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Swida sericea

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Our ace botanists are here to help you identify wild New England plants and to answer questions about their ecology and conservation. When posting a question, please provide the location, habitat (e.g. river, mountain, woodland), and photographs of the plant.

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Recently answered questions

Question

Can someone help identify this flowering plant that I saw along the side of the road near Marlborough MA?

Answer

Dear albert_mason, good morning. I believe you have photographed Aquilegia vulgaris (European columbine). The form you have submitted here is a form with many more than the five petals that the wild-type would display (there are cultivars that show this form of flower), which makes it more difficult to interpret the parts. The leaves of this plant are in the upper right of the image (out of focus, divided). Best wishes. (Friday, 27 May 2022)
Question

Not so much "plant" related but this seems like the best place to ask. Was wondering if anyone knows what these white strings are. I was hiking through a national park in Tasmania and these strings were scattered everywhere on the forest floor for miles. I didn't get many decent videos but it seemed to be originating from all the different types of mushrooms, and then spreading into all of the other organisms (moss, bark, trees etc.)

Answer

Dear jordan, good afternoon. I wish I could help. Unfortunately, you observed these structures very far from my region of expertise. You will need to find someone closer to that area who has expertise in the natural history there. Good luck. (Thursday, 26 May 2022)
Question

Tulip tree is apparently a dicot or eudicot. But its flower has 6 petals and 3 tepals if you count the 3 petals under the 6 main petals. I just carefully inspected 8 flowers from 3 tulip trees and confirmed the above observation. Now the 6 or 6 + 3 petal arrangement is typical of a monocot plant. Am I making a mistake in my observation or is the 3 x n rule for monocot frequently broken? Thank you so much for you time and help.

Answer

Dear plantaware, good morning. While Liriodendron tulipifera is has two cotyledons, it is not a eudicot. It belongs to a group of plants known as the magnoliids that appeared prior to the monocots. It shares with the monocots the typical pattern of perianth parts in multiples of three. Monocots arouse (evolutionarily) from within dicot plants. Keep in mind that what was formerly classified as dicots is now split into multiple groups (the vast majority of the former dicots are called "tricolpates"). I hope this helps. (Thursday, 26 May 2022)