Author Archives: John S. Quarterman

Butterfly Milkweed 2024-05-22

This Butterfly Milkweed is growing where pine beetles, hurricanes, and thunderstorms have left few trees standing.

[Two clumps of butterfly milkweed]
Two clumps of butterfly milkweed

Asclepias tuberosa attracts butterflies with its color and its nectar. It is native to eastern and southwestern North America.

-jsq

Longleaf 2024-05-14

A bolting longleaf pine tree.

[Bolting longleaf pine tree]
Bolting longleaf pine tree

Longleaf pines, Pinus palustris, have an interesting life cycle, from big seeds with wings that only sprout on bare soil, to grass stage that looks like a clump of grass 18 inches in diameter and can stay that way for years if not weeded while a root goes down, to this bolting stage with the trunk extending, to sapling and then tree stage.

The furry-looking stuff up top is the candle it grew just this spring, about two feet long.

A mature longleaf can grow 100 feet tall in about 100 years, and can live more than 300 years.

You don’t see many mature ones these days, because while they used to be the main forest from southern Virginia to eastern Texas along the U.S. coastal plain, 98% of them were cut down for ship masts and lumber.

In the few scraps of longleaf pine forest that are left, such as on my land that my grandfather bought in 1921, species diversity is greater than anything outside a tropical rainforest.

Most of the diversity is in the undergrowth such as you see in this picture.

Yes, this area needs to be burned. Weather and time permitting, it will be this winter.

-jsq

Turkey egg 2024-05-17

A turkey egg is somewhat larger than a chicken egg.

[Turkey egg and chicken egg]
Turkey egg and chicken egg

One of our dogs brought it to us. We couldn’t find the nest to put it back.

No, it wasn’t that dirty when we first saw it. We were digging potatoes, so that’s garden dirt.

-jsq

Turtle 2024-05-10

What kind of turtle is this? It’s about 5 inches long, so presumably quite young.

[Lively small turtle]
Lively small turtle

The triple ridges with radiating patterns look to me like an Alligator snapping turtle, Macroclemys temminckii. I don’t see anything else among the 29 turtles of Georgia that is even close.

I don’t know what it was doing out in the open, 500 feet from the nearest water, which is our cypress swamp.

Anyway, it provided yet another opportunity to remind our dogs: no turtles!

-jsq

Canada wild lettuce 2024-05-06

I didn’t recognize this plant, but apparently it is Canada wild lettuce (Lactuca canadensis), aka Florida blue lettuce, tall lettuce, or Canada lettuce. Supposedly it is native to eastern and central North America.

[Canada wild lettuce, aka Florida blue lettuce]
Canada wild lettuce, aka Florida blue lettuce

It’s in the daisy family, Asteraceae.

According to Eattheplanet.org, “The young leaves and stems are edible but should be eaten in moderation. Leaves can be eaten raw in a salad or boiled to remove bitterness.”

Also, “Wild lettuce produces a milky sap, called Lactucarium, from its leaves, stem, and roots when cut. Lactucarium is an analgesic and sedative. It has been used in the treatment of insomnia, osteoarthritis, and anxiety. The concentration of Lactucarium is highest when the plant is in bloom.”

-jsq

Lance-leaved Coreopsis: orange tickseed 2024-05-02

Orange flower growing in sand.

[Lance-leaved coreopsis 2024-04-28]
Lance-leaved coreopsis 2024-04-28

Now there are three blooms.

This Lance-leaved coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata) is native to eastern north America, although I don’t recall ever seeing this orange tickseed before. Continue reading →