WILD PLANTS IN OCTOBER FIELDS

      Several kinds of wild plants are most evident and beautiful in some pumpkin fields, cabbage fields and soybean fields, along rural roadsides, fence rows, streams and railroad tracks, and in abandoned fields in October in southeastern Pennsylvania.  Pumpkins, cabbage and soybeans grow too densely to be cultivated, hence the wild vegetation is allowed to grow to tall maturity.  And the other human-made habitats are mowed infrequently.  Therefore those lovely wild plants can grow to produce seeds.

     Redroot and lamb's quarters weeds and foxtail grass are the most common of tall, wild plants in most cropland habitats in this area.  All originally from Europe, red roots and lamb's quarters have red leaves and stems in October, while foxtail grass turns yellow, all making the autumn fields more attractive.  These plants, like all green plants, turn colors in fall when the green chlorophyll dies in their tissues.       

     Other kinds of common, tall plants in cropland habitats in this area include velvetleaf, pokeweed and common milkweed, that help make fields more attractive.  Velvetleaf has pale-yellow leaves and brown seeds in circular seed heads.  Poke is an annual plant that grows to the size of bushes.  In October, poke has red foliage and stems that brighten cropland habitats.  The chunky, gray seed pods of milkweeds split open in October to release multitudes of brown seeds, each one with a silky, white parachute clinging to it to carry it away on the wind.  Many seeds, spilling out at once, are pretty to see. 

     Some other species of common, high vegetation still have flowers in October, making croplands even more attractive.  The most common and obvious of those plants are goldenrods with their clusters of tiny, yellow blooms, asters with tiny, white blossoms, other asters with small, lavender flowers, Jerusalem artichokes, which are a kind of sunflower with three-inch, yellow flowers, and morning glory vines that have purple or pink blooms.  Morning glories crawl up some of these taller, wild plants, and corn stalks.

     Poison ivy  and Virginia creeper vines climbed trees and fences along country roads and hedgerows.  In October, poison ivy shows off shiny red, yellow and orange foliage while creepers display red leaves.  Also, these vines produce berries that rodents and berry-eating birds consume in autumn and winter.  The birds digest the berries' pulp, but pass the seeds in their droppings, thus spreading those plant species across the countryside.   

     Many kinds of small creatures depend on these wild plants for food and shelter.  Crickets and grasshoppers feed on the leaves of many of the plants.  Some of those insects are eaten by skunks, red foxes and American kestrels.  Wintering birds, including house sparrows, mourning doves, horned larks and savannah sparrows eat the seeds of red roots, foxtail grasses, goldenrods, asters, milkweeds and other kinds of wild plants in farmland.

     All the wild plants discussed here help beautify farmland each October.  One only has to walk or ride through that local cropland to see the striking colored leaves and lovely flowers of some of the vegetation.  And to see some of the interesting wildlife that spends fall among those same plants.       

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

SPRING ON THE UPPER CHESAPEAKE

      I visited the Upper Chesapeake Bay at the Community Park of Northeast, Maryland one afternoon about the middle of March a few years ago, as I had several times in different seasons before that day.  This time, I went there to spot migrating water birds of various kinds.        Because of their high numbers, gulls and ducks were the dominant birds on the ice, and strips of open water among the slabs of ice because of the warming weather in March.  Most of the handsome ring-billed, herring and great black-backed gulls stood picturesquely on slabs of ice.        The attractive, adult ring-billed and herring gulls are mostly gray on top, white below, and look much alike, except the herrings are larger and have a red mark on their beaks, whereas each ring-bill has a black "ring" around its bill.  Largest of these gulls, the stately, mature black-backs have black backs and upper wings and are white below, making a striking, attractive plumage pattern.        All three of thos
Read more

DADDY-LONG-LEGS

     During summer, over the years in southeastern Pennsylvania, I've seen many daddy-long-legs on the bark of tree trunks on lawns, and in parks and woods.  They blend into the color of tree bark well and are difficult to see.  Many people never see them at all until those camouflaged little critters are pointed out by people in the know about them.        Daddy-long-legs have eight, really long, thin legs, but they are not spiders.  But they are arachnids, and related to spiders.  These attractive, little creatures, called daddy-long-legs because of their long legs, have quarter-inch, compact bodies raised on stilt-like legs.  They have two dark eyes and feel the vibrations of birds and other predators with their legs.  But these arachnids have no venom, or silk to make webs.        Daddy-long-legs, like all other living beings, are part of several food chains.  They consume tiny invertebrates and decaying plant and animal materials they find on tree bark.  And, in turn, many of
Read more

FATHER FINCHES FEEDING FLEDGINGS

     While sitting on our back deck to enjoy the lovely scenery and weather during the afternoon of July 21, 2023, I noticed a tiny, red speck in our tall Norway spruce tree on our suburban lawn in southeastern Pennsylvania.  Peering at that red spot with 16 power binoculars, I saw it was a beautiful male house finch feeding three fledgling house finches; his offspring.  Those gray and dark-streaked young birds fluttered their wings vigorously while being fed invertebrates and seeds.  And the wild charm of those birds was decidedly enhanced by the deep-green of the needled spruce boughs.        Those four house finches were a lovely, exciting sight to me.  I know that species of small birds raises young in our neighborhood every summer, including a pair of house finches that hatch offspring on a support under an awning over our deck.  But never before had I watched a father house finch feed his young outside their twig and grass cradle.  And when that male finch flew off the spruce lim
Read more