Beth and I took Penny to Sandogardy Pond today. I wanted to look for the late summer aquatics, and though we were able to find quite a few, I didn’t find all the ones I was looking for.
Before we got to the pond we found some Indian tobacco.
Indian Tobacco (Lobelia inflata)
This is also called “puke weed” and I think that’s what I’m going to call it from now on. I suspect that “Indian tobacco” is a racial slur, as many plants with “Indian” in the name are. As in, “tobacco only good enough for Indians.”
Not far from the puke weed, we came across some hazel cuttings.
Beaked Hazels
These are the shells from beaked hazels (Corylus cornuta) which were growing nearby. I have a lot of them on my property too, but have never really been able to harvest any. The squirrels and chipmunks tend to harvest them before they ripen. You have to be careful when gathering them too, because those husks are full of fine spines which have a tendency to stick in your skin and break off. Just imagine shelling one with your lips and teeth!
We got to the pond, and the first blooming plant I noticed was this spotted water hemlock.
Spotted Water Hemlock (Cicuta maculata)
It is important to be aware of this plant if you plan to eat wild carrots, because they are superficially similar, and spotted water hemlock is the most toxic plant in North America. One taste can kill.
Just offshore from the water hemlock, I could see the floating heart in bloom. I took off my shoes and waded out to it.
Floating Heart (Nymphoides cordata)
You have to be careful when photographing these, because the tiniest waves you make tend to wet the flowers, and when that happens, they turn from white to transparent. I have dozens of photos of transparent floating heart blossoms. I managed to avoid that this time.
Down the beach a little ways I found some Marsh St Johnswort.
Marsh St Johnswort (Triadenum virginicum)
I always have a hard time remembering the name of this one, because I keep wanting to put the “Virginia” part of the binominal name into the common name. Virginia St Johnswort? Nope. Virginia Swamp St Johnswort? Nope. Someday I might be able to remember without the aid of the Internet.
I had already put my shoes back on when I found some seven-angled pipewort. I didn’t want to take them off again, so I leaned way out and snapped this shot.
Pipewort (Eriocaulon aquaticum)
Leaning out doesn’t make the greatest photos, and we can see that here. I looked for these earlier this summer but could find no sign of them. But today, here they are.
A little farther down I found some square-stemmed monkey flower.
Square-temmed Monkey Flower (Mimulus ringens)
This plant got me into a little trouble once. A friend of mine breeds poodles and typically names them after flowers. Knowing that I was a plant-guy, she asked me to suggest a name for her next “keeper” dog. She was not pleased when I proposed square-stemmed monkey flower. I guess it just doesn’t roll off the tongue.
“Here, Square-stemmed Monkey Flower! Here girl!”
Nope.
