Accent on Natural Landscaping

Donna VanBuecken

American Witchhazel (Hamamelis virginiana)

Photo taken November 7, 2020. American Witchhazel (Hamamelis virginiana) is likely the only native woody plant in the U.S. to have blossoms, seed hulls, and next year’s leaf buds on its branches all at the same time.

While visiting Mandy Ploch’s cabin recently, I noticed the American Witchhazel was blossomed out two weeks ahead of time. I looked again the following weekend, and the plant was just about blooming. A couple of days to go, just when it was supposed be.

Witchhazel (Hamamelis virginiana)

One of the latest flowering shrubs of the year, American Witchhazel (Hamamelis virginiana) is a hiker’s delight when spotted late in the fall. Native to both the Northeastern and Southeastern U.S., the plant’s fragrant bright yellow blossoms appear late in the autumn after all the leaves have fallen from the other woodland species.

The extraordinary flowers are bright yellow, with four very slender bright yellow petals measuring from 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch long. The spicy fragrance of the flowers is so welcome in the late fall. The American Witchhazel leaves are large with uneven teeth, alternate, simple, broadly ovate, 2-1/2 to 6 inches long, unequal offset leaf base and with the upper surface dark green and the lower surface a paler green. It is considered a “service berry.”

What Pollinates the Witchhazel?

A Winter Owlet moth known as a Sallow. These moths have a remarkable ability to heat themselves by using energy to shiver, in order to fly in search of food, thus raising their body temperatures by as much as 50 degrees. Other pollinators include flies and maybe some bees.

The fruit of the Witchhazel blossoms goes dormant during the winter, developing into a seed during the following growing season. Once the seed is fully developed, it is expelled some 20 or more feet in the autumn. Although minuscule, the seeds are edible and high in fat and protein. Witchhazel is the host plant for the Spring Azure butterfly,

Often called water-witch, early settlers observed Native Americans using forked twigs of the American Witchhazel (Hamamelis virginiana) to find underground sources of water. The well at our hunting property was driven where the dowsing branch pointed for my father and the well digger.

Wicke Hazel

The most interesting use for the plant has been the use of its forked limbs as dowsing or divining rods. Early European settlers observed Native Americans using American Witchhazel to find underground sources of water. This is where the common name witchhazel came from. “Wicke” is the Middle English for “lively” and “wych” is from the Anglo-Saxon word for “bend.” American Witchhazel was probably called Wicke Hazel by early white settlers because the dowsing end of the forked branch would bend when underground water was detected by the dowser. Dowsing became an established feature of well-digging into the 20th and even now in the 21st century.(U.S. Forest Service)

The Astringent

The astringent called “witch hazel” is made from the leaves and bark of the witchhazel shrub. It is used to treat a variety of ailments from acne to insect bites, and for more aesthetic uses from aftershave lotion to tightening baggy skin.

Just Right for Turkey Hunting

As you might expect, seeing this lovely American Witchhazel shrub blossoming during my turkey hunts is something I look forward to every fall. The shrub prefers semi-shaded habitat, so it is found along the edges of many of the wildlife trails I use for scouting. The plant likes rich, moist soils, so it is right at home along the edges of the hardwoods. I love going to my hunting property!

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Forest Fire causes Fungi to Grow

Fire-loving fungi are among the first organisms to appear on the forest floor after a fire, followed closely by mosses and lichens. Photo by Karen Hughes

With all the forest fires rampaging through the drought-stricken areas of the USA and Canada, there appears to be at least one other glimmer of goodness that comes from all this damage. I think we’re all familiar with the Lodgepole Pine (Pinus contorta) from western USA, which requires fire to melt the resin from its serotinous cones so they can germinate. But there is also a fungi which becomes active and grows after a forest fire. It is called Pyrophilous.

A variety of club mosses (Lycopodium spp) appear on the stump and around it on the forest floor.

A study conducted by Daniel B Raudabaugh etal suggests that Pyrophilous taxas are endophytes of bryophytes and club moss, and also endolichenic fungi of lichens. What this means is that the Pyrophilous fungi which appear out of the ashes of a forest fire are apparently living patiently in the bodies of mosses and lichens just waiting for a forest fire to free them to grow.

Further investigation needs to be conducted to determine the extent and duration of the endophytic relationship – can it go on forever if there is no forest fire?

Other research has suggested that Pyrophilous fungi spores lie dormant in the soil or that they occur as mycorrhiza root pathogens or soil saprobes. Still other evidence suggests they might also be found in tree trunks or the tree canopies. However, there is still a lot to research about the Pyrophilous taxa.

A really good layman’s explanation of this phenomenon can be found in PhysOrg

Other Plants Requiring Fire to Germinate

Other pines which produce serotinous cones include the Jack Pine (Pinus banksiana) aka Scrub Pine which grows in North Central and Northeastern USA and Table Mountain Pine (Pinus pungens) aka Hickory or Prickly Pine which grows in the Appalachian Mountains.

Another plant which appears after a forest fire in Northern California and Southeastern Oregon is the Baker’s Globe Mallow (Iliamna bakeri) aka Baker’s Wild Hollyhock. This flowering shrub needs the extreme heat of fire to germinate and produce its beautiful pink blossoms.

Vocabulary (in order of use):

Serotinous means remaining closed on the tree with seed dissemination delayed or occurring gradually.(Merriam-Webster)

Fungal endophytes are extremely common and highly diverse microorganisms that live within plant tissues, but usually remain asymptomatic. (Oxford Academic)

Endolichenic fungi are diverse groups of predominantly filamentous fungi that reside asymptomatically in the interior of lichen thalli. (ResearchGate)

Mycorrhiza is a a beneficial type of fungi that grows in association with most plant roots. … Mycorrhizae also release powerful enzymes that help dissolve nutrients such as organic nitrogen, phosphorous, and iron. Mycorrhiza may also be known as fungus root. (Maximum Yield)

Pathogen is a biological agent that causes disease or illness to its host. The term is most often used for agents that disrupt the normal physiology of a multicellular animal or plant. (ScienceDaily)

Saprobes are the group of fungi that act as decomposers, feeding on dead and decaying wood, leaves, litter, and other organic matter. To digest this they secrete enzymes that break it down. (Te Ara)

Thalli plural for tallus refers to the body of a plant that does not have leaves, stems and roots. In botany, historically, this term has been applied to algae, fungi and the various divisions of bryophytes. Although algae and fungi are no longer classified as plants, the term thallus has been retained to refer to the bodies of algae and fungi. (Botany Dept U of Hawaii at Manoa)

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2019 Fall Colors

Reference my post Why the Colors of Fall. This year here in East Central Wisconsin one can really see a difference in the colors of fall. The wet year we’ve had has produced variations in leaf color and the recent mild temperatures have slowed the change. But if you look closely, here and there you’ll find some bright oranges and beautiful golden yellows.

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Eastern Candlewax Lichen (Ahtiana aurescens)

My most recent wildflower adventure took me to our hunting property for the first time this year. Between the rains which sometimes make the lane in impassable; the horrible storms which have caused so much damage in my own landscape; and my volunteer commitments, there just wasn’t an appropriate time for me to get out there until now.

But the rains had subsided for awhile and my brothers and a nephew cleared away the fall-downs at the hunting property, so a time presented itself.

Oh, what a wonderful feeling to be back at this very special place. Our hunting property is not the hardwoods you see with White Trilliums and Solomon Seals. It’s primarily a cedar swamp with lots of ledge rock which means it has very different, very special species of plants. Lichens, for example.

Eastern Candlewax Lichen

Lichen growing on the limb of a fallen pine tree. Eastern Candlewax Lichen (Ahtiana aurescens) is a Wisconsin Special Concern lichen and is found on the bark of cedar and pine trees, rarely hardwood trees.

The Eastern Candlewax Lichen (Ahtiana aurescens) grows throughout Northeastern USA, and “is most commonly found on cedars and pines, and rarely on hardwoods. It is pale gray-green on top, in overlapping lobes whose shape is somewhat similar to oak leaves. The underside is pale brown, and shiny. The apothecia—small goblet-shaped fruiting bodies—are brown in color and less than ¼” (7 mm) in diameter.” (FloraFinder)

General overview of lichen morphology

I found this image and general overview on the WDNR (Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources) webpage. I thought it might be of interest to others also.

Lichens represent a unique symbiotic relationship between two or sometimes three organisms: a fungus; an alga; and/or a cyanobacterium. This figure provides a good overview of a generalized lichen. The main body of the lichen is called the thallus. The thallus is the vegetative part of the lichen (i.e., not including any reproductive structures like apothecia) and is often what we visually associate with a lichen. The figure above depicts a foliose thallus with the upper surface curled up in places to reveal the lower thallus surface. The magnified thallus cross section on the right shows a number of additional layers. In this example, the top layer is the upper cortex, which is made up of fungal filaments. Underneath that is the photobiont, either an alga or a cyanobacterium or both. Beneath the photobiont is a loose layer of fungal strands (hyphae) called the medulla, and below the medulla is the lower cortex.

Lichens can reproduce sexually via spores, which are associated with the fungal component of the lichen. However, these spores must again find an appropriate photobiont before a new lichen is formed. Lichens can also reproduce asexually. The two structures shown in the box on the left function in asexual reproduction. Both isidia and soredia are essentially photobionts wrapped in a fungal skin. These can be released from the thallus to form new lichens. (WDNR)

See the Glossary of Common Lichen Terms for descriptions of more lichen-related terms and photos that depict these features.

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