EverThinkGreen: Bloomlist for Aug. 8, 15 and 22, 2019

    Aug. 8th's bloomlist for Wildflower Island is at the end of the post, Aug. 15th's is in the
    sidebar. Bonnie's pictures for Aug. 8th HERE, Aug. 15th HERE, Aug. 22nd HERE.
    Peterson names are used for consistency wherever possible, and comments and clarifications
    are welcome in the comments section. Am away. Next new post Aug. 29th.

I have to begin with this piece of dramatic art.... I mean, why would one need to see a live dance performance when you can see this beauty out on the Island.

Silk Road Dance

Before coming to the Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) above, a couple of things to mention. Just as you step onto the Island, there's a bunch of Dodder over on the left of the path near the water. A friend of mine wrote me this morning that if I ever thought this plant was boring, I should check out: Dodder: Parasite & Gene Thief Extraordinaire. It's mostly science, but here's the new kernel of surprising info:

Apparently dodder steals more than just water and nutrients from their hosts. They also steal genetic material.

Here's Bonnie's photo of a colony of it, which I now look at with totally different eyes.

I've given up with the Goldenrod at no. 31 for the moment, but it's not Early Goldenrod. Maybe Elm-leaved, but in the shade not looking as elm-leaved as I'd like it to be.

Am also still having trouble with Joe-Pye-weed. The plant at no. 27 really looks like the Spotted variety (Eutrochium maculata), but no. 28 (below) has a much paler cluster, a glaucous greenish stem, and doesn't have the black spots, so we put both varieties on the list. This one may just be younger, we'll have to wait and see.

Here's a great close-up of the Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata) out in the lake.

Several things caught our eye in The Woods. First, the ants and aphids infesting this new White Snakeroot (Ageratina altissima) in the picture on the left. I thought the white round things were eggs, but virtually the same picture can be found in the picture on the right (at this link), which labels it "ants and aphids."

The splendid grass I couldn't identify out by the Bird Blind has continued to bloom beautifully, and I now think it's Sweet Wood-reed (Cinna arundinaceae). Put your hand in that patch and you'll get scratched, but not from this grass. We think it's from the Cutgrass in the same patch, which blooms later into the fall.

I will be away for a couple of weeks, so wanted to let people know that the field of Swamp Rose-mallow at Croton Landing is fully in bloom. This was taken there with a Smartphone, thus the size.....

and below is our first bloom on the island.