Native stinkbug?

True bug of some kind.

Bedraggled tiger swallowtail

Part of its wing is missing. It seemed to be looking for nectar.

Wildflower Certification 4: Grasses

On September 13, 2014, the Wildflower Certification class took a trip to Coverdale Farm to learn about grasses and late-season plants. The weather was rainy.

We started out in a shelter near one of the farm fields. We looked at some ruderal species--ones that colonize disturbed habitats. These include

Crabgrass (digitaria)--an annual , non-native, invasive grass.

Goose grass (Eleusine indica)--this grass thrives in areas with heavy foot traffic. It can be seen on paths growing in a flattened clump.

---

Walking towards the meadow, we saw grasses of less disturbed habitats:

Slender muhly (muhlenbergia tenuiflora)

Broom sedge (Andropogon virginicus) despite its name, is a grass.

Beaked panic grass (Panicum anceps)

Weather: rainy

Foxtail grass processes c4 more efficiently than some other grasses,  but alsoneeds warmer temperatures.

Purpletop, or grease grass, has a panicle and a white ligule,

Besides the grasses, we saw the following plants and flowers:

Turtlehead flowers are good for attracting the Baltimore Checkerspot butterfly.

Wild basil has a stem that goes right through the flower.

Aster

Goldenrod

A wild tomato of some kind

Others that I got no pictures of:

panicked aster

lambs quarters

purple stemmed aster 

arrow leaf tear a thumb