American Searocket, Cakile endentula Compiled by Joyce Tuharsky, WORC Member After several years of high water levels on the Great Lakes, water levels have fallen recently, exposing wide sandy beaches in many areas. These barren beaches are prime places for pioneer plant species to take root—one of which is the American searocket. A member of […] Continue reading "Natives to Know: American Searocket"
NATIVES TO KNOWIndian Grass, Sorghastrum nutans By Joyce Tuharsky, WORC Member Indian Grass, Sorghastrum nutans is a showy native perennial that grows 3–7 feet tall and is noted for its upright form and broad blue-green foliage. Its alternate blades grow to 2′ long and 1⁄2″ across, are flat and hairless, yet rough in texture, and […] Continue reading "Natives to Know: Indian Grass"
Bear Corn, Conopholis americana By Joyce Tuharsky, WORC Member In Michigan, if you are hiking through in a deep shady oak or beech forest, you may stumble across a strange growth poking its creepy “fingers” out from around tree roots. Upon closer look, you will find thick fleshy spikes with no leaves, but with brown scales, […] Continue reading "Natives to Know: Bear Corn"
Natives to Know: Woolgrass bulrush – Scirpus cyperinus By Joyce Tuharsky, WORC Member Woolgrass bulrush is a large, emergent aquatic plant that grows 6-feet-tall in colonies along lakes, marshes, and streams, and in wet meadows or low woodlands. Native to much of the eastern U.S., it spreads by creeping rhizomes or self-sowing in wet soils, […] Continue reading "Natives to Know: Woolgrass bulrush"
Natives to Know: Michigan Oaks (Quercus, sp.) By Joyce Tuharsky, WORC Member A mature oak tree is magnificent organism to behold. With their wide impressive canopy and massive, often gnarled branches, oak trees can live for centuries, reaching heights of 160 feet or more. No wonder oaks have been objects of legends dating back to ancient […] Continue reading "Natives to Know: Michigan Oaks (Quercus, sp.)"
