Advanced Naturalist Disorder

So, you have probably heard of Nature-Deficit Disorder, coined by Richard Louv in The Last Child in the Woods.  How about Advanced Naturalist Disorder?

I believe that is what happens when you know just enough to be dangerous and you look at everything- plants, birds, dragonflies...

Clouded Sulphur, Colias philodice on an aster

and butterflies- even when you are attending an outdoor wedding.  Its not my fault, if they wanted me to pay attention they would have held it inside!

One of Ohio's rarest habitats, a lakeside alvar.

  With a lakefront view like this to compete, is it any real surprise I was using my camera for a few botany pictures?  These tiny asters were growing out the the water scoured rock ledges along Lake Erie.  This is one of Ohio's rarest habitats, called an alvar.  This aster is the very rare Pringle's Aster, Symphotrichum pilosum var. pringlei one of the alvar species.

The Weedpicker at a wedding.

We arrived about an hour early and I entertained myself bird watching and butterflying. I did put my binoculars away when the other guests arrived.

This was one of the simplest, yet most beautiful weddings I have ever seen. The sun was shining in a cloudless blue sky  as the waves splashed the rocks just beyond our seating area. Lake Erie was picture perfect and as beautiful as any Caribbean wedding ad.  

Mr. and Mrs. Michael Comings

Congratulations to the couple, Christina and Michael!   I am wishing you a lifetime of happiness- and butterflies.

October Asters

Nothing says "Fall" like the bloom of asters. With a vast array of species represented in Ohio, one can only hope to learn a few new species each year and go for the long term achievement.

Steve McKee (Richland Co. Parks) and Jim Bissell ( Cleveland Museum Nat. History) both give excellent programs which offered keys to Ohio's asters, if you are serious about learning them. Either key is an welcomed resource for sorting this confusing species.





Shale Barren Aster, Symphyotrichum oblongifolium is a major rarity only found in three of Ohio's counties. This one was found on the edge of Lynx Prairie in Adams County. Of all the asters, the Shale Barren could be recognized by site affiliation and the enlarged buds- which have a swollen appearance.

Also known as aromatic aster, this creeping flower is right at home in stone barrens, and would make a likely candidate for a rock garden. There are a surprising number of "on-line" plant nurseries offering this gem.

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And when is an "Aster" not an aster? When it is Golden Aster (aka Maryland Goldenaster), Chrysopsis mariana. True, this southern species and warm weather friend is in the Asteraceae family, but it is not found in the genus we know as "asters." Not that it would matter to anyone but a botanist. Everyone else seems to enjoy this little yellow aster at face value. What's not to love?

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And one parting shot of the Stiff Aster, Ionactis linariifolius - seen in yesterday's post. Its stiff needle-like leaves make it a stand-out among the asters. This, too, could make a smashing rock garden plant if sited properly.

Enjoy your fall weekend, and pay particular attention to the many species of asters out there!~