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Category: Plants

Witches’ Brooms and Mushroom Eating Slugs

Witches’ Brooms and Mushroom Eating Slugs

It was fitting that during my visit to the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve at Laudholm in Maine, on the weekend just before Halloween, that one of my new discoveries was a phenomenon called witches’ brooms. With many of the leaves blown down by the storm we had the day before, these clustered growths were easy to see, and were apparent on several highbush blueberry and honeysuckle shrubs. The “witches’ brooms” are abnormal growths on the branches of the shrubs,…

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Beechdrops (Epifagus virginiana)

Beechdrops (Epifagus virginiana)

While hiking in the Blue Hills this afternoon, I found a plant I’d never noticed before. In fact, in one section of the forest, where beech trees were the dominant canopy cover, there were many of these 4 to 8 inch high plants. These small plants branched only at the base, had somewhat spongy or succulent stems, and were tan with purple streaks. Almost all of the flowers were still unopened (in fact, I didn’t notice any open flowers until…

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Cranberries: History and Picking

Cranberries: History and Picking

Thousands of years ago, the receding glaciers left a series of kettle hole ponds filled with sand, clay and other debris across South Shore of Massachusetts, Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, creating the perfect habitat for cranberries.   Wampanoag’s took advantage of these wild plants, harvesting wild cranberries, long before the first European settlers ever arrived. When the English arrived, they were unsurprised to find the cranberry growing here, as they were already familiar with European varieties of cranberries. They…

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American Holly (Ilex opaca)

American Holly (Ilex opaca)

The berries on the American Holly in my backyard are starting to turn red. The berries actually begin to develop with a green color in September, develop into a bright red by November, and tend to stay on the tree through the winter. As seen in the photo, they’re still on the orange-side, but these berry-laden holly branches so commonly used as Christmas decorations, are a sure sign that summer is over and winter is on it’s way. Interestingly though,…

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