Trees and Shrubs
A Holly Without Thorns
In sandy woodlands growing in moist soils along the periphery of bogs and wetlands is a evergreen shrub in the holly family that has no thorns. It is Inkberry holly. It lives in eastern North America from Nova Scotia south to Florida where it is often found in dense colonies. Its shiny dark green leaves […]
The Holly That Loses its Leaves
When people think of holly they envision a shrub or tree with glossy green prickly leaves and bright red berries. There is a species of holly that is deciduous and loses its leaves each winter and it is called winterberry holly. This holly has crayon green leaves and berries that are green at first, but […]
The Shrub That Blooms in the Fall
It is late October and woodlands and the colorful autumn leaves are littering the ground. The woodlands are beginning to look barren as winter approaches. It is at this time that a shrub blooms providing some color to the barren landscape. It has many small spindly yellow flowers on branches devoid of leaves. It is […]
The Red Tree
One of the most beautiful things to see in fall wetlands is the orange-red colors of autumn leaves from the red maple tree. This tree’s buds and flowers are red, its two-winged sumara are red tinged and it has red petioles. Red maple is also called swamp maple because it grows in wet woodlands and […]
The Soap Bush!
When I worked in state parks in New York, I frequently conducted guided tours of parklands to school, scouts and the general public. One of the shrubs I featured in the early summer was sweet pepperbush when this plant bloomed. I tore off a flower and demonstrated how it became an abrasive soap to wash […]
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