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A Variety of Plants in Southwest Michigan
In the image, moss is growing on the bark at the base of a tree in the woods. Moss is a very primitive plant; it has spores (instead of seeds, cones, or flowers). Moss is a non-vascular plant (it has no roots, stems, or leaves). Also, moss is an herbaceous plant, which does not have wood like woody plants.
Peat Moss (Sphagnum spp.) at the bog, a wetland.
Staghorn Clubmoss (Lycopidium clavatum) in the woods. Clubmosess are the simplest of vascular plants; it has roots, stems, and leaves. Clubmosses reproduce with spores, not seeds, cones, or flowers. Also, clubmosses are herbaceous plants, which do not have wood like woody plants.
Snake Grass (Equisetum hyemale) is a horsetail, not a grass. It's found in the woods, at wetlands, and at the dunes. Horsetails are vascular plants with roots, stems, and usually leaves. It reproduces with spores (not seeds, cones, or flowers). Also, horsetails are herbaceous plants, which do not have wood like woody plants.
These are sometimes called fiddlesticks. Fiddlestick are actually ferns growing up and uncoiling in the spring.
Bracken Fern (Pteridium aquilinum) at the woods. Ferns are vascular plants (it has roots, stems, and leaves). It reproduces with spores instead of seeds, cones, or flowers. Also, ferns are herbaceous plants, which do not have wood like woody plants.
American Larch (Larix laricina) at Mud Lake Bog. The Larch is a tree. Trees, shrubs, groundcovers, wildflowers, and grasses, are vascular plants, which have roots, stems, and leaves. Also, the Larch is a woody plant. Trees, shrubs, and woody groundcovers are woody plants; they have wood and bark. The Larch is a conifer. Conifers reproduce with seeds and cones; it has no spores or flowers. Many conifers are evergreens, which keep their green leaves all year round. However, to the contrary, the Larch is deciduous. Deciduous plants drop their leaves in the fall and grow new leaves in the spring. The following image is of the Larch with yellow needle leaves in the fall.
American Larch (Larix laricina) with yellow needle leaves just before they drop off in the fall. The Larch is a deciduous conifer, not an evergreen conifer. The Larch will grow new green needle leaves in the spring.
Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum) with green leaves in the summer along the Galien River at Warren Woods State Park. The Sugar Maple is a vascular, woody, deciduous plant. It reproduces with seeds and flowers, not spores or cones. Thus, the Sugar Maple is a flowering plant. Sugar Maple trees can grow 70+ feet tall.
Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum) with yellow leaves in the fall.
Red Maple (Acer rubrum) is a flowering tree at Mud Lake Bog. It has red flowers in the spring. The following image shows its fruit (samaras) 2 weeks later. The Red Maple is a vascular, woody, deciduous, flowering plant. Red Maple trees can grow 50+ feet tall.
Red Maple (Acer rubrum) is a flowering tree. It has flowers and samara fruit in the spring. The image shows the samaras (the fruit) that grew after the Red Maple flowered.
The Red Oak (Quercus rubra) is a vascular, woody, deciduous, flowering plant. It's typically found in the woods. In the spring, a Red Oak's yellow flowers fell onto the ground. Also, there are some newly growing oak leaves that fell onto the ground too. Likely, during the previous fall, acorns (the fruit of oak trees) fell onto the ground. Red Oak trees grow 70+ feet tall.
The Common Witchhazel (Hamamelis virginiana) is a vascular, woody, deciduous, flowering plant. It's found in the woods. It's considered a small tree / large shrub; it grows up to 15 to 30 feet tall. The witchhazel is a unique plant because it flowers and fruits at the same time. Also, it's unusual for a plant to flower in the fall. The witchhazel flowers and fruits in the fall. Also, fruit always grows where there was once a flower. The flower always comes first and the fruit comes second. In the witchhazel's case, the fruit that becomes ripe this fall is from last year's fall flower. The fruit happens to ripen at the same time the new flowers are blooming. (Whereas, most flowering plants have flowers from which fruits ripen later that same year; for instance, a plant has flowers in June and has fruit in September of the same year.) The flower has yellow thin curly confetti-like petals, as seen on the right side of the image. The fruit is a brown capsule, as seen on the left side of the image. In October, each capsule opens to let 4 black seeds pop out.
Maple-leaf Viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium) is a shrub in the woods. There are 3 sizes to woody plants: trees, shrubs, and groundcovers. Trees are a tall height; shrubs are a medium-height; and groundcovers are a short height. A shrub is simply a short tree. The Mapleleaf Viburnum is a shrub that grows up to 4 to 6 feet high. Viburnums are vascular, woody, deciduous, flowering plants. The Mapleleaf Viburnum has white flowers in the spring and dark-blue drupes (fruit) in the late summer.
Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) is a groundcover that grows as tall as 8 inches; however, it is also a vine that climbs up to 40 feet high. The Virginia Creeper is a vascular, woody, deciduous, flowering plant. It's found in the woods.
Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum) is a spring wildflower at the woods. It's an herbaceous plant; it's not woody, it has no wood and bark. The Mayapple is a vascular, herbaceous, perennial, flowering wildflower. A perennial wildflower is a wildflower that dies down to it's roots each year and grows back each year for many years. The Mayapple has white flowers under its leaves in May. In the summer, it grows a yellow-green berry, see following image. See more woodland wildflowers at:
Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum) is a spring wildflower that produces a yellow-green berry in the summer.
Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia purpurea) is a wildflower of the wetlands. It is a vascular, herbaceous, evergreen, perennial, carnivorous, flowering plant. The leaves stay green continuously. However, the flowers and stalks die in the fall and new stalks and flowers grow each spring. Carnivorous plants eat animals. The Pitcher Plant eats ants, flies, spiders, and moths that it traps in its pitcher-like leaves.
Beech Drops (Epifagus virginiana) are a wildflower in the woods. They are a vascular, herbaceous, annual, flowering plants. Annual plants die during the year and never grow back; however, its offspring will likely grow next year. Also, they are parasitic on Beech trees. They attach themselves to the roots of Beech trees. Beech Drops are not green and they have no leaves because they do not photosynthesize. They suck their nutrients and energy from Beech tree roots. (Usually, the Beech Drops do little harm to Beech trees.)
Marram Grass (Ammophila breviligulata) is a vascular, herbaceous, perennial, flowering plant. It's found on the dunes. Plants help to cleanse and purify polluted water. Plants produce oxygen. Links: Several animals and plants that are in Virginia, are also in Michigan. Here's a Virginia-based website that has a webpage for each animal and plant that it lists. There's a long list. Also, it tells you the plant and animal species that each animal depends on to survive. It's a great food web website; it shows the connections between plants and animals. Also, it mentions how each plant and animal relates to people. Michigan Habitats More Photos of Soutwest Michigan: Go to Spring Woodland Wildflowers. Go Back to Southwest Michigan Nature. |
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Three Oaks, Michigan, USA