A USEFUL LINK FROM CIPWG THE CT INVASIVE PLANTS WORKING GROUP

When fighting invasive species, this is the time of year when you want to throw up your hands and give up!  The roadsides are so full of invasive plants.  They are choking off the landscape just about everywhere you look.  You might feel helpless and incapable of the task at hand.  I offer fresh hope!  This morning I came across a post with this link containing various instructions on how best to eliminate the top 10 invasive plants from CIPWIG Invasive Plant Management Calendar . It made me remember that mid to late summer is the appropriate time to get out there and fight especially if you are willing to use herbicides either as a foliar spray, cut and paint or inject.  The best time to use herbicides is when a plant is actively growing and returning nutrients to its roots.  

More on Japanese Knotweed Control

 

Credit for the above to Gregory Rosner of the Worldwide Japanese Knotweed Support Group on Facebook

MORE ON JAPANESE KNOTWEED ELIMINATION

For anyone interested in eliminating colonies of this plant using herbicide.  This method called " The Window" is considered to be the most effective.  It may take a few years to totally eliminate the colony, so patience and persistence are required. The image below was copied from The Worldwide Japanese Knotweed Support Group.

 

Japanese Knotweed Just Emerging

I recently came across a post on a Facebook group regarding invasive plants.  A person who has been attempting to eliminate Japanese knotweed from their landscape is apparently having some luck using an herbicide treatment and the method suggested by another Facebook group called The Japanese Knotweed Support Group, a group designed for people dealing with this terribly invasive plant.  My membership to this group is still pending at this time.  Should you wish to join, here is a link to that group Worldwide Japanese Knotweed Support Group |.  

Below is a copy of the Facebook post I came across recently.  It includes a method recommended by the support group. The person who posted tried the recommended method with some pretty good success. 

"I have some new sprouts coming up this year as it is a multi-year process but after spraying once last year in late September I can tell you the difference is ASTOUNDING. I really just followed the recommendation of the worldwide Japanese knotweed support group. I ordered glystar 41% concentration glyphosate which already has surfactant in it. I used a battery-operated backpack sprayer and calculated how much water to add to it to make the glyphosate a 2% concentration, and I added a couple capfuls of blue lawn dye (got everything on Amazon). I suited up with proper PPE including a mask and eye protection and used a ladder to spray the really tall stands. I tried to hit as many knotweed leaves as I could physically get to. "

This is a copy of my earlier post on Japanese knotweed 

Monday, May 5, 2025

JAPANESE KNOTWEED AKA  Reynoutria Japonica, Fallopia Japonica

Almost every time I search for or take a photograph of the "invasive plant of the week" I am surprised by the plant's decorative potential!  The first photo is a good depiction of what the plant looks like at its present stage of its growth.  The second photo shows the mature plant in flower.  Although commonly called Japanese knotweed this plant is native to all of Eastern Asia. When in bloom the plant is positively loaded with gorgeous foamy white flower spikes that are attractive to pollinators.  An interesting note is that the young shoots and leaves of this plant are edible.  The shoots have a tart flavor similar to rhubarb and can be used as its substitution in recipes.  Should you be interested, recipes for knotweed, including knotweed wine, sorbet, and chutney can be found on the internet.  If you are choosing to harvest this plant for consumption, be certain you are harvesting the correct plant and that it is not from an area that has been treated with chemicals!

How did this plant arrive on our shores?  Female plants, thought to be sterile, were first introduced in the prestigious Kew Botanical Gardens in England in 1850. During the 1880's it became a desirable exotic plant for inclusion on the property of several expansive Long Island, NY estates.  It appeared as an ornamental plant in nursery catalogs until the latter 1930's.  Even then it was under watchful surveillance as a suspected outlaw and garden escapee.  

How did this plant arrive in Scotland, CT?  One of its adapted uses was for erosion control.  Stands of it were installed on highways and state roads.  This is likely the cause of its present bounty along some of our roadsides in town.  When traveling through Scotland on our town and state roads, you can't help but notice vast colonies of knotweed so dense that nothing else grows among it.  The reason for that is that it, like some other invasive plants, it has an allelopathic superpower.  The plant's roots and other decaying plant parts exude chemical compounds that prevent other plants from growing in its midst.  The plant also has dense lush upper leaf growth, keeping any brave potential competitors from finding the sunlight they require to grow.  This is how Japanese knotweed quickly creates a monoculture.  It crowds out native species that many of our native insects and animals require to thrive. You may wonder, how did only female plants reproduce so prolifically?  There are a couple of answers to that question.  One is that are other several species of knotweed and if one of these happens to be located nearby, there is a potential for cross pollination, which would create viable seed.  This plant, however, spreads primarily through its root system, technically called a rhizome system.  Rhizomes are roots that grow horizontally periodically sending up new growth. In the case of knotweed, these rhizomes are hardy enough to penetrate through any small cracks in a house foundation or any pavement potentially causing severe damage.  In some areas, the presence of this invasive plant is actually having a detrimental effect on real estate values.  Although the plant goes dormant in the winter months and temporarily dies back when there is a spring freeze, the rhizomes remain viable underground.  Even if plant growth is suppressed and no additional nutrients are added, it is said that the rhizomes are capable of remaining viable for up to 20 years!  Any small bits of this powerful rhizome system accidentally transported by a snowplow, brush cutter or unintentionally by a garden shovel will readily form a new ever-increasing colony.  If this plant colonizes along our waterways, the diverted water flow caused by dense stands of Japanese knotweed can cause flooding and potential bank erosion.  As riverbanks erode, segments of the plant's rhizomes could be transported downstream.  Rivers brooks and streams are a virtual highway for the plant to follow. Elimination of this plant should definitely be a priority!

HOW TO REMOVE

Take a deep breath!  This is going to be a difficult but not impossible task.  It is one that will likely involve a combination of techniques possibly including the use of herbicides.

If you want to try a method that does not use herbicides the present recommended method is to cut the plant back three times during its growing period.  Once in June, again in July, and last in late August.  The repeated cuttings are meant to keep the plant from flowering.  Cut as low to the ground as possible.  The stem has what look like joints or notches which are called nodes.  You want to cut the plant beneath the plant's lowest node.  Cutting the plant numerous times also helps to reduce the plants energy transfer to its rhizomes.  After cutting, the knotweed patch can be covered with black plastic carefully weighted around the edges.  The cut stems should be placed in contractor bags and disposed of in regular trash.  Do not compost them, as any pieces of attached rhizome could sprout in your compost pile! This method of removal will need to be repeated for at least three years.  Continue to monitor the area as this plant can be very persistent. 

If you are comfortable using herbicides, The recommended method is to cut the plant back to 2 to 3" in late May or June, and then let it grow until August.  Spray before the plant flowers using glyphosate with an added surfactant or with triclopyr.  Many pollinators feed on this plant so spraying either before flowers form or after the flowering stage is complete is essential so as not to harm them. Cutting the plant back in the spring reduces the height of the plant, therefore the amount of chemical needed for coverage.  The same protocol will need to be repeated the following year.  After the second year of treatment, plant the area with some native species such as Joe Pye weed to reduce the growth of Knotweed.  You will likely need to continue treatment every two years following the second treatment.

Biological Control:  An insect called Japanese Knotweed Psyllid or Aphalora itadori was introduced in 2020 as a possible biological control method.  The insect is host specific to Invasive knotweed.  During all of its life stages, the insect consumes the sap from the leaves and stem.  This in theory weakens the plant.  In the United States in 2020, several releases were done in areas including Rhode Island and Massachusetts.  Other releases in the UK and Canada done back in 2010 have resulted in populations of the Knotweed Psyllid having established a presence in that area. It remains to be determined how successful the release of this insect in the United States will be.

Bulblets

 Dicentra cuclaria AKA Dutchman's breeches, Little blue staggers

You can't help but laugh when you see all the cute white pantaloons hanging off this plant!  It is a plant native to Connecticut and New England, a perennial with an early spring bloom.  Both the flowers and the finely compound lacy fernlike leaves are attractive.  It is a perfect native plant for a shaded or semi-shaded spot with rich organic soil. Keep in mind that the leaves and flowers will die back completely after the bloom period so the plant will virtually disappear as the season progresses.  The bulblets in the ground will remain viable and the plant will reappear the following spring. Although the flowers do not have a fragrance, they are attractive to bumblebees.  The flowers are designed so that the bumbles separate the petals with their front legs and gather pollen from the anthers with their center legs. Pollinated flowers eventually produce a long pointed seedpod. The seeds within have sweet eliasome coating prized by ants who bring the seeds to their colony where the coating is consumed.  Ants being the good housekeepers that they are, will discard the seeds to their nutrient rich refuse pile after the coating is consumed.  There the seeds will eventually germinate.  This process, called myrmecochory, is shared by numerous plants.

I do not recommend using this plant for any purpose medicinally as it contains dangerous compounds.  However, Dicentra cuclaria does have a history of medicinal use by Native Americans and early European settlers including use as a cure for Syphilis.  The plant which is now considered to be in the papaveracae family contains isoquinoline alkaloid compounds.  These alkaloid compounds are the source of the plant's other common name Little blue staggers.  This is not a safe plant for livestock to graze on as the compounds contained can cause drunken staggering and even death, hence its other common name.  This is not a safe plant for humans or other animals to consume any part of!

 

Viola sororia AKA Common Blue Violet 

I love when in early spring our back yard becomes blanketed with violets!  These beautiful wildflowers are called Viola sororia.  They are a plant native to Connecticut, one that is not only beautiful but edible. There is a close imported look-a-like called Viola odorata, a variety from Europe.  Viola odorata shares many aspects of our native violet but its flowers have a pronounced sweet fragrance.  Viola odorata flowers are considered just as edible as our native violets. Most species of viola are edible including Johnny jump ups and other pansies. Historically our native Viola sororia was a source of both food and medicine for Native Americans. The flowers which range in color from white to various shades of purple can be eaten freshly picked.  Simply toss raw flowers into salads where they will add a colorful accent. Fresh flowers can be frozen into ice cubes or pressed into a soft cheese such as brie.  The flowers can also be preserved for a time as crystalized violets.  Crystalized violet flowers are a delicate confection impressive when used as a decoration on a cake or a garnish floated atop a drink. To make them, simply dip the flowers in slightly beaten egg whites, then dip in granulated sugar. Place the flowers on a parchment lined cookie sheet in a slightly warm oven until they are dry to the touch.  Stored in airtight containers in a dark place, they will keep for several months before the color fades. Just today I found out that the heart shaped leaves of this plant are edible as well!  The leaves can be steamed like spinach.  Although I have yet to try the steamed leaves, the flavor profile is said to be similar to peas, so I imagine slightly sweet. It is advisable to wait until the plant is in bloom before gathering violet leaves for consumption so that you are certain that you have accurately identified the plant.  Please be certain any plants you gather have not been treated with chemicals!

Here is an interesting fact regarding pollination and reproduction of this plant.  The plant forms two types of flowers, the above ground flowers that we are all familiar with.  These are the flowers visited by the pollinators of which there is a diverse group including honeybees, bumblebees, and various beetles, flies and moths.  However, to assure its continued existence perhaps in the case of an especially cold year with lack of insect pollinators, the plant also produces a group of self-pollinating flowers that lie beneath the soil.  These flowers never actually open but do produce seed. If you have ever pulled out a clump of invading violets from your garden, you may have observed some of these closed flowers growing among the rhizomatous root system.  The technical term for the underground flowers is cleistogamous flowers versus the above ground flowers which are chasmogamous flowers. 

 

Erythronium americanium AKA Trout Lily, Yellow Dog Tooth Violet  

This a beautiful little flowering plant is native to Connecticut, and a harbinger of spring.  The leaves have a mottled splotched pattern as well as a shape that much resembles the body of a trout hence Erythronium americanium's most common name trout lily.  You will find this plant growing on the damp forest floor during the months of April through May where it takes advantage of the sunlight before the forest canopy fills in.  The plant is a reluctant bloomer with only a fraction of plants producing blooms during the month of April.   A short time after any blooms fade the foliage of all the trout lily plants dies back for the year.  The leaves turn yellow and wither away returning again the following April. 

 Many of the trout lily colonies you encounter in the woods can be hundreds of years old.  When you encounter a large colony, you will likely notice only one or two plants with flowers.  Because the flowers are one of the first in the season to bloom, they are pollinated almost without fail by bees that are extremely hungry after a long winter.  A great deal of energy goes into producing any of the flowers you see. It may take up to five years of stored energy to produce a flower.  The stored energy comes from the process of photosynthesis, which these days may be best explained using the analogy of a solar panel connected to a battery. A solar panel gathers energy, and when connected to a battery any of that energy not expended for other things is stored within the battery for future use.  In the case of the trout lily, it can take up to five years of stored energy finally allowing for the production of a single bloom making you wonder how a colony of trout lilies can be so massive when there are so few flowers resultant in so few seeds.  Trout lily plants have a second method of reproduction, an unusual cloning method.  Each plant sends out a long slender threadlike stem called a dropper.  These droppers grow up to 10" long.  As they grow, they turn a 45-degree angle and burrow deeply into the ground.  After planting themselves the droppers gradually form a corm (sort of a bulblike structure) that grows into another plant.  This is how trout lilies are able form a dense carpet on the forest floor.  The seeds that form from the flowers are also viable.  Several are produced within a capsule.   They are designed to be planted by ants.  Each of the seeds within the capsule is coated with a sugary substance irresistible to an ant.  They carry the sugar-coated seed home to share with their buddies. After the coating is consumed, the seed gets tossed in their trash pile where it eventually germinates creating another trout lily plant that over time given the right growing conditions can develop into a new colony. The ant feeding process is called myrmecochory.  A variety of plants share this method of survival.   

 

Hate To Rush Things but Spring Now Please!

I am so thankful for the folks who put together the 10-day forecast.  I don't know what I would do without them.  I study that forecast with great anticipation every morning during the winter.  I frequently look several times a day, in hopes it might improve. Today, just when I didn't think I could take another day of ridiculously frigid snowy weather, and snow squalls, I see there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  Finally, a warming trend is included in the forecast, and it seems to include several days predicted to be in the 40s! Combined with days getting noticeably longer, and the occasional calls of a few very brave early voyaging birds, it gives me hope that spring may be in the air!  It may be time to at least consider emerging from hibernation and pondering some potential tasks for the days ahead. One of the first I'm contemplating, once the snow cover melts back some, is cutting the bittersweet vines as low to the ground as possible. I promised one of my partially strangled sycamore trees I would do that last year, but time got away from me. Late winter is a great time to accomplish the job as there is no competing vegetation and best of all no ticks!  It is a fairly easy job, a good way to break into the gardening cycle slowly.  There is no need to remove the vine from branches of the tree. Once the vine dies back it becomes light and fragile and it will lose its chokehold.  There is no need to paint herbicide on the cut portions at this time either.  Herbicides aren't effective during the spring months.  Plants are busy sending stored nutrients from the roots to the upper story beginning to produce foliage during the spring months.  Herbicides are always best applied when a plant has fully matured foliage.  It is at that point when the transfer of nutrients reverses and nutrients are transferred from the leaves back to the roots.  This allows the herbicide to be carried to the roots along with the nutrients which effectively kills the plant.  Sometimes herbicides aren't even needed.  Provided you have the time and patience, just keeping up with cutting the bittersweet vine, and pulling it out, when possible, will in time be enough to control an infestation. Cutting the lower branches of adjacent trees also helps as it deters the vine from climbing them.  Yup, after my second cup of coffee, I am actually looking forward to the physical aches that the spring tasks will bring!  In addition to the extended forecast, I am especially grateful for caffeine and Aleve!

 

Brush Fence

Somewhere along the line, I came across a photograph of a brush fence and thought what a good idea!  There are so many dead trees in the woods everywhere, and while there are many ways to dispose of the resultant branches, this one seems less labor intensive then most, and it creates an attractive border.  With the vertical posts in place additional brush can be added as it falls.  Best of all it makes a great home for the tiny creatures that populate the woods.

 Connecticut Flower and Garden Show

Experience spring even if it is only for a day!  The Connecticut Flower and Garden Show will be a great place to get some gardening ideas for the coming year!  The show will be running Thursday through Sunday February 19th - 22nd at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford on Columbus Blvd.  For more detailed information regarding hours, admission prices, parking options, and exhibitors, I have provided a link. https://ctflowershow.com 

 

Variegated Pipsissewa AKA Chimaphila maculata

Shortly after we moved here, a friend visited to see exactly what we had gotten ourselves into with this old house.  While we were walking along Merrick's brook his booming voice called out.  "Christine, do you know what this plant is called?"  Before I could guess an answer, his authoritative voice replied "Christine, this is variegated pipsissewa."  Now years later my friend Lou is gone, but each and every time I see that plant growing, I hear his voice, I mean he may as well have invented the darned plant!  Variegated pipsissewa always makes me think fondly of Lou, and I believe that is typical of the sentiment inspired by certain plants.  Plants have the ability to haunt us with our own memories.  Sometimes it's a memory of a person who perhaps gifted the plant from their garden, or perhaps a plant will inspire a memory of a place you once visited. For some it may be a fond memory of a home left behind, willingly or not.  Perhaps a plant serves as a fond reminder of a distant country once home and sadly never to be revisited.  Bringing a plant or a seed with you is as close as you can get to bringing a piece of your past with you, and as the seed grows into the plant it was meant to be, it feels like you are visiting with a familiar friend, in my case that is Lou.  

Variegated pipsissewa is a small 8-10" tall plant considered native to Connecticut, as well as much of eastern North America.  Another of its common names is spotted wintergreen.  It is a pretty little plant bearing small white flowers during early to mid-July. It is an attractive plant year-round because of its striking variegated evergreen foliage.  Unfortunately, this plant does not have the minty wintergreen fragrance or flavor of Gaultheria procumbens, the other wintergreen plant from which that flavor derives.  In the case of spotted wintergreen, the wintergreen portion of its common name seems to refer to the fact the plant has evergreen foliage. The plant often grows in a shaded upland forest setting in dry sometimes sandy or acidic soil.  It spreads in colonies by underground rhizomes but can also reproduce through the very tiny seeds released from the seed capsules that follow the flowers.  It is in the heath and heather family and like those plants it is capable of growing in what may seem harsh conditions.  The reason it can do so is that it has a mycorrhizal relationship with certain fungi. Pipsissewa exchanges sugars and lipids gathered through the process of photosynthesis with the fungi. In exchange minerals are broken down from the soil and leaf litter and provided to the plant by the fungi.  Mychorrhizal relationships are extremely common in the plant world.

This plant has a history of use by Native Americans who would brew a medicinal tea from the leaves. The tea was said to relieve arthritis.  Another of the plant's Indigenous medicinal uses was as a cure for gallstones or kidney stones. For that reason, the Creek Indian name for the plant is pipsisikweu which translates roughly to breaks apart into smaller pieces. 

Keep an eye out for variegated pipsissewa when hiking, and when you encounter this plant be sure to say hi to my friend Lou! 

Recreational Trails Proposal

Here's my artistically untalented picture of what we are asking DEEP to pay for. There's actually a 20% match but that can consist mostly of volunteer time, so we're hoping people will step up. If you have any comments or suggestions, please do leave a comment. Any suggestions or possible resources are welcome. And neighbors, don't worry, we're going to have the property surveyed and the boundaries clearly marked. 

 

 

 

 

Witch Hazel AKA Hamamelis Virginiana

While pondering my next subject for this blog, it occurred to me that even though it is nearly December, cold and likely to snow any day, there remains a native plant in the woodland that may potentially still be blooming. That plant is a shrub or occasionally a small understory tree commonly known as American witch hazel.  Its ovate blue green leaves transition to yellow in autumn months.  Late autumn is also when its somewhat bizarre spidery looking yellow flowers with four ribbon like petals come into bloom.  They remain in bloom for many weeks clinging relentlessly to the plant well after the leaves have fallen and first snow appears. Their lengthy bloom time is likely one of the plant's attempts to increase fertilization as there are fewer insects to complete that job during that late time of year.  Witch hazel flowers are visited by a variety of pollinators such as late season moths in the Eupsilia genus who have the capability of thermoregulating their bodies by shivering to survive in these chilly months.  Other visitors include flies, certain species of bees, and even gnats.  The resultant seed capsules are of the type that explode, catapulting the pair of seeds contained within a good ten-foot distance where they gradually germinate. It can take up to two years for them to finally do so. The seeds are a food source for a variety of birds such as ring-necked pheasant, wild turkey, grouse, and cardinals as well as cotton tail rabbits, beaver and even black bear. The late season pollinators also provide a food source for those birds who require protein.

The botanical name Hamamelis from the Greek, translates to hamma=together and melis=fruit.  This is in reference to the fact that the plant bears both its flowers and ripe fruit at the same time.  The Virginia portion of the name was added because that is where the plant was first observed by colonists.  The common name witch hazel is likely adapted from the Anglo word wych or wice which means to bend or be pliant. The hazel portion is likely used because in Great Britain a type of hazel tree with pliant branches was used as a divining tool and the American witch hazel had a similar appearance.  Witch hazel has had quite a variety of uses over the years, divining being but one.  Divining was an ancient practice used for locating underground water sources.  The Y shaped branches from the English hazel tree and in America, the American witch hazel were used as divining rods.  The sensitive branches when used in the right hands were said bend or shake when held above areas where water flowed below ground.  The practice is still in use.

American witch hazel as a long history of medicinal use by indigenous cultures.  The Mohegans produced a healing decoction by boiling the branches of this plant in water which produced a medicine used to treat such afflictions as inflammation, arthritis, and tumors.  Other Indigenous communities made a healing tea from the leaves.  This plant provided a wide variety of medicinal uses in many different Native American communities.  These uses were shared with the colonists.

Have you ever seen or perhaps used an astringent called Dickenson's Witch hazel?  It is part of Connecticut's industrial commercial history.  Commercial production of distilled witch hazel extract first began in Essex Connecticut in 1846 when Dr. Charles Hawes used a steam distillation process to extract various compounds.  He sold his product in a relatively small-scale manner under the name Hawes Extract through a druggist named Alvan Whittemore.  Theron Pond of Utica, New York was another entrepreneur who successfully created a cosmetic empire that began in 1846 with a product called Golden Treasure later marketed as Pond's Extract.  Both created from distilled bark of witch hazel. Back in Connecticut in the year 1866, Thomas Newton Dickinson Sr. manufactured a liquid product called Dickinson's Witch Hazel.  His son E.E. Dickenson became a partner in 1895, and his other son Thomas Newton Dickenson Jr. also ran a witch hazel distillery in Connecticut.  By the 1900's Dickinson manufacturing plants were operating in nine different sites in in Eastern Connecticut.  Their product was widely used by barbers to cool the skin after shaving.  Dickenson Sr.'s two sons continued the family business finally selling it in 1997 to the American Distilling Plant of East Hampton, CT.  I have a friend who still gathers branches of witch hazel during the winter months for this distilling company today.  Fortunately, large scale commercial production over the years in Connecticut has not put this plant into the endangered category.

There are nurseries that sell witch hazel plants, and there are a variety of cultivars, and some are of Asian descent.  If you are looking to grow the native variety, check the label carefully before making a purchase

  

Pink lady's slipper AKA Cypripedium acaule,  Large yellow lady's slipper AKA Cypripedium parviflorum pubescens,  Small yellow lady's slipper Cypripedium parviflorum makasin

One often thinks of orchids as exotic and tropical plants, but there are eleven varieties of slipper orchids native to the United States.  In Connecticut, if you are fortunate enough while hiking through the forest, you may encounter a few of them.  These incredibly showy flowers bloom during the months of May and June. You are most likely to find the pink variety, but several varieties of yellow lady's slippers may cross your path as well.  They are Cypripedium parviflorum parviflorum the lesser or shorter of the two and Cypripedium parviflorum pubescens a taller yellow flowered variety covered in a fine fuzz and Cypripedium parviflorum makasin which has a strong fragrance. If you encounter any of these gorgeous plants, be certain not to disturb their growth.  They will not transplant successfully.  They are very slow growing plants taking up to five years to flower, and many require very specific growing conditions.  It is best to just take a photo with your phone and remember their beauty that way.  

The pink variety can be found growing from Canada south to Alabama.  It is found in all of New England and is New Hampshire's state flower.  All lady's slipper plants are considered terrestrial orchids as they get their nutrients from the ground rather than from the air as some other orchids do.  Though lady's slippers may not yet be considered endangered, they are becoming progressively scarcer, a result of plant poaching and habitat loss.  The pink variety prefers well drained acidic soil under pines and hemlock or oak trees.  

The flowers of these plants are pollinated by a variety of insects depending on the plant variety. The pollinator in the case of the pink variety is called the solitary bee. It is attracted to the flower and enters by parting the petals.  When it is inside it soon realizes that pink lady's slipper is a trickster.  There is no nectar, and it has been trapped as the pouch is not easily opened from the inside.  Seeing light through a small opening, the bee makes its way to it and wiggles its way out gathering a small bit of pollen from the anthers of the flower in the process.  A bit foolishly, that same bee enters another lady slipper flower distributing the pollen to its sticky stigma located at the opening thereby fertilizing the plant.  Some studies show it is only young bees that enter these flowers.  They do eventually learn it is not in their best interest to do so.  The tiny seeds borne on many Cypripedium plants do not carry sufficient nutrients to reproduce.  They lack an attached endosperm deposit.  Endosperm is the starchy portion of a seed that provides it with the jolt of nutrients and energy needed to break dormancy and begin its growth. Since its seeds lack endosperm, they need to get that nutritional boost another way.  Lady's slippers have a symbiotic relationship with a soil borne fungus called Rhizoctonia.  In the beginning the plant relies upon nutrients it obtains from this fungus for the seed to germinate and the plant to begin its growth cycle.  Once the plant is capable of photosynthesis, it returns the favor to the fungus by supplying it with sugar and nutrients that the fungus requires. This symbiotic relationship is called a mycorrhizal relationship.  It is a common relationship between many plants and fungi.  In addition to seed germination, at least some of these plants reproduce by rhizomes or roots that travel laterally underground.  This is why when you encounter one pink lady's slipper plant you will likely find others growing, forming a beautiful colony.

There is an Ojibwe legend about a brave young girl who rescues her tribal members from sickness by traveling across a frozen lake mid-winter to obtain mashkiki or medicine.  On the return trip, her feet which have become frozen and bloodied, leave footprints along the trail.  In the spring the path she took becomes lined with lady slippers to honor her bravery.  To listen to the legend, click on the link.  You will be redirected to the story Bing Videos.  Native Americans had medicinal uses for the roots of this plant which are said to provide a calming effect, however it is no longer sustainable to harvest the roots since the plant is becoming scarce, again from poaching and habitat loss.

Reputable nurseries have been successfully germinating seeds of these orchids in laboratories so it is now possible to purchase plants from them, but keep in mind the plant's slow growth habit and fussy nature as it may prove challenge to grow.

 

Tiny flowers

 

Jack in the Pulpit AKA Arisaema triphylum

As a young child my mother would take my friends and I on a hike through the woods to a swimming spot.  Along the way, we would always be on the lookout for Jack in the pulpit and lady slippers, each of us kids wanting to be the first to spot one. Jack in the pulpit is a plant appropriately named with its appearance of a preacher standing and delivering a sermon from a pulpit.  This native plant grows in damp loamy woodland settings.  It is an interesting plant with some unusual capabilities.  When considering this plant, what you likely visualize is the purple and brown striped hood, or spathe visible in the spring.  The hooded spathe shields "Jack" who is the spadix.  What you may never have noticed is a number of tiny flowers that form inside the spathe at the base of Jack. Though the tiny flowers are well hidden, they have a carrion like scent, drawing pollinators like flies who enter the tube-like spathe looking to lay their eggs on decaying flesh for the hatchlings to consume. The flies land on "jack" and then bumble around on the floor of the "pulpit" gathering pollen from the flowers on their bodies.  The male plants offer a simple escape route, a small opening in the bottom of the pulpit.  Once the flies find their way out, they enter another "pulpit" where their gathered pollen fertilizes any flowers inside.  The flies can sometimes become trapped inside the pulpits of female plants as there is no escape route at the floor of their spadix.  These plants don't benefit in any way nutritionally from trapped insects as they aren't carnivorous. After being fertilized, the flowers inside the spathe die back and the spathe and spadix disappear, the plant more or less blends unobtrusively into the woodland landscape bearing just its remaining three leafed foliage. Late in summer and early autumn this plant once again stands out, as the female plants produce stalks holding clusters of bright red berries.  Each of those berries contains up to five seeds.  

This important native plant provides food for black bear who when foraging in the spring pull up and consume the corm type of root at the base of the plants.  Later in the year, the berries are consumed by a variety of birds such a wild turkey and ring-necked pheasant.  As they pass through their digestive systems, the seeds from the fruit are spread as these birds go on their travels. The pollinator flies, well sometimes they just don't fare as well.  Certain times of the year Scotland has more than enough flies, so I don't mind in the least!

Indigenous people used this plant for food, medicine and created dye from the fruit.  In fact, another common name for Arisaema triphylum is Indian turnip.  A name given because the round bulbous corms were consumed by Native Americans after being dried and cooked thoroughly to extract their high concentration of calcium oxalate which would otherwise cause an intense prickling and burning sensation to the mouth and throat.  Calcium oxalate is found in lower concentrations in many leafy greens and is a factor responsible for producing kidney stones in humans.  

 A rare feature of this plant is its ability to change its gender over time.  The botanical term for this is dichogamy.  The young small Jack in the pulpit plant produces only male flowers. Over the years, through the process of photosynthesis, the plant stores more nutrients in its corm, and the corm gradually grows larger.  After the corm stores enough nutrients, the plant begins to produce both male and female flowers.  Through several years of continued photosynthesis, the corm finally stores enough nutrients that the flowers produced on the plant are only female.  The female plants finally have sufficient nutrients so that they are able to produce the clusters of red fruit that you see in late summer and early fall. After bearing the fruit, the plant, drained of its energy, reverts the following year to producing only male flowers. This process accounts for yet another of the plant's common names which is Jill in the Pulpit.  Take a closer look the next time you see this fascinating plant!

 OUR TOWN IS APPLYING FOR A CONNECTICUT RECREATIONAL TRAILS PROGRAM GRANT!

The Invasive Species Working Group will be meeting on Wednesday November 19th at 3:00PM, at the Scotland Public Library, to discuss developing a grant application to the state.  All are invited to attend.  We’d love for you to contribute your ideas!

The Connecticut DEEP has made grant money available for towns to design, develop and maintain recreational trails.  The grant money can also be used for equipment, amenities and educational outreach, as well as future maintenance. Our town has decided to focus on the boardwalk and trail through the wooded area between the Scotland Public Library and the firehouse and community room, and to connect the trail to the Scotland Elementary School property.  We held an event several months ago where some of us volunteered to begin clearing an area along the path that had become overgrown with invasive plants.  That event drew attention to the potential that area has for improvement and the town's board of selectmen agreed to move forward with the project if we get the grant.  The grant application is complicated, but we have experienced grant writers working on the project. 

State grants help equalize opportunities and amenities for small towns like ours that don’t have the resources of larger, wealthier towns like the New York suburbs and shoreline communities, so it’s important that we take advantage of these opportunities. The town of Scotland could never pay for a project like this on its own.  This is a matching grant, which means we need to contribute 20% of the cost, but don’t worry, this will not have any effect on your property taxes!  We can use volunteer hours toward the 20% match at a rate of $34.79 per hour per volunteer.  We can also use any hours on the project spent by the department of public works at their pay scale.  Any monetary donations, should we be that fortunate, would of course also count.

The trail has the potential to provide an educational opportunity for our children in the Scotland Elementary School, and Parish Hill too for that matter.   For example, perhaps we might provide the elementary school with raised beds and covers making small greenhouse structures so the students can grow some native species to plant along the trail.  We plan to increase public awareness about invasive plants and native plants as well among all ages.  Also in our plans is the repair of sections of the boardwalk, which has the engraved names of present and past Scotland residents.  

The grant money can provide for continued maintenance so the boardwalk will not fall into disrepair again and we can continue to keep out the invasive species.  The grant can pay for the cost to hire a consultant to help us plan and design the path and plantings.  We can add benches along the trail as well as signage pointing out various native plants.  With the grant money, we plan to hire a company that is licensed and has the ability to really tackle the invasive species that have taken over in areas along the trail.  Come to the November 19th meeting and bring your ideas!

 Skunk Cabbage AKA Syplocarpus fotidus

Last night as I lay awake, I wondered if I might have actually heard the world crumbling, I quickly realized I was probably just hearing a collective snore from man and dog.  Lying there I began to think of this blog, and then I thought of skunk cabbage, because well why not.  There’s a quirky plant that doesn’t ever get enough recognition.  I always thought this plant was native to Connecticut, but it is not.  It is native to eastern North America though and thought to have naturalized in Connecticut during colonial times.  Unfortunately, at this point it is naturalized to the point that it is considered potentially invasive.  Either way, it is a fascinating plant.  It is first to emerge proud and erect every spring appearing almost as though it could be carnivorous.  It probably deserves a better common name than skunk cabbage for its efforts. 

The plant has an interesting growth habit.  The tiny flowers of each individual plant are both male and female.  They are contained within a leafy purple and green sheath, botanically termed a spathe.  The spathes contain a spadix which is a spongy like growth that holds the cluster of tiny flowers. Both the spadix and flowers are capable of chemically producing heat which allows them, as they emerge from the earth to burn through the remaining snow cover during late winter and early spring.  The off-putting carrion like scent wafting from the opened flowers is spread further aloft by the heat produced.  The fetid unpleasant scent, hence, the Latin portion of the name fotidus, attracts flies and beetles seeking the cozy warmth and possibility of a tempting a meal.  Unfortunately for them, the reverse can perhaps hold true, as the flies and beetles may actually become the meal for opportunistic spiders who are known to spin their webs near the entrance to those flowers.  

After the flowers begin to die back clusters of heart shaped leaves emerge from the ground.  It is at this time large patches of skunk cabbage can be easily seen growing along the forest floor resembling a field of green Hosta.  As the flowers become pollinated, they produce a strange looking connected fruit which resembles a miniature pineapple.  In Latin syplocarpus means connected fruit which is the first part of the Latin name for this plant.  Each cluster of fruit contains approximately 50 seeds.  The seeds fall into the swampy earth and germinate or are carried away by birds or small mammals.  As the plant goes through repeated growing cycles.  The stems get sucked deeper into the swampy earth and the roots become extremely difficult to remove. 

Hungry bears emerging in early spring will forage and consume the young leaves. They are one of few animals that will consume this plant as the leaves produce a burning sensation in the mouth and throat.  This is caused by the calcium oxalate contained in them.  In Native American culture this plant was used for food and medicinal purposes.  I would not recommend consuming it though as preparation of this plant is lengthy, and there are far better alternatives to forage both in the forest and in the supermarket.

 Bloodroot AKA Sanguinaria canadensis

This is one of the first flowers to bloom in my yard in the spring.  The plant grows in a woodland setting and though it is fairly common it always seems a bit of a surprise to see it.  The low growing plant has relatively large flowers with eight to twelve white petals and bright yellow stamens in the center.  The flowers first arise securely wrapped in a broad leaf.  

Bloodroot contains a red sap most concentrated in its rhizome. The sap is what gives the plant both its common name bloodroot, and its Latin name Sanguinaria. Sanguinarius means bloody in Latin.  The plant has had traditional uses in Native American medicine.  The red sap contains a high concentration of alkaloyds.  These have been studied and explored for use in modern medicine as well however to date nothing has been medically approved from those substances.  In fact, the sap is quite powerful and dangerous as it causes skin necrosis so don't mess with it!  

The flowers are beautiful, and their pollen attracts certain bees. The foliage is exotic looking especially when fully opened.  It opens fully after the flower fades.  The plant then goes dormant toward the middle of summer. Bloodroot has an interesting way of spreading called Myrmecochory.  The seeds contain an attached fleshy portion called an eliasome.  Ants transport the seed to their nests where they consume the eliasome then discard the remainder of the seed to their little "ant compost piles".  The seed is protected there in that rich soil until it germinates the following spring.  There is a cultivated double form of this flower that is especially prized, and though it is very beautiful, I am satisfied enough with the single version. It is one of the first signs of spring!

NATIVE PLANT GERANIUM MACULATUM

I have not covered all of Connecticut's invasive plants yet, even so I think it may be time to change the focus to some native plants; plants we can keep an eye out for and possibly help to protect by removing encroaching invasives. 

There are so many beautiful native plants it is a bit difficult to find a starting place! I think the best method for making that decision is to follow the months of the calendar, so I will start with some of the first flowers we are likely to encounter when the spring season is once again upon us. Writing about these plants will also help me keep the grueling winter months that lie ahead in perspective.  Keep in mind it is not legal to remove these plants or their seeds from the wild without a permit. Here is a link that explains why. https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/ethics/index.shtml .  

It is still entirely possible to grow native plants though, as there are nurseries that have procured these plants legally.  They propagate them and offer them for sale.  Here is a link that includes a list of native plants and suppliers.  This 2025 list was compiled by UCONN.  2025 Connecticut Native Tree, Shrub, and Perennial Availability List

The first plant that comes to my mind is wild geranium or Geranium maculatum.  It is a very ornamental native perennial plant that grows prolifically all over our town during the first spring months and even into early summer.  It is a plant so attractive that you would think had been cultivated, and there are slightly fancier cultivars of it, but in its unadulterated form it is a native plant. It is native not only to Connecticut but also to many states in eastern North America.  Here in Scotland, it is often found adorning woodland edges where there is rich humus type soil, and shade or dappled sunlight.  Wild geranium is a low growing plant with deeply divided leaves. When in bloom it is covered in pink flowers, followed of course by abundant seed pods.  Though left to its own devices, the plant often frequents semi-shaded spots it will also tolerate a location that receives full sun so long as the soil remains moist.  The flowers are host to a multitude of bee and beetle pollinators. These insects in turn provide food for mourning doves, robins, juncos, and even quail.  Deer will occasionally browse the foliage, and chipmunks have been known to fill their cheeks with the seeds. So, this pretty little native plant feeds a good size crowd!

Wild geranium behaves well in a garden.  It spreads, though gradually, via its rhizomes.  Of course, it also spreads by seed.  The seeds are contained within a sharp beak shaped pod.  The seed pods give the plant another of its common names crane's bill geranium.  The cleverly designed seedpod has the capability of catapulting the ripened seed a good distance eventually creating another stand of the plant.

 

Dame's Rocket AKA Hesperis matronalis

The more I add entries to this blog, the more I realize I may not be the right person to be writing it!  I'm afraid I have a fondness for a several of these plants presently considered invasive.  I'll explain.  We've owned several period homes over the years, and when we moved to each one, I searched each property for any remnants of garden plants that may have been planted and survived over the centuries.  For years I have been poring through antique garden catalogs from the 19th century, as well as any gardening books, both old and new, that referred to plants grown in past centuries for both their ornamental appeal as well as their food value. I still remember sitting in front of a fire one winter about twenty-five years ago perusing a seed catalogue from a Union, Connecticut company called Select Seeds.  It was a modern-day catalogue that offered a variety of seeds for antique ornamental plants.  Next to each antique plant represented, there was a little blurb about the plant's history.  Because of its fragrance, abundant showy flowers in shades of lavender to white, and its early history of arrival on our shores, Dame's rocket is one of the seed packets I selected.  Truthfully, I'm surprised the plant was not already growing on that 18th century property as the plant was imported by Europeans arriving on our soil way back in the 17th century.  It has naturalized on my present property.  I did not plant it here.  It is a possibility that it has been growing here since our present house was built in the last quarter of the 1700's.

Hesperis matronalis is a plant with about a million different common names, Dame's Rocket is the one most commonly used in the U.S.  It is a biannual plant said to be native to southern Europe with a range from Spain to Turkey.  It is now naturalized through much of Europe, the US and Canada.  The word Dame's was likely taken from Damascus, a Syrian city near Turkey, and rocket from the French word roquette a referral to the plant being in the cabbage or Brassicaceae family. The Hesperis portion of the Latin name is a reference to the plant's fragrance which becomes stronger in the evening. Hespera is the Greek word for evening.  Dame's rocket is in the mustard family, another cruciferous vegetable like broccoli.  Many parts of Hesperis matronalis are considered edible. Here is a link to a site called Forager Chef should that aspect of this plant be of interest to you https://foragerchef.com/dames-rocket-hesperis-matronalis/ 

This plant has had ample time in its over three hundred years presence on our shores to escape gardens and disrupt native plant growth.  It has naturalized in many areas.  It is a biannual meaning the first year it grows as a rosette of foliage.  It is early to emerge and the reddish color of its foliage upon emergence provides the plant with protection from the cold.  In its second year of growth the plant produces flowers and seeds.  Its growth very early in the season allows it to crowd out native species.  As with garlic mustard, it is a highly prolific seeder.  A single plant is capable of producing 20,000 seeds!  In Connecticut this plant is considered invasive, and it has been banned.  It is presently not legal to sell or to transport this plant.  It is considered invasive in other states as well.  The seeds for Dame's rocket may well be contained in some wildflower seed mixes, so take care not to inadvertently introduce this plant to your landscape in that manner.

The plant is easy to spot in the months of May and June when it is in bloom.  Be careful not to confuse it with native phlox which it resembles.  By observing the details, it is easy to distinguish them from each other. Dame's rocket has four flower petals versus phlox which has five petals.  When observing the foliage on dame's rocket, you will notice the lance shaped leaves grow in alternating fashion along the stem versus phlox which leaves grow in opposition or directly across from one another along the stem. Another non-native plant it resembles is Lunaria annua which is commonly called honesty, silver dollar, or money plant.  Lunaria annua has heart shaped leaved versus the lanceolate formed ones found on dame's rocket.   Lunaria annua also has those silvery round flat seed pods sometimes used in flower arrangements.  It too is a plant in the mustard family.  Lunaria annua is not considered invasive in Connecticut.

HOW TO REMOVE

Hesperis matronalis is easy to pull out by the root especially after a good soaking rain.  It is best to bag the pulled plants in a large heavy duty trash bag and bring the bagged plants to the landfill where they will be burned.  Do not compost them as they will grow in your compost pile and spread from there.  A follow-up pulling will likely be necessary the next several years, but over time the plant will disappear from your landscape.  This same method of removal works for garlic mustard. 

Should you choose to use an herbicide, it would be best to use a selective herbicide that will not harm grasses.  Apply it later in the fall months.  A late in the season application will help prevent the spraying of desirable native plants most of which die back before dame's rocket.