Wild Blossom Nature Club

If you’re admiring the leaves in your yard or going on a hike this time of year, you might find some leaves like these. Read below to learn about each tree. Remember that leaves can vary quite a bit in shape and size, so they’re just one of several clues to use in tree identification. Oaks often hybridize in nature, making it tough to identify some trees without looking at features other than just leaf shape.

Mockernut Hickory (Carya tomentosa) is the most common hickory in the southeast. Each leaf typically has 7 leaflets, but some may have 5 or 9 on the same tree. The leaves of this native tree are hairy and give off an orange peel scent when crushed. Luna moth caterpillars feed on hickory leaves and form a cocoon within a curled up leaf. Who knows, if you “leave the leaves” of a Mockernut Hickory in your yard, you just might be treated to a luna moth next spring (see yesterday’s post).

Post Oak (Quercus stellata) is native to the southeast and relatively common in the Piedmont. It often grows in dry, rocky habitats. The leaves have a characteristic Maltese cross-like shape.

Tulip Tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) leaves have a distinctive shape that resembles the silhouette of a tulip. Also called Yellow Poplar and Tulip Poplar (although it’s actually in the Magnolia Family, not the Poplars), this native tree grows in bottomland forests, yards, and parks across the eastern US. Their long, straight trunks once made them prized timber for building log cabins and canoes.

Southern Red Oak (Quercus falcata) grows in upland forests across the southeast. Given their tolerance for dry, sunny habitats, they’re also planted in yards. The leaves are highly variable in shape, but typically have three points on the terminal lobe. Stay tuned for a post on leaf variation in southern red oak sometime this winter!

American Beech (Fagus grandifolia) trees grow in bottomland forests. Young American Beech retain their leaves through the winter (the technical term for this is marcescence). The leaves have a toothed margin and pronounced venation that makes somewhat of a wavy look to the top surface of the leaf. This is the tree that some people unfortunately use to carve their initials into its smooth, gray bark. This is not just unsightly, it can also lead to beech bark disease and the eventual death of the tree.

American Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) grows in moist bottomland forests across the eastern US. It’s large leaves have a distinctive shape.

Eastern Red Maple (Acer rubrum) leaves turn beautiful shades of red, yellow, and orange across the eastern US each autumn. This native tree grows in woodlands, fields, and parks.

Eastern Redbuds (Cercis canadensis) are common in roadways, yards, and woodland edges across the Eastern US. They have heart-shaped leaves with palmate veins (spread out like fingers from a common point at the base just above the leaf stalk) and a slightly swollen petiole (leaf stalk) at the base of the leaf. This leaf doesn’t have a pronounced heart-shaped base, but you can find lots of variation in extent of this trait both within and between Eastern Redbuds in the wild. There are numerous horticultural cultivars of this tree (Ace of Hearts, for instance) that may be more consistent and/or enhanced in this feature. See the comments for some pictures of other leaves. In spring, the fuchsia flowers of Eastern Redbuds are one of the first signs of spring.

Several club members have been able to see the Carolina Mantis!

Autumn is a great time to find praying mantises (also called praying mantids). You may have seen them in your yard as they wait patiently for insects to pass nearby. As a sit-and-wait predator, praying mantises quickly grab unsuspecting prey with their raptorial forelegs. Spines on the forelegs pierce the insect and help mantids firmly grip their prey.

This time of year, females lay eggs on twigs and other structures. Then they cover the eggs with glandular secretions that seal the eggs in a styrofoam-like egg case (ootheca). The eggs overwinter within this case and then several dozen nymphs will emerge from it the next spring. The mantises grow through the summer and then mate and lay eggs during late summer and autumn.

Here in the Southern Piedmont, there are two species of mantids you are most likely to encounter - the native Carolina Mantis (Stagmomantis carolina) and the introduced Chinese Mantis (Tenodera sinensis). Unfortunately, some gardeners purchase Chinese (Oriental) Mantis egg cases for pest control. There are two problems with this. First, this much larger mantis can outcompete and take habitat space away from our native Carolina Mantis. Second, the Chinese Mantis is a generalist predator that eats a lot of non-pest prey such as bees, wasps, and spiders. As a consequence, the Chinese Mantis isn’t a very effective biological control agent for your garden pests.

See below to learn how to distinguish the Carolina and Chinese Mantids and their egg cases.

Something fun to do this weekend!