Wapsi River Environmental News Spring 2002
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Wapsi R iver E nvironm ental N e w s Spring 2002 Wapsi R iv e r E nvironm ental E d u c a tio n Center saved enough energy to lay dormant for another year, just beneath the oak and hickory leaves. Bloodroot is named after the juice found in its rhizome. by Michael Petersen, AmeriCorp Naturalist The juice is blood-red in color with about the same consistency as blood. It will even coagulate like blood April showers bring along some of when the rhizome is punctured or cut. spring's most anticipated coloring, The U.S. Food and Drug Administration reminding us that summer is almost lists bloodroot as "unsafe" because of its here. These showers, added with caustic (poisonous) properties and ability warm sunshine, allow our native to chemically corrode and destroy tissue. poppy, bloodroot, to spring to life. Since it is a member of the poppy family, this herb also contains alkaloids that Bloodroot (Sanguianaria closely resemble morphine, a chemical canadensis) is one of spring's earliest wildflowers. It composite of opium poppy. Therefore, internal use is appears before leaf buds come to life and block sunshine dangerous. from the forest floor. A true poppy, with flowers not lasting more than a day, thrives in timbers of well- Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration lists drained soil in the eastern half of the United States. The bloodroot as "unsafe", the Native Americans found rhizome (underground stem) of bloodroot sends up numerous uses for it. Their use of this herb varies several flowering stems enveloped in a single leaf. The greatly. A simple use was chewing the root and using flower stem eventually extends much higher than the the spittle on burns. A couple of drops of bloodroot juice leaf, reaching heights of 6" to 14" − still relatively short. on hardened maple sugar were used The bloodroot's flower to cure sore throats by sucking on center is yellow with it. Internal uses were the making white petals extending of a tea from the rhizome to relieve outward forming stomach cramps, as an emetic to somewhat of a square induce vomiting, a laxative and a shape, with some petals digestive system stimulant. longer than others. The External uses include treatment for flowers of bloodroot are warts, ringworm, fungal infections and surface cancerous a welcome sight against growths. Bloodroot worked very well on skin ailments the dullness of fall's because of its ability to destroy and corrode tissue. After fallen leaves. all the pros and cons of this herb, its safest use is as a natural dye, coloring objects on contact. On woodland hikes, one may realize that this herb is only visible for a short period. Soon after blooming, March To experience this spring wildflower is truly wonderful. through May, this beautiful spring flower reduces itself Its clumps of shimmering white petals will surely again to the rhizome and awaits next year's spring rains brighten your mood from the extent of winter's gloom. and warm sunshine. By early summer, this perennial has to a clear banjo note repeated slowly and more softly each time • Bullfrog - single reverberating strum on a bass fiddle; by Greg Wolf, Interpretative Naturalist “jug-o’-rum” • Eastern Gray Tree Frog - slow, musical, resonating trill • Cope’s Gray Tree Frog - hearty resonating trill, similar to When people think of spring, the first things that come to mind Eastern gray tree frog but faster are budding trees, spring wildflowers and birds returning from • Spring Peeper - short, loud, penetrating “peep” for one to the wintering grounds. The appearance of frogs also provides a two seconds sure sign that spring has arrived. • Western Chorus Frog - noise similar to dragging your fingernail across the teeth of a comb Frogs are amphibians, which means that in • Cricket Frog - bouncing of two steel balls together the course of their life span they lead a • American Toad - loud, melodious trill lasting many “double life”, first in the water as tadpoles and seconds, sometimes half a minute then as adults on land. Frogs make up 85% of all amphibians. Today, there are 3,800 known species of This may seem like a lot to learn, but take some time to listen frogs and toads in the world, 82 of which live in North to the frogs this spring. You will be surprised how fast you can America. In Iowa, 16 species of frogs and toads can be pick up on the calls. If you are interested in experiencing a found. frog survey, call Jennifer Anderson, Nahant Marsh naturalist. Frog and toad choruses can be heard in our ponds, marshes or She explores the marsh and researches the frogs every other most bodies of water that stay wet. A frog's call is the first Friday starting March 15 at sunset. Call her at (563) 323-5196 thing that will tell you it is around. March is the time to start to let her know if you plan on assisting her, and want to learn listening for frogs as long as the temperature stays above 50oF more about the unknown songs of spring. or higher. As an exothermic (an animal that gets its heat from the environment), the temperature must be warm enough for the frogs to have enough energy to call. Calling continues well into July and even as late as August. The main reason for frogs Recommended Listening Periods to call is to set up territories and attract females for breeding. (with minimum water temperatures) o o o Male frogs and toads sing. One male has three kinds of calls: 1-50 F 2-60 F 3-70 F “advertisement calls” to alert females of their presence, February March April May June July August “aggressive calls” to defend their territory and “courtship calls” to attract females within their territory. Wood Frog How does a frog make its call? The secret is in the frog’s vocal Chorus Frog sac(s). Males push air from the lungs over the vocal cords and Spring Peeper into the vocal sacs. True frogs (bullfrogs, leopard frogs, green frogs and pickerel frogs) have two vocal sacs, one on each side Crawfish Frog of the throat, while tree frogs and toads Southern Leopard Frog have one vocal sac under the chin. Vocal sacs assist in amplifying the song Plains Leopard Frog (call) so it can be heard from a long Northern Leopard Frog distance away. Loud calls are a sign of strength to which the females are Pickerel Frog attracted. When frogs call, they expend American Toad a lot of energy. A male frog may lose up to 1/3 of its body weight while calling during the breeding Great Plains Toad season. Gray Tree Frog Each species has its own call. If you can learn to recognize Cricket Frog bird calls, you can learn frog calls. The following list is of common frogs and toads in the area and how to recognize their Fowler’s Toad calls. Woodhouse’s Toad • Northern Leopard Frog - resembles a long snore Plains Spadefoot followed by a series of short grunts Green Frog • Pickerel Frog - snore similar to that of Northern leopard frog (steady low croak) though not as loud; they call under Bullfrog the water • Green Frog - short series of low-pitched ‘clungs’ similar * The calling times presented below are typical of frogs in Missouri. Iowa frogs begin calling slightly later. By the mid-1800s, there were signs of a shift in the The Lost and Almost Lost distribution and the numbers of fox in Iowa. Just like by Bob Bryant the white-tailed deer, the red fox numbers increased and Wapsi River E. E. Center, Director they expanded their range as the woodlands were logged, cleared and grazed to meet the needs of a growing state. T he Lost and Almost Lost is a series of articles on Iowa’s This patchwork of open fields and woods created an game animals and how they have fared during the settlement edge effect, very favorable to the red fox. However, this of Iowa. The series is based on “A Country So Full of Game” gradually had a negative impact on the population and by James Dinsmore (1994). This book is a comprehensive distribution of the gray fox, which prefers the dense history of the interaction of man with Iowa’s wildlife. Find out woodlands. what species of wildlife we have lost, what species we could lose, and what species were lost but reintroduced. Although fox are valued for their fur, they were also considered a threat to small livestock and poultry by early settlers. Bounties were paid on red and gray fox Even though many species have been extirpated from the from 1860 to 1897. A $2 bounty on fox was state or their numbers drastically decreased, some reestablished in 1951. Through the 1950s, all 99 species associated with the woodland edge or the deep counties paid a bounty on fox. By 1960, half of the woods have proven to be very adaptable to Iowa’s counties quit, and only one county was paying a bounty changing environment in the 1800s. Fox, raccoons and by 1977. As the Iowa’s woodland acreage shrunk, so did skunks have proven to be some of Iowa’s most the gray fox’s habitat, making it easier for them to be adaptable, common and widely distributed wildlife. hunted or trapped as compared to the red fox. The gray The largest of Iowa’s fox is the red fox. It is mostly fox’s habit of climbing trees probably made them easier yellowish-red, with dark, bushy, white-tipped tail and prey, also, especially when they were hunted using weighs 10-15 lbs.