Good [insert time of day here], readers! I hope everything is going well for you today.

On Thursday, I walked to the Co-op Food Store in search of some salmon to cook for dinner, but came across some beautiful trees in bloom along the way. I paused to take some pictures of these lovely angiosperms, which reside on Lebanon Street.

I used this website to identify the plants that I saw.

The first tree I came across was dotted with pink buds and white flowers that had protruding stamen. The leaves were widest in the middle, and had serrated edges, growing in whorls around the blooms. After using the tree identifier website, I concluded that this tree was a crabapple from the Malus genus, but was unable to identify the exact species, since many species from the Malus genus look extremely similar.

This second flowering tree also had five-petaled flowers and serrated-edged leaves that were widest at the middle. These blooms were pink rather than white, though, and the buds were an even darker shade of pink. After consulting the website, I identified this tree as another crabapple from the Malus genus; yet again, I was unable to identify the exact species.

The Malus genus contains deciduous apple trees and shrubs, including the domesticated apple tree (Malus pumila), as well as crabapples. These trees are completely self-sterile, requiring cross-pollination by insects, such as bees and butterflies. Flowers range from white to red, and bloom in the spring. Plants from the Malus genus are native to temperate areas of the Northern Hemisphere, including China, Japan, and Taiwan.

The next plant I came across had tall, brown stalks with smooth bark dotted in striking clusters of four-petaled yellow flowers. The flowers’ pistils were visible, but the stamen were not. The leaves were small, green, and widest at the middle, with smooth edges. I used the tree identification website to find out that these shrubs were Forsythia viridissima, from the olive family. These plants are native to eastern Asia and southeastern Europe, but have been imported to the North America. Forsythia viridissima originated in China, but can be found in New England in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire.

Once again, I enjoyed my walk, since it was brightened by the presence of beautiful flowers. It was great fun to figure out exactly what plants I had seen.

Have you seen any crabapple trees or forsythia recently? What do you think of my pictures? Do you  have a favorite flowering tree? (I quite like plum tree blossoms, which bloom in the winter.)

Thanks for reading,

Janine ☀️

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 ☀️