The Regeneration Opening (pic intensive)

[OneWithWood]

The little oaks are coming on!

_{Don't tell anybody but I feeds em grits when nobody's watchin}  :D :D

[clww]

They'll be mighty oaks! 8) 8) 8)

[mesquite buckeye]

Patience boys. If you cut them now, you will only get a little tough hay. ;D

[OneWithWood]

September 21, 2013.

Large opening pan east:


 

Large opening pan west:


 

Took a panoramic of the large opening but the file is too big for the upload.  Oh well, it was worth a try.

Small opening:


 

Wildlife pond:


 

and now for some close ups.

Aspen seedlings:


 

Black Oak and Hickory seedlings:


 

White Oak seedling:


 

Young Black Oaks:


 

Sycamore seedling:


 

Young Oaks:


 

Red Oak leave trees:


 

Windthrow:


 

[OneWithWood]

Other flora.

Eupatorium - Hardy ageratum:


 

Feverfew, large dandelion, boneset:

 

Lamb's Quarter seed:


 

Monkey Flower:


 

Motherwort:


 

Nightshade:


 

Nightshade fruit:


 

Slender Mountain Mint seed:


 

Sullivant's Milkweed:


 

[OneWithWood]

Anymore you cannot disturb ground without a few invasives crashing the party.

Japanese stilt grass that was treated with Poast, a grass specific herbicide:


 

Canadian thistle just before I cut it down:


 

Pawlonia - not considered an invasive by some but it is not welcome in my woods - just before I cut it down:


 

Earlier this summer I went through the openings and sprayed all the multiflora rose with Tryclopir.  I did not find any live plants this time around but I know the battle is not over.  All of these invasives and more will constantly be popping up so I must remain diligent.  >:(

As always, if I have misidentified anything please feel free to point it out and give us the correct name.

[Weekend_Sawyer]

The stilt grass is out of control on my open areas.
I have been spraying roundup for 4 years.
It kills the plant but the seeds are viable for years.

Good luck with it.
Jon

[WmFritz]

Very impressive, Robert. Nice to see all your hard work rewarded with all that beauty. 

[beenthere]

OWW
Thanks for the pics, and especially the ones of the nightshade. I have some of that and have been wondering what it was. Now I know.

[thecfarm]

You have more weeds than trees.  :D  But I know how that is too. Keep at the weeds and the trees will grow.

[mesquite buckeye]

If I don't have weeds, the deer eat all the trees.

[Axe Handle Hound]

That's a really nice quantity of species diversity and nice work in the ID's!  It's always interesting to watch areas like this regenerate and see the various colors/canopy coverages they transition through. 

Feverfew, large dandelion, boneset:
Easy way to check a boneset ID is to look for a "perfoliate" leaf.  Essentially a leaf that surrounds the stem. 

Lamb's Quarter seed:
I think this one is actually a common mullein (Verbascum thapsus).

Motherwort:
For the heck of it you might want to check this to see if you have a hedge-nettle (Stachys palustris) or similar species.  They can look very similar to motherwort, but hedge-nettles are a native plant where motherwort is a nuisance non-native (at least here in WI).  I think you may also have a bedstraw species (Galium sp) peeking through at the bottom of the photo. 

Nightshade:
I would have to say you're correct that this is in the nightshade genus, but I'd have said you were looking at Carolina horse-nettle (Solanum carolinense).

Sullivant's Milkweed:
This species is endangered here in WI and I would love to see it sometime.  Can you tell me what pushed you to decide Sullivant's milkweed versus common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)?

[Axe Handle Hound]

Canadian thistle:
Thistles aren't my strong suit, but I think this may be bull thistle (Cirsium vulgare).  Canada thistle is usually not quite so tall and robust.  I say usually because the only rule is that there are exceptions to the rule. 

Earlier this summer I went through the openings and sprayed all the multiflora rose with Tryclopir.  I did not find any live plants this time around but I know the battle is not over.  All of these invasives and more will constantly be popping up so I must remain diligent.  >:(
It looks like your efforts to control the invasives are paying off!  Keep after the undesirables with the herbicide like you've been doing and the natives will ultimately outcompete them.

[OneWithWood]

Axe Handle, thanks for the comments.  I will try to answer your qs.

Lamb's quarter seed:
I can see common mullein instead of lamb's quarter - at first I was leaning to amaranth but Linnea corrected me.

Motherwort:
We are a bit south of the normal  hedge-nettle range.  But that doesn't necessarily rule it out. Definitely have a lot of bed straw.

Nightshade:
Carolina horse-nettle is a distinct possibility.  I was leaning towards bittersweet at first but Linnea said no.

Sullivant's Milkweed:
It is the shape of the leaf, the leaf margins and the opposite arrangement of the leaves that brought me to my conclusion.

Canada thistle:
Bull thistle does have a purple to pink corollas and is listed at the same height of 1.5m.  Most of the plants I found would fit the lower height but I chose to photograph the one that was taller than me.  Either way it is not a plant I want around.

What I really need to do is take my wife and a couple of reference books into the field with me and study the lingo.  Attempting to identify plants from photos is not very accurate and much harder on my ageing eyes.  :  Utilizing the keys for flowers would also go a long way in helping me identify stuff.

Thanks again for your help it is much appreciated.

[WDH]

Robert,

It is very informative to follow this thread.  There is a lot going on in those openings.  Shows the value of disturbance in a forested habitat to create edge and diversity.

I also think that what you have is Solanum carolinense.  This is also the genus for tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplants. 

[isawlogs]

 Robert, have you left an opening that you are not intervining in ? Sort of a spot that only nature is taking over as a comparative to your work.
I like what you're doing, very informative  :P  Please give my regards and a  to Linnea for me 
Marcel

[Magicman]

It was also nice for Pat and I to take a walk with Robert and see his place first hand.   

[OneWithWood]

Marcel,
There is an area just off to the east of this opening that has been left almost totally alone.  I say almost because I do control invasives on the entire property.  It was opened up via a group selection harvest in 2002. That area has become heavily infested with spice bush.  Probably because it is a northeast facing slope. 

Linnea is waving back at ya.   

It was very nice to have been able to show our place to Lynn and Pat. 

[mesquite buckeye]

Is Linnea's maiden name Gentry? ???

[OneWithWood]

Is Linnea's maiden name Gentry? ???

No, it was and is Good.  Hence the name of our woods, The Good-Woodling Woods 

[mesquite buckeye]

Thanks. That is a pretty uncommon name. I knew a Linnea who went to the University of Arizona many years ago. Her father was Howard Scott Gentry, one of the great botanist/ethnobotanists of Mexican flora and crops of the mid 20th century. She was named for Linneus, who created the binomial system of plant nomenclature. 

[OneWithWood]

Here are the Winter Solstice 2013 pics.

Not really much to see as everything is dormant.

Large opening pan left (east)


 

Large opening pan right (west)


 

Large opening facing south


 

Small opening faces north


 

Wildlife pond


 

[WDH]

The wildlife pond looks nice with all the leaves on the ground. 

[thecfarm]

Looks good to me. I enjoy the pictures.

[JOE.G]

Is the pond filling in, Or is that about the size you started with? Can you give me more info on the pond. Thanks