Renowned naturalist Waldo Lee McAtee recorded the presence of numerous magnolia bogs in the Washington, DC area during the early part of the 1900’s. Among the ones he cataloged in A sketch of the natural history of the District of … Continue reading
Did you know that the Patuxent Research Refuge is the home to several types of hybrid oaks? Read on to learn more. The oak-rich Patuxent Research Refuge has 16 native oak species, one naturalized exotic oak species, and at least … Continue reading
Today, I looked around the refuge for plants that might be blooming and found only four species! Last year at this time, at least 20 species of plants were blooming. This indeed has been a long cold winter. And… … Continue reading
Today, one of my stops was to check on the health of the Short’s Hedgehyssop (Gratiola viscidula Pennell) population. You see, the Short’s Hedgehyssop is listed as a state endangered species by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Natural Heritage … Continue reading
Today in a sandy area in the northwest part of the refuge’s North Tract near the highest elevation on the refuge, I spotted a small tufted grass-like plant. I was unsure of its identity so I reached out to some … Continue reading
8000! Today I collected specimen number 8000 on my lifetime list. The plant that has the honor of being my 8000th specimen in my collection is the Forked Panic Grass, scientific name Dichanthelium dichotomum (L.) Gould. Forked Panic Grass is … Continue reading
Today, I found something really fascinating. It was a tree which one of its branches grafted back on to itself without human intervention. The technical name for this phenomenon is inosculation, but I call it backwards-grafting. It can also happen … Continue reading
The Thinleaf Alder (Alnus incana (L.) Moench ssp. tenuifolia (Nutt.) Breitung) is a subspecies of alder that is found in Western North America from Alaska, Yukon, and the Northwest territories on the North to Arizona and New Mexico on … Continue reading
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Hood’s Phlox (Phlox hoodii Richardson) is a highly variable, widespread species found in Western North America from Alaska to Northern Mexico on the west to Manitoba, Nebraska, and New Mexico on the East. It is a common constituent of the … Continue reading
On the way home today, I drove by the refuge to take a few pictures of our overnight “snowstorm.” Late winter/early spring snowstorms like this are not unheard of in this part of Maryland. At nearby Fort Meade, they recorded … Continue reading
Today, AJ and I ventured out to the Shangri La Forest. It is the area at the center of the Inner Core and is located between Shangri La Pond and the Little Patuxent River. It was our first time to … Continue reading
It has been a while since I have posted something here. There is no time like the present to resume…. Spring is here. So far this year I have seen 16 species of plants blooming despite the fact it … Continue reading
I drove by Mill Race Swamp today and discovered that the water level was way down. I think that is because someone removed the beaver-placed debris from the drainage culvert. Anyway, the swamp is an impoundment. The road that borders … Continue reading
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Today, I had the day off because of Sandy and so this morning I decided to go the North Tract to check things out. As soon as I came up to the entrance of the North Tract, I spotted an … Continue reading
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INTRODUCTION The purpose of this article is to draw attention to and spark interest in a special parcel of land on the North Tract. For the purposes of this article, I will call it the “Inner Core.” While there is … Continue reading
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Today while slogging in the steam which flows between Beaver Valley and Shangri La I had a close encounter with a snake called a Black Racer – (Coluber constrictor). It did not try to slither away like most racers I … Continue reading
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Today, I went back out to Beaver Valley to explore the east end and north bank. I discovered that most of the good bogs are on the west end of the south bank. On this trip, I ventured further on … Continue reading