Marsh Ecosystem

Swamp Milkweed

Order:Gentianales

Family:Asclepiadaceae

Class: Asclepias L.

Genus:Asclepias incarnata L.

Identifying Characteristics: Opposite, long narrow, lance shaped leaves with sharp pointed ends. Plants bloom in mid-summer and

produce a small, fragrant, pinkish-purpleish flowers in rounded umbrels. Whit

e sap that comes from leaf when broken.

Special Adaptations: After blooming, green seed pods are produced. When they are ripe, they will split open and release flat seeds attached to silky white hairs that catch the wind and make it easy for seed dispersal.

Swift Long Winged Skimmer

Order:Odonata

Family:Libelluidae

Genus:Pachydiplax

Species:Pachydiplax longipennis

Identifying Characteristics: small blue dragonfly with a white face, a black tip on the abdomen, and a black and yellow stripe on the thorax. Amber patch at base of hindwing. Found near ponds, lakes, bogs and marshes, or anywhere where there is still water.

Special Adaptations: Sometimes orient themselves in different positions relative to t

he sun, either to maximize of minimize heat gain, depending on temperature.

Large Milkweed Bug

Order:Hemiptera

Family:Lygaeidae

Genus:Oncopeltus

Species:Oncopeltus fasciatus

Identifying Characteristics: Adult is 9-18 mm long. Mature adults are orange with black spots.

Special Adaptations: Adults that survive winter mates in May-June when common milkweed plants have grown enough to provide shelter. Both nymphs and adults use the milkweed plant as a primary food source.

Cattail

Order:Poale

Family:Typhaceae

Genus:Typha

Species:Typha angustifolia

Identifying Characteristics: Leaves are erect, flat, and very narrow and 3'-6' tall. Flower is dense, fuzzy spike at end of stem. Males are lighter brown, females darker brown. Tall sword shaped leaves. Grows almost anywhere where soil remains wet, saturated or flood

ed during growing season.

Special Adaptations: Can grow in a variety of soil types.

Reed Canarygrass

Order:Poales

Family:Poaceae

Genus:Phalaris

Species:Phalaris. arundinacea

Identifying Characteristics: Leaf blades are blue-green when fresh, straw colored when dry and stand about 4' tall. The flowers are borne on the stem high above leaves and are pinkish at full bloom.

Special Adaptations: Considered an invasive species in wetlands, especially in disturbed areas. When it invades a wetland it suppresses native vegetation and suppresses diversity. Grows well on poor soils and industrial areas.

Silky Dogwood

Order:Cornales

Family:Cornaceae

Genus:Cornus L.

Species:Cornus amomum

Identifying Characteristics:Large Shrub, 6'-10' high. Dark green ovate leaves, yellowish-whitish flowers that bloom in mid June, and bluish fruit that matures in September.

Special Adaptations: Does well in lake states, but poorly outside of its natural area. Does best in moist soils and does well in shade, but is not adaptable to droughty conditions.

Northern Leopard Frog

Order:Anura

Family:Ranidae

Genus:Rana

Species:Rana pipiens

Identifying Characteristics: Varies from green to brown on dorsal with large dark circular spots on its back, sides, and legs. Pale green stripe from eye to shoulder. Found in permanent ponds, swamps, marshes, and slow moving streams throughout forests, open, and urban areas. Eat a wide variety of animals including crickets, worms, flies and smaller frogs. They have large mouth and can even swallow birds and garter snakes.

Special Adaptations: Well adapted to cold temperatures. Do not distasteful skin secretions, so they rely on speed to evade predation.

Western Honey Bee

Order:Hymenoptera

Family:Apidae

Genus:Apis

Species:Apis mellifera

Identifying Characteristics:Fuzzy, hairy eyes, pollen carried in balls on legs, long radial cell near the front wing tip.

Special Adaptations: Not native to western hemisphere, but can survive in cold and hot weather due to heating and cooling of hives. Brought to western hemisphere by Spanish for honey.

Lowland Forest Species

Jumpseed

Order:Caryophyllales

Family:Polygonaceae

Genus:Persicaria

Species:Persicaria virginiana

Identifying Characteristics:

-Alternate leaves that are oval or lance shaped. Small white flowers with 4 white petals placed along long, spiky stem. Dark spot on leaves which give the plant its nickname which

is "God's Thumbprint"

Special Adaptations:

-Can grow in a variety of light and soil conditions.

Clinton's Wood Fern

Order:Polypodiales

Family:Dryopteridaceae

Genus:Dryopteris

Species: Dryopteris clintoniana

Identifying Characteristics:

-Large, leathery, blueish-green colored fern with ladder-like formation. Longest fronds are in the middles of the plant. Lance shaped fronds, leafs and subleaflets are deeply lobed. Reddish fruit-dots along the back of plant. 3-7 per frond. Found in swampy-like areas.

Special Adaptations:

-Shade Tolerant

Virginia Creeper

Order:Vitales

Family:Vitaceae

Genus:Parthenocissus

Species:Parthenocissus quinquefolia

Identifying Characteristics:

-Leaves are compounded pinnately, composed of 5 leaflets. Leaflets are toothed which makes it easy to distinguish from poison ivy.

Special Adaptations:

-Kills other plants around it by blocking sunlight and limiting photosynthesis.

White-Tailed Deers

Order:Artiodactyla

Family:Cervidae

Genus:Odocoileus

Species:Odocoileus virginianus

Identifying Characteristics:

-White underside to the tail is easiest way to identify the deer. Coat is reddish-brown in spring and summer and turns gray-brown in fall and winter.

Special Adaptations:

-White underside of tail is used as signal of alarm. Can adapt to a variety of habitats.

Rough Speckled Shield Lichen

Order:

Family:

Genus:Punctelia

Species:Punctelia rudecta

Identifying Characteristics:

-Foliose Lichen: leaf like lobes. grey-green color, closely attached to bark or rock with tiny fine projections. White spots on upper surface that are pore-like.

Special Adaptations:

-Tolerant to pollution, will be found in cities and along roadsides where air pollution is high.

Fluffy Dust Lichen

Order:

Family:

Genus:Lepraria

Species:Lepraria lobaficans

Identifying Characteristics:

-Crustose Lichen. Granular looking. Light green in color.

Special Adaptations:

-

Red Belt Mushroom

Order:Polyporales

Family:Fomitopsidaceae

Genus:Fomitopsis

Species:Fomitopsis pinicola

Identifying Characteristics:

-Cap is hoof-shaped or triangular. Brown coloring with reddish band around the bottom of mushroom when young. Undersurface is whiteish with small pores. Easy to write on. Grows

on live and dead trees.

Special Adaptations:

-Inedible due to its woody texture.

Species Blog 3

Black Cherry Tree

Order:Rosales

Family:Rosaceae

Genus:Prunus

Species: Prunus serotina

Identifying Characteristics:

-Simple Leaves, long and shiny, with serrated margins,small flowers with 5 white pe

tals and about 20 stamen, easily identifiable by bark on mature tree. Bark looks like burnt potato chips, broken, dark grey to black looking.

Special Adaptations:

-Can grow in many soil types. Grows best in sunlight.

White Pine

Order:Pinales

Family:Pinaceae

Genus:Pinus

Species:Pinus strobus

Identifying Characteristics:

-Needles are soft and in bundles of 5.

Special Adaptations:

-Can live up to and beyond 400 years in the right conditions. Prefer well-drained soils and cool, humid climates but can also grow in boggy areas and rocky highlands. Dominate in many woods. Will grow very tall, up to 250 feet. Provide good shelter for many mammals. Has many human uses such as medicine and lumber.

American Goldfinch

Order:Passeriformes

Family:Fringillidae

Genus:Spinus

Species:Spinus tristis

Identifying Characteristics:

-There is sexual dimorphism among the male and female American Goldfinch. Males are vibrant yellow in the summer and olive colored in the winter. Females are dull yellow-brown shade that will brighten a bit in the summer. Shorter, broader beaks for eating seeds than Yellow-throated Warblers.

Special Adaptations:

-Have actually benefitted from Humans. They are attracted to bird feeders in residential areas, which may have increase the numbers of the bird. They have not been effected by deforestations because their preferred habitat is open meadows and prairies.

Indigo Bunting

Order:Passeriformes

Family:Cardinalidae

Genus:Passerina

Species:Passerina cyanea

Identifying Characteristics:

-Small bird. Sexual dimorphism displayed in coloring. Males are vibrant blue during the

summer and brown during cooler months. Females are brown year-round. Beak is short and broad to eat seeds and insects.

Special Adaptations:

-Will interbreed with the Lazuli Bunting in the plains areas during migration. Large distribution and habitat.

Field Sparrow

Order:Passeriformes

Family:Emberizidae

Genus:Spizella

Species:Spilzella Pusilla

Identifying Characteristics:

-small sparrow, dully marked, unstreaked chest, reddish cap, grey face with thin, white eye ring, pink bill.

Special Adaptations:

-Ground foragers, will eat insects and seeds that have already fallen. Males can survive winter and return to the same spot to breed each year. Females will not breed in the same location, young will leave the location they were born and not return to breed the following years. Males will start singing as soon as they arrive at their breeding location in spring.

Northern Cardinal

Order:Passeriformes

Family:Cardinalidae

Genus:Cardinalis

Species:Cardinalis cardinalis

Identifying Characteristics:

-Distinctive crest on head and a mask on the face which is black on the males and dull red-brown on females. Males are crimson red, females are grayish-brown with some dull red on wings, crest and tail feathers.

Special Adaptations:

-Large Range, will leave its range to migrate if needed. Ground foragers, will eat seeds, corn, a variety of insects and suck sap from holes left by sapsuckers. Feeding by humans in backyard feeders has generally benefitted the bird. It is found in woodlands, gardens, shrublands and swamps.

Pin Oak

Order:Fagales

Family:Fagaceae

Genus:Quercus

Species:Quercus palusris

Identifying Characteristics:

-Leaves are long and broad, lobed, with 5-7 lobes. Each lobe has 5-7 bristle-tipped teeth. Deep and U-shaped in between lobes, looking almost like a C at some points. Some tufts of hair on vein joints.

Special Adaptations:

-Large range in U.S. and southern Canada, had been successfully introduces in Australia as well as Argentina. Naturally a wetlands tree but develops shallow roots. Young pin oaks keep their leaves year-round.

Ash Maple Species List

1. Tall Bellflower

Order: Asterales

Family:Campanulaceae

Genus:Campanula

Species Name: Campanula americana

Identifying Characteristics:

-Light blue/lavender (varies), star-shaped

flowers in a leafy spike. Leaves narrowly egg- or lance-shaped. Found in moist thickets. Long sepal.

Special Adaptations:

-Grows easily in moist soils. Seed does not have to be planted deep into soil. Blooms annually.

2. Clustered Snakeroot

Genus:SaniculaOrder:Apiales

Family:Apiaceae

Species Name: Sanicula gregaria

Identifying Characteristics:

-Leaves with usually 5 leaflets. Fruit clustered together along stalk of plant. Fruit is bristly, will stick to clothing.

Special Adaptations:

-Grows in shaded, rich woods. Fruit/seeds stick to animals and humans making it easy for their seed to spread.

3. Blue Ash

Order:Lamiales

Family:Oleaceae

Genus: Fraxinus

Species Name: Fraxinus quadrangulata

Identifying Characteristics:

-Leaves are opposite compound and always toothed. Most distinguishing characteristic is the square twig with 4 lines on each edge. Leaf scar not deeply notched.

-Special Adaptations:

-Does not have separate male and female trees, each flower is "perfect" and eac

h tree is able to produce fertile seeds under favorable conditions.

4. White Oak

Order:Fagales

Family: Fagaceae

Genus" Quercus

Species Name: Quercus alba

Identifying Characteristics:

-Identification is easily done by looking at bark.

Leaves will have rounded lobes instead of pointed lobes which distinguish it from the Red Oak. Bark is light ash-grey. Acorn i

s furry on bottom.

Special Adaptations:

-Fairly tolerant of a variety of conditions. Grows in a variety of habitats such as ridges, valleys, dry and moist habitats and moderately alkaline or acidic soils.

5. Red Oak

Family: Fagaceae

Order:Fagales

Genus: Quercus

Species Name: Quercus rubra

Identifying Characteristics:

-Leaves have pointed lobes instead of rounded lobes like the White Oak. There are small tufts of fur on the axle of the leaves that can be seen with a hand lens. The acorn has small, tight scales when moving towards the center of the acorn. Color is light brown. Easy to identify by the bark. Bark is reddish, grey, brown with shiny like strips running down the trunk.

Special Adaptations:

-Can live up to 500 years. Grows rapidly and is tolerant of a variety of soils and light conditions. Prefers glacial drift and well-drained soils along streams.

6. Sugar Maple

Order: Sapindales

Family:Sapindaceae

Genus:Acer

Species Name: Acer saccharum

Identifying Characteristics:

-Leaves are moderately lobed, edges not drooping, dark green on top and lighter on bottom of leaf. Buds are pointy. Leaf is on canadian flag.

Special Adaptations:

-Major component in many different forests and very important to the forest ecosystem. Among the most shade tolerant of all the deciduous trees. Germination can happen in shade with very little light involved. Sugar maples can grow in any type of soil, except sand.

Oak Hickory Forest Species

1. Red Maple

Order: Sapindales

Family: Sapindaceae

Genus: Acer

Species name: A. rubrum

Identifying characteristics: Leaves are the easiest way to identify the Red Maple. Leaves are deciduous and arranged opposite on the twig. Leaves have 3-5 lobes with serrated edges. Leaf stalks are usually red in color.

Special Adaptations: Red Maples to well in many different soils and climates, which is why it is one of the most widespread species of trees. It can also grow in many differ

ent conditions of moisture in the soil, which also makes it so adaptable to many different regions.

2. American Hackberry

Order: Rosales

Family:Ulmaceae

Genus: Celtis

Species name: C.occidentalis

Identifying characteristics: Easily distinguishable because of its cork-like bark. Leaves are

asymmetrical and have a course texture.

Special Adaptations: Can withstand a variety of climates. Is able to grow in drought conditions which make it suitable for many different places and soil types.

3. Spicebush

Order: Laurales

Family: Lauraceae

Genus:Lindera

Species name: L. benzoin

Identifying characteristics: Leaves are alternates and oval shaped. Very aromatic smell when leaves are crushed.

Special adaptations: Successfully grows and reproduces in a wide variety of light conditions. This is good because it is typically an understory plant. It will completely grow and reproduce in a closed canopy, but open canopy will increase its growth and reproductivity.

4. American Elm

Order: Urticales

Family: Ulmaceae

Genus: Ulmus

Species name: U. americana

Identifying characteristics: Texture of leaves makes it easily identifiable. Sandpaper like on top and smooth or rough on bottom

Special adaptations: The tree is hermaphroditic and capable of self pollination.

5. White Avens

Order: Rosales

Family: Rosaceae

Genus: Geum

Species Name: G. canadense

Identifying characteristics: Each flower is about 1/2 inch across and has 5 bright white oval petals. Sepals are the same length as the flowers.

Special adaptations: Can cling to animals or humans which helps to distribute the flower far and wide and continue its growth in many different places.

6. May Apple

Order: Ranunculales

Family: Berberidaceae

Genus: Podophyllum

Species name: P. peltatum

Identifying characteristics: long stem with usually 2-3 lobed leaves with 5-6 deep lobes. Looks almost like an umbrella.In summer, the apples that form are easy to identify.

Special Adaptations: Like moist soils but can grow in dryer soils, although they may appear to die, but will return once soil is moist.

7. Enchanted Nightshade

Order: Myrtales

Family: Onagraceae

Genus: Circaea

Species Name: C. quadrisulcata

Identifying characteristics: small white flowers. Petals deeply 2-lobed. Leaves shallow toothed, 2-4" long. Leaves are egg-shaped and long-stalked, opposite. 2 petals, 2 stepals, 2 stamen, makes it different from other in genus.

Special Adaptations: Blooms during summers in shaded woods and thickets.

8. Chinaquapin Oak

Order: Fagales

Family: Fagaceae

Genus: Quercus

Species Name: Q. muehlenbergii

Identifying characteristics: think, scaly or flaky bark. sharply toothed leaves.

Special Adaptations: Grows in associations with other trees. Found in well-drained soils. Usually in limestone soils along streams.

9. Wood Frog

Order: Anura

Family:Ranidae

Genus: Rana

Species Name: R. sylvatica

Identifying characteristics: Brown, tan, or rust colored usually with dark eye mask.

Special Adaptations: Freeze tolerance which enables the wood frog to live in many different areas. Vernal ponds in wetlands are very important for breeding.

10. Mushroom

standard name: Agaricus bisporus

Identifying characteristics: fungi with stem, cap and gills.

Special adaptations: grow well in dark moist places.