sweetgum

The terms “leaffolder,” “leafroller,” and “leaftier” refer to the leaf structures produced by certain moth caterpillars. Leaffolders fold leaves, leafrollers roll leaves, and leaftiers tie leaves together. The descriptive terms have no relationship to moth taxonomy. They are intended to aid in identification by portraying the caterpillar’s creative use of silk to fashion a home.

There is nothing better than following a tree through its yearly development. As we are in the throws of fall and leaves are beginning to shine with vibrant shades of autumn and soon will be fallen at accelatored speeds, take a moment and enjoy. Soon will be spending more time indoors as temperatures drop and day length shortens, spend every second you can and take nature in! 

This is Part 2 of some of the plant happenings at Secrest Arboretum in early May of 2020; from the beauty of maple stipules to the ugliness of plum black knot. And a reminder of the joys of observation from Walt Whitman.

I came across a small webworm nest yesterday in an American sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua). It strongly resembled an early instar Fall Webworm (Hyphantria cunea) nest; however, fall webworms are just about finished for the season. 

At a recent tree identification workshop I brought some samples of hedge maple (Acer campestre) and when the learners were keying these out I noted to them that stems had “wings”. Several attendees were more quizzical than usual at my ramblings and asked what I meant. “Wings” or raised or corky projections on stems of woody plants are perhaps most common with regard to winged euonymus (Euonymus alatus) from the Latin alatus which means “having wings or winglike extensions”.

There are many additional woody plant species that have “wings”, though, including...