
{"id":12072,"date":"2010-08-19T12:18:32","date_gmt":"2010-08-19T20:18:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/?p=12072"},"modified":"2010-08-25T14:04:46","modified_gmt":"2010-08-25T22:04:46","slug":"flora-readers-have-influence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/2010\/08\/19\/flora-readers-have-influence\/","title":{"rendered":"Flora readers have influence"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_12073\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12073\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/swallowtail-walkingstick.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"swallowtail-walkingstick\" width=\"300\" height=\"400\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12073\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/swallowtail-walkingstick.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/swallowtail-walkingstick-113x150.jpg 113w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/swallowtail-walkingstick-84x113.jpg 84w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/swallowtail-walkingstick-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/swallowtail-walkingstick-60x80.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-12073\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">PHOTO BY CHRISTIAN FISHER. Swallowtails converge on Chatham County devil\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s walking stick.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>By Ken Moore<br \/>\n<em>Flora Columnist<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>For weeks now, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve wanted to describe the lovely fern glade at the base of the mountain at Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area. The 2-mile trail encircling that mountain is one of the premier hikes in our area. In spite of this summer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s heat and drought, that fern glade is still lime-green fresh looking.<\/p>\n<p>But all the butterflies and other interesting critters moving about on the summer wildflowers keep sidetracking me. So this past week, as I was once again beginning to focus on that fern glade, I received an enthusiastic description from Chatham County reader Christian Fisher about all the butterflies on devil\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s walking stick, <em>Aralia spinosa<\/em>, in the community\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s woods. The note was accompanied by a wonderful image of yet another native plant \u00e2\u20ac\u0153butterfly magnet.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d That image was so engaging that I thought, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Well now, devil\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s walking stick is a plant worthy of attention; I should focus on that sometime.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/p>\n<p>The very next day, Ron Flora, gardener and staff member of the Carrboro branch of the State Employees\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Credit Union, and I engaged in a short over-the-counter plant conversation. He was curious about a plant he saw stretching out from entangling kudzu along the woodland trail at the N.C. Museum of Art. It was covered with all sorts of butterflies. After hearing a few more of his keen observations, I responded that it must be a devil\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s walking stick he had seen. So, that sealed it. This week, the spotlight is on <em>Aralia spinosa<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>This small tree is fairly common along streams and in low moist areas scattered throughout our state. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s seldom noticed until large clusters of small cream-colored flowers or dark purple-black berries show up along forested roadsides. The 2-to-4-foot-wide double-compound leaves are unforgettable. <\/p>\n<p>If you discover the plant during a leisurely walking excursion, you will notice menacing thorns armoring the stems. Since devil\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s walking stick commonly suckers, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll most likely find a grove or thicket of those spiny stems. You dare not grab hold, for obvious reasons. Only the Devil, himself, would dare do that.<\/p>\n<p>It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s interesting that devil\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s walking stick shares close kinship with two quite different plants: ubiquitous English ivy, <em>Hedera helix<\/em>, and the much-revered magical herb, ginseng, <em>Panax quinquefolium<\/em>. All three bear tiny flowers in globe-shaped clusters characteristic of the plant family, <em>Araliaceae<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>For easy viewing, there is a thicket at the edge of the big magnolia grove in the Coker Arboretum. And there is a smaller thicket along the edge of the sand hill habitat just inside the cattail gate at the N.C. Botanical Garden. Regular commuters up and down South Columbia Street may notice the thicket along the woodland edge near the Ambulatory Care Center. Keep your eyes open for other Aralia spottings.<\/p>\n<p>And about that Occoneechee Mountain fern glade, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t wait for my description; enjoy discovering it yourself.<\/p>\n<p><em>Email Ken Moore at flora@carrborocitizen.com.<\/em><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_12074\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12074\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Devils-Walking-Stick-Stem.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"Devil&#039;s-Walking-Stick-Stem\" width=\"400\" height=\"570\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-12074\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">PHOTO BY KEN MOORE. Touch softly devil\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s walking stick\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s armored stem.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_12075\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12075\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Devils-Walking-Stick-.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"Devil&#039;s-Walking-Stick-\" width=\"400\" height=\"532\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12075\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Devils-Walking-Stick-.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Devils-Walking-Stick--113x150.jpg 113w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Devils-Walking-Stick--84x113.jpg 84w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Devils-Walking-Stick--225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Devils-Walking-Stick--60x80.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-12075\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">PHOTO BY KEN MOORE. Once discovered, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll never forget devil\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s walking stick.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_12076\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12076\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Devils-Walking-Stick-sneaky-visitor.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"Devil&#039;s-Walking-Stick-sneaky-visitor\" width=\"400\" height=\"533\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12076\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Devils-Walking-Stick-sneaky-visitor.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Devils-Walking-Stick-sneaky-visitor-113x150.jpg 113w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Devils-Walking-Stick-sneaky-visitor-84x113.jpg 84w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Devils-Walking-Stick-sneaky-visitor-59x80.jpg 59w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-12076\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">PHOTO BY KEN MOORE. Sneaky praying mantis finds the flower and berry clusters of devil\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s walking stick a great dining hall.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For weeks now, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve wanted to describe the lovely fern glade at the base of the mountain at Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area. The 2-mile trail encircling that mountain is one of the premier hikes in our area. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":12073,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12072","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-flora"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12072","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12072"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12072\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12141,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12072\/revisions\/12141"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12072"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12072"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12072"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}