#zig-zag goldenrod

[vandaliatraveler]

A few photos above from an early morning hike at the Friendship Hill National Historic Site near Pt. Marion, Pennsylvania. If you want to learn more about the history of this sprawling estate, you can go to this link or search for prior posts from the main search page of my Tumblr blog. In addition to the historic homestead of Albert Gallatin, the park features ten miles of hiking trails through verdant oak-hickory and riparian forests. This time of year, the Central Appalachian forest is rich with fungi, legumes, berries, and the loveliest orb-weavers imaginable.

From top: wingstem (Verbesina alternifolia), also known as yellow ironweed, a late summer aster so named because the petioles of its leaves run down the plant's stem; northern spicebush (Lindera benzoin), a gorgeous native shrub whose bright red berries in late summer are followed by the most extraordinary gold foliage in the fall; orange mycena (Mycena leaiana), a lovely, gregarious fungi of deciduous logs whose pigment has shown antibacterial and anti-cancer properties; the ripened but dangerously toxic berries of pokeweed (Phytolacca americana), whose young leaves are used by mountain folk to make poke sallet (but only after repeated cleansings to remove the toxins); American hog-peanut (Amphicarpaea bracteata), a lovely twining vine whose roots and ground nut are edible; cutleaf coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata), also known as green-headed coneflower and wild goldenglow, a close relative of black-eyed Susan with gorgeous, pinnately-dissected leaves (the leaf photo also shows the characteristic tri-foliate leaf pattern of hog-peanut); zig-zag goldenrod (Solidago flexicaulis), one of two adorable woodland goldenrods that grow in this area (the other being blue-stemmed goldenrod), both of which produce clusters of brilliant yellow flowers in both their leaf axils and at the ends of their stems; steeplebush (Spiraea tomentosa), also known as hardhack, which produces delicate plumes of pink flowers in late summer; a spined micrathena (Micrathena gracilis), which has ensnared a fly in her web; and an arrowhead orb weaver (Verrucosa arenata), also known as a triangle orb-weaver, a sparkling gem of an arachnid that reels in its prey like a fisherman dragging in a net.

[nerdyqueerandjewish]

I got some (MN) native plants to get me started on the woodland garden. I was specifically looking for plants that do well in moist, at least partly shaded areas, except a few on the edge, like the New Jersey tea will get more sun

- ostrich fern (which i didn’t realize was fiddlehead fern so once it’s established I can even eat some of the heads coming up!)

- common ladyfern

- wild ginger

-red columbine

- leafy satin grass

- zig zag goldenrod

- early meadow rue

- short aster

- New Jersey tea

[honey-minded-hivemind]

The Main 🐉Wings of Fire AU Characters' List: Names, Powers, And Tribe/s

(Everyone gets a new name, so as not to cause confusion between the separate tribe aus, and to let them have their own story special to this main au, plus a small description, to help imagine them as dragons. For this au, I imagine the X-Men Evolution versions of everyone, with a few added elements of the Animated Series😊)

• Charles Xavier/Professor Xavier: NightWing

• Name: Chary

• Description: charcoal gray and faded black scales; silver scales on wings are scattered like dewdrops on a leaf; has a partially paralyzed tail, making flight difficult; has a British-sounding voice; green-gray eyes

• Ororo Munroe/Storm: SeaWing/IceWing hybrid

• Name: Maelstrom

• Description: snowy white and pale dawn blue scales; has IceWing ruffs around head and down back and tail, all as white as the ocean foam; has webbing between talons; has some bioluminescent scales along her face, belly, and tail; cool to the touch like a river stone; diamond blue eyes; Splash's aunt

• Logan Howlett/Wolverine: HiveWing

• Name: Wasp

• Description: lemon and orange scales, zig-zagged with shiny, iridescent green-black stripes; has long wrist stingers, with a toxin that sedates others; warm brown eyes; adoptive group dad; is Yellowjacket's dad, and possibly related to Vespid

• Hank McCoy/Beast: SilkWing

• Name: Heath

• Description: navy blue, peacock, and blue-gray scales; sometimes wears glasses, which wrap around his horns; his wings have some streaks of caramel brown, cream, and maroon; has large talons; deep blue eyes

• Scott Summers/Cyclops: SkyWing

• Name: Cardinal

• Description: crimson and goldfish red-gold scales; descended from a firescales SkyWing; wears red quartz glasses due to being near-blind in bright environments unless properly shading his eyes; has hazel eyes

• Jean Grey/Marvel Girl/Phoenix: LeafWing

• Name: Jasmine

• Description: forest and grass green scales, with reddish-orange wing and sail membranes; has powerful leafspeak; kind; has emerald green eyes

• Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat: NightWing/RainWing hybrid

• Name: Shimmer

• Description: usually has lavender, rose, and misty gray scales; sometimes walks around in camouflage mode; is a vegetarian; the scales under her wings are in the shades of the rainbow instead of completely silver; has pale pink eyes

• Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler: RainWing/SilkWing hybrid

• Name: Kirinia

• Description: sapphire and midnight blue scales; has not yet gone through Metamorphosis; has a prehehnsile tail; has warm yellow eyes; is the son of Majestic; adopted brother to Rootworm

• Anne-Marie/Rogue: HiveWing

• Name: Rootworm

• Description: rust red scales dotted with spots of pale butter yellow, green-gold yellow, and dark black; has deadly toxins in her wing claw-tips and talons; has russet red eyes; has an accent; wears a black choker

• Remy LeBeau/Gambit: LeafWing

• Name: Redwood

• Description: gray-green, bark brown, and tan scales; membranes are a reddish-pink; has a small amount of leafspeak; can influence plants and their fruits to grow, and sometimes make them explode; reddish-pink eyes

• Jubilation Lee/Jubilee: RainWing

• Name: Lemur

• Description: usually goldenrod yellow and rose pink scales; can make a pattern go across her scales that look like fireworks; flares her ruff bright red when angry; bubbly; sunny yellow eyes

• Evan Daniels/Spyke: SeaWing/ 1/4 IceWing

• Name: Splash

• Description: pale lagoon blue-green scales; has a few sharp spines along his back, each a pale greenish-blue; webbed talons; has a few IceWing spikes at the end of his tail; pale green eyes

• Bobby Drake/Iceman: IceWing

• Name: Beluga

• Description: icy white scales with hints of sky blue; shiny; is cold to the touch; has a forked blue tongue; warm personality; has frost blue eyes

• Rahne Sinclair/Wolfsbane: SilkWing

• Name: Regal

• Description: soft brown and clay red scales, with triangles of lime green down her spine, and small freckles of orange across her cheeks; has not gone through Metamorphosis; has acute sense of smell; bright green eyes

• Samuel "Sam" Guthrie/Cannonball: MudWing

• Name: Cashmere

• Description: warm brown and amber scales; scrawny; considers the younger X-Men (the New Mutants) his sibs; red-egg powers; has caramel brown eyes

• Roberto da Costa/Sunspot: SkyWing

• Name: Robin

• Description: vermillion and golden-orange scales; is a firescales; wears as much treasure as he can in human form; fiery golden eyes

• Danielle "Dani" Moonstar/Mirage: SandWing

• Name: Dune

• Description: sandy yellow-brown scales; brown sail; has a dusky black tail barb; wears a pendant necklace; deep brown eyes

• Illyana Rasputin/Magik: IceWing

• Name: Alba

• Description: ice blue scales; sharp horns and spines; bright blue eyes; slightly stand-offish at first; protective of the younger ones; Polar's younger sister

• Piotr Rasputin/Colossus: IceWing

• Name: Polar

• Description: silvery-gray scales, akin to polished metal; large; friendly; loves his friends and family; Alba's older brother

• Laura Kinney/Wolverine 2.0: HiveWing

• Name: Yellowjacket

• Description: tangerine scales with speckles of pollen yellow, swathed in bands of iridescent black; has wrist stingers, that contain a sedative toxin; bright golden-brown eyes; is Wasp's daughter

• Tabitha "Tabby" Smith/Boom-Boom: RainWing

• Name: Boa

• Description: usually in shades of hibiscus and flamingo pink, dappled with banana yellow and cherry red; aims her venom well; loud; has berry red eyes

• Erik Lehnsherr/Magnus/Magneto: IceWing

• Name: Elk

• Description: dark gray scales, with silvery streaks across them, akin to fur; sharp blue eyes; wears a silver helm; father of Penguin and Warbler; possibly once dated/was friends with Chary

• Raven Darkholme/Mystique: RainWing

• Name: Majestic

• Description: usually royal blue and wine red, with a few golden scales; mother of Kirinia, and partially adopted mother of Rootworm; is an expert at changing her scales and positioning her ruff, tail, and spines to appear as dragons from other tribes; bright orange-gold eyes

• Victor Creed/Sabretooth: HiveWing

• Name: Vespid

• Description: pale yellow, amber, and burnt orange scales, with dusty brown and black stripes; sharp, dark amber eyes; sharp claw stingers, each containing a painful toxin; possibly related to Wasp

• Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver: IceWing/SkyWing hybrid

• Name: Penguin

• Description: cloud white and pale greenish-blue scales; sky blue eyes; has the wings of a SkyWing, but mostly resembles an IceWing; son of Elk; Warbler's twin brother

• Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch: SkyWing/IceWing hybrid

• Name: Warbler

• Description: scarlet and burgundy scales; dark red-brown eyes; resembles a SkyWing mostly; daughter of Elk; Penguin's twin sister

• Lance Alvers/Avalanche: SandWing

• Name: Arid

• Description: tan scales with a diamond pattern, akin to a snake; dusty brown sail; dark black eyes; shiny black tail barb

• Mortymer Tonybee/Todd Tolanksy/Toad: MudWing

• Name: Tadpole

• Description: ochre brown and greenish-yellow scales; small; pale yellow-green eyes; views Blowfish as his sib; uncertain about the others

• Fred "Freddy" Dukes/Blob: SeaWing

• Name: Blowfish

• Description: green-yellow scales, like kelp; giant; eel green webbing and sail; shady green eyes; sees Tadpole as a younger sibling

• St. John Allerdyce/Pyro: SkyWing

• Name: Pyrite

• Description: orange-gold scales; flame orange eyes; skinny; loves to burn things; possible pyromaniac

[whatsbloomingnow]

Broadleaf Goldenrod (Solidago flexicaulis L.)

Asteraceae/Compositae (Aster/Composit Family) Synonym(s): Zig-Zag Goldenrod Base Flower Color: YellowReproductive Phenology: Aug, Sept, Oct For more information about this plant, Click Here.

[cedar-glade]

One of the many woodland Symphyotrichum spp. This one is blue flowering, occurs with cordate foliage, leaf section is not offset cordate closer to the petiole like Symphyotrichum urophyllum, and this one is also not aggressively dentate like S. cordifolium or Euribia divaricatus; the Euribia spp. is called white wood aster too, so it may help the issue with coloration of flower. Instead what we have here is Symphyotrichum drummondii, or Drummond’s blue wood aster, and upland wood aster, known for karst preference or dry oak upland forest. 

Here it’s along an semi exposed dolostone area with ferrous parental top soil (iron rich clay), growing in sympatry( together) with Solidago flexicaulis (Zig Zag goldenrods), at Clifty Falls State Park, IN.

[wildestdreamsgardens]

The Best Goldenrods for Your Garden (Part II)

Groundcovers?

I bet you have never thought to put the words Goldenrod and groundcover in the same sentence, but think again.  Here are three candidates for the role.

1 & 2 Solidago sphacelata ‘Golden Fleece’.  This diminutive charmer is only about 1 ft tall, but provides a mound of attractive dentate heart-shaped leaves all season (image 2) until the rich and densely flowered hook-shaped wands emerge in late August through September (image 1). At least as spellbinding as the Medusa’s stare, but not the least bit lethal.  I have seen it used effectively as a sunny groundcover in a roadside planting, and what a perfect way to make use of its spreading abilities in spots where other plants might struggle.

3  Solidago shortii ‘Solar Cascade’, looking similar to Fireworks, but shorter, more diffuse, and if the nurseries are to be believed, producer of a fascinating cascade of brightest yellow streamers.

4 Solidago flexicaulis ‘Zig Zag goldenrod’.  Shade lovers need not feel left out in the golden groundcover department.  Named for its zig-zagging flower stalks, this one is suitable for difficult to grow spots under trees (conditions in which it thrives in my neck of the woods). A definite for a naturalized effect in the woodland garden.

[kathy-purdy]

Zig-Zag Goldenrod

I‘ve lived on this land almost seven years now, and I’m still discovering native plants growing wild here. This month’s find was zig-zag goldenrod (Solidago flexicaulis). Sometimes–but not always–the stem zigs and zags as it grows. (more…)

[theolddarkmachine]

12 Days of ODM: Day 9

Dedicated to: @whereisthefood123

Prompt: Levy gives Gajeel his first headband.

AO3

                                               I hope you like it.

Truth be told, Gajeel had loved the thin slip of crimson fabric Levy had given him that morning right before she slipped out to head to the guild for the day. He loved the silky feel of it against the roughened, callused palms, and he loved the raised stitching that created a zig zagging pattern across the band. Gajeel especially loved that it was damn near identical to the yellow headband Levy was partial to, the fabric a permanent fixture holding back her bangs and allowing the delicate planes of her face to catch the light.

The problem was, though he loved the piece of silk, he didn’t know what he was supposed to do with it.

WTF, you won the award for most obscure prompt lol I’m not gonna lie, when I got your message of “Can I ask for a prompt of ‘headband’” I was like I HAVE NO IDEA HOW I’M GONNA MAKE THIS WORTHY OF WTF. But after a minor panic, I freaking love this prompt. I also love that it gave me the opportunity to use a bunch of my pretty downloaded fonts :3 I hope you like it! Merry Christmas!

************************

                                              I hope you like it.

Truth be told, Gajeel had loved the thin slip of crimson fabric Levy had given him that morning right before she slipped out to head to the guild for the day. He loved the silky feel of it against the roughened, callused palms, and he loved the raised stitching that created a zig zagging pattern across the band. Gajeel especially loved that it was damn near identical to the yellow headband Levy was partial to, the fabric a permanent fixture holding back her bangs and allowing the delicate planes of her face to catch the light.

The problem was, though he loved the piece of silk, he didn’t know what he was supposed to do with it.

The dragon slayer was a simple man. All he needed for his hair was shampoo, conditioner when he felt like treating himself, and the open air that would dry it. Tying it back with a headband had never been anything he’d ever considered, especially given he wasn’t even sure how to get it on over the wild mess to begin with.

Which, was how he’d ended up in their bathroom for the better part of an hour trying to work the  over the unruly black locks, and only managing to get it around his forehead, the hair beneath it pushed upward into a shape that resembled something more like a deflated mushroom. An angry growl ripped from behind his teeth as he tugged the headband off and threw it at the mirror where it smacked right in the middle of his reflection before falling behind the faucet.

“God damn headband,” he moaned as he turned on his heel, walking out of the bathroom and slamming the door shut behind him to further punctuate just how angry he was with the fabric for not cooperating with him. The clap of the door was deafening in the otherwise quiet home, the movement so violent that it shook the walls an shook the bookcase just to the right of the door, effectively knocking two books from their shelves. They fell with all the grace of a baby bird, soft thuds accompanying the inevitable crash as they hit the carpeted ground.

“God damn books,” Gajeel snarled as he leant down to pick them up, his annoyance spiking as it searched for anything else to focus on besides his failure to use Levy’s gift.

It really shouldn’t be this hard, he thought moodily as he scooped up the leather bound tomes that had fallen.

Band. Hair. Make Levy happy.

The steps were obvious, which only made it that much more annoying that he couldn’t seem to get the damn thing onto his head. He groaned again as he turned towards the bookshelf where the line of carefully placed books had fallen over without the help of their companions to keep them up. Much like with everything else she did, Levy had lovingly organized the texts on the shelves, using a system that only seemed to make perfect sense to her.

Gajeel had suspected what the dull throb growing behind his sternum had been, but it hadn’t been until he’d watched her as she stood in front of the wooden bookcase, a book in each hand and a small thoughtful smile on her pink lips as she pushed each onto specific slots on the shelves, that he confirmed it.

Love.

They’d only known each other for a year at that point, dating for just four, when he’d offered his place when she’d finally decided she couldn’t handle living with their guild mates anymore.

         It will be convenient. Plus, we get along just fine, don’t we, Shrimp?

Since then, and since his revelation, Gajeel had kept the four letter word held close to his heart and trapped behind his teeth. It wasn’t that he doubted Levy’s feelings for him. His own reasons rested solely in the hands of his own abandonment issues. Everyone he’d ever loved left.

If he kept that to himself, then she couldn’t disappear as well.

Sighing loudly, Gajeel shook the stray thoughts from his mind as he looked over the shelf, trying desperately to pull the location for both books from the grain of the wood. It was as he searched the shelf for answers, something tucked behind the books caught his eye.

Sitting pressed into the furthest corner of the shelf, was a small square box made of cherry oak wood that he had never seen before. A zing of curiosity shot down to his fingertips, sending a tickle through the pads as he set the fallen books onto the next ledge up before reaching over the top of the books to grab it. The wood had been sanded to an almost velvet softness with vines and flowers carved into delicate patterns over the lid.

It had been beautifully crafted, the care in its making obvious with how fine the details were of the blossoms that folded lovingly as if they were truly alive. His fingers ghosted over the design, smoothing over the lines before they dragged a line down to the golden clasp that held the lid shut.

A small voice in his head admonished him for being nosey. Levy had clearly hidden the box for a reason. If he was a stronger man, he’d put it back where he’d found it, replace the books, and pretend he hadn’t ever seen the hidden box behind all of Levy’s favorite books.

He wasn’t a stronger man though, his hand moving to push the box open before he’d even realized he’d decided to open it. The lid lifted easily as the hinges gave a soft squeak from age, revealing a card on yellowing paper with cursive words painted over it in plum ink that simply said:

Carefully, Gajeel pulled the card from the box, his touch light as he pinched it between his thumb and forefingers. Setting down the box on top of the toppled books, he used his freed hand to open the folded paper, eyes scanning over the note on the inside.

His heart lurched in his chest, a seed of sorrow nestling deep in his gut as he read the words. Levy had mentioned once in passing that her parents had both died when she was young, leaving her to be raised by the guild, but she never got much further than that, and he never pushed her for details. Gajeel understood the kind of scar tissue that got left behind by the loss of family. He recognized the faraway look and the hollow tone she adopted the one time they’d been brought up, his own darkness reflecting back at him in the golden honey of her eyes.

Tearing his eyes from the slightly smudged ink of the card, he looked back at the box to see a photo resting at the bottom beside a single piece of folded yellow fabric. Gently placing the card on the shelf, Gajeel turned his attentions back to the picture, pulling it from the wood.

The photo showed a tall, blue haired man standing with his arm around a blonde woman who had a child balanced on her hip. She couldn’t have been more than five years old in the photo, sky blue hair sticking out in every which way with a single band of yellow holding her bangs out of her face as she smiled up at the parents that beamed brightly at the camera.

Levy’s family. Their happiness radiated from the photograph, captured forever within the card stock. Though she shared the same coloring as her father, she favored her mother. The woman’s smile was identical to the one he’d memorized, full of light and pulled just barely higher on the right side. He felt his heart squeeze as his gaze traced over the photo, matching the goldenrod in Levy’s hair to that of the fabric in the box.

He didn’t need to pull the silk from its wooden confines to know that it would be the same headband from the picture. Similar to the one that always rested in Levy’s sky colored locks, it must have been one of the last things she ever got from her parents before they died. A final, tangible piece of her parents’ love, tucked away with her books in the one place she could always keep it safe.

The sudden understanding of it all stole the breath from his lungs as he carefully tucked the photo and card back into the box.

I hope you like it.

Without his knowing, Levy had given him her love, wholly and completely sewn into the crimson fabric of the headband.

After setting the box back behind the books, he replaced the fallen texts on the shelf, effectively hiding her past away again before he turned back to the bathroom, a new resolve coursing through him as he grabbed the fabric from where it sat on the sink.

***

Levy was lost deep within the curling script of the foreign language, oblivious to the rest of the guild around her as she tried to work out the translation of a particularly tricky sentence, when a solid body dropped down into the bench next to her. Fire erupted deep in her stomach as a strong arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her into a broad chest as a nose nuzzled into the hair behind her hair. She felt the featherlight touch of lips against her skin, just below the silk of her headband. The contact pulled a low purr from her throat as she pushed into the touch.

“Hey Gajeel,” she hummed, eyes still fixed on the words before her though her attention rested solely on the warmth of her boyfriend’s body.

“Hi, Lev,” he replied, the coolness of his breath raising goosebumps over her skin as it stirred the hair around her ear. “How’s it going?”

If Levy was being honest, it wasn’t going well. She couldn’t remember the last time a translation job had made her work so hard to find the answers. The challenge had been welcomed, but admittedly, her mind had been left behind with Gajeel and the headband she’d given him that morning. Though they’d been together for half a year now, she’d never felt as nervous with him as she had that morning handing him the simple gift for his birthday. He had no way of knowing just how much the circle of fabric meant to her, or how it was the easiest way she could think of to finally tell him the depth of her feelings for him, but she knew. That very knowledge had kept her mind a mile away, stuck in their house and hidden behind a shelf of books.

“It could be going better,” she admitted, sighing loudly as she slumped into his side. “It’s kicking my ass, actually.”

Gajeel’s quiet laughter vibrated through her as he kissed her again, this time pressing his lips to the top of the headband in her hair. He breathed in as he hummed before pulling away.

“So why don’t you take a break?” His voice was so deep and inviting, her own personal kryptonite that she couldn’t deny, no matter how badly she wished to prove she could figure out the text.

Well, it was just a break anyway.

Finally looking away from the book, Levy turned to face Gajeel, a small squeak of surprise escaping her as she took in his appearance. Stretched over his black hair, was the headband she’d given to him that morning. The crimson silk stood out against the onyx, its color almost the same garnet shade of his eyes as he smiled down at her.

“You’re wearing it.” Reaching up with a tentative hand, her fingers brushing over the fabric and the soft waves of Gajeel’s hair. Her dragon turned his nose into her wrist, his lips brushing over her pulse that ricocheted in her veins at the contact.

“Of course I am,” he said matter-of-factly, as if his wearing it had been as obvious as the sky being blue.

“I wasn’t sure you’d like it,” she said lowly as she dropped her hand into her lap. They both ignored the way her words wobbled slightly as she spoke, their endings watery. Gajeel’s arm tightened around her waist as he spoke.

“I love it.” His eyes danced with light as they searched her hazel ones, his lips quirking upwards as he chose his next words.

“I love you, Levy.”

Her heart paused in her chest before it began to race as the words began to spiral around her, wrapping her in their warm embrace as she rolled them around her mind.

I love you. I love you. I love you.

Gajeel’s lips were pliant beneath hers as Levy surged forward, pressing their lips together, her arms anchoring her to him as they wrapped around his neck. Electricity buzzed down to her toes as he returned the pressure in the otherwise chaste kiss. Pulling away slightly, she rested her forehead against his, the fabric of the silk band soft against her skin.

“I love you too,” she whispered, barely getting the words out before Gajeel chased them away with another kiss, filled with nothing but an unsaid promise that was sweet on her tongue. Smiling into it, he pushed into it before pulling away, his eyes smoldering as he looked at her.

“Want to get out of here, Shrimp?”

All Levy could manage was a quick nod, her words lost to the continual hum of three other words.

I love you.

***

[ohsobittle]

NaNoWriMo: Day 1

Disclaimer:  I use my knowledge of semitic language structure to create in-universe, fantasy language words and place names. None of my current process is coherent or edited, and I intend to refine the linguistic elements, as well as style and structure, which largely goes without saying. It is my intent to respect the beauty and the brilliant structure of the languages I derive from, and any failures on my part to do so are totally inadvertent and will be corrected after the month is over, and the “shitty rough draft” is on the page. 

David reached the top of the pass, taking a moment to rest and scan the available landscape. He had walked for three days to get here, his bag filled with dried fruit, meat, and all the money earned from selling the best ram from his personal flock. Provisions and coin would more than serve as an excuse to justify his real purpose. He wiped the sweat from his brow and shielded his eyes from the sun as he gazed out at the next leg of his journey, and his ultimate destination.

The trail he walked zig-zagged down the mountain in a series of brutal switchbacks, the path itself none too used to traffic other than goats and the occasional wildcat. In places, boulders had fallen from the peaks above and obstructed parts of the trail, and David noted ruefully that he’d have to resort to some clever climbing as he made his way down to the foot of the mountains.

Below him, an ocean of sand stretched out to the shimmering horizon, the mountain range obscuring the view to the south, and the outpost that lay hidden behind them. David knew, of course, that it would be there. Adira had told him as much in her last letter. Immediately in front of him lay the camp. Emerald green tents were lined up in neat rows, banners streaming out in the wind. The Kochavi army. His sisters. His brother.

He could see few people milling around in the camp itself. The whole army had been marched out, lined up in formation. Perhaps half a mile opposite, arrayed in the ruins of of one of the many fortresses that long ago dotted this stretch of desert, was another army, flying standards of goldenrod. David’s breath hitched. So the rumors were true; the Hetatiim did control Al-A’akar. The two armies stood in face-off, silent, no eagle’s cry to even break the silence.  

[vandaliatraveler]

Early fall color along Dunkard Creek at the Mason-Dixon Historical Park. Most notably, broadleaved goldenrod (Solidago flexicaulis), also known as zig-zag goldenrod, is now in bloom. This is one of my favorite wildflowers of any season - it grows in gorgeous clumps with brilliant gold flower spikes and broadly-ovate, sharply serrated foliage. It’s better behaved than most goldenrods and is ideal for a bright pop of autumn color in a native wildflower garden.

From top: broadleaved goldenrod, one of two species in this area with flowers growing from the leaf axils; blue wood aster (Symphyotrichum cordifolium), a common woodland aster that blooms right up to the first frost; garden phlox (Phlox paniculata), also known as tall phlox and fall phlox, a tall, wetlands-loving perennial that blooms from July through early October in Central Appalachia; sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale), which loves the marshy edges of ponds, lakes, and streams; short’s aster (Symphyotrichum shortii), a woodland aster with a special fondness for limestone bluffs.

[vandaliatraveler]

Early fall stroll through an upland meadow at Snake Hill Wildlife Management Area. The Solidago was just divine.

[vandaliatraveler]

A few late summer odds and ends from a bike ride on the Mon River Trail yesterday. The asters are really starting to pop now as the days grow noticeably shorter and autumn closes in. A number of interesting vines are also in bloom and producing fruit for wildlife before the first frost. Climbing false buckwheat (Fallopia scandens) and oneseed bur cucumber (Sicyos angulatus), a member of the gourd family, are both aggressive twining vines with distinctive foliage, flowers, and fruits. 

From top: a goldenrod soldier beetle strikes nectar gold on a wingstem flower (Verbesina alternifolia); Short’s aster (Symphyotrichum shortii), a really beautiful perennial often found growing in dry to mesic oak-hickory woods with limestone near the surface; climbing false buckwheat, a delicate twiner whose pendulous fruit has three ruffled sides, like pantaloons; oneseed bur cucumber, whose bristly fruit can cause painful stings; crooked-stemmed aster (Symphyotrichum prenanthoides), also known as zag-zag aster, whose stems often zig-zag between the nodes of its spatula-shaped leaves; and the glorious New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae), one of the most important pollinator plants of late summer and early autumn.

[cedar-glade]

Solidago caesia (blue stem goldenrod, top) and Solidago flexicaulis( zig zag goldenrod, bottom), are both species where flower clusters appear predominantly at the petioles. They are both upper dry oak hickory woodland to open woodland species as well. Some consider these species the easiest goldenrods to ID in the United States and Canada due to their unique clustering and morphological features.

[cedar-glade]

Eurybia divaricata

White Heart-leaved False Wood Aster

Growing in open white cedar( Thuja occidentalis) regrowth on shallow rich glacial and D.O.M( decayed organic material) mixed mineral soil in dappled sun at the top of Clifton Gorge, SNP, Greene co. Ohio. 

Teeth are distinguishable and this species lacks a winged petiole which allows comparisons to the other wood aster found in similar habitat to be easier to juxtapose and then delineate. Though without blooms or buds it is somewhat of an issue when zig zag goldenrod( Solidago flexicaulis) is around. While both stems occur with a zig zag (aka. serpentinoid alternation or flexicaulis(zig zaging flexible stem)), zig zag goldenrod’s leaves are the best way to rule this issue.  S. flexicaulis leaves are truly obovate with leaves not truly forming cordate(heart shaped) termination before the petiole(Where the leaf blade attaches to the stem at a node); instead, zig zag only appears this way since there is an abrupt reflex( base of leaf somewhat reflexed just prior to the petiole).

[cedar-glade]

Zig Zag Goldenrod

Solidago flexicaulis, 

 This species is fairly easy to identify, mainly because of the zig zagging stem pattern, the openwoodland to edge mesic habitat, the large serrate leaves, and the lower inflorescences being commonly associated with each leaves adaxial node near the top of the plant. 

Unfortunately this plant had been broused recently which doesn’t give a perfect example of the associated characteristics; with that said, it does make a good example of a damaged zig zag goldenrod. >:)