The Daily Bucket is a nature refuge. We amicably discuss animals, weather, climate, soil, plants, waters and note life’s patterns.
We invite you to note what you are seeing around you in your own part of the world, and to share your observations in the comments below.
In May, Busta, a black lab mix, and I rode and ran the Katy Trail between St Louis and Columbia, MO. Here are a few local residents we met just west of Mokane on May 17th, 2022. Though I am a plant biologist, I am a terrible botanist, so I rely on inaturalist for identification. Please make corrections or alternative suggestions as you wish. Apologies for not having time to compile proper biologies and cropped images. It has already been two weeks, and I need to publish.
With that, here are some mid-MO locals.
The branch of alternate leaves in the middle of this frame appear to be Black Locust. A medium sized deciduous native. You can see full grown ones among the tall trees growing at the base of bluffs. p
update: I am not Arthur points out that this may be black walnut, another local resident, though it is hard to tell without seeing more of the tree and smelling some of it.
This branch with big leaves is common hackberry, a large, hardwood, deciduous native. One way to tell this was probably a correct ID was to look up and see large trees with the same leaves.
update: foresterbob tells us that these can’t be hackberry leaves. A quick internet search shows that hackberry has alternating leaves while these appear to be compound with opposite leaflets. Those leaflets and the small serrations along the leaf edge mean that it is more likely a box elder.
Here are leaves of black mulberry, another native. If I am not mistaken, it is likely producing abundant fruit, now, a couple of weeks after this photo was taken. At any rate, we are freezing bowls full from mulberries in our St Louis neighborhood. Interestingly According to inaturalist, this species is know for harboring 154 pairs of chromosomes. Karyotyping must be fun.
update: foresterbob tells us that these are probably not mulberry leaves. A quick internet search shows that mulberry leaves are typically serrated while these appear to be rather smooth. He proposes an alternative ID of redbud, but, not being able to see and smell the whole tree make it difficult.
Now, let's look at a few understory residents
Here is a spiderwort, a group of about 75 species native across the Americas.
Next is a slender yellow woodsorrel, which is likely native, though weedy representatives can be found world-wide.
The last Katy Trail resident we'll meet today is a blackberry, which are common throughout the eastern United States.
It looks like it might be hosting a moth pollinator.
And, there we have a few local residents of the Missouri River forest along the Katy Trail. Their abundant production of flowers and fruit feed a multitude of pollinators, pests and herbivores. That would also make for a nice diary if only I could get the time.
Thanks for visiting.