A few more woodland flowers/plants in NB

[SwampDonkey]

Well the consensus so far on #10 is Goutweed/snow on the mountain (Aegopodium podagraria). An invasive weed. But, I concede with reservations because my plant does not have angular stems. It is a pretty good match otherwise. As another note the goutweed I have along the ditch is now in flower and the woods patch was not flowering.

[SwampDonkey]

We have the ID's for # 1 and # 2 now as well.

1) Purple-stemmed Aster (Symphyotrichum puniceum (=Aster puniceus))  stem not always purple
2) Rough Goldenrod (Solidago rugosa) Modified September 14, 2008
I have now positively ID'ed this as showy aster ( Aster spectabilis), flowers further down the thread.

Special thanks to Sean Blaney, a Botanist & Assistant Director
for the Atlantic Canada Conservation Data Centre

And honorable mention to Richard Fournier of U of Moncton, Edmundston campus.

[SwampDonkey]

Ok, here are some more images of goutweed/snow on the mountain from a ditch location. Although very similar, this ditch side plant has angular stems.









Possibly a hybrid?

[Dodgy Loner]

I'm not familiar with goutweed, but you can definitely see why it's in the carrot family when you see those flowers.

[SwampDonkey]

Yeah Dodgy, it's an old time cover plant for ditches when they never liked to mow too much, other than with hand scythes or the old cow. It kept other weeds from taking over. I can remember as a kid folks digging the dang stuff up and transporting it to their lawns and ditches. 

I never would have guessed #1 and #2 though from those Audubon pictures, actually #1 isn't even in my books. #2 was so out of focus on the leaves in the book you'd only be guessing until it flowered.

[slowzuki]

That goutweed stuff is moving into my fields quite strongly.  I've also got something the locals call bedstraw, a low creeping weed growing in the fields.

[SwampDonkey]

Yes bedstraw in the fields are an ever growing menace. We never had that stuff up until a few years ago. Yes we had wild (sweet scented) bedstraw in the woods, but this field stuff is far worse it seems. Hard on new tree plantations, and it seems when some fields are sprayed it becomes released.

[slowzuki]

Apparently plowing isn't a fix either.  I'm wondered what I'll have to do to get rid of it.

[slowzuki]

I'll add another two things to the list:

-One, the last ten years a weed with a tall thick stalk (up to 6 ft) and almost corncob like top that grows yellow flowers has made a strong foothold here.  Never used to have them.  I've spotted in in northern ontario and in nw Washington state and everywhere in between.

-Two, milkweed, which we never had in this area is exploding in the last 3 years.  I mean it is growing everywhere and it is a bugger to get out of your fields.

-There is another one too but I need a picture first.

[SwampDonkey]

Does the first one have velvety basal (ground level) leaves? I think it is the common mullein. I usually only see those in gravel. One of the few weeds I like. I have been battling the burdock around here with the shovel. Wanna trade?

Yeah milkweed doesn't grow much here in our dryer farm fields, might see it in a ditch. Down around lower Woodstock and below Hartland on the east side of the river I see it growing on wet abandoned pasture land. Most all that old ground that was cleared near the river has that growing all through it. I was in one field down there where the weeds were so tall and thick a dog couldn't get through it, but the pheasants would run through that tanglement and hide.

[SwampDonkey]

Well now! I had to revisit this thread folks because there is no way in God's green earth that a leaf tinged in purple (fades to green with age) will produce a yellow flower as in goldenrod. We are talking about sample # 2 in the beginning post of this thread. So, here my friends is the proof with photographic evidence that this plant is indeed an aster. In fact, it is a showy aster Aster spectabilis and the place is in full bloom with them. We call it purple aster around here. Audubon does not show it ranging this far north. It has two types of leaves, where the basal ones are oblong and toothed and the ones on the top are oblong-linear and toothless. Also the flower stamens are of two colors, lavender (apex) and yellow (ray flowers). Well I guess you can chalk up another species of the Upper Saint John River valley that adds to the species diversity of the area. We can't be right all the time.