Attention esteemed fellow nature enthusiasts:

As I was traipsing through our beloved BEMA, I came across the presence of an egregious amount of what appeared to be single leaves sprouting from the earth. Their leaves were rounded with clean, vertical striations, and some had small flower buds consisting of small, vertically oriented bulbs, not unlike hyacinths. They were growing nearly everywhere on the hillside where I was, and had at most two semi-curved leaves reaching for the sky.

I was dazed, confused, and simply surrounded. Due to the sheer number of these plants, I hypothesized that they grew like mint plants do, with a complex root system that attaches multiple plants together, allowing new plants to easily sprout. However, with the assistance of more intrusive investigative methods, I was wrong. After uprooting one of the plants, I discovered that the root system was at least three times as long as the plant itself, but had no other plants sprouting from it. Rather, the pale roots had many junctures with short offshoots, presumably to increase its stability or water/nutrient intake. The thin, spindly, selfish roots were seemingly never-ending. Since they were growing in acidic soil due to the presence of decomposing pine needles, I believe the use of such a complex root system serves to allow the plant to obtain additional nutrients far underground from where it sprouts.

Of course, I, like any aspiring botanist, still had not identified the plant that seemed to have invaded the park and wanted to determine its species. After consulting field guides (with the help of our professor), it was revealed to be a wild lily-of-the-valley, a highly poisonous flowering plant found in many gardens and bouquets alike.

So, when wandering through the woods (or through your backyard, kitchen, or local florist establishment) and in need of a snack, do not turn to these mysterious leaves.

This Public Safety Announcement was brought to you by Anne.

Good [insert time of day here], readers! I hope this post finds you well.

My roommate’s birthday just recently passed, and her cousin organized a birthday party for her outside the DOC house, on the far side of Occom Pond. Generally speaking, I’m not a fan of going outside for longer than a few minutes at a time, but for my roommate, I was willing to make this sacrifice.

On this fairly warm (~65ºF), slightly windy day, I made the long trek from the Co-op Food Store out to the DOC house, and actually had an enjoyable walking experience.

Along the way, I noticed many beautiful flowers as I walked, and stopped to take pictures as reference for my field journal drawings. I was not able to identify any of these flowers on site, but I searched online using Wildflower and Tree Identification websites, and was able to to figure out what they were.

For wildflower identification, I used this website; for tree identification, I used this website.

The flower pictured above features clusters of small, round blue flowers vertically oriented on their stems. The bottom rim of each flower has a circle of white, and the plants’ leaves are long with smooth edges. After using the wildflower identifier, I found that this flower is called the Grape Hyacinth (Muscari genus, not to be confused with actual Hyacinths), and are perennial plants that grow out of bulbs.

Next I came across the above blue, six-petaled flowers. After searching, I identified this plant as the Siberian Squill (Scilla siberica), which is an invasive species in the Northeast United States. These radially symmetrical flowers are slightly bell-shaped, and their perennial plants also grow out of bulbs.

As I continued on my journey, I stumbled across these tiny, asymmetrical purple flowers that grew vertically in clusters on their stems. This plant was the most difficult to identify of all the species I came across, but eventually I found that this plant has many common names, including Ground-Ivy, Gill-Over-the-Ground, Creeping Charlie, Alehoof, Tunhoof, Catsfoot, Field Balm, and Run-Away-Robin. This plant, native to Europe and Southwestern Asia but now fairly common in the U.S., is a perennial, aromatic, evergreen creeper from the mint family, and is scientifically known as Glechoma hederacea.

My last flower came in the form of a tree with stunning yellow flowers. For me, this was ultimately an easy plant to identify, since I had previously come cross another maple tree with similar flowers, though in red, not yellow. With the help of the internet, I identified this plant as a Norway maple (Acer platanoides). This species is invasive to North America, and has in fact been banned in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. …Perhaps I should call Hanover Police?

I had a great time at my roommate’s birthday party, but this walk made my day even better. My favorite part of this experience was identifying each plant. I look forward to another rewarding nature experience.

Have any of you ever tried identifying plants you’ve seen out and about? What do you think of these selections? Do you have a favorite flower?

See you next time,

Janine ☀️

Good evening curious readers!

Today, as I was pleasantly sitting and observing nature by the Connecticut riverbank, I was startled by something moving in the water down below. I saw a small head and a small part of an animal’s back emerge from the water. At first I thought of a beaver, but as I observed the animal more I realized that it was actually a groundhog because it was smaller than a beaver and had a groundhog’s tail! That discovery made sense because when I first approached my observation spot I saw a groundhog first look round and then scurry down the hill near the riverbank.

After researching groundhogs briefly after my encounter, I found out that groundhogs do indeed swim in order to evade predators or survey their territory for potential food sources! I think the one I saw was looking for food. I am interested in going back to see how many live in that area! So far, I have encountered three different groundhogs (the first three I have seen in my life!) and I look forward to discovering more about their interesting mannerisms! I have a (poor quality, unfortunately) picture of the first groundhog I saw. I didn’t get a chance to take a picture of the one in the river, but I did find one on the internet that looked exactly like what I saw!

A groundhog by the Dartmouth Cemetery

What the groundhog swimming that I saw looked like http://www.pennlive.com/wildaboutpa/2010/08/pennsylvania_claws_wings_thing_16.html)

Yay for groundhogs! If they can swim, then maybe they can Kayak too…..I’ll have to do some more observations to find out!

Until next time fellow naturalists!

Hi avid nature lovers!

As I was on my way to brunch with my parents this past weekend, I spotted this squirrel out of the corner of my eye. Despite my mother’s complaints, I started filming as the squirrel was literally eating an acorn and it was too exciting to pass up! You can find more footage on @big_green_squirrels (shameless Instagram plug).

This squirrel has the typical dark grey coloring and lighter grey tail that I’ve seen in the squirrels around Dartmouth. However, its tail was longer and skinner than most squirrels around. Also, its underbelly is white, which is something I had never noticed before.

squirrel with an acorn in its mouth!

The squirrel was hopping around, with the acorn in his mouth, and then stood up and stared directly at me (as seen in the photograph above). He appeared to be anxious, but then turned away and started chomping on the acorn. He rolled the acorn around in his hands as he was eating it, almost as if he was shaving off parts of it. Then suddenly, the squirrel began to bury the acorn in the dirt around the tree trunk. His whole body was involved in the digging. But, as abruptly as he began the burial, it ended. The squirrel started jumping down the side of the hill, and came extremely close to me, which I was surprised by. I wonder if the Dartmouth squirrels are more accustomed to people than squirrels in the wild.

In the end, this whole squirrel activity prompted me to wonder what the squirrel’s tactics are with burying acorns, and if they ever end up eating the whole thing.

What do you think? Have you seen any squirrel activity around campus?

Best,

Sami

Hello readers,

The weather has been rainy for the past few days here in Hanover, NH. Yesterday, as I was on my way to Zimmerman Gym to get my pump on, I noticed this assortment of mushrooms on the grassy area in front of the gym entrance. I immediately whipped out by field journal to begin sketching, forgetting all thoughts about leg day.

Mushrooms found in front of Zimmerman Gym

These mushrooms appear to me to be in different stages of growth based on their caps. It seems to be that the young mushrooms have cylindrical, conic caps, while the caps of those a little more mature appear to be opening up, appearing almost like someone has draped a blanked over it. It seems to me that the mushroom in the center is a fully mature one as its cap has completely opened up, appearing almost like an umbrella.

The color of these mushrooms are varying shades of brown, from being tan brown in darker areas to a sandy brown in lighter areas. There appear to be fine fibers running up and down the caps of these mushrooms and the underside has white gills. Furthermore, these mushrooms grown in clumps, as I noticed another clump of the same mushrooms nearby.

After doing some research online, I believe these are Coprinellus micaceus, known more commonly as Mica caps. Mica caps are one of the most common mushrooms in North America, typically growing on decaying wood. However, Mica caps can also be found in places where wood is rotting beneath the soil, explaining why it has popped up on the lawn. The cap of this species is conic to bell-shaped, up to 6cm wide and is commonly identified by the furrow-lines that run through their caps.

Mica Caps in the Wild

According to the mushroom experts, this mushroom is safe to eat though it does not have a distinctive smell or odor. That being said, I probably won’t be Sautéing these any time soon.

To close do you guys agree with my identification? Would you be willing to eat a wild mushroom?

Best,

Leo L.

Hello Writing Natural History blog followers!

Last Tuesday night on my rainy, late-night walk home from the library, I encountered a horde of worms outside GDX. I was very excited to see these earthworms because we had just talked about Charles Darwin and his studies of worms. Some of the ones I observed were very long, and others were shorter, however, the smaller earthworms are more effective at burrowing due to their relative body mass to force ratio (Encyclopedia of Life).

In class, we learned that worms are very important in the fertilization of soil, and according to the Encyclopedia of Life, this is because they take the top layers of soil down into their burrows, taking in oxygen and secreting soil (‘worm casts’). This process requires worms to keep their skin wet, which is why I saw them on the wet sidewalk.

My photo from Tuesday night.

The next morning outside the library by Novack, not too far from where I had seen the worms the previous night, I saw more worms! This time, I decided to pick one up. It was soft, not slimy, and not very gross at all. Whereas the night before the worms looked pale pink, in the daylight, I observed that the worm was multi-colored, with lighter and darker brown regions and pale pink as well. Its body is divided by rings called annuli (Encyclopedia of Life) that appear to be farther apart towards the worms’ skinny end, the tail.

A worm on Wednesday morning (in my hand!).

And if I had not had my share of encounters with worms, I saw another one yesterday for good measure, crawling in the grass on Baker lawn. I also picked this one up, but it was not as soft because the grass was not wet. The worm curled up in my hand, showing off its flexible, cylindrical body, perfect for burrowing and inching through tiny spaces.

On Baker lawn.

I would highly recommend meeting one of these creatures to thank them for their work in fertilizing our soil and to follow in the great naturalist’s footsteps!

~enjoying the worms, Libby~