Laura Wampler

10-7-2020

 Clear; 73°F

Arrived: 6:33PM

Departed: 7:06PM

The water levels at my sit-spot seem to be lower this week; I was really curious about the wildlife and what inhabited the water, too, so I dragged my roommate out of our room to go visit the stream. I totally did not realize how hard it was going to be to wade without shoes on, but I grew up in a town where one of the best pastimes is getting in the local river/lake and seeing what you can find, so I wasn’t that bothered by the rocks. The water was very, very cold though. There was some sort of animal that went absolutely ZOOMING past me and it scared me even though I was fully aware that I was stepping into a very active habitat that is obviously going to have larger wildlife that I can actually see. One of the most important things I told myself was to not actually disturb anything when I went looking for something to observe.

I, at first, wanted an animal; but the water was too cold to stay in for long and I believe I got in over my head with my own expectations. I made my way to the edge of the stream and found this cute little pink plant that was all along the bank. Pink is my ALL TIME FAVORITE COLOR EVER so I HAD to choose this. I hadn’t seen it earlier, so I am not sure if that is because it wasn’t actually there, or I was just poor at paying attention to my surroundings. It is on the ‘back’ of my sit-spot, so I do not face it when I do my regular observations, so that may be why I missed it, to begin with.

The first thing I noticed (besides the color) is the number of little blooms on this plant, which I assume helps with pollination and spreading seeds; My roommate pointed out several after I pointed out a few on my side, they seemed to just keep showing up! They are so delicate and easy to miss if you aren’t outwardly looking for them. It does not help that the stream is covered in a lot of beautiful flora that is almost overwhelming!

I observed this for a few minutes (Probably about 11 or so) and I wasn’t fond of the idea of breaking off a stem even though there were so many. That doesn’t sit right with me, even though it’s just a plant. I will say that the identification wasn’t difficult at all, as the apps that I used seemed to know right away when I put the plant into the frame. I was super thankful for that because I probably would’ve lost my mind trying to figure out what it was with vague Google searches like ‘Pink Plant Beside Stream’ that would’ve gotten me nowhere. As for the process, it was as easy as downloading apps and taking a picture. That is super interesting to me, as I have gone through the process of identifying with one of those little books with all of the tabs in them, which is a process that I do not consider one of my favorites. Technology is really cool and it is awesome to see that we can just identify things so easily!

My plant happens to be what is commonly called Lady’s Thumb (Persicaria maculosa) and is apart of the buckwheat/knotweed family. Apparently, it is everywhere, as it has been found in Iceland, Portugal, and even Japan. The blooming can happen between late spring to early fall. It is also noted that this species prefers disturbed areas? I’ve never heard of that before, but if that is what it likes, that is what it likes. Lady’s Thumb is native to Europe. The nectar also attracts wasps, which I thought would be interesting to mention considering the caterpillars that were visible previously, who were used as hosts for wasp eggs. I almost wonder if these plants attract the wasps that do that.

https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/weeds/plants/lady_thumb.htm

 

Overall, I really enjoyed this experience. I am a very hands-on person (even with my fear of bugs and the unknown) and love having objectives and an opportunity to get to the specifics/details of things! Also, my formatting for this post is so ugly, I know. I tried my best!!