October 12, 2016

Mystery on Queens Creek

     I love the internet, especially for sleuthing out mystery plants. A few carefully considered questions asked in the right places will usually lead me to what I am looking for. Of course I am also just as likely to head down some wormhole and forget what I was looking for in the first place. What recently kept me busy was trying to ID a plant I saw blooming earlier this month while kayaking on Queens Creek, a small tributary of the James River in Charles City County. In places the flowers smothered the shoreline in bright yellow, which was a nice contrast to the gray storm-threatening skies. I first thought it could be any one of those yellow composite species that all begin with h-e-l (Helianthus, Helenium, Heliopsis) that are difficult for me to tell apart. Although Helenium autumnale (sneezeweed) is very common here, and was blooming elsewhere on my trip, I knew that was not it. I next guessed it might be Helianthus angustifolius (swamp sunflower), as I was indeed in a swamp, but after paddling closer for further inspection all I could confirm was my cluelessness. So I took close up photos of foliage and flowers to look up when I got home, and resolved just to enjoy the site of it.

     After a few minutes on the internet I narrowed the plant down to one of the Bidens. A little while later I think I fixed it to Bidens laevis (smooth beggartick, smooth bur-marigold, showy bur-marigold). To help in the identification of this plant I used two of my favorite sites; the Native Plant Database at wildflower.org., and the Digital Atlas of Virginia Flora, which is a decades long project to map all of the state's native plants. From the atlas I learned that B. laevis inhabits tidal freshwater marshes to oligohaline marshes. I had to look up the definition of oligohaline, which means having a very low amount of salt, and I decided to make it my word of the day, and wondered if health conscious snack companies could successfully market oligohaline chips or crackers. I digress. If any of you know this plant to be something else, please feel free to correct me. Regardless of its exact ID, it was a lovely thing to see, especially in such proliferation. 
Queens Creek - Bidens laevis (1)

Queens Creek - Bidens laevis (2)

Queens Creek - Bidens laevis (3)

Queens Creek (14)

Queens Creek (12)

Queens Creek (13)

     During my trip I had the creek to myself, no one else was on the water, though I did speak with a couple of guys on the shore getting their duck blind ready for the coming season. Judging from the number of blinds I saw, I will avoid this place in-season. I wouldn't want to be mistaken for a duck. Below are some of the other sights I saw.
James River - Transmission Tower (2)

James River (3)

Queens Creek (3)

Queens Creek (4)

Queens Creek (5)

Queens Creek (18)

Queens Creek (24)

Queens Creek (26)


13 comments:

  1. You do live in a beautiful part of the world! Wow, it's stunning blooming en masse like that along the shore. Great photos, as always!

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  2. What that sign should say is 'Stop look at me' At this time pf year we have a similar display from Golden eye, Viguera dentata. Beautiful photographs.

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  3. Good sleuthing! Thanks for the delightful views.

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  4. We have a similar beggartick growing on our property: http://www.coldclimategardening.com/2013/09/25/nodding-bur-marigold-wildflower-wednesday/

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  5. Oligohaline? A tongue twister for sure but a good "Word of the Day". A big contrast between the first group of photos that brightened up a stormy Seattle Sunday morning, to the second group of monochromatic drama in the second group. All are beautiful, as always. I know something about going down an internet wormhole...Ha!

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  6. Thanks for a fascinating post. I love people who figure out plant id's, even though I mostly just get frustrated doing it. And I love to virtually paddle with you. Especially since I just got thrown off my last paddle before shoulder surgery due to my friend having damaged hatch covers on her kayak.

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  7. I really enjoyed reading about your plant ID process!

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  8. I needed a respit from the election drama....your posts are always so dreamy. Thanks for the mini-holiday.

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  9. I love the sign about stopping men at work !

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  10. Looked like a sunflower to me, but what do I know. Whatever it's name, it's beautiful - especially massed in that setting. Great photographs.

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  11. I love those golden bank shots. There is nothing like being alone on the smooth water, is there!

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  12. The Internet is a great way to identify those beautiful wildflowers and plants that grow in natural spaces.

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  13. What a lovely wildflower and location! I enjoyed these photos and yes I've used the internet and blog buddies to ID flora and fauna. I thought of you when I blogged about Japanese temples and gardens today. I'm abroad for two months, researching a new novel and wifi has been unsteady. It looks like most of my old blog buddies haven't been updating frequently either.

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