Wonder Blog #4: Plot Field Guide

Location: Willoughby State Forest, 7/10, 6pm, wet rainy conditions

Description of project:

For my project I have decided to create a field guide of the plant and animal species I have discovered within my small plot of northern hardwood forest. This guide will identity the species and provide a picture of this species. These species were documented in all of my trips. Pictures and new species were found and documented on my final trip to the site. I will include a description of the species, key features, and a few interesting facts.

This project really helped me to expand my knowledge of the trees and animal life in this area. While I was aware of some of the species, I had to use tools and resources to help with many. By doing this specific project it helped deepen my understanding of my local ecosystem by reinforcing what I already knew as well as adding a multitude of new species to my awareness. I now have a broader scope of knowledge when I am walking and observing nature. It was difficult at points to correctly Identify species. I would sometimes misidentify and then have to find unique features and cross reference certain sources in order to feel confident in what I was looking at. All of these species are plants and animals I have personally observed during the past few weeks doing these projects. This project definitely helped better understand the process it takes to find and correctly recognize species in nature.

Woody Plants:

Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum):

Family: Maple

Key characteristics and facts: Smooth greyish bark on young trees and saplings. As the tree ages it develops fissures and less smooth bark. The leaves on maple trees all have the similar characteristics as they have multipole points and roughly can be associated with the shape of a star. A sugar maple will have a medium sized leave about 4-5 inches in diameter with 5 distinguishable lobes. Red maple is easily mistaken for sugar maple but the differnce is in the sinuses. Sugar maple has “u” shaped sinuses while red maple has “v” shaped sinuses. Maple trees are a staple of Vermont and the syrup that is made from them is historically a large piece of Vermont culture. In order for a Maple tree to produce the sap for they syrup, the tree must be of 30 years old, and it will take 40-50 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup.

American Beech (Fagus grandifolia):

Family: Fagaceae

Key features and facts:

Bark is very smooth on beech trees, from when they are young to when they are old. The bark tends ot be generally lighter than that on maple but darker than ash. They grow up to 120 feet and are fruit bearing. They grow beechnuts which are favored by black bear of the area. The bark on beech trees is very easily scarred so you can often see the marks of bear claws as they climb to reach the branches. Beech trees are also susceptible to beech bark disease which creates boils on the bark and are commonly found on these trees. The leaves on beech trees are oval shaped and have ridged edges on mature trees they are about 5 inches long. They also bear a shiny waxy appearance.

Yellow Birch (Betula alleghaniensis):

Family: Betulaceae

Key features and facts:

Yellow Birch is very distinguishable alike other species of birch because of it’s bark. While paper birch commonly peels off in large pieces yellow birch peels off the tree in smaller fibrous pieces all over the tree. it holds a golden shiny appearance most of its life. When it is young the bark is smooth but abnormally shiny. A middle-aged tree like this shown in the picture will have many fibers peeling and bear the same strong color. As the tree reaches a immense age it will turn a greyer color and lose its shine and gold. The leaves on yellow birch are longer and more elongated than paper birch. More of an oval shape than a rounded shape. Birch bark is a great firestarter, the natural oils in the bark make it easy to catch on fire.

Spruce (Picea glauca):

Family: Pinaceae

Key features and facts:

The only softwood tree I have on this list and the predominant in the area. Spruce have pointed needles, almost spikey to the touch, “Spikey spruce vs friendly fir”. Spruce has a lighter bark color kind of greyish color that holds it apart from Fir trees which have a darker complexation. If you look closely the base of the needles is held onto the branch by wooden peg like features. The needles have four sides which can be seen when you roll the needle with your fingers it does not roll smoothly. Spruce wood is widely used for making musical instruments and their parts.

White Ash (Fraxinus americana):

Family: Oleaceae

Key features:

Deepy fissured bark in diamond-like shapes, even on younger trees, sometimes appears spongy. The bark is lighter than a maple or beech a lighter gray color. The leaves on white ash are compounds and on mature trees are situated high up on the tree of leaflets of 5-9 situated directly opposite of each other. White ash is easily distinguishable because the underside of the leaves are paler white compared to the top half. The wood of ash is dense and strong, it is cultivated everywhere and commonly used.

White Birch/Paper Birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh):

Family: Betulaceae

Key features: White bark, probably the easiest feature of the tree to determine the species a lot like yellow birch. Paper birch peels off very easy and is often seen dangling from the tree in large strips with an almost pink underside. The leaves on a paper birch differentiate from yellow birch in the fact that they are less elongated and have a more rounded feature closer to the base of the leaf. Paper Birch is often the first tree to colonize burned areas in norther latitudes.

Shrubs:

Red Trillium (Trillium erectum):

Key features and facts:

A shrub that has three leaves and one flower sprouting in the middle of them. The leaves are whorled around the stem. The flower in the middle is a deep red (just rained in the picture so cannot tell) and sit on a 2-8cm tall stalk. The flower commonly has a unpleasant odor, it is said to be similar to rotting meat, flies are drawn to it increasing pollination. The stem from the ground is thick and strong about the width of a straw.

Tall Beech Fern (Phegopteris hexagonoptera):

Key features and Facts:

Tall Beech Fern is a deciduous fern native to moist woodlands and nearby streams. It has a delicate and lacy appearance They are about 10-25 cm long and are pinnately compounded. Fiddleheads are a commonly harvested wild plant, early in the season when the ferns are young and still coiled up. they can be cut up boiled and ate.

Northern Maidenhair (Adiantum pedatum L):

Found on rich wooded slopes and near ravines. It has frilly fronds that are palmately divided into finger-like projections. It has a waxy appearance and is much more ridged and firm than Tall Beech Ferns. Northern Maidenhair is a very useful plant that was once a common ingredient in cough syrup.

Striped Maple (Acer pensylvanicum):

Also called moose maple or mountain maple. This shrub grows to about 20-30 feet and has smooth bark that has light lines down it, hence the name striped maple. the leaves are large, about 6 inches or more across. They come to five points with very shallow sinuses. The striped maple is a sequential hermaphrodite, meaning that it can change its sex throughout its lifetime.

Animals and Bugs:

Dusky Arion (Arion subfuscus)

Key features and facts:

A species of slug that has a pale to darker orange color and bands of darker color that run down its sides. It has a pale yellow sole and leaves a trail of yellow pale mucus. there is a distinguishable rounded shell near the upper 1/3 of the body which often holds a lighter paler color. It uses a muscular “foot” to creep through vegetation and litter.

False Crocus Geometer (Xanthotype urticaria):

Key features and facts:

Some individuals are pale yellow while other may be a deeper yellow small brown speckles or brown or purple may be present over the wings of the moth. With such a vibrant color these moths often pass for butterfly’s. Males have more of these spots than females. Generally these species are 3-4cm long.

Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens):

Key features and facts:

A very easily recognizable bird, it has white spots on black wings with a stark white back, breast and stomach. The most noticeable feature, however, is the dash of read feathers on the backside of it’s head. It’s length ranges from 14-18 cm in length. They live in forested areas in the United States and Canada. The oldest living Downy Woodpecker was recorded at 11 years old.

Eastern Chipmunk (Tamias striatus):

Key features and facts:

A immensely common sight in rural, suburban, and urban areas these small rodents are about 30 cm in length. It has reddish brown fur on the upper 3/4 of its body while the underside is white. It has dark stripes that run down its back and tail, it also has smaller stripes around it’s eyelids. It prefers rocky bushy or log piles for cover. It eats nuts fruits mushrooms and insects; it commonly is seen transporting food in its cheek pockets.

Bibliography:

“Animal Inventory.” Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department, vtfishandwildlife.com/conserve/conservation-planning/animal-inventory. Accessed 10 July 2023.
Chipmunk image: “Humane Chipmunk Trapping Sevices.” Varment Guard Wildlife Services, varmentguard.com/wildlife-identification/chipmunk. Accessed 10 July 2023.

“Plant Inventory.” Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department, vtfishandwildlife.com/conserve/conservation-planning/plant-inventory. Accessed 10 July 2023.
“What’s A Bug to Do? Taking Inventory of Vermont’s Invertebrates.” What’s a Bug to Do? Taking Inventory of Vermont’s Invertebrates | Agency of Natural Resources, anr.vermont.gov/content/what%E2%80%99s-bug-do-taking-inventory-vermont%E2%80%99s-invertebrates. Accessed 10 July 2023.

Woodpecker image: Contrib1. “14 Common Backyard Birds in Chicago.” Sonoma Birding, 8 Dec. 2022, www.sonomabirding.com/common-birds-in-chicago/.\

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