce a bazillion seeds, and we will all have a problem in the neighborhood. 

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The insects I saw rising up along my walk will grace our presence for awhile longer this summer. Then they will be gone from sight when the cold season is here, while their progeny sleep in the soil, tucked into chrysalis, cocoons or eggs. Some progeny will hibernate at water's bottom as nymphs. Some of the birds rising up and flying off will migrate, while others will be around all winter, with the great hope of eggs next year. Seed will be nestled into the soil or leaf litter, waiting for the right conditions to germinate during the next warming spring.

As always in Nature: to be continued.

Tree canopy above the road