I went out Saturday afternon with the idea that I would try something new, and find as many species as possible within a single afternoon. I started photographing at the Meadows in Lexington, and finished at Great Meadows in Concord. They're sorted by time, ranging from 15:35 to 19:17.
It was decidedly a learning experience. Most surprisingly, many of the identifications I'd made with confidence in the field were partly or entierly wrong. In the final count, I got a total of 58, with 40 of the common names guessed near-enough.
005 | Chicory (Cichorum intybus) | |
008 | Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) I found one that was in flower later in the day; I wonder if I would have gotten another species by taking a closer look. | |
010 | Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) | |
011 | Common Cinquefoil (Potentilla simplex) | |
012 | Red Clover (Trifolium pratense) I thought it was "purple" but close enough. | |
013 | Night-flowering Catchfly (Silene noctiflora) I didn't count the styles, so I'm not sure of that one. I also guessed wrong. | |
015 | Common Ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) | |
016 | Rabbit's foot clover (Trifolium artense) | |
017 | Common Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) I missed the common name on this one; Bachelor's Buttons is something else entierly - perhaps I've had it wrong since childhood. | |
018 | Curled Dock (Rumex crispus) I didn't get the leaves in the picture, but I remembered them well enough. | |
019 | Purple Loosetrife (Lythrum salicaria) | |
020 | Water Hemlock (Cicuta maculata) | |
026 | Common Plantain (Plantago major) | |
027 | Yellow Wood-Sorrel (Oxalis europaea) This one's different from O. Stricta whose seed pods are at an angle with the stem; I should get both next time. | |
028 | Field Peppergrass (Lepidium virginicum) Next time, get the leaves too. | |
030 | Common St. Johnswort (Hypericum Perforatum) I had substituted "spotted" for "common"; the little dots on the petals are a field mark, but that's not its name. | |
033 | Deptford Pink (Dianthus armeria) Different from Marsh Pink, so another incorrect guess. | |
034 | False Foxglove (Gerardia ??) I'm not sure if I have enough to go on here, but I don't see what else grows that tall. I've tried to show both the leaf and the flower buds, since the whole thing is about 6' tall. | |
037 | Bouncing Bet (Saponaria officinalis) | |
039 | Common Mullein (Verbascum thapsus) | |
040 | Day-Lily (Hemerocallis fulva) | |
041 | Black Swallowwort (Cynanchum nigrum) I had given this up as unidentifyable, until stumbling across it while looking for something else in the field guide. I mean the paired shiny leaves and pods, not the other stuff it's tangled with. | |
044 | Celandine (Chelidonium majus) | |
051 | Lady's Thumb (Polygonum persicaria) | |
052 | Creeping Bell-flower (Campanula rapunculoides) | |
054 | Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica) | |
055 | Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) | |
058 | Butter-and-Eggs (Linaria vulgaris) I later found one that was in flower, but didn't stop for it. | |
059 | Spurge (Euphorbia) (Lots of subspecies; I don't have enough to go on, here.) | |
061 | Tyrell Knapweed (Centaurea vochinensis) (I can't tell which knapweed is which without the book.) | |
062 | Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) There's more to confuse this with than I thought, so it would have been worth a closer look. | |
065 | Wild Carrot (Daucus carota) | |
067 | Horseweed (Erigeron canadensis) | |
068 | Early Goldenrod (Solidago juncea) I didn't realise there were so many varieties to choose from, but the stuff in the leaf axils is distinctive. | |
071 | Blue Toadflax (Linaria canadensis) | |
074 | Common Evening Primrose (Oenothera biennis) | |
075 | Aster (Aster ??) Oops! Not nearly enough to identify this one. | |
077 | Black Knapweed (Centaurea nigra) | |
079 | Red Campion (Lychnis dioica) I forgot to count the styles, but I think this is right. | |
080 | Common Buttercup (Ranunculus acris) | |
082 | Meadowsweet (Spirea latifolia) (New to me, but the name's familiar so maybe I just forgot.) | |
086 | Garlic Mustard (Alliaria officinalis) | |
087 | Spiny-Leaved Sow-Thistle (Sonchus asper) I didn't correctly name the subspecies. | |
090 | Burdock (Arctium ??) I should remember that I need to look for stem grooves to distinguish species. | |
091 | Creeping Charlie (Glechoma hederacea) I knew this one by smell and habit, but I could only find it in Peterson's by latin name, once I had that. Remembering that strong smelling things are often mint-family, would have helped. | |
092 | Birdfoot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) | |
094 | Swamp Rose (Rosa palustris) | |
095 | Panicled Tick-Trefoil (Desmodium paniculatum) I missed the id on this one, but I might have had a better chance later in the year, when the distinctive clingy seed pods are everywhere. | |
097 | White Clover (Trifolium repens) | |
099 | Narrow-leaved Vervain (Verbena simplex) | |
103 | Fragrant Water-Lily (Nymphaea odorata) Not American Lotus, which is yellow, and which I know I've looked up before. (In the background.) | |
108 | Hedge Bindweed (Convolvulus sepium) I guessed Jimsonweed, which has toothed leaves. | |
110 | Common Cattail (Typhia latifolia) | |
112 | Bur-Cucumber (Sicyos angulatus) Without flowers or fruit to go on, I could be convinced otherwise... I thought it was Wild Cucumber before getting the book out. | |
114 | Tall Meadow Rue (Thalictrum polygamum) | |
115 | Asiatic Dayflower(Commelina communis) I didn't stop for the ones I saw early on, then had trouble finding another patch, because it was gloomy enough for them all to be closed. | |
117 | White Avens (Geum canadense) One I've looked up before, but didn't remember. | |
119 | Rough-fruited Cinquefoil (Potentilla recta) I knew it was a cinquefoil, but was wrong about which one. |