A dioecious plant

On Monday, a Savannah Sparrow showed up on Randall Lane, just about the only new bird seen recently.

In addition to the spectacular display of the Seaside Goldenrod (now ruined by the rain), there are several other wildflowers in bloom: Pearly Everlasting (the most widespread I've ever seen it), Evening Primrose (a late arrival probably delayed due to the fact that we cut the meadow around the house) as well as one or more of the small white asters. Another flowering plant that has become widespread in the wake of Irene and Sandy, is the Baccharis halimifolia or Groundsel Tree. This is not really a tree but a rather robust bush that grows at the edge of the marsh. It is a dioecious, a fancy word meaning that it has separate male and female plants. The male flowers, already past their peak, are not very noticeable but the female flowers are striking with a bundle of silky-white strands coming out of a purple sheath; the wind-distributed seeds are at the end of each strand or filament. They are just now developing and make a notable display at the head of the marsh.

Eric Salzman