#winter identification

Tree bark lesson: a. Hackberry; b. Shagbark hickory; c. Chestnut oak; d. American beech.

The Shine of 

Shining Firmoss 

Huperzia lucidula

can only truly be respected on a clear morning after many days of heavy rain. 

[ID: A close up photograph of a twig from a bitternut hickory tree, with a white hand behind it, and snow in the background. The twig has light brown bark with smaller light spots, and the budding leaves are mustard yellow, and stand out strongly against the grey-brown of the bark. End ID.]

As the name implies, the nuts taste bitter, but are just as edible as other hickory nuts.

Address: 99 North Forney Avenue, Hanover Pennsylvania. There’s a really crappy sidewalk with no ramp and a gap filled with mud, and next to it is a stand of trees.

[ID: A screenshot from google maps, showing the view from the road of a short length of sidewalk with trees on the other side, all of them with bright green leaves. End ID.]

The bitternut hickory is towards the middle.

There is an 80% change that directly across from the fire hydrant is a pawpaw tree, but I haven’t found any definitive resources for identifying them in the winter yet. 

Pawpaw cuttings we're going to try to clone, February 10th 2021. Ones going outside in a blue five gallon bucket, treated with Take Root brand powder rooting hormine, given a gallon of water, and some snow on top.

Other one's, which was cut in half is going to go in a jar of water in the kitchen window.

We also got cuttings from a mulberry tree that's going to be cut down, some wild grapes, and wild blackberries.

As the skunk cabbage begins forming its inflorescence in some of the spring bed marshes below in the Coprace creek area another flower is still observable in abundance along the ridgelines at the Red River Gorge in December.  

Virginia Witch Hazel

Hamamelis virginiana ,

Red River Gorge’s upper plateaus contain the vast majority of Cladonia species listed in North America. During the wet season, or winter, these species take on much more different appearances then their stiff forms of summer. 

Cladonia rangiferina ,

for example, is much more erect and elongate, it’s white sheened colour is more apparent, and it’s thallus is much more plastic. then the crunchy boys you know and love in summer time. 

The defining factors of this species requires a multitude of morphological characteristics to fall in place. 

Forming domed “clumps” with no thickened thalloid base connecting each podetium is a good start.

 If these podetium thallus are branched you’re chance of a correct ID. is even more plausible with C. rangiferina.  

The next step is looking at the tips, they must be forked and somewhat reflexed in one direction at the upper most branch.

Finally, Cladonia rangiferina has solid colour all the way through, off white/grey not super shiny where as the closest look a likes have a blackened base of the podetium. 

Their are other ways to tell this species from look a likes by how it’s mycofluid or jelly reacts to UV light. Cladonia rangiferina is UV- and it’s fluid is transparent where as the other species have a somewhat red sheen and are UV+. 

Chemical ID is another method, but is impractical in the field.

Ganoderma tsugae, Hemlock Shelf.

Another fun fern to find out and about this winter is,

Mountain Spleenwort 

Asplenium montanum

has my favorite form and appearance of the vast majority of the rock dwelling spleenworts found in Red River Gorge. The rosettes contain much more fronds and much more pinna per frond on average when compared to any other lithophytic spleenwort in the area. This fern’s preferred niche is usually sandstone over the calcareous rock that the majority of other spleenworts utilize.

Although it’s not restricted to sandstone rock it is a generally good sign to find this common species if you are attempting to find another spleenwort species, Asplenium bradleyi, that is much more rare.