Plants

Mount Auburn’s landscape is composed of a diverse array of plants and trees that come into bloom at different times and in different seasons.  See both a calendar and a list view of What’s in Bloom below:

What’s in Bloom: Week of November 5, 2018

Witch hazel, Hamamelis virginiana, Dell Path, Linden Path

Japanese anemone, Anemone hupehensis, Admin. bldg.

Jackman clematis, Clematis xjackmanii, Admin. bldg.

Wild bleeding heart, Dicentra exemia, Admin. bldg.

Ladies’-tresses, Spiranthes sp., Beech Ave.

Chrysanthemum, Chrysanthemum sp., several locations

Tatarian aster, Aster tataricus, Asa Gray garden

Aster, Aster ‘Raydon’s Favorite’, Asa Gray garden

‘The Fairy’ rose, Rosa ‘The Fairy’, @ Sphinx

Rose, Rosa sp., several locations

 ‘Knockout’ rose, Rosa ’Radrazz’, Spelman Rd.

Snapdragon, Antirrhinum sp., Greenhouse garden

Lysianthus, Eustoma sp., Greenhouse garden

Cosmos, Cosmos bipinnatus, Greenhouse garden

Strawflower, Helichrysum bracteatum, Greenhouse garden

~

Mount Auburn Rap by Maria Lindberg

The squill is a thrill

Chionodoxa really rocks ya

Pansies and crocus bring it all into focus

Spice bush and lilacs delight the senses

Ivy twines around cast iron fences

Vinca hosta azealea silverbell

Escort the traveler on the way to the Dell

Orioles flit from spruce to beech

Hawks fly above with a warning screech

Turtles and bullfrogs and muskrats abound

Owls in their nests make nary a sound

Kingfishers herons and cormorants as well

Robins and phoebes have a story to tell

The Metasequoia of Auburn Lake

A perch for hawks and a migratory break

For warblers in May luring birders far and wide

Wonder and song are the gifts they provide

The American elm and the mighty oak

Guard the eternal sleep of the silent folk

Of Mount Auburn Cemetery

 If you see a tree or plant in bloom that is not on this list, please leave a comment below or email us at friends@mountauburn.org.

…From yellow leaves a blue jay calls

Grandmothers walk out in their shawls

And chipmunks run the old stone walls

When fall comes to New England…

-Cheryl Wheeler

Autumn within Mount Auburn presents an arboreal cornucopia of multiple colors. A sampling includes the reds of dogwood, maple, tupelo, Virginia sweetspire, oakleaf hydrangea, interplanted with the yellow of hickory, ginkgo, Korean mountain ash and larch among many others. One lesser known golden-yellow, which sometimes exhibit bright orange-bronze instead, is provided by the Golden larch, Pseudolarix amabilis. This native to China which grows 30-50 (100)-feet in height is one of four deciduous conifers that grow here, the others are bald cypress, dawn redwood and European larch. (more…)

On October 4, 2018 Ron Trial led a citizen science mushroom ID walk at Mount Auburn Cemetery.  Mr. Trial is a former president of the Boston Mycological Club.  He served the club from the late 1970’s through the early 1980’s and remains an enthusiast for collecting and identifying fungi.  Ron also volunteers at the greenhouse at Mount Auburn.

Several current citizen scientists, as well as some new faces met Ron on Laurel Avenue, where introductions, guidebooks, and collecting parameters where discussed before the group ventured into the woodland surrounding Consecration Dell.

Each participant brought along a basic mushroom survey kit, which included: a collecting basket, pocket knife, 10x lens, wax paper, and a smart phone for photos and ID assistance via apps such as the Rogers Mushrooms App.

The group spent the next ninety minutes carefully exploring the Dell and collecting fungi for identification.  Conditions have been excellent for fungi growth, due to the mild temperatures and the rainy end of summer and start to autumn.  As we strolled through the woodland, we carefully collected sixteen species of fungi.  Common and edible mushrooms, such as the Horse mushroom (Agaricus arvensis) and the Jelly Ear (Auricularia auricula-judae) were collected, as well as many that require additional study to ensure proper identification.  Ron explained to the group that even though he has many years of experience identifying fungi, he most likely would only be able to identify about 10 percent of the species we would see.  This is not uncommon for any avid mushroom hunter and it is why it is important to take your time and make use of guidebooks and apps when attempting to ID your discoveries.

Some of the most fun and interesting things we learned were the strange and interesting names often given to mushrooms.  The Angel of Death (Amanita ocreata) which is not found here (native to the Pacific Northwest) was a favorite.

We plan to offer more mushroom ID walks in the future and Ron plans to lead a fungi training for our Citizen Science Naturalist Program in 2019.

All the complicated details

of the attiring and

the disattiring are completed!

A liquid moon

moves gently among

the long branches…

-William Carlos Williams

Conifers may primarily be defined as producing their seeds attached to scales of a woody cone (pinecone, spruce cone, fir cone, hemlock cone sequoia cone, etc.) and generally are evergreen. Willaims’ imagery alludes to deciduous plants’ autumn readying for winter. The larches, Larix sp. are the largest genus of deciduous conifers. Three other genera of deciduous conifers in our living collection are Taxodium, Metasequoia and Pseudolarix.

There are perhaps 11 species (taxonomists may differ) within the genus Larix, or Larch, all occurring in the northern regions and/or higher altitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. Cone characteristics along with geographic nativity help greatly in distinguishing between species. (more…)