Eli's Native Plants

@elisnativeplants

The diversity of life is sacred. The diversity of human cultures too. I'm a gardener #NativePlants, vegan, programmer, physics PhD, seed keeper. Trying to stop the 6th global extinction by reconnecting humans with the rest of the living world. /|\

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Eli's Native Plants@elisnativeplants· 23d

So you know what to expect if you visit. Dog friendly, leashed or at heal. People keep this park clean. There's a steep trail and ones that go around the incline more.

Sign board at the part entrance.
No motorized vehicles
A map
Multiple signs about rules for pets. Clean up after them. Don't let them run wild — my paraphrase

Another signboad
More signs about dogs and conservation land regulations
Land and Water Conservation Fund
Another map

Eli's Native Plants@elisnativeplants· 24d

Red Maple (Acer rubrum) and Striped Maple (Acer pennsylvanica) in Oak Hill Conservation Area. Red Maple is determined to be in the canopy. Striped Maple is an arching understory tree of moist hardwood forests. A last holdout from the early maple migration from Asia: section Macrantha. #ecoregion59

The Red Maple fell over 60ish years ago, when it was over 30, I think. It grew branches straight up and one became the new trunk. This shows the L-shaped trunk in an oak/maple forest

Oak Hill conservation area: the sign at the entrance of this excellent spot for a hike

A Striped Maple with a thin trunk a large 3-lobed leaves and dangling clusters of seeds (samaras)

Eli's Native Plants@elisnativeplants· 28d

Creeping blackberries? There's a name for that: Dewberries. This is Rubus flagellaris, the Northern Dewberry. I dare not eat these. This is at my apartment complex, where they spray so many chemicals it makes the dogs sick. But I'll head to a powerline cut this weekend. #ecoregion59 #nativeplants

Parched lawn under a red oak, with Northern Dewberries creeping out into the sun, flat along the turf.

A close up showing the berries of this bramble. Northern Dewberries are a type of bramble (genus Rubus) but more specifically they are a blackberry, not a raspberry as evidenced by the black elongated berries and the stubs where they have been picked, lacking the taurus which stay on the stem when a raspberry is picked.

Eli's Native Plants@elisnativeplants· Jul 10

These two appear to be friends; they hang out together a lot. Rhus glabra (Smooth Sumac, cashew family) and Calystegia sepium spp ? (Hedge False Bindweed, morning glory family) I have some work to do to determine whether the false bindweed is a native subspecies. #nativeplants #ecoregion59

Smooth Sumac and Hedge False Bindweed blooming. The view from the top shows the spiraling of the spire of the Rhus panicle and the compound leaves of the sumac below. Sumac stems are purplish, with a blue-green bloom thickly masking the base color. The false bindweed is the white, morning glory-like flower climbing the sumac leaf at the top of the image.

Smooth Sumac and Hedge False Bindweed blooming. The view from the side shows the yellow-green spire of the Rhus panicle above the compound leaves. The false bindweed is the white, morning glory-like flower climbing the sumac leaf at the center-leftof the image.

Eli's Native Plants@elisnativeplants· Jul 8

Striped Pipsissewa (Chimaphila maculata, heath/blueberry family) blooming in morning dew. Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron radicans, cashew family) telling you not to touch. #waterwednesday #bloomscrolling #flowers #nature #forest #ecoregion59

Striped Pipsissewa (Chimaphila maculata) blooming in morning dew.

The cluster of nodding, bell-shaped flowers is hanging from slender, reddish-brown stalks (peduncles). Each flower consists of four fused petals forming a tubular corolla that flares out at the top. The tips of the petals are reflexed (curled backward), revealing numerous yellow stamens.

Evergreen leaves clustered near the base of the stems are elliptical to lanceolate in shape, dark green, glossy, with a lighter green or whitish midrib running down the center of each leaf, contrasting with the darker blade. The leaves appear leathery waxy, wet. The pine duff around is probably acidic and rich in the mycorrhizal fungi with which these associate. The shiny trios of leaves in the bottom right is some dewy Poison Ivy.

Eli's Native Plants@elisnativeplants· Jul 7

Thick Trunk Tuesday. White Oak and White Pine in #ecoregion60. Their vast canopy lets in dappled light. Enough to bleach the oak trunk. White Pine is named for the color of the wood. Invariable, what's on the inside. Outer color changes with conditions and rapidly over generations. Superficial.

Looking directly at the trunks of a White Oak (Quercus alba) and White Pine (Pinus strobus), in an otherwise open area in a friend's yard in Grotton, MA, 7/4/26. The White Oak is the whitest I've ever seen, a sun-bleached by the dappled light let through by the canopy. The White Pine is stark and dark.

The 'lawn' is soft green sedges and small native herbs. Much Canada Mayflower in the back corner before the road. A little Hillside Blueberry (Vaccinium pallidum) in the back R before the road.

Looking up at the beautifully straight trunks of the trees from the ground, including the sedges at the bottom of the image. The White Oak canopy spreads out at 10m tall, but the White Pine shoots right through to find light above the oak leaves.

Stepping back to see the canopy spread of the White Oak, and how the neighboring White Pine reaches right up past it. The oak is gloriously strong, throwing out horizontal branches to shade a large area

Eli's Native Plants@elisnativeplants· Jul 5

7/4, a low key gathering with the family of my wife's teacher friend/colleague. Grilling vegan sausages, chatting travels and foraging with her father. A highlight was when I snuck out to walk the nearby power lines. Never have I ever seen so many hazelnuts or blueberries together. #ecoregion60

The power lines: an open section between shrubby areas, with Goldenrods in the bottom of the image, raising up to small shrubs of lowbush blueberries and huckleberries, then highbush blueberries and hazelnut along the deer track, framing the telephone (/power) pole in the distance. The large oak, hickory and White Pine trees frame the powerline cut further, and the sliver of grey sky above the deer track.

Pale hazelnut involucres around a cluster of unripe nuts, proferred by this toothy-leaved 4m tall shrub, growing with dense foliage and many nuts in the full sun.

A pint of berries that I picked easily in well under an area, with some Sweetfern leaves to prevent molding. The berries of at least 4 and possibly 6 species of blueberry are represented. Vaccinium corymbosum, angustifolium, pallidum, caesariense were certainly represented along with 2 species of Gaylussaccia (huckleberry), but there were also 2 blueberry species that don't fit my search image for the 4 I listed.

Eli's Native Plants@elisnativeplants· Jul 5

Swamp Azaleas (Rhododendron viscosum) are native to any state near the East Coast. They are blooming with impressive large white tubular flowers. This is the first time I've caught the bloom. gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/rhod... #nativeplants #ecoregion59 #flowers #bloomscrolling

White star-shaped tubular flowers of Swamp Azalea, over sprays of the ovate, waxy leaves

Arching Azalea shrub with flowers on the lower branches, among Cinnamon Fern and Highbush Blueberry

Eli's Native Plants@elisnativeplants· Jul 4

Butternut (Juglans cinerea), getting strangled by Asian bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus). A rare and special find. I will help this tree. Butternut are in severe decline across MA due to butternut canker, a fatal fungal disease. northernwoodlands.org/outside_stor... #nativeplants #ecoregion59

A young butternut, like and elongated, sticky black walnut, green with brown bruising, on the pavement.

A many-trunked Butternut tree splaying out like a more-upright elm, with a dense skirt of Asiatic Bittersweet climbing the trunks after covering the surrounding foliage.

Eli's Native Plants@elisnativeplants· Jul 3

Carolina horsenettle (Solanum carolinense): vigorous perennial of the nightshade family, thrives in disturbed soils, roadsides, agricultural fields. Natural host to hornworms, particularly the tomato hornworm (Manduca quinquemaculata) and tobacco hornworm (M. sexta). #nativeplants #ecoregion59

Image shows a close-up of the Carolina horsenettle (*Solanum carolinense*) flower, displaying several key anatomical features:

**Petals:** The flower has five white petals that are fused at their bases and reflexed (curved backward), creating a star-like appearance. This is characteristic of many Solanaceae flowers.

**Stamens:** Five prominent yellow anthers are visible, arranged in a cone around the central pistil. The anthers appear elongated and slightly curved, with some showing brownish tips where pollen may have been released. This distinctive yellow stamen cluster contrasts sharply with the white petals.

**Pistil:** A single pale green-white pistil extends from the center, though it's partially obscured by the surrounding reproductive structures.

**Calyx:** Green sepals form a protective cup beneath the flower, appearing fuzzy or glandular-hairy. Some developing fruit buds are visible nearby, still enclosed in their calyxes.

**Overall structure:** The flower exhibits the typical zygomorphic symmetry of nightshade blossoms, with its parts arranged in fives—a hallmark of the Solanaceae family. The combination of white reflexed petals and bright yellow anther cones makes this species quite recognizable when blooming.

A wider view of the Carolina horsenettle plant
*Anatomical features:*

**Growth habit:** The plant displays an upright, branching structure with multiple stems rising from what appears to be a central crown. It's clearly a robust perennial reaching perhaps 2-3 feet tall in this image.

**Leaf arrangement and shape:** The leaves are alternately arranged along the stems, broadly ovate to triangular in shape with irregularly toothed or lobed margins. They appear soft-textured with visible venation patterns radiating from the midrib.

**Stem characteristics:** The stems show noticeable hairiness (pubescence) and some reddish-brown coloration, particularly on older sections. Sharp prickles are visible along the stems, especially near leaf junctions - these defensive spines are quite prominent.

**Flower clusters:** Multiple white flowers are distributed throughout the upper portions of the plant, appearing in loose clusters rather than solitary blooms. Each flower shows the characteristic star shape with five reflexed petals and bright yellow centers.

**Overall vigor:** The plant looks healthy and actively growing, surrounded by other green vegetation that suggests it's thriving in a natural or semi-disturbed habitat typical for this species.

Eli's Native Plants@elisnativeplants· Jul 2

Dendrolycopodium obscurum (formerly Lycopodium obscurum), commonly known as flat-branched tree-clubmoss. Found from pine barrens to boggy forest, cirumboreal in the North. Dendrolycopodium: From Greek dendron (“tree”) and lykopodion (“little wolf” or “wolf’s foot”). #nativeplants #ecoregion59

Flat-branched Tree Clubmoss growing in oak/pine duff with a few blueberry branches in the background. This looks like a little conifer except for the strobili reaching up from the top like giant (wrt the rest of the plant) green cones. ~15cm tall

Close-up of the strobili and foliage, like that of a young Juniper. Scales of the strobili are similar to those of an immature pine cone, dark green scales with pale margins.

Eli's Native Plants@elisnativeplants· Jul 2

Swamp Dewberry (Rubus hispidus). A Common understory plant of seasonally wet areas, it can take thoroughly dry spells especially if it's shaded in the season (Summer/Fall) when they occur. A Dewberry is a Bramble (genus Rubus) like a Blackberry. #nativeplants #ecoregion59 #wildflowers #woodlands

A Swamp Dewberry spreading leaves just above the pine duff, with a 4-petalled roughed up (missing a petal -- should be 5 for Rubus) little white flower. Triplets of waxy, dark green, simple, toothed leaves. 8cm tall at most, with short sprawled canes under the pine needles.

Close up of the roughed up little white flower with more open space than petal, even disregarding the fact that 1 of the 5 is missing. Many pale stamens ending in rusty little balls. A fertilized petalless flower below the blooming one.

Eli's Native Plants@elisnativeplants· Jul 2

Striped Pipsissewa (Chimaphila maculata), not Pipsissewa (C. umbellata). A better name than Spotted Prince's Pine, which comes from a mistranslation of the Latin maculata, marked. Stripes, not spots. The name Pipsissewa is Algonquin for "it breaks into small pieces." naeb.brit.org/uses/species...

Chimaphila maculata growing in White Pine duff, with the white-veined dark green, glossy lanceolate leaves in decent focus and the out-of-focus white berries forming on stems upright but nodding above the spray of nearly basal leaves.

Same image, but with the sets of 3 white berries on the stems of these two plants in better focus than the leaves this time.

Eli's Native Plants@elisnativeplants· Jul 1

Good morning! I'd like to share a slice of the lovely start to my day. Virginia Wild Rose perfuming the warm moist air, the Eastern Bumblebees humming a tune, walking toward a wild meadow on a roadside by the Horse paddock. #nativeplants #ecoregion59 #roadsideNature #horses #roses #bees

Pink scruffy blossoms of Rosa virginiana over a riot of foliage fills the bottom of the image. One of the many humming Bumblebees is visible on one of the upper flowers. Above that, there are 4 horses grazing on a close-cropped green pasture with some scattered trees, some of which are being subsumed by Asiatic Bittersweet. A grey-blue sky is visible between the trees in the top of the image.

Eli's Native Plants@elisnativeplants· Jul 1

Ah, I'm sorry to hear that. I didn't realize it was so widespread. It seems to like our dry disturbed areas, so I'm not shocked that it's even more aggressive there. Sad for what it's pushing out though.

The BONAP map for Hypericum perforatum, showing that it's officially invasive on the West Coast of Turtle Island, and not so in the East. While the invasive species lists focus on the worst offenders, botanists and ecologists here have warned that it's pushing endangered species out of their habitat here as well.

Eli's Native Plants@elisnativeplants· Jun 30

That's wonderful. I can't look at the pictures the rescue sent of our little guy, after he spent his first 3 years chained out and starved in TX. He is mobility impaired, but full of vigor and attitude.

Elliot, our little grey dog, scratching in frustration because I'm walking too slowly and taking picures

Eli's Native Plants@elisnativeplants· Jun 30

Hypericum perforatum, St John's Wort -- the invasive European species, not the native. Some say "it only invades disturbed sites" as if that makes it better, when the native species that sweep in after {vanished} fire are some of the most at-risk. #invasivePlants #stjohnswort #ecoregion59

Cheerful yellow flowers if St. John's Wort. Many flowers and a mess of little leaves of the Hypericum and larger Solidago leaves.

PictureThis or Seek/iNaturalist can easily tell the invasive from the native species of St John's Wort when they are flowering.

Eli's Native Plants@elisnativeplants· Jun 29

Wild Sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis) is a great. A little umbrella of leaves shading the forest floor in healthy ecosystems all over New England. I'm not often one to dig roots except at need, but I've tried it. Try a berry instead, save seeds, grow more. #nativeplants #cottagefarden #ecoregion59

The shiny green triplet of a Wild Sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis) plant, with the seemingly separate, leafless stalk (caulis) of the flowers/berries below. First floor is a healthy duff, mixed white pine and oak leaf litter. There's also some PI and Canada Mayflower

Berries of an Aralia nudicaulis on a separate stalk. I had just eaten the ripest, blue-blackest berry when I took this. I planted the 5 seeds.

Eli's Native Plants@elisnativeplants· Jun 29

#Ecoregion59 extends from the NY coast, northward, with a little hike inland up the Hudson Valley. I'm on the Western edge here, 25mi W of Boston. Since I added the #, here's a Swamp Dewberry, Rubus hispidus, from 6/26.

A 6cm tall clump of Swamp Dewberry (R. hispidus) flowering among sedges in classic Rubus style: 5 white petals and many stamens. The leaves are tripartate, tough, and sawtooth-like. Petals are thin enough to leave more gap than petal, but longer than the meager petals of R. occidentalis (Black Raspberry). Certainly not as full and impressive as those of R. allegheneisis (Allegheny Blackberries) though.

This is on a wet woodland edge. They can also be found in wet woodlands, and I met my first in Hickory-rich woods bottom.

Eli's Native Plants@elisnativeplants· Jun 28

Crown vetch (Securigera varia) is an aggressive invasive species in MA, USA. Planted in the 1950s for erosion control along highways, it has escaped into woodlands and meadows throughout New England. #wildflowerhour #invasiveplants #ecoregion59

Crown Vetch growing in a clump at the bottom edge of a hedge. Pink pea-like flowers in small clusters that look like clovers from a distance, pinnately compound leaves with rounded leaflets. They clump up a shrubby edge in messy clumps.

Crown Vetch spreading at the edge of a horse paddock, taking over a large area.

Eli's Native Plants@elisnativeplants· Jun 28

Good morning to you, Humans. I would like to thank the singers in this morning's chorus, e.g. Winter Wren Red-eyed Vireo Eastern Kingbird Rose-breasted Grosbeak Special thanks to the Common Yellowtails Grey Catbirds who sang continuously. #wetland #birdsong #nativeplants #ecoregion59 #druidsky

Walking in on woodchips and plank paths through the marsh, in low light, with a light mist softening the world. Attaching limbs of many trees, clumps of many sedges.

Merlin (Cornell Lab of Ornithology) sound ID list

Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Red-winged Blackbird
Northern Cardinal
Winter Wren
Black-capped Chickadee
Red-eyed Vireo
Yellow-rumped Warbler

Merlin list highlight who was singing at the moment (*)
Red-winged Blackbird
Northern Cardinal
Song Sparrow
Common Yellowtail*
Winter Wren*
Red-eyed Vireo
American Robin
Grey Catbird*
Black-capped Chickadee

Woodchip path on the way out, brighter, surrounded by dense, lush sedges, with a dogwood shrub flowering to the R

Eli's Native Plants@elisnativeplants· Jun 28

Hello from the homeland of the Nipmuc, the fresh water people, where the wetlands are still rich with the signs of their relationships with the wild world. Good morning, Wapato, Katniss, oh generous denizen of the marsh, food of the Massachusett, Wampanoag, and Nipmuc. #nativeplants #wildfood

Wapato, triangular leaf with a triangular cut out from the bottom to where the stem meets the leaf. 4 sections of the leaf, defined by the direction of the with arching veins. A wet soil, sedge, and Wapato leaf background.

Eli's Native Plants@elisnativeplants· Jun 27

Sweetfern (Comptonia peregrina) is a nitrogen fixer, soil stabilizer and host plant in the pine-barrens. Indigenous peoples use it to keep berries fresh. It grows in the best spots (burn sites, power lines) for berries too. Tincture and spice: foragerchef.com/sweetfern/ #nativeplants #ecoregion59

Sweetfern nutlets with a dark green seed showing where I broke off some of the some of the light yellow-green burr-like exterior. Background is Sweetfern leaves and stems

Sweetfern in a meadow surrounded by woodland that I suspect is a covered-over landfill. The foreground is Sweetfern, sweeping out from the forest edge and diversifying into a mix of Blueberries, Black Huckleberry, and Goldenrod

A hill (landfill cap?) with a lovely diversity of pine-barrens/post-burn species, like typically find under power lines.

Blueberries in varying stages of ripeness, showing stem and leaves behind the close-up of the berries.

Eli's Native Plants@elisnativeplants· Jun 20

Learning members of genus Crataegus (Hawthorns) is going to be as big a project as learning genus Carex (Sedges). There are about 90 species of Carex in New England ~47 Hawthorns, but ID of a Hawthorn often req. both flowers and fruit. gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/genus/cratae... #nativeplants

Bright green, soft (as compared to Cockspur Hawthorn) leaves and the immature fruit of a Hawthorn that I suspect is Fireberry Hawthorn (Crataegus chrysocarpa). I will need to see the flowers next Spring to be anything like sure of this tentative ID.

The leaves have smallish, sawtooth-like lobes, 2, 4, or 0 with fine serrations of alternating sizes. Fruits are small and green, and similar to those of Crabapples.

Image shows a branch that reaches out of the hedgerow (forest edge actually) and over the mowed path, with a lawn for background around the edges that aren't filled with leaves. Green on green.

Eli's Native Plants@elisnativeplants· Jun 17

Cocksput Hawthorn (Crataegus crus-galli)? I haven't done the work to be sure that it isn't C. schizophylla — (Cleft-leaved Hawthorn), but that's pretty unlikely. gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/crat... I'm trying to learn Hawthorns. Esp. since my D&D character is named for them.

Cockspur Hawthorn (almost certainly), and a view of Cole Hill, under which my Grandpa's grandparents and great-grandparents are buried, so I learned this past weekend.

Leaves and stems and a view of a mowed path and a meadow sloping down and away to the South, and hills in the distance. The central hill is Cole Hill, up which Cole Hill Road runs, in Albany NY. The stones on the W. at the foot of the hill are my great-great-grandparents markers. They have been kept neat in recent decades.

More Hawthorn branches, hills, path and meadow. Green below a blue gradient, lightening toward the hills.

The Hawthorn, blending in with the trees above and around, reaching into the sun (toward the camera)as they tend to do.

Eli's Native Plants@elisnativeplants· Jun 16

I accidentally disturbed the residents of my grandparents meadow, then found where they have been sleeping: under the Aspens at the top of the hill. In the winter they sleep in a more open area, by the White Pines.

Two Does, one landing and one leaping high above the meter-tall grasses and herbs of the lush, green level area by the top of the hill that the 35 acre meadow.

The two does I. The distance, by some tall young Aspens in the meadow, across an expanse of grasses from the mowed path where I am standing.

Eli's Native Plants@elisnativeplants· Jun 15

Thank you for sharing. I have plenty of butterflies to learn about now. I was dreaming of taking pictures of butterflies there with a tech setup. Your photos helped me realize I have much room for improvement in butterfly photography. I have been stalking them a bit. They hold still while eating.

Red Spotted Purple Admiral butterfly, wings folded, feeding on a Silky Dogwood flower. The butterfly is standing in the sun, surrounded by bright green leaves in sun, with some shady depths of the hedge adding dark contrast behind the wings

Red Spotted Purple Admiral butterfly with wings open, sunning on a Silky Dogwood leaf on a meadows edge, with sunny leaves of the shrubby edge for background up top and some grasses and Gallium below. The butterfly is missing the outer border of the bottom of their left wing, but they still fly just fine.

Eli's Native Plants@elisnativeplants· Jun 13

Back at my favorite place on Earth. Here's the meadow on the south facing slope above my grandparents house. I think we, like most other animals, feel the harmony of a healthy ecosystem. But maybe I'm just a creature of edges, like the birds and my dogs. #nature #meadow

Ezra, my 50lb poodly, long-faced dog, with one side dark and a start shadow in the 8am sun, on a mowed path around a rolling sloped green field, with the occasional tree. View looking upslope. Foreground is a portion of the meadow that was mowed last year and it's mostly grasses and herbs

View of a grassy green meadow and a mown path looking downslope from the shade of a tree standing among grasses

My dogs running down the mowed path on the edge of the meadow with Helderberg hills in the distance

A Common Milkweed with globose bunches of buds, among Monday other plants in the meadow and some disturbed grass where Ezra, the blue merle dog whose back is visible, pushed through

Eli's Native Plants@elisnativeplants· Jun 11

A Tulip Tree? Yes, one of the tallest deciduous trees on Turtle Island grows 3" flowers that look like tulips. www.illinoiswildflowers.info/trees/plants... Indigenous peoples of Appalachia call Tulip Trees "Canoewood." Couldn't find info on current use of TT for canoes. #nativeplants #ecoregion59

A Tulip Tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) flower, with creamy yellow petals that have orange V-shaped markings showing in bright contrast inside the flower, and more muted contrast on the outside. The background contains a wavy lead and some blurry branches further back.

Flowers in various stages of maturity with host green leaves as a backdrop. They are simple leaves with smooth margins. They have four distinct lobes with rounded bases and square-lobed tops. Leaves are notched or flat apex with truncate (abruptly cut) base.

Large Tulip Tree next to a gravel path in the Acton Arboretum on 2026/06/10. The foreground is lawn, the path, and wildflowers. More than half of the image is filled with the large tree.

Eli's Native Plants@elisnativeplants· Jun 9

Replace Za'atar Thyme in this Palestinian-inspired recipe with Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa). It's actually an excellent flavor replacement, better than the mix of Thyme and Oregano typically suggested. It preserves the intent: harvesting wild species from the hillsides. #foraging #nativeplants