Eutrochium
AKA Joe Pye Plant (not Weed!)
Late summer is colored in yellow and purple (a bit of a color palette challenge for me as I plan a September wedding!), with goldenrod, ironweed, and this week’s featured bloom, Joe Pye, leading the charge. You may notice I said Joe Pye, rather than the more well-known common name of “Joe Pye Weed.” Well, if you attended the Brown Bag talk a few weeks back, you may have heard that this plant, scientific name Eutrochium purpureum, commonly known as Joe Pye Weed should actually not be called a “weed”—it is a native plant with a lot of benefits to pollinators and to people! It doesn’t spread aggressively, and it’s believed that the name Joe Pye is to honor an indigenous healer. Much less of an honor if it’s considered a weed!
Some more about the name: the common legend is that Joe Pye was an indigenous herbal healer who helped colonists treat typhus—this story is very widespread but with varying details and believability. More recent research by the Royal Botanical Gardens in Canada says that he was likely actually named Joseph Shauquethqueat and was an early 19th-century Mohican sachem (chief). While not an herbalist or healer, Shauquethqueat (called Joseph Pye by his white neighbors and in some written records) was both a sachem and a selectman in Stockbridge and was a well known and respected member of the community in the late 1700s and early 1800s.
That’s the story behind the common name, but what about the scientific name? As a refresher, the scientific name is made up of the genus and species, which is relevant here as the genus actually changed in the year 2000 for this plant. Before 2000, Joe Pyes were part of the genus Eupatorium, named for an ancient Asian ruler, Mithridates Eupator, who supposedly used plants in this family as an antidote to the poisons he suspected were getting slipped into his food. This genus contains bonesets like snakeroot, which all have opposite leaves that look like they go straight through the stem. This unique leaf pattern (NOT seen in Joe Pye) led some scientists to suggest it was a separate species, which gene sequencing confirmed in 2000. Now, it’s part of the genus Eutrochium, which has a much less royal-intrigue-laden story. It’s derived from two Greek words; eu meaning "well" and troche meaning "wheel-like” as the plant has whorled leaves. The species name's meaning is pretty easily guessed: purpureum, for the iconic purple flowers.
There are lots of Joe Pye species, but we’ve chosen to focus this week on just one, which can be identified from the pack in a few ways. E. purpureum is called Purple Joe Pye or the Sweet Joe Pye and has a deep purple stem, which is not hollow (many Joe Pyes have hollow stems). There are also purple-black markings at the leaf joints. The stem and flower color explain the name purple Joe Pye, and if you crush some leaves you’ll quickly learn why it’s called sweet Joe Pye—the leaves have a sweet and pleasant vanilla-like scent.
Joe Pye is very popular with pollinators because of its plentiful pollen, but especially the Zebra Swallowtail, Variegated Fritillary, Tiger Swallowtail, Black Swallowtail, skippers, bees, and hummingbirds. It is even the host plant for more than three dozen species of moth and butterfly caterpillars. Once it goes to seed, it feeds the birds through the fall and winter. In addition to feeding wildlife, this useful plant has been used medicinally for centuries to treat just about everything. While every part of the plant is used, the root is believed to have the strongest healing properties.
Joe Pye is hardy, growing in a variety of soils and in conditions other plants may turn their noses up at, like along the sides of highways. This toughness means that Joe Pye can be very useful in ecological restoration efforts, since it can stabilize soil and attract pollinators. Its adaptability means that it’s used in both wetland restoration projects and meadow restorations. While it’s native and ubiquitous in the US, it’s also a very popular garden plant in much of Europe, where it gets a little more respect and is considered a treasured garden species rather than a weed. But this humble weed has a lot of history and a lot of ecological benefits behind it, and deserves a closer look (and smell!) if you should come across it around grounds this week! At 4-7ft tall, it should be easy to spot. Happy hunting!
Ginny Renjilian
Manhattan Urban Park Ranger and BTG Volunteer
p.s. Yes, that's a Monarch Butterfly on the Joe Pye in Jeanne Wiebenga's gorgeous photo. Learn lots more about Monarch's at Betsy's Friday Garden Walk.
Snails
by Dennis McNair, PhD
Snails, like slugs (which are just snails without shells), are gastropod mollusks. That means they're biologically classified as being in the Phylum Mollusca (along with squids, oysters, etc.) and Class Gastropoda (“gastro-“ stomach, “pod” foot). Snails and slugs are the most numerous, in both numbers of individuals and numbers of species recognized, of this large phylum of invertebrate animals.
Many gastropod species are considered to be harmful because they feed on tissues of domestic (and other) plants by rasping away at their tissues with their file-like tongue, or radula. They glide along by using oar-like cilia on their undersides that propel them over a layer of mucus that they lay down themselves. Their bodies generally are covered with a mucous coat, especially on the parts they use for locomotion, so they appear to be quite slimy and exist, largely, in moist environments or in fresh or salt water.
Around the world, a few species are considered edible, and in European cuisines, escargot (snails cooked in a garlicky sauce) is considered a delicacy. Consumption of other gastropods, such as marine conchs, is common, and several bivalve mollusks, such as clams, oysters, mussels, and scallops, are economically and gastronomically important seafoods, as are some cephalopods (squid and octopuses).
Unfortunately, for the control of mollusk garden and crop pests, such as slugs and land snails, many molluscicides employed in the past have been demonstrated to also be toxic to humans and our pets. Recent control methods avoid such clearly harmful effects. In small gardens, a dish of stale beer (or sugar-water with a little yeast sprinkled in it) seems to lure snails and slugs, and the animals drown in the attracting liquid. Some of the often-used commercial molluscicides have little long-term efficacy or have been assessed against only a few species of pests, so we are unsure what their effects might be on other animals, especially over prolonged periods of use. Hand picking and removal is repugnant to many and can be time consuming in large gardens. Snails are also intermediate hosts for several organisms that cause human and domestic animal diseases or fatality (e.g., schistosomiasis, liver and lung flukes), and cost/benefit analyses skew values in such situations. Fortunately, snail garden pests don’t fall in these categories, so prudent use of remedies such as stale beer can rid us of these pests safely.
In 2016, author Elizabeth Bailey wrote a lovely book, The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating, based on her observations of a snail at her bedside during a prolonged illness that kept her bedridden. As with so many ruminations on natural phenomena, Bailey found her experience to be deeply relaxing, and she credits the snail with allowing her health to be restored. Psychologist Dacher Keltner, a recent speaker at Chautauqua on the subject of Awe and Wonder, would, no doubt, agree with her. (On the other hand, I once met a malacologist – a scientist studying mollusks – who was trying to raise funds to protect several endangered species of Banana Slugs endemic to the San Juan Islands in the Pacific Northwest. He was having extremely limited success!)
Snails’ legendary slowness and resolute pursuit of objectives probably account for their evolutionary success, as demonstrated by their persistence (over 65 million years) and diversification (80% of the species in the large Phylum Mollusca, estimated to constitute from 40-100,000 species, most of which have never been scientifically described). For all these reasons and more, snails undoubtedly deserve our observation and admiration instead of our disdain based upon their sliminess and the damage they occasionally do to our gardens.
2024 Purple Martin Report
by Jack Gulvin
Project notes
All housing was cleaned out and stored by the end of September. Mites were found at a few nests. The natural gourds were peeling badly and repainted. The T14s were repaired and the trim repainted. All housing was put up on March 28th.
House sparrows were back this year but none survived to produce young. The first martin egg was laid on May 18. Nests were checked every five or six days until the young fledged. To control blowfly parasites, only a few nests were replaced. As in years past, the detailed data sheets will be sent to the Purple Martin Conservation Association for inclusion in their Project Martinwatch.
A – Sports Club T14 with 18 compartments, 5 occupied
B – Coyle (Sailing Center) T14 with 18 compartments, 10 occupied
C – Coyle (Sailing Center) rack with 24 gourds, 17 occupied
D -- Golf Course T14 with 18 compartments, 2 occupied
E – Soccer Field rack with 24 gourds, 15 occupied
Production summary
Occupancy rate: 49/102=48%
Hatch rate: 192/256=75%
Fledge rate: 101/192=53%
The occupancy rate continues to decline despite good housing well located and managed. The number of eggs laid was down by 32 from last year. The hatch rate dropped from 80% to only 75%. The fledge rate dropped to only 53% despite another year of mostly good weather. Merlins were present on the grounds.
Chautauqua’s martins are suffering a serious decline. Two causes are likely. First, a lack of flying insects. This would explain the mortality of young following poor weather lasting only one day in early July. Second, raptors taking female martins. This would explain the many nests that never got eggs, the clutches of eggs that never hatched, and the nests where all the young died at the same time due to starvation. No remedy is available for either cause of decline.
Monday, August 12
Location: Timothy's Playground in Miller Park
Bring a grown-up with cell phone! And a brown bag lunch. We will picnic and then start the hunt. A patch or pin will be awarded to all who complete the hunt! Suited for ages 5+
Location: Pier Building
Tuesday, August 13
Location: Smith Wilkes Hall
Wednesday August 14
Location: Lower Miller Park Shoreline
12:30-2:30pm Shipman Garden History & Horticulture Tours
Location: Miller Cottage Gardens (24 Miller)
There will be a historical garden tour by Janine Obee at 12:30PM and horticulture Q&A with Betsy Burgeson at 1:30PM.
4:15pm Tree Walk with Jack Gulvin
Location: Smith Wilkes Hall patio
Thursday August 15
Location: Meet at the Corner of Massey & Hawthorne. Forest Bathing will take place in the Secret Silo Garden.
Wear comfortable clothes.
4:15pm: Bird Talk with Twan Leenders
Location: Pier Building
Friday August 16
9:00am Nature Walk with Jack Gulvin
Location: Smith Wilkes Hall Patio
12:00-1:30pm Betsy's Garden Walk: Raising and Tagging Monarch Butterflies
Location: Butterfly Garden
Saturday August 17
1:00-3:00pm Microplastic Cleanup
Location: Children's Beach
Sunday August 18
6:30-8:00pm Bat Chat with Jonathan Townsend
Location: Smith Wilkes Hall
Looking Ahead - Upcoming Events
Week 9
The Stow Ferry Event is SOLD OUT! If you would like to be added to a wait list, please email treasurer@chautauquabtg.org.
The BTG has been invited to take a guided hike* with the Western New York Land Conservancy at one of the Land Conservancy’s most recently protected properties, the spectacular Floating Fen (only 25 minutes from the Chautauqua Institute).
Following the hike, you are invited to light snacks at their adjacent College Lodge property where Land Conservancy Executive Director Marisa Riggi (our Week 1 Brown Bag Speaker!) will share their vision for permanently protecting even more land in Western New York.
*The hike will be approximately 1 mile in length and of easy-difficulty. It will be on established trails, but you will want to wear appropriate footwear - hiking or rubber boots. Hike limited to the first 25 to register. Please email terrietucker@rogers.com to RSVP for the hike.
Saturday, August 24
9:30 – 11:00 a.m. – Guided hike at Floating Fen
11:00 a.m. – Depart for College Lodge
11:15 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. – Refreshments & Presentation at College Lodge
Directions & Parking information here!
Looking Back: Week Seven In Photos
Monday:
Janet Ocel, pictured here with a young bat en route from her draperies back out into the wild. The Bat Lady, aka Caroline Bissell, answered Janet's call and rescued yet another Chautauqua bat! Janet reports that she used to be afraid of bats, but "not anymore!" If you find a bat in your house, please call Caroline for help! 602-999-7718.
Collecting Mountainash fruit to propagate from the Shoreline Gardens during Gloves-on Gardening Wednesday morning.
Wednesday:
Betsy Burgeson explains the history of the Shipman Garden to the guests at the Milller Cottage Open Garden on Wednesday.
Sunday:
A great crowd for 100 Years of Smith Wilkes Hall: A Musical Celebration with Greg Miller today!
コメント