Solidago ridiga (stiff goldenrod) is now in full bloom at Victoria Glades Conservation Area in Jefferson. Co., and I took the chance to photograph it alongside its more common congener, Solidago nemoralis (old field goldenrod), to show the differences between the two species. Solidago ridiga has a flat-topped or shallowly rounded inflorescence (versus pyramidal for the latter), relatively larger individual flowers, and upper leaves wider at the base and often clasping the stem. It occurs throughout the central region of the continental U.S. and just began blooming in these glades (versus mid-August for S. nemoralis).
Solidago ridiga (stiff goldenrod) inflorescence.
Solidago nemoralis (old field goldenrod) inflorescence.
Solidago ridiga (stiff goldenrod) florets.
Solidago nemoralis (old field goldenrod) florets.
Solidago ridiga (stiff goldenrod) leaves.
Solidago nemoralis (old field goldenrod) leaves.
Black-and-yellow lichen moth (Lycomorpha pholus) on inflorescence of old field goldenrod (Solidago nemoralis).
Black-and-yellow lichen moth (Lycomorpha pholus) on inflorescence of old field goldenrod (Solidago nemoralis).
The target for today’s WGNSS Botany Group field trip was Boltonia decurrens (decurrent false aster), a federally endangered species known only from isolated stations along the Illinois River and near its confluence with the Mississippi River. The present population was discovered recently, although it was first collected from here almost 100 years ago, and it represents the northernmost known station of the species along the Mississippi River. We would find the plants flowering in abundance at the expected location, but before that we found an incredible stand of Helianthus grosseserratus (sawtooth sunflower) at the first meetup parking lot. This distinctive sunflower is recognized by its large, serrate, opposite leaves and glabrous or even glaucus purple stems. Some of the plants were enormous—one stood an estimated 14 feet tall.
The author stands next to a Helianthus grosseserratus (sawtooth sunflower) estimated at 14 feet tall.
Caravanning to the south end of the conservation area, it was a short hike to a thick stand of the decurrent false asters. Along the way, Cirsium discolor (field thistle) was blooming in abundance, it’s flowers a magnet for bumble bees and butterflies, especially Phoebis sennae (cloudless sulphurs or cloudless giant sulphurs).
Phoebis sennae (cloudless sulphur or cloudless giant sulphur) on inflorescence of Cirsium discolor (field thistle).
The stand of B. decurrens was visible from afar, forming a cloud of dense white flowers in the distance. The species is easy to distinguish from the only other species of the genus in Missouri by way of the flanges, or “wings,” that extend along the stem on each side below the leaf attachment. In some plants, the wings were poorly developed, leading to some speculation that they could represent hybrids with the much more common B. asteroides (white doll’s daisy), which occurs nearby and with which decurrent false aster is known to hybridize.
In the same general area, the asteracous hits kept on rolling with three species of Bidens (beggarticks/bur-marigolds). First was B. cernua (nodding bur-marigold), recognized by its large yellow ray florets and simple, opposite, clasping leaves.
Next was what may have been B. aristosa (tickseed beggarticks) due to its small flowers with ray florets present and highly dissected, pinnately compound leaves, although it’s identity was never confirmed. Finally, along a nearby trail, we encountered B. vulgata (tall beggarticks), recognized by the small flowers with ray florets absent, numerous (>10) long phyllaries, and pinnately compound leaves.
I haven’t paid as much attention to aquatic plants as I should, but on this trip I benefitted from the willingness of a boot-clad Bruce to wade into a shallow pond and retrieve a Sagittaria calycina (Mississippi arrowhead, sometimes treated as a subspecies of S. montevidensis, or hooded arrowhead) for our examination. The species can be recognized by the pendent fruit clusters with persistent sepals strongly appressed to the clusters.
While we were looking at the Sagittaria, a Libytheana carinenta (American snout or common snout) butterfly posed cooperatively on Kathy’s thumb for photos.
The glades at Victoria Glades Conservation Area in Jefferson County are in full late summer glory, with Solidago ridiga (stiff goldenrod) and Liatris aspera (rough blazingstar) now joining their much more abundant congeners, S. nemoralis (old field goldenrod) and L. cylindracea (cylindrical blazingstar). Unlike the latter two, which are common across the open glades, the former two are restricted to spotty occurrences near the edge of the glade where it borders dry post oak woodland. Once again, however, I found a new (to me) plant on the glade—Nabalus asper (formerly Prenanthes aspera), commonly called rough rattlesnakeroot or rough white lettuce. I found just a single plant on the upper slopes of the glade near its interface with the dry post oak woodland that surrounds the glade. I’ve never seen this plant here or anywhere before, but the WGNSS Botany Group has recorded the species from this location. It is recognized by its pale ligulate flowering heads, rough, hairy stems and leaves, and relatively narrow, almost spike-like inflorescence.
Nabalus asper (rough white lettuce) inflorescence.
Nabalus asper (rough white lettuce) stem/leaves.
Also seen was the distinctive caterpillar of Chlorochlamys chloroleucaria (raspberry looper) on a flower of prairie dock (Silphium terebinthinaceum).
Chlorochlamys chloroleucaria (raspberry looper) on flower of prairie dock (Silphium terebinthinaceum).
Chlorochlamys chloroleucaria (raspberry looper) on flower of prairie dock (Silphium terebinthinaceum).
Silphium terebinthinaceum (prairie dock) blooms across the glade.
I’ve been coming to Victoria Glades Conservation Area regularly for nearly 40 years now, yet still I continue to find things that I’ve not seen before. It had continued hot and muggy the last couple of days until a cold front come through, bringing rain and the classic early fall cool-off. The pre-flowering plants of a different goldenrod and blazing star still haven’t bloomed, but I’m fairly certain they are Solidago ridiga (stiff goldenrod) and Liatris aspera (rough blazingstar), respectively. They should definitely be in full bloom by the time I check the traps again in 10 days.
The plant of the day today, however, is what I believe to be Helianthus pauciflorus (stiff sunflower), a few plants of which I saw at the top of the knoll on the west side. There are no iNaturalist records for this species either here or at nearby Valley View Glades, but the WGNSS Botany Group has it on their floral list for Victoria Glades. This is a first sighting for me, but I am confident in the identification due to the dark disc florets, stiff lanceolate opposite leaves with rough upper and lower surfaces, and generally only one flower head per stem.
Unfortunately, non-native species continue to pop up with regularity in this gem of a natural area. This includes not only plants, such as Centaurea stoebe (spotted knapweed), a single plant of which I found in bloom at the edge of the parking lot…
The forecast over the weekend called for possible rain, so the WGNSS Botany Group chose a location close to home in case we got rained out. I would have never thought of Creve Coeur Park as a place to botanize, but the environs surrounding the lakes, particularly Mallard Lake, get good moisture and have been allowed to revert to semi-native vegetation (with a few significant exotic invasives) for many years now. We first examined a few native garden plantings near the parking lot and saw several things not typically found in this part of the state, but the most interesting to me was Liatris scariosa (savanna blazingstar), one of our less common species, and it’s large fantastically showy blooms.
Eupatorium serotinum (late boneset) was blooming profusely along the margins of the lake—I scanned the flowers for a while hoping to see some interesting beetles, with several Euphoria leucographa (a common flower chafer) being the only beetles seen. As I looked, I enjoyed Steve’s explanation of the common name of late boneset compared to another common Missouri species, Eupatorium altissimum (tall boneset)—the former actually blooms later than “late boneset,” and the latter is actually as tall as “tall boneset”!
Further along the lake margin we found a stand of “Helianthus” sunflowers, but these proved to be the lookalike Heliopsus helianthoides (false sunflower)—I’d been fooled by their straight yellow color versus the orange-yellow color that is more typical of the species. A good character to distinguish this species when the color is not diagnostic is the double-rank of phyllaries on the underside of the flower head, with the inner ones short and rounded and the outer ones long and pointed-recurved.
There is also another easy way to distinguish false sunflower—by noting the presence of Lygaeus turcicus (false milkweed bug, also called the heliopsis bug), a close relative of L. kalmii (small milkweed bug) which looks very similar to the latter but, as indicated by the common name, feeds exclusively on false sunflower instead of milkweed. We eventually found several of the bugs (which, sadly, did not cooperate for photos), further confirming our identification of the plants.
We diverted to a dry, sandy spot under the bridge to check out some ant lion pits. Also called “doodlebugs,” these relatives to lacewings are surely the inspiration for the brain-eating “Ceti eels” in Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan! In the area, a super-fresh Limenitis arthemis astyanax (red-spotted purple) probed for salts on the ground, posing beautifully for a few photos.
Limenitis arthemis astyanax (red-spotted purple).
Walking along the trail north of Mallard Lake, we saw two species of vining plants: Amphicarpaea bracteata (hog peanut), and Apios americana (groundnut). Both of these plants belong to the bean family (Fabaceae) and have underground edible portions—the former in the form of peanut-like fruits formed from self-fertilizing, “cleistogamous” flowers that bloom near the ground (or even underground), and the latter in the form of tubers that form like strings of beads along the underground rhizomes of the vine. Both were important food sources for indigenous cultures. I’ve never seen either of these species in bloom (the flowers of groundnut, in particular, were unlike any other I’ve seen), so it was nice to be able to compare them on plants growing nearly side-by-side.
Amphicarpaea bracteata (hog peanut) inflorescence and leaves.
Walking back towards the cars, we had one more “DYC” (damned yellow composite) to test our ID skills. Fortunately, Helenium spp. (sneezeweed) are easily distinguished from other DYCs by their wedge-shaped ray florets with lobed tips and protuberant, nearly spherical disks. Helenium autumnale (common sneezeweed) is identified to species by its combination of yellow disk florets and broad leaves attached to a conspicuously winged stem.
By the time we reached our cars, I was as hungry, sweaty, and thirsty as I’ve ever been on one of these walks. My thirst and appetite for knowledge, however, were, for the moment, completely satiated.
Continuing hot and very muggy during the last week, and today it was already in the low 90s by the time I got into the field a little before noon. Silphium terebinthinaceum (prairie dock) and old Solidago nemoralis (field goldenrod) are are in full bloom across the glade, and I noticed pre-flowering plants of what must be a different goldenrod species and a different blazing star. I suspect they will be in full bloom by the time I check the traps again at the end of next week. The plant of the day, however, was Agalinis skinneriana (pale false foxglove), not a true foxglove but rather a member of the family Orobanchaceae. Midwestern gerardia is another common name for the species, and like other members of the family it is a hemiparasitic annual forb.
Agalinis skinneriana (pale false foxglove).
This plant is relatively uncommon, both in Missouri, being found primarily in glades, upland prairies, and in the few other states in which it is found, and though I’ve not noticed this plant here previously I found at least a few individuals in both the east and the west parcels. The upward-facing flowers are a key attribute for identification in the field. The two upper corolla lobes are spreading to reflexed, and the plants are relatively slender, being fewer-branched and less bushy than the more common A. tenuifoliaand A. gattingeri.
Our destination for this week’s Monday field trip with the Webster Groves Nature Study Society (WGNSS) Botany Group was Pickle Creek Natural Area. This gem of a site has one of the most natural history action-packed 2.5 miles of trail in Missouri, featuring moist sandstone canyons, fascinating sandstone “hoodoos,” and unique sandstone glades. Fr. Sullivan got there early to beat the heat and had a few interesting things to show us in the small sandstone glade (more correctly called a xeric sandstone prairie) near the trailhead. These included two new-to-me glade specialists: Hypericum gentianoides (pineweed), and Trichostema dichotomum (blue curls).
Hypericum gentianoides (pineweed).
Hypericum gentianoides (pineweed).
Beginning along the trail we saw two species of aster still not quite ready to bloom: Symphyotrichum anomalum (many-rayed aster), with its distinctively reflexed phyllaries, and S. patens (spreading aster), distinctive by its strongly clasping leaves with rounded basal auricles. Two species of goldenrod were also present: the very common Solidago nemoralis (old-field goldenrod) in early bloom, and the very conservative (CC value = 8) S. buckleyi (Buckley’s goldenrod), its buds still growing for bloom in early September. Passing through the first of many deep cuts through the sandstone, we saw a small Aralia racemosa (American spikenard)—cousin to the devil’s walking sticks (A. spinosa) that we saw last week in southeastern Missouri. The plant was already past bloom and sporting bright red-purple berries.
Aralia racemosa (American spikenard).
Aralia racemosa (American spikenard).
Further down into one of the moist valleys, we found one of our objectives: Goodyera pubescens (downy rattlesnake plantain). I have seen this native orchid many times, as it’s distinctive white-veined leaves are a prominent winter sight in this area; however, this was the first time that I’ve seen them in bloom. Most of those with flower stalks were a bit past peak bloom, but we found at least a couple of plants still with good flowers for photographs. There were also many more basal leaf rosettes in the area without flower stalks, indicating a good population.
Goodyera pubescens (downy rattlesnake plantain).
Goodyera pubescens (downy rattlesnake plantain).
Goodyera pubescens (downy rattlesnake plantain).
The sandstone hoodoos of the area are among its most unique feature, and John showed us a spot on one of them where all three Missouri species of Vaccinium (a genus of plants in the blueberry family) can be found growing right next to each other: V. arboreum (farkleberry), V. pallidum (lowbush blueberry), and V. stramineum (deerberry).
All three Missouri Vaccinium species can be seen in this photo: V. arboreum (farkleberry) at upper right, V. pallidum (lowbush blueberry) at right-center, and V. stramineum (deerberry) at lower left.
The last mile of the hike was more difficult due to the heat, but the deep, sandstone canyons and moist north-facing bluff still provided visual interest and a bit of cool relief. At the end of the hike, John almost tripped over a Geotrupes splendidus (splendid earth-boring beetle) lumbering across the trail.
Here are dorsal and lateral views of the only specimen I’ve ever collected of Neoclytus approximatus—one of North America’s most uncommonly encountered longhorned beetles. I collected it on dead Pinus echinata in southeastern Missouri (Carter Co.) way back on June 7, 1987 (just over 34 years ago!), but I believe that is only an incidental record and not a larval host for the species considering that the species has been recorded from primarily the U.S. Great Plains (North Dakota south to Texas, east to Iowa and Missouri, and west to Colorado)—a region mostly devoid of native pines.
Neoclytus approximatus (dorsal view).
What it does breed in remains a mystery. I’ve seen a number of specimens collected in the city of St. Louis, Missouri in the 1930s with U.S.D.A. eugenol-baited Japanese beetle trap, although my own efforts with Japanese beetle traps in St. Louis during the 1980s turned up no specimens. Another Missouri specimen bore a label saying “Monarda” (a genus of flowering plants called “bee balms”)—perhaps referring to the flower of the plant (MacRae 1994). This latter record may suggest the species breeds in herbaceous plants rather than woody plants—which some longhorned beetles are known to do, and its apparent distribution across the Great Plains makes this idea even more tenable.
Neoclytus approximatus (lateral view).
Van Pelt (2007) provides the only other clue to host for the species, citing it “on shrubs” in Big Bend National Park. Until somebody figures out the host for this species, it is liable to remain one of the most elusive species of North American Cerambycidae.
Literature Cited
MacRae, T. C. 1994. Annotated checklist of the longhorned beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae and Disteniidae) known to occur in Missouri. Insecta Mundi 7(4) (1993):223–252 [pdf].
Van Pelt, A. F. (ed.). 2007. Inventory ofinsects ofBigBendNationalPark, Texas. Report to Big Bend National Park, 204 pp.
Beetles In The Bush 