Happy Mystery Monday! What native grass has seeds that look like snow flurries?
Last week, we asked you about ironwood (Carpinus caroliniana)! Ironwood also happens to be our 2023 Native Tree of the Year! At Adkins, you’ll find ironwood in the understory, growing in and around the floodplains. Easily identified by its taut and rippled trunk, ironwood is known for its strong wood and has historically been used for tool handles and the like. Found throughout Maryland, ironwood is the host plant for a variety of butterflies, including the eastern tiger swallowtail (Papilio glaucus), and many moths, including the American dagger moth (Acronicta americana) and banded tussock moth (Halysidota tessellaris). In addition to feeding many lepidopterans, ironwood foliage and twigs are tasty fodder for deer and the nutlets are browsed by mammals and birds alike.
#adkinsarboretum #nativetree #mysterymonday #mysterytree #mysteryplant #hostplant #winterinterest
Adkins Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum. For more information go here.
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