26 April 2020
April 19-25 was another good week for beautiful flowers and new leaves in southwestern Pennsylvania. Check the captions on my photos for species, date and location. Thanks to John English for the white violet from Frick Park.
BONUS! There’s mystery plant to identify at the end. Yes, it’s probably an alien.
In Frick Park yesterday, John English found white violets.
Mystery plant shown below. … By the way, thank you for your suggestions regarding the iNaturalist app. I don’t use it to identify things because I get sucked into email/messaging when I use my cellphone outdoors. There’s a side benefit, though. You have a puzzle to solve.
Question: Can you tell me what plant this is? I photographed these new leaves at Boyce-Mayview Park because I love their wrinkled texture. They remind me of an invasive ornamental shrub called Jetbead which is currently blooming in Schenley Park but this shrub has no flowers. Please leave a comment with your answer.
ANSWER! This is Viburnum plicatum otherwise known as Snowball bush. It’s from Japan. Thank you, Dianne Machesney.
(photos by Kate St. John & John English)
Kate, if you post to iNaturalist I find it helps me identify just about anything. There is a ‘blitz’ going on now for Allegheny County to record and post.
Thank for the tip, Beth. As it turns out, I don’t use iNaturalist because interacting with my cellphone while I’m outdoors distracts me & I stop observing nature (bummer!). I don’t even use the eBird app while birding. I write the list by hand and enter it later.
We have also seen celadine poppies, Dutchman’s Breeches, squirrel corn, and Virginia bluebells at Trillium Trail ( loads of trilliums and spring beauties everywhere).
Viburnum , probably doublefile
viburnum plicatum snowball bush. It’s from japan.