Bio Bits:Early Blossoming Shadbush

The shad migration heralds in spring for many people in New England, as does the flowering of an understory tree known as shadbush (Amelanchier canadensis). Since these two events coincide, early settlers gave the tree its common name that forever associates it with the upstream spawning migration of the fish. 

Shadbush is a species of serviceberry that grows across much of the eastern United States. There are dozens of species of serviceberry (Amelanchier) found in North America, Europe and Asia. Though most are shrubs, some are considered small trees. These members of the rose family can grow up to 30 feet tall, but our local shadbush usually reaches heights of only 20 feet. Its multi-stemmed trunk and its habit of sending out suckers allow the shrub to spread to form a thicket. Look for it in damp areas of the forest understory. 

Racemes of snowy white flowers crowd the tips of the shadbush’s branches in early spring, just as its leaves are about to unfurl. These short-lived blossoms attract bees and other insects to pollinate them. Then, sadly, the five narrow petals of individual flowers will delicately drift to the ground as the blossoms fade. Small berrylike fruit will form in their place over the next couple of months, turning from red to a dark purple-black when ripe. 

Another common name for shadbush is Juneberry, in celebration of the early summer ripening of its fruit. Edible and quite delicious, the fruits are used in jams and pies. They were also collected and dried by Native Americans and early European colonists to be added to pemmican, a dried meat and suet food staple. But humans are not the only creatures who love shadbush fruits. Numerous birds, such as the gray catbird; American robin; eastern bluebird; veery; wood thrush; cedar waxwing; mourning dove; downy, hairy, and red-bellied woodpeckers; tufted titmouse; scarlet tanager; rose-breasted grosbeak; and wild turkey appreciate these ripe fruits so early in the season.  

This native tree is a great addition to a homeowner’s natural landscape plan. In addition to its early spring blossoms, the fruits are sure to attract many birds to your yard, often simultaneously. One homeowner in North Guilford witnessed six different species of birds crowding together in her shadbush to share in the bounty. 

Submitted by Cindi Kobak

Images: www.hort.uconn.edu/plants/.

Menunkatuck Audubon will have shadbush available to order from our Plant Sale for the Birds this spring.

Please visit our website www.menunkatuck.org for an order form.

(From the March, 2014 newsletter.)

Monarch Butterflies and Other Pollinators Are Declining – But We Can Help

As we could tell from their scarcity in our area last year, monarch butterflies are declining across their range. In early February, 2014, news reports from Mexico stated that the number of monarchs in the wintering area was the lowest ever recorded. The population of wintering migrants is measured by the number of acres of forest that the monarchs occupy. This winter there are only 1.65 acres with monarchs, a 44% decline over 2012-2013.

Researchers have identified several possible reasons for this alarming reduction in the number of monarchs. Climate change and resulting weather that makes reproduction difficult is one. Deforestation in the Mexican wintering areas is another. A third is the use of genetically engineered crops on which glyphosate herbicides can be sprayed. The herbicides are wiping out milkweed, the only plant on which monarch larvae feed.

Monarch butterfly on common milkweed.

As individuals, we cannot do much about climate change or deforestation in Mexico, but we can about the milkweed that monarchs need to survive. Planting milkweed in our gardens and encouraging our friends and neighbors to do the same can help alleviate the larval food problem.

Also troubling is the alarming drop in the number and biodiversity of native pollinators — bees and wasps, flies, butterflies and moths, and beetles. For example, a 2011 study reports that four species of North American bumble bees have had population declines of as much as 96% in the last 100 years and their ranges have restricted significantly (goo.gl/cmXf5Y). The Xerces Society Red List identifies the rusty patch bumble bee as Imperiled (at high risk of extinction) and the yellow banded bumble bee as Critically Imperiled (at very high risk of extinction). 

One of the primary reasons for the low pollinator numbers is loss of habitat. Here again we can do something to help. Pollinators have two requirements, food and nest sites. Native flowering shrubs and perennials will provide the nectar and pollen that they need from spring through fall. Nest sites can be patches of bare ground, brush piles, bundles of hollow reeds, or a nest block.

Pollinators will also be helped by avoiding the use of pesticides which either kill insects directly or impair their ability to reproduce.

Menunkatuck’s Plant Sale for the Birds is offering pollinator-friendly perennials as well as bird- and pollinator-friendly shrubs. Start your pollinator garden this spring. See the Plant Sale brochure in this newsletter or visit menunkatuck.org.

(For more about the decline in the monarch butterfly and wild bee populations, see Yale Environment 360 - goo.gl/kGHR86 and  goo.gl/HW97zI.)

(From the March, 2014 newsletter.)

Invasive Plants Destructive to the Environment; Natives Are More Suitable Alternatives

With spring and a new gardening season coming in a few weeks, it is an ideal time to consider the invasive plants in our landscape and native plants that are suitable alternatives.

The Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group defines an “invasive plant as a species non-native to the ecosystem under consideration, and whose introduction, whether accidental or intentional, causes or is likely to cause harm to the environment, economy or human health.”

Autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata) was introduced into North America from eastern Asia. With fragrant flowers, the ability to grow in adverse conditions, and fruit that is eaten by dozens of bird species, autumn olive has been promoted as an ornamental and wildlife plant. 

If so many birds love its fruit, what is the problem with autumn olive? With the potential for a mature plant to produce as many as 66,000 seeds annually, it can quickly become the dominant plant in an area, outcompeting native plants. It also has allelopathic properties. It releases growth-compounds from its roots and other plants that try to establish themselves absorb the chemicals and die. Few insects feed on autumn olive  giving it little value for spring migrating and nesting birds.

Autumn olive. Photo: nps.gov

Three other plants introduced into North America from Asia, Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii), winged euonymus (burning bush) (Euonymus alatus), and Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), can also become dominant plants in the landscape. They are especially harmful in the forest understory where they shade out native plants and result in a monoculture. And again, they do not support the insects that birds need for their growing chicks. 

Japanese honeysuckle. Photo: hort.uconn.edu/plants

More suitable native plant alternatives for these non-native plants include several of the plants that are included in Menunkatuck’s Plant Sale for the Birds. Winterberry (Ilex verticillata), red chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia), and highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) all have berries that provide food for wildlife with the additional benefit of flowering in May, June, or July, attracting insects that nesting birds can feed their chicks. An alternative to Japanese honeysuckle is trumpet honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens), a native vine that is attractive to ruby-throated hummingbirds.

Trumpet honeysuckle. 

Photo (color adjusted): hort.uconn.edu/plants 

Karen Bussolini will discuss more ideas for Landscaping with Native Plants: Healing Our Home Turf at Menunkatuck’s March 13 program. 

(From the March 2013 Newsletter)

Bio Bits: The Other Dogwoods The Other Dogwoods

As we eagerly await spring and the showy “blossoms” of the flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), many people may not realize that several other native dogwood species can be found in Connecticut’s woodlands, thickets, and wetlands. Though not as showy as the flowering dogwood, they all provide an abundance of late spring blossoms and summer fruit so important to insects and birds. It’s time to get to know and appreciate our lesser-known dogwoods.

Members of the dogwood family can be identified as such by their distinctive foliage: the primary veins on dogwood leaves radiate from the midrib in a curve toward the leaf tip. While the leaves of each species may differ in size and shape, their veins all form this same basic pattern. All of our local species have opposite leaves (leaves are paired opposite one another along the branch), except for the alternate-leaved dogwood (Cornus alternifolia), which, as its name suggests, bears leaves that alternate along its stems. 

Silky dogwood leaves and flower.

Clusters of small green or white flowers form on the ends of the branches, but unlike those of the flowering dogwood, our other dogwoods’ flowers are not surrounded by large white or pink bracts. Most bear flat-topped flower clusters, except for the gray dogwood (Cornus racemosa), which has loose cone-shaped clusters. Several species of native bees, wasps, butterflies, and beetles find dogwood blossoms irresistible. While the insects busily feed on nectar and pollen, they help to pollinate the plants, which can then produce fruit.

Silky dogwood fruit

Most of these dogwoods are considered shrubs, varying in size from only three to ten feet tall. Again, the exception is the alternate-leaved, which can reach heights of twenty-five feet in its upland woodland habitat. While not gaining the height of their cousin, the red osier dogwood (Cornus sericea) and gray dogwood will spread to form thickets. A welcomed sight in winter, the red osier’s striking red branches provide some much-needed color along a chilly stream or woodland swamp. The silky dogwood (Cornus amomum) also thrives in wet areas and bears blue berry-like clusters of fruits, while the red osier’s fruits are an opaque white. White fruit on red stalks identifies the gray dogwood along hedgerows and thickets; the alternate-leaved dogwood’s mature fruit is a deep purple on red stalks. 

Whether red, white, blue, or purple, a dogwood’s fruit will provide an important food for local and migrating birds this summer and fall. Wood ducks, wild turkeys, northern flickers, eastern bluebirds, and northern cardinals are some of the colorful avian visitors attracted to dogwoods.

We will be offering both silky dogwood and red osier dogwood for sale this spring at our Native Plant Sale for the Birds. Please visit our website for ordering information.

Submitted by Cindi Kobak

Photos: www.hort.uconn.edu/plants

(From the March 2012 Newsletter)

Citizen Science: IPANE

Invasive species exhibit these biological traits

• grow rapidly
• produce seeds early in the growing season
• produce massive amounts of seeds or propagate vegetatively
• produce chemicals that prohibit the growth of other plant species
• adapt to a wide range of environmental conditions

These characteristics result in the invasive plants overwhelming native ones to the detriment of native insects which are unable to use the non-natives as a food source. As is described in the article on page 1, native insects are vital for sustaining bird populations.

You can help identify locations with invasive plants as a volunteer for IPANE.

The Invasive Plant Atlas of New England is a multi-faceted project designed to provide comprehensive and up-to-date information about invasive plants in New England. The goals of the project are to facilitate education and research leading to a greater understanding of the dynamics of plant invasions, and to support the early detection of new invasions, which will enable rapid management responses.

The project includes a web-accessible atlas with images and descriptive information for the invasive and potentially invasive plants in New England. Collection databases constructed from herbarium specimens and current field records document the dates and locations of invasive plant occurrences, making it possible to generate maps that depict the distribution and spread of invasive plants across New England.

The intent is to provide public access to an online interactive resource that can act as an effective tool for students, researchers, land managers, conservationists, scientists, government agencies, the green industry, and the interested public.

The project is actively creating a network of trained volunteers who inventory habitats throughout New England for the presence and absence of invasive plant species. The data collected by our professionals and volunteers is used to continually update the collection databases, and plays a central role in IPANE’s goals of academic research and early detection.

Visit nbii-nin.ciesin.columbia.edu/ipane/ for complete details.

(From the March 2012 Newsletter)

Native Plants Support Native Insects; Native Insects Help Sustain Bird Populations

Most of us are aware that many birds are fond of the fruits and berries found on non-native plants as well as natives. 

One of the ways non-native plants spread and become invasive is through the guts of birds. Birds act as seed dispersers moving from one location to another taking invasive plants with them from your backyard to another backyard and often, into wild spaces.

Non-native plants ultimately cannot sustain bird populations because they do not support native insects. Native plants act as host plants and nectar sources for an insect’s entire life cycle, from larvae to adult. 

Native insects have evolved such that in their larval form they feed on a small number of plants and do not see non-native plants as food. For example, native plant expert Doug Tallamy writes that while the Kousa dogwood (Cornus kousa), a species from China, supports no insect herbivores in North America, our native flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) supports 117 species of moths and butterflies! Oaks are hosts to an astonishing 532 species of caterpillars. 

Blueberry plants, such as this lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium - myrtilloides) support 288 species of Lepidoptera.

Photo: www.hort.uconn.edu/plants

Many invasive insects thrive here because birds do not recognize them as food. Perhaps you’ve heard of the gypsy moths that are destroying our hardwood forests or experienced hemlock woolly adelgid in your own backyard. Birds seek out indigenous insect species.

Spring azures are one type of Lepidoptera for which blueberry is a host. 

Photo: en.wikipedia.org/

Healthy insect populations are vital for birds during spring migration. During nesting season 96% of songbirds feed their young on insect protein.

During spring migration black-and-white warblers can be seen crawling up and down tree branches foraging for insects in bark crevices. Photo: education.eol.org

It starts with native plants. NATIVE plants + NATIVE insects = healthier bird populations.

Menunkatuck’s Native Plant Sale for the Birds offers trees and shrubs that will host native insects and feed birds. Please visit our website for ordering information. 

(From the March 2012 Newsletter)

Japanese Barberry and Lyme Disease

An article in the New London Day describes a link between the invasive Japanese barberry and Lyme disease.

Jeffrey Ward, chief scientist at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station's Department of Forestry and Agriculture, and experiment station scientist Scott Williams have been doing research on the relationship between Japanese barberry, ticks that carry Lyme disease and deer overpopulation.

A highly invasive plant that forms dense canopies in forests - particularly those with high deer populations that eat most every other plant - Japanese barberry also creates moist, cool shelters that harbor ticks that carry the Lyme disease bacteria, Ward's and Williams' research has shown. Hot, dry conditions suppress tick populations.

At 28 study areas, including a parcel along Lord's Cove in Old Lyme, the two have been studying various aspects of the triangular relationship between ticks, deer and barberry, and spreading their message to land conservation organizations about the best methods for ridding forests of barberry. Deer serve as hosts for adult ticks, while the barberry functions as a nursery for ticks in their juvenile stages.

Williams said tick abundance in barberry-infested areas is 67 percent higher than those where native plants are predominant. Also, the percentage of ticks that carry the Lyme bacteria is higher - 126 infected ticks per acre versus 10 per acre in barberry-free areas, Williams said, though the reason for that is as yet unclear. After barberry removal, Ward said, tick populations drop as much as 80 percent.

Go here for the full story.

Hammonasset Fall Planting

Twelve volunteers spent the morning of November 6 planting 210 native trees and shrubs at Hammonasset Beach State Park. An Audubon Collaborative Grant supplemented with money from the Friends of Hammonasset Unilever Grant were used to purchase the plants and the mulch that was put around the plants.