What’s that? Are they tomatoes? These tiny green fruits are growing on a stem with prickles. They are the fruits of Carolina horse-nettle (Solanum carolinense). You may remember seeing the star-shaped flower this summer. This plant is part of the nightshade family, which includes tomatoes and eggplants. But horse-nettle is very toxic! Don’t eat it!
Category: Plants
What’s That? May 28, 2024
What’s going on with this hairy cat’s-ear? The stem is really thick and bent. The flower head is flattened and it looks like there’s more than one flower. I’ve never seen anything like that before, so I decided to look it up. This is called plant fasciation. It is a rare condition of abnormal growth… Continue reading What’s That? May 28, 2024
What’s That? May 6, 2024
What’s that? It looks like someone sprayed the blackberry plants with bright orange spray paint. Unfortunately, it isn’t paint. This is a fungal infection known as orange rust. It is two fungal species, Arthuriomyces peckianus and Gymnoconia nitens. Orange rust fungus infects the entire plant: the roots, crown and shoots. This fungus doesn’t usually kill… Continue reading What’s That? May 6, 2024
What’s That? September 23, 2024
We went for a walk this weekend and came across these colorful berries. They look like Easter eggs! What is that? These are the fruit of porcelain-berry (Ampelopsis glandulosa). Before it had fruit, it looked like a frost grape vine with its forked tendrils. Porcelain-berry is in the grape family, but its berries are poisonous.… Continue reading What’s That? September 23, 2024
Winter Beauty
It’s January and things seem rather dead out there. But take a closer look. There’s still beauty all around. New York ironweed has long lost its showy purple flowers. Here’s what is underneath. The fuzzy seed heads of the goldenrod make interesting texture in the dull brown fields. And these feather-like wands are the seeds… Continue reading Winter Beauty