Outdoor Indiana Plant Features for 2017
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The plant features in this document orignally appeared in Outdoor Indiana magazine in 2017 Enjoy these archived articles from Outdoor Indiana magazine? Subscribe at OutdoorIndiana.org PLANT FEATURE SOURWOOD (Oxydendrum arboreum) State Range: Floyd, Harrison and Perry counties. Habitat: Dry forest with acidic soil over sandstone. Blooming Period: Late June into July. Flowers: Tiny white urn-shaped flowers assembled in sprays at branch tips. Frank Oliver photo This plant is tough to find in Indiana outside of a few counties. Chewing a leaf will tell you all you need to know about how it got its name, but its honey is considered a delicacy by some people. By Michael Homoya n far southern Indiana there’s a dendron, meaning tree. Chew a piece of hence another common name for sour- band of counties bordering the sourwood leaf and it all makes sense. wood—lily-of-the-valley tree. Its foliage Ohio River that could rightly be The tree is a member of the heath is also attractive and is commonly ablaze Ireferred to as “Little Appalachia.” At family (Ericaceae). This is the same plant in red or reddish-purple in autumn. least when it comes to plants. family that includes rhododendron, Sourwood is not a common tree If you could hop from the Great Smoky mountain laurel and blueberry. The fam- in Hoosier wildlands. It is officially Mountains in Tennessee to Indiana’s hills ily ties are especially apparent between designated by the DNR as State Rare between New Albany and Tell City, you blueberry and sourwood. Their tiny tube- (SR). Such a designation means that would see plants that might make you shaped flowers are almost identical. the number of populations existing in think you’d never left the mountains. The Sourwood is a small to medium-sized the entire state is 20 or fewer, but more roster includes mountain laurel, umbrella tree resembling the much more com- than 10. Almost all Indiana popula- magnolia and Virginia pine. mon sassafras in growth form and bark. tions of sourwood are in Perry County. Sourwood is another. While mountains It is quite attractive overall, and in some Sourwood honey is a delicacy, con- aren’t its only home—it grows wild, even parts of the country, it’s planted as an sidered to be a gourmet honey by some. in the Florida panhandle—most of the ornamental. While sourwood’s natu- Sorry, but Indiana probably doesn’t have land it inhabits is rugged terrain. Steep ral range in Indiana is limited to the sufficient numbers of sourwood trees for rocky slopes characterize its Indiana hab- extreme south, it’s tolerant of cold tem- honey production. You’ll need to go south- itat, especially those areas with rather dry, peratures and can be grown throughout east into the tree’s main range for that. acid soils and sandstone outcrops. the state in appropriate soil conditions. It may be called sourwood, but this is Also known as sorrel tree for its Several aspects of the tree warrant a sweet tree. U sour-tasting leaves, sourwood’s botan- consideration for landscaping use, in- ical moniker, Oxydendrum arboreum, cluding the sprays of tiny white flowers DNR State Botanist Michael Homoya has sur- was given for the same reason. The that form on branch tips in mid-sum- veyed Indiana for more than 34 years looking Latin name means “sour tree,” from mer. To some people these flower clus- for rare plants and significant natural areas to the Greek oxys, meaning sour, and ters resemble those of lily-of-the-valley, protect. Email at [email protected]. OutdoorIndiana.org 17 PLANT FEATURE DWARF LARKSPUR (Delphinium tricorne) State Range: Near statewide, more common south of Indianapolis. Size: 1.5 feet maximum. Habitat Requirement: Open woodlands, ravines and slopes. Blooms: April 15–June 1. Thomas Swinford photo This relatively short plant boasts a charming appearance and a defense against predators that earned it the nickname “staggerweed.” By Thomas Swinford warf larkspur is the only native upright stalk, gracefully arising from floral spur. As the bees strain to reach Indiana member of a familiar interesting, deeply lobed foliage. The the rich reward, their heads become group of plants commonly found individual flowers are a distinctive soft dusted with pollen, which they then Din perennial gardens. The larkspurs that velvety purple, and have a five-pointed carry to the next plant to cross-pollinate. form this group are often referred to by star-like appearance further adorned This plant belongs to the buttercup fam- their scientific name, delphinium, even with a long, curving floral spur. ily, which is best known for its members’ by those who don’t typically use scientific If you use your imagination, you might bright and shiny yellow flowers. However, names when identifying plants. be able to see the flowers as little “star- many plants in the buttercup family, dwarf The larger, showy larkspurs typically men” adorned with purple wizard’s hats. larkspur included, possess atypical flowers available at garden centers are hybrids and This plant is an early spring bloomer, that capture the imagination with interest- cultivars of plants that are found through- often appearing in the second week ing shapes and varied bright other colors. out the northern hemisphere, especially in of April. This trait is likely an adapta- Others in this group include columbine, its mountainous regions. Many larkspur tion to the forest habitats in which it monkshood and baneberry. species are found in the high-country is typically found. It seems to prefer Dwarf larkspur is not a wild edible. meadows of the western United States. somewhat open wooded slopes. It possesses highly poisonous foliage As you might guess from its name, the This plant reaches its greatest abun- and leaves to deter herbivore predators. dwarf larkspur is one of the most diminu- dance in southern Indiana, where large Some cattlemen call it staggerweed tive members in its genus of plants, which is colonies may cover several acres. It is, because of its deadly effects upon live- otherwise tall and stately. It is rarely found however, found throughout most of stock. Although it is not known to have to have grown more than a foot in height. the state, except in the northern tier of been documented in a human fatality, But what it may lack in leggy-ness, it counties, where it is entirely absent. its alkaloid poison is suitably toxic. more than makes up for in beauty and Dwarf larkspur is pollinated by But it still pleases the eye. U charm. insects, primarily the bumblebees and The colorful and unusual flowers miner bees that possess the long tongues Thomas Swinford is assistant director of the Divi- are tidily arranged along a stout single required to reach the nectar deep in the sion of Nature Preserves, [email protected]. OutdoorIndiana.org 17 PLANT FEATURE NODDING ONION (Allium cernuum) Habitat: Grows in, loam, sandy, or clay soils. Flower period: July to August. River bluff companion plants: Shooting star, savanna blazingstar, round-leaved ragwort, white oak. John Maxwell photo Nodding onion’s flowers, like these at O’Bannon Woods State Park last July, often seem to nod to the ground, as the plant’s name suggests. By Benjamin W. Hess ust hearing the word “onion” often along these scenic rivers, it can be hard production, the umbel stays in this po- conjures up memories of childhood. to spot there. The reason is the riverside sition and produces many small black, Usually, those thoughts are about conditions that make it difficult for it to shiny seeds. Jonions planted in a garden. But native bloom the beautiful flowers that are its The flowers’ position relative to the onions grow wild throughout Indiana, most distinctive feature. forest floor tends to favor pollinators and can make memories, too. The culprit is the shade on the bluffs that can collect pollen upside-down or Nodding onion is one of those. It’s from large oak and maple trees. This hover while drinking nectar. Among traditionally in the Lily family but condition may hinder flowering until this group are European honeybee recently has become a new member of one of these great trees returns to the and native ground-dwelling bees such the Amaryllis family, which have bulbs forest floor and opens the river bluff as sweat bees, mason bees and miner and linear leaves and exhibit umbels to more sunlight. Despite its flowering bees, all of which typically travel close of flowers. It prefers full to partial challenges, the plant itself can tolerate to the ground when seeking pollen. sun, can tolerate a wide range of soil partial shade because of its enlarged Hikers may often overlook or even moistures and can be found in various underground stem/bulb. step on nodding onion along the habitats. It was once one of North These elongated bulbs, which are Maumee or Wabash rivers in the spring America’s most widely spread native characteristic of the Amaryllis family, and early summer, when its grass-like onions, but as with most native species, act like large storage tanks of energy leaves are present. If so, the distinct on- habitat loss has restricted it to a few until more favorable flowering condi- ion scent from the crushed leaves may remaining remnants. tions emerge. rise from the high river bluff, causing One place you may see nodding on- When blooms do arrive, they pause to look for the source of that ion is in a prairie remnant of northwest protrude from a stiff central stem in a familiar, nostalgic smell. U Indiana.