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JUNE
Please scroll down to see more plants that may be featured this month.
Euphorbia purpurea - Glade spurge
This otherworldly looking plant is one of the more than 80 rare, threatened or endangered plant species at the Preserve. In the same genus as poinsettia, glade spurge also has milky sap and, surrounding the small, inconspicuous flowers, colorful leaf bracts that are often mistaken for petals. Whereas poinsettia's bracts turn red or white, glade spurge's bracts turn light green and sometimes have a purple hue, hence purpurea, in May and June. After flowers are pollinated, glade spurge develops a bumpy, green, 3-parted fruit. Glade spurge is rare throughout its range and can be found only in Mid-Atlantic States in seeps, swamps and along streams in partial shade. This plant is endangered in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and Ohio. Major threats contributing to glade spurge’s endangered status are browsing by deer, the root-mining flea beetle and trampling by humans and off-road vehicles. At the Preserve, glade spurge is one of two Euphorbia species. The second is summer-blooming flowering spurge (Euphorbia corollata), found in sunnier, dryer areas. The green glow of glade spurge can be admired near the Pond.
Magnolia virginiana - Sweet bay magnolia
Our native sweetbay magnolia, known for its elegant ivory blooms and lemony scent, is thought to have one of the sweetest fragrances in the entire Magnolia genus. This semi-evergreen understory tree is also beautiful in the fall when it sports vibrant red fruits that attract many birds. In late summer, sweetbay also serves as one of the host plants for tiger swallowtail caterpillars. But, gardeners and landscapers beware - the foliage is highly palatable to deer. This magnolia is slow growing, but will bloom young. Sweetbay will tolerate atmospheric pollution, but is intolerant of drought, especially during the winter. This species is threatened or endangered in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New York and Tennessee. Magnolias were among the first angiosperms, or flowering plants, in forests full of conifers, cycads, horsetails and ferns. Appearing 25 million years before bees, these trees originally were pollinated by beetles. Follow the fragrance of our sweetbay magnolias along Tower Road and by the Pond.
Opuntia humifusa - Prickly pear cactus
The only cactus native to most of the eastern U.S., prickly-pear is a prolific bloomer. On dry sites in full sun, show-stopping flowers with numerous bright yellow stamens burst from the tips of the flattened, leafless cactus stems. Each blossom lasts only a day, but flowers open over an extended period in June and July. Pollinating visits from native bees result in spiny, red-purple, pear-shaped fruits that, like all other parts of this plant, are edible for wildlife and humans alike -– once you get past the spines! Interestingly, prickly-pear was once an invasive plant in Australia, where it was accidentally introduced and then controlled through introduction of the cactoblastus moth, whose larvae ate much of it. Look for our cactus patch along Tower Road just past the entrance to the Pond.
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