Marsh Wetland Findings

1) Swamp Milkweed

(Gentionales, Apocynaceae, Asclepias, A. incarnata)

-pink, clustered flowers

-opposite, long and fuzzy leaves

-sap contains toxic chemicals

2)Red Milkweed Beetle

(Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Tetraopes, T. tetrophthalmus

-herbivore, feeding specifically on swamp milkweed flowers

-ingest toxins from plant and are "un-tasty" to

predators

3)Swift Long Winged Skimmer/

Blue Dasher

(Odonata, Libellulidae, Pachydiplax,

P. longipennis)

-small, blue skimmer with a white face

-very common all over the U.S.

4)Hybrid Cattail (White Cattail?)

(Poales, Typhaceae, Typha, T. xglauca)

-hybrid of common cattail and narrow leaf cattail

-non-native plant that grows in marshes

-roots help prevent erosion

-all parts of plant are edible; wildly used by Native Americans

5)Reed Canary Grass

(Cyperales, Poaceae, Phalaris L., P. arundinacea L.)

-invasive plant

-4 ft. tall, with long, rough leaves

-6 in. seeded stem top

6)Silky Dogwood

(Cornales, Cornaceae, Cornus L., C. amomum L.)

-endangered species in Indiana!

-eggshaped, opposite leaves

-blueish berries on a purplish stem

-deciduous shrub that likes moist/wet site

7)Northern Leopard Frog

(Anura, Ranidae, Rana)

-brown to green frogs with irregular black spots

-enjoy aquatic habitats

-quite difficult to capture: hop in zig zag patterns

8)Western Honey Bee

(Hymenoptera, Apidae, Apis, A. mellifera)

-very familiar pollinator

-collects nectar to produce honey

-small, furry insect with compound eyes

Lowland Forest Findings

1) Lopseed (Lamiales, Vernebaceae, Phryma L., P. leptostachya L.)

-found in moist woods, thickets

-1-3feet tall

-have small, pink flowers on tall, thin stem

- dull green, serrated, opposit

e leaves

2) Gooseberry(Saxifragales, Grossulariaceae, Ribes, R. uva-crispa)

-edible fruit

-branches have sharp spines

-deeply loped alternate leaves, with rounded edges

-in the currant family

3) Harvestmen (class:Arachnida, order:Opiliones)

-over 6,400 species in the world

-ours had red body, black legs

-are not daddy long-legs!

4) Eastern American Toad (Anura, Bufonidae, Bufo, B. americanus)

-spots only contain 1 wart

-medium sized toad

-has variable colors and patterns

5) Jumpseed/Virginia Knotweed (Polygonales, Polygonaceae, Polygonum L., P. virginianum L.)

-is in the buckwheat family!

-can reach 39 inches in height

-can make a tea for whooping cough with leaves

-alternate smooth edged leaves

-white flowers with 4 parts

6)Rough Bedstraw (Rubiales, Rubiaceae, Galium L., G. asprellum L.)

-small, greenish-white flowers

-plant falls

over

- needs other plants to lean on!

-whorled leaves

7) Millipede (class: Diplopoda)

-two pairs of legs per segment

-long, cylindrical body

-eat organic matter/decomposing vegetation

Moist Woods Ecosystem

1) Box Elder (Sapindales, Aceraceae, Acer L., A. negundo L.)

-can be invasive and weedy

-fast growing tree, can have many trunks

-compound, light green leaves

2)Pin Oak (Fagales, Fagaceae, Quercus L., Q. palustris Munchh)

-retain lower, dead branches

-leaves have really deep u-shaped sinuses

-hairless twigs

-really love water

3) White Pine (Pinales, Pinaceae, Pinus L., P. strobus L.)

-needles are in a bunch of 5 needles

-very soft needles

-very slender cones

4) Green Darner Dragonfly (Odonata, Aeshnidae, Anax, A. junius)

-resembles a darning needle (hence the name!)

-very large at 3 in. in length. (one of the largest dragonflies!)

- pretty green

5) Black Cherry (Rosales, Rosaceae, Prunus L., P. serotina Ehrh.)

-bark looks like burnt potato chips

-long, shiny smooth leaves

-has white flowers

6) American Goldfinch (Pas

seriformes, Fringillidae, Spinus, S. tristis)

-thick beak

-yellow body, with black on wings and on top of head (male)

-dullish yellow body, black only on wings (female)

7) Indigo Bunting (Passeriformes, Cardinalidae, Passerina, P. cyanea)

-small bird with thick beak

-male are blue in summer, females are brown year-round

8) Northern Cardinal (Passeriformes, Cardinalidae, Cardinalis, C. cardinalis)

-very red, medium sized song bird with black on it's face and a mohawk (male)

-fawn colored, with reddish mohawk; can have red undertones, depending on diet (female)

9) Field Sparrow (Passeriformes, Emberizidae, Spizella, S. pusilla)

-very small sparrow, has a thick beak

-beak and legs are pink

-has a distinct ping-pong ball call

-a drab, light brown color

Ash/Maple Forest Findings

1) Tall Bell Flower

(Camp

anulales,

Campanulaceae,Campanulastrum,

C.americanum)

-leaves are long and serrated

-star-shaped, light blue (lavender) flowers with 5 petals

-have a long sepal in the center

2) Clustered Blacksnakeroot

(Apiales,Apiaceae, Sanicula L., S. odorata)

- cluster of fruit on long stems

-continually 5 leaves

- grow in rich woods (clay/loamy soil)

- *are in the carrot family!!!*

3) Blue Ash (Scrophulariales, Oleacea, Fraxinus, F. quadrangulata)

- toothed, compound leaflets

- very square twigs (so easy to distinguish from other ashes!)

- are a threatened species in Iowa and Wisconsin

4) White Oak (Fagales, Fagaceae, Quercus L., Q.

alba L.)

-is hard to identify by leaves

-must look at branches and color

of the bark (light grayish)

-this one is really young- leaves are much different when older

-rounded leaves (like all white oaks have)

5) Red Oak (Fagales, Fagaceae, Quercus L., Q. rubra L.)

-has very distinctive lined bark

-tufts of furry stuff in it's axels (intersections on leaves)

-leaves have pointy ridges (easy to distinguish from white oak)

6) Sugar Maple (Sapindales, Aceraceae, Acer L., A. saccharum Marsh)

- bright green leaves with lighter green on the underside

-young tree has smooth, grayish bark

-older trees have shaggy bark

-in the autumn, trees have uneven coloring

Hickory/Oak Forest Findings

1) Chinquapin Oak (Fagales, Fagacae {Beech family}, Querces L. {Oak})

-white oak
-this one is quite young, silver hair on underside of leaf, toothed edges, dark green leaves
-generally found in soils that are well-drained and are weekly acid to alkaline

-have sweet acorns that are eaten by squirrels, voles, deer, etc....

2) Wood Frog (Anura, Ranidae, Rana, R. sylvatica)

-brown frog with a dark mask

-adults range from 3.5-8 cm. This one is a baby at just 1.5 cm ("Junior")

-breed in vernal woodland ponds, enjoy

moist woodlands, are very dependent on wetlands for breeding.

4) Yellow Roof Mushroom (?) (Argaricalus, Pluteaceae, Pluteus, P. admirabilis)

- small, yellow-ish mushroom with skinny stalk that grows on decayed wood.

-are very common in these types of forests and are also edible

4) Red Maple (Sapindales, Sapindaceae, Acer, A. rubrum)

-Common deciduous tree of eastern United States

-aptly names as its flowers, petioles, twigs and seeds are all varying shades of red

-very adaptable to all conditions of soil

5) American Hackberry (Urticales, Ulmaceae, Celtis, C. occidentalis)

-medium sized tree with warty, light gray bark and messy looking twigs

-have finely serrated leaves

-have orange-brown berries

6) Spice Bush (Laurales, Lauralaceae, Lindera, L. benzoin)

-deciduous shrub with tiny greenish yellow flowers

-have thick, light green leaves

-leaves are aromatic when crushed

7) American Elm (Urticales, Ulmaceae, Ulmus L., U. americana L)

-deciduous tree with serrated leaves

-can live for several hundred years

-is capable of self-pollination

8) White Avens (Rosales, Rosaceae, Geum L., G. canadense)

-have white flowers with 5 petals

-have numerous stamens and pistils

-when they go to seed, they turn into balls with hooked spines that stick to your clothing

9) May Apple (Ranunculalus, Berberidaceae, Podophyllum, P. peltatum)

-perennial plant that with one white flower

-flower turns into yellowish green fruit

-very common in woodlands of North America

10) Enchanters Nightshade (Myrtales, Onagraceae, Circaea, C. alpina)

- a flowering woodland plant

- small, white flowers with notched petals

- serrated leaves that taper to a very sharp point